UK tunesters Summer Camp are heading our way next month for their first journey to the United States since the release of their critically acclaimed debut album, “Welcome To Condale” this past November. The band, known for their jangly beats and vibrant, 80s-flavored pop got dazzling reviews across the board for “Condale,” with one reviewer even proclaiming it as “the stuff Britpop dreams are made of.” Now, North American audiences will get a chance to see the group as it swings through NYC, Washington and L.A. Full tour dates are available at their official website wearesummercamp.com.
In the meantime, check out one of our favorite Summer Camp tunes, “Better Off Without You,” below:
Don’t let their festive name fool you, the latest song from Sleigh Bells is anything but a cozy Christmas carol. Instead, “Born to Lose,” off their forthcoming sophomore album, “Reign of Terror,” is a high volume assault of big beats and driving guitar riffs, paired against singer Alexis Krauss’ dreamy voice.
“Reign of Terror” (album artwork seen above) is the highly anticipated follow up to 2010’s “Treats.” Prior to its release, Sleigh Bells will embark on a full tour of Florida, where guitarist Derek Miller grew up, with fellow Floridian Diplo and Brooklyn’s Liturgy. Check out the band’s website for all the dates and details. And take a listen to their new single, “Born to Lose,” below:
Some of the most captivating moments of UK chanteuse Anna Calvi’s live experience are when she pays homage to her musical influences. Her powerful re-workings of other artists’ songs are always striking and unforgettable. Most recently she’s been performing a rousing cover of TV On The Radio’s “Wolf Like Me” – a song that she says resonated with her the very first time she heard it.
“I love the desperation in this song- the original by TV On The Radio is relentless, and terrifying,” she writes. “I find the idea of losing control of oneself very provocative, and the way this idea is explored in “Wolf like Me” (the protagonist is turning into a werewolf) is humorous but dangerously effective. In my version I wanted to imagine the change is almost happening in slow motion – that there is no fight anymore, but a dreamlike embrace of the inevitable. I wanted the song to feel like a hypnotic prayer. I chose to omit the last verse of the original, and instead allow the guitar to take over, at the point where all control is lost!”
This performance of “Wolf Like Me” was recorded at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels in October, as part of Calvi’s European tour. She’s in Canada and the U.S. this month to finish up a string of dates. Find more info at annacalvi.com.
French duo Housse de Racket are taking their synth-pop sounds left of the Atlantic this fall with the release of their sophomore album, “Alesia,” and a tour with fellow Frenchmen, pop trio Yelle. De Racket, which translates in English to ‘tennis racket cover,’ are Victor Le Masne and Pierre Leroux, two highly sought-after musicians who have worked with the likes of Chilly Gonzales, Phoenix, and Air. Now, they’ve teamed up with French super-producer, Phillipe Zdar (Cassius, Phoenix, The Rapture) to create a collection of eleven electro-pop songs in the vein of the bands’ own wide range of musical influences, from Ennio Morricone to David Bowie. It’s been a hit in Europe and it’s sure to win over audiences here as well. Check out the music video for the song “Chateau,” off the band’s album “Alesia,” below:
LA-based artist, Toban Nichols, has been producing some very interesting and original landscape photographs. A graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, Nichols is a self-proclaimed “deconstructivist,” meaning his aesthetic heavily references the architectural development which began in the late 1980s and is characterized by the fragmentation and manipulation of an object’s surface or skin.
The artist’s latest series certainly exemplifies the deconstructivist in Nichols. Entitled “Dendroid,” the series interrupts and reinterprets landscape photography within the context of a computer crash. The landscapes are absolutely mesmerizing. The notion of the digital abstraction of nature is so poignant in a time where every aspect of our lives operates within the context of technology, including our consumption of the natural world. Nichols interest is rooted in the ever-increasing rate of technological advancement, and society’s oblivious embrace of it despite the potential future disasters of complex technology.
The accompanying film to the photo series is entitled “Semaphore,” a term which refers to a train signaling mechanism. The film begins with two people in a domestic space (the semaphores), and alternates with shots of Nichols’ abstracted landscape. The semaphores seemingly innocuous gestures actually signal movement between the spaces and the end result is simultaneously eerie and psychedelic. Check out the film below:
