It is not possible for music to be literally blurry, but Theo Alexander’s songs are the closest approximation. The Chinese-British London native has a composition style grounded in neoclassical piano, but interwoven with cassette four-track tape loops and manipulations to create a dreamlike state that sounds as if the music is being remembered in real time, not so much eroding as shifting, becoming amorphous with every note played.

This unique approach has roots in his past: Growing up in North London, Theo Alexander jumped from instrument to instrument: first he played the cello, then the guitar, and then, at 13, he landed on the piano. Later, Alexander abandoned his piano lessons, choosing to teach himself and apply his training to the various noise and doom metal bands he played in through his early 20s. Though he’d go on to study music at university, and gain a master’s degree in critical theory, he gravitated toward the experimental side of classical music, led by living legend minimalists like Philip Glass. “I didn't realize that classical music could be a much less academic affair, “ Alexander says. “And I began to push myself a bit more towards performing my ideas.”

From 2015 on, Alexander released five albums in three years across multiple labels like 1631 Recordings (Hauschka, Dustin O’Halloran, Library Tapes) and Blank Editions (Thurston Moore, Ben Vince), all of which existed in the middle ground between austere minimalism and an unparalleled emotional depth rooted in his experimental background. His music is at once technically dazzling and remarkably open, and 2017’s ‘Broken Access’ was the culmination of all these previous works.

“'Broken Access' came about soon after my tape-only release, Points of Decay,” says Alexander. “I wanted to take the relationship I had forged between the piano and cassette recorder on that album and make it fuller, more dynamic. The title came from this idea that we can only ever have a partial experience of whatever we encounter, that something is always missing from our perception of it, and for me the imperfect, wavering tape loops capture this difficulty.'”

https://www.instagram.com/theo__alexander
https://www.facebook.com/theoalexandersound/

Buy / Stream

Theo Alexander - Palliative (Single)

New album WARRING available now on Arts & Crafts

http://THEDARCYS.ca


The Darcys - The River

"Rolling Stone" is the debut single from the Calgary five-piece Reuben and the Dark. 

Their forthcoming album for Arts & Crafts was produced by Florence + The Machine drummer Chris Hayden and Stephen Kozmeniuk (Madonna, Nicki Minaj).

http://reubenandthedark.com

Reuben and the Dark - Rolling Stone

TR/ST is the musical project of Toronto artist Robert Alfons.

After years of extensive touring, and garnering glowing praise from top international critics at Pitchfork, VICE, and The Guardian UK for the 2012 Juno-nominated debut album 'TRST', the follow up album 'Joyland' will be released by Arts & Crafts on March 4, 2014.

'Joyland' is an eruption of guts, eels, and joy.

Pre-order: http://www.galleryac.com/trust-joyland.html

- "'Rescue, Mister' features a slightly clarified sound compared to TRST's grinding grit, with some impressive vocal acrobatics from Alfons.” - Pitchfork
- "'Rescue, Mister' is harder and clubbier and more concrete than anything on TRST, but it keeps some fundamental darkness intact.” -Stereogum
- "'Rescue, Mister' proves that Alfons's lost none of his synth craftmanship, sending disco-pop through a crazed, futuregasm vortex.” - This is Fake DIY

http://ttrustt.com
www.facebook.com/dressedforspace
twitter.com/tr_st

Pre-order 'Joyland'

TR/ST - Rescue, Mister

TR/ST is the musical project of Toronto artist Robert Alfons.

After years of extensive touring, and garnering glowing praise from top international critics at Pitchfork, VICE, and The Guardian UK for the 2012 Juno-nominated debut album 'TRST', the follow up album 'Joyland' will be released by Arts & Crafts on March 4, 2014.

'Joyland' is an eruption of guts, eels, and joy.

Pre-order: http://www.galleryac.com/trust-joyland.html

http://ttrustt.com
http://www.facebook.com/dressedforspace
http://twitter.com/tr_st

TR/ST "Are We Arc?"

TR/ST is the musical project of Toronto artist Robert Alfons.

After years of extensive touring, and garnering glowing praise from top international critics at Pitchfork, VICE, and The Guardian UK for the 2012 Juno-nominated debut album TRST, the follow up album Joyland will be released by Arts & Crafts on March 4, 2014.

Joyland is an eruption of guts, eels, and joy.

Pre-order: http://www.galleryac.com/trust-joyland.html

Listen to "Rescue, Mister" from 'Joyland' https://soundcloud.com/artsandcrafts/trust-rescue-mister

http://ttrustt.com
http://www.facebook.com/dressedforspace
http://twitter.com/tr_st

TR/ST "Capitol"

"Palm Trees" is taken from Lowell's debut album 'We Loved Her Dearly' (available now on Arts & Crafts).

“dream pop princess” - NYLON
http://www.nylonmag.com/articles/grrrl-talk-lowell

“no ordinary pop chanteuse” - New York Times T Magazine
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/lowell-singer-songwriter-debuts-single-i-love-you-money/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Listen to more tracks from We Loved Her Dearly: http://soundcloud.com/artsandcrafts/sets/lowell

Purchase: http://smarturl.it/WeLovedHerDearly

http://oncloud69.com

Buy "Palm Trees"

Lowell - Palm Trees

On “Hot Dreams”, the title single off Timber Timbre's third studio album for Arts & Crafts, Taylor Kirk and collaborator Simon Trottier daub vibrant colour across the restless evolution of the band’s earthy, angular palette. Seductive guitars drape over languid synthesizers, animating an otherwise reticent Kirk singing in his singular low intonation. The consonance of Mika Posen’s strings mingle with vintage contributions from Mathieu Charbonneau on keys and Olivier Fairfield on drums. Guest Colin Stetson envelops the backing vocals of Romy Lightman (Tasseomancy, Austra) in timeless cycles of velvet saxophone. The breathtaking video by Scott Cudmore and Michael LeBlanc clearly defines the new space of Hot Dreams' Timber Timbre, slathered in viscous tonality: new sonic admissions, ringing sensuality and caprice, neon and haze. Hot Dreams is Timber Timbre's most fully realized work in a sinuous and infinitely rewarding catalogue of vivid imagistic music.

Hot Dreams, Timber Timbre's third studio album for Arts & Crafts is out on April 1, 2014.

Pre-order the album from http://timbertimbre.com or iTunes and get the "Hot Dreams" single for free: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/hot-dreams/id797823421

Watch the NSFW video for "Hot Dreams", produced by Scott Cudmore and Michael LeBlanc: http://vimeo.com/84341456

http://www.timbertimbre.com
http://www.facebook.com/timbertimbre
http://www.twitter.com/timber_timbre
http://www.shorefire.com/client/timber-timbre


Timber Timbre - "Hot Dreams"

@kanevale remix of TR/ST's new single "Rescue, Mister".

@TR_ST's new album 'Joyland' will be released by Arts & Crafts on March 4th, 2014.

Listen to the original: https://soundcloud.com/artsandcrafts/trust-rescue-mister

Pre-order JOYLAND
www.galleryac.com/trust-joyland.html
www.galleryac.com/trust-joyland-bundle.html

http://ttrustt.com

TR/ST - Rescue, Mister (Kane Vale Remix)

"The Bells" is taken from Lowell's debut album 'We Loved Her Dearly' (available now on Arts & Crafts).

“dream pop princess” - NYLON
www.nylonmag.com/articles/grrrl-talk-lowell

“no ordinary pop chanteuse” - New York Times T Magazine
tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/…-you-money/

Listen to more tracks from We Loved Her Dearly: http://soundcloud.com/artsandcrafts/sets/lowell

Purchase: http://smarturl.it/WeLovedHerDearly

http://oncloud69.com

Lowell - The Bells

Debut album by Reuben and the Dark: 'Funeral Sky'

Reuben and the Dark - Black Water

Reuben and the Dark - Bow And Arrow

Timber Timbre shares an alternate version of "Curtains?!" from 'Hot Dreams', featuring the haunting vocals of Fiver, solo project of Toronto singer-songwriter Simone Schmidt, also known for fronting The Highest Order. Timber Timbre offers some insight on the gestation of "Curtains?!", which Schmidt co-wrote with the band, ahead of Fiver's supporting slot on the upcoming Timber Timbre US tour. Details below.

""Curtains?!" is nearest to a rock song that the band has ever recorded up to date. When we were creating the bed tracks, we thought we were doing something in the world of German kraut rock band Can, but Graham Lessard, our sound engineer, made the reference to Lalo Schifrin's soundtrack for Dirty Harry. Simone Schmidt of Fiver composed the lyrics about a man's fallen career and his double life exposed."

Timber Timbre US tour dates:

4/25 - Brooklyn NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg*
4/27 - Washington DC - Rock and Roll Hotel*
4/29 - Carrboro NC - Cat's Cradle*
5/1 - Atlanta GA - Terminal West
5/2 - Nashville TN - Exit / In*
5/3 - Louisville KY - Zanzabar*
5/4 - Newport KY - Southgate House Revival*
5/5 - St. Louis MO - Off Broadway Nightclub*
5/7 - Iowa City IA - The Mill*
5/8 - Minneapolis MN - The Varsity*
5/9 - Madison WI - Memorial Union Terrace*
5/10 - Chicago IL - Empty Bottle*
5/23 - Toronto ON - Massey Hall
6/3 - Los Angeles CA - The Troubadour
6/5 - San Francisco CA - The Independent
6/7 - Portland OR - Mississippi Studios
6/8 - Seattle WA - The Crocodile
6/10 - Vancouver BC - Commodore Ballroom
6/12 - Edmonton AB - Starlite Room
6/13 - Calgary AB - The Republik
6/14 - Saskatoon SK - Broadway Theatre
6/16 - Winnipeg MB - Union Hall

* w/ Fiver

http://timbertimbre.com

Timber Timbre feat. Fiver - Curtains?!

Select tracks from Timber Timbre's Creep On Creepin' On

Release Date: April 5, 2011

BUY NOW: http://www.galleryac.com/timbertimbre-creeponcreepinon.html

Timber Timbre - Creep On Creepin' On

Listen to Jean-Michel Blais' new 2018 single "roses": https://soundcloud.com/artsandcrafts/jean-michel-blais-roses

'Il', the debut record from Montreal pianist Jean-Michel Blais, is available April 8, 2016. Pre-order: bit.ly/JMB_Il

Jean-Michel Blais - il

Reuben And The Dark - Heart In Two

Listen to Jean-Michel Blais' new 2018 single "roses": https://soundcloud.com/artsandcrafts/jean-michel-blais-roses

Il, the debut record from Montreal pianist Jean-Michel Blais is out April 8, 2016. Pre-order: bit.ly/JMB_Il

Watch "Nostos" (Official Video): https://youtu.be/23cMxMw9Pgs

Jean-Michel Blais - Nostos (feat. BUFFLO)

Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring (2010)

BUY NOW: www.galleryac.com/artists/los-campesinos.html

www.loscampesinos.com
www.arts-crafts.ca

Los Campesinos! - Straight In At 101

Los Campesinos! Hello Sadness is available on Arts & Crafts in North America on November 15, 2011.

www.loscampesinos.com
www.arts-crafts.ca

BUY THE ALBUM: http://www.galleryac.com/los-campesinos-hello-sadness.html

Los Campesinos! - By Your Hand

TR/ST - "TRST"

Available on Arts & Crafts February 28, 2012.

PRE-ORDER LP: http://www.galleryac.com/trust-trst.html

www.ttrustt.com

TR/ST - Sulk

TR/ST - "TRST"

Available on Arts & Crafts February 28, 2012.

www.ttrustt.com

TR/ST - Candy Walls

"Sulk" is the lead single from TR/ST's 2012 full length debut TRST, available February 28.

www.ttrustt.com
facebook.com/dressedforspace
@TR_ST

TR/ST - Sulk (Single Edit)

Stream / Buy: http://smarturl.it/RATDHurricane
Reuben And The Dark on Tour: http://reubenandthedark.com/tour/
___________________________________________________________

Reuben and The Dark’s “Hurricane” is a haunting song about the duality of strength and vulnerability. On his first new release since 2016’s “Heart In Two,” Reuben Bullock communes with the potent forces at the core of his spirited, shadowed folk music. “Hurricane” toils with the mystic symbolism Reuben finds at play in his real life, capturing the sur/real essence of dreams in his most vivid, enveloping song yet. 

“‘Hurricane’ is a premonition of things happening in my life that I didn't understand until they actually came to pass. It is about the discovery of the power in that: of being caught in the eye of the storm, but holding some control of it,” Reuben says. “This song confronts the idea of creating chaos for one’s own comfort.” 

Over the tense build of its arc, Reuben’s voice bays in its upper registers, vacillating with the darkness manifest in his waking life: I am broken / I am brave / The way the body behaves
I am free / I’m afraid / A mirror of my mistakes

His words ring out over spare acoustic strumming, a rustic candlelit beginning before expanding in a clash of chanted melody and momentous rhythm. Produced by Stephen “Koz” Kozmeniuk (Dua Lipa, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Madonna), “Hurricane” is open and vast, an airy palette where slight, creaky details reach through the high ceiling reverberant space. Where 2014’s debut Funeral Sky lavished in low fidelity, “Hurricane” rises to a new atmospheric plane.

“Hurricane” is Reuben at his most empowered –  both heartened and broken-hearted – chasing a sound as immense as the emotional source of his music. With his imagistic storytelling never better enhanced by dynamic, stratified production, on “Hurricane” Reuben And The Dark wrestles clarity from the depths of soulful reckoning.
Category
Music

Reuben And The Dark - Hurricane

'roses' is a funeral piece dedicated to my friend’s mother who died from cancer. The ostinato, the repeating single note in the intro, represents her beating heart, and the tumour's presence, sometimes forgotten but still spreading. How do ill people find peace, if they do at all? "roses" is a journey of someone's musical memories, wandering from pop to classical remembrances, concluding on nostalgic harmony. - Jean-Michel Blais (01/25/18)

c‘est une pièce funéraire dédiée à la mère d’une amie qui est décédée d'un cancer.  L’ostinato, la note répétée de l’intro symbolise le battement de son cœur ainsi que la tumeur inquiétante, parfois oubliée, mais toujours présente. Comment les gens malades trouvent-ils la paix, si jamais ils le peuvent? roses est ma tentative de refléter les souvenirs musicaux de quelqu'un, passant de la pop aux souvenirs classiques et se concluant sur l'harmonie nostalgique. - Jean-Michel Blais (01/25/18)

http://jeanmichelblais.com

roses - Single

Jean-Michel Blais "roses"

http://goldandyouth.com
http://facebook.com/goldandyouth
http://twitter.com/goldandyouth

Official Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU0o_8aTziM

Gold & Youth - Time To Kill

Timber Timbre - Lay Down In the Tall Grass

Frazey Ford - The Kids Are Having None of It

Download: http://theoalexander.lnk.to/palliative

Follow Theo Alexander:
https://www.instagram.com/theo__alexander
https://www.facebook.com/theoalexandersound

Broken Access

Theo Alexander "Palliative"

Chilly Gonzales - Overnight

Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring

Los Campesinos! - The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future

Palliative - Single

Theo Alexander "Palliative (Edit)"

Stream / Download 'Out of Love ft. Macy Gray' here - https://bustyandthebass.lnk.to/OutOfLove

Instagram -
https://www.instagram.com/bustyandthebass
Facebook -
https://www.facebook.com/bustandthebass/
Twitter -
https://twitter.com/BustyandtheBass

Busty and the Bass "Out Of Love" (feat Macy Gray) [Single Version]

Stream/Download: http://charliehouston.com

Follow: 
https://www.instagram.com/charliehoustonmusic/
https://www.tiktok.com/@charliehoustonmusic?
https://twitter.com/charlieehouston

Lyrics: 
I’ve been thinking
Is it all about the money?
Does she gotta lotta money?

Or were you thinking
All about the good sex
Did you get a lotta good sex?

I hate smoking cause it burns my lungs
I tried cause you liked it, I tried cause you liked it
I like beer, but I tried jack and lime
I tried cause you liked it, I tried

I just did things cause you did them too
Didn’t really want to
I’m just tryna get with you
I just did things cause you did them

And I’ve been sinking
But you save me from a shipwreck
You save me from my own wreck 

Why am I still sinking?
'Cause I see you on your yacht trip
In that same Gucci outfit 

I watched that movie, yeah your favourite one
You never even noticed, you never even noticed
I wore that red shirt, yeah the one you like
You never even noticed

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