Track/Video Premiere: Quinton Barnes’ “How I Feel”

Today, we’re thrilled to share the latest single and music video from Canadian experimental R&B songwriter and producer Quinton Barnes, “How I Feel”.

 

Quinton Barnes

Despite the year’s circumstances, 2020, at least artistically, has been quite the year for Grimalkin collective member Quinton Barnes. Between the critically acclaimed AARUPA (which we premiered earlier this year and was included as a Bandcamp ‘Album of the Day’ shortly after release) and a full remix version of that same album which saw it re-imagined in equally potent form, the Ontario artist has managed to keep busy in meaningful ways and shows no signs of slowing down, as indicated by his latest single, “How I Feel”.

 

“How I Feel” comes from Barnes’ upcoming album As a Motherfucker, due later this year, and stands as another immaculately produced and forward-thinking take on R&B that similarly pays homage to and updates the past. We’ve compared Barnes to Prince before and it continues to apply when listening to “How I Feel”‘s sexually-charged lyrics and its throbbing syncopated rhythms, initially pulsing underneath an otherwise airy soundscape before eventually growing busier, more enthralled, a little over a minute in as layered vocal tracks frenzy over each other amidst the organized chaos of a glitched tapestry, conveying the perfect mess that is the feelings between two people. The video, recorded on a cellphone, largely consists of a passionate interpretive dance, effectively marrying the DIY ethos of Barnes with his flair for the elegant.

 

You can listen to and watch the video for “How I Feel” below:

 

Quinton Barnes’ “How I Feel” is out now on digital through Grimalkin Records here. Be sure to follow Barnes on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with his work.

Album Premiere: ‘The Blackwashing’

Today, on Juneteenth, the day of emancipation, we bring to you The Blackwashing, an eclectic assortment of 24 tracks from some of the best and brightest black underground artists going today.

Conceptualized and spearheaded by mynameisblueskye and his new label ASAS in partnership with staple independent label Z Tapes and ourselves, The Blackwashing was coined as such as something of a counterattack: to whitewash has been to obscure, often by the whites who take social and political power and craft the narratives to fit their agendas. In response and in this context, to blackwash is to to reveal, to shine a light upon what and who has been ignored. Socially, it seems as though we may finally be at the point where what were previously open secrets regarding the systemic racism stitched into the very fiber of our nation’s institutions are now simply open, impossible to ignore for even the most passive among us. Similarly, with this compilation, we hope to spotlight black artists who in many cases have received but a fraction of attention that they deserve.

That’s not to say everything on The Blackwashing will be unfamiliar: there’s a good chance you’ve heard Kimya Dawson’s stark, harrowing 2015 spoken word piece “At the Seams” before, though if you haven’t, today’s a good a day as any as it’s still depressingly relevant five years later (and updated for The Blackwashing). Elsewhere, you’ll find sounds and perspectives that run the gamut, from The Cocker Spaniels’ funk-infused indie rocker “Snuff Film” which tackles the uncomfortable fact that it took something as disgusting as the George Floyd murder and its mass circulation to finally get people’s attention en masse, the zany and chaotic art pop of Jhariah’s “Split”, the Freaky Friday race-swap punk of Imani Coppola’s “Woke Up White” where she makes use of her newfound privilege to get away with all the dumb shit white people get away with, the seven-minute experimental synth hop epic of Savan DePaul’s “Final Flight of the Dying Cicada”, the ingenious blend of synthwave and brass instrumentation on the soulful “Shiparound” from Model Decoy, and a beautiful cover of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “You Don’t Have to Cry” from Citrus City’s Shormey. And that, as you might’ve been hearing a lot recently, is just “the tip of the iceberg”.

Yes, this one is “political”, and yes, it has to be. How could it fucking not be, at a time where the festering wounds of social and political inequality have been displayed for the world after having been poorly, sloppily hidden for far too long? It’s time to apply disinfectant, clean out the puss that is a law enforcement system whose roots were first planted deep in the soil of racism. To those who think this started a few weeks ago, this might sting a bit, but you best buck up. We’ve waited too long to heal: it’s time to get started. We hope The Blackwashing can provide a soundtrack to that healing.

 

You can stream The Blackwashing in its entirety below:

 

‘The Blackwashing’ is out now via ASAS, Z Tapes, and COUNTERZINE and is available to purchase digitally through Z Tapes’ Bandcamp. All proceeds will be donated to and split between the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Bail Out, Community Justice Exchange National Bail Fund, Homeless Black Trans Women Fund, and You Good, Sis.

Leaaves Shares “Spun, Pt. II”, Announces New Cassette ’12 Worlds’ on Strategic Tape Reserve

Today, we’re thrilled to share “Spun, Pt. II”, the new track from NYC ambient/drone artist Leaaves, as well as announce his upcoming album on Strategic Tape Reserve, 12 Worlds.

 

Nate Wagner/Leaaves

It feels like just yesterday that we first covered the music of Nate Wagner in our premiere of “This Is a Frozen House…”, and then we remember it’s been 10 months: enough time for him to release cassettes with Feels So Reel (Caught, the tape from which the aforementioned track comes), Personal Archives (December’s Viennese Period), and Alien Garage (February’s Moon King). Considering the prolific purveyor of experimental instrumentals’ tendency to travel the tape label landscape, it seemed only a matter of time before Wagner teamed up with our favorite German ferric material disseminator, Strategic Tape Reserve. After more than two dozen projects, Leaaves’ now prepares for the release of 12 Worlds on the imprint.

Wagner, a guitarist by trade, makes music stands out among the STR pack, if largely due to its relative strait-laced focus on beauty when contrasted against the oddity of conceptual compilations centered around Nordic-walking and Welsh audiobooks. Whettman Chelmets might be the closest comparison on label, though if Chelmets is more Boards of Canada-meets-Godspeed, Leaaves’ work is closer to that of Basinski. “Spun, Pt. II” is a gorgeous minimalist guitar piece, looped and disintegrated as it were. There’s an air of cold that persists from “This Is a Frozen House…”, but if that track was the sounds of freezing over completely, “Spun, Pt. II” is more akin to a cool, gentle wind on an otherwise sunny day: more refreshing than chilling.

 

You can stream Leaaves’ “Spun, Pt. II” below:

 

12 Worlds tracklist:

1. “Eleanor”
2. “Limits of Distance”
3. “Alligator Bridge”
4. “Slow Break”
5. “Entering the Heart”
6. “Spun, Pt. II”
7. “I Don’t Want to Grow Older”

 

’12 Worlds’ cassettes

 

’12 Worlds’ releases June 19th, cassette and digital, on Strategic Tape Reserve and is available to pre-order here now. Be sure to follow Leaaves on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and SoundCloud for further updates.

Mythical Motors Announce New Album ‘Leviathan Messiah’, Share Lead Single “Ring the Bells Burning”

Today, we’re excited to announce Leviathan Messiah, the upcoming album from Chattanooga lo-fi rockers Mythical Motors, as well as premiere lead single “Ring the Bells Burning”.

 

Mythical Motors

Following last year excellent This Is What the Twilight Zone Was Preparing Us For on Fall Break Records (for which we premiered “1000 Crossing Hearts”), Leviathan Messiah sees the pop songwriting genius of Matt Addison come through just seven months later with another 14 tight, buzzing jams. The shorter tracklist compared to their last effort as well as 2018’s Elevated Levels might indicate a stronger focus on songs that burst past the two minute mark, but we’ll have to wait a little less than two months to be certain.

Lead single “Ring the Bells Burning”, if not a massive departure from the band’s past efforts, sees the band even more immediately engaging than before, with jagged, crunchy riff-led verses opening up into a breezy chorus melody that stands as one of the band’s sweetest across their 13 albums, with Addison’s soft, yearning vocals highlighted by sporadic harmonies allowing him to craft moments of beauty within beauty.

 

You can listen to “Ring the Bells Burning” below:

 

Leviathan Messiah releases on digital and cassette through Painted Blonde (whose releases from IMAGES, Pen Palindrome, and Red Pants we’ve featured prominently before), April 24. The full tracklist can be seen below:

 

Leviathan Messiah

 

Side A

A1. “Dance Along the Fault Line”

A2. “Faceless at the Altar”

A3. “Liquid Mirror Measuring Cups”

A4. “The Hidden Man”

A5. “A Shadow That Comes From Nothing”

A6. “Life Flies Buzzing”

A7. “Caught by the Flowers”

A8. “The Lifted Heart Is a High Crime (Of the Lifted Mind)”

 

Side B

B1. “Ring the Bells Burning”

B2. “Back Home in Shadows”

B3. “Twin Sun Trajectory”

B4. “The Hall of All Chambers”

B5. “This Gorgeous Adrenaline”

B6. “Leviathan Messiah”

 

‘Leviathan Messiah’ cassettes

 

‘Leviathan Messiah’ is available to pre-order here now. Be sure to follow Mythical Motors on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bandcamp, and SoundCloud to keep up-to-date with news leading up to the release.

Remix Album Premiere: Barbara Morgenstern’s ‘Innocence and Desolation (The Petridisch Rework)’

Today, we’re thrilled to premiere a new remix album courtesy of COUNTERZINE regular Thor Maillet aka Petridisch, a re-imagining of Barbara Morgenstern’s 2018 album Unschuld und Verwüstung: Innocence and Desolation (The Petridisch Rework).

 

Barbara Morgenstern

One of three Fish Prints releases queued for March 7th’s MiniDisc Day along with an expanded reissue of German electropop duo Quarks’ 1997 debut Zuhause entitled Zuhause Plus (detailed by our friends at Yeah I Know It Sucks) and Kansas noise rock project Twin Towers’ 2019 EP Tennis Academy on a Hill, Innocence and Desolation (The Petridisch Rework) is an expansion of the idea begun on the remix bonus tracks attached to the original album, which saw Petridisch take considerable liberties with Morgenstern’s piano-led pop on “Angel’s Whisper” and “Live Fast, Die Young!” and morph them into hazy psychedelic reflections that place the work in entirely new context. Maillet’s hand now extends to the other nine tracks on Unschuld und Verwüstung, while remixes courtesy of Spartan Jet-Plex, Petridisch’s brother Cryostastium (also Dystopiate, whose recent demo tape we reviewed), The Kendal Mintcake, and キラヨシ return alongside a new version of “Angel’s Whisper” from Thies Mynther and a remix of closer “Poose” from TAXXESS. The release precedes an upcoming April 2nd show in Berlin featuring both Morgenstern and Petridisch. Petridisch is currently fundraising for a new laptop, to ensure the show goes smoothly, which you can donate to here.

 

You can stream Innocence and Desolation (The Petridisch Rework) in its entirety below:

 

You can also watch the visual album for Innocence and Desolation (The Petridisch Rework):

 

‘Innocence and Desolation (The Petridisch Rework)’ releases March 7 on minidisc and digitial via Fish Prints, alongside Quarks’ ‘Zuhause Plus’ and Twin Towers ‘Tennis Academy on a Hill’. Minidisc copies of each are limited to 20 each, with three of each bundled with a custom soy candle unique to each release. You can check the full list of MiniDisc Day releases here. You can follow Barbara Morgenstern on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as follow Petridisch on all of their social media, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

All three of Fish Prints’ Minidisc Day releases, along with custom in-house-made, full size (8 oz) 100% soy candles with ‘interactive’ scents

The Worms Announce Sophomore LP ‘Back to the Bog’, Share “Sex Robot”

Today, we’re privileged to announce Back to the Bog, the upcoming sophomore album from London punk trio The Worms, as well as premiere lead single “Sex Robot”.

 

The Worms

After four years, The Worms are set to follow up their Negative Space debut Everything In Order with Back to the Bog, an album which sees the supergroup (featuring members of Primitive Parts, Cold Pumas, and Primetime) further exercise their songwriting chops with longer (but not long), more exploratory tracks that not only manage to retain the raw kinetic energy of their previous work, but expound upon it.

The opening minute and change of lead single “Sex Robot” are more violent, untamed, and filthy than anything found on the band’s debut, featuring a choppy, blown-out guitar riff that hacks through like a rusty cleaver to the neck. The Worms’ playing is tight as ever, but the distortion spills out into the gaps, forming a rough-hewn blanket of sound upon which lewd snarls and yelps are vomited. Eventually, it slows and sprawls, joined by backing vocals that split the difference between greaser gang vocals and hymn chants demonstrating a near religious devotion to sleaze, the noise growing louder and more chaotic as the band approach climax.

 

You can listen to “Sex Robot” below:

 

Back to the Bog releases on digital and cassette through French label Hidden Bay Records, February 28. The full tracklist can be seen below:

 

Back to the Bog

 

Side A

A1. “Humblebrag”

A2. “MLTL”

A3. “Belly of the Beast”

A4. “Bad Smell”

A5. “Bored of Bastards”

 

Side B

B1. “Breeding Ground”

B2. “Dave Is Dead”

B3. “Frequency of Behaviour”

B4. “Anxiety Pit”

B5. “Sex Robot”

 

‘Back to the Bog’ cassettes

 

‘Back to the Bog’ is available to pre-order here now. Be sure to follow The Worms on Bandcamp and Hidden Bay Records on Facebook and Twitter to keep up-to-date with the release.

Haco Announces Reissue/Remaster of Cult Classic After Dinner Live Album ‘Souvenir Cassette’

Today, legendary art pop artist Haco, in collaboration with labels Fish Prints (US) and ReR Megacorp (UK), has announced a reissue and remaster of After Dinner’s cult classic 1988 live album Souvenir Cassette, a recording birthed as a result of a 1987 summer tour of Europe (Nijmegen, Amsterdam, London, Zurich, and St. Rémy).

We call this a live album, but perhaps this is a misnomer. As Haco describes the process of its creation: “After the tour. I listened to all of the material from our concerts and field-recordings of environmental sounds such as church bells, street organs, birds singing, and barking dogs beyond the outdoor stage at Festival MIMI. I copied those from cassette to reel-to-reel tape, spliced it by hand and edited an entire album.” The result is a recording that exceeding difficult to categorize, a situation Haco/After Dinner’s music is no stranger to. Existing somewhere amidst enka, the quirky, off-kilter pop of Kate Bush, and the aforementioned field recordings, 32 years later and it’s still difficult to say that we’ve heard anything quite like Souvenir Cassette before or after its initial release.

Old copies of the initial cassette release are rare and will run nearly $70 secondhand on Discogs, so we’re thrilled by the prospect of more listeners being able to acquire and explore this recording at a far more reasonable cost with a new, cleaner master courtesy of Bob Drake. Cassette copies are limited to 100, with two different editions. The “Replica” edition is limited to 75 and replicates the original release back in ’88 by ReR Megacorp, while the “Artist” version features a a transparent case tray and transparent art insert and is limited to 25 copies, which will run you $8 and $10 respectively. The album will now also be available on minidisc for the first time in a run of 10, and deluxe CD issue is planned for the future.

 

Watch the trailer for the reissue/remaster of Souvenir Cassette:

 

You can stream remastered versions of “After Dinner”, “Sepia-Ture”, and “Cymbals at Dawn” below:

 

To listen to the original masters of these tracks in advance of the release, you can listen to Souvenir Cassette here:

 

A photo gallery of images taken from the ’87 European concert tour:

 

‘Souvenir Cassette’ is available to pre-order here now and officially releases August 30th. Be sure to follow Haco on her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Bandcamp, and SoundCloud to keep up-to-date.