Sunday, May 31, 2015

Live at Union Transfer in Philadelphia

Philly !!!! 💗 Regram from @dmirales

A photo posted by Braids (@braidsmusic) on

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

BRAIDS in New Orleans

May 26th, 2015
Purity Ring, BRAIDS, Born Gold
Republic in New Orleans, LA
Sold Out!

Setlist: Happy When, Letting Go, Sore Eyes, Taste, Warm Like Summer, Miniskirt

Reviews & Photos: My New Orleans / Where Y'at (Photos)
Video Clips: Warm Like Summer

BRAIDS @ Republic 5-26-15

In line in New Orleans for my final show

Raphaelle in New Orleans!

Deep dimples by the Mississippi

A photo posted by Braids (@braidsmusic) on

Fun interiew at The Wild Honey Pie

Really fun interview at The Wild Honey Pie. An excerpt (question is what's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Europe):

Austin: Cheese!

Raphaelle: Men.
 (laughs)

Austin: Wow. Okay!

Raphaelle: I don’t know why but that’s the first thing I thought. I just thought like really hot european men, to be honest.

Austin: We’re still doing first things that comes to your mind?

Raphaelle: Cheese!

Austin: That’s the first thing that came to my mind. Sprinter vans. Hospitality. Everyone in Europe treats bands to dang well. It’s amazing. We come over and we play for the same amount of people that we play for in North America and they treat us so much better. Every promoter is so happy to have you!

Taylor: History. I’ve been listening to a University course from UC Berkeley on European history from 1648 to the First World War and it’s very cool to drive around all that I’ve heard about. All these nations fighting each other.

Raphaelle: Being conquered by Napoleon.

Taylor: When we were on the ferry and seeing the white cliffs of Dover, I was thinking, “This channel, France and Britain going to war so often and so many naval battles.” And thinking about the Second World War and those were the beaches that were stormed like in Normandy. It’s just crazy how much history there is in this! The whole world has a history. There’s not more history here but it’s so relevant to our culture. Canada is such a new country. There’s not that much that went on and the stuff that went on is not that interesting in comparison. So, it’s cool to be here!

Austin: Now we all know where our minds are at: cheese, men and history.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Sunday, May 24, 2015

BRAIDS in Houston

May 24th, 2015
Purity Ring, BRAIDS, Born Gold
House of Blues in Houston, TX
Sold Out!

Setlist: Letting Go, Sore Eyes, Blondie, Taste, Warm Like Summer, Miniskirt

In line for the Houston show

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Raphaelle's new glasses :)

Friday, May 22, 2015

BRAIDS in Dallas

May 22nd, 2015
Purity Ring, BRAIDS, Born Gold
The Bomb Factory in Dallas, TX
My first time seeing them live!

Setlist: Warm Like Summer, Sore Eyes, Taste, Happy When, Blondie, Miniskirt

Photos: Dallas Observer / Central Track

Warm Like Summer
Happy When
Miniskirt

In line in Dallas for my 1st BRAIDS show!

Ready to start my tour!

Who? What? Why? Where? at Q

From Q:
 
Canadian trio Braids – Raphaelle Standell-Preston, Austin Tufts and Taylor Smith – are releasing new album Deep In The Iris next week (28 May), and now are set to tour north America. The band’s Standell-Preston answered five questions for us. 

WHO would play you in the film of your life?
Raphaelle: Johnny Depp

Austin: Joaquin Phoenix
Taylor: Austin said he would Play Taylor

WHAT are you currently working on?
We are working on preparing our live set for our upcoming tour. But right at this moment, I am working on this interview, in bed with a cold and a cup of echinacea tea. 


WHY do you do that thing you do?
Because we must do the things that we want to do, and are most definitely doing that which we want to do, and feel privileged and honoured to get to do what we do, and will continue to do just that, the thing that we enjoy doing, which is what we currently do. 


WHERE do you see yourself in ten years?
Living someplace warm, continuing to make music in Braids. 


WHEN will there be a harvest for the world?
When the Isley Brothers are reunited. Or when we learn to produce as much food as we will actually consume. This is pulled from google, an astonishing statistic:”Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. Every year, consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food (222 million tonnes) as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (230 million tonnes).”

Friday, May 15, 2015

Wonderland playlist & haikus

From Wonderland Magazine:

After the success of 2011′s Native Speaker and 2013′s Flourish//Perish, Braids (Raphaelle Standell, Austin Tufts, and Taylor Smith) retreated to the mountains to record album number three. Encircled by nothing but nature, they settled in the mountains of Arizona, Vermont and upstate New York and explored their connections as a band, stripping themselves of day to day realities.

Deep In The Iris emerged as what they consider their strongest record to date and with its notable use of acoustic instruments and electronic characteristics, is their most accessible. Sure to win them plenty of new fans and keep the old admirers’ affections, maintaining their signature experimental feel. In their downtime on tour, they created us a 10 ten playlist along with haikus, further emphasising their fondness for staying away from the mainstream.

Listen to the laylist and read the haikus here.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Interview at The Montreal Gazette

Nice interview with The Montreal Gazette, mainly about 'Miniskirt'. Here's an excerpt:

Braids vocalist Raphaelle Standell-Preston wanted her words to resonate on Miniskirt, the first single from the trio’s third album, Deep in the Iris. So far, the message has been received.

“We were in Manchester and there was a group of guys to the right of the stage singing the lyrics,” the 25-year-old said from London on a day off from a short European tour. “I was ecstatic. I was really proud of the lyrics I was writing. I wanted to put myself out there and be heard.”

The subject matter of Miniskirt made their Manchester moment all the more rewarding. Over building electronic textures and a haunting piano, the first half confronts double standards between men and women when it comes to sexuality. (Derogatory terms are flung at her, while her male equivalent is softly described as a Casanova.)
The concluding verse explores a much deeper personal story about life experiences she said she “needed to get off my chest and liberate myself from.”

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Interview at Frank & Oak

Frank & Oak have an interview with the band. Here's an excerpt:
 

There are some intense subject matter on this record: pornography, abuse, and slutshaming. What triggered that type of song writing?

Raphaelle: I think just feeling strong enough and supported to go there. I was doing a lot of meditation and trying to be in the moment. In the song “Happy When”, there’s a lyric that sums it up really well: Sit down with emotion, take the time to feel it. Just really trying to not shy away from feelings, even if they’re intense, dark, sad, or maybe they’re just really joyous to the point of being tacky. Something I learned in meditation is trying not to judge immediately. I think that’s how good, honest art can come about — when you strip away the judgement and let whatever needs to come out come out. You can look at it objectively later.  I didn’t ever feel aimless writing the lyrics. It was never a feeling of suffering.

There are some intense subject matter on this record: pornography, abuse, and slutshaming. What triggered that type of song writing?
Raphaelle: I think just feeling strong enough and supported to go there. I was doing a lot of meditation and trying to be in the moment. In the song “Happy When”, there’s a lyric that sums it up really well: Sit down with emotion, take the time to feel it. Just really trying to not shy away from feelings, even if they’re intense, dark, sad, or maybe they’re just really joyous to the point of being tacky. Something I learned in meditation is trying not to judge immediately. I think that’s how good, honest art can come about — when you strip away the judgement and let whatever needs to come out come out. You can look at it objectively later.  I didn’t ever feel aimless writing the lyrics. It was never a feeling of suffering.
- See more at: https://www.frankandoak.com/notes/the-interview-inside-braids-new-record-2049#sthash.Le0kfoe6.dpuf

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Austin's 6 favorite soul songs

Austin tells The Week about his 6 favorite soul songs.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Braids backstage in London

Line of Best Fit has some great behind the scenes photos from the London show.

"The Montreal-based art rock outfit were in London for a sell out show at ATP’s Pop Up Venue and Wunmi Onibudo went behind the scenes for this pictorial account. Their third LP, Deep in the Iris, was released on 27 April 2015 via Arbutus Records, and you can listen to the lead single ‘Miniskirt’ here."

Friday, May 1, 2015

Dummy interview

Great new interview with Dummy. Here's an excerpt:

Was there a specific reason why you chose the miniskirt? What was it about that piece of clothing that spoke to you?

Raphaelle Standell-Preston: "I guess, culturally, the miniskirt is so prominent. Within pornography or with Sailor Moon even, it’s a symbol of sexuality. In court cases when women are sexually assaulted, a lot of the time they’ll be asked, 'What were you wearing?', almost as if they were bringing it on themselves by what they were wearing. That’s what I was drawing on. It’s funny, talking about this I get so nervous. It’s still something that I’m learning to talk about, because it feels like the lyrics are so much bigger than me.

Interview and Mixtape at Hunger

Great interview and a 90's Discovery mixtape at Hunger. Here's an excerpt:



To celebrate the release we spoke to the band about their experiences as well as crafting us an exclusive mix around the theme of ’90s Discovery. Here’s what they had to say about it… 

“For one reason or another, we’ve been diving deep into music made in the 90’s — IDM, Drum and Bass, Shoegaze, Indie Rock, Hip Hop. Growing up, we were too young to be aware of any of these musical movements, all the 90’s meant to us were boy bands and top 40. It’s been great to uncover an incredible and divergent decade in music in a very organic and exited way. This mixtape highlights a few standouts !”