The emerging visual artist takes XLR8R on a tour through his private, mythological world.
Richard Colman
TruthSkull
XLR8R TV Episode 30: Richard Colman
Judging from his most recent show at White Walls Gallery in San Francisco, emerging visual artist Richard Colman has created a very specific mythology all his own. In this episode, he guides us through his private world of buried bears, upside-down lions, naked bat boys, gagged royalty, rainbow vomit, and pointy boobies.
Check out the XLR8R TV Forum to discuss this episode and more.
Tour: Prefuse 73
Scott Herren (a.k.a. Prefuse 73) will wrap up 2007 with a tour in support of his forthcoming full-length, Preparations, set to drop on Warp on October 23. Herren already debuted his appreciation for atmospheric glitch at a series of large events last month, which included performances at Brazil’s No Ar Coquetel Molotov Festival and London, Ontario’s LOLA Festival. For the upcoming, month-long tour, DJ Nobody’s Blank Blue project and Brooklyn-based outfit School of Seven Bells will join Herren, thusly proving that hip-hop and LSD have found a common ground.
Tour Dates
11/15 Tampa, FL: Crowbar
11/16 Miami, FL: Studio A
11/17 Orlando, FL: The Social
11/18 Tallahassee, FL: The Beta Bar
11/19 Birmingham, AL: Bottletree
11/21 Atlanta, GA: Drunken Unicorn
11/23 Washington, DC: Black Cat
11/24 Baltimore, MD: Ottobar
11/25 Philadelphia, PA: First Unitarian Church
11/26 New York, NY: Bowery Ballroom
11/27 Boston, MA: Paradise
11/29 Buffalo, NY: Mohawk Place
11/30 Detroit, MI: Magic Stick
12/01 Chicago, IL: Empty Bottle
12/03 Missoula, MT: The Badlander
12/05 Bellingham, WA: The Nightlight Lounge
12/06 Seattle, WA: Neumo’s
12/07 Portland, OR: Holocene
12/08 San Francisco, CA: Slims
Steed Lord “Feel The Heat”
Steed Lord may sound like some kind of creepy character in a Harry Potter novel, but this Icelandic quartet is more of an Italo electro-psych behemoth from the ’80s. Fusing together a heap of analog synth layers, glitchy breaks, and shredding guitar solos, these newcomers have proven that they know their way around the studio. “Feel the Heat” may be the track that sends Chromeo back to the drawing board.
Anonymous Twist The Crucible
Toronto hip-hopper Anonymous Twist attempts to achieve the rare triple-threat status on The Crucible, knocking out beats, rhymes, and turntablism by himself. Aside from his battle-tested scratching skills, it’s tough to tell how well his talents would hold up individually. But as a package deal, AT’s onto a traditional-minded sound that almost always hits its mark. The early ’90s references to Street Fighter and Souls of Mischief help make his simple raps especially relatable to the true-school set, as does his affinity for MPC beats. And when Anonymous Twist summons a guest artist, like on the Planet Asia-assisted “Sweet Sixteen,” this multitasking act proves that he’s more than comfortable sharing the spotlight.
Turzi: Beyond Psychedelia
Rather than relying on endless guitar squeals and 15-minute feedback treks, the newest brand of French psych producers, including 26-year-old Romain Turzi, tend to employ rock’s subtler elements for their sonic attacks: the cinematic scores of Air; Krautrock’s spaciousness; emotional bits from drug-addled pop. But while Turzi and his band Reich IV grew up on a healthy diet of Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, and, um, Steve Reich, Turzi’s debut LP, A (Kemado), manages to rekindle his forebears’ energy without overdoing their influence.
“There is something unsurprising about pop music. The listener knows what’s coming when he hears the first bars of a song. I want him to be surprised,” Turzi writes via email. “The way I see it, music should act like a drug, whether you’ve experienced it or not. By listening to Turzi, your mind should elevate and your body should react in a positive or negative way.”
Those reactions might be spurred by Turzi’s haunting vocal chants, borderline punk-guitar progressions, and the recognizable modulation of modified synths. “I like things to be played on analog equipment–you can feel the personality and the response of each machine because of its defaults and appearance,” says Turzi. “I always pass guitars and organs through monophonic analog synthesizers and tons of echoes and reverb to personalize [their] sound.”
Turzi isn’t alone in the analog revolution. In addition to A, the psych warrior compiled a bundle of similar tracks from fellow French tripsters like Sebastian Tellier, Juan Tripp, and Kill for Total Peace on Voyage: Facing the History of French Modern Psychedelic Music, a free download for those who purchase A. “In a way, we feel close to the German ’70s approach: ‘Everything has been done overseas. Let’s try our own new thing,’” he offers. In that respect, tracks like A’s “Acid Taste” and “Are You Thinking About Jesus?” function on hypnotic, layered synth lines, but with build-ups that sound more at home in an underground spiritual refuge than any strobe-lit venue. Sound philosophical? It is. “If psychedelic music is about getting closer to beyond, let’s just bring the beyond into our music,” says Turzi.
Dr. Freeze
XLR8R Weekly Top Ten: Cut Copy, Grizzly Bear, Oren Ambarchi
Cut Copy “So Haunted” Modular
Cut Copy’s “Hearts on Fire” was a pretty infectious single, which is hard to admit with all of the sax solos and trance synths thrown in. Now, the Australian group jumps in the studio with DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy to create the Arcade Fire-influenced, electro-pop anthem of the year, “So Haunted.” CC’s fusion of indie rock and trancey electro-pop will absolutely make the band Modular’s most listened-to and respected outfit yet. FM
Shout Out Louds “Impossible (Studio Remix)” Merge
Sweden should be named the pop epicenter of the world. Between breeding Jens Lekman, El Perro Del Mar, and Shout Out Louds, the nation is killing it. Studio’s remix of “Impossible” is cosmic pop at its best. There’s no crazy dancefloor bullshit or chopped-up vocals–just clean, arpeggiating synths, deep drum sounds, and a Tears for Fears vibe that has got this writer in “I’m gonna play this all day” mode. FM
Kap10KurtDangerSeekers EP Plant
If you like your spacey disco-house punchy, filtered, and dancefloor-friendly, get thee to the upcoming DangerSeekers EP from Brooklyn’s Kap10Kurt. The original’s hot, but check out the remixes, too, from Tepr, Yuksek, and Shinichi Osawa. And then tell Mylo he can suck it. KT
Oren AmbarchiIn the Pendulum’s EmbraceSouthern Lord
Oren Ambarchi is no joke. When he’s not composing and performing the most brutal of doom-ambient metal with the likes of Sunn O)))’s Greg Anderson and Mayhem’s Attila Csihar as Burial Chamber Trio, he’s creating amazing textural drone under his birth name. In the Pendulum’s Embrace may not be for everybody, but for those that like their music dark and interesting, this album is top shelf. FM
VariousHeavy MetalRhino
Does a compilation title get any more forthright than this? Metal isn’t typically our XLR8R’s thing, at least not on paper, but the number of XLR8R staffers in metal bands could fill a small concert hall. That’s an exaggeration, but whatever, we still love the stuff. And on the Heavy Metal boxed set, it’s here in spades in the form of Rush, Sabbath, Maiden, W.A.S.P., Accept, and more. (Yes, Dokken, too.) We suggest cranking it to 13 (fuck 11!), starting with Judas Priest’s “The Ripper,” and ending the night with Metallica’s “One.” KT
Jay-Z “Roc Boys (And the Winner Is)” Roc-A-Fella
Jay-Z totally blew it with Kingdom Come. The Pharrell-produced “Blue Magic” (a.k.a. the first single from the forthcoming American Gangster) sounded like a predictable TRL hit at best. But the sophomore single, “Roc Boys (And the Winner Is),” finally gets back to the quality MCing we’ve come to expect. Produced by The Hitmen, this track returns to The Blueprint, but without all of the hustling references. It’s not the best of old Jigga, but it’s a damn fine track nonetheless. FM
Grizzly Bear Friend EP Warp
For fans awaiting another full-length from this Brooklyn indie-folk outfit, the Friend EP might not give you much a taste of what’s to come, but it’ll make the wait go a bit faster. With alternative cuts of tracks from their past albums and covers by the likes of Band of Horses and Atlas Sound, Friend showcases this band’s knack for all sounds large and small. RH
Chica and The FolderUnder the BalconyMonika
The second LP from Berlin’s Paula Schopf (Chica Paula) and Max Loderbauer (Sun Electric) finds the duo nailing the balance between pop, ambient, and minimal techno. With moods as varied as its styles (and languages), Under the Balcony feels like an entire night of walking aimlessly around a city by yourself; not quite sad, but not too happy either. RH
VariousLa Belle Epoque: EMI’s French Girls 1965-1968EMI
After devoting an entire issue (and plenty of late nights) to the city of Paris, we made a pact to do some fasting on the Frenchies. That was until we got a hold of this comp. Compiling 20 tracks of ’60s French female pop by the likes of Christie Laume, Alice Dona, and Les Roche Martin, La Belle is antiquated sexy pop at its best. RH
VariousKitsuné BoomBox: Mixed By Jerry BouthierKitsuné
Edinburgh’s BoomBox club night must be insane, because BB’s resident DJ Jerry Bouthier’s first mix for Kitsuné is pure fire. Featuring a number of blog-house remixes and edits that are so good even Steve Aoki could play them out and we still wouldn’t hate (see Feist’s “1, 2, 3, 4” and Digitalism’s “Pogo,” manipulated by Van She Tech and Shinichi Osawa, respectively). If legitimate French touch is your jam, get this for the quickness. FM
KH–Ken Taylor
FM–Fred Miketa
RH–Ross Holland
JB Classics and Sneaker Pimps Team Up
Jason Bass’ San Francisco-based sneaker line JB Classics has teamed up with the kings of the shoe-enthusiast game, the touring sneaker show, Sneaker Pimps, for another exclusive collection of limited-edition kicks. As any kid with a monthly shoe budget can attest, this new collaboration is more of the ridiculously colorful retro-Jordan madness that will have small hip-hop shops and online sneaker nerds in full on slobber mode. The JB/SP Ver 2’s fall in line with other JB sneakers, complete with multi-colored soles, skate-style ankle, and ollie-foot padding, and they even come equipped with (who would have guessed?) a custom New Era fitted cap to match. Introduced October 12 at Sneaker Pimps’ “Worlds Largest Touring Sneaker Lifestyle Show,” at New York’s Roseland Ballroom (and featuring performances by Nas, EPMD, and Slick Rick, plus art installations from graff icons COPE, HAZE, and IRAK), the JB/SP Ver 2’s are apparently worthy of a ton of cash and serious celebration.
For more JB collections check out JB Classics.
