REQUIEM.

Alex Burkat Announces ‘Tarot’ 12″ Out June 11th on 100% Silk, New Track on FACT

Photo Credit: Zubaer Khan

Alex Burkat will release a glistening 12″ on June 11th on Los Angeles-based label 100% Silk, aptly titled Tarot.

The title track can be heard now on FACT Magazine, who call it a “pristine, synth-washed bit of house music punctuated with jazzy drum fills that give it a live feel.”

Click Here To Stream “Tarot” On FACT Magazine

The Brooklyn-based musician has been steadily making a name for himself with his fine tuned take on electronic music, incorporating whirling beats and sensuous synths to his gorgeous blend of house music. Having previously released Shower Scene, his first EP on Brooklyn’s Mister Saturday Night label this spring, Burkat is poised to bring his luxurious house-tinged sounds to the masses with Tarot, out June 11th.

Josef Salvat Releases New Video For “Hustler”

After reaching #1 in the HypeMachine charts and amounting over 110,000 plays on Soundcloud, Josef Salvat has released the haunting and mysteriously enchanting new video for his latest single “Hustler”. Premiered on Pitchfork, the track follows Josef through a tale of reflection, ambiguous characters and a faint decadence; amounting in a video that has you completely drawn in and sucked under, not wanting to let go.

Click Here to Watch “Hustler” on YouTube

Fader describes Salvat as “very impressive,” highlighting the strength of his song writing, including the lyrics “I’ve got the body of a lover with a masochist’s sprain/ I’ve got the heart of a hustler playing a dangerous game.”

Stream “Hustler” on Soundcloud

“Hustler” will be released on June 3rd.

Polysick Announces ‘Under Construction’ 12″ Out June 11th on 100% Silk, New Single on Pitchfork

Polysick is the solo project of Egisto Sopor, a Rome-based artist who has released music on Legowelt’s Strange Life Records, Planet Mu, Belgian label audioMER and 100% Silk over the course of just a few years. Today he announces Under Construction, a new 12″ out June 11th on 100% Silk, as well as a new single off the record, “3 Cents.”

Click Here To Stream “3 Cents” on Pitchfork

Streaming now on Pitchfork, “3 Cents” is a seven minute journey through beats, synths, acid house and techno undertones, something Pitchfork calls “a gorgeously screwed slice of acid-filtered dance music.”

Look out for the four luscious tracks off Under Construction, out June 11th on 100% Silk.

Majical Cloudz Stream ‘Impersonator’ on Pitchfork Advance, Out 5/21 on Matador | Tour w/Youth Lagoon

Photo Credit: Denis Nazarov

In anticipation of the release of their Matador debut next Tuesday, May 21st, Majical Cloudz are streaming Impersonator in it’s entirety on Pitchfork Advance.

Click Here To Stream Impersonator on Pitchfork Advance

Comprised of Devon Welsh and Matthew Otto, Majical Cloudz have been receiving praise for their intense, vocally driven songs and their intimate, powerful live show. New single “Bugs Don’t Buzz” garnered a Best New Track from Pitchfork, who write how it’s, “defined by its directness–that Devon Welsh is singing to you, or, if you present this song to a loved one, it’s you singing to them. It’s indeed a love song that feels like a confession of a devotion that one wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing with more than one person.”

Click Here To Download “Bugs Don’t Buzz”

In a recent interview with the duo, Stereogum write, “it’s hard to imagine that anyone will release an album this year as lovely – or as harrowingly intimate – as Majical Cloudz’s soon-to-be-released debut, Impersonator.” SPIN compare the pair as a cross between James Blake and Antony Hegarty, calling “Bugs Don’t Buzz” “incredibly intense.”

Click Here For Glasslands Record Release Show Ticket Link

Currently finishing a national tour with Youth Lagoon, Majical Cloudz will be playing a record release show at Brooklyn’s Glasslands on May 21st with support from Gobby and unannounced surprise guests, a special live set after the duo’s two sold out New York dates last week. They will also be playing select dates with Grizzly Bear this summer, as well as sets at Montreal’s Osheaga Festival and later at Hopscotch Music Festival, with all dates below.

5/14: A&R Bar, Columbus, OH *
5/15: Permanent Records (4 PM – Free,) Chicago, IL
5/15: Metro, Chicago, IL *
5/16: Majestic Theater, Madison, WI *
5/17: Fine Line, Minneapolis, MN *
5/20: Other Music (8 PM – Free,) New York, NY
5/21: Glasslands, Brooklyn, NY #
6/18: The Fillmore at Jackie Gleason, Miami Beach, FL @
6/19: The Ritz Ybor, Tampa, FL @
8/02: Osheaga Festival, Montreal, QC
9/07: Hopscotch Music Festival, Raleigh, NC

* with Youth Lagoon
# with Gobby and Special Guests
@ with Grizzly bear

Russian Tsarlag Announces ‘Gagged in Boonesville’ LP Out June 11th on Not Not Fun, Track on Ad Hoc

Photo Credit: Alexandra Denning

Russian Tsarlag is the nom de plume of Carlos Gonzales, a Providence-based artist set to release Gagged In Boonesville, a new full length record out June 11th on Not Not Fun. The first single and title track can be heard now on Ad Hoc, who write, “Tsarlag has honed his aesthetic, and in 2013 his songs are better than ever. The blunted cassette haze colors his songcraft just as thoroughly as his laconic vocals.”

Click Here To Stream “Gagged in Boonseville” on Ad Hoc

With a lo-fi sound, DIY aesthetic and a strange yet endearing persona, Russian Tsarlag has created a record that is simultaneously drone-y, noisy, melancholy and new-wave while still retaining a quality that makes the listener return to it over and over. Tsarlag will be embarking on an extensive national tour this summer, look out for the “garbage-artisan savant” in a town near you.

Mean Lady Announce ‘Love Now’ LP Out July 23rd on Fat Possum, Premiere Track on Pitchfork

Photo Credit: Faith Silva

Mean Lady is the duo of Katie Dill and Sam Nobles. They are from Delaware and they’re both really nice. Really, really nice. For their new debut LP the duo have written a collection of songs about lust, innocence and vulnerability. Love Now is coming out on July 23rd, 2013 on Fat Possum Records.

Pitchfork have premiered first single “Far Away,” writing, “‘Far Away’ wouldn’t feel out of place on the last Youth Lagoon record, an out-of-time waltz flanked by aqueous sound effects. It’s a prelude to something far more vigorous, though, as squishy beats, sprightly piano plinks, and an approximation of a sitar server as the backdrop for Katie Dill’s transcontinental love letter.”

Click Here To Listen To “Far Away” On Pitchfork

Through bubbly synths and rhythmic production, Dill and Nobles managed to cobble together a timeless, concise pop record. It’s a finished product that could only exist when kids from Delaware grew up, trashed all their soul records and then got high some time after DJ Shadow started to suck but probably before J Dilla died.

Love Now is deep and rich. The sound is Sam’s wonderfully abrupt sampling and skipping drum beats underneath the band’s live instruments. All of this is anchored by Katie’s songwriting and sharp, but sweet vocals. Take heed: this is an important debut for a young band.

Sled Island Music & Arts Festival | June 19-25, 2013 in Calgary, Alberta – Announces Film Program and Screening Highlights

Today, Sled Island Music and Arts Festival announced official selections for its 2013 film program. In partnership with the Glenbow Museum, the Alberta Premiere of Museum Hours directed by Jem Cohen, Executive Producers Guy Picciotto and Patti Smith, starring Canadian music icon Mary Margaret O’Hara will open the program on Tuesday June 18, 2013 at The Glenbow Museum. The Closing Gala screening at The Globe Cinema on Tuesday June 25, 2103 with Alberta Premiere of The Legend of Kaspar Hauser directed and written by Davide Manuli and starring Vincent Gallo. Now in its 7th year the Sled Island film program is an off-the-beaten-path boutique of independent cinema spread over multiple days in multiple venues around downtown Calgary, Alberta.

The 2013 Sled Island film program is better than ever running from Tuesday, June 18 through to Tuesday, June 25, find Canadian and Alberta Premieres of concert documentaries, narrative features, music videos, community presentations and guest curated international shorts. Events include an outdoor Secret Cinema Bike-In, as well as nightly after-parties at Milk Tiger Lounge. Also, confirmed is an Artists Talk with North Country Cinema guest film curators Kyle Thomas and Alexander Carson.

“The Sled Island film program is a terrific mix of independent and unconventional cinema,” says Programmer and Coordinator Jeanette Burman. Burman elaborates, “Whether it be getting a glimpse into arists’ on tour in Apocalypse: A Bill Callahan Tour Film and Suuns Europe 2011; New visions in Selected Works of Emily Kai Bock & Evan Prosofsky, the totally bonkers and truly fascinating The Legend of Kaspar Hauser or the Canadian Premiere of indie darling Matthew Porterfield’s new feature I Used To Be Darker; our programmers have selected thought provoking and entertaining films and we are presenting them with special events and lots of parties—bring dancing shoes.”

“In developing this year’s film program we worked to expand the existing spirit and mandate of Sled Island,” says Jesse Cumming, Programmer, continuing, “Like the music and visual arts components SLED ISLAND FILM shares a belief in championing up and coming artists, especially with Canadian and independent cinema, a desire to challenge what can be expected with familiar forms and an appreciation for classics that still deserve our attention. We hope you enjoy this year’s edition!”

More special events and screenings to be announced in coming weeks.

Click Here For Trailers, Synopsis, etc. on the Film Program
Click Here For Media Credentials

The Sled Island Festival Discovery and Festival Discovery Plus passes include access to every screening, the all ages pass includes access to some screenings, individual tickets can be purchased in advance and at the door. For pass information visit: shop.sledisland.com.

ADULT. Stream ‘The Way Things Fall’ LP On FADER, Summer Tour Dates

ADULT. are set to release their fifth album, The Way Things Fall, next Tuesday, May 14th, with the exclusive stream of the full record up now on FADER.

Click Here To Stream The Way Things Fall on FADER

FADER write, “what’s surprising about the wonky synth lines and smiting, deadpan vocals on their excellent return to the studio, The Way Things Fall, is very fresh and how of-the-moment they sound, like something you might hear at a fog-machine-filled cold wave party today, only with an emphasis on clarity of form, instead of hazy subterfuge.” Continuing with the song “Tonight, We Fall,” FADER call it an “infectious, deftly textural track,” one that capitalizes on Nicola Kuperus’ gothy, compelling vocals.

Click Here To Stream ”Tonight We Fall” on FADER

The duo have also shared somewhat of an urgent Public Service Announcement, one that addresses the dire need to properly spell their name correctly, inflecting a doubly serious and humorous take on the matter.

Click Here To Watch ADULT.’s Public Service Announcement

BULLETT called first single “Idle (Second Thoughts)” an epitome of the intersection between “electronic elements with a sharper punk edge…it’s a living, breathing concoction of analog instrumentation and electronic aesthetic, with a minimal diffidence that pushes and pulls.” Electronic Musician write of the record, “stripped of ratty bass panic attacks and atonal splatter, consonant arrangements and blanched analogue melodies manifest in wraithlike contortions.”

Click Here To Stream ”Idle (Second Thoughts)”

ADULT. are playing select cities this summer, including a hometown set at Movement Electronic Music Festival in Detroit, as well as shows on the West and East coast, with all dates below.

Pre-Order New ADULT. Album From The Ghostly Store
Pre-Order Album From iTunes

05.26.13 – Movement Electronic Music Festival – Detroit, MI
05.31.13 – Assembly / Sacramento Electronic Music Festival – Sacramento, CA
06.02.13 – Echo – Los Angeles, CA *
06.08.13 – 285 Kent – Brooklyn, NY #
06.22.13 – Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL
09.05.13 – Hopscotch Festival – Raleigh, NC

* with //Tense// and Von Haze
# with Black Marble and YOU

Midnight Juggernauts Announce ‘Uncanny Valley’ LP Out July 9th on Record Makers

Photo Credit: Luke Stephenson

The Melbourne-based Midnight Juggernauts are returning this summer with new album Uncanny Valley, to be released on July 9th, 2013 via Record Makers.

In robotic engineering and CGI, the Uncanny Valley is a hypothesis — coined by legendary roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970 – he wrote in his work Bukimi no Tani Genshō (不気味の谷現象): “I have noticed that, in climbing toward the goal of making robots appear human, our affinity for them increases until we come to a valley, which I call the uncanny valley.”

Click Here To Watch “Ballad of the War Machine” Video

The dark depths of this philosophical valley is a space the trio — Vincent Vendetta, Andrew Szekeres, Daniel Stricker — have long explored. Running traditional rock instruments (guitar, keyboards, drums) through samplers, pedals, patches, and assorted effects, they pervert the familiar into slightly-off forms; robotic sounds made by human hands, with the waft of unsettling horror-soundtracks keeping things forever on edge.

Since forming in Melbourne in 2004, the band have forged a unique path, pressing themselves firmly into the popular and unpopular consciousness, refusing to be bound by boundaries of genre, convention, or expectation. Eschewing an easy parochial path, Midnight Juggernauts have instead been international; taking their psychedelic Soviet-sci-fi pop to listeners near and far, around the corner and around the globe.

Uncanny Valley marks Midnight Juggernaut’s third full-length journey into the deep, once again piloting their glittery kosmische musik far into known cosmos and unknown genre. The band began rolling tape between a church nestled in the Loire Valley in the French countryside and various studios in Melbourne and Sydney; the resulting record is another LP that sounds uniquely Midnight Juggernauts. Situated at a self-styled nexus between genre and era, Uncanny Valley is 43 minutes of warm-hearted cold wave, interstellar harmonies, early 1950′s house, steeped in the darkness of dusty Giallo soundtracks, audio spomeniks at once futuristic and rustic, a bold musical future envisaged through a soundtrack to a forgotten Eastern Bloc Tarkovsky film, sifting through the ruins of LPs past.

The record marks the band’s long-awaited return, their first output for three years following their previous albums Dystopia and The Crystal Axis. After touring long and hard from Brisbane to Barcelona, Berlin, Bogotá, and beyond— the trio took ‘time off’, which really equated to throwing themselves into all manner of esoteric adventures, oddball one-offs, inspired shindigs, and ambitious undertakings.

SHAMS Announces ‘Piano Cloud’ EP Out May 21st on 100% Silk, New Track on Pitchfork

Photo Credit: Ryan Slack

SHAMS is back with Piano Cloud, a shimmering new EP out May 21st on independent label 100% Silk. Leading off with first single “She Wanted To Watch,” the record is full of smooth beats and soulful house with a flow that fits somewhere between “3 AM and brunch” according to the artist himself, Brooklyn-based Jonathan Coward.

Click Here To Stream “She Wanted To Watch” On Pitchfork

Pitchfork calls “She Wanted To Watch” an “effortless disco-house hybrid with a few clever touches that keep it from slipping into boilerplate territory. The most exciting of Shams’ choices is also the most subtle: a glimmering barely-there synth interpolated now and again to grant the music a little mystery. Those synths, along with an uncanny twilight-zone aura which intrudes in the final minute, help contribute to the song’s sensuality.” The artist has also released a special teaser trailer to accompany the album announcement, featuring new music off Piano Cloud.

Click Here To View Piano Cloud Teaser

SHAMS will be performing select shows in support of the release, with more information to come, but for now ease into the deep, luscious and pulsating grooves of Piano Cloud.