May 16, 2012

"Where words fail, music speaks" 

....These words from Hans Christian Andersen are quite fitting to seal our intention for tonight's edition of our ongoing live film score series, FIN DE CINEMA. Tonight we present Mala Morska Vila, the live action Czech adaptation of The Little Mermaid from 1976. This visual delight, following in the surreal and romantic footsteps of fellow Czech New Wave flicks like Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, sticks closely to the original Hans Christian Andersen fairytale. This film is a far cry from the American Disney version: it's a grim and tragic tale of a young mermaid who gave it all up for love - and lost. 

Good Night Billygoat, Wooden Indian Burial Ground, and Blood Beach will be taking up scoring duties, each group lending their unique musical interpretation to their portion of the film. How perfect the approach feels for a story in which "words fail". The Little Mermaid surrenders her voice to the evil Sea Witch in exchange for human legs upon which to walk to her Prince....left only with the purely emotive, metaphorical forms of communication, her air of feminine mystery which exists entirely outside of the categories and confines of language. So too will our musicians tonight speak that higher language, so too will they access that elusive place where feelings reign beyond the rational sphere. 

Join us tonight for our explorative endeavor - doors open at 8:30, with the film beginning promptly at 9:30.

Posted by GA

May 13, 2012

The neo-soul of Nick Waterhouse sits on a strong foundation of the classics, among the new class of retrofitted acts like Mayer Hawthorne. Waterhouses' devotion to the aesthetic of the classic Motown form shines brightly on stage with his Tarots (backup singers that demand just as much of the spotlight as Waterhouse himself) and a backing band that's as together as any soul/R&B outfit that's been going at it for decades. But it also possesses an irresistable rock'n'roll heart, and in it's better moments, it's more on the side of fun-loving wiles of Chuck Berry than the smooth, crisp Hawthorne. It's finger snapping, Oxford tapping, shoulder shaking music, the sort that just feels cool - largely due to the sparse but dangerous sounding horns, and the slinky-feeling (but tightly-played) percussion.

Here's a live bootleg from March of Nick Waterhouse and his Tarots in Berlin to get you swooning. He plays Holocene May 28 with DJ Cooky Parker and DJ Beyonda.

Posted by V

May 8, 2012

image via IMPOSE

Amen Dunes sounds like a two-way looking glass. The dark, sprawling pieces of curved glass on their latest album, Through Donkey Jaw, spread through muck and low fidelity, inviting listeners to gaze both through head honcho Damon McMahon's cloudy eyes and out through thick spectacles of fog and hypnotic chanting. "Jill" is, for example, an exercise in repetition: the track continuously echoes and folds in on itself not unlike a scuzzy, twisted cousin of Steve Reich or Terry Riley's minimal compositions in which space for imaginary overtones breathes through a fundamental understanding that less is really sometimes more. McMahon's moody jams allow the restrained nature of his pieces to build in emotional insanity without the wizardry of subtly pasting layer upon layer of noise until it becomes white (or brown). The chopped guitar becomes a concrete foundation over which McMahon's Suicide-esque chant of "Jill, Jill, Jill" constructs an imaginary sacrificial altar. You can almost picture "Jill, Jill, Jill" morphing into a sinisterly disaffected call-to-arms to "kill, kill, kill." 

Amen Dunes bring their haunting expressionism to Holocene TONIGHT with openers Prescription Pills. 

Posted by MA

May 6, 2012

In our second installment of ECSTASY, we’ve got a solid block of DJs and disco-minded body movers on hand this Friday night, including locals Emotion II Emotion (Avalon of Operative and Rafael of Miracles Club) and the Ecstasy DJs. Robot Hustle will be there with his brand of bass-driven, sexy beats and so will Honey Soundsystem, a queer DJ collective with a penchant for indulgent, undeniable house music.

The two are a formidable combo and have been setting off parties since 2007, including an “event that involved a pole worker (Bad AZZ); a bathhouse party at an abandoned sex club; and the Mindshaft basement events that consisted of two parties: a tribute to Megatone Records and a literary inspired club based on the events in Dancer from the Dance.”

Here’s two mixes for you to ready yourself for what they’re bringing to the table, a let-your-hair-down affair that’ll surely take us late into the night...

Posted by V

May 2, 2012

We're anticipating the arrival of Black Moth Super Rainbow, where our white walls can be the canvas to their technicolor melody weaving. Equally entertaining, Lumerians are in tow. The Bay-Area psych band lay the groundwork for the mind-bender of a night, as both bands are less aural elation than full-throttle A/V spectacle. And where BMSR serves up a spiraling set of playful, mind-melting pop jams, Lumerians have a throttling batch of kraut-infused neuro-drone explorations.

Here is Lumerians at work at the Holocene/Redefine Magazine SXSW showcase in March (footage shot by Lymay Iwasaki). Nine solid minutes of pulsing bass lines, headbanging, and gear envy.

Posted by V

Apr 29, 2012

This Thursday we open our doors to local filmmaking crew Into The Woods, for whom we can fondly recall the humble beginnings of takeaway cabin shows from the likes of Explode Into Colors and Wampire. Their quarterly event is a showcase of powerhouse programming, and we’re looking to cheer on the big net they’ve cast in the realm of unique filming locales, impeccably curated mixtapes (check out 13 Months of Sunshine DJ Jason Urick’s hypnagogic “10 Songs to My Waking Dream” mix for an early spring morning), and quirky features.

If you haven’t checked in on them lately, know that they’ve grown by leaps and bounds. They’ve got arms at work across the shores of our nation (particularly New York) and that wide-reaching web has hooked in larger acts like Gardens & Villa (visiting us May 30 for the MFNW kick off party), Okkervil River, and Pictureplane. 

They’ve also expanded to include several different series within their series – including Far From Home, which documents touring bands passing through Portland; Carsick, a live session from within the confines of a moving vehicle; the enlightening Don’t Quit Your Day Job, which follows musicians through their quotidian, bill-paying routines; and a personal favorite, the quasi-rebellious Stand Your Ground, the only session so far features Cole Browning of Prescription Pills troubadour-style, solo in a San Francisco Wells Fargo building. Though the footage is less songster and mostly security guard shoulder, worth the watch!

Posted by V