Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez
“This New York dance orchestra was churning out period-perfect disco homages years before Daft Punk got lucky. – Rolling Stone
“ …a righteous blast of expertly engineered soul, funk, and, yes, disco.” – SPIN
“ …even their four-minute songs feeling like dance-floor epics.“ – The New York Times
“it’s a rollicking collection of era-spanning anthems” – The New Yorker
“The best New York disco tracks since West End Records’ early-‘80s heyday.” – Pitchfork
“Their sound is deeply rooted in classic disco, that strain of glossy, decadent dance music that the city churned out at a coke-fueled pace throughout the 1970s and into the ’80s…” – The Village Voice
Escort’s new single, “If You Say So” is the soundtrack for your sun drenched West Coast block party. Written with MNDR, “If You Say So” melds the funkier side of ‘70s AOR with Escort’s own aesthetic of classic dance music into a bleach blonde head nodder. It’s the undiscovered love child of Stevie Nicks and Larry Levan. A secret tryst between Darryl Hall and Jean Carn. By embracing the legacy of these forward-thinking but classic acts, Escort have managed to create something strikingly new. The “If You Say So” single will be released on October 21 via Escort Records and features a house take on St. Vincent’s modern classic “Actor Out of Work” featuring the soaring vocals of Adeline Michèle.
Filed under listen
Du Tonc share their third mixtape today, maintaining their exploration into the sounds of the late night, layering disco, house, and acid. The duo, made up of Matt Van Schie (of Van She) and Mighty Mouse, continue to collaborate in the studio, preparing to unveil new material very soon.
Until then, go check out and download the mixtape!
Listen/download: Du Tonc – Mixtape 3
Tracklist for Mixtape 3:
1. Jagwar Ma – Uncertainty (Ewan Pearson Remix) [Marathon]
2. Blamma Blamma feat Kristina Train – Zsa Zsa (Eelke Kleijns After The After Remix)
3. Moullinex – To Be Clear (Kraak & Smaak Remix)
4. Tensnake – Love Sublime ft. Fiora amp Nile Rodgers (Ewan Pearson Remix)
5. Freeform Five feat. Róisín Murphy – Leviathan
6. Luma – John Broadwood (Original Mix)
7. Mark Linn – Reel_Silly (Original Mix)
8. Sanfuentes – Heatwave (Silver Light Remix)
9. Jimmy Edgar – Strike (Original Mix)
10. Good Guy Mikesh – Filburt Place Of Love (Maceo Plex Edit)
11. Mighty Mouse – Shaker Faker
12. Dillon Francis feat TEED-Without You (Chordashian Remix)
Click image to listen to “Barbarians”
NYC’s Escort, founded by Eugene Cho and Dan Balis and fronted by the enormous vocals of lead singer Adeline Michèle, delivers a danceable blend of disco, funk & soul that pays homage to the classics while remaining fresh and modern. Hot off the heels of their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album, the ensemble will release a new package for their single Barbarians, complete with remixes from CSS, Rance Muhammitz and an Extended Dub.
Brimming with disco-infused riffs and tribal beats, the irresistibly catchy chorus effortlessly commands you to “stand up” and move.
Dubbed one of the “Best Albums of 2012” by both SPIN and Rolling Stone, Escort will kick off an international tour with a hometown throw-down at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg, making stops in Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles & more.
Escort On Tour
5/24: Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
6/14: Chicago, IL @ Taste of Randolph Street
6/15: Chicago, IL @ The Hideout, Chicago (DJ Set)
7/19: Linz, Austria @ Castle Clam
7/20: Vienna, Austria @ Nova Jazz & Blues Night
7/21: Oeiras Portugal @ Cool Jazz Fest
7/26: Toronto, CA, Toronto’s Festival of Beer w/De La Soul
8/9: Claverlack, NY @ The Big Up Festival
8/20: Los Angeles, CA @ Check Yo Ponytail, The Echoplex
Fresh off a stint of global arena domination, internationally renowned electronic duo, Justice, have announced that a new five-song EP “Helix” is due out digitally on January 8th on Ed Banger/Because/Elektra/Vice. The EP’s title track is an extended version of the song from the band’s last full length Audio, Video, Disco in addition to exclusive remixes by Domenico Torti and Gesaffelstein, and album cuts “Ohio” and “Presence” (which appeared on the album as a hidden track). Full tracklisting below. The weekend prior to the EP release the duo will be performing a DJ set on board the second annual HARD HOLY SHIP music cruise.
HELIX EP TRACKLIST
Filed under listen
“… this collection of dancefloor-ready electro-soul, funk and disco tracks has been a long time coming.” – WNYC
“Untethered from disco’s four-to-the-floor pulse, the nine-piece New York group of DFA alumnae rides aloft a breezy synthesizer melody and swirls of dub delay”–SPIN
“… disco, boogie, and old-school electro sounds for a modern scene.” – XLR8R
The psychedelic-soul army Midnight Magic has struck again with their highly anticipated debut full length, Walking The Midnight Streets, out now on their own Midnight Sun Sound. Since bursting onto the scene in 2009 with a series of 12” singles, including the dance floor smash “Beam Me Up,” the band has become revered for their irresistibly catchy hooks and seductive live show. Revered by Lucky, SPIN, RCRD LBL, Interview, XLR8R and more, the new album is a blend of funk, soul, and electro-tinged disco. It is available for purchase on iTunes and all other digital retailers.
Space invader b-side, the band has released “Threshold” as a free MP3. Also, you can hear the full album streaming where it premiered at AOL Spinner through the end of the week.
Listen/download: Midnight Magic – “Threshold” (B-Side)
Midnight Magic LIVE Tour Dates
11/16: Brooklyn, NY @ Cameo Gallery (album release party)
11/24: Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hal w/ Blood Diamonds
12/1: Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary
Filed under downloads, new albums, Shows
Serving up a feast of funk, disco, electro and soul, Midnight Magic has unleashed banger after banger including their dancefloor smash, “Beam Me Up.” The Drop Me A Line single which features remixes from Holy Ghost, Juan Maclean and more was released last October and today the band has released the “Drop Me A Line” (Holy Ghost Remix) MP3 with RCRD LBL.
Listen/download: Midnight Magic – “Drop Me A Line” (Holy Ghost Remix)
Receiving accolades from Pitchfork to BrooklynVegan, for What The Eyes Can’t See, the nine-piece party powerhouse will perform live at Brooklyn Bowl on March 24th to celebrate the official release of the EP April 3 on Midnight Sounds. The special new package will feature several previously unreleased b-sides.
What The Eyes Can’t See EP Tracklist
1. What The Eyes Can’t See
2. Heat
3. Julio
4. Calling Out
5. Psycho For Your Love (Bonus)
6. Magic Midnight (Bonus)
Filed under Check 'em Out!, downloads, listen
Click to go listen to "The Right Woman"
Dragonette have spent the last two years working on special and successful collaborations. “Fire In Your New Shoes, ” their pairing with Kaskade, was a huge club hit worldwide, and one of the 4 songs they did with French DJ Martin Solveig, “Hello,” was a pop hit across the globe, going Top 10 in over 30 countries, achieving platinum status in the USA, getting synched 150 times in the process, and leading to Mr. Solveig producing Madonna. Now the band turn their attention to their own material again.
Preparing to release two brand new tunes this March, today sees the unveiling of Dragonette’s “The Right Woman” which appears on Proud to be Woman Vol. 3, a compilation put together by Diane von Furstenberg in celebration of International Women’s Day. The compilation will be released both digitally and as a limited edition Play button. All proceeds from the compilation benefit Vital Voices, an organization dedicated to empowering women worldwide. The track is a collaboration with producer Felix Blowxsom, who has worked with Sia and Empire of the Sun, and produces, remixes, and DJs under the Plastic Plates moniker. Check out some of his tracks here.
The band is also readying the video for the first proper new single “Let It Go” to be unleashed at the end of the month.
Listen to “The Right Woman” streaming HERE and you can purchase it HERE.
In conjunction with these releases, and in the lead-up to the release of Dragonette’s 3rd album (which is almost done!), Dan, Tina, and Joel are hitting the road to play a combination of new tracks and old favorites, stopping at SXSW and Coachella along the way. They will also pop in to the Juno Awards, where they’ll perform “Hello” and see if their nomination turns into their first win!
Dragonette Tour Dates
Filed under Highly Anticipated, listen, Newest Love, Shows, Whoa!
“The Best Disco Album Of 2011”
– SPIN
“The best New York disco tracks since West End Records’ early-‘80s heyday.”
– Pitchfork
“Escort is New York City’s greatest perpetual buzz band…”
– The Village Voice
Escort has been setting dance floors ablaze with their disco-infused beats, irresistibly catchy hooks and seductive live shows since releasing a series of 12” singles in 2006. The seventeen-member “disco orchestra,” founded by producers Eugene Cho and Dan Balis, and fronted by lead singer Adeline Michèle, features an incredible cast of musicians who have played with everyone from indie-rock titans Arcade Fire to avant-classical luminaries Alarm Will Sound. Escort’s long-awaited debut LP will be released on vinyl and CD on January 31st but is out on iTunes now!
Escort’s self-titled new album pays homage to mutant-pop luminaries such as Kid Creole and the Coconuts & Ian Dury. While embracing the legacy of these forward-thinking but classic acts, Escort has managed to create something strikingly new. Check out the new song “Makeover” below.
Listen/download: Escort – “Makeover”
Opener “CaméleonChameleon” is a theatrical masterpiece about the French serial impostor Frédéric Bourdin, set to a beat that’s equal parts Thriller and the Tom Tom Club. With piercing horns and silky smooth vocals “A Bright New Life” commands you to the dance floor. “Love in Indigo” blends the enormous R&B vocals of Adeline Michèle with lush strings creating a disco extravaganza that is all their own. The tracks, “Makeover” and “Why oh Why” seem to explore the lost possibilities of another era. The 1937 standard “A Sailboat in the Moonlight” is twisted into a lost classic. The album also includes versions of their 12” DJ releases remixed, re-mastered, rearranged, and re-recorded specially for the LP, completing the album as a sonic experience from beginning to end. New Yorkers who haven’t had a chance to catch them live have 2 more chances with a release party DJ event this week and a live disco extravaganza w/Midnight Magic coming up in December.
Escort NYC Shows
11/18: Brooklyn, NY @ Cameo, DJ Release Show
ft. Escort, Prince Languare & DarshanJesrani
12/17: Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/Midnight Magic
Filed under Check 'em Out!, downloads, listen, Whoa!
YACHT have already released their apocalyptic-themed synth-pop anthem “Dystopia (The Earth is on Fire)” and now that
the rapture hasn’t actually destroyed the earth the duo are ready to share its companion track “Utopia.” Click HERE to give it a listen. Both songs will appear on YACHT’s forthcoming new album and second for DFA Records, Shangri-La (out June 21st).
“Utopia” is both thematically and sonically different from “Dystopia.” The track is a frantic piece of arty disco funk. YACHT’s Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans fuse their vocals to create appropriately celestial-sounding harmonies. Multiple layers of keys, guitars, drums, and more pound away in varying rhythms while the two sing lines like “there’s nothing in the future / it’s up to us to make utopia.”
YACHT will be joining bands like Guided by Voices, Wavves, Atlas Sound, and more as part of Brooklyn’s Northside Festival. YACHT’s show will be at Music Hall of Williamsburg with Midnight Magic, The Miracles Club, and DFA DJ’s on Sunday, June 19th.
Filed under Events, new albums
Musically Amusing 