Archive for the ‘Solkyri’ Category

Noiseweek: GWAR, Minsk, holograms, Pallbearer, Nirvana tributes and more

Friday, April 10th, 2015

The sights, sounds and words of the week in noise.

NEWS

CNN is reporting that the surviving members of GWAR are being sued by the father of late frontman Oderus Urungus — AKA Dave Brockie — William Brockie, for allegedly holding onto Brockie junior’s remains, music equipment and artwork. Brockie senior is seeking $1 million in damages as well as the return of his son’s ashes and belongings, which are reportedly kept locked at the band’s Slave Pit headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. Both parties remain uncertain on the status of the Cuttlefish of Cthulu, but sources say it remains in the possession of authorities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Boston Mayor Marty Walsh earned himself some serious punk cred this week with the proclamation that April 9 is now Riot Grrrl day in honour of Kathleen Hanna’s performance in the city on that night. Walsh’s Chief of Policy, Joyce Lineham, has known Hanna for the better part of two decades and used to host her when Hanna’s bands would come through town. The proclamation is adapted from Hanna’s Riot Grrrl Manifesto and includes the following passage: “The riot grrrl philosophy has never felt more relevant, with misogyny still rampant in many cultural spaces;” and “Riot grrrls redefine the language used against them and continue to fight the newest incarnations of patriarchy. In doing so, they ironically confirm one ex-congressman’s accidental wisdom: ‘the female body has ways to try to shut that down.’ It sure does: women’s voices telling their stories can shut that down.”

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In news straight out of a Phllip K. Dick dystopia, late Tejano popstar Selena Quintanilla will be next to receive the hologram treatment already bestowed to the likes of Tupac and Elvis. With the blessing of her family, tech company Achrovirt LLC will begin working on a of Quintanilla pending the success of a soon-to-be-launched $500,000 crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo. Jesus.

READ

How London’s NTS is helping redefine live radio | The Guardian

“If video killed the radio star, then digital streaming is dancing on its grave. Spotify and the like have redefined listening habits but they’ve also driven (mainly young) listeners away from the human interaction the FM dial offers, towards endless playlists interrupted by infuriatingly upbeat adverts about clearing hotlines. An Ofcom report last year found that Brits under 25 dedicate a measly 24% of “listening time” to traditional radio. But you can’t call up Mixcloud for a shout-out when you’re bombing up the M6 for a night out at the Warehouse Project, and that’s where east London’s NTS Radio offers a middle ground.

The station, which turns four this week, positions itself somewhere between BBC 6 Music’s diversity and pirate radio’s DIY spirit; and, like Rinse FM before it, it’s a combination that’s helping to lure music fans back to radio. It’s part of a global network of new, hyperlocal internet stations, including Soho Radio in London, Berlin Community Radio, and Know Wave in NYC, who offer idiosyncratic music selections throughout the day, and not just limited to twilight slots. Some sets come from established DJs such as Andrew Weatherall and Caribou; others, if you happen to live in Hackney where NTS’s shopfront studio is based, quite literally from the girls next door.”

How can we change the face of power in the music industry? | The Fader

“Perhaps part of the problem is the static nature of the business, but that’s not to say there aren’t also unique challenges that face women on the corporate ladder. In an innocuous quote in the Billboard Power 100 issue that hints at a deeper problem, executive VP of Capitol Music Group Michelle Jubelirer describes the moment a male employee introduced her to Mick Jagger as his boss. “I don’t think Mick believed him,” she said. Sexist attitudes in business are deeply ingrained, and will likely take a long time to change. This was famously illustrated when a Harvard business professor changed the name of Silicon Valley exec and SkinnySongs CEO Heidi Roizen to “Howard Roizen” in half of the case studies about her that he gave to his students. The professor measured his students’ responses to the study, and found that the majority would rather work for “Howard” than for Heidi, despite their two profiles being totally identical. Students described having an impression of Heidi as being more power-hungry and harsh than “Howard”; the more she asserted herself, the less they liked her.”

Immaculate Self-Conception | Pitchfork

“When it comes to portraying women, music media buys into the ideas of glamour just as much as the fashion industry, and Instagram feels like an opportunity to supercede the romantic manipulation of photo-doctoring. Airbrushing remains one of the few lies in the commercial economy that’s allowed to remain unchecked even after the public is made aware of their own deception. By that I mean this: When a product doesn’t perform as advertised, it is taken off the market; when an academic misrepresents his research, he is stripped of his title; when a media icon lies about a simple detail of his personal experience, he is suspended without pay. In music, the misrepresentation inherent to altering the female image is an accepted cultural norm despite the fact that in most other instances when people, commodities, or ideas have been publicly misrepresented, there are penalties. We are sold the myth of what women in entertainment are supposed to look like every day, and the fact remains that no one has ever revoked an advertisement or magazine cover because it physically misrepresented a (perfected) female icon. Airbrushing is designed to flatter and romanticize reality—but it’s also an act of deception, however benign.

As a contrast, the impulsive, documentary-quality of Instagram makes it feel like the only corner of the Internet where women can choose how they are portrayed; they can flatter the male gaze or subvert it. An interesting dimension of fame is that female musicians are in the unique position of having access to photos that other people of take of them; as such, their choosing to include photos from the press alongside, say, selfies with their dogs represents a new, highly-tailored way to curate their image. It says something about what women want to add to their own narrative every time a distinction is made between what does and does not get shared.”

LISTEN

Minsk — The Crash and the Draw

This might be the heaviest record of the quarter-year. After six years dormant, the fourth LP from the post-metal outfit (who share a hometown with the late, great Richard Pryor) is quite possibly the best marriage of atmospherics and brutality I’ve heard since the disbandment of ISIS. The first side of this record is ugly, but Minsk are not a group of one-trick ponies; the nine-minute The Way is Through recalls the transcendent moments of Panopticon as the masculine veneer of vocalist Tim Meed recedes, revealing a beautiful vulnerability beneath the bravado, before the rage comes again in the climax. Utterly entrancing.

Solkyri — Sad Boys Club

Solkyri imbue their music with the kind of energy post-rock bands need: a vitality that breathes life and kinetic momentum into the often stale and static aesthetic. This is uplifting stuff, recalling sleepmakeswaves and And So I Watch You From Afar while remaining firmly grounded in a dynamic riffing and compelling songwriting. Expect nothing but big things from this Sydney quartet.

Nothing — Something in the Way

This second cut from the forthcoming tribute to Nirvana’s Nevermind shows Nothing at their most subtle and subdued, substituting their usual reverb pedals and tremolo picking for distant synthetic whines, whispered words and an utterly depressing piano track. The tribute’s out on April 18 through Robotic Empire — who also released an In Utero tribute this time last year — and features covers from Boris, Young Widows, Pygmy Lush and Thou.

Golden Bats — 7?

Cvlt Nation premiered this harrowing offering from our Brisbane friends Golden Bats. It’s an ugly pair of tracks, but Golden Bats aren’t looking for a prom date, so revel in the filthy Iommic dirge and unbridled dread before the 7? drops on April 18 for Record Store Day.

WATCH

Pallbearer — Watcher in the Dark

Some eight months after the release of their sophomore epic Foundations of Burden, Little Rock quartet Pallbearer have unveiled their first ever music video, the 10-minute “Watcher in the Dark.” There are some stunning landscape shots here of what I am guessing are the Ozark Mountains in their homestate of Arkansas, alongside a slew of tripped-out galactic and alien visuals that recall Duke Nukem 3D. Killer.

Lightning Bolt — The Metal East

Speaking of tripped-out, Lightning Bolt’s first clip for their new album might just be the most messed up music video of the year. Part mid-90s side-scroller, part Ren and Stimpy, part space cartoon bad trip and perfect for the frenetic madness that is Lightning Bolt.

Noiseweek: Rollins on tape trading, TTOL crowdfunding, NYC hardcore and more

Friday, March 6th, 2015

The sights, sounds and words of the week in noise.

NEWS

After the overwhelming response to the Perth Needs More Music and Arts Venues Facebook group and the subsequent meeting in light of the impending closure of The Bakery, The West Australian is reporting that Culture and Arts Minister John Day has expressed his support for a new government-backed venue. The tentative frontrunner is Rechabites Hall, a former theatre on Williams Street. People power!

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LIN favourites Tangled Thoughts of Leaving are edging closer to their Pozible goal of raising $5,000 to fund the pressing of their forthcoming second album, Yield to Despair. They’re over 80% of the way there with 10 days to go, so if you’ve got a few dollars to spare and you like vinyl copies of post-psychosis-prog-jazz-beardcore, help them out. They’ve also just announced a European tour — including an appearance at the jealousy-inducing dunk! festival in Belgium — alongside Bird’s Robe labelmates Solkyri in May. They’re also touring the country with 65daysofstatic starting Saturday at Adelaide Festival.

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Speaking of jealousy-inducing festival lineups, All Tomorrow’s Parties have announced the next wave of acts for their Iceland festival this July, adding Public Enemy, Swans, Lightning Bolt, Bardo Pond and more to a bill that already includes Iggy Pop, Drive Like Jehu, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Froth.

READ

Henry Rollins: Confessions of a Tape Trader | LA Weekly

“Almost as soon as I began gathering paper evidence of this emerging scene, I became aware of cassette recordings that bands and fans were making. The mere existence of these tapes — music you could play over and over again, which could not be found in a record store — was in itself a small miracle. That someone had the wherewithal to wrench these moments from the ether was like beating the odds and defying the bastards who would have been happy for us to go the way of the proverbial tree that falls in the forest, unheard and unwitnessed.“

Kid Millions Talks The Importance of Mentors | The Talkhouse

“A mentor is your trusted guide and companion. Some mentors have no idea they are providing this kind of service. Maybe they show you how not to represent yourself. Maybe they show up to a gig completely drunk and cancel the gig. Perhaps they are assholes to everyone they deem unworthy of their attention. But in the best scenario the mentor sees your truth before you can grasp it yourself. She holds up a mirror that reveals your pure, undistorted truth.“

United Blood: How Hardcore Conquered New York | The New Yorker

“The New York scene was never monolithic. Shows drew skinheads, punks, and plenty of average-looking young people in T-shirts; many of the fans who followed Agnostic Front also turned out for False Prophets, a sarcastic and theatrical punk-inspired band. Even so, many scene participants nursed an inferiority complex. The Manhattanites disdained the guys from Queens; the Long Islanders hated being thought of as “interlopers”; virtually everyone resented the scenes in other cities, where the band members seemed to have enough spare time and cash to tour and promote themselves. “The kids from New York, we were like these crazy fucking street rats,” Todd Youth, who played guitar for a band called Murphy’s Law, says. “The kids from Boston and D.C. were really well off.” While most other early-eighties scenes gave rise to influential independent record labels, New York’s generated war stories. “You were getting chased down the street by gangs of Puerto Ricans that wanted to fucking kill you,” Youth remembers; Avenue A was contested turf. Alex Kinon, who played with Agnostic Front, says that he was once shot at in Tompkins Square Park, and that Vinnie Stigma responded by rushing toward the gunfire, armed with only an improvised shield in the form of a garbage-can lid.“

LISTEN

Sannhet — The Revisionist

Boutique San Fran label The Frenser are off to an excellent start to 2015, first with the earthshaking King Woman EP and now The Revisionist, the pummeling sophomore album from the similarly quake-inducing trio Sannhet. Better watch that faultline.

And So I Watch You From Afar — Wasps

Is there a modern heavy label as forward-thinking as Sargent House? From post-rock to doom to shoegaze to noise, the LA-based management outfit covers every base of exciting guitar music. Belfast quartet ASIWYFA settle into a groove on this preview of their fourth LP Heirs, balancing the frenetic guitar work with some rare vocal harmonization before the absurd double bass drumming kicks in. And for once they finish a song under the five-minute mark. Set guitars to kill.

Elder — Lore

Not to be mistaken with Jimmy McGill’s latest attempt at legal specialisation, Lore is a ball-tearingly heavy offering from a Rhode Island power trio with just the right amount of moxie mixed with the obligatory Kyuss/Sabbath worship to satisfy all your stoner/desert/metal/psych cravings. Is it insecurity that drives all these power trios to write songs that sound fucking gargantuan? Whatever it is, don’t stop.

Flowers & Fire — Demo

Raw riffage energetic melancholy abound in this first offering from a Vancouver post-punk outfit with virtually zero web presence. There’s a distinct Siouxsie/Banshee vibe throughout but the notes ring with a panic immediacy. Uneasy listening, but it’s not supposed to be easy.

The Austin 100 — NPR

The nice folks at National Public Radio have gone to the trouble of rounding up 100 tracks from 100 artists appearing at this month’s SXSW so you can better navigate the veritable shit-show that is trying to decipher if a band name is real or made-up for a hipster-baiting Jimmy Kimmel bit. There are a few familiar names, though — including Slanted & Enchanted guests METZ and Melbourne weirdos Twerps.

WATCH

THAW — Last Day

The Black Captain has written extensively about THAW, the Instant Classic label and the doom/black developments in Poland, but it’s a scene so far away, us Southern hemisphere residents are unlikely to ever witness it in the flesh lest you make the costly journey to the old world yourself. In lieu of such a pilgramage, here’s some HD footage of the sonic tyranny in action.

The Last Song Before The War

Tinariwen’s origin story might be the most rock ‘n’ roll in music history, but its members are merely one part of the Tuareg music tradition of Mali. In this hour-long documentary, director Kiley Kraskouskas documents the 2011 iteration of the three-day Festival in the Desert amongst political turmoil and sectarian conflict.