Cultures & Locales
Pacific Northwest
Seattle (& Surrounding Areas), Washington, USA
Music
- Debacle Fest 2013, Seattle (#27) Mixtape Download & Stream Posted by: Samuel Melancon
Seattle-based label Debacle Records celebrates its sixth annual Debacle Festival taking place May, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The three-day event showcases national and local electronic, drone, noise, techno, improvised, metal and synth musicians.
- SXSW 2013 Picks: Official & Unofficial SXSW Showcases, Parties, and Bands Posted by: Vivian Hua
As it is every year around this time of year, the music party that needs no introduction is upon us. For SXSW 2013, in addition to our own annual psych and dance-oriented house party (this year’s is called FEEL YOU and comes with a handy-dandy mixtape), we’ve gone through and written up our top picks [...]
Visual Art
- Stacey Rozich's Within Without Me & Roq La Rue Gallery's New Space! Posted by: Vivian Hua
Roq La Rue Gallery has spent more than the last decade bringing fine artists from Seattle and abroad into their modest space in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. But come April 28th, 2013, their Belltown location will be closed forever — sadly dampening the appeal of the neighborhood’s last favorable drag — and will be joining Pioneer [...] - Debacle Fest 2013, Seattle (#27) Mixtape Download & Stream Posted by: Samuel Melancon
Seattle-based label Debacle Records celebrates its sixth annual Debacle Festival taking place May, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The three-day event showcases national and local electronic, drone, noise, techno, improvised, metal and synth musicians.
Related: BELLINGHAM ARTISTS + BELLINGHAM MUSICIANS + SEATTLE ARTISTS + SEATTLE MUSICIANS + OLYMPIA ARTISTS + OLYMPIA MUSICIANS
Portland (& Surrounding Areas), Oregon, USA
Music
- Grouper (Liz Harris) Live Show Review Posted by: Jason Simpson
Grouper is a dark star of the Portland experimental scene. She hardly needs any introduction, but her records have hypnotized international audiences for years, yet she remains somewhat aloof from the local music scene. She DOES pop up, from time to time, making sporadic and memorable appearances, often times at small, inexpensive events. Saturday [...] - FEEL YOU (#25) SXSW 2013 Unofficial House Party Mixtape Posted by: Gina Altamura
An oasis for mythic musics at SXSW 2013, FEEL YOU is all about creating clarity, harmony and POSI VIBES in an oft-overwhelming week of chaos. Our focus is on music that muddles introspective psychedelia with exuberant dance, so expect revelry and epiphanies.
Visual Art
- Boomarm Nation's Deep Listening Mixtape (#22) Stream & Download Posted by: Vivian Hua
Ambient, dub, psychedelic, minimal, and experimental tracks, with reference points in the global and otherworldly, will submerge listeners in a hypnotic world that stresses meaningful listening experiences over mindless fleeting ones.
- TBA Festival 2012: Terrifying Women Live Performance Review Posted by: Matt Henderson
Tuesday’s late night TBA fare began with a bang at Washington High School with Terrifying Women. The ambiguously advertised event promised “a video, comedy, performance, live, streaming, extravaganza” featuring Sarah Johnson, Kathleen Keogh, Angela Fair, Tanya Smith, Wendy Haynes, Diana Joy and Alicia McDaid. SEE FULL PERFORMANCE REVIEW It’s worth including an excerpt from the [...]
Related: PORTLAND ARTISTS + PORTLAND MUSICIANS
Urban Areas
Music
- ERAAS - "Crescent" / "Ghost" Music Videos Posted by: Vivian Hua
The music video for “Crescent” is a bizarre piece of work, minimal and almost Lynchian in feel, without much going on save for slow movements and small textural or geometric changes. Directed by Nick Criscuolo, it opens with what look like paintings roaring, like unbridled fires, to be followed by the slow morphing between some [...] - SXSW 2013 Picks: Official & Unofficial SXSW Showcases, Parties, and Bands Posted by: Vivian Hua
As it is every year around this time of year, the music party that needs no introduction is upon us. For SXSW 2013, in addition to our own annual psych and dance-oriented house party (this year’s is called FEEL YOU and comes with a handy-dandy mixtape), we’ve gone through and written up our top picks [...]
Visual Art
- Saya Woolfalk Artist Interview: The Possibility Of All Kinds Of Mixing Posted by: Rachel Hays
“When you come in, I want you to be in a world — but it’s our world.”
- Saya Woolfalk's Hallucinatory Chimeras: The Empathics Posted by: Vivian Hua
Multi-faceted artist Saya Woolfalk is burning hallucinatory fires up and down both coasts the beginning of 2013, with dual shows in NYC and Portland. Three-dimensional or two-dimensional, still structure or moving image, Woolfalk navigates it all like a Play-Doh wizard gone haywire or a visionary artist on acid. Her latest solo show, Chimera, is a [...]
Related: BROOKLYN ARTISTS + BROOKLYN MUSICIANS + NEW YORK ARTISTS + NEW YORK MUSICIANS
Music
- !!! (Chk Chk Chk) - Thri!!!er Album Review Posted by: Judy Nelson
!!! Thri!!!er Warp Records !!! are by definition FUN. Once you move past the confusion of how you pronounce their band name (it’s “Chk Chk Chk”), you realize that it just adds an extra emphasis on maximum excitement. Their musical goal in life is to get you pumped, get your body moving, and maybe even [...] - Barn Owl Live Show Review (Thrill Jockey Records' 20th Anniversary Show) Posted by: Vivian Hua
Barn Owl’s 2011 release, Lost In The Glare, was an instant love for me and earned a deep place in my heart with hardly any effort at all. I had been longing to see the Northern California duo since, and during the wait, my expectations had been growing higher. In early November, Thrill Jockey Records [...]
Visual Art
- tUnE-yArDs - "Bizness" + "My Country" Music Videos (w/ Director Mimi Cave's Q&A) Posted by: Vivian Hua
The music video for tUnE-yArDs’ “Bizness” fluttered through the internet as a colorful extension of main lady Merrill Garbus’ long-standing style of bridging movement, geometric facepaint, and playful insanity. It was Garbus’ first video to reach the extreme masses, and it, along with the music video for “My Country”, were directed by San Francisco’s Mimi [...] - Alexis Arnold Artist Interview: Crystalizing The Present Posted by: Vivian Hua
“Time (and its physical/visual presence) is an ever-present concept in my work, as well as a large factor in crystal growth.”
Music
- FIELDED - Ninety Thirty Thirty Album Review & Full Album Stream Posted by: Elizabeth Perry
FIELDED Ninety Thirty Thirty Captcha Records When composing her second album, Lindsey Anne Powell of FIELDED wanted to make vocals the star, while getting back in touch with her “deepest love for Pop music”. In Ninety Thirty Thirty, the soulful yet edgy singer-songwriter does both those things beautifully, blending the best elements of futuristic, experimental [...] - Bleep: Kistune Releases From Gigamesh & Plastic Plates, John Talabot & Pional Collaborate Posted by: Vivian Hua
Bleep is a column focusing on varying degrees of electronic music news, videos and MP3s. In this post, Kitsune shows off disco house singles from Gigamesh and Plastic Plates, and we quickly look at the John Talabot and Pional collaborations from earlier this year. ++ SEE: FULL POST + BLEEP POSTS or MUSIC COLUMNS Gigamesh [...]
Visual Artists
- I and I: A Collective Interview With Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, Tony Lowe & The Congos Posted by: Troy Micheau
“You talk about the mystic quality to [the record], and you go [to Jamaica], and that’s everywhere.” – M. Geddes Gengras
- Temporary Colors By Brice Bischoff + Clouded Rooms by Berndnaut Smilde and Ryan Hopkinson Posted by: Vivian Hua
Art expertly captured in the most fleeting of moments. European artists Berndnaut Smilde and Ryan Hopkinson manufacture weather for some truly awesome temporary installations. Berndnaut Smilde Hanging high up in the skies above us, we often forget that clouds are real things made out of materials and circumstances that are very much present in [...]
States & Provinces
- 2011 Year-End Respect For Album Cover Art: Digital Illustration, Drawing, Design Posted by: Admin
Our third-annual album cover art feature uses interviews with artists and musicians to highlight the philosophical, thematic, and conceptual significance of great album cover artwork. THE BREAKDOWN 12 Collage + 14 Digital Illustration, Drawing, Design + 19 Illustration, Painting, Drawing + 8 Black And White Photography + 22 Color Photography + 6 Deluxe Packaging [...] - Secret Cities Band Interview Posted by: Admin
“… Brian Wilson became the central figure in my writing — sort of an easy place to start in sorting through the intense emotions of that breakup and the process of making music.” – Charlie Gokey
- Zebras - Parasitic Clones Under The Strong Arm Of The Robotic Machine Album Review Posted by: Thad McKraken
Madison, Wisconsin’s Zebras play a peppy brand of chops-heavy sci-fi/dance punk, which I found myself enjoying thoroughly but ultimately not really connecting with entirely. There are some good ideas going on here, mainly in the form of keyboards and instrumental proficiency. These guys can obviously play, so I found myself oft wondering why they were [...]
- Fourth Annual NYC Food Film Festival! Posted by: Vivian Hua
The fourth annual NYC Food Film Festival is taking place this year, from June 23rd to June 27th! Considering NYC is such a foodie town, it certainly makes sense that there’d be a food-centered film festival there. Here’s the lineup as of right now: Beer Wars Dir. Anat Baron – 90 mins website An amazing journey [...]
- Forgotten Gems & Dusty Classics: Mississippi Joe Callicott, Fred Neil, Bix Beiderbecke, Oscar Aleman, Karen Dalton Posted by: Zeb Larson
Amassing rare and forgotten music is a peculiar sort of hobby — one that slowly transforms into an addiction. Here are five lesser-known musicians that I believe everybody should give a listen to, dating as far back as the 1920s and focusing on jazz, folk, and blues.
- AyeAyeAye Tapes Escapes Soundscapes Mixtape (#23) Stream & Download Posted by: Vivian Hua
While thousands of miles are covered, some of our favorite jams from friends will send ripples from our ears to your toes and cripple all bummer vibes to a pulp. All bands on this mix are friends, favorites, and/or involved in current or future releases with Aye Aye Aye Tapes Escapes.
- Entheo Sounds Launches Psychedelic Record Store, NYE With Silver Apples! Posted by: Vivian Hua
Yesterday, a psychedelic record shop called Entheo Sound launched. They have a bunch of things they’re doing to kick it off: - A limited edition screenprint will be shipped with orders over $200, while supplies last. Or you can buy it separately for $16. The prints are 3-color and designed by Rob Fitzpatrick; they are [...]
- House Of Commons SXSW 2011 Mixtape (#8) Stream & Download Posted by: Admin
The bookers of three of this year’s House of Commons — STAY POSI NO FUTURE, GARAGE_PSYCH_DANCE, and SUX BY SUXWEST — have curated this mixtape. Though all three events are fairly different, they overlap in noise and experimental sounds.
- Work In Zion National Park -- At The Government's Expense! Posted by: Vivian Hua
Application deadline for this amazing potential offer just got extended to November 7th, 2009, which gives you about a week to get your stuff prepared! For an application fee of just $35, you might have the opportunity to hop onto this and work in the desert for two separate sessions in 2010. Oh yes, you [...] - Deuce 7 at BLVD Gallery Posted by: Vivian Hua
It’s been a while since an artist has completely blown my mind — especially in the urban art and illustration world — but Deuce 7‘s work did just that. They feature fantastically whispy lines, bright colors, and figures that walk the fine line between abstract and realistic. His pieces are somewhat juvenile like a child’s [...]
Countries
- West African Masquerade Photos. Posted by: Vivian Hua
These photos are quite old, but they’re new to me. Photographer Phyllis Galembo takes colorful portraits of individuals in developing countries and captures the richness and beauty in their everyday dress and surroundings. These photos are large-scale color images capturing ritual adornment in Nigeria, Benin and Burkina Faso. Here are my favorites, but you can [...]
- West African Masquerade Photos. Posted by: Vivian Hua
These photos are quite old, but they’re new to me. Photographer Phyllis Galembo takes colorful portraits of individuals in developing countries and captures the richness and beauty in their everyday dress and surroundings. These photos are large-scale color images capturing ritual adornment in Nigeria, Benin and Burkina Faso. Here are my favorites, but you can [...]
Taoism
Daft Punk
Friedrich Nietzsche
Karl Marx
Bjork
Dante Alighieri
Hayao Miyazaki
Haruki MurakamiRelated: JAPAN
- Decibel Festival 2012: Robert Henke, Biosphere, The Sight Below Live Show Review (Optical Series) Posted by: Peter Woodburn
Now in its tenth year, Seattle’s Decibel Festival has grown from a tiny electronic celebration to a world-renowned music festival without sacrificing attention to detail along the way. From fabric wristbands to the notable lack of corporate sponsors — save for ones that directly affect the electronic music scene in some way — Decibel has [...]
Ingmar Bergman
Salvador Dali
Pablo Picasso
Carl Jung
Hermann Hesse
Andy Goldsworthy
Banksy- HealeyIsland - On Ponzi Bridge Album Review Posted by: Jason Simpson
HealeyIsland On Ponzi Bridge White Label Music Frances Fukuyama’s book The End Of History, published in 1992, went directly against Jacques Derrida’s Spectres of Marx, predicting the global triumph of Capitalism and of the Spectacle. Greg Healey’s music, as HealeyIsland, is the soundtrack of sprawling shopping complexes and virtual dating sites. This is the world [...] - Haiku Salut - Tricolore Album Review Posted by: Elizabeth Perry
Haiku Salut Tricolore How Does It Feel To Be Loved? (2013) Unless you closely follow the little known — but still robust — musical sub-genre of folktronica, Haiku Salut’s Tricolore will likely be unlike anything you’ve heard before. In their full-length debut, Haiku Salut — made up of musicians Gemma Barkerwood, Sophie Barkerwood, and Louise [...] - James Blake, FaltyDL Live Show Review Posted by: Erik Burg
When a concert at Portland venue Wonder Ballroom manages to sell out weeks in advance of the show, it can only mean one thing: the most zeitgeisty of artists must be coming to town. And sure enough, when it was announced that James Blake would be making his second appearance in as many years at [...]
- Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) 2013 Preview: Films We're Looking At Potentially Being Excited About Posted by: Allen Huang
Due the unfortunate fact that we are merely human and Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is just beginning its three-week film rampage, we’ve sifted through the Festival’s gigantic catalog to come up with the best films of the bunch — or so we suspect. SIFF is annually guaranteed to have a mixture of some of [...] - Dana Popa Artist Interview: Uncovering The Intimate Details of Sex Trafficking Posted by: Vivian Hua
“I decided to try and get a closer look at sex trafficking and record what it means for the women to survive sexual slavery. I chose to have a glimpse of their souls — which at the time seemed very difficult to do… I wanted to look at their traces — at what women who had disappeared for years and who are believed to be trafficked and sexually enslaved leave behind.” - Dana Popa
- Leah Gordon's Kanaval Takes A Photographic Look At Haiti's Carnival Via Mythology, History & Oral Traditions Posted by: Vivian Hua
Lansè Kòd (The Rope Throwers) 1996 Every year, Carnaval comes and goes across the entire world, tantalizing everyone with its fanciful costuming and celebratory antics. But beyond the tourist circuit of Carnival lies another Carnival, in locales with a connection closer to the festival’s origins. Haiti is one of many countries that celebrates Carnival at [...]
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