More than enough ink both real and virtual has been spilled on Iggy Pop throughout his ridiculously influential and lengthy musical career, and with the legend turning 70 next month, we should all enjoy him for as long as he’s here to kick ass. Additionally more than enough ink both real and virtual has been spilled on Metallica; so instead of discussing backstory and biography, I’ll say this: Metallica is currently on tour to support their latest album, 2016’s Hardwired . . . To Self-Destruct, and while on a several night run in Mexico City with Iggy Pop as an opener, the members of Metallica invited the legend on stage to play The Stooges’ “T.V. Eye.”
Category: Live Footage
Live Footage: Rachel K. Collier Performs New Single “Paper Tiger”
With today being International Women’s Day, I felt it was appropriate and necessary to spend some portion of the day both here and on Twitter honoring the female artists, musicians and producers I’ve written about throughout the site’s history and to writing about new (and sometimes, firmly established) female artists, producers throughout the day as much as humanly possible.
Rachel K. Collier is a accomplished Swansea, Wales, UK-born, London-based singer/songwriter and producer, who has quickly achieved both commercial and critical success across the UK. Collier is credited as a co-writer or producer or several chart-topping, smash hits including Ray Foxx’s “Boom Boom (Heartbeat),” which peaked at nubmer 12 on the UK Singles chart back in 2013; Mat Zo’s Grammy-nomiated album Damage Control, which peaked at number 1 on the iTunes Dance Album charts; and on legendary garage producer Wookie’s comeback single “2 Us.” As a solo artist, she recorded a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s “Hard Road to Travel,” which landed at number 79 on the UK Singles chart, and her debut original single “Predictions” was named Sarah Jane Crawford’s “Smash of the Week” on the radio personality’s BBC Radio 1Xtra show. Collier has also received airplay and praise from the likes of Annie Nightingale, Capitol Xtra, Tiësto and Oliver Heldons.
Building upon a growing national profile, Collier released her self-produced, debut EP Words You Never Heard through Love and Other records in late 2015 and followed that up with “Ships,” a single she released during the last few months of 2016. “Paper Tiger,” Collier’s first single of 2017 and the single features a slick yet unfussy, dance floor-friendly production consisting of wobbling low end, twinkling synths and stuttering drum programming, enormous tweeter and woofer rocking beats, and a chopped up vocal sample paired with a rousingly anthemic hook; but interestingly, Collier’s production manages to be roomy enough for her swaggering, cocky vocals.
Live Footage: Fufanu Live on KEXP
Over the past couple of months here, I’ve written quite a bit about the Reykjavik, Iceland-based indie rock/post-punk trio Fufanu. The trio, which is currently comprised of founding members Kaktus Einarsson (vocals, guitar), whose father Einar, was a member of The Sugarcaubes and Guðlaugur “Gulli” Einarsson (guitar, programming) (no relation, by the way) along with Erling Bang (drums) can trace their origins to when the band’s founding members met while at school. According to the band’s founding duo, Katkus had glanced at Gulli’s iTunes and noticed that they had listened to a lot of the same techno and electronic music. And after quickly bonding over mutual interests, the duo went into a studio and began writing and recording electronic music under the name Captain Fufanu. Within a month of their formation, Kaktus Einarsson and Gulli Einarsson had started playing shows in and around Reykjavik.
Building on a growing local profile, the duo went into the studio to record what would be their full-length debut as Captain Fufanu; but in a strange twist of fate, the studio where Kaktus Einarsson and Gulli Einarsson had recorded the album was burgled. And as a result, the album was presumed lost. Instead of trying to recall the material they initially wrote from memory, Kaktus Einarsson and Gulli Einarsson decided that the moment was a perfect time for them to completely reinvent their sound. Interestingly, as that happened, Katkus was in London working on Damon Albarn’s Everyday Robots and touring with Bobby Womack when he began writing lyrics. Simultaneously Gulli had started to create a revised sound, which according to Kaktus Einarsson managed to coney exactly what he had been thinking. The duo then added guitars and drums, along with Kaktus’ brooding and detached vocals — and with their revised sound, renamed themselves Fufanu.
Their first live set with their new sound and aesthetic was at Iceland Airwaves and they quickly became one of the most talked about bands of the entire festival. Building upon the buzz they had received, they went into the studio their full-length debut A Few More Days To Go. And with the release of their debut, the duo received a rapidly growing national and international profile as they toured with a number of internationally renowned acts including The Vaccines and have played at JaJaJa Festival. With their recently released sophomore effort Sports, Kaktus and Gulli recruited Erling “Elli” Bang (drums) to further flesh out their sound as they expanded upon it and its thematic direction.
Now, you may recall that I’ve written about the first two singles off the Icelandic trio’s recently released sophomore effort Sports — the album’s title track “Sports,” which retained the synth-driven sound that first captured national and international attention while pairing it with a tight, motorik-like groove reminiscent of Can, Neu! Joy Division and early ’80s Peter Gabriel (in particular, think of Peter Gabriel 3 and Security) along with live instrumentation, which gives the material both an organic feel and a forcefulness — and “Liability,” which while continuing in a similar vein was a bit more slow-burning. Both singles possessed a murky and enigmatic air, they point at the soul-crushing mundanity and drudgery of daily life but just under the surface there’s the broiling frustration and resentment of someone who’s desperate to break free — and not sure how to do so without some recrimination.
Last year, the members of the band were on KEXP and the set included live versions of “Circus Life” and “Now” off their full-length debut Few More Days to Go along with “Sports” and then-unreleased single “Bad Rockets” off the recently released Sports. And while being fairly straightforward renditions of the material, the KEXP set will give you a sense of their intense and live set, a live set that frequently includes Kaktus Einarsson storming, strutting and stomping about the stage, alternating between being menacing and playful and so on. During this set, Kaktus throws his monitor headphones off his head and on to the floor, to headbang and stomp about as Gulli plays a furious and blistering solo. Just from this particular footage, I’m hoping that the Icelandic act will play a set or two here in NYC.
Live Footage: Xylouris White Performing “Foraging” at Dublin’s Guerrilla Sounds
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the last few months of last year, you’ve come across a couple of posts on genre-defying, world music duo Xylouris White. The duo, comprised of of Melbourne, Australia-born, New York-based drummer Jim White, who’s best known as a member of the internationally acclaimed instrumental rock act Dirty Three and for collaborating with a number of equally renowned artists including PJ Harvey, Nina Nastasia, Cat Power, Bill Callahan a.k.a. Smog and others; and beloved Crete-born vocalist and laouto player Giorgos Xylouris, the son of renowned vocalist and lyra player Psarantonis Xylouris, and who is best known best known for leading the Xylouris Ensemble.
Interestingly, the duo can actually trace their origins to when the renowned Cretan and his ensemble was touring Melbourne in the early 1990s. At the time, White was a member of Melbourne, Australia-based avant rock band Venom P. Stinger when he had met and befriended Xylouris, who would later collaborate with the members of Dirty Three whenever he was in Australia. This turned out to be a rather fruitful collaboration, primarily based on the long-held admiration and influence both the legendary Cretan and Giorgos Xylouris had on the Australian trio’s sound and compositional approach.
Strangely, although White and Xylouris had been friends for more than 20 years, it wasn’t until 2013 that they decided to collaborate together, a process which was accelerated when White played with Xylouris and Psaradonis at a Nick Cave curated All Tomorrow’s Parties festival. And perhaps unsurprisingly, the duo’s long-held admiration has managed to influence how the duo write, record and perform together, and in some way, the duo’s compositions manage to sound as though they were dancing within their compositions, as though at any given point, one instrument could be accompanying the other, or leading the other — frequently in a fluid, almost anything goes fashion. In fact, Xylouris and White’s debut effort together Goats was largely influenced by Xylouris’ poetic analogy for their creative approach — “Like goats walking in the mountain. They may not know the place, but they can walk easily and take risks and feel comfortable. Really, the goats inspired us.”
The duo’s sophomore album Black Peak furthers their goat analogy, as the album’s title is derived from one of Crete’s most famous mountains; however, the album, which was “recorded everywhere,” as Xylouris jokes in press notes and produced by Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto, has the duo expanding upon their sound while simultaneously giving a subtly modern take on traditional sounds and motifs. You may recall that at the end of last yer, I wrote about album title track “Black Peak,” a rollocking and stomping number in which the members of the duo push, pull, lead and follow in an intricate composition. The album’s latest single “Foraging” continues on a similar vein as the proceeding single, as it displays Xylouris’ dexterous, almost rock ‘n’ roll-like louto playing, reminiscent of the violin section in The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly,” White’s explosive, polyrhythmic drumming paired with Xylouris’ sonorous and soulful vocals singing in Greek.
The recently released some live footage that will give you a sense of the duo’s live set and their undeniably, forceful simpatico in which both members intuitively know when to lead and when to follow; it’s simply amazing to watch.
New Video: Introducing the Classic Country and Early Rock-Inspired Sound of Laura Jean Anderson
Laura Jean Anderson is an Olympia, WA-born, Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter and guitarist who has started to receive attention for a sound and aesthetic that draws from classic country, 40s-50s blues and garage rock but with a subtly modern take, serving as a gentle reminder that earnest and personal songwriting may be more necessary than ever in the dark days that seem to be ahead of us. Anderson’s latest single “Won’t Give Up” features the Los Angeles, CA-based singer/songwriter’s gorgeous and expressive Patsy Cline/June Carter Cash-like vocals paired in a relatively simple arrangement of Anderson’s gently strummed electric guitar, and the addition of a gently propulsive rhythm section, which enters for the song’s anthemic and soaring hook. And although the song sounds as though it could have been released in 1956 or so, the Olympia, WA-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter explains in press notes, a “response to what’s going on in the political and social climate.” She goes on to say that she wanted to release the song “as fuel to the belief that you can’t give up on other people, just because they give up on you. It’s a deeply personal song, but I believe more than ever that the personal is political!”
Certainly, the song should remind the listener of the cliched adage that “no man is an island” and that most importantly, in these strange times, the universe can create some rather strange bedfellows. We’re going to have to rely on each other more than ever. So don’t give up; the fight is going to be long and tiring, but worthwhile in the end.
Live Footage: See Roger Waters Savage Donald Trump During a Live Performance of “Pigs (Three Different Ones)”
Interestingly enough, Roger Waters posted the live official video of a performance of “Pigs (Three Different Ones),” recorded when Donald Trump was the Republican presidential nominee and while Waters was in Mexico City for a series of gigs playing his classic and beloved material — and it’s an incendiary performance with artist-made images of Trump toting a machine gun outside the White House, giving the Nazi salute and surrounding himself with Ku Klux Klan members. And the performance ended with Waters co-opting the phrase that went viral among Mexicans and other Latinos across the world “Trump Eres Un Pendejo,” which translates to “Trump, you’re an asshole.” It’s a witheringly savage takedown of someone, who needs to be taken down as much as humanly possible and as often as possible.
New Video: Monolord’s Punishing Yet Shoegazer Take on Doom Metal
If you’ve been frequenting this site over the course of last year, you might remember a post on Gothenburg, Sweden-based doom metal trio Monolord. Comprised of Thomas Jäger, Esben Willems, and Mika Häkki, the Swedish metal trio can […]
Throwback: David Bowie/Happy Birthday, David!
The JOVM pays tribute to David Bowie on what would have been his 70th birthday.
New Video: Renowned Riot Grrrl Act Sleater-Kinney to Release a Blistering, Live Album from Paris
Currently comprised of founding members Corin Tucker (vocals, guitar), Carrie Brownstein (guitar, vocals) and Janet Weiss (drums), the Olympia, WA-based indie rock trio Sleater-Kinney was initially formed as a side project from its founding members then-primary projects — Tucker was a member of renowned and influential riot grrl act Heavens to Betsy while Brownstein was a member of Excuse 17. And when Tucker and Brownstein’s primary projects broke up, Sleater-Kinney quickly became its founding duo’s new focus. And through the release of their first seven full-length efforts, 1995’s self-titled debut, 1996’s Call the Doctor, 1997’s Dig Me Out, 1999’s The Hot Rock, 2000’s Hands on the Bad One, 2002’s One Beat and 2005’s The Woods the band developed a reputation for material based around feminist and left-leaning politics — and for being among one of the more influential and beloved acts of their era. Interestingly enough, I can still remember at least reading at least one music journalist, who wrote an article expressing her devastation upon hearing about Sleater -Kinney’s largely unexpected split up back in 2006.
And upon Sleater-Kinney’s breakup, the members of the trio went on to pursue a number of creative pursuits. Weiss, who is also a member of Quasi, joined her bandmate Joanna Bolme for a stint in Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, recording two albums with the band 2008’s Emotional Trash and 2011’s Mirror Traffic. Tucker wrote and released two solo albums, 2010’s 1,000 Years and 2012’s Kill My Blues, which featured Unwound’s Sara Lund and Golden Bears’ and Circus Lupus’ Seth Lorinczi as her backing band. Brownstein formed Wild Flag, which featured her Sleater-Kinney bandmate Weiss along with The Minders’ Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole, a project that released a critically applauded debut effort before splitting up in 2014. And adding to a busy and prolific period of creativity for each of the band’s members, Brownstein along with co-creator and co-star Fred Armisen created the critically applauded IFC series Portlandia, which will start its seventh season on Thursday.
In October 2014, Tucker, Brownstein and Weiss announced that they had reconvened after several years pursuing a variety of projects to write and record their most recent studio album, 2015’s No Cities to Love, which was released to great fanfare and then followed by a tour across North America and Western Europe. Along with the release of the Start Together box set, the Pacific Northwest-based trio confidently reminded critics, fans and others of their importance, relevance and influence on a a number of contemporary band and artists.
Speaking of 2015’s North American and Western European tour, Sub Pop Records will be releasing a live album, Live in Paris on January 27, 2017 and the album consists of a live set recorded at La Cigale on March 20, 2015 — and the first single from the live album is a blistering, furious and incredibly passionate rendition of “Surface Envy,” which is accompanied by live footage lovingly shot by fans over the years. And from the live footage one thing is obvious, these ladies take names and kick serious ass.
Throwback: Echo and the Bunnymen Live at Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Live footage of Echo and the Bunnymen live at Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
Throwback: Tinariwen Live at the Bataclan, November 2016
Over the past few days, as 2016 was coming to a close, I had been looking a bit back at the past when I stumbled across this live footage of Tinariwen performing at the Bataclan in Paris, back in November.
Live Footage: A Place to Bury Strangers in St. Petersburg Russia and Santiago Chile
Currently comprised of Oliver Ackermann (guitars and vocals), Dion Lunadon (bass) and Robi Gonzalez (drums), the Brooklyn-based trio of A Place to Bury Strangers have a long-held reputation for a moody, atmospheric Wall of Sound-influenced sound which effortlessly meshes elements of psych rock, shoegaze, space rock and noise rock in a way that owes a profound debt to The Jesus and Mary Chain and others — and for one of most explosive, feedback-filled, punishingly loud live shows around, while being shrouded in strobe light and smoke machine fog. Recently, a Twitter follower had retweeted a recent post — of which I’m eternally grateful — and I began telling him about several bands with a similar sound, including A Place to Bury Strangers.
Now, there’s quite bit of live footage of the Brooklyn-based trio shot by fans and professionals alike, as well as several live sessions for renowned Seattle-based indie station KEXP; but in my opinion the best live footage I’ve come across was a live show in St. Petersburg, Russia shot by Musicserf Magazine in 2013, which includes “Deadbeat,” “Don’t Go,” “Ego Death,” “I Know I’ll See You,” “Missing You,” “Mind Control,” “Drill It Up,” “I’m So Clean,” “You Are The One,” “Keep Slipping Away,” and set closer “I Lived My Life to Stand in the Shadow of Your Heart.” The second video was shot at Bar Loreto in Santiago, Chile last year (presumably) and features the band performing “Fear,” “Deeper,” “I Live My Life to Stand in the Shadow of Your Heart” and “Wild Animal.”
After you’ve viewed the footage, you’ll see why the Brooklyn-based trio is one of my favorite live bands to see and to shoot.
Live Footage: Up-and-Coming, French Producer Zimmer Performs “Lost Your Mind”
With the release of a string of high-profile remixes of MØ, Vallis Alps, Gallant, Fakear and others, and his first two original singles “Galapagos” and “Saturday Love,” the Paris-based producer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Zimmer quickly established himself as part of a new crop of Paris-based producers and electronic music artists including fellow labelmates Darius, FKJ and Kartell, who have been busily redefining French electronic music — sonically, thematically and lyrically.
Zimmer’s 2015 EP Coming of Age may have arguably been his breakthrough effort, as the material possessed a refined, minimalist sound with songs that oscillated between euphoria and nostalgia. However, the up-and-coming French producer’s recently released EP Ceremony reportedly finds him further expanding upon his sound as the material draws from downtempo electro pop, dream pop and dance floor-friendly house music — sometimes simultaneously as you’ll hear on the EP’s latest single “Lost Your Mind,” which features ethereal guest vocals from Fhin paired with shimmering cascades of undulating synths, twinkling keys, warm blasts of guitar and propulsive beats. Sonically speaking, the song is somewhat reminiscent of In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy and of Moonbabies’ gorgeous Wizards on the Beach.
Recently, the French producer released live footage of him with Fhin performing the song surrounded by mood-setting lights.
Live Footage: Yasiin Bey at the Apollo Theater
When dear friends move away, it often means that you don’t see them as often as you’d like — and if you’re as much of a workaholic as I am, it often means that you […]
Live Footage: Sylvan Esso Performs “Radio” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”
Comprised of Mountain Man’s Amelia Heath (vocals, synths) and Megafaun’s Nick Sanborn (synths, programming, production) electro pop duo Sylvan Esso dominated the blogosphere two years ago — and in turn, became a JOVM mainstay for a sound that paired Heath’s coquettish vocals with a slick and somewhat sparse production featuring propulsive and undulating grooves, shimmering synths and big, tweeter and woofer beats that frequently made the material on their self titled debut sound as though it drew from the likes of Rubblebucket, Beacon and others.
Heath and Sanborn will be releasing their forthcoming sophomore full-length effort later this year, and the album’s latest single “Radio” has long been a staple of their live shows and a fan favorite. The song may arguably be the most brash song they’ve released while being a refinement and expansion of the sound that first caught attention as Heath’s sultry vocals are paired with a slickly propulsive and dance floor-friendly production consisting of layers of cascading synths, wobbling low end and stuttering drum programming. And as a result the song sounds as though it were nodding at Soft Metals‘ swooning and sensual Lenses and Giorgio Moroder.
Check out some live footage of the duo performing “Radio” on The Tonight Show Staring Jimmy Fallon. From watching it, it should give you a sense of what their live sets would be live, as they perform in front of an enormous countdown clock.