When Skylar Spence was still under the name of Saint Pepsi, he released a great edit of “Call Me Maybe,” which was a dramatic reworking that was stretched to a 7-minute free-form and pretty much did everything he could with the melody. It attracted Carly Rae Jepsen and her team’s attention because was able to do an official remix of “Your Type,” the next E•MO•TION single. This is a more traditional remix, placing heavy synths for an airy Prom King (his first release under Skylar Spence)-esque instrumentation. Listen through Billboard below.
E•MO•TION is out now. Skylar Spence’s Prom King is as well via Carpark.
Recently, it was announced that M83 had plans to release new music in 2016. A tweet from producer J. Meldal-Johnsen now confirms that the band’s next record “is now finished.”
Meldal-Johnsen produced M83’s previous album, 2011’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. He says he’s “very happy” with its follow-up.
A new M83 album is now finished. I'm very happy with it.
In an interview with EW.com, M83’s Anthony Gonzalez said that the album was strong and eclectic. “It’s very epic. There’s a lot of different genres that are not supposed to live together but I tried to make them live together, which is quite challenging. It’s also quite different from the previous albums which is what I’m the most proud of.”
The album hass “a lot of classic drum sounds, with bass and drinks, an Elk synth,” he explained, “I felt like we really tried to be very modern but also very old-school at the same time.” He said that frequent vocalist Morgan Kibby does not make an appearance on the album, but there are many “unexpected guests.” He said also that the lyrics take inspiration from 1970s and ’80s television. “Shows like Punky Brewster and Who’s the Boss,” he discussed. “I feel like TV shows are starting to sound and look the same. There’s no more passion anymore. So this album is a tribute to those old-fashioned shows.”
M83 have begun scheduling tour dates in support of the album. See the current list of shows below.
M83 2016 Tour Dates:
06/16-19 – Dover, DE @ Firefly Music Festival
07/07-09 – Lisbon, PT @ NOS Alive Festival
07/07-09 – Bilbao, ES @ Bilbao BBK Live
08/10-17 – Budapest, HU @ Sziget Festival
08/11-13 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West Festival
08/12-14 – Helsinki, FI @ Flow Festival
“Well, we’ve always been super-popular on the Island of Misfit Toys so it was just a matter of time before the human world embraced our incredible Christmas spirit!” Mercer told EW.com after hearing about the honors.
It’s not just The Shins who have been graced by good news about the band. The group’s label Columbia sent an email that promised that new music would be on its way in 2016. “Happy Holidays from The Shins,” the message reads. “New year, new music!”
New material at all from the band would be the first since “So Now What,” the band’s part in Zach Braff’s 2014 film, Wish I Was Here. The Shins’ last full-length releases was 2013’s Live at Third Man Records and 2012’s Port of Morrow.
Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen will return to “Portlandia” January 21st on IFC. As previously announced, there will be appearances from Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips, Louis C.K., Zoe Kravitz, and Glenn Danzig, among numerous others on the new season.
A new trailer for the new season has surfaced today, showing the antics that arrive: drones removing man-buns, portals to other dimensions, Brownstein painting Armisen’s character in the buff, and more. There is a brief glimpse of Danzig’s appearance at around the :48 mark. Watch it herevia Vulture.
The Strokes have had a fairly quiet 2015 besides playing some festivalshows. During the first ever Landmark Music Festival in September, Julian Casablancas hinted that the band wanted to make more noise next year with time at the studio. Now there is visual confirmation that they are back.
The Strokes headlined Mexico’s Live Out Monterrey Festival over the weekend. While in Monterrey, they spent time at Victoria Records. According to the Instagram post of CEO of Victoria Records, Morales-Kühne, they rented two studios to not only rehearse for the performance but they also recorded new drums parts.
The Strokes’ last studio album was 2013’s Comedown Machine. Both Casablancas and Albert Hammond Jr. have released solo albums; Casablancas released Tyranny in September 2014, and Hammond’s Momentary Masters surfaced back in May.
In September, Prince released the album HITNRUN Phase One. He has shared the second installment—HITNRUN Phase Two which is available to stream and download with Phase One.Tidal subscribers can listen here, and non-subscribers can buy the album here. Find the tracklist below.
The album has his already shared singles “Baltimore” and “Screwdriver.” Prince said in a tweet, that has now been deleted, previously released tracks have been reworked for the album.
HITNRUN Phase Two:
01 Baltimore
02 RocknRoll Love Affair
03 2 Y. 2 D.
04 Look at Me, Look at U
05 Stare
06 Xtraloveable
07 Groovy Potential
08 When She Comes
09 Screwdriver
10 Black Muse
11 Revelation
12 Big City
Ra Ra Riot announced Need Your Light recently, their follow-up to Beta Love. The LP will come February 19 through Barsuk. They have shared today a visual for “Water,” their collaboration with Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend.
The video, directed by Batmanglij and Josh Goleman, stars singer Wes Miles as a hiker who makes a long trek from the California desert to Los Angeles, eventually ending up on the beach.
The band have also announced a spring tour behind Need Your Light; find the full list of dates below.
Here’s what the band said about the video on Tumblr:
Hi! Last month we bounced over to LA for a couple of days to make a music video with our good (and supremely talented) friends Rostam [Batmanglij] and Josh [Goleman]. We set out for Joshua Tree at around 3:30 in the morning, with our boxes of Joe, rollerblades, and analgesic anamorphic lenses in tow, and by 5pm we were wrapping beneath the Santa Monica pier. There were a bunch of stops in between that I don’t particularly recall but apparently (spoiler alert) included wind farms, street hockey, and a guy in a tunnel with a tambourine. I think I ate a burrito at some point.
This video fits right into our whole (unintentional) MO for making this record – working with old friends for whom we have a ton of respect and, perhaps even more importantly, trust. Plus, Rostam had a hand in writing, recording, and producing the song (“Water”), and so it makes sense that he was involved with both the concept and execution of the video. Hopefully the result is a testament to the burrito fun we had making it.
Ra Ra Riot:
03-02 Albany, NY – The Hollow
03-03 Boston, MA – Paradise
03-04 New York, NY – Webster Hall
03-05 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer
03-06 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
03-08 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
03-10 Savannah, GA – Savannah Stopover Festival
03-11 Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5
03-12 Birmingham, AL – Saturn
03-13 Nashville, TN – Exit In
03-15 Houston, TX – Walter’s Downtown
03-16-18 Austin, TX- SXSW
03-21 Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
03-22 San Diego, CA – The Irenic
03-24 Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
03-25 Santa Barbara, CA – Soho Restaurant & Music Club
03-27 San Francisco, CA – The Independent
03-30 Seattle, WA – Neumos
03-31 Vancouver, British Columbia – The Biltmore Cabaret
04-01 Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
04-03 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
04-04 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theatre
04-06 Kansas City, MO – The Riot Room
04-07 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club
04-08 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
04-11 Columbus, OH – A&R Music Bar
04-12 Millvale, PA – Mr. Small’s Theatre
04-14 Toronto, Ontario – Lee’s Palace
04-15 Montréal, Québec – Bar Le Ritz
04-16 Geneva, NY – The Cracker Factor
In April, The Mountain Goats performed a show at New York City’s City Winery. Before coming on stage, the performed a small session in the cellar with no amps and no planned set list. John Darnielle felt inspired by the “quick and dirty, old-school style” session that he decided to completely strip down their gear that was set for their main show upstairs, thus giving a show that had a “sort of small-ensemble feel, lower in volume but actually higher in intensity.”
Darnielle explained in a statement that while each show will vary, the intimate April tour will reflect the show the prior year. “…Smaller rooms, audible frequencies, up close and personal: this is the general plan,” Darnielle wrote. “Making eye contact with people in the back row, being able to go off-mic when I want to and still be heard. Total visibility.”
Before the string of shows, Darnielle will play a few solo sets, including performances at San Francisco’s Noise Pop. Find the band’s full itinerary below, as well as NYC Taper recordings of “Up the Wolves” and “The Legend of Chavo Guerrero” from the set that inspired the tour.
The Mountain Goats 2016 Tour Dates: 02/24 – Tallahassee, FL @ Sidebar Theater *
02/25 – Gainesville, FL @ High Dive (Frank Gathering) *
02/27 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall (Noise Pop) *
02/28 – San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall (Noise Pop) *
04/01 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater
04/02 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
04/03 – Providence, RI @ Columbus Theatre
04/04 – Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall
04/06 – Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall @ Babeville
04/07 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
04/08 – Ann Arbor, MI @ The Blind Pig
04/09 – Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
04/11 – Chicago, IL @ City Winery
04/12 – Chicago, IL @ City Winery
04/13 – Chicago, IL @ City Winery
04/14 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Covenant Fine Arts Center at Calvin College
04/16 – York, PA @ Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center
04/17 – New York, NY @ City Winery
04/18 – New York, NY @ City Winery
04/19 – New York, NY @ City Winery
Death Cab for Cutie announced more shows behind this year’s Grammy-nominatedKintsugi. They will co-headline Metric’s Lights On The Horizon Tour on various dates; find a full list of dates below.
Death Cab For Cutie:
12-08 Seattle, WA – KeyArena
12-10 Los Angeles, CA – Orpheum Theatre
12-11 Oakland, CA – Oracle Arena
12-15 Spokane, WA – INB Performing Arts Center !
12-16 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
12-17 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
01-21-23 Todos Santos, Mexico – Todos Santos Music Festival
02-20 Wellington, New Zealand – Opera House Wellington
02-23 Auckland, New Zealand – St. James Theatre
02-27 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – K-L Live
03-01 Hong Kong, China – Macpherson Stadium
03-03 Bangkok, Thailand – Moonstar Studio
03-05 Manila, Philippines – Wanderland Music & Arts Festival
03-07 Sentosa Island, Singapore – The Coliseum at The Hard Rock Hotel
03-19 Montreal, Quebec – Bell Centre ^
03-20 Kingston, Ontario – Rogers K Rock Centre ^
03-22 St. Catherines, Ontario – Meridian Centre ^
03-23 Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre ^
03-24 London, Ontario – Budweiser Gardens ^
03-27 Winnipeg, Manitoba – MTS Centre ^
03-28 Regina, Saskatchewan – Conexus Art Centre ^
03-29 Edmonton, Alberta – Rexall Place ^
03-30 Calgary, Alberta – BMO Centre ^
04-01 Vancouver, British Columbia – Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre ^
06-16-19 Dover, DE – Firefly Music Festival
07-15-17 Louisville, KY – Forecastle Festival
The Melodic Tree 