SXSW: Two Omaha bands confirmed

Orenda Fink, left, and Nina Barnes of Harouki Zombi.

Around this time of year, South By Southwest starts sending out preliminary lists of bands. Usually, groups from Nebraska don't pop up this early.

Today, two made the cut. Tilly and the Wall and Harouki Zombi will both be performing at SXSW.

Harouki Zombi is credited as hailing from "Athens, NE," which must be a combination of Athens, Ga., and Nebraska.

Have you heard of the group? It's Orenda Fink (Azure Ray, O+Sl wife of The Faint/Depressed Buttons' Todd Fink) and Nina Barnes (Apollinaire Rave Art Collective, wife of Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes), a DJ/VJ duo and sort of art performance/musical collaboration.

Here's the story (via a press release): While watching Orenda's husband, Todd, DJ on Orenda and Todd's last night in town, Orenda turned to Nina and said "Let's be fucking DJs" Nina said "Yes! But let's do it dressed as geishas." Orenda agreed and Harouki Zombi was born."

They've done some big shows, which includes a cast of zombie geishas that interact with the crowd.

If you're interested in the troupe, the video for "Harouki Swamp Theme" premiered on Rolling Stone. You can download the song, too.

Anyway, that's two bands down for SXSW. Add one journalist (that's me!). Now, who else?

Saddle Creek Update: Tim Kasher, Land of Talk, Adam Haworth Stephens (of Two Gallants) and Azure Ray

Fall will be good to Saddle Creek Records. The label has a slew of releases coming from familiar names to the label.

Most recent news is of Tim Kasher's solo album, "The Game of Monogamy," which will be released Oct. 5 on Saddle Creek.

The Cursive and The Good Life frontman has performed around Omaha near the holidays under the name Edelweis, but it was songs from this project.

"I wrote another record and I'm going to record it in January that I was going to call it 'Tim Kasher,' but I can never feel quite content with how dull my name sounds. I'm calling it Edelweis instead," he said then. "I really like that song a lot from 'The Sound of Music.' In a kind of a jagged way, that makes sense to me."

I guess he changed his mind.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to that album. Kasher's friends Patrick Newbery (of Cursive, Lacona and Head of Femur), Erin Tate (of Minus The Bear) and Matt Maginn (of Cursive) make appearances on the record.


From the press release:

This moody orchestral pop evokes a 1950s-esque, conservative atmosphere, setting the stage for a dilemma that remains thoroughly modern.  The protagonist's arc in The Game of Monogamy spans the wide range of distinctly human emotions tangled up around relationships in a starched shirt society.  Call it the score for our collective sexual plight: expression routinely becomes repression in the name of romance.

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Next on the list is Land of Talk, who released an EP and some videos last year. The band's second album, "Cloak and Cipher," will be out Aug. 24 on the Creek.

The press release calls it a "sophisticated, textured musical composition." After listening to one track ("Swift Coin"), I'd say it's layered. The vocals sound great and if the album is full of as much indie pop-rock as we get on this track, I'll be happy.

A fall tour will bring the band to Slowdown on Sept. 23.

Listen to and/or download the song "Swift Coin" below:



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What else? Adam Haworth Stephens, that's what else.

The lead singer and songwriter of duo Two Gallants will release his solo debut "We Live On Cliffs" on Sept. 28

It's good alternative, acoustic folk numbers and the album was created by an all-star cast. The record was produced by Grammy-winner Joe Chiccarelli (The White Stripes, The Strokes, My Morning Jacket, The Shins, U2, Radiohead, The Cult and many, many more) and features Patrick Halahan and Bo Koster (both of My Morning Jacket), Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck and NIN), Joey Waronker (Beck, Ima Robot, R.EM.), Cody Votolato (The Blood Brothers, Jaguar Love) and others.

Stephens is opening up for Blitzen Trapper for a Aug. 11 show at the Bourbon Theatre in Lincoln. Might have to make the trip West for that one.

Listen to and/or download the song "The Cities That You've Burned" below:



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Last, but certainly not least, is Azure Ray. The ladies are releasing "Drawing Down The Moon" on Sept. 14.

I wrote about the new album and the band's "reunion" back in June.

Anyay, the big news with Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink's duo is a two-month, cross-country tour that will bring them all over the place. The band will stop at Slowdown on Nov. 3.

Azure Ray to release "Drawing Down the Moon"

The fine ladies in Azure Ray, Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor, are back at it again. It's been six years since "Hold On Love," but the pair is set to release "Drawing Down the Moon" on Saddle Creek in September. Until a mini tour last year, the band was on hiatus since 2004 and the pair made solo records (as well as working with Bright Eyes, Now It's Overhead and projects Art In Manila and O+S).

In an interview last year, Fink told me about how the "reunion" happened.

Taylor had moved to Los Angeles around the same time that Fink was involved with Rilo Kiley, which frequently brought Fink to L.A. At the time, Fink lived in Omaha and would shack up at Taylor's place during her stints in California.

“We were having a great time together,” Fink told me. “We thought ‘We should be playing music. Let’s do a show.’ ”

They did, performing in Los Angeles in late 2008 — their first live date in years. They played the first Azure Ray show in Omaha in five years at a free outdoor event at Slowdown in 2009. If you were there, you probably heard some of the new tracks.

The twelve-track record was recorded with Eric Bachmann - whom the band worked with on "Hold On Love" - at Echo Mountain Studios in North Carolina and mixed by Michael Patterson. Familiar face Andy LeMaster (who's been playing with the band live) as well as Athens, Georgia, singer-songwriter Liz Durrett.

"Drawing Down the Moon" Tracklist:

1. Wake Up, Sleepyhead
2. Don't Leave My Mind
3. In the Fog
4. Larraine
5. On and On Again
6. Make Your Heart
7. Silver Sorrow
8. Signs in the Leaves
9. Love and Performance
10. Shouldn't Have Loved
11.Dancing Ghosts
12. Walking in Circles