Experimental electronic producer Arcashared some new music from his forthcoming record titled Mutant earlier this
week. “Soichiro” is a wild ride of glitchy, scattery percussion and twisted
synth sounds juxtaposed in moments of stark, minimal hums and swooshes.
Mutant does not currently have an official release date but
should be out before year’s end.
San Francisco’s Deafheaven are dropping a new LP and follow
up to the largely successful Sunbather next week on October 2nd via Anti-. New Bermuda
falls in line with the Sunbathers sound, ie. The sound of the underground in
1999-2003 or so. That’s by no means a dig, I love the era of punk music which
is why I like Deafheaven and can happily state that I enjoy their latest album as well... But for those of you who missed the last record and have no idea what these
guys sound like think lots of Chaos with bits of ambience mixed in along the
lines of Orchid, Jeromes Dream, Saetia and anything coming out on RoboticEmpire and Hydrahead during their most prolific years.
I’ve been praising HEALTH for years and come next week when the LA band releases their new LP, Death Magic, I’m fairly certain many others will finally take notice. Death Magic follows in stride with the direction the band has been moving towards for the better part of the last five years. The collection of songs is infinitely more poppy and the electronics are more prominent then on Get Color. This version of HEALTH probably has most in common with “USA Boys” or “Tears” and for better or worse tones down on the noise elements found on earlier works. I’ve heard the record a whole lot in the last five days and love it but my personal tastes wish a little bit more of the noise was retained or even sustained in the songs that do go down that road and from past recordings. The record is well sequenced with songs, not directly flowing into the next per say, but more so rhythmically or sonically. If you don’t like what you hear in the first four songs then this record isn’t for as it’s a killer lead-in as far as these things go and offers a good blend of poppy HEALTH vs. noisy HEALTH.
Studio engineering comes from the Haxan Cloak, Mars Volta engineer Lars Stalfors, and longtime Kanye West engineer Andrew Dawson which only adds list of things that will make the record more high profile then anything the band has done before. It’s well deserved, the record is great and they are always amazing live so do yourself a favor, if you like what you hear, make sure to catch them next time they are in your town.
On a final note I hope the band continue with their tradition of releasing a remix album for this record as well, they always have really interesting people tinkering with their songs, often to great results and possibly even acting as inspiration or a stepping stone for where the band sonically finds themselves today.
DEATH MAGIC is out August 7th.
DEATH MAGIC Tracklist:
01. VICTIM
02. STONEFIST
03. MEN TODAY
04. FLESH WORLD (UK)
05. COURTSHIP II
06. DARK ENOUGH
07. LIFE
08. SALIVA
09. NEW COKE
11. L.A. LOOKS
11. HURT YOURSELF
12. DRUGS EXIST
Well this is a pleasant surprise right here; Despot, the Queens rapper
and co-owner of NYC venue Santos Party House, dropped a studio single. For
those who follow the elusive emcee “House of Bricks” should be a familiar
live staple but with a solo album that’s long been in the works with little to
no sign having been shared, HoB is a good indication that this thing might
actually see the light of day. E*Vax of Ratatatfame, handles
production duties.
It’s been so long since I we have heard anything from YouthLagoon. Trevor Powers returned to the Internet this week with news of his first
new music since 2013. “The Knower,” starts out simple enough with a somber
barebones approach but then gets quite jittery and closes things off with some
orchestration that would make Beirut proud; good stuff. SavageHills Ballroom is due on September 25th.
It’s been a hot minute since I shared anything from The Avalanches; Of course for the most part the collective hasn't actually given us
anything new in well over a decade, but I've
seemingly made it my duty to offer up a handful of treats to our readership
each year to keep the name and interest alive.
What we have here is an ultra-rare short documentary about
The Avalanches and the creation of their classic album Since I Left You and rehearsing
their live sets. The clip was produced for and originally appeared on the
Artzone TV show in 1999 and was written/directed and photographed by Philippe Charluet.
I’ve been sitting on this bad boy for a hot minute now
waiting for today to hit; wouldn’t you know I got so busy with work I almost
forgot to do the post all together which would have really bummed me out all
things considered.
So it’s Tax Day, most folks hate it, I love it because it’s
cash in my pocket but regardless of what side of the line you fall on this live remix of Danny Brown’s “Lie4” with Hucci’s “Sheild” is up for streaming and
free to download, I hope y’all enjoy it and get some smiles when filing that
paper work!
/ˈjedˌīak/ - Income Tax Swag (Danny Brown vs. HUCCI)
Danny Brown – “Lie4” vs. HUCCI – “Shield”
February 2015 in LIC, NY
142.00 BPM Key Gm
Design by Jediak
UK based producer Clarence Clarity (named after the popular meme) recently dropped his debut LP, No Now, via Bella Union. The reception has been pretty much nonexistent thus far which is surprising to me because the record is a brave and impressive hour plus journey into a distinctively dense and cacophonous re-imagining of pop and R&B music.
You may be thinking to yourself oh this is another ethereal bedroom R&B producer who’s married traditionally commercial themes with dramatic, sleek, minimal, dark, undertones to satisfy those who prefer their smoothness to mirror Autre Ne Veut over something like Jodeci? Well I’m here to tell you that while Clarence clearly knows what the Autre Ne Veut and How To Dress Well’s of the universe are doing with their takes on the genre, this is not that, this is maximalist, disjointed and glitchy, this is taking that idea of mixing 70% of that traditional R&B flavor with 30% experimenting and reversing the percentages so that the experimentation is now at 70%. No Now probably shares more in common sonically with the Animal Collectiveand is very much here and now, it completely encapsulates the all consuming nature of the Internet and the overwhelming beauty and ugliness it can sometimes create in today's society.
The unique take isn’t the result of production alone; Clarence’s eccentric vocal delivery will catch some off-guard and like last year’s FKA Twigs record, must have been extremely difficult to even pull off in these nontraditional musical environments. But somehow it all works and it all works extremely well in my opinion, providing the listener with one of the most original records I’ve heard in recent memory that could function on both a dance-floor and at home.
I hope people get to hear the record, it dropped earlier in the month and I haven’t really heard or seen much about it, which is why I’m even sharing a post that is closer to a record review than a heads up to readership that I usually would provide at this point. Get a taste of No Now from the five track sampler below and if you like what you hear pick up a digital copy from the usual places or a special edition physical copy from Rough Trade that also includes the instrumentals.
Italian noise act Zu are gearing up to drop their fifth
record via Ipecac Recordings on March 24th. Corta Tordo was recorded
in Bologna, Italy and for those not acquainted with the bands sound it’s a
combination of atmospheric, heavy, sludgy moments (Think Melvins) and super
chaotic outbursts (Think The Locust). While I wouldn’t compare them in sound,
people who found themselves enjoying the last Deafheaven record unexpectedly
might have a similar experience with Tordo, as there are some hypnotic moments wrapped up in otherwise abrasive compositions. Give the record
a spin below…
Death Grips shared “On GP,” their newest song from
their upcoming LP Jenny Death. The track was shared with a video of a man doing
random weird activities, it’s a different sound for the trio and reminds me a
little more of Zach’s work with Hella. Look for Jenny Death to drop at the end
of the month.
I’m off to conduct a secret mission up north for a bit so I
thought before leaving why not share another exclusive I’ve been sitting on
since November of last year. Todays live remix pairs together end-of-year favorite
Clark with pop star Charlie XCX for something I call“Super Banjo.”Listen, download and share from the player
below…
Sumac is the latest group from ISIS and Old Man Gloom
heavyweight Aaron Turner; the project teams him up with other big names
including Brian Cook (Russian Circles, ex-Botch, ex-These Arms Are Snakes)
and Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists.)Their
début record titled The Deal is out on February 17th via ProFound Lore and Sige
Records but you can stream the whole thing now from below…
And like clockwork Hudson Mohawkshared the latest volume of
his annual mixtape series and celebration of all things love, Slow Jams 8. This
year HudMo even included his own take on the genre with an extra track in the
download file titled ‘Forever 1", feat. Olivier Daysoul and Dorian Concept. You
got to give it to the Glasgow producer he takes this shit seriously.
A couple weeks back one of Amherst’s Disco Thuggin tunes was
mistakenly identified as a new Avalanches song, that should kind of tell you
that what your in store for is a lot of fun. Taking bits and pieces of Young Thug’s hits and layered them over some dance floor heavy disco complete with
horns, air horns and good vibes.
Stream the four tracks from below and buy the whole thing
for $1 over at Bandcamp.
Noise duo Lightning
Boltrecently announced Fantasy Empire, their first
album in over five years will be released on March 24 via Thrill Jockey. "The
Metal East" is our first taste of the record and it’s a welcome return
that definitely brought a smile to my face after hearing it. Lots of polyrhythms
going on here with distorted vocals and heavy fuzzed-out baselines.
More new music from Cannibal Ox to share in anticipation of
their first new LP in thirteen years, Blade Of The Ronin. “Harlem Knights” see’s
Vordul Mega and Vast Aire dropping some serious rhymes over a synth heavy beat
from Bill Cosmiq. Look for the record to drop on March 3rd.
Hu₵₵i dropped a new EP titled 404 earlier in the week that
I’ve been enjoying quite a bit on the ol’ headphones. Even though the Brighton
producer calls the release an EP it is twenty-two tracks and over an hour
long.You can grab the whole thing right
now for a name your own price exchange, but it be worth it even at retail
price. Plenty of killer tracks, including some I’ve shared in the past. New
early highlights for me include "Mula" and late album cuts “Thir$t” and “Moon.”Give it a spin below and pick the whole thing up
HERE.
About an hour ago the Chromaticsshared the first music from
their forthcoming LP, Dear Tommy, which is due out in March and one of my most anticipated lof the year. Check out “Just
Like You” below and download it for free courtesy of the band.
NYC hip hop duo, MCs Vordul Mega and Vast Aire, aka Cannibal
Ox have been perpetually making a comeback for quite some time now. Last year
an EP was released to little fanfare but much curiosity and after a failed Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a proper full length, the guys seemingly
pulled the cash together from someplace, and have finished their sophomore full-length,
Blade Of The Ronin. Bill Cosmiqhandled production, and features
from the likes of MF DOOM, U-God, Elzhi, and Artifacts are said to be included. Our first
taste from the record comes in the form of “Iron Rose” featuring the aforementioned
MF DOOM. Look for the record to drop on March 3rd.
Welcome to Onomatopoeia’s year-end best of 2014, I am a little late but still here so thanks for the patience. I feel like I'm starting to sound like a broken record but 2014 truly was an abysmal year for music. To be fair it wasn't so much a bad year for music as it was for the album format. To say it was difficult for me to even compose a list of thirteen would be a huge understatement.
My process usually begins around September, I try and get the ball rolling and start making a list with what I've really enjoyed in the months leading up to this moment. I had something like seven albums listed with only three months to go. So rather than force a full list I made sure to go back to everything I remember enjoying but not necessarily loving and re-exploring them in greater detail. In the end I did find thirteen releases that I felt happy with along with a solid honorable mentions section.
For those who frequent this space most of the material should be familiar, I don't know if there are too many surprises but as always I hope some of you get something new out of it.
