In addition to a June 27 show at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre alongside Glasser and Rodriguez, Brightblack Morning Light will be returning to New York City this week for the following gigs :
6/10 – The Studio at Webster Hall
6/11 – Studio B, Brooklyn
When we found out that Brightblack Morning Light would be playing with My Bloody Valentine in Denver and Seattle, Matador’s staff collectively searched Orbitz for cheap airfare. Could we charter a plane to either city? wait, what about to both cities?
Anyhow like from any good dream, we woke up abruptly and a tad grumpy because dreams are often so much better than reality. Though for the lucky couple of thousands in Denver and Seattle this is no dream. Brightblack Morning Light and My Bloody Valentine performing the same night! For us I guess it’s simply back to Motion To Rejoin and Loveless on shuffle, and repeat, on the office iTunes. Which actually is sort of a beautiful way to spend an afternoon in the office.
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opening for My Bloody Valentine this April 2009!
I didn’t think anything could ever beat the 21 Jump Street box set mom got for my birthday as the greatest gift ever, but having Brightblack Morning Light playing your record store birthday party just might top it.
Tonight @ 9 p.m. Brightblack will be playing a free set with Rio En Medio at Good Records to help proprietor Chris Penn ring in his 38th year.
As per Mr. Penn’s instructions, bring yr beanbag.
Good Records. 1808 Greenville Ave. Dallas. 214-752-4663
Brightblack Morning hit the road once again in an effort to bring their music to the people. And should you be one of the “people” in the Southeast section of the United States then consider yourself lucky because that is exactly where BBML plan to bring said music.
2/22 – Atlanta GA – The Earl
2/23 – Athens GA – Tasty World
2/24 – Knoxville TN – Pilot Light
2/25 – Greensboro NC – Square One
2/27 – Memphis TN – Odessa
3/01 – Austin TX – Mohawk
3/02 – Denton TX – Rubber Gloves
Also a quick heads up about a cause important to BBML. On March 2nd, in Washington DC, there will be a protest against Coal Power. BBML will not be able to attend but support the cause nonetheless. To learn more about the event check out: www.capitolclimateaction.com
Making good on those New Years resolutions yet? Anyone promise themselves they’d start living a purer existence, one free of the burdens of technology and the modern world? Well it’s time to start getting in touch with that better self, at least for you West Coasters, as Brightblack Morning Light kick off a run of tour dates tonight in Kennewick, WA. Head on out with an open mind and a “nice crystal”, as BBML have suggested on their tour flyer, and contemplate your new beginnings while BBML play you into the ether. 2009 is already off to a better start then ‘08.
BrightBlack Morning Light – West Coast Tour Dates – Jan 2009
Mon, 1/5 – Kennewick WA – Red Room – with Daniel A.I.U. Higgs
Tue, 1/6 – Olympia WA – Big Room – with Daniel A.I.U. Higgs
Thur, 1/8 – Seattle WA – Vera Project – with Daniel A.I.U. Higgs
Fri, 1/9 – Portland OR – Holocene – with Daniel A.I.U. Higgs
Sat, 1/10 – Eugene OR – Sam Bond’s Garage – with Daniel A.I.U. Higgs
Mon, 1/12 – Arcata CA – Humboldt Brews – with Daniel A.I.U. Higgs
Wed, 1/14 – San Francisco CA – Independent
Fri, 1/16 – Brookdale CA (Santa Cruz Mountains) – Historic Brookdale Lodge – with Mariee Sioux & Avocet
JAN 05 – Kennewick, WA – Red Room
JAN 06 – Olympia, WA – Big Room (all ages)
JAN 08 – Seattle, WA – Vera Project (all ages)
JAN 09 – Portland, OR – Holocene
JAN 10 – Eugene, WA – Sams Bond Garage
JAN 12 – Arcata, CA – Humboldt Brews
*all dates with Daniel Higgs
JAN 14 – San Francisco, CA – Independent
JAN 16 – Santa Cruz Mountains, Historic Brookdale Lodge
*both dates with Glasser
Our spring Intended Play label download sampler was a huge hit, so we’re doing it again. Just like before, you get a track from one of each of our current and upcoming releases. Seven of the tracks have not been released on MP3 yet, and four of those are from albums that haven’t been released yet. The sampler this time is a bit more varied musically, from A.C. Newman’s jewel-like pop songscapes to the majestic neo-punk of Fucked Up to the gorgeous female vocals of Jennifer O’Connor to a track from Lou Reed’s painstaking, thoughtful, first-ever performance of his controversial classic album ‘Berlin.’ We also introduce an unreleased song from Pavement’s ‘Brighten The Corner’ sessions, due out on the deluxe edition of that album in November.
Click on the link to get a zipped file of all 13 tracks plus front and back artwork, and burn it yourself (or just listen to it digitally). And support the bands and the label… if you like the track, click on the album title link below to buy (or preorder) the album (or more individual tracks) directly from us.
1. A.C. Newman There Are Maybe Ten Or Twelve (from Get Guilty, due out January 20)
2. Belle and Sebastian The State I Am In (BBC Version) (from The BBC Sessions, due out November 18)
3. Jennifer O’Connor Here With Me (from Here With Me, released August 19)
4. Shearwater The Snow Leopard (Remastered) from Rook, released June 3)
5. Lou Reed Caroline Says, Pt. II (Live) (from Berlin: Live At St. Ann’s Warehouse, due out November 4)
6. Mogwai The Sun Smells Too Loud (from The Hawk Is Howling, released September 23)
7. Fucked Up No Epiphany (from The Chemistry Of Common Life, released October 7)
8. Jay Reatard An Ugly Death (from Matador Singles ‘08, released October 7)
9. Jaguar Love Humans Evolve Into Skyscrapers (from Take Me To The Sea, released August 19)
10. Pavement Cataracts (from Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed., due out December 9)
11. Brightblack Morning Light Oppressions Each (from Motion To Rejoin, released September 23)
12. Times New Viking Call & Respond (from the Stay Awake EP, released October 14)
13. Condo Fucks What’cha Gonna Do About It? (from Fuckbook, due out March 2009)
At moments like this, Matador’s occasionally adversarial relationship with The Fourth Estate seems like a distant memory. Brightblack Morning Light are profiled in the latest issues of Arthur and The Fader, the former featuring the band on their cover for the 2nd time in recent memory. If you can’t find a copy of Arthur in your neighborhood, you can download a PDF of Trinie Dalton’s Brightblack Morning Light interview here.
After completion of an ambitious West Coast schedule, Brightblack Morning Light return to road next week, traveling in support of the newly issued ‘Motion To Rejoin’.
Wednesday – 05 – Denton, TX – Hailey’s w/ Bill Daniel showing “Who Is Bozo Texino”
Thursday – 06 – Austin, TX – Mohawk w/ Bill Daniel showing “Who Is Bozo Texino”
Friday – 07 – Baton Rouge, LA – Spanish Moon w/ Bill Daniel showing “Who Is Bozo Texino”
Saturday – 08 – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks w/ Bill Daniel showing “Who Is Bozo Texino”
Wednesday – 12 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle Tavern w/ Zomes
Thursday – 13 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506 w/ Zomes
Friday – 14 – Baltimore, MD – Talking Head w/ Fursaxa, Zomes
Sunday – 16 – New Haven, CT – BAR Nightclub w/ Fursaza, Zomes
Monday – 17 – New York, NY – LPR w/ Fursaxa, Zomes
Tuesday – 18 – Brooklyn, NY – South Paw w/ Fursaxa, Zomes
Thursday – 20 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Tavern w/ Fursaxa
Friday – 21 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick w/ Fursaxa
Saturday – 22 – Chicago, IL – The Hideout – Block Party
As per an earlier announcement, for the Denton, Austin, Baton Rogue and New Orleans shows (11/5-11/8), BBML’s performance will be preceded by a screening of Bill Daniel’s “Who Is Bozo Texino?”.
“Oppressions Each” (192K MP3): Oppressions Each – from ‘Motion To Rejoin’ (LP/CD)
(ED. NOTE : The following is an interview conducted by Brightblack Morning Light’s N.D. SHINEYWATER with keyboard historian M.H. CUNITZ. We thank the former for the quality submission and dearly wish we featuring similar profiles on a regular basis)
Mr. Cunitz has been mending BBML’s electric Rhodes piano for years now. He is always a pleasure to visit, a huge purple butterfly bush graces his entry way, to an old house filled with the last surviving relics of keyboard history. Most of the old keyboards are being hand repaired by Cunitz, with his own pile of rusted switches & broken tines. Organized drawers of rare fuses & rare keyboard guts have their own room in the house. A regular guest in the band Mushroom, music fills his time, & as a keyboard historian, he takes action to breathe life into the old electronics, in his own humble way.
HOW OLD IS THE VAKO ORCHESTRON KEYBOARD YOU’LL BE PLAYING WITH BBML @ SELECT SHOWS IN CALIFORNIA?
The VAKO Orchestron, is from the late 70’s.
WHICH SHOW WILL YOU REJOIN WITH BBML?
Around Humboldt Brewery, in Arcata, California… 10/10/2008 & a guest through California.
COULD YOU EXPLAIN The CONCEPT BEHIND THE VAKO ORCHESTRON?
Its a film based sample playback instrument. Its tones are produced by Light and Shadows!
The sounds of Cellos, Violins, Pipe Organ, Hammond Organ, Saxophones, French Horns, Flutes, and Human Voices are brought to life at the touch of your fingers and sent out into the universe accompanied by the pops, crackles, and staticky hiss of a long forgotten movie soundtrack.
Its basically a redesigned version of an instrument sold a few years earlier by toy giant Mattel called the Optigan, which was sold to hip grandmothers and their 70’s grandkids to sing around the fireplace with.
The Orchestron however, was marketed towards the upper echelon of professional touring musicians as an alternative to the Mellotron tape strip keyboard. It failed to gain as much popularity as the Mellotron… but its a different thing anyway, as it produces continuously looped sound without any of the attack transients.
This is how it works. : A 12′ transparent film disc with 37 concentric rings of optical waveform printed on it, is loaded by the player into the disc drive slot located on the bass side of the keyboard. The disc drive lever is then put into the play position which lowers a rubber edged flywheel down to entrap the extreme edge of the program disc and causes it to begin rotating. At the same moment the belt driven flywheel is lowered, a pointed spindle is raised to poke its way through the center hole of the disc. This helps keep the disc centered while it spins. Beneath this revolving piece of squiggly-printed filmstock is a long, slender lightbulb of the same style commonly found in fish tank hoods. The waveforms printed on the discs cause distinct fluctuations of Light and Shadow on the optical reader head, which consists of 37 individual cells whose output is turned on or off by the switch contacts beneath each key on the board. Pitch and timber of each key was determined by the musicians and engineers who originally performed, recorded, and mastered them to disc years ago, but the overall pitch of the instrument at playback can be varied by the adjustment of motor speed. The slower the disc rotates, the lower the pitch.
This whole deal may have sounded very new and high tech at the time – especially because VAKO evidently advertised their system as employing ‘laser technology’, but the concept had its origins even further back than its Mattel made predecessor, in early talking films and European keyboard antiques that used glass discs.
WHAT’S THE RAREST ELECTRONIC COMPONENT USED IN THAT INSTRUMENT?
Probably the drive motor… It was the most advanced concept of the design at the time. They used a 3 phase brushless DC motor with a control board for stable speed regulation… technology which was just coming into use in high end studio tape recording machines.
VAKO was a US company, but the motors were made in England and was a special order design… Spares are virtually non-existent.
ARE VINTAGE KEYBOARDS REPRODUCIBLE?
It is unlikely that many of the old designs will ever be copied exactly as they would be too expensive to build.
DO YOU HAVE A GUIDE BOOK OR OWNERS MANUAL? CAN WE SEE A SCAN?
Yes! ….
(”Another Reclaimation” (mp3) from the forthcoming Brightblack Morning Light album ‘Motion To Rejoin’ features the Vako Orchestron. Cunitz plays a Vako Orchestron lead in the beginning of the song, with trombone by M.Davis & saxophone by S. Bogie.)
Available soon from Tannis Root. Or us. Or the merch table at Brightblack Morning Light’s upcoming US tour.
For the Denton, Austin, Baton Rogue and New Orleans shows (11/5-11/8), BBML’s performance will be preceded by a screening of Bill Daniel’s “Who Is Bozo Texino?”.
10/01/2008 Eagles Hall Ballroom, Olympia
10/02/2008 The Tractor Tavern, Seattle
10/03/2008 The Helm Gallery, Tacoma
10/05/2008 Doug Fir Lounge, Portland
10/08/2008 Sam Bonds Garage, Eugene
10/10/2008 Humboldt Brews, Arcata
10/11/2008 Delta of Venus, Davis
10/14/2008 Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco
10/15/2008 Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco
10/16/2008 Starry Plough, Berkeley
10/18/2008 Historic Brookdale Lodge, Brookdale
10/20/2008 Casbah, San Diego
10/21/2008 Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa
11/05/2008 Hailey’s, Denton
11/06/2008 The Mohawk, Austin
11/07/2008 Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge
11/08/2008 One Eyed Jacks, New Orleans
11/12/2008 Grey Eagle Tavern, Asheville
11/13/2008 Local 506, Chapel Hill
11/14/2008 Talking Head, Baltimore
11/16/2008 BAR Nightclub, New Haven
11/17/2008 LPR, New York
11/18/2008 South Paw, Brooklyn
11/20/2008 Beachland Tavern, Cleveland
11/21/2008 Magic Stick, Detroit
11/22/2008 Hideout, Chicago
11/24/2008 Waiting Room, Omaha
for the two San Francisco dates, we’ve been told the following :
WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE HEALER & NEW WAVE MUSIC LEGEND, IASOS (YAH-SOS) WILL BE PROJECTING MAGICAL IMAGES & DJ’ing the remastered version of his timeless work “INTERDIMENSIONAL MUSIC” inside before the B B M L’s show.
In addition to this Friday’s date in Denver, we’re happy to confirm Brightblack Morning Light have an American tour timed to commemorate the release of the forthcoming new album. This trip is being called The Crystal Totem Turr and Avocet will be supporting all shows until 10/18 (with the exception of the 10/08 show in Eugene).
10/02/2008 The Tractor Tavern, Seattle
10/03/2008 The Helm Gallery, Tacoma
10/05/2008 Doug Fir Lounge, Portland
10/08/2008 Sam Bonds Garage, Eugene
10/10/2008 Humboldt Brews, Arcata
10/11/2008 Delta of Venus, Davis
10/14/2008 Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco
10/15/2008 Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco
10/16/2008 Starry Plough, Berkeley
10/18/2008 Historic Brookdale Lodge, Brookdale
10/20/2008 Casbah, San Diego
10/21/2008 Detroit Bar, Costa Mesa
11/05/2008 Hailey?s, Denton
11/06/2008 Club Deville, Austin
11/07/2008 Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge
11/08/2008 One Eyed Jacks, New Orleans
11/10/2008 Eyedrum, Atlanta
11/11/2008 Caledonia Lounge, Athens
11/12/2008 Grey Eagle Tavern, Asheville
11/13/2008 Local 506, Chapel Hill
11/14/2008 Talking Head, Baltimore
11/16/2008 BAR Nightclub, New Haven
11/17/2008 LPR, New York
11/18/2008 South Paw, Brooklyn
11/20/2008 Beachland Tavern, Cleveland
11/21/2008 Magic Stick, Detroit
11/22/2008 Hideout, Chicago
11/24/2008 Waiting Room, Omaha
We’re happy to unveil “Hologram Buffalo” – (mp3), the first legally-leaked track from the forthcoming Brightblack Morning Light LP/CD ‘Motion To Rejoin’ (September 23). The 2nd Matador album (and 3rd overall) from the ‘Bama/Arcata, CA spawned / New Mexico-based duo of Rachael Hughes and Nathan Shineywater is one of the more all-encompassing listening experiences you’ll have this year or any other. There’s no bin in your record store marked “understated intensity”, but perhaps there oughta be. Calling Brightblack Morninglight “America’s finest psychelic/soul/dub/folk/experimental band” is a rather trite way of dealing with the enormity of an album this beautiful and haunting, but that’s what do around here, we deal in slogans. Theirs is a carefully crafted hybrid that sounds as instantly familiar as it is unprecedented, and in ‘Motion To Rejoin’, they might well have conjured the perfect Saturday night and Sunday morning album all on the same disc.
We encourage our friends in Denver area (and even people we’re ambivalent about) to attend Brightblack Morning Light’s performance at the Larimer Lounge on August 8, with support provided by William Fowler Collins. Additional North American tour dates will be confirmed shortly.
We’re very happy to announce Brightblack Morning Light’s new album and second for Matador, Motion To Rejoin. Release is scheduled for September 23 in most of the world, and November 10 in the UK and Europe on LP and CD.
N.D. Shineywater and Rachael Hughes recorded the album entirely via solar power in their adobe house in the mesas of New Mexico.
Brightblack Morning Light recently completed recording and mixing their 2nd Matador LP/CD (release details coming soon), and Nathan Shineywater was kind enough to send us the following postcard (in electronic form). Needless to say, we’re looking forward to this like crazy.
The TapeOp facility is digging how it was recorded with only 4 solar panels, which provides a quarter of the electricity needed for the usual household.
I heard the stockmarket almost crashed this weekend, while we were using a pump organ that was made on the day the stockmarket fell in the Depression! whew!
Most of the songs where sung with an arrowhead held in the mouth I found near the adobe, on the site of the last Spanish-Indian war, along the Rio Grande. The only lasting successful war made against europeans was lead by these Pueblos, who still maintain their Pueblos & languages. Interestingly enough, the USA’s most potent weapon, the Atom bomb was first tested just below these same Pueblos…Documentation proves the radiation from these Atom bombs then drifted north into the Pueblo land.
So it leads to me think something in the land of New Mexico is designing more than we have a collective handle on…. a power maybe only seen in weapons right now, but may have more dimensions…. hopefully of the healing kind.
While we wish one of the planet's most overrated vocalists exciting new voices a speedy recovery, it does seem a shame that she, like so many others, is reduced to biting Brightblack Morning Light's aesthetic (pic swiped from D-Listed).
Don't make plans this Monday, not unless they involve Brightblack Morning Light, Endless Boogie and the high seas. Not since David Crosby tried outrunning the FBI in a coke-laden clipper has rock and roll and nautical history intersected with such momentous results. If there's a Gilligan-style disaster, can you think of any two bands you'd rather be stranded on an island with? More info is at rocksoffnyc.com, and tickets are at Ticket Web.
Summertime! We've all been waiting for it, and just as the sun peeks out for a sum total of 3 days or so in Mid-May, Brightblack Morning Light will be on hand to provide good vibes with their Many Nations Peaceful Crystal Totem Turr. Joining them on all dates will be the wonderful Mariee Sioux.
The matter of the U.S. Military using "alternative" music events to recruit cannon fodder of the future has been mentioned in this space previously, but in this case, it concerns one of our own artists.
Much like the sensible chaps from TV On The Radio, our good friends Brightblack Morning Light would prefer not to have their concerts used as a vehicle for military recruitment. As such, they politely asked their booking agent to include such a provision in their tour rider.
Sadly, the band's instructions weren't followed very closely (ahem) and what has ensued has been slightly hysterical and more than a little scary. At least one venue owner took considerable umbrage at what he thought to be BBML's insistance that servicemen and women be barred from attending their show. When the band's agent made no attempt to clarify matters, KA-BOOM. (KA-BOOM, pt. II)
As tempting as it might be to get into a rhetorical woah with folks who seem hellbent on crucifying Brightblack Morning Light (apparently, not being able to get a soundbyte from a touring band within 3 hours is a valid reason to hang them out to dry), I'll leave you with the label's side of this. As far as we're concerned, BBML have never attempted to restrict admission to their concerts to any peaceful paying listener. That they'd prefer not to see their gigs used as a tool for military recruitment strikes us as perfectly reasonable.
"It is my belief that the US military itself has always been a tool of genocide, beginning with the Native Americans. I believe that this war is blood for oil, not blood for democracy. With that knowledge, the US Military should accept that it has been misled, as the polls show as the majority opinion among US citizens. That's why we don't support any recruitment for the US Military. We do support impeachment of the current President, who was falsely elected."
BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT have just embarked on their two- month Winter Crystal Totem Turr–a trek that will span the continent, from Anacortes, WA to Annandale, NY. That is a lot of ground to cover, and traveling in the style of the times (powered by the internal combustion engine) it will create a lot of carbon emissions. As you can see from the turr's title, we've already eliminated our consumption of the letter "o" by 30%, but we wanted to do more. Matador & BBML are partnering with Terrapass to offset the emissions from the Brightblack Morning Light's tour.
Here's how it works:
For every purchase you make via the Matador Store for the next two months, Matador will purchase 50lbs of CO2 offset from Terrapass. Being the big supporters they are, Terrapass is going to match 10% of our contribution.
We've calculated that the band's van, all concert attendees travel to and from the venue and electricity to power the show will create about 30,000 lbs of CO2 emmissions. Our goal is to offset every single ounce.
Every BBML show has maintained a tradition of providing free, the seasonal Defenders Of Wildlife journal, this tour will feature the 60th Anniversary Edition.
"No blood for oil! End War!"
N.SHINEYWATER
03-10 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge 04-17 Denton, TX – Hailey's 04-18 Austin, TX – Emo's 04-19 Houston, TX – Mink 04-20 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jacks 04-22 Birmingham, AL – Bottletree 04-23 Atlanta, GA – The Earl 04-25 Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle 04-26 Bloomington, IN – Landlocked Music 04-27 Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle 04-30 Buffalo, NY – Soundlab 05-02 Middletown, CT – Eclectic House 05-04 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY – Bard College 05-05 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge 05-06 Brooklyn, NY – Southpaw 05-09 South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground 05-20 Somerset, England – Butlins Minehead (ATP vs. the Fans)
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