[News] SBTRKT Drops Live Album

SBTRKT released his debut live album late last week on iTunes, a 10-track effort aptly titled Live. Recorded during two lives performances at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London this past October, the live album also includes live videos of both "Hold On"/"Migration" and "Wildfire", the former of which you can check out below.

Head here to purchase the digital version of the album, or, if you prefer the physical medium, Young Turks will be releasing a limited edition CD/DVD copy of the album. The CD/DVD run will be limited to 500.

[News] Major Lazer Announce Massive 2013 Tour

Major Lazer's long-awaited sophomore album Free the Universe is set to release (hopefully) at the end of February, and following that the Diplo-led collective will carry out an extensive worldwide tour. Starting on February 28th in Toronto, the tour will take Diplo and friends all across Canada, the U.S., South America, the United Kingdom, and numerous countries throughout Europe. The tour will also see Major Lazer joined by a star studded supporting cast, including Angel Haze, Lunice, Starfucker, and Dragonette. Check out the full tour schedule after the jump.

Free the Universe is out on February 19th via Diplo's Mad Decent label.

Major Lazer 2013 Tour Dates:
01/10 – Montreal, QC @ New City Gas
01/27 – Aspen, CO @ X Games
02/01 – Morrison, CO @ Icelantic’s Winter on the Rocks
02/05 – Las Vegas, NV @ 1 Oak at the Mirage Hotel and Casino
02/28 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
03/01 – Royal Oak, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre ^
03/02 – Chicago, IL @ Congress Theater ^
03/03 – Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues ^
03/05 – Nashville, TN @ The Cannery Ballroom ^
03/07 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle ^
03/08 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade ^
03/09 – New Orleans, LA @ BUKU Music & Art Project
03/11 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues ^
03/12 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues ^
03/12-17 – Austin, TX @ South by Southwest
03/15-17 – Miami, FL @ Ultra Music Festival
03/17 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre #
03/19 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre *%
03/20 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *%
03/21 – St Louis, MO @ The Pageant *%
03/22 – Kansas City, MO @ Midland Theatre *%
03/22-24 – Miami, FL @ Ultra Music Festival
03/25 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue *%
03/26 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo *%
03/27 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater *%
03/28 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent *%
03/31 – São Paulo, Brazil @ Lollapalooza Brazil
04/07 – Santiago, Chile @ Lollapalooza Chile
04/25 – Paris, FR @ Bataclan
04/26 – Rouen, FR @ Le106
04/27 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
04/29 – Utrecht, NL @ Tivoli
05/01 – Sheffield, UK @ The Plug
05/02 – Oxford, UK @ O2 Academy
05/03 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
05/04 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
05/07 – Brussels, BE @ AB Hall
05/08 – Zurich, CH @ Maag Halle
05/09 – Milan, IT @ Magazzini Generali
05/10 – Bologna, IT @ Link
05/11 – Marseille, FR @ Cabaret Aléatoire
05/14 – Prague, CR @ Lucerna Music Hall
05/15 – Warsaw, PL @ Palladium
05/16 – Berlin, DE @ Berghain

^ = w/ Dragonette
# = w/ Starfucker
* = w/ Angel Haze
% = w/ Lunice

[News] Youth Lagoon Announces Sophomore LP, 'Wondrous Bughouse'

While not the favorite of everyone here at SKOA, Trevor Powers, aka Youth Lagoon, wowed me with his 2011 debut LP The Year of Hibernation. It was easily one of my favorite albums that year, and that was why I was so excited to wake up this morning to discover a press release detailing Youth Lagoon's sophomore album. Entitled Wondrous Bughouse, the LP will once again see Powers seeking "to document the trails of his mind through songs of minimalism and hypnotic ambience" stemming from a fascination "with the human psyche and where the spiritual meets the physical world". The sophomore release will hit stores on March 5th through Fat Possum and spans 10 tracks, which you can peruse below.

Wondrous Bughouse Tracklist:
01. Through Mind and Back
02. Mute
03. Attic Doctor
04. The Bath
05. Pelican Man
06. Dropla
07. Sleep Paralysis
08. Third Dystopia
09. Raspberry Cane
10. Daisyphobia

[News] Vampire Weekend to Release New LP in the Spring

New York's indie alumni Vampire Weekend have been fairly quiet regarding their third studio album, the follow-up to 2010's Contra, save for bits of news and speculation and rumors. Breaking the silence, more or less, the quartet have announced that they plan to release their third LP as early as this spring, with Ariel Rechtshaid and the band’s own Rostam Batmanglij on board for production. The band's frontman Ezra Koenig spoke to Q Magazine recently, stating that the album "really does feel like the third chapter in a book", and that it will be "darker" and more "organic". He continued, saying:

We created some characters on the first record, some of which are real people, some of which are ourselves, so it’s not so hard to keep following them and see what their concerns are now and how their lives have changed."

Stay tuned for more information on Vampire Weekend's upcoming release, and in the meantime you can relive the joy of the band's Halloween performance of their newest cut "Unbelievers" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Face paint always makes for a good time.

[Download] Pro Era's 'PEEP The aPROcaplypse' Mixtape

17-year-old Brooklyn rapper Joey Bada$$ finishes 2012 off on a high note, following up his awesome 1991 EP with a full-length release featuring the whole Pro Era roster. Joey teams up with Cj Fly, Ala $ole, Nyck Caution, and more to bring us PEEP The aPROcaplypse, a 17-track effort that you can download for free here. Check out the tracklist for the mixtape below.

The mixtape also features the late Capital STEEZ, real name Jamal Dewar, who passed away last week on Christmas Eve. Writing on his Twitter, Joey Bada$$ said, "This unfortunate xmas eve.. Lost a best friend, a brother, a pro, a partner. Letting go is never easy.. May ur soul rest in peace Jamal.." The exact details of his passing are still unknown to the public.

PEEP The aPROcaplypse Tracklist:
01. Like Water – Capital STEEZ, Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly (produced by Statik Selektah)
02. Run or Fly – Joey Bada$$, Dirty Sanchez, CJ Fly, Capital STEEZ (produced by Lee Bannon)
03. Wrecord Out – Nyck Caution, Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly (produced by Chuck Strangers)
04. F A Rap Critic – Chuck Strangers, Kirk Knight, Joey Bada$$ (produced by Statik Selektah)
05. The Renaissance – Ala Sole, Joey Bada$$ (produced by Einb Special)
06. Florists – Kirk Knight (produced by Kirk knight)
07. Interlude 47 – Capital STEEZ, Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, Desst Hinds (produced by Stakik Selektah)
08. Ressurection of Real – Ala Sole, Nyck Caution (produced by Einb Special)
09. Vinyls – Dessy Hinds, Nyck Caution (produced by The Entire Producers)
10. School High – Joey Bada$$, Dyemond Lewis, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution (produced by Brendun Deshay)
11. Overseas – Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly (produced by Hans Solo & Jonas Cook)
12. Natural – Dessy Hinds, Nyck Caution (produced by Marvel)
13. K.I.N.G.S. – Joey Bada$$, Capital STEEZ (produced by Thelonious Martin)
14. Start to Finish -Joey Bada$$, Rokamouth (produced by Chuck Strangers)
15. Last Cypher – CJ Fly, Dyemond Lewis, Ala Sole, Nyck Caution, Kirk Knight, Rokamouth, Joey Bada$$, Capitsal STEEZ (produced by Brendun Deshay)

Bonus:

16. Bun N Cheese – Kirk Knight, Capital STEEZ, Ala Sole, CJ Fly (produced by Bruce Leekix)
17. Lawns – Super Helpful, Joey Bada$$ (produced by Lee Bannon)

[News] Kavinsky Announces Debut Album, 'Outrun'

French electrohouse artist Kavinsky is probably known to most by way of his hit single "Nightcall", which was the lead track from the soundtrack for the neo-noir film Drive. Now, Kavinsky has nearly completed work on his debut studio album Outrun, which was produced by fellow French producer SebastiAn. The album will be released on Feburary 26th through Casablanca Records.

For a sense of what to expect come February, check out the lead single from the forthcoming LP, the grimy, electrofunk "Protovision". The song even comes paired with a video that clearly takes some cues from Drive. Watch it below.

[News] Wavves Fourth LP Set to Drop in March

Wavves recently gave us the frantic surf rock lead single "Sail To The Sun", and now news has surfaced on the band's fourth LP, Krazy Sexy Cool. The album, which features 13 tracks, will be released on March 26th via Mom+Pop Records, with John Hill tackling production duties.

When speaking to Rolling Stone, Wavves frontman Nathan Williams said the album will have "acoustic meditations, complete with cello and glockenspiel accompaniment..." going further to say, "[e]very time that we record something I want it to sound different than previous efforts." The album will even feature elements of hip-hop, with Williams stating, "The idea of that was interesting to me to see if it could mix. Just make it seem like it should be there." He was apparently influenced by his recent work with Big Boi and Killer Mike.

In the meantime, you can stream the single "Sail To The Sun". Skateboards and joints are necessary when listneing to this cut.

[News] Justice Announce Digital "Helix" EP

It's crazy to think that it has already been one year since Justice released their second album Audio, Video, Disco, yet here we are and the French pair are continuing to milk their sophomore release. On January 9th, the duo will release a five-track digital EP centered around the song "Helix". Along with the Audio, Video, Disco track "Ohio", the digital release will include an extended version of "Helix", a hidden song from the sophomore LP, and two remixes of "Helix" from Gesaffelstein Vision and Domenico Torti.

The Helix EP will be a digital only release set to drop on January 9th through Ed Banger. Stream the Domenico Torti remix below.

Helix EP Tracklist:
01. Helix (Extended)
02. Presence
03. Ohio
04. Helix (Gesaffelstein Vision remix)
05. Helix (Domenico Torti’s Headspin remix)