Raincoats, Notwist, Electrelane Members are TURTLEs

Many artists take on many projects at once (A kazoo band! With body paint hugs! And dinosaur street art!) but few follow everything through. Michael H. Shamberg is one of the few, and he's damn good at it.

There's his work with a couple little bands called Joy Divison and New Order and his collaborations with conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner. If these examples don't jazz you, try this next one: now, Shamberg is turning into a turtle.

TURTLE is the name of his newest project, an "anarchic salon" inspired by such nonconformist deities as Juan Munoz and Abbie Hoffman. Since June 27 and through August 5, over 150 artists will present "readings, rantings, artworks, texts, performances, and screenings" at several venues (a.k.a. "turtles") throughout London. Musical participants include Gavin Bryars (John Cage, Tom Waits), Markus Acher (Lali Puna, the Notwist), and Pitchfork staffer Mia Lily Clarke (Electrelane).

Tonight, Ana de Silva, a founding member of seminal British postpunk band the Raincoats, is performing at 43 South Molton Street (7pm). (Fellow former Raincoat Gina Birch is also participating in TURTLE.) Remember the liner notes to Insecteside, when Kurdt rambled passionately about this goddess he met on a London streetcorner? Yeah. That was de Silva. [MORE...]

Fennesz, Biosphere, Jóhannsson on Touch Comp

Over the course of 2006-07, UK electronic music label Touch Records will celebrate its 25th anniversary. And what's a celebration without souvenirs? Today, Touch releases Touch 25, a special anniversary compilation.

Jóhann Jóhannsson, Biosphere, Fennesz, Ryoji Ikeda, Philip Jeck, Pan Sonic, and more contribute exclusive tracks to the compilation. "Almost everyone we are currently working with in music has made a special recording for the CD, so it is a 'Declaration of intent' 25 years down the line," Touch founder Jon Wozencroft said in a press release. "We had no idea how it would pan out. What seems to have taken place, is a sequence of 25 tracks (in itself an accident of numbers) that each in their own space are quite obscure and 'of a refined sense of taste,' but together, build a very emotional journey through the emotional conditions brought on by the lack of emotion in everyday life, and its replacement by extremities." [MORE...]

Syd Barrett Dead at 60

According to various reports, Pink Floyd legend Syd Barrett died in his Cambridgeshire home last Friday (July 7). Some sources say the cause was cancer, others report complications from diabetes.

His brother Alan confirmed his death today, telling The Guardian "He died peacefully at home. There will be a private family funeral in the next few days."

Born Roger Keith Barrett January 6, 1946, the singer/guitarist was present on Pink Floyd's influential The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) and A Saucerful of Secrets (1968).

He left the band at the pinnacle of his career in 1968 after suffering a drug-induced breakdown. After his departure from the group, he lived in the basement of his mother Winfred's home, boarding up the windows to avoid the press and fans. He recorded two solo records, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett, as well as Opel, a compilation album made up of rare and alternate material.

Video: Pink Floyd: Astronomy Domine

Sparklehorse Reveal LP Details

Sometimes you make promises you just can't keep, and other times you're able to make good on your word and then some. Count Mark Linkous in the latter camp for now, because the new Sparklehorse album is actually being released this year, just like we said it would be.

We previously reported that Christian Fennesz, Danger Mouse, Tom Waits, Flaming Lip Steven Drozd, and producer extraordinaire Dave Fridmann contributed to the album, but now we can also tell you it's due September 26 on Astralwerks and that it's called Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain.

Sparklehorse will perform at the Austin City Limits festival in September, and there are rumors of a UK tour planned for the fall.

[MORE...]

Video: Sparklehorse: "It's a Wonderful Life"

Infinite Mixtape #22: Girl Talk: "Smash Your Head"

Yesterday morning, Pitchfork debuted The Infinite Mixtape, a never-ending MP3 series of some of the best new tracks out there. Well, add this one to the list:

We've been bumping mashup maniac Girl Talk's latest long-player Night Ripper pretty hard since our return from the Roskilde Festival last week. It's an insane continuous mix squeezing literally hundreds of seemingly disparate tracks (top 40 pop bangers, dance anthems, indie classics, yacht rock flashbacks, 80s metal cuts, etc) into one colossal 40-minute block that brings the party like a warpspeed Diplo.

"Smash Your Head"'s one of our favorites off the record: In three short minutes, it grinds metal-on-metal from X-Ray Spex to Young Jeezy to Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice" to Notorious B.I.G. to Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" with countless crazy asides in between. Massively recommended! Check it here...

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#0022 > Girl Talk: "Smash Your Head"
[from Night Ripper; Illegal Art]
Info: [Girl Talk] | [Myspace] | [Illegal Art]

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// Previously on The Infinite Mixtape: 21 of 2006's Best Tracks

Killers Brace for Sophomore Slump
They're killin' 'em in Vegas

Get ready for "the greatest album of the last 20 years" (according to the guy who made it). The Killers have set a release date for their as-yet-untitled sophomore album: October 2 in the UK and October 3 in the U.S. on Island Def Jam (yes, Jay-Z is their boss). First single "When You Were Young" drops in the UK on September 18, but you can hear a sneak peek of it by clicking the link below.

The disc was recorded with acclaimed producers Flood and Alan Moulder and heavily influenced by Bruce Springsteen, according to the band. If the "When You Were Young" snippet is any indication, they weren't lying: it's got that "wind blowing through your hair as you cruise down the Jersey turnpike" vibe in spades.

According to NME.com, additional tracks set for inclusion on the follow up to 2004's Hot Fuss are "Read My Mind", "Bones", "Uncle Johnny Did Cocaine", and the title track (which, then, is also currently untitled).

Pete Wentz, it's your move.

MP3: The Killers: "When You Were Young" (snippet)

Bumbershoot Full Lineup Revealed

Labor Day weekend: the beaches close, but the fun (and the water?) still flows...if you're at the Bumbershoot Music & Arts Festival in Seattle. The event, which will take place from September 2-4 at the Seattle Center, has just revealed its massive lineup in full.

The list includes Kanye West, Spoon, the New Pornographers, A Tribe Called Quest, Blondie, Atmosphere, the Gossip, Feist, Of Montreal, Metric, Mates of State, Jamie Lidell, Deerhoof, Lady Sovereign, the Blood Brothers, NOMO, Jose Gonzalez, Vashti Bunyan, Badly Drawn Boy, CocoRosie, and more.

Full lineup after the jump. [MORE...]

Video: Thom Yorke: "The Clock (Acoustic)"

Video: Thom Yorke: The Clock

Video: The Hong Kong: "Tongue Tied"

Dean Wareham was in Luna. Luna covered Serge Gainsbourg's "Bonnie and Clyde". This video for the Hong Kong's "Tongue Tied" features Wareham playing Clyde Barrow to HK lead singer Catherine Culpepper's Bonnie Parker. Culpepper kinda looks like Wareham's real-life romantic partner, former Luna bassist Britta Phillips.

It's one of those weird circular, referential things that's cute and makes sense on the internet but totally dies if you try to use it to make small talk with uninterested ladies at a bar.

The track is from the Hong Kong's forthcoming album, produced by Ric Ocasek.

Video: The Hong Kong: Tongue Tied

Razorlight Ready Second Album

If I sold a million copies of my first album, my house would, first of all, be a house instead of an apartment. It would have an indoor swimming pool and a maid to clean my cats' litter box and a special room for my platinum album. Then, to keep up with my high standard of living, I would take the next logical step and release another album.

Rowdy British rockers Razorlight appear to have stolen my plan. The four-piece responsible for what the UK collectively deemed "The Shit" (or "the bollocks" or whatever the call it over there) in 2004 will release its self-titled sophomore effort in the UK on July 18 in the U.S. on August 22 via Universal Motown Records Group. The first single, "In the Morning" is out now in the UK, and you can hear it by clicking below.

Razorlight was produced by Chris Thomas, who worked with the Beatles, Sex Pistols, Pink Floyd, and Roxy Music. Bow down. [MORE...]

Stream: Razorlight: "In the Morning"

Exclusive: Basement Jaxx Reveal New Album

Oh my gosh! A new Basement Jaxx album! September 12 will bring Crazy Itch Radio to the floor, courtesy of XL Recordings. It will be available as a download, on vinyl and "specially packaged CD, featuring a super-swish lenticular cover," according to a press release. ‘Cause if there's anything in this world I want to be super-swish, it's my Basement Jaxx CDs.

The follow-up to 2003's Kish Kash is, like that album, a guest-heavy affair, featuring vocals from Jaxx associate Vula Malinga (who sang "Oh My Gosh") on "Hush Boy", grime MC Lady Marga on "Run 4 Cover", veteran British soul singer Linda Lewis on "Lights Go Down", and Swedish pop tart Robyn (as well as a children's choir) on "Hey You".

Full tracklist after the jump. [MORE...]

Video: Basement Jaxx: "Where's Your Head At?"

MP3: Editors: "You Are Fading"

Having allowed debut record The Back Room to settle in the States for a few months, Birmingham's Editors are ready to take another stab at North American audiences. They'll kick off a two-week jaunt later this month in Atlanta. After hitting both coasts, Canada, and even the Midwest, the band will jump overseas to Japan for the Summer Sonic festival. Then it's on to Europe for V on the Frequency Monsters en Jersey Coke. Or something like that.

To crank up the excitement a notch, we've gotten a hold of the rare Editors track "You Are Fading", which was previously released as a B-side on the limited edition The Back Room bonus disc, Cuttings.

[MORE...]

MP3: Editors: You Are Fading

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