A Town Press

Tonight, I’m going to put on my favorite jeans and summer t-shirt, strap on my headphones and wander the streets. Sure, it’s going to be 18 degrees. No, I don’t need a coat. I’ve got the new Radio Dept. song “Heaven’s On Fire” to keep me warm.

Anyone who has been a long time fan of this blog will already know my undying love for The Radio Dept. and all things Scandinavian (except fish… not such a fan of fish). It’s hard to believe it’s been three and a half years since I first wrote about The Radio Dept.

I’ve waited so long for a new album, I’d forgotten that I was even waiting for it. That is, until Ryan Kutch sent me the new single (along with the lovely video I posted last night). Now, I’ve realized that while I was in a musical and inspirational coma for the past year… I completely missed the release of the first single “David” they released in advance of the album.

I have to say I am really liking the somewhat tropical feel to the new songs. Well, tropical in the sense of having a tiki bar in the middle of the ICEHOTEL. However, the songs stay true to the hazy and heavy hearted sound of lo-fi swedish pop that fans have fallen in love with in the past.

The new album Clinging To A Scheme is due out in February on Labrador Records.

The Radio Dept. – Heaven’s On Fire

The Radio Dept. – David

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So, this Saturday we’ve got our eye on two events for your dancing and drinking pleasure.

First, you’ve got La Famiglia at Noni’s:

For those of you who maybe haven’t been yet, we started this party back in November and it quickly grew as one of Atlanta’s best kept secrets. We’ve promoted it primarily via friends and word of mouth and developed a great group of regulars and a steady stream of new faces.

The music format is open and moves around between classic and new indie, rock, hip-hip, and all kinda of retarded sing-along anthems of all times.

The vibe of the restaurant/bar is intimate. Anyone who went to DSC from 2004-2006 will find themselves back in very familiar company. When things get a little out of control, people often find any space they can to dance… whether it is on a table, chair, or the bar. Our DJ’s rotate weekly, as does the musical direction of the night, but it never fails to be anything less than good old fashioned drunken debauchery.

La Famiglia Dance Party @ Noni’s – Every Saturday – FREE – 11pm – Late

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Next, if you’re into Dubstep… no one is doing it better than the Atlanta Dubstep crew. It seems like every week they’re brining in the top talent in the world of Dubstep. This week they’ve got:

16 BIT
[Southside Dubstars / Boka Records - London, UK]
www.myspace.com/16bitmusic

With their massive debut EP ‘In The Death Car’ featuring the now infamous “Chainsaw Calligraphy,” 16 Bit have rapidly shot into the limelight. Their massively varied productions delve into every corner of the dubstep world, ranging from “halfstep rhythms…shot through with 10,000 watts of current” to “glitched 2-step and sub driven riddims”. Their live shows are intense, to say the least and they’ve seen support from Kissy Sell Out, Mala (Digital Mystikz), Rusko, Chef and many others with a constantly growing fanbase.
Hot on the heels of the Death Car EP, 16 Bit have dropped their follow-up EP on the legendary Southside Dubstars imprint. They played their debut set in Tokyo, Japan just two months after their debut 12″ (PCP/President Of Europe) dropped, and have since played massive sets in Paris, London, and all around the UK and Europe. Welcome 16 Bit to Atlanta for their debut performance!

16 BIT – Skyline

16 BIT – Funhouse

SORTED
[404 Audio - ATL]
http://myspace.com/sorted

ATLANTA DUBSTEP DJ’S
http://myspace.com/atldubstep
http://atlantadubstep.com

$5
21+

Located at:
Graveyard Tavern
1245 Glenwood Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30316
404.622.8686
http://www.graveyardtavern.com

Sponsored by FRANK 151
http://http://www.frank151.com

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Alright.. second try. I’m thinking I can get used to this blog stuff. It’s already had an effect of me thus far, in the sense that I’ve never actually considered the reasons why I do certain things.. not in depth anyways and not until now. Generally speaking, most of my musical tastes are acquired because they remind me of other things that I enjoy whether it be direct or indirect.. and if I put enough thought into it, I could probably link any one song in my iTunes library to at least 3 or 4 other songs that either I’m into now or was at a certain time in my life.

Sometimes, I’ll link music to movies and consider a song’s ability to make or break the credibility of a film. In fact, compiling a motion picture soundtrack is on my “bucket list”. The opening track in Mojo Juju and the Snake Oil Merchants 2006 self titled album should, retroactively, be inserted into the Coen Brothers’ 1991 classic Barton Fink. “Dear Darlin’” would play brilliantly as the wallpaper peels and John Turturro regains his motivation to write… not only does it have a 1940’s feel to it but the lyrics, “It’s been so long, been so long since you wrote..”, seem to work well even while stating the obvious. I dunno.. it was just a thought. I’ll stop playing director now.

Mojo Juju and the Snake Oil Merchants are a fluctuating 7 member band out of Australia that have been self described as Pachuco boogie, Noir Cabaret, and Junkyard Punk. They haven’t released much since their 2006 album but a new 4 track EP can be listened to and purchased through their myspace, and a full length album, Sellin’ You Salvation, is scheduled to be out April 2010. Also, if you happen to be reading this from Australia, you can catch them at a handful of upcoming shows including the 3 day Blue Mountains Music Festival in Katoomba, New South Wales, March 12th – 14th.

Mojo Juju and the Snake Oil Merchants – Dear Darlin’

Mojo Juju and the Snake Oil Merchants – Fisherman’s Daughter

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Please allow me to take a moment and jump onto the pile of praise being heaped onto Caribou’s newest track “Odessa” which he released to announce his forthcoming album “Swim.”

I’m gonna go ahead and call it and deem this track as anthem worthy. I’ve only listened to it three times and I am about to jump out of my skin if I don’t hear it on a large soundsystem in the middle of a packed dance night. This track has much more of a dark and dancey groove that I’m used to with Caribou, but I can’t say I’m complaining. The bassline completely makes the track and is more than likely to play in your head on repeat ad nauseum. The vocals push an already infectious track over the edge to sublime. Fans of Royksopp and Junior Boys can start gushing now.

I’m going to go hit refresh on my mp3 community until this album leaks.

Caribou – Odessa

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There are coincidences that occur sometimes that lead me to believe in the devine, even though I don’t. I’ve been sitting at my desk in front of my living room window… which is large enough to fill almost my entire view. The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and Meeker Ave are right outside my window… the BQE being an elevated expressway that serves as a divider between the earth and sky.

I was listening to new album from The Album Leaf. It had been to this point, a dreary, rainy, monochrome day. The album lost my attention so, I decided to switch over to Telefon Tel Aviv’s Immolate Yourself. The opening track, being one of my favorite Track 1’s on any album.

Right as the song starts… a tiny patch of blue appears in the bottom corner of the sky just above the eastern edge of the BQE. As the progress bar of the song moves along… so do the clouds… in near exact proportion. When the song hits it’s half way point, the sky is split down the middle with thick grey clouds on the right and clear blue skies on the left. 6:39 seconds later the song ends and the clouds have cleared the view of my window, leaving me with a beautiful, sunny, and warm day in Brooklyn.

Thanks Telefon Tel Aviv for being able to control the weather.

Telefon Tel Aviv – The Birds

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So… first things first. My name is Ryan. You can call me Ryan. I’m new to kissatlanta.. and yet, I’m not new to kissatlanta. Some of you may know me.. but most of you don’t. I may stick around.. but then again, this could be my last post.

My behavior may seem ambivalent, I know, but that has more or less been my motto recently. Failed relationships, idle time between jobs, my housing… you fucking name it. It’s all been subjected to rapid change. Everyone has their own method, but I’ve dealt with these setbacks the way I usually do… heroin… and then music.

Which leads me to my findings… Stephen Wilkinson, aka Bibio, released 3 albums in 2009. Vignetting the Compost (Mush Records), Ambivalence Avenue (Warp Records), and The Apple and The Tooth (Warp Records). Now I’m aware that it’s 2010, but when I discover an artist/album/song that I enjoy but haven’t heard of, I inquire with friends whose musical tastes I respect and it seems that Bibio escaped exposure… I guess everyone was busy listening to “Poker Face”.

Ambivalence Avenue reminds me of summer, specifically, “Jealous of Roses” and “Lover’s Carvings”. I won’t try to categorize his sound because a) I think that’s kind of lame and b) I’m not very good at it… so let’s just say that if Plantlife, RJD2, and Bon Iver went bowling, then shared a turkey sandwich, and then ended the night drinking hot toddies, arguing about who looks better in a denim jacket… well, that would be fucking weird.
Bibio – Jealous of Roses

Bibio – Lover’s Carvings

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Jefferson Ave has released DJ Assault EP’s for free download, these include a bunch of promos… instrumentals, acapellas, and booty.

The download widget is a small hassle for free record rips in 320. To get there go to Music, then EP’s, click the label, close the player, select download…(I’ve linked the EP page above)

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… and other events to follow.

So, for the first time since being here, I finally feel at home. Last night was the first night I was able to move between venues at my own choosing. It was nice to go out and not necessarily have the intention of meeting up with anyone, but then run into 20-30 people you know.

However, the real point of this post is to share my obsession for the past two weeks. I was just recently introduced to Deastro’s Moondagger by my friend over at Good News . Since then, I have listened to the album’s opener “Biophelia” about 43,764.32 times. Folks, this song (and the album) is about as good as it gets.

Deastro has found his home on the very esteemed Ghostly International label. Moondagger was reportedly recorded by Randolph Chabot in the basement of his Detroit home with the use of synthesizers and childrens toys. However, that description is somewhat misleading.

The album is, in reality, an incredibly dense and emotive album that is awash with tons of reverbed layers of frenetic, driving, and rhythmic acoustic percussion and soaring melodies. The pace of the album is dizzying and infectious. It’s one of those albums that you find yourself edging up the volume track by track.

By the time the album is over you’re left with a nice ringing in your ears and your coworkers are looking at you weird because you’ve been bouncing around your desk. Unfortunately, I have no co-workers to freak out… so go extra hard at your desk for me.

Deastro – Biophelia

Deastro – Days Of Wonder

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People keep on asking me when I’m going to become KISSBrooklyn… I honestly don’t know. I mean I run into so many Atlanta people here, I almost think that I’m more like an ambassador at a foreign embassy than an expatriate. That said, the picture above is the view from the KISSATLanta embassy roof here in Brooklyn.

On this beautiful day I’m listening to a new remix recently released from a new trio Tête-À-Tête.

“Tête-À-Tête is a newly formed production team based out of Brooklyn, NY. The trio hit the ground running with their debut remix of MEN’s “Simultaneously” — an anthemic take on the moody original, complete with dusty warehouse pianos and searing synthesizer solos.”

I’m not a massive fan of Men’s vocals… so, personally, I would have preferred the vocal to be completely re-worked and vocoded, but the backing track and production having me expecting more good things in the future from Tête-À-Tête.

It should be noted that this remix at about 6:55 seconds makes me even want to fist-pump a little. (Although, having someone grab my arm and fist pump for me would be a bit retarded and uncomfortable and i’d probably punch them in the taint.)

Men – Simutaneously (Tête-À-Tête Remix)

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Currently jamming to “Billionaires” by Your Twenties Give them a try, I Guarantee you’ll like it.

Your Twenties- Billionaires

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