Orange Alert's Music Minute

This was a week for signings:

Bon Iver signs with Jagjaguwar Listen to: Skinny Love (mp3)
No Kids sign with Tomlab Listen to: For Halloween (mp3)
Russian Circles sign with Suicide Squeeze Listen to: Death Rides a Horse (mp3)
Radiohead signs with XL Recordings
Morrissey also announced that he is signing a new record deal, but he has not revealed the label.

Flying White Dots is a DJ out of Brighton, England and two weeks ago he released one of the most remarkable mashup albums I've heard im a long time. "Into The Great Unknown" is more atmosheric then most mashup albums, drawing inspiration from artists like The Orb and KLF. It samples a wide range of sounds including Beck, Damon Albarn, Plaid, Ennio Morricone, The Cure, Marvin Gaye and Spiritualized and at one point mixes Squarepusher with Elton John, all pieced together with some trippy sound effects to take you on a journey.

You can download the album here, and you can find more about FWD in my interview with him coming later this month.

As you know, the Annuals / Manchester Orchestra tour has officially begun. In celebration, they are offering a chance to enter the official MANNUALS MASHUP CONTEST over at PureVolume.com. Here's the deal: you take an Annuals song, mash it up with a Manchester Orchestra song, and enter for a chance to win an acoustic Epiphone guitar signed by both bands, a copy of Annuals' Be He Me and Manchester Orchestra's I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child, the bands' exclusive split 7" (only sold at their shows) and a limited edition lithograph of the 7" artwork.

Five runners up will get the CDs, the 7" and the lithograph.

Enter HERE and get mashing!

First Nation has become Rings. Rings is the new First Nation. Their new record, Black Habit will be released on Jan. 15, 2008 via the Animal Collective's label, Paw Tracks. The album was produced by Kristin Anna Valtysdottir (ex-Mum, Kria Brekkan,etc.) and Rings.

Here is the bands statement regarding the name change:

"We changed our name because we are a new kind of band. We thought the name First Nation would produce positive dialog, but it didn't. It's so loaded with identity politics, which is fine, cuz we actually do support other people's ways of self- representing. But, the name never opened up that space for talking about names and identity and social and political structures. It never translated like that...and even if it did, that's not what this new incarnation of our band is. For now, we're like a pop band for teenage girls. and for now, Rings makes sense. It's a name for our circular compositions, the bonds between us, our decision making processes, our mystic beliefs, the circular shapes around us, interlocking, connected, feminine, whole, continuous..."

Listen to: "Mom Dance" (mp3) from Black Habbit

The Peel Back: Seefeel "Quique" (1993, Astralwerks)

In 1996 I was looking for completely different from what I had been listening to which mostly consisted of Dinosaur Jr. and The Smiths. At the time we had a local record store called Discs n Dats that sold used cd's, and let you listen to them before purchase. My discoveries were random but plentiful, and one afternoon I found an compliation album called Excursions In Ambience - The Third Dimension. This album became my obession for the next two years, and should probably be this weeks peel back. I tracked down the full length album for every artist on the complilation, and one of those artist was Seefeel. The peaceful drone and echo of their track "Charlotte's Mouth" would fill my body and swim around. I would lay motionless, but gently move through the wall of sound as it surrounded me. The rest of Quique (pronounced "Keek") does not dissapoint. I just can't believe I was three years behind on this one. The album was remastered and released this past summer.

Quique

Climactic Phase 3/Polyfusion(mp3)/Industrious/Imperial/Plainsong/Charlotte's Mouth(mp3)/Through You/Filter Dub/Signals