!K7 Preps Ewan Pearson and Cobblestone Jazz LPs

The Berlin-based !K7 imprint is responsible for releasing some of the most noteworthy dance records of 2007 thus far (namely, Joakim’s Monsters and Silly Songs and DJ Kicks: Hot Chip). Now, the cornerstone label is continuing one hell of a year with releases from pop’s remix master Ewan Pearson and improv outfit Cobblestone Jazz.

Ewan Pearson 

Pearson’s Piece Work is a two-disc collection of recent reworkings of artists’ tracks from Depeche Mode to Moby to Closer Musik. Though the production magnate just served up a very laudable mix for the Fabric Live series, Piece Work may surpass that, and become one of Pearson’s most sought-after collections to date. And given the fact that the studiophile has graced 58 records in six years, there’s little doubt that this long-player will be nothing short of stupendous.

Cobblestone Jazz

Meanwhile, Vancouver-based trio Cobbletone Jazz has already established themselves as the quintessential molders of jazz-tech, releasing singles for Wagon Repair and Ititwhatitis. The Canadian band was also recently featured on Kompakt’s monumental Total 8 compilation, and shared wax with Troy Pierce on Cybotron’s recently released Clear Remix EP. 23 Seconds marks the trio’s first CD release (vinyl is available through Wagon repair), and documents the group’s freestyle talent with a bonus disc of live material. Lord only knows what !K7 has brewing for 2008.

Piece Work is out September 24, 2007 and 23 Seconds is out October 23, 2007 on !K7.

Piece Work Tracklisting
CD1
1. Seelenluft Feat. Mixmaster Michael Smith “Manila (Ewan Pearson Remix)”
2. The Chemical Brothers Feat. The Flaming Lips “The Golden Path (Ewan Pearson Extended Vocal)”
3. Futureshock “Pride’s Paranoia (Ewan´s Sticking Plaster Remix)”
4. Silver City “Shiver (Ewan’s Bari Girl Remix)”
5. Fields “Song For The Fields (Ewan Pearson Vocal Remix)”
6. Playgroup “Make It Happen (Ewan Pearson Remix)”
7. Freeform Five “Perspex Sex (Ewan Pearson’s Hi NRG Remix)”
8. Slam Feat. Dot Allison “Visions (Ewan Pearson Remix)”
9. Goldfrapp “Train (Ewan Pearson 6/8 Vocal)”
10. Closer Musik “One, Two, Three – No Gravity (Ewan Pearson’s 2004 Remix)”
11. Franz Ferdinand “Outsiders (Ewan Pearson Remix)”

CD2
1. Mocky “Catch A Moment In Time (Ewan Pearson’s Memory Blissed Remix)”
2. The Rapture “I Need Your Love (Ewan’s Stay In School Mix)”
3. Pet Shop Boys “Psychological (Ewan Pearson Mix)”
4. Alter Ego “Beat The Bush (Ewan Pearson’s Slow NRG Edit)”
5. Röyksopp “49 Percent (Ewan Pearson Glass Half Empty Remix)”
6. Goldfrapp “Ride A White Horse (Ewan Pearson Disco Odyssey Parts 1 & 2)”
7. Ladytron “Evil (Ewan Pearson Radio Edit)”
8. Moby “Raining Again (Ewan Pearson Instrumental)”
9. Cortney Tidwell “Don’t Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up (Ewan’s Objects In Space Remix)”
10. Depeche Mode “Enjoy The Silence (Ewan Pearson Extended Remix)”

23 Seconds Tracklisting
CD1
1. Waiting Room
2. Hired Touch
3. Lime In Da Coconut
4. Slap The Back
5. PBD
6. 23 Seconds
7. Change Your Apesuit
8. Saturday Night
9. Peace Offering
10. W

CD2
1. Live at Mondo (Madrid, May 10, 2007)
2. Dump Truck
3. India in Me

What Is It? Yacht Rock

It’s music that’s peaceful enough to make a dental drill feel like a mother’s kiss on a bruise; or, some say, just another smiley face pinned over the dreadful malaise of Carter’s America. For DJ Shaun Slaughter, yact rock was just a way to baffle drunken New York hipsters. A year ago, Slaughter began ending his electro-punk sets with numbers like The Doobie Brothers’ falsetto-happy 1978 hit “What A Fool Believes.” “At first, the reaction was, ‘Why the hell would you play this?’ Now you play it and people freak out,” he says.

Yacht rock was born around 1976 when prog-rock refugees and SoCal singer-songwriters began to fuse blue-eyed soul, lite-funk, lite-jazz, soft rock, and hazy synths into soundtracks for bearded Huntington Beach-harbor yuppies. Some of the genre’s shining examples are Kenny Loggins’ Caddyshack theme, “I’m Alright,” Christopher Cross’ wedding standard “Sailing,” and the hair salon-friendly world music of Toto’s “Africa.” “It’s an easygoing vibe and not very deep lyrics,” says yacht rock aficionado Kurt Uenala of the drums ‘n’ keytar duo Kap10Kurt. “I appreciate the production of it–it’s the opposite of raw, the opposite of rock and roll.”

As white-bred as yacht songs may be, many of them ended up being sampled in hip-hop tracks, most notoriously the piece of Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin'” that anchored Warren G’s G-funk classic, “Regulate.” This has, in turn, inspired indie hip-hop producers like Andrew “Anvil” Cohn. His debut album, New Music for Virtuosos (Fingerprint), consists entirely of yacht-christened hip-hop instrumentals. “[Yacht rock] has got a real sense of humor to it [and] that was the [kind of] record I wanted to make,” says Cohn.

Two decades after the music faded away, nostalgia for its high camp fueled Channel 101.com‘s online sitcom Yacht Rock, which quickly developed a cult following. In the mockumentary, slapstick meets historical revisionism: Steely Dan assaults The Eagles with bats, Michael Jackson declares he will ruin “smooth music” for a decade.

The show inspired Sacramento, CA native Slaughter to hold a “yacht rock” party last year–droves came in polos, and one partier wore nothing but a Speedo and a life jacket. “Some people like [the music] because it’s kitschy and funny, but it’s also just good,” says Slaughter.

MF Doom Pulls an Ashlee Simpson?

Sometimes wearing a mask can benefit an MC beyond merely helping develop a recognizable image. According to an army of pissed-off indie hip-hop bloggers and message board scribes, MF Doom pulled an advanced Ashlee Simpson move last night at a sold-out show at San Francisco’s Independent venue. Apparently, a masked “Doom” took to the stage, and lip-synched over a prerecorded mix. According to blogger Fucs Jones:

“The only thing that was actually live about the show was the hypeman’s mic. Everything else ran straight off a recording, and fake Doom pretended to rap and walked up and down the stage doing rapper hands. He faked his way through a set of about 20 minutes, walked off the stage, and jetted out the back door.”

It’s one thing to jump on stage and fake it because you’re too wasted or feeling exhausted, but it’s another when there’s an entirely different dude performing for a sold-out crowd. Evidently, there’s another show tonight, so we recommend checking back for the scoop.

XLR8R TV Episode 22: Matmos Moves On

Drew Daniel and Martin Schmidt (a.k.a. Matmos) put San Francisco on the map as a hotspot for groundbreaking electronic music. Now, as they pack up and head for a new life in Baltimore, they reflect on the effect the Bay Area (and the dot-com boom) had on their music, and speculate on what’s ahead.

Watch This Episode

Previous Episodes
Episode 18: Mars-1
Episode 19: Chromeo
Episode 20: My Sing-A-Ling
Episode 21: Devin the Dude

All Episodes

Artist Chart: White Rainbow

Portland-based, post-ambient producer Adam Forkner has a definite pension for the stranger side of things (on his MySpace page he states he wants to play in “healing huts”). On his latest offering, Prism of Eternal Now, Forkner’s universe is composed of rich, delayed textures, Eastern drums, and engulfing feedback. Recording for both Marriage and Kranky Records, this young mystic may be the next Eno. Look for White Rainbow on tour with Dirty Projectors and YACHT in a town near you.

Prism of Eternal Now is out October 1, 2007 on Kranky.

White Rainbow’s Top Ten Picks
1. Bugskull Phantasies and Senseitions (Road Cone)
2. John Cale/Terry Riley Church of Anthrax (Warner Bros.)
3. Be Gulls By the Beach (RAD)
4. Jon Hassell Dream Theory In MalayaForth World Volume Two (Editions E.G.)
5. Deuter Aum (Kuckuck)
6. Franco Falsini Cold Nose Soundtrack (Polydor)
7. Ali Farka Toure Niafunke (Hannibal)
8. Michael Brook Hybrid with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois (Editions EG)
9. Boredoms Vision Creation New Sun (Warner Bros. Japan)
10. Steve Hillage Rainbow Dome Musick (Virgin)

Daily Download: Architecture In Helsinki “Heart It Races”

If pop music can in any way be lovable, then six-piece outfit Architecture in Helsinki is the band to make that happen. On Places Like This, the group’s third longplayer, the traditional verse-chorus-verse formula is livened up with some tropical flavors, rhythms that call reggaeton to mind, and vocals that may warm some and annoy others, but are nonetheless extremely unique.

Download this song as an MP3, or preview a week’s worth of tracks at the XLR8R Podcast. Subscribe using iTunes, or with an RSS reader of your choice.

Liars Liars

Drums are dead, in a sense, for these no-wave nabobs on their self-titled fourth full-length. Sounding more Phil Spector than Brian Eno this time around, Angus Andrew and Co. jettison the Berlin-esque savor and drum-mobbed brio of last year’s Drum’s Not Dead for the jangly, fuzz pop of Psychocandy-era Jesus and Mary Chain on songs such as “Pure Unevil” and “What Would They Know.” But Liars isn’t a complete homage to the brothers Reid-the trio wonderfully crafts a catatonic echo chamber of damaged electronics and prickly guitar clatter on “Leather Prowler,” while the turbulent snare blasts and taut, angular guitars of “Plaster Casts of Everything” has the group conjuring up noisy, yet danceable art-punk.

Architecture In Helsinki “Heart It Races”

If pop music can, in any way, be lovable, then six-piece outfit Architecture in Helsinki is the band to make that happen. On Places Like This, the group’s third longplayer, the traditional verse-chorus-verse formula is livened up with some tropical flavors, rhythms that call reggaeton to mind, and vocals that may warm some and annoy others, but are nonetheless extremely unique. Photo by Lizeth Santos.

Architecture In Helsinki – Heart It Races

Leyode Fascinating Tininess

Landing on Scott “Prefuse 73” Herren’s Eastern Developments imprint allowed the Atlanta-to-NYC-based duo of Yusuke Hama and Laurel Wells to get all cinematic on Fascinating Tininess, fusing samples, beats, and loopy, ethereal vocals into a psychy-trippy-folky brew splendid for movie soundtracks. The pair’s plan was to create sound for French New Wave film clips, and things inevitably blossomed when Leyode’s lounge filled with Savath y Savalas (yet another Herren alter-ego), Patrick Ferrell, REDROOM, and Leb-Laze. Featuring Herren, “Hassami” is choice material, its noodly opening and stuttering rhythm propelling both his and Wells’ voices as they weave together like a medieval tapestry. “Sophie” is another glitchy standout, burping and hiccupping along, yet smoothed over by dreamy vocalizations.

Bast Opens Devilwood Exhibition

Hunting monsters are the latest theme engrossing Brooklyn-based visual artist Bast, and Devilwood, his forthcoming exhibition that will open in Los Angeles this weekend, features a grip of these twisted creatures adorned with found objects that double as weapons. Bast’s paintings tend to examine destruction and uncertainty, and usually include elements from hip-hop culture. Devilwood should be no exception.

Event Details
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Devilwood opening Reception
New Image Art, 7908 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A.
7 – 10 p.m., Open to Public

Devilwood runs through Sunday, September 23, 2007.

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