Kamphopo

It all started with the sale of a bike. After moving from East Africa to East London in 1999, Esau Mwamwaya ran a second-hand furniture store down the street from ghettopop duo Radioclit’s studio. The story goes that one of the Radioclit guys bought a bike off of Esau and later invited him to one of their housewarming parties, where they “made friends” and the rest was history. Nearly a year later, Esau is primed to release his debut Radioclit-produced long player on a label TBA.

Growing up in Malawi’s capitol, Lilongwe, Esau played drums in a variety of bands including Masaka Band and also played with the legendary reggae singer Evison “The Prophet” Matafale before he died in late 2001. Prior to his Radioclit collaboration, Mwamwaya sang only cover songs in his previous bands, mostly traditional Malawai tracks. He now writes his own songs inspired by life experiences and nature. Mwamwaya’s work with Radioclit brings together chopa, African reggae, and his angelic traditionally-styled Malawian vocal harmonies spiraled into waves of Radioclit’s synths and everything from house, krunk, and 80s music. The resulting sound is uplifting roots-based funk.

Prior to the release of the Mwamwaya’s LP (which includes collaborations with M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, Santogold, and Bonde Do Role), he’ll release a mixtape which includes a cover of Architecture In Helsinki track “Heart It Races” titled “Kamphopo.” Check out the cover below, along with “Chalo” a demo from his studio work with Radioclit. Those of you living in London can see Mwamwaya this Friday at Notting Hill Art’s Club for Radioclit’s new jungle/bongo dance party “Secousse.”

[MP3]: Esau Mwamwaya  ”Kamphopo”
Mixtape, TBA; 2008
[MP3]: Esau Mwamwaya  ”Chalo”
TBA, TBA; 2008

Take Off with Air France’s No Way Down

Have you ever been in mid-flight just before sunrise? Gazing out of the little porthole windows as the deep blue sky above the cloud canopy is painted with a swath of orange when the sun crowns on the horizon. The once dark clouds take on hues of cool blues and warm reds, yellows, and oranges, as the sun glistens off the metallic wings of the plane. It’s one of the most gorgeous views, and for a moment all your stresses and worries float away like the water vapor beneath you. Fitting music further enhances the experience drowning out the rumble of the jet engines and those pesky air vents. With the release of No Way Down, Gothenburg, Sweden’s Air France may have just created the perfect soundtrack for such an event. The duo’s six-song EP sounds like a party in a tropical paradise filtered through a haze of gauzy, atmospheric dreampop. It’s a bit in the same line as the new M83 record, but with more of a tropical punch. The appropriately titled “June Evening” invokes imagery of a stumbling on a dance party in the middle of a balmy forest in, you guessed it, June. Ethereal vocals are penetrated by marimbas, samples of various birds, a thumping beat, and sweltering synths perfect for keeping you feet firmly planted on the ground while your head may otherwise be in the sky.

Stream and buy Air France’s No Way Down EP, out now on Swedish Imprint Sincerely Yours.

[MP3]: Air France  ”June Evening”
No Way Down, Sincerely Yours; 2008

Lucky Dragons: Dream Island Laughing Language

Lucky Dragons remind me of a West Coast version of Brooklyn’s High Places on their new album Dream Island Laughing Language. The Los Angeles duo of Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara (and the occasional collaborators) has been making music since 2000 and has seven albums and something like 18 releases under their belts, so maybe the comparison should be the other way around.

Dream Island marks one of the unusual instances in the group’s discography where the band made the decision to craft and album consisting of “conventional” songs. I use “conventional” lightly, Dream Island as compared to their free-form past, stacks up more as a traditional album. It may be a step in the conventional sense for Lucky Dragons that the record’s twenty-two tracks are built on the frenzied elements of pop, but for the listener, it’s like stepping into a trippy dream set on a deserted island in the southern Pacific. Handmade meets digital as primitive sounds from instruments including rocks, poppies, hands, necklaces, and bowls, along with basic sounds of mbiras, bongos, flutes, bells, and jagged electronic interruptions are cut and pasted into delicately woven experimental pop songs.

With their handmade aesthetic, Lucky Dragons knit themes of ecstatic language, folk melodies, messages of unrest,and AM radio rave-ups into this genre transcending record. The live incarnation of Lucky Dragons breaks down the barrier between audience and band where audience members may find themselves physically interacting by complimenting each other or generating sounds via skin to skin contact, causing those of us squeamish about audience participation to duck for cover.

Dream Island Laughing Language is out now on Marriage Records. Check the band’s MySpace page for upcoming area shows. There are four scheduled in New York City in the next couple of weeks.

[MP3]: Lucky Dragons  ”Givers”
Dream Island Laughing Language, Marriage; 2008

Download Autolux’s “Audience No. 2″ for Free (or Pay)

A month or so ago, I mentioned that Autolux was set to release their first recording since 2004 in the form of the single, “Audience No. 2.” Well, after making the track available iTunes last week, the Los Angeles trio has decided to make the it available to download for FREE, since folks overseas were having issues getting the song. Follow the link below to download the high-quality .wav version of “Audience No. 2.” In the spirit of Radiohead’s In Rainbows you can pay what you want too. It has been well worth the wait.

No further details on Autolux’s second full-length, Transit Transit…yet.

[.WAV DOWNLOAD LINK]: Autolux  ”Audience No. 2″

Single, Self-Released; 2008

Black Kids Have 12 Inches to Giveaway

Uh, yeah. Jacksonville, FL’s Black Kids blew up the blogosphere last Fall but have since unfortunately suffered the backlash of gaining popularity so quickly then deciding to sign with a major label. You can’t really fault the kids for trying to get paid. What are they gonna do, sit around their basement and play to themselves? Yeah I understand their music isn’t for everyone but it’s pretty catchy pop songs about being a teenager. The Cure influences I don’t see, other than maybe they guy’s voice. Their self-titled full length comes out later this summer in June.

We haven’t done this sort of contest/giveaway thing in awhile so now’s a good time. Two winners will receive a copy of Black Kids’ 12” in “Cool White Vinyl”. Just send an email to contest@frictionnyc.com with the “Black Kids 12 Inch Giveaway” in the subject line. We’ll choose a winner by next Friday, May 16th. Witty emails get bonus points. I have friends who swear that the Twelves Remix is better than the original, but me, I prefer the original. Listen on Myspace.

SIDE A
1. “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You”
SIDE B
1. “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You” Twelves Remix
2. “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You” Twelves Remix (Dub Version)

Black Kids Tour Dates:
May 7 – Chicago, IL at The Abbey Pub^
May 8 – Detroit, MI at Magic Stick^
May 9 – Toronto, ON at Lees Palace^
May 12 – Boston, MA at Paradise^
May 13 – Brooklyn, NY at Studio B^
May 15 – Washington, DC at Black Cat^
May 16 – Philadelphia, PA at Pure^
May 17 – Baltimore, MD at Sonar^
May 18 – New York, NY at Bowery Ballroom
^ with Cut Copy

FRICTION Recap: 5.5.08 w/ Fuck Buttons, Sightings

Thanks to everyone who made it out to FRICTION last night for Pattern Is Movement, Sightings, and Fuck Buttons. Philly’s Pattern Is Movement kicked off the show with a stellar set of polyrhymic pop, warming up a soundsystem that was likely exhausted by the end of the night (much like my ears). What followed was something between a searing drone/distortion fest and club-like rave. Sightings and Fuck Buttons both fashion experimental noise in different ways, Sightings – via drums, guitar, bass, processors, and plenty of pedals, while Fuck Buttons employ mainly electronics, Fisher Price-like toys, and gadget’s I’ve never seen before. However different, both erupted from the stage last night with bigger than life sounds. Sightings tends to be more sonically violent, but still rhymically drving, crafting a primal sound that most bands wish they could do with a mouse and laptop. Fuck Buttons make you wonder how noise can be so beautiful, inducing a euphoric-like haze only to be snapped out of it by electro house beats and cutting distored vocals.

Thank you to to all three acts for playing the show along with Mercury Lounge for being such great hosts. Check out pics from the night below, on our Flickr page, and also at Self Titled who has some amazing black and white shots of Fuck Buttons.

FRICTION moves across the East River to Brooklyn for back to back shows in late May and early June at Music Hall of Williamsburg. Jump below the pics for details and stay tuned for updates!

////////UPCOMING FRICTION SHOWS////////

5/28 – DARK MEAT @ MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG
[MP3]: Dark Meat  ”Dead Man”

DARK MEAT are an Athens ensemble mixing elements of blues, punk rock, psychedelic jams, jazz and Zappa/Beefheart styled explosions. Imagine The Stooges meets Crazy Horse with killer Stax / Funeral / Marching band horns, wailing gospel-style female backing vocals, ripping guitar leads and free jazz freakouts. -Orange Twin

6/8 – THESE NEW PURITANS @ MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG
[MP3]: “Numbers”

THESE NEW PURITANS have done a lot in their brief time. This is symptomatic of a band whose identity is rooted in mystery, and which first began to emerge in the form of oddly filmed webcasts and a website splattered with cryptic writings and links to pictures of boiling water and trees speeding past car windows. -Domino

TONIGHT! FRICTION @ Mercury Lounge w/ Fuck Buttons

While Philadelphia still reels in its hard-on and wipes the shit off its ass from Kate Moss dropping into town over the weekend, myself and the dudes from Pattern Is Movement will be dusting our way out of town for tonight’s FRICTION show in New York. After a month off in April, we’re bringing FRICTION back in full force at the Mercury Lounge to celebrate Cinco De Mayo with a night of euphoric noise, blasted-out sound, and off-kilter art pop. Philly’s Pattern Is Movement opens things up for Sightings and Fuck Buttons, who, combined, may very well be sending us to the doctor’s office for hearing tests tomorrow. Still Hype DJs keep things interesting between sets. Bring your earplugs, I’ll bring the “I saw Kate Moss at JB’s and wrote about it online later” t-shirts.

Doors open at 7pm, tickets still available.

GET HYPE!

[MP3]: Fuck Buttons  ”Live at Supersonic”
Supersonic Festival, Birmingham, UK; 2007