new Double Entendre - Irene EP

The artist-centric New York City may have been spared the brunt of Hurricane Irene's destruction, but the storm did seem to wreak havoc on weekend plans.  A definite benefit: musicians cooped up in their digs, pondering the approaching apocalypse, hopefully making some music, right?  That was certainly the case with Ryan Daniels AKA Double Entendre, who emailed me this morning about the existence of a new EP, born as Daniels sought shelter from the storm.  "The Calm" and "Rain Shields," in particular, may well be Daniels' best work to date.  The former is an experiment in repeating a riff until it's omnipresent, and then subtly changing emphasis to break the spell.  It reminds me, most pleasantly, of the warmly distorted guitars on Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets.  "Rain Shields" ventures into Eno's other territory of sound, that being ambient and/or New Age.  The higher-pitched synth meanderings recall J.D. Emmanuel and Michel Genest*, while the industrial haze that muddies up the song's second half is straight from Sean McCann's aural encyclopedia.  Two of five songs below; stream the whole thing and purchase it here.

  Double Entendre - The Calm by casketcrashvigil

  Double Entendre - Rain Shields by casketcrashvigil

*Infinite thanks are due to Chocolate Bobka for pointing me towards these artists and their records

Wise Blood - "Loud Mouths" (Supreme Cuts Remix)

Chicago's future R&B crew Supreme Cuts just dropped their debut EP through Small Plates Records.  The 27-minute Trouble EP is an infectious blend of experimental noise and R&B bliss chopped in a blender.  You can grab it on 10" straight from Small Plates or digitally from Amazon or iTunes.  What's more, their debut performance at Chicago's Empty Bottle was mind-bogglingly good.  In celebration of all the cool shit that's been happening, the duo have graciously gifted this remix of Wise Blood for our listening pleasure.  Their take on "Loud Mouths" is a cinematic ear-slap that's swollen with strings and fits of distorted vocals.

MP3: Wise Blood - Loud Mouths (Supreme Cuts Remix)

guilty pleasure: Drake - "Trust Issues" (Justin Bieber Remix)

More a rework than a remix. Impressive. Addicting. Enough said.

ep: Regal Safari - R G L S F R

I spent a pretty good portion of the weekend listening to Regal Safari's R G L S F R EP on repeat.  Really, it only took thirty seconds of "Light" streaming on Don't Die Wondering to grab hold of me.  Now that R G L S F R has fully wrapped itself around me through repeated listens, I can't recommend it enough.  Melodically pleasing, shimmering stutter-step is something the world is doing, but very few are doing it as well as this Brighton-based three-piece.  The quirky machinations of Mount Kimbie come to mind, as do the liberating excursions of The Miracle Club.  Best New Album or similar recognition, ASAP, please.  Stream the whole EP below; grab a free download here.  Hey labels - wouldn't this sound sweet on vinyl?

  R G L S F R by regalsafari

show: Supreme Cuts & oOoOO at Empty Bottle

Incredibly excited to see Chicago's own future R&B crew Supreme Cuts and founding father of witch-house oOoOO at Empty Bottle this Saturday, August 27.  MP3s below.  Details and tickets here.

MP3: Supreme Cuts - Jacy
MP3: oOoOO - NoSummr4u

new Keep Shelly In Athens - "Our Own Dream"

Equal parts elegant and epic, the latest from Keep Shelly In Athens reverberates with an icy-cool, mysterious disco-glow.  From the Grecian group's forthcoming 12" on Forest Family Records.  As it happens, "Shelly" will be out of Athens (wink, nudge, etc.) and in North America for nine dates in November.  Tour details and MP3 from here.  

MP3: Keep Shelly In Athens - Our Own Dream

new Balam Acab - "Motion"

Omnipresent, yes, but with very good reason, so no less essential a post.  "Motion" is our third taste of Balam Acab's debut full-length for Tri Angle.  Robin Carolan of the latter record label must be blushing.  Just relishing the moment, really.  Not only at Balam Acab's marvelous Wander / Wonder.  But also at his own year-old upstart being named America's best indie label by Billboard.  It was only one year and three days ago that this writer posted about Balam Acab's See Birds EP, the first release for the artist and the label.  What's happened since can only be described as meteoric, even miraculous, rise in exposure for both.  The apparition-inspired swells and twitches of Balam Acab, oOoOO and Holy Other birthed a micro-genre among the blogosphere.  Not to be pigeonholed, though, Tri Angle brought the fractured R&B of How To Dress Well to Europe and put out Clams Casino's hobbled hip-hop beats at the very height of the hype.

That brings us to today, less than two weeks before Balam Acab's Wander / Wonder sees release.  Gone is the grating haziness of See Birds; what's left behind is the morning dew and a moist fog, water droplets forming rings in cave puddles.  A spirit has been calling out, cheekily coaxing you into and out of a deep slumber.  Wander / Wonder is that mystical excursion, that mental escape.  It will absorb you, or you will fall into it.  Either way, it is beautiful and essential.  Go and get.  It can be all yours.  Buy it from Insound (CD / LP) or Rough Trade (CD / LP).

  Balam Acab - Motion by TriAngleRecords

  BALAM ACAB - Apart by TriAngleRecords

MP3: Balam Acab - Oh, Why

CFCF - Cometrue / Looking So 12"

Thanks to The Fader and Altered Zones/Yours Truly, we are now blessed with both sides of CFCF's new 12", out now on UNO. "Cometrue" finds the Montreal producer returning to the land of expertly-crafted piano house, while "Looking So" is a sultry slice of what we might call future R&B. Buy the 12" here or the digital version here.

  CFCF, "Cometrue" by The FADER 

  CFCF: "Looking So" by alteredzones

new Patten - "Blush Mosaic"

patten - Blush Mosaic from ///NO PAIN IN POP\\\ on Vimeo.

Been anticipating another release from Patten for literally years.  Excited to hear No Pain in Pop will be releasing a full-length on September 26th.  "Blush Mosaic" is our first ear massage from GLAQJO XAACSSO.  Sounds a bit like a public television theme song ripped from VHS, tuned downwards and tossed in with a bunch of broken-up beats.  Promises to be one of the more twisted transmissions of the year.  On vinyl or digital download on 9/26/11 from No Pain in Pop.

Britney Spears X Korallreven

This post is a bit tardy, but I was on vacation and mostly without computer access when it hit the web last Thursday.  One of the few new songs I was able to download and absorb while away, it's been on regular stream since.  Britney's original has been a guilty pleasure of mine for quite some time, but even a blockbuster hit from a former queen of pop sounds better with a Balearic breeze about it.  Perfect remix courtesy of Sweden's Korallreven.

  Britney Spears - Til The World Ends (Korallreven Remix) by casketcrashvigil

(via Acephale Records on Twitter)

new Air France - "It Feels Good To Be Around You"

Diva vocals + slightly screwed R&B crooning + steel drums = a warm bath in Balearic bliss, courtesy of Sweden's Air France, perfect for an endless summer afternoon.  MP3 from Sincerely Yours, who are hopefully preparing a physical release.

MP3: Air France - It Feels Good To Be Around You

(via Pitchfork)

new Diamond Messages - "Untitled"

Brand new untitled piano essay from Diamond Messages. It's plenty chill, but it's not chillwave. Or, if there is a wave, it's in the way these majestic mediatations curl and fold into one another like raindrops running off deep green leaves. Part of a compilation celebrating Spontaneous Rhythm's first birthday.

MP3: Diamond Messages - Untitled