imp: The Present + Jackalope + Tom The Noisemonger @ The Tunnels

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interesting music promotions present

THE PRESENT + JACKALOPE + TOM THE NOISEMONGER

Sunday 7th December 2008

The Tunnels, Carnegies Brae, Aberdeen AB10 1BF. Phone 01224 211121

Doors 8.00pm

Tickets 5.50+bf in advance / 7 on door

Available from One-Up Records, Belmont Street, Aberdeen. Phone (01224) 642662 or http://www.ticketweb.co.uk

http://www.thetunnels.co.uk

http://www.myspace.com/interestingmusic

THE PRESENT

The Present is the new music project of legendary New York musician and producer Rusty Santos (Panda Bear Person Pitch, Born Ruffians Red Yellow & Blue, Animal Collective Sung Tongs, plus Boredoms, Ariel Pink and Vashti Bunyan collaborator). Described by one band who worked with him as a hyper boy genius, Rusty has released four solo albums, always fixing his attention on producing music that is experimentally rich whilst remaining accessible.

With the band also including Jesse Lee (Gang Gang Dance) and Japanese musician Mina, debut album World I See extracts all the weird details you didn't even know you loved from the aforementioned albums and turns them into six songs that shift between spare piano twinkles, ambient noise experiments and hazy surf guitar. Recorded stream of consciousness style, the set up is guitar, piano and drums but doesnt sound traditional at all more cinematic, ambient, experimental and tribal whilst still striking an interesting balance between tangible parts and atmospherics.

"When I listen to the sounds and the songs the name and the webs of connections and opposites remain. I can hear light and dark high and low happy and sad synthetic and organic and on and on like that forever and that's a compliment to the production and the technique I would say. Most of all I like how I feel when I listen to the music." (Panda Bear, Animal Collective)

"This record is pure instinct with no attention paid to belonging. It is raw intellect and emotion. The Present is indeed both GIFT and NOW. Open your ears and your mind will follow. God Bless this record for teaching me that." (Brian Degraw, Gang Gang Dance)

JACKALOPE

Newly born, red eyed. Howling estate flashbacks from hedgerow emancipation. Muttered verse amid throats all doubling back on themselves in crackling striation. Cheapskate keys stagger, kids toys hide in radio static, constant rebirth in this tense era.

It sounds a bit like Cabaret Voltaire and Es trying to abduct DNTEL into a thrift store orchestra while Kraftwerk shout abuse from the side.

http://www.myspace.com/jackalopehunting

TOM THE NOISEMONGER

Experimental sound effects from another ex-Wasow / The Jinx noisemonger using guitars, keyboards, computer programs and small black boxes with knobs on.

http://www.myspace.com/tomthenoisemonger

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whoops - some links

www.myspace.com/thepresentnewyork

www.myspace.com/rustysantos

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For info

Synergy in Glasgow are doing this show.

It costs 2 more there.

Result for Aberdeen gig-goers.

Oh, and Jackalope is Lazy Sheepdog's new electro thang if you didn't know already.

[ghost]

Oooh!!

(= interested)

[Guest idol_wild]

Balls. I'm in Edinburgh that night.

Absolute fucksticks.

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Balls. I'm in Edinburgh that night.

Absolute fucksticks.

I don't want excuses...

Seriously. This will be mega.

[Guest idol_wild]

Seriously. This will be mega.

I know - just the two local acts are worth the admission.

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The Gang Gang Dance folks giving The Present a few mentions in the latest Pitchfork Guest List

Gang Gang Dance | Pitchfork

Guest List by Gang Gang Dance

Welcome to the latest edition of Pitchfork's Guest List. Each week, we ask one of our favorite artists to fill us in on what they've been up to lately: which tracks they can't stop spinning, what books they can't put down, and what new bands they've caught on tour. This week it's Gang Gang Dance's Brian DeGraw, Liz Bougatsos, and Josh Diamond, who tip us off to their favorite NYC hot spots, fantasize about performing in a mythical lost city, and reveal which alternative band they refer to as "rape rock."

>> Favorite New Songs of the Past Year

Brian DeGraw: "Wearing My Rolex" by Wiley.

I can't seem to get enough of the synth sound at the beginning-- so sharp, so house-y, so satisfying.

"Stork and Owl" by TV on the Radio.

I was given the files to remix and just can't stop jammin' it. Such a great track, and the lyrics hit a very, very special place in my heart. It's pure tears of joy every time I listen to it.

"Plastic Man" by Alexis Taylor.

This is from a solo thing that Alexis made called Rubbed Out, which is really, really great.

"Street Flash" by Animal Collective [from the Water Curses EP].

When that fucked up, squirrelly vocal part comes in, I have great visuals. It's a deep lyrical tune, too. Reminds me of many a night in NYC and many intense feelings, not all of which are good.

Liz Bougatsos: Lil Wayne, any song on that new album, Tha Carter III, is rad, and I'm sicko hot for that E.T. song ["Phone Home"].

Josh Diamond: "Kokomo" by Black Dice.

I love them, they melt my brain.

"Africanized Beatniks" by the Present [Rusty Santos].

Beautiful [World I See] record and tune. Buy it now, stop wasting time.

Grime Wave by Wiley.

While there doesn't really seem to be a grime wave in sight, I love the kora samples, and he always brings his own thing, even though I heard last night he is going into his third retirement. I guess he's trying to outdo Jay-Z.

>> Favorite Older Songs at the Moment

BD: "This" by Brian Eno.

This tune is on that record Another Day on Earth, which I have been jamming ever since the day it came out, close to three years now, I think. I'm very sure that I will never tire of Eno. I get really, really excited at the word of any new Eno recording, excluding the Coldplay thing, perhaps.

"Don't Let It Die" by Hurricane Smith.

I really love the feel of this tune; it's so beautiful and awkward and crooked. It has that sort of melting off the barstool feel, but in a very glorious and confident sense. I'm a sucker for that vibe, especially when autumn is approaching.

"Brown Rice" by Don Cherry.

Brian [Weitz] from Animal Collective suggested that I hear this one, and when I gave it a listen I was really shocked that I had been missing out on it for so long. It's some sort of incredible mix of gamelan, witch chants, and children's rhymes all floating in space. Or maybe underwater. Or maybe in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption.

"Ninna Per Adulteri" by Ennio Morricone.

Don't really know what to say about this one, except that it would be a great song to die slowly and peacefully to.

LB: "Forest Nativity" by Francis Bebey.

"Brown Rice" by Don Cherry.

Another Day on Earth by Brian Eno.

JD: "Gypsy Andante" by Fritz Kreisler.

Maybe one of the most perfect performances I have ever heard.

Anything off Basement Jaxx's Summer Daze EP, for some relaxed vibes.

"Art's Plume" by Khalifa Ould Eide and Dimi Mint Abba.

Had this one for a long time, but I re-listened to it recently, and it's an epic tune, amazing lyrics, impossibly powerful singing from this Mauritanian family.

"Pass It On" by Eddie Hooper and Storm.

Really nice laid-back tune with some good spacey guitar.

Esther Phillips

Insane guitar, really nice driving music that my friend, when he heard it, said made him feel like he was on "The Love Boat". Not a bad thing in my mind.

>> Favorite New Band

BD: These Are Powers are pretty great. I haven't gotten to see them yet, but it seems like there's a magic in the energy of it that would be great to experience live.

LB: J*Davey looks interesting.

JD: The Tough Alliance.

>> Artists You Would Most Like to Collaborate With

BD: Hate to do it again, but I think it'd have to be Eno [featuring the RZA]. Wait, why should I hate to say that? Final answer.

LB: Alexis Taylor [of Hot Chip] and Dave Portner [aka Avey Tare of Animal Collective].

JD: My bandmates. So I guess I'm pretty lucky.

>> Favorite Song Ever

BD: "Ecubyan" by Jobriath, or "So Much Love to Give" by Together [DJ Falcon and Thomas Bangalter], or "Body's in Trouble" by Mary Margaret O'Hara. Unfair question.

LB: "Indian Flute" by Timbaland & Magoo.

JD: WHY?

>> Favorite Music Video at the Moment

BD: Been watching the New Order video for "The Perfect Kiss" a lot. It's really straightforward on the surface, but when you realize the choices that the director made-- where the focus of the camera goes, and how much time he spends on those things-- it gets really interesting. It's directed by Jonathan Demme. He made Silence of the Lambs, too.

LB: Jess Holzworth is workin' on the new Beck video.

JD: Black Dice's "Kokomo". Growing's "Wrong Ride".

>> Last Great Concert I Saw

BD: Growing at Santos Party House last week. They took it to new levels. The sounds were so multidimensional that I really felt as if I were part of the sonic structure. It was like being inside a piece of very colorful animation and being able to control the colors by moving your head and body in different directions. Kind of like the way La Monte Young's Dream House thing works. You mix the sounds by very subtle body movements.

LB: Tunde [Adebimpe] from TV on the Radio and Ryan Sawyer.

JD: Mahmoud Ahmed at Lincoln Center. He arrived resplendent in all white, with white hair, showing his age-- but his performance showed nothing of this. He managed to propel an otherwise crappy band, driving the rhythm with handclaps, and his voice caried deeply throughout the crowd, a good many of them Ethiopians who came from D.C. As soon as he took the stage, everyone stood up and stared dancing.

>> Last Great Film You Saw

BD: Man on Wire, about the dude who walked a tightrope between the World Trade Center towers in the 1970s. He kinda chumped his friends in the end, the people that helped him rig the whole thing. But still, I gotta give him props for pulling that shit off. An alchemist of the impossible. Well, I guess I'm appreciative of the subject matter more than the film itself. Anyway, I enjoyed the story and left the theatre in the mood to climb something tall.

LB: Control was pretty cool.

JD: Speed Racer. Saw it on the plane, pretty psychedelic and actually kind of politically radical, an inspiration for young artistic kids. Or it could have been the 14-hour plane ride doing my head in.

>> Last Great Book You Read

BD: The Safe Crackers "Wolfboy" issue.

LB: I'm reading My Life in the Bush of Ghosts at the moment.

JD: A Drink With Shane MacGowan. Still reading it, actually.

>> Favorite Piece of Musical Equipment

BD: This Eventide harmonizer thing. I don't know the real name of it because I've ben calling it "The Tweaker" for the last seven years.

LB: My roto-toms.

JD: Axon AX-100 guitar synth. That's how I make all my weird shit.

>> Favorite Record Shop

BD: Replay Records in West Haven, Conn. I think they either closed or moved, though [moved to Hamden, Conn. last year --Ed.]. Last record I got there was a Dionne Warwick 45 of "Loneliness Remembers What Happiness Forgets".

LB: [i bought] The Soul Cages by Sting.

JD: My friend Miggy sells records on the streets and he's better than any store. [i bought] a bunch of amazing reggae 12"'s.

>> First Record You Bought for Yourself

BD: Well, depends what you mean. When I was five my mom told me I could pick out a record at Caldor, the department store, and I chose a Beethoven record. I think because it was the only guy I ever heard of. I still have it. It's green, nice sleeve. But if you mean the first record I bought with my own actual hard earned money, I believe it was the "Africa" 45 by Toto or Steve Miller's Abracadabra.

JD: I think it might have been Duran Duran's Rio.

>> Favorite City to Play

BD: Until we play Atlantis, I'll have to say Lisbon. Good vibes, good friends, good air, good food, good stray dogs.

JB: New York City, baby.

JD: New York, for some family vibes.

>> My Dream Merch Table Would Have...

BD: GGD Faberg eggs?

LB: I already made tie-dye bandanas.

JD: This game we invented on tour called Haccini, it could be a sensation. Or bongs, even though I don't generally like them. They have an appeal that I'm attracted to-- or both as a set, since they would compliment each other. A Haccini/bong box.

>> Popular Band You'd Like to See Fall Into Obscurity

BD: Foo Fighters. We refer to them as "rape rock."

LB: Hmm, don't want to be a hater.

JD: The Rolling Stones, ever heard of em'?

>> Obscure Band You'd Like to See Become More Popular

BD: The Present.

LB: Guest Species in the Conference House.

JD: Hmm, I'd have to go with three: the Present, our new drummer's other band. They are amazing, and made an amazing record recently. Black Dice, I know you know who they are, but they should be huge and don't seem to get the props they deserve as true innovators, and everything they make continues to get better and better, what is it, for over 12 years now. Growing, amazing new record, and their live show keeps getting more and more insane. They will be playing part of our U.S. tour in November. Come and check them out.

>> Strangest Display of Affection You've Received From a Fan

BD: I was given a slip of paper with the following written on it: "TV A [sic] American Bison Society interrogation techniques advice on dealing with blind people egret hunters Japanese relocation appendicitis syndromes."

LB: A guy fell into Brian DeGraw's keyboard once in Tokyo. I think he was on acid. I found that affectionate.

JD: Fans generally keep their distance from me. I must be really terrifying.

>> Best Purchase of the Past Year

BD: Vegan chicken sandwich from Saigon Vietnamese Sandwich shop in Little Italy. Ridiculous.

LB: Sandalwood face mist.

JD: Two pairs of $10 slip-on shoes. I feel so light on my feet. Though at the moment they are a little wet from the rain, so I resent them a little.

>> Best Thing I Did This Year

BD: Played chess and horseshoes for four days straight.

LB: Dug up mussels from the bay.

JD: Probably the 88BOADRUM. That was insane. Or just getting stoked. I know that sounds ridiculous, but trust me, it's a good thing.

>> Favorite Venue

BD: Death By Audio in Brooklyn. It is what it is, which seems rare nowadays. Zebulon is good, too. It reminds me of places in Manhattan that existed 10 years ago, places that weren't afraid of free jazz. On the larger side, I would say the Apollo and Webster Hall are good'ns.

LB: Santos Party House.

JD: Our practice space.

>> Favorite TV Show at the Moment

BD: I like to get a little stoney and watch "The Cosby Show".

LB: "Entourage".

JD: "The Rockford Files".

>> Favorite Video Game at the Moment

BD: I had to give up the Playstation because I bought one over the winter when I was really depressed. I thought it would help me numb my brain a little, and it did. But I'm feeling a lot better now so I don't really need it. It's covered in dust.

LB: "Pac Man", always.

JD: Pass.

>> Favorite Radio Show

BD: I like to get sentimental and listen to gogoradio.com. When it's working.

LB: Rebel Radio. It was pirate radio that came out of London.

JD: East Village Radio has some good ones.

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Sunday night folks...

I loved the production on the Panda Bear album, so this should be amazing.

[chilli]

The presense of Jesse Lee from Gang Gang Dance make this excellent gig worth attending...............

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The presense of Jesse Lee from Gang Gang Dance make this excellent gig worth attending...............

Damn right.

This will be in T1.

Nothing in T2, so no audio interference from the neighbours.

Lovely.

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and here's a wee review of the album...

The Present, Rusty Santos, Panda Bear, Animal Collective: The Present - Reviews - Crawdaddy!

The Present

World I See

(LOAF, 2008)

Listening to World I See, the debut album from the Present, a project by prophetic New York producer Rusty Santos, it is easy to hear the ethereal mark he left on albums such as Animal Collectives Sung Tongs, Panda Bears Person Pitch, and Born Ruffians Red Yellow & Blue. In fact, much of Animal Collectives signature pandemonium is contained in World I See, but stripped to its barest form.

Each of the six songs on the album contains hundreds of elements that, when combined, make World I See sound less like manmade music and more like the environmental noises of a remote and bizarre planet. In fact, when a human voice or acoustic instrument becomes distinguishable in the mix, it sounds foreign, while the robotic and cold sounds seem at home in Santos bent and feral vision.

Album opener Heavens on Ice is a 13-minute-plus crowded and cavernous track that rides over major chords with hints of skipping guitar and synth tickling the surface of the song like dragonflies on a lake. But before long, the major chords have dissipated, and strange plinks and plunks punctuate semi-human moans, which turns into a round of chorale-style humming voices. Screeching strings take over next, then swishing robotic noises and far away siren calls.

The albums title track, World I See, opens with chimes and slightly arrhythmic echoing drum hits and eerie synthesizers follow like foghorns over a stormy sea, leading to a chorus of frantic voices that layers in over the percussion in a chaotic melee. As a midpoint, Love Melody is gentle and comforting. Tinkling piano keys flit through the misty ether created by rolled cymbals and theremin noise, but just as soon as calm sets in, the voices are back, this time like robotic bullfrogs over a thump that sounds like a beating heart.

When the percussion and piano begin to magnetically cooperate near the end of Symbols on High, it is stirring, as its the first real taste of a rock song contained on the album. Its a taste of familiarity after spending so long in unfamiliar surroundings, and it plays with the listeners sense of humanity. Immediately after, as Africanized Beatniks begins, the sounds of frantically snapping fingers seem to come from everywhere and melt into the sound of falling rain. It serves as a reminder that all sounds, both human and those of nature, are related. It seems to be Santos overriding point with this beautiful opus: The sounds of robots can drive you to human emotion, and the sounds of humanity can become those of inanimate falling water. Your environment is relative to your perspective. Your ears can both deceive and delight you.

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and here's what the lovely people at Norman Records have to say about it...

World I See, by The Present (CD, 11.79, Lo:AF)

What we say - This record left our Clint feeling happy.

It comes as no suprise this 'Rusty' guy from The Present was involved in the Panda Bear album 'Perfect Pitch' which everyone in the entire world (but me) loves as if it was one of their own children. This album called 'World I See' has the same hazy, ethereal quality but instead of sing song Brian Wilson-isms it stretches out in a more non-linear way with reverbed guitars, scattershot percussion and what I think are distant bells. Its a magnificently grand sound that very closely recalls the Liars brilliant 'Drum's Not Dead' album. Don't go expecting actual 'songs' now- its a much more experimental work but actually is all the better for it. Brought to you by the ever reliable people at Loaf.

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Number Two gig of the week in the Guardian!

Tonight y'all!

[free tibet]

Seriously. This will be mega.

You were not wrong there, a fantastic nights entertainment. Many thanks IMP

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You were not wrong there, a fantastic nights entertainment. Many thanks IMP

It was a night of brilliant performances all round.

Unfortunately it was also a night of pretty poor turnouts which means less likelihood of this type of event happening in the future if people aren't going to support it.

[flyingsinatra]

It was a night of brilliant performances all round.

Absolutely, Tom and Pete did all us ex-Jinxians proud, well all two of us. The crowd was rather thin around the edges but the people that were there seemed highly appreciative of the music that was on display.

Oh and the Present wern't half bad either

Another great show IMP, keep up the good work!