MGMT – “Song for Dan Treacy:”

Plus, check out these new playlists at iTunes and Pandora from the film.

We are happy to present forthcoming HEADLINE additions to the soon approaching and much anticipated Lightning in a Bottle Music and Arts Festival 2010, presented by The Do Lab, which will occur Memorial Day weekend (May 28-31) at the beautiful Oak Canyon Ranch in Irvine, CA.

On the heels of their upcoming release “Drink the Sea”, and after a stand-out Coachella performance, The Glitch Mob will be performing along with the indie sensation Nico Vega and our cherished brothers and sisters, the Lucent Dossier Experience.

We would like to offer our sincerest thanks to all of the amazing submissions on the “Mixtape to Make the Line-up” contest. Not surprisingly our three top finalists were all unbelievable female DJ’s… The submissions have all been great and it was quite a task picking the “Grand Producer” to perform at this years LIB, but alas we have chosen and her name is KRYSTEE!

Other musical additions include Heyoka, Sidecar Tommy, Kitty D, The Luminaries, Geno Cochino, The Makers, Ron Levy, Michael Hart, Manny Greensector, Terrakroma, Motion Potion and DJ Wolfie.

Performances added in addition to Lucent Dossier include, Vau de Vire Society, El Circo, Ricochet ~ Poetic Acrobats, Fire Groove, Stilt Circus, The Wandering Marionettes and Shakti Sunfire

For full lineup and additional information visit the LIB website and stay tuned for more exciting news in the coming weeks.

Lightning in a Bottle:

The history of LIB spans more than a decade, and friends, family, and co-horts of the Do LaB are thrilled and astounded that it’s been more than ten years of making miracles and catching Lightning in a Bottle! Together with all of our friends we will converge on a beautiful new location and transform it into a wonderland for the senses, once again capturing Lightning in a Bottle. Prepare to start the summer off right!!!

4 days and 3 nights of activities and entertainment including music, performances, inspiring art, yoga and meditation classes, sustainability workshops, clothing and craft vending, tasty organic foods, camping and much more!

The Do Lab:

Based in Downtown Los Angeles, The Do LaB is an ensemble cast of creatives ranging from artists, event producers, lighting designers, DJs, constructors, welders, costumers, musicians, and the performance troupe Lucent Dossier. Since 2000, The Do LaB has been dedicated to treating experience itself as the art form. Their exceptional annual events–including the Lighting in a Bottle Music Festival–and jaw-dropping, large-scale art environments, have been attracting a devoted following among the West Coast’s underground creative community, and around the world. While bringing the visions of their home-grown art collective to life, The Do LaB has evolved into a respected event creations company, winning over major brands, music festivals, and trade-shows, with their unparalleled creativity and innovation.

The Do LaB’s portfolio includes clients such as the Coachella Music Festival, Ford, Audi, Red Bull, Scion, the Virgin Music Festival, Speakercraft, Esquire Magazine, AIDS Project Los Angeles, Stop Aids Organization, and many more

The Confluence:

Is a post label thinking management/marketing firm that takes an artist-centric approach to addressing the shifting music landscape. They will be releasing EP’s for MartyParty, AdamandEvil and the Lightning in a Bottle 2010 festival’s “Lightning in Your Ear” artist sampler to benefit the charity Critical Beats whose goal is to allow the natives to share the sacred healing sounds of their lands with new audiences all over the globe.

Nico Vega – “So So Fresh:”

Download.

Lightning in a Bottle! (official video):

Today, April 17th, GET HIM TO THE GREEK will be participating in Record Store Day by releasing the first in a very limited series of INFANT SORROW tour shirts. One of the most influential rock bands of the decade, Infant Sorrow churned out a steady string of hit albums that not only reinvigorated the stagnant rock scene of the late 90s but went on to define a generation. Led by notorious front man Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), whose scandalous exploits are well documented on both sides of the Atlantic, Infant Sorrow is widely considered the last truly great rock and roll band. “The Beast Without” shirt will only be available at participating Record Store Day locations while supplies last!

Check out recordstoreday.com to find a store near you!

Get Him to the Greek, in theaters June 4, reunites Jonah Hill and Russell Brand with Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nicholas Stoller in the story of a record company executive with three days to drag an uncooperative rock legend to Hollywood for a comeback concert. The comedy is the latest film from producer Judd Apatow. Also starring Sean Combs, Elisabeth Moss, Rose Byrne and Colm Meaney.

Watch the restricted trailer and more at gethimtothegreek.com.

Infant Sorrow “Get Him to the Greek” Album Available June 1st. myspace.com/infantsorrow

Release date: June 4, 2010
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Elisabeth Moss, Rose Byrne, Colm Meaney and Sean Combs
Written and Directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Produced by: Judd Apatow, Nicholas Stoller, David Bushell, Rodney Rothman
Executive Producer: Richard Vane
Official Website: gethimtothegreek.net
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/gethimtothegreek

Restricted Trailer and here.
**Follow Universal Pictures on Twitter: twitter.com/universalpics

“This band is ridiculously good. People need to check them out now”- Absolute Punk

ABOUT

The fresh-faced players in Brothers at Sea better start thinking about quitting their day jobs, that is, if any of them have even started them yet. All five of the Orange County, CA musicians are under 20, but have more-than perfected their blend of uplifting, buoyant, guitar-driven melodies at a time most of us would be stressing neck deep in how to understand college life, all-nighters and the wealth of newly-afforded freedom that comes with it all. Forming BAS back in April of 2009, this quintet has already surpassed 25,000 song downloads on their debut This Is A Redemption Melody EP, that’s been heartily compared to The Fray, Switchfoot, and Jimmy Eat World. It might be worth a mention here that BAS have never played a show outside of their native CA. Truth be told, Redemption Melody’s production (thanks to ZenSeven’s Kyle Black) harks at something greater than simply just shooting-for-the-stars territory. Brothers At Sea are by no means your local basement band peddling hand-screened tee-shirts and CD-R demos; the music on focus tracks “For Being Brave” and “The Atlantic” are huge, elevating numbers that remind us of a musical force well beyond these young player’s years. “It felt like the record was the one we had been waiting to release since we started” comments drummer Hayden Coplen.

TOUR

04.15.10 @ The Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA
04.18.10 @ Spaceland – Los Angeles, CA

PRESS

“Brothers at Sea could hardly have titled their debut EP more appropriately — “This Is a Redemption Melody” offers five songs of buoyant melodies, surging guitars and amped-up earnestness that recalls Jimmy Eat World’s “Clarity”.” -Kevin Bronson, Buzzbands.La

“This Is A Redemption Melody is an intriguing and powerful bit of music that proves that these guys are aptly capable of backing up their claim at creating something bigger than themselves…Where as many young bands struggle to find their sound in the first couple trips to the studio, Brothers At Sea sounds as if they’ve been making albums for 20 years.”- Stereo Subversion
“(Brothers at Sea) is a young group with the potential to make a major impact…This is extremely radio-friendly material”- Hits Daily Double

planetarygroup.com/publicity/brothersatsea/
myspace.com/brothersatsea
brothersatsea.bandcamp.com/

Inspired by Luc Goddart’s “Bande a Part” movie, the first video below features the 100 lucky selected people doing the famous dance in a very Diesel stupid way. The video is directed by French-born director Arno Salters; thanks to a special stop-motion technique, the music lovers appearing in the video rapidly change, along with their clothes, all while appearing to continue to smoothly follow the choreography of the dance.

Officially launched on diesel.com on March 26th, the video is fully interactive (of course!): you can pause it, rolling over individual items to get further product information, buy them online and also find information about the people featured; allowing anyone to link into their activities and interests on their social network personal pages. Play now on: diesel.com/ahundredlovers!

Perez Hilton, Ninjasonik, Kid Sister, Theophilus London, Elevator Fight, & more sit down at Diesel’s exclusive BE STUPID celebrity dinner during SXSW!

From Lil’ Wayne’s rock music debut record, Rebirth. Big up to Cash Money Records/Universal Motown.

When it comes to music, people like to pretend our world fits neatly into black and white, hip-hop and r&b, rock and rap. But is it possible that one artist can bring the rock, the soul and the pop music lover together in one blissful Technicolor orgy? If anyone can, it’s Bay Area musician Chris Marsol. On his bold debut album, “Butterflies, Lipstick and Handgrenades” (Clear Label/Hiero Imperium), Marsol fuses together rock, soul, pop and electro, resulting in a record where no two tracks sound the same. Arranged and produced by Marsol, “Butterflies, Lipstick and Handgrenades,” drops March 30, 2010.

Marsol and his band made this record the old-fashioned way: they got together at FM studios in Berkeley, CA.

“It was a 24 hour recording session split up into two days,” explains Marsol. “Before the session, we rehearsed over a period of months to solidify the arrangements. Then we all tracked our parts simultaneously, in one huge recording room so the music had an organic sound. We recorded it exactly the way we play it live at shows.”

How did this rock artist end up on one of the Bay’s most esteemed hip-hop labels? “In 2007 my business partner gave Hiero’s owner Tajai (of Souls of Mischief) some of my music. Unknown to us, Tajai had been listening to it while on tour. When he got back, a meeting was set up and we decided to work together.”

“I want my label to represent quality music in general, not just underground rap,” explains Tajai of why he signed Marsol. “Chris has talent and energy that the world needs to see.”

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, home of Haight-Ashbury, Marsol is the product of the hippie movement, Psychedelic Rock, the Black Panthers. Admittedly, he wasn’t around during the revolution, but the spirit of art, freedom, and progressive thinking still illuminates the Bay Area — and Marsol’s music.

“As a child, I didn’t discriminate between genres of music,” notes Marsol, who includes Pink Floyd, Cream, Stevie Wonder, Nirvana, Genesis, Stone Temple Pilots, D’Angelo, Radiohead, and Hall and Oates among his favorite artists. “I only distinguished between what I liked and what I didn’t like.”

At 6, Chris was singing in his church choir and stealing the spotlight, dancing at his family reunions. By 11, he was locking himself in the bathroom, writing and recording his first songs with a Radio Shack tape recorder. At age 17 he taught himself how to play the piano and eventually taught himself the guitar.

When asked about the meaning of the album title, Marsol shrugs, “There’s no meaning until you create one.”

Set to drop on April 6, 2010 is Loose Logic’s latest record Logistics.

Loose Logic has been around in the LA scene for a while. He won “Best Hip-Hop Artist of The Year” at the 2007 All Access Magazine Music Awards as well as “Best Urban (Rap) Artist of the Year” at the 2007 Orange County Music Awards. In addition, he graced the cover of Orange County’s What’s Up magazine, and has been featured in the Orange County Register, OC Weekly, Huntington Beach Gazette, and Skinnie magazine. Loose Logic was named a “Top 100 Unsigned Artist” for 2007 by Music Connection magazine. Most recently he was featured on Vapors.com

Kicking it off with a bang on the Logistics record straight from the “Intro” track. Loose Logic has lots of other artists joining forces with him on this album to bring you some rawness that sounds like it’s straight from the cassette. Favorite tracks include: “Intro,” “International Cyberspace,” “Don’t Stop Lovin’ Me,” and “Losing My Mind.”

When listening, can’t help but shake thoughts of Detroit’s hip hop group D12, which included member Eminem. Warren G style as well as Timbaland production are brought to mind on certain tracks.

Overall, the production and flows on the record are clean and tight. Nothing but professional here. So when the release drops, if you’re into good hip hop, chances are you’ll enjoy this.

Vampire Weekend – “I Think UR a Contra:”

Vampire Weekend – “Horchata:”

1 Samuel 15:23, Hebrew 11:40, Deuteronomy…  I don’t remember perusing the contemporary Christian music aisle at the record store.  In fact, I don’t even think my local record store has a CCM aisle.  What’s that you say, no mistake was made, this is indeed Mountain Goat’s sixteenth studio album The Life of the World to Come. At the risk of sounding ever-so-cliché, you can’t judge a book by its cover—even if that cover is peppered with Bible verses.

Album opener, “1 Samuel 15:23” is a dark moody number about a crystal healer that never quite reaches its full potential, leaving the listener a bit unsatisfied—although, this may very well be the intention as it does create a massive amount of tension that matches the foreboding vibe.  The next track is the most aggressive on the album and wouldn’t feel any less at home on Heretic Pride.

“Genesis 3:23” is a reminder of why I admire Darnielle as a storyteller.  In the song he breaks into his old home to see how the new owners are living in it.  It’s an idea everyone has thought about.  But Darnielle paints such a beautiful picture of this concept.

If heartbreak is your aim, cycle to track nine, “Matthew 25:21”.  In this autobiographical acoustic track, Darnielle illustrates a visit to a loved one who is dying of cancer.  The song is littered with tremendous prose.  “They hook you up/to a Fentanyl drip/to mitigate the pain a little bit”.  (This may also very well be the most heartrending song in all of Mountain Goat’s sixteen album history.)

The Life of the World to Come is certainly not a spiritual or religious album, despite the inclination some may have due to obvious reasoning.  But what The Life of the World to Come is, is multifaceted and the product of an undeniably gifted songwriter who no doubt, has much more to offer the world.

Lady GaGa’s latest album, ‘The Fame Monster,’ is dropping in less than two weeks! Set for release on November 23, we’re so looking forward to it. Being the musical prodigy that she is, GaGa learned to play the piano by ear at age four, but ever since her accomplishments have been increasingly impressive:

By age 13, she had written her first piano ballad. At 14, she played open mike nights at clubs such as New York’s the Bitter End by night and was teased for her quirky, eccentric style by her Convent of the Sacred Heart School (the Manhattan private school Nicky and Paris Hilton attended) classmates by day. At age 17, she became was one of 20 kids in the world to get early admission to Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Signed by her 20th birthday and writing songs for other artists (such as the Pussycat Dolls, and has been asked to write for a series of Interscope artists) before her debut album was even released, Lady GaGa has earned the right to reach for the sky.

Some words from GaGa herself:

“I was always an entertainer. I was a ham as a little girl and I’m a ham today,” says Lady GaGa, 22, who made a name for herself on the Lower East Side club scene with the infectious dance-pop party song “Beautiful Dirty Rich,” and wild, theatrical, and often tongue-in-cheek “shock art” performances where GaGa – who designs and makes many of her stage outfits — would strip down to her hand-crafted hot pants and bikini top, light cans of hairspray on fire, and strike a pose as a disco ball lowered from the ceiling to the orchestral sounds of A Clockwork Orange.

“I always loved rock and pop and theater. When I discovered Queen and David Bowie is when it really came together for me and I realized I could do all three,” says GaGa, who nicked her name from Queen’s song “Radio Gaga” and who cites rock star girlfriends, Peggy Bundy, and Donatella Versace as her fashion icons. “I look at those artists as icons in art. It’s not just about the music. It’s about the performance, the attitude, the look; it’s everything. And, that is where I live as an artist and that is what I want to accomplish.”

Here’s an exclusive premiere of the music video for the song “Bad Romance,” from The Fame Monster record:

:: The MONSTER BALL Tour ::

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

* 11/27 – Montreal
* 11/28 – Toronto
* 11/29 – Ottawa
* 12/1 – Boston
* 12/2 – Boston
* 12/3 – Camden
* 12/9 – Vancouver
* 12/10 – Vancouver
* 12/11 – Vancouver
* 12/13 – San Francisco
* 12/14 – San Francisco
* 12/18 – Las Vegas
* 12/19 – San Diego
* 12/21 – Los Angeles
* 12/22 – Los Angeles
* 12/23 – Los Angeles
* 12/28 – Atlanta
* 12/29 – Atlanta
* 12/31 – Miami
* 1/2 – Miami
* 1/3 – Orlando
* 1/7 – St. Louis
* 1/8 – Chicago
* 1/9 – Chicago
* 1/10 – Chicago
* 1/12 – Detroit
* 1/13 – Detroit
* 1/14 – West Lafayette, IN
* 1/16 – Atlantic City
* 1/17 – Wallingford, CT
* 1/18 – Uncasville, CT

EUROPEAN TOUR DATES

* 2/18 – Manchester, UK
* 2/20 – Dublin, Ireland
* 2/22 – Belfast, UK
* 2/24 – Liverpool, UK
* 2/26 – London, UK
* 2/27 – London, UK
* 3/01 – Glasgow, UK
* 3/03 – Cardiff, UK
* 3/04 – Newcastle, UK
* 3/05 – Birmingham, UK
* 3/07 – Sheffield, UK
* 3/08 – Nottingham, UK

To preorder your copy of ‘The Fame Monster’ now or to book VIP tickets for The MONSTER BALL Tour, with special guest KiD CuDi, visit ladygaga.com.

Kitsuné Maison 8, the chic and nice issue
Various Artists
Release date
November 30, 2009
Kitsune

kitsune.fr
myspace.com/maisonkitsune
facebook.com/maisonkitsune
twitter.com/maison_kitsune

Paris, Fr – Here is the eighth Maison compilation from Kitsuné, the chic and nice issue. The Kitsuné house is now packed with friends, girls and boys, new and old. Quiet girls, neurotic boys, Kitsuné mobilizes all that is most passionate and exciting. We won’t list the number of groups and artists discovered on Kitsuné compilations that have since become headliners, we have no time for that.

We always need resources, and pleasure, and brilliant new music that will change the course of the day when you press play. And new encounters. And from then on also the pleasure of nurturing relationships, having the chance to go deeper in them and dig some grooves, to be surprised by those you thought you already knew.

Two Door Cinema Club and Delphic are the latest additions to the Kitsuné family and their respective forthcoming debut albums will be out soon on Kitsuné. Additionally, Heartsrevolution, Slagsmålsklubben, Beni, Chew Lips and Crystal Fighters will all have their tracks out as singles on Kitsuné. It’s all here.

It was a two months listening-marathon of sorts in Kitsuné’s Montmartre offices and everywhere else for that matter. This time it’s even more of a world tour: there’s French singing, Japanese singing. There are Finnish, Swedish, Germans, basically everyone’s invited.

“Kitsuné Maison 8” will be released November 30, 2009 on Kitsuné. Pick it up on iTunes, Amazon, Beatport, eMusic, and other fine digital outlets.

Here is the eighth Maison compilation from Kitsuné, the chic and the nice issue. The Kitsuné house is now packed with friends, girls and boys, new and old. Quiet girls, neurotic boys, Kitsuné mobilizes all that is most passionate and exciting…It will be out November 30, but til then, here is something for you.

All clothes in the video are taken from the new Spring Summer 10 collection: “Kitsuné Golf Club.”

“Kitsuné Maison 8” Tracklisting

1. French Horn Rebellion – “Up All Night”

We recommend their four Euros D.I.Y. video for such a gigantic song.

2. The Drums – “Let’s Go Surfing”

They are handsome, dress up fifties and what’s more play good music.

3. Siriusmo – “High Together”

Sublime and simple. It would make a Cistercian monastery dance. The priests would be allowed to marry if they were listening to this in the Vatican.

4. Le Corps Mince de Françoise – “Something Golden” *

Slender and Finnish. Connected to French writer Françoise Sagan?

5. Midnight Juggernauts – “This New Technology”

Panoramic and ambitious, by the most sought-after producers this month.

6. Heartsrevolution – “Dance Till Dawn” *

The Heartsrevolution couple is back. They’re nuts (we say ‘intense’ to remain polite). They shine of a thousand CRYSTALLIZED™ sparkles. A very 1989 piano for a track that’s already been aired on Gossip Girl for three full minutes.

7. Logo – “Junocide”

Proper aceeeed to incite you to drive faster. Also perfect for a row.

8. Two Door Cinema Club – “I Can Talk (Moulinex Remix)” *

Our favourite from Kitsuné Maison 7 is here again, no wonder the band has now signed to Kitsuné. Their album, to die for, will be out shortly. How will these very shy boys deal with the hordes of female fans that will soon land on their doorstep? A song about silence and the unexplainable.

9. Slagsmålsklubben – “Brutal Weapons” *

We first talked to the Slagsmålsklubben boys in a festival in Finland surrounded by whales. Then in the office it was competition time to see who could say the band’s name the fastest: Slagsmålsklubben, Slagsmålsklubben, Slagsmålsklubben! A track that’s like a grand domino chain-reaction.

10. Beni – Maximus “(Harvard Bass Remix)”*

Awesome track! Maximus, minimus, very Keith Haring. The video created so much on-line hysteria that we had to stop the comments.

11. AMWE – “Friction Between The Lovers”

Very inflamed. Amwe is Japanese and a long way from being 6 feet tall, still she wears size 9 Air Jordan collectors. She’s fierce.

12. Jolie Cherie – “Star”

For once that a band with a French name is actually French and not three Japanese girls with pink hair. This track is the kind of stuff cute Parisian girls who think Kate Moss and go to La Durée listen to.

13. Chew Lips – “Salt Air (Alex Kapranos Remix)” *

A song about America. They met in a restaurant and Alex Kapranos agreed to do a remix.

14. Delphic – “This Momentary” *

Believe the hype. Delphic are enormous. Well, they will be enormous. And will remain enormous. We should make a movie, just to place that track in.

15. Memory Tapes – “Bicycle”

Another Technicolor track that includes a choir and smells good homemade cooking. So Anglo-Saxon it hurts.

16. Parallels – “Find the Fire”

Kate Bush 2010. The song that the American director John Hughes would have used if he didn’t pass away this summer. Special mention to broken-hearted sixteen-year old girls.

17. Nottee – “Control”

A girl who’s looking for truth and wants to walk straight. So rare. Totally crazy. Another Kitsuné finding.

18. ENCORE

19. Crystal Fighters – “I Love London” *

A future Kitsuné release, for raving mad London queens. And for you too.

20. My Tiger My Timing – “I Am The Sound”

The band (some friends, a brother and sister) is already scouring the venues of Leeds, Bristol and Manchester. The song promises: I’m not trying to chat you up, it’s just we’re going in the same direction and I’m going home. Perfect.

* Single to be released on Kitsuné in the current year

Features collaborations with folk legend Donovan, David Bartholomé, Lisa Kekaula, Yael Naim, Lily Frost and cover art from famous French comic artists Dupuy & Berberian

Variety Lab
Team Up!
Release date: December 15, 2009
Peermusic / Digital Pressure
variety-lab.com
myspace.com/varietylab

How did this project come together?

“Soda Pop Confusion” (feat kidsaredead):

Download.

This is a diverse and super funky mix of tropicalia, electro, acid jazz and bubblegum pop with a surprise at every turn. From the vocodered disco-rock of Let’s Boogie to the sun-drenched acoustica of Mireia there isn’t a moment here that doesn’t ooze laid-back Mediterranean cool.

- Clash Magazine

Spanning multiple genres and featuring collaborations from some of the most inspiring artists in the world, Variety Lab’s sophomore album Team Up! is set up to be the most wonderful musical surprise of 2009. From the original blueprints through to the execution it’s a grand slam. Collaborations with folk legend Donovan, David Bartholomé, Lisa Kekaula, Yael Naim and Lily Frost creates a broad musical spectrum while French comic artists Dupuy & Berberian bring Variety Lab’s vision to life.

Variety Lab is the alias of one Thierry Bellia. His first CD – 2003’s Providence – gained notoriety for its lead single “London In The Rain,” which was, at the time, included in every single lounge compilation. As in the past Bellia, alone, put Team Up! together, but he did not forget to emphasize his friends’ assistance in the process. Let’s just name his henchmen from the French band Orwell (Jérôme Didelot and Alexandre Longo, aka Cascadeur and winner of the 2008 Inrockuptibles CQFD prize). Making use of his friends, instruments, machines and other weird objects (for instance the Optigan, a toy devised back in the 70’s), Thierry has worked non-stop on this project.

As for the biggest collaboration, after months of swapping tapes across the channel with Bellia, folk legend Donovan himself flew across to Paris to offer his voice and his experience to the spacious and bouncy opening track, “Is This The Last Time.” “I was delighted to be asked to join Variety Lab on their project. I flew into Paris to record. I helped to re-work the song and had great fun with the band. It’s a cool track and I am pleased to present this first single with Variety Lab. It’s a funny lyric and I brought out the humor with one of my quirky accents that I use when I take on the character in a song. It’s a perfect new pop record to dance and meet a new friend or lover,” Donovan says.

On three other tracks, “We Should Be Dancing” (the video has now been viewed over 125,000 time on YouTube), “Mireia” and the very rocky “Not Enough,” it is David Bartholomé, the lead-singer with the excellent Belgian band Sharko, who grabs the mike. And then the fantastic and frantic Bellrays’ vocalist, Lisa Kekaula, with her husky and roaring voice who sings on “Let’s Boogie,” a groovy and vocodered track that oozes sheer rock and soul energy from Detroit. The youngster Vincent Mougel from Kidsaredead comes in next to blow some sugary foam on the sweet candy that is “Soda Pop Confusion,” while Thierry’s fellow Nancy-born Mona Soyoc naturally joins the project as a next-door neighbor, and adds some sensuality to the very eighties “Money,” a cover version of the track by late 70s-early 80s English band The Flying Lizards, who had themselves borrowed it from the soul crooner Barrett Strong. Next, Canadian songstress Lily Frost croons over the lush, crackly ballad “This Parade” before 2008 pop sensation Yael Naim closes the album with her version of “Love Is A Bird;” originally a Variety Lab demo that has gradually evolved, first in the expert hands of Cascadeur, then by David Bartholomé on a Sharko album. “Love Is A Bird”, a simple, and beautiful idea, that leads us strolling from one end of Team up! to the other, filled with a feeling that can be summed up as the more, the stronger, the prettier and the merrier.

Team up! is more than a mere album – Much more. It is like awaking from a soft dream.

Variety Lab
“Team Up!”

Tracklisting

01 – “Is This The Last Time?” (feat. Donovan)
02 – “Money (That’s what I Want)” (feat. Mona Soyoc)
03 – “Which way to go (Reprisa)”
04 – “We Should Be Dancing” (feat. David Bartholome)
05 – “Soda Pop Confusion” (feat. Kidsaredead)
06 – “This Parade” (feat. Lily Frost)
07 – “Hola Mireia”
08 – “Which Way To Go”
09 – “Mireia” (feat. David Bartholome)
10 – “Let’s Boogie” (feat. Lisa Kekaula)
11 – “Not Enough” (feat. David Bartholome)
12 – “Love Is A Bird” (feat. Yael Naim)

First we heard the comedy of the night’s host, Joshua Meyers, which was hilarious. We really had no idea as far as what to expect from the comedians. You know Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais, Larry David and Eddie Murphy are some of our favorite comedians, and we generally have a pretty high bar for what’s funny, but the comedy was definitely enjoyable for the night! Plus, we had never been to an event that has comedy mixed with music, but the event kept us engaged the whole night.

Samuel Stewart was our favorite musician of the night, but all that we heard from the other musicians was also good. Fu, short for Fuquan, was our favorite comedian, although everyone made several funny jokes in their acts. We actually got to chat a bit with Fu before his show and he was good dude, willing to talk to us about whatever, and agreed to get in a few photos. So, we might be biased by that, but Fu is also straight hilarious, which you’ll see for yourself if you watch his video below.

Going to this show didn’t have the feel of going to your typical show. Everyone behind throwing the show, as well as the people attending it, were all super friendly and cool. It’s not always that you go to a show and feel like you could strike up a conversation with anyone, but the vibe at the Echo Curio was all warm and fuzzy that night, and not at all snobby and exclusive. Wait, nobody slipped ecstasy in our drinks at the show, right? Wait, it was a BYOB event, so never mind. It was a fun night beginning to end though and there was nothing not to like.

One thing that’s amazing about Samuel Stewart’s music is his raw talent as a musician. We can’t help but think about the whole “fruit doesn’t far that fall from the tree,” idea, given that his father is Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics. Naturally, Sam is going his own direction with his music, but right away we were struck by sheer musical ability from him, and the professional caliber of his music. Lots of people want to be musicians, but some people don’t just have it in them. Even for famous musicians, there’s a struggle in waffling on the quality of your work, perfectionism, self-doubt, etc., but we believe Samuel Stewart should be bypassing all of that (even if he might not be) because it’s clear that he has put a lot of hard work into his tracks and has a passion for the music he makes.

We’re probably also biased towards Samuel Stewart because we think the Eurythmics made such fantastic music: our favorite track being, “Here Comes the Rain Again,” although we learned at the show from Sam’s Manager, Angela, that “Sweet Dreams, is in fact, the most popular Eurythmics track of all time. It makes sense with the Marilyn Manson cover and all, but our favorite here is still “Here Comes the Rain Again.”

At any rate, we’re reasonably satisfied with how the audio came out in the videos below, but it was just too dark (among other recording issues) in too much of the clips. Remind us to shine bright lights on all performing artists we record in the future. Video drama aside, the show was still great fun and it’s too bad if you missed it!

Sole (founder of anticon. records) and the Skyrider Band will be hitting the road this October, playing out the new record “Plastique.” Click on the image above to pre-order your copy now. Honestly, we didn’t think the preview clips do the record the justice it truly deserves over at circleintosquare.com, but you can at least get the compressed audio gist of the songs. Still though, the audio compression really ruins how great the songs actually sound! So, you need more than previews when it comes to these songs, because the transitions are really awesome and are part of what keeps the listener locked-in. You know how tracks can have build-ups then suddenly drop into quieter, more minimal sounds, only to then build back up again and explode? Well, if you like getting hyped-up when listening to your music, this release is for you.

Some notable tracks for us include “Battlefields,” and, by the way, it’s spectacular that Markus Acher of The Notwist collaborated with the group on the track. No wonder we were getting a slight Postal Service vibe on that one. Acher has a really beautiful voice.

Other enjoyable joints include “Longshots,” “More,” “Pissing in the Wind,” definitely “Bait,” and “Mr. Insurgent.” When you’re immediately feeling six tracks out of nine on a release, chances are it’s going to be a part of your playlist rotation the next good while.

Drawing clear influence from hip hop, rock, electronic music, and even classical music, this record is not to be missed. Again: it’s not to be missed.

SEPTEMBER 9. Fakefour Records proudly presents Sole and the Skyrider Band’s new album Plastique. The follow-up LP to Sole & the Skyrider Band’s debut of the same name, is Sole’s most cohesive, dynamic, listenable and interesting record to date. In contrast to the apocalyptic imagery of the first record, this album adopts the Jean Beaudrillard idea that “when the spectacle took over, man ceased to be man.”

Skyrider’s music finds itself more sparse and deliberate on this record. The idea behind this album is less about politics and more about reflections on the postmodern mess that is the “me” generation. Sole bounces from the ironic to the iconoclastic, from the worldly to the deeply personal. Unlike many previous recordings, sole’s rapping is at the forefront and his lyrics are clearer than ever. This is partly thanks to more immaculately composed music, and partly to Son Lux collaborator Doc Harril on the mixing boards.

Sole has spent the last two years living in a cabin in the midst of the Coconino National Forest in Arizona with no mayor, no phone lines, broken cell phone reception, just books and environmental canyon sprawl. This return to analog life inspired much of the reflection found herein. Everywhere man goes he is in conflict, and such conflicts are found throughout the album: the interpersonal, the political, the anti-social, the city, the desert, the industries and the anti-ideologies wherever they are found. Sole touches on everything from touring in a recession, media and war, race, rap, wildlife, space, identity politics and the insane tightrope one must walk to talk about such issues without sounding like a book report.

While Sole was communing with his inner Walt Whitman, the Skyrider Band relocated to Los Angeles. While there, multi-instrumentalist William Ryan Fritch began working on film soundtracks and as a session musician while working on his solo projects. John Wagner(drummer) and Bud Berning(producer) formed a new group with Telephone Jim Jesus called Furious Stylz. The trio have brought their dubbed out electro outfit up and down the west coast and have joined the rotation at the world renowned Low End Theory in LA.

Now, they hit the road and will be in Seattle on Oct 19~

For press inquiries, please contact Nicole Balin.

ITINERARY:
10-15 – LA Knitting Factory
10-16 – San Diego – Kava Lounge
10-17 – Oakland – The Uptown
10-18 – Portland – Rotture
10-19 – Seattle – The Nectar
10-20 – Missoula – The Palace
10-21 – Boise, ID – Neurolux
10-23 – SLC – Urban Lounge
10-24 – Ft. Collins
10-25 – Denver, Co – Hi-Dive
10-26 – ABQ – The Launchpad
10-27 – LV, NV – The Bunk House