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The Slum Village lyricist, eLHzi, reveals a penchant for the Coen Brothers and radio-friendly alt rock.
What was the best album of 2008?
Radiohead, In Rainbows. This album was able to make people like Radiohead if they didn't already. It was groundbreaking all the way around. Each Radiohead album is diverse, musical, and the lyrics are always on point and poetic.
What was the worst album of 2008?
As previously announced, AWR records and Daniel GIll have compiled a somewhat unusual Christmas compilation to benefit Amnesty International, one that includes holiday breakup songs and twisted versions of yuletide classics, as opposed to numbers about sleigh bells and snowflakes.
Space 1026’s neon-hued founder, Andrew Jeffrey Wright, celebrates the power of tight pants and green juice.
Who was the best artist of 2008?
Narwhalz Of Sound. Brian Blomerth is Narwhalz Of Sound. I saw him perform this past summer in the dusty basement of a north Philly warehouse. He plays a modified Gameboy that he muffs around with until it brings forth sound patterns and sequences that no Gameboy was ever intended to make and then people go super nuts.
Who was the worst artist of 2008?
We always wondered what Christmas in the age of the digital download might involve (besides slumping CD sales), and Thrill Jockey is providing one such answer. The Chicago-based label of all things eclectic has teamed up with FINA, its digital download store, and created an MP3 advent calendar that will run on the TJ site until December 24.
In celebration of E-40’s fourteenth studio album, The Ball Street Journal, LOUD.com and Warner Bros. Records are hosting "Retwittered: The Break Ya Ankles Remix Contest."
While German duo Booka Shade is known for its danceable tech-house, this holiday season finds cohorts Arno Kammermeier and Walter Merziger laying low to a mellower kind of groove. On December 12, the boys are releasing a special digital album on their Get Physical Music label. Cinematic Shades (The Slow Songs) is a collection of emotional and melancholy ambient songs to chill out to while you recover from all the eggnog and New Year’s Eve debauchery.
At the end of November we hit the third installment of M For Montreal, a music festival that’s part industry showcase and part Montreal-celebrating fan-fest (with a handful of Toronto bands thrown into the mix). We checked out more than 20 artists over the course of four nights, and did our best to interview the locals without losing any digits to the cold. (What can we say? We’re from S.F.) Here’s a sampling of our festival favorites:
Bradford Cox, frontman of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound, on Stereolab and doom-wop.
Who was your favorite artist of 2008?
Jana Hunter makes some very haunting doom-wop. I've been listening to her stuff a lot lately. I also really like the Crystal Stilts and Vivian Girls.
Where was the best show you played in 2008?
Dan Deacon has a new live set up his sleeve, which he'll unveil on December 11 at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. So far, we know that his new show includes a 15-piece band made up of eight percussionists, two guitarists, and four individuals besides himself manning various keyboards, synthesizers, and electronics. Deacon will take the full set-up on the road in 2009.
This being World AIDS Day, 4AD has appropriately chosen today to announce the release of a forthcoming compilation, produced by Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National and aimed at raising awareness and support for the HIV/AIDS cause.
What better way to usher in the new year than by writing an opera that commemorates the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species? Well, according to recent news, Swedish brother/sister duo The Knife is doing just that. An announcement made last week states that Danish theatre group Hotel Pro Forma invited the pair to "write music and libretto for Tomorrow, In a Year, a Darwin Opera."
Not all artists can extensively tour the world and simultaneously write massive amounts of new material. Beirut's man-in-chief, Zach Condon, just happens to be one of the lucky few. 2007 saw the release of the band's The Flying Club Cup, a boat load of tour dates in support of the album, and enough new material written on the road for yet another release, due out February 16 of next year.
Sure, we're always curious to know about an artist's upcoming release, most recent tour, or arsenal of analog gear, but XLR8R's also got a curiosity for quirk. Thus, each week, we email a different artist and find out what makes them tick, in the studio and in life. This week finds us talking about the Chicago Cubs, Kurt Vonnegut, and enslavement of ex-girlfriends with Josh Eustis and Charlie Cooper, the boys behind Telefon Tel Aviv.
What are you listening to right now?
LA’s day-glo tropical punks Abe Vigoda liked the ’90s revival: Guided by Voices sounds and goth disco.
What was your favorite album of 2008?
We were too busy giving thanks this week to write out the usual Top 10, so instead, we've unrolled this list of our favorite albums of the year. Without further ado, we present, in no particular order (besides the fact that titles are alphabetized), the XLR8R staff's quick 'n' dirty 2008 Top 25.
Atlas Sound Let the Blind Lead Those Who See But Cannon Feel kranky
Beach House Devotion Carpark
Six of our favorite web portals pick their best artists of 2008.
Cocaine Blunts on Killer Mike
"It’s almost cliché to call Mike the new Ice Cube at this point, but their shared penchant for simultaneously dropping knowledge and busting heads is undeniable. The former Outkast protégé has been quietly having the best year of his career with the I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind 2 LP and his weekly Sunday Morning Massacre internet series."
Besides a new president and a better economy (fingers crossed), 2009 also has something to look forward to where footwear is concerned, as Adidas Originals is celebrating its 60th birthday.
Founded by Adolf "Adi" Dassler (who apparently used to make his own sports shoes in his mother's wash kitchen), the companyhas become synonymous with all things cool over the years, rolling out jackets, trainers, in-store events, and campaigns with the likes of Missy Elliot and graf artist Fafi.
Kuduro is Portuguese slang for “hard ass,” which is what you stand to obtain if you dance long enough to the pumping Angolan house strain of the same name.
When your album debuts at number one on the charts, it no longer suffices to play mid-sized venues with your fellow indie artists. Therefore, M83, after a very successful year that saw Saturdays = Youth win the hearts of every critic and fan between S.F. and Sheffield, will hit the arenas of the world for his latest batch of tour dates. December sees him traveling through the U.K.
Last chance to catch the Lemonade boys on the road. The hedonistic trio of psychedelic noisemakers had a busy year, what with relocating to New York and releasing their self-titlted debut album. They'll finish up 2008 with a few dates in some major U.S. and Canadian cities.
11/25 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
11/27 Toronto, ON - El Mocambo
11/28 Montreal, QC - Les Saint
11/30 Philadelphia, PA - The Barbary
12/02 New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
MP3: "Sunchips"
Since 2000, London electro-pop quintet Hot Chip has taken a push-pull approach to music, deftly switching between their frenzied live attack (with more instruments onstage than you can count) and the steady bpm of drum machines and electronics-driven sounds. Sure to be on many a year-end top-10 list is Hot Chip’s 2008 LP, Made in the Dark, which saw the band branch out into slower, more ballad-y songwriting to serve as a counterpoint to its four-to-the-floor dance rock.
It’s 4 a.m. on a cold, deserted North London lane. The streetlight reflects in Luca Venezia’s pointed patent brogues as he dances down the middle of the street, stabbing his gentleman’s umbrella at the air in front of him, his knees and elbows cutting sharp angles against the sky. He turns to me and fires off a maniacal cackle, the moonlight glinting off his gold tooth. I realize I’m watching a mad magician. He’s drunk all the laudanum, huffed all the ether, and is fully possessed by the powers of the night.
Whenever we hit a dry, dull spot here in this magazine game, we point our browsers to Lords of Apathy, a blog run by Burlesque Design members Todd Bratrud, George Thompson, and various other shadowy figures. Like Life Sucks Die, Burlesque’s hilarious, now defunct zine, LOA consistently entertains us with weird ass YouTube reposts, photos of Asian import car models, and some very incisive social and economic commentary.
On September 30 of this year, freak-hop super-group Restiform Bodies released its debut album, TV Loves You Back.
With a lengthy tour winding down, Vivian Girls are rewarding all their hard work with a little fun for the end of the year. As in, the Surf's Up Fun Pack, which the trio is releasing via its site as we speak. Vivian Girls fans can currently score a new 7", the ocean-themed "Surf's Up," a t-shirt, two postcards, and a button, for $20.
Rhymesayers has announced the re-release of Atmosphere's 2002 album, God Loves Ugly, which has been out-of-print for over a year now.
According to a post by the Minneapolis-based duo, the re-issue will be "uglier than ever," and will feature a bonus DVD that was originally the limited-edition Sad Clown Bad Dub 4 DVD.
Kraftwerk was forced to cancel its November 22 show at Melbourne's Global Gathering Festival when member Fritz Hilpert suffering a heart attack. Hilpert was taken to a hospital, though reports are that the attack was minor and that the band performed the next day.
Hear the crowd's aghast cries at the news when Global Gathering's MC stepped onstage to announce that the band would not be performing:
Sure, we're always curious to know about an artist's upcoming release, most recent tour, or arsenal of analog gear, but XLR8R's also got a curiosity for quirk. Thus, each week, we email a different artist and find out what makes them tick, in the studio and in life. This week, Liz Powell, Land of Talk's lady-in-chief, chats books, Fugazi, and pinball machines.
What are you listening to right now?
Wang Chung’s greatest hits.
What's the weirdest story you ever heard about yourself?
Best Artist of 2008: MGMT
This band brought out a beautifully fresh and nostalgic sound that painted mystery and lust.
Best Album of 2008: Metronomy Nights Out
Metronomy put together an amazing album this year. Nights Out had the perfect collage of pop and experimental dance music–wonky, wiggly, catchy melodies and pretty soundscapes.
Best Record Label of 2008: Greco Roman
On November 1, Anthony Green's cousin, Jacqui Haenn, was involved in an auto accident that left her in critical condition. In order to offset the extensive medical costs relating to the injury, Green has released two digital downloads.
My Brightest Diamond has taken on "Tainted Love" and Takka Takka is singing Phil Collins, and those are just two of the 14 indie artists selected to participate in the second installment of Engine Room Recordings' Guilt by Association series.
Hannah Stouffer takes all the things girls are obsessed with–doodling, animals, flowers, curlicues, cute lettering, pretty colors, fancy pens, and diamonds–and turns them into sensual, elaborate watercolor-and-ink collages that are a feast for the eyes.
This 27-year-old Taurus, who recently transplanted herself from San Francisco, CA to Los Angeles, likes some things that are resolutely tough as well, including snakes, monster trucks, bad girls, talons, and skulls… essentially, all the stuff good tattoos are made of.
Home Video
It Will Be OK
Self-released
Release Date: Out Now
Lonely Dear has come a long way since leader Emil Svanängen was self-releasing CD-Rs via his own website, and 2009 is looking to be quite busy for these indie-folk making Swedes. The band, who recently signed to Polyvinyl, will release the bittersweet, meticulously crafted Dear John on January 27.
Stateside will see the return of Sebastien Tellier at the beginning of December, when the French master of all things sensual returns to the U.S. to further showcase material from his "11-track meditation on lovemaking," otherwise known as his album Sexuality. He'll bring his sultry songs to major U.S. cities before heading to Mexico. Hot!
Dates
12/03 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda Theater
12/04 San Francisco, CA - Mezzanine
12/06 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
12/09 Chicago, IL - Schubas Tavern
According to sources, it might be the end of things for James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem outfit. According to an interview guitarist Al Doyle gave BBC 6Music, the band could be on permanent hold. "I don't think James is going to do anything more under that name," Doyle stated.
Bay Area avant-hop label anticon. will celebrate its tenth birthday on December 18 at New York’s Knitting Factory. The event will feature appearances by the newly refreshed duo Themselves (doseone and Jel), Yoni Wolf of WHY?, Alias, label founders Sole and pedestrian and other special guests, who will perform a “stack of mini-sets” merged into one medley, according to the event flier.
Experimental indie-rock band Of Montreal will spend New Year’s Eve 2009 in hometown Athens, Georgia to finish the U.S. leg of their extensive tour in support of their ninth studio album, Skeletal Lamping. The rest of the new year will find the psychedelic-pop rockers back in Europe and the Land of Oz.
Baltimore's loveliest duo, Beach House, did a substantial amount of touring this year, and Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally will continue that trend with another round of dates slated for December and January. The latest tour follows on the heels of the duo's recently released single, "Used to Be," which was unveiled as a limited-edition, vinyl-only package.
For the next four weeks, XLR8R will chat with four indie engineers who invite us into their studios to discuss production philosophies, gear, and how to set your music free. Our last installment features Snowghost Studios in Whitefish, Montana, where engineer Brett Allen has worked on records with Dan Deacon, Matmos, Christopher Willits, and Death Cab for a Cutie.
Who is the most prepared band you've worked with?
Not only has the multi-member Broken Social Scene added more dates to what seems to be a never-ending tour this year, the band is also contributing to a good cause with this new round of shows. Just in time for Thanksgiving, the Toronto, Canada-based crew of indie rockers is asking fans to bring a non-perishable food item to performances. All donations will be given to Daily Bread.
Black Moth Super Rainbow boss Tobacco livened up our week by unrolling a series of lo-budget, lo-fi videos to go along with tracks from his latest album, this year's Fucked Up Friends. To no one's surprise, these vids are sinister and often sexual, and involve blood, caves, fist fights, aerobics, guns, and golf carts. It's all further proof that one need not spend millions to provide good entertainment.
Side8
Sweden's Lykke Li will stay busy for the next few months, touring in support of her debut album, Youth Novels. The Woodie Award-nominated songstress will finish out 2008 with tour dates in Europe and Australia. Early 2009 sees her arriving Stateside for yet more shows. Catch her if you can.
11/24 Dublin, Ireland - Button Factory
11/25 Glasgow, Scotland - Arches
11/27 Manchester, England - Academy 3
11/28 London, England - KOKO
11/29 Cologne, Germany - Gloria
12/01 Berlin, Germany - Maria
Jesse Tittsworth might reside in suburbs of Virginia, but the music that he makes is undeniably Baltimore. The breaks-driven, chopped-up bangers on his latest, Twelve Steps (Plant Music), combine club music’s heavy low-end with bits of pop, R&B, and old funk and soul, and play as well on the dancefloor as they do beneath vocals from The Federation, Nina Sky, and Pase Rock. So how does Tittsworth craft Baltimore club tracks that make MCs wild out and dancers shake shake shake dat ass? Read on and find out.
Downtown Records releases Day by Day from Afro-pop king Femi Kuti today, and the eldest son of legendary producer Fela Kuti has a round of tour dates in support of the new album. Backed by a band that consists of no less than 17 members and goes by the name Positive Force, Femi will first tour Europe before heading Stateside at the beginning of 2009. Peep a preview of the album below.
Day by Day
01 Oyimbo
02 Eh Oh
03 Day By Day
04 Demo Crazy
Wilderness' third full-length, (k)no(w)here, came about after the Baltimore-based, most unconventional band was asked to collaborate with renowned visual artist Charles Long at an exhibit the latter put on in the spring of this year. That said, the musical aspect of the project is quite the conceptual beast, and another one for experimental rock fans to add to the iPod.
Sure, we're always curious to know about an artist's upcoming release, most recent tour, or arsenal of analog gear, but XLR8R's also got a curiosity for quirk. Thus, each week, we email a different artist and find out what makes them tick, in the studio and in life. Next up is husband-and-wife duo Tiffany and Danny Preston, otherwise known as Rainbow Arabia.
What band did you want to be in when you were 15?
Tiffany: Metallica
Danny: O.M.D.
In the grand tradition of Charles Bukowski, Jack Kerouac, and Ernest Hemingway, 17-year-old Bronx native Ben Deitz dreamed of becoming a writer. However, he soon realized all those guys had something in common–they were constantly drunk. Fresh out of rehab himself and not wanting to make a career of getting wasted, he began recording grinding breakcore tracks as Math Head, pilfering the moniker from a character in Paul Pope’s graphic novel The One Trick Rip-Off.
Fans of Sigur Rós will be pleased to know that the Icelandic post-rock band plans to release a deluxe edition of their ethereal fifth album, Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (“with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly”), which came out last spring.
Pure Evil, the new record by Portland thrash-rockers White Fang, is now out on Marriage Records. The album tempers textbook rock moments with quirky brass accents, group sing-alongs and retro pop guitar lines.
Seattle-based beatsmith Jake One defies classification in hip-hop. His discography this decade is as chart-topping as it is depth-plumbing, including work with E-40, MF Doom, and 50 Cent. And his production process is just aall live, or a hybrid of the two techniques. No matter the process, Jake aims to bring his rugged underground sound to the widest possible audience.
For the last several years, Kitsuné’'s been known for unveiling the latest sounds in electronic music, championing the careers of artists like Crystal Castles, The Whip, Guns 'N' Bombs, and other cool kids. So now, the crew will leave its homebase in Paris and cross the channel for the Kitsune Maison U.K. tour.
Muxtape was shut down by the industry back in August, but that hasn't deterred site founder Justin Oulette's enthusiasm for music, the web, and the evolution of the two. Besides the lengthy post he left on the Muxtape site in September, he's also featured on WePC TV's first episode of "I Want My MP3," a new series in which show hosts sit down with creative brains to discuss music and technology.
For the next four weeks, XLR8R will chat with four indie engineers who invite us into their studios to discuss production philosophies, gear, and how to set your music free. Next, we chat with producer/engineer Chris Coady, who has worked with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on the Radio, !!!, Telepathe, and Blonde Redhead at his East Village studio, DNA.
What’s the centerpiece of your studio?
Among the flurry of tours, releases, and parties filling up the music world's calendars in November, Berlin's esteemed Get Physical imprint will unleash its 100th release.
Talking with avant-garde post-classical composer Max Richter about his influences is truly inspiring. In a single breath, he’s able to make connections between Romantic music of the 1800s and the work of Steve Reich and John Cage, all the way through Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, and Kraftwerk to Johan Johansson and Colleen, who he sees as contemporaries. “What’s interesting is that a lot of these things sound very different,” he explains via phone from his Berlin home.
In the spring, the Berlin-based Jay Haze released the first installment of his album, Love & Beyond, an offering of mostly splintered techno and house sounds. The second installment, a free summer download, focused on R&B grooves. Now with the all-instrumental third section up, the trilogy is finally complete.
Mars Volta writer/producer/guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez is set to release his latest solo album, Old Money, on Stones Throw Records. Loosely based on the concept of “exploitative industrialists” and “their old money,” the 10-track album is already available digitally, while the physical version drops on January 27th of next year.
With a quick October tour now wrapped, Asobi Seksu has unveiled the name and tracklisting of their aforementioned third album. Hush is said to be a more stripped down affair than the band's reverb-drenched Citrus, and the new album was apparently not without its frustrations during the creative process.
The Cut Copy boys did some serious touring this year in support of their In Ghost Colours release on Modular, but one long tour with the Presets and several dates in Europe, it seems, won't deter the duo from hitting the road again in early 2009. This will be the last time they trek North America in support of the new album. An "awesome light show" and surprise DJ are promised for the dates.
Post tour, they'll head back to the studio, laptops in hand.
Dates
03/06 AUSTIN, TX - Stubb's BBQ
Approaching tribalism with a modernist bent, feral art rockers Gang Gang Dance craft a mind-bending masterpiece. Often running on pure spontaneity, the band’s crowd-shaking live shows are nothing short of transcendental. But since their 2001 inception, the New York City-based art-rock outfit–whose style is a forward-thinking recontextualization of tribal rhythms with a post-punk ethos–has struggled to capture this kind of magic on record.
With Alight of Night just released, Brooklyn's Crystal Stilts will continue what's been a rather busy 2008 with another round of tour dates. The avant-garage rockers will hit major U.S. cities, as well as a couple in Canada, at the end of November and continue touring through mid-December, joined by Gothenburg indie-pop band Love is All and folk outfit Vetiver.
Dates:
11/21 New York, NY - Less Artists, More Condos
12/07 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom#
Sure, we're always curious to know about an artist's upcoming release, most recent tour, or arsenal of analog gear, but XLR8R's also got a curiosity for quirk. Thus, each week, we email a different artist and find out what makes them tick, in the studio and in life. On this occasion, we gab with UFO!’s Ed Garro about Sean Lennon, Germany, and breaking toys.
What are you listening to right now?
Back in the mid-’80s and early ’90s, DIY programming nerds were a fiercely progressive bunch. Believing that freedom of information is a basic civil right, they hacked everything they could; like graf artists breaking into buildings and tagging them as their own, they removed copyright protection from software applications and introduced “crack intros” to computer programs, letting users of said software know which hacker crew had freed up the program to the public.
All hail the kings of airbrush art! On Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m., Family Books will present Overspray: Riding High With the Kings of California Airbrush Art, an exhibit celebrating the airbrushed art of 1970s-era Los Angeles in all its glossy, hyper-sexualized glory. Airbrush artists Dave Willardson and Charles White III will be in attendance to share a slide show and answer questions about the art and their careers, which included work for Playboy, Levi’s, the Rolling Stones, American Graffiti and Tron.
Catch Dave 1 and P-Thugg of Chromeo hamming it up on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien show tonight. The duo will be performing an unplugged version of the track "Momma's Boy," off their Fancy Footwork release, and to make up for the fact that they'll be sans-synths for this performance, the two have enlisted an eight-piece string section to accompany. They've doubtless found a way to weave their eccentric, quirky antics into these traditional instruments.
Tune in on NBC at 12:35 EST to find out.
Fender Telecaster
Bruce Springsteen in the house! I can’t afford one of these, but I pick them up at the guitar store all the time and play them. Boy, does it play smooth! The texture is just so sweet-sounding and I’d like to get into adding some of that into my songs, so I’m hoping to get one at some point in the future.
Gibson SG Double Neck
Steve Bug and his Poker Flat crew will celebrate the label's 100th release this month by stepping backwards in time and refurbishing Dimensional Holofonic Sound's 1990 track, "House of God."
Australia-based Modular Records is a decade old, and the label has a few celebrations up its sleeve planned for the month of December. Four, to be exact. Mid-month, Cut Copy, Klaxons, Hercules and Love Affair, The Presets, the Whitest Boy Alive, Muscles, Bumblebeez, Ladyhawke, Bang Gang DJs, and, well, pretty much every act on the roster, will make a four-stop jaunt through their homeland for the Nevereverland tour.
When Guitar Hero was unleashed upon the world in 2005, it created quite a stir among the gaming public–it was a novel way to hear some of your favorite classic rock jams while pretending you could actually play an instrument. Sure, there had been other music games but they were mostly cutesy and gimmicky. And they didn’t feature Ozzy tunes.
Land of Talk has pushed through a steady stream of tour dates alongside Broken Social Scene these last three weeks, but Liz Powell and Co aren't heading home just yet. With Some are Lakes just released last month via Saddle Creek, the band will continue rocking out around the U.S., then head to Europe for shows with Montreal-based three-piece Think About Life
Dates
11/06 Winnipeg, MB - Lo Pub#
11/07 Saskatoon, SK - Univ. of Saskatchewan#
While you're listening to his new live concert album, why not have a peep online at the latest additions to Anders Trentemøller's fashion line?
After playing a few shows Stateside, the lovable boys in Late of the Pier have headed back to Europe to finish out the month with a round of dates in Spain, France, their native U.K., and other places around Europe. The performances should tide us over until the January 13 release date of the band's debut full-length, Fantasy Black Channel, which will drop via Astralwerks.
Electro-acoustic outfit Plushgun! is leaving its hometown of Brooklyn, NY to tour the wild west for a change of pace. Having released a self-titled, four-track EP at the end of this summer, the band will put out a full-length in the coming new year. Can't wait? Catch them at one of the select tour dates below.
Dates
11/15 Los Angeles, CA - Viper Room, 8 pm
11/19 Portland, OR - Rotture
11/20 Seattle, WA - The High Dive
11/21 Bellingham, WA - Underground Coffee
11/23 Seattle, WA - The Cha Cha Lounge
For the next four weeks, XLR8R will chat with four indie engineers who invite us into their studios to discuss production philosophies, gear, and how to set your music free. This week we talk to Efrim Menuck of HOTEL2TANGO, which has hosted recording sessions by Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Tony Conrad, and Pony Up!
Do you have a particular philosophy when entering the studio?
A new track from longtime Buzzin' Fly member Justin Martin is on the way. On November 24 he'll drop "My Angelic Demons," another number suited for the dancefloor. As usual, the S.F.-based producer and dirtybird Records co-founder has added a bit of quirk to the European house sound, staggering the 4/4 beat, switching up the tempo, and throwing in a plethora of laptop-generated noises, one of which sounds like an old-fashioned cash register opening and closing. The single will be available in 12" and digital formats.
At the dawning of the 21st century, the DJ is on the brink of becoming a cliché.
When the mastery of Serato Scratch and a well-stocked iTunes library are the only criteria necessary to rock a party, craftsmanship and a near life-support-like dependency on music seem to be long-forgotten prerequisites.
Matt and Kim got straight to the point on their website October 18, when the following message was posted: "Finally, a new fucking song by Matt and Kim!" The Brooklyn-based duo has readied not just the aforementioned song, which you can take a listen to here, but an entire new album, the first since their 2006 self-titled debut.
It doesn’t take living in Baltimore to know a Say Wut track. The anthems, the bombastic horns, the overflowing, overpowered synths–the producer brings it harder than even some of the oldest of Baltimore club producers, cats who were making the stuff back when it was in its rawest, primordial chop-on-the-fly form.
Sure, we're always curious to know about an artist's upcoming release, most recent tour, or arsenal of analog gear, but XLR8R's also got a curiosity for quirk. Thus, each week, we email a different artist and find out what makes them tick, in the studio and in life. Next, we hear from Aaron Buckley, Bret Berg, and Molly Williams, who collectively make up synth-punk outfit ANAVAN. Here, they talk about L.A.’s infamous Smell scene, sewing, and what happens