Dirty Beaches - Lord Knows Best

Montreal’s Alex Zhang Hungtai aka Dirty Beaches is causing a complete sensation in the music world with his debut album, badlands is a raw lo-fi rockabilly wonder, its dark and almost hypnotic that creates a sense of nostalgia and the perfect soundtrack for a ghostly road movie.

Dirty Beaches in Amsterdam 15 July @ Sleazefest and 16 July Nieuw Anita

Watch | Dirty Beaches - Lord Knows Best
Listen | Dirty Beaches - Sweet 17

mY Indie Soul # 41

In the loving memory of the 7th of may night in Amsterdam ...
BBQ in Westerpark, KEEPVID #2, hanging around with Miguel and watch Space Siren @ Occii, T. Raumschmiere electro dark industrial Techno DJ SET madness at Winston with Stephane, Ana and Mony, anothar épic bike crash and wake every sunday morning in a different couch ... Amsterdam i love you but you killing me !!!

Listen | mY Indie Soul # 41

Late Night - I need so little (yet so much)
Stone Darling - Can you get to that [ Funkadelic Cover ]
Those Darlins - Mystic Mind
The Fresh and Onlys - Do You Believe in Destiny
Girl Names - I Could Die
Gypsy Death and You - Crocus
Swimsuit - Sunlight
Seapony - Blue-Star
Craft Spells - Your Tomb
Keren Ann - Je Fume Pour Oublier Que Tu Bois [ Alain Bashung ]
The Tablets - I Love You in Your Tragic Beauty
Chad VanGaalen - Replace Me
Deerhunter - Nosebleed
Moon Duo - Run Around
Young Widows - Miss Tambourine Wrist
Disappears - Halo
Fidlar - I wanna be your cocaine

Get it here

Thot - Obscured by the Wind

Brussels Post-Industrial band Thot as released a new album and is full of really sick tunes that will please for sure fans of Nine Inch Nails and 65daysofstatic.



Watch | Thot - Moved Hills

Wasted Rita

"Wasted Rita is Rita Gomes. Graphic Designer. Graduated from Oporto's School of Fine Arts. Getting up early. Sunny days. Positive attitudes. Punk music and culture. DIY ethics. Live shows. Counterculture. Guerrilla art. Summer. Illustration. Drawing. The Bouncing Souls. Black Flag. Bkini Kill. Paint It Black. Lifetime. Ljubljana. Wide Smiles. Doing artworks for bands. Fanzines. Pens, pencils & ink. Colored papers. Scissors. Tape. Working through mistakes. Street waste. Irritating and provoking people. Experimenting. Exploring. Creating. Keeping it simple and fun."

Scion A/V Garage: Hex Dispensers / King Tuff

Scion A/V Garage: Hex Dispensers / King Tuff by ScionAV

The very generous and awesome ppl from Scion giving more free goodies from their Garage 7" series

Thurston Moore - Benediction video

New music video from the Sonic Youth legend Thurston Moore upcoming new solo album, Demolished Thoughts is out May 24 on Matador.

Watch | Thurston Moore - Benediction

ksubi Kolors

"Cult Australian fashion label ksubi, toast the long awaited return of their coloured denim range, with a short film directed by Australian director Daniel Askill. kolors is a fume-fuelled, slow-motion battle between three colour-clad models and a trio of '80s muscle cars."

Watch | ksubi Kolors

Abstract Birds and Quayola, Partitura 001

Amazing Realtime sound visualisation made with custom software "Partitura"
Sound by Telefon Tel Aviv, an ongoing collaboration between Abstract Birds and Quayola

"Partitura is a custom software to generate realtime graphics aimed at visualising sound. The term “Partitura” (score) implies a connection with music, and this metaphor is the main focus of the project. Partitura aims to create a new system for translating sound into visual forms."

Watch | Abstract Birds and Quayola - Partitura 001

Smutley AIDS

The non-profit organization ‘AIDES’ came up with this hilarious animation with the super promiscuous cat Smutley calling attention for the dangers of multiple partners. The cartoon video was created by illustrator Mike Kazaleh, who has done some work for Futurama and The Simpsons

Watch | Smutley AIDS

Amsterdam Street Art June 2011

The Amsterdam Project ASA, has announced some of the artists that will fill Amsterdam walls with beautiful art, the event will take place from 22nd until 26th June and the first confirmed names are Btoy (Spain), Ottograph (Netherlands), Sweet Toof (England), Cosh (Netherlands) and Erick Hikups (Belgium).

For more news and updates visit Amsterdam Street Art

Tyvek - 4312

New video from Detroit's punk collective Tyvek for Scion/Av

Watch | Tyvek - 4312

Dan Melchior and Letha Melchior need your help!

As you probably know, the life of a musician playing independent music is not a lucrative one. So when one hits a snag in life that taps the resources and makes working an outside job impossible, times get really hard. This is where Dan and Letha Melchior find themselves right now. You know Dan as one of the best underground rock & roll songwriters around. He's released records on labels such as In the Red, Hangman, S.S., Siltbreeze, Daggerman and others, and played with his bands the Broke Review and Das Menace, as well as Billy Childish and Holly Golightly. Letha is a member of Tretetam and Das Menace, a former member of Ruby Falls, and contributes to a lot of Dan's record jacket art/design, not to mention Dan's partner.

A few months ago Letha was diagnosed with cancer and since then she's been in a pretty hard fight, requiring some operations and much treatment. She's been unable to work. Dan's role as her caretaker has taken him out of the work force. Letha has basic medical insurance but that really doesn't mean a whole lot in the USA. Debt is piling up. And the state that they live in, North Carolina, doesn't offer much in the way of aid. Dan and Letha need our help.

Independent of Dan and Letha, we are asking people to help them out. The Melchior name has given us a whole lot of great music; now it is time to give a little back. We know times are hard for a lot of people, so we are asking that you give what you can afford. Please know that the money donated to Dan and Letha goes directly to them via their paypal account. Melchior Fund

Scion AV Presents Documentary New Garage Explosion, In Love With These Times

Awesome documentary about the ubbercool US garage movement, a must see, a fest for the eyes and ears.

"Long proven as ardent supporters of the niche scene of one of rock’s most exciting subgenres, garage, Scion A/V made its first foray into feature length documentary with New Garage Explosion!!: In Love With These Times, this past November. The label is pleased to announce that the film, once limited to the digital online realm, is going to be presented in select theaters across the country in exclusive engagements free to the public on a strictly first come first served basis. The list of screening cities and locations follow below.

ABOUT THE FILM

After a brief nod to garage’s humble beginnings amongst American youth in Detroit during the 1960s and its contribution and influence on ’80s punk, New Garage Explosion!!: In Love With These Times focuses on the scintillating present. As it pans trans-nationally, the camera profiles artists like the late Jay Reatard, Black Lips, The Dirtbombs, Thee Oh Sees, Smith Westerns, Vivian Girls and many more in an attempt to understand not only the exponential ascent of garage rock’s popularity but the reason these people feel so passionately about it. A wide-eyed glimpse into a musical movement, the film is as much about the music as it is about the people contributing to the distinct scenes of the San Francisco, Oakland, Detroit, New York, Memphis, Atlanta, and Portland garage communities.

VBS directors Joseph Patel and Aaron Brown worked with producer/journalist Mike McGonigal to offer a particularly in depth examination of a multi-dimensional and often misunderstood slice of popular culture unfolding in front of us. New Garage Explosion!!: In Love With These Times is a candid snapshot of this magically vibrant moment in rock history, inspirational and brimming with DIY purity."

Watch | Scion A/V Presents the New Garage Explosion!!: In Love With These Times

Evita Weed Photography

Last week got this wonderful and first photography submission, Evita tumblr is loaded with beautiful pictures and a superb soundtrack to go wit it.






"EvitaWeed (Eva M ª González López) was born in 1986 in a small village in the province of Jaen in Andalusia, and that's where I started learning about photography in a very experimental. In 2002, Evita moved to Granada where she began studying photography and develop their own style.
I developed my own style with a love story that was somewhat rough and left me in deep sadness, I began to see photography as more than one activity is a way to translate my feelings and impressions in the light and transforming them into a tangible form that can be seen in the paper. Although born in the digital age, Evita Weed, focuses primarily on film her portraits are characterized by a touch melancholy, soft and subtle tones of vintage analog grain conveying a sense of time recognizable. "

Arnaud Rebotini - Personal Dictator

New video and 2nd album "Someone Gave Me Religion" coming very soon on Black Strobe records from the Parisian master !@! Just in case you dont know him Arnaud Rebotini was the founder of the beloved Dark Electro Parisian duo ♥ Black Strobe ♥ together with Ivan Smagghe in 1997

Watch | Arnaud Rebotini - Personal Dictator

Electric Independence: Emeralds | Motherboard

Wonderfull insight into the secrets of Clevelands John Elliott, Steve Hauschildt and Mark McGuire aka Emeralds psychedelic synth drone.

Watch | Electric Independence: Emeralds | Motherboard

Emeralds live Amsterdam 18 May @ OT301

The Soft Moon - Parallels @ Incase Room 205

Amazing live recording from San Francisco's The Soft Moon at Incase Room 205

Watch | The Soft Moon - Parallels

The Soft Moon live in Amsterdam 14 May @ Occii

My Morning Jacket - Circuital

My Morning Jacket's new album "Circuital" is out May 31 and on the meantime here is the first taste of what is to come.

Listen | My Morning Jacket - Circuital

Queensday Amsterdam 2011

After 8 years i still get overwhelmed with the Queensday festivities in Amsterdam and the Orange madness , 2011 saw 1 million vibrating people around this gorgeous city and instead of previous editions this year i focused more on the little details and not so much on the canals extravaganza.
Queensday is the maximum expression of freedom, there are all sorts of free parties to all sorts of tastes everywhere on the streets, Amsterdamers come to the streets and sell their old goodies and you can make your own business for one day without having to pay any taxes, other just express their creativity and play music, make theater you will pretty much get totally mindblown with the stuff you find in the streets, my favorite part is The Jordan Quartet one of the finest in Amsterdam.
Queensday is better than Easter, New Years Eve and Christmas all together and for all these reasons Queen Bea rocks !!!



Friday Queensnight started in the Café The Minds with a Punk Street Party where i went to see the Amsterdam Sexy Blond Punk-Rockers Malle Pietje and the Bimbo's and it was freaking unbelievable, the stage was just a few inches from the street and there were tons of Punkers jumping around in their mosh rituals where cars, bikes and people where passing buy and i'm really surprised that no one got hit by a car because there were some serious idiots speeding beyond normality, only in Amsterdam for sure !!!

Watch | Malle Pietje and the Bimbos - Tienerhoer
Malle Pietje and the Bimbo's cult hit



Saturday afternon we went to the Jordan and crossed the Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal) were as expected i found lots of really cool stuff, just in the beginning were these super talented kids jamming like pros with the a true garage music spirit.



My friend Kirsten from Copenhagen all happy with her new dress that se bought on the street for something like 5 eur, her happiness soon would get torned apart when someone manage to steal her wallet with credit card, money etc ... lucky they didn't get the passport !!!



Queensdate was the most original idea from this year that i came across, for two eur you got a picture and you can leave your number and maybe you will get a phone call ...



In the middle of all that crowd we manage to found some of our friends !!!



Pepper the super sweet lady from Texas, Kirsten was a bit sick from the Sun and we had to make a stop, we asked Pepper to let Kirsten in her shop to take a rest and she offered a bed and while i waited i got two fresh glasses of wine to refuel, really cool lady isn't she ? Pepper runs a Pilates shop called Best Body in The Jordan go there and make her a visit cause she ROCKS !!!!




We kept our random walks across the Jordan and in one lucky stop i stumble on the amazing abstract Amsterdam based painter Tineke Storteboom , she as a pretty awesome studio filled with wonderful art, if you are in town go make her a visit !!!



Such a awesome sunny afternoon, just a few minutes after this stop i bumped into my French concert buddy Marie Tavera, very sweet and happy moment !!!



Very cute design and colorful way to protect your gadgets, unfortunately i forgot to ask more details but maybe i run into them again.



A less positive moment in this wonderful day, i heard some kick ass drum n bass tunes coming from the Stadsschouw in the Leidsplein and i wanna to take some pics and head bang for a bit but i wasn't aloud in ... unfortunately i have to say that i love Amsterdam but Amsterdam does not Love Audiopleasures, ive been blogging for 4 years and every single time i ask something for this people what i get is squat ... im over it and it doesn't bother me anymore.



Very promising Mc !!!!



Started on friday with Punk and finished saturday on one of my favorite Amsterdam hang outs the Pacific Park in the Westerpark, arrived late for the Local Spastics but got just in time for the awesome and powerful Gewapend Beton on this picture with the company of the Local Spastics lead singer that is just about to take a dive !!!

I guess that all for this year folks and all we have to do is wait for Queens Day 2012 !!!

Oh Sunshine - I belong to you

Super sexy Japanese rock n roll !!!

"oh sunshine was formed by mikio hirama and emily connor in 2010. they are now in the works of producing their first release, some of which will be available for download later this year. "

Watch | Oh Sunshine - I belong to you

Conrad Roset Drawing Video

Fascinating video of Barcelona Illustrator Conrad Rose drawing one of his muses.

Watch | Conrad's drawing

Indiestad Amsterdam 18-25 May

Amazing Amsterdam festival taking place in several venues around the city, Paradiso, Melkweg, De Balie, De Duif, Bitterzoet, OT301 and bringing some really fascinating names in the Indie music scene ...

Indiestad Amsterdam 18-25 May

Toro Y Moi - The Emeralds - Esben & The Witch - Gang Gang Dance - The Black Box Revelation - Die Anarchistische Abendunterhaltung - Wild Beasts - Flash Guns - Twin Shadow - Wolf People - Holy Ghost! - Fresh & Only's - The Crookes - Cat's Eyes - Cloud Nothings - Sam Amidon - Caribou - The Jezabels - Explosions in the Sky and many more !!!!!!

Moon Duo - Mazes

New video from Colorado-based psych-rock band Moon Duo (Wooden Shjips' Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada) Mazes is taken from the new album out March 29 on Sacred Bones.

Watch | Moon Duo - Mazes

Holland gigs : Geertruida, Haarlem 4 May, Paradox (Incubate) 5 May, Tilburg,Vera, Gronigen 6 May, DB's Studio, Utrecht 8 May

Guadalupe Plata - Guadalupe Plata 2011

Amazing album from Ubeda Spain trash blues Guadalupe Plata.

"Ubeda, Spain. June 2006. Two young swamp blues worshippers - Pedro de Dios Barcelo and Carlos Jimena - perform a chemical experiment by mixing the rusty-water-wheel chant of Hound Dog Taylor, the darkness of Skip James, the hypnotic rhythm of John Lee Hooker and R.L.Burnside, the madness of Screamin' Jay Hawkins, the sweet sound of Tampa Red, the killer slide of Elmore James and the essence of Son House."

Dustin O'Halloran Interview‏

"A self-taught pianist from the age of 7, Dustin O’Halloran’s personal histories give us some clue to the thickly-woven tapestries of his music: he has lived in LA (where he studied art at Santa Monica College and formed the much-adored Devics with Sara Lov), Italy (in the depths of rural Emilia Romagna) and Berlin. His arresting, heartbreaking music is as much an elegant exercise in nuance and grace as it is a pure, intuitive, personal expression – and here is where we see some explanation into Dustin’s quiet rise to notoriety and his continued ascension."

"Lumiere is a superb addition to O’Halloran’s growing catalogue and reputation. This release sits neatly alongside some great career highs already ticked off, including writing music for Sofia Coppola’s film Marie Antoinette (2006), William Olsen’s An American Affair (2010) and Drake Doremus' 2011 Sundance winner Like Crazy and performing at New York’s Guggenheim Museum’s Kandinsky’s retrospective for their 50th anniversary gala, and of course the two Piano Solos albums released by Bella Union in 2004 and 2006 respectively."

Listen | Dustin O'Halloran - Lumiere 2011 / Buy



Witch of these styles is Dustin O'Halloran, Neo Classic, Modern Classic, Classic and why ?

well I think its difficult to say some people call it Neo Classic but I prefer to call it contemporary music. I think its hard to define what classic means so I prefer to stay away from that term. But I guess people can call it what ever they want its the music that matters.

When did you started playing the piano ? was by influence of someone close or you just felt naturally attracted to it ?

I started with just a few years of piano lessons from the church organist when i was young. There always was an attraction to the instrument when I first heard someone play Chopin, that was the moment i think I knew I wanted to play and even compose. I started writing simple pieces pretty early on and even performed one at a recital when I was your. didn't play the piano much during my teenage years as I was moving around and didn't have access to a piano. I came back to it much later when I started my band Devics with singer Sara Lov. This is what brought me back to music and the piano.

What were the dreams of a childhood playing piano ? Did you had fantasies of becoming so famous and playing in big theaters ?

No not really Maybe my mother did, hehe? but I was very interested in playing when I was young actually I was pretty petrified to perform the piano live, its so different than being up there with a band, I felt completely naked and its not until just a few years ago I really felt comfortable to perform piano live.

Who were your heroes ? Name someone that had a deep impact in your live and why ?

I think I have always been wary about having heroes they can always disappoint you in some way. But I do have tremendous respect for some artists who I think influenced me by their singular visions. People like Stanley Kubrick, Brian Eno, Mark Rothko to name a few..

How you would describe your style if you would compare it with other composers like Sylvain Chauveau and Max Richter ?

I think what we all share in common is our sense of space and minimalism. But other than that I think we are quite different. But I do have a lot of respect for them both.

Would you say that "Lumiere" is on the borderline between Modern Classic and Classic and why ? Who are your major influences from the classic world ?

Perhaps this record is the closest I have come to the classical world. I had a really amazing and accomplished quartet that recorded with me ACME, and also its the most composed pieces I have done to date.
Some composers that have been an influence have could be Arvo Part, Gavin Bryars, Debussy, Messiaen, Bach, Erik Satie..

How far did your moving to Europe affected your compositions ?

I dont think I could ever have written this music with out my move to Europe. It effected it in so many ways. First because I had the time to focus on the piano compositions and also I found people that were inspiring around me, fellow collaborators. I think Europe is a better place for composers there is more support here for new music and you have so many amazing players and places to perform. The US is still really dominated by folk and rock music ( which I also love) but it makes it difficult for anything else to exist and thrive. I feel very at home in Europe.

You have collaborated with many musician and composers all over the years, witch one would say has influenced you the most ?

I have been lucky to work with some amazing artists working with Johann Johanssonn really made a strong impression on me and I truly think he is one of the great composers of our time. I also really enjoyed working with Mark Lanagen and Soulsavers on the last record his voice has this amazing lived in quality and to be able to create music with such a soulful singer is such a rare thing. I also had the chance to do a double piano concert with Hauschka in Berlin last year. We wrote some pieces for 2 pianos and performed it together. I think he is really wonderful and important artist right now he is never afraid to experiment and try new things.

For the simple fact that "Lumiere" is released in a record label like Fat Cat will always make "Lumiere" an outsider from the classical spectrum ?

I don't think so actually as this record is the first record that HAS been recognized by the classical press. So maybe there are some barriers starting to fall and more experimental labels are becoming important to the classical world. I think in general the classical world does not recognize composers until much later in their career even Philip Glass is still a bit of an outsider. But I think the most important thing is to just compose and let time decide.

"Like Crazy" the movie you have composed the OST has recently won a prize in the Sundance Film Festival, what are the main creative differences on composition between "Lumiere" and "Like Crazy" ?

Yes this was a big surprise for me to win this award as its a small independent film. Its very different writing for yourself than film. Perhaps the main difference is time. I really take my time with my own compositions and with film you usually only have a couple months to finish so much music. Also with my own work its a blank canvas everything you must start from scratch and really find something deep in yourself. Film work can also bring out things you would never do, which I like a lot as well. Its more of a collaboration so its just a really different way to work.

” A Winged Victory For The Sullen” with Adam Wiltzie from ” Stars of The Lid” is one of your most recent collaborations, What can we expect ?

Yes I am very proud of this record. We recorded in some amazing places Italy , Brussels, Berlin. The record will come out in late August on Kranky in the US and Erased Tapes in Europe. I would describe it as a mix of what we both do...and a study in minimalism. We recorded strings in the old DDR radio studios in Berlin, and piano in the west berlin at an old church. We really wanted to try to capture some real beautiful large acoustics its one of my favorite pianos I have ever recorded and Adam has this really amazing way of working with guitar. I think we compliment each other a lot musically and we both have a love of fine food and whiskey so a collaboration was inevitable!

Detachments @ Clube Ferroviário Lisbon 28 April

For the first time in Portugal the London Noir Synth-Pop band opens the live concerts collaboration between Audiopleasures and the super Lisbon Clube Ferroviário

"This enigmatic debut album of synth pop noir from Detachments , some two years in the making, more than distinguishes the band from their contemporaries. The promise and intrigue in the potent jagged Detachments sound that drew such creative luminaries as Andrew Weatherall, Trevor Jackson and Tim Goldsworthy to work with the band has been fully realised here.

Working with James Ford, the bands creative force Bastien Marshal has delivered an album of eleven tracks that belie any comparison with contemporary artists or bands. The eleven tracks included illustrate the Detachments ascendance to a pure synth group."



Watch | Detachments - Audio/Video
Watch | Detachments - The Flowers That Fell
Watch | Detachments - Holiday Romance

"Culled from almost 40 songs, Bastien worked day and night over a ten-day period in Hackney in the bitter snow-dusted cold of late February 2010 (our coldest in some 40 years) an experience which brought to mind the bleakness of Berlin in the midst of winter, a well trodden destination of Bastien’s.

The mutual love Minimal Wave and also the sonic experiments that emanated from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop informed the decision to fully utilise a vast array of vintage synth gear. This direction finessed the sound that seeps through every pore of their album." This Is Not An Exit Records

Damage 7 Euros
Rua de Santa Apolónia nº 59, 1100 Lisbon, Portugal

29 April Detachments at Body Rock Crew @ Armazém do Chá in Porto

Juan Francisco Casas

Absolute stunner work from Spanish born artist Juan Francisco Casas