New Head Like a Kite is here. Marrying a love of progressive electronic production and instrumental wizardry with a spot-on knack for pop-songcraft, Head Like A Kite continues to climb with a move to LA-based electronic label Mush for the summer 2008 release, There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere, an album that builds on HLAK's found sound meets electronic rock framework with unquestionable expertise. The result seamlessly ties epic pop overtones to sunny bliptronic beats, sounding like an indie band remixed by Entroducing era DJ Shadow and LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy.
Joined by members of The Long Winters, Radio 4, Crooked Fingers, Smoosh, Animals at Night and touring partner Trent Moorman, Head Like a Kite’s There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere, takes listeners on an aural road trip, mixing propelling hip hop drum beats with electronic Krautrock and indie pop peppered with field recordings captured while HLAK toured the United States. The result is a lush, party soundtrack that fast forwards to the future, taking us on a memorable sonic trip around the country.
Produced by Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Secret Machines, The Grates, Iron & Wine) and mastered by Dave Cooley (Danger Mouse, Madlib, Prefuse 73, Silversun Pickups, Polyphonic Spree).
SINGLES REMIX EP NO ORDINARY CAVEMAN (REMIX EP) Featuring Head Like a Kite singles remixed by Boom Bip, Daedelus, Her Space Holdiay, Nobody, and Antimc
URB GIVES HLAK 4 STARS: Check out the new URB Magazine. They gave the new full-length album There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere 4 stars. See the full review here.
HLAK #1 AT KEXP, KRCC and more HEAD LIKE A KITE's new album There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere has been in KEXP's Top 8 for the last 6 weeks, hitting #1 in late July. We're honored to be part of several KEXP podcasts with exclusive live in-studio performaces and singles. Download the KEXP podcasts below. KEXP has been CMJ station of the year for the last couple of years so we're pretty excited. The new record is also #1 at KRCC in Colorado Springs and charting high around the country. Call your favorite station and request Head Like a Kite to hear more from the new album.
FREE KEXP PODCASTS FEATURE HLAK Download these free KEXP podcasts featuiring Head Like a Kite exclusive live instudios, singles, and KEXP DJ picks.
KEXP SONG OF THE DAY (July 4, 2008)
Download this free podcast and make your own fireworks with "No Ordinary Caveman" by Head Like a Kite. Read KEXP's blog about the new song.
KEXP LIVE PODCAST(June 26, 2008)
Features Head Like a Kite performing live on Cheryl Water's KEXP radio show to celebrate the new album "There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere." Includes Asya from Smoosh guesting on vocals on "Daydream Vacation" and an electronic krautrock reinterpretation of Neil Young's "Ohio," plus more HLAK favorites.
MUSIC THAT MATTERS, Vol. 108 - A Full Tank of Gas and Half a Pack of Cigarettes (John Richards picks)
John's got an hour worth of songs, a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, he's wearing sunglasses -- get ready for your next installment of the Music That Matters podcast featuring the very best of the Morning Show. Features Head Like a Kite, Clinic, Styrofoam, Ladytron, and many more.
MUSIC THAT MATTERS, Vol. 95 - Freaks and Geeks (El Toro picks)
KEXP DJ, El Toro, picked some of his favorite left-of-center tracks for this new KEXP podcast, and included the brand new HLAK song, "Before We Go to Bed" off the upcoming, HLAK full-length, There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere (Mush Records). Why wait until June for new HLAK. The KEXP podcast also includes tracks by M83, Hercules and Love Affair and other El Toro favs.
2008 HIGHLIGHTS SO FAR It's been a great year so far. I'd be typing until my fingers looked like a broken Myspace banner if I tried to list all the great bands we've been honored to play with this year. But here are a few highlights from shows and other fun stuff so far this year: Playing with M83 in Seattle. Touring with Her Space Holiday and Lymbyc System. Playing wtih the Black Ghosts at Nectar. Touring in Japan. Releasing the new full-length album There Is Laughter Everywhere (Mush Records in the US and And Records in Japan). Releasing the No Ordinary Caveman remix EP with remixes by Daedelus, Boom Bip, Her Space Holiday, Nobody, and Antimc. Charting high on radio stations around the country and hitting the coveted #1 on stations like KEXP and KRCC. Playing the Capitol Hill Block Party with bands like Vampire Weekend, Les Savy Fav, Chromeo, the Dodos, Jay Reatard, Girl Talk. Playing more local shows with bands like Travis Morrison (of the Dismemberment Plan), Voyager One, Animals at Night, Smoosh, Adam Franklin (of Swervedriver), and Truckasauras. Collaborating on new songs with Graig Markel, Asya of Smoosh, Nabil and Eric from The Long Winters, Marc Bianchi from Her Space Holiday, Terri from Transmissionary Six, Zera Marvel, Barbara Trentalange and other friends... My stomache is growling and I'm late packing for the upcoming tour. More highlights coming soon.
XLR8R MAG PODCAST FEATURES NEW HLAK This week's XLR8R MagazinePodcast features an exclusive Mush Records playlist that includes a brand new Head Like a Kite song, "Six Bags of Confetti," remixed by Antimc. It's also got tracks from Daedelus, Boom Bip and Doseone, cLOUDDEAD, and lots of other Mush favorites. (Photo by Joe Sales.)
SEATTLE BANDS GET SOME NADA LOVE Nada Mucho presents Sounds from the Seattle Underground (Global Seepej Records) , including songs from the Nada Mucho writers' favorite Seattle bands such as Head Like a Kite's "Noisy at the Circus" featuring Asya of Smoosh, Iceage Cobra's "Baconface Sweepstakes," and "Out Like This" from Katherine Hepburn's Voice. Hazelwood Motel, and many more. Get more info at Global Seepej Records and at Nadamuch.com.
"ON THE BRINK" FEATURES HLAK
Head Like a Kite was recently featured in the trailer for a new show called "On the Brink" that follows the roller coaster ride of up-and-coming indie bands. The producers flew out to Seattle to film us at the beginning of our Spring tour for the "On the Brink" trailer, and then debuted it at the Nokia Theater in New York during Broadband Enterprise's unveiling of their new shows. You can see the trailer here:
7ate9 Entertainment, who produces shows for Disney, ESPN, Nickelodeon, etc., is producing "On the Brink" for Broadband. They are going to do several episodes with Head Like a Kite on tour, and release them this summer. We'll let you know when you can see them. In the meantime, check out the trailer above.
NEW MUSIC VIDEO "No Ordinary Caveman"
"No Ordinary Caveman" by Head Like A Kite. Directed by Cody Hurd and Troy Nelson. From the album There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere on Mush Records. www.mushrecords.com.
HEAD LIKE A KITE IN TOKYO
Head Like a Kite recently returned from Japan for a series of shows in Tokyo. Grooves more dominant that King Kong vs Godzilla previaled. We played with Muneomi Senju, the drummer of the Boredoms, and a bunch of other great Japanese bands such as Oak , Avengers in Sci-Fi, The Primrose, BEA BEA LIMITED, and The Telephones. We hope to come back soon.
MTV2 BRINGS HLAK TO YOUR LIVING ROOM
During the last US tour, MTV2 sent a film crew out to tape the show in Salt Lake City and interview us. Watch the results on MTV2 On The Rise. Wrestling masks, superman costumes, feather boas, German fighter pilots attire, and more. There were enough costume changes to make Brittney Spears jealous. Tune in to Comcast On Demand and watch it, or see the episodes here.
HEAD LIKE A KITE TOUR WAS A BLAST We packed the projector and Super 8 movies in the van and traveled on a month-long US tour, kicking out the big 808 beats all across the country. Thanks to everyone who came out to the shows. What was the most memorable night? MTV2 filmed the Salt Lake City show and interviews for an upcoming episode of On the Rise, and got some classic footage of us masquerading in various costumes. Day One found us dressed up as Superman and lying in the snow along 1-90, drinking wine during a snowstorm (see Superman photo). But touring is full of extremes, and the snow was a distant memory by Day Twenty, when I found myself in the desert, sitting on a cactus at 6:30AM after an extremely late Las Vegas show. Playing dress up with the statue of liberty in New York, chillin with the hermit crabs at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, air drumming on the Ohio Turnpike, communes in Staten Island.See Trent's video tour montage.
| The LA Weekly, The Onion, The Stranger, Seattle Weekly, San Diego Reader, Cleveland Free Times, IN, Play, Kansas City Pitch, New Haven Register, and more of our favorite weeklies wrote about Head Like a Kite on tour. (As soon as I get all the cacti thorns out of my suit, I'll post links to the new tour press - stay tuned.)
HEAD LIKE A KITE RINGTONES Dress up your cell phone HLAK style with ringtones from Head Like a kite songs, courtesy of Billboard Magazine. All the songs from Random Portraits of the Home Movie are availalbe as ringtones, but may I suggest the song "Words of a Friend"? Get the ringtones here. Call me!
HEAR IT ON CNN
Head Like a Kite songs have been on several MTV and Fuel TV shows lately, and now the fun has been extended to CNN's Anderson Cooper show, where they've been using Head Like a Kite tracks to usher in the masses.
CMJ + HLAK + KEXP = FUN SuperKite with John Richards, Cheryl Waters, and Kevin Cole of KEXP
CMJ 2007 in New York was a blast. It was Halloween and we stormed into the Gigantic Studios for the KEXP instudio dressed as Superman. Do you know how much guts it takes to walk down the streets of Manhattan dressed in lycra and a cape? Give it up people. Click here to see photos from the CMJ KEXP instudio in New York. Later that night we played the Knitting Factory dressed as East German airplane pilots, and ate pizza at 4AM. I love NY.
KEXP PODCAST IS SMOKIN KEXP MUSIC THAT MATTERS Vol. 16 - April 30, 2006
Download KEXP's Podcast Vol. 16 and hear Head Like a Kite's "A Dime and a Cigarette," plus some great radio ribbing from DJs John Richards and Cheryl Waters commenting on the recent live KEXP performance where HLAK arrived at 9AM in bathrobes and with breakfast cereal.
Speaking of Cheryl Water, read her blog post on the live Head Like a Kite performance on KEXP in April 2006 and see photos. Asya of Smoosh joined us on vocals.
ALTERNATIVE PRESS GIVES HLAK 5 OUT OF 5 Calling the record gorgeous pop melodies with electronica bleeps," the February issue of Alternative Press gives Head Like a Kite's Random Portraits... 5 Out of 5. See the review. Magnet, Remix, URB, The New York Post, The SF Bay Guardian, The Stranger, etc stroke our egos, too. See more articles about HLAK here.
LOOKING FOR LOVE ON MYSPACE? Check out the Head Like a Kite page on MySpace.com and stream Head Like a Kite songs.
photo by Dan Tyler
5 out of 5. Gorgeous pop melodies with electronic bleeps." ALTERNATIVE PRESS
"Sonic Youth guitar treatments upon Stereolab keyboards on top of Primal Scream-style vocal loops....a well-edited scrapbook of retro-futurism." MAGNET
"A beautiful pop album that pays personal homage to the past but has one eye on the future." REMIX
"4.5 stars. "Samples of lush soundscape playback with a mellow Dandy Warhols vocal. Start to finish, it's a full soundtrack worth watching (listening to.)" URB
"Excellent debut." Featured in Top 10 Bands to Watch in 2006 SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
"While the endeavor centers on Einmo's incorporation of samples from old Super 8 movies from his childhood, it flourishes on the undeniably catchy, whacked-out pop that emerged." THE STRANGER
"Great debut album." LONDON TIMES
Buzz Bands - "A sonic tapestry." LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Think Pinback's melodic tonalities with guitar treatments by Brian Eno. HLAK's live shows are an aural-erotic experience." SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN (Pick of the Week)
"Intriguing... groovy pop album." NEW YORK POST
"This album is an eclectic masterstroke, soothing and infectious all at once." PERFORMER
Pure pop majesty... this collage of retro memories, wispy Dinosaur Jr. hooks, and indie electropop works without a hitch." EAST BAY EXPRESS
"Mixing tons of sampling and bits of electronica with alternative rock in the vein of The Pixies and Morphine, Random Portraits comes out sounding like a sane man's Nine Inch Nails." AMERICAN SONGWRITER
"This album is an experience to enjoy." BEAUTIFUL DECAY
"A brilliant compilation of atmospheric samples that pays tribute to the past within the context of the present... An innovative piece, framing scrapbook memories of childhood into a musical re-emergence." THE TRIPWIRE
"The music is spectacular, fusing some of the more addictive guitar chord banter in the business. Your mind will be dwelling on this album for days after." CHORD
"Wholly enthralling. A candystore of aural treats that dizzle and fizzle like Pop Rocks for the ears." PLAYBACK:stl
"Brilliant." Impressive stuff and reeking of lethality." UNPEELED
"A trip through the most important soundscape influences of the last 20 years. This is an album that is a triumph of content and style." ITCHY
"A truly impressive record. A cinematic wonderland of sounds. An amazing collection of songs." BUZZ
" 'Entroducing'-with guitars. Reels you in." (Picked as Top 5 Albums.) THE SKINNY
"Forward thinking pop music. Truly cinematic in scope." LEEDS GUIDE
"Head Like a Kite shouts through the static. Sometimes rocking, sometimes popping, always intriguing material." WESTWORD (Denver)
"These are tuneful, tastefully arranged songs. Random Portraits is both art and commentary on art. " NEW HAVEN ADVOCATE
New Head Like a Kite is here. Marrying a love of progressive electronic production and instrumental wizardry with a spot-on knack for pop-songcraft, Head Like A Kite continues to climb with a move to LA-based electronic label Mush for the summer 2008 release, There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere, an album that builds on HLAK's found sound meets electronic rock framework with unquestionable expertise. The result seamlessly ties epic pop overtones to sunny bliptronic beats, sounding like an indie band remixed by Entroducing era DJ Shadow and LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy.
