You and I is an album featuring previously unheard outside the studio, these seminal recordings are a rare opportunity to hear Jeff Buckley in peak form. The music video was directed by Amanda Demme. The album won't be available until March, but you can pre-order You and I here.
A film by Adam CK Vollick featuring Daniel Lanois and Rocco DeLuca.
photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper. Click here to read our interview with Daniel Lanois.
Daniel Lanois lives and breathes music in a very literal sense. As a true audiophile, he seems to be marinating in centuries of sound waves, honing in on some of historyโs most visceral musical compositions. Itโs as though he pulls rhythms directly from the ground and resonant frequencies from the stratosphere. This description may seem over the top, and while it comes from a place of genuine reverence, I can say that over the 3 hours that we spent together, I witnessed this phenomenon with my very own eyes and ears. When he tells a story, it doesnโt suffice to tell it in words. His life story wouldnโt make sense unless he sang it to you, played it for you, and punctuated it with his signature, โyea, man.โ Which is why I had to compile all of these bits in an audio file to give you a real feel for who he is and how he communicates. Itโs really quite elevating. Click here to read the full interview.
French electro production duo, The Blaze, have released their spellbinding new video for "Virile" โ taken from Bromance Records' forthcoming compilation "Homieland Vol. II". The Blaze defy time and spread confusion amongst minds with their mesmerising video for "Virile". Puffs of thick smoke float over their heads, punches thrown, a kiss on the cheek โ in tune with heartbeats. Wild and frenetic, we venture forth on the dance floor before losing control, slowly drifting away by a distant and elusive sound. However, our eyes are captivated by the video where two pals tenderly confront each other, tossing between a cockfight and a courtship ritual. Producers and directors duo The Blaze have crafted a sound between King Tubby and Art Department, while staying resolutely attached to the critically acclaimed 2014 coming of age film, Girlhood lust for life and the raving mad friendship of 1976 French film, Calmos.
Full disclosure: there is nothing objective about this article. I love Fat White Family. The band, to me, represents everything Iโve ever held dear about rock nโ roll: chaos, rebellion, sleaze, art, drugs, poetry, and politics. The first time I saw the band play live, about a year and a half ago, I was more excited than that time I saw Martin Scorsese walking down the Bowery (re: very excited). After housing beers and watching various members of the band run around the venue with their most famous fan and cheerleader, Sean Lennon, I elbowed my way to the front of the hall and got ready to let loose. 15 minutes went by when the bandโs six members, gangly, unkempt, and skinny, took to the stage, launching into a particularly cacophonic rendition of the opening chords of the bandโs lead single off debut album Champagne Holocaust, Auto Neutron. Lead singer Lias Saoudi, already half naked and sweating like Usain Bolt at the finish line, jittered to the front of the stage like a character in a Chris Cunningham music video and the band belted in unison, โAH AH AHHHH AHHH AHHHHHHH!โ Instantly, bodies began colliding in joyous punishment. In various levels of intoxication, the crowd bowed to the revolution of the Fat White Family. It hurt so good. By the end of the song, Lias had his cock out. The scene erupted like a Wolfgang Tillmans exhibition come to life. Click here to read more.
Odesza has unveiled a new video for In Return song โItโs Only (feat. Zyra)". Directed by Dan Brown, the video comes ahead of another headline run of major festivals this spring and summer including stops at Mysteryland, CRSSD, Boston Calling, Moogfest, Shaky Beats and more to come. โItโs Onlyโ will also be accompanied by a forthcoming remix package including remixes by RรFรS DU SOL, 20syl, Kania, and Fei-Fei, out February 19.
Click here to listen.
Click here to read and listen.
Click here to purchase Koudlam's album Benidorm Dream.
John Carter was a record promoter in San Francisco. I was a DJ on KSFO. I was doing something typically silly on my show. Boom-chuck-chuck. It takes two people, taking turns w/the syllables in waltz time. You say boom, I say chuck, you say chuckโฆand so on until someone messes up. The door to my studio opened while I was playing this nonsense game on the air with a caller. I saw John and we exchanged a smile. And then I saw who he was with. "David wants to play this game w/you." I almost fell off my chair. It was David Bowie, in town to promote his latest album. Bowie sat down and we began to play. I think he wiped me out in no time. After the show, David, John and I went to the Boarding House, the very hip venue on Bush Street. John had to take off, so I sat there for over an hour watching the show with David Bowie. It was surreal. Just two guys, taking in a show, knocking back a couple of drinks, checking out the scene. I was struck by how polite he was, warm and sincerely interested in everything going on around us. At one point, the light hit his face and, yep, there they were. That one blue eye, and one green eye. He caught me looking at him and smiled. "Odd, aren't they?" he said. We laughed. Bowie was on his way to Japanโฆby ship. He said he was terrified of flying, so he planned on taking a cruise ship from San Francisco to Tokyo. I remember thinking how cool that was to turn a morbid fear into a leisurely, sophisticated sea voyage. I can't recall much else. The show ended. (Sadly I have no idea who was on stage.) We said our farewells and he thanked me for playing his music on the radio. We parted. This morning, I woke up to the news that he was gone. The Thin White Duke with those extraordinary eyes. I had his company for an hour or so one night a long time ago. I'll never forget him. I'll never stop listening to him. And I'll play boom-chuck-chuck with anyone who'd like to.
Text by Terry McGovern. A San Francisco media fixture for decades, McGovern is well known on radio, TV, commercials, animation, feature films, theatre, and video games. You may remember him uttering those immortal words โThese are not the droids weโre looking forโ in Star Wars, A New Hope. He has also appeared in films such as American Graffiti and Mrs. Doubtfire.
When a hero dies, everyone wants a quote. I woke up this morning with a tender head from tears and that big red cup of Japanese whiskey, gulped last night just after the news came. People were already asking me what I thought. It feels kind of garish to talk about oneself at a time like this, when the thing that has happened is so distinctly world-sized. But everything Iโve read or seen since the news has been deeply intrinsic in tone, almost selfish, like therapy. Thatโs who he was to all of us. He was a piece of bright pleated silk we could stretch out or fold up small inside ourselves when we needed to. Click here to read more.
Marcus Marr, the acclaimed South London-based DJ, currently has an album out with Chet Faker. Marr has just kicked off a North American tour - you can click here for tour dates and venues. The above video, directed by Kinopravda.
Little Wings enters 2016 strong with the video for "Fat Chance" from his last album, EXPLAINS. It was directed by Patrick Brice who is best known for directing The Overnight and Creep. Be sure to watch all the way to the end to see the video take a strange turn towards the Marvel Universe.
Bubblegum goddesses. Wannabe Debbie Harrys. Dystopian mental illnesses. Solo rock shows in a mystical desert landscape... These are the videos that stood out in 2015 for their strangeness, abstraction, and beauty. And good tunes, of course. Click here for the full list...
