It’s not too often that a collision between two very musically diverse artists comes to fruition. However, for AM & Shawn Lee, their collaboration sprouted from an idiosyncratic shared passion: both were fans of vintage French and Italian Soundtrack music as well as digital effects from the ’80s.
The duo’s somewhat serendipitous covalent bond led to them writing music together, and they eventually penned enough songs to release their first record together, Celestial Electric, in 2011. Now, two years later, they’re back with their sophomore release, La Musique Numérique, out May 7th via Park The Van Records – also home to Dr. Dog, He’s My Brother She’s My Sister and Generationals.
Perhaps the reason why this creative fusion works so well is because both musicians in the band come from very distinct musical backgrounds. AM hails from Los Angeles and is originally a soulful, folk singer/songwriter whose songs have been featured in a plethora of TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy, Friday Night Lights and Criminal Minds as well as movies such as Spread and Flakes. Shawn Lee, on the other hand, is a multi-instrumentalist from London who has become one of the most sampled artists in Hip-Hop. Together, this duo has toured with the likes of AIR, Phoenix, Sigur Ros, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and many more.
With the release of La Musique Numerique, AM & Shawn Lee explore the themes of love, addiction, and even economic bitterness. The record is a throwback to the days of the Casio keyboard, but also remains a futuristic piece of art that is a testament to the fact that the duo continues to innovate. To give listeners a taste of what’s to come in a few months, AM & Shawn Lee have released the album’s opener, “Two Times,” for streaming and download on Rolling Stone as well as SoundCloud. The band has encouraged fans of the music to share the music in hopes of spreading the tune to as many ears as possible.
On that note, enjoy and share AM & Shawn Lee‘s amalgam of musical wonder…
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]
Last September, our “young men” Colin Caulfield, Emmett Conway, Joe Bailey, Jeff Graupner and Darien Williams released Ideas of Distance, part one of their album trilogy. Tomorrow, the Young Man members are coming out with Vol. 1 – yes, you heard right — the second installment of this highly anticipated three-part release!
Produced by John McEntire (Broken Social Scene, Tortoise, The Sea & Cake) and available for pre-order on iTunes, you can stream the full album right now on Rolling Stone and as a special treat, download ”Do,” the latest single from the album, on Stereogum.
Young Man has definitely been busy this year… In addition to prepping all these awesome releases, the band had a successful trip to SXSW earlier this year, including performances at the Frenchkiss Records Showcase and the Hype Machine’s Hype Hotel. After touring throughout the past year with Cold War Kids, Givers, Fanfarlo, Oberhofer and Grouplove, the band is now on the road in May for a run of shows with Suckers.
Check out the dates below!
May 19 — Long Beach, CA Alex’s Bar
May 20 — San Diego, CA Casbah
May 22 — Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
May 23 — El Paso, TX Lowbrow Palace
May 25 — Austin, TX Red 7
The Sugarman 3 has returned after a ten-year hiatus with eleven new songs being released on May 15th on Daptone Records. What the World Needs Now is The Sugarman 3‘s fourth studio album and the finest modern instrumental funk album to reach our ears this century. One of the album’s tracks, “Rudy’s Intervention,” from What the World Needs Now just premiered this week on Rolling Stone.
During the summer of 2011, Neal Sugarman began tossing around the idea of releasing a new Sugarman 3 record. It had been almost 10 years since the boys had been in the studio, but after several conversations with Adam Scone and Rudy Albin, an older and wiser Sugarman 3 scheduled 5 days in the studio. With no songs written and only a few loose ideas, the boys started the record from scratch. As Sugarman puts it, “Let’s have fun and see what happens,” was the shared vibe of the session. To the delight of the band and the Daptone family at large, what made it onto tape is the most exciting material the band has ever recorded.
The Sugarman 3 line-up includes Neal Sugarman on the sax, Adam Scone on the organ, and Rudy Albin on drums. Additional players from The Dap-Kings include Dave Guy on trumpet, Fernando Velez on the conga, Joe Crispiano on guitar, and Bosco Mann (co-owner of Daptone Records) on bass.
The Sugarman 3 hasn’t been around for a long time, and we are so happy to have them back in the game and making records again. The super-funky What the World Needs Now is not to be missed!
Last week on RollingStone.com, electro rap artist Spank Rock (Naeem Juwan) premiered the video for his new single “Car Song.” The song, featuring songstress Santigold, marks Spank Rock’s latest release from his 2011 album Everything is Boring and Everyone is a Fucking Liar on Bad Blood Records.
In what Rolling Stone calls “bizarre—yet aesthetically pleasing,” director Luis Gispert sets the MC and his lady friend in an intriguing variety of situations, including a penultimate scene involving models covered in velvety blue paint.
Start yourself a lesson in Spank Rock artistry and check his 13 other tracks, including “Nasty” featuring Big Freedia, from the album here.
And of course, check out the video for “Car Song” below:
