MP3: “Higher Than Five” from A Party In Motion

San Francisco’s Still Flyin’ have been spreading the word of the almighty HAMMJAMM since 2004, demolishing minds, souls, and any notion of personal space with equal abandon. Combining the kinetic energy of 60’s era rock steady with the catchy hooks and DIY aesthetic of today’s best indie-pop, Still Flyin’ are an event rarely paralleled in music. Still Flyin’ make music about the things most important to their lives, like getting seriously high fives, jamming music, jamming brews, jamming pizza, and “following the itinerary”.

Plunging head first into what is quickly becoming a new era of San Franciscan consciousness, Still Flyin’ is on the forefront a new musical movement, Where much of today’s music can be caught up in categories and labelling, the band have developed a term used to not only describe their sound, but also as a way to get outside the confines of genre definitions. HAMMJAMM is not to be confused with the “Jam Band Sound”, it is in fact fairly concise songs played with such veracity that they can only be called JAMMS, while the HAMM aspect represents a willingness not to be traditionally categorized.

On their much-loved debut album, Never Gonna Touch The Ground, group leader Sean Rawls and his fifteen (or more) like-minded music travelers proved themselves equally adept at the penetrating slo-jams, high-energy thunder jams, and insanely catchy well-toked world/reggae party pop (see: The Hott Chord Is Struck). 2010 finds Still Flyin’ re-inventing their whimsical pop incorporating romantic synth vibes, motorik grooves, and the occasional smooth sax. Earlier this year, they released the Runaway Train II/All Lips Touch 7″ hinting at a more catchier, more refined version of their earlier party jams. Their upcoming EP A Party In Motion takes the transformation a step further doing away with the island grooves of their previous work and instead let the hypnotic rhythms of krautrock lay the foundation for stretching out, with some songs even reaching the 8 minutes mark.

A Message from Still Flyin’:

Hello to you. We are so excited about the chances of 2010. 2010 is all about chances. A chance to invent an invention. A chance to patent that invention. A chance to patent what you’ve always dreamt of inventing. You could invent a world without hangovers. Below are Still Flyin’s chances in this new year. To paraphrase an inspiring call to arms: give us a chance, and we will no doubt take it from you.

“Shout-outs to Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” and Lipps Inc.’s “Funky Town” jostle elbows with nods to Swedish pop and show-tune punk, and it’s all channeled through a North American indie sensibility.” Pitchfork Media

“Still Flyin’ are a jaw-dropping live act that pack even more excitement into their show than you’d expect from a band of more than a dozen members. Everyone on stage was throwing themselves into the performance – especially the really tall guy who only seemed to enthusiastically dance behind the lead singer. I love the idea that a nationally touring band would bring along a guy just to dance.” You Ain’t No Picasso

“Fun is the new not-fun, and Still Flyin’ exemplifies that ethos…Still Flyin’ is a sweet-ass band.” SF Weekly

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1. OUT NOW: Still Flyin’ “Runaway Train II” b/w “All Lips Touch” On Ernest Jenning Record Co.

There is only so long we can ignore your letters and electronic mail. Despite six volumes worth of life-soundtrack, you needed more. There is, you wrote, so much life to live, and not enough soundtrack to fill it. We have listened and, in graciousness, responded. We are now two volumes closer to providing the perfect score to your entire existence.

With you in mind, we are pleased to announce volumes 7 and 8 of the Library Catalog Music Series. These are versatile pieces and it will be up to you to fully discover their various applications but rest assured that we are providing our standard, industry-famous 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. You will not be disappointed. Our two new composer recruits, Richard Swift’s Instruments of Science and Technology and Kristin Miltner, have crafted music that will unfold in new ways with each subsequent listen.

Advertising executives! Don’t bother with backward-masking your corporate sloganeering. Seventy-two-percent of Soundologists say that music from the Library Catalog Music Series will adequately stimulate the consumption cortex in shopper’s brains. These two new volumes will be the only hook you need to start reeling in the Benjamins.

Instruments of Science & Technology’s Richard Swift (born Ricardo Sigilfredo Olivarez Swift-Ochoa, 1977) is an artist who lives in the Northwest region on the United States of America. He’s made lots of different music. He normally sings, but doesn’t at all on this recording. Music for Paradise Armor was made on varying recording mediums, such as a Tascam 4-track cassette player/recorder, an Otari 50/50 – 8-track half-inch recorder, a 16-track 2-inch machine constructed by Studer, and a computer made by Macintosh. There are a lot of what Swift calls “modern clickity-clacks” and “zzzoops s s s”, as well as the occasional “bleep bleep blaaaaap” found on this disc. These sounds apparently reflect our tech-centric lifestyle in the West. We have magnet trains, remote control car door locks, and affordable robotic limbs, yet we still flush our toilets with drinking water. Guard yourself.

Kristin Miltner is a composer, video and installation artist, and sound designer living in Oakland, California. She most often performs music live with versions of her custom software. She has designed this to scan sound files and live input, allowing her to instantly restructure the sounds into sequenced arrays of units of varying lengths. This scanning idea is like imagining a giant octopus in a long thin hallway with continuous windows on each side. One can touch both sides of the hallway with one’s fingertips (if one is an octopus). The length of the hallway is infinite. So the octopus runs up and down the hallway opening and closing windows, letting a little bit of water in here and there, but never stops moving back and forth, and some windows stay open for longer than others. But there’s a rhythm to it; it’s an efficient octopus. The ocean is the sound source, the hallway and octopus are the scanners, the windows determine what gets in, and the octopus’s rhythm is the sequencing mechanism.

Kristin has performed at Noise Pancakes, 964 Natoma, the San Francisco Tape Music Festival (SFTMF), 21 Grand, and the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival (SFEMF). She is the sound designer for many well-known games and toys, including Leapfrog’s Leapster and Didj, Electronic Arts’ Sims 3 and Sim Animals, Mattel’s Xtractaurs, and a number of Facebook and iPhone games. She is the production manager of the San Francisco Electronic Music Festival, and an active member of the festival’s steering committee. Her debut solo recording, Grains, can be found at www.praemedia.com.

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MP3: “Hall” via Pitchfork
MP3: “Hall (One AM Radio Remix ft. Los Feliz Ladies Choir” & “Maximalist” via Stereogum

For mercurial L.A. music-maker Will Wiesenfeld, Baths has been a long time coming. The 21-year-old has spent the better part of his days living amidst “pleasant” and “unremarkable” in the suburbs of the San Fernando Valley, so perhaps it’s due to a general lack of local inspiration that Wiesenfeld’s own work has never fit into a prefab box of its own. Over the last six years, under the handle of [Post-Foetus], Wiesenfeld has gainfully explored the intersections and outer reaches of both electronic and acoustic music. With Baths, his eclecticism finds its greatest focus yet, in a hail of lush melodies, ghostly choirs, playful instrumentation and stuttering beats.

Wiesenfeld’s trip began at age 4, when he willed his parents into enrolling him in piano lessons. (The family upright, purchased that same year, sits in his bedroom today.) By 13, he’d begun recording his own music using Digital Performer and a MIDI keyboard – a brief, ill-advised foray into Eurobeat that was set right when Wiesenfeld heard Björk for the first time. Mind blown, he quickly boned up on viola, contrabass, and guitar and took the name [Post-Foetus], stringing together countless live configurations to execute his increasingly inimitable compositions. [Post-Foetus]‘ fourth album – a Dntel-ish, song-based mélange dubbed The Fabric – was released on Mü-Nest in January.

Though Baths represents the next evolution in Wiesenfeld’s oeuvre – which also includes the excellent ambient project Geotic – it came together under nigh-opposite circumstances. Last September, [Post-Foetus] was invited by L.A. electronicist Daedelus to share a bill with a handful of local Beat Music luminaries. Witnessing a burgeoning movement firsthand sparked something in Wiesenfeld that the ‘burbs never could. In a fit of inspiration, Baths was born, though not into a preexisting scene. As is to be expected, this music goes its own way: fueled by spontaneity, tempered by Wiesenfeld’s background in classic songwriting. Those two influences collide in glorious ways on Cerulean, Baths’ stunning debut.

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Stream it all week long at AOL Spinner

“L.A.’s best new band? Probably. Fol Chen’s beguiling, witty synth-pop with guitar, funky keyboards and West Coastian harmonies.” LA Weekly

“[Fol Chen] has already garnered online buzz with the first single, “Cable TV.” The wildly infectious dance tune begins with a dash of sitar before digital blips and drum machine hand claps jump in, with smooth female vocals. “Won’t you come away with me?” she asks…The result is a record that balances light and dark, and is fresh enough to hold listeners captive.” NPR

“Eclectic enigmas devise eerie pop conundrums.” SPIN

For its second album, Highland Park sextet Fol Chen presents Part II: The New December, songs of malaise and miscommunication set to dark pop and glitch-riddled chamber funk. Since the band’s inception, Fol Chen has remained a mysterious entity – its membership disguised by masks and aliases, its lyrics appearing as transmissions from a fictional world. But just as the on-album narrative has congealed in bits and pieces, the group’s real-life story has grown in tangible ways.

Fol Chen’s wildly eclectic 2009 debut, Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made, spawned some healthy praise (from NPR, no less), a remix album (featuring No Kids and Junior Vasquez, among others), a BBC session, and a video collaboration with the Laker Girls. It also paved the way for a pair of uniquely inspired covers: Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones” (recorded for Spin) and Pink Floyd’s “In The Flesh” (for Mojo). Fol Chen’s bent, blackened takes on the pop eccentrics of yore provided fresh context for its own kaleidoscopic songs, and The New December shores up the group’s slippery identity further still. This is Fol Chen’s most focused work – as consistent as it is consuming, as enjoyable as it is unusual.

The plot, steeped in a Bowie-esque sense of puckish melodrama, picks up with the malevolent John Shade vanquished. Unfortunately, the struggle alluded to in Part I has left Fol Chen’s world frayed – covered in ash, plagued by acid rain – and its population dazed. The members of Fol Chen, once a ragtag team of insurgents, are now bureaucrats forced to sit back and watch as the cipher they relied upon to defeat Shade mutates into a virus that eats words indiscriminately. Things unravel as The New December progresses, with Fol Chen enlisting a handful of familiar voices – Angus and Aaron of Liars, L.A. chanteuse Kárin Tatoyan, singer-songwriter Simone White – to help tell the tale.

Tatoyan takes lead on “In Ruins” – whose playful escapism recalls Fol Chen’s earlier hit, “Cable TV” – as an Eastern melody rings out from a vintage Madonna-ish mélange of cut-up funk, fuzz bass and tinkling ivories.

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MP3: “Crimes” via Letters From A Tapehead

“The genre-less solo artist may be one of the best thing this bedroom movement can offer…” – IMPOSE

When Paul A. Rosales isn’t busy with college, he’s helping produce tracks for bands like LA lo-fi female duo Pearl Harbor (Mexican Summer), performing in his hometown of Los Angeles, and coming to the East Coast to collaborate with the father of home & tape recording, R Stevie Moore. In addition to all that, Rosales is also writing songs as Wonder Wheel, his most recent and widely known moniker which has given this, his first, commercial release via London/NY’s Care In the Community Recordings its title.

In a 2008 recording manifesto, Rosales notes influences from Schoenberg to Eno, however it’s the electronic pop of 50s British producer Joe Meek that is most recognizable in the hurried pop gems of Wonder Wheel I. It may seem oxymoronic to speak of lo-fi music being progressive, but there’s a continual inventiveness beneath the heavy echo and distortion of the 12 very different songs on Wonder Wheel I that either exemplify genres when Rosales works within them, or that otherwise begin to carve out what can only be described as new ones. But underscoring this unique sound is a strong pop sensibility that brings a familiarity and warmth that perhaps marks Rosales out from the burgeoning scene from which he’s emerged.

Although barely in his 20s Rosales is already a seasoned and charismatic performer and has recently moved from a performance that put his solo vocals and tape effects front and center, to a slightly more expansive performance establishing a band for a fuller live effect. He is making his first solo trip to the UK this June as apart of an Upset the Rhythm night also featuring Ganglians in order to promote his 7″ single, the loose high-tempo synth groove-driven “Crimes” which is an excellent introduction to the Rosales cosmology. That track also kicks off the journey that is Wonder Wheel I.

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Stream the entire album via AOL Spinner

Melissa Rodenbeek and Hiram Lucke of The Harvey Girls are a brilliantly eccentric husband-and-wife psych-pop band from Portland, Oregon. Their latest album I’ve Been Watching a Lot of Horror Movies Lately from Portland-based label Circle Into Square introduces songs created by live looping analog instruments (guitar, floor tom, keyboard, theremin) in real-time with the aid of a Boss RC-20 pedal. This intuitive, organic process of layer-on-layer creation results in a familiar but singular sound.

Recorded by Hiram at the couple’s house over a 6 month period of painstaking effort, the album is a stunningly eclectic mix of songs typical of the band’s off-kilter writing style. From the opening track “The Body Without Any Eyes” upbeat gospel sound to the epic and surreal closing track “Alpha Invasion on Delta Waves (Lullabye of Brueghel)” the songs incorporate alternately-tuned folk guitars, real and programmed drums, field recordings, intricate vocal harmonies, metal pipes, and cheap synths–sometimes in stark contrast and sometimes as a wash of sound. Musically, imagine Jandek crossed with Miley Cyrus chanting “Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn” while awaiting the arrival of the Old Ones. This has nothing to do with The Harvey Girls’ album–we just want you to visualize it. The sound of I’ve Been Watching a Lot of Horror Movies Lately is actually akin to the works of groups like The Flaming Lips, Roger Waters-era Pink Floyd, the West African band Tinariwen, and too many gospel compilations to list.

Imagery from classic and modern horror movies informs lyrics starring the specter that right wing shitheads fear most: the recent immigrant. These are songs that sound like a sunny day with lyrics written by Clive Barker, Richard Matheson, or Neil Gaiman.

The Harvey Girls think that if you used to read Fangoria and Tiger Beat, you will like this album.

Puss from the harvey girls on Vimeo.

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Stream To Travels & Trunks now at AOL Spinner

MP3: “From A Terrace” via HeyMarseilles.com

“The band’s sound evokes both worldliness and innocence; its orchestral instrumentation is woven together with melodies both melancholy and buoyant.” NPR

“With an orchestra’s worth of instruments at their disposal, the septet comes off like a contemporary pop group inspired by French cabaret classics from the ’20s.” Seattle Weekly

Hey Marseilles’ debut record, To Travels & Trunks grabs your attention with its unique combination of pop, rock, and classical folk elements, and its passionate devotion to instruments (including accordion, viola, cello and trumpet) commonly used in musical idioms outside those typically purveyed by Seattle rock bands. It is this compelling, and often daring, musical mix that enables the band to express the wonder and pleasure of experimenting with art forms from other cultures. One can get a sense of the cultural pilgrimages this band has undertaken in order to satisfy their musical wanderlust. “The album is a reflection of what we’ve tried on musically,” says lead singer and guitar player Matthew Bishop. “It’s about how we’ve come to understand what each individual can bring to the table, and where we want to go from here. Oddly, that parallels what some of what my lyrics are about-travel, discovery, engaging new mediums and new places.”

Despite the exotic origins and youth, To Travels & Trunks can-and should-also be counted as a singular, standout pop album in 2010, with all the requisite addictive melodies and catchy choruses. It’s a story not uncommon: guys who play instruments hang out with other guys who play instruments and music is made. Bishop, guitarist/songwriter Nick Ward, and accordionist Philip Kobernik all met while at the University of Washington right around the time when each began immersing themselves in their own musical exploration. As the trio continued to write and record with each other, they brought in members Sam Anderson on cello, his brother Jacob on viola, Patrick Brannon on trumpet, and Colin Richey on drums.

Lyrically, Bishop says his words don’t necessarily offer answers to the big questions in life, but the questions, when asked the right way, can be just as compelling. “The song are pretty personal,” he says. “There’s a lot about love, struggles with belief, and sense of self. My songs don’t necessarily come to any particular conclusions on the above topics; they mostly open them up for further exploration.” “Cannonballs” uses a specific romantic relationship to explore the need to stand for something and make life worthwhile. “It’s about trying to understand how that’s accomplished in the context of growing up, falling in love, and managing relationships.” Sung almost as a lullaby, lulling the ear with it’s gorgeous melody, the track explodes into a raucous interplay of guitar, strings, and trumpet, as the lyrics celebrate the beautiful sadness that loss can bring. Exuberant single, “Rio” and the mournful “You Will Do For Now” were inspired by the same relationship, one in which the relief of being free from romantic ties is tempered by nagging feelings of loss. But on “Someone to Love,” the tables are turned, as the song’s protagonist deals with being the one left behind. Accompanied only by acoustic guitar and cello, Bishop’s vocals echoes the sentiments voiced in the title track-”All I want is love eternally”–yet this time, the desire is less cosmic than it is personal: “All I want is someone to love/And you were pretty good to love.”

The band sees regular airplay on taste-maker station KEXP and has performed at Bumbershoot, Doe Bay, CMJ, SXSW, The Capitol Hill Block Party and the MusicFest Northwest festival. They’ve also been selected for Starbucks’ nationally distributed compilation entitled Sweethearts Vol. 2. As musical wayfarers, the band enjoys being on the road, exposing people to new combinations of sounds, broadening the definition of what a rock band can achieve. And they’ll spend much of 2010 away from their Pacific Northwest home, exploring the US on their first national tour– so here’s To Travels & Trunks, to venturing out and returning with a heavier load enlightened with discovery.

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MP3: Saanko Jaada Yoksi? via AOL Spinner

“Although they may sing completely in Finnish, as on single “Saanko Jäädä Yöksi?” each song on Regina’s American debut ‘Puutarhatrilogia’ is instantly relatable and emotionally translatable.” Venus

“She sings, the guy to her right hits percussion and the chap on the left mucks about with a keyboard and laptop. Uniquely, her electro dance pop is delivered in Finnish. A jazzy, less tribal cousin to Lykke Li, she easily wins the audience over.” Mojo

If you live in the western hemisphere, chances are you won’t understand a single word Regina sings, and that’s okay. The Helsinki-based three-piece band sing in their native language of Finnish, lending a surreal, otherworldy quality to their distinguished blend of electronic beats, folk and world music, wild percussion, and slightly-hazy melodies. Puutarhatrilogia ["Garden Trilogy"], the band’s first album to be released in the states, is a delightfully trippy and subtly sexy record even if song titles like “Terveiset päiväntasaajalta” (only the first word capitalized, as is the Finnish convention) might sound strange to English speakers. Put simply, singer Iisa Pykäri’s voice would be beautiful in any language, and Regina’s music possesses a similarly universal appeal.

Regina formed in 2005 when Iisa and Mikko Pykäri started making early demos in their living room in Tampere, a largely industrial town that is often called “the Manchester of Finland” due to the disproportionate number of rock bands it has produced. Once Mikko Rissanen joined on drums and the group solidified as a trio, they moved to Helsinki and quickly started receiving -universal accolades in their home country, including a nomination for the Emma award (the Finnish equivalent of the Grammy award) and rave reviews from nearly every magazine in the country. The band recorded and produced Puutarhatrilogia – a loosely-structured allegory using the garden as a metaphor for the human mind – entirely in their home studio, digging deep into their love of both modern pop music and a wealth of lesser-known ethnic musical traditions to create a sound that possesses an element of magical realism and sometimes even extends its reach into pure fantasy.

“Saanko jäädä yöksi?” is the album’s centerpiece, anchored by a skittish piano line and sampled snippets of Iisa’s falsetto vocals, before turning into a full-on club banger that wouldn’t be out of place on a dance floor. Elsewhere the album becomes dreamier, stranger, and more languid, with the chromatic piano of “Tapaa minut aamulla” and the plaintive shuffle of “Olen häviöllä, Pauli” evoking the alien soundscapes of Fever Ray and the sultriness of Charlotte Gainsbourg. The band even dips into tango with the lovely “Tango merellä”. By the time the tribal chants of “Musta musta puutarha” are over, you will have fallen for this truly magical band, regardless of what language you may speak.

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“The Jar is Cocosuma’s new single and, in accordance with the video, it’s both more disco and darker than last year’s ebuilliant “Mystery Man,” but these are stoic times: Lost is ending, and now we must ponder the fact that we have spent the last six years dedicated to it. Ugghhhhhhhhhhhh.” The FADER

Cocosuma – The Jar from 3rd Side Records on Vimeo.

Last year, French trio Cocosuma made their US debut with a release on the awesome Minty Fresh label with We’ll Drive Home Backwards LP. Named after a famous line in John Hughes’s iconic lovable-slacker comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, it was an album full of ’60s psychedelic guitar chords and star trails of reverb-drenched melodies in a way that only Cocosuma could dream up. After gathering critical and public acclaim in France, and being noticed by some of KCRW’s finest deejays, Cocosuma have created a fresh new ‘electronique’ incarnation of their music with their brand new single The Jar.

The Jar is taken from their forthcoming album Le Début co-produced by Stereolab’s Joe Watson who brought a special touch of vintage synths and drum machines. The band is two thirds French and one third British. Vocalist Amanda is the English third and also plays bass and synth; Michel and Chab are the French contingent, and they play everything else. It was always known that the trio had eclectic taste in music, from 60s bands like The Kinks to 80s acts such as New Order, but this doesn’t make their brand new single any less of a surprise.

Mixed by Alf Briat (a long time sound partner of Air and Sebastien Tellier), The Jar – is a true hymn. With its obsessive bass line, haunting guitar lick and Amanda’s soaring vocals à la Donna Summer, the track sits somewhere between the Chromatics‘ ethereal italo-disco sound and the glorious synth-pop of OMD’s first hits. The super stylish minimalistic video stars Amanda as a 21st century Little Red Hood walking towards her fate in a pure black and white aesthetic– think The Beauty and the Beast meets Metropolis.

The EP comes with 3 remixes: the most exciting and talked-about project from Italy signed to DFA, Clap Rules, give it their signature retro-disco treatment while up-and-coming London based indie trio, Is Tropical take the song into electro territory. Last but not least there is a darker, synth-layered remix courtesy of Alan MacGee’s favourite french band, Sourya.

Look out for a Cocosuma tour of the U.S. this Fall…

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“% is teeming with more rewards and audacious invention than virtually any other debut 2010’s seen so far.” – Tiny Mix Tapes

“Brooklyn ecstasy-noize troupe Dinowalrus crawl out of the teeny-tiny opening Animal Collective and Black Dice have made for fluttery textures, ambient suckscapes, and incoherent blare-chants” – Village Voice

This week, Brooklyn space/noise rockers Dinowalrus embark on a West Coast tour with the wirey Tempo No Tempo. Meshing prismatic noise-rock, electronic tribalism, and psyched-out garage Dinowalrus has already caught the attention of ABC Amplified, Village Voice, NY Press, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Sup Magazine, Tiny Mix Tapes, among many others. Their album % is out now on Kanine Records (Chairlift, Surfer Blood) and it’s a must to check out for fans of Spacemen 3, Chrome, Hawkwind, HEALTH, 13th Floor Elevators…

Dinowalrus “Electric Car, Gas Guitar” from kay kanine on Vimeo.

“Unassuming, wiry shredders with kineticism in droves.” – RCRD LBL

“Borrowing equally from dissonant, late-’90s DC punk and more contemporary takes on sprawling indie rock…tense rhythms and the pitter-patter of relaxed backbeats before resting permanently in tapestries of delayed guitar and crashing cymbals.” – XLR8R

Since the release of their acclaimed LP Waking Heat, Tempo No Tempo have hit the road relentlessly in support of their album, and are now gearing up for a West Coast trek with NY’s Dinowalrus. Coinciding with the tour is the release of their new video for album highlight “Pole Position” from Bay Area filmmakers French Press Films.

Tempo No Tempo – “Pole Position” from French Press Films on Vimeo.

4.29: Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell w/ Signals, Foot Village
4.30: San Diego, CA @ Che Cafe
5.1: Los Angeles, CA @ FMLY Space
5.2: Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place w/ Signals
5.3: Oakland, CA @ 21 Grand w/ The Splinters

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MP3: “Stay Soft (Nastique remix)” via Urb.com
VIDEO: “Stay Soft” via IFC.com Premiere
REVIEW: Get Wet via Urb.com

Electronic/dance/rock quintet Sugar & Gold are prepared to deliver pleasure to music fans in many forms this Spring: live shows, new video and most of all, their full-length debut Get Wet. Already exciting audiences with shows around their native San Francisco, including a show with !!! at Noise Pop, the band are prepared to hit the road for a U.S. tour and make a stop up North this summer for the Sled Island Festival! The band intend to show all of America exactly why they are frequently referred to as the “Best Party Band” in the Bay Area.

We caught up with the band ahead of their record release show in San Francisco tonight @ Bottom of the Hill with Nite Jewel & Baron Von Luxxury.

What city or cities are you most excited to visit, and why?

We love NY because it’s NY and we get to see all our friends and play with some of our favorite bands. Lexington, KY cause the kids are crazy!!! And Norman, Oklahoma because we’ve got a lot of love coming from there and we’re ready to give some back!

How are you guys getting around on tour?

Wheelbarrow with a stick-and-carrot attachment.

What’s the most unnecessary item you’re taking on tour?

There always seem to be too many books. But somehow never enough…

You play the first two dates in SF & LA.  SF Burritos or LA Tacos?

SF BURRITOS!!!!

You’ll be joined by the Seedy Seeds for the rest of the tour. How did you meet the Seeds? Can you describe their sound?

Our booking agent introduced us to them. They have an indie-dance flavor, really awesome and earnest pop music. Also, they have a sweet set of beards and beautiful harmonies. We’re super excited!

Sum up the experience of a Sugar & Gold show in haiku form:

Wet moves into dry
Falling down a rabbit hole
Slowly getting high

SUGAR & GOLD SPRING 2010 TOUR

4/29 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ BOTTOM OF THE HILL
4/30 – LOS ANGELES, CA @ THE ECHO
5/1 – MONTEREY, CA @ THE BLUE FIN
5/2 – CHICAGO, IL @ THE EMPTY BOTTLE
5/3 – PONTIAC, MI @ THE CROFOOT PIKE ROOM
5/4 – COVINGTON, KY @ THE MAD HATTER
5/5 – PITTSBURGH, PA @ THUNDERBIRD CAFE
5/6 – BROOKLYN, NY @ THE KNITTING FACTORY
5/7 – CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA @ THE TEA BAZAAR
5/8 – PHILADELPHIA, PA @ MARBAR
5/9 – BUFFALO, NY @ MOHAWK PLACE
5/10 – COLUMBUS, OH @ THE TREEHOUSE
5/11 – LEXINGTON, KY @ BUSTER’S
5/31 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT @ THE URBAN LOUNGE
6/1 – DENVER, CO @ THE HI-DIVE
6/2 – KANSAS CITY, MO @ THE RECORD BAR
6/3 – NORMAN, OK @ OPOLIS
6/4 – DENTON, TX @ DAN’S SILVER LEAF
6/5 – HOUSTON, TX @ ELEANOR TINSLEY PARK
6/6 – AUSTIN, TX @ THE MOHAWK
6/8 – ALBUQUERQUE, NM @ THE LAUNCH PAD
6/9 – PHOENIX, AZ @ THE RHYTHM ROOM
6/10 – TUCSON, AZ @ CLUB CONGRESS
6/11 – SAN DIEGO, CA @ CHE CAFE
7/1-3 – CALGARY, AB @ SLED ISLAND FESTIVAL

More pictures from rehearsal after the jump.

Related posts:

1. Sugar & Gold Release “Get Wet,” Premiere Video & Prep For Tour
2. Sugar & Gold Premiere “Stay Soft,” Announce Tour & Ready “Get Wet!” LP
3. Two New Songs From SF’s Sugar & Gold Featured In Condé Nast Traveler Series

“Remember the old Cinemax movie intro from the 80’s? This was before your friends started calling it Skinemax and you watched countless lewd B-movies with them late night, laughing at the soft core. I’m talking about the early intro…

Fun with shapes and colors on an Amiga graphics workstation! How far we’ve come. Director Sam Young was inspired by one of those old intro’s (though I might have guessed it was HBO’s instead) when he crafted this new video for Sugar & Gold’s, Giorgio Moroder-soaked jam called “Stay Soft.”" – IFC Indie Ear

Sugar & Gold – Stay Soft from Sam Young on Vimeo.

Electronic/dance/rock quintet Sugar & Gold are prepared to deliver pleasure to music fans in many forms this Spring: live shows, new video and most of all, their full-length debut Get Wet. Already exciting audiences with shows around their native San Francisco, including a show with !!! at Noise Pop, the band are prepared to hit the road for a U.S. tour and make a stop up North this summer for the Sled Island Festival! The band intend to show all of America exactly why they are frequently referred to as the “Best Party Band” in the Bay Area.

SUGAR & GOLD SPRING 2010 TOUR

4/29 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ BOTTOM OF THE HILL**
4/30 – LOS ANGELES, CA @ THE ECHO**
5/1 – MONTEREY, CA @ THE BLUE FIN*
5/2 – CHICAGO, IL @ THE EMPTY BOTTLE*
5/3 – PONTIAC, MI @ THE CROFOOT PIKE ROOM*
5/4 – COVINGTON, KY @ THE MAD HATTER*
5/5 – PITTSBURGH, PA @ THUNDERBIRD CAFE*
5/6 – BROOKLYN, NY @ THE KNITTING FACTORY*
5/7 – BOSTON, MA @ TBA*
5/8 – PHILADELPHIA, PA @ MARBAR*
5/9 – BUFFALO, NY @ MOHAWK PLACE*
5/10 – COLUMBUS, OH @ THE TREEHOUSE*
5/11 – LEXINGTON, KY @ BUSTER’S*
5/31 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT @ THE URBAN LOUNGE*
6/1 – DENVER, CO @ THE HI-DIVE*
6/2 – KANSAS CITY, MO @ THE RECORD BAR*
6/3 – NORMAN, OK @ OPOLIS*
6/4 – DENTON, TX @ DAN’S SILVER LEAF*
6/5 – HOUSTON, TX @ ELEANOR TINSLEY PARK*
6/6 – AUSTIN, TX @ THE MOHAWK*
6/8 – ALBUQUERQUE, NM @ THE LAUNCH PAD*
6/9 – PHOENIX, AZ @ THE RHYTHM ROOM*
6/10 – TUCSON, AZ @ CLUB CONGRESS*
6/11 – SAN DIEGO, CA @ CHE CAFE*
7/1-3 – CALGARY, AB @ SLED ISLAND FESTIVAL*

** w/ Nite Jewel, Baron Von Luxxury
* w/ the Seedy Seeds

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MP3: “Neon Beams” via XLR8R
AUDIO: “Parisian Goldfish (Take Remix)” by Flying Lotus via YouTube
PODCAST: Take & Nobody on Low End Theory Podcast XIV via LA Weekly

TOMORROW, 4/21: “ONLY MOUNTAIN” RECORD RELEASE PARTY @ Low End Theory (The Airliner, 2419 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90031)

Alpha Pup is proud to present Only Mountain, the newest release from L.A.-based beat producer Take. His most powerful and fully realized work to date, Only Mountain serves as a complete affirmation of Take’s ten prolific years in music production. Although prominently featured on seminal releases such as From L.A. With Love and this year’s All City 10″, Take is poised to make the greatest impact of his career with his newest sonic creation.

From Only Mountain’s opening salvo, “Before You Think,” it is clear that Take has claimed his rightful place amongst the beat scene’s leading luminaries. A dusty off-kilter space stomp, the track lays the ground work for an album’s worth of hazy electronic textures and intergalactic breakbeats. Case in point: “Incredibright,” a no-holds-barred haymaker of astro-hop swagger. On “Implosions,” one of the albums more introspective tracks, Take drags us through a spaced out journey of low-end stabs and bit-crushed melodies.

A dense and groundbreaking work, Take’s Only Mountain stands as a staggering collection of gorgeously brilliant melodies and deep subharmonic bass. Truly future music towards a brighter end.

Alpha Pup presents TAKE [Studio Tour] from Alpha Pup on Vimeo.

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1. Stream Free the Robots’ “Ctrl Alt Delete” At AOL Spinner; Out Today On Alpha Pup Records
2. OUT TODAY: Nocando “Jimmy The Lock” On Alpha Pup Records
3. OUT TODAY: Daedelus Presents “Righteous Fists of Harmony” On Brainfeeder

“Cummings’ feather-light vocals and lush instrumentation recall Timber Timbre, though in a more distinctively upbeat way. The disco beats and Isaac Hayes-style horn-and-string arrangements give the music a slight 1970s AM radio colouring.” EYE Weekly

“Cummings is an excellent songwriter with a finely honed sense of when to introduce new material.” Pitchfork Media

“A bewitching collection of pristine tunes indebted to 70s R&B, smooth jazz and hi-fi rock” Listen Dammit

MP3: “Fresh and Fair” via XLR8R

Six years after the release of his previous album Landau, Toronto’s Chris A. Cummings, a.k.a. Mantler, is set to release his anticipated fourth album Monody in April. The album will be made available via Tomlab in continental Europe, Japan and the USA, and through Tin Angel in the UK and Ireland, and Blocks Recording Club in Canada.

Continuously pushing the production envelope, each Mantler album has it’s own unique sound. Mantler’s first album, Doin’ It All (2000), was recorded almost entirely with a densely multi-tracked wurlitzer, a Rhythm Ace drum machine, and a primitive 1980s sampler. His second album Sadisfaction (2002) was more expansive, sedate and”rock”-like while the third album, Landau (2004), featured tighter pop structures and brighter production, paying tribute to the R&B sound of the late 1970s and early 1980s (frequently drawing comparisons to Steely Dan).

Mantler’s new album, Monody, combines the best elements of the previous albums to create a grander, more epic version of his sound – the density of Doin’ It All, the sedate quality of Sadisfaction, and the songwriting focus of Landau. Combining soul, rock, R&B, and jazz, the sound of Monody, which means “a sad melody” or “a single melody”, is hard to pin down. Mantler explains: “I like it when a ‘normal’ artist tries to make a ‘weird’ album, like Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk, or when a ‘weird’ artist tries to make a ‘normal’ album, like Archie Shepp’s Attica Blues. Somewhere between Tusk and Attica Blues, that’s the area I’m aiming for, conceptually. Even if the end result sounds nothing like either of those two albums!”

On Monody, Mantler teamed up with a plethora of talented collaborators. Six tracks on the album were produced by longtime Mantler producer Zack G, while Jeremy Greenspan (Junior Boys) and Leon Taheny (Final Fantasy, Bruce Peninsula) each produced two tracks and Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) did brass arrangements on two tracks. The roster of acclaimed guest musicians includes: Constellation artist and Toronto music guru Sandro Perri, ex-Montrealer and Local Rabbit Ben Gunning, the Ohbijou string section (Jennifer Mecija and Anissa Hart), two of the mad geniuses behind The Silt (Ryan Driver and Marcus Quin), Ernest Agbuya and Matias Rozenberg of The Matias Band (of which Mantler is also a member), Sam Allison and Teilhard Frost of Sheesham and Lotus, as well as longtime backing vocalist Dennis Frey.

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MP3s: “Me Gusto ft. Chico Mann” via LA Weekly

“The titular tune, which West Coast Sound has the honor of premiering, features singing from Chico Mann, another alter-ego courtesy of Antibalas guitarist Marquitos Garcia, not to mention the wild production of Mexicans With Guns, which sounds like the physical manifestation of the lyrics to Beck’s Que Ondo Guero.” LA Weekly

MEXICANS WITH GUNS is the raw and exciting production-moniker/character created by Exponential Records honcho Ernest Gonzales. After prepping his Been Meaning To Tell You LP for the Friends of Friends label, EG was in search of a new sound and ready to explore the depths of bass music and it’s unique sonic elements…his journey lead him to the cutty edges of his mind where Mexico, London and the Dirty South all fused into one mysterious and club friendly mindset.

Dawning the mexican wrestling mask in February 2009, MwG began tearing down the streets with big bass and a nasty swag, breaking out remixes for the likes of Bassnectar, Rainbow Arabia, CYNE, Faunts, Yppah, and shared the stage with the likes of Peanut Butter Wolf, Daedelus, Ghosts on Tape, Nocando, Eliot Lipp, Mux Mool, Jogger and more. The Me Gusto EP is just a taste of what’s to come from MwG in the near future including collaborations with Tiffany Preston (Rainbow Arabia), Nocando (Alpha Pup) and more so watch out!

“I didn’t come here to cut your grass.” Mexicans with Guns

12″ Tracklist:

A:
1. Me Gusto ft. Chico Mann
2. Me Gusto ft. Chico Mann (Ghosts on Tape Remix)

B:
1. Dame Lo
2. Los Perritos
3. Me Gusto (Instrumental)

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1. OUT NOW: Ernest Gonzales Presents Been Meaning To Tell You On FoF Music
2. OUT TODAY: Daedelus Presents “Righteous Fists of Harmony” On Brainfeeder
3. OUT TODAY: Nocando “Jimmy The Lock” On Alpha Pup Records

MP3: “You and I Both Know” via This Week’s Best Albums at Alarm
Podcast: “Brain Food” for Brainfeeder

“I’ve never seen a boy eat an ounce of wasabi in one sitting or solve a scrambled Rubik’s cube so fast.. and his beats are just as unique!” Mary Anne Hobbs (BBC)

Anticipation has been running high for the release of Alex B’s debut full-length album Moments. Years of focused time in the studio and relentless touring all over the world have earned Alex his due recognition, with hype surrounding the rising producer growing daily. In the Last year alone, Alex received airplay on BBC’s Mary Anne Hobbs Show (the authority on up-and-coming bass music) and URB Magazine, who flagged him as one to watch in their highly regarded annual “Next 100″ issue, saying, “Whether he is remixing Dilla or creating patchwork masterpieces, his resourcefulness is as prominent as his passion. Be on the lookout for his full-length album.” The wait is almost over. Moments is set to hit the streets April 6th on Alex B’s own Elm and Oak imprint.

To call Elm and Oak a record label would be as over simplistic as calling Alex B’s productions “beats”. Elm and Oak is a creative hub for web design, graphic design, clothing, graffiti, photography and event promotion, all of which Alex is actively involved in.

Alex B-”Moments” Promo Video from ELM AND OAK on Vimeo.

Those familiar with Alex B already know that he tends to take a layered approach to everything, especially his music. The tracks on Moments are intricately crafted with painstaking care and attention to detail — a careful mix of analog and digital sounds elevated by imaginative samples and the insight of a classically trained musician. The result is a blend of timeless warmth and future beats that is as easily adaptable to introspective time with one’s headphones as it is to group mania on a mobbed dance floor.

This is evident through Alex B’s recently produced mix that has been getting huge downloads. “Brain Food” for Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label, contains 90% unreleased tracks, and has been a nice tide over for those itching to hear Moments in its entirety. The mix includes a taste of the novel sounds in store and clues about guest appearances on the album.

With his work in the studio complete, and interest in his music at an all time high, Alex B plans to tour extensively following the release of Moments on April 6th. The run will begin at the coveted Low End Theory Night in Los Angeles and will cover cities from coast to coast. Check back in with www.alexbeats.com or www.ElmAndOak.com for tour dates and to get your hands on the album as soon as it’s released.

4/22 Boulder, CO @ Fox Theater w/ Madlib
4/28 Los Angeles, CA – Low End Theory @ The Airliner
4/29 San Francisco, CA @ Mighty
4/30 Minneapolis, MN @ The Loft
5/1 Denver, CO @ Cervante’s
5/5 Buffalo, NY @ Big Orbit’s Soundlab
5/6 Missoula, MT @ Tophat
5/7 St. Louis, MO @ 2720
5/15 Chicago, IL @ Kinetic Playground
5/20 Charleston, SC @ Charleston Pourhouse
5/21 Richmond, VA @ Canal Club
5/22 Atlanta, GA @ 5 Spot

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Alpha Pup Records is proud to announce the release of Ctrl Alt Delete, the debut album from Free The Robots. A staggering work of mind-warping electronics, fuzzed-out psych and devastating hip-hop beats, the impending release of Ctrl Alt Delete will catapult Free The Robots to the forefront of the world renowned L.A. beat scene.

Initially started as a side project by Chris Alfaro in 2003, Free The Robots has quickly garnered a worldwide audience. Combining dusty swap-meet samples, futuristic synthesizers and live instrumentation, Free The Robots has created a unique harmony of past sounds and future ruminations. Much like his L.A. contemporaries Flying Lotus and Nosaj Thing, Free The Robots knows no genre boundaries.

Ctrl Alt Delete, which also features Ikey Owens of The Mars Volta, has been a long time coming. Originally signed to Alpha Pup over two years ago, Free The Robots has put his heart and soul into this album. Meticulously constructed, the album is a culmination of countless late nights at Low End Theory Club, combined with a spirit of fearless experimentation. The result rattles with grit and swagger — a firm proclamation of Free The Robot’s sonic arrival.

Free The Robots “Ctrl Alt Delete” Promo Video #1 from Alpha Pup on Vimeo.

Free The Robots “Ctrl Alt Delete” Promo Video #2 from Alpha Pup on Vimeo.

Free The Robots “Ctrl Alt Delete” Promo Video #3 from Alpha Pup on Vimeo.

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Listen to “Runaway Train II” as part of last summer’s Daytrotter session

“Shout-outs to Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” and Lipps Inc.’s “Funky Town” jostle elbows with nods to Swedish pop and show-tune punk, and it’s all channeled through a North American indie sensibility.” Pitchfork Media

“Still Flyin’ are a jaw-dropping live act that pack even more excitement into their show than you’d expect from a band of more than a dozen members. Everyone on stage was throwing themselves into the performance – especially the really tall guy who only seemed to enthusiastically dance behind the lead singer. I love the idea that a nationally touring band would bring along a guy just to dance.” You Ain’t No Picasso

“Fun is the new not-fun, and Still Flyin’ exemplifies that ethos…Still Flyin’ is a sweet-ass band.” SF Weekly

Arguably San Francisco’s funnest band, STILL FLYIN’ have been spreading the word of the almighty HAMMJAMM for years, demolishing minds, souls, and any notion of personal space with equal abandon. Combining the kinetic energy of 60’s era rock steady with the catchy hooks and DIY aesthetic of today’s best indie-pop, with 15-20 members at any given time STILL FLYIN’ are an event rarely paralleled. STILL FLYIN’ music is about the things most important to their lives, like getting seriously high fives, jamming music, jamming brews, jamming pizza, and “following the itinerary.”

We’re only a couple months into 2010 and the band has already finished up 10 new songs. The first offering, Runaway Train II b/w All Lips Touch 7″, shows off some new sounds, new ideas, and all the incredible joy have already come to expect from STILL FLYIN’. It will be in stores this April and digitally in March, with a new EP to follow later this spring and another 7″ this summer. STILL FLYIN’ heads back to the UK to play the Pavement curated ATP this May.

A message from STILL FLYIN’ about the new jamms…

“Hello to you. We are so excited about the chances of 2010. 2010 is all about chances. A chance to invent an invention. A chance to patent that invention. A chance to patent what you’ve always dreamt of inventing. Below are Still Flyin’s chances in the new year. To paraphrase an inspiring call to arms: give us a chance and we will no doubt take it from you.

Chances to link mindz through the magic of sound recordings:

Back in September we holed up in the legendary Hyde Street Studio C for five days and churned out 10 new songs. Can you say CCR? Can you say Green Day? Can you say Digital Underground? Can you say Kid Rock? Can you say Grateful Dead? Can you say Blue Oyster Cult? Okay, just kidding on Kid Rock (IF ONLY!), but seriously all these other people recorded at the studio we used. As of now Haima is slaving away mixing these new jamms. They sound quite different, but we are very excited for you to hear this new stuff and your first chance with be in March when Runaway Train II b/w All Lips Touch is released digitally, and as a 7″ in April. Then in May an EP of sorts with some songs too long to fit on a seven inch will be released, followed by another seven inch in the summer or fall. That’s the plan at least.”

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1. OUT NOW: Still Flyin’ Presents “A Party In Motion” EP On Ernest Jenning Record Co.

MP3: Order of the Golden Dawn (ft. Laura Darlington) via XLR8R

“The upcoming album from Daedelus is a study in juxtapositions: 19th-century China rubs up against the tele-technological future, organic sonic textures play with electronics, and hope is mixed with an uncertainty about a sinister future.” – XLR8R

Daedelus‘ newest release, Righteous Fists of Harmony, will be coming out on Flying Lotus‘ outstanding Brainfeeder label. Bridging the demise of the magic-inspired martial arts fighters of the Boxer Rebellion to the post modern malady of technology and imagination, Daedelus constructs a soundtrack-of-sorts to the struggle of both 19th century China against colonialism and modern man’s inevitable hurl towards an unknown future.

After seventy years of China’s opium-related subjugation by Queen Victoria and her allies, a force of resistance fighters — termed “Boxers” by the British — rose to the challenge in 1898. Calling themselves “The Righteous Fists of Harmony,” this secret society of martial artists felt they held magical powers: they believed themselves bulletproof, able to fly, and capable of raising the dead (who would then fight alongside them). And so began the brief Boxer Rebellion; three years later 100,000 Boxers had fallen, their magic helpless against the cutting-edge machinery of war. The British prevailed only to face ultimate defeat, as their empire rapidly declined.

Daedelus endeavors to compose a requiem for the end — of beliefs, of lives, and of an era. This elegy for a bygone battle sheds light on our own contemporary conundrum: will our faith in modernity be our downfall? Are we blinded by this age of wonders, doomed to be destroyed by our ingenious inventions? Although Daedelus’ music has always juxtaposed organic and electronic elements, they war as never before on Righteous Fists of Harmony, a portrait of a tumultuous era that came crashing to a close.

Mar 31, 2010 @ Pygmalion Cafe Bar – Dublin
Apr 1, 2010 @ Adventures In The Beetroot Field at Fabric – London
Apr 2, 2010 @ Rainbow w/ Luke Vibert – Birmingham
Apr 3, 2010 @ L’Ereme – Bari
Apr 4, 2010 @ Electron Festival – Geneva
Apr 8, 2010 @ D:qliq – Luxembourg
Apr 9, 2010 @ Bateau Ivre – Tours
Apr 10, 2010 @ Motel Mozaique Festival @ Laatam – Rotterdam
Apr 11, 2010 @ Auditorium Parco De La Musice – Rome
Apr 17, 2010 @ Remixing the Ring Cycle at the Edye Theater – Santa Monica, California
Apr 24, 2010 @ The Loft at UC San Diego – San Diego, California
Apr 30, 2010 @ The Avalon Hollywood – Los Angeles, California
May 1, 2010 @ Illumination at Limelight featuring Pretty Lights – Nashville, Tennessee
Jun 5, 2010 @ Starscape with Rusko, Trouble & Bass + more – Baltimore, Maryland
Jul 24, 2010 @ Audiotistic – San Bernardino, California

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