Maybe the murder of screeching crows that surrounded Connecticut's Clubhouse Studio—turning all the trees jet black—was a sign that something was up with its latest tenants, Xeno & Oaklander. Well, that and the lunar eclipse that lit the starry night sky while Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride plowed through another propulsive minimal-synth piece called "Palms." "We've always referred to our synths as elemental," says Wendelbo. "Fire is what powers energy, voltage, and electricity. Electromagnetism is electric energy, like lightning in the sky. We control it with potentiometers and buttons; we shape it with filters and envelopes."
That explains why Xeno & Oaklander's music has always felt so alive, the result of chemical reactions at its core and chain-linked keys that rattle, hum, and howl. The duo's fifth album, Topiary, is no different; taking its title from hand-sculpted gardens like the stately grounds of Versailles and the highly ornamental Levins Hall, it's an enchanting listen, welcoming you into its self-made world with warm synth washes, moody chamber melodies, and Wendelbo's haunted yé-yé hooks. (Topiary is the first Xeno & Oaklander album McBride—a.k.a. solo artist Martial Canterel—didn't sing on, although his plush keyboard parts more than make up for it.)
Much like their seamless live sets—which have won over contemporary art crowds, underground dance clubs, and painlessly cool indie kids—songs bleed into one another, too, becoming moving parts of one streamlined organism, textured and orchestral at every turn. To reinforce the duo's self-aware sequencing, each side of the vinyl pressing is even bookended by a striking pop song and opulent instrumental. Another reason it's so fluid is the fact that Xeno & Oaklander broke out of their comfort zone by transplanting their synth-flanked Brooklyn space to a pro setting: Tom Tom Club's longtime studio, the Clubhouse.
"We began from a kind of Year Zero," explains McBride, "nothing written, nothing recorded, just a bracketed amount of time in which to compose, arrange, record, and mix the album. For me, this was a highly inspired month—living and breathing music from sun up to moon up."
Topiary's artwork echoes its electromagnetic themes as well; Wendelbo based it on a blown-up X-ray of protein molecules, shot through an electron microscope—a form of crystallography. Or as she puts it, rather cryptically, "What is deep inside of us is a reflection of what is above us. And electricity runs through it all."
Tour Dates:
05.03 Vienna, AT @ Rhiz
05.07 Bratislava, SK @ Subclub
05.14 Leipzig, DE @ Wave Gothik Treffen Festival
05.19 Antwerp, BE @ Der Kleine Hedonist
05.20 Paris, FR @ Petit Bain
05.25 Rennes, FR @ Bar'Hic
05.26 Bordeaux, FR @ Café Pompier
05.28 Madrid, ES @ Club 33
Out now for immediate download is “Coward Philosophy”, a 33-track strong download album by Mildreda, the first band created by the Belgian artist Jan Dewulf (Diskonnekted) in the early 90s. The band had everything to make it big time but frustrated by the lack of decent studio gear and by the absence of any label deal, Jan Dewulf decided to set the project on hold, until 2009 that is. That year Mildreda did a one-night show on the birthday-party of DJ Chesko in the attic of The Klinke (Ostend).
It pushed Mildreda to record 13 new tracks which until now never had been released. On “Coward Philosophy” (available here) you’ll find a lot of bonus material including a fully remastered version of the cult 1996 demo tape “De Laffe Denker” as well as a recording of the live gig the band played in Bruges (Belgium) on March 14th 1998 as the opening band for Plastic Noise Experience and Terminal Choice.
Mildreda was/is a dark electro act ‘pur sang’ and you can hear the era of inspiring bands like Placebo Effect, Numb, yelworC, Will, Project Pitchfork, In Slaughter Natives and others in the material. Acting alone in the studio, Jan is supported on stage by Gwenny playing synth and sequencer.
You can stream the release below and download it right here on Bandcamp.
Minor Victories - the indie supergroup comprised of Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite, Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell, Editors’ Justin Lockey and his brother James - will release their self-titled debut this summer, and today they share a stellar new track off of the record.
Following the hauntingly cinematic ‘A Hundred Ropes’ and the gorgeous shoegaze of ‘Folk Arp’. ‘Scattered Ashes (Song For Richard)’ takes the band in a brighter direction and features James Graham of The Twilight Sad.
Dates:
03.05 London, UK Village Underground
04.05 Bristol, UK Thekla
05.05 Leeds, UK Brudenell Social Club
06.05 Glasgow, UK Art School
03.06 Dudingen, Switzerland Bad Bonn Kilbi Festival
04.06 Mannheim, Germany Maifeld Derby Festival
17.06 Hilvarenbeek, Netherlands Best Kept Secret Festival
05.08 / 07.08 Katowice, Poland Off Festival
07.08 Sicily, Italy Ypsigrock Festival
12.08 St Malo, France La Route Du Rock Festival
20.08 Hasselt, Be Pukkelpop Festival
Next Friday the new album from The Arch will appear on the German Trisol label, home of Clan Of Xymox and Project Pitchfork. But first, there is good news for the fans, as all the earlier work is digitally released by Trisol now: including the hard to find double-CD Sex that contains all the songs that were released between 1987 and 1997. The two recent records Engine In Void and Beating The Balance are also available as stream and/or download. Revenge Revival !!!
Volgende week vrijdag verschijnt het nieuwe album van The Arch op het Duitse Trisol label dat o.a. Clan Of Xymox en Project Pitchfork onder zijn vleugels heeft. Maar eerst is er nog goed nieuws voor de fans, want al het oudere werk wordt nu ook digitaal door Trisol uitgebracht: o.a. de niet meer te verkrijgen Sex: een dubbel-cd met daarop alle nummers die uitgebracht zijn van 1987 tot 1997. Ook de 2 recentere platen Engine In Void en Beating The Balance kan je streamen en/of downloaden. Revenge Revival!!!
Advance, the Glasgow based dystopian electronica project of Tom Perrett and Kimberly Copland exploded onto the electronic music scene in 2014 with the release of their debut album Deus Ex Machina.
Drawing the absolute best from such influences as Depeche Mode, Assemblage 23 and Ludovico Einaudi to name but a few, Advance have continued to win new fans across the world with their infectious sound, prescient social commentary and inimitable live performances across the UK including the infamous Slimelight club in London and the legendary Resistanz Festival in Sheffield.
Anthemic in every sense of the word and arguably their most accomplished output to date, A Sign of Things to Come showcases four brand new tracks including larger-than-life futurepop monsters ‘Calm Before the Storm’, ‘The One’ and ‘Trying to Live’, plus the emotive, piano-driven ballad ‘Grey Dawn’.
A Sign of Things to Come has been mixed by CYFERDYNE’s production mastermind Andy McBain and mastered by the iconic Jan Loamfield of X-M-P MUSIC PRODUCTION. The digital version of the EP includes bonus remixes from crossover titans Biomechanimal and Advance’s label-mates, synthpop-heroes Nature of Wires.
A Sign of Things to Come is officially released on the 10th of June 2016 and is available from all good digital outlets and in a strictly limited, 12” heavyweight vinyl edition. A new full length album is due in 2017.
