Kevin Cole

Pronounced "Bock·Eye," the Washington, DC-based band have a 2016 demo, a 2017 tape, Down The Drain, and a 2018 self-titled EP to their name so far, and in March, they’re finally releasing a full-length album, Pleasure Vision. bit.ly

Here's Rainer Maria performing live at KEXP Studio in 2017: www.kexp.org

Named after the German-language poet Rainer Maria Rilke, Caithlin De Marrais, Kaia Fischer and William Kuehn formed the band in late summer of 1995. They released five full-length albums, a live DVD, numerous live recordings, and EPs. In its earlier days, the band had a dual male and female vocal line-up; later, De Marrais would become the lead vocalist in a majority of their songs.

The gender ambiguity of the name Rainer Maria paralleled this and was one of the reasons it was selected as the band's name. bit.ly

“It’s a song about trying to forget someone you’re still in love with even though they treat you like an object,” singer Ruth Radelet revealed. Following on the heels of full-length LP Closer to Grey and produced by Johnny Jewel, this single was released in three versions: the original, a stripped down version called “Toy (On Film),” and finally an instrumental edition called “Toy (Instrumental).” All three versions can be heard on Spotify. spoti.fi

If you want to fall even deeper in love with this track, watch this utterly captivating performance from Austin City Limits; it is truly special: bit.ly

Of this album, Tycho shared, "A Simulcast is the transmission of a program across different mediums and in different languages. With these two albums I wanted to present the same ideas in two languages, one more literal and the other more open to interpretation."

The former Titus Andronicus member releaesed this album at the end of 2019, coming together after a series of failed projects with other people caused Klein to refocus on her own songwriting. “I was in one of those I’m-going-to-sit-in-my-bedroom-for-a-while phases,” she said in a press release. “And then I was just writing these songs in my bedroom.” She recruited Philadelphia producer Jeff Zeigler to produce the album — she was impressed by his work on the War On Drugs’ album Lost In The Dream — and spent the last few years traveling between her home in Brooklyn and Philly to put together the album. bit.ly

The band's name derived from members recalling another employee at the pressing plant stating he had to fix the eddy current suppression ring - a copper ring around a transformer which subdues eddy currents.

The band's sound is said to have been influenced by bands such as The Troggs, The Standells, X and The Pagans. Reference has also been made to the band's Australian delivery. bit.ly

The band was started in 1995 as a side project by Davey von Bohlen during his time as a guitarist/vocalist for Cap'n Jazz. Von Bohlen started the project alongside guitarist Jason Gnewikow of None Left Standing, drummer Dan Didier and bassist Scott Beschta, the latter two both being former members of Ceilishrine. bit.ly

This upcoming album will be the band's first full-length since 2012's Urban Turban. Check out the Chris Curtis-directed video for this catchy new track: bit.ly

As a teenager, Richman saw the Velvet Underground perform many times, and the format of "Roadrunner" is derived directly from the Velvets' song "Sister Ray". "Roadrunner" mainly uses two chords (D and A, and only two brief uses of E) rather than "Sister Ray"'s three (which are G, F, and C), but they share the same persistent throbbing rhythm, and lyrics which in performance were largely improvised around a central theme.

However, in contrast to Lou Reed's morally detached saga of debauchery and decay, Richman's lyrics are passionate and candid, dealing with the freedom of driving alone and the beauty of the modern suburban environment, specifically the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. bit.ly

"Making this record was a long journey," explains Mike McCready. "It was emotionally dark and confusing at times, but also an exciting and experimental road map to musical redemption. Collaborating with my bandmates on 'Gigaton' ultimately gave me greater love, awareness and knowledge of the need for human connection in these times."

"Gigaton"'s cover features Canadian photographer, filmmaker, and marine biologist Paul Nicklen's photo "Ice Waterfall." Taken in Svalbard, Norway, this image features the Nordaustlandet ice cap gushing high volumes of meltwater. bit.ly

The band recorded Boxer with producer Peter Katis (who's also worked with Interpol, Kurt Vile, and Jónsi) with vocalist Matt Berninger stating, "We recorded a lot of it at home. Probably half and half of home recording and recording with Peter in the studio. We always kind of work that way, going in and out of studios and then back home. We have little home set-ups. He has been a big part of the band for awhile, [sic] at least in the recording of the records. He kind of jumps in as a seventh member." bit.ly

The album cover was taken at Katis' wedding by photographer Abbey Drucker, who was involved with Interpol's Paul Banks at the time.

Georgia Rose Harriet Barnes was born in London; her father is Neil Barnes, the cofounder and keyboardist of English electronic music group Leftfield. As a child, Georgia was a footballer who had played in youth squads associated with Queens Park Rangers W.F.C. and Arsenal W.F.C. She left football after the death of her coach, when she described things as getting "too intense."

Barnes attended the BRIT School in the London Borough of Croydon, where she began playing the drums professionally.

In a 2019 interview with Billboard, Barnes discussed her decision to quit alcohol and become vegan. bit.ly

Of this album, band member Brian Borchant says, "It's been long enough now, somewhere around the last record may be that it felt like we've done this long enough that we've kind of invented our own language. I think we're pretty idiosyncratic, and hopefully, our music exists in its own realm. That's not an easy thing to do. It takes a certain amount of dedication and faith, but I think we've been doing it long enough that we figured out that language." This track features the vocals of Nicholas Allbrook of Pond. bit.ly

From Toulouse, France, SLIFT return this year with their phenomenal space rock album, UMMON. Composed during endless tours across Europe in 2019, conceived as the soundtrack of an imaginary film; UMMON is a dreamlike odyssey staging the Titans, their exile to the outer reaches of space in search of their creators and the return of the Titan Hyperion to Earth.

Beyond music and lyrics, it's about "all these questions to which we'll never have answers", which dig their furrows in the humans heart. bit.ly

Hotels lives in pop’s dark corners, with post-punk roots giving way to flower petals of psych, jazz noir, electro, and surf. Asks the band, "What if Solange and Joy Division collaborated on a James Bond soundtrack?" hotels.bandcamp.com

"Sour Times" is a song by English trip hop group Portishead, from their debut album Dummy. It was written by all three members of the band. The song uses a sample from Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin's "Danube Incident." bit.ly

Voiski has struck a singular path in techno music, marked by his signature style. Within the large spectrum of his interventions, Voiski stands out for rigor of his infinitely repetitive loops, combined with acerbic drum beats, construct an analog excitation that carries his music to the heart of futurist and sentimental layerings. voiski.bandcamp.com

While recovering, Channy Leaneagh’s doctor told her to focus not only on physical healing, but to meditate on the mental act of healing as well – working to erase the anger, regrets, and fear she felt about her fall. To do so, he suggested she rewrite the story she told herself about what happened on February 28th. Left alone with her thoughts and her back fully braced, Leaneagh would visualize herself slipping and falling not onto cement, but instead onto a cloud, landing safely before breaking into a sprint over snow melting to reveal tall blades of green grass. As she felt the positive effects of this mental exercise, she set about doing the same for other injuries and pains that she gripped onto from her past.

Prior to Leaneagh’s accident, she had been setting music aside as she raised her children and worked to make ends meet as a nursing assistant. Now in the still silence of healing, she found that a multitude of feelings were becoming very loud. Leaneagh realized her self-identity had become attached to her experiences of physical and mental trauma, and she began to consider what it would be like to live without the past as a burden. “I felt there were many things I could look at and say, ‘This happened to me but I’m okay now. It’s not happening anymore and I got the care I needed for it. Now it’s time to rewrite the story I tell about myself and to myself,’" she explains. bit.ly

The album's name is a pun on the feminine title "Miss", and the words "misanthrope" and "Anthropocene", a neologism popularised in the year 2000 by Paul J. Crutzen that was proposed to denote the current geological age the Earth is in. The album is a loose concept album about an "anthropomorphic goddess of climate change" inspired by Roman mythology and villainy. Miss Anthropocene is Grimes' final album on record label 4AD, to which she has been signed since 2012. Sonically, the album is a departure from Grimes' 2015 album Art Angels: Miss Anthropocene is primarily darker in style containing inspiration from the sounds of nu metal and ethereal wave compared to Art Angels' brighter and more upbeat sounds. bit.ly

A local track re-imagined by another local artist; check out this fabulous feature on Rudy Willingham here: www.kexp.org/read/2019/10/30/sound-vision-rudy-willingham-his-album-dunk-reactions/

The track features a distinct Moroccan Chaabi string sample from Najat Aatabou's song "Hadi Kedba Bayna (Obvious lie)." The main hook of the song is in 6/4 time signature, while the rest is in 4/4. The track also features rapping by Q-Tip (member of A Tribe Called Quest). In part of the song, a sample from the group's early single "Leave Home" plays. bit.ly

This eleven-track effort sees the group's French founders Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho working with a host of artists from North Africa and the Middle East. Algerians Radia Menel, Sofiane Saidi, Amel Wahby and Cheikha Hadjla all provide vocals, while Turkish saz player Cem Yildiz and Syrian keyboardist Rizan Said both make appearances. Kenzi Bourras, who was originally drafted in for the group's live sets, is now a fully-fledged member. bit.ly

The album was recorded in studios throughout the United States, with production from Sounwave, Terrace Martin, Taz "Tisa" Arnold, Thundercat, Rahki, LoveDragon, Flying Lotus, Pharrell Williams, Boi-1da, Knxwledge, and several other high-profile hip hop producers, as well as executive production from Dr. Dre and Anthony "Top Dawg" Tiffith. The album incorporates elements of jazz, funk, soul, spoken word, and avant-garde music and explores a variety of political and personal themes concerning African-American culture, racial inequality, depression, and institutional discrimination. bit.ly

An outspoken voice in the normally non-confrontational world of electronic dance music, Moodymann (Kenny Dixon Jr.) is committed to keeping a distinctly black imprint on techno and house. Moodymann worked at several Detroit record stores in the mid-nineties including a store owned by producer Blake Baxter. During the mid-nineties Kenny was also the resident DJ at the Detroit based Outcast Motorcycle Club. At that time he was known as "House". After his first several releases on Planet E Records Kenny became quite popular in France and from there his popularity grew. bit.ly

From his incredible NewOrderTracks project, the enigmatic Dennis R writes, "Lyrically, Bernard Sumner is compelled on a nightmarish rendezvous to a waiting soldier, with all futures ending down this bloody cul-de-sac; and there’s always 3 miles to go. Not sure I’d want to reach the end of this road of torment either… Not quite a recurring theme, it is nevertheless interesting that Sumner will once again revisit the idea of a less-than-glorious soldier’s destiny in Love Vigilantes. Prior to the forced ‘urban regeneration’ of historic Manchester neighborhoods, which had such a profound effect on the young Bernard Sumner, wartime evidence remained long after 1945 and would have weighed heavily in the dark dreams of a thoughtful and artful young Salford lad. I’m still trying to decode the ‘We’ in the song title, and why it is that they are all standing. Perhaps in Bernard’s dream there are lines of bystanders silently observing his processional march down that hellish road.

'We All Stand' is a languid yet arresting piece… further evidence of this band’s diversity and talent."

Enjoy more of his work here: newordertracks.wordpress.com

Gorillaz have announced details of ‘Song Machine’ – a new online series which sees the virtual band performing with an eclectic array of guests every week. Gorillaz frontman Murdoc said: “Hello everyone who is reading these words. I’ll keep this short because once you say things you can’t unsay them and they exist in the universe forever, like Tupperware.”

The first episode debuted yesterday. Follow along at www.gorillaz.com/ https://bit.ly/2OkQkjM

Coaxed into the studio together by BBE founder Peter Adarkwah, Grammy winning House music hero Louie Vega, arranger extraordinaire and New York disco royalty Patrick Adams, plus the song’s original writer (and king of boogie) Leroy Burgess soon got to work. Even given the caliber of those involved in this special session, the results are simply exceptional. Featuring live strings by The Apple Hill String Quartet arranged by Adams and Burgess, Vega’s ‘Boogie Mix’ stays faithful to the Universal Robot Band original, with potent vocal performances and a tough new groove for 2019. bit.ly

The abbreviations used in the lyrics are a selection of civil war references from 1970s headlines, a suggestion of what could happen in the United Kingdom. The IRA and the UDA were the largest paramilitary armies in the conflict in Northern Ireland: the heavily armed IRA (Irish Republican Army) were on the Republican (anti-British, pro-unification) side, while the thousands-strong UDA (Ulster Defence Association) were on the Loyalist (pro-British, anti-unification) side. The MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, or the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola) were the political party that took control of Angola, formerly one of Portugal's African colonies, in a 1975-76 civil war, and still run the country today. When Rotten sings, “I use the enemy,” it's a deliberate homonym for “I use the NME,” or New Musical Express, the British weekly music newspaper. bit.ly

"Fight the Power" is a song by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released as a single in the summer of 1989 on Motown Records. It was conceived at the request of film director Spike Lee, who sought a musical theme for his 1989 film Do the Right Thing. First issued on the film's 1989 soundtrack, a different version was featured on Public Enemy's 1990 studio album Fear of a Black Planet. "Fight the Power" incorporates various samples and allusions to African-American culture, including civil rights exhortations, black church services, and the music of James Brown. bit.ly

Moby has announced a new album titled All Visible Objects and released the first single, “Power Is Taken.” The song features Dead Kennedys drummer D. H. Peligro barking revolutionary koans like “Power is not shared / Power is taken” over an industrial techno backbeat. The album is set for release on March 6 via Mute. In a press release, Moby said that 100 percent of the LP’s profits will be donated to various charities including Mercy For Animals, Rainforest Action Network, and the American Civil Liberties Union. bit.ly

Win Butler opened up about why they released the track one day ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

“The song was made to come out now. That’s one of the beautiful things about the times we’re in — you can just put something out. It’s the eve of the inauguration and I think it’s easy to get sucked into sitting on the couch and checking your news feed and watching things on CNN, and we’re just musicians and the only thing we really have to offer is our music,” he said. “I talked to Mavis last night and she said, ‘Now more than ever we have to come together and hold onto each other.’ For us it’s a feeling of solidarity—to not feel powerless and focus on what we can do as individuals and try to do our part.”

All proceeds from the sale of this track are donated to the American Civil Liberties Union.

The album was considered to mark a change in the course for the band, with more traditional catchy melodies, accessible-sounding music (their previous album Zaireeka was a quadruple album of experimental sounds meant to be played on four separate stereo systems simultaneously), and more serious and thoughtful lyrics. The album was also noted for its fusion of ordinary rock instruments, electronic beats, and synthesizers. Its large, layered, symphonic sound has also earned it a reputation as the Pet Sounds of the 1990s from a few critics. bit.ly

Bonobo's Simon Green brought his spectacularly talented band to perform songs off this wildly gorgeous album: bit.ly