“this song means a whole lot to me, and it’s pretty unique in how it came together…” tyron said in a statement. “at the time it was recorded, i lived in this weird regal looking house (in LA) with a bunch of friends, including nicole and moses, who are on the song. we were making records for our own projects, but there was also a lot of loose stuff that was recorded for fun. i basically kept a mic rolling whenever there was meaningful sound occurring.”
“cul de sac comes from this vibe,” he continued. “it’s all improvised, everyone laying on the floor at 3 am in complete darkness, singing and having a good time. it’s sort of utopian in that sense .. in that it’s not “feigned utopia” practiced for the microphone, but actual lived-experience-at-its-best that somehow managed to be captured by the mic.”
He concluded: “the original recording was about two hours .. whereas this is a collage of it, different parts layered and micro-edited together over the course of a year. this process is usually very lonesome and meticulous, but it’s super soothing if the material i’m working with is communal and spontaneous. it’s funny cause i can not see people for days but feel like i’ve been hanging out bc i’ve been making music with their essences. the whole album plays off of this method .. loose unplanned improv recordings with people in special situations, that were later sampled and composed into legit composed music when i was off on my own.”
Daniel Avery has released a new song called ‘Lone Swordsman’, dedicated to the late DJ and producer Andrew Weatherall, who died in February at the age of 56. All proceeds from the song’s Bandcamp sales will be directed to Amnesty International in Weatherall’s memory. Listen to the track below.
“I was in my studio the morning I heard about Andrew Weatherall’s passing,” Avery said in a statement. “The track “Lone Swordsman” is what formed that day. Andrew was a hero, a friend and someone who regularly reminded us all how it should be done, not to mention the funniest fucker around. Proceeds from this record will be donated to Amnesty International in his memory. Thank you for everything.”
The A-side of the ‘Lone Swordsman’ single features ‘Dusting for Smoke’, a track from Avery’s latest album Love + Light, which was released back in June.
Influential Scottish duo Arab Strap are back with a new song titled ‘The Turning of Our Bones’. Marking their first new music in 15 years following 2005’s The Last Romance, it’s taken from an upcoming 7″ set for release in October along with a B-side called ‘The Jumper’. Take a listen below.
“‘The Turning of Our Bones’ is an incantation, a voodoo spell to raise the dead,” Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat said in a press release. “Inspired by the Famadihana ritual of the Malagasy people of Madagascar, in which they dance with the corpses of loved ones; it’s all about resurrection and shagging.”
Arab Strap split a year after the release of their most recent LP, saying there was “no animosity, no drama,” adding, “We simply feel we’ve run our course.” Since then, both members have released several solo albums. They got back together in 2016 for a series of reunion shows.
John Frusciante has announced a new solo album called Maya. Marking his first solo release in six years and the first-ever instrumental electronic full-length under his own name, it comes out October 23 via Venetian Snares’ Timesig label. The Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist has also released a new song from the album, ‘Amethblowl’. Check it out below, and scroll down for the album’s cover artwork and tracklist.
Spanning 9 tracks, the album is influenced by ’91 to ’96 breakbeat hardcore and jungle music in the UK, according to a press release. Its title is a tribute to Frusciante’s cat, who was his pet for 15 years before recently passing away.
“For a full year before I started this record, I worked within self-imposed limitations and rules that made the music-making process as difficult as possible, programming for programming’s sake,” Frusciante explained in a statement. “After a full year of that, I decided to make things easier, to the degree that I could regularly finish tracks I enjoyed listening to, while continuing many of the practices I‘d developed. Throughout the recording of Maya, I would prepare to make each track very slowly, but would finish tracks very quickly. I’d spend weeks making breakbeats, souping up a drum machine, making DX7 patches, and so on. By the time an idea came up that seemed like the beginning of a tune, I had a lot of fresh elements ready to go.”
Normally, Frusciante makes electronic music under the moniker Trickfinger, whose latest release arrived this past June. But as Frusciante explained, “Maya loved music, and with such a personal title, it didn’t seem right to call myself Trickfinger, somehow, so it’s by John Frusciante.”
Public Enemy have revealed the tracklist for their upcoming album, What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down. The group’s first album for Def Jam in more than 20 years features a star-studded line up of guest appearances including Beastie Boys’ Mike D and Ad-Rock, Cypress Hill, Run-DMC, Ice-T, Nas, YG, DJ Premier, George Clinton, the Roots’ Black Thought and Questlove, Rapsody, and more. Check out the full tracklist below.
Following 2017’s Nothing Is Quick in the Desert, Public Enemy’s new album is set to arrive on September 25. “Def Jam is like the house we grew up in,” Flavor Flav said in a statement. “It’s cool to be home.” Previously, the outfit shared the DJ Premier–produced lead single, ‘State of the Union (STFU)’ as well as an updated version of ‘Fight the Power’ featuring YG, Black Thought, and others.
Along with the tracklist, Public Enemy have also unveiled the official music video for ‘Fight The Power: Remix 2020’, which you can watch below.
What You Gonna Do When the Grid Goes Down Tracklist:
1. When The Grid Goes Down [ft. George Clinton]
2. Grid [ft. Cypress Hill and George Clinton]
3. State of the Union (STFU) [ft. DJ Premier]
4. Merica Mirror [ft. Pop Diesel]
5. Public Enemy Number Won [ft. Mike D, Ad-Rock and Run-D.M.C.]
6. Toxic
7. Yesterday Man [ft. Daddy-O]
8. Crossroads Burning (Interlude) [ft. James Bomb]
9. Fight The Power: Remix 2020 [ft. Nas, Rapsody, Black Thought, Jahi, YG and Questlove]
10. Beat Them All
11. Smash The Crowd [ft. Ice-T, PMD]
12. If You Can’t Join Em Beat Em
13. Go At It [ft. Jahi]
14. Don’t Look At The Sky (Interlude) [ft. Mark Jenkins]
15. Rest In Beats [ft. the Impossebulls]
16. R.I.P. Blackat
17. Closing: I Am Black [ft. Ms. Ariel]
Deep Sea Diver, the project led by Jessica Dobson, has shared a new collaborative track with Sharon Van Etten called ‘Impossible Weight’. The single is taken from Deep Sea Diver’s upcoming third album of the same name. Check it out below, alongside a music video co-directed by Jessica Dobson, Peter Mansen, and Tyler Kalberg.
“In the past I’d often tell myself, ‘This other person is going through something worse than I am, so their pain weighs more,’” Dobson explained in a statement. “‘Impossible Weight’ is about finding more compassion for yourself, instead of discrediting your pain in that way.”
Speaking of Van Etten’s contribution, she added: “I chose the Neptune as the final shot [of the video] because that is the venue in which I saw Sharon Van Etten play at the night before we recorded the song “Impossible Weight”. I’ve been a huge fan or hers for quite some time and I was deeply moved and inspired by that show. The next day, I literally said out loud as we were recording, “I wonder if Sharon would ever sing on this?” Having never met her, it was definitely a pipe dream question that somehow ended up working out and I’m eternally grateful for it. She brought so much to this song and brought it alive even more.”
Impossible Weight, which also includes the previously released single ‘Lights Out’, comes out October 16th via High Beam/ATO Records. Deep Sea Diver’s last album was 2016’s Secrets.
Actress, the moniker of electronic producer Darren Cunningham, has shared a new song featuring Sampha called ‘Walking Flames’. It’s the lead single from Actress’ upcoming album, Karma & Desire, set for release on October 23 via Ninja Tune. Check it out below, and scroll down for the album’s tracklist.
According Cunningham, the album is “a romantic tragedy set between the heavens and the underworld” that tackles “the same sort of things that I like to talk about — love, death, technology, the questioning of one’s being.” Also featuring appearances from Zsela, Aura T-09, and more, Karma & Desire marks the producer’s second LP this year after releasing 88 for free on Bandcamp in July.
Karma & Desire Tracklist:
1. Fire And Light
2. Angels Pharmacy (Feat. Zsela)
3. Remembrance (Feat. Zsela)
4. Reverend
5. Leaves Against The Sky
6. Save
7. VVY (Feat. Sampha)
8. XRAY
9. Gliding Squares
10. Many Seas, Many Rivers (Feat. Sampha)
11. Loveless (Feat. Aura T-09)
12. Public Life (Feat. Vanessa Benelli Mosell)
13. Fret
14. Loose (Feat. Christel Well)
15. Turin (Feat. Aura T-09)
16. Diamond
17. Walking Flames (Feat. Sampha)
Kevin Morby has announced a new album titled Sundowner, out October 16 via Dead Oceans. He also previewed the album with the first single, ‘Campfire’, featuring his partner Katie Crutchfield, aka Waxahatchee. It comes with a video directed by Johnny Eastlund and Dylan Isbell and featuring Crutchfield. Check it out below, and scroll down for the album’s cover artwork and tracklist.
Morby started working on Sundowner all the way back in 2017, when he moved back to his hometown of Kansas City, KS, and still finishing up his last album, 2019’s Oh My God. Using mostly a four-track Tascam 424 recorder, he recorded the album at Texas’ Sonic Ranch with producer Brad Cook. “I wrote the entire album wearing headphones, hunched over the 424, letting my voice and guitar pass through the machine, getting lost in the warmth of the tape as if another version of myself was living on the inside, singing back at me,” Morby said in a press release. “I was mesmerized by the magic of the four track not only as a recording device, but also an instrument, and considered it my songwriting partner throughout the whole process.”
Speaking of the album’s title, he explained: “It is a depiction of isolation. Of the past. Of an uncertain future. Of provisions. Of an omen. Of a dead deer. Of an icon. Of a Los Angeles themed hotel in rural Kansas. Of billowing campfires, a mermaid and a highway lined in rabbit fur. It is a depiction of the nervous feeling that comes with the sky’s proud announcement that another day will be soon coming to a close as the pink light recedes and the street lamps and house lights suddenly click on.”
Along with the album announcement, Morby has also announced a “virtual tour” on the Noon Chorus platform, where he’ll perform each of his albums the whole way through via livestream. The performances will run every Thursday from September 10 to October 15, where he’ll play Sundowner.
Sundowner Cover Artwork:
Sundowner Tracklist:
1. Valley
2. Brother, Sister
3. Sundowner
4. Campfire
5. Wander
6. Don’t Underestimate Midwest American Sun
7. A Night at the Little Los Angeles
8. Jamie
9. Velvet Highway
10. Provisions
Matveï, a Montreal-based DJ and music producer, has presented us with an ear-pleasing track Rio. The single comes from his forthcoming EP Summer Collection, which is due to be released this September.
Talking about the track, Matveï said: “Rio is a hot summer day feel good house tune, something bouncy to play by the pool with a fresh Caipirinha.”
Matveï’s journey began with his 2016 single Don’t Look Back, a synth-filled dance track that thrives on a shifting melody and chopped vocals. Stylistically, Matvei’s taste has matured, and we can hear this in a far more chill, Rio, a track that leads with its relaxed mood, silky lead, and punchy drums that keep the dance rhythm pumping.
Something of a “reverse-exorcism” movie directly descended from the likes of Rosemary’s Baby (1968)and The Devil Rides Out(1968),Anything for Jackson – a Canadian production from director Justin Dyck and writer Keith Cooper – is a contemporary satanic shocker to stand with Ti West’s The House of the Devil (2009). Our Culture reviews the film here as part of its selection for the 2020 Fantasia International Film Festival.
Somewhere in the snowbound United States, the wealthy Dr Henry Walsh (Julian Richings) and his prudish wife Audrey (Sheila McCarthy) are grieving the loss of their grandson, Jackson. But they don’t intend on mourning him for long. After months of planning, they kidnap Henry’s pregnant patient, Becker (Konstantina Mantelos), and lock her in a sound-proofed room on the top floor of their expansive family home. Using black magic learned from an ancient codex, their intention is to summon a demon who they hope will conjure Jackson’s spirit into their prisoner’s unborn child. But Henry and Audrey are messing with forces they don’t fully understand, and soon their house becomes the site of terrifying paranormal activity.
Like so many great horror films before it, Anything for Jacksonis concerned with the ultimate evil: rich white people. Back in the late 1980s, following a decade defined by social and fiscal conservatism under Ronald Reagan in the United States and the beginning of Canada’s neoliberal transformation under Brian Mulroney, North American horror cinema was awash with narratives about wealthy, white Americans hiding monsters just beneath their civilised veneers, including The Stepfather (1987), Flesh Eating Mothers (1988), Parents (1989) and Meet the Applegates (1990). Brian Yuzna’s Society (1989), which casts the rich as shapeshifting creatures who feed on the poor, is perhaps the most obvious example.
Entirely unsurprisingly given that an unscrupulous billionaire is currently the President of the United States, these themes have recurred in horror cinema of recent years, particularly in movies that have suggested the wealthy elite might be quite literally in league with the devil. In fact, Anything for Jackson has a great deal in common with two of the very best horror movies of 2019: Ready or Not and Satanic Panic. All three films use the tropes established by decades of satanic horror to indict the selfishness and greed endemic to the Western world.
Of course, both Ready or Not and Satanic Panic are horror comedies, and derive a great deal of their humour from depicting their devil-worshippers as bratty caricatures. Although it is darkly humorous in places, Anything for Jackson is a far more straight-faced picture, and Henry and Audrey are altogether more insidious villains. They are obscenely rich, but – as expertly brought to life by genre stalwarts Julian Richings and Sheila McCarthy – they are also somewhat sympathetic characters, ostensibly driven to do awful things by overwhelming grief. But there is a sense that their actions are motivated not just by their emotional turmoil but also by a realisation that they have finally found something they can’t buy; no amount of money can bring Jackson back, but perhaps the devil can.
Julian Richings and Sheila McCarthy as Henry and Audrey
Anything for Jackson is, then, an important and exceptionally intelligent film about privilege; even if they are driven by their pain, it is apparent that Henry and Audrey are convinced that their wants and needs are simply more important than Becker’s, a struggling single-mother-to-be, or those of her unborn child. Their high status leads them to believe that they can do whatever they please with her body if it means they get what they want – and, furthermore, they care very little about the many innocent people who come to harm because they have chosen to let the devil in. Even when a secondary villain is introduced later in the film, they are entirely motivated by a desire for wealth and power – or, in other words, a desperate yearning to have what Henry and Audrey already possess.
So when the Walsh household becomes overrun with things from beyond the pale, it is difficult to feel that Henry and Audrey have anyone to blame but themselves. And those things are terrifying, too – this is not only a scathingly sharp commentary on social power structures, but also an extremely effective horror movie. Ranging from a simple ghostly sheet to truly horrific creations realised with impressive practical effects, the apparitions that appear in Henry and Audrey’s home are deeply unsettling, making Anything for Jackson a film that gets under the skin in the same way as, for example, The Innkeepers (2011) or The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2018) – two of the best supernatural horror films of the last decade.
In many ways, Anything for Jackson recalls Ti West’s breakout film The House of the Devil: a cunningly clever, genuinely unnerving satanic shocker with something important to say about the unfortunate tendency of society’s most privileged to use and abuse its most vulnerable. Henry and Audrey ooze selfishness and entitlement, and give not a second thought to how their actions might affect the world around them. After all, as the film’s title suggests, they will do anything to get their grandson back – the consequences be damned.
