The Method Actors, photo by Curtis Knapp

2 posts in 2 days…what is this, Twitter? I had this information yesterday, I just wanted to compartmentalize. Figured it was time to give some updates about what is going on in Acute land. First, I’d like to formally announce our next release, This Is Still It by the Method Actors. One of the original Athens, GA bands from the scene that gave us Pylon, B-52s, REM, Love Tractor and others, the Method Actors started as the duo of Vic Varney and David Gamble, and with this basic line-up they rocked riveting, angsty, angular, funky, raw and explosive rock and roll. Beefheart meets Television guitar, propulsive drums, ecstatic singing and a sound that ranges from and jangly and aggressive post-punk rock to a deconstructed and deep funk to more expansive and experimental structures. This CD compilation will focus on the earlier years of the band before they expanded their line-up, featuring selections from their first several singles and the original double-LP UK version of their first LP, the critically acclaimed Little Figures. Trying to figure out how to describe them makes me realize how much they have in common with some other Acute releases, particularly aspects of The Fire Engines and The Lines, but in a particularly American manner. We’re shooting for a very early 2010 release and will have some updates prior to then, including some free downloads and more info.

After the Method Actors, we are not going to wait another year for another release. No, we’re already working on a few follow-up projects, all of which will be limited edition vinyl and digital download only releases. That’s right, we’re mostly abandoning the Compact Disc. If we line up certain dream projects that we think could raise the interest of the types of fans who still buy CDs, we will consider it, but some of the upcoming projects we have are soooo obscure and have such a niche interest, that the only people who will probably get excited about them are the kinds of fans who are collecting vinyl these days, and things seem to be trending in that direction, or haven’t you read any “death of the CD, rebirth of vinyl” articles lately? For those of you without the record players, the music will still be available from all your favorite download sites, and people who purchase the vinyl will get a coupon to get the downloads as well. No more ripping vinyl for you! We’re super excited about finally putting out vinyl, and think people will really dig these releases, more information about that soon.

What else is new? Some Acute related acts are rocking out and busier than ever.

photo by Tony Cenicola

First we have exciting performances by The Glenn Branca Ensemble, performing music from the album in progress, “The Ascension: The Sequal”. The members of the group are, on guitars: Reg Bloor, Evelyne Buhler, Eric Hubel and Greg McMullen, on bass: Ryan Walsh, on drums: Libby Fab and conducting: Glenn Branca. They are playing PS1 on Sept 5th as part of the Summer WarmUP series (also playing is Coati Mundi! and TBD, Justin from !!! and Doug Lee’s new house music project), Le Poisson Rouge on Sept 11th and Issue Project Room on Oct 17th.

Finally, some news from Stuart from Ike Yard. They’ve got a new 10″ coming out soon to be mastered in the Basic Channel studio in Berlin, more news when that’s released on the Phisteria label. He’s also got some interesting events lined up for his new project Outpost, a collaboration with Mark C. from Live Skull. From Stuart:

Outpost presents a preview of JG Ballard tribute series Sept 5th between 9-12 on WFMU; Michael Goodstein’s “Choking On Cufflinks” radio show …

* Atrocity Exhibition Chapter 1 excerpts , read by David Silver ,sdtk by Outpost.
* Drowned World soundscape by Mark Fisher aka K- Punk
* Ice Planet & Serial Angels recorded live in Studio + interview , discussion after 10

to be followed by an expanded version @ Monkeytown Oct.24 …
All the above + All of  Atrocity Exhibition’s Chapter 1,
Time,Memory and Inner Space. Read by Judy Nylon + special video and music mix

More to follow : London’s Resonance FM , and 2010 – other venues in Europe tba

That’s it for now!

Been meaning to post some new music again for a while. I don’t have much time for the new stuff as there’s still too much old stuff to catch up with, I mean I just heard Din A Testbild, and Dion & The Belmont’s My Girl the Month of May, but I do really dig a lot of stuff that’s going on now. Lots of synth-punk stuff and C86 influences and psychedelic flourishes and plenty of post-punk, NDW, italo and other referencing. MGMT is really great. But I just got exposed to some tangentially Acute related artists I thought I’d share.

When I first met Matt Wood, he was referred to as “Teenage Guitar Sensation Matt Wood.” He had somehow joined the Nightingales, the band that evolved out of the Prefects. The Nightingales reformed around the time Acute’s awesome Prefects CD was released and we helped bring them to the US for their first gigs. On their second or third visit, they had shuffled their line-up a bit (not the first, nor last time) and had this stylish youngster playing guitar. From the first note it was obvious he was a force to be reckoned with, adding a great deal of skronk to the band. He was excited that our next release was the Fire Engines CD, so I knew he had excellent taste. I was sad to hear that he left the Nightingales, though they replaced him with Christy from Christy & Emily, forging a slightly different but no less powerful sound. In keeping touch with Matt since then I learned he has a new project still very much in the early stages. They are called the Silver Hares and are described on myspace thusly…

metalbeat noise and pop songs to salvage despondency of grey matter modern music + all suspect supposed ‘new-wave’ / ‘indust-est’ monochromoloid young liquid savages &/or hungry ghost league.

Their influences are listed as Faust, Palais Schaumburg, Subway Sect, Throbbing Gristle, Milk n Cookies, Joe Meek, Fire Engines, Family Fodder, Sparks, John Foxx

I asked for further details and found out we’re all at Goldsmith’s College and live in a big pink house just round the corner from Deptford (fun city!) We hope to one day find somebody else we like who’ll sing and play bass for us.

Without further ado, here is a song called 48CRASH, also known as Demonstration Two.

The Silver Hares-48CRASH
[audio:http://acuterecords.com/blog/audio/48CRASH.mp3]
control-click to download

Totally killer, right?

And a world and ocean away…I got word from Gustaf Heden, a young swedish songwriter who’s been gigging solo around NYC for a few years now and is forming a new band, Gustaf Heden & Distracting Noises. I’m assuming he’s spent some time in Scotland because he’s worked with Malcolm Ross of Josef K and Orange Juice and Acute’s good friend Russell Burn of the Fire Engines, Win, Sexual Objects and other projects. Gustaf’s debut album, recorded with Russell, called Spectorbutllets is out soon. This is what he had to say about it on his myspace page…

My debut album and collaboration with Russell Burn is recorded and being mixed in Edinburgh by mr. Burn. You can catch the first, raw fruits on here – “Goldmine”, “The Buffalos” and “- + – is…” are rough mixes from the album.

This LP is what happens when you tell one of the best and most creative drummers I’ve ever heard to play 4/4 on every fucking song, and see what he does. It’s what happens when you let me attack every instrument around. Most importantly, it’s a nuclear battlefield of different ideas, harmonies and disarray influenced by the likes of Mayakovsky, Bowie, 13th Floor Elevators, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Augustus Pablo, and gay spray.

There are also some further contributions on certain tracks – guitar from Malcolm Ross (Orange Juice/Josef K, The Bum-Clocks), writing by Joanna Pickering, plus vocal assistance from Heather Craig and Fiona McIntosh.

It was a great month in Scotland and apart from walking up Arthur’s Seat and taking “creative breaks” at the Albion Pub I also got to collaborate on a track off the Sexual Objects’ album and on the second Piefinger album – two albums I can’t wait to hear – as well as play piano with The Bum-Clocks on two nights (Thank you for the great support, Aberdeen!)

Enough Yakkin’. Hope you like the songs – there is much more to come…

For DJ/review advance copies contact us on here or on distractingnoises@gmail.com

I’m really digging this song Goldmine, which reminds me of some the more accessible if shambolic Homosexuals songs…

Gustaf Heden-Goldmine
[audio:http://acuterecords.com/blog/audio/goldmine.mp3]
control-click to download

What else is new? It’s so hard to keep up. I love Jeremy Jay. John Carpenter sounds really good. Thousands of post-balaeric revival grooves, post-Italians Do It Better moody italo-wave, Telepathe and Effie Briest. Mirror Mirror. The lo-fi italo/techno deconstruction of the mysterious Yellow Beach Balls. I don’t know, I still mostly listen to Fred Neil and the Lines. I JUST finally got Love and Hate by Section 25 and can’t wait to see them (and the Raincoats!) at Part Time Punks fest. I don’t get out much but did see The Pretenders and Cat Power in Central Park. What’s new with you? What’s the new stuff we should be listening to? What’s that, what’s new with Acute Records itself? That’s the next post.

Remember some time ago when the Film Society of Lincoln Center at the Walter Reade theater, as part of their Film Comment Selects series, showed a movie and I was invited to DJ the after party? Well, they/we are doing it again. This time Film Comment Selects presents The Last Days of Disco, from 1998, the third part of a trilogy of sorts by Whit Stilman, following the awesome Metropolitan and Barcelona, which I’ve never seen. The movie takes place in the early 80s and follows a group of friends as they talk about careers and relationships and other things that people in their 20s and 30s talk about. Personally, I especially identified with the character who spends most of his time talking about the utopian wonder that is disco, without ever having taken part in it.

Anyway, I haven’t seen the movie in ages. It’s fun. Chris Eigeman is in it, and he’s awesome. And even though it takes place in the early 80s, we can relate to it in a late 90s/early 00s vibe because it also stars Chloe Sevigny and Tara Subkoff. And afterwords, Viva Radio is sponsoring the after-party, featuring free drinks and disco DJing from your old Alldisco faves, Tropical Jeremy Campbell and myself, Dan Selzer. We’re gonna play some disco classics, some early 80s boogie, some fun stuff, some crazy stuff, some gay stuff, some macho stuff, you name it.

If all that doesn’t sell you on it, check out the radio bumper…another bang-up job from Tedward!

[audio:http://acuterecords.com/blog/audio/disco.mp3]

Here are the details:
FILM COMMENT SELECTS PRESENTS

THE LAST DAYS OF DISCO
Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 7:30pm

DIRECTOR WHIT STILLMAN IN PERSON!

All ticket buyers are eligible to win a FREE DVD copy of the movie, courtesy of Criterion, during a drawing at the screening!

Screening followed by a Late Disco Dance Party with DJs Jeremy Campbell (Tropical Computer System) & Dan Selzer (Acute Records), sponsored by Viva Radio with refreshments by Stella Artois.

The very early ’80s. Bourgie bourgie roommates Alice (Chloe Sevigny) and Charlotte (Kate Beckinsale) are on the prowl, while wondering what it takes to become associate editors. Nightclub flunky Des (Chris Eiegeman) realizes he’s gay while watching Wild Kingdom. And ad-man Jimmy (Mackenzie Astin) desperately tries to get his underdressed clients into the exclusive downtown club.

This ode to the waning days of bacchanalian nightlife in the Big Apple is the third in Stillman’s self-proclaimed “Doomed-Bourgeois-in-Love” trilogy and his most electrifying, with a pulsating soundtrack to boot: Diana Ross, Chic, Sister Sledge, The Chi-Lites, Evelyn “Champagne” King, The O’Jays, Andrea True Connection, Carol Douglas.

Purchase tickets here. Facebook event page here.

I will be playing records thursday night at the hip Trophy Bar with DJ Mcnany of Run-Roc, Justin Cherno and Matt Cash of the DFA. House, techno, disco, italo, new wave, no wave, post-punk, more house, hip-house, acid house, greenhouse, abc carpet and house, etc. This Heat? Maybe when it’s really late and nobody’s there.

Thursday August 6th at 10pm. Trophy Bar is 351 Broadway at Keap in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA.