5 Years of NFOP

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Fan talk.

08 Jun 2010 — NFOP

Sometimes it's just good to stalk the artists you admire, though this might actually be a little obsessive. Anyway, tonight our much hyped friends from Yuck raved on their blog about their London pals that form an apparently extremely fresh band named Fanzine and how unbelievably wonderful their song Susan was. And oh, how right they are.

Fanzine - Susan Read more →

Sometimes it's just good to stalk the artists you admire, though this might actually be a little obsessive. Anyway, tonight our much hyped friends from Yuck raved on their blog about their London pals that form an apparently extremely fresh band named Fanzine and how unbelievably wonderful their song Susan was. And oh, how right they are.

Fanzine - Susan

Breaking the waves.

07 Jun 2010 — NFOP


Inevitably I suppose, the chillwaves have finally crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the shores of the Old World. But why not, right? Anyway, our fellow Swede Christian Niva, hailing from Stockholm, used to make pretty straight and danceable electronic music under the moniker The Quiet Boy. Since recently, he not only prefers his own surname but has most notably seen the writing on the wall. Now, he composes blissful summer tunes that he himself referred to as "chillwave" in the mail he sent to me, so we probably shouldn't argue about that genre tag.

In any case, the track he's made available, Ghost In My Head, is without doubt beautiful electronica and definitely worth a listen. It will appear on NIVA's forthcoming debut EP Feverish Dreams (mind the chillwave connotation!), to be released towards the end of August.


NIVA - Ghost In My Head Read more →


Inevitably I suppose, the chillwaves have finally crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the shores of the Old World. But why not, right? Anyway, our fellow Swede Christian Niva, hailing from Stockholm, used to make pretty straight and danceable electronic music under the moniker The Quiet Boy. Since recently, he not only prefers his own surname but has most notably seen the writing on the wall. Now, he composes blissful summer tunes that he himself referred to as "chillwave" in the mail he sent to me, so we probably shouldn't argue about that genre tag.

In any case, the track he's made available, Ghost In My Head, is without doubt beautiful electronica and definitely worth a listen. It will appear on NIVA's forthcoming debut EP Feverish Dreams (mind the chillwave connotation!), to be released towards the end of August.


NIVA - Ghost In My Head

Still painful.

07 Jun 2010 — NFOP

Our much adored indie pop darlings The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are about to release their next 7 inch, Say No To Love b/w Lost Saint. The single will be out on June 22 via Slumberland.

Needless to say: another treat, and exactly what we've expected. Listen to the b-side below.


The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Lost Saint

Read more →

Our much adored indie pop darlings The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart are about to release their next 7 inch, Say No To Love b/w Lost Saint. The single will be out on June 22 via Slumberland.

Needless to say: another treat, and exactly what we've expected. Listen to the b-side below.


The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Lost Saint

We are Scientists.

06 Jun 2010 — NFOP

Most times, unfortunately, such ambitions fail. Or at best, those self-ascriptions are to be considered a bit of an overstatement. But sometimes, projects that start as a genuine fusion of visuals and music turn out to be just amazing. And apparently, South East London's BRETON actually is one of those rare examples. Originally the idea of the musicians/filmmakers Roman Rappak and Adam Ainger, BRETON_ now has expanded into a five-piece collective.

Their second EP in a trilogy, Sharing Notes, will be released by youWILLBEfollowing on July 5, and the physical version will come with a hand-made circuit board that will actually work as a neat little synthesiser. In the startling yet staggering video below, which is accompanying one of the EP's tracks, 15X (download below), you can watch the artists creating one of those rare items.

The music is dazzling, too, suggesting some kind of Foals-like math rock put into schemes of high-level electronics. Irresistible.

Edit: I was just asked to add the information that the physical EP (i.e. the limited circuit board) will be available via Rough Trade, so watch their website for ordering opportunities.



BRETON - 15X

As BretonLABS, the guys are also busily creating remixes and videos for rising artists such as Penguin Prison. After the jump, you can watch his video for Something I'm Not, together with BretonLABS' remix of the track.






Penguin Prison - Something I'm Not (BretonLABS Remix) Read more →

Most times, unfortunately, such ambitions fail. Or at best, those self-ascriptions are to be considered a bit of an overstatement. But sometimes, projects that start as a genuine fusion of visuals and music turn out to be just amazing. And apparently, South East London's BRETON actually is one of those rare examples. Originally the idea of the musicians/filmmakers Roman Rappak and Adam Ainger, BRETON_ now has expanded into a five-piece collective.

Their second EP in a trilogy, Sharing Notes, will be released by youWILLBEfollowing on July 5, and the physical version will come with a hand-made circuit board that will actually work as a neat little synthesiser. In the startling yet staggering video below, which is accompanying one of the EP's tracks, 15X (download below), you can watch the artists creating one of those rare items.

The music is dazzling, too, suggesting some kind of Foals-like math rock put into schemes of high-level electronics. Irresistible.

Edit: I was just asked to add the information that the physical EP (i.e. the limited circuit board) will be available via Rough Trade, so watch their website for ordering opportunities.



BRETON - 15X

As BretonLABS, the guys are also busily creating remixes and videos for rising artists such as Penguin Prison. After the jump, you can watch his video for Something I'm Not, together with BretonLABS' remix of the track.






Penguin Prison - Something I'm Not (BretonLABS Remix)

Crowd the cabin.

06 Jun 2010 — NFOP

Now that Bon Iver's Justin Vernon is seems extremely busy collaborating in rather strange, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony inspired neo-soul Minneapolis all-star projects or almost equally weird garage-blues duos (and let's not forget last year's splendid experimental endeavours), his bandmates appear to have found some spare time at last. Bon Iver's percussionist/pianist Sean Carey has taken that sudden opportunity in the most fruitful way, recording an album under his own name. And the smooth vigour of Carey's debuting song In the Dirt shows an astonishing amount of songwriting talent and musical craftsmanship, exhibiting subtle intimacy that could once more be the result of an extended escape into the woods on his own.

S. Carey's debut full-length All We Grow will be out in late August on Jagjaguwar.



S. Carey - In the Dirt
Read more →

Now that Bon Iver's Justin Vernon is seems extremely busy collaborating in rather strange, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony inspired neo-soul Minneapolis all-star projects or almost equally weird garage-blues duos (and let's not forget last year's splendid experimental endeavours), his bandmates appear to have found some spare time at last. Bon Iver's percussionist/pianist Sean Carey has taken that sudden opportunity in the most fruitful way, recording an album under his own name. And the smooth vigour of Carey's debuting song In the Dirt shows an astonishing amount of songwriting talent and musical craftsmanship, exhibiting subtle intimacy that could once more be the result of an extended escape into the woods on his own.

S. Carey's debut full-length All We Grow will be out in late August on Jagjaguwar.



S. Carey - In the Dirt

Wait no longer.

03 Jun 2010 — NFOP

Summer has come to our realms, but who knows for how long. So look for a beach near you, now.



Beach Fossils - Window View

Read more →

Summer has come to our realms, but who knows for how long. So look for a beach near you, now.



Beach Fossils - Window View

The NFOP Radio Show #8: Primavera Sound 10 Review Edition

02 Jun 2010 — NFOP

No new music today, as I was busy getting to Barcelona to visit Primavera Sound 10 and afterwards seriously struggling to get back to Berlin again. Anyway, it was worth the effort. And as compensation for those who missed it or should've been there, I've compiled a mix of the bands that were most exciting at Primavera, imho of course, accompanied by the respective live recordings I could find on YouTube (in fact, Ben Frost and Ganglians were amazing as well, but there wasn't any suitable footage online). I've tried to get videos in decent quality, which was obviously not consistently successful, so sorry for that in advance.

For more reports and photographs of the festival I'd recommend Pitchfork's coverage. And moreover, New Jersey's independent radio station WFMU (Jim Jarmusch's and Matt Groening's favourite station, apparently) has made their archived live broadcasting directly from Parc del Fòrum available online. Listen to it here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).

Finally, this time you'll find most tracks as additional downloads below the videos.


As usual, you can listen via the embedded player on top of this page or here.

Listening note: The show is streamed via 8tracks. Their license requires a mix to be shuffled the second time someone listens to it. Moreover, the number of tracks the user can skip while listening to a mix is limited.





Tracklisting:




1. Real Estate (Saturday, 29 May; Pitchfork Stage, 6.00 p.m.) - Fake Blues:



MP3: Real Estate - Fake Blues


2. Harlem (Friday, 28 May; Vice Stage, 6.00 p.m.) - Someday Soon:



3. Dum Dum Girls (Saturday, 29 May; Pitchfork Stage, 0.15 a.m.) - Jail La La:


MP3: Dum Dum Girls - Jail La La


4. Best Coast (Friday, 28 May; Pitchfork Stage, 7.15 p.m.) - The Sun Was High (So Was I):

Of course, the video below is not The Sun Was High, the song the hype started with last summer, but the footage of Bethany's rad inside joke. Actually, she was so proud of her idea that she felt the urge to announce it approximately ten times towards the end of Best Coast's show, which made it feel kinda exerted after all. And, dear Ms. Cosentino, the line "Do I smell weed? Thumbs up" sounds a little odd in Europe, too. Nevermind.


MP3: Best Coast - The Sun Was High (So Was I)


5. Surfer Blood (Thursday, 27 May; Pitchfork Stage, 7.15 p.m.) - Twin Peaks:


MP3: Surfer Blood - Twin Peaks


6. Atlas Sound (Saturday, 29 May; Pitchfork Stage, 7.15 p.m.) - The Screens:


MP3: Atlas Sound - The Screens


7. Yeasayer (Friday, 28 May; Vice Stage, 2.30 a.m.) - Ambling Alp:


MP3: Yeasayer - Ambling Alp


8. Grizzly Bear (Saturday, 29 May; Ray-Ban Stage, 9.55 p.m.) - Two Weeks:


MP3: Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks


9. Beach House (Friday, 28 May; ATP Stage, 9.40 p.m.) - 10 Mile Stereo:


MP3: Beach House - 10 Mile Stereo


10. The xx (Thursday, 27 May; Ray-Ban Stage, 9.15 p.m.) - Crystalised:


MP3: The xx - Crystalised


11. Panda Bear (Friday, 28 May; Vice Stage, 11.30 p.m.) - Ponytail:


MP3: Panda Bear - Ponytail


12. Titus Andronicus (Thursday, 27 May; Pitchfork Stage, 8.30 p.m.) - No Future, Pt. 3: Escape From No Future:



13. No Age (Saturday, 29 May; Pitchfork Stage, 11.00 p.m.) - Teen Creeps:


MP3: No Age - Teen Creeps


14. Sleigh Bells (Thursday, 27 May; Pitchfork Stage, 1.30 a.m.) - Rill Rill:


MP3: Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill


15. HEALTH (Saturday, 29 May; Vice Stage, 3.00 a.m.) - USA Boys:

For me, this song was simply the perfect ending of a stunning and incredible festival. Too bad there appears to be no complete recording on YouTube so far.


MP3: HEALTH - USA Boys


Read more →
No new music today, as I was busy getting to Barcelona to visit Primavera Sound 10 and afterwards seriously struggling to get back to Berlin again. Anyway, it was worth the effort. And as compensation for those who missed it or should've been there, I've compiled a mix of the bands that were most exciting at Primavera, imho of course, accompanied by the respective live recordings I could find on YouTube (in fact, Ben Frost and Ganglians were amazing as well, but there wasn't any suitable footage online). I've tried to get videos in decent quality, which was obviously not consistently successful, so sorry for that in advance.

For more reports and photographs of the festival I'd recommend Pitchfork's coverage. And moreover, New Jersey's independent radio station WFMU (Jim Jarmusch's and Matt Groening's favourite station, apparently) has made their archived live broadcasting directly from Parc del Fòrum available online. Listen to it here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).

Finally, this time you'll find most tracks as additional downloads below the videos.


As usual, you can listen via the embedded player on top of this page or here.

Listening note: The show is streamed via 8tracks. Their license requires a mix to be shuffled the second time someone listens to it. Moreover, the number of tracks the user can skip while listening to a mix is limited.





Tracklisting:




1. Real Estate (Saturday, 29 May; Pitchfork Stage, 6.00 p.m.) - Fake Blues:



MP3: Real Estate - Fake Blues


2. Harlem (Friday, 28 May; Vice Stage, 6.00 p.m.) - Someday Soon:



3. Dum Dum Girls (Saturday, 29 May; Pitchfork Stage, 0.15 a.m.) - Jail La La:


MP3: Dum Dum Girls - Jail La La


4. Best Coast (Friday, 28 May; Pitchfork Stage, 7.15 p.m.) - The Sun Was High (So Was I):

Of course, the video below is not The Sun Was High, the song the hype started with last summer, but the footage of Bethany's rad inside joke. Actually, she was so proud of her idea that she felt the urge to announce it approximately ten times towards the end of Best Coast's show, which made it feel kinda exerted after all. And, dear Ms. Cosentino, the line "Do I smell weed? Thumbs up" sounds a little odd in Europe, too. Nevermind.


MP3: Best Coast - The Sun Was High (So Was I)


5. Surfer Blood (Thursday, 27 May; Pitchfork Stage, 7.15 p.m.) - Twin Peaks:


MP3: Surfer Blood - Twin Peaks


6. Atlas Sound (Saturday, 29 May; Pitchfork Stage, 7.15 p.m.) - The Screens:


MP3: Atlas Sound - The Screens


7. Yeasayer (Friday, 28 May; Vice Stage, 2.30 a.m.) - Ambling Alp:


MP3: Yeasayer - Ambling Alp


8. Grizzly Bear (Saturday, 29 May; Ray-Ban Stage, 9.55 p.m.) - Two Weeks:


MP3: Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks


9. Beach House (Friday, 28 May; ATP Stage, 9.40 p.m.) - 10 Mile Stereo:


MP3: Beach House - 10 Mile Stereo


10. The xx (Thursday, 27 May; Ray-Ban Stage, 9.15 p.m.) - Crystalised:


MP3: The xx - Crystalised


11. Panda Bear (Friday, 28 May; Vice Stage, 11.30 p.m.) - Ponytail:


MP3: Panda Bear - Ponytail


12. Titus Andronicus (Thursday, 27 May; Pitchfork Stage, 8.30 p.m.) - No Future, Pt. 3: Escape From No Future:



13. No Age (Saturday, 29 May; Pitchfork Stage, 11.00 p.m.) - Teen Creeps:


MP3: No Age - Teen Creeps


14. Sleigh Bells (Thursday, 27 May; Pitchfork Stage, 1.30 a.m.) - Rill Rill:


MP3: Sleigh Bells - Rill Rill


15. HEALTH (Saturday, 29 May; Vice Stage, 3.00 a.m.) - USA Boys:

For me, this song was simply the perfect ending of a stunning and incredible festival. Too bad there appears to be no complete recording on YouTube so far.


MP3: HEALTH - USA Boys


Younger Than Yesterday.

02 Jun 2010 — NFOP

They've already been featured in the last edition of the NFOP Radio show, but now their label Planting Seeds Records has kindly dragged our attention to The Young Sinclairs' new EP We Spoke Our Minds, out July 20 on CD and limited edition 7 inch vinyl. The discs include four songs, while the accompanying digital download will add two bonus tracks (the already featured beautiful Forever After among them).

The Roanoke, Virginia quintet surfs heavily on the 60s jangle-pop wave (think The Byrds in particular), which is not the worst thing for those upcoming summer days. So if you miss Roots and Echoes or can't wait for the next album by The Coral, Butterfly House, this might be something for you.


The Young Sinclairs - Girl, I'm For Real

Read more →

They've already been featured in the last edition of the NFOP Radio show, but now their label Planting Seeds Records has kindly dragged our attention to The Young Sinclairs' new EP We Spoke Our Minds, out July 20 on CD and limited edition 7 inch vinyl. The discs include four songs, while the accompanying digital download will add two bonus tracks (the already featured beautiful Forever After among them).

The Roanoke, Virginia quintet surfs heavily on the 60s jangle-pop wave (think The Byrds in particular), which is not the worst thing for those upcoming summer days. So if you miss Roots and Echoes or can't wait for the next album by The Coral, Butterfly House, this might be something for you.


The Young Sinclairs - Girl, I'm For Real

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