After a long hiatus, the Black Eyed Peas have returned to share a star-studded remix of their hit 2003 song “Where Is the Love.” The new version, “#WHERESTHELOVE,” features “the World.” More specifically, it features Justin Timberlake, A$AP Rocky, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Puff Daddy, Jamie Foxx, Ty Dolla $ign, DJ Khaled, Jaden Smith, the Game, Jessie J, and others. The video also features appearances by Quincy Jones, Snoop Dogg, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Randy Jackson, Wilmer Valderrama, Omarion, French Montana, Wiz Khalifa, LL Cool J, Shailene Woodley, Vanessa Hudgens, Lance Bass, Connie Britton, and many others. Scroll down for a video of will.i.am, Taboo, and apl.de.ap discussing why they remade the track. Watch the video on Apple Music, and download the track here.
Public Image Ltd. have announced reissues for two albums: 1979’s Metal Box and 1986’s Album. The latter celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. Both are out October 28 via Universal. They will each be released as deluxe box sets with four CDs and four LPs. Both editions package remastered originals with rare and unheard recordings, including alternate mixes, outtakes, demos, and live performances. Some limited edition copies signed by John Lydon are available. Find the tracklistings for both deluxe box sets here.
Earlier this month, Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) shared the first trailer for his upcoming FX series “Atlanta.” Now, he’s shared an extended look at the show. Watch the promo below. It features a cameo from Migos. The series stars Glover as Earnest “Earn” Marks, a failed artist who returns to Atlanta only to discover that his cousin Paper Boi (played by Brian Tyree Henry) is a hot local rap act. The show also stars Keith Stanfield, who played Snoop Dogg in the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton. “Atlanta” premieres on September 6.
This week, the Adult Swim Singles Program has delivered a brand new track from HEALTH, who released their latest album Death Magiclast year. The new song is called “Crusher”—find it below. “We made the decision a long time ago to at a least always make an attempt to sound new, and not to sound like anyone else,” HEALTH’s Jake Duzsik said in a statement to Fader. “It's always been a huge pain in the ass. We hope this song continues that struggle.”
Fresh off her breakout performance in Kanye West’s “Fade” video, Teyana Taylor has signed on for two upcoming VH1 shows, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Taylor will appear on the hip-hop drama “The Breaks” and the game show “Hip Hop Squares.” An adaptation of the successful TV movie, “The Breaks” follows three friends trying to become stars in New York City in 1990. Taylor will play a rapper in the series. Before that, she will be a guest on “Hip Hop Squares,” a reimagining of the celebrity game show “Hollywood Squares.” (Another show called “Hip Hop Squares” aired on MTV in 2012.) VH1’s “Hip Hop Squares” will air later this fall while “The Breaks” is scheduled for 2017. Taylor first appeared on VH1 earlier this year when she performed in the Lil Kim “Hip Hop Honors” tribute.
Earlier this week, Devendra Banhart shared a new song, “Saturday Night,” from his new album Ape in Pink Marble. One person who likely didn’t care for the song is Dev Hynes (aka Blood Orange). Earlier today, he tweeted, “The music of devandra banhart is so insufferable I feel sorry for the entirety of Los Angeles, you deserve better.” He subsequently deleted the tweet, but when asked “What exactly is the point of being so insufferably rude?” he responded “Happiness,” and added “You should all know by now that I don't attack people for no reason...” See Hynes’ tweets below.
Pitchfork has reached out to representatives of both Hynes and Banhart for comment.
On October 21, Light in the Attic will release a new Tim Buckley album. Lady, Give Me Your Key: The Unissued 1967 Solo Acoustic Sessions gathers demos from Buckley’s sessions for his 1967 sophomore record Goodbye and Hello. The demos have been remastered from the original analog tapes and acetate. The new record includes seven previously unreleased songs, including the title track, which you can hear below. It also comes with liner notes from Buckley’s friend and lyricist Larry Beckett, as well as an interview with Beckett and Buckley’s producer Jerry Yester. See the Lady, Give Me Your Key tracklist and cover art below.
Lady, Give Me Your Key: The Unissued 1967 Solo Acoustic Sessions:
01 Sixface
02 Contact
03 Lady, Give Me Your Key
04 Once Upon a Time
05 Once I Was
06 I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain
07 Pleasant Street
08 Knight-Errant
09 Marigold
10 Carnival Song
11 No Man Can Find the War
12 I Can’t Leave You Lovin’ Me
13 She’s Back Again
Die Antwoord have shared the video for their new song “Banana Brain.” Directed by the group’s Ninja and Terence Neale, it begins with ¥o-landi Vi$$er giving sleeping pills to her parents. She then goes out to party all night with Ninja. He even gives her a haircut. Watch the video below.
Earlier this year, Sampha re-surfaced with his single “Timmy’s Prayer.” He also appeared on Kanye West’s latest addition to The Life of Pablo, “Saint Pablo.” Today, he’s released another new song, which will appear on his forthcoming debut LP, Process. It’s called “Blood on Me,” and it’s out via Young Turks. Sampha produced the song, along with Rodaidh McDonald. Listen to the track and see the single artwork below.
Machinedrum has announced a new album, Human Energy. It's out September 30 via Ninja Tune. You can stream the first single, “Do It 4 U”, featuring D∆WN, below. Human Energy also features MeLo-X (who worked with Beyoncé on her last album Lemonade), as well as Ruckazoid, Jesse Boykins II, Animals as Leaders guitarist Tosin Abasi, and more. Find the album artwork and full tracklist below. Machinedrum is also on tour this fall. Find his dates below.
Human Energy:
01 Lapis
02 Morphogen [ft. Ruckazoid]
03 Angel Speak [ft. MeLo-X]
04 Tell U [ft. Rochelle Jordan]
05 Surfed Out
06 Do It 4 U [ft. D∆WN]
07 Celestial Levels [ft. Jesse Boykins III]
08 Isometrix
09 Spectrum Sequence
10 White Crown [ft. Tosin Abasi]
11 Ocean of Thought
12 Etheric Body Temple
13 Dos Puertas [ft. Kevin Hussein]
14 Opalescent
15 Colour Communicator
Machinedrum:
09-09 Leuven, Belgium - Horst Festival 2016
09-15 Hong Kong, China - Cafe Hillywood
09-16 Seoul, Korea - Cakeshop
09-17 Shanghai, China - Shanghai Ruby Football Club
09-23 London, England - Electric Brixton
09-24 Barcelona, Spain - The Loft, Razzmatazz
09-27 Berlin, Germany - Berghain/Panorama Bar
09-29 Milan, Italy - Dude Club
09-30 Paris, France - Wanderlust
10-01 Lyon, France - Le Sucre
10-05 Seattle, WA - Q Nightclub
10-06 Chicago, IL - 1st Ward
10-07 Miami, FL - III Points Festival
10-12 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
10-13 New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge
10-14 Toronto, Ontario - Velvet Underground
10-15 Montreal, Québec - Newspeak
11-02 Denver, CO - Vinyl
11-03 Los Angeles, CA - Echoplex
11-04 Austin, TX - The Grizzly
11-05 Dallas, TX - RBC
11-09 Washington, DC - U Street Music Hall
11-24 Christchurch, New Zealand - Darkroom
11-25 Auckland, New Zealand - Neck of the Woods
11-26 Ballarat, Australia - Earthcore Festival 2016
11-30 Sydney, Australia - Civic Underground
12-01 Adelaide, Australia - Rocket Bar
12-02 Perth, Australia - Jack Rabbit Slim's
12-03 Sydney, Australia - Subsonic Festival 2016
Earlier this year, Flume released his new album Skin. The record featured Beck, Vince Staples, Tove Lo, and more. Flume has now announced the first Skin Companion EP. It includes four tracks of “music that was written around the same time” as the album. The new EP is out as a 12” vinyl on November 25 via Mom + Pop (as part of Record Store Black Friday). Below, see the cover art and tracklist, and hear a preview of the lead track “Trust.” Listen to previews of the rest EP here.
Skin CompanionEP:
01 Trust
02 V
03 Heater
04 Quirk
Watch Flume’s “Some Minds” video, via Pitchfork.tv:
This October, Lifetime will air a biopic about Michel’le, the R&B singer who was engaged to Dr. Dre and had a son with him. It’s called Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Me, and stars Rhyon Nicole Brown (“Lincoln Heights”) as Michel’le, Curtish Hamilton as Dre, and Jamie Kennedy as N.W.A. manager Jerry Heller. R. Marcos Taylor will play Suge Knight, as he did in last year’s Straight Outta Compton. A new promo video for Surviving Compton teases, “Behind the men who changed hip-hop is the woman who knows the truth,” and finds Brown tearing a Parental Advisory sticker from her lips. Watch it at Billboard.
Last year, as Dre was promoting Straight Outta Compton, as well as his new record Compton, his history of abuse against women re-entered the public spotlight. At the time, Michel’le spoke out against the film, as well as Dre’s legacy. She said, “The biggest problem with Straight Outta Compton is that it ignores several of N.W.A.’s own harsh realities.” When Dre publicly apologized “to the women [he’s] hurt,” Michel’le rejected it. “I don’t really think it’s a sincere apology,” she said. “I didn’t ask for a public apology and I think if he is going to apologize he should do it individually. To just group us like we are nothing and nobody—I just don’t think it’s sincere.... Treat us like we have names.”
Staples released his new EPPrima Donnaearlier this month. James Blake produced two songs on the record. Sumney recently announced a new self-released EP of his own. It’s calledLamentations, and it is out September 30. Check out the tracklist, cover art, and music video for lead single “Worth It” below.
9-23 Dallas, TX - House of Blues *
9-24 Houston, TX - House of Blues *
9-25 Austin, TX - ACL Live at the Moody Theater *
9-27 New Orleans, LA - Orpheum Theatre *
9-28 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle *
9-30 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory *
10-01 Washington, DC - Lincoln Theatre *
10-03 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall *$
10-04 Boston, MA - House of Blues *
10-05 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis *
10-07 Toronto, ON - Massey Hall *
10-08 Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre *
10-09 Chicago, IL - Cadillac Palace Theater *
10-12 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre *
10-13 Vancouver, British Columbia - Orpheum Theatre *
10-14 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater *
10-18 Santa Barbara, CA - Arlington Theatre *
10-20-21 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood $
10-27 Dublin, Ireland - Olympia theatre
10-28 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Limelight 1
10-30 Bristol, England - O2 Academy Bristol
11-01 London, England - Eventim Apollo
11-02 Leeds, England - O2 Academy Leeds
11-03 Manchester, England - Manchester Academy
11-05 London, United Kingdom - O2 Academy Brixton
* with Moses Sumney
$ with Vince Staples
LamentationsEP:
01 Ascension
02 Lonely World
03 Exit Bag
04 Worth It
05 Probably
06 Two Chants
Watch Vince Staples’ “Over/Under” on Pitchfork.tv:
Watch Moses Sumney perform “Plastic” at Pitchfork Music Festival 2016:
Tom Krell (better known as How to Dress Well) has shared a new song, “What’s Up.” Hear it below. “What’s Up” is taken from Krell’s upcoming album Care, out September 23 via Weird World/Domino. It’s his first album since the release of “What Is This Heart?”in 2014.
Recently, Krell shared an a cappella video for “What’s Up.” Watch that below, and scroll down for the song’s lyrics, which he shared on Twitter. Revisit our Cover Story “How to Dress Well: Soul to Keep.”
At the time of Station to Station’s release in 1976, David Bowie was reportedly unhappy with the mix of “TVC 15.” In 2010, original producer Harry Maslin reworked the track to capture the drier sound Bowie was after, as the Guardian points out. Now, that new mix has surfaced, ahead of its release as part of the box set Who Can I Be Now?Check it out below.
Jenny Hval has shared a new video from her album Blood Bitch, out September 30 on Sacred Bones. The “Conceptual Romance” clip sees several women, often in skin suits, cavorting, play-fighting, and spewing blood in the fields surrounding a graveyard. The video ends with a big, fleshy congregation on a plastic sheet. Watch it below.
In a press release, Hval said:
To be reborn in a womb of dirt that once was a grave of death. When I was a tiny child I saw my mother do a performance piece where she wore a skin suit just like the ones in the video. It really disturbed me, to have others see my mother 'naked.'
We've moved from complete and total censorship to a world where you can commodify your body if you resemble a certain ideal. Some people have a choice in this, others do not.
We found toy versions of some of the most oppressive, exclusive, phallic equipment there is (a drone and a steady cam) and decided to see what we could make with them.
Let's unchain ourselves from our Instagram, our carefully curated images and self-commodification, trendy record labels, and fancy cameras.
Watch Hval perform “Kingsize” at this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival:
The children’s lullaby label Rockabye Baby is celebrating 10 years of recordings with a new compilation called Birthday Party, featuring lullaby versions of tracks by OutKast, Daft Punk, the Beatles, and more. It’s out October 14. The latest release from the compilation is a rendition of LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends.” Stream it below.
The new song follows the lullaby version of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.” The compilation also includes renditions of song by Pitbull and Miley Cyrus, along with recordings from past releases like David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” and Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” (which recently made our “The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s” list). Find the full tracklisting below, too.
Birthday Party:
01 The Beatles: “Birthday”
02 Kool & The Gang: “Celebration”
03 Black Eyed Peas: “Let’s Get it Started”
04 Pitbull: “Don’t Stop the Party”
05 Miley Cyrus: “Party in the U.S.A.”
06 Cyndi Lauper: “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
07 David Bowie: “Let’s Dance”
08 Daft Punk: “Get Lucky”
09 P!nk: “Get the Party Started”
10 Deee-lite: “Groove is in the Heart”
11 Chic: “Good Times”
12 Marvin Gaye: “Got to Give It Up”
13 Michael Jackson: “Rock With You”
14 OutKast: “Hey Ya!”
15 LCD Soundsystem: “All My Friends”
Listen to the original version of “All My Friends”:
This morning, Pink Floyd flew an inflatable pig over London’s Victoria & Albert Museum to announce their new, career retrospective exhibition, “The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains.” The stunt harks back to the cover of their 1977 album Animals, where a pig is seen soaring over Battersea Power Station. As the BBC points out, “Their Mortal Remains” follows the successful “David Bowie Is...” exhibition, which ran at the V&A through spring and fall 2013. The “immersive, multi-sensory and theatrical” new show, which marks 50 years since Pink Floyd’s debut single, will include 350 items of band ephemera—instruments, posters, handwritten lyrics, artwork, and more. They’ll be housed within an exhibit featuring a laser light show and unearthed concert footage. It’ll run from May to October next year.
Every couple of months, Madlib and Rappcats put on a popup shop in Los Angeles for record collectors. The next one takes place September 10 and 11, and it’ll feature hundreds of records from DJ Shadow’s personal collection. (Don’t worry—he has duplicates of everything on sale.) Shadow, who will be at the event, is also selling rarities from his own archives, as well as an exclusive vinyl of his The Mountain Will Falltrack “The Sideshow.” Other items on sale will include a “collector’s smorgasbord of 8-Tracks, cassettes, posters, and other oddities,” according to a press release. See some of the available items below.
DJ Shadow said:
This is a chance for producers, dealers, and DJ’s to access seldom-seen and eclectic vinyl at affordable prices. These are all records I have other copies of, and I’ve decided that I don’t need to keep multiples. Think of it as a year-long thrift-store hunt consolidated into two days.... Vinyl is so fetishised, but I actually covet other formats equally. For example, ideally, I would want James Brown’s Payback album on reel, cassette, and 8-track in addition to vinyl. If it existed as a first-run consumer product, I need it in my collection.
Read our chat with DJ Shadow about his new album. Watch the lyric video for his Run the Jewels collab “Nobody Speak”:
Netflix has shared a teaser announcing that the second season of its hit show “Stranger Things” will return in 2017. It features mysterious titles like “the pumpkin patch,” “the pollywog,” and “in the fall of 1984...” (The first season takes place in 1983.) Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein’s theme for the show plays during the teaser. Watch it below.
Massive Attack have had a busy year, releasing a handful of songs, apps, and videos in advance of their forthcoming follow-up to 2010’s Heligoland. Now, they’ve announced a new single, “Dear Friend,” which they’ll release on 12” at their show in Bristol this Saturday. (A wider digital release will follow “soon,” according to a press release.) The song, previewed last month via their Fantom app, features spoken word artist James Massiah. It was co-written by Massive Attack’s Robert del Naja and Euan Dickinson.
Revisit their Cate Blanchett-starring video for “The Spoils” [ft. Hope Sandoval]:
Legendary punk musician Ian MacKaye had a conversation with Savages’ Jehnny Beth on her Beats 1 radio show “Start Making Sense.” The Fugazi/Minor Threat/Evens frontman and co-founder of Dischord Records told stories about his life—how he fell in love with music, the discipline and meditation of skateboarding, how Dischord is a response to the “odious” record industry, and how music intertwines with major political movements. Listen to the entire episode here.
Jehnny Beth told MacKaye that he influenced her to always start shows on time, to ask for a sound check, and to make sure not to “binge on beers.” MacKaye emphasized the importance of responsibility on tour. “So Fugazi, our mantra on tour, we always said the three most important things on any tour was ‘the gig, the gig, the gig,’” he said. He talked about how Fugazi would always leave the show immediately after they were done and drive two hours toward the next town. Both MacKaye and Jehnny Beth expressed their disdain for musicians who cancel shows over sore throats.
MacKaye also talked about his early obsession with the Woodstock film and Janis Joplin’s music. He also discussed how he associated music with important political moments like the Civil Rights Movement. He also told the story of the first ever concert he ever saw—the Cramps. “The room was full of freaks,” he said of the experience.
Today, President Barack Obama granted sentence commutations to 111 federal prisoners. The White House describes the individuals whose sentences were shortened as people serving “unduly harsh sentences under outdated laws for committing largely nonviolent drug crimes.” One of the individuals granted clemency was Timothy Tyler, a Grateful Dead fan who was given a life sentence in 1994 after selling LSD to a police informant. Since it was Tyler’s third drug-related arrest, the mandatory minimum sentence was life in prison. Obama’s commutation means Tyler’s sentence ends August 30, 2018. Tyler is required to enroll in residential drug treatment.
In interviews, Tyler’s family describe him as a Deadhead who “felt at home at Dead shows.” He followed the Grateful Dead on tour, and while in prison, Tyler listened to the Grateful Dead on his mp3 player. His family had been petitioning the president to grant Tyler clemency.
Electronic artist and Kompakt co-head Michael Mayer has announced a new album called &, a follow-up to 2012’s Mantasy. It’s out October 28 via !K7 Records. Every track on the album is a collaboration. It features Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard, Friendly Fires’ Ed Macfarlane, Roman Flügel, Prins Thomas, and more. “All of those involved are good friends of mine and not random choices selected from some Top 100 list,” he said in a press release. The announcement is accompanied by Mayer’s new track with Barnt, “Und Da Stehen Fremde Menschen.”
&:
01 MichaelMayer & Roman Flügel: “We Like To Party”
02 MichaelMayer & Burger / Voigt & Voigt: “Disco Dancers”
03 MichaelMayer & Gui Boratto: “State Of The Nation”
04 MichaelMayer & Ed Macfarlane: “Mind Games”
05 MichaelMayer & Kölsch: “Germination”
06 MichaelMayer & Miss Kittin: “Voyage Interieur”
07 MichaelMayer & Joe Goddard: “For You”
08 MichaelMayer & Agoria: “Blackbird Has Spoken”
09 MichaelMayer & Hauschka: “La Compostela”
10 MichaelMayer & Prins Thomas / Irene Kalisvaart: “Comfort Me”
11 MichaelMayer & Barnt: “Und Da Stehen Fremde Menschen”
12 MichaelMayer & Andrew Thomas: “Cicadelia”
Earlier this month, Lauryn Hill announced the “MLH Caravan: A Diaspora Calling!” tour, which features “artists throughout the African diaspora.” It kicked off this week in Philadelphia. The event’s performers will include Nas (Queens), Kehlani (Oakland), Little Simz (London), Noname (Chicago), and more. The tour also added new dates in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Japan, and other cities. Find the itinerary below. The tour is presented by Tidal and Live Nation.
Previously, Hill threw the “Diaspora Calling!” charity festival in Brooklyn. Performers included Machel Montano (Trinidad), Stephen "Ragga" Marley (Jamaica), Stonebwoy (Ghana), and more. Her new tour will explicitly reference the original festival.
09-01 Chicago, IL - Ravinia !
09-02 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore !
09-04 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue !
09-09 Paris, France - Fete de L'Humanite Festival
09-11 St. Louis, MO - Loufest
09-13 Louisville, KY - The Louisville Palace
09-15-16 Toronto, Ontario - Massey Hall
09-18 Cleveland, OH - Hard Rock Live Rocksino
09-20 Columbus, OH - Palace Theatre
09-22 Indianapolis, IN - The Murat Theatre
09-24 Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park
09-25 Tuscaloosa, AL - Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
09-27 Memphis, TN - Orpheum
09-29 Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Metro Credit Amphitheatre
10-01 Boston, MA - Wang Theatre
10-13 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall ^%
10-20 Los Angeles, CA - Greek Theatre
10-25 Osaka, Japan - Zepp
10-27 Tokyo, Japan - Zepp
10-29 Yokohama, Japan - Red Brick Festival
11-01 San Diego, CA - Copley Symphony Hall
11-04 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre
11-05 San Francisco - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium *^
11-06 Seattle, WA - McCaw Hall *^
11-08 Vancouver, British Columbia - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
11-10 Portland, OR - Keller Auditorium
11-12 Las Vegas, NV - The Foundry at SLS
11-13 Phoenix, AZ - Comercia Theatre
11-27 Austin, TX - Moody Theatre
11-29 San Antonio, TX - Aztec Theater
12-01 New Orleans, LA - Saenger Theatre
12-06 Tampa, FL - Mahaffey Theater
12-08 Orlando, FL - House of Blues
12-13 Raleigh, NC - The Ritz
12-18 Silver Springs, MD - Fillmore
* with Nas
^ with Kehlani
! with Noname
% with Little Simz
Buddy Ross has been Frank Ocean’s touring keyboardist since 2012, the same year he backed up Ocean on “Saturday Night Live.” When Ocean recently released his Endless visual album, Ross was credited for synths on four tracks (“Commes Des Garcons,” “Slide on Me,” “Sideways,” and“Florida”). Ross is also listed in the credits for Ocean’s self-released new album Blonde. While song-by-song credits have yet to be published, and Ross was hesitant to go into too many specifics about his Blonde role, he told Pitchfork he played the piano intro on “Godspeed,” the synth on the first half of “Nights” before the big change, the synth pad on the first half of “White Ferrari,” all the repeating interlude music, and the musical elements of “Close to U.”
A former member of Seattle band Motopony, Ross is signed to Ariel Rechtshaid’s Heavy Duty Music Publishing, and he said he has been doing work these days for Haim, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and Kelela. Ross chatted with Pitchfork today over the phone about auditioning for the job on YouTube, how Ocean’s mysterious creative process resembles collage art, and that time Ocean almost played “SNL” with no backing band other than John Mayer.
Pitchfork: How did you first get involved with Frank?
Buddy Ross: I was in this band Motopony that I had produced. We were touring a lot back then and we had a sound guy, like, tour manager that started running monitors for Frank just before Channel Orange came out. He was in a rehearsal and they had mentioned they were looking for a keyboard player. So he had me send a video right then. I had my roommate film me in my basement playing my keys and I uploaded it to YouTube and sent it to him. And then they ended up flying me down just like a week later—the day before Channel Orange came out, like a week before the tour started.
We were just wrapping up recording Motopony’s second record that never really came out. But then I flew down and had to learn all the songs in like 24 hours before the first rehearsal. We played the first show just like five days later. But I had no idea who he was at the time. I got down there and learned the songs, and then he dropped the album.
How did it get from there to your playing on Endless and Blonde?
We toured a bunch. During soundchecks I’d always just start messing around and coming up with new little ideas, playing on the synths. He would come out and just start freestyling over stuff. I think that’s when we started first vibing together, just onstage during soundcheck. That was 2012, and then in 2013 we did a big European festival tour. After that ended, a week later I thought I was going to be home for a while and then I got a call that he wanted to meet in the studio—like a week after we got off the road. I guess those moments during soundcheck just stuck with him and he wanted to bring me in. He was super cool.
What can you tell me about your role on these projects?
I played on a bunch of the Endless stuff. I was there a lot of this year working on that. Honestly, Frank’s such a—he has this vision that no one else really is privy to. A lot of times you don’t even know what you’re working on. He just puts blinds on everybody and sends them off in their own space to just do whatever they want.
It’s been a four-year process. I think there has been stuff that maybe for some things that ended up on other things. I’m such a big fan, and I had no idea what I was going to be on until the record came out. So more than anybody, I was just waiting and anticipating the release of this so much. I knew I was hopefully going to be a part of it, but I was also just excited to hear all the little bits and pieces I had heard over the years finally come together.
When did you think it was going to actually come out?
I kind of gave up on ever holding onto anything, because I just knew that it was out of my control. I knew that when it did it would be a sweet surprise. I had no clue.
On Endless, he broke down the credits song by song, but can you discuss what you played on Blonde?
There’s one thing I did the first day I was in with him back in 2013. That was so long ago, but then hearing the record when it came out, he uses that repeating theme through all the interludes and closing out the record—like, under “Be Yourself” and “Facebook Story.” I almost forgot I had given that to him and it ended up being a recurring theme, which is super cool. Just to hear it on the day it came out, being in there.
I played on a bunch of the songs. There are just so many different versions I heard over the years. “Close to U” was something I worked on with Joe Thornalley, who goes by Vegyn. That’s something we worked on this year. I worked on “White Ferrari.” I don’t know how much of my stuff is on all that. I don’t really want to talk about all the different songs right now.
But it’s fair to say you were on a lot of the record. Did you not really hear full songs until the album?
No, I don’t think he wanted to let people have full context. He’s like a collage artist in a way. We were all these bits and pieces that he’d send off to do our thing on. But we’d never see him putting it together.
Is there anything more you can say about the process of working on the album? It sounds like it’s kind of mysterious.
It’s super mysterious! I’ve been recording for a long time and producing records to completion, but working with him, it’s like, a lot of times I get on the section of a song that he’d want me to work on, and then I’d do maybe one pass, and then he would have me move on to something else. I never felt like I really got my head around it. That’s what he would end up using. There’s this vision he has that you can’t really see yourself, but I learned to just trust his ear. And if he felt satisfied, then I just learned to be OK with that.
It’s interesting that it’s as mysterious for somebody actually playing on it as it is for the rest of us.
Yeah, it is [laughs]. I watched his subreddit. I feel like all his fans. He’s very mysterious. It’s rad to be part of something that’s so fresh and I almost feel disconnected from it in a way, because I’ve never been a part of something where I was brought in for a couple of hours to try some things and then leave and have no idea—to not remember what I even played on.
Do you know if there’s going to be a wider release of the magazine?
I saw his mom’s Instagram or something. That’s literally—I’m on the same level as all the fans out there, just waiting. I tried to get a magazine. I went to the pop-up shop and there were like 3,000 people in L.A. around the block and I couldn’t even get one.
If he does any touring or anything like that, are you still part of the live band?
Yeah, if he has a band, I’m sure I’ll be asked to be in the band. I don’t know what his plans are but if he wants a keyboard player I’m sure that I’m the dude. Because I’ve been the dude. But who knows.
Any reminiscences about when you were on “Saturday Night Live”?
Yeah, I mean, I was stuck behind John Mayer the whole time [laughs]. But yeah, “Saturday Night Live” was awesome. [Frank’s] so creative that—we were rehearsing with John Mayer as the full band, and we would run through the songs, and then we’d stop the song and then John Mayer would keep just noodling on the chords. And then Frank would be really inspired by that and start vibing on just the guitar. The band almost didn’t play. He almost just went with him and John Mayer, because he just gets so inspired by new things. Luckily, John Mayer told him you need to bring the band back, because it’s just so much better and fuller. So he did. Thanks, John, for that.
Did you get to talk to any of the “SNL” cast members?
Yeah, yeah, there was an after party. And I just mingled with Fred Armisen, and who was the guy who did “Gangnam Style”? Psy. I high-fived him during the credits but I had no idea who he was.
You do tons of other stuff. Can we talk about what you’re doing with UMO?
We’re going to write this month. I’m going to Portland next week. We’re just going to get together for a couple of weeks and see what happens. It could be stuff for the new UMO or who knows, some new stuff. But I’m super excited about that. I’m a huge fan of theirs. The way I met Ruban [Nielson] was I knew Jake [Portrait], the bass player, in Portland, and we ran into them in the Melbourne airport after a festival out there. We were waiting in line for security and Ruban told me he was a huge Frank Ocean fan. And then Frank hit me up asking if I knew any guitar players for a session, so I tweeted at Ruban, just hoping he would—basically I was trying to use Frank to get Ruban to like me, because I’m just such a huge fan. We’ve already done a few things together over the years.
What other projects are you involved with?
I moved to L.A. in December, signed with Ariel Rechtshaid’s publishing company, and I’ve been working a lot with him really closely. I’ve worked on the new Haim. He’s always passing me stuff. I did a little on Kelela’s new thing—I don’t know if what I did will make it on there. He’s always just sending me stuff, so that’s just a really cool crew to be part of.
Do you talk to Frank at all personally, or hang out together outside of the studio?
Not really. I text him sometimes. I just told him how proud I was of the record, for him.
During this weekend’s MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West debuted his new “Fade” video. It starred GOOD Music artist Teyana Taylor and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert. Now, Shumpert has capitalized on the attention by releasing a new song. It’s called “Glory,” and it samples the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll.” Stream it below. Earlier this year, Iman Shumpert released a mixtape called Shumpman: The M.D. He also won an NBA Championship.
Chris Brown has been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon following a long standoff with police at his Los Angeles home, TMZ reports. Last night, a woman named Baylee Curran called 911, alleging that Brown threatened her with a gun during a gathering at Brown's house that also included Ray J. The LAPD spent hours outside Brown’s house trying to contact him, calling in a SWAT team and starting the process of obtaining a search warrant, according to TMZ. Further TMZ reports indicated that he threw a duffel bag out of his window, which police say had “at least one gun, drugs, and other weapons” in it. Brown posted several angry Instagram videos during the standoff. Police finally entered his home with a search warrant.
In 2009, Brown was charged with felony assault against his then-girlfriend Rihanna. His probation stemming from the case ended last year. In 2012, he and Drake got into a fight outside of a New York City nightclub. It left several people injured, and Brown suffered a cut to his chin. In January 2013, he got into a fight with Frank Ocean. Ocean’s cousin sued Brown over damages, and Brown countersued. Later that year, Brown was charged with felony assault in Washington, D.C. after he and his bodyguards allegedly broke a man’s nose. The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, and Brown entered a rehab facility. After breaking internal rules at the facility in 2014, he was sentenced to 131 days in jail.
Midlake have announced a 10th anniversary reissue of their sophomore album The Trials of Van Occupanther. It will be released on 180-gram gold vinyl along with a bonus 7" containing two unreleased songs: “The Fairest Way” and “Festival.” The set will be released on October 28 via Bella Union; it will also include a poster, handwritten lyrics, and previously unseen photos. The Trials of Van Occupanther marked the band's final release with original vocalist Tim Smith and included their breakthrough single “Roscoe.” Listen to "The Fairest Way" and see the new album art below.
Read Pitchfork’s Guest List interview with Tim Smith from 2007.
The Trials of Van Occupanther:
01 Roscoe
02 Bandits
03 Head Home
04 Van Occupanther
05 Young Bride
06 Branches
07 In This Camp
08 We Gathered in Spring
09 It Covers the Hillsides
10 Chasing After Deer
11 You Never Arrived
12 Festival *
13 The Fairest Way *
“Saturday Night Live” alumnus Jay Pharoah plans to release a mixtape. The tape, which may be called Phornication, is produced by Myles Williams and Roc, he told Billboard on the VMAs white carpet. He raps and sings on the project: “I go in. No holds barred.” Watch the interview below.
Pharoah has impersonated rappers throughout his career, including Kanye West, Jay Z, Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Wayne. He’s also released several songs spoofing artists, including the Usher parody “Bad Kisser.” Phornication follows 2014’s The Resurrection. Pharoah co-hosted this year’s MTV VMAs with Key & Peele (and DJ Khaled). Earlier this month, it was announced that he would not be returning for the 42nd season of “SNL.”
During this weekend’s MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West debuted his new music video for “Fade.” The video starred GOOD Music artist Teyana Taylor and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert. In an interview with Vogue, Taylor opened up about working on the video. She discussed everything from getting the call to make the video to working in some unused Beyoncé choreography. Read some highlights from the interview below.
On old choreography originally meant for Beyoncé making it into the video:
The dance scene at the very, very end, maybe the last eight counts that I did; me and one of my homeboys Matthew Pasterisa actually made that choreography for Beyoncé for when the “End of Time” came out. She loved it but she wound up not being able to use it because she was pregnant, but back then the world didn’t know. All this time that choreography was just sitting there. And as soon as I was freestyling it just came out naturally.
On working with sheep:
Let’s talk about these sheep first, though. They were shitting all over the place—there was poop everywhere! And then little Junie is just so fearless; she’s playing with the sheep. I was just looking at Ye, like Yo, I don’t know what you got going on, but I know it’s going to be good. Because you know with Ye, you just gotta trust him. He’s a genius and you know he just got something up his sleeve.
On not getting an explanation for the cat face:
Yeah, he was just like, I’m going to put you in this cat face. It’s going to be chic. At the same time, being an actor, I love doing stuff like that—to be able to get dressed up and get out of my comfort zone. I was very excited to do something different and artistic, but since we shot backwards, at first, I didn’t know what was going on. I thought, This crazy mother-effer. He’s got 15 sheep in this gym right now, with poop all over the place. It’s crazy the thing that happens behind the scenes; my wig almost flew off. It’s just so dope to watch the final product and know all the things that went into it. From the bottom of the heart this meant so much to me.
Following a jury’s decision that “Blurred Lines” had infringed on Marvin Gaye’s "Got to Give It Up,” several musicians spoke up about the potential legal ramifications of that decision. Today, 212 musicians came together to file an amicus brief in support of Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I., asking the court to overturn the $5.3 million judgment.
Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, Danger Mouse, the Go-Go’s, Three 6 Mafia, Earth Wind & Fire, Tool, R. Kelly, Tears for Fears, Kiesza, Linkin Park, Hans Zimmer, Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump, Frank Ocean collaborator Malay, Jennifer Hudson, Jean Baptiste, and many more are showing their support. Find the full brief below via The Hollywood Reporter.
The artists’ brief, written by Ed McPherson, explains:
“Amici are concerned about the potential adverse impact on their own creativity, on the creativity of future artists, and on the music industry in general,if the judgment in this case is allowed to stand. The verdict in this case threatens to punish songwriters for creating new music that is inspired by prior works. All music shares inspiration from prior musical works, especially within a particular musical genre. By eliminating any meaningful standard for drawing the line between permissible inspiration and unlawful copying, the judgment is certain to stifle creativity and impede the creative process. The law should provide clearer rules so that songwriters can know when the line is crossed, or at least where the line is.”
Hodgy, the Odd Future MC formerly known as Hodgy Beats who makes music as one half of MellowHype, is back with a new mixtape. Dukkha is seven tracks long and features production from Thelonious Martin and the Beat Brigade. According to Hodgy, it serves as the prelude to his upcoming studio album. Listen to Dukkha below.
Watch Hodgy and Left Brain perform "La Bonita" as MellowHype in an episode of Pitchfork.tv's "+1":
