Mirah Conjures Old Days on Rarities Compilation

Insect-friendly K crooner Mirah will give her fans reason to hold out for another Miracle with the June 24 release of a rarities compilation on Modern Radio.

Called The Old Days Feeling, the comp collects 14 previously unreleased, out-of-print, and simply hard to find tracks from her catalog. Feeling's release is just one of many special events Modern Radio has planned to celebrate its ninth anniversary. If all that still isn't enough to sell you on the disc, it features liner notes by Beat Happening/K Records founder Calvin Johnson.

Finally, Mirah has a handful of May dates with collaborators Spectraatone International to herald the compilation's release. [MORE...]

Liquid Liquid's Classic EPs Compiled, Expanded

No need to disperse with more effusive praise and historical diatribes about the importance of New York City post-punkers Liquid Liquid at the moment. It's been done, and besides, the band's material speaks volumes, even though relatively few volumes of the band's material exist.

Leave it to Domino to help remedy that situation with their May 19 release of Slip In and Out of Phenomenon, a collection of three of Liquid Liquid's landmark EPs: the self-titled debut, Successive Reflexes, and Optimo. The set comes jam-packed with bonus cuts aplenty, and it's being offered in both CD and triple-LP formats.

Though Liquid Liquid have seeped into the cracks of time, multi-instrumentalist Dennis Young still kicks out the jams most solidly, and he's got a pair of UK club dates to his credit on the way. Of note: he'll play Glasgow's Optimo Club, so named, of course, after the Liquid Liquid tune. [MORE...]

Strategy Issues New Album, Co-Curates Ambient Comp
Comp features Yellow Swans, Valet, Nudge, White Rainbow, Wzt Hearts, Grouper

Known to his friends as Paul Dickow and to the experimental music community as Strategy, the young man behind last year's fine Future Rock LP is back with both a new LP and a co-curated compilation to his credit. Dickow is also, it probably goes without saying, known as prolific.

First up is Music for Lamping, Dickow's latest Strategy LP. Featuring tracks dating as far back as 2002 and certainly pushing the sound-wash side of Future Rock's more krautrock-inspired sounds, the disc is due April 29 on Audio Dregs.

Then there's Ambient, Not Not Ambient, a collection of, well, ambient tracks from Portland and beyond. The 75-minute set, which finds Dickow joining with Audio Dregs co-head E*Rock on the selection tip, sports such scene staples as Nudge (to which Dickow used to belong), White Rainbow, Valet, Wzt Hearts, Lucky Dragons, Grouper, and the recently splitsville Yellow Swans. The set also includes a tune by Smoke & Mirrors, a new group featuring Dickow. It, too, is out April 29 on Audio Dregs. [MORE...]

Justice, Spank Rock Lead Ed Rec Vol III
With SebastiAn, Mr. Oizo, Busy P and Murs, Feadz, DSL, Mr. Flash, Krazy Baldhead, So Me

What a year it's been in Ed Banger land since the release of the last installment of their Ed Rec compilation series. Justice, of course, took off towards the stratosphere, and a bunch of the label's stable of artists accompanied Daft Punk on their world-conquering tour. And hey, some people even listen to Uffie without snickering now.

It's the perfect time to add yet another volume to the Ed Rec library. In keeping with the numerical order of things, they're following Ed Rec Vol. II with a Vol. III.

So what's in store for the third time out? Well, Justice, of course, plus SebastiAn, DJ Mehdi, Uffie, Feadz and Spank Rock, Busy P and Murs, Mr. Flash, So Me, DSL, Krazy Baldhead, and Mr. Oizo.

It's out June 9 in Europe on-- oh, you already know-- Ed Banger. [MORE...]

Burial to Craft Next DJ-Kicks Mix

Add this tidbit to the maddeningly short list of things we know about dubstep auteur Burial: he's next in line to craft one of those DJ-Kicks compilations. And he's in good company, as past contributors include Hot Chip, Booka Shade, Four Tet, and Annie.

According to a press release, young B "may treat his dearest dubstep, techno and even r&b tracks with his unique production style before mixing them with exclusive material." Of course, we don't know just what he'll be "treating" at the moment, as the tracklist hasn't been released yet. But that secrecy is in no way surprising considering the source.

The set is due from !K7 on CD and 2LP; it hits European shelves on June 23, and the States July 8.

And, hey, lookee here, Burial's touring! [MORE...]

Diplo, Bonde do Role, Carl Craig Rework Tony Allen

Legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen's most recent album, 2006's Lagos No Shaking, is the subject of a reconstruction project spearheaded by Damon Albarn's Honest Jon's Records. The label found artists from across the universe of Allen's influence to contribute their own versions of Lagos No Shaking tracks to a compilation titled Lagos Shake.

Among those artists are Detroit techno godfather Carl Craig, the ubiquitous Diplo, hard-working baile funksters Bonde do Rolê, Dizzee Rascal associates Newham Generals, and Basic Channel cofounder Mortiz von Oswald.

Honest Jon's will release the double-LP version of Lagos Shake on May 13, and the CD will follow on May 27.

And speaking of Damon Albarn and Honest Jon's, the label released an Albarn-produced, self-titled LP from Chaabi act Abdel Hadi Halo & the El Gusto Orchestra of Algiers today (April 15). [MORE...]

Radiohead Best Of DVD Details Emerge

In an effort to combat the dearth in Radiohead-related wares in an otherwise underserved marketplace, here comes Radiohead: The Best Of DVD, a 21-track collection of some of the finest audiovisual excursions from Radiohead's storied career in the stuff. Sporting work from such noted video directors as Michel Gondry, Sophie Muller, Jonathan Glazer, and many others, the set also features a live take on Hail to the Thief opener "2+2=5" from 2003's Eurockéennes de Belfort Festival. And, heck, it has Jamie Thraves' clip for "Just", which, alone, is worth the price of admission.

Conveniently enough, the DVD emerges from Parlophone/EMI June 2 in the UK, the very day that the band's former label issues that audio Best Of they're not too keen on. No word yet on a North American release for the video set, but UPDATE: The Best Of DVD hits U.S. shores June 3 via Capitol/EMI. And there's always this thing to tide you over until all that happens. Me, I could watch ol' drum-face for days.

Your head, as you're well aware, is probably already full of chatter from this Head, so we'll keep this rundown brief: Radiohead had an unlikely hit with their "Nude" remix project, they wanna friend you so hard, and some cool folks are opening up for 'em on tour. Oh, and that tour? Dates-- including a brand new pair of confirmations in Osaka-- after the jump. [MORE...]

Autechre, Sea & Cake, Dntel, Boom Bip on Tribute Comp

Leading lights in electronic and indie pop music have contributed tracks to a compilation celebrating the legacy of the late Daniel Hansson, co-founder of synthesizer production company Elektron Music Machines. 45: A Tribute to Daniel Hansson collects 30 tracks from artists including Autechre, the Sea and Cake, Dntel, Boom Bip, Tiga, Venetian Snares, Daedelus, Kim Hiorthøy, and John Tejada.

45 is a digitally distributed affair, available right now straight from its own website. The cost is a mere $5 a pop, and all proceeds will go to the World Wildlife Fund. If you're more of a freeloading type, there are 25+ extra tracks available for download on the 45 site at zero cost. [MORE...]

Blonde Redhead, Damien Jurado on WUAG Comp

As dictated by etiquette expert Emily Post in 1922, the traditional gift for a fifth anniversary is wood. (Now would be the time for an inappropriate innuendo.) Fitting, then, that Greensboro, North Carolina's WUAG would title the fifth installment in their annual compilation series Wooden Anniversary.

And, hey, it's the gift that keeps on giving, this Wooden Anniversary, with 14 tracks recorded exclusively for WUAG from the likes of Blonde Redhead, Damien Jurado, 31Knots, David Karsten Daniels, Pterodactyl, Lymbyc Systym, and a host of others. Thirteen of Wooden's tracks are nabbed from live sessions on WUAG, while the 14th-- Blonde Redhead's "23"-- was prerecorded specifically for the station.

WUAG will officially release the comp April 12, to coincide with the station's "Style in Stereo" fashion/rock show going down at the University of North Carolina Greensboro's Cone Ballroom. All told, it's a hell of a lot better than some damn hunk of pine. [MORE...]

Kid Creole Readies Retrospective Comp

Even zoot suit-wearing "Tropical Gangsters" have childhoods, as evidenced by the appearance of a Kid Creole retrospective called Going Places: The August Darnell Years 1974-1983.

Over the course of 15 tracks, Going Places chronicles Creole's progress as a musician, producer, and writer, from his beginnings under the given name August Darnell-- as a member of Dr. Buzzard's Savannah Band-- through his development into the Coconut-fronting genre-masher known as Kid Creole.

DJ Guido of Paris DJs compiled the selections on Going Places, which include rare and extended versions of tracks finally making their first CD appearances. You might recognize Dr. Buzzard's "Sunshower" as the basis for M.I.A.'s "Sunshowers".

To top it all off, journalist Vivien Goldman wrote the liner notes included in the package.

Going Places: The August Darnell Years 1974-1983 comes out April 14 in the UK via Strut Records. Kid Creole has a handful of UK shows scheduled for this summer, and he is still finalizing other shows around the world. [MORE...]

Rare Nina Simone Live Cuts, Interviews on Digital Comp

The late Nina Simone-- ultra-distinctive vocalist, "High Priestess of Soul", and general badass-- has a collection of previously unreleased video interviews and live songs that will hit iTunes on April 8.

The collection is titled Protest Anthology, and it is the first in a five-release series from digital distribution company the Orchard. Named for the political bent of its content, Protest Anthology contains live renditions of some of Simone's biggest hits, including "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" and "Mississippi Goddam". Nice! [MORE...]

Tompkins Square Preps New Anthem, Peter Walker LP

The acoustically minded Tompkins Square label is ready to offer the third installment in its Imaginational Anthem series of compilations celebrating "acoustic guitar mavericks past and present," according to a press release. Volume Three will come out on April 8, as will a box set collecting all three volumes.

Almost a month later, Tompkins Square will unveil the first full-length in 40 years from maverick Peter Walker. The East Indian/ Spanish-influenced player shares Echo of My Soul on May 6. Walker also has a European tour beginning April 9 in Girona, Spain. [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.)