Crowned the “electro metal Mozart” by MSTRKRFT’s JFK, Finnish producer and executioner Huoratron (pronounced whore-a-tron) is releasing an exclusive DEATHFACE remix of the mind-thrashing hit “Corporate Occult” for free. Grab the track from BrooklynVegan here.

Crowned the “electro metal Mozart” by MSTRKRFT’s JFK, Finnish producer and executioner Huoratron (pronounced whore-a-tron) is releasing an exclusive DEATHFACE remix of the mind-thrashing hit “Corporate Occult” for free. Grab the track from BrooklynVegan here.

Huoratron recently kicked off a North American tour, stopping next in LA on November 5. Huoratron will hit Canada, the US, Mexico and Puerto Rico before the year is over. A full list of tour dates is below. Huoratron also has a remix for M.I.A. in the works. This one is sure to be a banger. Stay tuned for more details.

Setting the stage for the full-length release in early 2011, Last Gang Records has recently released PREVENGE, a deluxe digital masterpiece containing Huoratron’s two previously released EPs, Corporate Occult and $$ Troopers. The compilation is available digitally.  You can download it here.

Forged from the flames of darkness, Huoratron is the solo project of Finland’s Aku Raski, who began using two Game Boy consoles to produce experimental and dark electro. Since then, he’s risen from the digital underground and updated his gear while maintaining the pure black sound and raw aesthetics. As a founding member of New Judas Records, Huoratron has found its place among the movement in pulsating electronic dance music taking the stage on an international level.

TOUR DATES:

Nov 5 – LA – Avalon  
Nov 6 – Tijuana, MX – Leyva’s Disco
Nov 9 – LA – TBA
Nov 11 – Chicago – Evil Olive
Nov 12 – New York – Webster Hall
Nov 13 – San Juan – Kronos

]]> http://www.wearerocksteady.com/wordpress/archives/401/feed 0 http://www.wearerocksteady.com/wordpress/archives/411 http://www.wearerocksteady.com/wordpress/archives/411#comments Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:12:17 +0000 Kevin http://www.wearerocksteady.com/wordpress/?p=411 It’s going to be a very busy fall for Toronto-based multiplatform pop artist John O’ AKA Diamond Rings. He’s already dropped a Tunnelvision documentary with Pitchfork, put out the Something Else 7″ on September 28th, and now he’s pleased to announce his latest video for the single “Something Else” along with UK and North American tour dates highlighted by a jam-packed schedule at CMJ.

You can check out the video here. “Something Else” will appear on Diamond Rings’ debut album Special Affections out October 25th on Secret City Records. The album is available for pre-order now here.

First conceived in the summer of 2009, Diamond Rings burst onto the scene with a series of singles and videos featuring green screen camera trickery, over the top choreography, and daring androgynous outfits and makeup. The videos received international praise from both the online media and fans alike.  The singles, pressed to limited edition vinyl, sold out in a matter of weeks and received critical praise including “Best New Music” honors from Pitchfork.

Although initially pegged in some corners as a novelty act, audiences soon began to identify with Diamond Rings’ uniquely lyrical brand of pop songwriting and his overtly glamorous live sets.  Showcasing real human emotion and honest vulnerability is rare enough for a 24-year-old let alone one who matches his eye shadow with his Air Force Ones while dancing about onstage with the reckless abandon of a teenager in the bathroom mirror. But there’s something surprisingly mature shimmering beneath the glamour, hidden in John O’s immediately iconic voice, and whip-smart lyrics.

Tour Dates:
10/16  Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavik, Iceland
10/20  CMJ (Stereo Gun Party) Santos Party House, New York, NY
10/21  CMJ (Brooklyn Day Party), Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY
10/21  CMJ (NYC Taper Day Party) Cake Shop, New York, NY
10/22  CMJ (Distiller Day Party), The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY
10/23  CMJ (Bowery Presents Party), Pianos, New York, NY
10/23  CMJ (Pitchfork #Offline) Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY
10/26  The Garrison, Toronto, ON*
10/27  Alex P. Keaton, London, ON*
10/28  This Ain’t Hollywood, Hamilton, ON*
10/29 Raw Sugar Café, Ottawa, ON*
10/30 The Mansion, Kingston, ON*
10/31  Il Motore, Montreal, QC*
11/01  Ebar Guelph, ON*
11/04  Mojo, Liverpool, UK
11/05  Inside Out, Darlington, UK  
11/06  Barfly, Cardiff, UK
11/08  The Forum, Sheffield, UK
11/09  Roadmender, Northampton, UK
11/10  The Lexington, London, UK
11/11  The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, UK  
11/12  The Adelphi Club, Hull, UK
11/13  Cockpit, Leeds, UK
11/18  The Pawn Shop,  Edmonton, AB
11/19  Broken City, Calgary, AB
11/20  Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, BC
11/23  Echo, Los Angeles, CA
11/25  330 Ritch, San Francisco, CA
11/28  Lucky Bar, Victoria BC
12/01  Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL
12/03  DC9, Washington DC
12/04  Glasslands, Brooklyn, NY

* w/ PS I Love You

Crammed has asked a carefully chosen list of musicians to come up with their own personal take on Congotronics. The result is this epic double album, consisting of 26 brand-new tracks inspired by the sound of the Congotronics bands: most of the contributions blur the boundaries between reinventions and covers, reworks and homages. The compilation will be released November 9 of this year.

Much like its source material, this music is by turns serene, invigoratingly noisy or aimed squarely at open-minded dancefloors yet always intriguing and in some way revelatory: this album pretends to be nothing other than a joyful homage to what has become a true phenomenon of contemporary music – but listen in, and maybe some unlikely musical bloodlines can be traced…

Featured artists include prominent US indie bands such as Animal Collective, Deerhoof, Andrew Bird, Megafaun, Oneida, Portland’s AU, New York’s Skeletons and Chicago’s Allá, unique personalities such as Juana Molina, Jolie Holland and Glenn Kotche (of Wilco), London’s mutant pop sensation Micachu & The Shapes, innovative electronic music producers such as Shackleton, Optimo and Bass Clef from the UK, and Germany’s Burnt Friedman and Mark Ernestus (of Basic Channel and Maurizio fame), a rare appearance by the label’s seminal band Aksak Maboul and many more. The Congotronics bands paid tribute to are primarily Konono No 1 and Kasai Allstars, but also Sobanza Mimanisa, Kisanzi Congo, and Kasai Allstars offshoots Masanka Sankayi and Basokin.

CD1

1.      Deerhoof vs Kasai Allstars – Travels Broaden The Mind

2.      Animal Collective vs Kasai Allstars – Quick As White

3.      Andrew Bird vs Konono N°1 & Sobanza Mimanisa – Ohnono/Kiwembo

4.      Tussle vs Konono N°1 – Soft Crush

5.      Glenn Kotche vs Konono N°1 – Traducteur de Transmission

6.      Lonely Drifter Karen vs Kasai Allstars – Hunting On The Moon

7.      Jherek Bischoff vs Konono N°1 – Kule Kule (Orchestral Version)

8.      Woom vs Kasai Allstars – Enter The Chief

9.      Juana Molina vs Kasai Allstars – Hoy supe que viajas

10.     Mark Ernestus vs Konono N°1 – Masikulu Dub

11.     Skeletons vs Sobansa Mimanisa – Kiwembo/Unstuck

12.     Jolie Holland & Joel Hamilton vs Kasai Allstars – Nyeka Nyeka

13.     Aksak Maboul vs Kasai Allstars – Land Dispute

CD2

1.      Shackleton vs Kasai Allstars – Mukuba Special

2.      Hoquets vs Konono N°1 – Likembes

3.      Micachu & The Shapes vs Konono N°1 – NO.K

4.      Megafaun vs Kisanzi Kongo – Conjugal Mirage

5.      AU vs Masanka Sankayi – Two Labors

6.      Allá vs Basokin – Mulu(me)

7.      Bear Bones, Lay Low vs Konono N°1 – Kuletronics

8.      Burnt Friedman vs Konono N°1 – Rubaczech

9.      Oneida vs Konono N°1 – Nombre 1!

10.     Optimo vs Konono N°1 – Wumbanzanga

11.     Bass Clef vs Kasai Allstars – The Incident At Mbuji-Mayi

12.     Eye vs Konono N°1 – Konono Wa Wa Wa

13.     Sylvain Chauveau vs Konono N°1 – Makembe

In support of the release of The Answer EP, UNKLE will be embarking on their first US appearances in three years at select cities in the US and Mexico during the month of October. Tickets available via unkle.com. See below for a full list of US dates.

The hip-hop reworking of ‘The Runaway’ off UNKLE’s most recent album ‘Where Did The Night Fall’ sees Lupe Fiasco rhyming with an untouchable, laid-back cool as splintered synths and a shuddering bass-line envelope around him.  Original UNKLE member, Tim Goldsworthy (LCD Soundsystem/DFA), morphs the subtle, desert-scorched previous single ‘Follow Me Down’ into a breathless, urgent 8-minute epic.  The cinematic ‘Separate Half’ features San Francisco quartet Lumerians with vocals by Rebecca Coseboom. Pulsating and airy, ‘Separate Half’ takes listeners on a journey passing through kaleidoscope worlds. The quiet, dusty lament of ‘Country Tune’ builds to become vast and expansive in scope, anchored by fragile vocal from UNKLE collaborator Gavin Clark.

The Answer EP Tracklist:

01.  The Answer (ft. Big In Japan – Baltimore)

02.  Separate Half (ft. The Lumerians with Rebecca Coseboom)

03.  Country Tune (ft. Gavin Clark)

04.  The Runaway:  Lupe’s Revenge (Lupe Fiasco vs UNKLE Reconstruction)

05.  Follow Me Down (ft. Sleepy Sun) (Tim Goldsworthy Remix)

06.  Heavy Drug (Reprise)

No events booked at the moment.

DOWNLOAD “CUCARACHA” FOR FREE HERE

PESEBRE OUT SEPTEMBER 28^TH ON CRAMMED DISCS

“KRYGIER, who switches effortlessly between flute, tenor sax and keyboard throughout his funky set, is Argentinean but his musicians come from Spain, Portugal and Cuba. His music veers between reggae, ska, jazz and flamenco with some yodeling thrown in. Odd, but somehow it works.” – THE OBSERVER (UK)

In anticipation of the release of his third studio album, vocalist, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Axel Krygier is making the record’s first single, “Cucaracha,” available for free digital download. You can get the Latin-infused track here. Pesebre will be available September 28 worldwide on Crammed Discs.

Krygier is a central figure in the alternative music scene in Argentina, where he’s considered as a modern-day Renaissance man, having ran the gamut from playing in rock bands, writing scores for acclaimed playwrights, and being a forerunner of the digital cumbia movement. After two acclaimed albums in his own country, Pesebre is his first international release.

BEST COAST’S ‘CRAZY FOR YOU’ CRACKS TOP 40
Debut Full-Length Lands At #36 With First Week Sales Toppling 10,000

“short and pungent, full of dreamy no-fi pop
with tremendous melodies and emotions.” – New York Times

“a perfect summer record” – Rolling Stone

“In recent years, there’s been a revival of sun-baked rock, and the California duo Best Coast is now at its forefront.” – NPR’s All Things Considered

Mexican Summer is pleased to announce that everyone’s favorite California Girl had an explosive first week in sales. Released on July 27^th on Mexican Summer, Best Coast’s debut full-length sold over 10,000 units catapulting her to the ranks of Ke$ha and Miley Cyrus while peaking at #36. This is the first time in recent memory an independent artist’s debut gained a foothold in the mainstream’s upper echelon most commonly held by an exclusive club of major label outfits.

The band has spent the last year gaining momentum in the media by independently releasing a steady stream of limited edition 7” vinyl records. This combined with extensive touring and breakout performances at SxSW earned them the embrace of critics and fans alike.

Primarily made up of singer and guitarist Bethany Cosentino and cohort multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno, the band’s much-awaited debut album was recorded at Black Iris, a studio in LA’s Echo Park neighborhood, by Lewis Pesacov of the bands Fool’s Gold and Foreign Born. The result is a collection of maudlin and magical songs that approach relationships with a pure heart, a cloudy mind and pair of gas station sunglasses.

As Best Coast currently wraps up their headlining European tour, fans will be able to catch them stateside as they headline shows throughout the rest of the year. A full list of dates is below.

Tour Dates

No events booked at the moment.

REVIEW COPIES ARE AVAILABLE

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: JEFF ANDERSON AT JEFF@ROCKSTEADYLA.COM OR JESS ROTTER AT JESS@MEXICANSUMMER.COM

Download the Press Release (docx)

UNKLE ANNOUNCES “THE ANSWER” EP & SELECT NORTH AMERICA PERFORMANCES

Available 9/28 on Surrender All Featuring Tracks With Lupe Fiasco & Tim Goldsworthy; Performances In LA, NYC, SF, Mexico City, Guadalajara

UNVEILS TWO SHORT FILMS FOR TITLE TRACK
Starring Ray Winstone & Directed By John Hillcoat; Watch Them @ UNKLE.COM

UNKLE returns September 28 with the six song ‘The Answer’ EP which includes two new songs, a collaboration with hip-hop prodigy Lupe Fiasco and a remix by original UNKLE member Tim Goldsworthy.  Pre-order ‘The Answer’ EP limited edition 12” vinyl and limited edition CD now at unkle.com/shop. In support of the release of The Answer EP, UNKLE will be embarking on their first US appearances in several years at select cities in the US and Mexico during the month of October. Pre-sale tickets available via unkle.com starting Wednesday, Aug 18 at 12 pm EST. General public on sale is Friday, August 20 at 12 pm EST.

The hip-hop reworking of ‘The Runaway’ off UNKLE’s most recent album ‘Where Did The Night Fall’ sees Lupe Fiasco rhyming with an untouchable, laid-back cool as splintered synths and a shuddering bass-line envelope around him.  Original UNKLE member, Tim Goldsworthy (LCD Soundsystem/DFA), morphs the subtle, desert-scorched previous single ‘Follow Me Down’ into a breathless, urgent 8-minute epic.  The cinematic ‘Separate Half’ features San Francisco quartet Lumerians with vocals by Rebecca Coseboom. Pulsating and airy, ‘Separate Half’ takes listeners on a journey passing through kaleidoscope worlds. The quiet, dusty lament of ‘Country Tune’ builds to become vast and expansive in scope, anchored by fragile vocal from UNKLE collaborator Gavin Clark.

‘The Answer’ EP served as a catalyst for inspiring a variety of high profile and creative artists to make works of art, video, fashion which will be exhibited at James Lavelle’s pop-up art exhibition ‘Daydreaming with…James Lavelle’ at Haunch Of Venison gallery in London, 27 – 30 August.

To accompany the release of ‘The Answer’ EP, UNKLE unveil two music videos.  Acclaimed film director John Hillcoat, whose last major motion picture feature was the critically heralded ‘The Road’, directs the first of two videos for ‘The Answer’.  His vision begins with Ray Winstone (The Departed, Sexy Beast, Cold Mountain) relaying a memory from years past.  It is a provocative anecdote and an intimate snapshot of an event that changed the actor’s life.  Wrapped up in the all-encompassing reach of the song, a kaleidoscopic slide show then screens a series of fantastical, psychedelic images, some bleached and distorted, some drenched in hyper-visual colours, all whilst Winstone narrates.

The second video is directed by Ross Cairns and features footage from the Relentless ‘Lives Of The Artists’ documentaries of legendary snowboard free-riders Jeremy Jones and Xavier De Le Rue who climb and ride near vertical faces of the harsh Antarctic plus surfers Tom Lowe and Fergal Smith in Tahiti where they ride one of the world’s most revered heavy waves: Teahupoo, (known locally as ‘Wall of Skulls).  The highly anticipated new installment, ‘Lives Of The Artists: Follow Me Down” premiering this September profiles James Lavelle with music scored by UNKLE.

Tracklisting:

01.  The Answer (ft. Big In Japan – Baltimore)

02.  Separate Half (ft. The Lumerians with Rebecca Coseboom)

03.  Country Tune (ft. Gavin Clark)

04.  The Runaway:  Lupe’s Revenge (Lupe Fiasco vs UNKLE Reconstruction)

05.  Follow Me Down (ft. Sleepy Sun) (Tim Goldsworthy Remix)

06.  Heavy Drug (Reprise)

No events booked at the moment.

Download the Press Release (doc)

FLIGHT ANNOUNCE LIMITED EDITION “THE LEAD RIDERS” EP 12” VINYL RECORD
To Be Released On ZOO MUSIC September 28th

“ridiculously undeniable pop hooks” – The FADER

“an explosive blast of jagged guitars and distorted “Woo”s that nicely balances hooks and production” - Pitchfork

ZOO MUSIC presents the limited edition The Lead Riders EP 12” vinyl record available on September 28th from Mississippi-based blown out punks FLIGHT. Pressed in a limited edition of 500 vinyl records. The Lead Riders features six full-throttled exclusive unreleased tracks coated in noise and layered distortion. Adding to the release, fans can sign up for ZOO MUSIC’s mailing list to get first crack at the vinyl. You can sign up here.

Despite critical acclaim of previous releases, Mississippi’s FLIGHT have somehow managed to operate in deep secrecy. Depending on who you believe, FLIGHT is somewhere between a mysterious solo project and a full-blown quartet. Little is know from the haunting psych-noise band with several releases behind them including releases from Plastic Spoons, Hozac, Sweet Rot and Kill Shaman.

Spending time attempting to decipher the origins or back-story on the band will only lead to endless roads and dead end trails. The face(s) and story(s) behind the fuzzed out project will all be revealed in due time. For now let’s focus on their latest release The Lead Riders.

Tracklisting 01.  Turns To Blood
02.  Straight Line
03.  Witch Hunt Town
04.  Real Estate
05.  The Lead Riders
06.  Goodbye Horses

INTERVIEWS & REVIEW COPIES ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: JEFF@ROCKSTEADYLA.COM

Download the Press Release (docx)

WHITE IRIS RECORDS ANNOUNCES LOCAL NATIVES & FREE ENERGY 

LIMITED EDITION SPLIT REMIX 7-INCH VINYL RECORD

Featuring Local Natives’ “Eyes Wide” & Free Energy’s “Bang Pop” Remixed By Lewis Pesacov of Fool’s Gold; Available September 14

Download Free Energy’s “Bang Pop (Fool’s Gold Remix)” Here

White Iris Records, the label counterpart to Black Iris, a premiere recording studio and music collective, is pleased to announce their latest limited-edition 7-inch vinyl record featuring exclusive tracks from Local Natives and Free Energy. Available on September 14th, the previously released a-side features Local Natives’ “Eyes Wide” remixed by Lewis Pesacov, a member of Foreign Born, Fool’s Gold and a Black Iris’ producer. Flip the wax and hear Pesacov ‘s remix treatment of Free Energy’s “Bang Pop”. The track is available for free download here. For all of you OCD crate-diggers, you can get the limited edition vinyl on pre-order here.

Free Energy kicks off a National tour with Titus Andronicus this Thursday. The two bands will be selling a spilt 7” exclusive to the tour as they travel the U.S. and Canada together.  Both groups have recorded special covers for the record, Free Energy’s being Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m Going Down”.

Free Energy’s debut album, Stuck On Nothing, produced by DFA’s James Murphy, is out now on Astralwerks/DFA Records. Don’t miss your chance to see what Rolling Stone, Spin, and Alternative Press have all declared as one of the most exciting bands of 2010 live!

This announcement comes off the heels of White Iris Record’s latest limited edition runs from artists such as Best Coast, Foreign Born, Bad Veins and more. Currently, White Iris is planning several exclusive limited-edition vinyl releases throughout the year.

Lewis Nicolas Pesacov is a life long connoisseur of music. He holds two degrees, one in Classical Music Theory/Composition as well as one in German from San Francisco State University, having also studied at the Conservatory for Music in Trossingen, Germany. After returning from Europe to his west-coast musical roots, he launched two bands- Foreign Born, which has released two EPs and two albums, as well as Fool’s Gold, which has released one single and one album, all of which on reputable independent labels. When home from a busy touring schedule, Lewis lives in Los Angeles, writing and producing music for his bands, friend’s bands and for Black Iris.“

After touring with different acts, hearing their sets night after night, I usually end up hearing different musical vibes, ideas, parts, harmonies, etc to their music that’s not there already- it may just be the producer in me,” says Pesacov. “This leads quite easily into remixing their tracks. I almost see remixing as a modern way to cover songs – to re-contextualize the musical material, create something new – a different angle based on the same theme. This slips quite easily into my workflow at Black Iris as we’re all about creating a multitude of tracks with totally varying styles.”

Black Iris is a collective of musicians, deeply rooted within the independent music scene, which creates original and innovative compositions for entertainment, media and advertising campaigns. Black Iris developed its own record label under the moniker of White Iris Records as a natural extension of the established music collective. White Iris Records introduced itself to the world when it released the first Fool’s Gold 7” to much excitement and critical acclaim. White Iris Records is quickly establishing itself as one of the most pioneering labels today.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT JEFF@ROCKSTEADYLA.COM

For more information on Free Energy or ticket requests, contact:

Aleix Martinez – Aleix@girlie.com – 212-989-2222 x136

Sarah Avrin – Sarah@girlie.com – 212-989-2222 x118

No events booked at the moment.