AN ISLAND | EFTERKLANG

oh, this is going to be so good!

in august 2010, french filmmaker vincent moon and efterklang's 8 piece-live band met up on an island in the danish country side. the objective was to shoot a film. a film with the same length as an album, and a film full of performances, experiments and collaborations.


they will screen an island at their concerts in february and march 2011.

FOLLOW | CRYSTAL FIGHTERS

i can't get this song out of my head. crystal fighters are originally from the basque region but are now based in - where else? - east london. they wrap up their style pretty good: "we make fast dance music with basque instruments, synthesisers and our voices". and their weirdo stop motion video for follow creeps me out and cheers me up at the same time. i like it!

MT. DESOLATION | MT. DESOLATION

i never particularly liked keane or rather i never bothered making my mind up about them at all. so two keane members starting a side project didn't strike me as that exciting. i got interested when i read that the line-up of this thing included members of the killers, noah and the whale and mumford and sons. and i'm glad i did, because the selftitled debut record of mt. desolation definitely turned out to be worth a listen or two. it's the product of some talented people making country music in their spare time. as it says in the official biography "without any motive other than just doing what they loved" mt. desolation isn't earth shattering, but a nice record to listen to and enjoy.

RESTLESS PEOPLE | RESTLESS PEOPLE

restless people are four friends from brooklyn, who have been working together on different projects like tanlines (not a bad listen either) for years. their selftitled album was released in september and is full of poppy, upbeat synthies and happy sounds, which thanks to the lyrics never feel banal. so put your dancing shoes on and download don't back down from rcrd lbl.

DISCOVERIES | SHOUT OUT LOUDS

for all you behind the scenes lovers, shout out louds are touring europe and have a nice vimeo where they post neat little discoveries from on the road. the one below isn't necessarily the nicest, but it took place approx 500 metres from my house and i didn't go!

THE ART OF BEING SMART

these days news were full with this new anti aids pill. apparently the united states are testing it now, let's wait how that works out. other big news, similar topic: the pope condones condom use in exceptional cases. hooray! now all's right with the world again. not so big news, but i'd say much cooler: the free condom project by melbourne art store third drawer down. there have been countless 'safety first', 'protect yourself', 'condoms are so cool' campaigns, but did anyone ever try to make the condom itself look cool? like a designy little matchbox, that you don't have to be embarrassed about when it falls out of your purse while you're rummaging around for your wallet. and which could make people, who feel awkward about buying condoms, fell less awkward about it. i think that's a very great idea!


found via frankie magazine

THE SUBURBS | ARCADE FIRE

i have no idea why i didn't post the suburbs when it came out sometime this summer. maybe i was too excited.
i love arcade fire. i would marry richard parry instantly (hint! hint!). so i take the brand new video for the title track the suburbs as an opportunity to enthuse about them again. its nothing less than a beautifully filmed, dark short film about growing up and friendship and at the same time an intense portrait of american society, but see for yourselves:

MAGIC CHAIRS | EFTERKLANG

efterklangs most recent record magic chairs came out this spring. their musik is kind of a scandinavian version of arcade fire, orchestral, dreamy, big. listening to it makes me think of melting snow and trees and sun breaking through a foggy sky. the video below for modern drift pretty much sums it up. and it has deers in it!
also the artwork hvass & hannibal did for them is absolutely remarkable. they designed everything from the covers to the bands costumes on stage. you should check out their website, inspiring stuff.

RIPJDS | BIKINI

these days i stumbled upon the nyc duo bikini (how come they're the first dudes to naming themselves that?) who make fantastic experimental electronic pop, which sounds in their words like salinger on mdma. i'd say more animal collective and the likes. anyway, their debut record ripjds is coming out next week and the song a cheerleader is available for free download here. you should also check out the video here, which they did a great job with as well. but then i'm a sucker for everything that has leonardo dicaprio in it.

found via the fox is black

SWIM | CARIBOU

i've been in love with caribou for a long time now and we all know that the 2010 album swim is simply wonderful. so yesterday, when i went to see mastermind daniel snaith and his fellow caribous live in heidelberg, my expectations were high. turns out, they're live even better! fantastic doesn't begin to decribe it. two drum kits building an amazing wall of rhythm. it was all smiling and dancing. this will stick in my head for a while.

WOLVES | I HEART SHARKS

i have to bang the drum for i heart sharks, a german-british electro-pop trio based in berlin. i recently saw them life as part of a fun thing called pophochdrei, concerts in shops. and although the concert took place at 4pm and the shop with it's display window the boys had squeezed themselves and their instruments into was seriously small, they instantly electrified me and as far as i could tell the rest of the crowd, too.

their single wolves was released this summer. keep your ear to the ground, i'm sure we'll hear great things from them again soon.

BLITZ | DIGITALISM

new earcandy from digitalism. woop wooop!

FLAWS | BOMBAY BISYCLE CLUB

SWANLIGHTS | ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS

so graciously sad. antony hegarty, singer of the new york experimental pop band antony and the johnsons, is one of those singers you feel you have a personal relationship to. listen to thank you for your love on a rainy sunday and your chances for getting out of bed any time soon are gone.

NAILPOLISH

i've been into series and collections lately. 

i like exploring the aesthetics of the most ordinary things.

COUPLE THERAPY | TROLLE SIEBENHAAR

the danish duo trolle siebenhaar from copenhagen make feel good musik that stands out. and i can't get enough of the song sweet dogs.

PERCH PATCHWORK | MAPS & ATLASES

maps & atlases (what a great name for a band!) are from chicago and made with perth patchwork a folksy rock record with a lot of great songs on it. listen to solid ground – gotta love it!

SIGH NO MORE | MUMFORD & SONS

i just have a thing for folk music. with sigh no more the londoners of mumford & sons didn't reinvent the wheel, but it's still a pretty likeable record. and come on! who doesn't at least tap their feet to little lion man?

LIGHTMARES | BEAT! BEAT! BEAT!

speaking of foals - beat! beat! beat! is the name of an up and coming german band from cologne. they just released their debut lightmares and i find it pretty promising. they doubtless sound like you have to sound and look like you have to look these days, but made something fresh and fun out of it. they're young (19ish i think - boy i'm old!) so let's see what they'll come up with next.

ANTIDOTES | FOALS

with antidotes foals released a brilliant debut record. thats what this is!

WORK | SHOUT OUT LOUDS

what can i say... walls, fall hard, show me something new... there sure are some gems on this record.

SANTOGOLD | SANTOGOLD

an all time favorite.

SHADES

JEWELLERY | MICACHU

sorry i've been awfully lazy posting. summer combined with the football world cup is eating all my time. but here's a goody that is hopefully new to you: jewellery, recorded in 2009 by london based micachu and her band, is an unique experience. on the first listening it's just noise. by the third or so i was in love. no doubt the record is a mess. but it was the freshest thing i had heard in a while. and it was until i saw her perform in london, that i realised this mad brilliant crazysound is coming from this tiny girl, her two pals and a bunch of selfmade instruments. amazing.

BROKEN BELLS | BROKEN BELLS

you've got to love this first record of broken bells, the new project of shins singer james mercer.

THE DRUMS

the american indie poppers the drums are my newest love. they are a new handsome version of the beachboys and their soon to be released debut album will be the soundtrack of this summer!

WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX | PHOENIX

BIRKENSTOCKS

ALL HOUR CYMBALS | YEASAYER

THE WARNING | HOT CHIP

VAMPIRE WEEKEND | VAMPIRE WEEKEND

FUNERAL | ARCADE FIRE

FOR EMMA, FOREVER AGO | BON IVER

MY FAVORITE MUG

OH, INVERTED WORLD | THE SHINS

XX | THE XX

IS THIS IT | THE STROKES

CHUNK OF CHANGE | PASSION PIT

SILENT ALARM | BLOC PARTY

LIFTED | BRIGHT EYES