Posted in Press Releases

After debuting with Tic Toc Tic in 2009, The Zolas scaled the precipice of cult status across their native Canada, thanks to a loyal fanbase carried over from Zach Gray (vocals, guitar) and Tom Dobrzanski’s (piano) earlier years as acclaimed indie rock quartet, Lotus Child. On their sophomore release, Ancient Mars, The Zolas are set to continue their legacy of postmodern pop, trading in the cabaret glitz of Tic Toc Tic for reverbed pianos and tough, minimalist percussion.

In Strange Girl a sunny guitar riff blasts into the perfect mid-‘90s summer jam, while title track “Ancient Mars” is bouncy and nostalgic, heaping spoonfuls of Montreal and Brooklyn avant-pop. Forthcoming single Knot In My Heart, is textured yet minimalist, allowing ghostly synths to trade blows with buzzing guitars...

Posted in Press Releases

When Syd Arthur emerged in 2012 with their debut, self-recorded, self produced, self released album On An On, it didn’t take long for them to rocket to critical acclaim. Hailed as natural successors to Canterbury’s famous folk-prog sound, they not only connected with fans of Caravan, Soft Machine and Gong, but with fans of contemporary artists like Tame Impala, Devendra Banhart and Wolf People. Rave reviews across Q, Mojo, Uncut and The Guardian followed. With the release of the single Dorothy in late 2012, the band had their first taste of UK radio support, scoring plays across Radio 2, 6 Music, XFM, Amazing Radio, NME Radio, Q Radio and more...

Posted in Press Releases

After forming Wampire, Rocky Tinder and Eric Phipps steadily began to make a name for themselves in the same Portland, OR, scene that has produced labelmates STRFKR as well as Unknown Mortal Orchestra.

It makes sense, then, that Wampire came to Polyvinyl’s attention when the duo opened for STRFKR at a hometown Portland show and that UMO’s bassist Jacob Portrait produced Wampire’s debut full-length, Curiosity.

The choice of Portrait was a natural one, with both Tinder and Phipps believing he’d be able to contribute almost as much to the record as they would.

And so, in mid-August Tinder and Phipps each brought fragments of song ideas into the studio, before deconstructing, re-arranging, and fitting them back together piece by piece — at times lyrics and melodies were thrown out, b...

Posted in Press Releases

Since releasing their debut full-length Con Law in 2009, Generationals have consistently delivered pop hooks shone through a melancholic prism. 2013’s Heza brings the band to Polyvinyl and along with the label change, comes a subtle but significant sonic shift.

Recorded in phases at Jim Eno’s Public Hifi in Austin, producer Daniel Black’s Bent Black studio in D.C., and the band’s hometown of New Orleans, Heza finds Generationals more satisfied in writing songs that breathe and grow over time. These songs show restraint, with hooks developing in the spaces between sounds. The attention to rhythms and textures reveals a more patient band — one willing to dig for deeper gems than in their previous work...

Posted in Cd Reviews

Sukh is a Manchester based singer songwriter. He plays guitar and piano as well as singing, and has long had an interest in music. In his day job he’s a Doctor, and yet has managed to find time to write and record his album – Kings.

The music is nice and simple – generally it’s just vocals and guitar that stand out, with drums and bass being more restrained, but at the same time Sukh isn’t afraid to add more instruments to give a richer sound where it is needed, so we get Cello, Viola, French Horn and Piano as well as female vocals to enhance the sound, and this does lift the album up above many of the releases from solo singer songwriters. The songs are also quite upbeat, avoiding the common tendancy on albums of this type to have more of a gloomy feel.

It’s a really enjoyable album t...

Posted in Press Releases

Moussu T e lei Jovents, made up of the founder and singer of Massilia Sound System, Tatou (alias Moussu T, Mister T), and his guitarist, Blu, are now a major presence on the French music scene: an uncontested figurehead of Occitan music, the group is now making a name for itself beyond the frontiers of their homeland.
Over the thirty years of their encounter-rich career (Massilia was founded in 1984), they have connected with many people, notably those in the Nordeste region of Brazil and singers like Lénine, Silverio Pessoa and Jamilson Da Silva. From this, the group has drawn their inspiration and fundamental principles. The influence of Marseilles music from the thirties and the popularity of its light operas have also made a major contribution to building the group’s repertoire...

Posted in Press Releases

RELEASE DATE: 15th April 2013

Public Enemy are one of the most influential, controversial and radical hip hop groups of all time. True pioneers, the band revolutionised hardcore rap in the late 80’s with a trailblazing blend of political themes and innovative music production. As lead MC Chuck D tackled all kinds of social issues in his rhymes, particularly in the black community, the group brought an intoxicating musical mix with comic ‘hype man’ Flava Flav and the epic unrelenting cut-and-paste beats of their production team, the Bomb Squad. With a militant outlook and lyrical content condoning revolutionary action and social activism, Public Enemy initially gathered much controversy but soon won widespread acclaim to be regarded as the most influential band of their time.
The Publ...

Posted in Press Releases

Helldorado was formed in the spring of 2001 in Stavanger, Norway. Most of the members had been playing in local band The Tramps for several years, and had considerable live and studio experience with that band. They where looking for a much darker and broader musical landscape than they could find in The Tramps, and got together playing punked up surf covers with their new band Helldorado. In the fall of 2002 Helldorado won the traditional Norwegian Battle of the Bands called ZOOM winning a full Norwegian tour plus a couple of gigs in the UK and Germany. Shortly after winning the national ZOOM finale they released their first mini album Lost Highway at the local label CCAP. The album received stunning reviews in the Norwegian music press...

Posted in Interviews

Den senaste tiden har jag flera gånger fått frågor från folk i andra delar av landet vad det är för ett nytt och coolt spelställe Malmö begåvats med.
Det är Häng Bar på Möllevången där en av stadens mer namnkunniga musikprofiler, David Javue, får styra och ställa över bandbokningar och val av Dj´s.

Han är välkänd inom punkscenen och ett av hans tidiga band ”Puke” har hyllats och hypats av Fenriz i Darkthrone. ”Approved by Fenriz” är ett vedertaget begrepp bland kanske främst black-metalfans men det som Fenriz gillar kommer per automatik att få fler lyssnare.
Det är tidig vardagskväll när vi träffas på Häng Bar och stället är än så länge glest befolkat...

Posted in Gig/Festival Reviews

Imagine you are a music lover who were in a jazz festival, that comes for 3 consecutive days with 17 different stages choices every day and offer more than 180 performers. You can see not only the local and foreign artists on the rise at this moment but even world artists that had considered as a living legend and will be noted in history of jazz music world. Bob James, Lee Ritenour, Fourplay, Marcus Miller, Dave Grusin, and George Duke are just some of the name in this Festival.

Java Jazz Festival 2013 which had been held on 1 – 3 March 2013 was the ninth edition of the Indonesian pride festival. It means nine times that Indonesia has successfully organized a jazz festival growing into one of the best in the world...