News – Page 57 – 7th Level Music

Light in the Attic Records releases a rare 1965 demo of Lou Reed’s “Heroin” ahead of a stunning set of his early recordings.

Light in the Attic Records, in cooperation with Laurie Anderson, are thrilled to share Lou Reed’s May 1965 demo of “Heroin,” from Words & Music, May 1965, the inaugural title in their forthcoming Lou Reed Archive Series, out August 26th. Released in tandem with the late artist’s 80th birthday celebrations, Words & Music, May 1965 offers an extraordinary, unvarnished, and plainly poignant insight into one of America’s true poet-songwriters. Capturing Reed in his formative years, this previously unreleased collection of songs—penned by a young Lou Reed, recorded to tape with the help of future bandmate John Cale, and mailed to himself as a “poor man’s copyright”—remained sealed in its original envelope and unopened for nearly 50 years. Its contents embody some of the most vital, groundbreaking contributions to American popular music committed to tape in the 20th century. Like the previously shared demo of “I’m Waiting For The Man,” this version of “Heroin” is the earliest known recording of The Velvet Underground’s beloved track, and offers another stunning peak into Reed’s creative process.

Listen to Lou Reed’s May 1965 demo of “Heroin”

Listen to Lou Reed’s May 1965 demo of “I’m Waiting for the Man”

Words & Music, May 1965 will be available on August 26th in a variety of formats, including LP, cassette, 8-track, digital, and CD. The centerpiece of the inaugural Lou Reed Archive Series release is the Deluxe 45-RPM Double LP Edition of Words & Music, May 1965. Limited to 7,500 copies worldwide, this collection was designed by multi-GRAMMY^®-winning artist Masaki Koike and features a stylized, die-cut gatefold jacket manufactured by Stoughton Printing Co. Housed inside are two 45-RPM 12-inch LPs, pressed on HQ-audiophile-quality 180-gram vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI) featuring the only vinyl release of “I’m Waiting for the Man – May 1965 Alternate Version.” A bonus 7-inch, housed in its own unique die-cut picture sleeve and manufactured at Third Man Record Pressing includes the only vinyl release of six previously-unreleased bonus tracks providing a never-before-seen glimpse into Reed’s formative years, including early demos, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” and a doo-wop serenade recorded in 1958 when the legendary singer-songwriter was just sixteen years old. An accompanying saddle-stitched, die-cut 28-page book features lyrics, archival photos, and liner notes. Also included is an archival reproduction of a rarely-seen letter, written by Reed to his college professor and poet, Delmore Schwartz, circa 1964. The set includes a CD containing the complete audio from the package, housed in a die-cut jacket.

The 11-track digital release of Words & Music, May 1965 will be available across all platforms, alongside the physical formats, on August 26th. A six-song digital EP, Gee Whiz, 1958-1964, drops on October 7th, offering the above-mentioned bonus content.

Pre-order Words & Music, May 1965

To help celebrate the release, Light in the Attic will also invite listeners to intimately experience Words & Music through a podcast hosted by TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. In partnership with Little Everywhere and Ruinous Media, this special program will feature exclusive audio, archival materials, and interviews with many of the album’s participants. Available on all podcast platforms on August 26th.

For those seeking an even deeper dive into Reed’s legacy, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (which houses Reed’s recently-unearthed recordings) will be hosting a special exhibit this spring, curated by Don Fleming and Jason Stern. Opening June 9, Lou Reed: Caught Between the Twisted Stars will chronicle the life’s work of the songwriter, musician, performer, photographer, poet, and accomplished tai chi practitioner—as through the voices, images, and music of Reed and his collaborators. For more information, visit nypl.org.

Throughout 2022 and beyond, Light in the Attic will continue to honor the music and influence of Reed through the Lou Reed Archive Series. Visit LightInTheAttic.net or LouReedArchive.com to learn more, and stay tuned for forthcoming releases.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chat Pile, live:

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

July 30 Austin, TX @ Chess Club

September 15 Oklahoma City, OK @ The Sanctuary

October 21 Brooklyn, NY @ St. Vitus *

October 24 Brooklyn, NY @ St. Vitus *

*w/ Scarcity

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[Thanks to Stephanie at Indie Publicity.]

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

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

Listen to Nils Frahm’s “Lemon Day”

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

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

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

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

Listen to “Right Right Right”

Pre-order Music For Animals

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

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We can now hear Charles Stepney’s original 4-track demo of “That’s the Way of the World.”

Today, Chicago label International Anthem presents “That’s The Way of the World,” the latest track off Step on Step, the forthcoming double LP collection of home recordings by the late and under-sung legend Charles Stepney, out September 9th. This recording of “That’s The Way of the World” encapsulates an iconic piece of music history: the eventual studio version of the song, co-written by Stepney and Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice and Verdine White, and arranged by Stepney for the EWF album and film of the same name, would become one of the biggest recordings ever released by the band. Deemed one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone, this original 4-track demo version of “That’s The Way of the World” offers an unprecedented look into Stepney’s creative process, and helps us understand what EWF lead singer Philip Bailey meant when he said in 2001: “The success of Earth Wind & Fire, and all our great songs that we made in that era, would not, could not, and wouldn’t have been made without Charles Stepney. He was very much an equal part, or more, than all of us put together.”

Listen to “That’s The Way of the World”

The digital cover art for today’s “That’s The Way of The World” is an old family photo of Stepney’s youngest daughter Chanté (who was just a toddler when her father passed away in 1976), in a high chair at their family home on the Southside of Chicago. About the photo, Chanté says: “People often ask if I’m sad that I don’t remember him, and while I wish I could recall more, my family has done an amazing job with giving me a full understanding of who he was as a man, father, musician, etc… I’m told wonderful stories of how he would prepare my breakfast and put me in the high chair to eat. A couple years ago, Shirley Wahls told me that the lyrics to “That’s the Way of the World” were partially inspired by my birth… Everyone thought it was pretty cool that Charles and Rubie were having a BABY at their age!”

The forthcoming Step on Step, Charles Stepney’s de-facto debut album that releases almost 50 years since his passing, features 23 tracks, most of which are original compositions by Stepney that were never again recorded by him or any other artist. It also features prototypical, seedling-style demos of Stepney compositions for Earth, Wind & Fire, including today’s “That’s The Way of The World,” “Imagination,” and “On Your Face,” as well as the original version of “Black Gold,” which would eventually be recorded by Rotary Connection (as “I Am The Black Gold of The Sun,” with lyrics by Richard Rudolph).

The album’s announcement and lead singles “Step on Step,” “Daddy’s Diddies,” and “Look B4U Leap” has brought on excitement from many longtime fans of Stepney’s work, including most recently Tyler The Creator, who played “Daddy’s Diddies” on a recent NTS Radio show while bantering: “Charles Stepney…Genius!”

All of the otherwise unrecorded, previously unnamed original compositions contained on Step on Step were given their titles by Stepney’s daughters Eibur, Charlene, and Chanté Stepney, whose voices are also heard throughout the album, telling stories and sharing memories about their father.

In celebration of Step on Step, The Stepney Sisters and International Anthem are hosting a series of events across Chicago this summer. Dubbed the “Summer of Stepney,” these events will extend through September and include performances by a new large ensemble – Rotary Connection 222 – under the musical direction of International Anthem recording artist Junius Paul. Rotary Connection 222 was created by Paul in collaboration with the Stepney Sisters, and in its current state features Makaya McCraven (drums), Jackson Shepard (guitar), Alexis Lombre (keys), Meagan McNeal (vocals), and Stepney’s granddaughter Brandice Manuel (vocals), with new arrangements written by De’Sean Jones and Jeff Parker.

Summer of Stepney highlights will include a series of documentary webisodes created by filmmaker Brian Ashby (Scrappers, The Area, Hairy Who & the Chicago Imagists), in-stores, live streams, interviews, and an August 18th show called Charles Stepney: Out of the Shadows on Chicago’s grandest public performance stage, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park.

The next Summer of Stepney event is a day party at iconic Chicago record store Dusty Groove on Saturday July 23rd, featuring DJ sets by Wax Poetics writer Ronnie Reese, and more.

For more information about Charles Stepney, Rotary Connection 222, Summer of Stepney events, and the Charles Stepney: Out of the Shadows performance at Millennium Park, visit www.summerofstepney.com.

Pre-order Step on Step

Listen to “Step on Step” by Charles Stepney

Listen to “Daddy’s Diddies” by Charles Stepney

Listen To “Look B4U Leap” by Charles Stepney

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Broken Clover Records – a label that does something crazy: Support their artists.

Bay Area record label Broken Clover Records announces partnership with US/THEM group to promote their ever-growing and diverse roster. The label begun in 2018 by Bay Area native Mickey Darius includes albums by June of 44, Democratic Republic of Congo’s Fulu Kolektiv (sister initiative to Fulu Miziki), experimentalists Enablers, queer country Secret Emchy Society, Lori Goldston (Nirvana cellist), Basque (Spain) punks +oc and many more.

Broken Clover is a label approaching the music business in many new ways. Darius pays the label’s artists their entire royalties up front as soon as the records arrive, for everything they would earn if the entire pressing sells out.

“They did their part, so should not be held hostage, waiting for the label to do the selling part,” Darius says. “We are quite literally putting food on our artists tables and paying rents…even if we don’t sell a single copy, and this means a lot to me.”

The label also donates the entirety of its monthly profits twice annually in February and August to valuable non-profits of the artists’ choosing.

Broken Clover withholds releasing albums on all streaming platforms except for Bandcamp for a period up to 6 months in order to give the bands and fans a leg up to access music first in a forum and formats that truly reward the music listening experience.

Voted Best Record Label 2021 by 48 Hills / SF Bay Guardian

The label has over 20 releases with many more to come in 2022 and beyond. Check out and hear the current roster via Bandcamp at brokencloverrecords.bandcamp.com

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[Thanks to US / THEM Group.]

When The Chats claim, “I’ve Been Drunk in Every Pub in Brisbane.”, you tend to believe them.

Aussie punk trio The Chats release a new single/video, “I’ve Been Drunk in Every Pub in Brisbane,” from their new album, GET FUCKED, out August 19th on Bargain Bin Records. Clocking in at just 89 seconds, the rip-roaring track is an entirely unironic celebration of frontman Eamon Sandwith’s first year or two in his new home city. The accompanying video was shot under the influence by the band and their house mate, Rick, who is also in a band with Eamon and Josh called Rick and the Sickos.

“Brisbane is quite a bit hotter than the rest of the country,” says Eamon, “so it’s one of those places where it’s more acceptable to start drinking earlier. I reckon there would be 900 or so pubs that you would have to hit, and I have actually been to a good chunk of them, but if you were go to all of them, it would be hard to even remember which ones you’d been to, and which ones you hadn’t, especially if you’d got fucking pissed.”

WATCH THE CHATS’ VIDEO FOR “I’VE BEEN DRUNK IN EVERY PUB IN BRISBANE”

GET FUCKED is an incendiary, hyper-adrenalized blitz from punk heaven, showcasing an electrifying all-killer-no-filler 13 tracks which perfectly capture the band’s explosive energy. The album, while tackling umpteen eminently relatable beefs ranging from surfer-dude racism to the usual dire impecunity, feels like a classic high-velocity punk-rock party album like they just don’t make ’em anymore – think early Ramones, think MDC’s debut, think invite your mates over and rock hard all weekend. It is, quite simply, another laugh-out-loud, pogo-through-the-floorboards stroke of motherfucking genius.

This fall, The Chats will open for Guns N’ Roses on a Australian and New Zealand tour. A full list of dates can be found below.

WATCH VIDEO FOR “STRUCK BY LIGHTNING”

WATCH THE “6L GTR” VIDEO

PRE-ORDER GET FUCKED

THE CHATS TOUR DATES
Fri. Jul. 22 – Adelaide, AU @ Adelaide Showground
Fri. Jul. 29 – Luxembourg, LU @ Rotondes
Sat. Oct. 8 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival
Fri. Nov. 18 – Perth, AU @ Optus Stadium
Tue. Nov. 22 – Brisbane, AU @ Suncorp Stadium
Thu. Nov. 24 – Gold Coast, AU @ Metricon Stadium
Sun. Nov. 27 – Sydney, AU @ Accor Stadium
Sat. Dec. 3 – Melbourne, AU @ Melbourne Cricket Ground
Thu. Dec. 8 – Wellington, NZ @ Sky Stadium
Sat. Dec. 10 – Auckland, NZ @ Eden Park

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[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Medicine Singers fly high with “Hawk Song” from their new album.

Today, Medicine Singers release their self-titled debut album on Stone Tapes/ Joyful Noise, and present the video for “Hawk Song.” Medicine Singers is a genre-smashing kaleidoscope of sound firmly rooted in the intense physical power of the powwow drum, and is the inaugural release on the new Joyful Noise imprint, Stone Tapes. “Hawk Song,” written by band member Ray Two Hawks Watson, is a modern powwow favorite which infuses the Eastern Algonquin tradition with a rock edge. “The guitar turned it into a rock song,” says bandleader Daryl Black Eagle Jamieson. “The two styles mesh together so well, it’s like a fireball taking off, and you can see it in the audience when we play it live.” With hand-held footage of the band performing “Hawk Song,” the accompanying music video – directed by Roy and Gigi Ben Artzi – captures a propulsivity that extends across Medicine Singers’ 10 tracks.

Watch Medicine Singers’ “Hawk Song” Video

The creation of Stone Tapes was inspired in part by Jamieson’s work as an artist and activist, and to make a space for traditional musicians to collaborate with other experimental artists. One dollar from each Stone Tapes album sale will go toward a charity of the artist’s choice. For Medicine Singers, the funds will go to Jamieson’s organization Pocasset Pocanoket Land Trust. “We’re buying back all the land from the original Pocasset purchase – that the colonists took from us. What we are trying to do is preserve the pristine land…Keep it from being built on…Bring it back to our people to have a place to go. Because here in the Northeast most of the land has been taken and built upon, and it’s so expensive that Indian people cannot even afford it,” said Jamieson.

Medicine Singers expands on years of collaboration following a spontaneous 2017 performance by Eastern Algonquin powwow group Eastern Medicine Singers and Monotonix guitarist Yonatan Gat. Bridging multiple dimensions of sound, Medicine Singers expanded into a remarkable supergroup that also includes ambient music pioneer Laraaji, Thor Harris and Christopher Pravdica of Swans, no wave icon Ikue Mori, and rising jazz trumpet star jaimie branch, who also painted the album cover. Alongside producer Ryan Olson (of Gayngs), Medicine Singers’ debut album combines traditional powwow music with elements of psychedelic punk, spiritual jazz, and electronics in a stunning blend.

“I look at it like this, everybody is my brother and sister, no matter where they come from,” Jamieson reflects. “If their culture or music is different, I want to learn about it, and I want to play with them. I think it’s our responsibility as artists to show the world that life is not about war and hate. Life is about music, peace, and culture. We need to communicate with people of different cultures and backgrounds. We need to show people how we can work together and make something beautiful.”

Watch The “Daybreak” Lyric Video

Watch The “Sunrise (Rumble)” Video

Listen to “Sanctuary”

Purchase Medicine Singers

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The Schizophonics have “Won Your Love” with their new single.

San Diego trio The Schizophonics share the video for “Won Your Love” from their forthcoming fourth album today via Punk News. Watch and share “Won Your Love” HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

The band previously issued the lead single “Desert Girl” via YouTube, Spotify and all other DSPs.

The band just recently wrapped up an extensive tour of Europe, and will be very busy for the next year with tour dates around the world. Please see current dates below.

Over the last few years, The Schizophonics have built up a formidable reputation around the world as an explosive live act. Tapping into the same unstoppable combination of rock ‘n’ roll energy and showmanship that fueled The MC5 in the heyday of the Grande Ballroom, their wild live show is heavily influenced by artists like James Brown, Iggy Pop, Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard, and The Sonics.

Singer/guitarist Pat Beers and drummer Lety Beers formed the band in San Diego in 2009 and have worked tirelessly since then, playing hundreds of shows around the globe. In 2013 they were recruited as the backing/opening band for El Vez, which helped the band make a name for itself in Europe. Since then, they’ve played in numerous countries, and supported tours by like-minded acts like Rocket From The Crypt, Little Barrie, The Woggles and have opened for the Damned, DEVO, The Hives and Cage The Elephant. Shindig Magazine described their live show “Like watching some insane hybrid of WAYNE KRAMER, JAMES BROWN, and the Tasmanian Devil.”

The band is more than just a live act; they’re also committed to writing great memorable songs. Their new album Hoof It on Pig Baby Records due in Fall 2022 was recorded by Dean Reis at Singing Serpent studio (Plosivs, RFTC) and mixed by Steve Kaye at Sun King Studios.

Hoof It will be available on LP, CD and download on September 2nd, 2022 via Pig Baby Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

THE SCHIZOPHONICS LIVE 2022:

07/22 & 23 Saint Paul, Quebec, CA – Le Festif! De Baie Saint Paul

09/07 Boise, ID – Neurolux

09/08 Yakima, WA – Punks Bar

09/09 Seattle, WA – Substation

09/10 Portland, OR – Dante’s

09/11 Eugene, OR – Old Nick’s

09/13 Albany, CA – Ivy Room

09/14 San Jose, CA – The Ritz

09/15 Santa Cruz, CA – Moe’s Alley

09/17 Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon

09/23 San Diego, CA – The Casbah

10/21 Los Angeles, CA – Permanent Records Roadhouse

11/03 Indianapolis, IN – Lo-Fi

11/04 Cincinnati, OH – Motr Pub

11/05 Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups

11/06 Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe

11/07 Baltimore, MD – Ottobar

11/08 Washington, DC – City Winery

11/10 Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie

11/11 Brooklyn, NY – TV Ete

11/12 New Haven, CT – Cafe Nine

11/13 Providence, RI – Alchemy

11/14 Boston, MA – Middle East

11/16 Montreal, QC – Casa Del Popolo

11/17 Toronto, ON – The Baby G

11/18 Rochester, NY – Bug Jar

11/19 Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern

11/21 Detroit, MI – PJ’s Lager House

11/22 Chicago, IL – Schuba’s

11/23 Milwaukee, WI – Shank Hall

11/25 Minneapolis, MN – Icehouse

11/26 Green Bay, WI – Lyric Room

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[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Cold Gawd drop a shoegaze stunner with debut single, “Sweet Jesus Wept Shit.”

Cold Gawd is the flag under which California-based multi-instrumentalist Matt Wainwright creates stormy, wounded shoegaze music born of open tunings and R&B melodies. Inspired by these sounds, Cold Gawd presents a refined, modernized take on the genre.

Today, Cold Gawd announce details for their Dais Records debut album, set for release on September 23rd. The group’s second collection, God Get Me The Fuck Out Of Here, took shape in the winter of 2020 while Wainwright was working long solo shifts at a coffee shop in Chicago. Fueled by dreams of returning to his hometown of Rancho Cucamonga and reconnecting with old friends from past hardcore bands, Wainright holed up with his coveted pink Jazzmaster, an array of FX pedals, and a laptop, and wrote the entire album in a month. In March of 2021 he made the move, heading back west to the Inland Empire, where he booked sessions with Gabe Largaespada at Open Ocean to track and mix.

Despite recording every instrument himself, the results have the lived-in feel of a practiced live band (which Cold Gawd now are, fleshed into a six-piece). Cascading walls of guitar churn, surge, and ripple, framed by sunken rhythms and Wainright’s distant, defeated voice, veiled in violet haze.

Watch (+ share) the video for God Get Me The Fuck Out Of Here‘s first single “Sweet Jesus Wept Shit” on YouTube.

Wainwright cites the thematic common ground between shoegaze and R&B as a central muse, both obsessively fixated on love, lust, and longing, in forms alternately grandiose and minor key. Lyrically, the album sways between oblique and desperate, yearning and resigned – with the exception of “Comfort Thug,” a brooding, largely improvised spoken word piece inspired by the notable lack of black musicians in shoegaze.

Cold Gawd is here to change that. God Get Me The Fuck Out Of Here channels malaise and melancholy into gauzy, galvanized anthems of escape, change, and introspection. The crushing closing cut, “Passing Through the Opposite of What It Approaches,” heaves and hovers like looming storm clouds, beneath which Wainright sings (and bandmate Arturo Ramirez screams) as close to a mission statement as the album offers: “leave what you know / and get grown / everyday / remember / why you left.”

Pre-order God Get Me The Fuck Out Of Here here and look for more music and news to surface soon from Cold Gawd.

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[Thanks to Stephanie at Indie Publicity.]

Third Man Records releases a book about the history of drone music – Harry Sword’s “Monolithic Undertow: In Search of Sonic Oblivion.”

Out now from Third Man Books, Monolithic Undertow alights a crooked path across musical, religious and subcultural frontiers. It traces the line from ancient traditions to the modern underground, navigating archaeoacoustics, ringing feedback, chest plate sub-bass, avant-garde eccentricity, sound weaponry and fervent spiritualism.

From Neolithic beginnings to bawdy medieval troubadours, Sufi mystics to Indian raga masters, cone-shattering dubwise bass, Hawkwind‘s Ladbroke Grove to the outer reaches of Faust and Ash Ra Temple; the hash-fueled fug of The Theatre of Eternal Music to the cough syrup reverse hardcore of Melvins, seedy VHS hinterland of Electric Wizard, ritual amp worship of Earth and Sunn O))) and the many touch points in between, Monolithic Undertow explores the power of the drone – an audio carrier vessel capable of evoking womb like warmth or cavernous dread alike.

Watch (+ share) the trailer for Monolithic Undertow: In Search of Sonic Oblivion on YouTube.

In 1977, Sniffin’ Glue verbalized the musical zeitgeist with their infamous ‘this is a chord; this is another; now form a band’ illustration. The drone requires neither chord nor band, representing – via its infinite pliability and accessibility – the ultimate folk music: a potent audio tool of personal liberation.

Immersion in hypnotic and repetitive sounds allows us to step outside of ourselves, be it chant, a 120dB beasting from Sunn O))), standing front of the system as Jah Shaka drops a fresh dub or going full headphone immersion with Hawkwind. These experiences are akin to an audio portal – a sound Tardis to silence the hum and fizz of the unceasing inner voice. The drone exists outside of us, but also – paradoxically – within us all; an aural expression of a universal hum we can only hope to fleetingly channel…

Monolithic Undertow: In Search of Sonic Oblivion is out now and is available for purchase here. The North American edition of the book features an exclusive cover and a new foreword by author Harry Sword.

Distributed Exclusively in North America by Consortium Books/Ingram Content Group.

Keep your mind open.

[I’m in search of you subscribing.]

[Thanks to Stephanie at Indie Publicity.]