With dozens of records, several novels, and many film and theater scores, Nick Cave is one of today’s most prolific, consistent, and intense artists. In this interview, conducted in 2008, Cave discusses longevity and reinvention.
Last fall, when experimental Balkan-pop quartet DeVotchKa played a show in Chicago, it was at Lincoln Hall in support of its 2008 release, A Mad and Faithful Telling. Since then, the band has released a new album, 100 Lovers (Anti-, 3/1/11), and embarked on a new tour, this time playing with Nashville seven-piece Kopecky Family Band in support. Photographer Wallo Villacorta caught the multi-instrumentalists at a recent stop at House of Blues in Chicago.
Multi-instrumentalist / composer Yann Tiersen is currently in the midst of touring in support of Dust Lane, his new album that’s out now on Anti-. After finishing up in Los Angeles on March 11, Tiersen will take about a month off before playing another block of shows in his native country, France.
True to form, during his recent stop in Chicago at Bottom Lounge, Tiersen, backed by a full band, frequently swapped instruments, handling some vocal duties while playing everything from violin to keys to melodica. Check out ALARM contributing photographer David Summers‘ black-and-white captures below.
Led by songwriter Nick Urata, DeVotchKa takes its wildly inventive Balkan pop in new directions on 100 Lovers — an album born of filmic discards and endless tinkering.
Among the thousands of under-appreciated or under-publicized albums that were released in 2010, hundreds became our favorites and were presented in ALARM and on AlarmPress.com. Of those, we pared down to 100 outstanding releases, leaving no genre unexplored in our list of this year’s overlooked gems.
Multi-instrumentalist / composer Yann Tiersen won acclaim for his beautiful score in the hit French film Amelie. Though the film features pop-based rolling melodies, it was a bit of a departure from his early work, which blended classical, folk, and post-punk sounds. Tiersen’s new album returns to that earlier style, employing a wide array of instruments and spanning many genres.
The result of a two-year creative process, Dustlane will be released on October 12 by Anti-, which put out Sage Francis‘ Li(f)e (featuring Tiersen’s collaboration on “The Best of Times”). Tiersen plays classical instruments like acoustic guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, and banjo, while adding harder sounds with toy drums, electric guitars, bass, and synthesizers. Lofty vocal choruses contrast dramatic narration by Matt Elliot (Mogwai, Blonde Redhead).
On Tuesday, July 13, rapper Sage Francis sat down to chat with Lauren Laverne on the BBC 6 Music Radio Show to discuss his most recent album, Li(f)e. Francis discussed the shift in style from beat oriented to folk rock, using live instruments with big-name collaborators (members from Grandaddy, Death Cab for Cutie, DeVotchKa, Sparklehorse, and more). The live audio no longer is streaming, but session photos can be found here.
After three albums that touch on personal topics, the scratchy, soulful material of folk singer and banjo player William Elliott Whitmore gets a thematic overhaul, angling toward subdued political themes.
DJ artists Squeak E. Clean and DJ Zegon team up as N.A.S.A, mixing North American hip hop and rock with Brazilian funk, collaborating with major artists including Kanye West and Tom Waits.