NEWS

Jon Hopkins is to release Immunity, his fourth solo album, on June 3^rd (UK)/4^th (US).

A powerful, multi-faceted beast, packed with the most aggressively dancefloor-focussed music Hopkins has ever made, Immunity is about achieving euphoric states through music. Inspired by the arc of an epic night out, the album peaks with Collider, a huge, apocalyptic, techno monster and dissolves with the quiet, heartbreakingly beautiful closer, Immunity, a track featuring vocals from King Creosote which could sit comfortably alongside the gems of their Mercury-nominated collaboration, Diamond Mine.

Immunity is a confident, dramatic record defined by an acute sense of physicality and place. It feels like the hypnotic accompaniment to a journey of creativity, a trip inside Hopkins’ mind, using analog synthesis alongside manipulations of physical, real-world sounds to make dance music that feels as natural and unforced as possible.

Immunity is the most human electronic album you’ll hear this year. 

Click HERE to watch a psychedelic album trailer made by Craig Ward.  Food dyes crystallise under a microscope, creating an anisotropic, kaleidoscopic world of colour. 

Jon Hopkins will be performing a headline album launch show at London’s Village Underground on 12^th June. You can purchase tickets HERE. 

Jon Hopkins is also an expert producer, Ivor Novello-nominated composer of film scores, long-term collaborator of Brian Eno and Coldplay, and remixer of artists as diverse as David Lynch, Four Tet, Wild Beasts, Nosaj Thing, and Purity Ring. Immunity is Jon’s first album on Domino, following the release of Insides on Domino imprint Double Six in 2009.

Immunity will be available on CD (WIGCD298), LP (WIGLP298) and Digital (WIG298D). Pre-order it HERE. The tracklisting is as follows: 

1. We Disappear 
2. Open Eye Signal 
3. Breathe This Air 
4. Collider 
5. Abandon Window 
6. Form By Firelight 
7. Sun Harmonics 
8. Immunity 

Having announced their UK tour but a month ago Matthew E. White and his mighty Spacebomb band have already sold out their date at London's grand Queen Elizabeth Hall. Fret not though, as they will be back again on 4 September to be more specific, for a show at Shepherd's Bush Empire no less.

Matthew E. White Live Dates

Sun 21 April Bristol Thekla (tickets)

Wed 24 April Glasgow Arches (tickets)
Thurs 25 April Manchester Sound Control (tickets)
Fri 26 April London Queen Elizabeth Hall SOLD OUT

Wed 4 Sept London O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire (tickets on sale Friday 8th March at 09:00)

Animal Collective have unveiled three new live videos preceding their North American tour, which starts later this week. The videos, a collaboration with The Creators Project, feature live performances from the band's December 2012 Terminal 5 shows complete with psychedelic visual effects and overlays by Abby Portner. Watch “Applesauce,” “Moonjock” and “Amanita” HERE.

The videos provide an in-depth look at Animal Collective’s live performance as the band prepares to head back out on the road this spring with labelmate Dan Deacon. Animal Collective will be returning to the UK for a performance at Field Day on the 25^th of May 2013. For access to tickets and all the latest Animal Collective news, head to http://bit.ly/animaltix.

The band and The Creators Project have also relaunched Animal Collective Radio, which last autumn counted down to the release of Centipede Hz. The weekly radio shows featured different band members and guests playing mixes, while exploring the creative influences of Centipede Hz. The final live installment premiered the entire album with custom visuals for each track created by Abby. These videos are now available again in full for the first time since the launch at radio.myanimalhome.net.

Abby, who dubs herself the “visual person” for Animal Collective, designed the Animal Collective Radio site and visuals with band's stage production and live performances in mind. Both the site and stage production feature a giant mouth and Centipede Hz album visuals. You can experience the fully realized prismatic audiovisual experience come full circle for yourself with the release of the three live videos and the relaunch of the Centipede Hz Radio albums visuals.

Earlier in 2012, Animal Collective released their 10th and latest album Centipede Hz. The band’s first record since 2007’s Strawberry Jam to feature all four original band members, Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist and Deakin, Centipede Hz was hailed by critics as a return to the band’s experimental roots. The album can be ordered via the Animal Collective webstore here

1. Hanging Song

2. There's A World Between Us

3. A Bad Wind

4. By Morning I

5. The Lemon Tree #3      

6. Anthony & Owen

7. White Swans

8. Christina That’s The Saddest Thing

9. You’re Getting Like Your Sister

10. He Took You In His Arms

11. A Bad Wind Pt. 2

A massive congratulations to both Arctic Monkeys and The Child Of Lov for their wins at the NME Awards last night. Arctic Monkeys' 'R U Mine' was awarded Best Video (you can check it out HERE). Whilst The Child Of Lov won the NME Radar award, head over to the Double Six site for more on The Child Of Lov's award. 

James Yorkston releases his Spanish Ants EP on Monday the 22^nd of April 2013. The EP features Spanish Ants, from James’ much praised I Was A Cat From A Book album + remixes of the song by fellow Fence Collective luminaries Seamus Fogarty and The Pictish Trail, who will be joining James for a round of dates in March and April.

I Was A Cat From A Book is an album full of energy and great musicianship, and contains James' strongest and most bewildering set of songs yet.

 ‘A record that will draw you in and keep you close’ – Mojo

‘A remarkable record – Yorkston’s best yet’ – The Skinny

‘As always with this gem of a musician, all human life is here’ - Q

The tracklisting for the Spanish Ants EP is:

Spanish Ants

Spanish Ants (Yorkston Regrets Trail mix) – remixed by Pictish Trail

Spanish Ants (Fly in the Oink mix) – remixed by OnTheFly

Kath With Rhodes (Disco Rhodeo mix) – remixed by Seamus Fogarty

Full dates are as follows:

James Yorkston with The Pictish Trail & Seamus Fogarty

March – Scotland

Sat 16th The Tolbooth, Stirling

Tues 19th Eden Court, Inverness

Weds 20th Universal Hall, Findhorn

Thurs 21st The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen

Fri 22nd Birnam Arts, Dunkeld

April – England

 Sat 13th The Grand, Clitheroe

Sun 14th The Sound House, Leicester

Mon 15th The Junction, Cambridge

Tues 16th The Blind Tiger, Brighton

Weds 17th South Street Arts Centre, Reading 

Thurs 18th The Exeter Phoenix

Fri 19th The Fleece, Bristol

Sat 20th Howard Assembly Room, Leeds

Thurs 25th Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry

Fri 26th The Kazimier, Liverpool

Sat 27th Ludlow Assembly Rooms

Take a look HERE

For more info, head over HERE

To coincide with Ducktails’ current UK tour, Domino can share the video for The Flower Lane standout "Letter of Intent".  The video was filmed in New York’s Central Park by The Harrys. Watch it below:

In conjunction with the new video, Ducktails is releasing a remix EP for "Letter of Intent" which features the original track alongside remixes from DJ Sprinkles, Mark McGuire and Heatsick. Listen to ‘Letter Of Intent (Mark McGuire’s Road Chief Remix) HERE. Purchase ‘Letter Of Intent Remix EP’, digitally, HERE. 

Ducktails played Brighton’s Green Door last night and have a much anticipated, sold out show at the London Lexington tonight. The band will then embark on an extensive North American tour throughout the spring.

Ducktails - Letter of Intent Remix EP (Domino - RUG512D)

1. Letter of Intent

2. DJ Sprinkles' Post Script

3. Mark McGuire Road Chief Remix

4. Heatsick Remix

"These were all middle-class kids from literary backgrounds, joining this sort of train going by, this pop train, jumping on" Kevin Ayers

Kevin Ayers was an original talent, with a style uniquely his own. A middle class kid from Herne Bay, whose father was a BBC producer, who grew up in Malaysia after his parents divorced and his mother remarried a civil servant. Age 12 he returned to the UK, went to a posh grammar school and in 1964 he joined a band called the Wilde Flowers, with several founding members of what came to be known as the Canterbury Scene, including Robert Wyatt. The Wilde Flowers became The Soft Machine, played at UFO in London a lot, made a single, toured the US with Jimi Hendrix, cut an album, then Kevin left the band to embark on what would today be seen as a wayward eccentric career in pop.  Except he didn't see it that way. Those are the biographical facts Jack. Now indulge me while I reminisce.

I bought his first album "Joy Of A Toy" as a 14 year old schoolboy in 1969 because it was on the then hip Harvest label, and saw him Live twice with his band The Whole World, at a Free Concert in Hyde Park with Robert Wyatt on drums (the Pink Floyd Atom Heart Mother gig I think), and at a BBC In Concert presented by John Peel at the Paris Theatre off Regent Street, both in 1970. You used to have to write in for tickets and it was pot luck who you got to see. I think I went to a few of these, the only other ones I recall are VDGG, Black Sabbath and The Faces, so I guess my luck was IN.  The Whole World was a truly eccentric band - Lol Coxhill on saxes, famous for busking on Hungerford Bridge, Avant Garde Composer David Bedford on piano and organ, the teenage Mike Oldfield switching between guitar and bass and sometimes Robert Wyatt on drums and other times Mick Fincher. Sometimes they played music - sometimes they performed one act 'radio plays' on stage. They made one LP, "Shooting at the Moon" then they split up. The album that followed "Whatevershebringswesing" is probably Kevin's greatest, certainly in pop music journalistic parlance, his most consistent. Between 1969 and 1974 they are all great. A few years later I was at the fabled June 1, 1974 Rainbow show with Cale, Eno & Nico. Apparently a day or so before the show Kevin slept with Cale's wife, which couldn't have helped much (as related in the Cale song 'Guts' - "bugger in the short sleeves fucked my wife, did it quick then split). My memory it is that it was all thoroughly exciting and that Eno & Cale stole the show. 

"He was terrific but he had no sense of career... he was the opposite of an X Factor contender," Robert Wyatt BBC News 21 February 2013

Kevin Ayers was a true star who didn't play the game. He pretty much buggered off to France with the occasional foray and occasional record release for the rest of his life after 1980. This does not make him an underachiever, or a dilletante. To be honest it makes him far more interesting. If I had to pick an all time favourite song it would "Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes" probably, or "Whatevershebringswesing" but there are so many. He once said that "Being rich and famous just means you can smoke a better class of cigarettes and drink a better class of booze." 

Kevin Ayers, thank you for jumping on the pop train, thank you very much. I remain your fan. God bless you and Rave on.

David E Barker

22 February 2013

Having received an incredible collection of entries from aspiring film-makers since its launch before Christmas, Patrick Watson and creative group Genero have since announced the winner of the ‘Blackwind’ video-making project. Chloe Poirier-Sauve from Canada has had her beautifully well-crafted and fantastical video awarded the title of the single’s official video.

Watch Chloe’s video for ‘Blackwind’ below:

On choosing a winner, Patrick Watson had this to say:

“We never thought there would be that many good entries. Crazy. And of course, we couldn't agree on what should win. 

“In the end, we decided to go with a video that impressed us with its artistic qualities. It struck us as more than a music video: it stands on its own as a work of art, which just happens to be inspired by our music. This wasn't an easy choice. Some we liked for the story, some for the beautiful images, some surprised us, others simply touched us. And they go in every direction, which amazes me: who would think one song could inspire so many different feelings and ideas?”

Patrick Watson’s current album, Adventures in Your Own Backyard is available now on CD (WIGCD283), Vinyl (WIGLP283) and digitally and can be purchased HERE.

It was the 40th anniversary of the release of Can's Ege Bamyasi LP, and WEEK-END Fest was happening in Cologne. The dates were November 30 through December 2, 2012, and the festival featured artists such as Ian Svenonious, Justus Köhnke, Alexis Taylor (of Hot Chip), Scritti Politti, Deerhoof and Stephen Malkmus.

WEEK-END Fest co-curator Jan Lankisch (of Tomlab Records) decided to ask Stephen, currently residing in Germany, whether he wanted to play the entirety of Ege Bamyasi with a band of German musicians Jan had rounded up. And Steve loved the idea. So after a few rehearsals, Steve was joined by Sebastian Blume (synths), Felix Hedderich (bass), Jan Philipp Janzen (drums) and Phillip Tielsch (guitar) for a truly magical & wondrous performance of one of the greatest albums of all time. It took place on December 2 at the Alte Kranhalle in Cologne, and was committed to tape by the band. The sound quality is fantastic; the performance jumps out of the grooves and bubbles its way through your stereo.

We are releasing the LP as a 500-copy limited edition on red vinyl for Record Store Day, April 20, 2013. Matador will be releasing it on green vinyl in the US. The hand-printed silkscreened sleeve was designed by David Shrigley, who also designed the poster for the event, inspired by the original artwork for Ege Bamyasi. It is being printed in Germany by Slowboy.

We're truly honoured to be part of this special collaboration between tons of talented artists.

"This was the first Can LP I bought brand-new (Torquay, July 1972), and it is still my favourite." - Julian Cope, Krautrocksampler

“Ege Bamyasi was one of those marginal cut-out LPS (along with the 1^st Stooges, Rhinoceros, Ambergris a.o.) that you'd find in the bargain bins of department stores in the early 70s. For kids with no money and an allure to weirdness these cheapos were significant listens. Ege Bamyasi with its okra can cover and live circus rock shot on the back was completely singular. And it sounded cool as shit. I still check it as one of the top 10 greatest rock LPs of all time, and it remains a perpetual inspiration.” - Thurston Moore

Steve Mason has announced details of two U.K. shows in April. These follow the release of his forthcoming album Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time, which is out on March 18th through Double Six. 

The list of dates is as follows:

APRIL

10th                              Manchester                             Gorilla

11th                              London                                      Village Underground

Tickets for the shows are on sale now priced at £12.50 in Manchester and £17 in London via www.seetickets.com (Manchester) and www.ticketweb.co.uk (London)

Steve Mason has also recently premiered the video for his new single, Oh My Lord. Released digitally on the same day as the album, and featuring the B-side Pills At The Scene Club, it was recorded during the album sessions with producer Dan Carey in his south London studio.

The video was directed by Institute For Eyes (Luke Seomore & Joseph Bull) who have previously worked on films and videos for the likes of Wild Beasts, Moby, Delilah and just completed a short film for Channel 4, The First Dead Lies.

Working with director of photography David Proctor (These New Puritans, Esben and the Witch, Wild Beasts) and aesthetically inspired by Japanese 1960s avant-garde cinema, the video, shot on the outskirts of east London, is an exploration of a mysterious character haunted by the perpetual noise of modern society. As the narrative  progresses the video moves further into the internal world of the central character played by Barry Ward.

We're happy to confirm that The Pastels have completed their brilliant new album Slow Summits, which will be released on 27 May 2013.  Vinyl, cd, download: WIGLP185, WIGCD185, WIG185D. 

Slow Summits is the culmination of all the music they've been engaged in since their 1997 set, Illumination. Not quite as shadowy a presence as sometimes suggested, their music has continued to grow by way of other activities; a well regarded film soundtrack (The Last Great Wilderness, Geographic, 2003), some theatre pieces (for 12 Stars) and a collaboration with Japan's Tenniscoats (Two Sunsets, Geographic, 2009). Slow Summits gathers on all these works but moves off in newer and older ways too with its flowing montage of autumn instrumentals, pop songs, slow motion build ups and suddenly optimistic melody lines.  

Recorded in Glasgow by John McEntire and Bal Cooke, and mixed in Chicago by McEntire, Slow Summits features the core Pastels lineup of Stephen McRobbie, Katrina Mitchell, Tom Crossley, Gerard Love, Alison Mitchell and John Hogarty.  Guests include original member Annabel Wright (Aggi) and Norman Blake.  Two-thirds of To Rococo Rot (Stefan Schneider and Ronald Lippok) contribute and Tenniscoats too.  Kicking Leaves features a memorable string arrangement from Craig Armstrong, the Glasgow-based composer. It features a two drum sets approach to music, a love of elongated jams and the turnaround.

Tracklisting is as follows:

1  Secret Music      

2  Night Time Made Us      

3  Check My Heart      

4  Summer Rain

5  After Image      

6  Kicking Leaves      

7  Wrong Light      

8  Slow Summits      

9  Come to the Dance 

We're sure that Slow Summits is going to leave a deep impression on 2013 and can't wait to bring it to you.

Pre-order the album HERE.

Villagers are to release The Bell (RUG503D) as the next single from their critically acclaimed second album, {Awayland}, on 8^th April 2013.

The accompanying video was directed by Alden Volney and features a combination of animation and live footage. The performance footage was filmed and directed by Sebastien Escalante at Attica Audio in Donegal, Ireland, where the album was recorded. Watch it below.

Villagers are currently on an extensive UK tour, concluding with two sold out shows at London’s Village Underground this Wednesday 20^th and Thursday 21^st of February. A new London show at Electric Brixton has been confirmed for 21st May. Full UK and Irish dates are below. Tickets for all shows are available HERE.

Mon 18th February     PORTSMOUTH         Wedgewood Rooms

Wed 20th February    LONDON                    Village Underground - SOLD OUT

Thurs 21st February   LONDON                    Village Underground - SOLD OUT

Thurs 14th March       GALWAY, IRE            Seapoint

Fri 15th March           LIMERICK, IRE          Dolans

Sat 16th March           BELFAST, NI              Empire Music Hall

Mon 18th March         KILLARNEY, IRE        Inec Acoustic Club

Tues 19th March        CORK, IRE                 The Savoy

Thurs 21st March       DUBLIN, IRE              Olympia Theatre - SOLD OUT

Fri 22nd March           DUBLIN, IRE              Olympia Theatre - SOLD OUT

Tues 21st May            LONDON                    Electric Brixton

To coincide with its ten year anniversary, Domino is to reissue Four Tet’s seminal album, Rounds, on 13^th May 2013. The reissue will feature the album as well as a live set from Copenhagen recorded near the time of the original release. Listen to album track As Serious As Your Life, HERE.

Rounds will be available on 2 x CD (REWIGCD88), 2 x heavyweight LP featuring download codes plus the bonus disc on CD (REWIGLP88), plus on Digital (REWIG88D). Pre-order it through Dom Mart HERE. The tracklisting is as follows:

ROUNDS CD1

1 – Hands

2 – She Moves She

3 – First Thing

4 – My Angel Rocks Back And Forth

5 – Spirit Fingers

6 – Unspoken

7 – Chia

8 – As Serious As Your Life

9 – And They All Looked Broken Hearted

10 – Slow Jam

FOUR TET – LIVE IN COPENHAGEN (ROUNDS BONUS DISC)

1 – She Moves She

2 – Everything Is Alright

3 – Spirit Fingers

4 – Glue Of The World

5 – My Angel Rocks Back And Forth

6 – As Serious As Your Life

7 – Hands, No More Mosquitos, Calamine, Tangle 

To see the full story, click HERE

Following the sell out of Villagers upcoming February shows in London and Paris, the band have announced two new headline shows for May 2013. They will play Electric Brixton in London on May 21^st and La Cigale in Paris on May 22^nd. Tickets will go on sale exclusively from the artist’s website www.wearevillagers.com/live at 10am today followed by general sale on Tues 12 Feb.

Villagers start their first UK tour since the release of their critically acclaimed second album, {Awayland}, at The Leadmill in Sheffield tonight.

Stealing Sheep have been announced as special guests on all UK dates ex. 21st Feb.

Full UK & Irish dates are as follows:

Fri 8th February          SHEFFIELD                Leadmill

Sat 9th February         NEWCASTLE             Warehouse

Sun 10th February     GLASGOW                 Stereo – SOLD OUT

Tue12th February      LEEDS                        Wardrobe – SOLD OUT

Wed13th February      MANCHESTER          Gorilla – SOLD OUT

Thurs 14th February   BIRMINGHAM           HMV Library

Sat 16th February       BRISTOL                    Trinity - SOLD OUT

Sun17th February       BRIGHTON                Old Market - SOLD OUT

Mon18th February      PORTSMOUTH         Wedgewood Rooms

Wed 20th February    LONDON                    Village Underground - SOLD OUT

Thurs 21st February   LONDON                    Village Underground - SOLD OUT

Thurs 14th March       GALWAY, IRE            Seapoint

Fri 15th March           LIMERICK, IRE          Dolans

Sat 16th March           BELFAST, NI              Empire Music Hall

Mon 18th March          KILLARNEY, IRE       Inec Acoustic Club

Tues 19th March         CORK, IRE                The Savoy

Thurs 21st March       DUBLIN, IRE              Olympia Theatre - SOLD OUT

Fri 22nd March           DUBLIN, IRE              Olympia Theatre - SOLD OUT

Tues 21st May            LONDON                    Electric Brixton

The video’s for recent Villagers singles Nothing Arrived and The Waves can be viewed HERE 

Recording What The Brothers Sang was something important for Dawn McCarthy and Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Having both been touched by the music of The Everly Brothers at a young age and Dawn’s own children finding joy within their music today, an Everly Brothers  song was also the first thing that made Dawn and Will sing together, ten years ago.

Watch the recording process as documented by Lara Miranda:

Due for release on February 18th 2013, What the Brothers Sang is a record only Dawn and Bonnie could make, and only in the room with the players that had come to join them; a fine bunch of musicians assembled whose combined session credits include hundreds of records and a stack of number one singles: Emmett Kelley, Dave Roe and Kenny Malone, with featured players Billy Contreras, John Mock, Dan Dugmore, Matt Sweeney, Pete Townsend, John Catchings, Bobby Wood, Joey Miskalin, Nils Frykdahl, Ian McAllister, Joey Baron, Dr. Chris Vivio, and Noah Tag.

Nashville legend David Ferguson recorded and mixed What the Brothers Sang with a great spirit of collaboration, support and exaltation at the city’s Butcher Shoppe Studio. Lara Miranda discusses being immersed in this environment:

"Maybe it was the Butcher Shoppe's cozy decor and model train set, but shooting in the studio that week felt like entering a realm of childhood. There was this family created for a short time, with an amazing range of characters, ages and emotions, intimacy and hilarity all over the place- crystal clear moments of magic- and then it was over. My sadness at leaving that world was only consoled by us all going to get ice cream afterwards."

What the Brothers Sang is a beautiful and humble tribute to Don and Phil, a powerhouse of songs from The Everly Brothers vast repertoire they wanted to sing and bring forth to share again, fifty years later.

What the Brothers Sang is available on CD (WIGCD300), vinyl (WIGLP300) and digitally (WIG300D).  Pre-order What the Brothers Sang HERE.

For more info, visit HERE

We are very pleased to announce that the new single “Country Queen” will be released by Night Moves on March 25^th to coincide with the release of their debut album, ‘Colored Emotions’.  The album initially received a US release in October 2012, and now the band’s bringing it to Europe.

Watch the video for “Country Queen” below:

From the beginning, “Country Queen” radiates a warmth and fluidity that continues into the lavish waves of sound that occur right up until the single’s tender conclusion. Similar words can be said of the rest of ‘Colored Emotions’ as it roams across atmospheric soundscapes, effortlessly blending bluesy, wholesome Americana with psychedelic bursts.

Given the album’s feel, it’s unsurprising that the band worked with producer/mixer Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Beachwood Sparks, Devendra Banhart) to tighten and brighten the album. However, it’s the album’s apparent maturity that separates it from many debut releases.

The core members of Night Moves, guitarist/lead vocalist John Pelant, bassist Micky Alfano and multi-instrumentalist Mark Ritsema, grew up together in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and spent their younger years rotating in and out of one another's musical orbits. After a couple of promising false starts, the trio re-coalesced in 2009 in earnest as Night Moves and began recording. Since then, the band has been joined by drummer Jared Isabella completing their live set-up.

Colored Emotions will be available digitally (WIG296D), on CD (WIGCD296) and on vinyl (WIGLP296) from March 18^th. Pre-order HERE.

For more information, please click: HERE

We are very happy to announce that She & Him – Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward – will release their third album of original material, entitled Volume 3, on Double Six Records on May 13^th 2013 in the UK and Europe (and on Merge Records on May 7^th 2013 in the US). The duo will also be hitting the road for a month-long US tour this summer which includes a headlining show at the legendary Hollywood Bowl on June 23^rd, as well as an evening at Central Park Summerstage in July. The incredible Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell and Camera Obscura provide support on select dates.  A full list of tour dates are below. 

With fourteen songs – 11 Deschanel originals and 3 covers – Volume 3 is an effortlessly effervescent, bleached-out-in-the-sun pop record.  The album features some of the most dynamic, complex songs Deschanel has ever written, allowing for tempo shifts, disco grooves, string arrangements on multiple tracks, and horn flourishes that perfectly suit the She & Him sound.  Produced by M. Ward, and recorded in Los Angeles, Portland, and New York City, Volume 3 features guest contributions from NRBQ’s Joey Spampinato, Mike Watt, Tilly and the Wall, Pierre de Reeder from Rilo Kiley, and Tom Hagerman from Devotchka. 

Since the release of the band’s album Volume Two in 2010, much has happened to both She and to Him.  Deschanel, whose television show New Girl has cemented her status as a sitcom star, continued to hone her songwriting skills, writing the theme song for her new show, in addition to being nominated for a Grammy for Best Original Song for the movie Winnie the Pooh.  She wrote songs for Volume 3 during small pockets of downtime while filming New Girl, as Ward toured the world behind his latest solo creation, A Wasteland Companion, which was released to massive critical acclaim last year.  Together and separately, the duo has sold over a million albums in the US – a testament to their classic sonic arrangements, their rich, incomparable voices, and their ability to craft pitch-perfect, Brill Building-esque choruses around timeless, universal themes. 

Volume 3 will be available on CD (DS075CD), LP (DS075LP) and digitally (DS075D). Pre-order it HERE. Track listing for Volume 3:

1. I’ve Got Your Number, Son
2. Never Wanted Your Love
3. Baby
4. I Could’ve Been Your Girl
5. Turn to White
6. Somebody Sweet to Talk To
7. Something’s Haunting You
8. Together
9. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
10. Snow Queen
11. Sunday Girl
12. London
13. Shadow of Love
14. Reprise (I Could’ve Been Your Girl)

Tour dates:

13/06/13              Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium

15/06/13              Grand Prairie, TX @ Verizon Wireless at Grand Prairie

16/06/13              Austin, TX @ ACL Live at the Moody Theatre

18/06/13              Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theater

19/06/13              Las Vegas, NV @ The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

21/06/13              San Diego, CA @ SDSU Open Air Theatre

22/06/13              Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre *

23/06/13              Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl *

25/06/13              Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Gardens

27/06/13              Council Bluffs, IA @ Hurrah’s Stir Cove

29/06/13              Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom #

1/07/13                Ann Arbor, MI @ Hill Auditorium #

3/07/13                Montreal, QUE @ Montreal Jazz Festival – Symphony Hall #

4/07/13                Toronto, ON @ Toronto Urban Roots Festival #

6/07/13                New York, NY @ Central Park Summerstage #

9/07/13                Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Center for Performing Arts #

10/07/13              Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion #

11/07/13              Vienna, VA @ Filene Center at Wolf Trap #

* with Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell

# with Camera Obscura 

Animal Collective are pleased to announce the premiere of their new music video for Applesauce. Directed by filmmaker Gaspar Noé (“Enter The Void,” “Irreversible”), the video stars Lindsey Wixson and features elements from Paul Sharits' 1968 short film “N:O:T:H:I:N:G”. It is intended to be viewed in complete darkness for maximum effect. Watch the video:

“Applesauce” is the latest single from the band’s 10th album, Centipede Hz. The band’s first record since 2007’s Strawberry Jam to feature all four original band members, Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist and Deakin, Centipede Hz was hailed by critics as a return to the band’s experimental roots. The album can be ordered via the Animal Collective webstore here.

Animal Collective will be on tour throughout North American this spring, and will return to Europe in May to perform at Primavera Sound, Barcelona, Spain on the 23^rd and to close the main stage at Field Day, London on the 25^th.

Animal Collective European Tour Dates:

23/05/13: Barcelona, Spain - Primavera Sound

25/05/13: London, UK - Field Day Festival

The best part about leaving is coming back. After last week's whirlwind, five-star love affair with England and Ireland, Matthew E. White and Europe are counting the days ‘til they see each other again. It's a long distance relationship -- but not for long as. With their hugely acclaimed debut album Big Inner out now on Domino, Matthew E. White and his band have announced their return in April, for a European tour climaxing in a return to London at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on April 26.

Full dates as follows:

03/04: La Fléche D’or – Paris, France (tickets)
04/04: Ancienne Belgique Club – Brussels, Belgium (tickets)
05/04: Motel Mozaique – Rotterdam, Netherlands (tickets)
06/04: Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands (tickets)
08/04: Kaserne – Basel, Switzerland
09/04: Ziegel Oh Lac - Zurich, Switzerland
10/04: Nouveau Monde, - Fribourg, Switzerland
11/04: Hiroshima Mon Amour – Turin, Italy
12/04: Teatro Franco Parenti – Milan, Italy
15/04: Strom – Munich, Germany (tickets)
17/04: Privtclub – Berlin, Germany (tickets)
18/04: Knust – Hamburg, Germany (tickets)
19/04: Gebauede - Cologne, Germany (tickets)
21/04: Thekla – Bristol, UK (tickets)

24/04: Arches – Glasgow, UK (tickets)
25/04: Sound Control – Manchester, UK (tickets)
26/04: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, UK (tickets)

For more information, click HERE

For more info, please click: HERE

Following the release of Big Inner, his debut album on Domino, this week and to mark his first ever European tour dates, Matthew E. White has today shared a video accompaniment for forthcoming single ‘Big Love.’

Moving, redemptive and powerfully soulful, Big Inner is a timeless record told in seven songs that mingle memory with the rawness of any given human moment. The references — from the lyrics that echo the common conditions of love, death, seeking, and finding, to open tributes to artists like Washington Phillips, Allen Toussaint, Jorge Ben, Jimmy Cliff, and Randy Newman — are their own scavenger hunt through music history and through White’s place in it.

A gifted jazz arranger and exceptional guitarist, White's vision for Big Inner was realised with the help of bassist Cameron Ralston and drummer Pinson Chanselle, who make up the core of his Spacebomb House Band and then embellished with horns, strings, and a choir - all culled from and roused by the venerable landscape of Richmond, Virginia and recorded in the attic of White's house in the city.

Filmed by Rhett Brandt during last December's West Coast tour, the video to the rousingly spiritual album standout ‘Big Love’ follows Matthew and co. on an evening's business and pleasure in Los Angeles, including a performance at the historic Troubadour, and is another unique insight into the distinct sense of family that the Spacebomb collective have cultivated with Big Inner.

Matthew E. White and his Spacebomb House Band are currently on a sold out tour of the United Kingdom. Remaining dates as follows:

Wednesday 23rd January – The Lexington, London (Tickets)
Friday 25th January – Rough Trade East (instore), London (Tickets)

Following last year’s release of Free Reign – the seventh studio album by Liverpool’s stalwarts of the surreal Clinic, the band have now announced the imminent landing of Free Reign II on March 4th – a set of alternate mixes of the original album by revered producer Daniel Lopatin.

Initially involved in the mixing of several songs on the original Free Reign, the band felt that Lopatin’s vision for the record deserved to be fully realised and available. Zoning in on the creeping dub influence that’s always been bubbling in Clinic’s work, Lopatin’s mixes mutate the already mind-clouding originals into something heavier, narcotic and more hypnotic than before. As he himself puts it, “I wanted to give it a burnt, 60s/70s stereo dub feel and was under the influence of a lot of Amon Düül II and Les Rallizes Dénudés when I was mixing.”

A fascinating new perspective on the original album for those wise enough to have sought it out already and a great work in its own right for Free Reign newcomers, this collaboration with one of contemporary, experimental electronic music’s greatest innovators is testament to the enduring influence of Clinic – one of the most trailblazing British bands of their era.

Free Reign II will be available on heavyweight vinyl (WIGLP303) and digitally (WIG303D). Pre-order the album HERE. The tracklisting is as follows:

1. Sun & Moon II
2. You II
3. King Kong II
4. For The Season II
5. Miss You II
6. Cosmic Radiation II
7. Seamless Boogie Woogie BBC 10pm (rpt) II
8. See Saw II
9. Misty II
10. Done & Dusted II

The band can also share these two psychotropic films, directed by Brendan Canty of Feel Good Lost for the tracks Seamless Boogie Woogie BBC 10pm (rpt)(watch it HERE) and Seamless Boogie Woogie BBC 10pm (rpt) II (watch it HERE).

Clinic will be performing a headline UK tour this February and March, with a show at Corsica Studios in London on March 7th. The band have also recently announced a special post show performance on the Club Stage at the Barbican in London as part of The Residents’ 40th anniversary tour. Full dates are as follows:

28-Feb-13 Newcastle - The Cluny
1-Mar-13 Glasgow - Stereo
2-Mar-13 Manchester - Deaf Institute
7-Mar-13 London - Corsica Studios
18-May-13 London – Barbican Club Stage

Dan Deacon is back to tour North America and Europe again in support of his most recent album America, out now on Domino.

Shot over a three month tour this past autumn, the time-lapse based 'Guilford Avenue Bridge' video captures not only the American landscapes that inspired Deacon's songwriting for America but also gives a glimpse into his show’s renowned spectacle of hundreds, even thousands, of jubilant people dancing about in coordinated movement. With the addition of his groundbreaking smartphone app which the band recently used on their network television debut performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Deacon has taken the concert experience to a whole new level.

'Guilford Avenue Bridge' video directed by Alan Resnick:

The 'Guilford Avenue Bridge' digital single comes backed with a live full band version recorded at influential non-commercial US radio station, The Current, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. Listen to the entire session here and buy the single here.

Deacon will be joined on his February headlining European dates with his streamlined ensemble of two drummers -- Jeremy Hyman of Boredoms, Ponytail; Kevin O'Meara of Videohippos -- with America producer Chester Endersby Gwazda on electronics. His ensemble of two drummers will also join him on their support dates with fellow label-mates Animal Collective on their March North American tour.

Dan Deacon UK and Irish live dates with ticket links are as follows:

• Friday 8th February Bristol - The Fleece
• Saturday 9th February Dublin, Ireland - Whelans
• Sunday 10th February Belfast - The Black Box
• Monday 11th February Glasgow - Stereo
• Tuesday 12th February Leeds - Brudenell Social Club
• Thursday 14th February London - Village Underground

Bill Ryder-Jones is a talented man. His new album A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart, marries his masterful capacities as arranger and composer with his first firm steps as a singer songwriter. The album will be released by Domino on Monday 8th April 2013. It’s an album of capital-S songs that will more than sate the appetite of those that appreciate his knack for heart swelling melody and painterly detail. You can listen to He Took You In His Arms, HERE.

Bill left The Coral after their fifth studio album Roots & Echoes, on which his arrangements hinted at a deeper and spectacular compositional talent. Last year Ryder-Jones explored this side of his creative talent in full with the orchestral album If… for Domino sister label Double Six - which was a grand ‘imaginary soundtrack’ to Italo Calvino’s post modernist novel If On A Winters Night A Traveller.

A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart was recorded in Ryder-Jones’ old bedroom in the upstairs of his mother’s house in Liverpool. Two friends from local band By The Sea made up the backing band for the recordings, which were then produced and mixed together with James Ford.

A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart will be available on LP (WIGLP308), CD (WIG308CD) and via digital download (WIG308D). Click here to pre-order: HERE. The tracklisting is as follows:

1. Hanging Song

2. There's A World Between Us

3. A Bad Wind Blows In My Heart

4. By Morning I

5. The Lemon Tree #3      

6. Anthony & Owen

7. Wild Swans

8. Christina That’s The Saddest Thing

9. You’re Getting Like Your Sister

10. He Took You In His Arms

11. A Bad Wind Pt. 2

We are very proud to announce release of ‘Big Love’, the first single to be taken from the forthcoming debut album Big Inner by Matthew E. White (which is released by Domino on Monday the 21st of January).

Moving, redemptive and powerfully soulful, Big Inner is a timeless record told in seven songs that mingle memory with the rawness of any given human moment. The references — from the lyrics that echo the common conditions of love, death, seeking, and finding, to open tributes to artists like Washington Phillips, Allen Toussaint, Jorge Ben, Jimmy Cliff, and Randy Newman — are their own scavenger hunt through music history and through White’s place in it.

A gifted jazz arranger and exceptional guitarist, White's vision for Big Inner was realised with the help of bassist Cameron Ralston and drummer Pinson Chanselle, who make up the core of his Spacebomb House Band and then embellished with horns, strings, and a choir - all culled from and roused by the venerable landscape of Richmond, Virginia and recorded in the attic of White's house in the city.

Rousing, spiritual and genuinely psychedelic, ‘Big Love’ (RUG 513) is the album’s biggest, most strident and ecstatic moment. You can buy the single HERE. The album is available HERE and via iTunes HERE.

To celebrate the release of 'Big Inner', White and the Spacebomb House Band will be performing in the United Kingdom for the first time in January 2013, playing the following intimate dates:

Tuesday 22nd January – The Hope, Brighton (Tickets)
Wednesday 23rd January – The Lexington, London (Tickets)

We are excited to announce that Night Moves are set to release their debut album Colored Emotions in the UK and Europe
on March 18th on Domino. After building up a fervent local following in their home of Minneapolis, Colored Emotions was released in the US in October 2012 and now, the band’s bringing it to Europe.

Forthcoming single "Country Queen” is also released on March 18th and while starting out gently, soon soars into its anthemic, stomping conclusion. Watch the video for “Country Queen” HERE.

Effortlessly blending bluesy, wholesome Americana with bursts of psychedelia against atmospheric soundscapes, it’s unsurprising that the band worked with producer/mixer Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Beachwood Sparks, Devendra Banhart) to tighten and brighten the album. However, it’s the album’s apparent maturity that separates it from many debut releases.

The core members of Night Moves, guitarist/lead vocalist John Pelant, bassist Micky Alfano and multi-instrumentalist Mark Ritsema, grew up together in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and spent their younger years rotating in and out of one another's musical orbits. After a couple of promising false starts, the trio re-coalesced in 2009 in earnest as Night Moves and began recording. Since then, the band has been joined by drummer Jared Isabella completing their live set-up.

The US 7” release of album opener “Headlights" was described by Pitchfork as a "... knockout single... a psychedelic country gem awash in vocalist John Pelant's golden yowl.”

Tracklisting:

1. Headlights
2. Country Queen
3. In The Rounds
4. Only A Child
5. Family Tongues
6. Old Friends
7. Put Out Your Shoulder
8. Horses
9. Classical Hearts
10. Colored Emotions

Colored Emotions will be available digitally (WIG296D), on CD (WIGCD296) and on vinyl (WIGLP296) from March 18th. Pre-order HERE.

To coincide with the release of We The Common, the new album from San Francisco-based musician and activist Thao Nguyen, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down have announced that the album’s title track will be released as a single on the same day, February 4th, and you can stream it below.

Listen to “We The Common (For Valerie Bolden)” HERE.

Inspired by Thao’s first visit to Valley State Prison with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, “We The Common” maintains the left-of-centre folk roots of previous single “Holy Roller” with the addition of a catchy and spirited chorus. During this first visit, she met Valerie Bolden; a prisoner that struck a chord with her:
“We sat down and immediately started talking and joking, almost like old friends. We kept it mostly light, but then she’d matter-of-factly talk about missing her daughters, about believing in God but not understanding what she was supposed to be doing in prison, about not wanting to die behind bars. But she’s sentenced to life without parole. After I left, I found I couldn’t stop thinking about her and the things she told me and the way she told them, and a lot of that ended up in ‘We the Common.’”

Thao also appears in an online series of lighthearted shorts about the creation of We The Common. Titled Behind The Making Of The Making Of How It Was Made, the series will run alongside the We The Common’s release. The first episode - called “The Hand of God” and directed by Lauren Tabak - is streaming now at www.thaoandthegetdownstaydown.com
Thao notes that she “wanted to offer a behind the scenes look at the making and release of this record, but I wanted it to be entertaining. The best way to do that was to make merciless fun of myself. This series also marks my return to acting, which I left in high school after I had that one line in that play.”

We The Common will be available on CD (RBN020CD), LP (RBN020LP) and digitally (RBN020D). As well as this, the deluxe edition of the record (RBN020LPX) can be pre-ordered which includes a limited edition 7” with covers of Melanie’s “Brand New Key” and The Troggs’ “With A Girl Like You”. The 7” is also available as a download with pre-orders of the CD. Pre-order HERE.

We are extremely excited to be able to announce a new Pastels record for 2013. Slow Summits is the record we waited so long for, wondered about, pencilled in then pencilled out, and now finally, triumphantly can pencil back in... but not with a pencil, with a flourish, with a fountain pen.  Because it's that kind of record.

Recorded in Glasgow and mixed in Chicago, Slow Summits is already bringing some much needed optimism to 2013, why not let it do the same for you? Here's a trailer they cut for it with their friend, Blair Young from The Forest Of Black. Check it out.

Some genuinely excellent news for you all: the incomparable Steve Mason has announced details of a brand new album entitled Monkey Minds In The Devil's Time which will be released by our friends at Double Six on Monday March 11^th 2013.

Monkey Minds In The Devil's Time is an album saturated with politics. With a title referring to the Buddhist term for an easily distracted brain, the album features 20 songs: 9 recorded in London with producer Dan Carey and 11 short linking pieces self-produced in Mason's Fife studio. Monkey Minds In the Devil's Time is an album that has been shaped by the current global political climate and the lack of dissenting voices in music as well as popular culture in general. The righteous, undaunted anger at the heart of the album has helped to create Mason’s best record to date.

All songs on the album were written by Mason, while Dan Carey appears on bass throughout the record and acclaimed London MC Mystro provides vocals on "More Money, More Fire".

As a way of whetting your appetite, Steve has made a video for "Fight Them Back". A protest song for a post-London riots era, the track hangs on a madly catchy, fantastically confrontational chorus and is matched with the equally striking video, which you can watch here:

Monkey Minds In The Devil's Time will be available on CD, vinyl and via digital download. You can PRE ORDER IT NOW, HERE. The tracklisting for the album is as follows:

1. The Old Problem
2. Lie Awake
3. Flyover ‘98
4. A Lot Of Love
5. The Last Of Heroes
6. Lonely
7. Safe Population
8. Friends For Ever More
9. Seen It All Before
10. From Hate We Hope
11. Oh My Lord
12. Goodbye Youth
13. Never Be Alone
14. Behind The Curtains
15. More Money, More Fire
16. Fire!
17. Operation Mason
18. Fight Them Back
19. Towers of Power
20. Come To Me

On Monday, the wonderful Eugene McGuinness released “Sugarplum”, the latest single to be taken from his awesome recent LP The Invitiation to the Voyage. To coincide with its release, we are streaming the B-side “Cinema Paradiso” below.

A song with its own uplifting and intriguing charm, “Cinema Paradiso” is a tribute to the romance of film and adolescent antics. Much like the art-form it celebrates, it suspends disbelief, offering two and a half minutes of nostalgic escapism.

Matching music hall-style piano with childhood memories, it could easily be seen as the foil to “Sugarplum”’s more mature, slick character. Despite being worlds apart in that sense, McGuinness once again toys with imagination, this time conjuring up images of popcorn-scented seats, back row experiences and flickering projectors to an animated tune that could easily slip into a world of smoke-filled speakeasies.

Listen to it now:

And as an additional festive treat, listen to Eugene covering Ian Brown’s “Dolphins were Monkeys":

Villagers have announced a second night at the appropriately chosen venue Village Underground in London on 21^st February 2012. Tickets will be available from 9am on 11^th December. The band have also added a second show at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland on 22nd March.

Villagers have also shared a live performance clip of "Nothing Arrived", the second single to be released from their upcoming LP {Awayland} (14^th January 2013). The video was filmed at Attica Audio in Donegal, where the new album was also recorded by Conor J. O’Brien and Villagers' guitarist, Tommy McLaughlin. This performance, along with four more beautifully filmed live studio clips feature on an exclusive DVD which will accompany the special limited edition version of the album.

Watch the live studio performance of "Nothing Arrived" now:

{Awayland} is the follow-up to the band’s Mercury Award-nominated and Ivor Novello-winning debut, Becoming a Jackal. The album is released on 14th January 2013 and can be pre-ordered HERE, while "Nothing Arrived" is available digitally (RUG489D) now HERE.

Full UK and Irish dates are below, with newly added dates in bold. Tickets for all shows are available HERE.

• Friday 8th February SHEFFIELD Leadmill
• Saturday 9th February NEWCASTLE Warehouse
• Sunday 10th February GLASGOW Stereo
• Tuesday 12th February LEEDS Wardrobe
• Wednesday 13th February MANCHESTER Gorilla
• Thursday 14th February BIRMINGHAM HMV Library
• Saturday 16th February BRISTOL Trinity
• Sunday 17th February BRIGHTON Old Market
• Monday 18th February PORTSMOUTH Wedgewood Rooms
• Wednesday 20th February LONDON Village Underground
• Thursday 21st February LONDON Village Underground 
• Thursday 14th March GALWAY, IRE Seapoint
• Friday 15th March LIMERICK, IRE Dolans
• Saturday 16th March BELFAST, NI Empire Music Hall
• Mon 18th March KILLARNEY, IRE Inec Acoustic Club
• Tues 19th March CORK, IRE The Savoy
• Thursday 21st March DUBLIN, IRE Olympia Theatre
• Friday 22nd March DUBLIN, IRE Olympia Theatre

As Christmas approaches we all look back on the things that helped through the previous year, so here at Domino we've compiled our lists of the things we happened to like the most, be it songs, food, gigs, basically whatever made us happy. Enjoy.

Dan Papps - Maximum Dryness
The Makers – ‘Don’t Challenge Me’
High on Fire – ‘Serums of Liao’
Beak> - ‘Mono’
Tame Impala – ‘Why Won’t They Talk To Me?’
Flying Lotus – ‘Getting There’
Actress – ‘Jardin’
The Equatics – ‘Merry Go Round’
Dirty Projectors – ‘Maybe That Was It’
Joey Bada$$ - Waves
Love Apple – ‘Guess I Always Knew’

Ryan McCann
Carter Tutti Void - Carter Tutti Void
Love Apple EP (Numero compilation)
Loving On The Flip Side (Now Again compilation)
Ariel Pink - Mature Themes
Matthew E White - Big Inner
Burial - Kindred EP
Roberto Cacciapaglia - Sei Note In Logica (Reissue)
Laurel Halo - Quarantine
Actress - RIP
Ruff Sqwad - White Label Classics

Stephen Newell
London 2012
Kendrick Lamar – Good Kid, mAAd City
Jessica Pratt (self titled)
Polica – Give You The Ghost
Ryder Cup Medinah
Tame Impala - Lonerism
Actress - RIP
The Muppets (film)
Jumping on the Tour de France bandwagon
Julia Holter - Ekstasis

Lynden
Some songs I quite like from 2012 in no particular order
1. Get Free - Major Lazer (swoon)
2. Two Different Ways (Richard H. Kirk) remix - Factory Floor (fond moments at Simple Things festie)
3. Le Goudron [Bobby Birdman Remix] - YACHT (French and funky!)
4. Grimes - Oblivion (despite it reminding me of the Brookside theme tune it makes me go a bit mad in the head and want to swish about like an idiot - am I supposed to backlash on Grimes now? Ah well... who cares)
5. Pure Bathing Culture - Ivory Coast (it's as if I'm an angry dog and Mick Dundee is waving his forefinger and pinky at me - pacified)
6. Killing Time - Veronica Falls (unadulterated indie indulgence)
7. Young Magic - Sparkly ('wooh')
8. Lower Dens - Brains (strummy strummy jump jump)
9. Solange - Losing You (written and produced by Dev Hynes (Blood Orange) - please everyone check out Coastal Grooves from last year and listen to it 3 times a day before meals.)
10. French Films - Convict (I only heard this at a live show last week - was good fun or was that the free Cuba Libres, eh...)

Jack Shankly
1. Julia Holter - Ekstasis
2. Daughn Gibson - All Hell
3. Angel Olsen - Half Way Home
4. Matthew E White - Big Inner
5. John Talabot - Fin
6. Laurel Halo - Quarantine
7. DIIV - Oshin
8. Woods - Bend Beyond
9. Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland - Black Is Beautiful
10. Jessica Pratt - Jessica Pratt

Pat Riley
1. Turing Machine "What's the Meaning of What" (album)
2. OM "Advaitic Songs" (album)
3. Pupukea, Hawaii (place)
4. Worst Gig Ever (podcast)
5. Hot Chip "In Our Heads" (album)
6. Victoria Haven: Proposed Land Use Action (exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum)
7. Lower Dens "Nootropics" (album)
8. Exchange Alley (restaurant)
9. Flop reunion show August 18th, 2012 at Whiting's house (performance)
10. Brothers of the Sonic Cloth "Fire Burns Dim in the Shadow of the Mountain" (single)
Runners up: Dan Deacon "America" (album), Dina Martina "Ample Wattage" (performance), Oleana (restaurant), Soundtrack to The Man WIth The Iron Fists (Instrumentals) by the RZA (album), Lonnie Holley "Just Before Music"

Kris Grillespie
10. Fennesz - Aun (Touch)
9. Royal Headache - s/t (What's Yr Rupture)
8. The Babies - Our House On The Hill (Woodsist)
7. Tycho - Dive (Ghostly International)
6. The Two Bears - Be Strong (Southern Fried)
5. Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan (Domino)
4. Todd Terje - It's The Arps EP (Smalltown Supersound)
3. Matthew E. White - Big Inner (Hometapes)
2. Sam Flax - Age Waves (Burger Records)
1. Four Tet - Pink (Text)

honorable mention songs of the year:
Tomas Barfod - "November Skies" (Sepalcure Remix)
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - "Only In My Dreams"
Swearin' - "Here To Hear"
Tanlines - "All Of Me"
Kindness - "Gee Up" (Cosmic Kids Edit)

Sam Flynn
1. Sleep - Dopesmoker (Reissue on Southern Lord)
2. Tame Impala – Lonerism
3. Bill Fay – Life Is People
4. Lower Dens - Nootropics
5. The Cure @ Reading Festival
6. Discovering Optimo - Sleepwalk
7. Working with the lovely people of Domino
8. Shy Kids – Field Trips
9. Breton – Other People’s Problems
10. Sainburys festive sandwich range (‘Boxing Day Sandwich’ in particular)

Marcel Legane
- Chairlift - Something
- Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes
- Rustie's closing set at The Warehouse Project
- Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan
- This Town Needs Guns - Cat Fantastic
- Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built
- Frank Ocean - Pyramids
- The Hundred Reasons & Hell Is For Heroes reunion show @ The Forum
- Everything Everything - Kemosabe
- The fried chicken starter @ Bone Daddies Ramen

Laura Calnan
- The Olympic Games
- Tame Impala – Lonerism
- Francois & the Atlas Mountains gig at St. Mary’s Church in Ashford
- Winning Trivial Pursuit for the first time ever.
- Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Magellan
- Hot Chip – In Our Heads
- Radio Head, up and down the dial of British radio {book}
- Bombay Bicycle Club at Bournemouth Academy
- Melody’s Echo Chamber {album}
- Working at Domino Records, it’s been emotional, and genuinely life changing, thank you from the depths of my tiny little heart.

Louis Lloyd
1) Coldplay @ Emirates with Bart (and so many other memories...)
2) Geordie Shore: Chaos In Cancun
3) Watch The Throne tour
4) Calvin Harris - 18 Months
5) Field Day and the afterparty and the after-afterparty
6) iTunes Festival (Usher, Lana, JLS and Muse)
7) Not missing a Haim London show
8) The Valleys
9) Rammstein @ The O2
10) Bruno Mars - Locked Out of Heaven

Jeff Pachman
Anais Mitchell – ‘Young Man in America’
Dayna Kurtz - ‘Secret Canon Vol. 1’
Lost Bayou Ramblers – “Mammoth Waltz
Thee Oh Sees – Putrifier II
Ty Segall – Twins
Mount Carmel – Real Women
Beth Orton – Sugaring Season
The Babies – Our House on the Hill
Leonard Cohen – Old Ideas
Dirty Projectors – Swing Low Magellan
Chromatics – Kill for Love

Mark Austin
Album Shields, Grizzly Bear
Album Old Idea, Leonard Cohen
Thing that Happened Discovering America, New Orleans, New York and Nashville
Album Tramp, Sharon Van Etten
Album Locked Down, Dr. John
Thing That Happened Froome and Wiggo taking The Stage and the Yellow Jersey on La Planche des Belle Filles (and taking it all the way to Paris)
Album Big Inner, Matthew E. White (very excited about this in 2013)
Track Ramada Inn, Neil Young + Crazy Horse
Show Springsteen at SXSW
Festival End of The Road (Bella Union’s 15th Anniversary)

Paula Williams
The Skints - Part & Parcel – Album of the year!!
Anti Vigilante - Tempest
Jeramiah Ferrari - The Dubby Rock EP
Jaya The Cat - The New International Sound of Hedonism
Roughneck Riot - This is Our Day
The Skints - sold out gig at The Scala, London
Jaya The Cat, Anti Vigilante, Random Hand, Tyrannosaurus Alan, Claypigeon & Faintest Idea at The Underworld, London
Skindred at Brixton Academy
Incubus at Brixton Academy
The Walking Dead - Season 3 (TV Series)

Duncan Spiers
Karin Park – Restless
Nas – Loco-motive (feat. Large Professor)
Michael Penn – On Your Way
Drake – Crew Love (feat. The Weeknd)
Marina And The Diamonds – Fear And Loathing
Lana Del Rey – Off To The Races
Smash Cast – Never Give All The Heart
Labrinth – Treatment
Kitty Pryde – Okay Cupid
Karin Park – Bending Albert’s Law

Alex Rose
1. Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold (Dull Tools)
2. The Babies - Our House On The Hill (Woodsist)
3. Thee Oh Sees - Putrifiers II (In The Red)
4. Dan Deacon - America (Domino)
5. Various Artists: Long Time Gone (Little Axe/Mississippi)
6. Ty Segall - Twins (Drag City)
7. Various Artists: The Nablus Project (http://nablusproject.bandcamp.com/)
8. OBN IIIs - OBN IIIs (Tic Tac Totally)
9. Tronics: Love Backed By Force (What's Yr Rupture?)
10. Django Django (Ribbon)

Francesca
Hot Chip live at Heaven
Death Grips ‘The Money Store’
Breaking Bad
Manic Street Preachers ‘Generation Terrorists’ 20th anniversary reissue
John Maus live at the Scala
Perfecting the breakfast burrito
Hunx & his Punx live at The Smell
Acquiring a painting by Gidget Gein
The Magic Castle Hotel in Hollywood
The Daily Show during the US election

Matt Sweeney
2012 ELECTRONIC - BAKERS DOZEN
1 Tigerskin – This Place Is Empty Without You
2 Todd Terje – Inspector Norse
3 Luke Abbott – Modern Driveway
4 Machinedrum – DDD
5 letherette – Warstones
6 Four Tet – Pyramid
7 Nathan Fake – Paean
8 Lone – Lying in the Reeds
9 Essay – Morning Mountain (feat. Rhian Sheehan)
10 Errors – Pleasure Palaces
11 Blondes – Lover (Dungeon Acid Remix)
12 Hot Chip – How Do You Do? - Todd Terje remix
13 Daphni – Ahora

Henry Thomas
Bat For Lashes, The Haunted Man
Daphni, Jialong
Death Grips, The Money Store
Deftones, Koi No Yokan
Fushitsusha (live at St. John-at-Hackney)
Grizzly Bear, Shields
Hanne Hukkelberg, Featherbrain
Lorn, Ask The Dust
Melody's Echo Chamber, Melody's Echo Chamber
Sharon Van Etten, Tramp

Steph Seager
Sharon Van Etten. Sharon at the Scala. Sharon at Shepherds Bush Empire. Just Sharon for being Sharon generally. I LOVE YOU SHARON.
The Gaslight Anthem 'Handwritten' and KOKO gig.
Refused at The Forum.
Nas at the 100 Club. Life is Good.
Kendrick Lamar -  Good Kid, m.A.A.d City
Bear In Heaven, I Love You It’s Cool.
At The Drive In at Brixton Academy.
Dan Deacon at The Scala.
Paris, Reading Festival, New York.
I'm probably not grasping the concept of a top ten but honorary mentions for favourite songs of the year include.... Foals 'Inhaler', Bruno mars 'Locked Out Of Heaven', The Blackout 'Start The Party', Villagers 'The Waves', Carly Rae Jepsen 'Call Me Maybe', Taylor Swift ‘the title is too long but you know the one I mean…’ Deftones ‘Tempest’, Joey Bada$$ ‘Hardknock’, Frightened Rabbit ‘The Woodpile’.

We are happy to announce that "Letter of Intent" is to be released as the first single from the forthcoming Ducktails album, The Flower Lane. It's going to be ushered into the world on the same date as the LP: 28^th January, a day well worth marking in your brand new 2013 diaries. A highlight from the much-anticipated album, the track features vocals from Jessa Farkas of Future Shuttle and Ian Drennan of Big Troubles.

And you can listen to it in all its multi-layered loveliness right now here:

Ducktails will be touring the UK and Europe throughout February with a show at The Green Door Store in Brighton on the 24^th and at the Lexington in London on the 25^th. There will also be an album release show at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City, USA on January 23^rd which will feature all of The Flower Lane's guest musicians performing the album in full.

The Flower Lane's large cast of guests include Daniel Lopatin (of Oneohtrix Point Never), Joel Ford (of Ford & Lopatin), Madeline Follin (of Cults), Sam Mehran (of Outer Limitz) and Jessa Farkas (of Future Shuttle), along with members of Mondanile's other band, Real Estate, and members of Big Troubles, who also serve as Mondanile's live band for performances. 

The Flower Lane is now available for pre-order on CD, LP + deluxe edition (which is a letter-pressed-jacket version of the album).

All pre-orders immediately receive free downloads of The Flower Lane and Letter of Intent. Pre-order the record HERE.

UK Tour Dates 

• Sun 24^th February: Brighton – Green Door Store
• Monday 25^th February: London – Lexington

Domino is pleased to announce a surprise release from Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip/About Group) - a four track self-recorded and self-produced EP with a heavy groove based element, entitled Nayim From The Halfway Line. The EP is available now on 12" heavyweight vinyl and will be available digitally on 17^th December.

The track listing is as follows:

1. Rhodes Dream
2. You Want Me
3. Hot Squash
4. Jesus' Birthday

Click HERE to pre-order the 12".

And here's a video introduction to the EP:

On January 21^st, Domino will release Big Inner, the debut album by Virgina-based artist Matthew E. White.

Moving, redemptive and powerfully soulful, Big Inner is a timeless record told in seven songs that mingle memory with the rawness of any given human moment. The references — from the lyrics that echo the common conditions of love, death, seeking, and finding, to open tributes to artists like Washington Phillips, Allen Toussaint, Jorge Ben, Jimmy Cliff, and Randy Newman — are their own scavenger hunt through music history and through White’s place in it.

Pitchfork have today premiered the video for Big Inner track "Will You Love Me." The panoramic promo, directed by Daniel Portrait, juxtaposes the scenic hills of Durham, North Carolina with the emotionally poignant song. Watch it now:

A gifted jazz arranger and exceptional guitarist, White's vision for Big Inner was realised with the help of bassist Cameron Ralston and drummer Pinson Chanselle,who make up the core of his Spacebomb House Band and then embellished with horns, strings, and a choir - all culled from and roused by the venerable landscape of Richmond, Virginia and recorded in the attic of White's house in the city.

To celebrate the release of 'Big Inner', White and the Spacebomb House Band will be performing in the United Kingdom for the first time in January 2013, playing the following intimate dates:

•    Tuesday 22^nd January – The Hope, Brighton
•    Wednesday 23^rd January – The Lexington, London

Big Inner will be released on Domino on 21 January. If you're hungry for more Matthew E. White, then you can listen to (and download!) album highlight "Big Love" now:

"Goddess Eyes" is the first single from Julia Holter to be released by Domino on the 10th of December 2012 and will be available on 12" heavyweight vinyl and digitally. The single will feature "Goddess Eyes I" and "Goddess Eyes II", both taken from Ekstasis, the essential second album by Julia Holter which Domino is re-issuing the previous week, December 3rd. Included on the 12" and digital release is a new rendition of "Goddess Eyes" plus a new studio recording of "Betsy On the Roof", both performed with musicians Christopher Votek and Corey Fogel. The tracks were recorded by Votek at his Echo Manor studio in Los Angeles last month.

Pre-order the 12" HERE.

The tracklisting is as follows:

1. GODDESS EYES 1
2. GODDESS EYES 2
3. GODDESS EYES (ECHO MANOR VERSION)
4. BETSY ON THE ROOF (ECHO MANOR VERSION)

The accompanying video was directed by Yelena Zhelezov, watch it now:

'The video for Julia Holter's "Goddess Eyes II" is inspired by the Latin phrase "deus ex machina". In literature, deus ex machina is a plot device for seemingly unresolvable dramaturgical situations. The unexpected and dramatic measure was employed by many Greek tragedians. It is in tribute to Euripides and the literary spirit of the song that the video was directed.' - Yelena Zhelezov, November 2012

Since being released to phenomenal acclaim in North America earlier this year, the re-issue of Ekstasis represents the first wide release of what is easily one of the most important, original and talked about albums to emerge from the American underground this decade.
The most fully-realised glimpse of Holter's steadily-developing, beautifully singular vision so far, Ekstasis follows on from the playful searching nature of 2007's home-recorded Eating The Stars EP and 2011's underground masterpiece Tragedy.

Ekstasis will be available on CD, vinyl and digitally. You can pre-order Ekstasis HERE.

Big London-based performance news for fans of the unparalleled Wild Beasts. The band will be playing an intimate show at the Lexington in Islington on Friday 7th December. As a warm-up for their headline ATP performance at Camber Sands the following night, the band will be playing their most recent, much acclaimed album, Smother, in its entirety.

As tickets for this one-off event are extremely limited, Wild Beasts are offering all their fans an equal chance to purchase them by applying here. Randomly selected winners will be given the opportunity to purchase tickets after the process closes on Monday 3rd of December at 9am.

Here's the video for "Bed of Nails" from that record to get you in the mood, and good luck!

We are excited to announce that Dan Deacon is returning to the UK and Ireland for unmissable live dates throughout February 2013, with a show at London's Village Underground on 13th February. Anyone who has seen his live show can attest to their unique interactivity, musicality and sheer celebratory nature. But if you haven't seen him before, be guided by the words of those who have:

'Whatever else he is - one-off musical alchemist, jocund beard-wearer - Baltimore's Dan Deacon is a genius of performance art. His shows are quite unlike anything else you've ever been to.' – The Independent 4* live review

'Tonight, the colourful side of humankind shines through.' – NME live review

Those full UK and Irish dates are as follows:

• Friday 8th February: Bristol - The Fleece
• Saturday 9th February: Dublin, Ireland - Whelans 
• Sunday 10th February: Belfast - The Black Box
• Monday 11th February: Glasgow - Stereo
• Tuesday 12th February: Leeds - Brudenell Social Club
• Wednesday 13th February: London - Village Underground

Dan Deacon's album, America, is out now. And here's the video for True Thrush - well worth seeing again:

This truly is what football is all about.

We are very excited to share with you Hot Chip's new video for the band's latest single, "Don't Deny Your Heart", which is released today. The band have continued their creative relationship with comedy titan Peter Serafinowicz, who previously directed videos for singles "I Feel Better" and "Night and Day".

"Don't Deny Your Heart" is taken from Hot Chip's much acclaimed In Our Heads album (currently featuring in many end of year polls) and is available today to purchase digitally HERE and on 12" HERE. The 12" features a remix of the track from Justus Köhncke b/w a JD Twitch Optimo remix of "Flutes". You can watch the quite genuinely incredible video here, now:

An Expanded Edition of In Our Heads featuring demos, rare studio tracks as well as exclusive, previously unreleased remixes from Optimo, Daphni, Charlie Fracture and Major Lazer is also available now. To purchase it, click HERE.

Hot Chip have announced a return to the U.S. after an acclaimed tour including a headline show at the Hollywood Bowl to headline the prestigious Roseland Ballroom in New York on 9th April. Tickets go on sale on Friday 30th November at 10am EST.

In the meantime the In Our Heads tour continues around the Caribbean in December aboard the SS Coachella before heading to Australia for the Falls and Field Day festivals in the new year. For all dates please visit the band's website.

We are extremely pleased to announce that the mighty Clinic will be performing four live dates in the UK next Spring, including a London show at Corsica Studios on 7th March 2013. This is the first tour since the release of their seventh album, Free Reign, available now on CD, LP, digitally and as a glowing UFO frisbee. Full dates with ticket links are as follows:

• 28^th February - Newcastle, The Cluny 
• 1^st March - Glasgow, Stereo 
• 2^nd March - Manchester, Deaf Institute 
• 7^th March - London, Corsica Studios 

Produced by the band themselves in their hometown of Liverpool and mixed with the assistance of Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never), Free Reign is an extremely apt title for a particularly bold and assured new transmission from planet Clinic. Lead single "Miss You" is available on 7” now, backed with the track "Lucky 7". (You can purchase it HERE). The accompanying video was directed by The 3 Sisters (Andy Knowles, Josh McCartney & James Hicks).

"Miss You" has also been remixed by Daniele Baldelli & DJ Rocca (listen HERE) and by Peaking Lights, which you can listen to right now, below:

After receiving the warmest of welcomes at his excellent homecoming show at the 100 Club last week, Eugene McGuinness has unveiled the video for his new single ‘Sugarplum’, which is released on December 10^th.

Maintaining his trademark left-of-centre lyricism, ‘Sugarplum’ is both honest and overtly romantic. Shot on a rooftop with the City of London as it's harsh but glittering backdrop, the video is simplistic and stylish, reflecting the track’s sharper characteristics.

Watch the video for ‘Sugarplum’ below.

In anticipation of their forthcoming holiday single Christmas Eve Can Kill You, old friends and collaborators Dawn McCarthy and Will Oldham present you with a gift: a video shot by Lara Miranda during the track's Nashville recording sessions produced by David Ferguson at Butcher Shop Studio, as well as footage depicting the spirit of the project from McCreary County, KY.

This is definitely not what one expects to see in a holiday music video - there's no snow, no presents, no sacrificial goose or other consumable indulgences just the elements at the core of why people celebrate holidays to begin with - friendship, collaboration, warmth, rejuvenation and joy.

Christmas Eve Can Kill You also offers a foreshadowing glimpse at Oldham and McCarthy’s forthcoming full-length record of songs they learned from Everly Brothers records; a project inspired by the songstress’ young daughters' love of the rhythm and blues duo. Dawn McCarthy and Bonnie “Prince” Billy- Christmas Eve Can Kill You b/w Lovey Kravezit 7” comes out on the 19th of November 2012 on Domino.  Pre-order the single here.

Following their exhilarating sold out performance at London's Roundhouse, which featured a stunning must-see stage production, Animal Collective are streaming a new track, a live favourite entitled "Crimson".

Crimson is the B-side to forthcoming single, "Applesauce", the second single from their kinetic recent album Centipede Hz. The single will be available on 10 inch vinyl and digitally on November 12^th. Pre-order the 10 inch today on the Domino webstore HERE.

You can listen to "Crimson" now, here:

The band are playing Vicar Street in Dublin tonight, the ABC1 in Glasgow tomorrow night and The Warehouse Project in Manchester this Thursday 8th November. For full dates and more info check out the band's site.