The 2012 edition of the CMJ Music Marathon may still be a couple of weeks off but we’ve already been excitedly penciling in our (exhausting!) show schedules and RSVP’ing to every party invitation that comes through the ol’ digital transom.
We’ve also assembled Spotify and Rdio playlists for some of our favorite Orchard artists performing at this year’s festival. Hopefully it makes some of your decisions easier.
We here present you with CMJ 2012: The Bands, The Music, The City. Happy CMJ!
Dear Freeloaders, it’s Friday! To enjoy your weekend, DEVO, He’s My Brother She’s My Sister, Bloc Party, Ramona Falls, Maps & Atlases, Zambri and Matthew E. White are here to offer you some great streams and videos…
First up, DEVO sticks it to Mitt Romney in this awesome tribute to Seamus, the poor pup that spent a road trip on a car roof. Then He’s My Brother She’s My Sister give you a taste of what their upcoming release will sound like, on their newly signed record deal with Park the Van, and Bloc Party share a sneak preview of their new album coming out next week, as well as a chance to pick your very own special “FOUR.”
Go crazy and have a great weekend! (But don’t strap any dogs to your roof, ok?)
DEVO: “Don’t Roof Rack Me Bro” (Remember Seamus) via Rolling Stone
“Don’t Roof Rack Me Bro” (Remember Seamus) out now on Devo, Inc.
He’s My Brother She’s My Sister: “Electric Love” via SoundCloud
“Same Old Ground” during SXSW ’12 via IFC
Nobody Dances in this Town out this winter on Park the Van Records
Bloc Party: Full album stream via the band’s interactive website
FOUR out August 21 on Frenchkiss Records
Ramona Falls: “Spore” live video via YouTube
Prophet out now on Barsuk Records
Maps & Atlases: “Remote and Dark Years,” “Vampires” and “Solid Ground” via The Wild Honey Pie
Beware & Be Grateful out now on Barsuk Records
Zambri: “From Angle” via Consequence of Sound
House of Baasa out now on Kanine Records
Matthew E. White: “Big Love” and “One Of These Days” via Consequence of Sound
Big Inner out August 21 on Hometapes/Spacebomb Records
Last month, The Orchard’s Interactive Marketing team introduced you to the new Facebook Timeline. Hopefully we helped make the transition as smooth and as painless as possible for you and your artist(s). This month, we are going to walk you through three things that have proven to be highly effective for us in the land of digital marketing over the past few weeks – SoundCloud’s Story Wheel, NoiseTrade, and last but not least… bat piss (wait for it).
First on deck, Story Wheel. Story Wheel was rolled out via SoundCloud Labs, and it is an online and embeddable version of a slide show projection (sound effects included). The app allows you to login through an Instagram account and drag and drop photos pulled from Instagram into a photo carousel. Next, you are able to narrate the reel through the powers of SoundCloud. Just click the giant red record button and lay down audio as you click through your very own Story Wheel. Once created, you can embed this gem using the following code:
Our friends in ZAMBRI captured their adventures to SXSW in a StoryWheel featured on NYLON…
Zambri, composed of sisters Cristi Jo and Jessica, has just premiered their newest song “Hundred Hearts” on Stereogum. The song, available for stream AND download, comes from their upcoming album House of Baasa, scheduled to hit stores April 10th on Kanine Records.
Stereogum is also hosting Zambri‘s song “ICBYS” (Ice Choir Remix) and fans can head over to Filter to listen to “Places,” yet another song from the upcoming release. If that’s not enough, the track “ICBYS” and the B-sides are available for free download in exchange for email on Zambri’s Facebook page.
The ethereal Cristi Jo and Jessica have been making music together since they shared a bedroom as kids. Spending endless hours creating stories and building universes with their voices and toys, their debut album, House Of Baasa, is a powerful expression that embodies the spirit of adventure in all its glory.
The album’s title refers to the ancient Zambri – a servant in the bible who rebelled against his ruler Baasa to overtake the throne for seven days, after which he set fire to the palace and himself.
In the spirit of their namesake, Zambri‘s music effortlessly defies genre, a parallel to the attitudes of its creators. A natural ear for pop melody informs their experimental yet deliberate approach, which makes their music boldly fearless and refreshingly original. Zambri says, “We wanted to go back into that childhood zone of absolute freedom, making moves with gut instinct”. House Of Baasa sounds simultaneously free and highly intentional, alien and nostalgic.
Go ahead! Pre-order your copy now!
It doesn’t roll off the tongue with quite the same alliterative ease but let’s call this Freeloader Monday.
If you’re heading down to Austin next week, it’s a good bet that you have started to assemble an elaborate SXSW itinerary that will take you all over the city to see literally dozens of shows, from day parties, to official showcases, to late night performances taking place in weird and wonderful locations like, say, the middle of a bridge at 4 am. (Said itinerary will hopefully also take you to many many delicious Tex-Mex and BBQ joints as well but that’s for another post. Sleep, however, is for the weak).
Navigating the list of artists can be a daunting experience but we’re here to help. Our free Don’t Mess with Texas: SXSW 2012 New Music Sampler contains tracks from 23 can’t-miss-artists.
Click HERE to download the compilation. Starting tomorrow it will also be available for streaming on services like Spotify, Rdio and Amazon.
Check out the track list after the jump.
