Kyle Gilkeson

Lazer Sword: Five artists ahead of their time

Lazer Sword: “Batman” (s/t, Innovative Leisure, 11/2/10)

Lazer Sword: “Batman”

Lazer Sword is the DJ duo of Lando Kal (Antaeus Roy) and Low Limit (Bryant Rutledge). Together, these two dance-floor destroyers pump out hip-hop/electro burners heavy on bass and mile-a-minute mixing. The forward-thinking group creates its eclectic sound through a general disregard for genre, straddling styles with a diverse range of samples. Unsurprisingly, many of its influences are pioneers that sounded out of place in the musical landscape of their respective eras. Lando Kal and Low Limit shared some of these futuristic artists with ALARM.

Low Limit’s picks:

Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa

The brilliant Frank Zappa — producer, shredding guitarist, anti-censorship activist, and ringleader of The Mothers of Invention — is without a doubt from either the future or outer space. Zappa was an incredibly talented composer with the most impressive, satirical sense of humor, who was never afraid to challenge his listeners with experimental outbursts, political commentary, or other weirdness. He named his children really bizarre names like Moon Unit and Dweezil…and I heard he appeared in an episode of Ren and Stimpy, as the voice of the Pope.

Matthew Dear

Concert Photos: Four Tet & Matthew Dear @ Metro

Four Tet, Matthew Dear, and Jon Hopkins played to a packed house recently at the Metro in Chicago. Dear and his band warmed up the crowd with a thumping set of avant-electro jams before Kieran Hebden, a.k.a. Four Tet, took the stage with nothing more than a table full of laptops and gadgets. Hebden never spoke a word, simply nodding a “hello” before launching into an hour-and-a-half DJ set.

Matthew Dear

Dying Fetus

Contest: Win tickets to see Dying Fetus and Devourment w/ Cannibal Corpse and Vital Remains

Our friends at Relapse Records are giving away two tickets to the upcoming Dying Fetus and Devourment tour.

If you live on the East Coast or in the Midwest, you’re in luck. Anyone from Philly to Des Moines is eligible to win; all you have to do is specify which show you’d like to attend in your submission. See the full list of tour dates below.

And, as if it couldn’t get any better, the super-heavy, double-headliner tour is bolstered by the mutilating metal of Cannibal Corpse and Vital Remains.

The Thermals

The Thermals’ favorite current records

The Thermals: “I Don’t Believe You” (Personal Life, KRS, 9/7/10)

The Thermals – I Don’t Believe You

We asked The Thermals, the Portland pop-punk power trio, to name a few of its favorite recent releases. The band’s drummer, Westin Glass, responded with a list of five records that ranges from radio-friendly pop to an independent artist that calls himself the “black Bob Dylan.” Whether or not you share Glass’ taste, you can appreciate his sentiment that some music exists to help you laugh and get laid.

Jason DeRulo1. Jason DeRulo: s/t (Beluga Heights [Warner Brothers], 2010)

This one may be hard to swallow for you indie-rock fans — but I assure you, it’s worth it. Definitely a “singles” record, with three mega smash hits on Top 40 radio. I first heard Jason DeRulo‘s track “Whatcha Say” blasting on the one working speaker in my friend’s car last year and immediately loved it. The digitally distressed Imogen Heap sample in that song makes for the most memorable hook of 2009.

I also love “Ridin’ Solo,” a great post-breakup, self-psych-up song. Jason DeRulo knows how to make a fucking hit — a bubble-gummy blast of ear sugar that will lighten your mood and get stuck in your head. Speaking of which, his track “In My Head” is stuck in my head right now.

DeVotchKa

Concert Photos: DeVotchKa @ Lincoln Hall

The indefatigable DeVotchKa, with its distinctive brand of Eastern European and Southwestern pop music, rolled through Chicago recently, playing a show at Lincoln Hall. The long-independent, critical foursome — Nick Urata, Tom Hagerman, Jeanie Schroder, and Shawn King — was supported by Angus & Julia Stone and Scotland Yard Gospel Choir. The band’s most recent album, A Mad & Faithful Telling, was released on March 18, 2008 on Anti-.

DeVotchKa

La Otracina

La Otracina’s five most mind-blowing facts about the universe

La Otracina: “Raze the Sky” (Reality Has Got to Die, Holy Mountain, 9/21)
La Otracina – Raze the Sky

La Otracina is a psychedelic metal band operating out of Brooklyn, NY. The trio of Adam Kriney (drums, vocals), Evan Sobel (bass), and Philippe Ortanez (guitar) has been cranking out its unique brand of super-heavy, progressive riffage since 2003. With a mind-blowing sound steeped in cosmic influence, it’s only fitting that the band shares some of its most mind-blowing facts about the universe.

(As with anything list-oriented regarding this band, we shall of course begin with #2.)

2. “The Universe is WITH you.”

I am YOU. You ARE me. We are ONE. Thou art that. It is what it is, and you are what you it. (All nods to T. Robbins, guru).

3. “The space between the great figures of the cosmos mimics the vibrations of a wave.”

Inside a circle fits a square. Inside a square fits a triangle. Inside a triangle fits approximately 36,000 Heldonian sequences.