by Andrew Sacher

Thomas Dolby is releasing his first album of new material in 20 years this summer. The album is called A Map of the Floating City and features an array of guest musicians including Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap, Mark Knopfler, and Eddi Reader. Dolby is giving an exclusive sneak preview performance of songs from the album this Friday (2/25) at The Greene Space at 2 PM. He's performing the songs with New York string quartet Ethel and accordion player Rachelle Garniez. Opening the show is the Jamaican group The Jolly Boys. Tickets are still available. If you can't make it you can always listen on WNYC.

Despite being one of the pioneers of electronic pop music, in a press release on his website, Dolby has said of the new album:

"I marvel at the new landscape of the music business - distribution via the Internet and recording technologies I barely dreamed of when I started out," he continues. "But this album does not sound electronic at all. I have zero desire to add to the myriad of machine-based, synth-driven grooves out there. The Net has made a music career approachable for thousands of bands - but I hear too few single-minded voices among them. What I do best is write songs, tell stories."

Dolby's initial plan was to release three EPs leading up to the release of the album. His first EP, Amerikana, was released last June and his next EP, Oceanea, comes out officially on March 28. A music video for "The Toadlickers" off of the Amerikana EP is featured below. The third EP, entitled Urbanoia, is no longer coming out. Instead he has chosen to create an "online multiuser event entitled 'The Floating City,' where you "won't need to buy a download of the 'Urbanoia' EP; but to hear it, you'll need to play the game and find your way to the party." Looks like Thomas Dolby is blinding us with science.

Currently, Dolby's performance at The Greene Space is his only announced date, but his press release says, "A multi-city live tour is likely for 2011."

Videos and the next EP's cover art is below...

Continue reading "Thomas Dolby releasing EPs & a guest-filled album, performing live in NYC on Friday (and on the radio)"

Tickets are still on sale for Imogen Heap's show at NYC's large Hammerstein Ballroom Tuesday (5/25). She'll be joined by special guest (with an extra trippy Myspace) Geese.

From there, her "Ellipse World Tour" travels across North America through the month of June. Shows are planned for the UK and Ireland in August, October and November. All dates below...

Continue reading "Imogen Heap on tour - 2010 dates (Hammerstein Tuesday)"

Beast @ CMJ 2009 (more by Chris La Putt)

Lady Gaga was nominated five times. Considering her rocket to fame over the last year, many were expecting more for her. But at least the contests are going to be really interesting: Beyoncé, [Taylor] Swift and Lady Gaga are going head to head in three of the most important categories: album, record and song of the year. Will one of them sweep, or will the lady vote be split?

One of the usual complaints about the Grammys is that it over-rewards older, established, familiar acts at the expense of newer, fresher ones. MGMT, the Brooklyn synth-rock duo, was nominated for best new artist, a big coup although not unexpected. But some of the shoulda-been names that have been circulated and Tweeted: Grizzly Bear, another acclaimed Brooklyn group; Regina Spektor, a young New York songwriter who started in the underground and has found some mainstream popularity; Diane Birch, a young soul-style singer, just the revivalist type the Grammys usually adore; and the Decemberists, an alt-folk-rock band from Portland, Ore., that released an ambitious concept album this year. [NY Times]

Neko Case, Imogen Heap, Phoenix, Silversun Pickups, David Byrne, Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are some of the other familiar names in the list of Grammy nominees this year. As Ben Sisario in the NY Times alludes, the nominations are a complete joke and predictable... but fun to look at anyway. Nobody expects Animal Collective to get picked, despite their soon-to-be status of being one of the highly rated artists of the year (and decade maybe).

One surprise (for me anyway) came this year in the video category. Montreal's Beast were nominated for "Mr. Hurricane". That video with a list of some of the other nominees, below...

Continue reading "Beast's 'Mr. Hurricane' video & other 2009 Grammy nominees "

Imogen Heap's latest record Eclipse came out August 25th on RCA and is streaming online. Her current tour will make two NYC stops. The first is a December 2nd show at Webster Hall. Tickets for that are already on sale. The second will be the next night (12/3) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, November 18th at noon.

For the first leg of her tour (of which NYC is the last stop) she'll be backed by guests Back Ted N-Ted and Tim Exile, who also open the show. In February, she has a UK tour lineup, and writes that more US dates are on the way for April 2010.

Her tour kicked off on November 9th at LA's Henry Fonda Theatre (after having to cancel the originally scheduled first night in Santa Barbara, CA because of illness). The set list from that show and videos (a Twitter fan interview, the single from the new record and clips from Boulder, CO, on Nov. 14th) are below...

Continue reading "Imogen Heap - 2009 Tour Dates (2 NYC shows) "

Imogen Heap is playing Webster Hall on December 2nd. Tickets are on sale now.

Tickets are on sale for the 2nd Neon Indian show at Mercury Lounge.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the 2nd Rural Alberta Advantage show at Mercury Lounge.

Agent Orange is playing Mercury Lounge on January 10th. Tickets are on sale (@ noon).

Tickets are on AmEx presale (@ noon) for the Miike Snow show happening at Webster Hall. Tickets are on sale for the one at Music Hall of Williamsburg.

Tickets are on AmEx presale (@ noon) for the Akron/Family / Warpaint show happening at Music Hall of Williamsburg.