Carlos Giffoni, who in addition to running No Fun, records edgy electronic music under his own name, is planning his next release, the "Evidence" 12" for a February 14 release on Ford & Lopatin's Mexican Summer imprint, Software. The 12" includes the 8-minute "Evidence" on the A-side (stream below) which features contributions from Laurel Halo, and "Desire in the Summer" on the B-side. That's the 12"'s cover art above. You can pre-order it at the Mexican Summer webstore.

Carlos has two upcoming local shows in NYC, including one TONIGHT (1/31) at Glasslands, where he'll be opening for Software labelmate Megafortress, and another on Thursday (2/2) at The Stone, as part of Dominick Fernow's curation at the venue.

Speaking of Laurel Halo, she's got an upcoming project under the moniker King Felix, which is also the name of her 2010 EP. The new release is called Spring, and its due out March 19 on Liberation Technologies, a new sub-label from Mute Records. FACT reports that:

A&Red by Patrick O'Neill (former Honest Jon's / Doldrums), Liberation Technologies plans to "extend [Mute's] freedom and vision ... Within this remit the label will work with highly distinctive and pioneering electronic musicians, some established, some new. Citing reference from Mute's original and continuing statement of intent, the label exists to give space to and encourage artists to experiment and challenge themselves, anonymously if they choose".

Continue reading "Carlos Giffoni reveals song from new 12" (listen); King Felix (aka Laurel Halo) releasing LP on Liberation Technologies (part of Mute)"

by Andrew Sacher

Big Deal

UK duo 2:54, who we suggested you check out when they made their US debut in NYC in late November, has a few US dates scheduled with fellow UK duo Big Deal surrounding SXSW. Those dates include March 11 at Glasslands and March 12 at Mercury Lounge, before they head to SXSW and finish up with a date together in LA. Tickets for the Mercury show go on sale today (1/13) at noon and tickets for the Glasslands show are not on sale yet but check ticketfly for updates.

Big Deal (aka Kacey Underwood and Alice Costelloe) will release their debut LP, Lights Out, on January 24 via Mute. They don't seem to be using more than an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar and their voices. They've got enough indie rock tendencies that it's bigger sounding than folk, but with the complete absence of drums, it's not nearly as large as their songwriting could lead it to be, and it ends up working to their advantage. A few of the tracks from the album are available to stream below, including the single, "Chair," and an accompanying video, "Locked Up," "Homework," and perhaps the most memorable, "Talk," which revolves around the repeated chorus of "All I wanna do is talk/but seeing you fucks me up," a refrain with the brutal honesty of emo but without its stigmas. The artwork and tracklist for Lights Out is below.

2:54 @ Pianos in December (more by Erik Erikson)

2:54 also have some upcoming dates in the UK with another UK band, The Big Pink, whose new album, Future This, comes out next week and is streaming in full with track by track commentary from the band on SPIN.

NME also points out in their review of The Maccabees' new album, Given to the Wild, which came out 1/9 in the UK, that, "On their forthcoming tour, the band will be supported by 2:54." The two bands, who are now labelmates (2:54 signed to Fiction), also toured together in 2011. The Maccabees also have dates with another UK band we said you should check out, Trailer Trash Tracys, whose great debut LP, Ester, comes out February 7 via Domino.

In NME's review of The Maccabees' Given to the Wild, they called the album the "first classic album of 2012" and gave it a 9/10, the highest score they've given to any album by the band thus far (their first two got 8's). The album is pretty great. It was produced by DFA's Tim Goldsworthy, and he helps bring in a more ambient feel to their sound. It doesn't have the powerful choruses of Wall of Arms but it reaches similar heights by taking a step away from that and exploring layers of new and different sounds. Check out the videos for "Feel to Follow" and "Pelican" off the album below.

Speaking of bands that NME loves, Howler (who have 7 NYC shows coming up, 5 of which are this month) are featured on the cover of NME's 'New Music 2012 Special Issue' and their debut LP, America Give Up is streaming in full on NPR.

All dates, videos, and streams below...

Continue reading "Big Deal coming to US w/ 2:54, releasing LP; The Maccabees have a new one too; The Big Pink & Howler streaming theirs"

by Bill Pearis

Westword: What was the catalyst for the recent reunion, this tour and the new album?

Bon Harris: Douglas got in touch with me, sent me an email, and said that he'd been doing some shows with FixmerMcCarthy. Because Douglas had been doing some live shows in Europe, people were asking about the Ebb and if there was any chance of the Ebb every doing shows again. Douglas said he doubted it because he and I hadn't spoken for seven years at that point. But he called me and it just so happened that I had been doing a lot of studio projects and was looking for a change of pace.

So he caught me at the right time and I said, "Let's meet up and talk about it." Mute had been working on doing a Best Of release as well and we spoke to them and the idea was that that would give Mute the push to finish the Best Of and we would do a handful of shows to promote it and that was going to be it. When we got back together and did the shows, we were having such a good time with it and the response was so good and the demand was there and we decided to see what happens and here we are three years later with a new album. It's been interesting because there have been long-standing fans who have been at the shows but there has also been a whole crop of people, younger kids in their early twenties who have only heard the hand-me-down tales and have got the records and stuff but have never seen us. For a lot of people it's kind of a strange thing and with Depeche Mode a lot of people in Europe are going nuts because that's kind of their dream team show.

In the late '80s, when Front 242, Moev, the Neon Judgement, The Weathermen and other such groups were college radio staples, Nitzer Ebb were near the top of the heap thanks to iconic shout-a-long singles like "Join in the Chant" and "Control, I'm Here." The new album is being sold at shows and via iTunes currently (officially out January 22, 2010), mixes acoustic drums (moreso than I remember them doing in the past) with the band's usual clanking rhythms and throbbing synths, and you might have even heard songs from it if you watch Fringe, C.S.I. or went to see the new Saw movie.

After their U.S. tour, Nitzer Ebb will open for their onetime Mute Records label-mates Depeche Mode on their upcoming 2010 European tour. If you're old like me, you might have even seen these two groups -- the "dream team' -- tour together on DM's Violator tour way back in 1990. For me, it was at the Starlake Amphitheatre outside Pittsburgh, where I interviewed Nitzer Ebb after the show for my college radio station. I thought I was going to solve the "nitt-zer"/"nite-zer" debate once and for all by asking singer Douglas McCarthy which was the official pronunciation. "I say both," he admitted. "It doesn't really matter."

All 2009 Nitzer Ebb North American tour dates, and a couple videos, are below....

Continue reading "Nitzer Ebb back with a new album & on tour (NYC Friday)"

DOWNLOAD: Maps - The Rules of Baseball mixtape (ZIP)

Brit shoegaze/electronic/indie artist James Chapman goes by the name of Maps. His latest record, Turning the Mind, is due out October 20th (and September 28th in the UK) on Mute. Below you can find the video premiere of the album's first single, "I Dream of Crystal". The actual single for that song comes out on September 15th (and one day earlier in the UK).

Chapman has been posting "Rule" mixtapes on his website. The most recent version of which features Low, Health and more, and is posted above. Mixtape tracklist, new album art, tour dates, and the new video are below...

Continue reading "Maps - new album soon, new mixtape & video here now "

photos by Tim Griffin

"A Place To Bury Strangers release their sophomore album, "Exploding Head" via Mute October 6, 2009. The band had one simple goal during the recording process: "The original idea," says vocalist/guitarist Oliver Ackermann, "was to create the craziest, most f'ed-up recording ever."

The result is 43 mesmerizing minutes of pain as pleasure. You'll be checking the levels on your living room stereo from the moment "It Is Nothing" pulls everyone in earshot through a vortex of groove-locked rhythms and back-spun power chords (hammered out by drummer Jay Space and bassist Jono MOFO)."
-[Mute Records (part of EMI)]

On October 4th (two days before the album comes out), APTBS will kick off a tour in Philadelphia that lasts through October 30th. They'll make a hometown stop at Bowery Ballroom on October 29th with Dead Confederate and All the Saints. Their last hometown stop was this past Saturday at the Siren Music Festival in Coney Island. More pictures from that show with all tour dates (and all opener information), below...

Continue reading "A Place to Bury Strangers - new Mute album (tracklist), 2009 tour dates (Bowery) & more pics from the Siren Festival"

A Place To Bury Strangers have signed a worldwide deal with UK based record label, Mute. On Friday April 17, the band will appear at the 2009 Coachella Music Festival in Indio, CA. They will also headline this year's PsychFest in Austin, TX on Saturday March 15. The band is currently in the studio working on an as-yet untitled sophomore album. Release date is TBD.

"We are incredibly excited to sign with Mute," says frontman and guitarist Oliver Ackermann. "They have put out some of our favorite music over the years. I can't think of a label that better fosters experimentally creative music."

Continue reading "APTBS sign to Mute - Marnie Stern NYU show tonight"

What would you do if one decade into your career you suddenly saw one of your songs turned into a worldwide hit, won six Grammys in your native Sweden, and your latest release was declared album of the year by one of the world's most influential music websites? If you're Karin Dreijer Andersson, formerly singer with '90s pop hopes Honey Is Cool and now one half of The Knife, the answer is to take a couple of years off and return as a solo artist under a new name: Fever Ray.

In Karin's own words, "I had so many songs to record that I just had to make an album. I thought I was going to have a longer break but I guess it will never happen. I can't stop working. My aim was to finish the album and now that it's done I'm a bit restless (good that The Knife has an opera to write then.) During the last years I discovered that I like to sing too, so I hope that my newly found live band will make it to the stages next year. We are rehearsing and building something beautiful and brilliant."

'If I Had A Heart' is the first single from Fever Ray: a stirring mantra, a boundless loop, a deep sleep spreading over fields and endless oceans. A dark evocation of hope and a demand for "more, give me more". The track will be available digitally on December 16.

Music and lyrics are by Fever Ray with production by Fever Ray & Christoffer Berg. The video for "If I Had a Heart" will be directed by Andreas Nilsson.

Mute will release the debut album physically on March 24th, 2009.

Continue reading "Fever Ray = Karin of The Knife who are writing an opera"

here's part 1 (Thursday) of this 'week in dance'. Part 2 (Friday and Saturday) coming soon....

DOWNLOAD: Moby Guest Mix N'Joy (3/21/08) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ed Banger Menage A Trois (ZSHARE)

Spring is finally (maybe?) here in New York - up to a whopping 65 degrees on Tuesday! Warm weather makes me want to do nothing more than go out and get down. This week there is no shortage of opportunities to do so:

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (04/03/08) (part 1) (Moby)"

Mute Records (home of Richard Hawley, Art Brut, Liars, Erasure, Grinderman, Erasure, Moby, Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp, etc, etc...) went ahead and signed Brooklyn's own Tiny Masters of Today - the band composed of members with an average age of 12! That's awesome. Their debut album Bang Bang Boom Cake will be released August 6th, and the first single 'Radio Riot' can be heard in the video below...

Continue reading "the kids in TINY MASTERS OF TODAY have signed to Mute Records - new album & VIDEO"