Archive for the ‘News’ Category

Brian Eno evokes youthful exuberance with new record

Drums Between the Bells, vinyl edition artwork

Brian Eno’s 40-year career has seen him push the bounds of art rock, innovate ambient and redefine the sounds we hear every day.

His last album, 2010’s Small Craft on a Milk Sea, is still sinking in, but Eno’s wasting no time in sending out blasts of experimental, boundary-pushing music. Drums Between the Bells, due for release July 4, promises to evoke that same imaginative young man that literally shifted musical paradigms.

It’s a dazzling combination of music and poetry — a marriage that so often turns over-wrought and uninspired, but Eno and the poet behind the work, Rick Holland, dart around the obstacles with such ease — it’s clear that this is the work of two artists who know their way around their respective craft.

Brian Eno – bless this space (taken from Drums Between The Bells) by Warp Records

Drums Between the Bells, Physical Editions

The three released tracks, “Glitch”, “Pour it Out” and “Bless This Space” are not just full of the electronic work Eno’s mastered — they’re boiling over with it, and the only thing keeping these from spilling into chaos is the poetry. The music’s familiar in a way, but there’s an exuberance in the instrumentals that feels more akin to Here Come the Warm Jets than anything he’s done since.

Brian Eno – pour it out (taken from Drums Between The Bells) by Warp Records

Drums Between the Bells will be released July 4 on Warp Records and is available for preorder from Brian Eno’s online store in the UK and Bleep in the US. It’s being released as a 2-CD hardback edition and as a double LP 12” vinyl.

Read more about Drums Between the Bells on Brian Eno’s site.

Brian Eno – glitch (taken from Drums Between The Bells) by Warp Records

Rural Alberta Advantage issues anticipatory track

The Rural Alberta Advantage - Departed

My love for The Rural Alberta Advantage is not really a secret. Their full-length, Hometowns, held a very special place in my record player, and it was easily one of my most-listened albums of 2009, when it was reissued. When Departed was announced, I became, well, a little giddy. I don’t think this should come as too much of a surprise — I get giddy at the merest mention of new things from bands I enjoy, and when it’s a band I have an unabashed affection toward, make no mistakes: I’m like a little school girl. Well, I mean, I’m like a little school girl in some respects, not all.

At any rate, I snagged an e-mail this morning from Paper Bag Records advertising a track from the upcoming Departed, which is due out March 1. I jumped from the couch I’d fallen asleep on, grabbed my laptop, and the listening took off.

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Graveface relaunches titles following flood damage

The Seven Fields of Aphelion — Periphery

One of my favorite record labels, Graveface Records, went through a bit of a tragedy earlier in the year when parts of their catalog were damaged in a flood. This left some very good records unavailable — three of them: The Appleseed Cast’s Two Conversations, The Seven Fields of Aphelion’s Periphery, and Dreamend’s Maybe We’re Making God Sad and Lonely.

With some great help, Graveface is now able to relaunch the records, and they’re now taking preorders. Get them while you can. I can’t recommend any of them enough.

The Seven Fields of Aphelion – “Mountain Mary” from Periphery | download
[audio:http://www.musicgeek.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/mountain_mary.mp3|titles=The Seven Fields of Aphelion – “Mountain Mary”]

· Check out the Graveface store

The Decemberists tease fans with new album’s cover

Courtesy of The Decemberists

The Decemberists — you know, that band that has everybody all atwitter every time they announce something — have announced something. Their upcoming album The King is Dead is set to be released Jan. 18, 2011 on Capitol Records.

According to a press release, the album will also feature singer-songwriter Gillian Welch and REM’s Peter Buck.

They’ll be visiting with Conan O’Brien on Nov. 18, during which time they will be offering the first performance of the first single from the record, “Down by the Water.”

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Revolver Records thrives amidst record store closures

T.J. from Revolver Records from MusicGeek.org on Vimeo.

T.J. Jordan has a bold goal: to run the last record store in existence. When T.J. Jordan opened Revolver Records on Sept. 1, 2007, most people would have written it off as a pipe dream destined for failure. Two years later, Jordan and his staff are thriving at the Phoenix-based record store.

The store’s success, Jordan said, is down to one thing: It’s appealing to music lovers in search of something new.

“The people who come into record stores are coming in because they want something unique,” he said. “They’re not coming into to buy the latest Lil Wayne record. The only way record stores are going to stay in business is by appealing to the people who actually want to buy records.”

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V-Tunes Music Festival returns for third year

Austin Joseph performs at V-Tunes 2009

V-Tunes Music Festival, which takes place outside Lake Powell in Big Water, Utah, will be returning for its third year running. Returning to the festival will be Cory Mon & the Starlight Gospel, who will be headlining the event, while Pat and Rosy Maloney, Steven Swift, Austin Joseph, and Easy Joseph will each return for the 2010 iteration of the festival. The one-day event will hit on June 5.

Announced Lineup

  • Cory Mon & the Starlight Gospel
  • Pat & Rosy Maloney
  • Matt Jennings
  • Dave McGraw & Crow Wing
  • Steven Swift
  • Easy Joseph
  • Sandy Stevens
  • Lindi & Company
  • Austin Joseph

Groovacious plans Harper, Beliss shows

Groovacious Records of Cedar City, Utah will be hosting a number of in-store shows in the coming month as they rev up for Groovefest 2010, which is just over three months away.

In a week, March 24, Australian rock-blues-soul-world musician Harper will feature at the store; tickets are $8 at the door. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.

Sister-duo Beliss, who performed in Cedar City during the 2009 southwest tour, will return on March 25. From Portland, Belinda and Melissa Underwood perform an eclectic blend of musical styles and aren’t to be missed. Tickets are available at the door, which opens at 7:30 p.m.

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Drum legend Lenny White to release new solo album

Lenny White with Stanley Clark 1976 Credit: Tom Marcello

Lenny White, best known for his work on drums in fusion jazz outfit Return to Forever, is readying his first release in ten years as band leader. Anomaly, White’s effort, comes off the back of a worldwide tour in 2008 with Return to Forever and a 2009 tour with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke — together, they make up three-quarters of the group’s 2008 tour.

 

“We need to restart a revolution so that we can take back the music and stop the fluff,” White said in a press release from publicity group Big Hassle. “I’m hoping that this new album is a representation of that ideal.”

White’s most recent effort includes collaboration with Pink Floyd alumnus David Gilmore and former bandmate Stanley Clarke, as well as other musicians from jazz and rock music alike.