FULL ALBUM STREAM: Clear Moon

In this first of two new albums planned for release in 2012, Mount Eerie presents a monumental work of depth and maturity. These are songs about a quiet life in and around a small northwest town, usually buried in fog, and the unexpected moments of clarity that briefly flash through. Clear Moon is the resonant lone bell symbol, the glint in the water, the sudden breath.

For over thirteen years Phil Elverum has been releasing beguiling records from and about the Pacific Northwest, first as the Microphones and since 2004 as Mount Eerie. The thread has sometimes been challenging to follow, meandering into weird EPs and live experiments, but there have always been punctuations of cohesive sound and idea, made giant; The Glow pt. 2 (2001), Mount Eerie (2003), Lost Wisdom (2008), Wind’s Poem (2009), and now Clear Moon (to be followed later this year by its companion album, Ocean Roar).

After all the world-touring that followed the release of Wind’s Poem, Phil Elverum has spent 2 years establishing a new recording studio, “the Unknown”, in an old de-sanctified church in Anacortes, Washington. These 2 new albums, Clear Moon and Ocean Roar, are the first Mount Eerie recordings to be released from the new old space. You can hear the giant wooden cathedral room in these songs. Vast echo, resonating gongs, impenetrable walls of thickness, and always a voice cutting through the fog, moon-like.

The sound is not lo-fi as it is sometimes called. It’s also not hi-fi. These are just crazy recordings, bigger and deeper than any real-life fjord. It’s 100% analog, and it is a sound that can only come from 15 months of studio solitude, crushing tape, riding waves of fake strings, finding new angles on “intensity”. The music of Popol Vuh was inspirational, as well as explorers from black metal such as Menace Ruine, Nadja, and others. Contemporaries in theme can be found in the heavy sacred regionalism of Olympia’s Wolves In The Throne Room. Ultimately, this is music on its own island, unlike anything else; a break in the clouds and a view of a hidden new landscape.

Tour Dates

05/15 Edmonton, AB Wunderbar
05/16 Calgary, AB Central United Church
06/17 Olympia, WA Northern 414 1/2 Legion Way
06/18 Portland, OR 4321 SE Hawthorne
06/19 Portland, OR Valentine’s
06/20 Seattle, WA 20/20 Cycle
06/21 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
06/22 Nanaimo, BC TBA
06/23 Victoria, BC The Fifty Fifty
07/13 - 07/15 Anacortes, WA 1st Anacortes Unknown Music Series
08/24 - 08/26 Rochester, WA Helsing Junction Sleepover

Mount Eerie
Clear Moon
(P.W. Elverum and Sun)
Street Date: May 22, 2012
Formats: Digital, LP
Theme: place/magic

1. Through The Trees pt. 2
2. the Place Lives
3. the Place I Live
4. (something)
5. Lone Bell
6. House Shape
7. Over Dark Water
8. (something)
9. Clear Moon
10. Yawning Sky
11. (synthesizer)

Links: Official Site//Twitter

MP3: “Sweet Sure Gone”

MP3: “Too Far To See”

Apart from the fact that “MV & EE” is slang for zero gravity and that they’ve been doing it consistently “better” with good vibes/jams they still WANT to give you more of the best of them. This is their “space homestead” and for good reason this wall of sound applied thru DIY sensibilities was recorded over the course of a year in 9 different studios, presenting as clearly as circumstances can permit, a living idea right here in the now of what it is all about. These are sonics in motion, the satiate plural perfect supply of the hunger unusual, the picturesque in sound. Grab a shuttle for your spectrasound furniture any time in any aeon and dig the volume of their trip.

Tour Dates

05/15 Baltimore, MD - Golden West Cafe
05/16 Washington DC - DC9
05/17 Hudson, NY - Spotty Dog
05/18 Montague, MA - The Bookmill
05/19 Biddeford, ME - The Oak and the Ax &
06/03 Becket, MA - Dreamaway Lodge
07/14 Asheville, NC - Inner Mountain Festival - The Grey Eagle (Acoustic and Electric sets) %

& = w/ BR Garm
% = w/ dredd foole, willie lane, samara lubelski / herbcraft

MV & EE
Space Homestead
(Woodsist)
Street Date: May 15, 2012
Formats: CD, LP, Digital

heart like barbara steele
workingman’s smile
sweet sure gone
shit’s creek
common ground
moment
too far to see
wasteland
porchlight > leaves

Links: Official Site//Band Blog//Label

MP3: “Nightshift in Waltz” (RAJA Rearrangement)

Jonti created “Sine & Moon Mix” originally for the Stones Throw Podcast, a collection of earlier songs he’d recorded on 4-track. In the months since the mix, Stones Throw decided to post the individual tracks on their site as well.

But then the album took another turn. Jonti revisited the songs, mixed and mastered them anew. Due to strong demand from the fans, now we have Sine & Moon (The Album) pressed on vinyl, as well as an official digital release.

Bio:

Jonti may not be a familiar name just yet but that’s no reflection of his resume. Multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, and vocalist, Jonti, began assembling music after his departure from South Africa to Australia in 1999. Spending countless hours studying records like they were books, processing each song, this became Jonti’s music school, testing his theories on a 4-track recorder.

If you love music, eventually you meet others who do too. In the past year, through different projects, Jonti has recorded with Mark Ronson, Santigold, Sean Lennon and the Dap-Kings, as well as producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile). Ironically, for Jonti’s solo album, he decided to purposely go the opposite route, doing everything himself, start to finish.

Sometimes it feels like you’re not even moving and then one day it’s done and the madness is like a fading dream. That fading dream left behind two albums, Twirligig and it’s brother album TokoRats.

Twirligig draws inspiration from many of Jonti’s favorite artists, Madlib, Stereolab, Free Design and The Beach Boys. But Twirligig’s main inspiration came from cartoonist/ filmmaker Norman Mclaren. Jonti explains, “His films are complex, but they’re still fun. You can feel his enthusiasm for techniques and experimentation. I try make simple pop songs with that same mentality.”

Although Jonti describes his music as simple, label head Peanut Butter Wolf sees it as anything but that. “I understand the pop references because his music is so catchy, but the arrangements blew me away. I couldn’t figure out how the hell he did what he did. That he did it all on his own at such an early age kinda scared me. I knew right away I needed to add him to the roster.” You will soon understand why Stones Throw is proud to present it’s first Australian signing Jonti as a new member of the family.

Jonti
Sine & Moon (The Album)
(Stones Throw)
Street Date: May 15, 2012

Track List:

01. Saturday Night Songs
02. Red On Green
03. Confused Birds
04. Nagoya Train Station 3AM
05. Nightshift in Blue (Alt. Version)
06. Koi Moon’s Daughter Pt II
07. By This Shore
08. Flesh Of Morning
09. Lost Machines
10. Young Wildebeest
11. Nagoya Interlude
12. Moon Goddess
13. Sugar High
14. Lovers Stone (Alt. Passaros)
15. Vendas Newly Won Dream (Bonus Track)

Links: Twitter//Facebook//Label

An Evening with Philip Glass & Joanna Newsom w/ Tim Fain

San Francisco, CA The Warfield Theatre
Monday, June 25, 2012
doors 7pm / show 8pm

Tickets on Sale this Weds. at Noon PST at: http://www.folkyeah.com

As part of Philip Glass’ Days and Nights festival, this very special evening will feature solo performances and collaborations between Joanna Newsom, Philip Glass and Tim Fain. The event is a benefit for the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur to cover a massive upgrade project.

More about the Henry Miller Library:

In 1981, Emil White founded the Henry Miller Memorial Library in honor of his friend Henry Miller. Three decades later, thanks to the help of countless artists, musicians, and supporters the once sleepy bookstore/gallery has become one of the most innovative and awe-inspiring places in the world.

But the the place is in jeopardy. Federally-mandated health and safety requirements, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, requires upgrades that will cost a lot more than what the Library currently has in its savings. Proper plans for the required upgrades have been filed and, pending approval and FUNDING,
construction will start this Fall.

HMML has received permission to host an abbreviated 2012 (June - October) (((folkYEAH!))) performance season Lucinda Williams, Jenny Lewis, Woodsist Festival, Grandaddy, plus more to be announced very soon will perform @ HMML this season.

The impact of any donation made at this time will be immediate and meaningful:
it will ensure the long-term survival of the Henry Miller Memorial Library.

Here are just a few of the performers (((folkYEAH!))) has presented @ HMML:

Gillian Welch
Ryan Adams
Arcade Fire
Fleet Foxes
Cat Power
Animal Collective
Bonnie ‘Prince’Billy
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Chris Robinson
Pegi Young (w Neil Young)
Bill Callahan
MGMT
Bill Callahan
Kurt Vile
Thurston Moore
Blonde Redhead
Little Dragon
Tallest Man on Earth
The XX
J Mascis
Band of Horses
J Tillman
Woodsist Festival
Beachwood Sparks

Plus performances by:
Philip Glass
Laurie Anderson

http://www.bigsurfilm.org/site

HMML’s International Short Film Series is presented and booked by Henry Miller Memroial Library.
email: magnus@henrymiller.org

HMML’s Live Music Concert series is booked and presented by (((folkYEAH!)))
email: britt@folkyeah.com

Links: Henry Miller Library//(((folkYEAH!)))//Days and Nights Festival//Joanna Newsom//Philip Glass//Tim Fain

MP3: “Aphrodite”

The video for ‘Aphrodite’ was filmed in Tito Butch’s Italian mansion in 2004. It features Lola Pacita Labayen, five dancers, Kat Mark, Pretty M (aka Beta Frontiers) and Phèdre. The stark lighting setup sets the tone for the video, consisting of a disco ball and two high-powered colored DJ lights.

Directed by Apey0 and Dan of Phèdre
Edited and shot by Sofia Bohdanowicz and Calvin Thomas
Dance choreographed by Leah Gold and Jodinand Aguillon

NXNE:

Phèdre will headline the Daps Records showcase in this year’s NXNE Music Festival June 15th at Sneaky Dee’s in Toronto.

Now in its 18th year, North by Northeast Festivals and Conference (NXNE) has become the Canadian festival destination for emerging artists and major-label headliners. The seven-day music festival will take place at multiple venues across the city from June 11-17, 2012.

Other bands confirmed for NXNE include the Flaming Lips, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, Of Montreal, Bad Religion, Purity Ring, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Young Magic, Death Grips and more

Tickets for NXNE are on sale now
Daps Records NXNE showcase

Bio:

Phèdre = Lovers from Monaco, raised in a cave of gold

The seeds for Phèdre were sown in an attic, over three late summer nights and hundreds of bottles of cheap wine.

Loosely inspired by both Greek mythology (Phaedre, daughter of Minos and Pasiphë) and the Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazelwood duet “Some Velvet Morning”, Phèdre is a dream-collaboration between an ever rotating cast of contributors/members.

Press:

The group’s playfully dark, sweetly romantic, and often strangely affecting jams recall the warped AM avant-pop vibes of Ariel Pink, John Maus, Molly Nilsson, and the like, except these guys sound like they’re genuinely having a blast all the time, and it’s extremely infectious. - Chris Cantalini, Gorilla vs. Bear

[A] mutant hybrid of several different types of sounds - of Montreal’s freaked-out glam, the AM-radio baritone blur of Ariel Pink, and a dash of the cheekiness contained in Tom Tom Clib’s “Genius of Love”, for good measure — but it’s Phèdre’s charming mash of these signifiers that make the song rise above mere pastiche. - Larry Fitzmaurice, Pitchfork

With their heady mix of vocals (an awesome baritone among them), fuzzy production values and a taste for infectious rhythm, Phèdre seem to be making it up as they go along. So it follows that they’ve recorded one of the most exciting and skewed pop records of 2012 - end of. - Marnie Reed, Bowlegs

The songs are undeniably pretty electronic pop, but also disorientating, woozy and vaguely unsettling: picture an artsy loft party where far too many are on LSD and removing clothing at an alarming rate. - Benjamin Boles, NOW

[The] album is the classy-meets-trashy equivalent of chugging pinot noir straight from the box… Wickedly warped found-sound pop. - Erik Leijon, Montreal Mirror

[O]ne can do nothing but feel helpless in the face of nearly perfect pop experimentalism. - Luca Morellato, Exclaim!

Tour Dates

06/09 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge *
06/10 Montreal, QC - La Tulipe #
06/15 Toronto, ON - Sneaky Dee’s - NXNE ^

* = w/ Rioux
# = w/ Omar Souleyman, La Desunion
^ = w/ Odonis Odonis, more artists TBA

Phèdre
Phèdre
(Daps Records)
Street Date: March 27, 2012

Track List:

1. TRAGIQUE
2. APHRODITE
3. COLD SUNDAY (FT. AROWBE)
4. ODE TO THE SWINGER
5. THIS IZ YOUR LIFE
6. IN DECAY
7. DREAMS
8. LOVE ABLAZE
9. PHÈDRE
10. GLITTER ON HER FACE

Links: Facebook//Official Site//Twitter//Label

Onuinu - “Happy Home” by forcefieldpr

Onuinu is the project of Dorian Duvall. He’s been crafting electro pop in Portland, OR for the past few years, where the music community has been watching and waiting for this, his first full length album, Mirror Gazer. Up until now, there’s been a release on an Ape Tapes compilation and a video for the catchy “Ice Palace,” replete with kaleidoscopic, melted visuals - directed by Andrew Sloan (Tender Loving Empire).

Dorian, a multi-instrumentalist, wrote and produced the album. Jeremy Sherrer (The Gossip, Dandy Warhols, Hockey) co-produced, recorded/mixed the record and played drums.

Dorian calls the music Disco-Hop and is easy to cite influences like: Yellow Magic Orchestra, Michael Jackson, the Brainfeeder Crew, and Stones Throw Records. The giant chorus of opening track, “Mirror Gazer,” the 70s shimmer of “Happy Home,” and the roller rink ready “Always Awkward,” point to his foundation in the disco, power pop and hip hop worlds.

“I was drawn more to guitar when I was a teenager listening to Hendrix and Jazz and then transitioned into more pop music Like the Beatles, Kinks, Zombies,” Duvall says.

“I didn’t really play in very many bands, I jammed with friends, attempted to start a few bands with friends and then decided to make music on my own - I did some early recordings with an acoustic guitar and a Casio. Then I bought my first sampler and synthesizer and with those I started making loops. The early influences with that stuff were all over the place from Eno, Bowie, Madlib, J Dilla, Prince, and Jan Hammer.”

Tour Dates

05/24 La Jolla, CA - The Loft @ UCSD *
05/25 Tucson, AZ - Plush *
05/28 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks *
05/30 Gainesville, FL - Double Down Live *
05/31 Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live *
06/01 Tampa, FL - Crowbar *
06/02 Miami, FL - Bardot *
06/04 Atlanta, GA - The Earl *
06/05 Nashville, TN - 12th and Porter *$
06/06 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Cafe *
06/07 Dallas, TX - Club Dada *
06/08 Austin, TX - The Mohawk *
06/09 Houston, TX - Fitzgeralds *^
06/11 Norman, OK - Opolis *
06/13 Santa Fe, NM - Sol at Santa Fe Brewing Company *
06/14 Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom *
06/15 Pomona, CA - The Glass House *

* = w/ YACHT
$ = w/ Jasmin Kaset
^ = w/ Love Inks

Onuinu
Mirror Gazer
(Bladen County)
Street Date: August 21, 2012
Formats: CD / LP / Digital

1. Mirror Gazer
2. Always Awkward
3. A Night With
4. A Step In The Right Direction
5. Last Word
6. Lost
7. Forever
8. Ice Palace
9. Happy Home

Links: Official Site//Facebook//Twitter//Label

Dana Buoy - “Satellite Ozone” by forcefieldpr

Dana Buoy’s debut album, Summer Bodies, is a rhythmic and vibrant dedication to the joyous feelings of summer love.

What started as hopeful love notes left on an answering machine in Oregon were later crafted into an album in a bungalow near a jungle lagoon in Thailand. Armed with nothing more than a laptop, an MPC1000, and the enchantment of the paradise found there, the songs began to take shape, mimicking the tropic forms that surrounded them.

The record was completed months later in Brooklyn and was fleshed out almost solely by Buoy with live drumming, guitar, thumb piano, and samples built from omnichords, analog synthesizers and iPad apps. During the recording, Buoy (real name: Dana Janssen) and his engineer weathered an earthquake, followed by Hurricane Irene - neglecting to evacuate and maintaining days of isolation brought on by the tropical storm.

The result is Summer Bodies, the culmination of over a year of songwriting and traveling. A dream pop record combining elements of Afro beats, synth pop, and what Buoy refers to as “Tropicore”. The songs connect the dots between Paul Simon and Drake, providing a sonic spaceship ride from the beach party to the after party.

Dana Buoy has spent the better part of the last decade as the percussionist for Akron/Family. Summer Bodies is due out via Lefse Records in May 2012.

Tour Dates

5/08 Sacramento, CA Blue Lamp #
5/09 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill #
5/11 Los Angeles, CA Satellite #
5/12 Pomona, CA Aladdin Jr. #
5/13 San Diego, CA Soda Bar #

# = w/ Gauntlet Hair

Dana Buoy
Summer Bodies
(Lefse)
Street Date: May 8, 2012

Tracklisting:
1.) Anatomy of Now
2.) Call to Be
3.) So Lucky
4.) Satellite Ozone
5.) Come My Side
6.) Untitled 1
7.) Delicate Suitor
8.) Hand Over Hand
9.) Futures Part
10.) Best Around
11.) We on the Sea

Links: Facebook//Twitter//Soundcloud//Label

STREAM: Gallery EP

Emanating an optimism that originates as much from Justin Vallesteros’ catharsis as it does from his youthful infatuation with uncertainty, Gallery confidently meanders an evolution in Craft Spell’s sound. Gallery fully embodies the contentedness that comes with being home once assured of the worlds infinite possibilities. Speckles of 80’s synth pop and drum loops remain the nostalgic centerpiece, representing familiarity, while Vallesteros illuminates himself as more comfortable venturing outward into the abyss of song-writing. Upon shedding the shackles of insecurity, Gallery unearths a resonating versatility amidst the further crafting of Vallesteros’ musical conceptions.

Tour Dates

05/08 Vancouver, BC Venue *
05/09 Seattle, WA Neumos *
05/10 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge *
05/12 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall *
05/13 Las Vegas, NV Body English - Hard Rock Hotel *
05/14 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre *
05/15 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre *
05/26 George, WA Sasquatch Music Festival

* = w/ The Drums, Part Time

Craft Spells
Gallery EP
(Captured Tracks)
Street Date: May 15, 2012
Formats: CD / LP / Digital

Tracklist:

Still Left With Me
Warmth
Burst
Leave My Shadow
Sun Trails
Gallery

Links: Facebook//Label

Dent May’s video for “Best Friend” was shot on location in Jackson, Mississippi. It was directed by James Alexander Warren, who also plays drums in Dent’s touring band. Dent described the video shoot as, “a spontaneous hometown party weekend featuring an afternoon joy ride on a motor trike, a street parade of middle-aged ladies in psychedelic costumes, a green screen, and lots of balloons.”

In the years since signing with Paw Tracks in 2009, Mississippi native Dent May has made music that balances saccharine pop sincerity and campy affectation. His debut LP, The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, put wry storytelling at its fore, but imbued each track with sweet strums of the titular instrument and earnest harmonies sure to arrest listeners’ sympathies. Eager to explore different styles, the two singles released since the album, “That Feeling” and “Fun,” have seen May plugging in and finding footing somewhere between 60s psychedelia and disco-era balladry in the vein of Ashford and Simpson, a vibe he expands on with his new record, Do Things.

Played entirely by himself and recorded in sessions split between his bedroom at the Cats Purring Dude Ranch and a small cabin by a cotton field outside Oxford, MS, Do Things finds the self-described “wedding reception band on acid” purveying the same heavy helpings of sentiment, but forgoing the jocular tone of his debut for a more contemplative-but still relentlessly optimistic-demeanor. Underneath the shiny veneer of synthesizer filigrees and harmonious coos, May zooms in on such timeless subjects as the nature of friendship, finding purpose in a world that seems devoid of it, and dealing with insistent feelings of malaise. “Funk” is certainly a word that’s written all over the album, and May’s Orange Juice-ian take on it lends songs like “Best Friend” and “Don’t Wait Too Long” a sprightly boogie and conjures images of soft-lit rooms and mirror balls. When not thumping and grooving, Do Things bops and sways along the psych-pop avenues of “Tell Her” and the ascending melodies of “Find It.” Full of stylistic changes but retaining May’s singular voice, Do Things is a great step forward for the pop devotee.

Bio

Dent May writes and records homemade pop music in Mississippi, where he was born in 1985. He began songwriting at age 12. The following year, he started a band called Flood, who covered Creed and 311 and sold homemade cassettes to classmates. In high school, heavily influenced by Elvis Costello and The Cars, Dent fronted a power-pop band called The Rockwells. Feeling like an outsider in Mississippi, he retreated to the Internet, where he spent his time soaking in pop music and culture from around the globe.

After dropping out of NYU film school, Dent founded Oxford, Mississippi’s self-proclaimed “infotainment cult” Cats Purring. Since then, his musical endeavors have included a debut LP of ukulele tunes on Paw Tracks, dance recordings under the Dent Sweat moniker, and a mysterious unfinished psych-country rock opera called Cowboy Maloney’s Electric City. He throws notorious DIY shows at his home, a former Boys & Girls club now deemed the Cats Purring Dude Ranch.

Recent singles on Forest Family and Paw Tracks have found Dent abandoning the ukulele in favor of cosmic synths, funky guitars, analog drum machines, loopy bass lines, and massive vocal harmonies. He played all the instruments on his new album Do Things, which was recorded at the Dude Ranch and in a friend’s rural cabin by a cotton field. Do Things will be released by Paw Tracks on June 12, 2012.

Tour Dates

05/15 Athens, GA – Farm 255
05/16 Durham, NC - Salamandra
05/17 Baltimore, MD – Golden West
05/18 Brooklyn, NY – 285 Kent *
06/15 Dallas, TX – The Bryan Street Tavern
06/16 Austin, TX – Scottish Rite Theater $$
06/17 San Antonio, TX – El Ten Eleven $$
06/18 Lubbock, TX – Pray For Rain $$
06/20 Tucon, AZ – Solar Culture $$
06/21 Pheonix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom $$
06/22 San Diego, CA – Casbah $$
06/23 Los Angeles, CA – The Smell $$
06/24 Long Beach, CA – Alex’s Bar $$
06/27 San Jose, CA – Blank Club $$
06/28 Santa Cruz, CA – The Crepe Place $$
06/29 Oakland, CA – New Parish Music Hall $$
06/30 San Francisco, CA – Elbo Room $$!
07/02 Arcata, CA – The Jambalaya $$
07/03 Olympia, WA – Northern $$
07/05 Vancouver, BC – Waldorf Hotel $$
07/06 Seattle, WA – Chop Suey $$
07/07 Portland, OR – East End Block Party$$
07/08 Missoula MT – VFW Hall
07/10 Fargo, ND- The Aquarium
07/14 Cleveland - Beachland Tavern
07/17 Montreal, QC – Casa Del Popolo
07/22 Washington DC- DC9
07/23 Greensboro, NC – Blind Tiger
07/24 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
07/25 Huntsville, MS – Vertical House

* = w/ The Babies, Family Portrait, William Tyler, DJ Ducktails
$$ = w/ Quintron and Miss Pussycat
$$! = w/ Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Shannon and the Clams

Dent May - “Best Friend” (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)
http://soundcloud.com/dentmay/best-friend-prins-thomas-diskomiks

Dent May
Do Things
(Paw Tracks)
Street Date: June 12, 2012
Formats: CD / LP / Digital

1. Rent Money
2. Fun
3. Tell Her
4. Best Friend
5. Don’t Wait Too Long
6. Wedding Day
7. Parents
8. Find It
9. Do Things
10. Home Groan

Links: Official Site//Facebook//Twitter//Label//Press Materials

Read the Rising feature at Pitchfork

STREAM: “Cleam”

FREE EP: Mister Lies & Different Sleep - Mass EP

Mister Lies is the project of Chicago’s Nick Zanca. Mister Lies will release its debut LP this Fall on Lefse Records — in the meantime Zanca has released a collaborative EP with Different Sleep for the Absent Fever label. Mister Lies is also set to make its live debut next month in LA.

From the Rising feature that ran on Pitchfork today:

“The music is not the truth.” That’s the mantra you’re greeted with when heading to the Bandcamp page of Chicago-based producer Mister Lies, who makes the kind of warm, 4 a.m. downtempo electronic music that carries lineage in the work of Burial and Massive Attack. So what is the truth? Mister Lies is 19-year old student Nick Zanca, who’s currently studying philosophy and dramatic writing at Chicago’s Columbia College.

He originally hails from the suburbs of New Canaan, Conn., where he’ll be heading back this summer to work on his debut full-length, which follows up this year’s Hidden Neighbors EP and the new collaborative Mass EP with fellow Chicago producer Different Sleep. The Mister Lies LP should see release later this year via indie upstart Lefse (Neon Indian, Youth Lagoon, How to Dress Well). Read on for our conversation with Zanca about how he got into music, his punk-pop past, why he chose to temporarily work anonymously, and where the name Mister Lies comes from.

Tour Dates

06/02 Los Angeles, CA Space 15 Twenty (afternoon show)

Links: Facebook//Absent Fever//Lefse Records