Lo-Fi-Fnk Announce First Full North American Tour

In anticipation of the European re-release of their full-length debut, Boy Life, in April (originally released on Moshi Moshi last year), Swedish duo Lo-Fi-Fnk have announced their first full tour of the U.S. and Canada. They are currently playing shows in the UK and Europe, but on March 6, they will begin their North American trek at Safari Sam's in Los Angeles.

Us lucky Chicagoans will get to see them as part of a superstar electro-rock bill at the Metro on March 24, which will also feature the Presets, Crystal Castles, and Digitalism. [MORE...]

MP3: Lo-Fi-Fnk: Wake Up [from the Boy Life LP]

Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar Birth Dead Oceans
First signings: Evangelicals, Dirty Projectors, Bishop Allen, Iran

There must be something irresistible about the folks at Misra Records. Just over a month ago, the label announced its business partnership with Absolutely Kosher. Now, former Misra manager Phil Waldorf has created an entirely new label called Dead Oceans, in collaboration with the owners of Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar.

Dead Oceans is off to a good start. This year, the label will release new albums by its first four signees: Evangelicals, Dirty Projectors, Bishop Allen, and Iran. The latter is a collaboration between songwriter Aaron Aites and TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone, and the name of their new album is The Same Song Over and Over. Dirty Projectors' new album is planned for a mid-year release.

Though Dead Oceans will share the Bloomington, Indiana staff of its sister labels, Waldorf will act as its A&R from his current location in Austin, Texas.

MP3: Evangelicals: Snowflakes (Demo) [MP3]
MP3: Iran: We Could Go Away for Awhile [from The Moon Boys LP]
MP3: Bishop Allen: Click Click Click [from the July EP]
MP3: Dirty Projectors: Fucked for Life [from the New Attitude EP]

SXSW Schedule Revealed
We're exhausted just looking at this thing

Bands. Beer. Barbecue. Bands. Burritos. Band-Aids on feet. Babes in promotional t-shirts. Boys in leather jackets in 90 degree heat. Bands. Billions of flyers on every possible surface. Also, bands.

Welcome to SXSW, folks.

Over the weekend, the organizers of the 2007 SXSW Music Conference revealed the schedule for their massive orgy of live music taking place in Texas from March 14 through March 18 (though nothing much happens on March 18). As usual, it's full of odd lineups (Andrew Bird, Alice Smith, Perry Farrell's Satellite Party, Badly Drawn Boy, and the Good, the Bad & the Queen?), heartbreaking decisions (Sub Pop vs. Merge vs. Frenchkiss vs. Beggars/4AD--nooo!), and soul-searching questions (Why is Tom Morello playing, like, six times? Who are the "special guests" at the Merge and Arts&Crafts showcases?).

Remember, the fun isn't all during the nighttime, though. Pete Townshend, Iggy Pop, Emmylou Harris, Gilberto Gil, David Byrne, and Booker T. Jones are just a few of the artists giving talks or being interviewed during daytime hours at the Austin Convention Center. There are also panels on comedy (with Patton Oswalt and David Cross, among others), Nick Drake (with his sister Gabrielle Drake, Robyn Hitchcock, and producer Joe Boyd) and the mysteriously titled "What Do You Want From Life?" (with Britt Daniel of Spoon, Corey Rusk of Touch & Go Records, some guy from Aqualung, and, why not, Tom Morello).

And, of course, don't forget about the Pitchfork Music Festival/Windish Agency bash on Friday, March 16 at Emo's and Emo's Jr. from noon to six p.m. We've got the Pipettes, Girl Talk, Deerhunter, Crystal Castles, Rjd2, Menomena, the Ponys, Do Make Say Think, Simian Mobile Disco, Fujiya + Miyagi, Beach House, and Marnie Stern! Party!

Here's a very, very brief guide to what's happening at SXSW 2007: [MORE...]

Actress Jena Malone Records Social Registry 7"
Gang Gang Dance, Growing also contribute to Social Registry singles series

"Actor/actress-turned-musician"...is there any scarier phrase in the English language? (Yes, and it's "reality-TV-star-turned-musician.") From Keanu "Dogstar" Reeves and Russell "30 Odd Foot of Grunts" Crowe to Jennifer Love "BareNaked" Hewitt and Gina "I toured with Girls Against Boys" Gershon, history is littered with embarrassing accidents involving beautiful people and guitars.

So what makes Jena Malone different? Well, she's not a huge movie star yet, for one thing-- you might remember her from Donnie Darko, Saved, Pride and Prejudice, or, um, Stepmom. And she doesn't have a team of assistants, stylists, marketers, and managers controlling her every move. It's just her, "recording and producing all of my own music with the help of whatever musician is around at the time," as she told Pitchfork in a recent email exchange.

So far, Malone has recorded two demos, Bloodstains for Sailors and A-NEWT; EMOTIONAL NUTRITION. A pair of tracks from each demo can be heard on Malone's MySpace page. They're pretty out-there-- bedroom electronics, spaced-out keyboards, and Malone's spare vocals, falling somewhere in between Scout Niblett and Karen O.

It makes sense that Malone has hooked up with the experimental NYC label the Social Registry, home to such acts as Gang Gang Dance and Blood on the Wall. Malone will release two Bloodstains for Sailors tracks, "Tested Dry" and "Greeneyed Monster", on a Social Registry 7" sometime later this year. The former features Harper Simon on guitar, while the latter features Louis Schwadron on keyboards.

The 7" will be a part of an upcoming singles series run by the label, which will launch this summer. Each month, Social Registry will put out 500 copies of a single, each hand-numbered and in silk-screened jackets. Along with Malone, the series will include singles by Gang Gang Dance, Total Life (Kevin Doria from Growing), Brian DeGraw of Gang Gang Dance, IUD (featuring Lizzie Bougatsos of Gang Gang Dance), Sian Alice Group, Douglas Armour, and TK Webb. [MORE...]

Stream: Jena Malone: Various Tracks

Rakes Release Ten New Messages, One New Remix EP
Tour UK and Europe from March to May

The Rakes will release their second album, Ten New Messages, in England via V2 on March 19. First single "We Danced Together" will precede it with a March 12 release. Though they are still deciding on a permanent U.S. label since V2's American arm called it quits, Dim Mak has shown quite a bit of interest, going so far as to release the Rakes' Remixes EP on February 20 in the U.S.

The Rakes will tour the UK and Europe for a couple of months beginning on March 19, the day of Messages' release, at Nottingham's Rock City [MORE...]

Video: The Rakes: Retreat [from the Capture/Release LP]

Spank Rock Headlines Disco D Tribute Show

Considering the booty-shaking music he made, it's fitting that a tribute for the late Disco D would take the form of an all-night party.

And that's exactly what will take place at Brooklyn's Studio B on February 21. Beginning at 10 p.m., the show will include sets from Stretch Armstrong, DJ Funk, Derek Plaslaiko, DJ Assault, Annalyze, and headliner Spank Rock. Lauren Flax and Oxy Cottontail will host. All proceeds from the $10 entrance fee will go to Ann Arbor's the Neutral Zone, a center committed to providing teens with music education programs.

Stream: Disco D: Various Tracks
Video: Spank Rock: Rick Rubin (Clean) [from the YoYoYoYoYo LP]

Dan Deacon Signs to Carpark, Tours
They smoke some crazy shit down in Baltimore

Baltimore wildman Dan Deacon has signed to Carpark Records, joining such Baltimore-connected pals as Beach House and the Animal Collective guys on the roster. His new LP, Spiderman of the Rings, is slated for a May 8 release. In addition, it will digitally distribute and reissue Deacon's Meetle Mice (2003) and Silly Hat Vs. Egale Hat (2003).

In support of the new record, Deacon will embark on a Stateside tour in early March with a few creatively named pals-- Santa Dads, Butt Stomach, and Video Hippos-- from Baltimore artists collective/venue Wham City. He has a handful of local gigs slated for this month as well. [MORE...]

MP3: Dan Deacon: The Crystal Cat [from the forthcoming Spiderman of the Rings LP]

Mates of State Tour With "This American Life"
Future band/radio show pairings: Neko Case and "A Prairie Home Companion", Lupe Fiasco and "All Things Considered", Fall Out Boy and "Loveline"

Mates of State's Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel are themselves a heartwarming human-interest story: a happy married couple with a baby who also happen to be a rock band. So it's fitting that they will join a slew of contributors to the heartwarming human-interest NPR show "This American Life" on a special tour through the U.S. this month and next.

The pair will play four songs each evening, sharing stages across the country with host/producer Ira Glass, as well as Sarah Vowell, Dan Savage, Jonathan Goldstein, David Rakoff, Alexa Junge, and Chris Wilcha.

We're sure they'll have lots of questions for Dan Savage.

In addition to this short trek, Mates of State have a few one-off dates on the agenda, including a stop at Albany, New York's Valentine's Music Hall tonight. Too bad they couldn't have played there two days ago... on Valentine's Day. [MORE...]

MP3: Mates of State: Think Long [from the Bring It Back LP]

Photos: Audion [Chicago, IL; 02/15/07]

Audion (aka Matthew Dear) got nasty on the ones and twos last night at Chicago's Sonotheque, as part of Spectral Sound's "Death Is Nothing to Fear" bi-monthly residency. The Detroit native attacked his set with stoic concentration, unleashing track after track of minimal house and techno to maximum effect. Dear finally broke from his steely demeanor during a particularly hushed moment of his second-to-last record, only to salute the packed dance floor with outstretched arms, flash a smile and pump up the volume to its peak.

Photographer Steve Mizek was there to capture the rhythmic onslaught as it unfolded. More pictures and tour dates after the jump.

[MORE...]

Elephant Man Collects Greensleeves Tracks for Comp

Though he is currently signed to Bad Boy Entertainment, Jamaica's Elephant Man will release a 20-track compilation of his recordings for the Greensleeves label on February 19. The comp is the first in the Monsters of Dancehall series celebrating the label's 30-year anniversary. [MORE...]

Stream: Elephant Man: Various Tracks

Domino Continues Triffids Mania

Domino will follow the August reissue of the Triffids' Born Sandy Devotional with its next two entries in the Triffids reissue campaign: 1986's In the Pines and 1987's Calenture. While both reissues came out February 5 in the UK and Europe, the label will release them on February 20 in the U.S.

The In the Pines reissue intersperses its bonus tracks with the tracks from the original album. Though they were recorded in the same session, most of the bonus tracks on In the Pines appeared in different versions on Calenture. Originally produced by Gil Norton (Pixies, Echo & the Bunnymen), the Calenture reissue comes as a two-disc set. The first disc features the original album along with five bonus tracks, and the second is comprised almost entirely of rehearsal and studio demos.

Domino recently commissioned a video for Calenture's "Save What You Can" featuring occasional Pavement cover artist Steve Keene painting portraits in his Brooklyn studio. In the next week, the label will give away Keene paintings inspired by the video to five randomly selected people who sign up for the Triffids newsletter here.

Domino will reissue even more Triffids albums this year and next year. Those albums are Treeless Plain, Raining Pleasure, The Black Swan, and Field of Glass. [MORE...]

Video: The Triffids: Save What You Can [from the Calenture LP]

El-P Reveals LP Tracklist, Single With Trent Reznor

El-P's previously reported, guest-heavy new album, I'll Sleep When You're Dead, comes out March 20 on Def Jux. The album finally has a tracklist, which is below in all its detailed glory.

Vocals by the Mars Volta, Cat Power, Trent Reznor, Aesop Rock, Slug! Guitar by Matt Sweeney of Chavez/Superwolf/Zwan! Keyboards by the dude from Glassjaw! "Intro Moog Liberation played by Wilder Zoby"!

The first single, "Flyentology", features Trent Reznor and comes out digitally via iTunes on February 20. "EMG" is the B-side, and Adult Swim created a video for "Flyentology".

El-P will kick off a short tour on March 16 in Austin at the Def Jux South by Southwest showcase, which also doubles as his CD release party. [MORE...]

Stream: El-P: Various Tracks

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