Photos of HEALTH at Red 7 - June 26, 2010
One of the best shows I've seen this year.
All photos by Mary Rehak
Click here to see the full set
One of the best shows I've seen this year.
All photos by Mary Rehak
Click here to see the full set
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Missions
Austin is quickly becoming a breeding ground for synth/electro/dance bands. Missions are yet another great example of this. Consisting of Josh Mills (ex Clap Clap), Markus Diffee (DJ Markus With A K), and Amber Zook, Missions operates on the dark side of synth-pop. Their percussion-heavy sound is filled out with cavernous synth lines and echoing vocal effects, fit for a dance party with the lights turned low.
Missions have been compared to Glass Candy, and Trent Reznor getting it on with The xx. You can download a slew of their original tracks and remixes at missionsinspace.com. You've got two chances to catch them live this week until they take a break until late August to record a 7''.
"Darrk/Blakk" vs Defying Gravity:
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Video: Harlem
"Someday soon you'll be on fire, and you'll ask me for a glass of water. I'll say no. You can just let that shit burn, and you'll say please please please put me out. I promise not to do it again, whatever I did to you."This is the third video from Hippies, the second full length album from Harlem. The songwriting and vocal duties are evenly shared by Michael Coomer and Curtis O'Mara, who switch between guitar/vox and drums alongside newly-added bassist Jose Boyer. Harlem will be opening a bunch of shows for The Dead Weather starting next month, along with a stop at the Village Voice Siren Music Festival.
The video for "Sometime Soon" was directed by Aaron Brown & Ben Chappell of Focus Creeps, adding to their already impressive repertoire.
Tame Impala
I got turned onto Aussie rockers Tame Impala about two years ago. They are a rainbow sandstorm of stoned riffage, mindbending melody and blissed out adventurism from the most isolated city in the world - Perth, Australia. As the story goes, the trio came together in 2007 after playing in various other outfits, forming Tame Impala over a shared appreciation of drum beats and The Beatles. Their debut album is titled InnerSpeaker, released stateside on June 8th, 2010 via Modular.
Mixed by renowned sonic maverick Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT), the label calls InnerSpeaker "an explosive cosmic wonderland of ecstatic harmony and journeys into inner space." The first thing that came to mind when I sat down to listen to the album was that it sounds like the Beatles took some drugs and met up with Jimi Hendrix for a jam session. I have a sweet spot for the vintage rock 'n roll sounds of the '60s and '70s, and InnerSpeaker hits the mark.
A few weeks ago, Tame Impala traveled over the river and through the woods to a top-secret location, known only as Camp Nowhere, to play some tunes for Yours Truly. One capture is below, and another is here.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Fresh Millions
Fresh Millions is a live electronic band from right here in the ATX. After much time spent at the drawing board, the funk-infused dance rock trio released their self-titled debut album earlier this year via Insect Records. Using an animated mix of computers, synthesizers, and live instruments, Fresh Millions blends disco-era bass lines and electro-era pop with heavy, danceable beats. The band made the excellent choice of luring in Bryan Richie of The Sword to handle production on their album, making it the metal head's first foray into electronic music.Their sound (and highly entertaining live show) has drawn comparisons to the likes of Passion Pit and Ratatat, and they are certainly making a name for themselves in the 512. The Austin Chronicle said "Imagine if you cut out all of MGMT's psychedelic tangents and Ratatat reassembled them. That's a decent starting point for Fresh Millions. The local daft punks craft collage-rock, layering live instrumentals over snippets from old jazz records."
You can catch Fresh Millions live at a couple of local shows coming up with fellow friends of the blog - All My Friends and Auto Body. They played recent Electric Aquatic Club voyage about a week ago, and talented young videographer Emmett Perkinson (aka Video Bacon) made this mash-up of their performance and the best scenes from Apocalypse Now.
New Interpol
Interpol recently announced a September release date for their long-awaited 4th album. Mixed by Alan Moulder (Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, NIN) the self-titled album will be released on September 7. Original bassist Carlos D split, so filling out the touring lineup will be David Pajo (Slint, Papa M, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) on bass and the Secret Machines’ Brandon Curtis on keyboards. Today marks the debut of the creepy-ass video for “Lights”, directed by Charlie White.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Maniac Meat
Tobacco is the mad scientist/frontman of Black Moth Super Rainbow, and Maniac Meat is his sophomore solo effort. Is has been said many times before, but this guy really is like a one-man genre. Nobody sounds like him, and he doesn't sound like anyone else. His tools of the trade are vintage analog synthesizers, vocoder-ized vocals, melted basslines, barrels of distortion, psychedelic fuzz, 8-bit videogame sounds, and danceable drum machine beats.Maniac Meat is 16 tracks long, and is a noticeable step forward from Tobacco's solo debut. The beats and rhythyms on this record sound like they come from another world. It even features a cameo from none other than Beck, who lays down vocals on two different tracks. I think if you put hip-hop verses over some of this stuff it would be the grimiest thing ever heard. Having said that, I hear rumor that Tobacco's next release is an all hip-hop affair that will feature many an indie-rap guest-star.
From Anticon:
"Seemingly relegating Black Moth Super Rainbow to “side project” status, that band’s mastermind TOBACCO returns with a record designed to bully his previous works into a corner, gut them, and leave ’em for dead. Though Maniac Meat is steeped in the Pennsylvania-based artist’s swampy analog aesthetic, this is not an album about looking back – neither to the black psychedelic pop of BMSR, nor to the warped rap thump of TOBACCO’s 2006 debut, Fucked Up Friends.
Rather, this album emerged as antithesis. TOBACCO crafted Maniac Meat as he put the finishing touches on BMSR’s more accessible last record, Eating Us, treating the solo release as a depository for his more primal urges. The only live instrumentation to cross over was the guttural stuff: thrashing bass and clanging drums. But even as the TOBACCO material grew darker, deeper and nastier in tone, it also became something with real swag. Not a hip-hop record, per se – just something that parties like one."
Monday, June 21, 2010
New Indian Jewelry
TOTALED is their latest record from Houston psych/drone/noise rock band Indian Jewelry. I first saw this band some years ago when Emo's was still doing shows in the "lounge", and I really didn't "get it." My second introduction was earlier this year at Austin Psych Fest, and the second time around I couldn't get enough. Their current sound is fierce in a live setting, with pulsating drones that hit you right in the chest, and a dark, sinister vibe full of throbbing feedback and burning amps. TOTALED is out now on We Are Free.
"Erika Thrasher and Tex Kerschen wrote and recorded the record in 2009 in Houston and Los Angeles. In it is the swamp electro of 2003's We Are The Wild Beast, the nightmare throb of 2005's Invasive Exotics, and the sonic angel dream of 2008's Free Gold. It's like arriving to the beach, headspun and weightless after a sleepless night, only to remember that a hurricane has come and wiped almost everything away. Hard grass crawls back over the improvised dunes, a few men fish in the surf, and Tejano music plays from the speakers of a parked pick-up."Indian Jewelry are back in Austin this Saturday at Red 7, opening for HEALTH. It will be one hellacious show. You can pick up tickets in advance via www.red7austin.com.
Friday, June 18, 2010
S U R V I V E
Last week I went to see Neon Indian play at Emo's. While I was too hot and exhausted to even stay long enough to see them take the stage (unlike Krista De La Rosa), I did catch (and thoroughly enjoy) another local synth-based band called S U R V I V E, whose downtempo electronic vibe quickly caught full attention. They're a four-piece who have been playing around town since May of 2009, recently releasing a 10'' record on the local outlet Light Lodge. Here's a taste of LLR002:
After doing a bit of research I found that a few of their tracks have also been featured on a couple of interesting mixtapes. One was done for Vice by Texas native Tommy ‘Boy’ Blackburn, whose "Texas Love Triangle" mix solely features the works of acts from Houston, Dallas, and Austin. Included is everything from Industrial EBM to Techno, Leftfield Disco to Electro, Deep House to Minimal Wave and even a little Screwgaze for good measure. Check it out here.
The other mix was done by Dubbel Dutch (a.k.a. Marc Glasser), a 24-year-old NY native who now calls Austin home. On this mix, the Austin installment of XLR8R's ongoing City Guide podcast series, Dubbel Dutch surveys the sounds of Austin, also finding the time to include plenty of unreleased tracks and a number of his own remixes. Check it out here.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Do512 Presents: Girls Who Rock
Onion Creek Productions will be on hand to film the entire performance with multiple HD camera angles and professional audio. They are a full service video and TV production company that works with unique companies, artists, and individuals in Austin who are at the top of their craft. Onion Creek Productions utilizes the latest high-definition camera gear and lights to create the highest quality video available. Whether it's a music video, live concert DVD, micro-documentary, promotional video or anything in between, they are a turn-key video solution. Check out some of their work at onioncreekproductions.com.
Your entertainment for the night:
After seeing Ume live in Brooklyn, the NYC label Pretty Activity released their debut “Urgent Sea” in 2005. The album was called “about as good as it gets” by the Philadelphia Weekly. The band rejoined in Austin in 2007 and recorded their latest Sunshower EP with Frenchie Smith (Trail of Dead, Dandy Warhols) at The Bubble in 2008. Ume has performed at places like CMJ, SXSW, and Fun Fun Fun Fest, and tracks from their latest EP have been heard on Seattle’s KEXP, Portland’s KNRK, and Austin’s 101X.
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Candi and the Strangers (who I just featured) officially formed in January 2009 after their producer, Erik Wofford (The Black Angels, Voxtrot, The Octopus Project), decided to step out from behind the mixing board and join the band. Their psych-dream pop sound combines lush arrangements, driving beats, layers of vibraphone, organ, omnichord and guitar mixed with honeyed female vocals. The band has been compared to the likes of Broadcast, Blonde Redhead, The Velvet Underground, Ladytron and Portishead, just to name a few. Here's a snippet from the Austin Sound review of their debut album:
"There’s something intentionally seductive layered into Candy and the Strangers LP - a permeation of sex into dark, driving, indie-rock, which makes for good listening by principle (think of the successes of international act the XX, or the awkwardly erotic phonetics of Nico with the Velvet Underground.) A little tension is good, and Candi and the Strangers seem to revel in the fusing of dark, bedroom-style synth-pop with breathy, subdued, near-hypnotic female vocals."
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
An Ultra8201 Birthday
The Ultra8201 birthday show will be taking place this Thursday at The Parish. To make it a proper party, they booked the 6-piece dance pop group L.A.X, Love at 20, Politics, and pre-teen rockers The Redboys. The talented Alison Narro will also be on hand with her photo booth. Doors are at 9pm, cover is $8 or $6 with RSVP. This local love affair is sponsored by Do512, Knuckle, Rumbler, Austin Eavesdropper, Alison Narro, Sailor Legs, uLovei, The Glitoris and The Peen Scene.
L.A.X began in 2005 with Andrew Collins and Erin Jantzen as an electro duo with a fresh sound and invigorating live performance. By early 2009, the duo had grown three-fold, adding Yadira Brown (Vocals), Jon Oswald (Drums), Rory Allen Phillips (Guitar), Chris D'Annunzio (Bass), and occasionally joined by Santiago Vela (percussion). Their breakthrough performances at 2009's ACL Festival, Fun Fun Fun Fest and SXSW 2010 have been followed up with a solid string of shows in Austin and other cities around Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. To get a feel for their live performances, check out this sweet video created by the multi-talented Onion Creek Productions.
Austin’s Redboys are a unique set of brothers whose love for the classics, as well as some of today’s best making modern rock, will likely inspire great music from the two in the future. They have played some of the best venues in Austin, including Antone’s, The Parish, The Ghost Room and The Mohawk, including shows during the SXSW Music Festival in 2010. They also are part of a four-piece band, called A Flock of Spiders.
Ben Redman: 11-year old Ben has been playing drums since before he could walk. His skills were honed through classical jazz training from the age of 5. His musical inspirations include Neil Peart (RUSH), Jon Bonham (Led Zeppelin), Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa) and Dominic Howard (Muse). Ben also plays guitar and sings.
Max Redman: 9-year old Max Redman followed in his big brothers footsteps with music at an early age, with lessons beginning at age 6. Max’s musical influences range from Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen), Jack White (White Stripes) and Matthew Bellamy (Muse). -Above The Radar
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