NOIZEMAKESENEMIES // MUSIC // NEW MUSIC

Features // Azealia Banks

Sophie — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:49:25 +0000

20 year-old Azealia Banks’s potty mouth has been catching attention ever since she opened it for the contagiously enigmatic song, 212, in early September, and ever since she pulled me in, I haven’t been able to stop listening!

The self proclaimed Harlem girl shot out of our speakers way back last year, however it hasn’t been until recently, since various remixes and interviews have creeped out of the woodwork, that I felt compelled to share her sound with anyone that would listen! NME voted her the coolest person of 2011 (and if you watch the video for 212 then you’ll see why), BBC have put her in 3rd position in their Sound of 2012 list (alongside the likes of Frank Ocean and Niki & The Dove… but Skrillex did come in 4th so clearly a moron played a part in compiling the list) and her debut album is being produced by Florence + The Machine producer, Paul Epworth. Not to mention the fact that in January, none other than Karl Lagerfeld invited her into his Parisian home to perform in a celebration of his new line! Talk about girl power.

Azealia Banks is a weapon and she is leading the way in the charge of women MCs. Thank god there’s someone to finally put Nicki Minaj in her place, is all I can say! With a mixture of filthy raps, bouncing beats and some serious. fucking. attitude. this girl has got what it takes to stick around on that cool list for a hell of a long time.

For the best examples of her work, check out her impressive singing voice on the cover of Interpol’s Slow Hands (http://soundcloud.com/azealia-banks) and then move over to her brilliant, yet downright sordid releases, such as 2011’s 212 and the recently remixed needsumluv (http://soundcloud.com/azealia-banks/needsumluv-sxlnd).

- Laura.

@_noize @lrandy

Albums // Beach House // Teen Dream

Sophie — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:39:46 +0000

It’s no secret that Beach House have been smashing it since 2011. Teasers off their highly anticipated third album spread across the web like butter on a crumpet and, since its official release, Teen Dream has done nothing but live up to expectations.

For some reason, one that I’m gravely disappointed in myself for, I only got into Beach House post the release of Devotion. Once I came to my senses I immediately got my act together and gave all previous Beach House releases a listen. I can now only thank the power of blogging for unearthing this hazy sound of nostalgia to my once ignorant ears.

I’m trying my hardest to steer clear of the word ‘dreamy’ whilst writing this review. A lot of Beach House write ups overuse the word and there is far too much of a Sigur Ros association with it for my liking (not that I dislike Sigur Ros. For the record, far from it). Teen Dream is an album that takes you back to the greatest summer of your youth and with the state of the climate in this first week of February I couldn’t ask for an awful lot more.

This is already an album that I can see being my album of the year, by a country mile at that. Notable standouts come from the first track right to the last and my favourite aspect of the record is its balance in not being too much or too little of anything. It is perfect. On a great day, I would say completely perfect. The album reminds me of Angus and Julia Stone, it’s rich and feminine with a… I give in, dreamy feel (dammit!).

To cap off a banger of a year, Beach House have created an album fit for an instagram montage of sepia toned memories. So sit back, pump up those headphones, and reminisce.

- Laura.

@_noize @lrandy

Singles // Jack Penate // No-one Lied.

Sophie — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:27:38 +0000

Jack Penate releases are always a joy to uncover and this week’s stripped-down and tender track was a long time coming. It is also completely different to anything we’ve ever heard from the London indie-pop scamp as he wore his heart on his sleeve and, in one take, produced this stunning piece of sentimental charm.

And if making a great track wasn’t enough for you, he’s also giving it away for free at www.jackpenate.com.

- Laura.

@_noize @lrandy

Videos // Die Antwoord // I Fink U Freeky

Sophie — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:36:41 +0000

Enter the ‘freeky’ world of South African techno-rap duo, Die Antwoord (translated as, “The Answer” in Afrikaan). Already pumping out speakers within their homeland, Australia, Canada and the US, band members, Ninja and Yo-Landi are set for a busy 2012 with many tour dates performing in some of the Globe’s most sort-after music festivals.

‘I Fink U Freeky’ screeches techno synths out at you, while the vocals rap twice as fast as the average person can take a breath. The video is shot in black and white and the audience is welcomed into (what looks like) Die Antwoord’s creepy basement of unearthly delights, where rats clamber over people, alien heads float in oily water, young boys look like a product of the Chapman Brothers and bountiful dance moves are constructed into uncontrollable leg-hopping fits.

But without sounding like as if I’m bordering into some kind of racism here, but let’s face it, South Africa has never been one to top the charts in pop culture. Actors, musicians, artists, fashion – They’ve got Charlize Theron and that’s about it… Oh wait, what was that post-apocalyptic film that came out in like, 2009? So I can’t help thinking that these guys are a bit ‘uncool’. Kind of like the exchange students who came during secondary school and were listening to mediocre Linkin Park-style bands when clearly The Killers and The Bravery (tomato, tomarto) were at the height of cool. They seem like a bit of a joke.

- Sophie.

@_noize @sophiefrancesv.

Interviews // King Charles

Sophie — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:44:30 +0000

Down in the depths of the Hoxton Square Underbelly, in strolled an eye-catching King Charles – not the dainty spaniel, but a man.

With his trademark dredhive and finely tweaked mustache, this King Charles looked rather like some kind of sexy pantomime pirate. After a few casual drinks and what seemed like an hour of ‘getting the lighting right’, he was kind enough to sit down and chat about his plans for 2012, being ‘glam folk’ and how his heart constantly beats for music.

When being interviewed, he may dance a fine line between confidence and arrogance. However, much like a method actor, underneath the backchat, you can see that he holds a somewhat nervous demeanor and discomfort in dropping out of character; thus revealing a personal insight behind the public artist, King Charles.

Fortunately the King Charles persona sat most fittingly during his acoustic performances, emphasising his impassioned musical delivery. Whilst he isn’t keen on being pigeon-holed alongside similar artists, his delicate fingering (… what?), laid-back vocals and poetic lyrics combine to enhance folk’s successful revival of recent times.

- Sophie.

@_noize @sophiefrancesv

Introducing // Cold Blue Kid

Sophie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:23:05 +0000

Chicago crew, Cold Blue Kid turns up the guitar effects, raises the drum beats and steps a couple of spaces away from the microphone. Voila, that emotional and slightly grungy 90s sound has made a come back. (“Dude, are you being sarcastic?” “Mehh-I don’t even know anymore…”)

There’s an angst outlook from their music. Not within the lyrics themselves (if you take out the muffling, you could find they’re singing about, “making airplanes with their hands as they cruise down the road”, “endless summer days” or any other cheesy ‘band interest’ they’ve listed on Facebook), but the dark echos and severe guitar picks sink the sound into a vortex of eerie experimental folk. A bit raw, a bit exciting.

The band will release their Mimic EP on 12th Feburary 2012, where their vocals are unconventionally moaned out-of-pitch, but beautifully harmonised with their trademark of soft electrics. A favourite within the record is ‘Social Circles’, which not only has a nice ring to its title (geddit, ‘ring’.. Circle?), but is a calming yet catching pop-tune. Their male-dominated verses with female interject in the chorus is a nice formula; low to high, low to high etc… Not especially a show of skillful complexities, but Cold Blue Kid’s minimal theatrics in this track prove that a good song doesn’t always require constant bells and whistles (metaphor, not actual bells or whistles – unless you’re talking about ‘Young Folks’ or ‘Christmas; Baby Please Come Home’).

Other good tracks include ‘Setback’, which has an 80s movie-soundtrack ballard aura about it and soothing crunchy soundwaves, and their recent released, ‘Maybe Town’ which has already kick-started circulating viral revenues with demand.

Cold Blue Kid are sure to rise in success this year. Their sound differs from much of their folk neighbours, but the step outside the ordinary is far more of a ‘hit’ than a ‘miss’. Their enjoyable, yet emotional music needs attention. (That’s to say, to whip out their stuff at a party will most probably lead to a buzz-kill). Keep it on the ‘I need some uplifting inspiration’ playlist, find a roof to sit on and watch the sunrise. That kinda thing.

- Sophie.

@_noize @sophiefrancesv

Could this be the worst song ever written? Now or Never // Jodie Connor ft Wiley

Sophie — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:37:51 +0000

By all means this is not some attack on the mainstream pop industry. Heck, I shouted out at a party recently that we’ll look back at Rhianna & Calvin Harris’ ‘We Found Love’ as the soundtrack to our youth! (And I was serious.) But honestly, this vague techno-beat (man, the wonders of GarageBand huh?) surrounding a mediocre singer with an attractive-yet-youthful look (yes, I like my 17 year olds filmed with numerous camera shots zooming up and down their bodies, just like the watchful eye of a PE teacher on the brink of loosing his job…), that becomes interjected with some new rap sensation (around the bridge, y’know the bit you can turn down when you order your double cheeseburger meal at the drive-thru) phase is clearly getting out of control.

This abomination of music, ‘Now or Never’ is the worst song I’ve ever heard. I mean, at least Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ stood on top of the YouTube charts knowing that it’s continuous nasal vocals and mind-numbing lyrics would only grace the ears of people listening ironically… But what is scary about this piece of shit is that it is actually slithering (like the evil serpent it is) its way into the mainstream rhelm, disguising itself as decent pop music.

As it works with the same formula as other mainstream hits, people will actually support this crap and pay money for it. Thank you Cher Lloyd and Jennifer Lopez. As if you are riddled with some terrible-talentless disease, you have spread the plague. This will no doubt encourage it to be played more and more on public radio, TV and… Dear Lord, possibly even allowed a 5 second advertisement before a VEVO video clip. The annoying repetition of, “Baby, we should be together-gether-gether. Baby, it’s now or never, never, never…” was actually being played on MTV at my local eatery. I felt like 1984′s Winston locked in Room 101, where the telescreen howled and hissed tortuously against one’s will.

Now before you think my passion is too aggressive, please let me recite the rhymed lyrics within ‘Now or Never’..
- “I’ll be right here baby/They can say I’m crazy.”
- “You got my heart/Right from the start.”
- “I want to be with you forever-ever-ever/Me and you together-gether-gether”
- (*Drum Roll Please*) “We can walk through stormy weather-weather-weather/Baby its now or never-never-never.”

I’m not being funny, but I think these producers have been raiding through my drawers in late-1997 and found some really good stuff in my diary (I hope the original transcripts still contain little love hearts replacing the dot on the ‘i’s) Presumably Jodie Connor did not write this song herself (not having a go at pre-written song writing. I agree with the music industry sharing different talents), so what’s more depressing is that this is someone’s actual job. As in, “Hi, I’m a song-writer and that’s what I do for a living.” For fuck’s sake! This is potentially on someone’s actual professional CV!

” ‘Now or Never’ – songwriter, 2012.
While working for Connor, I decided to take the romantic emotions of vaguely fancying someone and work out a narrative by using my firm grasp of the English language. Here I successfully made the conclusion that ‘walking through stormy weather’, could be used as a metaphor for a couple arguing…”

Mind you, this could also go for the music video’s stylist. Well done, that ‘No. 9′ shirt has fooled us into believing it is real Chanel – She must be rich! Oh, and those glasses? She’s either intelligent or shops at Urban Outfitters – Either way, she must be cool!

Wiley, put your Rolex back on. Thank you for taking another teenager out of the education system to let them spend the next 6 months delivering more of this rubbish and the next 10 years trying to get us to like them on a variety of Celebrity-themed reality shows. My ears are burning.

- Sophie.

@_noize @_sophiefrancesv

Sleigh Bells// Comeback Kid// New Single

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:25:43 +0000

Sleigh Bells are back, with aptly named single ‘Comeback Kid’.

You can listen to it here:

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Here’s the stuff from the band on their upcoming February / March 2011 headline tour. Tickets for all shows are available to buy now and the full dates are as follows:

February
27th The Academy, Dublin
28th Oran Mor. Glasgow

March
1st Electric Ballroom, London
2nd Sound Control, Manchester
5th La Machine Du Moulin Rouge, Paris
7th Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin
8th Melkweg, Amsterdam

See you there!

- Noize

Interviews // The New Divison

Sophie — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:30:45 +0000

‘Pretentious’ or not, when a band name is a mixture between New Order and Joy Division that’s got to be a good sign at the start. Not only does US indie-tech band have some great influences, but the boys from the West Coast play some great eerie synth music (a sort of Empire of the Sun trapped in an evil parallel universe) where their spine-tingling beats have a knack for replacing one’s heart palpitations. Great for either or; unconventional dance parties to lonesome angst-Teen moments (“… Fine, As if I care! I’ll just go and live with Darrell then!).

We caught up with Masters degree educated and band’s vocalist, John Kunkel, discussing the darker sounds of “Shadows”, the LA music scene and other bits and bobs of The New Division goodness…

“Shadows” is the first LP of the band, after the successful EP “The Rookie”, this new album sounds a bit darker than the previous. Do you agree?

The album is definitely darker, I’m not sure if that was intentional however. The songs just ended up talking about several dark topics, but not necessarily in a serious manner. Some tracks I think are pretty lighthearted like “Soft”, or “Munich”. But yeah, for the most part, it is a rather dark record.

Why hold a recording under the name “Shadows”?

I guess since the songs were already sort of ‘dark’ in spirit, it seemed appropriate to name the album “Shadows”. Much like the album itself, the name came about randomly. There wasn’t a whole lot of thought put into it. The title just came into my head one day, I brought up with the band, and we all knew right then and there, that’s what it was going to be named. It was perfect.

“Opium” is the opening track on the album, but also one of the best (in my opinion). What are you talking about in “Opium”?

Most of the songs on “Shadows” are really about someone telling a story, they don’t reflect anything we’ve personally gone through. “Opium” follows this gesture by talking about someone who’s lover has disclosed to them an affair, and the person does opium to sort of get over it… Typical drug use for the sake of escaping a painful reality.

Another of the highlights of the album is “Soft”. What were the creations behind this track?

This song was written while I was living with my parents for a short period of time. I was reflecting on a lot of things at that point because I had no job, I had just graduated with a masters degree, and I was really confused about what next step to take. It’s a nostalgic piece about missing the days of your youth and childhood, how things were simpler back then, I suppose.

The first EP “The Rookie” got a worldwide reputation. Did this weigh a little time to compose “Shadows”?

A good portion of the songs for “Shadows,” were already written by the time “The Rookie” was released, so there wasn’t really much to do other than the mixing component of the album, and the organizing. “Shadows” was really supposed to be a follow up EP to “The Rookie”, but it ended up being an LP because we couldn’t decide what songs to release, and what songs not to release. That’s how we ended up with “Shadows”.
How is the music scene in Los Angeles?

I honestly don’t get out much, but I know there’s good music anywhere you go. There’s a bit of everything from dance, to indie, to folk, to underground electronic, etc. It really depends up to you what you want to see and experience. Personally, I’ve recently enjoyed a lot of what’s going on with the electronic dance music scene, just because of the energy that surrounds these shows. I’m not really one to go and watch a band play for two hours while I’m sitting down the entire time, surrounded by people who are hushing you when you’re talking with your friends (yes, it does happen quite often…). I’d much rather go somewhere that’s going to lift my spirit and energy, and I think dance music in general does that very effectively.

The New Division is a really cool name, although I have read somewhere that you’ve been criticized for using a somewhatpretentious name. What is ‘The New Division?

I think we’ve gotten to the point where we don’t realize that’s our name sometimes, and where it comes from. We’ve had it for so long that it really doesn’t mean anything bad or good. Obviously New Order and Joy Division were the primary inspiration for coming up with the name, and the general sound, but I think we’ve moved beyond that to some extent and I think people realize they aren’t our only influences. If you listen to “Shadows”, I think that’s pretty clear.

Do you believe in the dichotomy rock/electronica?

Depends what type of rock you’re talking about. If you’re using Linkin Park, as an example, I’d have to say that’s unfortunate. If you’re looking at mixing U2 sounds with Depeche Mode, I think it’s fantastic. Both genres have some great and equally disastrous elements. If you combine the wrong ones together, you’re bound to end up on my bad side.

How is the recording process of The New Division?

The odd thing about us is that we don’t record anything except for vocals and guitars. Everything is programmed through several programs. The process of programming however is really equal to a songwriter’s process of writing a song. You start out with a drum beat, or with midi notes that you enjoy, you begin playing around with effects, synths, etc, and then you start developing a good base for your song. That’s how we do it. Although, we do plan for our next EP to record a lot more natural, and percussive sounds. We’ll then use those recordings as samples that will be on the next EP.

What are your plans for the future?

We’re looking at working on an EP that should hopefully see a release date around May, maybe earlier. It really all depends on whether or not we can write the songs we want, and feel confident that this is what our fans would like to hear. But yeah, for now we just have plans for more releases, more local shows until we can save up for a tour, and we’re also working extensively on getting our label, Division 87, up and running. We are going to be releasing a lot of material through Division 87, which will feature artists from across the globe.

Marcelo Basaure

@_noize @marcelobasaure

VIDEOS // MURKAGE // TORCHES

markmalone — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:03:05 +0000

Mad, bad and dangerous to know, Murkage sound huge. Their brand of earthquake-sized electronica, coupled with socially poignant and often controversial lyrics, deftly destroys lazy categorisation. Resolutely uncompromising, the band cryptically describe their creative philosophy as ‘Of Mystics And Misfits’ and their sound simply as ‘Murkage Music’. It is a grimy clarion call to freedom booming through underground speakerboxes worldwide. It’s this high-octane onstage riot of four snarling tongues, massive live drums and a DJ, that has led critics to describe Murkage as ‘probably the best live act in the country today’. After the release of their acclaimed debut EP in 2011 Murkage emerged behemoth-like from the beating heart of Manchester’s nocturnal terrain, making waves throughout the past twelve months.

@_noize