Today, Monday, February 5th, Shabazz Palaces is sharing “Myths Of The Occult,” a hypnotic new track featuring DC-rapper Japreme Magnetic and is from Exotic Birds of Prey, his new seven-song mini-album, out March 29th worldwide from Sub Pop.
Exotic Birds of Prey is the follow-up to Robed in Rareness, his well-received album from October 2023. Robed was released on all DSPs and will also be available on CD/LP formats on March 29th, 2024.
Shabazz Palaces is also announcing European and UK dates in support of Robed in Rareness and Exotic Birds of Prey, which begin April 27th in Paris, France at Le Petit Bain and currently end May 22nd in Braga, PT at Gnration. Preceding these dates, Shabazz Palaces will also appear at My Morning Jacket’s “One Big Holiday” at Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, April 4th-7th, 2024.
Sat. Apr. 27 - Paris, FR - Le Petit Bain Tue. Apr. 30 - Lille, FR - Aeronef Wed. May 01 - Brussels, BE - AB Club Thu. May 02 - Ramsgate, UK - Music Hall in Fri. May 03 - Dublin, IE - Sugar Club Sat. May 04 - Leeds, UK - Headrow House Sun. May 05 - Manchester, UK - YES Pink Room Mon. May 06 - Brighton, UK - Patterns Tue. May 07 - London, UK - Village Underground Thu. May 09 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Sat. May 11 - Copenhagen, DK - Huset Sun. May 12 - Hamburg, DE - Turmzimmer Mon. May 13 - Berlin, DE - Frannz Club Tue. May 14 - Prague, CZ - Meet Factory Thu. May 16 - Geneva, CH - L’Usine Sun. May 19 - San Sebastian, ES - Dabadaba Mon. May 20 - Madrid, ES - Cafe Berlin Tue. May 21 - Lisbon, PT - B. Leza Wed. May 22 - Braga, PT - Gnration
Shabazz Palaces is masterminded by vocalist and producer Ishmael Butler, whose unstinting drive to reimagine hip-hop – even as he enjoys his fifth decade on Earth – remains undimmed.
Exotic Birds of Prey furthers the modus operandi of its predecessor, Robed in Rareness – a respectful eye on the past, an embrace of an ever-evolving present, and its feet are firmly planted in the future. Where Robed… warped sounds like shoegaze and ambient music into the Shabazz Palaces multiverse, Exotic… cross-pollinates these elements with twisted electro and funk vibes.
This new endeavor features collaborations with the likes of Stas THEE Boss, Irene Barber, the aforementioned Japreme Magnetic, OC Notes, Cobra Coil, Purple Tape Nate, and Lavarr the Starr.
Exotic Birds of Prey was produced by Shabazz Palaces, mixed by Erik Blood, and engineered by Ishmael Butler and Blood at Studio4 West in Venice, California, with mastering by Warren Defever at Third Man Mastering.
Exotic Birds of Prey and Robed in Rareness are now available to preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders for each release in North America from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser Editions for Exotic Birds of Prey on Translucent White vinyl and Robed in Rareness on Translucent Ruby vinyl.
In the UK and Europe, LP orders from Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart) and independent retail stores will receive the Loser Editions for Exotic Birds of Prey on Cream White vinyl and Robed in Rareness on Red vinyl.
NPR Music called Robedin Rareness “Enchanting and subversive…” while Pitchfork offered this, “The futurism of Shabazz Palaces has always been interwoven with the past and present, their songs scintillating tapestries of old-school shit talk, proggy psychedelia, and melodic flossing. Robed in Rareness is draped in this multiplicity as Butler and a team of close collaborators swagger across eras of rap.”
Shabazz Palaces “Myths Of The Occult (Feat. Japreme Magnetic)” Single Artwork
Shabazz Palaces Exotic Birds Of Prey
Tracklisting 1. Exotic BOP (feat. Purple Tape Nate) 2. Angela (feat. Stas THEE Boss & Irene Barber) 3. Myths Of The Occult (feat. Japreme Magnetic) 4. Goat Me (feat. Cobra Coil) 5. Well Known Nobody (feat. OCnotes) 6. Synth Dirt 7. Take Me To Your Leader (feat. Lavarr the Starr)
What Do We Do Now, the latest effort from world-famous stoic maestro J Mascis, is available worldwide today via Sub Pop Records. What Do We Do Now features the standout singles “Can’t Believe We’re Here,” “Set Me Down” and “Right Behind You.”What Do We Do Now has received accolades from Guitar World, Brooklyn Vegan, Stereogum, MOJO, and Uncut, who call this new collection of songs “Mascis’ most fully formed and direct solo set to date.” Celebrating this new release, you can now watch the “Old Friends” video directed by Geddy Ruxpin.
J has added a North American show on March 9th at The Drake in his hometown of Amherst, MA, and newly announced UK and European dates in April. He will also be playing two solo headline shows in Australia, which coincidentally happens during a run with his other band, Dinosaur Jr. The dates include Sydney’s Liberty Hall on Tuesday, February 20th, and Brisbane at The Triffid on Saturday, February 24th. See below for a full list of shows.
Tue. Feb. 20 - Sydney, NSW - Liberty Hall Sat. Feb. 24 - Brisbane, - The Triffid Sun. Mar. 09 - Amherst, MA - The Drake Thu. Apr. 02 - Antwerp, BE - Trix Club Wed. Apr. 03 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Tolhuistuin Fri. Apr. 05 - Berlin, DE - Peter Edel Sun. Apr. 07 - London, UK - EartH Mon. Apr. 08 - Manchester, UK - Gorilla Wed. Apr. 10 - Glasgow, UK - Garage Fri. Apr. 12 - Dublin, IR - The Button Factory
What Do We Do Now’s lead single, “Can’t Believe We’re Here,” is currently #14 on the Billboard AAA chart, seeing strong support from the likes of WXPN/Philadelphia, KEXP/Seattle, WFUV/New York, KCSN/Los Angeles, KBCO/Denver, and The Current/Minneapolis.
What people are saying about J Mascis: “a record of beautifully put-together songs” - The Quietus
“…What Do We Do Now, Mascis has created some of his best work outside Dinosaur Jr. His gently emotive voice, halfway between a croon and a croak, carries a set of acoustic-leaning folk-rock songs that are punctuated by Mascis’s unfurling guitar solos and some pummelling percussion.” - The Guardian
“Mascis sure knows the power of simple words… it’s an LP of insight and empathy, a hand on the shoulder that says: ‘Yeah, me too.’” - [4 out of 5] MOJO
“In contrast to his Dinosaur Jr. material, it’s a bit more acoustic, but it’s still sure to please fans of any of the alt-rock-god’s work because there’s a wild fuzzed-out solo in the middle. And it rocks.” - Guitar.com
“It all sounds so perfect with Mascis’ weary vocals and, just when you’re thinking this is a viable new direction for him, he lets a ragged solo rip to remind you who’s making this racket.” - Brooklyn Vegan
“A continually absorbing counterpoint to his work with Dinosaur Jr, J Mascis’ solo output finds the guitarist leaning towards his acoustic. Effects pedals are never far away, however, and he wails on this new release.” - CLASH
Tracklisting: 1. Can’t Believe We’re Here 2. What Do We Do Now 3. Right Behind You 4. You Don’t Understand Me 5. I Can’t Find You 6. Old Friends 7. It’s True 8. Set Me Down 9. Hangin Out 10. End Is Gettin Shaky
On February 16th, the Atlanta trio Omni will release their latest and greatest album, Souvenir for Sub Pop. Following their previously released singles, “Exacto” and “Plastic Pyramid (Feat. Izzy Glaudini of Automatic), comes the spellbinding visualizer for their latest track, “INTL Waters,” which was created by the band’s drummer, Chris Yonker.
The band shares about the song: ‘INTL Waters’ came together quickly with minimal intentions but soon grew lush with melodies and decadent piano flourishes. Thinking about the sadness of villains as they float around between imaginary borders seemed interesting and amusing to minimize. We hope you enjoy this left turn as much as we do.”
As previously shared, Omni has also announced headline shows supporting Souvenir, with a North American East Coast run from February 28th - March 15th and UK and Ireland dates from April 10th- April 20th. More dates to be announced; see below for a full list of shows.
North America Sat. Feb. 24 - Atlanta, GA - The EARL ^ Tue. Feb. 27 - Richmond, VA - The Camel ^ Wed. Feb. 28 - Washington, DC - Songbryd ^ Thu. Feb. 29 - Philadelphia, PA - PhilaMOCA Fri. Mar. 01 - Kingston, NY - Tubby’s Sat. Mar. 02 - Queens, NY - TV Eye*! Mon. Mar. 04 - Boston, MA - The Rockwell* Tue. Mar. 05 - Winooski, VT - Monkey House* Wed. Mar. 06 - Montreal, QC - La Sala Rossa* Thu. Mar. 07 - Toronto, ON - The Garrison* Fri. Mar. 08 - Cleveland, OH - Happy Dog* Sat. Mar. 09- Chicago, IL - Schuba’s* Mon. Mar. 15 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia*
*This Is Lorelei ^ = Olivia O. != Vessel
United Kingdom Wed. Apr. 10 - Brighton, UK - The Green Door Store Thu. Apr. 11 - Bristol, UK - Strange Brew Fri. Apr. 12 - Falmouth, UK - Cornish Bank Sun. Apr. 14 - Dublin, IE - Workman’s Cellar Mon. Apr. 15 - Glasgow, UK - Hug & Pint Tue. Apr. 16 - Leeds, UK - Brudenell Social Club Wed. Apr. 17 - Manchester, UK - Deaf Institute Thu. Apr. 18 - Birmingham, UK - Hare & Hounds Fri. Apr. 19 - Margate, UK - Where Else? Sat. Apr. 20 - London, UK - Moth Club
Souvenir can now be pre-ordered worldwide from Sub Pop. LP orders in North America from the Sub Pop Mega Mart and the UK and Europe from Mega Mart 2 (the new European sibling to the Sub Pop Mega Mart) will receive the limited Loser Edition on Transparent Silver Souvenir Swirl (while supplies last).
What people are saying about Omni: “‘Exacto’ boasts a stiff-necked riff and a jolting rhythm section, one that builds an unrelenting drive at the core of the track.” - So Young Magazine
“Exacto,” features their precision, angular sound, but everything feels punched-up, from the drums to the big hooks” - Brooklyn Vegan
“There’s a pleasant kind of straightforward attitude toward ‘Exacto,’ one that welcomes an easy indie rock sound outside of the discordant guitar lines.” - Far Out
”Souvenir finds Guitarist Frankie Broyles, singer/bassist Philip Frobos, and drummer Chris Yonker converting their creative fuel into sharp, driving songs that land immediately, sporting chopping riffs, staccato beats, and wiry melodies.” - Kool Rock Radio
Souvenir can now be pre-ordered worldwide from Sub Pop. LP orders in North America from the Sub Pop Mega Mart and the UK and Europe from Mega Mart 2 (the new European sibling to the Sub Pop Mega Mart) will receive the limited Loser Edition on Transparent Silver Souvenir Swirl (while supplies last).
Today, Wednesday, January 24th, marks the release of brand new Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 8 contributions from Mary Jane Dunphe and Vanishing Twin – both available now on all DSPs and as limited-edition vinyl 7” singles.
Mary Jane Dunphe is a solo artist and poet based in New York City. She released a few singles during 2023, culminating in the fall release of her debut album, Stage of Love, on Pop Wig (The title track was included in Pitchfork’s 100 Best Songs of 2023 list). Mary Jane is originally from Washington State and sang for the great Olympia punk band Vexx from 2010 to 2016. She’s been involved in several other musical projects, including CCFX, CC Dust, and The County Liners.
Dunphe says, “Both of these songs were written and recorded by me in my bedroom (except for a day when I had to record in my friend Luke’s room (Free Advice) to get out of my own head.) They’re made with what I had lying around; a bass, some chimes, a single maraca, some breaks I had been messing with, and a soft synth. ‘Fix Me’ is an internal stutter of feeling that there is something wrong inside, and all you can do is feel it out with a song. ‘Seasons’ goes outside and finds that in the face of societal and environmental collapse, the dissolving of seasons and our connection to the earth, that love for love’s sake of everything is a tether keeping me on the ground.”
Vanishing Twin was initially formed by the singer and multi-instrumentalist Cathy Lucas in 2015 and is now the tightly honed, London-based collective of Lucas, the drummer Valentina Magaletti, and the bassist Susumu Mukai. Harnessing the diverse backgrounds and touchstones of its members—Lucas’ left-field songcraft, Magaletti’s singular approaches to experimental percussion, and Mukai’s long history in the production of electronic music—over nearly a dozen releases since 2016, the band has refined a hypnotic sound at the juncture of minimalism, kosmische, post-punk, and dream-laden, psychedelic pop. The lyrics for the song “Life Drummer” are adapted from a chapter from The Listening Book by W.A. Mathieu, also called “Life Drummer.”
You can still subscribe to the Sub Pop Singles Club Vol. 8 now to get twelve super-limited 7” vinyl records featuring exclusive music by today’s finest musicians! It’s limited to a mere 835 subscriptions because it’s volume 8, and 2023 marked Sub Pop’s 35th birthday! You’ll get the aforementioned 7”s from Mary Jane Dunphe and Vanishing Twin, along with singles from SUNN O))), Telehealth, Thrash Palace (feat. EMA, Vice Cooler, Sarah Register), Gaye Su Akyol, Jessica Winter & Jonathan Snipes, Margaritas Podridas, Brontez Purnell, and Suki Waterhouse (which includes her collaboration with Belle & Sebastian). The final two singles for Volume 8 will be from the Parisian band En Attendant Ana (who released one of the best albums of 2023, according to TIME Magazine), and haha same (the new collaboration between Greta Kline of Frankie Cosmos and Cody Fitzgerald of Stolen Jars), both of which are due in February. And, to top it all off, you’ll get a lavish storage box, with art by @oldsweaty, to keep the records together.
Computer users: fear not! You will also get digital downloads of the tracks through your Sub Pop Mega Mart account. Hear music from the series via the Singles Club playlist, and subscribe here.
Lastly, fans of the band Telehealth can watch their new video for “Mindtrap,” the official video from their installment of Sub Pop Singles Club, Vol. 8, tomorrow, Thursday, January 25th, on YouTube.
On Friday, April 23rd, 2024, Corridor will release Mimi, the Montreal-based band’s new album, worldwide on CD/LP/DSPs from Sub Pop. The eight-track offering, which includes the highlights “Jump Cut,” “Mon Argent,” and “Mourir Demain,” was produced by Corridor and Joojoo Ashworth (Dummy, Automatic) at Studio Gamma in Montreal and mastered by Heba Kadry Mastering in Brooklyn. All songs on Mimi were composed by Corridor, with lyrics written by guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Robert.
Corridor’s last release was Junior, the band’s prismatic Sub Pop debut, released in 2019. That album and its singles received praise from PASTE, who said, “The French-Canadian foursome may write and perform in French, but rock music this good is something we can all understand.” Meanwhile, Bandcamp noted the record’s “strong melodies and propulsive rock structures, which reference everything from shoegaze and post-punk to Krautrock and psych.”
Corridor’s Mimi—which, fun fact, is also named after Jonathan’s cat—is a record about “getting older” and “figuring out new parts of life”—but despite any claims of transitional growing pains from the band, Mimi is also a record bursting with new energy and life. The band expands on the sounds of Junior and delivers an album with a distinct rhythmic pulse reminiscent of post-punk’s own classic era of melding dance and rock textures.
This is evident on “Mourir Demain,” where over bright, chiming guitars and ascending synths, Robert addresses his looming mortality: “I wrote it when my girlfriend and I were shopping for life insurance,” he laughs. With our little daughter growing up, we also considered making our will. I said to myself, ‘Oh shit, from now on, I’m slowly starting to plan my death.” Watch the animated official video for “Mourir Demain,” directed by Paul Jacobs, here.
Corridor is also sharing international tour dates for 2024 to support Mimi. Highlights include Pitchfork Music Festival Mexico City (March 9th), multiple dates at SXSW in Austin, Texas (March 13th-15th), Schellraiser Festival in McGill, Nevada (May 30th), and a hometown show in Montreal at Le National on October 24th. Additional live dates to be announced soon.
Sat. Mar. 09 - Mexico City, MX - Pitchfork Music Festival Mexico City Tue. Mar. 12 - Los Angeles, CA - Ghengis Cohen Wed. Mar. 13 - Austin, TX - SXSW Thu. Mar. 14 - Austin, TX - SXSW Fri. Mar. 15 - Austin, TX - SXSW Thu. May 30 - McGill, NV - Schellraiser Festival Fri. Oct. 24 - Montreal, QC - Le National
Mimi is now available to preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders of the album from megamart.subpop.com and select independent retailers in North America will receive the Loser Edition on Baby Pink vinyl. LP orders from Mega Mart 2 (the new, UK-based sibling site to the world-famous Sub Pop Mega Mart) and select independent retailers the UK and Europe, will receive the Loser Edition on Blue vinyl. All whilst stock lasts.
About Corridor’s Mimi: You get older, you have a family, and you start to slow down—that’s how things are supposed to go, right? Not for Montreal band Corridor, who have returned on their fourth album, Mimi, with a sound and style that’s more widescreen and expansive than anything that’s preceded it. The follow-up to 2019’s Junior is a huge step forward for the band, as the members themselves have undergone the type of personal changes that accompany the passage of time; even as these eight songs reflect a newfound and contemplative maturity, however, Corridor are branching out more than ever with richly detailed music, resulting in a record that feels like a fresh break for a band that’s already established themselves as forward-thinkers.
Mimi immediately recalls the best of the best when it comes to indie rock—Deerhunter’s silvery atmospherics immediately come to mind, as well as the spiky effervescence of classic post-punk—but despite these easy comparisons, Corridor remain impossible to pin down from song to song, which makes Mimi all the more thrilling as a listen. The road to this point, as roads to greatness often are, was not without challenge; if the elastic guitar rock of Junior came together quickly—or, as guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Robert describes the process, “in a rush”—then the steady-as-they-go creative pace of Mimi marked a desire to break from the “exhausting” work ethic that previously birthed Junior.
“The goal was to work differently, which is the goal we have every time we work on a new album—to build something in a new way,” Robert explains. “This time, we took our time.” And so in the summer of 2020, Corridor’s members—Robert, vocalist/bassist Dominic Berthiaume, drummer Julien Bakvis, and multi-instrumentalist Samuel Gougoux—holed away in a cottage to engage in the sort of creative experimentation that would lead to Mimi’s ultimate creation. “We went there to write, and a lot of ideas came from that retreat,” Berthiaume explains. “We didn’t end up with songs as much as we did ideas, so the result is a collage of the ideas.”
After that productive session together, Corridor continued to tinker with the songs’ raw parts digitally and remotely over the next few years, with co-producer Joojoo Ashworth (Dummy, Automatic) lending their own specific talents in the theoretical booth. The process was a byproduct of not having access to their previous rehearsal space as the COVID-19 pandemic faded from public view, but also a result of the four-piece leaning harder into incorporating electronic textures than on previous records.
“For a long time, we identified as a guitar-oriented band, and the goal of making this whole record was trying to get away from that,” Berthiaume states while admitting that the band encountered their own challenges as a result: “We had to figure out how to make new songs without having the chance to play together. It was complicated sometimes.” Berthiaume also describes Mimi—which, fun fact, is also named after Jonathan’s cat—as a record about “getting older” and “figuring out new parts of life”—but despite any claims of transitional growing pains from the band, Mimi is a record bursting with new energy and life, a vibrance that’s owed in no small part to Gougoux joining the band full-time after pitching in on live performances in the past.
“I come more from a background of electronic music, so it was nice to involve that with the band more,” he explains, and Mimi contains a distinct rhythmic pulse reminiscent of classic era-post-punk’s own melding of dance and rock textures. Over bright, chiming guitars and ascending synths, Robert addresses his looming mortality on “Mourir Demain”: “I wrote it when my girlfriend and I were shopping for life insurance,” he laughs. With our little daughter growing up, we also considered making our will. I said to myself, ‘Oh shit, from now on I’m slowly starting to plan my death.”
“Jump Cut” is pure psychedelic bliss, with hypnotic ziggurats of guitar lines aligning themselves in the distance as Robert and Berthiaume’s vocals excitingly duck and weave throughout the lovely chaos created; meanwhile, the nocturnal air of “Caméra” provides perfect cover for ruminations on self-promotion and exposure in the digital age, while the hypnotic haze of “Mon Argent” tackles the realities of making a living while making music. “Nothing is more abstract, insecure, and random than a musician’s income,” Jonathan muses while discussing the song’s thematic bent. “The responsibilities piling up in my adult life have, unfortunately, prevented me from continuing to avoid the subject. We end up giving a lot of importance to something we don’t understand.”
Don’t mistake this as music about dead ends, though, as Mimi embraces and champions unfettered creativity while paving a way for Corridor’s own bright future. “We just focused on making a record that sounded the way we wanted,” Gougoux exclaims while discussing the band’s aims. “There were no limitations when it came to what was possible.”
