Music Young Galaxy: Northern Stars Make Music To Shapeshift To

February 16, 2011 - 7:59 am

Young Galaxy

This is not a post about Canada, though if you removed Canada from this story there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell. First off, Young Galaxy are a Canadian band. They are currently based on Montreal, but relocated there from Vancouver, which is one of the coolest places on the planet, by the way. Their latest album, Shapeshifting, is being released on a Toronto’s Paper Bag Records. (It’s really good. You can download the first single, “We Have Everything,” right here.) They’ve also had the distinct pleasure of opening for Arcade Fire, who are also a Canadian band. The press release for Shapeshifting name-drops New Order and Eurythmics (not Canadian) as bands to compare the album’s sound to, which is actually pretty spot on, and as you’ll see from this interview, vocalist/guitarist Stephen Ramsay is a pretty lucid fellow with a lot of spot on things to say about music-making.

[UPDATE]: Download the just-released Cover Your Tracks EP here.

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Music Spank Rock! Need I Say More?

January 7, 2011 - 9:16 am

Spank. And Rock.

Hmmm. Here’ a particular group with songs called “Pu$$y”, “bitch,” and “BOOTAY.” And albums called YoYoYoYoYo!, and Bangers and Cash, as well as the pictures of some fairly big-bootied girls on the album covers.  The question is: Has 2 Live Crew reunited yet again, or could there be a more devious, tongue-in-cheek rapper/DJ behind this nasty piece of work?

The answer, perhaps thankfully, is that the guys who wrote a song called “Get the Fuck Out of My House” — and meant it seriously — have been successfully parodied (perhaps unintentionally) by a more talented and spinner(s) named Spank Rock. Yes, no one’s still quite sure how many are in the group altogether. But when Xfm London breakfast DJ Lauren Laverne gives you her prestigious “Album of the Year” Award, and you’re being played on a Wish-Bone salad dressing commercial, people tend to sit up and pay notice.

His — or their – hip hop songs run the gammut, from the hard-hitting and bass-heavy rap of the early 90s, and combining it with that electro sound that’s dominating the charts today — all for a sound that sounds eerily like the aforementioned Crew, actually — and they’ve even composed an ode to producing God Rick Rubin. You can get a piece of the action right now on Red Bull Music Academy Radio.

Music Exclusive: Hooray For Earth “Rolling/Nectarine” Remix

December 15, 2010 - 11:14 am

Hooray For Earth

Who says new music needs to pop off on Monday? We’ve got hot and fresh Hooray For Earth tunes right here. Download the Chad Valley Remix of “Rolling/Nectarine” below—a ChinaShop exclusive—then jump on over to our 2010 Infinite Playlist to snag “Surrounded By Your Friends.” Make sure you stay tuned to Dovecote Records and ChinaShop for more on Noel Heroux and Hooray For Earth in 2011. Big things on the way, people. Big things.

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Music ChinaShop’s 2010 Infinite Playlist

December 13, 2010 - 11:17 am

Well, it’s not quite infinite, but we will be adding to it between now and the end of the year! But in the meantime, enjoy our nifty little SoundCloud playlist packed with songs from the past 347 days that really carved a niche in our brains. We’ve dropped a bit of everything in here, from the rousing beats of Groove Armada (nominated for a Grammy!) and the Midnight Juggernauts to the front porch balladry of Frazey Ford and Lou Rhodes. Double bonus: most of these tracks are downloadable and ready to be added to your own playlists. Enjoy the music, and stay tuned for some more ChinaShop Best Of’s!

Music The New Girl Talk Mash-terpiece: Free to the Masses

November 24, 2010 - 5:01 pm

All Day Cover Girl Talk

The latest Girl Talk mash-terpiece has arrived and guess what, you can download it for free right here on the old inter-web. The album, titled All Day, is composed mostly, if not entirely, of samples from other artists and can be downloaded as a single file or as a series of mp3′s.  All Day opens with Black Sabbath’s War Pigs linked to Jay-Z, Luda, and 2 Pac’s lyrics and from the first downbeat your party juices start percolating.  I’ve already started choreographing my 90 minute dance routine, Have you?  Go download All Day now and make sure to stretch first.  Oh, and to help you follow along, check out this awesome “Mashup Breakdown” for a chronological play by play of the artist referenced in each song.  You can also catch Girl Talk at a city near you.  Check out the All Day supported tour dates here.

Girl Talk fans at Bamboozle 2010

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