Beach House

Devendra Banhart PERHAPS IN CLOUDED SHROUDS

PERHAPS IN CLOUDED SHROUDS
Devendra Banhart and Dana Kline

By Alexander Laurence

Devendra Banhart stormed on the music scene in 2002 with his very first album. He started a folk revolution with his very original and idiosyncratic four albums in four years, and many his tours worldwide. He even showed up in a Beck video. The twenty-five year old Banhart seemed to be everywhere for a moment. Years ago he was even willing to give attention to the then burgeoning group Vetiver. I watched him enjoy the music of Vetiver during a sound check. He was like the biggest music fan ever. There was a real joy and innocence to Banhart’s whole fresh perspective. Banhart had a real knack for seeing art where no one was looking.

Devendra Banhart has been frequently mistyped as some leader of a “freak folk” movement, especially in the UK. He is aware of several music traditions and he listens to modern music too. He has always been a huge fan of Caetano Veloso. Recently he played a show with Bert Jansch. In interviews, Banhart seems displeased when the journalists have pegged him as some retro act. He is not a retro act at all. It’s very modern music with influences and new ideas. With his early songs like “Roots…” it was obvious that he was trying to re-animate the world, and all animals, and all things in it.

All along Banhart seemed to have worked out of some artistic sketchbook. Some ideas would become songs and some painting and drawings. Years ago he used to perform in art galleries. His work has been on most of his albums. Many of the drawings are ink on paper, and act as another layer in his total vision. The images themselves are dreamlike, displaced, worldly, and interrupted by a subtle darkness. Recently he got together with poet and childhood friend, Dana Kline, and published a book called “Perhaps In Clouded Shrouds.” They had a party in New York where the band Golden Animals played. Devendra has recently moved to Venice, California, to work on his new album and other projects.

I spoke to Dana Kline recently about how this book came about. Dana Kline explained the beginnings: “Devendra and I have known each other ten years. I moved to New York City and he would stay with me whenever he was in town. I would play with him. We talked about collaborating. We weren’t sure what it was going to be. I met this person, Morgan, who owned this store called Number Six. It is a vintage shop in Soho. She said she wanted to have this art show every six months. She was involved in a small publishing adventure with her boyfriend. She asked me if I wanted to be involved. I remembered this collaboration idea I had. Devendra sent me this set of drawings and I responded to each one with a poem. It took about six months to come together.”

Some art books are real collaborations and some are brilliant ideas that seem to mirror the two artists separate worlds. Dana Kline explains how this book is a true collaboration: “I wanted to created a dialogue between the words and images. I would look at each image, drink a bottle of wine, and write something based on the characters, from their perspectives. Or I would look at certain words and sculpt them into a poem. Much of the time I was thinking of our friendship. It was about the fact that we were living on different coasts. I remembered some of the hardcore punk shows that we went to when we were fourteen.”

The drawings are wonderful, and poetry by Kline has great moments too. I loved lines like “Sweet infiltrated fork toes of unabridged glee!” I mentioned that some, who just know Devendra through his music, would be surprised to know that he also has this artist’s background. Kline says: “People who are creative have an aptitude for displaying that. Devendra is a dreamer. That comes out in the way he carried himself and the way he speaks. His vision is very specific. People can focus on certain ways to visualize the world. He has been drawing and playing guitar since I met him. That was when we were in grade school. He has always been working on many different projects.”

Really Devendra is the most modern artist. Devendra is connected to everything in the natural world. He is just being himself. Devendra is like sunshine.

RIP Jim Carroll

September 13, 2009, 6:17 pm

Jim Carroll, Poet and Punk Rocker, Is Dead

By The New York Times

Jim Carroll, the poet and punk rocker in the outlaw tradition of Rimbaud and Burroughs who chronicled his wild youth in “The Basketball Diaries,” died Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 60.

The cause was a heart attack, said Rosemary Carroll, his former wife.

As a teenage basketball star in the 1960s at Trinity, an elite private school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Mr. Carroll led a chaotic life that combined sports, drugs and poetry. This highly unusual combination lent a lurid appeal to “The Basketball Diaries,” the journal he kept during high school and published in 1978, by which time his poetry had already won him a cult reputation as the new Bob Dylan.

The full obituary by William Grimes can be found here.

Fever Ray

FEVER RAY
NEW SINGLE “SEVEN" OUT SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
Remixes from CSS, Martyn, Nic Chacona, Marcel Dettmann and Seth Troxler

UPCOMING NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES
Sept 28 / NYC, NY/ Webster Hall
Sept 29/ NYC, NY/ Webster Hall
Oct 1/ Montreal / Metropolis
Oct 3 / Chicago / Metro
Oct 5 / San Francisco / Grand Ballroom
Oct 6 / Pomona, CA / The Glass House
Oct 7 / Los Angeles / Henry Fonda Theater

Fever Ray, aka Karin Dreijer Andersson of The Knife, will release her new single "Seven" September 29, 2009. This digital-only single is the fourth single from Fever Ray's critically acclaimed self-titled album. The single features remixes CSS, Martyn, Nic Chacona, Marcel Dettmann and Seth Troxler. The video is directed by Johan Renck, Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN3oOo7bpks

Fever Ray will bring her live show to North America this Fall. The tour begins with two performances at NYC's Webster Hall, a fitting venue for the launch of Andersson's return to the North American stage. In 2007 Andersson and brother Olof Dreijer – performing together as The Knife – debuted live to US audiences with two sold-out shows at the acclaimed venue. This time, now supported by a four-piece band, Andersson's Fever Ray persona will be the main attraction.

Andreas Nilsson - who designed The Knife's live show - is the visual mastermind behind Fever Ray's live show. To see Fever Ray perform live is to enter a darkly compelling world of exquisite mystery. "Andersson may keep her face hidden, but the ascetic intensity of her performance is such that her soul is bared… [She] pulls you inexorably into the darkness of her world," said The UK's Guardian in their review of Fever Ray's debut UK performance at London's Royal Festival Hall in April 2009. "Andersson holds her audience utterly spellbound…She may hate the limelight but she has presence to burn" said the UK's Drowned In Sound in their review of that same show.

Fever Ray is the title of both project and album, an evocation of the music’s sound, intense and anxious, yet luminous. It’s the culmination of work that began in 2007 when Karin and Olof, the brother-sister duo who are The Knife, decided to take time out following a handful of incredible live shows. Their first two albums did well in their Swedish homeland; their third, "Silent Shout," went to Number One, won six Swedish Grammys, underlined their reputation as an act capable of the truly extraordinary and was pronounced the Best Record Of 2006 by Pitchfork.

Released in 2009 Fever Ray's self-titled debut has already collected extraordinary praise, with an 8.1 review ranking and best new music distinction from Pitchfork. Nylon calls the album "dark, surreal and majestic" and Filter calls it "sublime and magically creepy" with an 87% review ranking.

In addition to Andersson's Fever Ray project, she continues to collaborate with brother Olof as The Knife. The Knife is currently writing an opera based on the life of Charles Darwin. Called "Tomorrow In A Year" the opera will premier in Copenhagen in late 2009.

SEVEN TRACKLIST:
Edit
CSS Remix
Martyn Remix
Nic Chacona remix
Marcel Dettmann's voice in my head
Seth Troxler remix
Crookers Remix

Watch the video here: LINK

www.feverray.com
www.mute.com

Dot Allison ROOM 7 1/2

Room 7 ½ - Out This Monday
Room 7 ½ is an unusual and arresting collection of heartfelt pleas demanding true love amongst an atmospheric-noir backdrop of some beauty. The album is produced by PJ Harvey producer Rob Ellis and Dot herself.
The album features Bad Seeds members Mick Harvey, James Johnston and the wonderful Mr Terry Edwards. The 11 songs are all delivered in Dot’s velveteen lose-yourself-in-them unique vocals, occasionally punctuated by the eternally youthful yells of Peter Doherty or sexy growl of Paul Weller.
Room 7 ½ is available to stream for a limited time on nme.com, click here
	Tracklist CRY PAVED WITH A LITTLE PAIN I WANNA BREAK YOUR HEART feat. PETER DOHERTY BUZZING ROUND THE HONEY POTS ROOM SEVEN AND A HALF FALL TO ME LOVE’S GOT ME CRAZY feat. PAUL WELLER MONTAGUE TERRACE (IN BLUE) JOHNNY VILLAN WHILE SHE SLEEPS PORTRAIT OF THE SUN	Released 7th September Label Arthoused Pre Order LinksPlay

Room 7 ½ Pre Order
	The album is available now to preorder from Play.com, click here

Rough Trade Instore & Live Dates
On the 7th September, Dot will be celebrating the release of Room 7½ with a special evening instore performance at Rough Trade East. Dot will be performing about 7p.m. Get there early to ensure you don't miss out.
Sep 7th	Rough Trade In-store & Signing, London
Sep 10th	Time For Heroes, Queen of Hoxton, London
Sep 18th	The Rainbow, Birmingham
Sep 19th	Roundhouse, London (supporting Peter Doherty)
Sep 20th	The Assembly Rooms, Leamington Spa (supporting Peter Doherty)
Sep 21st	The Apollo, Manchester (supporting Peter Doherty)
Sep 23rd	Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow (supporting Peter Doherty)
Oct 14th	Cargo, London
Nov 28th	Homecoming Live, Glasgow SECC

Triangle Soundtrack
	Dot recently collaborated with Christian Henson for the new horror movie directed by Chris Smiths which is called “Triangle” where her voice is a large part of the original score.
	Click here to check out the trailer

Warpaint is joining the second part of the tour with School of Seven Bells and Magic Wands.

Warpaint is joining the second part of the tour with School of Seven Bells and Magic Wands. The first show is in LA at the Troubadour, and goes all the way to Boston.

Oct 5 2009 8:00P	TROUBADOUR w/ School of Seven Bells	Los Angeles, California
Oct 6 2009 7:30P	SLIM’S w/ School of Seven Bells	San Francisco, California
Oct 8 2009 8:00P	DOUG FIR LOUNGE w/ School of Seven Bells	Portland, Oregon
Oct 9 2009 8:00P	BILTMORE CABARET w/ School of Seven Bells	Vancouver, British Columbia
Oct 10 2009 8:00P	NEUMOS w/ School of Seven Bells	Seattle, Washington
Oct 13 2009 8:00P	7TH STREET ENTRY w/ School of Seven Bells	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 14 2009 8:30P	EMPTY BOTTLE w/ School of Seven Bells	Chicago, Illinois
Oct 16 2009 8:00P	PEARL STREET NIGHTCLUB w/ School of Seven Bells	Northampton, Massachusetts
Oct 17 2009 8:00P	PARADISE w/ School of Seven Bells	Boston, Massachusetts

West Indian Girl + Miranda Lee Richards

(((+)))