John Vanderslice's anticipated new album The Cedars is out next week, and today the renowned producer/songwriter shared an advance stream of the full record with The Fader. Vanderslice also gave a revealing interview with the magazine, speaking of his childhood in rural Florida, his despair over his mother's death, his disillusionment with San Francisco, and his relationship with drugs. 'There's stuff on the record that I'm talking about very transparently because I want everyone to know what's happening with me,' he says. 'It's like a bleak, dark, beautiful Christmas card.'
Minneapolis-based, genre-melding Her Crooked Heart is releasing the anticipated debut full-length To Love To Leave To Live on May 31st. Led by acclaimed songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Ries, the record illustrates her journey of building a new life from the ground up; working through a divorce, leaving behind the life she once knew, and finding love again within herself, her family, and her home.
While the ballets each have a marked identity, the triad presentation serves to compliment the elements of each. It's a journey into well-crafted worlds, an escape and a reunion all at once.
John Vanderslice is set to release The Cedars, his first album in six years, on April 5. The record's blend of synthesizers, drum machines, and Vanderslice's unmistakable vocals has already been receiving praise from NPR, Stereogum, and Consequence of Sound, among others, and today he shares another new song, 'Spectral Dawn.' Vanderslice describes the track as 'a hymn to those who have disappeared into the ether: the lost loves, the obsessions, the dead. They've slipped through a trap door and are not accessible anymore. The remaining fragments of experience and memory are comforting and damaging at the same time.' Brooklyn Vegan, who premiered the song today, call it 'both lush and intimate, full off all sorts of interesting sonic touches - woozy synthesizers, waves of electrical current and ticking percussion.'
Long Island-based alternative pop band MAYVE have released a new single, titled 'Head High,' available on all digital music platforms NOW. The first of three singles to be released in early 2019, 'Head High' displays a clean sense of identity. After receiving sync placements on various MTV shows, such as The Real World, MAYVE found themselves transitioning and evolving into a groovy, sugary, mainstream indie-esque pop sound. 'Head High' sounds comforting and familiar, while also upholding a fresh, summer, and dreamy tone. MAYVE are self-aware; open-minded to experimentation, the band toys along various genre lines in their new music. About the single, MAYVE states:
Houston Ballet is delighted to present a mixed repertory program of ballets never before seen in Houston, Premieres. The program includes works by three of the most respected choreographers working today: Aszure Barton, Ji Kyli n and Justin Peck. Designed to showcase the extraordinary talent and exceptional proficiencies of Houston Ballet dancers, Premieres is a program not to be missed.
The Jewish Museum will present Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything, a contemporary art exhibition devoted to the imagination and legacy of the influential singer/songwriter, man of letters, and global icon from Montreal, Canada. The exhibition will be on view from April 12 through September 8, 2019.
The American Youth Symphony (AYS) returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Sounds About Town concert series, partnering with the National Children's Chorus (NCC). Both prestigious musical institutions, the American Youth Symphony is an elite professional training orchestra made up of college and graduate students from the most prominent music programs in the country, while NCC is one of the nation's leading treble choruses, with ensembles in Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
John Vanderslice is returning with his first album in six years, The Cedars, due out April 5, and today he shared a new single, 'Will Call,' a song that he calls his biggest departure yet. Consequence of Sound premiered the track today, writing, 'this new track uses slightly off kilter electronic elements to create a feeling that teeters between grace and anxiety. With The Cedars inspired by the natural beauty of Vanderslice's land in Northern California, the slow pulsing sine waves rolling under scattered bells and keys translate the terrain into a hypnotic soundscape.' Vanderslice also shared his inspirations for the song, which include Sonoma and Los Angeles, and a couple of his current favorite artists, Spirit of the Beehive and JPEGMAFIA.
Two internationally-renowned and innovative contemporary dance companies, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Malpaso Dance Company, share the Auditorium Theatre's landmark stage on March 2 and 3, 2019 as part of the theatre's "Made in Chicago" 312 Dance Series.
The National Lights will release their new EP, Whom The Sea Will Keep on February 22 viaBloodShake Records (pre-order). The EP follows up The National Lights' critically acclaimed album The Dead Will Walk, Dear. In anticipation of Friday's release date the album is streaming in full at Northern Transmissions. About the EP Northern Transmissions says, 'The band draws inspiration from such far-ranging subjects as Southern Gothic literature and maritime lore but never stray far from traditional folk instrumentation and melodies. The trio's forthcoming release took shape between the summers of 2008 and 2018 in the ebbs of work, graduate school, and cross-country moves (Berns, Kiehne, and Cotton have dispersed to Eugene, Ore.; Baltimore; and Salt Lake City.'
Explore the past, present, and future of lighting for ballet with visual artist and Boston Ballet lighting director Brandon Stirling Baker. A frequent collaborator with choreographer Justin Peck and a diverse group of artists including Anthony Roth Costanzo, Benjamin Millepied, Sufjan Stevens, Jamar Roberts, Michelle Dorrance, Emery LeCrone, and Shepard Fairey, Baker will present the world premiere developed through the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University. Inspired by the close relationship between choreography and lighting design, this program featured new choreography by Jamar Roberts performed by Patricia Delgado, Sarah Daley, and Taylor Stanley.
Music's Biggest Night - the GRAMMYs - is here! Live from STAPLES Center, and hosted by Alicia Keys, the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast on CBS at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT.
Since 2010, Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC) has hosted the {Re}HAPPENING inspired by John Cage's 1952 Theatre Piece No. 1, an unscripted performance at Black Mountain College considered by many to be the first Happening. The annual {Re}HAPPENING brings together dozens of contemporary artists whose work responds to and extends the legacy of Black Mountain College visionaries such as John Cage, David Tudor, Merce Cunningham, M.C. Richards and Robert Rauschenberg. The 2019 {Re}HAPPENING celebrates the influence of non-western music on such legendary artists by showcasing contemporary musicians who continue the legacy of experimental music within a global context. As part of the international Merce Cunningham Centennial Celebration, BMCM+AC will juxtapose these contemporary performances and installations alongside projections of historic Cunningham dance footage, including Variations V, a collaboration with John Cage and fellow BMC faculty Stan VanDerBeek.
Seasons change, we rise and we fall, and our goal is to learn to appreciate these fleeting moments. These thoughts spun through the mind of Portland songwriter Clara Baker as she was recording her new album, Things to Burn. Produced by avant-folk experimentalist Shane Leonard (Kalispell, Field Report), the album was recorded in Shane's mother's house in the tiny village of Merton, Wisconsin. Joined by two stellar roots musicians, Courtney Hartman (Della Mae) and Zachariah Hickman (Josh Ritter, Ray Lamontagne), Baker recorded the album live to tape, no isolation booths, no cutting in-and-out of vocal takes, no headphones, pushing herself and the players to experience the music in the moment. Fellow Portland songwriters Jeffrey Martin andAnna Tivel stopped in while on tour through Wisconsin and added harmonies and fiddle to a song; there was a relaxed feeling to the days, and an emphasis on collaboration amongst the players. Recording engineer Brian Joseph (Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens) trucked over his studio in a U-Haul, and they all set up in the living room, taking the chance that a live performance without the cushion of a recording studio would lead to the best possible performances. “There's an authenticity to a live performance that I wanted to recreate with this recording,” Baker says. “The experience of recording that way changes the way the music sounds. We set up this experience intentionally to have us be really focused on being in the moment. It was an emotional experience.”
The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association has announced today the line-up for the 2019 KCRW's World Festival at the Hollywood Bowl. The successful collaboration between KCRW and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association celebrates its 20th anniversary, and launches Sunday, June 16, at 7PM.
The National Lights are excited to share their new single, 'Lantern and Whalebone,' from their new EP, Whom the Sea Will Keep, out on February 22 via BloodShake Records (pre-order). The track premiered this week at Atwood Magazine and is available to share via Soundcloud or Spotify.
