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The Alternates’ Spencer Livingston, Live @ The Pie and Tart Shoppe (Luxury Wafers Exclusive) + Listen to the new Alternates EP!

07.02.2011

Here’s a really sweet acoustic ditty from Spencer Livingston, lead singer of the Alternates. A la AA Bondy or Jeff Tweedy. Listen and melt: Now go listen to Livingston’s band. Just back in LA from a NW coast foray, Americana rockers, the Alternates, have a killer new EP out called Spiders and Webs. (Check out [...]

Sonic Snacks – A Motley Mix of Recent Favorites

05.17.2011

:: Country Mice – Festival mp3 :: This one grabbed hold of me like a stickaburr from the hill country. Rustic rock brought to you from Brooklyn via the Midwest. Look forward to their debut album, Twister, in June. :: Hunx and His Punx – Lovers Lane mp3 :: Naughty but clean here, Hunx injects [...]

Crystal Antlers: reflections, refinements, and now what?!

02.04.2011

While sorting through cyber-mountains of files during re-entry to the Luxury Wafers atmosphere, I ran across this video of one of my all-time favorite sessions: Crystal Antlers. Oh man. Awesome. Details of the session are blurry in my memory. From the calendar, I know it was late afternoon in July of 2009. I do remember [...]

New Iron and Wine … and while we’re at it, Sufjan too

01.21.2011

Iron and Wine, the band formerly aka simply Sam Beam, has expanded to Beam and friends in their latest release, Kiss Each Other Clean (which actually doesn’t drop ’till 1/25/2011 – pre-order here). You can listen to the album in its entirety on the aesthetically groovy player below, courtesy of Iron and Wine/Team Coco. (Catch [...]

New Deer Tick: The Black Dirt Sessions; 20 Miles [mp3]

04.09.2010

Deer Tick offers up the first mp3 from their upcoming June release on Partisan, The Black Dirt Sessions. This song conjures the experience of walking alone down an ungroomed dirt road under midwestern beating sun and clear skies – just you and some mosquitoes – while wearing a hundred pound backpack and tattered shoes, only [...]

Rad Chicks and Bad Dudes: Kill Rock Stars SaMpLeR!!, Mexicans With Guns, Amanda Fucking Palmer, We Are Wolves, Regrettes and Brunettes

04.07.2010

First things first, go and download the KillRockStars Best Sampler Ever. 21 songs from some of your already faves and perhaps some new ones, too. Go. Do it. HERE. Next, Amanda Fucking Palmer is up to something dramatic. What’s new. Dresden Doll and current punk cabaret queen, AFP is newly free from label, Roadrunner Records, [...]

Family of the Year: Chugjug [mp3], Chrissy [mp3] plus new tour and EP

04.06.2010

Funny thing. On yesterday’s rainy cool LA morning, I stumbled across a golden new Family of the Year track: Chugjug [mp3] from their new 5-song EP Through the Trees (Hero, Chugjug, The Barn, Stairs, and The Princess and The Pea) which even sports a reggae-flavored piece with contribution from friend and LW veteran Willy Mason. [...]

Cursive: Discovering America and Playing House of Blues in LA Friday

04.01.2010

Cursive plays LA Friday, April 2nd (that’s tomorrow) at House of Blues with Alkaline Trio.  Their recent album, Mama, I’m Swollen, came out 3/10/09 on Saddle Creek. Cursive‘s newly released single, Discovering America, benefits the American Indian College Fund. Listen below: Discovering America [mp3] We loved having the guys in for a live Luxury Wafers [...]

News and New Listening: Holly Golightly and The Brokeoffs; Villagers; A Weather; Communist Daughter; Plants and Animals; The Henry Clay People

03.31.2010

Attend a haunting soiree with Holly Golightly and The Brokeoffs: Forget It [mp3] The new album, Medicine County, officially emerged in the US on 3/30/10 (Transdreamer). No doubt video is an effective means for sharing a song without giving away the track. Becoming A Jackal from Irish artist, Villagers (Conor J. O’Brien, formerly of The [...]

It’s not too late for Chickens in Love.

03.21.2010

Everybody’s got space for a little chicken love in their heart. 826LA and a bunch of local students, artists and businesses are showing the way. 826LA, a generous and creative non-profit writing/tutoring center that works for free with LA’s school children, presents Chickens In Love. Sponsored by large-hearted hipsters Origami Vinyl, Bedrock LA, Echoplex, Engine [...]

SXSW 2010 – 5 days of full-contact aural inundation; Free parties, music, booze, food … Ready, Go!

03.16.2010

Right, they’ve got Smokey for the keynote address and a bunch of panels and whatnot to attend, but the ambrosia of SXSW manifests in an already-musically-inundated town soaked through to overflowing with amazing artists and music lovers from around the world, largely just for the price of getting to Austin with a comfortable pair of [...]

Last night at the Troubadour: Cory Chisel, Dawes and Jason Boesel

03.12.2010

Last night’s show at the Troubadour was super sweet. The highlight for me was seeing Cory Chisel work the room, crisply present yet smooth as mellow tobacco. Ever gracious and humble, Chisel masterfully plied the crowd, alternating between high-energy, full-band rockers and introspective solo or duet pieces (joined by lovely Adriel Harris). He shared one [...]

Love Him More. Elliott Smith reissues from Kill Rock Stars: From A Basement On A Hill and Roman Candle; Twilight (mp3), Last Call (mp3) + Cecilia/Amanda (mp3)

03.02.2010

Cecilia/Amanda [mp3] Twilight [mp3] Last Call [mp3] It’s hard to listen and not well with tears. Here they are: Cecilia/Amanda (previously unreleased until the very end of 2009; recorded at Jackpot! Recording Studio in 1997 by Larry Crane); Twilight, from From A Basement On The Hill; and Last Call from Roman Candle, Elliott Smith‘s first [...]

Black Prairie (Decemberists project) – Feast of the Hunter’s Moon – Red Rocking Chair (mp3)

02.24.2010

Red Rocking Chair [mp3] Decemberists’ Chris Funk on dobro, Nate Query on bass and Jenny Conlee on accordian are joined by Portland musicians Jon Neufeld on guitar and Annalisa Tornfelt on violin and baleful vocals (on a handful of tracks) to form Black Prairie, an instrumentally focused, bluegrass/olde-tyme influenced group spiked by klezmer and gypsy [...]

(Big Dad) Jeff Turmes: five horses, four riders; jack-A-Hammer (mp3)

02.21.2010

Jack-A-Hammer [mp3] Jeff Turmes, expert multi-instrumentalist and old-school bluesman, is back with a new solo album – mostly acoustic – clear and brimming with humid southern sweat and cotton fields, stark summer deserts, swaggering dreamy moonlit nights, gritty smarmful back alleys, quirky hole-in-the-wall Italian diners and even a Baroque blackbird sitting room. Turmes, who wrote, [...]

Økapi’s ode to Aldo Kapi – Love Him out on Illegal Art, Aldo Kapi [mp3]

02.19.2010

Aldo Kapi [mp3] This stuff’s tingly fun. From your squeaky bathtub rubber duck to the ballroom dancefloor to Disney and beyond, Filippo Paolini aka Økapi (like the giraffe-zebra hybrid rainforest mammal), directs an engaging journey through bits and pieces of audio masterfully spliced together, perfectly rhythmic with not a second of lagtime in Aldo Kapi. [...]

Pop Lock n Drop it, Norweigan Singer/Songwriter Style

02.12.2010

Search the mighty You Tube for Huey‘s Pop Lock and Drop It and you’ll find renditions by everyone from Sponge Bob and The Chipmunks to little kids and pregnant ladies. Here’s the Huey video: And a radically different version from Norweigan singer/songwriter, Egil Olsen, who’s currently hanging out in LA, writing, recording and taking in [...]

New Thermals, Canada (mp3); tour; plus not so older Thermals, Now We Can See (mp3)

02.09.2010

Here’s a fun new anthem from Portland crew, The Thermals, who play LA this Thursday, Feb 11th. Their newest LP, Personal Life, comes out 9/7/10 on Kill Rock Stars. Buy the song, Canada, on iTunes HERE. Check tour dates HERE. Canada [mp3] For even more fun, and to get you ready for the show, here’s [...]

Adam Green – What Makes Him Act So Bad (mp3)

01.05.2010

What Makes Him Act So Bad [mp3] Formerly a Moldy Peach, Adam Green is now out with his 6th solo album, Minor Love (Fat Possum, 2/16/10). We dig his NYC/Lou Reed-y character and we’re stoked to have him in the studio for a session today! Check out his tour schedule HERE. Green plays a few [...]

Welcome back to the everyday … let’s kick it back up to gear

01.05.2010

photo by Esther WhiteAfter a nice long holidaze spell, everyone seems to be back at it, living their lives in 2010. The funky downtime was enjoyable, and, too, it is admittedly nice to wake up to an inbox full of perky letters from my favorite pr friends, always promoting more great music. There’s catch-up to [...]

Wavy Davy’s top 12 selections from last year’s Luxury Wafers Sessions

12.28.2009

Here’s another list for list lovers. It’s never really too late, and, besides, 2010′s all about savoring that which nourishes, so…..without further ado, here’s Dave Shulman’s list of faves from Luxury Wafers sessions in 2009. Dave’s an up-east musician who helped around the studio when he visited and even filmed a bunch of Luxury Wafers [...]

Best of the Year #3: View, Listen and Download

12.25.2009

This Best of 2009 list, “in no particular order,” comes from Mike Post, who started as an intern at our Chessvolt Studios before Luxury Wafers and has helped us here and there from the very beginning with booking, mixing… the whole shebam. Mike just graduated with a music degree from Northeastern University in Boston. Check [...]

Best of the Year #2, View, Listen and Download

12.20.2009

This selection comes from Amanda Lemieux, who has been with Luxury Wafers as a videographer, video editor and all-around good-viber since she moved to LA from the east coast about a year ago. From #12 to her numero uno, the songs are listed below as mp3s or videos with links to the original sessions for [...]

Best of the Year #1: View, Listen and Download

12.17.2009

We asked our Luxury Wafers crew to share their favorites songs from our 2009 sessions. This first selection is a playlist from Justin Philips, who shot and edited video for us over the summer and stayed on to continue with video and to help with the studio move. Some of the songs on the list [...]

Good Weekend listening discoveries: The Holloys, Dignan, Sun Cut Flat, Acrylics ++ Go download a bunch of albums free.

12.12.2009

Lake Land [mp3] – The Holloys You’re My Witness [mp3] – Dignan *McAllen, TX band, Dignan, has made their 7-track album, Cheaters & Thieves (6/09) available for free download HERE. No Good Man [mp3] – Sun Cut Flat *Boston based and brand spanking newbies with a warm and already seasoned sound, Sun Cut Flat offers [...]

Virgin Galactic?! Whether or not the eagle actually landed, check out this rad video with music from Above and Beyond

12.11.2009

Thinking of ways to spend your extra dough? How about a little space tourism? Virgin Galactic is at the ready to accomodate. Cool footage from NASA in the video below with trance electronica from Above and Beyond.

“Do you EAR what I EAR?,” a holiday album for the Association to Benefit Children; If You Hear A Knock [mp3] by Sean Bones

12.11.2009

If You Hear A Knock [mp3] – Sean Bones EAR FARM and LET ‘EM IN STUDIOS present Do you EAR what I EAR? a holiday album for the Association to Benefit Children. Featuring original and classic holiday songs from Tom Tom Club, Asobi Seksu, Sean Bones, Julie Doiron, Sharon Van Etten, and more, All of [...]

Ola Podrida; Belly of the Lion; This Old World Video, The Closest We Will Ever Be mp3

12.08.2009

The Closest We Will Ever Be [mp3] Ola Podrida’s  Belly of the Lion released 11/10/09 on Western Vinyl. The very first moment of Ola Podrida’s Belly of the Lion is perfect.  Really.  Without a count, the bass drops on the downbeat and a warm bodied Telecaster sings; for a moment, it seems like this little [...]

An oddly collection from space to pop to funky rocks ++ plus treats: ted leo, the soft pack, grizzly bear

12.08.2009

Deep Sea Diver [mp3] – Grizzly Bear a nice one. This and a eleven other goodies came from the Kanine Records Sampler. Follow them on Twitter and they send it your way. Even Heroes Have To Die [mp3] – Ted Leo and The Pharmacists whoop, now on Matador Pigeon Toes [mp3] – Absofacto Tweetie Bird [...]

Monday Forecast: It’s Gonna Rain in LA. Jake LaBotz mp3 + video

12.07.2009

It’s Gonna Rain Again [mp3] – Jake LaBotz True. Our parched desert megametropolis is due for a quenching. Looks like it’ll pour cats and dogs all day Monday. Jump down to a video of Jake LaBotz howling out a classic traditional, It’s Gonna Rain Again. Regarding favorite musicians, there are so many amazing time periods, [...]

Top two most notable albums we should have reviewed earlier: Chll Pll – Agressively Humble; Talk Normal – Sugarland. With Mp3s and Videos.

12.06.2009

In mid-October, we at Luxury Wafers closed our former studio hub, Chessvolt Studios. It was a case of eminent domain: our local government opted to build an elementary school at that site and we didn’t have a choice in the matter. So, reluctantly, sadly, we packed up and said goodbye. The effects have been immense [...]

Little Dragon, Feather (mp3) and Blinking Pigs (mp3); Jim Hanft; Fink; Girls

12.04.2009

Feather [mp3] Blinking Pigs [mp3] Tonight at El Rey in LA, Little Dragon, delightful electro-pop quartet from Gothenburg, Sweden led vocally by Swedish-Japanese Yukimi Nagano. I highly recommend you check out their newest album, Machine Dreams (Peacefrog with Caroline/EMI, 11/3), featuring Nagano’s silky vocals plus a good mix of spacey-strange, cool effects. Bonus -the Swedes [...]

Deer Tick: Baltimore Blues No. 1 – Live (mp3)

12.04.2009

Deer Tick offered this live recording up to military folks in honor of Veterans Day. Baltimore Blues No. 1 (mp3) The site, Military.com, hosted the track in its entertainment section, stating: “Unlike some other bands who’ve offered free downloads to us, Deer Tick make great music and the song’s lyrics aren’t insulting to people who’ve died [...]

Jackpot! Sessions in Portland … Day Two

11.25.2009

Typhoon, just after their Luxury Wafers Session @ Jackpot!Sessions are underway. We just enjoyed Nick Jaina and his crew on standup bass, violin, trumpets and clarinet. Right now we’ve got World’s Greatest Ghosts. Up later: Y La Bamba, Rauelsson +++. We tore it up on Monday (there were little trails of smoke following Kendra heels [...]

An Interview with The Drums. They Do Whistle. They Don’t Surf. Plus refresher mp3s

11.25.2009

The Drums, embrace the ’50s aesthetic of songwriting simplicity, pairing it with just enough echo and contemporary synthetic goodies. Love the infectious whistle line and summertime theme, fireworks and all, on Let’s Go Surfing. I Felt Stupid feels like a 2009 Wham! adaptation of superpop. The four guys, based in Brooklyn, sported us a few [...]

Jackpot! Sessions in Portland … Gearing Up for Day One

11.23.2009

Here we go. Day one at Jackpot! Studios in Portland, OR. We’re bummed Larry won’t be around, but stoked to hang with Kendra and the awesome cast of bands we have lined up for the next few days. Stay tuned for sessions from Greg Ashley, Benoit Pioulard, Forro In The Dark, Jarred Mees and the [...]

New Capgun Coup: Sitting on the Sidewalk [mp3] from Maudlin; Tour with Cursive

11.18.2009

Sitting On The Sidewalk [mp3] – Capgun Coup This second single up from Maudlin (Team Love, 11/2/09) conjures old school country/rockabilly the likes of Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. I’ve been trying to catch up with Sam for an interview for a few days now. After a couple of missed calls, I decided he’s [...]

Monday Mish Mash: Music for the Muddy Mind and More … mp3s

11.16.2009

Polka Dot Dot Dot I’m up in the mornings but not well known for a cheery demeanor or much in the department of cognizance till noonish approaches. Monday morning especially. I offer you a bizarre collection of tunes below to help shake the weekend dust. Work your way down. Stiff coffee helps too. The super [...]

New, repeat, remix: A Sunny Day In Glasgow, Ernesto Gonzales, Max Tundra, Passion Pit mp3s.

11.13.2009

Shy (Ernesto Gonzales remix) [mp3] – A Sunny Day In Glasgow Failure [mp3] – A Sunny Day In Glasgow …upbeat ambient with thumping, writhing rhythm. The voices beckon so sweetly, “Fall forward, feel failure,” it seems like the most natural option to jump. Which Song [mp3] – Max Tundra Which Song (Passion Pit remix) [mp3] [...]

New Exclusive Video of The Rural Alberta Advantage (Nils Solo) – Sleep All Day

11.12.2009

Here’s a new video of Nils from The RAA recording Sleep All Day, live @Chessvolt Studios in Los Angeles for Luxury Wafers. This was such a warm and friendly session. We’re very happy to see more and more of the world continuing to embrace this awesome guy and his band. The Rural Alberta Advantage – [...]

New Atlas Sound Virtual 7″ (Check out The Deerhunter Blog): Screens and Doctor (Five Discs Cover) mp3s

11.11.2009

The Screens [mp3] Doctor (The Five Discs Cover) [mp3] Bradford Cox continues to pacify with Atlas Sound’s spare, dream-flecked, ambient seranades. Doctor‘s an upbeat, golden cover of original mid-50′s doo-wop from The Five Discs. Nice. Check out The Deerhunter Blog where Cox rolls out mixtapes and whatnot for download.

New Luxury Wafers Exclusive Video: Brendan Benson “Whole Lot Better”

11.11.2009

Live at Chessvolt Studios in Los Angeles, Brendan Benson records Whole Lot Better from his latest solo release, My Old Familiar Friend (8/18/09, ATO). CLICK HERE to go to the entire live session with tracks, review, photos and more video.

New Luxury Wafers Exclusive Video: Cursive, “Mama, I’m Satan”

11.11.2009

Live at Chessvolt Studios in Los Angeles, Omaha’s Cursive records Mama, I’m Satan from Mama, I’m Swollen(3/10/2009, Saddle Creek). CLICK HERE to go to the entire live session with tracks, review, photos and more video.

Seu Jorge – Changes Video from The Life Aquatic revisited

11.10.2009

Remember the awesome Brazilian guy in the red cap who surreally delivered a Portuguese acoustic version of David Bowie’s Changes on deck in The Life Aquatic? Seo Jorge is that guy. Just because it’s so great, here’s a video of the performance:

Phenomenal new Grizzly Bear Video for Ready, Able by Allison Schulnik

11.06.2009

A melty, pulsating, mesmerizing rainbow claymation goodie from director Allison Schulnik. Ready, Able comes from Grizzly Bear‘s Veckatimest (5/26/09, Warp).

I think I want to be God. J Tillman, Though I Have Wronged You Video from Year In The Kingdom

11.05.2009

One of my favorite albums this year, chillingly beautiful and clear, is J Tillman‘s Year in the Kingdom (9/22/09, Western Vinyl). Here’s Earthly Bodies [mp3] again. Click HERE for the whole album review. And HERE‘s our interview with the somber artist. Now put your reading glasses on and check out the video for Though I [...]

Letting Up Despite Great Faults, LP, In Steps + more mp3s

11.05.2009

In Steps [mp3] is the realization of plump immersion in the moment while still flowing with the stream. It feels just like the half-way point through first fall semester away in a crisply orange-leaved town. Dreary-tinged, easy fun. LA’s Letting Up Despite Great Faults judiciously applies warmly enhancing synth effects to the very pleasant surprise [...]

Juicy Junk Culture: West Coast EP and mp3

10.30.2009

Our neighbors have been filling us with ionized water and enthusiasm, which is promoting a general high around our house and stirring up late-night sprees on dark chocolate desserts and Junk Culture. West Coast [mp3] – Junk Culture Fuzzy and crackly, Junk Culture’s Deepak Mantena lays down a funky beat adorned with gold brocade samples [...]

Wild Beasts freak me out: Two Dancers, Booty Calls and All The King’s Men

10.30.2009

All The King’s Men [mp3] – Wild Beasts From the “Auld Grey Town,” Kendal, England (known for mint cakes, snuff and limestone grey buildings) indie-pop, 4-piece boy band, Wild Beasts recently released a dramatic, sometimes Wham!-reminiscent, 10 song album, Two Dancers (9/8/2009, Domino), filled with freak-haunt falsetto and repetitive dance rhythms that aim to entice [...]

A little bit of trance for late saturday night: West Indian Girl, Tape Deck Mountain, Bexar Bexar, Dengue Fever, Field Music

10.25.2009

If you’re still up, check ‘em out. Otherwise, fear not. These songs are gentle enough for morning after Saturday night and probably go along just fine with your cuppa joe, greasy fare and twin advils. Beach [mp3] – West Indian Girl Super groovy churning vibe. Great late night. From their We Believe (7/09, Origami). kt [...]

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