Monomotion, the project of French electronic musician Erol Engintalay, is pleased to share a new single, “Mango” (with FEYNMAN) from his forthcoming EP, Fujisan, due July 26th via FAKE MUSIC. Following the gentle, evocative beats of lead single, “Ecocline Patterns,” “Mango” lusciously unfolds into tick-tock techno. It’s “the result of one of those magic moments we share in the studio with Yoann,” says Engintalay. “I’m really thankful that these are still happening after ten years of collaboration.”
Written and recorded over a year and a half, the seven-track Fujisan EP is a reflection on the positive aspects of life—a sense of breaking through and moving forward that imbues the project as a whole. Inspired by a warm Japanese spring, Engintalay describes Fujisan as “a life test after every challenge I’ve gone through, physically and musically. It’s very spiritual, representing climbing mountains and breaking through walls to get further in life.” Yoann Feyman, in addition to appearing on “Mango,” contributed to sound and the art direction of the EP.
Blanck Mass – the solo electronic project of Scotland-based musician Benjamin John Power – shares “No Dice” from his new album, Animated Violence Mild, out August 16th on Sacred Bones, and announces a fall North American tour.
Following the “forceful beat + vocal sample combination” [Tiny Mix Tapes] of lead single “House vs. House,” “No Dice” is led by crashing percussion and punctuated by warped vocals. “‘No Dice’ is about denial. It’s the voice in the back of your head stopping you from moving forward, the separation between your head and your heart,” says Power. Animated Violence Mild is Power’s fourth full-length as Blanck Mass, and his most emotionally direct statement yet. The album was written throughout 2018, at Power’s studio outside of Edinburgh. These eight tracks are the diary of a year of work steeped in honing craft, self-discovery, and grief – the latter of which reared its head at the final hurdle of producing this record and created a whole separate narrative: grief, both for what Power has lost personally, but also in a global sense, for what we as a species have lost and handed over to our blood-sucking counterpart, consumerism, only to be ravaged by it.
Stream “No Dice” – https://youtu.be/Lsnb6GBrQP8
Stream “House vs. House” – https://youtu.be/7DJ12asti2k
“I’ve always been fascinated with how a sound can make you feel without being something you can touch,” Oslo-based DJ and producer Andre Bratten writes in the press release I received for his newest album – Pax Americana. Recorded in a studio he built in his garden after stepping away from late night DJ sessions at clubs around the world, the new record is indeed an evocative piece that changes your perspective and makes you move.
Lead single, “HS” (one of my favorites of the year so far), is a great example of this. It’s bubbly yet laced with a little darkness to keep you grounded as you let it sink into your feet to get them tapping. The title track, comparing the current state of the U.S. to the Roman Empire, has an underlying nervous tick that bumps against soothing synths. I’m not sure if Bratten is trying to tell us Americans that everything will be all right, despite what some may fear, or the reverse of that message. It works either way.
“426” continues the dark themes, with bass lines that slow to a creepy crawl while up-tempo electro high-hats move like a rattlesnake around you. The gothic “Commonwealth” is like an Art of Noise track if Art of Noise decided to make synthwave music for horror films that take place in the year 2999. “Ranx” goes further down the darkwave rabbit hole to the point where you’re not sure it’s fading out or lulling you into a trap. The closer, “Recreation 26B,” starts with a simple beat and then builds like a rising morning tide with bright synths. It’s the kind of track that tends to take you by surprise. You’re enjoying the opening riffs and then find yourself in another mental place by the end of it and wondering how you got there. It’s a worm hole in space and time.
Pax Americana is a soundscape more than a dance record. It’s a soundscape for your garden studio, your garden party, or your mental garden (which, let’s face it, all of ours need cultivating).
Keep your mind open.
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Mexico City Blondes have released the first music video from Blush, their full-length debut album out now on Burger Records. Premiering today on woman artist focused music site Gold Hand Girls, the video was directed by Anisha Sisodia.
Trip-hop tinged “Addio” has its roots in a personal loss experienced by vocalist and keyboard player Allie Thompson.
“Writing the song Addio, began with a loss.” Thompson says. “Over time, it also became about not looking over your shoulder for the next loss to come around. It’s about accepting the unacceptable, about letting go instead of holding on. “
Consisting of multi-instrumentalist / producer Greg Doscher, and vocalist / keyboard player Allie Thompson, both from Santa Barbara, Mexico City Blondes achieved surprise success with the release of their first single “Fade.” The track became a breakout hit after getting picked up by an assortment of music blogs, and landing in the top spot on Hype Machine more than once over the next few months.
The duo’s full-length debut album, Blush was written and recorded in Doscher’s garage recording studio. “The writing was difficult at first because we were approaching it under very different circumstances,” Doscher said of the process of making Blush. “Eventually we hit a certain stride and all the writing and recording seemed to fall into place.”
Blush takes Mexico City Blondes deeper down the dreampop rabbit hole they began to explore with their first release and its subsequent EP. Mexico City Blondes debut full-length album Blush is out now on Burger Records on CD, cassette and vinyl and streaming on all major platforms.
“Lush downtempo that splits the difference between Fourth World ambience and smoky trip hop.” – Resident Advisor
Today, US-born, Norwegian-Mexican artist Carmen Villain shares “Type” the second single from her new, instrumental album, Both Lines Will Be Blue, out July 12th via Smalltown Supersound. The track is accompanied by a visual by Norwegian artist Solveig Lønseth.
Villain describes the inspiration behind “Type” : “I was very inspired by Ana Mendieta’s art (still am!), and was especially moved by her video performance art at the time. For example her Silueta series, or her powerful Blood Sign/Body Tracks. The films were spinning around my mind while making this song. After putting down a rough version of it, I had Johanna to come in and gave her free rein to improvise on top, before I finished arranging it.”
Listen to “Type” – visual by Solveig Lønseth https://youtu.be/2I8tQRKZmUc
Listen to “Observable Future” – visual by Ida Aurora Høiklev Ribu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG0auwx9w48&feature=youtu.be
Following 2017’s Infinite Avenue and 2013’s Sleeper, Both Lines Will Be Blue is Carmen’s first full instrumental album. A 7 track collection of cosmic excursions and dubby ambient-jams, the album is written, recorded, played, produced and mixed by Carmen in her Oslo studio. The soothing atmospherics are made up of tapestries of field recordings, synths, piano, drum-programming, zither and modular sounds. Throughout, Carmen’s music is colored by experimenting with different sounds and learning new techniques or by adding new instruments to the mix.
“I’ve been playing around with instrumentals for a long time, and it was something I wanted to do more with after I finished Infinite Avenue,” says Carmen. “Leaving out my voice and lyrics got me out of my own head a bit, which I needed. Working with sound is to me the ultimate meditation and is a more unconscious way of expressing whatever is going on inside.”
The flute, played by Johanna Scheie Orellana, is a central part of this new album. Carmen got her in to the studio to both record melodies that she had written, as well as making plenty of room for impro/freeform. Prins Thomas also appears on the record, playing percussion on “I Could Sit Here All Day.”
Both Lines Will Be BlueTracklist: 1.Observable Future 2. Are You For Real 3. Type 4. I Trust You 5. I Could Sit Here All Day 6. Sometimes I Love You Forever 7. Impossible Colour
Pre-orderBoth Lines Will be Blue: http://smarturl.it/sts349-preorder
Chicago’s annual Mamby on the Beachfestival has announced its first wave of acts for 2019, and there are some doozies on the list.
Santigold and Flying Lotus have played the festival before and are sure to put on another great performance. Flying Lotus’ show is in 3-D, no less. Bring your glasses. You won’t regret it. I’d also be keen on seeing Phantogram, and I’m sure Sylvan Esso, Quin XCII, Zhu, and Brockhampton will have jam-packed sets.
It’s a fun festival on a beach in the summer. What’s not to like?
Monomotion, the project of French electronic musician Erol Engintalay, announces his new EP, Fujisan, due for release July 26th via FAKE MUSIC, and shares lead single, “Ecocline Patterns”.
A rippling, gorgeous collection of beat-driven compositions that radiate warmth and light, Fujisan completes the thematic EP trilogy kicked off with 2015’s Behind the Moon and continued with 2017’s Leaving—and it also represents a full-circle for the artist himself, years after surviving a life-threatening accident that he persevered beyond to continue pursuing his artistic passions.
Written and recorded over a year and a half, the seven-track Fujisan is a reflection on the positive aspects of life—a sense of breaking through and moving forward that imbues the project as a whole, from the evocative thump of “Ecocline Patterns” to the squishy, effervescent sway of closing track “Luck of the Mountains.”
“It’s more shiny, less melancholic—more hopeful for a bright future,” Engintalay explains. “I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and bring some new sounds. I always have the same way of creating. We compose a lot of tracks and then look at the message I want to give through the project. I wanted to close this triptych with a seven-song EP.”
Inspired by a warm Japanese spring, Engintalay describes Fujisan as “a life test after every challenge I’ve gone through, physically and musically. It’s very spiritual, representing climbing mountains and breaking through walls to get further in life.” And Feynman is along for the ride, too; along with contributing to sound and art direction, he lends his talents to the lusciously unfolding tick-tock techno of “Mango.” “He’s always giving me strength to put the final point on the project,” Engintalay enthuses about Feynman’s contributions.
“I’m always trying to bring some faith and hope—it’s always love,” Engintalay explains. “They told me I’d never walk again, and now I’m walking and running. It’s about going through the difficulties of life and challenging yourself to be the best. Sometimes, if you work for it, you can get it. ”
Fujisantracklist: 01. North Cascades 02. Mango (Feat. Feynman) 03. Seed 04. Ecocline Patterns 05. Fujisan 06. Borders 07. Luck of the Mountains
London-based multi-instrumentalist Ash Walker is pleased to announce his third album, Aquamarine, due July 19th via Night Time Stories. Designed to inspire good energy, Ash hopes to bring a sense of calm and tranquility to the listener amongst the chaos of life. This idea is clear in lead single, “Under The Sun” (Feat. Laville), a smooth meditation on love.
Aquamarine follows Walkers 2016 album, Echo Chamber, and 2015’s Augmented 7th. A cosmic explosion of sound and color, rhythm, shape, and patterns, Aquamarine is the take-off of an audial spaceship, a sound discovered in the grooves of thousands of records, united in one. Recorded at home with the freedom of time and space, it combines analogue and digital, and a fondness for normally unwanted shapes and textures such as fuzz, hiss, and crackle. Also featured across the album are trumpet and flugelhorn auteur Yazz Ahmed, bassist Marc Cyril (Keiziah Jones, Jr Walker & The All Stars), and renowned musician and producer Jonathan Shorten.
“My previous albums have felt to me more like ventures on land,” says Walker. “This one feels more like a deep sea voyage into the subconscious. Living to dream with visions of grandeur. Manifesting a beautiful path to walk on. It was inspired by everything around me, from friends and family to art and design, engineering and architecture, movement and we use our five senses. I love to try and push my own boundaries of what I perceive to be right and wrong, seeing mistakes as innovations, and obstacles as inspiration.”
An avid collector of jazz, blues, soul, funk, reggae, and all things in-between, Walker has DJed far and wide, spinning vinyl in the UK with The Specials to scattering dub across San Francisco and LA. Walker’s production output is similarly exploratory: his journeys have taken him far and wide, from tunnels under the river Thames to recording local percussionists in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. His musical palette is widened even further by his live shows. Collaborating with Ezra Lloyd-Jackson, each of Walker’s performances is turned into a vibrant, multi-sensory experience, combining live reactive projections and carefully crafted frequency complimenting fragrances.
Stream “Under The Sun” (Feat. Laville) — https://youtu.be/Uy_9g3v8uhw
Pre-orderAquamarine — https://orcd.co/aquamarine
AquamarineTracklist: 1. Under The Sun (Feat. Laville) 2. Time (Feat. Laville) 3. Come With Us 4. Brave New World 5. Finishing Touch (Feat. Laville) 6. Aquamarine 7. Sanity (Feat. Laville) 8. I Need Money 9. Fat King Smoke 10. Ain’t Got You (Feat. Laville) 11. The Dagon’s Cashmere Jumper
“What is your wish? What do you expect?” begins Cross Record’s self-titled album, due August 2nd via Ba Da Bing! Throughout, Emily Cross attempts to answer these questions as she guides the listener, delivering a textured soundscape of meditative curiosity. The album is primarily anchored by Cross’s singing, as she pushes her range and engages with a multitude of different approaches, detuning her voice and obstructing its clarity in specific moments. Cross Record presents the lead single, “PYSOL My Castle,” and an accompanying, self-directed video.
Since the release of Cross Record’s last album, 2016’s Wabi Sabi, the Austin, TX-based Cross has divorced, quit drinking, become a death doula, started the observational podcast “What I’m Looking At,” and toured and recorded with Sub Pop’s Loma, the trio she formed with Dan Duszynski and Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater). Having recorded Wabi Sabi at home between work and sleep hours, Cross did the opposite for Cross Record, writing the album while living on a secluded part of Mexico’s coast. The album was recorded with musician Andrew Hulett and co-producer Theo Karon, and the songs realized their ultimate forms at Hotel Earth, Karon’s studio in Los Angeles. The collaborative atmosphere of Loma challenged Cross to experiment with her sound, leading to a collection of fully-developed songs with percussion, string arrangements, and an expanded production. Though her voice is always central, the instrumentation is equally nuanced and experimental.
In her songs, Cross reconciles her present state of being with her experiences of the past few years. Themes of departure and separation were inspired by her new role as a death doula, which helps clients navigate decisions and hardships at the end of life. Cross’s work in helping others face their greatest fears inhabits the same space as her art, which has always explored the metaphysical in the everyday. Across the album, she looks inward and observes the transcendental – framing death as a spiritual departure and considering the fragility and resilience of the mind. The eerie experience of listening to Cross Record and the unsettling sense of songs slipping from coherent grasp share these same sensibilities.
Lead single “PYSOL My Castle” is immediate proof of Cross’s introspection. Inspired by a visit to an overstimulating Mexican street market, the track describes her search for an unencumbered mindspace: “Walking through the plaza in a dream // All these people reaching out // touching me. I cannot take what you are giving // You cannot break the bubble I’m living in.”
Watch the Video for “PYSOL My Castle” – https://youtu.be/5s4-B4h6ANQ
Pre-orderCross Record – https://bit.ly/30MqQjK Cross Record Tracklist: 1.What Is Your Wish? 2. Licorice 3. Face Smashed, Drooling 4. PYSOL My Castle 5. I Release You 6. The Fly 7. Hollow Garden 8. Y/o Dragon 9. An Angel, a Dove 10. Sing the Song 11. I Am Painting
Keep your mind open.
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I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see Chromatics. I’d read the stories about how band leader Johnny Jewel had destroyed all physical copies of their next album, Dear Tommy, following a near-death experience in 2015. I thought, “Well, it was good while it lasted.” I later learned, however, that Jewel and company had re-recorded the album with additional songs added onto the original material. So I thought, “Well, maybe there’s hope yet.”
It turns out I was right because Chromatics announced a summer tour last year and I was able to snag tickets to see them at Chicago’s Park West before they sold out. It would be Chromatics’ first show in Chicago in six years and they were bringing their Italians Do It Better label mates Desire and In Mirrors with them.
After going through a four-stage security check more extensive than one conducted by the TSA, we were inside and facing the IDIB merchandise table that was practically set up like a flea market with its large neon sign, tables of LPs, and racks of T-shirts. I snagged a big tour poster for just five bucks.
In Mirrors started the show with a set of goth wave music that combined heavy synths with near-spoken word poetry and excellent fashion. Each band member looked like they just walked out of a cool men’s clothing store. They also revealed it was Johnny Jewel’s birthday that evening and thanked him for his extensive contribution to their music.
In Mirrors
Mr. Jewel came out next with his other band, Desire (fronted by his wife, Megan Louise, no less), who put on a nice set of shoegaze / synth wave (“Shoe wave?” “Synth gaze?”) that included a lot of songs about love, nights in the city, and, of course, desire. Megan Louise tossed out red roses to the crowd (particularly anyone on a first date) and led everyone in singing happy birthday to Mr. Jewel.
Desire
Everyone was buzzing hard for Chromatics by this point, and they came out to a neat electro start with a wild video show highlighting time moving in different directions. It was indicative of their music – retro and futuristic.
Chromatics
They started with their classic, “Lady,” but stopped the set afterward so Jewel could address a man in the crowd with, “Hey, man, are you okay?” I thought maybe someone was so drunk they could barely stand or perhaps ill or even overcome with emotion from seeing them live, but it quickly became apparent that the guy was drunk AND being a jackass – to put it mildly.
Jewel told him to calm down, not be a dick, and let everyone do their own thing. This is where the security personnel at Park West began to fail. No one showed up to check this guy out or escort him away from the front of the stage. The guy took offense to someone in the crowd during the next song, “Kill for Love,” and slugged somebody. The band called for security, telling them someone had just been punched, and finally one lone bouncer showed up who was at least sixty pounds heavier and thirty years older than the drunk jerk. The drunk struggled with him for a moment, pushing him away and “arm wrestling” with him.
I handed my tour poster to my wife and was three steps away from putting the guy in a rear choke hold and dragging him to the nearest exit. I’m not kidding. I was advancing on this guy and he had no idea I was behind him. I don’t write this to brag. I write this to highlight the lack of Park West security involved in this situation. I, a music blogger who also happens to be a police detective, was going to have to step in and help this lone bouncer because he had no back-up against a young, fit, and angry drunk who was actively resisting him. Luckily, he told the bouncer he’d walk out on his own and then left before I needed to grab him and before he and bouncer had a slugfest in the middle of the crowd.
Park West failed the sold-out crowd and Chromatics for not having security at the front of the stage as soon as Jewel called out the drunk. They should’ve been there before Jewel stopped talking. Instead, they weren’t and someone got hit by this dude. That’s a potential lawsuit, and it would’ve been one if someone had been seriously injured or worse.
Chromatics, and the crowd, sprung back with positive energy once the “one bad apple” (as Jewel called him) was gone. They played “Night Drive / Paradise” and “Back from the Grave” and I was happy to hear one of their newest singles, “Time Rider,” live for the first time. It didn’t disappoint.
They were enjoying their return to Chicago by the time they reached classics like “Cherry” and “I Want Your Love.” They closed the first set with their stunning cover of Neil Young‘s “Hey Hey, My My.”
Lead singer Ruth Radelet (who might be a vampire as she doesn’t appear to have aged in the last ten years) came out for the encore and delivered her beautiful rendition of Springsteen‘s “I’m on Fire,” which is more emotive in a live setting than you can imagine.
Ruth Radelet was on fire at Park West, and in all our hearts.
They ended the night with “Shadow” and their cover of Kate Bush‘s “Running Up that Hill.” Radelet and Jewel thanked everyone for a good night, with Jewel thanking everyone for overcoming the bad energy at the start of the show. It was a good return for them.
Two people behind me were yelling, “Dear Tommy when?” as he walked offstage. I thought, “That’s only for he to know and us to find out.” You can’t always rush art, and the first couple singles we’ve heard this year promise good things to come.
Keep your mind open.
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