Altered Zones

Dark Brooklyn duo Light Asylum graced the downstairs stage of Altered Zones' CMJ showcase alongside Atlas Sound, Eric Copeland, and Captured Tracks up-and-comers Dive for a set not to forget. Peep their live rendition of "End of Days," which might just end up on their forthcoming full-length on Mexican Summer next year. --Ric Leichtung, Altered Zones

Light Asylum "End of Days"

Stream: MEX100 - Ford & Lopatin + Shannon Funchess + Tamaryn

Light Asylum's "Dark Allies" may already be one of the most macabre feel good anthems of 2010-2011, but the Berlin-based DJ duo of Joey Hansom and Dickey Doo have gone and taken it one step further with this vaudevillian edit of the single, just in time for Halloween. Don't worry, it's not another Monster Mash-Up, although the bassline is chromatic in the most seasonally appropriate of ways. --Emilie Friedlander, Altered Zones

MP3: Light Asylum: "Dark Allies (Joey Hansom & Dickey Doo Remix)"

Grab Light Asylum's In Tension EP from Mexican Summer

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Altered Zones is excited to announce the set times for our unofficial CMJ extravaganza at the New Museum tomorrow. Atlas Sound recently jumped on the bill, and there also a few new names on the Nuit Blanche New York-curated roster of visual artists, which will include Alice Cohen, Liz Harris (Grouper), Luke Wyatt, Miko Revereza, Camilla Padgitt-Coles, Stephanie Wuertz, Todd Ledford, Olivia Wyatt, James Thacher, Ethan Vogt, and Brock Monroe of Joshua Light Show.

Altered Zones takes place at the New Museum, located at 235 Bowery in Downtown Manhattan. It starts at 7:30 p.m. and costs $20 for New Museum members and $25 for general admission. Buy tickets here. This event is 21+. Beer will be provided by Brooklyn Brewery.

Theatre:

08:00 pm (downstairs) Dive
09:00 pm (downstairs) Teengirl Fantasy
10:00 pm (downstairs) Light Asylum
11:00 pm  (downstairs) Eric Copeland
12:00 am (downstairs) Trash Talk
1:00 am (downstairs) Atlas Sound

Skyroom:
08:30 pm (upstairs) FORMA
09:30 pm (upstairs) Xeno & Oaklander
10:30 pm (upstairs) Prince Rama
11:30 pm  (upstairs) GRIMES
12:30 am (upstairs) AraabMUZIK

Lobby (DJs):
Awesome Tapes From Africa 8-9
Weird Magic 9-10
Todd Pendu 10-11
Main Attrakionz  11-12
Ayshay 12-1

Update: We are thrilled to announce today that Atlas Sound has joined the lineup of our event this Saturday at New Museum! More information, as well as set times, will be revealed Friday.

This Saturday, October 22nd, Altered Zones is throwing an unofficial CMJ party at the the New Museum. Inspired by the idea of setting some of our favorite artists from the DIY music world in the museum context, we've teamed with our parent site, Pitchfork, to put together a line-up of AraabMuzik, Grimes, Teengirl Fantasy, Trash Talk, Eric Copeland, Prince Rama, Light Asylum, Xeno and Oaklander, FORMA, and Dive, not to mention a killer stable of DJs, including Awesome Tapes From Africa, Weird Magic, Todd Pendu, Main Attrakionz, and Ayshay.

Visuals will be curated by Nuit Blanche New York, will feature Alice Cohen, Grouper's Liz Harris, Luke Wyatt, Miko Revereza, Camilla Padgitt-Coles, and more. The New Museum, our city's only museum devoted exclusively to contemporary art, will be donating a portion of the proceeds to the 2012 New Museum triennial, which is an international exhibition of emerging artists.

Altered Zones takes place at the New Museum, located at 235 Bowery in Downtown Manhattan. It starts at 7:30 p.m. and costs $20 for New Museum members and $25 for general admission. Buy tickets here. This event is 21+. Beer will be provided by Brooklyn Brewery.

MP3: Atlas Sound: "Te Amo"

MP3: araabMUZIK: "Streetz Tonight"

MP3: Trash Talk: "Explode"

MP3: Eric Copeland: "Krankendudel"

MP3: Grimes: "Vanessa"

MP3: Dive: "Sometime"

MP3: Ayshay: "WARN-U"

MP3: Main Attrakionz: "Perfect Skies"

MP3: Grouper: "Alien Observer"

[image by Max Capacity]

In celebration of one full year of Altered Zones, we're going back to where we began and observing our very favorite tracks of 2011 thus far. We pulled together all of AZ's contributing blogs' top picks and assembled a 25-song list of cuts that can't missed. --Ric Leichtung, Altered Zones

AZ's Favorites of 2011.5

Balam Acab: "Oh, Why"
Bill Callahan: "Baby's Breath"
Clams Casino: "I'm God (Instrumental)"
Devin Gary & Ross: "Four Corners"
Dirty Beaches: "Lord Knows Best"
Ford & Lopatin: "Emergency Room"
Gang Gang Dance: "Glass Jar"
Grimes: "Vanessa"
Holy Other: "With U"
Iceage: "White Rune"
John Maus: "Believer"
Julian Lynch: "Terra"
LA Vampires Goes Ital: "Streetwise"
Light Asylum: "Dark Allies"
Matthewdavid: "Like You Mean It"
Panda Bear: "Alsatian Darn"
Peaking Lights: "Tiger Eyes (Laid Back)"
Protect-U: "U-Uno"
Pure X: "Don't Wanna Live, Don't Wanna Die"
Purity Ring: "Loftcries"
Puro Instinct: "Stilyagi"
Sic Alps: "Do You Want To Give $$?"
Sleep ∞ Over: "Casual Diamond"
The Weeknd: "The Morning"
Woods: "Pushing Onlys"

The Mexican Summer twitter gave us the tip-off to Light Asylum's latest video from their recent 12", In Tension. Directed by Eden Batki, the video draws from footage of the darkwave duo in full fog-drenched form, performing live, navigating through a Portland forest, and kickin' it in a Santa Cruz lounge that had the air of "a haunted old resort where Joan Crawford-types would holiday." --Ric Leichtung, Altered Zones via NOWNESS

Take a listen to Light Asylum's recently Zoned In EP below before buying your own copy from Mexican Summer

Light Asylum: In Tension

[Photo by Christelle de Castro]

In celebration of Light Asylum's recent re-issue of their In Tension EP on Mexican Summer, SALEM remixed "Shallow Tears," a song that's been has been kicking around since 2009 and previously reworked by Teengirl Fantasy and Al Fatima Qadiri. Sampling just a few measures of the original, SALEM piles on layers of syncopated drum fills and takes the original in a different direction, warping Shannon Funchess' androgynous vocal into something more piercing and eerie. --Ric Leichtung, Altered Zones

MP3: Light Asylum: "Shallow Tears ((Like A Storm) SALEM RMX)"

Though this cut won't see proper release, you can grab a copy of Light Asylum's In Tension from Mexican Summer

--Previously

Light Asylum: In Tension

By Luke Carrell

Long available exclusively via shows, select record shops, and that friend who lets you borrow tapes sometimes, Light Asylum’s In Tension EP is finally seeing a proper release. This news caused both cheers of joy and sighs of relief, as many had feared that the recordings-- now over a year old-- might fall prey to the inertia of the label-hunting process-- or end up being shelved by the duo of Shannon Funchess and Bruno Coviello themselves. Fortunately, the forces of dark electronic pop had other plans; one international tour, a music video, over a hundred shows, and many frustrating label flirtations later, Brooklyn-based Mexican Summer stepped in and we find ourselves here, awaiting the release of In Tension as a 12-inch EP.

As appealing and relatable as that narrative may be, a fresh listen reveals that In Tension has done more than "age well." The gap between recording and release date has only deepened the sense of timelessness made these tracks so potent from the get-go. Funchess' commanding, almost predatory vocals punctuate brassy synth grooves, equally suited to a foggy dance floor and a well-worn mixtape. The recordings are rich in detail without seeming overly exacting or canned, and while the song structures don’t stray drastically from their own peculiar formula (usually, a combination of protracted verses and repetitive melodies), the textures on the EP are far from predictable. "A Certain Person" works beautifully as an earnest, new romantic-tinged opener when followed by the quasi-religious rapture of “Dark Allies.” Likewise, the seasick industrial beat of “Knights and Weekends” forms the perfect shot-in-the-arm before the martial drum machine dirge of “Skull Fuct.” Few EPs manage to be so diverse yet so cohesive, and as Light Asylum work toward a full album in 2012, one wonders what the future will bring. In the meantime, we intend to scope out their live show for clues.

Light Asylum: In Tension

In Tension EP is out on June 14th on 12" vinyl, and is currently available for pre-order via Mexican Summer. Rumor has it that there are a few surprise bonus tracks in the works

Finally-- Light Asylum have found a label to call home. After kicking around the Brooklyn scene for a couple of years now, and talking to many labels, the duo have decided on Mexican Summer. It wasn't easy though; Shannon and Bruno recently talked to Luke Carrell in their recent Artist Profile about their struggle to find the right label:

"It’s been a lot of work, I’m not going to lie... We just want to make sure it’s put out the right way, with the right intentions, rather than just slapped up on iTunes with everybody doing their Internet consumer thing. You can’t do anything as an artist, especially in “today’s economy,” without some help. So we’re looking for a label that really has our back... they want, basically your baby, wrapped in a fucking platinum and diamond-studded capsule/dildo/rapture thing… and then they’ll just take your shit and mass produce it and not give you tour support and not back the music. Then they don’t sell any units and they wonder why. If they’re not supporting the artist, how is the artist supposed to go on tour and make the music more popular than it already is so that they can sell records?"

While Light Asylum is making us wait until 2012 for the full length, stream the four-track In Tension EP on their Soundcloud and pick up a copy from Mexican Summer, available June 14th. --Ric Leichtung, Altered Zones

MP3: Light Asylum: "Dark Allies"

MP3: Light Asylum: "A Certain Person"

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Pretty impressed by this deftly edited, Dan Flavin-meets-Grace Jones fantasia that video artist Grant Worth cooked up in collaboration with Brooklyn's Light Asylum, whose '80s-throwback power ballads ride heavily on the fierce charisma of lead singer Shannon Funchess. A bit foggy as to what this production is "about", but what better way to capture the excess and hyperbole of that halcyon era than riffing on crucifixion in a dance anthem, and recasting the pietà as a half-naked woman holding a bundle of neon glow sticks?