Toronto photographer and filmmaker Laura-Lynn Petrick hit the road with Quilt this summer to document their cross-country trip across the US of A. Here we share with you her VHS travelogue, set to the tune of “Mary Mountain.” Be sure to check out Laura-Lynn’s photo diary over on The FADER too.
[youtube http://youtu.be/RBXyvzMu-2w]
Friday, November 21, Dog Gone and Just Shows join forces to bring you Montreal’s sitar-wielding psychnaughts Elephant Stone alongside the garage-stompin’ noise of The Blind Shake from Minneapolis. Filling out the bill are local Optical Sounds labelmates The Auras and B-17. It all goes down at The Silver Dollar shortly after 9PM.
$8 advance tickets are available at Rotate This, Soundscapes & Ticketfly.
RSVP.
(poster by Jess Milton)
For their latest offering, the good folks at Singles Club—Brooklyn’s quarterly subscription-based record club and digital music journal—present a brand new track from our brothers in Woodsman. Recorded live to tape, “Further” captures the feel of Woodsman’s extended on-stage explorations and demonstrates the band’s adept ability at layering spacey, transcendent instrumental kosmische. Along with the music, Singles Club have also assembled a stunning digital journal that offers insight into how the song was forged and the band’s creation process. Have a listen to the track below and head over to Singles Club to sign up for your subscription.
Back in 2009, writer David Keenan coined the term “hypnagogic pop” to describe a new generation of experimental lo-fi musicians channeling the sounds of ’80s pop radio, New Wave, New Age and synth-driven VHS soundtracks into a form of neo-psychedelic music. Zones, the solo project of artist/musician Derek McKeon, is one of Toronto’s finest studies into that unique school of music. Crafting hazey, sun soaked psych melodies that coast through warbling dub and kraut grooves, McKeon’s music in Zones calls to mind a melding of early Ducktails and the twisted dub of Sun Araw. Much like his own art, McKeon’s music is a collage of psychedelic tropicalia.
Have a listen to Real Time, the debut release from Zones, which came out earlier this year on Heretical Objects. Zones plays the Holodeck at The Drake Underground alongside Doomsquad and Petra Glynt this Saturday as part of Nuit Blanche.
On October 18th, Dog Gone Presents Chicago psych band Secret Colors with The Auras and Sunshine & The Blue Moon at Magpie Taproom. Projections will be provided by Laura-Lynn Petrick. Tickets are $5/PWYC at the door.
Anna Mayberry put out one of our favorite releases of 2013 with a self-titled EP under her solo moniker Anamai. Ahead of her short run of tour dates kicking off tomorrow night in Ottawa, Anna has shared with us the wintery video for our favourite track on the EP, “Altar Coals.” Be sure to catch Anamai if she’s playing in your locale, and if you haven’t already, pick up the EP from Buzz Records.
[youtube http://youtu.be/v70wsU-zAYc]
A wise friend once hipped me onto the sounds of New Jersey hippy folk band Widsith and their back roads 1972 LP Maker of Song. It’s been a sunny day favorite ever since. A glance at the cover art shows a photo depicting two, very similar looking, long-haired mustached dudes leaning up against a dusty old barn with nothing else but a set of barrel staves and some mangy grass poking up from the bottom of the shot. While they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, records certainly aren’t books. Here, the music you find within sounds like the cover looks. It’s like the photo was taken moments after they emerged from recording in that very barn. Mics crackle like they’re caked with an inch of dust; fluttery, telecasted guitar lines dance around each other Blind Faith style; tales of the road are sung out in a Dino Valenti-kinda-Van Morrison style drawl. Every song is a gem here, friends.
Long thought to be a lost treasure of the private press world, a few years back Alithia records shed a bit of light on the mystery LP with a lovely reissued version. I haven’t seen it around many places, but it’s out there. Seek one out for yourself.
Since 2008, Richard Gibson and his brother Robert have quietly been operating the underground Toronto-based psych label Optical Sounds. A genuine individual who’s passion for music seeps from his pores, Richard has forged a scene–largely centered around the Kensington Market bar The Embassy–that recalls the prime of the psychedelic heyday.
Home to many of the city’s finest psych and shoegaze bands, Optical Sounds brings together the kind of artists who self release their material, but wave a collective flag and gig constantly around town with one another. A musical collective in its truest sense.
Earlier this week, Optical Sounds released Psych Pop Vol. 2, a compilation featuring songs from artists on the label along with some that are part of its extended family. You can hear the compilation for free via Bandcamp or streaming below. You can also see many of these bands performing live this Saturday night at the compilation release party taking place at The Great Hall.
Richard was kind enough to take a bit of time to chat with us about the label, himself and the new compilation. Read on for the full conversation after the jump.
Anna Fox Ronchinski of Boston psych-folk band Quilt was kind enough to put together this Winter-themed mix for us. Quilt are releasing their excellent new album Held in Splendor next week on Mexican Summer and will be hitting the road in support shortly thereafter. Head to Mexican Summer to pre-order Held in Splendor and check out the full list of tour dates after the jump.
Boston psych-folk trio Quilt have unveiled the second tune off their forthcoming album, Held In Splendor, out January 28 via Mexican Summer. Hear the raved-up “Tired & Buttered” below and be sure to check out their upcoming tour dates as well.
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