July 28th + 29th on Randall's Island, Further artist announcements coming May 21st.

The inaugural Catalpa Festival is striving to be a pioneering New York festival, unique in its programming, atmosphere and aesthetic. With as much an emphasis on site artistry, interactive experiences and experimentation as the musical entertainment itself, Catalpa is filling what we see as a gap for an event quite beyond the ordinary in New York City.

A meeting point for creativity, Catalpa will feature over 40 performers from many musical genres including Blues, Rock, Hip-Hop, Electronic, Reggae and Indie. Art installations of all scales, bespoke event structures and enough unique elements will be present to transform people out of their ordinary setting and into an environment more fantastic.

Catalpa will be held on Randalls Island NYC from 1pm to 11pm over July 28th/29th weekend, 2012.

The boys of fun.--lead singer/songwriter Nate Ruess, Jack Antonoff, and Andrew Dost--are back with their second studio album,  Some Nights, which drops today.  As a long time Nate Ruess fan, from his Format days, I feel qualified and obligated to review this record.  People who are just beginning to listen to fun. might be put off by this album--it's, in a word, weird.  Besides the insanely catchy single "We Are Young," songs flow in and out from polka-like operatics (nothing new for fun.) to...pop/R&B influenced autotuning?  The album can't make up its mind between being a quirky, pop, Queen-inspired complement to 2008's Aim and Ignite or some avant-garde-yet-somehow-still-radio-friendly angsty-youth soundtrack.

Over the past few years, musicians and producers have blended into one entity. With the rise of the “chillwave” genre, more musicians have turned to producing synthetic beats and recycling bits and pieces of old tunes to create new music, rather than strumming a guitar or beating a drum. With the rapid progression of software technology, this way of making music is much more accessible and easy for a musician to track and mix, quite possibly from the comfort of his own bedroom.

I, personally, am quite happy that this caught on. Being a fan of both indie and electronic music, it’s refreshing to hear something that interlocks the two genres. My newest love is Alec Feld, a New York-based producer who goes by Expensive Looks. Feld grew up listening to Chicago house, disco, old Motown, his parents’ psych records, and what he refers to as “trashy ‘90s dance.” As a kid, this love of electronic music influenced Feld to teach himself how to DJ, although he didn’t really know how these songs were created, or that sampling even existed. DJing grew into producing, and his DIY mentality enabled him to figure out the interworking of electronic music on his own.

The outcome of this experiment arrives in the form of Dark Matters, Expensive Looks’ debut LP. The album, which was released January 17 via Group Tightener, sounds like its creation process—experimental. Feld seamlessly references all of the aforementioned genres, resulting in a groovy, textured dance album. Broken down into nine tracks, the record flows effortlessly from song to song, creating moments of build up and tension (“Your Dreams Our Week”); disjointed confusion (“Felt Up”); and utterly beautiful, entrancing melodies (“Be My Own”). It feels as though Dark Matters aurally illustrates Feld’s journey in creating music—bewilderment gradually transforming into something wonderful.

The record’s first single, “Moving Visions,” is its highlight. This track encapsulates the LP, beginning with a melodic looped synth riff, with striking drum machine beats quickly accompanying it. Slowly, more beats slide in, creating complex, full layers of sound. Eventually, Feld’s muddled vocals join the mix. But where many musical acts tend to focus on the lyrics as the standout part of the song, Feld thinks of them as just another beat. They’re leveled with the instrumentation and slowly get jumbled with the rest of the sounds as the tune progresses, until the line, “Wherever we go,” eventually becomes nothing more than another loop.

Never a group to be pigeonholed, Lotus brings many musical weapons to the stage. From festival stages such as Rothbury, Wakarusa and Red Rocks to theaters across the country the band has left grinning crowds dripping with sweat. Equal parts dance and rock, Lotus has been crafting a unique brand of instrumental rock for the past decade. Backstage at Outside Lands, Bestnewbands.com caught up with guitarist/keyboardist Luke Miller to rap about a variety topics from the set to beer choices to the band’s New Year’s Eve dates.

Daniel Kohn: As you’re enjoying a nice cold beer after your set, how would you say things went, all things considered?

Luke Miller: I thought it went pretty well. It was a little early for us but I thought the crowd rallied and were great. Unfortunately our sound guy had to fly home due to a death in the family, so we had another one of our guys to cover it and he did a great job.

DK: How long was the set?

LM: 50 quick minutes. We usually play 75 minutes at festivals and our normal show is three hours long so this felt like nothing.

DK: What did you guys do differently in the shorter window of time?

LM: We didn’t condense anything. We just played fewer songs.

DK: How does Outside Lands compare to some of the other festivals the band has played over the years?

LM: Usually we’re billed much closer to the top, but with this one and it’s eclectic lineup, so we were a little bit lower. There’s not as many festivals on the west coast as there is back east, so we try to play any festivals we can out here.

DK: Do you think you guys won over some potential new fans?

LM: It seemed like the crowd was digging it. There were definitely some new faces out there.

DK: Standing here now, with a cold Heineken fresh from the keg, the sun is starting to peek out finally and here we are, in the middle of Golden Gate Park after your set, can you ask for anything more?

LM: Funny you ask because I’m a beer snob, so maybe some craft beers would have made things that much better (laughs). Last night we hit up a bunch of spots to get some microbrews. We’re gonna stick around for the rest of the weekend, which will hopefully lead to some more adventures.

DK: What are the band’s plans for the rest of the year?

LM: We’re putting out a record on September 13 and we’re planning on touring for most of the fall. We’re doing a Thanksgiving and New Year’s run after we finish the main tour.

DK: Where’s the New Year’s gig going to be?

LM: That’s unannounced and we cannot reveal that at this time (laughs). But check back in a month, they'll be posted.

Let me preface this review with this: I know little about electronic music.  I'm working with basically Daft Punk, a little bit of Justice and Deadmau5, Air, and Hot Chip as my main references/points of comparison.  However, I look at this as a good thing because, with electronic music, I either love it and dance my face off to it, or am entirely uninterested.  But, I've heard great things about this album, so I thought I'd check it out.  So, a little background, for both you and me.  Digitalism is a German electronic duo formed in 2004 by Jens "Jence" Moelle and İsmail "Isi" Tüfekçi, and I Love You, Dude is a follow up album to their first release, Idealism (2007).  According to my research, this group is basically the bee's knees in hipster-land, performing at all the big festivals (Coachella, SXSW, Ultra Music Fest, Lollapalooza, etc.) with a killer, in your face live set. Needless to say, I was excited to have a listen to the bromantically-titled album. Another note, this album has been out digitally since June 21st, but the physical album drops today, so get you can get your greasy mits on your very own copy.

Digitalism - 2 Hearts from White Rabbit tv on Vimeo.

Fortunately, I Love You, Dude is an album I can dig and bust a move to (ch-check).  It brings plenty of throbbing bass, but balances it with enough treble sounds to not make me feel like an privileged white kid awkwardly riding dirty in a lowered cadillac.  The treble sounds, furthermore, are interesting and varied--crescendoing laser beams, chirping swirls, scrunched, grungy riffs.  The punky moments of wavering bass and distorted vocals add an extra rock edge that I personally love and feel makes this album all the more accessible. The drum beats are skilled, so much so that I find myself debating whether a drum machine or real set is being used.  If I had to compare this album to, say, a Hot Chip album, let's go with One Life Stand, Digitalism is a lot dirtier--more distortion, much thicker, dancier, and more repetitive beats--where Hot Chip is sharp, clean, detail-oriented, and clever.  Much like my NewVillager/White Denim dichotomy, with Digitalism's I Love You, Dude, I simply want to dance and feel, where with anything Hot Chip, I want to listen closely and dissect the nuiances...then dance.  My apologies that this turned out to be a Digitialism v. Hot Chip debate, but that's right where the album led me.

Anyways, as a whole, I dig the album.  It's got a whole spectrum ranging from quick dance jams ("Forrest Gump" would probably be my choice for stand-out track) to slower sway and flow songs ("Just Gazin"), along with plenty of loveable spunk.  If you like to dance, groove, head bob, or any form of feeling a sick beat, you'll definitely enjoy this album.

Who: Nenna Yvonne

Where: The Roxy, Los Angeles

When: Tuesday, March 29 at 9:30 pm

Price: $12.00

Age Restrictions: 18+

If you find yourself in need of entertainment on Tuesday, March 29th, be sure to pencil in Nenna Yvonne at The Roxy on Sunset.  This singer-songwriter is no acoustic-guitar-playing, eyelash-batting, photo-with-my-cat-Mr.-Fluffles-taking kind of girl; the 21-year-old Nigerian falls more along the spicy lines of Nicki Minaj or Kelis (Nenna Yvonne went to the same prestigious high school as them: New York's LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts). Her beats are fresh, her songs danceable. She is comparable to Rihanna, except she doesn't sound like an animal in heat when she sings (yeah, I went there). So, since Tuesdays are always SO AWESOME anyways, heading out to see this talented up-and-comer will only make the day that much sweeter.

Get a free download of Nenna Yvonne's single 'Go Around' (the AgeVsTron Mix) by clicking and tweeting this link!

Warning: this is not Sigur Ros.  If you refer to Ólafur Arnalds as such, he will probably be offended.  Fresh off his one night engagement at the Echoplex in Los Angeles (read the review here), I got to talk with Arnalds about his music and background. Also, I attempted to capture this mind-blowing show on video, and, to be honest, the most advanced video equipment out there probably wouldn't do it justice.  Take this video sample as a mere bite of what's to be heard from Arnalds, and be sure to see him live at one point in your life.  Even if you don't [think you] like classical or neoclassical music, there's something about his sound--probably the electronic sounds and the young approach--that is modern and widely appreciable.

Claire Gallagher: So, what do you do/play?

Ólafur Arnalds: Composer, pianist, electronics

CG: Where are you from?

ÓA: I am from Iceland.

Genre: Electronic/Rock   Sounds like: part Of Montreal, a bit of Franz Ferdinand maybe, and a whole lot of originality

I enter Moving Units’ new EP, Tension War, with a somewhat tabula rasa mindset.  I know nothing of Moving Units outside of seeing them on the Coachella 2011 line-up (they play Friday, April 15th. Add that business to your Coachooser.) and knowing that a single track of theirs, “Pink Redemption” has found its way onto my workout playlist and has pushed me through many part-jog-part-dance-party miles. As I do some research, I find this band—which sounds surprisingly young and new in the best possible way—is ten years into their career. Ten? Seriously? How have I not heard of them? I've obviously lived a sadly sheltered life.

Here we have a unit (see what I did there?) that’s modern and sounds as if it’s been subject to more recent influences (maybe newer Of Montreal?).  However, this Los Angeles band has been pioneering this punk-pop-dance amalgam for an entire decade.  Shame on me for not knowing about this sooner.

On Friday night, I headed down to the Echoplex in Los Angeles to check out Ólafur Arnalds, an Icelandic musician.  I only got lost about 12 times this time and drove in about 15 circles before I found it (an all-time low for me) before I headed into to the darkly lit venue, which reminded me sort of a laser tag room, oddly enough.  I groped my way through the dark as the opening band, George Sarah and Strings, played an epic accompaniment to my blind mini-journey.  Needless to say, I felt sort of accomplished when I finally nestled into my seat amidst a semi-circle of folding black chairs.  As George Sarah and Strings finished up, I surveyed the crowd bathed in the blue light and found it was comprised of either a) Icelandic-looking people or, b) artsy, educated couples having conversations about the history of Icelandic classical music or something strangely specific like that.  Disco balls spun lazily above me and across from me and threw the blue light around, while the woman's afro in front of me glowed an electric blue on the edges.  Arnalds took the stage.

As Arnalds sat down at his piano, five others took the stage as well.  A four string quartet--a violist, two violinists, and a cellist--and a guy managing one of two computers (Arnalds did the other).  The set began beautifully, albeit a little rocky.  One of the computers overheated and set the band back a little; however, this allowed for Arnalds to provide some hilarious commentary.  In his adorable Icelandic accent, he talked to the crowd about how his "pale Aryan skin" was not used to the LA sun, his adventures with skateboarding in San Francisco, his American-law-abiding ways because "we're on immigrant visas…", how one of his songs was about bathtubs, and how "if you ever start a band, don't use computers."  Another benefit was the band's exquisite performance of an acoustic song.  The computer was eventually fixed, and the show continued on smoothly.

Next Wednesday (February 9), Friendly Fires will be burning down The Roxy with their scorching poppy-disco-influenced-dance-your-face-off music.  This will be this Brit-pop's first show in LA since their sold out set with the xx last year at The Music Box, and with the band as the headliner, it's sure to be a freaking blast.  All I know is that "Photo Booth" and "Skeleton Boy" have, in the past, been stuck in my head for days on end, making me groove to some silent sound. Opening for Friendly Fires will be Superhumanoids, who, according to their myspace, make "dreamy pop that shouts summery '60s harmonies, garage rock's raw tonality, slick new-wave electronics, and the adventurous dissonance of '90s indie rock." Sounds good to me!

Tickets are $20, and the show is all ages.  Check out this week's concert picks on Monday for more info!