Tag Archives: neon indian

[Event Review] Big Black Delta bring the noise at Great American Music Hall – 5/26

Posted by Dominic Powell - June 1, 2016

For this Ninja’s first time inside the Great American Music Hall, I can’t imagine a better first impression that what was left by Big Black Delta. The stage name of frequent M83 collaborator and Mellowdrone frontman Jonathan Bates, BBD impressed right from the jump. With stylistic and sonic similarities to some of the more recent Neon Indian works, Bates weaved together a dynamic setlist in his headlining slot.

Touring in promotion of his just released album – the first new album in three years – Bates gave attendees plenty of reason to continue supporting and following along his artistic journey. Trágame Tierra builds on his explosive electronic sound, pitting icy Scandinavian beats against acoustic instrumentation. Further, the influence of new wave and synth pop were dotted throughout Bates’ performance. Opening with the crowd pleasing “It’s Ok”, Bates kicked a lively performance into high gear. A steady use of vocal modifier throughout the night added a dynamic aspect to the lyricism, one that is unfortunately not present on the recorded version of Trágame Tierra. A lively rendition of “Kid Icarus” midway through was a personal highlight, containing the loud, catchy chorus that attracted me to BBD in the first place.

’Kid Icarus’

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With another release and another tour under his belt, we can only expect BBD to rise to greater prominence; his work with the likes of Kimbra, Debbie Gibson and Brandon Flowers will only prove to help refine his nostalgia-inducing sound. Listeners who missed one of the 26 Big Black Delta stops this spring can cure their fomo by getting a copy of Trágame Tierra here and by following along with Bates’ journey and latest developments on his website.

’It’s Ok’

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Noise Pop 2016: 7 Acts We Loved–SF, 2/19-2/28 [Festival Review + Playlist]

Posted by Ash El Gamal - March 4, 2016

All photos by Dom Powell except for photos of DIIV, which are by Ash.

Over the last few years, San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival has grown into our favorite week for music in the Bay Area. Taking place at venues across the city, the logistics can get tricky, but the venue hopping and set-time speculation is completely worth the broad variety of music the lineup offers. As is true for any festival. there’s no way to catch everything and there was plenty of FOMO to go around between the surprise guest filled late night Cafe Du Nord shows to the various events at Noise Pop’s home base, Swedish American Music Hall. With a couple years of experience under our belt, we definitely feel like this was both our best go-around thus far as well as the festival’s. The one great thing about the staggering number of events is that every publications experience is slightly different, each choosing different favorite takeaways based on their schedule. Take a trip back with some of our favorite sets, songs and moments from the week below. Continue reading →

[Festival Preview] Noise Pop Festival 2016–SF, 2/19-2/28

Posted by Dominic Powell - February 18, 2016

Noise Pop 2016 is quickly approaching, beginning this week, February 19^th, and ending nine days later on February 28^th. Following San Francisco’s anointment as Super Bowl City on January 30^th, the city was the center of the American sports world for nearly 2 weeks. Now, as those ceremonies are winding down, excitement regarding a more local-grown type of entertainment will be ratcheting up. Noise Pop has outdone itself in 2016, bringing one of the boldest and most impressive lineups in its prestigious history.

We were lucky enough to chat with Chad Heimann, the sole talent buyer for Noise Pop, so you’ll find some of what he had to say sprinkled through out this preview. Badges are still available for purchase here.

Continue reading →

[Album Review + Event Review] Neon Indian: Identity, the Chillwave Fallacy and Vega Intl. Night School

Posted by Dominic Powell - October 26, 2015

Neon Indian at Social Hall, SF 9/22

Looking around the crowd at the newly minted Social Hall SF, it was apparent that the diehard group of fans had little idea what they were hearing. Attending a show by a favored artist is an unforgettable experience; the anxiety and foreboding feeling that they may bomb the performance, the hope against all hope that the one favorite song played on repeat 300 times that one summer is on their set list, the lofty and unrealistic expectations of them noticing your pinpoint gaze from the stage.

All of those unstable feelings – coupled with the awkward notion of repeatedly bumping shoulders with complete strangers – are made more bearable by the overarching fact that the mass of people is musically in sync. Artists take huge risks when touring a new album pre-release; when a fan base comes together to experience their latest works before hearing a single song, the performance can either fall flat or amaze. Alan Palomo’s performance, thankfully, accomplished the latter. Despite vague familiarity with the new material, the cluster rocked and swayed to the arrangements that have made Neon Indian into a renowned electronic producer.

Between his own eccentric swinging hips and a charmingly flat-footed signature shuffle (falling somewhere between Motown and Disco), Palomo also managed to keep an often-times lost crowd energized and in the moment. Continue reading →

[NEW] Neon Indian – Slumlord

Posted by Ash El Gamal - August 14, 2015

Neon Indian
Slumlord

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After releasing his 2011 chilllwave masterpiece, Era Extraña, Neon Indian fell nearly completely silent before returning a few months ago with a higher fidelity sound on the infectious “Annie.” Today, he officially announced the long-anticipated follow-up to that influential album along with yet another spectacular single.

“Slumlord” affirms Neon Indian’s emergence from haziness with a sublime electro-groove accompanied by his airy vocals. Rather than a complete departure from the vibes of Era Extraña, the track feels more like a progression on which fans should still be able to recognize his distinctive style. Similar to his chillwave contemporaries, such as Toro y Moi and Washed Out, Neon Indian appears to be building on the sub-genre’s underlying approach to create something altogether new and equally enjoyable. Get your dance on with this one above–VEGA INTL. Night School drops October 16th and can be pre-ordered here.

[Quickies] New Experimental Music:

Posted by Blas Yaselli - April 20, 2009

Today was a great Monday, and these two new experimental songs I came across made it even better. First we start of with a very groovy and odd, synthpop song by the great indie duo Neon Indian. They have a new song out called “Deadbeat Summer” which has been picked up by a lot of the music bloggers recently.