Just in time for the final return of good old springtime, here's some lush and easy indie pop for your esteemed ears by Brooklyn lo-fi outfit Little Gold, the trio formed by ex-Woods member Christian DeRoeck together with Brian Markham and Patrick Broderick. Oh Dad is the b-side of the band's forthcoming Mike Swan 7 inch on Sophomore Lounge. The track was originally written by Christian's friend James Jackson Toth of Wooden Wand, but though we're not familiar with the original we couldn't imagine it anymore uplifting than this.
Pre-order your copy here.
Photo by Jenna Ransom.
Little Gold - Oh DadRead more →
Here's the brand new video for House of Mighty II by Chicago psych/kraut synth artists Deep Earth, taken from their stellar House of Mighty cassette that was released last month on Minneapolis, Minnesota imprint Moon Glyph. Enjoy the breathtaking journey that was made possible by Ben Marcus, check another casette track we'd featured last month here and then head over to the Moon Glyph headquarters to cop your copy.
Read more →
The stellar folks over at Bathetic just sent over the digital files that correspond to their latest wax pressing, the Telephone Dreams 7 inch by Age Wave which is the new solo endeavor of Ren Schofield of Dynasty and Mercy Light, among others. The single's a-side is a spaced-out trip into the mellow realms of pure noise, a track that uses tape manipulation and looping and layered synth textures to create the perfect score for the rising suspense before the first alien encounter. But fear not, just a dream it is.
The 7 inch is limited to 300, order your copy here.
Age Wave - Telephone DreamsRead more →
Don't miss this wonderful new song that Brooklyn lo-fi psych pop outfit Beige posted on their Tumblr yesterday: Folds shows the band at their most sophisticated and mature to date, as the six-minute piece gently meanders over a constant organ pattern while the reverberated guitars and the vocals exhibit an almost restrained feel, which together with the mechanic drumming adds up to some seriously splendid new wavey feel.
Beige - FoldsRead more →
Pretty psyched by this new jam by enigmatic Jersey producer Clams Casino who will drop his Rainforest EP via Brooklyn's über-rad Tri Angle on June 27. Listen to the closing track Gorilla below, an incredibly dark and noisy instrumental hip hop tune, coming with some absolutely appropriate jungle sounds.
Clams Casino - GorillaRead more →
Here's a brand new tune by our favorite eerie songstress Maria Minerva, taken from the upcoming Appeal cassette on London's NightSchool Recordings. The tape is a densely packed charity compilation for the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal.
The cassette will officially drop May 2, but one day before the label is gonna have a launch celebration barbecue with free live music at The Finsbury in London Town, starting at 4 p.m. More info over here.
For the complete esteemed tracklist and order details go here.
Maria Minerva - Where Do You Go?Read more →
"It all started when I was 16 and I pulled out In the Court of the Crimson King from my Dad's record collection. As soon as I put the needle on that thing, my life changed forever."
King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man (from In the Court of the Crimson King, Atlantic 1969):
With these ardent words about one of last century's seminal prog rock albums, Montréal, Québec resident Christian Richer started to tell the story about the foundation of his project The Haiduks which has led to the creation of one of this year's most exciting and most unanticipated records, 1968. Named after the Haiduk Peak near Banff, Alberta, under this moniker Richer has finally made a dream come true that had haunted him since he had started making music: to record an album that purely and unashamedly shows his love for 60s psych pop.
It's been a long way to the realization of 1968. After a couple of years traveling and aimlessly straying into different musical directions, the offspring of the Ottawa suburbs had found his first artistic home among Montréal's thriving experimental/psychedelic scene alongside Hobo Cubes, Le Révélateur, Bernardino Femminielli et al., which led to the first recordings under his Élément Kuuda moniker for which he's since become known.
Élément Kuuda - Hivernale et Mathématique (taken from Beko DSL x Hobo Cult)
But significant praise notwithstanding, the idea of a 60s-infused pop album remained stuck in Richer's head. Having already written the first two Haiduks songs Diamond Drops and I'm Still Here while being on a trip to the Bahamas in 2009, he wholeheartedly started recording on his own in his tiny Montréal apartment last year. The outcome - finalized with a little help from Einar Jullum Leiknes on guitar, background singing and Mellotron arrangements, Hannah Rahimi playing flute and Dan Pencer on clarinet and saxophone - is nothing less than overwhelming.
Of course, you might ask if the world of 2011 needs an album that's so hopelessly nostalgia-dripping and almost excessively true to original 60s psych pop. But on the other hand, in a way 1968 could even be considered the overdue complement to hypnagogic pop's inner agenda to musically manifest the blurry memories of the music of our childhood: at least in my case (and Richer's), growing up in the 80s and 90s did not only mean Boys of Summer but also our parents' collection of late 60s/early 70s psychedelia. Admittedly, where h-pop manipulates our recollection by deconstructing and re-contextualizing the original concepts, playing 1968 actually feels like putting on one of those dusty records we've just found in a box in the attic.
Still, Richer is also right when pointing out that this album is "a modern piece containing an old school aesthetic, rather than an album trying to sound like it was made during that time. It's more of an homage or a big 'thank you' to all the brilliant, inspired and beautiful music that's been made during the 60s". And a beautiful, devoted homage it is, with its splendidly psychedelic production and rich pop harmonies somewhere between Brian Wilson and, at times, Simon & Garfunkel (on Melodie) - 1968 is an amazing piece of music from start to finish.
And next, now that the dream has come true? "Although I really enjoy making 60s sounding music, I don't wish to reproduce it or to make it again", Richer told me. "My next album will be a more lo-fi and garage type of feel. I accomplished what I wanted with 1968, and now it's time to move on into a dirtier direction." Listening to his fabulous track Use Up My Time from the above-mentioned Beko DSL x Hobo Cult compilation, we might already have been given a hint at the new artistic course of an incredibly creative mind.
Exclusive:The Haiduks - I'm Still HereThe Haiduks - Diamond Drops1968 is coming out on vinyl via Digitalis this summer.
Read more →
Just in time for the final return of good old springtime, here's some lush and easy indie pop for your esteemed ears by Brooklyn lo-fi outfit Little Gold, the trio formed by ex-Woods member Christian DeRoeck together with Brian Markham and Patrick Broderick. Oh Dad is the b-side of the band's forthcoming Mike Swan 7 inch on Sophomore Lounge. The track was originally written by Christian's friend James Jackson Toth of Wooden Wand, but though we're not familiar with the original we couldn't imagine it anymore uplifting than this.
Pre-order your copy here.
Photo by Jenna Ransom.
Little Gold - Oh Dad
Read more →
The stellar folks over at Bathetic just sent over the digital files that correspond to their latest wax pressing, the Telephone Dreams 7 inch by Age Wave which is the new solo endeavor of Ren Schofield of Dynasty and Mercy Light, among others. The single's a-side is a spaced-out trip into the mellow realms of pure noise, a track that uses tape manipulation and looping and layered synth textures to create the perfect score for the rising suspense before the first alien encounter. But fear not, just a dream it is.
The 7 inch is limited to 300, order your copy here.
Age Wave - Telephone Dreams
Read more →
Take a deep breath, and then dive into Laurel Halo's incredibly contemplative ambient take on Brooklyn art rockers Extra Life's tune Strong Brother, Weak Brother, taken from the band's Ripped Heart EP, out now on Last Things Records. Order your copy over here.
Extra Life - Strong Brother, Weak Brother (Laurel Halo Remix)
Read more →
Don't miss this wonderful new song that Brooklyn lo-fi psych pop outfit Beige posted on their Tumblr yesterday: Folds shows the band at their most sophisticated and mature to date, as the six-minute piece gently meanders over a constant organ pattern while the reverberated guitars and the vocals exhibit an almost restrained feel, which together with the mechanic drumming adds up to some seriously splendid new wavey feel.
Beige - Folds
Read more →
Pretty psyched by this new jam by enigmatic Jersey producer Clams Casino who will drop his Rainforest EP via Brooklyn's über-rad Tri Angle on June 27. Listen to the closing track Gorilla below, an incredibly dark and noisy instrumental hip hop tune, coming with some absolutely appropriate jungle sounds.
Clams Casino - Gorilla
Read more →
Here's a brand new tune by our favorite eerie songstress Maria Minerva, taken from the upcoming Appeal cassette on London's NightSchool Recordings. The tape is a densely packed charity compilation for the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal.
The cassette will officially drop May 2, but one day before the label is gonna have a launch celebration barbecue with free live music at The Finsbury in London Town, starting at 4 p.m. More info over here.
For the complete esteemed tracklist and order details go here.
Maria Minerva - Where Do You Go?
Read more →
"It all started when I was 16 and I pulled out In the Court of the Crimson King from my Dad's record collection. As soon as I put the needle on that thing, my life changed forever."
King Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid Man (from In the Court of the Crimson King, Atlantic 1969):
With these ardent words about one of last century's seminal prog rock albums, Montréal, Québec resident Christian Richer started to tell the story about the foundation of his project The Haiduks which has led to the creation of one of this year's most exciting and most unanticipated records, 1968. Named after the Haiduk Peak near Banff, Alberta, under this moniker Richer has finally made a dream come true that had haunted him since he had started making music: to record an album that purely and unashamedly shows his love for 60s psych pop.
It's been a long way to the realization of 1968. After a couple of years traveling and aimlessly straying into different musical directions, the offspring of the Ottawa suburbs had found his first artistic home among Montréal's thriving experimental/psychedelic scene alongside Hobo Cubes, Le Révélateur, Bernardino Femminielli et al., which led to the first recordings under his Élément Kuuda moniker for which he's since become known.
Élément Kuuda - Hivernale et Mathématique (taken from Beko DSL x Hobo Cult)
But significant praise notwithstanding, the idea of a 60s-infused pop album remained stuck in Richer's head. Having already written the first two Haiduks songs Diamond Drops and I'm Still Here while being on a trip to the Bahamas in 2009, he wholeheartedly started recording on his own in his tiny Montréal apartment last year. The outcome - finalized with a little help from Einar Jullum Leiknes on guitar, background singing and Mellotron arrangements, Hannah Rahimi playing flute and Dan Pencer on clarinet and saxophone - is nothing less than overwhelming.
Of course, you might ask if the world of 2011 needs an album that's so hopelessly nostalgia-dripping and almost excessively true to original 60s psych pop. But on the other hand, in a way 1968 could even be considered the overdue complement to hypnagogic pop's inner agenda to musically manifest the blurry memories of the music of our childhood: at least in my case (and Richer's), growing up in the 80s and 90s did not only mean Boys of Summer but also our parents' collection of late 60s/early 70s psychedelia. Admittedly, where h-pop manipulates our recollection by deconstructing and re-contextualizing the original concepts, playing 1968 actually feels like putting on one of those dusty records we've just found in a box in the attic.
Still, Richer is also right when pointing out that this album is "a modern piece containing an old school aesthetic, rather than an album trying to sound like it was made during that time. It's more of an homage or a big 'thank you' to all the brilliant, inspired and beautiful music that's been made during the 60s". And a beautiful, devoted homage it is, with its splendidly psychedelic production and rich pop harmonies somewhere between Brian Wilson and, at times, Simon & Garfunkel (on Melodie) - 1968 is an amazing piece of music from start to finish.
And next, now that the dream has come true? "Although I really enjoy making 60s sounding music, I don't wish to reproduce it or to make it again", Richer told me. "My next album will be a more lo-fi and garage type of feel. I accomplished what I wanted with 1968, and now it's time to move on into a dirtier direction." Listening to his fabulous track Use Up My Time from the above-mentioned Beko DSL x Hobo Cult compilation, we might already have been given a hint at the new artistic course of an incredibly creative mind.
Exclusive:
The Haiduks - I'm Still Here
The Haiduks - Diamond Drops
1968 is coming out on vinyl via Digitalis this summer.
Read more →