Black Dice “Load Blown”

PAW 18   Paw Tracks CD/EP/Digital

 

300 dpi jpeg of front cover:

 

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black dice 300 dpi jpeg photos:

Photo by Jason Frank Rothenberg
Art by Black Dice

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Load Blown is the fourth album by Brooklyn’s Black Dice.  The beats drip and roll, tar-pit voices sing into an oil can, and the guitars crank like calliope. Some tunes crackle and burble like submerged television, others bump and click along like a Summer Jam concert series from another dimension.

While a noticeable change in tone encompasses Load Blown (some tunes veer close to pop songs), this is a work of over-stimulation, a product of frenzied media culture, a sonic sifting of the gratuitous amount of “stuff” out there. 

The span of time (nearly 18 months of on-again/off-again work) encompassing the composition and recording of the album accounts for a sprawling variety of sounds and songs.  Strange and abrasive, yet somehow more familiar, accessible, and celebratory than ever, this is Black Dice at their most palatable yet.

 

Marketing/Promotion:

-                          Press by Force Field PR

-                          Radio Promotion by Terrorbird

-                          Retail Promotion by Track Star Media

-                          There will be a music video to accompany the release

-                          Black Dice will undergo an extensive North American tour in November

 

Black Dice album info:

-                          “Load Blown” is a compilation of three 12” vinyl EPs that have been released with special edition posters plus exclusive unreleased tracks.

-                          The “Manoman” 12” was released on DFA records in the summer of 2006. 

-                          The “Roll Up/Drool” 12” was released earlier this year by Paw Tracks. 

-                          The final EP release (released at the same time as the “Load Blown” cd) will be the remaining five tracks not previously released on vinyl.

 

Tracklisting: 1. Kokomo 2. Roll Up 3. Gore 4. Bottom Feeder 5. Scavenger 6. Drool 7. Toka Toka  8. Cowboy Soundcheck 9. Bananas 10. Manoman

 

Release Date: October 23rd, 2007

 

Black Dice Bio

Black Dice formed during the spring of 1997 in Providence, RI as a loud, chaotic mix of early-eighties-inspired thrash and harsh noise experimentation. At the time, Bjorn Copeland  (guitar), Hisham Bharoocha  (drums), and Sebastian Blanck (bass) were students at the Rhode Island School of Design while Bjorn’s brother Eric Copeland (vocals) was attending high school in Maine.

 

Early shows seldom lasted more than fifteen minutes and were characterized by violent performances where injuries were often sustained by the band and audience alike. Live sets mixed structured songs with improvised sound manipulation and shows differed from night to night.

 

In the summer of 1998 the band relocated to NYC where Eric was going to college. At an early New York performance the band met current member Aaron Warren who had recently moved from Los Angeles to attend NYU. In the spring of 1999 Sebastian left the band and Aaron joined the group.

 

It was around that time that the emphasis shifted from conventional song structures to more open-ended sonic investigations.  Shows of this era maintained an equally physical presence through the use of high volume levels and an extreme range of frequencies, and violent performance became less frequent. The music bore more resemblance to crude first generation industrial music or contemporary power electronics than straight noise or hardcore.

 

By the fall of 2001 live shows had grown in length to almost five or six times of the earlier sets, with the occasional song reaching 45 minutes.  An emphasis on signal processing provided a broader sonic palette. While volume and physical presence of sound remained crucial, melody and repetition became key compositional elements. The shift in focus introduced a new gentle and tuneful quality to the intense, brash music.

 

In spring of 2004, the band parted ways with longtime drummer and friend Hisham Bharoocha.  Though a trying transition, the band continued writing, recording and touring as a three-piece.  Metamorphosed once again, Black Dice emerged as a tight compositional unit, with little emphasis remaining on improvisation or long-form songs.  A near-pop sensibility was embraced, with shorter and catchier tunes bouncing forth.  The music currently retains elements of noise and proto-industrial experimentation, while organically suggesting minimal, electronic, hip-hop and psychedelic ideas as well as those of punk, tropicalia, and dub.

 

Visual art has been a key counterpart to the music, with all record-sleeve design by band members.  Artists Ara Peterson and Danny Perez have made videos for songs, and Mr. Perez has contributed a live video mix to the band’s live set since fall of 2005.  Recent releases include limited edition posters, and in summer 2005, the group released its first non-music release; a 128-page book of collage art made in collaboration with photographer Jason Frank Rothenberg.

 

The band has toured America and Europe dozens of times, and has visited Japan twice.  In 2005, the trio recorded an album in Byron Bay, Australia following a tour.  In 2006, the band played in Brazil and a live set was captured on national television in Lima, Peru. Virtually any and every type of venue has served as the backdrop for Black Dice shows; from basements and warehouses to art galleries and museums, from house shows to gigantic outdoor festivals or formal seated theaters.  Placing the music in a context contrary to the average show remains a compelling inspiration for unique performances.

Complete Discography

Albums

 

Load Blown                                                                  2007 Paw Tracks

 

Broken Ear Record                                                       2005  DFA/ Astralwerks/ EMI

 

Creature Comforts                                                        2004  DFA/FatCat

 

Black Dice/Wolf Eyes collab. LP                                  2003 Fusetron

 

Beaches & Canyons                                                      2002  DFA/FatCat

 

EP’s

                                                                                   

Roll Up/ Drool                                                               2007 Paw Tracks

 

Manoman +2                                                                 2006  DFA

 

Smiling Off                                                                   2005  DFA/ Astralwerks/ EMI

 

Wastered split with Animal Collective                             2004 Paw Tracks

 

Miles of Smiles                                                              2004  DFA/ FatCat

 

Cone Toaster                                                                2003 DFA

 

Lost Valley                                                                   2003  Tigerbeat6/ Catsup Plate

 

Balls 7” & 40-page book                                                2001  31G

 

Cold Hands                                                                   2001  Troubleman

 

split 7” with Erase Errata                                               2001 Troubleman

 

Semen of the Sun                                                         2000  Tapes Records

 

Pink 10”/cd                                                                   2000  Troubleman

 

Untitled AKA Printed Paper                                          1998  Verminscum

 

Lambs Like Fruit                                                         1998 Gravity 

 

Books

 

Gore                                                                            2006 Picture Box, Inc.