News
Belle and Sebastian reveal live plans for 2010 10 March 2010 in Belle and Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are to end their four year hiatus with some festival appearances. The band will play:
July 2010
July 11th TUKU, Ruisrock festival
July 15th TøNSBERG, Slottsfjell Festival
July 17th SOUTHWOLD, Latitude Festival, Henham Park
August 2010
August 1st NAEBA SKI RESORT, Fuji Rock Festival
The band are expected to debut new material at the shows.
The Hold Steady To Release Heaven Is Whenever On Limited Edition Vinyl For Record Store Day 4 March 2010 in The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady To Release Heaven Is Whenever On Limited Edition Vinyl For Record Store Day
The Hold Steady will release a highly limited number of vinyl copies of their new album Heaven Is Whenever (Rough Trade / Vagrant Records) on April 17 as part of Record Store Day, complete with custom screen printed artwork. The extremely limited run of the album will only be available in independent record stores participating in Record Store Day. Heaven Is Whenever will officially be released on CD, vinyl and digitally on May 3rd.
The album was produced by Dean Baltulonis, who engineered the band’s Almost Killed Me and produced Separation Sunday. Singer Craig Finn says Heaven Is Whenever is about “embracing suffering and understanding its place in a joyful life. The lyrics speak a lot about struggle and reward.” Piano and keys take a backseat to guitar on the new record, which also gets production help from guitarist Tad Kubler.
The Hold Steady have added an appearance at Summer Fest in Milwaukee on July 1 to their touring schedule. Full list of confirmed tour dates are here.
Antony and the Johnsons talks about his new album plans on Stereogum 4 March 2010 in Antony and the Johnsons
As part of Stereogum’s Progress Report feature Antony Hegarty has spoken about his plans for his 4th album and wrapping up The Crying Light with two recent shows in Tokyo. Speaking of the Tokyo shows Antony said:
“We were invited to come to Tokyo and collaborate on an evening with Kazuo Ohno Studio. They were familiar with my work because I featured the images of Kazuo on my last two releases and had spoken so extensively in the press about his influence on me since my teens. I brought William [Basinski] and Johanna [Constantine] with me because they are so...
Rough Trade at SXSW! 3 March 2010 in news
As usual a few lucky people from Rough Trade are heading to the prestigious SXSW Texan music festival. This year we’re hosting a showcase on Wednesday March 17th of March at Emo’s JR (the inside room separate from the main outdoor venue).
Listen to all the bands that are playing on this widget, it’s embeddable so feel free to put it on your blog or website:
The first 200 people who attend will receive a RT gift bag with a fanzine and cassette tape. The fanzine has contributions from our showcasing bands. The A-Side of the cassette has songs from the widget. The B-side has a song chosen by each of our showcasing bands from our catalogue. For example, Warpaint have chosen Little Joy’s The Next Time Around for the B-side.
Check out the Facebook event
Listen to the new Morning Benders album 'Big Echo' 2 March 2010 in The Morning Benders
The Morning Benders have a new album called BIG ECHO coming out next week on March 9th in the US.
For the next week leading up to the release we will be streaming BIG ECHO in its entirety on the widget below:
The band have put a lot of love into this album and we’d love for you to listen to it as it was intended to be heard, as an album, from start to finish. You’ll notice that the music player on our site can be shared and embedded, so please feel free to share it with your friends, put it on your blog, etc.
BIG ECHO is available March 9 on Vinyl, CD, and digitally. You can pre-order the album now through Insound (with an exclusive free 7” of non-album track “Go Grab A Stranger”), Amazon, or directly from the Beggars site. You will be able to download the album instantaneously from Itunes on March 9 (with a non-album bonus track called “Oh, Annie”).
Introducing WILDER 1 March 2010 in Wilder
WILDER are Bec (drums), Joe (bass), Jay (synths) and Sam (vox and guitar), named after 40s film noir legend Billy Wilder.
Think Friendly Fires, The Whip, The Rapture and The Gossip and add the digital squirm of Boy 8 Bit, some Talking Heads, some of Neu’s Kraut-groove, Captain Beefheart, the Velvets and some of that foxy art-school thing Roxy Music do and you get the idea. There’s even some Little Richard in there. At least that’s what people tell us.
They’ve toured with The Strokes’ frontman Julian Casablancas and played with the Maccabees and I Blame Coco. And that’s their story so far…
Sign up to the mailing list to receive downloads of ‘Girls Vs Boys‘ and ‘TBT‘, you’ll also receive a collectible hand-stamped CD through the post:
SIGN-UP TO THE MAILING LIST HERE
Rough Trade sign Dylan LeBlanc 25 February 2010 in news
Rough Trade are extremely proud to announce the signing of 19 year old Dylan LeBlanc.
Dylan was born in the Parish of Caddo in northwest Louisiana and was exposed to a wide variety of music whilst growing up in Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana and Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
Inspired by Willis Alan Ramsey, Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt and Tennessee Williams, he joined the House of Fame as a writer at 18. Dylan’s approach to music is to write and sing about things that are real, that convey humanity, so all can relate. His inspiration comes from experience, and watching, listening, and...
Pantha Du Prince - Stick To My Side Video 25 February 2010 in Pantha du Prince
Stunning video for Stick To My Side by Pantha Du Prince, set in the Black Forest in Germany and taken from his third album Black Noise.
Stick To My Side features Noah Lennox from Animal Collective on vocals.
Stick To My Side will be released on the 8th of March, the 12” will feature a remix by Four Tet.
The critically acclaimed Black Noise is available to download on iTunes or available to buy on CD/LP from Rough Trade Shops
The Hold Steady announce new album and UK tour dates 23 February 2010 in The Hold Steady
“Listening again to everything The Hold Steady recorded. Is this the greatest American band now? They just got me through a rough month.” – BRETT EASTON ELLIS, Twitter Nov 2009
The Hold Steady are rightly lauded by fans, critics and other creative minds for the scope, depth, truth and heart that they bring to chronicling the American rock myth. And for just plain rocking out loud. They have recently put the finishing touches on Heaven Is Whenever their new album set for release May 3 on Rough Trade in the UK (and May 4 in the USA on Vagrant Records.)
The album was produced by Dean Baltulonis, who engineered the band’s debut Almost Killed Me and produced their second album Separation Sunday. Heaven Is Whenever was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios in upstate NY and Wild Arctic Studios in Queens, NY, with mixing also happening at Wild Arctic.
Singer Craig Finn says Heaven Is Whenever is about “embracing suffering and finding reward in our everyday lives”. Piano and keys, though still present, take a backseat to guitar on the new record, which also gets production help from lead guitarist Tad Kubler.
Recorded in several smaller sessions spread out over a long period of time, the songs on Heaven Is Whenever received the benefit of being road-tested on the band’s recent tours including the UK shows last September. As Finn says this allowed them to “see what was working and what wasn’t. I believe this record benefits from us working at a more deliberate pace.”
Following the release of 2008’s critically acclaimed Stay Positive which gave the band it’s highest Billboard chart position to date, and a Top 15 album in the UK, The Hold Steady toured relentlessly, playing to some of their biggest audiences to date.
The Hold Steady is: Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Galen Polivka and Bobby Drake.
Heaven Is Whenever tracklisting:
1. The Sweet Part Of The City
2. Soft In The Center
3. The Weekenders
4. The Smidge
5. Rock Problems
6. We Can Get Together
7. Hurricane
8. Barely Breathing
9. Our Whole Lives
10. A Slight Discomfort
The Hold Steady Confirmed European tour dates:
Sat June 12th – Isle of Wright Festival, Newport, UK
Mon Jun 14 – Fleche D’Or, Paris, FR
Mon Jun 21 – Melkveg, Amsterdam, NL
Tue Jun 22 – HMV Forum
, London, UK
Sat Jun 26 – Academy 2
, Manchester, UK
WARPAINT announce UK Shows 22 February 2010 in Warpaint
We are excited to announce that the first UK shows by new signings Warpaint are now scheduled for May 2010!
Warpaint are an all girl quartet from Los Angeles. They weave intricate guitar lines, hypnotic vocals, and driving post-punk rhythms into gorgeous, sprawling songs that skirt the line between the soundscapes of psychedelia and intimacy.
The band are currently on the road in the US with Akron/Family, Warpaint have begun work in the studio recording their first full-length album, which is due out on Rough Trade Records later this year.
Warpaint is Emily Kokal (vocals/guitar), Theresa Wayman (guitar/vocals), Jenny Lee Lindberg (bass/vocals), and Stella Mozgawa (drums).
Debut UK shows:
May 12th – London, Luminaire
May 13th – Tunbridge Wells, Forum
May 14th – Brighton, Levi’s One To Watch @ Audio
To see a full list of their US tour dates please visit their myspace Warpaint on Myspace
The Strange Boys release Be Brave and announce UK Tour 22 February 2010 in Strange Boys
This week sees the release of Be Brave the new album from Texan Garage Rock group The Strange Boys.
Be Brave follows on from their eponymous debut album The Strange Boys and Girls Club which was released last year, since then the band signed with Rough Trade, toured relentlessly and added Tim Presley (of Darker My Love) and Jenna Thornhill-DeWitt (of Mika Mako) to their line-up.
Buy Be Brave on CD & LP from Rough Trade Shops
The album is currently Rough Trade Shops’ Album Of The Week
‘(Be Brave has) the ragged, blues rock ‘n’ roll of early Stones’ – Esquire
‘Be Brave is one of the ace-est singles we’ve heard so far this year’ – Sunday Express
Watch the video for lead track Be Brave here(not advisable for vegetarians).
The band have just announced a UK tour and the dates are as follows:
Thursday 15th – Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds
Friday 16th – Nice ‘n’ Sleazy’s, Glasgow
Saturday 17th – Deaf Institute, Manchester
Sunday 18th – Academy 2, Birmingham
Wednesday 21st – ICA, London
Thursday 22nd – Freebutt, Brighton
Friday 23rd – Louisiana, Bristol
Saturday 24th – Lennon’s Club, Southampton
Listen to The Strange Boys new album 'Be Brave' 17 February 2010 in Strange Boys
You can now listen to The Strange Boys new album Be Brave using the album player below.
Be Brave is released on CD, Download and LP next week.
Pre-order from Rough Trade Shop.
The band have just announced a UK tour for April. They will bring their riotous live show to:
Thursday 15th – Nation of Shopkeepers, Leeds
Friday 16th – Nice ‘n’ Sleazy’s, Glasgow
Saturday 17th – Deaf Institute, Manchester
Sunday 18th – Academy 2, Birmingham
Wednesday 21st – ICA, London
Thursday 22nd – Freebutt, Brighton
Friday 23rd – Louisiana, Bristol
Saturday 24th – Lennon’s Club, Southampton
Crafts For A Cause 10 February 2010 in Little Joy
Little Joy’s Binki Shapiro is starting an auction to help Artists For Peace and Justice raise money for the Haiti Disaster.
So far Devendra Banhart, Cedric Bixler, Conor Oberst, Jenny Lewis, No Doubt, The Strokes, Norah Jones, Fleet Foxes, Regina Spektor, Vampire Weekend, Adam Green and Natalie Portman have all donated personalised items which will be auctioned off on Monday.
You can read more about the auction and see what the artist’s have donated over on Binki’s blog Crafts For A Cause.
Follow Binki on Twitter for the latest additions to the auction:
Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise - Out Now 8 February 2010 in Pantha du Prince
Today sees the release of Black Noise, the third album by Pantha Du Prince and his first album for Rough Trade.
On his new album, Pantha Du Prince, who lives in Berlin and Paris, claims: music slumbers in all matter; any sound, even silence, is already music. The mission, then, must be to render audible what is unheard and unheard of: black noise, a frequency that is inaudible to man. Black noise often presages natural disasters, earthquakes or floods; only some animals perceive this “calm before the storm.” Black noise is something archaic and earthy. The music on Black Noise balances precariously on the slippery threshold between art and nature, between techno and folklore, which lends it a certain spectral and intangible aspect.
Black Noise also features a couple of special guests – Noah Lennox of Animal Collective sings on “Stick to my side” and Tyler Pope of !!! and LCD Soundsystem plays bass on “The Splendour”
“When taken in all its sprawling glory, the record is intense and rewarding, and when it stops the silence becomes grandoise – if you let it Black Noise might just change the way you listen to the world. – 9/10 – Drownedinsound.com
“…Evokes those moments when we experience nature not cerebrally, but sensually, creating music that crackles like static in a sky burdened with storm (The Splendour), then glitters like a rain-soaked landscape illuminated by sun (Welt am Draht).” – 4/5 – The Guardian
You can listen to the album here:
Watch the new video for Be Brave by The Strange Boys 5 February 2010 in Strange Boys
Watch the new video for Be Brave by The Strange Boys.
The Strange Boys release their second album Be Brave on the 22nd of February.
Listen to Jarvis Cocker's show on BBC 6Music 2 February 2010 in Jarvis Cocker
The lovely people at BBC 6 Music have created a widget so that you can listen to Jarvis’ latest radio shows:
Listen to Black Noise by Pantha Du Prince 1 February 2010 in Pantha du Prince
You can listen to Black Noise, the highly-anticipated new album from Pantha Du Prince, a week before it’s released via the player below:
Black Noise Visual Album Trailer 29 January 2010 in Pantha du Prince
This trailer is a series of animations linking together the audio clips from Pantha Du Prince’s forthcoming album, Black Noise.
The animations were created by Ashley Dean of Broken Pixel:
“Described by Pantha Du Prince as ‘a frequency inaudible to man, something archaic and earthly, the calm before the storm’, the phenomenon of Black Noise was as much of a challenge to render in visual media as it was to make an album that encapsulated this elusive substance. The central process used for the trailer was part mechanical...
British Sea Power guitarist Noble makes free bird-themed compilation 25 January 2010 in British Sea Power
Alongside selections from Happy Mondays and Nico to Leadbelly and Gilbert &
Sullivan, this bird-related collection will include a previously
unavailable demo version of the British Sea Power track The Great Skua.
As a preview, this track can be heard today at the Caught By The River site. To have it sent to you, just register your email with the fair
and friendly CBTR mailing-list again via the CBTR website.
Watch My Baby Left Me the new video from ROX 25 January 2010 in rox
We’re very excited to unveil the new video for My Baby Left Me from ROX.
Myspace are currently premiering the video which you can watch here
The video was directed by Emil Nava and shot in the Kent countryside one cold morning in December.
My Baby Left Me will be released on March 15th.
ROX plays her first headline show at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill Gate, London on March 18th.
Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own released today 25 January 2010 in Basia Bulat
Heart Of My Own, the new album from Basia Bulat is released today.
Heart Of My Own is the follow-up to Oh, My Darling, Basia’s first album which was nominated for the prestigious Polaris Music Award in her home country of Canada.
Basia plays an intimate solo show at The Underbelly in Hoxton, London on Wednesday 27th of January.
Listen to Heart Of My Own below:
Voting Reminder - Don't forget to Vote for ROX in MTV's 10 for 2010 poll! 20 January 2010 in rox
If you haven’t already then don’t forget to vote for ROX as your favorite new artist in MTV’s 10 for 2010 poll
Basia Bulat album release party 18 January 2010 in Basia Bulat
Basia Bulat will be celebrating the release of her second album ‘Heart Of My Own’ with an album release party at Professor Thom’s in New York on Thursday 21st of January.
Jarvis Cocker interviewed at Village Underground 18 January 2010 in Jarvis Cocker
Virgin Music interviewed Jarvis last year at his curation of the Village Underground venue in East London:
Mystery Jets talk about new album 13 January 2010 in The Mystery Jets
Speaking to Steve Lamacq yesterday about their first record in two years, Blaine Harrison admitted they previewed their new material under a different name.
“A big thing that worked well for us was playing the songs live before we went into the studio,” said the singer. “We spent a couple of weeks out in Berlin playing people’s art spaces and pubs, and bedrooms, basically wherever we could play, but not announcing who we were.”
The bandmates have spent the last nine months in the studio recording the follow-up to Twenty One.
In terms of its sound, Harrison said we can expect a change...
Jeffrey Lewis plays star-studded tribute show for Tuli Kupferberg in Brooklyn 12 January 2010 in Jeffrey Lewis
Tuli Kupferberg, the influential songwriter who co-founded the Fugs, suffered two strokes, in April and September 2009, which left him blind, confined to his apartment and in need of 24-hour care. He is recovering well—he is able to speak clearly—but has overwhelming medical expenses not covered by Medicare or the very modest publishing/royalties income he earns at the age of 86. A number of his friends and admirers are coming to his aid by performing in a benefit concert produced by Hal Willner, including his fellow Fugs, John Kruth and an all-star band, Lou Reed, Jeffrey Lewis, Sonic Youth, Pete Stampfel, John Zorn and...
Vote for ROX as part of MTV's 10 for 2010 12 January 2010 in rox
ROX has been selected as one of MTV’s ones-to-watch for 2010 and we’d like you to vote for her to win!
ROX went in and recorded a session for them last year, you can watch her perform ‘No Going Back’, ‘My Baby Left Me’ and an astonishing cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ at MTV.co.uk
Adam Green releases his new album 'Minor Love' 11 January 2010 in Adam Green
Today sees the release of “America’s Number 1 Greatest Singer!”; Adam Green’s, new album ‘Minor Love’.
The album showcases a tender side of the often arrogant and emotionally unavailable bully/singer, Green. In a total state of isolation, Green attempted to play nearly all the instruments on the record, due to incurable social phobias which plagued him. The inspiration for this album lies in Green’s fatalism. Despite a fairly normal upbringing, and a generally optimistic world view, he often contends that nothing lasts… that there is nothing to look forward to…and that “we are all living in a butcher shop,” which Leonard Cohen told him while at a Bar-B-Que at Lou Reed’s house.
To commemorate the release of Green’s 6th½ album he has filmed four videos documenting examples of his every day life. Here are two of them:
Buddy Bradley
Breaking Locks
All four videos (Buddy Bradley, Breaking Locks, Boss Inside and Give Them A Token) are available as part of the album to download from iTunes.
‘Minor Love’ is available to buy from all good record shops and Rough Trade Shop
Julian Casablancas' festive anthem 'I Wish It Was Christmas Today' out now 21 December 2009 in Julian Casablancas
Julian Casablancas ends a fantastic year with the release of his christmas single ‘I Wish It Was Christmas Today’, which is available to today to download and buy on 7”.
Below are some photos from Julian’s fantastic final show of his UK tour taken by David Emery:
