Canadian chillwave act Seoul are set to release their first full-length, I Become A Shade next month and have a shared a new track in advance of the debut. They first captivated us with their single “Stay With Us,” and the new one, “Haunt / A Light” is another lush, reflective electronic arrangement that has drawn sonic comparisons to Rhye. Seoul’s debut album will be released June 9 on Last Gang Records in Canada and Grand Jury in the US.
Mammals is the musical brainchild of Sydney-based artist Guy Brown. Also consisting of Henry Wells, Nathaniel Joyce and PJ Wolf, the four-piece released their highly anticipated EP Animalia last month. They supported Of Monsters and Men on their Australian Tour, and recently collaborated on a track with Goldroom. Transport to the Northern Beaches with “Move Slower,” a downtempo tune with soft vocals supported by an atmospheric soundscape.
After an unsuccessful job search upon completion of his graduate program in 2009, an unemployed Ernest Greene did the next best thing. He moved back in with his parents and started producing music out of his bedroom under the name Washed Out. Thanks to social media and the influential blogosphere, his music gained momentum and in 2011, he was signed to SubPop records.
The now established Atlanta-based band released their second album, Paracosm, this past summer to favorable reviews from critics. Savvy listeners will also recognize their sound — catalogued under the chillwave movement — from the opening sequence of the hit series Portlandia. Listen to “It All Feels Right” off the new album and check out their upcoming West Coast tour dates below.
Washed Out Upcoming Tour Dates:
1/26/14 Pomona, CA @ The Glass House Concert Hall
1/27/14 Los Angeles, CA @ The Rey Theatre
1/28/14 San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
1/30/14 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
1/31/14 Seattle, WA @ Neptune
2/1/14 Vancouver, Canada @Commodore Ballroom
2/2/14 Bellingham, WA @Viking Union @ Western Washington University
About a month ago the following synth track fell into inbox, only to be delivered to my spam folder. Fortunately I was able to recover it before it was too late, as not everyday does a local talent such as The National Pool present itself in my purview.
The Baltimore-based group consists of Bradley White and Kyle Cornett, who have been making chilled out tunes together since 2006. On their track “Better,” the duo explore a verse-verse song structure with the meditative repetition of a simple set of lyrics, counterbalanced by a flurry of synth sounds and the use of a vocoder. The result is a dreamy soundscape, similar to Odesza. Stream below.
Spanish group Delorean put out a new LP called Apar in September — that largely went unnoticed by me until this dreamy rework by Slow Magic surfaced. Check out the mysterious producer’s remix of their track “Destitute Time” along with his scheduled tour dates below.
Delorean will be embarking on a North American tour as well, which includes a stop at DC’s Black Cat early in the New Year.
Delorean tour dates:
1/24 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg
1/25 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
1/26 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
1/28 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade – Purgatory
1/29 Birmingham, AL @ Bottle Tree
1/30 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks
1/31 Austin, TX @ Mohawk
2/1 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
2/3 El Paso, TX @ Lobrow Palace
2/5 Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent
2/6 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
2/7 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater
2/8 Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
2/9 San Francisco @ The Independent
2/10 San Francisco, CA @ Independent
2/11 Seattle, WA @ Barboza
2/14 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St Entry
2/15 Iowa City, IA @ The Mill
2/18 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
2/20 Toronto, ON @ Hoxton
2/23 Boston, MA @ Sinclair
Slow Magic tour dates:
12/05 Vancouver, BC @ Electric Owl (w/ El Ten Eleven)
12/06 Seattle WA @ Neumos (w/ El Ten Eleven)
12/07 Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom (w/ El Ten Eleven)
12/11 Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom (w/ French Horn Rebellion)
12/12 San Diego, CA @ Casbah
12/13 San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s (w/ El Ten Eleven)
12/14 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey (w/ El Ten Eleven)
12/17 Tampa, FL @ Crowbar
12/18 Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub
12/19 Miami, FL @ Bardot
12/20 St. Augustine, FL @ Cafe 11
12/31 Chicago, IL @ Canvas
Digging this diaphanous number from new ambient-pop indie outfit, Seoul. Based out of Montreal, the group is scheduled to support Local Natives and Wild Nothing in concert later this month. Stream their dreamy single “Stay With Us” and pick up a FREE download below.
Daniel Goldstein, the house producer from San Francisco known as Lane 8 has been making waves in the world of electronica this year. The shimmery downtempo track, “Every Night” samples vocals from Diana Ross & The Supremes “Reflections” and is a perfect number for your end-of-summer playlist.
HLD weekend, everyone.
Upcoming tour dates below. Serendipitous that the day I go to post this track, he happens to be playing in DC the next day, non?
August 30 – U Street Music Hall, Washington DC
October 4 – Zanzabar, Louisville
October 4-6 – Music in the Middle, Tennessee
The Brooklyn-based and British-born electronic producer Bonobo (aka Simon Green) released new album The North Borders a couple months back, and it’s one you should know. The artfully layered sounds and textured melodies of Green’s music are exemplified on the track below.
Bonobo’s upcoming tour dates can be found on his website here, including a stop at DC’s 930 Club in October.
Get your Saturday night started off right with RÜFÜS, a new three-piece from Australia. The second single off their upcoming debut album, ATLAS, “Desert Night” is a deliciously textured and irresistible house number. Reaching #1 on the HypeM charts a week ago, house lovers everywhere can look forward to the album dropping August 9th.
Beat Connection is quite possibly my favorite new electropop group to emerge last year. From Seattle, the tropic-vibes trio released their debut LP The Palace Garden August of 2012. They kicked off a brief West coast tour last week with fellow Washington based duo Odesza, who remixed their track “Saola” in honor of the collaboration.
Grab the track (gratis!) below, and sample some of the other ‘beats’ as well.
I feel too little and think too much.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
5/7 – Sacramento: Jambalaya (w/Odesza)
5/9 – Eugene: WOW Hall (w/Odesza)
5/10 – Vancouver: The Electric Owl (w/Odesza)
5/17 – Seattle: Neumos Crystal Ball
poetry in an empty coke can 