While the first night of IRL aims at your heart, the second night of the exhibit opening aims to please your feet. This Saturday 9/10 you'll find Co La, Deradoorian (Angel from Dirty Projectors), Holy Ghost Party, and Maxmillion Dunbar at the Metro Gallery.
This will be your first chance to grip Co La's Fugitive of Leisure cassette, a summer single series that concluded today with the full album up now over on Altered Zones. These new Co La bangers are further affirmation of Papich's "new anything" genre, a re-contorted and re-imagined sound defined by years of pop music.
Check out cuts from all four acts playing the second night of IRL below.
You can RSVP for night two of IRL at the Metro Gallery right here.
There are shows, there are events, there are happenings, there are productions, there are parties, and sometimes there is just a room with people in it and music being played. Tomorrow night Co La (Matt Papich) and Daytime (Neal Reinalda) are presenting all, some, or none of these occurrences at Remington's Open Space.
July 30th's gathering is called Chance Gets Lucky, and it promises to go beyond the normal boundaries of Co La's champagne-pouring performance. The piece is based off a series of stories that have been posted on the Co La's Tumblr, and promises familiar songs that are remixed and re-contextualized. Papich describes tomorrow like so:
"At some point it becomes clear that the music is winding down. Encoded in the sound is a message that begins to make people aware of their surroundings again. This is partially because everyday sounds have been introduced on top of the music. It reminds people that abstractions are only openings, not the whole thing. Many people only now notice the changes in the space, and are surprised to see the monochrome paintings on the walls. They take pictures of themselves and their friends in front of them, like tourists, but often flash a little cleavage or moon the camera. Spirits are high. There are a variety of fliers and handbills on the floor. Some advertise events that have already happened, others represent services or brands. The flyers are simply designed, but colorful. Some are pure color, it's hard to tell if these are advertisements or not. There are now items for sale at the reception desk. One is a book whose cover reads "Bum Joke Book". Inside there is a spiritual exercises guidebook. There are also small porcelain copies of popular logos, like the Nike Swoosh or the Macintosh Apple. They've been cast so that you can smoke pot out of them, packing a bowl carved in the cup of the Swoosh, and hitting from the long pointy side. "
The evening starts at 9 PM, costs five dollars, and you can RSVP right here.
Matt Papich's new project Co La swelters on this summer, with a summer single series called Fugitive of Leisure. The video for June's single is above, "Blood Orange Crush".
Produced and directed by Co La and Lotfy Nathan, and a written credit given to Vishwam Velandy, this new short aims to sum up visually what ideas Co La's "future-club" sounds evoke. With sex, drugs, and deconstructed pop music from latter days - this one is most certainly for the hottest part of your summer mix tape.
Pre-order or download the Fugutive of Leisure series all summer from Friends Records.
As previously mentioned, Wildfire Wildfire's Last Waltz is this Friday night, May 6th. Matthew Papich sent over the above promotional video this morning, for a lineup that includes Co La, Jason Willett, Thank You, Dustin Wong, and Daytime. When asking Matt the meaning of "Paranoid Summer", the video's title, this is what he had to say:
"Ever throw away a cigarette? Do you style your smile? Get suspicious and slip out of your shorts, Paranoid Summer is beginning. Puzzling evidence suggests it's time for a new game in town. Swiss Bank Reggae. Bill Murray Eventide Time Factor. Will the youth know the taste of hash in Stockholm, or will they stay at home?"
Wildfire Wilfire's Last Waltz is Friday night at Floristree.
A few weekend's ago the Hexagon hosted an evening of sample-based solo projects, capped off with the full-on electro psych sounds of Raindeer. Matthew Papich's Co La set was particularly captivating, projecting images of champagne while he had a waitress pass out free glasses of bubbly. His Friends Recs release, Dial Tone Earth, is out soon.
Valerie attended the affair and captured shots of Raindeer and Co La.
I am pleased to announce that I will now be contributing to Impose Magazine, a very rad Brooklyn-based media outlet. Naturally, I'll be covering the Baltimore scene for them.
My first post went up today, which feature's the premiere of a new release from our latest obsession, Co La. It's called Dial Tone Earth, and you can check it out right here.
Just announced: Zu Shapes will make his live debut at the Hexagon on Saturday (4/23) where he'll be opening for Raindeer, Co La, and Happy Family. The show starts at 9 PM.
Friends Records is debuting a handful of brand new cassettes over the coming weeks, one of which is the debut from Zu Shapes who I introduced you to a few weeks back. Zu Shapes is Beau Cole of Lands and Peoples and Raindeer, and his debut is called Merigold. More new sounds have now surfaced, take a gander at "Speak in Sheets" below.
"Speak In Sheets" has been stuck in my head for the past month, but I sure as fuck don't mind. These sounds emanate the surf-pop of the 60s, but do so from the perspective of modern day bedroom pop with a jaded twist. "Speak In Sheets" is Zu Shapes' oceanfront sing-a-long, a glowing anthem that the late Dennis Wilson would likely be proud of.
You can pre-order Zu Shapes' Merigold cassette from Friends Records right here.
One of the best parts about Baltimore's music scene is the abundance of variety and creativity when it comes to different genres and sounds. Contemporary ambient music is a genre that's been particularly bountiful as of late around town, and Approximate Infinite Daydream is a new series that aims to highlight this burgeoning realm.
Created by Matthew Papich (Co La, Ecstatic Sunshine) and Neal Reinalda (Daytime), the concept is not your typical concert series. All of the performers will be solo acts, and all of which are of the more ambient and experimental variety. Also important to note - these shows will not take place in typical concert venues, but rather in more common spaces not generally used for shows. Current planned sites include Fox Court at the BMA (The Echo Spot), Gottlund Verlag HQ in rural Kutztown PA, the Soft House, and more.
As for the music and the specific concept behind this series, Reinalda states "Many of the practitioners of this new music are interested in creating music for specific contexts, often domestic. This tendency follows a certain tradition related to Ambient Music, and more specifically, to Eric Satie’s “Furniture” or “Furnishing” music. As dictated by Satie, this music is intended to function in a space as background, unobtrusive yet distinct. The sound is constructed to play a role in, and transform its’ surroundings, sometimes even evoking a specific mood or feeling. Our goal is to explore the role context plays in relationship to this music, specifically the role of domestic space and time and its relationship to various forms of visual and aural works."
Artists involved include Eachothers, Bear & Pieces, Comeback Ranch, Jared Paolini, Narc, Dead Drums, Co La, Daytime, Dustin Wong, Ken Seeno, and Gem Vision, and more. The series starts with a book release/primer on April 28, and you can RSVP right here.
I don't typically mention shows this far in advance, but next month a show will mark an end of an era. This particular era has been extremely important to Baltimore's music scene. While a functioning entity that represents this time might be calling it quits, it's influence and legacy will remain here in Baltimore in new and similar shapes and forms.
Wildfire Wildfire is a record label from Baltimore headed by Devon Deimler and Matthew Papich, but consisted of many other amazing individuals that helped shape it's success. I sat down with Matthew this past weekend to discuss a few things, amongst which he told me about how Wildfire Wildfire would be coming to an end soon.
The label is throwing one last show, which will be held at Floristree on May 6. The lineup currently includes Jason Willett, Co La, Thank You, Dustin Wong. More TBA soon.
This might also be your last chance to grip some Wildfire Wildfire vinyl, as the label is getting rid of it's entire stock. Anything left over will be given to the artists, though. Stayed tuned for more details on this big big show, and more news involving some of the artists included on their roster. "Celebrate the end of an era. What, me worry?"
If you're not heading down to the Black Cat for their sold out affair with Wye Oak, Lower Dens, and Lands and Peoples tonight, then the Soft House has surely got you covered.
Matthew Papich, current sole proprietor of Baltimore's coveted Ecstatic Sunshine moniker, has a new project. It is called Co La, and below is one of the newest tracks.
First of all - Soundcloud is a wonderland. You probably already knew that, but Co La's internet presence is a solid reminder as to why Myspace is dead. Not to say a Soundcloud account is all a band needs to have online these days, but it and Bandcamp are easily the best interface to get your music heard. Co La's page sports 18 new tracks to listen to in full, all of which have been uploaded within the past three months.
These new works are in a new realm compared to the current Ecstatic Sunshine ongoings, digestible chunks of sound collaged together with soul and psyched-out sonic wizardry. A lot are beat-oriented, but the kind of beats you'd implement on a hazy day when the air is thick and stealthy featherweight tactics are necessary for movement through the heavy fog. Listeners of sample-based experimental pop collages, rejoice.
Though they operate in different realms, fans of Matt's contributions to Ecstatic Sunshine are probably still going to love the shit out of this new Co La material. Matt performs his first local Co La set Friday with Dustin Wong at an afterparty for the Putty Hill movie opening. I should also mention, that the Putty Hill afterparty the following night, Saturday, is a shared event with our Celebration LP release show at 2640.
