Tag Archives: Mascotte

Happy birthday, Mascotte Zurich!

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Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…the much-loved Zurich club Mascotte is turning 8 years old on 12.02.12! That’s eight years of amazing music (just look at the Mascotte concert archive to see all the awesomeness that has passed through the Mascotte’s doors), good times and fun. I’ve spent many a happy night ensconced in front of one of the Mascotte pillars, soaking up good music.

And what’s a birthday without a party? Eclectic Finnish French duo The Dø will be playing on the night, and I’m sure they’ll be properly celebratory.

The Dø released their second album Both Ways, Open Jaws last year, the follow-up to 2008′s wildly diverse Open Mouth, a surprise chart topper in France. Sometime-actress and chanteuse Olivia Merilahti and film composer Dan Levy are whizzes at radically jumping genres, with styling and music ranging from Björk to blues to experimental jazz, rock, hip-hop and folk. I saw them last year at Komplex 457 where, if I recall correctly, their live set-up included a veritable kitchen sink of miscellaneous instrumentation (which might come in useful for birthday cake eating).

Watch ‘Too Insistent’, one of my favourite tracks from Both Ways, Open Jaws:

Here’s to another 8 years of brilliant live music from Mascotte. Thanks for all the good times!

The Dø play at Mascotte, ZH, on 12.02.12. Tix here.

Both Ways, Open Jaws is out now on Get Down!/Cinq 7/Wagram Music

Team Emma – Band of Skulls

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I’ve been waiting for Southampton trio Band of Skulls to get back into the studio to record the follow-up to their rocking 2009 debut Baby Darling Doll Face Honey for a while now. Finally they’ve done just that, with second album Sweet Sour to be released in February this year.

Having survived their brush with teenage obsession (the band were featured on the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack and got their fair share of ‘Team Edward‘ T-shirts appearing at gigs for a time), the trio have stayed true to their roots, with Sweet Sour bringing more of the band’s signature bass-heavy, moody rock, tempered with some tracks of almost folk-like sweetness and melody.

Live, Russell Marsden (guitar, vocals) does wonderful things with his Fender guitars and Matthew Hayward does a sterling job on drums, but I’d be remiss in my fanly duties if I didn’t make special mention of my girl crush, bass player/singer Emma Richardson, who is spectacularly at ease on stage, languidly playing bass and looking like the coolest girl you ever wanted to meet behind the bike shed at school, the kind of rock chick who wears her studded belt like she really means it.

So you know I’m really looking forward to the trio’s special pre-tour gig at Mascotte, ZH, Saturday 28.01.12. I’ll be there with belts on…

‘Bruises’, from Sweet Sour:

Band of Skulls play @ Mascotte, ZH, 28.01.12. Tickets here.

Sweet Sour is released in Europe on 20.02.12 on Electric Blues.

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Into the wide blue yonder – French Films

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Oh, this modern world of confusion and paradox, where nothing is what it seems. In this case, French Films – which aren’t, contrary to first impressions, French. Nor do they have anything to do with films. In fact, they are a Finnish indie band who released their first album, Imaginary Future last September, after generating a huge buzz with their earlier EP ‘Golden Sea’.

Despite being supposedly inspired by the winter climes and long, dark nights of their homeland, Imaginary Future is bright and resplendent with jangly pop harmonies and The Cure-esque melodies (‘This Dead Town’), as well as definite New Wave tendencies.

Sounds like the perfect antidote to the winter blues to me. And just looking at the gig poster has me wistfully staring off into its wide blue yonder, longing for the sun…

French Films play @ Mascotte, ZH, 17.01.12. Tickets here.

Imaginary Future is out now on GAEA Records.

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Upcoming gigs

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If you don't have tix yet to The Black Keys gig...too late.

Hi, my name is High Rotation and I’m a gig junkie…It’s been 36 whole days, THIRTY SIX DAYS! since my last gig. I confess that I’m starting to get a little jumpy – I’ve got my earplugs at the ready, and elbows sharpened in preparation for defending my carefully-chosen position at that long-awaited first gig of the year…

Needless to say I’ve been hard at work scouring the gig calendars for my concert fixes for January, February and March. And, yay, there are some great gigs and festivals coming up. I’ll be doing my damnedest to get to each and every one of them.

Here are my picks of what’s coming up in Zurich in the next couple of months:

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Sky high – The Horrors

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With names like Faris Rotter (Faris Badwan), Coffin Joe (Joe Spurgeon), Spider Webb (Rhys Webb) and Joshua Von Grimm (Joshua Hayward), spindly-legged, black-clad band The Horrors seemed to want to draw attention to their goth garage punk roots. Their 2007 debut album Strange House was a camp, goth-punk rock explosion, while 2009′s Mercury Prize-nominated Primary Colours saw the Sandman-esque costuming toned down a notch, and the screaming garage punk noise soothed to more favourable, and interesting, shoegazing psychedelia that owed more to to the Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine than the Birthday Party and the Cramps.

Having done away with the ridiculous stage names, and even, shock horror, introduced a few shades of monochrome into their previously exclusively black palette, The Horrors released their third album Skying in July 2011. Perhaps it’s the result of Badwan’s forays into softer, gentler realms with his side project Cat’s Eyes (with opera singer Rachel Zeffira), but Skying is a definite step down the evolutionary trail, with a more assured sound that hovers in *gasp* shoegazey pop territory.

Take a look at the video for ‘Still Life’, directed by Oliver Murray:

The Horrors + Cerebral Ballzy play @ Mascotte, ZH, Sunday 27.11.11. Tickets here.

Skying is out now on XL. Stream the entire album here.

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Lost Highway – Dirty Beaches

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Dirty Beaches is like nothing I’ve heard lately, or even recently, and man, is that ever a good thing. Just as I was despairing of the lack of ingenuity, ideas and sounds in everything I’ve been hearing lately, I happen across Alex Zhang Hungtai, aka Dirty Beaches, a Taiwanese Canadian indie kid doing fantastically noirish 50s pyschobilly/ rock’n'roll/noise pop with a side order of Brylcreem, Elvis and David Lynch. Thank god!

Dirty Beaches released his first full-length album, the crackling, reverb-drenched piece of lo-fi nostalgia, Badlands, earlier this year, after amassing quite a large back catalogue of soundtracks, EPs and 7″s. Also, I love how he’s used old photos of his parents on his record sleeves – apparently his Dad used to sing in rock’n'rolll bands in the 60s in Taiwan before moving to Vancouver and becoming a real estate agent. Bet he’s super proud of his boy now.

I don’t think this is the official video for ‘A Hundred Highways’ but I love this track, it’s my favourite from Badlands:

Dirty Beaches plays @ Mascotte, Sunday 23.10.11. Tickets here.

Badlands is out now on Zoo Records.

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