Prince Rogers Nelson, the icon known to the world simply as Prince, has died, TMZ reports. He was found this morning at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He was 57 years old. The cause of death has not been confirmed, but last week, Prince had been on a flight home from Atlanta when his pilot was forced to make an emergency landing to take Prince to the hospital. A representative said he had the flu.
Born in Minneapolis, the iconic musician released 39 studio albums throughout his prolific career, including two in 2015: HITNRUN Phase One and Two. His most iconic release may be 1984's Purple Rain, as well as the film of the same name. Pitchfork named the title track the best song of the 1980s.
Source: PITCHFORK
Norwegian-American group Combichrist returns with an unapologetic masterpiece. The new long player “This Is Where Death Begins“ is an apocalyptic behemoth of guitars, electronica, infernal drums and dark elemental force.
Thudding tribal drums, guitars slammed in your face like a 20-ton-weight, chopped up synth-attacks and in the midst of it Andy LaPlegua rampaging like an unrestrained demon of wrath: on their new album, “This Is Where Death Begins”, Combichrist are conjuring up a proverbial hellfire. A black monolith of unbridled aggression. Produced by Oumi Kapila (Filter) and Andy LaPlegua, with guest vocals from Chris Motionless (Motionless In White) and Ariel Levitan (MXMS) and mastered by the legendary Vlado Meller (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slipknot, to name just a few), Combichrist have created a milestone of their career. “This Is Where Death Begins” is released as a regular album CD, as a lavish colored gatefold double vinyl, incl. the album CD and as a deluxe 2-CD-Digipak-version which contains the bonus disc “History Of Madness: Old School And Rarities Live At Complex, LA” (a fine selection of the group's early Industrial classics.) The album is also released as a strictly limited fan set in a deluxe A5-Digipak containing the double-CD plus the complete recording of the group's energetic live show at Summer Breeze Festival 2015 on CD and DVD (Combichrist's first ever official live release) as an exclusive bonus. The party is over, the world is on the brink of disaster... but we stand tall and face it, guns cocked: My Life, My Rules!
Latecomers to the Krautrock party, Circles created a manifesto of frenzied inertia in the late 1980s, swimming in the same gene pool as Cluster and Popol Vuh.
Ambient music for the end of time does not get any more authentic than this. The Structures album is a time capsule unlocked, containing previously unreleased recordings from the years 1985 to 1989. Music which meshes the extremes of "end of time foreboding" and "drifting lightness" to beguiling effect. Music which succeeds in sounding more contemporary now that it did when it was made. Its time has come.
Electronic keyboards and guitars are the dominant sound sources. One can hear a Korg Trident, a much-prized analogue synthesizer, noted for its string and brass section ". for the warm, deep layers and harmonies in the upper ranges and bass", Mike remembers. They also used a monophone analogue synthesizer, the Moog Source, a classic of space age industrial design. Considered by some to be the most beautiful synth ever built.
It was more than a year ago, in the grey parisian midst that Avant! discovered the first EP of a group that they couldn't ignore any longer, Rendez‐Vous. The band's first track The Others was heard like a traveling echo in the capital. The 4 piece band was then discovered like a secret longing to be kept, but in vain. While the expectance were heavy on the band, they kept their distance with the outside and focused on the music. So for a while they hibernated in a cave in Bastille that became the core and inspired the corrosive sound of this second EP.
The mixing was entrusted to Ben Greenberg, singer and bassist of The Men also producer of Destruction Unit, Beach Fossils and other Sacred Bones Records artists. The result is a six track EP that sounds closer to the vision of the band. Supported by a procession of ghosts like Fad Gadget, the Dance Society or Nitzer Ebb, that the band resurfaces from the underground ready to shake the dead.
The EP is like a heartbreaking beautiful reunion, which is mostly the case with the best rendez‐vous.
Distance is out April 28 on 12" vinyl EP & digital.
Alcest: European co-headlining tour with Mono from October to December 2016
From October to December 2016 Alcest will be on a co-headlining tour through Europe together with Mono. Please find the complete schedule below and a tour webflyer attached.
Oct 27, 2016 // Beatpol // Dresden, DE
Oct 29, 2016 // Strom // Munich, DE
Oct 30, 2016 // Gebaude 9 // Cologne, DE
Oct 31, 2016 // Jubez // Jubez, DE
Nov 1, 2016 // Salzhaus // Salzhaus, CH
Nov 2, 2016 // Circolo Magnolia // Segrate, IT
Nov 3, 2016 // Mostovna // Nova Gorica, SI
Nov 4, 2016 // Locomotiv // Bologna, IT
Nov 5, 2016 // Init // Rome, IT
Nov 6, 2016 // Spazio 211 // Turin, IT
Nov 7, 2016 // Cco Villeurbanne // Lyon, FR
Nov 8, 2016 // La Maroquinerie // Paris, FR
Nov 9, 2016 // Engine Rooms // Southampton, UK
Nov 10, 2016 // The Institute // Birmingham, UK
Nov 11, 2016 // Queens Hall // Leicester, UK
Nov 12, 2016 // Classic Grand // Glasgow, UK
Nov 13, 2016 // Brudenell Social Club // Leeds, UK
Nov 14, 2016 // Gorilla // Manchester, UK
Nov 15, 2016 // The Globe // Cardiff, UK
Nov 16, 2016 // Marble Factory // Bristol, UK
Nov 17, 2016 // Brixton Electric // London, UK
Nov 18, 2016 // VK // Brussels, BE+
Nov 19, 2016 // 013 // Tilburg, NL
Nov 20, 2016 // P60 // Amstelveen, NL
Nov 21, 2016 // Uebel & Gefährlich // Hamburg, DE
Nov 22, 2016 // Lille Vega // Copenhagen, DK
Nov 23, 2016 // Pustervik // Gothenburg, SE
Nov 24, 2016 // Parkteatret // Oslo, NO
Nov 25, 2016 // Debaser Strand // Stockholm, SE
Nov 26, 2016 // KB // Malmo, SE
Nov 27, 2016 // Binuu // Berlin, DE
Nov 28, 2016 // B90 // Gdansk, PL
Nov 29, 2016 // Firlej // Wroclaw, PL
Nov 30, 2016 // Szene // Vienna, AT
Dec 1, 2016 // Durer Kert // Budapest, HU
Dec 2, 2016 // Tabacka // Kosice, SK
Dec 3, 2016 // Rockstadt // Brasov, RO
Additionally here's a message from Neige about Alcest's upcoming album:
"For the past 3 months we have been recording our new album, and right now we are doing small adjustments on the mix. It's coming to an end of a very long journey (the longest studio experienced we had so far) and we feel quite exhausted, but really happy. For each album we try to challenge ourselves, developing the songs in new directions. This time will be just as special, but also a come back to the approach we had in our earlier albums, with intense songs full of contrasts and dynamics. Even if this album is quite "alien" and characteristic, we felt the need to come back to the origins of the project. The release date is planned for Autumn 2016 and then we will go on a 37 dates co-headline tour with the Japanese band MONO. We are very much looking forward to this tour and to show you the work of our last couple of years."
