Events

As Tycho, Scott Hansen blends swirling melodies into vaguely triumphant arcs that crisscross between stuttering beats and vocal samples, creating rolling sonic landscapes that extend into the horizon. Known in the design world as ISO50, the San Francisco-based artist is famed for his warm, textured design style, which serves as a backdrop and mirror for his musical output.

Hansen began releasing music over 10 years ago with The Science of Patterns EP. His first full-length, Sunrise Projector, came out in 2004, and as the critical acclaim continued in 2006 with the release of Past Is Prologue. He eventually met Ghostly and, like everybody else, they simply had to work with him.

It was around 2008 that URBmagazine noted Tycho as one of the Next 100 artists to watch, and Hansen continued to release singles and experiment with more live instrumentation. In 2011, his meticulous process saw the release of Dive, his debut full-length for Ghostly International. Tranquil, nostalgic and melodic, the record established him beyond the realm of IDM and ambient.

Now with Awake, Tychos second Ghostly LP, the project returns as a true three-piece band comprised of Zac Brown (guitar, bass) and Rory O'Connor (live drums). Lengthy touring for Dive brought Tycho to its full potential, and in efforts to capture the energy on the road Hansen invited Brown and O'Connor in to the creative process. Both the sound and artwork of Awake capture Hansens stylistic shift, conjuring a more kintetic and percussive sensory experience.

More info here

“My brothers and I were surrounded by music growing up,” explains Kamtin Mohager, the shape-shifting singer/multi-instrumentalist behind the Chain Gang of 1974. “Not Beatles albums or anything like that; more like the Persian records our parents played all the time. And when we got older, it was up to us to discover everything.” Born in San Jose and raised in Hawaii, Mohager spent his first 13 years obsessing over inline hockey and the idea of being drafted by the NHL one day. A series of life-changing events were set in motion once Mohager’s family moved to Colorado, however. The first of which involved the final scene from Real Genius—quite possibly Val Kilmer’s finest hour—and its penultimate ‘popcorn song’, a.k.a. “Everybody Rules the World.” “I love ‘80s music, but not typical new-wave stuff,” says Mohager. “Like I’m way into Tears For Fears and Talk Talk, the other side of the spectrum, really.” That’s abundantly clear on White Guts, a record that’s nearly as restless as Chain Gang’s previous collection of early recordings, Fantastic Nostalgic. The way Mohager sees it, his first proper release was “all over the place, from a piano ballad to songs that sound like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Primal Scream or Justice.” White Guts, on the other hand, funnels three years of instrument-swapping, sample-splicing experience into a lean, focused listen. So while “Stop!” and the rather epic “Hold On” hint at everything from LCD Soundsystem to Talking Heads, they make perfect sense in the context of deep cuts like the synth-flecked “Don’t Walk Away” and bass-guided “Matter of Time,” shimmering power ballads that could have been on the soundtrack of Sixteen Candles or Pretty in Pink.

Twenty-two-piece choral rock band from Dallas, TX making psychedelic tunes that involve a variety of instruments including trumpet, french horn and viola

More info here

Youngest son of famed Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, Seun Kuti has steadily been making a name for himself while leading his father's old band. They play in support of their recent third release A Long Way to the Beginning. More info.

Join XRAY, Montel Spinoza and PDX Pop Now! for the official http://pdxpopnow.com/ after party at Bunk Bar from Midnight to 2am. 

Playing all the jams all night long while you top the festival off with a few nightcaps. 

And find out everything you need to know about PDX Pop Now!  Here

More info here: http://www.startheaterportland.com/calendar/

Videos, Stand Up, Music, Raucous Readings, Weird Stuff.

Hosted by Dan Kennedy (Host/Performer with the Moth in NY)

Beth Lisick

Kevin Samsell

Amy Miller

Laura Gibson

Vin Shambry

Arthur Bradford

Mindy Netifee

Andrew Dickson

B. Frayn Masters

and then Deb Leopards

TIckets and more information can be found here: http://portland.strangertickets.com/events/15309816/entertainment-for-people-mainstage-show-with-dan-kennedy

XRAY is proud to sponsor the 2014 PDX Pop Now! It's the festival’s 11th year this July 18-20th. Join XRAY for a free and all ages music festival showcasing an array of genres representative of Portland, Oregon’s thriving and diverse musical talent. The three day event will feature 41 local bands, food carts, and a street fair, carrying on the tradition of being one of the most interactive and inclusive festival experiences.

This year’s festival will feature sets by Alameda, Barra Brown Quintet, Blouse, Brownish Black, The Bugs, Cambrian Explosion, Coma Serfs, The Cry!, The Estranged, Etbonz, Eyelids, Fringe Class, Grandparents, Gulls, Hustle and Drone, IllMacuLate, The Lonesome Billies, Lunch, Old Age, Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, Philip Grass, Portland Cello Project, Psychomagic, Purse Candy, The Resistance, Rio Grands, Sad Horse, Sama Dams, Souvenir Driver, Spellcaster, Stewart Villain, Summer Cannibals, Tezeta Bands, Thanks, Tre Redeau, Usnea, Vikesh Kapoor, Wampire, We Miss The Earth, Wishyunu, Zirakzigil.

More information and updates at  http://pdxpopnow.com/

Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack have been playing music together and apart in Baltimore for most of their lives. On stage, they perform with raw energy and sophistication, creating a surprising amount of noise for two people. Their music can be classified as 21st-century folk music, imbued with dense shoegaze guitars, nearly melodic rhythms, and impeccable splashes of electronic color. More info.

Celebrate 4th of July at Dig a Pony with Wooden Indian Burial Ground, Summer Cannibals, and Eyelids, with DJ Sets by XRAY's own Freaky Outty & Maxx Bass

Party with Dig a Pony on July 3rd and 4th, featuring DJ sets by XRAY's own Strange Babes and musical performances by Aan, Thanks, and New Move. 

And on July 4th, the party continues with Wooden Indian Burial Ground, SUmmer Cannibals, and Eyelids, with DJ Sets by XRAY's own Freaky Outty & Maxx Bass

The Notwist's Close to the Glass is yet another courageous leap into the sky of songs. It is a catchy and unpredictable marriage of playing your heart out on an instrument and the magnetic pulse of precise programming. While the band always creates music ripe with authenticity and mood, we find them now defining their edges with no shortage of bravery or beat. As romantic as it is robotic, Close to the Glass is a bottomless collage: part pop song, part science, part band, part storytelling and all Notwist. The sturdy glue between the layers of Close to the Glass is their newfound synergy as a band, no longer co-writing parts, brothers Markus and Micha Archer alongside Martin Gretchmann have finally found their human form and in some ways, at last, have 'become' The Notwist. With support from Max Punktezahl and Andi Haberl, they write, re-write, and record songs as one, tapping into the energy they possess on stage, and naturally arriving at the band all their exploratory recorded music had cut out for them. More info.

Ohio-based post-emo act Cloud Nothings return to Portland in support of their latest, Here and Nowhere Else. All-ages!

More info.

On their third LP Angel it is clear that Pure X have, and always have had, an uncompromising musical vision. Over the course of each full-length the band has tirelessly reinvented themselves, opting to stay true to their own sensibilities rather than placate expectations or regurgitate a "successful" sound. After wooing both critics and audiences alike with their seductive, submerged-in-reverberation debut Pleasure the band pulled an about-face on their sophomore album Crawling Up the Stairs, crafting a follow up that emphasized textural clarity and raw emotionality over its predecessor's intoxicating soundscapes. Now on their third LP, and first as a quartet, the internal upheaval of C.U.T.S. has fully dissipated and given way to a new found serenity, a calm which finds the band in its most potent, refined, and elemental form yet.

Angel was recorded to tape in a concentrated burst over five days at Wied Hall- a massive, rustic, 100 year-old dance hall in rural central Texas. The band isolated themselves to living in the cavernous space during the Fall of 2013 after a year full of touring and writing on the road, seeking a secluded setting to construct what would become their most focused work to date. The results show the group of Jesse Jenkins, Nate Grace, Austin Youngblood, and newly acquired full-time member Matty Tommy Davidson leaving themselves totally unguarded. During their residency the band had time to absorb the pastoral romanticism of the countryside as well as Wied's rich history of having hosted many of country music's finest in the last century. Subsequently, a deliberate patience exudes from the album both in the band's freshly honed songwriting and spacious compositional structure. Lush, layered vocal treatments, dialogues of gently plucked electric and strummed 12-string guitar, reserved percussion, and precariously sensual bass are all allowed ample room to breathe and delicately bathe in the great hall's natural reverb. More than ever Pure X's influences are allowed to show through in full, unveiling affinities which were present in their past recordings but never totally expressed until now. Harmonies such as those on the achingly gorgeous opener Starlight, lead by Jesse Jenkins' silky falsetto, interweave with a complexity and precision that is reminiscent of 70's soul, steadily propelled forward by a stoic groove of bass, guitar, and tightly tracked drum kit. On the 2-step ballad Heaven the spirit of classic country's golden-era is seamlessly assimilated into the band's sound while Nate Grace's lyrics conversely explore the reality of an inner, readily accessible utopia. Elsewhere on Every Tomorrow a sober raga of 12-string acoustic hangs serenely over measured doses of hand percussion and minimal string arrangements punctuated by ascending ladders of buzzing synth. Singers Jenkins and Grace, sharing vocal duties evenly across the recording, boldly explore a full range of motion to share a collection of strikingly honest songs about love, aspiration, and the deep yearning for the authentic unity with oneself.

Pure X's third long-player, written collectively between all four members and recorded mostly live with minimal overdubs, sees the band further refining themselves after a year of being strenuously tempered on the road. These pieces, comprised of ideas stolen away during moments in the tour van and hammered out on various stages across the United States, were brought back home with a distinct purpose, with one concerted intention: to make the album they had always wanted to make. And thus, Pure X have crafted a beautifully genuine pop record whose influences span across genres and generations without reserve while simultaneously coming into their own in the process.

Talkative was born in a noise dream. First existing in Eugene they were originally a performance-art noise duo. Focusing their time on loops, effects, and delay bent vocals, the shows were mentally and aurally intensive. As time shifted forward new forms of performance were explored and they have found a comfortable setup with effects soaked guitars, drums, and keyboards. The sound of Talkative starts in a flurry of digital noise that eventually finds itself ripping through guitar riffs before shapeshifting into rolling drums and sequencers. They've released two full length albums "Strange Luxuries" and "Light Years" which both illustrate a dynamic quality unique to Talkative. "Light Years" shows Talkative's ability to bath in reverb and rebirth itself in melody with the help of guitar, bass, and drums. Their current live set up includes live visuals, booming drums and bass, wild vocals and ripping guitars.

This is a barn burner of an all ages show featuring three of Portland's finest. The Thermals, featuring XRAY's own Kathy Foster (Strange Babes, Mondays 4-6p), headline with best new band runner up Summer Cannibals and The Ghost Ease.

Portland has a new venue for all ages music called S1 and they're hosting this bill of Portland music favs for only $5. The venue is at 4148 NE Sandy Blvd.

The Woolen Men are three -- two Oregon natives and a Washingtonian. They play punk influenced DIY music in the Pac-NW tradition of Dead Moon and the Wipers. More than a sound or style, that means a kind of work ethic -- do-it-yourself and do it a lot. The band is happiest touring up and down the I-5 or bunkered in their practice space with the cassette 4-track rolling. And it shows. Live, the band is thunderous and energetic and the magnetic chemistry of the three of them playing together shines through in the recordings. 

This self-titled album released by Woodsist Records is their debut LP, following a handful of largely self-released EPs. Instead of changing their technique of recording fast and loose to capture the live energy of their sound, they recorded and recorded and recorded until they had enough songs to make up an album only of material with that elusive spark of a great recording. The ten tracks here represent five different sessions, and as many songs made the cut as were left behind. The LP was made to endure, with little attention payed to current trends or "in" sounds -- what matters to the band is that the songs are well written and executed with integrity. The whole thing was recorded to analog tape. 

The Woolen Men are Alex Geddes, Lawton Browning and Raf Spielman. They live and work in Portland, OR. Raf previously released an album of solo material under his Polyps moniker for the Woodsist sister label Hello Sunshine.