The Presets’ Apocalypso
Dark and somewhat extraterrestrial, The Preset’s sophomore album Apocalypso has just landed on my desk and I’m beside myself. Starting off with the aptly titled Kicking and Screaming, the boys, true to form, dress their fans in space suits and rocket around the galaxy with techno pop anthems such as My People and If I know You. Halfway along the trip, you’ll discover the inspiration behind the intergalactic soundscape — Prince, Boy George, The Addams Family, and a serious amount of touring in sweaty nightclubs to thousands of fans. I couldn’t think of a better album to play on the first commercial flight into space.
Tagged: electro music, techno pop
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The Music of 2008: a Year in Review
It’s getting towards that time of the year when ‘The Lists’ start to come out. They are the end product of endless screaming matches over whether 2008 was one to remember, or whether it went down deep. Yes, there are still a few weeks left, but mid-December is a time when the belly rolls out and our musicians carry a stiff whiskey into hibernation. Music-wise, 2007 was a hard one to follow. Hidden amongst all the offensive tripe that made the charts were some real gems: Tinariwen, Panda Bear, Yeasayer, and so on. This year was no different, but missing from the respected lists out there were some classics. Yes, Bon Iver may well have trumped it, followed closely by a whole armada of artists such as Fleet Foxes [White Winter Hymnal, DJ Doc Rok Remix below], Santogold, Vampire Weekend, M83, and others — and most people are in agreement about them. But what about the ones that somehow slipped off the radar? The genre-traversing Richard Swift; tropical Velvet Underground-style Shortwave Set; the knee-quaking sexiness of The Do; the afro-dream pop of School of Seven Bells; the beautifully stripped-down subtlety of Au Revoir Simone [above]; and more, more, more. So if your partner thinks you’re pretty cool, thinks you left the middle of the road years ago, then prove her right this Christmas.
The uber-hip French producer M83 has compiled a Secret Playlist for us in which he props Brian Eno, Julee Cruise, and Tears For Fears’ Head Over Heels: ‘This song was the biggest influence for my new album. Our track, Kim and Jesse, takes a lot of inspiration from 80s bands like Tears for Fears. This is one of my favourites’. Read the rest of M83’s Secret Playlist.
Exclusive interview with Fujiya and Miyagi
We love the coolly detached electro mash-up of Brighton group, Fujiya and Miyagi. So we checked in with vocalist-guitarist David Best to find out more about their latest album, Lightbulbs [out on Pod through Inertia], and the place it all started for them — their hometown of Brighton, England: ‘Brighton was just full of wanna-be mods with cravats dancing like they were in Quadrophenia’, he says. ‘It was awful. It seemed to be very unfashionable to be an electronic group back then. Now everybody combines synths with guitars. It makes me want to start a mod group’. Read more
Also by KATE SUTERS
From the dusty depths of Western Australia comes the making of another great Aussie band. Tame Impala have just released their self-titled EP and it’s already seducing ears across the airwaves. With a psychedelic sound akin to the rollicking groove of Led Zeppelin mixed up and delicately caressed with the sound of modern day hope and desire, this is an EP that absolutely deserves your attention.
David Holmes’ The Holy Pictures
David Holmes’ fourth solo album has been a long time in the making. The man who is best known for his scoring of films such as Ocean’s 11, 12 and 13, and remixing for bands like U2 and The Manic Street Preachers, took just over ten years to make his latest album. Read more
As the final festival devotees gather their bags, pick up their muddy gumboots, and make their long journey home, the hills of Byron Bay seem eerily quiet. Over 17,500 music fans poured into Belongil Fields for the three day Splendour in the Grass event to watch music juggernauts Devo, Sigur Ros, Wolfmother, The Presets and The Cold War Kids do their thing. Read more
YOU'RE SAYING (2)
Andy said | 17 April, 2008
I’m spinning this for the first time right now, sitting in a very cool outdoor cafe in Austin. Loving it… and had an amused glance around when ‘Together’ was about mid-song… I thought there was some hipster love going down!
HAVE YOUR SAY
One thing we’ve lost in this MP3 culture is awesome album art. A few people on Flickr have started a group where people pose with their favorite record sleeves and the results are pretty amusing.
A culmination of nearly four years of writing and recording, Omaha quintet, The Faint are preparing to release their fifth album, Fasciinatiion, on August 5 on the band’s own newly-formed label, blank.wav. Working without any time constraints, the songs went through many recorded incarnations before finding their final forms. The result is the best album in the band’s career, a record that is the purest culmination of The Faint’s brilliant musical instincts, ideas and aesthetic, with each member contributing equally to its creation.
Oh man, the work of New York based artist Inka Essenhigh is so good it makes my eyes water. Read more
A Melbourne native once said to me: to find the good bars, you have to look for the bins in alleyways. Section 8 totally fits that quota. It is a bar that is a. in an alleyway, and b. filled with trash. As enticing as that sounds, I must make it clear that the alleyway is actually an old carpark in Chinatown and the trash is not exactly trash. But don’t let that stop you. Section 8 is pumping. Filled with forklift pallets for your seating pleasure, this little bar-that-could (also known as the Container Bar) makes a refreshing beverage and plays super cool beats all night. Read more
An intelligently told, morally complex tale with a raft of unexpected twists, Gone Baby Gone is one of the most original films of recent times. Most films give you a sense of their narrative arc and it is easy to recognise the major plot points. Read more
Aussie streetwear label Zanerobe create the most wearable t-shirts around. Not only are they soft like the fur off a particularly smooth peach, they look mighty sharp too. Read more
Our friends over at Sex In Art recently posted the work of Japanese artist Aya Kato. Says Justin, the founder of the site: ‘I have this folder on my desktop titled Cool Shiat. It’s where I save all the inspirational images I find on the net. I’ve just finished filling it up with Aya Kato’s amazing images. Argh wow. Wow, wow, wow. I won’t say anymore. Just check her work out for yourself’. Read more
WE'RE RESPECTING
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
1970s and 80s Soviet Union buildings
Cambodian born photographer Frederic Chaubin is the editor of French magazine Citizen K. His photo series on bizarre buildings built in the former Soviet Union during the 1970s and 80s is absolutely fascinating. Read more
Karen Caldicott’s clay head models
British born, New York-based model maker Karen Caldicott has been making clay heads for all major US publications over the last decade. Read more
Our celebrity-saturated culture makes many of us irrationally hateful of the faces we see on our TV screens and magazine pages. Good thing there’s Celebrity PunchOut to let off some of that steam.
Charlie Immer’s pastel-pallete sometimes obfuscates the gory violence in his surreal images. At other times, it heightens the gut-wrenching and visceral effect of his work. Read more
There is not a medium that UK illustrator Lizzy Stewart cannot wrap around her little finger to make the most beautiful, whimsical images. Read more
Wolfmother. Rock n roll. Mystical lyrics. Heavy riffs. They have a new album out, Cosmic Egg, and we have five copies to giveaway, along with their debut album. To enter, tell us your favorite Wolfmother song and the city you live in. Yo! Two fingered salute. Read more
The Demekin is an ultra compact camera with a preference for wide angles. It is the world’s first 110mm film camera with the fisheye lens, which gives each shot a soft focus, creating a gentle curve within the frame. We have them in the Lost At E Minor store for just $55. Read more
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Huna said | 1 April, 2008
Oh I’m so so so jealous you’ve heard this album.
I was ranting today about how excited I am to hear it.