In Thom's words:

So finally I can tell you the Atoms for Peace record is coming out on the 25th February, it's called Amok.

The front will look like theez..

Continued below:

Continue reading "Thom Yorke reveals Atoms For Peace album details"

Ultraista, the band featuring producer Nigel Godrich, acclaimed drummer Joey Waronker and singer Laura Bettinson, are releasing their debut album next week (10/2) but NPR is streaming the whole thing right now. For me at least, it's evoking some serious mid-'90s electronic vibes (Lamb, Hooverphonic) which sounds pretty good.

Ultraista are about to play their first US shows, including dates in Los Angeles, San Francisco and here in NYC on October 24 at Le Poisson Rouge which is part of the Wordless Music series. Tickets are still available, which is surprising given Godrich's CV, but if you'd like to go for free, we're giving a pair away. Details on how to enter are below.

In related news, Atoms for Peace (Thom Yorke plus Flea, Godrich and Waronker) will release their "Default" single on 12" vinyl on November 19. It's available for download now and you can stream it below.

Also below, a video for Ultraista's "Bad Insect" and a remix of "smalltack" by FourTet, plus North American tour dates.

Continue reading "Ultraista streaming their debut LP; win tix to see them at LPR"

Atoms for Peace at Roseland Ballroom in 2010 (more by Bao Nguyen)

Thom Yorke's Atoms for Peace project (with Flea and Nigel Godrich), who released a single over the summer, just resurfaced with another new single today (9/6) called "Default." The song is on iTunes and it will be officially released on September 10 via XL. The cover art for the single is below.

As mentioned, Atoms for Peace is DJing at the final installment of this summer's Warm Up at MoMA PS1 on Saturday (9/8) with the very impressive lineup of Holy Other, Maria Minerva, Rustie, and Justin Strauss. Advance tickets for that show are sold out but there will be a limited amount available at the door starting Saturday (9/8) at noon.

Speaking of Nigel Godrich (who also produces Radiohead), his new band Ultraista has a few shows scheduled, including one in NYC on October 24 at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets for that show are still available.

Atoms for Peace cover art below.

Continue reading "Atoms for Peace has a new single; their DJ set at the final Warm Up is this weekend"

After three teasers, we get: A STATEMENT FROM TOM WAITS:

"As most of you guessed, it's a tour...a tour de force!

"Matt Mahurin has created an apocalyptic war dream to accompany the song HELL BROKE LUCE. Kathleen and I envisioned it as an enlightened drill sergeant yelling the hard truths of war to a brand new batch of recruits. The video grew from the gnawing image of a soldier pulling his home, through a battlefield, at the end of a rope.

"I think you will agree, it's uplifting and fun."

"Hell Broke Luce," featuring Marc Ribot and Keith Richards on guitar, with Flea on bass and Casey Waits on drums, is from Waits' most recent release, BAD AS ME.

Watch the new video below...

Continue reading "It's August 7: Tom Waits reveals the secret, pokes fun at those hoping it was a tour"

"NEW YORK LOVES AND WILL NEVER FORGET MCA." - El-P

Madison Square Garden pays tribute to Adam (pic via)

Like Coldplay, BADBADNOTGOOD & Bomb The Music Industry!, and Thom Yorke, many, many artists and institutions have been paying tribute to Adam Yauch in their own way, More videos from last night below....

Continue reading "Red Hot Chili Peppers, Deer Tick, MSG, The Mets & more paid tribute to MCA (more videos & pics)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Bibi Tanga - "Be Africa" (Dave Sitek Remix) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Little Dragon - Blinking Pigs (MP3)

Little Dragon @ Le Poisson Rouge in 2009 (more by Matthew Taplinger)

Little Dragon announced an early 2011 US tour promoting the release of their upcoming third full length album. The tour makes two stops in New York at Music Hall of Williamsburg on January 20 and Bowery Ballroom on January 21. Tickets are on sale. No openers mentioned yet.

Little Dragon are currently on an international tour (Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand) supporting the Gorillaz, whose most recent album Plastic Beach features Little Dragon on two tracks; "Empire Ants" and "To Binge." LD vocalist Yukimi Nagano also performs both songs live with the band (you may have seen her do it at MSG or on Letterman).

Speaking of Gorillaz, Damon Albarn has announced not only an upcoming Gorillaz album, but two other albums as well. According to an interview with Stuff, Albarn has plans for a second album by The Good, The Bad, & The Queen, and for an album by a new band he's a part of. The new band features Tony Allen (also of The Good, The Bad, & The Queen), Flea, and some of Albarn's "favourite African musicians will be involved also."

Stuff also asked Albarn if Blur, who released a DVD documentary this year, have any plans for a world tour or new album. Albarn responded, "There won't be another world tour for me - for anything - for five to six years; it would seem unlikely. I have a young daughter and it's just not feasible, it's too long away from home. This has been great, but it's too much after a while and so, no, there won't be any tours for me for a while, I should think."

Albarn has also been recording a new Gorillaz album on tour with his iPad. He told NME "I've made it on an iPad - I hope I'll be making the first record on an iPad," he said. "I fell in love with my iPad as soon as I got it, so I've made a completely different kind of record." Albarn wants to release the album "before Christmas."

Gorillaz recorded a new single "Doncamatic" with British R&B singer Daley which will be officially released on November 22 in three formats. The CD version also includes a Joker remix of the song, the iTunes EP adds the third track "Album Mix Tape," and the 7 inch single is "Doncamatic" with the Paul Harris remix of "Empire Ants" on side B. All three formats are currently available for pre-order. There's also a video for the song. You can watch it below.

Little Dragon also recently collaborated with Dave Sitek on one of the tracks off this year's Maximum Balloon release. Sitek more recently remixed the track "Be Africa" by France's Bibi Tanga . It has nothing to do with anything really, but it's being offered as a free download, so grab that mp3 above.

The Gorillaz video and all tour dates below...

Continue reading "new Damon Albarn albums & a Gorillaz video, his iPad, Little Dragon tour dates & Dave Sitek too"

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

Gorillaz Clash

The third and final round of the Coachella Music & Arts Festival was funky, and not just because the port-a-potties reeked. Keeping a loose theme every day (see Friday & Saturday), Sunday focused on relentless rhythm and groovy basslines. The absolute golden moment belonged to Yo La Tengo's blistering final song. Rhythm that revels in repetition + guitar that tries to destroy itself = wee mind blown. Sometimes the moodiest things are the most uplifting.

Thom Yorke brought his dancing shoes, his favorite Flea, and Nigel Godrich. His band Atoms For Peace played almost every song off The Eraser, many of which featured strong world rhythm sections. When Yorke didn't have a guitar in hand, he danced, whirled, and punched the air like he was rehearsing a scene from Fame. We wanted a high kick, but it didn't arrive. King Khan & The Shrines, on the other hand, featured legs flying all over the place, DJ Lance Rock and Yo Gabba Gabba characters, burning money, as well as a visit from the police-who crept on stage to snap pictures. Probably the first time Khan runs into cops and doesn't leave wearing cuffs. Sunny Day Real Estate had the audience offering bids to buy property, and Phoenix had people choking on dinner as they tried to dance and eat at the same time.

King Khan Gabba Gabba

Not every Julian Casablancas song captivated, but his band delightfully binged on rhythms. Each musician had a personal backbeat player supporting each fill. The drummer plus his sidekick especially sounded great. Matt & Kim's ebullient smiles inspired chaos in the audience, as usual. Mayer Hawthorne and the County revived Motown soulful brassiness and covered Biz Markie's "Just a Friend." The Big Pink played some new songs from next year's album, reaching out for Depeche Mode with a drummer in a pink bathing suit. Electro sweet popper Little Boots forgot her pants as well, wearing a sparkly shirt and knickers, and played with the lasers on stage. Charlotte Gainsbourg inaugurated her "first tour, first everything" with a feminine "Candy-O" sensibility, sometimes in French. Florence & the Machine rounds out the great lady performances of the day, and brought on Nathan Willett of Cold War Kids.

All clad in white, France's DJ ego-powers Club 75 demonstrated the ability to cooperate together with just a few elbows thrown. Cassius, Justice, Busy P, and DJ Mehdi still use CD's (so old school), and took turns passing on the headphones between them and finishing each other's remix sentences, trading places at each station. Backstage security bobbed along while staying tough. When it was their turn, Rusko turned the Sahara tent into a mechazoid robot battle and Orbital live-produced virtual reality anthems for Satan wearing Matrix miner lights around their heads. Infected Mushroom instructed on the benefits of "Becoming Insane" flanked by two mushrooms with red eyes.

The Middle East should not be confused with The Soft Pack, formerly The Muslims. The former may be from Australia but it sounds like a back porch band from Woodstock, and the latter offers a "Parasite" infestation that's as pure as sunshine and a neat drum set up that packs a giant tom punch. What appears as regular rock on headphones reveals its brilliance when experienced live. One of the strangest live moments of the festival belongs to Sly Stone, who played four hours late and on the wrong stage. He bitched, he slurred, he cursed, lay down, walked off, stopped songs and good grief, made a total mess of himself. But that's rock and roll.

Sly Stone made history look unable to get past its youthful drug phase, but Jonsi, Pavement, and Spoon come from a music scene that did a little bit less cocaine. Jonsi repped the awesomeness of Sigur Rós and great hats. Steve Patterson of White Rabbits joined Britt Daniels and the rest of Spoon to add percussion on "I Turn My Camera On". Spoon's tour-mate Bradford Cox (who played earlier in the day in Deerhunter) also joined Spoon on stage, like he did on their recent Kimmel appearance. Pavement ran through the hits during one of their first U.S. shows since reuniting. "That's the 90's in a nutshell," said Stephen Malkmus after the angsty "Unfair"...

"...Pavement, the iconic slacker band of the '90s, who took the main stage against what turned out to be one of the fest's chief attractions, the finally wildly popular French dance-rock band Phoenix, who wowed possibly the biggest crowd of the entire fest ... while Pavement played to a field half-full of true believers rather than the massive throngs many expected, and thought the band deserved.

No matter, though. Pavement still delivered a set that vindicated the group of prior crimes -- namely a Coachella performance near the end of their career so notoriously bad, many in attendance point to it as the moment the band decided to break up.

This night, however, they were tight, they were loud, and they sounded large on that vast field -- an odd statement, given the fact that in their heyday they were far more known for being introspectively small rather than arena-ready..." [The OC Register]

Virtual Snoop Dogg introduced the Gorillaz set, but Blur's Damon Albarn appeared in the flesh, with a few special guests including Paul Simonon, Mick Jones, De La Soul-who kicked their own old school jams earlier in the day-and Little Dragon's Yukimi. One unique rhythm transcended the next, showing the mutability of hip hop and dance music. And then that was it, suddenly. The festival ended and tens of thousands of people started wondering where they left their car keys...

Radiohead Peppers For Peace

Daiana's Weekend Top 10:
1. Yo La Tengo's last song
2. Little Dragon's Yukimi
3. Gossip leading a revolution
4. Thom Yorke dancing to African rhythms
5. PiL giving a history lesson
6. Sly Stone wigging out
7. Bouncing penises + fat people in undies (Die Antwoord + Major Lazer)
8. Devo putting on the hats that ushered in modern pop culture for "Whip It"
9. John Waters corrupting many young minds
10. The Gorrilaz lyric: "Super fast jellyfish going super fast. You can't even see him but you wanna eat him."

--

Owen Pallett, Local Natives, Miike Snow, and Yann Tiersen also played the fest Sunday. Gary Numan was among those who couldn't. Reviews & pictures from Day One, HERE and Day Two, HERE. Setlists (Thom Yorke and Pavement), pictures, and videos from Day Three, below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day Three in pics, video & review (the Thom Yorke & Pavement setlists included) "

Flea night 1 (looked the same night 2) @ Roseland (more by Bao Nguyen)

"An underground fire caused chaos in midtown Tuesday afternoon, sending flames into the streets, shutting down Broadway shows, and leaving hundreds of tourists without a place to stay. At about 4:30 pm a transformer fire burnt three 13,000 volt cables, causing a three-alarm fire. Over a 130 firefighters rushed to the scene to put out the flames. Amazingly, there were no reports of injuries. Among the four buildings that had to be evacuated was the Novotel Hotel after high levels of carbon monoxide were detected in the basement. FDNY Deputy Chief Jay Jonas told WPIX that the levels reached as high as 700 parts per million, which is enough to "kill someone with just a few breaths." Tuesday night's performance of Jersey Boys was also canceled due to the fire." [Huffington Post]

Jersey Boys is right next door to Roseland Ballroom where Atoms For Peace did end up playing their second of two NYC shows last night (4/6). It almost didn't happen. There was at least an hour or two where the venue wasn't sure if they were going to have to postpone it. 52st street was closed and it was madness around the venue - even after the show the street was still closed (people were herded out along the sidewalk as cops made sure that nobody hopped the barrier and went into the street). To get in to the show, which ended up opening hours late, people had to enter through the 53rd Street back door. Ironically, all tickets were will call to keep away scalpers. That meant thousands of people had to start checking in not long before the opener was originally scheduled to start. Some people waited hours, but luckily set times ended up being pushed back an hour. I missed Flying Lotus who played while many people were still stuck on the street. Thom Yorke, Flea, Joey Waronker, Mauro Refosco and Nigel Godrich (aka Atoms for Peace) took the stage to an extremely packed house at 10:03.

Not one for many words, Thom Yorke (and band) immediately started playing his solo album The Eraser from start to finish. I was anticipating some funny commentary from Thom on the craziness that preceded their set, but all we got was a quick (not an exact quote) "interesting afternoon, huh?" after the 2nd song (which i think he followed with something like, "my friend texted me and said he was drinking all day and tired and that I should hurry up and start playing"). After the nine song album, the band left the stage and Thom came back and did three songs solo (guitar and piano) including Kid A's "Everything In It's Right Place" which got the loudest cheers of the night. It was one of a few Radiohead songs in the setlist (they also played "Fog" and "Paperback Writer") (there were no Red Hot Chili Peppers songs) (but it would have been kind of awesome if they actually did play one). Thom's other solo song was a cover of Mark Mulcahy's "All the Best" which he recorded for that recent tribute album. He reportedly never performed that one live before which was also true about the new song he played at the first show (but not play again at this one).

Like the night before, the full band came back for the last four songs. Relatively speaking, Thom started to get more talkative at that point, but the banter was basically limited to naming the song they were about to play and mentioning that we might be able to buy the recent single (from which they played both songs again to close the show). Speaking of buying, the ticket price was expensive, $40 t-shirts are a disgrace, it was a major pain getting in (not anyone's fault), and the whole show was only about 80-85 minutes (Wilco's recent shows in NJ were each longer than both nights of Thom combined - I know, they have much more material). Those details were definitely all a little off-putting, but the show itself was great. Watching and listening to Thom perform is definitely something special. Throw in Flea on bass and you have two very dynamic (and talented) characters sharing a stage in what felt like a rare treat complete with a super tight supporting band and colorful light show.

Pictures from the first night HERE. Videos from the show, of the line, of the manhole exploding, and the full setlist below...

Continue reading "Atoms for Peace played (almost didn't) Roseland Ballroom again - night 2 setlist & videos (of the NYC show, line & fire)"

photos by Bao Nguyen

"Sorry I did fall asleep cause I was resting from such an amazing show! I'm wide awake now!" - Bao

"The line in front of Roseland Ballroom stretched around the corner of 52nd Street and up Broadway but moved along quickly. The band's ticketless method to limit scalping seemed to work without too many headaches. Flying Lotus was on the wheels when I walked in spinning chilled-out techno but it's tough to build a groove when the sound system is popping and cracking like a blown speaker, what a shame. Sound improved toward the end of his set and he closed with 'Idioteque'.

Atoms for Peace took the stage as a 6-piece with Thom Yorke at piano and a guest horn player center stage (he would depart after 2 songs). They opened with 'The Eraser' and two things became immediately clear: 1) the sound was now perfect and 2) Flea would add some SoCal funk/punk to the set. With blue hair and a white tee (the rest of the band was in black), he was immediately wiggling/dancing across the stage laying it on thick. The set was comprised mostly of songs from The Eraser but included some Radiohead and some new songs as well." [Blackraptor]

As promised, here are the pictures from last night's show at Roseland Ballroom (and some from the after-show party in the mezzanine). They continue below...

Continue reading "Thom Yorke, Flea & band were Atoms for Peace @ Roseland Ballroom (pics from the show & afterparty) "

Atoms for Peace (jrlevine)

Thom Yorke's new band Atoms for Peace (complete with Flea) kicked off their tour last night (4/5) at Roseland Ballroom in NYC. They play the same venue again tonight (4/6). Flying Lotus opens both nights. The setlist included a lot of songs from Thom's solo album The Eraser, both songs from the "Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses" single, and a brand new song. The full list is below.

UPDATE: Pictures are HERE.

I think Bao fell asleep editing his pictures from the show and I'm not doing so well myself, so (stay tuned for those photos and) without further ado, a few videos including the new song (called Chris Hodge/Let Me Take Control) with the entire setlist (thanks Ethan!), below...

Continue reading "Atoms For Peace (Thom Yorke) played Roseland Ballroom - night 1 setlist, videos (new song included) (pics soon) "

Thom Yorke in L.A. last October (more by Darren Kim)

hey everyone

ok so in April the other band.. that i got together to do the eraser and other stuff u know .. Mauro, Flea, Me, Joey and Nigel is going back out to do some shows in the US.. ending with playing with Coachella. we had too much fun to just leave it there...

it has been decided that we call ourselves Atoms For Peace. hope you like the name.. it seemed bleedin' obvious.

these are the shows + Flying Lotus is opening for us -
New York Roseland Ballroom 5th + 6th
Boston Citi Wang Theatre 8th
Chicago Aragon Ballroom 10th + 11th
Oakland Fox Theatre 14th + 15th
Santa Barbara Bowl 17th

all warmth

Thom [via]

As you can see above, they play NYC's Roseland Ballroom on Monday April 5th and Tuesday April 6th. Tickets (4/5) / tickets (4/6) go on sale Saturday, March 6th at 10am ("No phone, box office or outlet sales. Tickets are non-transferable").

Thom Yorke appears on the new album from Flying Lotus (who has other shows coming up too). That includes March 30th at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets are still on sale.

More date and ticket info below...

Continue reading "Thom Yorke names his band Atoms for Peace, announces April 2010 tour dates (including 2 nights in NYC)"

"Brendan Mullen, who nurtured the early Los Angeles punk-rock scene in the 1970s with his club the Masque and later chronicled it in articles and books, died on Monday in Ventura, Calif. He was 60 and lived in Los Angeles." [NY Times]

According to Flea, "Brendan Mullen had a lot of friends. [he] was one of them."

photos by Darren Kim

Entering the stage to a standing ovation, [Thom] Yorke began at a standup piano facing away from the audience, pushing out the chunky chords that announce "The Eraser," the title track from his 2006 solo album. However, as his elite backing band kicked in -- Red Hot Chili Peppers' icon Flea on bass, Joey Waronker (Beck, R.E.M.) on drums, Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Bebel Gilberto) on percussion, longtime Radiohead/Yorke producer Nigel Godrich on guitar/synths/laptop -- Yorke began to shake his tailfeather with aplomb. Strapping on a guitar, Yorke and Flea began their own punk-funk hootenanny, grooving in unison as they vamped on an angular disco riff; behind them, their bandmates built up waves of propulsive percussion that evoked more an LCD Soundsystem show than, say, "Karma Police."

At both the Echoplex and Orpheum, Yorke & co. played The Eraser album in its entirety, which proved a clever conceit. The Eraser is the ultimate bedroom electronica opus, its synthetic beats influenced by dubstep and IDM starkly rhythmic. In the live setting, however, the songs, taken out of the computer realm by virtuoso musicians with such passion, suddenly became transformed into downright euphoria.

As deep, dark, and meaningful as Yorke's songs are, in this context they also proved righteously fun. This was different than a Radiohead show -- the sight of Flea doing his characteristic bop onstage alongside Yorke confirmed that -- but it proved equally sublime: separate, yes, but perhaps equal. Solo, Yorke proved cathartic in his own way: a Radiohead show might make you weep, but Yorke and his band of merry rhythm makers will shake your body down to the ground. [Rolling Stone]

The photos in this post are from last night's show at L.A's Orpheum (10/4). Thom Yorke's new (super?) group debuted at the much-smaller Echoplex two days prior (10/2). Yorke, Flea and the rest of the band still have one more show tonight (10/5), again at the Orpheum.

More pictures from last night, and both setlists and a video, below...

Continue reading "Thom Yorke, Flea & band played the Echoplex and Orpheum (pics & setlist) -- one more show in LA tonight"

"Thom Yorke and Flea's new supergroup will play a Radiohead song at their upcoming debut gigs in Los Angeles., it's been revealed.

The as-yet-unnamed band's drummer Mauro Refosco told Brazilian website Abril.com they will play Thom Yorke's 'The Eraser' album in its entirety, four new songs and one Radiohead track at the shows on Sunday and Monday (October 4 & 5).

It's rumoured the band will air Thom Yorke's song he wrote for the Twilight New Moon soundtrack, 'Hearing Damage', as one of the "new" songs." [gigwise]

LA Weekly is also reporting that their might be a secret Thom Yorke show at the Echoplex this Friday night, October 2.

The new Twilight soundtrack, as you may have heard, also includes tracks by many familiar names including Death Cab For Cutie, Muse, Sea Wolf, Grizzly Bear & Beach House's Victoria Legrand, Bon Iver & St. Vincent, and Editors...

Speaking exclusively to Gigwise, Editors frontman Tom Smith said: "The films aren't aimed at people our age but I look at the bands that we're next to on that soundtrack and it's just a good thing.

"It's not selling out, it's not putting your song on an advert or selling a product.

"It's just being part of something that, to me, as collective seems like a pretty attractive thing."

New Moon is the second instalment of the vampire franchise, which stars British actor Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

Cover art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Thom Yorke's LA setlist, a secret show?, Twilight soundtrack"

hi
in the past couple of weeks i've been getting a band together for fun to play the eraser stuff live and the new songs etc.. to see if it could work!
here's a photo.. its me, joey waronker, mauro refosco, flea and nigel godrich.

at the beginning of october the 4th and 5th we are going to do a couple of shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.
we don't really have a name and the set will not be very long cuz ..well ...we haven't got that much material yet!
but come and check it out if you are in the area. we've also got locals Lucky Dragons playing.
all the best

click here to get to get tickets>

10/04

10/05

Thom

Like Phil Selway, Thom Yorke has also been working on solo material. In fact, it was produced by Thom's new band member Nigel Godrich, and the official release date just so happens to be one day after the LA shows. Details below...

Continue reading "Thom Yorke forms a band (a supergroup?) - announces LA shows (tickets on sale today) "

Butch Walker @ Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ - Nov 23, 2007 (CRED)

Butch Walker and his family have fallen victim to the wildfires spread by the Santa Ana winds across Malibu, CA. On November 24th a family friend was forced to evacuate the singer, songwriter and producer's Malibu home, which was being rented from Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Flea, due to the rapidly spreading fire. Walker was in New York City at the time on tour.

Says Walker "I had just consolidated my entire recording studio and house from Atlanta into the one house In Malibu. I lost everything I've ever owned. Every master of every song I've ever recorded, every piece of recording equipment, guitars, drums and things I've collected over the years, cars, motorcycles, every family memorial, heirloom, picture, and document we ever had.... Gone. I feel like I finally know the difference between 'going back' and 'going home'."

Many pets have also been displaced by the wildfires which are now near full containment. Butch played sold-out shows at Maxwell's on the 23rd & 24th.

Foo Fighters are playing Madison Square Garden on February 19, 2008. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10am ($49.50 / $43 / $29.50). Their new album Echoes Silence Patience & Grace is currently #49 on the list of best selling music at Amazon (Feist is 42). I haven't heard the whole thing, but I don't like the few songs I heard from it streaming on their MySpace.

Flea's Malibu home burned down. He's also suing Showtime. Flea is not a Foo Fighter, but his band has toured with them. All Foo Fighters tour dates below...

Continue reading "Foo Fighters playing MSG, 2008 Tour Dates, Flea's house"