Music Features - music art film review

Tape Recorder And Synthesizer Ensemble (T.R.A.S.E.) Musician Interview: Uncovering a 30-Year-Old Project

"When I left school, there were three things I wanted to do before I die. Work for the BBC, work for myself doing the job I love, and record and release an album. Until December last year, I'd settled for two out of three. Now, it is with a deep sense of irony, I have...

Dec 17

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by Jason Simpson

Lumerians Band Interview: Exploring The High Frontier’s Internal and External Territories

"For us, music is about exploration. We may start down a traveled path, but our real objective is to discover what is beyond. We're no retro-fetishists, but it seems like the future used to be more boundless and inspired." - Marc Melzer, Bassist & Vocalist of Lumerians

Dec 12

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by Ian King

Top Albums of the Year 2013: Staff Picks

Out with the old, no matter how good it is! Here’s our comprehensive list of Top Albums of the Year 2013, schizophrenic as always to reflect the diverse tastes of our staff, though there is some overlap. It’s highly recommended you check out every release here, as each has its own creative strengths.

Dec 9

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by Vivian Hua

Jimmy Edgar Artist Interview: Building Rainbow-Colored Bridges Between Music, Aesthetics & Metaphysical Ideas

“We read a lot of books on meditation – a lot of books on magic, numerology, astropsychology; quantum physics… and one thing that we always find is that the visuals are always really cheesy... so we feel that we have this duty to create this space or domain of knowing that has a really interesting...

Dec 2

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by Vivian Hua

The Belle Game – River Music Video (w/ Band & Director Interviews in 日本語 & English)

After their collaboration on The Belle Game’s first music video proved natural and compelling in narrative, director Kheaven Levandowski and the band decided to once again work together on the music video for "River", from their debut album, Ritual Tradition Habit. Much less upbeat than the previous track, "River"'s finds its setting moving from Western...

Nov 18

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by Vivian Hua

Iceland Airwaves 2013 Festival Preview: Managing an Overwhelming Schedule of Icelandic & International Musicians

Iceland Airwaves started back in 1999 in an airport hangar outside of Reykjavik. Since then, it has grown into one of Europe’s premiere music festivals, showcasing the insane amounts of musical talent coming from the land of few people and many sheep. Each year, the festival curates some of the best up-and-coming international talent to...

Oct 25

196

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by Peter Woodburn

The Body – To Attempt Openness Music Video (w/ Band & Alexander Barton Artist Interview)

This audio-visual collaboration between Portland-based avant-garde metal outfit, The Body, and NYC mixed media artist Alexander Barton has been a long time coming, a homage to an enduring friendship. Combining their mutual shared interest in intensity, abstraction, and religious themes, the music video for “To Attempt Oneness” pits The Body’s guttural, distorted screams and noisy,...

Oct 25

328

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by Vivian Hua

CMJ Music Marathon 2013 Live Show Review & Festival Recap: Caveman, Grandchildren, Porcelain Raft, Speedy Ortiz, More

CMJ Music Marathon 2013 yet again saw a convergence of hundreds of bands and thousands of fans on the clubs of the Lower East Side, East Village, and Williamsburg in New York City. Coincidentally, many of the bands we were most looking forward to were female-fronted (Speedy Ortiz, Eternal Summers, Hunters), and they did not...Read...

Oct 24

115

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by Devorah Klein

China’s Indie Music Scene: Transforming Contemporary Chinese Culture From The Bottom Up // 中国独立音乐现状剖析：从底层跃升并改变中国当代文化

Hidden beneath the gargantuan, State-driven China that is emphasized over-and-over again in news coverage lies an artistic day-to-day that few people see. As in any developing country, China has become a breeding ground for new and often innovative ideas – and included in that are an increasing number of musicians searching for their own identities....

Oct 18

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by Vivian Hua

Moodoïd – Je Suis la Montagne Music Video (w/ Band & Director Interviews in French & English)

In the music video for “Je Suis la Montagne”, psychedelic art rockers Moodoïd have collaborated with director Jérôme Walter Gueguen a true work of surrealist-inspired art. With a relatively minimal budget and ample film school training, they’ve turned childhood recollections of mountains into a Magritte-coloured world of soil-covered faces and tasteful (as well as tasty)...Read...

Sep 27

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by Vivian Hua