Xeno And Oaklander - Sets And Lights By Rob Barker If you’ve listened to previous Wierd Records releases, chances are you’ll know roughly what to expect from Xeno and Oaklander ’s latest release. Consisting of Sean McBride (aka Martial Canterel) and his Three To Forgotten bandmate Liz Wendelbo, X&O dish out analogue synth driven coldwave, while adding their own flavour and modernity. From the opening title track of Sets And Lights , it’s clear that the pair’s dedication to analogue equipment has paid off, with the pounding bass and arpeggiated [...]
Anyone familiar with the 80s arcade game Out Run should remember the high tempo, rapid fire, plaster-a-pixelated-smile-on-y our-face synth of Splash Wave – one of the songs from the soundtrack. Now imagine that track played over and over again, except instead of being accompanied by brightly coloured, flashing 8-bit graphics, you get drab imagery of futuristic run-down housing estates and sleazy nightclubs. Welcome to Xeno and Oaklander’s Sets & Lights . The title track and opening song, Sets & Lights , sets the tone for the rest of the album with its theatrically dark [...]
Xeno & Oaklander are on Wierd Records and represent it pretty perfectly. The Brooklyn label has been, for many years, a famous home for icy, minimal synths, and here X & O—comprised of Liz Wendelbo ... read more
Oct 4, 2011, 1:03pm
Popop
Kõlab nagu 80ndate jahedam külg. Sündifriik Frank Alpine liitus hiljuti NY Wierd Records iga, see hullus siin on esimene maitse tema uusimalt ilmutiselt. Frank Alpine - Dark Places ( mp3 )
led er est - "lonesome xoxo" (download)" Brooklyn's Led Er Est recently released this 6-song EP May on the always impressive Captured Tracks label. Gritty, modern, minimal synth. They have also released stuff on Wierd Records. buy
Wierd Records, 2011 New Orleans-based darkwave trio Kindest Lines seem to have a sinister, masochistic love of the Cure's Faith era that is tempered only by an earnest regard for the poppy instrumentation and song structures found on A Flock of Seagulls record. It may seem laughable to mention A Flock of Seagulls in the same sentence as the Cure, but Kindest Lines seem to understand that even the most highly-regarded pieces of New Wave music in the eighties were as intrinsically linked to their aesthetic as they were to their core subject matter: [...]
Musically, Miami is a very electronic-based city, as recently confirmed by ‘my first’ WMC that had just passed last week. I unfortunately can’t get into the nebulous area of ‘house music’, even if explained and rationalized by folks whom I admire and see eye-to-eye with in so many other areas. It seems most of the electronic music down here induces a shared euphoric experience for listeners based on a series of crescendos and cadences marked by the DJs raised arms in the fog. This lovely city is really built around this kind of dj-participant relationship, and if not negotiated with, [...]
First, check out this INSANE Hounds From Gert Town tune via a YouTube post (hey, it's all I can do right now) ... And, without further ado, here is thee Top-10; it's a doozy: 1. Sam Prekop (Solo album = ... Continue reading
As the streets began to grow cold, and ice hung around the corners of the darkness in D.C., the much lauded cold wave/minimal synth night No Love Lost (which, full disclosure, I helped to launch) made a pact with the infamous Fan Death Records, to transport modern synth duo Xeno and Oaklander to the area. Swept into the fray as well were prodigal newcomers Phonic Riot, one man entropy machine Death Domain, and long time NLL/FDR conspirators Screen Vinyl Image. But, before the revelries began, I was able to sit down for [...]
we're back with that occasional series of ours where we invite musicians to share a song they've been waking up to lately. this time, we're honored to have as our guest sharon van etten , who has a new album epic out on october 5 on ba da bing records . Lately, I have been obsessed with this band from Montreal called Automelodi . I work at a record label ( Ba Da Bing Records ) and my boss, Ben, is constantly getting new [...]
Former LWMB contributor Frank Deserto likes to burn the candle at both ends. In addition to blogging and frequently DJing around the Big Apple, he's also a member of Revel Hotel . The two-year-old synth-pop quartet draw inspiration from David Bowie, The Human League, Tears For Fears, Scott Walker, and Depeche Mode, and they just released a fine debut EP called The Beating Of The Wings . With gigs at the notorious Wierd Records party and performances at various Lower East Side haunts under their belt, Revel Hotel — whose lineup is rounded out [...]
Automelodi: Pression There’s only two types of people that still sport bowl cuts: monks and New Wave frontmen. For the sake of our ears, Xavier Paradis is the latter. This Montreal singer’s been kicking around the ‘coldwave’ scene for over a decade, first as Arnaud Lazlaud and now as Automelodi . While he shares a label with Frank (Just Frank) and Led Er Est , there’s nothing too gothy about him; taking cues from 60’s/70’s classics, [...]
Mere weeks ago, Brooklyn-based band Led Er Est released their debut album, Dust on Common , via Wierd Records . Clocking in at nine short, but sweet tracks of disco/minimal synth bliss, this record is easily my favorite release of 2009. Every track is absolutely killer, including the Italo-laced " Port Isabel ," the fast and furious "Unkept Area," and the slow, melodic crawl of " CC Exit ." The band have just unveiled a video for "Laredo," yet another solid standout and testament to Dust on Common' s perfection. The video [...]
It's been several years in the making, but Xeno & Oaklander have finally dropped their highly anticipated full-length via Wierd Records. Sentinelle features 12 tracks of pulsing electronics and warm vocal melodies, combining the ice-cold edge minimal synth with the lush romanticism of shoegaze. A top contender for best record of the year on my list, Sentinelle is the band's first proper studio debut, following a limited edition CD-R release in 2007. Meanwhile, the band have been earning a rabid cult following (both at home and abroad) thanks to their adamant analog pursuits and impressive live [...]
It's been several years in the making, but Xeno & Oaklander have finally dropped their highly anticipated full-length via Wierd Records. Sentinelle features 12 tracks of pulsing electronics and warm vocal melodies, combining the ice-cold edge minimal synth with the lush romanticism of shoegaze. A top contender for best record of the year on my list, Sentinelle is the band's first proper studio debut, following a limited edition CD-R release in 2007. Meanwhile, the band have been earning a rabid cult following (both at home and abroad) thanks to their adamant analog pursuits and impressive live [...]
Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics Vol 1 Compilation Nothing beats a good compilation, especially one that’s been 2 years in the making and tackles such mandatory listening such as the French early 80’s Coldwave scene. Titled “Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics Vol 1” and due to be released in early 2010, it was compiled by the good people at Angular and Weird Records. They are also chronicling the development and background to this compilation via its official blog , which makes for a very pleasant [...]
Montreal-based Automelodi returned to the dark dungeon of Home Sweet Home last night for a highly anticipated midnight performance. Last time they played the weekly Wierd Wednesday soiree, they had just dropped Fait Ses Courses , a slim and powerful package of nouveau-wave that still sounds as exciting as the moment it was unveiled . The three-piece swayed and swaggered on the thin wooden stage, combining drum machines and live percussion with catchy guitar hooks, dirty synthesizers, tambourines, and sensual French vocals for a perfectly dark, passionate, and most importantly, dance-worthy set. Though [...]
Last time I checked in with minimal experimentalists Led Er Est , I wasn't wild about their performance, but knew, with that glint in each member's eye, that there was something special about them; that some rare talent and unique sound lay ripe for awakening. Well, last night, almost a year after I was first exposed to the band, everything clicked in its right place for a display of rare synthetic bliss. This particular performance precedes the anticipated release of the band's debut LP, Dust on Common , due out on Wierd Records this [...]
Just a few months ago, New York City post-punk/coldwave band Blacklist released their stunning debut , Midnight of the Century, on Wierd Records . Since then, the band have been soaking up the accolades with a slew of positive reviews, several prominent local appearances, and countless amounts of industry buzz. The band are mere hours away from shipping off to Europe to play their first gig abroad, but not before unveiling the long-awaited video for MOTC's lead-off single, "Flight of the Demoiselles," directed by Iqbal Ahmed. The kaleidoscopic footage does a fantastic job of capturing the band [...]
Another week, and another solid Wierd Records event come and gone. Wierd Records [sic] is both a record label and a weekly party, set primarily on cultivating a new wave of underground music. Wierd's vigilant efforts have fostered the resurgence of minimal synth and coldwave music deep in the bowels of New York City and beyond. Beginning as a weekly club night, Wierd has expanded into a full fledged record label with the release of two prominent compilations and the debut record from New York post-punk darlings Blacklist . Meanwhile, the weekly Wednesday night party, taking place at the illustrious and darkly [...]
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