Not so much crossing genres as they are disregarding them entirely, Jose Medeles (drummer for The Breeders) and David Coniglio of 1939 Ensemble weave entire aural landscapes form the sounds which surround them on a day to day basic. Whether it’s the sounds of a bustling city, the random (or are they) rhythms of nature, or simply the sound of a drum kit filtered through various sequencers and modulators, 1939 Ensemble deal in the extraordinary drawn out of the everyday things that we often take for granted. Jose Medeles recently took some time to talk with Beats Per [...]
Minneapolis natives Kazyak make music which blends the distinct characteristics of dozens of genres and obviously closely held influences and manages to produce something unique and free of any possibly expected sense of musical misappropriation. This is a band that allows their own personal musical predispositions to lead each song, never knowing exactly where they might end up from the time the first note is struck until that final ringing echo dissipates in the studio. By never pinning down their sound to any definable end, the band seems set free from the constraints of genre boundaries and is free to [...]
The two and a half year gap from Deerhunter’s last full length Halcyon Digest to their newest release Monomania , is the longest we’ve had to wait for new material from the prolific Atlanta band. This time we didn’t get an EP like Fluorescent Grey or Rainwater Cassette Exchange that bridged the gap between full lengths and helped to give an indication of what they might do next, so we were coming into this release relatively blind. Or perhaps we weren’t, and we just didn’t know it. The band have hardly been scarce [...]
In this day and age, demos are a strange thing to present to listeners. It still happens now, but years (if not decades) back, you’d find record label mail boxes full of bands and artists sending in demo tapes or CDs, waiting to be heard and in most cases, to be signed by the label so as to get the opportunity to spruce up the talent on offer. But with music’s “instant” appeal nowadays, you find musicians either creating full-fledged tracks and albums with what they have at hand, if not simply presenting themselves as someone who uses the limits [...]
Next week sees the release of Vampire Weekend's new album, Modern Vampires of the City . We've already heard a couple of cuts from it , but now you can also enjoy the lyric video for the track "Ya Hey" which features lots of champagne bottles being shook and sprayed towards the camera. Needless to say, Steve Buscemi would say it's all very wasteful. Watch the video below. The post Watch: Vampire Weekend - "Ya Hey" appeared first on Beats Per Minute .
Akron/Family's follow up to 20112s eccentrically named S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT may not have 6 different mixes floating around like that one did, but it's still experimental and unorthodox enough to satisfy any of their veteran fans. Sub Verses , like much of Akron/Family's discography, is defined by its inspirations. What makes it interesting is just how disparate those inspirations can be and the uncanny combinations that result. “Way Up” starts with a strong riff which exposes the band's love for a good old [...]
A couple of days ago we brought you the new single from Australian group World's End Press, called "Deadbeat Sweetheart." To follow on from that, you can now watch the accompanying video for the track, which compiles multiple old VHS-style clips that disintegrate into each other, like someone is picking apart the algorithm that makes the video play on your computer. Watch it below: The post Watch: World's End Press - "Deadbeat Sweetheart" appeared first on Beats Per Minute .
June Eighteen — KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 2, 2013 Musically, how much stronger can this year get? Just a bit ago, Kanye West revived his Twitter account to cryptically tweet out a date - June 18th - which instantly launched a barrage of speculation about a new album. And, well, it wouldn't be the first time . But this time around, there seems to be significant merit. As Pitchfork reported , hip-hop journalist Elliott Wilson tweeted that [...]
Born Ruffians celebrated the release of their third LP, Birth Marks, with a lively, sold out show at the Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday. Longtime fans made a point of showing up as soon as the doors opened, and I was fortunate enough to snag the last open space up front - right next to a group of especially drunk young women. Their enthusiasm throughout the opening acts, Ski Lodge and Moon King, grated on me at first. But it was early in Born Ruffiansʼ set that I realized that there are too few bands in existence whose fans know every [...]
Bass saxophonist Colin Stetson’s latest release New History Warfare Vol 3: To See More Light is bound to be as thoroughly dissected and analyzed as any of his previous records. There is something inherently technical—though still relatable—about his music, and this can lead to critics emphasizing the precision over the emotion—the method over Stetson’s apparent musical fervor. And while all these critiques are valid, if slightly monochromatic in their evaluation, to fully appreciate the wonders and ridiculously complicated rhythms of his music, there must be an equal presentation and appraisal of all aspects of the music. It’s no [...]
Throwbacks are easy, and arguably essential in the life of music, but they aren’t always a bad thing in the music world. Most people revert to nostalgia because they want to relive times past, or because it’s simply good to stay put in one place for an extended period of time, well after it has moved on. As much as people berate it, most of the time it’s harmless and – perhaps more importantly – fun. Hipster/geometry jokes aside, Sudbury five-piece The Almighty Rhombus are quite obviously a blast from the past, but they sound like their having nothing but [...]
Canadian electro pop group Young Galaxy know their way around the studio, having produced some of the most memorably glistening synthetic pop of the past few years-though it does help to have someone like producer Dan Lissvik (Studio) there manning the boards with you. The band decided to create their latest record Ultramarine away from their usual recording digs in Montreal and jumped the Atlantic to Sweden, where they holed up in Lissvik’s Gothenburg studio. Singer and group co-founder Catherine McCandless says of the move: “In being away from home, we felt like we could risk more. Take bigger chances.” [...]
Here's some krautrock dub from German drummer Thomas Klein. There's a menacing streak running underneath this music, not unlike the recent Haxan Cloak stuff, but this time with a stuttering glam-rock confidence and a hypnotic obsession with tribal percussive structures. Think Umberto taking peyote with Steve Roach and then partying with Aboriginal desert people, if that makes sense. It probably doesn't. But still, "Pierbourg" chugs along in stops and starts, seven minutes of shakers and foreboding synths and seventh-inning-stretch rhythms. It's like a "Welcome!" balloon tied to a "Keep Out" sign or a beckoning light flickering at the end of [...]
Hey folks, last month we posted about R&B-revivalist producer Kingdom , this week he's one of our new content partners, Pepsi Pulse's artist of the week ! On his latest single, “Break Head,” Kingdom (Ezra Rubin) features NYC-based vocalist Kelela, who sings, “And I need to let it out.” It’s a phrase that seems to apply quite aptly to the multi-faceted artist himself. A producer, record label founder, and visual artist, Kingdom is constantly producing new work. The kind of artist who never loses his creative capacity, Kingdom is preparing [...]
Brooklyn act Nude Beach is prepping a new 73 titled "What Can Ya Do" and b-sided with "I'm Giving Up", which is listenable below. You might want to add this one to your summer playlists, folks. The band is going to be selling the 73 on their summer tour (dates below). "What Can Ya Do / I'm Giving Up" is available July 9th on Other Music Recording Co. 06/20/13 - Northhampton, MA - Sierra Grille * 06/21/13 - Montreal, QC - Il Motore 06/22/13 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Explosion [...]
The Pennsylvania- based indie quintet Cherokee Red has made quite a name for themselves shaping and developing their own hazy mix of dream pop and jangle rock aesthetics. But instead of disregarding the obvious influences like so many other bands who tread this musical territory tend to do, Cherokee Red embrace their hazy pop lineage with a zealous fervor—which translates into a deep seated respect for the antecedent bands who carved out their own distinct dream pop niche in decades past. And there is no sense of complacency within the band, no sense of rote memorization. They are just as [...]
The lead single "Stand in the Sand" from young Chicago garage rockers Twin Peaks bears more than a passing resemblance to the scuzzed-up lo-fi rock of Thee Oh Sees or Ty Segall. Drawing inspiration as much from these modern peers as they do classic garage bands like The Sonics or The Monks, Twin Peaks blast through this two minute slice of melodic garage fuzz with all the zeal and fervor of someone hearing Fun House for the first time. Trading in pop licks as often as crunchy riffs, this group of 19-year-olds have an uncanny ability to channel [...]
Sam Cohen, the main man behind oblique indie pop moniker Yellowbirds, is no stranger to the DIY aesthetic that lo-fi indie rock aspires to. Having fronted the psych-pop band Apollo Sunshine, his workmanlike musical processes have already been honed to a fine edge. The video for his latest single "Young Men of Promise" definitely is proof that his well-documented self-reliance is still in peak form. The crudely realized, though curiously compelling, animation stands in stark contrast to the pristine melodies and multi-faceted instrumentation. This makes it all the more impressive once you realize the Cohen animated this video all by [...]
It's becoming increasingly difficult to separate any semblance of Teaadora Nikolova herself from the foundation of affectation on which her songs are built. Virgin Forever , the latest release under her Teaadora moniker, clearly has no interest in clearing up any measure of the confusion over just where the artistic boundaries lay regarding her often devastatingly personal narratives. But then again, her atonal drone folk tendencies were never going to win her any friends very easily. But on Virgin Forever, it's almost impossible to discern authenticity from the performance art aspect of her music. Not that that has ever [...]
Yesterday, Nowness delivered the third installment of ‘Shorts on Sundays,’ a series meant to feature innovative films from both emerging and established artists. Wildcat , this week’s short, is a six-minute piece directed by Kahlil Joseph and scored by Steven Ellision, better known as Flying Lotus. Both previously collaborated for the short film that accompanied Ellison’s (excellent) album, Until the Quiet Comes . Wildcat is a portrait of an all-Black rodeo community in the remote town of Grayson, Oklahoma (originally named Wildcat). The film pays tribute to Aunt Janet, a founding member of [...]
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