Radiohead Eyeing Unique Label Deals for Rainbows CD
Would work with XL, Side One, and Dave Matthews' label, retain ownership

Well, at least it ain't Starbucks. As rumored for a little while-- and reported this morning in The New York Times-- Radiohead are, in the Times' words, "close to signing a series of deals to release [In Rainbows] independently and leave the major record companies behind."

The proposed deals would have Thom Yorke and the boys working with Coran Capshaw-- Dave Matthews Band manager and co-owner, along with Matthews himself and others, of ATO Records-- in the United States. Radiohead would release In Rainbows on CD next year through ATO in tandem with another Capshaw venture, Side One Recordings.

Meanwhile, XL Recordings-- which put out Thom Yorke's The Eraser last year-- would "market the album internationally."

What's more, the unique deals would allow Radiohead to retain ownership of their recording while licensing the album "for a specific period of time."

Radiohead's publicist could neither confirm nor deny this report.

In Rainbows, as if you needed reminding, is out now digitally; Radiohead will also independently issue a discbox version in December, and they plan to tour next year.

Villalobos, Shackleton, Appleblim on Skull Disco Comp

Skull Disco: is it a label? Well, yeah. A collective? Indeed, inasmuch as the dubstep imprint's co-heads and fellow music makers Shackleton and Appleblim roll pretty tight. And you'll soon have the label/collective's legacy at your fingertips, as tomorrow (October 23), Rough Trade will issue a 19-track compilation of Skull Disco's greatest tracks (including one Villalobos remix).

All of these cuts are lifted from Skull Disco's original 12"s, which makes the tracks technically new to the world of lasers and ASCII and stuff. The set, dubbed Soundboy Punishments, drops on two CDs and as a digital download. [MORE...]

Trail of Dead Leave Interscope, Reveal Tour Dates
Fans so divided on whether to go or just stay in their basements watching cartoons

Photo by © Rachael Warner

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (and Our Bread) recently revealed the dates of their Adult Swim-sponsored tour of colleges with "Metalocalypse" band Dethklok. And they've also revealed a healthy portion of small club shows to accompany the tour, and those shows have already begun.

TOD's next show is in Nashville tomorrow, October 23, and the Adult Swim tour begins in Albuquerque on October 29.

Exciting in a different sort of way: Trail of Dead have parted ways Interscope Records-- or "prison," as the press release on the matter colorfully refers to it-- and they plan to re-enter the studio early next year to get to work on their sixth LP and So Divided follow-up. Producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon, So Divided) will be at the helm.

What's more, the band is planning a "Not So Greatest Hits" collection (aka (s)HITS), and frontman Conrad Keeley has taken his artistic muse for a spin: he will be selling ballpoint pen sketches from his Blue Series and other works during another, to-be-announced spring TOD tour. [MORE...]

Output Says Goodbye With Retrospective Set, Remixes

About a year ago, we said goodbye to Output Recordings, the hyperprogressive UK dance label helmed by Trevor Jackson. Output had a fine run in its day, making ten years' worth of strange sounds well-suited for both dance floor shaking and chin-stroking-- sometimes both at the same time!

Output's new output might've dried up, but they're back to say goodbye with one last hurrah. Selections from the Output discography have been compiled and reissued as I Hate Music: A Compilation of Output Recordings 1996-2006, double CD/single DVD set the label will release November 12.

The CDs gather 30 tracks from the Output catalog, including gems by Four Tet, Fridge, Mu, Black Strobe, and Jackson's own Playgroup. The DVD collects 37 videos from the same crew.

Noticeably absent are cuts from the Rapture and LCD Soundsystem; the press release for the compilation explains that this is "due to 'monsters' and major label bullshit." Monsters? Ah, that would be a reference to Jackson's statement that one of the reasons he shuttered the label was "I saw people I thought were my friends turn into monsters." Yikes.

I Hate Music is the last release from Output; the companion remix 12" I Hate... Remixes is the first release from new label Process Recordings. It features Output tracks by Colder, Kreeps, Dempsey, and Lopazz, remixed by Optimo, Mungolian Jet Set, Tomas Almgren and Nutaike, respectively. It also lands November 12. [MORE...]

Thrill Jockey Unveils Anniversary Box Set Details
David Byrne covers the Fiery Furnaces, the Sea and Cake cover Califone, Arbouretum team with Beach House's Victoria Legrand

Without even making us pin the tail on the donkey, the folks over at Thrill Jockey have finally revealed the tracklist and release date of their limited edition, 180-gram-vinyl, 7"-only, 15th anniversary compilation box set. (Don't worry, we're experiencing information overload too.)

The spiffy package of Thrill Jockey artists covering their favorite Thrill Jockey tunes features re-workings from David Byrne, the Fiery Furnaces, Tortoise, Califone, the Sea and Cake, Arbouretum (featuring Victoria Legrand from Beach House!), Pit er Pat, Archer Prewitt, Bobby Conn, Howe Gelb, Adult., Angela Desveaux, Eleventh Dream Day, Sue Garner, John Parish, the Lonesome Organist, the National Trust, Pullman, the Chicago Underground Quartet, Nobukazu Takemura, Giant Sand, Thalia Zedek, Freakwater, and the Zincs.

The box set will be available first at the label's ATP-sponsored anniversary shows at London's Koko on November 11 and 12. Thrill Jockey will then release it in the UK on December 3 and the next day in the U.S. An alphabetical list of the box's tracks-- there are 18 across nine 7"s-- is after the jump.

Finally, the label is planning an anniversary event similar to the London shows to take place in Chicago sometime in December. [MORE...]

Strut Label Reborn, Preps Grandmaster Flash, Moroder

For a few years around the turn of the millennium, the UK-based Strut imprint was a beat-digger's golden goose, churning out choice comps packed with rare and classic tracks covering everything from disco to early hip-hop to afrobeat. Then, in 2003, Strut closed up shop. The people wept, and the genres of disco, afrobeat, and hip-hop were soon forgotten.

Now the people can rejoice once more, as dance/electronic mavens !K7 have revived the Strut imprint, with designs on some ace releases in 2008.

Tops on the agenda is the first studio album in ten years from recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash. Flash began recording this one just last month and promises (via a press release) "the emphasis [placed] firmly on jump-up party anthems...[and] a mouth-watering line-up of guests." Just be sure to wipe your mouths before the jumping up and partying.

The as-yet-untitled Grandmaster Flash LP is due next year and will be a joint release between Strut and Flash's Adrenaline City Entertainment.

After that, stay tuned for another installment in the excellent Disco Not Disco series, a collection from mustachioed disco godfather Giorgio Moroder titled Evolution, and a set of Eddy Grant's disco work.

Strut's founder Quinton Scott will serve as A&R guy for Strut 2.0.

A Pro Hockey Player, a Noise Label, a Dream Realized

How's this for the next Will Ferrell movie? A professional hockey player grows tired of the usual Nickelback and Bon Jovi pre-game pump up jams and begins surreptitious nightly excursions into the underground psych and noise scenes. While playing for the Red Wings, he attends a Dead Meadow gig in Detroit and there meets an ex-member of the Dirtbombs who used to put out Pavement and Don Caballero records and now works for Warner Bros. The two become friends, gush about Boris and Sunn O))) together, and decide to start a limited-run label specializing in psych/noise releases. Then they live happily ever after.

Also, there's a romantic interest played by Audrey Tautou and a scene where Ferrell accidentally eats a hockey puck while dining at a Tim Hortons. Genius!

Best of all, this one would be Based on a True Story, as the above synopsis more or less tells the tale of upstart Macomb, Michigan imprint Elevation Recordings. The hockey player, Boyd Devereaux, now plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Warner guy, Joe Greenwald, used to run the label Third Gear. And they really did meet at a Dead Meadow show.

Elevation likes releasing things in the EP format and likes to keep those EPs limited to 5,000 copies or less. Thus far they've put out two records: doom-gazers Nadja's Guilted by the Sun EP and psych-rockers Residual Echoes' Firsts EP. Coming soon are EPs from Black Mountain offshoot Blood Meridian, Easy Action (led by Negative Approach frontman/meanest looking dude alive John Brannon), and Wellwater Conspiracy (which includes Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron).

While details are still falling into place on the latter two releases, the Blood Meridian EP is tentatively titled Liquidate Paris. It will feature nine songs and will be Elevation's first vinyl release, limited to a mere 500 copies. Label and band hope to have it ready in time for the upcoming Black Mountain tour.

Luaka Bop Gets U.S. Distro, Live Mutantes Due Stateside

When last we checked in with Luaka Bop, the David Byrne-spawned imprint with a flair for the global, the label had found itself in a U.S. distribution-less limbo state following the dissolution of the Stateside branch of V2.

That was back in February. Now, with August on its way out the window, the Bop is back with a brand new distribution deal and a bevy of chic releases on the agenda.

Having partnered with North Carolina-based Redeye Distribution (whose clientele includes Daptone, Gern Blandsten, Kanine, GSL, Yep Roc, and Flameshovel, among others), the newly reinvigorated Luaka Bop will first conjure up that previously mentioned double disc live set from perennial favorites Os Mutantes. Titled Os Mutantes Live at the Barbican Theatre, London 2006, the release pretty much speaks for itself, no? Note also that said London show, from May 22, 2006, was the Mutantes' first in some 33 years and featured guest appearances from Devendra Banhart and Noah Georgeson.

Os Mutantes Live, which dropped UK-ways back in July, is due in the U.S. this November. A separate DVD of the gig is expected to follow in January 2008. For now, check out Os Mutantes Live cut "Ave Lucifer" below.

After that comes What's Happening in Pernambuco: New Sounds of the Brazilian Northeast, the seventh volume in the Brazil Classics series, which the UK got back in March. This compilation collects celebrated sounds from the Northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco, including representative cuts from the Mangue Beat movement. Listen to Mombojó's "Cabidela", off What's Happening, by clicking the link below. The compilation is due Stateside in February 2008.

Luaka Bop returns to the Northern Hemisphere with the release of the latest record from sage folkie Jim White. Transnormal Skipperoo includes guest turns from Laura Veirs and Tucker Martine, among others, and was produced by Joe Pernice and Michael Deming. It arrives October 1 in the UK and Europe, with a North American release planned for March 2008. White has a handful of October shows lined up as well, listed for your convenience below.

After that, brace yourselves for the latest release from Brazilian trio the +2s, known for rotating their chief songwriter/producer with each release. This time around, Alexandre Kassin takes the reins for the previously mentioned Kassin+2 release Futurismo. Put out this past April across the pond, Futurismo will finally crash U.S. shores in April of next year. John McEntire (Tortoise, the Sea and Cake) and Sean O'Hagan (High Llamas) guest on the LP.

Finally, Luaka Bop keeps rolling along with the May 2008 (plenty of time to save up for this one!) U.S. release of Nobody Can Live Forever: The Essential Soul of Tim Maia. Esteemed as the "Brazilian Funk Soul Godfather", Maia should strike a chord with the Sun Ra fan in all of us, and this collection sums up his otherworldly charms. [MORE...]

Numero Group Spawns New Asterisk Label

Welcome to Asterisk, a new imprint from the Numero Group dedicated-- or so they say-- "to illuminated, omitted, footnoted, and unattested sounds." Continuing in Numero's fine tradition of crate-digging and beat-mining, this here Asterisk has announced a multifarious trio of inaugural releases, all out September 25, that sound awful good on paper.

Hartford, Connecticut's Johnny Lunchbreak-- described as a kind of Velvets/Modern Lovers thing-- were originally rediscovered in 2004 on an obscure acetate and reissued in a limited run on LP. Asterisk hunted down the original tapes, and the record became Appetizer/Soup's On.

The Four Mints' Gently Down Your Stream began its life as an LP on the Columbus, Ohio Capsoul label-- which, as you may recall, was the first obscure soul label whose catalog was anthologized by Numero. But when Asterisk happened upon some prime unreleased Four Mints cuts, they moved on bulking up the original Gently Down Your Stream LP.

Boulder, Colorado folk collective Propinquity's self-titled (and only) album also gets a reissue, with its ten original tracks supplemented by a couple unreleased cuts and a few from a 1971 compilation. Group member Carla Sciaky herself showed up on Numero's Wayfaring Strangers comp, a successful find that spawned this reissue.

Additonally, Asterisk will release a self-titled disc by Boscoe November 6, though we know nothing about it beyond the release date and tracklist. Those cats don't even have an All Music Guide entry! More like Most Music Guide, eh? [MORE...]

Hometapes Gets Absolutely Kosher / Misra Distribution

Absolutely Kosher and Misra's indie empire just got a little bigger with the addition of a distribution deal between the two partnered labels and the Boulder, Colorado-based Hometapes imprint.

Founded by Little Rock natives and frequent relocaters Adam Heathcott and Sara Padgett Heathcott, Hometapes has quite a few forthcoming releases on its plate. They include a Brad Laner (Medicine, Electric Company) solo album, the debut from Bear in Heaven, and records by the Caribbean (the previously reported Populations), Pattern Is Movement, and Miami's (not Vermont's) Feathers.

Kitsune Brings 4, Clothing Line to U.S.

Parisian label/art collective Kitsuné will make its debut on U.S. CD shelves in late November with the release of Kitsuné Maison 4 on Stately shores. Those with elephant-like memories will remember the fourth volume in the compilation series as the one with contributions from Feist, Crystal Castles, and Darkel.

In non-recorded news, another Kitsuné product is already available in the U.S.: its clothing line. Featured in 30+ worldwide retailers, including NYC shops Jeffrey and Bloomingdale's, the line includes Kitsuné's own designs in addition to collaborations with the likes of the Rapture, Air, and Daft Punk. Dear God, please let this mean we can buy a robot helmet.

Monitor Imprint We*Are*Free Signs Yeasayer, Ponytail
Also Indian Jewelry

Monitor Records chief Jason Foster has launched a new Monitor subsidiary, We*Are*Free, which serves as both a record label and management group. The label debuted with the already available debut single and forthcoming debut album from Brooklyn quartet Yeasayer.

The single-- "2080" / "Sunrise"-- has no official commercial release and is available for free download at the link below. Yeasayer's full-length, All Hour Cymbals, will arrive on October 30.

The Baltimore-based label's next releases include full-lengths from Ponytail and Indian Jewelry, and all three bands on its roster have tour dates in the upcoming weeks, including a Yeasayer tour with Shapes and Sizes in September.

In other, very minimal Monitor news, there is rumor of a possible new release from Oxes on some undetermined future date. [MORE...]

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)