FatCat Records - News

Tal National release new single

2013-05-17T12:22+00:00

Tal National premier their new single “Wongharey” on PopMatters. Already local legends in their homeland Niger, Tal National's first internationally-released album and FatCat debut - Kaani - will be out in September. The band craft fascinating, mesmerising African guitar music influenced as much by west-African highlife as by Taureg and desert guitar techniques.

Hear Wongharey on PopMatters.

New Demo - Hibou

2013-05-16T12:41+00:00

Our latest demo comes from Hibou, the moniker of Peter Michel who formerly toured North America and Europe as the drummer of indie outfit Craft Spells. At only 19, he already has a year-long touring experience and two songs under his belt, one of which is the new demo track of the week.

Enjoy "Glow" on our demo site.

Dead Gaze announce US summer dates

2013-05-14T19:00+00:00

With an album release just around the corner, Dead Gaze is gearing up for a short US tour. The band will be heading out on the road with Dent May playing some shows in the midwest, starting in Chicago and traveling through Minneapolis, Iowa City, and Columbus, Ohio.

Dead Gaze's debut FatCat release is a compilation album, titled 'Dead Gaze' and comprised of the best tracks from their extensive back catalogue. It will be released on May 21st. The album features a collection of tracks from mostly out of print and hard to find singles that were released over the band's career and will be on translucent red vinyl that is limited to 500 copies. you can order a copy HERE.

Dates:
15 Jun - Schubas Tavern, Chicago IL
16 Jun - 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis MN
25 Jun - The Mill, Iowa City IA
26 Jun - Ace of Cups, Columbus OH

PAWS announce June US tour

2013-05-14T18:17+00:00

After their busy SXSW debut and US tour, PAWS will be heading back to the states for a short June stint. They'll be opening for We Were Promised Jetpacks, Fucked Up, and Eternal Summers which should make for some dynamite shows. Be sure to get out to a show in your area, and pick up a copy of their debut record 'Cokefloat' HERE.

Dates:
06 Jun - Empty Bottle, Chicago IL *
07 Jun - Fountain Square, Cincinnati OH ^
08 Jun - Garden Bowl, Detroit MI
09 Jun - Garfield Artworks, Pittsburgh PA
12 Jun - Morgan’s Pier, Philadelphia PA ^
13 Jun - The Sinclair, Cambridge MA #
16 Jun - DC9, Washington DC
* w/Eternal Summers
^w/ We Were Promised Jetpacks
#w/ Fucked Up

Stream His Clancyness - Machines (Acoustic Version) via Gold Flake Paint

2013-05-14T14:59+00:00

In celebrating their third birthday Gold Flake Paint are streaming an acoustic version of Machines by recent signing Johnathan Clancy's His Clancyness over on their site. Machines is taken from His Clancyness' upcoming cassette EP Charade which comes out 20th May.

Gaining early experience through playing in a number of hardcore / punk bands, and having toured the world in a couple of indie outfits, Jonathan struck out on his own back in 2009 and started to gain some early recognition across internet blogs when he began leaking out a series of bedroom-recorded psych-pop gems. Recording alone at home often late at night, writing and playing everything himself, he produced a steady stream of tracks prodding in different directions and comprising weird pop outbursts, fuzzy guitars, cloudy ambient texturing, warm drum machine pulses, and bitter-sweet chord progressions - all anchored by a particular melodic sensibility and Clancy's bold, often reverb-drenched vocals.

The EP is out on the 20th May and can be preordered HERE.

Stream Machines (Acoustic Version) on Gold Flake Paint HERE.

Stream Dead Gaze’s new album via Ad Hoc

2013-05-14T10:55+00:00

Head over to Ad Hoc to stream Dead Gaze’s self-titled debut album for FatCat sister label Palmist, a compilation of highlights from the band’s extensive back catalogue, now mostly out of print, with new unheard material. Coming from the hills of North Mississippi and the Cats Purring Collective (featuring prolific artists like Dent May, Bass Drum of Death and Flight), Furlow has been releasing material under the guise of Dead Gaze since 2009, recently morphing into a five piece live band, though the album was mostly written, played, and recorded by Furlow. Combining effortless pop songs with recordings that put an emphasis on texture, Dead Gaze has delivered a densely layered and engaging record.

The album is out now in UK/ Europe and can be ordered HERE. It is released in North America on May 21st and can be ordered HERE .

Head HERE to stream the album at Ad Hoc.

Pre-order Frightened Rabbit’s ‘Sing The Greys’ on vinyl

2013-05-13T13:54+00:00

Head over to our online store to pre-order Frightened Rabbit's 2007 album Sing The Greys, released on vinyl for the very first time.

'Lyrically ranging from incisive social commentary, to lucid, humourous explorations of interpersonal relationships, Scott’s songs are essentially folk-tinged pop songs with more fervent ambitions.'

The heavy-weight vinyl is accompanied by a free download, and costs only £14.99. You can catch Frightened Rabbit on tour this year and at Reading and Leeds festivals.

His Clancyness’ Charade EP available to PRE-ORDER

2013-05-09T12:54+00:00

His Clancyness' debut FatCat release - Charade EP - is available to pre-order on both our website, and iTunes. The greatly anticipated release is available from our store in mp3 and wav formats as well as in extremely limited quantities on cassette tape, to be released - in all formats - on the 20th of May, 2013.

The EP marks the start of a relationship with FatCat Records and utilizes the tape format to place the past and future of the band side by side; side B collecting together the bedroom recordings that were met with a wave of excitement from tastemaker sites such as Pitchfork, Gorilla Vs. Bear and No Fear of Pop, while side A consists of two tracks from the stunning forthcoming full-length ‘Vicious'. The limited edition cassette will also be available to buy on the band's European tour, details of which are below.

May 18 - Roma Pop Fest @ Revolver Live Club, Rome, IT
May 20 - Vera, Groningen, NL
May 21 - AB Box, Bruxelles, BE
May 22 - Le Trianon, Paris, FR
May 23 - Start The Bus, Bristol, UK
May 24 - East Village Arts Club, Liverpool, UK
May 25 - Workmans, Dublin, IE
May 26 - Bowery, Cork, IE
May 27 - Prince Albert, Brighton
May 28 - Cargo (ATP presents…), London, UK
Jun 01 - Handmade Festival, Guastalla, IT
Jun 02 - Macello, Padova, IT
Jun 07 - Lanificio 25, Naples, IT
Jun 08 - Hana-Bi, Marina di Ravenna, IT
Jun 09 - MIAMI Festival, Milano, IT
Jun 11 - Vicolo Bolognetti, Bologna, IT

Max Richter to launch Rain Room at MoMA

2013-05-09T10:44+00:00

Max Richter is to launch Random International's artwork 'Rain Room' at the MoMA in New York. The art piece, which consists of a large room filled with simulated rainfall, paused by human movement, creates the illusion of passing through rain, untouched by it, and allows visitors to remain dry whilst surrounded by water.

The piece is part of an exhibition entitled EXPO 1: New York, and enjoyed huge success at London's Barbican Centre before transferring. Max Richter composed a special piece for the artwork, entitled 'Rainlight' (a free download of which is available below). For more information on 'Rain Room', visit MoMA's website.

The Twilight Sad - What an ‘Album’ Means to Me

2013-05-08T15:54+00:00

James from The Twilight Sad has written a lovely piece for the Scottish Album of the Year Award blog about what albums mean to him.

The Twilight Sad's 'No One Can Ever Know'' and Cokefloat by PAWS have been nominated for this year's SAY Award.

New Demo - AV-K

2013-05-08T13:43+00:00

Our latest demo comes from AV-K, the moniker of 28 year-old Italian producer Anacleto Vitolo. Starting his career as a hip hop DJ, he has since evolved his sound into a mix of industrial, trip hop, glitch, ambient, minimal and experimental electronica. Torsion, referencing a term in abstract algebra, is the brand new track from his upcoming album.

Enjoy "Torsion" on our demo site.

Nina Nastasia feature on Stereogum

2013-05-07T12:24+00:00

Stereogum have featured You Follow Me by Nina Nastasia & Jim White in their great Backtrack series.

Buy You Follow Me from the FatCat online store

Noisey premieres new Dead Gaze song “Fight Til It’s Dead”

2013-05-06T19:44+00:00

Head over to Noisey HERE to listen to "Fight Til It's Dead", a previously unreleased track from Mississippi's Dead Gaze off the upcoming self-titled album due out May 21st in the US. Coming from the hills of North Mississippi and the Cats Purring Collective (featuring prolific artists like Dent May, Bass Drum of Death and Flight), Ransome Cole Furlow has been releasing material under the guise of Dead Gaze since 2009, recently morphing into a five piece live band, though the album was mostly written, played, and recorded by Furlow. Dead Gaze will be playing a few shows around the US with Dent May in mid-late June.

DATES:
15 Jun - Schubas Tavern, Chicago IL
16 Jun - 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis MN
26 Jun - The Mill, Iowa City, IA

Sigur Rós to compose for ‘The Simpsons’

2013-05-03T14:16+00:00

As reported by The Reykjavik Grapevine, former FatCat band, Sigur Rós, are to compose a special piece of music for an episode of The Simpsons, in which recurring character, Carl Carlson, explores his Icelandic heritage. The possibility of a Sigur Rós version of the famous Danny Elfman-composed Simpsons theme tune has also been mooted.

This would mark the second appearance of Iceland on the long-running tv show, the first being in 2010 when the Icelandic bank crash was satirised.

The episode is scheduled to air on the 19th of May.

Tal National sign to FatCat

2013-05-01T16:59+00:00

Straight from Niamey, Niger, Tal National are set to move from hometown hero status in their native landlocked, desert-dominated West African country to the global stage, thanks to a recent signing to FatCat Records and their debut tour outside Niger, starting at the Chicago World Music Festival inSeptember 2013.

Revered regionally for their mix of Saharan and West African sounds and for their intense guitar work and upbeat vibe, Tal National make striking music, despite a constant dearth of instruments and a complete lack of local studios. Their sound combines gritty electric sounds and layered, intriguing percussion including the talking drum. Tal National’s songs find a looping, trance-inducing quality (think desert blues) but with joy and vitality (think highlife or mbalax).

Watch "Katako" here:

The band is driven by the energetic, forward-thinking bandleader, Hamadal “Almeida” Moumine, who also runs a local children’s charity, serves as a judge in local courts, and had a successful soccer career before becoming Niger’s best-loved guitarist. Turning a dust-covered, half-abandoned studio into their rough-and-ready home base with help from Chicago-based producer Jamie Carter, Tal National laid down tracks all day, only to dash off to five-hour shows later in the evening. Carter sent the tracks along to FatCat who got it straight away.

Tal National’s first-ever foray outside of Niger will begin in Chicago before expanding out to the rest of the world. The band's FatCat debut, ‘Kaani’, is due out on LP/CD/Dig 09/10/13. Check out the band's Facebook page here.

New Demo - Happy Walter Jr

2013-05-01T14:28+00:00

Our latest demo comes from Ryan Klass, a highly productive / creative 23-year old from Agoura Hills, California with the alias Walter Happy Jr. This song - one of a whole pile of skewed nuggest he sent in - is based upon a bunch of tape recordings he made back when he was 17, which he has subsequently imported into garageband and embellished some of the musical parts. As well as making music, he's also an author and an artist.

You can check out Ryan's drawings here and his book here.

Enjoy "Surfacing the Scraps of the Inner Dimension" on our demo site.

Upcoming We Were Promised Jetpacks UK festival shows

2013-05-01T12:18+00:00

We Were Promised Jetpacks are gearing up to play a selection of UK Festivals throughout May before they head out to the U.S. for a short East Coast/ Mid West tour.

Check them out at the following dates:

May 05 - The Big Beach Ball Festival, Aberdeen Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen TICKET LINK

May 18 - Stag & Dagger Festival, 02 ABC, Glasgow TICKET LINK

May 25 - Handmade Festival, Leicester TICKET LINK

Max Richter update… UPDATED!

2013-05-01T10:57+00:00

UPDATE: The Congress, Last Days on Mars and Lunchbox will all feature at Cannes Film Festival this year.

Max Richter has been a busy, busy man with films he's scored currently on release, others in the works, performances of existing work taking place worldwide, a new composition in the pipeline, and recordings on the cards.

2013 sees the release of 3 films Max has scored: ensemble drama Disconnect, Saudia Arabia-set coming of age film Wadjda, and German WWII drama Lore. In addition to this, he is currently scoring Waltz With Bashir director Ari Folman's The Congress, space-set horror, Last Days on Mars, Hindi-language The Lunchbox (Dabba), and documentary The Green Prince.

Current performances of existing work includes Random Dance/Rainroom, which is transferring to New York's MoMA on the 10th of May, performances of Macbeth on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, and many concerts of his Recomposed: Vivaldi Four Seasons, including some by Max himself spanning Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

A rearrangement of his own aforementioned work, Recomposed: Vivaldi Four Seasons is to premiere in a triple bill at the Zurich Ballet on the 24th of April 2014 at the Opern Haus, after which the music will be available for other choreographers to use.

As for recordings, Recomposed: Vivaldi Four Seasons will be relaunched on the first day of spring with a digital release of a new remixed version of "Spring 1", as well as the soundtracks to Wadjda and Disconnect being released through Milan Records.

Vashti Bunyan on Nick Drake: interviewed by The Line of Best Fit

2013-05-01T10:16+00:00

The Line of Best Fit have conducted a moving and gracious interview with FatCat artist Vashti Bunyan with regards to Nick Drake and Way To Blue, a new tribute compilation of other artists covering the late singer-songwriter's works. Bunyan, who is amongst the artists contributing a cover to the record, reminisces on her brief encounter with Drake: “He seemed like a mysterious, black-clad and unknowable figure to me – a beautiful boy — almost unreal”.

The tribute album is the labour of love of Joe Boyd, who produced early albums for both Bunyan and Drake, with string arrangements by Robert Kirby.

A remastered, vinyl edition of Bryter Later and Way to Blue are both available now. You can read The Line of Best Fit's interview with Vashti Bunyan, here, as well as listen to Vashti's cover of Nick Drake's "Which Will".