Hidden Shoal News
The Star Department Sign to Hidden Shoal
Hidden Shoal is proud to announce the signing of Irish indie-pop duo The Star Department multi-instrumentalists Justin Commins (Kill Krinkle Club) and Michael Orange (Feather Beds, Soft Bones), who formed in Dublin in 2006. The Star Department juxtapose atypical song structures and shifting time signatures with unashamedly pop-leaning melodies and orchestral ambience. Never self-indulgent yet never predictable, their debut album The Pea Green Boat mixed by Tom McFall (Bloc Party, REM, Stars, Weezer) charts a beguiling journey through gently psychedelic waters.
First single from The Pea Green Boat will be released on 23rd April 2015 with the album following in July.
Kramies Interview on KFRC
Listen in to Colorado’s KFRC at 12pm on Monday the 30th and you’ll be lucky enough to hear the dulcet tones of the lovely Kramies. He’ll be talking about his music, his upcoming French tour and may even play a tune or two.
And if you have not had the pleasure of losing yourself in the melancholic bliss that is his new single, ‘The Fate That Never Favored Us’, then stream it below or download it from Bandcamp.
Featured Track – Kramies ‘Inventors’
Everything about ‘Inventors’ is absolutely perfect: the chord sequence, in one of Kramies‘ usual weird tunings; the shimmering lead guitar work by David Paolucci; Todd Tobias’s production – and it’s all wrapped up in just over 3 minutes. I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but I’m fondly reminded of ‘Spies’ from Coldplay’s debut album Parachutes, before they became one of the biggest bands in the world. ‘Inventors’ has a similar understated grandeur that’s subtly devastating.
Slow Dancing Society Mixtape at Igloo Mag
Drew Sullivan (aka Slow Dancing Society) has just dropped a magnificent mixtape for the wonderful Igloo Mag entitled Beautiful Oblivion. From Queensrÿche to Sigur Rós to Bruce Springsteen to Brian Eno and beyond, the eclectic mix echoes Sullivan’s own diverse and unfearing musical loves. Head to Igloo Mag to read some words from Drew on the musical selection and stream the mix in full and don’t forget to check out the latest Slow Dancing Society EP The Dusk Recital along with the rest of his discography at Hidden Shoal.
‘Hypersonic’ – Adrenalised Post-Rock Action from Les Limbes!
Be prepared to strap yourself in as we present the first single from Les Limbes’ brilliant debut self-titled EP. ‘Hypersonic‘ mixes adrenalised rock heft with atmospheric pop dynamics creating an instrumental that is both mesmerising and incredibly visceral. The song is lifted from from the forthcoming Les Limbes EP containing four instrumental tracks driven by dense, heavy guitars and a lithe, propulsive rhythm section, counterpointed with soaring strings and driving pianos. The EP is wholly engaging exercise in intensely focused energy and atmosphere.
Download ‘Hypersonic’ via Les Limbes’ Bandcamp or stream it at SoundCloud. The Les Limbes EP drops on the 5th of May through Hidden Shoal.
Born from the ashes of a number of previously active bands from Bordeaux, south west France (Beautiful Lunar Landscape, Nihil, Nucold), several members of Les Limbes began working together in 2012. Initially the band jammed and recorded their ideas, which made it clear something special was brewing. The band grew to a five piece (Arnaud Sigonney, Yoann Roy, Daniel Guerin, Julien Favreau, Nicolas Pointeau), began playing shows in Bordeaux, and recorded their brilliant four-track self-titled debut EP, to be released through Hidden Shoal (May 2015). Fans of Beautiful Lunar Landscape, who also released their debut through Hidden Shoal in 2007, will recognise the epic atmospheric rock stylings that Les Limbes effortlessly exude. However, the band also bring a new level of energy to the table, propelling these compositions into the stratosphere. This is noisy, rocket-fuelled post-rock’n’roll at its finest.
Markus Mehr on New Cafe del Mar Album!
The wonderful Cafe del Mar have just dropped their latest compilation, Sunscapes, featuring the track ‘Only For a While’ from Hidden Shoal’s sonic mastermind Markus Mehr! The album is a beautiful collection of ambient gems featuring artists such as Brian McBride, Biosphere, Marconi Union and Dvdub amongst others. Check out the promo below and get more info on the album at the Cafe del Mar site.
“Glitch before Kitsch” MixTape by Markus Mehr
A beautiful sister mix to Markus Mehr‘s previous Kitsch before Glitch mixtape. This time around Mehr takes us from David Sylvian to Thomas Köner to Aphex Twin to The Beatles and beyond. Let’s hand it over to the man himself to explain,
“This is the ‘sister’ to my previous mixtape, Kitsch Before Glitch – but they’re not identical twins. This mix is the complete opposite of the last. It’s music that has attracted me and moved me over the last six or seven months.
It starts with David Sylvian’s ‘Darkest Dreaming’, a beautiful miniature I rediscovered last summer when I was finishing the album Binary Rooms. I played it in the morning, before I started working, for an A/B mix comparison, during the breaks, and again at the end of the day. I am addicted to this song. It makes me remember my taxi driver days, when I would record one song onto tape over and over again (such as ‘Heartbeat’ by Sakamoto/Sylvian, ‘Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely’ by Hüsker Dü, or ‘Someone To Pull The Trigger’ by Matthew Sweet), then listen on repeat the whole night through.
After this intro you’ll hear a lot of outstanding music released in 2014, previously unreleased music, tracks from colleagues and with colleagues, and some hard-to-find electronic classics of the early ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s. And it ends with The Beatles’… by accident. If you’ve been listening to the whole tape, you are definitely also a ‘Fool On The Hill’ – a very nice one.”
– Markus Mehr
“Glitch before Kitsch” by Markus Mehr by Hidden Shoal on Mixcloud
Kramies ‘The Fate That Never Favored Us’ – New Single!
Ahead of his forthcoming French tour, dream-pop troubadour Kramies has dropped another gorgeous track produced by Jason Lytle (Grandaddy). ‘The Fate That Never Favored Us’ is a lilting, swaying cosmic waltz, delicately built around melancholy acoustic guitar and eerie synths, through which Kramies weaves his languid vocals. As with so much of his music, Kramies delivers soundtracks to moments rather than mere songs. The track is available for free download via Kramies Bandcamp.
The French will have the chance to have their moments soundtracked as Kramies lands in April to play some shows and tape some performances. The full list of dates is detailed below, but special mention must be made of his big show at the Grand Theatre in Angers on April 8th supporting the wonderful French outfit A Singer Must Die, who will be backed a chamber orchestra. Cool right?
Here’s a list of the shows and sessions:
April 7th – Showcase at the FNAC record store, Angers
April 7th – Indiemusic Session (studio only and published online)
April 8th – Grand Theatre, Angers
April 10th – The Jokers Pub, Angers
April 11th – Le Cargo session in Paris (studio only and published online)
April 11th – Froggy’s Delight session in Paris (studio only and published online)
April 11th – PopNews Session (studio only and published online)
REW Signs to Hidden Shoal
We’re very excited to announce a new member to the Hidden Shoal family in the form of Ryan E. Weber (aka REW<<). We’ve had the pleasure of sitting with Weber’s forthcoming second album as REW<<, Olive Skinned, Silver Tongued Sirens Sing Swan Songs (released on 16th July 2015), for some time now and we can tell you it’s an absolute beauty. The eclectic songcraft of REW<< is refracted through the lens of a laptop, conveying the open-endedness, excitement, and disconnection of post-modern living while maintaining the immediacy of pop. From the grand to the intimate, REW<<’s many shades blend beautifully within the one canvas thanks to Weber’s skilled hand. His compositional dexterity manages to invest the dreaminess with a sense of drama.
Weber, who originally hails from the Western shores of Lake Michigan, has previously played in bands including Camden, The Promise Ring and Decibully, and is one half of dream-pop duo Eric & Magill. Working on Eric & Magill releases while living in both Kenya and the Republic of Armenia, Weber collaborated over the internet with a host of notable contemporary indie artists, including members of Shearwater, The Dirty Projectors, Owen, Volcano Choir and The Delgados. In 2014 he released his acclaimed debut solo album as REW<<, Departeures. His new album Olive Skinned, Silver Tongued Sirens Sing Swan Songs is his debut for Hidden Shoal.
The October Solution ‘1984’ – First Single from “Axis Swim Scar”
Hidden Shoal is excited to announce the release of ‘1984’, the first cut from Axis Swim Scar, the debut album by dream-pop architects The October Solution (Drew Sullivan of Slow Dancing Society and City of Satellites, and Jarrod Manuel of City of Satellites). While steeped in ’80s nostalgia, their music moves beyond familiar tropes to stand as defiantly futuristic and progressive, no better exemplified than on single ‘1984’, which draws upon the sweeping grandeur of Disintegration-era Cure. Axis Swim Scar resonates with soaring guitars, ethereal vocals, and deftly woven pop melodies, melding the incandescent ambient sounds of Slow Dancing Society within the propulsive songcraft of City of Satellites.
The October Solution originally formed as EO in 2011, releasing two EPs, Breathe Your Air and Somewhere Human, before changing their name to The October Solution in 2013. While the duo operate at opposite ends of the globe – with Jarrod Manuel based in Adelaide, Australia and Drew Sullivan based in Spokane, USA – this independent collaboration was born at a City of Satellites production meet-up in the US, where the pair bonded over their shared love of ’80s and ’90s pop music and shoegaze.
‘1984’ is available now as a free download and stream. Axis Swim Scar will see official release on the 14th of April.
Hidden Shoal MixTape
