Today is the day, friends. That special day you look forward to each week that signifies “you made it!,” “kick back yo’ feet!” and “free music from The Orchard!” It’s also the last Friday before Summer Fridays begin at The Orchard. Summer Fridays (how many times do you think I can say “Friday” in this post?) are when our office closes at 2PM between Memorial Day and Labor Day and you realize how much our company rocks.
But regardless of whether you also benefit from Summer Fridays, or have a Monday-Friday kind of job where all the things I mentioned above apply, the one common thing we all have today is: it’s Freeloader Friday.
So jumping right in, this week we’ve got the track that goes with maybe the prettiest album art I’ve seen so far this year, courtesy of Hard Rock band ASG. Then, Pitchfork went on a roll this week with streams from Valient Thorr, Children of Bodom, Whirr and a cool remix of Local Natives‘ “Wooly Mammoth” entitled “Wooly Robot.” Australian-raised singer-songwriter Craig Dermody of Scott & Charlene’s Wedding sings us through what it’s like moving to NYC, and PANTyRAID give us something worth pillow-talking about with their album mini mix, out later this month on The Glitch Mob‘s imprint, Glass Air Records.
To close out, Young Galaxy and Har Mar Superstar grace us with music videos for their respective tracks “Fall For You” and “Lady, You Shot Me,” which snagged a Track of the Day title on Q The Music last week.
A pretty rad selection this week, if I may say so myself! Queuing these up now on Ex.fm.
Happy Friday! (Thought I’d throw it in there one more time for good measure.)
ASG: “Blood Drive” track premiere via Stereogum
Blood Drive out June 28 on Relapse
Valient Thorr: “No Strings Attached” via Pitchfork
Our Own Masters out June 18 on Volcom Entertainment
Children of Bodom: “Halo of Blood” via Pitchfork
Halo Of Blood out June 11 in North America on Nuclear Blast
Whirr: “Swoon” via Pitchfork
Around out July 9 on Graveface
Local Natives: “Wooly Robot (Remix)” via Pitchfork
Hummingbird out now on Frenchkiss Records
Scott & Charlene’s Wedding: “Fakin’ NYC” track premiere via Spin
Any Port In a Storm out July 22 on Fire Records
PANTyRAID: Album Mini Mix via Life + Times
Pillow Talk out May 28 on Glass Air
Young Galaxy: “Fall For You” music video via YouTube
Ultramarine out now on Paper Bag Records
Har Mar Superstar: “Lady, You Shot Me” music video premiere and free download via Stereogum
Bye Bye 17 out now on Cult Records
What a beautiful day! And what colorful album art to accompany it. Now that’s the way to start a weekend. Well, that and this fabulous selection of free music you see below.
To start, NPR has got the first track to Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings‘ latest album, which can’t come soon enough. The track, “Retreat,” is also available for instant download when you pre-order the album on iTunes, so if you love it, you know what to do.
Next, we have a diverse array of single premieres and free downloads from Grim Tower, Mark Mulcahy, Way Yes and Say Hi, who just released the music to the adorable film Free Samples, starring The Social Network‘s Jesse Eisenberg.
On the music video front, AM & Shawn Lee give us their new video for “Two Times,” PVT remind us how awesome their February release is with the video for the title track, and Children of Bodom make it easy for you to try out your Metal singing chops with their lyric video for “Transference.”
To conclude, we’ve included a very special video of Local Natives performing alongside a troupe of dancers interpreting their song “Bowery.” It’s very unique and quite breathtaking.
Happy Weekend!
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: “Retreat” track premiere via NPR All Songs Considered
Give The People What They Want out August 6 on Daptone Records
Grim Tower: “Soft Seance” via Spin
Anarchic Breezes out May 21 on Outer Battery Records
Mark Mulcahy: “Let The Fireflies Fly Away” via A.V. Club
Dear Mark J. Mulcahy, I Love You out June 18 on Fire Records
Way Yes: “Macando” track premiere and free download via Stereogum
Tog Pebbles EP out now on Lefse Records
Say Hi: “Love, Love, Love” track premiere and free download via Stereogum
Free Samples (Music from the Film) out now on Barsuk Records
AM & Shawn Lee: “Two Times” video premiere via USA Today
La Musique Numerique out now on Park The Van
Children of Bodom: “Transference” lyric video via YouTube
Halo Of Blood out June 11 in North America on Nuclear Blast
PVT: “Homosapien” music video premiere via FILTER
Homosapien out now on Felte
Local Natives: “Bowery” live performance via Pitchfork
Hummingbird out now on Frenchkiss Records
Warm weather looming on the horizon means that outdoor music festivals are just around the corner. So dust off those Birkenstocks, lather yourself in SPF 40, and soak yourself in patchouli because festival season has officially returned.
The popular West Coast music festival, Coachella, will begin the first of its two weekends this Friday, April 12th, with many talented artists taking the stage. This year, The Orchard is very proud to have 18 of its current artists performing at the festival. Here are a few you don’t want to miss:
Local Natives [Frenchkiss Records]
Set Time: Friday, April 12th/19th | 7:00pm – 7:50pm | Outdoor Theatre
The Indie Rock quartet made a splash this year with their sophomore release, Hummingbird, which debuted at #12 on the Billboard Top 200, and #6 on Billboard’s Digital Albums Chart – not too shabby for a band who released their debut record, Gorilla Manor, just a few years prior. Local Natives have been on the road promoting their record since the week of SXSW, and have been selling out nearly every venue they visit. They will continue to tour until the end of April, with additional plans to perform at New York City’s Governor’s Ball in early June.
Thee Oh Sees [Castle Face Records]
Set Time: Sunday, April 14th/21st | 3:15pm – 3:55pm | Gobi
Lead singer John Dwyer, and the rest of Thee Oh Sees have been creating music spanning a wide spectrum of tonalities for quite some time. Their forthcoming record, Floating Coffin, which is due out next week, is no exception as it juxtaposes optimistic songs of hope with dreary tunes of despair. It’s clear that Thee Oh Sees have a penchant for exploring every possible crevice of music that they possibly can. Playing shows at venues in places everywhere from Austin, TX to Beijing, China, the band’s eclectic sounds reach a myriad of people who grow to love the music.
Rodriguez [Light In The Attic]
Set Time: Sunday, April 14th/21st | 6:35pm – 7:15pm | Gobi
Rodriguez may have the most unique story of any artist at Coachella this year. A documentary about the artist, Searching For Sugar Man, premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival to raving reviews. The film tells the story about Sixto Rodriguez, a Mexican-American singer/songwriter from the 70s who found no success when his albums were first released in the US. But his songs about protest found their way to South Africa, where his music deeply resonated with the people and became wildly popular. The success of this documentary catapulted Rodriguez into the nation’s spotlight, and he has been taking his tunes on the road ever since.
These are just a few of The Orchard‘s great artists performing at this year’s festival. Others include Infected Mushroom, Jello Biafra & the Guantanamo School Of Medicine, Lee Scratch Perry, Poliça, Sparks, Seth Troxler, Descendents, The Make-Up, Booka Shade, The Selecter, Tommy Trash, The 2 Bears, Vintage Trouble, The Three O’Clock, and Dirtyphonics. If you’re attending Coachella this year, be sure to catch them all!
There are few things that the Internet loves more than cute kids and cute kittens.
Frenchkiss Records decided to exploit all of these weaknesses and more in some capacity with the release of the official trailer for their new YouTube channel, FKR.TV. This new venture is a partnership between Syd Butler (Les Savy Fav, Frenchkiss Records); actor/comedian David Cross (Arrested Development); and The Orchard, and the channel aims to focus on original content, posting up to five new videos a week.
Content will include music videos, live performances from FKR artists, as well as other content from the FKR vaults. Frenchkiss Records was founded by Butler in 1999, and is home to artists such as The Antlers, Bloc Party, The Hold Steady, Local Natives, Passion Pit, and many more.
Though the channel will feature a plethora of material for music lovers, it will also roll out some original series for viewers. The first line-up will include shows such as Song of the Wild, starring David Cross, Gavin McInnes (Rooster NY, Street Carnage), Tim Harrington (Les Savy Fav, Beardo), and a handful of others, which focuses on what happens when five aspiring pop stars are dropped in the middle of the wilderness for a month — more aptly described as American Idol meets The Hunger Games, or Survivor: Musician Edition. Other shows you’ll find include This One Time…, which features short stories reenacted through puppets, and Five Questions with a Five-Year-Old, starring Ms. Lyla Butler, a five-year-old luminary who asks artists/celebrities hard-hitting questions like “What is your favorite animal?”
The music, laughs, and all-around cuteness will ensue on March 28th.
Welcome back to the best day of the week. To add to that, it’s also the first day of SXSW! And if that album art from Thee Oh Sees isn’t enough to get you going, we’ve got what you need right here — whether you’re in Texas, headed to Texas or wishing you were headed to Texas (like me).
While Thee Oh Sees and Julian Lynch preview some tracks from their upcoming albums, Local Natives and PVT go the remix route courtesy of WALL and Luke Abbott, respectively. Also giving us some new twists on their most recent records are Bloc Party and Vintage Trouble with some live performances to add to the mix. Then, we’ve got some music video madness from Beliefs and Mister Lies — pretty cool when you pair those band names together, eh?? — and to close out, the best. thing. ever.
Our SXSW 2013 Music Sampler, Don’t Mess with Texas, which you’ll be able to download from Amazon and stream on Rdio and Spotify next week.
Thee Oh Sees: “Thumb Buster” via Pitchfork
Floating Coffin out April 16 on Caste Face Records
Julian Lynch: “Gloves” via Stereogum
Lines out March 26 on Underwater Peoples
Local Natives: “Heavy Feet (WALL Remix)” via Stereogum
Hummingbird out now on Frenchkiss Records
Bloc Party: “Truth (Live at Earls Court)” via Xfm
Four out now on Frenchkiss Records
PVT: “Vertigo (Luke Abbott Remix)” via Rolling Stone
Homosapien out now on Felte
Vintage Trouble: “Nobody Told Me” (Big Morning Buzz Live with Carrie Keagan) video stream via VH1
The Bomb Shelter Sessions out now on Vintage Trouble
Beliefs: “Lilly” music video via Stereogum
UNTITLED out now on Manimal Vinyl Records
Mister Lies: “Hounded” music video via Pitchfork
Mowgli out now on Lefse Records
SXSW 2013 Music Sampler: lots of songs from lots of artists via The Orchard
SXSW 2013: Don’t Mess With Texas out next week on Selector Series
