The Saratoga Springs, NY duo of Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel, known collectively as Phantogram, released their debut LP Eyelid Movies on Barsuk Records earlier this year. The band recently capped a spring touring season consisting of a national run with The Antlers, a West Coast tour with The xx, and Canadian dates with Metric and Passion Pit with a huge co-headlining show at Governor’s Island in New York with Caribou on July 16th. August will have them back home in their studio writing and getting surprises ready for the fall tour.

Since its release, Eyelid Movies has been lauded: NPR fell for the band’s “mysterious, danceable pop music.” Pitchfork called it “a sumptuous, seductive record,” while both Spin and Alternative Press gave the record four stars. (more…)

Dreamy power pop trio The Joy Formidable has released 4 videos from their debut EP A Balloon Called Moaning thus far.  Now all of the videos, including a YouTube-banned fan-made flick are featured and available for free download on IFC.com.

The bundle contains the official video for “Austere,” a black and white journey into Vaudeville meets Victory Garden, as well as an anonymous fan-made version which offers a suggestive look into the webcam escapades of beautifulagony.com.  The risqué video was banned from YouTube upon its release, but thanks to vimeo and IFC fans can now watch and download it!  The other goodies in the IFC video package are the official cut for “Whirring,” filmed out in the Welsh countryside and featuring a more traditional adventure and some good ol’ instrument smashing, and the teetering, dizzying official video for “Cradle.”

Download The Joy Formidable Video Bundle for Free on IFC.com:
http://www.ifc.com/blogs/indie-ear/2010/06/the-joy-formidable-sound-and-v.php

A Balloon Called Moaning was released in the US on May 4th on Black Bell Records (the label launched by Passion Pit’s synth player/sampler Ayad Al Adhamy) and has been featured on AOL Spinner, CBS Streetdate, Absolute Punk and more.  The two-thirds Welsh trio is made up of guitarist and vocalist Ritzy Brian, bassist Rhydian Dafydd, and English drummer Matt Thomas.  The Joy Formidable is currently on tour in Europe and Australia.
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Welsh Indie Rock Band Is First Act Signed To Black Bell, Record Label Founded By Passion Pit’s Ayad Al Adhamy

Debut Release A Balloon Called Moaning EP Arrives May 4th

Welsh indie rock three-piece The Joy Formidable have announced a run of headlining US tour dates.  The band will play several shows on the east coast, beginning April 30th at Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, NY and winding up May 8th at Jillian’s in Albany, NY.  Along the way, the band will stop off in East Rutherford, NJ for an appearance at the Bamboozle Festival on May 2nd.

The Joy Formidable is the first band signed to Black Bell Records, the label founded by Passion Pit’s synth player/sampler Ayad Al Adhamy.  The band will release their Black Bell debut- an 8-song EP titled A Balloon Called Moaning- on May 4th.  The EP was recorded in the band’s home bedroom studio, and was entirely self-produced.

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Welcome to this week’s Daily Rind Newsletter.  Our Featured Artists section boasts the much buzzed about debut LP from Passion Pit, Manners, plus the sophomore gem, Still Night, Still Light, from indie pop sirens Au Revoir Simone. We’ve got some great new free tracks from recent Frenchkiss signings The Antlers, up and coming hip hop artist Fashawn, classic garage from Figures of Light and the soultastic sounds of Lee Fields. We also have two amazing videos for your viewing pleasure - the creepy new Cage cut (directed by Shia Labeouf) for “I Never Knew You,” and the fun (but also a little creepy) Passion Pit vid for Manners standout “The Reeling.” Two exciting new artists who grace our Bubbling Up section this week are The Builders and the Butchers and Sean Bones (along with the aforementioned Antlers), whose upcoming albums make for perfect summer soundtracks. And as always, there’s lots more In Stores Now and Coming Soon!

Indy Electro Pop Band Passion Pit Hits Billboard Charts Following Ground-Breaking Digital Campaign

Most Recently, The Orchard Had Success Landing a Gold Single (and a Digital Billboard Latin Music Award) for Hip-Hop Artist, Pitbull, Who Then Inked a Deal with Sony Music/Polo Grounds 

New York, – June 1, 2009  Today, The Orchard (NASDAQ: ORCD) announced that Passion Pit, indie label Frenchkiss’ top electro-rock band, has landed at #51 on Billboard’s Digital Albums Chart with their newest release “Manners”.  Nielsen Soundscan has confirmed that the album has sold nearly 10,300 copies since it was released on May 19th, with digital sales accounting for 68% (6,989).  Impressive initial chart numbers followed a comprehensive marketing campaign The Orchard designed and executed for client Frenchkiss, and the Massachusetts band.  

“The Orchard has been supporting Passion Pit since we told them about the Chunk of Change EP last year” commented Syd Butler, President of Frenchkiss Records.  “It was The Orchard’s marketing that grew an essentially unknown band into a buzz band with a massive online following.  We don’t think of our Orchard pals as our ‘Distributor’, but as our partner,” he added. 

In 2008, The Orchard worked with Frenchkiss Records to strategically position Passion Pit’s September EP, Chunk of Change.   To date, that release has sold nearly 17,000 copies, of which more than 74% were digital sales.  Additionally, the EP sold a respectable 42,600 tracks.   Of those tracks, nearly 50% sold were of ‘Sleepyhead,’ the marketing focus of the EP and only track to make it onto the full-length. 

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Welcome to another Daily Rind Newsletter, full of great new music from some of our favorite artists. Our Featured section boasts two stalwarts of their respective genres - ISIS, gods of the prog-epic-metal genre, and Company Flow, who are arguably the originators of indie underground hip-hop. We’re offering some coveted free tracks this week, with cuts from two of the most anticipated albums of the spring, Passion Pit’s Manners and Au Revoir Simone’s Still Night, Still Light. Not to mention some digital debuts of oldies but goodies, like the Roger Daltry-fronted LSO performance of “I’m Free” from the 1972 rock opera Tommy, a remix of one of the most popular songs of the nineties, Us3’s “Cantaloop” and a new one from Factory Records’ faves The Durutti Column. Check out videos from wildman King Khan and his Shrines and a behind the scenes look at DJ Green Lantern doing his thing. Speaking of Green, his protégé Johnny Polygon is Bubbling Up this week, along with some young bands on cred-worthy indie labels Paper Bag, Barsuk and Gigantic. And as always, there’s lots more In Stores Now and Coming Soon!

Last month, with anticipation for their full-length debut mounting, Passion Pit unveiled a novel remix contest for the Manners track “Little Secrets.” The gist? The band would offer up random snippets of the track a full month before its release, and fans/remixers would build their own compositions around the pieces they were able to collect. Up until recently, the remix contest player was a simple shell from which to grab the snippets. Now it’s a full-fledged streaming/downloading/voting monster, as the submissions are live on the site and ready for the masses to weigh in on. Fans will vote for their ten favorites until May 15th. After voting closes, Passion Pit will pick five remixes to be released along with a special vinyl version of “Little Secrets,” while the five runners up will receive a copy of the vinyl and a signed CD of Manners. All the remixes are available for download (and cleared for reposting) at the link below.

Grab Snippets And Listen To And Download Remixes Here

In other news, the video for “The Reeling,” and the recently Pitchfork’d deep cut “Moth’s Wings” are currently making the rounds on the web. Joining that dangerous duo is a remix from UK disco-creator (self-description, mind you) Calvin Harris. He takes the already-dancefloor-ready “Reeling” and turns it into an even shiner, glitzier affair, with a new rolling bass line and all the appropriate glitter and glamour. Grab everything below, and check out the band’s full touring itinerary, freshly updated to reflect all their summer and fall festival stops – Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Bestival, and more – along with the sold-out-almost-as-soon-as-it-was-announced CD Release Party aboard the Temptress on the Hudson River.

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Watch And Share “The Reeling”

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This week’s Daily Rind Podcast is live!

Download it

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or subscribe to it on iTunes.

Track 1: Passion Pit “Moth’s Wings” from Manners [Frenchkiss Records]
Track 2: Au Revoir Simone “Shadows” from Still Night, Still Light [Our Secret Recording Company]
Track 3: The Durutti Column “More Rainbows” from Love In The Time Of Recession [Artful]
Track 4: Fagget Fairys “Roll The Dice” from Feed The Horse [Music For Dreams]
Track 5: Heidi Montag “Your Love Found Me” from Wherever I Am [Heidi Montag]

Bump music: Montag “Nord I” from Hibernations [Paper Bag Records]

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Passion Pit has launched a remix contest for a still-under-wraps track from Manners, offering up stem snippets of “Little Secrets” nearly a full month before the album’s release. The band has asked fans to download their own special clip, trade with other participating musicians and remixers, and build their own songs around the pieces. Fans will vote for their ten favorites until May 15th. After voting closes, Passion Pit will pick five remixes to be released along with a special vinyl version of “Little Secrets,” while the five runners up will receive a copy of the vinyl and a signed CD of Manners. All the pieces are available for preview at the link below.

Grab Snippets Of “Little Secrets” Here

And unless you’ve been in hiding all week, you’ll know the band unveiled the video for first Manners single and current internet fave, “The Reeling,” exclusively on MTVU this Monday. Always ones for engaging visuals, the Boston electro-popsters follow the surreal stop animation acrobatics of “Sleepyhead” with an equally stunning, effect-aided affair. Directed by vid whiz collective Humble, the clip is available below.

Watch And Share “The Reeling” From Passion Pit’s Manners [Frenchkiss Records; May 19th, 2009]
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Boston electro pop ensemble Passion Pit have reason to keep the blogosphere’s bees a-buzzin’ as of late. With the buildup mounting for the band’s proper follow up to everyone’s favorite EP of ‘08, Chunk of Change , Michael Angelakos and company revealed to us their plans to bring together a full fledged crew of middle-schoolers. The epic PS 22 Staten Island children’s choir were invited to record with the Pit in order to add some pizazz on one of their most intoxicating new jams. According to Mr. Google, these youngsters are no strangers to fame, having performed their services for Tori Amos and NYC major Michael Bloomberg, as well as covering everything from Coldplay to Bjork.

Head on over to Fader then to read their account of the situation. Here’s hoping those kids were paid handsomely for their contributions (most likely in tater tots and Dunkaroos). In other PP news, the band will lay their boston beats down on audiences throughout 2009, first kicking things off by joining Ra Ra Riot for a stint on their journey through North America. Full set of tour dates after you make the plunge.

MP3 -

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