by Bill Pearis

UK resident James Mathé will soon be pulling double duty, both as a touring member of Jose Gonzalez's band Junip (who are starting a North American trek next week) and as an opener too, with his own project, Barbarossa. Having just signed to Memphis Industries, Mathé will release his second album as Barbarossa, Bloodlines, on August 5.

Where his first album, Chemical Campfires, was lovely acoustic folk, Mathé has reinvented Barbarossa for the new album which is much more electronic. "I loved the acoustic scene, but knew it was not all I was about, so I dug out all my old casiotone keyboards, drum machines and analogue synths and just started writing." If you like the more soulful, reflective side of Hot Chip, you should definitely check him out. You can watch the video for the album's first single, "The Load," below.

In celebration of the Junip tour -- which hits NYC on June 13 for a sold-out show at Highline Ballroom with Quadron -- Barbarossa has covered Junip's "Line of Fire" which definitely takes the song in a more low-key direction, but no less lovely. We've got the premiere of that and you can stream it below.

If you didn't get tickets to the Highline show but are still interested in catching Barbarossa, he'll return to NYC for shows at Mercury Lounge on June 20 with Pacific Air and Littlefield on June 21 with M.A.K.U. Soundsystem and Helado Negro. Tickets for the Mercury Lounge and Littlefield shows are on sale now.

All Barbarossa dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Barbarossa touring with, without & in Junip (who he covered)"

by Andrew Sacher

DOWNLOAD: Black Hippy - "U.O.E.N.O" Remix (MP3)

When we first realized Rhye wasn't as mysterious as we thought, it was brought into the public consciousness that one half of the duo was Mike Milosh (better known as just Milosh) and Robin Hannibal, who is also one half of the duo Quadron with Coco O. Quadron is set to release a new album, Avalanche, on June 4 via Vested in Culture/Epic, and in very exciting news, the first single, "Better Off," features a verse from Kendrick Lamar. Pitchfork mentions that Robin and Coco were also in a group called Boom Clap Bachelors, whose song "Tiden Flyver" is prominently sampled in Kendrick's "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe." Check out "Better Off" below, along with the album tracklist. That's the artwork above.

Quadron also have some tour dates coming up around the time of the album's release. They'll be a support act for some of the dates on Jose Gonzalez's group Junip's previously discussed tour, including the NYC date happening on June 13 at Highline Ballroom. Barbarossa is on that show too, which is sold out.

Quadron will also return to NYC for a free, all ages show opening for UK singer Lianne La Havas at Central Park Summerstage on July 27. DJ Center will be on the boards that night too.

As discussed, Kendrick Lamar will also be in the NYC-area for Summer Jam, Governors Ball, and Rock the Bells. Kendrick and the rest of the Black Hippy crew (Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock) just remixed Rocko's "U.O.E.N.O," which you can download above and stream below.

All Quadron dates are listed, along with the song streams and album artwork, below...

Continue reading "Quadron (mem. of Rhye) releasing new LP (stream a track w/ Kendrick Lamar), opening for Junip and Lianne La Havas"

The xx @ Coachella 2013 (more by Wei Shi)

As you may be aware, Baz Lurhmann's glitzy, big-budget adaptatation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel, The Great Gatzby, is out May 10 and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Toby Maguire, and Carey Mulligan. That same week will see the release of its soundtrack which was curated by Jay-Z and features Jack White, The Bryan Ferry Orchestra, Gotye, Lana Del Rey, Beyonce with Andre 3000, and Jay-Z himself.

It's also got a new track by The xx, titled "Together," which was specifically written for the film. You can stream it, and check out the soundtrack art, full tracklist and a trailer for the film, below....

Continue reading "stream The xx's contribution to 'The Great Gatsby' soundtrack"

by Andrew Sacher

Once mysterious duo Rhye, who earlier this year was revealed as the project of Mike Milosh (who has three impressive albums out as Milosh) and Robin Hannibal (of Quadron), have officially announced that their debut full length, titled Woman, will be out on March 5 in the US via Loma Vista and a day earlier in the UK via Polydor. Rhye make the kind of R&B/pop-tinged downtempo that's been very fashionable lately but they do it well enough that it doesn't just feel conformist.

Check out the videos for two Rhye tracks, "The Fall" and "Open," below.

Continue reading "once-mysterious duo Rhye announce debut album"