Free spirited Gonjasufi gets reworked by label mate Bibio and its a real unique outcome. Don’t expect the usual guitar or anything worn in sounding, instead organs driving the song into this distorted bass guitar breakdown, it sounds better than I can describe it.
To help promote the upcoming Shigeto debut album Full Circle, Ghostly International is giving away some high profile remixes. The head nod master Samiyam takes Shigeto’sAnd We Gonna and slaps it around a bit into a low key west coast jam, download it here.
You want a gnarly release to wrap your head around then go out and pick up Rustie’s new EP that came out on Warp today. Its like Sonic the Hedgehog spinning out of control and getting tangled in miles of cassette tape thats being fast forwarded, i’m a fan of this kids creativity, he’s really setting the bar high for how wild this beat music can get and still be super enjoyable.
I keep looking at the name Balam Acab and think its another word just spelled backwards but its not. With the success of Baths I keep running into more beat releases with reverbed lyrics. I really love the use of the water related field recordings in this one, I hope to see this act live.
Do yourself a favor and watch this video right now. It’s filled to the brim with absolutely breathtaking shots — so many that I can’t believe they were taken all by the same team. The Planet Earth folks need to hire this guy RIGHT away. Honestly I’m speechless. This is an amazing piece of film. An amazing piece of art. Congratulations to Mickey Smith and Allan Wilson for making such a brilliant piece. And all for Relentless Energy — who knew.
I should also mention that I love this video because I LOVE the ocean. I am terrified by the sea, but I love it. Of course I like the way it looks, but I also am constantly taken by its incomprehensible size and power. I am not a surfer (you should have seen me try in New Zealand), but I have always felt the same connection to the sea that I often hear the surfer describe. I like to sit in it, lay there, do nothing. My favorite thing in the world is getting tossed, turned and pummeled by waves — salt water filling my head every which way — then rolling up on shore and lying in the sun where the sea meets the sand.
Pascal Tremblay aka Makeshift is a graphic designer based in Montreal. I am usually not a fan of anything resembling postmodernism, but Pascal’s eye for color and composition make him an excpetion for me. I am not sure how Pascal renders his images, but they sure look hand done, at least for some of the watercolor-like textures.
I also noticed you can most of his work here, sometimes at really massive sizes (yet still affordable).
Kim Høltermand emailed to let us know about his incredible new series Tuve. I would love to find this place and see if it’s as eerie in real life as it is depicted here. Out of context some of the rocks look like abstract 3D renderings floating in space. It’s hard to imagine water that still. Breathtaking and haunting as usual from Mr.Høltermand.
Brooklyn’s Computer Magic is just one girl that makes some great lo-fi indie synth material, this song Electronic Fences makes me think if Nite Jewel had to do a cover of Bruce Springsteen’sI’m On Fire it would come out sounding something like this.
This beautiful track by Oneohtrix Point Never has been on repeat more than any other song this year, its like playing Drexciya underwater at a slower tempo or maybe i’ve just discovered a new level in Zelda and its getting serious.
Joining Keepaway and Prince Rama I think Truman Peyote is another band I can’t wait to see live up close, The Panda Bear sound is influencing some really good music.
I don’t know what to think about this new Röyksopp, maybe i’m not ready for this type of relaxation yet this summer from a song, your thoughts?
Gizmodo has an interesting piece up about a top-secret digital version of the now discontinued Nikon Nikonos waterproof camera that was developed for use by Navy SEALs.
This Nikonos was a total mystery. A secret that not many people knew about until recently. In fact, its existence was repeatedly denied by the manufacturer, even after the US Navy published this photo, showing a member of SEAL Team One equipped with one and the following caption:
980608-N-3236B-003 NAVAL AIR BASE CORONADO, California (June 8, 1998) — Navy SEALs attached to SEAL Team One, Naval Air Base Coronado, CA, conducts training using the Nikon/Kodak DCS 425 underwater digital camera which can send real time digital images to decision makers, and an LPI LPD tracking device uses brevity codes to send both mission status and precise longitude/latitude. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer Mate 2nd Class Ted Banks. (RELEASED)
– Gizmodo
Pretty interesting stuff and kind of odd to see the branding intact on the model used by the SEALs. The Gizmodo article makes a good point that it’s a shame the consumer version was discontinued; even if you don’t do underwater photography, it would make for an excellent no hassle all weather setup. More info and links can be found in the original article.
Apparently there’s a pretty good used market for these; all you aspiring SEALs can start planning your beach assaults with a nice rig like this. I’d like to see a digital model, but aesthetically I’m still partial to the original 35mm version:
Excuse the label promo “watermark” at the beginning, the song actually plays in full after that. Stereogum premiered the new School Of Seven Bells LP yesterday where you can grab the song for free. The band has taken a more upfront direction for these tracks, the tempo is more driving and its catchier more than ever. Imagine Stereolab at its best dropped into a finely widdled down dream pop song with big rock elements, definitely lovely.
Weed Diamond is a Colorado band that is keeping Garage Rock something that is always in front of us because it keeps getting better. I find the looping guitar and rawness of it something I want to hear over and over, sometimes some blog digging is really rewarding.
Seems like everyone is really loving Zola Jesus, I can hear and see why, 2010 is turning into a very unique year for darker material that has beautiful characters, Fever Ray now its your turn.
So happy to be able to share this new project by Walls on Kompakt, the duo which is one part Allez Allez who have started a great mix series featuring Grovesnor(ex-drummer of Hot Chip) and Caribou(which I was going to share this week) have ventured into more guitar based material that gets me excited on how A+R will be going on at Kompakt from here on out. Walls is slow moving with hints of white noise that is completely in control, the release is highly recommended from start to finish.
Lately i’ve been trying to pick my brain because I feel like I never turn down a good Caribbean style song, you play dreamy synths that fit into a Balearic song with light guitar strumming? well then jump into my itunes! deep bongos, disco strings and chimes with water sounds are just bonuses like finding another M&M in my so called empty M&M wrapper. Korallreven is a perfect example of what I like, now trying to find a crowd that loves it in the USA is a whole different story.
When I hear this Shahs track and imagine the instrumental I automatically think it would be the perfect song to start out an episode of This American Life where a normal older man starts off his day by leaving his white picket fence home but starts walking by really weird things on the way to work. I picture the vocals sung by a drunk David Byrne which is a compliment to Shahs, its not a bad thing in my book.
Lead singer Andrew McKee is already doing another things besides The Young Friends, instead of the sunny bike ride sing alongs with friends he brings it into the gymnasium for a overnight lock-in dance party by the punch bowl jam.
