photos by Erez Avissar

""IF YOU'RE FROM NEW YORK, you'll know this one." As the image of an eye patch-sporting Kurt Russell flashed across twin screens behind the stage at West Village destination Le Poisson Rouge, the speaker struck up a portentous synth line and the audience burst into nostalgic applause; ...the tense theme from 1981 cult actioner Escape from New York is one of his own compositions. Alan Howarth... is something of an icon to fans of electronic movie sound tracks and effects: His résumé is peppered with Hollywood titles from Poltergeist to Raiders of the Lost Ark, John Carpenter projects like Escape and Halloween featuring prominently among them.

"Most of this music's just been sitting around for thirty years," Howarth admitted cheerfully, reveling in the attention it was now receiving and clearly overjoyed to find himself out of the studio and in front of some appreciative listeners. Harald Grosskopf, drummer for 1970s German space-rockers Ash Ra Tempel and author of 1979's Synthesist album (described by the organizers as "the nexus of Krautrock, Kosmische, and New Age"--and who am I to argue?), was in similarly high sprits. Taking the stage after Howarth, he got rather more of a workout, bobbing and weaving behind his stand-up kit while adopting a range of orgasmic/tortured facial expressions. "This screen is to monitor my blood pressure," he quipped, pointing to one of several nearby laptops. "It's nothing to do with the music."

After an hour or so of meandering but effortlessly enjoyable stuff, Grosskopf and friends made way for Emeralds, a young trio from Cleveland whose synth-heavy instrumental jams owe much to their senior colleagues' pioneering work..." -[Artforum]

Synthesizer music pioneers Alan Howarth and Harald Grosskopf shared a bill with Emeralds as part of the Unsound Festival at Le Poisson Rouge on Friday night (4/8). And it was old meets new, as Grosskopf was joined by A.R.P, Blondes, Laurel Halo, Pink Skull and James Ferraro. Howarth and Emeralds also played together. Jade Boyd provided the visuals.

The theme continued the next night as well as many of the same performers, Harald Grosskopf included, played and/or DJ'd at a secret party in Brooklyn. Erez was at both events, and his pictures from them continue, with some videos, below...

Continue reading "Alan Howarth, Harald Grosskopf, Emeralds & friends played an Unsound show @ LPR (and a secret gig in Brooklyn) (pics)"

Real Estate on a boat cruise (more by Marielle Solan)

WBAR is welcoming its 18th WBAR-B-Q at Barnard College on April 15th, 2011. The FREE, all-ages show will feature free food/drink/music at the Daina Event Oval at Barnard College (117th & Broadway) with performances from Real Estate, Blondes, Arp, Big Troubles, Grooms, Beige, Julianna Barwick, and others.

The show is also one of a few scheduled for Real Estate, who will also play Culture shock the next day, and a show on May 20 at The Bell House with Julian Lynch, Big Troubles and Family Portrait (tickets) and May 21 at Maxwell's with the same lineup (tickets). They also have a few more shows scheduled since we last spoke. All dates, more WBAR-B-Q details and the flyer is below...

Continue reading "WBAR-B-Q 2011 free show lineup & other Real Estate dates "

photos by Amanda Hatfield

"Loved seeing Glasser at MHWB last night! What a voice." - St. Vincent

Wearing a kimono-sleeved red dress that was set off by her backing musicians' matching green jumpsuits, Glasser executed some geisha­like hand movements and a few twitchy twirls. Yet her stage presence was nearly as cold as her music, which emulates Bjork's without that singer's playfulness. Perhaps the chill explains why the crowd thinned noticeably during the set, even though Glasser was onstage for barely 30 minutes. The performance's sheer sonic reach was impressive, but the spirit and spontaneity to distinguish the songs from their recorded versions were lacking. -[Washington Post]

Ouch. It sounds like the Washington Post didn't have much nice to say about Glasser's appearance at Black Cat in DC. That show, part of the same tour, took place one day before last night's show at Music Hall of Williamsburg (11/16), which, as you can see above, St. Vincent definitely enjoyed! What did you think?

Blood Orange (who plays again tonight and Friday) and Arp both opened the Brooklyn show. More pictures from it below...

Continue reading "Glasser, Arp & Blood Orange played MHOW (pics) "

photos by Brook Bobbins

Glasser @ FADER Fort

Glasser didn't have the best luck with her batch of last minute CMJ shows. The most last minute one of all, at Coco66, never actually happened, and at FADER Fort the power went out during "Tremel", though she (Cameron) made the best of it and sang it with no beat or band. Video of that, with pictures from that FADER CMJ show, below.

Hopefully tonight's gig (11/16), Glasser's biggest headlining NYC show yet, at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn with ARP and Blood Orange (aka Lightspeed Champion sort of), goes off without a hitch. Tickets are still on sale.

All current Glasser dates, along with more pictures from the FADER Fort, the above-mentioned video and some other videos, below...

Continue reading "live Glasser pics/video, show w/ ARP & Blood Orange tonight"

photos by Kam Tambini

"floor at webster hall about to collapse for caribou" - t m

Though Caribou was shortlisted for the 2010 Polaris Prize, the highest honor went to another:

Montreal indie rock act Karkwa took home the Polaris Music Prize for its fourth album, "Les Chemins de Verre" or "The Glass Paths" (Audiogram)...The band received $20,000 Canadian ($19,415).

"Les Chemins de Verre" was recorded in part at La Frette studios in Paris during breaks on their French tour. "It's an unbelievable thing to win this prize," said the band in a statement. "We have a lot of respect for this contest and we think they do it for the right reason (music)."

Oh well. Daniel Snaith probably didn't have a chance anyway, since Caribou already won it in 2008.

Caribou is currently on the road and will stay there until the middle of December. Daniel and and his live band played Webster Hall in NYC on Wednesday (9/22) with help from Emeralds and Arp. No Emeralds/Arp pictures, but a few more Caribou ones, with a video, and the band's exhausting-looking tour schedule, below...

Continue reading "Caribou played Webster Hall (pics), didn't win the Polaris, and is now on tour (dates) "

photos by Erez Avissar

DOWNLOAD: Arp - White Light (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Arp - Summer Girl (MP3)

Oneohtrix Point Never @ Coco66

There were several peculiar sights at the Oneohtrix Point Never performance on Friday night, but none more so than the handful of fans clustered near the front of the stage, nodding their heads rhythmically.

To what, exactly? Oneohtrix Point Never - a k a the ambient-noise musician Daniel Lopatin - generally forgoes percussion altogether, instead creating beautiful, glistening caverns of space that shift in sneaky, oceanic fashion. At once they're vast and also slippery. But something as pedestrian as a beat? Never that.

For this show, the back room at Coco 66, near the waterfront in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, was almost completely dark, punctured only by columnar white lights rotating on either side of Mr. Lopatin and by red and green pinpoint lasers, which strafed his face and the heads of those near the front of the room. There was smoke, too, or if there wasn't, there probably should have been. Everything was a haze. -[New York Times]

Oneohtrix Point Never headlined the show, presented by Last Friday and Visitation Rites, with Arp, James Ferraro, and Future Shuttle on 8/27. One half of duo Blondes (one of Stereogum's "Best New Bands") was responsible for DJing. The next show for Oneohtrix Point Never is Friday in San Francisco. Shortly after, the electronic/ambient artist will ship out to Latvia (!) before skipping across Europe.

And though Oneohtrix was headlining, it was Arp's record release show. The Soft Wave is out September 7th on Smalltown Supersound. Both free MP3s above are from that album. Full tracklisting below.

All tour dates and more photos from the show, and the afterparty (at Coco 68), are also below...

Continue reading "Oneohtrix Point Never, Arp & James Ferraro played Coco66 (pics, MP3s & more dates) "

photos by Erez Avissar

Gatekeeper / Games

Games celebrated the release of their new 7", Everything Is Working (out now via Hippos In Tanks) with a release show at Glasslands on 8/19 alongside Gatekeeper, D'eon, Blissed Out, and DJ sets from DJ Keshia Kole. Pics from the show are below.

Games is made up of Oneohtrix Point Never's Daniel Lopatin and Joel Ford of Tiger City, and Oneohtrix Point Never has a bunch of tour dates on the way, including Friday (8/27) at Coco66 with James Ferraro, Arp, Future Shuttle, and a DJ set from Blondes. The show will double as a record release show for Arp, who is celebrating the release of their new LP, The Soft Wave, due via Smalltown Supersound on 9/2.

Games recently dropped a video to "Planetparty" which is below with all date and more pics....

Continue reading "Games played Glasslands w/ Gatekeeper, D'eon & Blissed Out (pics), Oneohtrix Point Never playing w/ Arp & other dates "

DOWNLOAD: Arp - White Light (MP3)

Nite Jewel, photo by Justin Loy

Nite Jewel, Ramona Gonzalez and collaboratot Cole M. Greif-Neill, have a new EP, Am I Real?, out digitally now (and on vinyl August 16th). It's streaming on their site currently.

"In the last two years, somewhere in between the bedroom & the studio proper (the living room?), the 6 songs of 'Am I Real?' were made and the tape hiss barely made it (please see b-side opener 'Falling Far'). Featuring subtly re-vamped & improved selections from last year's hard-to-obtain 'You F O' euro tour cd, the ep also offers the newer fully established ornate melancholy of 'Forget You & I' and the sophisticatedly restrained funk of the closing title track featuring Daniel & Andrew Aged of Teen Inc. Also found on this release are the further benefits of master facilitator & now-official NJ band member Cole MGN." Jason Darrah, Gloriette Records

The group is reportedly working with with Dam-Funk and others on a second album due in the way off future of winter 2011.

Nite Jewel's upcoming tour dates include an August 9th show at Mercury Lounge with Violens and Prince Rama. Tickets are on sale. Then they have a double blast of shows on Saturday, August 14th. The first is a gig opening for Neon Indian, Prefuse 73 and Dom at their free Beach at Governors Island show. The second is a headlining show at Glasslands with The Samps, Blood Orange and Arp (who recently played Warm Up at PS1). Tickets are on sale.

Arp, as Pitchfork points out, "will release his latest full-length. The Soft Light [on] September 14 via Smalltown Supersound". An MP3 from that album is above...

"Leading up to the release of The Soft Wave, Alexis Georgopoulos [aka Arp] composed his first score for modern dance in Replica, a duet between Merce Cunningham and Trisha Brown dancers, which debuted at New York's New Museum. He played a live score to artist Doug Aitken's film Migration at 303 Gallery (New York), participated in the Boredoms-curated 8.8.08 88-drummer extravaganza in Los Angeles, and remixed Lindstrøm. His music was featured in director Gary Hurstwit's film Objectified. He also made music in Q&A (formerly Expanding Head Band), his new DFA project with partner Quinn Luke, and his band The Alps released two albums III & Le Voyage (Type) to critical acclaim. ARP shared bills with Cluster on the coast of Big Sur, Sonic Boom, White Rainbow, Four Tet, Lucky Dragons, Growing, and Wooden Ships, among others. The track "Potentialities" from In Light was recently featured on James Holden's DJ KICKS. Most recently, he released FRKWYS Volume III, a collaborative album with minimalist composer Anthony Moore, as part of RVNG's new FRKWYS series. The duo recently performed with a string section as part of New York City's Wordless Music Festival."

All tour dates, Nite Jewel EP art and both album tracklists, below...

Continue reading "Nite Jewel released an EP, playing shows, Glasslands w/ Arp (who has an album coming soon) "

photos by Vincent Cornelli

The 2010 season of "Warm Up" at PS1 continued this past Saturday with DJ sets by Air France and Ratatat, and a performance by ARP. Despite extreme heat and competition throughout the city in the form of the Siren Festival, Summerstage, the African Festival, Rock Yard and whatever else was going on that day, the outdoor dance party was packed as you can see in the pictures above and below....

Continue reading "Ratatat, Air France & ARP @ PS1 (Warm Up) - pics "

Delorean @ Glasslands in June (more by Chris Doss)

MoMA's annual summer season of parties at PS1 in Long Island City, aka Warm Up, returns on July 3rd and there are lot of familiar names on this year's lineup. That is due in part to this year's curators being Dean Bein of True Panther Records, Jon Galkin from DFA, Kris Chen (XL), Ronan from LPR, writer Brandon Stusoy (Stereogum, etc), and Robin from Tri Angle. Check out the full schedule, directions and more info below...

Continue reading "2010 PS1 Warm Up schedule announced (Delorean, MEN, Big Freedia, Questlove, DFA, Animal Collective DJs & more) "

by BBG

DOWNLOAD: Majeure - "Teleforce" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Zombi - "Spirit Animal" (MP3 Snippet)
DOWNLOAD: Wildildlife - "Nervous Buzzing" Hours of Worship Remix (MP3)

Zombi

Zombi is back in NYC and will descend on Santos Party House on Dec 18th with Arp and Hours of Worship. Tickets are on sale. The show is one of two dates for Zombi and Arp, the other being Philly on 12/19.

Though Zombi released Spirit Animal on Relapse earlier this year, the pair hasn't rested ever since. Steve Moore has released multiple remixes for the likes of Maserati (RIP Jerry Fuchs), Jupiter, Arnaud Rebotini, and others as well as original compositions under his name and under the guise of Gianni Rossi and Lovelock (who was recently featured in the recent Chromeo DJ Kicks Comp). Meanwhile, AE Paterra has been driving to the hoop with Majeure, his solo project which saw it's debut, Timespan, on Temporary Residence Limited earlier this year.

Arp also provides music specially commissioned for "REPLICA" at the New Museum...

REPLICA, a collaborative performance piece by Daniel Arsham, Jonah Bokaer, and Judith Sanchez Ruiz, examines memory loss, pattern recognition, and perceptual faculties as they apply to the human body. The piece employs built spaces, objects, lighting, and other media to create the illusion of an expanded space through the use of video and/or still images. REPLICA creates situations onstage that could not veritably exist in physical space. This happens through the use of creative geography in video and built spaces, transporting movement to different locations that appear to be just outside the audience's sightline.

You can catch REPLICA on December 10th, 11th 17th and 18th, with related events throughout the month.

Hours of Worship will open the Santos show in celebration of a new EP, Into The Grass, out on on 12/4 via Ekleroshock. Hours of Worship also dropped a remix for Wildildlife's "Nervous Buzzing", which is available above.

Santos flyer, dates and some Zombi videos below....

Continue reading "Zombi playing shows (Santos) w/ Arp who made music for REPLICA @ the New Museum (2009 dates)"