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French/Argentinean producer Douster tweaks the latest single track “Strange Touch” from prolific dance music maestros Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team into what he calls a “weird house remix” which basically transforms the spaced out sounds of the original into more swagged out and tribal vibes.

Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team – Strange Touch (Douster remix) (Mediafire)

Last night was a big one for El-P. After emerging from the kind of semi-exile that swallows lesser rappers whole following 2007's I'll Sleep When You're Dead, El released two of the year's best rap albums, in two consecutive weeks: the incendiary Killer Mike record R.A.P. Music, which he produced entirely, and his own majestically gloomy fourth album Cancer for Cure. He is in the giddy flush of a late-career resurgence, and at Santos Party House, he gathered everyone responsible for the moment together.

Inside Santos, the camaraderie was thick-- I overheard people claiming to have personally "known El" for a wildly varying number of years. In this crowd, it had never stopped being 2003, and I can think of no better litmus test of this hypothesis than the fervent reaction received by the opening set by Despot, a talented galoot whose career has been stalled in launch mode arguably since it began. "I have been working on an album for 47 years," Despot deadpanned. The guy over my right shoulder screamed, desperately, as if the mere mention of Despot's abortive classic was painful to him. He plowed through the few songs he had with demonic, short-guy-in-the-crew intensity, including some promising-sounding new songs produced by Ratatat. 

El-P and Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire

Despot then brought out Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, and they tore through a woozy, blunted new song produced by Spaceghostpurrp that sounded fantastic. eXquire can really fucking rap live. His voice is forceful enough on record, but on stage, it was Rick Ross-huge. After a 20-minute set, he loped off, a grinning jackal in a NYU jacket and gold-rimmed shades. 

Next was El, who takes his live shows extremely seriously, in an effortful, James Murphy sorta way. This was evidenced by the longest, most studious set-up for a rap show I've ever seen in my life. El and his band had reportedly been drilling these new songs mercilessly all week in rehearsals, and the second the first, fearsomely huge synth noise on Cancer for Cure's opener "Request Denied" fired up, the results were obvious.

El-P: "The Full Retard"

"I think I'm gonna do the whole album front to back," he announced, and then did exactly that. The sound was enormous-- I felt the hairs at the top of my head lift like I had just walked barefoot across a shag carpet. El's records, for all their grim, misanthropic lyrical concerns, have always been joyfully noisy and physical, and you could see it in his loose-limbed, even goofy demeanor as he rocked along to his music. His band, a mix of drum programming, live synths, and guitars, was both rigidly tight and visibly delighted to be playing new material; El's eyes lit up as he tested out the call-and-response potential of "Drones Over BKLYN".

Killer Mike, El-P, and Das Racist's Heems

The only hiccup came from some unfortunate sound issues during "Tougher Colder Killer", which disoriented El, Despot, and Killer Mike, who rumbled out from backstage in all black, looking nine times the size of everyone else in the building. El was visibly angry: "We cannot hear the music in the monitors," he yelled. But Killer Mike did not come all the way to New York to have his  guest verse demolished by a faulty monitor. "Hold up now, I gotta do something right quick," he bellowed, when the song was over. He then he spit his verse flawlessly, a cappella, and left with this: "I gotta say this and then I'm off your stage. I love you; you've given me new life. Finally, the world is on your dick." El blushed. Everyone screamed.

Photo by Ari Marcopoulos

The latest tribute to the Beastie Boys' Adam "MCA" Yauch comes in the form of a petition from Brooklyn residents, Billboard reports. They're asking for Brooklyn Heights' Squibb Park to be renamed after Yauch, via a Facebook-launched petition.

Squibb is currently named in honor of inventor and pharmaceutical pioneer Dr. Edward Robinson Squibb. It's in the process of being transformed into a skatepark. 

But Kathleen Hanna, Bikini Kill/Le Tigre frontwoman and wife of Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz, writes on the Facebook wall for the petition that there's another Brooklyn park in consideration for renaming. She tells the petitioners:

I just wanted to let you know that Adam "Adrock" Horovitz has already begun working with the Parks Commissioner to fix up and rename State Street Park where Yauch actually played as a kid to 'Adam Yauch Park'. It would be great to get people behind THIS idea as it won't hurt the Squib family and it would be awesome to fix up the bball court there as a tribute....

The New York State Senate recently honored Yauch for his contributions to New York culture with a legislative resolution. 

Watch the video for "No Sleep Till Brooklyn":

Brit punks Foals are the next in line to participate in !K7's Tapes compilation series. (Previous entries have included mixes by the Rapture and the Big Pink.) Foals Tapes will be out on July 2.

The series aims for "a selection made along the lines of an old school cassette mix tape," and Foals' entry is divided into two sides, one "more song-driven" and the other "more dance-oriented," according to a press release. It'll include tracks by Nicolas Jaar, Teengirl Fantasy, Sepalcure, Konono Nº1, Caribou, and others. 

Side A:

01 Nicolas Jaar: "Variations" 02 Clark: "Ted" (Bibio remix) 03 Dorian Concept: "Tropical Hands" 04 Condry Ziqubu "Confusion (Ma Afrika)" 05 The Invisible: "London Girl" 06 JR Seaton: "Way Savvy" (Gatto Fritto remix) 07 Blood Orange: "Dinner" 08 Tanner Ross: "B Side" 09 Teengirl Fantasy: "Cheaters" (John Talabot's Classic Vocal Refix) 10 Château Flight: "Superflight" [ft. Marie Daulne] (Maurice Fulton remix) 11 In Flagranti: "Effective Placebo Affect" 12 Tony Allen: "Kilode" (Carl Craig remix)

Side B

13 Art Department: "We Call Love" [ft. Soul Clap and Osunlade] 14 Cerrone - Give Me Love (Frankie Knuckles Remix) 15 Arnold Jarvis: "Take Some Time Out" 16 Oni Ayhun: "OAR003-B" 17 Sepalcure: "Every Day of My Life" (Jimmy Edgar remix) 18 Marshall Jefferson vs. Noosa Heads: "Mushrooms" (Justin Martin remix) 19 Julio Bashmore "Battle for Middle You" (Maurice Donovan remix) 20 Caribou: "Sun" (Midland Edit) 21 Konono Nº1: "Paradiso" 22 Gospel Comforters: "Yes God Is Real"

Watch the video for Foals' "Spanish Sahara":

God Forgives, I Don't is the quite-amazing title of Rick Ross' fifth LP, which is set for release July 31. Last week, the Maybach Music Group boss released the radio-petting, Usher-featuring "Touch N' You," and now we get the street single "So Sophisticated." It's most definitely a crazed Rozay banger with gigantic drums, operatic hits and glitchy electronics that somehow go straight to the part of your brain where punching holes through walls seems like a great idea.

GQ's very long piece on the return of R&B deity D'Angelo is now available to read online. It contains his first interview in over a decade, in which he discusses everything from his childhood dreams of Marvin Gaye to the real meaning behind the legendary "Untitled" video to the passing of J Dilla.

It was, in fact, Dilla's 2006 death that catalyzed the comeback we're experiencing this year. Following a long battle with drugs, the collapse of his career, and a life-threatening car accident, D'Angelo learned of Dilla's passing and thought, "I felt like I was going to be next. I ain't bullshitting. I was scared then." On the day of Dilla's funeral, D'Angelo was "so fucked up" that he couldn't attend, he told GQ.

Since he began his slow climb back, D'Angelo's been throwing his energies into one thing in particular: the guitar. Questlove told GQ that "The one benefit of this eleven-year sabbatical was he used 10,000 Gladwellian hours to master the guitar. He can play the shit out of it, and I don't mean no Lil Wayne shit." Tour manager Alan Leeds hypothesized that the guitar has been a way to "take the attention away from that Chippendale's shit" that snowballed following the release of the steamy video for "Untitled (How Does It Feel?)". 

Still, while D'Angelo's been recording and touring-- and is planning to take the stage at Jay-Z's Budweiser Made in America festival in September-- he's still moving at a snail's pace. There are over 50 songs prepped, 12 of which could make it onto an album. It's tentatively planned for a September release, but nothing has been finalized.

Still: "My head is straight," he told GQ. 

Watch D'Angelo singing and playing his guitar in a video GQ made to accompany the piece:

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Essex, England group Morning Parade will release its self-titled debut album on June 19 via Astralwerks. The LP, produced by David Kosten (Bat For Lashes, Everything Everything), has been a long time coming as the group has built a fanbase touring (they will continue on the road this summer with Walk The Moon). Album track “Us & Ourselves" is an urgent indie rock number that veers in tempo and emotion. Be patient: the slow rise builds up to a burgeoning chorus. 

This summer and fall, Björk will bring the education portion of her multi-tiered 2011 app album/experience Biophilia back to New York City. The workshops for children explore the intersection of art, science, nature, and technology, and follow educational programming that took place last fall in Iceland and this February in New York.

From July 6 through December 30, the Children's Museum of Manhattan will hold drop-in workshops daily for school classes, summer camps, and family groups. From July through the autumn, the New York Public Library will offer workshops for middle school students.

Revisit a video on last year's workshops in Iceland:

Oj jäklar vad fint det låter när How To Dress Well är tillbaka. I höst kommer nya skivan ”Total Loss”. Tills dess har vi sommaren att luta oss mot.

ps. Ikväll spelar jag skivor på Riche om ni är i Stockholm! Eller jag spelar där även om ni inte är i Stockholm men ni hajar. 22-02, kom och hjälp mig hålla mig vaken! ds

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Peter Gabriel's blockbuster record So. It featured the monster hits "In Your Eyes", "Sledgehammer", "Big Time", and "Red Rain", as well as the Kate Bush duet "Don't Give Up".

To celebrate the anniversary, on September 18, Gabriel will reissue the album in a variety of formats, including a three-CD set and a Super Deluxe Box Set.

Accompanying the reissue, Gabriel will tour North American with members of the band from the first So tour, performing the record in full from start to finish. (The tour is titled the "Back to Front" tour.) They'll also play a selection of Gabriel's best-known works from across his discography.

Watch Gabriel's iconic MTV hit video for "Sledgehammer" after the dates.

Peter Gabriel:

06-29 Kent, England - Hop Farm Music Festival 09-16 Quebec City, Quebec - Colisee Pepsi 09-18 Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre 09-19 Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre 09-21 Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center 09-23 Wantaugh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach 09-24 Boston, MA - TD Garden 09-26 Detroit, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills 09-27 Chicago, IL - United Center 09-30 Denver, CO - Red Rocks 10-02 San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion 10-05 Las Vegas, NV - Planet Hollywood Showroom 10-06 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl 10-09 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara County Bowl

A-Trak and Dillon Francis’ first collaboration is entitled “Money Makin”, it’s a big one and it’s out today on Fool’s Gold. Peep the video above and try to spot the cameos.

Visit Indie Shuffle to download. Song: Atlas Genius - Back Seat [download here] What's so good?

Stop it, Australia. Just stop it. Your music is way too consistently good to be sustainable, and frankly I’m becoming a bit exhausted.

Just kidding. This shit’s awesome, and I’m not quite sure why our Aussie correspondent was sleeping on it. Hugh, wake up!

Based out of Adelaide, the trio has recently signed with Warner Records to release an album titled Through The Glass on June 12th. They made a plop in the water with their single “Trojans,” and now they’re doing it again with a new one titled “Back Seat.”

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1. Original post: Atlas Genius – Back Seat

2. Posted in: indie rock, indie pop, electronic-rock, Australia, capital cities

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Visit Indie Shuffle to download. Sounds like: Dangerdoom, Madlib Song: Oh No - 3 Dollars (Ft. MF Doom) [download here] What's so good?

While writing up this post, I learned that Oh No is Madlib’s brother. The Stones Throw hip-hop artist made his full-length debut back in 2004, and is now gearing up to drop a new one by the title Ohnomite on June 11th.

The first track to cross our radar is “3 Dollars,” featuring none other than MF Doom. At under two-minutes in length, the song is a total tease…a taste of something I definitely want to hear more of.

Further research shows that Oh No will be joined by artists such as Guilty Simpson, Chino XL, Alchemist and more. Fortunately, there’s a pre-order (and full tracklist) that can be grabbed here.

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1. Original post: Oh No – 3 Dollars (Ft. MF Doom)

2. Posted in: hip-hop, mf doom, oh no

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Photo by Jesse Lirola

Tom Krell, aka How to Dress Well is back with a new album. Total Loss is out in September on Acéphale in North America and Weird World internationally. Listen to first track off the album, "Ocean Floor for Everything", and check out his tour dates below.

How to Dress Well:

06-05 New York, NY - TBA 06-07 Toronto, Ontario - The Drake 06-08 Montreal, Quebec - Il Motore 06-09 Brooklyn, NY - Public Assembly 06-13 Vancouver, British Columbia - Waldorf Hotel 06-14 Portland, OR - Holocene 06-15 San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop 06-16 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo 06-23 Calgary, Alberta - Sled Island Festival 

Visit Indie Shuffle to download. Sounds like: Sigur Ros, Jonsi, Sufjan Stevens, Alpine Song: Founds - Avalanches [download here] What's so good?

This track caught me seriously by surprise. I was so enraptured when I first heard it that I pulled over on a busy highway to find out what it was.

The song I’m talking about is “Avalanches” by Brisbane band Founds. Having been together for just over a year, the six-piece is currently finishing their debut album Hadean, which will be released in the coming months.

“Avalanches” is a captivating, mesmerising track – more likely to be made in Scandinavia and not in the Queensland tropics. Subtle to start, with dreamy female vocals drifting alongside glittering synth, the track grows steadily before culminating in a wave of percussion, strings, and keys. The horn section adds to the eclectic nature of this track with spectacular results.

While they’re still quite fresh, they’ve already supported Grouplove and the Naked and Famous as well as performing at the Big Day Out Festival. This is not the sort of music we’re used to being created in Australia, and this makes it even more special.

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1. Original post: Founds – Avalanches

2. Posted in: indie pop, female vocalist, indie, Australia, dream pop

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Visit Indie Shuffle to download. Sounds like: Autolux, Silversun Pickups Song: No Joy - Junior [download here] What's so good?

I’m quite enjoying that there’s a bit of shoegaze floating around these days. And I like it even more when I see an all-girl band get involved. In fact, No Joy are the only female-fronted shoegaze band that I can think of off the top of my head.

Based out of Montreal, the duo are set to put out a new EP titled Negaverse. The first fuzzy track to be released is “Junior,” a fast-paced but spaced-out blur.

The EP will be available June 19th via Mexican Summer. If you’re curious for more, check out the band’s Facebook page.

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1. Original post: No Joy – Junior

2. Posted in: indie rock, female vocalist, shoegaze, noise pop, autolux

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Visit Indie Shuffle to download. Sounds like: The Do, La Sera Song: Soko - I Kill Her (Hannes Fischer Remix) [download here] What's so good?

I’m a sucker for a girl with a French accent, so while I had no clue who Soko was when I hit play on this track, I found myself won over pretty quickly.

Who the heck is Soko? And how on earth did I not know about something this awesome? Her approach basically boils down to spoken-word with a French accent, and it appears to have proven quite successful in France. Particularly with the track “I’ll Kill Her,” which tore its way through Denmark, Austria and Australia back in 2007/2008.

Oh, and she’s also a French actress.

Frankly, I can’t blame Hannes Fischer for wanting to tackle this song.

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1. Original post: Soko – I Kill Her (Hannes Fischer Remix)

2. Posted in: indie pop, remixes, female vocalist, French, hannes fischer

3. Find more music on Indie Shuffle's Indie Music Blog.

Lovely cover of a classic, by London’s Jessie Ware + Sampha:

[via FACT]

Photo by Anna Palma

They've cryptically hinted at a new release and sent physical CDs of the song "Henrietta" to their fans. And now, Yeasayer have announced a new album, Under the Radar reports. Fragrant World, the follow-up to 2010's Odd Blood, is out August 21 via Secretly Canadian. 

Fragrant World:

01 Fingers Never Bleed 02 Longevity 03 Blue Paper 04 Henrietta 05 Devil and the Deed 06 No Bones 07 Reagan's Skeleton 08 Demon Road 09 Damaged Goods 10 Folk Hero Shtick 11 Glass of the Microscope

Yeasayer:

06-19 Richmond, VA - The National 06-20 Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel 06-21 Knoxville, TN - Bijou Theatre 06-22 Nashville, TN - The Cannery Ballroom 06-23 Louisville, KY - Headliners Music Hall 06-24 Cincinnati, OH - 20th Century Theatre 07-02 Vienna, Austria - Szene 07-04 Gdynia, Poland - Heineken Open’er Festival 07-07 Bruges, Belgium - Cactus Festival 07-08 Lieges, Belgium - Les Ardentes 07-09 Utrecht, Holland - Tivoli De Heling 07-13 Norfolk, England - Latitude 07-15 Grafenhainichen, Germany - Melt Festival 08-03 Montreal, Quebec - Osheaga Festival