Composer and Pianist Jean-Michael Blais Shares New Track "roses" - New Album On The Way

“...a succinct collection of minimal piano compositions that runs the gamut of human emotions: hope, sadness, joy, and fear.” – Noisey on Il

“Blais condenses two years worth of daily improvisations into a blindingly bright 28-minute release exploring piano textures influenced by Erik Satie and minimalist virtuosos like Lubomyr Melnyk and Philip Glass.” – FACT on Il

Post-classical pianist and composer Jean-Michel Blais has shared “roses,” a new song that explores the cathartic effects of music and the understanding of sickness and wellness it provides. On it, Blais deftly treads the lines between the classical and pop worlds, simultaneously referencing Radiohead's "Pyramid Song", Rachmaninov / Carmen's "Concerto no 2: Adagio sostenuto", and Celine Dion's  "All By Myself". The composition feels equally at home in concert halls and rock clubs.

STREAM: Jean-Michel Blais – “roses”

About the track, Blais says, “'roses' is a funeral piece dedicated to my friend’s mother who died from cancer. The ostinato, the repeating single note in the intro, represents her beating heart, and the ever-present tumour, sometimes forgotten but still growing. How do ill people find peace, if they can at all? "roses" is my attempt to reflect a journey of someone's musical memories, wandering from pop to classical remembrances, concluding on nostalgic harmony.”

Last year Blais collaborated with CFCF for an acclaimed EP Cascades on Arts & Crafts, which struck a unique balance between classical composition and contemporary electronic music. The collaboration stemmed from a featured performance the at the Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal. In 2016 he released his debut album Il, which introduced Blais as an exciting new voice in the realm of crossover classical music. Blais will release a follow-up to Il later this year on Arts & Crafts.

ED SHRADER'S MUSIC BEAT Shares Dan Beacon-Produced Single "Riddles"

"they record vivid little tantrums that produce a whole lot of tension and foreboding from very elemental sounds...avisceral surprise every time." - Pitchfork

"Ed Schrader's Music Beat have come a long way..'Dunce' is cocky and sneering, sick of being second fiddle against others who don't have what it takes...In an era filled with privileged obliviousness and idiot princes, it feels like a welcome corrective." - Stereogum (Best Songs of the Week)
"'Dunce,' the lead single of the long-awaited Ed Schrader's Music Beat record Riddles, is a densely produced (by Dan Deacon), moody alt-rock smash hit...and it only gets stranger from here." - Noisey

"It's truly refreshing to hear a band not fuck around and bring their formidable talent to the front of a record...irresistible, in-your-face post-punk" - SPIN

"Equal parts sonic chaos and minimal bliss...[Ed Schrader's Music Beat] masterfully blends mixed tempos and shock hooks in an unexpectedly visceral, enjoyable fashion." - Dazed

"go see Ed Schrader's Music Beat immediately - total surprise of the night." - Brooklyn Vegan

"Baltimore's Ed Schrader's Music Beat...waste little time in setting speakers ablaze with a fierce and breakneck post-punk juggernaut that's sure to blow an eardrum or two." - Consequence of Sound

Baltimore-based post-punk band Ed Schrader's Music Beat recently announced their third full-length record and their Carpark Records debut entitled Riddles. Today the band shares the Dan Deacon-produced album's second single and title track. "Riddles" starts with a gorgeous and entirely unexpected piano introduction that threads throughout the soaring, cinematic song, showcasing the band's sonic expansion on this forthcoming album. Listen to "Riddles" HERE.

Ed Schrader on "Riddles":

"To me this song is about shaking the ghost of an ever-present teenage self, only to realize you are only 'that ghost' and nothing more. You've been asleep in your head and you wake to a shattered present which makes that over-romanticized 'ideal' past all that more alluring. Even with its monsters, you run back into it and pull the covers over your head.

"This was where my head was at the time I got a voicemail that my Step Dad died. He was a larger than life character who I had very mixed and unresolved feelings about. Learning of his death was like waking up and suddenly the mountains were all gone. Gravity shifted, and it kicked up all the dust bunnies of a damaged past along with its rich, dark beauty."
 

Riddles comes out March 2nd - pre-order the album (and Ed Schrader's Music Beans, bags of coffee roasted by ESMB's resident coffee connoisseur Devlin) at Carpark or on iTunes, and pre-save the album onSpotify.

Ed Schrader's Music Beat will take Riddles out on the road this Spring - see below to find a show near you, and get your tickets HERE.

Ed Schrader's Music Beat needed to make this record. Nineteen tours in the U.S. since the Baltimore-based duo's formation in 2010, from headlining underground spaces to opening massive venues for Future Islands, had left vocalist Ed Schrader and bassist Devlin Rice exhausted - and hungry to take their music to the next level. ESMB originally worked in a maximalist drums, bass, and vocals mode, releasing the noise-rock full-lengths Jazz Mind (Load Records, 2012), and Party Jail (Infinity Cat Recordings, 2014). However, Ed and Devlin dreamed of a fuller sound - layered, breathing arrangements their early rapid-fire compositions always seemed to imply, without yet having the tools to realize.

On Riddles, their first release for Carpark, the Music Beat begins their new life.

In search of a fresh direction, Ed and Devlin invited their close friend, electronic-pop maestro and fellow Baltimore-based artist Dan Deacon, to expand their sound and experiment with them as the album's producer, arranger, and co-writer. Working steadily in Dan's studio for two years in total collaboration, three evolving musicians pushed through an intense period of personal tumult and found purpose in the sounds they were committing to record. The result: a polished and passionate masterpiece of nuanced alt-rock.

Dan, Ed, and Devlin all poured emotions produced by major life changes into these sessions. While in Puerto Rico on a rare vacation, Ed learned of the death of his stepfather, a charismatic but abusive figure who'd cast a dominant shadow on his formative years. Devlin sat at the bedside of his brother, who'd long lived with a terminal illness, as he saw through his choice to die with dignity. And Dan's longest relationship, which had stretched across his entire career as a musician thus far, came to an end. "I looked forward to these sessions when everything else in life was a shit-show," recalls Devlin, who began the record commuting from Providence to Baltimore, but moved into Dan's studio as it neared completion.

"For me, the album parallels feelings of confronting the past, resolving it, facing the music, and blasting out of it," says Ed. "It's the album our hearts wanted us to make." Riddles is a full-length collaboration between Ed Schrader's Music Beat and Dan Deacon. All three people invested their souls into this record for two full years, and it shows.

Tour dates

3/1 - Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
3/3 - Washington, DC@ Comet Ping Pong
3/4 - Raleigh, NC @ Kings
3/5 - Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
3/6 - Knoxville, TN @ Pilot Light
3/7 - Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR
3/9 - Atlanta, GA @ Mammal Gallery
3/13 - Dallas, TX @ Transit Bicycle Company
3/14 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
3/15 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/16 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/17 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/18 - Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/19 - Hot Springs, AK @ VOV Fest
3/20 - Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
3/23 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
3/24 - Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Fest
3/26 - Reno, NV @ Holland Project
3/28 - Los Angeles, CA @ Zebulon
3/29 - San Francisco, CA @ Make Out Room
3/31 - Portland, OR @ The Know
4/4 - Sioux Falls, SD @ Total Drag Records
4/5 - Minneapolis, MN @ Kitty Cat Klub
4/6 - Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
4/7 - Milwaukee, WI @ Quarters Rock N Roll Palace
4/8 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
4/10 - Toronto, ON @ Baby G
4/11 - Winooski, VT @ Monkey House
4/12 - Providence, RI @ AS220

4/14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Everybody Hits
4/15 - Brooklyn, NY @ Baby's All Right

5/1 - Edinburgh, Scotland @ Sneaky Pete's

5/2 - Glasgow, Scotland @ The Hug and Pint

5/6 - Manchester, UK @ Sounds from the Other City Festival

5/7 - London, UK @ Moth Club

5/8 - Paris, France @ Espace B

5/10 - Madrid, Spain @ El Sol - Sound Isidro

5/14 - Lyon, France @ Grrnd Zero

5/16 - Lausanne, Switzerland @ Le Bourg

5/17 - Esslingen, Germany  @ Komma

5/18 - Prague, Czech Republic @ 007 Club

5/20 - Berlin, Germany @ ACUD Macht Neu

5/23 - Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Cinetol

5/25 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ WORM

Gaz Coombes Shares Video + Announces US Tour, 'World's Strongest Man' out 4/4 via Hot Fruit/Caroline International

Gaz Coombes has just released a video for “Deep Pockets” - the first single from his forthcoming third full length album World’s Strongest Man, set for release May 4 2018 via Hot Fruit/Caroline International. Watch the clip via YouTube HERE.

The self-directed, filmed, and edited clip features Gaz undertaking one of the trippiest Uber-pool journeys from the back of a car in Los Angeles. Gaz says of the clip:

“I shot the ‘Deep Pockets’ video on a shoestring, mostly in LA at the end of 2017. The idea came from the lyrics & memories of weird night drives over the years - a never-ending car journey laced with paranoia, intermittent hallucinations & unexpected carpooling. I liked the idea of getting together with some fun, interesting people in a car at night, filming it all and just seeing what happened. It worked out well. They all did great.”

Gaz has also announced a run of solo US tour dates starting early March - Tickets HERE. Full itinerary and more information below.

GAZ COOMBES TOUR DATES:
1/31 - Leicester, UK - The Cookie SOLD OUT
2/28 - London, UK - ULU Live SOLD OUT
3/05 - New York, NY - Baby’s All Right #
3/06 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge #
3/09 - Seattle, WA - Columbia City Theater #
3/11 - San Francisco, CA - Swedish American Hall #
3/13 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo #
3/14 - Austin, TX - SXSW #
3/15 - Austin, TX - SXSW #
4/09 - Hamburg, DE - Nochtspeicher #
4/10 - Berlin, DE - Bi Nuu #
4/12 - Rotterdam, NL - Rotown #
4/13 - Brussels, BE - Orangerie Botanique #
4/18 - Copenhagen, DK - Hotel Cecil #
4/19 - Oslo, NO - Blaa #
4/20 - Stockholm, SE - Brooklyn Bar #
5/17 - Glasgow, UK - The Garage
5/18 - Liverpool, UK - Arts Club
5/19 - Leeds, UK - Church
5/21 - Birmingham, UK - O2 Institute 2
5/22 - Bristol, UK - The Trinity Centre
5/23 - London, UK - Palladium
5/25 - Dublin, IE - The Academy
5/29 - Paris, FR - La Maroquinerie

# = solo show
US Tickets (sans SXSW) are now on sale and available here, and the rest go on sale at 10am on Friday, Feb 2nd. A presale will be available from 10am tomorrow (Weds, January 31st) for fans signed up via Gaz’s website. Sign up there for future gig pre-sales and exclusive offers.
World’s Strongest Man is released on Hot Fruit/Caroline International on May 4th, 2018. The record is inspired variously by Grayson Perry’s book “The Descent of Man,” Frank Ocean’s Blonde, Californian weed, British woodlands, unchecked toxic masculinity, hip-hop, and a whole lot more for a bold, ambitious, free-thinking, future-facing rock‘n’roll record.
Pre-Order Gaz Coombes - World's Strongest Man
https://gazcoombesuk.lnk.to/WSMPRPR

SOCCER MOMMY Shares New Song via The Fader Gen F, Announces NYC Show + Starts Tour with Phoebe Bridgers

"Sophie Allison's songs are generously tender, pushing and pulling between preternatural composure and emotional disintegration." - New York Times

"as she makes this empowering demand for respect [on 'Your Dog'], Sophie Allison firmly establishes herself as a vital musical voice we'll be turning to in the years to come." - NPR Music

"If [Collection is] a sign of what's to come, it's an exciting one." - Pitchfork

"The first single from Soccer Mommy's upcoming album, Clean, is so flippin' good...Sophie Allison sounds feistier, and better, than ever before." - The FADER

"With her nostalgic pop sensibility, Soccer Mommy makes her songs feel intimate as she explores lost love, crushes and growing up." - Billboard
"if Allison's upcoming Clean includes even two or three more songs [as good as 'Your Dog'] you might as well pencil it in on your year-end albums list right now.." - Stereogum (#2 Best Songs of the Week) 

“We're deeply impressed with Soccer Mommy's gorgeous, slightly fuzzy sounds, and can't wait for the Nashville singer-songwriter's debut to arrive” - Paste

Soccer Mommy - twenty-year old Nashville native Sophie Allison - recently announced her debut album Clean, and today she shares its second single. Showcasing Allison's growth as a lyricist, "Cool" is a meditation on identity, on wishing to be someone else for a while. "The song focuses on this other person who's desirable and cool, and it shows how sometimes you can romanticize the idea of being different than you are," explains Allison. "It comes from a place of insecurity and idealization, which is a feeling that hangs over a lot of the album." Listen to the song and read Soccer Mommy's "Gen F" profile in The FADER HERE, or pick up a copy of the Spring issue out soon.

Sophie Allison and her band will embark on a tour with Phoebe Bridgers starting this weekend, and today Soccer Mommy announces her biggest NYC headline show to date at Rough Trade on May 4th. See below to find a show near you, and get your tickets HERE.

Following a series of DIY Bandcamp recordings and last year's Collection, Clean is Allison's journey out of her bedroom and into the studio with a full band and an incredible record produced by Gabe Wax (War On Drugs,Deerhunter, Beirut) and mixed by Ali Chant (Perfume Genius, PJ Harvey). "I'd never made a full album before, just EPs and random tracks thrown together. I wanted it to be a lot more cohesive than the rest of the stuff that came before," explains Allison. "I wanted to make something that was a full piece of my life, that addressed similar themes and held together as a whole." The result is Clean, an album that presents Soccer Mommy as a singular artist, wise beyond her years, with an emotional authenticity of her own.

Sophie Allison got her start in the local Nashville DIY scene, going to shows and hanging out with other musicians, though she kept her own songwriting secret. All that changed the summer before Allison left for college at New York University. She bought a Tascam digital recorder and starting releasing songs for free on Bandcampunder the name Soccer Mommy in 2015. A buzz began to grow, leading to live shows, a record deal, and 2017's critically acclaimed bedroom-recorded compilation Collection. So Allison took the plunge - she quit school, moved back home to Nashville, shifting all her focus to music. She toured with Mitski, Jay Som, Slowdive, The Drums, and more with no signs of slowing down. 

Clean - the cohesive record Allison dreamt of making - is a true step forward, a strong and mature album from an artist just coming into her power. It will be released on March 2nd via Fat Possum - pre-order it HERE.

Tour dates:

2/3/18 - Orange County, CA @ Constellation Room #

2/5/18 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar #

2/6/18 - Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole #

2/8/18 - Dallas, TX @ Three Links #

2/9/18 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Upstairs #

2/10/18 - Austin, TX @ Antone's #

2/12/18 - Birmingham, AL @ Syndicate Lounge #    

2/14/18 - Nashville, TV @ High Watt #

2/15/18 - Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5 #

2/16/18 - Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight #

2/20/18 - Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel #

2/21/18 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Upstairs #

2/22/18 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg #

2/23/18 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg #

2/24/18 - Boston, MA @ Great Scott #

3/3/18 - Leeds, UK @ Headrow House

3/4/18 - Manchester, UK @ The Castle Hotel

3/6/18 - London, UK @ Moth Club

3/7/18 - Brighton, UK @ The Hope

3/8/18 - Paris, FR @ Supersonic

3/9/18 - Amsterdam, NL @ Sugar Factory
3/12-18/18 - Austin, TX @ SXSW

3/23/18 - Nashville, TN @ The East Room
3/27/18 - Lexington, KY @ The Burl *
3/28/18 - Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop *
3/29/18 - Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern *
3/30/18 - Davenport, IA @ The Raccoon Motel *
3/31/18 - Minneapolis, MN @ Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater *
4/3/18 - Spokane, WA @ The Bartlett *
4/4/18 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza *
4/5/18 - Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge *
4/7/18 - San Francisco, CA @ Botton Of The Hill
4/10/18 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo *
4/11/18 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar *

5/4/18 - Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade

* with Madeline Kenney

# with Phoebe Bridgers

Mind Over Mirrors Announces New Album Bellowing Sun - Hear Cosmic New Track "Matchstick Grip"

“Near-religious drone. The effect is kaleidoscopic” – The Quietus

“Sounds like something plucked out of an Andrei Tarkovsky film, or produced by mapping the orbits of celestial bodies on an LP record.” – Blouin ArtInfo

“Stratospheric soundscapes with textural vocalizations that bring to mind the orbital beauty of Steve Reich while achieving an analog warmth all its own.” – FACT

“In composing Bellowing Sun, Fennelly focused on rhythm more than ever. On “Matchstick Grip” that tactic pays continual dividends, injecting blood into his oxygen-rich music.” – NPR Music

Mind Over Mirrors has announced a new song-cycle and album entitled Bellowing Sun, which will be released by Paradise of Bachelors on April 6th and premiered live at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago the same night. An encore performance will be presented April 7th. Mind Over Mirrors’ Jaime Fennelly has been developingBellowing Sun for three years, composing the music and recording the album, as well as co-designing and building a massive zoetrope that will be installed above the ensemble during live iterations of the piece. The production was commissioned by the MCA.

Bellowing Sun is kinetic, both literally and musically. Along with Jim Becker (Iron and Wine, Califone) on violin, Janet Beveridge Bean (Freakwater, Eleventh Dream Day) on vocals, zither, and percussion, and Jon Mueller (Death Blues) on drums, Fennelly (on Indian pedal harmonium and synthesizers) has created cosmic music that is driving and physical, defined by movement. Fennelly developed the music alongside the creation of the zoetrope, the creative forces driving both mingling and influencing the advancement of each. The sculpture, created in collaboration with visual artists Timothy Breen, Eliot Irwin, and lighting designer Keith Parham, will spin above the band, animating the images emblazoned on its translucent canvas. Popul Vuh, Arthur Russell, Laurie Spiegel, Terry Riley, and La Düsseldorf are all touch points for this music, but it exists in a universe all its own.

Today NPR premiered “Matchstick Grip,” one of the most dynamic and energetic pieces Mind Over Mirrors has ever released. Clocking in at nearly 10 minutes, the song features buoyantly pulsating synthesizers and interlocking drums, with Bean’s majestic incantations above.