Editors’ Pick: Paul McCartney, Egypt Station
“Egypt Station flows as a unit, structured like a long ride on a cosmic train, beginning and ending with ambient railway-station noise,” writes Rob Sheffield. “These days, he’s not on any kind of assembly line—he only makes albums when he’s got enough worthy songs saved up, which is why his recent work has been top-notch. … This album’s masterpiece: ‘Dominoes,’ one of those Paul creations that feels both emotionally direct yet playfully enigmatic. An eerie acoustic guitar hook, worthy of the White Album,...
“Egypt Station flows as a unit, structured like a long ride on a cosmic train, beginning and ending with ambient railway-station noise,” writes Rob Sheffield. “These days, he’s not on any kind of assembly line—he only makes albums when he’s got enough worthy songs saved up, which is why his recent work has been top-notch. … This album’s masterpiece: ‘Dominoes,’ one of those Paul creations that feels both emotionally direct yet playfully enigmatic. An eerie acoustic guitar hook, worthy of the White Album,...
- 9/7/2018
- by Maura Johnston, Joseph Hudak, Hank Shteamer, Kory Grow and Will Hermes
- Rollingstone.com
Here’s a fun idea for a record: Take a veteran singer who also happens to be a lovable goofball with a dirty streak and leave him alone in a room with modern technology.
That’s the concept behind Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune, the new album from Swamp Dogg, real name Jerry Williams Jr. Williams is the kind of figure who, unfortunately, seems unlikely to emerge from the modern music industry, a genre-free vagabond who never had much commercial success as a solo act despite his knack for memorable songs and bizarre album artwork.
That’s the concept behind Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune, the new album from Swamp Dogg, real name Jerry Williams Jr. Williams is the kind of figure who, unfortunately, seems unlikely to emerge from the modern music industry, a genre-free vagabond who never had much commercial success as a solo act despite his knack for memorable songs and bizarre album artwork.
- 9/7/2018
- by Elias Leight
- Rollingstone.com
When Swamp Dogg first began work on his latest album, he had only one guiding principle.
“I just didn’t want it to sound like Swamp Dogg,” says Jerry Williams, who for close to a half-century has recorded his singular blend of eccentric soul under that name. “This time,” says the singer, 76, “I wanted to shock the shit out of them.”
Ever since he began making records as Swamp Dogg in the early Seventies, Williams has never much worried about how his music would fit into the larger American pop landscape.
“I just didn’t want it to sound like Swamp Dogg,” says Jerry Williams, who for close to a half-century has recorded his singular blend of eccentric soul under that name. “This time,” says the singer, 76, “I wanted to shock the shit out of them.”
Ever since he began making records as Swamp Dogg in the early Seventies, Williams has never much worried about how his music would fit into the larger American pop landscape.
- 9/6/2018
- by Jonathan Bernstein
- Rollingstone.com
Cult soul singer Swamp Dogg has unveiled his cover of the classic popularized by Nat King Cole, “Answer Me, My Love.” The tune appears on Swamp Dogg’s forthcoming album, Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune, which will be released on September 7th via Joyful Noise Recordings.
As with his previously released “I’ll Pretend,” the singer teams with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. Vernon provides Messina – the distorted vocoder/auto-tune vocalizations that punctuate the track and give a warped emotional take on the yearning sentiment of the song.
While it begins...
As with his previously released “I’ll Pretend,” the singer teams with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. Vernon provides Messina – the distorted vocoder/auto-tune vocalizations that punctuate the track and give a warped emotional take on the yearning sentiment of the song.
While it begins...
- 7/19/2018
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
In 2012, Minneapolis rapper Astronautalis talked about a collaboration he was recording with Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon. Two years later, it appears we are hearing the fruits of their partnership wrapped in a mysterious package. May we present you Jason Feathers, whose debut album, De Oro, premiered on Pitchfork this morning, with a press release that failed to name check either artist. Instead it makes note of four fictional characters: There is Creflo, the "red-chested god-bassed Southern rapper in a fancy white suit” (this is Astronautalis); Ephasis, the “heavily-seasoned guitar-crooning lost-cowboy” (this is Justin Vernon); Toothpick, the “a drummer-hype-piano-man all in one” (this is Bon Iver drummer and solo artist S. Carey); and “________,” who “put it all together and played ‘bass’ amongst sequenced plugs and wires” (this is Gayngs mastermind Ryan Olson). The result is dark mixture of southern rap and southern rock/blues/soul traditions, all filtered through the...
- 8/11/2014
- by Jesse David Fox
- Vulture
Minneapolis rapper P.O.S. has announced that his latest album, We Don’t Even Live Here, will be released on Oct. 23. The record includes collaborations with Ryan Olson of Gayngs, Boyz Noize, the Doomtree collective, and most notably, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. (Vernon, already a favorite of Kanye West, has certainly been doing this sort of thing a lot lately, having also just announced another hip-hop collaboration with another Minneapolis rapper, Astronautalis, that will be produced by Olson.) P.O.S.’s new album follows 2009’s Never Better, a record which The A.V. Club gave ...
- 8/15/2012
- avclub.com
By Zachary Swickey
It's hard to believe that nearly half the year is already over. With April having come and gone, we've already endured our first big fest of the season - Coachella, of course - and thankfully this year's Grammys helped make the beloved Bon Iver a household name. Best of all, Adele is on track to receive the first diamond record (10x platinum) since Usher's '04 effort Confessions.
So, basically it's safe to say that 2012 is already a hell of a year in music, and we've spotted some amazing new acts on the rise this year that are sure to only make it better. You may already recognize some of the names (who hasn't heard of Kimbra at this point?), but we hope you get well acquainted with all of them.
Here are six of our favorite acts on the rise. Who are some of yours?
Kimbra
At...
It's hard to believe that nearly half the year is already over. With April having come and gone, we've already endured our first big fest of the season - Coachella, of course - and thankfully this year's Grammys helped make the beloved Bon Iver a household name. Best of all, Adele is on track to receive the first diamond record (10x platinum) since Usher's '04 effort Confessions.
So, basically it's safe to say that 2012 is already a hell of a year in music, and we've spotted some amazing new acts on the rise this year that are sure to only make it better. You may already recognize some of the names (who hasn't heard of Kimbra at this point?), but we hope you get well acquainted with all of them.
Here are six of our favorite acts on the rise. Who are some of yours?
Kimbra
At...
- 5/23/2012
- by MTV News
- MTV Newsroom
Bon Iver's Justin Vernon has worked with rappers before, and this time he's gone with somebody a little less-known than Kanye West. Singer/songwriter/producer Vernon teamed with Minneapolis rhymer Astronautalis to form an as-yet-unnamed band, along with Bon Iver drummer S. Carey and his Gayngs side-project co-collaborator Ryan Olson. The quartet hit Vernon's Vernon's April Base studio near Eau Claire, Wis., last week, and have already slammed out eight tracks of music. Astronautalis -- real name Andy Bothwell -- said he then "freestyled for eight hours over everything," according to an interview with City Pages. When usually combines with friend Olson, "it's...
- 4/11/2012
- Hitfix
By Zachary Swickey
Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon must not be keen on taking breaks, because despite being on the road for most of 2011 – touring behind his Grammy-winning self-titled album – he somehow found the time to record a new full-length effort with his rapper friend Astronautalis.
While the concept may seem like a radical departure for Vernon, it’s really not if you are aware of his other side-gig with his supergroup Gayngs – a “collective” of 25 musicians, including Har Mar Superstar, rappers P.O.S. and Dessa from Doomtree, as well as three members of Solid Gold.
The record will also reportedly feature Bon Iver drummer S Carey and producer Ryan Olson (the man responsible for forming Gayngs) with Vernon’s April Base Studio in Wisconsin serving as the project’s headquarters.
"This process was exhilarating, and it drove us further. We were originally going to be down there for a day,...
Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon must not be keen on taking breaks, because despite being on the road for most of 2011 – touring behind his Grammy-winning self-titled album – he somehow found the time to record a new full-length effort with his rapper friend Astronautalis.
While the concept may seem like a radical departure for Vernon, it’s really not if you are aware of his other side-gig with his supergroup Gayngs – a “collective” of 25 musicians, including Har Mar Superstar, rappers P.O.S. and Dessa from Doomtree, as well as three members of Solid Gold.
The record will also reportedly feature Bon Iver drummer S Carey and producer Ryan Olson (the man responsible for forming Gayngs) with Vernon’s April Base Studio in Wisconsin serving as the project’s headquarters.
"This process was exhilarating, and it drove us further. We were originally going to be down there for a day,...
- 4/11/2012
- by MTV News
- MTV Newsroom
Justin Vernon has formed a new hip-hop inspired group with Astronautalis. The duo recorded an entire album together last weekend, with Vernon's Bon Iver bandmate Sean Carey also featuring. It was produced by Ryan Olson. "This process was exhilarating, and it drove us further. We were originally going to be down there for a day," Astronautalis - real name Andy Bothwell - told Citypages. "A lot of my fans are like, 'Oh this is going to be amazing: Astronautalis (more)...
- 4/11/2012
- by By Tom Eames
- Digital Spy
So, what’s new with Bonnie Bear? Would you believe that he has once again been holed up in a Midwestern venue drinking whiskey and recording new music? It is so! The details of his latest project come courtesy of the Minneapolis City Pages and local rapper Astronautalis, who has been in the studio with Justin Vernon since last Wednesday. They’ve formed a “pretty cool band” (not yet a supergroup, says Astronautalis, because “you should reserve supergroup qualifications for it until you decide if it's super or not”) and, along with Gayngs producer Ryan Olson, have apparently recorded the better part of a new album at this point. “All of us are hell-bent on getting it out really quickly, and hopefully to find the time to play some shows for it as well,” Astro says. Also, if you’re curious how much booze it takes to record a mysterious indie-rap collaboration,...
- 4/10/2012
- by Amanda Dobbins
- Vulture
Earlier in the week I highlighted a showcase playing at SXSW this year, and tried to figure out how to catch bits of it while also glimpsing Duran Duran who would be playing at the same time. That's the problem with SXSW, there's always two things going on at the same time that you want to be at, but as problems go, it's a good one to have.
Here's another point of interest, this time on another night, straight outta Milwaukee (and Minneapolis). The super collective Gayngs is headlining at night at Mohawk with their friends and smooth relations. The band came about when Ryan Olson hooked up with Zack Coulter and Adam Hurlburt of Solid Gold to bask in soft lighting and easy rock. Soon, they attracted others to their cause and the group swelled with the likes of Justin Vernon and Mike Noyce of Bon Iver, along with members of Megafaun,...
Here's another point of interest, this time on another night, straight outta Milwaukee (and Minneapolis). The super collective Gayngs is headlining at night at Mohawk with their friends and smooth relations. The band came about when Ryan Olson hooked up with Zack Coulter and Adam Hurlburt of Solid Gold to bask in soft lighting and easy rock. Soon, they attracted others to their cause and the group swelled with the likes of Justin Vernon and Mike Noyce of Bon Iver, along with members of Megafaun,...
- 2/25/2011
- by Brandon Kim
- ifc.com
It seems to me that we are in the midst of a resurgence of smooth, but then, I may just be projecting, hard to tell. It's clear though that growing numbers of 30 somethings and late 20 somethings fully embrace the smooth/lite/yacht rock sounds of the late 70's and early 80's. The Doobie Brothers, Hall and Oates, Christopher Cross.
A selection of the 20-some musicians that make up the smooth collective, Gayngs, lead by Ryan Olson and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, played Fallon the other night. I can't quite decide if they are fools or geniuses. I think if they just ditched the interminable autotune earsore, they'd be the latter. See for yourself, and stop by Daytrotter for their cover of Sade's, "By Your Side."
(Just jump to 3:10)
[Pitchfork]...
A selection of the 20-some musicians that make up the smooth collective, Gayngs, lead by Ryan Olson and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, played Fallon the other night. I can't quite decide if they are fools or geniuses. I think if they just ditched the interminable autotune earsore, they'd be the latter. See for yourself, and stop by Daytrotter for their cover of Sade's, "By Your Side."
(Just jump to 3:10)
[Pitchfork]...
- 10/6/2010
- by Brandon Kim
- ifc.com
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