Here is a video for my song “Wild Time” that was shot on 16mm pre-Pandemic, then edited together during isolation. Felt like the right time to let this video out into the world, seeing as we’re all getting saddled down by some pretty grim realities. This song is about yearning for wildness and Mother Nature in a time of chaos. It’s for sensitive people who worry about the fate of humanity and feel powerless to do anything about it.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking apocalyptic thoughts and realizing that won’t get you anywhere. What if the world has always been ending? What if the sprawl of our cities are just as wild as the forests? What if climate change and the destruction of our natural habitat is a reflection of the nature within us, however sublimely horrifying and hard to understand? We’re animals, we play out a very precarious drama of life, and we grasp for what’s left of the protective womb - but maybe the notion that we’re somehow separated from her is an illusion. Maybe it is, truly, a wild time to be alive. Maybe getting in touch with that as a culture and society would avert the worst case scenarios of ecological crisis and existential dread.
If you’ve gotten this far, wow, thank you for actually taking the time to read this. In other news, as you may have assumed, I am canceling all of my headline shows for 2020, but I’m beginning to work on my next album that will come out in 2021- a different time, when hopefully we can see each other face to face once again.
Earlier this month, Bully delivered two excellent covers of Nirvana’s “About a Girl” and Orville Peck’s “Turn To Hate” via a sold-out 7” single and cassette, and now, both are available at all DSPs worldwide from Sub Pop.
Bully’s Alicia Bognanno offered this on the covers, “Normally during this time I’d be running around trying to promote the upcoming record and rehearsing to get ready to tour again but given the circumstances, I’m trying to work with what I can do at home alone. I picked a couple Sub Pop songs to cover to release something in the meantime. I played everything on these songs (for better or worse haha) and tracked them in my living room. Gotta do what ya gotta to spice it up sometimes.”
Of the “About a Girl” cover, Rolling Stone raved, “Hearing the Nashville band cover Nirvana is almost too obvious — but, good God, is it glorious. Their spin on 1989’s “About a Girl” strikes a perfect balance of raw and melodic, without ever sounding like the output of a cover band…Still, it’s not just a skilled copy of a classic. She mixes in some experimental guitar squeals on the instrumental and a truly trippy solo that keeps the sound from going thoroughly Nineties. Plus, Bognanno differentiates herself from your average karaoke crooner with her stellar delivery.
As for her take on “Turn To Hate,” Stereogum had this to say, “A song that sounds incredible in Bully’s rocket-fueled garage rock style.” Paste concurs, “Bully’s rendition is possibly even better than the original with its incredibly anthemic chorus.”
Shabazz Palaces has delivered a thoughtful new lyric video for “Thanking The Girls,” a highlight from The Don of Diamond Dreams, his acclaimed new album out now on Sub Pop.
The visual is directed by Josh Sessoms, a contemporary artist focusing on figures that encapsulate the mystery, dynamism and poetic nature of the African and Caribbean diasporas. Exemplification of grace, dignity, love, and power is a starting point from which he begins his artistic musings. Sessoms says of the video, “There is an ongoing spiritual connection among the characters which is being fortified by the full moon. Ishmael’s lyrics and vocal performance inspired a kaleidoscopic explosion of ideas. I immediately heard a palpable sense of compassion and ardor in his voice. I sense that Ishmael wants this song to be an eternal gift and a perpetual gesture of appreciation to loved ones (both near and far); those of the present moment, of yesteryear and of future generations.”
The visual saw its premiere today via Essence Magazine, who offered this, “Brimming bright with a dedication to the women in Ish’s life, ‘Thanking The Girls’ is a wonderful tribute that proves that this slick-talking, experimental rap bohemian is still a real G that should be protected at all costs (see “Playlist” premiere May 8th, 2020).”
Shabazz Palaces was also the subject of a recent interview with Frannie Kelly for NPR’s Morning Edition, where he discussed the new album, and how “musical innovation is a family legacy (see May 5th interview).”
The Don of Diamond Dreams is available worldwide from Sub Pop.
The Don of Diamond Dreams, which includes the aforementioned “Thanking The Girls,” “Fast Learner (ft. Purple Tape Nate),”“Chocolate Souffle,”“Wet,” “Bad Bitch Walking (ft. Stas THEE Boss),” features contributions from singer/keyboardist Darrius Willrich, percussionist Carlos Niño, Knife Knights collaborator OCnotes, saxophonist Carlos Overall, and bassist Evan Flory-Barnes.
The Don of Diamond Dreams was recorded throughout 2019 and produced by Shabazz Palaces at Protect and Exalt: A Black Space in Seattle, mixed and engineered by Erik Blood with mixing assistance from Andy Kravitz at Studio 4 Labs in Venice, California, and mastered by Scott Sedillo at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Los Angeles.
Six years ago we opened the Sub Pop Store at Sea-Tac International Airport (this guy right here). In the years since, we’ve had countless bands and music lovers come through our doors. On occasion some of them have even bought stuff! We look forward to opening those doors again one day, once it’s safe to do so. In the meantime, thank you for being a part of our music community, thank you for caring about Sub Pop and our artists, and thank you for sometimes buying the things we used to sell. We miss you!
Even though the Sub Pop Store at SeaTac is currently shuttered, we’re celebrating its 6th birthday from a safe distance with a playlist of songs put together by the people who make the store what it is. Come see us on the other side…
Man Man’s Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between is out today worldwide on Sub Pop, and also streaming here. The 17-track effort features “On the Mend,” “Future Peg,” “Cloud Nein,” “Sheela,” and “Animal Attraction,” was produced by Cyrus Ghahremani, mixed by S. Husky Höskulds (Tom Waits, Solomon Burke, Bettye LaVette, Allen Toussaint), and mastered by Dave Cooley (Blood Orange, M83, DIIV, Paramore, Snail Mail, clipping).
Rolling Stone, in its 4-star review, says, “It makes sense that Ryan Kattner of Man Man would release his best album to date during a pandemic. His band persona, Honus Honus, is perpetually down on his luck — bizarre and lovelorn, lonely and insane — haunted. In short, he’s all of us right now…the grotesque and the gorgeous has served Man Man well through the years — and with Dream Hunting, they’ve reached the ideal mix: more gorgeous than grotesque, more raw than ragged.”
The AV Club says, “Honus Honus—a.k.a. Ryan Kattner—is back with his freewheeling off-kilter pop group Man Man, and possibly its most accessible record yet. As eclectic as ever, the sprawling mix of horns, keys, percussion, guitars, and more remains a half-step away from sounding like the most unusual cabaret act in modern times.”
Shindig Magazine noted the album for it’s “touches of Tom Waits-ian squalor, Broadway degradation, and fin de siècle decadence” and its “utterly infectious (pun intended) ‘Cloud Nein’, with its ‘Paul Williams as performed by Captain Beefheart’ sound… it’s just one of 17 sparkling tracks, the album a bold comeback after seven years of silence…”
And Glide Magazine offers this, “Throughout the album, Kattner spins fascinating tales of love, lust, death, the occult, and a goat attack. The piano-based songs carry elements of jazz and rock, with Kattner’s keen ear for sing-along melodies matched only by his desire to attack such melodies with unexpected bursts of bedlam. Those tumultuous bursts, occurring frequently and usually without warning, are part of what makes Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between so exciting, with no dull moments even over 17 tracks of content.”
Dream Hunting… is available from Sub Pop and select independent retailers in North America.LP orders through megamart.subpop.com will be delayed slightly due to a Covid-19 related pressing plant closure. The limited Loser edition on white vinyl with a pinkish swirl is nearly sold out despite these delays and is only available while supplies last. Meanwhile, in the U.K.and Europe, preorders through select independent retailers will receive their own slight variation of the limited Loser edition on pink vinyl that has fortunately not experienced any production delays (also, while supplies last). There is also a new T-shirt design available through megamart.subpop.com.
Man Man will be hosting “The Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between Social-Distancing Telethon”today, Friday, May 1st from 1 pm PST until the wheels drop off. Fans can watch live through Sub Pop’s YouTube Live channel and the band’s Facebook account. The telethon will feature social-distancing style performances from the new album and special guests throughout the simulcast.
Man Man’s “On the Mend” is a new highlight from Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between - A heartbreak-post-breakup pop song with Swordfishtrombones-vibes, that includes backing vocals from Steady Holiday’s Dre Babinski and Rebecca Black. Stream it in all the places, over here.
Honus Honus says of the track, “I wrote this a year or so after a painful break-up and although I was in a better place at the time, I wanted to touch on all of those raw emotions someone has to work through in order to get healthy and able to love themselves again. Musically, the tempo, the push, and pull of the band, the openness of it all just drives this home. So, yes, it’s a bit of a heavy song but I think it’s also one about hope, healing, letting go and moving on. The heart can be cruel but you can’t let it consume you.”
Dream Hunting…will be available on CD/2xLP/CS/DL worldwide on May 1st, 2020 and is available for preorder from Sub Pop. LP preorders through megamart.subpop.com will receive the limited Loser edition on white vinyl with a pinkish swirl (while supplies last).
After street date, a limited supply of the Loser edition LP will be available at select independent retailers in North America and at Man Man’s future live shows. Meanwhile, in the U.K. and Europe, preorders through select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser edition on pink vinyl (also, while supplies last). There is also a new T-shirt design available through megamart.subpop.com.
Ever the character, Honus Honus has also been hosting the delightfully weird “From Honie Pond” shower sessions on Instagram Live. The good, clean fun (head and shoulders ONLY, folx!) features chats with fans and surprise guests, can be seen live Monday through Friday at 1 pm PT -> instagram.com/honushonus.
