7th Level Music

Chat Pile reminds us that we’re all dong a “Wicked Puppet Dance” on their new single.

There’s a sick irony to how a country that extols rhetoric of individual freedom, in the same gasp, has no problem commodifying human life as if it were meat to feed the insatiable hunger of capitalism. If this is American nihilism taken to its absolute zenith, then God’s Country, the first full length record from Oklahoma City noise rock quartet Chat Pile is the aural embodiment of such a concept.

Having lived alongside the heaps of toxic refuse that the band derives its name from, the fatalism of daily life in the American Midwest permeates throughout the works of Chat Pile, and especially so on God’s Country. Exasperated by the pandemic, the hopelessness of climate change, the cattle shoot of global capitalism, and fueled by “…lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of THC,” God’s Country is as much of an acknowledgement of the Earth’s most assured demise as it is a snarling violent act of defiance against it. Within its over 40 minute runtime, God’s Country displays both Chat Pile’s most aggressively unhinged and contemplatively nuanced moments to date, drawing from its preceding two EPs and its score for the 2021 film, Tenkiller. In the band’s own words, the album is, at its heart, “Oklahoma’s specific brand of misery.” A misery intent on taking all down with it and its cacophonous chaos on its own terms as opposed to idly accepting its otherwise assured fall. This is what the end of the world sounds like.

Watch (+ share) the music video for “Wicked Puppet Dance” on YouTube

In just a couple of years, Chat Pile have made nothing short of a profound impression on the underground music discourse. Formed in the spring of 2019 by Raygun Busch (vocals), Luther Manhole (Guitar), Stin (Bass), and Captain Ron (Drums), the noise-rock quartet would release two EPs that same year, titled This Dungeon Earth and Remove Your Skin Please. Spurred on by both a hearty run of live performances and a swiftly growing online fanbase, Chat Pile became a staple name among its genre contemporaries thanks to its hellish synthesis of noise rock, sludge, industrial, and mid 90’s nu-metal. In 2020, the band would sign with San Francisco underground music label, The Flenser, to put out its upcoming full length debut. That following year, Chat Pile kept its roll going, with accolades including composing the score for the indie film, Tenkiller, as well as releasing a 7” split with portrayal of guilt in the summer.

Now, the world braces itself for the release of Chat Pile‘s Flenser debut God’s Country on July 29th. The album is available for pre-order here and Chat Pile will play select shows this summer and fall.

Chat Pile, live:

July 29 Oklahoma City, OK @ The Sanctuary (Records Release Show)

July 30 Austin, TX @ Chess Club

September 15 Oklahoma City, OK @ The Sanctuary

October 21 Brooklyn, NY @ St. Vitus *

October 24 Brooklyn, NY @ St. Vitus *

*w/ Scarcity

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Stephanie at Indie Publicity.]

Live: The Psychedelic Furs and X – Andrew J. Bird Music Center – Cincinnati, OH – July 20, 2022

“This place is like the Borg cube of music venues.”

That’s how my friend described the Andrew J. Bird Music Center in downtown Cincinnati. It’s an interesting performance space with good acoustics, but the interior “has no personality,” as she put it. It has a stark industrial feel, and hosting some industrial or goth shows in the place would be ideal. The only fixed seats are in the multiple balconies. The main floor is open, but rows of seats were added for The Psychedelic Furs and X.

This was the second time I’ve seen the Psychedelic Furs. The first was on their “Singles Tour” and this one was promoting their latest record, Made of Rain. First up, however, were L.A. punk legends X. Bassist John Doe mentioned how they’d been playing in a lot of beautiful theaters, but “I keep expecting Tina Turner to come out and tell us we’re in the Thunderdome in this place.” They put on a fun set, with Billy Zoom still shredding both guitar and saxophone, Exene Cervenka blessing the crowd, and D.J. Bonebrake playing both drums and xylophone. People were dancing in the aisles the whole time, and one guy was pogoing front and center for nearly their entire set. Billy Zoom came back out after their set and signed a few autographs.

I knew we were in for a good set from The Psychedelic Furs when they opened their show with “I Wanna Sleep with You” – one of my favorite tracks that I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear live. “Mr. Jones” followed and then the first of many great tracks from Made of Rain, “You’ll Be Mine.”

Other sharp new tracks included Made of Rain‘s opener, “The Boy Who Invented Rock and Roll,” “Wrong Train,” “This’ll Never Be Like Love,” “No-One,” and “Ash Wednesday.” “Their new songs are beautiful,” my friend said. She’s right. Guitarist Rich Good puts more emphasis on the psychedelic part of the band’s sound on these new tracks.

They played plenty of classics, of course, with “The Ghost in You” being the loveliest and “Love My Way” being even more popular with the happy crowd than “Pretty in Pink.”

The encore included a solid version of “Heartbreak Beat” that had everybody dancing and a stunning, beautifully chaotic (as they’d describe it) version of “India” – the first track on their first album. It was another song I wasn’t sure I’d ever hear live, and it was a killer end to a great show. Saxophonist Mars Williams played so hard and with such frenetic passion that we all thought he was going to pass out on stage at one point.

Another highlight is how Richard Butler‘s voice never seems to age, or perhaps it just gets better. He’s still on top of his game, as is the whole band. His brother, Tim Butler, still has that rockstar style and slight menace about him, and the bottom end of his bass is the band’s secret weapon. Keyboardist Amanda Kramer doesn’t go overboard with her playing, which means she’s secretly doing a lot of stuff you can barely comprehend – and she adds a mystery to the band’s stage presence behind her ever-present shades (as does Tim Butler). The band’s new drummer, Zack Alford, has serious chops and ups the volume with pure rock beats.

Keep your mind open.

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Nils Frahm releases “Lemon Day” from his upcoming three-hour-long album, “Music for Animals.”

Renowned composer, producer and performer Nils Frahm releases a new single, “Lemon Day,” from his forthcoming album, Music For Animals, out September 23rd on LEITER. The track unfolds at an unhurried, meditative pace in a celebration of tone, timbre and texture, before building up itself in a complex atmospheric way of playing. While the beginning reveals a dark and thoughtful mood, the dynamic evolves into a warm and light tone.

Listen to Nils Frahm’s “Lemon Day”

Containing ten tracks and clocking in at over three hours long, Music For Animals is an ambitious and compelling set different to anything Frahm’s released to date. In fact, it finds the Piano Day founder declining to use a piano, but at the same time retains many of the qualities that have set the influential musician’s work apart over much of the last two decades. “My constant inspiration,” Frahm explains, “was something as mesmerizing as watching a great waterfall or the leaves on a tree in a storm. It’s good we have symphonies and music where there’s a development, but a waterfall doesn’t need an Act 1, 2, 3, then an outcome, and nor do the leaves on a tree in a storm. Some people like watching the leaves rustle and the branches move. This record is for them.”

As a title, Music For Animals is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the conceptual albums of the 1950s – like Raymond Scott’s Music For Babies – as well as to contemporary playlist habits. “I feel a certain frustration with the functional use of music these days, all these playlists with names like Music for Sleeping, Music for Focus, Music for Masturbation,” Frahm laughs. “Music always seems to need to do something useful. That’s a very client-driven logic: the client needs something, the music should deliver that, otherwise ‘You’re Fired!’ With this album, there was no specific audience in mind, and nor was it adapted to any particular purpose. But in fact, it seemed to please the animals I’ve spent a lot of time with these last months, so, you know: if you can’t beat them, join them…!”

At three hours long, Music For Animals might seem initially intimidating, but the truth is that this substantial collection encourages listeners to bask in its tranquility at their chosen depth, demanding only as much attention as they wish to contribute. As Frahm himself happily points out, “It all comes back to that waterfall. If you want to watch it, watch it. If you don’t, then you don’t have to. It will always be the same, yet never quite the same.” Indeed, that’s Music For Animals’ greatest strength. Instantly recognizable, it’s still like nothing else.

Following a European leg, Frahm will tour across North America in support of Music For Animals. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets for all shows are on sale now.

Listen to “Right Right Right”

Pre-order Music For Animals

Nils Frahm Tour Dates
Buy Tickets
Thu. Sept. 22 – Berlin, DE @ Funkhaus
Fri. Sept. 23 – Berlin, DE @ Funkhaus
Sat. Sept. 24 – Berlin, DE @ Funkhaus
Sat. Oct. 1 – Wien, AT @ Konzerthaus
Sun. Oct. 2 – München, DE @ Isarphilharmonie
Mon. Oct. 10 – Katowice, PL @ NOSPR
Oct. 11 – Wroclaw, PL @ NFM
Fri. Oct. 14 – Brussels, BE @ Nuits Sonores at Bozar
Sat. Oct. 15 – Heerlen, NL @ Parkstad Limburg Theaters
Sun. Oct. 16 – Leipzig, DE @ Gewandhaus
Wed. Oct. 19 – Antwerp, BE @ Queen Elizabeth Hall – SOLD OUT
Thu. Oct. 20 – Amsterdam, NL @ Concertgebouw – SOLD OUT
Fri. Oct. 21 – Aarhus, EK @ Musikhuset
Sun. Oct. 23 – Copenhagen, DK @ Royal Danish Opera House
Wed. Oct. 26 – Frankfurt, DE @ Alte Oper
Thu. Nov. 24 – Prague, CZ @ Prague Sounds at Forum Karlin
Sat. Nov. 26 – Paris, FR @ Salle Pleyel – SOLD OUT
Sun. Nov. 27 – Paris, FR @ Salle Pleyel
Wed. Apr. 19, 2023 – Montreal, QC @ Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
Thu. Apr. 20, 2023 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
Fri. Apr. 21, 2023 – Boston, MA @ Berklee Performance Center
Sat. Apr. 22, 2023 – Toronto, On @ Massey Hall
Sun. Apr. 23, 2023 – Chicago, IL @ TBA
Wed. Apr. 26, 2023 – Vancouver, BC @ Chan Centre
Thu. Apr. 27, 2023 – Seattle, WA @ Paramount
Fri. Apr. 28, 2023 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
Sat. Apr. 29, 2023 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum
Sun. Apr. 30, 2023 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum
Thu. July 11, 2024 – London, UK @ Barbican
Fri. July 12, 2024 – London, UK @ Barbican
Sat. July 13, 2024 – London, UK @ Barbican
Sun. July 14, 2024 – London, UK @ Barbican

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Yuri at Pitch Perfect PR.]

WSND DJ set list – Nocturne – July 24, 2022

Thanks to all who listened to my latest Nocturne show on WSND. Here’s the set list from July 24, 2022.

Mexico City Blondes – All Night
Hugo Smooth – Won’t Play Bumpum Cars
Mountain – Theme for an Imaginary Western (requested)
CHAI – Curly Adventure
Soul Coughing – Circles
The Hearse radio ad
Nine Inch Nails – Temp Fix
“Weird Al” Yankovic – Dog Eat Dog
Osees – Static God (live)
The Cramps – Chicken (live)
Young Blood radio ad
Outkast – Pink and Blue
De La Soul – Eye Know (The Know It All mix)
Howlin’ Wolf – Shake for Me
Gallencamps Shoes radio ad
Dex Romweber Duo – Nowhere
Sun Voyager – Gypsy Hill
Visiting Hours radio ad
The Well – Dragon Snort
Zeke – Dölphenwülf
House of Large Sizes – The History of Camouflage
The Cure – Fascination Street
Lalo Schifrin – The Gentle Softness
The Duke Spirit – Cuts Across the Land
Wild in the Sky radio ad
Fountains of Wayne – All Kinds of Time
Tears for Fears – Head Over Heels (requested)
The Police – Mother (requested)
The Naughty Cheerleader radio ad
Morphine – Sheila
Don’t Answer the Phone radio ad
The Black Angels – Telephone
Morcheeba – Tape Loop

I’m back on air July 31st! Give me listen, won’t you?

Keep your mind open.

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WSND DJ set list – Deep Dive of Tom Jones

It was a fun deep dive tonight of Tom Jones‘ music on July 24, 2022. Here’s the set list.

Tom Jones – It’s Not Unusual
Solomon Burke – Cry to Me
Jackie Wilson – (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher
Brook Benton – It’s Just a Matter of Time
Tommy Scott and The Senators – Baby I’m in Love
Tom Jones – Chills and Fever
Tom Jones – Thunderball (live)
Tom Jones and The Flaming Lips – Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century (requested)
Tom Jones – With These Hands
Elvis Presley – One Pair of Hands
Tom Jones – Sixteen Tons
Tom Jones – I’ll Never Fall in Love Again
Lonnie Donegan – The Wabash Cannonball (live)
Tom Jones – Twist and Shout (live)
Tom Jones – Treat Her Right (live)
Tom Jones and Little Richard – Rock ‘n’ Roll Medley (live)
Tom Jones and Janis Joplin – Raise Your Hand (live)
Tom Jones – She’s a Lady
Tom Jones – Resurrection Shuffle (requested)
The Blossoms – He’s a Rebel
Quiet Elegance – I’m Afraid of Losing You
Tom Jones – Touch Me
Tom Jones and Art of Noise – Kiss
Tom Jones – Lift Me Up
Tom Jones and Portishead – Motherless Child
Tom Jones and The Cardigans – Burning Down the House (requested)
Tom Jones and Stereophonics – Mama Told Me Not to Come (requested)
Tom Jones – Burning Hell
Tom Jones and Jack White – Evil

Up next week is a deep dive of Fatboy Slim. I hope you give me a listen.

Keep your mind open.

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Rochelle Jordan announces remix album of “Play with the Changes” out September 16, 2022.

Los Angeles-based artist Rochelle Jordan announces Play With The Changes Remixed, a reimagination of her acclaimed 2021 album Play With The Changes, out September 16th on Young Art Records. In conjunction, Jordan unveils its lead single, “Love You Good (Remix)” ft. LSDXOXO and announces a fall North American tour supporting Channel Tres. A year after Play With The Changes and her recent sold-out headline tour, which also included select dates opening for Kaytranada, Jordan taps him along with Sango, Byron The Aquarius, Soul Clap, and more to expand on the album’s futuristic sonic landscape. “Love You Good (Remix)” finds Jordan and LSDXOXO’s vocals intertwining atop an irresistible beat, reiterating Jordan’s original thesis for Play With The Changes: without experimentation, innovation is impossible.

Listen to “Love You Good (Remix)” ft. LSDXOXO

Defying categorization to create a project full of slinky, dancefloor-packing burners that channel her U.K. roots, Play With the Changes is reminiscent of Jordan’s childhood nights spent listening to her brother’s 2-step hymns from the other side of the wall. Garnering year end praise from Billboard, Bandcamp, and more, Play With The Changes presents Jordan as a modern heir in a lineage of powerhouse vocalists with style and imagination.

Pre-order Play With The Changes Remixed

Play With The Changes Remixed Tracklist:
1. Situation (&Me Remix)
2. Dancing Elephants (DJ Minx Remix)
3. Got Em (Sango Remix)
4. Count It (KLSH Remix)
5. All Along (Kaytranada Remix)
6. Nothing Left (Kingdom Remix)
7. Lay (Machinedrum Remix)
8. Love You Good (Remix) ft. LSDXOXO
9. Next 2 You (Sinistarr Remix)
10. Already (Things You Say Remix)
11. Broken Steel (Soul Clap Remix)
12. Something (Byron The Aquarius Remix)

Rochelle Jordan Tour Dates:
(all dates supporting Channel Tres)
Tue. Sep. 27 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Wed. Sep. 28 – Albuquerque @ Electric Playhouse
Fri. Sep. 30 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
Sat. Oct. 1- Dallas, TX @ The Echo
Sun. Oct. 2 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live – Studio
Tue. Oct. 4 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Thu. Oct. 6 – Detroit, MI @ Leland City Park
Fri. Oct. 7 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Hall
Sat. Oct. 8 – Montreal, QC @ S.A.T
Tue. Oct. 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Thu. Oct. 13 – Washington, DC @ Culture
Fri. Oct. 14 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Tue. Dec. 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theater
Wed. Dec. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theater
Sat. Dec. 10 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ The Fremont Theater
Wed. Dec. 14 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Thu. Dec. 15 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
Fri. Dec. 16 – Vancouver, BC @ Celebrities Nightclub

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: GOAT – Headsoup

Collecting B-sides, singles, re-edits, and new material, GOAT‘s Headsoup is a great release for fans of the band and fans of wild psychedelic rock.

“The Sun the Moon,” for example was the B-side to the “Goatman” single. The alternate version of “Stonegoat” sounds thicker than the original, making it even more mind-altering. “Dreambuilding” is also chock-full of distorted guitars, and the wild hand percussion on it is a perfect yang to the guitars’ yin. “Dig My Grave” tones down the fuzz so it can add more reverb.

The re-edit of “It’s Time for Fun” almost becomes a krautrock track with its electro-beats and pulsing synthesizers. “Relax” is a loud, yet hypnotizing instrumental. The alternate take of “Union of Mind and Soul” is just as bouncy as the original. “The Snake of Addis Ababa” could probably charm a cobra out of a wicker basket with its entrancing guitar work and rhythm.

“Goatfizz” is another cool instrumental, reminding me of late 1970s / early 1980s background jazz you’d hear in a hotel lobby or on an obscure late night cable TV channel. The new edit of “Let It Burn” is as heavy as a Black Sabbath B-side. “Friday Pt. 1” is soft and mellow to balance out the previous track, with a soulful saxophone solo to boot. “Fill My Mouth” is, as you might imagine from the title, the naughtiest song GOAT has written – and one of their funkiest as well. I mean, holy crap, the flute breakdown on it alone is worth the price of admission. “Fill My Mouth” and the following track, the sexy, psychedelic “Queen of the Underground” were GOAT’s first new tracks in several years, and showed they were still at the top of their game.

Let’s hope there’s more new stuff to come, because Headsoup only made us GOAT fans hungrier.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: GOAT – Live Ballroom Ritual (2013)

Recorded in Camden’s Electric Ballroom in London on July 27, 2013, GOAT‘s Live Ballroom Ritual is a ripping album that captures the band of Swedish voodoo psych-rockers blowing people’s minds and taking them to other planes of existence.

The show starts simply enough, with the calm, soothing guitar strumming on “Dirabi” for over three minutes before the drums and hand percussion come in to let everyone know that they’re in for a mystical journey. “Golden Dawn” continues this levitation into some kind of sacred space between funk and psychedelia. “People get ready under the rainbow,” the ladies of GOAT sing on “Disco Fever” – a swirling, pulsing track that probably had the whole place bouncing and sweating after just three songs in the set.

“Stonegoat” was their new single at the time, and it’s a stomper that contrasts well with the mellower (but no less funkier, especially with its ripping saxpohone solo) “Let It Bleed.” The instrumental “Dreambuilding” is absolutely hypnotic, leading us to the sweaty, heavy “Run to Your Mama” that I’m sure floored the one thousand-plus fans in the audience.

Three “goat songs” follow: The somehow heavier “Goathead,” with its percussive bass,” the trance (and possibly hallucination)-inducing “Goatman, and “Goatlord” – a slow sizzler that sets the table for the eleven-minute “Det som aldrig förändras – Kristallen den fina.” It’s a massive track that fills whichever space in which you hear it. Every part of it crushes. The performance ends with the massively fuzzy “The Sun the Moon,” combining chants with frenetic drumming and sawmill guitars.

I consider myself lucky to have seen GOAT live here in the United States. I hope they will return soon. They are doing some European shows these days, but their shows here have become somewhat legendary, like this stunning performance.

Keep your mind open.

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WSND DJ set list – Nocturne – July 17, 2022

It was another fun two hours of music on WSND last night. Here’s all the wild stuff I spun on July 17, 2022.

House of Large Sizes – Cranko-American
Arctic Monkeys – All My Own Stunts
Failure – Shrine
Buzzcocks – Between Heaven and Hell
Social Distortion – She’s a Knockout
New Bomb Turks – Spanish Fly by Night
Warish – Voices
The Psychedelic Furs – Love My Way
Radiohead – High and Dry (live)
Love and Rockets – The Light (live)
Dunsmuir – Deceiver
Soulwax – Conversation Intercom
Fuzz – Time Collapse
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros – Redemption Song
Boss Hog – Sick
The Donnas – All Messed Up
Nights Beats – Useless Game
The Black Keys – The Moan
Tim Heidecker – Say Yes
Elvis Presley – Trying to Get to You
Gerhard Heinz – Die Mädchen in Kloster
Regressive Left – World on Fire
Kalbells – Poppy Tree
ABBA – Take a Chance on Me (requested)
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Ambergris
Chromatics – Light As a Feather
Beto Villares – Rio da Bossa Nova

I’ll be back on air soon. Give me a listen.

Keep your mind open.

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WSND DJ set list – Deep Dive of Kraftwerk

Thanks to all who tuned in for my deep dive of Kraftwerk. It was a fun show. Here’s the set list from July 17, 2022.

Kraftwerk – The Robots
Organisation – Silver Forest
NEU! – Isi
Kraftwerk – First Techno (live)
Kraftwerk – Köln II (live)
Kraftwerk – Elektrischesroulette
MC5 – Kick Out the Jams (live)
Kraftwerk – Autobahn (single version)
Kraftwerk – Radioactivity
Kraftwerk – Trans Europa Express (original German language version)
Kraftwerk – Les Mannequins (original French language version)
Joy Division – Dead Souls
Kraftwerk – The Model
Kraftwerk – Computer Love
Kraftwerk – Pocket Calculator (live)
LCD Soundsystem – Disco Infiltrator (single version)
Kraftwerk – Electric Café
Kraftwerk – The Telephone Call
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Hall of Mirrors
Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark – Neon Lights
Kraftwerk – Elektro Kardiogramm

The next deep dive will be either July 24th or July 30th (depending on some travel plans I have for the weekend of the 24th) and will cover the music of Tom Jones.

Keep your mind open.

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