[via bang]

The Ting Tings are to work with Jay-Z on their new album.

The ‘That’s Not My Name’ duo have signed to the rap superstar’s record label, Roc Nation, in the US and he is reportedly set to give their career a huge boost by helping with them on their second album.

A source told Britain’s Daily Star newspaper: “Jay is hoping to lend his production skills to some of the new material.

“The Staccato rhythmic style of The Ting Tings sits well with what he does best, so that was the attraction.

“Jay can make them one of the biggest British bands in America.”

While the duo are thrilled with their deal, they are unlikely to be happy with the amount of time they will have to spend in America.

The group – made up of singer and guitarist Katie White and drummer and programmer Jules de Martino – recently said despite their huge success, they have been homesick since they started touring the world in support of their debut album ‘We Started Nothing’ in May 2008.

Katie said: “We’ve seen the world. God, we’ve seen it about five times. We were even flying over Siberia the other day, from the aeroplane there was just not one sign of life, not one tree, nothing. It was amazing.

“Japan, Hong Kong were great. America’s good, we do long tours there and you know, there’s some amazing cities there, but you’re driving for so long just to get to the next city.”

Jay-Z has also signed British girl group Sugababes to Roc Nation in the US.

(C) BANG Media International

The Ting Tings Collaborate With Jay-Z is a post from: wax&wires

Even better, when I went to post it this morning, Amazon had selected it as their featured album of the day, so you can pick it up for just $3.99!

Discovery is a side project from members of Vampire Weekend & Ra Ra Riot. I’m not the biggest fan of either of those two bands, but have really dug the programming in the new group. You’ll hear both bands’ influences coming through loud and clear, especially on their cover of Jackson 5′s “I Want You Back.” Check it out!

Discovery – LP

Wax Pick: Discovery – LP is a post from: wax&wires

Well, fastforward to now. Danger Mouse, most notorious for being half of the Gnarls Barkley duo, is in the midst of a legal dispute with EMI. He’s completed a new project with Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse) that is hung up on the label end.

The album also features a who’s who in indie rock, featuring artists like James Mercer of The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, Frank Black of the Pixies, Iggy Pop, Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt, David Lynch, and Scott Spillane of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils.

As a next step to get something out, as well as drum up a strong amount of publicity, Danger Mouse will be releasing the album artwork for Dark Night of the Soul with a blank CD-R in lieu of the album itself.

Danger Mouse’s new project Dark Night Of The Soul consists of an album length piece of music by Danger Mouse, Sparklehorse and a host of guest vocalists, along with a collection of original David Lynch photography inspired by and based on the music.

The photographs, which provide a visual narrative for the music, are compiled in a limited edition, hand numbered 100+ page book which will now come with a blank, recordable CD-R. All copies will be clearly labeled: ‘For Legal Reasons, enclosed CD-R contains no music. Use it as you will.’

Due to an ongoing dispute with EMI, Danger Mouse is unable to release the recorded music for Dark Night Of The Soul without fear of being sued by EMI.

Danger Mouse remains hugely proud of Dark Night Of The Soul and hopes that people lucky enough to hear the music, by whatever means, are as excited by it as he is.

So there’s no clear statement to go download the songs and burn them, but that would be the implication.

To catch a listen of Dark Night of the Soul, head over to NPR, where there’s a stream. There’s also a lot of good info on the NPR site about the ablum.

New Danger Mouse Album = Blank CD-R is a post from: wax&wires

I just launched a project I’ve been dreaming about for years. The idea is Kind of Bloop, an 8-bit tribute to Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue, one of my favorite albums of all-time. I’ve always wondered what chiptune jazz covers would sound like. What would the jazz masters sound like on a Nintendo Entertainment System? Coltrane on a C-64? Mingus on Amiga?

I’ve researched the topic quite a bit, and was only able to find four jazz covers ever released — ast0r’s version of Coltrane’s Giant Steps and Charlie Parker’s Confirmation, Sergeeo’s own Giant Steps cover, and Bun’s version of Coltrane’s My Favorite Things. (If you know more, please let me know!)

So I asked ast0r and sergeeo, along with three incredible chiptune artists (Virt, Shnabubula, and Disasterpeace), to collaborate on a track-by-track remake of the album. I’m raising the money to legally release the album, pay the royalties¹, print a very limited run of CDs for Kickstarter backers only, and pay the artists for their hard work on these very challenging songs.

The goal is to have the album done and ready for download on Kind of Blue’s 50th birthday, August 17th. I’ll try to keep you posted on any developments. Some other 8-bit jazz has come off sounding really cool, albeit quirky; so this album will definitely have my attention when it drops.

Kind Of Bloop: An 8-Bit Tribute To Miles Davis is a post from: wax&wires

I just got turned on to this album via a few tweets from Imogen Heap. Apparat is German musician Sascha Ring, though he takes a band out when he plays live.

Walls is his 2007 release, breaking away from his dance floor roots and growing to be “more interested in sounds than beats” by incorporating strings, various live percussion, and dropping the 4-on-the-floor for a more laid-back trip-hop vibe. I can hear exactly why Imogen loves this so much, as there is definitely some sonic overlap with the textures created. Think of cross-breeding Imogen Heap, Sigur Ros, and a dose of Fink, and you’ll be in the ball park.

Apparat has been collaborating with Modselektor to cut an album that’s do out this Tuesday, under the psyeudonym Moderat… clever. It’s like a celebrity couple name mashup, only with good results.

Apparat – Walls

Wax Pick: Apparat – Walls is a post from: wax&wires

[via Jordan Sandvig @ RS]

It’s been 10 years since Justin Vernon, better known as the leader of Bon Iver, performed on the stage of Memorial High School in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. But the rising singer-songwriter Rolling Stone profiled in February joined his former high school jazz band on Sunday night (April 19th) for a special show to raise money for group’s trip to Essential Ellington — a competition hosted annually by Wynton Marsalis, who has hailed the Memorial HS jazz outfit as “the $25,000 band” for their consistent ability to raise the funds necessary to make the trip six times in the last 10 years. Their first journey to the event featured Justin Vernon playing lead guitar his senior year.

After Old Abe Jazz Band I’s own set, in which they nailed Duke Ellington tunes, the hometown hero took the stage, joining Bruce Hering, the same man who led the band when Justin cut his chops a decade ago. Backed by a 20-plus-piece brass section and dressed in a bold white-on-white suit, Vernon performed “Lump Sum” (from For Emma, Forever Ago), followed by four standards — Ellington’s “Rocks In My Bed,” Nina Simone’s “Since I Fell For You,” Ella Fitzgerald’s “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” and “Miss Otis Regrets” — before doing another of his own songs, “For Emma,” which came alive under the weight of the large brass section. (YouTube after the jump!)

After several standing ovations, Vernon closed with Frank Sinatra’s “The Lady Is a Tramp” and encored with a revelatory solo version of Mahalia Jackon’s “A Satisfied Mind.” He graciously attempted to shift the spotlight off of himself and on to the band (made up of juniors and seniors), the director, the songwriters, the community and his Bon Iver bandmate Mike Noyce, who contributed a wicked harmonica solo to “Since I Fell For You.”

Bon Iver Goes Back To High School For Jazz Band is a post from: wax&wires

Here’s a quick look at their sound via a couple snippets. You can definitely find the full clips on YouTube, but this clip highlighted two songs, so I figured I’d link it up.

The sound is powerpop in its truest form, though Iha’s guitar sprinkles in a small amount of shoegaze with the sheer depth of the fuzz he favors.

Tinted Windows – The Latest SuperGroup is a post from: wax&wires

Kosten crosses several genre lines, mixing breakbeat electronic with the raw emotion found in more traditional pop music. It doesn’t hurt to have Chris Martin, Michael Stipe, and Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips) contributing either. Though the album doesn’t really congeal as a whole for me, it has enough good single tracks on it to warrant a pick up.

My favorite track is easily the single, Where Is My Boy, which has garnered all the attention for featuring Chris Martin.

Faultline – Your Love Means Everything

Wax Pick: Faultline – Your Love Means Everything is a post from: wax&wires

Famed producer Butch Walker is responsible for writing the tune with Cee-Lo, and you can pick up his original mix and a Polow Da Dan remix on the 2-song album. A press release stated that the goal of the song was to be one that “reflects the spirit of positivity, optimism and fun,” falling in line with Coke’s branding scheme all the way.

“I guess what was interesting about the idea at first was Coca-Cola’s interest in me — that was appealing,” Cee-Lo was quoted as saying. “Music’s marketplace can be very fickle and unforgiving and if you want longevity and you want legend, who better to ask advice from than Coca-Cola?”

You can catch a listen, as well as purchase the songs here.

Does it make you want a Coke? I’ve been getting these big bulk boxes of Mexican Coke from Costco down here, made with real sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup. It makes such a difference in the taste. If Coke just made all of their soda with real cane sugar, like Pepsi’s planning to experiment with, they wouldn’t need a song to sell me on it.

Coca-Cola Creates Supergroup Open Happiness is a post from: wax&wires

N.A.S.A. exists as a collaborative between DJ’s Squeak E. Clean and Brazil’s DJ Zegan, from North America and South America respectively (hence the name, N.A.S.A.). From there, the two dance club aficionados put together a dream team of artists to work with including George Clinton, John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Lykke Li, Karen O. (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’s), Kanye West, M.I.A., Santogold and more. When I saw the lineup I thought that this album could be 2009′s Version, producer Mark Ronson’s album featuring an all star cast from back in 2007. The biggest difference is found in that N.A.S.A.’s debut LP is loaded with original content, rather than creative covers.

The Spirit Of Apollo offers quite a few tracks that will definitely be heard in clubs around the world, and releases just in time to build momentum heading into Spring and Summer, when listeners find themselves itching for fun and bouncy hits.

N.A.S.A. – The Spirit Of Apollo

Wax Pick: N.A.S.A. – The Spirit Of Apollo is a post from: wax&wires

I first heard M83 in a Pontiac commercial several years ago, featuring Don’t Save Us From The Flames. Once I saw the ad on TV, I immediately went to my computer to hunt down the song. It was everything I loved about epic shoegazer rock and electronic music rolled into one. I just heard the news that after wrapping up a UK tour with Kings Of Leon, M83 will be playing a live concert with the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra on March 7th. If you’re anywhere in Southern California, you need to find a way to make it there.

From Live Daily:

M83 will perform with the Los Angeles Philharmonic March 7 at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The co-headlining show will feature M83 performing solo material, an individual Philharmonic program and a combined set featuring orchestral arrangements by Sean O’Loughlin, who also wrote the arrangements for the LA Philharmonic’s performances with Belle & Sebastian and The Decemberists at the Hollywood Bowl, according to a press release.

The Philharmonic’s performance will include orchestral pieces chosen in collaboration with M83′s chief synth man, Anthony Gonzalez. The one-night-only show also marks the French electro band’s debut with an orchestra.

M83 To Play With The L.A. Philharmonic is a post from: wax&wires