Simian Mobile Disco is best known for its studio work with bands like Justice, Klaxons, The Go! Team, and The Rapture. Instead of leaving their studio behind for their first solo tour, the duo packed the whole thing up, brought it around the world, and dissected it for us in this episode.
Previous Episodes
Episode 25: Dubstep 101 with DJ Youngsta
Episode 26: Maya Hayuk
Episode 27: Eats Tapes Return
Episode 28: YACHT
Of Montreal is more than a band bent on writing killer pop tunes and indecent exposure. Since releasing Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? in June, the band has been hard at work prepping its acoustic EP, Sony Connect Set, its first for download site Sony Connect. Released October 2, the digital-only EP features covers of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” and Love Is All’s “Make Out, Fall Out, Make Up,” in addition to Hissing Fauna’s breakthrough single, “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse.”
Also slated for release is a reissue of the band’s Track and Field compilation, If He Is Protecting Our Nation Then Who Will Protect Big Oil, Our Children?, due out October 30. But why stop there? Polyvinyl’s glam-pop troupe is also hitting the road for two months of eagerly anticipated live dates.
Sony Connect Set is out now on Sony Connect/Polyvinyl.
If He Is Protecting Our Nation Then Who Will Protect Big Oil, Our Children? is out October 30 on Polyvinyl.
Sony Connect Set Tracklisting
1. Harvest Moon
2. Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse
3. Make Out, Fall Out, Make Up
4. We Were Born the Mutants Again with Leafling
If He Is Protecting Our Nation Then Who Will Protect Big Oil, Our Children? Tracklisting
1. My, What a Strange Day with a Swede
2. An Ill-Treated Hiccup’s View of the World
3. Cast in the Haze (Been There Four Days)
4. Mimi Merlot Beatnik Version
5. Girl from NYC (Named Julia)
6. Inside a Room Full of Treasures….
7. Charlie & Freddy
8. There Is Nothing Wrong….
9. Maple Licorice
10. Barely Asian at the Beefcake Horizon
11. Spooky Spider Chandelier
12. Friends of Mine
13. Christmas Isn’t Safe for Animals
Tour Dates
10/9 Detroit, MI: Majestic Theatre
10/10 Buffalo, NY: The Tralf
10/11 Philadelphia, PA: Trocadero
10/12 Boston, MA: The Roxy
10/13 New York, NY: Roseland
10/14 Baltimore, MD: Rams Head Live
10/31 Athens, GA: 40 Watt Club
11/01 New Orleans, LA: House Of Blues
11/02 Houston, TX: Numbers
11/03 Austin, TX: Fun Fun Fun Fest
11/04 Dallas, TX: Granada Theatre
11/05 El Paso, TX: Club 101
11/06 Tempe, AZ: Marquee
11/07 Tucson, AZ: Rialto
11/08 Los Angeles, CA: Avalon
11/09 Los Angeles, CA: Avalon
11/10 La Jolla, CA: Mandeville Auditorium UCSD
11/12 San Francisco, CA: Great American Music Hall
11/13 San Francisco, CA: Great American Music Hall
11/14 San Francisco, CA: Great American Music Hall
11/16 Salt Lake City, UT: In The Venue
11/17 Denver, CO: Ogden Theater
11/18 Lawrence, KS: Liberty Hall
11/19 St. Louis, MO: The Pageant
11/20 Atlanta, GA: Variety Playhouse
The masters are back. BPitch has nursed their star act through half a decade of singles, remixes, an explosive live show, and a stellar first album that people still fall in love with. Modeselektor’s sophomore release vaults over the bar they set for themselves as they play the pranksters with beats and buzzing synths. Their instrumentals manage to be both catchy, tweaky, and somehow thoughtful all at the same time and, as always, the vocal tracks soar. Every artist (TTC, Paul St. Hilaire, Otto von Schirach, Puppetmastaz, and Thom Yorke) gets cut to shreds in perfect hybrids of lyrics and beats. Modeselektor could never do wrong, but what’s amazing is that they keep doing it so right.
Call it whatever you want: dancehall, rocksteady, soundsystem, reggae, hip-hop. The pioneer mashing of found tech and island rhythms has already landed deejay Dennis Alcapone in the history books. His toasting method-equal parts singing, squealing, and shouts-out-sequenced the gene for rap, and he could rock a party like mad: Just ask Jamaica. So terminology is needless-just swing back and bounce to the elusive singles that make up this addictive collection. From the swinging “Version I Can Feel” and “Nanny Version” to more Clement “Coxsone” Dodd-produced versions that never get old, Forever Version is a badass breeze.
Taking cues from 8-bit games of yore, downtempo, and even a little indie-rock, Ernest Gonzalez could find himself at home with Morr Music or Anticon artists alike. Combining melancholic guitarlines, subtle vocal samples, and acoustic hip-hop percussion, this San Antonio-based producer is on the road to making a name for himself in any number of musical circles. “While On Saturn’s Rings” is a just over two-minute experience that’s interesting, delicate, and slightly banging all at the same time.
With Urban Outfitters’ design teams replicating Slayer shirts and Etnies’ Altamant fashion division releasing a Jimi Hendrix artwork series, there’s no denying the ever-growing, and usually ridiculous, “I’m down with vintage rock” fashion trend that’s been surfacing over the past few years. Fortunately, the New York-based line Mishka is giving the proverbial middle finger to the imposters with its Rasputin shirt, based on the almighty (and fictional?) band of the same name.
Featuring artwork from the legendary Derek Riggs, the artist behind Iron Maiden’s Eddie, Mishka’s limited edition Rasputin tee is no non-sense hessian gold. There is, of course, a rad zombi-esque Raputin character on the front, with a full backprint (complete with blood red pentagrams) for your inner metalhead. Part of the company’s New Wave Cinema line, Rasputin may be the start of a new tee movement. What’s next–commissioned tees from Motorhead’s artist Joe Patagno? We can only hope so.
Hell RellFor the Hell of ItKoch
What’s more refreshing than an East Coast hip-hop record that’s as hard as Mobb Deep without sounding anything like them? Dipset’s Hell Rell has officially pounded out 15 tracks for the streets. Featuring down-and-out production on songs like “Life in the Ghetto” and “Do It for the Hustlers,” this surprising release may inspire Prodigy and company to release something worthwhile. If you appreciate references to goons, 44’s, and stealing chains more than two stepping, ayo technology, and living the good life, then get your hands on this one. FM
The Four Mints Gently Down Your Stream Asterisk
Clearly not satisfied with just releasing those impeccable compilations of lost labels and sub-genres, The Numero Group has spawned the off-shoot label Asterisk, which releases entirely remastered LPs by forgotten artists. One of three inaugural offerings, Gently Down Your Stream, is full of early ’70s soul with just the right mix of melodramatic ballads and funky, chugging groovers. RH
DanavaWhere Beauty and Terror Dance 7” Kemado
’70s psych-rock may be petitioned as the next “in” thing–as indicated by the swarm of longhairs all over major cities–but Danava has gone one step beyond beard appreciation with Where Beauty and Terror Dance. Although the Portland-based band’s aesthetic remains somewhere in between Bowie and Rob Halford, it can still deliver spaced-out, Sabbath-induced mayhem. There’s a place in heaven for innovative fuzz-rockers, and the Danava boys are the first in line at the gate. FM
VariousWell Deep, Ten Years of Big Dada RecordingsBig Dada
We get label anniversary comps all the time here at XLR8R (Yay! You released your sixth 12”! Let’s celebrate!), but compared to most, this Big Dada ten-year compilation feels like a document of musical progression. Wiley, TTC, Diplo, cLOUDDEAD, Roots Manuva, Ty–the talent on this comp speaks for itself. RH
Skull DiscoSoundboy PunishmentsRough Trade
Skull Disco is Appleblim and Skackleton, the London-based producers behind some of the most brutal dubstep released since the genre’s inception. Using metallic, Middle Eastern percussion and scary, Halloween-esque atmospherics, these two shaman warriors are reclaiming dubstep from the Burning Man sect. Would Skull Disco tour with sludge outfit Earth? Probably not. Could they? Fuck yeah, they could. FM
VariousDavid Shrigley’s Worried NoodlesTomlab
David Shrigley published a songbook (drawings and lyrics) in 2005 titled Worried Noodles, and it caught the attention of some musicians. This release is a double LP of interpretations of Shrigley’s lyrics by various musicians. Featuring David Bryne, Tussle, Grizzly Bear, Deerhoof, Max Tundra, and Liars, it’s like the best Exquisite Corpse of all time. RH
Letters LettersS/TType
This Montreal-based trio makes music you’d want to call “folk” if it didn’t delve so much into electronics, and “pop” if it weren’t so noisy. It doesn’t matter either way–what’s important is that Letters Letters is sonically fresh, emotionally forthright, and completely engrossing. Montreal: Keep it up. RH
Joy DivisionUnknown Pleasures, Closer, and Still Collectors Editions Rhino
Everybody’s all Joy Division-this, Joy Division-that all of a sudden… it’s like there’s a movie coming out about the band or something. To coincide with the hoopla Rhino has gone and reissued all of the group’s albums with super-special, double-pack treatment: Not only do you get the original discs but you also get two 1980 U.K. live shows and a brilliant performance at Manchester’s Factory from 1979. Incredible. KT
Kim HiorthøyMy Last DaySmalltown Supersound
We’ve been lovin’ up Norway in a big way lately, but the place deserves it. On top of stellar diskø stuff and Bjørn Torske’s amazing live shows, the Norwegians just keep heaping it on. Kim Hiorthøy’s My Last Day brings butter and heat, with smooth and dance-y electronics for the floor and nicely tempered ambient pings, dings, and samples turned on their ear. The perfect way to usher in the crisp fall months ahead. KT
Turbo CrystalFrench GirlTiny Sticks
Can you really call it a remix when the remixer is an entire band? We’re not sure, but we do know that the Escort remix on this 12” is some funky Rick James-esque heat. Escort does the “authentic” disco-funk thing better than just about anyone in the game (just ask Managing Editor Ken Taylor–this track made him kill a man!). RH
Institubes newest addition to their roster, David Rubato, is a man who knows how to work the French touch magic. This Parisian uses the same blistering synths and Daft Punk melodies as his contemporaries, but with a subtle appreciation for cosmic disco’s spaciest effects. Taken from his debut 12,” “Circuit” is a sonic treat for any electro-afficianado. Photo by Bastien Lattanzio.
It’s tempting to tag Croatian group Eddy Meets Yannah as Balkan broken beat, since the Zagreb-based duo begs for alliteration and easy pigeonholing. But that would imply a sense of exoticism that just isn’t evident on the group’s slick sophomore album, Once in a While. Rather, Jana Valdevit and Eddy Ramich create effervescent tracks that seem like direct descendants of the jumpy, jazz-inflected strain of British beats. The pneumatic basslines, subtle flourishes of sub-tropical sounds, syrupy strings, and fluttering vocals are enveloping, if occasionally bland. Jana’s singing tends to frolic rather than get sultry, gleefully skipping across songs rather than really burning into your memory. But the punchy beats provide ample reasons for funky downtempo fans to head East.
Drummer Adam Topol has plenty of musical experience, spending the last few years backing up Jack Johnson. In assembling this collective alongside guitarist Franchot Tone, they’ve done what formidable collaborations aim for: achieve diversity, with a clear thread intact. That connecting point is reggae, with an emphasis on guitar-driven jams. Of course, having Johnson, Ben Harper, Money Mark, and Winston Jarret to help out doesn’t hurt. The laid-back “Mr. W” hinges on the bass, while the horns and keyboards playfully dance on “Houdini.” Throw a touch of Brazilian bossa in with their casual, tight swagger, and CCDC is one very special mutant.
