Asobi Seksu Announce US Fall Tour

New York’s Asobi Seksu is thrilled to announce its first US tour dates in over a year. With much of the band’s touring schedule taking them abroad for the past two years, they are extra excited to be hitting the road once again in America.

Following their last full-length, the rapturously received Citrus (which spawned the fine singles “Thursday”, “Strawberries” and “Goodbye”, and received glowing notices across the board), Asobi Seksu returns in early 2009 with their fantastic and none-more-assured third LP, which like Citrus was produced by Chris Zane (The Walkmen, Les Savy Fav).

The new record is preceded in November by the swooping, emphatic single “Me & Mary” (backed by non-album B-Side “Breathe Into Glass”), which rolls forth on a bed of drums and glistening guitars, and features a soaring vocal performance from Yuki Chikudate (keyboard, vocals), who along with James Hanna (guitars) form the core of Asobi Seksu.

The single will be released digitally and on 7” vinyl in the US via Polyvinyl and in Europe via One Little Indian on Nov 18 and Nov 17, respectively.

US Tour Dates
10/17 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY @ Bard College - Smog
10/18 Boston, MA @ T.T. the Bear’s
10/19 Montreal, QC @ tba
10/20 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe
10/21 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop
10/22 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
10/24 Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
10/25 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
10/27 Seattle, WA @ Nectar
10/28 Vancouver, BC @ Media Club
10/29 Portland, OR @ Holocene
10/30 San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
10/31 Los Angeles, CA @ tba

WAR CHILD ANNOUNCE HEROES: AN INCREDIBLE NEW BENEFIT ALBUM

HEROES WILL BE RELEASED ON NOVEMBER 25, 2008 ON ASTRALWERKS RECORDS

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Heroes album will be contributed to the humanitarian organization War Child

War Child, an award winning charity that provides humanitarian assistance to war-affected children in some of the most devastated regions of the world, are proud to announce Heroes, a new benefit album to be released by EMI's Astralwerks label on November 25th, 2008.

Heroes features a unique and unprecedented collaboration between some of the biggest names in music history and today's hottest artists, working with a concept that mirrors one of the intrinsic aims of War Child's efforts in war zones across the world - to place faith in the next generation. The Heroes concept is simple: Many of the biggest legends in music, including Sir Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Brian Wilson and The Clash, select one of the classic tracks from their own songwriting canon, and nominate an artist from the next generation to create a modern reworking of that classic song.

The full track listing will be announced in due course but already the album is shaping up to be a musical tour-de-force with the following amazing cover versions:

BECK covering BOB DYLAN'S "LEOPARD-SKIN PILL-BOX HAT"

DUFFY covering SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY'S "LIVE AND LET DIE"

BRIAN WILSON nominating RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, who performs a medley of two tracks from "Smile"

THE KOOKS covering THE KINKS' "VICTORIA".

HOT CHIP covering JOY DIVISION'S "TRANSMISSION"

THE HOLD STEADY covering BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S "ATLANTIC CITY"

Many tracks by hugely successful contemporary artists are still being finished; the completed Heroes record will be an album of staggering musical diversity uniting the cream of musical giants from different generations.

War Child places its faith in the next generation and works to protect the most hard to reach children hit by a combination of war, poverty and marginalisation. Despite security constraints War Child is still operating successfully to protect youth in Darfur, Sudan, is on the ground in Afghanistan providing support to vulnerable women and their children, and has been in Georgia since 2004, long before Russian tanks rolled in.

As well as being recognized for working in the world's most dangerous war zones, War Child is widely known for its association with the music industry, having produced award-winning charity albums and documentaries.


Sir Paul McCartney said "I have been supporting War Child since 1995. Their work with children in war zones saves lives and their work with those who take decisions that help them to do something about it saves even more lives. I think Duffy's version of 'Live and Let Die' is great - I was really impressed. The breadth of talent on this project is amazing; it's great that so many people gave their time, energy and support to this initiative. I urge everyone to support War Child."

Dr. Samantha Nutt, Executive Director of War Child said, "War Child's programming is predicated on the belief that by empowering children we stand a better chance of a peaceful future. The artists who have contributed to this record really are heroes, because it is through their creativity that we are able to continue our work with children whose lives have been devastated by war."

"We are enormously proud to be involved with a project that encompasses such musical depth, socio-economic scope and global significance" added Glenn Mendlinger, general manager of Astralwerks. "It is our sincerest hope that this is the first of many new efforts by the music community to raise awareness of the plight of children throughout the world".

War Child is an award-winning charity which provides opportunities and long term solutions for war-affected children, focusing on education, strengthening children's rights, reducing poverty and fostering self reliance. War Child works in partnership with local people and organizations to build sustainable programming that empowers children and their communities. Working closely with the music industry, War Child provides awareness, support and action for children's rights everywhere. www.warchild.ca

RADIOHEAD RECKONER REMIX PROJECT

After the overwhelming response to the Nude Remix Project, Radiohead are giving fans the opportunity to remix "Reckoner", another track from the band's latest album "In Rainbows" at http://www.radioheadremix.com

To make remixing easy, the separate 'stems'* from the song will be available to purchase on iTunes. The 'stems' available are bass, lead vocal, backing vocals, guitars, piano/strings and drums. All six stems will be available to buy for the price of a single track. Fans can mix them in any way they like, either by adding their own beats and instrumentation, or just remixing the original parts.

Fans who purchase the 'stems' from iTunes during the first two weeks they're available, will be sent an access code to a GarageBand file ready to open in GarageBand or Logic. However, you don't need GarageBand to do a remix, the stems are available in the DRM-free iTunes Plus format and compatible with several music software platforms.

Finished mixes can be uploaded to http://www.radioheadremix.com where the public will listen and vote for their favourite. Fans can also create a widget allowing votes from their own website, Facebook or MySpace page to be counted as 'mix votes' back on radioheadremix.com.


*'stems' are the component parts of the song.

EULOGIES - Full-Length Album Set For Spring 2009

At first glance, the band’s name may seem morbid, but upon listening (really listening) to the music, we were able to mine a much more complex message.

These tunes render vivid scenes with a minimalist palette. There's a gentle, knowing tension that speaks to the bittersweet push and pull of everyday living and dying. Thoughts turned to soft-spoken secrets; intuition turned to self-affirmation; fights we’ve come to like. The result is a melancholy music that's upbeat, and a record of specific personal intent that speaks to us all.

On October 7th, Dangerbird Records will digitally release Eulogies’ four-song EP entitled Tempted To Do Nothing. The VinylDisc version will follow a short while later, to coincide with some exciting tour news. Their upcoming full-length album, Here Anonymous, is due out Spring 2009…


VINYLDISC
Eulogies’ four-song EP will be available on VinylDisc, an exciting combination for the digital and analog music lover in all of us. The technology reaches across party lines to combine CD and Vinyl capabilities on one disc. It plays like a regular CD in any CD player, and the art side features bona-fide working vinyl grooves. The piece comes with an adapter, making the disc playable on any record player.

‘Tempted To Do Nothing’ will also be available for download at all digital retail outlets.

http://www.dangerbirdrecords.com/artists/eulogies

http://www.myspace.com/eulogiesmusic

Made In China Release First Single "Press One For English"

Made In China Release First Single "Press One For English" / Named In URB's Next 1000 List Debut LP Sonic Blog V.1 Out November 18th On Recordburger Records

Click Here To Listen To “Press One For English”

Click Here To View Made In China In URB’s Next 1000 List

Ok these two guys, they’re disgusted with everything except their families and sex. So, after they sniffed one another out, one said, “We should make a record so one of us doesn’t end up a sniper in a McDonald’s.” The other one said, “Yeah, OK, but I’m not leaving my house.” Anyway, Palumbo and LK - the guys in question - decided that “Palumbo and LK” sounded like some bogus tree hugging folk duo (which, of course they also hate). One of them said, “Everything is made in Chinaif I didn’t know better, I would think my kids were manufactured there.” The other, more detail oriented one, said, “No, not the parts of your kids, lots of their parts are made here in the US, but maybe your kids were ASSEMBLED in China.” Then they said, whatever let’s call our band MADE IN CHINA. So, please don’t ask either one of them about that ever again.

LK, an anal retentive obsessive compulsive, went to Columbia. The school, not the country, which is spelled differently anyway. He graduated and then bagged it before becoming a lawyer, cause who wants all that money and power? Instead, he went into music. “Idiot,” said dad. “Don’t be a fool,” said mom. LK produced and mixed, cause that made him BOSS, and he lovessssssss being BOSS. He worked on the Chili Peppers, played with Herbie Hancock, and lots of other stuff the world thinks is even more important that he doesn’t want to talk about right now.

Palumbo, a Zen Buddhist head-in-the-clouds loon who thinks life is to be taken on a moment by moment basis, went to school, quit, and went into music. “Idiot,” said dad. “Don’t be a fool,” said mom. Palumbo formed this band called Crack The Sky and they did okay, until he saw that they were on the verge of breaking big, then he bagged that, cause yep, same thing money and power! He went back to school so mom and dad would put him back in their will, and actually became a doctor of psychology. Then, he met LK. The meeting went something like this:

LK: I would like to produce you.
Palumbo: Sure.
LK: Can I be boss?
Palumbo: Sure.

LK bossed Palumbo around and made this record called Citizen X. One day, while Palumbo was searching the Jenna Jameson websites down in the studio, LK was piddling on the piano. Palumbo listened and said, “Whoa, hey you write that?” LK, wonderful at being boss, but a little rusty when it came to his own stuff, said”well” Palumbo became uncharacteristically overbearing and begged LK to show him his songs. Like a kid who just got caught - well, looking at Jenna - LK reluctantly showed some songs to Palumbo.

Palumbo: This is really good stuff.
LK: It’s
Palumbo: No, it’s better than good I can make it better, but it’s really good.
LK: Can I be boss?
The result is MADE IN CHINA, Sonic Blog V.1 The songs are the thing.

Les Savy Fav Play All Tomorrow’s Parties This Saturday & Announce Boston, NY & FL Dates. After The Balls Drop Out Now On Frenchkiss Records / First Digital Only Live Album.

Download and Share “Sweat Descends” From After The Balls Drop

Les Savy Fav play All Tomorrow’s Parties (ATP) this Saturday! And don’t miss them at a select city near you (with more dates to come!). The Fab Five have just released their digital only live LP this Spring. Arriving on the heels of last year’s universally-adored Let’s Stay Friends, the digital-only After The Balls Drop documents Les Savy Fav’s 2008 New Years performance at Bowery Ballroom in NYC, a show that capped off a wildly successful year with an hour of insanity, serious celebration, and covers of classics from CCR, Nirvana, Misfits, Pixies and Love.

Upcoming Shows
Sept.
9. 20 All Tomorrow’s Parties
Oct.
10.11- Boston, MA With Passion Pit
10.12- Brooklyn, NY With Bear Hands
Dec.
12.6 - Tampa

Kevin Ayers Releases "Crystal Clear"

Kevin Ayers Releases "Crystal Clear"/ Exclusive New Tune From "What More Can I Say" LP. Exclusive Early 1970's Private Sketches & Demos Out November 4th on Reel Recordings.

Click Here To Listen To “Crystal Clear”

A delectably triumphant treasure trove of previously unreleased performances, carefully remastered from Kevin's private reel-to-reel tapes. Featuring performances from friends such as bassists Mike Oldfield and Archie Legget, organist David Bedford, and legendary drummer Robert Wyatt, What More Can I Say is a one-of-a-kind personal collection that welcomes the who, what, where, when and why inquiries about its rarities.

Internationally celebrated founder of Britain's most important sixties psychedelic rock band, The Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers went on to compose and sing a string of strikingly magnificent songs across a series of classic albums throughout the seventies. Standing the test of time, reissues of Kevin records have garnered universal praise and found new fans in the 21st century. Recently, Kevin's return to recording was the critically acclaimed Unfairground which Mojo described as "gorgeous" and "one of the top albums of 2007"

Imagine the surprise when a cache of tapes, abandoned at poetess Lady June's London apartment in the mid-seventies, were found in storage with former flat mate (and master guitarist) Gerry Fitz-Gerald! Reel Recordings was granted the honor of caring for the reels and assembling a program on behalf of Kevin Ayers, and accomplished this with a stirring of love for the great man and the music found from his long forgotten private demos and studio outtakes.

This CD presents Kevin Ayers captured in warm intimacy with acoustic guitar and voice seldom sounding finer. For fans and newcomers alike, such a musical tonic is reason to raise a glass and rejoice. Rare Ayers indeed! What more can we say?