Mogwai kicked some serious ass at the Commodore last night! I'm glad I remembered to bring my earplugs.
Our song "Tiger Tiger" is one of the featured tracks on the
CBC Radio 3 Web site. The audio player is in the upper left-hand corner of the page. The first track is by the Spitfires, but if you click on the downward-pointing arrows next to the artist name, a full listing of all the songs will appear. "Tiger Tiger" is number 13, and there are also songs by Guitaro, Mystery Machine, Broken Social Scene, and other fine Canadian artists.
Now, when are they going to actually play us on the radio...?
Speaking of radio, our music is currently being played on the following stations:
CJSF (Burnaby, BC)
KYMC (St. Louis, Missouri)
KHSU (Arcata, California)
WUSB (Stony Brook, NY)
We have also been played on Vancouver's CITR, CFRO (aka Co-op), and CHMJ (aka Mojo) in recent months.
You know you've truly arrived when writers start using your music as a reference point when reviewing other bands. In this week's "Gig Guy" column in the Westender, Elliot Fraser says of the local band Honeywave: "Less melodramatic than Girl Nobody and more pop than Hinterland, the female-fronted quartet demonstrated a knack for languorous, hooky songs."
Just got my copy of the new
Masstransfer issue today. As usual, the CD compilation that comes with the zine is a wonderful collection of indie music, from ambient electronica to moody acoustics. Great late-night listening. The featured artists this time around include Lorna, Tex La Homa, Fuxa, Salvatore, Ai Phoenix, Morning Recordings, Jessica Bailiff, Portal, Marconi Union, the Static Silence, and Coastal. And of course, there's a Hinterland song ("Tiger Tiger") on there too. If you can't find
Masstransfer at your local music shop, you can order it from the
Web site.
Interesting Ideas might be the best Web site ever. Or maybe I just have an absurd fascination with the same things that fascinate its Illinois-based webmaster, namely: sock monkeys; roadside curiosities; art that's not supposed to be art but is anyway; modern ruins; the firm belief that professional sport is profoundly uninteresting; and the idea that, naysayers be damned, life is actually better now than it ever has been. Woo-hoo! Sheer brilliance abounds.
One of my favourite Web sites is a fantastic collection of weird records and their covers. Check out
Bizarre Records for a few laughs, and maybe even a little inspiration.
Ahoy there, me maties! Today is
International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Participation is mandatory, bucko, so ye'd best regale your friends and cohorts with buccaneer bilge or prepare to walk the plank! Arrrr!
As folks in Canada are probably aware, CBC Radio has rolled all of its Saturday-night programming (i.e. Radiosonic, New Music Canada, Just Concerts) into one nine-hour show called CBC Radio 3. The producers of this fine show have had Hinterland's three-song album sampler (featuring "Divebomb", "Tiger Tiger", and "Portrait of My Invention") for a few months now, but have yet to play any of the songs. If you'd like to hear Hinterland on Canada's national broadcaster, send an e-mail to
music@cbcradio3.com.
And while you're at it, why not request Hinterland on CITR? In Vancouver, call 604-822-2487, or e-mail
citrmusic@club.ams.ubc.ca.
WHAT I'M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: Blisscent II
This excellent compilation of indie pop and rock features great tracks by Silverman, A Northern Chorus, the Meeting Places, Tyko, and others. Basically, stuff that is in the same genre as Hinterland (whatever genre that is!). You can sample all the tracks
here.
Auralgasms has updated its section dedicated to Hinterland. You can listen to clips of several songs, including "Tiger Tiger" and "Portrait of My Invention". Site owner Scott Zumberg has also added the following comment in the Auralgasms forum: "Led by the ethereal vocals of Michaela Galloway, Vancouver's Hinterland has dropped 2 EPs on us over the last few years. Their sound was been winning over fans of The Cocteau Twins, The Cranes, and Slowdive. Those waiting for a full length are soon to be appeased."
"Portrait" has also been added to the online radio station run by
Blisscent Records. It is track 11 on the kooky dartboard interface.
Michaela and I will be appearing on the CJSF Radio program Cute Band Alert on Thursday, September 11 to promote our show with
A Northern Chorus at
the Sugar Refinery that night. We will chat and spin some tunes, including unreleased tracks from our upcoming album,
Under the Waterline, which will be released in November.
In Vancouver, CJSF can be heard at 90.1 FM and on cable at 93.9 FM. Elsewhere, listen
online. Cute Band Alert airs 2-4 pm (PST).
Pick up the
Georgia Straight this week to read about our involvement with the
Masstransfer magazine and compilation. Or read it online
here.
