Fader

Oh hello mix of epic jams! Federation Sounds have been FADER friends since day negative three, and the fact that this mix features Bounty Killer, Mavado, Damian Marley, Sean Paul, Busy Signal, Bling Dawg, Fambo, Assassin, Demarco, Esco, Tessanne Chin, Terro 3000, among a whole bunch more means that it is actually an aural version of the pages of our magazine. FADER-FEDERATION (FADERATION?) synergy aside, here's more proof that Marshall, Mavado, Busy Signal and the rest of the Alliance will probably still be ruling our ears in like 2098.

Download: Wayne Marshall & Federation Sounds, TRU Story

This Saturday, a posse of FADERonis tried to enjoy the Siren Festival on Coney Island, only to be scorched crispy like so much bacon before the third band even got popping. After downing 15 thirty-two-dollar churros and pretending we like Coors Light, we decided to hoof it back to North Brooklyn, where civilization affords us such priceless amenities as "air conditioning" and "Pinkberry" and "microbrews" (just kidding we hate microbrews). Back in Fort Greene, we decided to see Werner Herzog's latest documentary, Encounters at the End of the World, because it is about Antarctica and perhaps we'd stop sweating from our upper lip by osmosis. And lo! We forgot Werner Herzog is such a funny, dry dude. The film was amazing, the score even better. Imagine crystalline images of frozen ocean and the gelatinous lava-lampitude of giant jellyfish, accompanied by Indonesian scales, Gregorian chants, and the odd Martian sounds that sea lions make in the water (imagine late '90s Underworld interpreted by Metro Area, only it is the REAL-LIFE VOICE OF A SUBARCTIC PINNIPED). Henry Kaiser and David Lindley are the composers responsible for these airy spirituals; they also did work for Herzog's bear-meets-man tragicomedy Grizzly Man. It's some of the best cinematic music synergy we've experienced since Grease 2. We are dying for the soundtrack, which apparently exists, only not on the internet. If you can help, please email info@thefader.com.

You'd have a hard time explaining the rules of cricket to us (nice outfits), but we are still enjoying this new Roots Manuva video which revolves entirely around the game, his trashtalking of old ladies and a sequence in which he passes out for no reason and dreams of drinking a mysterious, and apparently vile, yellow liquid. All very confusing stuff, but still it's easier on the soul than the video for first single "Buff Nuff".

Recently at FADER HQ we called up Sixto Rodriguez, aka Rodriguez, aka your mom's favorite folksinger if she grew up in South Africa in the 1970s, so he could tell us everything about his life and his sidebar profession as a construction worker. It was awesome, and you can read it in a not-so-distant-future issue of le FADER. Facts: Rodriguez is from Detroit, cut Cold Fact in a basement in 1969, and released it just before his then-label went out of business. It was re-released in South Africa in the '70s and S-Rod became a crazy cult hit. Bigger than like, Simon and Garfunkel. This is the first jammerating single from Cold Fact, finally breathing its official breath on the protective oxygenated bubble that is the internet, so break out the Sex Wax, light up for Arbor Day, "Sugar Man"'s longing voice and lovely psych guitar are made for late-summer sunset on grey beaches. Which is perfect, considering Rodriguez will play his first-ever U.S. show this Saturday, July 26, at the Surf Lodge in Montauk, New York. Poetry, amigos.


Download: Rodriguez, "Sugar Man"

When this flyer first came across our desks, we were thinking, This is cool BUT WILL THERE REALLY BE MARGARITAS? Then it occurred to us that it was ridiculous to even question whether there would be margaritas, because it is called Margarita Mondays. Margaritas aside, we're actually about the music, which will be good because it's coming from DFA's Justin Miller and Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet. We know we'll hear some disco but what will we get from Hebden? If we had to guess, we would say that at some point in the night he will play a Can song. Just a guess though. Either way, it's Monday, it's margaritas, and it's free. RSVP here.

Previously known to us as the dude who showed up wobbly-voiced and sounding like vintage Cash Money along with B.G. on "Where Da At,", Georgia's Homebwoi is actually a practitioner of vintage Dipset, when they were dependably clever over unclearable and oftentimes corny samples. Maybe it's a little unfair to heap that kind of praise on him, but hearing Homebwoi rap about dating a girl who is the Erykah Badu to his Andre on the Chariots of Fire-sampling "Magnificent" and listening to him bemoan his lack of success on "Gimme a Break," which samples—what else— a snippet of the Gimme a Break theme song makes us wistful. Wistful enough to read the bio on Homebwoi's MySpace detailing his love of soul and funk. Maybe he should link up with Fabo to record the greatest rap album to never see the light of day, or maybe he should rap over Mr Belvedere. Streaks on the china… banjo…Leon Redbone… classic.


Download: Homebwoi, "Magnificent"


Download: Homebwoi, "Head Above Water"


Download: Homebwoi, "Gimme a Break"

Now that zany incoherence finds its way into nearly every video, it's nice to see it taken to a new artistic level in the hands of Rozan & Schmeltz who directed "Into The Galaxy" for design collective Surface 2 Air. We're assuming that means Jérémie Rozan (one of S2A's founders) concepted the CGI monoliths, giant scarves and the motocrosser who bursts into fireworks, and Martial Schmeltz said "Yeah we can do that." Which all makes it pretty easy for the Midnight Juggs who just stand there and sound cool. Rozan & Schmeltz were also most notably responsible for Black Kids' "Hurricane Jane" and Justice vs Simian's "We Are Your Friends", so this was clearly no accident.

Big Chief is not poor. We found this out during a recent expedition to his hometown of Dallas. But we're quite sure he didn't get to dip himself in Louis Vuitton shoes, belts and sidekick cases just by posting songs to myspace, even if they are G'd up pipe organ ballads where he professes infatuation so real that he readily commits to parenthood. Big Chief doesn't need any more money. Love on the other hand...


Download: Big Chief, "Eat Greedy Girl"

Tonight on the Let Out, our weekly East Village Radio show (made possible by Dewars) Fistfight, aka half of Fool's Gold's Nacho Lovers is going to swing by for 40 solid minutes of dance music. Listen live at eastvillageradio.com from 6-8 EST, and if you miss it, you can always grab the podcast afterwards.

There are some days when you want to listen to metal, put a mop on your head and shred on your tennis racket. There are others when you want to listen to prog and play Chinese checkers. There are then others when you just want to put on some southern rock and drink the memory of your nerdery into a gauzy oblivion. And then there's today, when you can get trashed, play checkers and shred all at once to the sound of Lousville, Kentucky's Wax Fang. They've toured with hometown bros My Morning Jacket and recorded a badass album in Nashville, which they will release on their own label this fall. It is called La La Land and it is, as we like to say, epic.


Download: Wax Fang, "World War II (Part 2)"


Download: Wax Fang, "The Doctor Will See You Now”

Last night at the Knitting Factory, David Banner taught us that being a perfect gentleman means giving lots of enormous bear hugs. He also taught us about how the Government is bullshit (dude, obvi) and how to properly fashion our belts into whips (dubious). Mostly though, he tore the stage apart. Banner played with a live band, and his energy was undeniable as usual—there’s no question that he knows most of what there is to know about being a performer. Fierce and low-voiced one minute, cracking a joyful grin the next, we totally understood why there were hoards of young women in the crowd trying to literally rip him off stage and onto the floor with them. Banner's long gestating The Greatest Story Ever Told came out last week, go spend money on it.

There is a tendency on this blog to describe a lot of music as "summery." This is not because every song we listen to includes a ukelele or four part harmonies, but because we are blogging and not playing outside in the summertime (RIYL: tumbling with beach balls, hacky sacking and enjoying the sound of birds). This denial of summer permeates our every thought, so when we hear something that even remotely reminds of where we could be… you get the drift.

Case in point: San Francisco's Girls, a band featuring zero girls, a few dudes and happy lyrics paired with mopey melodies and shoegaze guitar explosions. The song is called "Hellhole Ratrace" (not summery) but sounds like the soundtrack to the beach prom scene in Just One of the Guys (summery). Girls played last night at the often sweltering Market Hotel, and they were joined by Suckers, who photoshop their heads onto sticks on a beach and make flyers with really scary broccoli.


Download: Girls, "Hellhole Ratrace" ( found via Daniel Arnold, download from RCRD LBL)

The thing about watching Deerhunter play live (on this video in Manchester, UK, which is so far away from the East Coast of the US, both in mind space and physical miles/meters) is that it's all strum strum downstroke and smoky eyed buzz. This looks easy and fun. Are you allowed to be the now Velvet Underground with tape on your face, zebra print and an Orioles T-shirt? Check the fingertapping six and a half minutes deep, it will make you feel like a loser for not fingertapping.

The first scenes of the long-awaited Watchmen adaptation are playing before all showings of The Dark Knight this weekend (watch it in hi-res here) and Gizmodo puts it best with a rhetorical "Does it meet your excruciatingly-high expectations so far, or do you already think it's ruined the greatest graphic novel EVAR?" But lets put that all aside and talk about the film's newest character: Billy Corgan. How'd he get here? Is the Pumpkins song that scores the trailer better than the theme to the worst Batman? Another "Eye"? Does anyone care? Who-ooh wants that ho-oo-ney?

We stumbled across London's Stricken City while doing our regular check up on Adventures Close To Home and had a hard time initially deciding whether we were going to get into them or not. Ultimately, lead singer/Korg-er Rebecca Raa's awkward dancing and rad voice led us to do believe that, yes, we will get into it. And our committment was rewarded with a free copy of Stricken City's debut EP, which includes "Tak O Tak" as well as the pretty great, pretty mellow "Bardou" and "The Traveller" on it. As if that weren't enough, we found a couple more excellent demos on their MySpace, both of which you can download too. And then you can stop being greedy.

Download: Stricken City EP
Download: Stricken City, "Better As A Girl" + "Killing Time"

As happens every couple of months, this week has given us reason to revive Outkast watercooler discussions in FADER HQ. Andre essentially put out a new song of his own with his guest spot in Fonzworth's "Everybody" video on Wednesday, and (even though it's been floating around in crap radio rips for a minute) we just got this crispy clean version of Big Boi's newest song from Sir Luscious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty with Mary. If you've been sitting around looking for a TGIF joint—something to play when you're feeling whiny about your job—this is it. Antwan and Mary both remind us that things could be a lot worse. It's not exactly the most uplifting song we've ever heard, but at least it makes us want to have a drink!


Download: Big Boi f. Mary J Blige, "Something's Gotta Give"

Usually, putting limitations on yourself helps you create some wild shit. Brooklyn’s Growing use only two guitars and move from quick percussive punches to expansive blooms of fuzzy ambience that eventually envelope the entire song. The lack of drums, or any other instrument, makes Growing’s music sound out there, but their attempts—furthered with each album—to create something approaching structure and beauty out of clipped noise frequently result in totally not embarrassing moments of fist pumping from dudes and ladies like us.

“Innit” from their upcoming album All The Way (out September 9th on Social Registry) is a perfect example of this, with Joe Denardo and Kevin Doriain's guitars emulating drums and something that sounds like an underwater xylophone. Basically, Growing provoke a lot of “DUDE—DUDE!—Dude…” moments, also known as Epic Stoner Visionquests Into The Heart Of Music. If all that sounds like your thing, hit the New Museum tonight to catch Growing play the final Get Weird of the summer along with Gang Gang Dance side project I.U.D.


Download: Growing, "Innit"

“Secousse” is the name of Radioclit’s tropical-themed monthly bashment in London, but it is also the name of a dance track they did which sounds like DJ Znobia and Armand Van Helden merged into one person and then made a 12” sampling Konono No1. The first time ‘clit sent this track our way for inclusion in a Ghetto Palms blend, that column's author, FADER editor Edwin 'Stats' Houghton, actually said the words “This is the best thing I’ve ever heard.” This week it became available for purchase on Beatport as an EP with four remixes by FADER favs like Crookers (F55) and as we work my way down the playlist from Crookers remix to the Bablee coup decale mix we keep saying “No, This is the best thing I’ve ever heard...” then, from Bablee to Mumdance: “No THIS is the best thing I’ve ever heard...” You follow. It’s good.

Dudes standing around talking about what they would do to girls if they had the chance reminds us of middle school dances. As a matter of fact, we used to dance kind of like they do in this video in middle school. We also used to describe the size of things with our hands. "Man, the FedEx guy brought a package THIS big and we had to unwrap it like THIS." We need to get back to that.