Photo by Pat Bradley

You get three clues to guess what went down last Thursday: binary amplification, video art, and an electric toothbrush.

No, this wasn’t an exhibit at the New Museum, but a multimedia concert at Galapagos featuring new music collective Transit.  Here in DUMBO, a few blocks away from the Theme headquarters, we experienced what’s au courant in the new music scene today: music with video and electronics. Tristan Perich, known for his 1-bit symphony, presented Woven, a piece reminiscent of varying repetitive textile patterns that literally weave into one another.  Everything Perich does is pretty high-tech (Googled ‘binary gated amplification’--got nothing) so we won’t even try to explain exactly what was going on.

In a less cyclical nature, with video and music working together to illustrate ideas, So Percussion presented three brand spanking new pieces...so new, in fact, that they are only tentatively titled: ‘where (we) live.’ All pieces (toothbrush bit, dancers and dog bit, basement bit) featured videos accompanied by colorful and rhythmic noise-making by So, who made each action itself onscreen seem to contain an auditory expression. So Percussion can make the mundane, such as the hum of an electric toothbrush, capable of music making.

While So Percussion’s sounds played the ‘voice’ for its videos, Daniel Wohl’s music set the tone for the videos presented in Corps Exquis. The work was a true exquisite corpse, with each video referencing a frame from the previous one, and an element from each musical composition providing background material for the next. Six videos were created by different artists, including video art collective Satan’s Pearl Horses, who has done work ranging from art to music to fashion. SPH’s video, Corpus, worked with the music like a mini music-video, showing the journey of a tired, worn, nearly invisible, bleeding figure. In other cases, the videos were like animated abstract paintings with sound accompaniment.

Corps Exquis for our Nanos? With our iPods having video capabilities nowadays, it doesn’t seem impossible to relive the experience all over again. 

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

FANDEN FOR FANDEN - Mouritz/Hørslev Projektet from sandra rengifo on Vimeo.

Mouritz/Hørslev Projektet.
From the album: Blik, Bang Bang.
Madmusic Records.
Playground
Denmark. 2009
Director: Sandra Rengifo.
Location: Bogotá - Villa de Leyva. Colombia.
2010

And here’s an acoustic version of the title track from the album.

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Young Man - Just A Growin’ (Live) from Nathaniel Gravely on Vimeo.

We absolutely LOVE this track from Young Man (Colin Caulfield) and thought we’d share. 

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Redbird - Giants of the Forest - Episode One from Amazing Factory Productions on Vimeo.

Here’s a pretty awesome video from Vancouver’s VancouverIsAwesome & Amazing Factory Productions. 

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Blackbird Blackbird – Pure (official music video) from Isaac Bauman on Vimeo.

Their album Summer Heart is due out next week, in the meantime here’s an awesome video directed by Samuel Pressman. Check out their Bandcamp site if you have a sec.

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Subtext Is Deadly by BRAHMS from Big Ugly Yellow Couch on Vimeo.

We’re not talking about one of the twelve chamber pieces written in the 1800s. Or the Botanical Research And Herbarium Management System. We mean the three-piece dance-rock band who share a name (and only a name) with one of the greatest romantic composers in the history of music; while OG Brahms‘ music may induce tears, don’t expect Brahms the band to pour their hearts out anytime soon. This band makes us want to move rather than meditate, and with an indie sound that fits in with today’s cool crowd and the press being all abuzz, we are curious to experience Brahms live and see where they go from here.

Next show: November 4 - Johnny Brenda’s w/ Sun Airway, Golden Ages & Yvynyl DJ, 8pm. Philadelphia, Pa
Can’t make the concert? Score some free MP3s by subscribing to their email list: http://brahmsband.com

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Photo by Brandon Lee

With songs about trolls, tigers, bullfighters, Egyptians, tropical birds and coyotes, it’s clear that Miniature Tigers aren’t taking this stuff too seriously.  That’s not to say that these guys aren’t good musicians – they definitely are.  But on their second LP Fortress, the Brooklyn via Phoenix quartet is truly focused on entertainment.

Incredibly playful tracks designed with a back-to-basics sensibility are what keep this record enjoyable.  Jangled guitars and harmonic vocal choruses give this album a depth that keeps it out of the kitsch category.

Combining with members of Neon Indian and the Morning Benders, Miniature Tigers recorded the album at Dreamland Studios in upstate New York to ensure the weirdness was not lost in some massive corporate sound stage.  The result is a lighthearted and enjoyable mix of future alternative rock.

F O R T R E S S from Miniature Tigers on Vimeo.

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Lower Dens

Growing up in a very small town in Texas, I had to take musical shelter in the only place I could find it – a public radio station on the far left hand side of the dial called KNON.  It was the early 80’s and I remember hearing R.E.M., Sex Pistols, Joy Division and a ton more for the very first time and thinking “this is what it’s supposed to sign like.”

Fast-forward almost 30 years and I’m feeling like a kid again.  On their latest album Twin Hand Movement, Baltimore based Lower Dens deliver a raw and very powerful ode to a time of Alt-Rock and a spirit of adventurism.  80’s flavored for sure, this record is filled with longing, the search for redemption and the quest for fulfilled dreams and promises.

Lead singer Jana Hunter’s voice glides effortless across the muted tones of guitars and drums and lands perfectly in the heart of the unknown.  And these kids are content to stay there – In the perfect world of a “post-urban porthole.”

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Andy Bell, Non-Stop

To label this as only a “pop” record would be unfair.  This is pop, house, electro and disco-glam all combined in to one campy cup of perfection.  Non-Stop, the second solo album from Erasure front man Andy Bell, illustrates his on-going love affair with the nightlife and club culture in general.

Occupying the same music space currently reserved for artists like Laroux, Robyn and Kylie Minogue, Bell shows his veteran chops are still as relevant as they ever were.  With production from Pascal Gabriel (Ladyhawke, Little Boots), Non-Stop is a record that is sure to keep hips wiggling and butts jiggling.

With cameos from Perry Farrell (Janes Addiction) and Vince Clarke (Erasure), Andy not only shows his diversity, but his sense for exactly what it takes to make a brilliant record – collaboration, class and did I mention camp?

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews

Light Pollution

Described as “pop psychedelia,” and inspired by bands like Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear, Chicago’s very own Light Pollution conjure up whimsical sounds and elaborate arrangements all designed to rustle the spirit and stimulate the soul.

On their debut album Apparitions, plucked keys, bashed bells and slapped tambourines all combine to form a sound unique to the band but altogether familiar to the listener.

With their driving rhythms and lush orchestration, Light Pollution have ensured the only phantasmal about Apparitions is the empty feeling you’ll have when you stop listening to it.

TAGS: Reviews, Music Reviews