Tour: Final Fantasy
Violin virtuoso and Arcade Fire member Owen Pallet is embarking on one hell of a tour as Final Fantasy. After his appearance at the Calgary Folk Festival last weekend, Pallet set the precedent for a dynamic autumn. Traversing through Sweden, France, and the UK, the Canadian post-folk posterboy will then loop through Canada and the greater part of the States. Playing a majority of shows with hip-hop artisan Cadence Weapon, Final Fantasy may bridge the gap between musical genius and party time.
Tourdates:
08/13 Malmo, SE: Sommarscen
08/15 Paris, FR: Pigalle Estival
08/16 Brest, FR: Jeudis Duport
08/17 Vendome, FR: La Route du Rock Festival
08/18 Vendome, FR: Vendome Festival
09/02 Stradbally, UK: Electric Picnic Festival
10/04 Montreal, QC: Pop Montreal Festival
10/12 Chicago, IL: Schubas
10/13 Minneapolis, MN: 7th Street Entry
10/15 Winnipeg, MB: West End Cultural Centre
10/16 Regina, SK: The Exchange
10/17 Edmonton, KY: Starlight Room
10/18 Calgary, AB: The Warehouse
10/20 Vancouver, BC: Richards on Richards
10/21 Victoria, BC: Alix Goolden Hall
10/22 Seattle, WA: Nector
10/23 Portland, OR: Someday Lounge
10/25 San Francisco, CA: Independent
10/26 Pomona, CA: Glass House
10/28 Los Angeles, CA: The Troubadour
10/29 San Diego, CA: Beauty Bar
10/30 Phoenix, AZ: Modified
1101 Abilene, TX: Monks
11/02 Denton, TX: Hailey’s
11/03 Austin, TX: Fun Fun Fun Festival
11/07 Charleston, SCL Map Room
11/09 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church Chapel !
11/10 Hoboken, NJ: Maxwell’s
11/11 New York, NY: Bowery Ballroom
11/12 Cambridge, MA: Middle East
The XLR8R Office Top Ten Album Picks, July 30
CelebrationThe Modern Tribe4AD
Celebration’s sophomore album still contains the post-punk presence of all three members respective pasts (Lovelife, Jaks), but this time around the band has brought along the melody. Vocalist Katrina Ford has moved past androgynous bellowing into high-range territory, and multi-instrumentalist Sean Antanaitis makes the organ sound like a guitar and vice versa. This Baltimore-based trio is on the path to spiritual domination.
AceyaloneLightning StrikesDecon
Aceyalone’s career has traversed the indie hip-hop landscape through and through, and the veteran is really switching it up. The first in a series of genre-hopping records, Lightning Strikes is the rapper’s ode to dancehall. Featuring L.A.-based producer Bionik and a guest spot from Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na, Lightning Strikes may be Aceyalone’s best release since A Book of Human language.
Alex Bartsch “Galaxy” Kompakt
Taken from the Speicher 3 compilation, “Galaxy” is officially the soundtrack to a cosmic serial killer’s revenge on the universe. The bassline is ferociously heavy, the synths are dubby, and the minimal percussion will have any nervous wallflower on his/her feet. Welcome to the harsher side of Kompakt.
VariousComputer Incarnations for World PeaceSonar Kollektiv
Jazzanova has put together yet another comp, but Incarnations isn’t the same lounge-drenched downtempo we’ve come to expect from the Berlin-based collective. Picking rarities from Sylvester, Ray Barretto, and Codek, the ‘Nova has finally collected cosmic bliss that’s far from the chill-zone (which if you’re no longer living in the mid-90s, is a very good thing).
DalekDeadverse Massive Vol. 1: Dalek Rarities 1999-2006Hydra Head
This collection of rarities from dirty Jersey’s hip-hop renovators reaches the pinnacle of weirdness. From noisy vinyl scratching to doomy drones to psych-guitar samples, Deadverse Massive makes metalheads writhe with hip-hop appreciation and hip-hop heads reach for their stashed Slayer tapes.
TarentelGhetto Beats on the Surface of the SunTemporary Residence
Temporary Residence has done us right with the quadruple gatefold, double-CD powerhouse that is Ghetto Beats on the Surface of the Sun. Featuring over two hours of This Heat-esque Kraut-noise, this once limited, vinyl-only gem is the answer to any noise-tastemaker’s wild fantasy.
SixtooJackals and Vipers in Envy of ManNinja Tune
Our man Sixtoo has taken hip-hop instrumentals to another plane of existence with Jackals. Featuring a sea of different soulful samples and heavily reverberated drums, Sixtoo’s newest is as mind melting as the deepest dubstep, but as hard as any hip-hop enterprise.
Songs of Green Pheasant Gyllyng StreetFat Cat
The cover consists of blue-tinged shoreline images, which would normally be a complete and total turn-off. Instead, Duncan Sumpner’s lush textures, well-placed single note riffs, and copious amounts of reverb, do more than just frame his voice. The tracks inside of this sleeve will make even the most jaded feel emotional resonance. Think Slowdive and Red House Painters.
Holy Hail Pointed Rifles to the SkyDemo
Holy Hail has definitely put in work with The Gossip and ESG. The band’s Pointed Rifles to the Sky demo beams with the fattest disco basslines, cute female vocals, and dance-rock fury. New York has just been infiltrated with disco punk’s second coming.
Baby ControlBest WarAche
Baby Control produces a sinister brand of punk that rekindles The Screamers and Le Shok, plus the best moments of Bikini Kill. 11 songs are spit out in just over 22 minutes, and the vocals were recorded through a blown-out PA system. If this is the new sound of Vancouver, give Canada a big fist in the air.
Event: dublab’s Tonalism
dublab, Farmlab, and crew are bringing another night of all-ambient music to Los Angeles next week with Tonalism. In true dublab tradition, complementary tea will be served, and event attendees are encourage to bring “picnic baskets, food, beverages, and snacks to enjoy throughout the evening.” The event will be streamed live on dublab.com.
Event Details
Saturday, August 4, 2007
dublab and Farmlab Present
Tonalism
dublab DJs and Friends
Hoseh
Morpho
Frosty
Ale
MatthewDavid
Part Time Punks DJ Michael Stock
J.Mendez
Farzad Moghaddam
Farbod Kokabi
Live Sets Under the Stars
Dntel
Languis
Tropic of Cancer
smgsap
Adventure Time
Live Nature Sound Duets Curated By Carlos Nino
Mia Doi Todd and Andres Renteria
Adam Rudolph and Ralph “Buzzy” Jones
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and Peter Jacobson.
Carlos Nino & Gaby Hernandez
Projections By
Carolina Chaves and Ben Loiz
the Labrat Matinee
the Masses
Farmlab, 1745 North Spring Street, L.A.
6 p.m. – 6 a.m., FREE, All Ages
Dntel is scheduled to appear for a live set.
Daily Download: Slam “Azure (Radio Edit)”
Glasgow-based duo Slam returns with its fourth longplayer, Human Response, a “back-to-basics” record that returns to the deep electronic and techno sounds that first put the Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle on the map. “Azure” features choppy keyboard riffs, smooth synth lines, and even a few trance-like noises that remind us of electronic music in the good old days.
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.
Luckyiam Most Likely To Succeed
From the Bay to L.A., few Cali hip-hop crews have achieved such indie success as the Living Legends. Smooth-flowed Legends co-founder Luckyiam (a.k.a. PSC) has a lot to do with that triumph. On his latest solo effort, Lucky is at the top of his game, revealing himself to be a remarkably versatile MC. While not quite the charismatic storyteller that Murs is, Lucky is equally adept at painting an honest portrait of his environment (“Tear Him Down”), uncovering record-industry realities (“Rap, Rap, Rap”), and attempting to figure out the key to relationships (“I Guess”). Moreover, the mostly in-house beats add some extra soul to this satisfying solo shot.
Various Artists Total Science Presents Breakbeat Science Exercise 6
It’s refreshing just how low-key D&B heads are about being the best in the world at what they do. You’ll never hear “Richie Hawtin, worldwide!” booming over an intro (or will you?), as Total Science does here, along with some blabber about the dawn of time and being a ninja. This may be their first Stateside release, but Science’s Q Project and Spinbad have brought bad tunes to our country’s dancefloors for a minute, and they excel at it. Exercise 6 is fun, but loaded with piston-pumping sounds like “Going in Circles” and “Squash,” it rarely takes a breather.
The Week In Videos
This week, XLR8R visited bizarre terrain, kicking things off with Escort’s Muppet invasion on “All Through the Night.” Next, we witnessed the Plastic Little dudes as they unleashed their latest single, “Dopeness.” Ninja Tune’s resident weirdo Pop Levi offered up a goth-inspired pop anthem, “Pick-Me-Up Uppercut,” while Thursday ushered in the resurrection of Short Circuit’s Johnny Five, on Greenskeepers’ latest single. We capped off the week with Tracey Thorn’s Ewan Pearson-produced romantic banger, “Raise the Roof.” Raise it.
Escort “All Through the Night”
Pop Levi “Pick-Me-Up Uppercut”
Tracey Thorn’s “Raise the Roof”
Atlantic Connection Relapse
Atlantic Connection always uses samples well. “Relapse,” which even has a snippet of harmonica, is a wicked roller with string/brass stabs, underpinned by a throbbing, pulsating bassline. As you’d expect from the title, the flipside, “Alliance Amens,” is an amen workout. Heavily edited and filtered, it’s a bit tuffer than his normal style but it works.
Lenzman & Switch No More Tears
Lenzman is another producer coming on strong right now. Superb production with excellent musical touches. “No More Tears,” a collab with fellow Dutchman Switch, is built around a haunting, bluesy vocal–it’s been in my box for months. The flipside, “Live the Dream,” makes good use of mournful strings, tight beats, and a deep sub-line. Wicked stuff from Nookie’s label.
