Athens66: 6/1/08

Girl Talk – Feed the Animals

Girl Talk is the solo project of Greg Gillis (DJ/remixer), famous for his mixtape-like remixes of dozens of songs in a musical mash-up. Feed the Animals is his fourth album (after Secret Diary, Unstoppable and Night Ripper) and available for free download from June 19, following Radiohead’s footsteps. Things are quite straightforward with Girl Talk; you know they produce mash-ups of beats and samples so you can’t expect much different from this album either. Each track offers a small trip in pop music history, with dozens of samples parading every minute. So I guess, if you hate this kind of music mix (as in his previous albums) then you’ll most probably hate this one as well (as fellow blogger BLR said “this makes me dizzy”). However, for those like myself who appreciate a good mix, the album is yet another hour of musical entertainment with dozens of tracks that we loved into a dance frenzy. I admit that in some tracks the mixes aren’t totally successful, but in most others they really tie in to produce a new song on their own. And all this for free!!

Still Here

Like This

Give Me a Beat

Artist.Site Buy.IllegalArt

Cansei de Ser Sexy – Donkey (or How to Produce Swedish Pop in Brazil)

Cansei de Ser Sexy (or just CSS) took the world of electro pop by storm a couple of years ago with their self-titled debut. Their music combined the latin madness of their origins (São Paulo) with electro sounds from Europe. The result was quite unique and we instantly loved them. Two years have past since then and they are back with their sophomore album Donkey, out on Sub Pop label on July 22nd.

We managed to get a hold of their album and gave it quite a number of spins during the weekend. The first thing that comes in mind when listening to the record is probably “This is CSS? No way…”. The band has traded their sexy crazy electro sound to move into more pop territory. To be honest, it sounds like they want to copy The Sounds or a dozen other Swedish bands, offering pop music with more rock than electro sound. And believe me, I truly love The Sounds (and even more The Knife) but if I want to listen to Swedish pop I don’t really need a band from Brazil for that. The whole album sounds like the CSS have sold out and let the producers mainstream their music in an attempt to gather even more radio time in the US. Unfortunately, this move may prove terribly wrong for a band that based their success on an alternative crowd, or perhaps I’m the only one thinking that this album is simply going to my trashcan. Sexy no more…

Rat is Dead (Rage)

Believe Achieve

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon

The Great Northwest - The Widespread Reign of the Great Northwest

The Great Northwest is a collection of artists/friends that all share in common their love for music, parties and appreciation for Brian Coates compositions (this is basically his project). After an endless party tour between Portland and New York, Brian is finally releasing his debut album titled The Widespread Reign of the Great Northwest, out on Kora Records on July 29th.

Encouraged to continue writing music by Dandy Warhols’ Courtney Taylor, Brian has created a solid album that sets in instantly and provides an endless trip over similar melodies. This is actually quite ambiguous; some may be put off by the lack of diversity in the album while others (like myself) will enjoy the trip as an escape route from your everyday thoughts. His music can be characterized as ambient rock and is based on smooth rock melodies, haunting vocals and small doses of depression bass. The other thing that instantly strikes you on this record is how easily the music becomes familiar to you, even from the first couple of tracks. It may not be a ground-breaking rock album, but it is one that most people will enjoy and a promising start that we will be waiting to see how it will progress. Once you hear Chief John you’ll get a clear idea of what I’m talking about..

Chief John

Artist.Site Buy.KoraRecords

Jay-Z vs MIMS

While in Glastonbury Jay-Z was giving his answer to Noel Gallagher's comment ("I don't want hip-hop at Glastonbury / Jay-Z has got no fucking chance") on stage with a great opening Wonderwall, here in Athens a promotions company entitled "Knockout Productions" hired an imposter to fake MIMS (they got a black guy from the streets, dressed him up like a hip hop artist with a hood, sunglasses and a baseball hat and let him perform under dark club lights so noone would recognize him). As can be seen from the following videos, of'course the first ended in a great show while the second in laughs, shouts and lawsuits.

PS1. Of'course MIMS had nothing to do with the fake show as it was a scum by the people behind the fake promotion company

PS2. Thanks to MixTape and Crackhitler for posting these news and making us laugh..

Anastasia Dimou (Cruel Black Dove) answers our PSs

So, last time around we posted about Cruel Black Dove and finished off the post with a couple of PSs. During this time, Anastasia (lead vocalist of the group) checked out our post and provided us with some quick answers (we already considered her cool...but now she's ranked even higher in our conscience). So here goes:

Athens66(PS2): Doubt even more (probably certain) if Anastasia has ever been to Greece (since she spent most of her life between NY and LA)
Anastasia: I am 50% Greek. My father is from Oktonia, Evia. My mother is from South America. I was born here (US), but spent many summers in Greece. My Greek is rusty, but I understand it pretty well.

Athens66(PS): I love the fact that the band's name is the combination of track 2 & 3 ("Cruel" & "Black-Dove") of Tori Amos' From the Choirgirl Hotel album (doubt it if this is where they got their name from though)
Anastasia: I went through a strong Tori Amos phase when I was younger, and it's possible that I subconsciously drew that from memory when coming up with the name or that I saw it somewhere and it stuck. Weird how the mind works. Glad you like the name.

Athens66: Come over to Europe to see you!
Anastasia: We definitely would like to be in Europe soon.

Anastasia: P.S. Greek chicks rock, whether they're in a band or not ;) I've never met a Greek girl who didn't have a strong sense of will and independence and that is sexy.

We couldn't agree more with her last statement :-)

BBQ music

I'm off today to a company BBQ...Damn things we need to go through in order to earn a living and sustain our blog. So, seeking for an appropriate dedication, what better than The King Khan and BBQ Show and their garage punk Zombies. Off we go...

Band a Part light up our Summer

There are some bands that instantly bring a smile to your face. The duo from Madrid (thanks to WinterAcademy for introducing them to us) produce tweepop with direct influences from Stereolab, Pastels, Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura and so many other bands that we really love. Their lyrics are in Spanish so we have no clue what they are talking about, but don’t mind since it sounds so innocent and cheerful. And if all this wasn’t enough, Coral and Javi also have some really beautiful cartoons as their logos (quite appropriate). They haven’t released any records yet (still without a label last time I checked their site), only a couple of EPs (download them for free here) in 2006 (Pronostico soleado) and 2007 (No hay nada como el hogar) and some demo tracks this year. Check them out and let them make your day too.

Menorca

Souvenir de l'Avenir

Sputnik mon Amour

Artist.Site

Labrador spins

So, I've been looking around for a few tracks to spin and thought it was about time I let something smooth hit the play. So I headed over to Labrador label and gave some new tracks a listen. So here's their Last.fm playlist to listen to some of the new tracks available (from The Sound of Arrows, Club 8 and The Radio Dept). If you want to listen to more tracks then why not download their summer 2008 sampler for 30 full free tracks from their top bands (via ThePirateBay).

Shadow Dancer poking the Beat

The next band comes from Manchester and have still to produce a full album (although they have released a number of EPs). I don't know much about them besides the fact that they have been signed to Boys Noize Records and are keen to name their tracks with hip names like Poke and Daytime Drinking (which is the reason I decided to listen to them). They produce electronic music with more of a dance orientation, although avoiding the head-on commercial club sound. Take a listen for youself; who knows, they may be the next Digitalism or probably the next Justice or perhaps none of the above...

Cowbois

Poke

Daytime Drinking

Are You Now

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon

Little Fluffy Clouds over Athens66

So how do you know it's summer? Well, for most people it is the obvious heat that is making us crazy here in Athens. For others it's the numerous girls heading down to the beach to show off their tanned bodies. So how about the rest of us till driving to work everyday? It is the usual spot from Best Radio quoting The Orb's Little Fluffy Clouds! So, here it goes, dedicated to all of you (like us) still stack in your cubicle each day dreaming of those clouds...

Girl Talk Feed the Animals for Free

We will shortly review it, but until then download it here for free or pay (donate) as much as you want for it. The new Girl Talk album Feed the Animals is another hurricane of samples and mixes (a real history lesson of music mostly from the MTV era). Back soon...busy listening at the moment!

Artist.Site Buy.IllegalArt

The Old 97s – Blame It On Gravity

The Old 97s are one of those bands that bridge two worlds. They have been creating indie pop music with country influences or perhaps country music with pop influences. Either way, they are now counting 15 years as a group (since they were formed in Dallas back in 1993) and with a number of albums on their back. I’m probably not the best person to list their history since I haven’t followed the band for that long. So I’ll skip this and go straight into the album review.

Blame it on Gravity was released on May 13th at New West label and was quickly followed by their first single, Dance with Me (which has already been featured as our Clip of the Day). The album follows the usual theme of mixing country and pop but despite their long history, the music on this 7th album sounds really fresh and exciting. The album provides the necessary mix of slow heart-aching tracks, which fall more on the country style, with faster rocking tracks, with more pop/rock influences. This works really well and despite lacking anything really unique compared to some of their previous work, it is still a joy to listen to. I guess sometimes you don’t need to change things that work, as long as you remain faithful to your audience and the genre you have been committed to (or even created).

She Loves the Sunset

Early Morning

Dance With Me

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon

Movie Stardust (First Impressions)

I’ve been posting too much music during the last month (although I didn’t receive any complains about it). So, for a break I thought I would head over to Vanity Fair and dig into their archives again. So what did we come up with? Well, we found a portfolio from December 2006 titled First Impressions. It reviews some of the young actors and actresses that have appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair while they were still considered a rising star. So here are some of those stars photographed during their early years. For obvious reasons we’re only posting the actresses!!

Natalie Portman in December 1995 by Eika Aoshima

Jennifer Connelly in February 1996 by Max Vadukal

Gretchen Mol in February 1998 by Regan Cameron

Penelope Cruz in December 1998 by Jaun Gatti

Kirsten Dunst in April 2000 by Francois Nars

Zooey Deschanel in July 2001 by Anders Overgaard

Monika - Avatar

Hype around an artist can always go both ways; make you popular in no time or break you before you even start. This has been the case with so many bands (I ain’t go to start listing) these days. Everyone is looking for the next big thing (especially music bloggers..I guess it’s our favorite game).The same applies with Monika but of’course constrained in the Greek world. The 21 year old singer/songwriter released her debut album Avatar around a month ago (May 19 on Archangel Music label) after a long wait by the built-up hype. I had promised to review it for sometime now, but I guess it’s better late than never (especially now that the original enthusiasm has subsided).

I have given the album numerous listens and in general I must say I really like it. I don’t dare judge it as a Greek album, cause then I would just have to give it a 5/5 from the first listen and that would just be unfair. Monika has a great voice and is obviously talented. The record also sounds very personal and truthful for a debut, with some of the tracks being really wonderful but unfortunately some others sounding like you’ve heard them somewhere before. I would really love this one to be a great album but it lacks in details that could have made it so much better. For a debut, this one is really great but it shows that Monika needs to work even more in order to produce something special next time around. But then again, that’s a good thing, since it will keep us looking forward to her future work and if the hype doesn’t break her, we could be looking at one of the first female songwriters that could make it big even outside Greece. The best of luck then…and we’ll be waiting for the next steps…

Misery Loves Company

Are You Coming With Us?

Over the Hill

Artist.Site Buy.MPGreek

A Supersonic Future from Arshavin

Supersonic Andrei Arshavin gave Euro 2008’s favorites (after the first round) Holland an early ticket back home after a spending display of modern football. The Russians were unmatched yesterday and although they should have nailed the game before extra-time, they managed not paying for it (unlike Croatia a day before). As a tribute, we would like to dedicate the next band to perhaps the best player of this tournament (besides Bastian Schweinsteiger). Hopefully we’ll have a grand finale between Germany and Russia at the end and a colossal battle between our two favorites Bastian and Andrei.

So, our dedication comes in the form of Supersonic Future. This electronic based band from Moscow is a side-project of Oleg Kostrov and their latest album is Leslie Family, out on AeroCCCP Recordings (you just have to love the label’s name). Mixing dance bits with pop and electro and English lyrics with Russian, they are quite fun (although nothing more than that). But I guess they are perfect for celebrating yesterday’s win!

Otkloneive

JellyBoy

Maybe Yes

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon

Tony Gatlif sets the Trance (Exils)

Today we are posting something totally different for this blog. It was yet another day on the beach for us, giving us time to hear some more music on the way. So we gave Monika and The Old 97's a couple of spins before switching to something from the past. The clip (and music) below is from Tony Gatlif's 2004 movie Exils. I saw the movie that year (I think during the Athens film festival) and really loved it. It is about the journey of a couple from Paris to their roots all the way to Algeria (obviously an autobiographical journey of the director). Gatlif is perhaps better known for Gadjo Dilo and especially Latcho Drom. Check him out; he is one of my favorite directors. and his movies are filled with music (ethnic of 'course). The same goes for the soundtrack of Exils, with tracks like this combined with oozes of flamengo. So now it's your turn to get into the trance...

Just call me Dr. Who

On a more personal note (since this is our personal blog anyway), after many years of work, research, despair, frustration and while on the verge of giving up...finally I presented my PhD and can now reference myself as Dr. Who or simply The Doctor! If only I had such cool hair...(this one is dedicated to myself...how arrogant!)

PS. Actually it was suggested by BLR to make this the Tune of the Day

Pas/Cal are Finally Debuting

Sometimes you just can’t rush things. I guess this has been the case with Pas/Cal. The group from Detroit formed in 2000 and released their first EP back in 2003. Since then they have created another couple of EPs but it took them 8 years since their creation to make their first full album. I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura is out on July 22nd and hopefully it will contain more of the same indie/twee pop we came to love in their EPs so far. We have already promised to bring you more uplifting tunes to get you into the summer mood and Pas/Cal are the perfect soundtrack to summer drives and late-night dives. Hope we get our hands on their upcoming LP before we set out for our summer excursions. Check out their MySpace page and their label Le Grand Magistery Records for more of their stuff.

2003 The Handbag Memoirs [EP]
2004 Oh Honey, We're Ridiculous [EP]
2006 Dear Sir [EP]
2008 I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura [LP out July 22nd]

You Were Too Old For Me [from I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura]

Dear Sir [from Dear Sir]

Poor Maude [from The Oh Honey, We're Ridiculous]

Come On Let's Go [from The Handbag Memoirs]

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon

Helicopters are Sizing Up the Distance (to where?)

The Helicopters ain’t a new band, although they had previously eluded my attention. They have been around since 2005 and back in 2006 they released their debut How to Fake Fall Asleep. Since then they have been touring around playing their indie pop tunes in the US (they originate from Chicago) and releasing their Walking to Be Looked At EP (2007). They have just announced that they have completed recording their follow-up album titled Sizing Up the Distance, which will be available (in the US) on June 27th. Until then give their electro-pop sound a go. I really liked their tracks which are prominently warm and happy, although their sound brings a number of bands in mind, which I won’t go into in order to avoid the usual (unfair) comparisons. During these hot summer days, I guess we all need some uplifting tunes to make our time at work go by a bit faster. So just hop on and let the Helicopters fly you away (even for a while)…

Emergency

Rotofugi

Mile Markers Acoustic

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon

A Thereminist from the Past (Dorit Chrysler)

And while I was looking at Cruel Black Dove's video in YouTube, I was immediately led to the next clip (by YouTube's automatic video recommendation system..or just by plain luck) to Dorit Chrysler's Sustain me. Dorit comes from Austria although she has moved to New York for quite some years now. The interesting thing about Dorit is that she combines her unique voice with her favorite music instrument, the theremin. Portishead meets Julee Cruise meets David Lynch meets the Theremin. Strange yet magical combination. The even more interesting fact is that I accidentally show her live in Berlin around 5 or 6 years ago when I was touring the city for a week and saw her live act in a local newspaper and of'course decided to check her out. Strange coincident? If you hear her music you'll see that it all makes sense..

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon

Greek Indie Chick made in Brooklyn (Anastasia Dimou's Cruel Black Dove)

Since our blog is entitled Athens66 I guess we have an obligation to post any band with Greek elements (no matter how spare these may be). So, after Yannis Philippakis' Foals this time it's a Greek chick that is taking the lead. We are talking about Anastasia Dimou who is leading Brooklyn-based indie band Cruel Black Dove. The band has released an EP titled Full Powers and is (amazingly) still unsigned to any record label. With Anastasia's wonderful voice (with flattering resemblance to PJ Harvey), their dirty sound and their current cover on The Trip Wire, I'm sure it won't be long before they are snapped by a label in the next couple of months. Be sure to check them out on MySpace and we'll definitely follow their next steps. Until then, enjoy their video for Love Song. Greek chicks rocking the world (at least attempting to..)

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon

PS. I love the fact that the band's name is the combination of track 2 & 3 ("Cruel" & "Black-Dove") of Tori Amos' From the Choirgirl Hotel album (doubt it if this is where they got their name from though)

PS2. Doubt even more (probably certain) if Anastasia has ever been to Greece (since she spent most of her life between NY and LA)

Fuck Buttons all along (Street Horsssing coming home)

I guess my previous post is not so much in the spirit of Athens66 (musically). So I decided to create a tape of what I was really listening to during my trip these past few days. Not much actually, since I spent most of my time with past favorite like Okay and Shearwater. But I also decided to give Fuck Buttons a go after the great reviews I read about their live act in Primavera festival.

Their debut album (released back in March this year) Street Horrrsing is what I would call electronoise. They are producing progressive/experimental electronic music that is damn addicted. I loved it so much that I decided to create a mixtape (just a plain tape actually since there is no mix here) of their album. Recommended by many (including us)...Enjoy...

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon

Back in Black for Athens66

The Athens66 team is back in Athens after our small getaway! However, we are struggling with work issues and will probably slowly get back into our proper posting rhythm the next couple of days. It's Back in Black both due to our return to the big city and due to the freshly acquired tan!

PS. Spare me Madonna and bring AC/DC to Athens!!!

Athens66 is now heading for Koufonisia!!!

The Athens66 team is now heading for Koufonisia for a few days. After hard work and intense posting, we decided we deserve a few days off. For those wondering (all non-Greeks that is), Koufonisia are these small islands,

and the team will be enjoying most of the time in one of the islands' coasts, which look something like this,

while moving around in something like this.

And if you still have no clue where this small heaven is, here's a googlemap view.

I know most of you won't notice our absence but for those (few) that do, we'll try to make it up by coming back with freshly tanned ideas! Until then, take care while we enjoy the sun and live the life..

PS. Here's a mixtape for you to enjoy until we get back (it's not mine..had no time to prepare one so I just post one that I found and was quite fan!)

The Old 97's still Kick Ass!!

Today's Clip and Tune of the Day is courtesy of Salad Days Music (posted yesterday). It's the new single Dance with Me from The Old 97's splendid new album Blame It on Gravity. The track is amazing and the video just kicks ass (literally). Finally a cool music video like the old MTV era!

Wir sind Helden and deserve some fun

Another oldie for today's Tune of the Day. It's Wir sind Helden and Guten Tag from back in 2002. This is just fun fun fun (as opposed to the crap crap crap I reviewed in the last couple of posts).

Mates of State - Re-Arrange Us

Re-Arrange Us in the latest album from couple (both on and off stage) Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel. They produce indie pop and have slowly built quite a big set of followers. I’m not one of them however and I will definitely not become one after hearing this album. I don’t like wasting too much time with things I hate, so I’ll be brief and to the point. This album sounds too pop, too cute and too dull. Most tracks have very simple tunes and the whole set-up sounds like they’re targeting teenagers in love or off to summer break. I’ll just pass this one and try to forget it asap. Enough said!!

My Only Offer

Re-Arranger

Get Better

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon

Cookie Monster at Work

I'm sure you've seen this one all over the net (I myself saw it yesterday on Berkeley Place) but it's funny enough to repost.

Ratatat - LP3

Ratatat are New Yorkers Evan Mast and Mike Stroud. So far (in their previous two albums) they have offered electronic music with a twist (a more rock sound that is). However, for their upcoming third album LP3 (up for release July 8), they have chosen to experiment even further with more ethnic/world sounds. If anything, I’m always in favor of bands not choosing to go the easy way and and engage on new territory. However, in the case of LP3, this has gone terribly wrong.

Their new style blends western electro beats with drum machines and reggae influences with Arabian rhythms. In some songs it kind of works (as in Imperials) and in others it fails miserably, to the extent of plain parody (such as in Gipsy Threat). Perhaps to a more western audience across the Atlantic, this may seem kind of adventurous in a sense, but for the rest of the world it can only be treated as amusing. While the first half of the record is barely alright (give it a couple of tries and you may be able to consider it listenable at some point) the remaining half is just plain dull. The other main objection is that it doesn’t have any flow, with tracks experimenting with so many different elements leaving you with very little in the end. This sounds more like a collection of tracks rather than a single album. Who knows, perhaps next time they’ll manage to bring this chaos into a form that makes sense, but until then I’ll just pass this one…

Shiller

Imperials

Mirando

Artist.Site Buy.Amazon