#soundsgood : Erik Hassle

As an early Christmas present the ever special ERIK HASSLE has released a brand new remix of his comeback single ‘Talk About It’ by the Toronto based produced DEEBS. The deepest bass, scatty hi-hats and minimal Morse-code synths really give this track an exciting new edge but also keeps the soulfulness from the original right where it needs to be. Take a listen here and bask in its' greatness.

Download "Talk About It" here: smarturl.it/TalkAboutIt?iqid=bcr

Connect with ERIK HASSLE:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erikhassle

Twitter: https://twitter.com/erikhassle

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/erikhassle

Official site: http://www.erikhassle.com/

#TOURNEWS: GOLDFRAPP - ANNOUNCE UK TOUR FOR MARCH - APRIL 2014

Following their sold-out and critically acclaimed European tour Goldfrapp announce a UK tour for March and April 2014.

The band’s recent dates, which included a sell out tour of major European cities, including a show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, drew a series of fantastic reviews with the Evening Standard calling the show “thrilling” and The Guardian hailing the band’s performance as “majestic”. 

2013 has seen Goldfrapp play a series of highly diverse shows around the world in support of their latest Top 5 album ‘Tales Of Us’, from the Manchester International Festival to headlining Lovebox. These performances have cemented the band’s reputation as one of the most enthralling and inventive live performers around.

In addition to releasing ‘Tales Of Us’ Alison Goldfrapp has been busy curating her first ever art exhibition which opened at The Lowry gallery in Salford in October and runs through to next March. This is the first exhibition within The Lowry¹s new ‘Performer As Curator’ series, and shows artwork Alison has selected from international collections. For more information, please click here

UK TOUR DATES:

26 March       Birmingham Symphony Hall

27 March       Manchester The Lowry

29 March       Brighton       Dome

30 March       Portsmouth  Guildhall

1 April             Bristol            Colston Hall

2 April             Reading        Hexagon

4 April             Glasgow       Royal Concert Hall

5 April             York               Barbican

7 April             Gateshead    Sage

Tickets go on sale this Friday 13 December at 10am. 

www.goldfrapp.com

INDIESWAY #INTERVIEW - PATTERNS

Patterns are a young Manchester band on the verge of releasing their first record "Waking Lines" on Melodic records (6th January 2014). The sound of early morning hallucinations, interstellar sonic plains; that weird space between deep-sleep and reality where nothing is as it seems. That's what their music is all about, they're here to open your mind and shape your world. Here's our chat with Ciarian from the band:



So let's start with a simple and seemingly trivial one: why this name for the band, Patterns? 

It is a reference to the interlocking patterns that make up, music, ourselves and our reality.

And how and when did you meet each other?

We met at university, we used to get high a lot together then slowly a musical project evolved from that.

Your debut album Waking Lines is coming out on January, how're you feeling about that?
Incredibly excited, we've worked on this project for so long that to finally see it coming out is amazing. I just got the finished CD of it through last week and it doesn't quite feel real that something thats been on your computer screen for so long is now a physical thing.

Talking about the themes emerging from it, the title itself conveys a sense of false waking, sleepness, memory, doubt and ambiguous reality. Do you agree?

Yeah the title is about the border lines between different mental states which are ultimately ambiguous and indefinable. I love those states of near deliriousness that you reach where you're not quite sure whether your dreaming or awake and your mind is awash with confused memories and visions.

Do you have a favourite track from it?

Yeah I love the title track "waking lines" its our most experimental song structurally but it also seems to sum up all of the musical and lyrical themes of the album.

You come from Manchester that all we know to be home to huge bands, how do you see yourself in relation to them? Do you think to have roots in your city's music?

Its a bit complex being a band from Manchester because people often ask you this question about how you relate to this musical lineage thats gone before. Quite honestly at the moment we don't see our music as being particularly located in Manchester and we're not influenced by those bands. Its still a beautiful to make music it.

What are your favourite bands and artists? Who are you listening the most?

I listen to a lot of older stuff like Van Morrison whose album "Astral weeks" completely informed how I approach album writing. Recently though we're all enjoying the latest Braids album as well as Cloud Control's Dream Cave.

Listening to your music i felt the meticulous focus on every single note of your album, how was the recording and writing process?
We deliberately avoided the big studio approach because we thought we would lose the ability to experiment and tweak everything, which is so important to our sound. Although we make music that sounds like a band our writing process is much more like an electronic artist where samples, synths and effects processing is quite carefully combined to take the song into a different space. 

How much does the live element matter in your music? And if you could choose a band or an artist to play with on a stage, who would you choose?

The live experience is incredibly important to us and we're always aiming to find ways to evolve it. Personally the best live experience I ever had was watching Bjork perform biophilia at the Manchester International festival, I would love to collaborate with her.

What is the message that you would like to convey to those who listen to your music?

In a lot of ways our use of reverb, non linear lyrical devices and opaque references are an attempt to avoid direct communication with the listener. But for me I suppose the album is about how our reality, values and sense of identity are not as fixed or concrete as we sometimes think they are. Our realities are constructed and performed rather than discovered or present. 

Have you ever been to Italy?

We've never played in Italy but if anyone wants us too we'd be more then happy to oblige. 

Beatles or Rolling Stones?
Beatles

INDIESWAY #INTERVIEW - CHLOE MARTINI

Chloe Martini (born Anna Żmijewska) is a 20-years old Polish beatmaker and electronic music producer, currently based in Warsaw.

-Who are you?

I'm just this girl full of dreams and passionate about music.

- Why did you choose this pseudonym?

By accident, i just randomly combined things i had in my room, which was Chloe perfume and Martini bottle.

-Nowadays it's kind of hard to find young women in the indie-electro genre, what do you think about it? Do you have any female model to whom you relate?

There are not too many female producers these days, sadly. I'd say that my favourite one is Patrice Rushen and i must admit that i adore 80s pop music so badly.7

What genres and artists influenced your music the most?

80s-90s pop, rnb and disco are deffinately my main inspirations. Lately i also love the laid-back feeling of neo-soul music. Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jamiroquai, James Blake, SOS Band, Earth Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson just to name a few.

- How would you define your sound?

Soulful, most deffinatelly. I don't really like labeling music, but my tracks are fullfilled with my soul, that's for sure.

-Recently you released a single named "Temptation", what's your temptation?

Chocolate!

-By the choices of your released singles i can imagine that fashion has a relevant role in your music, do you agree? What's cool nowadays?

I don't know, i think i do all that subconsciously. I listen to a lot of music, very diverse music. I never look at what's cool now and what's not, i just follow my instinct and simply listen to music that i like.

-You come from Poland. What do you think about the music coming from your country and how how do you see yourself in relation to Europe?

Lately we have some really cool events in Poland. I can tell that more and more people are starting to listen underground producers which makes me really happy. I'm sure tho that it's still different here than in Paris, London, Amsterdam or Berlin. But i can't complain 

-What's your favourite artist and song?

Right now i'd say its Pomo - Work It Out, the outro is just wow.

-Who do you think are the most relevant musicians nowadays and who are you listening to the most?
Just like i mentioned before, Pomo, new HW&W artist came out of nowhere and just blew my mind. I also admire Mr. Carmack, his productions are so crazy but at the same time very storytelling and full of soul. 

-Wanna talk us about your Heineken Open'er Festival experience? How much does the live element matter in your music?
It was my first performance ever, but a great one, greatest so far. For me it's amazing to show on stage slightly different, more experimental version of records that we can hear on radio or itunes. But i'm not really a fan of doing live performances with APC plugged to your laptop and lounching the clips from Ableton, it's still like DJing to me. I'd love one day to play my tunes with whole real band (bass, drums, guitars, rhodes etc.) on stage. That's the real shit, not easy to achive tho.

-If you could pick an artist or a band to play with on a stage, who would you choose?
Pharell Williams, The Internet and Tyler, The Creator. 

-What do you think about the music industry nowadays?
It's just getting worst and worst. The lyrics means nothing, productions are all the same, just repeating all same patterns. But there are talented musicians out there, just mass media don't talk about them, sadly the people who aren't talented, let's just call them products, are the most popular. It's all about marketing and money, besically people from marketing business are doing a great job because people are really buying their products. We're just blind, this is sad. 

-What is the message that you'd like to express to the people who listen to your music?
Don't think, just feel. 

-What is your favourite book and movie?
Book: "Catcher In The Rye", Movie: i have many, but i really love Tarantino movie "Four Rooms"

-How and where do you see yourself in ten years from now?
In a studio producing records for talented soul singers-songwriters.

-Pc or Mac?
Since i have Mac, i'd say Mac, but i still have sentiment to PC.

-Beatles or Rolling Stones?
Beatles

#closeup with Kimekai

Kimekai is electronic project by Marko Vuković.
21 year old producer from Croatia.

-Who are you?
I am Marko Vuković, 21-year old music producer from Croatia.

- Why did you choose this pseudonym?
There is no special reason. I chose it because it sounds good to me, and it hadn't been taken by anyone. 

-When I do music I feel in control of my environment.

-Why do you make music and what does it mean for you?

Well, I do music mostly because it's the only thing that can liberate me completely in sense of honesty and desires.

- Talking about your future releases "Coral Dreams". What do you say with this title? What’s the story behind it?

The story behind the title is the story of a dream I had multiple times. I dreamt about diving in a sea and there were millions of all this weird- colored and shaped things that reminded me of a corals, so it gave me some inspiration for my songs.

- How would you define your sound?

I usually don't like questions regarding my sound and stuff, mostly because I don't ever think about the way I sound. I think that there is no unique way of sounding. Every person can expirience it different. I guess it's mix of analog synths, dreamy vocals and organic percussions combined together to serve the moment.

-What genres and artists influenced your music the most?
Genre that defined me the most as a musician is post punk. Later I started to explore all kinds of electronic sub genres and stuff, but I still do the songs the same way I did them while I played post punk. If we speak in terms of artists I would say: Joy Division/New Order, Gang of Four, James Blake, Toro y Moi, Shlomo, Soosh, Cloudfactory, Foals, Atlas Sound, Kraftwerk, Why Stakla, Holandija,... all kind of different artists and bands, but they all influenced me in some way.

-You come from Croatia. What do you think about the music coming from your country and how how do you see yourself in relation to Europe?

Most of music that comes out of my country is pure shit. We have some good artists, but most of it is really really bad. I think I could find my spot in Europe, I'm a nice guy. People like nice guys in europe, don't they? :)

-What's your favourite artist and song?
Currently "Kyson - Missing Things"

-Who do you think are the most relevant musicians nowadays and who are you listening to the most?

James Blake for sure, that guy is genious. Tame Impala is also pretty big. Recently I listened a lot "The Water's Way" by Kyson, yesterday I found out about this guy from Italy called Stèv, he is pretty good! 

-How much does the live element matter in your music?

I think live act is pretty important, I suck at it, but I'm working on it and hopefully improving!

-If you could pick an artist or a band to play with on a stage, who would you choose?

From the present - James Blake. From the past - Joy Division.

-What do you think about the music industry nowadays?

The pop music industry is at its worst ever. But this online music industry, d.i.y./indie industry is awesome. In the same time you have tone of garbage to dig through, but once you dug it up, you'll find a whole world of great music, all kind of genres and styles that people do in their bedrooms, not for the money but out of love.

-What is the message that you'd like to express to the people who listen to your music?

Well, I don't really know. Music is all I want to give to them. If they can find something else in it, great, but I have no real message, just honest music.

-What is your favourite book and movie?

I don't read books, but I watch a lot of movies. My favorite one is "2001: a space oddysey". All time classic by Stanley Kubrick. 

-How and where do you see yourself in ten years from now?

I see myself in some Mad Max scenario, chasing some guys in a V8 Ford Falcon, or something like that, haha. Just joking. Maybe some flat, surrounded with this great musical equipment, doing nothing at all with it, just playing around with my girlfriend, maybe some kids. I don't know, It's a long way to go.  

-Pc or Mac?

Haven't had a mac before, so I guess PC

-Beatles or Rolling Stones?

Beatles

#CLOSEUP with SLOW MAGIC

He defines himself as a "indefinite imaginary friend who likes to play music". But who is Slow Magic? Unfortunately we can not answer to that, we can only say that the man beyond the mask (of unidentified nationality) has a way of doing good and calm totally different from when he's on stage: full of energy and charge. Controversial character of the new indie music scene, with his rarefied and tribal sounds has managed to charm thousands of people all around the world. We  met and interviewed him exclusively for IWM before his gig at Circolo Degli Artisti in Rome, to talk of his last album and more.

-So, how's the European tour going so far?

It's been pretty good, it's about two weeks that i've been travelling so i'm a little tired, but not two tired (laughs, author's note)

-It's your first time here in Italy?

No it's not my first time, i've been here already a couple. It's my second time in Rome and i really enjoy being here.

-Let's talk about “Slow Magic” project, you once said that it's like “an unknown imaginary friend that likes to play music”. What did you mean with that?

Well when i started the project i just wanted it to be something separated by an identity so that it could be something that is just music or art on its own. I really liked the idea of an imaginary friend who was just not really existing anywhere, and that could be anyone making that stuff that we all can share i guess.

-There's all of this mistery wrapped around your figure, nobody knows who you are. If you had to describe yourself, the guy behind the mask, how would you do it?

I don't know, it's kind of hard to describe someone that's imaginary i guess (laughs again, author's note). I don't want the project to be impersonal, i personally i want to make music and art that share what i think is beautiful in the world. I guess that's the personal part of it, like things from my life.

-So do you transmit something of yourself in your music?

Yeah definitely, i think a lot of anyone's personal life, who they are and stuff comes out in their art if they're doing something right. But i think it's more important for me to people to listen what i'm making and try to figure out who i am through that or meet someday and find out what i look like (smiles, author's note).

-Talking about your Mask, we're all trying to figure out.. What sort of animal is it?

Yeah basically it's like an imaginary animal too, so many people try to guess they often say that looks like a wolf, a fox, even a zebra. It all started out when i was designing it with a friend of mine and it wanted that to look like a colourful animal different from any other, and it came out like this.

-So you were involved in the painting?

Not in the actual painting, that was made by a friend of mine, an excellent painter (Jonas McCluggage, you can find him here: http://25mph.deviantart.com) who made the original mask's design.

-Your last album is called “Triangle”. Why did you choose this title?

I decided that looking at the atwork of the album (three kids on a beach) and i wanted the title to be not exactly a word, so i came up with “Triangle”. No meaning really more than that.

-I was wondering if there was a symbolic relation between this title and the names of two tracks: “Circle” and “Moon”.

Yeah it's kind of the same idea, i wanted to push the bounderies of what you're or not allowed to do. I also realized that togheter could appear as a full moon so i put them next to each other in the album.

-Is there something tribal, almost mystical, in your music?

I'm interested in so many music coming from other cultures, some percussion things and i really enjoy studying different kinds of sound like chinese and indian percussion and things that i find out on records.

-The last track of the album is called “Music”, what does music mean to you?

I think it's one of the most important things in my life, it's what allows me to share who i am with other people, so that i can give them something important and if it changes someone, inspires someone or simply can make their night better that's the best thing i can do.

-Do you have any favourite musicians and bands?

Yeah well recently i've been to Iceland, there's so much amazing music coming from there. I also really like the band Kings Of Convenience, they do some very good stuff.

-Beatles or Rolling Stones?

I'd say the Beatles.

photo by Claudia Delicato

HASTA

http://pastahasta.tumblr.com/

-Who are you?

I am Thomas Wesenlund, A 16 year old hipster student out of Porsgrunn, Norway. I write music, play the guitar and I love to take photographs. 

- Why did you choose this pseudonym?

I have always loved role playing games, so when I found out that in one of the games I played back in the day (don't remember which one) the ancient Rome spears were called Hastas. I just fell in love with the name and I knew I had to use this as my pseudonym. 

- You are very young. When did you start to play this music?

Well for me music has always been a part of my life of some sort. I started playing the guitar when I was about 8 years old and started producing electronic music when I was around 13 years old. I only recently started making Chillwave/Trap, or whatever you wanna call it.

- How would you define your sound?

I am not trying to produce one genre only. Like I wanna explore and experiment with my sound a bit more before I go to ''that'' sound, the one you stick with. But if I had to, I'd say ''Future Bass'' with elements from ''Alternative'' and ''Indie''.

-You've got quite an eclectic personality for your age.
your music goes through lots of genres.
In the song “ First Time” you put yourself into an hip hop context. What do you think about this?

I think it's great to blend genres and mix things around. Like I said, I am not trying to produce like one genre only. I make what I feel like making. It could be Indie music one day and Garage/Deep House the other. It's hard to tell what I am going to make next.

https://www.facebook.com/thisishasta

-Talking about your passions like photography. There's a relation with your music?

Yeah, I defiantly love taking photographs. Influenced by minimalism, and the ''Black/White'' theme going on right now is part of the whole atmosphere. I love combining art and music. Makes for a great experience, which I am all about.

-What genres and artists influenced your music the most?

When I was a kid I always listened to Metallica, Iron Maiden. and those kinds of bands. While getting older the whole EDM factor kind of grew on me, and then came my ''Drum & Bass' era. I really just love the tension of drum & bass music! To make this summery short. Pink Floyd is my everything, there wouldn't have been Hasta without Pink Floyd. Im pretty much influenced by them in every possible way. I listen to everything from Classical to Death Metal. The music I make will always change. To be honest, that's how I like it. Imagine making the same shit all day, everyday. pretty boring.

-You come from Norway. What do you think about the music coming from the north of the Europe and how do you see yourself in relation to them?

The music scene here in Norway is not the biggest one, I can tell you that. It's pretty hard to evolve here unless you know people (Luckily we have options like SoundCloud, Youtube etc to share music on). Of-course we do have some amazing producers like Trippy Turtle, Röyksopp, Cashmere Cat, AutoLaser, Slick Shoota etc.  

-What's your favourite artist and song?

Well... This is hard... Pink Floyd - Any Colour You Like :-) This is a tune I could listen to all day! The tune holds so much emotions. I get goosebumps every time.

-Who do you think are the most relevant musicians nowadays and who are you listening to the most?

Need more dubstep producers (not really)...Haha! Well... I think that the Brits are doing a fine job with their music and all! thumbs up to Rudimental, AlunaGeorge & Disclosure to name a few. I have been listening to a lot of Disclosure, as well as Panama and London Grammar! And I always listen to Pink Floyd and Jamiroquai before going to bed. Cashmere Cat and the Pelican Fly crew they are all real great producers! 

-If you could pick an artist or a band to play with on a stage, who would you choose?

That's a though one, I'd have to say something in between Disclosure and The xx. And I would really like to play with Cashmere Cat or Canblaster on stage! they are such brilliant producers!

-What do you think about the music industry nowadays?

I think it's crap. And I think that musicians don't earn the respect they deserve! At the end of the day ''Money'' kills ''Passion''. Sad... : (

-What is the message that you'd like to express to the people who listen to your music?

I have no sentence to describe my gratitude for all the support you guys have been giving me. I almost start to cry every time I think about it. And I could never have done what I do now without your guys help. Thank you so much, every single one of you! Much, much love!

-Pc or Mac?

Mac!! :D

-What about your future plans?

Do the things I do best! enjoy life, produce music, and probably play some gigs here and there! :-) 

-Beatles or Rolling Stones?

Rolling Stones for sure! :-)

#italiansdoitbetter: LOVESPOON

Imagine Neil Young, the Velvet Underground, the Oasis, Iggy Pop & the Stooges, the Beatles and Elliot Smith merge into a single album. Difficult, but Lovespoon have gone very close. Their is a classic sound, but at the same time full of electronic and psychedelic influences almost unexpected: will allow incursions of other genre and style but without wanting to sound alternative at all costs. The Lovespoon were born in Ravenna in 2009, producing their first EP ("Naked For You") and immediately attracting attention from the public and press. The band opens indeed gigs for artists such as Fran Healy (Travis), Telekinesis and Wave Pictures. In 2011 they entered the studio to record their first self-titled album "Lovespoon" which is followed today by "Carious Soul". A fresh album, clean songs built on melodies never dull and always engaging. Catchy guitar riffs and patterns, but above all their great ability to convey a good mood and love for music.

http://www.lovespoonband.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCD_8UaK9uA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TW_9n9Kv1o

EZRA FURMAN

We're proud to announce our  interview with Ezra Furman talking of his brand new solo album "The Day Of The Dog" that  sees Furman progressing from the dark chamber-pop and gorgeous balladry of his solo debut and emerging  as a stylish, technicolor, pulse-quickening rock provocateur conjuring an intriguing selection of iconic vintage styles. This album will blow you minds, it’s all about the rock ‘n’ roll with some punk panache thrown in. 

So let's talk about “Day Of The Dog” , your second solo effort after “The Year Of No Returning”, how much do you feel changed as a man and a musician from that time to now?

I’m a changed man, certainly, but the newer record is pretty much a manifestation of the same concerns as the last one was. I see it as a sequel. But this time it’s higher energy. The biggest difference is that I have a real rock’n’roll band with me again, called The Boy-Friends. And I’ve become more confident, confident enough to deliver a record that is a real punch in the mouth (if you listen properly).

-There are a lot of themes in this album, but I'd like to focus on one in particular: religion. Are you a believer?

That’s a very Christian question. I’m not a Christian, if that’s what you mean. I am a Jew and I’m into God and Jewish practice. I think about a oneness that encompasses the totality of the universe very often, and how to do the right thing in the face of that oneness. And it comes out in the songs.

-What are your favourite bands, musicians and song? And what about books or movies?

 I like the Pixies and Neutral Milk Hotel. I like Howlin’ Wolf and I like Cat Power. My favorite song is “Little Star” by the Elegants. As for books, I recommend Saul Bellow. I hate movies.

-How do you see yourself in ten years from now?

I’ll be whatever you want me to be, baby.

-I think there's a substantial difference between the two albums, i felt a different mood coming out from your music; do you agree?

Yeah, it’s true. The last one was sadder, this one’s wilder. This was the first record that I ever made where I just thought about what kind of music I wished there was more of in the world and then made that music. Something to really rock’n’roll, and with a lot of ideas and elevated feelings crammed in.

-What about your “song-writing process”, it's just you with a pen and a guitar? Did you ever come across the so-called writer's block?

It is very difficult to write songs. It makes me sick to do it. I write a lot of bad songs and nothing feels worse than that. But I don’t show people the bad ones. The good ones trickle through at last. I am alone when I write them, because no one should see me in that debased state.

-What do you think about the music industry nowadays? 

They don’t like me, so I don’t like them. Though I’m not opposed to some kind of reconciliation being reached. I like the fans; they make me happy; it is to them that I owe my life. They are my area of focus.

-How much does the live element matter in your music? Your songs and your way of singing are full of emotion and struggle, do you think that these things emerge even more when you're on the stage?

Sometimes, yes, the emotions are more visible when the songs are performed onstage. Sometimes the emotions get smaller, though, and the pure joy of playing music becomes the focus. A lot of weird things can happen to a song performed in public. They behave differently every time. They’re odd little buggers, my songs, and they don’t much care to listen to what I tell them to do.

-Who do you think are the most relevant musicians nowadays and who are you listening to the most?

Krill, from Boston. Paul Baribeau. Tristen from Nashville. Bill Callahan. FIDLAR. Those are the ones I like (love). As for relevance, I don’t know much about that. Kanye West, I guess.

-How would you describe your own music? And why do you make it, what does music mean to you?

I listen to and make music because it changes my life. It changes the way I see things, if only for a few moments. It can make, for example, a mundane drive into a voyage of discovery, and that elevation of the mundane is what we all need in order to really be what we really are: mundane material organized into an elevated, an extraordinary, a holy being. Music and other art are one way to be made aware of the grandeur of being, the high stakes, the power and the glory that we all hold. To feel alive while we are alive, and to begin to wrap our heads around what that means.

I see my music as separate from music that doesn't enunciate, that doesn't grab me or shake me, music that calmly lets me be and does its own thing. That kind of music can be great but it is not what I do. Sam Cooke said, “You must make your audience feel what you feel. You have to stir up [their] emotions and literally lift them from their chairs.” I believe in going to a person and personally moving them yourself. It is work, and it is social work by nature. I am not inward. I am outward. I am antisocial not in the sense of a hermit, but in the sense of a public nudist or midnight screamer. I want to bother people. I want to be a pest.

And I also want to be beautiful, to make something beautiful.

Ezra once again has re-invented himself , this time as an angry young man ready to throw himself on the pyre in search of the redemption that will follow.