DOWNLOAD: Azita - "September" (MP3)

Azita

Azita (full name Azita Youssefi) released her new album, Disturbing the Air, on September 20 via Drag City. You can grab the piano-led ballad "September" at the top of this post and purchase the album at the Drag City webstore.

She's kicked off a short US tour in support of the album last night in Baltimore. She plays NYC TONIGHT (12/2) at Secret Project Robot (their new location) with two all-girl bands, Open Ocean and FLOWN, which includes Caroline Reid (ex-Frankie Rose & The Outs). The flier for this show is below. She also plays NYC Saturday night (12/3) at Cake Shop with Mighty Moon, Cruddy, and Mister Melt. All dates are listed below.

The Secret Project Robot schedule also includes a few other interesting shows like tomorrow's (12/3) last Pendu Disco of 2011 with Autre Ne Veut and Black Marble. It also includes the Death by Audio Christmas Party on December 10 with A Place to Bury Strangers, The Immaculates, Evi Antonio, and DJ Edan Wilber.

All Azita dates and show flier below...

Continue reading "Azita on tour, playing Cake Shop & tonight @ Secret Project Robot (where A Place to Bury Strangers play next week)"

DOWNLOAD: Azita - I'm Happy (MP3)

Azita

Azita's newish album, How Will You?, is on the high-standard Drag City label, giving it a kind of cachet, of course, but bringing expectations of the left-field, kranky and experimental, which the Iranian-born singer's music/performance art/punk-noise has been in prior incarnations. The new one, however, boasts a full brace of beautifully spare, not-so-ironic, piano-driven paeans to her friends, lovers, time, life and nothing in particular, given the odd little late-Beatles or '70s lite-jazz shades here and there. [LA Weekly]

In the past, Azita, full name Azita Youssefi, was part of Drag City acts like Scissor Girls, Bride of No No and AZ, as well as Will Oldham's touring band. She's currently on tour behind How Will You?, her third LP for Drag City, which came out on February 17th. The MP3 above is from that album.

Azita plays two NYC shows with Wrekmeister Harmonies. The first is Friday, May 15th, when the two acts perform at Bruar Falls, also with Bear in Heaven. The second, Monday, May 18th is at the Mercury Lounge. Tickets for that show are on sale.

Wrekmeister Harmonies is sound artist (and Ace Frehley fan) JR Robinson. Live, he'll be accompanied by "cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm (Wilco, etc.) and guitarist Mark Shippy (US Maple)." The project's first collection, Recordings Made In Public Spaces Volume One, is out now on Atavistic.

More info on Wrekmeister Harmonies' album, which was recorded at museums around the world, with live videos of Azita and all tour dates (with Bruar Falls flyer) below...

Continue reading "Azita (Drag City) + Wrekmeister Harmonies - 2009 tour dates (2 NYC shows) & MP3"

DOWNLOAD: Elfin Saddle - Temple Daughter (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Swan Lake - Spanish Gold 2044 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Swan Lake - A Hand At Dusk (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Swan Lake - Spider (MP3)

Swan Lake

Have Swan Lake (the supergroup composed of Spencer Krug, Dan Bejar and Carey Mercer) ever played a live show? I don't think so. While we wait for that to happen, we at least have shows by some of the members' individual projects -- the projects that made Swan Lake interesting enough to care about in the first place.

Spencer Krug's band Sunset Rubdown plays Studio B in Brooklyn on June 12th (no general admission ticket info yet). The show is part of the Northside Festival, and part of a much larger tour with fellow Canadians Elfin Saddle.

Since arriving in Montreal in 2006, Elfin Saddle has been steadily gaining audience and acclaim for their original and emotive live performances. Having released Gigantic Mother/Wounded Child on Kill Devil Hills Records in early 2008, they are proud to be releasing their follow-up, Ringing For The Begin Again, on Constellation. A recent addition to their recordings and live performances is Nathan Gage (Shapes and Sizes, owner of Phonopolis record store in Montreal), rounding out their sound with thick drones and subtle bursts on double-bass and tuba. [Core band members] Emi and Jordan are currently working on an extensive stop-motion/time-lapse film, featuring the growth of plants and the animation of a large collection of scavenged objects. [PR]

The MP3 on the top of this post is from Elfin Saddle's new Constellation album. All Elfin/Rubdown tour dates below.

Dan Bejar will be playing as Destroyer (solo) on a few May dates with Azita. He'll also be visiting NYC this summer for a solo show at Bowery Balllroom on July 30th with Iran. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale Friday at noon. All dates below..

Continue reading "Destroyer & Sunset Rubdown playing shows, NYC included, but not together (especially as Swan Lake) - 2009 dates"