Mercury Lounge

showview

Mixel Pixel (Record Release) 10:30
Violens 9:30

Chairlift 8:30
Project Jenny, Project Jan 7:30

Thu 6/5

Tickets

$10

Mixel Pixel

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=4221541
http://mixelpixel.com
Mixel Pixel plays music that's smart and willfully naïve at once, combining simple, dreamlike tunes that suggest the smirky younger siblings of Beat Happening with an aggressive but playful embrace of cheap keyboards, samplers, and electronic toys that allows their music to pulsate or drift at will. Mixel Pixel (sometimes billed as Mr. Mixel Pixel) began life in 1995 when Rob Corradetti (who cites Beck, Ween, the Vaselines, and Royal Trux as early influences) began making four-track cassette recordings and collaborating with like-minded friends through the mail while working on a farm in Minnesota. Two years later, Corradetti had relocated to Delaware and began making music with Matt Kaukeinen; while their primary focus was home recording, the duo did play house parties and the occasional club gig. By 1999, the two had pulled up stakes again and landed in New York; the recording experiments continued, and in 2001 Corradetti and Kaukeinen completed the first Mr. Mixel Pixel album, Mappyland. The duo moved their headquarters to Brooklyn, began performing live shows after the album was released, and added Kaia Wong to the group. The trio formalized their recording techniques by building a studio in their shared loft, and in 2004 issued a second album, Rainbow Panda. By 2005, the group had developed a growing following in both the United States and Canada for their adventurous music and imaginative live performances, and Kanine Records, a New York-based indie label, signed them for their third album, Contact Kid. Music for Plants followed in the fall of 2006, by which time the addition of Matt Snee swelled the combo into a quartet. - Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Violens

http://www.myspace.com/violensmusic
Violens are a New York-via-Miami four-piece formed in the fall of 2007 featuring members Iddo Arad (synths/vocals), Ben Brantley (bass), Jorge Elbrecht (lead vocals/guitar) and Kris King (drums). Their music imagines a place where The Zombies & The Byrds meet Wire & The Violent Femmes, and Crass meets Angelo Badalamenti & Prefab Sprout.
--Last.fm

Chairlift

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=64664341
http://chairliftmusic.com/
Frequenting late-night jazz shows at the strange Broker Inn on the outskirts of Boulder, CO, Caroline Polachek, Aaron Pfenning and Patrick Wimberly are all mystified by the 1980's faux-gothic architecture. Oak-cabinet aquariums, vacant dance floors, and muffled velveteen booths provide the ideal hypothetical setting for a new breed of pop music. Intent on making music for haunted houses, Chairlift in the summer of 2006.

Shortly thereafter, relocating to Brooklyn, the trio further develops their sound into hypnotic yet tongue-in-cheek style, which is apparent in their first single. "Evident Utensil" was called "a charming pop oddity" by the NME, Exclaim! gave it "immediate cult status," and RCRDLBL.com deemed it, "the best single from a Brooklyn band since like TV on the Radio or something."

Project Jenny Project Jan

http://www.myspace.com/projectjennyprojectjan
http://www.projectjennyprojectjan.com/
No, Brooklyn’s Project Jenny, Project Jan has neither a Jenny nor a Jan, but the music of vocalist Jeremy Haines and electronic maestro Sammy Rubin will find you hard pressed to pigeonhole.

So where did they come from anyway? In college, Jeremy had become great friends with Sammy's best high school buddies, and Sammy had become close with Jeremy's mates. Once they finally met each other through a twisted web of coincidences, the two became solid co-conspirators. On one such night of revelry at Sammy's house, Sammy discovered that Jeremy's freestyling skills well surpassed his own, so he played an accompanying feedback solo on his microphone. Perhaps this was the planted seed that grew into Project Jenny, Project Jan, though it's best not to ask too many questions and just enjoy the music.

In late 2005, Project Jenny, Project Jan released their first self-titled EP and offered the mp3s up free-and-legal on their site. The press took notice, calling it a “shockingly dynamic, danceable, and hilarious affair” (Billboard) and “incomparable” (Deli Magazine). Their engaging live show got its well-deserved attention too: “This is a band that should be taken seriously, even while singing about homemade sex tapes and the Chinatown bus.” - gothamist.com