Buzzin Music

News from The Leaf Label for the month of May includes the release of EPs and live shows from two of the labels artists, Oh No Ono and Wildbirds & Peacedrums.

internet warrior-oh no ono

Oh No Ono
Following weekend gigs at the Proud Gallery and the Camden Crawl over the weekend, Oh No Ono return to the stage for two shows later this month, headlining at London’s Lumiere on May 17th and Liverpool Sound City on May 19th.

On the back of the critically acclaimed album Eggs, Oh No Ono will also be releasing an EP of remixes called Internet Warrior on May 17th. The album will be available for download only with a limited edition vinyl version to follow.

One of the standout tracks from Eggs, Internet Warrior includes remixes of the title track along with two mixes each of Eleanor Speaks and Swim.

The remixes are plucked from a quiver of talented artists, coincidentally all North American on this occasion. Currently touting his eagerly anticipated fifth album, Leaf-alumnus Caribou weighs in with his “liquid, techno-stroked” (Stereogum) remix of ‘Eleanor Speaks’, already a blogsville hit and destined to be a dancefloor essential this summer, with DJs as diverse as Trentemøller and Four Tet getting behind it.

Shlohmo (not the UK beatboxer Shlomo, but the West Coast indie hip-hopper and Wedidit Collective member) offers a sparkly slice of backpack thug life, with a blippy, bouncey take on ‘Swim’. Coming up close behind is hotly tipped Brooklyn-based sister-fronted outfit, Zambri, with a woozy, echoey, bruised darkwave distortion that takes ‘Eleanor Speaks’ deep into dystopia. You need to play this one loud. New York’s Phenomenal Handclap Band give ‘Swim’ an understated cosmic disco revamp, while The Depreciation Guild (who dabble in a little side project called The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart) take ‘Internet Warrior’ into a mirrored hall of shoegazey, mindbending effects.

To mark the release, Oh No Ono have created a space invaders-style video game which you can find on their website.

wildbirds & peacedrums

Wildbirds & Peacedrums
Wildbirds and Peacedrums release the first of two special EPs this month,  Retina is available on vinyl only from May 24th, the release has been put back due to production problems, but the five track EP will surely be worth the wait and comes in stunning silver and black packaging.

The second EP, Iris, is scheduled for June release and together the EP’s will form the nucleus of a double CD album called Rivers, which should be available for August.

Retina comprises five extraordinary new songs, stratospheric in scale and emotional scope, thematically linked by the idea of water as a reflection of emotions. The songs were recorded in Iceland in just three days by Mariam Wallentin and Andreas Werliin and the 12-strong Schola Cantorum Reykjavík Chamber Choir (who also featured on Björk’s Medulla album). The EP features a stellar cast drawn from the Bedroom Community group, recorded by Australian émigré sound artist and engineer Ben Frost, mixed by Valgeir Sigurðsson (Camille, CocoRosie, Bonnie Prince Billy, etc) and with choral arrangements by Hildur Guðnadóttir (who has collaborated with Fever Ray, Throbbing Gristle and is a member of Múm).

‘Bleed Like There Was No Other Flood’ opens the EP, with a majestic, celestial rise and fall of choir voices and Mariam’s passionate, soaring, reverb-drenched lead vocal. Andreas’s percussion ranges from first raindrops through to the high-hat hiss of a storm at night. It is an immense track.

“It was amazing, the feeling of other voices lifting my voice and letting me float on top of it,” Mariam says. “Normally I take my power from a more grounded place, but when another voice layer was added, I could somehow rely on them and just sing what my emotions told me to. Not forcing anything. This experience gave me a safe and warm feeling, being a part of something bigger, a collective force.”

‘Tiny Holes In This World’ is sparse, with the percussion echoey and backwards-sounding, the sprightly vocal interplay from the choir sending spine tingles. ‘Under Land And Over Sea’ is solemn and reverent, and the drums are entirely absent. They reappear with characteristically vivid, unpredictable energy on ‘Fight For Me’, a tower of song with tremendous emotional power. ‘Peeling Off The Layers’ ends the EP, erect with an almost military tattoo, gales of angelic choir and Mariam singing a deeply confessional water-spiritual.

The release of Retina coincides with Wildbirds & Peacedrums’ short European tour, backed by a 12-piece choir, including a live premiere at the Pavement-curated ATP and a London show at Bishopsgate Institute. Their growing live reputation suggests these will be shows to remember. The band recently returned from a US tour with St Vincent, and wowed audiences around the world in 2009.

Here is a short teaser to give some idea of what to expect:

Wildbirds & Peacedrums Tour & Retina EP Trailer from Leaf Label on Vimeo.

May UK Tour Dates:

Oh No Ono
Monday 17 May
The Luminaire, LONDON
311 Kilburn High Rd, NW6 7JR
Doors 7.30pm
Tickets £7 adv / £8

http://www.theluminaire.co.uk/live-music/May/2010/1194

Wednesday 19 May
Liverpool Sound City, LIVERPOOL (with Archie Bronson Outfit, White Hinterland & Django Django)
The Kazimier, 4-5 Wolstehome Sq, L1 4JJ
Doors 8pm
Tickets £8

http://www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk

Wildbirds & Peacedrums and Voices
Friday 14 May                ATP Festival, Minehead, UK
Saturday 15 May            Bishopsgate Institute, London, UK
Sunday 16 May              Café De La Danse, Paris, France
Monday 17 May              Dampfzentrale, Bern, Switzerland
Wednesday 19 May        Babel, Malmö, Sweden
Thursday 20 May            Jazzhouse, Copenhagen, Denmark
Friday 21 May                Blå, Oslo, Norway
Saturday 22 May            Södra Teatern, Stockholm, Sweden
Sunday 23 May              Pusterviksteatern, Gothenburg, Sweden