Brazilian party people CSS show off their best moves in “Hits Me Like a Rock,” the first single off their latest album, La Liberación, which dropped this summer. (All I can pull off is the classic Running Man.)
It’s another gleeful synth-pop track from the Sao Paolo crew, with guest vocals by Primal Scream’s Bobbie Gillespie and a helping hand from Ratatat. I’m curious to see the kind of reaction CSS gets when they play the Neptune tonight (tickets are still available ); the former Sub Pop act broke from the label after a successful U.S. debut in 2006 with Cansei de Ser Sexy, and a downer of a second album, Donkey, in 2008. The dance party starts in the U District at 8pm.
Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jul 11, 2011 at 12:25PM0 Comments
The Head and the Heart in the classic “band in tree” pose.
We’ve been hearing for a while that Seattle indie act The Head and the Heart is the next big breakout band from the Pacific Northwest. Consider this their “breakout”: After spending the summer opening for My Morning Jacket and the Decemberists, the folk-pop sextet and new Sub Pop signee will headline its first national tour this fall, starting in New Orleans and working their way back home. Kind of. There aren’t any Seattle dates on the calendar yet, but they plan to announce additional concerts in the next few weeks. Until then… consider a road trip to Vancouver.
The Head and the Heart fall tour with Thao and the Get Down Stay Down (plus the Devil Whale and Lemolo in select cities):
Tue 09/20/11 @ One Eyed Jacks in New Orleans, La.
Wed 09/21/11 @ the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, Ga.
Thu 09/22/11@ Lincoln Theatre in Chapel Hill, NC.
Fri 09/23/11 @ the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC.
Mon 09/26/11 @ Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY.
Tue 09/27/11 @ Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY.
Mon 10/03/11 @ Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Thu 10/06/11 @ Turner Hall in Milwaukee, Wisc.
Fri 10/07/11 @ the Majestic in Madison, Wisc.
Sun 10/09/11 @ the Waiting Room in Omaha, Neb.
Mon 10/10/11 @ the Gothic in Denver.
Tue 10/18/11 @ WOW Hall in Eugene, Ore.
Wed 10/19/11 @ Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Ore.
Thu 10/20/11 @ the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, BC.
Shabazz Palaces’s Palaceer Lazaro at Neumos on Feb 17, 2011.
Could this be the year that Seattle hip hip goes global? Newly minted Sub Pop artists Shabazz Palaces already have fans at pitchfork.com and Rolling Stone; plus Rhapsody called their new release one of the most anticipated albums of 2011. But sassy duo THEESatisfaction also deserves critical love for their politically charged space rap. Which is why it’s nothing short of A Moment when you get to see both acts live, sharing a stage. No headliners, no openers. Just two guys, two girls, and a whole lot of smoke and beats. They balance each other: THEESatisfaction is all energy, the Four Loko to Shabazz’s smooth whiskey. And now that the ladies have joined the Sub Pop family too, we might be seeing a lot of this foursome in our future.
View the slideshow (above) for shots from last night’s concert at Neumos. All photos by Lucas Anderson.
Sub Pop launches new world music label with ngoni player Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba.
Posted by: Laura Dannen on Jul 21, 2010 at 10:30AM0 Comments
Bassekou Kouyate
(Originally published March 9, 2010.) New Sub Pop artist Bassekou Kouyate has found a way to redefine “roots music” in Seattle. Backed by his all-acoustic “guitar band,” Ngoni Ba, Kouyate plays a contemporary version of his native Mali’s traditional music on his ngoni —a 1,000-year-old ancestor of the banjo. The sound so closely resembles American blues, Kouyate has drawn the attention of artists Taj Mahal and Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt and Bela Fleck. He’s considered a virtuoso in West Africa—where he comes from a family of ngoni players—and after 20 years of picking and strumming around the world, he’s about to make his mark here with his first US tour. It’s about time Kouyate and Ngoni Ba crossed our radar, says KEXP DJ Jon Kertzer, who signed them to Sub Pop’s new world music label, Next Ambiance, which he’s co-managing.
“[Bassekou’s had] a tremendous response in Europe, but were never really released over here. Then at the 2007 WOMEX [World Music Expo] in England he really broke through in a big way and became a star in the world music scene there,” says Kertzer. He had “discovered” Kouyate through Lucy Duran, a friend and BBC radio host in London, and after hearing Kouyate and Ngoni Ba’s second release in March, I Speak Fula, he talked to Duran about getting them some local exposure.
“I thought wow, this is an incredible live band. I knew he was a great musician, but this is a whole new concept. … What he’s done is a kind of modernization of the music. Like, he invented the bass version of the instrument that’s never been played before—he built it. Using a rock band as a model, he created a full band of ngonis. It’s like a guitar band but with ngonis.” Four ngonis, to be exact, with wife Amy Sacko lending lead vocals. “It’s all acoustic and traditional instruments, but it’s very high energy. Some of it’s dance music, some of it’s not, but it’s all exciting stuff to watch.”
Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba kicked off their US headlining tour at the Triple Door on March 16. They return to Seattle tomorrow night, July 22, to play Neumos. Doors open at 9; tickets are $17-$20. Get ticketshere.
Before joining Seattle Metropolitan, Laura Dannen covered all things A&E as deputy editor of Time Out Singapore. She’s an award-winning reporter and editor whose team of entertainment junkies delivers daily doses of news, reviews, and interviews.
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