Pages tagged “architecture in helsinki”

Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
Fun Fact: Places Like This came together via samples and fragments sent over e-mail and instant messenger between New York and Melbourne.
Why It's Worth Watching: These jaunty Australians have created yet another album of music with diverse, danceable collages that are simultaneously fun and challenging.
For Fans Of: The B-52's, Of Montreal, The Go! Team

At the end of the nineteenth century, George Ives, the father of legendary American composer Charles Ives, gave his son a musical education in the widest sense. A marching-band leader, the elder Ives would bring his son along as he literally crashed two bands into one another. For young Charles, the resulting sounds were beautiful and memorable in spite of the insane concept, and they inspired Ives’ own influential, radical music.

The geographically misleading Architecture in Helsinki recorded a fantastic, trans-continental train-wreck* of an album this year, and the merry band of Australians wants to bring its sonic magic to you, concertgoer!

A month and a half after the release of Places Like This, the band’s third full-length album, Architecture in Helsinki will start its extensive (and expanded) trek through the United States, Canada, and the autumnal equinox. AiH will receive support from Panther, Lo-Fi Fink, and Glass Candy. We’re so excited, our Heart It Races!

*In a really, really good way.

Architecture in North America:

October
10 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Starlight Ballroom %*
11 - New York, N.Y. @ The Gramercy Theatre %*
12 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Studio B %*
13 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club %*
14 - Buffalo, N.Y. @ Tralf Music Hall %*
16 - Chicago, Ill. @ Metro %*
18 - Toronto, Ontario @ Lee’s Palace %*
19 - Montreal, Quebec @ La Tulipe %*
20 - Tempe, Ariz. @ Soco Music Experience ^
22 - Ann Arbor, Mich. @ Bling Pig #*
23 - Madison, Wis. @ High Noon Saloon #*
24 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 400 Bar #*
26 - Denver, Colo. @ Ogden Theatre #*
27 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ In the Venue *
29 - Seattle, Wash. @ The Showbox #*
30 - Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom #*
31 - Eugene, Ore. @ W.O.W. Hall

November
1 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Fillmore #*
2 - San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues #*
5 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Troubadour #*
6 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Troubadour #*
7 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Troubadour #*
9 - Tucson, Ariz. @ Rialto Theatre #*
12 - Norman, Okla. @ Opolis #*
13 - Denton, Texas @ Hailey’s #*
14 - Austin, Texas @ Emo’s #*
15 - New Orleans, La. @ The Republic #*
16 - Tallahassee, Fla. @ Club Downunder % = w/ Lo-Fi Fnk
# = w/ Glass Candy
* = w/ Panther
^ = w/ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Girl Talk and Cold War Kids

Related links:
ArchitectureinHelsinki.com
Architecture in Helsinki on MySpace
Paste’s review of Places Like This

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

Worlds collide gloriously on the streets of Brooklyn

Too much is just right on the third album from this Aussie (not Finnish) sextet. With singer/songwriter Cameron Bird now relocated to the great melting pot of New York City, Architecture in Helsinki is a joyous example of eclecticism at its best: Chunky funk grooves and lilting tropical rhythms enfold feverish pop tunes as burping analog synths sound an enticing note of party-hearty nostalgia. Creating a sense of barely controlled chaos by constantly shifting moods and textures, Bird and company squeeze every tasty drop from these cluttered, raucous tracks, making for an action-packed 32 minutes. Although the self-conscious embrace of visceral styles echoes such cerebral types as Talking Heads, The B-52's and Devo, Bird's roaring, half-drunk vocals are his own creation, suggesting a crazy ringmaster. Places Like This could easily have been a self-congratulatory exercise in cross-cultural dabbling, except for one thing: The people responsible for the wild-eyed swagger of "Lazy (Lazy)" and the Duran Duran-gone-haywire "Same Old Innocence" are clearly having a wonderful time.

Come fall, Aussie sextet Architecture in Helsinki will be in places like Philadelphia, Chicago, and even Salt Lake City. The group’s third album, Places Like This, will be released in the U.S. on August 21, and AiH will be touring stateside in October and November.

The group is currently touring Europe and will make their first ever stop in Helsinki on August 18 (a can’t miss for those of you who missed I’m From Barcelona’s show in Barcelona.)

U.S. tour dates:

October:
10 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Starlight Ballroom
11 - New York, N.Y. @ The Gramercy Theatre
12 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Studio B
13 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise Rock Club
16 - Chicago, Ill. @ Metro
18 - Toronto, Ontario @ Lee's Palace
19 - Montreal, Quebec @ La Tulipe
24 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ 400 Bar
26 - Denver, Colo. @ Ogden Theatre
27 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ In the Venue
29 - Seattle, Wash. @ The Showbox
30 - Portland, Ore. @ Crystal Ballroom

November:
1 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Fillmore
2 - San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues
5 - West Hollywood, Calif. @ Troubadour
10 - Tucson, Ariz. @ Solar Culture
13 - Denton, Texas @ Hailey's
14 - Austin, Texas @ Emo's
15 - New Orleans, La. @ The Republic
16 - Tallahassee, Fla. @ Club Downunder

Related links:
ArchitectureInHelsinki.com
Architecture in Helsinki on MySpace
Video for “Hold Music”

Got news tips for Paste? Email news@pastemagazine.com.

From Australia via a name from Finland, Architecture in Helsinki is coming to America. And bringing a bunch of new music.

A few different formats of the single “Heart It Races” will be released June 5, prefacing the August 7 release of the Places Like This LP. The releases mark the AiH’s first on Polyvinyl Records.

You’ll get different b-sides depending on which format you buy (CD, 12-inch, digital), but all are either remixes or covers of “Hear It Races.”

Oh yeah, the band will be touring North America coming this June. Read on for more details.

"Heart It Races” CD single track list:

1. Heart It Races - Single Version
2. Heart It Races - DJ/Rupture's Ital Hymn mix Feat. Mr. Lee G.
3. Heart It Races - As played by Hey Willpower!
4. Heart It Races - YACHT's I Should Coco Mix
5. Heart It Races - As played by Dr. Dog

“Heart It Races” 12-inch single track list:

Side A:

1. Heart It Races - Trizzy's (aka A-Trak) Rusty Tin Can Mix
2. Heart It Races - YACHT's I Should Coco Mix

Side B:

1. Heart It Races - Pink Skull Remix
2. Heart It Races - Franc Tetaz Mix

Places Like This track list:

1. Red Turned White
2. Heart It Races
3. Hold Music
4. Feather in a Baseball Cap
5. Underwater
6. Like It Or Not
7. Debbie
8. Lazy (Lazy)
9. Nothing's Wrong
10. Same Old Innocence

2007 AiH tour dates:

June
7 - Cambridge, Mass. @ Middle East
8 - New York, N.Y. @ Irving Plaza
9 - Philadelphia, Penn. @ Starlight
10 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club
11 - Chicago, Ill. @ Logan Square Auditorium
13 - Seattle, Wash. @ Neumo's
14 - Vancouver, B.C. @ Richards on Richards
15 - Portland, Ore. @ Wonder Ballroom
16 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Bimbo's 365 Club
18 - Pomona, Calif. @ Glasshouse
19 - Los Angeles, Calif. @ Henry Fonda Theatre

Related links:
AiH’s site
AiH on MySpace
Polyvinyl Records’ site

Architecture in Helsinki will launch a U.S. tour Sept. 16 in San Diego, performing nine different shows before joining Clap Your Hands Say Yeah for an additional round of gigs. Set lists are expected to include plenty of new material as well as covers.

The Australian octet will begin opening for CYHSY Sept. 28 at New York’s Central Park Summerstage and will continue to tour with the band for an additional 16 shows.

At its stops, the band will be selling a tour-only remix album, We Died: They Remixed, which features songs from In Case We Die remixed by such bands as Hot Chip, Squeak E Clean, Isan and DJ Medhi.

Architecture in Helsinki is also working on its third studio album, hoping to complete it after this tour and release it in 2007.

Tour Dates

September
16 – San Diego, CA: Epicentre
17 – Tempe, AZ: The Clubhouse
19 – Austin, TX: Emo's (Outside Stage)
20 – Houston, TX: Warehouse Live
21 – New Orleans, LA: Howlin' Wolf
22 – Athens, GA: 40 Watt Club
23 – Nashville, TN: Exit In
25 – Washington, DC: Black Cat
26 – Boston, MA: Avalon
28 – New York, NY: Central Park Summerstage*
29 – Bennington, VT: Bennington College*
30 – Philadelphia, PA: Trocadero*

October
01 – Cleveland, OH: House of Blues*
02 – Chicago, IL: Vic Theatre*
03 – Chicago, IL: Vic Theatre*
04 – Minneapolis, MN: First Avenue*
05 – Omaha, NE: Sokol Underground*
06 – Englewood, CO: Gothic Theatre*
07 – Boulder, CO: Boulder Theater*
08 – Salt Lake City, UT: In The Venue (Small Room)*
10 – Seattle, WA: Showbox*
11 – Seattle, WA: Showbox*
12 – Portland, OR: Crystal Ballroom*
13 – San Francisco, CA: Warfield Theatre*
14 – Los Angeles, CA: Henry Fonda Theatre*
15 – Los Angeles, CA: Henry Fonda Theatre*

* = w/ Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Australian octet raids toy box on whimsical sophomore outing

One glance at Architecture in Helsinki’s exhaustive toy box—saws, hammers, strings, horns, sitar, piano, synths of varying circumstance—is overwhelming enough to leave even the most courageous listeners popping fistfuls of preemptive Advil. Still, the band’s impressive sophomore effort, In Case We Die, is just as beguiling for its silence as it is for its noise. A dizzying mélange of structures and styles, In Case We Die is delicate despite being epic, a gentle mix of twee melodies, vocal pileups and twittering instruments. Like any good toddler, Architecture in Helsinki is alternately manic and adorable, gurgling, screaming and making a beautiful mess.

Combining electro pop, experimental kitsch and indie twee into a decidedly palatable multi-layered sunny-morning pop marching band, Architecture in Helsinki is Australia’s greatest (and only) eight-member art-pop collective. Fingers Crossed, the band’s debut, is a rather compelling argument, full of playful synths, sing-along melodies and a small cache of brass instruments. Obviously, much of the fun is in Architecture’s constantly shifting, vaguely psychedelic arrangements that piece together pop conventions in unusual and surprisingly accessible ways. Fluttering, swinging, and almost always light-hearted, the intricate yet slightly rough-around-the-edges aesthetic deconstructs pop in the most unpretentious ways. Its melodies are truncated for effect, extra choruses and trumpet melodies sweep in out of nowhere, and pop references—from Phil Spector to Burt Bacharach—are dropped with expert precision.

The contrast between the more aggressively electronic elements and their pairing with acoustic instruments provides an interesting subplot, giving the band an immediately recognizable textural identity. Architecture’s unconventional, outside-the-box approach generally works better as a concept than when broken into its constituent parts, as the seamless flow and constantly shifting sonic milieu is lost outside of the context of the whole. With eight members, it’s generally surprising the group avoids clutter as much as it does. And the existing clutter only puts a few more human wrinkles in the mix of an album that enters you like a breath of spring air.