The Key » Quilt

The Week’s Best MP3 Downloads, incl. Calexico, Quilt, The Naked Sun

Julie Miller — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 17:30:16 +0000

Bringing their sunny psychedelic sounds to Philadelphia, Boston’s Quilt recently stopped by the Folkadelphia studios to record a live session full of warmth and color. The 60s vibe of the band seems so natural it’s easy to slip into a dreamy daze while listening to the five tracks they recorded. Stream and download “Arctic Shark” below and head over to Folkadelphia’s Bandcamp to get the rest of the session. Quilt will be back in town this Saturday, February 16th for the 2013 Northern Liberties Winter Music Festival at The Fire. Tickets and information can be found here.

Arctic Shark by Quilt

Philly band Royal Shoals returned this week with a brand new four-track EP called Surrounderer + 3, recorded with Jeff Ziegler at Uniform Recording. The EP follows up the surf rock / new wave outfit’s 2011 debut Dirty Water with a collection of brightly polished, tightly produced tracks that show growth and confidence. Stream and download “Surrounderer” below. Royal Shoals play Kung Fu Necktie on February 28th; tickets and information can be found here.

Surrounderer by Royal Shoals

With help from local musician Ryan Wilson of Pill Friends, Slovakian music blog Start Track released a free compilation this week featuring tracks from a number of Philadelphia bands involved in the basement / DIY / house show scene. It’s a glimpse into the depths of the Philly music community with a diverse batch of contributors including electro-disco outfit Night Panther, thrashy punk band Mumblr, darkly captivating singer-songwriter Abi Reimold and an acoustic take from alt-folk / rock squadron Roof Doctor. Stream “Rug” by Abi Reimold below and download the full Philly compilation on Start Track’s Bandcamp here.

Rug by Abi Reimold

South Jersey outfit The Naked Sun kindly came to the WXPN studios recently to record a Key Studio Session. Drawing mostly from an upcoming EP, the Beta Hi-Fi competitors brought the energy with broadly arranged but tightly performed roots rock boogie tunes. And with the jazzy inclusion of saxophone and trumpet players, the session’s five dynamic tracks are energizing enough to remedy any sort of mid-winter blues this weekend’s weather has slumped us into. The Naked Sun play the Field House on April 12th with The Lawsuits. Stream and download “Holdin’ Back the Heart” below and head over here for the full session.

Holdin' Back the Heartby The Naked Sun from The Key Studio Sessions Download

Each weekday this month World Cafe is offering a free download of a Cafe track from a limited-time-only compilation. By February 22nd, there will be twenty songs up for grabs – but here’s the catch: the download links will disappear on March 1st. This week’s free offerings included recordings by neo-soul / R&B singer Allen Stone, roots rocker John Fullbright and the track streaming below, “Fortune Teller” from alt-country band Calexico. The duo and a full band recorded the song when they stopped by Philly for a sold-out Free at Noon at Union Transfer last fall; listen to their full World Cafe session with David Dye here and download the free collection here.

Folkadelphia Session: Quilt

Fred Knittel — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 19:30:56 +0000

Even though Quilt, the three-piece outfit consisting of Shane Butler, Anna Rochinski, and John Andrews, is based out of Boston, it feels very natural to have them record this session here in Philadelphia. The group seems so musically informed by the particular psych-tinged folk rock sound that has made our city and musicians like the Espers, Kurt Vile, and Bardo Pond great and fantastical. Call it that “psychedelphia” sound, call it “new weird Americana,” I don’t care what you call (personally, those last two descriptions make me cringe), but you continue to hear it as an undercurrent in present day Philadelphia and throughout the East Coast, like here with our woven friends.

But where many bands follow the acid-tripped, freaked-out psychedelic jam path to creative Valhalla, Quilt conducts a musical séance to spiritually channel their ‘60s West Coast brethren like early Jefferson Airplane to paint sonic canvasses of brightness and warmth. Gosh, I feel like I’m looking through a freaking kaleidoscope pointed at a troupe of interpretive dancers frolicking in a sunshine-bathed glade right now. Sorry, I zoned out there for a second, but really, how does this band exist in the present decade? The only answer I can conjure up is that they exist because they can and because we need them to. Let Quilt envelope you in their sounds and harmonies built of light.

Quilt stopped by the WXPN Performance Studio on January 16th, 2013, the day after their concert in Philadelphia at Kung Fu Necktie. They return to be a part of the 2013 Northern Liberties Winter Music Festival at The Fire on Saturday, February 16th. See you there.

Quilt Folkadelphia Session (1/16/2013) by Quilt

Download Jamaican Queens’ “Kids Get Away” (playing Kung Fu Necktie on 1/15)

Julie Miller — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 17:27:13 +0000

Detroit’s Jamaican Queens are still about three months away from releasing their debut album Wormfood (expected on March 5th) but they’ve already been picked up by a number of music tastemakers including Yvynyl and Noisey thanks to the trio’s beat-packed first offerings. The latter premiered Jamaican Queens’ new video for “Kids Get Away” last week, a dramatic stalker story with a heartwarming twist ending based on a true Detroit event. Of the song’s message, singer Ryan Spencer said:

“I wrote this song to myself as a reminder that I live in a very dangerous place and that I shouldn’t be so naive. Violence is everywhere, and though I’m more likely to be victimized in Detroit than almost anywhere else, this city also has so much going for it that no other place I’ve ever been does. The possibility of violence is no reason to flee what I feel to be the best place I’ve ever lived. This song is a reminder to myself of that. Be careful, but don’t give in to fear.”

Jamaican Queens come to Philly on Tuesday, January 15th for a show at Kung Fu Necktie with Quilt and Magic Trick. Tickets and information for the 21+ show can be found here. Below, watch the new video for “Kids Get Away” and download the track here.

Get to know Norwegian Arms

Laura Jane Brubaker — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:00:50 +0000

Self-described “weirdo folk duo” Norwegian Arms have a lot going for them; both the smarts and the skills. Singer/songwriter Brendan Mulvihill started creating material for what was to become Norwegian Arms while working in Russia as a Fulbright scholar. The other member of the band, Dr. Dog drummer Eric Slick, brings his remarkable sense of rhythm to the mix with rollicking Tupperware beats. Combining the gentle giddiness of Mulvihill’s voice, his lively mandolin playing, and the tender earnestness of his lyrics, the duo create something truly wonderful and fun.

The band’s last releases — the Trimmings of Hides and Sibir’ EPs — came out just over a year ago, and the band has since recorded a full album that they’re set to release as soon as they can find a label. But the two have a lot going on besides: Slick (or Doc Awk, as he’s credited on the band’s websites) is full-timing it with Dr. Dog while Mulvihill (aka Keith Birthday) just returned from a trip to Chile with ESL Folk, a project he started with friends to help students in other countries learn English by way of American folk music.

But fear not, there’s still time for shows. On June 30th, Norwegian Arms will play Johnny Brenda’s along with New York-based Young Magic, Boston’s Quilt, and local psych-folk band Weyes Blood. Tickets to the 21+ show are available here for $10. Below, stream “Kiva Ikva” from Norwegian Arms’ forthcoming album, Wolf Like A Stray Dog.