by aitorzabalegui

Glasser Goes MIDI with Her Touring Band

The one-man-band just went out of work. That novelty has been worn off in favor of the power of electronics, namely, really cool MIDI devices. Glasser is a one-woman project coming off a record release and trying to adapt her studio work to a live performance. The process has been as innovative as it is a spectacle to witness. Using a MIDI pick-up on a guitar, Glasser’s live band has crafted a limitless supply of instruments without the breaking of a sweat (or stepping on of a pedal). The “band” consists of Glasser on vocals, a drummer, a “guitarist” slash everything, and what could be described as a human switchboard. On a laptop interface, this human switchboard is able to implement and construct any sound he likes and key them to specific guitar strings. Basically, the guitarist plays a riff, and a Glasser song comes out.

If you want to get an in-depth look, Glasser has made a succinct video of the process that concludes with a live performance of “Treasury of We.” Look for Glasser in the eastern half of the States on these few dates she just announced:

11/12- Pontiac, MI @ Pike Room #
11/13- Chicago, IL @Lincoln Hall #
11/15- Washington D.C. @ Black Cat #
11/16- Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/Blood Orange, ARP
11/19- Hartford, CT @ Arch Street Tavern
11/20- Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
#= w/Twin Shadow

11.10.10

by aitorzabalegui

The Octopus Project Release ‘Hexadecagon’ as a Double-ish Album

Vinyl’s been back in style for a while and people have already gotten bored with it. Not bored enough to abandon the format again, thankfully, but enough to try to update the technology in a race to follow some analog subset of Moore’s Law. First there was Jack White’s Triple Decker Record, now The Octopus Project, with their preternaturally conceptualized double album, Hexadecagon, have their own innovation to share. Though on two slabs of vinyl, Hexadecagon will only occupy three sides. The fourth side will contain exclusive tracks in an arrangement described as “roulette grooves,” meaning you never know what track will play when you put the needle down.

On top of this, the band is including a DIY Zoetrope you can lay over the record while playing, and each song will produce it’s very own stop-motion animated sequence. Does this album even have to be good for you to enjoy it? Regardless, even if these features are just gimmicks, they’re pretty damn cool gimmicks. If your confounded as to the mechanics of a Zoetrope, The Octopus Project have included a wonderful instructional video so you can make your own.

11.10.10

by aitorzabalegui

More Chances To Dance Onstage With Girl Talk

Everybody’s wondering when the new Girl Talk album is going to drop, but what they don’t know is that Gregg Gillis’ craft is patience. Girl Talk is at its best when you already know everything he’s going to put out. So just wait, keep listening, and let it sink in because you’re listening to the new album right now and don’t even know it.

Girl Talk is notorious for outrageous live performances that masterfully blend pyrotechnics and on-stage stripping with audience participation in the form of leg-humping. If you want a piece of Gregg Gillis’ thigh, here’s a slew of recently announced opportunities:

Fri. 11/12/10 – Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium

Fri. 11/19/10 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Hot Festival

Sat. 11/20/10 – Sao Paulo, Brasil @ Planeta Terra Festival

Fri. 12/3/10 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE

Sat. 12/4/10 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE

Wed. 01/05/11 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues

Thu. 01/06/11 – Columbus, OH @ LC Pavillion

Fri. 01/07/11 – Covington, KY @ Madison Theater

Sat. 01/08/11 – Louisville, KY @ Expo Five

Mon. 01/10/11 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues

Thu. 01/13/11 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues

Fri. 01/14/11 – Austin, TX @ Austin Music Hall

Sat. 01/15/11 – Dallas, TX @ Palladium

Mon. 01/17/11 – Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall

Tue. 01/18/11 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant

Thu. 01/20/11 – Birmingham, AL @ Workplay

Fri. 01/21/11 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle

Sat. 01/22/11 – Charleston, SC @ Gaillard Municipal Auditorium

Mon. 01/24/11 – Knoxville, TN @ Valarium

Tue. 01/25/11 – Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore

Thu. 01/27/11 – Raleigh, NC @ Disco Rodeo

Fri. 01/28/11 – Norfolk, VA @ NorVa

Sat. 01/29/11 – Richmond, VA @ The National

Mon. 01/31/11 – Baltimore, MD @ Ram’s Head

Tue. 02/01/11 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club

Fri. 02/04/11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory

Sat. 02/05/11 – Montclair, NJ @ Wellmont Theatre

Thu. 02/24/11 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5

Fri. 02/25/11 – Providence, RI @ Lupo’s

Sat. 02/26/11 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues

Mon. 02/28/11 – Portland, ME @ State Theater

Mon. 03/01/11 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis

Thu. 03/03/11 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Hall

Fri. 03/04/11 – Chicago, IL @ Congress

Mon. 03/07/11 – Madison, WI @ Orpheum

Tue. 03/08/11 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave

Fri. 03/11/11 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre

Mon. 03/14/11 – Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theater

Tue. 03/15/11 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox

Thu. 03/17/11 – Portland, OR @ Roseland

Fri. 03/18/11 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater

Sat. 03/19/11 – Pomona, CA @ Fox Theatre

Mon. 03/21/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium

Tue. 03/22/11 – San Diego, CA @ SOMA

Wed. 03/23/11 – Tempe, AX @ Marquee

11.10.10

by aitorzabalegui

Give The Wombats Your Email, Get A Song

It’s an age-old practice — bands have songs you want to hear, they want you on their mailing list — the solution: barter. If only politics were so simple. The Wombats are freshly mastering their upcoming sophomore album, set for release February 2011 on three different labels, with four different producers. Not as simple.

After the success of “Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves),” which became the band’s highest charting single in several English and a German-speaking country, they must be feeling pretty confident about the new record.

The Wombats have another preview track to offer, “Jump Into The Fog,” for the paltry price of your email address. The song represents stylistic changes for the band on the new album, including a more dance-able rhythm section and some darker lyrics, with hooks intact. Give it a listen HERE.

11.05.10

by aitorzabalegui

Hyetal Reworks Ratatat’s “Neckbrace”

Get ready to break yo neck. Well, not really, it just feels like the right thing to say when confronted with a Hyetal Remix of Ratatat’s “Neckbrace” off LP4. The track has everything you’ve come to know and expect from a remix: glitchy-ness, odd sounds, and an overall taste of another artist reinterpreting an original style by blending in some of their own.

Hyetal mostly abandons the scat found in the original song, but utilizes the bubbly, croaking sounds that occupy the furthermost corners of your head room. Interestingly enough, the original track didn’t incorporate much of Ratatat’s signature whining electro-guitar sound, but Hyetal throws it in probably out of respect for his source of inspiration.

The track decelerates to lay room for a build up, and the hotel elevator muzak that brings you back to the beat collects everything for a head-bobbing, albeit not neck-breaking, finish. Listen up below.

Ratatat – “Neckbrace (Hyetal Remix)” by azabalegui

11.04.10

by aitorzabalegui

Cage The Elephant Drop Release Date, Tracklist for New LP

Cage the Elephant are looking to avoid the sophomore slump by releasing what could be viewed as a potential sophomore celebration. The band will drop Thank You, Happy Birthday on Jive Records January 11, 2011 (that’s a lot of 1’s). Cage has been touring pretty much non-stop for the last two years off the success of their debut LP, but finally found time to hit the studio in Nashville, TN with producer Jay Joyce. Based on listed influences for the writing of the album, which include The Pixies, Mudhoney, The Butthole Surfers, and Dylan and Lennon interviews, it should be fairly raw both melodically and lyrically. The band has mentioned an expanding of their sound to encompass a broader range of emotion, meaning they’ve refined how they tone things down too.

The band is releasing a hinting 7″, “Shake Me Down”/”Aberdeen” on Record Store Day’s “Black Friday,” November 26, so be sure to support music in hard copy form and get a preview of the new album. Tracklisting is below: