Listen/download: Arcade Fire – We Exist (Night Drive Edit)
Monthly Archives: December 2013
Victory – “Soothing Me So” (Enso Remix)
Victory is the music project of LA artist Robert Fleming, who crafts sun-bleached rock & roll with a pop edge. His debut LP, Victory Is Music, was released earlier this year, and he followed it up last week with his Soothing Me So EP. The EP contains the album version of the single, two brand new remixes, and a special cover track.
Now, check out house/dance producers Enso (who have done remixes for Sleigh Bells, Icky Blossoms, etc.) who’s remixed his single “Soothing Me So,” turning it into a dancefloor banger.
Listen/download: Victory – “Soothing Me So” (Enso Remix)
Brand New: Phantogram – “Fall In Love”
Phantogram have set February 18, 2014 as the release date for their forthcoming new album, Voices.
This is the critically acclaimed New York duo’s first major-label full-length, and it’s already shaping up to be one of the most anticipated albums of the new year. The pre-order for Voices went live yesterday
Moreover, fans who pre-order from iTunes will receive an instant download of the band’s brand new single “Fall In Love”, which is also available at other digital retailers today, and as the A-side of a limited-edition 7″ vinyl single at physical retailers in early 2014.
Before the official radio add date, “Fall In Love” is already captivating radio gatekeepers and fans alike. Its effect proved so powerful that multiple stations in major markets added the song into early rotation. Over the past week “Fall In Love” has become the most-added track at Alternative Radio, and it continues to rise. Feedback has been just as astounding.
The song itself sees duo Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter craft a cerebral and charismatic gateway into the record’s lush landscapes and entrancing lyricism. It’s elegant electronic alternative pop fortified by hip-hop futurism and electro soul. You’ll instantly fall for it.
Phantogram will be performing on the West Coast during the week of the record’s release, making the following stops:
02.20.14 Oakland, CA Fox Theatre
02.22.14 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern Theatre
02.23.14 Ventura, CA Ventura Theatre
Voices follows up the group’s celebrated self-titled EP, which spawned the track “Black Out Days”. Phantogram performed the song on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in the midst of a triumphant fall tour that saw the pair and their live band headline numerous sold-out houses as well as an unforgettable performance at the historic Hollywood Bowl supporting M83.
Recorded in Los Angeles with co-producer John Hill (Santigold, MIA), Voices resounds immortally. Phantogram‘s full-length debut Eyelid Movies [2010, Barsuk] and Nightlife EP [2011, Barsuk] established them as one of music’s most intriguing indie outfits. Soon, the likes of The Flaming Lips and Big Boi [Outkast] began seeking them out for studio collaborations. Republic Records also recognized their spirit and joined forces with them in 2013.
Filed under Awesome, Highly Anticipated, listen, new albums
Listen: Dr. Dog – Oh My Christmas Tree EP
Today, Dr. Dog will release a collection of four delightfully weird and heartfelt original Christmas songs. The EP is entitled Oh My Christmas Tree and was initially intended as a gift to the band’s family and friends. Fortunately for the rest of us, the group has decided to make the songs public.
In keeping with the holiday spirit, 100% of artist proceeds from this digital only benefit EP will be donated to Feeding America, the nationwide network of food banks that feeds more than 37 million people, including nearly 14 million children, and leads the nation in the fight against hunger.
As Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken explains “Last year, in 2012, I wrote these songs and recorded them in two different kitchens over the course of the two weeks leading up to Christmas. I made them with the intent to mail them to some of my friends and family as a christmas present. It wound up being a great gift to myself! The experience definitely showed me once again that stopping to pay closer attention to what things mean, even seemingly familiar things, always brings an added depth and beauty to life. And always in a surprising way. Christmas music can be so playful and fantastical but it can also be very melancholy and foreboding. To me thats the best. The spirit can guide you to balance and the spirit can be found anywhere you choose to look. In the cartoons and in the cold blood. In the wild imagination and in the strictest tradition. These four songs will ultimately live as that reminder for me and hopefully they serve you in some way too. You, the child of wonder. You, of age and grace. Peace be with ye.”
Dr. Dog, whose high energy live shows the New York Times Magazine recently described as “feeling as if you’re at the best house party ever” will begin a North American headline tour this January in support of their soulful new album B- Room, which Magnet proclaimed “Dr. Dog’s career-defining work” and All Music called “a beautifully crafted slice of psych-pop goodness.”
Dr. Dog Tour Dates:
1/24/14 – University Theatre – New York, NY
1/25/14 – Terminal 5 – New York, NY
1/27/13 – Town Ballroom – Buffalo, NY
1/28/14 – Higher Ground – Burlington, VT
1/29/14 – Cabaret Mile-End – Montreal
1/31/14 – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA
2/01/14 – Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA
2/03/14 – Madison Theatre – Cincinnati, OH
2/05/14 – Turner Hall – Milwaukee, WI
2/06/14 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
2/07/14 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
2/08/14 – Riviera Theatre – Chicago, IL
2/19/14 – Civic Theatre – New Orleans, LA
2/20/14 – Warehouse Live – Houston, TX
2/21/14 – Stubb’s – Austin, TX
2/22/14 – House of Blues – Dallas, TX
2/24/14 – Crescent – Phoenix, AZ
2/25/14 – Crescent – Phoenix, AZ
2/26/14 – The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
2/27/14 – Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA
2/28/14 – The Catalyst – Santa Cruz, CA
3/1/14 – Warfield Theatre – San Francisco, CA
3/3/14 – Crystal Ballroom – Portland, OR
3/4/14 – The Venue, Vancouver, BC
3/5/14 – Neptune Theatre – Seattle, WA
3/7/14 – The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
3/8/14 – Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO
3/10/14 – Liberty Hall – Lawrence, KS
3/11/14 – Slowdown – Omaha, NE
3/12/14 – The Pageant – St. Louis, MO
3/14/14 – 9:30 Club – Washington, DC
Meiko – “Wonderful Christmastime”
L.A.-based singer-songwriter MEIKO has recorded a remake of the Paul McCartney holiday classic, “Wonderful Christmastime”, and has made the track available as a free download on her website, http://www.meikomusic.com
Meiko will perform an online concert, viewable worldwide, via Stageit.com on Sunday, December 15 at 2PM (PST). A portion of the proceeds from this ‘pay what you can’ performance will be donated to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The New Royales Cover “Fell In Love With A Girl”
The New Royales have a background as interesting as the music they create together. The band will release Freedom’s For The Brave: The Mixtape on January 14th – an album of covers featuring some of their various influences, including tracks by Depeche Mode, The Zombies, Jefferson Airplane & more.
Having previously unveiled their interpretation of The Monks’ classic, “Drugs In My Pocket“ The New Royales drop their irresistible take on The White Stripes’ “Fell In Love With A Girl”.
Download: The New Royales – “Fell In Love With A Girl”
The New Royales band member Liz Rodrigues recently lent her voice to Eminem’s latest hit, “Survival.” 2-time GRAMMY winning (4-time nominated) producer, DJ Khalil, has worked with the likes of Jay Z, Dr. Dre, Drake, Kendrick Lamar & Aloe Blacc, whose hit “Wake Me Up” is currently #1 on the iTunes R&B chart and featured in a national Beats by Dre campaign with Kevin Garnett & Colin Kapernic. In addition, DJ Khalil and Liz, along with Canadian multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Erik Alcock & Chin Injeti, have co-written with Pink on her 5 million albums sold, The Truth About Love, Pitbull’s Can’t Stop Me Now & Eminem‘s new hit record Marshall Mathers LP 2 (“Survival”), which debuted at #1 on the iTunes album chart.
Hailing from separate parts of the world; Liz (Portuguese), Erik (English Canadian), Chin (East Indian) & DJ Khalil (African American), The New Royales’ diverse makeup lends a hand in the uniqueness of their sound, pushing their own musical boundaries whilst still remaining a cohesive unit.
Their diverse backgrounds and unifying passion and respect for music has led to a sound that is eclectic and futuristic with a twist of the past.
Musically Amusing 