Its Alive!

Delighted to say that Was Ist Das? is putting on its very first USA concert. Its not been two years since we relocated to Phoenix, Arizona and apart from DJing a couple of times at other people’s shows, things have been quiet. All that changes Friday 14th September.

Well, been desperate to see Father Murphy live and they’ve announced they are calling it a day so I just had to. The enigmatic Italian psychedelic occult duo have released their final album, the acclaimed “Rising. A Requiem For Father Murph”, and are going out on one last tour of the world. That tour includes Phoenix, Arizona. What does Father Murphy sound like? Every album seems different. Psychedelic? Classical? Soundtracks? Laments? Yes to all the above and more. They’ve played with Swans, Xiu Xiu and gone everywhere. They will be missed. Make sure you don’t miss them tonight.

Sunn Trio are one of the hottest acts in Phoenix. Tight, pulsing explorations in sound that bring to mind everything from surf to Sun Ra, Arabian to garage rock. They have just announced their second album will be coming out around the same time on European label Unrock who have released countless Sun City Girls-affiliated releases so the Phoenix connection is staying strong.

Lana Del Rabies is a one-woman powerhouse of intense vocals and crushing noise. The only sane response to insane times. Praise has been coming in fast including from The Wire who said “…a sensorial passion for modern horror soundtracks, to construct a terrifying collection of sonic hauntings.”Really delighted to have my first choice for line-up all say yes. It’s all happening at The Lunchbox a fantastic intimate venue but with a proper stage, bar and P.A. I love it when a plan comes together. http://wasistdas.co.uk/eventblog/?p=1638

Faust In the USA

faustGreat news for our State-side friends, Jean-Herve Peron & Zappi are doing an American tour this Spring. Expect plenty of exciting collaborations along the way (including a set with Tony Conrad at the Big Ears festival in Knoxville).

You can catch them at:

 

 

March

12th   Chicago/IL @ Thalia Hall , Levitation Festival

14th   Detroit/MI  @ Marble bar

16th   Austin/TX  @ German Haus , SxSW  Festival

17th  Austin/TX @ Hotel Vegas , SxSW  Festival

19th  San Francisco/CA  @ The Chapel – tickets

23rd  Los Angeles/CA @ Union Club

25th  Athens /GA @ 40 Watts

26th Lexington/KY @ Manchester Music Hall

28th Jersey City/NJ @ Monty Hall

29th Brooklyn/NY @ Market Hotel ( second show)

30th Brooklyn/NY @ Market Hotel ( sold out)

 

April

1st  Knoxville/TN @  Big Ears Festival , Tony Conrad & faUSt = Outside The Dream Syndicate

2nd Knoxville/TN @  Big Ears Festival , faUSt

3rd Louisville / KY @ Dreanland

5th Iowa City / IA @ Mission Creek Festival

Radiophonic Workshop Rearrange some tour dates

radiophonic workshopThe Radiophonic Workshop have had to rearrange some of their live dates as their oldest member Dick Mills has been told to rest after a recent illness.The affected dates are for Leeds, Birmingham and Brighton:

Mon 13 Oct 2014 – Leeds City Varieties Music Hall
Wed 15 Oct 2014 – Birmingham Town Hall
Sat 18 Oct 2014 – Brighton St Georges Church

The other dates, such as festivals and tonight’s Belfast show are unaffected. So who are the workshop these days? Well, according to their official twitter page, they are Mark Ayres, Peter Howell, Paddy Kingsland, Roger Limb and Dick Mills. Which is a pretty damn good a line-up. I hear they have a drummer with them too for live shows. Not to be confused with the New Radiophonic Workshop which is under the creative direction of Matthew Herbert.

http://www.theradiophonicworkshop.co.uk/

Supersonic Festival returns

Supersonic Festival returns to Birmingham this May back at its original space, the Custard Factory and with a strictly limited to 400 capacity. Taking place over May 30th & 31st the line-up includes Swans, Matmos, Ex Easter Island Head, Wolf Eyes, Sleaford Mods, Agathe Max, Basic House & Jenny Hval. There’s also lots of other things going on including a Bill Drummong exhibition. For more info, see http://www.supersonicfestival.com/

Flower/Corsano Duo UK tour

photo by Paul Blakemore

photo by Paul Blakemore

The dynamic duo, Mike Flower and Chris Corsano, are bringing their mighty team-up to the UK again. For these duo sets, Chris plays drums and percussion whilst Mick plays shahi baaja (Japanese banjo). We had them up in Hebden last Summer and they left all jaws on the floor.

9th April – CAMBRIDGE – Unitarian Church
10th April 2014 – BRIGHTON – The Prince Albert
11th April 2014 – BRISTOL – Exchange
12th April 2014 – SHEFFIELD – The Audacious Art Experiment
13th April 2014 – EDINBURGH – The Wee Red Bar at the Edinburgh College of Art
14th April 2014 – NOTTINGHAM – Chameleon Arts Cafe

Grouper to perform new collaboration in Leeds

Grouper new pic “Hypnosis Display” is a new commission from Portland based artist and musician Grouper (Liz Harris), with filmmaker Paul Clipson. For this new commission, she joins forces with 16mm filmmaker Paul Clipson to create a meditation on contemporary America in sound and image, as part of a series of American mythmaking in music, commissioned by Opera North Projects. Shifting her gaze outwards from a typically intensely personal approach to making music, this new 1hr 15 minute piece looks at the landscapes of American mythmaking including The West Coast, the worker, the city and the street.

It takes place at Leeds Howard Assembly Rooms on Thursday 5th June. Tickets are available here.

Swans announce US & UK tour dates

Swans_PhotoCreditMatias CorralOne of our all time favourite bands, Swans, have just announced US and UK tour dates. This comes after the recent announcement that they have signed to Mute Records (for everywhere except America where they will continue to release through Michael Gira’s Young God imprint). The band release new album “To Be Kind” on May 12th. Special guests include Little Annie, St Vincent and Bill Rieflin. Once again, they are releasing an album on triple vinyl, double CD and limited double CD with a DVD. Fact fans may recall that Swans released their classic 1987 album “Children Of God” via a Mute imprint.

The Swans dates are:

14 May – Washington DC, Black Cat Mainstage
15 May – Philadelphia PA, Union Transfer
17 May – Boston MA, Royale Nightclub18 May – New York NY, Bowery Ballroom
19 May – Brooklyn NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg
22 May – Manchester UK, Academy 2
23 May – Newcastle UK, Hoults Yard
24 May – Glasgow UK, The Arches
25 May – Aberdeen UK, The Lemon Tree
27 May – London UK, Brixton Electric
28 May – Bristol UK, Trinity Community Arts
29 May – Reading UK, Sub89
31 May – Birmingham UK, Supersonic Festival – Custard Factory
1 June – Leeds UK, Cockpit
2 June – Brighton UK, Concorde 2

Support comes from Jenny Hval on all the May dates.

As previously announced, Mr.Gira is also doing a solo tour of Europe.

1 March – Lyon, FR @ Les Abattoirs
4 March – Porto, PT @ Passos Manuel
6 March – Madrid, ES @ El Sol
7 March – San Sebastian, ES @ Andia Kuxta
8 March – Barcelona, ES @ Sala Apolo
10 March – Paris, FR @ Église Saint-Merri Church
11 March – Amsterdam, NL @ MC Theater
12 March – London, UK @ Church of St John-at-Hackney
14 March – Copenhagen, DK @ Hofteatret
15 March – Oslo, NO @ Blå
16 March – Oslo, NO @ Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum Museum
18 March – Warsaw, PL @ Pardon, To Tu
19 March – Warsaw, PL @ Pardon, To Tu
21 March – St. Petersburg, RU @ Dada
22 March – Moscow, RU @ Teatr Club
24 March – Odessa, UA @ Bernardazzi Wine Club
26 March – Bucharest, RO @ Control Club
27 March – Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv
28 March – Milan, IT @ Bloom
29 March – Berlin, DE @ Kantine @ Berghain

Loop tour USA

loop-heavens-endFollowing their stint of UK dates last year, including a headline performance at ATP’s End Of An Era at Camber Sands, Loop have confirmed their first shows across the US since 1990.

 
If you’re wondering what its like to see them these days, check out our review of their recent Leeds show here
FULL CONFIRMED DATES SO FAR:

16-Apr Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Kung Fu Necktie
17-Apr New York, New York Le Poisson Rouge
18-Apr Baltimore, Maryland Metro Gallery
19-Apr Cambridge, Massachusetts Middle East (Downstairs)
21-Apr Montreal, Quebec La Sala Rossa
22-Apr Toronto, Ontario, Canada Wrongbar
23-Apr Detroit, Michigan Magic Stick
25-Apr Iowa City, Iowa Outsound Productions
26-Apr St. Paul, Minnesota Turf Club
27-Apr Chicago, Illinois Bottom Lounge
28-Apr Kansas City, Missouri Record Bar
30-Apr Knoxville, Tennessee Pilot Light
01-May Athens, Georgia Georgia Theatre
03-May Austin, Texas Austin Psych Fest at Carson Creek Ranch
04-May Austin, Texas Austin Psych Fest at Carson Creek Ranch
06-May San Diego, California Soda Bar
07-May Los Angeles, California The Church on York
09-May San Francisco, California Great American Music Hall
10-May Santa Cruz, California Rio Theatre
15-May Seattle, Washington Chop Suey
16-May Portland, Oregon Doug Fir Lounge

The band are sorry to announce that drummer John Wills will not be joining them on the road for these dates due to personal reasons.

 

Goblin announce UK tour

suspiria-Technicolor Italian horror soundtrack legends Goblin have announced UK dates

February 23th – London – Electric Ballroom
February 24th – Brighton – Concorde 2
February 25th – Bristol – The Fleece
February 26th – Manchester – Gorilla
February 27th – Glasgow – Oran Mor

It does seem like they may have done a Faust and split in two as these dates are credited in some quarters as Simonetti’s Goblin and as Simonetti seems to be absent from the December American dates…