Lux is working the festival circuit (Desert Rocks, Wakarusa, and Bonnaroo!) and will be back to you in mid June!

Phish will give its first television performance since 2004 tonight on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.” The appearance is part of a Rolling Stones’ tribute week to their 1972 album Exile On Main Street. Each night on Fallon a different band will cover a song from the classic album. The show starts tonight at 12:35 / 11:35 CST on NBC.

The tribute week concides with the May 18, 2010 deluxe release of a remastered version of the album featuring 10 previously unheard tracks including “Plundered My Soul”, “Dancing in the Light”, “Following the River” and “Pass the Wine” as well as alternate versions of “Soul Survivor” and “Loving Cup”.

Throughout the week artists will sit in with hip-hop artists The Roots, Fallon’s house band since March 2009. Other musical guests this week included Green Day, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, Taj Mahal, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready, and Rolling Stones’ keyboardist Chuck Leavell. LL Cool J is appearing tonight along with Phish.

The million dollar question: What will Phish play? So far nothing has been announced. The rock legends played Exile in its entirety at Festival 8 over Halloween this past fall, so anything is possible.

Check out this clip of “Rocks Off” from Festival 8.

Looking forward to the unveiling of Phish this evening!

Pretty soon those of us in Indio will be submerged within some of the hottest sounds coming out now. Below are Lux’s picks for Coachella 2010. Sets of top priority include Thom Yorke, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Pretty Lights, Hot Chip, Fever Ray, Passion Pit, Ra Ra Riot, Beach House, Dirty Projectors, Delphic, Jonsi, Phoenix, MGMT and Rusko.

Day 1

Fever Ray – When I Grow Up
Imogen Heap – Little Bird
La Roux – Bulletproof
Passion Pit – Sleepyhead
Public Image Limited – Rise.
The Avett Brothers – Murder in the City
Street Sweeper Social Club – 100 Little Curses
The Whitest Boy Alive – 1517
Vampire Weekend – I Think Ur A Contra
As Tall As Lions – Into The Flood
Gil Scott-Heron – New York Is Killing Me (Featuring Nas)
LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends
Little Dragon – Runabout
Ra Ra Riot – Can You Tell
She & Him – Why Do You Let Me Stay Here_
Sleigh Bells – Crown On The Ground
Pretty Lights – Hot Like Sauce

Day 2

Beach House – Norway
Camera Obscura – French Navy
Corrinne Bailey Rae – Put Your Records On
Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is the Move
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Janglin
MGMT – Flash Delirium
Flying Lotus – Parisian Goldfish
Major Lazer – Pon de Floor (feat. VYBZ Kartel)
The Dead Weather – I Cut Like A Buffalo
The Raveonettes – Last Dance
Frightened Rabbit – Poke
The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition (Axwell & Dirty South Remix)
Bassnectar – Bomd the Blocks (Featuring Persia)

Day 3

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Me And Jane Doe
Miike Snow – Sans Soleil
Local Natives – Airplanes
Jonsi – Boy Lilikoi
Thom Yorke – Atoms For Peace
Phoenix – Lasso
Delphic – Counterpoint
Florence & The Machine – Kiss With A Fist
Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension
Matt & Kim – Daylight
Rusko – Da Cali Anthem
The Middle East – The Darkest Side
Owen Pallett – This Modern Love (Bloc Party Cover)

Coachella’s Official Website

The enigmatic lead singer and guitarist for Iceland’s atmospheric post-rock band, Sigur Ros, is set to embark on his first tour through North America and Europe as a solo artist. With two record in less than a year, Riceboy Sleeps (2009), written and recorded with his partner, Alex Somers, and Go (April 5, 2010), his debut solo album, Jónsi has been busy during a period of Sigur Ros’ retreat. The group chose to take time off due to several members’ desires to spend time with their new children and Jónsi’s interest in exploring his imaginings solo.

To accompany his live performance, Jónsi has brought in 59 Productions to create a fantastical world that evokes the feelings and images within his music. Sigur Ros is known for pushing boundaries with the visual components of their live show, so it’s almost assumed that Jónsi would explore contemporary technology and imbue his live performance with art.

59 Productions has been praised as one of the most innovative suppliers of video and projections for theater worldwide. When invited to be a part of the tour, 59 decided to create something that strode the line of a music performance, a film, a theatrical show and an art installation. Within the current state of performance, I find it infinitely interesting to see what happens at these intersections.

The show is set in a dilapidated, burnt down building that is made to resemble a Victorian glasshouse, an old factory or museum, with large windows that span the back of the stage. Trees grow among the rubble and broken glass. In an interview with Clash Magazine, 59 shared their intention to create “a sense of life returning to this shell of a building as nature works its way through the cracks and fissures.” The scenes draw out varying themes and stories from Jonsi’s music on Go to transport audiences into a world of sheer fantasy.

mp3: Jonsi – Boy Lilikoi – Go (2010)

59 have released several videos documenting the show’s elaborate creation.

For the extraordinary chance to experience the unfolding of this vision live, find Jónsi while he journeys across the U.S. and Canada in April and May.

Apr 6 – Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC
Apr 7 – Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC
Apr 9 – The Showbox Sodo, Seattle, WA
Apr 10 – The Showbox Sodo, Seattle, WA
Apr 13 – Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR
Apr 15 – Zellerbach Auditorium, Berkeley, CA
Apr 16 – Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
Apr 18 – Coachella, Indio, CA
Apr 21 – Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
Apr 22 – Liberty Hall, Lawrence, KS
Apr 24 – Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Apr 25 – Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Apr 26 – The Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee, WI
Apr 27 – Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
Apr 28 – Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
Apr 30 – Sound Academy, Toronto, ON
May 1 – Sound Academy, Toronto, ON
May 2 – Metropolis, Montreal, QB
May 3 – Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
May 5 – House of Blues, Boston, MA
May 6 – House of Blues, Boston, MA
May 8 – Terminal 5, New York, NY
May 9 – Terminal 5, New York, NY

MySpace | Website

Brooklyn duo MGMT will release their 3rd full-length album, Congratulations, on April 13, 2010. They’ve offered a taste by making the track “Flash Delirium” available as a free download through their website. The adventurous Bowie-tinged exploration veers in a variety of mind-bending directions within its 4 minutes. The confusion it unleashes become more manageable with subsequent listens. Psychedelic lyrics offer this gorgeous sentiment: “Dance until the heart explodes and we’ll make this place ignite.” “Some will love it, some will hate it,” Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone of Congratulations‘ stylistic shift. “We want to freak people out.”

MGMT have so far debuted three other songs off the release, “Congratulations”, “It’s Working”, and “Song for Dan Tracey”, at recent shows. The album was recorded in Malibu by ex-Spacemen 3 Brit Pete Kember (aka Sonic Boom) and mixed by Flaming Lips producer David Fridmann. The record is the follow-up to 2007’s Oracular Spectacular, which crushed with over 1 million copies sold worldwide. Upcoming U.S. tourdates include Coachella, Bamboozle, and Sasquatch in April and May.

mp3: MGMT – Flash Delirium – Congratulations (2010)

Flash Delirium
Mild apprehension
Blank dreams of the coming fun
Distort the odds of a turnaround
Gut screams out next to none

So turn it on, tune it in
And stay inert

You say “I’ve got the backbone”
The back way to escape the gun
Climbing a tree with a missing limb
And not saving anyone

And now it hurts to stay at home
And see flash the mirror ball’s throwing mold
You can’t get a grip if there’s nothing to hold
See the flash catch a white lily laugh and wilt
But if you must smash a glass first fill it to the hilt

Plants, as far as i know are still,
Still bending toward the light
And if we dance until the heart explodes
It’ll make this place ignite
And even if this hall collapses
I can stand by my pillar of hope
It’s just a case of Flash delirium

Here’s a growing culture
Deep inside a corpse
Ages stuck together
Takin it to the source
Timeless desperation
Pictures on a screen scream
“Hey people, what does it mean?”

Comfort keeps us nice
So quick to donate everything
Die wolken drifting blinding smiles circling (einkreisen)
And time’s tingling spines
Attaching hands to floor
The rosy-tinted flash

The hot dog’s getting cold
And you’ll never be as good as the Rolling Stones
Watch the birds in the airport gathering dirt
Crowd the clean magazine chick lifting up her skirt

(Why close one eye and try to
Pledge allegiance to the sun
When plastic ghosts start terrorizing everyone
Geometric troops aligning
Carried up to the burial mounds
My earthbound heart is heavy
Your heartbeat keeps things light
With the violence forever threatening the night
And even if this hall collapses
I can stand by my pillar of hope and trust)
Lines when I close my eyes and just
Aim blindly at the sun
And hear love
When the ghosts start singing terrorizing everyone
Geometric troops aligning
Carried up to the burial mounds with gold
It’s a heavy time but your
You rhythm makes it light and explode
Like a violent star keeps threatening the night
And even if this hall collapses
I can stand by my pillar of hope and trust
That our heads won’t bust

66 55 red battleships
40 earthlike planets
3 holes 2 tits
1 fork in its side
Zero tears in their eyes

Eue the spiders
Sink the Welsh
Stab your facebook
Sell sell sell
Undercooked
Overdone
Mass adulation not so funny
Poisoned honey
Pseudo science
Silly money
You’re my honey

MySpace | Website

Download “Flash Delirium” through MGMT’s website.

Like any great album should, Big Light’s full-length debut Animals in Bloom (2010) draws me in more completely with every listen. The songs endlessly unravel as one’s ears open to the nuances. I’ve been enamored with the band since they debuted in San Francisco near the end of 2007 and it’s all in the combination. Skillful songs, prodigious musicianship, and a certain sincerity. It’s the kind of music you want to sit back and take in and also the kind that you want to move to and lose yourself within. It’s the best of all genres, melding the weight of rock, the earnestness of folk, the edginess of indie, and the transcendental psychedelia of jam. The band’s sound is easy to love and hits with an immeasurably depth. As my friend Melissa and I would say to each other back then, “Big Light plays just the kind of music I want to hear.”

From the grittiness of “Triceratops”, to the tenderness of “Departed”, to the touching words, melodies, and guitar riffs of “Rainbow Eyes”, Animals in Bloom gets inside. “Good Time of the Year”’s youth-filled intimacy is undeniable and “Monster” strikes with washes of sound. “Heavy” just tears it all apart. It’s not just the raging guitars that send you to oblivion but the band as a whole progressing, ripping, lying deep within the groove. Unabating until the raging finale moments of “Bonebreaker”, the album is a solid realization of Big Light’s limitless potential. The album’s lyrics are poetic, pensive, inspiring and filled with color. The songs catch inside your head and refuse to let go. It’s intimate and makes you feel included.

mp3: Big Light – Monster
Stream more tracks: Good Time of the Year, Triceratops, Panther, Caution

The San Francisco foursome features Fred Torphy (lead vocals, guitar, songwriting), Bradly Bifuclo (drums), Steve Adams (bass, vocals) and Jeremy Korpas (lead guitar, vocals). After several shifts in lineup, this band feels like the one Torphy needs to convey what’s inside his head. Torphy’s voice morphs from track to track all the while staying endearing and real. And his guitar solos soar. Bradly Bifulco contributes a strength of foundation and depth that stands out on every song. ALO’s Steve Adams exemplifies what this incredible player can do when offered an alternate existence. And the most recent addition of Jeremy Korpas seals the force of Big Light. Korpus’ ripping playing which has earned him the name “Swordfish”, raised the bar of Big Light’s musicianship, allowing the band to travel where it was ready. A nod to the benefit of timing and luck, Korpas’ inclusion came by chance after needing a place to crash when first moving to SF. By way of a friend he landed on Torphy’s couch and later joined the band. Together these four individuals gesture gratitude to the great bands that inspired them – Dr. Dog, The Slip, Wilco, and My Morning Jacket – yet seamlessly unite to create a sound that is undeniably Big Light.

Yesterday, I got to chat with songwriter Fred Torphy about the album…

How does the current state of Big Light compare to what you imagined when you originally formed the band?
Torphy: Probably closer to what I imagined it being. More professional and cohesive and focused. That was something we had to work for, a permanent lineup. You saw a lot us in the formative days. It was sprawling then and you never knew who was actually going to play. That was always really hard to deal with as a bandleader. All the coming and going of the personal and getting the band staffed probably. You don’t want to push any of those things. It needs to happen on its own. Give it time. That happening was cool. I’m just stoked that it’s where it’s at right now. And that we are more lean and mean. More focused.

Are there any unseen insights into the album that you want to share?
Torphy: Mechanically we got really experimental and went deep. There are sounds you might not hear unless you’re listening on headphones. There are all of these undercurrents of noise that prevail from the beginning to the end. We capture sounds that aren’t musical in some senses. Detuning ukuleles or dropping an amplifier on the ground so that it makes a crazy thunderous sound. We put ghosts in the recording so that they could be heard later when someone is listening a little closer.

The one thing that probably nobody one knows is that there’s one guitar amp that we ended up using for 90% of the record that we got from this dude who lives in an apartment that’s next to the studio where we recorded. He’s this guy Kidd Candelario, Jerry Garcia’s right hand man for like 30 years, his guitar tech and all this stuff, and he has a bunch Jerry Garcia’s old gear. He gave us this Fender Twin that had belonged to Jerry and that Jerry used on stage for a really long time. We went back and looked at pictures and saw this thing. We had this modified Fender Twin that was Jerry Garcia’s primary guitar amp and we used it in every situation imaginable because it was cool… it sounded so different from everything else because it was modified for him. It was really loud and you could do crazy shit with it. It was fun playing with that thing. The history, recording the album in San Francisco… We’re not a Grateful Dead leaning band at all in any respect. I mean we like improvisation, we love that band, but they aren’t a model for Big Light in any way. But we did love using that guitar amplifier to make all the cool guitar sounds.

Who’s singing the words before the chorus on “Rainbow Eyes”?
Torphy: We call that the “gang vocal”. Our friend Ty Roberts and his family, Sabrina & Ted, Chris Joseph, Ray (Bradly’s wife)… There are probably 40 voices. We threw a whiskey and pizza party one night in the studio and invited our supporters and friends and asked them all to yell “rainbow eyes”.

Below is a teaser for Animals in Bloom featuring studio and tour footage and clips from their December ‘09 performance at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium, all set to an excerpt of the new track “Triceratops”.

For Big Light, club dates have translated into high profile gigs, including appearances at Outside Lands, Noise Pop, Wanderlust, and High Sierra and at renowned California venues such as the Troubadour and The Roxy in Los Angeles and The Fillmore in San Francisco. They’ve also been placed on bills with Spoon, Broken Social Scene, The Mother Hips, Dead Confederate, Surprise Me Mr. Davis, Everest and Howlin Rain. As a fan from the beginning, it’s truly exciting to stand back and watch Big Light constantly progress and evolve at such an electrifying rate and receive due recognition for their musical journeys. Big Light’s CD Release tour for Animals in Bloom kicks off with a performance at San Francisco’s Independent on March 4th (TODAY!).

Mar 4 – The Independent, San Francisco, CA – Animals In Bloom Release Party w/ Guns for San Sebastian and Everest
Mar 5 – 50/50 Brewery, Truckee, CA
Mar 11 – The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ
Mar 13 – Sullivan Hall, New York, NY
Mar 17,18,19,20 – SXSW, Austin, TX
Apr 8 – Crystal Bay Casino, Crystal Bay, NV
Apr 16 – Cooper’s, Nevada City, CA
Apr 17 – South Lake Tahoe Earth Day Festival, South Lake Tahoe, CA
July 1,2,3,4 – High Sierra Music Festival, Quincy, CA

Animals in Bloom is for sale on the Big Light’s website, at Amazon, and on iTunes where you can download the added bonus track of “Piece Together Wings”, co-written with Nathan Moore and featuring Dan Lebowitz (ALO) on pedal steel. Jeremiah Kille of Conspiracy Surfboards created the memorable album artwork for Animals in Bloom. Check out more of Jeremiah’s work.

Purchase from Big Light: Animals in Bloom

Download through iTunes (and get the bonus track)

Download through Amazon: Animals In Bloom

MySpace | Website

In addition to their previously announced set at Coachella, Thom Yorke’s solo band will hit several major U.S. cities this April on a two-week, eight-date tour. Thom Yorke broke the news on Radiohead’s blog Dead Air Space on Thursday, Feb 25th. Southern California’s electronic / hip hop artist Flying Lotus will support the band all eight nights.

The name of the band? Atoms for Peace. Aside from being the name of the stand out track on Yorke’s solo album, The Eraser (2006), Atoms for Peace refers to the title of a speech delivered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City in 1953. The speech was likely a tipping point towards inspiring international focus on peaceful uses of atomic energy.

Atoms for Peace (the band) features Beck/R.E.M.’s Joey Waronker on drums, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea on bass, Mauro Refosco of David Byrne and Bebel Gilberto on percussion, and longtime Radiohead/Yorke producer Nigel Godrich on guitar/synths/laptop. This lineup is the same one that backed up Yorke at the Echoplex and the Orpheum Theater in L.A. in October.

Tickets are being sold via Ticketmaster as well as on Radiohead’s ticketing site, W.A.S.T.E. On sale info below.

Atoms for Peace Tour:
04-05 New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom * – onsale through TM March 2nd at 10am EST
04-06 New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom * – onsale through TM March 2nd at 10am EST
04-08 Boston, MA – Citi Wang Theatre * – onsale through CPAC March 2nd at 10am EST
04-10 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom * – onsale through TM March 3rd at 10am CST
04-11 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom * – onsale through TM March 3rd at 10am CST
04-14 Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre * – onsale through TM March 4th at 10am PST
04-15 Oakland, CA – Fox Theatre * – onsale through TM March 4th at 10am PST
04-17 Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl * – onsale through TM March 3rd at 11am CST
04-18 Indio, CA – Coachella
* with Flying Lotus
TM = Ticketmaster
CPAC = Citi Performing Arts Center

Pre-sale tickets are being sold on W.A.S.T.E. Tickets (Radiohead’s ticketing site) on the following schedule:
New York – Roseland Ballroom – April 5th & 6th – On sale through Tickemaster
Boston – Citi Wang Theatre – April 8th – On sale through CitiCenter
Chicago – Aragon Ballroom – April 10th & 11th – On sale March 3rd via W.A.S.T.E.
Oakland – Fox Theatre – April – 14th & 15th – On sale March 4th via W.A.S.T.E.
Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara Bowl – April 17th – On sale March 3rd via W.A.S.T.E.

mp3: Thom Yorke – Atoms For Peace – The Eraser (2006)

mp3: Flying Lotus – Quakes – (2010)

Thom Yorke’s MySpace | Website
Flying Lotus’ MySpace | Website

The Eraser

My astute brother recently turned me on to three very different covers of Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”, off the band’s self-titled debut Vampire Weekend (2008). The Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel collaboration wins out. Peter Gabriel’s name is actually in the song, which creates some beautiful irony. Slightly silly, but he sings, “It feels so unnatural. Peter Gabriel, too. And it feels so unnatural to sing your own name…”

It’s great to see Gabriel back on the scene. He’s reemerging with a covers album, Scratch My Back (March 2, 2010), that includes his versions of songs by Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, David Bowie and others. All of the artists whose songs Peter recorded for the album are returning the favor by recording a song of his. These creations will be heard on a forthcoming companion album justly called I’ll Scratch Yours.

mp3: Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

The Very Best’s version of “Kwassa Kwassa” brings together singer Esau Mwamwaya of Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa with Belgian DJ/production duo Radiocli, infusing the tune with an Afro-Western mix of dance, hip-hop, pop and the traditional music and language of Malawi.

mp3: The Very Best (Esau Mwamwaya & Radioclit) – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Then there’s the remix by French synth-pop duo, The Teenagers…

mp3: Vampire Weekend – Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Teenagers Remix)

And in case you’re a Lykke Li fan, check out her version live.

Vampire Weekend’s MySpace | Website Peter Gabriel’s MySpace | Website
Hot Chip’s MySpace | Website The Very Best’s MySpace
The Teenagers’s MySpace | Website Lykke Li’s MySpace | Website

The duo released their debut single jj n° 1 in early 2009 and several months later released their stylistically brilliant debut album jj n° 2. It’s a short opus of nine tracks of island infused synth pop, akin to the music of fellow label mates The Tough Alliance. But the duo emerges on the softer side due to the pervasive lush vocals of Elin Kastlander. Like their peers, jj show a propensity towards sampling, irritable pop hooks, and stylistic diversity to create something gorgeously intricate that shows admiration for both the expansive realms of world music and minimalistic electro-pop. jj sit aside The Tough Alliance and Air France, on one of Sweden’s best and most consistent labels, Sincerely Yours, founded by TTA in 2006.

jj’s dance pop is built on ethereal string and synth samples along with exquisite vocals that float freely through their tracks. The songs are deceptively simple, incorporating a vast array of musical influences from reggae to electronica, new age to hip-hop. The dream-like quality of Elin’s voice is lusciously smooth and textured taking the music even further.

mp3: From Africa to Malaga – jj n° 2 (2009)

The group’s full-length debut jj n° 2 changes styles slightly with every song, which makes listening to the 27 minute album an unpredictable yet alluring experience. Even when they explore 90’s ambient-house, they still allow emotion to flood through the textures. jj expand on the reach of ambient music — defined, as Brian Eno once did, as music that “suggests, a place, a landscape, a soundworld which you inhabit” — offering it a new essence .

mp3: jj – Things Will Never Be The Same Again – jj nº 2 (2009)

“Things Will Never Be Again” opens jj nº 2 sounding much like The Tough Alliance, tying together synth samples of steel drums and MIDI Strings, with Elin’s low vocal tones and harmonies. “From Africa to Malaga” is by far my favorite track with Elin’s celestial, reverb-effected vocals riding atop synthy Caribbean percussion. The sounds wash over you and the winds referenced sweep you up into a blissful state of ecstasy. “Ecstasy” unexpectedly drops a sample of Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” creating a track that is trippy and drug-hazy, turning the sound of the album drastically on a pin. (jj released another track with a Weezy sample in January, titled “My Way”. ) Later the album moves into more lilting folk-pop, and further into the laughing and hammer-dulcimer sampling “Intermezzo”. With jj nº 2, the duo created a visionary new sound that is bound to generate more buzz in 2010.

mp3: jj – Ecstasy – jj nº 2 (2009)

Fascinatingly, jj has kept to almost absolute internet silence. Seriously, not even a MySpace. Info on jj was literally nonexistent until recently, save for a few cryptic sentences, download links, and blood-splattered album artwork on their label’s site. It seems to have made the music all the more endearing and enchanting. Quite a surge of conversation has lived surrounding the identity of jj. Some rightly thought that it might be a side project of The Tough Alliance or Air France, but the mystery quickly unfolded. The enigmatic jj consists of multi-instrumentalist Joakim Benon and vocalist Elin Kastlander. The story almost ends there for now, although I did come across a fabulous interview with jj published on the Drumming On Tabletops blog several weeks ago. Here are a few excerpts.

Where does the name “jj” come from?
jag & joakim. joakim & jag. (“jag” means me or myself in Swedish)

What’s the plan for live shows? Did you originally ever expect to perform live? I ask that because it seems (from the various YouTube videos I’ve watched anyways) that the stage show is really based around the recorded music and projected images rather than the typical “live performance”.
We have grand plans for our public executions, it will be magic, soon enough. Now when we’re out there Elin is just trying to get over her social phobia and anxiety. She sings for her life, as always. And I’m (Joakim) trying to learn everything I recorded, and decide if I should play the guitar solo or the piano, the drums or the flute, or maybe get someone else to do it; so many decisions. Maybe we’ll get James Cameron to do the visuals, and perhaps Kanye will have some ideas. Whatever we do I hope people will understand that being on stage is a fucked up situation in the first place, where everything can happen: you can live more than you’ve ever lived or be wanting to die, feeling things will never be the same again.

The newest album, jj nº 3 has already leaked online. What does it feel like to have to deal with a leak? Do you mind it considering that almost every album leaks online now before the release date?
Beautiful, sad, scary, nice, confusing. It (jj nº 3) should’ve been released in September though, so it’s all good. A slightly fairer chance for anyone to keep up with us.

How much are drugs involved with your music (the song ecstasy, the pot leaf on the cover of jj nº 2)? Do you feel like the two can be separated or are they intertwined?
Our music is dope, you know that.

For the full interview, visit Drumming on Tables.

In December, jj signed with the indie label Secretly Canadian who will release the duo’s next LP, jj nº 3, in the U.S on March 9th in conjunction with the release on Sincerely Yours in Sweden. Following, they are set to perform 14 American dates with fellow lowercase, double-lettered electro group, The xx. These shows, along with SXSW, mark the first U.S. live appearances ever for jj.

JJ tour dates:

3/22 – Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, LA w/ The xx
3/23 – Bottletree, Birmingham, AL
3/24 – Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, GA w/ The xx
3/25 – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC w/ The xx
3/28 – Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, Washington, DC w/ The xx
3/29 – First Unitarian Church Sanctuary, Philadelphia, PA w/ The xx
3/30 – Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY
3/31 – Webster Hall, New York, NY
4/2 – Paradise, Boston, MA w/ The xx
4/3 – Le National, Montreal, QC w/ The xx
4/4 – Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON
4/5 – Wexner Center, Columbus, OH w/ The xx
4/6 – Buskirk-Chumley Theater, Bloomington, IN w/ The xx
4/8 – Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL w/ The xx
4/9 – Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN w/ The xx
4/12 – The Nightlight Lounge, Bellingham, WA w/ The xx
4/13 – Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC w/ The xx
4/14 – Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR w/ The xx
4/16 – Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA

More on jj nº 3 to come…

Sincerely Your’s – Website

Download through Amazon: jj nº 2 | JJ N° 1

I was absolutely startled by St. Vincent when I first heard “Now Now” off her debut album Marry Me (2007). The ringing harmonics, vocal overlays, orchestral crescendos juxtaposed with guitar plucking, penetrating bass lines, plus the final ripping electric guitar solo, together sent me over the edge.

mp3: St. Vincent – Now Now – Marry Me (2007)

St. Vincent is the moniker under which multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark performs. Her tunes are unpredictable, quirky and bizarre enough to stand out in a sea of emerging indie artists. Clark offers a new sound and voice. She twists catchy melodies into unique arrangements filled with her rich, yet fragile voice. The music warbles with cacophonous eruptions of sound and disturbing, thought-provoking lyrics and electric guitar solos woven with the classical instrumentation of piano, flute, horns, drums and violins.

Clark began playing guitar at 12 and as a teenager, worked as the tour manager for her uncle’s band. Her family moved from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dallas during her high school years and for college she traveled to Boston to attend the Berklee College of Music. Prior to venturing out on her own, Clark performed as part of both the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens’ 2006 live band. Touring extensively in support of Marry Me with artists including Death Cab for Cutie, The National, and Arcade Fire, Clark began to excite attention from audiences nationwide. The album landed critical acclaim and Clark a No. 90 spot on the U.S. Billboard charts.

St. Vincent’s sophomore album, Actor (2009), is denser and more melancholy. While Marry Me was a colorful splash of divergent sounds, Actor is a more subtle matter. Clark again blazes a new trail filled with beauty and darkness. The first track, “Stranger”, truly soars above the rest. Flute and synth spiral among blurry eruptions of sounds providing the music with strange warps and bends. Clark’s smooth and delicate voice lilts throughout whether transformed by effects or fully bare. And the rager that Clark is on guitar is yet again unleashed with loads of distortion in between sweet accordion-laced melodies.

mp3: St. Vincent – The Strangers – Actor (2009)

mp3: St. Vincent – Just The Same But Brand New – Actor (2009)

Clark’s live performances are unusual, confident, mesmerizing and inspired. They bestow her artistic vision as she precisely articulates it will full band in tow. Definitely a marvel to witness. I’m excited to get a taste this weekend in Denver!

View St. Vincent’s rehearsal prior to her appearance at SXSW this past March.

Feb 13 – The Bluebird Theater, Denver, Colorado
Feb 15 – Bottleneck, Lawrence, Kansas
Feb 16 – The Blue Moose TapHouse, Iowa City, Iowa
Feb 17 – Turner Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 18 – Metro, Chicago, Illinois
Feb 19- The Pike Room at The Crofoot, Pontiac, Michigan
Feb 20 – Outland on Liberty, Columbus, Ohio
Feb 21 – Diesel Club, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Feb 23 – Jefferson Theatre, Charlottesville, Virginia
Feb 24 – 9:30 Club, Washington DC, Washington DC
Feb 25 – First Unitarian Church – Sanctuary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 12 – Yu Gong Yi Shan, Beijing, Beijing
Mar 13 – Yuyintang, Shanghai, Shanghai
Mar 15 – Recital Studio, Esplanade, Singapore
Mar 18 – Pacific Blue Festival Clu, Wellington, Wellington
Mar 28 – Big Ears Festival, Knoxville, Tennessee
Mar 30 – Highdive, Champaign, Illinois
Mar 31 – MusicNOW Festival – Memorial Hall / University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
Jul 18 – Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, Illinois

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