Very happy to say Echo Lake’s debut LP - Wild Peace - is due out end-June through No Pain In Pop in Europe and the iconic Slumberland Records in North America. Teaser clip here:
Did a mix about ‘things ending, even weekends’ for the No Pain In Pop blog.
Since hosted at Dummy Magazine - with some kind “quite wonderful, and very essential listening” sentiment - and equally gushingly at ‘imagination incubator’ site FEELGuide, who accurately compare “the now infamous” NPIP to “a dog who would start wagging its tail and barking at the door an entire half hour before your dad got home”.
End of a long weekend in Toronto (currently working editorial and bookings at NXNE); Mickey Newbury, A Grave With No Name, Yoko Ono, Russell Haswell, Julian Casablancas, Lawrence English, Windy & Carl, Kyle Bobby Dunn, Red Alder and Women (RIP Chris Reimer) helping to fill in the gaps.
Interview and profile over at Gogoyoko’s Label of the Week, piece on labels with a design ethos in January’s edition of Creative Review, MP3.com’s coveted label feature and a playlist with commentary at French site 716.
+ 5/4/12 Update: Interview and label profile with Clash Magazine.
Patten at #28 in FACT Magazine’s annual top 50, which Forest Swords scored #1 in 2010; Bleep’s picks of 2011; DFA Records’; Juno design awards; Fake DIY’s favourites; #24 at Boomkat; #29 at XLR8R; Self Titled magazine; RCRD LBL; #4 at Lyt Mag; The Line Of Best Fit #7 (“exhaustingly brilliant”)...
..and my picks of the year - Makeout Videotape, Drake et all - over at Urban Outfitters.
Interviewed by Huw Stephens - either side of Forest Swords and Echo Lake tracks - on BBC Radio 1 last night.
Video for new the Proper Ornaments EP, due out on Monday. Launch show is this Friday at the Shacklewell Arms in London’s Dalston, with support from label mates Echo Lake and A Grave With No Name.
Centered around the close partnership of frontmen Max Clapps and James Hoare, The Proper Ornaments make a thrillingly taut and melodic pop indebted both to the sun balm’d West Coast (the Byrds, Brian Wilson) and the driving, terse rhythms of the British Invasion & C86 (the Beatles, Postcard Records). Their debut EP is out on 12” vinyl and DL through No Pain In Pop next week and is available to order here.
Revived the No Pain In Pop blog yesterday after it was hacked 6+ months ago and all hosted data lost. Coverage on this over at Altered Zones, first post below :
Spring’s ‘Erriapo‘ release through Uncharted Audio was an intriguing 17 minute introduction to the “house impressionism” of Finnish producer Ukkonen. More sunbled effets de soir broadstrokes here, as both tracks seemingly morph through time signatures - see his flexi-tempo experiment - frictionless; ’The Barbarian’ hitting an Axel Wilner epiphanous four minute mark and ’Primed’ building quicker over a frantic, slipping beat.
Label artists cross pollination..
Doldrums gets tangled in with Montreal sparring partner and tour mate Grimes’ ‘Crystal Ball’ track from this spring. His own ‘Empire Sound’ EP is both out now through No Pain In Pop and available to stream in full over at Altered Zones. ’Crystal Ball’ appears on ‘Halfaxa’ LP through Arbutus Records, Montreal.
… in a “Sysphean task of the leisure class” or “mountains move around Doldrums”.
Doldrums flying too close to the sun with his ‘Endless Winter’ video from the avant-pop Empire Sound EP, out on DL and 12”.
“A voice comes across mid panic attack..”
Pretentious little mix for autumn’s passing, with Philip Jeck, Women, Buddy Holly, KLF, John Cale, the Microphones, Celer, Grouper. Latterly featured on Altered Zones.
Halloween video for Echo Lake’s cover of a beautiful Ariel original, appearing on an extended reissue of their Young Silence EP licensed for release in Japan.
Halloween video for Echo Lake’s cover of Ariel Pink’s ‘Alisa’…
Going live, working long, stretching out the album campaign.
Lava strewn video for ‘Plurals’ by the ever-enigmatic patten, directed by Jane Eastlight. We’re proud to announce the London producer will perform a special audiovisual live show to celebrate the album’s release on January 19th 2012 (details and advance tickets).
Playing records tomorrow to prop up a great line up of familiar acts; Ital was a special guest at last week’s Nail the Cross festival, Protect-U were on this compiliation and Doldrums’ EP - which had Radio 1 play last night - is out next month.
There are currently huge delays at European pressing plants due to a backlog of represses from stock lost in the PIAS warehouse fire. Glad to have this release (‘Remarkable, one of the year’s most exciting debuts.’ - FACT; ’Among the albums of the year’ - Boomkat; ’Excellent’ - the Quietus; ’9/10’ - Drowned In Sound; ’4/5’ - Resident Advisor) in the shops, and either side of Arthur Russell and Lee Scratch, finally.
