DOWNLOAD: Sarah Neufeld - Hero Brother (MP3)

Sarah Neufeld, who plays violin in The Arcade Fire and Belle Orchetre (and has spent time in The Luyas), is set to release her first solo album. Hero Brother will be out August 20 via Constellation Records. The album's title track can be downloaded above or streamed below.

Neufeld just played Crossing Brooklyn Ferry and, as mentioned, will be opening for Colin Stetson at Le Poisson Rouge on May 8 with Rafiq Bhatia on the bill as well. Tickets to that show are still available. All dates are listed, along with a video trailer for the album, below.

Continue reading "Arcade Fire violinist Sarah Neufeld releasing solo album, touring (dates, streams)"

Solange at Bowery Ballroom in 2012 (more by Amanda Hatfield)

As noted, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry festival will return to BAM from April 25 - 27 and is again curated by The National's Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner. A partial list of 2013 performers has been announced and includes headliners The Roots, Solange and TV on the Radio, as well as Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Julia Holter and Here We Go Magic. Full list of announced performers is below.

Festival passes to all three days of Crossing Brooklyn Ferry are on sale now as are tickets to April 25 (The Roots), April 26 (Solange), and April 27 (TV on the Radio).

Continue reading "The Roots, Solange and TV on the Radio headlining 2013 Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (initial line-up announced, tix on sale)"

DOWNLOAD: Colin Stetson - "High Above A Grey Green Sea" (MP3)

Colin Stetson w/ Bon Iver at Bonnaroo 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

As mentioned, sax machine Colin Stetson is set to release a new solo album this year, and since we last spoke, more details on that have been revealed. The album is called New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light and it will be out on April 30 via Constellation. It features guest vocals from Justin Vernon on four tracks (Colin's been a Bon Iver member for a while now) and was mixed by Ben Frost, who also worked on New History Warfare Vol. 2. You can download the avant-garde album track, "High Above A Grey Green Sea," above or stream it below. The album art and tracklist are also below.

Colin will be supporting the album with an extensive international tour which hits NYC on May 8 at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets for that show are on sale now. Most of the surrounding shows are with past collaborator Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre), but no support has been announced for the LPR show yet.

UPDATE: Neufeld plays LPR too, and Rafiq Bhatia as well.

A list of all dates, song stream, album art and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Colin Stetson releasing new LP (w/ Justin Vernon singing), going on tour (dates, MP3)"

Colin Stetson

Sax wizard Colin Stetson is working on his new solo album which will be out at some point in 2013, but before that you'll get a chance to see him at an intimate NYC show with many guests at Zebulon on December 6. The show includes Colin doing a solo set, along with sets by Holly Miranda and her band, Sarah Neufeld on solo violin (Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre), and Lone Wolf (aka Ryan Saywer). Then Colin, Sarah and Ryan will do a collaborative set with Stuart Bogie, Adam Roberts, and Ryan Ferreira. No advance tickets for this show.

Colin Stetson is also part of the lineup for the 2013 Winter Jazz Fest which goes down across multiple venues in NYC on January 11 and 12. Colin will be playing The Bitter End on 1/12. Other artists on this year's tentative lineup include Nels Cline, Rafiq Bhatia, Debo Band, Vijay Iyer, and many many more. The full tentative lineup (with still more TBA) is below.

Continue reading "Colin Stetson playing NYC w/ Holly Miranda, Sarah Neufeld & more before Winter Jazz Fest (lineup)"

DOWNLOAD: Gregory Rogove -Sunken Sh-illy (Sunken Ships) (Billy Martin Remix) (MP3)

PIANA is an album of instrumental, solo piano pieces written by Gregory Rogove and performed by John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood). It also includes a DVD of musical and visual reinterpretations, or "remixes," of the piano pieces.

Piana is out now on Knitting Factory Records. The full tracklist and list of remixers is below. The Billy Martin (also of Medeski Martin & Wood) remix is downloadable for free for the first (legal) time above.

Gregory Rogove, who you may also know from his work with Devendra Banhart, Priestbird and Megapuss (Devendra Banhart, Fabrizio Moretti, Gregory Rogove), will be performing songs from Piana on the previously mentioned 'Alone Together Tour' As you know:

The tour, consisting of a West Coast and East Coast run, will kick off on April 7 in Brooklyn, NY and will include three instrumentalists from different-but-related musical communities stepping out of the band atmosphere to present their solo compositions. The tour line-up includes Gregory Rogove and Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire/Bell Orchestre / violin) on all dates, Billy Martin (Medeski Martin Wood / percussion) on the east coast leg, Colin Stetson (Bon Iver, Laurie Anderson / saxophone) on the west coast leg. Each artist will perform solo on their respective instrument, exploring a variety of different compositional approaches.

More info on the record with the videos for "Sunken Ships" and "Jackyl" and all dates, below...

Continue reading "Gregory Rogove released 'Piana', touring w/ Sarah Neufeld & Billy Martin (who also remixed him) -- MP3, video, dates"

"Colin Stetson was crazy good at Glasslands. Like putting Ornette Coleman under a powerful microscope and throwing him off the jazz deep end." - Liam A

Colin Stetson at SXSW 2011 (more by Ryan Barkan)

Colin Stetson and Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld are wrapping up a tour together that hit Glasslands Tuesday night (4/3). A video from the show is below.

Now both musicians will team up as part of the "Alone Together" tour - An Evening of Solo Works - with Gregory Rogove (Devendra Banhart, Priestbird, Megapuss) and Billy Martin (Medeski Martin & Wood), though Colin Stetson will NOT be on the first few dates of the tour that stars in Brooklyn at Littlefield on Saturday (4/7) and also hits Le Poisson Rouge on April 10. Tickets for the Littlefield show (no Stetson) and the LPR show (no Stetson) are on sale now.

To quote a tour description:

Neufeld will present her unique and vibrant solo violin pieces, Martin will perform his impressive array of spontaneous percussion/drum set compositions, Stetson will perform his spell-binding solo bass saxophone work, and Rogove will play his minimalist, solo piano pieces, from his recently released PIANA album (Knitting Factory Records).

All tour dates, the live Stetson video, and video of Sarah playing with Pulp in 2011, below...

Continue reading "Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld played Glasslands w/ Colin Stetson, playing more NYC shows & other dates"

Colin Stetson at SXSW 2011 (more by Ryan Barkan)

Sax monarch Colin Stetson is heading out on a North American tour this spring. Most of the dates will be supported by Sarah Neufeld, who Stetson has played with in Bell Orchestre (with Richard Parry), and who is also a member of Arcade Fire and sometimes The Luyas. The tour will bring the two musicians to NYC on April 3 at Glasslands. Tickets for that show are on sale now. All dates are listed below.

Towards the end of last year, Colin Stetson made a video for "Those Who Didn't Run," off the EP of the same name. The video was directed by Isaac Gale, who has worked with Colin in the past, in addition to working on many Doomtree-related videos (Doomtree are on tour too). You can watch that video below.

Speaking of the Arcade Fire, if you missed it, you can watch their entire recent episode of Austin City Limits online. Time will tell if they support Obama again in the upcoming election.

All Colin Stetson dates and the video below...

Continue reading "Colin Stetson schedules shows w/ Sarah Neufeld (dates)"

photos by Amanda Hatfield, words by Rachel Kowal

Austra @ BrooklynVegan Day Party @ Swan Dive

A few days have passed since I got back from Austin, and I'm still struggling to process the week. Yes, it was my first time at SXSW. Thanks to the never-ending supply of free tacos, music, beer, fellow music-devotees, and sunshine, I managed to retain that little-kid-like wonder throughout the week - even when severe sleep deprivation set in. (And I thought CMJ was a rush. Ha.)

By the time I left Austin on Sunday morning, I managed to see some 54 bands (no counting impromptu street performances) play in 20 different venues. Some were of course flops, but on the whole, I was impressed by the showcase of new and emerging artists. CMJ is great, but let's be honest. So many of the bands that play there play nearly every week in New York or Brooklyn anyway. Austin, on the other hand, seemed to get a much wider variety of acts, and I made it my goal to see as many unfamiliar and/or international artists as I could (in addition to of course scouting out some of my favorites like Sam Amidon, The Loom, tUnE-yArDs, and Papercuts).

Instead of potentially boring you with a lengthy play-by-play (which you can catch on my personal blog if you're interested), I'll try to succinctly present the highlights from my week. (Though to be fair, this is something of an impossible task.)

Since I flew into Houston and drove over (waaay cheaper), I didn't get to see a ton of music on Wednesday, but what I did catch was excellent. My first band of the festival, Still Corners (who recently signed to Sub Pop along with Memoryhouse), turned out to be one of my favorites all week. The British group's well-executed, dreamy sound was the perfect accompaniment to the beautiful outdoor setting on the lawn of the French Legation Museum for the the Bella Union/Yours day party. My two other favorite finds of the day were BOBBY (a Mountain Man side project that later played at one of the BV showcases) and the delightful Cali singer-songwriter Sea of Bees, whose eerily beautiful song "Gnomes" played on repeat in my head all week and prompted me to seek her out a second time the following day.

With the exception of the NPR Showcase, which featured the likes of Wild Flag, The Joy Formidable, and The Antlers (more on that later), the majority of Thursday left me lukewarm... that is until I stumbled upon Austra at the Domino showcase. (Austra also later performed at the BV show at Swan Dive on Saturday - pictures in this post.)

Wow. Zola Jesus may drive me a bit crazy at times due to Nika Roza Danilova's overly dramatic performance, but Austra seemed to strike exactly the right balance - theatrical and eye-catching without coming across as disingenuous or too over-the-top. Their beat was addictive, their appearance and dance moves, arresting. No question about it. Austra is definitely an artist to watch - and probably my favorite live act all week. Many of the sets I caught were only partial - I was constantly arriving late and leaving early in order to scamper off to another venue, but Austra held my attention (understatement of the year?), and I stuck around for the entirety of the set (Bill did too).

continued below...

Continue reading "Rachel's Best of SXSW w/ pics by Amanda (Austra, Josh T Pearson, Lost in the Trees, The Loom, Yellow Ostrich & more)"

words by JW Byer, Pop Montreal 2009 photos by Ryan Muir

Just when you thought Montreal was tapped out on its music talent, along comes Little Scream. Singer-songwriter Laurel Sprengelmeyer aka Little Scream (who bears a striking resemblance to a young Susan Sarandon), just finished up The Golden Record, her first studio album, co-produced by Richard Reed Parry of the Arcade Fire and Belle Orchestre.

The album was recorded in Montreal and New York, in the home studios of Parry and Aaron Dessner of the National. Both artists contributed to the album, with Parry playing on multiple tracks. Additional guest musicians include Mike Fueurstack (Snailhouse), Becky Foon (Silver M. Zion), Patty McGee (Stars) and Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire, Belle Orchestre).

The Golden Record (named after the 1977 Voyager space shuttle time capsule recording) is filled with stunning vocals and a beautiful use of reverb on songs such as "Your Radio." There are influences that span from the genre of folk on "Black Cloud," to the classical "Boatman." The heavy intro on "Cannons" bears the mark of Parry's work that can be heard in the Arcade Fire, but is unique at the same time. I was hooked right away with the soothing sounds of "Amahl," the album opener (a tribute to the Menotti opera that bears the same name), and the ballad that is "The Heron and the Fox."

There is good news for fans. Little Scream is on tour, playing this Saturday at the Pop Montreal Festival and the following Tuesday, 10/5, at Brooklyn's the Rock Shop. Tickets are still on sale for the Brooklyn show which is being headlined by Marnie Stern and also includes a set by the Forms.

LS is really excited to be playing the Pop Montreal Festival with Mary Margaret O'Hara, saying "she's kind of one of the reasons I play music." This set will also include guest musicians Becky Foon and Jess Robertson, and as previously noted, Doveman is also on that bill.

Later in October, Little Scream will head out on a Canadian tour with Owen Pallett before joining up with Suuns and Land of Talk, November 6th Bowery Ballroom included.

A limited run of CD's will be available at live shows, starting at the end of October. An official album release is slated for next spring. For a preview of The Golden Record, you can listen to new tunes at www.listn.to/littlescream and at her MySpace.

All tour dates and a Vincent Moon-directed Take Away Show, with pictures Ryan Muir took while that Take Away Show was being recorded at Pop Montreal last year, below...

Continue reading "a spotlight on Little Scream (tour dates included) "

photos by Ryan Muir

Hello hello!

Here is the info for our special secret event on Wednesday (21st) night.

Let's all meet at Kings Bar. It's located at 286 Seigel St., Brooklyn, NY 11206 between White and Bogart Sts. (Off the Morgan subway stop.)
We can have a drink there while waiting for everyone to arrive. It's probably a good idea to BYOB for a bit later on if that's your style.

If we are sending this to you, we would really really love to have you there, but if you can't make it, please feel free to come out to our other shows

That was the invite message for Wednesday night's secret Luyas show. Hopefully you didn't have too much trouble figuring out where it was if you wanted to attend. If you weren't there and are wondering what it was like, well the pictures give a pretty good idea. They continue below.

And as their message says, if you missed it, come check out one of their other shows. There was tonight/Thursday at Webster Hall with Owen Pallett, Friday night at Sycamore, and Sunday at Glasslands, and.... (as already posted)... the just added Saturday night with Holiday Shores and The Morning Benders at Music Hall of Williamsburg. The Music Hall show is sold out, so if you have a ticket get there early. Luyas on at 9:00.

You'll recognize The Arcade Fire's Sarah Neufeld in these pictures. She played with them Wednesday night, but unfortunately won't be at any of the other shows this week. The pictures continue below...

Continue reading "The Luyas played a secret show on a street, in an elevator... (pics), added to BV show @ MHOW on Saturday"

Arcade Fire @ Mercury Lounge, 2004 (more)

Arcade Fire have been fairly quiet about their forthcoming, third album. Small tidbits have leaked out, like the fact producer Markus Dravs is working on it and that it is complete. Similarly, their summer tour dates are mostly unannounced, though Lollapalooza will be one stop. Now the band's website has been updated with a list of mainly-European summer shows. Three are in North America - Lollapalooza on August 8th, Montreal's Osheaga Festival on July 31st (the closest to NYC), and the Ottawa Bluesfest (July 6-18). The other headliners at Ottawa's massive annual fest include The B-52s, The Swell Season, The Flaming Lips, Passion Pit, Iron Maiden, Rush, Kevin Costner & Modern West, and Weezer. The full lineup is below.

In other Arcade Fire news, they're reportedly working with Spike Jonze on a short film.

"the only bits of information I've been able to uncover from official sources is that the project is another short film. It seems like Spike isn't off his short film kick just yet (if you haven't already, check out his robot love story I'm Here and We Were Once a Fairytale starring Kanye West). I also learned that the film is a collaboration with the band Arcade Fire. You might recall that Spike used Arcade Fire's "Wake Up," from their 2004 album Funeral, in the trailer for Where The Wild Things Are. No word on the length or what the official title might be. Thanks to /Film reader Sam for the tip."

We also just realized that Arcade Fire band member Sarah Neufeld has been a member of the Luyas, who are in town for shows, since 2009. She only gets to play with the Luyas when she's not working with Arcade Fire though. She'll play at their private show tonight (4/21), but not at any of the other shows that the band plays this week (Glasslands, Sycamore, Webster Hall & one more TBA!). Sarah also plays in Bell Orchestre with Richard Perry of Arcade Fire, Stefan Schneider of the Luyas, and Pietro Amato of the Luyas (who is also in Torngat and sometimes Arcade Fire). Another sometimes Arcade Fire member, Owen Pallett, plays Webster Hall on Thursday with The Luyas.

All current Arcade Fire tour dates and the full Ottawa Bluesfest lineup are below...

Continue reading "Arcade Fire playing Osheaga, Ottawa Blues Fest & other shows (dates), Sarah Neufeld plays in the Luyas (tonight) "