Gary Numan Is Visiting OZ.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure today that I announce the dates for Gary Numan's 2011 Australian tour. Yes, the man who helped pioneer electronic music into what it is today is bringing his The Pleasure Principle Tour down under – and you know what that means. You got it – Numan will be performing his 1979 masterpiece The Pleasure Principle in its entirety, plus a special encore with selections from his entire career, from albums such as Replicas and Telekon through to Pure, Jagged, and the soon-to-be-released Splinter. So! Excited yet? As if that weren't enough, Sydney "Aus-electro" masters Severed Heads have been tapped to be the supporting act! How fucking awesome is that?


Here, for your reference, are the dates of his Australia/New Zealand tour. Please note that Severed Heads will not be performing at the Perth and Auckland shows.

12 MAY 2011 – BRISBANE – THE TIVOLI

13 MAY 2011 – SYDNEY – ENMORE THEATRE

14 MAY 2011 – MELBOURNE – FORUM THEATRE

16 MAY 2011 – ADELAIDE – HQ

17 MAY 2011 – PERTH – ASTOR THEATRE

21 MAY 2011 – AUCKLAND – AUCKLAND TOWN HALL

And, if you click here and subscribe to Red Ant Touring, who's promoting the tour, you can get yourself two free Gary Numan downloads, and three free Severed Heads downloads! So, you know, go and do it, already.

See you there, kids. Stay well, and talk to you later! From 1979's Replicas, with Tubeway Army, here is Gary Numan at the Old Grey Whistle Test in London performing "Are Friends Electric?". You can be sure this is going to be huge live. Cheers!

Electronica Classic: Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas.

This shit rocks. Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas, two incredibly talented producers and electronic composers from the magical country of Norway, first worked together in 2005, producing a self-titled album featuring original tracks. Two years later they reconvened, taking that album and completely remixing it -- in turn, transforming it into an entirely new entity. Lindstrøm himself hardly ever tours, so when he does it's needless to say a joyous occasion for connoisseurs of detail-driven and immaculate dance music. Luckily, 2011 is the year he's decided to take his show on the road. Here are his tour dates -- if you can make it, then go, already!

10 FEBRUARY 2011

SANTOS PARTY HOUSE

NEW YORK CITY, NY

11 FEBRUARY 2011

THE VANGUARD

HOLLYWOOD, CA

12 FEBRUARY 2011

MEZZANINE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

18 FEBRUARY 2011

FABRYK KATRCINY

WARSAW, POLAND

25 MARCH 2011

OTTAKRINGER BRAUREI

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Check out his Myspace site for further information and go, already! Here's Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas's "Mighty Girl" off of Reinterpretations to get your juices flowing.

 Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas - Mighty Girl by Dell Von C 

News From Röyksopp.

Norwegian duo and perennial Second Drawer Up favourites Röyksopp have, a few months after the stealthy release of their fourth studio album Senior, finally announced their dates for the United States and Canada on their 2011 tour. And here they are:

Friday 18th March : Toronto, The Guvernment

Saturday 19th March : Montréal, Club Soda

Monday 21st March : New York City, Webster Hall

Wednesday 23rd March : Washington, DC, 9:30 Club

Thursday 24th March : Atlanta, Masquerade

Friday 25th March : Miami, Ultra Music Festival

So there you have it! True, it doesn't seem to be much of a stay in North America (and they're not visiting San Francisco??? Crazy!), but you know how these things work -- at some point they'll add dates, and (almost) everybody will be happy. I recommend visiting their site often and checking out the news ... things do change. Before I sign off on this lovely Friday morning, I'd like to ask you guys: Have you heard Senior yet? I'm listening to it right now, and it's a lovely, lovely piece of electronic work. When Torbjörn Brundtland and Svein Berge announced the followup to 2009's exuberant Junior, they stated that whilst Junior had an "emphasis on vocals, accessible melodies, and harmonies," Senior, they promised, would be the "introverted, dwelling, and sometimes graceful counterpart." 

And how! Flowing nearly seamlessly over nine tracks and 48 minutes, this entirely instrumental work shines with a languid and chill-out beauty. Hypnotic, meandering, and in no hurry, Senior would make a fantastic soundtrack to an imaginary sci-fi spaghetti Western film with lots of dramatic silences and speculative ennui. Think of the best work of Angelo Badalamenti and Ennio Morricone (especially on the aptly titled "Forsaken Cowboy") run through a trance-y filter of smooth and haltingly gorgeous synths, and you might be close. This record is one for a nice night in -- light some candles, pour some champagne, snuggle up with that special someone on a sofa and gaze deep in their eyes ... yeah, you get the picture. I'd like to play for you now a special track off of Senior. Here is "The Drug."

röyksopp

"the drug"

senior

New Music: Grafton Primary.

Sydney-sider brothers Josh and Benjamin Garden, AKA Grafton Primary, have been very busy, busy bees this last year, putting together their sophomore album, tentatively entitled Sophomore and preparing for their new tour, which hits Melbourne tomorrow evening in St Kilda's wild Prince Bandroom. Should be a whole hell of a lotta fun, so Second Drawer Up highly recommends heading down there if you've wondered what's worth doing this weekend!

Having been formed in 2006, and with two EPs and their first album Eon under their belts, Grafton Primary (who tour with a live drummer and bass player) are willing and ready to unveil their new(ish) sound to the masses. "This tour's not so much a dusting as an absolute renovation," Josh told Inpress Magazine - and to my ears, it sounds like it's going to be a veritable shitload of fun. I love the sounds that burst from my speakers when I play Eon or the Relativity EP (which I'm listening to right now as I type this) - they're quirky, noir-ish, and clever. Take what's best from Jan Hammer and Harold Faltermeyer's 80's synth-soundtracks, Australia's "2nd wave of nu-rave" (whatever the hell that means), and indie-pop, throw them in a blender, and you might have something similar to the sound made by the brothers Garden. Keep an ear out for the new single, "The Eagle." Josh seems particularly buzzed about it, so I can only reckon it's going to kick ass.

So get your ass to the Prince Bandroom, already! Grafton Primary are going to be supported by Wollongong electronic pioneers Infusion; so it's going to be twice as fun as you thought. Serious!

Here's "Relativity" by Grafton Primary for ya - cheers!

grafton primary

"relativity"

relativity ep

Gary Numan - Rescheduled.

It was a sad day for Gary Numan fans in North America last April when he had to postpone the United States leg of his The Pleasure Principle tour as a result of the spewing ash propelled by Iceland's temperamental Eyjafyallajökull volcano, wasn't it? Yes, it was indeed!

Luckily, he's officially come through with his rescheduling promise and, on top of that, he's expanded the original scope and will now be hitting fourteen cities, instead of the original two (plus Coachella) he had originally planned on. Rock on, Mr Numan, rock on.

Is your city on the list? Look below at the new and expanded dates of the 2010 The Pleasure Principle Tour of North America.

Oct 17. Orlando. The Club at Firestone 578 N. Orange Ave. Orlando. FL 32801 Tickets $20 Advance. $25 on the door.Oct 18. Atlanta. The Masquerade 695 North Ave. NE Atlanta. GA 30308 Tickets $25 Advance. $28 on the door. Oct 20. Washington DC. Black Cat 1811 14th St. NW Washington. DC 20009 Tickets $25 Oct 21. Philadelphia. The Trocadero 1003 Arch St. Philadelphia. PA 19107 Tickets $24 Advance. $26 on the door. **With support: Emillie Autumn** Oct 22. Boston. Paradise Rock Club 967 Commonwealth Ave. Boston. MA 02215 Tickets $25 Oct 23. New York City. Nokia Theatre 1515 Broadway @ W44th St. New York. NY 10036 Tickets $27.50 Advance. $29 on the door. **With support: Emillie Autumn** Oct 24. Toronto. Opera House 735 Queen St. East Toronto. ON. M4M 1H1 Tickets $27.50 Advance. $30 on the door. Oct 25. Detroit. Majestic Theatre 4120 Woodward Ave. Detroit. MI 48201-2027 Tickets $25 Advance. $28 on the door. Oct 26. Chicago. Metro 3730 North Clark. Chicago. IL 60613 Tickets $25 Oct 28. Denver. Gothic Theatre 3263 S Broadway Englewood. Denver CO 80113 - 2425 Tickets $23.50 Advance. $28.50 on the door. Oct 31. Seattle. Neumo's 925 East Pike St. Seattle. WA 98122 Tickets $23 Advance. $25 on the door. Nov 1. Portland. Roseland Theater 8 Northwest 6th Ave. Portland. OR 97209 - 3607 Tickets $25 Advance. $30 on the door. Nov 2. San Francisco. The Fillmore 1805 Geary Blvd. San Francisco. CA 94115 Tickets $27.50 Nov 3. Los Angeles. El Rey Theatre 5515 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles. CA 90036 Tickets $33 Nov 4. Los Angeles. El Rey Theatre 5515 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles. CA 90036 Tickets $33

So, there you have it! If you get a chance to attend, then I would highly recommend doing so. He doesn't tour all that often, and he puts on one hell of a show. He's Gary freaking Numan, for crying out loud!

And it's The Pleasure Principle in its entirety. You gotta admit, even if you're not especially a fan of synth-pop, this is a damn fine album. Anyway, for your amusement this first of July, here's a taste. This is Gary performing "M.e" from the aforementioned album at the Wembley Arena in 1981. I think, after thirty years, it's going to sound even better! (Not to mention it's my favorite track from TPP.)