Picture Book are sibling duo Dario Darnell and Lorne Ashley. Born in New York City and now based in Liverpool, the pair had a good footing into the industry, with their father, August Darnell, being the lead singer of the legendary musical group, Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Their debut EP was crafted whilst they both studied at Liverpool and although the sound fits under the genre category of electronica, inspiration has seemingly come from all parts of the spectrum, with additional help from Grammy nominated vocalist Greta Svabo Beck. Think Deadmau5. Think 'Raise Your Weapon'. The first taste of ...

About two weeks ago, a massive set of Bob Dylan covers compiled to honor 50 years of Amnesty International—4 discs, 73 tracks and 73 different artists—hit shelves.  Sure, it’s fascinating to see an expansive and eclectic roster that includes old-timers like Pete Townsend, Jeff Beck and Mark Knopfler alongside relative newcomers like The Gaslight Anthem, [...]

Kung Fu @ Sullivan Hall, February 4 Words and Images : Nick Irving This past Friday, Connecticut rockers and jam legends in their own rights, Kung Fu , headlined a marathon six-hour, five-band bill at Sullivan Hall in New York City’s West Village. The homecoming was the icing on the cake of a week-long excursion through Colorado labeled “Occupy Colorado” that ended in a blizzard-riddled headlining show at Boulder’s Fox Theatre. Though they had just flown into NYC a few hours earlier, the band took the stage with the energetic authority fans have come to expect.   [All Photos by Nick Irving ...

When the Temper Trap buckled down to write last winter, the Aussie expats knew they'd have to get away from London, their comparatively dour home of the past four years. "We had a little studio room close to where we live," drummer Toby Dundas explains. "But it was cold and we'd gotten comfortable hanging out with the girlfriends, going to the pub every night. We wanted to switch out of our lives for a couple weeks, so we decided Spain was the hottest place we could go that time of year." "And we were wrong," guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto ...

Pollstar held their Concert Industry Awards last Friday – and by the looks of it, the ceremony is like 8 hours long. Major Tour of the Year – Lady Gaga Most Creative Stage Production – Roger Waters Best New Touring Artist – Adele Red Rocks Award for Small Outdoor Venue (non-touring) – Greek Theatre (Los Angeles, CA) Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue – Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles, CA) Arena of the Year – Madison Square Garden (New York, NY) Theatre of the Year – Ryman Auditorium (Nashville, TN) Nightclub of the Year – Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY) Best New Major Concert Venue – Austin City Limits Live At The ...

I love remix competitions. They bring many artists and producers together into one comparative stage, giving a more focused insight into each individuals’ style. Beck & Charlotte Gainsbourg have opened up the stems of Paradisco for public manipulation with the submission deadline closed this past Monday. My favourites are from Le Crayon, Fever 105 and [...]

Charlotte Gainsbourg is many things, but a House diva she is not. An accomplished model and a renowned actress, Charlotte Gainsbourg approached making music with typical style, care and precision. ‘Paradisco’ emerged late last year, with the French artist continuing her collaborative project with Beck. Cole MGN – one time Ariel Pink cohort – supplied some programmed drums, with ‘Paradisco’ boasting a stripped down, martial feel. Handing the stems over to a select bunch of producers, Charlotte Gainsbourg is ready to unveil a series of remixes. Joakim’s effort may well be the pick of the bunch. OK he’s French and ...

The 54th Annual Grammy Awards are almost upon us! Hey, we'd love to help you with your office pools and living room side-bets with some sure-thing Vegas-ready odds. However, we always seem to be dead wrong (fucking Esperanza Spalding). So here are some completely arbitrary, critical decisions on who should win the nine biggest categories, just in case you want to know who we're rooting for on the SPIN couch. Everything You Need to Know About the 54th Grammy Awards Nominations Record of the Year Adele - "Rolling in the Deep" Bon Iver - "Holocene" Bruno Mars - "Grenade" Mumford & Sons - "The Cave" Katy Perry - "Firework" Who Should Win: Adele Why: This one goes to the producers, engineers, and performer for making the total pop package. Bon Iver and Mumford are a little to insular, Bruno and Katy a little too eager. Adele somehow lives right in between, both muted and bombastic, rockist-pleasing "authentic" and poptimist-pleasing immediate. It’s the "Heart Shaped Box" of a new generation. We had it all! Album of the Year Adele - 21 Foo Fighters - Wasting Light Lady Gaga - Born This Way Bruno Mars - Doo-Wops & Hooligans Rihanna - Loud Who Should Win: Lady Gaga Why: It did rank the highest of these five albums on our Top 50 Albums of 2011 list , and we can’t exactly give the award to Fucked Up, can we? Writes our own Mikael Wood: "Beneath the hair and makeup and arena-razing disco-metal grooves, Born This Way delivers a message that old glamazon Pete Seeger could dig: She thinks pop can still move policy, and she might be right." Song of the Year Kanye West - “All of the Lights” (songwriters: Kanye West, Jeff Bhasker, Really Doe, & Malik Yusef) Mumford & Sons - “The Cave” (songwriters: Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Marcus Mumford & Country Winston) Bruno Mars - “Grenade” (songwriters: Brody Brown, Claude Kelly, The Smeezingtons & Andrew Wyatt) Bon Iver - “Holocene” (songwriter: Justin Vernon) Adele - "Rolling in the Deep" (songwriters: Adele & Paul Epworth) Who Should Win: Adele Why: This one goes to the songwriter, and naturally we'd want to give it to the co-writer of our No. 1 single of 2011 , a blown-out blowback of relationship bluster and that high D that can drown out car alarms. Best New Artist The Band Perry Bon Iver J. Cole Nicki Minaj Skrillex Who Should Win: Skrillex Why: Before you Bon Iver fans tear us limb from limb in the comments section, let us clarify. Although we clearly love Bon Iver's extra-naked, sensitive, '80s AM gold take on folk rock, our guyliner-and-glasses pal is essentially helping reinvent a new musical language of bowel-busting bass and whirring industrial noise. Bon Iver's forbear Bruce Hornsby already won this very award in 1987, while an electronic artist has never taken one home. Let's hear it for drawing new blood. Best Rock Album Jeff Beck - Rock ‘n’ Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul) Foo Fighters - Wasting Light Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown Red Hot Chili Peppers - I’m With You Wilco - The Whole Love Who Should Win: Foo Fighters Why: Because exactly one album on this list actually "rocks." Best R&B; Album ...

May">Imelda May, is someone I’ve just got into. This Irish rockabilly revival-esque singer/songwriter is just plain awesome to listen to. I cannot stress this part enough. You will love her Billie Holiday side to her voice. Imelda has shared the stage with Wanda Jackson, Alison Moyet, Lou Reed, David Gilmore, Sharon Corr, The Supremes, Brian Setzer,The Dubliners, Madeleine Peyroux, Matt Bianco, Elvis Costello, Jools Holland, Jeff Beck and Meat Loaf . [...] Related posts: [MP3] The Rapture – I Need Your Love (LCD Soundsystem remix) DOWNLOADABLES #42 [MP3] Blackjoy – Mercurian (Jupiter remix)

We loooove Charlotte Gainsbourg and her albums filled with Air and Beck collaborations . This tasty remix from French DJ Joakim is not exception. Charlotte's heavenly voice is pitched and twisted over a heavy electro beat - nice! Enjoy Paradisco belooow!                            Tweet

Roman Ruins is the project of Graham Hill who has played drums for Papercuts and Beach House.  It should be no surprise that Hill has a spectacular ear for percussion creativity.  On "Mighty Love", the track opens with the sound of feet running on a crunchy surface and slowly becomes the backbone for a dreamy and expansive track filled with twists and turns.  It takes a bit for all the sounds to come together, but once Hill's Beck like vocals kick in, the track hits a nice groove that holds strong until the end.  This is a very laid ...

Jessica Dobson (Beck, Spoon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) is working with The Shins on their new album, Port of Morrow. Also of importance, her band Deep Sea Diver is putting out History Speaks later this month. While you’re waiting, you can listen to a new track from the album, You Go Running.

Four days of beer-chugging, eating overpriced food, and constantly brainstorming creative ways to avoid the long porta-potty lines is nearly upon us. Bask in the wonderfulness that is the Sasquatch! Festival! This year headliners Jack White, Beck, and Bon Iver will bring their latest batch of stuff to the Memorial Day weekend festival at The Gorge in George, Washington. White will, no doubt, be promoting his first solo output, Blunderbuss , and Bon Iver will continue to gain massive amounts of fans, but as for Beck… that’s anyone’s guess. Could he possibly be ready to release new material? His ...

Another Arthur Baker sighting, the Barenaked Ladies and Beck show up in Bottom Feeders this week. And, Dave Steed pulls out the "general rule" for the first time in the series.

Another Arthur Baker sighting, the Barenaked Ladies and Beck show up in Bottom Feeders this week. And, Dave Steed pulls out the "general rule" for the first time in the series.