Tonight: Lichens, Soft Circle, Zomes, Eachothers

Mixtape: Baltimore: Spring 2011

  art by Caleb Moore

This morning I posted a new seasonal mixtape on Impose, titled Baltimore: Spring 2011.


DOWNLOAD: [SIDE A] Baltimore: Spring 2011
1. Zomes - "Openings"
2. Weekends - "Home Alone (acoustic)"
3. Ken Seeno - "Cedilla in My Monogram"
4. Lands & Peoples - "Sexting"
5. White Life - "Real Things"
6. Eachothers - "Wild Yonder"
7. Microkingdom - "Aire Metal (Chopped and Screwed)"
8. Ponytail - "Honey Touches"
9. Adventure - "Feels Like Heaven"
10. Daytime - "Life / Afterlife (edit)"
11. Ecstatic Sunshine - "Hello Money"


DOWNLOAD: [SIDE B] Baltimore: Spring 2011
1. Celebration - "Only The Wicked (acoustic)"
2. Zu Shapes - "Olivia"
3. Moss of Aura - "Charter"
4. Winks - "Slap Me Choke Me Cum On You"
5. Dope Body - "The Shape of Grunge To Come"
6. Inflatable Mattress - "Green Tea Girlfriend"
7. Thank You - "Pathetic Magic (Dan Deacon remix)"
8. Avocado Happy Hour - "Daytime Television"
9. Gem Vision - "Untitled 1"

Approximat​e Infinite Daydream

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 Approximat​e 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.

Eachothers - Lately Now

Last weekend I had the pleasure of sitting next to WTR CLR's table during the Publication & Multiples Fair at Open Space, as if I hadn't already dug deep enough into their catalog.

With recent standout releases that include work from Ken Seeno, Holy Ghost Party, Gem Vision, and Dustin Wong, it's been tough to not spend a ton of time with each album WTR CLR has put out. A new one to my eyes and ears this past weekend was a split CDR from Eachothers and En Passant. Take a listen to Eachothers' "Brim" below.



I've only had a chance to spend some time with the Eachothers disc, as having experienced John Jones' live shows a few times prior, it was a welcome find. The sound is rich in layered guitar bliss, and Lately Now does more to build upon the brilliance of his earlier work. In many instances of looping guitar music there are often definitive start and ending points for each sound and layer. But with Eachothers, layers and loops don't ever really end or start as much as they intertwine and melt together.

The packaging of this double CDR is also worth noting, as it comes in a beautifully colored cardboard encasing thats about the same size as a DVD. The front is pictured above, but I'd recommend ordering your own copy from WTR CLR to get the full effect.

Dead Drums - "Machu" + NOVO

Caleb Moore, also of Lands and Peoples, recently sent me over a new track from his ambient pop project Dead Drums. This quick new jaunt is called "Machu".



"Machu" finds Dead Drums exploring a more beat-based path, but not without the youthful exuberance and blissful sonics found in his more hazy soundscapes. Speaking of, Bathetic still has a limited number of Fashion Defense/Human Hair, get it here.



Caleb plays Saturday night at Windup Space, as part of the always amazing NOVO Instrumental Festival. Look for recordings of this show and more to surface here too.

Tonight: Doug McCombs (Tortoise) & David Danielle, Eachothers, and Jared Paolini at the Golden West

flyer by Chris Day



Tonight the Golden West sports a solid bill too with Tortoise's Doug McCombs and David Danielle. Opening the show will be the always excellent Eachothers and Jared Paolini. Take a listen above to a taste from Eachothers' Elopement which came out last year.

Tonight: Lands & Peoples / INEVERYROOM

Tonight there's a super solid one at the Pet Cemetary with Lands and Peoples, INEVERYROOM, Beyond Say, and Eachothers. Lands and Peoples and INEVERYROOM are amidst and eary summer mini-tour, but are making a quick stop in their hometown before they head off to West Virginia.

I was lucky enough to catch these guys play the Bushwick Rooftop Festival over the weekend, which was a whole mess of fun. On Sunday in Brooklyn the festival kicked off with a trio of Baltimore goodness as Lands and Peoples, INEVERYROOM, and Weekends all melted faces and hearts. The heavy sun on the black and crowded rooftop might have played a part in the melting too, but the bands all sounded pretty rad.

If you read this space often you're probably aware that I'm very familiar with Weekends and Lands and Peoples, but INEVERYROOM is a band I've only had the chance to see once or twice before this weekend. Here's a taste off of their current tour CDR...



Their psychedelic surf sounds prove to be extremely catchy, weaving in and out of intergalactic galaxies and into pop song structures with ease. These folks are a must-see, and I highly recommend snatching up their awesomely packaged CDR. They are also part of a tour cassette tape split with Lands and Peoples, a secret surprise Friends Records release that you can also snag tonight.

The show starts at 9 PM, and special guests are tentatively promised.

Rapdragons - Ten Stories Hijacked

Rapdragons just dropped their second official release, Ten Stories Hijacked. This is the Ten Stories High remix project, where Nick Often and Greg Ward asked a bunch of friends/local sound-makers to help out on each track. Download it for free now.

Naturally, Nick and Greg's friends are all heavily stocked with skills for making beats, and the ones that aren't make up for it with natural musical vision. Remixes were limited to tracks off of Ten Stories High, with contributions from a wide range of musicians based in Baltimore. The lead track is below, a killer contribution from Schwarz.



This release is pretty stacked, and also includes a remix from Future Islands synth wizard Gerrit Welmers under the moniker of his rad solo digs - a Moss of Aura track I featured back in February. Gerrit's cut is definitely a highlight of Ten Stories Hijacked.



The release also sports remixes from Weekends, Polygons, Lexx, Jones, Cex, Eachothers, and more. Get the full scoop straight from the man himself after the jump.

I recently checked in with Nick Often about the new release, and he told me what was up with it amongst other Rapdragons business and things in the works...

Ten Stories Hijacked hit may 5th after a rolling internet release featuring one track a day. the album is 15 total tracks (10 tracks + Bonus Pack 01, which is 5 bonus tracks). Bonus Pack 02 will hit this summer (but not before Featuring Baltimore) with exclusive tracks and featuring a remix sent to us at rapdragons@ltdcomp.combetween may 05, 2010 and june 30, 2010

The record has a bunch of different flavors, but it's all Baltimore. Since we're doing the Featuring Baltimore project and we're the ones picking the songs, I'm cutting them up, and we're writing the new words and concept, we wanted to do sort of the inverse of that for Ten Stories Hijacked, where the musicians are more taking what we've done, and putting there spin on it. Fittingly, we worked mostly with laptoppers and electronic artists that have had some experience working with vocal tracks or manipulating sound in a recording environment. In the future, we hope to work more directly with musicians of all stripes, and to find new modes of collaboration.

Featuring Baltimore: The Mixtape is due June 08.

chyea!

Tonight: Comeback Rach, Eachothers, Turquoise Cats, & Gem Vision at the Soft House

Comeback Ranch is having an album release party tonight at the Soft House, playing along with Turquoise Cats, Eachothers, and Gem Vision. Free CDs and tapes will be given out to attendees, and it will be the first chance to check out the spaces new loft/balcony.

Hear some tunes from Turquoise Cats and Comeback Ranch after the click.

Latest tracks by Comeback Ranch

turquoise cats - slumtown symfunny by thef401tress