M For Montreal: My Top 5 Picks

Posted on | November 16, 2011 | No Comments

Official Website | Myspace | Facebook | Twitter

What’s M For Montreal all about?

Back in 2006, local music promoter Sebastian Nasra and U.K concert programmer
Martin Elbourne (Glastonbury) created M For Montreal as a showcase for
up-and-coming Montreal bands to basically pimp them out to music festivals
around the world.

It’s now become a showcase for Canadian music as a whole. What they do is to
cater to international music buyers, journalists, taste makers to experience
Montreal’s music, arts, nightlife and culture. M for Montreal also produce
events at SXSW, The Great Escape, CMJ, Canadian Music Week and
throughout the year in Montreal.

For it’s 6th edition, 60+ bands will be featured starting tonight through
Saturday.

For my first M4M experience, these picks are on top of my list:

Young Empires

La Sala Rossa / 8:30pm ( Thursday )

Half Moon Run

Café Campus / 1pm ( Friday )

Alaclair Ensemble

Café Campus / 2pm ( Saturday )

Galaxie

Metropolis / 8pm ( Saturday )

M83

SAT / 9:30pm ( Saturday )

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Category: Festivals, M For Montreal, Music Videos
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Introducing: DECADES

Posted on | November 14, 2011 | No Comments

Official Website
Facebook
Twitter

I want to welcome Emily to the AGDFA fold. A California native who currently resides
in New York City, she will from time to time tell you what’s the happy haps in
hipster central a.k.a. Brooklyn.

For my first AGDFA contribution as your Brooklyn correspondent, I’m excited
to present to you one of my favorite new bands, DECADES. Over the past few
months, this dance-rock band has been playing tons of shows in the city.

I’m sure I’m not the only New Yorker who’ll say that it takes a lot to rile up
a NYC crowd, and this band has done it consistently. Their music is beat-heavy,
filled with catchy guitar hooks, and driven by vocalist Max Vernon’s soulful pipes. Any cleaning company NYC would get down to business cleaning up the clubs after a Decades show.

I recently spoke with Max, who describes DECADES’ sound as “indie dance rock with
disco and funk influences.” Their music always makes the crowd move.

Max added, “I think what sets us apart is that lyrically and vocally I’m not a typical
frontman for a band that makes our kind of music. Normally dance songs are about
‘get drunk and party,’ not about Nabokov novels or Josephine Baker.”

This sentiment was re-iterated by a recent bio that I read about the band:

“Usually, a band either makes you dance, or they make you think, but very rarely both. DECADES is an uncommon hybrid of intellect and soul. Fronted by a rail thin white boy who sings like a black woman, DECADES songs deal with Paris in the 1920’s, Russian lit, and sweaty disco sex. In short, it sounds sinister and catchy as fuck.”

And “catchy-as-fuck” is right. Their songs tend to play on rotation in my head.

I asked Max if he felt pressured to fit in with the “Brooklyn music scene.”
He responded, “I think it would be nice to be a part of the indie scene, but if
I’m honest with myself, of the Brooklyn scene right now, the bands and artists I
like really sound nothing like us. It’s more solo artists, and when I do listen
to music that sounds vaguely like us, it’s usually from an entirely different era,
like the 70s. My bread and butter is really soul and disco. So, I’m more interested
in being true to the kind of music I love, and if people dig it, then great.”

I couldn’t agree more. As long as they stick to their disco-inspired sound, I will
remain a loyal fan. While there is a strong intellectual quality to their lyrics,
there’s also a rawness about DECADES that I love. Their music is anything but
pretentious; they allow their audience to let go and dance, and sometimes
that’s all you want.

Last Friday, DECADES played as a part of the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival
at Music Hall of Williamsburg, alongside Fischerspooner (DJ set) and Diamond Rings.

Don’t miss them if you have the chance to catch a show.

Currently DECADES is working on an EP due out in late December.

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Category: Decades, Interview, Introducing
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MVs Collection #55

Posted on | November 13, 2011 | No Comments

Class Actress – “Weekend”
Directed by Bek Andersen.

Kimbra – “Settle Down”
Directed by Guy Franklin.

Emika – “Professional Loving”
Directed by Park Bennett.

Duologue – “Push It”
Directed by Babanuki.

Anna Rose – “My Body Is A Cage” (Arcade Fire Cover)
Directed by Moh Azima.

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A Good Day For Airplay | Episode 133

Posted on | November 11, 2011 | No Comments

80 Mins : 15 Secs

Jason Moore And The Lost Pages “Sunset’s End” ( indie release )
Steps EP [ soundcloud ]
website | myspace | facebook

Solids “Whatevers And Neverminds” ( machette records )
Generic Dogs EP [ bandcamp ]
website | myspace | facebook

Kestrels “Ridicule” ( noyes records )
Primary Colours [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

Sleeper Agent “Force A Smile” ( mom + pop music )
Celabrasion [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

Real Estate “It’s Real” ( domino recording co. )
Days [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

Quiet Company “We Went to the Renaissance Fair” ( indie release )
We Are All Where We Belong [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

The Golden Awesome “Astronomy” ( m’lady’s records )
Autumn [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

Popstrangers “Happy Accidents” ( shoot the freak )
Happy Accidents EP [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

Gauntlet Hair “I Was Thinking …” ( independent release )
Demos EP [ free download ]
website | myspace | facebook

S.C.U.M. “Amber Hands” ( mute )
Again Into Eyes [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

Veronica Falls “Beachy Head” ( slumberland records )
Veronica Falls [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

The Soft Moon “Total Decay” ( captured tracks )
Total Decay EP [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

True Widow “Bathyscaphe” ( kemado records )
I.N.O. EP [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

Florence And The Machine “No Light, No Light” ( universal records )
Ceremonials [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

Modeselektor Feat. Thom Yorke “This” ( monkeytown records )
Monkeytown [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

Evenings “Friend [Lover]” ( independent release )
North Dorm EP [ bandcamp ]
website | myspace | facebook

Gem Club “Black Ships” ( hardly art )
Breakers [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

Mazzy Star “Common Burn” ( rhymes of an hour records )
Common Burn (Single) [ amazon ]
website | myspace | facebook

>>> MP3 Download <<<

Category: Podcasts
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MVs Collection #54

Posted on | November 5, 2011 | No Comments

We Were Promised Jetpacks – “Human Error”
Directed by Michael Sherrington.

Sleeper Agent – “Get It Daddy”
Directed by Ryan Reichenfeld.

Real Estate – “It’s Real”
Directed by Weird Days.

S.C.U.M. – “Whitechapel”
Directed by Tim Noble & Sue Webster

Pepper Rabbit – “Murder Room”
Directed by Morgan Krantz.

Modeselektor Feat. Thom Yorke – “Shipwreck”
Directed by Tony “Truand” Datis.

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Category: Music Videos, MVs Collection
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