TieDye

You would think that Sweden's long past with utterly cheesy pop acts and botched disco efforts would catch up with the small nation again and everyone would go soft in the head, form Abba cover bands, perm their hair, and bring back bell-bottoms. Alas, the Swedes are still possibly the slickest people on this planet, and they refuse to release anything that might tarnish their collective identity and name.

TieDye is the latest entry to the sounds-like-Studio category, but the Italians Do It Better Records signees have something unique to their aesthetic, even if they initially sound like copycats. "Nothing Else Matters" is a Mettalica cover, for example, and TieDye's first remix, "I Feel Electric" by Rubies featuring Feist, is about as unorthodox as you can get.

Whatever TieDye's got up its sleeve, BBBD's curious. Very, very curious. A group this good can't just release one 12" (with no b-side!) and a remix and then disappear. TieDye has summer slow-jam wired into its DNA, so here's to hoping they're release more ...

TieDye - Nothing Else Matters

Rubies - I Feel Electric (feat. Feist) (TieDye Version)

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Ladyhawke Says "Paris Is Burning"!

What BBBD believes to be a "summer jam" is oftentimes quite different from others' conceptions of the surefire pool party hit. That Julian Casablancas, Santogold, and Pharrell tune, "My Drive Thru," for example, was hailed by Stereogum, but is, in actuality, a steaming pile of crap.

There're plenty of instances, when BBBD's preferences overlap with other bloggers', critics', and general music listeners', though, and New Zealand's Ladyhawke is (fingers crossed) just one such case. She's got an album coming out on Modular Records, and while the two singles so far ("Back of the Van" and "Paris Is Burning") have been spectacular odes to ramshackle funk cuts and Abba-infused post-punk dance tracks, the LP as a whole might not hold muster, unfortunately. But that is the reality of the one-hit-wonder, so deal with it!

For those of you who've not heard the original "Paris Is Burning," download or stream it below and get your feet tapping on this sweltering hot day. It'll only get hotter, sweatier, and brighter, though, and when that times arrives, crank up the Cut Copy remix of the original -- it'll get you fist pumping to the stars and showing off a few more moves than the minimal head bob. As usual, the Australian trio has dolled out catchy space-disco beats and synth ditties for this edit, conforming the song to their futuristic aesthetic while reverently maintaining and hailing the strength of the remixed artist's work. Ladyhawke ought to sing on one of their compositions.

Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning

Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning (Cut Copy Remix)

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Padded Cell, "Faces Of the Forest"

I vividly remember first hearing two particular artists at some underground Turntable Lab-esque record boutique in the heart of Shibuya a few years back: Whitey and Padded Cell. As it always is in such a shop, there's a certain thrill that comes along with vinyl sampling ... pulling a 7" or 12" from it's sleeve, approaching a polished and well-kept turntable, flipping the disc on it, putting the headphone on, tweaking the bass, middle, and treble, and, finally, listening to the organic sound waves only a wax recording can produce. A sublime moment.

I wish I could hear Padded Cell's new stuff in such a fashion, but alas, my gear isn't up to snuff. I'm confined to sample the cuts on a mediocre pair of speakers sans the glamor of a posh Tokyo record distro. That being said, the new material is spectacular, and there will be a time that I hear this stuff in a more proper and reverential manner.

But what is the "new stuff" exactly? The London disco/funk/psychedelic/post-punk duo has a new dark, brooding, and spacey LP coming out on Monday, May 19 on DC Recordings. The label's been kind enough to make a pretty cool e-card for the forthcoming Night Must Fall full-length, so if the below freebie ("Faces Of the Forest") ain't enough to hold you over until the album's release, hop on over there and check out more material! The record is going to be great ... quite possibly their best yet.

Padded Cell - Faces Of the Forest

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Future Sound, Holy Ghost!

I interviewed Holy Ghost! (not to mention a handful of others) for Anthem Magazine's Future Sound feature, our version of Bands to Watch 2008.

Calling it an "interview" isn't completely accurate: Nicholas and I emailed back and forth for a few weeks until we got bored of it. I published the raw discourse and dubbed it a Q&A. Hopefully, it offers a unique and compelling look at the DFA-signed duo.

Check it out!

One of my favorite bits:

On that note, could you tell me a little about the MoMA opening party that you DJ'd at along with a bunch of other DFA folks? How did that get arranged and how did you feel about the gig? Were you purely the musical entertainment for the night or was a symbiotic dynamic between DFA and the museum there as well?

More broadly, what do you like about DJ'ing? What don't you like? And ... have we reached a sort of "critical mass" of DJ's? Are there simply too many out there?

As I understand it the MoMA approached Jon at DFA. The label has done a few events at P.S.1 in the past so it made sense I guess. As far as any underlining symbolism or connection between DFA and the Color Chart exhibition, I don't know. I suppose you could say something about a common pop aesthetic but you could also call be pretentious for saying so. What else? Oh, the light boxes on either side of the DJ booth were ours. They were made by Marcus Lambkin (AKA Shit Robot) for LCD's "Movement" video and have been collecting dust in the DFA offices so, given the theme of the show, Tim thought it'd be fun to bring them and play them with a drum machine (they're controlled by MIDI). I loved that people thought they were part of the exhibition.

All in all, it was a great night and I think everyone had a blast. I did for sure, but unfortunately I think we were the weakest part of the night. Tim and Tim's set was amazing and watching people freak out when they dropped James Brown was an all time highlight for sure.

Holy Ghost! - Hold On

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DFA Dance Party @ MoMA Mixes Online!

Now this is a treat! DFA DJ'd a dance party at the MoMA in NYC a while back in conjunction with the opening night of Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today. The event was supposed to be really fun (the four DJ sets featured were by Juan Maclean, T&T [Tim Goldsworthy & Tim Sweeney], Holy Ghost!, and Justin Miller & Jacques Renault, after all!), and those of us who didn't attend felt hopelessly left out.

Fortunately, DFA and MoMA has the wherewithal and foresight to record the entire event (about four hours in total), and you can now grab the mixes right here for no charge! Quite a deal. The sets are really good ... exciting doses of funk, soul, disco -- the usual DFA madness -- prolonged for a stunning four hours. Be sure to download the MP3 files.

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Tartelet Records

The Danish scene is getting huge, right? Ever-evolving, broadening, and maturing, it's the place to be right now if you're creating music in the dance vein of things.

Tartelet Records is a new Danish dance label that was founded by "Fredski (the man behind the greatest Copenhagen parties) and Tomboy (AKA Tomas Barfod, DJ, producer and drummer of Who Made Who, with previous releases on Turbo, Kitsuné , Get Physical, and Gomma)." It shouldn't be too hard to guess what their stuff will sound like (the official release is this week).

Check out the below Tartelet Megamix to get a glimpse into what the label will sound like, broadly speaking, and grab the Tomski & Fredboy Tarteledit of Menu's "Moss Eisley" while you're at it. This stuff is trancey and super minimalist, but has an underlying edge of funk and unusual, organic dance music. It's very rhythmic (what would you expect from a label co-founded by a drummer!?), but melodious and instrumentally complex as well. Really neat stuff. Tartelet is going to get big!

Tartelet Megamix

Menu - Moss Eisley (Tomski & Fredboy Tarteledit)

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Tek Box

Great ready for some hypnotic and funky turbo-charged Swedish dance music here. I present to you ... Tek Box. Carli and Ivan are from Stockholm, Sweden, but currently reside somewhere in the U.K., most likely London. Their stuff sounds equally in tune with Swedish dance music and British electronic stuff. "Express" and "Move Your Hips" are drawn out, dark, and contemplative melody-driven tracks that also incorporate a uniquely British sharpness and hyperactive energy (you know, like Switch or something).

"Move Your Hips" is a stellar tune that sort of sounds like a re-imagining or reinterpretation of the Tom Tom Club for 2008. With clean and crisp funk guitar and bass lines, slinky synth accents, and chanted vocals, the tune can't help but sound sort of like it's from 1982 (but not in the way that say, Kavinsky "sounds 80s" -- just listen to "Genius of Love" again!)

Pick up the 12" single on which these two cuts appear over at Discogs. Highly recommended.

Tek Box - Move Your Hips

Tek Box - Express

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New Munk (Remix)

Munk, notoriously dubbed "the German DFA" (which just isn't fair, people!), has a new album coming out on the spectacular Munich-based label, Gomma (which actually could be fairly equated to the European DFA; Gomma brought us Who Made Who, Headman, Box Codax, and, of course, Munk) called Cloudbuster. Huh? Bizarre title.

I'm guessing that most of you readers haven't heard much of Munk's stuff outside of the funky "Kick Out the Chairs" (which featured James Murphy and Nancy Whang), and that's fine, but you really ought to be exposed to more. Thankfully, this new LP is on the horizon, and it's bound to be a blast. We can't wait!

One of the songs that's to be found on the album is "Live Fast! Die Old!" ... and, assuming that the remix of the tune (to be found below) is an indication of how boss the original is ... man ... this'll rock.

Anyway, I'm jammin' out to this one, and sitting down isn't suiting me right now. Enjoy the song!

Munk ft. Asia Argento - Live Fast! Die Old! (Maral Salmassi & Zero Cash Remix)

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Flairs

Let's see if I get this all straight (to hell with ambiguous press releases, mere instruments of flattery). Flairs is a French bass player, but he lives and works in both the U.K. and Paris and somehow has a Cockney accent. Right? "Cockney speaking French knob twiddler Lionel Flairs" is what he's described as on his MySpace page.

It doesn't matter, though. This guy has the bass chops of Tom Vek merged with the abrasive "knob twiddling" aesthetics of French compatriots Justice and Kavinsky (and all those others ones). His songs are infectiously rhythmic and catchy; heavy on the bass (duh) and high on the funk. It's refreshing to see and hear someone who's not so closely tied to one scene/country, who's not keen on replicating what's hip, but rather working in his own form, and who's totally fine with making dancey music that doesn't need spastic beats and hyper-glitchy melodies. This guy has the finesse of Zongamin (where are you, Zongamin?!) and the razor sharp edge of say, Jamie T. I'm down.

Flairs is collaborating with some big names, though, so I guess he's not making a name for himself as a total independent. Working on his music video is France's Jonas & François, the dudes who did the killer Justice "D.A.N.C.E." video and Kanye's Ed Banger imitation; lending a hand in the studio is Alavi, Etienne De Crecy, 25 Hours A Day, Cosmo Vitelli, Bogus, Alex Gopher, & Benjamin Theves. Not too shabby.

Check out "Truckers Delight." You'll enjoy it. Flairs has an album coming out, but I got nothin' on that one ...

Flairs - Truckers Delight

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New Sebastien Tellier, "Divine"

Photo: Marie de Crécy
Sebastien Tellier (MySpace) is back at it again, only this time he's got Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo of Daft Punk serving production duties!

We're pretty sure you've already heard the stellar "Sexual Sportswear" track from Tellier's forthcoming Sexuality (a spicy one!) -- in case you've not, the video's after the jump -- and now we offer you a new sample tune from the LP, "Divine."

Quite a bit different than "Sexual Sportswear," divine sounds more like a sleazy Beach Boys song straight from the 60s but with a ... unmistakable French essence. Literally, this song sounds like it could've been on the La Boum soundtrack. It's perfect. Here's what Mr. Tellier makes of the single himself:

A tribute to the Beach Boys and the Juicy Fruits (from the 1974 musical Phantom of the Paradise). It’s about a time of innocence – when having fun was more important than picking up girls.

If only there were a few "shooby dooby"s ... everything would be perfect. Right, so stream and download a lower-quality MP3 below and don't forget to check out the "Sexual Sportswear" video! It's ... quite sexy -- like a James Bond film opening credit -- and man does that song rock.

Sebastien Tellier - Divine

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Bot'Ox

Sublime.
Bot'Ox is DFA's imprint label, Death From Abroad's latest signing, and what a signing it is! The Italian electronic act sensually churns out these phenomenal long-playing club tracks that sound like some sort of heavenly Kraftwerk-meets-LCD-Soundsystem hybrid. Extraordinary stuff, really.

"Babylon By Car" is this subversive prog sort of dance tune that, over the course of nearly eight minutes, crescendos into at least a dozen different "sections." The track keeps you guessing -- with so many awesome layers and elements converging every second, how can you not!? -- and bobbing along to the steady, throbbing beat. Pure funk-infused dance music genius. "Tragedy Symphony" is a more robotic jam that reminds me a little bit of a darker Fujiya & Miyagi or something ...

Esoteric, dark, brooding disco prefab for the 21st century. This is boss stuff ... switch on that stereo, turn up the Bot'Ox jams, and be pulled into a hazy jam for a solid fifteen minutes. Better yet, pick up the vinyl when it's made available ... really, you need to hear this on some h-fi wax.

Hail DFA -- they will never cease to amaze.

Bot'Ox - Babylon By Car

Bot'Ox - Tragedy Symphony

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LCD Soundsystem, "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" (Live)

A while back I posted a live performance of LCD Soundsystem performing "Us Vs. Them" in Manchester at the Manchester Academy. A very good rendition, to say the least. Apparently, EMI is releasing one new song from that show (?) every week, so we'll have plenty of killer live LCD Soundsystem for the archives ...

I always thought James Murphy was old enough that he arrived on a standard style with the debut record, but wow, this version of the classic LCD "hit" is quite a long cry from the original. Really flexes his vocal talent, get the band ragin', turns the thing into a whole new beast. I love it.

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SLAVE to the SQUAREwave

I usually don't connect Canada with any sort of vibrant dance music scene, but that was before I stumbled upon SLAVE to the SQUAREwave (MySpace), a quartet that clearly has an affinity for a wide array of musical visionaries from DEVO to George Clinton to David Bowie.

The group has received some chart action up North, and it's merited, to say the least. They produce stuff that's absolutely ready-for-radio -- catchy hooks, sultry funk bass lines, a solid vocalist (who can dish out the falsetto when necessary), and memorable lyrics -- and easily a guilty pleasure for those of us maybe a little too bitter and jaded to listen to the radio.

Making several "Best Band" lists and a pile of laudable reviews ("Better than the Scissor Sisters," for example), maybe you should seriously consider buying their album, Big Change (just $13 CAD -- maybe you should wait for the currency's plummet, though). Check out a couple tracks below, anyway ...

SLAVE to the SQUAREwave - Pumpin' Up the P House

SLAVE to the SQUAREwave - Big Change

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Grande

Norway's Grande (MySpace) is the cold North's response to the Cramps with more of a haunted house vibe and a little more garage swagger and uh ... Jimi Hendrix singing? (No joke -- he sounds very much like ol' Jimi.)

Grande is just another indication of how old fashioned rock is making a comeback. These songs have the natural, raw catchiness of any boss garage tune that those garage originators and proto-punk fosters of the 60s would've played in their heyday melded with the musicality and junkyard assemblage of something along the lines of Beck's Odelay. While the rock quality is what shines through most predominantly, there's definitely a lot more at work beneath the surface (take "We Did It All," for example, which is more sleazy 70s funky disco than blues-infused pop), and that's the most exciting part of Grande's stuff!

Get the LP, Uppers, Downers, Screamers, & Howlers at one of these fine retailers. You will not be sorry.

Grande - Rhythms of Sin

Grande - We Did It All

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Preacher and the Knife

Very little to actually report here, but very much to love. Preacher and the Knife (MySpace) is this new Brooklyn trio that, undeniably, will soon saturate the blog-o-sphere. You will hear these guys everywhere.

The guys play this creepy breed of post-punk that draws equally from Liquid Liquid's funky, heavy-on-the-cowbell aesthetic, Gang of Four's sharp, angular guitar accents, Adam & the Ants' tribal tendencies, and something sort of hymn-ish. It's like Professor Murder gone Nick Cave and produced by LCD Soundsystem.

It's really not even worth the attempting to explain. I've really got to get through this stuff, digest it, absorb it -- this is very good.

And while there're two songs available for download below, be sure to check out the super-simple band homepage as it features two more songs for download. Giving away the EP or something (the loonies ... )


Preacher & the Knife - Ghost House

Preacher & the Knife - The Cross
The pay per click of electronics niche is really good so you can expect more if you’re making a website on digital cameras and dvd. On the other hand, the ringtones website comparatively might pay you lower. If you’re selling products like tv and cd players online, then you have to face a tougher competition.

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Primary 1

I've found my newest British infatuation: Primary 1. The Londoner makes these super-sexy, sort of sleazy funk tracks with a stripped down minimalist vibe. Every note, every beat, every synth swoosh and cadence is absolutely meant to be there, and I really like that. This guy clearly takes his craft seriously and obviously consciously constructs every track.

He's got a single for "Hold Me Down" being released on Phantasy Sound (the same label that brought us LA Priest's "Engine"), has a bunch of killer demos on his MySpace page, and did a phenomenal, sort of Oriental-themed remix of buzz band Operator Please's "Leave It to Me."

Keep an eye on this guy. He'll only get hotter.


Primary 1 - Princess (Demo)

Operator Please - Leave It to Me (Primary 1 Remix)

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Hail WHITE WILLIAMS

"Inevitably, Joe was saved by pop music."

It's about time that Cleveland comes back as a new music hub. The city and NE region of Ohio in general was, at one point in the not-so-distant past, exploding with musical creativity, whether through the experimental rock/proto-post-punk (you like that one?) of Pere Ubu, the mechanical meanderings and totally new, off-kilter synth explorations of DEVO (from Akron, actually), the more recent industrial creations of Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails, or uh ... Bone Thugs's ... ? No, maybe not that one.

You get the point (and you've established now that I'm definitely from Cleveland). It's refreshing, then, to see someone like White Williams, then. This guy, Joe Williams, made a name for himself as a happy hardcore, noise-rock mastermind (and as tour buddy of Gregg Gillis/Girl Talk who actually went to college at Case Western Reserve which resides in Cleveland -- woo!), but at some point he was completely and utterly "saved" by pop music. The result is a wonderful blend of the sweet, heartwarming and defiantly sincere lo-fi melodies of the Unicorns, the bizarre yet meticulous guitar noodling of say, Dirty Projectors, and the jovial quasi-funky fun of other flamboyant and colorful bands like Of Montreal.

This band is very good. Very, very good. Very solid. I can unfortunately only post "New Violence," but you really ought to buy the album when it comes out on Novermber 6 on Tigerbeat6!

White Williams - New Violence

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Brad Laner

Brad Laner (MySpace) is one of those guys who everyone knows, but not necessarily by name. The jack of all trades is most famous for the time he spent in Savage Republic, a sort of post-rock/drone-rock forerunner, and for his two [super-prolific!] brainchildren, Medicine and Electric Company.

Now, he's supporting his first solo LP, Neighbor Singing, an effort to "shamelessly utilize all of the different skills that [Brad] built up over a lifetime of musical experiences," and that's approximately how it plays! The album, to be released on Hometapes on November 6, is an amalgamation of psychedelica, straight-up rock, funky dance-y tunes, shoegaze-y mope fests, and too many more style to name or even notice on first count!

Check out one of the songs, "June Gloom," below ... but it's really a crime to only hear one twelfth of the album, so be sure to pick the thing up when it's out this fall!

Brad Laner - June Gloom

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Soulsavers, "Smoking & Drinking On a Tuesday Night"

The Labor Day Weekend is always welcomes warmly, but once the off day actually hits, I often find myself wondering about what exactly I should be doing. But I suppose that's aside the point ... I should just be relaxing and not really doing much of anything. Nonetheless, though, it is a surprisingly uneventful and boring holiday, if you think about it: there's nothing to do!

So here's a new mix that was passed along to me. It's by Soulsavers (MySpace), a British electronic act that combines the melodiousness of say, soul and old school rockabilly, funk, and all that good dance-y stuff with the clean and sharp aesthetics of modern hip-hop and electronic music. A very impressive style. For a sneak peak of what you'll be gettign with their forthcoming album, then, check out the mix below! It's a solid one!

Soulsavers - Smoking & Drinking On a Tuesday Night
1. Cassietta George, 'Lets Get Together'
2. Merl Saunders, 'My Problems Got Problems'
3. Rare Earth, 'Born To Wander'
4. Joe Williams, 'Get Out Of My Life Woman'
5. Erma Franklin, 'I'm Just Not Ready For Love'
6. ZZ Hill, ' I Keep On Lovin' You'
7. Woody Herman, 'Fat Mama'
8. Booker T & the M.G.'s, 'Chicken Pox '
9. Curtis Knight, 'The Devil Made Me Do It'
10. Junior Parker, 'Lover To Friend '
11. Don Preston, 'Baby It's You'
12. Jung, 'Spooky'
13. Illustration, 'Upon the Earth '
14. Mike Harper : Lay It On Me Baby
15. US 69, 'Yesterdays Folk's'
16. Kenny Rodgers & The First Edition, '(Just Dropped In) To See What
Condition My Condition Was In'
17. John Lee Hooker, 'Make it Funky'
18. Turley Richards, 'Nightmare'
19. Johnny Otis, 'Jaws'
20. Crystal Mansion, 'Somebody Oughta Turn Your Head Around '
21. Mike Mainieri, 'Minnesota Thing'
22. Jimi Hendrix, 'Ezy Ryder'
23. Aaron McNeil, 'Reap What You Sow'
24. Pracilla Rawlings, 'Obeh Woman'
25. Billy Larkin, 'Agent Double-O-Soul'
26. Wendy & Bonnie, 't's Whats Really Happening'
27. Sweetwater, 'Motherless Child'
28. Aretha Franklin, 'Are You Sure'

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Sugar & Gold

For San Francisco, Sugar & Gold's music sounds precisely like what one would expect from the city, based upon the place's sort of ... funky and naturalistic mannerisms. However, for some reason, there aren't a whole lot of musicians playing music like this -- a meticulous and contagious blend of Kraftwerk-esque robotic, hypnotic rhythms, Funkadelic funk sensibilities, and sleazy R&B hooks scattered throughout -- from the Golden Gate City.

On top of the killer, sexy instrumentals, vocally, they're channeling Curtis Mayfield or something. The six-piece truly pulls influences from all over the place, but in a timeless and intriguing way that will either make you want to dance like you're Travolta in Saturday Night Fever or else just smoothly shake your hips and uh ... comb your sideburns?

Sugar & Gold will be in L.A. twice in September ... first at the Knitting Factory on September 6 and then at the quirky, off-beat Mr. T's Bowl on September 27, so be sure to catch 'em live if you can!

The album, Creme, is out now on Antenna Farm Records. Check out a few tracks below and on their MySpace page.

Sugar & Gold - Do It Well
Sugar & Gold - Neighborhood
Sugar & Gold - Workout