Preservation Hall Jazz Band has announced the release of their new
album A Tuba To Cuba, the
soundtrack to the critically acclaimed documentary directed by T.G. Herrington and Danny Clinch, out June 28, 2019 via Sub Pop. Today,
they have released the track “Keep Your
Head Up” from the album. Listen and share “Keep Your Head Up” here and
pre-order A Tuba to Cubahere.
“We are so proud and honored to share a project
we’ve poured so much of ourselves into,” says Ben
Jaffe. “The impact visiting Cuba had on us will live with us both
individually and as a band forever. We’re still absorbing everything we
experienced.”
“We went to Cuba in prayer position,” says Preservation Hall band
leader and bass player Ben Jaffe when he speaks of the pilgrimage he and the
group took to Cuba in December 2015. “We went to receive an offer at the same
time. We had never experienced a moment like this, it felt as though all roads
were intersecting at once.” The critically acclaimed 2019 documentary ATuba
to Cuba documented the band’s journey as they explored the links that
connect New Orleans and Cuba so indelibly – their shared, tragic history as
destinations where enslaved Africans struggled to simply survive, and their
current status as places where the cultural inheritance from those ancestors is
kept alive in both song and deed – but that was only half the story. This
collection of songs, a musical account of a
generations-in-the-making reunion of musical
families separated by time, politics, and distance, tells the other
half.
When
asked to describe the collection of songs assembled on Tuba to Cuba, Jaffe sums it up by saying,
“It’s like listening to the radio.” And yes, ATuba to Cuba actually feels less like
an ordinary soundtrack and more like a living document, a recording of a
broadcast that’s been waiting to exist, a modern version of the static-y radio
signals that were broadcast between America to the Caribbean in the early and
mid-20th century, sending the sounds of jazz and mambo and R&B and more
back and forth across the vast divides of water and culture and politics. It’s
a story, this album, and the tale being told mirrors the band’s experience.
The resulting
collection of songs is what Jaffe describes
as “a beautiful conversation.” The music of ATuba to Cuba is an ecstatic expression of that ongoing conversation, a
restless and lush trip up and down strange FM wavelengths bridging thousands of
miles and hundreds of years, where all involved are
talking with each other and over each other in excitement, charged with the
thrill of recognition of the evidence of their shared familial roots, an
undeniable kinship rooted in bloodlines, rhythm, and melody.
A Tuba To Cuba Tracklisting:
1. Yesteryear 2. Tumba 3. I Am 4. Descarga del Son 5. Keep Your Head Up 6. Corazon 7. Elegguà 8. Kreyol 9. El Manicero 10. Solitude 11. Las Palomas 12. Malecón
[Photo credit: Josh Goleman]
Preservation Hall Jazz Band Tour Dates:
Jul. 05 - Elkhorn, WI - Alpine Valley Music
Theatre*
Jul. 06 - Elkhorn, WI - Alpine Valley
Music Theatre*
Jul. 28 - Newport, RI - Newport Folk Festival
Aug. 02 - Happy Valley, OR - Pickathon
Aug. 03 - Happy Valley, OR - Pickathon
Aug. 05 - Folsom, CA - Harris Center For The
Arts
Aug. 06 - Folsom, CA - Harris Center For The
Arts
Aug. 08 - San Francisco, CA - SFJAZZ
Aug. 09 - San Francisco, CA - SFJAZZ
Aug. 10 - San Francisco, CA - SFJAZZ (7:00PM)
Aug. 10 - San Francisco, CA - SFJAZZ (9:30PM)
Aug. 11 - San Francisco, CA - SF Jazz Center -
Miner Auditorium
Aug. 15 - Philadelphia, PA - Old Pool Farm
Aug. 16 - Philadelphia, PA - Old Pool Farm
Aug. 17 - Philadelphia, PA - Old Pool Farm
Aug. 18 - Philadelphia, PA - Old Pool Farm
Aug. 24 - Arrington, VA - Lockn’ Music
Festival
Sep. 20 - Louisville, KY - Bourbon & Beyond
Festival
Sep. 21 - Franklin, TN - Pilgrimage Music
Festival
Sep. 22 - Franklin, TN - Pilgrimage Music
Festival
Oct 22 - Ridgefield, CT - The Ridgefield
Playhouse
Oct 23 - Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theatre
Oct 24 - New York, NY - Town Hall Theatre
Oct 25 - Boston, MA - Berklee Performance Center
Oct 26 - Portsmouth, NH - The Music Hall
Oct 28 - Montreal, QC - Place des Arts - Theatre
Oct 29 - Toronto, ON - Roy Thomson Hall
Oct 30 - Pittsburgh, PA - Byham Theatre
Nov 01 - Kent, OH - The Kent Stage
Nov 02 - Goshen, IN - Goshen College Music
Center
Nov 04 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
Nov 05 - Saint Paul, MN - Fitzgerald Theatre
Nov 07 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
Nov 09 - Phoenix, AZ - Music Theater at the
Musical Instrument Museum
Nov 11 - Livermore, CA - Livermore Valley
Performing Arts Center
Nov 13 - Chico, CA - California State University
Chico - Laxson Auditorium
Nov 15 - Santa Rosa, CA - Luther Burbank Center
for the Arts
Nov 16 - Arcata, CA - John Van Duzer Theatre
Nov 17 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
Nov 18 - Seattle, WA - Benaroya Hall – Taper
Auditorium
Nov 20 - Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre
Nov 21 - Santa Barbara, CA - UCSB Campbell Hall
Nov 22 - San Diego, CA - Wonderfront Music
Festival
Nov 23 - Cerritos, CA - Cerritos Center for the
Performing Arts
Nov. 29 - Baltimore, MD - Joseph Meyerhoff
Symphony Hall
Nov. 30 - Baltimore, MD - Joseph Meyerhoff
Symphony Hall
Dec. 01 - Baltimore, MD - Joseph Meyerhoff
Symphony Hall
Craft had this to say of the visual, “I can’t dance and my fiancée Lydia isn’t the biggest fan of it either…we’d actually never danced together before the shoot. We wanted to have fun and aim for a Pulp Fiction vibe. So, I just slicked back the mop, cranked Spirit in the Sky over the bar speakers, and we went for it.”
Kyle Craft and Showboat Honey Tour Dates + Ticket Links
Kyle Craft & Showboat Honey’s previously announced headlining dates for 2019 in support of the album begin July 11th in Portland at Mississippi Studios and currently end on August 24th in San Francisco at Cafe Du Nord.
Jul. 11 - Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios Jul. 13 - Seattle, WA - Ballard Seafood Fest Jul. 14 - Spokane, WA - The Bartlett Jul. 15 - Billings, MT - Pub Station Taproom Jul. 17 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club Jul. 18 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle Jul. 19 - Louisville, KY - Jimmy Can’t Dance Jul. 20 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop Jul. 22 - Toronto, ON - Horseshoe Tavern Jul. 23 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Jul. 24 - Allston, MA - Great Scott Jul. 26 - Newport, RI - Newport Folk (Museum Stage) Jul. 30 - Woodstock, NY - Colony Aug. 01 - Brooklyn, NY - Baby’s All Right Aug. 02 - Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle Aug. 04 - Washington, DC - Pearl Street Warehouse Aug. 05 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle Aug. 06 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theater Rooftop Aug. 07 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl Aug. 08 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn Aug. 09 - Nashville, TN - The Basement Aug. 10 - Oxford, MS - Proud Larry’s Aug. 11 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks Aug. 14 - Shreveport, LA - Minicine Aug. 15 - Dallas, TX - Three Links Aug. 16 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk Aug. 18 - Phoenix, AZ - The Valley Bar Aug. 19 - Tucson, AZ - 191 Toole Aug. 22 - San Diego, CA - Soda Bar Aug. 23 - Los Angeles, CA - The Moroccan Aug. 24 - San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord
Showboat Honey was recorded and produced by Kyle Craft, Kevin Clark, and Billy Slater at their own Moonbase Studios in Portland over 2018. The album was mixed by Trevor Spencer and mastered by April Golden at Golden Mastering.
Showboat Honey is now available for preorder through Sub Pop Mega Mart. Preorders of the LP through megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers in North America, the UK and Europe will receive the limited Loser edition on a clear blue translucent mix with spots red hi-melt (while supplies last). There will also be a new T-shirt design available.
Sub Pop has signed Cartel Madras, a hip-hop duo who are spearheading a new genre of trap music, Goonda rap. Madras-born sisters Eboshi and Contra are known for their confrontational, high-energy and sexually commanding style of rap; this rising duo flaunts their South Indian identity with authority and expresses their gender and sexuality with a candor that is imperative to why and how Cartel Madras exists. We will release new music from the group in the near future, but for now check out the official video for “Pork and Leek”from TRAPISTAN, their debut mixtape from 2018.
Ishmael Butler, who signed the group had this to say, “The energy and passion they bring combined with their superior rapping skills makes the Cartel a must hear and see. Excitement is the main ingredient of their magic. On record and on stage they glow under the spotlight. They’re electric, totally tapped into the current. And c’mon two fly sisters spitting heat? Real rare…it’s too good.”
Cartel Madras has a few Canadian festival shows on the horizon, including Calgary’s Sled Island on June 21st, Hillside Festival in Guelph, Ontario on July 12th, Ottawa’s Bluesfest on July 13th, and Up Here Fest in Sudbury, Ontario on August 17th.
More on Cartel Madras: Owning sexuality, racial identity, and gender identity are recurring themes in Cartel Madras’ music. Though these themes are already present in hip hop, Cartel pushes them to even more subversive places by applying them to immigrant women. In this way, Eboshi and Contra created Cartel Madras as a mission to authentically represent the underrepresented.
Their live performances—which boldly combine elements of the underground trap, queer, and punk scenes—have been compared to full-blown riots. After just one year, word of mouth grew so profoundly that Cartel Madras had amassed a loyal organic following and media coverage.
Their debut mixtape, TRAPISTAN, captures this live energy. Contra and Eboshi enter the world of trap loudly, abrasively, unapologetically—signaling to their growing fan base that they intend to bring something entirely new to hip hop. Over booming beats, the sisters’ rap with ease through a new genre that brings together trap, house, and gangster rap with the narratives of being Tamil born, immigrant raised, and sexually empowered as women of color and women who are queer.
Cartel Madras TRAPISTAN
Tracklisting: 1. Red Notice 2. Housey (Thirsti Thots 2 Tha Front) 3. Eric Andre (Slick Rick James) 4. Pork and Leek 5. Kuthu Pattu
Today, Calexico and Iron & Wine released Years to Burn via City Slang in the UK/Europe and Sub Pop in the rest of the world. The work of Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Convertino and Sam Beam of Iron & Wine, the album is their first full-length release and follows the critically acclaimed 2005 In the Reins EP. Calexico and Iron & Wine will embark on an extensive North American, European, and UK tour, including a June 21st performance at Celebrate Brooklyn! festival at Prospect Park which will be live audio streamed by WFUV HERE. [Full list of tour dates is below.] In addition, the collective released Years to Burn Behind the Scenes featuring exclusive interviews with the band and their long friendship and spirit of collaboration as seen here and also HERE.
Years to Burn
1. What Heaven’s Left 2. Midnight Sun 3. Father Mountain 4. Outside El Paso 5. Follow The Water 6. The Bitter Suite (Pájaro / Evil Eye / Tennessee Train) 7. Years To Burn 8. In Your Own Time
For more information on Years to Burn, the full bio is available here.
Early praise forYears to Burn:
“In incorporating more voices and sources of ideas, Years to Burn feels most of all like the work of a complete, cohesive and individual band — a group of old friends who’ve gathered together to sing in a single voice…The new set finds Sam Beam, John Convertino, Joey Burns and members of the extended Calexico and Iron & Wine casts at their loose-limbed best… They all sound comfortable, collaborating deep in the pocket, but they’re still exploring.” - NPR
“The warm voice of singer-songwriter Sam Beam (who performs as Iron & Wine) guides the album’s lead track “Father Mountain,” which features an airy acoustic progression and uplifting harmonies from Calexico’s Joey Burns.” - Rolling Stone
“Years to Burn proves that the time spent waiting on a second collaboration was worth it, but more meaningfully the album feels like the product of a cohesive unit rather than a tag team…Years to Burn rings with Beam’s soulful sobriety and Calexico’s gusty American Southwestern aesthetic, but the songwriting—again, primary credit goes to Beam—is the maypole around which the two bands braid their influences and proclivities. Unraveling one from the other is impossible.” - Paste
“Years to Burn, recorded with producer Matt Ross-Spang again marries vocalist and acoustic guitarist Sam Beam’s nimble lyricism with the incredible chops of Calexico nucleus Joey Burns and John Convertino. Together they make gorgeously sensual music” -American Songwriter
“Years to Burn is a beautiful sounding recording and for fans of Calexico and Iron & Wine’s initial collaborative release, this is a nice treat after all these years.” - Exclaim!
[Photo credit: Piper Ferguson]
Calexico and Iron & Wine Tour Dates + Ticket Links
Jun. 18 - Saxapahaw, NC - River Ballroom % [SOLD OUT] Jul. 19 - Lisbon, PT - Super Bock Super Rock # Jul. 20 - Arlesheim, CH - Stimmen Festival Jul. 22 - Milan, IT - La Triennale di Milano Jul. 23 - Gardone Riviera, IT - Anfiteatro del Vittoriale Jul. 24 - Rome, IT - Villa Ada Jul. 25 - Florence, IT - Cavea del Nuovo Teatro dell’opera Jul. 26 - Monforte D’ Alba, IT - Auditorium Horszowski Jul. 28 - Vienna, AT - Konzerthaus Jul. 29 - Palma, ES - Auditorium de Palma de Mallorca Jul. 31 - Hamburg, DE - Stadtpark Aug. 02 - Cambridge, UK - Cambridge Folk Festival Aug. 03 - Leuven, BE - M-idzommer Festival Aug. 04 - Crozon, FR - Festival Du Bout Du Monde Aug. 16 - Phoenix, AZ - Orpheum Theatre ~ Aug. 17 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre ~ Aug. 19 - Denver, CO - Denver Botanic Gardens ~ [SOLD OUT] Aug. 21 - Ogden, UT - Twilight Series at Ogden Amphitheater ^ Aug. 22 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory Concert House ^ Aug. 23 - Portland, OR - Keller Auditorium ^ Aug. 24 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre Aug. 25 - Port Townsend, WA - The Thing Sep. 18 - Grand Rapids, MI - Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park “Meijer Gardens” \ Sep. 19 - Pittsburgh, PA - Roxian Theatre \ Sep. 20 - Philadelphia, PA - Union Transfer \ Sep. 21 - Boston, MA - Rockland Trust Bank Pavillion + Sep. 22 - North Adams, MA - FreshGrass Festival Sep. 24 - Richmond, VA - The National \ Sep. 26 - Birmingham, AL - Iron City \ Sep. 27 - New Orleans, LA - House Of Blues \ Sep. 28 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s Waller Creek \ Sep. 29 - Dallas, TX - Majestic Theater \ Sep. 30 - Oklahoma City, OK - Tower Theatre \ Oct. 02 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues \ Oct. 03 - Los Angeles, CA - Orpheum Theatre \ Oct. 04 - San Diego, CA - Humphrey’s Concerts by The Bay\ Oct. 06 - Saratoga, CA - Mountain Winery \ Nov. 05 - Utrecht, NL - TrivoliVrendenburg - Ronda # Nov. 06 -Luxemborg, LU - Den Atelier # Nov. 07 - Antwerp, BE - De Roma # Nov. 09 - Berlin, DE - Tempodrom # Nov. 10 - Linz, AT - Posthof # Nov. 11 - Munich, DE - Muffathalle # Nov. 12 - Budapest, HU - Müpa Nov. 14 - Mannheim, DE - Musensaal Rosengarten # Nov. 15 - Cologne, DE - Palladium # Nov. 16 - Paris, FR - La Cigale # Nov. 18 - Edinburgh, UK - Usher Hall * Nov. 19 - Liverpool, UK - Philharmonic Hall * Nov. 20 - Manchester, UK - Bridgewater Hall * Nov. 21 - Conventry, UK - Warwick Arts Centre * Nov. 23 - London, UK - Royal Festival Hall * Nov. 24 - Bexhill-On-Sea, UK – De La Warr Pavillion *
% with special guest Daughter of Swords ~ with special guest Madison Cunningham ^ with special guest Orville Peck \ with special guest Natalie Prass + with Andrew Bird # with special guest Adia Victoria * with special guest Lisa O’Neill
On July 12th, Sub Pop will release a chronological trip through the lesser known material of METZ. Automat is a collection of non-album singles, B-sides, and rarities dating back to 2009, from the widely-adored and delightfully noisy 3-piece punk band. This will be the first time that this 12-song collection will be available on LP.
The band has shared a new video for their song “ Dry Up.” “METZ have been making music together for over 10 years,” says the band’s frontman Alex Edkins. “It’s been a blur. We’ve very rarely allowed ourselves to look backward. We’ve been hyper-focused on always moving forward at breakneck speed, perpetually fixated on what’s next. The video for ‘Dry Up,’ as well as the Automatalbum, is an attempt to pause, take a breath, look backward and take stock of our past. It’s intended to express how grateful we are to be able to do what we do. It’s a love letter to the incredible places we’ve traveled, the beautiful people we’ve met, to community, music, and friendship.”
Consumers of the vinyl format of Automat will be rewarded with a bonus single that includes three additional tracks: a cover of Sparklehorse’s “Pig,” from a very limited 2012 Record Store Day split single originally released by Toronto’s Sonic Boom record shop; “I’m a Bug,” a cover of The Urinals’ art-punk classic, originally released on YouTube (not an actual record label) in 2014; and METZ’s previously unreleased rendition of Gary Numan’s “M.E.”
All tracks on Automat have been lovingly remastered by Matthew Barnhart at Chicago Mastering Service.
METZ are currently hard at work on their 4th full-length LP which will be released on Sub Pop when we are all damn good and ready.
METZ are heading overseas on June 23rd, to begin a 14-date EU run with performances at Loose Ends Festival in Amsterdam, Lars Rock Festival in Chiusi Scalo, IT, Pointu Festival in Island Gaou, FR, and wrapping up July 14th in Montmartin-sur-Mer, FR. See below for a full list of shows.
Jun. 23 - Amsterdam, NL- Loose Ends Festival Jun. 25 - Bristol, UK - Fleece Jun. 26 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Jun. 27 - Manchester, UK - YES Jun. 28 - London, UK - Studio 9294 Jun. 29 - Eindhoven, NL - Effenaar Jul. 02 - Zurich, CH - Bogen F Jul. 03 - Lyon, FR - Ninkasi Gerland / Kao Jul. 05 - Chiusi Scalo, IT - Lars Rock Festival Jul. 06 - Milan, IT - Santeria Social Club Jul. 07 - Ile du Gaou, FR - Pointu Festival Jul. 09 - Düdingen, CH - Bad Bonn Jul. 10 - Luxembourg-Bonnevoie, LU - Rotondes Jul. 11 - Bremen, DE - TOWER Musikclub Jul. 12 - Herk-De-Stad, Belgium - Rock Herk Festival Jul. 13 - Paris, France - La Station, Gare Des Mines for Garage MU Festival Jul. 14 - Montmartin-sur-Mer, FR - Chauffer Dans La Noirceur
Today The Gotobeds - Cary, TFP, Eli and Gavin - unleash their third full lengther, Debt Begins at 30. The esprit de corps and anxiety-free joy that permeates their other LPs and EPs remains intact. The octane is high-test, the engine still has knocks and pings and the battery is overcharged. The Gotobeds - as Pittsburgh as it gets, the folk music of the Steel City - have more tar for us to swallow. Debt Begins at 30 is an old-fashioned blast furnace and the liquid iron flows.
Debt Begins at 30 features outside contributors on every track, including a special “Debt Begins at 30 (Alt version)” featuring the wonderful Victoria Ruiz - front woman of label mates Downtown Boys. Hear here.
Debt Begins at 30 is now available for preorder through Sub Pop Mega Mart. Preorders of the LP through megamart.subpop.com, select independent retailers in the U.S., and select European and UK retailers will receive the limited, orange-vinyl Loser Edition while supplies last.
Debt Begins at 30 Tracklisting:
1. Calquer the Hound (with Evan Richards of The City Buses and Rob Henry of Kim Phuc) 2. Twin Cities (with Tracy Wilson of Positive No) 3. Slang Words (with Joe Casey of Protomartyr) 4. 2:15 (with Matt Barnhart of Tre Orsi/Mint Mile) 5. Poor People Are Revolting (with Pittsburgh poet Jason Baldinger and Gerard Cosloy of Air Traffic Controllers/Homestead Records/12XU Records) 6 .Debt Begins at 30 (with Mike Seamans of Mind Cure Records) and Bob Weston of Shellac/Mission of Burma) 7. On Loan (with Greg Ahee of Protomartyr) 8. Dross (with Bob Nastanovich of Pavement/Silver Jews) 9. Parallel (with Tim Midyett of Mint Mile/Silkworm) 10. Bleached Midnight (with Pittsburgh poet Scott MacIntyre) 11. Debt Begins at 30 (Alt version) (with Victoria Ruiz of Downtown Boys)
Read more about The Gotobeds and Debt Begins at 30 over here.
