July 2011

Find The King of Limbs on Rdio

You watched the music video, hunted down the newspaper edition, and listened to the remixes—now add it to your Collection.

Radiohead’s newest album, The King of Limbs, is available on Rdio.

∞ July 12, 2011 — 12:00AM

Dueling isn’t the word for this two-bassist band. Created by members Mike Watt (from bands like the Minutemen, the reunited Stooges, fIREHOSE, The Reactionaries and Banyan) and Black Flag’s Kira Roessler, dos’ mellow and unusual sound is rounded out by the mixing talents of Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto, Plastic Ono Band). If you liked these bands’ roving bass-lines, try out Dos’ third album, dos y dos, which is available today. Read on for Kira Roessler’s musical musings and Mike Watt’s punk and blues playlist.

Five Questions with dos

Who do you think is an important musician that most people have never heard of before?
dos’ Kira Roessler: Petra Haden, D Boon (The Minutemen), Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets)
If you had access to any record in the world, what would you listen to right now?
KR: Bille Holiday - any of them “Always” From Lady Sings The Blues (if I have to pick one)
Which album or artist do you most associate with your childhood?
KR: David Bowie, Billie Holiday
We hope people are ______________ when they listen to our music.
KR: Surprised and moved
We were thinking about ______________ when we wrote music for the new album.
ABRV: Two basses dancing with emotion

∞ July 8, 2011 — 12:00AM

Label Spotlights Music

New on Rdio: !K7

Short for Kaiserdamm 7, the original address of their Berlin office, Germany’s !K7 and !K7 Records have been at the forefront of independent electronic music for over 25 years.

First known for !K7 Records’ innovative DJ Kicks albums, this was one of the first compilation series that asked well-known underground DJs to create mixes emphasizing their signature sound while sharing their unique musical influences. Dozens of artists, including Kruder & Dorfmeister, Carl Craig and Chromeo stepped up to the challenge, blending and showcasing tracks that were often rare, previously unavailable, or only released on limited vinyl pressing. Simultaneously, the label championed individual artist releases, including critically acclaimed acts such as Matthew Herbert, Tosca, A Guy Called Gerald, Swayzak and Jimmy Edgar.

!K7 also distributes an acclaimed roster of artist-driven international labels including Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels, Dixon’s Innervisions, Tiga’s Turbo Records, and Wagon Repair from artists Graham Boothby, Mathew Jonson, Konrad Black and Loose Change.

Discover and listen to tracks from !K7 Records and its specialty imprints. If you need a primer, we put together a playlist featuring a selected discography:

!K7 Distributed Labels

!K7 Records
BBE/Rapster: a specialty imprint that focuses on soul, hip hop and urban music and featuring legendary artists including Pete Rock, Roy Ayers and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Gold Dust Media: a hip-hop imprint behind People Under the Stairs, Del the Funky Homosapien & Tame One, Zion I, and the Outlawz
Strut Records: an imprint whose cutting-edge, beat-driven artists include Breakestra, Mulatu Astatke, and Grandmaster Flash
Crosstown Rebels
Innervisions
Turbo
Wagon Repair
Cobblestone Jazz

Search the complete !K7 discography of artists and releases on their website, k7.com and stay up-to-date on new artists, albums, news and touring information, by liking K7Records on Facebook.

Previous label features include: Warp Records, Death Row Records, Get Physical, Sub Pop Records, Hydra Head, Pschent, Righteous Babe Records, Kill Rock Stars, Saddle Creek, Yep Roc, Hyperdub, Bella Union, XL Recordings, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, 4AD, Epitaph Records, Merge Records, Domino Records and Nettwerk

∞ July 8, 2011 — 12:00AM

Artist Spotlights Music

An Introduction to: The Japanese Popstars

Bands don’t get musicians like The Cure’s Robert Smith, the Editors’ Tom Smith, Jon Spencer, Lisa Hannigan, M83’s Morgan Kibby, or singer-songwriterJames Vincent McMorrow to perform on their new album without good reason. The Japanese Popstars? It’s likely that their high caliber list of guest musicians is due to their electric live shows and Irish notoriety. Learn more about the global-minded Japanese Popstars, listen to their new albumControlling Your Allegiance (featuring all the above superstars), and queue-up their playlist, Tour Bus Jams.

Five Questions with The Japanese Popstars

Who do you think is an important musician that most people have never heard of before?
The Japanese Popstars: Bill Conti. He composed the music for the Rocky movies. Me and my friends were all big Stallone fans, still are. Those tracks defined a big part of my youth and still give me goose bumps today. Just amazing work.
If you had access to any record in the world, what would you listen to right now?
JP: Shobaleader One – Cryptic Motion. I don’t know why I just woke up today with it in my head.
Which album or artist do you most associate with your childhood?
JP: I know it’s not very original but I was a big Michael Jackson fan, the first album that I bought was Bad, so that’s probably the one most associated with my youth.
We hope people are ______________ when they listen to our music.
JP: Uplighted
We were thinking about ______________ when we wrote music for the new album.
JP: Dominos

∞ July 6, 2011 — 12:00AM

Music

Listen to the Polaris Music Prize Short List on Rdio

We’re one step closer to finding out which artist and album will receive the 2011 Polaris Music Prize, an award given by a Canadian jury to one lucky album per year. The Polaris Music Prize, also an Rdio Influencer, made a fantastic playlist featuring short list samples—listen now and follow them to keep up with their big announcements… Who will win?