Pull No Punches

As you may or may not know, Brooklyn is pretty much the US capital of music right now. So much music is coming out of this area of NY that's it's pretty much impossible to keep up with. The funny thing about Brooklyn though, is much like the area itself, the stuff coming out of there is incredibly diverse. You have all sorts indie, all sorts of dance, world music inflected stuff...it's just all over the place and that's truly a great thing that should help the area remain fertile for at least a while.

Among the heaps of talent crawling around the area is PUNCHES. PUNCHES was formed on a late and snowy night in December 2009 when DJ twins Finger On The Pulse shared a cab with Alan Astor and The Kid Robb. During that cab right the four of them talked about what would make the perfect soundtrack for the upcoming summer and it was at that point that PUNCHES was born.

Having been around for under a year, their rise has been quick. They've already remixed Au Revoir Simone's, "Only You," written a few of their own tunes, and of course put together a mixtape which features all of that and a whole lot more.

With spring here, it seems to make sense to start thinking of the summer and thanks to the PUNCHES mixtape below you can start planning your holiday now because you already have the soundtrack.

Download: Somebody Has To Help You Mixtape
Tracklist:
Romanthony - Hold On
PUNCHES - Let Go
Panther Hands - Young Gifted and Brown
Chicane ft Tom Jones - Stoned In Love (Young Punx Remix)
Swick - Grow Up (Cassian Remix)
Au Revoir Simone - Only You (PUNCHES Remix)
Classixx - I'll Get You (Treasure Fingers Remix)
Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed (Russ Chimes Remix)
Figure & Sleepy T - It's Only Love
Haritas - Your Love
PUNCHES ft Alan Astor - Feeling Right

The Young Sinclairs

One more before I get back to the game...so pardon the quick post and press speak.

Hailing from the Blue Ridge Valley settlement of Roanoke, located in southwestern Virginia, the Young Sinclairs is a highly accomplished and gifted conglomerate of enterprising young mavericks steeped in the traditions of tuneful entertainment.

Armed with tube amps, 12 strings, and enough reverb to swath half of the continent in a pool of electronically amplified pop-art, this group of musical magicians pluck, bang, and wail their way across the highways in search of open minds and ears.

The diverse melodic material that drips from the golden-loomed pen of chief songwriter and vocalist Sam Lunsford spreads far and wide across the sonic landscape while remaining firmly rooted in the primitive earthly cadence of folk-based rock and roll music. Below-the-belt Dionysian rhythmical insistence blends with shimmering Apollonian transcendental beauty into a unique and distinctly modern American experience, though structurally and conceptually indebted to the techniques developed by pioneer genius musicians of the past, particularly the 1960's.

In other words take some Brian Jonestown Massacre, mix it with some more psychedelic pop, throw on a paisley shirt, crank up the lava lamps and there you have the Young Sinclairs. These guys embrace the 60's like it was their long lost brother and for that I admire them immensely. In an age where everything is stupidly day glo here's a band that knows truly when and where the best music ever, came from.

Download: Tribe

Sue For Sensual Harrassment

Just when you think Brooklyn has stopped churning out bands, and you pretty much have the area's sound down, here comes yet another band/group/artist from the area. with a clever play on words and a sound that's as seductive as their name, Sensual Harassment have just released their latest single, Fever.

Picking up where the much-blogged/buzzed about Soldier/Daddy Long Legs EP left off Fever has massive hooks, a driving synth line and a beat that bangs it's way home in an almost post baggy drugged out haze. This is the sound of 1992 brought back to life by a bunch of New Yorkers who probably were like three when all this stuff was popular initially. For us old folks, Sensual Harassment are like a throwback to something Chapterhouse could have recorded but never did.

Working again with engineer Jesse Cannon (The Cure, Animal Collective), the band has mastered the delicate art of making vintage gear sound new and listening carefully to their influences while still creating a galvanizing sound looks forward while joyously taking from the past. Sensual Harassment are a fantastic band that seem miles ahead (or behind) many of their local peers.

Download: Fever

Download: Daddy Long Legs

Aman Ellis was the Crunkasaurus

After the dismemberment of his successful band The Great Big No! in 2008, Aman Ellis turned to his side project Crunkasaurus Sex. After finding solace with midi controllers, studio monitors, and electronic production, he decided to get out of Alabama and move to the Big Apple. He landed in Brooklyn, NY, and changed his production name to the one he was born with, Aman Ellis. His first official release, All The Things - EP, was issued on February 11, 2010 on Abstract Logic Recordings.

All The Things shows an artist coming into his own and growing out of his Crunkasaurus Sex phase. With a melodic quality that's impressive and the ability to shift gears faster then Michael Schumacher, Aman Ellis is a talent that the world will soon have to reckon with. Whether it's tech house, italo, or glitchy stuff, the guy can write a tune almost as if it was second nature to him. Truly a talent to keep an eye on especially if you live up in good ol' New York.

Download: Dante's Express Way

Listen: All The Things

Introducing Your Prom Kings....

The Prom Kings are a dynamic duo from Montreal, Canada. The group consists of two dudes (The Sonixx and Alex Mof aka Mo-Fo) from suburban Quebec who have recently moved to the city to pursue and embrace music and the rock and roll lifestyle.

They should find themselves right at home when they arrive as they've been DJing for years and taking pictures of parties whenever they're not behind the decks. They're ready for the big time and with a set of original tracks and remixes designed to destroy sound systems, dance floors, and your mind, they should pretty much be able to accomplish that.

With a sound that pretty much comes off like a blaster battle with beats, their tunes the gamut and include French flourishes, piano house overtones, dubstep drops and enough wobble to make you seasick. In other words...good stuff.

Download: Bitchez Get Down
Download: Nujax - Beat Gon Boom (Prom Kings Remix)

Up In High Places

From the super cool records you want to own department comes the announcement of a new High Places 12" Single.

High Places began as an experiment in collaboration: two people with diverse artistic backgrounds coming together to merge their skills, aesthetic tastes, and music-making approaches. Robert Barber grew up listening to punk and hardcore, and Mary Pearson studied bassoon performance, but both gravitated toward a DIY compositional style and a love of layers. It is the affinity for layering that has thus far defined the duo, both in ideas and instrumentation. High Places’ songs contain a fascinating range of aural layers: bells and bird calls over a wash of ocean waves; mallets hitting mixing bowls over treated guitar and glockenspiel; Mary's reflective vocals over Rob's homemade beats. The result is an imaginative and spacious amalgamation of sounds with a unique, almost Caribbean undertone that is as immediate as it is refreshing.

Way back last Halloween, High Places released a digital single entitled "I Was Born" (perhaps ironically addressing the subject of birth as a precursor to the new album?) that demonstrated Rob Barber and Mary Pearson using more standard instrumentation than the two had employed in the past. In March, the band released another digital single, this one a remix, called "Can't Feel Nothing (HP Remix)". On both of these, as on their new album High Places vs. Mankind, guitars play an important role, and on this single the band has often kept them sounding like guitars. Mary's vocals are less effected and more present. But many aspects of the High Places sound and aesthetic remain intact. One hears dance rhythms, stereo effects, accessible melodies, dub influence, and as always, a love of layering and of combining the unexpected into something cohesive and new. A faster pace and darker tone also seem to permeate through the singles and this new 12" collects these tracks as well as their unheard counterparts.

If you're wondering what all this sounds like, it's an uncomplicated collision between a 48 track digital recording and Laika! Somewhat tribal, somewhat dancey, and most definitely fascinating, High Places will keep your ears guessing and transfixed by the music they create. It's fantastic stuff that doesn't have many peers.

Pressed on 150 gram opaque colored vinyl (white with a slight touch of blue speckled in), this 12" arrives on April 20th in a limited edition of 1,000. It is housed in a DJ style jacket with black print photographs on each side. The LP labels are printed in full color from the original photos so that they will match up with the artwork and fill the void left by the holes in the jacket! Trust us, it looks cool.

Download: Can't Feel Nothing (HP Remix)
Download: On Giving Up

Felix Cartal Wants You To Love Popular Music

This week has been a nightmare. If you read the blog regularly you'll see that things haven't been to regular this week. I've barely had chance to sleep let alone post on here thanks being absolutely buried. It's been a nightmare but the good thing is, this week is over.

Hello weekend! That being said, lets kick off this Friday in style with an ass kicker from our good friend Felix Cartal. The man is pretty much becoming synonymous with the words hard house and his album Popular Music is the reason why. The record squiggles, bangs and clangs its way through the dance floor, drags you back on it and then has its way with you. And that's just the first couple of tunes. By the end you'll be begging for mercy but there will be none.

That being said, Felix Cartal knows that you will love Popular Music so much, he is extending his North American tour. While he could pack it after tearing the roofs off clubs in Austin, Miami and countless cities in between he's decided to come back for more and beat you up one more time. Cartal’s recently released debut (March 30th) kicks off with the eponymous opener and is a ravey, banger built around a catchy vocal line, “Break-it down / Smash it up / Back to where you begin /Take it left / Take it right / Come on say it again.” And that ladies and gentlemen pretty much sums up Felix in a nutshell throw in his characteristic larger-than-life beats and catchy, fuzzed-out melodies and you have one hell of an album.

Here are those dates...
Apr 2: New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Apr 3: Dallas, TX @ Lizzard Lounge
Apr 6: Boston, MA – Wonderbar
Apr 8: Charleston, SC – Daily Dose
Apr 15: Denver, CO – Beta
Apr 23: Phoenix, AZ – Barsmith
Apr 24: San Francisco, CA – Triple Crown
July 16: New York, NY – Camp Bisco Festival
Aug 28: Monterrey, CA – Hellow Festival

Download: World Class Drive (Keatch Remix)