Late last year I was fortunate enough to travel to the Illosaarirock Music Festival in Turku, Finland. Besides all of the interesting food, saunas and really great people, one of the highlights of this trip was seeing the band Disco Ensemble play in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans. Granted, I heard of the band before being I worked with their label Fullsteam Records, but not until that point did I fully grasp what the band was really capable of. Their last record, Magic Recoveries, was softly released and then buried here in the States by Universal, never really getting the attention it deserved… so yes, that is why you probably haven’t heard of them yet. The band since entered the studio in Helsinki and recorded a follow up that will take any At The Drive In fan and kick them in the teeth. A proper US release is eminent but for now you can hear their new single “White Flag For Peace” by visiting their MySpace. For those of you in Europe, I am jealous of you as you can order a copy on 7″ from their label… but for now I’ll settle for a stream. Check out video teaser after the jump.

“White Flag For Peace” – Disco Ensemble – LISTEN

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Beams of sweat on his bare chest reflected the burning sunlight from the lens of the Telescope. The verdict was as cruel as can be: there’s still no land to be seen. They had been lost for weeks now. No fish, no water, only the breath of the salty air and the sun above their heads. Hopelessness of the situation was turning into cravings. Nothing but male tenderness to hold on to.

For these four sailors it was their second full attempt to conquer the seven seas. It was an outbreak from the country which had tried to cage them for 24 years now. For this journey they were the perfect crew: the bearded, the torn shirted, the four-eye and the almost bald. With fire and faith of youth as their weapon, together against the ruthless sea. Nothing to win, everything to lose. Comrades forever.

And then the worst of the worst happened. The ship wrecked leaving the four young seamen stranded somewhere on The Baltic Sea. It took the bravest of them to finally whisper it out loud: “This god-forbidden vessel is sinking. We are heading to the everlasting love beneath the sea…”

DWNSTRS by Downstairs will be in stores November 4th, 2009 in Europe, January 2010 in North America.

Though we are impatiently waiting for a US release date for the new Rubik record, we are held over by the release of their new video for the track “Wasteland”. Check it out above and check back soon because we will be posting up the release date when it comes in.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Rubik – “Wasteland”
02. Disco Ensemble – “Stun Gun”
03. Michael Black Electro – “Necrospiritual”
04. Damn Seagulls – “The City Takes Care Of It”
05. Downstairs – “Mr. Roboto”
06. Jaakko & Jay – “Keep In Touch”
07. Callisto – “Rule The Blood”
08. Cosmobile – “The Finger”

DOWNLOAD THE SAMPLER

Thanks to another job, I will be heading out to Cannes, France for MIDEM this year. Though I won’t be posting for a few days due to my lack of internet access, feel secure in the fact that I am going to come back from the south of France with a boat-load of great music to listen to. That music will then make it’s way onto my computer, morph itself into blog-form and become a post right here on this site. It’s the future you son of a bitch, deal with it.

Our first day will consist of lounging and getting good food with our friends over at Fullsteam Records from Finland. Be sure to check out some of their artists such as Rubik, Lapko and Downstairs. After that everything is up in the air as my belly will be filled with fine wine and aged cheese.

Will you be at MIDEM as well? Hit me up!