Matmos on Digital Technology and the Internet from John Vogel on Vimeo.
With the release of Mac's iPad this portion of my August 9th, 2009, interview with Matmos came to mind. Here is their response to my question regarding their feelings on digital distribution's encroachment on CD sales.
Posted by John Vogel
john.l.vogel@gmail.com
These guys are spot on. The Intelligence, based out of Seattle, with out a doubt live up to thier name. Thier songs are smart and their sound seems to progress with each new release. The intelligence remind me of chuck berry mixed with an electronic 13th floor elevators. With six full length albums and a hand full of ep's The Intelligence is by no means a new band, however each release maintains the kind of individuality and forward motion nessisary to keep from getting boring. Check out the songs below and see for yourself:
Check out our boy CHLLNGR on the front page of submerge mag. Stay tuned for the EP dropping in March!
Posted by Stephen Glicken
stephen@greenowl.com
Hope everyone had a good January!
Earlier this month I started digging out some albums that I hadn’t really listened to in years and got reacquainted with them, among them three albums by the ferocious Don Caballero. Though they still exist, the only remaining original member is their (admittedly brilliant) drummer, Damon Che. For a few albums, Ian Williams (currently of Battles) was on board, and those records remain some of the best music of their time. Genre tags like “post rock” or “math rock” do a better job of describing the bands that used Don Cab as an influence and, generally speaking, rounded off the edges—the knock-offs aren’t always interesting to listen to, but I think the original is still frighteningly unique.
Don Cab’s last album before breaking up in late 2000 was American Don. Fueled by acrobatic loops and fractured riffs by Williams on guitar, it also featured new member Eric Emm on bass. A collaborator with Williams in Storm & Stress, this was Emm’s only appearance on record with Don Cab but his work stands out mostly by anchoring the two musicians who sound close to becoming untethered. I hadn’t given much thought to what he was doing in the past 10 years since that breakup, but apparently he had stayed active in bands like Good Morning and doing production work with his brother as…The Brothers. Now there’s Tanlines, his latest project, this one a partnership with Jesse Cohen, formerly of Professor Murder and concurrently of Restless People. And Tanlines is what I’m here to talk about, sorry about the history lesson…
Tanlines have been playing around New York for sometime now but haven’t released much—in fact, they’ve been busy on the remix front, doing production for Telepathe and the Tough Alliance, among others. But with the recent digital release of “Real Life” and the upcoming SettingsEP in early March, that will change. I’m a relatively recent convert myself, but I suggest you might enjoy their music as well. In “Real Life,” which you can hear below, the keyboards jumps out instantly but are quickly colored by that lovely gliding guitar sound. There’s more going on than appears at first glance, yet you could probably hum this song after hearing it once. (Turns out Eric is a pretty decent singer, too!) And the lyrics are simple and humble in an oddly comforting way—“You might still think I’m that way/It’s only natural/It was a past life thing/it wasn’t anything at all.” I think anyone who has generally been into DFA output these past couple years should be excited by this and ready to hear more. “Real Life” is below and be sure to enjoy the song “S.A.W.” from a recent 7” here too.
Posted by Ned Milligan
I was at a club in a town called Castro in Chile last night and looked up to see the video above. Amazing! Some funny shit.
Posted by Stephen Glicken
stephen@greenowl.com
Grandchildren featured in Beyond Race magazine. Click here to read full article.
Posted by Stephen Glicken
stephen@greenowl.com
Many trees in North America, including firs, spruces and other greens are in danger of becoming nothing but dead leaves and grasslands because of beetle invasions. We are in the midst of one of the worst insect invasions in decades. But recently, Richard Hofsetter, a beetle expert at Northern Arizona University, found out that he could deter beetles from ravaging the trees by driving them crazy through sounds. The experiment started off with GNR albums and recordings of Rush Limbaugh, but found better success when the beetles were exposed to high frequency aggression calls made by the male beetles. The beetles got so annoyed, they would literally dig themselves out of plexiglass in order to escape the sounds. Hofsetter intends to outfit trees this Spring with speakers emitting sounds in hopes that it will deter beetle invasions and save millions of acres of forest.
Posted by Shilpa Nadhan
Ninjasonik's new mixtape -- Strictly For My Hipstaz!!! DANCE!!!
Duck Sauce – aNYway (Ninjasonik’s Boosted Hot Sauce Mix)
Udachi & Jubilee – Paypur (Ninjasonik Remix)
Major Lazer vs. Ninjasonik – Pon De Floor vs. Somebody Gonna Get Pregnant
Major Lazer – Pon De Floor (Ninjasonik Remix feat. Tasleems and MNDR)
Johnny Nelson & Ease Da Man – Watch Yo Girl
Theophilus London – Humdrum Town
Ninjasonik – She’s My Pharmacist
Q Lazarus – Goodbye Horses
Abstract Truth – (We Had) A Thing (Matty’s Body & Soul Remix)
Kenna – Say Goodbye To Love (Ninjasonik Remix)
Treasure Fingers – Cross The Dancefloor (Ninjasonik Remix)
AC Slater feat Ninjasonik – Take You
Ninjasonik & Kicks Like A Mule – It’s Ok (Extended Mix)
Mr. Starcity – Welcome To Starcity
Ninjasonik feat Ease Da Man – NOFUNFORUGLYGIRLS
Memberz Only – Fuck Outta Here
Johnny Nelson feat Ninjasonik – Put Em In A Bodybag
Posted by Vanessa Bronfman
vanessa@greenowl.com
This past week around the world we’ve been focused on the recent earthquake in Haiti. As disastrous as it was, there are three remarkable things worth highlighting that have occurred as a result of the earthquake:
· The announcement on Friday by the Department of Homeland Security’s Janet Napolitano that Haitians in the US would be granted TPS or Temporary Protected Status. Major hats off need to be given to the Administration for acting so quickly after a flood of pleas and letters to the White House had asked for Haitians TPS. For those that are unaware of what TPS does, it gives temporary humanitarian immigration relief in nations that have experienced a disaster (anything from a genocide to a tsunami) by allowing nationals to apply for work authorization, apply for travel back home with a guaranteed re-entry into the US, and prevents them from being deported or held in immigration detentions. Which, you know, helps when you have to send money, aid or help back to family and friends who need assistance back home.
· To date, over $16 million dollars have been donated via mobile phones to Haiti Earthquake Relief.
· The Boston Globe has posted an amazing “Big Picture” photo essay of Haiti in the six days of aftermath, with incredible photos of looting and rubble rescue team efforts. The picture above is just one of many of the shocking and stunning photos in the series. You can check it out here:
Posted by Shilpa Nadhan
I was watching the new Werner Herzog doc "Encounters at the End of the World" the other day and was blown away by this clip. It's a recording of seals calling underwater.
Posted by Stephen Glicken
stephen@greenowl.com
Been a long time coming...but here it is! Enjoy!
Posted by Stephen Glicken
stephen@greenowl.com
Goner Records has confirmed that Jay Reatard passed away:
"It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard, Jay died in his sleep last night. We will pass along information about funeral arrangements when they are made public."
This is truly a loss for the entire music community. While controversy seemed to follow Jay Reatard, he was without a doubt one of the most prolific performers of his generation, with more than 22 full length releases and more than 50 ep releases. He didn't necessarily grab headlines when he was alive, however his death has been reported by Rolling Stone , The New York Times, NME, and NPR, which is truly a testiment his importance within the music world. Check out this short documentary about Jay below:
Waiting For Something - a short documentary about Jay Reatard
Jay Reatard | MySpace Music Videos
Posted by Sam Donahue
Sam@greenowl.com
Consequences is a project started by the NOOR photo agency. The mission is to document the detrimental effects that climate change has on our world, not in the future, but today. The result is a collection of touching and educational photography, that captures the urgency of the climate problem.
"They choose subjects that include a massive pine beetle kill in British Columbia; genocide in Darfur; the rising sea level in the Maldives; Nenet reindeer herders in Siberia; Inuit hunters in Greenland; a looming crisis in Kolkata, India; coal mining in Poland; oil sand extraction in Canada; and the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest by Brazilian cattle ranchers."
For more information visit Global Post.
Posted by Sam Donahue
Sam@greenowl.com
We've heard that Jay Retard has passed away. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and fans.
posted by Benjamin Bronfman
Photographer Richard Barnes spent a number of year documenting swarms of birds in Europe. Above are just a few examples of the results.
Posted by Stephen Glicken
stephen@greenowl.com
