While Brooklyn-based Boogie Boarder don’t demand to be taken seriously themselves, their crunchy, catchy, lo-fi surf rock does. With a unique sound that recalls the the power and technical prowess of your favorite Load Records acts with a more inviting, whimsical pop bent, Boogie Boarder describes their style as “the beast-lord avatar of a two-minute pop song”. The band will be releasing their second album “Pizza Hero” this summer on the Famous Class label/art-collective (Darlings, Snakes Say Hisss!) and they will be touring with their labelmates later this summer, as well as making a stop at Wham City’s Whartscape 2009 Festival.
So far all the information on the band has been cryptic, but here they are in their own words…
Sandpeople – Hate Aside- Hate Aside deals with the theme of overcoming the adversity of a hypercompetitive indie hip-hop scene.
A.M. Architect – Next of Kin – “you can always find a part of it to relate to, a part you can put in your pocket.”
Thieves Like Us – I’d Really Like to See You Again - Thieves Like Us newest EP, “Really Like To See You Again “, is a soundtrack of Bowie inspired synth melodies, Iggy Pop drawn rhythms, and Hip Hop laced break beats which would intertwine seamlessly with any Altman shot love scene, bank heist, or car chase.
The Long Lost – Amiss – The Long Lost take the subject of love away from the cliches and hackneyed wailing of the mainstream
Tortoise – Prepare Your Coffin – Tortoise is a group that resists easy metaphors and analogies, who can be described as sounding like only themselves and no one else.
KID606 is dedicated to bringing his uniquely reckless fucked up and beautiful music to our fucked up and beautiful world. Insipired by the best of electronica, punk, jungle, hip-hop, bass, dancehall and techno, Kid606 Fuses it all together with a love of pop culture that Andy Warhol would approve of. Apart from running the labels Tigerbeat6, Shockout, and Tigerbass, Kid606 has performed all around the world many times over, and released records on highly regarded labels such as Ipecac, Wichita, Mille Plateaux, Fatcat, Souljazz, and Carpark. His highly original productions helped spearhead and define the edgy and confrontational glitch and mashup styles that are now common in modern music production. His album “Down with the scene” (2000) was a landmark release for the burgeoning international electronic music scene, with everything from hardcore ragga jungle and serene ambient to abstract IDM and the dubby soul classic “Secrets 4 Sale” with Mike Patton. Things only got more exciting as Kid606 delved deep into the seedy overworld of mainstream music with critically acclaimed unofficial remixes that many people wanted to hear yet no one else was willing to make. All the while releasing his own original and diverse productions as well as official remixes for Amon Tobin, the Rapture, the Locust, Foetus, Depeche Mode, The Bug, Peaches, Dälek, Ellen Allien, Saul Williams, Super Furry Animals, and countless others.
Kid 606 – Samhain California Leonard de Leonard Remix
No, this Budapest-hailing band wasn’t named after the synth keyboards of the same name (admit it China Shoppers, you know that’s the first thing you thought after reading the title). Rather, this indie, dance-rock quintet was named after a small club in Barcelona where one of the members got super-inebriated and had a very “memorable” night.
Yes, their sophomore LP titled Razzmatazz Orfeum is a delicious, exquisitely-produced slice of synth-infused, glam-alicious, danceable, rock tunes featuring slick riffs, precise drums, catchy melodies and addictive lyricism. It was recorded entirely in Seattle, Washington under the aegis of Geoff Ott (Queens of the Stone Age, Twisted Radio, Verve Pipe), and the first single “You Raised A Vampire” is an absolute scorcher.
The Earth is Black, Soft Black’s second LP, was recorded to analog tape over an eight month period. Vincent Cacchione, the bands principle songwriter, began tracking in the New Jersey basement of a dear friend, Nick Coleman, on modest 8 track home recording gear. Most of the basics carved out in just a few takes, the duo of Cacchione and Coleman meticulously crafted each track, orchestrating the album with bursts of noise and melody.
Informing the album’s cover art and setting the tone for it’s descent into the nocturnal, The Earth is Black, marries the tale of a narrator awakened to a world of blood-filled clouds and bloodless bodies with a propulsive and primitive rhythm. A long time live favorite, often complete with audiences merrily singing along with lyrics about blood raining from above, the song concludes with the refrain, “the awful sky is dripping on me.” “The Flesh of The Sky” petitions the heavens with a tribe of percussion performing a primitive rain dance.
Soft Black – I Am An Animal
Soft Black – The Lions
TOUR DATES
07.02 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah
07.12 Brooklyn, NY @ Cameo
The Ancient Astronauts are said to be extraterrestrial beings who briefly visited ancient civilizations on earth, only to return in modern times. If bios are to be believed, two of these, Kabanjak and Dogu came back to Cologne, Germany, in 2001, and promptly became mash-up and hip-hop experts, remixing and producing for former members of groups such as Digable Planets and The Pharcyde. On the eve of their new release, We Are To Answer on their own Switchblade Recordings, we caught up with the aliens, to glean what we could from them.
Hailing from Oakland, California comes Del the Funky Homosapien no doubt a true innovator and legend in the world of underground Hip-hop. Del got his start rapping behind his cousin, Ice Cube, as a member of his back-up band and crew. After parting ways, Del ventured out as a solo artist, making music that immediately gained attention. Del’s music offered a fresh new outlook on an otherwise gangsta rap controlled California Hip-Hop scene. His viewpoint offered a more detached alternative style laced with humorous rhymes and funky beats. After securing a deal with Elektra Records, Del released two critically acclaimed albums, I Wish My Brother George Was Here (1991) and No Need For Alarm (1993). Despite record sales in the hundred of thousands, his third album, Future Development, was never commercially released.
The Jaguar Club is a trio residing in Brooklyn, NY who formed shortly before New Years Eve 2006. The band has released 2 EP’s of danceable pop tunes and played shows up and down the Eastern seaboard from Maine to Florida. At home they have been thrilled to play with some very fine bands including: The Duke Spirit, The Cinematics, Scissors For Lefty, Mobius Band, Pela, Bear Hands, The Shaky Hands, Love Of Diagrams and many more.
Boy In Static is San Francisco-based duo of Alexander Chen and Kenji Ross. Their third album, Candy Cigarette marks a major shift bringing the floor-stomping confidence of their live show into the studio. Candy Cigarette is an album of contrasts. Rickety 1960′s toy pianos dance alongside glossy, 1980′s synthesied drum machines. Precise viola arrangements sweep over one-mic improvised drum takes. The intimate 1940′s crooning of the title track ushers in the orchestral grandeur of “Half-Lives.”
From the summertime sidewalk soundtrack “Young San Francisco” to the icy paranoia of dancehall-inspired “Tijuana,” 10 songs flaunt equal respect for both the sonic experimentation of Animal Collective and the verse-chorus pop format of New Order.
Almost alone among bands of the last two decades, Tortoise is a group that resists easy metaphors and analogies, who can be described as sounding like only themselves and no one else. Twenty years after its founding, the band’s signature and singularly inimitable sound—a fluid intersection of dub, dance, jazz, techno, rock, and classical minimalism, with no part overwhelming or dominating the whole—remains an American and international original. Even more unusually, they seem to have arrived at their sound with almost no apprenticeship to speak of; to judge from their early singles and albums alone, they seem to have come into being with their musical identity and DNA fully formed, like Athena from the forehead of Zeus. Further, while the group has spawned countless imitators, heirs, and followers—sincere, flattering, and otherwise—Tortoise remains unique in the world of contemporary music for their boundless intellectual curiosity, their unmistakable compositional voice, and their synthesis of seemingly contradictory sound worlds far from their doorstep.
May 29 Buffalo, NY Tralf Music Hall
May 30 Brooklyn, NY The Bell House
May 31 New York, NY World Financial Center Winter
Jun 11 Athens, Greece Synch Festival
Jul 11 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
Jul 13 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
Jul 15 Austin, TX The Mohawk
Jul 17 Chicago, IL Pitchfork Music Festival
Jul 19 Washington, DC Black Cat
Jul 20 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
Jul 24 Tokyo, Japan Fuji Rock Festival
Aug 14 St. Malo, France La Route Du Rock
Aug 22 Hasselt, Belgium Pukkelpop
