A Magazine for Craftmakers
1MM: Cut Copy/Black Kids @ Studio B, 5.13.08
CUT COPY: Partying like it’s 1989 Text/Photos by Andrew Parks Now that Black Kids have been through a hype/backlash cycle without ever releasing an actual record, self-titled–consider us BK oblivious until tonight–can safely say everything you’ve heard lately is true. Namely the impossible to deny fact that they sound like, well, kids: inexperienced and sloppy, […]
I WAS THERE: Hercules and Love Affair @ Studio B, 5.17.08
[Photos by Fred Benenson] By Arye Dworken Let’s say you had no idea about the Pitchfork review or the James Murphy connection. Not only that; let’s say you showed up to Studio B on Saturday night knowing nothing about Hercules and Love Affair and waited for them to finally hit the stage at 1:20 AM […]
1MM: Los Campesinos! @ Bowery Ballroom, 5.21.08
Los Campesinos!’ head howler/glockenspiel tamer, Gareth Photos by Teresa Olson Precious is one way of putting it. Hey, it’s either that or goddamn adorable, and we’re not about to use such a warm & fuzzy phrase in the presence of self-titled readers. That’s right: Los Campesinos! are exactly what you’d expect after hearing the highly-caffeinated […]
Win Subtle/Black Moth Super Rainbow Tickets!
BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW: Undisputed finger puppet champions You know how radio stations try to snag new listeners by offering free shit? Well, we’re going to start buying (or is it giving away?) your love on a regular basis, beginning with some Black Moth Super Rainbow/Subtle tickets for this Friday at New York’s Knitting Factory. […]
LISTEN: Gang Gang Dance, EXCLUSIVE Live Set @ Southpaw, 4.30.08
See that curious new cut over in our IMEEM player? It’s not some ordinary single or mid-fi MP3; it’s a full, high-quality live set from Gang Gang Dance‘s Southpaw show in late April. Straight from the band, too. In other GGD news, be sure to keep an eye out for two things in the coming […]
1MM: Les Savy Fav @ Highline Ballroom, 5.21.08
Text/Photos by Andrew Parks A review of this Les Savy Fav performance/NY Mag promotion wouldn’t do it justice, especially since the sound was cranked to the point of utter incoherence, much like it had been for Ted Leo’s set at a SPIN party last winter. (Maybe comedy and acoustic Michael Gira shows are the only […]
AU CONTRAIRE: Jamie Lidell, “Jim” (Warp)
Because self-titled‘s staff doesn’t always agree about what’s amazing or godawful What we said then: “The Jamie Lidell we know and love is fun. This is not fun. This is so white-bread normal.”
MUSIC SCHOOL DROPOUT: Kelley Polar Shares His 5 Favorite Classical LPs
[Photos by Jimmy Edgar] Much has been made of Kelley Polar’s expulsion from Juilliard, which happened soon after his “Kelley Polar Quartet” swaddled such key Metro Area cuts as “Miura,” “Dance Reaction” and “Caught Up” in rich string arrangements. Since the producer/pianist/violist still has a soft spot for classical music, we asked him to share […]
G’DAY, MY PEOPLE!: The Presets Offer a Crash Course on Biscuits and Howling Koalas
THE PRESETS (L to R: Kim Moyes, Julian Hamilton) Really, now; enough of the Crocodile Hunter/Dundee jokes. Kim Moyes–a.k.a. KIM and the programmer/drummer half of The Presets–has heard them all anyway. That’s why self-titled asked him to educate us on the finer points of our friends Down Under … like the trials and tribulations of […]
VINTAGE S/T: A Conversation With … Santogold
DIPLO ON SANTOGOLD: ‘She’s the Cocteau Twins of krunk’ The following is the first in an ongoing series of “Vintage S/T” interviews, where we revisit an artist’s state of mind before the hype machine truly hit. Classic Q&A’s with some true icons will also appear from time to time … Interview by Andrew Parks Between […]
SOUL ON FIRE: Jamie Lidell @ Bowery Ballroom, 6.9.08
By Andrew Parks The last–hell, maybe the only–time I saw two shows in a row from the same act wasn’t a Radiohead residency or anything involving Phish. It was during Jamie Lidell‘s first round of Multiply dates. At the time, the beat conductor/crooner/Super_Collider alum was a veritable demigod among Wire readers and IDM heads that’d […]
COMING TO AMERICA: A Photo Diary of Efterklang’s First U.S. Tour
[Band portrait by Benjamin Kürstein] Text by Casper Clausen Photos courtesy of Efterklang Hello dear reader! From May 6th to June 3rd, Efterklang toured the US for the very first time in our eight-year history. A few of us had visited before, but for the majority of our nine people posse, this was a first […]