I became aware of Palm Daze when I saw them open for Bayonne in Tucson, Arizona earlier this year. They played a cool blend of electro and psychedelia that I enjoyed. Controls is a five-song EP they put out two years ago that sounds like it could’ve been released yesterday.
The weird warping synths of “Angles Pt. 1” get the EP off to a trippy start, and then “Company Calls” takes us into full synth wave mode with bright keys, distant vocals, and sharp beats. “Angles Pt. 2” seems to nod at Vangelis‘ Blade Runner score, and why not? The synths move like slow waves across a mountain lake and the vocal effects turn the lyrics into alien communications. The title track has near hip hop drum beats behind video game synths, and “Everything, Everyday” ends the EP with big, bold synths that fade into sounds like a dwindling Morse code message.
It’s an interesting EP and one that produces different thoughts upon multiple listens.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t spend your days in a daze looking for music news and reviews. Subscribe and have them sent to your e-mail inbox.]
Hailing from Norway, Hans-Peter Lindstrom has delivered a four-song album (the shortest track is 8:49) of ambient-disco-lounge music that is almost more of a feeling than a genre – On a Clear Day I Can See You Forever.
The title track (which was mostly improvised, and the rest of the tracks, while pre-planned, were done in one take) opens the album with synthwave subtlety that floats from your speaker like a three quarters-filled helium balloon moving across city rooftops in a low breeze. The rave synths and beats of “Really Deep Snow” move in so effortlessly that they catch you a bit off guard.
“Swing Low Sweet LFO” is the soundtrack to a 1980’s crime film set on Venus. The closer, “As If No One Is Here,” almost sums up the entire album. Lindstrom creates musical soundscapes that seem to be perfectly at home if no one is listening. They are songs of synth dreams that come to you as you sit in a train car warmed by the rising sun. They are strange yet pleasant visions you can’t explain. They are the sound of an artist enjoying free expression without limits.
Jacques Greene has released his new single, “For Love,” from his forthcoming album, Dawn Chorus, out October 18th via LuckyMe. “For Love” follows the “spacious and breakbeat-heavy” (SPIN) lead single “Do It Without You” and it’s accompanying video, as well as early single “Night Service” (Feat. Cadence Weapon).
Watch Video For “For Love” – https://youtu.be/GzdMcHhM7tQ
Greene approached the making of Dawn Chorus as if he were a band. He lived in the studio for five months this past winter – half the time at home in Toronto, the other half in Hudson Mohawke’s studio in L.A. – and wrote these songs in a sprint to capture this chapter in his life. While samples played a big part in his early output, his creative process for Dawn Chorus revolved around recording a stellar cast of musicians, arranging new parts. As a result, it’s his most collaborative project to date, featuring additional production and instrumentation from film composer Brian Reitzell (Lost In Translation), cello by London’s Oliver Coates, additional production from Clams Casino and original vocal contributions from ambient artist Julianna Barwick, rapper Cadence Weapon and singers Ebhoni and Rochelle Jordan, all sampled, processed and stitched back into the album.
To craft the sound of the record, he thought about the artists he held dear and researched the gear they used as a means of being in dialogue with their emotional tenor. Some of the gear he sourced included the delay that My Bloody Valentine was renowned for, as well as a compressor used by French Touch producers Alan Braxe and Fred Falke. Working with mix engineer Joel Ford (of Ford & Lopatin), he created a rule book for the album’s sonics that saw each part, from the drums to the pads, be processed in a specific way, through guitar pedals and outboard equipment.
Surrounding the release of Dawn Chorus, Greene will play select shows in Europe and the UK before returning to North America. All dates can be found below and tickets are on sale now.
Jacques Greene tour dates: Thu. Oct. 17 – Berlin, DE @ Burg Schnabel Fri. Oct. 18 – London, UK @ St. Pancras Old Church – SOLD OUT Fri. Oct. 18 – Manchester, UK @ Warehouse Project (DJ set) (late show) Sat. Oct. 19 – London, UK @ Five Miles (DJ set) Wed. Oct. 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust Fri. Oct. 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo Sat. Oct. 26 – Montreal, QC @ Ausgang
Pre-order Dawn Chorus – https://jacquesgreene.com/
Watch/Listen/Share: “Do It Without You” video – https://youtu.be/ftBguTzzVYI
“Do It Without You” stream – https://bit.ly/2mRYy8n
I might have given you an odd look in the last year or so if you’d told me that the psychedelic rock pairing of Moon Duo were making a new record that was going to include a lot of stuff that you could easily slip into a house music set.
Sure enough though, and in keeping with their nature to explore any kind of music they like, Moon Duo (Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada) made Stars Are the Light, a fine record of grooves influenced by 1970’s disco, krautrock, synth wave, and, naturally, psychedelia.
The opening track, “Flying,” immediately makes you feel like you’re floating not only off the ground, but through the roof of your house. The vocals never outweigh the trippy instrumentals, they only enhance them. The title track continues our drift around the Earth with bubbly synths and Moon Duo’s lyrics reflecting how all of us are unique stars in this universe.
“Fall (in Your Love)” brings in spaghetti western guitars to the slippery electronic beats. “The World and Sun” is one of the funkiest cuts on the record, mixing spaced-out synths with South American hand percussion and reverb-laced vocals to produce a sweet sound. “Lost Heads” is psychedelic bliss taking you out of orbit and floating toward the star cluster of your choice.
“Eternal Shore” boosts the krautrock influences a bit with the beats, but keeps the vocals firmly in psychedelic territory. The touch of steel drum-like synth stabs is a nice one and reflects the image of a never-ending beach on an idyllic planet. “Eye 2 Eye” brings in fuzzy guitar to race alongside EDM beats for a fast track that belongs on your next favorite anime action film. “Fever Night” slows down the album for the close, but it’s nothing maudlin. It’s a perfect end to a groovy time, almost like slipping into a hot tub after you’ve had great sex.
Stars are indeed the light, and so are we. Each of us are divine beings connected on this small orb in the middle of space. We are connected with each other and what lies beyond our senses. Moon Duo seek to remind us of this cosmic connection and acceptance that is there for us to embrace. Stars Are the Light is like a singing bowl, providing us the tones to remember who we are and who we are to each other.
Rituals of Mine, the electronic recording project of Los Angeles-based songwriterTerra Lopez and percussionist Adam Pierce, shares a new single, “Heavyweight,” from their forthcoming EP, SLEEPER HOLD, out October 4th on Carpark Records. It follows the lead single / video, “BURST.” “Heavyweight” is inspired by the after effects of grief and trauma in relation to the body and mind, particularly Lopez’s own surrounding her father’s suicide and the unexpected loss of her best friend. To accompany the single they share visuals by Hightechlowlife.
“Once the shock shifted away, my body started to feel the real, tangible effects of grief. For over 2 years, I felt a heavy ring around my temple. I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t concentrate. I had lost my ability to articulate properly,” says Lopez. “I was existing and actually was a very high functioning depressed person but my body and voice felt alien and lost to me. In 2018, I read a book that changed my life called The Body Keeps the Score. It is a detailed, scientific look at how trauma transforms, alters and ultimately changes not only your chemical makeup but your physical makeup. I thought I was going crazy for nearly 3 years and then here comes this book that validates every feeling, every emotion, every physical ailment I had felt but couldn’t prove. This song is the expression of grief work I had to do over the last 3 years in order to get to a place where I could see beyond the loss, beyond the depression and finally look at a life that will never be the same but that can be better if I let it.”
SLEEPER HOLD follows their minimalist debut, Devoted, and is as tense and captivating as its name suggests. Lopez began writing the songs that would eventually inhabit the EP during one of the most harrowing and self reflective times in her life. She flew from California to Florida to work with her longtime collaborator and producer Wes Jones, and began developing a brooding sound that would match the emotional intensity of her writing. Having the intimate space of a studio, occupied by only her and a producer, meant that Lopez could write from the heart in a way that didn’t feel possible when there were more people in the room. Over the course of a few months the two would craft some of the project’s most cavernous and vulnerable songs to date. “This new material is very direct and focused on what I want to express with things I’ve held in for so long.” says Lopez. “It’s finally me addressing all of that trauma because I finally had the space to do so.”
Rituals of Mine will tour across North America this fall. All dates are on sale and can be found below.
Watch “HEAVYWEIGHT” lyric video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nq0Yf7iHsk
Watch the video for “BURST” – https://youtu.be/XpKZ1FtFmzk
Pre-orderSLEEPER HOLD EP – http://smarturl.it/rom_sleeperhold
Rituals of Mine tour dates: Mon. Sept. 30 – Bend, OR @ Volcanic Theatre Pub – Tickets Sat. Oct. 5 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s – Tickets Sat. Oct. 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Hi Hat – Tickets Sun. Oct. 13 – Oakland, CA @ The New Parish – Tickets Fri. Nov. 15 – Seattle, WA @ Freakout Festival – Tickets
LuckyMe proudly present Dawn Chorus, the new album from Jacques Greene (out October 18th), and present lead single, “Do It Without You.” A bold step forward, Dawn Chorus is also Greene’s most collaborative project to date, featuring additional production and instrumentation from film composer Brian Reitzell (Lost in Translation), cello by London’s Oliver Coates, additional production from Clams Casino and original vocal contributions from ambient artist Julianna Barwick, rapper Cadence Weapon and singers Ebhoni and Rochelle Jordan, all sampled, processed and stitched back into the album.
Stream “Do It Without You” – https://soundcloud.com/jacquesgreene/do-it-without-you/
If Greene’s 2017 debut album, Feel Infinite, was the soundtrack to a dream pregame – amping you up to lose yourself in the club – then Dawn Chorus resides in the post-rave reflective moment. A time of heightened sensuality and latent possibility.
Greene approached the making of Dawn Chorus as if he were a band. He lived in the studio for five months this past winter – half the time at home in Toronto, the other half in Hudson Mohawke’s studio in L.A. – and wrote these songs in a sprint to capture this chapter in his life. Ten years into the game and not yet in his thirties, his perspective on the value of dance music and where it rests with his daily life and inspiration bare out on this album. While samples played a big part in his early output, his creative process for Dawn Chorus revolved around recording a stellar cast of musicians, arranging new parts.
To craft the sound of the record, he thought about the artists he held dear and researched the gear they used as a means of being in dialogue with their emotional tenor. Some of the gear he sourced included the delay that My Bloody Valentine was renowned for, as well as a compressor used by French Touch producers Alan Braxe and Fred Falke. Working with mix engineer Joel Ford (of Ford & Lopatin), he created a rule book for the album’s sonics that saw each part, from the drums to the pads, be processed in a specific way, through guitar pedals and outboard equipment. Dawn Chorus opens with “Serenity,” an all-back-to-mine breaks tune that Greene describes as “a weird, euphoric take on Chemical Brothers.” “Night Service” is a neon-lit hip house anthem helmed by Canadian rapper Cadence Weapon, who drapes a love letter to the club around Greene’s acid-dipped synths. Elsewhere, “Distance” blends ambient textures with sampled birdsong and the snaking lines of Oliver Coates’s cello.
Now 29, Greene has been making music “about the club” for over a decade. His sound could be described as an emotional haze, in that its balance of sonic elements work to illuminate the overlapping feelings that lie between the familiar binaries. Outside of his own releases, Greene has explored his relationship with the club in a variety of contexts, from remixing Radiohead to producing for Katy B and Tinashe and touring with The xx.
He will tour Dawn Chorus in Europe and North America this October. An intimate first live show at the St Pancras Old Church is already sold out in London and another show has been added.
Jacques Greene tour dates: Thu. Oct. 17 – Berlin, DE @ Burg Schnabel Fri. Oct. 18 – London, UK @ St. Pancras Old Church – SOLD OUT Fri. Oct. 18 – Manchester, UK @ Warehouse Project (DJ set) (late show) Sat. Oct. 19 – London, UK @ Five Miles (DJ set) Wed. Oct. 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ National Sawdust Fri. Oct. 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo Sat. Oct. 26 – Montreal, QC @ Ausgang
“Night Service” (The Remixes) – Whatever/Whatever Night Version – https://youtu.be/_x3Ysk3po4k
Whatever/Whatever Day Version – https://youtu.be/iltM5sg-f8g
Pre-orderDawn Chorus – https://jacquesgreene.com/ Dawn Chorus
Tracklist: 1. Serenity 2. Drop Location 3. Do It Without You 4. Night Service 5. Sel 6. Let Go 7. For Love 8. Sibling 9. Whenever 10. Understand 11. Distance 12. Stars
Moon Duo shares the final pre-release single, “Eternal Shore,” from their new album, Stars Are The Light, out September 27th on Sacred Bones. It follows the previously released title track and “Lost Heads.” Across “Eternal Shore,” Sanae Yamada’s hazy vocals drift over reverberating synth and flitting guitar licks. She says, “The lyrics are about the search for a sense of belonging and for the truth of one’s inner being, beneath the masks we’re conditioned to wear in order to function in society.” “We were experimenting with a lot of different rhythms for this record, and this one is in 5/8ths time, which is a real departure for us,” continues Ripley Johnson. “It moves us further away from the classic motorik beat. And it’s special because it’s the first song on which Sanae wrote the lyrics and sings lead.”
Stars Are The Light has a sonic physicality that is at once propulsive and undulating; it puts dance at the heart of an expansive nexus that connects the body to the stars. These are songs about embodied human experience rendered as a kind of dance of the self, both in relation to other selves and to the eternal dance of the cosmos. Johnson’s signature guitar sound is at its most languid and refined, while Yamada’s synths and oneiric vocals are foregrounded to create a spacious percussiveness that invites the body to move with its mesmeric rhythms.
“We have changed, the nature of our collaboration has changed, the world has changed, and we wanted the new music to reflect that,” says Yamada.
After playing dates in Europe, the duo will bring a new live audio-visual show across North America. All dates are on sale now and can be found below.
Homeshake – the recording project of Peter Sagar – unveils Helium Remixes in full via Sinderlyn.
Following the “Like Mariah (Jessy Lanza Remix)” last month with accompanying visuals from Nicole Ginelli, Homeshake has shared “All Night Long (Ciel’s Daylight Savings Mix)” and “Another Thing (Cecile Believe Mix)” in the last two weeks.
The Ciel remix of “All Night Long” doubles its original length. The track is vibrant with ricocheting percussion and bright tones. “I was blown away when I first heard Ciel’s ‘Hundred Flowers’ EP. The way the melody and drums evolved around one another was so hypnotizing,” says Sagar. “Her attention to percussive detail is masterful. It’s too bad I don’t really party because I hear she’s an excellent DJ.”
Throughout the “Another Thing” remix, Cecile Believe warps Sagar’s vocals and adds a layer of textured instrumentation. “You don’t get to hear it on her remix, but Cecile is the most amazing singer I know. She performed vocals all over the latest (and amazing) SOPHIE record,” Sagar says. “Thanks to her vocal coaching I was able to drastically improve my own voice, and I’m endlessly grateful for that, as well as her amazing remix, which shows how incredible a producer she is as well.”
Teklife crew members DJ Taye and DJ Paypal appear multiple times throughout the EP, including on the remix of “Just Like My.” Sagar cites them as two of his favorite footwork producers and says “These were the first remixes I got back, I listened to them thru my iphone 6s speaker standing in a department store and cried a little.”
Helium Remixes EP Tracklist: 1. All Night Long (Ciel’s Daylight Savings Mix) 2. Just Like My (TAYE//PAL Mix) 3. Other Than (TAYE//PAL Mix) 4. Like Mariah (Jessy Lanza Remix) 5. Nothing Could Be Better (Foodman Remix) 6. Another Thing (LH Mix) 7. Just Like My (Project Pablo Remix) 8. Another Thing (Cecile Believe Mix) 9. (Secret Track) (DJ Paypal Secret Remix)
Norwegian artist Lindstrøm will release his sixth solo album, On A Clear Day I Can See You Forever, on October 11th via Smalltown Supersound. Today, he shares the lead single, “Really Deep Snow.”
In the autumn of 2018, Lindstrøm composed a commissioned piece for Norway’s premiere art centre, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter. Sketches from the three sold-out performances became the foundation for the four tracks that make up On A Clear Day I Can See You Forever (a title inspired by the 1970’s musical On A Clear Day You Can See Forever starring Barbra Streisand). All of the songs are based on long, one-take recordings. “I felt totally unrestrained making this album,” says Lindstrøm. “I’ve listened to Robert Wyatt’s solo albums and his Matching Mole’s debut album a lot lately. It so effortless, fearless and free. And not insisting. I was very inspired by this”
This is also the first time ever Lindstrøm has made an album entirely with hardware instead of computer plug-ins. He utilized 30+ synthesizers and drum machines during his performance at Henie Onstad Kunstsenter. The experience inspired him to embrace a similar set-up when making the album. The accessibility to his enviable collection of music gear – largely consisting of sought after synthesizers – allowed him to experiment freely with ideas and soundscapes. “The joy of making music on actual physical objects and devices makes a lot of sense to me now. After working on a computer for over 15 years, I don’t think I’ll ever look back,” he says.
Listen to “Really Deep Snow” – https://soundcloud.com/smalltownsupersound/really-deep-snow
Pre-order On A Clear Day I Can See You Forever – smarturl.it/sts346-preorder
On A Clear Day I Can See You ForeverTracklist: 1. On A Clear Day I Can See You Forever 2. Really Deep Snow 3. Swing Low Sweet LFO 4. As If No One Is Here
Lindstrøm Live: Wed. Oct. 23 – Bergen, NO @ Ekko Festival (Tickets)
Beginning with thirty-six seconds of mindless chatter recorded in a place that sounds like every pub, airport, coffee shop, and busy street on Earth, Blanck Mass‘ newest album, Animated Violence Mild, is a scathing rebuke on consumerism, the dehumanizing nature of modern technology, and the culture / love of fear permeating a majority of society.
“Death Drop,” with its screamed, Ministry-like vocals, is an industrial nightmare and amusement park ride mashed together for over seven minutes of sonic assault. It’s no coincidence that some of the synths in it sound like video game samples, as the album’s title references video game rating systems. Many see the world, their career, or their love life as games to be won, unaware of the perilous chasm that such a path can drop you into with little hope of escape.
“House Vs. House” has an intriguing title. Does it refer to different styles of house music? House elements are certainly in the song, but perhaps the title refers to a theme of “Keeping up with the Joneses.” Benjamin Power (AKA Blanck Mass) has stated that a majority of the themes in the album revolve around mass consumerism – which he likens unto a snake “which now coils back upon us. It seduces us with our own bait as we betray the better instincts of our nature and the future of our own world.”
Drop that mic, Mr. Power.
The video game-like beats return on “Hush Money.” We burn through money in vain attempts to suppress (hush) our fears and truth we don’t want to, but need, to hear. “Love Is a Parasite” is a somewhat bleak way to look at what the world needs most, but I have a feeling Power is referring to how media, corporations, and mass consumerism tend to make us feel about love. Love is fleeting, they may say, love can be found more in things than others. Love will only make you weak, so its better to avoid it and take solace it what you can consume. Things do not break your heart, but they do keep you trapped in the past. The song is a solid electro cut that builds fuzzy beat atop fuzzy beat until it’s a beautiful cacophony.
“Creature / West Fuqua” is a lovely, harp-led oasis from the danger Power has created (and reminded us of) throughout the record so far. “No Dice” has a great call-and-response “Hey!” throughout it as Powers rejects the lure of consumerism and the temptation of falling into a deep, dark place due to personal loss. The last track is “Wings of Hate,” a bold track that bubbles and roars like a volcano. It almost demands you hear it live, as a recording can barely contain it.
“I believe that many of us have willfully allowed our survival instinct to become engulfed by the snake we birthed [consumerism]. Animated — brought to life by humankind. Violent — insurmountable and wild beyond our control. Mild — delicious,” says Powers in the liner notes sent to me by his label (Sacred Bones).
He’s right. We’ve allowed our love of things to become a delicious poison we gleefully drink instead of finding love in nature, ourselves, and others. Powers is telling all of us to wake up before it’s too late. We need to heed and hear his warning – Animated Violence Mild.
