Blog
Thurston Moore talks new album Posted by on 6 January 2009 in blog
With the legendary Sonic Youth set to release their new album this May why not indulge yourself and get the excitement juices flowing with this clip of the Youths’ frontman talking Bowie, bogus cds and internet bullshit.
So long Schneider Posted by on 6 January 2009 in blog
Following the news that original Kraftwerk member Florian Schneider has quit the band – just weeks before they are due to support Radiohead on their Central and South America tour – we thought we should take a moment to appreciate the band in all its glory with The Robots. Auf Wiedersehen Florian.
An Afternoon with Steve Barron Posted by on 12 December 2008 in blog
It’s friday afternoon and what better way to waste it than sneakily enjoying a visual treat-a-thon of youtube treats. So to aid the nations weekly decline in standards here’s a few classics from the Barron.
and best of all Billy Jean. So yeah, just a few a good ones. If you’re interested in more things Steve, then check...
Music Video News Posted by on 3 December 2008 in blog
I’ve only just got around to watching the MTV Music Video awards from a couple of months a go, it seems Rough Trade missed an important meeting…
A really great music video for a fantastic song is one of the most inspiring things one can see. It brings a bit of warmth and even meaning to a world that is all too often cold, meaningless and random and it doesn’t get much more random and meaningless than the recent accidental death of Gideon Baws, one of the founder members...
I Met The Walrus Posted by on 15 November 2008 in blog
I stumbled across this beautiful animation that literally animates the words of John Lennon. Apparently the recording was taken from an interview conducted by a boy of just 14 who tracked Lennon to his hotel room at Toronto’s King Edward Hotel after hearing a rumour that Lennon had been sighted at the Toronto Airport. My favourite bit is near the end when he’s talking about finding meaning in music and says ‘it’s all there either trivial or profound’.
Rough Trade A&R School Posted by on 14 November 2008 in blog
Ever wondered how Rough Trade finds and develops its artists? If so here’s a step by step guide supplied by industry svengali Ken Korda…
Look what we've found! Posted by on 4 November 2008 in blog
At times Rough Trade towers can be reminiscent of that photo from a Dr Dre album sleeve in which ‘The Lab’ contains so many records the Doc’s forced to use them as carpet.
So from time to time a routine search here can become a serendipitous forage that throws up long forgotten treats such as these photographic gems that we are about to share with you:
How priceless is second left, guitarist Paul Leary! Nearly as priceless as his early 90’s experimental and politically charged solo effort, A History of Dogs.
Arthur Russell - Special Beats In Space Show Posted by on 27 October 2008 in blog
Tune in tomorrow night starting at 10:30 PM – 1:00 AM on WNYU 89.1 where Steve Knutson (our man in the US and Audika Records founder) will be guest DJ with host Tim Sweeney on Beats In Space spinning rare and unreleased Arthur Russell tunes, and discussing his latest, Love Is Overtaking Me. Incase you miss the show, it’ll be available as a podcast from the brilliant BiS site very soon.
The album is out today on Rough Trade in the UK, and tomorrow via Steve’s label Audika Records in the U.S.
Girls & Boys in America @ Buffalo Bar Posted by on 27 October 2008 in blog
Guardian music journalist and indie schmindie boy’s heart throb Laura Barton is hosting a new night at London’s Buffalo Bar. A night of electrifying US only rock & soul super sounds is promised from the likes of:
Chuck Berry, The Replacements, Otis Redding, The Sonics, Isley Brothers, Bruce Springsteen, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, Kiss, Little Richard, Black Lips, Wilson Pickett, The Cramps, the Crystals, Elvis Presley, The Modern Lovers…
VERY NICE indeed, Laura certainly knows what she’s doing. You can also of course expect a good dose of our very own The...
Bullet Ballet Posted by on 15 October 2008 in Emiliana Torrini
It seems Emiliana Torrini’s on a roll with her videos. Last week we had this little gem for Big Jumps and now an unofficial beauty has appeared for Gun. It’s author has cut up parts of Shinya Tsukamoto’s Bullet Ballet, which obviously works thematically but with both pieces being so cinematic they seem to fit together perfectly.
In case you’re wondering, Shinya Tsukamoto is a cult figure who rose to fame for his Tetsuo films, think 80’s cyberpunks and battling robots. He’s a true auteur who...
Flower Travellin' Band Posted by on 10 October 2008 in blog
I’m very happy with a recent purchase of this bands fourth and best known album Satori, so thought i’d do the polite thing and share. The FTB were a Japanese psychedelic band active in the 60’s and early 70’s who sound like Jefferson Airplane covering Led Zeppelin, as you can imagine it’s all very melon twisting. The best bit is the banshee like front man Akira, who it appears could face down Chuck Norris with his acid stare:
Animation Posted by on 8 October 2008 in blog
I found this and I like it a lot it was made by some Brazillians who work under the name of BluBlu.
It’s great, but they seem to have forgotten the important rules of surrealist animation as once explained by the seminal Russian animator Scratchenitch on the Adam and Joe Show:
1: Colours are bullshit (when you have too many colours in your animation it’s boring for the viewer)
2: More pain and shouting
3: All animations should start with alcohol and ladies and end in pain and...
Vladislav Delay Posted by on 8 October 2008 in blog
Vladislav Delay is one of the most interesting musicians out there at the moment. His soundscapes are very minimal, often achieved by layering long, sustained notes beneath electronic clicks and fuzz, but this is by no means background music. Motifs that may appear trashy or messy to the uninitiated – sound exploration, distortions, dub technologies – can in fact be for him surprisingly sophisticated tools for dissecting and examining the world as it is, layer by layer. The result is a series of rhythmic conversations and cinematographic sound-visions that challenge the possible and push those boundaries.
Vladislav...
Happy Birthday To Us Posted by on 8 October 2008 in blog
In case you didn’t know it’s our 30th this year! And with no one really sure of the anniversary date we’re probably going to go on about it from now until Christmas. But before we get carried away with the celebrations, wistful reflection and talk of what cakes we want, we should probably take a quick run around the playing field and puff out a short Rough Trade biography. After all, our listeners come in a multitude of age, weights and shoe sizes to each of whom we could mean something entirely different.
But don’t worry...
The World of Arthur Russell Posted by on 3 October 2008 in blog
Rough Trade will soon be releasing a collection of previously unreleased folk, pop and country songs from Arthur Russell’s vast archive. Compiled from over eight hours of material and three years in the making, the album includes some of Arthur’s earliest compositions from the very early ’70’s through his very last recordings done at home in 1991. The release coincides with the arrival of the brilliant documentary, ‘Wild Combination: A portrait of Arthur Russell’.
For the un-initiated and anyone interested in finding out...
Monsieur, with this website you're really spoiling us. Posted by on 30 September 2008 in blog
Welcome friends and behold! A glorious new digital incarnation of 30 years of musical history, the Rough Trade website version 2.0. It’s taken a while, but we thought it was probably about time as this internet thing really seems to be taking off. You’re currently experiencing our sites futuristic ‘blog’ facility with which we’ll be able to share ramblings, wisdom, musical finds and best of all thinly veiled money making schemes. Across the rest of the site there’ll also be a constant stream of new things with which to idle away your working day such as new mp3’s, vids,...