The video for “Ascension” off Tycho’s 2011′s breakthrough album Dive is about as trippy and surreal as you might expect. A delicately dressed woman crosses towering sand dunes like something out of an acid fantasy. In a way, it reminds me of the video for “The Test” by the Chemical Brothers, but not nearly as intense. Smoky, swirling colors make the whole thing kinda feel like it was shot through an Instagram filter. That’s not derisive, in this case; it actually works really well.

Tycho has experience as a graphic designer, so the fact that his videos are beautiful shouldn’t come as a great surprise. If you’re more interested in seeing him live, though, he’ll be in Southern California July 17th for DoLab’s Lightning in A Bottle festival. The festival grounds might not have sand dunes like those in the video, but I’m sure there’ll be other means to have a surreal experience at this show.

For more info:

Tycho

This celebration and collaboration of music and art will take place at The Downtown Independent Theater on the evenings of Wednesday, May 1st, through Saturday, May 4th, and will feature numerous music video selections from around the world. The four-night program includes six screenings, panels, workshops, and a keynote with the director and co-founder of Propaganda Films, Greg Gold. Selections were chosen from over 400 submissions from 32 countries. With such a diverse and carefully chosen selection, the experience promises to be an eye-opening one.

Check out one of last year’s winning videos:

Watch this video on YouTube.

As young, aspirational, tech-savvy artists navigate the music industry, sometimes the opportunity for global distribution merely requires the simple connection of two motivated individuals. This is the third year of LAMVF bringing together independent musicians and independent filmmakers in a unique and enjoyable way. With an intimate venue seating a mere 250 people, the opportunity to interact on a personal level with the artists is highlighted.

Tickets are only $10 per day or $30 for the entire festival, which includes all four days of festivities and entrance to the after party.

For more information:

Los Angeles Music Video Festival

The video features Azealia rapping through her eyes made of mouths, partaking in a one-woman police riot, and riding a mechanical bull in slow motion as lightning strikes behind her. The video features hands with eyes looking around in a paranoid fashion, crescent moons, owls with crazy eyes, eyes on Azealia’s forehead, an eye on the pinnacle of a triangle. Eyes. Some more eyes. All the eyes.

Yup. You guessed it. Azealia Banks is part of the Illuminati.

After rumors surface that Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Rihanna were reppin’ the secret society at the 2013 Grammys, Azealia trolls us with her conspiracy-filled video.

I mean…unless it’s not a joke.

WE ARE BEING CONTROLLED. OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE.

Now I’m going to have nightmares. Thanks, Azealia.

For more information:

Azealia Banks’ official website

Regarding their latest album, The North, the members of Stars have said that their writing style has evolved into a true “band” form, allowing every member to have an equal voice in the process. Co-lead singer Torquil Campbell has said that “Hold On…” is “an encapsulation of everything we’ve tried to do and be over the years.”

The song starts soft with a gentle bass pulse and a swirling keyboard line that is subtle and inviting. Campbell’s vocals give true and proverbial advice throughout the song, saying how “there’s been a lot of talk of love, but that don’t amount to nothing.” The title of the track is another good example of this.

The band’s other singer, Amy Millan, takes her turn in the choruses and the bridge to deliver Stars’ signature hopeless-romantic call. Her voice floats over the tune like a feather, a genuinely pretty and sweet sound.

Campbell wrapped the song up by saying, “This song could have easily been called ‘The Ballad of Stars.’ It’s our anthem; an encapsulation of everything we’ve tried to do and be over the years—New Order ripoffs, disco for people who can’t dance, Amy Millan singing like an angel, and a chorus you can cry or get high to.” It is all too common for a band or artist to do their own version of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” The hard part is making it good. Stars nailed it.

For more info:

Stars

This Boston-based quintet’s blend of R&B, rock, punk, and funk is incomparable, and their 2009 debut EP, Stick Up Kids, is still in heavy rotation on my iPod. Today they announced a May 14th release date for their debut album, American Love, as well as shared a new video for the album single, “Fall In Love.” The video’s adorable depiction of young love left me feeling all warm and fuzzy, and I cannot wait to hear the new Bad Rabbits album in full.

Check out “Fall In Love” below, and be sure to pick up a free download of the track to share with your sweetie (available today only via the Converse Rubber Tracks’ Facebook App).

American Love Tracklisting:

We Can Roll
Can’t Fool Me
Dance Moves
Get Up And Go
Take It Off
Dirty
Fall In Love
Doin’ It
Sayonara
Royal Flush

For more info:

Bad Rabbits Facebook page

The group premiered their Fury Oh Fury EP on Rolling Stone last week, and you can now pick up the 6-track effort for yourself via the band’s website. They have called the EP “an appetizer before the album,” which is expected to be released later this year. They are also currently on tour with Imagine Dragons, and I can tell you from experience that a Nico Vega live show is not to be missed, so I sugget you start calling in favors now to find tickets to their sold-out show at The Wiltern on March 20th.

Nico Vega Tour Dates:

02/08 – The Marquee – Tempe, AZ *
02/09 – The Joint – Las Vegas, NV *
02/11 – House of Blues Dallas – Dallas, TX *
02/12 – House of Blues – Houston, TX *
02/14 – The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA *
02/15 – House of Blues – Orlando, FL *
02/16 – The Orange Peel – Asheville, NC *
02/18 – The Electric Factory – Philadelphia, PA *
02/19 – Santos Party House – New York, NY
02/22 – The Fillmore Silver Spring – Silver Spring, MD *
02/23 – Roseland – New York, NY *
02/25 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA *
02/27 – Sound Academy – Toronto, ON CA *
02/28 – Egyptian Room – Indianapolis, IN *
03/01 – The Fillmore – Detroit, MI *
03/02 – The Rave / Eagles Club – Milwaukee, WI *
03/04- House Of Blues – Chicago, IL *
03/05 – House of Blues – Chicago – Chicago, IL *
03/06 – The Pageant – St Louis, MO *
03/08 – Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN *
03/09 – Garrick Centre – Winnipeg, MB CA *
03/11 – Starlite Room – Edmonton, CA *
03/11 – The Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB CA *
03/12 – MacEwan Hall – Calgary, CA *
03/12 – MacEwan Ballroom – Calgary, AB CA *
03/14 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC CA *
03/15 – Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR *
03/15 – Roseland – Portland, OR *
03/16 – Warfield Theatre – San Francisco, CA *
03/18 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA *
03/19 – House of Blues – Anaheim, CA *
03/20 – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA *
03/22 – The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT *
03/23 – The Fillmore Auditorium – Denver, CO

* with Imagine Dragons & Atlas Genius

For more info:

Nico Vega

Directed by up-and-coming UK director Garry Wood, the video is shot mostly in black and white with color footage sprinkled in here and there throughout the video. Much like the song itself, the video for “Sheila” is rife with ominous undertones and dramatic dream-like qualities, and for a video that depicts multiple suicides attempts, it matches the song surprising well.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Garry Wood gave fans a little insight regarding his direction for the video, saying, “The theme for our ‘Sheila’ video was ‘fractional suicide.’ What happens if you jump off a building, only to have to do [it] over and over again until you succeed?” and that is pretty much exactly what happens. The video starts with a young woman jumping off the second story balcony of a secluded house tucked away in the woods only to get up and try it over and over again. Halfway through, her friends show up to mock her failure (once again?).

Along with the release of this new video, Hawk has announced his first round of tour dates, and sadly they are all on the East Coast. If you haven’t heard the album yet, do yourself and everyone around you a favor and pick up a copy of Grace/Confusion now.

Memory Tapes Tour Dates:
02/04 – Washington, DC @ DC9
02/05 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
02/06 – Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands
02/07 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall

For more information:

Memory Tapes

Dutra expounded, “I tried to tell the story while keeping the video visually interesting and inferring some of the same emotions I get when listening to the song… Sam and Rado are truly doing something fresh, important, and new despite being very influenced on the past.” The imagery is decidedly psychedelic with tons of retro gear and clothes being flashed throughout the video; even the hotel lighting reminds me of Fear and Loathing a bit.

Watch this video on YouTube.

“San Francisco” is the second video released off Foxygen’s sophomore album and offers a vastly different sound than the first single, “Shuggie.” Foxygen’s tour with labelmates Unknown Mortal Orchestra begins in February, and We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic is now available for pre-order.

Foxygen Tour Dates:

02/13 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
02/15 – Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
02/16 – Las Vegas, NV – Beauty Bar w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
02/18 – El Paso, TX – The Lowbrow Palace w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
02/19 – San Antonio, TX – The Korova w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
02/20 – Austin, TX – The Mohawk w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
02/21 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
02/22 – New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jack’s w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
02/23 – Atlanta, GA – 529 w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/03 – Montreal, QC – Il Motore w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/04 – Toronto, ON – Wrong Bar w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/06 – Holland, MI – Knickerbocker Theater at Hope College w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/08 – Bloomington, IN – Bluebird Nightclub w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/09 – St. Louis, MO – Firebird w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/11 – Norman, OK – Opolis w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/12 – Dallas, TX – Club Dada w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/18 – Denver, CO – Lerimer Lounge w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/19 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/22 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra & Wampire
03/23 – Vancouver, BC – The Media Club w/ Unkown Mortal Orchestra, Wampire, & Blessed Feathers

For more info:

Foxygen

The NSFW-video was co-directed by Lamar himself, along with Jerome D and Dave Free, and features a bit of a solo performance by Sherane, a curvy young lady referenced within the album itself. Check out the video below and let me know your thoughts in the comments. Do you think the gritty treatment better suits Lamar’s style than the comparably polished video for “Swimming Pools (Drank)” did?

For more info:

Kendrick Lamar’s Facebook Page

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