Show: Moss of Aura, Dead Drums, Hear Hums, and Say "No!" To Architecture at Metro Gallery

 photo by Valerie Paulsgrove

This Wednesday night the Metro Gallery hosts a fine batch of local friends and travelling sounds with Moss of Aura, Dead Drums, Say "No!" To Architecture, and Hear Hums.



Moss of Aura is the ever-growing work of Gerrit Welmers from Future Islands. Welmers is currently putting the final touches on his first proper release, more details on which are TBA for now. Wednesday's show will provide a nice look at some of the new jams.



Dead Drums is another fine solo project I've gushed about plenty before - ambient pop excursions by Caleb Moore of Lands and Peoples. His latest release came via Bathetic.



Hear Hums are an experimental pop outfit from Florida, who I was first clued into by Jheri down at Get Off The Coast. Crash Symbols released their album called Psych Cycles last Fall. Say "No!" To Architecture are coming to Baltimore from New York, and promise to bring with them a noisy blend of vibrations and percussive guitar-work.

The show on Wednesday starts at 8 PM, and you can RSVP right here.


 flyer by Caleb Moore

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.

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.

Happy Family - "Laura's Diet" / Dead Drums - "A Thousand" + show tonight w/ Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk, and more

Tonight there's a beauty of a house show down at 2720 Sisson with Happy Family, Dead Drums, and Rothko's Modern Life all joined by Kansas's Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk.



I've mentioned the infectiously ambient works of Dead Drums here before, the solo project of Caleb from Lands & Peoples. He's got an EP in the works to be released via Bathetic Records, and was kind enough to pass along a new taste last night. Above is "A Thousand", a gentle grower that starts with a low hum which hardly prepares you for the beauty to come. A light cloud of bliss captures the first half, until guitars transform your feelings of content into pure happiness in the end. Listening to this jam in full is a must.



Happy Family has been a favorite of mine since he sent over his original EP, and for the past couple years we've gotten taste after taste of a full length that's been in the works. I've had the opportunity to take a listen to several incarnations of the forthcoming album, and "Laura's Diet" (above) is certainly a high point of the journey. You can snag this track as part of Wigflip's End of Summer comp that dropped a few weeks ago.

Wigflip End of Summer Comp 2010

Our neighboring sound-seekers over at Wigflip Records continue their aural onslaught of gorgeous tunes with a fresh compilation to help commemorate the end of summer. In addition to some new jams from some local and familiar favorites, this compilation features some stellar new tunes from afar.



This is my first run-in with My Friend Wallis, which is the project of Crystal Dorval who resides in Vancouver, Canada. Above is "Be Free", a steady romp through the clouds that is chock full of ethereal pop bliss. Highly recommended for the Indian summer days of October, and another stellar addition to the Wigflip family.



Another radical new find is the work of Acid Flashback. A somewhat mysterious entity based out of both Atlanta and Toronto, their contribution to the compilation is certainly a highlight. "Big Dreams" recalls the head-bobbing 60s pop nostalgia found in Run DMT's "Spruce Bringsteen" (also on this comp), adding layers of even more dreamy vibes.

These new find are paired with some gems from some of our favorites including Dead Drums, Happy Family, Semya, Do While, Gem Vision, and more. Download the entire compilation for free right here, and check out the full track list after the jump.

new Lands & Peoples / Dead Drums "Restless Legs" and "Carousin USA"

Here are two newly available songs that haven't strayed far from my comp cursor since the weather's been warm. Both stem from the same realm, as Caleb Moore is a member of Lands & Peoples and also records under the solo moniker Dead Drums.



While "Restless Legs" was first made available a few weeks ago on a Lands & Peoples/INEVERYROOM split release that came out on Friends Records, it was conceived a good while back. Weekly Tape Deck recently premiered the track, allowing Caleb's hauntingly on-point vocals to croon the interwebs. You can snag the MP3/FLAC right here for free, and there are a few more of the cassettes floating around. Look for more good things to come from L&P here, as these folks get closer to their debut full length.



Caleb dropped his solo project's first release back in March, an incredibly blissful take on minimalist-ambient pop. "Carousin USA" takes a leap in a sunnier direction, and proves to be seasonally perfect. There's the feel of some super-warped early 90's radio R&B jams going on, topped off with cool-whip vocals and some fuzzy production. All this occurs before being blasted back into the marshmallows of outer space.

To top it off, here's a new Dead Drums remix by Happy Family.

Tonight: Future Islands / Lower Dens / Art Department and Dead Drums / Winks / Married in Berdichev and more

Tonight there's a doubleheader, so start up in Hampden at Jesus Camp, then head on down to the Penthouse. Married in Berdichev, Winks, Dead Drums, Alexander Trust, French Quarter, Pollination Population all play at Jesus Camp starting at 5 PM today.




Tonight at the Penthouse you'll find Future Islands and Lower Dens returning from a national tour and joined by The Art Department. This show starts around 9 PM.

Premiere: Wigflip Comp - SUN SUN SUN

I am extremely excited to premiere a brand new compilation from our friends over at Wigflip Records. Caleb Moore (Lands & Peoples / Dead Drums) passed along this doosey of a release last night, the first compilation to come out of the new Baltimore label.

The comp is called SUN SUN SUN, and features new and exclusive things from a whole mess of Baltimore goodness. It is available as a free download, which Bmore Musically Informed is proud to premiere at the link below:

Wigflip Records Compilation - SUN SUN SUN

Wigflip's compilation sports some pretty heady ambient jams from the likes of Dead Drums, Semya, Winks, Zu Shapes, Brendan Sullivan, Amy Reid, Run DMT, Dustin Wong, Happy Family, Rod Hamilton, Dygn, and Amanda Schmidt. It's a bright and dreamy summer adventure, one that's best served with an open mind and deep spirit. Caleb, who curated the tracks and put together the art, had this to say about the release...

"Some of these people are my close friends, and some of them are acquaintances that I simply respected the shit out of. Over the course of this project those two lines were blurred, my relationships with the participants grew, and our musical tastes shifted ever so slightly. This has been in the works for about six months. For me, this compilation is a perfect representation of everything I love about the Baltimore music/art community."

Get the full track list after the jump, and look out for a physical release to come.

Dead Drums - "Voicemail"
Semya - "Stardust Magic"
Winks - "Bongy Rubble"
Zu Shapes - "Fakin' It"
Brendan Sullivan - "Plans To Make"
Amy Reid - "Nooks"
Run DMT - "Abulanceone"
Dustin Wong - "Soft Metal"
Happy Family - "Cat Videos"
Rod Hamilton - "Snowden"
Dygn - "Snowed In"
Amanda Schmidt - "Theme For Daytime Television"

Dead Drums - Fashion Defense

Caleb Moore, member of Lands & Peoples, dropped his first solo release a few weeks back. It was originally a free release via his own site, and is now also listed as the tenth release over at Wigflip Records. If you're following along too, this is the new Baltimore music outlet's tenth release of just this year, most of which have been free downloads. Looks like I may need to just designate a weekly segment to Wigflip releases.

Caleb's solo moniker is dubbed Dead Drums, an incredibly fitting name for the style of this first release which is called Fashion Defense. The meaning is evident in the EP's very first track, a slow building ambient shower that's topped off with warped percussion that never fully comes to life. Hear for yourself.



Dead Drums paints surreal and aurally cleansing soundscapes that are ideal for minimal use of brain cells, or deep thought... either way works. These are the kind of jams that never quite take the forefront, but hint at wanting to throughout. Sound collages that are full of melody but hidden under smatterings of murky tape hiss and fuzzy ideas.

The EP clocks in at over 18 minutes, giving a nice taste of what else might come of Caleb's side sounds. It was recorded in his Waverly home, and is dedicated to his cat Fishstick, Heath Ledger, and reefer. Fashion Defense is certainly worth your while, so go grab it here.

1. literally illiterate 02:37
2. girls 01:35
3. fashion defense 01:27
4. more perfecter 02:47
5. mr. horse / let us build a woodbridge together 03:35
6. narcoleptic shock 02:19
7. we live in a house 02:32
8. edna 01:24