Enjoy pictures from our hilarious photoshoot with Gwilym (in which he insisted on wearing a pig nose) and check out pictures from the Blue Flowers CMJ Show including Mumford and Sons and The Temper Trap HERE.

MP3: Golden Silvers – Lily the Lover or zShare
MP3: Golden Silvers – Arrows of Eros (With Hypnotic Brass Ensemble) or zShare

> When did you arrive in New York?
GG: Just since Tuesday night.

>How many shows have you played since arriving?
GG: We’ve played a show every night so far. Tuesday night was the first one but it wasn’t that great though because we lost some of our equipment when it didn’t turn up at the airport. We had to make due but luckily it turned up, last night was really good.

> Did you have any visa troubles getting into The States?
GG: It was alright actually. Luckily someone sorted it out for us although our manager did get pulled aside, but luckily he got through at the end [all laugh]

‘We kind of aim to try and not classify it, we want to keep it a bit open basically. I guess you can say that our aim was to make it unclassifiable.’

> Speech Debelle was supposed to play tonight’s show –
GG: Is that why? Visa issues?

> Yeah unfortunately. How have you been finding the audiences here so far?
GG: It’s the first time we’ve ever been here, first time in America. It’s almost like going back to playing your first gig. Not many people know our stuff but it makes us feel a bit tighter. It’s different.

> Do you feel your reputation precedes you with having won the Glastonbury New Talent Award in 2008? What kind of first impression do you want to make on the US?
GG: I don’t know know, maybe just as something new or different. Nothing that anyone else is doing hopefully.

> How would you begin to classify the sound that you’re hoping to make?
GG: We kind of aim to try and not classify it, we want to keep it a bit open basically. While recording we didn’t have any specific style or anything, we just let every song work it’s own way. I suppose we want to make everything sound fresh or interesting, not sound like anything else around. I guess you can say that our aim was to make it unclassifiable.

> In the UK you started a monthly club night called The Bronze Club at The Macbeth, how did that come about?
GG: We first started on our own, basically we went to [book] some gigs but we thought that the nights were a bit shit so we decided to start our own. It just so happened that at the same time there were a lot of bands in there that we really liked and we were sort of friends with. I don’t know if you’ve heard of Micachu and a band called The Invisible, there were loads and it was a perfect opportunity to start a night. We kind of made it though, it definitely helped that there were a lot of great bands around to help.
[Bandmates' The Xx sing-a-long gets increasingly loud in the background]
GG: Guys, guys. We’re trying to record this.
[All laugh awkwardly]
Bandmate: Sorry! It’s Gwilym’s solo project
GG: Yeah it’s my solo project, that’s why I’m talking so quietly.

‘The weird thing with being in a band is that everything in your life moves sort of faster than the music industry does.’

> What we take away from Golden Silvers apart from other bands are your lyrics and subject matter. Where do you find inspiration when writing?
GG: I suppose I try and just let it come out. My theory with writing is: to take as much as you can from everywhere. Just let it flow out and  hopefully have a bit more than one layer to it.

> Are you going back on tour in the UK after CMJ?
GG: We literally just finished the UK tour so I think next we’re going to work on some new stuff before getting back on the road. We’ll hopefully start finishing another album for next year.

> Have you written any new songs while on the road?
GG: The weird thing with being in a band is that everything in your life moves sort of faster than the music industry does. Right now I’m not really thinking about other songs and other things, we’re still playing songs that we wrote quite a long time ago.

> Do you have a relationship with Blue Flowers?
GG: Kind of vaguely, not massively. I know the guy who runs it called Chris, just know him from around town in London. We’ve never played a Blue Flowers night before.

> Are you going to try to catch any other bands while you’re in town?
GG: Hopefully. we just did  a tour with a band called Local Natives, so hopefully we’ll see them. Another band called The Xx…I’m not really sure who else is playing.

> There’s a lot, just got a headache thinking about it. You guys are DJing tonight at Bowery Electric, do you DJ at the club nights as well?
GG: Recently we’ve actually mainly DJed, we don’t want to play live every single month so it’s more like trying to find loads of new bands to play and do DJ sets.

> What kind of music do you play when DJing?
GG: Usually quite a lot of Hip-Hop, London local stuff to keep it a bit fresh. A bit of soul, you know what I mean.

Theophilus London at Santos, 10.23.09

Wednesday October 23rd belonged to Hype Machine/ Babelgum with their fantastic daytime showcase at Santos Party House with FREE Heineken and glow stick accessories. The line-up consisted of one of our favorite new bands Sleigh Bells, VEGA, Theophilus London and a closing set by Midnight Juggernauts and soundtracked by DJ Alan Wilkis. Spotted at the showcase: M.I.A., Spike Jonze and Paul Dano.

Sleigh Bells were first up on the bill, setting the bar for their predecessors. Sleigh Bells’ Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss are still finalizing their demos and polishing their set, but with their current minimalist iPod, bass and vocal stage dynamic are making some major noise throughout the blogosphere!

Sleigh Bells at Santos, 10.23.09

We saw Sleigh Bells in their true element a few days after their Santos gig at The Market Hotel in Bushwick, the duo really let loose in an awesome punk rock way. We interviewed the band for our exclusive CMJ wrap from Derek’s home/current studio last week, so be sure to check back soon for that insightful feature!

Theophilus London was another artist I’d never seen live or fully familiarized myself with before, but after seeing his animated live set complete with killer dance moves you can count me as one of his fans! We saw Theophilus L. onstage with Sam Sparro and Mark Ronson a few days later at the Fader CMJ party at the ACE Hotel as the super-group Chauffeur. It was the collective band’s debut performance and we’re anxious to see what’s next in store for their project!

The full gallery can be seen HERE.

MP3: Mimo – Running Out (VEGA Italo Dub Mix) or zShare

MP3: Theophilus London – Cold Pillow (Machinedrum Remix) or zShare

Sleigh Bells::

Theophilus London::

VEGA::

Midnight Juggernauts::

The Xx at The Delancey 10.22.09

Last week Jess and I were discussing how The Xx makes the most out of their time in New York. Back in August the band played about 6 shows in a week (See: TLC Spotlight: The xx Take on NYC) and last week played about twice as many shows in New York during CMJ including Thursday night’s 1AM “secret show” at The Delancey.

Yesterday news outlets may have jumped the gun in reporting that guitarist Baria Quereshi has quit the band, taking into account the latest development that the band is taking a break due to exhaustion.

Whatever the real story may be, we adore The Xx and hope they get it together and maybe slow down on the touring side of things. We’ve seen this time and time again. Hype brings on too much pressure and the best way to stay afloat in my opinion is to let the dust settle before stepping back out into the spotlight.

More pictures from the show HERE.

MP3: The Xx – Intro or zShare

Weeks ago the blogosphere went nuts over My Gold Mask‘s cover of Kim Carne’s classic song Bette Davis Eyes. I decided to dig a little deeper and find out who and what is behind the gold mask.

I was able to chat with Greta Rochelle for a short Q&A about the band who will be making their way over to New York for CMJ later this month. I also have for you the first listen of a rough unmastered demo of a brand new track called Violet Eyes from the band’s upcoming EP. And yes, the choice of songs with the word ‘eyes’ was intentional for this post. Enjoy!

MP3: My Gold Mask – Violet Eyes (Rough Mix) or zShare
MP3: My Gold Mask – Bette Davis Eyes (Kim Carnes Cover) or zShare

> What artists, films, and/or books are you currently excited about?
GR: Jack is a big horror movie buff, but lately he’s been very into Fritz Lang and German Expressionism. He just watched M and won’t stop talking about it. I’m into Bollywood. One of my favorite directors is Deepa Mehta. I really like her commentaries on women. Reading wise one of the things I’ve always been into is Southern Folktales. And I’ll admit a guilty pleasure for Vampire novels. Right now I’m reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

> Your cover of the classic Bette Davis Eyes got a lot of blog love. Why did you decide to cover that particular song?

Luckily we were interviewing The Teenagers and how boring would a formal interview with Quentin be anyway?? So with our planned questions thrown out of the window TLC simply chatted it up with lead singer Quentin Delafon for this interview after the band’s performance. My favorite random quote of our conversation was: “I’m like Carrie Bradshaw, I couldn’t help but wonder. Was it me or was it the city?” Too funny.

Shout out to TLC friends Goldie and Amanda! (Please note: As expected, a lot of the inappropriately hilarious side conversation had to unfortunately be cut.)

> Welcome back! How many times have you previously been to New York?
Q: I first came to New York in 1996, and we came back twice this year. This is our third time.

> What do you guys like to do when you’re in New York?
Q: My god, I just go to Brooklyn or the Lower East Side and hang out trying to be hot. Everyone is so hot in New York it’s really scary! It’s such a big peer pressure in New York, honestly. I feel I have to like work on an eating disorder because everyone’s so skinny.

> Do people ever recognize you?
Q: Someone recognized us today in the Lower East Side and they were like, “Are you The Teenagers??” [They] didn’t ask me but it was cool. I mean being recognized in New York is really cool.

Will: Quentin stay out of trouble!
Q: I know I’m trying it’s difficult. (All laugh)

> What other cities do you like to visit in America?
Q: We had fun in San Francisco. My sister’s living there so that was pretty cool. LA was cool but to put it in a positive way, there is much more culture in New York.

> If you’re from New York you automatically have to hate LA (laughs)
Q: I don’t hate it, but for European people to not be able to walk or stuff is not considerable. In New York you can walk to get somewhere but in LA you need a car and none of us have drivers’ licenses. Who needs it in Paris, London or New York?? You look cool enough to just ride a cab.

> Tell us, how did you guys get serious about getting your music out there?
Q: Boring question. (All laugh)

> According to the internet you started off as a joke, but we know that’s not the case. Dispute the claim!
Q: (Laughs) We didn’t start as a joke we started for fun, not as a joke.

> Did you feel like you were reaching a goal when you were touring in the states?
Q: Uh yes, honestly the first time we came here I was like “Whoa!” Now its the third time and we’re still like “Whoa!”

> What was your first show in the states?
Q: …I have memory issues but where we played it was amazing.

> The first time I saw you guys was at Studio B…
Q: That was like, I’m not lying, but that was like the best show ever! Everyone was like really drunk or super high and like “Ahhh The Teenagers!” I felt really important that night.

> Are you checking out any CMJ shows?
Q: We wanna see Friendly Fires and Crystal Castles. I think on Friday we’re going to see White Lies in Bowery Ballroom…I love it. Do you know their song “Yes this fear’s got a hold on me…” (sings Death by White Lies) I’m not a singer. Oh yeah…I am, I’m joking. Anyway I love White Lies, that song is so good. I really want to see them because we’re sleeping around them (laughs)…our things are a couple of hotel rooms away.

> Do you still live in Paris?
Q: We live in East London. It’s called Hackney but we call it Crackney (laughs). I don’t do crack though, crack is wack.

> Okay thank you so much for speaking with us!
Q: If you wanted to taste like caramel….(all laugh). No problem!

Chairlift headlined the popular event and played a rousing set to warm up for their 329732493740324 CMJ appearances. Day-time showcases are fun, mostly if you enjoy standing in a sea of industry types, Blackberries aglow. But I digress….

My first impression of Chairlift’s live show was very positive albeit shortlived. Their ethereal, glossed-up sound was beautiful in this intimate setting and good enough to get everyone to lift their heads from their iPhones more than once. The lighting in Piano’s is atrocious however and didn’t yield that many great pics. I’m excited to see the trio play a full set in the near future.

It’s been a busy week of all day events and open bars but the super-cool boys took time out to chat with us for the slurry TLC interview after the gig (which will be posted later.) Until then enjoy the pics from last night’s show, which was also Teenager Michael’s birthday! The Teenagers continue their CMJ rounds tomorrow night with a DJ set in the LES and on Saturday in Brooklyn for the Up The Antics gig. Catch the boys before they head back to Europe!

We got in just in time for Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson. Okay, let me stop right here for a second to abbreviate the name to MBAR because I find it to be quite an obnoxious name for a musical act.  I saw MBAR open for TV On The Radio in 2006 and his mic wasn’t working, so I unfortunately never gave the guy a real listen. MBAR has a funky old school sound which was enjoyable, but to be followed up by Friendly Fires and Lykke Li is brutal…they totally shone and left him in the shadows of my memory.

Now on to Friendly Fires. I will be honest, I’d only heard a few tracks before seeing them live but totally not what I expected. As soon as the first song started lead singer Ed Macfarlane was popping and locking and going nuts on stage. Many many cowbells followed (I’m a sucker for the sound) , and the band won me over. Amazing energy and stage performance for the band, think part: Brandon Flowers, part: Does it Offend You Yeah? TLC was right in the thick of it, falling willing victim to Ed’s pelvic thrusts and attempt to take our cup of ice (there was none left.) All in all CMJ’s Showcase at Bowery was awesome. Definitely on my list of fave gigs recently, can’t wait to see the boys and Lykke next time they hit up NYC (the rest of the week is too hectic.)

Industry folk and fans alike packed in to see the lovely 22 year old Swedish phenom’s headlining CMJ gig with notable openers Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson and Friendly Fires. Cameras, fingers and hips snapped along as Lykke flailed around the stage pounding drums and tambourines, singing through a speakerphone, dancing on top of speakers, and dropping it to the floor while hitting every note beautifully.

Highlights for me included: Let it Fall, I’m good I’m Gone, A Little Bit and her cover of the Tribe Called Quest classic, Can I Kick it? Lykke got the crowd hyped up when she chanted Obama then jumped into the crowd like a rock star. I held her mic as she maneuvered her way back onstage to bid the crowd farewell. Although this is my first show of the week, it has raised my standard for CMJ shows in 08!

MP3: Black Lips – Veni Vedi Veci (Diplo Mix)
MP3: The Whip – Trash (Crookers Remix)
MP3: Passion Pit – Sleepy Head
MP3: Friendly Fires – Bring out Your Dead
MP3: Late Of The Pier – Heartbeat (Hot Chip Remix)
MP3: Lykke Li – Dance, Dance, Dance, (Christian Flores Phones Edit)