If you only look at this site and not at the blog I write for Delirium Vault, you may have missed my review of last week's festival Rock Herk.
Here's the link.
It also links to videos of Future of the Left, mclusky, Cutting Pink With Knives, Phosphorescent, Battles, Bane, Roni Size & Reprazent and AmenRa.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Welcome to another special Radio Kurtodrome. Only two artists this time, but we can guarantee you'll be staying near your computer for a long time.
First up: Nine Inch Nails.
A new album is out and to thank the fans for their loyal support, Trent Raznor has decided the fans can download the album for free. The Slip contains 10 tracks and lasts just under 44 minutes. You can download the album as MP3, M4A, FLAC or 24/96 WAVE. Artwork is also included.
So go now and download it here.
And then it's time for the concert by CocoRosie and the Dutch Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (recorded in Rotterdam, April 29 2008). You can watch the entire concert online. Here's the setlist:
GYORGI LIGETI - Atmosphères
COCOROSIE - Rainbowarriors
COCOROSIE - Animals
COCOROSIE - Good Friday
CHARLES IVES - Putnam's Camp
GIAN CARLO MENOTTI - The Black Swan (from 'The Medium')
COCOROSIE - Promise
ARVO PÄRT - Fratres
COCOROSIE - The Trinity
COCOROSIE - Beautiful Boys
COCOROSIE - Bloody Twins
BÉLA BARTÓK - Music from 'The Miraculous Mandarin'
COCOROSIE - Japan
Watch it here.
That's it for now. Enjoy!
First up: Nine Inch Nails.
A new album is out and to thank the fans for their loyal support, Trent Raznor has decided the fans can download the album for free. The Slip contains 10 tracks and lasts just under 44 minutes. You can download the album as MP3, M4A, FLAC or 24/96 WAVE. Artwork is also included.
So go now and download it here.
And then it's time for the concert by CocoRosie and the Dutch Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (recorded in Rotterdam, April 29 2008). You can watch the entire concert online. Here's the setlist:
GYORGI LIGETI - Atmosphères
COCOROSIE - Rainbowarriors
COCOROSIE - Animals
COCOROSIE - Good Friday
CHARLES IVES - Putnam's Camp
GIAN CARLO MENOTTI - The Black Swan (from 'The Medium')
COCOROSIE - Promise
ARVO PÄRT - Fratres
COCOROSIE - The Trinity
COCOROSIE - Beautiful Boys
COCOROSIE - Bloody Twins
BÉLA BARTÓK - Music from 'The Miraculous Mandarin'
COCOROSIE - Japan
Watch it here.
That's it for now. Enjoy!
Friday, May 02, 2008
LES NUITS BOTANIQUE (May 2008, Botanique, Brussels)
LINE-UP
Tindersticks - The Flicker of a Little Girl
Tunng - Bullets
CaféNeon - Orange
This Is The Kit - One of These Socks
Apse - Up In The Eaves
Auryn & The Nightingales - Trust Me Just For Once
Xiu Xiu - I'll Do What I Want When I Want
Blood Red Shoes - Meet Me At 8
We Are Scientists - The Great Escape
Two Gallants - Despite What You've Been Told
Forward, Russia - Breaking Standing
Get Well Soon - It Must Have Been Love
Timesbold - Gin I Win
Time for an (honestly long overdue) update. And let's speed up things with a special. This time we're focussing on Les Nuits Botanique, the lengthy festival in Brussels (Belgium). We (old people with an overactive but excellent memory) still remember that Les Nuits Botanique used to be scheduled in September, but that it moved to May to escape the post-summer festival fatigue. Now, just a month after the equally worthy Domino festival (AB, Brussels), it's becoming a small tradition to see which Brussels festival venue managed to find the most impressive line-up. This year's clear winner: Les Nuits Botanique. Yes, it even manages to make our mouths water even more than the line-ups of the big summer festivals (you know, those venues where you combine getting a tan with listening to music whilst eating bad food), which in itself is quite an achievement.
The 2008 season of Les Nuits Botanique is scheduled May 7 to 18, which is why Tindersticks will open the doors... on May 2. Yes, we've given up on scheduling logic as far as the Botanique is involved. Just go with their flow and don't question things. A bit like following Doctor Who.
Tindersticks have a new album out, The Hungry Saw. Things didn't look too good for Tindersticks, but despite all the tension they managed to record an album. Five years after the previous album (we're not counting singer Stuart A. Staples' 2006 solo album).
To be honest, the first time we listened to the album we failed to be impressed. But maybe Tindersticks have given us an album that has to grow on us. So far the album is still a barren field, but don't let us discourage you from listening to a brand new Tindersticks track.
TINDERSTICKS - The Flicker of a Little Girl (Pitchfork Media)
The real start then (May 7). The Botanique has the peculiar habit of putting lots of bands in all of its concert halls. Your ticket gives you access to just one hall. That's why we'll try and focus on what we see as the best option for that day. May 7 is a bit of a no-brainer for us: the Orangerie features the excellent Tunng. We had the pleasure of seeing them in October (on our birthday no less) and their most recent cd (Good Arrows) contains a couple of excellent tracks: "Bullets" (our n°1 of 2007) and "Arms". Whether you call them "nu folk" or "acoustic folk", as long as you label them as excellent, we can deal with it.
Feel free to download the Bullets video here (Quicktime format).
Tunng will be backed by CaféNeon (who don't have a site, but do have a MySpace - so check for audio samples over there). With the location in mind, we suggest you listen to "Orange" (which has proof that this Brussels-based band has a member of Flexa Lyndo in their rangs and grew up on a fair dose of New Order). We also suggest you'd better skip "Yssandon", and conclude there's potential, but that the band might have to try a bit harder.
Kate Stables moved from Bristol to Paris and released an album as This Is The Kit. The album is called Krülle Bol ('krullenbol' is Dutch for "curly head") and John Parish was the producer (yes, now we have your full attention, don't we?). Krülle Bol is the first full album This Is The Kit released (after a couple of singles and EPs). Kate has already opened for the likes of Elysian Fields and José Gonzales and now it's Tunng's turn. Equally new folk, but with few edges.
Time for a sample, but because bands these days seem to think MP3s are a lethal virus and tend to stick to the constant buffering and non-streaming of their MySpace page, a MySpace link will have to do. Our recommendation: "One of these Socks".
May 8 will be a bit tougher for you to decide where you want to go: the Orangerie has Apse, aMute and Phosporescent, but the Rotonde and Chapiteau feature some good bands too. Let's kick off with Apse. Again, a band who seem to prefer a MySpace over a real site, but at least they offer the MySpace members to download a track. So not all hope is lost. So listen to a couple of Apse tracks here and download the older track "Shade of the Moor" if you're logged into MySpace. By the way, the American experimental rock combo have a new album out (it's called Eras) and you can listen (and buy) to more Apse on their Muxtape page for new tracks (i.e. "Up In The Eaves"), rarer tracks and some unreleased songs. The band promises to change that page often, so keep an eye on it.
Brooklyn based Phosphorescent are next up in our Nuits Botanique special. "Wolves" made it into our Best of 2007 list last year and another track from the band's 2007 album Pride is "A Picture of our Torn-up Praise" (you can download it below). "Experiment melodies ranging from pop to new wave" are promised by the Botanique, but the word that really sums it up neatly is "atmospheric".
Phosphorescent - A Picture of our Torn-up Praise (label Dead Oceans)
Scout Niblett is playing on May 8, but here our fatigue of trying to find MP3s got the better of us and we decided to give up rathing than posting some link to a MySpace or its likes. You can stream a couple of Scout Niblett songs on her site. We tried "Dinosaur Egg": it worked, but bands tend to forget that, whereas MP3s can stream in the background, people have generally better things to do than to keep an internet page open for four minutes.
And that goes for Marissa Nadler too: after trying to connect for 10 seconds we gave up on MySpace. And when we clicked the "Listening Booth" on Nadler's site, that just gave us a link to her MySpace again. Some bands just don't want you to hear their music, it seems...
The same goes for Auryn, who'll open for Niblett and Nadler that night, but since you'll have to wade through wellness centres with the same name to find the correct Auryn, we'll save you the trouble and post the correct link anyhow, even if it's to MySpace again. Auryn was discovered by Troy von Balthazar, the Botanique informs us. Time to listen to a demo of "Trust Me Just For Once" then...
The Chapiteau has Black Mountain, Archie Bronson Outfit, Why? and the slightly underrated Xiu Xiu. The experimental band has a new album out (Women As Lovers) and label Kill Rock Stars was kind enough to offer the excellent track "I'll Do What I Want When I Want" as a free download. See, that's how it should be, other labels!
Xiu Xiu - I'll Do What I Want When I Want
And then it's time for May 9, the day when the Botanique will charge a bit more, but you will get the chance to go to all the concerts in all their halls. And if that wasn't enough of a treat already, the line-up is amazing too: I'm From Barcelona, Of Montreal, Blood Red Shoes, We Are Scientists, Forward Russia, The Germans, Chrome Hoof, Two Gallants, Minus, Get Well Soon, V.O., Nestor! and Timesbold.
We don't think Blood Red Shoes need another introduction, so we'll just give you the MP3. Listen to how polite they are: just say "hi!" when the song starts and the band will great you back!
Blood Red Shoes - Meet Me At 8
Next up: some good news. New York's three handsomest bachelors also operate a fine rock outfit. Their name: We Are Scientists. The band were kind enough to put a stream of "The Great Escape" on their site, so let's stream that song.
We Are Scientists - The Great Escape
Two Gallants is yet another good band from the Saddle Creek label (you know, Bright Eyes et al.) The band's eponymous cd was a good reason to return once again to the Botanique, so let's hope they'll feel at home when they'll play...
Two Gallants - Despite What You've Been Told (label: Saddle Creek)
Life Processes couldn't impress us as much as Give Me A Wall, but we'd still like to point out that Forward Russia will also be present that night. No downloads again, but how about another MySpace link? Sigh. Anyway, feel free to stream "Breaking Standing" if the player works.
Influences of folk, electro, classical music, Nick Cave and Thom Yorke are promised by the Botanique when you look up more info on Get Well Soon, the brainchild of Konstantin Gropper. The band's first album got the wonderful title Rest Now, Weary Head and if you go to the band's site you can download an exclusive cover version of "It Must Have Been Love".
Which brings us to the final band of this special: Timesbold. Another band we've seen before and how glad we are there's a new album out (Ill Sung Ill Seen) and a lengthy European tour. Do check them out live one day, but for now: content yourself with a classic track, "Gin I Win".
Timesbold - Gin I Win
That's it for now.
More info on Les Nuits Botanique: here
LINE-UP
Tindersticks - The Flicker of a Little Girl
Tunng - Bullets
CaféNeon - Orange
This Is The Kit - One of These Socks
Apse - Up In The Eaves
Auryn & The Nightingales - Trust Me Just For Once
Xiu Xiu - I'll Do What I Want When I Want
Blood Red Shoes - Meet Me At 8
We Are Scientists - The Great Escape
Two Gallants - Despite What You've Been Told
Forward, Russia - Breaking Standing
Get Well Soon - It Must Have Been Love
Timesbold - Gin I Win
Time for an (honestly long overdue) update. And let's speed up things with a special. This time we're focussing on Les Nuits Botanique, the lengthy festival in Brussels (Belgium). We (old people with an overactive but excellent memory) still remember that Les Nuits Botanique used to be scheduled in September, but that it moved to May to escape the post-summer festival fatigue. Now, just a month after the equally worthy Domino festival (AB, Brussels), it's becoming a small tradition to see which Brussels festival venue managed to find the most impressive line-up. This year's clear winner: Les Nuits Botanique. Yes, it even manages to make our mouths water even more than the line-ups of the big summer festivals (you know, those venues where you combine getting a tan with listening to music whilst eating bad food), which in itself is quite an achievement.
The 2008 season of Les Nuits Botanique is scheduled May 7 to 18, which is why Tindersticks will open the doors... on May 2. Yes, we've given up on scheduling logic as far as the Botanique is involved. Just go with their flow and don't question things. A bit like following Doctor Who.
Tindersticks have a new album out, The Hungry Saw. Things didn't look too good for Tindersticks, but despite all the tension they managed to record an album. Five years after the previous album (we're not counting singer Stuart A. Staples' 2006 solo album).
To be honest, the first time we listened to the album we failed to be impressed. But maybe Tindersticks have given us an album that has to grow on us. So far the album is still a barren field, but don't let us discourage you from listening to a brand new Tindersticks track.
TINDERSTICKS - The Flicker of a Little Girl (Pitchfork Media)
The real start then (May 7). The Botanique has the peculiar habit of putting lots of bands in all of its concert halls. Your ticket gives you access to just one hall. That's why we'll try and focus on what we see as the best option for that day. May 7 is a bit of a no-brainer for us: the Orangerie features the excellent Tunng. We had the pleasure of seeing them in October (on our birthday no less) and their most recent cd (Good Arrows) contains a couple of excellent tracks: "Bullets" (our n°1 of 2007) and "Arms". Whether you call them "nu folk" or "acoustic folk", as long as you label them as excellent, we can deal with it.
Feel free to download the Bullets video here (Quicktime format).
Tunng will be backed by CaféNeon (who don't have a site, but do have a MySpace - so check for audio samples over there). With the location in mind, we suggest you listen to "Orange" (which has proof that this Brussels-based band has a member of Flexa Lyndo in their rangs and grew up on a fair dose of New Order). We also suggest you'd better skip "Yssandon", and conclude there's potential, but that the band might have to try a bit harder.
Kate Stables moved from Bristol to Paris and released an album as This Is The Kit. The album is called Krülle Bol ('krullenbol' is Dutch for "curly head") and John Parish was the producer (yes, now we have your full attention, don't we?). Krülle Bol is the first full album This Is The Kit released (after a couple of singles and EPs). Kate has already opened for the likes of Elysian Fields and José Gonzales and now it's Tunng's turn. Equally new folk, but with few edges.
Time for a sample, but because bands these days seem to think MP3s are a lethal virus and tend to stick to the constant buffering and non-streaming of their MySpace page, a MySpace link will have to do. Our recommendation: "One of these Socks".
May 8 will be a bit tougher for you to decide where you want to go: the Orangerie has Apse, aMute and Phosporescent, but the Rotonde and Chapiteau feature some good bands too. Let's kick off with Apse. Again, a band who seem to prefer a MySpace over a real site, but at least they offer the MySpace members to download a track. So not all hope is lost. So listen to a couple of Apse tracks here and download the older track "Shade of the Moor" if you're logged into MySpace. By the way, the American experimental rock combo have a new album out (it's called Eras) and you can listen (and buy) to more Apse on their Muxtape page for new tracks (i.e. "Up In The Eaves"), rarer tracks and some unreleased songs. The band promises to change that page often, so keep an eye on it.
Brooklyn based Phosphorescent are next up in our Nuits Botanique special. "Wolves" made it into our Best of 2007 list last year and another track from the band's 2007 album Pride is "A Picture of our Torn-up Praise" (you can download it below). "Experiment melodies ranging from pop to new wave" are promised by the Botanique, but the word that really sums it up neatly is "atmospheric".
Phosphorescent - A Picture of our Torn-up Praise (label Dead Oceans)
Scout Niblett is playing on May 8, but here our fatigue of trying to find MP3s got the better of us and we decided to give up rathing than posting some link to a MySpace or its likes. You can stream a couple of Scout Niblett songs on her site. We tried "Dinosaur Egg": it worked, but bands tend to forget that, whereas MP3s can stream in the background, people have generally better things to do than to keep an internet page open for four minutes.
And that goes for Marissa Nadler too: after trying to connect for 10 seconds we gave up on MySpace. And when we clicked the "Listening Booth" on Nadler's site, that just gave us a link to her MySpace again. Some bands just don't want you to hear their music, it seems...
The same goes for Auryn, who'll open for Niblett and Nadler that night, but since you'll have to wade through wellness centres with the same name to find the correct Auryn, we'll save you the trouble and post the correct link anyhow, even if it's to MySpace again. Auryn was discovered by Troy von Balthazar, the Botanique informs us. Time to listen to a demo of "Trust Me Just For Once" then...
The Chapiteau has Black Mountain, Archie Bronson Outfit, Why? and the slightly underrated Xiu Xiu. The experimental band has a new album out (Women As Lovers) and label Kill Rock Stars was kind enough to offer the excellent track "I'll Do What I Want When I Want" as a free download. See, that's how it should be, other labels!
Xiu Xiu - I'll Do What I Want When I Want
And then it's time for May 9, the day when the Botanique will charge a bit more, but you will get the chance to go to all the concerts in all their halls. And if that wasn't enough of a treat already, the line-up is amazing too: I'm From Barcelona, Of Montreal, Blood Red Shoes, We Are Scientists, Forward Russia, The Germans, Chrome Hoof, Two Gallants, Minus, Get Well Soon, V.O., Nestor! and Timesbold.
We don't think Blood Red Shoes need another introduction, so we'll just give you the MP3. Listen to how polite they are: just say "hi!" when the song starts and the band will great you back!
Blood Red Shoes - Meet Me At 8
Next up: some good news. New York's three handsomest bachelors also operate a fine rock outfit. Their name: We Are Scientists. The band were kind enough to put a stream of "The Great Escape" on their site, so let's stream that song.
We Are Scientists - The Great Escape
Two Gallants is yet another good band from the Saddle Creek label (you know, Bright Eyes et al.) The band's eponymous cd was a good reason to return once again to the Botanique, so let's hope they'll feel at home when they'll play...
Two Gallants - Despite What You've Been Told (label: Saddle Creek)
Life Processes couldn't impress us as much as Give Me A Wall, but we'd still like to point out that Forward Russia will also be present that night. No downloads again, but how about another MySpace link? Sigh. Anyway, feel free to stream "Breaking Standing" if the player works.
Influences of folk, electro, classical music, Nick Cave and Thom Yorke are promised by the Botanique when you look up more info on Get Well Soon, the brainchild of Konstantin Gropper. The band's first album got the wonderful title Rest Now, Weary Head and if you go to the band's site you can download an exclusive cover version of "It Must Have Been Love".
Which brings us to the final band of this special: Timesbold. Another band we've seen before and how glad we are there's a new album out (Ill Sung Ill Seen) and a lengthy European tour. Do check them out live one day, but for now: content yourself with a classic track, "Gin I Win".
Timesbold - Gin I Win
That's it for now.
More info on Les Nuits Botanique: here
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