You may have checked ’em out when I posted about them before, so you may have heard Gigamesh’s “People in the World.” And if you have, you may remember hearing a girl’s voice singing. That girl is Nicole Godiva, and she also performs under the name Vague-à-bonde.
In two days, she’ll be releasing her first solo album, called ↓↑ Involution/Evolution. She describes it as “beat-driven bedroom pop. It’s basically Fleetwood Mac meets K-pop.”
Gordon Voidwell teamed up with NYC’s Kids Table production crew for his new track “XO Boyfriend” to create a music video that draws from Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” video. The styling, choreography, set design, and photography all take cues from Whitney’s mid-80’s classic. The homage was filmed in a hot Brooklyn warehouse in the summer of 2011, but GV had been keeping it under wraps until the right moment, which unfortunately arose this week with the untimely passing of the legendary singer.
In regards to the concept of the video, director Steve Pristin says “Gordon Voidwell’s music and style is often compared to artists of the 80’s — rather than fight that notion I wanted to fully embrace it, while paying homage to one of the most iconic musicians and music videos of the 1980’s. Growing up, in my home, Whitney Houston was viewed with a reverence unmatched – she will be deeply missed.”
Gordon Voidwell, who just this past week released his brand new MalcolmXXXMclaren mixtape added, “It’s amazing to think that in 48 short years, Whitney Houston covered the entire range of human emotion through music. From epic love ballads to 808-driven synthpop to gospel music, her voice spoke the complexity and depth of being human. On a selfish level, I’m saddened to think there will never be any new Whitney Houston music. She’s inspired a lot of what i do.”
The High Strung, and especially frontman Josh Malerman, are enthralled with blending fact and fiction. Malerman’s Facebook page declares he worked at “General Faw Faw’s Impossible Meats” in 1852 and that he attended “Fabulous Posture University” for the 95 years leading up to 1902. Because of this, their history and experiences are like big riddles, short puzzles that are as artistic as the albums they’ve made. And of their six albums, none captures this fascination with the absurd better than the new one, rightly called ?Posible o’ Imposible?
When describing how the band formed, Malerman either discusses grade schools and gym classes or, more recently, mental homes, where he says he was a patient and guitarist Stephen Palmer was an orderly, before the two realized they worked well together and busted out.
The rhythm section of Chad Stocker (bass) and Derek Berk (drums) are everything a music fan relishes; explosive, original, and danceable, too. When describing them, Malerman says he can’t remember if they “planted” him or if he planted them but “either way we grew out of the ground and picked each other and presented one another to mother in a vase.”
The songs on ?Posible o’ Imposible? are just as enigmatic. Thinking big is the main thread, but maybe it should be described as “imagining” big. The album is home to many modern characters, most of whom are on the verge of creating a grand spectacle. The hunter who tires of animals and seeks out black holes and planets in “Big Game Hunter”. The man who has toiled in obscurity only to be flooded with opportunities in “On Your Way Up!”. The man who experiences the weather before his peers in “Giant.” And, most notably, the world described in “Rats, Rats, Rats” where “there’s a job opening for a clerk at the Church of Satan” and a “dance tonight at the Church of Raging Hormones.”
The High Strung do not present themselves as ironic; their absurdist scenarios are delivered in a way that reveals they mean it. And the band is on their way up, having scored the theme song for Showtime’s new hit series “Shameless”, starring William H. Macy as an impossibly drunk father.
Live, the band verges on a variety show, traveling hucksters who have, as Malerman says, “between a dozen and two dozen melodies in jars, rhythms too, sentences too, and, on stage, if we get lucky, we open the corresponding jars so the songs make real sense.” The best known document detailing the experience of the band’s live show is a lengthy article in Vanity Fair that covers a two-show trip to Guantanamo Bay where Malerman fell in love with a female soldier, Berk was housed with an over zealous interrogator, and the boys “drank more rum than water.”
The High Strung are a rock band, of this there is no doubt, but one that clearly adores music, successfully injecting all this incredulity, absurdity, and irrationality into ?Posible o’ Imposible? and the shows that will accompany it. It’s the type of album kids will be downloading, illegally or not, as they discuss whether or not it’s true that Berk’s drums talk to him or, as Malerman says, “the first time we practiced together, the very first time we played, the boys all struck a C chord at the same time, without preamble. But I sang a D. And instead of thinking we’d fallen short of some cosmic relationship that was meant to be, I immediately understood we were destined to do something… different.”
In honor of the iconic boxing film’s 35th Anniversary, Native New Yorker Rene Lopez is proving that he is “in his prime” with the release of the new video for “Shing-a-ling Is What I Bring”. Inspired by the movie Rocky, and his determination to succeed, Rene has encompassed the drive and passion of the character as he strives for a KNOCK-OUT album!
This month Rene will be performing at Nublu every Thursday. He will additionally be appearing for a performance at Arlene’s Grocery on February 28th. Rene will be playing old favorites as well as tracks off his latest album, ELS.
ELS stands for Electric Latin Soul, a term Rene has coined for the new style of music he has developed. A mixture of Latin soul and Boogaloo with elements of rock, hip-hop, and R&B – Rene’s sound is one that is distinctly Nuyorican. ELS features co-producers Mario Caldato Jr., a.k.a. Mario C (BeastieBoys, Jack Johnson, Bebel Gilberto) and Jason Lader (Julian Casablancas, JennyLewis), as well as special guests Joey Altruda, and Money Mark (John Butler Trio). The album as a whole is a nod to Rene’s Latin roots, with an eye on modern electronic music and good ol’ rock-and-roll.
A range of four exclusive Gorillaz-inspired Chuck Taylors, plus the next installment of the Converse ‘3 Artists. 1 Song’ project, featuring the assorted talents of Gorillaz, Andre 3000 of Outkast and James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem/DFA Records.
Their track “DoYaThing” will be available for free via www.converse.com on February 23rd, with a brand new brain-melting Gorillaz video directed by Jamie Hewlett following on February 29th.
Murdoc says:
“I like the whole Three Artists. One Song idea. Gorillaz are all about collaboration, aren’t we, so it seemed like a perfect fit”.
Check out what else Murdoc had to say here. It’s pretty entertaining and don’t worry, contrary to some worry on part of the commenters, Murdoc isn’t going to die.
If you consider “pop” a dirty word, Telephoned are the filthiest act you’ll hear all year. Somehow, frontwoman Maggie Horn and producer / DJ Sammy Bananas still manage to turn even the guiltiest of radio pleasures into indie-approved party jams we can all be proud of. Ring Ring is their first EP of originals on Fool’s Gold, harnessing the good-time energy of the group’s cover-heavy mixtapes and live sets to fuel three brand new songs that gleefully hopscotch from new-wave inspired r&b (“Last Time”) to shuffling funky house (“The Vow”) and the title track’s roller rink disco vibes. There is a smoke machine. Get involved…
Telephoned will be celebrating the release tonight with a live performance at Hotel Chantelle in NYC, showing off the moves they honed opening Chromeo’s sold-out Business Casual tour, and the infectious stage presence Pitchfork called “the most fun thing we saw at SXSW.” Win Win (Vice) and Skinny Friedman will also be DJing the party.
New York City’s psychedelic rock beast Spirit Animal has announced plans for their next full-length album, Spiritia Animalia, which will see a release later this year. Today, the band is sharing the first single, “Crocodile Skins,” which is available as a free download through the band’s soundcloud page, along with an album teaser video featuring studio footage of the band at work on Spiritia Animalia. Onstage, Spirit Animal is at once manic and precise, with a non-stop show full of big solos, tight grooves, wild sing-along moments and sweat-drenched performances. Check out this recent live footage from Mercury Lounge for an idea of what their live show is like! With mixing underway on their follow-up full length, Spiritia Animalia is poised to deliver the back-breaking rock and shit-kicking funk missing from the modern music landscape. The band, led by Steve Cooper, has already drawn comparisons to LCD Soundsystem and Animal Collective for their blend of irresistible hooks and riffs, complimented by the bands’ tight rhythm section. Add in a healthy dose of frontman freakout, and you have Spirit Animal.
In 2010, the band released their debut LP, The Cost of Living, a unique and powerful blend of rock, psychedelia and dance. The album garnered broad radio play and earned them placements on ABC’s “Happy Endings” and FOX’s “New Girl.” The band recently released a 7-inch for “I’m Around” on Mecca Lecca Recording Co. The video was also used in an HBO “How to Make It In America” promo.
In the spirit of all things amorous, cynical Texan artist, The Wealthy West, aka Brandon Kinder of indie rock band The Rocketboys, is offering a free download of “Love Is Not Enough” from his Volume 1 EP.
The Wealthy West will perform at Swan Dive in Austin, TX on March 30th. Brandon is also in the studio with his band The Rocketboys who are working on their next studio album, due out later this year.
I got a chance to have some burning questions answered by the band, Walk Off The Earth, who recently appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to perform their cover of Gotye‘s “Somebody I Used To Know,” (which I posted a few weeks ago, but in case you haven’t seen it…here it is).
And here’s their performance on Ellen:
Walk Off The Earth is made of 5 people: Gianni, Marshall, Taylor, Joel and Sarah. So, with out further adieu, here we go:
MA: How did the 5 of you come together?
Sarah: 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5! Voila! That’s us!
MA: Any story behind the name ‘Walk Off The Earth’?
Gianni: The band name we liked because when we make music we want it to take people away from the everyday. We want people to walk off the earth and in to the happiest place in their minds.
Sarah: Throwing instruments, jumping on trampolines, singing, making music and dancing.
MA: Favorite TV shows, past or present?
Sarah: The Muppet Show.
MA: Weird superstitions you use or abide by?
Sarah: I make wishes in to those fluffy flowers in the summer and blow them in to the air genuinely believing they will come true as long as no one else wishes on that one.
MA: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Sarah: Making other music. I don’t know. I teach yoga as well.
MA: Taylor, do you love the ‘Epic Beard Guy’ persona? AND, do you have and wear the tee shirt?
Taylor: Um…well I guess it’s alright. I don’t wear the shirt but I know some people do enjoy it from time to time.
MA: Where would you like to be in 3 years time?
Sarah: Playing a rock show in outer space.
MA: Favorite thing Ellen said to you last week?
Sarah: “Well it’s a good thing you don’t play ukelele.”
MA: Plans you have going down in the next 2 weeks?
Gianni: We are writing and recording a bunch of new stuff. Releasing a couple new videos and songs!
Musically Amusing 