So with the Pitchfork Music Festival 2012 edition gearing up this coming November, we thought we’d get you into the swing of things and offer you a teaser of each band on the bill and maybe help you decide what to give a go, and what to give a pass for your beer pitstops, mustache touch ups and merch table grazings…. We start with the Thursday Line-up :
[Must See] M83 – Raconte-Moi Une Histoire [audio:http://sodwee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/06-Raconte-Moi-Une-Histoire.mp3]
M83 is the electronic music project of the French artist Anthony Gonzalez. He and former member Nicolas Fromageau founded the group in 2001 in Antibes, France. M83’s style owes a lot to the shoegaze genre, in that there is much emphasis on tonality, extensive use of reverb effects and often softly-spoken lyrics at times submerged in instrumentation. M83 was named after the spiral galaxy “Messier 83”.
Sébastien Tellier – Pepito Bleu [audio:http://sodwee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/01-Pepito-Bleu.mp3]
Sébastien Tellier (French: [tɛlje]; born November 30, 1974) is a French singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is currently signed to Record Makers, a French independent record label. He sings in English, French and Italian.
James Blake – CMYK [audio:http://sodwee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/01-CMYK.mp3]
James Blake (born October 1988) is an electronic musician and singer-songwriter from London, England, United Kingdom. Blake is primarily considered a dubstep producer and is frequently heralded as a leading figure in the “post-dubstep” community, but he is also noted for his prominent soul influences. Blake was nominated the Critic’s Choice award by the 2011 BRIT Awards and the Sound of 2011 award by the BBC, and won second place in the latter. In addition, his self-titled debut LP, James Blake, was nominated for the 2011 Mercury Prize. Blake has also released material under the alias Harmonimix.
[Must See] Chairlift – Bruises [audio:http://sodwee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Bruises.mp3]
Chairlift is an electropop band which formed in 2005 in Boulder, Colorado, United States. The band consists of Caroline Polachek (vocals, keyboards) and Patrick Wimberly (bass, drums). The third founding member, Aaron Pfenning (guitar, synths, vocals), left the band in 2010.
The band formed in Boulder, Colorado in early 2006 to make live music for haunted houses. Frequenting the Broker Inn on the edge of town for empty late-night jazz shows, Polachek, Pfenning and Wimberly were mystified by the 1980’s faux-gothic architecture, oak-cabinet aquariums, vacant dancefloors, fake trees, crystal chandeliers and dark velveteen booths. The inn provided them with the ideal setting for a new breed of pop: a place where subtle clashes blossomed into uncanny pleasures.
Japandroids – Young Hearts Spark Fire [audio:http://sodwee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/02-Young-Hearts-Spark-Fire.mp3]
Japandroids is a Canadian rock duo from Vancouver, British Columbia. The group consists of Brian King (guitar, vocals) and David Prowse (drums, vocals). Formed in 2006, Japandroids rose to prominence in 2009 following the release of their debut album Post-Nothing. The group toured extensively throughout 2009–2010, earning praise for their energetic live performances. Their sophomore album, Celebration Rock, was released on May 29, 2012 in Canada and June 5, 2012 internationally
John Talabot – H.O.R.S.E. [audio:http://sodwee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/10-H.O.R.S.E..mp3]
John Talabot is a Spanish DJ, Producer and electronic musician. Talabot had released a number of tracks in 2009 but rose to fame with the track Sunshine in 2010. He released his debut album Fin in January 2012 on Permanent Vacation garnering a 5 star review in The Guardian.
Factory Floor – Two Different Ways (Perc Remix) [audio:http://sodwee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Two-Different-Ways-Perc-Remix.mp3]
Factory Floor are a London-based band formed in 2005, they have been described as ‘post-industrial’, using live drums, synthesizers and noise.
[Must See] AlunaGeorge – You Know You Like It [audio:http://sodwee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/01-You-Know-You-Like-It.mp3]
A lot of bands meet as kids at school. Others come together after an over-enthusiastic conversation about music at some random party. Aluna Francis and George Reid however, met through the internet.
While their online encounter is more MySpace than Match.com, it was in fact through a mutual respect for each other’s work that led them to go on to form AlunaGeorge. Now together for just barely a year, the talented duo have been churning out a series of infectious mixes which fuse Francis’ sweet vocal harmonies with the hushed electronic stylings courtesy of Reid.
DIIV – Doused [audio:http://sodwee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/12-Doused.mp3]
DIIV (previously known as Dive) is an ongoing project composed of Beach Fossils guitarist Cole Smith, Devin Ruben Perez, Andrew Bailey, and ex-Smith Westerns drummer Colby Hewitt. DIIV’s first release, the Sometime 7” on Captured Tracks, was released on Oct. 11th, 2011, Oshintheir debut album was released in June 2012.
[Must See] How to Dress Well – & It Was U [audio:http://sodwee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/It-Was-U.mp3]
How to Dress Well is the stage name of ethereal R&B songwriter and producer Tom Krell. Krell’s burgeoning career began in 2009 when, having just moved from Brooklyn to Berlin, his songs began to emerge online via a hugely prolific string of free, digital EPs posted in anonymity on his blog. Combining a gorgeous falsetto with fractured R&B-influenced beats, an instinctive ear for subtly devastating melody and elements of noise, sound collage and avant-garde composition,Love Remains offered a beautiful window into a startlingly fully realized artistic imagination.
Praised for both its conceptual strength and immediate emotional resonance, Love Remains duly garnered vast critical acclaim and highlights such as “Ready For The World” and “Decisions” saw Krell accredited with having given birth to a new, narcotized strain of R&B that has since spawned a host of imitators.
