Hiya Twin Shadow

photo by Andrew Strasser

Say hello to my new favourite of the week, Twin Shadow, aka George Lewis Jr, whom prior to this week, I hadn't caught on to. This Brooklynite de-camped hipster-town to the straßen of Berlin in search of inspiration, and found a 'cinematic experience' to break the damn on his creative flow. On his return to the USA, Lewis Jr churned out a bunch of songs, the cream of which are being released on Chris Taylor's - of Grizzly Bear fame - record label, Terrible Records.

'Castles In The Snow' is one of the two tracks that were released back in March on 7". It's an odd feeling track; haunting and lilting but with a catchy-as pop hook. I adore the layering of the vocals and instruments; the way the top end croons and rattles along in the chorus, the way the guitars thrum in the verse alongside organic percussions and handclaps before it gets stripped back to the low lone buzz of a synth bass and a vocal.

'Yellow Balloon' is more floaty and less spooky but another gem of a track; dreamy, with softly icy synths, and a little guitar on distortion in there to rough things up a little bit.

My favourite thing about these two tracks are Lewis Jr's ability to engineer subtle and smoothly changing soundscapes that are like travelling on a train whilst watching the scenery whizz by, your eye catching on many of the interesting details along the way whilst still being taken in by the entire view.

Here's Twin Shadow with flouncy, bouncing, voluminous hair, showing his downright pop side, looking for all intents and purposes like some 70s rocker, strumming away onstage at his Brooklyn Bowl performance:

Here's the Twin Shadow's 'Twins in Heaven' remix of Bear In Heaven's 'Lovesick Teenager':

And most recently, off of Lemonade's Pure Moods EP, 'Lifted' got a turn in Twin Shadow's capable hands to deliver a brilliant remix of the track, taking the eerily tropical original to the next level, driving it to deeper, darker, more expansive and less tropical place without losing that Lemonadey effervescence. Excellent.

According to his myspace, Lewis Jr is 'Still looking about, for Winnie Cooper' - and we'll be looking about, for Twin Shadow.

Lemonade is back with a refreshing new sound. The trio from Brooklyn is releasing a new EP at the beginning of March as the follow up to their immensely enjoyable self-titled debut album - and by now we hope you know how the internet world works. If something is going to be released next month, you can have the whole deal now (or at least the tasty bits).

So what about listening to this flavorish mix of influences that is their new single right now? Just check the video below (you can also download the track for free at the buttom of this post).

'Lifted' is at the same time dubby, with a Brooklyn and Baltimore feel, as well as being danceable, nostalgic, fresh and wrapped in beautiful lyrics ("I see my whole life come together around you"). And it's only one of the five new tracks that are going to be released on Pure Moods. Lemonade's awesomely named Myspace (/bananasandecstasy) has another track up called 'Underwater Sonics' that is a smartly crafted, darkly urgent electronic song. Also, there's something about Callan Clendenin's vocals here that remimd me of early Incubus and that's a compliment.

Pure Moods is out via True Panther Sounds/Matador on the 9^th of March. We think you should order it now.

Hiya Ben

Hiya Alex

Hiya Callan

photographs by yours truly

The boys from Lemonade are dropping their single 'Bliss Out' and have also given birth to a Summer Splash mixtape alongside the release. This is a super smoothly moving mixtape, showcasing Lemonade's roots whilst effortlessly travelling from track to track with a shoulder shimmying panache that's a little bit gangsta. It'll warm up even the coldest of you kids in the northern hemisphere.

OOOH SNAP - bonus! Here's 'Bliss Out' for you:

And please please please go check out the incredibly lush Gold Panda remix of the track on the Lemonade myspace, then go buy the single!!

DOWNLOAD THE LEMONADE SUMMER SPLASH MIX HERE

Tracklisting after the jump! >>

Lemonade: Callan, Ben and Alex

photographs by Santiago Felipe

Whilst I was roaming around in New York in July, I managed to catch up with the Brooklyn based 3 piece that is Lemonade. The band is Callan Clendenin, Alex Pasternak and Ben Steidel, a trio that matured whilst deeply embedded in the San Francisco scene until they craved the adventure of another city - New York.

Lemonade have truly eclectic influences; grime and dubstep forming the base, but everything from drone to dancehall to acid house are also put into the pot and melted together, alon with percussionist Alex's background in Arab and Latin music spicing the heady brew (which explains the Carnaval pics on their myspace).

We've talked them up before, when they dropped their single 'Big Weekend', so when I heard they were playing a gig at the Tribeca Grand, I dropped in on the guys post sound check and pre-party for a bit of wining and dining before the place exploded with people to come watch them play.

CHECK THE INTERVIEW AFTER THE JUMP >>

Lemonade

Birthed in San Francisco and now based in the hot bed that is Brooklyn (and as a result, they to me don't sound anything at all like what I might consider to be 'Brooklyn sounding') are Callan Clendenin, Alex Pasternak and Ben Steidel, collectively known as Lemonade.

Their upcoming single 'Big Weekend' was recorded and mixed by Chris Coady (TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, !!!, Blonde Redhead) - the name dropping leading me to wonder who of the Brooklyn scene would be the musical equivalent of the six degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Anyway, call me a total cheese whore, but I'm a sucker for a cowbell. I got drawn in with one at the intro of the single; then the disco bassline came in, the housey synths dropped and I was hooked. 'Big Weekend' is a track full of incredibly eclectic elements that perhaps could be interpreted as making up a big weekend; and musically might be a little confusing if it wasn't so infectious.

I'm eager to hear what else Lemonade have to offer on their debut album dropping in early August via Sunday Best. In the meantime here's L-Vis 1990 cut; this remix making the track more minimal, sober and a little more marching, cutting up the drums and adding plenty of distortion.