FREELAND FREE MP3 OF NEW SINGLE ‘UNDER CONTROL’
U.S + CANADIAN TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
FRIDAY MAY 1 – ROCK AND ROLL HOTEL, WASHINGTON DC
SATURDAY MAY 2 – LE POISSON ROUGE, NYC
MONDAY MAY 4 – CABARET JUSTE POUR RIRE, MONTREAL
TUESDAY MAY 5 – WRONGBAR, TORONTO
WEDNESDAY MAY 6 -SONOTHEQUE, CHICAGO IL
FRIDAY MAY 22 – THE ECHO, LOS ANGELES, CA
SATURDAY MAY 23 -COW PALACE, DALY CITY (SAN FRANCISCO)
According to acclaimed Grammy-nominated DJ/producer Adam Freeland, he always intended his groundbreaking new full-length Cope™, to be more than just another electronica album. “I wanted to make more than just another artist project,” Freeland explains. “I always saw Cope™ as a band album more than just another DJ slapping together a bunch of random club grooves. I wanted to create songs I could play live, not just spin.” Cope™ does have its share of boldfaced guests—everyone from the Pixies’ Joey Santiago and Spinnerette’s Brody Dalle to Jerry Casale of DEVO and Tommy Lee—not to mention Freeland’s trademark banging electro beats; however, at the album’s core are the songs he wrote and performed with new vocalist Kurt Baumann, also the frontman in his eponymous new group, Freeland, who make their concert debut at the legendary South By Southwest festival’s 2009 edition.
“The new songs combine electronic grooves with shoegaze guitars, real drums, and songwriting, so they begged to be performed live,” Freeland says. To that end, he put together the touring unit of Baumann on bass, guitar and vocals and Hayden Scott (Pop Levi) on drums, with Freeland himself triggering samples, playing rude Korg MS-20 synth lines, and taking lead vocals on the band’s thundering, take-no-prisoners cover of Grinderman’s “No Pussy Blues”; together, they transform classic Freeland club bangers like “We Want Your Soul” into smart bombs that detonate the dancefloor but defy genre. “I’ve always mixed rock into my sets anyway, so having a band is just a natural progression from that,” he clarifies. “Freeland has all the hard-hitting grooves of my DJ sets, but played live they’re even more raw, personal and in your face. This is the sound I’ve always heard in my head, so now I want to hear it as loud as possible!”
Tracks like the driving, gritty “Borderline”—co-written with Brody Dalle of Spinnerette/Distillers, with a raw, eerie vocal by Dalle—show Freeland’s ability to blend electronic charge with artfully confessional songwriting. Likewise, “Only A Fool,” Freeland’s epic collaboration with Jerry Casale of DEVO, proves a Krautrock apocalyptica anthem for the entire family.
Indeed, psychedelic drone rock redolent of Freeland’s move from his native U.K. to the California desert reverberates throughout Cope™, from the swirling shoegaze of “Silent Speaking” (written and performed with Brooklyn Pitchfork faves SoundPool) to the heartwrenching, Sigur Ros-like “Mancry,” an epic modal soundscape anchored by thundering percussion courtesy Tommy Lee (yes, that Tommy Lee).
Meanwhile, “Do You” proves totally uncategorizable—imagine DJ Shadow given a Mooged-out Krautrock retrofit by Can with Bonham sitting in on drums, and you get the idea. Co-produced by Marine Parade’s latest producer-DJ star Alex Metric (Autokratz, Locarnos, Black Daniel, Hard-Fi, Eddy Temple’s “Remixer of the Year 2007,” Annie Nightingale’s BBC alternate) and mixed primarily by Alex Greggs of South Rakkas Crew fame (Yo Majesty!, Beenie Man, and, er, N*Sync) — with Cope Freeland and crew — this will give dance music a crucially heretical wake-up call.
Cope™ is out June 9th (marine parade)