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Track Of The Week: ‘Deadly Sin’ By Shy Nature

By Eva Alex Liu on 17 Apr 2013

Deadly Sin is an exhilarating introduction from new North London five-piece Shy Nature. Show the rest of this post…

The track’s bare intro swiftly builds into three minutes of accelerating rock and roll as frontman William spearheads the energy with a burgeoning story of a broken home atop fuzz guitars and biting drums. This marriage of bleak lyrics with sanguine music is reminiscent of classic 1960’s songwriting akin to Gerry Gofffin and Carole King. Produced and mixed at the band’s home studio by Luciano Rossi, the summery track will pervade your bones with an unrequited desire to hear more from one of London’s most exciting new bands.

Shy Nature make their live debut on May 17th at our clubnight Friday Night Fist Fight at the Old Blue Last

Track Of The Week: ‘House Of Glass (Vela Vs. Royal Blood Remix)’ By Worship

By Eva Alex Liu on 9 Nov 2011

New popstress Vela teams up with young music producer Royal Blood for a brilliant remix of the upcoming single House Of Glass by Worship. Stream the track below or download it by clicking the arrow on the right hand side.

Club Night: Round Table Knights @ SCP 4th Birthday

By Rob Henneberry on 16 Mar 2011

Tropical partystaters Round Table Knights’ debut album dropped at the end of last month and they’re playing a rare London show on Friday to celebrate this. It’s at the ever-cool Snap Crackle and Pop night who are celebrating their 4th birthday. Full details after the jump…
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Round Table Knights at SCP

Round Table Knights at SCP

Gig Watch: The Recusants

By Martin Roberts on 26 Feb 2011

If you have a free night tonight, head on down to the Barfly in Camden to check out one of London’s most exciting upcoming bands, The Recusants. Show the rest of this post…

We’ve seen them a few times now and we’re gonna be checking them out again this evening, where they’ll be celebrating the release of their new single ‘The Dane’ – check it out below if you still need convincing.

Listen To More… Tanlines

By Sam Bathe on 20 Nov 2010

Releasing their Settings EP earlier this year to widespread critical acclaim, Brooklynites Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm have been forming bands for as long as they can remember, but at last in Tanlines, seem to have really found a direction that hits. Their tropical guitar, percussion and synth-pop has influences in dance music and genres much further afield, certainly not restricted to the, albeit experiemental, urban New York streets.

Now prepping compilation album Volume On, before a debut studio album will hit some time next year, the 2-CD package features a host of EPs, compilation tracks, long deleted singles, remixes and never before heard songs. Touring the UK in early December, you can listen to more Tanlines here.

Listen To More… Radere

By Amy Giardiniere on 30 Aug 2010

Photo by Amanda Hernandez

When I first laid eyes on Carl, the musical genius behind Radere, I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I knew there was something different about him that I needed to discover. Show the rest of this post…

During our first conversation, he noticed my treble clef tattoo and instantly began sputtering out his opinions on trendy music and how “rock concerts” can be rather generic. I knew then that he was in fact a musician. Anyone can strum some chords, anyone can find a beat and hum along, but only a true musical phenomenon can do what Carl does.

He hears ordinary tones and sounds differently than your average person. Everything from the sound of flicking a rubber band to the sounds of nature is music to his ears that he records, loops, layers and turns into an amazing composure. Each of his pieces pulls you in slowly and leaves you breathless wanting more. The ambient genre is mostly for trained ears and only a gifted artist can compose such striking soundscapes.

Give us a brief bio on Carl Ritger?

Born in Philly in 1984. Raised in the ‘burbs. Went to high school. Went to college. Ultimately graduated from college and am now working as a copywriter in the Philadelphia area. I also make music sometimes.

Tell us a bit about the electronic/ambient music scene in Philly?

It’s a pretty small community, to be perfectly honest. Philly isn’t really known for its electronic music! There is, however, a rather dedicated core of people who are always putting together events around the city. There’s a real focus on quality and doing the best we can with the limited resources and small audience. Unfortunately, the focus is less of experimental/ambient artists and more on more dance floor-oriented acts. Quite simply: there’s a lot of techno and dubstep going on in Philly, but not much of a left field contigent. Regardless, it’s a great scene to be a part of and I’m happy to say that I am a part of it.

What is the meaning behind Radere? How did you become Radere?

Radere is actually the Italian verb for “to shave.” It’s a reference to the word “raster,” which is essentially defined as a pixel-based data structure used for representing or delivering graphic content. A big element in my work has always been reducing sonic material to cells – whether it be a loop or some sort of rhythmic pattern – and then arranging those cells into a shifting, evolving organism.

I originally used to work under the name Chairs, but my work evolved a lot after I graduated from college, so I decided to retire that moniker and start fresh.

What is your musical background? At what age did you become interested in creating music?

I’ve been involved in music in one capacity or another since as long as I can remember. I started playing violin in the 3rd grade and played in orchestras until I went to college. At some point, my parents bought me a guitar (I wanted a drum set, but they weren’t having that), and I’ve just sort of always been tinkering with music ever since.

When did you actually start composing ambient-esque music? Have you always produced this genre?

I started moving away from “traditional” forms at the end of high school. I bought a sampler after hearing Radiohead’s Kid A LP and played around with creating more beat-oriented material. I didn’t start making ambient or drone music really until I went to college and began exploring the possibilities of computer-assisted signal processing and digital recording.

What other artists have influenced you and your signature sound the most?

I can really credit two specific albums with inspiring me to do what I do. The first would be Keith Fullerton Whitman’s Playthroughs and the second is Tim Hecker’s Radio Amor. I stumbled across these records freshman year of college and they just totally flipped some weird switch in my mind. Since then I’ve discovered a ton of music that has refined my aesthetic approach – especially the stuff that Taylor Deupree releases on his 12k label – but those two albums are really where it all started.

Between your albums I’ve noticed you’ve gone through phases. Can you give us an idea of how you are producing your music now compared to your past work? What programs you use – do you focus on field recordings, instruments, layers, looping, fusion…etc.

It’s impossible not to evolve when you’re making electronic music. With new software comes new possibilities, and it can be really difficult to step back and keep it simple! When I started out, I was using Fruity Loops, a mess of guitar pedals and a 4-track tape recorder; but I’ve been using Ableton Live as the center of my recording set-up for probably the past 5 years now. When I was working on A Process in the Weather of the Heart, I was doing everything inside the computer. It was a purely sample-based record and I did all the arranging and editing digitally, processing a mess of field recordings and guitar loops into a noisy stew. For Maple Drip, I brought a lot of that outside of the computer. The guitar parts were played live with only a minimum of computer processing and mixed over a bed of natural sounds. I think for that it was actually sampled snowmelt water and the Delaware River.

How are your compositions evolving?

I just finished a set of tracks that I’m hoping to put out soon that indulged my desire to do a more “organic” record. It was all pretty stripped back guitar drone stuff…no overdubs or anything, just straight live guitar looping. Now that I have that out of my system, I’m developing a whole new processing set-up and starting to take a lot of my compositional process back inside the computer itself, creating shifting layers of loops and field recordings. I guess you could say I’m almost trying to make my tracks seem more static as I’ve been rather fixated on the possibilities of repetition here lately.

What set up do you use for your live sets? What kind of events do you prefer performing at?

Right now, my live rig is in a bit of a state of flux. I was using my laptop, guitar and a few pedals to do live looping previously, but with the latest iteration of Ableton, I can do all my looping right there on my computer. The last show I played, I just had my guitar and laptop…but who knows how long this will last. I kind of missed having those pedals there to tweak live.

As far as events go, I’ve really been scaling back the number of shows I book for myself lately. As I mentioned earlier, Philly is something of a techno town, so I’m always relegated to the beginning or end of parties. It can get a little tiresome, so I’ve been opting to put my energies into recording and experimenting with new ideas rather than developing new live sets…which can get rather time consuming. That said, I really enjoy smaller gigs in sort of “non-traditional” spaces. I think intimacy really helps what I do in a live environment.

Who have you shared the stage with?

Anduin, Jasper TX, The Sight Below, Svarte Greiner, Lusine, Mux Mool, the Andrew Weathers Ensemble, Machinedrum, a whole mess of DJs…the list goes on.

What are your plans for the future of Radere? What have you been working on since your last album release? – What’s next?

I’ve been recording a ton lately. I have about two albums’ worth of material ready to go. I’m starting to shop that stuff around to see if anyone is interested. I’ve got a remix coming out on Moodgadget later this year for A Setting Sun, and he and I have also been working on a collaborative project. I just played a couple shows and am working on setting some up for the fall. Other than all that, I’m looking to start doing some more multimedia type projects, presenting my music with visuals and maybe even getting into doing installations…

And finally – where can we hear or see a glimpse of you? Any upcoming events?

Not in the immediate future, no; but I’m working on setting up some shows in Philly for the fall, including one with Benoit Pioulard. I do, however, have a new E.P. coming out shortly on Rural Colours.

You can see, hear and probably even meet Radere all over the Philadelphia electronic music scene. More specifically you can listen to him here on his Soundcloud page. Or check out new album A Process in The Weather Of The Heart at Full Spectrum Records.

Listen To More… Pony Pony Run Run

By Alex Brammer on 18 May 2010

One of the bands that really caught my eye last weekend at Brighton’s Great Escape Festival was  Pony Pony Run Run. In their native France the band are blowing up bigtime. They’ve sold out 3,000 capacity venues as well as tours with Simple Minds, Calvin Harris and La Roux, and are certainly set for a big future. Show the rest of this post…

Their infectiously catchy debut single Hey You was released last September. It stormed straight into the Hype Machine Top 10 as well as gaining glowing reviews from Guardian Unlimited. PPRR are brothers Gaëtan and Amaël and friend Antonin, a 3-piece from Nantes France. Their sound is a perfect slice of genre-bending nuclear power pop with beautifully written lyrics and buzzy synths that only the French do so well. Ultimately PPRR play dance music for people who love their pop, and they’re not afraid to say it.

Their new single Walking On A Line is released in the UK June 7th on 3ME Bureau, though you can listen to a preview below.

Listen To More… Hey Zeus

By Asher Wren on 24 Mar 2010

Hey Zeus are one of the hottest Indie bands to explode onto the Manchester scene for a long time.. And I mean literally explode – with just three shows under their  belt, and barely a full complement, Hey Zeus smashed all competition to be crowned  best unsigned band in Manchester in the back-end of 2009 – an accolade which saw the young four-piece supporting the likes of Snow Patrol, Happy Mondays and KiD BRiTiSH at the MEN Arena in December. Show the rest of this post…

If that didn’t get your attention, then their blend of time-sig bending experimentalism a la bands such as At The Drive-In; Jagged, Caribbean-clean Vampire Weekend and Abe Vigoda-esque Indie guitars, and vocal melody Pop-sensibility – an homage to the likes of The Kooks… will.

Hey Zeus have only recorded a handful of tracks with which to adorn their MySpace so far – the strongest, Sirens, a triumph in intelligent Indie, complete with ethereal verses, strong pop-hook guitar melodies, intricate bass lines, jagged powerchords and an epic chant-along pop outro. The lads glide seamlessly and effortlessly through time signature changes in what is undoubtedly an incredible first effort.

Dont be surprised to see these boys getting festival recognition and hot support slots in the Summer of twenty ten!

You can listen to more Hey Zeus here.

Listen To More… Lissy Trullie

By Sam Bathe on 24 Sep 2009

Lissy Trullie

Real name Elizabeth McChesney, though it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, Lissy Trullie is fresh off the New York music circuit causing a stir worldwide. Crafting spritely pop-tinged new wave rock, full of energy but with a scenester cool edge only New Yorkers know how, Lissy typifies everything great about the bands making it on the East coast. Show the rest of this post…

Boasting something strangely Andy Warhol about her, after moving to New York when she was 16, for a long Lissy plied her trade as a model, washing dishes for a local restaurant in between shoots. And after her modelling career really started to take off, previously fronting new campaigns for Chloë Sevigny’s fashion range, she stepped it up on the musical side too.

With a tomboy charm and the seductive looks of Agyness Deyn, her debut EP ‘Self-Taught Learner’ was released earlier this year and threw her into the limelight, instantly becoming one of the coolest front women around.

Though her own music is more than worth the effort, you’ll equally want to check out Lissy’s cover of ‘Ready For The Floor’ by Hot Chip, which has since become a huge online hit.

With a busy end to the year planned for the Lissy and her band, she’ll be hoping they don’t the same bad luck they encountered on their recent European tour when bassist Ian Fenger contracted swine flu in Germany.

Listen to more Lissy Trullie here.

Listen To More… The Soft Pack

By Sam Bathe on 17 Sep 2009

The Soft Pack

Now infamously performing under the name The Soft Pack, you might know the San Diego four-piece from their former moniker. Called The Muslims until late last year, the band grew tired of the ignorant and frequently racists comments thrown their way during shows and interviews to the point they had to turn over a new leaf. Show the rest of this post…

While new name doesn’t quite pack the same punch, and some sections of the media have criticesed them for the switch, if it allows them to really take the next step with their music and forget about the unfounded trouble their former name brought them, who are onlookers to question their motives.

Now based in Los Angeles, The Soft Pack are part of a new wave of surf rock band popping up in California. We’ve already brought you the wonderful Tijuana Panthers, although if anything The Soft Pack are a step ahead of their fellow friends.

With a couple of nationwide US tours under their belts and dates with Franz Ferdinand, White Lies and Friendly Fires earlier this year, it’s no surprise The Soft Pack roused a wave of hype behind debut 10 song ‘The Muslims EP’ and more recently their ‘Extinction’ EP, and have become one of a select few already tipped for big things in 2010.

Their music is stripped down; ragged and rough, like a lot of the recent lo-fi bands fed-up with the over-produced pop that is flooding the mainstream. Their early material lacks that couple of signature riffs to really set them alight but newer songs are turning the tide for a more complete and a little less meandering style. Slated for a release in the spring, The Soft Pack’s debut album is rumoured to have been written and recorded for a few months now, although there’s nothing yet on a title or album art, but whatever their plans the future for The Soft Pack is looking very bright indeed.

Listen to more The Soft Pack here.

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