The great UK 'experimental folk' artist David Thomas Broughton has announced "Outbreeding", a new album of slightly older songs that will be released by London label Brainlove Records on May 23rd. Listen to "Ain't Got No Sole" via its video below.

Meanwhile, DTB makes a trip to the U.S. for shows in NYC, Austin and LA that kick off TONIGHT/Monday (3/14) at Sycamore in Brooklyn with Oh Ruin and Alex Highton. He then plays Rockwood Music Hall on Tuesday with the same lineup. Wednesday he partakes in Doveman's next Burgundy Stain Session at LPR before heading to Austin where he plays four shows before doing one more in LA. All dates and that video below...

Continue reading "David Thomas Broughton announces new album, in NYC now before heading to SXSW (2011 dates & new video)"

photos by Maryanne Ventrice

"This is Nate Martinez's first solo project. After spending years of recording and touring with the band Pela, he now records under the moniker Thieving Irons. He is currently completing his first album entitled 'This Midnight Hum' with the help of Mike Brown. A collection of songs written by Nate and supported by some of his very talented friends." [Thieving Irons]

Pela broke up towards the end of 2009. As you can read above, Nate has been keeping busy with a new solo project called Thieving Irons which is currently in the midst of a four week Thursday night resideny at Brooklyn club Sycamore. Actually, the residency is billed "The Garden Grows" with "Nate Martinez and Josh Kaufman". Nate is Thieving Irons. Josh is Rocketship Park and a member of Dawn Landes's band The Hounds. Each week there will be special guests. Tonight (2/18) is the second week and they've got "Dawn Landes, Annie Nero, and many more". Also, "In celebration of the residency Josh and Nate will put together an album of live songs recorded during the residency for release after the shows culminate."

Pictures from last week and all dates below...

Continue reading "Nate Martinez (ex-Pela) is Thieving Irons - a residency w/ Josh Kaufman @ Sycamore - pics, dates, special guests"

Actually I have no idea if Jared dropped his solo moniker "Sparrow House", but he is billed at just "Jared Van Fleet" at the show he's playing tonight (12/18) at Sycamore in Brooklyn with Sebastien Schuller (and I wanted the post title to resemble the earlier one about Final Fantasy). Also it's true that he's not in Voxtrot anymore. Also he lives in Brooklyn at the moment.

Speaking of ex-Voxtrot members, YellowFever just came through town. How were those shows? Videos from the Death By Audio one, below...

Continue reading "Jared Van Fleet drops the "Sparrow House" name (and the Voxtrot) (and is playing in Brooklyn TONIGHT)"

Holden is a French duo who began recording in 1997. Band members are Armelle Pioline (vocals) and Dominique Dépret (aka Mocke, guitar). With Pierre-Jean Grapin (drums), Evan Evans (clavier) and Richard Cousin (bass), they released 'L'arrière monde' in 1998. In 2001, they met the producer Senor Coconut aka Atom aka Uwe Schmidt, who mixed their second album, 'Pedrolira' (2002). They recorded their last album, Chevrotine, in Chile, 2006

Holden's newest album Fantomatisme was released in 2009. The four songs streaming at their MySpace are great. Time Out describes it well: "Parisian duo Holden offers wistful, transporting folk-pop, accented with bossa nova and jazz. Armelle Pioline's yearning French vocals make us feel like we're inhabiting an early Godard film." The slower / bossa nova songs remind me of Keren Ann or Astrud Gilberto, though in some videos (below), they also rock out a little more.

Supposedly the band is big in France, but nobody knows about them here. That means we get to see them in intimate venues while they're visiting NYC for five shows this week. The first was Saturday night at Zebulon (did you catch it?). Sunday (11/15) the show is at Sycamore. Monday is at Matchless. Tuesday at Barbes (as well as a WNYC radio session with David Garland earlier that day), and then Wednesday they end the run at Pianos (they play right before Violent Soho who play before... Group Sounds?!). All dates and some videos below...

Continue reading "French band Holden are here - 5 NYC shows & a WNYC appearance (2009 tour dates & videos) "

Olof Arnalds @ Prospect Park (more by Chris La Putt)

Iceland's Olof Arnalds, whose most recent NYC show took place in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, will be doing shows on the West Coast and New York this September. In NYC, she'll be playing a mid-week run that includes a September 15th show at Sycamore (her third time back to the new Brooklyn venue), a September 16th gig at the intimate Rockwood Music Hall and a September 17th gig at Union Pool. She'll be joined on stage by Davíð Þór Jónsson, who also accompanied Olof on her spring tour.

The first of those shows (Sept. 15 at Syacmore) will be an "all covers" gig to mark the release of Olof's first US release, a tour 7" with covers of Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso (also loved by David Byrne) and Iceland's Elly Vilhálms. That record is a lead up to Arnald's second full-length, Ókídókí, which we're told is currently being mastered at The Lodge in NYC and will be out in early 2010.

Olof's friends and sometime-bandmates in múm will be in NYC on October 24th for a show at (Le) Poisson Rouge as part of their new-album-promoting North American tour. Tickets are still on sale.

All Olof dates, a video taken in Prospect Park (but not of the official show), and the tracklist for Olof's 7", below...

Continue reading "Olof Arnalds - more 2009 tour dates (3 in NYC), a 7" & stuff"

Olof Arnalds @ Scandinavia House (more by Chris La Putt)

Olof Arnalds returns to new Brooklyn venue Sycamore tonight, Wednesday, June 10th. It's the first of three shows she's playing in NYC while she's here from Iceland. The next two are Thursday and Friday for the Northside Festival (BrooklynVegan show included).

DOWNLOAD: Ólöf Arnalds - Við og Við (MP3)

Ólöf Arnalds @ South Street Seaport (more by Chris La Putt)

Ólöf Arnalds has just finished recording her second solo album which was once again produced by Kjartan Sveinsson from Sigur Rós. This time round Kjartan also plays on the record along with his wife María (of Amiina), Skuli Sverrisson (Laurie Anderson), Shahzad Ismaily (Tom Waits, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy), and Davíð Þór Jónsson (Mugison). [press release]

Ólöf and Skuli Sverrisson, who performs on her album, played a special show at (Le) Poisson Rouge on September 9th of last year. Onstage guests included Laurie Anderson, Peter Scherer, Okkyung Lee, Hilmar Jensson, Shahzad Ismaily, and Nico Muhly. That show was just days after her outdoor South Street Seaport show last summer.

Ólöf will again be in New York and sharing a talent-laden stage. She's one of two acts opening the sold-out, May 8th Housing Works benefit headlined by fan and fellow icelander Bjork, and Dirty Projectors. (Kurt Weisman is the other opener.) At the show, Ólöf will be "showcasing tracks from [her new record] as well as [songs from] her award-winning solo debut, Við og Við." The MP3 above is the title track off that debut.

She'll also be playing three nights of NYC shows leading up to the benefit. The first is at Union Hall on Tuesday, May 5th. Tickets are on sale.

The second and third are at Ditmas Park venue Sycamore on Wednesday, May 6th and the Scandinavia House on Thursday, May 7th. A reception will follow the latter.

All tour dates with a video of Ólöf Arnalds on music-doc show Dig For Fire, below...

Continue reading "Ólöf Arnalds - a new album, an MP3 & 4 NYC shows "

by Andrew Frisicano

DJ Scott Devendrof @ Sycamore

New Brooklyn bar Sycamore (1118 Cortelyou Rd) has begun booking shows. So far, there have been two gigs at the venue which is one of the only spaces for live music in Brooklyn's Ditmas Park neighborhood that is also home to Solo (formerly Cornerstone) and the troubled Vox Pop. Other nearby businesses include Mimi's Hummus, the Flatbush Food Coop and The Farm on Adderly, and if visiting, you can also walk around to see the many beautiful Victorian homes.

One of the two Sycamore shows so far was Hoferlanz (a.k.a. Benjamin Lanz who's played with The National, Beirut, Sufjan Stevens and My Brightest Diamond) with Sebastian Kruger (Inlets) on Thursday, March 26th.

The venue's third show happens tonight (4/8) with French guitarist Pedro Soler. Other acts on the developing schedule include Ecstatic Peace artist Hush Arbors on April 23rd (the gig "will be the first show [he's] done in New York since '05"), Sounds Familyre band Ben + Vesper on May 2nd, Nick Krgovich of No Kids on May 20th, and Asthmatic Kitty's Hermas Zopoula (video below) on June 12th. Full lineup below.

The flower shop by day, bar by night was recently featured on the cast-of-Hair-naked cover of Time Out NY. Scott Devendorf of the National, a band who has more than one member living in that neighborhood, frequently DJ's at the bar (as you can see in the picture above).

Neighborhood blog Flashbush Vegan (no relation) describes the look of the bar at its opening in September '08:

Patrons enter through the cute flower shop, where a few stools provide a quiet drinking spot and a neat lookout on Cortelyou Road. A jukebox sits at the entrance of the bar and in the back are two cozy horseshoe-shaped couches tucked into the corners. The inside was so jam packed that we had to step outside to their beautiful garden, which has received quite an overhaul since the days of Cortelyou Vintage. Ivy covers three of the walls and there's a large wood patio that steps down into a pebble-covered area with more seating and even a stand-alone cast iron fireplace. We couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the neighbors, though, whose windows and terraces overlook the bar's garden. Maybe they can get a few free drinks every now and then.

Shows at Sycamore take place in a separate area, affectionately called the "whiskey cellar" with a stage and none of the noise from the bar. Jessica, the venue's show booker, told us, "We're starting slowly, to be sure everything is done right. The goal is about 3 to 4 shows a week, and in general, to feature one artist/evening [which they can] do whatever they want with --- this could mean longer, relaxed sets, trying out new material, inviting 'special guests,' tap-dancing, juggling..."

Full lineup, and a video of Hermas Zopoula playing in his yard in Burkina Faso, below...

Continue reading "Sycamore hosting live shows (and selling flowers) in Ditmas Park (Brooklyn) - upcoming schedule"