Avi Buffalo: She Is Seventeen

Long Beach, California resident Avi Zahner-Isenberg aka Avi Buffalo is working on his second full-length release which will be released on Subpop sometime this year.  Meanwhile, exclusive edition CDs consisting of tracks recorded recently at a hideaway in Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles will be available for fans atttending any of the six shows listed below.

Original drummer Sheridan Riley is still in the band; bassist John Anderson is the current bassist.

05/08  Los Angeles, CA: The Echo
05/22  Portland, OR: Mississippi Studios
05/23  Vancouver, BC: The Biltmore Cabaret
05/26  Boise, ID: Neurolux
05/27  Salt Lake City, UT: Urban Lounge
05/29  San Francisco, CA: The Independent


www.facebook.com/avibuffalomusic


The video for "She Is Seventeen" was shot at the Gold House venue in Albuquerque, New Mexico last fall.


Read my October 2009 interview with Avi:
http://latenightdj.blogspot.com/2009/10/q-with-avigdor-zahner-isenberg-of-avi.html

George Maple: Fixed

Sydney native Jess Higgs aka George Maple recently relocated to London to further her solo career after contributing vocals to numerous electronica/house tracks (Flume, Flight Facilities, etc.)

Her first single "Uphill" was released in late 2012.  A second single "Fixed" drops April 15: the video mixing various "found" footage was published a week ago.

Maple's vocals/sound strongly recall Canadian (longtime New York City based) electronica/deep house goddess Lisa Shaw who also started out as a featured vocalist, most notably on two tracks by Miguel Migs, the sublime "Always" and "Let It Ride".  It would be interesting to have Migs produce Maple's next project.


www.facebook.com/GeorgeMapleMusic

Justin Timberlake: Mirrors

Last Saturday Justin Timberlake hosted SNL for the fifth time and was the musical guest as well.  The same week he performed five songs from his excellent new album 'The 20/20 Experience' on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (as a bonus the two of them did a hilarious and impressive "History of Rap" medley.)  On both occasions the 32-year-old singer-songwriter-producer-actor-entrepreneur was backed by his stellar band & backing vocalists aka The Tennessee Kids, named after his homestate.

His next album, a "sequel" to 'The 20/20 Experience', is scheduled for a late November release.

In July and August Timberlake teams up with Jay-Z for the North American 'Legends of Summer' tour which includes two shows at Yankee Stadium in NYC.


http://justintimberlake.com/tour/

www.facebook.com/justintimberlake


The 8:21 min. video accompanying the track "Mirrors" was directed by renowned Italian-Canadian multimedia artist Floria Sigismondi. The David Lynch-meets-Ingmar Bergman clip is a moving tribute to Timberlake's maternal grandparents William and Sadie Bomar who were married for 63 years before William's passing in late 2012.


http://www.floriasigismondi.com/main.html

Daughter: Still

London trio Daughter (Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli, Remi Aguilella) will be releasing their debut full-length album 'If You Leave' March 18 in the UK/Europe and April 30 in the U.S. 

Close to sixty dates are scheduled between April 2 and October 29, including several festival gigs.

https://www.facebook.com/ohdaughter/events


The poignant video for "Still" was directed by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard and stars Rebecca Birch and Jack Waldouck.

http://www.iainandjane.com/about/biography/

Maria Timm: To Catch An Ocean

In 2007 Danish guitarist-bassist-singer-songwriter Maria Timm, formerly of Marybell Katastrophy, founded the Århus, Jutland based band that bears her name.  A debut full-length 'The Plan' was released in 2009, and was followed up this week by the album 'I Come Undone'. 

Carla Hauge, Søren Poulsen, Kasper Solhøj Kristensen, Søren Bigum, and Anne Kirstine Winkler make up the rest of Maria Timm.

The single "To Catch An Ocean" is accompanied by a dizzying, ultra low-budget, but very effective video shot primarily on location at one of central Copenhagen's many beautiful public parks, Østre Anlæg.


www.facebook.com/mariatimmdk

Rhye: Open + The Fall

Danish songwriter-producer Robin Hannibal (right) of Quadron and Boom Clap Bachelors has many irons in the fire: his latest collaborator, Canadian singer-songwriter-musician-producer Michael Milosh aka Milosh makes up the other half of Rhye whose debut full-length album 'Woman' was released this week.

The  L.A. based duo is getting a lot of buzz lately in part due to the videos that accompany the tracks "Open" and "The Fall".  The director is Daniel Kragh-Jacobsen, nephew of Dogme 95 Collective co-founder Søren Kragh-Jacobsen whose acclaimed film career in Denmark stretches back to the 1970s.  Daniel's cinematic DNA is evident in his output so far; however, he has also managed to add a very personal touch to the work which includes clips made for Quadron, Boom Clap Bachelors, When Saints Go Machine, and more.  He will be graduating from American Film Institute in L.A. this summer.

Rhye will be performing at SXSW in Austin March 14 and 15, and has nine North American dates scheduled for April, starting with a (sold out) L.A. gig April 1 at the newer intimate venue The Masonic Lodge at legendary Hollywood Forever Cemetery.


http://www.rhyemusic.com/tour-dates

https://www.facebook.com/RhyeMusic

http://vimeo.com/user2555023

http://www.hollywoodforever.com/culture

The Stepkids: Sweet Salvation + Suburban Dream + Legend In My Own Mind

 

Bridgeport, Connecticut trio The Stepkids was signed to Stones Throw Records in 2010; the renowned L.A. label released their self-titled debut full-length in 2011. 

"Sweet Salvation" is the first single from their forthcoming album 'Troubadour'; it's also the title of their new EP.

The band will be playing several festivals this summer, including Bonnaroo June 13.


https://www.facebook.com/thestepkids/app_123966167614127

www.thestepkidsband.com

http://www.stonesthrow.com/thestepkids


Notes on video 2 and 3: the tracks "Suburban Dream" and "Legend in His Own Mind" are both from the debut album.

David Bowie: The Stars Are Out Tonight

Deliciously creepy video directed by Floria Sigismondo starring David Bowie and the incomparable Tilda Swinton.  (Sigismondo also shot "Little Wonder" and "Dead Man Walking", two hyperkinetic clips that accompanied two of Bowie's singles off his 1997 'Earthling' album.)

Clearly still going strong at 66, Bowie releases his 26th studio album 'The Next Day' March 11/12.

www.davidbowie.com/


I posted the first single/video "Where Are We Now" in January:

http://latenightdj.blogspot.com/2013/01/david-bowie-where-are-we-now.html