The legendary Radio One DJ Annie Mac (Annie Mac's Mash Up/Switch) is rolling into town as part of her 6-date North American tour. Set to play Barcelona on 6th in downtown Austin you have a chance to see her playing a pretty intimate venue for a DJ of her caliber who has played big stages at major dance festivals and has a massive following not only on British national radio but also across the globe via the streaming of her shows on the net.
If you love dance music, dancing or having an amazing time this is a no-brainer. RSVP via rsvp@learningsecretsmusic.com
If you're still not convinced then check out the lass herself in action here...
Drowned In Sound ran their own 'Neptune Music Prize' for exceptionally brilliant British albums released in the past year that weren't short-listed by the more well known Mercury Music Prize.
Late Of The Pier won with their debut album 'Fantasy Black Channel' which is a preposterously glorious (or gloriously preposterous) mixture of prog, dance and punk. The two runners up were Rolo Tomassi and Grammatics who also make very good music you should check out.
If there was an American version who would win? Black Eyed Peas? Wavves?
Yes, I admit I've been super lazy on my lack of FFFfest updates but I did buy my tickets the instant they went on sale last week (PIP, since you asked! Might as well see what the mystery event is...).
The lineup looks AMAZING to say the least, with bands I'm looking forward to watching including Ratatat, Crystal Castles, Of Montreal, Fuck Buttons and Destroyer.
Yesterday there were a number of art things going on in and around downtown Austin, all pretty cool, but one in particular that I was looking forward to. Public School, a collective of Austin based graphic artists and photographers, had a show of their work with some of the prints for sale at Thuderbird Coffee (which is a very nice coffee place for the record). In their own words: "PUBLIC SCHOOL is a group of creative folk working on the east side of Austin together, yet not together. The same studio, different professions. Similar tastes, varying favorite Bob Dylan song. Consistently unified love for the Mexican food on the east side of town."
I particularly like the work of Will Bryant who makes awesome graphic prints like this:
Also Justin Cox has some snazzy poster designs I want to decorate my future apartment's walls with:
I talked to a few of the guys and they were all super nice (cheers guys!) and told me that they have an open door policy over at their space and have parties every now and again for all you art lovers out there.
Also that night there was a display of digital art over at Club DeVille put on by Amoda, that featured a live set from Cadenece Weapon (his first show since becoming a poet laureate) and Florene, plus DJ sets from Mexicans With Guns and Space Jockey. I got some serious dance on during Cadence Weapon (who y'all should check out) so if you were there you might have seen a guy in a blue t-shirt and converse making frenzied shapes. Some of the art animations were very impressive too and I reccomend going along to future Amoda events.
I am super busy getting prepared for my wedding this Sunday in Austin! If you'd like to see what I get up to then check out my other blog over at http://myfirstyearinaustin.blogspot.com.
The last week or so has been hectic due to a fun-filled, yet exhausting, round the UK tour (the picture above is me in Edinburgh). There is now much boxing up and packing away to be done as we move all my stuff to my parents house for a while. I also have my bachelor party this Saturday and we leave for Austin on the 16th, yay!
Things I Am Currently Looking Forward To In Austin
Fun Fun Fun Fest! November 7 + 8, 2009
This looks amazing especially on the back of one Final Fantasy performance at the festival a while back that Holly showed me, which features a cover a Destroyer song called 'An Actor's Revenge' which is pretty brilliant.
Most of the line-up is yet to be announced but I think they already have me at Atlas Sound and Jesus Lizard.
Last year's Fantastic Fest had Paul Rudd introduce a special screening of Role Models, and Bill Murray made an appearance at the first audience screening of The City Of Ember. The festival is is billed as "an eight day festival of the best new Sci-Fi, Horror, Fantasy and genre films, as well as choice classic and obscure cult titles from all over the world". It hosts writers, directors and actors, both well established and unknown. There are also some special screenings presented by Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles. Enough to make all my film buff friends at home supremely jealous, so well deserving of the title 'fantastic' then!
PS As a farewell to the small music festivals of the UK I have enjoyed so much I am going to have people write festival diaries for the blog. If you are interested in doing this then let me know.
Sleep Whale hail from Denton TX and consist of guitarist/cellist Joel North and violinist/sequence programmer Bruce Blay. Together they blend the traditional and electronic in a way that is seamless and stirringly beautiful. They have a new EP called 'Little Brite' out now via Western Vinyl and it's very, very good.
The only music I can think of that I've heard even close to this is that of Lullatone but instead of a cutesy shtick and toy instruments they have a knack of having rich and varied instrumentation subtly coincide to make very dynamic soundscapes. From what I hear there aren't many public transport buses or much rain in Texas (and thus the chances of the two coinciding are slim), so I wonder if they will ever know that their music is the perfect accompaniment to such occasions.
If you like we have a free download their song 'Josh Likes Me'here. If you like it you can buy the whole EP here.
For those of you in Denton or Austin you can check them out live this week and next.
Jun 27 Denton, TX @ Hailey's w/ Power Animal Jul 2 Ausitn, TX @ Mohawk w/ Power Animal
This week Pagan Wanderer Lu released a new album 'Fight My Battles For Me' via Brainlove Records. I can vouch for the album being a particularly tasty slice of DIY/folktronica/funtime, but you don't have to take my word for it (though it is pretty good). Instead you can hear all about the album from the man himself via an online journal running all this week in which he discusses his music track by track.
Joseph Scott makes richly textured and euphoric electronica for dreamers. Maybe the fact that he is a bedroom musician explains why I feel like his music is perfect bedroom listening. Like the kind where you lie in bed with big headphones and closed eyes. Hot waterbottle optional.
'You Keep Me Hidden' is his fantastic new EP and we are exclusively giving you two of the songs to download for free.
To say that Joseph is a relative unknown and yet he has home-produced such a well crafted collection here shows a lot of promise. The vocals are often lost in a warm haze of harmony which leaves the listener to interpret their own meanings, or even visualise floating on peaceful waves and fireworks brightly exploding in frantic pulses of emotion.
The opening song 'You Keep Me Hidden' fills the senses with ethral beauty in each lingering note. The glitchy tempo breathes life into 'What We Do Right Is Wrong' and it turns into a seriously lush shoegaze daydream. 'Celeste' immerses you as it goes from quiet to loud to quiet again, providing some shape-making beats along the way. Closer 'In Youth' certainly takes you to a Summer afternoon, in a park somewhere feeling the Sun's heat on your skin, then it finishes all too soon whilst still echoing in your ears.
This year has been good so far for indie bands with a certain dreamy sound and blissed out harmonies that stick in your head for days. If you can't get enough of Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear (and I wouldn't blame you) and you need pointing in the right direction of even more warm fuzzy sounds, look no further than to Here We Go Magic.
You might recognise frontman Luke Temple for his previous solo work, though he has made some serious progression with his latest project. Here We Go Magic, features pretty much everything that has made music great for me for the last few years. Dense layers, harmonies, lush electronica, interesting rythms, kraut influences, the works. Futhermore, Sufjan Stevens described Luke's voice as "one of the most beautiful… in pop music.", so winner basically.
Although compared to their contempories they have a more hazy and somewhat lo-fi ambient sound, this is in no way a bad thing. Throughout their self-titled debut they proved time and again that they are just as capable of capturing those perfect moments of strange beauty in their music. With so many rich layers to get lost in, it might well impress most people that the whole album was recorded solo with just a four-track cassette recorder. In fact I'll go on record as saying "I'm very impressed!".
With more members recruited for the live band, Here We Go Magic are on tour for the next couple of months both in the US and Europe. Most US shows will be in support of fellow Brooklyn band Grizzly Bear so I highly recommend seeing the both of them this time around if you can. Fellow Austinites will be lucky enough to see them both not only this month but also at ACL festival (now if only I could find a way to get tickets for that...) which gives you zero excuse for not seeing them.
06/11 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle* 06/12 Atlanta, GA The Earl 06/13 Birmingham, AL The Bottletree 06/15 Dallas, TX Granada Theater* 06/16 Austin, TX The Parish* 06/18 Tuscon, AZ The Rialto 06/19 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern* 06/21 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore* 06/22 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore* 06/24 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios 06/25 Seattle, WA Chop Suey 06/28 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge 06/30 Indianapolis, IN Radio Radio 07/01 Pittsburgh, PA Brillobox 07/03 New York, NY South Street Seaport 07/05 London, UK Wireless Festival - Bella Union Stage 07/06 London, UK ICA - Bella Union Stage 07/07 London, UK Madame JoJo's 'White Heat' 07/08 Sheffield, UK Drowned In Sound Night 07/09 Glasgow, UK Captain's Rest 07/10 Liverpool, UK Korova 'Evol' 07/11 Leeds, UK The Faversham 'Bad Sneakers' 07/13 Paris, FR Maroquinerie 10/03 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Festival 10/04 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Festival * w/ Grizzly Bear
The self-titled album will be released 29th June on Western Vinyl.
I meant to post this last week but fell asleep and dreamt that I posted it. True story. That's not to say I fell asleep becuase of Keyboard Choir, a band who weave a lush electronic tune or two. I was all blogged out after spending way too much time on my laptop.
I first saw this band at Truck 9 in 2006 and they were dressed up as robots in a very DIY fashion. I thought to myself, I like robots so I'll check this out. It was pretty frantic and fun from what I remember of the occasion. I was, to be fair, on my 32nd hour of being awake and my 5th can of cider so the facts are vague.
So then last week I heard via their awesome record label, Brainlove Records, that they were featuring in the Independent online and giving away their latest EP ' Electrical Unity' for free via Last FM. I thought to myself "I'll have some of that then".
I think my love of Cursive has been somewhat revitalised since hearing 'From The Hips'. Tim Casher sounds as intense and vital as he did on the fantastic 'The Ugly Organ'. Thus overtaking a certain genius turned hippie (sans Mogis), also from Omaha, in my most played when I want to just get it all out.
Cursive's new album 'Mama, I'm Swollen' is out today via Saddle Creek and I recommend you give it a listen.
You might remember that we recently blogged about Oh Minnows, the new musical project from Semifinalists' Chris Steele-Nicholson. Well their first ever release, the rather lovely 'Might' EP, is being released on Monday June 29th as a limited edition 7" vinyl by Young And Lost Club.
A quick update for you all...
"‘The acutely intimate ’Might’ was finally compiled, mixed and mastered in seclusion upon his return to his home town of Chicago Illinois. With the preparation and production of the songs on Oh Minnows debut release being so deeply personal, the US singer decided to play everyinstrument on the single, to guarantee the final product turned out the way he intended.
Chris grew up very near the Great Lakes, where being in and around the water was a regular ritual for the residents of the area. On the naming of his new incarnation "The first form of aquatic life that greets you in this tenuous situation are these schools of Minnows" he reminisces. "I‘ve always admired them for their handsome appearance and strong sense of community"."
I am very happy indeed then that we have a copy of this fantastic EP to give away to one lucky person. There might also be some extra goodies thrown in for good measure courtesy of the awesome and generous folks at Young And Lost.
If you would like to win then just post a comment below and your email address or email me at kyumirecords@gmail.com with Oh Minnows as the subject. The competition is open to any and everyone until 12 noon Monday 15th June and the winner will then be chosen at random.
Los Campesinos! are probably on their like 3rd or 4th US tour at this point so you don't really need me to tell you you should really go see this band.
However, I will tell you nontheless. Go. See. This. Band.
They are amazing.
--------------------------------------------- Los Camesinos! US Tour: August 2009
04 New York, NY Webster Hall 05 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 06 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop 07 Indianapolis, IN Spin Nightclub 08 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza 11 St. Louis, MO Firebird 12 Kansas City, MO Record Bar 14 Austin, TX Emos Outside 15 Dallas, TX Granada Theatre 16 Houston, TX Warehouse (Studio) 19 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad 20 Tucson, AZ Club Congress 21 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre 22 Pomona, CA Glass House 23 Costa Mesa, CA Detroit Bar 25 Las Vegas, Nevada Beauty Bar 28 San Francisco, CA Outside Lands Festival 29 San Diego, CA Street Scene ---------------------------------------------
P.S.
Gareth Campesinos! was on his holidays in Devon recently and for fun sent out postcards to people who requested them. In return the reciver of the postcard had to post a picture of themselves with said postcard.
In their own words "PARTYNICE is a new online art and culture magazine, named after a suburb of the Polish city of Wroclaw, and run by an internationally-based collective of creative people".
It is also a pretty darn good read, especially if like me you are looking to find something truly interesting when trawling the internet in boredom. From real-life stories of police shootings in Poland to shared blind date experiences, photography of an earthquake aftermath to band interviews.
The contributors choose anything they like for their subject matter but somehow the results are always compelling.
All music we have to listen on the site is in streaming format for sample purposes only to support artists. I only link to downloads when they are given for free by the bands themselves.
Bring your dancing shoes boys and girls!
Yesterday there were a number of art things going on in and around downtown Austin, all pretty cool, but one in particular that I was looking forward to. Public School, a collective of Austin based graphic artists and photographers, had a show of their work with some of the prints for sale at Thuderbird Coffee (which is a very nice coffee place for the record). In their own words: "PUBLIC SCHOOL is a group of creative folk working on the east side of Austin together, yet not together. The same studio, different professions. Similar tastes, varying favorite Bob Dylan song. Consistently unified love for the Mexican food on the east side of town."
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