Like their Elephant 6 brethren Neutral Milk Hotel, the geniuses of Olivia Tremor Control are re-emerging. However, in their case, its with a full tour and brand new material! I guess there is something in the psychedelic air…

Listen to Olivia Tremor Control’s awesome new track “The Game You Play Is in Your Head, Parts 1, 2, & 3″ and get tour dates on Pitchfork.

Also, do yourself a huge favor and pick up their 1999 album Black Foliage when it is reissued in November. It’s one of the best psych-pop records ever recorded in my opinion.

The experience of listening to Neutral Milk Hotel may feel like a dream, but the re-emergence of the band’s leader Jeff Mangum is, I’m happy to say, a reality.

First, the elusive genius began announcing shows, then a mini-tour, now details of an upcoming NMH Box Set  have been released. The box includes…

• Two gatefold 12″ records (In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and On Avery Island),

• Two 10″ records (Everything Is EP with bonus tracks and Ferris Wheel on Fire EP featuring eight previously unreleased acoustic recordings) (YES!!!!!!)

• Two 7″ records (Little Birds and You’ve Passed/Where You’ll Find Me Now)

• One 7″ picture disc with fold-out poster (Holland 1945/Engine)

• Two 24″x 24″ posters

I for one am completely STOKED! Check out much, much more including tour dates and streaming audio of unreleased tracks on Neutral Milk Hotel’s beautifully redesigned microsite.

Good news for all of us drum fiends who are digging the cassette-based revival of obscure, but undoubtedly influential African sounds brilliantly curated by NYC’s Brian Shimkovitz…

via Altered Zones

After five years of spreading world music to the masses, Awesome Tapes From Africa is finally launching a label. Starting this October, ATFA will re-issue select recordings to hold in your very own hands. Kicking off with an album from Malian singer Nâ Hawa Doumbia called La Grande Contatrice Malienne Vol 3, the label plans to distribute LP, CD, and MP3 formats via SC Distribution– with 50% of the profits going to the artists (yes!).

{MP3} Nahawa Doumbia – “Banani”

And if you get the chance, be sure to check out one of his rad live DJ sets.

In a new interview, Beach Boy Al Jardine mentioned this small bit of news:

“Capitol Records plans to issue a Beach Boys version of Smile sometime this summer to begin the celebration of The Beach Boys’ anniversary. Smile is the Holy Grail for Beach Boys’ fans, so it will be good.”

“I don’t have many details on it, although we didn’t do any new recording. I’m happy to see it finally come out.  Brian’s changed his mind about releasing the material, but it was inevitable, wasn’t it? (Al chuckles).”

Say whaaaa? Yes, we have the Brian Wilson Band/Van Dyke Parks collaboration that became SMiLE 2004, which re-worked the sessions into a fleshed-out, more coherent, 3-movement album. However, a re-mastered collection of all the original session would be amazing.

(via)

Learn the full story of The Beach Boys’ great “lost” masterpiece, SMiLE, here.

It’s a sad day for fans, myself included, of the UK electronic group Broadcast. Trish Keenan, the band’s enchanting lead singer has passed away. Here is the official statement from their label Warp:

“It is with great sadness we announce that Trish Keenan from Broadcast passed away at 9am this morning in hospital. She died from complications with pneumonia after battling the illness for two weeks in intensive care.

Our thoughts go out to James, Martin, her friends and her family and we request that the public respect their wishes for privacy at this time.

This is an untimely tragic loss and we will miss Trish dearly – a unique voice, an extraordinary talent and a beautiful human being. Rest in Peace.”

Ever since their first Warp release, the singles collection Work and Non-Work, Broadcast has been one of my favorite bands with their ability to write great songs AND push the boundaries of electronic pop. It was always a thrill to hear her sweet, dead-pan voice juxtaposed against innovative soundscapes. She will definitely be missed.

Looks pretty rad.

via Pitchfork:

“Fever Ray, the synth-gloom project from the Knife’s Karin Dreijer Andersson, does creepiness better than just about anyone else, and she does it with a certain cinematic flair; check her hair-raising videos for proof. And soon, Dreijer will bring that creepiness to the big screen.

In the trailer for Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke’s fairy tale re-imagining Red Riding Hood, you’ll hear a little piece of a new Fever Ray track. And according to Hardwicke herself, Dreijer Andersson will also appear in the movie.”

“Radiohead have thrown their support behind a fan-made live DVD, providing the hi-fi soundtrack to Czech film-makers’ amateur shots. The British band provided audio masters to the makers of Prague DVD, a DIY concert film shot on 23 August 2009…

“It’s a strangely communal document, collecting the viewpoints of more than 50 camera-people – each with a cheap handheld Flip camera. A group of Radiohead fans descended on the Výstaviště Holešovice exhibition hall in Prague to capture the band perform, using as many different angles as possible,” explain the film-makers.

“Radiohead reportedly love it, giving film-makers the soundboard recordings that would make or break the movie. If you manage to access the Prague DVD website, you can download the entire set for free, including a version for the iPhone. Czech Radiohead fans can even obtain a free CD. ‘Strictly not for sale,’ reads the site. ‘By the fans, for the fans. Please share and enjoy.’

Check out the trailer and a clip below. Pretty amazing stuff!

Congrats to Jon and Patrick of Sun Airway for landing a deal with the awesome label Dead Oceans (Bishop Allen, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band)! Their debut album, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, is a must-hear mix of ambient electronics and spacey psychedelia. Get a copy on 10/26 in the US and 1/11 in the UK.

Get a taste of the album with “Oh, Naoko” {MP3} and grab their recent remix of Here We Go Magic’s “Casual” {MP3} via PFork.

And the world makes sense once again:

Warp Records has confirmed that it will release a new album by ambient godfather/mega producer/art-rock legend Brian Eno later this year. Without Eno, works by some of Warp’s biggest names like Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada probably would not exist as we know them, so the pairing seems cosmically just. Sign up for more info about the Eno album here.

The news comes after Exclaim reported a blog post from guitarist Leo Abrahams, who wrote, “There’s an album out soon by Brian Eno, with myself and Jon Hopkins… It contains the fruits of several years of jams between the three of us. I’ve not heard anything quite like it– it sounds ‘live’ and ‘alien’ at the same time. Some things have been permitted to survive, which only Brian would have had the courage to let go, and it’s so much the better for it.” (The text has since been deleted from Abrahams’ site.)

(via Pitchfork)

Tim Berners-Lee? Larry Page and Sergey Brin? Mark Zuckerberg? Morons. Thankfully, one man (that man being Prince), is here to give us a much needed reality check. He explains to the Daily Mirror the fate of that little useless thing called the Internet:

“You must come and listen to the album,” he says. “I hope you like it. It’s great that it will be free to readers of your newspaper. I really believe in finding new ways to distribute my music.” He explains that he decided the album will be released in CD format only in the Mirror. There’ll be no downloads anywhere in the world because of his ongoing battles against internet abuses. Unlike most other rock stars, he has banned YouTube and iTunes from using any of his music and has even closed down his own official website.

He says: “The internet’s completely over. I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can’t get it. The internet’s like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you.”

(via Boing Boing)

Yes, it is fact. While partying at The Cannes Film Festival with The Almighty Defenders, the amazing King Khan (Shrines/BBQ Show) gave Lindsay Lohan a face full of brown!

The grand (brown) finale:

Get the full report from Vice.

(via Daily Swarm)

Legendary electronic music pioneer Robert Moog, inventor of the Moog Synthesizer, who passed away in 2005, has received a hoppy tribute — in the form of a new beer. Check it out:

“Asheville Brewing Company and the Bob Moog Foundation are proud to announce the launch of the limited edition Moog Filtered Ale, a pale beer named in honor of synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog. The beer will be available beginning May 27, 2010 at the Foundation’s fundraising event, Moogus Operandi featuring synthesizer wizard Erik Norlander. All profits from the sale of the beer will be donated to the Bob Moog Foundation to benefit their projects. The beer is being released in conjunction with Bob’s May 23 birthday.

Moog Filtered Ale will be be distributed nationally and internationally in 22-ounce bottles through Asheville’s Bruisin’ Ales and will be available on tap in various locations throughout Western North Carolina. The beer will be sold from May 27 through July 31, after which it will no longer be available.” (Moog Foundation)

The brewery’s description:

“Moog Filtered Ale is an American-style pale ale with distinctive notes of caramel and pine. It’s a very accessible beer that reflects the Moog legacy. I’ve been a fan of Bob Moog since college, and I am excited to present a beer in honor of an American pioneer,” says Doug Riley, brewer and part owner of the Asheville Brewing Company.

Mmmmm tastes electronicky…

(via Daily Swarm)

During the next few days I’ll be in Austin witnessing what is sure to be a monumentally insane experience while I gather video interviews for Art in the Age. To a select few bands I interview, I’ll be giving away ROOT as well as some yet-to-be released AITA Tee designs. Totally excited!

Bands I’m looking forward to seeing include: Best Coast, Octopus Project, Moon Duo, Woods, Dum Dum Girls, Talk Normal, First Aid Kit, Banjo Or Freakout, Serena Maneesh and  CFCF.

To see what I am up to during the festival and/or to get in touch, follow Art in the Age on Facebook and Twitter. Regular posting will resume next Monday.

For years there’s been speculation that Apple would supplement their $1/song (now $1.29) iTunes business with a monthly subscription service, but their upcoming plans are quite different and once again are positioning them to lead the digital music industry into a new era. Leveraging their ubiquitous iTunes software Apple plans to upgrade their users almost over night to a cloud music service in an ambitious move to beat Amazon and others to a cloud music service. Record labels are wary to give Apple even greater dominance which is why Apple’s new strategy is designed to sidestep new licenses from the major labels.

Apple’s recent acquisition of digital music startup Lala rekindled speculation of an iTunes subscription service. There’s no shortage of subscription offerings (Napster, Rhapsody, Spotify, Pandora, etc), but none have attracted the millions of subscribers necessary to make the high royalty structures work. Experts have pondered that Apple’s design expertise and hardware integration could make subscription work. And leveraging Lala’s digital library, licenses from the major labels, and a management team who cycled through several business models including the ten cent web song rental could make it a reality. It’s a logical assumption, but after talking to a wide variety of insider sources it’s clear there is no upcoming Apple subscription service and Apple has far different plans.

Read the rest of the article on Tech Crunch and leave your thoughts in the comments.

What the…??? I’m not a fan of this his music, but this is pretty crazy/awesome. So apparently the “Andrew W.K.” from the albums was in fact an actor hired by the real Andrew Wilkes-Krier, his dad and some others in an attempt to create “the ultimate frontman”??? Read the story below and then click through to the video where he admits it:

Popular memes and subcultural rumours suggest that another person, known as “Steev Mike”, is behind Andrew W.K.’s music. The rumours began with the release of Andrew’s first album, “I Get Wet”, when many music critics and industry insiders accused Andrew W.K. of being a corporate rock think-tank construction. When a series of websites appeared in November 2004, supposedly created by someone calling himself “Steev Mike”, the early accusations began to ring of truth. Andrew WK’s website also appeared to have been hacked during the same time period.

In November 2004, Andrew addressed the issue for the first time – in an open letter posted on his official website, he wrote, “PLEASE DON’T BELIEVE STEEV MIKE. I USED TO CALL MYSELF STEEV MIKE A LONG TIME AGO AND IT’S NOTHING NOW. Someone is trying to confuse you and make me look bad.”

A 2000 article from UK magazine Dazed & Confused, which featured a full-page story on “Steev Mike”, but showed a photo and discography of “Andrew W.K.”. Steev Mike was listed as “Executive Producer” on Andrew’s first album “I Get Wet”. Three years later, Steev Mike was listed again on Andrew’s DVD “Who Knows”, and on Andrew’s third album, “Close Calls With Brick Walls”, as “Executive Producer”.

In March 2006, a 1992 Bulb Records 7″ 45 recorded under the name Steev Mike was discovered. The tracks on the record were found to be the same as Bulb band Couch’s first EP, except for the last track, which was Couch’s track Old Man instead of the listed track (Is This) Time Travel Man.

In May 2009 Andrew discussed the “Steev Mike” rumours once again in an interview with British magazine, Front. In the interview he states, “Steev Mike is the executive producer on my first album. The nature of how we presented my initial offerings caused some confusion, even though I tried to make it as straight forward as possible”. He also adds later in the interview, in reference to rumours of him being a “puppet” for a record label, “Most of what you’ve heard is exaggerated but the parts that are true may be more disturbing than you’d hoped”.

In December 2009 during a lecture at Madame Jojo’s in London, Andrew W.K. finally admitted that the Andrew W.K. persona was created by a committee including himself, his father, and other individuals. Claiming, “I’m not the guy you’ve seen from the I Get Wet album…I’m not that same person. I don’t just mean that in a philosophical or conceptual way. It’s not the same person at all.” He continued to say that people were auditioned to play the part of Andrew W.K. and that the music and performances were created, “in the spirit of commerce.” Finally, in an interview from the same video he says, “I thought it would be more interesting if my secret history was revealed after the fact rather than as a precursor”.

(via Wikipedia)

Watch the video interview here. Andrew W.K. admits the truth around the 2:00 minute mark. Ingenious or retarded? Both?

Truth be told, I know that most of you steal albums. It’s cool, if you do, I won’t tell — promise. However, you may want to redeem yourself by helping to support an awesome band like Asobi Seksu tour across England in support of White Lies, AND do an intimate show tour in the US in January. They simply won’t make enough money to do both so they are kindly asking for your donations.

Their goal is to raise $7,500 by December 31 of this year. Each increment donated (ranging from $1 to $5,000) can get you an awesome prize from the band, the smallest plaedge ($1) will get you a digital download of one song from their upcoming acoustic album, ReWolf. The largest pledge ($5,000) will land you a private acoustic performance for you and your friends anywhere in the New York/Tri-State area.

Watch a video on their Kickstarter page and follow them on Twitter for regular updates. Let’s help them do this and give them a Happy New Year!!!

via Jay’s Twitter. C’est la vie…

{MP3} Jay Reatard – “Oh It’s Such a Shame”

David Kilgour, The Mint Chicks, Lou Barlow, Graeme Downs, Guided By Voices, The Mountain Goats, Jay Clarkson, Martin Phillips, Jay Reatard, Yo La Tengo, Lambchop, Shane Carter, Pumice, Alec Bathgate, Will Oldham, Jeff Mangum (OMG?!!), Bill Callahan, Lambchop, and The Magnetic Fields.

Apparently more bands are expected to contribute including The Bats and Olivia Tremor Control. Now that’s la la la la la love!

Read the press release on Chris’ blog and check out his music NOW if you havent already. Dude is a genius and I wish him a speedy recovery.

{via Pitchfork}

Wow! Check out these unreleased, possibly remastered My Bloody Valentine tracks that have just leaked online. All 3 sound like they are from the Isn’t Anything period, or the EPs in between that album and Loveless. As one member on the MBV forum points out, “Kevin Song” most likely never got past the demo phase. It’s a cool tune, nonetheless, as are “Bilinda Song” and “Cowboy Song”. The latter of seems to be the most completed of the 3, and is reminiscent of “Feed Me With Your Kiss”. Suddenly it’s 1990 again!

{MP3} My Bloody Valentine – “Kevin Song” (Previously Unreleased)

{MP3} My Bloody Valentine – “Bilinda Song” (Previously Unreleased)

{MP3} My Bloody Valentine – “Cowboy Song” (Previously Unreleased)