RCRD LBL is an online record label releasing exclusive and completely free music from emerging and established artists. In addition to our in-house label, our network includes a roster of independent record labels offering free MP3 downloads and multimedia content. read more
First of all, it's kinda made our day that we get to feature a song called "Cockwolves." F* yeah. But more importantly, it gives us great pleasure to introduce Toronto's Kids On TV. Imagine a brasher, co-ed version of Datarock, hyped up on energy drinks, spitting out punk lyrics over techno pulses. There are wolf cries on "Cockwolves". Meanwhile "Raw Raw Raw" (Kids on TV vs. Glamor Soundsystem) has an addictive Justice-esque 'new french touch' edge- filled with 1980's electro-house glitches, laser zaps, rap-speak....and....cowbell.
Crazy Facts about Kids On TV??
1) Two of the members met while performing burlesque.
2) They perform crazy live shows in weird places like steambathes (and have performed with artists like Ladytron, Crystal Castles and Dandi Wind).
3) They proudly call their music "queercore punk" and rumor is myspace tried to censor their site once. It didn't go over well.
4) Two members go by "Minus Smile" and "Wolf" so we really don't know what to believe. Regardless, we dig it and want to hear more.
Whoa. When Hot Chip and !!!, arguably two of the most important bands of the ‘00s, combine forces, it’s hard to not get overexcited. The Warp RCRD LBL blog just posted an awesome Hot Chip remix of !!!’s “Must Be The Moon” off of their last record Myth Takes. Obviously, it’s everything you’d want from a prog-funk/electro-dance/anything-everything song: a total aural freak-out. Warp has some more info on !!!’s upcoming tour, so check out their post…
So, not a throwback as much as a drunken recollection of good times past. Shy Child are everything you want in a minimal electro-disco band: awesome dudes, catchy riffs, and keytars galore. Nothing, oh nothing beats keytars.
Robert Mugge is a name you have probably never heard. It’s likely though, that if you like Jazz, Blues, Reggae. Zydeco, or Bluegrass (work with us here), you have seen one or more of his incredible music documentaries. Beginning in 1976 with George Crumb: Voice of the Whale, which featured a performance of Crumb’s Pulitzer prize winning piece, "Vox Balaenae for Three Masked Players”, Mugge has made close to 30 films that have examined music through people, place, and time. His subjects have included Sonny Rollins, Al Green, Gil Scott-Heron, Robert Johnson, and Irma Thomas, to name a few. Although it’s difficult to pin down an exact style, Mugge’s films are characterized by his willingness to allow the music and musicians to speak for themselves. Always well researched and informed, Mugge has an uncanny ability to make genuine connections with his subjects, ultimately leading to more candid interviews and deeper meaning in his work.
For Mugge, “music is a leaping off place for discussion of social issues, cultural issues, political issues, (and) even religious issues.” This ethos might explain why Mugge was so drawn to post-Katrina New Orleans. Having worked with many of the musicians of New Orleans in some of his earlier films, Mugge sought to side-step the emotionally charged issues of government response and racism in the wake of Katrina, and focus on the storm’s devastating impact within the New Orleans music community. Where did the musicians go? Were they planning on coming back?
We’re really feeling New York-based dance-rock outfit The Glass right now, who have slowly but surely been taking over the downtown electro scene for a while now. The band are releasing a ton of songs on RCRD LBL today, so take your pick from the downloads below. They’re all pretty awesome, but our favorite has to be “Come Alive” from the album Couples Therapy, which is by far the spaciest and funkiest tune, like the Rapture if they were more Manchester 1992 and not Liverpool 1978. Enjoy!
Also, the Glass are playing Crashin' In at Hugs in Broolkyn tonight with Bunny Rabbit, who we featured a while back. Check out her songs too, and see you there!
I advise you to listen to Panther with volume up and 3-d glasses on to get the full kaleidoscopic experience. In "Violence Diamonds," lead singer Charlie Salas-Humara's voice quakes, wails and screeches through this funkied piece- with "Rocky Horror Picture Show"-worthy vocal theatrics. Second, I don't know what a Puerto Rican Jukebox sounds like but if it's anything like Panther's version- it favors a beasting bass line, weird medicine-man chants, and heavy drum solos. It’s hard to believe all this sound is just coming from just two dudes: Charlie on vocals, cello and keys and Joe Kelly on drums. Check em at SXSW.
Q: What has caviar in a tube, death metal, and $3.99 text messages?
A: Professor Murder’s Scandinavian tour diary, of course.
P Murder just came back ashore from their first ever tour of Scandinavia, which went off without a hitch, evidence of which can be found presently on their RCRD LBL blog. Makes us want to wrap up warm and jump on the first plane to Stockholm.
The Murder have been releasing tracks off their RCRD LBL-exclusive Professor Murder on a Desert Island EP. Download them below for a midweek espresso-shot of amazing calypso vibes.
As cheesy as it might sound, some people are just born and bred to make music. They have no other choice. Sunny Levine is an artist/producer from Venice, CA who hails from an impressive lineage of music: his grandfather is Quincy Jones, is pops is producer Stewart Levine (Joe Cocker, Simply Red, BB King), and his uncle is producer QD3 (Tupac, Ice Cube). Imagine what that household was like growing up.
Sunny's been producing some pretty groundbreaking shit himself (The Happy Mondays, Mickey Avalon) and finally has a debut solo album that's out March 25. The good folks over at Quango have given us a taste of his laid back, textured sounds by offering a free download of his track "Better Off". It keeps getting better with every listen and bodes well for the new album. His funkdafied tracks have already been appearing on tv shows (most recently CBS' "Welcome To The Captain"), so the future is, ahem, bright.
The fine people of Norway and Sweden are in for it: while they are experiencing the perpetual night that is Scandinavian winters, Professor Murder are on their way to blast some tropicalia punk funk into the icy surroundings. The guys are playing in Oslo on Monday, beginning a mini tour that will take them through both countries in a week. Here are the dates, which of course can be found in our handy, downloadable tour widget conveniently located at your right.
Monday, February 18 - Oslo, Norway @ Garage
Tuesday, February 19 - Kristiansand, Norway @ Charlie's Bar
Wednesday, February 20 - Malmo, Sweden @ Club Debaser
Thursday, February 21 - Bergen, Norway @ Club Hulen
Friday, February 22 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Debaser Slussen
If you’ve missed the gradual unveiling of Professor Murder on a Desert Island, their exclusive RCRD LBL EP, download the tracks here. We’re premiering the final track off the record soon, so stay tuned.
It's been another great week at RCRD LBL, but all good things must come to an end. In case you guys missed any of our new releases this week, here's our Weekly RND UP. This is your chance to catch up on all the great tracks you might have missed in the last seven days. Download and enjoy!
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