Over the past several years we’ve come to know Ed Banger as fine purveyors of dirty electro-infused dance tracks. The label has kept us energized into the wee hours of the morning freaking out to songs from Justice, SebastiAn, Uffie, DJ Mehdi, Mr Oizo, Vicarious Bliss, and label founder Busy P. However, with the Parisian imprint’s new signee, Mickey Moonlight, the label seems to be taking a new direction from the heavy dance vibe for which they’ve become renowned.
Mickey Moonlight, the UK producer/remixer also known as Midnight Mike (aka Mike Silver) is the newest addition to Ed Banger and from the very little I’ve heard, he already sounds like a breath of fresh air to the label. Silver’s interpretation of Sun Ra’s “Interplanetary Music” is catchy disco-pop ride through the outer fringes of the cosmos with layered female/male vocals glide over miniature twisting polyrhythms and a sturdy beat. The other two tracks I’ve heard from Silver are “Music For Responsible Reprogenetics” and “A Big Ship Passing,” which are much more drone-y, floating, and ambient than his current single.
Word is that an album is due out in the near future, but for now that’s all we have. Check out the video for “Interplanetary Music” below and keep your eyes on the stars.
This mixtape pulls together a collection of some of my favorite French music from the 1960s through today to celebrate Bastille Day. The French national holiday (which was celebrated in Philadelphia over the weekend at Eastern State Penitentary), commemorates the storming of the Bastille, which took place on July 14, 1789, marking the beginning of the French Revolution. The largest celebration of the holiday, which is like July 4th to us Americans, is in, you guessed it, New York City. To celebrate in a low-key style, grab yourself a nice bottle of Beaujolais, along with a Godard or Truffaut flick and download the mix below.
It’s not everyday that you hear a sexy disco-pop song about a mysterious religious relic that was used to wipe the sweat off Jesus’ face on his way to crucifixion. One of the Stations of the Cross is dedicated to the event and apparently it’s a pretty big deal, up there with the Shroud of Turin, as his image is supposed to have transferred onto the cloth. Sounds like a History Channel documentary in the making – round up some extras and get ready for some killer reanactments.
If Chromatics are the purveyors of dark after-hours club music that sends us off into the cool night, quickly chilling the remaining beads of sweat clinging to our bodies, then Fan Death is the sound of that late night giving way to the early rays of dawn. The warm and bouncy “Veronica’s Veil” lays down thick slabs of synth grooves a la Glass Candy, over which a pulsating sythesized-string section is stretched, capped off with high-powered female vocals. “The Son Will Rise” with its exuberant faux horn fanfares and tribal beats along with other tracks on the band’s MySpace page are must haves for those digging on the current releases from the Italians Do It Better imprint.
Thanks to everyone who made it out to FRICTION at Cake Shop on Sunday night. Many thanks to Crystal Stilts, Tickley Feather, Rings, PWRFL Power, and Anicet DJ for putting on such a great show. We loved the vibe of the night and venue, so keep an eye out for future shows at the shop. For now, you can catch FRICTION (as announced on Monday) at The Mercury Lounge with Crystal Antlers, Chairlift, and Religious Knives on July 8th. Photos from Sunday night are up on our Flickr page.
With a lineup that’s a little bit Philly and a lot of New York, FRICTION returns to its roots in Manhattan with a cast of “local” acts this Sunday at Cake Shop. Crystal Stilts, who have recently been buzzing in NYC, bring their unique brand of of moody, catchy, and upbeat surf-inspired tunes to the Shop. Mischevious outsider-folkie PWRFL Power, Paw Track signees Rings, and Philadelphia’s mysterious Tickley Feather, with her lo-fi blend of psychy bedroom pop, round out the lineup. Anicet spins between sets.
Tickets are only seven bucks and available at the doors, which open at 8pm. Full show details here. GET HYPE!
It’s been nearly two years since we last checked in with French electro pop act, Poni Hoax, who caused a buzz around that time with the single “Budapest.” Following the Involutive Star EP and “Antibodies” single last year, the five-piece jumped into 2008 with their excellent sophomore effort Images of Sigrid, a collection of thirteen songs inspired by everything from post-punk to piano solos to Krautrock to Italo-disco.
Producer Joakim Bouaziz can be credited for some of the success of the record. Like Joakim’s own work, Sigrid maintains a leftfield air about it from start to finish. Take “Antibodies” for example, it sounds like a concoction burped up from the depths of the 70s after being washed down with a dose of classical sweeping symphonies. It’s like throwing Jim Morrison in front of a disco-funk group and backing them up with a full orchestra. Throughout the track there’s little electronic distortions and deviations that keep the song more interesting than your typical run of the mill pop song. “Crash-Pad Driver” pairs a chugging motorik beat with cheesy 80s pop crescendos while “My Own Private Vietnam” visits dance-rock territory.
Where Joakim’s dabbling is felt most strongly is on “Pretty Tall Girls” that begins with warped electronic notes, the constant pluck of a guitar string, and heavy garbled bass before exploding into straightforward punk backed by a banshee-like harmonies, that fall off into a murkey valley, before peaking again. Sort of like that whole start and stop thing that made grunge so fun back in the early 90s, except a little weirder. “The Soundtrack of Your Fears” is a subdued, softly sung, female-fronted track that’s probably the most standard song on the album. No single song sounds quite alike on this record, with the results being near perfect contemporary pop music. Sigrid strength lies in the way the Poni Hoax and Joakim take mismatched genres and blend them into a smooth and sexy sound.
Images of Sigrid is out now on Tigersushi and Poni Hoax plays New York on July 5th at Studio B. It’s their only U.S. date scheduled in addition to some Canadian dates.
Bewildered, I woke up to this song as my trained rolled into 30th Street Station in Philadelphia late last night/early this morning. As I struggled to focus my sleepy eyes on the platform station sign to determine my exact location I heard deadpan vocals singing catchy a ditty about “black rice” or at least that’s all I could make out at that point. I pulled myself together, snatched up my bags and exited the train. After I made my way up the stairs, gradually coming out of my grogginess, patting my pockets to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind, I checked my iPod and saw that I was listening to “Black Rice” by Calgary, CA troupe, Women.
It was a fitting song for the night. I had just returned to Philly after meeting up with friends for dinner and drinks in “the big city.” For the first time in a long time, I was finally able to properly catch up with some of those closest to me in a dark and chill little room over refreshing beers as the warm sun threw its last rays of the day on the brownstone facade outside. The summery and breezy “Black Rice” couldn’t have introduced itself in a better way, or on a better night.
