Bishop Allen are Busy!

Following a wildly successful European tour last spring, Bishop Allen are returning for another round of club shows and festival dates, visiting Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. We’re thrilled the band has been able to spend so much time with their European fans while supporting Grrr… but for those of you in North America, the band will be touring again before the year is up.

Bishop Allen’s Justin Rice also spends time as an actor, appearing in acclaimed indie films such as Mutual Appreciation and Alexander the Last. Currently, Harmony and Me (written and directed by Bob Byington) starring Justin, as Harmony, a depressed lyricist clinging to the memory of an ex-girlfriend, is gaining notoriety at film festivals worldwide, screening at the likes of the Los Angeles Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Cine-Vegas Film Festival. Harmony and Me also includes an excellent supporting cast including Kevin Corrigan (Pineapple Express, Superbad, The Departed), and Pat Healy (Rescue Dawn, Ghost World, Great World of Sound) as well as bandmate, Keith Poulson, who is currently manning the bass in Bishop Allen.

European Tour Dates...
07/16/09 Guimaraes, Portugal - Manta Festival
07/18/09 Dornstadt, Germany - Obstwiesenfestival
07/19/09 Nijmegen, Netherlands - Volkhofaffaire
07/20/09 Barcelona, Spain - Be Cool
07/21/09 Vic, Spain - Jazz Cava
07/22/09 Sevilla, Spain - Nocturama
07/23/09 Son Servera, Spain - S'Esglesia Nova
07/24/09 Sonneger See, Austria - Acoustic Lakeside

Download: "Dimmer"
Download: "The Ancient Commonsense of Things"

Sally Shapiro Is A Miracle.

Swedish italo-disco heiress Sally Shapiro has just released a brand new remix of her recently-released single, "Miracle." The remix is done by Bulgarian producer Bogdan Irkük (aka BULGARI), and is in support of Sally's single, as well as her much-anticipated sophomore release, My Guilty Pleasure, coming out this fall on Paper Bag Records.

Bogdan Irkük (aka BULGARI) is the first to take a crack at putting his own spin on Sally's music. Known for his fantastic remix of Jens Lekman's "Sipping On the Sweet Nectar" last summer, Irkük brings forth a remix for Sally Shapiro's "Miracle." The single was recently released in the US and Europe.

As for the remix it's a Moroder meets Dubstar like stroke of genius that's lush and has epic written all over it. Bulgari essentially took something that was already gorgeous and made it even more beautiful. Fifteen years ago this probably would have been caned to death in Ibiza but now thanks to technology you can cane it to death on your Ipod on your way to Ibiza!

Download: Sally Shapiro - Miracle (Bogdan Irkuk Remix)

Wrangler Wrangles Back

Dave Wrangler will dabble in any and all genres and his style of performance and production reflect his chaotic focus. He blends elements of hip-hop, electronica, indie, rock and dance into a seamless mix of high-energy madness! Ok, so that just described like every DJ right now...but as one of the busiest and most versatile DJ's in Houston, he is becoming one of the most acclaimed new producers/remixers in the bloghouse (thanks for the description HR!).

Dave's tracks, remixes and sets have been featured with the likes of underground and mainstream powerhouses: Soulwax, Diplo, Justice, Peaches, Portishead, MIA and Santogold just about everywhere. He's also been nominated as one of H-town's Best DJ's for 2009.

This time around he takes on Herbie Hancock's electro classic, "Rockit," gives it some funk and throws Dimples on top of it seamlessly making it into a long lost hip hop tune unearthed from a time capsule a hundred years in the future. If that wasn't enough, Wrangler brings the Queens of the Stone Age into Bun B's house and rocks the fuck out of it in a late 90's stylee that will have you reaching for your JNCO's.

Download: H. Hancock vs. Dimples - Rockit (Dave Wrangler Remix)
Download: Bun B vs. QOTSA - Draped Up (Dave Wrangler Remix)

This Is No Fool's Gold

Fool’s Gold is a Los Angeles collective that weaves together western pop aesthetics with African rhythms and melodies. The group started as a side project of two young LA musicians, vocalist/bassist Luke Top and lead guitarist Lewis Pesacov, who set out to explore their shared love of various forms of African music (specifically Congolese, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Malian), Krautrock, and 80s dance influenced pop music.

Lewis, although raised on reggae and world music, holds a degree in classical music theory and composition. He studied underneath American avant-garde expatriate composers Mark Randall-Osborn and Frank Cox in Berlin and has had pieces performed in halls throughout Europe.

Luke, who was born in Israel (his mother is from Iraq/father from Russia) and was moved to Los Angeles at the age of three, instinctively alternates verses between Hebrew and English, thus personalizing the songs and allowing a unique interplay between his deceptively simple soul melodies and a propulsive rhythmic backdrop.

At first listen, it might be tempting to label Fool’s Gold as “world music,” but the band is, in its essence, a Los Angeles band; it is music made for hot nights in a sweltering desert. The multi-cultural group of players was born from a city that is a melting pot of neighborhoods and cultures.

The songs for their forthcoming self-titled album were mostly recorded live over a two-day session at the Sunset Lodge recording studio in Los Angeles in 2008, to be later completed in closets and apartment living rooms in 2009. On September 29th they will release their debut record on IAMSOUND Records.

Download: Surprise Hotel

Ten Tracks You Need #28

Friday is back and so is Ten Tracks You Need. After a week off, we've got a bonus post w/a few more tracks than normal and it's what I've been jamming to over the last week or so.

I'm not going to ramble on here, but I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who participated in our 300th post contest. Three of you lucky kids got a whole heap of stuff mailed to you. You know who you are.

We'll have more contests and giveaways and all you have to do to participate is follow us. You can join us on twitter and get the latest updates about the blog. You can do that HERE.

Anyway, have a good weekend and we'll see you on Monday!


Ten Tracks You Need
Birds of Avalon - Your Downtime Is Up

The Silent Years - Madame Shocking

Heavy Feathers - Love Matters

Donny Hue and the Colors - My Toy Steam Boat Train

Robert Gomez - On This Day

Lost In The Trees - Fireplace

Portugal The Man - People Say

Stellastar - Freak Out

My First Earthquake - Cool In The Cool Way

Magic Wands - Black Magc (L'amour La Morgue Edition)

Hot Lava - Apple + Option + Fire

Donny Hue and the Colours - Singing with Guitar

Little Tybee - Glass Brigade

Violens - Doomed (MGMT Remix)

La Roux - Bulletproof (iamxl Remix)

RCRD LBL (all open in seperate windows)
Fever Ray - Triangle Walks (Allez Allez Remix)

Bodycode - What Did You Say

Thunderheist - Nothing 2 Step 2

Mixhell - Highly Explicit

2020 Soundsystem - Sliding Away (Johnny D Remix)

Super Viral Brothers - Hot Chocolate & Polar Bear Rug (Dada Life Remix)

WHY? - The Vowels Pt 2 (Amplive Remix)

Telepathe - Chromes On It (Gold Panda Remix)

Zero 7 - Everything Up Zizou (Mock n' Toof Remix)

Mixhell - Boom Da (Crookers Remix)

Bag Raiders - Turbo Love (KIM Remix)

Santigold - Anne (King Britt Moody Mix

Glass Candy - Beatific

Videos:
Dan Black - Symphonies

Polly Scattergood - Please Don't Touch

Hot Lava - Blue Dragon

Jovi Rockwell - Rizzla

Smiles Everyone Smiles

Ryan Hamilton and Jencey Hirunrusme create their own modern blend of folk, pop and rock in Smile Smile. Their songs range from heart wrenching ballads to foot stomping sing alongs. Jencey’s classical piano background teamed with Ryan’s self-taught guitar style combine to create sounds, which both soar above you and pull you in tight at the same time.

And pull you in they do. Maybe it's because I'm writing this at 7:10am, but they have this uncanny ability to take something as simple as a piano and drums and turn them into part of the biggest song ever. "Sad Song," for example, has epic written all over it. It's got such a fantastic level of girl/boy interplay that it will give you goosebumps. When Smile Smile hit a chorus they hit it and hit it hard. This is a group that aims for the stars and goes beyond them with tear jerking accuracy.

Continuing to support their latest album Blue Roses, Smile Smile has just been hand-picked by Metric to open up for them on tour alongside Sebastien Grainger. The 9-city trek kicked off in Seattle and makes its final rounds along the East Coast with NYC and DC dates. Here are the last three dates...

JUNE 17 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
JUNE 18 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
JUNE 19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero Theater

Download: Sad Song

The Color is Turning...

Forming within the growing Los Angeles Indie/Experimental scene, The Color Turning conceived a project that pulled from an eclectic pallet of modern and experimental rock. The band blended the power and emotion of Southern California’s indie scene while using European ambient rock instrumentation and arrangements to contextualize and broaden the scope of expression drawn from their creative manifestations.

That's a really complicated way of saying that the band throw a whole bunch of influences up against the wall, use whatever sticks, and then carve out shiny pop gems out of that. This is a group unafraid to use everything at their disposal to create songs that linger on long after they're gone. That's good because they excel at writing the "big" tune. One listen to, "New Hooligan," and I think you'll agree they've got the knack for big riffs and even bigger choruses. It's uber-melodic stuff that's quite good.

Their album, Good Hands Bad Blood is an auditory adventure. Displaying flagrant mastery of their instruments and genre, The Color Turning represents an expansion of Los Angeles’ indie psyche with dancing musicianship and detailed composition. Finally, as if some corporate big wig broke out a dictionary for some phraseology, the band structured the album around the rising download culture in music, the band creates a visceral experience to be listened to in its whole as a story or broken into its chapters of tracks.

Download: New Hooligan