Gaspard Royant
"Yours"
You Can Have Me (If You Want To) (EP)
2010

Listen to "Yours" MP3


Gaspard Royant is a young Parisian artist whose first self-released EP You Can Have Me (If You Want To) was released last month. Gaspard's style is a mix of folk and pop, with the slightest hint of honky tonk-lite à la français. The EP's 5 tracks were honed on the road, Gaspard traveling with his guitar and playing across Europe and the US. It was actually during his travels in the US, perhaps in part drawn by a certain sense of romanticized adventure, where Gaspard decided to invest fully in his music. Gaspard writes in English, tackling in his songwriting the wild extremes of the human condition.

The track "Yours' is a wonderfully deceptively tender duet with singer-songwriter Marie-Flore. The EP also includes a favorite "Grow", a quietly confident and swaggering ballad.

Watch the video for "Yours" directed by Ben Berzenker : when a untroubled stroll in a snowy wood turns sinister

MySpace

Philip Ekström of The Mary Onettes shares with us five tracks which are now on his hi-fi. Click here or the image below for the complete list. Also, check out our review of the band's single "Puzzles" here.

Tunng
…And Then We Saw Land
"Don't Look Down or Back"
Full Time Hobby (2010)

Listen to “Don't Look Down or Back” MP3


Much of the writing on …And Then We Saw Land took place as it was actually recorded in east London's Play Studios. In the studio, the band was free to play and experiment with sounds and instrumentation, in particular with the studio's impressive collection of vintage synths and mics. The result is a decidedly bigger and more confident sound -- a sound which the band's remaining co-founder Mike Lindsay has said has been described as "Epic Folk Disco Brass Magnificent". Tunng succeed in moving their quirky, jaunty folk roots forward on this their fourth release, filling …And Then We Saw Land with joyous and sonically updated seafaring-themed singalongs. As Mike puts it, "[t]hese are songs about journeys and mini adventures and themes of discovery and enlightenment coming out of chaos…."

On this release, Mike collaborated with Ben Bickerton on songwriting duties and is joined by Becky Jacobs who provides warm supporting vocals. Mike also produced this album, as well as one of our favorite releases from last year, Speech Therapy from Speech Debelle.

Have a listen to "Don't Look Down Or Back" which features what the band calls The Mega Chorus -- a band of 15 collaborators and friends who got together and lent their talents to this album one rainy night in an old school hall. It is in this way that Mike wants …And Then We Saw Land to reflect the sound of the band's live shows, with the audience stepping in to take on the role of The Mega Chorus.

Tracklisting
Hustle
It Breaks
Don't Look Down Or Back
The Roadside
October
Sashimi
With Whiskey
By Dusk They Were In The City
These Winds
Santiago
Weekend Away

Official | MySpace

Class Actress
"Careful What You Say"
From Journal of Ardency (EP)
Terrible Records 2010

Listen to "Careful What You Say" MP3


A transplant to Brooklyn from California, Elizabeth Harper has shed her solo acoustic sound for full-throttle 80's retro-electro pop. In forming Class Actress, Elizabeth (a former drama major) hooked up with producers Scott Rosenthal and Mark Richardson, recording the debut EP Journal of Ardency in Elizabeth's apartment. The sound is a wonderful mix of vintage Dynasty-era synths and dance beats sampled from vinyl. There is a particular strength in the songwriting, each track wearing a preppy dark heart on its sleeve. The result is a collection of tracks which are, as Elizabeth puts it, for people to become obsessed with their lovers over -- the definition of pure stalker pop.

MySpace | Terrible Records

Joy Orbison
"So Derobe"
From The Shrew Would Have Cushioned The Blow
Aus Music 2010

Listen to “So Derobe” MP3


Joy Orbison (a/k/a producer Darren J. Cunningham) has outdone himself on this follow-up to 2009's massive, jet fuel on Xanax, "Hyph Mngo". Once known as “She Dressed the Best,” “So Derobe” is included on his new EP, The Shrew Would Have Cushioned the Blow, and the sound just percolates inside your ears running the length of your spine and into your feet. It paints an evocative picture which expands his normally blissed out sound with the deep touch of latin tinged, percussive, finger snaps and Human League/Boyz II Men samples. The transition to the ambient part is unexpected, but it works well with the overall tone. A little bit of sonic-cine!

The track is smart and is such a genre mixer that it has been embraced by just about everyone out there. If we were forced against a speaker to make a comparison, the track sounds most like Alex Gopher with 21st century production -- but that is just musical hairsplitting. It's simply an amazing dance cut.


Check out video for "Hyph Mngo" here.

Joy Orbison(Official) | MySpace | Aus Music

Balmorhea
Constellations
Western Vinyl 2010

Listen to “Bowsprit” MP3


Constellations is the impressive fourth album from Austin's Balmorhea, a group founded by Michael Muller and Rob Lowe (both songwriters and multi-instrumentalists). The album draws upon the imagery of a variety of sources such as Moby Dick (a work which itself contains various references to heavenly patterns), translating these influences into delicate and reflective instrumental compositions. Recorded in the fall and winter months, Constellations retains the seasonal quality of winding down and rest. The album was actually written prior to the release of the band's third release All Is Wild, All Is Silent (released in March 2009). After over a year of hibernation, Constellations is released this month on Western Vinyl.

Apart from the impressive calibre of their musicainship, Balmorhea stands apart through a confident melding of experimental classical influences (piano, strings, composition) with folk instrumentation (guitars, banjos, claps). Not altogether unlike Clogs or Rachel's, Balmorhea retains a unique American identity.

Constellations is an evocative album for the beauty to be found in the spaces around sounds, for the quiet vastness of the clearest of night skies.

Balmorhea will be touring North America throughout March with Efterklang and heading to Europe in April with Nils Frahm. Keep checking the band's official site for updated tour dates.


Constellations Tracklisting
To The Order Of Night
Bowsprit
Winter Circle
Herons
Constellations
Steerage And The Lamp
Night Squall
On The Weight Of Night
Palestrina

Official | Western Vinyl

Listen to “Scissor” MP3


We had the chance to catch up with Liars' Angus Andrew on his recent trip to Paris for a quick chat about the upcoming release Sisterworld (to be released 8 March 2010 on Naïve).

Asked about what we can expect from the upcoming release, Angus explained that he and his band mates Aaron Hemphill and Julian Gross are known for taking tangents, and that this album is no exception. Sisterworld forms a natural progression from the band's earlier work, arguably taking a darker path, and incorporating layers of orchestration for the first time.

In order to prepare for their earlier release Liars (2007), the band went back and immersed themselves in sounds that they liked as kids, bands such as OMD, The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees. However, this time around, the band looked closer to home. Angus explained that they looked to their current home of LA, with an eye to trying to understand how it works -- getting a view of the city's underside. A city, which Angus explained, has its share of rejected people. And if there is a theme which connects the songs on Sisterworld, it is about being uncomfortable in one's own place and looking for an escape -- what Angus calls a "Sisterworld".

In conjunction with Sisterworld, Liars have embarked on an ambitious project of including a remix / reinterpretation of each of the album's 11 original tracks. Angus explained that this project took on a life of its own, against a background where remixes tend to be stale and boring. The idea behind the project was to collaborate with artists who are not particularly known for doing remixes -- to invite these artists to reinterpret the tracks on Sisterworld. Angus admits to being a bit surprised at the warm reception of artists to the project -- all of whom are artists which the band admires and continues to enjoy (e.g., Thom Yorke, Melvins, Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio), Bradford Cox (Deerhunter / Atlas Sound) -- full tracklist below).

In the past, the band has spent stretches of time living and working in Berlin. Angus explains that he was attracted to Berlin since it provided a certain alienation, having moved there from NYC. In Berlin, Angus was removed from media sources and able to focus on creating music. At the same time, Berlin presented various difficulties - not knowing anyone or the language, a place where even buying a guitar string was a particular challenge. And now, the band is really enjoying LA. As Angus puts it, LA is like coming home and recording in your parent's bedroom.

As to the group's appeal, Angus believes that part of this attraction may relate to the band's integrity. For Angus, Liars are not about placating anyone - they are making music for themselves, regardless of what others might be saying.

Liars will be heading out on tour next month throughout the US and Europe. Check the group's official website for tour information here.

What's on Angus' Hi-Fi?

PJ Harvey, "My Beautiful Leah": A track which has been personally influential for Angus. There is a bass sound on this track which Angus has tried (and continues to try) to replicate.

Bauhaus, "All We Ever Wanted": A spooky classic.

Psychic TV, "Just Drifting": Angus loves the lyrical content, and, well, the weird sense of drifting.

OMD, "Waiting For The Man": This version gives the original Velvet Underground classic a new lease on life.

Blond Redhead: "In an Expression of the Inexpressionable": This is a track which Angus first came across before he started to make music. For him, this a track which makes one realize the possibilities of song craft, the idea that songs can be more of an idea -- providing the inspiration to think of possibilities.

Sisterworld - Reinterpretations Tracklist
Scissor - By Pink Dollaz, Lance Whitaker & Transformation Surprise
No Barrier Fun - By Duetonal (Alan Vega / Suicide)
Here Comes All The People - By Atlas Sound (Bradford Cox)
Drip - By Kazu Makino (Blonde Redhead)
Scarecrows On A Killer Slant - By Tunde Adebimpe (TV On The Radio)
I Still Can See An Outside World - By Boyd Rice (NON)
Proud Evolution - Thom Yorke 500qd Remix
Drop Dead - By Fol Chen
The Overachievers - By Devendra Banhart & The Grogs
Goodnight Everything - By Melvins
Too Much, Too Much - By Carter Tutti (Throbbing Gristle)

Liars (Official) | MySpace