Hipster Killer Jake Gyllenhaal in The Shoes' "Time to Dance"

Jake Gyllenhaal's dark side grasped us in Donnie Darko and his most recent role in French electro-pop band The Shoes' short film/music video for "Time to Dance" isn't much of a departure from his bunny suit wearing house burning days.



Directed by Daniel Wolfe, the 8-minute pyscho-thriller takes us through Jake's East London killing spree as he attacks Dalston hipsters at intimate after parties, raging house parties and raving nightclubs. The bloody violence and Jake's intense close-ups are juxtaposed with a wide shot of serene white snow fields and seagulls gracefully flying all around him.



You gotta love a music video turned short film, a very scary yet still somehow very sexy Jake Gyllenhaal and a pop-filled dance tune!

Erykah Badu Causing a Stir in Kuala Lumpur

Not only was there a last-minute date change for the upcoming Erykah Badu show in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from Tuesday, February 28, to Wednesday, February 29, but complexities ensued when The Star chose to publish this photo of the singer with images of the word "Allah" on her body which "offended the religious sensitivities" of Muslim groups.



The Star have offered an apology and from the apparent pleas from the promoters, Pineapple Concerts, on Twitter with requests to get the hashtag #MsiansWantErykah to trend, there is some hope that the Malaysian Government officials will allow the show to go on.

Ms. Badu just celebrated a birthday on February 26 so hopefully she'll get a chance to share her merriment with the 3,000 KL fans eagerly anticipating a positive outcome as a result of The Star's negligent oversight.

UPDATE: The show remained cancelled.

Loomstate's 41Strings led by Nick Zinner

We mentioned Loomstate’s 41Strings event earlier this week in a previous post and got some insight into Nick Zinner’s inspiration for the musical piece but had no idea what to really expect and were indeed moved by the gorgeous composition.



The 41+ musicians circled Zinner as he played lead guitar man and conductor and led us through a whimsical journey of the four seasons.

Vice Media and Intel’s Creator\'s Project have also come on board to document the event in its entirety so we can look forward to that!

The experience included video installations by Yoshi Sodeoka, E*Rock and Dawn of Man, an interactive installation from Ernesto Klar and a playful 41 questions and answers video connecting a series of questions thrown from one person to another to answer and in turn posing a question to be answered.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XON1_1x5z5Y&feature=player_embedded#at=74

http://vimeo.com/23660820

Following last year’s 40 Drummers performance led by Bharoocha and this year’s Zinner’s 41Strings, what will the brilliant Loomstate minds of Rogan and Berrin Noorata bring to us for Earth Day’s 42^nd?

NICK ZINNER: Capturing Crowds and Classical Compositions

[caption id="attachment_4476" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Nick Zinner- Crowd, Brooklyn, May 2007"][/caption]

It has been an especially busy week for artist and musician Nick Zinner as two events culminate; a photo show opening last week at Anastasia Photo and an upcoming experimental musical performance, 41Strings. This might seem overwhelming to the average person but if Zinner is overwhelmed at all, his mild-mannered demeanor doesn’t make it known. Perhaps playing music since the age of six and shooting photos since high school doesn't hurt either.

Zinner’s candid, documentary approach not only captures engaging images but also reveals a tender sentimentality with simply wanting to “remember a situation or a person or a time.” Last week, Anastasia Photo presented “Nick Zinner,” a series of large-scale crowd images captured at his band’s, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, shows. Generally, he prefers anonymity when shooting his subjects. However, these crowd shots are taken at his own shows sparking my curiosity to whether or not that factor affects his relationship with the content because in a sense they are watching him watching them watching him. Zinner detaches from the crowd, even conceptualizing a completely different set of circumstances for them:

I never think that they are there for me. It’s more a case of documenting the people who are there for one event, together and in a formation that will never be repeated. I’m not the singer, so most of the time people are not watching me, and if I’m sneaky enough, I want to try to create a frame with as many faces as possible, ideally all equally interesting to look at. And at the same time, I like to try to imagine that you can remove the context of a rock show, specifically my band’s rock show, and maybe think about different situations that those people could be gathered for.

[caption id="attachment_4478" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Nick Zinner- Crowd, Tuscon, March 2004"][/caption]

The Anastasia Photo gallery connects its exhibits with philanthropic initiatives. For this show, Future of Music Coalition and JOICFP, a Japanese organization committed to helping tsunami victims are apropos selections with music being obvious and Japan with current global relevance. Japan is also one of Zinner’s favorite countries to play and this is only one of several of his efforts in contributing to its recovery, including JAPAN: RISING. “Nick Zinner” at Anastasia Photo is up until June 4.

[caption id="attachment_4479" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Nick Zinner- Crowd, Tokyo, October 2003"][/caption]

Tomorrow marks the day of the highly anticipated Loomstate 41Strings event honoring Earth Day’s 41^st anniversary with Zinner, Soft Circle’s Hisham Akira Bharoocha and Ben Vida and Gillian Rivers. They have composed and are leading 41+ musicians through an original piece of music inspired by the four seasons. Zinner has listed Steve Reich as a music inspiration so perhaps this is an homage to "Music for 18 Musicians" with the addition of 23 or so musicians- no big deal. Zinner shares details on what we can look forward to experiencing:

A minimalist, traditional interpretation of classically played music, with guitars and drums, as well as violins, violas, cellos, double basses, and electric basses.  I’ve been really going for an epic feeling with each season, and I’m hoping we can make some people really feel something powerful. The music is more focused, working with repetition and strong melodies, divided up into four 6 or 7 minute sections for each season.



41Strings takes place at Good Units at the Hudson Hotel tomorrow, May 11 from 8-11pm.

Gang Gang Dance’s “Eye Contact”- Brian DeGraw Talks Process and 4AD

[caption id="attachment_4448" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Photo by Brian DeRan"][/caption]

With their records and live shows alike, Gang Gang Dance always allure me into and on an entrancing otherworld journey. Lizzi Bougatsos’ haunting vocals and dynamic layers of melodies lead me into ethereal dream states only to be brought back down moments later with solid pounding rhythmic drums. Last week’s show at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn was no different as they played their last hometown NY show before heading off to Europe continuing the tour for their fifth album, Eye Contact, on 4AD. GGD’s Brian DeGraw took time out from busy tour preparations to discuss Eye Contact and their new relationship with 4AD.

[caption id="attachment_4453" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Eye Contact"][/caption]

DeGraw walked me through the three-part process of recording the record. They started with writing and recording in the desserts of California in Wonder Valley near Joshua Tree.  Then tracking was done near Woodstock, NY in a studio previously converted from a church with large stained-glass windows.  DeGraw recalled the studio having “really magical light shining in at all hours of the day” and the surroundings providing “lots of room for solitude,” comically adding, “there was also a ghost there that ate [his] cookies.” The final mixing was also done upstate New York, but in Tivoli, where he resided this past year. Surrounded again in remote settings, DeGraw appreciated being “able to mix and simultaneously look out the windows at the trees and wild turkeys.”  He compared the process of recording this album to previous ones:

This is the first record we have made that involved so much space and serenity in terms of the physical environment and I really think it made a huge difference with the sound of the finished album. Most of our records have been made in extremely claustrophobic city spaces with all the usual chaos going on around us. The last record [Saint Dymphna] specifically was one of the most uncomfortable records to make in terms of cold weather, small rooms, lack of studio time, etc. I think you can hear [those influences] on the last one... the way it’s sort of thrown together more like a rushed collage. With Eye Contact I'm really happy to hear the spaciousness in the sequence of the songs and within some of the songs themselves. I think it has a much better arc to it and it sort of tells a story... which I didn’t realize until it was done- more proof of the subconscious being a very sensible place I guess.

[caption id="attachment_4452" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Photo by Brian DeGraw"][/caption]

GGD’s subconscious is undeniably sensible with Eye Contact. Pitchfork commend this to be their “finest, weirdest, and most uplifting statement yet.”



The Guardian praise Eye Contact with relevance to 4AD as “an even more lush and spangled work that fits snugly with their new label, 4AD, once home to the likes of the Cocteau Twins, whose post-verbal dreamlands Gang Gang Dance also distantly evoke.” DeGraw “grew up pretty fascinated by the output of the label and the consistency of their aesthetic.” Also being influenced by the Cocteau Twins, he feels “honored to be a distant cousin to them in some respect.” Along with Cocteau Twins, Bauhaus and Dead Can Dance gave way to 4AD’s beginnings. In recent years, the label’s roster include a majority of independent rock bands like Blonde Redhead, Deerhunter and Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti. However, upcoming releases on the label are more electronic focused and this is where GGD play a pivotal role. DeGraw recaps a conversation with the label about GGD representing “a perfect bridge between the ‘old’ 4AD and the ‘new’ 4AD because [their] sound has a foot in both worlds. [They] are essentially an electronic band but have guitars and drums and play everything physically rather than through programming sequences.” Not surprisingly, DeGraw appreciates this association, “I like the idea of being that bridge. I like GGD to be a gateway in any respect possible.”

Gang Gang Dance’s genre defiance is indeed a gateway into unchartered frontiers as they encapsulate diverse and global yet obscure influences from electronic to Asian pop to drum and bass to R&B to afrobeat to grime… even to other worlds.





Stream the entire album courtesy of 4AD here. Eye Contact releases this week.

Music video for Mindkiller- Directed by Shoji Goto of the Boredoms:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R7k1_kOqvk&feature=player_embedded#at=18

"Glass Jar" live from last week's Music Hall of Williamsburg show:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3ZfGi0OmM

Here for more photos of GGD by Brian DeRan, who also manages them through Leg Up! Management.

For more on GGD and Brian DeGraw, follow his blog.

TVOTR's Gerard Smith Has Passed

It was a sad day in New York City and a sad day for music with heartbreaking news of Gerard Smith’s passing yesterday. Known as the bassist of one of Brooklyn’s finest bands, TV On The Radio, Gerard was also a father and a good friend to many. The band posted the news on their website:

We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer. Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th, 2011. We will miss him terribly.



News of Gerard battling lung cancer surfaced about a month ago and TVOTR has been touring without him in support of their newest album, “Nine Types of Light.” Due to the unfortunate loss of their friend, they have cancelled five upcoming shows.



My most sincere thoughts and prayers are with those grieving the loss of a friend, brother, son and father.

Panda Bear's "Tomboy"

Noah Lennox, founding member of Animal Collective, is Panda Bear and releases his sophomore solo album "Tomboy" this week. You can stream it's layered loveliness here before you buy it.

As always, be prepared to enter the ambient realm of a fantastical journey that is Panda Bear.

Bob Dylan played China. Next stop: VIETNAM.

Music legend Bob Dylan performed in China and heads to Vietnam to play for the first time ever. He played in Beijing on Wednesday, April 6 and in Shanghai on Friday, April 8. Choosing a less controversial path than Bjork did with Tibet sentiments at her China show, he apparently “’charged through’ his set list… leaving out any banter with the audience between the songs…” according to The Telegraph. His set included “Tangled up in Blue” and “Simple Twist of Fate” but intentionally void were popular protest tunes “Blowin' in the Wind” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. As expected, especially with foreign acts, a set list and program have to be submitted and approved beforehand and during this extremely sensitive time of crackdowns on activists, artists and writers, it was probably a good move on Dylan’s part to keep things kosher.

Similar to China, Dylan’s set will have to be pre-approved for his upcoming Ho Chi Minh City show today, April 10. However, as there may be a stronger connection among the Vietnamese with his romantic anti-war songs along with the special tribute to Trinh Cong Son, it will be interesting to see what Dylan's set will actually consist of today.



During these exciting moments of massive progress for Vietnam economically and culturally, indeed “The Times They Are-A Changin’”. Hopefully different than China, this song will actually get stage play!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCWdCKPtnYE

Sebastian Kim: Photographer, DJ and all-around rad guy!

One of our favorite and most talented photographers around, Sebastian Kim, takes a second out of his busy schedule to give us some highlights on what he’s been working on and shares a list of his favorite tunes at the moment!

Born in Vietnam, Sebastian found his way to Brooklyn, New York via Tehran, Paris and California. Aside from his undeniable visual talent, he is also gifted with an ear for music along with some killer dance moves, and an appreciation for food embraced by his partnership with the New York Vietnamese restaurant, An Choi. On top of all that, Sebastian is probably one of the nicest and happiest guys you’ll ever meet making this all-around rad guy super easy to love!

"Lotus Flower" - Radiohead

Been listening to the new Radiohead album and am pretty into it though there are mixed reviews. Some have described it as a "creeper," requiring more listens to achieve likability. Regardless, I've definitely already been practicing Thom Yorke's super alright dance moves from this Lotus Flower video. Who knew he could move like so?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfOa1a8hYP8&feature=youtu.be

The album is available here.

What do you think about the album? Creeper or off-the-bat banger?

United Bamboo Fall 2011 RTW and After Party at New York Fashion Week

Miho Aoki and Thuy Pham are the brilliant minds behind one of L’usine’s favorite brands, United Bamboo. They haven’t added the fashionable cats from their annual calendar into their runway show just yet but here’s a preview of the Fall 2011 Ready-To-Wear collection from the recent New York Fashion Week.

Thuy shared some positive responses from the show, "We showed a collection with lots of coats. Big hits were some of the shearling coats and the shoes. Everyone was telling me it looked very 'United Bamboo' which is good I think. It means they wanna wear the stuff."

Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear of Animal Collective, Sean Lennon, James Iha and MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden were spotted at the show. This season, Pete Kember formerly of Spacemen 3 produced the music.

One can only hope that the cats will make their live runway debut one day. Until then, monthly inspirational outfits can be referenced in the 2011 calendar available for order in the US.

Now what would a show be without its after party? Every season, United Bamboo collaborates with Justine D. to throw one of the must-get-to parties of fashion week. This season, Dossier Journal also presented the after party at the Jane Hotel. Karen O and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem (probably taking a welcomed break from “the last ever LCD show sold-out in minutes and crashing servers because of lame scalpers” debacle) provided the tunes that had everyone rocking including LCD’s James Murphy (who wrote an amazing response letter to the last show drama), David Chang of Momofuku, Kirsten Dunst and all these pretty people.

L'Usine Music | Beck's Record Club

Beck’s Record Club is a one of our favourite projects online right now. Various musicians gather to record an album in a day, the videos are rough, and unrehearsed, and sometimes incredible.

L'Usine Music | Vietnamese Electronic Music Production

A few years ago if you asked us what was the local Vietnamese electronic music scene was like we would say 'what scene?' or 'say what?!'.  Lately we are seeing local interest with young Vietnamese making their own electronic beats other than terribly remixed rap- techno songs.  The most recent discovery is the cre­ation of the first Viet­namese dub­step track pro­duced by a local producer called Solid Machine 666. Solid Machine 666 was a VJ on local music channel Yan TV.

This marks a whole new excit­ing move­ment in pro­duc­tion scene for Saigon. This means there is interest in bass culture music from local Vietnamese and they are diving right into it creating, creating and creating.

Here are some tunes pro­duced by local talents

I Rape Your Ear by solidmachine666