Perfect music for a dreary Monday morning

I stumbled across the Helios mini-album, Ayres, this morning while searching for a death metal track in my MP3 library. I remember finding the album pleasant but a bit overly sentimental when I first purchased it, but I can't get enough of it this morning. The album is made up of six tracks of piano, acoustic guitar, delicate vocals, and perfectly placed electronics. It sounds like early Boards of Canada recast as Nick Drake. It doesn't sound anything like the Clientele but it gives me the same sad and hazy feeling. Highly recommended as the soundtrack for sitting in the window and watching the rain.

listen to a selection of Helios tracks at his MySpace page
purchase the album on MP3 from Amazon for $5.34

and something older that deserves a place in your collection

I was introduced to Bill Nelson through his synth-pop treat, When Your Dream of Perfect Beauty Comes True, on the recent Junior Boys curated Body Language Vol. 6. The source album, The Love That Whirls (Diary of a Thinking Heart), contains more yummy synth-pop and some beautifully dreamy interludes. It is definitely worth hunting down.

new music you should be listening to

Jamie Lidell's new album Jim. I miss the subtle electronic tweaks of Multiply but this is a wonderfully soulful album.

buy Jim at your local record store or online at Amazon, iTunes, or Bleep.

The new Matmos album Supreme Balloon. This is the best synth centric album I've listened to since Felix Kubin's excellent Matki Wandalki.

buy Supreme Balloon at your local record store or online at Amazon or Matador.

Updated Boston Spring Concert Report

5/9/08 - El Perro Del Mar - Middle East Upstairs
5/15/08 - Raster-Noton artists - Middlesex
5/17/08 - Black Keys - Orpheum
5/18/08 - The Sword - Middle East Downstairs
5/24/08 - The Ocean, Kylesa, Lair of the Minotaur - Church
5/25/08 - Disfear, Trap Them - Great Scott
6/2/08 - M83 - Middle East Downstairs
6/4//08 - Hayden - Great Scott
6/7/08 - Jamie Lidell - Paradise
6/12/08 - Masaki Batoh of Ghost with Helena Espvall, Damon and Naomi - TT's
6/21/08 - Only Living Witness reunion - Middle East Downstairs

Robyn plays the Paradise tonight

The videos I've seen of Robyn's tour so far look amazing. I'm hoping I don't run into anyone I know at the show as I'm going to be shrieking like a schoolgirl and singing along to every song.

Happy Birthday Mikayla

My niece, Mikayla, turned 1 this last week. I think most children enjoy a wider range of music than Raffi and the Wiggles, but parents limit their musical exposure because of their own preconceived notion of what children's music should be. If anything young children are probably more likely to appreciate different sounds for their musical nature than their parents because they don't have years of teaching and cultural reinforcement telling them what is and is not musical. With this in mind I put together a short mix of slightly more adventurous sounds for my favorite one year old.

Happy Birthday Mikayla!

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Person Pitch

I ignored this when it came out as I've never been that impressed by Animal Collective. Finally downloaded it today from eMusic and I'm very impressed. It is a beautifully human album composed of 60's boy group harmonies, found sounds, conventional instruments, and analog electronics. Don't wait as long as I did to listen to this. You'll have a better Summer with this in your car stereo.

Listen to the album at Last.fm

Kensington Heights out 4/29; Constantines on tour now

The Constantines killed at TT's last night. I've seen them the last couple of times they've played Boston and both sets have been transcendental. Here are some video clips to provide an inkling of the live experience.





I picked up the new album, Kensington Heights, on vinyl at the show. It sounds so much better than the leaked mp3's I've been listening to for the last month. I can't decide whether I like this album or Shine a Light better but both are destined to be classics.

Listen to the new album at Last.fm

Trashscapes v.1

This is the first mix in the Trashscapes trilogy. It was inspired by a photo of Madonna and Brittney kissing at the VMA's. This gesture was obviously designed to titillate and sell records, but the music on those records was becoming remarkably complex. Leaving aside the vocals and the intent there wasn't much separating the latest Timbaland single from the more melodic work of Aphex Twin or Autechre. I was intrigued by this confluence of musical styles so I created this mix to explore it further.

Happy Listening.

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Trashscapes v.2

Here is volume two of the Trashscapes mixes that I created for CD Club. Once again the focus is on juxtaposing disposable pop with other genres. I hope you enjoy the mix.

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Trashscapes v.3 : Teens in Trouble

This is a reworked version of a noise and teenpop mix I made last year but never released to CD Club (RIP). I think the concept is better than the execution but it is still enjoyable.

Happy Listening.

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I AM ME

Last.fm has a feature called Audioscrobbler that monitors your listening habits and uses this data to provide you with customized information about music. It can help you find other people with similar taste in music, recommend other artists or albums, or make you aware of upcoming shows that might interest you. This last feature clued me in to the news that my favorite Swedish dance-pop diva, Robyn, is coming to the Paradise this month.

I almost missed out on this piece of info , however, because of another Last.fm feature: the ability to share your playlist with other users. Once you've listened to more than 50% of a track Audioscrobbler adds it to your personal listener database. The list of tracks that you've played can be displayed to other Last.fm users in real time or it can be displayed after a configurable delay period has passed. Furthermore, if you decide that you don't want that track in your playlist/database you have up to two weeks from the time it was added to remove it.

When I first saw the delay and removal features I wondered why anyone would use them. Why would I want to hide my playlist? This evening when I was deep into a teenpop and dance-pop listening spree its use became clear. Did I really want to sully my diverse but comfortably skewed towards the obscure and avant-garde playlist with teenpop? I've confessed my love of sugary, super produced pop to friends before and been met with strange looks. What would my noise and black metal loving Last.fm neighbors think? Ultimately, I decided not to self censor and now I have the opportunity to go see Robyn.

Thank you Ashlee.

Novelty track of the year?

I've played the new Excepter song, Kill People, at least once a day for the last couple of weeks. There isn't much to the track. It bounces along to a pleasant enough industro-hop beat while the rest of the band chant, yell, or squeak about their need to kill people. Sounds simple, and it is, but it is also strangely addictive.

stream the full track at last.fm

Autechre next Monday Apr. 14th at the Middle East

Quaristice is more organic than some of the previous albums. I think this material should make for a great live set and I'm really looking forward to the show. Get your tickets soon if you haven't already as I'm sure the show will sell out.

Autechre Tickets

Body Language volume 6

I've been listening to the new Junior Boys curated mix on Get Physical all morning long. If you like your techno on the warmer side with occasional vocals (not divas) then you should give it a listen. The last 4 tracks are especially tasty.

01 Sorcerer - Surfing At Midnight (Prins Thomas Miks) 4:47
02 Supermayer - Saturndays 4:38
03 Chelonis R. Jones - Deer In The Headlights (DJ Hell Remix) 4:28
04 Love Nine - Feedback 3:16
05 Kreon & Lemos Feat. Feeboy - Fola 3:06
06 Kelley Polar - Rosenband (Magic Tim's Instrumental Version) 4:10
07 Steadycam - In The Moog For Love 5:17
08 Radio Slave - Screaming Hands (Cosmo Vitelli Radioaktivitat Remix) 3:50
09 Studio - Life's A Beach! (Todd Terje Beach House Mix) 3:14
10 Gui.tar - Love Started To Shine 3:22
11 Stereo Image - Dark Chapter 2:23
12 Matthew Dear - You Know What I Would Do 1:59
13 Pushé - Don't Take Your Love Away 3:27
14 Visage - I'm Still Searching 3:57
15 Junior Boys - No Kinda Man (Body Language Exclusive Track) 5:57
16 Rework - Love Love Love Yeah (Chloé Remix) 1:24
17 Foster - bl3w r0d30 d3m0 2:13
18 Chloé - Be Kind To Me 2:18
19 Bill Nelson - When Your Dream Of Perfect Beauty Comes True 3:33

Stream album from imeem
Album info at Get Physical

Saturdays=Youth out next week

The new M83 album is scheduled to be released next week. Song titles like Graveyard Girl and Dark Moves of Love seem to indicate that the new album inhabits the same teen horror movie universe Gonzalez scored on Before the Dawn Heals Us, and in some aspects Saturdays=Youth is similar to his previous album. He continues to develop the synth-drama genre; again adding teen angst dialog to his hyperemotional compositions. Some of the same sonic touchpoints are there: shimmering post-shoegaze guitar, Eno ambience, Jan Hammer's Miami Vice scores. The feeling of Saturdays=Youth, however, is a significant departure from that of its predecessor. The emotion in Before the Dawn Heals Us was exciting but threatened violence. In contrast, this album is much gentler. It is filled with sunlight, blue sky, and dreamy space. Its characters take pleasure in and are connected by their heightened emotions and this feeling is reflected in their soundtrack. The soundscapes are lighter and the melodies have a greater pop influence, at times recalling Tears for Fears or Wish era Cure.

I approached this album looking for more of the shivers I get when listening to Before the Dawn Heals Us and found something very different. I do miss the darkness a little, but this is a highly enjoyable album and should make for great Summer listening.

Saturdays=Youth : Track 7 - We Own the Sky

Pre-order the new album "Saturdays=Youth"
Amazon | Mute Bank | Play.com

Boston Spring Concert Report

There are some great shows coming up in the Boston area.
This is a list of upcoming shows that I'm planning to attend.

4/14/08 - Autechre - Middle East Downstairs
4/15/08 - Ettrick - P.A.'s Lounge
4/17/08 - John Zorn's Masada String Trio - ICA
4/18/08 - Constantines - TT's
4/24/08 - Meat Beat Manifesto - Middle East Downstairs
4/25/08 - In Flames, High On Fire - Palladium
4/27/08 - Dead Child and Behold the Arctopus - Great Scott
4/29/08 - Robyn - Paradise
5/3/08 - RJD2 - Paradise
5/15/08 - Raster-Noton artists - Middlesex
5/17/08 - Black Keys - Orpheum
5/18/08 - The Sword - Middle East Downstairs
5/24/08 - The Ocean, Kylesa, Lair of the Minotaur - Church
5/25/08 - Disfear, Trap Them - Great Scott
6/2/08 - M83 - Middle East Downstairs
6/21/08 - Only Living Witness reunion - Middle East Downstairs

Check out the mixtape I put together to hear clips of many of these artists.