Royal Baths circa now

Royal Baths are opening for Moon Duo tomorrow night (10/5) at Knitting Factory and the show will be their first with a new line-up that includes Lesley Hann of Friends on bass (who seems to have left that group, along with Matthew Molnar, if their most recent 285 Kent show is any indication). Tickets are still available.

If you can't make it tomorrow night, Royal Baths have a bunch of other shows coming up, including Sunday (10/7) at Bowery Electric (whose booking seems to be getting more interesting now that Sam Mickens has been handling some of the shows there) with Larkin Grimm, Behavior & M. Lamar; Wednesday (10/10) at Glasslands with Grooms, Dum Dum Girls offshoot SISU and Punks on Mars (tickets); October 16 at 285 Kent with Forma and the Golden Awesome; and a CMJ show at Cheap Storage on October 19 with King Tuff, Habibi, Turnip King and Total Slacker (tickets). Royal Baths tour dates are listed below.

Meanwhile, Royal Baths' Jeremy Cox features on Blasted Canyons' version of "Venus in Furs" that will be on the upcoming Castle Face Velvet Underground tribute album we told you about. That album is out November 6. Royal Baths most recent album, Better Luck Next Life, came out back in February.

Speaking of Total Slacker, the band have had a sad week with the death of their drummer Terence Connor in a hit-and-run. The band will pay tribute to him this Saturday (10/6) at Cheap Storage with a dance party featuring DJ sets from Weird Rivers, Cool Serbia, DOM, and Prince Rama. Suggested donation is $5 and all procedes go to Connor's family. More info here.

Continue reading "Friends' Lesley Hann joins Royal Baths who have a bunch of upcoming shows (dates)"

Gary War at Union Pool in 2011 (more by Nikki Sneakers)

As mentioned, Gary War released his new album, Jared's Lot, on July 24 via Spectrum Pools and played a record release show for it in NYC at Le Poisson Rouge (7/30). If you went to that show, how was it? If you missed it (or just want to see him again), you're in luck because Gary recently tacked on a NYC date to his August tour which now begins on Wednesday (8/15) at 285 Kent in Brooklyn with Forma, Ami Dang, and Lorna Dune. No advance tickets for this one.

An updated list of dates and a spotify stream of Jared's Lot are below...

Continue reading "Gary War kicking off tour in NYC this week (updated dates)"

Instruments like this will be played tonight

Happy summer solstice! And what a way to kick off the season, it looks like it's going to be well into the 90°s today. Death by Audio will be celebrating it tonight (6/20) with Modular Solstice, a night of all modular synth performances by musicians who are or were involved in a project which uses analog electronics. (Let's hope for the instruments' sake DbA's A/C is up and running.) The lineup for tonight's show includes Drew McDowall (CSD, ex-Coil and Psychic TV), Mark Dwinell (member of Forma), Matthew Regula (member of Telecult Powers), Nathan Cearley (member of Long Distance Poison), and Jesse Derosa (member of Grasshopper). Doors for tonight's show are at 8 PM, first set at 8:30. Admission is $7.

Drew McDowall spoke to WFMU about what he's been up to and they touched on the DbA show, in addition to some other future plans:

You're playing the Modular Solstice Synthesizer show on Wednesday at Death By Audio in Brooklyn, what can you tell me about the instrument you will be playing? Lots of gear fetishists want to know, I'm sure.

As this is the first solo show that I've done I wanted to to make it even more exposed and solitary so it's going to be modular synthesizer. No other instruments. You'll have to come to see what it is.

What's next?

Putting the finishing touches to the next Compound Eye and CSD records. I've started collaborating with a few other people and doing remixes too. I'm doing something with Nicky Mao from Hiro Kone, i'm excited about that.

Each artist performing at Death by Audio tonight has offered a one to two sentence description of their set. A couple of them actually sounds like it's about the music, but they're all pretty fun to read. Check them out below.

Continue reading "Drew McDowall (ex-Coil), Mark Dwinell (of Forma) & more playing 'Modular Solstice' synth show at DbA tonight"

Oneida at Ecstatic Music Fest (more by David Andrako)

As previously mentioned, live concert recording site NYC Taper just turned five years old and is throwing a party at 285 Kent on Saturday (5/12) to celebrate, with performances by Oneida, Sightings and Prince Ruperts Drops. Joining Oneida onstage will be James McNew of Yo La Tengo/Dump fame and Greg Fox (Guardian Alien/GDFX). If you can't make it, we're going to guess someone will make an downloadable audio document of it. Meanwhile peruse NYC Taper's awesome catalog of nearly live recordings. There's nearly 1000 of them at present -- like the recent Lower Dens show at Glasslands, and the Crystal Stilts/Woods show that took place at 285 Kent last weekend. The flyer for the NYC Taper show is at the bottom of this post.

Greg Fox plays the Stone earlier the same night as part of the ongoing Buke & Gase-curated series of shows.

While we're talking about 285 Kent, tonight (5/11) the Brooklyn venue hosts an evening of electronic avant garde and noise, with former Yellow Swan man Pete Swanson, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Forma, and SSPS.

Then on Sunday (5/13), Woodsist Records is throwing a record release party for MV&EE's Space Homestead, with a live performance by the band as well as Steve Gunn and Herbcraft. MV&EE have some tour dates coming up and those are below, along with a stream of a song from the new album....

Continue reading "Oneida, James McNew, MV&EE & more this weekend @ 285 Kent (where Crystal Stilts & Woods recently played)"

Dam-Funk at Union Pool (more by Erez Avissar)

It's that very special time again...

WBAR Barnard College Radio is pleased to announce WBAR-B-Q XIX happening Saturday, April 28th from 2-10 PM at Barnard College in New York City

2 stages, 9 acts, 8 hours of music, free BBQ, ALL FREE, ALL AGES, ALL OPEN TO THE PUBLIC...

Come early for the free food and BBQ starting at 1:30 PM, stay for the jams

TELL ALL YER FRIENDS

The show is one of four NYC-area shows scheduled for Widowspeak, who also play Maxwell's on 4/13 with Crystal Stilts and two NYC shows on their tour with 2:54. Their full tour schedule is below alongside some video.

Continue reading "WBAR-B-Q 2012 lineup (free show w/ Bush Tetras, Dam-Funk, Widowspeak, Forma & many more)"

by Andrew Sacher

Laurel Halo at PS1 in July (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Brooklyn electronic duo Blondes will release their self-titled debut full length on February 7 via RVNG Intl. The album's got eight original tracks and a second disc with remixes of every track by Laurel Halo, Teengirl Fantasy, Andy Stott and others. They've got a video for album track "Wine," which, like their 2010 EP Touched, is what it would probably have sounded like if Manuel Gottsching made house music. You can watch that video below, along with the Teengirl Fantasy remix of the same song. The artwork and tracklist are below too.

Blondes have an NYC show coming up on December 16 at 285 Kent Ave with Ital, Dariius, Laurel Halo (DJ), and Vibes Management DJs. More info on this show below.

Laurel Halo, whose Hour Logic EP is ending up on a few year end lists, also plays a headlining show a few days earlier at Glasslands on December 13 with Forma, Corps Exquis, and Lorna Dune. Tickets for that show are available. If you still haven't heard Hour Logic, it was an unexpected turn towards ambient IDM which hardly ever reveals the vocals that dominated her synthy dream pop EP, King Felix. Fortunately, she's great at both sounds. Hour Logic is streaming in full below.

Teengirl Fantasy also DJs at a True Panther party TONIGHT (12/9) at Cameo with DJ sets by Lemonade, Tanlines, Van Rivers (of Glasser who also have a 285 Kent show on 12/17), and Cool Places Soundsystem, who also DJs the King Krule show at Glasslands (1/13). The flier for the True Panther show is below.

Speaking of Ital, whose real name is Daniel Martin-McCormick and who was a member of 2000s Dischord band Black Eyes, then went on to form Mi Ami with Black Eyes bandmate Jacob Long, and also records music under the moniker Sex Worker, he's teaming up with electronic label Planet Mu (who just put out the new Keep Shelly in Athens EP) for his next release, Hive Mind, which is due out on February 13. You can stream and pre-order the entire thing at Planet Mu's website.

All dates, video, song streams, and other stuff below...

Continue reading "Laurel Halo shows, Blondes, Ital and a True Panther party too"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Xeno & Oaklander - Autumn's Edge (MP3)

Xeno & Oaklander are New York's premier minimal wave, and have been doing it 1981 style -- using patch bays and vintage equipment exclusively, no laptops -- for over five years. Despite the duo's neo-luddite approach to making electronic music, Sean McBride and Liz Wendelbo have certainly gotten better at what they're doing, both mastery of their gear and in songwriting.

Sets & Lights, which was released this week on Wierd Records, is the band's third album and easily their best. Arpeggiated synths and sequencers bubble along and Wendelbo and McBride trade vocals... it's like the soundtrack to some gleaming baroque futureworld. You can download "Autumn's Edge" at the top of this post, and be sure to check out the genuinely spooky video to single "The Staircase" further down.

Xeno & Oaklander have a few shows coming up. Tonight (10.12), they celebrate the release of Sets & Lights tonight (10.12) at the weekly Wierd Party at Home Sweet Home. Friday night (10.14) they'll play the afterparty of the first night of the Neon Marshmallow Festival which is happening all weekend at Public Assembly.

Then next Saturday (10/22), Xeno & Oaklander play Altered Zones at the New Museum, which seems to be this year's attempt by Pitchfork at CMJ counterprograming. (Remember #Offline?) In addition to X&O, performers include AraabMuzik, Grimes, Teengirl Fantasy, Trash Talk, Eric Copeland, Prince Rama, Light Asylum, FORMA, and Dive. The show is 21+ and $25 for non-museum members and a portion of the proceeds goes to benefit the 2012 New Museum Triennial, an international exhibition of emerging artists. This actually sounds potentially cool. Flyer for the event is below.

Continue reading "Xeno & Oaklander released Sets & Lights, playing shows, Pitchfork Altered Zones not-CMJ party @ New Museum"

Grouper at Terminal 5 in 2009 (more by Natasha Ryan)

Mini festival Neon Marshmallow is making its way to NYC, after two successful outings in Chicago. The festival will call Public Assembly home over three days (10/14 - 10/16), featuring live performances, DJ sets, and visuals from many artists who embrace experimentalism. Among the bands performing at the fest are names like Tim Hecker, Rhys Chatham (who celebrates 40 years of The Kitchen in September), Grouper, Phill Niblock, and many others that range in genre from Alan Licht to The Men (who are currently touring and will play Saint Vitus on 9/17) to Xeno & Oaklander to La Big Vic. The festival is currently selling weekend passes, though no word on individual days or who will perform on each day. Full lineup is below.

In other news, Grouper, who recently played LPR and Glasslands, has a new digital 7" available. Stream the title track from Grouper's latest Water People 7" below alongside the full Neon Marshmallow lineup.

Continue reading "Neon Marshmallow fest coming to Brooklyn (3 days @ Public Assembly w/ Tim Hecker, Grouper, many more)"

photos by Erez Avissar

Simian Mobile Disco

Warm Up at MoMA PS1 continued on Saturday (8/6) with Simian Mobile Disco, Omar S, Steve More, Beppe Loda, and Forma. It rained through Simian Mobile Disco's DJ set but a dance party ensued nevertheless.

SMD also DJ'd a FIXED party that night and Forma played The Stone.

Warm Up happens again this Saturday (8/13) with Black Dice, His Name is Alive (DJ set), oOoOO, Clams Casino, Ayshay (DJ set), and Water Borders. Meanwhile two of them play Mercury Lounge tonight (8/11).

More pictures from this past Saturday below...

Continue reading "Simian Mobile Disco, Omar S, Steve More, Beppe Loda & Forma warmed up PS1 (pics)"

Forma

If you've noticed that The Stone has been putting on some pretty great shows this month like Laurel Halo and Metalux, among others, that's because August 2011 is being curated by noise master Carlos Giffoni (of No Fun Fest) and Pi Recordings founder Seth Rosner. (not that any month at the Stone is ever bad.)

Their curation continues throughout the month and includes Spectre Folk and Forma TONIGHT (8/6) after Forma plays Warm Up with Simian Mobile Disco during the day.

Other artists playing throughout the month include White Out with Ikue Mori, Noveller, Oneohtrix Point Never, C. Spencer Yeh and Meg Clixby, Fieldwork, Sickness, Driphouse, Nautical Almanac, and others. Check The Stone's Calender for full show lineups throughout the month.

Some Forma song streams below...

Continue reading "Carlos Giffoni & Seth Rosner curated the Stone (Forma play after PS1 tonight)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Tonight (7/6) is the first of three chances you'll have to check out Noveller, the guitar-based soundscapes project of Sarah Lipstate, over the next two weeks. The show is at Public Assembly, where she's on a bill with JACK Quartet (who've been playing around town quite a bit, including a set at the BoaC marathon) and Zs (performing as a trio). After that, Noveller plays Thursday at Coco 66 and next Tuesday (7/15) at Shea Stadiumwith Zs-related Diamond Terrifier (video below).

Noveller recently released a new record, Glacial Glow, which you can hear-- along with the rest of the Noveller catalog--on Bandcamp. The disc takes a different approach than 2010's stellar Desert Fires, swapping its broad, meaty textures for a more spare, melodic sound. That same approach carries over into Matt Kleiner's video for new song "Alone Star," which captures the urban landscapes of Sydney and Melbourne in stark black & white. That video and all tour dares are below....

Continue reading "Noveller released 'Glacial Glow' (stream), playing shows (dates at Public Assembly, Coco66 & Shea Stadium)"

DOWNLOAD: Pure X - "Dry Ice" (MP3)

Pure X photos by Grant MacAllister

Pure X opening for This Will Destroy You in Chicago in May

Austin's Pure X (formerly Pure Ecstasy) are releasing their first full length, Pleasure on July 5 via Acéphale in North America. A limited edition LP is available for pre-order on Acéphale's website. The first LP pressing is limited to 1000 copies on heavyweight vinyl, and the first 200 on ultraclear vinyl with red splatter. Grab the MP3 for "Dry Ice" above and check out the track "Twisted Mirror", along with the full tracklist and cover art, below.

The band recently finished up a tour with This Will Destroy You that hit Bowery Ballroom on June 2nd. A few pictures from their set on 5/28 at Bottom Lounge in Chicago are in this post

They've got a few upcoming dates in July, including two NYC shows: July 8 at 285 Kent and July 9 at Ding Dong Lounge. The 285 Kent show, presented by Chocolate Bobka, also has Tonstartbandht, FORMA, and RUN DMT on the blll. Ding Dong Lounge doesn't acytually list Pure X on the July 9th show which has Fungi Girls, Cough Cool, and Expensive Looks on the bill, but we'll assume for now at least that they are also playing it.

Fungi Girls opening for Hunx in Austin (more by Tim Griffin)

"Texas' Fungi Girls are back making news with a teaser of two songs from their second LP, Some Easy Magic, scheduled to be released July 11 from Hozac Records. Take a listen to two of the songs off the LP and feel free to download one of 'em. It's not a stretch to say that we'll be getting some more of that hazey, nostalgic, garage/surf that they do oh so well." [Chromewaves]

All dates, pics, soundcloud streams, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Pure X releasing 'Pleasure', playing shows, one with Fungi Girls (who are touring too) -- MP3s, live pics, dates"

crowd @ Warm Up 2010 (more by Zach Dilgard)

The full schedule for MoMa's 20l1 'Warm Up' season at PS1 has since been announced. The dance parties happen at the Long Island City location every Saturday from July 2 through September 3 from 2 PM to 9 PM. Admission is $15 and includes access to all exhibitions and 'Warm Up.' Check out the full lineup below.

As discussed, Four Tet and Matthewdavid play 'Warm Up' on July 9. STBRKT (who recently collaborated with Little Dragon) along with FaltyDL and others are also on that bill.

Other days feature Delicate Steve, Odd Future DJ Syd tha Kyd, Black Dice, Juan Maclean, Blood Orange, Solange, Grimes, Tanlines, Sun Araw and many other DJs, producers and and bands. Das Racist, Simian Mobile Disco, Ford & Lopatin, Gang Gang Dance and a few other groups are performing DJ sets.

More info and the full schedule below...

Continue reading "PS1's 2011 'Warm Up' lineup announced"

A magical show happened Saturday night at a loft in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn (at a space also known as The Schoolhouse when it throws shows).

Jeff Mangum, as he said at the show, is thinking of playing out again. He already played a rare 5-song set back in May at the Chris Knox benefit at Le Poisson Rouge (LPR), but he wanted to test out playing live a bit more so his friend set up this last minute show for about 75 lucky attendees, many who were invited just hours before it started, and who were sworn to secrecy and asked very strongly that no visual evidence of the show be posted anywhere afterwards. Like at LPR, there was supposed to be no pictures and no video, and like after LPR, audio evidence quickly appeared online. Word continues to spread.

Brooklyn electro-trio Forma live in, or are associated somehow with, the space, and they opened the show. Definitely check them out if you have a chance, like at TANDEM (246 Troutman Street, Brooklyn) on December 11.

Jeff, dressed in his signature red and black flannel, played 10 Neutral Milk Hotel songs on two different guitars and a microphone. He went on around 9:45pm, and was in top form, bringing many to tears as he opened with 'Oh Comely' followed by 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea'. The acoustics in the spacious industrial-looking 3-story-high room were ideal for his powerful voice. He modestly thanked the crowd multiple times and asked for forgiveness for not being good with stage banter. Many were seated, with their jackets still on in the chilly room with a small stage and PA set up in it. Everyone was standing and warm though, and cheering, as the show ended and Jeff said thank you and good night after ending with 'Two Headed Boy Pt. 2'. Full setlist below...

Continue reading "Jeff Mangum played 10 songs in a Bushwick Loft "