Pretty Lights’ record label gets rolling

Pretty Lights isn’t content selling out multiple venues or headlining the upcoming Snow Ball Festival. Derek Vincent Smith will be releasing two new EPs from NYC kids Break Science, and Colorado natives Paper Diamond via his Pretty Lights Music imprint. Paper Diamond’s debut EP, “Levitate,”  can be yours for free download via Pretty Lights Music on January 25, 2011.

Pretty Lights-I Can See It In Your Face [mp3] (via Girlie Action)

Stream Woodsman’s new album + release party info

“Rare Forms” is the name of the Woodsman album dropping January 25th via Lefse Records. But why wait a couple of weeks if you can stream the album in its entirety here (or buy here) and experience those epic 17-minute jams now?  Look for Woodsman’s CD release party  next month at the Larimer Lounge (see deets below).

Woodsman-Insects [mp3] (via Lefse)

Fri Feb 11 | Radio 1190′s Local Shakedown Presents…
WOODSMAN 12am
Doors open at 9pm   |   $8.00
VITAMINS @ 11pm
MILTON MELVIN CROISSANT III @ 10pm

Mike Marchant has decided Christmas 2011 should come early

Mike Marchant at the 2010 UMS. Photo by Julio Enriquez, heyreverb.com.

Mike Marchant fans have hit the jackpot this week. The Widowers member has made his three EPs available for free download to ring in the new year with a bang. “Outer Space and the Sea” can be downloaded here, “Indulgent Space Folk Vol. 2″ here and “Indulgent Space Folk Vol. 3: Binary Beach” here. Reverb spoke with Marchant to see what 2011 holds.

Why the sudden decision to release all of your EPs for free?

These EPs were very personal projects for me, and I was honestly quite surprised that people liked them. Releasing them for free is my way of saying thanks to everyone that has supported my various musical projects over the last few years. I know that lots of people have one or two of them, but not very many people have all three. The CDs are all sold out, and I won’t be pressing any more of them. Releasing all of them for free will allow everyone to get all three in high quality with album art. We’re beginning work on this new project, and probably won’t be playing many of these tunes anymore. I just want to share them with as many people as possible, and giving them away is the best way to do that.

Please describe the new full length in the works and does it have a release date?

After finishing the last EP, I started thinking about doing another full-length. The only full-length I’ve made is the Widowers record, and we did that in 2008. I think I’ve grown as a songwriter since then, and want to try a different approach this time around. I spent the last few months writing tons of tunes, and I’ve made a concerted effort to write songs that will work well together on a full-length record. We’ve always done everything at home, and I love doing that, but we’ll be going to a studio to track the core instrumentation to tape. After that we’ll take it home and do all the fun stuff on our own. I’m really excited about these songs, and I’m looking forward to approaching the recording process in a more professional manner. We won’t have a set release date for some time, but I will probably put some demos out soon.

Who is in the new band and how will the new bandmates change the dynamic for your new material?

“We’re still working on nailing down the lineup, I can tell you that Mark Weaver (Widowers, Constellations) is playing bass and Fez Guzman (Fissure Mystic, Night of Joy) is playing drums. They’ve been the rythym section for my solo project for quite some time. Both of them are amazing musicians, I love playing with them. I’ve been playing with Mark since we started Widowers, he’s an incredibly talented dude. He has a very unique sense of melody, and adds a lot of color to my simple pop tunes. Fez is an awesome drummer, he’s incredibly creative and his energy is infectious. We’re still figuring out who’s going to be handling the synths and keys in this project. (I keep saying “this project” because we haven’t settled on a name yet.)

Wax Trax day show happening this Saturday

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This Saturday proves to be a an action-packed afternoon in Capitol Hill. Wax Trax will host four acts from 2-6 p.m. in an afternoon showcasing some of Denver’s current noisemakers in Glass Hits, Ideal Fathers, Night of Joy and Vicious Women. Reverb caught up with Ideal Fathers to get a taste of what will be this Satuday.

How did the Wax Trax day show come together and did you have any input on the lineup?

The Wax Trax show was all Tom Nelson from Vicious Women’s idea. Tom has always had a strong passion for unconventional shows, venues etc. I think the main theme here was taking bands from different sections of the wider Denver music community and finding a place for a cooperative show that goes beyond normal cliques or niches that have formed. All in all really it’s just a bunch of bands that have played together before and love making music for the same reasons. We’ve also made a compilation and posters for the show. They were screen printed by Cause Medic Ink which is run buy Keith and Greg from Glass Hits. We’re really happy with how they’ve turned out. They’ll be available for free all day at the show!

You guys aren’t known to play many live shows. Can fans expect any new material?

This is the longest break we’ve had from shows for a quite some time. We’ve been working on a new EP and you’ll hear a few new tracks from that on Saturday. We’ve been working on them for a while, something we haven’t really done with new material in the past. Usually we let our excitement get the best of us and let the songs evolve as we play them at shows.

Will you be making the March trek to Austin for SXSW?

“The whole SXSW thing has been something we’ve thought about before but hasn’t been a priority. This year we’ve been working on finishing the EP and rounding out the other plans we have for 2011.”

Glass Hits, Ideal Fathers, Night of Joy & the Vicious Women

Saturday, January 15 · 2:00pm – 6:00pm

Wax Trax Records
638 E. 13TH AVE.
Denver, CO

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Julio Enriquez is a Denver writer and photographer, editor of the Cause=Time blog and a regular contributor to Reverb.

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