// COMING UP

// November 25th - Anavan & Hawnay Troof

ANAVAN (LA, USA)
Sonny Kay: "L.A. trio ANAVAN first appeared in 2004, in the wake of the handful of percussion-centric bands who'd been stirring-up the underground for the previous couple of years. With their drum kit taking center-stage (and their helmet-mics firmly in place), I prematurely assumed at first sight that their sound would owe much to the likes of PINK AND BROWN and LIGHTNING BOLT.

"I was wrong. ANAVAN's empassioned, dare I say sexy, postpunk groove bypasses the cerebral yardwork of noise and pummel-rock, by aiming squarely on the listener's need to shake something. Free your mind and... well, you know the rest. Birthed from the pregnant stew of downtown's now legendary all-ages venue, The Smell, ANAVAN cracked their shell alongside groups like ABE VIGODA, HEALTH, and MIKA MIKO. Their sound, however, owes as little to their local peers as it does the aforementioned duos. The most obvious break from convention was (and still is) the conspicuous lack of guitar - an absence one forgets shortly after the first glorious note is struck. You see, any group of haircuts can leave something out. In a city full of 5-, 7-, hell, even 10-piece ensembles, the concept of 'less is more' starts becoming something of an emergency. When less equals as much more as ANAVAN delivers, the wheat has already begun showing the chaff where to stick it. 'Power trio' hardly does them justice.

"Needless to say, I was sold on them, post-haste. Their self-produced, self-titled debut album was released on GSL in 2006, followed by appearances at the label's showcases for the largely underinformed heads of industry at Austin's SXSW and New York's CMJ music festivals. U.S. tours ensued and a cult following rapidly took shape. A Japanese single was released in 2007 by Every Conversation Records. Now, in 2008, the band will at last set foot on foreign soil."
[myspace] [website]

HAWNAY TROOF (SF, USA)
Hawnay Troof is the recording persona of Vice Cooler. His groundbreaking debut LP, Get Up Resolution: Love!, sold 20,000 copies putting Hawnay Troof on a worldwide tour, and another and another... With such a major crossover appeal the tour had him headlining everything from raves, noise, dance and being the exclusive invite to the Jutta Koether and Kim Gordon art opening. This strange but rather charming lo-fi hip hop outing finds Mr. Cooler teaming up with a roll call of indie stars, including Xiu Xiu, No Age's Randy Randall, Carla Bozulich and members of bands including the Curtains, Erase Errara, Stereo Total and High Places. Last year, Hawnay Troof played the Lowlands festival. The Hawnay Troof sound isn't entirely unlike the sort of indietronic rap spouted by Tigerbeat6-er Cex, sounding at once like a spirited retake on the genre and a bit inept, Cooler mixes together a variety of production styles, to B-more style bass workouts, to a bit more Commodore 64, laying down buzzy video game beats while Cooler rants his endearingly dubious vocals into your ear.

Henry Rollins: "...So arts and entertainment, at a certain level past watching ER, is just in an iron lung. It's these heroic labels, and these cool bands. Guys like Vice Cooler from XBXRX, the guy puts out a record a week. He's just absolutely motivated, but who's his support? He's got me. I'll play his music. But who's going to aid him really? The guy starves month to month trying to get this stuff out, I'm sure."
[website] [myspace]

BARRE BIZARRE (EST)
Welcome to the wonderful world of Dr. Barre Bizarre! A strange fellow from Estonia, who usually offers free therapeutic conversations but will be showcasing his musical talent tonight instead. His rappings are insprired by Janne "Loffe" Carlsson's early '90s tv commercials for hamburgers.
[myspace]

This show will take place at Winston Kingdom
Warmoesstraat 131, Amsterdam
[website]