What's New(s)?

M.I.A. debuts video for "Double Bubble Trouble"

There's nothing inherently political about M.I.A.'s writhing Matangi cut "Double Bubble Trouble". The blaring Partysquad beat is far more likely to get you dancing than rallying. But this is still M.I.A. we're talking about and the recently released video for "Double Bubble Trouble" proves the Sri Lankan artist can't remain apolitical for long.

"What if you could make weapons like these in your own home, using what's called a three-dimensional printer?" a voice calmly wonders aloud at the beginning of the M.I.A. directed clip. It's not a stretch to say our society is suffuse with guns, so to hear that making your own is now possible is utterly terrifying. And M.I.A. seizes on that terror throughout the video. Brazen individuals are seen waving their weaponry with delight, while others quietly lurk in close quarters. If that weren’t enough, circular drones casually float overhead to check in on the self-made "militias." For all of the neon-imagery and brightly colored parrots the political firebrand throws in, "Double Bubble Trouble" stays remarkably dark.

(Earlier this morning, M.I.A. was apparently having troubles with Universal in releasing the clip, but thankfully those problems have now been resolved.)

 

How to Dress Well is hitting the road

 

Indie R&B crooner How to Dress Well (Tom Krell) has a new album, entitled "What Is This Heart?", out June 24 through Weird World and to promote the record Krell is hitting the road this summer.

 

After 5 European dates in mid-to-late June, Krell will arrive on North American shores in August and tour until late-September. With 26 total dates spread over two months, its the largest tour the artist has undertaken. And while you wait for the "massive" tour to begin, you can enjoy the video for beautifully fragile "Repeat Pleasure".

 

Tour Dates:

6/13 London, England - ICA

6/14 Brussels, Belgium - Beursschouwburg
6/16 Paris, France - Nouveau Casino
6/17 Amsterdam, Netherlands - MC Theatre
6/29 Berlin, Germany - Berliner Festspiele

8/21 San Diego, CA - Casbah
8/22 Los Angeles, CA - First Unitarian Church
8/23 Monterey, CA - First City Festival
8/24 Monterey, CA - First City Festival
8/25 Portland, OR - Holocene
8/26 Vancouver, British Columbia - Fortune Sound Club
8/27 Seattle, WA - Neumos
8/29 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
9/2 Omaha, NE - Waiting Room
9/3 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock Social Club
9/4 Chicago, IL - Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA)
9/4-9/6 Raleigh, NC - Hopscotch Music Festival
9/5 Louisville, KY - Headliners Music Hall
9/8 Atlanta, GA - Terminal West
9/9 Nashville, TN - Exit In
9/11 Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar
9/12 Toronto, Ontario - The Mod Club
9/14 Montreal, Quebec - Le Belmont
9/16 Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
9/17 New York City, NY - Irving Plaza
9/19 Philadelphia, PA - District N9NE
9/20 Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
9/22 St. Louis, MO - The Luminary Center for the Arts
9/24 Oxford, MS - Proud Larry’s
9/25 New Orleans, LA - Hi Ho Lounge
9/27 Austin, TX - Central Presbyterian Church

Lupe Fiasco battles cancer in new single "Mission"

 

 

 

Lupe Fiasco dubbed himself a "Friend of the People" all the way back in 2011, but today's release of Tetsuo & Youth's first single "Mission" fully drives the point home. Beginning with personal testimonies of cancer survivors, including G.O.O.D. Music's Charlie Wilson, Fiasco breathlessly raps over a hyper-kinetic beat about an unshakable will to live. Throughout the six-minute effort are small asides about "bald heads" and "biopsies" which only makes the track more relatable for anyone who has ever been affected by cancer. 

 

While "Mission" is intended as the first single to Fiasco's upcoming 5th album Tetsuo & Youth, it also serves to promote the Stand Up 2 Cancer foundation, "a groundbreaking initiative created to accelerate innovative cancer research that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now." You can download "Mission" now through iTunes.

 

 

Check back tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s) and follow AllFreshSounds on Twitter for updates throughout the day.

What's New(s)?

M.I.A. releases Matangi bonus track

It's been a little more than a month since sonic manipulator M.I.A. released her fourth studio album Matangi. The genre-hopping album found time for raucous hip hop, ear-splitting electronic workouts, dancehall, and bhangra while getting bitingly political and interpolating Y.O.L.O. for reincarnation purposes. Today she continues that proud "everything but the kitchen sink" tradition with bonus cut "Trouble Again". The song's a Spotify exclusive so if you're Thom Yorke, you probably won't be hearing it anytime soon.


 



Toro y Moi side-project drops new music

When he's not making retro psychedelic dance/soul-pop as Toro y Moi, frontman Chaz Bundick somehow finds time to record as side-project Sides of Chaz. Next Tuesday he'll be releasing a new 7" under the moniker. A-side "Sweet Tea" is  manages to incorporate more jagged guitar than is the norm for Toro y Moi and Bundick's vocals are more self-assured. Besides doubling up on recording projects, he's "seeing double" in the swirling, slightly T.Rex indebted number.

The new 7" will be released through the Fork and Spoon label and also feature B-side "Take My Car". Listen to "Sweet Tea" below.

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks announce North American Tour

On January 7 Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks will be releasing their sixth studio album, the awesomely titled Wig Out At Jigbags. To celebrate the new release, the former Pavement frontman and his cohorts will embark on a 2014 North American tour set to begin in Denver on February 12th. Support for the band will come courtesy of: Speedy Ortiz, Tyvek, Purling Hiss, Disappears, and Endless Boogie.

Check out the tour dates below along with the French-lyric video for the breezy garage-rock cut "Lariat".

Tour Dates:

2/12 Denver, CO - Gothic Theatre (w. Tyvek)
2/14 Columbia, MO - Mojo's (w. Tyvek)  
2/15 St. Louis, MO - Old Rock House (w. Tyvek)
2/16 Omaha, NE - The Waiting Room (w. Tyvek) 2/18 Minneapolis, MN - Cedar Cultural Center (w. Tyvek) 2/19 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon (w. Tyvek)
2/20 Chicago, IL - Lincoln Hall (w. Disappears)
2/21 Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch (w. Disappears)
2/22 Toronto, Ontario - Lee's Palace (w. Disappears)
2/23 Montreal, Quebec - Cafe Campus (w. Disappears)
2/25 Boston, MA - Paradise (w. Disappears)
2/26 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom (w. Disappears)
2/27 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg (w. Endless Boogie)
2/28 Washington, DC - Black Cat (w. Endless Boogie)
3/1 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts (w. Endless Boogie)
3/3 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle (w. Purling Hiss)
3/4 Atlanta, GA - Terminal West (w. Purling Hiss)
3/5 Birmingham, AL - The Bottletree (w. Purling Hiss)
3/6 New Orleans, LA - The Parish at House of Blues (w. Purling Hiss)
3/7 Houston, TX - Fitzgerald's Upstairs (w. Purling Hiss)
3/9 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater (w. Purling Hiss)
3/15 Portland, OR - Star Theater
3/27 San Francisco, CA - Slim's (w. Speedy Ortiz)
3/28 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre (w. Speedy Ortiz)
3/29 San Diego, CA - Casbah (w. Speedy Ortiz)
3/30 Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown (w. Speedy Ortiz)
4/1 Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom (w. Speedy Ortiz)
4/2 Las Vegas, NV - Beauty Bar (w. Speedy Ortiz)
4/3 Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge (w. Speedy Ortiz)
4/5 Missoula, MT - Top Hat (w. Speedy Ortiz)
4/7 Calgary, Alberta - Republik (w. Speedy Ortiz)
4/8 Edmonton, Alberta - Starlite Room (w. Speedy Ortiz)
4/10 Vancouver, British Columbia - Rickshaw Theatre (w. Speedy Ortiz)
4/11 Victoria, British Columbia - Lucky Bar (w. Speedy Ortiz)
4/12 Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre (w. Speedy Ortiz)

"Lariat"

Check back in tomorrow for more of the newest in the new(s) and follow @AllFreshSounds on Twitter to get news updates throughout the day.

What's New(s)?

Kanye West full interview now available

Yesterday part 1 of the Kanye West/Zane Lowe went up and amongst other things we heard West discuss: his status as "the #1 rock star on the planet", his calling to "f*** s*** up" for modern radio, and how he owes his career to Michael Jackson. Rather than wait for a steady stream of Kanye gems to pop up in parts 2-4 throughout the rest of the week, we are now privy to to the full-interview of Yeezy's unfettered thoughts. During the course of the full 60, West shares what "dopeness" means to him, how he strives to one day be as "zenned-out as Jay Z", and his eager anticipation to talk with Kendrick Lamar out on the Yeezus tour heralding him "he's one of our future messengers." The entire thing is brimming with Internet-baiting quotes that would talk too long to parse all of here, so check it out below.





Grand Theft Auto V soundtrack dropped

Grand Theft Auto continually delivers with some of the greatest video game soundtracks around, but this time out they might've outdone themselves. Following suit from last Thursday's drop of the official mixtape featuring: Action Bronson, Tyga, Prodigy, and Kool G Rap, Rockstar has now released three volumes of music via iTunes. Volume 1 includes efforts from: Flying Lotus, Wavves, Tyler the Creator, and others. Volume 2 delivers the game's original score crafted by a collaborative effort of: Tangerine Dream, the Alchemist, Oh No, and composer Woody Jackson, as reconfigured by DJ Shadow. The final third includes an additional helping of in-game tracks ranging from Jai Paul to Bob Seger. Like the game itself the soundtrack's highlights will keep you busy for the foreseeable feature, so start now with the booming Clams Casino cut "Crystals" which can be downloaded here.



 M.I.A. unveils album art

Taking time out from her busy schedules of throwing shade at the NFL, M.I.A. has rolled out the album cover for her forthcoming Matangi release. The Sri-Lankan artist included the above image on her official Tumblr accompanied by two similarly psychedelic photos. Matangi is out November 5 via Interscope, and you can listen to her globetrotting 60s girl pop single "Come Walk with Me" here and if you still haven't seen her video taking aim at the NFL's $1.5 million fine of her (calling the move "a massive display of powerful corporate d**k shaking) that seething video is provided below.

Check back in tomorrow for more of the newest in new(s).

What's New(s)?

Matangi gets release date

Apparently a threat was all it took. Matangi already spawned a single in "Bring the Noize" and booming cuts by way of "Only 1 U" and now after threatening Interscope with a leak of her 4th LP (and first since 2010), M.I.A. has now secured a release date of November 5.  This morning on Twitter, M.I.A. (whose real first name is in fact Mathangi) struck Interscope saying: "who would stop MATANGI from coming out? If interscope takes longer i can always leak this next week and make a new one by the time they are ready." Earlier this year, M.I.A. accused her label of not releasing the record due to "too much positivity." Only time will tell if that release date of November 5 will hold steady, so press play a few more times on "Bring the Noize" while you wait.

"Pretty Saro"- Bob Dylan

Dylan's widely panned 1970 double album Self Portrait will soon be up for reassessment, becoming the latest edition to the vault scouring Bootleg Series. The 10th installment will feature unreleased cuts and rarities from the period of 1969-1971, when he recorded not only the contemptuous Self-Portrait, but the revelatory Nashville Skyline and the tender New Morning. In the run-up to the release we now have our first taste of what's in store. "Pretty Saro" is an unreleased cut from a March 1970 session that finds Dylan adapting his countrified croon, strumming a subdued guitar figure and dreaming of the title figure who rests "down in some lone valley". Get your first taste of the release below and look for Another Self Portrait: The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 on shelves August 27.

Phoenix to work with R. Kelly?

 

  

 

Following an unannounced on-stage collaboration at this year's Coachella, Phoenix is hinting at the possibility of logging studio time with Mr. Robert Kelly. In an interview with Radio.com the band all about announced the collabo, responding to a question if there were future plans to record with him: "Yeah, maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe soon you will know. Maybe." The band's guitar Christian Mazzalai also described how the group had no rehearsal with Kelly before the Coachella surprise, so the moment was filled with "beautiful tension." Until that tension materializes further, will always have "Ignition (Remix)" set in the year "1901". 

Check back on Monday for more of the newest in new(s).