Thursday, August 31, 2006

MP3: Ghostland Observatory - Live on KEXP

Hey everybody,

Just finished listening to this podcast from KEXP featuring a live performance from Austin, Texas two piece Ghostland Observatory. WOW! Just a really fun mix of Rock and Electro. Think Prince & Daft Punk throwing down with Queen... Serious Good Times!

The Set runs just over 30 minutes so be patient with the download!

Artist/Band: Ghostland Observatory
Album: Live on KEXP
Label: Trashy Moped Recordings
Web: http://trashymoped.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/ghostlandobservatory

Bio:
Ghostland Observatory is not a band, but an agreement between two friends to create something that not only heals their beat-driven hearts, but pleases their rock ‘n roll souls. Taking the working man’s approach, Ghostland Observatory spend countless hours in their south Austin studio. They have released two albums in less than a year, and have moved audiences from coast to coast with their live performances and unique style. Ghostland Observatory is the duo of front man Aaron Behrens and producer/drummer Thomas Turner. Behrens’ vocal style and stage performances are unique and uncompromising, and he has drawn early comparisons to Freddie Mercury and Prince. Turner is heavily influenced by electronic artists such as Daft Punk, Laurent Garnier and Green Velvet, as well as rockers such as The Animals, David Bowie, and The Clash. With their spectral blend of electronics, drums, guitar and vocals, they have emerged with a sound that is the culmination of past influence and present inspiration, and can only be described as BALLSY.

Enjoy!

Joe Shockley

e-mail: thedatasound@gmail.com
web: http://www.thedatasound.com
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thedatasound

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

MP3: The Album Leaf - Always For You

The Album Leaf
Into the Blue Again
release date: September 12, 2006

Life as a traveling musician can become monotonous. Sleep, eat, perform. Load in, load out, pass out. Repeat. This is your day, and before you realize it, your life. After a decade of the three-step grind James LaValle—the classically trained multi-instrumentalist whose tone poems have been collated as The Album Leaf since 1999—decided to get off the well-worn path.

“A lot of traveling and time away from home, learning about yourself while losing yourself, that’s what has gone into recording for me,” says LaValle. “Following a year-and-a-half of straight touring I took a break from worrying only about where The Album Leaf was going and instead concentrated on the best parts of what it’s been this entire time.”

If musicians could keep time in a bottle its consumption would likely outpace vodka and bourbon combined within the first year. Next to a comfortable place to sleep, time is the luxury few touring musicians are afforded. Time alone is even more rare. Following stints with instrumental artisans Tristeza, post-hardcore spastics the Locust, contorted punk-funk ritualists GoGoGo Airheart, shadowy conjurers The Black Heart Procession and is often a special guest of Iceland’s celestial menagerie Sigur Rós, LaValle recognizes this lifestyle and its constraints.

Bottled up on the road long enough, LaValle felt the timing was right to give it a go from a different angle. Using time bought by the success of his Sub Pop debut, 2004’s In a Safe Place (which saw songs as the soundtrack to six episodes of The OC, and stints with CBS, NBC and Showtime). LaValle sequestered himself for six months in his San Diego house solely to write. This upswing of downtime resulted in his fourth full-length, Into the Blue Again.

At the core of The Album Leaf (named for a Chopin piece) has always been LaValle’s melodic daydreams personified. But while 2004’s In a Safe Place featured embellishments from members of Sigur Rós and Amina (the Sigur Rós string section), Into the Blue Again sees a return to The Album Leaf’s conception and LaValle handling virtually all of the instrumental duties. LaValle’s few collaborators on Into the Blue Again are Josh Eutis of Telefon Tel Aviv, who aided additional drum programming and engineering on choice songs, The Black Heart Procession’s Pall Jenkins adding vocal harmonies on "Wherever I Go," violinist Matt Resovich (who performs with The Album Leaf live, and also played on In a Safe Place),  Drew Andrews adding additional guitar work on select songs (Drew also performs with The Album Leaf live) and Brigir Jon Birgisson, “Biggi,” engineer at Sigur Rós’ Sundlaugin studio.

Sundlaugin, also the studio used for In a Safe Place, is a former swimming pool turned into a primarily analogue recording facility. This contoured, textural environment lends itself well to LaValle’s lustrous, resounding palette. Wanting to employ his own equipment (not possible on the last record, recorded wholly in Iceland), LaValle loaded up a van and held his initial three-week tracking session with Ryan Hadlock at appropriately earthy Bear Creek Studio, a converted turn-of-the-century barn isolated outside Seattle. LaValle then took the concentric billows of feathered keyboards, filmy strings and chiseled drums to Iceland for three weeks of mixing to tape to maintain Brian Eno-informed translucence.

“Rough warmth, that’s a good description,” says Birgisson of LaValle’s intonation on Into the Blue Again. “The goal was to make sure you’re not overproducing to keep things live, organic and intimate.”

“I like drones and keeping notes intact,” admits LaValle. “A lot of times songs become written around a sound I feel is important and should not be forgotten. But I anchor them in a verse-chorus-verse structure. It helps focus the melodies.”

Indeed, personal focus has been LaValle’s primary objective with Into the Blue Again. The album’s 10 tracks exhibit an elegant, ascendant assurance informed by LaValle’s more settled relationships at home. While still delivering the placidity of a track such as album opener “The Light,” LaValle has composed even more corporeal, insistent cuts such as “Shine” and “Red-Eye.” Into the Blue Again also showcases LaValle’s increasingly confident, buoyant vocals striking heightened presence on unfeigned selections “Always for You,” “Writings on the Wall” and “Wherever I Go.” There is a greater sense of both the “I” and eye in the way LaValle lays out the topography of his pivotal past and makes it universally palpable.

“The Album Leaf is my little solo endeavor, my little toy,” says LaValle in summation. “It’s something to keep you happy when you’re alone and frustrated, and sometimes frustrating in itself when it doesn’t do exactly what you want. But still something fascinating.”

Having shared so much time and space with others on the road, LaValle proves with the personally charged Into the Blue Again that The Album Leaf resonates most profoundly when he goes it alone.

Look for The Album Leaf's gorgeous live show (it includes a large touring entourage involving projection art and live strings) in upcoming tours!


Artist/Band: The Album Leaf
Track: Always For You
Album: Into The Blue Again
Label: SubPop
Web: http://www.albumleaf.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thealbumleaf

Record Labels
USA: http://www.subpop.com/main.php
Europe: http://www.cityslang.com/

Enjoy!

Joe Shockley

e-mail: thedatasound@gmail.com
web: http://www.thedatasound.com
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thedatasound

Thursday, August 17, 2006

MP3: Snowden - Anti-Anti

Ocasionally the bio just gets it right. Here's a tune from Atlanta band Snowden that's been getting heavy rotation in the car as of late. Go ahead, just try and resist singing along.

from jadetree.com:

Atlanta’s SNOWDEN drowns their brand of melodies in a sea of reverb heavy distortion and hypnotic layers. Anti-Anti (JT1115), the band’s debut album for Jade Tree, integrates the ethereal guitar resonance and dynamic percussion reminiscent of bands like RIDE, NEW ORDER and early CURE, with the volatility of contemporaries such as THE YEAH YEAH YEAHS. Combining a mix of tracks recorded by Erik Wofford (The Black Angels, Explosions in the Sky, My Morning Jacket) at Cacophony Recorders in Austin with tracks recorded and mixed by principal songwriter Jordan Jeffares, Anti-Anti finds Jeffares and company elevating their trademark sound into an unpredictable mix of dirty pop soundscapes. If post-shoegaze exists as a genre, then SNOWDEN is proving their contention for the upper ranks.

Artist/Band: Snowden
Track: Anti-Anti
Album: Anti-Anti
Label: Jade Tree
Web: http://www.snowden.info/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/snowden

Related Links:
http://www.jadetree.com

Enjoy!

Joe Shockley

e-mail: thedatasound@gmail.com
web: http://www.thedatasound.com
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thedatasound

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

MP3: Brightblack Morning Light - Everybody Daylight


Artist/Band: Brightblack Morning Light
Track: Everybody Daylight
Album: Brightblack Morning Light
Label: Matador Records
Web: http://www.thebrightblackmorninglight.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/brightblackmorninglight

Bio Info:

Stoned out Hippie Rock usualy isn't my thing, but these guys bring a touch of darkness that sucks me in everytime.

Comprised of Nathan Shineywater and Rachel Hughes, Brightblack Morning Light fuse smokey rhodes keys, reverb soaked blues guitars, hand claps, tasteful percussion and flutes together on their self titled debut for Matador records.

The Story on these two is they wrote this record while living technically homeless for 18 months in tents and communally in a shack in northern California in addition to the occasional rest stop I'm sure while touring with bands like Bonnie Prince Billy, White Magic, Women & Children, Papa M, Joanna Newsome, Vetiver, Entrance, Gojogo, Daniel Higgs' Magic Alphabet, Lungfish, and their UK debut at the Slint-curated All Tomorrow's Parties.

As I said, not usually my thing, but this song is quite irresistible. For a modern reference picture Zero 7 mixing it up with Spiritualized, Slowdive, Native American Tee-Pees and some peyote!

Enjoy!

Joe Shockley

e-mail: thedatasound@gmail.com
web: http://www.thedatasound.com
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thedatasound

Related Links:
http://www.matadorrecords.com/brightblack/

Thursday, August 10, 2006

DSP-035: Marqui Adora - Do Anything

Hey Gang,

Way too busy this week to turn on the mic and do a podcast so i'd thought you'd enjoy a free song from my band Marqui Adora. it's called Do Anything and features Ty Paff on Guitar. It's a non album track taken from the recording sessions of our new CD entitled White buildings. for more info head over to marquiadora.com

Enjoy,

Joe Shockley

e-mail: thedatasound@gmail.com
web: http://www.thedatasound.com
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thedatasound


Wednesday, August 09, 2006

DSP-034: In Session-001

The debut of In Session with Danny Ashe

Tracks:

1. The Kinks – All Day and All of the Night – Greatest Hits: Celluloid Heroes - Koch

2. The Who – The Kids Are Alright – My Generation (Deluxe Edition)

3. Rolling Stones – I Just Wanna Make Love To You – England’s Newest Hitmakers - ABKCO

4. The Turtles – Outside Chance – Happy Together: The Very Best – Shout Factory

5. The Easybeats – Friday on my Mind – Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts

**For more info: http://www.thedatasound.com**

Sunday, August 06, 2006

DSP-033: Off Course-004

This week John gets all end of the world-y with two tunes that serve well as the soundtrack to CNN with the Mute button on.

Enjoy... or not.


Artist/Band: DJ Shadow
Track: Midnight in A Perfect world (Gab Mix)
Album: Midnight In A Perfect World (single)
Label: Mo Wax
Web: DJ Shadow
Myspace: www.myspace.com/djshadow

Artist/Band: Doubting Thomas
Track: Come In Piece
Album: Father Don't Cry EP
Label: Nettwerk
Web: http://www.subconsciousstudios.com/

**For more info: http://www.thedatasound.com**