The Deli Magazine NYC Issue #32 by The Deli Magazine

the deli

the magazine about emerging nyc bands

FREE in NYC $2 in the USA

Issue #32 Volume #2 Fall 2012

www.thedelimagazine.com

Young Magic Wildlife Control Blonds Il Abanico Cuddle Magic EndAnd the last royals Railbird The Everymen you bred raptors? Plume Giant

Laura Stevenson & the cans Anya Skidan New Myths Modern Rivals Mal Blum Eytan & The Embassy

CMJ 2012 Issue!

Foxygen Live at Pianos 10.19.2012

Stomp Box Exhibit 2012 in W’burg,

October 19 & 20

MS MR

Inside:

Guide to The Deli’s 11 CMJ Shows

the deli

the magazine aboutthe emerging nyc scene bands everything about nyc music Issue #32 Volume #2 Fall 2012

Editor In Chief: Paolo De Gregorio Founder: Charles Newman Executive Editor: Quang D. Tran Senior Editor: Ed Gross Art Director/Designer: Kaz Yabe (www.kazyabe.com) Assistant Editor: Tracy Mamoun Cover Photo: Angel Cellabos Web Developers: Mark Lewis, Alex Borsody Staff Writers: Bill Dvorak, Nancy Chow, Mike SOS, Dean Van Nguyen, Meijin Bruttomesso, Dave Cromwell, Ben Krieger, Mike Levine In-House Contributing Writers: Christina Morelli, BrokeMC, Ed Guardaro, Amanda F. Dissinger, Chelsea Eriksen, Simon Heggie, Molly Horan, Annamarya Scaccia, Tuesday Phillips, Corinne Bagish, Christine Cauthen, Devon Antonetti, Jen Mergott, Bob Raymonda, Brian Chidester, Joshua S. Johnson The Kitchen: Janice Brown, Howard J. Stock, Ben Wigler, Shane O’Connor, Matt Rocker, David Weiss, Gus Green Stomp Box Exhibit Intern: Andrés Marin Interns: Mijhal Poler, Kristina Tortoriello Publishers: The Deli Magazine LLC / Mother West, NYC

Note from the Editor Dear readers, We booked 83 bands for the 2012 CMJ Music Marathon - but it doesn’t mean we didn’t want to book more! Here’s a list of artists we ALSO wanted to book, but for various reasons, the stars didn’t align: Beacon, Chrome Canyon, Clear Plastic Masks, Clouder, Devin, Deathrow Tull, Eraas, High Highs, Fergus & Geronimo, Generation Ohm, Hunters, Io Echo, Jesca Hoop, Lucius, Magmana, Noosa, Stone Cold Fox, People Get Ready, Quilt, Skaters, Ski Lodge, Soft Spot, Spirit Family Reunion, Talk Normal, Total Slacker, Water Knot, Wilsen, Zulus - and many others that we can’t think of at this time. They are all featured in our blogs at thedelimagazine.com. -Paolo De Gregorio

Read the past issues of The Deli in PDF !! www.TheDeliMagazine.com/PDF

nyc.thedelimagazine.com

Read our NYC blog & submit your music for review

nyc.thedelimagazine.com /top300

Use The Deli’s Charts to know your scene + find bands to play with

• Keep updated with the newest emerging NYC indie artists.

• Enter your band for free in our charts organized by genre and region.

• Use our free DIY Live Listings and Open Blog to promote your music (or other bands you like) !!!

• Find out about other like-minded artists in your same genre.

Is your Band Good?

ny artist or band interested in earning a living through music at some point must wonder if there is a chance that a considerable number of people will like their music when properly promoted to the masses. There is actually a simple way to get a rather precise idea about that: start looking for a PR person. Depending on who you find, you’ll have your answer.

Read the full article on

delicious-audio.com

F 10 ield :4 FM 510 ieol :4 dusM 5 eo us Ta e 10 sh :0 Taak 010 si hM :0 aiky 0 iaM ki

Yo uYn ogu Mn agg ica 1:4 M 0 gi Hu 1:4 c nHd 0 uren dd rW eda e 12 tW :5 rast M 012 er ac :5 s MD 0 aec MD ae 12 rcMo :0 ar 012 co Sn :0 0

Se Si m Th w o iSne gw Snim om 7o: Thaos Min 0n0 m agc U hMi 7 a Cu Pr nio 7: naecsh :00 s So es Unn ltf 40 in Cevu ci ePrv Sitor 7: es eSto eas nee 8: eltr 40 yc teior Stt 20 fe 7ie: vna re 8: ver 0ty0 t e Ra 20 7: ion t ilb 00 R 9: irad T D h 0 il J e 7: ust M 09: bird 8: ohn RTe 45 DE 0 au h 00 v J 0 Doe e r 7: unsgt sMH 8: hlon Reen 45 iEn 00 rD vd aau ee er eneg 9: uss lo en 45 Ha rins re d S ee 9: us h 8 a 45 rs :3 kSe To 08 hy 8: w :3 aGker 50 nTo 0 ayv 8: Hwa Ges 50 nll Lu ra Ha Sw s ve P h 10 Lli l l 9 l s 9: um :4 eaS :3 ufes 15 Pe 09 rw& 010 hl l i 9 u e

DOWNSTAIRS

TUESDAY

Backwords RTUESDAY

DOWNSTAIRS

R E

7:15 Backwords 7:15

THURSDAY

AP THURSDAY AP

Dynasty Electr 11: Dynasty Electric 11:15

A m eAr im ca enr iRc oany 7: aRltoy 00 ya M od 7: lty 00 M er ond Rei 7: rvnalRs 50 iv 7: als 50 Il A bIa ln 8: Aicboa 40 n 8: ico 40 Co nv Ce 9: oynov 30 re 9: yo 30 r

AF Anti-Folk Sidewalk Cafe Stage - (free) (pg.22) AF Anti-Folk Stage (pg.22) SATURDAY 10.20 Delinquency - $8 (suggested) SATURDAY 10.20 N Noise Rock (pg. 24) Delinquency - $8Stage (suggested) N Noise Rock Stage (pg. 24)

o G 10

PC Post-Chestral (pg. 14-15) The Living Room -Stage $8 PC Post-Chestral Stage (pg. 14-15) THURSDAY 10.18 The Delancey THURSDAY 10.18- $10 E Electronic (pg. 18-19) The Delancey -Stage $10 AP Avant Pop E Electronic Stage 16-17) Stage (pg.(pg. 18-19) AP Avant Pop Stage (pg. 16-17) FRIDAY 10.19 Pianos10.19 - $10/12 (free upstairs) FRIDAY P P Stages (pg. 20-21) PianosMostly - $10/12Psych (free upstairs) P P Mostly Psych (pg. 20-21) Sidewalk Cafe -Stages (free)

nd 5 Ba 11:1 d n 5 no Ba 11:1 ga no Pa n ga Pa Be n Be ns ai 0 Br :0 s e 12 rain 0 th B :0 & e 12 y th az & y Cr az Cr

Brooklyn & Manhattan New York City Brooklyn & Manhattan October 16-20 New York City October 16-20 TUESDAY 10.16 The Delancey TUESDAY 10.16 - $10 (free upstairs) R R Rootsy-Stages 6-8) The Delancey $10 (free(pg. upstairs) R R Rootsy Stages (pg. 6-8) WEDNESDAY 10.17 Spike Hill - $7 WEDNESDAY 10.17 IP Indie Spike Hill Pop - $7 Stage (pg. 10) AR Alt-Rock IP Indie Stage (pg. 12) Pop Stage (pg. 10) AR Alt-Rock Stage (pg. 12) The Living Room - $8

E 11: x C 30 Eox 11: psC 30 o ps

The Deli Magazine’s The Deli Magazine’s Music Map Music Map

Anomie Bel 12:0 Anomie Belle

12:00 Duc 12:4 Ducky Drop12:45 Electr Drop Electric1:3 1:30

0: M hk no es 9: w&e 0: lLifu ll 0 ey 012 rc 9: uGm ai kM 00 iaiyka 40 aSSrh 9: o o 30 es S w 15 iaPe i kM : i iy 0 h w 30 r n 10 li mo 9: &aekS i iy 0 tmi 9: nluG ak fe : 4 a e Dinosaur Feathers i 3 w Snnem 15 aen ak hr a& i 0 0 1 I J n 1:1 o Ro tG i kSe 1 P DT 10:20 Bl O Feathers Dinosaur i ia 01 w ne ha0: &J ul o 1 nIne n RDo 0 1:1 m Reto F t 10:20 ke001 tPhe :3 nBdl OW Feathers Dinosaur 0 in Ttb tue rie & 0 0 o 1 s n 11 e 0: n Ii :0 GJthPi 7: RoD leR8 nFd 10:20 :10 B 00 ottT 7:4 endW t 30 dl 010 lbe& O o:t3eu rie b s e o 1 0le8 nF G 7: Ro 57 nine 0 : r 00 ttihlsb XN :3 nd 00 ot t t:3te dri :4 dW ee 0 1 b e s 0 5 0 Y Grt 7: o :4 XN 8: nd 7: ind La islb WEDNESDAY 00 t 45 & u 30 510 Y er r L th aa :4 X ts WEDNESDAY N S 5 e& utr 10 Y Wildlife Control e En C tha aLva Th :4 WEDNESDAY 5 S 11:10 e e 5 n Fo u & :10 dEA Ro eT Wildlife Control sCth tnreasv L M xyF n a o 5 1 eS yRa hae 11:10 :10nddA o 9 Wildlife Control s Ev en1:s2C nntes g o E l o : sy1 tTLha 15 oM 10 exn n n er 0a11n voen 5 11:10 y a0Rl: est :10 dA :2 Fgo 9: oKoin Eesv :2s ns Letting Up Despite os0y01 L 010 ex 15 nM teCr 011 o g nd nyg as Th n 0 : a Great Faults 12:00 e 9: Koion : 2 E Letting Up Despite a 2 4 : 1 l e s 0 t 0 s v l 2 te 0 15 ng Ki 10 en 010 :20 ETvh ng Ki Great Faults 12:00 :101 eCrea :2 Letting Up Despite 4 e : ng s 0 2: let 00 SATURDAY :2 rEyT 1 0 m v Great Faults 12:00 01 Ca h 4: eer E 2: le M SATURDAY 20 nyEm 3: UL 10 u v 3 Santah A e ern 9: raMls 03 EU SATURDAY y 30 ur E m 12:50 :3 LAE Santah 9: yta 9: aM en 0 U 15 En 30 lsu 3 L 12:50 R : T 3 Santah A 9: y& 9: rals 8 ob he taE 0 1 30 :3 eR 5 T n 12:50 LTuh 08 rot 9: yh&tea Kiven y e 1 :3 bDeeR 8 a T 5 nEhm LsTu 1:30 Ac : 0 rlto 4 Kiven &e 08 hyea 8: D 8: e A b TEah 30 bnegrl 30 A 1:30 R : L s 4 n nDge m u ot nD 7 ecpe Kiven 0 y s 8 e Av sbyE 8: yas :45 aAS :3 oRA lo ge 1:30 n a 4 0 retc a ng lo 7: kyi m ssb 0 ALv 8: epero a ng 4 d AaS y 30 Rr 5 u a n a n n k t 7 e ss 7: AaL epr WEDNESDAY :4 yida 50 vua or y 5 aSn n ki te WEDNESDAY 7 a L da : r 50 u Fa n n N 7: st WEDNESDAY 7: a 45 FY 7: ew 50 Po a e 00 NM 7: sat or 45 rsYF 7: eywt P Mo 00 hNM 7: eaastr o 45 sY roPM 7: seywt 7 n ea 00 hM : 00 ooo s Fl rs o S r yt 7 y 7: in nM h : hs 6 0 y 00 Fg o : 0 15 HS 7: on 7: lyPino h u 6: ynt 00 00 gFin 15 HeS l y t P 7: sion 6: urhsnyt 00 ign 15 H eru tPs sn oi te nt rs s

Doe Paoro Cuddle Magic 9:15 Doe Paoro 10:00 Cuddle Magic 9:15 Doe Paoro 10:00

8:20 St. Lenox Mal Blum 8:20 9:00 Mal Blum Mal Blum B9:00 ird 9:00 to Bi rd P Bi to 9: rey rd 4 P to 9 rey 5 : P 4 9: rey 5 45

a Av

St. Lenox 8:20 St. Lenox

FRIDAY P

Life2:40 Size Maps 2:40

Life Size Maps Life2:40 Size Maps

ectric 11:15 ric

:15

Bugs in the Dark 1:50 Bugs in the Dark Figo 1:50 Bugs in1:00 the Dark 1:50Figo N 1:00 Figo 1:00 N

FRIDAY

illo

WEDNESDAY

1:00 Fighter Raccoon 1:00

Dangerous Ponies

1:15Dangerous Ponies 1:15Dangerous Ponies Starlight 1:15Girls 12:30 Starlight Girls 12:30 Starlight Girls 12:30

Belle 12:00 lle

f 0

PC PC PC

Cuddle Magic 10:00

s o 1:4 ? rie 1 f rs st ind s o to:40 ? du l ie p11 f r0s In e B strRad s o to :4 s? th u d lin ie p11 d r a d or In rhee Bust R lin pt Bt u IndreedB Ra Yo :50 Bth d 10 ou 0 re Y :5 B 10 ou 0 Y 0:5

AF Kung Fu Crimewave AF FRIDAY

9:15

FRIDAY

ve Lo 30 o : e G 10 Lov 30 o : e G 10 Lov 30 o 0:

00 Ducky 12:45 cky lectric 45 tric1:30

FRIDAY

7:30 Kung Fu Crimewave 7:30

AF Kung Fu Crimewave AF 7:30 Kung Fu Crimewave AF

FRIDAY

DOWNSTAIRS

WEDNESDAY

Mother Feather 11:30 Feather Mother New Beard 11:30 Mother Feather

12:15 11:30 New Beard 12:15 New Beard 12:15

Raccoon Fighter 1:00 Fighter Raccoon

DOWNSTAIRS

t tS

AR AR Motive AR Motive 10:45

10:45 Motive

10:45

tue 10/16

rootsy

the Delancey

The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

Backwords

(downstair

Everest C ale

7:15pm

8:00pm

Backwords

The Reverend 8:50pm John DeLore Town Hall

o-fi psychedelic band Backwords captures the spirit of the ’60s through each of their four fulllength albums. The group is mildly obsessed with the hippie era, reflecting on the Occupy Wall Street movement as a nod to the love-and-peace generation and infusing that amity into their music. The Broolkyn-based outfit’s sound flows seamlessly between surf and psychedelic rock with wailing guitars and easy pop rhythms, often in the same song. They’ve received favorable comparisons to the Beach Boys and Pink Floyd, which is a fitting not only in referencing their genre, but also in considering their retro visual and sonic aesthetic. However, Backwords doesn’t just imitate the bands’ record collection though. The group manages to evolve with each album, transforming into some well-polished hippies throughout their five-year history. (Devon Antonetti)

Production Corner

By Paolo De Gregorio

Recording The Banjo The banjo - this bizarre mutation of a guitar and a snare drum - can be a difficult instrument to record. The main challenge is to find a balance between the very attacky but thumpy sound audible near the center of the head, and the rest of the instrument’s sonic components, which - because of its complex harmonic structure range from mid lows fundamentals to the top end side of the frequency spectrum. Condenser or dynamic microphones are commonly used for close miking the banjo, but this is an instrument that can shine when at least one mic (normally a large condenser one) is placed a little further from the source - which is obviously something you can’t do only if you are recording it separately from the other instruments. Try placing the close mic 6-12” away, aiming at

or several of the tracks off his new album, Sweet Talk for Pretty Daughters, the Reverend John DeLore recorded his vocals in the room where folk legend Gram Parsons died in 1973. Clearly, the ghost of Parsons was trapped in that space for almost 40 years waiting for someone to set him free and refill the world with his music. That’s one explanation as to how DeLore creates such lovely folk gems. A more likely explanation, however, is the Reverend is an extremely talented singer-songwriter who incorporates his notable influences along with his refreshing take on folk music. Either way, surely Parsons would be very proud, and DeLore should be too. (Joshua Johnson)

he college kids of Town Hall have a knack for combining a pure sense of wonder with their increasing presence in the adult world. This dueling blend of the childlike hope and adulthood reality is clear on the band’s debut full-length record, Roots and Bells. However, when you can create gorgeous indie folk melodies like they can, the mixture of emotions must be a lot easier to manage. (Joshua Johnson)

11:20pm

Laura Stevenson & The Cans See feature on p.40.

12:10am

the center of the head; if the attack is too pronounced, try moving the mic slightly towards the outer edge, towards the bridge and south of the strings, and/ or experimenting with the mic’s angle. Different playing styles call for different techniques - if the player is using a pick or his nails, you may not want to go for the “full center” position, which may instead work better with a more gentle style. Also, always bear in mind that dynamic mics are less sensitive to attack than condensers, and that, as always, the best recordings are tailored to the song context they fit in.

Everest Cale

outh Carolina and Midwest natives Everest Cale have a dream-like, lulling quality - thanks to lead singer Brett Treacy’s passionate crooning throughout the group’s debut EP Beast. With rich guitars and poised refinement, the Brooklyn-based band manages to find new life in a formulaic genre. Beast was released in early September, with the five-song album’s smoldering lyrical and sonic intensity. Everest Cale’s bluesy sound doesn’t come as a surprise, given Treacy’s roots in the South, where he met his bandmates through a “singer wanted” poster. Though the band only has a few songs behind them, the EP is a promising beginning for the “grassroots” rockers. (Devon Antonetti)

rs) 9:40pm

Swear and Shake

rontwoman Kari Spieler has a soulful bedroom drone that fits perfectly between the strumming banjo in her band Swear and Shake. Speiler started the folk-tinged outfit in 2010 after performing on the demos of her bandmate and fellow vocalist Adam McHeffey. Swear and Shake, which also features Shaun Savage on bass and Thomas Elefante on drums, finished their debut LP titled The Maple Ridge in late 2011 releasing the final product earlier this year. The album came after a successful Kickstarter campaign that exceeded the band’s goal, and the record was eventually recorded inside of a barn and former B&B in Cambridge, New York, which penetrates each song with an Americana magnetism and fervent charm. (Devon Antonetti)

Interview at: thedelimag.com/artists/swear-and-shake

10:30pm 1:00am

The Bottom Dollars

his band pulls together a wide range of sounds from southern rock to blues, mixing-up an all-American highimpact burst of indie rock. The ideal mix to end this deli-rious night of roots music.

Blonds

he members of Florida duo Blonds first set up shop in New York to work on the follow-up to their 2011 EP Dark Roots, putting the finishing touches on their full-length album The Bad Ones earlier this year. The group - made up of real-life couple Carie Rae and Jordy Asher - headed up north with their moody, indie-pop songs in hopes of fine-tuning their sound with Rare Book Room producer Nicholas Vernhes, who has worked with everyone from Fischerspooner to Deerhunter. The Bad Ones was released in August and highlights the band’s dramatic, lovesick lyrics with Rae’s unforgettable, soulful vocals. (Devon Antonetti)

Interview at: thedelimag.com/artists/blonds

the deli Fall 2012

rootsy @ the Delancey Plume

(upstairs)

Giant

Rootsy Top 20

The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts

j P and The Gilberts

10:00pm

7:00pm

Union Street Preservation Society

dopted by many music fans and musicians as some kind of antidote to the “pretentiousness” of Brooklyn’s “Hipster Rock,” roots music is slowly but surely invading the NYC scene. Union Street Preservation Society is an emerging Americana string band from Brooklyn, mixing folk with bluegrass and blues with early jazz. Their music is full of spirited harmonies, fresh new melodies and an authentic energy, combining to create the ideal soundtrack to your wildest old timey day dream. (Leah Tribbett)

7:45pm

Dust Engineers

ust Engineers started as a figment of leader Zachary Meyer’s imagination, an early idea to record a life soundtrack as a westwardbound South Dakota teenager. Not wanting to end up exposed like the infamous writer James Frey, caught up in lies and fantasy, Meyer decided instead to “keep it real,” and reveal Dust Engineers as a hard-working, ’90s-influenced folk outfit. The band is part of the No Horse Town collective, giving musicians and visual artists an avenue to collaborate on live performances and multimedia events. In between side projects like books

the deli Fall 2012

of poetry and the occasional acoustic shows around the city, Dust Engineers are back at work recording their next set of country rock tunes. (Devon Antonetti)

8:30pm

Shakey Graves (Austin)

hakey Graves, a.k.a. Alejandro Jose-Garcia, delivers an intimate guitar-and-vocal performance punctuated by subtle harmony and precious silence - lo-fi folk candy.

9:15pm

Plume Giant

lume Giant is a trio of multiinstrumentalists/vocalists who recently relocated to the city after graduating from Yale. From their theatrical grace to their retro-fitted instrumentals and rich vocal harmonies, they’re not really like anyone else in the city. They bring a refreshing finesse to the table and a lot of fun to the stage. With Calithump and its magnetic a capellas and swaying ways of a ’60s summer daydream, Plume Giant easily charmed their way into the hearts of the NYC music scene. Probably the most endearing act to join the local folk parade this year, they’ve earned themselves a warm welcome to their new home. (Tracy Mamoun)

1. Regina Spektor 2. Cat Power 3. Devendra Banhart 4. Theophilus London 5. Norah Jones 6. Ingrid Michaelson 7. Jenny Owen Youngs 8. Titus Andronicus 9. Antony and the Johnsons 10. CocoRosie 11. Ron Pope 12. A.A. Bondy 13. Citizen Cope 14. Sharon Van Etten 15. Adam Green 16. Khaled 17. Warren Haynes 18. Punch Brothers 19. Deer Tick 20. Daniel Merriweather Check out our self-generating onlin e charts:

thedelimagazine.com

/charts

JP & The Gilberts

he Brooklyn trio JP & the Gilberts sound like a mixture of intoxicating bluegrass and rousing folk melodies. Frontman JP Gilbert, with his distinctive drawl, also performs with the metal band J.A.C.K. and experimental math rockers Abacus, but finds traditional Americana melodies with the Gilberts. The band released their debut album “Introducing…” last December, which pays homage to a broken marriage and the heavy drinking that often follows. For a band steeped in metal and progressive influences, JP & the Gilberts have a firm grasp on the bluegrass aesthetic. (Devon Antonetti)

10:45pm

XNY

ust about every young urbanite has those loud next-door neighbors who host band practices way too often throughout all hours of the night. Fortunately for the duo in XNY, the music on the other side of the wall worked more as an audition, bringing together singer-songwriter Pam Autuori and drummer Jacob Schreiber. The two started playing their reflective garage rock in their native Boston before heading to Brooklyn. The group’s appropriately titled full-length debut Through The Wall was released in June, drawing favorable comparisons to The Kills and Broken Social Scene, falling somewhere in-between the art rock groups. (Devon Antonetti)

wed 10/17

indie pop

spike hill Fast Years

The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

Eytan and The Embassy 7:00pm

The

L ast

Indie P op Top 20

Royals

The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts

Flying Points

1. Fun. 2. Lana Del Rey 3. Sufjan Stevens 4. freelance whales 5. Friends 6. MS MR 7. MGMT 8. Twin Sister 9. Vampire Weekend 10. Santigold 11. The Drums 12. Cults 13. Hospitality 14. Beach Fossils 15. Broken Bells 16. Chairlift 17. Lenka 18. Oh Land 19. Rufus Wainwright 20. Savoir Adore

See Music Building feature on p.44.

7:45pm

Fast Years

et the good times roll. Like a name that could have come straight from a James Dean quote, Fast Years plays fast, fun indie pop that gets right to the point and stays at that mileage until the end. Making it their mission to re-ignite Ramones-style party anthems, the quintet plays through their riffs like a rock mission statement, while incorporating doo wop and beat influences in their sound. These guys are also getting a reputation for being one of most smiling bands in the NYC scene (probably only second to Matt & Kim), which never hurts - with girls in particular. (Mike Levine)

8:30pm

Ace Reporter

ne thing Ace Reporter, a.k.a. singer/songwriter Chris Snyder, is not, is a slacker. As a youngster, he lent his voice to movies and television. More recently in 2010, Snyder took it upon himself to write, record, and publish an original song every single day. That’s right - EVERY SINGLE DAY. While he came out of that experimental year with 4 EPs worth of material (released over the course of 2011), Snyder has yet to drop fulllength album, but a LP, Yearling, is in progress. In the meantime, he will be playing several CMJ dates including

the deli Fall 2012

the Deli Mag showcase. Don’t miss his pop-amplified indie folk and well-honed vocals. (Corinne Bagish)

Check out our self-generating onlin e charts:

thedelimagazine.com

/charts

9:15pm

Eytan and The Embassy

Reason to Cry,” to the mid-tempo “Good Morning Marilyn,” Eytan has a knack for reclaiming classic rock and pop styles as his own. (Mike Levine)

10:00pm

ytan Oren could probably be accused of many things, but unmotivated would not be one of them. In his latest video for “Everything Changes” (which has received 420,000 views in just one week), Eytan and The Embassy express an appeal to adaptation, set to music that vaguely references “Cruel to be Kind.” The video goes through a startling 18 costume changes with no editing. As one insightful YouTube commenter remarked: “Damn you got such a distinctive face, but still manage to show off so many different personalities!” Indeed. Eytan wears a lot of hats in this band - both musically and literally. His new record The Perfect Breakup, finds the Brooklyn singer constantly reinventing himself. From the consoling dance fever of opener “No

The Last Royals

or a band apparently inspired by non-glamorous, gritty urban living, Brooklyn’s The Last Royals sure pack a lot of general appeal. Indie pop plus clever lyrics and attention to detail - driving beat, claps, spoken lines - make for a listening experience that doesn’t fade to the background. The duo dropped the single “Only the Brave” in mid-August, and are gearing up to release a 3-song EP in October followed by the full-length Twistification, slated for a January release. If “Only the Brave,” a positively soaring anthem, is any indication of what’s to come, I’d say we’re in for some great (and danceable) heights. (Corinne Bagish)

the deli Fall 2012

wed 10/17

alt rock

spike hill Alt Roc k Top 20

10:45pm

The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts

Motive

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

D The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

espite the whole Romney video buzz, neither “Nobody Eats My Dinner” nor any of the EP or follow-up single had much to do with politics - what;s to be retained here is some great quality indie rock, and the story of some twenty-something dude’s existential doubts, the same one we meet two years later picking up his pace and mood for double A-side “What’s So Bad”/“Lay Some Light”. (Tracy Mamoun)

11:30pm

Mother Feather

lam’d up in cabaret-punk flash, Ann & Lizzie are the two fierce frontwomen of this self-defined pop cock-rock five-piece - Mother Feather - probably one of the most flamboyant bands on the local scene. Packed with sexuality, self-assurance and strength, their self-titled EP dishes out its cheeky pop, tramp-o-licious outbursts, powerhouse rock songs to anyone in need of a little pick-me-up. (Tracy Mamoun)

the deli Fall 2012

Brand New The Dirty Pearls Sol Ardour Generator Ohm Andrew W.K. Alberta Cross We Are Scientists Steel Train The Hold Steady Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

Check out our self-ge

11. Straylight Run 12. Wakey!Wakey! 13. Rhett Miller 14. Semi Precious Weapons 15. Stereo Skyline 16. Morningwood 17. At Sea 18. The Willowz 19. Atomic Tom 20. Black Taxi

nerating online charts:

thedelimagazine.com

/charts

Mother Feather 12:15am

New Beard

B’s latest album New Bird City proudly welcomes you to its galant parade of new sounds, to which have been invited strings and winds, flutes particularly prominent and contributing to the eeriest corners of NBC. Down most roads though, it’s delightfully festive; as the anachronistic carnival unfolds, bringing together courteous orchestration and pop sensitivity - we’re meeting the NEW New Beard - sophisticated, still charmingly nuts. (Tracy Mamoun)

1:00am

Raccoon Fighter

ourtesy of Raccoon Fighters, here comes raw rock and roll repackaged for the post-everything generation - exploring ’60s garage, blues rock, grunge sounds in a manner that stands at reasonable distance from faithful revivalism and anything formulaic. How? Complete incoherence and a soft contemporary frame. They’ve well-understood that it isn’t one particular aesthetic we’re after but an energy altogether. Those who are expecting monster rock are at the wrong door, but for the others, a tasty mouthful of dirt. (Tracy Mamoun)

the deli Fall 2012

wed 10/17

post- chestral

the livin

7:00pm

DT Rotbot

D The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

TRotbot’s latest single “Lily” opens like a Zappa or Captain Beefheart classic that never was. Going through more changes in its first two minutes than many artists’ entire records, it’s exciting to hear an artist exploring this oft-ignored nether region of pop music’s experiments Doe aoro Photo: Betsi Ewing - spoken word and sound collage come together in one backyard. For those fans looking to find a cheap way to ascend through so much sonic landscape, you to Mars without the aid of too many might think it reasonable that you’d dangerous drugs, DTRotbot should be eventually get a good idea about how all you need. (Mike Levine) this band operates. But like an old noir film, Friend Roulette never gives away the plot. (Mike Levine) 7:45pm

In One Wind

ands like In One Wind, seem to hail from some unknown country with a newly discovered set of music traditions that help us digest our modern landscape in instruments both foreign and familiar. On their debut EP Lean, the group nearly invents their own folk tradition here, especially when reinterpreting stories by the Brothers Grimm (“Golden Sphere”) and re-working modern legends like Roy Lichtenstein for the transient “Oh, Brad.” Theirs is an ambitious journey that welds a surprisingly coherent narrative thread to a complex set of Baroque pop numbers. (Mike Levine)

8:30pm

Friend Roulette

here’s a perfectly hummable sentiment somewhere in Friend Roulette’s “Sailing Song” that keeps working its way back to the surface, but only after first progressing through all manner of uneven meter changes, brass fanfare and incidental thematic adventure. At times stepping boldly into a space usually exclusive to the imagination of score composers like Danny Elfman, the group essentially writes baroque pop pieces for an imagined Brechtian musical, casting its talented singers/songwriters Julia Tepper and Matthew Meade as the show’s unlikely protagonists. After moving

the deli Fall 2012

9:15pm

Doe Paoro

hen Brooklyn-based outfit Doe Paoro, led by Sonia Kreitzer who used to sing in the collective Sonia’s Party, takes the stage, there’s bound to be demons in the room. Having garnered comparisons to artists like Lykke Li and James Blake, Kreitzer describes the kind of music that she performs as “ghost soul” (i.e. “a sound that echoes the resurrection of a choir of ghosts who haven’t completely detached from the human experience”). We’ll also add that those ghosts have a beautiful soulful voice, and the benefit of classical influences that she was exposed to in her formative years. (Amanda Dissinger)

11:40pm

Industries of the Blind

or those of you sick of being lazy at the beach and ready to get back to some epic jams to get into the swing of things, look no further than post-rock ensemble Industries of the Blind. Lifting off to planets only visible to bands like Mogwai or Sigur Ros, the instrumental nine-piece includes three guitarists,

Starlight Girls

an industrious drummer, and two very hard-working violinists. This is a band that starts at 10 and keeps hashing out an idea until it clears your skull of all misgivings. (Mike Levine)

12:30am

Starlight Girls

espite the name, Starlight Girls is actually two ladies & two gentlemen. Sharing a taste for eerie synth-laden atmospheres with Magazine’s Formula, making playful use of the flute and keys, they can shift their dark concoctions straight from the realm of pop artists like Belle & Sebastian into a theatrical symphonie des oddities. Following the self-titled EP they released in April, watch out for their new single, to be released in November, which features a collaboration with Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart. (Tracy Mamoun)

1:15am

Dangerous Ponies (Philly)

his pop-infused, gang vocals adorin’ circus masquerade rock is the type that morphs you into a high-octane gale on the dance floor, do not miss live.

10:00pm

ng room

Cuddle Magic

uddle Magic, a ten-piece avant-pop orchestra split between Philly and Brooklyn, offers an array of soothing instruments (including glockenspiels, toy piano, and various strings and winds) along with the more standard guitar, bass, and drums. At once playful and haunting, their latest album Info Nympho thrives on the dual male and female vocals spinning intricate counter-melodies, mastering an impressive musical vocabulary, ranging from classical counterpoint to math rock influences, without disdaining occasional jazz chords and electronic elements. With their beautiful melody and organic arrangements featuring almost any instrument you can imagine, this is a record that manages to be original, moving and memorable - what else can you ask for? (Bob Raymonda)

Interview at: thedelimag.com/artists /cuddle-magic

10:50pm

You Bred Raptors?

art-time residents of the subway’s best busking spots, playing their sets to Time Square’s puzzled commuters, You Bred Raptors? (the name is from a line out of Jurassic Park) is an instrumental trio from Astoria, NY with a taste for strange performances. The band deploys a rich catalogue of experimentations ranging from unique orchestrations to ambitious takes on some familiar patterns as varied as funk, metal or even celtic rhythms - all served by a cast of drums, cello, 8-string bass and the occasional keys, bearing freakish masks from ghostface to grimacing jester. A tastefully weird, out-of-time local gem straight from the city’s underground. (Tracy Mamoun)

Interview at: thedelimag.com/artists/you-bred-raptors

Post-Ch es Top 20 tral

Production Corner

perception of specific low frequencies - which we will be inclined to wrongly cut or boost in the mix to compensate.

By Paolo De Gregorio

Using a Frequency Spectrum Analyzer When Mixing

Mixing - an art that takes years to learn and a lifetime to refine - can be a frustrating experience, in particular when there are many tracks to deal with. The most infuriating thing about it is that our mixes sound completely different through different sound systems, and often not in a good way. Beside poor recording and mixing techniques, what causes these dramatic differences is often due to the fact that, in these times of home recording madness, most musicians mix their songs in environments that are somewhat flawed, and with equipment either cheap or badly set up - or both. A big component of the art of mixing is balancing audio frequencies, and to properly do that the engineer should

be able to hear the budding mix in a completely neutral way (what audio nerds call “flat response environment”). This is something that is absolutely impossible to achieve in any generic space without investing tens of thousands of dollars. Yes because parallel walls in any room create “standing audio waves” (google it) which heavily affect how the low end is perceived in that particular space. This distorts our

This is why having a frequency spectrum analyzer plug in on the master insert of your mix can be very helpful. The analyzer can’t be your only reference for mixing of course, but when in doubt it provides an impartial, “live” visual representation of the frequencies in your mix. Looking at the frequency spectra of other professionally recorded songs similar to the one you are working on, and A/Bing their sound with yours can be literally an eye and ear opening experience.

The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts

1. Sufjan Stevens 2. Beirut 3. St. Vincent 4. One Ring Zero 5. Emilie Simon 6. You Bred Raptors? 7. Superhuman Happiness 8. aloha 9. Industries of the Blind 10. Miracles of Modern Science 11. Clare and the Reasons 12. Birthmark 13. Kayo Dot 14. Aarktica 15. Botanica 16. Bryan Scary 17. Luff 18. Elk City 19. The Lisps 20. stereobird Check out our self-generating online charts

thedelimagazine.com/cha

rts

thu 10/18

avant pop

the delancey (down

Conveyor 7:00pm

American Royalty (Los Angeles)

The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

merican Royalty provide sweet soul, guitars and psychedelia meet wild electronics in a dynamic torn between inviting patterns and invasive layers.

7:50pm

Modern Rivals

ost of five-piece Modern Rivals have been buds since the awkward years of middle school. While they’ve grown up together, and moved from the ‘burbs to big bad Brooklyn, their EP Sea Legs tells of another journey. In fact, creating this most recent effort (released in May and mixed by Chris Coady who has worked with the likes of Beach House and Grizzly Bear) was a journey in and of itself. True to the title, it was very much about getting sea legs for their own sound - developing something that was uniquely theirs. They managed to do just that; this EP is gorgeous and whimsical, but very much cohesive. Binding elements like floaty layers, playful keys, plus a generous heaping of oohhs and woah-ohs define shared harmonies positively pleasant and oh-so catchy. (Corinne Bagish)

8:40pm

Il Abanico

ransplants Nicolas Losada and Julianna Ronderos have brought the vibrant colors of their native Colombia from their country, to our backyard. The duo has made Brooklyn their new home, and just might make things here a little more con vida for the rest of us. From the balloon-toting, floor tom-stomping bear in their latest video “Keep Calling,” to the bilingual inventions of lead singer Juliana, the group’s new EP Crossing Colors weaves a cultural rainbow of shapes and sounds together that you won’t need a passport to experience. (Mike Levine)

the deli Fall 2012

Il Abanico 12:00am

Letting Up Despite Great Faults (Austin/Los Angeles) Modern Rivals 9:30pm

Conveyor

et off the plane, and you’ll find you’ve landed in an entirely new kind of space, occupied by polyrhythmic chants and otherworldly acoustic strumming. Conveyor does that rare thing where an entirely unique musical universe is sculpted from the abbreviated tendencies of cultures from all over the world. Their palette places FM drones beside zither strumming in “Mane,” and the sunny cheerfulness of four-part harmonies on tracks like “Mukraker.” No matter how many bizarro instruments they pull into their mix, the sound is still entirely their own. So, once you do leave for your flight...you’ll find a very large country to explore. (Mike Levine)

hoegaze-pop four-piece Letting Up Despite Great Faults keeps things upbeat, never getting too dark or artificial, knowing how to lift you up and bring you down at once.

12:50am

Santah (Chicago)

ush pop/rock where synth and guitar melt into one dreamy coat to wrap around the vocals. Santah are three McConnells for a six-piece, with an album to come.

1:30am

Kiven (Los Angeles)

iven is magnetic trio fitting fire and refinement in a swiftly orchestrated back and forth between generous textures and explosive build-ups.

nstairs) 10:20pm

Dinosaur Feathers

inosaur Feathers have been active in the NYC scene for quite some time now, but their peculiarly colorful pop hasn’t lost any of the exuberance of their beginnings. Single “Untrue” (off their latest record Whistle Tips) is something Franz Ferdinand might have made if they spent some time surfing in Mali. The album as a whole feels like the band mic’d a barbeque and recorded the site live. Another standout from the record is the groove-a-licious “Fantasy Memorial.” The track is so much fun - you’ll feel like you just met the woman of your dreams (who happens to surf in...Mali!). (Mike Levine)

Interview at: thedelimag.com/artists/dinosaur-feathers

Avant Indie Top 20

The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts

11:10pm

Wildlife Control

here’s nothing subtle about Wildlife Control. For anyone missing the simple, straightforward sounds of slickly channeled pop-rock the way I remember it before the freaks screwed with our sense of direction, this band has got you covered. Miss analog? Check out “Analog or Digital.” Love music? “Melody” could be your new jam. This is a band for the here and now with two brothers (Neil and Sumul Shah) celebrating how great we have it already, served up with the kind of energy and heart that could only come from a band of siblings. What could be simpler than that? (Mike Levine)

Interview at: thedelimag.com/artists/wildlife-control

Production Corner

By Paolo De Gregorio

Acoustic Guitar as a Resonant Microphone l,” you probIf you like the words “avant” and “experimenta are not entirely ably like to record your music in ways that layer to any loud ordinary. One way to add a new, intriguing drums or even instruments (like amped electric guitars or as a microhorns) is to use the pickup of an acoustic guitar phone – and no, you don’t need to take it apart. up directly Since the sound source isn’t reaching the pick technique will but reflected through the guitar’s hole, this sounding take obviously create a rather dark and reverb-like

1. Grizzly Bear 2. Animal Collective 3. Dirty Projectors 4. Yo La Tengo 5. Yeasayer 6. Gang Gang Dance 7. Tyondai Braxton 8. Kaki King 9. Department of Eagles 10. Delicate Steve 11. Rubblebucket 12. Mice Parade 13. Marnie Stern 14. Son Lux 15. Elysian Fields 16. Rasputina 17. Foxygen 18. Avey Tare 19. The Fiery Furnaces 20. NewVillager Check out our self-generating onlin e charts:

thedelimagazine.com

/charts

sound will of the main instrument. But also a brighter ic guibe picked up: the one produced by the acoust notes of tar’s strings vibrating sympathetically to the the main instrument. nce” This phenomenon is called “sympathetic resona to exterand happens when passive strings respond acoustic nal vibrations of harmonic likeness – i.e. the vibrating guitar’s A or E strings will independently start played when – respectively – a loud A or E note is somewhere near. controlled These “induced” vibrations can therefore be strings to some degree by tuning the acoustic guitar main instruto match some of the notes played by the the toms ment – or even by tuning the snare drum or to match a guitar note. track When mixing, you can add this atmospheric heavily “behind” the main instrument or just use it effected as an entirely new sound.

thu 10/18

electronic

the delancey Ducky

Railbird

The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

7:00pm

8:20pm

Thomas Simon Cultfever

homas Simon creates positively dark spaces with echoing electro, ghostly guitar, and muttered lyrics gliding underneath the surface. He’s very theatrical: gothic at times. Accordingly, he knows how to set the mood well. He’ll get your skin crawling and add just the right amount of this and that (electric djembe, for example) to send you spiraling into the depths. Unsurprisingly, Simon recently composed a feature film score (La Redempcio Dels Peixos) set for release in the fall 2012. (Corinne Bagish)

7:40pm

Sewing Machines

ewing Machines is songwriter Max Horwich and acolytes (varying in number), on the road to what may seem to be a “new American weirder.” If Bodies of Water was already an impressive record, with its hypnotic interactions of folk ensemble and electronics, then the last couple of releases have seen Horwich take a turn into improbable confines of his “cosmic” realm, with the EP February far more electro-based and Parks and Parking Lots since which frankly, all bets are off. Auto-tuned vocals over discordant country? A bit of a long shot, isn’t it? And yet somehow, it works. (Tracy Mamoun)

the deli Fall 2012

o experience the next wave of Brooklyn music full blast and to grasp its weird complexities, one can’t do much better than Cultfever’s first ultfever single, “Knewyouwell.” The swelling of electronic chaos, motorik rhythm and shoegaze-y backing vocals wrap Ship” plays with these conflicted feelTamara Jafar’s lusty soul leads in a kind ings, bouncing between intimacy and of gothic disco whole that is greater moodiness amid kaleidoscopic bubbles than the sum of its many influences. and cameo appearances from Sean Their self-titled debut album (released Rowe and Phantogram’s Sarah Barthel. November 2011) sticks pretty close to (Mike Levine) this formula throughout; only towards the end do Cultfever break out of the club-like feel with the closers “Boys, 9:45pm Girls” and “Collector,” each boasting a more aspirational tone, replete with big choruses and fist-pumping declarations like “Hey darlin’, sticks and stones (San Francisco) would make our homes if we were anyone, anyone else!” (Brian Chidester) uper-fun synth-rock rollercoaster of odd noise, whimsical beats, ’60s psychedelia and more held 9:00pm on by the four dexterous SF musicians of Maus Haus.

Maus Haus

Railbird

ailbird is the kind of band that doesn’t mind sharing their secrets with you, even if some of these details might make you a little uncomfortable. Singer Sarah Pedinotti seems to whisper these tell-all remarks with a mysterious honesty requiring a certain amount of courage on both sides of the microphone. This isn’t an easy-going ride, but is certainly worth the time. Their latest video “Jump

10:30pm

Lushlife (Phily)

equencer virtuoso and emcee Lushlife, signed to Western Vinyl, who went semi-viral with Choice/ Cuts, a live performance and interview in-studio video series, presented by The Deli Philly back in July. Do not miss!

(upstairs) 11:15pm

Dynasty Electric

ith their teeth cut from Portishead and Goldfrapp’s school of heavy romanticism flung over throbbing nightmare beats, Dynasty Electric offers an enthusiastic response to any question you had about staying up all night. To this end, singer Jenny Electrik offers several compelling reasons to stick things out on your neighborhood dance floor this evening. Tracks like “Automatic Ecstatic” and “Feel It in Your Body,” from their latest self-titled full-length, provide all the ammo you need. Like an energy drink with a side of pheromones, Dynasty Electric are lighting up Brooklyn’s otherwise shoegazer venues with an overdose of action, coupled with a nod to New York’s artsier set. (Mike Levine)

Interview at: thedelimag.com/artists/dynasty-electric

12:00am

ith her marriage of synthetic backdrops, organic flourishes and haunting vocals, Anomie Belle creates an aesthetic that is at once eerie, melodious and - at times - a little disconcerting, but invariably unique.

electro beats and homemade dubstep basslines. The four-song affair (clocking in at under 12 minutes) recalls The Cardigans, minus the joy, re-imagined instead as a dream-like transmission broadcast from an undisclosed underground bunker. Her latest video is the stuff of that unabashed decadence that first brought attention to Williamsburg over a decade ago. In the hands of the frivolously-monikered Ducky, it feels like a sort of homecoming. (Brian Chidester)

12:45am

1:30am

Anomie Belle (Seattle)

Ducky

rooklyn’s Morgan Neiman (a.k.a. Ducky) has a new EP, The Whether, continuing her assault on gooey soul-pop by playing sultry, understated vocals against tinny

Drop Electric (Washington DC)

his collective generates gorgeously slow paced, droney and mystic songs that reference a

niche sound of the mid ’80s which preceded and informed the shoegazer wave, producing bands like Dead Can Dance and This Mortal Coil.

Electron ic Top 20

The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts 1. Twin Shadow 2. Ratatat 3. Body Language 4. Win Win 5. Memory Tapes 6. Black Marble 7. FaltyDL 8. El-P 9. Telepathe 10. LCD Soundsystem

Check out our self-ge

11. Scissor Sisters 12. Beacon 13. Nicholas Jaar 14. Sleigh Bells 15. Bikini 16. Neon Indian 17. Blondes 18. A-Trak 19. Discovery 20. Mindless Self Indulgence

nerating online charts:

thedelimagazine.com

/charts

the deli Fall 2012

fri 10/19

mostly psych

pianos

Downstairs 7:00pm

Poor Moon (Seattle)

The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

laying a of bucolic brand of acoustic pop that could be described as the sonic transposition of Magic Realism, Poor Moon draws from disparate but always gentle influences like ’60s folk pop, lounge music, and dream pop.

Anya Skidan

7:50pm

Port St.Willow

ort St. Willow is the solo work of Brooklyn singer-songwriter Nick Principe. The band’s recent fulllength debut “Holiday,” recorded in Portland, Oregon, where Principe was previously based, plays like one long dream, with ambient vocal whispers and ethereal melodies bleeding into each other. Tracks like “Amawalk” and “Five Give Two Five” stand out with sounds of echoes in a howling wind, both chilling and soporific. (Devon Antonetti)

8:40pm

Ava Luna

eatured on the cover of the winter 2012 issue of The Deli, Ava Luna plays - in three words - experimental soul music. Brainchild of failed Deli intern Carlos Hernandez, this band perfectly incarnates the dichotomy of his geeky looks and unbelievably soulful singing. Roots African American music and experimental indie rock have rarely been as promiscuous as in Ava Luna’s clangily expressive, bizarrely ardent, unpredictably smooth tunes. (Paolo De Gregorio)

(Kentucky)

urals brings tingling echoes of jangle-pop that are part-nostalgic and part-psychedelic from the south with the softest folk tones and plenty of layers to get lost in.

Foxygen See feature on p.36.

11:10pm

SNOWMINE

ntirely composed of top notch musicians (some with classical backgrounds), the former Deli cover boys (appearing on the front of our summer 2012 issue) produce a textured sound that could be described as their own, very personal version of dream pop. Frontman/composer Grayson Sanders’ confident pipes and seraphic melodies are the closest thing to the singing of a (male) angel you’ll ever hear. Witness this band live to be enchanted and (probably) purified from within. (Paolo De Gregorio)

12:00am

Mac DeMarco

9:30pm

Murals

10:20pm

the deli Fall 2012

(Los Angeles)

ac DeMarco is heading down a long road if he keeps trying every flavor of rock ‘n’ roll there is. And by the sounds of the new album, he is.

Port

St. Willow

12:50am

Hundred Waters (Florida)

omplex encounters of soul, folk and neo-psychedelia, impressively orchestrated into multi-dimensional atmospheres, is what you’ll find in the music of Hundred Waters.

1:40am

Young Magic See feature on p.42.

upstairs 6:15pm

Shy Hunters

band for the minions who enjoy darkness, Shy Hunters is a Brooklyn duo devoted to musical intensity delivered through imaginative soundscapes referencing influences from early prog-rock to the post-punk period. Dominated by female lead singer Indigo Street’s haunting personality and downright ghostly vocals as well as the pulsat-

Psych R + Drea ock m Po Top 20 p

The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts 1. Diiv 2. Woods 3. TV on the Radio 4. The Antlers 5. School of Seven Bells 6. Twin Sister 7. Exitmusic 8. The Raveonettes 9. Real Estate 10. The Stepkids 11. Frankie Rose 12. Panda Bear 13. Bear In Heaven 14. The Pierces 15. Caveman 16. Asobi Seksu 17. Snowmine 18. Widowspeak 19. High Highs 20. Teen

Shy Hunters

Check out our self-generating onlin e charts:

thedelimagazine.com

/charts

Field Mouse ing rhythms of Sam Levine’s tight, clean drums, Shy Hunters are a promising product of that “dark side” of the NYC scene that gave us bands like Interpol and Yo La Tengo. (Paolo De Gregorio)

7:00pm

New Myths

ike the ethereal howls heard from bands like The Cranberries or Babes in Toyland, New Myths clears the room of any unnecessary noise before starting their sermon, telling stories of love lost and battles won through the towering grooves of drummer Rosie Glassman and Marina Ross’ marching bass lines. Think of the way the Pixies cut through their listeners making sure that you listen to one idea at a time and driving that notion home until leaving its mark deep inside your skull. Lead singer Britney Boras and her harmonizing trio are employing the same set of knives, executing a finely carved set of New Wave rock in songs like the fastdriving “False Gold.” (Mike Levine)

7:45pm

Anya Skidan

nya Skidan is a young Brooklynbased singer-songwriter who’s not afraid to charge her tunes with melancholy and sadness. Heavy with emotion, her eerie voice - at times

reminiscent of a darker Kimya Dawson - floats on a layer of sparse, dreamy tracks, telling impressionist tales full of spirituality and subtle feelings. Her debut album Shine the Brightest sounds like a prolonged electric lullaby where disparate influences - from Hidden Treasure’s gorgeous dream pop to Soft and Gentle’s hawaiian rhythmic session - work together to grant the listener a rather restless sleep. (Mike Levine)

8:30pm

Robert DeLong (Los Angeles)

t’s nice to walk away from the downer tunes once in awhile, and just have some fun, which solo electronic artist Robert DeLong is “happy” to provide. (Taylor Lampeda)

9:15pm

Moon King (Toronto)

rom power-pop to the mellow end of the spectrum, all turns to sparkle and haze in the hall of the Moon King.

10:00pm

Tashaki Miyaki (Los Angeles)

emale-led trio Tashaki Miyaki creates plaintive, early-eighties feedback meshed with intricate vocal

tonality evoking the golden days of Britpop and a touch of arty Warholian sensibility.

10:45pm

Field Mouse

n the last few years, we witnessed Field Mouse progress from a regular singer-songwriter project to a full blown dream pop band, and their recent single “How Do You Know” represent another step towards the most pillowy and ethereal of musical genres. NYC shoegazers, stargazers, daydreamers - and pure and simple girl-starers - seem to have found a new darling in the band’s lead singer Rachel Browne, who could be easily baptized the “Scarlett of the NYC scene.” Isn’t she what boys (and some girls) dream about after all? (Paolo De Gregorio)

11:30pm

Ex Cops

ike being exhausted by a hot sun, Bryan Harding and Amalie Bruun’s dream pop sways slow and nonchalant; carelessly, it wraps itself around jangle-pop melodies and vaporous synths, lost in a hazy confusion where layers mingle, melt into one another, and a voice echoes from afar, barely there. Sure, we don’t know much of Ex Cops so far. They’ve only been around for about a year, and have to this date only released a single, and a few tracks circulating online. But with their album coming soon, we should be hearing more of these two: What’s not to like when an act shamelessly plays all its cards to make itself as comforting an experience as possible? (Tracy Mamoun)

the deli Fall 2012

fri 10/19

The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

Bird to

anti - folk @ sidewalk cafe P rey

7:30pm

Kung-Fu Crimewave

efiantly unpolished in the spirit of old Guided By Voices, Luke Kelly helms this witty rock fiasco that includes family members Joanna and Neil Kelly, Preston Spurlock, and Deenah Vollmer. Anthemic, with a penchant for sing-along choruses about unlikely subjects (burial grounds, robots, monster combat, etc.), the group has been known for making highend PA systems sound awful (this is meant as a compliment). (Ben Krieger)

8:20pm

St. Lenox

t. Lenox validates all those emotions that thoughts of your hometown bring up and which you think are too sappy to reveal. Maybe it’s rides on Greyhound buses, or maybe the refrigerator notes of lost lovers, or the images of crucifixion that pop up now and then in our dealings with the world. Envision a golden-throated jazz crooner singing mercurial melodies over skittery, electronic FruityLoops compositions played off an iPhone. St. Lenox sits on a stool, bathed in the pale blue stage lights, sounding like a beautiful robot from the future. (Ben Krieger)

9:00pm

Mal Blum

al Blum’s whimsical, melodic songs have been garnering her a devoted group of followers over the past several years. Like many songwriters of her caliber, Blum’s strength lies in her words. She’s willing

the deli Fall 2012

St.

Mal Blum to name-drop Harry Potter, toss a nod to vegans, or place her character in the throes of seafood poisoning - always with engaging lyrical imagery. While the songs themselves rarely address gender empowerment issues in an overt way, the discerning listener can pick out the themes. Blum’s shows often serve as bonding experiences for fans with similar social concerns. (Ben Krieger)

9:45pm

Bird to Prey

ird to Prey (Sarah Turk) is the Sidewalk’s true country crooner, with an unstable quaver in her voice and commanding stage presence that somehow manages to avoid that whole “girl with a guitar” stereotype. For her set, the Australian-born songwriter will be releasing her album Saved by the Storm on Such a Punch Recordings. (Ben Krieger)

Lenox

Singer S ongw Top 20 riter

The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts

1. Regina Spektor 11. Jaymay 2. Cat Power 12. Charlotte Sometimes 3. Norah Jones 13. Mike Doughty 4. Ingrid Michaelson 14. Jolie Holland 5. Jenny Owen Youngs 15. JBM 6. Ron Pope 16. Sydney Wayser 7. Sharon Van Etten 17. Mike Wexler 8. Adam Green 18. Laura Cantrell 9. Rachael Yamagata 19. Dawn Landes 10. Brendan James 20. Allison Weiss

Check out our self-ge

nerating online charts:

thedelimagazine.com

/charts

11:15pm

Ben Pagano Band

10:30pm

en Pagano’s band has been described as “jazz/funk/space pioneers,” and that’s probably very close to what they are. Wacked-out keyboards, during which Mr. Pagano may seem transported to another world. Prepare to be befuddled and mystified by the sounds that come out of this cherubic young man’s mouth and mind. And don’t forget to bring your dancing pants! (Ben Krieger)

Go Love

12:00am

o Love is an anti-folk collective founded by an elder statesman of the scene, Ray Brown. Personnel lineups include a vast array of new and veteran anti-folk musicians that, according to constant member Morgan Heringer, Brown picks “while drunkenly perusing Facebook in the wee hours of the morning.” Past members have included Sarah Stanley, Beau Alessi, Sonya Gropman, Jon Roche, Rachel Laitman, Charles Mansfield, Rachel Meirs, JJ Hayes, and “a woman Ray met on the subway who plays the harp.” The CMJ show will surely feature Brown, Heringer, Alessi, Gropman, and other anti-folk guests (including, possibly, the harp woman). (Ben Krieger)

Crazy & The Brains

razy & the Brains haven’t been on Saturday Night Live yet, although their song says they want to be. They may make it yet. Downstroke guitars and xylophone make them sound like The Ramones meet The Violent Femmes, with no evident irony and more energy than any amount of Adderall could control. Constant touring has only strengthened the performance of this good-time punk rock outfit of the highest order. (Ben Krieger)

Sat 10/20

noisy @ Delinquency Garage/Punk /Post Punk Top 20

1:00pm

The Deli’s Web Buzz Charts

FIGO

The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

here’s a lot happening on FIGO’s debut album; from pure dance to spiteful punk rock and just about every degree of fusion in-between, Put It All In Black (released in September) is not in any way trying to pass for EndA nd coherent. It’s just there as a sample of what the band can do. Fact is, they’ve been at it since 2006 – which means plenty of time to try out different ways through one single aesthetic of getting the crowds sweaty - so in - finding in this exploration a these eight tracks, amidst thick bass, new dynamic to their sound. pounding beats and raucous vocals, (Tracy Mamoun) you’ll find a little of how they do it; and that’s not en finesse. (Tracy Mamoun)

1. Matt and Kim 2. A Place to Bury Strangers 3. Swans 4. Gung Ho 5. Cult of Youth 6. Thurston Moore 7. Black Dice 8. Screaming Females 9. Japanther 10. Star Fucking Hipsters

Check out our self-ge

11. Fergus & Geronimo 12. Talk Normal 13. Oneida 14. Parts & Labor 15. The Terror Pigeon Dance Rev 16. Wyldlife 17. Swearin’ 18. EULA 19. Pterodactyl 20. Skaters

nerating online charts:

thedelimagazine.com

/charts

3:30pm

1:50pm

Bugs In The Dark

reeping down the back alleys of the ’90s indie landscape, Bugs In The Dark is a ticking time bomb, unloading its discontent in its earliest days in sounds from PJ Harvey on a bad day to full blown rage à la Bikini Kill. But Hang It On The Wall, released last year, was, more menacing than any uproar. The cadence was slower, beat imperturbable, guitars exchanging riffs in a courteous back and forth, building up a truly heavy atmosphere. An eerily calm setting for this trio, quite possibly announcing the storm to come. As Karen Rockower would roar on “Paranoia,” we “don’t know [her] at all.” (Tracy Mamoun)

2:40pm

EULA

f someone ever dared Alyse Lamb and her gang to take a stab at something different, Maurice Narcisse must have The been their answer. Kicking off from their comfort zone to some fuzzed-out punchy bubble gum post-punk tangled up in thick sticky basslines, the band subtly drifts towards a soft side so far untapped, surprisingly at ease on every step of this decrescendo, which led to the intimacy of a “Hollow Cave.” There, voices are whispers; walls made of cotton. It’s only one song - two at most - but the conclusion to the record unveiled a new dimension to this band you once knew sour and vindictive. (Tracy Mamoun)

4:20pm

Life Size Maps The Everymen

n a year, Life Size Maps have made some giant steps towards creating a string indie pop identity of their own. From Magnifier to Weird Luck, they’d ventured into more ambitious use of frantic noise bursts and dissonant layers, trying new ways to deconstruct a song. For Excavate, they’ve taken an entirely new direction. Channelling flows of swarming electronics into the natural stream of each track, they speed up and down a continuous glowing tunnel. Far more coherent, the record linearly works its way

the deli Fall 2012

omething in The Everymen’s DNA, be it to do with the ladsto-lady ratio or the New Jersey air, probably a bit of both, means that you’re never too far from the rough energy of their debuts, however heartfelt or slow the songs may get. And on those fronts, ‘New Jersey Hardcore’ went all out. As they’ll show with a second take on “Dance Only, Only Dance” (from their first EP), if ‘NJHC’ is a big step forward in terms of production, their recipe hasn’t changed since day

Everymen one - a bit of grit, a whole lot of soul, a sax and a couple o’ six packs for some generous garage punk that’s only getting tastier with age. (Tracy Mamoun)

5:10pm

EndAnd

ith one album to their name, a second in the making, and already a sizeable fan base, EndAnd are the outsiders to keep an eye on. Thoughtfully split between polished recordings and DIY methods, their Adventures of Fi in Space cross the paths of bands like Nirvana or Queens of the Stone Age, finding on their way this tricky balance between aesthetic satisfaction, pop sensibility, and a dedication to hard rocking. Pulling through power chords and sharp-edged weirdness, they’ve managed to reach some unexplored confines of ’90s heritage, off the beaten tracks, where everything you thought you knew just suddenly sounds a little peculiar. (Tracy Mamoun)

Interview: thedelimag.com/artists /endand

10/16 CMJ Pizzaroo @ The Music Building 10/16 The Dust Engineers @ Mercury Lounge 10/17 FIGO @ Music Hall of Williamsburg 10/20 @ Delinquency 10/17 FLYING POINTS@ Spike Hill 10/17 SCREENTESTS @ Fontana’s 10/18 KILLCODE @ Webster Hall 10/19 THE BLACKFIRES @ Paperbox Theater 10/19 PHILLSTOCK + SPINCLOUD PRESENTS @ Fontana’s, Featuring:

BODYFACE SOCIAL HERO VINYETTE

10/20 BACKLIGHTS @ Pete’s Candy Store

F#CK WITH US

www.musicbuilding.com facebook.com/themusicbuilding

From top left to bottom: TV on the Radio, The Stepkids, MS MR, Friends, Body Language

Bring It on Home to Me How Soul Music Found A Permanent Spot In The Indie Scene By Brian Chidester Illustration by J.P. Peer

t 10pm, the nightlife inhabitants at the Knitting Factory, former location of the Luna Lounge on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, are restless for action. Suddenly, beneath the heavily scaffolded stage, out from the cushy modernist couches and jampacked bar area, the sound of psychedelic soul music begins to boom. Sun-drenched guitar spills out over the constant thud of slap bass and funky drum rolls, as tripped-out projections blanket the band in kaleidoscope washes. The audience is a mix of hipsters, alternative finks, suave burlesque girls, sandy skate rats and veteran soul fanatics. They have come to hear The Stepkids - a three-piece band originally from New Haven, Connecticut. From seemingly another stratosphere, soul music has found a new home.

Over thirty years after its disappearance from the mainstream, soul has been reclaimed by independents and arty punks taken with its Stone Age lustiness and groove-oriented backbeat. Bobby Womack, the raspy soul singer/ songwriter that gave us early ‘70s classics such as “Lookin’ for Love” and “Across 110th Street” (the latter used in Jackie Brown), is suddenly in-demand on an international level. Womack first reemerged on the music scene singing on Damon Albarn’s 2010 Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach. Then more recently recorded an Albarn-produced solo album that sent vintage fetishists proclaiming it the senior soul man’s best in decades. “Soul,” relates public radio DJ Robin Tomlin, “is the world’s most exciting music, because it’s about real life. It’s designed to lift you up, not to highlight your alienation, your depression or your narcissism. It emphasizes community and all shades of love and affairs of the heart.”

In the Beginning During the formative years of rhythm & blues (1941-59), three definitive voices defined the style commonly known as soul music: Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Bobby “Blue” Bland. The first two crossed-over to white audiences, while the third remained mostly a footnote in the larger movement that included protégés such as Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. The 1960s saw the advent of hugely popular Phil Spector girl group singles and factory-made Motown hits, while English rockers like the Animals, the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds owed such a huge debt to African-American blues and R&B artists that it’s impossible to even consider ‘60s rock ’n’ roll without them. During the psychedelic Summer of Love, Jimi Hendrix, Booker T. & the MGs and Sly & the Family Stone boasted interracial bands that fused genres, as classic rockers like Creedence Clearwater Revival and Led Zeppelin kept right on ripping through soul and blues material during the 1970s. The seeds of the current revival were also planted almost immediately following the dissolution of disco in 1979. New Wavers in the UK re-imagined the Jamaican R&B sound of ska as “Two Tone” during the halcyon days of punk rock, c. 1977-79, while English culture mavens began collecting American soul 45s (a.k.a. Northern Soul) as if it were their birthright. To be certain, soul music continued right through the 1980s, subsumed into the larger music industry with mainstream acts like Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass who seemed less like the continuation of a movement and more like a product of it. The real thing went subterranean.

Through the Grapevine (Soul Music and the Underground) In America, Go-go - a syncopated funk music based around dotted jungle rhythms and call-and-response vocals - became an underground sensation during the early-to-mid-‘80s to largely black nightclub audiences in the Washington D.C. area. Excessive PCP use on that scene assured that it never escaped regional popularity, yet to this day live Go-go shows in D.C. remain the best soul music experience in existence. Still, by the end of the ‘80s, the dominant style in African-American music was no longer R&B/soul, but rather hip hop. 1989’s 3 Feet and Rising by De La Soul and Paul’s Boutique by the Beastie Boys were both sample-heavy hip-hop albums that rendered soul as one part of the psychedelic grab bag, and from 1990-95, hip-hop acts sampled funk breakbeats with such ubiquity that a new generation became interested in vintage soul as a means of tracing their favorite rap artists’ influences. The die was cast for soul music to be reborn. In the early ’90s, prominent artists like Massive Attack, the Fugees, DJ Shadow and later even white hipsters like Beck and the High Llamas reached deep into the well of soul and funk obscurities to cement the notion that soul music was more than just sample-ready: New stuff could now be made.

Brooklyn's Indie Soul In NYC, at the turn of the millennium, Brooklyn’s TV on the Radio brought soul music into the larger context of the (previously predominantly “soul-less”) neo-post-punk and electro sound that wafted through the air of basement studios around Williamsburg during its azimuth moment in the sun. “The heaviest concentration of indie soul music,” notes Tomlin, “is happening in NYC. Has been now for about a decade.” Need evidence? Just walk out your door any night this week, and you’ll find along Bedford Avenue half a dozen DJs spinning vintage soul and funk 45s for a blissed-out youth contingent. It was into this environment that Daptone Records and its prime-acts, the Budos Band, Antibalas and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, emerged. “Sharon Jones felt a bit like an arrival,” relates Jim Thomson of Brooklyn’s CSC Funk Band and owner of Electric Cowbell Records. “There was a deliberate retro vibe, [but] what was refreshing about her was

"Over thirty years after its disappearance from the mainstream, soul has been re-claimed by independents and arty punks." that she actually sounded real, not contrived.” Thomson’s band, as well as the Daptone Records stalwarts, are part of the Deep Funk Revival, a cultish underground obsessively devoted to re-creating the lo-fi hard grooves of ‘70s funk bands like the Meters and Lee Fields, the latter of whom Sharon Jones recorded some of her first vocals with for Desco Records in 1996. Desco was an independent Brooklyn-based label pre-dating Daptone that gave us such Deep Funk talent as the Soul Providers, The Daktaris and The Sugerman 3. The scene reached its apotheosis when the DapKings backed UK soul-singer Amy Winehouse on her landmark Back to Black album in 2006. Since then, a host of mainstream R&B singers such as R. Kelly and Rafael Saddiq (of Tony! Toni! Toné!) have tried their hand at recording vintage soul with varying degrees of success. The aforementioned Stepkids, whose members previously backed mainstream acts like Alicia Keys, 50 Cent and Lauryn Hill (and who graced the cover of The Deli in our CMJ 2011 issue), fit neatly into this genre. Their self-titled debut album (from 2011), being a fusion of falsetto ‘70s soul vocals set to West African funk rhythms, elongated into perfectly-stoned jam-band grooves. “I respect the commitment to preservation,” concludes Thomson, “and to a great degree the act of preservation is culturally important and significant, but it also can beg the question of practicality. Is an obsession with a musical style forged some 40 years ago healthy? Is it a reaction to a crowded marketplace of MP3s, downloads, digital gadgetry? Believe me I get both the obsession with the past and the possibilities available to us by all the modern gadgets, but above all I long for sincerity and community over authenticity.”

One Thing Leads to Another Community is a topic on the lips of seemingly everyone in the current Occupy Wall Street environment, when the very existence of a middle class seems eminently threatened. A new single by the shadowy NYC band MS MR, titled “Hurricane,” captures the moment with stunning results. Lyrics like “Make cash and leave the dust behind/Lady Diamond flashing in the sky” are

sung with such regret that the band’s anonymous female singer turns the artiness of Lady Gaga and the dusky elegance of Adele into a kind of dramatic soul-punk anthem. MS MR released “Hurricane” on July 2, and have since revealed their faces with a series of live shows and a menacing in-studio performance for the web series Yours Truly, filmed in Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios. Playing footsy with practically every member of the music press, the band (a pink/blue haired chanteuse and two scruffy male hipsters on drums and keyboard) revealed a bit of their inspiration in a letter to Yours Truly that promised some eclectic mischief: “Let’s make a day of it - spend an afternoon smoking in the park, lying on each other’s laps and finding animals in the clouds, then whisky gingers at Lucky Dog, a midnight screening at Nighthawk, all topped off with some late night karaoke in Chinatown (what’s your guilty pleasure poison?) Please say you will.” Elsewhere in NYC, acts like flower-power soul singer Luss have been wowing audiences in the South Bronx at the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective on the first Fridays of each month, while over in Brooklyn, free-spirited bands such as Body Language, AVAN LAVA, Friends, Lucius and Ava Luna have been rolling around in a variety of soul-inflected source material. Body Language, an interracial chillwave band, reworks one of the most underrated (and overlooked) styles from the ‘80s transition: electrofunk (or what was considered at the time breakdance music). The genre originally signaled soul music’s acquiescence to New Wave, with androgynous glam-man Prince’s mix of disco rhythms, icy synths and sexed-out lyrics, along with other artists like Newcleus, Jonzun Crew, Herbie Hancock, etc., found blaring out of boomboxes when battle lines were drawn and recycled cardboard pieces laid down on the concrete. Afrika Bambaataa from the Bronx and Cyberpunk from Detroit both sampled German synthpop pioneers Kraftwerk during the early ‘80s, setting the stage for a generation of breakdancing kids to move their bodies like a pack of dancing robots. It was the kind of shoulder-padded, peacock hairdo-wearing plastic soul that made purists (then as now) cringe. But in the hands of Body Language (as exemplified during their recent gig at Afropunk Fest in Brooklyn), audiences with no memory of the epoch of its origin dance unfettered to its celebratory rhythms and bucolic choruses.

"At the turn of the millennium, Brooklyn's TV on the Radio brought soul music into the larger context of the (previously predominantly "soul-less") neo-post-punk and electro sound."

Dance to the Music (Upbeat Is the New Downbeat) On a Deli-organized June show at Williamsburg’s Cameo, a club on North 6th Street, local band AVAN LAVA sent the crowd into an absolute frenzy when they launched into their summer 2012 anthem, “It’s Never Over.” Formed by Fischerspooner multiinstrumentalists Michael “Le Chev” Cheever and Ian Pai, with new heartthrob singer Tom “TC” Hennes, AVAN LAVA blasted purple lasers and confetti over the audience, whilst on-stage dancers shimmied and shook in celebration of the band’s unabashed upbeat electro-pop. Mixing Prince with Rick Astley and Wham!, things never veer into irony, rather the entire affair feels both arty and jubilant in a way

the deli Fall 2012

not often experienced in a live setting. Unlike George Michael, who spent years in the closet, Hennes is open about his homosexuality, yet doesn’t want it to define him. “I still feel hesitant to say, ‘I’m a gay artist’,” Hennes wrote recently in a Huffington Post blog. “Not because of the prejudice, but because I don’t think my identity as a performer needs a qualified description. I am an artist. The most appealing part about AVAN LAVA is that we have no overt political or social agenda.” “Being energetic and upbeat,” concludes Cheever definitively, “is the new counter-culture. We’re not trying to make these kinds of angsty indie-rock songs... the point is to create a massive show where everyone is having fun.” “Live is where the magic happens,” agrees Hennes. “I think that’s what’s always made [this kind of] music such a thrill.”

the deli Fall 2012

Foxygen A Psychedelic Sky By Dean Van Nguyen / Photo by Angel Ceballos

The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

lifetime spent absorbing the greats of ’70s rock can be heard right through to the bones of Jonathan Rado and Sam French’s music. Under the moniker Foxygen, the young duo extensively draw upon rickety garage rock, intense psychedelica and the earliest seeds of punk and glam to help form their throwback sound. But to acknowledge the band simply for their dead-on recreation of a bygone era would be a disservice to them, as on their latest EP Take the Kids Off Broadway, the band display accomplished musicianship, effervescent imagination and first class rock ‘n’ roll songwriting skills. The origins of Foxygen actually date back to 2004, when Jonathan and Sam were performing in a Doors-influenced band called The Fionas. Sam was a creative force in the group, and with Jonathan the only fellow member seemingly on the same wavelength, the duo chose to split. Both grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of West Lake Village, and sharing a mutual love of classic rock, the two 15-year-old high school freshmen formed Foxygen in 2005, going on to home record 10 albums - primarily distributed to their receptive classmates. After high school, both went their separate ways to attend different colleges, with Sam remaining out west and Jonathan moving to New York. Having spent a few unsatisfying stints performing with other musicians, the band reformed to cut their latest release. “We recorded Take the Kids Off Broadway when we were living together in New York,” Sam France told The Deli’s Mike Levine last summer. “We share a psychic vision of the album - I make up the title, we think of the album cover, and go from there.”

Take the Kids Off Broadway is a pure psychedelic firestorm of old school sounds and effects. Their recordings are rough and lo-fi, with an overabundance of sonic treats embedded into the arrangements. Having pulled inspiration from Ondi Timoner’s savage rockumentary Dig!, and specifically the unhinged flair of The Brian Jonestone Massacre’s frontman Anton Newcombe who claimed to play up to 75 different instruments on his band’s spot on reconstruction of ’60s rock, the raw power and unusual rhythmic flutters of Foxygen can be Newcombe-esque, and just as gritty. “I wouldn’t say we’re dedicated to a lower fidelity,” said Rado about the EP’s often coarse presentation. “Take the Kids Off Broadway was supposed to be a really clean album - like an ELO album or something. We did that to the best of our abilities. We just didn’t really know what we were doing.”

the deli Fall 2012

Maybe he’s being modest. Gloriously unpolished, Take the Kids Off Broadway is a stunning listen. At their most melodic - like on “Waitin’ 4 U” and “Middle School Dance (Song for Richard Swift)” - the jangly guitar lines and Jagger-esque vocals recall the Rolling Stones, while tracks like the scuzzy, 10-minute opus “Teenage Alien Blues” are reminiscent of the Velvet Underground. The ghosts of David Bowie and Brian Ferry also appear almost randomly. It’s a lot to take in, and it requires multiple listens to truly soak up all the record’s subtle nuances. Even the band seems confused on what has been omitted from these multifaceted tracks. “We record all the stuff, there may have been a few Charles Manson jams that we sampled, but I can’t remember if that made the cut,” said Sam before being interjected by Jonathan: “Oh, they’re in there.” Written while Jonathan and Sam were apart, the EP is a product of a long-distance song writing process, something that’s largely picked up and glorified on many blog write-ups, but the band refutes any interpretations that this seriously bled into their sound. “A lot has been made of us being a ‘bicoastal’ band, but the truth is

Live at Pianos on 10.19

“We share a psychic vision of the album — I make up the title, we think of the album cover, and go from there.” -Sam France

that we’re not doing a Postal Service thing or anything,” asserted Rado. “We live in different places, but we always record and play in the same place.” LA natives - they may be, but there are certainly more of New York’s cold, steel streets to be heard in the band’s grooves than the sun-kissed city that they call their home. As well as the music being Velvets-esque, the band shares Lou Reed’s attraction to gritty poetry. “I walk around, I watch the children play down on Broadway/But sometimes I think, I can’t even take that anymore,” sings France on “Make It Known,” a desperate stroll around late night Manhattan. Kids on Broadway again crop up on the title track, an unexpected ode to a fallen celebrity, according to Sam. “I think we wanted to have a sort of anthemic sort of theme song or something. Maybe it’s a protest song against child stars, like they all get effed up like Lindsay Lohan, just take ‘em off the stage, and let them have their childhoods. But we are all like Lindsay Lohan in a way.”

Take the Kids Off Broadway saw release last summer on influential indie label Jagjaguwar, a major boast for a band

searching for an audience. Their reputation has since been pushed along by a hectic touring schedule and numerous favourable online write-ups. For a duo who sounds as though they have fallen through a crack in time, coming straight out of 1973 and landing in the new millennium, 2013 could very well be the year Foxygen’s psychedelic grooves permanently mark the indie landscape.

Artist Equipment Box

PAiA Stringz ‘n’ Thingz

We had this cool old string synth called a PAIA Stringz n Thingz - it was a like a build-it-yourself thing from the ’70s. It’s on almost every song in some capacity. It’s broken now. The top register shorted out.

the deli Fall 2012

MS MR Live at Bowery Ballroom on 10.18

Who’s Afraid of Pop?

By Mike Levine (@goldnuggets) / Illustration by J.P. Peer

veryone needs superheroes: those otherwise normal people who don masks, capes and alter egos, and are suddenly capable of great things. Whether these superpowers include abilities like flying, x-ray vision, or making pop music cool again, the rule remains the same: These are the people that do the impossible. Now, I may be in the minority on this, but I think real superheroes don’t lose much power by their unmasking. If anything, it can sometimes make you appreciate their powers even more. Such was the case when I found out that the dynamic personality behind the immensely fascinating new pop outfit Ms Mr was none other than Neon Gold Records co-founder Lizzy Plapinger. In case you haven’t heard, this is that mysterious buzz band everyone’s talking about, and no one knows anything about. Around for just over a year, the band’s music is already distributed through indie purveyor and London label Chess Club (Mumford & Sons). While we’ve seen artists build their reputations on stage and in the studio, after years of repeated tours and supporting releases, open their own labels, eventually beginning to

the deli Fall 2012

sign artists of their own choosing, it’s much less often you hear of musicians doing this dance in reverse. For Ms Mr, the unlikely back-story of the band’s mysterious members has produced this almost impossible outcome: A group responsible for helping to release some of the most talked about indie pop singles of the past several years finds themselves in the unlikely position of “buzz band.” How does someone get this lucky?

The Perfect Pop Single For Lizzy Plapinger and collaborator Derek Davies, their journey to the music biz began at a tender age.

“Lizzy and I have been friends since we were kids. We used to vacation every summer at Martha’s Vineyard together. So, we sort of grew up together. And our mutual interest in music defined our friendship.” -Derek Davies, Interview Magazine But things didn’t really take off until college when they found themselves crossing similar paths in neighboring schools. Davies was a film major at NYU; Plapinger was a

senior majoring in media studies at Vassar. Both wanted to start a label focused on a very particular mission.

understanding something of the band’s background, you might find yourself experiencing a cynical knee-jerk reaction: “Well, of course, the band’s getting buzz… they’re promoting themselves on their own label!”

With Neon Gold Records, Lizzy and Derek’s mission is to reclaim pop music as the domain of the young, hip and indie. They’re blurring the line between fans of Katy Perry and fans of Marina & the Diamonds, without making any apologies for creating danceable, accessible pop music that happens to be cool too.

Please suppress this reaction if you can. While this comment might have made sense back in the ‘90s, when label imprints were essentially local versions of larger parent labels (Geffen Records, Virgin Records, etc.), today the opposite is largely true. Many large labels don’t even sign artists anymore, acting instead as distribution/ promotion arms for local scenes. Instead of global music being imported to local record shops, local bands are being exported out to the world.

“We wanted to celebrate the idea of the perfect single. The pro-pop aesthetic we’re now associated with almost happened by accident, but we welcome it.” -Derek Davies, Interview Magazine For years, that’s exactly what they did. Pressing early singles for now-renowned artists like Passion Pit, Gotye and Ellie Goulding, to name a few. Following this early success, another signee, Marina & The Diamonds, is now taking off, landing international tours and becoming a household name throughout her hometown of London (and soon to blow up in the States). Of course, while all this was going on, who would’ve thought that Lizzy’s next move might be to launch her own band? I wish I could provide an easy answer here. The band’s success has proven just as unique a journey as the label’s story. Having only released a series of demos (Ghost City USA), a single (“Hurricane”) and a nostalgic-for-the-’90s Tumblr photo page, the band already finds themselves at the top of buzz lists from Hype Machine and Brooklyn Vegan (not to mention The Deli Mag), to overseas tastemakers like Time Out London. The sound? Ms Mr sound haunting and barnstorming at the same time. While much of the percussion is canned and contained, this provides a clear runway for Lily’s powerhouse vocals. When you hear the tortured hook in “Hurricane,” (“welcome to the inner workings of my mind, so dark and foul I can’t disguise”) you know you’ve been taken out to far deeper waters than most pop music. It’s like Portishead meets Lana Del Rey meets Florence and the Machine meets My So Called Life. So basically you just need to hear it for yourself.

Gossip Girl

Like entrepreneurs/songwriters before (i.e. Jack White and David Byrne), pioneers like Lizzy Plapinger and Derek Davies are redefining the pop landscape in no small terms, utilizing a full industry apparatus toward their artists and their own music, and selling a lot of records while doing so. Especially with the group’s latest project, Plapinger comes to a place where she’s brought her songwriting and label leadership together through an interesting and characteristically creative series of ongoing song releases via the band’s Tumblr. Sure to generate buzz with each subsequent single release, the band intends to release a new track, remix and video every week, under the affectionately titled Candy Bar Creep Show. All this is looped around an idea: to have fans remix the record’s stems and submit these back to the band. The submissions that Ms Mr enjoy the most will have a chance to be included as part of an upcoming album release. Here, the band is doing something that generates both fans and future label-mates at the same time. It’ll be interesting to see where the band heads from here. I hope that we see a full-length out from them soon, of course. Right now, the band is continuing their European tour opening for signed act Marina & the Diamonds, where the crowds have reportedly sold out several shows of the tour. A recent video where the band appears live for a Yours Truly session has already generated over 35,000 hits, and in their most obvious nod to popular culture yet, the band’s latest single “Hurricane” has been featured on an episode of Gossip Girl. Most groups take years to reach these markers. Ms Mr have done it without even revealing the members of their group. Rather than selling out, this band has begun their careers by unapologetically buying in, dissolving tired notions of credibility, and calling into question sacred boundaries between pop and indie rock - controversial to be sure. Perhaps that’s the reason the band hides their identities. Or maybe it’s because this is the kind of pop music that speaks for itself.

Artist Equipment box Ms and Mr MS MR are not very keen to answer the questions music journalists pose to them (they rarely concede interviews), but at their live show we couldn’t help but notice that their keyboard of choice is a (rather awesome) Korg VS-1, an 88 weighed key vintage keyboard simulator.

Korg VS-1

When you hear about this kind of overnight success after

the deli Fall 2012

The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

Laura Stevenson and The Cans

Live at The Delancey on 10.16

Evolution of Sound (and Wardrobe)

efore finding her voice as an indie-pop songstress, Laura Stevenson had to sift through years of musical transformations and a diverse set of influences to reach her current, delicate signature sound.

The Long Island native boasts an impressive musical lineage, with a grandfather composer most famous for “The Little Drummer Boy” and a grandmother who was a singer for jazz bandleader Benny Goodman. But her time in a few Long Island punk rock acts also played a major role in her evolution, allowing her to charge through her accessible melodies with unrelenting ferocity. Discussing her beginnings, Stevenson admits her family had a lot to do with her decision to give a career in music a chance. Her dad enrolled his young daughter in music lessons, and on the weekend, he would take her to see live performances, which included greats like Neil Young and Chrissy Hynde.

By Devon Antonetti

the deli Fall 2012

Fifth grade marked the discovery of “over-driven guitars,” an experience that would have a lasting impact on Stevenson: “I probably thought it was rebellious, but I’m sure my dad was into it.” With a growing taste for the edgier side of music, she took to the notoriously loud Long Island music scene, spending middle school and high school on the local circuit. It was there where she first met the members of Arrogant Sons of Bitches, who were prominent in the area at that time. Started as a two-piece playing Green Day covers, the Bitches later morphed into a full band and began to write their own ska-punk material. After breaking up in

“getting caught working on music is ‘worse than getting caught jerking off ’” 2004, band member Jeff Rosenstock started Bomb the Music Industry! (BtMI!), and turned to Stevenson for keyboards. Laura - who as most rockers wasn’t exactly a model student - had just gotten kicked out of school when approached with the offer, so the decision was practically made for her: “It was kind of perfect timing. I picked up and went on my first tour.” Her new found role in the Long Island and national music scenes didn’t prevent Laura from feeling curious about the artists that were making waves in the neighboring New York City scene. The über-cool bands of that time, including more notably The Strokes, had a significant impact on the burgeoning songwriter, which is still apparent in her work today. Stevenson still lists Is This It as one of her favorite albums of all time, even though she found the band’s shows a little “strange” because of their overt trend factor. “Coming from someone who went to a lot of ska shows, we did not dress cool,” she noted. Though those Long Island bands may not have had the “Downtown New York style,” their music had - to Laura’s ears - the same edge and alternative aesthetic. While playing in BtMI! in her early music career, Stevenson started writing her own songs and performing solo in between gigs. Her supporting band grew organically around these shows when she asked a few of her bandmates to start joining her on stage, later dubbing them The Cans. The group was shortly settled with Mike Campbell on bass, Alex Billing on trumpet, Peter Naddeo on guitar, and Dave Garwack on drums. Her work with The Cans is firmly grounded in rootsy pop territory, from her debut album A Record, to last year’s Still Resist, and though her soft, feminine vocals may resonate with a wide audience, her punk cred opens her to more niche listeners, just as much as her personal, remorseless melodies do. When not working on her own material, Stevenson still spreads herself across her friends’ bands, playing with everyone from Andrew Jackson Jihad, to Maps and Atlases, to her continued collaborations with BtMI!

Her rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle causes her to uproot often, but Stevenson’s favorite place to write music is still in her bedroom, wherever that happens to be at the time. The singer even compares her songwriting experience to the intimacy of self-pleasure, saying that getting caught working on music is “worse than getting caught jerking off,” a fair description for music so personal and distinct as the woman who writes them. In between an East Coast tour throughout fall and appearances at various festivals and CMJ showcases, Laura Stevenson and The Cans will be locked away in a barn in upstate New York, working on the band’s third full-length album, bound to be released on New Jerseybased Don Giovanni Records, who put out records by The Ergs! and Screaming Females. But for Stevenson, one of the biggest things that she has to look forward to is seeing different bands performing live along the way, and of course, getting to see her favorite bands and friends from the road. With her perfect mix of fervent, satisfying pop melodies and unpredictable sense of surprise, Laura Stevenson has gone in a few years from NYC scene spectator to NYC scene hero, headlining Bowery Ballroom and other major local venues. How much this process was triggered by the influence the music of the Big Apple had on her songwriting, or by the fact that her wardrobe has in the meantime gotten more in line to the NYC “standard,” is hard to know.

Artist Equipment box

2007 Apple MacBook’s Mic

For recording I often use a 2007 MacBook with garage band and no external mics. We have used some of those recordings on full lengths and 7”s because the internal mic on that model is so awesome. It distorts sometimes but it’s nice and warm. I love it so much that my computer has been on the outs for over 2 years and I just keep getting it fixed rather than buying a new one. The newer models aren’t as good - there’s this weird decay that I hate.

the deli Fall 2012

Young Magic NYC’s Wizards from Oz By Dave Cromwell / Photo by Kaia Willow

The Deli’s CMJ Shows ’12

ingling bells on sticks, rattling chains, single struck congas and thundering toms all share significant time in the mix. Interlocking guitar patterns gently move through progressions as dominant layers of percussion rise to the forefront. With the release of their debut album Melt this past February, New York-based trio Young Magic has staked a serious claim on the ever evolving psychedelic dream-pop landscape. Isaac Emmanuel and Michael Italia began playing together in their native Australia back in 2007. The duo first met Indonesian-born Melati Malay in 2009, but didn’t start working together until last year. Michael explains, “We had just finished recording a bunch of songs for an album but we never put it out. I remember having this huge drive to be making music, but I couldn’t find anyone to collaborate with in Melbourne. I kind of grew a little tired of trying to form bands and get everyone in one place. So I bought a Macbook and set up a little studio and just started making beats and experimenting with sounds in my bedroom. Isaac was doing the same thing, and actually started the Young Magic name at that time. Isaac then left for Europe, and I went to the US. We eventually met in New York and rented a room in the East Village where we’d spend all day hunched over our laptops just making music and sharing sounds. Looking back, we were both really just learning how to use everything at that point. About a month later, I left for Europe. I was only planning on a two-week trip, but somehow I ended up in South America, and 5 months later I resurfaced in New York in the dead of winter. During that 5-month period, we had all been working on a bunch of material. Melati, Isaac and I then rented a warehouse in Brooklyn above an old Cabaret theatre with our good friend, Trent Gill (a.k.a. Galapagoose). It was February, and New York had just been hit with a huge snow blizzard. It was so brutal. Our place didn’t have any heating, and I just remember huddling up together for long cold nights, sharing all the music we’d been making during our travels and trying to keep warm. This is when the idea of Melt actually came together. We suddenly realized we had all this music, and began piecing together everything we’d been working on. We did most of it in New York. Then Isaac and I went back to Australia to mix the record with Trent.” The track “Slip Time” takes a more experimental approach, building its angular repeating hook around a shrieking synth line. More than a few robotic bleeps and blips can be heard before recognizable vocals make their way into the fray. It’s all cascading layers of voices until more stabilizing handclap percussion emerges at the end. Michael describes how the compositions evolve: “It’s definitely a joint effort, and I think it works best this way. We all bounce ideas off one another. Sometimes months will pass where we’ve all been writing separately, and then we’ll get together and show all the songs - sketch ideas we’ve come up with. Then

the deli Fall 2012

share ideas and send the tracks back and forth, and it kind of just builds from there.” Other cuts like “You With Air” pulse along a jumpy keyboard line while harmonized voices repeat the titular phrase. This drone sets the tone for the verses to be presented in half-talk, half-chant manner. Michael shed additional light on the band’s origins and influences: “I grew up in a musical family. My Grandfather was a musician and so was my father. We actually had a studio at my house when I was growing up in Melbourne. Looking back, it was pretty dope. My Dad built it and ran an independent record label from an office space in our backyard. There were always a lot of instruments lying around the house, and I think that’s where I started to pick it up. I remember I’d always sit in on recording sessions in the studio, and try and sneak something on the recordings. But my Dad was predominately a guitar player, so I grew up playing mostly guitar and experimenting with all of the percussion lying around. I remember in primary school, there were a group of us that would sneak into the music hall during lunchtime and experiment with all the gear they had lying around. I started playing in punk bands quite young, and by the time I was in high school was playing in these crazy avantgarde experimental psychedelic bands, with horn sections, cheap synths, a Theremin and all type of self-indulgent

Live at Pianos on 10.19

“I’ve always really liked combining electronic beats with more live organic percussion. We all have pretty eclectic music tastes and listen to a lot of music that came out of Africa and Turkey in the ’60s and ’70s.”

stuff. I met Isaac when I joined a band that was looking for a guitar player. We ended up recording enough material for an album together, but never put it out, and the band split up. It was at this point that I kinda grew a little tired of playing in bands, and began producing my own music. Isaac was actually doing the same thing. And after about a year of all three of us writing individually, we met in New York and started to play shows as Young Magic.”

Melt came together over the course of about one year. The band members were all traveling separately and writing their own songs on the road. Not until they all got together in New York and began sharing songs with one another did they really start thinking about how they wanted it to sound. “It was an interesting way to do it because, looking back, we had such an eclectic bunch of songs recorded. We had to find what we wanted the album to sound like,” notes Isaac. “It was quite difficult because there were some songs that we really liked, but were just far too obscure or stylistically different to include with this album. I don’t think that’s a bad thing though. But we’ve put them in the vault, so who knows, we may still put a lot of that material out.” The band starts the songwriting for most of the songs with a beat and builds on top of the rhythm. “I’ve always really liked combining electronic beats with more live organic percussion. We all have pretty eclectic music tastes and

listen to a lot of music that came out of Africa and Turkey in the ’60s and ’70s. Artists like Selda, Ersen and Erkin Koray have such amazing rhythms. But I don’t think it was a conscious decision to make the percussion sections sound a particular way. Most of the time, we’d be sitting around working on a song, and one of us would just pick up something and start taping on it. Then we’d record it.” “When I listen back to the album or when we play it live, it’s very nostalgic. All these memories come flooding back; I’m reminded of all the places we recording in, the people we met and the amazing experience we got to share during that time. It’s almost like reading over a journal, except it’s a sonic journal that reminds me of the sights, smells and colors of South America, Europe and New York.”

Artist Equipment box

Electro-Harmonix Cathedral Stereo Reverb

My favorite pedal is the Electro-Harmonix Cathedral Stereo Reverb. The tone from this pedal is so dreamy, it sounds like long feathers and silky clouds. I like that there are so many ways to meddle with its effects parameters; you can tailor it to suit your particular sound. The other thing I love about it is that it has an infinite switch that you can stomp on if you need to carry on dreaming. -Melati

the deli Fall 2012

The bands featured on this page rehearse at The Music Building in Manhattan. If you rehearse there, submit your info to be covered in the next issue of the deli at: www.thedelimagazine.com/musicbuilding ous sessions’ left-aside material of their B-Sides EP, but here we go - a record’s on its way!

flying points By Tracy Mamoun

rom two friends jamming, Flying Points found its path as a four-piece in the footsteps of Killers, Kings of Leon & co., playing some beaming synth-laced pop rock that talks about heartbreaks, summer romances and... well, mostly relationships. 2011 actually came with a pretty bold move, in a set of four dance remixes of their early song “Being Nice.” Two years have now passed since they last released “new” material - their latest output being the previ-

tye trybe

A lot of your songs are about a girl — do they come from one man’s story or do you all contribute to writing the vocals? It’s all pretty much me, and typically the songs are more about the event rather than the person. It’s true that a lot of the songs revolve around a boy and girl dynamic - but as is typical, the meaning of certain songs has changed over time. Songs like the “Process,” which started out as being about chasing an older woman, has become more about growing up and taking on more responsibility. “Where We Started” is the story of a friend of mine and some very strong and life altering decisions he made a few years ago. Right now, the four songs we are about to release are still very specific. Since “No Safe Word,” almost two years have passed — what has this time lapse brought to your music? I think we’ve become more comfortable with each other and ourselves as musicians. I’ve learned a lot about where I want to sing - it’s great to be able to stretch your range, but there is an area where I am at my best, and going forward I am trying to make the most of that. I think the sound of this EP will chart some new territory for us - there is “Part Time Everything,” which you could say is in the same vein as “Process” or “Sex Toys,” and then there is “Take It Slow,” which has a dirtier, punk influence to it.

(“Shine Them Shoes”) and a hint of Latin roots (“Spanish Romance”) - and dive shamelessly into their classics to bring back a little of that not-so-long-lost kick. All in all, it’s about sharing their love for “the old school aesthetic.” A little about where you guys are from, i.e. the Bronx and Harlem. In which ways do you think the music surrounding you as you grew up contributed to what you’re out to offer? We were all surrounded by the same culture/scene, or lack thereof, in the neighborhoods we grew up in. We decided that we didn’t want to get stuck in the same mentality as everyone else, so we all searched for something different and found blues and rock and roll. Our surroundings had an adverse effect on our playing, and what our music is about. Are your songs, like “Spanish Romance” for example, based on true stories? Basically, “Spanish Romance” is not a specific memory or true story. It’s a dirty novella about a man meeting a girl at a dance, and she leaves him the morning after - penniless (definitely not a true story, haha). However, some of the songs do tell real stories, and there’s a lot of hidden quotes from our favorite authors in our songs.

By Tracy Mamoun

ou’ve heard the story a thousand times - three young guys seeking a getaway from boredom. What do they do? They start a rock and roll band. Bred from the sounds of sixties psychedelic/blues rock, The Tye Trybe add to the patterns that they cherish - a little retro kitsch

the deli Fall 2012

In terms of recording — do you guys admit to any ‘retro’ fetishism? We don’t really have any preferences regarding which recording gear to use. If we can score some time at a great studio, that’s fantastic. If we had our old Talkboy recorders, we might still use that.

u by

kitchen recording equipment news

yo Brought to

Brainworx bx_saturator Review by Gabriel Lamorie

he bx_saturator, by Brainworx, is a mid/side multiband saturation plugin that excels in several respects. Being as it is a multiband M/S processor, users have control over separate mid-high and mid-low sections as well as side-high and side-low sections – four “XL units” in total with individual “Solo,” “Gain,” “Drive,” and “XL” controls.

The master controls located at the top of the plugin greatly helped me understand the audible qualities of this effect: experimenting to find a balance between cranking and dialing down the Master Drive along with the Master XL, after applying some basic settings to all of the XL units, was a good place to start. Bypassing the XL Active switch made the process even easier to evaluate the two different audible qualities. After getting a basic understanding of how the plugin worked, the thought of saturation on drums crossed my mind. Distorting the acoustic drums in a rock mix delivered typical results one might expect, but the bx_saturator’s distortion sounded a bit more defined compared to other plugins I cross-referenced. Even when exaggerated distortion was applied on percussion, vocals or guitar, it always produced very “defined” results.

One test that further reinforced my trust in the plugin was placing it at the top of the signal chain on an acoustic/ ambient master track. The vocal distortion at the end of the track wasn’t as present as it should have been but after a few simple tweaks, they popped and sounded very natural against the accompanying instruments without cluttering the mix. The bx_saturator is great at being very transparent when you need it to be, but cranking it up to heavy distortion also sounded good on everything I put it on. It provides straightup saturation that sounds crisp and clear.

Etymotic MUSICPRO 9-15

High Fidelity Electronic Musicians Earplugs Review by Jacqueline Smiley

tymotic continues to stay “true to the ear” with its new Music•PRO 9-15 earplugs for the price of $399 a pair. The MP•9-15 was designed for all who want to hear naturally but also need protection from sudden-impact noise and/or loud sound that is sustained for an extended amount of time.

As sound levels increase, the earplugs provide the option of 9 or 15 dB sound reduction with the flick of a switch. Adaptive attenuation lets the user hear naturally as if nothing was in the ears, until sound exceeds safe levels. In this way, the MP•9-15 earplugs offer an unprecedented capability in that it acts both as an electronic earplug and a personal hearing device. I tested the MP•9-15 at three different music venue locations in and around NYC – an indie rock show at the Bowery Ballroom, an outdoor DJ show at Neptunes Beach Club in the Hamptons and KD Lang at a Performing Arts Center. The result: These earplugs made a big difference in the way I heard the music.

For more reviews, visit www.SonicScoop.com! 46

the deli Fall 2012

u by

kitchen local business news

yo Brought to

NYC Studio News Chung King Studios Reopens A Penthouse Full of Chung King Studios – the NYC recording institution that Recording Studios birthed the earliest Run DMC, Beastie Boys and Def Jam releases – has returned, opening new studios in the former Skyline Recording Studios on W. 37th Street. in Murray Hill The 6,000-sq. ft. space encompasses two studios including the centerpiece “Empire Suite” which features CK’s Musgrave-modified Neve VR72 console, Augsperger mains, Pro Tools 10 HDX with all the new trimmings such as UAD and Softube plugins, a comprehensive collection of outboard gear, and a vast collection of classic tube mics from the past and present. A palette of available tape machines is also on hand, for those purists who crave the sound.

Braund Sound: A Studio In The Round Producer/engineer Erik Braund’s new Greenpoint facility known as Braund Sound is a 1,600 sq. ft. one-room studio inthe-round – offering plenty of room to create, and collaborate. “The biggest benefit of a studio-in-the-round is communication,” says Braun, who’s worked with A Place To Bury Strangers, Shapes and Bowerbirds among others. “You have constant eye contact, and you can take your headphones off and talk to each other, instead of the fishbowl effect of pressing the button and saying ‘Go’ from another room.” Braund has packed a great deal into the space – to accommodate production, recording, mixing and multimedia projects. Gear-wise: Two racks of Distressor-dominated dynamics, API/Neve-flavored mic pres and effects are connected via 32 channels of Aurora Lynx A/D/A into a “vintage” Digidesign Pro Control 24-fader work-surface running Pro Tools HD2. Genelec, Yamaha and Mackie monitoring are available, with a Dangerous Monitor system.

Ten years ago, many of the producers and engineers who currently keep the studios humming at 23 East 31st Street were working about a dozen blocks away – at the old Sony Music Studios over on West 54th Street. When Sony closed, a number of its engineers and mastering engineers set up smaller facilities around town – including Gabriel Schwartz, who opened Fireplace Studios, which became the flagship room in a penthouse full of independent recording studios. Fireplace, which is equipped with an ample live room and racks full of API preamps and vintage Urei compressors, is home to “a network of engineers around the city,” including Chuck Brody (Bear Hands, Phantogram, J.Lo). This main studio has hosted sessions for Pixar, Spoon, Ted Leo, Ad Rock, Theophilus London, The B-52s and Peter, Bjorn and John, among others. Just across the lobby from Fireplace, another Sony veteran William Garrett keeps his own production room called Electracraft, where Mark Foster of Foster The People, and Jack Antonoff and Andrew Dost of FUN have recently recorded. Two more private production studios round out this mini recording-complex – including producer Fredro Ödesjö’s personal room, Rattlebrain Productions, where he works on tracks with hit songwriters like Claude Kelly and Aplus, and artists like Sinead O’Connor and Maxi Priest. The four music spaces share a long, L-shaped lounge that’s lit by over 100 feet of skylights set high up in the lofty ceilings of the penthouse. A tidy kitchen stands in the elbow of the room, and a snack machine guards a back door that opens out onto a Manhattan rooftop with a view of the Empire State Building.

Find more news about NYC based music businesses on www.SonicScoop.com!

making the world a better sound ing place.

the deli Fall 2012

10 jay street suite 405 brooklyn, ny 11201 (718) 797-0177 www.joelambertmastering.com

the deli Fall 2012

kitchen recording equipment news

Strymon Flint

Stomp Box Exhibit October 19&20

at Main Drag Music Try these pedals!

Review by Arthur Fleischmann

200 + pedals displayed!

or Strymon’s own Favorite switch to alter or recall settings on the fly hands free. A+ all around as nearly all personal preferences and functionality are accounted.

ovingly crafted in the USA, the Flint is feeling tour ready and crams a multitude of both trem’ and ‘verb into a package just barely wider than my foot.

With three available tremolo types and three very distinct and different reverb styles to choose from, at first glance the Flint can seem slightly intimidating. In use however positive results are alarmingly simple to achieve. Tremolo controls select between harmonic band filtering, power tube bias and photocell algorithms written to emulate popular amplifier tremolos of the 1960’s. Additional controls for Intensity and Speed take you from pulsing blues twang to aggressive hard chopping effects and everywhere in between. The reverb controls select between a ’60s style spring tank, ’70s style solid state plate, and an ’80s rack style digital hall all of which are expansive and lush. Adjustable Mix, Decay and Color controls make it super easy to add any variation from a little springy splash to an almost infinite ambient pad like hall. Need more editing? While holding both foot switches down you can add a +/- 3 dB boost or cut to either or both of the effects as well as change the tap subdivision for the tremolo and even flip the order of the two effects.

The ins and outs of the Flint are handled up top. Selectable stereo input and stereo output as well as a multi-featured “EXP” make it easy to work this pedal into a slew of different set ups. A standard, 9v adapter powers the pedal with no noise or hum. Additionally, the switching is handled by a relay which makes for quieter, gentler switches without pops. While powering up the Flint the user can set the function of the “EXP” jack via the small toggles on the units face. This allows access use of an expression pedal, tap tempo pedal,

What’s best is that it all sounds great. The pedal is fun to play with almost anything plugged into it, even line level instruments like keys and drum machines. Super low noise A/D and D/A converters and 32 bit processing are all but barely audible, and when you are only using the reverb section the dry path is completely analog, offering you super high quality sonics in a compact form. The Flint streets for $299 USD and given its flexibility and sonic detail it’s worth checking out hands down.

EarthQuaker Devices Tone Job

he Earthquaker Devices Tone Job is a simple three band EQ and level booster pedal meant to add subtle tone shifting qualities. Unlike other guitar EQ pedals, the tone bender is subtle and broad. I can liken the top and bottom boosts to that of a Pultec equalizer used on guitars in the studio. The top end can be pushed to the maximum and still provide a usable, chiming guitar sound. Similarly, the low band can be cranked with the top band attenuated for a smooth muted tone without unwanted resonances and distortions. I tested the Tone Job in conjunction with the EarthQuaker Devices’ Speaker Cranker and Hoof Fuzz pedal, using it to push the Cranker into distortion in a similar manner to how the

the deli Fall 2012

Review by Shane O’Connor

preamp section of a guitar amp would do with the power amp and speaker cone. With the EQ set at unity, the level control provided a secondary clean boost in the signal chain that was ideal for crunchier sounds. More impressive was the boost that the pedal provided with all three EQ bands at maximum and the level control boosted as well. This setting allowed the Speaker Cranker to create new harmonics and types of distortion that I was not previously able to get on my pedal board. In a town like New York City where guitarists are often gigging with club backline, having these two pedals would solidify your tone, regardless of what amp a venue provides. The Tone Job was also useful as a gain stage before the Hoof Fuzz. Although the Hoof has a very broad range of fuzz possibilities, the creative EQ possible with the Tone Job allows for a new set of distortions that can bring the Hoof into a territory of ambient and washed out fuzz instead of basic and “usable” fuzz that the pedal is known for. This combination was great for layers of reverb and fuzz soaked open chords on the chorus of a song that I have been working on. I used the mid and treble bands of the Tone Job to hit the Hoof Fuzz extremely hard while leaving the low end out of the way to maintain root note clarity. I found the mid band control to be most useful in cutting when guitar sounds became too honky to fit into a mix. With other pedals, the mid range can often blur guitar parts or vocals. The mid band on the Tone Job pulled just enough 2kH in a subtle manner that did not interfere with the integrity of the guitar signal.

SPINDOCTOR 2

The next generation of the legendary T-Rex Spindoctor tube driven pre-amp We’re pleased to introduce SPINDOCTOR 2, the next generation of this legendary T-Rex tube-driven preamp/stompbox. Four channels of T-Rex tone with adjustable and programmable gain, tone and output controls. Motorized knobs move like faders on a studio mixing board as you call up different channels, providing mission-critical visual cues that let you monitor your settings at a glance. A full spectrum of analog gain in a single knob. Plus a Lead button to blast off into the stratosphere of world-class overdrive. Not only a killer distortion pedal – it’s also a complete guitar preamp. Plug it directly into a power amp, or use the speaker-simulation output to connect to a mixer or computer.

t-rex-effects.com

kitchen recording equipment news

T-Rex Junior Roommate

Stomp Box Exhibit October 19&20

at Main Drag Music Try these pedals!

200 + pedals displayed!

Review by Gus Green

his blue, rugged pedal is a digital reverb featuring four different modes: Spring, Room, Hall and LFO. It includes a stereo out and a useful red LED to indicate clipping if present, and it’s very straight forward in operation. The only knob that really affects the reverb is the Decay knob, while the other ones are dedicated to giving you the right mix of signal going to your amp. The Spring mode is very familiar to most guitar players, since spring reverbs are featured in many amps. This is a rather good recreation and with the Decay knob all the way up it reminds me of the spring models of the 60’s. What I like about having a digital Spring is that it is way less noisy, temperamental, and dirty sounding than a real Spring. Having control over the Decay is what makes this digital recreation very useful, since this setting can’t be adjusted on most amp springs. The Room mode is a very subtle reverb. It adds just enough effect to make the signal not sound totally dry. That said, I really like the Room mode on this particular pedal. It has a nice “slappy” characteristic that’s very usable. The Hall mode is an imitation of how the signal would sound in a large of various sizes depending on how the

li’s Check out the dex blog! stomp bo

the deli Fall 2012

Decay knob is set, and gives you a natural yet big and deep reverb sound. This mode has again a nice sounding tone. The LFO mode is not your traditional reverb tone. The manual describes it as reverb embellished with chorus, perfect for acoustic guitar. I am not much of an acoustic musician these days so my use of this mode would be pretty limited, but for those seeking a warmer, feel good reverb tone for a Sunday morning brunch this is the go-to mode. The Roommate Junior definitely sounds better then a lot of digital

reverbs for guitar I’ve heard. I appreciate the minimal interface and simplicity of use. I ran my ES-335 knock off through this pedal into my stock Blues Junior and got pleasing results. I also tested it on vocals, drum machine and real drums. I mainly wanted to hear how the Spring mode reacted to these alternative sources - ands was very pleased. As the dynamics increased, the springs became more present and jangley. I would firmly recommend this pedal to anyone looking for a digital stomp verb. It’s as good if not better then pedals costing much more.