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Posts Tagged 'Electronic'

Netherfriends – “Bloomington, IN”

Published 02/26/2012 Netherfriends 2 Comments
Tags: Electronic, Indie Pop, Pop

It seems like Netherfriends, aka Shawn Rosenblatt, is a non-stop pop machine, either from his extensive touring across the US or his constant writing. His newest album, Middle America, is the first album of us 50 States 50 Songs project, where he visits and writes a song about a city in every state. “Bloomington, IN” is the second track on the album which shows off Rosenblatt’s sensitive indie-pop tendencies and tribal undertones, and assures us that “everybody wants to have a good time.” Middle America will be out on Kilo Records digitally, and you can hear the entire album from on Netherfriends’ website.

Radio People – “A Vague Year”

Published 08/04/2011 Radio People 1 Comment
Tags: Ambient, Drone, Electronic

STREAM: || A Vague Year ||

I previously posted about Radio People’s upcoming album on Mexican Summer, and now you can hear a track from Hazel courtesy of Altered Zones. Much like a slow-builder from his other project, Mist, “A Vague Year” proofs to be a melodic, sky-high prog venture that feels like it should’ve been on the soundtrack for Apollo 13. Hazel will be out on August 23 and you can preorder from Mexican Summer now.

Radio People LP on Mexican Summer in July

Published 06/15/2011 Mist , Radio People 1 Comment
Tags: Ambient, Drone, Electronic

Cleveland electronic-guru Sam Goldberg is a popular guy within the ambient/drone scene right now. Only a couple weeks after the release of his collaborative effort with Emeralds’ John Elliott, Mist’s House, Sam’s solo project, Radio People, has an upcoming album release on the always popular Mexican Summer. The LP, called Hazel, will be out on July 27th. More word to come when tracks are released and a preorder is available.

Mist – “Twin Lanes”

Published 03/21/2011 Mist 2 Comments
Tags: Drone, Electronic

Genre: Drone, Electronic
Year: 2011
Location: Cleveland, OH
Label: Spectrum Spools

MP3: || “Twin Lanes” ||

Chances are, you’ve listened to one of the projects of the men who make up Mist. John Elliott, of Emeralds/Outer Space/Imaginary Softwoods, and Sam Goldberg, of Radio People, have teamed up once again for Mist’s upcoming sophomore album, House. “Twin Lanes” is the opener for the album, and it displays a perfect balance of Elliot’s epic and deep loops alongside Goldberg’s colorful synth lines. The track hints at something really special once House comes around in May. The album will be out on Edition Mego’s side label Spectrum Spools, which coincidently enough is ran by John Elliott. Preorder the 2xLP right here.

Birthdays – “Howolding Girls”

Published 12/10/2010 Birthdays Leave a Comment
Tags: Electronic, Pop

Genre: Electronic, Pop, Synth-Pop
Year: 2010
Location: Boston, MA
Label: Fire Talk Records
MySpace

MP3: || “Howolding Girls” ||

Here’s the newest 7″ from Colorado’s Fire Talk Records, showcasing the electro solo project of Bostonian Samuel Yager and his glitchy synth-pop blast “Howolding Girls.” Limited to 300 copies, the 7″ is up for pre-order right here.

We Are Hex – “Birthplace of the Mystics (Brainbheats REMIX)”

Published 12/06/2010 We Are Hex Leave a Comment
Tags: Electronic, Post-Punk

Genre: Post-Punk, Dark Pop, Noise Pop
Year: 2010
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Label: Roaring Colonel Records
MySpace

MP3: || “Birthplace of the Mystics (Brainbheats REMIX)” ||

Indianapolis dark-pop quartet We Are Hex released a remix album last month via BandCamp. Check out the Brainbheats glitchy remix of Hail The Goer opener “Birthplace of the Mystics,” or go over their BandCamp and download the 5-track album.

Glitter Bones – “Love Before Breakfast”

Published 12/03/2010 Glitter Bones Leave a Comment
Tags: Chillwave, Electronic, Pop, Psychedelic

Genre: Electronic, Psychedelic, Pop, Chillwave
Year: 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Label: Self-Released
Myspace

MP3: || “Love Before Breakfast” ||

“Love Before Breakfast” is a track from the forthcoming and highly anticipated album of Chicago’s Glitter Bones. No word on a release date yet, but this Toro Y Moi-ish psychedelic ride will hold you over until it drops.

Also, here’s a live video of the trio at Schubas playing one of the best songs this year, “Glow In The Dark.”

Guilty Ghosts – Enigma Variations

Published 09/29/2010 Guilty Ghosts 3 Comments
Tags: Ambient, Drone, Electronic, Lo-fi, Post-Rock

Genre: Electronic, Lo-Fi, Drone, Ambient, Post-Rock
Year: 2010
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Label: WORDS+DREAMS TAPES
MySpace

01. Mists & Tides
02. Renée
03. Kodachrome (Demo)
04. The Canal
05. || “Top Prize Fighter” ||

Guilty Ghosts is the one-man bedroom project of Tristan O’Donnell, a Brooklyn boy at heart. On his MySpace, he self-describes, “His music fuses somber washes of drone guitar with minimalist drum programming, creating a unique style of lo-fi instrumental bedroom pop. Guilty Ghosts’ songs are the kind fit for rainy days, everlasting evenings, and melancholy moments in solitude.” Enigma Variations is his debut cassette release on WORDS+DREAMS, also out of Brooklyn, NY. Download the whole tape above (click on the album art), or You can pick up the tape for a mega-cheap $5 either from the WORDS+DREAMS site, or from Guilty Ghosts’ Big Cartel. Keep a lookout for an upcoming cassette release of Chicagoans Glitter Bones’ Amulet Calls EP from the same tape label!

Check out the score he did for the 1988 anime film Akira.

nihiti – “the return of kind ropes”/”black cars (a sinistra)” from other people’s memories

Published 09/24/2010 nihiti 1 Comment
Tags: Electronic, Pop, Psychedelic

Genre: Electronic, Psychedelic, Dark Pop
Year: 2010
Location: NYC
Label: Lo Bit Landscapes
MySpace

MP3: || “the return of kind ropes” ||

MP3: || “black cars (a sinistra)” ||

nihiti is a mysterious project out of NYC, dipping into multiple areas of sound including heavy electronica, black psychedelia, and jazz. Earlier this year, nihiti took a trip to Berlin, to play alongside artist Viktor Timofeev at Exit Festival and a ton of DIY/bunker spaces. other people’s memories is their latest album, and takes multiple listens to completely envelop each complicated layer of music. Check out two tracks from the album below, the jazz-infused dark pop “the return of kind ropes” and the IDM-ish loopy psychedelic jam “black cars (a sinistra).” other people’s memories will be getting its release on 10/10/10 from Lo Bit Landscapes, and that should include a vinyl release. No word on where to pick it up outside of the release party, but in the meantime, check out this live video with a special appearance from the NYPD.

BIGCOLOUR – Centuries of Summer

Published 09/13/2010 BIGCOLOUR 1 Comment
Tags: Chillwave, Electronic, Psychedelic

Genre: Electronic, Psychedelic, Chillwave, Surf
Year: 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Label: GYPSY ANCESTRY
Myspace

01. doll talk
02. water baby
03. nostalgic ataraxy
04. books on novels
05. salte ciclo
06. red silk bow

A few months back, in late June, I brought you a project called BIGCOLOUR and their newest EP, Meshes of the Laughternoon. Chicagoan Brian Brissart wasted no time to record and release new music, as he released Centuries of Summer just a few weeks ago. Centuries takes on a similar tone as Meshes, with mega-hazy minimalism and chill psych-jams all around his far-away vocals. Click on the album art to download the EP in its entirety. Also, check out the sweet write-ups Brian got from Weekly Tape Deck and Altered Zones, as well as the amazingly shot video for “red silk bow” below.

P.S. For you Indiana people, look out for a BIGCOLOUR show in the near future.

Glitter Bones – Amulet Calls EP

Published 08/06/2010 Glitter Bones 3 Comments
Tags: Chillwave, Electronic, Pop, Psychedelic

Genre: Electronic, Psychedelic, Pop, Chillwave
Year: 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Label: Self-Released
Myspace

01. Worship Walls
02. Ceremonial Secrets
03. Kissing The Witch
04. 10:07/Amulet Calls

If I was making some kind of The Noise Is all-star baseball team, Glitter Bones would be my lead-off batter. Quite a year these guys are having, with a stellar EP in Returning The Magic, an upcoming vinyl release, a full-length in sight, but right now Amulet Calls. Pretty much announcing and releasing this EP overnight, Glitter Bones dropped their second EP on July 15th. Their formula hasn’t changed much, but it feels more bigger, dancier, and hazier than ever, and you’d be doing yourself wrong by missing the underwater jam “Ceremonial Secret,” and six-minute “Kissing The Witch.” Word on the street is that this EP is gonna get a release on cassette from Word+Dreams in the coming future, more info when it comes out. Also, check out this interview I did with the band a few weeks ago.

Spirituals – Spirituals

Published 07/26/2010 Spirituals Leave a Comment
Tags: Electronic, Jazz

Genre: Electronic, Jazz
Year: 2010
Location: Jackson, MS
Label: Waaga Records
MySpace

01. Wanderings
02. Pilsner
03. Danny’s Xylophone
04. Emoto
05. City With Soul
06. Open Ears
07. Manzanita
08. Sermons
09. Every Head Bowed, Every Eye Closed
10. Virginia
11. You Would’ve Faked It (Non-Album Bonus Track)

Spirituals is the moniker of Jackson, MS-native, jazz lover, and electronic genius, Tyler Tadlock. His debut album is a sexual fusion of pseudo-jazz and sample-heavy IDM, with a result that’s nothing short of perfection. Opening track “Wanderings” moves progressively through glitchy synth-based samplings and a drum-n-bongo beatmaker, but leads into perhaps my favorite track, “Pilsner,” where the jazz influence is beyond evident. Beginning with a few measures of sly drumming, Tadlock builds it into a cohesive flow of xylophones and sax samples. Also included here is non-album track, “You Would’ve Faked It,” a Stereogum-loved floating gem that really should have made the cut. Expect ten tracks of electro-jazz beauty on Spirituals, a mind-massaging experience, much like if Flying Lotus took some ritalin and then ate a bunch of lemon-lime popsicles. Waaga Records dropped Spirituals on June 22nd digitally and no news of a physical release, but will be releasing a remix EP for “Wanderings” on August 24th.

BIGCOLOUR – Meshes of the Laughternoon

Published 06/27/2010 BIGCOLOUR 2 Comments
Tags: Chillwave, Electronic, Experimental, Psychedelic

Genre: Electronic, Experimental, Psychedelic, Chillwave, Surf
Year: 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Label: GYPSY ANCESTRY
Myspace

01. stork
02. wallaby thy name
03. booboo nest
04. crevasses
05. power stranger
06. skipping the thousand white
07. made of phlegm

BIGCOLOUR is the one-man electro-psych project of Chicagoan Brian Brissart. I stumbled upon Brissart’s project through his good friends, Glitter Bones, as they collaborate and play shows all the time. BIGCOLOUR’s new EP, Meshes of the Laughternoon, is nothing but hazy summer music pushing the “chillwave” movement one big step farther. The EP isn’t typical 80s-wave nostalgia though, its more like if Toro Y Moi and Real Estate raised a polite Midwestern kid. Tracks like opener “stork”, tropical “booboo nest”, and drone-y “power stranger” get freakishly expansive for tracks on any EP, and will have you coming back for weeks. I can’t seem to find any physical release information, but you can find the lyrics to all these songs from his BandCamp.

Hooray For Earth – Momo

Published 06/16/2010 Hooray For Earth 1 Comment
Tags: Electronic, Indie Rock, Psychedelic

Genre: Indie Rock, Electronic, Psychedelic
Year: 2010
Location: NYC
Label: Dovecote Records
MySpace

01. || “Surrounded by Your Friends” ||

02. || “Comfortable, Comparable” ||

03. Get Home
04. Scaling
05. Form
06. Rolling/Nectarine

In the past couple weeks, Hooray For Earth’s Momo EP has really been a joy to my ear. I saw them open for Surfer Blood and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and they put on a strong and demanding performance. Their sound is somewhat undefinabl cause it pulls from an assortment of eras and sounds. ”Surrounded By Your Friends”, their song floating around mp3 blogs, is an interesting blend of vintage indie rock and modern bright electronics. The track that has been hugely sticking with me and is climbing up my favorite tracks of the year is “Comfortable, Comparable”. It’s early off-tempo keyboards set up for a highly catchy tune roaring with 80′s nostalgia from the retro-synth and guitar lines. It could easily replace Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me” at the end scene of The Breakfast Club. ”Get Home” and “Scaling” are somewhat forgettable songs, but things pick back up with big-beat track “Form”, and “Rolling/Nectarine” comfortably ends Momo with more 80′s love. You can preorder this EP from Insound for a cheap ten bucks, being released by New York label Dovecote Records! I highly recommend doing so cause I picked it up at the show, and it’s on sweet clear vinyl! And because Lucy commented on the Insound page for the EP saying, “This EP is like having an orgasm on repeat. Infinite pleasure!!” She nailed it!

UPDATE:

|| “Comfortable, Comparable (Chairlift Remix)” ||

Glitter Bones – Remixes

Published 06/10/2010 Glitter Bones Leave a Comment
Tags: Chillwave, Electronic, Pop, Psychedelic

Genre: Electronic, Psychedelic, Pop
Year: 2010
Location: Chicago, IL
Label: SVN SNS RCRDS
Myspace

01. Black Rain, Black Horse (McKenzie Toma Remix)
02. Lady Daydream (Twin Sister Remix)

Much buzz is stirring the camp of psych-pop Chicagoans Glitter Bones. The biggest and best news is their recent pair-up with Paris label SVN SNS RCRDS. Glitter Bones’ beautiful EP, Returning The Magic, is going to be getting a vinyl release from the French label. The EP could not fit onto a 7″, so they decided to DELUXE the EP into a 12″ and include two new songs and two remixes with the EP, as well as remastered versions of the original tracks. One of the remixes on the EP will be “Black Rain, Black Horse”, a track from a fellow Chicago friend McKenzie Toma, so check out the folk turned hazy pop track. Also included is their non-EP remix of Twin Sister’s “Lady Daydream”, another super sweet remix dripping with swirly distorted synths. No official word on a release date for the 12″, but I’ve been hearing it will be around September. I will be sure to keep y’all updated!

Elite Gymnastics – REAL FRIENDS

Published 05/26/2010 Elite Gymnastics 1 Comment
Tags: Chillwave, Electronic, Indie Pop

Genre: Indie Pop, Electronic, Chillwave
Year: 2010
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Label: Psychedelic Surf Club
MySpace

01. We Fly High
02. If U Love Me
03. Real Friends
04. Is This On Me?

Elite Gymnastics is a chillwave duo from Minneapolis, power dancing right into the summer. From what I can tell, REAL FRIENDS is their first music ever recorded and released, so make sure you grab this early. Opener “We Fly High” places confident yet awkward spoken word amidst refreshing back beats. Title track “Real Friends” is the main attraction; swirling surfer synths, bright drum machines, tropical beats, and mid-song breakdowns will have you coming back to this song for months. This is first release for Psychedelic Surf Club, but no word on a physical release yet. Stay tuned for that!

Holy Fuck – Latin

Published 04/25/2010 Holy Fuck 3 Comments
Tags: Electronic, Experimental

Genre: Experimental, Electronic, Instrumental
Year: 2010
Location: Toronto, Canada
Label: Young Turks
Myspace

01. MD
02. Red Lights
03. Latin America
04. Stay Lit
05. Silva & Grimes
06. SHT MTN
07. Stilettos
08. Lucky
09. P.I.G.S.

After 2007′s amazing LP, three straight years of tours and festivals, and a lineup finally in-stone, Holy Fuck come back in 2010 with their third album, Latin. Before I say anything about the album itself, let it be known LP was a favorite of mine for a long time and Latin is already beginning to pass it. I thought it was going to be extremely hard for them to top their past effort but they have seemingly done it with ease. The biggest change from LP is that Holy Fuck have definitely developed a more mature and serious tone for Latin, assuming hundreds of shows and a finally steady lineup have helped that. That’s not to say they don’t have anymore dance epics like “Super Inuit” and “The Pulse”, the album still pours them out. Tracks “Red Lights” and “Latin America” still show Holy Fuck at their best, along with a much fuller sound than I think they have every hit before. Latin will be out early May and you can preorder it from Beggars Group in the US, and Rough Trade in UK, and it will come with a CD of four non-album tracks! Sounds like a deal!

Bear In Heaven – Wholehearted Mess EP 12″

Published 04/21/2010 Bear In Heaven 3 Comments
Tags: Electronic, Psychedelic

Genre: Psychedelic, Electronic
Year: 2009
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Label: Hometapes
Myspace

01. Wholehearted Mess
02. Wholehearted Mess (Pink Skull remix)
03. Wholehearted Mess (Max Branslokker remix)
04. Wholehearted Mess (Arclike’s Dugout Version)

I’ve had multiple opportunities to get this 12″, but every time I pass it by. Well it looks like that’s going to change soon, because I finally heard the remixes of “Wholehearted Mess”, from 2009′s Beast Rest Forth Mouth, and they are cool as shit! The Pink Skull remix doesn’t stray too far from the tone of the album version, but cranks the reverb on the synths. The dance party starts with the B-side remix by Berlin-based DJ Max Branslokker, making Bear In Heaven boogie down with funky guitars, latin drums, and 80s-loving synth runs. Arclike’s Dugout’s version rounds out the sweet remixes with a minimalist’s view on “Wholehearted Mess”. Limited to 1000 red vinyl (as you can see), you can order a copy from Hometapes for $12 w/ shipping.

UPDATE: Since the time that I wrote this, I bought the 12″! Woohoo!

Endless Endless Endless – Things I Saw 3″

Published 03/12/2010 Endless Endless Endless Leave a Comment
Tags: Drone, Electronic, Noise

Genre: Electronic, Drone, Noise
Year: 2010
Location: New York/New Jersey
Label: Kimberly Dawn Records
Website

01. North
02. South
03. West
04. Things I Saw

Last year, one of the best artist submissions I got was Endless Endless Endless, with their Black Talisman tape/CDR. I’m glad they kept in touch with me, as this is their first effort of 2010. Here is a quick bio of the Things I Saw 3″ that they sent me, “The new Endless Endless Endless release is now available on Kimberly Dawn Recordings. This new recording captures the energy of the band’s recording process of gameboy, guitar, and go, two musicians performing on a single take. All 4 of the tracks on this cdr were improvised and recorded at a single session. The first 3 songs (“North”, “South” and “West”) are all sections of a single jam while the last song, “Things I Saw”, revisits the thematic ideas of the first three songs as a hypnotic rhythmic cycle.” All of this is pretty unbelievable, especially the single session part. Listening to this, you would never get any idea that it took them one session to record this. The music is fluid and never sounds out of place for a second. “North” and “South” are short and quick, “West” ends with beautiful glitches all around, and the title track, “Things I Saw” is the noisy gloomy end-all to an excellent release from this duo. This EP was released on 50 hand-stamped CDRs from Kimberly Dawn Records, but those have since sold-out. From their most recent post, it looks like they will be getting more in at some point, so keep checking.

Lemonade – Pure Moods EP / Tanlines – Settings EP

Published 03/10/2010 Lemonade , Tanlines 8 Comments
Tags: Dance, Electronic, Pop

Lemonade – Pure Moods EP

Genre: Electronic, Dance, Jungle Pop
Year: 2010
Location: San Fran, CA
Label: True Panther Sounds
Lemonade Myspace

01. Banana Republic
02. Lifted
03. Underwater Sonics
04. Remain In Jah
05. Sunsplash

Tanlines – Settings EP

Genre: Electronic, Dance, Jungle Pop
Year: 2010
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Label: True Panther Sounds
Tanlines Myspace

01. Reinfo
02. Real Life
03. Three Trees
04. Policy Of Trust
05. Bees
06. Z

Here comes a double dosage of incredible music from True Panther Sounds. Both of these EPs couldn’t come at a better time, just when it starts to get really really nice outside. Pure Moods and Settings are very similar in some cases, but at the same time show big differences. They both sound like they came out of a jungle dance scene, filled with steel drums, maracas, and just about any tropical instrument you could imagine. Pure Moods is a more poppy release, but I’m not saying that Settings isn’t poppy, it just does it in a different way. There’s a lot more instrumental parts on Settings, creating a fun atmosphere of synths, guitar effects, and electro-beats. I think the point of both EPs is to go outside and dance, so do it! And for the record, “Banana Republic” might be my favorite song of 2010 so far. These EPs released yesterday, and you can pick up both of these 12″ from True Panther through the Matador Store. Also, both Lemonade and Tanlines are playing the True Panther SXSW showcase along with The Morning Benders and Delorean, so definitely go check that out if you’re gonna be down there

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