This just in – Wham City is still kicking ass and taking names.

Hot off the heels of the announcement of Whartscape 2008′s initial line-up, we find news in the inbox that recent Wham City/Bmore-by-way-of-North Carolina resident Adventure (aka Benny Boeldt) just signed up with Carpark Records and will issue his self-titled debut LP this September.

Adventure joins up with a slew of other Bmore and Wham City notables on DC-based Carpark, including one of the Wham-crew patriarchs, Dan Deacon, Beach House, Video Hippos, Ecstatic Sunshine and WZT Hearts.

Enjoy this cut off the self-titled LP. And be sure to stop by Benny’s show at the Talking Head on June 5.

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Adventure – Battle Cat

With a “play anywhere, anytime” approach to live shows, Mates of State (MOS) made their way over to Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT this past Friday (May 16) to put on one heck of an amazing performance.

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This weeekend, the Baltimore Symphony pays tribute to the celebrated American composer George Gershwin.

Marin Alsop will lead the programs with guest pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.  On Thursday and Friday, the program consists of Gershwin’s first major classical work, Rhapsody in Blue, along with his Concerto in F and Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin.  “The most famous jazz group of the 1920s, the Paul Whiteman Band originally commissioned Rhapsody in Blue,“according to Janet Bedell.  The BSO will be performing with the original jazz-orchestration written for the Paul Whiteman Band.  The Saturday program is all Gershwin, sans Ravel.

Rhapsody is distinctive as it is one of the first pieces (premiered in 1924) to truly bring a distinctly American sound to the classical concert hall, bearing the stamp of New York rhythms, American jazz and pop, and Broadway musicals.  It is also a great showcase for Gershwin’s romantic, highly expressive and virtuosic style as a pianist.

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Geroge Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue

Oh boy, get your armor on. This is gonna be intense in the best way. I am going to Bonnaroo, but honestly, I will probably have a much better time when Whartscape rolls around.

I personally cannot wait.

From Myspace bulletin this morning:
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Cut Copy rounded out our drunken, sweaty Saturday evening at Sonar–– finishing up what seemed to be a pretty solid evening with Ponytail and Black Kids (see previous post). After arriving late and catching the last two songs by Black Kids, I must say I was mad at my self for missing most of their show. A part of me can’t help but hate them for all their cutesy singalong popiness, and the hype that has surrounded them–– but damn it sounded and felt great.

As far as Ponytail goes, if I don’t make it to their next show (Talking Head, May 28th) I might have to physically slap myself. Read the rest…

Baltimore – meet Concrete Prophet (if you haven’t encountered them in a previous incarnation). They will be pummeling your head in now.

Born out of a network of connections and friendships at Towson’s music department, since 2005 they have been playing the area, showcasing their take on progressive rock.  Their current line-up consists of Nicholas James (vocals), Kevin Boenning (guitar), Michael Passen (bass), and Brian Dobbs (drums).

The guys were kind enough to share a medley of some early live audio recorded at a recent performance at Metro Rock University in Virginia, some of the first audio released featuring newest addition, vocalist Nicholas James.

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Concrete Prophet – Medley (“Learning to Crawl” –> “Freeze Frame” –> “Show Me A Sign” )

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The kind folks over at Modular want you to have free shit. And they want you to celebrate the Presets new album Apocalypso and the associated tour. Therefore, it is only logical they host a giveaway with Aural States.

The winner nets this swag:

• A Presets-autographed poster
• A copy of Apocalypso (CD)
• KIM 12″ vinyl
• Assorted stickers

Anyone in the continental US can enter. Just send off an email to auralstates@gmail.com with your name, address and preferred contact method. We will notify a winner on June 2 and you will get a prize pack mailed straight to you from Modular HQ. And be sure to check out part 1 of our 2-part interview with Julian of the Presets.

For now, flash-back to 2k5 with this remix of a track off Beams then come back to 2k8 with this remix of “This Boy’s In Love” off Apocalypso:

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The Presets – Are You The One (Van She Remix)

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The Presets – This Boy’s In Love (LifeLike Remix)

Julian Hamilton (lead vox, keys) is one-half of the Sydney, AU duo the Presets. His pedigree is rather impressive, including a formal education in classical and even having a 2-year stint with acclaimed Aussie rock band Silverchair.

A few weeks ago Julian was kind enough to get on the horn and chat with Aural States, all the way from his home in Sydney. The Presets launch their tour tonight in LA supporting their latest LP Apocalypso. Be sure to enter our giveaway here.

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Stay tuned for a Presets prize pack giveaway later this week as well as part 1 of our 2-part exclusive interview!

Sydney’s most notable electro-export in recent years is undoubtedly the Presets. Their debut LP Beams in 2005 is still one of the most convincing testaments to the infinite power of fusing the essence of electronic-driven genres like techno, electro and house with more traditional song structures and pop flavoring to make digestible dance tracks that aim to, and often succeed at, bringing the roof down.

On Apocalypso, Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes take their sound to a much darker realm. The entire album bears more European influence, consisting of much deeper techno and house grooves along with a more distant, synthetic and cold feel but tones down the oversexualized aspects present in many tracks off their 2005 debut Beams. As a whole, Apocalypso is much more cohesive than Beams, yet suffers from a certain bit of monotony with style and sound.

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Small Sur is yet another testament to the talent that resides in our fair charmed city. Beyond the bizarre and the novelty, there is a massive well of traditional folk/Americana that rarely gets the attention it deserves (thanks to the focus on the more spastic and brightly-colored portions of our music scene).

Bob Keal, Small Sur’s front-man and driving creative force, creates just this type of music. He was kind enough to share with us some tracks off Small Sur’s upcoming full-length We Live in Houses Made of Wood, out in August on Portland-based label Tender Loving Empire.

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Small Sur – Ohhhhh Pt. 1

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