Awesome. Awesome to the max.

apparently the album has leaked too, though i'm not sure if our gmail can help with that.

You can find already it on soulseek, if you keep your eyes open. It's pretty wild.

CHARGE!

Another recent Pitchfork interview:

Battles Talk Mirrored, Vocals, Side Projects

"We're no more an instrumental band than we are a rock'n'roll band with no lead singer." --Tyondai Braxton

There's a new behemoth in town, and Battles is its name. The fire-breathing, Warp-signed supergroup comprised of Tyondai Braxton, Ian Williams (ex-Don Caballero), John Stanier (ex-Helmet, Tomahawk), and Dave Konopka (ex-Lynx) drops their proper debut LP Mirrored on May 15, as previously reported. EP-based excitement has been brewing for a few years now, but longtime fans may be in for a few surprises.

For one: vocals. First single "Atlas"-- out April 2 in 12" and digital formats-- has 'em. So do several other tracks on Mirrored, as Battles' Braxton and Williams revealed to Pitchfork during a recent chat. So what's the deal, guys?

Said Braxton, who does all the quote-unquote singing, "It's not just straight vocals throughout on every track. Sometimes it's more conventional, sometimes it's more affected and used more as a texture. So there's no clear definition of the way that we use the vocals-- but we do have maybe three or four songs with lyrical vocals in them."

For Braxton and band, it's all about pushing boundaries. "The thing that I really like about other bands that I grew up listening to-- that I was inspired by-- is they have the same tools that other bands use-- you've got your lead vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, whatever-- but the way they use them is so different. So I always wanted to try my hand at using those same tools to go in the direction that I was interested in, and that we were interested in as a collective."

"We all are very cool with just trying out a bunch of different things. We're no more an instrumental band than we are a rock'n'roll band with no lead singer. We just try different things and do what we want to do, which is refreshing-- it's a refreshing formula to have in this band, where there's nothing that's too out of bounds.

"And though the vocal thing might be a little more conventional in a lot of ways, even there there's no fear of being able to go that route and see what we can come up with. And I had wanted to sing and wanted to see what it would be like to have a Battles song written, so we explored that direction."

Added Williams, "there are a lot of different notes that the record hits, it seems to me. There are a few eight-minute pieces of lots of different sections, and then there are some really short songs."

Battles worked with engineer Keith Souza at Machines With Magnets studios in Pawtucket, Rhode Island (just outside Providence) over a period of several months-- much longer than either Braxton or Williams is used to working on a record. As Braxton put it, "I feel like I did a term at Brown or something."

"It was a really intense record [to make]," Braxton added. "It was relaxing in the sense that we were able to try a lot of different things and be comfortable with experimenting because we had the time, but there was no shortage of work to be done, so it was a really intense process."

Although Battles has sapped up all of its members' time in recent months, Braxton-- who signed to Warp as a solo artist in February of last year-- has his own thing going on, as does Stanier, Battles' drummer, who plays in Australia's the Mark of Cain.

"I'm writing stuff now," Braxton revealed, "and it's the kind of thing where, being that it is just me, I have to find pockets of time where I can just kind of get stuff done. I know we'll be touring this year [dates recapped below], so my prediction is that I'll have stuff into the label by the fall. So it's pushed back a little farther than what I expected, but it's okay."

Williams hopes to flex some solo muscle soon as well. "Ty and I started playing together a few years ago, when I was thinking of doing a solo thing. We sort of combined forces and then slowly it turned into this band, Battles. And now it's fully a complete band: 25% effort from everybody to create the 100%. So I no longer feel like I have a solo voice again, and if I have time I might try to record some music by myself. That idea has never left my head."

Be on the lookout for a Timothy Saccenti-directed video for Battles' "Atlas", for which the band constructed the set.

Said Braxton, "Without necessarily revealing what it is, the video ties into the album art, and ties into the whole campaign of the whole record, the whole promotional...movement with the record. It's really cool, and people should check it out."

Just don't get confused. This is Battles we're talking about-- one word, plural. Since the supergroup hit the scene, however, a few similarly-named acts-- including Vancouver's the Battles and London's Battle-- have sprung up. And while Tyondai and Ian admit they're not yet ready for legal action, they did express some concern over the possible identity confusion.

Braxton said, "I'll just sum it up like this: you want to be able to exist as the band name that you'd come up with as before, in every territory that you perform in, and every territory that you can play in and have records released in. You want to be able to maintain your identity without it being challenged. So, you know, that's the hope and the thing that you have to protect as a band that has a similar name as someone else."

Williams summed it up even more succinctly: "Like, imagine if Al Gore had another guy out there named Al Gore...now that's an inconvenient truth."

Together we can turn every thread into a bandwidth-hogging image fest.

I'll drink to that!.. this album had better be worthy!

Sounds good so far!!

these guys are fucking awesome.

completely, amazingly fucking awesome.

I heard the full album yesterday. A lot quirkier than the double EP album. I like it!

crosses fingers for Aussie Tour.....

When I interviewed them, they said they were keen to come out here and had plenty of contacts (due to John Stanier being in TMoC, and touring also with Helmet)... it was just a matter of finding the time, and having the record/s be a bit more established here first. They seem to play a fuckload between NY/USA, London (Warp showcases and stuff) and Japan.

This piece was longer, but got edited down a bit:

`The man's voice echoed between the walls of my room. Aw, shit!'

The first time I ever heard Battles, in 2004, I'll admit to being a little confused. After all, I had anticipated the moment for months: a fresh collaboration between a handful of respected musicians with cutting-edge instrumental approaches, drawn from the pool of American math-rock and metal.

Several months after I heard the Battles Mixtape Sampler, the band brought out their first releases-proper, entering the arena with both Tras/Fantasy and EP C, on Cold Sweat and Monitor respectively. Soon followed B EP on Dim Mak which, combined with Tras/Fantasy and EP C, would form their debut release on the infamous Warp label.

Comprising Ian Williams (Don Caballero, Storm + Stress), John Stanier (Helmet, Tomahawk, Mark of Cain), Dave Konopka (Lynx) and Tyondai Braxton (an accomplished avant-jazz multi-instrumentalist), Battles was eagerly awaited by trainspotting indie kids, metal heads, and experimental music fans alike. Even so, nobody could have calculated the groups sound from the sum of its parts. A blend of flitting guitar notes, twinkling melodies, ever-complicated loops and the lumbering muscle of Stanier's drumming, the band have already birthed a wholly distinctive sound.

The group formed in Brooklyn, New York, in 2003. Williams had moved there from Chicago fresh from the spectacular demise of Don Caballero, following a serious accident involving their tour van (bombastic drummer Damon Che has since reformed the band of his own accord). He began playing with Ty Braxton (son of legendary avant-garde woodwind player Anthony Braxton), after the latter repeatedly urged him to make a solo record. Thinking they needed something extra, Williams invited Konopka to join them for a show. Stanier's involvement came a little more by chance: `I ran into Ian, and I was always a big fan of Ian's work, so I just kind of agreed to check out what he was doing. And that was that. It pretty much completely happened out of nowhere.'

Battles members are typical of many musicians today, balancing time between various projects and locations. Stanier himself spent January of this year in Australia, playing shows as a member of seminal Adelaide band The Mark of Cain. The writing process is much different now after we've been a band for three years, and everyone knows each other's style,' he explains.We do a lot of writing at home, emailing each other little parts and stuff like that. All of us have, like, three other bands, so we're kind of bouncing ideas back and forth. We didn't really do that before. Before, we just sat in a dingy little basement in Brooklyn, sat there and wrote on real giant paper on the wall, and wrote down every particular little engineered part of a song. We're definitely not like a jammy kind of band,' he continues,so everything's pretty much pre-written. It's starting to change a little bit. Before it was very, very engineered from the inside out, but now we're more comfortable playing with each other, so it's definitely morphing a little more to just a typical way of writing songs.'

Williams has likewise hinted that, despite the central role of structure in Battles music (from which, he explains, improvisations hang), they are allowing themselves to branch out a little to keep older songs fresh. Those familiar with Ian Williams' guitar work in Don Caballero will remember his penchant for cramming scores of riffs into each song, but also for his growling,
cyclic figures (around which Che would frenetically whack everything within reach).

It is these which come to the fore in Battles. Some patterns have demanded multiple outings to facilitate fuller exploration of their harmonic content so there are three different versions of Tras'. For instance,Tras' is based around a series of muted power chords and brittle keyboard melodies, shuffling effortlessly through almost four minutes. Tras 2', on the other hand, is all swerving forwards-backwards guitar loops, grumbling polyrhythmic synth bass, tambourine shakes, and sparring guitar whimpers unrecognisable from its sibling as it peters into a lone 90 seconds of Stanier's drum pattern. One of the hallmarks of Battles is their ability to multi-task, with both Williams and Braxton turning out crushed-up melodies on both guitars and keyboards (occasionally simultaneously). While tracks likeB+T' trade on lightly overdriven looped harmonics and missed beats, `Dance' employs squawking, stuttering keyboards on the back of Braxton's beatboxing. Beguiling guitar and keyboard loops shift in and out of time signatures, ably framed by Stanier's drumming.

It used to be even more complicated when the band started playing, they incorporated a small choir of girls. That was the very, very original idea from day one, to have that choir,' says Stanier.It sort of worked, until we realised `Wow, that's a lot of people''. It's pretty cool, very chaotic, and with zero directions it's very loose.' But while Stanier seems excited by the idea, he's well aware of its limitations.It sort of is an impossible thing to organise that in a constructive way and bring it on tour; it becomes like the Polyphonic Spree. It's hard enough to get everyone at the same time in the same room. For now, its just a local show and recording phenomenon.'

Offstage, Battles have been busy preparing new material, as well as dabbling in other projects. `I just played on the new Prefuse 73 record,' says Stanier, 'and Battles as a band have just remixed Four Tet. Every month there's something else.'

this shit is so wack. i'm not loving everything tyondai is contributing vocally, but it's definitely off the wall and interesting. but also perhaps treading dangerously close to the sort of zany stuff i don't have any interest in. like mike patton.

can't wait! But I will...

but also perhaps treading dangerously close to the sort of zany stuff i don't have any interest in. like mike patton.

You just don't want to be seen as some crazy fan boy (ala much of Patton's fan base).

ps. yes, I am a Patton fan.

i'm waiting too. anok - is the rest of the album similar to 'atlas'? is that track a highlight or a lowlight?

haven't seen it on slsk yet..

teh track is da shit.

Going to see them in Sheffield soon.

Yay.

the track on gmail is pretty average.

Witch Hats FB page says they're on at 9.20.

probably a safer bet, not sure if the forum page had two supports or not.

yep, there are two supports. just got word from one of the 'hats dudes, they're on 9.20ish, ollie olsen's band on about 8.30.

any good?

Not being a fan ma self, I quite enjoyed Battles but don't think I'd wanna hear it recorded. Pretty entertaining live though. The kids seemed to love it.

did the Witch Hats slay? How was Ollie Olsen's band?

Second time i'd seen em, first time as a 3 piece (had they been out between 3 years ago and now?) Was pretty enjoyable, didn't seem to mesh as well as the previous show.

It's not ''Ollie Olsen's band'' really, is it? It's Mat Watson's ''band'' Other Places which was essentially his solo EMS Synthi + drums project until he started roping other people in for live shows.

that's just how it was described to me by text. they had a proper name, like a really real name, but i can't remember it unfortch.

they were quite enjoyable, though.

Battles will be heading down to Polyester Records, Melbourne CBD this Wednesday for a Merch signing and DJing instore session (with Barry ATP).

Wed 1st Feb
Polyester Records CBD
5 - 7pm

Come on down

with Barry ATP

What's he doing in town? Scouting venues for ATP Aus 2013 I hope.

The Battles instore signing at Polyester is today people, 5-7pm, come on down and say ''hey''. Their tour merch got stuck in customs and was not available at the shows, but will be available today at Polyester Records, Flinders Lane.

Possible John Stainer DJ set too.

Can I say it here?

''Hey''

We heard you the first, second and third times.

Yes, go for it, but hardly think it is excessive to post it to announce it and then on the day it is happening...... in the same thread.....

remix album stream here

from the interview > DD: What are you most excited about next?
Battles: Making a new Battles album. It's going be completely just drums and guitars. No electronic gadgets.

sounds good to me.

percolator said 18 minutes ago:

from the interview > DD: What are you most excited about next?
Battles: Making a new Battles album. It's going be completely just drums and guitars. No >electronic gadgets.

sounds good to me.

A follow up to American Don perhaps? Or maybe more stuff like B EP / EP C.

But yeah, I'd like to hear this.

A follow up to American Don perhaps? Or maybe more stuff like B EP / EP C.

that'd be interesting.

Assuming they're not talking about getting rid of loopers, although surely that counts as a gadget.