Fanfarlo has released their debut record Resevoir and it is spectacular. If you are a fan of Arcade Fire you should most definitely check them out. They are offering their entire album plus 4 additional bonus tracks for only $1. Trust me there isn’t a bad track on this record and it is something you should definitely have. The promotion is only valid until July 4th so hurry and buy it! After that they will release a vinyl and special edition CD. Each song is perfectly crafted and carry some great melodies and some orchestral backings that strike a balance between Sigur Ros style build ups and Arcade Fire style break downs. In other words the sound is impressive, refreshing, refined and damn good.
Here’s what Sigur Ros had to say:
It’s got Sigurrós and her cousin Disa on the front cover in a pic by Jónsi’s other sister Lilja (true).
They made the record in Connecticut with a guy called Peter Katis and, as the more vigilant of you may have noticed, Jónsi liked it so much that he has started work on his own solo record with the same dude.
Check out some videos and a preview of the album here:
Apr 28 2009 Lee’s Palace Toronto, Ontario %
Apr 29 2009 The Pike Room at Crofoot Pontiac, Michigan %
Apr 30 2009 Beachland Tavern - All Ages Cleveland, Ohio %
May 1 2009 The Summit Columbus, Ohio %
May 2 2009 The End Nashville, Tennessee %
May 3 2009 The Earl Atlanta, Georgia %
May 4 2009 Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina %
May 5 2009 Talking Head Club Baltimore, Maryland %
May 6 2009 The Barbary (Early Show) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania%
May 7 2009 Champion Ship Lemoyne, Pennsylvania
May 12 2009 Bowery Ballroom New York, New York %
Jun 18 2009 Cake Shop New York, New York #
July 10 2009 South Street Seaport New York, New York % (FREE)
July 18 2009 Pitchfork Fest Chicago, Illinois
July 20 2009 The Echo Los Angeles, California *
July 21 2009 The Rickshaw Stop San Fransisco, California *
July 23 2009 Backspace Portland, Oregon *
July 24 2009 Biltmore Cabaret Vancouver, BC *
July 25 2009 Capital Hill Block Party Seattle, Washington
Robby Moncrieff formed What’s Up in early 2008. The current line-up (accompanied by Brian Marshall and Teddy Briggs) focuses on a short period of inspiration in their hometown of Sacramento, California, which is captured on their debut record Content Imagination.
Recorded above the “Witch Dome”, an artist’s community space and venue, Content Imagination was inspired by the positive changing of seasons in the band’s hometown. What’s Up’s long-term goal spans beyond boundaries typically associated with a rock and roll music group. An interest in remixing and rewriting, as well as recording (and rerecording), has forced What’s Up to become multi-faceted, serving not only as the title of the ‘rock group,’ but as a production entity. Nothing is permanent in the aesthetic world of What’s Up as they perpetually scrounge up ways to create music that is equal parts complex, bizarre, beautiful, and moving. The band currently resides in Portland, Oregon.
What’s Up
Content Imagination
(Obey Your Brain)
Street date: May 19, 2009
1. Yes
2. Seasoning’s Greeting
3. Fool’s Gold
4. A Longing Expression
5. Content Imagination
6. Harper
7. The French Song
A Brazilian artist by the name of Henrique Oliveira has been creating organic shapes out of scrap wood that began to peel off of a fence by his home. The type of wood used called Tapumes (in Portuguese) is pretty common in Brazil and is pretty useless after a construction site is finished. Henrique Oliveira creates swirling and bulging organic shapes using these wood peel scraps. His process involves creating a PVC pipe underframe structure to which he attaches the wood peels. View more work at his website here. Recently he has been featured in the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans in which he created clouds of pillows and mattresses collected after Katrina. More pictures after the jump.
There is this design group/furniture company called Cardboardesign which makes everything out of cardboard (recycled). They have some pretty cool designs and even cooler advertisement. Check out the adverts below and visit there site here.
A little catching up: Papercuts’ You Can Have What You Want is the newest phase in Jason Quever’s ongoing pop investigations. The relatively earthbound happy-sad pop of Mockingbird & Can’t Go Back is now launched into the vault of the skies. Here Quever delves further into epic, hazy pop using mostly vintage organs, pulsing bass & Kraut-via-Ringo-inspired drum rhythms. Intact from those earlier efforts are Quever’s sense of arrangement and drama, as well as his soaring vocals, draped in reverb gauze.
The Review: This record was a hard sell, slightly irritating in the beginning but it definitely leads you on an adventure. The record first time through left a sense of heaviness as the vintage tones do take a toll on your brain but it does lead you to a second listen. The second time through, though, the drone turns into beauty and you start to hear the great sounds found deep in the mix. There is a trippy undertone and definite smarts when it comes to mixing the singing in. Jason Quever has a high light and thin voice which provides just the right contrast to the music. His voice sometimes resembles that of Josh Klingoffer on some of John Frusciante’s solo records. The record deserves a good sitting down, closing of the eyes, and total immersion. This type of 60s organ and deep trip pop is something Jason Quever is definitely aware of and makes good use of on this record. The drums have that type of 70s roll off at musically important junctures and overrall are just as clever as the rest of the record.
The somber tone is rather inviting despite what you may expect out of pop music. Some of the stand out tracks to take a look at are Future Primative and The Void. In all the tracks flow well so it’s a good record to listen to in full.
The Scenario: You Can Have What You Want is perfect for a late summer evening, when the world starts to cool down, and you need a good sound to reflect on. Try it.
Take a listen to the free mp3 and go buy the record on April 14th when it’s released.
Born On Flag Day is Deer Tick’s highly anticipated second full-length album and follow-up to the band’s 2007 internationally acclaimed debut War Elephant (reissued in 2008 by Partisan Records). This release follows two years of extensive touring across the country and abroad. Unlike War Elephant, this album features the three new members of Deer Tick that principal songwriter John J. McCauley III recruited to become the band’s current incarnation - Andy Tobiassen, Dennis Ryan and Chris Ryan. Born On Flag Day therefore is more developed soundwise to accompany the full band making it a much fuller record. The album is set for a June 23rd street date on Partisan Records.
Deer Tick shares their first single off the new record “Easy” which I heard live at Bowery Ballroom. Sounds great live and is pretty interesting recorded.
Born in Honolulu, HI in 1983. Ekundayo experienced a whirlwind of a childhood living the life of a fugitive with his father who kidnapped him from his mother when he was only 5 years old.
After stumbling upon one of his uncle’s graffiti sketch books, Ekundayo latched onto art as a means of comfort and joy in an otherwise uncertain and glum world.
This entry was written by SaintsandSounds, posted on April 9, 2009 at 3:53 pm, filed under Art and tagged Ekundayo. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band are set to release “One of My Kind” on April 15th, a documentary that will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the band’s journey over the past year and a half. Made by the band’s guitar-tech Phil Schaffart and presented by causecast.org, “One of My Kind” traces the group’s ever-growing bond as friends and collaborators. Footage from Tepoztlan, Mexico, where they recorded their first album, Conor Oberst, their worldwide tour in 2008, and the making of Outer South in El Paso, TX takes viewers on a 60-minute musical journey around the world.
Also available today is an mp3 of “Nikorette” from Outer South. Download it here for free.
The film will be available as a free stream or HD download exclusively on Causecast.org, IFC.com, conoroberst.com, mergerecords.com, and wichita-recordings.com. Additionally, Causecast.org partner sites IFC.com, The Huffington Post and Myspace IMPACT will each feature exclusive outtakes, trailers and live acoustic performances from the film. (www.huffingtonpost.com) (www.myspace.com/impact) Unlike any film release before, Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band are donating the documentary, “One Of My Kind” for FREE, in the hope that viewers will make a donation to one of the many nonprofits or causes on Causecast.
Ok so, we’re all for new EVs (electric vehicles) that can move us cleaner and with less energy so check this one out.
Project P.U.M.A (which stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), is effectively an enclosed scooter capable of achieving speeds of around 35 miles per hour, for a maximum distance of roughly 35 miles per charge.
P.U.M.A uses technology developed for the Segway personal vehicle, originally designed by Dean Kamen. This allows the vehicle to operate using two wheels only, though the vehicles has been fitted with training wheels which are quite helpful when stopping. GM hopes to convince a number of cities of colleges to set up P.U.M.A travel lanes. The vehicles are intended to drive automatically — almost by themselves — allowing human passengers to relax and sit back while their P.U.M.A navigates traffic. They are equipped with a wireless system to allow for easy navigation, and avoid traffic congestion.
If GM and Segway are serious about these things and their “eco-friendly” attempt I think it would be beneficial to make the seats out of recycled materials as well as anything else that can be adapted in that manner.
