7th Level Music

Rewind Review: Death Valley Girls – Islands in the Sky (2023)

First, how cool is that cover? I could create a full Dungeons and Dragons adventure based on that. I’m thinking it’s the palace of a Storm Giant or a Cloud Giant, possibly protected by a Sphinx and having a portal to the Astral Plane inside it. I mean, what else could that glowing circle inside it be?

Islands in the Sky by Death Valley Girls turns out to be an album about self-healing, ascension to higher states of consciousness (or, perhaps, centering oneself to the present), and preparing for possible future incarnations of ourselves in this reality or another – such as the one on the cover.

Starting with “California Mountain Shake” (which could reference a few different things in its title), the album starts with moaning chants and haunting organ from Bonnie Bloomgarden as Larry Schemel‘s guitar subtly moves around you like a wise old serpent. “Magic Powers” put bassist Sammy Westervelt on lead vocals singing about realizing through enlightenment that she, and all of us, have untapped power waiting to be rediscovered.

The beat of the title track, thanks to Rikki Styxx and guest percussionist Mark Rains, instantly gets your body moving in a happy groove while Bloomgarden encourages us to leave worry behind and pick up joy. “Sunday” is a fun, almost go-go club rocker.

“What are the odds that we live in a simulated world, and I’m a simulated girl?” Bloomgarden asks on “What Are the Odds?” as she and Schemel trade guitar licks and Styxx puts down some of the heaviest beats of the album. The odds, by the way, seem about even, as we all create our own reality.

The second side of the album starts with the transcendent “Journey to Dog Star,” and by this time I’m long overdue to mention the contributions of Gabe Flores on saxophone throughout the album. His psych-jazz honks blend perfectly with Schemel’s trippy guitar work on not only this track, but on all the songs featuring him on the record.

“Say It Too” has some desert rock and even slight surf touches throughout it, and some of Bloomgarden’s loveliest vocals on the album. “Watch the Sky” could be a warning about UFO’s (watch the original The Thing from Another World) or a song about watching clouds go by and using that as inspiration to clear one’s mind. Either way, it’s a lot of good, fuzzy rock.

Bloomgarden tells us that life can be so much more than the drudgery in which we often trap ourselves on “When I’m Free,” and on “All That Is Not of Me,” she encourages us to let go of our trappings, excesses, and self-imposed limits (“All that is not of me washes away from me.”) while Schemel’s guitar work goes into near-shoegaze territory and Westervelt’s bass keeps the song locked into a sweet groove.

Closing with “It’s All Really Kind of Amazing” is a perfect way to end such an uplifting album. Lyrics like “Wake up it’s time to be all the things you dream.” sum up Islands in the Sky with perfect energy.

As good as this album was in 2023, it’s even better and more important now in 2024 as we head toward a Presidential election featuring two choices that most of us aren’t thrilled about and people are unsure and nervous about what’s to come. Don’t worry about what’s to come, focus on now. Don’t worry about now, but be present with it. The future, when it gets here, will be now. We’re already living in the future. We can fix it now. Death Valley Girls have been telling us this before Islands in the Sky, but this album can be a great entry point for their mystical, metaphysical, marvelous sound and message.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Music Festival announces its 2024 lineup.

LEVITATION returns this Halloween weekend, taking over Austin, Texas music venues with an eclectic and expanded menu of music and art October 31 – November 3, 2024!

4 Day Passes and Single Show Tickets are available now, here.

For over a decade, LEVITATION has delivered lineups that span psych, dream pop, punk, indie, metal, darkwave and electronic music. It’s a beloved record collection manifested into a 4 day weekend, with lineups that span continents and generations: a heady amalgamation of vintage gear, immersive light shows and visuals, buzzing amps, moody synths, and good times in Austin, Texas.

This year’s festival brings a full platter of psychedelia, shoegaze, punk, metal, and electronica – a collection of underground legends, music vanguards and pillars of modern music and indie music culture.

The multi-venue format encourages fans to choose their own adventure through the weekend – you can buy single show tickets for over 30 different shows, or go all in with a 4 Day Pass and indulge in the entire 4 day Halloween weekend.

Many of the shows are mini-festivals in their own right. Slowdive, Drop Nineteens, Airiel, Ringo Deathstarr and Glare close out the weekend, topping off a 4 day shoegazer’s dream across 4 venues, including lineup highlights Panchiko, Swirlies, Julie, and Wisp. Punk legends the Jesus Lizard top off a stacked bill with Gang Of Four, Dry Cleaning, Special Interest, Pissed Jeans, Fat Dog and more – all on one ticket on Friday at The Far Out Lounge. Jazz Is Dead brings a 3 night residency with French greats Cortex and Adrian Younge. Psych punk titans OSEES make a 4 night stand at Hotel Vegas, an Austin tradition that’s seen them play nearly as many Levitation events as festival founders The Black Angels – who top off a Halloween night show brimming with international talent: Niger’s Mdou Moctar, and Brazil’s Boogarins. Local heavies The Sword ride high at Stubb’s on Sunday, with highly influential proto-metal outfit Pentagram, local rippers Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, and The Well. Saturday night brings Texas thrash giants Fugitive with hardcore heroes Integrity, plus more across a two stage lineup. Indie dream team Soccer Mommy and The Drums pair up to crush Stubb’s on Friday night, while Tycho, Washed Out, Hania Rani, Wu Lu, Arushi Jain and more bring bliss across a two stage lineup at The Far Out Lounge on Saturday night. LEVITATION 2024 adds a new downtown venue, Kingdom, which will host late-night sets from the likes of genre-defining and expanding DJs and producers such as The Dare, Axel Boman, and Patrick Holland with more to be announced.

More highlights include French heavy space-rock masters Slift who headline Mohawk, London’s Nilüfer Yanya, and Japan’s Boris bringing their album ‘Amplifier Worship’ on a two stage lineup with A Place To Bury Strangers. Australia’s Mildlife team up with UK chill auteur Arc De Soleil. The UK makes a strong showing with EMB pioneers Nitzer Ebb, Manchester stalwarts The Chameleons performing their 1986 classic ‘Strange Times’, and first wave post-punks The March Violets, all performing headline sets at Elysium.

To keep up with updates and for additional information, keep up with LEVITATION on Instagram here.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Bailey at Another Side!]

Kiasmos release new single, “Sailed,” ahead of new album out this Friday.

Today Kiasmos, the duo of Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds and Faroese musician Janus Rasmussen, share a new single from their long-awaited second album, ‘II’, which is set for release on July 5 via Erased Tapes. The single drops ahead of a sold out show at London’s Outernet tomorrow night, with an Autumn show at Troxy already announced for later this year, as well as international headline and festival appearances – dates below.

Following the recently dropped EP “Flown“ and previous single “Burst“, today they share the crisp, delicate atmospherics of “Sailed“, which Arnalds describes as “one of the more playful processes during the making of this record was the creation of Sailed. A no rules kind of affair that resulted in us putting a breakbeat, synthesisers, 808’s, a choir, piano and strings all in the same song. A personal favourite of mine from the record and one I’ve been looking forward to sharing with the world.”

Rasmussen adds: “This song indicated that we had an album ready. It serves as a summary of the work we’ve dedicated to this project over the years. It’s like the essence of Kiasmos in 2024, which excites me. This song has a slightly broken beat, synths, strings, and a lot of tension—to me, it has it all.” Listen to “Sailed”:https://idol-io.ffm.to/sailed
Pre-order/pre-save ‘II’: https://idol-io.ffm.to/Kiasmos-II

When Kiasmos started out in the late 2000s, little did they know that their part-time supergroup would go stratospheric. It was the sound of two old friends from neighbouring islands striking out against the stark piano and electropop music that they were individually celebrated for and effusively sharing their love of Berlin-inspired beats. But their pairing blew up into a world-dominating live act whose music went on to define the decade. So what does one of the most dynamic duos in electronic music do next, after all this time? There are clues in their new artwork: Kiasmos’s distinctive diamond motif, up in flames, so it can rise again from the ashes.

Kiasmos are returning, renewed and restored, with ‘II’. It’s the triumphant followup to their universally acclaimed self-titled debut in 2014, which re-envisioned minimal techno with orchestral flourishes and weightless production. They’d made most of that album in just two weeks; this time it’s been 10 years. The making of ‘II’ was a test of their friendship, but also testament to how great musical chemistry can always go the distance and be just the same as it ever was. “In the beginning, we hadn’t established any sound, so it was easy to write,” says Janus.

On ‘II’ you can clearly hear how Kiasmos have evolved as sonic architects, in the album’s deeper acoustic textures, atmospheric ambience, restless grooves and ambitious string arrangements. Each song on the album is a mini epic, effortlessly moving between electronic, classical and rave, and then pulling back before you’ve had a chance to take a breath. This is Kiasmos – but more widescreen. “It’s bigger, both in sound and production,” says Janus. “The music has matured yet there’s a playfulness to it.”

They worked on a lot of ‘II’ during the lost year of 2020-2021, including a trip to Ólafur’s studio in Bali. “We spent a month there and wrote a few songs that ended up on the record,” says Janus. The pair sampled traditional Balinese percussion like the gamelan and incorporated Janus’s field recordings of their natural surroundings – the sound of birds, crickets and echoing the sunrise over the lush landscape.

Kiasmos have an enviable knack for conveying complex emotions and evocative visuals with instrumental music. But this time they’ve got more experience as producers to draw on. The album’s expansiveness can be linked to Ólafur’s intervening years as a Grammy-nominated composer and prominent soundtracker in film and TV. And they’ve subtly shifted from four-to-the-floor to the frenetic broken beats of UK dance music, experimenting more with BPMs, echoing Janus’s time spent DJing in major venues worldwide.

“It’s emotional rave!” laughs Ólafur. The magic of Kiasmos is also in the cathartic release that can happen at their live shows. “We often talk about the idea of crying on the dance floor,” Ólafur continues. “That’s become our unofficial slogan.” But they also want to keep everyone, including themselves, on their toes. “II is livelier,” says Janus, “but it still retains the signature Kiasmos style of transitioning from a whisper-quiet ambience to an explosive dance beat that can blow your socks off.” Their phoenix is rising from the ashes, and ready to take flight.

‘II’ will be released on July 5th via Erased Tapes. Pre-order here.

Kiasmos live dates:
12.07. Audioriver Festival PL Lodz
13.07. BBK Festival ES Bilbao
26.07. Popmesse CZ Brno
02.08. All Together Now IE Waterfront
10.08. Grape Festival SK Trencin
11.08. Sziget Festival HU Budapest

14.09. Spring Attitude Festival IT Rome
15.09. Milan IT Magnolia
18.09. London UK Troxy
19.09. Paris FR Salle Pleyel
20.09. Cologne DE Stadthalle
21.09. Hamburg DE Reeperbahn Festival
22.09. Copenhagen DK Poolen
24.09. Luxembourg LU den Atelier
25.09. Amsterdam NL Melkweg
26.09. Berlin DE Columbiahalle

12.11. New York US Elsewhere Hall
13.11. Montreal CA SAT
15.11. San Francisco US 1015 Folsom
16.11. Los Angeles US The Regent
17.11. Seattle US Crododile
20.11. Mexico City MX BlackBerry Auditorio
Ticket links: http://ffm.link/tour-dates

‘II’ track list:
1. Grown
2. Burst – stream
3. Sailed – stream
4. Laced
5. Bound
6. Sworn
7. Spun
8. Flown – official video
9. Told
10. Dazed
11. Squared

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Being Dead share “Firefighters” from their upcoming new album due September 27th.

Being Dead — the Austin, TX-based duo consisting of Falcon Bitch and Shmoofy — announces its new album, EELS, out September 27th on Bayonet, lead single/video “Firefighters,” and a fall headline tour. Being Dead’s records are mosaics, technicolor incantations, each song its own self-contained little universe. And while the dreamlike EELS probes further into the depths of the duo Being Dead’s psyche, it is, most importantly, a 16-track record that is genuinely unpredictable from one track to the next. It’s a joyous and unexpected trip helmed by two true-blue freak bitch besties holed up in a lil’ house in the heart of Austin, Texas.

When Horses Would Run, Being Dead’s “glorious and timeless” (Gorilla vs. Bear) debut record released in 2023, took years to release. The final product was excellent and expertly polished, at odds with the live rowdiness they’d cultivated a reputation for throughout Austin and beyond across seven years of being a band. For the next one, they knew they’d have to do things differently. They decamped to Los Angeles for two weeks to record with GRAMMY-winning producer John Congleton, writing songs for the record until days before they left. The radical shift in process was welcome – a good balance and a challenge, Congleton helping them find new ways to work and helping peel back the layers on the core of their songwriting. Being Dead has grown from a duo to a trio live, including bassist Nicole Roman-Johnston who also co-wrote and recorded bass and vocals on several album tracks.

The resulting EELS is a darker record, tapped more into the devilishness within. It’s a more raucous, rougher ride sonically. There’s heartbreak, excitement, enchantment, dancing – we move through it all at a high-octane pace. Falcon Bitch and Smoofy never want to do the same thing twice on any song, and they don’t. This is never more apparent than on lead single, “Firefighters,” which might be the first of its kind told from the perspective of a Dalmatian who is overworked at their fire station. The pummeling, distorted garage rock ripper’s accompanying video by director URZULKA “came together through a group hallucination.” The band adds, “We love marbles and outdoor play and decided to get it on video for y’all. Making this was like creating an intricate handshake with all your buddies—riddled with inside jokes and giggles.”

Watch the Video for “Firefighters”

There are a number of different origin stories for Being Dead floating around on the internet, most of which are immortalized in various press pieces they’ve done across the last seven years of being a band, and there will likely be more. Falcon Bitch and Smoofy deliver each story with a wink, inviting you in on the joke. Maybe they were actually born from a giant egg left in a meteoric crater, or they’re undercover on earth from an alien universe. Something about their music suggests it’s a dispatch from both the future and the past – vocal harmonies that sound like they’re reverberating in a medieval church to surfy guitar lines, weirdo-punky cacophonies erupting into chaos. There’s the sense that these are two people who are strangers to all that is banal – there is always fun to be had, a little mischievous magic waiting around the corner, if you know how to find or make it.

Pre-order EELS

EELS Tracklist:
1. Godzilla Rises
2. Van Goes
3. Blanket of my Bone
4. Problems
5. Firefighters
6. Dragons II
7. Nightvision
8. Gazing At Footwear
9. Big Bovine
10. Storybook Bay
11. Ballerina
12. Rock n’ Roll Hurts
13. Love Machine
14. I Was A Tunnel
15. Goodnight
16. Lilypad Lane

Being Dead Tour Dates:
Tue. Aug. 13 – Austin, TX @ Sagebrush
Fri. Sept. 27 – Austin, TX @ Radio East
Sat. Oct. 12 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits
Mon. Oct. 14 – Atlanta, GA @ 529 Club
Tue. Oct. 15 – Richmond, VA @ The Camel
Wed. Oct. 16 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong
Fri. Oct. 18 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Made
Sat. Oct. 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
Mon. Oct. 21 – Boston, MA @ The Rockwell
Tue. Oct. 22 – Montreal, QC @ L’Esco
Wed. Oct. 23 – Toronto, ON @ The Baby G
Fri. Oct. 25 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Sun. Oct. 27 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
Tue. Oct. 29 – Louisville, KY @ The Whirling Tiger
Thu. Oct. 31 – Nashville, TN @ The Blue Room at Third Man Records
Sat. Nov. 2 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll feel dead if you don’t subscribe.]

[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Bizhiki are “Unbound” with their new single.

Bizhiki — a made-in-Wisconsin collaboration between Dylan Bizhikiins Jennings, Joe Rainey Sr., and multi-instrumentalist S. Carey (Bon Iver) — shares the new single/video, “Unbound,” from their new album Unbound, out July 19th via Jagjaguwar. Following lead single “Gigawaabamin (Come Through)” featuring Mike Sullivan, the title track of the album is exemplary of Bizhiki’s unique cultural and musical intersection.

The song begins with an electronically modified hand drum accentuated by a plaintive piano chord, leading into a somber warning sung by Carey: “Be calm when she speaks/she speaks the truth, unbound.” The words were pulled by Carey from Rainey’s notebook, right in the studio. “I wrote those lines around a string of tornadoes and hurricanes — this wrath of mother nature that was hitting everybody,” Rainey says. “There was so much relief needed for people who were displaced, so many people out there hurting.” Carey’s warning is joined to an urgent topline sung by Bizhikiins Jennings, as arresting as it is beautiful.

The video for “Unbound” was directed by Finn Ryan and features dancer Indaanis Demain alongside the group. “Gichigami and Anishinaabeg have long been intertwined in a relationship rooted in reciprocity and respect, which continues to this day,” Ryan explains. “On her shores we continue to sing and make offerings, carrying out ancient responsibilities tied to culture and place. Be calm when she speaks, she speaks the truth out loud.”

Bizhiki has also announced their album release show at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis, MN on Wednesday, July 24th, and will be joined by special guest Dosh. Tickets are on-sale now and are available here.

Watch the Video for “Unbound”

Unbound opens with a single, trembling chord that rises and descends before meeting a warm, beguiling voice, a voice singing in a tradition that’s been heard in Northern Wisconsin river country for millennia. The music that follows is a soulful dialogue between the ancient tradition of powwow singing and a contemporary musical palette. Unbound sees the powwow style entwined with synthesized voice modulation, and hand drumming accented with electronic samples and beats. The harmonies and resonances on this album are equal parts cultural and musical.

Many of the songs on this album go back to when the spirit of the Bizhiki was forged, nearly a decade ago, on the banks of Wisconsin’s Chippewa River at Eaux Claires festival in 2015, and came together over the course of years in between several projects from Bizhiki members, including two solo album releases. Both Joe Rainey’s Niineta and S. Carey’s Break Me Open were released in 2022, and the artists have been busy touring their projects. Bizhikiins Jennings has also been committed to a robust schedule of speaking and teaching engagements —he’s in the final stage of his pursuit of a PhD at UW-Madison’s Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies — in addition to his singing in powwow groups, both locally and internationally.

Bizhiki: Unbound is the recipient of an inaugural Wisconsin Special Projects Grant from Ruth Foundation for the Arts. The project is one of ten selected from a pool of over 80 applicants; selections were made by a national panel of jurors. Project collaborators will develop and tour a multidisciplinary music and video performance, engaging audiences throughout Wisconsin about contemporary Ojibwe culture at live shows in 2024 and 2025. The project will make great efforts to both support revitalization within Tribal communities and enhance understanding in non-Tribal communities.

Pre-order Unbound

Watch/Stream “Gigawaabamin (Come Through) (feat. Mike Sullivan)”

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

WSND DJ set list – Throwback Thursday – June 27, 2024

Thanks to everyone who listened and offered suggestions for the first five-hour edition of Throwback Thursday. All songs from 1970 to 2019! Here’s the set list:

Electric Sandwich – Nervous Creek (1973)
The New York Dolls – Personality Crisis (1973)
Lou Reed – Walk on the Wild Side (1972)
ABBA – Dancing Queen (1976)
Buddy Guy & Junior Wells – The Things I Used to Do (live) (1978) (request)
The Edgar Winter Group – Frankenstein (1973)
Melanie – Brand New Key (1972) (request)
Expedition – Talkin’ Blues (1972)
Jerry Reed – East Bound and Down (1977) (request)
Kool and The Gang – Jungle Boogie (1973)
Elton John – Rocket Man (1972)
Atomic Rooster – The Rock (1971)
The Guess Who – Clap for the Wolfman (1974)
The Cure – Just Like Heaven (1987)
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (1983)
Jack Bruce – Theme from an Imaginary Western (live) (1980) (request)
Divinyls – Good Die Young (1984)
Paul Simon – You Can Call Me Al (1986)
The Police – Every Breath You Take (1983)
Survivor – Eye of the Tiger (1985) (request)
George Benson – Give Me the Night (1980)
Kids in the Kitchen – Change in Mood (1983)
Julian Lennon – Too Late for Goodbyes (1984)
Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (1983)
Machinations – Don’t Take Me (1985)
Swing Out Sister – Breakout (1986)
ZZ Top – Sharp Dressed Man (1983)
David Bowie – Dead Man Walking (1997)
Pearl Jam – Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town (1993) (request)
Buzzcocks – Why Can’t I Touch It? (live) (1996)
The Vaughn Brothers – Hard to Be (1990)
The Ramones – Pet Sematary (live) (1992)
Shonen Knife – Hot Chocolate (1998)
Ted Nugent – Fred Bear (1995) (request)
R.L. Burnside – Death Bell Blues (1994)
They Might Be Giants – Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (1990)
Alice In Chains – Grind (1995)
New Order – World (1993)
Kasabian – Club Foot (2004)
Interpol – Wrecking Ball (2007)
MGMT – Kids (2007)
Elvin Bishop – The Blues Rolls On (2008) (request)
The Dead Weather – I Cut Like a Buffalo (2009)
The White Stripes – Red Rain (2005)
The Prodigy – Spitfire (2004) (request)
The Dirtbombs – Encrypted (2005)
Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict a Riot (2005)
Famous Monsters – Blood of Frankenstein (2000)
Sugar Shack – My Girl the Vampire (2000)
Bloc Party – Helicopter (2005)
Motörhead – Rock Out (2008)
Dan Auerbach – I Want Some More (2009)
Sleater-Kinney – Hollywood Ending (2002)
The Chocolate Watch Band – I’m Not Like Everybody Else (2016 version) (request)
Public Service Broadcasting – Sputnik (2015)
Jacques Greene – Sel (2019)
Mexico City Blondes – Out to Dry (2019)
Janelle Monae – Locked Inside (2010)
Céu – Rapsódia Brasílis (2016)
Shit Robot – I Found Love (2010)
Soulwax – Essential Twelve (2018)
Hprizm – Keep Pushing (2018)
The Limińanas – Migas 2000 (2014)
The Limińanas – Shadow People (2018)
Alt-J – Left Hand Free (2014)
Thundercat w/ Flying Lotus – Drunk (2017)
The Well – Eternal Well (2014)

I’m back on air July 07th for another Deep Dive show!

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Psychlona – Palo Verde (2022)

I first stumbled upon Psychlona at Las Vegas’ Psycho Music Festival a couple years ago when they were playing on a small stage inside the Mandalay Bay Casino. This quartet from Bradford, UK put down some of the best desert / stoner rock my late wife and I heard all weekend.

They continued the trend on their 2022 album, Palo Verde. Starting with the appropriately titled “Gasoline,” the album blazes fire right out of the gate with roaring guitars and hammering drums best-suited for slamming the accelerator of your muscle car to the floor. “1975” chugs as hard as any psych or heavy rock record you’ll hear from that decade, with outstanding guitar work throughout it. The guitar solo on “Rainbird” makes you stop in your tracks.

It’s only fitting that the doomiest track on the record is titled “Meet Your Devil.” The bass riffs on it are as menacing as Cerberus’ triple-growl. The addition of keyboards / organ on “Purple River” is a great touch and shows how Psychlona can fully embrace psychedelic rock whenever they want.

“Jetplane” has this slight punk edge to it that I love. It’s the chugging, relentless guitar riffs and surf rock-tinged guitar solo in it. “La Tolvanera” (“The Dust Cloud”) drifts one moment and then sand-blasts your face and eardrums the next. “Are you ready to blow?” they ask on “Warped?” Blow what, exactly? Weed? “Blow this place?” This reality? All three? I mean they offer to “Take you outta your mind, outta your head.”, and the powerful riffs only help knock you into another mind-state for a good seven minutes.

Get on this trip. You won’t regret it.

Keep your mind open.

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Bodysync get us moving with their new single, “Bailiar (I Want to Dance).”

Today, Bodysync return with the euphoric rave-pop single “Bailiar (I Want To Dance),” featuring the beloved Honduran-Canadian singer-songwriter Daniela Andrade. The final single ahead of their second album, NUTTY, set to drop next Friday, June 28, via Buddies Inc, pushes the tempo with energetic piano chords and Andrade’s soft-spoken, ethereal voice controlling the melody.
“Daniela is one of our favorite artists to work with. She never overwrites and seems to instinctively know how much a track needs,” Bodysync remarked on their second collaboration with Andrade. Following previous singles “Rock It” and “Babies,” the latest offering from the new electronic producer duo of Ryan Hemsworth and Charlie Yin (AKA Giraffage) continues to build anticipation for their second full-length, which has already garnered attention from CBC, Exclaim!, Paste, Stereogum, Uproxx, and many more.

STREAM: “BAILAR (I WANT TO DANCE)”

The record features twelve new belters, rooted in 90’s rave music but embracing all shades of dance music, alongside indie, and pop punk influences. Bodysync is Ryan Hemsworth and Charlie Yin (AKA Giraffage), and this project has been their core focus since their well-received debut album Radio Active was released in 2022. In their own words – “it’s dance music by fans of DIY punk and Y2K pop, with a healthy dose of absurdity.” Previous Bodysync collaborations include Tinashe, Devin Morrison, Dazy, and Nite Jewel. As individual producers, Ryan & Charlie have worked with the likes of Joji, Japanese Breakfast, Mitski, E-40, Doss, alongside official remixes for Carly Rae Jepsen, Porter Robinson, ODESZA, and Lana Del Rey.
Giving more context on the album, Bodysync share: “Keeping things a little nutty has just been like, the mantra. The discourse in electronic music is so enveloping and polarising. We just choose to focus on our legends – Todd Terry, Paul Johnson. There’s so much comedy in their stuff and that has really resonated lately, which shamelessly gets mixed up with the stuff we enjoyed at a young age – Venga Boys, Daft Punk, and Mad Magazine.“

A fitting acronym for Bodysync could be “Be Open, Do You, Say You’ll Never Change” – it’s for everyone, all ages, no gatekeeping. It has that optimistic feel-good energy that was felt at the free party movement in the UK, and the desert parties in the US decades ago. The universal language of music remains the same – bring the people together, it’s best experienced communally.

Listen to “Bailiar (I Want To Dance)” above and look out for the full album release of NUTTY on Friday, June 28th, and details for a North American tour kicking off in August.

PREORDER / SAVE

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Cody at Terrorbird Media.]

L7’s Donita Sparks teams up with Dick Dale for “Rhythm Surfer” on Dark Brown’s upcoming “American Instrument” album.

L.A. based composer/musician Bryan Lee Brown shares the first single today from his forthcoming album under the Dark Brown moniker, American Instrument. The track, “Rhythm Surfer” features one of the last recordings of guitar icon Dick Dale — lending his legendary and oft-imitated “Machine Gun Staccato” style to the track, alongside L7 guitarist/vocalist Donita Sparks on the entrancing tune. Hear/share “Rhythm Surfer” on all DSPs HERE and Bandcamp HERE.

Brown has assembled a short series of mini-documentaries about the sessions for the album, with the first episodes covering the “Rhythm Surfer” sessions at Dave Catching‘s fabled Rancho De La Luna. Watch/share Dick Dale‘s fight club (HERE), Donita Sparks on Dick Dale fandom (HERE). Official video HERE. More to come soon.

American Instrument is conceptually just as expansive and ambitious as the lush soundscapes within. An 18-song album featuring an array of legendary guest musicians, its theme likewise embodies a profound meditation on selfhood and the Other.

Dark Brown is the creation of Los Angeles composer and musician Bryan Lee Brown. American Instrument is the fifth album under that pseudonym, but Brown has an extensive life-long career in music: Scoring Dave Grohl’s HBO series Sonic Highways (2014) and documentary film What Drives Us (2021) as well as countless other films, TV shows and commercials, drumming for Dick Dale, as well as numerous stints as a session musician.

The album was recorded over a 12-year period at 7 different studios. It features guest appearances by surf guitar innovator Dick Dale, John Stanier (Battles, Helmet), Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave), Alfredo Ortiz (Los Lobos ,Beastie Boys), Eric McFadden, Jon Theodore (QOTSA), Donita Sparks (L7), marching percussionist Marcus Joyner, Dave Catching (Desert Sessions), Jose Medeles (The Breeders, Author) and more.

The predominantly drummer-heavy line up is another element of the album’s exploration into Brown’s relationship with drumming, both musically and socially. Brown has a personal connection to almost everyone who played on the album. In a way, the album unites many common threads (personal and philosophical) throughout the musician’s life.

Slated for release in Fall 2024, American Instrument combines abstract minimalism with melodic psychedelia to create a vast ranch of soundscapes. Brown’s now signature sounds of melodic percussion, droning guitars, tremolo and propulsive rhythms permeate the tracks, with each guest musician’s personality leading the songs in many directions with each of their unique personalities shining through. Case in point, Dick Dale’s unmistakable guitar pyrotechnics on 2 album tracks, recorded in 2013 at Rancho De La Luna in Joshua Tree, bring all of his larger-than-life sonic imprint into a completely new world where the surf guitar meets counterpoint rhythms, post-rock ethereality and anthemic hooks. “Spacetime (feat. Brad Wilk)” finds the Rage Against The Machine drummer’s powerful backbeat driving a psychedelic haze of Hendrix-style guitar warped through haunting sounding tubular bells. “Miami Rute (feat. Jon Theodore and Alfredo Ortiz)” juxtaposes Latin percussion with soaring Pink Floyd-ian drones and ominous vocal chants. Throughout, a wide variety of sounds and musical styles explore the very meaning of rhythm and impact of the uniquely American instrument, the drum set, and its place in the course of human history.

American Instrument will be available digitally via Memory Bulldozer Records on September 10, 2024. Pre-order/pre-save HERE.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Review: Nathaniel Eras – Omniaglyph 0

The cover image might invoke suggestions that Nathaniel Eras‘ Omniaglyph 0 is going to be a dark metal album, but it’s actually an interesting ambient trance album full of neat synths, modulators, processed beats, and live instruments.

“Ancestral Memory” is a neat instrumental of layered percussion that builds and builds into a hypnotic meditation. “Encrypted Consciousness” brings in sizzling, snappy industrial beats to flow with the New Wave synths to a neat effect.

Then we get to “Architecture of Thought and The Subversion of Language Systems.” It’s haunting and creepy (Those bells and somber piano chords!) and will make a great addition to your upcoming Halloween playlist.

The EP ends with “Routing Systems,” an ultra-slick synthwave bumper that throbs with gristly bass and pulses with machine beats. It leaves you pumped up and ready for action.

I like the way the EP blends ambience with industrial. Not many people could pull that off this well.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Eclectica!]