Analog Beach

DB EU TOUR 2012

2012-01-29T22:22:00.000-08:00

Really glad to be able to go back to Europe and reunited with some of our friends, and to newer territories that I've never played before like Oslo, stockholm, and malmo. We will have some new merch to sell too:

1) DB tour t-shirt based off the US GIRLS split 7" cover art I designed a while back (the image above), it will be available on white t-shirts.

2) 2 new DB 7"s Made in Europe
one from our buddies Bronson in Ravenna, (MADE IN ITALY WITH LOVE)

and the other one is from our friend Jan's Slow Boy label in Cologne, (MADE IN GERMANY WITH LOVE)

*Info, help needed for Eastern Europe:

I've been wanting to tour through Eastern Europe for a very long time now but with no luck with the bookings, the furthest I've gone to is Czech Republic. If you are a DB fan or can help with booking shows in eastern europe, please get in touch with me and my EU booking agent Rebecca: rebecca@elasticartists.net

Thanks

xo
Alex

7/2 CISIM - Ravenna, Italy
8/2 Astoria - Turin, Italy
9/2 Traffic Club - Rome, Italy
11/2 One in a Million Festvial - Baden, Switzerland
12/2 Festivel Antigel - Geneva, Switzerland
15/2 La Lune Des Pirates- Amiens, France
16/2 La Condition Publique - Lille, France
17/2 La Temps Machine - Tours, France
18/2 Rockstore - Montpellier, France
19/2 La Maroquinerie - Paris, France
20/2 La Java Des Paluches - La Rochelle, France
23/2 Vera - Gronigen, Netherlands
26/2 Indra- Hamburg, Germany
28/2 Stengade - Kopenhagen, Denmark
25/2 Kater Holzig - Koln, Germany
26/2 Indra - Hamburg, Germany
29/2 Debaser Malmo - Malmo, Sweden
1/3 Bergen Kunsthall - Bergen, Norway
2/3 Revolver - Oslo, Norway
3/3 Debaser Slussen - Stockholm, Sweden
7/3 WORM - Rotterdam, Netherland

Expressway compilation

2012-01-01T12:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone, I curated a compilation with my friend cody watson (AKA Pink Priest) and asked some of our peers to participate in this FREE DOWNLOAD COMP to thank everyone that has supported our crew over this past year. The comp features bands like Wet Hair, Ela Orleans, Lantern, DB, and many more of our awesome friends.

More info here:
http://batheticrecords.com/blog/expressway/

Heres to a blazing year of more music in 2012 !!!!!

I've got the Xmas Blues MIXTAPE

2011-12-24T00:17:00.000-08:00

Merry Xmas everybody, if your not going home for Xmas like me cuz your family is too far away or for whatever reason, let this Xmas Blues mixtape keep you company over those cold holwin' nights.

Xo

Alex

Tracklisting:

1)Lightnin' Hopkins - Santa
2)Lightnin' Hopkins - Heavy Snow
3)Manhattans - It's that time of the year
4)Charles Brown - Please come home for christmas
5)Charlie Parker Quintet - White christmas
6)Blind Blake - Lonesome christmas blues
7)Charles Brown - Merry xmas baby
8)Ella Fitzgerald - The secret of christmas
9)Charley Patton - I'm goin' home

FREE DOWNLOAD LINK

Golden Blonde

2011-12-22T21:32:00.000-08:00

An old track from DB's 2007 debut "Old Blood" via Fixture Records, which marked my first release under the moniker Dirty Beaches. Written somewhere between 2006-2007, I've cleaned up the recording digitally the best that I can, and hopefully one day will have the time and resource to re-mix and master the album in its entirety. The mix on this album is horrible as it was the first time I've mixed an album, and it shows. Perhaps only time will tell if this material is worth revisiting someday. But heres the touched up version of Golden Blonde, and I hope you guys will enjoy this little time capsule I dug out from my hard drive.

A Xmas mixtape will follow shortly on this blog...

Golden Blonde (New mix) by Dirty Beaches

PS.
Heres the impromptu piano version I pulled out of my ass for Yours Truly earlier this year on the Dum Dum Girls Tour. Thanks again to the Yours Truly crew for shooting this beautiful video.

DB & Lantern LIVE at Glasslands, Brooklyn, NY

2011-12-22T16:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone, I'm putting together some FREE downloads over this weekend as a xmas present to all DB fans, so first off the bat we got:

DB & Lantern LIVE at Glasslands

Live At Glasslands by Lantern w/ Dirty Beaches

A big thank you to William Chin for recording this bootleg to document this wild one-off idea we came up with 3 days before the actual show. We had a lot of fun that night. Wanna thank Zach and Emily for uploading this on their bandcamp/blog. More info on this collaboration set at zach's blog here: LANTERN BLOG

Man Meets Bear

2011-12-19T07:24:00.001-08:00

Soren Brothers, a very dear friend of mine who is a Canadian biologist currently living in Berlin with his wife, on a contract job as a researcher examining samples from various lakes (pretty cool job) but I like to think of him as an incredible musician and the first person I call when I find abandoned architecture that we can explore. As I was packing my belongings getting ready for a move back east to Montreal, I found this old transfer Soren left on my hard drive before he moved to Berlin 2 years ago. I had helped him transfer his 4track recordings into digital format. We forgot about it after the transfer and I made him a copy as well as a duplicate for my own listening pleasure.

Everytime I hear Soren's music, I think of stumbling upon a home movie he has made over the past years of his travels in North America, Japan, and Eastern Europe. It somehow reminded me of the feeling you get when you look through your old photos, some makes you laugh hysterically, some makes you cry, or both. But that feeling of "what's gone is gone" hits home so hard and deep for me on this album. I contacted Soren, and asked for his permission to share this with all of you on this blog.

Let this beautiful music accompany you through this long winter.

Man Meets Bear - Rose Road Revolution SIDE B by Dirty Beaches

http://manmeetsbear.bandcamp.com/

Desert Shore

2011-12-13T15:52:00.000-08:00

Road trip across the desert

DB Live instore at Luchador Records, Barcelona

2011-12-13T15:04:00.000-08:00

DIRTY BEACHES from WAAAU.TV on Vimeo.

The track is an old B-side that never made it to the Night People Tape I put out in 2009 titled "Valentine". Back in 2007-2009 this was the Dirty Beaches set up, RC-2 loop station pedal, and a holy grail reverb pedal (the only pedal I've kept since 2002 when I was still playing in bands) it was very light to travel with, as sometimes I had to play shows after work, I would bring the 2 pedals and my microphone to work, and take a bus to the venue and borrow other bands amp and guitar. Very economical and compact. Although the stripped down set up is not for everyone. But sometimes you have to work with what you have and play the cards that your dealt with. Luchador is a nice, relatively new record store in Barcelona, for those of you that live in Europe, go check it out if your there for a trip. Scenery: Skaters skating on ultra modern architecture/art gallery entrances, mixed in with an old looking neighborhood where old Spanish ladies dry their laundry and knickers out from their windows and balconies.

Rhyolite, Nevada

2011-12-11T07:15:00.000-08:00

There was a think out loud WTF moment when we saw the giant nude blonde 8-bit/lego statue in the middle of the desert; albeit a ghost town.

2011-12-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

Salvation Mountain by Leonard Knight

2011-12-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

2011-12-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

2011-12-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

Palm Springs / Joshua Tree

2011-12-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

2011-12-07T19:19:00.000-08:00

2011-12-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

DB in GQ

2011-11-30T04:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.gq.com/style/wear-it-now/201112/tuxedo-jacket-casual-jeans#slide=1

During the end of the last US tour, I modeled for GQ's men Fall fashion while I was in New York. Was really excited to show it to my mom as kind of a proof to her that, "yes mom, I'm working really hard trying to make a career for myself, and NO I'm not working in the kitchen no more."

To which my mother said, "is it really you? I can't really see the face...No, it can't be you because your not that good looking."

...

Thanks ma.

I am my own country

2011-11-22T18:05:00.000-08:00

Ever feel like your being judged by your race or where you come from? Or the fact that it doesn't matter who you are as an individual, people will still apply these pre-conceived notions and stereotypes of who you are and force it onto labeling you?

This video here is a very brave example of a social experiment, in which Ibby (the individual) partakes on a journey w/out the aid of cash, and he has spent 4 months walking in Europe.

More info in this video on his project

Now to side track a little bit, I talked to my mother recently as she asked about my travels in Europe this past summer and fall, and we landed on the subject of INTERNET. My parents do not own or touch computers, and have no real grasp of what the internet does other than instant messages like Emails, etc. So as she asked me how ideas are shared (youtube) and broadcasted on the internet (social media networks, facebook, twitter, etc) in her optimistic amazement she said: "That's really something. So you can all share information and news and ideas instantly over the internet thing? Thats wonderful, they shut everything down here in China, your sister complains about the lack of news here all the time."

As I try to explain to her not everything is GOOD on the internet, I had an epiphany. And in that moment, it was like a fucking tap on my head: we are what we share with one another. Whether its information, news, ideas, or our creativity, we are sending out these signals, reaching out to others who think alike.

While I struggle to explain to my mother about the spams, scams, the ranting, and spoiled brats bitching and complaining about materialistic stuff that they don't have, music/art/film they hate, whats cool and whats not, in an attempt to construct a virtual identity of vicariously living thru other people's creation, not to appreciate, but to showcase as an fashion accessory of some sort when they could be LIVING their own lives, experiences, and adventures, my mother replied: "son, no one is ever remembered in history for complaining. So stop complaining and appreciate what you have."

Sometimes you become so cynical, you forget what its like to enjoy life.

Thanks, ma.

Ps.

Note to self:

All this is all talk and no walk. So in order for me to take part of what I say I believe in, I must never take part in abusing the internet for pettiness, or spamming, hatred, or anything that is not constructive. From this moment on, this blog will be dedicated to my adventures in life, my friends and family, music/film/art that I LOVE and wish to share and help promote to other like minded individuals.

Remember the wise words people have given you and aid you in your journey. Do your thing.

Carry on with the walk. Less talk Motherfucker. Get on with it.

Tonstartssbandht - Hymm Eola

2011-11-21T13:46:00.000-08:00

My friend Ed White Jr. is a genius.

And so is his brother Andy White:

Paris 3am

2011-11-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

This track started as an improvise exercise Frank and I did on this past European tour after we've exhausted ourselves playing a set list that was more based around BADLANDS, so around the time we were leaving Italy, we started experimenting more with ambient abstract guitar/sax pairing, challenging ourselves every night, taking chances improvising on the spot; this was the result. I owe this to France, as it was very much inspired from walking around Paris and other cities in France late at night whilst everyone was fast asleep in the dead of night during this past summer European tour. Those feelings remained with me long after I left Paris, and upon my return this fall it brought back those empty streets vividly into my mind.

Dedicated to Cedric, Chantal, Sebastien, and DB fans in France. Thank you for giving me this song. I'd like to share this with all DB fans and made it into a free download. Hope you guys like it.

Best,

Bisous

Alex

Paris 3am by Dirty Beaches

Post Tour Reflection

2011-11-11T18:44:00.000-08:00

Right off the bat, I'd like to thank everyone that has made everything possible this year for me to quit my job and become a full time musician at age 31, I wanna thank all the friends/family and DB fans that have made everything possible for me to do this, sincerely, thank you so much.

The year is coming to an end soon, and now looking back it has been a crazy year. I wanna thank Brandon, Dee Dee, Scott at Zoo music for all the love and support, and from Shawn Reed over at Night People Records to my old friends Tessa and Conor at Fixture Records for supporting me through those dark years of struggle and dead end jobs. Dreams ARE forever. Even if you can't believe in it, please know that you should not doubt yourself in the things you are passionate about in life, whatever it may be.

2011 has been full of fucked up changes (for better or worst): from natural disasters, riots, civil unrest, and revolutions across the globe, its hard not to think of 2012 and all negative thoughts leading towards a hypothetical doomsday scenario but its essential and important to be positive and work for/towards something you believe in. I know I sound like some corny ass soccer mom preacher man oldies station talk show bullshit, but I seriously wanted to off myself when I was washing dishes, doing construction, working for a makeshift craigslist moving company hauling fridges and stoves and shit breaking my back fucking up my knee, and countless other shit ass stupid jobs that makes you want to claw your face off over the past 15 years. Even on tour running into racists and people telling me that I look like Jackie Chan, or being insulted by some people in the crowd being alone on a stage with them throwing things at me, making "ching chong ni how ma china man" sounds, I withstood everything and did my thing.

Perhaps all of this can be traced back to how my father raised me, and the fucked up dark realist values he instilled in me that prepared me for the life of an immigrant and all the fucked up shit life is about. "Life is suffering" he would say, "it is natural for people to cheat you, to hurt you, and to ridicule you. But it is precisely because of this that you must remain thankful to all the good things life has to offer you. When people are nice to you and aid you in your hardship, it is not because they owe it to you, and that is why you must always remain thankful to those who come to your aid in dire times. Cherish your friends. Friends are your family when your a stranger in a new town." (BTW this is all translated from Mandarin to English for your convenience)

Fuck, I should really call my dad right now.

...

So to the dearest of old friends, new friends, family, and fans of DB who is reading this right now, I give you my greatest thanks from my heart.

To those that hate me, you can't bring me down because you have no idea how much hatred and insults I've endured growing up as an outsider.

You can't break me or my spirit.

You have to really go the extra mile to be a shitty person in order to inflict some damage onto me.

Don't fuck with me. I'll fuck your shit up.

Sincerely,

Alex Zhang Hungtai

Nov 11, 2011. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

EU TOUR 2011 (FALL)

2011-11-11T15:43:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:38:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:31:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:20:00.000-08:00

Frank captured the 5 mins after I just met David Lynch, and I was banging my head against the wall/mirror.

2011-11-11T15:17:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:13:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:06:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

USA TOUR W/ Frankie Rose & The Outs (FALL)

2011-11-09T13:17:00.000-08:00

2011-11-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

2011-11-09T13:13:00.000-08:00

2011-11-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

2011-11-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

2011-11-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

2011-11-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

2011-11-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

Meeting Mike Watt & The Missing Men

2011-11-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

On Nov 1st, 2011, Antwerp, we played a show with the beloved and respected Mike Watt (& the missing men). Mike's crew were all awesome people and incredibly nice, we had dinner together that was cooked up by the promoters in Antwerp (curry chicken with salad, potatoes, and tomato soup) Later Mike, Raul and Tom played a fucking rad set and we were thrilled to see them live. Crazy funk- free jazz- rock n roll with stream of consciousness beat poetry. True inspiration and such honor to have played a show with them and witness TRUE GRIT. Mike Watt has so much mileage and stories and yet remains so humble and amazing, still pursuing what he thinks is artistically worthwhile, serves as a great model for us to pursue and carve out our own path.

Heres what Mike said about DB on his tour diary which you can read here: http://hootpage.com/hoot_hyphenated-manineurope2011.html#tourdiary

"...dirty beaches is righteous, I loved the set he did. lots of it has frank on sax, beret and sunglasses w/trippy augmenting w/his reed to alex's singing and guitar. lots of times alex breaks down to just singing w/stripped-down to only a machine's drum and very powerful. there's another mesmerizing time where he works his guitar into a world where I'm hearing boats in the night, it captivates me - I'm on board a ghost ship, hearing other ones close and far. "I'm your man" he sings way down from his heart at another point, "you can't replace me" at another. whoa. so bitchin' when you see someone for the first time and they blow you away. crimony.

big hugs for alex and frank - yeah I get their album so I can play on my radio show (so sorry no time for a show on this tour - probably next one after I get back from tokyo november fourteen). "safe seas" I tell them and easy load for us, the folks from the club helping much. I do an interview w/a antwerp cat who's on the ball, lots of gig-goers to give me the good word - so very kind of them. tonight was a good time all the way around!.

the konk pad's nearby and is called the tulip hotel. I am way tuckered and after some talk w/the guys, maybe twelve and a half when I konk."

Dirty Beaches - White Sand Video

2011-10-29T02:11:00.000-07:00

Dirty Beaches - White Sand from Tsien-Tsien Zhang on Vimeo.

Video Directed by my friend Tsien Tsien Zhang, Cinematography by one of my biggest influence and hero: Christopher Doyle.

Dreams are forever.

Song from the 2008-2009 Night People Tape. Available here: http://dirtybeaches.bandcamp.com/album/np-cassette

Hand Model Debut

2011-10-24T15:31:00.001-07:00

My boy Ben Shapiro last month discovered this incredible place in NYC's Chinatown, when 2 NYC cops found a loophole to sell discount cigarettes. I tagged along with ben's investigation.

read the real scoop here on New Yorker magazine's Blog

It also features my debut as a hand model. Ja~

Horses - Live at Bios Athens, Greece

2011-10-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite version of Horses I've ever played LIVE. Frankie nailed it on the Saxophone, the SAX sounds fucking amazing. Athens is a incredibly romantic city. I dream about the streets and buildings and corners and rooftops there, still. Amazing city with beautiful culture and people. I'm also a fan of rebetika, if you don't know what it is, you should check it out:

Dirty Beaches - Lone Runner VIDEO

2011-10-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

Directed by Kevin Luna, a Stockholm based film maker. Check out more of Kevin's video HERE: http://vimeo.com/kevinluna/videos
7" Pre-order available at Suicide Squeeze Records Release date 10/18

DB in EUROPE TOUR (PART 2)

2011-10-07T21:54:00.000-07:00

Below are the dates for the upcoming European tour, so glad to be back in Europe touring again. On this trip I will be joined by my friend Francesco De Gallo on Saxophone, who was just with me along with our friend Jesse (percussion) on this past North American tour with Frankie Rose. It was refreshing to play almost exclusively new material as a 3 piece unit, unfortunately due to my budget restraints, I could only afford to bring Francesco with me on this EU tour.

My camera also broke on the last american tour, so there are no pictures unfortunately, but it was a blast. Frankie and her crew were all sweethearts, and it was nice to have a little family on the road. One night we snuck 9 people into a road side motel and all slept in one room with sleeping bags and shit. We were like kids again. It felt great to have been on the road with Frankie Rose & The OUTS. High fives, hugs, and sadly we parted ways one by one. Goodbyes are always sad, but I know when I visit NY, I will see their faces again.

Can't wait to be back on the road in Europe

and play for you guys.

xo

Alex

DIRTY BEACHES EUROPEAN TOUR 2011 (PART 2)

10.Oct.11
Bush Hall, London (UK)

11.Oct.11
Bios, Athens (Greece)

12.Oct.11
King Georg, Cologne (Germany)

15.Oct.11
Bergen KjÃ¸tt, Bergen (Norway)

16.Oct.11
Le Romandie, Lasaunne (Switzerland)

17.Oct.11
La Salumeria Della Musica, Milan (Italy)

18.Oct.11
El Barrio, Turin (Italy)

19.Oct.11
Animal Social Club, Rome (Italy)

20.Oct.11
Bronson, Ravena (Italy)

21.Oct.11
Calamita, Reggio Emilia (Italy)

22.Oct.11
Palace St. Gallen, St. Gallen (Switzerland)

23.Oct.11
Mascotte, Zurich (Switzerland)

25.Oct.11
Novosonic, Dijon (France)

26.Oct.11
Le Sonic, Lyon (France)

27.Oct.11
Point Ephemere, Paris (France)

28.Oct.11
La Fabrique, Nantes (France)

29.Oct.11
Club 106, Rouen (France)

30.Oct.11
La Peniche, Lille (France)

31.Oct.11
Stimultania, Strasbourg (France)

01.Nov.11
Trix, Antwerp (Belgium)

03.Nov.11
Incubate, Tilburg (Netherlands)

04.Nov.11
Het Magazijn, The Hague (Netherlands)

05.Nov.11
FOAM POP UP, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

06.Nov.11
Vera, Groningen (Netherlands)

Grand Trine - Here Comes The Night

2011-10-07T02:03:00.000-07:00

Grand Trine - "Here Comes The Night" (2011) from Grand Trine on Vimeo.

Run and howl with this in the night down two lane black top. My boys Shub Roy and Tobias Rochman's band GRAND TRINE. You will hear more of this name in the future, I promise.

Horses

2011-10-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Horses from Tsien-Tsien Zhang on Vimeo.

Video By Qian Qian Zhang. With the beautiful Paz de la Huerta

Berlin

2011-09-11T01:55:00.000-07:00

Balands interview on DRONE

2011-09-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

my favorite interview on badlands so far:

http://www.the-drone.com/magazine/dirty-beaches-interview/

2011-08-30T06:05:00.000-07:00

LIVE in Barcelona, photos by Julien Mignot

EU tour video diary

2011-08-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

On the road to god knows where from Alex Zhang Hungtai on Vimeo.

My Girl's A Horse Rider Video

2011-08-21T01:33:00.000-07:00

My Girl's A Horse Rider from Alex Zhang Hungtai on Vimeo.

music from the film ost "practical esp" by Zoe Kirk-Gushowaty

St Malo, France

2011-08-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

Guitar Center LA

2011-08-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

Photo by Nic Harcourt

DB guitar magazine fantasy photo? haha

Eola - Deo Gracias

2011-08-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

My friend Edwin White (1/2 of Tonstartssbandht) just released his solo album on his own inprint DOESARE, the project is called EOLA and deo gracias is something thats really special to my ears because it feels like god's music, like hymns from some future dystopian religion. It reminded me of Aki Kaurismaki films: underneath the stillness of tragedy and sadness, belies this innocent comedic humor.

You know that feeling when your inside a church all by yourself and there is some hymns playing and it moves you to the point of tears? Or when your alone walking whistling or just sitting still staring out to the unknown thinking of stuff? Or when you think of something funny and you burst out smiling with a huge dumb grin on your face and no body knows why the hell your giggling?

Ed's music is all of that rolled into one. And it will prove itself over time, cuz I think its timeless music, and its fucking brilliant.

check out yourself here:

http://eola.bandcamp.com/

*recommended tracks: Ancient Hill, Loch Lomond

Barcelona

2011-08-13T04:35:00.000-07:00

Arroz Negro (Black Paella w/Squid Ink)

2011-08-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

2011-08-13T04:26:00.000-07:00

Barcelona

Goodbye Madrid

2011-08-13T04:22:00.000-07:00

Madrid

2011-08-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

Ate like a champion tonight

Czech Republic

2011-08-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

Berlin

2011-08-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

France

2011-08-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

AT SEA

2011-08-06T17:06:00.000-07:00

Just did a interview for LDWT in the south of Italy on this run, it was amazing to be there sitting at the sea. I also did a improvised instrumental track for the interview when they brought me a classical guitar, and for the first time I felt this weird deja vu shit as if I had been to that place in my past life, or must've dreamt about a place like that somehow in dreams. I felt like I've been there before for some reason even though it was my first time in Italy.

The music came pouring out in one take, and after watching the video I felt like that song was somehow sent to me via telepathy or through past ghosts or some other freaky shit that can't be explained by science. The music starts at 11:30 mark if you want to skip thru the interview.

More pics here at LDWT's website: http://www.ldwt.net/2011/08/down-by-the-sea-an-interview-with-dirty-beaches/#more-357

New 7" Lone Runner out on Suicide Squeeze Records

2011-08-05T10:15:00.001-07:00

Hi guys, the new 7"s A Side is a Live track I recorded over at part time punk radio show in LA, on the B Side it features the track STYE EYE that I collaborated with my friend Francesco De Gallo (Hobo Cult Records) and Case Mahan (Street Gnar)

You can order the 7" here: http://suicidesqueeze.bigcartel.com/

the only time I've ever played STYE EYE Live was during the DDG/MINKS tour in the video below (albeit a different version from the recording since DDG/MINKS never heard the song before haha, but it was fun and it worked out in the end)

2011-08-04T03:04:00.001-07:00

Image sent to me via Sandy Vu

Lisbon - Portugal

2011-07-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hornweg 6 - Netherlands

2011-07-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

One Eye'd Jack

2011-07-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Copenhagen

2011-07-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

Biggie Smalls - Sky's The Limit

2011-07-13T01:09:00.001-07:00

Been watching this video on repeat for the past 2 days. Amazing on so many levels. Your fans still miss you Biggie Smalls.

Video directed by Spike Jonze

Bushwick, NY

2011-07-11T04:33:00.000-07:00

DB Bandcamp

2011-07-07T19:17:00.001-07:00

I've been a loyal user to myspace for over 7 years, since the days of my old bands but as of today after they've crashed my browser for the X time, and countless spamming I realized its time to move on. Another reason why I updated the bandcamp page was discovering the tape rips thats floating around the internet. I'm not against file sharing, but some of the stuff I downloaded and checked were tape transfers from tape to digital. (The original recordings already gone through one generation of tape dubbing, so I believe the ones people are downloading for free are 2 generation tape dubs from the original sound files, some even played at wrong tape speed)

On the updated DB bandcamp page you can find older releases available now digitally, in its original sound file, as how I recorded it, and mixed it. Feel free to compare the files available on bandcamp and the ones you've downloaded from blogs.

The Fixture Records releases will remain on the fixture website, as they've switched from CDR's to digital downloads now, so its essentially the same, and they've always been really fair in paying me.

If you have any suggestions for the bandcamp DB site, feel free to let me know.

DB BAND CAMP : http://dirtybeaches.bandcamp.com/

/////////
*Additional info on Practical ESP OST TAPE

For those who wrote me about the tape not being delivered, I've tried writing to AL from Scotch tapes but have gotten no response. Al is a fisherman and is one of the nicest guys I've ever met, and at this point none of our friends could find him and we are quite worried about his safety more than anything else. Once I hear back from him I will post an announcement about the status of the tape and refund those who have paid but not received once I get in touch with AL. Again, terribly sorry about the tapes.

Best,
Alex

2011-07-05T18:10:00.001-07:00

Debussy - Clair De Lune

DEATH GRIPS

2011-07-01T20:45:00.001-07:00

I'm at my friend ben's house in Bushwick freaking out right now. I haven't heard anything like this ever before. Its amazing. NOISE + HIP HOP and the future has landed.

you can get their mixtape for free on their website here:

http://thirdworlds.net/exmilitary.php

PS
Did I mention already how fucking INSPIRING this is?

Hawaii Pidgeon Fridge Poetry

2011-06-29T01:38:00.000-07:00

Just found these on my hard drive.
My friend Shane Okouchi is a poetry genius. Circa 2004

Music of the gods

2011-06-27T02:05:00.000-07:00

Dirty Beaches - Paris

2011-06-25T03:01:00.000-07:00

Dirty Beaches - Paris from Alex Zhang Hungtai on Vimeo.

From Night City cassette, released on Night People Records, 2010, USA. Video footage taken from C'était un Rendezvous ("It was a date"), a short film made in 1976 by Claude Lelouch, showing a high speed drive through Paris.

Can't wait to be there.

US Girls - If these walls could talk

2011-06-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

U.S. Girls: 'If These Walls Could Talk' from Palmist Records on Vimeo.

I love meghan. just saw her perform this song a few days ago in Toronto, always so inspiring. A lot of her new material is produced by Slim Twig and the beats sound amazing. she is currently on tour with NOVELLER. Go see her play when she's in your town.

Ela Orleans / Dirty Beaches - Double Feature Split 12" LP

2011-06-21T23:54:00.000-07:00

Beautiful art work by Shawn Reed

Split 12"LP with my friend Ela Orleans out now!!!

Background info on my side of the split:

These songs were recorded the same time as badlands, and in a way are the b-sides of the album. sonically they didn't flow or fit in with the original concept and were unfortunately axed from the final cut. I was very pleased to have found a home for them when Night People and La Station Radar approached me and Ela last year about this split. the songs were then edited and submitted shortly after badlands were submitted for mastering with zoo music. Woven like a alternative narrative story ark in the saga of badlands, its very much a short film in essence. Perhaps what I love the most about this batch of songs is its feminine quality and the female characters that come into play in the foreground of this story.

watch the videos

HERE

*Note:
If you live in North America, order from NIGHT PEOPLE as the shipping will be cheaper to save some unnecessary spending and if you live in Europe/other territories I would suggest ordering from LA STATION RADAR / ATELIRR CISEAUX

xo
Alex

2011-06-19T01:19:00.001-07:00

2011-06-11T01:50:00.000-07:00

Badlands Avaialble now at ROUGH TRADE

2011-06-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

PRE ORDER HERE

Celestials of Saltwater City

2011-06-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

On Friday I will be performing live improvised sound pieces in accompanying artist Howie Tsui's most recent art installation Celestials of Saltwater City at Vancouver's CENTRE A. I've met up with Howie recently after I was contacted and recruited for this project, and I'm very happy to be included in this as Howie did some really extensive research on the senior Chinese immigrants in Vancouver and of Canada in general. What he discovered were not only tales of their hardship but also ghost tales of folk lore, legends from previous generations during the construction of the Pacific Railway, and other supernatural tales from the muted generation of immigrants who left behind their homes in hopes of venturing a brighter future for their family. Like me, Howie is a first generation immigrant that came to Canada in the early 80's during one of the booms of migration in Canada, having spent time growing up in Hong Kong and Nigeria, I sat and listened to his stories over a pint of beer yesterday, and joked around about our mutual love for campy 80's Hong Kong horror B-movies.

For more info, such as location and time of exhibition, go to:

CENTRE A

RADIO FRANCE

2011-06-06T01:02:00.001-07:00

Was asked recently to curate and put together a playlist for France/Belgium college radio, the theme is modern underground music. I've selected some of my favorite friends bands, whose music I love and listen to on a regular basis, who I think are interesting artists of our generation now, constantly growing and changing. Some which have already shown up on my blog, as you might be familiar with them. But for new European audience this might be new, I hope they will enjoy the mix I made for them.

Please support us and watch us grow.
xo
A

RADIO FRANCE play list:

1) red ford radio - us girls
2) blue frame - hot & cold
3) kicking the coals - parallel pyres
4) club night stalker - rene hell
5) champagne bubble bath - wild safari
6) crude vessels of sound - lantern
7) cult electric annihilation - wet hair
8) ces't ce qu'on appelé la renaissance de lame? - femminielli
9) water park theme take 2 - dirty beaches
10) side a - soviet pop

Grand Trine

2011-05-31T19:29:00.000-07:00

Grand Trine is one of my favorite live bands to watch when I lived in Montreal, but also because I love tobias and shub like my brothers, and they've been going at it for a few years now, constantly progressing and maturing from genre bending weird punk to blown out Rock N Roll mayhem.

Free Download Link Here

you can get more info of the tape on grand trine's blog HERE

Its been long sold out and out of print for a few years now, so I'm glad they decided to upload them and share with us this special tape again.

Carl Didur / Slim Twig

2011-05-31T00:25:00.000-07:00

Carl is probably one of the best kept secrets of the Toronto underground scene, and more people outside of Toronto should know about him. I first made a post about him on my blog after we played a one man band fest in toronto curated by our friend Max Turnbull, AKA Slim Twig. Ever since that show, I've been a fan of Carl's and follow his music endeavors, whether its the 2 man prog/space jazz/fade out outros minimalist experimental works of Zacht automat , or his collaboration with Broken Treefort, theres a sense of genius brewing underneath the quietness of his demeanor.

Watch out for the new full band of Slim Twig, it features both Carl and Mark of Broken Treefort, now full time band members.

They will be playing some shows in eastern Canada, be sure to check them out. Can't wait to see the full band version of Slim Twig. Its gonna be amazing.

Slim Twig East coast dates

2011-05-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me the link to this video this morning, saying that I would like it, and from the moment it started, the aquatic coloring of the images took over me. Reminded me of early Christopher Doyle Cinematography Ala Chungking Express and Fallen angels, the frantic editing also reminded of WKW and french new wave cinema.

Check out Grace Denis' cool photography site:

http://www.gracegloriadenis.com/

2011-05-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

RIP Gil Scott Heron. Your words will echo through out history for generations to come.

me and zach in Omar souleyman's promo video

2011-05-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

Just saw this on Zach's lantern blog, you can see zach on my shoulders at 0:33 holding the omar souleyman LP, haha.

Fixture Records Compilation 2

2011-05-26T00:01:00.001-07:00

Fixture Records just released their 2nd compilation which features some of my friends from Montreal like Cresting, Brave Radar, Chevalier Avant Garde (ex-postcards), Lantern, and many more. In addition, there will be some new Dirty Beaches tracks that were B-sides from badlands, and will be later released on the 12" split vinyl with Ela Orleans, coming soon in June by Night people and LSR. Very excited about this release, and I'm a fan of Ela's work and I'm really stoked that we finally got to work together.

Stay tuned folks for more releases coming this summer.

FREE DOWNLOAD LINK

2011-05-25T13:57:00.001-07:00

This is one of the best interviews I've seen in a really long time, touching in on timeless themes for every artist of any platform and period: Progression, growing up, being yourself, not going to those parties, work hard, play hard, get paid, write more. Who the fuck wants to struggle and be poor? Hustle and get your shit out there.

post WYRD fest III

2011-05-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Aaron, marie, paul and Jane for being such amazing people and everyone involved to help wyrd fest work and blossom into a celebration of underground weird Canadian music. The comraderie was amazing as everyone helped out to load in and load out, weird match ups and jam outs that will become the staple and spirit of wyrd fest future generations to come.

Personal highlights for me were good buddies that I know from montreal that have all moved on to new interesting territories.

FEATURING:

My favorite brother combo Eddy and Andy's raw power brother telepathy related psych rock in tonstartssbandht, femminielli's new homo erotic sleeze electronic dance music that actually feels dangerous like Gasper Noe's films. Another highlight I was really stoked to see was my friend Frank from hobo cubes, as he progressed into free jazz electronic skronk that is truly coming into his own form, and I'm super excited to see what projects will be coming out of his amazing eclectic weird multi-media label HOBO CULT RECORDS.

The one surprise discovery from wyrd fest for me was WYRD VISIONS whose twin neck dan electro classical/ghost folk/loop station compositions almost brought me to tears. Truly inspiring, dark, moody, folk music that is haunting yet beautiful. Highly recommended.

After waking up at 4am during a 12 hour night drive from Calgary to Vancouver, I woke up to see the towering rocky mountain landscape, with its snow caps barely illuminating in the dead of night. Exhaustion and dreams concocted into one weird experience that I will probably remember for the rest of my life.

After being a month on the road spanning across North America, I'm so glad to be home.

More recordings COMING SOON!

Work hard, play hard, get paid, write more.

WYRD FEST III

2011-05-19T00:27:00.000-07:00

Come see us play at WYRD FEST III in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver!

DB W/ Lantern @Glasslands

2011-05-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

God, I fucking LOVE Lantern. Fucking love this band. Good people, super nice, super productive. MY kind of people.

Love you Zachary, Em and Sophie.

We had a great time last night it was the most fun I've had in a really long time. If anyone have filmed more of the full band set, please feel free to upload them to youtube or vimeo and share them with us! or feel free to email me the links and I'll post it here so more people can see it.

Thanks to everyone who came out, it was a really fun night.

Love
alex

NEW YORK CITY SHOWS INFO

2011-05-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

Hi NYC, the mercury lounge show will be my usual solo set for this tour, playing a mix of materials from Badlands, and newer materials like the video showcased below.

As for the Glasslands show in Brooklyn, I will be joined by Philadelphia's Lantern as my back up band. They are good buddies of mine and both show will be dramatically different. If you wish to catch the usual DB material, come to mercury lounge. If you like DB and want to hear what I sound like when I jam with other people as a full band, this your chance.

Love
Alex