Posted in Label News | Posted on: May 24th, 2013 | Posted by: Scott Armstrong
Primavera Sound is Barcelona’s premier festival and when we saw the lineup this year, we considered selling everything to get there. Boasting an eclectic gathering of the world’s most relevant bands (and the Postal Service), the festival has again made a live stream available through YouTube so that we can all be privy to at least some of the happenings from the Parc del Fòrum. This weekend we can expect live sets from Tame Impala, Animal Collective, Phoenix, James Blake, Swans, Poolside, Wu-Tang Clan, Simian Mobile Disco and Hot Chip.
Posted in Label News | Posted on: May 23rd, 2013 | Posted by: Scott Armstrong
There’s a new kid on the block. Hailing from Melbourne, Fractures (AKA Mark Zito) has quickly risen to prominence after receiving support from fellow hometown hero Chet Faker and a slew of spins on national radio. Twisted delivers a truly unique driving alternative pop number which creates a slightly dark and brooding tone through an inspired club beat at the heart of the track. Stuart Baynes directed this video clip, which marries the emotional themes from the song with cutting imagery and it was released today via Home and Hosed for triple J.
Fractures will debut the live show with his full band on June 20th at the Toff in Town Melbourne, supported by Brightly.
Chicago’s Smith Westerns have just released their dynamic new single ’3am Spiritual from new album Soft Will, which is released on June 11. It’s been a long two years since their last LP Dye It Blonde, and judging from the progression of 3am Spiritual and first single ‘Varsity’, the evolution of their sound has led toward a more airey and vocally centralized brand of pop-rock. 3am Spiritual delivers a retrospectively brooding vocal theme whilst remaining quite upbeat and melodic, a juxtaposition which is a far cry from the bands earlier material which typically dealt with topics considerably lighter. This may not be a hands-in-the-air festival banger, but it’s an exciting and rich piece of music. Having finished up as main support for Arctic Monkeys on the Suck It and See tour, we’re crossing our fingers in the hope that we’ll see a live debut in Australia.
Melbourne outfit I’lls have today released their follow up effort to the recently featured ‘Plans Only Drawn’, with the stunning 5 minute long ‘Speak Low’. The track is the second single from upcoming EP ‘A Warm Reception’ and again proves to exemplify the ability of the 3-piece to construct boundless material which is both layered and immense. The track is an intertwining odyssey which marries emotive electronic elements with progressive guitar to set the scene for Simon Lam’s vocals. We were lucky enough to catch the band perform a breathtaking set the Toff in Town on Saturday night and we can’t help but feel there are huge things on the horizon. Check out the single below and join us in the anticipation of new EP ‘A Warm Reception’, due out in mid June.
Brooklyn based duo Holy Ghost! have released new single ‘Dumb Disco Ideas’ in the lead-up to the release of sophomore album Dynamics. Nick Millhiser and Alex Franke have been hard at work since their debut self-titled album, and have a helping hand from fellow musicians Alan Paloma (Neon Indian), Nancy Whang (Ex LCD Soundsystem/Soulwax collaborator) and the man himself, Mr. James Murphy. The single makes a concise departure from its title, combining the classic DFA kick drum sound (See 12 Years of DFA video featured last week) with euphoric and sweeping synthesizers which are all backed by vocals that show a clear progression since the first album. The video is set with the full live show stage setup and Manhattan in the background and provides a visual accompaniment to the track with lights and not a whole lot more. The perfect start to the weekend, wouldn’t you say?
British electronic duo Mount Kimbie have today released another stellar single in the lead up to their new album ‘Cold Spring Fault Less Youth’. Featuring new-wave artist King Krule (AKA Zoo Kid), ‘You Took Your Time’ is a dark and brooding take on the post-dubstep sound which at times lends its direction to the 18 year old who raps on the track. What we get is an inspired collaboration which is highlighted by Krules ability to ignite the song through his inflection, lyrics and ability to build tension. This album can’t come quickly enough for us here at I OH YOU. Check it out!
Cold Spring Fault Less Youth by Mount Kimbie is released May 27th.
Perth based five-piece Pond have today announced a welcome return, with fifth LP ‘Hobo Rocket’ due in early August. The band have had a remarkable turnaround from their phenomenal album ‘Beard, Wives, Denim’, especially considering that two members of the band in Jay Watson and frontman Nick Albrook have been touring the globe with Tame Impala. To mark the announcement, the band have released a video for the first single ‘Giant Tortoise’, which takes us through a weirdly cohesive fuzzed out selection of clips from Kung Fu films, AFL highlights and footage from previous live shows (which they are hugely renowned for). When speaking of the album, we hear that the band set out to make a record which “captures a portion of rock musics great, decadent history through a personal lens”. If it’s anything like the previous efforts, Hobo Rocket will make for some fine listening as the weather begins to turn. In the meantime, enjoy the video and check out the track list below.
Tracklist:
1. Whatever Happened To The Million Head Collide
2. Xan Man
3. Odarma
4. Alone A Flame A Flower
5. Giant Tortoise
6. Hobo Rocket
7. Midnight Mass
Hobo Rocket is released nationally through Modular on August 2nd.
Movement are a three-piece band from Sydney who have today been announced as the newest act on the Modular label roster. To go along with their exciting announcement, the boys have also provided us with the chance to peep their new single ‘Feel Real’ ahead of it’s release date with the renowned Sydney based label. The track is, in a word, dense. We don’t say that in the same way we’d say that Joel Madden is dense, we mean that it’s layered, concise and surges with great vibes. Feel Real brushes onto some UK Garage elements, the dark melodic keys build nicely whilst the lead vocals are catchy and the introduction of steel drums ties the whole track in perfectly. We can’t wait to hear what’s next.
Beaches are a five-piece hailing from rainy Melbourne and they’ve just released She Beats, the long awaited follow up to their stunning 2008 self titled debut. The album itself marks a logical progression from the first, yet still harnesses the same euphoric, fuzzed out pop vibes of the debut which swept us away. Releasing through Chapter Music, the band have commissioned an enthralling visual accompaniment to the single ‘Send Them Away’ which navigates through an animated journey of the band. We can’t begin to explain some of the ideas here, but we recommend it highly.
Posted in Things We Froth | Posted on: May 10th, 2013 | Posted by: Scott Armstrong
Red Bull Music Academy have just wrapped up an inspiring piece on 12 remarkable years of the DFA label. The video features cameos from the likes of Yacht, Holy Ghost!, The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, The Juan Maclean and Mr. James Murphy himself! The perspective from each act provides a different viewpoint for how the label started with Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy, how new acts are sourced, and what the “sound” of DFA is. This is a rare insight into one of dance music’s most innovative labels, feel the love!
