5RP

The « Little Clara Clara Family » (that’s their words) saw the light of day in a basement in the small town of Dijon, gathered around a saucepan drumkit, a “shitty” Höner guitar and a My First Sony Microphone. Yet it immediately became the very core of the local spazz rock scene (we’re talking at least 8 people here, all of them shell-shocked by a short stay in town of Dutch experimental band The Ex). Basically made up of the Virot Brothers (Charles and François, the latter being famous enough under his own name) and Amélie Lambert (a school book of whom cued the band with its name), Clara Clara strangely started as a drums and bass and flute trio, before realizing that the formula could be enhanced… And it was promptly done with the addition of “a fat overdrive and an octaver pedal to copy that bass player guy in Lightning Bolt” (an influence, just as American cute noise band Deerhoof), a synthesizer and real poppy songs, courtesy of François (who’s quite a specialist when it comes to pop songs). The band consequently set off on the long and winding road and hastily recorded a few CD-Rs and an actual album for French label SK Records (« AA « ) to sell after concerts…

Release Date / April 06 2010
Promo Territory / Italy
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Drew Andrews is a young sing/songwriter from the San Diego’s area in California. He might not be total stranger as he made his classes first with his band Via Satellite and then joined Jimmy Lavalle’s project The Album Leaf as a guitarist as well as the post-rock legends Tristeza. Musically he offers his own folk orientated music without leaving behind a particular pop-appeal with tasteful arrangements and elegant vocals. …

Release Date / March 19 2010
Promo Territories / UK, Italy
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Cathedral With No Eyes is railcars’ second proper release, recreating the whirling, furious aura that surrounds their live performances. The record flows continuously yet shifts without warning, translating his haunting tales of Saint Edmund into walls of noise, sputtering drum machines, dying electronics, and tales told in distant shouts.
Railcars is one Aria Jalali, his first release came last year as a 7″ recorded by Xiu Xiu’s Jamie Stewart and they has recently played shows with HEALTH, Handsome Furs, and Former Ghosts…

Tour Promotion / European tour in January 2010
Promo Territory / France, Germany, UK
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‘Can’t Stop Not Knowing’ is the first official release from electro/punk band The New Loud.
The EP consists of 6 tracks – 3 New Loud originals, 1 extended mix, 1 demo and an intense, frenetic cover version of the Radiohead song 2 + 2 = 5. 2 + 2 = 5 was originally recorded by The New Loud earlier this year as a track on a Radiohead tribute benefit CD based out of Chicago. The band has made a blog detailing the creation behind the track with behind the scenes video footage of almost every step in the recording process (http://thenewloud225.blogspot.com).
The other 4 New Loud originals represent 4 different stages of personal relationships: beginning, during, ending, after.
The band almost chose these 4 stages as the EP title, but that title was replaced in the final selection process. The title ‘Can’t Stop Not Knowing’ refers to a state of everyday-confusion: no matter what is accomplished or uncovered more of the unknown remains. Yet, at the same time it is impossible to stop trying to progress or to know. The band thought this phrase accurately encapsulated the all of the songs on the EP including the Radiohead cover.
The EP was produced and recorded by band member Shane Olivo in his studio, Bobby Peru Recording (Fall Out Boy, Beatallica, Red Knife Lottery) in Milwaukee, WI…

Release Date / February 2010
Promo Territory / Europe Except UK
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At the time of recording The Exquisite Death in June 2005, Matthew Doty (guitar, keyboards) was still working with line-up changes with only Stephen Roessner (drums, percussion) and Matthew Stone (guitar) as full-time members of the live group. It was not until the band’s spring 2006 Japan tour that the five-member roster, including William Stichter (bass) and Oliver Chapoy (guitar, keyboards,) became the standard. The sound of this five-member live performance is what Saxon Shore wanted to capture with a new album. The addition of keyboards and electronics was kept to a minimum.

When rehearsals and demo sessions started, the group had maintained a consistent lineup for
nearly 4 years. Eventually, the band was ready to enter the studio to record It Doesn’t Matter, working once again with producer Dave Fridmann (MGMT, Clap Your Hands, The Flaming Lips). In the months of May and June 2008 the band tucked themselves away with Fridmann in the Tarbox Road Studios cabin, located in the backwoods of Cassadaga, NY…

Tour Promotion / European tour in January 2010
Promo Territory / Europe
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Since the release of their debut album ‘Red Your Blues’ in 2001, Toronto-based Picastro have continued to mine a rich seam of beautifully melancholic (and sometimes menacing) avant-folk/rock.
Their fourth album, “Become Secret”, finds them on top form once again, with the familiar accompaniment of cello, acoustic guitar, drums and piano employed to great effect on songs that incorporate Eastern-European folk themes, bleak cinematic soundscapes and dark, unsettling pop.
Front woman and songwriter Liz Hysen shares vocal duties on several songs with guest vocalists including Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers), Brendan Massei (Viking Moses), Colleen Kinsella (Fire On Fire, Cerberus Shoal) and John McIntyre.

“Picastro mine music from the most extreme intersection of beauty and melancholy.” -Pitchfork

Release Date / February 15 2010
Promo Territory / Europe Except UK, Italy & Benelux
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Monotreme Records is very proud to be releasing the debut album of London UK trio Nedry, whose gorgeous fusion of electronica, instrumental rock, dub-step rhythms and hauntingly beautiful vocals has already generated quite a well-deserved buzz in the UK media.
Nedry is Matt Parker, Chris Amblin and Ayu Okakita. Nedry create music to bounce to, rock-out to and get lost in. Their beautiful sound and arresting beats are from and for the ‘post-’ generation. Their sound is dark and ambient but broken-up and lifted by moments of glitch and fuzzy, melodic guitars.
Both live and on record they use innovative production techniques to create a truly original sound…

Release Date / February 15 2010
Promo Territory / Europe
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“This was the easiest record I’ve ever made.” says Setting Sun frontman and songwriter Gary Levitt. “After spending much of 2008-2009 on the road it felt natural to come home to my studio and let these songs pour out while embracing the solitude that is so hard to find on tour. This record was so effortlessly written and recorded in 6-7 months after touring. It was a big relief and a great way to ease back into my life.” And it shows! This 4th record marks Setting Sun as a mainstay on the indie scene while Gary further carves his niche opening up the possibility of a creative renaissance in his genre between genres…

Release Date / February 2 2010
Promo Territory / Europe
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Quitzow is three albums and one ep deep into her effort to alchemize pain, chaos and unchecked bliss into a primal, thumping sonic experience with her latest full length Juice Water, out this fall on Young Love Records. Though this music is undeniably meant get the party started, it is also host to an exploration of the psyche of dance music…

Release Date / February 2 2010
Promo Territory / Europe
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THUS:OWLS is a creative, poppy and freeminded group of musicians. THUS:OWLS was brought together by Erika Alexandersson with the purpose of letting the music playing in her head reach other ears and hearts. The members of Thus:Owls met one by one, spread over years, in Stockholm.
Erika Alexandersson, lead singer and composer, is part of jazz duo Josef och Erika and played with Loney Dear, Cecilia Persson, one of the originators of the modern progressive jazz group Paavo, Martin Höper, has toured the world many times over with many different groups, such as Koop, Ola Hultgren, also playing with many other bands, one of the most notable names being Sub Pop’s Loney Dear, and the rare bird from Montréal, Simon Angell, known for his work as a key member with Patrick Watson.
If there had to be a dictated explanation of what THUS:OWLS is and does musically, it might fall somewhere in the vast area of alternative experimental pop. It’s grand, enchanting, and harsh at the same time.

”The songs are fantastic, hoarse but sharp, black and merry, hot tempered and leisurely, coquettish and humble, and yes, almost impossible to describe”. – Dagens Nyheter 4/5

”An unusually rare, original and great swedish record” – Soundofmusic

Release Date / January 20 2010
Promo Territory / Germany
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Since they began playing live last year, Leicester’s very own Minnaars have already notched up shows all over the UK and in Europe.
Produced by Forward Russia’s Tom Woodhead, their brand of incessantly catchy, dark-disco-rock has garnered them attention from every aspect of the music industry.
With forthcoming releases in Japan, France and Benelux, a European tour and praise being heaped upon them by Radio 1, Xfm, NME and even Gavin & Stacey star Mat Horne, it seems they really are the genuine ones to watch in the next twelve months…

Release Date / December 15 2009
Promo Territories / France, Benelux, CH
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A relatively young project, Pharaohs rose from the ashes of the group HPR with an album title that seems to draw a line under that period and looks to the future. Formed in late 2008, the group didn’t waste any time with an EP already in the bag and three tours across England under their belt! These four kids from Kent play music that could be described as math/pop, mixing ultra-melodic vocals with richly-constructed instrumental structures…

Release Date / December 15 2009
Promo Territory / Europe except UK
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No need to introduce Doug Scharin, gifted drummer from Activities of Dust, June of 44, Codeine, Rex, Mice Parade… Since 1995, the latter has fronted HIM, a real musical UFO on the fringes of Afro beat, post-rock and dub. After releasing no less than seven albums, that explore unexpected sonic territories a little more with each release, HIM are back with a new opus entitled ん (a Japanese character that is pronounced “hmmmm”)…

Release Date / January 4 2010
Promo Territory / Europe
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After her solo debut « Ricordi Indelebili » we all believed that Stefania Pedretti aka ?Alos (as well as singer for Allun and Ovo) was taking a turn toward pop.
“Ricamatrici” clarifies however that Stefania remains a heterodox and hard to classify artist. What she does is neither avant-garde nor experimental; it’s not pop, nor rock, nor noise. She shies away from these definitions. Hers is the autistic path of a real artist, someone who follows her trajectory and recoils from genres, someone who consciously rejects music as we intend it in our world. Her expression was and remains intuitive, instinctual, ancestral and female. What she does is motivated by a sense of urgency and necessity…

Release Date / October 15 2009
Promo Territory / France
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