Photo by Eric Ashleigh | showtographe.com
Artists Project Earth (APE) is an international organization that, according to their website, “has funded over 300 projects and awareness-raising initiatives around the world that combat climate change and develop local resilience and solutions to climate injustice – and gives emergency funding for natural disaster relief.” Some of APE’s projects have been collaborations with musicians resulting in three fundraising albums to date including Rhythms Del Mundo Cuba, Rhythms Del Mundo Classics and Rhythms Del Mundo Revival. Next Tuesday Rhythms Del Mundo Africa is being released. It includes contributions from Coldplay, R.E.M., Fleet Foxes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mumford & Sons, Aloe Blacc, Beyonce, Eminem, and others, along with African musicians including Toumani Diabaté, Ali Farka Touré Band and Rokia Traoré. Listen to the album below. Go here for more information.
Local shredmasters Purling Hiss talk about their evolution [link]
New Philly indie four-piece Family Vacation releases their debut EP for free download [link]
Rapper Aquil debuts a new track, announces art gallery listening party [link]
Cincy art-rockers Pomegranates release free download track, play MilkBoy tomorrow [link]
Gary Clark Jr. brought the fire to the Theater of Living Arts [link]
The listener-curated WXPNGRRR! comp of Rolling Stones deep cuts is released [link]
Indie-rock goddess Mirah tells us what she’s been up to – including moving back east [link]
Joey Sweeney is celebrating his 40th birthday at Johnny Brendas with all his old bands [link]
Folksinger Meg Baird reflects on her 10+ years in the Philly scene upon her move west [link]
We’re giving away a prize pack to see Conor Oberst! Comment to win [link]
XPN’s concert calendar is now powered by The Swollen Fox. Have you seen it? [link]
We talk with Maine trio The Milkman’s Union about the OTHER Portland scene [link]
Philly rapper Freeway is dropping his latest full-length, Diamond in the Ruff, later this month on Babygrande Records, and he’s been teasing us. First with music – there was “We Up” and “Jungle,” as well as the Freedom of Speech mixtape. Then there was the question of when exactly he’d celebrate the album’s release in his hometown. His label originally announced that it was this past Monday night, the 12th, at The Blockley – but it never appeared on the venue’s calendar, and all signs on Tuesday morning pointed to “it did not happen.” Turns out it just took some time to get everyone’s schedule aligned. The venue told us yesterday that the show has been rescheduled for Monday, November 26 – a more timely date, with Diamond in the Ruff coming out the next day – and tickets will be $20 at the door. And hey, there’s new music in the mix too! Below you can check out “Numbers,” another track from the new album, and get ready to party.
Always good to see #NiceThings happen to good people. Philly rapper Chill Moody, for a few weeks now, has been talking up “big news” and “dreams comes true” that he was getting ready to share with the Twitter and Instagram universes (to the point where dude was making announcements of announcements of announcements). This afternoon spilled the beans in a #chillmoodypressconference on Twitter. On December 28, he is headlining a show at The Theater of Living Arts – the release party for his new album #RFM (he loves hashtags, in case you couldn’t tell) – featuring Mic Stew, Jade Alston, Mont Brown and more surprise guests. Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 16 via Ticketmaster.com. Needless to say, we’re stoked for the show. Below, check out Chill and his band in action in the Key Studio Session they recorded for us at MilkBoy Studio back in March.
Mirah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Cellist Lori Goldstein performs with Mirah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mirah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mirah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mirah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mirah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mirah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mirah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mirah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mount Moriah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mount Moriah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mount Moriah | Photo by Chris Sikich
Mount Moriah | Photo by Chris Sikich
After her recent relocation back to the east coast, Philadelphia-born indie rock singer and songwriter Mirah performed at Johnny Brenda’s last night. Opening the show was Mount Moriah – a Durham, North Carolina band that shares its name with a cemetery in Cobb’s Creek. Check out a photo recap of the show in the gallery above.
From the first flicker of mandolin on the opening track of Norwegian Arms‘ upcoming full-length Wolf Like a Stray Dog, an epic journey is set into motion, unraveling over the subsequent ten tracks and encountering themes as Odyssean as discovery, wanderlust, curiosity and frustration. That journey was sparked by the real-life journey of the psych-folk duo’s Brendan Mulvihill – who migrated to Siberia in 2009. Mulvihill (aka “Keith Birthday”) spent the cold days in Tomsk, Russia teaching English as a Fullbright Fellow and working on a new catalog of material for his band-back-home.
Upon Mulvihill’s return state-side, he reunited with bandmate/drummer “Dr. Awkward” (Eric Slick, also of Dr. Dog) and recorded Wolf Like a Stray Dog in just one week. With an official release slated for January 15th, 2013, pre-orders for the new record begin tomorrow and the full album stream is up today on Norwegian Arms’ Soundcloud. The debut full-length will be available on vinyl, CD and cassette, each accompanied by a booklet with Mulvihill’s photography and writings. Norwegian Arms plays Johnny Brenda’s on December 21st with Laser Background and Night Panther; tickets and information for the 21+ show are available here. Below, stream “And Then I Found Myself in the Taiga” and listen to the entire album here. You can also download two free tracks as a preview of the record here.
