Sybarite - Other Side of the Lid

On Oct. 10, 2006, Sybarite released "Cut Out Shape", a compilation of remixes, collaborations and unreleased tracks. Buy the album and you will receive a free mp3 download link for another album of mostly short soundtrack-like snippets called "Other Side Of The Lid" (OSOTL 1).

Track listing:
Spun Together / Thermopolis / Save / Turnstiles / Other Side Of The Lid / The Ground Up / Remember Me / Cloud Banging / Pawned / Out & Out / The Wait / Around The Bend / Differing / Summer Song / Glass / Rubbing Up Against It

If "Cut Out Shape" were not enough of an excellent new Sybarite album I'd say one should buy it for the second album alone.

Beirut live on KEXP

Zach Condon will be live on air at 9.30 am Pacific tomorrow. You can listen to his set live at www.kexp.org.

Minotaur Shock Live News

BRISTOL Fri 27 Oct – The Arc Bar
CARDIFF Tues 7 Nov – The Point (with Yo La Tengo)
CAMBRIDGE Thurs 9 Nov – The Junction (with Yo La Tengo)
LONDON Sat 11 Nov – The Forum (with Yo La Tengo)

Magnétophone: 22 Calibre Family

Matt and John have contributed a new track called "22 Calibre Family" to the first CD compilation from Mind Expansion Records in its 11 year history. The release, titled "A Mind Expansion Compilation" (ME2007CD), was compiled by Füxa frontman and Mind Expansion owner Randall Nieman. Other contributions include Piano Magic's "A Fist in the Air (A Tear in the Eye)" and new tracks from Spacemen 3, The Telescopes, Füxa, Mazarin, Amp, Bardo Pond and Transient Waves.

Paula Frazer Live at Ace of Spades

This EP release is out for half a year already, but I love it and it is rarely mentioned:
(From Birdman Records, Paula's current record label:)

"Recorded live at the Ace Of Spades in 2005, this live recording is the perfect accompaniment to Leave The Sad Things Behind. The most completely realized, thoroughly individualistic statement in the entire Paula Frazer/Tarnation catalogue yet. Those describing Paula and her music always begin with her extraordinary voice and rightfully so: Frazer's singing makes angelic choirmasters green with envy. At the same time it carries a sensual earthiness with its slight Southern twang, an accent stemming from childhood days singing in her father's choir at his church in northern Arkansas. Songs like "Watercolor Lines" provide brilliant showcases for her remarkable vocals. "Long Ago" is as deep and movingly written as anything she's ever done. On the lighter side is the album opener "Always On My Mind" which has the hooks and grooves of Graham Parsons' Byrds. "Waiting For You" is an epic of longing with a striking, powerful chorus."

Tracks: Bitter Rose, Game of Broken Hearts, Watercolor Lines, Always on My Mind, Waiting for You

The record is available from iTunes and Napster.

IBM 1401: Film Project

"A film of Johann Johannsson's IBM 1401, a User´s Manual has been commissioned by the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp and will be shown as part of the exhibition "Gorge (L) - Opression and Relief in Art" from October 6th 2006 til 7th January 2007. The film was directed by Thorgeir Gudmundsson and was shot during a performance of the piece in Dro, Italy in July 2006."

(Info taken from Johann's redesigned site which was created by web designers Rebels in Control who also commissioned work for David Sylvian and the Helmut Newton Foundation (among others).

4AD Artists on tour in Europe

A few 4AD related tour dates for October and November from Beggars Group Germany and from the Barbara Carlotti site:

Barbara Carlotti
Oct. 4 Metz, La Chapelle
Oct. 5 Nancy, Le Vertigo
Oct. 6 Fresnes, Festival de Marne, La Grange Dimiere (with Claire di Terzi et Bab X)
Oct. 17 Nantes, Salle Paul Fort (with Cirz)
Oct. 19 Lyon, La Plateforme (with Emily Loizeau)
Oct. 20 Grenoble, Chapelle Saint Marie d'en Haut - Festival Rocktambules
Oct. 21 Lausanne
Oct. 24 Portes les Valence (26), Le Train Théâtre

M.Ward
Oct. 19 Hamburg, Molotow
Oct. 25 Berlin, White Trash
Oct. 26 Köln, Gebäude 9

TV On The Radio
Nov. 18 Hamburg, Knust
Nov. 19 Schorndorf, Manufaktur
Nov. 20 München, Feierwerk

4AD On The Radio: Recent archive additions

Santa Monica, California based radio station KCRW has recently revamped its site. Besides a TV On The Radio session reported earlier, the streaming archive now features a couple of recent in-studio performances from Nic Harcourt's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" program:

On Oct. 2, 2006, Mojave 3 performed a mixture of new songs and old favourites together with Sarah Nelson. Sarah was guest vocalist with former label mates Cuba and currently replaces Rachel Goswell. [listen]

On Sep. 28, 2006, M. Ward and band played songs from Matt's recent Post-War album. [listen/watch]

A few days earlier, on Sep. 25, 2006, a stripped-down Mojave 3 line-up guested at Seattle's KEXP station. [listen]

Finally, KEXP's latest compilation CD features an in-studio performance of "Warning Shots" by Thievery Corporation which dates back from May 10, 2005. The full performance can be streamed here.

Slightly Off The Ground: Vaughan Oliver & v23 Poster Designs

Thursday 18 January to Saturday 3 March 2007, Stanley Picker Gallery, University, Knights Park, Kingston upon Thames

For more than 25 years, Vaughan Oliver (photo by Michele Turriani) has been creating seductive graphic works combining word and image for some of the world’s most influential contemporary musicians, developing distinctive visual vocabularies for artists as diverse as Pixies, Cocteau Twins and Scott Walker. His work forms part of the Victoria & Albert Museum collection and has been exhibited in Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Athens.

Slightly off the Ground presents a personal selection of his iconic music posters from early works with 4AD to the present day. The exhibition provides a rare overview of the themes and influences that underpin the practice of this inspirational graphic alchemist, the specially devised gallery installation sound-tracked by the music that inspired the resulting designs.

"Vaughan Oliver and v23 Poster Designs" published by v23 available from the Gallery during the exhibition.

(taken from Kingston University Public Events Calendar)

Label-hoppers

Piano Magic make a statement why they have never found a "home label" to stay with:

"Why don’t they just stick with one label?
They’ve never really been able to find a label that will let them do exactly what they want to do whenever they want to do it and this is the core of what they’re about. So, they flit around from label to label, working with anyone that’s a) interested in working with them and b) will give them complete artistic freedom. The group have released records on i/Che, Wurlitzer Jukebox, Piao!, Acetone, Debut, Liquefaction Empire, Bad Jazz, Rocket Girl, Darla, Acuarela, Morr Music, 4AD, Green Ufos, Dora Dorovitch and Talitres."

Piano Magic have often been claimed to sound very "4AD", and, until today, fans consequently question their parting ways in 2003 after the band released two albums and a remix 12" on 4AD. In the above terms, however, the 4AD/Piano Magic partnership could be regarded as a relative success story which has only been exceeded by the band's output on Rocket Girl and Green Ufos.

Support this strong vision of independence and buy a shirt in the band's merchandise store. The identity and ornaments are taken from the Disaffected album artwork which was jointly created by former v23 designer Martin Andersen and his wife Line at Andersen M Studio.