Kode9 unveils new Burial music (maybe) at Brainfeeder Sessions
Since emerging in 2006 as the anonymous avatar of dubstep, Burial has sought to stay shrouded in a mystery equal to the spectral shadow-land quality of his music. So, even though he’s slated to drop the most anticipated dance music album of 2010, no one knows the details. There’s no title, no release date, and he’s certainly not giving interviews. Seemingly, the only one with any information is Kode9 (real name, Steve Goodman), the Hyperdub Records impresario who partially lifted the veil by (maybe) playing music from the album at the Downtown Independent on Sunday night before an audience of 100 people lingering in the grim late hours of a marathon Brainfeeder Session.
Predictably, questions as to what exactly Kode9 played Sunday night remain unanswered. When pressed further, Adam Stover (who organized the night along with his Brainfeeder brethren, the producer Flying Lotus) said the new material is “possibly for several different projects. I’m not sure in what form they’d be released, or even their names. Kode9 keeps almost all the information to himself.” Which is probably for the best. The only thing we can be sure of is that what Goodman played to the audience was one of the most thrilling 45-minute DJ sets in recent memory.
With musicians often reduced to self-caricature through nonstop coverage, Burial stands in stark contrast to the media-saturated Internet Age. The music world’s closest cognate to graffiti artist Banksy (and for my money, far more worthy of the hype), Burial’s blend of 2-Step, Dub, Garage, drum 'n’ bass, the grainy crackle of UK pirate radio, and the violet skies and cold corrosive rain of London, maintains a quality that summons vanished worlds, and offers hazy revelations that arrive in the ashtray hours of a gray dawn. Listening to Burial has always felt like being in on a conspiracy, and that was precisely the mood conjured at the Downtown Independent, with the lights dimmed and the only visual on the screen being the mercury-colored flicker of the Hyperdub logo.
The closest comparison for the new tracks is the “Wolf/Moth Club” 12" that Burial did last year with his old schoolmate Four Tet. Yet though those tracks seemed content with crafting a gorgeous minimalism, Burial’s new material seemed to have grander aspirations. Epic would be the wrong word — this music still retains the smoked-out bedroom melancholy of “Untrue,” the album that earned Burial (real name: William Bevan) a nomination for the 2008 Mercury Prize. But they had a symphonic quality previously alien to his trademark blend of disembodied R&B samples and slashing bayonet drum patterns. It was unmistakably Burial; the slurring rainstorm effects and plaintive wails remained omnipresent. But where his early works seemed like a mosaic of moods, his new material felt more scattered — as though he’d evolved beyond bottling a particular moment in favor of distilling a kaleidoscope of emotion into a fully formed four-minute suite.
Monsters Of Folk – “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.) ” Video
The soulful, dreamy opener to Monsters Of Folk’s self-titled album tackles big spiritual questions, and its official video tries to put this all in perspective. Director/animator Lauri Faggioni begins among the stars and zooms to the cellular level, in a clip reminiscent of Charles and Ray Eames classic Powers Of 10 short film. Of course MOF’s video goes deeper, revealing a whole universe inside us. Wild. Members Jim James, M. Ward, Mike Mogis, and Conor Oberst are likely busy with their other projects, so you don’t get to see them here — a bummer if you were hoping to see what the universe inside James’s beard looked like.
Read More…
View full post on Stereogum
Kellie Pickler Says Growing Up Is Hard to Do
Filed under: Country News
Kellie Pickler became America’s sweetheart when she showcased her powerful pipes and bubbly personality on ‘American Idol’ back in 2005. Kellie, now 23, has grown into a young woman in front of her fans, which she says has been a bit awkward.
“It’s hard to make that transition from a teenager to an adult,” Kellie tells The Boot. “Growing up in front of everyone is tough, because they don’t want you to grow up. People see me on ‘Idol,’ and they want me to stay the same and expect me to be the exact way that I was on the show. That’s just impossible for anyone to stay the same their whole life. When you look at anyone who is 25, 30 or even 40, they’re not the same person they were when they were 18 years old … I’d hope not, anyways! Hopefully they’ve matured and grown up and been through a lot of life experiences and have more wisdom and knowledge.”
View full post on The Boot
Jaron’s Long Road Sometimes Longer Without Brother Evan
Filed under: Chatter
Jaron Lowenstein, the singer behind Jaron and the Long Road to Love, is climbing the charts with his witty debut country single ‘Pray for You.’ Music fans will remember him as part of the pop duo Evan and Jaron (with his twin brother), but when it comes to telling the two apart, Jaron says it’s best to ask someone else.
“I really don’t know,” says the singer. “I will tell you that we’re best friends, we’re partners. We’ve always been partners. He started the band. He started me into music, in fact, he pushed me into it. I had no say! He started playing guitar and he was like, ‘We’re doing a band.’ And I was like, ‘What? We’re going to college.’ He said, ‘Mmm mmm.’ So, he’s always been the rock and always led everything.”
View full post on The Boot
Robin Hood Trailer
Ridley & Russell Let Rip
Ridley & Russell Let Rip
Does the world require yet another Robin Hood adaptation? There must be around twenty of them floating about already and that’s not including TV versions, kids shows and cartoons.
read more