News – Page 27 – 7th Level Music

A Place to Bury Strangers have a “Bad Idea” for their new single.

New-York based band A Place To Bury Strangers release their new single/video, “Bad Idea,” from their forthcoming album, Synthesizer, to be released digitally October 4th and on vinyl October 25th via Dedstrange. Following lead single “Disgust,” described as “one hell of a feedback-ridden ride” (Consequence), and the “addictive” (New Noise) single “You Got Me,” “Bad Idea” showcases the raw creativity of bassist John Fedowitz. “He came to the studio with a simple looping drum beat, thinking he didn’t have any good ideas—thus, the song was his ‘bad idea,’” says frontman Oliver Ackermann. “We each penned some lines on paper, and he sang the ones that resonated. After a few instrumental passes, the recording was complete. The result is an innovative track born from spontaneous collaboration and a touch of self-doubt, turned into something uniquely captivating.”

The video director for “Bad Idea,” Nick Kulp says, “While touring with the band doing visuals and lighting since 2022, I’ve been lucky enough to experience the band perform new songs and see the development of Synthesizer. In 2023, they started performing ‘Bad Idea’ and I was immediately hooked. It’s one of those live songs that really just takes you along for the ride and is really fun to do visuals and lights for. As the year went on we started talking about videos and elements for the new album and I was approached to do a video for this song and was immediately happy and grateful. I’ve been filming the band on tour and in their practice studio since December of 2023 and have been taking my Hi8 camera on the road and filming the shows. I tried my best to capture as much of the chaos of seeing the band live that I could — it’s an intense journey!”

Watch the Video for “Bad Idea”

Synthesizer is the title of A Place to Bury Strangers’ seventh album. It is also a physical entity, a synthesizer made specifically for you to own, too, if you buy the record on vinyl. You can watch Ackermann demonstrate how to play the circuit board and functional synth album cover here. In an era of making music where so little is DIY and so much is left up to AI, to never setting foot in a practice room or a home studio, making something that feels deliberately chaotic, messy, and human, is entirely the point.

The writing sessions for Synthesizer started in 2022 in the band’s Queens studio, shortly after the release of See Through You. A Place to Bury Strangers re-formed with a new lineup, Oliver Ackermann still at the helm, now featuring friends John and Sandra Fedowitz. Synthesizer very much feels like a record of reinvention. And of course, to ever so slightly reinvent one’s sound, one must also build a new instrument, thus again the synth in question.

The resulting record is one that is romantic, colorful, loud as hell. This is a band that is meant to be witnessed in a live setting, where the songs take on a new energy in the presence of a crowd. Ackermann founded the storied DIY space (and now effects pedal factory) Death By Audio. DBA, as a venue, had a collaborative, creative spirit of chaos and collectivity. That essence appears all over the band’s work, and Synthesizer is a raw collection of songs, wild and loud and fucked up just like the instrument itself.

Pre-order Synthesizer

Watch the “Disgust” Video

Watch the Video For “You Got Me”

A Place To Bury Strangers Tour Dates:
Sat. Sep. 21 – Groningen, NL @ Vicefest
Mon. Sep. 23 – London, UK @ The Shacklewell Arms
Tue. Sep. 24 – Wed. Sep. 25 – London, UK @ No90 Live Hackney Wick
Thu. Sep. 26 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute %
Fri. Sep. 27 – Dublin, IE @ The Grand Social %
Sat. Sep. 28 – Belfast, IE @ Oh Yeah %
Sun. Sep. 29 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo %
Mon. Sep. 30 – Bedford UK @ Esquire %
Thu. Oct. 3 – Berlin, DE @ Berlin Metropol [Record Release Show] %
Fri. Oct. 4 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen %
Sat. Oct. 5 – Oslo, NO @ Goldie %
Sun. Oct. 6 – Gothenburg, SE @ Fangelset %
Mon. Oct. 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan %
Wed. Oct 9 – Wroclaw, PL @ Lacznik %
Thu. Oct. 10 – Warsaw, PL @ Hybrydy %
Fri. Oct. 11 – Poznan, PL @ 2progi %
Sat. Oct. 12 – Bmo, CZ @ Kabinet Muz %
Sun. Oct 13 – Jena, DE KuBa Jena %
Fri. Oct. 25 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat &
Sat. Oct. 26 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings &
Sun. Oct. 27 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle &
Mon. Oct. 28 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl &
Wed. Oct. 30 – Houston, TX @ White Oak &
Thu. Oct. 31 – Austin, TX @ Levitation &
Sat. Nov. 2 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar #
Sun. Nov. 3 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom #
Mon. Nov. 4 – San Francisco, CA @ GAMH Psyched Fest #
Thu. Nov. 7 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios #
Fr. Nov. 8 – Seattle, WA @ Freakout Festival ^
Sat. Nov. 9 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl

% w/ Stella Rose
& w/ YHWH Nailgun
# w/ Pop Music Fever Dream
^ w/ The Black Angels, Martin Rev, The Black Lips & Shabazz Palaces

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[Thanks to Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

John Cale announces reissues of two classic albums coming November 15, 2024.

Following the release of POPtical Illusion earlier this year, John Cale announces the Paris 1919 Deluxe Edition and The Academy in Peril reissue, out November 15th via Domino. Both remastered by Heba Kadry, this is the first artist sanctioned reissue of these beloved records. Paris 1919 includes previously unreleased outtakes and liner notes by Grayson Haver Currin, and features a brand new recording, “Fever Dream 2024: You’re a Ghost,” and The Academy of Peril includes bonus track, “Temper.” Both will be available on CD, vinyl and digitally.

“Revisiting work from the past is a double-edged sword for me. Of course, it’s bound to happen when you’ve been making music for 60 years or so. . . What’s unique about this process with Domino, is their desire to get it right. Not merely re-issue something for the sake of an anniversary or racking up a catalogue favorite – but finding new treasures and highlighting what made it special in the first place. After hearing the test pressings, it occurred to me that the new mastering was a major part of how these works will be presented, rather than simply being preserved. There are moments of clarity and even a laugh or two had by revisiting not only the music, but recalling the sessions (and antics) that made up what became these two recordings. It is my pleasure to share these with you . . . again.”
– John Cale, September 2024

John Cale was never very kind to his solo debut, Vintage Violence. Released in early 1970, Cale had been out of The Velvet Underground for less than two years, and had been wanting to prove he could be the songwriter behind which a band could work. “I was masked on Vintage Violence,” he wrote much later. “You’re not really seeing the personality.” Indeed, Cale’s personality as a polyglot seemingly interested in everything emerged more and more on his next two solo albums and only two for Reprise: 1972’s bracing and exploratory classical sojourn, The Academy in Peril, and 1973’s masterclass in anxious but accessible songcraft, Paris 1919. By reissuing both records in tandem, Domino—Cale’s home now for a dozen years—affirms the artistic fearlessness Cale then fostered at the edge of 30, when all of music seemed like one inviting playpen.

When Cale arrived in Los Angeles from New York in the early ’70s, he was a pinball in the world; out of The Velvet Underground, out of a marriage with designer Betsey Johnson, no longer a vital piece of a New York scene. He had just kicked heroin, too. In California, he entered a chaotic new relationship, starting his new industry gig, and found his West Coast drug of choice, cocaine. Despite its reputation as Reprise’s first classical album, The Academy in Peril indulges that extreme upper energy, bouncing among ambitious ideas with unguarded zeal. Warner Brothers spent $120,000 on The Academy in Peril, and Cale even enlisted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to play on several of its tracks. Still, there is an early punk energy to it all, with a frantic pace of making from idea to execution, where he created his own secret fusion and ignored the strictures of expectation.

The frantic pace of making The Academy in Peril, though, taught Cale an important lesson: take the time you need to make the album you want to hear. And that is precisely what he did on Paris 1919. Arriving at the studio with songs already written, he worked with Little Feat and bassist Wilton Felder at Sunwest Studios in Hollywood, and fully relinquished production duties to English producer Chris Thomas. This remastered and expanded reissue of Paris 1919 is a testament to the progress and the patience that engendered it. In previously unreleased tapes, Cale teases his new chemical habits as he tries to find his way through “Half Past France,” then attempts new vocal arrangements for its beginning in an alternate version. A brilliant “Drone Mix” of “Hanky Panky Nohow,” with Cale’s viola seesawing in hypnotic waves, shows just how much he and Thomas were willing to tinker with these tunes and test the bounds of songcraft. Appended at the end of these extras, “Fever Dream (You’re a Ghost)”—a new Cale composition that perfectly flows out of yet another mix of “Hanky Panky Nohow”—shows that he’s still doing just that into his 80s.

Pre-order Paris 1919 Deluxe Edition
Pre-order The Academy in Peril

As previously announced, John Cale’s POPtical Illusion tour begins in Europe on February 28th.

John Cale POPtical Illusion Tour Dates
Fri. Feb. 28 – Groningen, NL @ De Oosterpoort
Sat. Mar. 1 – Maasmechelen, BE @ CC Maasmechelen
Mon. Mar. 3 – Paris, FR @ Le Trianon
Tue. Mar. 4 – Brussels, BE @ Cirque Royal
Thu. Mar. 6– Karlsruhe, DE @ Tollhaus
Fri. Mar. 7 – Munich, DE @ Alte Kongresshalle
Sun. Mar. 9 – Stuttgart, DE @ Theaterhaus
Mon. Mar. 10 – Esch-sur-Alzette, LU @ Rockhal
Wed. Mar. 12 – Nurnberg, DE @ Markgrafenhalle
Thu. Mar. 13 – Leipzig, DE @ Haus Auensee
Fri. Mar. 14 – Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle
Sun. Mar. 16 – Hamburg, DE @ Laeiszhalle
Mon. Mar. 17 – Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg
Tue. Mar. 18 – Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria
Thu. Mar. 20 – Nottingham, UK @ Playhouse
Fri. Mar. 21 – London, UK @ Royal Festival Hall
Sun. Mar. 23 – Birmingham, UK @ Town Hall
Mon. Mar. 24 – Glasgow, UK @ Pavilion
Tue. Mar. 25 – Newcastle, UK @ New Tyne Theatre
Thu. Mar. 27 – Bexhill on Sea, UK @ De La Warr Pavilion
Sat. Mar. 29 – Cardiff, UK @ Wales New Theatre
Sun. Mar. 30 – Liverpool, UK @ Philharmonic Hall
Mon. Mar. 31 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street

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[Thanks to Jessica and Patrick at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Sleepbomb release “It Was a Good Plan” from their upcoming album due January 24, 2025.

Following winter’s release of ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’, Sleepbomb returns with another slab of cinematic sound – ‘The Sleeping Dead’ coming out January 24, 2025. Hear the first single from the doom-metal band, ‘It Was A Good Plan‘.

Subtitled “Excerpts from their score for George Romero’s 1968 ‘Night of the Living Dead” and based on their full length score for the film, The Sleeping Dead is an epic serving of filmic doom. Starting with the drum parts fully synchronized with the cinematic imagery, during the recording process each track was pared down to the essential character of each scene from the most influential zombie film of them all. ‘Unlike ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’, we knew that the final product would not be a fully synchronized score due to rights issues and the large amount of dialogue in the film.’states Sleepbomb‘s Tim Gotch.

Sleepbomb is a San Francisco-based psychedelic doom project focused on full, original scores for genre films including the German Expressionist silent masterpieces – The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu and Metropolis. Historically a live experience, Sleepbomb has performed their scores across the West coast of the US since 2003 and now has set their sights on expanding to the East coast and the world for 2025.

Originally stylistically close to a chaotic version of Throbbing Gristle vs Black Sabbath, Sleepbomb has been exploring experimental sounds and forms, guided by the band’s love of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Coil, Neurosis, Sunn 0))), Ulver and Swans, among others. Settling on a drone influenced style of doom metal as the overarching theme while exploring other genres as appropriate for each film’s particular style, Sleepbomb’s goal is to re-contextualize the experience of these well-known films. They succeed in this goal.

Sleepbomb joined Bill Gould’s Koolarrow records and Belgium’s Consouling Sounds in 2023 for the release of their score for the classic 1920 German Expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. They are overjoyed to repeat this collaboration for their January 2025 release of The Sleeping Dead: excerpts from an alternate score for George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead!

● Charlie Hernandez: guitars
● Tim Gotch: basses, synths
● Rob Johnson: drums and percussion.
● Claire Hamard: vocals, synths, electronics

SLEEPBOMB ON SOCIALS:

Linktree Facebook Instagram Bandcamp

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Merope announce new album due November 05, 2024 with new single – “Namopi.”

Today Merope announce details of their forthcoming new album ‘Vėjula’, which is set for release on November 5^th via STROOM, and have shared new track “Namopi” featuring Laraaji and Shahzad Imsaily.

There’s a sense of spontaneity and playfulness hanging in the air around Merope’s fifth album that’s palpable from the very beginning. The duo of Lithuanian singer and kanklės player Indrė Jurgelevičiūtė and guitarist/producer Bert Cools, Merope are kissed by the winds of change on ‘Vėjula’, a self-styled musical rebirth that confidently fosters their ongoing narrative. It’s their most experimental and open-minded full-length to date, spreading its arms to embrace collaborations with like-minded artists Shahzad Ismaily, Laraaji and Bill Frisell. And while ‘Vėjula’still roots itself in Lithuanian folk forms, it sprouts out spiritedly from that point into unfamiliar landscapes, muddling ancient themes with contemporary philosophies, concepts and technologies.

Following previously shared tracks “Aglala” and “Koumu Lil”, today they share “Namopi” – a collaboration with legendary American multi-instrumentalist Laraaji and the band’s old friend Shahzad Ismaily, a versatile Pakistani-American player, composer and producer who’s spent the last couple of decades traveling the world and working with artists such as Arooj Aftab, Laurie Anderson, Marc Ribot and Sam Amidon.

Together, Ismaily, Laraaji and Merope find harmony in their fusion of not-so-distant worlds. Ismaily plays moog, bass, drums and adds backing vocals that drape around Laraaji’s unmistakable zither chimes and transcendent synth bleeps, while Jurgelevičiūtė and Cools provide the track’s adhesive, conducting a modest ensemble that breathes with warmth.

Speaking on the track, Merope comment “Searching for a common ground, a place we can call home, music is a place like that.Besides playing with our dearest friend Shahzad Ismaily, we were very happy to meet Laraaji. Namopi was a beautiful first meeting.”

Listen to “Namopi feat. Laraaji & Shahzad Ismaily” on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qMdcOI9VXPE?si=mCTstg7hwRMrMp46

Merope emerged over a decade ago in 2012, hitting their stride in 2018 when they released the nocturnal ‘Naktės’.Since then, they’ve developed a considerable reputation for their whimsical fusion of folk and ambient music; their last album, ‘Salos’, released on Belgium’s STROOM imprint and recorded with Vilnius-based chamber choir Juana Muzika and conductor Vaclovas Augustinas, received universal acclaim, described by Boomkat as “effortlessly enchanting” and supported by none other than Björk.

‘Vėjula’ moves their music forward by examining its beating heart, weaving delicate instrumental sequences and ethereal vocals into a rich tapestry of subtle synth work, evocative field recordings and enigmatic processes. Dazzlingly modest, the album strips down Merope to their essence, rediscovering the joy in creation and collaboration.

‘Vėjula’ is an album that reaches into the unknown without losing its tight grip on the past. Merope are in a new creative phase of their career, and they’ve never sounded quite so universal, or so vital.

‘Vėjula’ track list:
1 Koumu Lil – stream
2 Namopi feat. Laraaji and Shahzad Ismaily stream
3 Lopšinė feat. Bill Frisell
4 Vija
5 Spindulė
6 Aglala – stream
7 O Underhill feat. Shahzad Ismaily
8 Rana

Merope live dates:
08/11 – Le Guess Who? – Utrecht, NL
20/11 – Viernulvier (Ruiskamer) – Gent (double bill with Alex Zhang Hungtai)
23/11 – Explore The North – Leeuwarden, NL
28/11 – BRAND! – Mechelen, BE
29/11 – Het Bos – Antwerpen
01/12 – Bozar – Brussel

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[Thanks to Katie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Just in time for Halloween, Motörhead to release “We Take No Prisoners” singles collection on October 25, 2024.

Back in the golden era of the single of the 1970’s and 80’s, Motörhead would regularly assault the ears of chart listeners on a Sunday afternoon with a string of hit smashes in the rock charts of the time. The single as a format may have been less prominent from the 90’s onwards due to the dawn of the CD, but that didn’t diminish the calibre of the singles and promos that Motörhead continued to release. These mostly CD singles are now rare and highly collectable, so it only feels fitting for this era of the band’s bullet belt full of hits to be reappraised and released on the format that singles were born for, 7” vinyl.

We Take No Prisoners is a collection of the bands singles spanning 1995 to 2006, and available as a nine 7” single box set and expanded double CD and digital editions. From crowd pleasers like the pummeling ‘Sacrifice’, through their unique cover of Sex Pistols, ‘God Save The Queen’ to the semi-acoustic roots vibes of ‘Whorehouse Blues’, no one could deny their song writing prowess was still second to none. With a selection of rare live and radio edits thrown in for good measure and a long lost promo interview with Lemmy and Mikkey Dee from 2004, this is a definitive collection of this era of the band and the songs that drove the success of the albums they were lifted from.

See below for full details of the We Take No Prisoners releases and be sure to visit www.iMotorhead.com for news and updates!

7” BOX SET TRACKLISTING

DISC ONE

A – Sacrifice

B – Over Your Shoulder (Live)”

DISC TWO

A – I Don’t Believe A Word

(Single Edit)*

B – Overnight Sensation (Live)”

DISC THREE

A – Love For Sale

B – Take The Blame

DISC FOUR

A – God Save The Queen

B – One More Fucking Time

DISC FIVE

A – Shut Your Mouth

B – See Me Burning

DISC SIX

A – Whorehouse Blues

B – Killers

DISC SEVEN

A – God Was Never On Your Side

B – Trigger

DISC EIGHT

A – R.A.M.O.N.E.S.

(2006 version)

B – R.A.M.O.N.E.S. (Live)”

DISC NINE

A/B: Inferno Interview – Bel Age Hotel, California, April 2004”

(w/ Mikkey Dee and Lemmy)
CD EDITION TRACKLISTING
DISC ONE

1. Sacrifice
2. Order / Fade to Black
3. Over Your Shoulder (Live)
4. I Don’t Believe a Word (Single Edit)
5. Overnight Sensation (Live)
6. Love for Sale
7. Take the Blame
8. God Save the Queen
9. One More Fucking Time

DISC TWO

1. Shut Your Mouth (Single Edit)
2. See Me Burning
3. Whorehouse Blues
4. Killers
5. God Was Never on Your Side
6. Trigger
7. R.A.M.O.N.E.S.
8. Devil I Know
9. R.A.M.O.N.E.S. (Live)
10. ‘Inferno’ Interview
11. ‘Inferno’ Interview – Bel Age Hotel, California, April 2004”
(w/ Mikkey Dee and Lemmy)

Pre-order here: https://motorhead.lnk.to/prisonersWE

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[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR!]

William Tyler releases new single – “Flight Final.”

Today, the Nashville-based guitarist/composer William Tyler releases his new single “Flight Final” via Psychic Hotline, his first piece of new music since last year’s lauded collaboration with Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden. Written after Tyler left Los Angeles for Nashville in the confused hurry of early 2020, where he left behind most of his recording rig, Tyler rendered new musical sketches with an iPhone and an old tape machine he found while cleaning out his late grandfather’s Mississippi office. He leaned into this admixture of distortions new and old, welding guitar and electronics to connect past echoes to the present.

Tyler’s new single “Flight Final” explores these liminal spaces, with time and tone bending until the whole world blurs. Samples and sequences first spell out a counting game, pulses and numbers phasing into a Steve Reich fantasia for one. But sighing steel guitar and wistful country licks confuse the chronology even more, pulling the seconds apart until they seem to stretch toward forever, an endless horizon of confusion and wonder. This is a soundtrack to realizing that moving forward never entirely means escaping what is behind you. “Final Flight” is also a tease; expect more music from Tyler, exploring these same deep veins, in 2025.

Listen to “Flight Final”

William Tyler Tour Dates
Sat. Sept. 7 – Oxford, UK @ Septembersong
Sun. Sept. 8 – London, UK @ TBD
Mon. Sept. 9 – Bournemouth, UK @ ICA
Wed. Sept. 11 – Bristol, UK @ The Lantern
Thu. Sept. 12 – Falmouth, UK @ The Cornish Bank
Sat. Sept. 14 – Birkenhead, UK @ Future Yard
Sun. Sept. 15 – Todmorden, UK @ The Golden Lion (Early Show)
Mon. Sept. 16 – Newcastle, UK @ Cluny 2
Tue. Sept. 17 – Glasgow, UK @ The Glad Cafe
Thu. Sept. 19 – Lyon, FR @ Sonic
Fri. Sept. 20 – Paris, FR @ Chair de Poule
Tue. Sept. 24 – Middelburg, NL @ De Spot
Wed. Sept. 25 – Haarlem, NL @ Patronaat
Thu. Sept. 26 – Zwolle, NL @ Hedon
Sat. Sept. 28 – Barcelona, ES @ Casa Montjuic
Sun. Sept. 29 – Valencia, ES @ Centro Excursionista
Wed. Oct. 2 – Lisboa, PT @ Bota
Fri. Oct. 4 – Braga, PT @ Generation
Sun. Oct. 6 – San Sebastian, ES @ dabadabass

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Data Animal is “Dancing with the Devil” on their new single.

LISTEN TO “DANCING WITH THE DEVIL” HERE

BUY “DANCING WITH THE DEVIL” HERE

BUY THE “CHEMICAL COWBOY / DANCING WITH THE DEVIL” SINGLE HERE

Get ready to unleash the chaos with Data Animal‘s explosive new electro punk single, “Dancing with the Devil ”! With a relentless blend of searing synths, thrashing guitars, and raw, unapologetic vocals, this track is a sonic rebellion against the mundane. “Dancing with the Devil” captures the ferocity and spirit of the underground scene, delivering a blistering anthem that’s destined to ignite mosh pits and set the night ablaze. Out August 27th – only on Dedstrange.

Data Animal is bursting out of Berlin’s underground music scene mixing the sounds of NYC’s No Wave legends Suicide, psychedelic godfathers Spacemen 3 and the drum machine, noise driven racket of early The Jesus and Mary Chain and making it completely their own. Founded between Berlin and New Zealand and signed to Oliver Ackermann’s (Death by Audio / A Place To Bury Strangers) label Dedstrange in the midst of a global pandemic, the group is headed up by Mitchell James O’Sullivan and joined by a rotating cast of Berlin’s music scene luminaries. The band has grown in notoriety for their blistering live set including shows with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, A Place To Bury Strangers, GIFT, and YHWH Nailgun following their highly regarded debut album Future Primitive.

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Human Impact say that sometimes we have to “Destroy to Rebuild” on their new single.

Human Impact, the laser-precision noise-rock alliance of Unsane frontman Chris Spencer, Cop Shoot Cop‘s squall-maker Jim Coleman, Made Out of Babies‘ Eric Cooper and Daughters‘ Jon Syverson, release Gone Dark, the band’s second full-length album, on Oct. 4 via Ipecac Recordings.

A preview of the nine-song album arrives today with the release of “Destroy to Rebuild” (https://youtu.be/J1ABKh6fUtc), a gnashing ode to cleaning the slate and starting anew. Spencer explains: “There are times when, as frustrating as it may be, it’s best to completely tear everything down and start fresh from a new beginning.”

Gone Dark is a fiercer, tighter upgrade of their taut grooves, brittle guitar shards, impassioned shouts and clouds of dystopian noise. Not a cry from the darkness but a shout through the darkness, a robust proclamation of resilience and opposition in the face of impending apocalypse.

It follows their self-titled debut, which was released on the eve that the world stood still, and was followed by a slew of singles which culminated in the the release of EP01 in 2021 and touring in 2022. The band graced the cover of New Noise Magazine (France) and were featured in a New York Times article amongst other recognition.

“We were all looking to go with something more raw and aggressive than the previous releases.” adds Spencer. “There was a real desire to capture more of what the live performances had been like. With this one, we had plenty of time to develop a full, cohesive album joining songs together with interstitial pieces more like a live performance would be. With Gone Dark we have arrived at a place where we fully understand who we are as a band, so it’s a bit more focused and relentless.”

The Human Impact arsenal is more formidable than ever thanks to the addition of bassist Eric Cooper (Made Out of Babies, Bad Powers) and drummer Jon Syverson (Daughters). Spencer had spent the 2020 Covid lockdown working on a cabin in the East Texas woods and would travel into Austin for informal jam sessions with the pair in the bass player’s garage. Friendly blasts through vintage Unsane songs ultimately resulted in the rhythm section being fully absorbed into the Unsane and Human Impact lineups for their 2022 European tours.

Gone Dark was recorded with co-producer Andrew Schneider (Ken Mode, Cave In) in Austin’s Cedar Creek Studio. The collection is available on CD, Digital, black vinyl and a limited webstore exclusive blue vinyl. Pre-orders can be found here: https://humanimpact.lnk.to/gonedark.

Tour dates will be announced soon.

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[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR.]

Fuzzzel is a new app that provides artisanal white noise made by musicians.

Fuzzzel, the world’s first artist-driven white noise app, has launched today with six exclusive soundscapes from a formidable lineup of independent music visionaries.

Available now in the Apple App Store (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fuzzzel/id6596783978), Fuzzzel brings a unique artistic perspective to the functional concept of “white noise.”

The initial release of Fuzzzel boasts exclusive pieces from Academy Award-nominated composer Owen Pallett, ambient music icon Eluvium, industrial hip-hop theorists clipping., genre-hopping harp journeywoman Mary Lattimore, mind-bending experimental pianist Kelly Moran and legendary wildlife recordist Chris Watson. Their longform explorations of static, drones, fuzz, wind and spectrum-filling oblivion make Fuzzzel not only a utilitarian sound-making device but a one-of-a-kind creative platform.

Fuzzzel was created by software developer and veteran music journalist Christopher R. Weingarten (New York Times, Rolling Stone), rerouting the demand for white noise into the hands of professionals, sound artists and creatives. Every piece on Fuzzzel is a lengthy, exclusive ambient journey created with the pulse of a human being and the ear of a gifted musician. Each piece — together totaling more than two hours of new music — loops indefinitely alongside a unique video provided by each artist.

Although white noise, brown noise and pink noise are traditionally marketed as tools for self care, Fuzzzel offers no preference or aesthetic suggestions on how you appreciate these works. All of them are equally appropriate for background noise, sleep aid, meditation, concentration, home atmosphere, deep listening, party accompaniment or your everyday music rotation.

“One of my core beliefs about experimental music is that there’s no ‘correct’ way to listen to it,” says Weingarten. “I’ve intentionally left Fuzzzel abstract. Play these pieces quietly or loudly. Use them for daydreaming or for focusing. Use them as ambient noise or as your favorite jams. These are open spaces for the user’s own wants and needs.”

The musicians on Fuzzzel comprise some of today’s most forward-thinking and acclaimed artists, all blurring lines between independent rock, modern classical composition and avant-garde sound art. Over the course of more than two hours of original sound, their drones run the gamut from the delicate to the thunderous. Mary Lattimore creates a fragile soundworld from harp, Moog and copper handbells, while Eluvium summons wave upon wave of churning analog seastorms. Owen Pallett’s piece recalls the wind-battered plains of a Cormac McCarthy novel, while Kelly Moran’s Prophet synthesizer culls the cosmic woosh of classic kosmische. Clipping.’s piece is constructed of the “outer space” backgrounds of their Hugo-award-nominated 2016 sci-fi concept album Splendor & Misery — each ambience represents a different room inside the interstellar vessel where the album’s story takes place. Chris Watson, whose field recordings can be heard on David Attenborough’s beloved Life series of BBC documentaries, provides a blustery audio snapshot of the Spanish peninsula of Cap de Creus, where you can surround yourself in wind gales and birdsong.

“When I started approaching these artists, many of them would tell me that they had already concocted bespoke white noise solutions for their own lives,” says Weingarten. “I’m psyched to bring these personal pieces to the world, and allow people to connect with them in their own ways.”

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[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR.]

Philadelphia’s Making Time EDM festival returns September 20-22, 2024.

Making Time ∞ proudly returns to Philadelphia’s Fort Mifflin this fall, Friday, September 20 – Sunday, September 22, for its fourth and most transcendental year yet. Once again, Making Time ∞ has pulled out all the stops with a distinct curatorial bent that makes the Philly event totally unique. Topping the bill are two UK duos that have changed the game – Optimo (Espacio) and Bicep – who will unite for a rare back-to-back set. Additional headliners include legends Floating Points and Theo Parrish. Friend of Making Time ∞, Daniel Avery, will back-to-back with the blistering Detroit electro icon DJ Stingray while 2manydjs’ anticipated set will focus on the New Beat music from their native Belgium.

This year, the full scope of Making Time ∞ comes to the fore—Los Angeles folk royalty Jessica Pratt plays a day time live set. Hotly tipped Mexican ambient jazz artist Mabe Fratti also plays live, as will Caterina Barbieri, post-punk innovators Model/Actriz, UK star John Glacier, and experimentalist live acts of all stripes including Pavel Milyakov, UK percussionist Valentina Magaletti, and the powerful saxophonist Bendik Giske.

The bread and butter of Making Time ∞ is electronic music, but even here, the approach is full spectrum and gathers the best of the best from the current international dance scene, including Skee Mask, Laurel Halo,Nia Archives, Wata Igarashi,Paranoid London, Simo Cell, Djrum, Leon Vynehall, Kia, CCL, Aurora Halal, Scott Zacharias, Kieran Laveaux, Nosedrip, Purelink, Time Is Away, Death Is Not The End, Blazer Sound System, Paula Tape, and Nick León, to name a few.

With over 25 years of experience throwing parties, the legendary Philadelphia promoter and Making Time ∞ founder Dave P. has developed familial bonds with a number of artists who serve as regulars or “residents” of sorts. Avalon Emerson and John Talabot make their triumphant return, as do key Philly artists Universal Cave, JEWELSSEA, Zillas On Acid, King Britt, Rich Medina (playing an all 45’s DJ set) along with crews Great Circles and Subsurface. Brooklyn community music hub The Lot Radio will return to host a livestream stage.

Fort Mifflin is particularly well-suited for different speeds. The “casemates,” used for storage during wartime, serve as historic chill-out rooms or small indoor venues. The sprawling, mildly vertiginous fields can host outdoor live sets during the day before turning into Orbital-like outdoor raves at night, with longtime Making Time ∞ collaborators Klip Collective projecting visuals on various buildings whose colonial builders never could have imagined their modern repurposing.

As last year’s attendees discovered, when you’re at Fort Mifflin, you’re family. Making Time ∞ is about banding together to transcend inclement weather, by-numbers lineups, and corporate overlords of all persuasions. This is what makes Making Time ∞ totally unique and totally unforgettable. Each year, we come to Making Time ∞ for something different, something ambitious, abnormal and, yes, transcendent.

Three-day passes for Making Time ∞ 2024 are available to purchase now for $225 (plus taxes and fees). Tickets with no service charges are available at the following locations: The Lot Radio in Brooklyn, Middle Child & Middle Child Clubhouse in Philadelphia.

PURCHASE TICKETS FOR MAKING TIME ∞ 2024

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[Thanks to Ahmad at Pitch Perfect PR.]