Month: July 2017

Midnight Sister’s debut album, “Saturn Over Sunset,” due out this September.

Midnight Sister Announce Debut Album, Saturn Over Sunset,
Out September 8th On JagjaguwarWatch The Video For New Single, “Blue Cigar”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk8Ag-Vn06U

Catch Them On Tour This Fall With D.D Dumbo

 

“Sounding at times like early Perfume Genius, L.A. band Midnight Sister shows off a knack for blending orchestral pop and psychedelia…” – The FADER

“alluring and wonderfully timeless” – Gorilla vs. Bear

Midnight Sister are pleased to announce their debut album, Saturn Over Sunset, out September 8th on Jagjaguwar. Along with the announcement, they’re sharing the official video for their new single, “Blue Cigar.” Curious smoke curls across your face as some terrifying, glamorous woman whisper-sings into your ear over jumpy keys and squawking, oddly charming horns. You can’t quite remember how you ended up here with these questionable characters. But you can’t get out of the booth, not now. It’s too late for you, I’m afraid.Midnight Sister — the project of intense creatives Juliana Giraffe and Ari Balouzian — is brought to you by the isolating landscape of the San Fernando Valley — its colors, its diners, its lunatics, its neon lights. Both lifelong residents of this storied valley, Giraffe and Balouzian have only become more inspired by the area’s mythology over the years, it’s two-faced magical wonderland and tragic circus. And Saturn Over Sunset works almost as an album version of Robert Altman’s Short Cuts, each song a character study of the valley’s odd personae.

Giraffe, 23, a daughter of an LA disc jockey, was raised almost exclusively on disco and Bowie. Her lyrics and lyrical melodies, informed very much by her filmmaking background, were composed gazing out from a tiny retail window on Sunset Boulevard. Her “Rear Window”-like longing allowed her imagination to run wild and cook up the wild narratives that would fill Balouzian’s compositions. Balouzian, 27, classically trained and already a go-to arranger for odd-pop names like Tobias Jesso Jr. and Alex Izenberg. Midnight Sister represents a first for both of them. It’s Giraffe’s first time writing and performing music. And it’s Balouzian’s first foray into playing true pop music.

Saturn Over Sunset is a shared musical vision of Hollywood’s oddest corners. It is the baroque, eldritch alley you must pass through to find the speakeasy night of your life. You’ll come out bleary-eyed and the sunrise will be pouring all pink and orange through the smog and palm trees.

Watch Midnight Sister’s “Blue Cigar” Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk8Ag-Vn06U

Watch “Leave You” Video:
https://youtu.be/Jot8NY3wq1k

Midnight Sister Tour Dates:
9/8 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom (w/ D.D Dumbo)
9/9 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah (w/ D.D Dumbo)
9/11 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Atrium at The Catalyst (w/ D.D Dumbo)
9/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Independent (w/ D.D Dumbo)
9/14 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir (w/ D.D Dumbo)
9/15 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza (w/ D.D Dumbo)
9/16 – Vancouver, BC @ The Biltmore Cabaret (w/ D.D Dumbo)
9/19 – St Paul, MN @ Turf Club (w/ D.D Dumbo)
9/20 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas (w/ D.D Dumbo)
9/22 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas (w/ D.D Dumbo)
9/23 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom (w/ D.D Dumbo)Saturn Over Sunset Tracklist:
1. Canary
2. Leave You
3. Blue Cigar
4. Showgirl
5. The Drought
6. The Crow
7. Daddy Long Legs
8. Neon
9. Shimmy
10. So Young
11. The View From Gilligan’s Island
12. Hitman
13. Clown
14. Their Eyes

Pitchfork Music Festival artist spotlight: Ride

Influential British shoegaze band Ride broke up in 1996 after just six years and a couple albums, but they got back together in 2015 and have a new album, Weather Diaries, out this year.  Ride’s performance at the Pitchfork Music Festival on July 16th will be one of the highlights of the weekend, as not many expected a Ride reunion, let alone a new album or tour.  They sound like they haven’t lost anything after 20 years, so don’t miss their set if you’ll be in Chicago that weekend.

Keep your mind open.

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Pitchfork Music Festival artist spotlight: Nicolas Jaar

Chilean DJ, producer, and music engineer Nicolas Jaar will be spinning a set at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival on July 16th.  I wanted to see Mr. Jaar last year at Levitation Austin, but that festival was cancelled due to bad weather and I couldn’t score a ticket to his make-up gig in downtown Austin.  Nicolas Jaar is known for his great beats and DJ skills, sure, but he’s venturing more into experimental music and has been known to throw down five-hour improvisational sets.  I doubt his Pitchfork set will be that long, but finally catching him live will be a highlight of the festival for me.

Keep your mind open.

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Pitchfork Music Festival artist spotlight: The Avalanches

Aussie electro weirdos the Avalanches will be performing what I’m sure will be a fun set at the Pitchfork Music Festival on July 16th.  Known for their fun, quirky blend of house, big beat, and odd samples, they’re already electro powerhouses after releasing just two albums – Since I Left You and Wildflower.  Those albums were sixteen years apart, by the way, and both are considered high watermarks in their genre.  Since I Left You is widely thought of as one of the greatest Australian albums of all time and the best album of the year 2000.

It will be a fun, rare set from them.  A friend of mine finalized his decision to attend Pitchfork after learning the Avalanches were playing there.  Don’t miss them.

Keep your mind open.

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Pitchfork Music Festival artist spotlight: Derrick Carter

Chicago house music legend Derrick Carter will be playing a set to a hometown crowd at the Pitchfork Music Festival July 16th.  Mr. Carter has moved the genre of house back into popularity again and built a big following in Europe.  He  uses samples well and always has the sickest beats.  I’m sure he’ll put a bit of extra mustard and relish on his set in front of a lot of fellow Chicagoans.

Keep your mind open.

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Pitchfork Music Festival artist spotlight: NE-HI

Chicago’s NE-HI formed to score a friend’s film and ended up becoming indie rock darlings.  I’m guessing they took their name from the mostly forgotten brand of soda, but perhaps I’m wrong.  I do know that their catchy psychedelic rock hooks are good and I’m confident a lot of their hometown fans will be at their Pitchfork Music Festival set on July 16th to cheer them.

Keep your mind open.

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Pitchfork Music Festival artist spotlight: Kilo Kish

Singer, songwriter, painter, visual artist, and textile designer Kilo Kish will be playing an early set on July 16 at Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival.  Ms. Kish has a neat vision of the world and witty lyrics that cut right to the heart of issues of gender, politics, art, race, and being a Millennial.  She’s intriguing.  That alone makes her set worth a look, as do her slick beats that blend trip hop with R&B.

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Pitchfork Music Festival artist spotlight: A Tribe Called Quest

Hip-hop legends A Tribe Called Quest are bringing their final tour to Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival on July 15th.  The impact of ATCQ on rap music is probably incalculable, and they were (and still are) a bright contrast to gangsta rap.  Don’t let that sentence confuse you, however.  ATCQ were (and still are) powerful voices for the causes of racial, gender-based, and economic equality, solutions for gang violence, and freedom of speech.

Founding member Phife Dawg died last year, so the band announced that this will be their last tour and the outstanding We Got It from Here…Thank You 4 Your Service will be their last album.  It’s sure to be a raucous set full of hip-hop favorites, power anthems, and political commentary.

Keep your mind open.

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DJ set list for July 06, 2017

Thanks to everyone who listened to my WSND last night.  It was a fun, humid show.  Here’s my set list from the night:

  1. All Them Witches – Call Me Star
  2. Tamaryn – Afterlight
  3. Mars Volta – Drunkship of Lanterns (requested)
  4. The Exorcist radio ad
  5. The Constellations – Setback
  6. The Smithereens – Blues Before & After
  7. Radiohead – Climbing Up the Walls (remix)
  8. Radiohead – Little by Little
  9. Applesauce Tears – A Kiss and a Cuddle
  10. Moors – Asphyxiated
  11. Imarhan – Idarchan Net
  12. Goat – Words
  13. Shanty Tramp radio ad
  14. Slavething – Death Thing
  15. Skyland Drive-In Theater intermission spot
  16. Nirvana – The Man Who Sold the World
  17. The New Pornographers – You Tell Me Where
  18. Beacon – Backbone
  19. The Troggs – Wild Thing
  20. The Female radio ad
  21. Bad Religion – The State of the End of the Millennium Address
  22. The Humpers – Rocket and the Retards
  23. Buzzcocks – Do It
  24. Dead Dick Hammer and the TBA Band – Res-Erection
  25. Don Johnson – Heartbeat (requested)
  26. The Love Me Nots – I’m the One
  27. The Black Eyed Snakes – Chicken Bone George
  28. Johnny Cash – Everybody Loves a Nut
  29. Earthless – Uluru Rock
  30. Cosmonauts – Doom Generation

I’m back on air July 13th and I’ll have a big Pitchfork Music Festival preview show highlighting many of the artists playing in Chicago next weekend.  Give me a listen.  You might discover your favorite band.

Keep your mind open.

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Pitchfork Music Festival artist spotlight: P.J. Harvey

Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actress, and sculptor P.J. Harvey will be playing Chicago’s Pitchfork Music Festival on July 15th.  Ms. Harvey is an alt-rock, feminist giant who has crafted complex songs she insists aren’t about her, but many suspect otherwise.  She is bold and beautiful, serious and sexy, charming and chaotic.  Her set will surely be packed and one of the highlights of the festival.

Keep your mind open.

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