Finally! No, I’m joking. I’m not even sure what membership in that genre entails, but since I got an exclusive email from The Great Northwest (their record company, actually), I thought I might as well show my appreciation by plugging the band’s upcoming, “much anticipated” debut.

SO: The Great Northwest’s first album, The Widespread Reign of The Great Northwest, comes out July 29, and promises to feature “lush soundscapes” and “savvy wordplay.” So if you’re into “ambient modulations,” etc., (I’m pretty sure I’m not), check it out. Here’s their myspace.

La gente de Kora Records nos envía un adelanto del disco debut de The Great Northwest, el proyecto artístico musical de Brian Coates (Portland). El disco, que puede considerarse heredero del sonido space rock, cuenta con la colaboración de Peter Holmström de The Dandy Warhols y se llama The Widespread Reign of The Great Northwest. Este es uno de los temas del álbum que saldrá en julio:

Chief John

Brian Coates moves to New York in 2004 where the music/art project that is to become The Great Northwest commences. It grows to involve over 20 people including Portland ex-pats Noah and Nathan Rice (the Christopher Twins), Josh Kalberg, and Dale Winston. After a year+ in NYC, Brian’s wanderlust leads him west to California. At his friend Armando’s house in Fresno, a musical beacon was sounded. Joe Kaczmarerk, Brent Fellows, Courtney Taylor Taylor, Brent DeBoer, Ray Gordon, Sean “Gothman” Addams, Poopy Simons, Louise Fenton, and a load of new friends converge for a blowout of a party. Brian Richburg, owner of Studio 9 in Fresno makes them a deal for studio time and recording begins. More than an album’s worth of music is made.

Brian, working with Dead Meadow, ends up in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of our nation’s capital in 2006. Douglas and Mike from Kora meet up with him at a bar in their mutual ‘hood to hear some unmixed MP3s on his laptop, leave awe-struck and sign him straight away to put out an LP. During a summer pitstop in Portland, with longtime bandmate Randall Crush, the songs receive mixing treatment at The Dandy Warhols’ Odditorium with mastering back east by TJ Lipple (Aloha) at Silver Sonya in Arlington, VA.

The 13 track album brims over with lush soundscapes and ambient modulations. Pop melodies and slowcore pacing coalesce seamlessly throughout the record. Lavish and haunting vocals woven with Brian’s savvy wordplay complete the sonically induced mind altering experience. After the mixing session, Coates said tenderly, “there’s guitar, there’s bass, there’s drums, there’s trombone, there’s Leslie speakers, practice amps, Jew’s Harps, drum loops, tambourines, ebows, harmonicas and pie tins. There’s thought… there’s love.”
-Text: Kora Records-

Nota : las canciones que se incluyen en Les Paradis Artificiels no están alojadas en este blog, son links a otros sitios o a las webs de los propios artistas que han publicado sus temas para difundirlos.

Top 10s that are burning up in the charts that we actually care about

Top 10 Elbo.ws Tracks
1. Mogwai – The Sun Smells Too Loud
2. Bloc Party – Mercury
3. Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal
4. Takka Takka – Everybody Say
5. The Great Northwest – chief john
6. Albert Hammond, Jr. – GfC
7. The Presets – Talk Like That (Miami Horror Remix)
8. The DUTCHESS AND THE DUKE – Reservoir Park
9. Earlimart – Song For
10. The Verve – Mover

Top 10 Hype Machine Artists
1. Beck mp3 | Walls
2. Bloc Party mp3 | Flux (JFK Remix)
3. Black Kids mp3 | Hurricane Jane
4. The Kooks mp3 | Violet Hill (Coldplay Cover)
5. Pnau mp3 | Embrace (Fred Falke & Miami Horror Remix)
6. Bruce Springsteen
7. Late of the Pier
8. Midnight Juggernauts
9. My Morning Jacket
10. Ratatat mp3 |Bird-Priest

Top 10 Last.fm Rising Tracks
1. Dirty Pretty Things – Tired of England
2. Equilibrium – Blut Im Auge
3. Sky Eats Airplane – Long Walks on Short Bridges
4. The Subways – Alright
5. YUI – Summer Song
6. CSS – Rat Is Dead (Rage)
7. Air France – Maundy Thursday
8. Sky Eats Airplane – The Artificial
9. The Subways – Girls & Boys
10. Air France – No Excuses

Brian Coates was a normal rocker guitar player who sent a few demos to the bands he likes. After a while, Courtney Taylor-Taylor from Dandy Warhols (who’s coming to Brazil next month) called him. Brian traveled the world with the Warhols to learn a few stuff and now he leads The Great Northwest. Could happen to anyone.

The Great Northwest is releasing their debut album ‘The Widespread Reign of’ (nice album artwork). Pop melodies, psychadelic jams, some hauting vocals, “there’s guitar, there’s bass, there’s drums, there’s trombone, there’s Leslie speakers, practice amps, Jew’s Harps, drum loops, tambourines, ebows, harmonicas, pie tins. There’s thought, there’s love.” Words from Coates himself. We agree.

>> mp3 >> Chief John
>> mp3 >> Know What I Mean

[Editors note to Brazilians: It's not Cachorro Grande!]

Es ist zu heiß zum Bloggen! Ich suche mir jetzt erst einmal ein schattiges Plätzchen zum Zeitunglesen – immerhin muss ich all das nachholen, was mir während drei Wochen EM entgangen ist. Eine ganze Menge war das!

Update: Kaum war das schattige Plätzchen gefunden, wurde ich schon wieder von einem aufziehenden Gewitter vertrieben. Sauerei – gibt es denn keine heißen Tage ohne Gewitter mehr?
Trotzdem gibt es auch Erfreuliches zu berichten: Nach sehr toller Post aus Tübingen, Coburg und München in den letzten Tagen wurde es heute etwas exotischer im Briefkasten – eine Karte aus der Schweiz und ein mit Zollaufklebern vollgepapptes Päckchen aus den USA mit einem Rezensionsexemplar des neuen Albums von The Great Northwest drin. Ist übrigens sehr toll, die Platte…gibts ab 29. Juli überall zu kaufen.

  From Portland, Oregon come The Great Northwest  whose debut album “The Widespread Reign of The Great Northwest” is released on July 29 by The Kora Records.

• The Great Northwest – Chief John

The Great Northwest – Chief John

A slow and sleepy tune from The Great Northwest’s upcoming debut, ‘Chief John’ slowly evolves into a dark meditation, its words almost obscured, drifting without any deviation…until it fades from view.

The Widespread Reign of the Great Northwest is out on the Kora records July 29th.

MySpace

Official site

Photo by Esther.Z.Schnickenacke

Sandals and Socks Guy, remove your socks.

Current Temperature: 88 degrees

It’s been less than a month since our last bit of snow, making for an odd and chilly spring. Everybody was out for The Heat Wave today.

Bellevue Botanical Gardens – various flora and fauna.

Robinswood Park – Sunbathing turtle.