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.
King Krule's postponed North American and EU dates in support of the newly released Man Alive! have been rescheduled for September, October and December 2020. Tickets purchased for the shows' original dates will be honored. More info can be found at respective venues, linked below.
This morning, Perfume Genius releases a new single, “On The Floor" from the forthcoming new album 'Set My Heart On Fire Immediately' (May 15). “On the Floor” is a celebratory pop song that plays with the album’s themes of love, sex, memory and the body, channeling popular music mythologies while irreverently authoring its own. As with the last single “Describe,” Mike Hadreas directed the video for “On The Floor” and notes, “A crush can really live on its own, separate from you and the person you are pining for. The fantasy feels like its own world, obsession can turn the person you are longing for in to a monument that has less and less to do with them and more to do with the idea of love itself and what it can do, what it can soothe or quiet or light on fire. I wanted to show that maddening, solitary part of desire but keep the core which is a real warmth and belief that you have something crucial to share with each other."
A day prior to the start of their North American tour in support of 'There Is No Year', Algiers have released a live video of their cover of Outkast's "Liberation" (above). Though the recent cancelation of SXSW has seen official events wiped from the band's scheduled, Algiers will be hitting Austin in two weeks' time (see below) with an additional show likely to be added.
Wednesday, March 11 Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia PA Thursday, March 12 Black Cat, Washington DC Friday, March 13 Mothlight, Asheville NC Saturday, March 14 529, Atlanta GA Tuesday, March 17, Cheer Up Charlies, Austin TX (1pm) Tuesday, March 17, End Of An Ear, Austin TX (4pm) Thursday, March 19, Hotel Vegas, Austin TX (2:45pm) Friday, March 20 Club Congress, Tucson AZ Saturday, March 21 Casbah, San Diego CA Tuesday, March 24 The Echo, Los Angeles CA Wednesday, March 25 Slim’s, San Francisco CA Saturday, March 28 Polaris Hall, Portland OR Sunday, March 29 The Crocodile, Seattle WA Wednesday, April 1 Turf Club, St. Paul MN Thursday, April 2 Cactus Club, Milwaukee WI Friday, April 3 Empty Bottle, Chicago IL Saturday, April 4 Rumba Club, Columbus OH Sunday, April 5 Deluxx Fluxx, Detroit MI Monday, April 6 The Baby G, Toronto ON Tuesday, April 7 Bar Le Ritz, Montreal QC Thursday, April 9 Saint Vitus, Brooklyn NY (SOLD OUT) Friday, April 10 Saint Vitus, Brooklyn NY Tuesday, April 21 Knust, Hamburg DE Friday, April 24 Nalen Klubb, Stockholm SE Saturday, April 25 Mejeriet, Lund SE Monday, April 27 Lido, Berlin DE Wednesday, April 29 Morze, St. Petersberg RU Thursday, April 30 Aglomerat, Moscow RU Sunday, May 3rd ISC, Bern CH Monday, May 4th Bogen F, Zurich CH
This weekend Kim Gordon laid down a firm indication of what's in store for the upcoming EU & North American tour dates with a blistering set streamed live from BBC 6 Music Festival in Camden, UK.
Taking to the stage on Sunday evening, Kim and her band tore through a set list defined by the uprorious 'Air BnB', 'Hungry Baby' and 'Murdered Out'. See below for a clip of 'Air BnB':
'Traditional Techniques', the new album from Stephen Malkmus is available from all streaming services and traditional (sorry) retail outlets. Barring any advice from the CDC, Stephen, Chris Funk and Matt Sweeney will kick off North American touring March 31 at Minneapolis' First Avenue.
Stephen Malkmus releases a new single/video, “Shadowbanned,” from his new album, 'Traditional Techniques', coming March 6th. Following the first single “Xian Man,” “Shadowbanned” bursts with flute-laced swagger and Malkmus, as attuned as ever to the rhythms of the ever-evolving lingual slipstream sings of “Amazon wheatfields and rivers of Red Bull//drip gush drip//data driven skip//to the part where the left bros parody TED talks.” The video, directed by Jan Lankisch, features friends and fans of Malkmus, included but not limited to Kim Gordon, Kurt Vile, Conor Oberst, Mac DeMarco, Matt Korvete, Mary Lattimore, Sharon Van Etten, Jason Schwartzman and Jake Morris performing “Shadowbanned as a cartoon version of Malkmus . Said footage is interwoven with clips from older videos by Malkmus and Pavement in which the singer has been blurred, pixelated algorithmically replaced in order to render him invisible.
"The video was inspired by reading about female singers and musicians who were photoshopped from their album covers by an Iranian music streaming site,” says Lankisch who realized "Shadowbanned“with the help of Janosch Pugnaghi, Gesa Gadow, Lina Sieckmann and Miri Gossing The video represents two polar opposites: the involuntary erasure of a person in visual imagery and one's desire to perform as a persona, thereby leaving the constraints of one's everyday identity behind. "Identity is a matter of design. People like to play with characters and pretend to be someone else.” For this reason, Lankisch and Pugnaghi developed a filter for Instagram called "Being Stephen Malkmus,” which operates via face detection. The face of the user is overlaid with a stylized version of Malkmus’ face. The “Being Stephen Malkmus” Instagram filter is available today.
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.
