(Listen to “Pink Graffiti Pt. 1” by Secret Cities)
SECRET CITIES | Pink Graffiti Pt. 1
Secret Cities began with tapes flying through the mail back and forth between the Easternmost to the Westernmost borders of North Dakota. MJ Parker and Charlie Gokey were barely 15 when they met at band camp, but a shared love of psychedelia and scads of secret, unheard songs between them drew the pair together. They passed cassettes back and forth across the tundra of their home state, each manipulating and adding to the other’s work via 4-track. Slowly they built up a catalog of sound collage and darkly romantic pop. Those songs might not have made it beyond the UPS had a friend not put them in contact with Baltimore based Fall Records three years and about a dozen cassettes in. In 2005 they released Zurich, an album that embraced both the weirdness that grows in rural isolation and the psychedelic music that had initially brought the pair together. Following the addition of Alex Abnos (aka Kansas City’s Tut Tut) on drums and a whirlwind tour of Midwest, the three went back to the drawing board. Over the next four years, they tore down and rebuilt their sound, sometimes woodshedding in an actual wooden shed on the prairie. Eventually, Secret Cities emerged with a cocktail of Spector-esque doe-eyed romanticism, electronic flourishes indebted to minimalist composers like Terry Riley, the noisy, art damaged sensibilities of late psych groups like The United States of America. All that, plus their own persistent weirdness.
To add on this, this song has such a good summer vibe. Let yourself go to this track while you drive down the highway this summer. Make sure you let your friends know about this track because we totally recommend it.
…a fractured piece of music made from just about every possible sound under the sun, probably not too far off from what [Brian] Wilson’s been attempting for his entire career.”“
– FADER“…intimate and immediately likable…It gets better and better the more you listen to it.”
– Stereogum
“…alluring electronic psychedelia, shedding the usual brittle tendencies of synth-pop in favour of far stranger sounds, perhaps more akin to the Flaming Lips’ recent output rather than more conventional electronic fare. ‘Pink Graffiti, Part 1’ is a little more organic sounding with its pianos and overdriven drums, but it’s no less unusual and impressive. Very good indeed.”
– BoomkatThis album is coming out July 20th! Go get your hands on it then!
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LC
(Listen to “Collector” by Here We Go Magic)
HERE WE GO MAGIC | Collector
Here We Go Magic is a five-piece band made up of members Luke Temple, Kristina Lieberson, Michael Bloch, Jennifer Turner, and Peter Hale. Several of them had collaborated consistently in years prior, but the five finally came together with a single unified vision in early 2009, buoyed by the release of the self-titled Here We Go Magic album (Western Vinyl).
The band’s creative momentum since has been unwavering. Together they have developed a broad array of musical material and honed an explosive live sound all their own. They spent much of 2009 on successive North American and European tours with bands such Department of Eagles, Grizzly Bear, and the Walkmen, before retreating to a house near East Branch, NY to record their second full length LP.
Pigeons, out now on Secretly Canadian, was recorded to analog tape in the livingroom of a rented house in upstate New York. It represents a full-on collaborative work by a band with an uncanny musical chemistry. The album is produced by bassist Jen Turner and features thick full band arrangements by all members of Here We Go Magic. As they were immersed together in a very reactive and spontaneous creative process, most of the arrangements and textural treatments were born at the same moment as the songs themselves. Songwriter Luke Temple’s evocative melodies and lyrics are thus complimented and fleshed out in completely organic ways. Taken as a whole, Pigeons is a unique and fascinating journey from start to finish, rooted in driving repetitive rhythms, swathed in a celestial haze, and maintaining a consistent and comfortable expressive breath throughout.
First and foremost a live band by nature, Here We Go Magic will be touring almost without stop through the remainder of 2010. They have been invited to play many of the world’s leading festivals, including Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, Primavera Sound and Pitchfork Festival.“… the woodshedded feel of Pigeons is a good look for the band. Here We Go Magic are doing something more interesting— something weirder; they’re trying out takes on jittery new wave, tone-smeared dream-pop, and high-pitched Kiwi pop with success.” -Pitchfork
“A great leap beyond their already impressive lo-fi debut, Pigeons shows off the kind of prestidigitation that Here We Go Magic is capable of. They take on a lot of ideas, and veer into countless directions, but they handle each and every one with immaculate skill and a playful command of their material.” - Treble
“On the standout track “Collector,” the fusion of ambiance and kinetic power adds up to a climax that Broken Social Scene might envy.” - The A.V. Club
“Pigeons is more unified (and much more satisfying): In chewy, groove-based jams like “Collector” and “Casual,” Temple floats delicate vocal melodies over undulating arrangements that never lose their forward momentum” - TimeOut New York
“Pigeons has just confirmed the band’s new found cult status alongside Grizzly Bear and Vampire Weekend.” - Filter MagazineUK/Europe
7/08 - Liege, Halles des Foires de Coronmeuse - Les Ardentes
7/09 - Paris, La Fleche D’Or
7/10 - Nantes, Les Ateliers De Bicthe
7/13 - Bristol, Thekla
7/15 - Leeds, Brudenell
7/16 - Southwold, Henham Estate - Latitude - MAIN STAGE
AUSTRALIA
7/24 - Sydney, Enmore (sup. Grizzly Bear)
7/25 - Sydney, Enmore (sup. Grizzly Bear)
7/27 - Melbourne, Palais (sup. Grizzly Bear)
NORTH AMERICA
7/17 - Schuba’s - Chicago **PITCHFORK AFTERPARTY — LIGHTNING COLLECTIVE PRESS
7/18 - Pitchfork Music Festival - Chicago, IL
7/29 - Troubadour - West Hollywood, CA *
8/01 - The Rhythm Room - Phoenix, AZ *
8/03 - The LOFT at the Palladium - Dallas, TX *
8/04 - Emo’s Outside - Austin, TX *
8/06 - The Earl - Atlanta, GA *
8/07 - Cat’s Cradle - Carrboro, NC *
8/08 - The Black Cat - Washington, DC *
8/09 - Johnny Brenda’s - Philadelphia, PA
8/11 – CoCo 66 - 826NYC Benefit – Brooklyn, NY
* w/ Beach Fossils
More dates to be announced shortlyFollow us on facebook & twitter.
EXCLUSIVE: WILLY JOY Interview in Chicago @ Soldier Field
Willy Joy is a Chicago land DJ who has been spinning night by night in the electro scene. He has shared stages with name such as Justice, Deadmau5, Designer Drugs, etc.
I got to personally sit down with him after his set and talked about his selection of music, the all ages crowd at the sold out Deadmau5 (headliner), his current status with Trouble & Bass label, and other various things of productions. One thing that stood about Willy is that he definitely knows how to work with the crowd from all ages. I’ve been to his Fly By Night events and REHAB at Debonair a few times and there’s a lot of 90’s throwbacks and such but coming into this show, he treated the all ages crowd with some hit’s such as Daft Punk, Major Lazer, Benni Benassi, Drop The Lime, The Lion King, etc. The crowd went nuts over these drops. Pretty much he dropped a well known banger every 5 to 10 minutes or so.
Check out Willy working with the crowd on this video!
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(Listen to “Cosmic Love (Isa Machine and Lexxx Remixxx)
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE | Cosmic Love (Isa Machine and Lexxx Remixxx)
“Cosmic Love” was destined to for single release… eventually. And with what better way than with this beautiful remix from Florence + the Machine’s very own co-songwriter, keyboardist and backing vocalist, Isa Machine. Lexx, who’s worked with Golden Silvers, Crystal Castles and Esser, shares remix duties. There’s a perfect balance of light and dark. And as angelic as the original is, there is something a bit more primal about this remix. (via bigstereo)
The Lightning Collective.: The Thunder Collective(?) | Mock blog of ours »
SOMA: The Students Oragnizing the Multple Arts are good friends of ours ever since we began our company/blog. We worked with them through shows and promoted events such as We Are Scientists, The Apples In Stereo, and Man Man. Shows were great and the people in it are even better. The…
(Listen to “Icarus” by White Hinterland)
WHITE HINTERLAND | Icarus
White Hinterland is the artist name of Portland, Oregon based Casey Dienel (born March 10, 1985), an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She released her debut album, Wind-Up Canary, in 2006 on Hush Records under her own name. Dienel presently performs and records as White Hinterland, whose first album, titled Phylactery Factory, was released on March 4, 2008, by the independent record label Dead Oceans.
I really like the feel of the song. The sound is smooth and relaxing. Vocals (almost sounds like Feist/Sister Crayon) make it well. Give it a listen!
The Lightning Collective.: TICKET GIVEAWAY: Delorean Nites @ Lincoln Hall Chicago 6/10/2010 »
Hot off the hype of the sold-out first Delorean Nites party, Midnight Conspiracy are back with their epic dance party at Lincoln Hall. Sticking to their no-holds-barred underground party roots, they bring you One Man Party, Steve of the world-famous electro band,…
(Listen to “Ocular Intercourse” by John Khuu)
JOHN KHUU | Ocular Intercourse
John Khuu is a Chicago based indie electro house DJ. He produces straight from his computer on Ableton Live. Yes, he’s a writer for us at Lightning Collective and also a DJ at night! Lately, he’s been getting his material out and this is what he’s going to use to spread out to everyone in Chicago.
We would love to hear your input on this as he’s working on his release for this mix. We’ll let you know when its released. Thanks guys!
What’s are you thinking?
