Full Details on Remix Contest

In celebration of the recent release of Restiform Bodies’ TV Loves You Back, we’ve given away a good number of remixes across the blogosphere (see below). Even more have yet to be heard, enough that Restiform Bodies guys have decided to hold a remix contest to complete a pool worth of a limited vinyl release. We’re announcing an open call for two remixes to complete a forthcoming limited vinyl release of TVLYB Remixes. The RBs have provided acapellas and bpms for each song from the new record, all available here. Entries must be submitted in mp3 format for preview torbremix@gmail.com by January 1, 2009. Passage, Bomarr & Telephone Jim Jesus will choose and announce their two favorite remix submissions by January 15, 2009. The winner will see their remix included on a RB 12″ and will also receive 10 releases from the Anticon catalogue of their choice (CD or Vinyl). Get to work!

Bobby Trendy Addendum (Alias Remix)

A Pimp-Like God (Anon Day Remix)

Pick It Up, Drop It (Genghis Tron Remix)

Panic Shopper (Tobacco Remix)

Foul (wallpaper. dissRMX)

Restiform Bodies
TV Loves You Back
(Anticon)
Street Date: Sept. 30, 2008

01 Black Friday
02 Foul
03 A Pimp-like God
04 Panic Shopper
05 Consumer Culture Wave
06 Bobby Trendy Addendum
07 Pick it up, Drop it
08 Interactive Halloween Bear
09 Opulent Soul
10 Ameriscan

RESTIFORM BODIES LINKS:

Myspace: www.myspace.com/restiform

Press Materials: www.anticon.com/pr/restiform.htm

MP3: Moon & Moon - “Act II: Hands of a Man”

Reflections of timeless struggle, self-fulfilling prophecy, and age-old triumph, with flashes of modern affectation. A fluid and evolving seven-act performance; an epic tale of angst, hunger, tragedy, failure, and ultimately, hope. The dramatic opening of this musical / avant-theatre piece begins with the young voice of our seven year old narrator. She describes in 2 short lines what we are about to witness: seven perspectives of one king’s war with himself. Moon & Moon provides the framework of a journey through an eternal human battle, borrowing from religious heritage and a colorful quilt of belief that draws upon the root myth of our collective humanity. Our story re-creates an archetypal battle that is not only historical fiction, but our own contemporary fact which exemplifies our self-destructive nature. Through the journey of witnessing a different character’s perspective in each act, our king comes to the realisation that he is not only the walls which he has built, but the walls that have been destroyed by his own hand and command.

Contributions by members of An Albatross, Lewis & Clarke, Barkus Born and Stephonik Youth with guest appearances by Devendra Banhart, Gibby Haynes, and Bat For Lashes.

Points of Interest:

*William Lemon presented 7 original blockprints along with the 7 corresponding audio tracks for each Act of Seven Acts of the Iron King. This special installation was part of the And Who Are You? Saatchi group show in NYC, and invited the viewer/listener to preview a track of the album while taking in the imagery of the corresponding print.

*Inserted into each album is one of Lemon’s original block prints on scented card stock. We hand-brushed the oil from the Indian Jasmine flower to create an olfactory association with the album, live show, and the nature of the scent. Jasmine traditionally helps reduce anxiety and apathy, and is uplifting and stimulating in times of hopelessness and nervous exhaustion.

*Each Act has a different character perspective:

Act I: King’s perspective, Act II: Foot Soldier’s perspective, Act III: Victims’ perspective (ghosts singing to the soldiers), Act IV: Magician’s perspective, Act V: Priest’s perspective, Act VI: King’s perspective (having accomplished mission, but still empty), Act VII: King’s perspective (realising he manifested an illusion)

MOON & MOON

12/14 Brooklyn, NY Glasslands

Moon & Moon
VII Acts of an Iron King
(La Société Expéditionnaire)
Street Date: Nov. 11, 2008

Act I: Into The Dust
Act II:Hands Of A Man
Act III: We Are The Lights
Act IV: Come Down Like A Man
Act V: There Can Be Only One
Act VI: This Is Our Celebration
Act VII: Together Alone, We Jump We Rise

MOON & MOON LINKS:

Myspace: www.myspace.com/moonandmoon

Label Page: www.la-soc.com/sevenactspreview.html

Portland’s Talkdemonic stopped by the Daytrotter studios during its last tour and recorded four songs, including the previously unreleased, brand new track “CSJ9.” The other songs included are “Shallow Doldrums” and “March Movement” from their 2008 album Eyes at Half Mast, as well as an older song, “Bering” from the album Beat Romantic.

Daytrotter Session

Bio:

Speakers everywhere this summer rejoiced with the arrival of Eyes at Half Mast, the third record from Talkdemonic, released Sept. 16 via Arena Rock. The Portland, Oregon duo of Kevin O’Connor and Lisa Molinaro have been playing together since 2003; she plays the viola and he plays everything else, including, but not limited to: drums, synths, and acoustic instruments. The result is an intoxicating blend of symphonic strings, explosive percussion, and achingly beautiful music.

Eyes at Half Mast is the band’s high water mark. The album has its moments of cathartic beauty, (especially on “Duality of Deathening” and “March Movement”) and of haunting elegies (as exemplified by “Tides in Their Grave” and “Dust and Heat”). There are passages filled with raw dissonance on the record, such as the
release and tension offered by “Civilian.” There is a sense of loss and memory running through many of these songs, but the tone of the record is ultimately one of hope.

Talkdemonic continue to expand the range of emotion that they are able to evoke without words. The band is emerging in terms of composition, song structure and recording, and the sound crystallizes here. Talkdemonic is hitting a stride in songwriting with tunes like “March Movement” and “Duality of Deathening,” which feature complex arrangements, layers and harmonies. It’s worth noting that O’Connor mixed eleven of the twelve songs from this set.

Talkdemonic is admired for their cathartic and bewitching live sets, with O’Connor’s rhythmic prowess and Molinaro’s ethereal sound co-mingling. They have been playing these songs to swooning audiences for the past two years, and their sound comes together for Eyes at Half Mast.

Talkdemonic
Eyes At Half Mast
(Arena Rock)
Street date: Sept. 16, 2008

1. Leaving Light
2. Ending the Orange Glow
3. Duality of Deathening
4. Shattered into Dyes
5. Tides in their Grave
6. Civilian
7. Black Wood Crimson
8. March Movement
9. Dim Sky
10. Shallow Doldrums
11. Dust and Heat
12. Huancayo Orchestrelle
13. Dream by Heart
14. A Hundred Faces in the Neon Forest

TALKDEMONIC LINKS:

Myspace: www.myspace.com/talkdemonicmusicmaking

Label Page: www.arenarockrecordingco.com

MP3: Blackout Beach - “Astoria, Menthol Lite, Hilltop, Wave of Evil, 1982″

Blackout Beach is the solo nom de guerre of Carey Mercer (from Frog Eyes and Swan Lake), and Skin of Evil is his second full-length. Originally slated for a Dec. 2008 release, the record will now see the light of day on Jan. 20, 2009. Skin of Evil is remarkable in the sense that a. it contains a story, and b. it sticks to the story; a rare occurrence in these free times. “Donna” is the subject, and each of her lovers (past & present) say their peace in song (Donna gets her song, too). Composed, played and recorded entirely by Mercer alone, these songs revel in the dark side of the heady proto-punk Cleveland axis (e.g. Peter Laughner, David Thomas) with a minimal, textural & almost Suicide-ish sense of pop form and the experimental nature of recent Scott Walker works.

Some thoughts / notes on Skin of Evil by Dan Bejar:

- I believe Skin of Evil is the best record I will hear all year, but let’s not get into that.

- A frame of reference for something like this might be:
Goofy American babbler (Jerry Lee Lewis/Dennis Quaid) meets the highest, the most harrowing of modernist Euro nightmare (The Drift ) — By this I guess I mean that there can be no frame of reference, for these two things have never met before, and external forces work hard to make sure they never do, but somehow the sonic space created for this set of singing happened, and feels familiar, doesn’t give me the willies. Maybe it’s ’cause Scott Walker has never hinted at expressing an interest in the traditions of rocknroll guitar (neither does Carey but it can really sound like he must when he plays)

-And unlike J.L.L./Quaid , Carey is not a pervert/showman

- I’ll make no bones, I enjoy the sound of people singing like this. I even like the sound of people talking like this. I also think that this is the best record Carey’s been involved with.

- Note: how good it sounds when Carolyn/Megan chimes in!

-Maybe it’s about a girl, about salvation’s undoing through romantic love, wreckage of this kind — No matter, the important thing is that this is the first time I’ve REALLY heard theatrics AND atmospherics in a record, and so much of both, cept maybe for Roxy Music’s Avalon, which this record reminds me a lot of, if only for how incredibly well you can hear every last thing, which is good, cause every last thing sounds so cool!!

-And though Bryan Ferry’s version of control and release are slightly different than Carey’s, it’s really more just different lyrical concerns, which we’ll here call “worldview”.

- One last thing about theatrics and atmospherics: they are at war (did I already say that?). Theatrics (individual) vs. Atmospherics (the universe) seems pretty straightforward to me as a life model — I keep thinking about this listening to Skin Of Evil, though I’m not sure if this is what the record’s about.

-Also, being fucked over constantly to the point of almost death and then maybe death, by higher powers, like Gods, the jailer (or whoever holds the keys), your local PTA, etc. also: the possibility that you have a small hand in it, this, your doom, a ditch in the rain you don’t just somehow fall into (see, ‘Salad..)

Blackout Beach
Skin of Evil
(Soft Abuse)
Street date: Jan. 20, 2009

01. Cloud of Evil
02. Biloxi, In a Grove, Cleans Out His Eyes
03. William, the Crowd, It’s William
04. The Roman
05. Woe to the Minds of Soft Men
06. The Whistle
07. Nineteen, One God, One Dull Star
08. Three Men Drown in the River
09. Sophia, Donna, I Was Down the River Waiting
10. Astoria, Menthol Lite, Hilltop, Wave of Evil, 1982

BLACKOUT BEACH LINKS:
MySpace - www.myspace.com/blackoutbeach

Press Materials - softabuse.com/press_kits/blackout_beach_press.html