The Rapture at CMJ 2011 (more by Bryan Bruchman)

The American Museum of Natural History's One Step Beyond series, which just had Dirty Projectors last month, is continuing on February 17 at Rose Center with DJ sets by Prefuse 73 and The Rapture. Tickets are on sale now.

Listen to all of what Dave Longstreth played at the last event below.

It's The Rapture's last North American show/event before their Japan/Australia tour which kicks off later this month. All Rapture dates are listed below.

Prefuse 73 are one of many collaborators on the upcoming Flaming Lips collaborative Record Store Day release, which also includes Bon Iver, Erykah Badu, Nick Cave, Death Cab for Cutie, Yoko Ono, and many others. You've already heard Prefuse 73's collaborations when the 4-track EP was released last year, but The Flaming Lips have been rolling out more previews of the upcoming release. Stream "Now I Understand," which features Erykah Badu, below, and check out some short clips of the Bon Iver collabs at Pitchfork.

Streams and all dates below...

Continue reading "Dave Longstreth DJ'd the Museum of Natural History (listen); The Rapture & Prefuse 73 will next (and stuff)"

My Brightest Diamond at Bowery Ballroom in 2010 (more by Chris La Putt)

Frequent Sufjan Stevens-collaborator (and now mother) Shara Worden aka My Brightest Diamond is opening for Sufjan at his previously announced Prospect Park show on August 2. Worden recorded vocals on the album epic "Impossible Soul" off Sufjan's The Age of Adz last year. Hopefully she'll come out and play it with him in Brooklyn. Tickets are still available.

My Brightest Diamond, who is busy working on a new album, also plays a free Castle Clinton show in NYC on July 7. Meanwhile she heads to Amsterdam for some performances of the Long Count. All dates are listed below.

Worden provided guest vocals on the recently released The Only She Chapters by Prefuse 73, who just released an EP with The Flaming Lips. Psych Explorations of the Future Heart has YouTube streams of all four songs. Those in Oklahoma can buy a 12" at Guestroom Records.

Flaming Lips have some shows coming up with Weezer. Prefuse 73 is on the lineup of Bass island.

Check out a new(ish) My Brightest Diamond video and more of her dates below...

Continue reading "My Brightest Diamond opening for Sufjan (dates), Prefuse 73 released an EP w/ the Flaming Lips (listen)"

photos by Tim Griffin

Prefuse 73 @ Austin Psych Fest


Bassnectar will lead the charge on "Bass Island" at South Island Field on Governors Island on August 13th. The show will be Bassnectar's only stop in NYC for the remainder of 2011 and is "part one in a spellbinding trilogy of music, art, and culture" that aims to "create a unique world to explore, beyond the realms of a normal concert experience". Word.

The full lineup of artists confirmed for the island celebration include Lupe Fiasco, Z-Trip, Prefuse 73, Virtual Boy, Dave Nada and Joro Boro, with possibly more TBA. Tickets go on general sale at noon today (5/20). Poster below.

Bassnectar's other upcoming dates include Sasquatch, Bonnaroo, Dave Matthews Band Caravan in Atlantic City, Camp Bisco, Osheaga, AND Hangout Fest in Alabama tonight (5/20). The full list is below.

Prefuse 73 released The Only She Chapters via Warp on April 24th. The album features appearances from Shara Worden, Zola Jesus, and the late Trish Keenan. The record dropped within days of Prefuse 73's appearance at Austin Psych Fest last month, and belated pictures from that show adorn this post. More of them, with all Bassnectar dates, below.

Continue reading "Bassnectar turning Governors into 'Bass Island' (lineup), Prefuse 73 also played Austin Psych Fest (pics) "

words by Andrew Sacher, photo by Michael Barron

"James Blake was impeccable live. Wow." - Tyler McCauley

"whoaa that is bjork up in this james blake concert. would take a picture but it wouldnt matter. bitch is wearing a lace veil!" - Andrew

"Oh, hi," said a timid James Blake as he sat down behind his keyboard to make his US debut for a very approving crowd at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Blake, accompanied by a guitarist and drummer, quickly captured the audience with his distinct brand of electronica that wavers between delicate arrangements and venue-shaking bass drops. The set largely consisted of material off of his debut full length, including fan-favorites "The Wilhelm Scream," "I Never Learnt To Share," and his compelling cover of Feist's "Limit To Your Love." The most impressive part of the night, however, was the audience's reaction to the album's two-part epic; "Lindisfarne." The song's silent passages commanded the entire venue to follow suit, literally making it possible to hear a pin drop between Blake's sparse melody lines. After James Blake and his band left the stage, Blake came back on by himself for a much deserved encore, and performed his piano/vocal rendition of Joni Mitchell's "A Case Of You."

This is not the last America will be seeing of James. He's appearing at SXSW this week before returning to Europe for a number of dates in late March and April, and will be back in May for a proper US tour including sold out shows at Bowery Ballroom and Le Poisson Rouge.

The show was opened by the trippy, trancey duo Ford & Lopatin, who were joined on stage by Prefuse 73. Ford & Lopatin will also be at SXSW.

A video of the encore is below...

Continue reading "James Blake made his US debut @ Music Hall of Williamsburg"

DOWNLOAD: Crystal Stilts - Practically Immaculate (MP3)

"The Black Angels and Reverberation Appreciation Society are happy to announce the dates, location and initial lineup for Austin Psych Fest 4. The 4th annual festival will be held at The East Side Drive In, an outside venue in the heart of downtown from April 29 - May 1, 2011. Spanning the full range of the psych sounds, the festival honors the past while also magnifying the modern vanguard of mind-expanding music. The festival grounds will feature a multi-stage setup and wide-open spaces for you to stretch out and enjoy live performances from these bands and many more to be announced."

Continue reading "Crystal Stilts release a holiday song, playing Austin Psych Fest w/ Black Angels, Spectrum & more (MP3 & lineup)"

photos by Chris La Putt

Prefuse 73 @ Governors Island

Saturday night's "Gone to Governors" show included sets by Neon Indian & Miniature Tigers, Dom, Nite Jewel, and Prefuse 73 who probably would have been the headliner if the order of the lineup was based on seniority. Instead Prefuse played fourth, before the much buzzed headliner Neon Indian who will also be Scott Herren's tour-mate across North America in the fall.

Prefuse's live Governors Island hip hop-infused set included electronics, vocals, live drumming and coordinated, sometimes-pornographic visuals. The sound was booming and they sounded great in the outdoor setting. If you didn't feel like dancing, you could always just watch the screen, or walk around staring at the water and skyline with bugged out zombie eyes as many in attendance were.

Prefuse 73 will play a DJ set at Studio Square in Long Island City on Saturday, August 21st, as part of an oil spill benefit. There doesn't seem to be too many details about the event listed anywhere, but Myspace says 9:00-11:30.

All dates and more pictures from Governors below...

Continue reading "Prefuse 73 played Governors Island & touring w/ Neon Indian, DJing an oil spill benefit (dates & pics)"

photos by alBerto Trevino

DOWNLOAD: Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms" (Apache Beat Remix) (MP3)

Wall Street Journal: How are you adjusting to the move from Austin to New York?

Alan Palomo: New York has a really funny way of lighting a fire under your a** and keeping you in that state of mind where you have to be creative just to even survive. Whereas I feel like Texas, as much as I love it, it's so laid back it inspires a breed of meandering.

WSJ: Are you feeling pressure to keep up the momentum?

Alan Palomo: As soon as we're off tour in late October, I'm going to start writing the new Neon Indian record. And I'm already halfway done with the VEGA record. I figure for the Neon Indian record, I need to get out of New York, given that I have so many friends there. I need to throw myself into that state of mind that helped spawn the first one, which is to isolate myself in some city that I don't know much about. The fantasy is Helsinki.

And this past weekend, while Dom was playing the Siren Festival (Apache Beat too) (they did the remix you can download for free above), Alan was busy in Chicago hanging out and then playing the 2010 Pitchfork Festival (Neon Indian's set was on Sunday). Some more pictures from his Pitchfork set, and all NI dates, below...

Continue reading "Neon Indian played Pitchfork (pics), touring (dates), gets Governors Island openers (including Dom)"

Gaslamp Killer

The Gaslamp Killer takes his surname from the section of San Diego that most resembles an outdoor mall. That city's best export since Kid606 has since moved up Interstate 5, scored a Low End Theory residency and, along with a cadre of cohorts like Flying Lotus and Dâm-Funk, bumped hip hop into another dimension. Originally zoning in on underground rap, his early mixes were like a single-handed attempt to resurrect the spirit of Gravediggaz. Subsequent pastiches broadened his scope, with two self-released volumes of It's A Rocky Road picking at everything from Ultimate Spinach to "Anasazi Noodle." Other joints for boutique labels like Obey are cavernous affairs, collecting stray bullets from decades of unpopular music. [Dusted]

Before then, Prefuse 73 has one other date - opening for Umphrey's McGee at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago for New Year's Eve. All dates below...

Continue reading "Prefuse 73 going on tour as a full band w/ The Gaslamp Killer & VOICEsVOICEs (2010 dates) "

photos by Vincent Cornelli

DOWNLOAD: Mixhell (Black Metal SoundSystem) - Doombox Mixtape (MP3)

Prefuse 73 @ LPR

David Ellis' exhibition at (Le) Poisson Rouge is a misnomer. It consists of a handful of sculptures wrought from records (and their sleeves) that are neat bits of ornamental design but that don't invite any kind of reflection. The same is true of his "movement sculpture", which comes off like a sneaker commercial. Perhaps noticing this, someone tacked on a looped playback of Ellis' collaboration with Italian street artist Blu.

The opening was followed by a show with performances by Prefuse 73, Jon Hopkins and MIXHELL. Not much happened. The high point turned out to be a set of horror-inspired stuff from Jon Hopkins, in which he used the venue's cavernous interior and well-spread speaker system to creepy and then chest-rattling effect. Prefuse 73 played a rambling, messy set that was disappointing coming from such royalty. One sequence, a sustained sampling of guitar solos (including some Hendrix), was smart if totally undanceable. He was probably just drunk, or bored, as were we." [Dossier]

MIXHELL (aka Iggor Cavalera of Sepultura) plays as duo with his wife and alternates between the DJ booth and a drum set. We're not sure what he did at the free LPR show on Tuesday night though (because Vincent needed to take off before his late set) .

And MIXHELL may be a DJ now, but he hasn't forgotten his metal roots. Check out the new mixtape he made under the name of his new side project, Black Metal Soundsystem, above.

More pictures from Tuesday night below...

Continue reading "Black Metal Soundystem is Mixhell - made a mixtape (MP3), played w/ Jon Hopkins & Prefuse 73 @ LPR - pics "

Prefuse 73 @ Terminal 5 in November 2008 (more by Zach Stern)

David Ellis is an artist born into a family immersed in music. His paintings are often recorded in a form of digital time-lapse animation he calls motion painting. Like jazz, these works provide Ellis with an opportunity to combine ideas with collaborators and work solo within a form that promotes improvisation and spontaneity.

Ellis often stages events when exhibiting his motion paintings, inviting musicians, performers, and sound artists to interpret the work live. His motion painting, Paint on Trucks in a World in Need of Love was exhibited at MoMA. Ellis further explores sound with kinetic installations that produce analogue sequences in rhythm. His latest work, often in collaboration with composer Roberto Lange, deconstructs the inner workings of player pianos to create sprawling sculptures that automatically play percussive rhythms with recycled typewriters, buckets, bottles and cans.

Not free, but also a party at (Le) Poisson Rouge, Buraka Som Sistema are back. Maluca and DJ Geko Jones open the show which takes place at the West Village venue TONIGHT (11/4) @ 11pm. Be prepared to stay out late.

All Buraka Som Sistema dates, a video of Ellis painting a piece and a song from Prefuse's latest LP, Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian, which came out earlier this year, and more below...

Continue reading "Buraka Som Sistema are back (dates) - show w/ Maluca @ LPR tonight ++ free Prefuse 73 & Mixhell art show Tuesday"

Jamie Lidell @ Highline Ballroom - October 2008 (more by Chris La Putt)

Warp20, the 20th anniversary concert series for the estimable UK label, has added a closing party at Le Poisson Rouge to its NYC schedule of events that run from September 3rd to 6th. The new September 5th show, which takes place after the previously-announced WFC Winter Garden gig, will feature sets from Jamie Lidell , The Hundred in the Hands and Born Ruffians. Doors are at 11pm. Tickets are on sale now. Just to be clear:

Sept 4 show @ Terminal 5
Sept 5 show @ World Financial Center
Sept 5 late show @ Le Poisson Rouge

More Pivot dates, and a few video clips from the anniversary event Warp held earlier this year in Paris (with Aphex Twin and Hecker) are HERE and below along with a video preview of the label's commemorative box set, which comes out September 25th...

Continue reading "Warp20 adds Jamie Lidell show (tix), win a pair to Battles !!!"

After many months of planning, Wordless Music is deliriously proud to announce details of Warp20 NYC, the second and only U.S. installment in a series of worldwide events taking place this year in Paris, Tokyo, London, and Sheffield.

Warp20 NYC will be a four-day celebration of the music, films, and 20th anniversary of the the peerless UK label Warp Records, without which there would surely have never been a Wordless Music series.

On September 3-6, in venues across New York City, Warp artists Battles, Flying Lotus, Chris Clark, !!!, Prefuse 73, Pivot, and Hudson Mohawke will headline shows in two different venues, while The New Museum offers free and continuous screenings of full-length features, documentaries, music videos, and shorts from several dozen directors hailing from around the globe.

The other confirmed fest show will be a free concert at the World Financial Center Winter Garden with Flying Lotus, Chris Clark and Hudson Mohawke on September 5th.

The "kick off" for Warp20 NYC (two months before the fest...) will be tonight's (7/22) Alarm Will Sound show at (Le) Poisson Rouge. The program for the night commemorates the five-year anniversary of the group's 2005 album Acoustica with chamber orchestra arrangements of music by Aphex Twin, Autechre, Mochipet, John Dowland, and The Beatles. Nic Offer from the band !!! will DJ the late show. Tickets for both the late and early shows are still on sale.

Also starting tonight (7/22), and also celebrating 20 years of a record label's existence: XX Merge (the Merge Records party in North Carolina).

In addition to the above-mentioned acts, Warp is also home to Grizzly Bear, who will be playing a free Pool Party show on August 30th.

The full program for tonight's LPR show, with more info on Warp20 NYC, below...

Continue reading "Warp Records' 20th Anniversary Fest - shows at Terminal 5 (Battles, !!!, more) & WFC (Flying Lotus) & LPR (tonight)"

by Black Bubblegum

Herren & Lange as Savath Y Savalas

Scott Herren, aka Prefuse 73, will headline Brooklyn's Bell House TONIGHT (4/23), one of three upcoming NYC dates for Mr Glitch Hop.

Along for the ride at the Bell House is the duo of Roberto C Lange (collaborator and member of Herren's Savath Y Savalas project) and David Ellis (MoMa featured visual artist), Alexis O'Hara, GOD, Grade 13, Nine 11 Thesaurus, and Tiny Toones. The Bell House show will serve as a launch party for Radio23.org, a streaming audio site that will broadcast the whole thing LIVE. Tickets are still available. We also have two pairs of tickets to give away. Details below.

The second show lined up for Scott Herren will take place at MoMa on May 4th as part of their ongoing MoMA Monday Nights series. Tickets are $10 if you ride your bike to the museum that night or if you are a Flavorpill subscriber. Otherwise it costs $20.

The third, and possibly the biggest, is the NY installation of Barcelona's Sonar festival on May 12th in NYC:

Sonar is organising a day of special concerts and performances in New York in a very unusual venue in the city, the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC), with a top class line-up that combines multimedia art ideas with experimental electronica and latest generation pop, and which includes... [installations by] both Catalan and American artists... [including] Marcel·lí Antúnez and ReacTable featuring Ikue Mori; the mysterious ambient of Balago; the soundtrack, performed live, by Árbol and Fibla for a film by Taiwan's Tsai Ming-Liang; the extravagant pop of Hidrogenesse; hip-hop in a trio format with the Del Palo Soundsystem; two sets by the Barcelona dj d.a.r.y.l.; the highly unconventional rhythm of the Americans (both ex-residents of Barcelona) DJ/Rupture and Prefuse 73; and visuals by No-Domain.

You may have recently caught Prefuse 73 spinning some records at Other Music during Record Store Day.

Some videos, and contest details, below...

Continue reading "Sonar Festival in NYC, the Radio23 launch party & MoMA Monday Nights (all Prefuse 73 shows, 1 tonight, win tix) "

Bishop Allen @ Other Music - March 10, 2009 (Modern Mystery Blog)

Record Store Day (April 18, 2009) at Other Music...

Continue reading "Other Music's 2009 Record Store Day schedule "

photos by Zach Stern

"IS GIRLTALK MAINSTREAM?"

"Girl Talk @ Terminal 5 was a blast. I was one of the lucky people to attend his sold out show... and despite all the underage boobies, the horrible opening bands, and girl talk's pretentiousness, the show itself was off the chain. Say what you want about him - but the dude knows music and played a lot of amazing shit." [killalipstick]

TUESDAY NIGHT @ TERMINAL 5

Saturday night's openers were The DEATHSET and CX KiDTRONiK. We did't have a photographer there. Sunday night was Hearts of Darknesses & Grand Buffet. Those pictures are HERE. More pictures from Tuesday night's show, below...

Continue reading "Girl Talk, Prefuse 73 & Bad Brilliance w/ Andrew WK @ Terminal 5 (night 3), NYC - pics"

APC @ KF (more by Leia Jospe)

Anti-Pop Consortium, Prefuse 73 and Catchdubs are playing Hiro Ballroom on July 3rd. $8.00 tickets are on sale (the tickets are cheaper than the drinks) (except the free Lucky Beer they'll be giving out between 9 and 10). All tour dates below....

Continue reading "Anti-Pop Consortium, Prefuse 73, a Hiro show & tour dates"

Times New Viking @ Cafe Bourbon St., 3/22/08 (Joel.Oliphint)

Four free shows in June at the Whitney in NYC....

Continue reading "'Wordless Music' at the Whitney (Times New Viking, Prefuse 73, A Sunny Day in Glasgow & more)"

School of Seven Bells is a new band formed by Benjamin Curtis of Secret Machines. He left Secret Machines in early 2007 to concentrate on the new band solely. The band also includes twins Alejandra and Claudia Deheza, formerly of On! Air! Library!, and James Elliot aka Ateleia. Curtis and the Deheza sisters met when both were opening on an Interpol tour. [Wikipedia]

Continue reading "School of Seven Bells = Secret Machines + On! Air! Library!"

"Guillermo Scott Herren will revive his Prefuse 73 alias this fall for the new album Preparations, out via Warp on October 23. As Herren mentioned when we chatted with him in March, it's a double album... but only if you buy a physical copy. That's right: as an added incentive to support your local record shop, the digital version of Preparations will not come with the second disc." [Pitchfork]

You can listen to a new song at MySpace. He plays Bowery Ballroom on November 26th. All tour dates below....

Continue reading "Prefuse 73 - new album & 2007 Tour Dates"