The Bowery Ballroom upcoming shows
School Of Seven Bells
Violens / Apache Beat
- Venue:
-
The Bowery Ballroom
- Date:
- Fri 6/12
- Notes:
- 18+
- Doors: 8:00 PM / Show: 8:00 PM
- $15
- School of Seven Bells
- official website
- myspace
- Like many bands before them, School of Seven Bells were born as the result of a late-night revelation. Benjamin Curtis connected with sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza in 2004 while their bands—Secret Machines and On-Air Library!, respectively—were on tour. While watching PBS at 3am, Alejandra caught a show about the School of Seven Bells: a mythical South American pickpocket academy that may or may not have existed in the ‘80s. The idea of seven minds working as one appealed to her, as did the phrase’s cryptic musicality, and a creative spark ignited.
By the end of 2006, Curtis and the Deheza sisters had completely disappeared into School of Seven Bells. From the outset, it was clear that the trio’s music transcended the usual genre restrictions. Early recordings popped up on Sonic Cathedral, Table of Elements, and Suicide Squeeze, then Blonde Redhead tapped School of Seven Bells for a tour. Remixes came from Cocteau Twins’ Robin Guthrie and Prefuse 73, whose “Class of 73 Bells,” a re-imagining of SVIIB’s “Iamundernodisguise,” ended up on his 2007 album Preparations (Warp).
School of Seven Bells’ music is full of tensions—Curtis’ gentle guitars wrap around jagged beats; silky vocals hide behind grumpy, alien synthesizers—but the resulting songs are effortlessly cohesive, and insidiously catchy. Elements of dream-pop, Afrobeat, IDM, and 4AD’s gauzier moments provide a constantly shifting frame for the Dehezas’ lyrics, which they write as mysterious missives between the School’s imaginary seven members. On their Ghostly debut, Alpinisms, we get the impression that the three seasoned musicians have taken up full-time residence in a dizzying fantasy world; they move freely within the realm of pickpockets and dreamers, composing a soundtrack according to their own odd, beautiful logic.
- Violens
- myspace
- When Violens (vy-lenz’) began plotting their winter tour, they decided to create something to share with the audience overseas while working on their debut album. The New York band has explored a myriad of sounds and styles this past year on their self-titled EP (Cantora), a 7” for the track “Lighting Lightning” (Chess Club, UK only), and a slew of remix collaborations with the likes of MGMT, The Very Best, Lansing-Dreiden, White Lies and many more.
Violens wanted to help new fans piece together a complete picture of their diverse influences from 60’s pop psychedelia to the slick studio production of 80’s new wave, from punk and metal to the dance club bass they were raised on in Miami… The result is their Winter Mixtape, and it is available for free at http://www.violens.net
The mix introduces four songs from Violens’ forthcoming album alongside some wildly unique mash-ups which blend their own performances with music and lyrics of My Bloody Valentine, The Byrds, and Wire among others. You'll also hear remixes of tracks from their debut EP, Violens’ own remixes of White Lies’ “Unfinished Business”, a new collaboration with Caroline Polachek of Chairlift, and a gorgeous acoustic cover of Saint Etienne’s “Avenue”.
- Apache Beat
- official website
- myspace
- APACHE BEAT are five piece New York band formed in mid 2006.
Their first release was in October 2007 with a limited pressing 7” only release of their single Tropics (b/w Your Powers Are Magic). Apache Beat had their second release in May 2008 with another limited pressing 7” of Blood Thrills (b/w The Western).
They have toured in the US, UK and Europe supporting acts such as School of Seven Bells, Chairlift, Deerhunter, Crystal Castles, The Long Blondes, These New Puritans, Les Savy Fav and We Are Scientists.
Their first single (re-recorded version of Tropics) from their as-yet-titled debut album, was released in October 2008. The album called “Last Chants” has been recorded with legendary New York producer Martin Bisi (Brian Eno, Sonic Youth, Boredoms) at BC Studio in Brooklyn and will be released in the summer of 2009.
OTHER UPCOMING SHOWS FROM THE BOWERY PRESENTS
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