School of Seven Bells @ Sasquatch Festival (more by Chris Graham)

School of Seven Bells will head out on a headlining North American tour this fall. A bit earlier, the group is scheduled to play a free Seaport Music show on Friday, August 14th with The xx (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart play the Seaport this Friday, July 10th).

As for the tour, it includes a stop at Austin City Limits Festival on October 2nd and a tour-capping NYC, CMJ show on October 23rd at Webster Hall (The Drums also just announced a CMJ show). No ticket info for the NYC date, but partial tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, July 10th. A limited number are also available through a Ducat King pre-sale.

The group, composed of ex-members of the Secret Machines and On! Air! Library!, has been on tour almost constantly over the past year. They toured with M83 in fall 2008, which included a gig at Webster Hall. They followed that up with a Mercury Lounge show in December. The band warmed up for their winter tour with a January show at (Le) Poisson Rouge, then returned to the venue with tourmates Fujiya & Miyagi in February.

Most recently, the band played the Bowery Ballroom on June 12th as an end to its spring touring with Bat for Lashes, White Lies and Black Moth Super Rainbow. They wrote about the show on their blog:

bowery ballroom was the most perfect end of tour show we could've imagined, and we want to say thank you to all of our NYC people for coming out and making it a ridiculously sold-out night. luckily, bowery kept selling tickets way over capacity, so a few more people could catch the show.

All tour dates below...

Continue reading "School of Seven Bells tour dates (the Seaport & Webster Hall) "

photos by Chris Graham

Erykah Badu

Day 1, Day 2, and the rest of the pictures from this year's festival...

Continue reading "Sasquatch 2009 - Day 3 in pics (NSFW)"

!!! is playing ACL 2009 (more by Chris Graham)

"The 2009 Austin City Limits Music Festival will showcase a diverse blend of acts both fresh and familiar at the eighth edition of the event in Zilker Park October 2-4. Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, and Beastie Boys are performing for the first time at the Festival, with Kings of Leon, Ben Harper and Relentless7, and Thievery Corporation returning to Zilker Park once again. John Legend, The Dead Weather, and The Levon Helm Band will also make their ACL Festival debut, while Austin's own Ghostland Observatory will no doubt deliver another memorable set for festival goers.

With over 130 artists on this year's bill, the list of acts awes at each note with the likes of Sonic Youth, Mos Def, Toadies, Flogging Molly, The B-52s, Lily Allen, Citizen Cope, Arctic Monkeys, The Decemberists, Coheed and Cambria, Andrew Bird, Girl Talk, and many more.

In the tradition of the TV show from which it was born, the Festival has always aimed to offer musical discovery for the fans. The 2009 lineup is rich with pop, country, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, indie rock, hip-hop, and gospel, to name a few, spanning cultures and countries from New Orleans to Venezuela to France."

Continue reading "ACL (Austin City Limits) - 2009 festival lineup announcement"

School of Seven Bells @ LPR last Tuesday (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

"Tuesday night I caught School of Seven Bells and Fujiya & Miyagi at Le Poisson Rouge. School of Seven Bells were basically brand new to me and their performance sounded great. I'm still not quite sure how to describe them (electronic/rock with a hint of psych and umm...other stuff), but would definitely check them out again (unfortunately they mentioned it's the last time they'll play here for a while)." [Showtrotta]

Continue reading "School of Seven Bells - more 2009 Tour Dates (Black Moth Super Rainbow, Bowery Ballroom) "

DOWNLOAD: 2020Soundsystem - Shiver (live at sonar) (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Robot Blair & David Bruno - Live From People Don't Dance No More Jan 2009 (MP3)

Congorock @ the Scion Radio party @ Plan B - February 17, 2008 (CRED)

Last week in dance wound up being pretty amazing despite being off to a rough start (literally). Friday night Webster Hall was packed to capacity - the Justice hype is still alive. Only half of the duo (Xavier de Rosnay) was scheduled to deejay as well as Busy P. Around 12:30 Busy P opened his set with a punk song followed by "Cut Dick" by Mr. Oizo. This immediately reminded me of his set at Le Royale last March which consisted of a lot of current electronic tracks with loads of pop, rap, anything mixed throughout the set. It was one of my favorite shows last year and I was hoping for the same on Friday.

Style-wise it was - great and super varied, however, crowd-wise I was in hell. It was super crowded. We wound up in a bad spot where people were passing through every other minute and it made the whole thing (which was awesome musically) pretty much un-enjoyable. The crowd only got more intense once Xavier went on. His set was much, much better than his set at Le Royale last April. He played some new stuff, along with some electro bangers from the past year, plus a hint of pop and some dance classics and mixed it all together beautifully.

the Week in Dance continues...

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Fujiya & Miyagi

MIA: Do you enjoy to perform live? How does the band like to get ready and is there a favorite song that you like to play for your audience?

DAVID BEST: I enjoy it once I get there but I don't really enjoy the traveling that much. I try not to think too much before we go onstage as if I do I forget the words. You sort of go on autopilot. I like playing "Pterodactyls" at the moment, especially the noisy bit at the end.

Continue reading "Fujiya & Miyagi, School of Seven Bells @ (Le) Poisson Rouge, NYC - pics, setlists"

Jane's Addiction - @ Echoplex, Los Angeles - Feb 16, 2009 (revolute)

Live Nation and Adam Zacks are pleased to announce this year's line up for the Sasquatch! Music Festival at the legendary Gorge in Eastern Washington. The festival, now in its eighth and most ambitious year yet, has evolved from a unique, homegrown & low key fest into a full blown three day extravaganza. A festival-goer's dream, it comes complete with camp-outs, canyons, sunsets, three stages and new this year, an expanded comedy and dance music tent. The tent will feature performances from comedians throughout the day, and then come dusk, will spotlight electronic and dance music artists.

Already the official opener to summer for music fans, the Sasquatch! Music Festival is becoming a certified monster of a musical event: this year features another exciting and diverse line-up for the musically adventurous, and ups the ante on an event already hailed for its independent spirit. Tickets go on sale Saturday February 28th at 10AM

Today it was announced that Jane's (feat. all four original members), NIN, Kings of Leon, Ben Harper & Relentless7, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Erykah Badu, The Decemberists, Fleet Foxes, TV On The Radio, Animal Collective, Silversun Pickups, Bon Iver, Santigold, and many others are playing this year's Sasquatch Festival (May 23, 24, 25, 2009 @ The Gorge in Quincy, WA). Full lineup and ticket info below...

Continue reading "Jane's Addiction played LA, headlining SASQUATCH Festival (which just announced most of the 2009 LINEUP)"

Cat Power @ Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday (more by Ryan Muir)

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Matthew Dear @ Rebel
* Beirut & Kaki King @ BAM
* Bear in Heaven @ BAM Cafe
* the English Beat @ Stone Pony
* Cat Power @ the Apollo Theater
* Levon Helm @ the Wellmont Theater
* Mr Brownstone @ Starland Ballroom
* Gary Louris & Mark Olson @ Zankel Hall
* Final Fantasy & Matt Smith @ the Kitchen
* Gene Ween Band @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
* Dillinger Escape Plan @ the Studio @ Webster Hall
* Patrick Cleandenim & Francis and the Lights @ Zebulon
* The Black Keys, Heartless Bastards & Lucero @ Terminal 5
* The Rural Alberta Advantage & Alaska In Winter @ 92YTribeca
* TK Webb and The Visions & Children @ Highline Ballroom (free)
* Blank Dogs, Woods, WAVVES, Nodzzz & Gary War @ Less Artists More Condos
* The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, caUSE co-MOTION!, The Depreciation Guild & Zaza @ Mercury Lounge
* Babe The Blue Ox, Ditty Committee, Ida, Mighty High & The Mommyheads @ Union Hall (free afternoon)

The Rural Alberta Advantage was great last night at Union Hall. Since my past post, they added a 3rd NYC show. That show is tonight at 92YTribeca.

Matthew Dear is at Rebel. Matthew Herbert is at Studio B.

School of Seven Bells are playing the Terrace Club in Princeton tonight. School of Seven Bells were also officially added to the February 17th Fujiya & Miyagi show at Le Poisson Rouge. Tickets are on sale.

Gene Ween has no luck. Langerado was cancelled shortly after it was announced he was added to it. Tonight he plays one of the shows he had to reschedule after getting sick.

Valient Thorr played the Shank last night. Video below...

What else?

Continue reading "What's going on Saturday?"

words & photos by Natasha Ryan

Late Friday night (1/16) Brooklyn trio School of Seven Bells closed the Self-Titled Magazine "Oscillations" party at the Greenwich Village venue (le) poisson rouge. The dream-pop outfit, who have recently toured with acts such as M83 and Prefuse 73, opened with the airy "Wired for Light", layered with downtempo ambient beats and textured kraut synths feeding off Benjamin Curtis's (ex-Secret Machines) distorted riffs. "Iamundernodiguise" boasted the hypnotic harmonies of the Deheza sisters, with vocal interplay hinting of Middle Eastern melodies over heavy tribal drum tracks. Dramatic lighting and thick smoke enveloped the stage making it easy to feel slightly disoriented in the otherworldly soundscapes. The highlight appeared to be the poppier "Half Asleep" as the entire front row could be seen dancing and singing along. Towards the the end of the eight-song set the vocals felt lost in the droning guitars and the swelling noise became a woozy, visceral experience. The set ended with the stage completely immersed in smoke, a fitting visual for the euphoric resolution.

More pictures and the setlist below...

Continue reading "School of Seven Bells @ (le) poisson rouge, NYC -pics, setlist"

Trail of Dead Generation Records (more by Tim Griffin)

RCRD LBL: So tell me about how you wrote [the song] "Bells Of Creation".

TOD's Conrad Keeley: Well, I wrote it after I saw a band, a friends band. We're friends with the guys from Secret Machines, we've toured with them before, and Ben from Secret Machines left to start his own band called School Of Seven Bells. And the show that I went to see them for the first time was really inspiring and [I was] really into what they were doing.

Where was the show?

I don't think that venue is around anymore, it closed. It was on Ludlow, just off Delancey on the Lower East Side. It was one of those clubs that just closed in the last year, you know a bunch of clubs were bought out by rent. So, I had that kind of sound in my head and I was inspired by that. The association of "Bells" being there, I named the song I was writing, inspired by that show, after a hymn, called "Bells Of Creation" that we used to sing when I was in school back in England. Every morning the school would have assembly, and all the kids would gather in the assembly hall and we'd all sing hymns. And that was one of my favorite hymns, "Bell Of Creation." It was just singular, "The bell of creation."

School of Seven Bells also have a bunch of shows coming up of their own.

On December 17th, Trail of Dead visited WNYC's Soundcheck. You can listen to that HERE. RCRD LBL has "Bells of Creation" for free download. All dates below...

Continue reading "Trail of Dead - updated 2009 tour dates, tickets & SOSB"

School of Seven Bells @ Mercury Lounge (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

The 'Oscillations' show at Le Poisson Rouge on January 16th looks pretty hot. School of Seven Bells (Ghostly, dude from Secret Machines), Free Blood (DFA/Rong Music, dude from !!!), and Juan Maclean (DFA, Special live acid set, dude from Six Finger Satellite) are all playing live. Justin Miller is DJing between sets. $10 tickets are on sale.

Fujiya and Miyagi are playing Le Poisson Rouge February 17th, but so far not with School of Seven Bells, even though the two bands are going on tour together. SOSB also have some European shows lined up with Bat For Lashes All dates below...

Continue reading "School of Seven Bells - 2009 Tour Dates (LPR w/ Free Blood & Juan Maclean), Fujiya, Miyagi & Bat For Lashes "

DOWNLOAD: Mercury Rev - Senses On Fire (Fujiya and Miyagi Remix) (MP3)

Fujiya and Miyagi @ Webster Hall (more by Chona Kasinger)

Fujiya & Miyagi are going back out on tour in 2009. The NYC show is at Le Poisson Rouge on February 17th and tickets are on sale. I'm not sure if there's an opener, but School of Seven Bells are opening some of the other shows on the tour. All dates below...

Continue reading "Fujiya & Miyagi - 2009 Tour Dates (le poisson rouge)"

words & photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

School of Seven Bells played to a packed Mercury Lounge in NYC last night (Dec 15, 2008). Their set consisted of nine of the eleven tracks off their new album Alpinisms, an album we're all big fans of around here. Overall a great show with great lighting.

"Dreamy, narcotic bangers like "Half Asleep" were shrouded in dense layers of manipulated guitars and pre-programmed drums, while relentless strobe lights forced many to enjoy the show with eyes half open, or entirely shut." [chocolate bobka]

The War on Drugs, one of two openers at the show, were pretty good - - a little more jam band-y live than I thought they would be. More pictures below...

Continue reading "School of Seven Bells & The War On Drugs @ Mercury Lounge, NYC - pics & setlist"

Drink Up Buttercup @ MHOW (by Maryanne Ventrice)

The War On Drugs and Drink Up Buttercup have at least two things in common. They are both bands from Philly and they are both playing Union Hall in Brooklyn tonight/Sunday, December 14, 2008. TAB The Band is also on that bill. The War on Drugs is also playing with School of Seven Bells at Mercury Lounge on Monday. Drink Up Buttercup is also playing with Illinois (another Pennsylvania band) at all of their January multi-city residency shows including the one on the 14th at Rehab in NYC. All dates below...

Continue reading "The War on Drugs & Drink Up Buttercup - upcoming shows"

Sebastien Tellier

Midnight Juggernauts' Top 10 albums of 2008

1. Gang Gang Dance, Saint Dymphna (The Social Registry)
2. Sebastian Tellier, Sexuality (Record Makers)
3. Deerhunter, Microcastle/Weird Era Cont. (Kranky)
4. Squarepusher, Just a Souvenir (Warp)
5. Lindstrom, Where You Go I Go Too (Smalltown Supersound)
6. Portishead, Third (Mercury)
7. The Do, A Mouthful (Wagram)
8. Metronomy, Nights Out (Because)
9. Late of the Pier, Black Fantasy Channel (EMI)
10. School of Seven Bells, Alpinisms (Full Time Hobby)

Sebastien Tellier plays Le Poisson Rouge in NYC TONIGHT, Thursday December 11th. School of Seven Bells are at Mercury Lounge on Monday.

Check out the video for "On My Shoulders" by The Do below...

Continue reading "Midnight Juggernauts list albums & Sebastien Tellier is here"

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Loney Dear - "Airport Surroundings" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: AC Newman - "Submarines of Stockholm" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Matador Records Intended Play sampler 2008 (ZIP file)

Loney Dear

I'm excited for Ida Maria, but those shows are a month away. As for this week, you may remember Loney Dear are in town to play two shows with fellow Swedes Melpo Mene. For most of us this will be our first taste of their new album, Dear John, which is out on Polyvinyl on Jan. 27. If the track at the top of this post, "Airport Surroundings," is any indication, the new album is going to be a lot more synthy. And is it just me or does that track start out sounding a little like Warnen G's "Regulate"?

In addition to Melpo Mene (who I wrote about before), the Mercury Lounge show Wednesday (12/10) night also features locals Boy Genius who are getting ready to record their new album with producer Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Pavement, and his own band, Let's Active). The Bell House show on Friday (12/12) is part of Union Hall/Bell House talent booker Skippy's 40th birthday party. Takka Takka and Alina Simone are also on the bill. There could be other surprises too, you never know.

Melpo Mene also has a couple shows in addition to the ones with Loney, Dear. He'll play Rockwood Music Hall on Thursday (12/11, 11PM) and and an early (6PM) free show upstairs at Cake Shop on Friday (12/12). Go see him if you can.

Next Thursday (12/18), why not hit Stanton Public from 8-10 for the AC Newman's Get Guilty listening party? It's free beer n' booze too, you just need to RSVP at Insound. You can get one track from Get Guilty on Matador's free download Intended Play sampler, and another MP3, both at the top of this post. Plus, Carl just announced some 2009 tour dates.

One final pick for this week: I highly recommend checking out School of Seven Bells at Mercury Lounge on Monday. Their debut, Alpinisms, is one of my favorite albums of 2009, and the band just got back from opening for M83 so I have a feeling they probably won't be playing places this small for much longer. And when they can get all their crazy equipment working, it's a mezmerizing show. Some of their videos below...

Continue reading "Loney Dear, Boy Genius, School of Seven Bells & more in This Week In Indie"

DOWNLOAD: School of Seven Bells - My Cabal (Robin Guthrie Mix) (MP3)

SoSB @ Webster Hall Friday (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

School of Seven Bells, currently on tour opening for M83, will headline their own show at Mercury Lounge in NYC on December 15th. The War on Drugs and Linfinity are also on the bill. Tickets are on sale.

SoSB's new "Half Asleep" 7" and "Alpinisms" full length are available in the Ghostly Store. Grab a free track remixed by Robin Guthrie above. All dates below...

Continue reading "School of Seven Bells - 2008 Tour Dates (Mercury Lounge)"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

After working on the first two videos for SATURDAYS=YOUTH with Matthew Frost (Graveyard Girl) and Eva Husson (Kim&Jessie), M83 is now extending an open call to fans to submit their best video interpretations of "We Own The Sky", their latest single from SATURDAYS=YOUTH.

The competition launched on Thursday, November 13th on Pitchfork. Anyone who wants to submit an entry has until January 20, 2009 to produce a video for "We Own the Sky" and upload it onto the Youtube contest page at http://www.youtube.com/group/m83

The winning entry will have its Pitchfork TV debut early next year!

The "We Own the Sky" EP, a new single from the album SATURDAYS = YOUTH, is set for release on CD/LP/Download early 2009 and will include the original track plus an edit, along with a remix of Maps, the previously unreleased "Je vous hais Petites Filles", and a remix of "Graveyard Girl" by ParkerLab.

Continue reading "M83 - Webster Hall (and School of Seven Bells) pics, a video contest & tour dates (w/ Kings of Leon)"

DOWNLOAD: School of Seven Bells - Connjur (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: School of Seven Bells - Chain (MP3)

As Bill pointed out, School of Seven Bells were supposed to play a set at the Terrorbird party at Cake Shop today, but things ran late so they didn't get a chance. As also previously pointed out, the band (featuring ex-members of Secret Machines and On! Air! Library!) will be going out on tour with M83 in November. That starts in Georgia and ends in LA, but has them back home for a day on November 14th to play a show at Webster Hall.

In the meantime there is still one more (public) NYC chance to see them and that is this Saturday night (10/25) at (le) poisson rouge as part of the Ghostly CMJ showcase with Matthew Dear's Big Hands, Michna, and Mike Servito. SOSB's album Alpinisms is out now on iTunes and everywhere on October 28th. The flyer for that and all tour dates below....

Continue reading "School of Seven Bells - MP3s, 2008 Tour Dates (CMJ, M83)"

M83 @ Bowery Ballroom (more by Bao Nguyen)

Following a sold-out US tour in May and June and his recent performance at the two-date Download Festival in Southern California, M83 (aka Anthony Gonzalez) will be back to tour North America this November. Brooklyn's School of Seven Bells are set to open. The tour is in support of M83's fifth album "Saturdays = Youth" released April 2008 on Mute...

...The M83 live setup for this tour includes Gonzalez on vocals, guitars and keyboards, Loic Maurin on Drums, Pierre-Marie Maulini on bass and guitar and featured album vocalist Morgan Kibby (of LA-based band The Romanovs) on vocals and keyboards.

Continue reading "M83 & School of Seven Bells - 2008 Tour Dates"

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!"