As the holiday season approaches, that feeling of family and connection is becoming more and more common among people around the world…
And apparently it’s even stronger between musicians.
There have been pairings and matching-ups of a multitude of artists just in the past couple of months, and this episode of You! Listen! Now! highlights four of the most intriguing and all around kick-ass sounding groups that are coming together to put some beautiful sounds out there. And so, here goes:
1. The Shin’s James Mercer and Danger Mouse
Ok, let’s face it, Danger Mouse can be kind of a ho when it comes to collaborations.
So far, he’s gotten around with multiple genres, covering ground with Beck, producing the Gorillaz album “Demon Days”, working with Gnarls Barkley of course, and most recently, Sparklehorse.
Now, however, it appears that the man might be tying the knot, at least for the moment.
James Mercer, the singer of the Shins, will be teaming up with Danger Mouse to release an album supposedly early next year under the name of Broken Bells. This is not an entirely new idea, however. If you check out the Sparklehorse collaboration mentioned above, you’ll notice Mercer actually appears on the track entitled “Insane Lullaby,” so the chemistry between these two has actually already been established and, they promise, will continue beyond this first date.
2. Thom Yorke’s Live Band (now with 100% more Flea!)
I’d like to sincerely apologize for posting so much about Thom Yorke on here. The guys just does too much awesome stuff to not post it all up here, and if it’s starting to bug you, I highly suggest you plug your ears, cover your eyes, say “See no evil, do no evil” repeatedly, and scroll down.
For the rest of you: no, I shit you not, Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers will be playing with Thom Yorke. Not only that but Yorke will be breaking the Producer/Artist barrier and will be including Nigel Godrich, producer of the Radiohead albums, in the group, along with Beck/REM drummer Joey Waronker, and Mauro Refosco.
The entire idea behind this group is to take Yorke’s solo works to the stage, the first two times of which will be happening October 4th and October 5th at the Orpheum in LA. You can find a link to buy tickets over at the band’s DEAD AIR SPACE blog. Or, if you happen to be in LA currently, you can find tickets to a surprise show they will be playing at the Echoplex TONIGHT on their blog as well.
This should be an amazing thing to check in on if you can, especially considering Thom Yorke’s recent release of two new singles and another appearance on the New Moon soundtrack. Exciting times indeed.
3. Trent Reznor and Gary Numan, Together at Last?
Trent Reznor is not one for moments of silence.
Though his hugely popular project Nine Inch Nails just played their last shows ever, rumors have just recently been confirmed that he will be collaborating with 80’s synth artist Gary Numan for a few songs in the near future. This is big news for Reznor, as he has used Numan as an influence for many songs under the Nine Inch Nails catalog, even covering a song of his (“Metal” appeared on NIN’s EP Things Falling Apart).
However, the two started their bromance during those last few shows of NIN’s, when Numan guested on three songs during the epic set played at the Wiltern Theatre. Video of that can be found down under (epic!).
So far, not too many details have been confirmed, but Numan has said in response to whether or not the collaboration will actually happen:
“Yes. I know he wants to carry on doing music things. We went out a few days after [the L.A. gigs] with a few other people and the way he puts it is ‘when the dust settles’— I think he means his marriage— but I think he’s going to be pretty busy for a while, so it’ll either be later this year or early next.”
Be sure to check back here, as soon as more comes to the surface, you’ll be able to hear about it on this lil’ blog o’ mine.
NIN: “Metal” with Gary Numan, live from on stage, London 7.15.09 [HD] from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo
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4. The Black Keys Make a Hip-Hop Album
The best had to be saved for last on this one.
I know, it really may not seem like an altogether unbelievably great idea at first, but really, just watch the video down below. Convinced? Thought so.
The Keys are still feeling the breeze from their most recent tour, which made an appearance in Salt Lake City during the Twilight Series Concert, and singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach is as well still reeling from the album release and subsequent short tour for his solo project, but it takes a lot more to keep these guys from being filled with awesome.
The project, named Blakroc, features an amazing list of artists as well, most noticeably: Mos Def, RZA, Raekwon, Q-Tip, Ludacris, Pharoahe Monch, M.O.P.’s Billy Danze, Jones, and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The album will drop on November 27th on Blakroc’s self-owned record label.
If there has ever been anything more intense than this, it’s definitely a lie.
Blakroc Project from Myrhax on Vimeo.
Thanks for checking in everyone!
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