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Friday, August 21, 2015

Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores Announce US and Europe Tour Dates for Late-Summer/Fall 2015


 

“From harsh nightmare riddles, to sweetly swooning tranced-out droning somnambulant reveries, psychedelic folk, prog-rock, old-time country, acidic cabaret, dark circus music, and sinister dream fragments … well worth investigating”
- Dream Magazine

Post-rock’s magical/”folk” surrealists, Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores hail from Providence, Rhode Island, the fertile home ground of horror writers H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Alan Poe and artists of all stripes. Their music captures that city’s essence, blurring lines between past and present, fiction and fact, and transcending musical genres as easily as ghosts float through walls. Composed by Redfearn, the Eyesore's music combines myriad influences - traditional eastern and western European folk music, pre-WWII French and German cabaret, circus music, early 20th century classical (Erik Satie), classical minimalism, maverick 20th century Americana (Tom Waits, Harry Partch, John Cage, Charles Ives), elements from visionary French iconoclasts (Pierre Bastien, Pascal Comelade, Albert Marcoeur), acid folk, noise, psychedelia, drone rock (Velvet Underground, Faust), and more - with a dark, primitive, intentionally rough-edged and gritty, folk-crafted sensibility. Redfearn’s songs, whether instrumental or darkly lyrical, are rhythmically entrancing, evocative and remarkably cinematic.

Be sure to see Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores on tour in the following weeks. Their live shows are legendary, and their 2015 tour of two continents is certain to entrance existing fans and captivate new audiences.


[WATCH the official ”The 7 and 6” music video]


ALEC K. REDFEARN & THE EYESORES
USA and EUROPEAN 2015 TOUR DATES


"Joy is abundant the minute Redfearn begins to play the accordion…exquisite song writing. ...This band plays together so well it’s scary." - Lucas Schleicher, Brainwashed

Alec K. Redfearn & the Eyesores includes:
Alec K. Redfearn: vocals, accordion
Ember Schrag: vocals, organ, guitar
Christopher Sadlers: upright bass, vocals
Ann Schattle: French horn
Matt McLaren: drums, percussions


August 20 - Providence RI, USA
H. P. Lovecraft's 125th Birthday Party at NecronomiCon 2015
Facade Lot, 35 Weybosset Streer Providence RI

August 21 - New Haven, CT, USA
Three Sheets - 372 Elm Street, New Haven, CT

August 22 - Beacon, NY, USA
Quinn’s - 330 Main St, Beacon, NY

August 23 - New York, NY, USA
Trans Pecos - 915 Wyckoff Ave, Queens, NY

September 16 - Toulouse, FR
Les Pavillons Sauvages - Toulouse, FR

September 17 - TBA

September 18 - Toulouse, FR
Le Bol Rouge - Toulouse, FR - Alec K. Redfearn solo

September 19 - Albi, FR
Albi, FR (House show)

September 20 - Carmaux, FR
Rock In Opposition Festival - Carmaux, FR

September 21 - Galgan, FR
Galgan, FR (Peyrator + Vespre)

September 22 - TBA

September 23 - Frankfurt, DE
Dreikoenigskeller - Frankfurt, DE

September 24 - Bruxelles, BE
Centre Vincent Van Gogh - Bruxelles, BE

September 25 - Liège, BE
L'An Vert - Liège, BE

September 26 - Dunkerque, FR
Fructôse - Dunkerque, FR

September 27 - Moyen, FR
Un Peu de Piment - Moyen, FR

September 28 - Metz/Nancy, FR
TBA - Metz/Nancy, FR

September 29 - Lille, FR
La Malterie - Lille, FR

September 30 - Paris, FR
L'Alimentation Générale - Paris, FR

October 24 - Providence, RI, USA
Steelyard Iron Pour - Providence, RI

TOUR UPDATES AT
www.cuneiformrecords.com/tours.html

"...their experimental Balkan/East European folk-inspired music is not only cleverly conceived, but executed with wit, style, and just a hint of darkness… They offer experimental future folk with elements of real dirt and sweat - and a touch of mania. Highly recommended.” - Bill Tilland, All Music Guide

__________

Alec K. Redfearn & The Eyesores'
Releases on Cuneiform Records


“This is wonderful stuff - brave and experimental, yet warmly human.  Make room on your folk revival shelf for something that may be influenced by folk but is in no way a revival.”
- Splendid Magazine




Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores
Sister Death

"Unawake"
Bandcamp / YouTube

Purchase @
ITUNES - AMAZON
BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC


Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores
The Blind Spot

"Queen of the Wires"
Bandcamp / YouTube

Purchase @
ITUNES - AMAZON
BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC



Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores
The Quiet Room

"Punjabi/Watery Grave"
Bandcamp / YouTube

Purchase @
ITUNES - AMAZON
BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE MUSIC

For more info on Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores at Cuneiform:
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/redfearn.html

"gorgeous amalgam of 20th Century Americana, cabaret and theater music, Eastern European folk, noise rock and minimalism, a bracing textural snap. …wonderful ensemble interplay…”
- Richard Moule, Signal to Noise

_________

Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores Bio Information:

Alec K. Redfearn is a composer, accordionist, songwriter, improviser and performance artist who grew up listening to hardcore (The Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Butthole Surfers) and metal (Slayer, Metallica). He moved to Providence, RI (home of H.P. Lovecraft & Edgar Allan Poe) in the late 80s and became involved in the AS220 Arts and Performance Collective. “I taught myself accordion as a reaction to grunge,” Redfearn explains. “Since accordion was hated, I said ‘this will be my fuck you’ to the rock world. Then I got obsessed with it.” The accordion led him to British folk, Eastern European, Indian classical music, Turkish and Arabic music, and gypsy music in all its global variations. He started Space Heater, an absurdist “miniature industrial” band that evolved into the Amoebic Ensemble, whose music fused folk music influenced by Weimar Republic composers and traditional European folk, with classical music, free jazz, rock and punk.

When Amoebic dissolved, he founded Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores, combining the influences shared by Amoebic (folk, cabaret, jazz) with a melancholy atmosphere invoked by Redfearn’s dark lyrics and songs based on country and rock music. The band’s 1998 debut, The Eyesores, was a six-song cassette, and was followed by a series of self-produced mini-albums. Their 1st full album, May You Dine on Weeds Made Bitter by the Piss of Drunkards, came out on Magic Eye Singles. 2002's Bent at the Waist (Handsome) brought them acclaim for its left-field alternative pop sound, while Every Man For Himself & God Against All (Corleone, 2003) was embraced by avant/experimental and indie-rock crowds.

In the mid-noughts, working primarily with the Cuneiform label, Alec K. Redfearn & The Eyesores began releasing a series of impressive recordings that brought the band international acclaim and new followers among the global avant/experimental rock, avant-progressive music and alt-folk scenes. In 2005, Cuneiform released The Quiet Room, a primarily instrumental, 15 song album featuring an 11-piece band plus guests laying down lush layers of strings, horns and feedback - electronics, telephones, noise-making devices - over a solid backbone of drums/percussion, accordion and bowed contrabass. On The Smother Party (North East Indie, 2006) Redfearn and the band played in a more traditional song format and, although the subject matter was grim, they were presented with a playful, fairy tale-like lyricism. In contrast, The Blind Spot (Cuneiform, 2007) was a more "serious" work, both musically and conceptually impressive, mixing classical and folk instrumentation, electronics and processed noise, vocals and invented/experimental musical instruments. A multifaceted epic, The Blind Spot was a lyrical requiem mass in secular form yet highly spiritual, a cathartic work that dealt with Redfearn’s former drug addiction and coming to terms with the friends lost along the path to healing.

2012's Sister Death is the band's most recent Cuneiform release and its most accessible album to date. Sister Death explores the mysteries of life, death, love, loss, creation and destruction, subjects that have informed Redfearn's songwriting since the early 90s. The dark beauty of the music and lyrics is simultaneously astonishing and accessible; Sister Death transcends single genres while sounding captivatingly familiar, and the musicianship of the band is impressive throughout.

For more information on Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores,
Visit their Official sites:
http://www.aleckredfearn.com/
https://www.facebook.com/aleckredfearnandtheeyesores


[Alec K. Redfearn and The Eyesores: Sister Death in Pieces (excerpt)]

“Redfearn and his squeezebox lead us along dark paths into the misty night, where the darker side of human nature bubbles a little closer to the surface...… There's a musical similarity to some of the Dark Cabaret artists...but Redfearn has a distinctive take on it. The music combines folk, country, jazz, gypsy, and rock in an eccentric but totally organic way. The instrumentation is as distinctive as the music, with Redfearn's accordion usually present (sometimes with effects pedals), organ, french horn, guitar, drums, and percussion."
-Jon Davis, Exposé


_______

www.cuneiformrecords.com
www.twitter.com/cuneiformrecord
www.facebook.com/cuneiformrecords
www.soundcloud.com/cuneiformrecords
www.youtube.com/CuneiformRecords



“…homespun intimacy…by a band that tends to shun brightness and gaiety. …Led by accordion and winds, with occasional guitar and frequent detours through contrasting textural and mood breaks, Alec Redfearns’s music turns up a clever American twist on the Art Bears/Zamla axis, unafraid to admit having absorbed influences from klezmer and Balkan traditions as well. …place them next to Hamster Theatre and Non Credo on the most approachable side of current American R.I.O. music.”
- Michael Ezzo, Exposé

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

São Paulo Underground celebrates 10 years of dauntless sonic exploration with a rare US tour in September 2015



Brazilian/American trio 
São Paulo Underground
celebrates 10 years
of  dauntless sonic exploration 
 with a rare US tour 
 in September 2015


[L-R: Guilherme Granado, Rob Mazurek, Mauricio Takara | Art Work: Damon Locks | Photo: Jason Marck]

Described by The New York Times as “a visionary jazz-rock trio” and Rolling Stone as “limitless in its possibilities,” São Paulo Underground celebrates ten years of creating cutting edge modern music with rare US performances in September 2015.

Founded in 2005, during Chicago composer and cornetist Rob Mazurek’s eight-year Brazilian sojourn, São Paulo Underground is a power trio that links Chicago’s volatile creative music scene with São Paulo, Brazil’s leading experimental musicians.

São Paulo Underground features Chicago composer Rob Mazurek on cornet and electronics and two Brazilian musicians: Mauricio Takara on percussion, cavaquinho and electronics, and Guilherme Granado on keyboards, synths, sampler and vocals.

The ensemble’s music embodies a fascinating mixture of Sun Ra-esque cosmic noise with rhythms and phrasing from samba, maracatu, rock and free jazz traditions. The result is electronica-laced Tropicália characterized by glistening sonic textures, unabashedly beautiful melodies, an expansive improvisational palette and fiercely gleeful interplay.

The trio will perform new compositions and material from its widely acclaimed Cuneiform releases, Beija Flors Velho E Sujo (2013) and Tres Cabeças Loucuras (2011).

Listen to a sample of Beija Flors Velho E Sujo:
https://soundcloud.com/cuneiformrecords/sao-paulo-underground-the-love-i-feel
 “A modern approach to Brazil's Tropicália, that takes into account advances in sound manipulation and engineering. It is street music from the Brazilian subterranean avant-garde.”
All About Jazz

“This high-energy romp takes the sting out of the term fusion in the best possible way.”
- DownBeat

"Tropicalia never sounded this modern and alive."
- Sound Colour Vibration

___________

Learn more about São Paulo Underground, download high resolution photos, and hear more sound samples at: São Paulo Underground's Artist Page on Cuneiform's Website



[L-R: Guilherme Granado, Rob Mazurek, Mauricio Takara | Photo: Jason Marck]


SÃO PAULO UNDERGROUND
SEPTEMBER 2015 US TOUR DATES



CHICAGO, IL - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015
Sets at 8:30PM & 9:50PM
Constellation
3111 North Western Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
www.constellation-chicago.com
$15 Advance/$20 Door 18+
Event Details - Purchase Tickets - Facebook Event Link

DEARBORN, MI - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015
Free Workshop at 6PM & 8PM Performance
Arab American National Museum
13624 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, MI 48126
www.arabamericanmuseum.org
313.582.2266
Free Workshop Open to the Public
$10 Admission to Performance/All Ages
Global Fridays Concert Series
Event Details - Purchase Tickets - Facebook Event Link

CINCINNATI, OH - SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2015
Sets at 8PM & 9:30PM
Loft Society
119 Calhoun Street
Cincinnati, OH 45219
Call Al after 8:30pm with questions: 513.559.9220
$20 at Door/BYOB/All Ages
Facebook Event Link

LOUISVILLE, KY - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2015
Set at 8PM
Dreamland
810 East Market Street
Louisville, KY 40206
www.dreamlandislouisville.org
$20 Admission
Event Details - Facebook Event Link

CLEVELAND, OH - MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2015
Sets at 8PM & 9:30PM
Bop Stop at The Music Settlement
2920 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113
www.themusicsettlement.org
216.771.6551
$15 Admission
Event Details - Purchase Tickets - Facebook Event

BUFFALO, NY - TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2015
Set at 8PM
Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center
341 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
www.hallwalls.org
716.854.1694
$15 Admission/$12 Students & Seniors/$10 Members
Event Details - Facebook Event

PORTSMOUTH, NH - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2015
Set at 8PM
3S Artspace
319 Vaughan Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
www.3sarts.org
603.766.3330
info@3sarts.org
$14 for Members/$16 for Non-Members/All Ages
Event Details - Purchase Tickets - Facebook Event Link



São Paulo Underground
Beija Flors Velho E Sujo

[2013, Rune 359]

AMAZON - ITUNES - BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE

Listen to a sample of Beija Flors Velho E Sujo:
http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/beija-flors-velho-e-sujo





São Paulo Underground
Tres Cabeças Loucuras
[2011, Rune 325]

AMAZON - ITUNES - BANDCAMP - WAYSIDE

Listen to a sample of Três Cabeças Loucuras:
https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/tres-cabecas-loucuras


-----------------------

www.cuneiformrecords.com
www.twitter.com/cuneiformrecord
www.facebook.com/cuneiformrecords
www.soundcloud.com/cuneiformrecords
www.youtube.com/CuneiformRecords

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Cuneiform Records Launches The Music Outpost - a Sister Company Devoted to Licensing Music on the Sonic Frontier







FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2015
Contact:
Joyce@cuneiformrecords.com
info@themusicoutpost.com
(301) 589-8894



– Re-Imagining Music in the 21st Century –

Announcing
The Music Outpost:
On August 17, 2015,
Cuneiform Records Launches a Sister Company
Devoted to Licensing Music on the Sonic Frontier

An Existential QUESTION:
How does a 31-year old record label that specializes in avant garde, non-mainstream music and has released over 400 albums of high-quality music to date, survive and thrive in the 21st century digital age, an era in which all music – whether popular or avant-garde – has been devalued, and in which record stores have disappeared?  How does it enable the impressive music in its back catalogue to not only live anew but also contribute to the future survival of both itself and the international composers/musicians who create that music?  And how does it make the cutting-edge music it releases be financially sustainable as the century progresses, without compromising the stylistic integrity or “edginess” of that music?

A Visionary ANSWER:
It re-imagines a radically new context, a parallel purpose, a fresh existence for the innovative music it also releases on albums.

Cuneiform Records is proud to announce the creation of a new, sister company, called The Music Outpost, devoted to licensing cutting-edge music to various media including film/movies, dance, theatre, advertising, fashion, technology, and more.  The new company launches on August 17, 2015, when the website themusicoutpost.com goes live. Numerous licensing companies already exist, but all focus on mainstream music; licensing avant-garde music is not a priority for them. In contrast, The Music Outpost – “licensing music on the Sonic Frontier” – focuses on ‘outside’ music and aims to ultimately be THE go-to place for creative media professionals to find music as adventurous as their projects.  Its continually-expanding archive of music-available-for-licensing will not only feature music released by Cuneiform, but also music by other experimental, boundary-defying artists.

A selection from The Music Outpost’s music archive is currently displayed on its website, www.themusicoutpost.com. The music can be explored through listening samples or various search methods (moods, music genres, film genres, instruments, etc). Search instructions are posted on the website, and users are encouraged to email themselves a list of their “Favorites”.  While only a modest sampling from Cuneiform’s catalogue is currently on display, you can inquire about licensing other music on Cuneiform while new music that can be “readily licensed” is being added to the site. The Music Outpost will continually be updated, with new albums and new artists being posted regularly, so frequent visitation is encouraged. The website includes a means to contact the Outpost for queries about licensing for a specific project; licensing fees vary for size, type and nature of project. Projects of all size – from student films to blockbuster studio projects and everything in-between – are welcome to contact The Music Outpost.

Cuneiform has long been internationally acclaimed for releasing genre-defying music, music that transforms and transcends traditional forms.  Now, this innovative label has defied yet another boundary, to release music from its boundaries on turntables and iPods, and release it on dance and theatre stages, runways, and movie and other screens.

Based in greater Washington DC (Silver Spring, MD), Cuneiform Records was founded by Steve Feigenbaum in 1984 as a record label devoted to releasing innovative music from some of the best musicians in the international avant-garde.  It is the sister company of Wayside Music, a webstore and distributor originally founded in 1980 as a mail-order company devoted to internationally selling and distributing music released on small labels from around the world. The Music Outpost is the newest addition to this musically-progressive family.


For more information, please contact:
Joyce@CuneiformRecords.com
and
info@TheMusicOutpost.com
(301) 589-8894
www.themusicoutpost.com