Thank God! New Jam/Album from Born Gold – Sky Bicycle

Born Gold - Sky BicycleHow long have we been waiting for new jams from this guy?! SO LONG (3 years to be exact). Thankfully, the wild-red-headed Canadian, Cecil Frena, aka Born Gold (formerly known as Gobble Gobble, which included members of the now Purity Ring) has gotten his gear in motion and is gracing us with new electro “hyper-hop” jams.

Little known fact: I was attending a Grimes show and prior to Claire’s performance, a perplexing opening act toyed the audience with interpretive dances, bizarro outfits and a finale that blanketed the crowd in some sort of parachute, all while playing Gobble Gobble covers. “What the f*** is this?!” I thought. “…and why are they playing my fav Gobble Gobble jams?” With a quick search on the ole iPhone, I soon hilariously discovered this wasn’t a whacko Gobble Gobble cover band, but the actual band (of one) playing by its new name: Born Gold. In conclusion, go see Born Gold play (for a weird time… wink, wink), and be prepared for oddities + a whole lot of amazing electro synth-pop.

With that, I am ecstatic to say that Born Gold will soon release a brand spankin’ and highly anticipated new album, Little Sleepwalker, on October 23 via Audraglint. Here is the first single, “Sky Bicycle.”

Born Gold – Sky Bicycle

Worth the Hype – Meet New Electro-Pop Songstress: MØ

MØ - PilgrimIsn’t it a wondrous phenomenon that while basking in the discovery a new, magnifying musical gem of stunning indie-electro-pop proportions, you suddenly receive an email from a homie recommending the ‘new dame,’ and your news feed instantly floods with blog posts calling your glorious ‘diamond in the rough’ the “next new Grimes.” In that moment, you realize that while, in that nano second of bliss in which you were only beginning to discover the magnitude of a new potential electro-pop star, there will always be someone one step ahead of you. This can either be A) really fucking annoying and/or depressing or B) reaffirming in that your musical tastes/choices may also have potential.

So with that, I, a homie via email, and a bunch of other blogs present to you a new electro-pop sensation hailing from Copenhagen: MØ. The talented 23-year-old songstress, Karen Marie Ørsted, graces us with two electro-pop gems, (Pilgrim, and Maiden) full of soaring vocals and just enough synth to keep us on the edge of our seats while she records her debut album.

MØ has officially taken seat on the hype throne, now we wait… unless you’re a lucky bastard and live in Brooklyn. MØ is playing at the Yours Truly CMJ Music Marathon party at Glasslands October 19th, and again later that night at the Danger Village Showcase. This music marathon and these lineups are so ridiculous that if I continue to talk about it, I might cry. So join in on the hype and see MØ in The Big Apple, or find her on Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud and/or Tumblr for a stalk, follow, listen or two.

MØ – Pilgrim

New Mind-Melting Jams! Doldrums + Blackbird Blackbird + Southern Shores + The Soft Moon + Mac DeMarco

Doldrums

Doldrums – She is the Wave

It’s been a weird and heavy week full of road trips, suburbia-ville, hospital visits, uncertainty, and a general lack of enjoyable jams via local radio. Hence, there’s no better way to bring this bizarro week to close with a round-up of new mind-melting tunes that’ll thrust you back into reality, or a lack-there-of.

Montreal-based Airick Woodhead is the experimental brainchild behind Doldrums, and he’s producing some of the freshest, “mind-melting” music around. His latest jam, “She is The Wave” is from a 7″ to be released via Arbutus Records in November. The new jam contains that consistently catchy electro/experimental beat full of synth, scratches, noise, disembodied vocals and screams – It’s Very Animal Collective-esque and once again, unbelievably addicting. Seriously hoping this launches the creation of a full length album – We all want it!

Doldrums – She is The Wave (feat. Guy Dallas)

San Francisco-based Mikey Maramag is the “dreamy folktronica” phsychadelic wünderkind behind Blackbird Blackbird. His latest hypnotic release “All” comes from his highly anticipated EP, Boracay Planet, slotted for release October 16th.

Blackbird Blackbird – All

Southern Shores, the synth-pop Nova Scotia-by-way-of-Toronto “summer heroes” has released an EP, New World. The latest album (similarly to the last one) via Cascine is full of dreamy, tropical beats. Stream the entire EP on SounCloud here.

Southern Shores – Sankasa

Luis Vasquez aka The Soft Moon is the beloved darkwave noise experimentalist from San Francisco and he’s releasing his new album (via Captured Tracks), Zeros, on October 30th. “Insides” hails from the anticipated album and is the latest goodie rupturing from the depths of darkness:

The Soft Moon – Insides

The ridiculously talented and charming “Jizz jazz” weirdo, Mac DeMarco has a new album (hurry already!), Mac DeMarco 2, due October 16th. Captured Tracks has been slowly but surely releasing jams from the (do you sense a theme?) highly anticipated album. You’ve already heard, “My Kind of Woman,” so feast your ears on DeMarco’s jam dedicated to his fav brand of cigs:

Mac DeMarco – Ode to Viceroy

NEW (blowin’ up) Electro-Pop Band: CHVRCHES

ChvrchesSay, Purity Ring already has a new jam out? No fucking way – It’s brilliantly catchy and full of electro-pop goodness – Wait, that isn’t Purity Ring? Well, obviously someone’s giving them a run for their money… and they’re called CHVRCHES.

Hailing from the UK, CHVRCHES is one of those, what they call, a “modern music fairytale.” One in which a young, fresh, relatively unknown and semi-awkward band releases just one song, it catches on like wildfire and blasts a furry of blogging mayhem that thrusts them into the limelight of eager electro-pop addicts itching for the next dancey jam that can be played on repeat. The trio now dons two songs: Lies and The Mother We Share, plus a video from their debut gig at a Glasgow art school in July.

The Mother We Share is CHVRCHES’ latest release and it shot to the top of the blogging charts within just a matter of days. Granted, the sound is a little more on the bubble-gum electro pop spectrum compared to our beloved Purity Ring, but with synthy electro-beats and that “baby voice” aesthetic that gives bands like Purity Ring and AlunaGeorge a distinctive sound/appeal, the band is holding its own.

There’s an article about CHVRCHES’ ‘coming together’ and thoughts on “making it big” on The Skinny. The talk may be a bit premature at the mo, but if they continue to produce catchy electro-pop jams, they may just face that reality… especially since it’s been announced that they’ll now be touring with and opening for Passion Pit. Give ’em a stalk on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Tumblr and stay tuned.

CHVRCHES – The Mother We Share

CHVRCHES – Lies

Jams as Smooth as Buttah feat. Youan + ON AN ON + Tomas Barfod + S O H N

YouanI’ve been posting like a mad woman as of late, but there have been so many amazing music discoveries, new bands and smooth jams, that it simply can’t be contained. PLUS, I’ll be out of town next week, so I’m stockpiling you with goodies to hold you over until then. The theme of this week is ‘smooth as buttah’ featuring 4 soulful bands/producers with even smoother jams that have soothed, grooved and gladly intruded their way into my ears and brain waves.

Youan is an up-and-coming 22 year-old UK producer behind seriously exquisite dream-pop house music. Know Your Name is a beauty of a jam filled with warm, romantic vocals and synthy hues. Blast this jam through your ear buds at work, on an early-morning commute, or wind down to it at night; It cancels out clutter that constantly filters through our minds at all times. Youan recently created and debuted a downloadable 8-track mixtape, Let’s Slow Things Down to Sixty Seconds an Hour (featuring Know Your Name) on his Tumblr… or, you can stream it on Soundcloud.

Youan – Know Your Name

ON AN ON is a triangle of Chicago-based band members who were left down and out when members of their former band, Scattered Trees, flew the coop. Because the show must go on ‘an on,’ and the band still had studio time scheduled, the trio banded together, changed names, recorded with Dave Newfeld (Broken Social Scene, Los Campesinos!) and the indie rock band was born. Good things do come from getting dumped. Their debut album, Give In is due in January and Ghosts is their beautiful and powerful debut jam. Can’t wait to hear more.

ON AN ON – Ghosts


Tomas Barfod is a Danish producer, more well-known for his drumming career with WhoMadeWho. Going solo, Barfod released an LP, Salton Sea, this spring and the electro-pop jam, November Skies (featuring Swedish vocalist, Nina Kinert), is arguably  the most addicting of the lot:

Tomas Barford – November Skies feat. Nina Kinert

S O H N is a Vienna-via-London, (yet another) up-and-coming producer who will be debuting his album and jam, The Wheel, in November. The Wheel is a trippy beat with smooth, soulful vocals that leaves you eager for more:

S O H N – T H E  WH E E L

New Beauty of an EP: Dum Dum Girls – End of Daze

Dum Dum GirlsThe noise pop project Dum Dum Girls, spearheaded by singer/songwriter Dee Dee Penny, has recently released a new EP, End of Daze, and it’s quite a beauty. I first heard the EP’s sweetest single, “Lord Knows” on my homie Anthony’s radio program, International Pop Underground. Since then, I’ve been finding any chance I can get to play sweet, smooth and melancholic tune. Just yesterday, Dum Dum Girls also a released a mystic and ritualistic video to accompany the dreamy single. Stream their entire 5-jam EP on Spotify or Soundcloud via Stereogum.

 
Dum Dum Girls – Lord Knows

NEW Trust EP – Dressed for Space + Video

Trust Dressed for SpaceFeel like tripping out and listening to some insanely good electro-goth? Perfect, ‘cus Trust has a new EP and a psychedelic video to match. If you aren’t familiar, Trust is the Toronto based brainchild of nasty-synth masters Robert Alfons and Maya Postepski (of Austra). Their (mind-blowing) debut album TRST was released last year, and the sound is something of a dark, “drug-sick” lurching electro-goth oozing with sex and synth. To feed our need for more dark beats and Alfons’ deeply magnetic voice, Trust has just released a new EP (on Arts & Crafts), Dressed for Space featuring the same titled song (as heard from TRST), a few remixes and a new jam, Divine. Stream the entire EP on Spotify. They’ve also whipped up a music video for Dressed for Space that’ll throw you down a trippy tunnel of neon.

Trust – Divine

Trust – Dressed for Space

A Brand ‘Spanking’ New Mixtape – Folsom Street Fair Style

Folsom Street Fair

Folsom Street Fair Art – “Hooded David” by Ian OPhelan

It’s that time of year in San Francisco when the weather starts to resemble something summer-like, the fog begins to roll out, and the leather, whips, chains, paddles, dog leashes, and domination comes a rollin’ in. That’s right – it’s Folsom Street Fair time! If you’re a newbie to the festival name or concept, The 13 city blocks long Folsom Street fair is an annual BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadomasochism) fest that occurs during “Leather Pride Week” in September. According to Wikipedia, the festival, and non-profit charity (!) has been in existence since 1984 and it’s “the world’s largest leather event and showcase for BDSM products and culture.” – Impressive!

Essentially, if you want to see some burly men, (and an occasional lady) [un]leash themselves in a literal shit show (YES) full of leather straps and eye/mind-opening behavior, the Folsom Street Fair will cure your need for kink. So, in celebration of this impressively large, unconventional non-profit and jaw dropping festival, I present to you a Folsom Street Fair ‘mixtape’ of sorts. It’s full of dark, goth-rock, electro synthwave that I’m sure anyone would enjoy, especially while getting choked, tied up, or spanked… you know, if you’re into that kind of thing.

Trust – Gloryhole

Light Asylum – IPC

Zambri – ICBYS

Gatekeeper – Chains

The Knife – You Make Me Like Charity (Cry Wolf Remix)

Pictureplane – Techno Fetish

Austra – Beat and the Pulse (NSFW)

Mac DeMarco Show Recap + New Local Electro Band: Silver Hands

Mac DeMarco 2ourI saw Mac DeMarco play this weekend on his new album “2our” and it was by far one of the funniest, rockin’ and entertaining shows I’d been to in a long time. It was like a comedy/garage jam/freak show and I couldn’t stop staring, laughing and/or dancing. The crowd, which surprisingly wasn’t all that large, contained a slew of weirdos, geeks, hipsters, etc. and I couldn’t help but look around in amazement at the bizarro fan following Mac DeMarco attracted, obviously myself included.

The entire show made me feel as if I were some sort of fly on the wall witnessing a jam session in progress. DeMarco made goofy faces, flashed wide grins and bursts of laughter, burped loudly into the microphone, busted out Metallica solos in the middle of a jam, and at one point, jumped into the crowd and slow danced with a guy who I’m pretty sure is a bona-fide pedo. All in all, the show was ridiculous amounts of fun… though I’m sure it doesn’t nearly compare to DeMarco’s infamous stage presence in Montreal in which he got “cross-eyed drunk,” naked, and shoved two drumsticks up his ass… regardless, I’m not complaining. He DID play a new song dedicated to his mother apologizing for that drumstick asshole shoving incident, which is sweet.

Anyway, I JUST wrote about Mac DeMarco and his highly anticipated soon-to-be-released album, so in cutting-to-the-chase conclusion: He’s an absolute MUST-SEE live… unless you hate having fun.

While at the show, I also met a fellow DeMarco fan and in a convo about bands, he insisted I check out a recent local electronic duo discovery. I’m surprised by the next morning, I’d actually remembered the name, however, after a little digging, I found Silver Hands, and sure enough, I’m officially addicted. There isn’t much out there about the San Francisco duo aside from a SoundCloud page and a write-up on The Bay Bridged (apparently they recently played with Chaz Bundik aka Les Sins aka Toro Y Moi last week) but it’s enough to keep me and hopefully you listening:

Silver Hands – Skulls

Silver Hands – Visions

Here’s a bonus recent Mac DeMarco interview with CHARTattack:

NEW! Death Grips – @Deathgripz [listen and download]

Death Grips - @DeathgripzWho wasn’t beyond bummed when Death Grips dropped out of their tour back in May to work on their new album (out in October), No Love Deep Web? Canceling their shows felt abrupt and totally premature, like a stunted unsatisfying fling. However, if the rough-and-ready experimental punk-rap-hip-hop group continues to produce amazing new jams like @Deathgripz ( Twitter handle represent) then by all means boys, have at it – you might even be forgiven… just don’t cancel on us again.

This roaring, bouncy, trippy jam (which may actually be an unreleased track from The Money Store) ends the Adult Swim Singles Program in which they release 13 tracks over 13 weeks. Artists include a variance of Com Truise, How to Dress Well, Wye Oak, Elite Gymnastics, Flying Lotus and more. Head on over for a download of all 13 jams.

Death Grips – @Deathgripz