Have heart to play Jakarta; Sigur Ros Frontman releases side project

Paul F. Agusta   |  Sun, 05/10/2009 12:47 PM  |  Music

Is it Sunday already? Wow, time flies don't it? Anyway, it is once again time to nourish your noggin with oh so nutritious music news. Thanks again for the notes, you guys are kewl. We've got a lot going on this week, so let's hit it!

Reverb

International

Anyone familiar with Sigur R*s knows about the unearthly calming ambient interludes they put between songs in their album. No imagine a whole album of such serene moments. That's what the upcoming record from Sigur R*s front man Jon Thor "J*nsi" Birgisson and his boyfriend Alex Somers sounds like. The largely instrumental record, Riceboy Sleeps, is out July 20 on Parlophone. It will be available in standard form, double vinyl, and as a yummy boxed set packaged with a bonus EP. This is what the musical couple had to say in a recent Pitchfork.com interview: "This album is many years in the making - we've just been doing it while we prepare food and stuff," says J*nsi of the laid-back nature of the Riceboy sessions. "There's a computer in our kitchen, so we'd just make dinner and open another song. I remember we made this coconut cream soup that was really good." "I would yell at J*nsi to stop blending so I could hear what I was doing sometimes," adds Somers. Mostly recorded in the pair's small Reykjav*k home, the duo took full advantage of their surroundings. "In our living room, we have a piano, a celeste, a harmonium, a bunch of guitars, a few glockenspiels, a miniature vibraphone," says Somers. "And there are a lot of noises based on stuff we sampled around our house-- just tapping on books or weird old furniture. The last song on the album is just the sound of an accordion's bellows - when you pull it open and closed - without any notes. Just the breathing of the accordion."

The album's pastoral aura reflects the simplicity of its creation. Though J*nsi is famous for his unearthly vocals, his high-pitched wail is rarely heard here - and when it does pop up, it's in the background. When asked why one of the most unique voices in music would choose to rest his pipes, he deadpanned, "I never thought about singing over the songs. Maybe I should've sung more." And while the one song featuring his voice most prominently, "Indian Summer", is a definite highlight, the lack of vocals helps to make Riceboy its own entity apart from Sigur R*s. There are no concrete plans for any Riceboy Sleeps live gigs, but Somers is considering it. "It would be our dream to play on an old boat, and project images onto really old boat sails," he says, thinking aloud. "That would be a really beautiful thing, rather than just playing a concert." That would be gorgeous, indeed.

Notorious mixmaster Danger Mouse, along with freaky noisemaker Sparklehorse and Weirdo-Chic pioneer filmmaker David Lynch has collaborated on a multimedia project dubbed Dark Night of the Soul. The project takes many incarnations: First, there's the Dark Night of the Soul album/book, to be released by PowerHouse this summer. The album features Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse along with the Flaming Lips, Iggy Pop, Frank Black, the Strokes' Julian Casablancas, Jason Lytle, and James Mercer of the Shins. The whole thing is streaming at music publisher Chrysalis' blog right now (http://chrysalismusic.wordpress.com). Go give a listen, its freaky tasty. The accompanying book boasts more than 100 photos by the one and only David Lynch, according to a press release. And since it would be hard to get all those artists together for a tour, the Dark Night of the Soul live experience is currently centered on an art installation debuting May 30 and running through July 11 at L.A.'s Michael Kohn Gallery. The installation spans two rooms and features music from the album and photos from the book. To give you a taste of the mind-screwing fun this project has to offer, take a gander at this trippy promotional teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICMxTDl8y8I&feature=player_embedded

Interpol's Paul Banks is Julian Plenti in Julian Plenti Is...Skyscraper. The Ian Curtis sound-alike is preparing his debut solo album, which is called Julian Plenti Is...Skyscraper and credited to Julian Plenti, according to a Billboard report.

The album is out Aug. 4 on Matador, according to Matador's blog. So that means that 1/4 of Interpol is back on their old label. Billboard says the record was "recorded recently, some of the songs were written more than ten years ago," and that it sounds "cocky" and "sexy". The Julian Plenti persona has been around for a while-- Banks used to perform as Plenti before Interpol existed. I hope this alter ego thing works better for Paul Banks than it did for Garth Brooks. Chris Gaines anyone?

National

Have Heart, Straight Edge Hardcore Band from Boston USA, Live in Jakarta!
Date: Mei 15, 2009
Venue: New Stardust, Sarinah Thamrin
Opening Acts: Thinking Straight, Lost Sight, Final Attack, Dead Pits, Outright, Armswith
For more info call : 021 99450204

Fastforward 2X
A sure to be fun gig featuring a bunch of local bands from the rock genre
Date: 17 Mei 2009
Time: 1pm til finish
Venue: New Stardust, Sarinah Thamrin
Acts: Pee Wee Gaskins, Sweet as Revenge, No Talent and more

For more info call : 021 95438209

That about wraps it up for this week's Reverb. Stay tuned next week!

Meanwhile, do drop me a line at undergroundhum@yahoo.com and if you've got a band or know of any cool bands with gigs coming up, email me the full details and I'll be sure to include it in the next Reverb. See y'all next week!

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