Monday 28 June 2010

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti > Plano B > Live Recording


Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Plano B, Porto, Portugal
Recording Equipment: CA Cardioids > STC 9100 > Tascam DR-07

There hasn't been many gigs here in Porto lately -- the side effects of the Primavera Sounds in Barcelona are over and summer festivals are approaching... -- so I was highly anticipating Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti return to Portugal for a while. Like many other artists, I first heard of Ariel Pink some years ago from the writings of Mr Simon Reynolds, who recently chose The Doldrums (2004) as his favorite album of the 2000s. Despite his cult status, Ariel Pink is experiencing more recognition with his latest album, Before Today, than ever before. Luckily -- you never know what to expect in this venue, in general, and with Ariel Pink, in particular -- everything went right yesterday night. The sound was decent, the crowd was reacting and Ariel Pink and his band were in an excellent mood. They played for almost one and half hour (including two encores), but i could totally stay there all night listening to their weird, chilled, decadent pop songs. The recording is pretty cool too.

Setlist:
1. Menopause Man | 2. Poultry Heads | 3. One On One | 4. Bright Lit Blue Skies | 5. Flying Circles | 6. Revolution's a Lie | 7. Suicide Notice | 8. Strange Fires | 9. Among Dreams | 10. Fright Night (Nevermore) | 11. Don't Think Twice | 12. Round and Round | 13. Hardcore Pops Are Fun | 14. Gettin' High In The Morning | (Encore 1) | 15. Jules Lost His Jewels | 16. For Kate I Wait | (Encore 2) | 17. Every Night I Die At Miyagis | 18. L'estat (acc. to the widow's maid)

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Bright Lit Blue Skies by ashtapes

Download: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti at Plano B

Thursday 24 June 2010

Fresh Blood > MinionTV


Name: MinionTV
Origin: Liverpool, UK
Genre: Instrumental, Post-Rock

::MP3::

by MinionTV (self-released, 2010)
[free download from the band's bandcamp]

[Exclusive Q&A with Stephen Johnston from the band after the jump]

Wednesday 23 June 2010

VideoTape #17

The Soft Moon, "Parallels"
Single (Captured Tracks, 2010)
[Video by Hans Richter, "Rhythm 23"]

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Fresh Blood > The Wiggins


Name: The Wiggins
Origin: Houston, Texas, US
Genre: Garage-rock, Pop

::MP3::
from The Greatest Apes EP (Girlgang Records & Tapes, 2005)
from Feed The Ghost 7" (Dull Knife, 2008)
from The Wiggins 7" (Needless Recs, 2009)

[A lovely Q&A with Jon Read aka The Wiggins after the jump]

Sunday 20 June 2010

M*ASHtape #10


Post-punk | dark-wave | new-wave.


salt swimmer_little girls | 90 plus days_blessure grave | rhizomes_effi briest | blood in the well_nice face | karen hateth the forest_hype williams | failures selected by god_meth teeth | all night diner_pukers | sand_silk flowers | you're with a thing_eat skull | throw it away_pink reason | a is for asshole_teeth | racing backwards_blank dogs

Saturday 19 June 2010

Fresh Blood > Ouija


Name: Ouija
Origin: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US
Genre: Lo-fi, Surf

::MP3::

(unreleased recordings, 2009)
(unreleased, 2010)

[Exclusive Q&A with the one-man-band behind Ouija after the jump]

Thursday 17 June 2010

VideoTape #16

Broken Deer, "White Woman"
Polaraura (Gandhara Recordings, out on June 21)
Director: Alice Cohen

Monday 14 June 2010

Fresh Blood > Girls of the Gravitron


Name: Girls Of The Gravitron
Origin: Memphis, Tennessee, US
Genre: Lo-fi, Garage-rock
Myspace: myspace.com/girlsofthegravitron

::MP3::

"King Kong"
from The Last Real Houseparty 7"
"Rainbo"
for a Speed Tapes compilation
"Malthusian Love Song" | "When I'm Dead" | "Violent Appetites"
from Malthusian Love Song 7" (Boom Chick Records, 2008)
"Glowing In The Dark" | "Principles Of Kimberly" | "Weird World"
from Magnetic Mountain LP (Miss Lonelyhearts Records, 2010)

[Our Q&A with the band after the jump]

Saturday 12 June 2010

VideoTape #15

Pigeons, "Fade Away"
Si Faustine (OESB, 2010)
Director: Natalie Rodgers

M*ASHtape #9



east german western_dinowalrus | mirror friends_lucky dragons | 3 stnd_truman peyote | the channon_high places | chicago(intro)_hooray! | voices voices/out from under_voicesvoices | mind haze is clear delight_white rainbow | autumn looming_anduin | happy birthday_inca ore | eggs in carrion_gobble gobble | pulse in_empire arches | me & my hand_broken social scene

Friday 11 June 2010

VideoTape #14

RxRy, "UUAII"
VAEIOUWLS (Self-released, out soon, 2010)
Director: Rx Ry

VideoTape #13


Healthy Animal, "Fog"
Empty (Lazy Roar Records, 2010)
Director: Lazy Roar Records

Wednesday 9 June 2010

Fresh Blood > The Band In Heaven

This is a new section of Ashtapes dedicated to new and emerging bands that we like and want to share with the world. Posts will include info, downloads and a short q&a with the artists.


Name: The Band In Heaven
Origin: West Palm Beach, Orlando, Florida, US
Genre: Shoegaze, Dream Pop
Myspace: myspace.com/thebandinheaven

::MP3::

Demos
by The Band In Heaven (self-released, 2010)
[free download from the band's bandcamp]

[Read an exclusive Q&A with the band after the jump]

Monday 7 June 2010

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang > Teatro Aveirense > Live Recording


Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang + Susanna
Teatro Aveirense, Aveiro, Portugal
Recording Equipment: CA Cardioids > STC 9100 > Tascam DR-07
06.06.2010

You never know what to expect from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Will Oldham's complex and fascinating pseudonym. Yesterday night, in Aveiro, he was in a good mood, he was wearing an incredibly tacky outfit and, most noticeably, he was shaved -- he still had a nice mustache, but that's nothing compared to his previous ambitious beard. He was also accompanied by Emmet Kelly of The Cairo Gang on the acoustic guitar, Susanna of Susanna and The Magical Orchestra on the vocals and special guest Shahzad Ismaily of Secret Chiefs 3 on the electric guitar. For one and a half hour they took us to the heart of the old America through beautiful alt.Country landscapes and stories about freedom, love and sex.
The setlist was mainly focused on the tracks from the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang collaboration album, The Wonder Show Of The World, released earlier this year. To avoid running out of songs, they also turned to the traditional american folk songbook ("Love Is Teasing", "In Spite of Ourselves", "Shine It On Me", "It's Been Rough And Rocky Travellin'") and Susanna's material ("Better Days", "Home Recording"). For the 5-song encore, Bonnie broke the protocol and played a classic from his own solo discography -- nothing less than a completely acoustic version of the much-requested "I See A Darkness". You can watch a video of this memorable moment here and, of course, download the complete live recording below.

Setlist:
1. Troublesome Houses | 2. Where The Wind Blows | 3. Love Is Teasing | 4. With Cornstalks and Among Them | 5. Teach Me To Bear You | 6. The Sounds Are Always Begging | 7. Home Recording | 8. Better Days | 9. Someone Coming Through | 10. Go Folks, Go | 11. That's What Our Love Is | 12. Say Goodbye | 13. In Spite Of Ourselves | (Encore) | 14. Shine It On | 15. Midday | 16. Kids | 17. I See A Darkness | 18. It's Been Rough and Rocky Travellin'

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & The Cairo Gang - Go Folks, Go Live in Aveiro by ashtapes

Thursday 3 June 2010

HEALTH + PAUS > Casa da Música > Photos



Unfortunately we were not able to record this one, but charlie took some nice pics to prove that we were there. We've both seen HEALTH before and we both agree that HEALTH are grown up and their live performance was immensely improved. They took a huge step forward, adding some electronic layers and danceable elements to their violent, almost apocalyptic noise sound, as if they're now enjoying the side effects of a colorful, hallucinogenic acid trip.
Equally impressive were PAUS, a recently formed portuguese band who warmed up the stage with a fusion of wild drums and post-rock influences. We'll keep them under the radar.

[Check more pics after the jump]