Another new show announced.
Nov. 4th - 8th
Iceland Airwaves
Reykjavík, Iceland
BRAIDS News, Interviews, Tour Dates, Videos, Photos, Reviews
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Sunday, June 28, 2015
BRAIDS on The Strombo Show tonight
SUNDAY! @BraidsMusic strip down for a rare, intimate acoustic performance in the House of @Strombo https://t.co/lbPgCJeqV1 #TSSCanadaDay
— The Strombo Show (@TheStromboShow) June 24, 2015
Airs tonight 8-11 PM on The Strombo Show. Listen live on CBC Radio 2 and CBC Music.Interview and acoustic performances of 'Miniskirt' and 'Warm Like Summer'. Starts at 50:43. Recorded on May 15th, 2015.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Clips & photos from Los Angeles
Taste @TheLyricLA last night. "@mikeydegraw: this is happening @braidsmusic pic.twitter.com/iaU27a8T8s" #Braids #BraidsMusic
— BRAIDS News (@BRAIDSnews) June 28, 2015@braidsmusic played such a great show tonight pic.twitter.com/fsn8mzP13B
— m (@mikeydegraw) June 28, 2015@braidsmusic killed it tonight ππΌ so much talent pic.twitter.com/T0EBZjNA40
— HerΓΈ (@randomhero23) June 28, 2015A little rehearsal b4 we play @TheLyricLA πTONIGHTπ w. @BORN_GOLD. Doors @ 8. Get tix here https://t.co/yejNOmSSXt xx pic.twitter.com/UKgeN3o3my
— Braids (@braidsmusic) June 27, 2015Friday, June 26, 2015
Autumn US tour dates coming soon!
@juvation we will be back to u in the fall ! And we will play for 1 hour or more ! πΊπΈπ
— Braids (@braidsmusic) June 26, 2015Taipei Times interview/article
There's an article and brief interview with Raphaelle at the Taipei Times.
An excerpt:
Standell-Preston says her singing style is self-taught. “I haven’t really trained my voice, at least not properly. I’m learning how to train it so that I don’t injure it. The tone that I have grown into is hard on my vocal chords, so I’m currently learning how to be safe in singing the way I do.”
An excerpt:
Standell-Preston says her singing style is self-taught. “I haven’t really trained my voice, at least not properly. I’m learning how to train it so that I don’t injure it. The tone that I have grown into is hard on my vocal chords, so I’m currently learning how to be safe in singing the way I do.”
BRAIDS to play in Hong Kong July 11th
'The Lowdown' chats with BRAIDS
‘The Lowdown’ chats with Braids about overcoming creative blocks, doing music for the love of it, and capturing inspiration any chance you get.
Media Arts Lab show in L.A.
BRAIDS played a show at Media Arts Lab in Los Angeles yesterday, June 25th.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
#92 on 100 Best Canadian Bands Ever list
.@braidsmusic is No.92 in our #CBCMusic100 with support from @SeoulMTL. See 100-81 here: http://t.co/7lwgGa7k7j pic.twitter.com/ClvW9MjAXr
— CBC Music (@CBCMusic) June 24, 2015NY Times reviews 'Deep in the Iris'
Wonderful review from The New York Times:
Everything in ostensibly polite Western society is conspiring to provoke Raphaelle Standell, but she won’t let that happen. The lyrics she writes as the frontwoman of the Canadian band Braids are fragile but determined, the product of disappointment and abuse but a blueprint for navigating those horrors. “Deep in the Iris” (Arbutus), the third full-length Braids album, is characteristically excellent, but in more provocative fashion than before. In the past, the band — which also features the nimble multi-instrumentalists Austin Tufts and Taylor Smith — leaned on skittish abstraction, but this album is a bolder affair. In places it’s almost neo-soul in its warmth, though Braids achieves that luster with much chillier inputs. And “Bunny Rose” and “Taste” sound like cousins of AlunaGeorge’s 1990s-inflected club-soul. Throughout, Ms. Standell is more relaxed as a singer, easing into softness even as her subject matter is strikingly bleak. On “Happy When,” she uses her phone to counter her loneliness, and on “Sore Eyes,” her computer is both a reprieve and a black hole: “Watched some porn/And surfed till my eyes got sore again/Now I’m feeling gross and choked.” The most vivid dread here is on “Miniskirt,” which touches on familial abuse, street harassment and slut-shaming. Ms. Standell’s wounds are her armor here. “My little mini skirt/Think you can have it,” she sings, then rejoinders, “My little mini skirt/It’s mine all mine.”
Everything in ostensibly polite Western society is conspiring to provoke Raphaelle Standell, but she won’t let that happen. The lyrics she writes as the frontwoman of the Canadian band Braids are fragile but determined, the product of disappointment and abuse but a blueprint for navigating those horrors. “Deep in the Iris” (Arbutus), the third full-length Braids album, is characteristically excellent, but in more provocative fashion than before. In the past, the band — which also features the nimble multi-instrumentalists Austin Tufts and Taylor Smith — leaned on skittish abstraction, but this album is a bolder affair. In places it’s almost neo-soul in its warmth, though Braids achieves that luster with much chillier inputs. And “Bunny Rose” and “Taste” sound like cousins of AlunaGeorge’s 1990s-inflected club-soul. Throughout, Ms. Standell is more relaxed as a singer, easing into softness even as her subject matter is strikingly bleak. On “Happy When,” she uses her phone to counter her loneliness, and on “Sore Eyes,” her computer is both a reprieve and a black hole: “Watched some porn/And surfed till my eyes got sore again/Now I’m feeling gross and choked.” The most vivid dread here is on “Miniskirt,” which touches on familial abuse, street harassment and slut-shaming. Ms. Standell’s wounds are her armor here. “My little mini skirt/Think you can have it,” she sings, then rejoinders, “My little mini skirt/It’s mine all mine.”
5 Thoughts from Las Vegas Weekly
Las Vegas Weekly's Five Thoughts about the Las Vegas show. Here are the 3 about BRAIDS:
1. Braids has just taken the stage, and although the floor is full of bodies, many are too busy having their own conversations or taking selfies to actually notice. This makes for a miffed fan—especially since I’m more excited to see this opener than headlining Purity Ring.
2. No waiting here: Braids plays my favorite song,—“Sore Eyes” off April album Deep in the Iris—second. The dance-forward track’s lyrics are even more indecipherable live, so I’m wondering how many people know it’s actually about watching porn. The song builds layer upon layer of synth and percussion—the vast electronics swell and the kick-drum swallows Taylor Smith’s quick, gritty synth-beats. There are only three members in Braids, but each adds something important to the mix. It makes for a gigantic sound so beautiful it’s almost overwhelming.
3. “We just played that song so hard we killed a microphone,” singer Raphaelle Standell-Preston says. Drummer Austin Tufts’ overhead drum mic is blown, but the percussionist carries on, filling every space with hyperactive energy until it’s time to make way for Purity Ring. Braids closes with current single “Miniskirt,” and the crowd cheers after Standell-Preston sings its most notable lyrics: “But in my position I’m the slut, I’m the bitch, I’m the whore, the one you hate.” Before heading off stage, she pauses to say goodbye. “I don’t want this tour to end … This tour has been one of the best times of my life.”
1. Braids has just taken the stage, and although the floor is full of bodies, many are too busy having their own conversations or taking selfies to actually notice. This makes for a miffed fan—especially since I’m more excited to see this opener than headlining Purity Ring.
2. No waiting here: Braids plays my favorite song,—“Sore Eyes” off April album Deep in the Iris—second. The dance-forward track’s lyrics are even more indecipherable live, so I’m wondering how many people know it’s actually about watching porn. The song builds layer upon layer of synth and percussion—the vast electronics swell and the kick-drum swallows Taylor Smith’s quick, gritty synth-beats. There are only three members in Braids, but each adds something important to the mix. It makes for a gigantic sound so beautiful it’s almost overwhelming.
3. “We just played that song so hard we killed a microphone,” singer Raphaelle Standell-Preston says. Drummer Austin Tufts’ overhead drum mic is blown, but the percussionist carries on, filling every space with hyperactive energy until it’s time to make way for Purity Ring. Braids closes with current single “Miniskirt,” and the crowd cheers after Standell-Preston sings its most notable lyrics: “But in my position I’m the slut, I’m the bitch, I’m the whore, the one you hate.” Before heading off stage, she pauses to say goodbye. “I don’t want this tour to end … This tour has been one of the best times of my life.”
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Vegas
Are you like me, and wondering where Taylor's "by the pool" shot is? I asked Raphaelle and here's her answer: "Taylor was like, it's too hot, I'll be in the shade, so we started calling him dad"
:)
Interview with Kevan Funk
Word Is Cheap has an interview with 'Miniskirt' video director Kevan Funk. Here's an excerpt:
“Miniskirt” has strong female messages, visually and aesthetically how did you explore this theme?
As much as I love the song musically, I was drawn to it specifically because of the content. My narrative film work is almost always driven by some sort of sociopolitical interest, so the track fit nicely with that, something that is fairly rare in music videos. I mean, you can say that the song has a strong female message, because the authorial voice is that of a woman but I think that its message, in terms of being a position or opinion, should transcend gender at this point. I find it incredibly bizarre and frustrating that the label of feminism is often used to marginalize a particular view/statement/issue as being extreme or niche. It’s a manipulative semantic perversion, one that has long been perpetuated. I think to not identify as a feminist (regardless of ones gender) at this day is age, to not acknowledge that equality should be the minimum expectation, is legitimately insane. When it came to the video, I think we quickly realized that we needed to find a visual language that was complimentary, as opposed to trying to create images with the same direct force of the lyrics. It would just be too exhaustive for the viewer and likely diminish the power of the track. So in finding that visual language for the video, I went back to the basic thematic element of the song, which to me is this assertive defiance towards a culturally entrenched patriarchal construct. That ubiquitous patriarchal apparatus operates through these means of control and commodification. The parallel between the exertion of that power over both femininity and nature (two things that are often historically linked in this cultural narrative) became the conceptual basis of the video. It seemed to provide the right sort of visual language for what we wanted to achieve, something that was direct but not literal.
“Miniskirt” has strong female messages, visually and aesthetically how did you explore this theme?
As much as I love the song musically, I was drawn to it specifically because of the content. My narrative film work is almost always driven by some sort of sociopolitical interest, so the track fit nicely with that, something that is fairly rare in music videos. I mean, you can say that the song has a strong female message, because the authorial voice is that of a woman but I think that its message, in terms of being a position or opinion, should transcend gender at this point. I find it incredibly bizarre and frustrating that the label of feminism is often used to marginalize a particular view/statement/issue as being extreme or niche. It’s a manipulative semantic perversion, one that has long been perpetuated. I think to not identify as a feminist (regardless of ones gender) at this day is age, to not acknowledge that equality should be the minimum expectation, is legitimately insane. When it came to the video, I think we quickly realized that we needed to find a visual language that was complimentary, as opposed to trying to create images with the same direct force of the lyrics. It would just be too exhaustive for the viewer and likely diminish the power of the track. So in finding that visual language for the video, I went back to the basic thematic element of the song, which to me is this assertive defiance towards a culturally entrenched patriarchal construct. That ubiquitous patriarchal apparatus operates through these means of control and commodification. The parallel between the exertion of that power over both femininity and nature (two things that are often historically linked in this cultural narrative) became the conceptual basis of the video. It seemed to provide the right sort of visual language for what we wanted to achieve, something that was direct but not literal.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Clips & photos from Las Vegas
Best opening band I've seen @braidsmusic pic.twitter.com/a2nx5pFvoC
— Maureen (@yellowsubmareen) June 24, 2015#HAPPENINGNOW! Dream pop trio @BraidsMusic magnetizing the crowd, opening for @Purity_Ring. Pics by: @SecretNoteShows pic.twitter.com/PCdtyKKLsD
— Brooklyn Bowl Vegas (@BBowlVegas) June 24, 2015Phoenix review
Hear & Now Media have a review of the late show in Phoenix last night:
"Raphaelle Standell-Preston greeted the crowd and was given a very warm response. She timidly explained that they had discussed what they did wrong in the first show, and that they will try and fix it for us. The show consisted of mostly (if not all) new material played a little looser than the recordings, which gave a nice twist to the songs after listening to their album on repeat for the last two months. She expressed her gratitude and excitement for finally playing back in Arizona, as they had spent time here when recording Deep in the Iris. After about twenty-five minutes, she announced that they would be playing their last song, which was their latest single “Miniskirt.” Executed with perfection, it fit well as the tail end of their set, although I was not ready for it to be over."
"Raphaelle Standell-Preston greeted the crowd and was given a very warm response. She timidly explained that they had discussed what they did wrong in the first show, and that they will try and fix it for us. The show consisted of mostly (if not all) new material played a little looser than the recordings, which gave a nice twist to the songs after listening to their album on repeat for the last two months. She expressed her gratitude and excitement for finally playing back in Arizona, as they had spent time here when recording Deep in the Iris. After about twenty-five minutes, she announced that they would be playing their last song, which was their latest single “Miniskirt.” Executed with perfection, it fit well as the tail end of their set, although I was not ready for it to be over."
Monday, June 22, 2015
Review & Photos from Seattle
A review and some great photos of the Seattle show have been posted at Seattle Music Insider.
And a review and photos from KEXP.
And a review and photos from KEXP.
Saturday, June 20, 2015
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