Sonar 2010 // Sonar.es
O’Spada ‘Time’
The new single released 30th November 2009 on Make Mine
O’Spada was formed in Stockholm 2006 by five individuals with a varied background in music and forged a clash between soul and funk meeting hip-hop and rock, creating their own unique sound. They gradually earned a reputation mainly through MySpace and their vivid live performances, handing them a record deal at Despotz Records in 2008. Since then, O’Spada have spent early 2009 recording the as yet untitled debut album, and the first track to leak onto the internet during the summer was this track “Time”. It finally gets its first release proper and will be released both digitally and as a limited 7-inch, and features some very interesting remixes.
More great singles and an album will follow later this year. Here are some first responses to their assault on the world;
“Was this track made in 1984? Did we just discover it as an unmarked white label mixed in with our tio’s old freestyle vinyl collection? This is the only single they have so far and it’s a killer. We have a rollerdisco date soon, we need more, Swedes!”
The FADER
“Synthy like Passion Pit, rhythmically fractured like Hot Chip, and poppy without remorse.”
Guardian Band Of the Day
DARWIN DEEZ: DEBUT SINGLE “CONSTELLATIONS/ THE COMA SONG”
Debut single to be released as a limited 7” Vinyl and Download on Lucky Number on December 7
Not many people can start a song by cribbing “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” as the opening line and get away with it, but then again, Darwin Deez has always been nothing less than utterly original. From his unorthodox beginnings as a child of Baba Lovers (followers of Avatar Meher Baba, like Pete Townshend) to fleeing Wesleyan University to start a band in New York City, to his method of playing a 4-string electric guitar in his own invented, secret tuning, nothing about Mr Deez can be described as remotely conventional. His live sets, for instance, feature original songs intercut with harsh electronic noise and spontaneous bouts of synchronised dancing to custom pop mash-ups.
Cryptically described on his website as “happy music for sad people/ white music for black people”, Darwin’s particular strain of music is located at the crossroads of the wittily ironic and warmly inclusive – effortlessly infectious songs with a deadpan sense of humour; or Arthur Russell when he lived in the East Village, but with an even more accentuated penchant for droll wordplay, as well as one for spontaneous tap dancing. This self-professed hipster may ooze arch, off-kilter cool, but at the same time there is a deep, reverential love of the big, bold strokes of the perfect pop song, as showcased on this, his debut single.
“Constellations” is a nigh-on untouchable mini-pop classic, rolling together ebullient guitar strokes, handclaps, and a childlike sense of awe (“if freckles don’t mean anything, does anything mean anything?”) into a fizzing ball and kicking it high into the air. At once oddball and heartfelt, tender and funny, spiky yet insouciant; Darwin Deez strolls nonchalantly through these contradictory states, humming his own distinctive tune, going his own singular way.
“His mission has two parts: to be weird, and to entertain you. Part one is in place, part two is imminent” – NME
CMJ DATES
October
20 – Popgun Booking CMJ Showcase
20 – Club NME Party @ BLVD
23 – Neon Gold Showcase @ Santos Party House
23 – CMJ Party @ Glasslands
myspace.com/darwindeez // darwindeez.com // luckynumbermusic.com
Gold Panda review of Lemonade’s ‘Bliss’ on Pitchfork
The song is called ‘Bliss’ and it’s by a band called Lemonade. The remix lives up to the title perfectly.
“t’s true to the track’s title, but feels more blasted, drugged, and distant, the kind of bliss that comes after you’ve done (or taken) something that makes it difficult to move. And then, halfway through, the song’s bottom drops out, and a lone synth pattern snakes up toward the sky lazily like a smoke ring, a shift that feels both surprising and inevitable from a producer who seems to have a knack for that combination.”
Cold War Kids make an interactive music video. Blogworthy? Yeah, I guess. It’s kinda neat.
See the ‘making of’ video here.
Introducing Neil McSweeney
Oh, I just love my SoundCloud Dashboard! Over the past few months, I’ve enjoyed finding a bunch of SoundCloud users that regularly post great new music. Ask Me PR is one of them. They’re an independent music PR agency based in the UK and post new tracks every week.
Tonight’s finding is Neil McSweeney, singer-songwriter from Sheffield. Check out both his tracks, I promise you will not be disappointed. His record comes out on Friday, it’s called Shoreline. Can’t wait to buy it. Oh, and Neil’s also on Twitter.
Thanks, Liam.
Neil McSweeney - Standing Still uploaded by Ask Me PR
Neil McSweeney - Side to the Sun uploaded by Ask Me PR
Photo Credit: Chris Saunders
An interesting way of doing publicity! Neil has fans on here already
I love how Ghostly introduce new artists in video format so much better than a press release
More here
Little Comets on Pitchfork.
Strange things do happen, like Pitchfork reviewing Little Comets whilst many UK sites havent. Then again this is sonically an incredibly intelligent song - full of tempo changes and some very smart attention seeking bridge work
“Sonically, though, it’s all there— the halting, syncopated melody is a great match for those fitful guitars. And for those like myself who think that British bands can get away with ridiculously over-the-top opulence and should go for the gusto whenever possible, the song’s bridge makes for a gorgeous changeup and serves as the song’s crowning achievement.”
You should probably take a look at the video?
Today we set up Sky Larkin’s web presence to welcome a special download ‘Digital cassette single’ in exchange for signing up to their mailing list. Those already on the mailing list received the tracks before everyone else! You can follow the Smarts love on Twitter
We asked the Katie, Doug and Nestor to provide some context for ‘Smarts’ a few days ago…
Smarts was recorded in one day in Wales with our Golden Spike amigo John Goodmanson. It just so happened that for 24hrs our paths crossed, so we decided to use the time to reignite our musical flame. It’s certainly the loudest number we’ve created, so as a counter point we also recorded an acoustic version of Matador back home in our Yorkshire writing space; The Crypt (NB, an actual crypt). This version of Matador features upright bass, downright slinky drums and a hundred year old pump organ with pleasingly wobbly pipes. We invite you to download them for free and hope to see you at a show this autumn before we go into hibernation to write Sky Larkin 2.0 - Sky Larkin
Download the lovely digital cassette single of Smarts by clicking on the image above (you’ll be redirected to their website and a sign up page). All in all to celebrate a new Sky Larkin tour across mighty counties and cities of the UK and across the Atlantic to Canada and America with Katy, Rosa and Olly of Peggy Sue - see the gig list here
Thoughts on Purchasing Music
I just bought the new Girls record Album. I’m thinking:
- that I listened to the entire thing streamed using the SoundCloud player on their website the other day, and liked it a lot
- that I wanted to support the band instead of tracking down the leak
- that I wanted to be sure to have the good meta data and album art instead of finding a crap torrent
- that AmieStreet offered it at a great price since I was early - their prices rise with popularity
- that I could have waited and bought the record directly from the band when they come to Philly and play Kung Fu Necktie (on November 4th, FYI), but maybe they’ll have the vinyl at the merch table
- that I friended the band on MySpace because I wanted to see what other bands were in their ‘circle of friends’
- that I’ll probably burn these MP3s to a CD with other new music and leave it in my car for convenience
Exactly.
Gotta love those Little Comets lads.
“The Golden Filter: “It’s always good to stretch your wings.” Our favourite band lets us release their song and talks to us about music and mythology.”
bands should do 100 of these, design them. leave an email address. pass them on / leave them in a public place. you email your mp3 of the track to the last person and start a network. last person uploads the mixtape plus their track to shared site. Make it geo?“The Mixtape Club is an organization dedicated to the art of the mixtape. Ten people, ten tracks, ten album covers.”
as a freelancer a can do attitude is rather important but being a man of many skills is equally as son. An interesting set of points from Seth.
