New Party Systems art

Brooklyn bar and music venue Union Pool will host another Jonathan Toubin benefit show TONIGHT (1/18). The show will feature "a three ring circuit of cross-fading solos, duos, trios & big bands" with The Notekillers, Kyp Malone, Kid Millions, Greg Fox, and Bernard Gann. That big band they speak of? New Party Systems:

New Party Systems came together when four musician friends - Kyp Malone (TV On The Radio), David First (Notekillers), Greg Fox (X-Liturgy, Guardian Alien) and Bernard Gann (Liturgy) all ran into each other the same day at Zuccotti Park, early on during the Occupy Wall Street occupation. Out of that fateful meeting came the decision to form a music collective inspired by and supporting the movement. The video by director Toni Comas and producer Anna Franquesa feature people from all over the world, including musicians Martin Bisi, Kid Millions, Bob Ostertag and the students who were involved in the UC Davis pepper spray incident."

Speaking of Jonathan Toubin benefits, there's also one going down in Chicago on Friday.

Speaking of TV on the Radio, they've been added to the Rolling Stones tribute show going down at Carnegie Hall. The lineup is now MARIANNE FAITHFULL, RICKIE LEE JONES, RONNIE SPECTOR, ROSANNE CASH, STEVE EARLE, TAJ MAHAL, MARC COHN, THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, PEACHES, JOVANOTTI & TV ON THE RADIO, GLEN HANSARD (OF THE SWELL SEASON), RICH ROBINSON (OF THE BLACK CROWES), CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS, and JACKIE GREENE (with more TBA).

More TVOTR tour dates (all in South America) (aka Lollapalooza Brazil and Lollapalooza Chile), with the New Party Systems music, below...

Continue reading "New Party Systems (members of TVOTR, Oneida, Liturgy, Notekillers) playing Toubin benefit; more bands added to Stones tribute"

UK music magazine Uncut weighs on this year's best albums. Like Rough Trade, they give Josh T Pearson serious placement. They put Tinariwen, who appeared on The Colbert Report last night (!) with Tunde and Kyp from TV on the Radio, at #18. Check out their whole list and video from Colbert, below...

Continue reading "Uncut's Top 50 Albums of 2011, video of Tinariwen & Kyp & Tunde on the Colbert Report"

Tinariwen, who are preparing to release their new LP Tassili on August 30 via Anti- Records, will head out on tour in support of the album this fall. The tour hits NYC on November 19 at Webster Hall. Tickets for the NYC show go on sale Friday (8/26) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (8/24) at noon.

All dates and three videos from the recording sessions (Kyp Malone included) below...

Continue reading "new Tinariwen album soon, more tour dates announced"

Sharon Van Etten at McCarren Park in June (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Brooklyn singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten has done a fair amount of impressive stuff since hitting the scene. She's released two amazing albums and contributed vocals to The Antlers' Hospice and to Beirut's upcoming LP The Rip Tide. Now she's working with Aaron Dessner of The National (who she recorded a track with for the movie Win Win) on her new album. We've just learned that album will be coming out in early 2012 on Jagjaguwar, home to Bon Iver, who covered Van Etten's "Love More" (congrats Sharon!).

Sharon has a few shows coming up in September including Bumbershoot and a September 23rd show in Philly. All dates and two recently posted videos: one of Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio talking about her, and another of her dueting with her labelmate Justin Vernon, below...

Continue reading "Sharon Van Etten signs to Jagjaguwar"

Tinariwen will release a new album called Tassili on August 30 via Anti- Records (pictured above). The album was recorded entirely acoustic with contributions from Tunde Adebimpe & Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and Nels Cline of Wilco (who plays a show with Marc Ribot at LPR on June 15th).

Tinariwen will head out on a short North American tour in July which will hit the Winnipeg Folk Festival and the previously mentioned Highline Ballroom on July 20. Tickets are still on sale for that NYC show.

Tinariwen also play the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival on July 21 at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds in Trumansburg, NY (which runs from July 21-24). There they share a bill with Donna the Buffalo, Court Yard Hounds, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Balkan Beat Box, Sammy Kershaw, Thomas Mapfumo & the Blacks Unlimited, John Brown's Body, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, and many others.

For Seun Kuti, the Trumansburg date is one day after he plays a free show at the Prospect Park Bandshell. Seun recently sent out an updated list of tour dates too, and a new video you can watch below.

Tinariwen collaborators TV on the Radio also recently expanded their upcoming tour dates, many of which are with Broken Social Scene who they play with at the Williamsburg Waterfront They also have a new video, as does BSS

The videos with all Seun & Tinariwen & TVOTR dates, below...

Continue reading "new Tinariwen LP & dates, Trumansburg Grassrooots Fest, Seun Kuti, Nels Cline, Marc Ribot & TV on the Radio too"

words & photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Mavis Staples delivered a fiery, spiritual and deeply felt performance at the Bell House on Tuesday night in support of her 2010 album You Are Not Alone (ANTI, produced by Jeff Tweedy). Mrs. Staples, 71, was in full command of her unique vocal powers, sweeping up out of deep growls into sermonizing leads. The band, led by Rick Holmstrom on guitar, was a powerful and solid compliment, laying out gravel-rough rhythms and churchy chords. Mavis was supported by 3 additional vocalists, including her sister Yvonne, who provided both rich harmonies and counterpoints. In total, the ensemble put her in an setting reminiscent of the guitar and vocals-driven sound of the classic Staples Singers.

The show began with the acapella "Wonderful Saviour" and moved through much of the material on the new album, including both Tweedy-penned songs "You Are Not Alone" and "Only The Lord Knows". Mavis performed The Band's "The Weight", a song that the Staples can lay some claim to since The Last Waltz, plus the evergreen inspirational Stax hit "I'll Take You There".

Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio and Jolie Holland each played opening sets, Kip joined Jolie for her last song. Mavis Staples continues to tour throughout 2011. Tickets are on sale for the show she's playing with Billy Bragg in Tarrytown on March 27th. More pictures and a video from the Bell House, below...

Continue reading "Mavis Staples played the Bell House w/ Kyp Malone & Jolie Holland (pics)"

photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

""Hello. How is everybody?" Van Etten asked, shyly. "I'm excited to play these songs with my band, but first I'm going to play one by myself." She picked up her guitar and began her set with "A Crime," the first song off her latest album. When she had finished, she quickly welcomed three musicians to the stage. "This is my new band." She stood in silence, tuning her guitar for a few moments, but upon realizing how quiet the room was, she nervously admitted that she sill didn't quite have a handle on the impromptu stage banter." [Sonic Smorgasbord]

If you missed both Friday and Saturday's shows, then make sure and check out Van Etten in Ithaca Saturday (10/16), at Bruar Falls during CMJ for the Chouette day party (10/20), or at any of her upcoming dates in a city near you.

More pictures of Sharon Van Etten and Kyp Malone are below...

Continue reading "Sharon Van Etten & Kyp Malone played Mercury Lounge (pics) "

photos by David Andrako

DOWNLOAD: Sharon Van Etten - Love More (MP3)

Sharon Van Etten's new album, Epic, pictured above, is out October 5th on Ba Da Bing, and you can catch her on the road before and after then. As previously mentioned in various posts, she will be playing some shows with Marissa Nadler and then later with Junip (who play Irving Plaza without Sharon on November 24th). She'll also be playing two record releases shows in NYC. They are October 8th @ Rock Shop w/ Julianna Barwick (tickets), and October 9th @ Mercury Lounge w/ Kyp Malone (tickets).

Rock Shop is also one of the places Sharon played earlier this month. A second set of pictures from her performance there, with all tour dates, below...

Continue reading "updated Sharon Van Etten tour dates, live pics, new album art"

Bear In Heaven is playing the Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 19th. Tickets are on sale now.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Deerhunter, Real Estate, Casino Versus Japan show at Webster Hall (you can also catch Deerhunter and Real Estate for free much sooner).

Tickets are on sale for the Thermals / Cymbals Eat Guitars show happening at Irving Plaza.

Paul Weller is playing Nokia Theatre on November 7th. Tickets are on sale.

Samiam, The Casting Out, I Hate Our Freedom, and Vs. Antelope are playing the Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 13th. Tickets are on sale now.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Wavves show at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Aziz Ansari is headlining the Beacon Theatre as part of the New York Comedy Festival on November 6th. Tickets are currently on presale. General sale starts Monday at 10am.

Other New York Comedy Festival tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster too., though the Louis CK show is on sale directly at Carnegie Hall.

Fitz & The Tantrums are playing The Mercury Lounge on September 25th. Tickets are on sale at noon.

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Primus show at The Wellmont Theater

Sharon Van Etten and Kyp Malone are playing The Mercury Lounge on October 9th. Tickets are on sale at noon.

Tickets are on sale at noon for The Sword show at Webster Hall

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Phantogram show at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Tickets are on sale at noon for the Black Mountain and Black Angels show at The Bowery Ballroom

Ra Ra Riot tourmates, Givers, are playing The Mercury Lounge on November 6th. Tickets are on sale at noon. It's Givers' only New York City show at the moment. They're not opening any of the four New York Ra Ra Riot dates.

Tunng is playing The Mercury Lounge on November 11th. Tickets are on sale at 9:30 PM.

Idlewild is playing The Bowery Ballroom on November 22nd and November 23rd. 2 Day Passes are also available for purchase. Tickets all on sale at noon.

Tickets are on sale Monday, August 9 for the Joanna Newsom show at Carnegie Hall

interview by Billy Jones, top photo by Michael Lavine

TV on the Radio guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and producer David Andrew Sitek has announced his new project Maximum Balloon. Not surprisingly, the TVOTR / Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Liars / Dragons of Zynth / Holly Miranda / Scarlett Johansson producer worked with a host of guest artists on the project, which will see the light of day in the form of a self-titled album on August 24th via DGC/Interscope Records.

"...Then Aku (Dragons of Zynth) called and said he was in town and asked what I was up to and I said, "Making a song that you have to come and fix!" So he came by the studio and he laid the vocals down. We pretty much started Maximum Balloon on that day."

Billy Jones of new musical project New Moods, who last conducted an interview for this site in 2006, called up Dave on Friday to discuss the making of Maximum Balloon, barbershop quartets, Cyndi Lauper, the future of TVOTR and more. Their chat starts here....

---

Billy: Hey Dave, Can you hear me?

Dave: Yeah...

Billy: I rigged this to be on the speakerphone of my Blackberry to be recording through GarageBand, a slightly complicated setup...

Dave: Awesome, put me through The Crystalizer...

Billy: I actually have you through Long Panning Ping Pong Delay right now...

Dave: I can't wait for Soundtoys to come out with an iPhone app.

continued below....

Continue reading "an interview w/ Dave Sitek of Maximum Balloon (the TVOTR guitarist/producer's new project w/ many guest vocalists)"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

After opening sets by Grooms and Class Actress, Holly Miranda headlined her own show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC last night (5/27). Her setlist included covers of Yoko Ono and Etta James, and a Jealous Girlfriends song (her old band). There was a horn section consisting of Michael Irwin (trumpet) and Maria Eisen (sax) of the Woes, and a lot of other special guests on stage before the encore. She and TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone aka Rain Machine performed a duet, and then there was a sing-along in support of equal marriage rights for everyone. Guests on stage for the group number, in addition to Holly's band, included Kyp, Nicole Atkins, Scott Matthew, Ellie Everdell of The Hundred In The Hands, Billy McCarthey and Eric Sanderson of Pela (rip), French singer-songwriter Soko, Brendan Coon (co-writer of Holly's song "Forest Green, Oh Forest Green"), Sharron Sulami of Pink Noise, Holly's friend and tour manager Raimy Rosenduft, and Celebrate Brooklyn's Nadine Goellner.

More pictures from the show, some videos and Holly's entire setlist, below...

Continue reading "Holly Miranda, Class Actress & many special guests played Bowery Ballroom in NYC - pics, video & setlist"

by Andrew Frisicano

I snuck this picture of the t-shirt...

"Chris Knox (born September 2, 1952) is a New Zealand rock and roll musician, cartoonist, and DVD reviewer who emerged during the punk rock era with his bands The Enemy and Toy Love. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, he formed the group Tall Dwarfs with guitarist Alec Bathgate, much loved for their honest, unpolished sound and intense live shows. His 4-track machine was used to record most of the early Flying Nun singles." [Wiki]

A few photos were furtively snapped in defiance of the posted signs, but most were content to just listen. Though "just listen" doesn't really describe the gasps, tears and unending applause. Mangum played with his eyes mostly closed, neck vein tensed, rocking and swooping to the contours of the songs. His eyelids fluttered open on the chorus of "A Baby for Pree" to reveal eyes rolled back into his head. Between songs Mangum gulped down water and was gracious, bordering on triumphant as he popped up at the end of "Aeroplane." He encouraged the crowd to contribute to the encore, "Engine." After the set, someone caught his attention with a book to sign, which he did. Most people up front looked anxious and ready for a post-show smoke.

It was fitting maybe that the bill for Mangum's last show, in 2001 in New Zealand, was with Chris Knox, who suffered a stroke in 2009. Though Jeff Mangum was a clear pinnacle, the rest of the benefit gig was an engaging, full evening which covered 12 bands and 2 comedians, and ran more than five and a half hours (though at least 1/3 of the venue cleared out after Mangum's 8:50pm set). The show ended at 1am, amazingly, exactly as scheduled.

Coasting (set time: 6:20pm) opened up with appropriately coastal guitar sounds and surefire drums, Sharon Van Etten played three songs with nuanced dynamics on electric guitar. The Magnetic Fields' Claudia Gonson played only one song as a trebly synth trio to cover "Beauty" which the band does on the Chris Knox tribute CD Stroke.

Robert Scott (of the Clean) and TVOTR's Kyp Malone (aka Rain Machine) both played solo guitar sets. Kyp, who told the crowd they should check out the new Devendra Banhart video (he checked it out in a cafe because he doesn't have internet), was joined by Emilyn Brodsky for what he said was a Bob Marley cover. Rachel Feinstein did raunchy comedy.

After that, there was New Zealand band Dimmer (who are in town for a while), The Mad Scene (Hamish Kilgour of the Clean's other band), David Kilgour of The Clean (backed by Yo La Tengo and one other band member) and comedy from John Mulaney (who killed it) (and who you may have seen doing a bit about girl scout cookies on a recent episode of SNL).

"Portastatic" was Mac backed by Yo La Tengo. They closed with Superchunk's "Slack Motherfucker" complete with windmill guitar moves and pogoing from some of the crowd (even though the concert was going into its fifth hour at this point). Yo La Tengo, with extra member David Kilgour on guitar, covered a Chris Knox song, said many kind words about Chris and closed with two songs from their 1993 album Painful, which Chris Knox contributed art work to.

The Clean, who Ira introduced as the greatest band in the world, and who'd already been up several times as their solo bands, closed the night right, both jangly and poppy. And despite the mass exodus after Jeff, a respectable amount of people were still there right until the last song. Catch the Clean again (if you have a ticket because it's sold out) at The Bell House tonight (5/7).

Editor's note: Ben Goldberg did an amazing job organizing the event, keeping scalpers away, and making sure that pretty much every person in that venue (except maybe the bartenders) paid their $75 donation to Chris Knox to get in the door (or $20 if you showed up after Jeff went off). Ben did less of an amazing job during his pre-Yo La Tengo stand up routine, but nobody's perfect!

Illegally shot (not by us!) audio and video from the event, and the new Devendra Banhart video, and Jeff Mangum's setlist again, below...

Continue reading "Jeff Mangum, The Clean, Yo La Tengo, Portastatic & friends played for Chris Knox @ LPR - review, setlist, video & pic "

LPR will be hosting a benefit on May 6 for New Zealand artist Chris Knox who suffered a series of strokes last year. Many of the aritsts performing at this show have contributed to a fantastic tribute/benefit album for Knox that was recently released.

Tickets for the benefit will go on sale through Kickstarter on March 30 (more details coming soon).

Artists appearing will include Yo La Tengo, Kyp Malone (of TV on the Radio), Portastatic, Claudia Gonson of the Magnetic Fields, Sharon Van Etten, and The Clean. There will also be a short acoustic performance by Jeff Mangum (formerly of Neutral Milk Hotel).

DOWNLOAD: Bisco Smith - "Broadcast Live" (Remix of TV On The Radio's "Wear You Out") (MP3)

Rain Machine @ BAM Opera House (more by Vincent Cornelli)

As pointed out in the comments, Noveller's Brooklyn Valentine's Day show at Glasslands will be happening instead at Coco 66. The lineup for that includes Bad Credit No Credit, The Shivers, comic Caroline Contillo and DJ Ropstyle .

Instead, Glasslands (before its Neon Indian/French Horn Rebellion/Cubic Zirconia DJ party) will be hosting a Valentine's Day show with TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone & friends. There'll be sets by Rain Machine (Kyp's band), Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson (Kyp is a huge fan, a friend, and appears on his album), Iran (also Kyp's band) (sometimes) and Candles of Paradise.

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson's backing band shares members with Holly Miranda's (its a night off from her Tegan & Sara-supporting tour) and Holly's forthcoming album, The Magician's Private Library, was produced by TVotR's Dave Sitek who also produced Iran's Dissolver (which came out last year). In related Sitek news, Dave also has a remix on the new 12" from DOOM (who plays NYC with Mos Def on February 26th).

Miles Benjamin is also playing a show at Le Poisson Rouge on March 10th with Shilpa Ray and Suckers. Tickets just went on sale.

And to complete the TVotR roundup, we should mention that Tunde is one of the guest vocalists on the new Massive Attack record, and TVotR's "Wear You Out" was recently remixed by Brooklyn MC Bisco Smith, re-linked above.

Some classic TV on the Radio videos (and others you'd probably rather not see) are posted below...

Continue reading "Noveller moves to Coco66, Kyp Malone & friends playing Glasslands, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson also at LPR"

photos by Vincent Cornelli

Rain Machine @ BAM's Howard Gilman Opera House

post-show: still smitten with kyp. he was great. funny and personable and best alone on stage (esp. with howler monkey backup chick with them? yeesh) AND anti-pop consortium killed it. they were so good. i kind of felt bad for them, though; sitting at shows is weird which is the one reason i'm not more of a fan of seeing concerts like that at bam, and it must be double weird for a bunch of rappers up on stage to be performing in front of an awkwardly seated audience. no matter, though, their energy was great and it made me like the new album even more. [The Vagabond]

Kyp & Co. recently stopped by Daytrotter to play song's off the Rain Machine debut, which came out on Anti- in September.

Though Kyp and the rest of TV on the Radio are still taking a break, Iran, a group fronted by filmmaker Aaron Aites that sometimes includes Kyp, has an upcoming show. They'll be playing at Knitting Factory on Thursday, March 11th with Arbouretum. Tickets are on sale.

More pictures from the BAM show are below...

Continue reading "Rain Machine & Anti-Pop Consortium played BAM Opera House (pics), Iran Playing Knitting Factory"

by Andrew Frisicano

Matador announced that Fucked Up's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' charity single "should be available" from iTunes today (December 8th) (still waiting it is). As previously reported, the song is packed with guests, including Yo La Tengo, GZA, Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend), Bob Mould (Husker Du), Tegan & Sara, Andrew W.K., Kyp Malone (TV on the Radio), David Cross and Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene). In February, it'll be released as 7" single. The record is for charity, and you can read what Fucked Up singer Pink Eyes has to say about the causes, below. The band is also putting out a rarities compilation, Couple Tracks, in January and touring with Kurt Vile in Feb. (with 2 NYC area shows).

Another benefit record, Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox, is out today on Merge (in digital form, CDs come February 23rd). The proceeds go to New Zealand musician Chris Knox (Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love) who suffered a stroke last June. The two-disc collection is all covers of Knox's songs done by acts that include Yo La Tengo, Mountain Goats, Will Oldham, Stephin Merritt, Bill Callahan and...Jeff Mangum (doing "Sign The Dotted Line" by Tall Dwarfs). You can preview songs at Merge. The full track list below.

Don't forget, Bob Dylan's Christmas album is also for charity, benefiting Feeding America. His new video for "Little Drummer Boy" (animated and less jokey than "Must Be Santa") is below...

Continue reading "Jeff Mangum, Fucked Up, Bob Dylan, Bill Callahan, Will Oldham, Yo La Tengo & others release songs for charity"

by Benjamin Lozovsky

Rain Machine

Four distinctly non-metal acts came together to celebrate the upcoming release of Until The Light Takes Us, a much-anticipated documentary on the Norwegian Black Metal scene written and directed by Brooklynites Aaron Aites and Audery Ewell. Aites and Ewell made themselves available for the whole show, amiably speaking to fans about the film and taking pictures in front of promotional gear sporting a pixilated harbinger of doom. The event felt less like a release party than a gathering of friends to show support however. Despite moving to Norway while making the film, Aites still has plenty of Brooklyn-informed leanings, and he tapped friend and collaborator Kyp Malone (the two play in local band Iran together) to perform with his Rain Machine project. It ended up being just Malone solo, as he performed songs from the project's self-titled debut album with just a plaintive (and at times shattering) guitar and his quivering, unpredictable vocal charms.

Malone might have a future, although maybe just a small one, in comedy or motivational speaking; he filled up the awkward pauses of a quiet audience with deadpan cracks and mildly inspirational calls to move about, if not at this show, then perhaps sometime in the future.

Dave Pajo, playing as Papa M, was probably the only musical participant that had delved into metal material in the past, but on this night he performed his critically revered post-rock album Live From a Shark Cage. Or at least part of it, because after 5 or 6 numbers, the band left the stage. His ambient, textural guitar lines grew slowly as he looped percussive guitar bits underneath the ambling melodies that joined to form a more grand harmonic synthesis. He too had his peoples out in force, as co-members of his new band Yeah Yeah Yeahs Nick Zinner and Brian Chase showed up to cheer on their collaborator and friend. Pajo plays the album again at ATP's 10th Anniversary Festival in England in December, and he'll assist Zinner and Co in performing their breakthrough debut Fever To Tell at the same event.

Overall, it was very subdued night, with only one out of the four acts even rocking a drum kit on stage. That was Soft Circle, who mixed reverb-heavy, almost surfer guitar sounds with punishing krautrock and dance punk beats, courtesy of drummer (and layering whiz) Hisham Akira Bharoocha. But after listening to all that black metal, can you really blame Aites and Ewell for toning it down a notch on this night? There will be plenty of time for bleeding ears once the movie is released. Catch it in New York starting December 4th at the Cinema Village.

Kevin Barker was the first of four on the bill. We missed him, but more pictures from the rest of the show below...

Continue reading "Papa M, Rain Machine, Soft Circle & Kevin Barker helped celebrate a black metal movie @ Knitting Factory - pics"

Rain Machine have a few dates on their calendar including Knitting Factory TONIGHT (11/18) with Papa M, Maxwell's on November 24th (tickets), and two dates opening for the the Pixies, including at Hammerstein Ballroom (unlike Bad Lieutenant). All dates and their new video for "Give Blood" below...

Continue reading "Rain Machine - new video & 2009 tour dates (KF tonight) "

photos by Tim Griffin

Rain Machine & Tunde Adebimpe

"Exhausted from touring, TV On the Radio have announced they going on hiatus for a year. The band will use the time to recuperate, visit family, and release at least one solo album.

"The funny thing about this band is that I feel like everyone's amazed that we're on tour, and that we're even a band," singer Tunde Adebimpe told MTV News. "If you'd asked all four of us six years ago if we'd want to be in a band, unanimously, it would be like, 'Well maybe for three weeks, yeah.' It's great we've been able to do it for so long, but everyone's kind of got other projects they want to tend to."

"The going theory is to take about a year off, because you have to go and live a life and change things up."" [Guardian]

Back when TVOTR were not on hiatus, they played a set in Philly as part of the Roots Picnic. This unpublished set of pictures is from that event, and they are continued below...

Continue reading "Sharon Van Etten opening for Kyp Malone who is/was/will-be-again in TV on the Radio (tonight) (++ long lost pics)"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Rain Machine - Give Blood (MP3)

Kyp w/ TVOTR @ Prospect Park (more by Bao Nguyen)

Rain Machine is the provocative and soulful new solo venture from guitarist/songwriter extraordinaire Kyp Malone. Renowned for his work with TV on the Radio, Malone is set to tour North America in support of Rain Machine's remarkable self titled debut album available September 22 on Anti Records.

All tour dates, with a video of Kyp performing Rain Machine material live, below...

Continue reading "Rain Machine (Kyp Malone) - MP3 & 2009 Tour Dates"

DOWNLOAD: TRAA - Don't Haunt This Place (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Orenda Fink - Bloodline (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Orenda Fink - No Evolution (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Old Canes - Taxi On Vermont (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: UUVVWWZ - Shark Suit (MP3)

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson @ Union Hall 10/1 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson's Summer of Fear, the follow-up to his 2008 self-titled debut, is set for an October 20th release on Saddle Creek. The label, which recently signed the songwriter, tells the TVotR/Grizzly Bear-littered story of the new record...

TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone--a close friend since the pair met en route to a Grizzly Bear show in 2005--helped bottle Robinson's bruised hymns last winter, ramping up the tension in such standout tracks as "Death by Dust," "Summer of Fear pt. 2," "The Sound," and the 11-and-a-half draining minutes of "More Than a Mess," a haunting epic that deserves its own short film. (Or more than half of Side D; Summer of Fear is spread across two LPs like one of Robinson's favorite records, Tusk.) Since they both "have a tendency toward a generally and hilariously doom stricken worldview," Malone also understood what Robinson was going for with his redemption songs. After all, he was there that summer. He saw it all go down, and now that he's heard the whole thing told through Summer of Fear's relentless and raw tone poems, he can't wait to see what Robinson comes up with next. (Robinson is desperate to record his third record--yes, already. Written last year in the midst of touring to support his unexpected self-titled debut, he describes the disc as containing,"actual songs...as opposed to vaguely melodic litanies of grievance.")

October 20th will be a big day for Saddle Creek (home of Tokyo Police Club, Cursive and Land of Talk). It's also the release date for the latest by new signees Old Canes. The record, Feral Harmonic, is the Lawrence, KS band's second.

Old Canes architect Chris Crisci (also known as half of Appleseed Cast) constructed Feral Harmonic largely alone in his basement studio. He played the majority of the instrumentation himself with additional help from a cast of musician friends contributing various parts, including trumpet, harmophone, cello, and hammer dulcimer, among other instruments. As recording was regularly interrupted by touring, work, other projects, and life in general, production on the album took nearly three and a half years to complete.

The label will also be dropping a new album from Orenda Fink (Azure Ray, Art In Manila, O+S), titled Ask The Night, on October 6th.

Ask The Night was primarily recorded live to 8-track by Stephen Bartolomei (Mal Madrigal) in Orenda's former Omaha, NE, basement (she is now based in Los Angeles, CA), as well as by Andy LeMaster (Now It's Overhead; production on Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Azure Ray) in his Athens, GA, living room.

The album features a wide variety of players and singers, including producers Stephen Bartolomei and Andy LeMaster, Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse), Dan McCarthy (McCarthy Trenching), and Adrianne Verhoeven (Dri, The Anniversary, Art In Manila), among others. Four songs on Ask The Night are collaborations with Birmingham, AL-based artist and poet Chris Lawson...

The Rural Alberta Advantage's previously-self-released debut came out on Saddle Creek on July 7th. The band was featured on ABC's Amplified on August 17th, and they have shows coming up. Those include the Positive Jam with the Hold Steady in Ithaca on September 6th, and a show at the Bowery Ballroom on October 7th. Tickets for that go on sale Friday, August 21st at noon.

UUVVWWZ also released an album on Saddle Creek on July 7th, and they'll also be in NYC in October (for CMJ). In fact, they'll be playing what looks like an extremely sick bill at Union Pool on October 24th with An Albatross, Dark Meat, Lovvers, Flexions, ZzZ, and JEFF The Brotherhood.

For a taste of what Saddle Creek has been up to over the past year (before any of the new bands mentioned above), check out the free sampler they're giving away on Amazon. All upcoming TRAA and UUVVWWZ tour dates, and above-mentioned things, are below...

Continue reading "Saddle Creek: Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Old Canes & Orenda Fink ++ Rural Alberta Advantage & UUVVWWZ dates"

Kyp Malone (TVOTR/Rain Machine) @ Masonic Temple (more by Tim Griffin)

The debut album of Rain Machine, the solo project of TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone, will come out September 22nd on Anti- Records. As previously reported, the album will be "produced by Ian Brennan (Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Lucinda Williams, Jonathan Richman)." You can see the album art from the record, created by Malone himself, below.

TV on the Radio has a whole mess of performances scheduled this summer. Those include a ticketed Celebrate Brooklyn show at Prospect Park on August 11th with Gang Gang Dance opening.

Iran, another project Malone performs with (sometimes), has summer dates too. Those include a short set of dates in July, and a more extended trip opening for Fruit Bats in September. That tour hits Music Hall of Williamsburg on September 14th. Tickets for that are on sale. Before that there is a July 30th gig at Bowery Ballroom with Destroyer (solo). Tickets are on sale for that too.

Rain machine track-list, cover art and live video, and all Iran tour dates, below...

Continue reading "Rain Machine (TVotR Kyp Malone) - ANTI album art, live video"

DOWNLOAD: Fruit Bats - My Unusual Friend (new MP3)

Fruit Bats

Fruit Bats, the other project of Eric Johnson of The Shins, will be release its fourth album, The Ruminant Band, on August 4th on Sub Pop. In support of that record, the Fruit Bats will tour North America in August and September. The current set of dates are listed below and now on PRESALE. More dates will also be announced soon.

The tour includes a Brooklyn show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Monday, September 14th. General sale for that show starts Wednesday, July 1st at noon. Openers for that show are Kevin Barker, and Iran, which is one of many bands Kyp Malone of TV on the Radio is a member of (though not always).

Speaking of Kyp, TV on the Radio is keeping him more than busy, AND it was just announced that ANTI will be releasing an album by his solo project Rain Machine!

Anti- Records, home to other musical visionaries such as Tom Waits, Neko Case and Nick Cave, is thrilled to announce the signing of Rain Machine, a startling new musical venture from Kyp Malone. "It's thrilling to hear this side of Kyp," says Anti- president Andy Kaulkin. "The songs are emotionally raw and passionate yet still experimental and full of surprises."...

...Produced by Ian Brennan (Ramblin Jack Elliott, Lucinda Williams, Jonathan Richman), Rain Machine's debut, set for release this fall, offers an enthralling mix of innovative song structure and sound entirely in service of Malone's emotive singing and evocative lyrics. Malone describes the Rain Machine sound as "a nearly full spectrum of frequencies audible to the human ear - a reflection of a variety of emotions and situations real and imagined, some rhythm and some rhyme."... [ANTI]

Continue reading "Fruit Bats - new album, MP3, tour dates (MHOW w/ Iran) ++ Kyp Malone releasing Rain Machine CD on ANTI"

Papercuts merch will be available tonight (more by Fresh Bread)

tonight in NYC
* Wale @ Le Poisson Rouge
* Olof Arnalds @ Scandinavia House
* Junior Boys, Max Tundra @ Webster Hall
* Fear, Mongrel, Cerebral Ballzy, Runny @ Europa
* Mike Watt & The Missing Men, Mad Happy @ Maxwell's
* Franz Ferdinand, Born Ruffians @ Roseland Ballroom
* pow wow!, Shark?, The Sundelles, Darlings @ Glasslands
* Vetiver, Papercuts, These United States @ The Bell House
* Mr. Falcon, Diehard, So Cow, German Measles @ Bruar Falls
* Fischerspooner, Drop the Lime, No Bra @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Extra Life, Nat Baldwin, Rain Machine (Kyp Malone) @ Union Pool
* Trouble Andrew, Team Facelift, Juiceboxxx @ The Studio at Webster Hall
* Glenn Branca, Neg-Fi, Paranoid Critical Revolution @ Issue Project Room
* Cut Off Your Hands, So So Glos, US Royalty, Grandmas Boy @ Mercury Lounge
* The Rhythm Method, Grooms, Real Estate, Taigaa, @ Public Assembly

Nat Baldwin is in Dirty Projectors. Kyp Malone is in TV on the Radio. This summer the two bands are touring together. Tonight they share a bill with Extra Life at Union Pool.

A 4 minute Loney Dear documentary below...

The new We Were Promised Jetpacks video for "Quiet Little Voices" below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Thursday?"

FMV photos by Jacob Blickenstaff

Iran

Fake Male Voice @ Glasslands

Last time we talked about Kyp Malone performing, it was with TV on the Radio on Saturday Night Live and the Colbert Report. Before that it it was with Iran in regards to their upcoming show at Mercury Lounge with Handsome Furs which sold right out.

This time it's about two shows anybody should have no trouble getting into. The first...

Saturday Feb 14th 8:00pm $8
GlassLands Valentines Party: Live Music and Food! Presented by Kyp Malone
Performances by: The Wild Yaks, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, The 100 and the hands, Rain Machine (Kyp Malone) will open the show with a short set. DJ Megan Offner
All food made by chef Christine Buckley

Kyp's TVOTR bandmate Tunde performed as Fake Male Voice at Glasslands a few days ago with True Primes. More pictures from that show below...

Continue reading "upcoming Kyp Malone & Iran shows, pics of Fake Male Voice "