Patti Smith and Kevin Shields to unleash Coral Sea

After years of speculation, Patti Smith and Kevin Shields' legendary "Coral Sea Sessions" are finally getting a proper release this summer. Documenting the duo's spoken-word collaborations on June 22, 2005 and September 12, 2006 at the QEH in London, The Coral Sea pays tribute to the life of controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, Smith's long-time friend. Although bootlegs of the performances have been floating around message boards and My Bloody Valentine fan sites for years, the double disc is the first official recording of the duo's London performances and is set for release on July 11 via Smith and Shields' new PASK imprint.

In other Shields-related news, My Bloody Valentine recently announced their first stateside performance in 16 years, picking this year's All Tomorrow's Parties New York for their debut. To put that time frame in perspective, the last time MBV performed stateside, Bill Clinton had yet to be elected President, Sinéad O'Connor was considered a family-friendly musician, and this very Paste writer was six years old. (I'll have you know that I was front-and-center at the show, recording the whole thing for my MBV Usenet newsgroup.)

Taking place on the weekend of Sept. 19-21 at the Kutsher's Country Club in upstate New York, the festival will feature Tortoise performing Millions Now Living Will Never Die, The Meat Puppets performing Meat Puppets II, Thurston Moore performing Psychic Hearts, Built to Spill performing Perfect From Now On and a whole slew of other rockin' bands like Shellac and Mogwai playing a variety of their own material. The first batch of tickets for the three day festival have sadly sold-out, although the ATP NY website promises more tickets will become available soon, with accommodations at a nearby hotel.

ATP NY Lineup:
My Bloody Valentine
Fuck buttons
Polvo
Low
Edan with Dagha
Mogwai
The Drones
Built to Spill Performing Perfect from Now On
Wooden Shjips
Shellac
Thee Silver Mount Zion Orchestra
Autolux
Meat Puppets performing Meat Puppets II
Tortoise performing Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Thurston Moore performing Psychic Hearts