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In case you missed it, you can read ALARM’s interview with In Flames here.
Music
Revolutionary Electronic Act Kraftwerk to Play Four Rare US Concerts
Florian Schneider (flutes, synthesizers, electro-violin) and Ralf Hütter (electronic organ, synthesizers) founded Kraftwerk in Germany in 1970. Kraftwerk went on to revolutionize electronic and popular music across the world. The group has not played live since 2006 but will play four USA dates this April. They will be joined by current members Fritz Hilpert and Henning Schmitz.
“Ghosts” Make a Million in First Week, Visual Project In The Works
The results are in… and Nine Inch Nails are the winners in a landslide victory over the conventional methods of distribution. Not that it’s a competition. Totaling somewhere near 800,000 transactions, the band has grossed roughly $1,619,420 for the sale of their latest release, Ghosts I-IV. The 36-track instrumental “opus” (as some publications are touting it) was released on March 2, made available through the bands website NiN.com.
Lo Fine: Not For Us Two
The fifth release from Massachusetts based Lo Fine is a slow and wandering work by composer and singer Kevin O’Rourke. Relying heavily on the steel pedal and O’Rourke’s soft vocals, Not For Us Two is a straightforward sounding record. No maddening metaphors or tricky hooks clutter the sparse acoustic songs and general melancholy that has become Lo Fine‘s trademark.
Dan Sartain: Join Dan Sartain
Lucky for Dan Sartain nobody expects a socially polished hot rod freak. Sartain is a 24 year old, Birmingham, Alabama-bred agoraphobic who carries himself like a shoe-gazing Johnny Cash. As he explains in rapid-fire detail on “Drama Queens,” “When I’m alone, that’s because I choose to be alone.” That track opens his sophomore release Join Dan Sartain, and it’s a frantic piece of sweaty-palmed psychobilly that doesn’t give the listener enough time to determine if Sartain is accepting of, or merely justifying his lonely state.
Bill Callahan Leaves Albuquerque Awestruck
Bill Callahan‘s music is suiting to the high desert of central New Mexico, where he played last week to a packed crowd in Albuquerque. The evening was frigid – the town had barely seen rain for weeks and the venue where Callahan was supposed to play had nearly been torched a week before by a five-alarm fire next door. Albuquerque in winter feels down-and-out. Sunlight hardly helps make the dead cottonwood trees less sinister and lonesome. The night Callahan played, the whole town felt like a song from his catalog.
KRS-One Joins Duck Down, Buckshot for Next Album
On the heels of his February ’08 release of Adventures in Emceein, the prolific KRS-One has joined forces with hip-hop label Duck Down to release his follow-up, a collaboration with underground rapper Buckshot of Black Moon and Boot Camp Clik. Buckshot described the work of partner KRS-One as “‘Conflosation,’ even when KRS-One is flowing, he’s having a conversation with his audience.”
Heroes Original Television Soundtrack Out March 18th
“For a long time music and comic dork like myself, this project has been a dream come true,” says Errol Kolosine, executive producer of the Six Feet Under soundtrack and now the original television soundtrack to Heroes, out March 18. To accompany the soundtrack, Heroes director Allan Arkush has also created five music video podcasts for Zunesters, available from Zune Marketplace in the weeks leading up to the album’s release. The soundtrack will feature songs from The Jesus and Mary Chain, Nada Surf, Imogen Heap, Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, David Bowie, and more.
Video: Saving Abel Releases Uncensored Video With Help From Playboy.com
The Memphis, TN band Saving Abel has released an uncensored video for their single “Addicted” with the help of Playboy.com. The single is a mix of mall and country rock, but with the help of some topless Playboy models, might hold your attention for a view or two. The band is currently on tour with label-mates Sick Puppies and their self-titled debut, produced by Skidd Mills (12 Stones, Saliva, Submersed), hits stores today, March 11th.
The Cancer Conspiracy’s Omega Legacy
As musical exploration, the members of The Cancer Conspiracy delved into melodic, instrumental prog rock at the beginning of the decade. The Vermont trio released a three-song EP in 2001, and followed in 2002 with a nine-song full-length, The Audio Medium, which furthered its venture into progressive territory. In 2003, bassist Brent Frattini left to play guitar in noise-rock act Daughters, and though the remaining duo replaced him with Johnny Northrup, personal travails and a costly theft led to the group’s demise.
The Gloomy Origins of Zozobra
It’s easy to understand why Caleb Scofield, bass player for hardcore hellions turned indie rock wunderkind Cave In, might be out to prove something with his new band, Zozobra.
Scofield makes no excuses for Antenna, Cave In’s major-label flop that had shoppers at Best Buy cratching their heads and long-time fans feigning regurgitation. But he doesn’t really defend it either.
Live At Encore Records: Tee Pee Records Showcase
ALARM Magazine, in collaboration with Tee Pee Records and specialty hardcore/ metal retailer Encore Records is proud to present a daytime showcase of Tee Pee Records artists and friends at Encore Records (1745 W. Anderson Ln.) in Austin, Texas on March 13. Set to perform at the event is Witch, Earthless, Graveyard, Ancestors, Annihilation Time, and The Weight.