News – Page 102 – 7th Level Music

The Chats drop a new single – “Dine and Dash.”

Australian punk band The Chats will release their debut album, High Risk Behaviour, on March 27th via Bargain Bin Records/Cooking Vinyl Australia. Ahead of their North American tour, which kicks off next month, they present a new single, “Dine N Dash,” and its accompanying video. Following lead single “The Clap,” “Dine N Dash” is fierce, funny, and sweaty. The video, directed by Matt Weston, finds The Chats in an unfamiliar environment, eating a succulent steakhouse meal while embracing the piss poor status of their wallets and outright brazenness to get a decent feed.

“We filmed at Walters steakhouse in Brisbane,” says Josh Price. “It was the best steak I’ve had. Definitely gave the bowlsie a run for its money. No mushy gravy though.” Eamon Sandwith adds: “Ya know you’re in a fancy restaurant when the chips and salad aren’t included.”

WATCH THE CHATS’ VIDEO FOR “DINE N DASH”
https://youtu.be/I3jAJHRW_Yo

The Chats – made of Eamon Sandwith, Matt Boggis, and Josh Price – formed in 2016 while still in high school. Since then, they’ve released a self-titled EP in 2016 and 2017’s Get This In YaEP, and have accrued a fanbase that includes Dave Grohl, Queen of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, and Iggy Pop – the latter two who asked the band to open on their respective Australian tours. And despite being the subject of a record label bidding war, they’re releasing High Risk Behaviour on their own label (Bargain Bin Records). It’s indicative of a band that has embraced DIY culture since day one. Their determination to do things “our way” extends to their music, which is why High Risk Behaviour delivers everything you’ve come to love from The Chats – only more of it – and confirms their status as Queensland’s greatest ever export.

To create High Risk Behaviour, the band worked with engineer Bill Gardner in his studio on the Australian coast. It took nearly 18 months to finish and several, quick-paced sessions. “If we’d just done a week and slogged it out we could have had an album before now but we just kept going in there and making newer and better songs so it’s hard to put a stop on it,” says Sandwith.
WATCH VIDEO FOR “THE CLAP”
https://youtu.be/POM_98oi0oo

LISTEN TO “THE CLAP”
https://orcd.co/highriskbehaviour

PRE-ORDER HIGH RISK BEHAVIOUR
https://orcd.co/highriskbehaviour

THE CHATS TOUR DATES:
Fri. April 10 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
Sat. April 11 – Berkeley, CA @ The UC Theatre
Sun. April 12 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
Mon. April 13 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
Tue. April 14 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Fri. April 17 – Indio, CA @ Coachella
Sat. April 18 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
Sun. April 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Mon. April 20 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
Wed. April 22 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
Thu. April 23 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s
Fri. April 24 – Houston, TX @ Bronze Peacock at House of Blues
Sun. April 26 – Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
Tue. April 28 – St. Paul, MN @ Amsterdam Bar & Hall
Wed. April 29 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Thu. April 30 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
Fri. May 1 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
Sat. May 2 – Charlotte, NC @ Epicenter Festival
Sun. May 3 – Washington, DC @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
Tue. May 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
Wed. May 6 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
Thu. May 7 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Wed. Oct. 7 – Amsterdam, BL @ Melkweg Max
Sat. Oct. 10 – Paris, FR @ Maroquinerie
Sun. Oct. 11 – Cologne, DE @ Gloria
Mon. Oct. 12 – Hamburg, DE @ Gruenspan
Tue. Oct. 13 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Fri. Oct. 16 – Southampton, UK @ 1865
Sat. Oct. 17 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
Mon. Oct. 19 – Dublin, IE @ Olympia
Tue. Oct. 20 – Belfast, UK @ Limelight
Thu. Oct. 22 – Glasgow, UK @ Galvanizers
Fri. Oct. 23 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Academy
Sat. Oct. 24 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop
Sun. Oct. 25 – Leeds, UK @ Stylus
Mon. Oct. 26 – Brighton, UK @ Dome
Tue. Oct. 27 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
Wed. Oct. 28 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
Thu. Oct 29 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
THE CHATS ONLINE:
https://www.thechatslovebeer.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thechatsband/
https://thechatslovebeer.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thechatslovebeer/?hl=en

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Wilco and Sleater-Kinney announce co-headlining tour.

Wilco photo by Annabel Mehran, Sleater-Kinney photo by Nikko LaMere

Wilco and Sleater-Kinney are pleased to announce their “It’s Time” Summer 2020 co-headlining tour. After their respective North American and European runs in support of last year’s Ode To Joy (out now on dBpm Records), Wilco will return stateside, closing out each night of their co-headlining tour with Sleater-Kinney, who just closed out their The Center Won’t Hold tour. The entirety of the tour is made up of outdoor amphitheatres and venues, including a show in Wilco’s hometown of Chicago at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion, Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater, Morrison, CO’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and more. Tickets for these newly-announced shows are on sale now.

Watch Wilco & Sleater-Kinney’s “It’s Time” Summer 2020 Tour Teaser –
https://youtu.be/JTe0GE19wRg

Wilco Tour Dates (new dates in bold):
Sat. March 21 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre &
Mon. March 23 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall &
Tue. March 24 – Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall ^
Thu. March 26 – Santa Rosa, CA @ Luther Burbank Centers For The Arts ^ – SOLD OUT
Fri. March 27 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater ^ – SOLD OUT
Sat. March 28 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater ^ – SOLD OUT
Sun. March 29 – San Jose, CA @ San Jose Civic ^
Tue. March 31 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore – SOLD OUT
Wed. April 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre ^
Thu. April 2 – Los Angeles, CA @ Orpheum Theatre % – SOLD OUT
Sat. April 4 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl %
Sun. April 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium %
Wed. April 15 – Jackson, MS @ Thalia Mara Hall $
Thu. April 16 – Mobile, AL @ Saenger Theatre $
Sat. April 18 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheatre $
Sun. April 19 – North Charleston, SC @ High Water Festival
Fri. May 15 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre (JEFF TWEEDY SOLO SHOW)
Sat. May 16 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre (JEFF TWEEDY SOLO SHOW)
Fri. June 19 – Kent, UK @ Black Deer Festival
Mon. June 22 – Merignac, FR @ Krakatoa
Tue. June 23 – Nimes, FR @ La Paloma
Thu. June 25 – Murcia, ES @ Plaza de Toros
Fri. June 26 – Madrid, ES @ Noches Del Botánico
Sat. June 27 – Valencia, ES @ 4ever Festival
Sun. June 28 – Barcelona, ES @ Suite Festival
Tue. June 30 – San Sebastian, ES @ Auditorio del Centro Kursaal
Thu. July 2 – Werchter, BE @ FestivalPark Rock Werchter
Wed. July 3 – Beuningen, NL @ Down the Rabbit Hole Festival
Thu. Aug. 6 – Spokane, WA @ First Interstate Center for the Arts @
Sat. Aug. 8 – Big Sky, MT @ Peak to Sky @
Tue. Aug. 11 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre @*
Thu. Aug. 13 – Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland @*
Fri. Aug. 14 – Maryland Heights, MO @ Saint Louis Music Park @*
Sat. Aug. 15 – Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre @*
Sun. Aug. 16 – Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater @*
Tue. Aug. 18 – Asheville, NC @ Salvage Station @*
Wed. Aug. 19 – Richmond, VA @ Altria Theatre @*
Fri. Aug. 21 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion @*
Sat. Aug. 22 – Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium @*
Sun. Aug. 23 – Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Center for Performing Arts @*
Tue. Aug. 25 – Boston, MA @ Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion @*
Wed. Aug. 26 – Portland, ME @ Thompson’s Point @*
Thu. Aug. 27 – Lewiston, NY @ Artpark Amphitheater @*
Sat. Aug. 29 – Chicago, IL @ Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion @*
Thu. Sept. 17 – Des Moines, IA @ Water Works Park #
Fri. Sept. 18 – Ashwaubenon, WI @ Capital Credit Union Park #
Sat. Sept. 19 – Welch, MN @ Treasure Island Amphitheater #

!=w/ Young Fresh Fellows
&=w/ Kacy and Clayton
^= w/ James Elkington
%= w/ White Fence
$= w/ Ratboys
#= w/ Trampled by Turtles
@=w/ Sleater-Kinney
*= w/ NNAMDÏ

Watch/Listen/Share:
“Everyone Hides” video – https://youtu.be/P2Gbbd6pVMg
“Love Is Everywhere (Beware)” stream – https://youtu.be/VamTQr4kcKA
“Before Us” video – https://youtu.be/BIWSGlvnbkU

Purchase Ode to Joy –
https://wilcoworld.net/otj

Download Wilco hi-res press images –
https://pitchperfectpr.com/wilco

Praise for Ode To Joy:

“[Ode to Joy is] sometimes dank…sometimes warm and Westerberg-ian”
– The New York Times

“The group’s 11th LP, their best in years, is a beautiful exercise in downhearted uplift.”
– Rolling Stone

“[Ode to Joy] is Wilco’s best album in over a decade, and solid proof there’s room for bands to grow even when they’re already ten albums in.” – Vulture

“[Ode To Joy] is direct and spacious, centering on the beauty of quiet revelation.” – Pitchfork

“Ode to Joy, is mostly a slower-paced album that shows appreciation for the small, beautiful moments in life.” – NPR

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Blanck Mass to reissue debut album for Record Store Day 2020.

Blanck Mass, the solo project of Benjamin John Power, is re-issuing the long out-of-print 2011 debut album Blanck Mass via Sacred Bones Records. The deluxe double LP comes out on Record Store Day (April 18) in the UK on exclusive green-and-blue starburst vinyl, and on April 24 in the rest of the world.

The original press release for the album called it “a collection of tracks loosely themed around cerebral hypoxia and the beautiful complexity of the natural world…An interstellar journey that defies classification, revealing itself further and further with each listen; offering more with each visit.”

Power went on to reflect on the album at the time: “I do like the fact that this album represents a pretty clear image of myself,that which I am aware of and that which might be controlled by some other type of subconscious guidance.”

“Sundowner,” the second song on the album, achieved notoriety in 2012 when it was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra during the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, reaching over 900 million people worldwide.
Record Store Day: https://recordstoreday.co.uk/home/
Stream: https://blanckmass.bandcamp.com/album/blanck-mass-2
Preorder LP: https://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/products/sbr3023-blanck-mass-blanck-mass

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Partner release new single – “Good Place to Hide (at the Time”)

BandCamp // SoundCloud

“How could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads?” – Plato

“You find yourself in a room with a locked door. You have always been there. It is all you have ever known. You have no reason to believe you could leave, no reason to believe you would ever want to. And then one day you hear the murmurs. Faint at first, you can’t make out the words. But their very existence tells a truth that you have always known. There is something else. And you search and search and just when you are feeling spent and the bright beam of hope has faded to a glimmer, it reveals itself to you, miraculously. The key. And so you cast aside your doubt and grin with victory. But when you slide the key in, behind the door there is another locked door. The search continues.

We wrote this song over the course of about a year. We had long wanted to explore the idea of hiding, of hidden truths. A chance phrase from our friend Alfred set this song in motion. We hope you enjoy our newest offering.”
– Partner 2020

Partner, the loveable guitar shredding Canadian stoner goofballs Lucy Niles and Josée Caron are back and ready to rock, with a new single for a new decade. The band spent the end of 2019 in the studio and have some surprises for 2020.

BandCamp // SoundCloud

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Hala announces new album, “Red Herring,” due May 1st.

Hala, the project of Detroit-based musician Ian Ruhala, announces his new album, Red Herring, out May 1st on Cinematic Music Group, and a North American tour. Today, he shares the lead single, “Emotional R&B,” and an accompanying video. Ruhala’s music is at once precise and playful, skipping breezily between decades and their musical aesthetics while executing them with care and sincerity. On Red Herring, which is his studio debut, he elevates this formula, applying his genre-agnostic blueprint to a set of songs that comprise a no-concept concept record. It’s a varied album which explores the tragedy and comedy—often, both at once—that color and confound the modern 22-year-old’s existence.

To execute his wide-lens vision, Ruhala worked with producer Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Vance Joy, Ra Ra Riot) at his legendary secluded Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, Washington. Over a few months in late 2019, Ruhala and Hadlock sifted through a stockpile of prepared demos and assembled the 12 songs that comprise Red Herring. Apart from strings—played respectively by Andrew Joslyn and longtime Brandi Carlile-collaborator Josh Neumann—Ruhala wrote and performed each instrument on the record, including guitar, piano, bass, drums, baritone ukulele, xylophone, vibraphone, and all vocals.

Ruhala’s singular operating style is a credit to Red Herring’s simultaneous idiosyncrasy and unity: each track bears the earmarks of his tendencies for saccharine melodies, clear instrumentation, and a sort of ethereal, out-of-time placelessness—and yet each could also be from a different artist.

Lead single “Emotional R&B” showcases this infatuation with kaleidoscopic tonalities and narrative double-entendres. The track is about the early stage people go through in relationships, when things begin to become more intimate. “Things feel a lot more cinematic, maybe because these moments of a relationship are portrayed and documented in countless Romantic Comedies,” says Ruhala. “It’s the feeling of riding a romantic high, perhaps turning a blind eye to things that would normally set you off in pursuit of what could possibly become a substantial, long lasting relationship.”

Red Herring is a coming-of-age record from an artist recognizing that cohesiveness need not only be expressed in structural sameness. It can and should be found in other experiences, in the complex, poignant, life-and-death fleetingness of a three-and-a-half-minute pop song. Or better yet, 12 of them back-to-back.

Hala will tour across North America in support of Red Herring. A full list of dates is below.
Watch “Emotional R&B” Video:
https://youtu.be/bHHHbpQnd-4

Pre-order/pre-save Red Herring:
https://hala.ffm.to/redherring

Red HerringTracklist:
1. Turn Out Right
2. Making Me Nervous
3. Somehow
4. Camera5. Why Do You Want Anything To Do With Me?
6. We Can Start Again
7. Emotional R&B
8. Lies
9. Nobody-Body Knows
10. With You Now (It’s The Only Place I Want To Be)
11. Red Herring
12. True Colors

Hala Tour Dates:
Fri. May 8 – Detroit, MI @ Deluxx Fluxx- (Record Release Show) %
Sat. May 9 – Columbus, OH @ The Basement %
Sun. May 10 – Washington, DC @ Songbyrd %
Tue. May 12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade %
Wed. May 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Creep Records %
Thu. May 14 – Boston, MA @ Once Ballroom %
Fri. May 15 – Montreal, QC @ L’Esco %
Sat. May 16 – Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel %
Thu. May 28 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas *
Fri. May 29 – Milwaukee, WI @ The BackRoom at Colectivo Coffee *
Sat. May 30 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry *
Tue. June 2 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza *
Wed. June 3 – Portland, OR @ Lola’s Room *
Fri. June 5 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill *Sat. June 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo *
Sun. June 7 – San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe *
Wed. June 10 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge *
Fri. June 12 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar *
Sat. June 13 – St. Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill Duck Room *

^ with Miloe
% with PONY
* with BOYO

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Why Bonnie release title track from upcoming EP – “Voice Box.”

Austin-based band Why Bonnie announces their new EP, Voice Box, out April 10th on Fat Possum. Via The FADER, they have premiered its title track and an accompanying video.
“Voice Box” fumes with quiet wisdom, and is “about the societal pressure to silence yourself, and the frustration and self doubt that comes with battling sexism,” says the band. Its video, directed by Shelby Bohannon, features the band and highlights the rift between reality and what is expected of a person.

Watch the Video for “Voice Box”
https://youtu.be/Ptt9ZEne38Q

The Voice Box EP celebrates unhindered expression through beguiling, propulsive guitar pop. Fuzzed-out guitars and crystalline vocals drive a tough-edged struggle in the space between suppression and artistic liberty. Front woman Blair Howerton explains: “It encapsulates a disconnect between my inner and outer world, and not being able to express myself authentically because of that. But, ultimately knowing I will crash and burn if I don’t.”

Why Bonnie is the dazzling, full-band emotional release of Howerton. In a decisive step to start performing her backlogged material, Howerton moved back home to Texas after graduating college in 2015. In Austin, Howerton joined lifelong best friend Kendall Powell, who she met in preschool. Powell’s classical piano chops swapped to synth for the new project. Both active in the Austin scene, guitarist Sam Houdek and bassist Chance Williams later joined to complete the lineup.

In 2018, the band emerged on petite indie outlet Sports Day Records with In Water. The EP eulogized Howerton’s older brother, who passed away years prior. Follow-up Nightgown expanded the effort, pulling lush Mazzy Star and Cranberries influences.

This spring, Why Bonnie will tour in support of Voice Box, including SXSW and dates with Squirrel Flower and Kevin Krauter. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets are on sale now.

Pre-order Voice Box EP
WhyBonnie.lnk.to/VoiceBoxEP

Voice Box EP Tracklist
1. Bury Me
2. Voice Box
3. Athlete
4. Jetplane
5. No Caves

Why Bonnie Tour Dates
Wed. March 18 – Austin, TX @ Beerland (High Road Touring Showcase)
Sat. March 21 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas (Burgermania)
Mon. March 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge *
Wed. March 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo *
Thu. March 26 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill *
Sat. March 28 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza *
Sun. March 29 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge *
Tue. March 31 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court *
Thu. April 2 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge *
Fri. April 3 – Omaha, NE @ (drips)
Sat. April 4 – Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival
Mon. April 6 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry *
Tue. April 7 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas *
Wed. April 8 – Cleveland, OH @ Mahall’s *
Fri. April 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
Mon. April 13 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
Tue. April 14 – Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s
Thu. April 16 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
Fri. April 17 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk Indoors
Sat. April 18 – Dallas, TX @ Ruins
Tue. April 21 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop Bar
Wed. April 22 – Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub
Thu. April 23 – Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary #
Fri. April 24 – Toronto, CA @ Baby G #
Sat. April 25 – Montreal, QC @ Brasserie #
Mon. April 27 – Allston, ,MA @ O’Brien’s Pub
Tue. April 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle #
Wed. April 29 – Washington, DC @ Pie Shop #
Thu. April 30 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall #
Fri. May 1 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (Back Room) #
Sat. May 2 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn #
Sun. May 3 – Nashville, TN @ DKRMTTR #

* = w/ Squirrel Flower
# -w/ Kevin Krauter

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Levitation France announces 2020 dates.

The annual Levitation France music festival will fall on the weekend of September 18-19th this year. It will be held in the Le Quai performing arts center in Angers – a great venue across from the Maine River. Tickets aren’t on sale yet, but I highly recommend going to this festival if you can make it. Angers is a lovely town and the lineup is always top notch.

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Melkbelly releases new single, “Humid Heart,” from upcoming new album.

Chicago-based band Melkbelly will release their new album, PITH, on April 3rd via Wax Nine / Carpark Records. Today, they release their second single/video, “Humid Heart.” It follows the album’s lead single, “LCR,” “an intricately put-together tower of noise, filled with bleary moments of relief” (Stereogum). “Humid Heart” is “about how the grief of losing someone suddenly disorients everyday life,” says frontwoman Miranda Winters. The video was directed by Weird Life Films.

“For ‘Humid Heart,’ we wanted to let the mood and tone of the song guide our direction, rather than forcing anything too specific into the video,” says Weird Life. “Loosely based upon the notion of going through everyday life with any sort of heightened emotions can weigh someone down, we followed our hearts and that of the song and fell down a rabbit hole. That being said, we have no regrets.”
WATCH MELKBELLY’S VIDEO FOR “HUMID HEART”
https://youtu.be/4hMYGDBE7sg

After two years touring internationally, Melkbelly felt comfortable enough to rearrange songs they knew well, their renewed closeness guiding them. Their literally familial relationship was crucial for support, as PITH was summoned from a place of mourning following the loss of a close friend. Miranda Winters drew from diverse scenes—Grimm-like children’s stories too dark for kids; thorny, mossy forests—to create stories that feel distinctly Melkbellian: philosophically strange, strikingly textural, funny and sad and open-hearted.

Recording in two short sessions six months apart, the band worked with longtime collaborator Dave Vettraino, this time at Bloomington, Indiana’s Russian Recording. Alongside an arsenal of rock gear and airy synth layers coaxed from a Moog Prodigy, PITH’s multidimensionality was refined by the studio’s collection of rare Russian tube mics, which were placed in every corner to capture Melkbelly’s unabashed loudness.

Since their 2017 debut Nothing Valley, the members of Melkbelly have an even better understanding of their sonic motivations. On PITH, Melkbelly sought space, and succeeded in crafting it. In support of PITH, the band will tour across North America this spring. A full list of dates can be found below and tickets are on sale now.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “LCR”
https://youtu.be/sw5IEA8ju88

PRE-ORDER PITH
https://smarturl.it/melkbelly_pith

MELKBELLY TOUR DATES:
Sat. April 4 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
Wed. April 22 – Toronto, ON @ Baby G
Thu. April 23 – Montreal, QC @ Le Ritz
Fri. April 24 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theater
Sun. April 26 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Pool
Wed. April 29 – Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong
Thu. April 30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
Fri. May 1 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Roboto Project
Melkbelly Online:
http://melkbelly.net/
https://twitter.com/melkbelly
https://melkbelly.bandcamp.com/
http://pitchperfectpr.com/melkbelly/
https://www.facebook.com/melkbelly/
https://www.instagram.com/melkbelly/

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Kelly Lee Owens make us “Melt!” with her new single from her upcoming album – “Inner Song.”

Convention-blurring techno producer/musician Kelly Lee Owens will release her second album, Inner Song, on May 1st via Smalltown Supersound. Alongside the announcement, she presents its lead single/visual, “Melt!” Inner Song finds Owens diving deep into her own psyche—working through the struggles she’s faced over the last several years and exploring personal pain while embracing the beauty of the natural world. It’s a leap in artistry from a musician who burst forth on the scene with a confident, rich sound, and is steadily enticing. Inner Song follows the 2017 release of her much lauded self-titled debut, as well as remixes of St. Vincent and by Björk, last year’s “Let It Go / Omen” 12”, and her recent collaboration with Jon Hopkins.

The hair-raising bass and tickling textures of Inner Song drive home that, more so than ever, Owens is locked in to delivering maximal aural pleasure and is adept at containing musical and emotional multitudes within just one song. The album features an unconventional Radiohead cover, the voice of fellow Welsh artist John Cale over a psychedelic lullaby, an electro-pop number that glimmers with yo-yo synths and a tough as nails backbeat, and techno banger “Melt!” Although sonically distinct from the rest of Inner Song, “Melt!” is an essential piece of the album. Throughout, Owens comments on the ever-pressing issue of climate change, right down to its structural composition, which includes samples of melting glacial ice and people skating on thin ice. “I wanted to create something that sounded hard but with organic samples.I felt those were great representations of what’s happening in the world, that every moment you’re breathing and sleeping, this is taking place,” says Owens. Its accompanying video, directed by filmmakerLaneya Billingsley (aka Billie0cean), creates a connection between our bodies and the earth, and shows how the two are not separate.
Watch Kelly Lee Owens’ Visuals for “Melt!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kW0vbVEIXE

Stream “Melt!”
https://kellyleeowens.lnk.to/melt
Inner Song came out of what Owens describes as “the hardest three years of my life. . .my creative life and everything I’d worked for up to that point was deeply impacted. I wasn’t sure if I could make anything anymore, and it took quite a lot of courage to get to a point where I could create again.” The evocative title of the album, borrowed from free-jazz maestro Alan Silva‘s 1972 opus, “really reflects what it felt like to make this record. I did a lot of inner work in the past few years, and this is a true reflection of that.”

Inner Song is available for pre-order now. The vinyl is being released as a sesquialbum, or triple-sided album, with the fourth side etched by Kim Hiorthøy.
Pre-order Inner Song
https://kellyleeowens.lnk.to/innersong

Inner Song Tracklist:
1. Arpeggi
2. On
3. Melt!
4. Re-Wild
5. Jeanette
6. L.I.N.E.
7. Corner Of My Sky
8. Night
9. Flow
10. Wake-Up

Kelly Lee Owens Tour Dates:
Fri. Feb. 28 – London, UK @ Southbank Centre (DJ)
Sat. Feb. 29 – Milan, IT @ Contemporary Art Pavillion (DJ)
Fri. March. 6 – London, UK @ 6 Music Festival (DJ)
Sat. March. 7 – Graz, AT @ Elevate Festival (DJ)
Sat. March. 21 – Istanbul, TU @ Babylon (DJ)
Fri. March. 27 – Rome, IT @ Manifesto Festival (DJ)
Wed. May. 06 – Brighton, UK @ Patterns – Warm Up Show
Fri. May. 08 – Manchester, UK @ YES – Warm Up Show
Sat. May. 09 – Berlin, DE @ Pitchfork Music Festival
Wed. May. 13 – London, UK @ Rough Trade East
Sat. May. 23 – London, UK @ All Points East Festival
Sun. June. 14 – Dhërmi, AL @ Kala Festival
Sat. June. 27 – Perk, BE @ Paradise City Festival
Fri. July. 10 – Bilbao, ES @ BBK Live Festival
Thu. July. 30 – Amsterdam, NL @ Dekmantel Festival

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll melt if you subscribe.]

Elephant Stone announces spring North American tour.

Following the release of their new concept album, Hollow, Elephant Stone have announced a spring North American tour starting with a free show in Winooski, Vermont and ending in Chicago, Illinois. All tour dates are with DJ Al Lover, with whom Elephant Stone‘s lead singer / bassist / sitarist Rishi Dhir has worked in the past with their Acid House Ragas project. Tickets are available for all dates.

4/29 Winooski VT @ Foam Brewers FREE SHOW
4/30 New Haven CT @ State House TICKETS
5/1 Brooklyn NY @ The Sultan Room TICKETS
5/2 Allentown PA @ Muhlenberg College TICKETS
5/3 Washington DC @ Comet Ping Pong TICKETS
5/5 Cleveland OH @ Beachland Tavern TICKETS
5/6 Indianapolis IN @ Square Cat Vinyl TICKETS
5/7 Windsor ON @ Meteor TICKETS
5/8 Milwaukee WI @ Milwaukee Psych Fest TICKETS
5/9 Chicago IL @ Sleeping Village TICKETS

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