Austra at Music Hall of Williamsburg in 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As mentioned, Austra are releasing their sophomore album, Olympia, on June 18 via Domino/Paper Bag, and will be touring in support of it over the next few months. That tour hits NYC for a show on June 20 at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Mozart's Sister (sold out) and a BrooklynVegan-presented show on September 22 at Webster Hall (tickets).

The Webster Hall show and many of their other August/September shows are with fellow Canadians DIANA, who just signed to Jagjaguwar in the US and Paper Bag in Canada. Their debut LP, Perpetual Surrender will come out on August 20 and you can watch the video for its single, "Born Again," below.

Regarding Austra's upcoming album, in a recent interview with Stereogum, singer Katie Stelmanis talked about the differences recording this one with her band, as opposed to entirely solo like Austra's debut:

Yeah, it's something that I was kind of craving. I feel like when you hear a solo record from someone you can kind of always tell that it's a solo record. Like, if literally one person did everything on the record it's like you're following their train of thought. Everything is predictable and fits into this certain box. It's one person's idea, and I was very aware of that, and I wanted to create something that's a little more dynamic. And so doing that I wanted to bring in more ideas and bring in other people and it made it more interesting for me because I was able to bounce ideas off of other people and just co-writing with people was pretty new and fun.

Stream both of those remixes, along with the list of all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Austra remixed by Ital and Kevin Saunderson (listen); tour w/ DIANA starts soon"

by Andrew Sacher

Ital

NYC producer Ital (aka Daniel Martin-McCormick, who was also in Black Eyes, Mi Ami, and recorded as Sex Worker) always tends to be up to something, and he's got a handful of shows scheduled for this month and the coming months after that. I recently wrote about him for BV Chicago and said:

If you've never seen Ital live and are wondering if he's "just another knob turner," I caught him on his 2012 tour with Laurel Halo and can assure that it's a great time. His music in Ital may lean a bit on the calmer side recorded, but he's a party-starter at heart and he goes nuts behind the boards at his shows.

In March, Ital is set to tour Asia with Magic Touch, and upon returning home he'll play another NYC show at 285 Kent on March 30 with Container, Co La, and PVRE MATRIX. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Pitchfork recently filmed a Co La show at 285 Kent, where he played material off of his upcoming album (which he says is due out in May) and was interviewed. That video and a list of all currently known Ital dates below...

Continue reading "Ital playing shows; one with Co La, who's working on a new LP"

by Andrew Sacher

Sun Araw at BV-SXSW 2012 (more by Nate "Igor" Smith)

Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras took part in one of 2012's most interesting (relatively) obscure releases with Icon Give Thank, a collaborative album with reggae legends/Lee "Scratch" Perry associates The Congos. And towards the end of the year, the three collaborators released a 5-track live EP recorded with the Raw Power Band at the Village Underground in London this past June. You can download that EP (name your price) at bandcamp and stream the whole thing below.

Both Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras are teaming up this month for a NYC show which happens on January 19 at Knitting Factory with Ital, who toured with M Geddes Gengras (and Laurel Halo) in 2012 around the time he dropped Dream On, his second album of 2012. Tickets for that show are on sale now. It's the only currently announced date for Sun Araw but Ital has other upcoming dates, which are listed below.

Sun Araw is featured on an upcoming double album compilation from Stones Throw and Leaving Records (Matthewdavid's label) called Dual Form which drops January 22 in cassette, LP, CD, and digital formats. The compilation also features Julia Holter (covering Arthur Russell), Dntel, Run DMT, Odd Nosdam and many more. You can stream Sun Araw's contribution, "Right Off," and check out the full tracklist below. The cassette version features bonus tracks by Matthewdavid.

All streams and a list of Ital dates below...

Continue reading "Sun Araw appearing on Stones Throw/Leaving comp, playing NYC w/ Ital, released live EP w/ The Congos (dates, streams)"

From December 6 through 9, Miami Beach, Florida, will host the 11th edition of Art Basel, the most prestigious art show in the Americas. More than 260 leading galleries from North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa will take part, showcasing works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The exhibiting galleries are among the world's most respected art dealers, offering exceptional pieces by both renowned artists and cutting-edge newcomers. Special exhibition sections feature young galleries, performance art, public art projects and video art. The show will be a vital source for art lovers, allowing them to both discover new developments in contemporary art and experience rare museum-caliber artworks.

Other music artists playing shows during or around Art Basel include Chromatics, Prince Rama, Nicolas Jaar, Purity Ring, Twin Shadow, Brenmar, Animal Collective, Flying Lotus, Dan Deacon, Hundred Waters, ITAL and Jacuzzi Boys. Paper Mag has a pretty good guide to some of it.

Some of those artists were set to play the UR1 Festival which was to run concurrent with Art Basel but was cancelled.

If you're going to Miami, we'd like to point out that BrooklynVegan photographer Dana (distortion) Yavin will be showing more than 26 prints of her mostly-BrooklynVegan concert photography (including Morrissey, Iggy Pop, Pearl Jam, Fiona Apple, Snoop Dogg, Madonna and more) in two different galleries, LMNT and OVERTURE, from December 4 - 9. A flyer for the show below has more details.

Continue reading "Art Basel begins soon in Miami, many bands & Dana (distortion) Yavin photo show included"

DJ Rashad

Chicago footwork producer DJ Rashad released the excellent TEKLIFE Vol. 1: Welcome to the Chi album earlier this year, and played a Brooklyn show at 285 Kent soon after with Total Freedom and J-Cush. All three of those artists will be returning this weekend for another show at 285 Kent on Sunday (9/23) with Visionist and a "surprise special guest." No word on who the guest is, but the show is the official after party for the Gang Gang Dance and Prince Rama show happening at 285 Kent earlier that night (the third of three GGD shows in NYC this weekend). Admission for this all ages party is $5 before 1 AM and $10 after.

As for LA producer Total Freedom (aka Ashland Mines), who opened on tour for Gang Gang Dance last year, he'll be landing in Brooklyn a bit earlier for a warehouse party at 110 Troutman TONIGHT (9/21) with $hayne and Rizzla. The flier for tonight's show is below.

Meanwhile, J-Cush will also be at 285 Kent on Saturday (9/22) for the previously mentioned Sasha Go Hard show. That bill also includes DJ Manny, Cedaa, and Durban. $5 at the door before 1 AM. That will be Sasha's second NYC show of this week, having played Santos with LE1F last night (9/20). How was that show? Sasha loved it.

If dancing into the wee hours of the night is your thing, those three shows are only two of the many dance options in NYC this weekend. Head below to see more...

Continue reading "DJ Rashad, Total Freedom, Midnight Magic, Nicholas, Pictureplane & more dance options in NYC this weekend"

Laurel Halo at MoMA PS1 in 2011 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Producer turned art pop wizard Laurel Halo and post-hardcore noisemaker turned producer Ital are teaming up for a tour together later this year. That tour hasn't been announced in full yet but a few dates have been revealed, including a NYC show at 285 Kent on September 21. That show, the DC date, and possibly others are also with M. Geddes Gengras and Magic Touch.

For Laurel Halo, the 285 Kent date is one of many upcoming shows in her hometown of Brooklyn, where she continues to play constantly. Laurel just played a show as part of The Maze last Friday (7/13), and she'll play the previously discussed show at Public Assembly on Saturday (7/21) with Pete Swanson, Noveller and Burning Star Core. Tickets for that show are still available. She's also got upcoming local shows in August, including one at Cameo Gallery on August 2 with Xeno and Oaklander and Telepathe. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

Still more: she'll play the Diamond Terrifier (aka Sam Hillmer of Zs) record release show for Kill the Self That Wants To Kill Yourself (due out 8/14 via Northern Spy and produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear) at Littlefield on August 8 with Slava (who also plays countless local shows) and Bubbles. Tickets for that show are available. That show happens after Diamond Terrifier wraps up his monthly residency at Zebulon which happens every Tuesday (like tonight [7/17]). Like Laurel did, Diamond Terrifier also plays a Maze show. His is on July 28 with Amen Dunes, Kel Valhaal: Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, Psychic Reality, Dome Theater, and Das Racist DJs.

Speaking of Telepathe, they play Glasslands on Wednesday (7/18) with Feathers, ERAAS, and Faith. Tickets for that show are available. Faith recently remixed a Feathers song, which you can listen to below. Telepathe also DJ Santos on Friday (7/20 for a Last.fm event with Blondes, TEZEO and Andy Petr. Tickets for that show are available.

A list of all dates, a Pitchfork.tv video of Laurel Halo, and an Ital music video are below.

Continue reading "Laurel Halo touring w/ Ital, playing other NYC shows as usual; Telepathe have upcoming NYC shows too (dates)"

Built to Spill at BV SXSW 2012 (more by Ryan Barkan)

The Hopscotch festival in Raleigh, North Carolina will celebrate its third year from Sept. 6-8, 2012 in downtown Raleigh, with 175 bands in 15 venues. The initial lineup, released today, runs the gamut from traditional indie favorites to punk to noise music to hip hop to noisy black metal and all stops in between, featuring performances from Built to Spill, sunn 0))), The Roots, The Jesus & Mary Chain (who played SXSW), Liars (who have a show coming up at Webster Hall), Baroness, Deerhoof, Death Grips (who play NYC soon and have new material on the way), Danny Brown (who was at Coachella and plays Prospect Park soon), Pallbearer (who play an exclusive East Coast Show soon), Screaming Females (who recently played NYC and are on tour now), Thee Oh Sees, The Spits (who just played NYC twice), Tenement, The Mountain Goats (two sets, one of which will be an all metal-covers set!) and so many more.

(and now we know the Jesus & Mary Chain are coming back soon)

Tickets are on sale. The full lineup and flyer (update: and a few more announced J&MC dates) are below...

Continue reading "Hopscotch lineup announced; Jesus & Mary Chain will be in NC in September; John Darnielle to do metal covers set "

by Andrew Sacher

Laurel Halo at PS1 in 2011 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Brooklyn's Laurel Halo, who has two solid EPs under her belt and another coming on Mute's new Liberation Technologies label (that one was supposed to come out this week, but has been pushed back), just announced that she's signed to Hyperdub, the label founded and run by Kode9 and whose roster also includes Burial. The label will release her debut full length album, Quarantine, on June 5 in the US and May 28 in Europe. The album art and tracklist are below.

Laurel's got two upcoming appearances in NYC including a techno party at Glasslands on April 13 with Korean Beauty Slaon and Rem Koolhaus (probably DJing?) and a live set during Unsound Fest at Warsaw on April 20 with Ital, Demdike Stare, Hieroglyphic Being, Zemi17, and Monolake, who are all also playing live. Tickets for that show are on sale. The Bunker party flier is below.

Ital meanwhile plays in Brooklyn TONIGHT (3/21) at Knitting Factory with The Suicide of Western Culture and Octo Octa. Tickets are available.

All dates, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Laurel Halo releasing LP on Hyperdub, playing Unsound/Bunker show w/ Monolake & Ital (who plays KF tonight)"

by Andrew Sacher

Julia Holter at LPR last week (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Unsound Fest, which goes down from April 18 - 22 across multiple NYC venues, has announced its schedule for 2012. The schedule is listed in full below, and here are some of its highlights:

Julia Holter, who has been making a ton of buzz lately with her excellent new album, Ekstasis, and her NYC live debut, which you can now watch in full at NPR, will be playing the first day of the fest on Wednesday, April 18 at Issue Project Room with Julia Kent and Jenny Hval.

On Thursday, April 19, psych/dub duo Peaking Lights and LXMP will play a free show at David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center at 7:30 PM. That show will be followed by live sets by Actress, Next Life, and Hype Williams at Le Poisson Rouge at 11 PM.

Friday's (April 20) shows include Sun Araw, pole, and Inner Tube at Le Poisson Rouge at 6 PM and live sets by Laurel Halo, Ital, Demdike Stare, Hieroglyphic Being, Zemi17 and Monolake at Warsaw at 10 PM.

On Saturday, April 21, Biosphere and Lustmord's special TRINITY piece will be performed at West Park Presbyterian Church at 7 PM with an opening set by Jacaszek. After that show, at a venue TBA we'll get Sepalcure (live A/V set), Nguzunguzu (DJ), 2562 (DJ), Teeth (live), Throwing Snow (DJ), DaveQ (DJ), and Distal (DJ).

The festival wraps up on Sunday, April 22 with mostly Unsound LABS, including a talk with Biosphere & Lustmord on 'TRINITY' at the Goethe-Institut Wyoming Building at 4 PM. Glasslands will then hosting the Unsound Festival closing party at 9 PM with live sets by Napszyklat and Maria Minerva (who will be making her US debut) and DJ sets by Sun Araw vs Heat Wave and Eltron John.

Ticket info for all of the paid shows is available.

Full schedule including Unsound LABS below...

Continue reading "Unsound Fest posts schedule; tickets on sale"

Caged Animals at Brooklyn Bazaar in 2011 (more by Alyssa Tanchajja)

Some pretty solid shows are going down at 285 Kent in Brooklyn this weekend. Tonight (3/2), they're hosting a dance party with Ital, Slava (live), Laurel Halo, Rezzie Weird Magic, Ilirjana Alushaj, Jan Woo, and special guests. More details below.

On Saturday (3/3), it's Caged Animals (who also play the official BV SXSW showcase in Austin later this month), special guest Blood Orange (who recently sold out Glasslands), TOPS, Phone Tag, and Royal Baths (DJ) at the Brooklyn venue. More details below.

The Men's record release show for Open Your Heart goes down at 285 Kent on Wednesday (3/7).

Brooklyn show details below...

Continue reading "shows @ 285 Kent this weekend include Blood Orange & Caged Animals (who play the BrooklynVegan showcase @ SXSW)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Mi Ami - "Time of Love" (MP3)

Mi Ami, who had previously been making noisy dance punk, are set to release their next album, Decade, on March 20 via 100% Silk. That noisy dance punk is entirely absent on the 11+ minute single, "Time of Love," which you can download above, or stream below, along with the album art. They're now opting for a minimal house feel more similar to the new Blondes record than anything with the word "punk" attached to it.

Mi Ami will celebrate the album with a record release show in NYC on April 7 at Glasslands. Tickets for that show are on sale now.

In related news, Mi Ami member Daniel Martin McCormack, formerly of Black Eyes, also records music as Sex Worker and most recently as Ital, the moniker under which he just released the album Hive Mind. Ital is one of the many artists on the recently expanded Unsound lineup, which goes down in NYC from April 18-22.

Mi Ami stream and album art below...

Continue reading "Mi Ami releasing 'Decade', schedule NYC release show (listen to the 11+ minute new single)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Maria Minerva - "Gloria" (MP3)

Maria Minerva

Last month, we announced that the Unsound Festival is returning to NYC on April 18 - 22 across various venues including BAMcinématek, The Bunker, Lincoln Center, ISSUE Project Room and Le Poisson Rouge. We also since mentioned the related Kickstarter campaign for UNSOUND LABS.

Now, a lot of really exciting additions have been made to the lineup, including Julia Holter (who makes her NYC debut at LPR on 3/6), Maria Minerva, Peaking Lights, Sepalcure, Nguzunguzu (who recently announced a tour), Laurel Halo, 2562, Inner Tube (aka Mark McGuire of Emeralds and Spencer Clark), and many more. The full current lineup is listed below. More details coming soon.

One of the most interesting additions to this year's Unsound lineup is Estonia's Maria Minerva (aka Maria Juur), who will be making her NYC/US debut at the festival. According to her facebook, she'll be "doing two things at the festival, more info soon." Maria first caught my attention with her first official LP, Cabaret Cixous, which dropped last year on Not Not Fun. The album showed a tasteful knack for ambient/experimental pop but left me admittedly feeling like she still had plenty of room left to grow. A few months later, she dropped the Sacred & Profane Love EP on NNF's sister label, 100% Silk, and it was exactly what Cabaret Cixous was yearning for. The most impressive moment on the EP (and her best song yet) is the track, "Gloria," which you can download above or stream below. Fans of Grimes, Julianna Barwick, or fellow Unsound performers Julia Holter and Laurel Halo, take note.

Lineup, song stream, and all Maria Minerva dates below...

Continue reading "Unsound Fest announces Maria Minerva, other lineup additions"

Teengirl Fantasy at Governors Island in 2010 (more by Erez Avissar)

Speaking of 285 Kent, Teengirl Fantasy are kicking off a short tour this month which includes a Brooklyn show happening next week on February 17 at 285 Kent with Ital (whose new album Hive Mind will be out next week via Planet Mu) and Expensive Shit (feat. Paul from !!!). Tickets for the Brooklyn show are on sale now. The tour flier with all dates is below.

Last month R&S Records announced that Teengirl Fantasy joined their roster, along with Bullion and Airhead, who plays this weekend at the R&S-presented LPR show (2/12) with James Blake and The Chain. That show is one day before James Blake plays the Tibet House benefit with Antony, Stephin Merrit, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, and others.

Teengirl Fantasy also has ties to Hivern Discs, the label owned by John Talabot, who just released an album but unfortunately cancelled his LPR show.

All dates and flier below...

Continue reading "Teengirl Fantasy signed to R&S, playing February shows"

Lustmord at Unsound 2011 (more by Greg Cristman)

Set aside April 18 - 22 which is when the annual Unsound Festival will make its way back to NYC at various venues across the city including BAMcinématek, The Bunker, Lincoln Center, ISSUE Project Room and Le Poisson Rouge.

So far amongst the confirmed are Baaba, Hype Williams, Berliner POLE, Jacaszek, Demdike Stare, ITAL, Hieroglyphic Being, Sun Araw, and a special set from Biosphere with Lustmord:

The worldwide debut of a special commission by Unsound and The Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York and San Francisco: TRINITY features two legendary pioneers of ambient music Biosphere and Lustmord joining forces for the first time. Though both hail from very different worlds - Los Angeles based Lustmord is shrouded in darkness, whilst Biosphere's equally mysterious persona is deeply connected with the Arctic Circle - together they will create a work inspired by the first testing and development of atomic weapons in the Nevada desert.

This project is just one in a series of works related to the new Nordic scene - with a special focus on Norway. Unsound Festival New York's 2012 program will also include the blistering live show of Oslo-based digimetal band KILLL.

FaltyDL at PS1 in July (more by Vincent Cornelli)

One day after Sepalcure plays Cameo Gallery and a day before the venue hosts a Sub Swara New Year's Eve party (details HERE), FaltyDL will play Cameo Gallery on December 30 with Dave Q, Kuhn, Rimar, MAUI, and DJ Discophantom. If you buy advance tickets online for the Sepalcure show, you will receive half-priced tickets for the FaltyDL show (which doesn't appear to have a ticket link of its own).

FaltyDL released a ton of stuff this year, including a remix of Sepalcure's track "Love Pressure." Stream that remix below and check out a list of every release FaltyDL was a part of.

Ital, who recently played 285 Kent with Blondes, and who has a new LP coming out on Planet Mu in February, was added to the Sepalcure show, along with Heathered Pearls. And as mentioned, Machinedrum (who is one half of Sepalcure) also plays.

Song stream and FaltyDL's list below...

Continue reading "FaltyDL, Ital & more added to Cameo's December schedule"

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"

We've made some last minute changes to the event today, Sept 25th, due to weather concerns. We decided to move the location to an indoor location, Safe Harbor Loft in Soho.

The address is 446 Broadway. We've also changed the times, and the event starts now at 2pm and ends at 11pm. We're super excited about this location and believe everyone will be too once they see the space.

Tim Sweeney

Tim Sweeney's WNYU radio show Beats in Space is celebrating 12 years by throwing a party in the parking lot at 59 North 6th St in Williamsburg on Sunday (near Cameo, across the street from Music Hall of Williamsburg and Public Assembly). The outdoor, rain-or-shine, 21+ event runs from noon-9pm and features the following lineup:

Matthew Dear (Ghostly Intl)
Juan Maclean (DFA Records)
Metro Area (Environ Records)
Rub N Tug (Eric Duncan & Thomas Bullock)
Kim Ann Foxman (Hercules & Love Affair)
DJ Nature (Golf Channel)
Blondes (performing Live/RVNG)
Tim Sweeney (BIS Records)

Meanwhile, Blondes can be found DJing Friday night (tonight, 9/23) at Santos Party House along with a cast that includes No Bra, Carsten Nicolai of Signal and Ital (aka "the new dancefloor oriented solo project of Daniel Martin McCormick of Mi Ami, Black Eyes, Sex Worker"). Listen to Ital in a video below...

Continue reading "Beats in Space throwing a fest outside on N. 6th (Sunday), Blondes also DJs Santos w/ ITAL (tonight)"

PS1 last Saturday (more by Amanda Hatfield)

The final lineup for Warm Up @ PS1 Saturday:

Prince Language / The No Comprendo / NegroClash & Stretch Armstrong / Plant Music / New York, NY
Das Racist (DJ set) / Greedhead / Brooklyn, NY
Vockah Redu / C2K Entertainment/ New Orleans, LA
Ital / 100% Silk, Lovers Rock / New York, NY
XXXY / Ten Thousand Yen / Manchester, UK

The first line of that lineup of pretty confusing, but my interpretation is: Prince language, who is a part of The No Comprendo & Negroclash, is DJing with Stretch Armstrong of Plant Music.

Das Racist will be DJing and not performing.

Vockah Redu will be performing some Bounce. We may need to fight about it, but Bill went to the other Brooklyn show and said, "i like Big Freedia, but Vockah Redu is a step up if you ask me. Great show at Glasslands."

XXXY plays Friday night at Tammany Hall before his Saturday set at PS1.