She was the  “Snake” for Acid Washed, covered the Talking Heads with Kid606 and sang on tracks by Sneaky, Jahcoozi, the Rhythm Monks and T.Raumschmiere. Now Barbara Panther, a Berliner of choice, is taking her first proper solo step into the limelight, presenting her debut EP Empire on German super label City Slang. And no less than British sound magician Matthew Herbert took over the producing part to create flickering shapes of Klang with Panther, who already had a first, but apparently unsuccessful try-out with Moses Schneider (Beatsteaks, Tocotronic) last year.

Now, on Empire music, vocals and setting at first appear randomly constituted, before revealing themselves as conflicting with both, each other and their inner, when put under a closer, holistic view. There a beat bluntly drones, before getting distorted, metallically interlaced and, finally, thrown out of step within a clanking, buzzing, throbbing battle. In the meantime the singer enjoys her play with the words: instead of wah-wah-guitars Panther onomatopoeically sings, “I don’t care if that makes me a wa-wa-wa-witch!” Her voice tumbles, Herbert runs a riot on the volume control.

But here and there is always an almost disconcerting moment of warmness and lights in this wildly rooted mahogany undergrowth. Once as unwieldy perceived choruses suddenly becomes danceable.

Thereby the EP in even two respects turns into a (downright enjoyable) antithesis to the currently dominating ideal of modern pop, the (wo)man-machine.* Musically, in the above mentioned deconstruction of the technique, and lyrically, when Panther demands the return of nature’s reign in the title track or when she stylises Dr Frankenstein as the waker of the “evil in me” in the follow-up “Voodoo”. Thus an associational circle is closed, leading to Björk or Karin Dreijer-Andersson, of whom the Rwandan born artists’ inevitably multi-faceted voice reminds. It’s a hoarse child and a powerful in one, quite contrary to one’s expectations as Panther herself suggests in the press text, “I may also create a futuristic and mystic feeling because I’m black and the music doesn’t sound black at all.”

Well, surely there has been more than one other black non-soul-or-R’n'B artists in pop history, but indirectly this observation is underlined by the media and her own label’s inability to put her unconventional live performances into other words than the repetitive comparison to Grace Jones. Anyway, Barbara Panther and her band’s new set-up can be seen live this Friday at the highly recommendable Berlin Festival and throughout the whole November and early December as support act of Caribou.

As first preview for this can already be watched in Woof-Wan-Bau-directed video to “Empire”. The beginning of 2011 shall then see the release 13-song-strong debut album taking place. So the “Last Dance”, for which Panther and Herbert ask us to at the Empire‘s end, apparently won’t be the last.

Empire will be released digitally on September 10 via City Slang.

Barbara Panther Empire EP track list:

01 Empire

02 Voodoo

03 Deeper Purple
04 A Last Dance

Barbara Panther live:
10.09. Berlin Festival – Flughafen Tempelhof, Berlin
14.10. Club Gargar-in, Moscow (Russia)
08.11. Feierwerk, Munich
14.11. Central Theater, Leipzig
15.11. Uebel & Gefährlich, Hamburg
16.11. Enjoy Jazz Festival, Heidelberg
29.11. Gloria, Cologne
04.12. Fluc, Vienna (Austria)
05.12. Mounsonturm, Frankfurt a.M.

*See Wibke Wetzker’s essay “Menschmaschinnen” (German only) in the Spex #328 for a proper introduction.

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1. Alec Empire: New German dates & EP

Wow, that was one long flyer … but we are glad that you’ve made all the way up to here, so we can tell you, that Hugo Capablanca and his Bananamania label in cooperation with Berlin-Mitte club Picknick managed to bring Baris K, the king of Bosporus disco, over to Berlin for the very first time on Saturday, September 4. Following his early 2010 mixtape on the label’s blog and his own Eurasia mixes, the resident of the came-to-life merge of Orient and Occident that is the Turkish capital Istanbul now aims to introduce various rarities of the Anatolian music scene, which has been almost autarkic of the Western pop world until the late 1980ies, to the German crowd.

Vigorous DJ and live support comes from Hugo Capablanca himself, old friend and collaborator T. Keeler, Australia’s very own Mc Gaff E, the Berliners Okay&Okay and Joey Hansom, and finally, Hugo’s side project and tonight’s special guests, Los Massieras.. So music lovers bored by the everyday club routine shouldn’t miss this special night.

ince belli edit by baris k

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1. Simian Mobile Disco “Cruel Intentions”

Already five years ago Berlin DJ and producer Daniel Haaksman (photo above) compiled 14 obscure musical rarities on Não Wave – Brazilian Post Punk 1982 – 1988, establishing his new record label Man Recordings. With follow-up works by KU BO and Edu K, whose Frenétiko was the first ever baile funk full-length released outside Brazil anno 2006, along with the exquisite Baile Funk Masters producer series Haaksman turned into Europe most important pioneer paving the way for the also Rio funk tagged music style onto the old continent, while over in the US the by now well-known and world famous DJ Diplo and his Mad Decent began supporting the yet unknown Brazilian combo Bonde do Rolê, before they (and Cansei de ser Sexy) transformed into internationally celebrated club acts. The ground for a new and club compatible, non-esoteric world music was broken, with other styles like the Angolan-Portuguese Kuduro following.

Now, exactly 51 MR releases by the very same Diplo, Jesse Rose, Sinden, DJ Edgar, Joyce Muniz, MC Gringo, or Crookers later, paths are crossing again: Today, on Friday September 3, Man Recordings is hosting a big party called Valeu! with various guests at Berlin’s Brunnen 70 (details at the end) and the release of another compilation of the same title.

Besides Marina Vello aka Marina Gasolina, who already appeared on Edu K’s MR single Me Bota Pra Dançar back in 2008, and DJ Chernobyl (that makes two thirds out of the by now split original Bonde do Rolê line-up, the Zombie Disco Squad and Daniel Haaksman himself will take care of your hips and ears. Meanwhile Munich’s sound-Verweißwurster of Schlachthofbronx will take over the headliner part after recently becoming two of the scene’s biggest global players with their Klezmer-Afro-Latin-Bavarian inspired beats and mixes – most recent proof: their banging Ayoba EP on Man Recordings.

If you now want to join the list of congratulating party people we have 2×2 guest list invites for you if you leave a comment either under this article or on our  Facebook page until 4 pm. Fate will pick our two lucky winners then.

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1. 20 Years of City Slang : 3 Big Nights
2. Barcadi Island (ab 3.9.) – 05.09.09 – Berlin

Breathless: New York’s Phenomenal Handclap Band not only knows a thing or two when it comes to writing admirably graceful pop tunes, but, too, about redounding their German label Gomma to high disco honours. Listen to the 67-minute-long proof below and download it for free over at Gomma’s online HQ here.

The Phenomenal Handclap Band “Heavy Breathing Mix“

01 Chateau Flight “Baltringue”
02 Magazine 60 “Don Quichotte”
03 Los Massieras “Boogity”
04 Bing Ji Ling “Home (Phenomenal Handclap Band Remix)”
05 Mr Flagio “Take a Chance”
06 Yello “Bostich”
07 Vivian Vee “Alright”
08 Neil Young “Mr. Soul”
09 Queen “Dragon Attack”
10 Undisputed Truth “Showtime”
11 Social Disco Club “That Thing”
12 Wet Willie “Everything That ‘Cha Do Will Come Back To You (Snack and C’Mish Edit)”
13 Derrick Harriott “Black Skinned Blue Eyed Boys”

PHOTO: Meaghan Montagano

More:

1. Phenomenal Handclap Band “Baby”
2. We present: Awesome /w We Have Band
3. Lovvers: your favourite band on tour?
4. Live: Gomma Super Show (Berlin)
5. Diplo: fuzz-guitars instead of beats

The already here previewed Peter-Gabriel cover of “Mercey Side” by Fever Ray will be released together with the album track “Dry and Dusty” and the above artwork by Andreas and Mattias Nilsson (the first directed the videos to “Stranger Than Kindness“, “This Must Be It” and “Heartbeats” among others) on September 6 digitally and as 7″ via Rabid Records – already pre-orderable at the Fever Ray or Rabid store.

Fever Ray “Mercy Street“

Fever Ray”Dry And Dusty“

Fever Ray live:
05.09. Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Ireland
06.09. O2 ABC, Glasgow, UK
08.09. Brixton Academy, London, UK
09.09. Olympia, Paris, France
10.09. Berlin Festival, Berlin, Germany
12.09. Bestival, Isle of White, UK

More:

1. Fever Ray x Soars
2. Fever Ray: With zeal towards the end
3. Fever Ray tells good-bye on stage
4. Fever Ray’s final concert
5. Fever Ray on dreams, fans & kids

Once upon a time, the sun was shining over California (as usual), when a little, green alien made its way down to the Earth. Here the cosmic traveller was welcomed by three dudes named Wavves, who dressed it up as a Ninja Turtle (lookalike) and took it out for party in exchange of its skating skills and some booze. Oh that was a magic day!

Download “Post Acid” for free from the Green Label Sound here. Wavves’ current album King of the Beach can be found in the Bella Union section of your local record store.

More:

1. Wavves are back. In Berlin & London.
2. Review: Wavves “Wavvves”
3. Acid Washed back in Berlin again
4. Acid Washed “General Motors…”
5. HBC im Exil /w Acid Washed – 11.12.09 – Berlin

Hi there! We just talked to the man above, Vito De Luca of the fantastic disco-club act and now-one-man-show Aeroplane. Once, we got him on phone at his Belgian home, where he’s currently putting up a proper analog studio with loads of gimmicks, we of course talked a bit about Aeroplane’s debut album We Can’t Fly, which is to be out on Eskimo Recordings on September 27.

So we for instance found out, that while he’s never met Sky Feerreira, the young, promising voice on the English cover “Without Lies” of Marie Gillain’s “Sans Mensonge“, there are already plans to work together with legendary Rolling-Stones-collaborator Merry Clayton (“Gimme Shelter“) again in the nearer future. In the meantime he’s taking care of his big adapter collection, an outcome of his immense and chaotic travels, or watches vampire TV series True Blood, whose title track “Bad Things” indeed sounds a bit like the album’s “Good Riddance”.

Look out for a lot more, when the interview is online with all the essentials, and do spend the time until them listening to the still brand new August 2010 Mix by Aeroplane, which is “more driven and housier” when compared to the new mix of the Magician aka ex-Aeroplane team mate Stephen Fasano – according to Vito. And yes, their split did not lead to some bad blood. Everyone’s is already moving on.

Aeroplane “August 2010 Mix“

The Magician “Magic Tape Two“

Aeroplane We Can’t Fly track list:
01 Mountains of Moscow

02 We Can’t Fly

03 Superstar
04 London Bridge
05 I Don’t Feel
06 Without Lies
07 The Point Of No Return
08 Good Riddance
09 Caramellas
10 Fish In The Sky
11 My Enemy
12 We Fall Over

Aeroplane live:
27.08. Razzmatazz, Barcelona, Spain
29.08. Habit, Newcastle, UK
03.09. Pete Tong Presents Wonderland, Ibiza, Spain
04.09. Valtifest, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
10.09. Numusic Festival, Stavenger, Norway
12.09. Bestival, Isle of Wight, UK
25.09. Marsatac Festival, Marseille, France
01.10. Pacha, Ibiza, Spain

Sorry, that's it. :(

When we saw Mount Kimbie live for the first time, earlier this year at Berlin’s ctm.10, we did have a bit of-a hard time accessing their show in the beginning, unable to find the right link between the huge advance praise and the intimate, modest set they put on. A summer full of more live dates – with appearances at Fabric and Berghain among them – and one, eleven-song-strong album of rare beauty later, all doubts blown in the wind.

So if the London-Brighton duo now has the chance to present Crooks & Lovers (released by Scuba‘s Hotflush Recordings) to a hype-affine German crowd as The XX‘ support act, before playing Offset Festival in September and a another proper UK tour in October, that’s truly great news. Since no one should miss this diffuse, but harmonious and hence even greater interaction between mainly dubstep, ambient beats of all shades and fragmental guitar and voice samples – see all dates at this article’s end.

PREVIOUSLY:

Mount Kimbie “Would Know “ [Video]

Andreya Triana “A Town Called Obsolete (Mount Kimbie Remix)“

Foals “Spanish Sahara (Mount Kimbie remix)“

Mount Kimbie live:
26.08. E-Werk, Cologne, Germany supporting The XX
27.08. Tonhalle, Munich, Germany supporting The XX
28.08. Flussi Festival, Avelino, Italy
05.09. Offset Festival, London, UK
10.09. Bestival, Isle of Wight, UK
17.09. Club Folamour, Paris, France w/ El Guincho
18.09. Numusic, Oslo, Norway
21.09. XOYO, London, UK
05.10. Jam, Brighton, UK
06.10. Hare and Hounds , Birmingham, UK
07.10. Cockpit, Leeds, UK
08.10. Bungalows and Bears, Sheffield, UK
09.10. Stealth, Nottingham, UK
12.10. Róisín Dubh, Galway, Ireland
13.10. Academy 2, Dublin, Ireland
14.10. Band on the Wall, Manchester, UK
16.10. Iceland Airwaves Festival
17.10. Optimo Club, Glasgow, UK
21.10. OKO Club, Prague, Czech Republic
22.10. Elevate Festival, Graz, Austria
23.10. Unsound Festival, Krakow, Poland
27.10. Cardiff Arts Institute, Cardiff, UK
28.10. The Shipping Forecast Club, Liverpool, UK
29.10. Heavyweight, Newcastle, UK
30.10. Mountain of 9 @ Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, UK
04.11. Südpol, Luzern, Switzerland
05.11. Duex, Dudingen, Switzerland
06.11. Palace, St Gallen, Switzerland
20.11. Warehouse Project, Manchester, UK

POLAROID: THOMAS VORREYER (cc by-nc)

	Mount Kimbie
When	Tuesday, September 21, 2010 20:00 - Alle Altersgruppen
Where	XOYO (map) 32-37 Cowper St London, UK EC2A 4AW
Other Info	Mount Kimbie (live) myspace.com/mountkimbie Tickets: £7 from

« Back to the calendar

More:

1. Mount Kimbie “Would Know”
2. We recommend: Wild Nothing
3. We recommend: Hercules & Love Affair
4. We recommend: Offset Festival 2010
5. New live dates: Robyn (we recommend)

Somehow the end came too early for Karin Dreijer-Andersson and her shaman alias Fever Ray (see our interview with her here) last winter and so singer off the Knife-fame decided to add another year to the project’s life circle. But now, September will see six (probably very) last Fever Ray gigs taking place in Berlin, Paris and London, among other cities (please, see the article’s end for all dates). Besides her already well-known, fantastic live show Dreijer-Andersson will bring a new piece live on stage with her interpretation of Peter Gabriel’s “Mercey Street“. And if it couldn’t be other, than like this, she’s of course imbibing the song like a black juggernaut is bearing new life, only that you watch the swallow of the same thing backwards.

A Rabid Records release of the cover will follow.

Fever Ray “Mercy Street“ [Download until August 20, 4 pm London time]

So it’s only too good, that it’s again October 5 marking the debut album release of the next dark beauty to stick with. Not much time to bridge until Soars by the Pennsylvania four-piece of the same name will see the light of day via La Société Expéditionnaire. With one of the LP’s first foretastes “Throw Yourself Apart” Soars are already pulling you under the surface of cold oceans to dive for lost seamen’s souls in the icy sea.

Soars “Throw Yourself Apart“ [Download]

[via yvynyl]

Fever Ray live:
05.09. Electric Picnic, Stradbally, Ireland
06.09. O2 ABC, Glasgow, UK
08.09. Brixton Academy, London, UK
09.09. Olympia, Paris, France
10.09. Berlin Festival, Berlin, Germany
12.09. Bestival, Isle of White, UK

More:

1. Fever Ray: “Mercey Side” out on September 6
2. Fever Ray tells good-bye on stage
3. Fever Ray: With zeal towards the end
4. Fever Ray’s final concert
5. Fever Ray on dreams, fans & kids

After (accidentally) meeting Austria’s aspiring art rock act Ja, Panik (German for: Yes, Panic) and getting signed by the band’s very own, just-founded Berlin label Nein, Gelassenheit (No, Tranquillity), Hans Unstern and his music have attracted the vivid attention of more and more people. His lyrical texts with a  touch of Poetizität (a poetic use of language) deal with escaping, with escapism. But he himself is unsure of whether he would describe himself as an escapist or not. “Maybe as a little one,” Hans Unstern says. And there’s not a lot he’s saying about his lyrics. Overall it takes him a lot of time to think and reflect – and he allows himself plenty of it.

Then again, he looses his conservation’s introversion in the moment of entering the stage. Here he fully devotes himself to his music. Hans Unstern is standing on the stage with his guitar, with his band, but in fact on his own. His long beard, a slight memento of the Robber Hotzenplotz, is covering his face. And beyond that, there’s not much one can learn about the singer of Berlin domicile. At least not through verbal communication. Perhaps, everyone needs to analyse Unstern on his or her own, interpreting, reading the music. Or just listen to it and fall for it.

Hans Unstern “Flecken” / Ja, Panik “Alles hin, hin, hin” (Video)

We are sitting in Cologne’s best, small venue, the Gebäude 9. The club is located beneath some S-Bahn rails not far away from the opulent cathedral. It’s an old, rundown building of various passages and tiny rooms, crooked low-rise ceilings. Despite his interview-crammed schedule, Hans Unstern takes himself some time. Jovially he sips Germany’s anti-cola, a bottle of Afri Cola with cherry flavour, while his eyes are wandering all over the room’s walls. Is he listening to urban life while he’s thinking?

Today, Unstern writes his own songs and creates, not only with his voice but numerous other instruments, real chanson works. Interesting and intensely forceful the lyrics‘ metaphoric hereby is, while the question, whether this figure of speech is a figure of art aesthetically effective art as well, gets merely answered by him, “I just think it sounds good.” His musical concept is nothing to put into words easily for him. “There’s a certain or as well uncertain, vague but important need, to say something or to raise a complaint. And I’ve found the way of music to convey this.”

Hans Unstern “San Simon” (ZEIT Online Rekorder Video)

For Hans Unstern this way was an important and long journey, on which he could take his music. Some of his texts were written on this small trip through Europe, where he sat down with his guitar on various, public places covering old classic tunes. That’s a form of communication, a form of freedom. Just playing on the street and pursuing one’s passion, the music. His steady, for satisfaction looking companion on the road, his wanderlust, can now be found in Unstern’s lyrics. ‘Ich würde mich gerne auch so winden, so finden, so verschwinden,’ (I would like to wind, find, disappear thus.) reads a verse of the song “Endlos Endlos” (Endless endless). To disappear from a world of égalité between economy and love? Yes, “in certain circumstances, at certain times,” Hans Unstern would call himself an escapist, too. “But I hardly concretely refer myself to things.” Well, there’s still nothing reprehensible about that.

Too, to Hans Unstern it’s way more interesting, what over people have to say about his music than him. And even less he enjoys talking about himself and his persona. Sitting over on the couch, he seems like a shy genius surrounded by walls and inconspicuousness.  One likes to find out, what’s going on in his mind and so much more, but this wish gets denied. ‘Du willst die Welt vergessen gehen. Es ist dir egal was sie spielen. Du willst einfach nur spielen.’ (You want to forget the world. You don’t care about what they play. You just want to play.) – “Endlos Endlos”.

Please, see below for Hans Unstern’s upcoming, mainly German tour dates and a stream of the entire album Kratz Dich Raus (Scratch Yourself Up) , which is out via Nein, Gelassenheit / Rough Trade.

Hans Unstern & Band live
24.09. Köln, Gebäude 9
25.09. Hamburg, Reeperbahnfestival
26.09. Potsdam, Waschhaus
02.10. Hannover, Feinkostlampe
05.10. Frankfurt, Mousonturm
06.10. München, Kranhalle
08.10. CH-Luzern, Treibhaus
09.10. Leipzig, UT Connewitz
10.10. Stuttgart, Theaterhaus
21.11. Berlin, Sophiensaele

PHOTO: Tanja Pippi (All rights reserved by the photographer.)
ENGLISH TRANSLATION: Thomas Vorreyer

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