Monday, November 29, 2010

EIC'S10Q'S w/Brian McBride

"..a beautiful hush with ominous & disheartening tones.."


Brian McBride
Ataractic Milieu

Brian McBride Bio:
Brian McBride has been a member of Stars of the Lid since he met Adam Wiltzie in Austin Texas in 1990. McBride had a radio show on the local college station. As he described it to The Weekly Dig in fall 2002: "I used to record any sound that caught my ear. The sounds of in-need-of-repair ice cream dispensers in large cafeteria rooms would eventually be mixed with other found sounds on a four-track recorder for radio broadcast." This use of sound as a raw material and source of information has been a continuing theme in McBride's musical endeavors. With Adam Wiltzie in Stars of the Lid, McBride has recorded a number of albums and toured North America and Europe since the mid-90s. Mcbride also contributed to two albums by the hushed pop band The Pilot Ships. As one half of Stars of the Lid, Brian McBride has contributed to the essential drift music of our time.

His debut solo album, When the Detail Lost its Freedom was recorded mainly on an ASR X keyboard sampler. The instruments recorded were guitar, piano, vocals, harmonica, trumpet and strings. There were no synthesizers or keyboards used in the creation of the album. There's a lot of sampling in the sense of capturing a tone, isolating its tuning, and playing it on the keys of a piano. Guitars become piano-esque. Room noise becomes room noise played on a keyboard. And you can actually make out some guitars. When the Detail Lost its Freedom is a collection of individual pieces and therefore released from the Lid's uninterrupted architecture. The album was recorded somewhere in between Los Angeles and Chicago, always at home, in random moments of duress over the last four years. The final mix was arranged from December 2004 to January 2005. Music guests included two singing ladies, an ex-wife and a fiancee, two guitarists, notably Mike Linnen who did the soundtracks for All The Real Girls, Manic, George Washington, and Undertow, The Morgan Park (Chicago) Step-Up Trumpet Section and violinist Eden Batki, referred to as The Inland Empire Symphony Quartet on the credits.

When the Detail Lost its Freedom is a recording that sheds light on the notion of "picking up the pieces and moving on." It is a record of Brian McBride "getting it out" in the midst of some overwhelming situations, a recording made during a move from Chicago to Los Angeles. The strong emotions the recording sessions tried to channel do bring a sense of awkwardness here that made it through to the finished product. As McBride describes the recording process: "In retrospect, it probably has to do with some of my weaker moments. Which is all fancy code for: it was therapy during a divorce and a move to a city which thrives on sucking the life of out people's souls." As with Stars of the Lid's recordings there is a synthesis of different instruments ­ or maybe a reinvention through some gross mutation (of different guitars, violins, trumpets, harmonicas)—which then become the pooled tones for extended, and melodic development. What you get are nacreous songs that pack a real emotional wallop, are reminiscent of Stars of the Lid (and lots more), and that earn a space on your shelf all to themselves.



Hello, how are you?
Fine, thank you

What are you currently listening to?

Chet Baker’s record that was put together for the film "Let’s Get Lost" and the crickets from my porch.

How old were you when your interest in Ambient/Classical music spiked (enough to make you want to do it yourself) ?

In my early 20s I had a radio show. I also had a four-track recorder. I used to walk around with portable handheld recorders recording everything from fire alarms from a distance to the sounds of cafteria ice cream dispensers. I’d bring this stuff home and arrange things on my four track using delay pedals and reverb. Eventually I’d bring that stuff to the radio station and layer it with other minimal sounds (Environments records, tv/film samples and maybe something like a Zoviet France record).

Do you generally listen to downbeat music?
I listen to music all over the map. Mostly it’s relatively relaxing or down tempo-ish. During the summer I work with high school kids and I usually try to play something more uptempo for them as they’re working. They usually joke that my sense of up is pretty down. But I can listen to the Beach Boys, Rapeman, ELO, Skeeter Davis or some Joe Meek recording and be pleased. Usually the more up tempo stuff shows up while driving. Like right now, I’m on a plane and I’m listening to Jesus Lizard’s “Mouth Breather” to drown out a couple of mouth breathers behind talking really loudly about which are the best casinos in Vegas. My life is often a series of Larry David moments.

You originally composed your latest album “The Effective Disconnect” for a film titled “Vanishing Of The Bees”, how did this opportunity come up for you?
Maryam Henein & George Langworthy asked me to. George and I had crossed paths before in Austin during the early ‘90s. We both worked at the same radio station.

To the people that haven’t seen the film, can you please explain the plot as well as what kind of atmosphere you were trying to achieve with the music?
I’ll let the filmmakers explain it:
“Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon has brought beekeepers to crisis in an industry responsible for producing apples, broccoli, watermelon, onions, cherries and a hundred other fruits and vegetables. Commercial honeybee operations pollinate crops that make up one out of every three bites of food on our tables. Vanishing of the Bees follows commercial beekeepers David Hackenberg and Dave Mendes as they strive to keep their bees healthy and fulfill pollination contracts across the U.S. The film explores the struggles they face as the two friends plead their case on Capital Hill and travel across the Pacific Ocean in the quest to protect their honeybees. Filming across the US, in Europe, Australia and Asia, this documentary examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between mankind and mother earth. As scientists puzzle over the cause, organic beekeepers indicate alternative reasons for this tragic loss. Conflicting options abound and after years of research, a definitive answer has not been found to this harrowing mystery.”
While recording, I tried to adhere to two guiding principles: I knew that I wanted the music to convey a sense of fragility given the subject matter. And I also purposely tried to not overwhelm the film, wanting to provide them something that emphasized their ideas more so than creating some type of music video.
George and Maryam asked me to concentrate on four different themes. Some themes I was better at than others. The ‘gloriousness of the bees’ was a tough one for me. Communicating beauty can’t really be forced. You don’t want it to become something that seems ornamental or overdone.

Can you name a genre of music you wish you had attempted but never did?
Big Band Swing probably. But more subdued. Like a Perry Como / Xavier Cugat thing.

What is Stars Of The Lid up to these days?
We’ve been writing new material. We have been for a while. Another record will happen someday. But it’s only gonna happen when it’s ready. There’s little point in hurrying patient music.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?

Morricone’s "L'Assoluto Naturale". It just has so many memories attached to it.

Are you living your dream?

Not yet but maybe someday. The day I can move past coaching debate will be a dream I won’t want to wake up from.

Thanx Brian(s)!

Brian McBride and co. are currently working on the next Stars Of The Lid album, perhaps we can get another solo release (or two --
a little off subject, but I'd love to hear another Dead Texan release..) in there while we wait? 'Til then I suggest you take in anything & everything Brian McBride has to offer...

REVIEW: Brian McBride - The Effective Disconnect

7.5 out of 10
Find it here.

If you haven't noticed by now bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. To document and understand this better Maryam Henein & George Langworthy set out to create a film to record this despairing phenomenon. Lucky for us, Mr. Langworthy knew Brian McBride (SOTL) from working at the same radio station and decided to ask him to do the score. The end result being a beautiful hush with ominous & disheartening tones.

When the creators of this film asked Brian McBride to do the score they mentioned a few themes they were looking for; "..the gloriousness of the bees, the endurance and hardships of traditional beekeepers, pesticides and the holistic nature of non-industrial agriculture." Keeping those ideas in-mind plus adding a few extra layers of disconsolated stillness, it is in this reviewers opinion that Mr. McBride nailed it. Strings, piano, electronic drones, and a few other experimental micro touches of sound make up this soundtracks composition. Music like this is good for us, it teaches us a thing about patience (the kind that pays off), it helps relax our minds (while staying contemplative), and (you should see the film) it gives us a stronger sense of reaction to the ever declining state of our environment. Sometimes I think art is the only thing worth saving, and because of that I think art is the only thing that can save us and our nature. "The Effective Disconnect" may just be a "small step" in the way of fixing things, but it's a step in the right direction. Absorb the message, whether it be through the film or this score, please take care.

Good sleepy-time music. An obvious own for fans of Stars Of The Lid, Kranky, Ambient, or Electronic-Drone with strings music. Recommended.

Standout Tracks: Best if taken in as one solid piece.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Quality Mixtape find..

Sick Girls: Revolution Ghost Blend



Tracklisting:
1. Psychic TV - Eden 1
2. Nosaj Thing - Fog Jamie xx remix
3. Lil Wayne feat. Hot Boys - Hit U Up screwed by Babe Rainbow
4. Balam Acab - Regret Making Mistakes
5. Niki Minaj on Epikur Riddim - Monster TF edit
6. M_Phonik - Rippa Breakz
7. o0o00- Burnout Eyess
8. DJ Billy E - Quadzilla
9. Price - I Don't Worry
10. The Phantom - Night Game Zeppy Zep remix
11. Dr Macabre - You Must Die (Caneloni)
12. White Ring - lxc999
13. Starkey - Bounce
14. Cedaa - Juke Clap
15. Cubic Zirconia - Hoes Come Out At Night
16. Youngbloodz - Presidential Shit
17. Becoming Real - Like Me feat. Trim
18. Spooky - The Devil Within
19. Salem - Sick
20. Psychic TV - Dawn


Just found this free mix in my spam folder, sometimes it pays to check that....

Thursday, November 25, 2010

R.I.P. Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson

R.I.P. Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson
1955 - 2010


Last night (between 2am & 6am), November 25th, Peter Christopherson aka "Sleazy" aka 1/2 Coil aka 1/4 Throbbing Gristle aka one of the most influential musical heroes in my life passed away peacefully in his sleep. A few TG shows were cancelled this past Summer amid rumours of a "possible illness". Not the best way to cap off the year.. this really sucks.


Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A song sooo good, one might call it "ear crack"..

Konntinent - Collo & Orro

This one's a bit of a creeper/slow moving, but I assure you your time is worth it (plus some). Perfect droney bliss for cold-wet weather ..you should probably headphone this track.

WantNeed some exclusive Ben Frost songs? (yes, you do.)

Order from the Bedroom Community web store and receive the "Yule" compilation for FREE!

Tracklisting:
1. The Amidons - It's Good To Be Kind (Mangled By Nico Muhly)
2. Nico Muhly - The Only Tune (Son Lux Remix)
3. Ben Frost - The Gravity Of Numbers
4. Valgeir Sigurðsson - Focal Point (Kippi Kanínus Remix)
5. Sam Amidon - Kedron (Acoustic)
6. Puzzle Muteson - Parachute
7. Daníel Bjarnason - Night Music
8. Valgeir Sigurðsson - Vetur
9. Nico Muhly - Wonders (MaJiKer Remix)
10. Valgeir Sigurðsson - Dark Christmas
11. Daníel Bjarnason - Stars
12. Ben Frost - There Are No Others, There Is Only Us
13. Nico Muhly - Bells For Zach
14. Valgeir Sigurðsson - Air

Too bad I already own everything offered. ..I guess I'll just have to buy another copy of "Theory Of Machines" (..I was going to anyways..)

Everyone needs this:

Monday, November 22, 2010

EIC'S10Q'S w/White Car

"..lovers of artsy/dark Post-Punk/"(anti)establishment/political" themes mixed with post neo-modern Electronic/mechanistic backdrops.."

(Photo credit: Zara Katz)

White Car
Methodological Neoteric Sentiment

White Car Bio:
In the rough and humble south side of Chicago, 22 year-old Elon Katz and his counterpart Orion Martin manufacture an Industrial Space Funk sound that taps Ballard and Dionysus on the shoulder to remind them their time hasn’t run dry in 2010. The music struts a particular brand of artifice with a panache swagger that always finds new potential in its birth city’s past revelations- think the Wax Trax lexicon with touches of classic Chicago House. Katz serenades the tracks of "No Better" with 16-bit crushed vocals and the listener is accosted into a paranoid tale of contemporary reality: the mind’s capacity in relationship to the abundance of databanks, hunting as hobby, sexuality as commodity and the ever entangling web of online identity.



Hello, how are you?
Hello. I am good, but feeling a bit stressed.

What are you currently listening to?
Honestly, music has been kind of annoying me lately... But I have been digging on classic Chicago House jams, early techno stuff from the big 3 (Atkins, Saunderson, May), Colin Newman's "A-Z", Butthole Surfers, early IDM stuff, 90's jungle tracks my friend Mike Vallera plays me, Severed Heads, Pink Industry and been getting into The Durutti Column, it's really strange and beautiful music.

Where does the name “White Car” originate from?
The name is a direct reference to the Cabaret Voltaire song from the album "Code". It is also in reference to the concept of 'vehicle'- the idea of a vessel or tool that facilitates new ways of moving, working and thinking.

Are you guys officially signed to any label/are there any prospects?
I haven't signed any binding contracts and I'd prefer to keep it that way. I am currently working on a LP to be release by Hippos In Tanks with a possible buddy label, sometime in the summer of 2011.

I really love “your style” of Industrial music (seriously, keep it up please), can you recommend any current or new projects that may sound similar?
To be honest, there are very few contemporary "Industrial" acts that are interesting at all, I am more interested in artists who share similar ways of thinking about electronic music and popular music culture, some of them sound Industrial at times... People who I like and can recommend are Gatekeeper, Beau Wanzer, TENSE, Oneohtrix Point Never, Tearist, Light Asylum, Von Haze, George Quartz, Teen INC, D'eon, Slava, Gavin Russom, Geneva Jacuzzi, Mutant Beat Dance, Melvin "Traxx" Oliphant III and Nation Records, Medio Mutante, Azari & III, Salem, Love Concept, Brett Naunke and Catholic Tapes, Positive Shadow/Henry Glover, Andre Ferreira and Pacific Housing Authority, Mike Vallera, Mahjongg, Andy Ortmann, Alex Barnett, Ga'an, Mr. 666, Beautiful Swimmers, Weird Records, Veronica Vasicka (Minimal Wave) she is more of an cultural anthropologist than a record pusher- its inspiring and fascinating, her releases may not be new, but they are more than current!

You’re based out of Chicago right? Have you ever considered teaming up with Kill Memory Crash and releasing what could be one of the best Industrial albums of the last 10-20 years?
Not really familiar with them, don't care for those sounds really... I work best alone or with close friends... also not really interested in releasing the "best industrial record" of the last 10-20 years, I found serious inspiration in Industrial Dance music when I first started this project around two years ago, but that doesn't mean White Car will always sound like that... my interests fly by night and I am not thrilled with the idea of becoming a tired dog performing the same tired tricks.

If I was to watch a movie on mute while listening to your latest EP, which movie would sync up the best/act as a good visual representation of said EP?
Background splatter frames from Ren and Stimpy with the characters of Barbarella and Cobra Verde superimposed on them...

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
Vangelis "Opera Sauvage" ; serious bubble bath music, I could float in it forever...

Are you living your dream?
In a way...

Thanx Elon!

White Car recently released "No Better", you should probably buy it...

REVIEW: White Car - No Better

8 out of 10

To anyone overly frustrated with the current state of "Industrial" music, you can let your guard down now.. There is a glimmer of hope for lovers of artsy/dark Post-Punk/"(anti)establishment/political" themes mixed with post neo-modern Electronic/mechanistic backdrops. One of the leading bands in this "Re-Revolution"; White Car, hale from Chicago. Hmmm, Chicago? Isn't that the home to the late (great) Wax Trax Records/"Industrial Capital" of America?

"No Better" is a terrific EP with a serious nod towards the Golden Age of Industrial music. Growing up I listened to Dance Pop music, then Kraftwerk, then Wax Trax, etc. From the ages of (about) 12-22 everything I listened to/loved/knew I could "depend on" was Industrial music. It worked for me then, and still (the old stuff anyways) to this day works for me now. For the past 10 years or so Industrial music has changed quite a bit. For one thing it made a huge left turn towards Club/EBM music, secondly people began confusing/crossing it with Metal and Rock music (this is mostly a horrible idea that makes me sort of sick to my stomach sometimes) ..most of it all sounds the same OR to put it kindly; I hate it. I miss the crunchy/cheesy/dark & artsy Industrial sounds of yesterday. Bands like; Ministry (pre 90's), Front 242, Skinny Puppy (pre 00's), Revolting Cocks, The Young Gods, Coil, etc., these were my childhood's soundtrack. (Side note: Interested in Industrial music, but don't know where to start? Start here.) Anyways, outside of the Metropolis monopolized world of "Industrial" music today lays this small uprising which is a direct nod to the bands that got this genre off of it's feet. If you wanna pay an homage to something that completely molded me into the music obsessed junky that I am today than I'm OK with you as a person. White Car is Industrial music before guitars & rock music got in the way. More than just music though (and most importantly) White Car is a rare/lost art form, the very kind that has been missing from much of today's Electronic music. I implore you, please treat yourself to some White Car.

To: White Car, and all the other projects that share similar sounds... Thank you. All we can do now is hope that this isn't just a short "fad" and that it doesn't just fade back into obscurity where it all started. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Standout Tracks: ALL

Cool Video Funtime #208 - XVII

M83 news + NEW Atlas Sound album = "Rad Monday"..

M83 recently did an interview with P4K. In said interview Mr. 83 mentions that his next album will be "darker/more epic/cinematic", a little more like "Before The Dawn Heals Us" and (quite possibly) "his best work to date". There is no mention of a release date or title, but Anthony hopes to have it out by Spring 2011. Read the rest of the interview here.

+

Atlas Sound - Bedroom Databank Volume 1

Atlas Sound released a new album today, and guess what? It's FREE!! via the band's site. The album "Bedroom Databank Volume 1" features b-sides/covers (including a Kurt Vile cover!)/ and unreleased tracks.


All in all, not too shabby for a dreary Monday afternoon.. Information like this always makes even the worst of days seem not so bad.
Link
UPDATE(x3!): Here's "Bedroom Databank Volume 2", Here's "..Volume 3" & Heeeres's "...4".

Thursday, November 18, 2010

NEW APHEX TWIN ALBUM ON THE WAY!!?!


At long F*%@ING last! A NEW Aphex Twin album!! "Seaside Specials" comes out March 12th (Happy Birthday to me!!) via ?


I assure you I will share as much info as possible on this release as soon as I hear more. YES. YES. YES!

Check into (x2) Space Holiday Rocks & SolarSolar..



&



(↑ pay your own price ; )


Just when I thought I was closing in on my favorite albums of the year.. Both of these EP's are pretty terrific, especially SolarSolar.. or maybe Space Holiday Rocks..IDK.. Their both awesome, stop reading & start clicking/listening.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

EICV7" No. 3 - Universe

Universe - EverythingIsChemical Virtual 7" No. 3

Tracklisting:
1. The Brothers
2. Anacapa
3. Hutash
4. Forests Untethered
5. Look Down*

All tracks (mostly) by Universe. *Peter Pearson (Love Like Deloreans) & Hektor Fontanez (Imaginary Weapons) contributed as well.


Outer space slightly more attainable.. This 7"EP is one of my favorite Ambient Space Pop albums of the year.. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do : )

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

..aaand the list's beginnn..

I love this time of the year, I love seeing everyone's lists. I can't wait to discover even more music I may have missed (I'm sure I missed some right?). When people like Bleep share their Top 100 Tracks Of 2010 you know you're in for a treat. Follow the link, check out the cool merch and consume.

See ya soon,
~EIC's Top 100 Albums Of 2010 ;)

Cool Video Funtime #207 - Butterfly Potion

Monday, November 15, 2010

EIC'S10Q'S w/Android Lust

"..the female equivalent of Trent Reznor.."

(Photo credit: Christopher Jon)

Android Lust
Automated Somber Empress

Android Lust Bio:
Struggle is a natural part of the creative process for many artists. For Shikhee, the one-woman army behind industrial act Android Lust, struggle became downright essential to the production of the fourth Android Lust album, "The Human Animal". Not by choice, of course: Nearly a decade after debuting as the first one-woman industrial act, the Bangladeshi-born New Yorker found herself burnt out from balancing a music career with what some might call “real life.”

The process of making 2006’s "Devour, Rise and Take Flight" was “a very trying period,” says Shikhee. “I was coming home from my job around 9 or 10, and then mixing till 2 or 3, only to get back up and get to work at 9 again. I was barely sleeping and losing weight.” Problems with her record label compounded her frustration; the heavy touring season that followed, prolonged it.

When the album cycle finally wrapped, Shikhee returned home to face some familiar fears. “It’s always a bit scary. I start to doubt myself, reacquaint myself with my studio . . . and wonder if I can still do it,” she says. “It took until late 2007 to get back to writing.”

"The Human Animal" is undeniable proof that she can, indeed, still “do it.” After two albums on preeminent electronic-music label Projekt Records, Shikhee released Animal in August 2010 on her own Synthellec Music. In production for more than two years, this is the work of an artist reinvigorated by the creative process, adding a new set of colors to her signature sonic palette. “It just happened one day after we came back from our tour,” Shikhee recalls. “Songs just started flooding.”

The flood was triggered in part by Shikhee’s decision to work with her live band in the studio for the first time. “In the past I played all the guitars and some bass [in addition to electronic instruments], but now I had access to these really talented musicians and I wanted to bring that touch in the studio. So I wrote parts for them, parts that were beyond my playing ability.”

The mix of live instruments and processed sounds isn’t new for an Android Lust recording - 2003’s breakthrough "The Dividing" featured live drums, string and wind instruments but never have those sounds figured so prominently as they do on "The Human Animal". The slippery undertones of “A New Heaven” are revealed to be an upright bass; pockets of classical guitar propel “Into the Sun”; the over driven guitars on “Saint Over” surge forth with the spark of vintage Nine Inch Nails. It’s the most organic-sounding Android Lust record while losing none of the unrelenting sonic edge of prior releases.

It’s not just the live instrumentation that brings the album uncharacteristic warmth. Shikhee took to the streets of New York City with a portable recorder, collecting noises that would be used to form rhythms and ambiance throughout the record. The sounds of a screeching subway, a crowded restaurant, geese, pigeons, and a Barnes & Noble escalator all found their way into the mix.

And Shikhee has never sounded better, her whisper-to-a-scream vocals on a par with Polly Jean Harvey (“It’s On You”) and Ruby’s Leslie Rankine (“God in the Hole”).

For an artist whose overarching aesthetic has sought to blur the line between human and machine, Shikhee here sets her sights on the battle between the physical and the spiritual. Much of "The Human Animal" is about tapping into the deeper well of universal energy within to find true meaning, freeing oneself (the human) from the imprisonment of ego (the animal). “A New Heaven” sums up the central query: “Are we the ones we are seeking under the sun?”

But despite the sometimes reflective tone this is not music for meditation. "The Human Animal"’s 10 songs, plus a Jerome Dillon remix of “God in the Hole” to close the disc, pulse and pound, posing both an invitation and a challenge to the listener. Welcome to the age of enlightenment for Android Lust.



Hello, how are you?
Recovering from a 20-hour flight, but otherwise OK.

What are you currently listening to?
Silence. The hum of the space heater. Birds outside.

I’ve always wondered, what do you do for a day job when you‘re not creating some of the best Industrial sounds currently known to man?
I used to work as a web designer/front end developer, but Android Lust is my day job for the last couple of years. I hope it continues to be so.

Your latest offering “The Human Animal” just came out*, care to explain the themes and sounds within?
"The Human Animal" is my 4th proper album. When the writing started, I realized things were sounding more live in my head. I was playing with talented musicians in my live band and I wanted to bring some of that energy back into the record. I started writing parts that were better played than programmed and started recording with them. The album is very much electronic, but there's a warm backbone that is clearly organic, and I love the merging of the two. It also works on a thematic level as this album, on a broad level, is about an inner quest to find one's center, or spiritual core. I realized it was developing into a concept album after I had written 3 or 4 songs. So I explored it more and went with the flow.
I wanted it to have a more fluid feel. Bass takes on very a prominent role, and other fluid, stretchy sounds. I also wanted to work with found sounds for a very long time, but it wasn't until I listened to Amon Tobin's "Foley Room" that I was driven to do it. This album is my homage to New York which has been my home for the last 11 years. It's layered with sounds I recorded during my walks around the city. I kept a portable recorder with me and anytime I heard something that caught my attention I tried to capture it.

What is your favorite track off of the album?
I really couldn't pick one. It varies from day to day.

Are you still involved with Projekt Records?
This record is out on my own label Synthellec. It's 100% funded and promoted by me. The last couple of records were with Project and will remain there until the term ends.

Have you ever considered doing score work for movies?

Yes, it's something I'm interested in getting involved. My foray into it so far only involved a book commercial.

What are your thoughts on “today’s Industrial scene”?
I feel as if it has gone a little stale.. I don't really keep on top of it. But coming off the Animalia tour and having played with some bands that are not following any set trends gives me hope and a sense of camaraderie. Namely our touring partner Mankind is Obsolete, and also Austin's Art vs. Industry who are more of a throwback to 90s Industrial Rock. It's refreshing to hear bands doing on stage what DJs are not necessarily pushing.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
A highly unfair question and one that has no right answer, but right here right now PJ Harvey's "Is this Desire".

Are you living your dream?
Some days I am.

Thanks Shikhee!

Android Lust is hard at work on her follow up to "The Human Animal", if all goes well look for that in 2012...

REVIEW: Android Lust - The Human Animal

7.75 out of 10

During my middle school/high school years (when dinosaurs roamed) things weren't quite as easy as "a click away"... When it came to discovering new underground bands about the only things you could rely on were word of mouth or a few independent zines here and there. One of the best/my favorite sources for finding some amazing Industrial/Goth/Electronic artists was a catalogue based out of Philadelphia called Digital Underground, which was also (presumably) an amazing retail store that also-also eventually turned into a little known record label known as Metropolis. One day while flipping through said catalogue I stumbled across a review for an "up and coming/new artist" called Android Lust. The review said something like "..the female equivalent of Trent Reznor". If you know me, especially back then, you know the whomever this artist is is now an official "must own" item (NIN is gawd). Once the album finally arrived (not finished downloading, actually shipped), "Resolution", it blew me away. To this day it's still one of the best Industrial albums I own. No one out there sounded quite like Android Lust at the time. Android Lust took the best parts of Dark Wave/Goth and intertwined them with Electronic/Industrial tones. Seriously, if you're at all a fan of the genre consider it a must own, in-fact, it was just re-released as a new/super cool limited edition version:) ..Anyways, here we are, over a decade later and Shikhee (Android Lust) is back offering up (yet again) another amazing album.

"The Human Animal" is Android Lust's fourth proper release, and by all means one of her most polished accomplishments to date. Although a little more "Rocky" than previous efforts, "The Human Animal" has many of the same attributes that made ALL of her other albums so great. Actually, the reason this album may sound a little more heavier/raw than previous efforts is because Shikhee wanted to give the effect of a full band. She wanted to introduce her live sound with her studio sound. Overall an excellent idea, trust me when I say this lady knows how to rock as well as shock you with sounds that sound somewhat "unearthly". Most of the tracks on "The Human Animal" have a strong focus on lingering/low end bass sounds, strung out guitar riffs, and blaring drum beats (some electronic sounding/some (mostly) live sounding). The secondary sounds are what truly standout to me though, if you read up on the album a little bit you might know that some of the sounds within are "found sounds", a lot of which were daily occurrences in Shikhee's life. Those sounds plus the always amazing keyboard work and of course Shikhee's ravishing vocals chalk this one up as another win for Android Lust.

If/when Android Lust gets the right publicity she deserves expect Android Lust to (finally) become a house hold name (hopefully). A must own for Industrial Rock fans. Also recommended for fans of Darker/Edgier music with an experimental electronic "twist" behind the sound. Recommended for sure.

Standout Tracks: Intimate Stranger, God In The Hole, The Return (this song is "instantly" astonishing), One World, Flow (Of Impermanence), God In The Hole (a remix, dare i say it.. "better".. than the original--LOVE this song)

You probably already got this ..right?

Girl Talk - All Day

An unheard Girl Talk album?? All yours! All New! All Free! All in all, not a bad day..

Check into AZZXSSS..

AZZXSSS - Tribe

Brand new "Dub Step" project out of Japan. AZZXSSS combine some of the darker elements of Burial with deep/brooding kicks + spacey atmospheres combined with Tribalistic back drops.

This song is also awesome, but not a freebie : (..