Founded in 2008 by guitarist Pier Gonella (Necrodeath) and vocalist Giorgia Gueglio, Mastercastle soon became one of the leading forces in the European Power/Neoclassical Metal scene, thanks to an addictive mix of strong riffs, virtuoso guitar solos and captivating female vocals, developed through each of their four, critically acclaimed albums. After having signed a new deal with Scarlet Records,
Mastercastle are currently in the studio to complete the recordings of their fifth, upcoming album 'Enfer De La Bibliothèque Nationale', out this fall. This new work, inspired by the different meanings and aspects of "censorship", has been described by the band as their heaviest effort to date, while still maintaining their trademark sound and with a special mention for the strongest production the band have ever benefited from. A very special guest appearance by Andrea De Paoli (Labyrinth, Vision Divine) is also confirmed.
Zola Jesus has revealed more details, including cover art and tracklisting for her forthcoming album, Taiga, out 6 October 2014 on Mute. Following select US performances, she heads to the UK and Europe for a series of dates starting on 29 October in Bristol and including a London show at KOKO on 18 November, full details below.
Nika is the 25-year-old behind Zola Jesus’ creative incarnations as sole singer and songwriter. Influenced by her time in Iceland, Vermont, and British Columbia, Taiga was written on Vashon Island, WA and conjures all these places while creating a sonic space of its own that each listener can travel to, explore, hide in, and celebrate. Nika tracked and mixed the album in Los Angeles with co-producer Dean Hurley (David Lynch, Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse).
At once challenging and accessible, Taiga is a transition for Zola Jesus. Undeniably branded with what Nika terms a “piercing ambition,” the album is best described by the artist herself: “The music on the record is massive, with big brass and beats, crystal clear vocals…It’s the most accessible music I’ve ever made, but also the most earnest and passionate. I gave everything for this record, more than ever before.”
TAIGA TRACKLISTING
Taiga
Dangerous Days
Dust
Hunger
Go (Blank Sea)
Ego
Lawless
Nail
Long Way Down
Hollow
It’s Not Over
LIVE DATES
8 October – San Francisco, CA – Bimbo’s
9 October – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey
16 October – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
17 October – Washington, DC – Hirshhorn Museum
19 October – New York, NY – Webster Hall
29 October – Bristol – Colston Hall -
30 October – Leeds – Belgrave Music Hall
31 October – Glasgow – Stereo
1 November – Manchester Cathedral – Columns festival
4 November – Paris, France – Badaboum
5 November – Strasbourg, France – La Laiterie -
6 November – St Gallen, Switzerland - Palace
7 November – Geneva, Switzerland – l’Usine
8 November – Reims, France – La Cartonnerie
10 November – Köln, Germany – Gebäude 9
11 November – Berlin, Germany – Berghain
12 November – Hamburg, Germany – Uebel and Gefährlich
13 November – Frankfurt, Germany – Zoom
14 November – Brussels, Belgium –Botanique
15 November – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Melkweg
18 November – London, England – KOKO
Literature features Kevin Attics, Nathaniel Cardaci, Chris Schackerman, and Seth Whaland. Attics, who’d written for numerous music trades as a teen, met Cardaci and Whaland at the house venue they both operated in Austin, TX. Cardaci and Whaland each ran small imprint labels and, a million adventures later, the trio decided to form a band. Upon moving to Philadelphia the group befriended Schackerman who also joined the fold.
In 2012, following a well-received single and a track on Gerard Cosloy’s “Casual Victim Pile II” compilation they released their debut album, Arab Spring, which became a cult hit within the indiepop community. That album is sharp and immediate, almost mod-ish in its attack, but always tuneful and going for melody where it counts. They toured the US in support, and have performed with the likes of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Eternal Summers, Ted Leo, Sic Alps, White Fence, Gentlemen Jesse, Hospitality, and Brown Recluse. They also appeared on Terre T's Cherry Blossom Clinic.
In 2013 they released a follow-up 7”, “Tie Dye” and contributed a track to Esopus Magazine alongside artists like Jens Lekman and The Shins. They also played at that year’s NYC Popfest, which helped cement the buzz that was steadily growing amongst savvy pop fans. Arab Spring was treated to a re-mastered re-press, which followed the first pressing and quickly sold out.
Autumn of 2013 saw the band begin work on their second album, Chorus, with lauded engineer Gary Olson (whose body of work includes records by Crystal Stilts, Mad Scene and The Beets) at his Marlborough Farms studio in Brooklyn, NY. As a beautiful autumn turned into one of the harshest winters in recent memory, Olson and the band began stretching out, enhancing the album with studio techniques dating back to the late 60s including true-tape flanging, sending vocals through Leslie speaker cabinets, and the same analog style of automatic double-tracking created at Abbey Road Studios.
The result is an album that is as immediate as it is timeless, full of effortlessly catchy and well-crafted tunes that echo pop legends like The Smiths and Orange Juice. All of that time in the studio has resulted in a rich, considered sound that puts the band's arranging and playing front and center. Chorus is one of the most exciting pop records in years, and marks Literature at true contenders.
Negative Gain Productions is proud to announce the signing of Cygnets.
The Cygnets are a three piece New Wave/Post-Punk band hailing from Edmonton, AB Canada. They formed in 2009 and in five years they have self-released an impressive three albums and two EPs. They also have produced over seven music videos.Cygnets have a unique harnessing of past and future sounds. They are a non-stop, energetic live spectacle. A band not interested in doing things the way they've always been done. A band that has people talking....and wants others in on the secret.
Negative Gain are quoted as saying "During the first 40 seconds of watching their live show, we knew we wanted to sign this trio from Canada and without hesitation. We also knew that NGP will be stepping “outside of the box” in order to expose an unmarked sound for the label but willing to accept the challenge to expose such great artists to the world. New songs, new album and new tour lies a head of the beginning of a great future"
Cygnets are currently working on their label debut album called "Sleepwalkers" It is slated to be released in November of this year on Negative Gain Productions.
20,000 Days on Earth, a documentary about singer and culture icon Nick Cave by the artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, will have its Belgian premiere at the 41st Film Fest Gent. The surprising and heartfelt film is the second title of the renewed music section Sound and Vision: presented by Spotify.
Nick Cave has long been one of the most fascinating and enigmatic figures in the music and film world. 20,000 Days on Earth enhances his mystique. This innovative drama/documentary features Cave as both subject and coconspirator, intimately documenting his artistic process and combining it with a fictional staged narrative of his 20,000th day on Earth. As a result, the film also explores the creative spirit.
The film weaves two parallel narrative threads. The first is a cinematic portrait of Cave's 20,000th day, created through a series of staged, but not scripted, scenes and encounters. The second looks in depth at his creativity—from writing through recording and rehearsal to performance.
This unique blend of documentary essay and cinematic fiction demonstrates the connection between Cave and the filmmakers, visual artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard; all three are illuminating the search for truth through artifice and myth. Ultimately, 20,000 Days on Earth reaches beyond Cave to ask all of us how many days we've been alive and what use we've made of that time.
The film was awarded at Sundance and Sydney Film Festival and will be released in Belgium on 29 October. Shell Shock, the opera that Nick Cave wrote with Belgian composer Nicholas Lens, will have its world premiere on 24 October at De Munt in Brussels until 2 November.
Listen to the Sound and Vision playlist with music from the film on the Spotify account of Film Fest Gent.
