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The MataBlog is edited by Matador Records’ co-moaner Gerard Cosloy and individual entries are the work of whoever’s name is next to them. If you enjoyed something in the MataBlog, thank you very much! If there was something you found particularly troubling, please be advised that a) maybe you should read it again and b) the contents of this blog do not necessarily represent the opinions of Matador Records, Beggars Group, the combined staff of either company, nor the Matador artist roster. Opinions are like friends — hardly anyone has one worth listening to.

Interpol - 'Antics' 20th Anniversary UK Tour



Purchase / Stream 'Antics'

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of 'Antics', Interpol have announced several new headlining dates in the United Kingdom set for November 2024, playing the album in full. General on-sale begins next Friday, March 22nd with pre-sale beginning via the band's mailing list next Wednesday at 9am GMT.

Interpol on Tour, 'Antics' Anniversary Dates in Bold

TICKETS

May 2, 2024 Atlanta, GA, US The Masquerade - Heaven
May 5, 2024 Houston, TX, US Revention Music Center
May 6, 2024 San Antonio, TX, US Boeing Center at Tech Port
May 7, 2024 El Paso, TX, US El Paso County Coliseum
May 8, 2024 Mesa, AZ, US Mesa Amphitheatre
May 10, 2024 Las Vegas, NV, US The Theater, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
May 11, 2024 Pasadena, CA, US Brookside at the Rose Bowl
May 26, 2024 Cali, Colombia Orquideorama
May 28, 2024 Lima, Peru Costa 21
May 31, 2024 Santiago, Chile Teatro Caupolicán
Jun 2, 2024 Buenos Aires, Argentina Luna Park
Jun 5, 2024 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Vivo Rio
Jun 7, 2024 São Paulo, Brazil Audio Clube
Jun 19, 2024 Mönchengladbach, Germany SparkassenPark
Jun 21, 2024 Hannover, Germany ZAG Arena
Jun 22, 2024 Berlin, Germany Kindl-Bühne Wuhlheide
Jun 24, 2024 Vienna, Austria Stadthalle Wien
Jun 25, 2024 Gardone Riviera, Italy Anfiteatro del Vittoriale
Jun 28, 2024 Antwerp, Belgium Middenvijver Linkeroever
Jun 29, 2024 Rotterdam, Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy
Friday, November 1 The Halls, Wolverhampton UK
Saturday, November 2 O2 Apollo, Manchester UK
Monday, November 4 Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow UK
Tuesday, November 5 O2 City Hall, Newcastle UK
Thursday, November 7 Beacon, Bristol UK
Friday, November 8 Alexandra Palace, London UK

Interpol Online
Official Site
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Twitter
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YouTube Channel

Coming July 12 : Pavement - 'Cautionary Tales: Jukebox Classiques'





 



 

photo by Kevin Westenberg

preorder 'Cautionary Tales ; Jukebox Classiques'

'Cautionary Tales: Jukebox Classiques' is a limited-edition box set featuring Pavement’s complete catalog of 7” singles released 1989-1999. It will include 18 records total, covering music originally released on Treble Kicker, Drag City, Matador, Big Cat, and Domino. All faithfully reproduced with original artwork, plus a 24-page threaded saddle-stitched booklet and full discographical history.

'Cautionary Tales' is available exclusively through mail order and will be strictly limited to pre-orders only. The box is available to pre-order now with the window closing for good on April 22. Delivery is expected by July 12.

If that seems like a long wait, the complete collection has been made available today on streaming services. It offers a comprehensive overview of the Pavement’s career,representing every hit, non-hit, b-side, and R.E.M. tribute ­– at least, all the ones that anybody bothered to press to a 7” single.

(bundle : 'Cautionary Tales' + 'Terror Twilight' box)



 



 



 

'Cautionary Tales: Jukebox Classiques' Track List

  1. Slay Tracks  1933-1969 (Self-released on Treble Kicker 1989 Tk001)
    A1. You’re Killing Me
    A2. Box Elder
    A3. Maybe Maybe
    B1. She Believes (edit)
    B2. Price Yeah!2. Demolition Plot J-7 (Released on Drag City June 1990 DC 2)
    A1. Fork Lift
    A2. Spizzle Trunk
    A3. Recorder Grot
    B1. Internal K-Dart
    B2. Perfect Depth
    B3. Recorder Grot (Rally)3. Summer Babe (Released on Drag City 1991 DC 9)
    A1. Summer Babe
    B1. Mercy Snack
    B2. Baptiss Blacktick4. Trigger Cut (Released on Matador August 1992 OLE-042-7)
    A1. Trigger Cut
    B1. Sue Me Jack
    B2. So Stark (You’re A Skyscraper)

    5. Cut Your Hair (Released on Matador January 1994 OLE-082-7)
    A1. Cut Your Hair
    B1. Camera
    B2. Stare

    6. Gold Soundz (Released on Matador June 1994 OLE-101-7)
    A1. Gold Soundz


A2. Kneeling Bus
B1. Strings Of Nashville
B2. Exit Theory

7. Range Life (Released on Big Cat January 1994 ABB 77S)
A1. Range Life
B1. Raft
B2. Coolin’ By Sound

8. Rattled By The Rush (Released on Matador March 1995 OLE-134-7)
A1. Rattled By La Rush
B1. False Skorpion
B2. Easily Fooled

9. Father To a Sister of Thought (Released on Matador June 1995 OLE-169-7)
A1. Father To A Sister of Thought
B1. Kriss Kraft
B2. Mussle Rock (Is A Horse In Transiton)

10. Pacific Trim (Released on Matador February 1996 OLE-188-7)
A1. Give It A Day
A2. Gangsters & Pranksters
B1. Saganaw
B2. I Love Perth

11. Stereo (Released by Domino January 1997 RUG 51)
A1. Stereo
B1. Birds In The Majic Industry*
* Full version, Original B-side was edited instrumental

12. Shady Lane (Released by Domino 1997 RUG 53)
A1. Shady Lane (Krossfader)
B1. Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence

13. Spit On A Stranger (Released by Matador 1999 OLE-384-7)
A1. Spit On A Stranger
B1. Harness Your Hopes (Live in Brixton)*
* New B side. Original B Side was “And Then” also featured on the European Carrot Rope 7”

14. Carrot Rope (Released by Domino May 1999 RUG 90
A1. Carrot Rope
B1. And Then

15. Major Leagues (Released by Domino October 1999 RUG 96)
A1. Major Leagues
B1. Your Time To Change
B2. Stub Your Toe
C1. Major Leagues (Demo)
C2. Decouvert De Soleil
D1. The Killing Moon
D2. The Classical

16. Haunt You Down (Released by Matador February 1994 OLE-087-7)
A1. Haunt You Down
B1. Jam Kids

17. Black Out (Released by Matador November 2006 OLE-749-7)
A1.Black Out
B1. Extradition

 



 



 

Pavement on tour :

Monday, May 13 Teatro Coliseo, Santiago CL
Wednesday, May 15 C Compejo Art Media, Buenos Aires AR
Friday, May 17 La Trastienda Montevideo, Montevideo UY
May 18 – 19 C6 Fest 2024, São Paolo BR

Pavement Online
Pavement – official site
Pavement at Bandcamp
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

 

Out Today : Kim Gordon - 'The Collective'



(stream/purchase 'The Collective')



photo by Danielle Neu

'The Collective', the highly acclaimed second solo album from Kim Gordon is available today (Friday March 8) at finer record shops and via streaming services worldwide.

‘The Collective’ Tracklist
01. BYE BYE
02. The Candy House
03. I Don’t Miss My Mind
04. I’m a Man
05. Trophies
06. It’s Dark Inside
07. Psychedelic Orgasm
08. Tree House
09. Shelf Warmer
10. The Believers
11. Dream Dollar



 



Kim Gordon on Tour (new dates in bold)
(Tickets)

Thursday, March 21 Higher Ground, Burlington VT
Friday, March 22 Black Cat, Washington DC
Saturday, March 23 Knockdown Center, Queens NY ( with Kelsey Lu, L'Rain, Bill Nace + Circuit des Yeux, Full Size, Matt Krefting)
Wednesday, March 27 Regent Theater, Los Angeles CA
Friday, March 29 Ventura Music Hall, Ventura CA
Saturday, March 30 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Friday, June 7 Fine Line, Minneapolis MN
Saturday, June 8 Beyond the Gate @ Bohemian National Cemetery, Chicago IL
Sunday, June 9 El Club, Detroit MI
Monday, June 10 Axis Club, Toronto ON
Wednesday, June 12 Basilica Hudson, Hudson NY
Friday, June 14 Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
Saturday, June 15 Mr. Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh PA
Monday, June 17 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville KY
Tuesday, June 18 The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC
Wednesday, June 19 Terminal West, Atlanta GA
Friday, June 21 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro NC
Saturday, June 22 Out and About Festival, Vienna VA
Tuesday, June 25 Koko, London UK
Wednesday, June 26 O2 Institute2 Birmingham, Birmingham UK
Friday, June 28 Elevate Festival, Graz AZ
Monday, July 1 Muffatwerk, Munich DE
Tuesday, July 2 Meet Factory, Prague CZ
Wednesday, July 3 Open’er Festival, Gydnia PL
Friday, July 5 Roskilde Festival, Roskilde DK
Sunday, July 28 Fuji Rock Festival, Naeba JP

Kim Gordon Online
Official Website
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook

Kim Gordon - "Psychedelic Orgasm"



"Psychedelic Orgasm"
directed by Kim Gordon and Vice Cooler

(stream / download "Psychedelic Orgasm")

(presave/preorder 'The Collective')

Kim Gordon will release her highly anticipated second solo album, 'The Collective', this Friday, March 8.. Today, she offers one more early taste of the album with “Psychedelic Orgasm.”

A video for the track is also out today, directed by Kim Gordon and musician/filmmaker/producer Vice Cooler. With its quick cuts and upside down tableaus of desiccated pumpkins, giant inflatables and shopping mall escalators, the Los Angeles-set clip is as disorienting as “Psychedelic Orgasm” itself.





(photo by Danielle Neu)

‘The Collective’ Tracklist
01. BYE BYE
02. The Candy House
03. I Don’t Miss My Mind
04. I’m a Man
05. Trophies
06. It’s Dark Inside
07. Psychedelic Orgasm
08. Tree House
09. Shelf Warmer
10. The Believers
11. Dream Dollar



Kim Gordon on Tour (new dates in bold)
(Tickets)

Thursday, March 21 Higher Ground, Burlington VT
Friday, March 22 Black Cat, Washington DC
Saturday, March 23 Knockdown Center, Queens NY ( with Kelsey Lu, L'Rain, Bill Nace + Circuit des Yeux, Full Size, Matt Krefting)
Wednesday, March 27 Regent Theater, Los Angeles CA
Friday, March 29 Ventura Music Hall, Ventura CA
Saturday, March 30 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Friday, June 7 Fine Line, Minneapolis MN
Saturday, June 8 Beyond the Gate @ Bohemian National Cemetery, Chicago IL
Sunday, June 9 El Club, Detroit MI
Monday, June 10 Axis Club, Toronto ON
Wednesday, June 12 Basilica Hudson, Hudson NY
Friday, June 14 Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
Saturday, June 15 Mr. Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh PA
Monday, June 17 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville KY
Tuesday, June 18 The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC
Wednesday, June 19 Terminal West, Atlanta GA
Friday, June 21 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro NC
Saturday, June 22 Out and About Festival, Vienna VA
Tuesday, June 25 Koko, London UK
Wednesday, June 26 O2 Institute2 Birmingham, Birmingham UK
Friday, June 28 Elevate Festival, Graz AZ
Monday, July 1 Muffatwerk, Munich DE
Tuesday, July 2 Meet Factory, Prague CZ
Wednesday, July 3 Open’er Festival, Gydnia PL
Friday, July 5 Roskilde Festival, Roskilde DK
Sunday, July 28 Fuji Rock Festival, Naeba JP

Kim Gordon Online
Official Website
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook

Coming May 3rd: Mdou Moctar - 'Funeral for Justice'





(photo: Ebru Yildiz)

Pre-order 'Funeral For Justice' / Stream "Funeral for Justice"

Out May 3, ‘Funeral for Justice’ is the new album by Mdou Moctar. Recorded at the close of two years spent touring the globe following the release of 2021 breakout ‘Afrique Victime,’ it captures the Nigerien quartet in ferocious form. The music is louder, faster, and more wild. The guitar solos are feedback-scorched and the lyrics are passionately political. Nothing is held back or toned down. Watch a video for the album’s blistering title track HERE. The quartet will perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April and will embark on a headline tour in June with dates in the US, UK, and EU. Find a complete itinerary below.

Damon Locks (Black Monument Ensemble) on ‘Funeral for Justice’:
There is a beauty in listening to music made in the spirit of energetic transformation. When the sounds transform the air and the listener. This record transports the listener into the heart of the music of Mdou Moctar. The blending of intention and motivation creates a burst of sound that embraces and shakes and invites one to dance! It invites one to breathe. It invites one to be in solidarity with the music. It invites one to be in touch with the human condition. What does it mean to be free in these times? Can the world be liberated from the colonial mindstate that has caused such harm and mistrust? Can we mourn our losses yet build anew to form something more astounding, more fantastic? ‘Funeral for Justice’ says we can.

A sound that carries weight makes an impact. A sound that carries time transcends time. We are not only listening to music but we are living through it. We are living with it. We are living in it. The artist sees history and makes poetry from it for the present. Mdou Moctar’s ‘Funeral for Justice’ requests your presence. Show up open to the celebration of life, loved as it should be loved. Experience the exaltation and exuberance. The words speak of ascension, awareness, sorrow, apathy, knowing, and growth. The guitars speak of power, energy, jubilation, transcendency, immediacy, and tradition. The drums and percussion mark the pulse of now as well as a timeless dance that involves us all, as it did those that came before us. The wires that carry the message feel alive with fire and purpose, explosive with possibility. This “funeral” is an acknowledgment. This “funeral” is abundant. This “funeral” overflows into the street filled with dance. This “funeral” stretches late into the night, kicking up the dirt, with the hum of a generator, an ever present member of the rhythm section. This “funeral” is a clarion call for reason and a belief that change is possible.

So join Mdou Moctar in this funeral for justice, knowing rebirth is possible. A new justice is possible. With your voice, your heart, your dance, your stomp, a new justice is born. Mdou Moctar welcomes you with joy and open arms. Be here. Feel here and do, alongside this music. Don’t stand alone, join with others and do. Fight for liberation. Stand against oppression, alongside this music and do!



The songs on ‘Funeral for Justice’ speak unflinchingly to the plight of Niger and of the Tuareg people. "This album is really different for me," explains Moctar, the band’s singer, namesake, and indisputably iconic guitarist. "Now the problems of terrorist violence are more serious in Africa. When the US and Europe came here, they said they're going to help us, but what we see is really different. They never help us to find a solution."

"Mdou Moctar has been a strong anti-colonial band ever since I've been a part of it," says producer and bassist Mikey Coltun, who has been playing with Moctar since 2017. "France came in, fucked up the country, then said ‘you’re free.’ And they’re not." The song ‘Oh France’ tackles this head on: “France veils its actions in cruelty/ We are better without this turbulent relationship/ We must understand their endless lethal games.”

On the lead single and title track, Moctar addresses African leaders directly, bidding them: "Retake control of your countries, rich in resources / Build them and quit sleeping”. The song ‘Sousoume Tamacheq’ deals with the plight of the Tuareg people to which the band belong, and who are mainly spread across three countries: Niger, Mali and Algeria. "Oppressed in all three/In addition to lack of unity, ignorance is the third issue." Another song, ‘Imouhar’, calls on the Tuareg to preserve their Tamasheq language - it's at risk of dying out, and Mdou is one of the few in his community who knows how to write it. "People here are just using French," laments Mdou. "They're starting to forget their own language. We feel like in a hundred years no one will speak good Tamasheq, and that's so scary for us."



Blood Red LP available on the Matador / Mdou stores and at independent record stores outside of the USA



T-shirt available exclusively on the Matador store, available to purchase separately and to bundle with the LP / CD





Picture disc available exclusively at the Mdou / Matador stores









Standard black vinyl and CD available at Matador / Mdou stores and at retailers everywhere

Mdou Moctar in its current iteration is first and foremost a band. Alongside Moctar, it consists of rhythm guitarist Ahmoudou Madassane, drummer Souleymane Ibrahim, and American bassist and producer Mikey Coltun.

The band got their start performing at traditional weddings. These are high energy events – amps are dialed up to 11 and the whole town is invited to attend. "I grew up in the DC punk scene and this is no different," explains Coltun. "It’s a DIY punk show: people bring generators, they crank their amps. Things are broken, but they make it work."

Conveying that energy and feeling of community to a new audience has been an important goal for the band. Their first concerts in the US were sometimes, mistakenly, organized to be tame seated affairs. That’s no longer the case. Over 100s of shows, they’ve proven themselves as one of the world’s most vital rock bands – a group rooted in Tuareg tradition, but undeniably its own singular organism. An Mdou Moctar concert is now recognized to be a place for dancing, if not full-force moshing.

"‘Ilanawas the gateway album, saying that this is a raw rock band. And ‘Afrique Victime’ was a summation of that vision,” says Coltun, who recorded the entire record over five days in a mostly unfurnished house in upstate New York. “With ‘Funeral for Justice’, I really wanted this to shine with the political message because of everything that's going on. As the band got tighter and heavier live, it made sense to capture this urgency and this aggression – it wasn't a forced thing, it was very natural.”

In July 2023 – after ‘Funeral for Justice’ had been completed – Niger’s democratically elected government was deposed in a military coup. The president was placed under house arrest and the nation plunged into a state of chaos and uncertainty. The French have withdrawn. The area continues to be threatened by terrorism. The band – then on tour in the US – was, for a time, unable to return to their families.

"I don't support the coup," explains Mdou, "but I never in my life liked France in my country. I don't hate France or French people, I don't hate American people either, but I don't support their manipulative policies, what they do in Africa. In 2023 we want to be free, we need to smile, you understand?"

'Funeral for Justice' Track List
1. Funeral For Justice
2. Imouhar
3. Takoba
4. Sousoume
5. Imagerhan
6. Tchinta
7. Djallo #1
8. Oh France
9. Modern Slaves





Mdou Moctar on Tour, Dates in Bold On Sale Friday

TICKETS

Sunday, April 14 Coachella, Indio CA
Sunday, April 21 Coachella, Indio CA
Wednesday, June 5 Anchor Rock Club, Atlantic City NJ
Thursday, June 6 The Abbey Bar at ABC, Harrisburg PA
Friday, June 7 Friday Cheers Brown's Island
Saturday, June 8 Haw River Ballroom, Saxapahaw NC
Sunday, June 9 The Orange Peel, Asheville NC
Tuesday, June 11 Pour House, Charleston SC
Wednesday, June 12 Saturn, Birmingham AL
Thursday, June 13 Terminal West, Atlanta GA
Friday, June 14 Bonnaroo, Manchester TN
Saturday, June 15 The Hi-Fi, Indianapolis IN
Tuesday, June 18 Thalia Hall, Chicago IL
Wednesday, June 19 Magic Bag, Detroit MI
Thursday, June 20 Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland OH
Friday, June 21 Asbury Hall, Buffalo NY
Saturday, June 22 Green River Music Festival, Greenfield MA
Sunday, June 23 Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA
Wednesday, June 26 Warsaw, Brooklyn NY
Thursday, June 27 9:30 Club, Washington DC
Friday, June 28 Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
Wednesday, July 3 Electric Brixton, London UK
Sunday, July 7 Down The Rabbit Hole, Beuningen NL
Monday, August 19 Festaal Kreuzberg, Berlin DE
Tuesday, August 20 UT Kreuzberg, Leipzig DE
Wednesday, August 21 Ampere, Munich DE
Thursday, August 22 Magnolia Summerstage, Milan IT
Sunday, August 25 Petit Bain, Paris FR
Monday, August 26 OLT Revierenhof, Antwerp BE
Tuesday, August 27 Paradiso, Amsterdam NL
Friday, August 30 End of the Road Festival, Dorset UK
Saturday, August 31 Manchester Psych Fest, Manchester UK
Sunday, September 1 Moseley Folk Festival, Birmingham UK
Monday, September 2 Saint Luke's, Glasgow UK
Tuesday, September 3 Boiler Shop, Newcastle UK
Wednesday, September 4 The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds UK

Mdou Moctar Online
Official site
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
TikTok

Fucked Up - '44th & Vanderbilt' EP




(photo by David Waldman)

(stream / download '44th & Vanderbilt' EP)
(stream/purchase 'The Chemistry Of Common Life')







Last fall, we celebrated the 15th anniversary of Fucked Up’s ‘The Chemistry of Common Life’ – an era-defining punk LP that also just so happened to be the Canadian band’s Matador Records debut. This Friday, our long-in-the-works orange vinyl 2xLP reissue will finally arrive on shelves.





Today, you can listen to a brand new digital EP, ‘44th & Vanderbilt,’ which compiles three ‘ChemCom’-era session performances with No Age’s excellent remix of “No Epiphany".

We’ve also posted a new episode of the Matador Revisionist History podcast, which finds Mike Haliechuk and Jonah Falco in conversation with former Matador fixture (and current World of Echo proprietor), Natalie Judge. They discuss making the record, recording nine months of overdubs, quitting their day jobs, and asking Michael Stipe to jump on the mic for a Feelies cover at the close of their 12-hour long record release show (spoiler: he passed).






Today, 'The Chemistry of Common Life' remains as conceptually ambitious as it is musically adventurous, pushing through and far beyond the accepted boundaries of punk and hardcore. At the time, we called it “an expansive epic about the mysteries of birth, death, and the origins of life (and re-living). Merging elements of hardcore songwriting with up to 70 tracks of guitars, organs, winds and vocals the music remains iconoclastic and startling.”



Fucked Up Online
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Fucked Up website

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