LONELY DRIFTER KAREN share new tunes

Listen to 3 songs off their forthcoming, sensational new album "Poles" (out March 2012)
Click here to hear"Velvet Rope", "Three Colors Red" and "Comet"

 
Lonely Drifter Karen are back, stronger than ever before, with a new song cycle which shatters many preconceived notions of their music. The colours have morphed: gone is the largely acoustic, piano-led instrumentation. This time, analog electronics, Asiatic arpeggios, sliding bass-synths, sinuous guitar riffs and funky grooves abound, while Tanja Frinta's voice is wilder, more vibrant, and seems to have acquired unsuspected new dimensions.

With these new shades and brushes, the band have painted an alternate version of their own, unmistakable world: dreamy, poetic, and slightly surreal, overflowing with those lush arrangements and irresistibly seductive melodies which have become the band's trademark. 

The core duet of the group — Austrian singer/guitarist Tanja Frinta & Spanish keyboardist/arranger Marc Melià Sobrevias — are now firmly relocated in Brussels, Belgium.  Following the amicable departure of their long-time drummer, they have enlisted the help of young French guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Clément Marion, and of several percussionists (both of the human and the robotic kind) to launch into sound explorations and create these songs which take the listener on an enticing journey through sound & space. 
 
More details and track list here


  

"Poles" comes out in March 2012

An Innocent Stranger in a Toy Town

… that's the theme of La Chiva Gantiva's lovely new video, 'Pelao'




The Colombian/Belgian band have self-produced and directed this modern tale of immigration, a parable on the perils and disillusionment which often await the hopeful migrant who manages to make the move from the southern to the northern hemisphere.

The band have painstakingly constructed an elaborate set full of mechanical puppets, hand-painted buildings and piñata clouds. They've rounded up all their friends for the shooting (50 people were required for animating the whole thing…). The video was shot with the help of I-Movix, a Belgian company specializing in  the capture and creation of direct and extreme slow motion (as used in the Olympics, the football Champions' League etc.) thanks to a camera called the Sprintcam. The video was directed by Nicolas Moins & Rafael Espinel (the band's front person).

La Chiva Gantiva are currently touring to promote the release of their debut album "Pelao", and are bringing their super-powerful live show to Amsterdam's Paradiso on January 24,.

They'll be doing a live set for (Belgian national radio RTBF's show) "Le monde est un village" on January 26.

La Chiva Gantiva (who were formed in Brussels by 3 young Colombian expats and 4 Belgian & French musicians) recently made their first visit to Colombia, where they performed several shows and were welcomed as a new sensation by the audiences and the media.

More info here

...

Come see Baloji at The Barbican, London

on Monday Jan 30 at 7:30 pm, sharing the bill with Orchestra Baobab

MAIA VIDAL's "Alphabet of my Phobias" video

Written, animated & edited by herself.




"safe Under the ground, i would have to View the World as it eXpires, Y and Z"

Crammed Discs Holiday Sale !

INTRODUCING CRAMMED HOLIDAY GIFT PACKS: 3 albums for 20 euros !

THE REAL TUESDAY WELD's "Me and Mr Wolf" on the Huffington Post

The REAL TUESDAY WELD unveiled via The Huffington Post today the newest addition to "The Last Werewolf" saga:  An animation video for the song "Me and Mr. Wolf". Produced at Monkey Frog Media in Ecuador by George Fort and Monica Smith, the video retells the story of Little Red Riding Hood from the point of view of the wolf getting consumed rather than Red. See it for yourself !

Shantel promises "drama and celebration"

His "ANARCHY & ROMANCE TOUR" will bring his trademark whirlpool of madness, emotion & chaotic fun to 25 cities in Nov/Dec.
Check this page for daily reports from Shantel: https://www.facebook.com/ShantelBucovinaClub.

Shantel says: " Whether it rattles in the Ukraine or if tables and chairs swirl around our heads in Athens, I will be posting daily reports from this insane tour, which already overshadows everything we've seen before. Come and join us. You are going to love us and to hate us! There's going to be drama and celebration! "


Here are the dates:

23.11 F-Herouville / Big Band Cafe
24.11 UK-London / Kokos
25.11 F-Paris / Bataclan
26.11 F-Rouen / Club 106
27.11 F-Bordeaux / Rocher de Palmer
28.11 F-Marseille / Cabaret Aleatoire
29.11 F-Nice / Nikai
30.11 LI-Schaan / Saal am Lindaplatz
01.12 D-Heidelberg / Halle 02
05.12 D-Konstanz / Kulturladen
06.12 D-Aschafenburg / Colos Saal
07.12 HUN-Budapest / A38
08.12 D-Ingolstadt / Eventhalle Westpark
09.12 D-Berlin / Admiralspalast / 
          Aftershow: EleKtropiK-set by DJ RKK (Rémy Kolpa Kopoul/Paris)
10.12 D-Hannover / Pavillion
11.12 NL-Zwolle / Hedon
12.12 B-Brussels / AB
13.12 D-Mainz / Frankfurter Hof
14.12 A-Linz / Posthof
15.12 A-Vienna / Wuk
To be continued

Hoquets To Shake France

Belgium's most extravagant band are back, with their otherworldly indie punk funk songs, Belgo-centric tales and spectacular self-made instruments...




... and will be bringing their wild show to the four corners of France in November:

05.11 • BAVAY, Festival 'Le Fond du Placard'
12.11 • METZ, Festival 'Musiques Volantes'
16.11 • AMIENS, la Lune des Pirates
17.11 • EVREUX, l'Abordage
18.11 • LE MANS, Festival Bebop w/ Alborosie, Alpha Blondy
19.11 • BREST, 'Festival Invisible', la Carène w/ Matthieu Boogaerts
20.11 • CHOLET, le Barouf w/ Piano Chat
21.11 • SAINTES, la Chapelle
22.11 • PAU, la Centrifugeuse
23.11 • BAYONNE, le Microscope
24.11 • BORDEAUX, le Saint Ex
25.11 • PERIGUEUX, la Bartola

"Belgotronics", their acclaimed debut album, was released last spring in mainland Europe, and is due to come out in the UK and North America in early 2012. 

The album was performed and produced by Hoquets (aka Maxime Lê Hung, François Schulz and McCloud Zicmuse), and  mixed by Marc Meliá Sobrevias  (Lonely Drifter Karen), Greg Saunier (Deerhoof) and regular Deerhoof collaborator Etienne Foyer.

After extensively touring through the spring & summer, and taking part in some of the Congotronics vs Rockers shows (alongside Konono No.1, Deerhoof, Juana Molina et al), Hoquets took a well-deserved break and are now back in full force after their week-long invasion of Spain at the end of October.

 

Skeletons tour Europe & give away TWO tracks

The fascinating Brooklyn/NYC band plays 7 shows between Oct 11 and 18…
…to support their recently-released album "People", which was acclaimed by European & US press alike (see quotes below).

Skeletons and Crammed Discs are giving away free mp3s of two tracks, captured live at Glasslands, Brooklyn by the good folks at NYC Tape: 

* "Paint Over It", an epic 14-minute rendition of a previously-unrecorded track
 
* "Wal-Mart and the Ghost of Jimmy Damour", a live version of the song from the 'People' album (it's one of the tales written by Matt Mehlan & based on true stories read in the papers).      

Just click here to access the download page for these tracks. 


Skeletons October tour dates :

Oct 11: Utrecht (Netherlands), Ekko -  with The Luyas and Zun Zun Egui
Oct 12: Rotterdam (Netherlands), Worm - with The Luyas
Oct 13: Paris (France), Petit Bain
Oct 14: Duedingen (Switzerland), Bad Bonn
Oct 15: St. Gallen (Switzerland), Palace
Oct 16: Berlin (Germany), Hebbel Am Ufer 2 - with Lucky Dragons
Oct 18: Gent (Belgium), Cafe Vooruit

In other news:

- Skeletons leader Matt Mehlan has recently taken an essential part in the  Congotronics vs Rockers project. Alongside Deerhoof, Konono No.1, Juana Molina, Kasai Allstars and Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Matt was a member of the collaborative ensemble which performed 16 fantastic shows in ten countries across Europe and Japan

- Matt Mehlan has also recently had the pleasure of being commissioned by the Brooklyn Philharmonic to write a string quartet, which was performed at the Brooklyn Museum. He's now rumoured to be working on a full orchestral piece….

- Also, don't forget this intriguing  video for "More Than The One Thing" :


click HERE

From the press on the Skeletons album "People"

Skeletons drink from a similar pool of inspiration as fellow New Yorkers Dirty Projectors and Animal Collective, although as with both these bands, they don't strictly resemble any one thing, exactly. People reveals them to be a peculiar chimera of influence, blending Afro-pop, Krautrock and jazz fusion with unlikely ease.  (Uncut, UK)

"People" gives the impression of redefining the contours of rock, no less.
(Pop News, France)

A quintessential New York amalgam, guided by a fluttery art-jazz shimmer, a minimalist aesthetic, a grab bag of post-punk grooves and those disjunctive melodies currently turning the underground into a 12-tone headlock… a mix of circular rhythms and Graceland-gone-avant cheer (The Village Voice, US)

A dense, challenging listen, one that’s grounded in reality and ever so more compelling as a result of it. (Pop Matters, US)

"People" is beauty without perfection. This album is a masterpiece. A powerful and already seminal sonic maelstrom which alludes to the dissonances of Schoenberg, the rhythmic passion of Fela Kuti, the shadow of Can, the acoustic introspections of John Fahey, and a spirit shared with Animal Collective (…) … an amazing stage presence and passionate live presentation of their music… (Magic, France)