Pitchfork Festival 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

The final Pitchfork Festival lineup has now been announced, and in addition to previously announced acts like R. Kelly, Joanna Newsom, and Swans, it now includes M.I.A., Lil B, Solange, Wire, Yo La Tengo, Low, Savages, Toro Y Moi, Phosphorescent, Metz, Autre Ne Veut, Mikal Cronin, Parquet Courts, Merchandise, Woods, Julia Holter, Glass Candy, Andy Stott, Pissed Jeans, Frankie Rose, Ryan Hemsworth, Waxahatchee, Blood Orange, Daughn Gibson, Evian Christ, White Lung, KEN Mode, and DJ Rashad.

Three-day passes and single-day tickets are still available.

In other Chicago music festival news, Lollapalooza early bird passes went on sale today, sold out, and then regular 3-day passes went on sale and sold out. Single day tickets go on sale April 9.

Full Pitchfork Festival lineup and schedule below...

Continue reading "M.I.A., Solange, Wire, Savages, Phosphorescent, Julia Holter, Waxahatchee, KEN Mode & more added to Pitchfork Festival"

Andy Stott/Lee "Scratch" Perry

As mentioned, tickets went on sale today for the previously announced Red Bull Music Academy events, which take over NYC from April 28 to May 31. And now that those are on sale, the rest of the lineup has been announced. In addition to the newly-added Flying Lotus show at Terminal 5, the Red Bull Music Academy events now also include...

A Bunker party with Andy Stott, Atom TM, Objekt, Octo Octa, Kloke, Smax, Bryan Kasenic, and Mike Servito at Public Assembly on May 4; Blondes, Mike Simonetti, Rudi Zygadlo, Astroboyz, CABAAL, Ale Hop, Yodashe, Harald Bjork, Alitrec, Mungo Park, Seretan, and Ada Kaleh at Cameo on May 6; and Le1f, Laurel Halo, Venus-X, and a secret guest at Glasslands on May 7.

Still more: Metro Area, Gerd Janson, and Bok Bok b2b L-Vis 1990 at 88 Palace on May 10; 'Drum Majors' with Mannie Fresh, Boi-1da, Young Chop, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Bangaldesh, DJ Mustard, and Drumma Boy at Knitting Factory on May 22; Afrika Bambaataa, Egyptian Lover, DJ Magic Mike, DJ Assault, DJ Funk, Scottie B, DJ Rashad & DJ Spinn, Big Freedia, Salva, Drop the Lime, and Branko & Krampfhaft at Santos on May 23; as well as Skream, Mala, and Plasitician & Hatcha on May 24 at Can Factory (232 3rd St in Brooklyn).

And even more: Oneohtrix Point Never, BIll Kouligas, Evian Christ, Kid Simpl, and ANNALOVE at Saint Vitus on May 26; Benji B, FaltyDL, Dorian Concept, Orquesta, and Somepoe at Sullivan Room on May 27; Pantha Du Prince & the Bell Laboratory with Louis Baker and Anya Kuts at West Park Church on May 28; a killer night of dub with legends Lee Perry & Adrian Sherwood, The Congos vs Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, and the Raw Power Band, Peaking Lights In A Dub Style vs Future Times, and DJ Slow at Le Poisson Rouge on May 30.

Tickets for all events are on sale now.

These join the previously announced shows, talks, and other events with James Murphy, Brian Eno, Giorgio Moroder, Tony Visconti, Nile Rodgers, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Four Tet, A-Trak, Just Blaze, and more. Flyer with the updated, show-by-show lineup is below...

Continue reading "Red Bull Music Academy reveals full NYC lineup (Oneohtrix, Lee Perry, Andy Stott, Laurel Halo, Skream, Le1f, Young Chop, Big Freedia, Pantha Du Prince, Congos/Sun Araw, more)"

The 14th edition of Mutek, Montreal's annual "international festival of digital creativ and electronic music," will happen May 29 - June 2. The festival has released the initial line-up of performers, including Matthew Herbert, Andy Stott, Jamie Lidell, John Talabot, Martyn, Onra and more. Mutek Passports (good for the whole fest) and Weekend Passes (good for 5/31 - 6/2) are on sale now.

Jamie Lidell's new, self-titled album came out this week and he'll play NYC at Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 13 and tickets are still available.

Andy Stott, whose excellent Luxury Problems was included on many Best of 2012 lists, is touring this spring. No shows in NYC but he will be in Chicago in March.

Matthew Herbert will have a very busy 2013. In addition to a new album, End of Silence, which was constructed from just one sound, he's got a 130 track compilation titled Herbert Complete which collects his house-oriented productions. That digital-only comp will be out in March and his new album a month later. He's also working with the England's Royal Opera House to create a work based on Faust that will premiere in 2014.

John Talabot will be here in May; Dutch artist Martyn recently played NYC and his new EP, Newspeak, came out this week; and Onra was last here in November for the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival.

More info on Mutek 2013 is here and initial line-up is below.

Continue reading "Matthew Herbert, Jamie Lidell, Andy Stott, and John Talabot among the initial line-up for Mutek 2013 (tix on sale)"

by Andrew Sacher

Today, we finally get the much anticipated list of Pitchfork's Top 20 Albums of 2012. They revealed Nos. 30-50 yesterday and spent the rest of this week posting Honorable Mentions and tracks. None of the albums that made the top 20 are surprising to see there (which doesn't mean they aren't deserving), but the surprises come from the albums that missed the list all together. Passion Pit got ROBBED! Twin Shadow too! And Wild Nothing! If you're looking for Converge or Baroness, you'll have to redirect yourself to Pitchfork's Metal list (though Pallbearer was in the main top 50). And we could've guessed that Nos. 1 and 2 would be Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar... but who took the No. 1 spot? Head below to find out and you can check out individual writer's votes too...

Continue reading "Pitchfork's Top 20 Albums of 2012"

by Bill Pearis

Pitchfork just posted their much anticipated list of the top 100 tracks of 2012. The #1 slot went to... Grimes! Whether you thought the whole of her album Visions was good or not, it was hard to deny the charms of "Oblivion." (Having that great video didn't hurt either.) Do you think it deserved to top the list? If not then what song should've?

You can check out P4K's entire hot 100 of 2012 below.

Continue reading "Pitchfork's Top 100 Tracks of 2012 (Grimes' "Oblivion" is #1)"

Warthog

Christopher Hansell of Warthog (ex-The Men) has dropped off his top 10 releases of 2012, as well as other thoughts on the passing year. Check out those below.

Warthog (which also features members of Nude Beach) is scheduled to play Worcester, MA at The Beacon on 12/15 with Who Killed Spikey Jacket, in addition to their previously discussed show with Inmates at Acheron on 1/12.

Hansell is also involved in power electronics crew Foreplay who will play the West Coast later this month with the great Pharmakon and Soren (of Rosenkopf). Dates are below. Soren will also play NYC at Saint Vitus on 1/5 as part of the Dysrhythmia/Wreck & Reference show (tickets).

Speaking of The Men, check them out this Friday at Saint Vitus (12/14), part of a Hurricane Sandy benefit (tickets).

Hansell's 2012 Top 10 list is below, along with video and a list of all tour dates.

Continue reading "Christopher Hansell's favorite records of 2012; Pharmakon & Soren (Rosenkopf) add West Coast dates"

Blue Hawaii @ CMJ 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Montreal resident Raphaelle Standell-Preston fronts both Braids and Blue Hawaii, but the bands are separate entities with their own musical personalities. Both groups like Mac Demarco, Burial, Majical Cloudz and Born Gold, though, which show up on each group's Top 10 of 2012 list which we have for you here in this post. Like the bands themselves, BRAIDS's list is a little more band-oriented and Blue Hawaii skews more electronic. (Guess which one has Grimes on it?) Both lists are below.

Look out for Blue Hawaii's sophomore album, Untogether (definitely one of my favorite 2013 LPs that I've managed to hear already - Bill), via Arbutus Records on January 22. Braids will have a new album next year too. Both were here for CMJ.

Braids and Blue Hawaii's respective 2012 Top 10 lists are below.

Continue reading "Braids and Blue Hawaii list their Top 10 LPs of 2012"

Japandroids at Pitchfork, July 2012 (more by Fred Pessaro // BBG)

NPR Music have announced their "50 favorite" albums of 2012, which includes names like Pallbearer, Andy Stott, Cat Power, Fiona Apple, Death Grips, and Swans. (No Grimes, though.) The list is also deep with hip hop, with shouts to Homeboy Sandman, Kendrick Lamar, Killer Mike and many others. Much like Q magazine did, NPR opted to list them alphabetically instead of one better than the next. Check out the full list below.

Japandroids also made the list, and the band played the first of two shows at Webster Hall last night (12/4). The band continues their stay at the venue tonight and tickets are still available.

Continue reading "NPR Music's Top 50 LPs of 2012"

Andy Stott @ 285 Kent, 10/20/2012 (more by Caroline Harrison)

If you need a soundtrack for the gale force winds we're experiencing right now in NYC (thanks, Sandy!), the new album by Andy Stott, Luxury Problems, works pretty well. The Manchester producer's new album is dark and stormy (and quite beautiful at times) and occasionally you may wonder whether that rumbling is coming from outside your building or from your speakers. The record, which got named Best New Music by Pitchfork, can be streamed below via NPR.

The new Neurosis is streaming too.

Andy just played Moogfest (we missed his set) and was here in NYC during CMJ, playing the Pitchfork Show No Mercy show at 285 Kent with Car Bomb, Batillus, Primitive Weapons, as well as the Pitchfork/MoMA PS1 party at the VW Performance Dome with Chairlift, and Doldrums.

Andy album stream is below.

Continue reading "stream Andy Stott's new LP, 'Luxury Problems'"

by Caroline Harrison

Car Bomb at 285 Kent, 10/20/2012

Pitchfork's unofficial Show No Mercy CMJ showcase on Saturday (10/20) at 285 Kent featured New York acts Car Bomb, Batillus, Pyrrhon, Primitive Weapons, and Theologian. Special guest Andy Stott, who played earlier in the day at a Pitchfork & MoMA PS1 CMJ show, DJ-ed starting around 1:30.

Industrial electronic group Theologian played the first set of the night, followed by Primitive Weapons who slammed through an energetic set. Singer Dave Castillo's hardcore frontman antics kept the crowd engaged.

Brooklyn's Pyrrhon played two of the new tracks up on their bandcamp during their set and anyone who worried that the bizarro metal outfit couldn't keep up the anxious intensity of their debut LP needn't have worried. Pyrrhon is even weirder than ever, and they were at the top of their game on Saturday. New York doom metal fixtures Batillus played a roaring set after Pyrrhon. Their sludgy doom was a definite genre shift following the previous three bands.

Next up was Car Bomb who assault the senses when they play. Besides immense sound and dizzying technical prowess, the band has built -- yes, built -- a number of light effects triggered by different band members. The effect is a disorienting light show not suitable for people prone to motion sickness or seizures. (Word has it that Kimbra and her band showed up to see Car Bomb.) Following the last set of the night, Andy Stott's electronic set marked a shift in the evening, and the crowd turned over.

Pyrrhon will be playing at Saint Vitus on October 27th with Tombs, 16, and Serpentine Path. Batillus will also be playing at Saint Vitus, but on Nov. 19th supporting Nachtmystium, Jarboe, Bruce Lamont (of Yakuza, who played our own BBG's CMJ showcase on Saturday), and Lord Mantis. Primitive Weapons are playing with Vision of Disorder at Music Hall of Williamsburgon November 24 and supporting Into Another at Bowery Ballroom on December 16.

Car Bomb recently self-released w^w^^w^w, their first album since leaving Relapse Records. It is available digitally on their bandcamp page, and physical copies will be available "sometime in mid-October." Andy Stott's new album, Luxury Problems, is out on October 29 via Modern Love.

More pictures from 285 Kent are below.

Continue reading "Car Bomb, Batillus, Primitive Weapons, Andy Stott + more played Show No Mercy showcase @ 285 Kent (pics, review)"

Death Grips at Coachella 2012 (more by David Andrako)

As mentioned, Death Grips are also playing a NPR-presented CMJ show with Flying Lotus at Le Poisson Rouge on October 17. That bill also includes Ali Shaheed Muhammad (of A Tribe Called Quest) and since we last spoke Buke & Gase were added as well. The show is free with "confirmed RSVP", which opens TODAY (10/9) at 10:45 AM (aka really soon). Act quick.

We already mentioned that Death Grips and LE1F are playing Pitchfork's CMJ showcase at new Brooklyn warehouse venue Villain on October 19 (50 N 3rd St). Now the full lineup is out and it also includes DIIV, Joey Bada$$, Holy Other, METZ, Merchandise, Daughn Gibson, Hundred Waters, and Angel Haze. The show goes from 8PM to 3 AM and is totally free to the public, but there will also be 200 priority tickets being given away at the Topman store (478 Broadway in SoHo) "on Wednesday and Thursday between 10 AM and 9 PM."

Pitchfork is also teaming up with MoMA PS1 to present a show in the VW Performance Dome on October 20 (22-25 Jackson Ave, Long Island City) with Andy Stott, Chairlift, and Doldrums, which runs from 3-6 PM. That show is free with museum admission.

Pitchfork's metal column, Show No Mercy, is also presenting an unofficial showcase during CMJ.

The fliers for both Pitchfork shows are below...

Continue reading "Pitchfork announces full CMJ showcase lineup; RSVP opening for Death Grips/Flying Lotus show at LPR"

oOoOO at MoMA PS1 in 2011 (more by Erez Avissar)

oOoOO (aka San Francisco producer Christopher Greenspan) released his impressive Our Loving Is Hurting Us EP earlier this year via Tri Angle and subsequently toured North America in support of it. Now he's set to go on a European tour, much of which is with Butterclock, who sings on his EP, but before that he'll play a hometown show in San Francisco at Public Works tonight (9/28) with Andy Stott and Demdike Stare (who will both be in NYC for a show together in October), and Balam Acab (who will be in NYC in December).

On oOoOO's way home from the European tour, he too will stop in NYC for a show on November 8 at Glasslands with Solar Year and Silent Drape Runners. Tickets for that show are on sale now. oOoOO just posted a song on his soundcloud called "StairwayToHeaven" (doesn't appear to have anything to do with the Led Zeppelin song) and you can stream that below.

Speaking of Andy Stott, he also just revealed a cut off of his upcoming album, Luxury Problems (due out 10/29 via Modern Love), called "Numb." A stream of that song, the oOoOO song, and a list of all upcoming oOoOO dates are below.

Continue reading "oOoOO has a new song, playing Brooklyn show after European tour; Andy Stott has a new song too (dates, streams)"

by Andrew Sacher

Demdike Stare/Andy Stott

Modern Love labelmates Demdike Stare and Andy Stott have been playing shows together for a while, and they'll continue to do so in NYC on October 5 at Public Assembly for a Bunker party, after they both play Seattle's Decibel Festival, and after Demdike Stare plays ATP NY (9/23). Demdike Stare and Andy Stott play the front room with both members of Demdike Stare opening the show with solo sets, while Peter Van Hoesen and Eric Cloutier play the back room. Tickets for that show are on sale now. The flier is below.

Demdike Stare and Andy Stott just played the Boiler Room together last week (8/14), and videos of both of their sets are below. They also shared a bill in Berlin last November, which Resident Advisor reviewed, and gave it a 5/5, writing:

The seamlessness of it all climaxed with Demdike Stare, who coupled their spirit-summoning techno set with a pastiche of visual horror that, for the first part, turned the entire crowd to stone, a spell eventually weathered over a suspended course of time by the pair's metrical hypnotism. By the end of their set, the whole floor had been brought back to life, though at what stage exactly I cannot say, being fully entranced myself. Modern Love labelmate Andy Stott similarly toyed with danceability, using the pull of disparate tracks alone to sweep us from eyes closed head nodding into a flailing limbs rave-up, almost unconsciously.

Demdike Stare's Miles Whittaker put out his own album this year under the moniker Suum Cuique, called Ascetic Ideals. You can stream that entire album, along with the Boiler Room videos and a list of all dates, below.

Continue reading "Demdike Stare & Andy Stott played shows, playing 1 in NYC after Decibel Festival (dates & full Boiler Room set videos)"