A flurry of different time signatures, thundering basslines that recall everything from rave techno to ye olde industrial music. Almost excessive synth, ranging from disco-esque to light-and-fluffy 80s, even a little something hip and Oakenfold-ish sounding, all formed together like Voltron into something dubbed “indietronic,” a genre this act called Woodhands sorta helped discover. And then there’s those vocals, which are closer to the punk side of things and, well, sort of make up for some of the softer influences and over-abundant synth. Maybe it’s this aggression which makes it all flow together so well. Whatever it is, it seems to be working — they’ve certainly attracted the attention of other renowned groups, even working with Peter, Bjorn and John on a couple of remixes. Their new album, Remorsecapade, is due out this March, and fans of the dancepunk bands we’ve been covering lately might dig it. Here’s a peek:
Having established himself as one of America’s most popular remix artists, Amplive has emerged from his until-now established identity as one half of the hip-hop duo Zion i. Chances are you’ve heard some of his work, whether you watch sports television (SportsCenter, ESPN), reality television (Next Top Model, Big Fat Liar), or listen to dance music (he’s even done remixes of MGMT, Linkin Park, and Radiohead, among others). Among the artists with whom he’s collaborated: Too Short, Del The Funky Homosapien, and Planet Asia. On Rainydayz Remixes, a collection of remixes of Radiohead’s entire 7th album In Rainbows (which, as you may have heard, stirred up a bit of controversy when Amplive first released it), the man behind the music moves on to bigger and better things in the world of media. Namely, carefully selecting the music that best fits his ingenuitive and creative style of remixing. Check out his myspace page to get a listen of his latest remix work.
Minneapolis quintet Motion City Soundtrack was formed from a lot of inspiration, a whole lot of perspiration, and some real persistence. From a rotating roster of musicians, to playing dilapidated venues and managing to nab producer/Blink-182 bassist Mark Hopper and Nirvana producer Andy Wallace to mix their latest, My Dinosaur Life, MCS has established themselves as a band with a workhorse mentality. And after nearly 13 years, it’s one that just paid off with a contract to Columbia Records. Getting there, however, seems to have been anything but easy.
Not to get Seinfeldian, but why do bands have to have their names spelled a certain way? How exactly do you pronounce hed.pe or emphatically command Panic at the Disco! (?) Do you always have to say Therapy? like it’s a question? (I’m…Ron Burgundy?) Well, whatever’s in a name, VOICEs VOICEs makes for an involving listen if anything else — there’s as much of a focus on an artistic collaboration between the two as there is a strictly musical one, a union that sounds more experimental and free than any bands these days which often fall apart as a result of unretentive democracy. In songs like “Flulyk Visions”, the vocals are draped over instruments of all kinds: ambient, New Wave-ish keys, twangy, distorted guitars, the white noise crash of symbols. It may remind you of Pelican, Hammock, any number of post-proggers. A nice break from the bubblegummy, uber-melodic dinkering a lot of these keyboard-obsessed bands of late are doing, overzealous in their attempts to sound like Kajagoogoo or Missing Persons.
A penchant for tongue-in-cheek lyrics, surreal effects, and of course sound bites of Hudson from ALIENS all help add to the humor of genre-bending DJ powerhouse Moneypenny (formerly known as Rocktapussy). And though at first listen they may seem like just another in a long line of synth/dance-centered DJ outfits, Moneypenny is one of the few who really successfully make clear that attitude is everything: Along with the pounding subwoofer and trancy synths, there are some really great melodic moments here, even if they seem over-the-top and somewhat New-Agey in their catchiness. It’s Moneypenny’s attitude that makes it fun and funny to listen to, that they aren’t just for dance floors and trendy clubs. It’s the kind of music I’d play in my car for friends to make them laugh. If you’ve ever experienced the sheer joy of “Hiring Women in the Workplace,” an instructional film on what types of female personalities work best in certain office environments, samples from some of Moneypenny’s songs may touch a similar funny bone with its tongue-in-cheekiness. To quote Patrick Bateman (and another of MP’s samples), don’t just look at it — EAT IT. Aurally, of course!
A little bit of The Killers, a little bit of old British New Wave, a lot of electronica and Jungle music (dance music of all types for that matter) all thrown into the mix — and what you’ve got is perhaps the next big thing to come out of dance punk since The Moving Units, perhaps even including the aforementioned Vegas-based genre-benders. You might be surprised to learn that Friendly Fires have risen from the ashes of an old hardcore band, growing into something quite different, what the boys themselves label as “lush shoegaze melodies” and what we may only assume is something infinitely more listenable. Their latest, Kiss of Life, is out now–here’s a sampling of it on Red Bull Music Academy Radio.
Things got a little crazy with Giant Robot at The Japanese American National Museum last week. Between a raucous outburst by punk rockers The Binge, the usual array of bizarre surrealist paintings, transsexual action figures, homemade video games, and of course robots of all sizes, what began as a homemade magazine distributed to friends had officially exploded into a pop culture juggernaut. Eric Nakamura’s 15th GR anniversary featured some of the most inventive and original art by a variety of painters, plasterers, programmers, toymakers, and musicians.
ChinaShop’s coverage of Chicago outfit Prairie Cartel concludes in the 3rd and final entry of guitarist Blake Smith’s diary. The rough times continue as the band scrambles to make ends meet, encounter mastiffs of a nefarious nature, and jam a little Supertramp — only out of necessity, of course.
Note :
Award-winning Chinese director Peng Lei (an accomplished filmmaker/animator whose clay animation film “Beihai Monster” from 2006 was a hit in the Chinese indie-film world and has won numerous awards) discovered The Prairie Cartel’s music online and reached out to them about wanting to
direct their video. He just completed his psychedelic urban-yeti dance video for the track “No Light Escapes Here”. As Peng explained to the lads, “The reason I wanted to direct this video was that I’m impressed with the lyrics to this song, and understand that the lyrics are about trying to express yourself artistically in an oppressive communist regime.
Musically he also felt connected, Peng Lei is a member of New Pants, one of the most revered bands in China’s contemporary music history who formed in 1996
and their early sound was influenced heavily by new wave and early punk rock, particularly the Ramones. And in true punk rock fashion, Peng takes a huge risk by using Mao all over the video.
PART 3 : FALL
By Blake Smith
Another bizarre situation fled, another season, another place to be turned into a functioning studio. How long would we be at this one? Would we actually finish this thing before something truly awful happened to one of us? We traded a tiny apartment in Wicker Park for a good-sized house in Humboldt Park. The house was a big step up from the previous hole, but the block we moved to in Humboldt was sketchy beyond belief. The street went: Housing Project, House, Housing Project, Lot Where Unspeakable Things Happened To People That Should Know Better, House, Us, Apartment Building of the Slightly Living. Across the street was a make-shift auto shop that was really a house with an aluminum fence in front of it and rusty pieces of junkyard shit on blocks scattered around the yard. They also openly sold drugs.
Get out yer needles and plasmids, it’s time to join your fellow Splicers this Saturday and celebrate the upcoming Rapture. 2k Games is hosting its usual weekend Bioshock orgy, this time in Seattle at Waterfront Park, 12 o’clock noon. And of course the obligatory Rapturian cocktail party to celebrate.
Throw a rock in Hollywood and it will probably land in someones drink. This town thrives on its night life, celebrities and decadent designs. Bardot has a touch of all the above. Nestled cleverly above Avalon, on Vine Street right in the heart of Hollywood, its exclusive entrance and comfortable design make you feel like you are a guest in a playboy’s penthouse. I swung by on Saturday night to see for myself if this upscale club lived up to its blossoming reputation, and have to say I was not disappointed.
