My album of the week. Bonobo’s sixth album is nomadic & intimate, open-minded and expansive drawing on his ambient chill trademark and tougher almost clubbier sounds with guest vocals from Hundred Waters, Nick Murphy, Rhye and Morrocco’s Innov Gnawa.
Katie Stelmanis’ third album as Austra feels looser than her previous work, and despite the title, more human. The operatic synth-pop is still very much there and the politics of the title feels rooted in the personal.
Favourite tracks: ‘Utopia’, ‘I Love You More Than You Love Yourself’
The New-York singer-songwriter Julie Byrne is known for ethereal folk music and her new second album Not Even Happiness is a calming listen of gentle folk and ambient textures.
Favourite tracks: ‘Natural Blue’, ‘I Live Now As A Singer’
Since the release of his 2014 debut, SOHN has moved continents, got married and is this week, expecting his first child. In the same time he’s also managed to hugely improve his songcraft which to this point always worked best writing for others. Rennen is an album of alt-synth singer-songwriter music with touches of spacious R&B and orchestral atmospherics.
Upcoming London rapper with a relaxed vocal style, Carner’s debut album dropped today and his Uber driver is a fan. This is a lyrical-focused largely drawing on laidback jazz and hip-hop beats. Carner plays The Workman’s Club on February 2nd.
The latest release on Awesome Tapes From Africa features singer Awa Poulo of Peulh origin from Dilly commune in Mali on the border of Mauritania features eight new tracks of folk-pop of the region with Poulo singing atop loose guitar, flute, n’goni (lute), calabash gourd hand percussion.
Austra announced their third album called Future Politics on 20th January 2017 and now we have a tour and another video to follow up ‘Utopia’ to hear and see for ‘Future Politics’.
A full UK and European tour in March and April touches down in Button Factory, Dublin on 25th March and the UK a few days before. Dates below.
‘Future Politics’ also from the album received the video treatment.
Of the video, Austra’s Katie Stelmanis and the director Allie Avital say: “Future Politics is the breaking down of paradigms. In this video, we wanted to explore what a world might look like if our values were transformed: instead of glorifying labour, maybe we could learn to glorify the act of doing absolutely nothing.”
Katie Stelmanis and the Austra crew will return with a third album called Future Politics on 20th January 2017.
The physical album will exclusively be available from Dom Mart for now, limited to 500 copies worldwide, on high quality red vinyl with a 12″ x 12″ art print signed by Stelmanis. Presumably, digitally it’ll be on Spotify etc.
Lead single ‘Utopia’ is hopeful in tone and inspired, indicative of the album as “a commitment to replace the approaching dystopia. Not just hope in the future, but the idea that everyone is required to help write it, and the boundaries of what it can look like are both fascinating and endless. It’s not about ‘being political,’ it’s about reaching beyond boundaries, in every single field.”
Of the album title, Stelmanis said:
“It is easy to feel helpless, but I found a way to feel powerful. I found inspiration in the fact that the future doesn’t exist yet and is therefore ripe for taking, and I was further elated thinking of the possibilities for what it could look like! Each person’s fantasy of the future is valid and possible and one should never feel like their imaginations can’t become the truth. I’ve written new music while following this path and am completely terrified (partially excited) to share it with you.”
Tracklisting
1. We Were Alive 2. Future Politics 3. Utopia 4. I’m A Monster 5. I Love You More Than You Love Yourself 6. Angel In Your Eye 7. Freepower 8. Gaia 9. Beyond A Mortal 10. Deep Thought 11. 43
Body & Soul Festival does things differently. The festival on the grounds of Ballinlough Castle doesn’t just erect some tents and hire stages, it builds bespoke areas to house music and people, it embellishes them with installations, art and a thoughtfulness that makes for a special experience, taking in a walled garden, custom-built bars, an amphitheatre, woodlands and much more. You can read more on the festival’s ethos in my interview with festival director Avril Stanley.
There are a few must-visit areas at the festival, Wonderlust in the walled garden features thoughtful talks during the day, with music at night and bingo and performances in between. It’s a perfect place to hang out and with the Happy Pear just around the corner, a good place to stop for food. Tree Haus, curated by Homebeat will host a haven of great Irish music and on Saturday and Sunday in the woods. We are giving it some Vinyl Love from Noon to 5pm at Tree haus with over 20 DJs playing 7 of their favourite 7″s on rotation. Stumble upon a cottage late into the night done up like the living room of filmmaker Myles O’Reilly and you will have found the Arbutus Yarns theatre with its sense of lawlessness and creativity. Or how about some special cocktails and tunes at The Glasshouse? Vodafone Centre Stage will also be there for with a full array of comedians at the Vodafone Comedy Tent too.
Before we get into the live acts, here are just some of DJs worth a dance to down there this year: Get Down Edits, Sally Cinnamon, Decent Perks, This Greedy Pig, Mother, Hidden Agenda, Laura Bap To The Future, Stevie G and Donal Dineen.
Here are 20 bands and artists to catch at the festival.
1. Kiasmos
Sunday
Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds and Faroe Islands’ synth-pop musician Janus Rasmussen’s Kiasmos project mixes glacial electronics with a classical grandeur, creating minimal dance music from disparate textures. As they showed in the Opium Rooms in April, their live set hits hard with beats and beauty.
2. Super Furry Animals
Saturday
There is no better place for the return of the Welsh pop weirdos than the amphitheatre at Body & Soul. Expect a smattering of Yeti and Power Ranger costuming among the catalogue of electronic, folk and psychedelic gems. If anything, their stature as one of the UK’s best bands has grown since they were away.
3. Austra
Saturday
Katie Stelmanis and band create twinkling night-time dance atmospheres with synths and operatic vocals. Shake it out.
4. Talos
Saturday
Eoin French sound draws on ambience, reverb, falsetto and honey-eyed song craft. Live with a full band or as a solo musician on piano, his performances were among the best I saw last year.
5. Rhye
Sunday
Mike Milosh and Robin Hannibal’s project produced a sophisticated collection of music that is informed by things that maybe aren’t considered cool – disco-lite and soft jazz, lounge-fun. The result is emotional R&B songs with love at its heart. This will be their first Irish show.
6. Dan Deacon
Friday
There ain’t no show like a Dan Deacon show. Whether he’s picking out audience members for dance offs, forming a conga line around and outside the venue or generally shattering the barriers between performer and audience, Deacon’s live show is a must see. With new album Gliss Riffer presenting a deeper compositional side to the Baltimore music, his Body & Soul performance may be a re-invigorating highlight.
7. Somerville
Sunday
Galway’s Maria Somerville makes slow, moving music with the barest of instruments and the most delicate of touch. She hasn’t been giving much away of late so the festival will be an opportunity to see how that slow moving sound is progressing.
8. Shookrah
Saturday
Cork funk and soul eight-piece band Shookrah burst into my conscious with the righteous and celebatory ‘Woman’.
9. Hare Squead
Friday / Saturday
A trio of rappers from South county Dublin still in their teens, Jessy Rose, Tony Konstone and E-Knock move between rap, R&B and pop and do it with a full band with backing singers and a barrel of youthful exuberance. A glimpse of the future.
10. Natalie Prass
Sunday
Having sat in the wings as Matthew E.White’s career was taking off, this year was the time for Prass and her classic songwriting with the honeyed voice to take her own impact. White’s Spacebomb records released Prass’ self-titled debut album this year to great acclaim and Body & Soul will be her third appearance in Ireland after a support slot with Ryan Adams and a solo show in Whelan’s.
You can listen live on Thursdays to the show on 105.2FM, online, the iOs app, Android app or if you missed it, along with all the other shows, via the listen back section
Body & Soul is back for its sixth year in Ballinlough Castle, Co. Westmeath for the Summer Solstice weekend of Friday June 19th to Sunday June 21st.
First here are the all-important first names:
Flight Facilities, Savages, Ásgeir, Austra, Goat, Nightmares on Wax, Rhye, Lamb, Matthew E White, Dan Deacon, Talaboman (John Talabot and Axel Boman), James Holden, Clark, SOHN, Mmoths, Brandt Brauer Frick, Songhoy Blues, Natalie Prass, Shit Robot, Alo Wala, Oy, New Jackson, Jonathan Toubin, Meltybrains? King Kong Company and Grounds For Invasion.
All of last year’s stages are expected to return and more names will of course, be announced soon. Meanwhile if you want a taste of Body & Soul, they are putting on Eriu on Monday in IMMA.
Ticket info
Body&Soul is this year offering a 5 Tier Ticket system for Three Day Camping tickets. Tier 1, 2, 3 have now sold out. A limited number Tier 4 tickets are currently available and Tier 5 will come on sale when they have sold out.
Full Tiered Pricing Details: General and Family Weekend Tickets:
Campervan tickets EU60 incl booking fee (Note separate event tickets required for each passenger.)
A Family Ticket is available for those wishing to stay in the dedicated Family Campsite. A family ticket permits entry for 1 adult and 2 children aged 12 or under. (Adults without children are not permitted into Family Campsite). Children U12 are free
All tickets can be purchased with the Easy Payment Scheme allowing you to pay in instalments.
A Sunday ticket is available for €55 including booking fee for those wishing to attend on the Sunday only. Note: No camping is permitted with this ticket. Sunday ticket holders are not permitted to bring alcohol into the festival. A Sunday & Bus ticket is available for €84 including booking fee.
All tickets from Ticketmaster include a charge – €6.10 for internet/phone bookings and €2.15 per ticket.
Dark-edged electro Toronto band Austra have a new EP coming out on Domino on June 17th this year called Habitat, on 12″ and digital. The title track is a song the band have played live a few times at least since 2011. Have a listen below and you can pre-order the EP and get an instant download of the track if you do.
Listen to Austra’s second album Olympia right here courtesy of Deezer.
Austra’s debut album Feel It Break, released two years ago was a fine debut of live electronic music with gothic touches, defined by Katie Stelmanis’ yearning operatic vocals and songs which had clear house music influences with its synth sounds which were often pitched against sparkling melodies in a higher register. Listen to Olympia…→
This week’s playlist features new music debuted in the last seven days or heard for the first time this week. The result is a roundup of 20 new music tracks.
This week’s playlist includes new tracks from Lightning Dust, Boards Of Canada, Fuck Buttons, Chvrches, Gold Panda, Disclosure, Booddha, Austra, Pure Bathing Culture, Not Squares, The Bullits, Ikonika and more.
After Forbidden Fruit finishes on Sunday night around 11pm, the party continues in town for festival-ticket holders in Temple Bar with Meeting House Square, Button Factory and the IFI hosting one big afterparty. Free buses will bring people back into town where the following awaits including two non-festival bookings Star Slinger and Kaytranada: (more…)
The best new music/artist picks of the last week. As published in today’s Day & Night Magazine. Follow Day & Night on Twitter or Facebook
Austra
Katie Stelmanis and her crew of Canadian electro-goths are back in Ireland in the summer for Forbidden Fruit and they’ve a new album Olympia out around the same time. Home is the first song from it, a Chicago house-driven orchestral dance tune.
There’ll be 4 stages, tickets are €99 plus fees for the weekend or €54.50 plus fees for a day ticket. Early bird tickets are €79.50 and €44.50 plus fees. Tickets on sale tomorrow at 9am via Ticketmaster.
Personally, I think this is a reasonable lineup considering the now-crowded mid Irish festival market we now have. Fingers crossed there’s more interesting smaller bookings on the way, along the lines of Mykki Blanco.
In terms of medium to large multi-day festivals that’s Longitude, Forbidden Fruit, Body and Soul, Oxegen and Electric Picnic happening this year. Considering those odds, POD and Forbidden Fruit did pretty well in their booking.
Last year’s lineup was pretty stellar so I can understand the initial disappointment from some but there was no Longitude last year meaning that this time around, MCD could offer act who were potentially Forbidden Fruit-bound more moolah to play in July at Longitude rather than June. With so few big headliners at the moment, Forbidden Fruit had to resort to the tried and tested method of rock bands who have done it before: Primal Scream and Kasabian to bring in guaranteed ticket sales despite the other audience of more indie/Primavera-oriented potential festival-goers who would prefer to have the festival to themselves. It’s going to be an interesting year for all of these festivals.
Spooked electronica from Hervé with disentangled vocals from Austra’s Katie Stelmanis. It’s the first single from The Art Of Disappearing, Hervé’s “definitely not for the club” album out in March 4th on Cheap Thrills and also featuring Niki & The Dove, Maria Minerva and Seasfire. Queasy listening. Video by Tim Kelly.
Austra have turned their attention to recording the followup to their Feel It Break debut. It’s still in the pre-recording stage but advanced enough that they gave Scion Sessions a glimpse into what they’re working on in Kensington Market studio in Toronto.
