On the heels of her "Conatus" world tour, Nika Roza Danilova was offered an opportunity to perform at one of the most prestigious modern art museums in the world, NY's Guggenheim. Rather than doing her standard Zola Jesus electronic set she decided she wanted to work with a classical composer who could arrange her songs for a quartet. She recruited legendary industrial pioneer JG Thirlwell (Foetus) to do the arrangements. Since his work as Foetus in the early 80's New York no-wave scene, JG has been scoring and composing symphonic arrangements for his own project Manoerxia, in addition to currently scoring Adult Swim's Venture Brothers series. If there is a common thread to Thirlwell's varied musical styles, it is dramatic intensity and evocative, cinematic quality. Thirlwell's oeuvre runs the gamut from orchestrations, big band, and cathartic noise-rock to abstract electronics, sound sculpture, and chamber music, thus making him the perfect collaborator to help realize Danilova's vision. Danilova explains her intentions with this album, 'Versions is about the bone of the music; taking approximations from past records and turning them inside out. With all framework exposed, the songs are given a new medium in which to evolve and bloom into their own tiny worlds.' The show went over amazingly well with the Village Voice proclaiming that Zola Jesus 'conquered the Guggenheim' and eMusic writing, 'Nika Roza Danilova's performance was not confined by the normal genres and subgenres we affix to music, it was truly art.' Removing the bulk of electronics from these songs gives them the space to breath, thusly opening them up to be received by a much wider audience who perhaps don't normally venture into the techno-pop/ industrial arena. Look for select Zola Jesus dates this fall with JG and quartet in Berlin, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Seattle, New York and Paris, including a stop at Asheville's Mountain Oasis Festival.

Destruction Unit are an American band formed in the Sonoran desert of Arizona. Formed by Ryan Rousseau, D. Unit was initially a synth-heavy three piece whose other members were Jay Reatard and Alicja Trout (Lost Sounds); likewise Rousseau was also in the Reatards before Jay went solo. Born out of the nucleus of the Memphis Goner Records scene and transplanted into Tempe, AZ, Rousseau has grown the band in the last few years into a full sonic assault, which now includes three guitar players (himself, Nick Nappa & Jesco Aurelius), his brother Rusty Rousseau on bass, and a 19 year-old classically trained drummer, Andrew Flores. This line-up has released several cassettes on their own label Ascetic House, a small run LP, Void on Jolly Dream and most recently a limited edition 7 on Suicide Squeeze. Deep Trip is their 1st proper studio album, produced by Ben Greenberg of The Men, Hubble & Pygmy Shrews at Vacation Island in NY. Morphine boogie for the 21st century noise addict.

New Zealand band Surf City s forthcoming album continues their love affair with psychedelic, reverb-swathed guitar pop, drawing from their Flying Nun forefathers The Clean & The Chills, as well as the fuzzed-up dream pop of The Jesus & Mary Chain and the loopy noise of Animal Collective. This time round the songwriting is stronger, the tunes are hookier and the sound is even more lush. Named after a random snippet of overhead conversation in a crowded South Korean bar, The Album captures a haze of broken connections, isolation in the belly of the city. Recorded in snippets from different corners of the world New Zealand, New York & South Korea - this is their second to be released via London label Fire Records. Initially a 4-piece formed by Davin Stoddard and Josh Kennedy with Josh s brother Jamie on bass and Logan Collins on drums, Surf City released their debut EP in 2008. Arch Hill went on to put out their debut album Kudos domestically in 2010, before it was released worldwide by Fire Records. The album enjoyed plaudits from the likes of Stereogum, who praised their impressively assured sound and perfect 2-minute pop storm. Pitchfork noted that their punky psychedelic pop is impressive and admitted Surf City s pleasure for pleasure s sake approach already has me pining for more. The band toured the US and NZ/Australia before taking a brief hiatus while Davin did a good amount of travelling. Josh became a father and left the band and Davin moved to New York, where he found a basement studio in Chinatown and began to work on the new album. He soon realized that the Big Apple wasn t really for him (revealed in the song NYC ). He returned to New Zealand and continued recording. He soon found himself in South Korea, teaching English, and far removed from everyone he knew. Filling so many of his late nights and early mornings with recording additional vocals and guitar parts in his apartment, the paper-thin walls would eventually cause the tenants who lived upstairs to move out as a result. During this time Davin was listening to a lot of Bob Dylan, Scott Walker & Leonard Cohen, who all coloured the lyrical style that appears on the album. In many ways it s a sad record, reflecting the loneliness and introspection that can occur whilst traveling and spending a vast amount of time alone on buses or trains or in airports with these legendary songwriters on repeat. It s also a very modern record with songs like I Had the Starring Roll talking about days spent on the internet with a tinfoil hat, talking about all the problems in the world but not being able to solve the dilemma about being with the one you want. NYC talks about the constant insecurities about being in the band and how we compare popularity by how many facebook likes we have. Its in some ways a massive progression from Kudos, with richer context, deeper lyrics and a melancholy undertow. Musically, the band have developed their signature reverb-heavy fuzz rock in to something more gutsy but whilst retaining a keen ear for melody to create some unforgettable tunes.

2013 release from the New York Alt-Rock duo. Mixing Psychedelia and Stoner Rock, While Hills describe their sound as 'fuzzed out motorik spacerock.' Guitarist Dave W. is the primary singer Of White Hills, but bassist Ego Sensation also contributes vocals, and sings lead on some songs. Many of their tracks are long instrumental pieces.

Ben Frost is an Australian musician, composer, record producer, sound designer and director best known for his pioneering electronic music

Ben Frost is an Australian musician, composer, record producer, sound designer and director best known for his pioneering electronic music

Ben Frost is an Australian musician, composer, record producer, sound designer and director best known for his pioneering electronic music

Henry Fool's Men Singing is an ambitious four track instrumental album featuring members of No-Man, I Monster and Roxy Music. Sometimes playful, sometimes intense, sometimes eerie and ethereal, Men Singing is equal parts dynamic drums, spiky guitars and atmospheric washes of fluttering flutes and vintage keyboards. Produced and arranged by band founders keyboardist Stephen Bennett and guitarist Tim Bowness (Steven Wilson's creative partner in No-Man), the album has been mixed by Jarrod Gosling (I Monster/Regal Worm), who also contributes Mellotron, glockenspiel and the wonderfully surreal artwork. Appearing on Everyone In Sweden and Man Singing, Phil Manzanera's legendary guitar skills can be heard in the context of long-form instrumental music for the first time since his celebrated stint in 1970s mavericks Quiet Sun. Other contributions come from Brian Eno collaborator and Slow Electric member Peter Chilvers (bass), lead guitarist Michael Bearpark, Andrew Booker (drums), Myke Clifford (sax/flute) and classical violinist Steve Bingham, all of whom have worked live with No-Man or as part of London underground club, Improvizone. Mastered by award-winning Pink Floyd sound engineer, Andy Jackson.

Moderat is an electronic music project that originated in Berlin, Germany. It started as a collaboration between Sascha Ring, also known as Apparat, and Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary, also known as Modeselektor. Their first full length album was released seven years after their first EP, due to some creative disagreements and different opinions on how they should work.
The album Moderat has received mostly favorable reviews.
In March 2012, Modeselektor announced on their Facebook fanpage that they would start work on a second album later that year.
In February 2013 band announced their second album titled II. It is set to release through Modeselektor’s Monkeytown Records on August 2.
As the band says:
“We have known each other for 12 years now, and during that time we haven’t really changed that much: We are still three guys mostly talking about hihats and tape machines while hanging out in the studio… [II] is, again and again, an experiment of exploring our similarities and differences and to interlace them to something new and exciting.”

The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation is the heavy droning improv incarnation of The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. The music taps into the blistering low-frequency guitar soundscapes, augmented with smatterings of electronic skullduggery and eruptions of cello and trombone. The overall effect of this ensemble conjures expansive sonic wastelands which seem to heighten in sludgy intensity as the sessions go on. Combining subtlety with mightily impressive cinematic-sounding climaxes. Across draughty plateaus of bottom-heavy bluster, arcs of grim string instruments sound out, making for a surprisingly digestible bout of improvisational doom.
T.M.F.D.J.C release their 5th live album ‘Roadburn’. Recorded live April 12th 2012 at the famous Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, where the Corporation had the honor of opening on the main stage on Sunday at the Festival’s Afterburner.
‘Roadburn’ is The Corporations heaviest and darkest journey into abstract alien industrial territories. During this show the animations of Harry Smith guided the band through this darkened journey of colossal darkness…