I WAS THERE: Gui Boratto and Ellen Allien Celebrate Bpitch Control’s 10th Anniversary At Studio B
Posted on March 31, 2009
Filed Under I Was There, Reviews | Leave a Comment
An iPhone photo of someone taking an iPhono photo of Gui Boratto.
[Photos by Gabi Aguilar]
Text by Vicki Siolos
Bpitch Control’s been around for 10 years? Already? Indeed. Just ask label owner Ellen Allien, a world-renowned producer/DJ that also happens to be a dominating force in dance music’s big boys club, from her rock-solid roster to a clothing line that’s as minimal as her techno tunes. Touring the states with labelmate Thomas Muller—a seriously underrated Parisian DJ that now lives in Berlin—Allien celebrated Bpitch’s first decade at Studio B on Friday night. Also on the bill: Gui Boratto, a Brazilian architect-turned-beat conductor who’s still riding high on his last record’s success (2007’s Chromophobia)—right on the eve of his second Kompakt full-length, Take My Breath Away. Read more
BUY IT, BURN IT, SKIP IT: PJ Harvey & John Parish, Leonard Cohen, Peter Bjorn and John
Posted on March 31, 2009
Filed Under Buy It, Burn It, Skip It, Reviews | 1 Comment
By Aaron Richter
As we all know by now, new releases hit record-store shelves and digital-download services each Tuesday. That’s why self-titled presents the following every week: a new release you’d be stupid not to own (Buy It), one worth checking out if you’re the curious type (Burn It) and something you might have heard about but probably should avoid (Skip It). Simple, ain’t it? Read more
1MM: Primal Scream Leave Our Ears Scarred At Amp-Singeing Music Hall of Williamsburg Show
Posted on March 30, 2009
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Bobby Gillespie gets higher than the sun.
[Text/Photos by Andrew Parks; slideshow here]
Considering the band’s name and history of collaborating with Kevin Shields, as well as frontman Bobby Gillespie’s brief tenure in the Jesus and Mary Chain (he was the drummer on Psychocandy, but still), we probably should have expected to have our ears blown by Primal Scream on Sunday night. Doubly so considering how small the Music Hall of Williamsburg is compared to the cavernous venue they played the previous night, Webster Hall.
But yeah—we didn’t bring earplugs, and we sure as hell wish we had because standing in front of Andrew Innes’ two Marshall amps for 18 straight songs left our heads ringing right on through to this morning. Not even a misty-riffed rendition of “Higher Than the Sun” could save us. As someone put it to us after the show, “These guys really want to be the Rolling Stones.” (Drug-gobbling rep and all, apparently.)
Shall we survey the damage? Read more
SIX + SIX: The Debut of Our Exclusive Mix Series, Featuring Bat for Lashes, the Monks, Death and Titus Andronicus
Posted on March 30, 2009
Filed Under Media, Six + Six | 1 Comment
At long last, self-titled launches its first exclusive mix series. We’re calling it Six + Six, and the idea is simple: You get twelve songs—two sides (A and B) with six songs each. Easy. In this debut edition, Associate Editor Aaron Richter selects his favorite music of the moment, some old, some new, with a vague theme that revolves around the French and Paul Westerberg. Or nothing at all. Enjoy!
Download Six + Six (March 20, 2009)
Check the Six + Six Mix tracklist after the jump. Read more
HYPE CHECK: Micachu & The Shapes Test Our Patience For Noise Pop At Pianos
Posted on March 30, 2009
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[Photos by Aaron Richter; Text by Andrew Parks]
The Artist and Their Current Album: Micachu & The Shapes, Jewellery (Rough Trade)
What’s Been Said: “Micachu is an exceedingly precocious 21-year-old who may go on to completely transform our expectations of music – or she could disappear unexpectedly tomorrow because it would be dull to follow such set paths. Whatever happens, I remain totally enamoured of her music.” — The Guardian
“With micro-house maven Matthew Herbert at the controls, wunderkind composer and hip-hop head Mica Levi leads her trio through this 28-minute cockeyed burst, each song a bizarre little post-punk contraption that sounds like it’s ready to fly apart and wreak havoc.” — SPIN
“A lovable racket, peppered with dozens of tiny, brilliant motifs.” — The New Yorker
“Mica has this onstage ease you can’t fake or force, wunderkind instincts bolstered by mishmash instrumentation: an Autoharp strummed with a credit card, guitars shrunken to Mica’s size, cowbell beats, etc. But probably the most impressive thing about these kids is the effortless nonchalance from which they segue from tin-man-chest-thumping percussion to brief noise squalls to woo-hoo falsetto pop jams.” — Village Voice
Our Take: Read more
S/T Survived … Getting Our Knees Slammed Into the Stage (Repeatedly) At Converge’s Europa Show
Posted on March 29, 2009
Filed Under Media, Reviews, S/T Survived | 1 Comment
Jacob Bannon of CONVERGE prepares to strike like the lil' cobra that he is.
[Text/Photos by Andrew Parks; slideshow available here]
Look, I’m not gonna lie. The angry 16-year-old in me—the ex-hardcore kid that grew up in Buffalo, thought being straight-edge at 16 was an actual achievement, and really liked Snapcase for a couple years—was ecstatic about seeing Converge play a relatively intimate show in Brooklyn on Friday night. As you might imagine, I don’t rush too many stages while dodging unforgiving elbows these days. Yet that impulse hit me the second guitarist/in-demand producer Kurt Ballou hit the stage solo, sparking a tension-ratcheting rendition of “Plagues.” Luckily, no one cleaned my clock—or my camera—on the way to the front as the rest of the band joined the fray.
“Plagues”
FROM THE STACKS: Crocodiles
Posted on March 27, 2009
Filed Under Features, From The Stacks | 1 Comment
[Photo by James Norton]
We get a lot of crap CDs at the self-titled offices. But once in a while, a pleasant surprise slips into our promo stack. Here’s a recent delivery that knocked the S/T staff on its collective ass. Read more
I WAS THERE: The Prodigy Make All Of Our Regressive Raver Dreams Come True, Including That One Involving “Out of Space”
Posted on March 27, 2009
Filed Under I Was There, Reviews | 1 Comment
Keith Flint of THE PRODIGY breathes the pressure.
Photos/Text by Andrew Parks [slideshow here]
“I’ll give you $40 to stand where you’re standing.”
“I can’t do that man. I wish I could, but you’d just get kicked out.”
“How about $80 then?”
And so went an exchange between self-titled—stationed in Roseland Ballroom’s photo pit area—and one of the more insane Prodigy fans we met on Thursday night. (One of the few heated males who wasn’t beating his chest like a feral ape.) This particular madman came all the way up from Florida to see the twisted techno legends in a rare New York appearance, and he’s heading back home to see them at the Ultra Music Festival this Saturday night. That’s what we call devotion.
HYPE CHECK BATTLE ROYALE: The Soft Pack vs. White Lies vs. Friendly Fires
Posted on March 27, 2009
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Words and Photos by Aaron Richter
We’re suckers for a healthy dose of hype just like the rest of you. But once in a while someone needs to cut through all the bullshit. Thursday night’s stacked bill at Bowery Ballroom—featuring the Soft Pack (formerly the Muslims), White Lies and Friendly Fires—gave self-titled a too-tempting opportunity for a bit of honest buzz-squashing.
LISTENING TOO LATE: Pondering the Death of Alain Bashung
Posted on March 26, 2009
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By Aaron Richter
Alain Bashung died on Sunday, March 14. The next day, I listened to the French singer’s music for the first time. I found a copy of Bleu pétrole, released just this past year and considered Bashung’s late masterpiece, and heard a voice—familiar and bold, sorrowful and dramatic, broken yet defiant. Its Frenchness implied the cursory touchstone of his predecessor Serge Gainsbourg, but its brazen, romantic attitude echoed Leonard Cohen, a slinky cover of Cohen’s “Suzanne” infused with liquid grace in Bashung’s hands.
Bashung died of lung cancer. He was 61 and had released 14 albums and countless singles since his debut in 1966. Though I’d never heard of him before reading the condolences and tributes from fans following his passing, and I doubt I was alone in my obliviousness. The record charted No. 1 in France but didn’t earn a single vote on the Village Voice’s annual Pazz & Jop critics poll—shameful neglect for such remarkable songwriting (since when has “import only” halted our listening habits?). His death felt strangely emotional for me; Alain Bashung composed his best music during my lifetime, yet I’d heard none of it. For many, death of the young or old solidifies immortality, ballooning an end-marked career to new unthinkable heights. But what’s to be made of the late discoverer, the music fan whose interest is first piqued with a tantalizing postmortem? Can tardy ears overcome the stigma of sweeping inadequacy? And what have we lost in failing to celebrate an artist in his or her living days? Read more
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