Tag Archives: on the rise

2012, music

[on the rise] Oh! My Blackbird

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Alt-folk trio Oh! My Blackbird, fronted by lead vocalist and guitarist Annie Sullivan, harness the magic of close vocal harmonies and pissed off lyrics. With Nick Jozwiak (cello, bass, auto harp) and Veronica Kohl (tambourine, vocals), they create a tight yet playful folk pop sound. On March 6th, they will release their full-length album Dare Me.

Inspired by classical music — particularly choral music and madrigals — and 60’s and late 70’s folk revival, mixed with 90’s-00’s era rock, their sound is driven by tight vocals and witty, often venomous lyrics. Sullivan tells introspective tales of real life experiences that are steeped in traditional pop — like a string of really bad boyfriends — mixed with a mystical folk mentality.

Oh! My Blackbird released their first EP Too Much Future in May 2011, followed by Drop Dead EP in October 2011. Look for more of the band’s acoustic folk pop sounds, combined with mystical and psychedelic elements on Dare Me. Recorded in January 2012, Dare Me was produced by Oliver Ignatius (Ghost Pal) at the Cobble Hill based recording studio Mama Coco’s Funky Kitchen. [source: feeling anxious]

 

 

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[on the rise] Viper Creek Club

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Viper Creek Club (VCC) is the evolving and enduring project of Mat Wisner. Originally an idea in one of Wisner’s demo songs for a previous project, VCC combines the various styles and ideas of Wisner and all of his contributors to live shows and production, making for a refreshing brand of electro-pop music. VCC is inherently influenced by various theories about sound, composition methods, and genre, and they continually work to expand through these ideas in their music. Outside of VCC, Wisner produces, engineers, and mixes for local hip hop artists, an attribute that heavily influences their sound.

VCC’s debut album Letters was released in August 2010, combining smart production techniques with organic percussion and piano to create a sound both deliberate and natural at the same time. In April 2011, VCC released a much buzzed about hip-hop remix album, Viperlust, through local Seattle label Members Only. The Stranger’s Charles Mudede dubbed the album, “the first solid, artistic connection between local indie rock and indie hip hop.” [free download here]

VCC is set to release their latest EP Hot Lights on February 14, 2012. The EP’s title refers to the neon lights that illuminate the city we occupy at night, and the music recounts tales of urban nightlife, partying, lust, drugs, and young love. As Wisner explains, “it’s the perfect title for the energy and momentum of the songs on the album.” Tracks on Hot Lights were also inspired by the passion and energy the group encountered off of their first year on the indie festival circuit, playing CMJ in 2010, along with SXSW and Seattle’s City Arts Festival in 2011.

In the past, they have supported indie acts We Are Scientists and Ra Ra Riot, and have sold out headlining shows at venues in their hometown of Seattle. Their music has been featured on Real World: Las Vegas and The Young And The Restless, as well as commercials for Nike and Microsoft Windows 8.

It is clear that Wisner puts all of his passion and experience to good use with Viper Creek Club, which is made evident in their signature synth-driven melodies and carefully constructed beats that never fail to keep the party going. [source: planetary group]

♪ Viper Creek Club – Because I Know (from Hot Lights EP)

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2012, music

[on the rise] Painted Palms

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Caught these guys opening for Starfucker at The Glass House this last Sunday night (really good show, btw) and was really impressed. [SF Weekly’s review of the two recent SF shows is spot on]

Painted Palms is cousins Reese Donohue and Christopher Prudhomme.  They’re originally from Louisiana, but now call San Francisco home, and last year they dropped one mighty fine EP, Canopy, via Secretly Canadian.  Besides their current gig supporting Starfucker, they’ve played shows with the likes of Braids, Pepper Rabbit , and were hand picked by of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes to open for them on their last North American tour.

I thoroughly enjoyed their live set.  I was lucky enough to catch the first ever performance of “Angel”, which will be recorded for their new album, and was one of the highlights of the entire show for both the wifey and I.  Check out the video below from the show.  The quality doesn’t do the song justice, but it’s better than nothing [big thanks to the uploader].

Here’s what Secretly Canadian has to say about ’em:
“The two grew up together on the same block in Lafayette, Louisiana. After Donohue moved to the Bay Area in California for school, they spent several years exchanging music they had made by themselves — hypnotic sound experiments and song fragments. However, it wasn’t until they both returned home for the winter break in 2009, that they began playing music together.

Canopy is the debut EP from duo Painted Palms. With its echoes of Brill Building pop, buoyant electronics, and encompassing textural experimentation, the EP exudes something ebullient as well as meditative. Canopyis a modern psych-pop collage with an affinity for fluidity and the exotic.” [more]

I’m crossing my fingers for more from Painted Palms in the near future, but in the meantime, head on over to their bandcamp page and get your fill.

♪ Painted Palms – All Of Us (from Canopy EP)

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2011, music, on the rise

[on the rise] SONOIO

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SONOIO was born in early 2010, as the result of a series of “conversations” between Alessandro Cortini and an old Buchla Electric Music Box. In his latest musical endeavor, Cortini has carved out a new creative direction in music by using solely his Buchla analog synthesizer, an obsolete instrument from the 70’s, to produce the sounds on his two premiere albums Blue and Red. This strategy had an effect on both the composition and sound design of his music, due to the limited tools used in the recording process.

The Buchla became much like a “second band member” to Cortini, allowing a wider range of sounds and in turn producing more peculiar and unique songs. “The whole compositional process felt like a chess game, where I would make a move, trying to compose in a certain way, only to be antagonized by either the limitations of the instrument, or its quirkiness, ” explains Cortini. “This ‘back and forth’ process led me to composing the bulk of the Blue and Red SONOIO records, allowing me to create something unique sounding, yet familiar and memorable.”


As a former member of Nine Inch Nails who has worked with Ladytron, toured with Muse and recently remixed tracks by HEALTH, Big Black Delta and Nine Inch Nails, Cortini is no stranger to the industry. His work as SONOIO, however, has taken its own path. “This particular project is a materialization of me working on my own for the first time and trying to get as much out of a limited amount of tools, as opposed to using everything that is available to produce music these days.” All of the songs on the records are based on the meaning of the word/name SONOIO, which comes from the Italian phrase “sono io,” meaning, “it is I.”

At once gritty and melodious, Red and Blue draw from Cortini’s past collaborations while exploring a fresh territory more akin to the likes of Crystal Castles and Salem. The result is a series of multi-layered pop records that reveal new emotional terrain with each listen. Cortini spurned heavy-handed studio production with the help of Jonathan Bates (Big Black Delta), while also recording and mixing both the albums himself. Likewise, his live show is an intricate one-man production, which is about to embark on a month-long tour with Ladytron, including stops in Mexico City, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. [source: planetary group]

♫ SONOIO – Can You Hear Me ♫
♫ SONOIO – Enough (Ladytron Remix) ♫

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