Stephen Mejias
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When Saints Go Machine: "Love and Respect"
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Mar 27, 2013 • 0 comments
The strange trembling vocals, warm synth sounds, and chamber pop movements of Konkylie, When Saints Go Machine’s full-length debut, appealed to me in unusual fashion: slowly at first, confounding my senses for a time, before finally winning me over. With time and repeated listening, the album became one of my very favorites of 2011.
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Payday Albums: 3/15/13
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Mar 15, 2013 • 5 comments
Today’s payday. These are the albums I bought.
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The 2013 Pitchfork Music Fest Announces Initial Lineup
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Mar 06, 2013 • 1 comments
While John Atkinson, Jason Victor Serinus, and many more of our friends and colleagues prepare for Axpona in Chicago, where they’ll face what we all hope is this winter’s last frigid gasp, I’ve got my eyes set on this summer’s Pitchfork Music Festival, to be held Friday–Sunday, July 19–21, at Chicago’s Union Park.

I hear it's gonna be hot.

Tickets are on sale now, with single-day passes priced at $50 and three-day passes selling for an attractively discounted $120. But, taking into consideration the outstanding headliners and the well-rounded initial lineup, I suspect most music fans will have a very difficult time attending this Pitchfork Music Fest for just a single day. Three-day passes are practically mandatory.

The initial lineup, highlighted by Bjork, Belle & Sebastian, and R. Kelly, was announced this week:

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Three Days in England with KEF
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Mar 04, 2013 • 4 comments
It was around 9:30am on Monday, November 12, when my plane landed in gray and chilly London. I managed to get through Customs with nothing more than the usual amount of stress and embarrassment, satisfactorily answering all of the agent’s odd questions. That out of the way, I next had to find my host—KEF’s head of brand development, Johan Coorg. Because my cell phone wasn’t working, I was worried that I’d be left stranded at Heathrow, but I recognized Coorg immediately: At the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show, he had introduced me to the stunning KEF Muon, and, at KEF’s lavish 50th Anniversary celebration, he had introduced me to a delicious Pimm’s Cup. Now he was standing casually at the Arrivals gate. He wore a dark brown blazer, striped button-down shirt, gold cufflinks, faded blue jeans, shiny leather shoes, and a look of comfort. He was busy pressing buttons on an iPhone.

“Johan,” I said.

“Hello! You made it!”

He led me from the airport, through the parking garage, and to an impressive black Mercedes. After loading our bags into the trunk, I instinctively walked around to the right-hand side of the car and nearly opened the door.

“Wrong side, mate. Unless you want to drive.”

It was a mistake I’d make a few more times before our three-day trip was over.

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Payday Albums: 2/1/13 & 3/1/13
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Mar 01, 2013 • 23 comments
I started this Payday Albums project in January. By February, I’d already fallen behind. So, let’s play catch-up:

Today’s payday. These are the albums I bought.

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Vondelpark: "California Analog Dream"
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Feb 28, 2013 • 8 comments
London-based Vondelpark is Lewis Rainsbury (vocals, production, bass, guitar, keys), Alex Bailey (bass), and Matt Law (keys). Their debut album, Seabed, will be released by R&S Records (In Order to Dance) on April 2nd.
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More Cassettes
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Feb 27, 2013 • 11 comments
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Cassettivity, the new cassette-only distribution site. At the time, Cassettivity had 10 labels on its roster; now it has 14. You can also now sort Cassettivity’s offerings by “ease of listening." I think that’s cool. Currently, Cassettivity’s easiest listening experience can be found in Manchester’s The Potomac (Sixteen Tambourines), while the hardest comes via Yvonne Lovejoy’s Voice Studies 8: This is Yvonne Lovejoy (My Dance the Skull).
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CocoRosie Announce Tales of a GrassWidow
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Feb 27, 2013 • 4 comments
Tales of a GrassWidow, CocoRosie’s fifth full-length album and first since 2010’s excellent Grey Oceans, is scheduled to be released on May 28th. The album is being self-released, features appearances by Antony Hegarty, and was produced by CocoRosie with extraordinary Icelandic composer Valgeir Sigurdsson—so I expect greatness in sound and music.
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Matmos: The Marriage of True Minds
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Feb 11, 2013 • 0 comments
Back in September, I told you a bit about Matmos’s The Ganzfeld EP, which blew my mind and promised many more great things to come.

It’s been a long wait, but The Marriage of True Minds, Matmos’s eighth full-length album, will be released by Thrill Jockey on February 19th. My complete review will appear in our April issue, but you can stream the entire album right now through Pitchfork Advance.

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Cassettivity
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Feb 08, 2013 • 5 comments
Interested in new cassette releases, but don't know where to start? Cassettivity is a cassette-only distribution site, founded by music lover Dave Sandifer. In 2013, a cassette-only distro might seem like an odd venture, but I was delighted to see it: I’ve had a difficult time keeping up with the many new and exciting cassette-only labels—they’re often extremely obscure and titles are often extremely limited—so an intelligent distribution channel makes good sense.
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Behind the Scenes: What the Brothers Sang
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Feb 07, 2013 • 0 comments
Even though my own band has recorded and released a handful of CDs and EPs, the act of making music remains mysterious and awesome. I love it. I’ll never get tired of watching musicians create.

Here, we get a behind-the-scenes look into the making of Dawn McCarthy and Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s upcoming album, What the Brothers Sang, inspired by the music of the Everly Brothers.

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Relax, Listen, and Learn
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Jan 25, 2013 • 0 comments
Because it's rad.

I found this over at Mark Betcher's "Unearthed in the Atomic Attic" blog, where you can actually hear the album's entire second side. Fun stuff.

Buy Music, Get Hi-fi at In Living Stereo
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Jan 24, 2013 • 1 comments
From now until the end of time, 15% of all record purchases made at In Living Stereo will be credited toward stereo equipment and accessories.
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Long Live High-End Audio
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Jan 24, 2013 • 46 comments
While we contemplate high-end audio’s long, slow, and stinking death, Magico, manufacturer of high-performance, high-priced loudspeakers, is in the mainstream press: USA Today ran an article earlier this week, which asked, “How much would you pay to bring music to life?”
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Payday Albums: 1/4/13
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • Jan 04, 2013 • 10 comments
Today’s payday. These are the albums I bought.
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