Friday, July 31, 2009

RCRD LBL Features Buildings



Our friends over at RCRD LBL just put up a few tracks from the forthcoming Buildings EP Endless. "For You" and "Now" are streaming and available for download. The EP will be released August 11th and will be available for purchase during Buildings' summer tour.
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Micro Mix for Tonight's Show



You may have heard about tonight's show at the Red Lounge with HUME, SPRCSS, Buildings, and Foul Swoops. It's going to be great. We decided to put together a sneak peak at the sounds you'll be hearing tonight... wet your whistle in other words. Here's a micro mix of songs provided by each of the four bands tonight:

Download July 31 Micro Mix (zSHARE)

1. "Helicopter" - Foul Swoops
2. "Now" - Buildings
3. "Revenge" - SPRCSS
4. "Grip" - HUME

12 Minutes and 45 Seconds
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Thursday, July 30, 2009

New Regattas Podcast Up at Social Registry

Sam Hillmer's (ZS, Representing NYC) solo project Regattas was just featured on the Social Registry's podcast series. Check it out:



Regattas At The Stone, June 13th, 2009
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Many Drop One Drop Mix

If you need a reason to come out to the HUME, SPRCSS, Buildings, Foul Swoops show tomorrow, then let me give you a few.

1. All of the bands on this bill are great.
2. All of the people in these bands are awesome.
3. And, well, Bob Doto from SPRCSS sent over a mix, which helps my argument in #2 on this list:

Many Hills Massive, Doto's creative/zine publishing/noise/sound system moniker put together this mix entitled Many Drop One Drop. It is, in the words of Bob, perfect for "a cook out in the park". Bring your sound system out from the basement and crank the bass:



Download Many Drop One Drop by Bob Doto (zSHARE)
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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Sonic Circuits Schedule Up

The folks over at Sonic Circuits just released a tentative schedule of shows taking place at this year's festival on September 22-27, 2009. Big names like Faust, Jandek, Tim Hecker and Health are performing this year, so it's the biggest year yet for this amazing DC music gathering.

Sockets artists Sean Peoples and Chris Grier will be performing at this year's festival. More details to come as we get updates.
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Three Rocks by Fending/Matis

I just read Jonathan Morris' blog and was excited to see that he posted the Fending/Matis album Three Rocks for digital download. Fending/Matis consisted of Brian Fending on percussion and Jonathan Morris (Matis) on guitar. The album came out in 2006.


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Fringe Era Mix: Kelly Pack



Besides being generally awesome, Kelly Pack has one of the best ears for great music, which made me really anxious to get her to do a Fringe Era mix. So, here it is. Fourteen songs that fit perfectly together -- all of them acting to glue together what we have left of the summer.

Fringe Era Mix 8: Kelly Pack (zSHARE)

1. “Four Horseman” – Aphrodite’s Child
2. “Cool Your Boots” – Ride
3. “Inward Jam” – Kitty Craft
4. “Aht Uh Mi Hed” – Shuggie Otis
5. “Dear Prudence” – Ramsey Lewis
6. “If You Feel” – Jefferson Airplane
7. “She Says Good Morning” – The Pretty Things
8. “Over Under Sideways Down” – Yardbirds
9. “Making Plans for Nigel” – XTC
10. “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone” – The Monkees
11. “Come On” – Chuck Berry
12. “Uptown Ranking” – Althia and Donna
13. “Didn’t I” – Darondo
14. “Cayenne” – The Beatles

46 Minutes and 11 Seconds.
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Donate to Help Save Live Music at DC Mini Gallery!

In what seems like a common scenario that plagues much of the artistic community in Washington, DC our local DC law enforcement/government stepped in to force the DC Mini Gallery to acquire permits for live performances. Here's what Michael Andrew Harris had to say about the situation on the gallery site:

On July 22nd 2009, a private show at the DC Mini Gallery was visited by policemen and officers from the DCRA & ABC due to a false complaint that I was serving liquor to underage minors. We had no alcohol on the premises so no arrests or fines were issued, however we were forced to end the night and told to get a permit in order to hold future shows. Unfortunately no permit currently exists in our zone that would allow us to legally showcase live music. Thus, bands are practically illegal in the 14th Street Heights neighborhood. We would like to begin a petition in the coming weeks to reverse this policy which we deem quite unfortunate and detrimental to the community.

Compliance with current DC structural and fire codes require several expensive renovations to the space. Because we have been asked to cease business activity and have lost a full month of income due to the cancellation of all August events, we now must reach out to our community to help keep the gallery open. Although this is all, for lack of a better term "a major drag", I feel like it gives us an opportunity to make great improvements and enhance the quality of your experience at the DC Mini Gallery.
Information on where to DONATE to help live music in DC thrive, can be found HERE!
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Monday, July 27, 2009

Fringe Era Mix Recap

The Sockets Records Fringe Era Mix series is seven mixes deep and still growing. Expect a few new mixes in the next week or so. Here's a list with links to the last seven mixes. Catch up if you haven't already downloaded them all! Enjoy:

Fringe Era Mix 1: Occupational Athlete
Fringe Era Mix 2: El Ingenio
Fringe Era Mix 3: Chris Grier
Fringe Era Mix 4: Chris Lynn
Fringe Era Mix 5: Boy Dream Wonder
Fringe Era Mix 6: Sean Peoples
Fringe Era Mix 7: Marc Masters
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Buildings EP Cover

I just received the artwork for Buildings' new EP Endless. I'm excited:



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Sunday, July 26, 2009

HUME | SPRCSS | Buildings | Foul Swoops Friday @ Red Lounge



We're really excited to announce a show that Brit (aka HUME) and Sockets have planned for a few months. This FRIDAY, JULY 31st, four of our favorite bands will be performing at the Red Lounge in Washington, DC for your listening pleasure. The flier is coming, but in the meantime, mark your calendars (Facebook invite):

HUME
SPRCSS
Buildings (aka BLDGS)
Foul Swoops
FRIDAY, JULY 31st
@ Red Lounge
2013 14th Street NW
Washington, DC
9pm-2am
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Saturday, July 25, 2009

House Show Next Saturday at the Jersey Cherch

Check out this show next Saturday, August 1st at the Jersey Cherch here in DC:

Area C = Erik Carlson from Providence, RI. Elliptical guitar and passing specters.
Collection of Late Howell Bend = Irene Moon from Raleigh, NC. Inverted hymns from a collapsing nova.
Secret Boyfriend/M Firestarter = Ryan/Maddie from Carrboro, NC. Disremembered pop, live heartbreak /skewed cello, tape hiss.
TL0741 = Pat Gillis from Washington, DC. "Alchemical universe of antimusic: tapes, sampling, analog synths."

Music at 8PM SHARP.
Bring $5 for the bands. BYOB.
1616 New Jersey Ave NW.
jersey.cherch@gmail.com
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Friday, July 24, 2009

Cornel West Theory This Sunday at Fringe Festival

If you didn't catch the Cornel West Theory a couple weeks back at the Sockets Records Fringe Festival showcase, then you will have another chance to seem them live this Sunday, July 26, 2009 at the Closing Night Fringe Festival show:

607 New York Ave. NW DC
FREE
Doors at 7pm, Cornel West Theory begin 9pm SHARP!
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Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Buildings Tour Dates


As you may have read, we're excited to be releasing the new Buildings EP in the next few weeks. If you want to catch their live show, which Sockets highly recommends, then you can catch in the these cities on the following dates:

- Friday, July 31 @ The Red Lounge in Washington, DC w/ Hume & S PRCSS
- Saturday, August 1 @ The Old Bridge Festival (1256 Old Bridge Rd) in Amissville, VA
- Friday, August 14 @ Market Hotel in Brooklyn, NY w/ Precinct
- Saturday, August 15 @ Rexleigh Mill Festival in Salem, NY w/ Mathematicians
- Sunday, August 16 @ Friendship Cove (215A Murray St) in Montréal, Quebec
- Monday, August 17 @ Trash Bar in Toronto, ON
- Tuesday, August 18 @ Pittsburgh, PA
- Wednesday, August 19 @ Marvelous! Music (208 S 40th St) in Philadelphia, PA
- Thursday, August 20 @ Florence VFW Hall in Northampton, Massachusetts
- Friday, August 21 @ Boston, MA
- Saturday, August 22 @ Brooklyn, NY
Read more...

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Red Onion Records & Books

Looking for a great local, DC record shop that carries Sockets Records stuff? Look no further than Red Onion Records & Books. Besides carrying a ton of great new and used vinyl, Josh, the owner, is a pretty awesome guy who has impeccable taste when it comes to curating great music. They currently carry the Fly Girlz, ZS 12" Remix EP, and the Phat Daughter String Quartet releases.



Red Onion Records & Books
1901 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-986-2718
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Buildings Pic

Collin Crowe of Buildings just sent me this:



I'm sold. The new Buildings EP "Endless" is coming out in the next few weeks. Stayed tuned!
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LIGHTHOUSEAPALOOZA

I received an email from Layne about this Saturday's LIGHTHOUSEAPALOOZA:
Alright everyone it's time for the Lighthouse midsummer blowout. This coming Sunday, July 26 starting at 1pm and going all afternoon. The grill will be hot so bring something to throw on or some delicious fruit salad or brownies or whathaveyou. And beer! It's very important to stay hydrated. And please bring 5$ for the bands. That's like 60 cents a band or something. there will be truly something for everyone musically speaking. (We like both types of music - country AND western). Bring your friends. Our days are numbered over here at the house of light so get it while the gettin's good.
The following bands will be playing:

-night owl
--trtl soup
---
matta gawa
----hunted creatures
-----tusk lord
------space tigers
-------fisher cat
--------mike tamburo


@ The Lighthouse
1421 Buchanan St. NW, DC
1pm - ?pm
$5
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Monday, July 20, 2009

Old Bridge Festival UPDATE

Remember the trippy Old Bridge Festival promo video? How could you forget, really? The DC City Paper's Jonathan L. Fischer just posted an update on the festival taking place August 1-2, 2009. Many of the bands were announced late last week and we're happy to see that several of them will be releasing music on Sockets! This 1.5 day festival is looking really good so far. Here's a partial rundown of who's playing according to Fischer:
Future Islands (!), BLDGS, La Otracina, Laughing Man, Hume, Age Sixteen, The Black Powder, Cave Caverns, The Fordists, Ga’an, Gay Knowledge, Google Earth, The Independent, Invisible Hand, Landlords, Mystic Flavor, Paper Mice, Pretzlcoat, Rifle Recoil, Surf Nazis On Ecstasy, and We’re Glad You’re Dead

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Buildings (aka BLDGS) Interview and Kansas House Performance

I shot some footage of Buildings at their Kansas House show last Thursday. Enjoy:

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Cornel West Theory on FOX News!

DC Fox News 5 is taking some footage and conducting interviews at the DC Fringe Festival. They interviewed the Cornel West Theory and caught some live performance. It all begins at about the 2:30 mark:

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Romo Roto | Narwals of Sound | Canopy



If you're thirsting for some magical sounds, then head over to this show tonight at 1631 Irving St. NW DC:

ROMO ROTO ( TORONTO // DATING TRIBAL ZONE)
NARWALS OF SOUND ( RICHMOND // GAMEBOY ADEROL CHEWIN POM DOG)
CANOPY ( D.C. // SMOOTH JUNGLE JOURNEYS)
Monday July 20th
1631 Irving St. NW D.C.
9pm
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Friday, July 17, 2009

Access Benefit Tomorrow

For those living in DC, there will be an ACCESS benefit tomorrow, which is for a great cause and we encourage you all to consider attending or donating:

Performers are as follows:

BLK w/ BEAR
Layne Garrett & Jenny Tucker
Soft Pieces
Sandy Marshall
P.J.B.

Saturday, July 18
6pm
@The Lighthouse
1421 Buchanan St. NW
Washington, DC
$5
www.softpieces.com
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Chris Grier @ DC Fringe Festival

The last of Denman's videos from the Sockets Records showcase at the DC Fringe Festival is a hot one. Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Grier:

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Big Gold Belt @ DC Fringe Festival

If you can handle more videos, then I suggest you watch the following Big Gold Belt performance our friend Denman sent over. The video is taken from last Sunday's DC Fringe Festival. Along with the Cornel West Theory and Chris Grier, Big Gold Belt laid down some amazing songs from their forthcoming Sockets Records 12". Check it:

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Hume at Old Bridge Festival

Our friend Brit (aka HUME) just sent over this trippy promo video for the Old Bridge Festival taking place August 1st - 2nd, 2009:



It's all $10 and is located at 1256 Old Bridge Road in Amissville, Virginia. More info on bands forthcoming.
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Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Cornel West Theory @ DC Fringe Festival

Denman just sent over some videos he took at Sunday's Fringe Festival. Here is the Cornel West Theory:


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Finer Design | Buildings | Eternal Summers @ Kansas House



Some great bands will be thrashing the Kansas House this Thursday (tomorrow!), July 16th. I suggest you go and take in some of the culture these lovely bands spew forth. Buildings, who we just announced will be releasing an EP on Sockets, will be there to break down some next level $%#t and I here Finer Design and Eternal Summers are totally worth a trip to Kansas House as well! Here are the details:

Finer Design
Buildings
Eternal Summers
@ Kansas House
900 N Kansas St
Arlington, VA
8pm-11pm

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Fringe Era Mix: Marc Masters



Marc Masters wrote a book entitled No Wave. It's pretty amazing. He graciously volunteered to do a Fringe Era mix and I couldn't be happier. Here's what he wrote to describe the motivation behind the songs he picked:
I think of it as sort of a Raymond Scott mix - I've been obsessed with him lately and thinking about what seems to be his influence on electronic and/or percussive avant-garde music, past and present. So...I put together some stuff that to me carries on his vibe, maybe...:)
I think it does carry on that vibe. Check it out for yourself:

Download Fringe Era Mix 7: Marc Masters (zSHARE)

1. "Take Me To Your Violin Teacher" - Raymond Scott
2. "A Rag of Pride" - Nick Forte
3. "Cryptic Syntax" - Brown Wing Overdrive
4. "Taboo Death" - Jed Speare
5. "Take Five" - PBK
6. "How Do You Know Where To Throw The Ball?" - Chris Corsano
7. "Aggro Vault" - Astral Social Club
8. "Breath and Length" - The Residents
9. "Galkoth" - Dino Felipe
10. "Blech" - Woebot
11. "Speichen" - Ursula Bogner

33 Minutes and 42 Seconds
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Hooked on Colette Compilation

One of my favorite shops, Colette, just released a compilation cd Hooked on Colette and it's now available through the shop's estore or at the physical store in Paris. Lots of great groups, including The Fly Girlz, Tiga, and Dirty Projectors.

From the description:

The most daring mixtures are the best when they are assayed, the symphonies of Beethoven and Britten stand next to Murcof electronica interpretation of Lully, and to the yet exclusive "Rondo Parisiano" of The String electro Baroque duet "Something A La Mode" accompanied through the voice of Karl Lagerfeld.

The trip goes on with the fetishism according to Tiga, The Apocalypse according to Krikor, the bewitchment according to Dirty Projectors, the raw magnetism according to The XX, The urgency according to Blank Dogs, The flow of the schoolgirls Fly Girlz transported taken to new territories by the production of Nathan Corbin, an invitation to slow dance with Jeremy Jay, a trippy version of Korgis by The Field .... Among other "extraterrestrials" and a bit perverse pleasures.

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Monday, July 13, 2009

Buildings aka bldgs



Buildings aka bldgs is a band from Washington, DC / Brooklyn, NY who play instrumental music that makes me excited about instrumental music again. The band sheds pretension from guitar-based instrumental rock and offers something subtle and beautiful. The current lineup includes:

David Rich - drums
Collin Crowe - guitar
Andrea Meneghello - guitar
Nick McCarthy - bass

The band formed when David moved to DC from Boston a year or two ago and met Collin randomly at a tsunami benefit dance party. The two started to jam as Collin's last band Sentai was fizzling out. After some lineup changes, the current members coalesced in December 2008.

The band do not see "Buildings" as a pluralized version of the noun "building" like "capitol building", but instead see the name as more of a verb, to denote the essence of motion. Their live show has developed over the last year to include film projections and they have quickly become one of the best live shows in this city.

Sockets Records is excited to announce the release of the band's new EP this summer. More info as soon as we get it. To get a sense of the power that is Buildings, check out their song "Seventy-Five Percent Of One Standard":

Download Buildings' "Seventy-Five Percent Of One Standard Unit of Measurement" (divShare)
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Sockets Records Fringe Festival Show Wrap-up

Last night's Socket Records Fringe Festival show was really great. Chris Grier opened the show and delivered a beautifully layered solo guitar set with equal parts shred and shimmer. Big Gold Belt's Luke and Christy brought bedroom beats to bare and gave a spectacular live version of their disjointed, disco pop. And after two great sets, the Cornel West Theory brought the fire and played one of the more amazing shows I've seen them deliver. They've been asked to come back and perform for the Fringe Festival in two weeks, so they are not to be missed. For more pics, check out the Flickr set I just uploaded.



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Thursday, July 9, 2009

New Zs Videos

Oh boy. More ZS FRESHNESS!

Zs | NYC @ Monster Island | 24 Jun 2009 from UN:ART:IG on Vimeo.


Zs | NYC @ The Studio at Webster Hall | 15 Jun 2009 | New Slaves from UN:ART:IG on Vimeo.


Check out the original awesome post from un:ART:ig.
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Fringe Era Mix: Sean Peoples



The latest Fringe Era Mix highlights some of my favorite jazz music from around the world. I realized that when I want to really enjoy time spent listening to music, I pull out a jazz record. I hope you enjoys these tracks as much as I do.

Download Fringe Era Mix 6: Sean Peoples (zSHARE)

1. Paul’s Ark – Morris Wilson Beau Bailey Quintet
2. Outer Spaceways, Inc. – Sun Ra
3. Kele Mubana Overpain and Struggle to Black – Mor Thiam
4. Nyusamkhaya – Gwigwi Mrwebi
5. Tezeta (Nostalgia) – Mulatu Astatke
6. Brazilian Bossa Galore – Bola Sete
7. In A Gadda Da Vida – Mongo Santamaria
8. Hypnotic – Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
9. Cryin’ Blues – Charles Mingus
10. Oua-Train – The Har-You Percussion Group
11. Down Here on the Ground – Grant Green
12. His Blessings – McCoy Tyner

48 Minutes and 4 Seconds
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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Sockets Records Fringe Festival Show

The Sockets camp is getting ready for an amazing little label showcase taking place this Sunday, July 12th, featuring bands from Sockets Records. Sponsored by the DC Capital Fringe Festival, the show highlights three of our favorite local, DC bands. Here's the details and the flier the Fringe Festival sent over:

the Cornel West Theory
Big Gold Belt
Chris Grier

Sunday July 12, 2009
Capital Fringe Festival
607 New York Avenue NW at the Baldacchino Tent and The Shop
9pm-midnight
$10 ALL AGES


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Monday, July 6, 2009

Fringe Era Mix: Boy Dream Wonder



The 5th installment of Sockets Records Fringe Era Mix series finds James Magnum and his Boy Dream Wonder moniker bringing us a selection of glitchy treats. I've never heard any of this music, so it was great to get a sampling of what James is listening to these days. Check it out and grab a hold of the nearest 8-bit gaming system.

Download Fringe Era Mix 5: Boy Dream Wonder (zSHARE)

1. Loving The Ghost In The Machine - UnicornDreamAttack
2. Destination Tomorrow - Nullsleep
3. Particle Change - Bit Shifter
4. Press Start (To Play With My Heart) - Firebrand Boy
5. The Dance - CCIvory
6. How To Meet Local Hot Women Oxyg3n St4r
7. Beautiful Brutality - Random
8. Golden Apples! - Shirobon
9. Polis - Disasterpiece

26 Minutes and 42 Seconds
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Cure and the Berlin Wall

Hello - Just back from Berlin and ready to start posting a bunch of stuff to the blog. We've got two Fringe mixes this week and some new tracks from local DC talent.

In the meantime, here's a photo I snapped of a Robert Smith stencil on the Berlin Wall:


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