The last time we caught up with musician/artist Hisham Bharoocha aka Soft Circle, he was about to embark on a tour with his pals the Boredoms (Bharoocha served as the musical director of their epic 77BOADRUM event in NYC last year) and to celebrate, we released his first exclusive RCRD LBL single "Night Hike". People freaked, FADER posted a great video interview with Hisham and the world was all good in our eyes.
Over the past few months, Bharoocha has been busy with some fine art and photography projects but today, he's back with some brand new music, the epic drum/computer fusion (yeah, we just went there!) jammer "Drumbler". It's both meditative and driving and we think it's pretty damn ace.
Soft Circle has some shows coming up, including a performance at the Bicycle Film Fest in BK next week at Studio B and a special performance for the Joshua Light Show on May 31 with Invisible Conga People at Issue Project Room, so be sure to check out his live-ness—it is not to be missed.
Exclusive Download: Soft Circle - Drumbler
Exclusive Download: Soft Circle - Night Hike
Soft Circle Full Bloom review at Pfork
Soft Circle on FADER TV
Cuizinier. New single off "Pour Les Filles vol. III" (out May 12th in Europe, late May in the rest of the world).
Featuring Spank Rock and Pase Rock.
Produced by Orgasmic.
Download: Cuizinier - Lettre F (feat. Spank Rock & Pase Rock)
If there’s one ting we know about RCRD LBL partner Ghostly International, it’s that the usually have more than one ace up their sleeve, so to speak. Since releasing awesome electronica and far reaching yet accessible techno on their own label (let’s not forget sister imprint Spectral Sound) wasn’t enough, they are now infiltrating the realm of cable TV, with Ghostly Swim, a compilation Ghostly put together for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. Luckily, the playlist isn’t weird ambient remixes of the Venture Brothers theme song, but some of the best artists Ghostly has to offer. Two of these artists are the label’s newest signings: NYC’s Michna (whose “Triple Chrome Dipped” we are debuting exclusively today) and London-based The Chap, an amazing experimental pop group whose track “Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley” sounds like Laurie Anderson, only way faster and way, way more fun and tongue in cheek (basically, loads of weird samples and spoken word parts).
Also, we are very happy to say we have an EXCLUSIVE remix of Michna's track from the compilation that is only available here on RCRD LBL—and no where else in the universe.
Check out the tracks below, and go to the Ghostly RCRD LBL blog for more info on Ghostly Swim.
Ghostly Swim at the Ghostly RCRD LBL blog
Download: Michna - Triple Chrome Dipped (12" Version)
Stream: The Chap - Carlos Walter Wendy Stanley
Two man bands are blowing up right now; The Dodos, Black Keys, and Gnarls Barkley are all kicking some serious ass and have upped the proverbial ante with amazing new releases over the past few months. If you have been lucky enough to see any of these guys live, you know that what they lack in band members, they make up in energy and pure love for what they do. It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to another duo to add to the short list. Readers, meet Lymbyc Systym.
Downloads and video after the jump...
This was just dropped in our lap and there's not much that we would rather have in our lap. We didn't give ourselves enough time to sufficiently rave about their new album because we've been on their website shooting nerds with lasers.
We've all been fans of The Black Keys for a little while blah, blah, blah... This record rocks. Danger Mouse added just enough of his Dangerjuice to make this thing really come alive. He's not spludging all over it, he adds just the right amount of hand claps, keys and creepy choir ooohs, keeping the rough, bluesy sound that TBK are known for, but gives it a bit more depth to keep you listening over and over.
Today we've got two tracks from the new album for your listening pleasure. The first single from the album is "Strange Times" which makes great nerd shooting music. We've also got the track "Same Old Thing" for you, which is streaming exclusively here on SEEN. Of particular note, the flute in "Same Old Thing" is not a sample. It's actually played by drummerPatrick Carney's (guy on the right) uncle, Ralph Carney who has been Tom Wait's woodwind player for years.
Stream: The Black Keys - Same Old Thing
Stream: The Black Keys - Strange Times
Here is the video for "Strange Days" which is pretty funny. Ahhh Ultra Zone, we actually had an office holiday party there once. Seriously, I got to shoot my boss with a laser.
Today, we are very proud to release an exclusive new single from Soft Circle, the solo project of ex-Black Dice drummer/visual artist and all-around man of flavor Hisham Bharoocha. This is Soft Circle's first release since 2007's acclaimed Full Bloom LP (see Pfork link at bottom) and represents a turn of sorts from the impressionistic, mellower vibes of his previous work. "Night Hike", available exclusively via RCRD LBL, is a driving, percussive track that recalls the electronic wizardry of his former tourmates Prefuse 73 and Battles and should serve as a great taste of what Bharoocha plans to cook up for his next full length. It was recorded by producer/musician Rusty Santos (Animal Collective, Panda Bear) and you hope you love it as much as we do.
Be sure to catch Soft Circle on tour with the Boredoms all this week (Bharoocha served as the musical director of their epic 77BOADRUM event in NYC last year) and watch this space later today for an exclusive video interview courtesy of our bros at the FADER.
Download: Soft Circle - Night Hike
Soft Circle Full Bloom review at Pfork
Upcoming Soft Circle Tour Dates
Not to be confused with this GE, our musical friend General Elektriks is a one man bay area band that blends old school hip hop sounds, with quirky keyboard licks and ethereal vocals. General Elektriks second album is due out this summer and today at SEEN we've got an exclusive track from the mind behind General Elektriks, Hervé Salters. As part of the promotion for the new GE album, Salters has put together a project called "Pocket Full Of MCs". Each sample based track features a different MC and will not be released on the album. Tracks featuring Mr. Lif and Lateef The Truth Speaker are already available through the General Elektriks website. The track we have for you today is called "Death Of An 80's Limo" and features Beans. Man, we love story raps (Biggie = best rapper of all time). The 80s-ness of this track comes from the use of a sample of "The Chauffeur" by Duran Duran. Enjoy this track and keep your ears peeled for more tracks in the series at General Elektriks website and the new album from GE this summer.
Download: General Elektriks - Death Of An 80s Limo feat. Beans
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A couple of weeks ago we had a post on some of the new TV shows that will be
using music in interesting ways. One of the music supervisors who seems to be quite busy shaping the sound of TV lately is Gary Calamar. Along with stints on Six Feet Under, Dexter, Entourage, Weeds, House, and Las Vegas, he hosts a radio show called The Open Road on KCRW in Los Angeles that can be heard Sunday's from 9pm - midnight.
Obviously he's a busy guy, but we were able to catch up with him and ask him a few questions about his past work and some exciting new projects. Click here for the full interview.
