Two of my best friends in the world mailed me a handmade tape from across the continent and it has seriously added to my long term happiness. Posted it here on bandcamp for them. Now it is possible to share it with people without having to force them to listen to my walkman(although I’ll still definitely do that if I see you).
Archive for the 'new tunes' Category
MJ MJ’s dank new tape is up and ready for grabs! This Gracie / Esta Vivo split cassette is the perfect soundtrack to any weekend hang n bangs you might have comin up. The tape is made up of two of our favorite digital only EP’s of 2011 – Gracie’s “For Summer EP” and Esta Vivo’s “Together We Sleep“, plus a slew of new tracks from each artist. As soon as we heard from these boys we just knew we had to get them together on tape. While they don’t have a great deal in common genre wise, both artists convey a similar feeling through their music. If you listen all the way through I guarantee you will be sufficiently soothed. You can stream, download or purchase a copy of this piece o work right here. We asked the artist’s to tell us a little about what went into their EP’s, so keep reading if you’d like a bit of insight into their beautiful brains.
“This collection of songs all stream from 2010/2011. A lot of these songs have to deal with love, sex, and the thirst for warmness but of course some obviously touch on my views of life or even my enthusiasm for science. Through the course of writing these songs it seemed as though I was writing meaningless short stories but as time goes on I notice they stem from inner thoughts and feelings. The name Esta Vivo is spanish for ‘Is Alive’- which really explains why I make art or really why I do anything. I try to take advantage of being lucky enough to have emotions or even the luck of experiencing good and rough times- so I try to take in everything and experience it to the fullest. As for the art it’s basically- I’m alive, why not document it and share it? To put it simply, art is my way of romanticizing with every aspect of my life- whether that be optimistically or tragically. As for you, the audience, all my work is open for interpretation. Take it as you will or don’t take it at all. The beauty is the option and that we’re all here together loving it or hating it. It’s here for every single one of you. It’s not mine, it’s ours.” – Ryan
“These songs were my first attempt at writing a solo record. It started off just for fun, writing songs for myself and for my friends. It was exciting. After I was done recording, I was told they sounded romantic-y and pretty, but really the content concerned self-conflict and longing. One of the tunes is about a good friend who was living in a different country at the time and I missed him. My only hope is that these songs are received in an honest way. This whole thing is new to me and I want to keep it innocent.” – Andrew
FMLY friends and scene stalwarts Magick Orchids have a reputation for free-form, trance-inducing psychedelic live shows that utilize improvisation and group collaboration. The duo’s upcoming album, Origins of Grinding, finds Rhea Tepplim and FMLY Fest poster artist Champoy Hate combining their penchant for being etherial and experimental with somewhat more “pop” influences on DIY dance jams like “Bad Acid” and “Bored in da Burbs.”
The album will be released early new year via Vanity Projects. While you wait for the album to be released, you can download this free remix EP as a preview. The duo is also performing at KXLU’s Holiday Party this Monday, December 19. It’s hosted by Sean Carnage and Pehrspace, and Magick Orchids will be joined by W-H-I-T-E, Batwings Catwings, Casy and Brian, and Sea Lions. You can RSVP on Facebook.
I asked Rhea and Champ to share some videos that have inspired them. Here’s what they shared.
Nelson Mandela once shared that, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart”. As long as I’ve been aware of Tom Mike’s prolific consumption of ‘internet presence’, it has become his knack for exploring the possibilities of a collaborative language that have kept me around. Now, I’m not referring to his dizzying amount of information and sounds shared via facebook, tumblr or twitter, but the way in which he threads his relationships into a tapestry of aural destinies. Focusing on Ghibli, the manifestation of Tom’s musical output this year, we followed the story of a young Canadian producer/musician eager to experiment with classical music samples in the context of trance, hip-hop and general dance music. The introduction alone is inspiring, and with Pythia Tom delivered a collageifesto that speaks headspaces beyond “I’ll C U When U Get There” or Rob Paravonian’s “Pachelbel Rant“. His stitches can be viewed as a modern evaluation of détournement, that is, turning expressions of the ancient monarch-capitalist system against a modern equivalent, and among his more local relationships to sound it is THIS approach which keeps my heart racing whenever we have the chance to speak.
Today we have the pleasure of sharing a remix that Tom recently put together for his galpal Jessica Jalbert which gravitates around the literal notion of language and how fundamental sounds can be applied to form new shapes. These shapes result in the development of a new language, one of depth, color, and shape that may be the norm up north in Tom’s progressive city of Edmonton, AB, but here in the repressive United States we rarely know such linguistic beauty. Even in a more traditional remix Tom’s ability to convey something deeper than the presentation of sweet sounds shines through, and for that our smiles shine right back. After the jump I’ve also included a remix made up by Pariah Carey and visualized by Rachel Evans.
So today MJ MJ has released our new tape – Catamaran! I want ya’ll to give this opus a good listen through, I think you’ll really love it. Why not start from the end and Check out “Europe”, the album’s closer? It’s a perfectly glorious ending to a great album. If that sax solo at the end doesn’t give you goosebumps, I don’t know what will.
Catamaran is the solo project of Vincent Brunetto, from Buffalo NY. He recorded the album in a state of transition throughout a frigid winter. This fifty five minute long debut full length is thick, juicy, well thought out and completely groovy. Do yrself a favor and tear into this sucker the way you would an over ripe peach.
stream / purchase / download @ MJ MJ
Big ups to our eternal best friend ZZimmerman (along with the help of Kaleduro) for making the album art.
photo cred :: emily reo
Our inaugural Little Spoon post has been a long time coming, but considering how long we’ve gone through this life without knowing the majesty of Sir Cameron Potter it feels justified to tease our anxious flirtation out as long as possible before this first kiss. Prepare to get real.
Cameron’s sounds have been floating around the internet for the latter part of this year, maybe you remember hearing them under his former High Sea moniker, but the production of unique and original aural magic has been this dudes game far longer than his bandcamp leads on. We’ve been swooning over his collaborative performances with Birthdays all year long and having the chance to see him drum alongside Sammy “Babydude” Yager, Andrew “Share-a-tories” Morehart, and Jordan “fucking” Lee as a component in the Mutual Benefit live band has been one of the greatest shows I’ve seen all year. Lil’ dude is becoming a staple in the heart of how I imagine Boston, a heart physically tattooed on his neck that pulses with every lyric crooned or beat manifested… ungh, so badass. After months of becoming accustomed to his bite sized gems “I Keep Having Dreams That You’ll Let Me Come Back Home”, from his forthcoming full-length, comes in the form of a heart beat aka a breath of life anthem celebrating the memories of people in your life that don’t repeat. We salute, love and support you Cameron Potter, and I hope that this recording contributed the catharsis in your life that you’ve been searching for. Oughtta be released with Birthdays’ “I’m Keeping Some of Mine For Me” [audio] and Max Alper’s “diningroomtable”… sounds that feel damn great to shed a soul tear with.
We’ve just made a couple amazing announcements over at MJ MJ Records!
Uno – Our next release, Catamaran, is up for pre-sale! Catamaran has crafted an incredible 55 minute long opus of a full length. We’re just amazed that we get to put this record out. His sound is thick, juicy and completely his own. Peep that cover art by Z. Zimmerman, the cassette comes with a fold out insert with even more dank arts inside. Stream and download four tracks off his debut at the MJ MJ bandcamp, you will be so glad you did. Below is “Holidaze”, just a taste of the journey that awaits -
Our baby boy Dave premiered the album opener, “Reggie” over at Stadiums and Shrines today – Check it!
Dos – We’ve got something special for ya, or rather, a special for ya! MJ MJ is running our first ever sale to say thank you to our friends and hello to some new ones. From now until xmas when you get any two of our tapes, we’ll give you the third one for free! And don’t be shy now, when we say any, we mean any – our entire catalogue is fair game including the pre-orders. So grab Serious Sauce Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 for yourself and get Yalls for yr special somebody. Or space out with MAYMOK and sad ghems and surprise your mom with her very own copy of Vacation Dad. Tapes for everyone! Since the Big Cartel platform is a shade unforgiving here’s what you have to do to complete your order. Check out as normal from our store with any TWO tapes in your shopping cart. Send us a message along with your paypal payment letting us know the third tape you desire and we’ll send it along with your order. It’s pretty simple, but if you have any trouble send us an email – mjmjrecords@gmail.com – and we’ll help you out.
That image above was created by Champoy Hate, a FMLY favorite and a member of LA’s lovely Magick Orchids. Magick Orchids is just one of many rad musical projects that contributed to this new digital mixtape, Vanity Loves Company: Vanity Projects Autumn/Winter 2011. You’re welcome to download the mix via bandcamp, and feel free to share it with your friends!
Vanity Projects is a new label from LA. Earlier, we released my solo album Princess, and later this month we’ll have the new album from Magick Orchids called Origins of Grinding. Many of the artists on this mix have upcoming releases through the label, although a few are just friends.
The mix includes totally new jams, completely unreleased until now, by Pizza!, So Many Wizards, and more… And like every good LA compilation, it has more than one collaboration with Michael Nhat.
AIDS Wolf – Please Hold the Line
Montreal’s AIDS Wolf has been touring behind their assaultive new album, Ma vie banale avant-garde, for about three weeks. They’re finishing this weekend with shows in DC, New York, and Boston. These are the dates.
After that,member Alexander Moskos continues touring as Drainolith, his disconcerting, cold, yet oddly inviting electronic noise project. That tour will hit LA for a few days, including a show at Dem Passwords on the 25th. You can RSVP on Facebook.
I asked Alexander and his fellow AIDS Wolfers, Yannick Desranleau and Chloe Lum, to share some video influences. Here they are!
Slyy is a Boston based producer genius duo comprised of Bug Eyes and Milochondria. Together they create the perfect harmony of IDM and pure smooth beatcraft. Their first full length collaborative effort is Serious Sauce Vol. 2. And oh my lord, it’s a doozy. Over the past few months since we got the masters not a day has gone by where we haven’t listened to part, if not all, of this odyssey. SSV2 is literrally the perfect soundtrack to just about any activity. This tape has been on constant repeat weather we’ve been cooking, cleaning, Mario Karting, feeding the snake, partying, chillin, throwing shows, biking, working or whatever. It’s constantly intriguing and enjoyable every time you hear it. It reminds me of when I first heard Boards of Canada or MF Doom. There is just something infectious and satisfying from a perfect beat, and that’s exactly what Slyy delivers. When we put this on at an Animal Town FMLY Dinner show the whole party starts to vibe and all the doobies come out. There’s just something magic about this record. I encourage you to get on some meaty headphones and enjoy the full cassette over at the MJ MJ Bandcamp, but if you’re short on time there are some samples below for your streaming pleasure. Both songs start off slow and reward your patience with a perfect groove that is unmistakably Slyy. SSV2 is available on cassette for five bucks and digital on a pay what you want basis from yr boys at MJ MJ.
The first week of June gave us Haunt U Forever, Ricky Eat Acid‘s tenth release since May of 2010, yet with his strides in experimentation between EPs the familiarity I hold onto exists in the underlying character of Sam Ray‘s music. Rich in texture and with clear intent, Sam has the fingerprint of a young man curious for experiencing the diversity of his craft as he actively explores new methods in producing and recording his sounds.
Seeing Little Ghosts Everywhere, released today, finds progress in documenting sounds representative of time and place as an audio journal. Recorded through the summer the album casually carries themes of intimacy and isolation that are the bread and butter of my personal winter listening, and Sam has shared with us a document of his own person so gorgeous it’s liable to be worn and adorned as a necklace resting just over the heart; but that’s just what we’re personally doing with our cassette. It was a pleasure to take the time to chat with Sam about his new record, and be the lovely voice that presents to you… Seeing Little Ghosts Everywhere. Download the album for free and/or order a cassette right here.
FMLY: Your new album, Seeing Little Ghosts Everywhere, is such a welcome surprise in the Ricky Eat Acid saga. What was the recording process like?
Sam: Thank you! I’m so glad it’s welcomed because it might strike some people who have only heard select songs as pretty different. This past summer I was really fed up with the music I had been working on, so I began recording songs to my tape player for fun. They were originally under a different name, kind of a joke, and I played them for friends in online listening rooms and in my real room in ‘real’ life. I have a huge section of my heart, stomach and lungs reserved for ambient and drone music as well as piano compositions and field recordings… that kinda stuff, but I’m not sure if that had been represented in my music. I eventually gave up on the album I was already in the midst of recording and devoted my summer to finishing this project. So that’s basically what I did from May through August, in my room, after everyone else had gone to bed. Sometimes I’d sit outside during the rain and record on my porch, or other people’s houses. These songs aren’t outlets for any particular emotion, and are instead like a diary… each one has some story, or person, or place, or moment in time tied to it. In that way it is the most personal album I have shared.
FMLY: Every piece of this tape is such a warm and intimate experience, which instruments did you find yourself drawn to?
Sam: Seeing Little Ghosts Everywhere was recorded with a handful of toy instruments I’ve collected like old toy keyboards, toy pianos, some guitars, pianos, etc… as well as some help from my computer. Everything was recorded directly to my tiny tape player I picked up from an estate sale. The idea behind the full project is to have a series of pieces that can exist in their own little world. I hope that when you listen to them alone at night in the dark with your eyes closed they can be in their own delicate dreamworld… I just became filled with this incredible wanderlust where I wanted to journey through the Super Nintendo RPGs that I loved as a kid.
"we are opening", by ☯≈‡ D◊◊DL∑S ‡≈☯
As part of our series highlighting the spunky folks that you’ll be meeting at FMLY Fest we’ve chosen today to celebrate our love of Florida’s Michael Parallax. A fine feline of a Spirit Cat and one-part Oh Fortuna, Mikey has shared eight home brewed albums with the internet since ’06 documenting only a portion of a much larger history of collaboration among his friends and family. These documents he has left behind collect the doubts, frustrations, highs, and great hopes of a given day, over a span of time… from the lowest sinking boulders in our stomachs to the moment of awakening and ultimate enlightenment of the world we share, such a genuine roller coaster exists sonically. Though I must say, these records are not the focus of Mikey’s vision but only an approach to the greater message these albums and live performances have pieced together over time. Maybe we don’t know what it is yet, maybe he doesn’t, but we’re having SUCH a great time finding out together.
The track up top is totally fresh, from a collaborative Hartzine x Beko DSL digital release which appeared on the web today. A live version of one of my new tracks is on it as well as fresh ones from our buds Dead Gaze, Tan Dollar, Krusht, Colours, Happy New Year, and the list goes on! It’s way stellar, download it free here [or stream here]. If you love what you hear of Mr. Michael Parallax you can find more of his sounds for free download here, and the video below is a craaaaazy parking lot show with Mikey playing “For Everyone Who Still Believes In Love” to a large crowd of zombies. Yeah, zombies. We’ll see you at the altar.
