Kaki King

Mar 14th, 2008 Folk/Acoustic, Indie, Rock steve 2 min read

Really surprised and delighted by the newest record from guitarist Kaki King. Not being so in touch with the singer/songwriter set, I’m generally reliant on someone more knowledgeable to fill me in. To be honest, one of the few reasons I even gave this album a listen was because one of her older records (she has four including her newest, Dreaming of Revenge) showed up…

Syme (remixed by Bjorn Torske)

Feb 25th, 2008 Indie, Instrumental, Post-Rock, Shoegazer steve 1 min read

I’m glad that advanced album PR seems to have shifted almost entirely to the digital realm. Sure, I still get the occasional CD or 7″ sent over, but the majority of correspondence has clearly moved toward email. It makes discovery that much easier, when all a prospective writer or blogger need do is follow a link or download a track. Norwegian quart Syme is the…

Keston and Westdal

Feb 14th, 2008 Downtempo, Electronic/Dance, IDM, Instrumental steve 1 min read

Here’s a nerd fantasy for you: Tortoise covering Boards of Canada’s “Roygbiv” with Quincy Jones producing. Yeah, it’s totally unrealistic, perhaps even a slight bit musically incongruous, but I don’t give a fuck. I think that would be sick. It is just a dream after all. Now, I couldn’t in good conscience say that Minneapolis duo Keston and Westdal are in that orbit just yet,…

Eliot Lipp

Jan 31st, 2008 Electro, Electronic/Dance, Glitch, IDM, Instrumental steve 2 min read

Happy to report that longtime SK favorite and fellow Brooklyn resident Eliot Lipp has a new album slated for release on March 4th on Mush records, home of Bibio, Lymbyc Systym, Caural, et al. His last LP, Tacoma Mockingbird was one of last year’s gems, a brilliant collection of melody-drenched, hip-hop- and techno-informed electro-funk that set the bar high for a production career with loads…

d_rradio

Jan 29th, 2008 Downtempo, Electronic/Dance, Folk/Acoustic, Glitch, IDM, Instrumental, Post-Rock steve 1 min read

The d_rradio guys (pronounced D-R-radio) are definitely from the SK oldschool and we are happy to announce their next full-length, self-titled opus will be on its way to your ears in March via UK imprint Distraction Records. We’ve been online friends for sometime (check this old post from 2005 ) and I’ve always respected the range of the trio — I can’t think of any…

Jet Black Crayon

Jan 28th, 2008 Breakbeat, Downtempo, Instrumental, Post-Rock steve 1 min read

Tommy Guerrero, Gadget and Monte Vallier are Jet Black Crayon. The story goes that Guerrero was asked to open for Isotope 217 way back when and instead of playing solo, he tapped his boys to play as Jet Black Crayon. And years later, the trio — with the occasional helping hand from a large group of players including Tortoise’s Herndon and Bitney — is still…

El Ten Eleven

Jan 22nd, 2008 Indie, Instrumental, Post-Rock steve 1 min read

Stumbled across these guys after recently watching the fantastic documentary Helvetica. You’d expect a full length feature about a font to drag, but the combination of compelling interviews and beautiful photography with a standout soundtrack made it one of my favorite documentaries of the year. Kristian Dunn, of Los Angeles-based instrumental duo El Ten Eleven (and also a member of SoftLightes) is responsible for putting…

Chico Mann

Dec 10th, 2007 Afrobeat, DJ Weapons, Electro steve 1 min read

First off, apologies for being MIA for a few weeks. But good things do come to those who wait and today’s post is a can’t miss if you, like us, love music that blurs the borders between genres. The brainchild of Antibalas’ guitarist, Marquitos Garcia, Chico Mann, is what I personally like to call “8-bit Afrobeat” and after seeing them live recently, I stand by…