Daft Punk's Electroma Coming to North America

Daft Punk's oft-promised Electroma-- the tale of "two robots who journey across a mythic American landscape of haunting, surreal beauty on a quest to become human"-- has been under wraps for far too long for those of us on the North American continent. And, like an inhuman cyborg without its batteries, we simply will not stand for it.

The feature-length film, written and directed by the hardly-daft Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, will make its way to our shores through screenings at number of festivals this summer, before hitting shelves in the fall from the enablers at Vice Records. If there's not a dramatic mask-removal scene at the end of this thing a la Return of the Jedi, I'm gonna demand my $15 back.

Generous sorts that they are, Daft Punk aren't letting their summer plans stop there; they're pitching in to help the uncoordinated dance on a summer-long tour, and they've even found time to throw a lifeline to an under-recognized rapper in need. [MORE...]

Jose Gonzalez Announces More Fall Dates

Photo by Fredrik Egerstrand

José González is getting a head start on the promotion of his sophomore LP, In Our Nature (out September 25 on Mute), by announcing the first of two U.S. solo tours he will play in the fall.

González's first U.S. tour begins in earnest September 27 in New York City, though he does have one NYC date scheduled in August. James Blackshaw and (as previously reported) Savath & Savalas will open for him on select dates. The second U.S. tour, as well as dates in the UK and Europe are not yet announced.

González will pass the time between now and his fall tours with South American, European, and Japanese dates that continue tomorrow (June 12) in Mendoza, Argentina. He will also digitally release "Down the Line", the first single from In Our Nature, on August 14. [MORE...]

Arcade Fire Primed for UK Arena Dates, More Fests

Looks like Arcade Fire will keep the tour running well past the usual summer spate of festival mayhem.

According to NME.com, the "Price Is Right" crashers have lined up six massive UK dates for the autumn season, with plenty of time in between for a possible trip across the English Channel-- or at least a few impromptu busking sessions at random tube stations.

Win, Régine, and the gang have slotted quite a few European Festival dates since our last report as well.

The 7" single for Neon Bible's "Intervention", as previously reported, drops July 10 in the U.S. via Merge. A "No Cars Go" single, meanwhile, is due in the UK July 23. [MORE...]

Radiohead Tunes Used in Ballet

It's true, ballet dancers are fitter, happier, and more productive than the lot of us. And now some ballet dancers will get their artistic grind on to selections from Radiohead's impeccable catalog, as part of a new dance piece from choreographer Stephen Petronio.

Scottish Ballet premieres Petronio's Ride the Beast at the Edinburgh Playhouse in the Scottish capital, during the Edinburgh International Festival, from August 18-20. Beast will include five jams from Yorke and associates, including "Fitter Happier", Amnesiac ambient cut "Hunting Bears", Kid A's "Idioteque" and "The National Anthem", and the acoustic version of "Creep" that closes the My Iron Lung EP. Despite the ballet moments in its video, "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" does not feature in the production.

As Petronio gushed in a Scottish Ballet press release, "Radiohead's music is a brilliant investigation of achingly modern taste. They sail through genre and form effortlessly and passionately, and their music demands a physical response from me that by-passes reason."

He also stated, "I have chosen the songs for Ride the Beast for various reasons: personal pleasure, their ability to propel, a desire to hit some peaks in the Radiohead's history, and ultimately their ability to shape a world I wanted to move these dancers through."

Petronio, no stranger to setting pirouettes to populists sounds, has also utilized the music of Rufus Wainwright and others in the past.

Radiohead, meanwhile, have revealed no new hints behind their presumed next album, while the Dead Air Space blog has been suspiciously quiet for some three weeks now. If anyone corners Thom at a pub anytime soon, please liquor him up until he tells all.

Tony Wilson Talks In the City; Happy Mondays Cancel
"When I saw Enter Shikari in front of 200 15-year-old kids who were going nuts, it really was the most exciting thing I've seen since the Sex Pistols in 1976."

Pitctured: Yvette Livesey and Tony Wilson

Tony Wilson is pretty much unstoppable. As the founder of the legendary Factory Records, he weathered the suicide of Joy Division's Ian Curtis, the rise and fall (and rebirth) of the Happy Mondays, and the fabulous disaster that was the Hacienda club. More recently, he's been fighting cancer.

Wilson's latest project is the In the City of New York conference, taking place June 13 and 14 at the W Hotel in Manhattan. Wilson and partner Yvette Livesey have collaborated with AEG Live to bring their In the City music industry summit-- which has taken place in Manchester, England since 1992-- to the United States for the first time. In the City of New York will feature panels about new media, DRM, branding, festivals, social networking, and much, much more. Speakers include members of the Rapture, Tommy Boy Records head honcho Tom Silverman, "My Boyfriend's Back" / "I Want Candy" songwriter (and Sire Records co-founder) Richard Gottehrer, and r&b superproducer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins.

The Happy Mondays were supposed to headline two shows during In the City of New York, to celebrate their upcoming album Unkle Dysfunktional, to be released on Sanctuary in the UK later this year (The band is looking for a label in the U.S., since Sanctuary is no longer putting out new albums in the U.S.) Unfortunately, their performances were canceled today, "due to temporary visa issues", according to a press release. (We're assured that they'll be back to play America sometime soon.)

The Manchester In the City is known for breaking new bands; past acts that have vaulted to stardom after playing it include Radiohead, Oasis, Elastica, and Muse. The New York edition hopes to do the same with the five up-and-coming British bands they're importing for this week's fest. The best-known in America is the Rakes, who charmed U.S. audiences with their wirey (and Wire-y) 2005 debut album Capture/Release. Their second album, Ten New Messages, has yet to be released on our shores. The Rakes will perform at the Knitting Factory on June 13, supported by the Pigeon Detectives, the Leeds band currently celebrating the number three UK chart debut of their first album, Wait for Me.

On June 14, Scottish alternarock band Biffy Clyro will headline the High Line Ballroom, having just been signed to Roadrunner Records for the Stateside release of their latest album, Puzzle. Opening for Biffy Clyro will be Brighton duo Blood Red Shoes and dance-metal DIY stars Enter Shikari, making their American debut. They also happen to be Tony Wilson's current favorite band.

We chatted with Tony Wilson about Enter Shikari, In the City of New York, his health, and the new Joy Division film, Control. Along the way, he outed himself as a Fall Out Boy fan, and called the Killers' Brandon Flowers "a fucking idiot." Read the interview after checking out these streams from all of the bands playing the conference.

The Rakes: "Dangerous" [B-side from the "We Danced Together" 7" on V2]



The Pigeon Detectives: "I'm Not Sorry" [from the Wait for Me LP on Dance to the Radio]



Biffy Clyro: "Semi-Mental" [from the Puzzle LP forthcoming on Roadrunner]



Enter Shikari: "Mothership" [from Take to the Skies LP on Ambush Reality]



Blood Red Shoes: "It's Getting Boring by the Sea" [from the "It's Getting Boring by the Sea" single on V2]



Bonus: Happy Mondays: "Jelly Bean" [from the Unkle Dysfunktional LP]

[MORE...]

Photos: CSS [Portland, OR; 06/08/07]

Photos by Nilina Mason-Campbell

CSS were called to the stage with chants of "C-S-S Suxxx! C-S-S Suxxx!" on Friday night at Portland's Doug Fir-- no insult, as that's the title of the opening track from the Brazilian sextet's debut, Cansei de Ser Sexy. They brought the party literally-- in the form of confetti and balloons tied to strands of hair and instruments-- to celebrate what lead vocalist Lovefoxxx deemed, "Everybody's Birthday Party!"

The festivities kicked off with "a new summer song," followed by a succession of CSS's hits, including "Alcohol"-- complete with bubble blowing interludes on behalf of Lovefoxxx, who struck poses in front of the drum kit at the close of each tune.

When it came time for "Meeting Paris Hilton", Lovefoxxx appropriately began the anthem with a dedication to the heiress, who was court ordered back to jail just hours prior. The audience, meanwhile, was frantic the entire show-- even to the point of violence, practically devolving into the "Alala" video at times.

CSS bring the party to all corners of the Earth in the months to come.






[MORE...]

Brock Beaned With Bottle, Modest Mouse Cancel Shows

When Isaac Brock isn't subjecting his own body to physical harm, it seems someone else is. According to several reports from readers over in Europe, and confirmed by Brock himself (via YouTube), the Modest Mouse frontmaniac was "hit in the face with a bottle" recently. Seriously, dudes, you can do this to Panic! at the Disco, but Modest Mouse?

As a result, Brock had to undergo surgery, and the band was forced to cancel a number of overseas shows. Thus far, three of those gigs have been rescheduled for early July: Frankfurt, Cologne, and Copenhagen.

Thanks to reader Daniel Gerhardt for the tip.

The video evidence, meanwhile, comes from a June 7 Modest Mouse show at Berlin's Postbahnhof. A fan asks Issac what happened to his eye. Brock replies, "I got hit in the face with a bottle," and then mumbles something about a "fracture" and "surgery tomorrow" amid crowd noise. The eye-- Isaac's left-- is difficult to see, but in another clip from the same concert (audiophiles are advised to mute their speakers before viewing) it almost looks as though Brock may be wearing a glass eye.

Brock's clearly wearing an eye-patch, meanwhile, in several photos from another recent Modest Mouse show. And it's presumably not part of the We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank shtick-- some cuts are visible along Brock's nose in this candid shot (also shown in excerpt above).

It's not clear when exactly Brock was injured, nor whether the bottling occurred during a performance or somewhere else-- indeed, the wound could very well be self-inflicted after all. Brock's left eye does show some bruises as early as a June 4 festival gig in Bologna, Italy, however, based on the evidence available. The band's publicist declined to comment on the incident.

Provided Brock's surgery went as planned and barring any further incidents, Modest Mouse will resume their European tour June 19 in Luxembourg. [MORE...]

Rage Count Down to Wisconsin Show With QOTSA
Killing in the name of... cheese!

Recently, a cryptic website counting down to something involving Rage Against the Machine and the date of August 24, 2007 spread much confusion across the web. What could they possibly be counting down to? A new album? A tour? The end of the world?

Nah, turns out it's just a show in Wisconsin.

On August 24, Rage will play the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin, adding to the band's previously reported appearances on the Rock the Bells tour. Allegedly, this is the band's "only Midwest appearance." That makes it seem like some non-Midwest Rage Against the Machine appearances might be in the works.

Queens of the Stone Age-- who are in the midst of their own little flurry of activity, including the release of Era Vulgaris tomorrow (June 12)-- will join the Rage guys at the Wisconsin show, which fits in nicely with the theme of Queens' Duluth Tour. [MORE...]

Of Montreal Announce Summer European Tour

Kevin Barnes and the rest of the glammed out Georgians in Of Montreal will take to the open road this summer in support of their 2007 Polyvinyl full-length, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, and its recent EP follow-up, Icons, Abstract Thee.

After a July 15 stop at the Pitchfork Music Festival, the band's travels will take them to Europe, where they will play cities, venues, and festivals more difficult to spell than the titles of their own songs. The overseas excursion begins with a July 20 show in Skellefteå, Sweden. [MORE...]

M.I.A. Reveals Kala Tracklist

M.I.A. has unveiled the tracklist for Kala, her second LP, due August 21 via Interscope (August 20 in the UK via XL Recordings). From the looks of it, Timbaland is indeed on the record, which also includes guest spots from Afrikan Boy and the Wilcannia Mob.

The "Boyz" single, as previously reported, was released in the UK today via XL, while the "Boyz" video just blew up our font size over in Forkcast.

M.I.A. touts Kala at a series of forthcoming festival dates. [MORE...]

Ben + Vesper Hit the Road This Summer

Photo by Helen Michelsen

Sounds Familyre duo Ben + Vesper will take to the road this summer in support of their debut album, All This Could Kill You. Filling out their touring ensemble will be Ben's older brother Josh Stamper on guitar and Kurt Weisman (who also plays in Feathers and Witch) on drums.

Ben + Vesper's tour begins June 12 in Philadelphia and ends with a pair of isolated dates in New York City in late July. [MORE...]

New Pornographers Trick Out LP, Announce Fall Tour

If you really want to be ready to step into the ring with the New Pornographers' Challengers on August 21, one CD just won't be enough. Nor two. Three, maybe, but since we're thinking big, why not go four? That's right, Matador is offering a deluxe box set version of Challengers-- what they're calling the "Executive Edition"-- packed to the brim with four discs. It's available right this minute as part of Matador's Buy Early Get Now pre-order campaign.

The first disc is of course the Pornos' fourth LP. The second aims to collect every B-side, demo, and alternate version related to the album, while the third, titled "Live From the Future", will include live Pornos cuts from gigs on their just-announced fall tour. The final disc includes videos, photos (no Neko Case lingerie shots that we know of, sorry), and album artwork.

You might be wondering, hmm... how can they sell me a box set that includes songs that haven't been recorded yet? Well, the answer is... the box set doesn't actually exist in a box. Unless you make it yourself. You see, all of the extra goodies will be downloadable from the Buy Early Get Now site-- it's up to you to burn it to disc. And since it's a bunch of downloads rather than a physical product, Matador can add new stuff to it whenever they want. Magic!

In addition to the box set, "Executive Edition" subscribers also get to stream the whole album RIGHT NOW, mp3s of three exclusive bonus tracks, and early bird access to tour dates and tickets. For five bucks less, you can get the "Standard Edition", which includes everything but the box set.

Speaking of live Porno, the Canadian pop troupe has a handful of dates lined up in the weeks to come-- including, of course, a spot at the Pitchfork Music Festival. And then this September, they'll hit the road again, with Matador labelmates Lavender Diamond opening. [MORE...]

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)