/blog en ash@badsneakers.co.uk Copyright 2010 2010-08-31T15:27:36+00:00 /index.php/site/zola_jesus_the_horn_the_hunt_model_warships/ /index.php/site/zola_jesus_the_horn_the_hunt_model_warships/#When:15:41:13Z Zola Jesus is the endeavor of a solitary girl named Nika Roza Danilova to simultaneously combat and invoke the approaching apocalypse using the only weapon/offering she has; her voice. After a decade of opera study and a musical awakening involving such varied inspiration as Billboard bubblegum, classical arias, no wave, avant industrial, she was able to thread her influences into a sound uniquely her own. Born and raised in the backwoods of Wisconsin, Nika Roza was literally raised by wolves (well proximally anyways). Trained as an opera singer from a young age, she applied to Julliard. At 10 years old. Rejection didn’t slow her down though as she went on to complete high school in three years and is set to graduate from university with a double major in French and philosophy in the same amount of time. Beginning her musical output at the age of 16, she released: two 7”s, an EP, a live recording from WNYU, and a split with neighboring Madison headtrips Burial Hex, on Sacred Bones, Troubleman, Die Stasi, and Aurora Borealis respectively. It was her debut full length for Sacred Bones last summer, however, that suddenly grew Zola Jesus’ profile exponentially. Her video for “Clay Bodies” debuted on the Fader and her likeness was plastered all over the interblog. The Spoils made dozens of year-end lists including: The Wire, Pitchfork, The Fader, and Dusted. http://www.myspace.com/zolajesus The Horn the Hunt Website Model Warships Myspace 2010-08-26T15:41:13+00:00 /index.php/site/el_guincho_live_at_nation_on_wednesday_3rd_november/ /index.php/site/el_guincho_live_at_nation_on_wednesday_3rd_november/#When:14:27:36Z El Guincho is Pablo Díaz-Reixa, a native of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria living in Barcelona, Spain. Also a member of Coconot, Díaz-Reixa rose to prominence with his 2007 album, Alegranza. His musical style relies heavily on the use of sampling and incorporates elements of afrobeat, dub, tropicália and rock. If you imagine Animal Collective’s ‘Merriweather Post Pavillion’ mixed with Fools Gold you won’t be a million miles away. + guests TALL LIKE GIANTS //// CLICK HERE FOR EL GUINCHO’S MYSPACE PAGE \\ Doors 8pm / Free Entry 2010-08-31T14:27:36+00:00 /index.php/site/black_mountain_come_to_leeds_this_september/ /index.php/site/black_mountain_come_to_leeds_this_september/#When:06:33:46Z Along with The Low Anthem, The Felice Brothers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings Machine, Smoke Fairies, Lone Wolf and tons more. Their new album ‘Wilderness Heart’ is out on 13th September and Black Mountain play TJ’s Woodhouse Club on Sunday 12th September. For more info go to /// WAGON WEEK \ 2010-08-24T06:33:46+00:00 /index.php/site/the_neat_broadcast_society_play_no_bones_on_sat_14th_august/ /index.php/site/the_neat_broadcast_society_play_no_bones_on_sat_14th_august/#When:08:16:24Z The Neat are one of the most exciting live bands in the UK. Capturing the essence of early Joy Division with the aggression and confidence of Public Image Ltd. or Gang of Four. The gig next saturday is sure to be a brilliant and agressively exciting one. Doors are at 8pm and tickets are £4 advance from Jumbo, Crash and Seetickets.com. Click below for links…. /// THE NEAT MYSPACE \ CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS   2010-08-06T08:16:24+00:00 /index.php/site/islet_live_at_nation_wed_29th_sept_free_gig/ /index.php/site/islet_live_at_nation_wed_29th_sept_free_gig/#When:09:11:21Z Doors 8pm / Free entry Islet are a four-piece Cardiff experimental rock band. Islet comprises of members (or past members) of The Victorian English Gentlemens Club, Attack + Defend, Fredrick Stanley Star, and Them Squirrels. Their debut ‘mini album’, Celebrate This Place, was released on June 14th to positive reviews. Much was made in the press of the band’s success despite a lack of online presence, however Islet now have an official band website (isletislet.com). Since forming, Islet toured with Los Campesinos!, played Swn Festival 09, were part of Huw Stephens’ ‘Happy Huw Year’ Tour, have supported Teeth Mountain and Lovvers, and have featured on BBC Radio Wales and in the NME. Visit Islets website Events 2010-06-19T09:11:21+00:00 /index.php/site/iron_wagon_limn_presents_-_washed_out_live_small_black_live/ /index.php/site/iron_wagon_limn_presents_-_washed_out_live_small_black_live/#When:13:02:15Z Washed Out is Ernest Greene, a young guy from Georgia (via South Carolina) who makes bedroom synthpop that sounds blurred and woozily evocative, like someone smeared Vaseline all over an early OMD demo tape, then stayed up all night trying to recreate what they heard. There’s a sense of longing and distance in Greene’s somber, filtered vocals, but it’s what he does compositionally that makes Washed Out stand out. Backed by gently pulsing, Balearic-tinged disco, Greene’s voice takes on a new dimension. Reminiscent of groups like The Glass and the Chromatics, Washed Out is the music to end your night with, when the city is quiet and the walk home, long. Small Black is the Long Island duo of Josh Kolenik and Ryan Heyner, and they make the kind of hazy lo-fi we’ve been hearing a lot this summer (live, they add Pitchfork.tv contributors Juan Pieczanski and Jeff Curtin to the mix). But as much as the season is about goofy sunglasses and cold beer, it’s also about those garden-crippling late-month frosts. And these guys have that sense of yearning on lock. The pieces that comprise “Despicable Dogs” seem so Frisbee-friendly that you’d expect any emotional relevance to be rendered moot, from the tacky drum machine to the heavy processing on that tubular guitar noise, to the glossy melancholic key plunks. But it both warms and bruises at the same time. “Do it without me, do it when I’m gone,” goes the hook. Such gimmick-free sentimentality can often prove too difficult to finagle, but “Despicable Dogs” is a guaranteed soul-stirrer. We at Limn are proud to host the afterparty of the Washed Out gig at Nation of Shopkeepers with FREE ENTRY From 10.30 onwards, we will be supplying visual and audible stimulus - overhead projectors, live art and a Serato crate full of electronica, idm, beat music and synth driven hip hop. Trust us, it’s stupid good. Our guest artists for the night… Crim Collective - http://www.crimcollective.co.uk/ Kristyna Baczynski - http://kriskicorp.blogspot.com/ Liam Alvy - http://liamalvy.wordpress.com/ jamajamajimjam - http://blackleafcompany.com Tom Moore - N/A. Join us on facebook - Here Bask in our HTML glory here Washed Out Myspace Small Black Myspace Washed Out on Last.fm Limited tickets (120) available now from SEETICKETS.COM Events 2010-05-18T13:02:15+00:00 /index.php/site/pixel_by_patick_jean/ /index.php/site/pixel_by_patick_jean/#When:17:36:13Z God this is just the best most original animation I’ve seen in a long time, its seamless too. I bet a million pounds that Patrick Jean is doing Sony ads this time next year, maybe sooner. Aaarrgh I wish i could do shit like this!!!!! 2010-05-05T17:36:13+00:00 /index.php/site/harlem_live_at_nation_of_shopkeepers_june_15th/ /index.php/site/harlem_live_at_nation_of_shopkeepers_june_15th/#When:17:17:52Z Led by dual vocalists Michael Coomers and Curtis O’Mara (the duo switch between guitar and drums, both onstage and off) and recently joined by bassist Jose Boyer, Harlem have already generated a mountain of attention Stateside, both with their fantastic live shows and their recorded output. Relocating from Tucson, AZ to Austin, TX, Harlem first came to people’s attention with their self-issued 2008 LP/CD, Free Drugs. Pitchfork’s Roque Strew hailed it “a marvel of cartoonishly masculine, crudely analog brevity”, Gorilla Vs. Bear considered it to be “super infectious, instantly endearing”, and kindly supplying a quote that we’ll gladly take out of context, the Austin Chronicle’s Audra Schroeder has fallen preil to the album’s “anxious, stuttering charm.” It might all sound highly suspicious, but anyone who’s heard Free Drugs or witnessed Harlem laying waste to any number of shoebox sized venues (some of which were, in fact, shoeboxes) can attest, the band’s casual virtuosity is only eclipsed by their otherworldly songwriting skills. Harlem now make their Matador debut with Hippies, a sixteen track pop meisterwerk, recorded with the assistance of Mike McHugh, revealing the triumvirate to still be in fine fettle. The gents have really “knocked it out of the park” (as ice hockey fans are so fond of saying) with this one, and we remain confident that this will have great appeal even for those of you who’ve never laced ‘em up before. Tickets on sale now HERE!! 2010-05-05T17:17:52+00:00 /index.php/site/beast_coast_live_monday_10th_may_free_show_free_show/ /index.php/site/beast_coast_live_monday_10th_may_free_show_free_show/#When:12:20:12Z Beach blanket lo-fi pop from Bethany Cosentino, (ex-Pocahaunted.) Inspired by Bethany’s longing for Los Angeles while spending her days in NY attending Eugene Lang College, Best Coast sprung forth during her first days back in California. She says we can expect “songs about summer and the sun and the ocean and being a lazy creep,” with “drums, beach boys bass lines, and other amazing things” added by her friend Bobb Bruno. Support comes in the shape of French Kissing. Doors will open at 7.30pm, bring a friend, cuz its free!! 2010-05-05T12:20:12+00:00 /index.php/site/fickle_fate_new_artwork_to_be_displayed_at_nation_of_shopkeepers/ /index.php/site/fickle_fate_new_artwork_to_be_displayed_at_nation_of_shopkeepers/#When:08:20:45Z Fickle Fate is Timothy Hunt, an illustrator with a keen eye for bold colours and simplicity, we completely love it and can’t wait to get some of his work up in the venue. Should be up in a week or two, but for now treat your eyes to some lovely stuff over at his website FICKLE FATE! 2010-04-15T08:20:45+00:00