Must hear new music

I am not at all bashful for my love of the Witchhouse genre. I am especially unbashful in my love for the quite fantastic self-titled ep from Tri-Angle Records artist oOoOO. So you can only imagine my giddiness at sharing a new track from him. The track while technical not NEW (it did appear on the lovely Fact 227 mix that he did earlier in the year) this song is the sort of slow motion drag that pulls you in and never lets you go.

Not necessarily a summertime jam, but more of a thoughtful piece for the whole year. Enjoy!

Clams Casino- Rainforest EP

2010 saw the emergence of a new genre of music that nobody could quite put their finger on defining. It was kind of spooky, had its' leanings towards fetishizing the imagery of 1970's witchcraft movies and Twin Peaks, (and the corresponding soundtracks) and an unusual sonic influence (wether intentional or not) in DJ Screw who was known for his mix tapes of almost demonically pitch shifted and slowed-down hip hop. That genre has been known as Witchhosue, Drag, Chillwave, Emo (just kidding- we all know that emo is now synonymous with failed goth) what ever you want to call it (or how ever you want to ignore it) there is something appealing in the horror of it all.

Amongst the labels here in the states releasing (insert what ever you want to call it here) music New York's Tri Angle Records is the leader of the pack with top notch artists like Balam Acab, oOoOO,(who's self-titled EP was easily my favorite record of 2010) How to Dress Well, Holy Other, and added to that roster of quality is the debut EP from Clams Casino.

The Rainforest EP finds Clams Casino sole member Mike Volpe exploring the same sonic paths as label mates Balam Acab, and Holy Other- chopped up vocal samples and melancholy oozing through the ones and zeros which feels like everything trip hop promised us, but failed to deliver when it went on prozak. (think Portishead for the Blade Runner generation)

The first track Natural feels like a slightly less menacing Burial combined with the afore mentioned Balam Acab, while other tracks such as Treetop, Waterfalls, and Drowning are mixed bags of hard synth sequences, hip hop sensibilities, and big beats all weaved in and out of the almost heartbreaking vocal mashes (the latter of the three has what I could swear was something reminiscent of the ki ki ki ma ma ma from the Friday the 13th soundtrack )

The final track of the EP Gorilla sounds a bit like a Suspiria era Goblin recording hiphop. Sinister synths move in and out of the mix like an Argento killer with razor sharp precision.

While the EP may not be everybody's cup of tea it certainly is worth a spin or two late at night in an old ballet school.

Natural by clammyclams

Buy Rainforest at Boomkat

Clams Casino on Facebook

CULT BRAND TARTAN BRINGS IN NEW LEADERSHIP TO REVIVE BRAND

Vin Roberti, Chairman of Palisades Media Corp., announced today that veteran industry executive, Soumya Sriraman, has been named President and CEO of Palisades Tartan US and UK.

"Soumya's executive background with the studios and entrepreneurial spirit coupled with her fresh perspective and keen insights make her an ideal fit for our growing company," stated Roberti. "We are looking forward to her immediate contributions."

Sriraman added, “Vin’s track record of success with Palisades is reflected in the amazing catalog and team he has built. I am a huge fan of the Tartan catalog and plan to aggressively rebuild the brand and introduce US audiences to a new collection of cutting-edge and remarkable films.”

Palisades Tartan has emerged as one of the premier distributors of independent and arthouse cinema in the US and UK and has been on the forefront of consumer trends. Straddling both continents, their film line-up boasts an impressive repertoire in the UK including the Ingmar Bergman library, Takashi Miike’s AUDITION, horror phenom THE RING and INFERNAL AFFAIRS, which was successfully remade in the US and titled THE DEPARTED. Apart from many favorites such as Michael Winterbottom’s 9 Songs and Carlos Reygadas’s Silent Light, the US library is anchored by Park Chan-wook’s Cannes jury prize winner, OLDBOY, the film that famously introduced the Western World to the Asia Extreme brand.

Roberti and Sriraman added that they planned to aggressively build the Palisades Tartan brand in the US and UK territories with new strategic acquisitions and mergers over the coming year. Sriraman remarked that despite shrinking shelf space, newer delivery mechanisms including digital represented a significant opportunity offering consumers many viewing modes to whet their appetite for independent films.

Sriraman entered into an undisclosed multi-year contract with the company and will be relocating to New York from Los Angeles. She will immediately begin representing the company at the major film markets worldwide and aggressively source new partnerships.

Most recently, Sriraman was Senior Vice President at Universal Music and Video Distribution¹s filmed entertainment arm, Vivendi. As one of the early members on the Vivendi core executive team, she helmed the growth of the company¹s home entertainment, theatrical and TV divisions, contributing to their successes. Prior to Vivendi, she was at Warner Home Video where she spearheaded core initiatives in the TV franchise division like Friends Finale, the rebranding efforts on ER etc. Earlier, at Universal Home Entertainment, she was a pioneer in the DVD catalog space, leading the successful re-launches of Scarface and Animal House, the former considered the most successful catalog relaunch in the history of DVD.

Ms. Sriraman has over 12 years of experience in the filmed entertainment space in a vast range of disciplines including category management, brand marketing, sales analysis, theatrical distribution and TV licensing. An engineer by education, Soumya holds a M.S. in Transportation Engineering from Texas A&M University and a MBA from University of California, Irvine.

ABOUT PALISADES TARTAN
Tartan Films was originally founded in 1984 in the UK and is credited with bringing Asian Extreme film to the West as well as some of the most compelling art house films of the last quarter century. In May 2008, Palisades Pictures acquired Tartan Films US library assets and two months later, acquired a majority of Tartan Films UK’s 400+ film library assets. The new company Palisades Tartan has operations both nationally and internationally. Palisades Tartan will continue to expand an already distinctive and provocative slate of films by focusing on quality film acquisitions, thus significantly increasing the size of their overall library in both territories. Palisades Pictures and its parent company Palisades Media Corp is a prestigious financier of print & advertising for the independent film market. Together with its affiliate, Palisades Media Asset Fund, Palisades has securitized and financed more than 550 films. www.PalisadesTartan.com

How to Destroy Angels "The Space in Between [Null]"

No words, just watch.

Thom from that radio somethin band covering Joy Division

Oh hai.

Long time no speak.

I decided to pull myself out of exile to share this tasty little tidbit with the 3 of you reading this - Thom Yorke and his lil backing band covering Love Will Tear us Apart. Enjoy, and I promise to not be such a stranger.

New Portishead single!

International human rights day (10 December) marks the anniversary of the United Nation’s historic ”Universal Declaration Of Human Rights” on 10 December 1948. The UDHR set out for the first time in a single document the fundamental rights to which everyone, everywhere is entitled - including the right to life, liberty, security, the freedoms of opinion, association and expression, and the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. More information: amnesty.org.uk/udhr

Purchase it here

First new Imminent (starvation) in 10 years!

I realize I am quite late on this one, and anybody who is into the band already knows about the album, but just because you are late to a party doesn't mean your enjoyment should be diminished. Right? Right. Anywho...

For those of you unfamiliar with Imminent, the music project of Olivier Moreau among the innovators of the movement that became known as power noise (or power electronic) in the late 90's. The last Imminent album (when he was still punctuating it with Starvation) Nord stands up to this day as one of the most essential albums of the genre. That being said it had quite a bit of underground appeal with industrial fans, tech heads, and even ravers getting into the rhythm and the noise. After that Moreau's output began slimming. There were some collaborations with Ant-Zen label mate's Synapscape (another innovator in the power electronics movement) along with some scattered comp appearances, but for the most part we heard very little recorded material from Imminent. Which is kind of ironic from a noise artist.

Thankfully the silence has finally been broken. Cask Strength Imminent's 4th full length release comes out on October 30th. This press release is taken direct from the ant zen website:

cask strength is the term used in whisky making to describe the strength of whisky (in a cask) during maturation. this strong whisky is not the one that is usually bottled, as at cask strength the whisky isn't as drinkable. most bottled whisky is normally diluted with spring water to bring its strength (alcohol by volume) down to a level that makes it more palatable, usually about 40%. while the majority of whisky bottled by distillers is watered down, some whiskies are bottled at cask strength, which is about 64% abv.
imminent starvation has been a leading light in the intersection of powerful industrial music and advanced electronics. incessant technoid rhythms, twisted electronic noise and cold, sinister atmospheric textures are the key ingredients in olivier moreau's musical spectrum. after finishing 'nord / north' in 1999, he destroyed his mixing desk, gave away the pieces as part of the limited ‘nord’ release and shortened his moniker to imminent. after the name change he produced remixes for sonar, iszoloscope, orphx and others, appeared on compilations, performed live and collaborated with synapscape as 'the incredible three'. furthermore he constantly worked on this new full length album - which has now been completed.
like any good whisky that has to mature for at least 10 years in a cask, it took the same time for this release to maturate - and it was worth awaiting the ripening. indeed the music is comparable to a cask strength whisky’s taste: raw, aggressive, powerful, without any concession or any additive to dilute it's true nature, but it also includes a lot of complexity that awaits to be discovered by a true connoisseur. straight beats interwoven with sophisticated breaks, brilliantly placed samples, intertwining powerful atmospheric synth textures and forceful distorted sequences (without inhibition) form into the sophisticated style of industrial music imminent is known and loved for. 64 minutes of music - just like a 64% abv bottled cask strength whisky contains - taste it and full satisfaction is guaranteed!

The album is available in 3 different flavors:

Standard cd edition

LP (on sister label Hymen)

Limited edition wooden box(!!)



I suggest this album to fans of industrial, noise, IDM, or the like.

Imminent's page at Ant-Zen
Imminent's Myspace (where you can hear Teskede from the new album)