5 Years of NFOP

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William Cody Watson: “Bill Murray LP”.

13 Jun 2012 — Henning Lahmann
Does it make any sense at all to say that someone is not only your favorite, no, but indeed also the most important actor of your life? Sounds weird. But if so, just in case, mine is Mr Bill Murray. See, now you have it. I could now start telling you about all his movies that mean so much to me and why, but seriously, who'd actually be interested in that? Right. So let's focus on something else instead, a very good thing to know: Apparently, I'm not alone. Arkansas native and "1/16th Cherokee" William Cody Watson fka Pink Priest/Malibu Wands/Gremlynz has the same kind of unashamed affection for this actor. In his own words: "A true legendary figure, confused maybe, depressed perhaps; in search of something more." Unlike me however, Watson knew what to do with his feelings: to channel them creatively. So he made this record, the Bill Murray LP, eleven movements of gently meandering ambient, melancholic and probably sad yet never depressed or depressing, those sublime pieces aptly reflect the personality of most of Murray's character, and perhaps of the man himself. In any case, for Watson, the LP is "the most important piece of music I've ever made", an avowal that can be heard and felt throughout the record. You can listen to the Bill Murray LP while lying around in bed, or wandering across town at night, or driving through the countryside, or while watching your favorite Bill Murray movie, you know, the one that you've watched a thousand times anyway so you know what it's about and what they're saying. It's really nice, I've tried. Not sure if Bill would approve of that of course, but something tells me he would. The Bill Murray LP is out June 26 via Bathetic. The label is giving away some free copies of the record: The way to get one is to simply represent Bill Murray in the most creative way possible. Dress up like your favorite Murray character, hang out with a photo of Bill in your favorite spot, make out with a Bill Murray lookalike, write a poem about your love of Bill Murray on a brick wall or YOUR OWN BODY. The sky's the limit... Ultimately, we just want to see the way you document your Murray love. Snap a pic of you showing off your admiration, and email it to: batheticrecords@gmail.com. The deadline for the photo submissions is June 22. Listen to the record's last movement "Ode" below. Read more → Does it make any sense at all to say that someone is not only your favorite, no, but indeed also the most important actor of your life? Sounds weird. But if so, just in case, mine is Mr Bill Murray. See, now you have it. I could now start telling you about all his movies that mean so much to me and why, but seriously, who'd actually be interested in that? Right. So let's focus on something else instead, a very good thing to know: Apparently, I'm not alone. Arkansas native and "1/16th Cherokee" William Cody Watson fka Pink Priest/Malibu Wands/Gremlynz has the same kind of unashamed affection for this actor. In his own words: "A true legendary figure, confused maybe, depressed perhaps; in search of something more." Unlike me however, Watson knew what to do with his feelings: to channel them creatively. So he made this record, the Bill Murray LP, eleven movements of gently meandering ambient, melancholic and probably sad yet never depressed or depressing, those sublime pieces aptly reflect the personality of most of Murray's character, and perhaps of the man himself. In any case, for Watson, the LP is "the most important piece of music I've ever made", an avowal that can be heard and felt throughout the record. You can listen to the Bill Murray LP while lying around in bed, or wandering across town at night, or driving through the countryside, or while watching your favorite Bill Murray movie, you know, the one that you've watched a thousand times anyway so you know what it's about and what they're saying. It's really nice, I've tried. Not sure if Bill would approve of that of course, but something tells me he would. The Bill Murray LP is out June 26 via Bathetic. The label is giving away some free copies of the record: The way to get one is to simply represent Bill Murray in the most creative way possible. Dress up like your favorite Murray character, hang out with a photo of Bill in your favorite spot, make out with a Bill Murray lookalike, write a poem about your love of Bill Murray on a brick wall or YOUR OWN BODY. The sky's the limit... Ultimately, we just want to see the way you document your Murray love. Snap a pic of you showing off your admiration, and email it to: batheticrecords@gmail.com. The deadline for the photo submissions is June 22. Listen to the record's last movement "Ode" below.

The Interest Group: “Fear”.

12 Jun 2012 — Henning Lahmann
Third-ever track by Philadelphia outfit The Interest Group, which is the new project by BAnanas Symphony weirdo veteran Yohsuke Araki together with Marissa Lesnick and, not sure if this is a recent development, Kyle Garvey and Derek Fass. A little less lush than "The Passenger" yet by no means less promising, "Fear" is a short piece of gloomy, lounge-esque guitar pop. Take a listen below. Previously: Read more → Third-ever track by Philadelphia outfit The Interest Group, which is the new project by BAnanas Symphony weirdo veteran Yohsuke Araki together with Marissa Lesnick and, not sure if this is a recent development, Kyle Garvey and Derek Fass. A little less lush than "The Passenger" yet by no means less promising, "Fear" is a short piece of gloomy, lounge-esque guitar pop. Take a listen below. Previously:

Premiere: Lee Noble - “Memory Photo”.

12 Jun 2012 — Henning Lahmann
After "Woman in the Dunes", here's the second Lee Noble track of his magnificent forthcoming split LP with fellow experimentalist Ensemble Economique - the latter's second track to be revealed just receives a simultaneous premiere treatment over at our friends of Decoder. Unlike the first track, "Memory Photo" is considerably more expansive and taps more into the slow-burning drone territory that Lee originally became known for. It is a marvelous affair, gently building up layers and layers of synth that almost aimlessly swirl through time and space, creating and atmosphere of peaceful, quiet bliss that nonetheless hints at something hidden and uncanny. Motion Forever is out June 20 via Hands In The Dark. Pre-order the LP now over here. Limited edition of 300. Read more → After "Woman in the Dunes", here's the second Lee Noble track of his magnificent forthcoming split LP with fellow experimentalist Ensemble Economique - the latter's second track to be revealed just receives a simultaneous premiere treatment over at our friends of Decoder. Unlike the first track, "Memory Photo" is considerably more expansive and taps more into the slow-burning drone territory that Lee originally became known for. It is a marvelous affair, gently building up layers and layers of synth that almost aimlessly swirl through time and space, creating and atmosphere of peaceful, quiet bliss that nonetheless hints at something hidden and uncanny. Motion Forever is out June 20 via Hands In The Dark. Pre-order the LP now over here. Limited edition of 300.

Some Ember: “Middle Wave (Yalls Desecration)”.

12 Jun 2012 — Henning Lahmann
Some Ember's excellent Hotel of Lost Light has been out for a little now already, but yesterday the new Yalls remix of album track "Middle Wave" got send our way, a remarkable work as it is not that much of a remix but indeed rather amounts to a dissection of the original, so of course that is something we wouldn't want you to miss. Word is on the street that we can expect some new material by Yalls sometime soon as well, so look out for that. Some Ember's Hotel of Lost Light is out on Crash Symbols. Get it on cassette or digitally over here. Read more → Some Ember's excellent Hotel of Lost Light has been out for a little now already, but yesterday the new Yalls remix of album track "Middle Wave" got send our way, a remarkable work as it is not that much of a remix but indeed rather amounts to a dissection of the original, so of course that is something we wouldn't want you to miss. Word is on the street that we can expect some new material by Yalls sometime soon as well, so look out for that. Some Ember's Hotel of Lost Light is out on Crash Symbols. Get it on cassette or digitally over here.

Video Premiere: Young Wonder - “Lucky One”.

12 Jun 2012 — Tonje Thilesen
Cork, Ireland's pop outfit Young Wonder (which EP is available over at Feel Good Lost Records) was introduced to us last year via our buddy Nialler9, and as we've obviously been great supporters of pretty much everything Feel Good Lost have released on their impressive Vimeo channel so far, there is no way we could say no to yet another first visual view of Young Wonder's beautiful "Lucky One". As always, have a peak below. Read more → Cork, Ireland's pop outfit Young Wonder (which EP is available over at Feel Good Lost Records) was introduced to us last year via our buddy Nialler9, and as we've obviously been great supporters of pretty much everything Feel Good Lost have released on their impressive Vimeo channel so far, there is no way we could say no to yet another first visual view of Young Wonder's beautiful "Lucky One". As always, have a peak below.

Video Premiere: Sofa Club: “Gotta Gotta Gotta”.

12 Jun 2012 — Henning Lahmann
Ultra cool, synth-heavy slacker pop here by Staten Island, New York trio Sofa Club, deliberately placed in that indistinct space right in the middle between honest 80s heyday charts reverence and unabashed irony, not unlike Greatest Hits for that matter. The song "Gotta Gotta Gotta" is particularly delicious, not only sporting some unbelievably catchy hooks but also featuring a sublime keyboard solo by the great Alice Cohen. Watch the appropriately kitschy video below, directed by Marc Maffei. Gotta love those new kids on the block. The Actual Video EP is out now digitally and on limited edition 7 inch vinyl on July 4 via Muscular Records. Get both over here. Golden mic and shades not included. Read more → Ultra cool, synth-heavy slacker pop here by Staten Island, New York trio Sofa Club, deliberately placed in that indistinct space right in the middle between honest 80s heyday charts reverence and unabashed irony, not unlike Greatest Hits for that matter. The song "Gotta Gotta Gotta" is particularly delicious, not only sporting some unbelievably catchy hooks but also featuring a sublime keyboard solo by the great Alice Cohen. Watch the appropriately kitschy video below, directed by Marc Maffei. Gotta love those new kids on the block. The Actual Video EP is out now digitally and on limited edition 7 inch vinyl on July 4 via Muscular Records. Get both over here. Golden mic and shades not included.

Stream: Violet Dream EP.

11 Jun 2012 — Tonje Thilesen
Not many I know have had the opportunity to do their first vinyl release at the age of 16, but the rising producer Johannes Nysveen Vagle aka Violet Dream from Sandnes, Norway might be one of the few, as his debut 10 inch EP Distant Voices, Lonesome Clouds drops on the Norwegian label Sellout! later this week. His smoothly textured, shoegaze-infused pop tunes has met many interesting turns throughout this year, most recently through remixes of NFOP favourites Maribel, as well as Polarstjernen and Mirror Kisses. Have a first listen to the EP below, available for orders via Sellout! soon. Oh and obviously, keep your eyes up for this kid in the future. Read more → Not many I know have had the opportunity to do their first vinyl release at the age of 16, but the rising producer Johannes Nysveen Vagle aka Violet Dream from Sandnes, Norway might be one of the few, as his debut 10 inch EP Distant Voices, Lonesome Clouds drops on the Norwegian label Sellout! later this week. His smoothly textured, shoegaze-infused pop tunes has met many interesting turns throughout this year, most recently through remixes of NFOP favourites Maribel, as well as Polarstjernen and Mirror Kisses. Have a first listen to the EP below, available for orders via Sellout! soon. Oh and obviously, keep your eyes up for this kid in the future.

Video: Perc - “A New Brutality”.

11 Jun 2012 — Henning Lahmann
Mesmerizing, bleak visuals for the title track off Perc's excellent new EP, A New Brutality. All washes of menacing noise and sonic disruptions, the track is an aptly entitled piece of forward-looking proto techno informed by contemporary bass-centered genres, a mind-boggling trip into subconsciously perceived after-hour exasperation. A New Brutality is out June 29 via Perc Trax. Highly recommended. (via) Read more → Mesmerizing, bleak visuals for the title track off Perc's excellent new EP, A New Brutality. All washes of menacing noise and sonic disruptions, the track is an aptly entitled piece of forward-looking proto techno informed by contemporary bass-centered genres, a mind-boggling trip into subconsciously perceived after-hour exasperation. A New Brutality is out June 29 via Perc Trax. Highly recommended. (via)
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