Kingfisher Bluez

I’ve just got in from our first day in the studio with Eek! working on their new LP which is as-yet-untitled. I am producing it and Spencer is engineering, so you know we’re taking care of business and basically making every other producer/engineer team look super lame. Today we tracked three songs and did the vocals for one. Very productive, considering we were only there for a few hours. More updates coming, including a few of Julian’s famous studio-update videos! Stay tuned.

-Tim

P.S. We were all saddened to hear of J.D. Salinger’s passing yesterday. As with everyone else ever, I was profoundly moved by Catcher In The Rye when I first read it, and it has remained a constant companion ever since.

The new Shiny Diamonds album, “A Histriony Of Violence” is being mastered this week by Kramer, a renown madman of odd music and godfather of slowcore, showgaze, and anti-folk.  If you don’t know what mastering is, well we can’t explain it. It’s a necessary step in record production that involves black magic. Here are some records Kramer has produced:

wow!

Our friends Gold and Shadow just did a session with Naked Jams, a website focusing on local acts playing stripped down sets shot in HD with quality sound. Boy, does it ever look good! We’re talking to Tash of NakedJams.com about the possibility of recording some more KFB bands in 2010!

Here is the link! LINK LINK LINK

Gold and Shadow’s song “On Pym Street” is on the Kingfisher Bluez Compilation “No Revival vol. 1″!

Also, Polyvinyl Records has a free sampler for download!

POLYVINYL SAMPLER

Download code is “MATH”

Our new song “1987″ is now streaming on our myspace page! This is the first track off of our new album “A Histriony Of Violence”. It was produced by Jamie Stewart and engineered and prepared for myspace by Spencer “Badonkadonk” Carson. The version on the album will be a proper master, which is why we haven’t made it available for download yet. We had to put something up though, we are so excited to get this album out to you!

Click here to hear “1987″!

Thanks so much for everything!

-Tim, Calen, Miles, and Quinn

Also we’re very sorry to hear that Jay Reatard died early this morning, apparently “in his sleep” at 29 years of age. [Pitchfork reports]. I saw him play a couple months ago and he rocked very hard. Rest in peace, Jay.

Update: Teddy Pendergrass has died, which is also very sad. Sorry to see so many great artists go this year.

I’d like to welcome Cottage Days and Button Fields to our internet home. I still have to take some photos for the site *cough cough* Julian *cough*. All of us at Kingfisher Bluez are really looking forward to working on some projects with these guys. Cottage Days is Colin from Eek! and of course Button Fields is the Kingfisher Bluez house band (feat. Pretty Eyes For Captain America on guitar!). I’ll keep you very up to date with info on the upcoming KFB releases but let’s just say we’re going to have a very busy year!

On that note, I’d like to take a look back at 2009 and tell you what records I thought were the best. This is my list off of the wall at Scratch Records, I had to narrow it down from a top 50 so it was hard but here it is (I’ve excluded hip-hop (for another list) as well as reissues, compilations and EPs:

The Top Ten Albums Of 2009

by Tim the mute

In no order:

Morrissey- Years Of Refusal

Pains Of Being Pure At Heart- S/T

Atlas Sound- Logos

Antony and the Johnsons- The Crying Light

Sonic Youth- The Eternal

Manic Street Preachers- Journal For Plague Lovers

Passion Pit- Manners

The xx- S/T

Girls- Album

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs- It’s Blitz!

And there it was.

So sorry to: The Swell Season, Kurt Vile, Camera Obscura, Bear In Heaven, Cymbals Eat Guitars, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Real Estate, Phoenix, Flaming Lips and Japandroids who all made great albums too!

Hey guys, Julian here. I’m in the studio with Tim, Spence and Reise recording a single for Getting Married. I mean for both the project Julian Bowers Is Getting Married and a track called, “Getting Married”.  We have finished up the three songs on the single (with two tracks, “What Explosion?” and “Callous Little Remarks” as B-sides). Basically, it’s a look at punk from a sheltered white boy’s perspective.

We’re pretty much done recording the songs. Tim’s now recording over a track that we improvised (with me on guitar, Tim on drums and Spence on the shakers). It’s not going to be on the single, but it’ll probably be released elsewhere soon!

Now it’s time for me to ingest a bunch of lozenges for my throat.

-Julian

Look for a new single by Julian Bowers Is Getting Married to be released on Kingfisher Bluez in 2010!

Maudlin Of The Well are a great band but they are a bit broke. They asked their fans to chip in and they would make a stellar album for them. “Part The Second” is the fantastically indie-prog result. With the recording already paid for by their 87 executive producers, they are able to offer you this album for free (although there is a donation button, if you should so choose!). It is available by direct download or torrent in flac, wav, or mp3 as well as full 24-bit audiophile sound! (If you don’t know what any of that stuff is, then just get the mp3). Lots of strings!

DOWNLOAD IT FOR FREE HERE

Spin’s somewhat confused new mix “10 Artists to Watch in 2010″ is basically a list of acts that were popular this year but I guess haven’t caught on with the mainstream yet. Well, The xx are on there and they put their album out a couple months ago. Actually, Owen Pallet (né Final Fantasy) is even on there so who knows. Big ups to J.Cole who, if there is any justice, will finally get his long-deserved break this year. (Jay-z signing him couldn’t have hurt either!)

As always with music blogs, don’t read the comments. It will only make you grievously frustrated.

[DOWNLOAD HERE]

Your friend and ally through life,

-Tim

*** UPDATE*** Vic has now passed away. Our thoughts go out to you today, Vic. Anyone looking to help Vic’s family can donate here. I’m sorry to have to write this on Christmas day, it’s really been a shock to see one of the most talented songwriters around leave us so quickly. I had a conversation with him just a few weeks ago, in which we talked about his new record. He expressed being very proud of it and later, gave a tremendous performance at Vancouver’s Red Room, a concert I will remember for many years.

Listen to Vic’s masterpiece, “Flirted With You All My Life” a song he imparted to me as being “one of the ones I’m most proud of”.

Thanks Julian for this link, an informative article about Vic’s death. [click here]

Village wants to sing to you. Here is a very special christmas classic that she recorded for us today, in Japan! Thank you pagan/consumer/post-religious holiday, for blessing us with the internet and with music and with friends.

http://www.mediafire.com/?mjmywyzunyz