[News] Nicolas Jaar Forms Clown & Sunset Aesthetic

American-Chilean musician Nicolas Jaar has formed a brand new, music-oriented company called Clown & Sunset Aesthetic. The first product to come from the company will be an object called The Prism, which, while sounding like a bad sci-fi horror movie from the '80s, is actually quite an interesting concept. The website describes the cube as a means to elevate and alter the shared listening experience in a unique way, being that it contains Jaar's music, as well as the music of other artists, along with two headphone ports, with the one that is not in use emitting a beam of light. It is an ambitious creation, and with a planned shipping date of April, it won't be long until we find out if it works. For now, though, you can watch the teaser video for the product above.

The Prism ships sometime in April, most likely near the end of the month, and is available to pre-order at the cost of $40 via the Clown & Sunset Aesthetic website.

[News] Miike Snow, Lykke Li Form New Collective/Label: 'Ingrid'

Swedish artist Miike Snow and Lykke Li, along with Peter Bjorn & John and The Teddybears, have come together to create a new collective/record label named Ingrid. As the promotional video for the label states, the collective was created with with the intent of “creating straight from the heart right to the people without any middle hands,” which gives the artists involved the “opportunity for creation, collaboration, and compilation sonically and visually.” With this in mind, the artists involved in the label will continue to work with their current record labels. After the jump, you can watch both of the promotional videos for Ingrid.

[News] Beach House Announce Record Store Day Release

As Record Store Day 2012 approaches, more and more bands are announcing releases to be sold on that day in support of independent record stores. Today, Beach House have announced a release for the celebrated day.

On April 21st Beach House will release a limited-edition, blue opaque 7" vinyl single of "Lazuli," the third track from their upcoming studio LP Bloom. The single will be backed by b-side "Equal Mind," and Sub Pop will only be printing 2,400 copies of the 7" vinyl so make sure to grab a copy next month before it disappears. Along with the announcement, the band has unveiled the official artwork for Bloom, which is pictured above. Bloom is out on May 15th via Sub Pop.

[News] The Flaming Lips Detail Record Store Day 2012 Compilation

The Flaming Lips have had an incredible time this past year, collaborating with tons of musicians from various genres and talents, including Bon Iver, Yoko Ono and Neon Indian. The band have previously announced that they will be releasing their multitude of collaborations as a Record Store Day compilation, and today they've detailed the compilation in full.

The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends will be released on April 21st and will be pressed on two multi-color 12" vinyl discs that will come packaged in two custom art jackets and bagged together. The limited-edition release sees The Flaming Lips collaborating with 13 different artists, including previously heard collaborations with Neon Indian, Prefuse 73 and Lightning Bolt. Unreleased collaborations include Bon Iver, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Tame Impala, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Yoko Ono, Erykah Badu, New Fumes, Ke$ha and Biz Markie.

This isn't the only Record Store Day release The Flaming Lips will be releasing, as they've teamed up with Mastadon for a split 7" single. The single will be available exclusively for Record Store Day as part of the Side by Side 2012 Series. On one side will be The Flaming Lips' "Spoonful Weighs a Ton," while the opposite side will be Mastadon's cover of the same song.

Take a look at the full tracklisting for The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends after the jump.

The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends Tracklist:
Side 1:
01. 2012 (feat. Ke$ha and Biz Markie)
02. Ashes In The Air (feat. Bon Iver)
03. Helping The Retarded To Know God (feat. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros)

Side 2:
04. Supermoon Made Me Want To Pee (feat. Prefuse 73)
05. Children Of The Moon (feat. Tame Impala)
06. That Ain’t My Trip (feat. Jim James of My Morning Jacket)
07. You, Man? Human? (feat. Nick Cave)

Side 3:
08. I’m Working At NASA On Acid (feat. Lightning Bolt)
09. Do It! (feat. Yoko Ono)
10. Is David Bowie Dying? (feat. Neon Indian)

Side 4:
11. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (feat. Erykah Badu)
12. Thunder Drops (feat. New Fumes)
13. I Don’t Want You To Die (feat. Chris Martin of Coldplay)

[News] Feist Announces Summer Tour Dates

With an already packed tour schedule, Feist has added yet even more dates in support of her latest LP Metals. Amidst appearances at Sasquatch! and Pitchfork Music Festival, the Canadian solo artist will tour throughout North America in June and July. During much of her summer tour, Feist will be backed up by band The Low Anthem, and she will also be performing alongside Bon Iver in Morrison, CO on May 31st. Take a look at her full tour itinerary after the jump.

Feist 2012 Tour Dates:
03/21 – Paris, FR @ Le Zenith
03/22 – Lyon, FR @ Transbordeur
03/23 – Lille, FR @ Theatre Sebastopol
03/25 – London, UK @ Royal Albert Hall
03/26 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo
03/27 – Glasgow, UK @ Royal Concert Hall
04/14 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/21 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
04/23 – Tucson, AZ @ TCC Arena #
04/25 – Marfa, TX @ Crowley Theatre *
04/26 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s
04/28 – New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Jazz Fest
04/30 – Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
05/01 – Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
05/02 – Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium
05/03 – Raleigh, NC @ Memorial Auditorium
05/05 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
05/07 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues
05/08 – Philadelphia, PA @ Academy of Music
05/09 – Washington, DC @ Strathmore
05/11 – Burlington, VT @ Flynn Theater
05/28 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival
05/29 – Boise @ Idaho Botanical Garden
05/31 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks #
06/02 – Minneapolis @ Zoo Amphitheater %
06/03 – Madison @ Orpheum %
06/05 – Ann Arbor, MI @ Ann Arbor Summer Festival %
06/06 – Columbus, OH @ Wexner Center %
06/08 – Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival
06/22 – Calgary, AB @ Sled Island Festival
06/23 – Saskatoon, SK @ Saskatoon Jazz Festival
07/04 – Winnipeg, MB @ Winnipeg Folk Festival
07/13 – Chicago, IL @ Pitchfork Festival
07/14 – Pittsburgh @ Stage AE
08/04 – Montreal, QC @ Osheaga Music Festival
08/08 – Oslo, NO @ Oya Festival
08/10 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West Festival
08/12 – Helsinki, FL @Flow Festival
08/15 – Hamburg, DE @Stadtpark
08/16 – Hasselt, BE @ Pukkelpop
08/17 – Biddinghuizen, HL @ Lowlands Festival
08/19 – Beacons, UK @ Green Man Festival
08/21 – Cologne, DE @ Tanzbrunnen
08/22 – Stuttgart, DE @ Freilichtbuhne Killesberg

# = w/ Bon Iver
* = w/ Timber Timbre
% = w/ The Low Anthem

[News] Bloc Party Announce Record Store Day Release

Record Store Day is a day to be treasured by music lovers and this year is shaping up to be a goodie. Bloc Party have just announced a release for RSD too! The band are to release their first ever recording as a band. Back in 2002 Bloc Party were practising a couple of times a week and record label Transgressive was in its early stages. One half of Transgressive, Toby L, was at Bloc Party's first gig incidentally and now we jump to 2004 and Bloc Party record their first ever track. Called "She's Hearing Voices" it was recorded in their rehearsal space. The pressing will be limited to 500, as it was when first released in '04 and will come along with rare original recordings of "The Marshals Are Dead" and "The Answer". I very much am looking forward to hearing these old tracks and it's nice to see the band and the label have gone from strength to strength and grown organically together. 

[Listen] Frank Ocean - "Whip Appeal"

Frank Ocean has taken to his Tumblr page once more to offer up fans a new cut. Titled "Whip Appeal" it follows up the track "White" that we heard yesterday. On a side note, it looks like nostalgia, ULTRA will not be getting a physical release after all via Def Jam. Frank on Tumblr said that it's "never coming out." It's a shame but I'm sure we're going to get plenty more great sounding music from this guy in 2012. For now, just give "Whip Appeal" a spin below. 

[News] Jack White Announces More US & Europen Tour Dates

While a lot of you are still basking in the afterglow of what we understand was a life changing performance at SXSW during the Third Man Records showcase last week, the rest of us can set our countdown clocks to when we can soon feel the same way. Earlier today, the Third Man team unveiled more tour dates in the US and Europe for this spring and summer. Starting on Wednesday, March 21st there will be a limited number of tickets for all dates that will be made available for pre-sale to Vault members starting at 9am local time and if tickets are still available after that, pre-sale tickets for European dates will be made available at 1pm local time on Jack White's website. Standard tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, March 23rd at 9am local time in Europe and 10 am PT/12 pm CT/1 pm ET for the US dates.

Now that your eyes are crossing from all of that fine print, have a look at the tour dates below.

May 15 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium 
May 16 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium 
May 19 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel 
May 21 – New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom 
May 22 – New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom 
May 24 – Detroit, MI – Scottish Rite Theater 
May 27 – Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre 
May 28 – Eugene, OR – Hult Center for the Performing Arts (Silva Concert Hall) 
May 30 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern 
May 31 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern 
June 22 – London, England – Hammersmith Apollo 
June 25 – Amsterdam, Holland – Heineken Music Hall 
June 26 – Berlin, Germany – Tempodrom 
June 27 – Cologne, Germany – E-Werk 
July 2 – Paris, France- L’Olympia 
July 5 – Hamburg, Germany – Docks

Don't forget Blunderbuss is in stores on April 23/24. You can pre-order the album over on Third Man Records.