photos by David Andrako

We arrived at about 9PM as Björk was hanging out behind the turntables gearing up to begin her set. The venue "Above The Auto Parts Store" was indescribably hot, but regardless fans packed in to get a glimpse of the one and only Björk. I was prepared to be at the venue for the long haul thinking Björk would be last, but she thankfully was second up on deck. DJ selections included a lot of obscure Asian and Middle Eastern house music, most notably including a cover of 2 Unlimited's "No Limit," along with Major Lazer/Crooker's "Jump Up!" [Tastes Like Caramel]

Bjork, Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors, Battles' Tyondai Braxton, and writers Alex Ross and Brandon Stosuy DJed at Above the Auto Parts Store on Sunday (5/2) at a benefit for Partners In Health, a health care nonprofit that works in Haiti. They called it "The Rites of Spring". Alex Ross posted his playlist, which paired The Ex, Justin Bieber, Stravinsky and more. That and more pictures from the event are posted below...

Continue reading "Bjork, Dave Longstreth, Tyondai Braxton & friends DJ'd for Haiti (in the heat) Above the Auto Parts Store (pics)"

Bjork & Dirty Projectors @ Housing Works (more by Chris La Putt)

As you can see on the flyer below, cavernous Bushwick DIY spot Above the Auto Parts Store will be the site of a benefit for Haiti with an eclectic lineup of DJs on May 2nd. Dirty Projectors' Dave Longstreth, Battles' Tyondai Braxton, and music writers Alex Ross and Brandon Stosuy will be joined by...Bjork behind the turntables and iPods for "Rites of Spring." Ross predicts "some combination of Thai soul, death metal, Justin Bieber, and, of course, nude Stravinsky." Brandon, who writes for Stereogum, has the genesis of the event, which involves Bjork/Dirty Projectors show at Housing Works last May, laid out at that site: "Tickets go on sale this Tuesday (4/13) at 5PM at Record Grouch/Old Made Vintage, 441 Metropolitan Avenue (@ Meeker) in Brooklyn. Their hours are 1PM-7PM daily. (There will be no online tickets. Paper tickets only.)"

Speaking of Bjork...

Ólöf Arnalds [who also played that Housing Works benefit with Bjork and Dirty Projectors] was recently featured in NPR's All Things Considered last week. Host Jonathan Richman chatted to the singer songwriter about her new album, and played a snippet of a new song called "Surrender", that features Björk.

Olöf recently finished mixing her second album, Innundir Skinni, at Sundlaugin Studios with Kjartan Sveinsson producing once again. Innundir skinni features more elaborate arrangements and instrumentation than Við og við, with vocals sung both in English and Icelandic. Innundir skinni is set for worldwide release this spring. [Iceland Music]

The NPR show is here. A streaming clip of the song is below with the benefit flyer...

Continue reading "Dave Longstreth, Tyondai Braxton & others DJing Haiti benefit w/ Bjork (who recorded a song w/ Olof Arnalds) "

by BBG

Laura of Kylesa (more by Paul Birman)

Earlier I discussed my favorite LPs of the year, but why leave the fun to just one? I asked some of my favorite artists and promoters for their 2009 highlights. The responses were great. You already saw some of them. Justina listed some quotes, Liam Wilson talked about Philly, and Josh Graham listed good things about 2009. They continue below. You'll find lists of favorite songs and albums of the year, not to mention answers to crucial questions like:

• What are Coalesce's favorite pizza toppings?
• Which one of my top 20 artists of the year tried to get in a cab with Kirsten Dunst?
• What is the #1 sauce/condiment of 2009?

Find out the answers to those questions and more, below...

Continue reading "The Year in Metal continued (BBG asked countless others to make lists... and here they all are)"

by BBG

Hunter on stage with Liturgy (more here)

For those of you that enjoy to sauce it up on Friday nights or enjoy a light Saturday afternoon, avert your eyes! Hideous Gnosis (named after a song by the great Caïna) is "a gathering dedicated to the mutual blackening of metal and theory", and is scheduled to take place in Brooklyn at Public Assembly on Saturday (12/12) from 1PM to 7PM. The event will examine different facets of black metal via discussion, readings, performance, and much more. The many scheduled guests include Hunter from Liturgy, Nader Sadek, and Haunting The Chapel (ex-Show No Mercy) scribe Brandon Stosuy.

More info, including the flyer and the schedule are below...

Continue reading "Black Metal Theory Symposium in Brooklyn on Saturday "

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Aaron Dessner - We Were Born (from the Long Count) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: The Long Count - Bull Run (feat. Kelley Deal) (MP3)

Twins! (the Dessners & the Deals)

The Long Count kicks off its three show engagement at BAM's Gilman Opera House tonight (10/28). Tickets are still available for the show, as well as for the Friday (10/30) and Saturday (10/31) performances.

The 70-minute music and multimedia piece, commissioned by BAM Next Wave Festival, is the work of Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National and visual artist Matthew Ritchie. But they haven't been working alone. At every step of composing and arranging the Long Count over the past year, the brothers have tapped into their crew of skilled collaborators. The 12-piece orchestra that will be joining them on stage counts talents like NYC violist Nadia Sirota (who played last month's Archipelago series show), sax/bass clarinet player Colin Stetson, and Antony & the Johnsons' guitarist/violinist/conductor Rob Moose (who in particular assisted with some of the arranging duties).

As previously mentioned, the Breeders' Kim and Kelley Deal (twins) collaborated with the Dessners (also twins) on much of the music - they sing for nearly half of the show. Other vocal turns will be taken by the Nationals' Matt Berninger and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden.

All four singers play roles in the narrative of the Long Count, which takes its story from the Mayan creation myth of Popol Vuh. In that, multiple sets of twins (in the story and on stage) experience repeated cycles of life and death until giving birth to the world as we know it. The original tale ties in strongly with a ballgame played by its main characters - an element which the Dessners have woven in with their love of baseball, particularly Cincinnati Reds and the Big Red Machine.

Musically, the Long Count sections posted above, both from the show's work-in-progress performance at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on September 11th, showcase the piece's diversity. The first, "We Were Born," highlights the minimalist pedigree of the show, while "Bull Run" layers those elements with fearsome orchestral lines and extremely creepy vocals by Kelley Deal.

Paired with the spooky nature of Mathew Ritchie's animation (which you can preview here) the show looks to be a good Halloween night warm-up as any. In fact, the early Saturday night show has the most tickets available, and it follows a pre-show Q&A (ticketed separately) led by Brandon Stosuy (who's curating the Mount Eerie + metal show at Market Hotel later in the night).

Bryce generously answered some of our questions over the phone while in the last week of rehearsal (and in the hectic center of CMJ week). More photos from the production, and that interview, where he reveals the existence of an unreleased Christmas album he made with Sufjan, details on the new National record and more, below...

Continue reading "an interview w/ Bryce Dessner of The National whose show, The Long Count, opens @ BAM tonight ++ 2 MP3's"

King Khan & the Shrines @ Sasquatch 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

The Almighty Defenders CD, out September 22nd on Vice, brings together the Black Lips, King Khan and Mark Sultan. The latter two make up King Khan & the BBQ Show, which is the band that'll be playing Brooklyn's Bell House this Halloween (its an early show - 7:30pm doors / over by 10:30pm) (there's a TBA late show at the same venue). Prizes for best costume. As you can see above, King Khan already has some ideas in mind. Tickets are on sale now.

Can't make it Halloween? King Khan and BBQ are also playing Bowery Ballroom one night earlier (10/30). Ticket info TBA. Full tour dates are still forthcoming, but there are a few more below (including November 1st in Philly). They'll be touring in support of the new King Khan & the BBQ Show album, Invisible Girl, out November 3rd on In the Red.

Another Halloween NYC gig happening in Brooklyn is the Mount Eerie metal show at the Market Hotel. His tourmates, No Kids and Tara Jane O'Neil, will also be his backing band for a set that promises "2 drummers, some gongs and a wall of amps." Liturgy is one of the bands on the bill. Another will be Malkuth. That tour formerly had a TBA for another NYC show. That will happen (with No Kids & TJO playing sets too) on Sunday, November 1st at (Le) Poisson Rouge. Tickets for that Manhattan show (which does not include Liturgy or Malkuth) are on sale (Market Hotel doesn't have advanced tickets).

The LPR show is put on by Wordless Music, who has a bunch of big shows coming up (not the least Rhys Chatham's A Crimson Grail on Saturday). There's also Warp20NYC, the Wordless series at Columbia's Miller Theatre, Deefhoof and Why?.

The Market Hotel show is curated by Brandon Stosuy - music writer and organizer of Show No Mercy (that Black Bubblegum co-curated this past Sunday). Tonight (August 5th) Brandon will be be presenting from his "in-progress oral history of American black metal [briefly excerpted at Believer] joined by Matt Luem for "Joe's Pub's Happy Ending Reading & Music Series. Also at the event will be "Rachel Cohen reading from her book A Chance Meeting: Intertwined Lives of American Writers and Artists. And Lawrence Weschler reading from his work on the visual artists David Hockney and Robert Irwin. And Colin Stetson delivering an opening invocation on saxophone. And Buke & Gass playing a short set of clear voiced yet fuzzed out pop experiments on homemade instruments." Tickets are still on sale.

Videos, new KK&BBQ album tracklist and tour dates from King Khan & the BBQ Show, below...

Continue reading "King Khan & BBQ Show's new album, tour dates, NYC shows, Halloween in Brooklyn, Malkuth, Mt Eerie, Joe's Pub & stuff "