BATTLES’ “MY MACHINES” FEAT. GARY NUMAN
12” SINGLE OUT AUGUST 16 ON WARP RECORDS - ALBUM GLOSS DROP AVAILABLE NOW, RECEIVES CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“Creepy, surreal, hyper-real. It’s an art of implausibilities.”—New York Times
BATTLES’ “My Machines,” featuring synth-pop pioneer Gary Numan, is available as a 12” colored vinyl single August 16 via Warp Records. Please see attached for artwork. The track—off of the band’s critically acclaimed sophomore record Gloss Drop (available now via Warp Records)—has been hailed by NME as “propelled on stern, piston drums, pointillistic guitar notes scattering like frightened crickets.” Numan notes that “working with Battles was an easy choice for me. They have a unique approach to making music and a clear idea of what they want. They are inventive, adventurous, unpredictable and I’m proud to be involved.” The single, which includes the b-side “A.M. Gestalt,” is currently available for pre-order at http://bit.ly/ogdr7Y. “My Machines” is currently streaming at http://soundcloud.com/
Gloss Drop has received praise from the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine, Washington Post, and Pitchfork, among many others. SPIN called the record “virtuoso art funk that’ll sophisticate your booty,” while Filter proclaimed the record “…as delightfully fucked up as it is musically seamless.” USA Today posited, “This shrewd and vigorous follow up to 2007 debut Mirrored finds BATTLES winning the war against convention.” Upon the album’s release the band performed “Futura” on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” which prompted ?uestlove to hail the band saying, “They’re a living car chase scene from an updated “Streets of San Francisco” sequel. Yikes!”
The band will embark on a series of summer tour dates including an appearance at Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago on July 15, followed by an extensive fall tour. See below for completed confirmed dates.
In addition to Numan the three-piece outfit collaborates with guest vocalists on the record including Chilean-born Kompakt minimal techno producer Matias Aguayo, cult indie rocker Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead and Yamantaka Eye, the messianic dreadlocked front man of Japanese cosmiche future beat unit, the Boredoms.
BATTLES came together in New York in 2002 drawing together disparate strands of hardcore, avant-garde tonal minimalism, neo-classical, techno and post rock featuring drummer John Stanier (Helmet), guitarists Ian Williams (Don Caballero) and Dave Konopka (Lynx) and Tyondai Braxton. After a string of EPs, the group signed to WARP and released their debut Mirrored in 2007. Recorded during the winter of 2009 at Machines with Magnets studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Gloss Drop was initially recorded with Braxton but he later departed. With completely reworked tracks minus Braxton, BATTLES offers Gloss Drop.
BATTLES TOUR DATES
July 15 Chicago, IL Pitchfork Music Festival
Official site: http://www.bttles.com
