I find it interesting that 3 of the 4 members of SF's My First Earthquake, attended Carnegie Mellon, but they didn't get together to jam until they each separately moved to SF. I like when that happens. It's kinda like finding out you went to high school with someone, never hung out with them, maybe heard of them, but you totally kick it now? All the band members have their interesting backgrounds of music like Rebecca Bortman's days of singing in the psych-metal band Ice Queen...what?! Their synth heavy, popped out tracks are infectious and sing-a-long addictive. Their highly danceable indie rock debut, Downstairs, is out now and can be had from their site. Check out the single and video below!

Cool in the Cool Way

Labels: Rebecca Bortman started out singing in a psych-metal band called Ice Queen

I am super excited to hear that Q-Tip is gonna be releasing Kamaal the Abstract, the long awaited, long stalled, long lost album that's been lingering in the underground for near a decade! The albums got jazz and soul influences with Q-Tip's self produced beats and instruments. Don't get me wrong, I love the new stuff, but this has a bit of Tribe with a kick of pop and more uniques than you're used to. Of course, if you're already a fan, you would already have this entire album. This is gonna be well received, be sure you pick up your copy when it drops mid September via Battery Records. It's going to be interesting to hearsee the sonic-fied reworked version of the tracks. But as long as it's droppin', I'm happy. Check out the last track below

Even If It's So

Labels: hip hop

What's up! I was excited to see an email this morning for a VisionsVersion with Busdriver. As you know Busdriver dropped his latest, Jhelli Beam, a couple weeks ago and it's got that classic Busdriver feel with lots of lefty beats and high word counts galore. There's a lot of dope stuff packed into this album but unlike the obvious satires in his previous albums, this one just seems different, which is classic Busdriver. Right? The beats are all over the freakin place. More genre bending storm of questionable confusing chaotic but awesome music with Project Blowed timer NoCanDo and Daedelus, Nosaj Thing, Nobody...Hear for yourself!

Me-Time

Labels: hiphop, indie

We all know a few of the bigger fests (Bonnaroo, Coachella, blah blah blah), and despite the mass grass field genocide we all partake in via attendance/dancing/running/stomping on the fairgrounds, we love them. But how about the small festivals of music around the states?

One festival lodged in the Pacific Northwest in Anacortes, Washington, hidden away from the spotlight, even though it's been called "The Greatest Music Festival of All Time, Ever," is What the Heck Fest. What exactly is What the Heck Fest? A ton of good music from Washington (and a handful of friends from elsewhere) going down over a couple days in summer. Simple. But they put it bit better:

"What the heck fest is how we care; an unconventional gathering in warm traditions of food and music. New and old friends who give as much attention as they get, while keeping plenty in reserve until this marathon of song.

Production values increase as the artist’s respect for the audience’s imagination decreases…and in direct proportion to the replacement of Idealism with titillation."

If you're up in this area on July 17, 18, and 19, within a few hour drive at least, then go. It's only $35! Washington just makes good music. A little forest, a little city, a "little" rain, good people - what else could you expect?Oh, and the line up? So good! Just a few on the list:

D+

Karl Blau

Kimya Dawson

Mirah

LAKE

Labels: anacortes, festivals, Shows

If you've never heard of Herve 'RV' Salters, he's the French musical keyboard genius behind General Elektriks and the keys for peeps like Curumin, Jel, Blackalicious, etc. etc. He joined the Quannum crew who released his dope debut, Cliquety Kliqk, which was filled with cinematic fused hip hop, soul, funks, and plenty of pop. On his new joint, Good City for Dreamers, he packs a heavy tribute to his favs like Stevie Wonder and David Bowie while keeping a definitive GE arrangement with a ton of creativity. Herve is all over the place with this album. Track to track, it's a whole new gig with a lot of style, and Beck like flow.

This new stuff drops September 22nd and y'all need to look out for the pre-order. The album is Serious Swank (yea I said serious swank, you'll know when you hear it). You can stream the album on the site here. He's currently touring in Europe, check dates. We got the single and the complimentary/supplementary video. So good.

Take Back The Instant

GENERAL ELEKTRIKS "Take Back The Instant" from discograph on Vimeo.

Labels: Funk, hip hop, indie

Another one of producer Marc Collin's successful projects, Nouvelle Vague, has just released their appropriately titled 3rd full-length album, 3! Like the first 2 albums, it's full of awesome-a-fied covers 'cept this time around these late 70s, early 80s re-arrangers have original singers on select tracks. Depeche Mode founder Martin Gore is on the cover of Depeche Mode's Master & Servant. That in of itself is totally rad. Also instead of their more traditional bossa flow, they've switched it up a bit with a more bluegrass, country sorta sound. I do dig it, especially the Ca Plane Pour Moi track. Sooo fun.

I think NV Producer, Oliver Lebaux, puts it quite nicely..."When it is a simple thing called a good song, you are always excited to record it in the studio and arrange it in a new way, and you are also excited to play it live in a simple way. The one important thing is that Nouvelle Vague are recording new versions and playing versions of absolutely fantastic songs." Agreed.

Heaven (Psychedelic Furs)

Labels: indie

I remember watching Thriller as a kid, being super afraid of that half-alive-half-dead Michael Jackson. Especially right at the end, when you think he's all cool again, that it was all a dream, then he turns around and his eyes are yellow and Vincent Price starts laughing maniacally because your homey MJ is totally a zombie.

Well, no one's laughing now. (Well...some people are. But not me.)

All jokes aside, Michael Jackson is dead. The king of pop has been done in by his own heart. And he sure did have a lot of heart. We're only left to wonder: what will happen to his children, Neverland Ranch, and all the rights to The Beatles songs he owns? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Until then, and in honour of Michael remixing with the earth, here are a few remixes of some classics...

Jam - Ruben, Ratatat, Cut Copy Mixer
Pretty Young Thing (demo) u-tern edit
BAD - mowgli is bad remix
Ben Gibbard - Thriller

Real quick, a remix from the Buffetlibre DJs. It's the Patrick Wolf Single Who Will with the B-Libres on the cuts. Dig it now!

Patrick Wolf - Who Will (Buffetlibre Remix)

Labels: remixes

Whale Tooth is a wonderful 5-piece from Toronto Canadia and they've got a stupendous self-titled EP out which makes you really wonder why they dont have a full length! They are currently unsigned but I can't imagine that's gonna last; labels out there, you guys need to pay attention. I'm diggin' Elise LeGrow's souful voice, it really puts a good twist on these sweet pop songs! Their single, Hibernation Song, is a must have for any future road trips...well really this whole EP is. They are currently running around Canadia rockin' their steez but I hope they'll be in the studio at some point recording an awesome full length. Hear this track already!

Hibernation Song

Labels: canadia, indie

Yo Yo one of Portland's dopest indie bands, HOCKEY, is generously giving away a super special vinyl edition of their upcoming debut album Mind Chaos! BBQCHICKENROBOT.com is giving away 2 of these hot vinyls for FREE! Did we mention that these are signed by the band? (whut!!)
Alls you gotta do is drop us an e-mail with your NAME and MAILING ADDRESS! We'll choose two people at random so get those in to us ASAP! We'll pick winners on July 1st, 12:00pm (west coastie!).

If you haven't already heard their awesome single Too Fake, no worries we got you covered via mp3 and vids. Also get the Filthy Dukes Remix of Learn to Lose here.

Too Fake

Labels: giveaways, indie

One of my most favorite bands on earth is The Most Serene Republic. They are just so ill. If you're like me, you put Populations or Underwater Cinematographer on repeat fairly often. They are finally hitting us with their 3rd album, ...And The Ever Expanding Universe, on July 14th. We've had the pleasure of listening to this album and it's nothing short of amazing! Get your fill of overwhelming tracks of layers of instruments, harmonies (Emma Ditchburn is the ace) and old school orchestra tactics playing so nice with new school beats. Listening to the 7-piece is straight up pure pleasure; check the track below to agree. I love Arts&Crafts! Give me a hug you Canadians!

Heavens to Purgatory

Oh btw, I forgot to mention the awesome Digital Population EP which is a digital 16-bit MIDI mix of 5 songs off of Population. You guessed it, it was release digitally late April. Gander a track will ya? It's like a koala crapped a rainbow in my brain!

Humble Peasants

Labels: canadia, indie

Yea yea yea, I know this is old news, but I just came across the song again on my iPod and it's so catchy and she was cool on Elf and She & Him is rad so whatever I'm talking about it again. Zooey Deschanel made a song with Cotton, not to mention Jazmine Sullivan and Miranda Lambert. It's catchy, and product placement omega, but I still like it, and so do a ton of you!? It's not like I'm going to go buy a 3 pack of socks or crew neck T's. Anywho I am ultra excited for 500 Days of Summer coming out next month! Yay indie meets mainstream in a love story with Joseph from 3rd Rock from the Sun. Why oh why is Zooey not on this soundtrack? Makes no sense to me. But whatever check out the trailer and download the track!

Fabric of My Life

If you are a fan of folk in the vein of Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, and all of those other bands named after animals that live in the forest, you need to listen to Bowerbirds. This three-piece from Raleigh plays music both simple and full, anywhere from crying violin and soft guitar duets like "The Marbled Godwit," to accordion driven call and response numbers like "In Our Talons" (from their 2007 album Hymns for the Dark Horse).

Bowerbirds just wrapped up a European tour and will be hitting the states starting July 6th, along with the release of their new album Upper Air.

In Our Talons
The Marbled Godwit

Labels: Folk

I love all things Brazilian music...you should know that by now. There was an awesome EP called Cangote from Ceu a few months back, a tickle for her new album coming out to your streets early July. I am so excited for her Vagarosa album, especially after a sweet play through last night. Name sound familiar? If you like beans you probably heard it at Starbucks, which boosted her downloads mega not to mention a few Grammy nods. This album is sooo chill, smooth, sooth and you know all those other words that describe easy-going. Ceu learned the Brazilian nylon stringed guitar when she was a wee teen so it's no super wonder why this album is going to blow out your earwax. After you hear the track below, you are gonna have to do yourself a favor and get a Brazilian friend on the translator, cause this is lyric rich music y'all. More to come =)

Bubuia

Labels: brazil

I don't know what it is, but mix tapes are beautiful. Over at Fingerprints the other day we saw a flash drive case shaped like a tape. Yes! Let's not forget tapes, alright? If it wasn't for tapes, there would be so much music that wouldn't have been passed around over the years, and we'd all be missing out. Plus, it was the best pick up line back in the day.

Tapes are more cumbersome than mp3s, but hey, you can't throw your iPod across the room and have it survive (usually). On the other hand, you don't need a pencil to rewind any mp3, and iPods don't melt.

That being said, here are a few tracks that I first heard on mix tapes (and a few that are definitely worthy of the gritty fidelity effusing from your old Walkman).

Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
Monkberry Moon Delight - Paul McCartney
Old News - Dr. Dog
Spanish Bombs - The Clash
I love You Ono - Stereo Total
Montebello - The Sugarplastic
Almost Crimes - Broken Social SceneLovebot's Revenge - Blaster the RocketmanPromises-Buzzcocks

I ain't gonna lie, I'm a big fan of side projects. Some of the best things I know are the little musical offspring produced by these side projects, and there is immense evidence for this: the awesome collection of songs a la the collaboration of Ben Gibbard and James Tamborello that is The Postal Service, and need we even mention Broken Social Scene. Now enter Wes Miles of Ra Ra Riot and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend: both, from bands that I really dig.

Their little proverbial baby is Discovery, due July 7th. And I am pretty excited for this, especially after hearing Osaka Loop Line (mp3 below). It's hard to pinpoint what the album sounds like which gives it its charm and complexity. Part video game-like keys, electronic beats, laidback lilting vocals, and definitely shout-outs to certain genres like R&B and that old synthy/80's beat. It's kind of like meeting someone completely new, and after chatting awhile recognizing slightly familiar idiosyncracies.
Osaka Loop Line
Orange Shirt
Can You Discover? (an updated, reworked, rebooted version of Ra Ra Riot's Can You Tell? previously recorded by Rostam and Wes)
Can You Tell? (Ra Ra Riot)

Labels: etc., side projects

D00d, Natasha Khan is this British chick and she's craaaaaazy! We wrote about Hecuba and then a long wait after, Bat for Lashes and her female army of instrumentalists decided to destroy the stage. Of course there was the occasional d00d. The show was totally sold out at the El Rey theatre in Los Angeles last night. Lead woman Natasha Khan walked on stage wearing a black sequined leotard, accompanied by her three backing musicians. American Apparel all up on that!



The band opened with the first track from their latest and critically acclaimed album, Two Suns. From the first lines of "Glass," Khan establishes her amazing and alluring voice. My name is Joe Lin, and I totally love her! One of the highlights of the night was the song "Two Planets" --band mate Charlotte Hatherley pounds on a floor tom placed in the middle of the stage, as Khan's ephemeral voice soars atop the pulsing rhythms. It was super epic! As we mentioned in the Hecuba post, this was her last show on tour in the US so if y'all didn't go, you super missed it!

Two Planets

Labels: indie

Last night we got the amazing pleasure to see the amazingly amazing Hecuba perform at the El Rey Theatre here in LA. Their insane mix of synths, floating house-like beats, sometimes poppy, sometimes dark, and elements of trumpets and strings is straight chilling. From first song to last song, I am an instant fan. This is the music that will make peace between robots, aliens and humans. Their energy sets their glitchy loop tones which all makes complete sense when you dig deeper about the duo.



Isabelle Albuquerque (sweet last name) and Jon Beasley met in BK back in 2003 when Jon was shooting an alien film that eventually cast Isabelle as the star alien abductee (go figure!). They should have that film playing in the background at their shows. They've been making music since and are easily one of the illest couple duo's out there. The photo above is my favorite moment of their set (actually their set was my fav moment)..Isabelle puts her head on the keyboard and continues to take full control of the crowd. Can you tell that this was an amazing show?...sure I mentioned it. The LA locals ended their tour with Bat for Lashes last night but will be back at the Smell in August, which is much too long from now. Get that PARADISE album now!

Miles Away

Labels: indie, insane, synthetic

Holy crud we've been gone for a long time! Sorry music lovers, we've been busy! But right meow I'd like to push your attention to the Beautiful Small Machines duo! Their new The Robots In Love EP is a mix of indie pop with a retro-robot like experiment. Songs like "Superconducter" are very Ting Tings'esqe with the high-pop beats. All around dope EP, lookin' forward to a full lenth effort! Bree Sharp and Don Dilego will be intro-ing their new EP to the world on July 14th but they've got a show at the Bowery Electric tomorrow night in NYC. Check it out! When robots rule the world, they will listen to songs like this on their vintage CD players and hi-tech mp3 players!

Superconductor

Labels: indie, synthetic

This is what we've been busy with. If you are in the LOS ANGELES area, please stop by the 4th Annual Talent 1 Media Film Festival. It's totally FREE and is gonna be super dope. There will be Free film screenings, food, music, and a whole buncha rad organizations who fight human trafficking. This is an awesome awareness event which will also feature a FREE Screening of Call+Response, the rockumentary of the century! Find out the schedule and all the deeets at www.talent1media.org !

Aratani Japan America Theatre
244 South San Pedro Street
Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles
Saturday, June 13th, 2009
CALL+RESPONSE Documentary, FREE Screening at 2pm!

Seminar & Workshops 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Awareness Resource 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Film Screenings 6:15pm - 8:45pm
Reception & Entertainment 9:00pm - 10:45pm

Labels: causes, Events