It’s that time again — list time, that is. (In addition to holiday party time, tacky sweater time, prepping for vacation time…) So, we’ve gathered all the intel and put together the list below of Orchard artists selected in these editorial beasts’ top albums, songs, artists, labels, and more… in 2012.
We got nods in a ton of revues and editorial outlets, including Billboard, iTunes, Pitchfork, Spin, Stereogum, Paste, Consequence of Sound, Forbes, Gorilla vs. Bear, NPR, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The New Yorker… and all the other folks below.
Congratulations to all the artists who made awesome music this year! We’re looking forward to a great year to come in 2013, with lots of exciting releases from new bands, favorite artists and those we don’t even know about yet.
Cheers!
Best World Album — Antibalas: Antibalas [Daptone Records]
Best World Reissue – Tim Maia: World Psychedelic Classics 4: Nobody Can Live Forever – The Existential Soul [Luaka Bop]
Best Metal Album – Testament: Dark Roots of Earth [Nuclear Blast]
Best Jazz Vocal Album – Gregory Porter: Be Good [Motema Music]
#160 — Various Artists Project X: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Watertower Music / New Line Productions]
#15 — Various Artists Project X: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Watertower Music / New Line Productions]
Uncharted Artists (MySpace and Next Big Sound chart)
#22 — The Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 [Dim Mak Records]
#32 — Com Truise [Ghostly International]
#36 — Datsik [Dim Mak Records]
#30 — Various Artists Project X: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Watertower Music / New Line Productions]
#47 — Testament: Dark Roots of Earth [Nuclear Blast]
#45 — Colt Ford [Average Joe's]
#6 – Various Artists Project X: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [Watertower Music / New Line Productions]
Welcome back to Friday, dear Freeloaders! We’ve got a juicy one for you this week… It’s so juicy, it’s ”cobra” juicy… You know, so you’ve got enough to take you through Columbus Day this Monday.
(If you’re like some of us over here and this day off is a newsflash, I hope it’s a good one where you just realized you could finally go on that hiking trip you’d planned on forever ago.)
But hiking trip or not, you need good music! In this edition of Freeloader Friday, you’ll get treated to some great streams from upcoming albums by the likes of Black Moth Super Rainbow, Flock of Dimes, Benjamin Gibbard, Pretty & Nice and Naytronix, as well as some fresh music from current albums courtesy of Matthew E. White, Levek and Bloc Party, who just released the video for their new single “Kettling.”
Enough talking… Start playing!
Black Moth Super Rainbow: “Gangs in the Garden” via NPR
Cobra Juicy out October 9 on Rad Cult Records
Flock of Dimes: “(This Is Why) I Don’t Wear White” via Pitchfork
(This Is Why) I Can’t Wear White/15 out November 20 on Frenchkiss Records
Benjamin Gibbard: “Something’s Rattling (Cowpoke)” via YouTube
Former Lives out October 16 on Barsuk Records
Bloc Party: “Kettling” video premiere via YouTube
FOUR out now on Frenchkiss Records
Matthew E. White: “One Of These Days” via Aquarium Drunkard
Big Inner out now on Hometapes/Spacebomb Records
Levek: “French Lessons” via Aquarium Drunkard (also!)
Look A Little Closer out now on Lefse Records
Pretty & Nice: “Capsules” via MTV
Us You All We out November 6 on Lost Colony Music
Naytronix: “In The Summer” via The Guardian
Dirty Glow out October 9 on Plug Research Records
Happy Friday and Happy August, Freeloaders! We can’t believe how fast the summer has flown by already. So to start August off with a bang, we have a lot of free tracks and videos for you today from Beach Day, Conveyor, Lovely Bad Things, Menahan Street Band, Matthew Dear and TESTAMENT.
Happy listening!
Beach Day: “Beach Day” via SoundCloud or YouTube
Beach Day out now on Kanine Records
Conveyor: “Woolgatherer” via SoundCloud
Conveyor out now on Paper Garden Records
Lovely Bad Things: “I Just Want You To Go Away” and “Dinosaur Song” via YouTube
New Ghost/Old Waves out now on Volcom Entertainment
Menahan Street Band: “The Crossing” via RollingStone
The Crossing out October 30th via Dunham/Daptone Records
Matthew Dear: “Her Fantasy (Poolside Remix)” via Pitchfork
Beams out August 28th via Ghostly International
TESTAMENT: “Native Blood” via YouTube
Dark Roots of Earth out now via Nuclear Blast Records
What mother wouldn’t appreciate having a song dedicated to her? Well, the Portland-based Menomena didn’t just write one or two songs in honor of their mother, but an entire album! What’s more, the first track of this tribute album Moms ”Heavy Is As Heavy Does” is already available to listen to on Pitchfork.
Although Moms is Menomena‘s fifth album, it’s their first time as a duo. Close friends since high school, the trio got cut down to two when co-founder Brent Knopf decided to focus on his solo project, leaving Justin Harris and Danny Seim to recast Menomena as a duo.
In the album, Justin and Danny added new instruments, like flute, cello, more of Danny’s synthesizers and the tap-dancing that actually laces through the teasing-then-charging opus, “Don’t Mess with Latexas.” For the first time too, the guys, who each contribute five songs here, talked about what they were writing. Danny explored the death of his mother when he was a teenager, while Justin investigated the way his own family dynamic — a single mom, with a departed dad — left indelible impressions on everything he’s done since. The album’s pieces connect, then, addressing how people must rise to face or flee circumstances beyond their control. The result, Moms, is tragic and intimate, comic and endearing, personal and motivated.
Get a sneak peek of the album here, and look out for it on September 18th on Barsuk Records.
You can also catch Menomena on tour this Fall! Dates below.
Chicago! You’re beautiful. You’ve got great architecture, the perennial underdog baseball team that you just can’t hate on, and you’re home to arguably the most influential music website of say, the last decade or so.
Whether you drink their kool-aid religiously or absolutely hate them, Pitchfork have definitely made their mark over the years in the music community. Their annual 3-day festival which took place last weekend in Chicago’s Union Park, came complete with three stages, a lineup consisting of some of today’s most up-and-coming artists, and a host of vendors selling a variety of food, music, jewelry, and other odds and ends. The price was right too with 3-day passes going for about $120. Not bad.
Anyway, several great bands played and there are probably plenty of reviews all over the place. There’s just not enough space for that here. One small thing that felt really optimistic, especially for a person who works in music distribution, was the great record fair setup they had going where you could check out vinyl and CDs from all the record labels who had set up shop. At the same time, right across the way was a tent hosted by eMusic. Yes, that’s right folks, physical and digital partners co-existing in one space. Sweet!
Nowadays, there are more choices than ever to listen to and own music. This was a small reminder that at the center of it all bringing everyone together is, and always will be, the music. Kudos to companies out there like Pitchfork that have found ways to connect with music fans and provide fertile ground for the music community to continue to thrive on.
