This is what I am talking about. Thank you Shake. Here is some material to hold you over until Boy Meets World hits the shelves on October 20th. This is an 11 track mixtape with Fash on the mic, and ALC on the production boards. Good Lord, this shit is going to go hard as hell. I have it downloading at this very moment, and you should to. Follow me after the jump for the tracklist and download link. Continue reading
Hey faithful blogites, I’m back after my week off to bring you some of the best techno/electro/house singles being spun. And I’m enthused to say that I’ll be bring you all there is to know about the new Toxic Avenger single, “Bad Girls Need Love Too”. So put your mask on, put your ear to the speakers, and prepare for a banging new track. Enjoy!
Single: Bad Girls Need Love Too Label: IHeartComix Get: iTunes/Vinyl
“Bad Girls Need Love Too”, the first single since the insanely popular “Superheroes” EP back in 2007, doesn’t miss a step in creating skull crushing electro trash. No, not trash as in bad, trash as in dirty gritty nasty techno, the stuff Mixhell, Toxic Avenger, and the like have perfected, and the kind of stuff Justice is famous for. “Bad Girls Need Love Too” might be a bit harder to grove to than some of the more disco friendly stuff I’ve been posting, but Toxic’s new track is by no means not a party track. This song needs to be heard, loud and proud, the way this music has to be listened to.
Toxic has come a long way since 2007’s Superheroes release. Where we last left off, our hero’s shimmering, distortioned riffs called for a new generation of dance staples. The colorful and hopeful single became the theme to Toxic’s rise to power, and helped shape the standards to which we have come to know in the electro community. -Myspace
I can only describe this track, and any of the Toxic Avenger library and remixes as a sort of halloween sub-genre of techno. The music constantly teeters on the brink of eerie and creepy, while constantly testing the power of the amp in your basement. It’s an absolutely banging track, and if you’ve read this far you know exactly the kind of music I’m talking about. The remixes are well worth a spin too, as the Les Petits Pilous and Daze of Thunder edits both mark some impressive yet subtle touches. My favorite of the two is the Daze of Thunder remix, which keeps the lyrics in their pause and adds a MSTRKRFT-like cowbell to the second verse. It’s all completely overwhelming as a genre, but it’s so so good too. Listen for longer than 10 minutes and you’ll contract the world’s worst headache, but oh well, keep on dancing and keep on loving. I’ll be back with lots more soon, so as my good friend says: stay fresh.
MP3: The Toxic Avenger – “Bad Girls Need Love Too” (Daze of Thunder Remix)
Good news people, two of the most enjoyable bands are touring together. Even better news, one of them is putting out a new album in the fall. The Dodos and The Ruby Suns will be touring together this fall, and on an extensive trip throughout the entire country the two groups won’t stop in the midwest for too long, but do manage to squeeze in a show here in Minneapolis at the Turf Club on October 20th. I had the pleasure of seeing The Dodos perform live at last year’s Pitchfork Music Festival and they absolutely blew me away, so I would usually say go on that recommendation alone, but I’ve been hooked on The Ruby Suns for about a year now as well. Their album Sea Lion is completely under appreciated and should have been heard by a lot more people, but too bad for all of you missing out I guess. It’s shaping up to be one of the must see concerts of the fall so far, so get your tickets as soon as they go on sale. Here are a few MP3s to get acquainted with the bands if you haven’t heard them yet:
MP3: The Dodos – “Fools”
The Dodos have been working on a new studio album as well, slated to hit shelves September 15th. Time To Die is the follow up to the mesmerizing Visiter back in 2007. The album will feature a new member in the band as well, upping the number of members to three, a one Keaton Snyder will be featured on the vibraphone. As Meric Long recalls in an interview about the record and their recent touring, Snyder still has a bit to learn:
“He’s a better musician than Logan and I combined. I don’t even know what’s going on with his music theory ideas half the time.” On a similar note, Snyder-a classically-trained musician-is constantly learning what ‘being in a band’ entails. In fact, he didn’t even know how to react when a chord was yanked during his Dodos debut. “After the show,” says Long, “he was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve never had to plug anything in before.’ It was hilarious.”
September 15th is the release date, October 20th is the tour date. So pencil them in, and if you didn’t get enough of The Dodos on the Miller Chill commercial I’m sure you’ll be hearing all about them come fall. Track listing below:
01 Small Deaths
02 Longform
03 Fables
04 The Strums
05 This Is A Business
06 Two Medicines
07 Troll Nacht
08 Acorn Factory
09 Time To Die
My album reviews this summer have been mostly fantastic. The music is, not my amateur writing. The Dirty Projectors, Major Lazer, Phoenix, the list goes on of phenomenal summer albums. I use the term “summer” not only due to their summer release, but because of their youthful nature, their sensational charm, and their downright fun dynamic. I bring all of this up because Discovery, the side project of Vampire Weekend genius Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot frontman Wes Miles. It’s a hell of a lineup for a two man group, but Discovery doesn’t stop at that alone, enlisting Dirty Projectors singer Angel Deradoorian and Vampire Weekend lead man Ezra Koenig along the way. LP is maybe a bit immature at points, but despite it’s youthful and playful sound the album absolutely delivers a great listen.
“Osaka Loop Line,” the long time leaked lead single on LP still holds up one of their best tracks. It’s a rhythmic roller coaster, bouncing pitch, pace, and testing the patience of listeners who have no idea what this Discovery project is all about. I’ll give a brief detailing, Discovery was started by its two members before Vampire Weekend or Ra Ra Riot were making music, so the reason for this music being more electronic, more auto-tuned, and more humorous than either of the two more popular components was due to the pureness of the music tastes of the two artists. It makes Discovery seem like a joke at some points, but oh well, it’s still awesome music. But back to “Osaka Loop Line”, it’s the first time that vocals really shine, despite their slightly altered state. As a choir teacher of mine once said, “chicks dig the falsetto”, and it’s apparently true as Wes absolutely nails the high tones, blending the keyboard blasts with love lost vocals.
Angel Deradoorian’s appearance on the album is a welcome surprise, and a slightly hilarious one at that too. As Wes and Angel’s vocals are both featured on the track, revealing a discourse back and fourth about a budding relationship. The twist is, however, that Angel’s first line is “I want to be your boyfriend” tweaked and reverted over and over, again right in line with the synth madness that Rostam creates. And as Wes jumps into the mix it’s from a women’s perspective on the thing, doing chores for the man (Angel). I always thought that she was cutest member of the Dirty Projectors, but this is just sort of kinky. But seriously though, it’s another spectacular track, displaying not only the production quality of Rostam, but the laid-back and enjoyable nature of Discovery’s music.
MP3: Discovery – “I Want to be Your Boyfriend” (Featuring Angel Deradoorian)
There’s a track on LP that features one of the best new voices in music, Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, but there are so many better songs that I’m not even going to talk about “Carby” because it’s obvious how amazing it is (I mean, it’s essentially a Vampire Weekend track).
I’ll discuss at length one last track, “Swing Tree”. Even though “Osaka Loop Line” might get a few more plays, I think that “Swing Tree” is the cadillac of Discovery songs. The synthesizer loops, echoing with reverb ever so slightly, make for an infectious hook. The keys sound like something I use to play around with on my old Yamaha board, but they way the track is so carefully put together, with bass lines jumping in and out, it’s stunning. The vocals aren’t exhausting, much like every Discovery track, but the way they are chopped up and repeated to match the change in synth patterns makes the same words sound new every time. “Swing Tree” gets my vote for best track on the album, and definitely one of the better tracks of this summer. For as much play as Vampire Weekend got on Apatow movie soundtracks last year, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear some “Swing Tree” rolling during the opening credits of a movie later this year.
The discussion on this album doesn’t need to be long. Discovery’s formula can get slightly repetitive in the wrong situations, but for a day at the beach or an afternoon bike ride there isn’t a better album to have on. WEs and Rostam have already confirmed that they won’t be playing live dates, so no tour to look forward too, and probably not an album ever again either (this one took about 5 years). For a side project it’s great, but if not for the critical acclaim of each member’s main band Discovery might have never been found. Either way though, I love LP.
8.4 out of 10. Out July 3rd on XL Recordings. Pre-Order.
In this week’s installment of the ever popular Saturday Single column, I’ll be reporting on the sterling new debut release on Tiny Sticks by three part electro duo Clap Rules. You might recognize the Tiny Sticks name if you read my interview with Cage & Aviary earlier this week, as they are set to release a 12″ later this year on the label as well. But newcomers Clap Rules are in the mix this week thanks to the awesome Old Sequencer single.
Clap Rules – Old Sequencer Tiny Sticks Records iTunes/Vinyl
Clap Rules feels a lot like other material on Tiny Sticks, too (the face on the cover makes me feel right at home as well). Which is beyond stellar, seeing as some of my favorite electronic acts hail from the label (Mock & Toof especially). The titled A Side is a tight mix of disco influenced bass with a high pitched synth loop, changing ever-so-slightly throughout “Old Sequencer”. There’s live guitar to boot, making the track nearly perfect as a blend of live instrumentation and modern day house fanaticism. It’s funky, it’s groovy, it’s the future. As Juan Maclean said earlier this year: The Future Has Come. “Old Sequencer” is perfectly produced, as each looping section never gets old, and although the pace for the song never really leaves a certain BPM, the song still feels like it builds to a beautiful crescendo. The B Sides, “Never Half Step” and “Braxx” both sound amazing. Again drawing on deep house roots, the two songs make for great additions to the single. “Braxx” is probably the better of the two. The track adds some almost Simian Mobile Disco-like synth pulses to the bass line, making the track feel slightly more upbeat than “Old Sequencer”. It’s hard for me to not over-praise an album, and especially if it’s music like this. Deep house, post disco, electro fucking rock and roll (can you tell by the cursing that I’m excited?). Clap Rules is worth way more than a download, and worth way more than my amateur rambling, so I’ll stop. For a debut it’s incredible, and I can’t wait to hear more.
MP3: Clap Rules – “Old Sequencer”
Clap Rules performing “Never Half Step” live
I’m not even going to say one word about this one, except quote Vince over at MetalSucks by saying “stick with it until the ripping Mercenary-style guitar and keyboard solos”.
Enjoy.
MP3 DOWNLOAD: Katy Perry, “I Kissed A Girl (Andy Xiong Power Metal Remix)”
In light of one of the world’s craziest ideas for a half-real concept album comes one of the more fun and plain enjoyable albums of the year… that is, if you enjoy techno infused reggae dancehall and auto-tuned babies (more on that later). I discussed the nostalgic video for the lead track “Hold The Line” a while back, but after hearing the entire album all the way through today I feel like Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do needs a full discourse.
So we all know by now the full story of Major Lazer, right? Well maybe not all of us. (You could just read the bold and get the point, such convenience):
Major Lazer is a Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret Zombie War of 1984. The US military rescued him and repurposed experimental lazers as prosthetic limbs. Since then Major Lazer has been a hired renegade soldier for a rogue government operating in secrecy underneath the watch of M5 and the CIA. His cover is that of a dancehall night club owner from Trinidad and he enlisted the help of long-time allies and uber-producers, Diplo and Switch, to produce his first LP. His true mission is to protect the world from the dark forces of evil that live just under the surface of a civilized society. He fights vampires and various monsters, parties hard, and has a rocket powered skateboard.
All jokes aside, what the hell is Major Lazer? Well it’s awesome. The team at Mad Decent always have great marketing and art production, and Major Lazer is no exception, it’s actually probably the best example. The album has action figures coming out soon of each member of the story from the above paragraph. It’s like a more danceable and more crazy Gorillaz, as Diplo and Switch lurk in the shadows of musty Jamaican dancehalls much like Alborn did for years in crowded opera halls. But musically Major Lazer is much more than one distinct sound. Due in part to the all-star cast of guests, Guns Don’t Kill People highlights many of the talents that Diplo and Switch enlist on their own. Diplo’s ability to take your breathe away and Switch’s ability to precisely fine tune any remix. Continue reading
The release for The Mars Volta’s new album is only one week away (Tuesday, June 23rd), but all the diehards who aren’t complete audiophiles can get their fix early by streaming the album the album online here! Treat yourself today: tune in and turn up!
LISTEN: The Mars Volta, Octahedron (available 6/23)
The Alarmists new album The Overhead Left is the latest in a string of free/pay-as-you-please releases coming from the Twin Cities. However, unlike some of the other artists, The Alarmists are partnering with the non-profit organization Rock the Cause to make an larger impact with any sales they do achieve. Read
all about the band’s decision to put this hotly debated album out via this partnership and download it for FREE (with an email address) below:
Rock the Cause has partnered with The Alarmists to help create support. awareness and membership for new music and non-profit causes that shape our community. The long awaited new album The Overhead Left by The Alarmists is available to download for free through Rock the Cause.
The Alarmists would like to encourage you to make a donation of what ever you can afford to Rock the Cause or sign up to volunteer with one of the Rock the Cause charitable partners.
Over the past few years Rock the Cause has helped to support emerging musical artists with exposure, publicity, and new fans through concerts. Rock the Cause is a non-profit that works to develop a new generation of awareness, support and new volunteers for other non-profits, like Minnesota AIDS Project, Open Arms of Minnesota, Clare Housing, Free Arts Minnesota, and many more. You can learn about these great causes on the Rock the Cause web site!
Your donation will help Rock the Cause to continue its work of creating a new generation of music and volunteerism! The Greatest Generation is Now!
Cheers!
The Alarmists
FREE DOWNLOAD: The Alarmists, The Overhead Left
Part man, part machine, part cockatiel, Cage & Aviary take flights of fancy whenever they can.
Cage & Aviary, one part Jamie Paton and one part Nigel of Bermondsey, are busy people. They run a record label, they DJ, they produce, they jam. Their most recent release, the stellar Television Train/Suburban 12″ out now on DFA records (the euro version), has catapulted their success to a global scale. The two came stateside to play some of their first ever American DJ gigs in Los Angeles. So as their legend grows, and as their music continues to amaze, be sure to check them out. The two were nice enough to sit down and fill out a nice e-mail correspondence for Mind Inversion as well. Enjoy! (Nigel isn’t much for the talk)
Mind Inversion: So I’m barely 19 and have a limited knowledge, yet great appreciation and love of disco and house records from days gone by. I feel like all of your tracks draw upon very historic music, and music that most mainstream listeners don’t have an ear for. Elaborate on this idea, What from the past has influenced your music?
Jamie: I guess the short answer is lots of things, but that’s not much in the way of elaboration! We both bring lots of different influences to the mix, but our tastes also blend in some areas too – we both love the whole post-punk NY art-pop stuff like Talking Heads, and the Mancunian 80s new wave punk-funkers like A Certain Ratio and early New Order. We also have much love for the whole island records thing. A lot of this stuff when listened to now doesn’t sound mainstream but at the time, when the charts were made up of less formulaic production-line music, these oddball records made it into the upper reaches of the charts, I think it was an amazing time for popular music. Aside from all of that, I guess I bring more of a disco and house thing to the mix.
Nigel: I agree
MI: What is your model for creating music? I know you guys are involved in various other projects, so is the way you guys create started separately and then fused together at a different time, or is it more of the just sit down together with a plan and create tracks?
Jamie: We just sit down and jam really, see what comes out and take it from there. Recently we’ve been getting our live DJ set thing together, and the practice sessions for that have really produced some great new material, or at least starting points for them.
Nigel: I concur
MIND INVERSION 
