October 2024 – 7th Level Music

Tomo Katsurada takes us to a “Zen Bungalow” with his first single from his upcoming solo project – “Dream of the Egg.”

Tomo Katsurada is a Japanese artist currently based in Amsterdam, best known as the founder and lead singer of the acclaimed psychedelic band Kikagaku Moyo. Having recently launched Future Days concept store and workshop in Amsterdam, today he announces the first Future Days release and first chapter in his journey as a solo artist.

‘Dream of The Egg’ is set for release on November 15th and sees Katsurada collaborate with Japanese visual artist Shoko Otake, marking the beginning of an ambitious project—a long-held dream of creating soundtracks for picture books. This record is the first in a series of five, each dedicated to a unique picture book, where Tomo aims to push the boundaries of physical media by merging music with visual storytelling.

Inspired by the Japanese 1920s children’s book “Yume No Tamago (Dream of the Egg)”, it reveals a deeply personal journey, reflecting Tomo’s dreams and the numerous rebirths experienced in 2024—a year marked by profound new beginnings in every facet of his life.

The creation of this EP was driven by a passion for raw and immediate expression. Every song was crafted and recorded with only the materials available to him at the time, embracing an organic and handmade atmosphere. By eschewing rhythm clicks and standard instrumental tunings, a spontaneous sound emerged, capturing the essence of both uncertainty and immediacy. Adding to this distinctive sonic landscape, guest musician Jonny Nash (UK) contributed ethereal guitar sounds on the first and final tracks, enriching the record’s dream-like quality.

Today he shares a first track from the release, “Zen Bungalow” a cover of Gabriel Yared‘s “Bungalow Zen” from the soundtrack  of the film “Betty Blue 37°2 Le Matin”. This particular track is his partner’s favourite song to listen to every morning and left a profound impression on him. One day, he heard a song in his dream that  combined both of these tracks and loved how they blended together. This experience inspired him to  create a new arrangement, “Zen Bungalow,” which has become a central piece of the ‘Dream of the Egg’ release.

Listen to “Zen Bungalow” here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrnEKgw23Kw

Throughout the record’s 20 minute narrative a variety of instruments come into play, drifting between notes and embracing  the beauty of imperfection. By incorporating free-form sounds in a highly technological age, the record aims to reconnect listeners with the tangible, human-made quality of sound.

Future Days Shop:
‘Dream of the Egg’ is the first musical release from Future Days Shop, a concept store and workshop  space founded in 2024 by textile artist Eloïse Ptito and musician Tomo Katsurada. Located in  Amsterdam, Future Days Shop is dedicated to clothing, art, and music, with a mission to unite people  through the power of color, craft, and sound. The store curates unique items that embody a sense of  future-forward creativity.

The Picture Book:
Complementing the music is a beautifully-designed picture book illustrated by the acclaimed Japanese artist Shoko Otake. Printed by Amsterdam’s esteemed bookstore Terry Bleu, this 20-page book will  feature captivating visual artwork and storytelling that enhances the musical experience.

• 500 copies
• A 20-page picture book illustrated by Shoko Otake
• 2 x 7-inch vinyl records
• A manual-play flexidisc

Keep your mind open.

[I dream of you subscribing.]

[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Finom release live version of “Hungry” before starting a big fall U.S. tour.

Today Finom released a live version of their song “Hungry,” the first in a series of live recordings the band will put out ahead of a busy touring schedule stretching into 2025. This will include upcoming headline shows through the US with support from Moontype and Meg Elsier, and a hometown date at Metro in Chicago with Cabeza De Chivo and Mary Williamson.

You never know what is going to happen when you take a freshly cut album and bring it over to the live space. Almost as soon as Finom started performing their new album Not God—released this past May—“Hungry” emerged as the climax of their new show. “Every time we’ve played it it feels like we’re letting steam out from the chaotic blister of the last five years,” write Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham, founding members of Finom. Since the band has transformed into a quartet (with V.V. Lightbody holding down the bass) Stewart and Cunningham now have the ability to turn back towards each other and flex what was the original impulse for this project 10 years ago–fearlessly freaking out on electric guitar together. Spencer Tweedy’s drumming is driving and constant. He is the keeper of the ceiling, slowly raising them all up and letting it smash right at the perfect moment.

“Hungry (Live)” was recorded in May 2024 at the Sultan Room in Brooklyn and is limited to 150 white lathe-cut vinyls, lovingly handcrafted at Joyful Noise HQ. You can find it on the merch table at the “‘Not God’ tour ’24.”

Tickets are on sale now!

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Jake at Joyful Noise Recordings.]

Ela Minus’s new single is “Broken,” but don’t worry, it’s really good.

Today, Colombian artist Ela Minus announces her new album, DIA, out January 17, 2025 via Domino, and presents its new single/video “BROKEN.” Following her charged 2020 debut, acts of rebellion, Ela’s second album is a rarified feat in electronic music, where cutting-edge production and space-shuddering sonics meet a burgeoning singer-songwriter’s real sense of self-reflection and private reckoning. Where acts of rebellion, a “breathtaking techno-pop debut” (Remezcla), felt intentionally small, as if pounding inside the club with late-night reverie, DIA is both introspective and expansive, the wide sweep of its songs revealing more of Ela as person and producer than ever before.

After three years of toting snippets of songs around her native Colombia, her briefly adopted Mexico, and her series of rented apartments and hotel rooms across North America and Europe, Ela thought DIA was finally complete. And then, she thought back to acts of rebellion and recognized her lyrics hadn’t been honest enough. They’d exposed her surface and not herself. This time, she wanted to go deeper.

She began by changing the setting—an outpost in California’s Mojave Desert, a month-long hotel and small studio stay in Los Angeles, forays back to New York, a Puget Sound-side vista near Seattle, Mexico City, and finally London, all places where time seemed to move at different speeds, not only inspiring the music to move with wide dynamic swings but also prompting her to consider what she had to play and say about her life so far. Late one night while working from a rented cabin in the mountains of Mexico, she stumbled upon a chord progression that she knew would launch the record. This is a long, luxuriant tone that rises above static snippets and squelchy sequences at the start of DIA opener “ABRIR MONTE.” Ela comments, “‘ABRIR MONTE’ is a phrase commonly used where I’m from, referring to the act of opening paths through dense foliage. I’ve always loved the poetry of it. That is what making this record felt like, opening new paths inward and outward, continuing to delve further through unexplored territory.

Just as it does on record, today’s new single, “BROKEN,” soon unspooled from that same tone. With luminous synthesizers and intersecting layers of restless detail, it eventually opens into a four-on-the-floor insistence belying an anthem about admitting to suffering and then enduring it. Ela comments, “I started writing this thinking I was perfectly fine and finished writing knowing I was not.” “BROKEN” follows the previously released single, “COMBAT,” DIA’s immersive and gorgeous closer about not giving up, of building it back, which is just what Ela set out to do when writing DIA.

Watch the Video for Ela Minus’ “BROKEN”

DIA is a record about becoming, from a process that entailed self-discovery at a deliberate pace to songs that seem to collectively ask where we go from here, long after we’ve been broken but long before we intend to be broken forever. Throughout the 10 songs, mixed by Marta Salogni and mastered by Heba Kadry, the same team behind acts of rebellion, Ela seems to saddle a line between worlds of pop accessibility and experimental aplomb, her incandescent and catchy choruses always surrounded by meticulous and imaginative sonics. Opening the mountain, DIA marks the next phase of Ela Minus’ career and life without declaring where any of it may or must go.

In support of her album, Ela will be joining Caribou on their 2025 EU/UK Tour, and will support Floating Points at the annual ADE Amsterdam Dance Event at the iconic Melkweg venue. This follows recent performances at Four Tet’s All Dayer, Field Day, Sónar, MUTEK, and Brooklyn’s Knockdown Center. This fall, Synth Historyis also launching an ongoing and in depth docu-series on Ela’s story and music. Preview the first episode here. Ela recently launched www.forthebirds.xyz, a platform where fans can write to Ela, and she writes back, covering personal and technical topics or whatever approach grabs her interest.

Pre-order DIA

WatchEla Minus’ “COMBAT” Video

Ela Minus Live Performance Dates
Wed. Oct.16 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg (ADE) ^
Sat. Oct. 19 – Paris, FR @ From Our Minds / FVTVR (Art Basel) – DJ set
Sat. Dec. 14 – Berlin, DE @ Silent Green (OPIA)
Mon. Feb. 3 – Paris, FR @ Zenith *
Tue. Feb. 4 – Luxembourg, LX @ Rockhal *
Wed, Feb. 5 – Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli *
Thu. Feb. 6 – London, UK @ Roundhouse *
Fri. Feb. 7 – London, UK @ Roundhouse *
Sat. Feb. 8 – London, UK @ Roundhouse *
Sun. Feb. 9 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy *
Mon. Feb. 10 – Bristol, UK @ Bristol Beacon *
Tue. Feb. 11 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique *
Wed. Feb. 12 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique *
Fri. Feb. 14 – Berlin, DE @ Velodrom *
Sun. Mar. 30 – Bogotá, Colombia @ Estéreo Picnic

* = supporting Caribou
^ = supporting Floating Points

Keep your mind open.

[The subscription box is in full working order.]

[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: A Place to Bury Strangers – Synthesizer

Not to get all “Gen X is cool” on you, but do you remember when cereal boxes used to include phonograph records in or on the box? Seriously, this was a thing. You could get a flexi-disc record in a box of Count Chocula that featured cereal mascots at the disco or even score a Jackson 5 record from a box of Alpha-Bits.

I don’t know if Oliver Ackermann (vocals, guitar, synths), John Fedowitz (bass, vocals, synths), and Sandra Fedowitz (drums, vocals, synths) were listening to a flexi-disc copy of Bobby Sherman songs found in a box of Honey-Comb when they got the idea for their latest album, Synthesizer, but it reminded me of these flexi-discs because the packaging is a musical instrument.

Yes, you can buy a vinyl copy of the record with a cover that includes dials, wires, and other bits of gear that can be used (with soldering tools and other simple devices) to turn the album cover in to a synthesizer. No joke.

When I heard they’d done this, I first thought, “That is the coolest idea I’ve heard all year,” and then thought, “Yeah, this is perfect for them.”

It’s perfect because APTBS are always pushing the envelope and finding new ways to immerse you in sound. Beyond the wild feat of having an album cover that doubles as a musical instrument, Synthesizer is also a really good record that blasts you into an altered state.

Opening track “Disgust,” for example, blares at you right out of the gate, and Ackermann has said that it’s a half-joke “to turn people off from listening to the record.” Only the daring will venture on after the opening salvo. Only the daring will be rewarded with this track about the pleasure and pitfalls of lust, let alone the rest of the album. The guitars on “Don’t Be Sorry” are like stabs in a giallo film.

The synth bass of “Fear of Transformation” will get the industrial fans to pay attention as Ackermann sings about overcoming fear as it sometimes overwhelms us through the simplest things. Mrs. Fedowitz’s live drums mix well with electronic thumps, creating a near-panic – which is what the trio wanted us to feel all along. The haunting “Join the Crowd” is like a slow slide into a shadowy world that always seems to be on the edge of your vision as Ackermann wonders when people stopped caring about each other (“And is it me? Am I the only one here who even cares? Now I know why. You never had a choice or care.”).

“Bad Idea” has Mr. Fedowitz (whose “bad idea” for something to work on that day in the studio became the sone) considering a reconnection, even though it might cause him to end up flat on his face in the street. Ackermann’s guitar sounds like an angry beetle skittering around in a tin can at one point and like a miter saw in others, while Mr. Fedowitz’s bass line grumbles like a paranoid android.

Romance is a not-so-hidden theme on Synthesizer, and it’s great to hear Ackermann and the Fedowitzs embracing it. “You Got Me” is upbeat and reminds me of some early Cure tracks in that it mixes gothic tones so well with lyrics like “In a world where the universe is crashing down and there’s no hope, I feel ok. You question life, but there’s one thing you’ll never have to ask me. You got me.”

“It’s Too Much” is a fascinating mixed of warped sounds and more lyrics about being overcome with good emotions you haven’t felt in a long while (“I go out, but didn’t know you’d be there, and all this time I thought I was fine, but now I’m high.”). Mr. Fedowitz gives Peter Hook a run for his money on “Plastic Furniture.” I mean, come on, his bass riff on this is insane.

“Have You Ever Been in Love?” is a wild one, with Mrs. Fedowitz crushing her drum kit and adding spooky yet lovely backing vocals and cries throughout it – helping Ackermann express his anguish over a breakup (“Knife in heart. I want to die, seeing you pass me by.”). The closing track, “Comfort Never Comes,” might end up being a new synth-psych classic as it builds with gorgeous notes, Wall of Voodoo-like guitar chords, A Flock of Seagulls-like synth flourishes, and hypnotic rhythms. Ackermann acknowledges his faults in a relationship that’s beyond repair and that he wishes he could amend things (“You and I are in pieces. You could lift me like a stone…You and I are in pieces. I could lift you like a rose.”).

I can’t recommend this album enough to you. I’m sure it’s an absolute sonic wall coming at you on vinyl, but I encourage you to give it a deep headphone / earbud listen. Like any synthesizer played well, it changes the feel of everything around you and within you.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Bonnie Trash – My Love Remains the Same EP

Bonnie Trash (Dana Bellamy – drums, Emmalia Bortolon-Vettor – guitar, Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor – vocals, and Emma Howarth-Withers – bass) are no strangers to heavy subjects. Their debut EP from 2017, Ezzelini’s Dead, told the story of a real-life cannibalistic tyrant. 2022’s Malocchio and 2023’s Hail, Hale! told horror tales often spoken to sisters Emmalia and Sarafina by their grandmother. Now, on their newest EP, My Love Remains the Same, they tackle themes of love and the loss of it.

Howarth-Withers solid bass groove locks in the opener, “Kisses Goodbye,” which has Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor walking away from a relationship she knows isn’t going to last but also is gut-wrenching to end. Her sister’s guitar fuzz reminds me of some Jesus and Mary Chain cuts with its deft flow between almost garage-pop and melt-your-face assault.

“What Have You Become” gets darker, thanks in large part to Bellamy’s heavier beats and lyrics like “Love is not enough to take the pain away.” and others that confront the agony and relentless questions your mind creates during deep grief.

The EP ends with a slick and menacing cover of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds‘ “Red Right Hand.” They up the metal growl in it and you can feel Sarafina Bortolon-Vettor practically casting a hex upon you as she sings it.

Bonnie Trash is working on a new full-length album due in 2025. Keep your eyes open for it. It might sneak up on you in the shadows.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity!]

Khana Bierbood release super funky new single – “Fi Ran Sanae-ha.”

Today Thailand’s Khana Bierbood announce details of their second album ‘Monolam’, set for release on October 25th via Guruguru Brain. Along with the announcement, they have shared first single and accompanying video “Fi Rak Sanae-ha” – online now.

The music of Khana Bierbood is equal parts revival and revelation. The six-piece band was formed around 2012 in Thailand’s beach side sub-district Bangsaen by university friends who shared a love for the western psychedelic music of the 60’s-70’s. As they began writing songs they found a likeness in their sound and the Thai Funk, rock’n’roll imbued Luk Thung and traditional Lao Molam-inspired music styles of those eras. These are influences that the band says come from their simplistic reduction of generational stories and cultural experiences which envelope a hidden underlying wit. Their music is laced with a kind of Thai pop sensibility that lays the foundation for a truly kaleidoscopic frenzy of authentic fuzz and far east frequencies.

Following the release of their debut LP ‘Strangers From The Far East’ in 2019, in 2023 Go Kurosawa (of Kikagaku Moyo and the band’s label Guruguru Brain) joined the band at TMM studios in Bangkok and together they recorded this, their second studio album, ‘Monolam’ (meaning unique in sound and style).

While the album maintains the infectious rock’n’roll charm of their previous offering, it shows a departure toward an even more sublime and groovy psychedelic sound – a sound that pays homage to their passion for the past and their longing for a new cultural renaissance. Lyrically, the songs speak of the life experiences of the band, combined sometimes with stories from Thai movies and dramas, telling tales of love, loss and adventure.

Today they share the track “Fi Rak Sanae-ha”, meaning “Fire, Love and Enchanted” which they describe as being “a toxic love song”. The track is a funky take on Thai Lae – a mantric, stripped-back style of music used to covey Buddhist scriptures, usually sung by monks.

“Fi Rak Sanae-ha” official video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKsbC6TUmXY

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity!]

A Place to Bury Strangers release “Fear of Transformation” just in time for the spooky season.

A Place To Bury Strangers release the new single/video, “Fear Of Transformation,” from their forthcoming album, Synthesizer, to be released digitally October 4th and on vinyl October 25th via Dedstrange. Following lead singles “Disgust,” “You Got Me,” and “Bad Idea,” “Fear Of Transformation” is a snarling, gothic techno-punk track that feels like getting body slammed by a wave out at sea. The track delves into the struggle of overcoming internal barriers. As frontman Oliver Ackermann explains, “Sometimes fear builds up and pins you in a cage. A conversation occurs in my head where I have to convince myself to just fucking do something to break out of it.” “Fear Of Transformation” embodies that internal dialogue, capturing the battle between the compulsion to avoid fear and the push to confront it. The song is a raw, intense conversation with the devil within.

The accompanying video was created by Chad Crawford Kinkle, director of Dementor and Jugface. A teenage boy sneaks out from his parent’s house to go to his first Furry party, but he has a secret. He’s actually a werewolf.

Watch the Video for “Fear of Transformation”

Synthesizer is the title of A Place to Bury Strangers’ seventh album. It is also a physical entity, a synthesizer made specifically for you to own, too, if you buy the record on vinyl. You can watch Ackermann demonstrate how to play the circuit board and functional synth album cover here. In an era of making music where so little is DIY and so much is left up to AI, to never setting foot in a practice room or a home studio, making something that feels deliberately chaotic, messy, and human, is entirely the point. Synthesizer very much feels like a record of reinvention. And of course, to ever so slightly reinvent one’s sound, one must also build a new instrument, thus again the synth in question. The resulting record is one that is romantic, colorful, loud as hell, wild, and fucked up just like the instrument itself.

Pre-order Synthesizer

Watch the “Disgust” Video

Watch the Video For “You Got Me”

Watch the Video for “Bad Idea”

A Place To Bury Strangers Tour Dates:

Thu. Oct. 3 – Berlin, DE @ Berlin Metropol [Record Release Show] %

Fri. Oct. 4 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen %

Sat. Oct. 5 – Oslo, NO @ Goldie %

Sun. Oct. 6 – Gothenburg, SE @ Fangelset %

Mon. Oct. 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan %

Wed. Oct 9 – Wroclaw, PL @ Lacznik %

Thu. Oct. 10 – Warsaw, PL @ Hybrydy %

Fri. Oct. 11 – Poznan, PL @ 2progi %

Sat. Oct. 12 – Bmo, CZ @ Kabinet Muz %

Sun. Oct 13 – Jena, DE KuBa Jena %

Fri. Oct. 25 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat &

Sat. Oct. 26 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings &

Sun. Oct. 27 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle &

Mon. Oct. 28 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl &

Wed. Oct. 30 – Houston, TX @ White Oak &

Thu. Oct. 31 – Austin, TX @ Levitation &

Sat. Nov. 2 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar #

Sun. Nov. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom #

Mon. Nov. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ GAMH Psyched Fest #

Thu. Nov. 7 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios #

Fr. Nov. 8 – Seattle, WA @ Freakout Festival ^

Sat. Nov. 9 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl

% w/ Stella Rose

& w/ YHWH Nailgun

# w/ Pop Music Fever Dream

^ w/ The Black Angels, Martin Rev, The Black Lips & Shabazz Palaces

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Steven at Dedstrange!]