Electro artist Monomotion (AKA Erol Egintalay) drew his inspiration for his new album, Fujisan, from a warm Japanese spring. It’s focus on serenity, beauty, and positivity. Listening to this album is like going to a Zen garden / day spa that happens to have a night club in it.
The opener, “North Cascades,” briefly slows down everything around you before some hip-shaking beats bubble up to the surface to get you feeling good. “Mango” is full of those peppy beats and soothing synths that float into “Seed” – a track great for meditation or waiting in line at the airport (which can be the same thing if you do it right).
“Ecocline Patterns” needs to be on the soundtrack for the upcoming Dune movie reboot. It has dance beats that mix with strange metal sounds and synthwave computer sounds. The title track moves along like an autumn leaf on a warm Japanese spring while an unseasonably warm sun shines through the remaining leaves on the trees. “Borders” reminds me of Art of Noise cuts with its female vocal sounds and synth-string arrangements. The closing track, “Luck of the Mountains,” is a bouncy mix of happy electronic beats and hummingbird synths.
Fujisan is a warm record. It’s not something you’ll use to tear up a dance floor, but it’s something you’ll want for late night chill parties and makeout sessions in the club, or in your car, or at home, or anywhere else, really.
Monomotion, the project of French electronic musician Erol Engintalay, is pleased to share a new single, “Borders,” from his forthcoming EP, Fujisan, due July 26th via FAKE MUSIC. Following the lush, tick-tock techno of “Mango” and the evocative lead single “Ecocline Patterns,” “Borders” begins with ethereal synth before coming alive with echoing percussions and beats.
“‘Borders’ was first made with the intention of symbolizing hope and to focus on the simple idea of reaching a certain freedom. It ended up being a therapeutic track that I wanted to sound like something light, dreamy, full of hope,” says Engintalay. “If I think about it, it makes me think that somehow this track is really a representation of my mood when I realised that I was granted a second chance and I had to take it. I finally had a source of hope and freedom to start doing what I loved the most, again.”
Written and recorded over a year and a half, the seven-track Fujisan EP is a reflection on the positive aspects of life—a sense of breaking through and moving forward that imbues the project as a whole. Inspired by a warm Japanese spring, Engintalay describes Fujisan as “a life test after every challenge I’ve gone through, physically and musically. It’s very spiritual, representing climbing mountains and breaking through walls to get further in life.”
Twin Peaks are elated to announce their new album, Lookout Low, due September 13th via Grand Jury. Where their last LP, 2016’s Down In Heaven, and 2017’s Sweet ‘17 Singles compilation were adventurous and compelling updates on their youthfully raucous formula, their fourth album, Lookout Low feels like a total revolution. Their most deliberate and seamless record yet, the album is a collaborative triumph, propelled forward by Twin Peak’s near-decade-long bond.
For Lookout Low, the five of them – guitarists Cadien Lake James and Clay Frankel, bassist Jack Dolan, multi-instrumentalist Colin Croom, and drummer Connor Brodner – committed to work countless hours in their studio and practice space. Meeting daily, they demoed 27 songs and relentlessly rehearsed them, eventually whittling down to a select ten tracks. The album was recorded at Monnow Valley with legendary producer Ethan Johns (Paul McCartney, U2, Kings of Leon), who lauds Twin Peaks as “the best Rock and Roll band I’ve heard for a very long time.” Already a well-oiled live unit, the band’s mission was to capture the exhilarating vibe of their shows. Often, they thrived on the thrill of live recording, going with the magic of the original first take. This life-affirming burst of adrenaline seeps into every facet of the LP.
Each individual member of the band upped their songwriting for the LP. These tracks are their most impressive offering yet – confident, experimentative, and bursting with energy. Throughout, Croom wrote horn arrangements that at times evoke the soulfulness of Allen Toussaint and the burly Americana of the E Street Band. The auxiliary percussion from drummer Kyle Davis expands the already breezy and expansive compositions. OHMME’s Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham contribute their spectral harmonies on seven of the 10 tracks.
Lead single / video “Dance Through It,” a horn-infused, soul-inflected swing, champions the energy found across the album. The video was directed by Ariel Fisher and Léo Schrepel in Berlin. “Writing and arranging ‘Dance Through It’ felt like a dive into and embrace of experimenting with a new palette for us,” says James. “After having been directly involved in the creation and direction of all of our videos, it felt fitting to allow this song the breath of collaboration in having Ariel Fisher take the helm and run with it.”
“Working with Twin Peaks on this visual concept felt synergetic,” says Fisher. “We shared a mutual love for the film Fallen Angels and wanted to tell a story where the camera angles and lenses gradually shift as the narrative progresses. We wanted the viewer to become the participant, as we step into the actress’s shoes and begin to see the world as she sees it.”
Twin Peaks will bring their live shows across the states, including to Chicago’s Riviera Theatre (the band’s biggest hometown headline show to date), Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom, and New York’s Webster Hall, in addition to dual shows at Nashville’s Basement East, Boston’s The Sinclair, and more. Tickets are on sale now.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “DANCE THROUGH IT” – https://youtu.be/U12MYd1DtOs
Fans can pre-order Lookout Low at indie retail stores on two different exclusive color pressings immediately. When US fans pre-order at participating stores they’ll get a “Dance Through It” 7″, which features an unreleased song on the B-side, and will be able to return to the point of purchase to pick up Lookout Low on September 13th. The album is available on Orange Swirl LP or on a Chicago-area exclusive Electric Blue LP. A list of participating stores is available here.
LOOKOUT LOWTRACKLIST: 1. Casey’s Groove 2. Laid in Gold 3. Better Than Stoned 4. Unfamiliar Sun 5. Dance Through It 6. Lookout Low 7. Ferry Song 8. Under A Smile 9. Oh Mama 10. Sunken II
TWIN PEAKS TOUR DATES: Thu. Sept. 12 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre * Fri. Sept. 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom * Sat. Sept. 14 – Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall * Thu. Sept. 19 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom * Fri. Sept. 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe * Sat. Sept. 21 – East Moline, IL @ The Rust Belt * Tue. Oct. 8 – Berlin, DE @ Musik und Frieden & Wed. Oct. 9 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow Musikclub & Fri. Oct. 11 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown & Sat. Oct. 12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Mon. Oct. 14 – Cologne, DE @ MTC & Tue. Oct. 15 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire & Wed. Oct. 16 – London, UK @ Dome Tufnell Park & Fri. Oct. 18 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club & Sat. Oct. 19 – Oxford, UK @ Ritual Union Sun. Oct. 20 – Cardiff, UK @ SWN Festival Wed. Oct. 30 – Louisville, KY @ Headliners Music Hall # Thu. Oct. 31 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room # Fri. Nov. 1 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room # Sat. Nov. 2 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre # Tue. Nov. 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall # Thu. Nov. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos # Fri. Nov. 8 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom # Sat. Nov. 9 – Vancouver, BC @ VENUE # Wed. Nov. 13 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall # Fri. Nov. 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom @ Sat. Nov. 16 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern # Mon. Nov. 18 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom # Thu. Nov. 21 – Dallas, TX @ Deep Ellum Art Co. # Fri. Nov. 22 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Bar # Sat. Nov. 23 – Austin, TX @ The Mohawk # Fri. Nov. 29 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre Wed. Dec. 4 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Ballroom ^ Thu. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (early) @ Thu. Dec. 5 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair (late) ! Fri. Dec. 6 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall ^ Tue. Dec. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^ Wed. Dec. 11 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat ^ Thu. Dec. 12 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle ^ Fri. Dec. 13 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse ^ Sat. Dec. 14 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ^ Sun. Dec. 15 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East ^ ~ = w/ PUP * = w/ Slow Pulp and Dehd & = w/ Dehd # = w/ Post Animal & OHMME ^ = w/ Lala Lala & OHMME ! = w/ Lala Lala @ = w/ OHMME
Keep your mind open.
[Dance your way over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
With his highly anticipated new album, Twelve Nudes, due August 30th via Bella Union, Erza Furman has shared two new tracks from the LP. For Furman, new single “I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend” “Is a romantic song of transgender longing. It’s another entry in my series of ‘I Wanna’ songs (in the tradition of the Ramones). I thought it was time we had an ‘Earth Angel’ for the queers. Of course because it’s an Ezra Furman tune, there’s a little bit of desperation, religion and body-talk.”. It comes with a brilliant video directed by Alix Spence, who shared that; “Listening to the song and speaking with Ezra, I saw our two dancers, Brandon Mathis and and Jobel Medina, as physical manifestations of internal suffering. I wanted to literally have us wrestle with ourselves and the complexities of our personal struggles.
Of the additional single “Evening Prayer”, Furman states: “It’s our rallying cry. We music fans go to shows for transcendence; it’s like being called to prayer. But as Abraham Heschel said, ‘Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism and falsehood.’ I want all our fans to become activists. We punk fans have so much energy to give to the fight against injustice, i.e. the abuse of the poor by the rich, i.e. climate change. So this is one to get you in the mood.”
Last year was a championing year for Furman – since the release of the “layered, baroque pop melodrama” (Billboard) Transangelic Exodus, Furman has garnered immense praise, both for Transangelic Exodus and the soundtrack he created for Netflix’s Sex Education (he and his band also appeared in an episode). Twelve Nudes, his new and “spiritually queer” punk record, continues this same wavelength, and is an incendiary and inspiring follow-up. Across the album, Furman channels pent-up energy, distinguished by sharp, lacerating observations, confessions and proclamations.
Twelve Nudes was recorded quickly in Oakland in Fall 2018 and was mixed by venerated producer John Congleton (Sharon Van Etten, St. Vincent). The result is an album that is less stereotypical punk than raw, raucous rock’n’roll. The album has two spiritual heroes – the late great punk Jay Reatard and Canadian writer and philosopher Anne Carson. The title stems directly from Carson, who used the term “nudes” to describe the meditations she used to deal with intense pain in her life.
“This is our punk record,” says Ezra Furman. “We made it in Oakland, quickly. We drank and smoked. Then we made the loud parts louder. I hurt my voice screaming. This was back in 2018, when things were bad in the world. The songs are naked with nothing to hide.”
One of my goals in making music is to make the world seem bigger, and life seem larger,” Furman concludes. “I want to be a force that tries to revive the human spirit rather than crush it, to open possibilities rather than close them down. Sometimes a passionate negativity is the best way to do that.”
As always, thanks to everyone who listened to my show this morning. I played some loud stuff in the second half to help keep you awake. I hope it worked. Here’s the set list, which is also available on the 7th Level Music YouTube channel.
Aretha Franklin – Oh Me Oh My (I’m a Fool for You Baby)
Bill Withers – Ain’t No Sunshine
Wilco – Bull Black Nova (request)
Angel Unchained radio ad
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros – Ramshackle Day Parade
Shura unveils a new track, “the stage,” from her forthcoming album forevher, out on Secretly Canadian on August 16th. Intimate, unorthodox and affecting, “the stage” switches between sensual, Minie Ripperton and Prince-inspired disco to ecstatic electronics that capture the tension of a potential new love. Shura drew inspiration from her first date with current girlfriend.
“I had travelled to NYC to go on it, so I was a little bit nervous as this was definitely THE most high stakes date I’d ever been on,” says Shura. “I DM’d my friends MUNA who were playing a show the night that I arrived and asked them if they could get us both in, and they loved the concept of a first date at a MUNA gig. I wasn’t sure how the date was going until she took my hand whilst trying to lead me to a spot where I could see them play (i.e. basically nowhere in the venue as I’m too short!). Then I knew it was all going to be OK.”
Written primarily about Shura’s relationship with her girlfriend and their long-distance conception, forevher traces everything from the initial pull of desire to that first IRL meeting (“the stage”), before recognizing when the connection develops into something scarily meaningful. It’s a classic NYC-to-London love-story, but one told through the totally modern filter of dating apps, unanswered texts, Skype chats…and MUNA gigs.
Co-produced alongside Joel Pott – with musical turns from Jona Ma (from Jagwar Ma), Will Miller (Whitney), T-E-E-D and additional vocals from Rosie Lowe, Kerry Leatham, Reva from Nimmo – Shura describes forevher as “a soul record, sung by someone who doesn’t have a traditional soul voice. And I quite enjoy the antagonism of that.” A passionate, tactile album about connection in times of distance, that unmistakable feeling is apparent from just a glance at the album’s artwork, which reworks ‘Rodin’s: The Kiss’ to feature two woman bathed in an all-encompassing blue. “I wanted to create something that people could look at, in the way that you look at The Kiss, and think: I recognise that. Or I want that, or I crave that, or I miss that. I wanted to make something that was specific to my experience of being a queer woman that anyone of any gender or sexuality could look at and think ‘yeah, I understand’ or ‘that’s beautiful.’ Because that’s all love is.” Listen to “the stage” – https://youtu.be/zDCPai9kWLQ
The last show I saw at Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Clyde Theatre was the Flaming Lips with Le Bucherettes, which was a communal psychedelic experience and not the type of place in which a mosh pit breaks out while someone screams at you with rage and fury. Now, however, I was seeing three bands who brought plenty of rage and fury – Clutch, Killswitch Engage, and Cro-Mags “JM“.
My friend and I walked in as Cro-Mags “JM” were unleashing their rage with a furious hardcore punk rock set. The “JM,” by the way, stands for “John Mackie” – as in vocalist John Joseph and drummer Mackie Jayson. Joseph and Jayson are two of the longest-serving members in the legendary Cro-Mags band (which has gone through multiple lineup changes). Joseph talked about songs written in 1989, such as “Street Justice,” when there was no such thing as being an online troll (“You said what you needed to say face to face. You didn’t hide behind a keyboard. And if you had to put your fists up, you threw down.”). It was a fast, hard set, yet no mosh pits broke out, which I found baffling.
Cro-Mags “JM”
I’d heard of Cro-Mags from my high school punk rock days, but I’d never heard anything by Killswitch Engage despite the fact they’ve been together for two decades. My metal music collections leans toward stoner and doom, so metalcore is a mostly unexplored genre for me. They put on a heck of a show, bringing relentless energy and a packed house. A lot of people showed up for their set, and a few small mosh pits broke out during it. Crowd surfing was even more popular. A particular highlight was the live debut of their newest single, “I Am Broken, Too.” Lead singer Jessie Leach‘s vocal stylings reminded me of Ronnie James Dio, so I was delighted to hear them close their set with a cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver.”
Killswitch Engage
Clutch came out gunning with the always-invigorating “X-Ray Visions” and “Firebirds!” Bassist Dan Maines had some technical issues in the first two tracks that kept him from putting out as much sound as he wanted, but a couple swapped cables and batteries fixed the issue by the time they got to “Gimme the Keys.”
Psychic warfare is real, and Dan Maines’ bass apparently shoots lasers.
The crowd had thinned a bit, which is a shame, because a lot of the metalcore fans who left missed a great groove-rock show by Clutch that included a lot of tunes I’d never heard live before such as their version of the blues classic “Evil,” the rare cut “Willie Nelson,” “Smoke Banshee,” “Hot Bottom Feeder” (which my friend loved for both the groove and the fact that the entire song is a crab cake recipe), and “Rats.”
Clutch lets us know that Willie Nelson only smokes killer weed.
They ended the night with an encore of “H.B. Is in Control” and “How to Shake Hands,” two more songs I hadn’t heard live until now. I’ve always loved how Clutch changes up their setlist every night. They keep a core of a few tunes for each show but mix in whatever else they want to play. I wish more bands did this, but not every band is as confident as them. So, go see them. It will be a unique experience.
Keep your mind open.
Thanks to Doug Weber of New Ocean Media for getting me a press pass to the show.
Multi-instrumentalist Ash Walker describes his newest album, Aquamarine, as “…like a deep sea voyage into the subconscious.” I’m not sure I can put it any better than that. It’s a lovely record of trip hop, dub, jazz, funk, and lounge electro that will surely be among my top records of 2019.
The opening electric dub drums of “Under the Sun” instantly cast you onto a shiny sea aboard a catamaran supplied with good drinks, lovely people, and even better music. The jazz drums and flute of “Time” (which, like the track before it, features soulful vocals by Laville) make you forget time, much like you would on that catamaran sailing across a clear sea. “Come with Us” is a great dub track with a smooth trumpet solo.
“Brave New World” brings in acid jazz flair. “Finishing Touch” keeps the acid jazz drum beats, but sprinkles trip hop on top of them and Laville’s guest vocals smooth them out. The title track tick-tocks in a soothing, hypnotizing manner. The flow of “Sanity” reminds me of a rowboat bumping against a dock as slow waves come into shore. The beats get snappy on “I Need Money,” and Walker’s inclusion of electric piano adds a sweet touch.
As one might expect, “Fat King Smoke,” is one of the funkiest tracks on the record. I love the slippery beats, the Theremin-like synths (which could really be a Theremin for all I know), and the weird electro bass line. “Ain’t Got You” (with more guest vocals by Laville, who appears four times on the record) is dancefloor-ready. “The Dagon’s Cashmere Jumper” might be my favorite song title of the year. I hope you get the reference and realize that, yes, a Dagon might need a cashmere jumper now and then while strolling around on land.
Aquamarine is otherworldly, and a pleasant journey that I’m sure sounds and feels different every time you hear it. Dive in, the water’s fine – great, in fact.
Keep your mind open.
[Dive into the subscription box while you’re here, too.]
Thanks to everyone who tuned in for my first show in a couple weeks last Monday. I’ll be away from the studio until August due to work conflicts. Here’s what I played on the 15th of July. It’s also a YouTube playlist here.
Anna Meredith – “one of the most innovative minds in modern British music” (Pitchfork) – today announces her eagerly anticipated second studio album, FIBS, out October 25th via Black Prince Fury. Alongside the announcement, she shares the lead single / video, “Paramour.” The one-take video and song forbids you from turning away. Its sweeps, jerks and wrong turns pin your ears to the speakers whilst heading for warp speed at a blistering 176 BPM, rounding out with an (utterly unexpected) tuba-led half-time rock-out.
Arriving three and a half years on from the release of her debut studio album, Varmints, an album that juxtaposed hulking slabs of cross-rhythm and electronics with brittle gusts of delicate confession and irresistibly addictive pop melody, FIBS marks her first new music since the soundtrack of original compositions for the Bo Burnham directed film Eighth Grade. Meredith is a well-known classical composer, having been Composer in Residence with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and regularly commissioned by orchestras around the world. Additionally, she was the first female composer to be commissioned for both the First and the Last Night of the Proms and was recently named a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s birthday honours list for services to music, making her Anna Meredith MBE.
FIBS is 45 minutes of technicolour maximalism, almost perpetual rhythmic reinvention, and boasts a visceral richness and unparalleled accessibility. It is no Varmints Part 2. Instead, if anything, it’s Varmints 2.0, an overhauled and updated version of the composer’s soundworld, involving, in places, a literal retooling that has seen Meredith chuck out her old MIDI patches and combine her unique compositional voice with brand-new instruments, both acoustic and electronic, and a writing process that’s more intense than she’s ever known. Despite Meredith’s background and skills these tracks are no academic exercise, the world of FIBS is at both overwhelming and intimate, a journey of intense energy and joyful irreverence.
FIBS, says Meredith, are “lies — but nice friendly lies, little stories and constructions and daydreams and narratives that you make for yourself or you tell yourself”. Entirely internally generated and perfectly balanced, they can be a source of comfort and excitement, intrigue and endless entertainment. The eleven fibs contained on Anna Meredith’s second record will do all that, and more. Watch the Video for “Paramour” – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjmZLaymJU8
Anna Meredith Tour Dates: Sat. Aug. 3 – Hackney, UK @ Visions Festival Fri. Aug. 23 – Helsinki, FI @ Helsinki Festival Mon. Feb. 3 – Leeds, UK @ Belgrave Music Hall Tue. Feb. 4 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla Wed. Feb. 5 – London, UK @ EartH Thu. Feb. 6 – Bristol, UK @ Trinity Sat. Feb. 8 – Glasgow, UK @ Art School Sun. Feb. 9 – Coventry, UK @ Arts Centre Mon. Feb. 10 – Brighton, UK @ Old Market
