Cooking Vinyl, home of artist such as The Prodigy, The Cult, The Proclaimers, The Enemy, The Cranberries, Asian Dub Foundation, Art Brut, Pop Will Eat Itself, more recently Marilyn Manson – among many others – on April 9th, 2012 released the second album by Grand Duchy. The band was formed in 2008 by Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV aka Black Francis aka Frank Black famous for being the primary songwriter and singer of Pixies, and his wife Violet Clark. Their debut effort, “Petits Fours”, was released in February 2009, the duo now seems even more creative and “Let the People Speak” sounds twice as good as their previous album.
Although this is an experiment, a journey to quite different moods and vibes and without being tightly tied or related to any particular musical genre. Read more Grand Duchy – Let the People Speak (2012)
electro
Bang – my head! Free on-line game, play now!
I wouldn’t even think of, not to believe it: I’ve become a figure (face, actually head 😀 ) in a game. F*ckingunbelievable!
It all started with the Weekly Brief of February 22, 2012 on Indaba Music, for which I submitted an ironic track called “Bang [The weirdest party I ve ever been]” – while the task was to submit something defined as”the best party jam”. Said “ironic” because I’m quite convinced that some people up there (Mantis actually 😆 ) fucking hates me and generally I do not belong in this (so-called music) industry while I’m (still) interested in music and not in kissing asses and delivering tasteless, predictable, boring, trend following… products.
Anyway, JohnnySix asked me if it would be fine with me if he make a video for this track, and of course I said, go for it.
But he didn’t make it. He did something better! Read more Bang – my head! Free on-line game, play now!
Chris Quirk – District One, EP (2012)
I googled Chris Quirk, but it’s like googling John Doe, half of the planet seems to use this name, so it did not get me any further and without any other available background information, I left with this two tracks plus two remixes of the title track.
The energy is captivating, the sound is fat, modern, almost contorted, not that typical and absolutely tasteless all the same “boom boom” s*it. Actually “District One” is quite a killer track, it’s all about high energy, grooves, and good vibe. “Rude Awakening” continues in the same vain, slow down for taking a breath and only to blow up even noisier. Read more Chris Quirk – District One, EP (2012)
Environments – 2 (2012) – free download
Ambiental experiment, both strange and intimate, have the exotic smell of a country-side field-recording re-shaped with post-industrial, urban noises. When Alex “Para” Ghita decide to involve more noisier with his drums in the flowing build-up of the tracks, its reminds me of Sigur Rós, although I admit it, I have no serious references in this field of experimental music.
Environments is a Bucharest (Romania) based experimental ensemble build around Stefan Panea’s compositions involving with help from Alex “Para” Ghita on the drums and Marius Costache on effects and noise shaping. The project is already on its second release, starts with the forth track, exactly from where the first release left off in 2011. Read more Environments – 2 (2012) – free download
Not Your Fault [Mad About U RMX] – AWOLNATION remix contest
When I had listen for the very first time this track, the first thought of mine was The Stranglers. Then the chorus kicked in and it was like Green Day raging. What a challenge!
AWOLNATION, is an American indie pop band, formed and fronted by Aaron Bruno, formerly of Under the Influence of Giants, Hometown Hero and Insurgence. The band is signed to Red Bull Records and now the label push them hard as hell. Part of the promotion of their album “Megalithic Symphony” released last year in March is this Indaba remix contest.
I wasn’t sure about this till the last minute and I put this mix together in the last few hours, kept the original drum track, but filtered through EQ because I felt like the highs were pretty messy and even distorted, and I did some radical vocal editing and vocoding. The result is somewhere between The Kraftwerk, The Damned and… very twisted Skrillex on highly dangerous dopes… 😆 Read more Not Your Fault [Mad About U RMX] – AWOLNATION remix contest
With the Pieces – Lights Resolve Remix Contest
If the music industry wouldn’t killed me with the dumping and overdose of mediocre products last year, more aggressively then ever, “Feel You’re Different”, the debut album of this NY based trio, definitively would made it to the list of my favorite albums of 2011. Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance last year to listen it, fortunately I have it now. Indaba and (probably) the band offered their track “With the Pieces” to be remixed. The first thing which stroked me was the excellent sound. Produced/engineered/mixed by Mike Sapone and mastered by Emily Lazar & Joe LaPorta, the track – and the album – sounds awesome! Intense and clean, groovy and cutting, really-really rocks! The song is also great, have some killer verses, pounding drums, a murderous bass-line and huge vocals. Honestly and… actually I did not felt like it need to be remixed at all. But! Read more With the Pieces – Lights Resolve Remix Contest
Rufus Wainwright – Bitter Tears and… Glitter Fears
Not a fan of Rufus, actually this remix contest is the first collision of mine with his music. Indaba Music and Rufus wanted a remix of “Bitter Tears”, one of the new songs featuring on the upcoming seventh studio album, “Out of the Game”, scheduled for release in the United Kingdom and Canada in April 2012 and in the United States in May 2012 through Decca Records/Polydor Records. I find the song interesting, but pretty dense and when I almost gave up on this one, I had a last moment inspiration and twist this song into my own. Well, while they stated that “put your personal spin on this captivating tune” this might actually work. I kept the things pretty simple and straight, knocked my self out having fun with some naughty delays and build-up a noisy, contorted kind of chorus, so this song is actually another song.
Please listen, have fun and VOTE if you really love what you’ll gonna hear. Read more Rufus Wainwright – Bitter Tears and… Glitter Fears
Exilia – Decode (2012)
Merging the sound and approach of bands such as Guano Apes and Skunk Anansie, Exilia incorporated more Industrial elements and Nu Metal grooves and delivered a strong fifth full-length album.
Formed in 1993 in the classic city of fashion, Milan, (Italy) when singer Masha met guitarist Elio Alien, Exilia debuted with the album “Rightside Up” in 2000 and their following “Unleashed” which much heavier and more aggressive sound, released in May 2004, made to the Top 40 in the German charts.
The band’s biggest hit so far has been “Can’t Break me Down” released as CD single in 2005. They have played gigs with Oomph!, Guano Apes, H-Blockx, Clawfinger, HIM, Therapy?, In Extremo, Rammstein, God Forbid, Sanctorum and Ill Niño and singed to GUN Records, division of Sony BMG. Read more Exilia – Decode (2012)
Oovation – Mirage EP (2012)
The ovation (Latin: ovatio) was a lower form of the Roman triumph. Ovations were granted, when war was not declared between enemies on the level of states, when an enemy was considered basely inferior – slaves for instannce – or when the general conflict was resolved with little to no bloodshed or danger to the army itself.
Ovation is also the name of a famous guitar company founded by Charles Kaman.
And then there is Peter Bonaventura, better known as Oovation, a 21 years old producer and artist from Germany. He discovered music at the age of 13 years when he started playing the guitar. Later at the age of 18 he discovered with some friends the electronic music trough festivals like Time Warp, Nature One, I love Techno to name a few of them. He started to produce his own tracks at 19 and one year later he signed his first EP with Unusual Sound, and a few months later with Inlab recordings. Read more Oovation – Mirage EP (2012)
Killing Joke – MMXII (2012)
If Ian Curtis wouldn’t committed suicide on 18 May 1980 and Joy Division would be still around and playing, “In Cythera”, the leading single of the fifteenth studio album by Killing Joke uploaded to the YouTube on 6 March it’s exactly the kind of music we are probably expected of Curtis. Although, this is a classic Killing Joke album with classic sound, and with the classic line-up: Jaz Coleman on vocals, Kevin “Geordie” Walker on guitar, Martin “Youth” Glover on bass, and Paul Ferguson on drums.
Out on April 2nd via Spinefarm/Universal, “MMXII” consist of 10 tracks which will definitively rock your world. Read more Killing Joke – MMXII (2012)
