Trying something a little different this week. Rather than our usual Remix Roundup segment, we’re rounding up a trio of recent electronic numbers that caught our ears and will serve as a complimentary companion for your Saturday night. The first offering is from the nascent LA-based act Mood Robot, who take bedroom beats to the next level with their single “Drip.” Sedative synths and addictive hooks is enough to put this group–who just released their debut EP The Story We Tell Ourselves on your radar.
Next is newcomer Ellie Herring, an up-and-coming producer from Kentucky whose catalog consists of distinctive, impressionist style beats with an homage to hip hop. “Why’d You,” from Herring’s latest EP released this fall, is a pounding, acid-trip of an electronic piece with textured twists and a seemingly possessed looped vocal. In other words, hypnotizing AF so stream below.
Happy Hollows – Way Home
Two years plus after the release of their album Amethyst, the LA-based act Happy Hollows have just finished recording a series of songs with producers Lewis Pesacov (Best Coast) and Gareth Jones (Grizzly Bear, Interpol). One of the resulting efforts released this week, “Way Home” utilizes analog-synth based melodies and angular guitars to create an ode about the anxiety of being away from home while on the road. The framework for the single was written by singer-guitarist Sarah Negahdari during her time spent on tour with the Silversun Pickups, and fleshed out with the other band members Charlie Mahoney (the band’s co-founder and DC transplant), Matthew Fry, and Dan Marcellus in the studio. It’s an instantly infectious and warm track with vocals reminiscent of Stevie Nicks — recommended if you like HAERTS and Pure Bathing Culture. Listen below.
Deep Sea Diver – Secrets
As a former touring member of Beck and The Shins, Jessica Dobson has obviously cultivated a sharp sense of craft with her adept guitar skills and formidable vocals. Dobson’s current project, a Seattle-based quartet called Deep Sea Diver released their sophomore effort, Secrets February 19 via the band’s own label High Beam Records.
The record’s title track is a six-minute long exploration in experimental indie, blooming from a bedrock of shuffling bass and tropical-like percussion into a tranquil interlude, eventually swelling into an all-out anthemic pop-rock banger. Stream “Secrets” below.
Deep Sea Diver is currently on tour supporting Radiation City, with whom they’ll be stopping at DC9 February 9 — so pick up tickets to see these two standout bands today.
L.A. Girlfriend – XIV
Bred on new wave bands like New Order and Iron Maiden, L.A. Girlfriend‘s music has come to reflect an ’80s counterculture sound in a genre best described as “romantic nouveau.” This is evidenced by the L.A. fuzz pop act’s new record, Neon Grey released earlier this month. Throughout the album, LAGF founder Sydney Banta plaits sharp synths, propulsive drum tracks and a traditional house beat into energetic, edgy lo-fi arrangements. Get acquainted with these newcomers by listening to album highlight “XIV” — and “Runner” (off their Varsity EP) below.
C Duncan – Say
As the child of two classical musicians, C Duncan seems to have followed seamlessly in their suit with his debut record Architect. A classically trained composer himself, the Scottish multi-instrumentalist aka Christopher Duncan cites influences diverse as The Knife, Arvo Pärt, Burt Bacharach, The Carpenters and Gabriel Fauré.
Architect was released on FatCatRecords in late 2015, and now the video for album track “Say” has been unveiled. The song itself is a grand and lushly layered composition, and the video adds to its majesty with the visuals of a twirling, clothed Duncan slowly unraveling as he sheds his vestments against the backdrop of a gorgeous lake. Watch the exquisite effort below.
Radiation City – Milky White
So much of what we love about music has to do with the mood that it evokes. Suffice it to say then that if you’re nostalgic for the bossa nova soundscapes popularized in the ’60s, Portland’s Radiation City needs to be added to your rotation stat. The group, whose new record Synesthetica drops tomorrow draw their musical aesthetic from the girl groups of the early ’60s and the plush production style of the legendary Phil Spector (The Ronettes, The Crystals). This gives their music a timeless, retro feel while also invoking more modern influences such as Fiona Apple. Preview the album by streaming the LP’s second single and superbly sultry tune “Milky White,” along with older but equally compelling effort “Find It Of Use.”
Radiation City will embark on tour in the support of the album this month, stopping at DC9 February 29. Synesthetica is out February 12 via Polyvinyl.
Radiation City Tour Dates:
02/16 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop *
02/17 LA, CA @ Echo *
02/19 San Diego, CA @ Casbah *
02/20 Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar *
02/21 El Paso, TX @ Lowbrow [LATE SHOW]*
02/23 San Antonio, TX @ Limelight *
02/24 Dallas, TX @ Three Links *
02/25 Austin, TX @ Sidewinder *
02/27 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl *
02/29 Washington, DC @ DC9 *
03/1 Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle *
03/3 Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade *
03/4 Boston, MA @ Great Scott *
03/5 Montreal, QC @ Casa Del Popolo *
03/6 Toronto, ON @ The Drake Hotel *
03/8 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland *
03/9 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean *
03/11 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry *
03/12 Fargo, ND @ Aquarium *
03/14 Missoula, MT @ Stage 112 *
03/15 Spokane, WA @ Bartlett *
03/16 Seattle, WA @ Neumos *
03/17 Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore *
03/19 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios [EARLY AA]
03/19 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios [LATE 21+]
* = w/ Deep Sea Diver
Field Music – Disappointed
Friday, February 5 marked the release of UK group Field Music‘s sixth full-length, Commontime. On the energetic new LP brothers Peter and David Brewis recall late ’70s acts such as Steely Dan, with their jazzy, earnest and effulgent tunes that feel like a warm throwback to another era. Highlight of the record has to be “Disappointed,” a punchy, inspiriting song that deals with managing expectations in a relationship and navigating inevitable conflict for an ultimately worthy outcome — something that’s “as close to perfect as we were wishing for,” sings David hopefully. Listen to “Disappointed” below.
Field Music will be a making a short North American tour this spring, kicking off in the District’s DC9 March 24.
FIELD MUSIC – 2016 TOUR DATES
3/24 – Washington, DC – DC9
3/25 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
3/26 – New York, NY – Rough Trade
3/27 – Boston, MA – Great Scott
3/29 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile
3/30 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir
4/01 – San Francisco, CA – Independent
4/02 – Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy
Icarus – Home (ft. Aurora)
This new electronic gem from Bristol-based brother duo Icarus grabbed us right away with its pulsing beat and ethereal vocal line from Norwegian artist Aurora. Ian and Tom Griffiths create an expansive soundscape using minimal production on the cool and contemporary song, out now on FFRR Records. From the beautiful chord progression to the ascending vocalizations à la Empress Of, we were quite taken with the track so get your stream on below.
[CCP Interview]: Young Galaxy on Making Connections through Myspace, Being Influenced by Bowie, and Subverting Expectations of Live Shows
Montreal-based synthpop act Young Galaxy have been busy the last decade, generating an impressive amount of work and creative output that has manifested in the form of five albums, including their latest, Falsework. Originally formed by Stephen Ramsay and his spouse Catherine McCandless, the group has since evolved into a four-piece that continues to push themselves artistically. Even with two kids now in the picture, the constraints of family life hasn’t stopped the group from moving full speed ahead.
The quartet has just set out on tour in support of the new album, which is sure to be a spectacular affair as the band enlisted the help of Adam Hummell — whose production credits include Madonna‘s Super Bowl Halftime performance and Miley Cyrus‘ Bangrz Tour — to help them design a music-triggered light show for the set. Their live show will also feature dancers from Montreal’s Street Parade, all in an attempt to challenge people’s expectations of small club shows — which we for one can’t wait to witness at their Black Cat show tonight in DC.
In advance of the show, we spoke with Stephen about his time touring with Stars, Catherine overcoming stage fright, meeting their producer Dan Lissvik through Myspace, being influenced by unconventional acts like David Bowie, and of course their adorable, record-loving children.
Where to begin…you have a breadth of work and we’re loving the new album, Falsework. For new, prospective listeners though, could you tell the story of how you got started, and where your name comes from?
The story started in Vancouver with me in University and working a day job, writing and recording late into the night. I was recording demos — one of the great offshoots of having a computer for school was that I could also record music on it, and this was in the early days of being able to simulate a full band…it definitely allowed me the ability to flesh out my ideas a lot more than previously. I wanted Catherine to sing but she was too shy to even sing with me in the room, which is why I feature more heavily as the lead singer in the early recordings. Anyway, I had just befriended Torquil from Stars, who I played the demos to. On the strength of them, he offered me a job as the touring member of his band as long as we moved to Montreal. Once we had done that, I toured with Stars for a year and a half, and got to know their label, Arts & Crafts. In my downtime between tours, Catherine and I began recording with Jace and Olga from The Besnard Lakes at their studio, Breakglass. Catherine began to warm up to the idea of singing in public more at this point, thanks in large part to the friendship we had with Jace and Olga who were wonderful to record with. Once we had about five songs recorded, we played them for Arts & Crafts and they agreed to sign us before we’d even played a show. It all happened rather quickly and fortuitously — we were in the right place at the right time.Where did you draw your inspiration for the new album?
We felt it was a logical continuation of the previous two with Dan Lissvik, an end to a trilogy as it were. I was listening to a lot of minimal dance and electronic music — and given our mandate of making the songs more sparse and energized over the previous albums with Dan, we tried to stay that course with Falsework. I had also come into a windfall of analog synths quite by accident, so my entire workflow changed with this new gear. It became way more process based, more about patterns and arrangements and rhythms than ever. The beauty of analog electronic gear is it’s very quirky and has real personality. The challenge is to harness that personality using your personal sensibilities. It’s harder than it seems…so as a result we were very in the moment — we let the machines shape the overall sound of the record.
How do you think your sound has evolved over the years?
We started in a much more traditional rock formation — in retrospect I think we were working out our early influences, or our original idea of what kind of band we wanted to be in when we first started dreaming of being in bands…I think I imagined it should be like a gang — a lot of my favourite bands growing up were that way, like The Stone Roses, The Verve, The Happy Mondays…but over time I realized we’d never really be that way, that by virtue of the band being centered around a couple it would be very different. With Catherine involved, we realized our band would always have a very feminine energy at the heart of it. Our influences eventually gravitated away from those more male, rock-oriented models to more androgynous, less conventional ones… acts like Bowie, The Knife, New Order — they all challenged preconceptions of whom bands should be comprised of — they flipped stereotypes back on themselves. So it stands to reason that as the band’s personality shifted, so too did its sound and its influences.
What is your writing process like, and how did you first become connected with producer Dan Lissvik?
As I mentioned, it’s very process based now. It started with me more or less just being emo with a guitar into a 4-track recorder… I haven’t written a song on a guitar in years now, it seems. It’s changed a lot, it’s a bank of synths and drum machines talking to each other these days. If I want to go acoustic, then I start with drums or bass. Rarely guitar now though.
We became connected to Dan through Myspace believe it our not. His band Studio was kind of ending at the time we contacted him, and I think he was looking for something different to cleanse his palette with. It was a matter of good timing. He had expressed his interest in finding new collaborators to his girlfriend, and apparently we messaged him the next day or something. So we both kind of took it as a sign.
We understand that you have two young kids at home. How has parenting shifted the dynamics of the band?
We were really worried that our kids would somehow cramp the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle of the band in some way. But it turns out our kids take the edge off the crustier moments in the van; they’re sweet and naive and make everyone smile for the most part. But then we haven’t toured with both of them yet. That starts tomorrow… maybe you should re-ask this question in a week, haha!
They seem to love the music — our oldest is four and wants us to play our records to him before he sleeps, it’s pretty adorable. Our youngest dances constantly… music stops him in his tracks. He’s a chip off the old block.
What song do you feel most connected to or enjoy performing?
Right now, I’m loving “The Night Wants Us To Be Free” — playing it is super fun — it grooves and gets me into a playful mindset when I’m playing it. If I’m worried or have a furrowed brow before that, it’s gone by the time we’re playing that song.
What artists are you listening to right now? All-time favorite?
As you can imagine, we just went through another obsessive Bowie phase. He is the greatest pop star of all time with the greatest breadth of output, hands down.
We’re trying to cheat the game with this show. Bands like us aren’t supposed to have production values or choreography. We wanted to prove that a band that doesn’t make a lot of money can put on an amazing show. These days commerce gets to dictate people’s perceptions of what is good, cutting edge or exciting in the live setting. Somehow we manage to put a show together that subverts that expectation — we want people to see it and have their jaw hanging on the floor by the time it’s over.
View the Falsework tour trailer below, find Young Galaxy’s 2016 tour dates on their website — and as a bonus check out their amazing modern cover of Madonna’s “Open Your Heart.”
Porches – Hour
Porches is the project of singer-songwriter and nascent producer Aaron Maine, whose forthcoming album Pool on new label home Domino marks a major step forward for the New York artist. The LP — due out February 5 was written and recorded almost entirely in his Manhattan apartment, and mixed by Chris Coady (Beach House, Grizzly Bear, Tobias Jesso Jr.) in LA. Although Maine is avowedly drawn to the melancholic experiences in life, he also believes in finding the beauty in them. “I want people to feel dark, beautiful and strong when they hear this new record,” he says, “I want them to fall in love.”
That’s easy to do with his standout track “Hour,” a stunning synth-driven song with haunting harmonies supplied by his longtime collaborator and girlfriend, Greta Kline aka Frankie Cosmos.
Porches will be embarking on an extensive 2016 North American tour, starting March 9 in our very own Washington, DC. See full tour schedule below.
poetry in an empty coke can 