M83 - A Guitar and a Heart?

I caught M83 at Cargo on Monday night and they were pretty good. Not amazing, as expected, but perhaps the crowd being composed of mostly loudmouth jerks didn't help matters. The show sold out weeks ago yet the majority of people around me were engaged in group discussions of non-M83-related matters for the entire performance. Bizarre.

Curiously, Anthony Gonzalez's only comment during the entire show was "Can we do something about these lights? They're awful." A couple of halfhearted thankyous closer to the end of the set didn't exactly engage the audience. The fact that my favourite M83 track, "Unrecorded", didn't make an appearance and confusion over the aborted second encore (lights stay off; crowd screams for 10 minutes; manager announces that band will not return; lights go on) also soured the night a bit. Still, it was great to hear old stuff like "Don't Save Us From the Flames", "Run Into Flowers" and "A Guitar and a Heart" mixed in with solid new material including "Couleurs", "Graveyard Girl" and "Kim & Jessie".

And hey, if you're a fan of post/drone/kraut rock check out openers Kontakte. They were great.

M83 - Graveyard Girl (Yuksek Remix)

- a.m.p.m.

M83: Back to the Future

Remember those Simple Minds, Outfield, and Stone Roses songs? The ones where saccharine power chords and synthesizers would melt into the vocals? Maybe that's too specific or simply an act of misremembering (I should run for office), but if certain tracks from 2005's Before the Dawn Heals Us hinted of that direction (and ignoring the ambient detour of Digital Shades), then the the new M83 album Saturdays=Youth dives into that pool of influence from 30 meters. Pick your favorite goofy but generally life-affirming 80's movie and picture some of these songs in the background...it's eerily awesome how well Anthony Gonzalez has captured that period in every minute arrangement and adjustment on songs like "Kim & Jessie" and especially "Graveyard Girl."

If as a whole Saturdays=Youth was treated with four coats of varnish the aforementioned tracks wouldn't be nearly as good. Luckily for us the rest of the album is varied with some Air-tinged loungers, the pulsing gloom of lead-single "Couleurs," and the Eno-ambient closer "Midnight Souls Still Remain." This isn't his best work, but it's no slouch. If there's one French album you'll buy this year, it ought to be Sebastien Tellier's Sexuality. If your tax return is kind, buy this one as well.

M83 - Graveyard Girl
M83 - Kim & Jessie
M83 - We Own the Sky

- B.A.

The Tuesday Mash

After a year and a half of being absolutely bombarded by mash ups one would think that I would start to grow weary of them. Fortunately this is not the case. This morning my good friend Chris a.k.a Ludachris a.k.a the BEAST sent me a killer mash up. M83 vs Aphex Twin vs. Khia.

I'm not a big fan of the lyrics; "My Neck / My Back / Lick my pussy and my Crack" but the sound has great flow and the M83 + Aphex beat is pure chillz.

Ch-ch-check it out.

[MP3]: Pussy Licker - M83 v. Aphex Twin v. Khia

Cheers,
MF Blaz

Street Lights For a Ribcage

Most of us at Bridging the Atlantic dig the likes of M83 for making dark, chilling, and challenging electronic music that pays homage to early digital soundtracks and the earliest shoegazer artists like My Bloody Valentine. A Seattle-based band on the rise go by the name Sleepy Eyes of Death, borrowed from a successful Japanese film series from the 60's, and certainly belong alongside M83 in the crop who grew up inspired by the Blade Runner score and the ominous potential of electronic melody. Their debut full length Street Lights for a Ribcage was released earlier this year and failed to garner much interest from bloggers, though I'm thankful I happened to hear a song from that record this past week. The band contains a full-time sound, light, smoke, and theatrics member who ensures that live shows flesh out the cinematic force of their songs. If France's M83 has heard these guys, there may be a problem figuring out the influence/inspiration/ intellectual property rights distinction, but in my books good ideas are meant to borrowed.

M83 also have a new ambient project hitting shelves entitled Digital Shades Vol. 1, which Bridging the Atlantic will feature this coming week.

Sleepy Eyes of Death - Eyes Spliced Open (YSI)
M83 - Fields, Shorelines and Hunters (YSI)

- Brad

Edit, Copy, Paste

DJ Copy started to get noticed when he dropped his Diva Mixtape Vol. 1, where he remixed the R & B stylings from the likes of Destiny's Child, TLC, and Mariah Carey into tracks that sound like they were produced on that Commodore 64 in your basement. Next, he performed similar remixes with some of the most notable tracks from Bone Thugs N Harmony's East 1999 album, and I couldn't have been more excited. I was reliving the days when I would constantly play this cassette on the bus ride to school, but now with an electro dance rock spin on it. Now, with the release of his full length album Hair Guitar, DJ Copy demonstrates that his knack for making danceable 8-bit remixes carries over amazingly well to his own solo creations. The result is just over 40 mins. of some of the best hip-hop electro beats you've heard. One of the great things about Copy is that he keeps things relativley simple. The tracks don't get lost in multiple layers or overdone effects. Copy takes his beat, a few lines that work, and leaves everything else. Hair Guitar has been compared to the likes of Ratatat, M83, and Justice, for his ability to make tracks that you'll want to bob your head to over and over again.
Be sure to order your copy of Hair Guitar at Audio Dregs, and if you're quick enough, you might still get that Bone Thugs N Copy CD free with your order.

- Matty B.

DJ Copy - This is Promotional (YSI)
DJ Copy - See you around maybe (YSI)
Bone Thugs N Harmony - Can't Give it up (DJ Copy Remix) (YSI)