TRACKLIST: 01 Oso Panda (PAPA TOPO)  02 Pez En Bicicleta (TRONCO)  03 A Mí Ya Me Iba Mal De Antes (AIKO EL GRUPO) 04 Barakaldo (LISASINSON)  05 Colegas (FRED FREDBURGUER)  06 Cucurucho (GUATAFÁN)  07 Canción De Pop De Amor (CARIÑO) 08 Infectados (AXOLOTES MEXICANOS)  09 Secret Secret (PUSHY PARENTS)  10 Cumpleañera (GOMET) 11 Gente De Mierda (PUTOCHINOMARICÓN)  12 Malos Hábitos (NEVVER)  13 Braun (DIE KATAPULT)  14 Las Plantas De La Terraza (CHAVALES)  15 No Sé Por Qué (BAND À PART)  16 Capital (NELEONARD)  17 Pineapple Princess (CRISTINA QUESADA) 18 The West Coast (EDINE AVEC LISLE MITNIK ET SON ORCHESTRE)  19 Rain On My Face (CARBON POPPIES) 20 Ultramarinos (LOS BONSÁIS)  21 Campamento De Verano (TEACHER TEACHER)  22 La Fuerza (KOKOSHCA) 23 My Baby’s Just A Baby (But I Love Him So) (KNICKERS)  24 (Out Of) The Neighborhood (BELLE GHOUL)  25 Eat Tacos (WILD BALBINA) 26 Enough Is Enough (NATURE SET)  27 The Panda Bear Song (FOXES!)  28 El Fin De La Era (SAGRADO CORAZÓN DE JESÚS) 29 Cómo Es (LIA PAMINA)  30 Humo (NOS MIRAN)  31 El Chico Más Guapo De La Galaxia (CAPITÁN SUNRISE) 32 Ada Hoy Se Va A Enamorar (SAN FRANCISCO)

“New Adventures In Pop” collection [Issue 050]

If there is a collectio [ Read more ]

It has been three years since BELLE GHOUL, the group formed by Christopher Tait (ELECTRIC SIX) and Jesse Smith (the daughter of Patti Smith and Fred “Sonic” Smith, of MC5), released “Songs from Other People”, a digital single consisting of three covers taken from different recording sessions, on Elefant Records. The covers included songs by Nick Drake, Harry Nilsson and the “Care Of Cell 44” that THE ZOMBIES released on their famous “Odyessey And Oracle” in 1967. This more recent cover has become the object of a new video, by the multi-disciplinary artist specialized in vintage and pin-up esthetic, Autumn Luciano (http://www.autumnluciano.com/). Luciano had worked on other BELLE GHOUL videos before, and is once again throwing herself into the arms of a song that represents the classic yet also totally unclassifiable spirit of the group from Detroit.

Stella Swoon, the pin-up model, stars in the video, which represents absence, and how hard it is to stop the feeling of needing someone who is no longer by our side. It uses super-8 textures and an oldie esthetic, right in line with the rest of Luciano’s work.

This video is also a good excuse to record the new digital single that the band self-released, “Lift Me Up” –  available via their bandcamp (https://belleghoul.bandcamp.com/album/lift-me-up) and on all the digital platforms – and to record  something new that will be released this coming [ Read more ]

“Rabbit's Moon & Doomsday” was BELLE GHOUL’s 10” white vinyl Mini-LP that Elefant Records released at the end of last year. The group – formed by Christopher Tait (ELECTRIC SIX), Jesse Paris Smith (the daughter of Patti Smith and Fred “Sonic” Smith from MC5), Matt Van, Zach Shipps and Mike Alonso – now gives us “Winter's Gone”, a new Digital Single taken from that splendid Mini-LP, that is also accompanied by an incredible video. “Winter's Gone” is a magical song that said goodbye to a winter that lasted almost five months, which Nur Casadevall has transmitted quite clearly in the video; it reflects the wintry coldness, both formally and internally, of a savage encounter between a girl and a wolf. It’s a kind of winter’s tale full of fantasy, and it was filmed in the famous Casa Gomis, also known as “La Ricarda”, and probably the best architectural example of Catalan Rationalism.

The rest of the songs included on this Digital Single were taken from the group’s show on December 30th, 2013 in Webster Hall in New York, when they opened for Patti Smith herself. “Around For The Weekend” is especially solid, effusive, euphoric; a hit that multiplies itself in its live format, with super catchy keyboard lines and a great chorus. To wrap things up, “(Out Of) The Neighborhood” reminds us of the BOO RADLEYS with its brilliant trumpets a [ Read more ]

BELLE GHOUL, the group now formed by Christopher Tait (ELECTRIC SIX), Jesse Paris Smith (the daughter of Patti Smith and MC5’s guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith), Matt Van, Zach Shipps and Mike Alonso, find themselves in a creative, prolific stage, which is confirmed by this new 10” mini-LP that opens up new doors within the group’s sound. It’s a slippery release, jumping between styles in a way that is only possible for two music-lovers this talented, playing with synthesizers and folk echoes, and getting deeper into the instrumental development. At the same time, it gets stronger, more forceful, especially in the immediate hits, even momentarily dipping into the mix of rock and electronic that characterized the sound of Tait’s other band.

The result is “Rabbit's Moon & Doomsday”. The album shifts between groove and danceable rock with bursts of pop, and that “Lake Of Fires” is proof. It gives off airs of the seventies amidst boosts from the hammond, while moving our feet with grace and style; the song is highly influenced by the “Twin Peaks” soundtrack. “Timepieces” holds on to a solid handful of Beatle-esque classicism with touches of psychedelic-pop and Californian choruses, and a solo that seems like it was created by Dean Wareham to decorate the resurrection of our beloved LUNA. “Momentum” closes side A; it’s an instrumental that moves from sober piano to [ Read more ]

Mini-LP available for PRE-ORDER!! Release date: 10-11-2014

*BELLE GHOUL "Around For The Weekend" Single Digital [27-10-2014]

*BELLE GHOUL "Rabbit's Moon & Doomsday" Mini LP 10" [10-11-2014]

Belle Ghoul are an unpredictable, unimaginable group, resulting from the uncontainable talents of the two main members, Christopher Tait (among many other things, keyboardist of ELECTRIC SIX) and Jesse Smith (Patti Smith’s daughter). With such big names, the mix is unpredictable, and in this case, serves to whet our appetites for their imminent 10” vinyl Mini-LP, “Rabbit’s Moon & Doomsday” with this advance digital single. The single includes a remix and a previously unreleased song that lets the group’s electronic background – something they haven’t shown so openly so far – run wild.

But the main song, included in the upcoming Mini-LP, is a perfect example of soul and pop, with the lyrical forms of Sam Cooke and the musical influences of THROWING MUSES and XTC. The result is one their most significant hits to date. And as for the remix, DUBAI BROS (another of Christopher’s projects) are in charge and they put an important twist on “Lakes of Fire”. It’s an unimaginable leap forward for the group’s sound, darker and more danceable, with echoes of KRAFTWERK and LIQUID LIQUID. Then there’s “D [ Read more ]

April is the cruelest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire, stirring

SOLD OUT

(corner of Varick Street)

April is the cruelest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire, stirring.

These lines from T.S. Eliot's poem The Wasteland reflect our mission for the evening, as we honor the chaos and transformation of spring with Jesse Paris Smith, Eric Hoegemeyer and Patti Smith.

Melding music and poetry, they will perform their own compositions, the work of others such as Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, W.G. Sebald, Hildegard von Bingen, and salute friends and companions who have passed on in their own transformation. This event is hosted by Spinning On Air's David Garland.

JESSE PARIS SMITH and ERIC HOEGEMEYER began performing as WaterOx Vs FireRabbit in late 2012. Born out of a desire to create sonic representations of the human dream state, they incorporate both organic and electronic instrumentation to create non-traditional compositions. The have performed at the annual Tibet House US benefit at Carnegie Hall, as well as performances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rubin Museum of Art. They also [ Read more ]

[ Read more ]

After putting out two singles with Elefant Records and while they’re getting ready for the anxiously awaited moment when they release their debut album, BELLE GHOUL, the band comprised of Jesse Smith (daughter of Patti Smith and Fred “Sonic” Smith from MC5) and Christopher Tait (ELECTRIC SIX) are going to play a few concerts before the end of the year under incomparable circumstances. They’re opening for Patti Smith herself on December 29th and 30th in Webster Hall in New York, one of the most important concert halls in the city, in a building with more than a century of history, where artists like THE PRETENDERS, PRINCE, Madonna, SONIC YOUTH, and MODEST MOUSE, among many other artists with diverse sounds and styles, have played. Tickets are already sold out for both concerts, but they will definitely be very special nights, unleashing their pop full of big melodies and classical elegance, with echoes of THE BOO RADLEYS, FLEETWOOD MAC, and THE ZOMBIES. Their diehard fans will definitely increase in number with such a special experience. 

  Sunday, 29 december 2013

  Belle Ghoul

  Monday, 30 december 2013