WEATHERMAN IN 2006

Hello people.

With the help of our new distributor, we have decided that it will be best to release our next album 'Cruisin' Alaska' by The Weatherman, in early January 2006, away from the fuss and stress of the christmas frenzy. Anyway, that gives enough time to ready the videos for TV broadcasting and other release related issues, as well as some extra time for our weatherman to rehearse live with his band.

It's all for the better.

Meanwhile, there's an online interview with the artist (only in Portuguese, I'm afraid...) here. Thanks, André!

P.

PEOPLE GET LAZY



Hi there.

Our fourth release, Cruisin' Alaska, by The Weatherman - is a step closer to hit the stores and our online store too. Soon we will have a complete Bio/Press release of this record. Meanwhile, download and listen to the first single, available for free here on our website.

Here's the link: The Weatherman - People Get Lazy

We are already accepting pre-orders of this great 60's flavored pop album.
Check our store...

More on this very soon... Enjoy!

ON REAL ESTATE INTERVIEWS



You gotta read this interview of South Africa's electro-hip-hop bad boys Sibot and Markus Wormstorm. They've made a great record (well, three records actually...) that you should get right now! Anyway, here's the Intro from the interviewv:

The Real Estate Agents: Renovating South African Electronica

«It's an all-too-familiar conundrum for "underground" electronica artists in South Africa. How on earth do you market a dancefloor frequency that's an alternative to the prefabricated international pop house sounds of someone like DJ Sammy?

Well, if you're electronica provocateurs The Real Estate Agents, you start by refusing to get caught up in any obviously "cerebral" bedroom knob-twiddling aesthetic. Instead, you filter your sampler, laptop and hi-tech turntablism strategies with a DIY electro-punk ethos, and tune your listeners into a genre-mashing collage of glitch-filtered pop, hip-hop and hi-beat, swing-flavoured urban electronic frequencies.

We caught up with Real Estate beat brothers Sibot and Markus Wormstorm after the launch of their début triple disc set (recently released on African Dope Records), and quizzed them about their innovative beat strategies, the Nintendo effect, their hip status, their vintage vinyl fetish and a whole lot more.»

read on

MOVING OUT

mono¨cromatica/test tube is about to move to a new and bigger office soon.
We expect to have everything set up at the new address by September this year, but you may use it already, starting now. The new details are:

m¨c | mono¨cromatica
C/O Pedro Leitão
Rua Damião de Góis, 16 - 3º ESQ
1400-089 LX (Lisboa)
PORTUGAL

Use it wisely. Thanks.

ANOTHER REVIEW FOR ESKIMO

«ThinFilms is the project of UK electronic musician Dan McRae. It's a pulsing, addictive style he calls "Cinematic Electronica". Hard edged, it's a sleek and stripped down sound that transports the mind and moves the body. Synths and electronic percussion create atmospheres of a glistening world of snow and ice.(..)»

continue to read here.

OUTERSITES v3 @ SÓNAR 2005



OUTERSITES v3 was present at BCN's Sónar 2005, over at the Red Bull Music Academy stage. The performance went very well, people in the premises cheered and danced. Overall, the RBMA stage was one of the most interesting ones of Sónar By Day. It will sure be a moment to keep in memory.

Wish you were there!

BRG2005 THIS WEEKEND

m¨c | test tube will be present at this year's BRG2005 - Electronic Music & Multimedia Art International Festival. This will be it's 3rd edition. OUTERSITES v3 will go live Saturday at 22h00.

You can also catch us at the music market that will be held there. We'll be selling records at special-festival-price and trying to enjoy the gigs at the same time.

See you there!

THE PATTERN OF THE PROSCRIPTIVE WATCHDOG



OUTERSITES has a brand new track and video. Expect to watch it being played live, very soon, at one of the tour dates. We'll publish here all the confirmed dates for the new OUTERSITES v3 TOUR, in a few days.

Meanwhile, you can get the video + mp3 track here:

- Outersites - The Pattern of The Proscriptive Watchdog [mp3 - 07,92Mb]
- Outersites - The Pattern of The Proscriptive Watchdog [mp4 - 15,87Mb]

The video is Apple QuickTime encoded. Be sure to get it first.

OUTERSITES v3 PREMIÉRE



OUTERSITES v3 - Rui Gato (audio) + Tiago Martins (video) - has just finished new A/V material and a small tour is being set up around the country to present it live.

Tomorrow night (Thursday, 05.05.05 - O_o ...) by 22h00 at Torres Vedras, the project's home town, the city's Cine-Teatro watches the first of their live appearances. If you're adept to mind travelling experiences, surround sound ambient electronica and a synchronized video experience, come join us there. Admittance is free.

NICOLETTE AT THE MILK FACTORY

«(...) 'Life Loves Us' marks once again a change of direction for Nicolette. Although retaining some of the atmospheric fundamentals of its predecessors, this album is definitely more upbeat and openly positive. Entirely produced by Nicolette and released on her Early Records label, this album is the fruit of four years gestation and features twelve tracks plus numerous interludes inserted in between acting as snapshots of life. Incredibly varied, yet extremely focused and consistent, this third album takes the listener on a psychedelic journey through constantly changing electronic soundscapes, incorporating elements of soul, jazz, drum’n’bass, pop and traditional African and Asian music to redefine once again Nicolette’s musical scope.

Although surrounded by numerous contributors, Nicolette appears here more in charge than ever, defining the musical line of this record from start to finish. Opening with an offbeat cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s 1967 hit 'Feelin’ Groovy', Nicolette goes on to attach her subtle poetry onto delicate songs such as 'Fire In The Heart', 'Down Day' or 'Worship', or onto the more contrasted sonic terrains of 'Sunshine', 'High Wave' or 'Pretty Autumn Shade'. Always trying to expose her voice in new ways, Nicolette develops her range further and still manages to surprise and impress. Rising above broken beats, noisy string sections and intricate sound assemblages, Nicolette’s voice appears here more varied and mature than ever. Her melodies are as complex and subtle as on previous work, yet, seen through the coloured glass that is this album, they take a whole new dimension and contribute to this album sounding extremely fresh and modern.» 4.4/5

Read the full review here.

+

NICOLETTE ON VENTRILOCUTION

Review by Luís Oliveira:

«(...) So, six years after Early’s establishment, ‘Life Loves Us’ finally gets to see the light of day and all the elements that made her past efforts so singular are not only present, but also magnified and refined. Nicolette’s voice is as unique as ever, warm and with that childish tone so characteristic of her vocal delivery. The songs are once again a psychedelic twisted voyage on drum’n’bass, dub, groovy sort of dance rhythms and some airy synth-lead symphonic moments, like the beautiful ‘Fire in the Heart’ or the classic desolation set of ‘Worship’’s affecting strings. The overall approach taken on ‘Live Love Us’ is not instantly grasped, as the compositions transpire a certain aura of apparent simplicity and trouble-free musicality. However, that’s an image that tends to shake off the more you listen to the songs and, as a result, this is surely not an immediate release, as one could assume upon the first hearings.»

«(...) ‘Life Loves Us’ is Nicolette’s best work to date and, keeping the tradition, we’ll probably not hear from her in the next years. This is a disc that reminds the most absent-minded of us that life is good after all, and worth living. Life loves us, indeed.»

Read the full review here.

HALF NAKED

Review by Bill Binkelman:

«(...) As he did on Eskimo, Dan McRae reveals himself to be both a technical wizard (the CD sounds deliriously giddy with all degree of sparkle and shine in the mix) and an artist of uncommon imagination. The only downside of this recording is the EP's short length (about twenty-one minutes, not counting the DVD which is included). If you think electronic music doesn't offer anything new, pick up the latest from Thin Films and see if I'm wrong when I say that Dan McRae is doing his damndest to jump start the genre.» Continue to read here.

NICOLETTE DJ SET AT MAUS HÁBITOS ANNIVERSARY

Yeah, that's right. Nicolette was invited to commemorate Maus Hábitos - an Oporto nightclub - 4th anniversary. She'll be Deejaying and distributing good vibes everywhere around.
If you're from Oporto or its surroundings, don't miss this party!

See you there...

LIMITED OFFER RUNNING OUT

Limited offer of Nicolette's new and excellent 'Life Loves Us' album is coming to an end. Portuguese fans have got until tuesday next week to get it at the very special price of €8,90. From then onwards, the album will be available at regular record stores, Fnac stores, El Corte Inglés and some others. And from our own shop also, of course.

Don't miss it! It's an instant classic.

NICOLETTE'S NEW ALBUM IS OFFICIALLY OUT!



For sale with local music newspaper Blitz, today, and over the next two weeks (until March 19th or around that day), through the network of newspaper points of sale, tobacco shops, etc. Available for this limited time for only:

€8,90 (+ €1 for the newspaper). Yes, we're this cool... :)

Read the reviews. Ask your friends. If you're into groovy d'n'b and hip-hop flavored electronica, great lyrics and an amazing voice, this album will make you happy. As a friend of mine said: 'It's a grower!'. Just buy it and listen for yourself.

We recommend a medium size hi-fi system to fully enjoy all the bass and medium frequencies, all the groove, all the great sounds the album has inside.
Co-produced with Plaid (One of Warp's personal fave beat magicians), this third offspring of Nicolette's creativity was almost completely written, programmed and performed by this great singer and songwriter. It's an album to keep close to your heart.

If you happen to miss a Blitz copy of this album, worry not. We'll sell it right through our online store, plus it will be available at FNAC shops and some olther smaller (but great) shops in Portugal, after the Blitz promotion release.
Our online shop will also dispatch orders for foreign countries. Check it out.

NICOLETTE REVIEW

Knowledge Magazine (UK) has reviewed the brand new Nicolette's album. Check:

«If you don’t recall spaced-out UK chanteuse from her two previous albums (the first of which, the Shut Up And Dance-produced ‘Now Is Early’, is something of a lost classic) then you may recognise her voice from Massive Attack’s ‘Protection’ album. ‘Life Loves Us’ (co-produced with Plaid) is easily her best work yet, a cheery, psychedelic joyride through broken drum & bass/hip-hop beats and mashed-up electronic lullaby melodies. Nicolette’s voice remains the big draw here, however: pitched somewhere between that of a little girl and a crazy old crone, it’s truly a thing of wonder. Bjork fans: you need this.» - JM

NICOLETTE!


Nicolette's fantastic 3rd album, 'Life Loves Us' is almost here. It arrives next week and we'll start to ship all pre-orders immediately. From March 8th to 15th, the album will be exclusively available with the local weekly music newspaper Blitz, with a special cover price of €8,90 (+ €1 for the newspaper). Remember this is a limited time offer.
Before March comes to an end, the album will arrive at local selected record stores and all FNAC stores (7 in total), at a recommended price of €14,95.

All non-portuguese fans and customers from other countries should buy it from our on-line shop (check website menu). Thank you.

There's also a new review of Nicolette's album. Updated here.

NICOLETTE NEXT MONTH! AFRICAN DOPE THIS MONTH!

Check this space until the end of this week. We've got some excellent records coming up, from Trip-Hop Goddess Nicolette and from South African crazy people, African Dope material!

Yeah!

THIN FILMS NEWS!

Hello 2005. It will be a great year. Let's start it with the right foot:

We have restock from Dan McRae. Thin Films's excellent 'Eskimo' is available again on our shop. If you didn't get it before, now is the time.


Also from Thin Films is the new 'Half Naked' EP, on pre-order. This 5 track EP comes with a bonus DVD video directed by Michael Keillor, featuring soundtrack by Thin Films. This short film has been screened in a number of London UK film festivals in 2004/5 including the Big Issue Film Festival.

pre-order special price: €7,50

Here's a review:

"Cinematic electronica paints a thousand films..."

«DAN MCRAE. Say that name back to yourself in the same voice as the bloke who does the trailers. He may sound like a maverick, hotshot, renegade maverick cop on the edege who don't play by the book, but the reality is McRae's cinematic aspirations under his Thin Films moniker are far more photogenic than the B-movie hell of his namesake. His opening shot Eskimo was a concept record as cold as a doctor's stethoscope and has stuck to the tongue of many an indie namedropper.

The new single Half Naked is a departure from his familiar windswept Arctic landscape but nonetheless still as visually constructive as ever. This time we're taken on an instrumental trip into murky urban territory, crawling with nocturnal menace and pulsing tension. The Streets it ain't - this makes Mike Skinner seem more like Mike Flowers. The track opens with some delicate sparks of piano before McRae unleashes a bassline that quickly cranks up the atmos like a clockwork toy, leaving you poised for the digital stabs of percussion to kick in, peppering the track, folding the imagery layer upon layer until the rhythm builds to a pursuit, pausing for a brief respite midway before the second wind. This is the score for that bit in the films where your man is being chased by the hitman - aural adrenaline. Michael Kellor's accompanying video (featured on the limited edition DVD release and screened at the Big Issue Film Festival) matches the sound perfectly; infection and persecution mix to create a short that could be described as Chris Cunningham reshooting Terminator 2 in a towerblock. See for yourselves, with or without the video. We expect big things from Thin Films this year. - George Bass

Check out the video for 'Half Naked' here (needs Quicktime installed).