Speaking of Ratatat, the Brooklyn electronic duo have dropped a new music video for the track “Drugs” off of their latest CD, LP4. The video which was directed by Carl Burgess, is not unlike their past video accompaniments, this time weirding viewers out with shots of awkwardly posited people.
Nowonder is the alias of aspiring Los Angeles-based electronic-pop recording artist, Danny Choi. With an extensive background in music, including a stint working with the music production staff of the hit television program “Yo Gabba Gabba,” Choi has long since honed his craft and geared it towards developing his own burgeoning production career. Stylistically, the highly infectious hooks and atmospheric electronic bits in the Nowonder tunes delineate the young musician’s diverse tastes and songwriting precision. Like many independent musicians today, Choi utilizes a ‘one-man operation’ approach in the skillful writing, production and mixing processes in his work (the quality of such, however, sets him apart from the rest).
The track “Manic” is one of Nowonder’s first public offerings and a great one at that. Influences like French dance duo Justice and Brooklyn electro favorites Ratatat are definitely felt in this chaotic dance song. More importantly, however, is the fact that it sounds as if Choi’s been at it just as long as the aforementioned artists.
Listen to “Manic” here:
The track, along with two others (”Fall” and “Dream”) available for download on Bandcamp.
The Dead Weather is a super-group based out of Nashville, Tennessee comprised of Alison Mosshart of The Kills, Jack White of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age, and Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs. If you didn’t already know all of that, now you know (and you probably now understand that they make damn good rock and roll, which they do). The band performed the fuzzed-out single “Blue Blood Blues” off of their latest record, Sea of Cowards, on The Letterman Show last night and, quite frankly, it demonstrates why the state of the rock genre needs Jack White back center stage.
The Canadian indie supergroup, Broken Social Scene, have long since been on a roll following the release of their 5th full-length album, Forgiveness Rock Record in May of this year. The collective consists of an ever-changing roster of musicians including Leslie Feist, Stars, Apostle of Hustle, amongst a slew of others. The music video for their second single off of the aforementioned album, “Forced To Love” features holographic type visuals of the band.
Check out the video, directed by Makapoon here:
Forgiveness Rock Record is in stores via Arts & Crafts now.
The multi-talented graphic artist and producer, Dan Nguyen (aka Demon Slayer) has been steady on his grind, performing live sets regularly as well as being commissioned for various mural projects. Luckily for those of us unfortunate enough to not have experienced a Demon Slayer performance as of yet, filmmaker Eye Tape has shot and edited an amazing video to accompany one of the artist’s cosmic tracks. The music video features snippets from one of Nguyen’s performances at the “Fly Ball” event at the Grand Star Jazz Club in Los Angeles.
The music video for the second single off of Body Talk, Pt. 1 by Swedish dance-pop artist, Robyn, takes a different approach from her others. Complimenting the song’s more down-played electronic pop, the video offers a glimpse into the life of a touring musician.
If you weren’t lucky enough to catch the Gorillaz at the Coachella Festival this year, things are looking up for you, friend. In support of the band’s fantastic latest record, Plastic Beach, the Gorillaz have announced that they will embark on a world-wide tour spanning North America in October, Europe in November, Australia and New Zealand in December, and Hong Kong in yet to be determined dates. More information including ticket pricing here.
The ‘Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour 2010′ trailer:
It should come as no surprise that Canadian electronic pop maestro Caribou (alternately known by his former alias, Manitoba) is not only a gifted essential one-man band, but an accomplished mathematics scholar. Daniel Victor Snaith’s 2010 breakthrough release, Swim, is wholly demonstrative of the musician’s cerebral approach to both his passion in academia as well as in his aural craft. The dance-worthy lush soundscapes Snaith creates in his latest album are the result of his application of chord sequences and logic in his songwriting and some truly and feasibly evocative of progression.
Check out the correspondingly trippy new music video for Caribou’s latest single “Sun”:
Download and listen to “Sun” (Courtesy of Ca Va Cool):
Australian psychedelic indie rockers Tame Impala are the talk of the town (or rather, the ‘blogosphere’) and with good reason. The Perth natives bring to the table a refreshing sound that hearkens back to a generation in which tunes were most inspired and driven by the latest magic mushrooms or LSD an artist had consumed. Retro guitar effects and distortion? Check. Crazy tempo/time changes sure to blow the mind of the young stoner listening intently? Check. It would seem that the band went about their songwriting for their hit self-titled EP bearing these thoughts in mind as the end result was a groovy retro work capable of transporting listeners to other aurally-induced realms that would otherwise necessitate a whole lot of acid. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if a friend had me listen to their record and told me that these lanky Aussie hipsters wrote it in the 60’s.
Already hitting number one on the Australian Independent Record Labels chart as well as huge supporting slots with the likes of heavy hitters such like Yeasayer, The Black Keys, and MGMT and with the release of their debut full-length under their collective belt, it’s safe to say these newcomers are set to take over. Thanks to Annie Nguyen for reminding me about their album.
By Blake Gillespie» Speak! might be the 34th best rapper alive, but remixing the number one band in the world will undoubtedly raise his indie-cred tenfold - might even crack a few top 30 lists.
Sleigh Bells, Sleigh Bells, Sleigh Bells. Treats got that Best New Music tag, which puts their music into the news of the Jonas Brothers and Jessica Alba tweets. The sky probably is not the limit for bands that get this big. Sleigh Bells could be the first band to play on the moon - I think we have the technology to send them there - fuck it, if we don’t have the fuel to bring them home. It’s about the legendary status, right?
L.A. rapper Speak! chopped up SB’s “Infinity Guitars” into his “Infinity Rap Bars” (Remix) and managed to lessen the swelling in my head that pulsates on some Tell Tale Heart insanity each time I read praise of this god forsaken band. I took enough French in college, to feel as though I got something in common with Speak! when he raps, “if you ask why every store has a French name / I’ll kick you to the curb and replace you with a French dame.”
Download “Infinity Rap Bars” and Speak!’s free EP here.
Ratatat - Drugs (Music Video)
