What's Up? is an exciting and accomplished instrumental rock group from Sacramento, CA, that recently transplanted to Portland, OR. The band is led by Robby Moncrief, the multi-talented multi-instrumentalist who has worked with many West Coast greats including Marnie Stern, Zach Hill (of Hella), and The Advantage. Moncrief has long been a friend of freak-out/progressive acts like Need New Body, and is also the talented producer/recording engineer behind the new Dirty Projectors album. Content Imagination is What's Up?'s superbly crafted debut. Recorded above an underground Sacramento art house spot in April 2008, the album is filled with great melodies informed by a world of guitar styles and rhythms that will excite the eardrums. "What's Up? is that rare thing: a technical instrumental band with lots of feeling.... There's something in the way the melody rides on the dirty keyboard bounce and the jerking rhythm of the drums and shaker that makes it seem like it could be some of the best beach music ever." --San Francisco Bay Guardian "... effective enough to dupe even a solemn, squinty-eyed David Copperfield type into bopping around with the syncopated sounds." --Sacramento News & Review
LP $9.75
05/26/2009
Buffalo Stance is the brainchild of Philadelphia's Jamey Robinson, a soulful pianist and winner of the prestigious Pew Fellowship in the Arts. The inspiration for Buffalo Stance came during his time in the avant-party band Need New Body. Interested in exploring a broader approach to composition, Robinson recorded a song every day for three months, hoping to develop this unique sound. Sugar Glider offers a collection of pieces from the past years of Buffalo Stance's existence that shows the full range of Robinson's ideas and influences. Filled with wonderfully layered keyboards and vocals, the album at times sounds like Wendy Carlos's sublime synthesizer symphonies combined with a simultaneously innocent and informed approach to singing and harmony. Robinson's fascination with rhythm and blues blends seamlessly with the counter-rhythmic influences of minimalist compositions. Contributors on Sugar Glider include Blue Hawaii (Icy Demons), Pow Pow (Man Man, Need New Body), Chang Wang (Man Man), and Jason Kourkounis (Delta 72, Bardo Pond). Buffalo Stance plans to tour in 2009 as a complete band of Philadelphia musicians.
CD $9.50
05/26/2009
MP3 $9.90
05/26/2009
Electronic art-funk band Chandeliers, residents of Chicago's Shape Shoppe loft/recording studio, present their debut LP, The Thrush, on the newly formed Obey Your Brain imprint (run by members of Man Man and Icy Demons). Comprised of multi-instumentalists from Chicago's blossoming young avant-rock scene, Chandeliers are a phenomenon in unclassifiable modern music. The five-piece, who debut in 2004 at the University of Chicago, arrived just as a new scene and sound was beginning to form in the city. They had previously rehearsed for a few months as complete free spirits, using mostly vintage synths and live drums, and for the next two years crafted their approach and technique, developing an electronic sound melded to a traditional rock set-up. Chandeliers were one of several local bands that incorporated mainly electronic instruments but no laptops, and performed as a group of musicians, not a novelty act. Having adopted the collective spirit of kraut-rock bands like Can and Faust, the group functions as a unified whole with no dominant members. This approach gives them a more intuitive and unpredictable approach to composing. The band befriended Blue Hawaii (a.k.a. Griffin Rodriguez), the engineer at the Shape Shoppe, who had recently worked with Beirut and Man Man. After recording a few songs there, Chandeliers moved into the space to rehearse and begin working on new material. Around the same time they met Mahjongg's engineer, Benjamin Balcom, at Elephant, his new studio, and began recording their debut record. An album with the flow...
LP $12.00
10/28/2008
***Obey Your Brain Records is excited to offer their third release, MAN MAN’s Little Torments seven-inch. The two exclusive tracks we're taken from sessions that comprised the material for Man Man's album Six Demon Bag and their new album Rabbit Habbits. The song "Little Torments" was recorded originally as a proposed theme for a cartoon. The second track, "Snakehandling" was recorded during the session for Man Man's latest at the Shape Shoppe with Blue Hawaii. It showcases the amazingly dynamic instrumental range of Man Man. The seven inch is pressed on amber vinyl.
7" $6.00
10/14/2008
Miami Ice is the upbeat and wide-ranging third full-length album from Chicago/Philadelphia ensemble Icy Demons. As on previous releases, the band's altered pop music draws on a wide range of musical vocabulary--sometimes within a single song. Though recorded throughout a very busy year, the album has a very natural feel and excited energy, like the warming of the senses in spring after a long winter. Icy Demons cofounders Chris Powell (a.k.a. Pow Pow) and Griffin Rodriguez (a.k.a. Blue Hawaii) use an odd assortment of vintage keyboards and ethnic percussion, and evoke a past that actually might prove to be the future. Icy Demons' exciting new touring group will blaze trails across the States this summer and fall. The band has supported Slint, Arcade Fire, and Man Man, as well as headlined their own tours. Their live shows are energetic and fast-paced, with the multi-instrumentalist members dancing around the stage playing interlocking rhythms. Rodriguez sings of dreams and endurance, alien paranoia and fun food, time travel and the western frontier. Outside of Icy Demons, Powell plays in Man Man and Rodriguez runs his Chicago recording studio, the Shape Shoppe. Both were previously members of the influential Philadelphia group Need New Body. Guest musicians on Miami Ice include Jeff Parker (Tortoise), Josh Abrams (Prefuse 73, The Sea and Cake), Tomeka Reed (highly esteemed Chicago improvisationalist/cellist), and Man Man guitarist Russell Higbee. "... one hell of a unique concoction, like a prog-fusion orchestron gone completely nuts." --Pitchfork
LP $9.75
07/15/2008
CD $9.50
07/15/2008
MP3 $0.00
07/15/2008