World's Fair

Condé Nast’s Daily Traveler has already been showing some early love to Hollywood, Mon Amour, the new project from Nouvelle Vague’s Marc Collin. The self-titled record, out March 3 on [PIAS], is a collection of 80s’ movie songs reimagined and reinvented by Collin with the help of some of his favorite singers, including Juliette Lewis, former Morcheeba star Skye, Yael Naim, Nadeah, and Cibelle.

The Daily Traveler was enamored with the covers, going through the album nearly track-by-track and taking a particular liking to the contributions from Skye (”Her understated version of ‘A View to a Kill’ (the theme from A View to a Kill 1985) is, excuse me, way better than Duran Duran’s, and it puts romance back into the song“) and the Australian-born Nadeah (”…did the world ever need to hear ‘Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)’ (Arthur 1981) again? Australian-born Nadeah’s version will change your mind“). You can read the whole piece here.

Marc Collin and Nadeah recently performed “Call Me” live on the Belgian national TV program De Laatste Show. Check it out below.

Artist: Hollywood, Mon Amour
Album: Hollywood, Mon Amour
Label: [PIAS] Recordings
Street Date: March 3, 2008

CONNECT: World’s Fair | MySpace | Website

 
Part Of The Weekend Never Dies, the new Soulwax tour documentary/live-show extravaganza, is out in North America today, on [PIAS] Recordings. It’s documentary into Radio Soulwax, a touring concept that for the past three years has showcased the talents of four Belgians (Soulwax) who themselves programmed and promoted, DJ’d and played live each and every night alongside a revolving array of their friends and some of the most exciting acts in modern music, traveling relentlessly through the four corners of the globe.

Recorded over 120 shows with one camera in Europe, Japan, US, Latin America and Australia, the results are manifested in two films. The first is Part Of The Weekend Never Dies, a documentary that captures the adulation, debauchery, ebullience, reflection, cynicism, tiredness, despair, delusion, ridiculousness, contradiction, revelation, exhaustion, homesickness of the life of a DJ/band on the road, which includes 2manydj’s and Soulwax’s Nite Versions live footage, and also features James Murphy, Nancy Whang, Erol Alkan, Tiga, Justice, Busy P, So-Me, Peaches, Kitsuné, and Klaxons in behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. The second is a live film, Nite Versions Live at Fabric and 120 other places, that captures perfectly the blissful and beautiful sonic malevolence of Soulwax’s Nite Versions blitzkrieg.

Part Of The Weekend Never Dies is purely and simply a documentation of four guys making people forget everything and lose their shit, day in, day out. It captures the uniqueness of what Radio Soulwax is and was to people all around the world. Not just the euphoria and revelation but the cold sweaty comedown, the butterflies of love or nausea, the adoration of music, the party and the crescendo and most importantly sharing and friendship and as far removed from the notion of the pill-popping superstar DJ as you could healthily get. It’s the kind of thing that anyone - longtime fans or the newly-converted - can enjoy.

The film was directed by Soulwax together with Saam Farahmand, a Partizan director who has made acclaimed promo videos for the likes of Janet Jackson, Hot Chip, Hercules & Love Affair, Late of the Pier and Lightspeed Champion, amongst others. Last year he collaborated with Klaxons on four videos, winning the “CAD Music Week Award” for Best Director along the way, proving that he has a bright future ahead of him as one of the UK’s most innovative young filmmakers.

“The first great documentary about the nu rave scene” - Big Shot

“They have a gift you cannot bottle, imitate or fake. Their remixes have an undeniable quality that says, ‘Listen up, young’un, school is in session.’” - BPM

Watch the trailer to Part Of The Weekend Never Dies

Artist: Soulwax
Album: Soulwax
Label: [PIAS] Recordings
Street Date: December 9, 2008

CONNECT: World’s Fair | MySpace | Website

In a truly great song, even if the fads that colored its production have long fallen out of favor, what made it so great, its essence, surely remains.

Such were the thoughts of French musician and composer Marc Collin, who, in his latest project, Hollywood, Mon Amour, strove to redefine outmoded film songs into something that transcended studio technique. The self-titled full-length (some people will undoubtedly see an allusion to French cinema here) – out March 3, 2009 on [PIAS] – is a collection of the greatest songs from the movies of the 80s rearranged by the man behind Nouvelle Vague. Collin made a point of choosing different singers than the ones who appeared on his previous records, finding the perfect complements to his 60s-tinged arrangements, his vintage keys, in a multinational group of vocalists, including Australia’s Nadeah, Britain’s – and former Morcheeba singer – Skye, the US’s Juliette Lewis, Brazil’s Cibelle, Denmark’s Katrine Ottosen, and France and Israel’s Yael Naim.
Collin decided he wanted to recreate these songs, imagining them as if they were set in a different era, or performed by different characters with different backgrounds, different stories: in short, he wanted to strip the songs of their movie context and find the lasting beauty that stayed in each.

The results are simpler, but not simplified, versions of what once were generally mega-produced hits. In “A View To A Kill,” for example, by John Barry – one of the Parisian’s greatest influences – Collin sought to prove that indeed that 80s were not ones of drought for the famed composer. The original, a synth-heavy number originally performed by Duran Duran, is turned into a contemplative reflection by Skye. The same goes for Juliette Lewis’s take on David Bowie’s “This Is Not America,” which Collin reworked as if it were recorded in the 70s – and ends up being the better for it – or Ennio Morricone’s “It’s Wrong For Me To Love You,” which serves to remind listeners why indeed the Italian is considered one of the greatest film-scorers ever.

All the songs included on the record were written specifically for movies, and though many found audiences far past the confines of the movies (Blondie’s “Call Me,” from American Gigolo, for instance), there are some tracks included that haven’t achieved lasting fame. “Reality,” from the French film La Boum, was a hit in mainland Europe, but has since been forgotten. Reinterpreted by Collin and singer Nancy Danino, however, it takes on new life, and new meaning, less dramatic, more thoughtful, hopeful.

But the same also goes for the more famous songs that have been left to stagnant in the annals of pop-music. “Flashdance…What a Feeling” has never before held such nuance and emotion and when it’s sung by Yael Naim. No longer an exuberant, excessive foray into 80s-feel-good dance sequences, the song becomes a subtler look into inspiration and passion and love.

As with Nouvelle Vague, Marc Collin has successfully given these songs new life, new meaning. Where there was once a garish palette of squealing guitar solos and high-five vocals, he manages to find fragile colors and tender melancholy. A true master producer and composer, he has coaxed out the melodies and placed them where they truly belong, in the end creating something that is truly memorable.

Marc Collin and Nadeah recently performed “Call Me” live on the Belgian national TV program De Laatste Show. Check it out below.

 
 
 

Artist: Hollywood, Mon Amour
Album: Hollywood, Mon Amour
Label: [PIAS] Recordings
Street Date: March 3, 2008

CONNECT: World’s Fair | MySpace | Website

Belgian musicians/DJs-extraordinaire Soulwax were in North America late last month promoting their upcoming tour documentary, Part Of The Weekend Never Dies. They played in LA on Halloween as part of the sold-out HARD Haunted Mansion, and were the highlight of the night for many. While they were there, CSI’s Eric Szmanda stopped to chat with Steph (aka the “bigger asshole”) as part of erockster’s interview series.

 
 
Part Of The Weekend Never Dies comes out in North America on December 9. Check out the trailer here.

Artist: Soulwax
Album: Soulwax
Label: [PIAS] Recordings
Street Date: December 9, 2008

CONNECT: World’s Fair | MySpace | Website

It may only be mid-November, but if you’re one of those who does best-of lists, you’ve probably already started thinking about everything that’s come out. World’s Fair has had a big year in 2008, with releases from all our labels. Here they are, in chronological order.

British Sea Power: Do You Like Rock Music (Rough Trade)
“Listening is like riding a beast; BSP’s unvarnished, delightfully meandering anthems sound larger than life. Bring on foliage and military uniforms, lads, we’re prepared to salute…” - The Los Angeles Times, Buzz Bands

“The glorious sound of a unique band going for broke….” - The Guardian (4/5 stars)

DOWNLOAD “Waving Flags”

The Autumns: Fake Noise From A Box Of Toys (Bella Union)
“Los Angeles’ the Autumns have been a reliable source of brooding, dreamy pop since 1994, appealing to fans of shoegazers like Cocteau Twins and goth titans the Cure. For their fourth full-length, founders Matthew Kelly and Frankie Koroshec have sharpened their teeth and made some decidedly authentic noise. ‘Boys’ signals newfound aggression for these underground darlings.” - Chicago Sun Times

“Succulent dream pop collides with fast and racy indie rock.” – Exclaim

DOWNLOAD “Boys”

Daptone 7″ Singles Collection, Vol. 2 (Daptone Records)
“Few top Brooklyn’s R&B champs Daptone Records, which compiles the cream of its DJ-friendly 45s for a second volume of the label’s Singles Collection. The reverb is delicious and soulful (Lee Fields’ ‘Could Have Been’), the guitars snarl (The Mighty Imperials’ ‘The Matador’) and everything grooves.” - RELIX

“From start to finish, this compilation of rarities represents first-rate soul music.” - UR Chicago (4.5/5)

DOWNLOAD Charles Bradley & The Bullets’ “Now That I’m Gone”
(more…)

 
Part Of The Weekend Never Dies is a documentary into Radio Soulwax, a touring concept that for the past three years has showcased the talents of four Belgians (Soulwax) who themselves programmed and promoted, DJ’d and played live each and every night alongside a revolving array of their friends and some of the most exciting acts in modern music, traveling relentlessly through the four corners of the globe under the banner of “Radio Soulwax.”

Recorded over 120 shows with one camera in Europe, Japan, US, Latin America and Australia with acclaimed young director Saam Farahmand, their efforts resulted in two films. The first is Part Of The Weekend Never Dies, a documentary that captures the adulation, debauchery, ebullience, reflection, cynicism, tiredness, despair, delusion, ridiculousness, contradiction, revelation, exhaustion, homesickness of the life of a DJ/band on the road, which includes 2manydj’s and Soulwax’s Nite Versions live footage, and also features James Murphy, Nancy Whang, Erol Alkan, Tiga, Justice, Busy P, So-Me, Peaches, Kitsuné, and Klaxons in behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. The second is a live film that captures perfectly the blissful and beautiful sonic malevolence of Soulwax’s Nite Versions blitzkrieg.

While dance and rock bands may have been unlikely bedfellows for some time now, there is something wonderfully odd about Soulwax, a schizophrenic ball of ideas and sound, constantly evolving into new shapes, complications and identities. There is the stoner-rock band that at least partially shuns the stoning in favor of iChat, tea, and Japanese cakes. Then there is 2manydjs, the quiet, thoughtful and pensive Dewaele brothers who morph into marauding puppet-masters that can manipulate and court exultation among any dancefloor, tent, field or soundsystem anywhere in the world with almost Machiavellian and orchestral precision. Then to just confuse it all further, Nite Versions saw them remixing themselves in a nod to the Human League’s Love and Dancing set, twisting their “difficult” third album, Any Minute Now, into an even harder-meaner techno stabbing electro backbreaker and touring it live. Then, to follow that by compiling an album of their own (much loved and critically acclaimed) remixes for other people and perform them all live, the production side of their outfit and their Krautrock side-project pretty much lays them on the couch for deep psychological analysis. Soulwax are officially confused workaholics!

Part Of The Weekend Never Dies is purely and simply a documentation of four guys making people forget everything and lose their shit, day in, day out. It captures the uniqueness of what Radio Soulwax is and was to people all around the world. Not just the euphoria and revelation but the cold sweaty comedown, the butterflies of love or nausea, the adoration of music, the party and the crescendo and most importantly sharing and friendship and as far removed from the notion of the pill-popping superstar DJ as you could healthily get.

The film was directed by Soulwax together with Saam Farahmand, a Partizan director who has made acclaimed promo videos for the likes of Janet Jackson, Hot Chip, Hercules & Love Affair, Late of the Pier and Lightspeed Champion, amongst others. Last year he collaborated with Klaxons on four videos, winning the “CAD Music Week Award” for Best Director along the way, proving that he has a bright future ahead of him as one of the UK’s most innovative young filmmakers.

Part Of The Weekend Never Dies premiered at the Ether Festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London on April 24. It was followed by a full Radio Soulwax tour featuring Soulwax, 2manydjs & an array of guests and new talent where the film will also be screened.

Part Of The Weekend Never Dies will be released on December 9, 2008 on [PIAS] Recordings along with the bonus live film of Nite Versions Live at Fabric and 120 other places.

Watch the trailer to Part Of The Weekend Never Dies

 

US tour dates after the jump.

Live Dates — SOULWAX LIVE! + special late DJ set by 2MANYDJS:
Oct 28 Calgary, AB, Canada @ HiFi Club
Oct 29 Vancouver, BC @ Plaza Club
Oct 30 San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
Oct 31 Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Auditorium (HARD Haunted Mansion)
Nov 01 Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico @ Moroccos Concert Hall

Screenings for “Part of the Weekend Never Dies”:
Oct 28 Hollywood, CA @ Montalban Theater
Oct 30 San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine

Artist: Soulwax
Album: Soulwax
Label: [PIAS] Recordings
Street Date: December 9, 2008

CONNECT: World’s Fair | MySpace | Website