Archive for July, 2009

I almost didn’t want to post this link just so I could snag a few of the books, but I don’t think I really need to add any to my collection right now. The Strange Attractor turned me on to Counter-Print’s great selection of vintage design books. The real beauty here is the pricing; pretty reasonable compared to what I have seen elsewhere. The main attraction for me though are the great pictures and excellent page selections. Counter-Print: please, please keep your archive of sold books going (the grayed-out selections at the bottom) so we’ll always have a record of some of these rare finds.

Design books in general have always been a dichotomous obsession for me. On the one hand I am compulsively drawn to them; as if owning a physical copy of the images inside will allow me to understand or appreciate them better. But on the other hand, I rarely refer back to these books once I’ve owned them for any amount of time. They look nice all stacked up on the bookshelf, but whether they serve any real function beyond that I can’t really say. I suppose they are good to refer back to for inspiration or reference but for some reason I never actually take the time to crack most of them open. I suppose they aren’t really meant to be all that functional, perhaps they’re best viewed as a collection and something to be enjoyed as a whole. At any rate, you could do your own collection some serious good by checking out what Counter-Print has on offer.

I couldn’t wait for the morning so here it is new Kings Of Convenience, if you haven’t noticed i’m kind of a big fan of Erlend Oye. You know there isn’t ever a disappointing note in a KoC song if you find the right moment to take it in.

Not only is there new Kings of Convenience but there is a new Atlas Sound coming out on 4AD featuring Noah(Panda Bear) from Animal Collective. The melody from the flute in the background is completely flooring, I want it to go on forever, this just song just made my year.

Planet Mu has been signing some consistent and interesting artists as of late, this new cut from FaltyDL has a unique way of doing an almost stripped down Garage track, heading over to check the record on iTunes to see how the rest of the LP sounds.

Gui Boratto might have the ugliest cover of 2009 but that didn’t stop me from checking out his album. When the vocal comes in i’m not too fond of the song but until then it reminds me of the good old days of Kompakt where you’d go to your local vinyl shop and check what this weeks Kompakt 12″ sounded like.

Alright, off to bed to watch Deadwood, I wish I could watch more than 73 mins on Megavideo before it says I have to wait an hour to use Megavideo again, ugh.

Kings Of Convenience – Mrs. Cold

Atlas Sound – Walkabout

FaltyDL – And I Really Know…

Gui Boratto – No Turning Back

Long time ISO50 blog reader, ex. Judah Johnson frontman, and adding some soul and romance to electronic music is Daniel Johnson with his debut LP Lazrus. When i’ve played the record to friends some people said the album sounded like TV on the Radio, Jamie Lidell, Thom Yorke, Deastro and even Hot Chip at times but to be honest I think of it as its own animal. The record came to me during a time that I wasn’t listening to anything like it, I don’t have much soul/R+B in my collection of music and probably never will but this LP has hints of those elements and then some that help me effortlessly engage by Daniel’s additions of detail to an almost actual true pop electronic album.

If there was a most improved band award it would go to The Horrors, I remember being drawn into their myspace by seeing that Chris Cunningham did a video for them but the music didn’t grab me like it does now. Sean Lynch (from 800beloved) and I drove around a few weeks ago when I was in Michigan and it was around 4 am and this song came on I was really enjoying it and then Sean whispered something about how insane it is to put out a 8 minute single for an album today and I remember just chuckling and asking myself if this song is really going to go on for 8 mins but soon enough I didn’t want it to end. Also, do yourself a favor if its your first listen and just watch the video.

Went to the Warp offices the other day and met with Zach who helps hold it down here in the States, he recommended this Tyondai Braxton LP who impresses me on another level when I see him live playing guitar for Battles. I can this song hitting Top 40 local rock radio at times with a radio edit, reminds me if you stripped down a good Deftones song.

I keep hearing about XL’s new signing Discovery since its 2 guys from Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend, after the first listen I would of never guessed that or even came close to that it was members from either. I listened to 2 free songs which you can find if you search for them in the blog world but after going on iTunes I found that I think this Osaka Loop Line song might be a favorite.

Daniel – Heart Of A Dog

The Horrors – Sea Within A Sea

Tyondai Braxton – J. City

Discovery – Osaka Loop Line

The Horrors – Sea Within A Sea Video

I just got home from Portland after playing the Emrg-n-See festival on Sunday night. Thanks to everyone who made it out, I had a great time playing and the energy was amazing. I had the honor of sharing the stage with two artists I have a lot of respect for: Flying Lotus and Daedelus. Luckily I brought my little Canon SD780 Elf and in between setting up my gear backstage, I was able to catch a little bit of Daedelus’ set on video (Sorry they’re so short, time was really tight).

The SD780 really is amazing for it’s size; it cranks out HD and takes some great still shots too. If course, it’s not the greatest in low light situations so take the above examples with a grain of salt. I will post some daylight stuff this week that show it’s real capabilities.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFrLUzawtWg

Get well soon MCA. Also, Paul’s Boutique / Check Your Head / Ill Communication: maybe the best 3 album run of any band ever?

Experimental rocker Jesu remixes School of Seven Bells, the remix is very similar to something that maybe Apparat or The Reflecting Skin would of done I think which includes heavy dry kicks and swells, definitely one of my favorite remixes in 2009.

Recently listened to a mix by Philip Sherburne and it started off with this His Name Is Alive track which I thought was a group that has some ok records but this instrumental should be followed up by a whole series of songs like this, i’m sure i’d not be the only one buying that record up.

More electronic music producers need to be making music videos that they’ve done if they have some decent taste like this Rebolledo one that just features Matias Aguayo walking around on the beach eating ice cream and singing the song. The drummer is the the best part, I have no idea what he’s playing with but he’s looking great doing it hah. I hope to see younger musicians like Seth Troxler take on a project like this because he’s almost at this level and has the imagination for it. The video is also refreshing for Techno/House and it also made me revisit Matias Aguayo’s first record “Are You Really Lost” which blew me away again. On a side note: That Theremin sound will kinda get to you, might actually turn you away but I guess its more about the bassline at times for me and vox.

School Of Seven Bells – Face To Face On High Places (Jesu Remix)

His Name Is Alive – Sitting Still Moving Still Staring Out

Matias Aguayo – So In Love

Rebolledo – Pitaya Frenesí (Vocal Version) [feat. Matias Aguayo]

Rebolledo – Pitaya Frenesí (Vocal Version) [feat. Matias Aguayo]

In response to Jakub’s post on 1970’s shopping malls, I’ve long wished I could travel back in time and visit some of these spots, again or for the first time. Vacated malls and abandoned theme parks sit lodged in the subconscious as Ithaca-like pleasuredomes. The idea of all-inclusive commerce appealed to/terrified great men like J.G. Ballard and George A. Romero (who set his gorefest Dawn Of The Dead uncoincidentally in a vacated mall) and continue to haunt the collective imagination.

One example of a great lost park is Atlanta’s The World Of Sid and Marty Krofft which opened in 1976 and featured attractions based on the characters of their popular shows and rides like the Pinball one seen in the included pics. The place seems unbelievably spooky and surreal and it’s lack of document only increases it’s eeriness. WSMK might was dubbed the first indoor theme park, which was based inside the Omni International Center (now CNN’s news headquarters) and featured the world’s largest freestanding escalator. Surprising little can be found online but this article sheds some light on the idea for the park. WSMK cost $14 milllon to build (Over $50 million in 2009 money) and closed within six months.

Somebody is there is a cool Flickr set by Yosigo. As the title so aptly puts it, each photo in the set has a picture of someone “there”, usually depicted from afar. The one on the end is from the related Nobody is there, where as you can see, no one is there. I enjoy photography based on simple concepts like this, especially when it involves the beach. Some of the photos are a little too post produced for me (heavy vignetting etc), but there are a number of pretty cool shots in both sets.

via Build

Stereogum premiered info on the 21 artists compilation: Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy to help the former Miracle Legion front man continue making music while he raises his three-year old twin daughters. These kind of projects I love to see always and its nice to see someone like Thom Yorke down for the cause.

Sigur Rós frontman Jón (Jónsi) Þór Birgisson and partner Alex Somers, from Reykjavík band Parachutes collaborate on a LP which features this song Boy 1904, this might be the gentlest song ever posted on the blog which includes a boys choir i’m guessing and some beautiful drone. The art above isn’t the actual cover, I think its the photo that the cover was made from.

Tom Croose and Slow Hands turned me onto this Al Usher track, they literally did flips in the air while talking about it. I think it came out this week on INTERNASJONAL which is Prins Thomas’ label out of Norway. I think I hear harps, slow disco / balaeric being pushed to its edges when it comes to mellow cuts, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Remember Mazzy Star? well sometimes when I hear this song I wonder how it would be to be a musician that writes lyrics because I personally hardly listen to anything but instrumentals but if I wrote down “…fade into you, I think its strange you never knew…” i’d give myself goosebumps.

Thom Yorke – All For The Best

Jónsi & Alex – Boy 1904

Al Usher – Lullaby For Robert (Bulgari remix)

Mazzy Star – Fade Into You

I saw this on This Isn’t Happiness today and it reminded me of my friend’s brother who used to be way into restoring VWs. He was always talking about “23 Window” buses like they were the holy grail of VW collecting (well, that and a split window Bug). I’ve seen one of these on the street in my lifetime — here in San Francisco — and one restored and sitting in a garage back home in Sacramento. I always wanted one, but at this point I think I’d settle for a new school one with the pop-top and sink and all that.

On another note: I love VW’s old adverts; they were always simple and to the point. They are all over my old Newsweeks from the 60’s, I’ll have to post some up soon.