Older »

Mountain Oasis welcomes NIN‚ Bassnectar and Pretty Lights
Garret K. Woodward
October 25, 2013
The inaugural Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit will be Oct. 25-27 in downtown Asheville‚ North Carolina.

Nine Inch Nails‚ Bassnectar and Pretty Lights will headline the three-day weekend‚ which also will feature a performance by Neutral Milk Hotel.

Other artists confirmed for the celebration include Animal Collective‚ Trent Reznor's new project How To Destroy Angels‚ Gary Numan‚ Godspeed You! Black Emperor‚ Tricky‚ Zola Jesus‚ JG Thirwell‚ Jessie Ware‚ The Bug‚ and Silver Apples. Samplings of the new wave in electronica will serve up Disclosure‚ Rustie‚ Chromatics‚ Robert DeLong‚ Jacques Greene‚ and Bondax‚ among numerous other artists.

The vision and programming philosophy behind Mountain Oasis celebrates the creative spirit of musical exploration. Woven around the twin threads of contemporary electronic music and the creative use of technology‚ the festival features world-class musical performances along with talks‚ seminars‚ and panels by artists and others.

Weekend passes are $199.50‚ with payment plans available at.
http://www.mountainoasisfestival.com.

Mehliana Tour (Brad Mehldau + Mark Guiliana)
Mike McKinley
October 16, 2013
Mehliana‚ the duo featuring Brad Mehldau and drummer Mark Guiliana‚ will tour the US over the next two weeks.

Here's your chance to hear Mehldau get loose on the Fender Rhodes and vintage synthesizers -- get a taste in the videos below. Yep‚ somewhere over the sound of all this awesome‚ I hear the faint tears of acoustic piano purists... Here are the dates:

*Wednesday‚ October 16: The Triple Door‚ Seattle‚ WA
*Thursday‚ October 17: The Independent‚ San Francisco‚ CA
*Friday and Saturday‚ October 18 and 19: Largo at the Coronet‚ Los Angeles‚ CA
*Tuesday‚ October 22: Evanston SPACE‚ Evanston‚ IL
*Wednesday‚ October 23: Wexner Center for the Arts‚ Columbus‚ OH
*Friday‚ October 25: Iron Horse‚ Northampton‚ MA
Saturday‚ October 26: The Sinclair‚ Cambridge‚ MA

Dig in:





New Video/Song From Dr. Dog - "Broken Heart"
Mike McKinley
August 26, 2013
Stereogum premiered the latest song/video from Dr. Dog earlier today. The song is called "Broken Heart" -- a Toby number from their new record B-Room, coming out October 1st.

Thoughts after the first listen? Not bad at all. They know how to write 'em. I imagine this will be like most of their songs/records: spend time with it and all the goodness, subtly, and beauty unfolds. Ain't just sparkles on the outside -- shines brighter and brighter the deeper you go.

Also, for a little more from B-Room head over to Dr.Dog's site to stream Scott's "Truth"... super tasty.

Video: Club d'Elf with Marco Benevento - "Bass Beatbox"
Mike McKinley
August 25, 2013
Clinton Vadnais (Cleantone) posted this jam about a month ago of Club d'Elf with Marco Benevento playing at Red Square in Albany‚ NY back in June. I've listened to it about twenty times‚ and now finally getting around to sharing it. It's so dope.

The number is call "Bass Beatbox." I love improvised music and here's a classic example of why. They patiently let this thing breathe. Dig in.

Club d'Elf featuring Marco Benevento "Bass Beatbox" (6/1/13 Albany‚ NY) from Clinton Vadnais on Vimeo.

Reed Mathis and Victor Wooten Talk Bass
Mike McKinley
August 22, 2013
Here's a great conversation for all you bass junkies out there. Victor Wooten was the "Artist at Large" at this year's Summer Camp Music Festival and besides jamming with everyone over the weekend‚ he also hosted clinics about the role of a bass player. Here he gets into with Reed Mathis.

A little on my perspective -- for the last year or so‚ I've been playing bass about once or twice a week with a group of different musicians and most of it is just a big exercise in group improvisation. We pick a key or a groove or a progression and then we jump off and see where it takes us. I'm finding you never run out of ideas as long as you're listening. Bass lines just appear. It's an amazing experience.

So‚ of course‚ it's both exciting as hell and reaffirming to hear these masters talk about what I'm experiencing and what I'm finding to be intuitive with the instrument. When Reed starts talking about with the "power" the bassist has in group improvisation (and jokes about being narcissistic) it's totally right on the money. You can make a subtle shift -- like letting a note ring a little more -- and you can get the whole band to move with you. And then they get into the whole notion about becoming invisible‚ meaning you're so strong in the foundation‚ you don't even realize it's there. Fascinating stuff… there's a few audio cuts here and there‚ but for the most part‚ it's 20-minutes of captivating bass talk.

Older »