dead alive

And without skipping a beat, I'm happy to announce that DZ18 will be the first release for DC's Nice Breeze. The veteran three-piece stir up lo-fi, surf-tinged punk cuts that weave droning hooks with laconic, off-the-cuff vocals and take you for a buoyant ride on an ever-cresting wave inside the bonzai pipeline of your mind.

 

"Schroedinger's Cat's Grave" is out November 14, with the release show that night at Hot Tub House with manatee mommies BRNDA, the first-ever live performance from Scanners, as well as Vile Creature and Bakerman from up north. Don't miss this chance to grip the garish gold cassette before it ships - click here for details.

The week before on November 8 at Showtime, just as the need hot and hearty stews is picking up, the DC Rock'n'Roll Chili Cookbook will be released, featuring an awesome cassette compilation and chili recipes from some great local bands, including new additions to the DZ family Nice Breeze and Hemlines. All proceeds from the project go to benefit local non-profit Bread For The City, which aims to provide vulnerable residents of Washington, DC with comprehensive services, including food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services, in an atmosphere of dignity and respect.

Continuing further back in time, just earlier that day the eighth installment of the Escape From DC Brunch show will be going down at Hole In The Sky (click flyer for details). Come out to see WYDYDE, Great Smokey and Baby Bry Bry & The Apologists, then grab some chili down the road.

Since their own release show last month Hemlines have been staying busy, with progressive coverage in WAMU Bandwidth and another gig lined up for November 21 at Rock & Roll Hotel, the band continues its roll with relative ease.

Now that DZ HQ is up and running at HITS, I'm hoping to get more projects out on a consistent basis. Part of that hurdle is going to be catching up with the backlog of recordings from the monthy (anti-)Brunch shows. Thankfully, we've started picking up the pace, and I'm happy to share with you this video of Big Hush performing "Walk On" earlier this year:

Before signing off, I need to give thanks to the Washington City Paper for their recent shout-out, and to send some love to The Sweets and Pool Holograph, who have both released new full-length albums this month. Check out their new work below, and keep your eyes and ears peeled for more goodies from DZ HQ in the very near future.

thaw

Another wild weekend of shows coming up for those of you in DC, Baltimore, Chicago, and Austin. Click the flyers below for more info, and godspeed to Owen from Big Hush who has three different gigs on Sunday night~ ✌

Friday, March 6

Romantic States w/ Crimson Wave, Bummer Vacation, and Naked

(Ottobar Upstairs in Baltimore, MD)

Pool Holograph w/ Pet Vices and Glass Eyes

(Cole's Bar in Chicago, IL)

Chris Suspect harDCore photography opening reception

(Leica Gallery in Washington, DC)

Adam Torres w/ Molybden

(El Cosmico in Marfa, TX [RSVP])

Saturday, March 7

Adam Torres w/ Real Live Tigers and Loblolly Boy

(Studium in Austin, TX [RSVP])

Sunday, March 8

Big Hush (filling in for Jail Solidarity) w/ Trophy Wife, War On Women, and Priests

(Wilson Center in Washington, DC)

Qualms (mem. Big Hush) w/ Mattress Financial, Palehound, and Joy Buttons

(The Beehive in Washington, DC)

Big Hush w/ Kabob-O-Taj and Jack Nicholson

(WMUC Studio in College Park, MD)

drive

DZ15 is on its way down I-95 courtesy of Baltimore duo Romantic States, who continue their minimalist approach to writing and recording, while integrating dynamic shifts not explored in earlier work. The result is a collection of raw, sparse, and skeletal lo-fi rock songs that are sincere, vulnerable, and haunting. Jim and Ilenia's newest works have been compiled for release on a self-titled album out February 6 and the band will be touring the East Coast throughout the month.

Special thanks to Spanish magazine Shook Down for their kind words about the album and for premiering "Back Pain" on their site. Look out for an interview with the band in the next physical copy of their magazine, and check out the track below for your first sneak peak at DZ15:

"9 canciones honestas, cristalinas y eso, minimalistas, una propuesta de corazón lo-fi que desprende honestidad, la misma que habían desfilado en algunos de sus trabajos anteriores" - Shook Down

"Romantic States are a minimalist experimental rock band from Baltimore, emphasizing rhythm and melody over instrumental complexity. Their sound is spectral, with live drums and drum machines combined to provide a back beat for reverby guitars and washed out, dream-like vocals in their own version of deconstructed pop/rock songs." - The Modern Folk Music Of America

Tapes are available for pre-order in the merch store, along with a limited number of older cassettes unearthed during my move, including releases by Wavepool Abortion, Ghostandthesong / Chris Rehm, Terror Bird, Adam Torres, Pool Holograph, and Birkwin Jersey, plus one last copy of DYVNZMBR2.

Additionally, Tape School in Tokyo is now stocking some more recent releases - Big Hush, Hazey Jane, Easily Suede, The Sweets, and Seabright all safely made the trip across the globe.

Stay tuned for more updates on DZ15, including new tracks and event info, coming very soon...

petrichor

Production on DZ14 has begun to wrap up, and a cassette release show in DC is in the works. Stay thirsty with this Big Hush video for one of their classic tracks "Where I End":

Meanwhile, Pool Holograph have been staying busy in Chicago, keeping warm with fiery science experiments, like this new track "Crazy Lane". I was lucky enough to catch the premiere in person and think you all should take a listen:

Folks in Atlanta should make sure to check out Easily Suede and Narrator play in the Social Synth public art installation built into a dumpster:

It Is Rain In My Face. plays live at the Palisades in Brooklyn on Monday, October 27:

In Austin, Adam Torres has a string of shows coming up in late October and early November:

Belgian blog Cutting Edge had some nice things to say in Dutch about Hazey Jane:

"Bij het horen van het krakerige (en naar het einde toe licht vervormde) 'Being in mint condition' en het treffend getitelde 'Outside it's good' waanden wij ons immers meteen in een zonovergoten parkje op een zorgeloze zomerdag: héérlijk gevoel."

Which loosely translates to:

"Upon hearing the crackling (and towards the end slightly distorted) 'Being in mint condition' and the aptly titled "Outside it's good" we thought we were, after all, once in a sunlit park on a carefree summer day: wonderful feeling."

And finally, some photos from the last show at the Dougout, featuring Romantic States, Halfsour, Thee Lolitas, and Foul Swoops, all courtesy of Ron Akins:

Romantic States

Halfsour

Thee Lolitas

Foul Swoops

hushed

The next DZ release is in production, and it's one I'm really excited to have worked on - it feels great to finally collaborate with a local artist that I've enjoyed seeing for quite some time. Big Hush play patient shoegaze folk sentiments, with crystalline vocal harmonies piercing through three layers of fuzzy sepia-toned guitar. Hazy rock melodies washed in sunburnt distortion flow through all four tracks, blanketing your ears in an enigmatic overdrive like a warm breeze enveloping your outstretched hand while cruising windows-down on an open road in the mid-afternoon. Dreamy and seductive, this release will have you feeling somewhere between a comatose kitten and a hypnotized house plant.

You can stream the title track from the Wholes EP below, and a run of 100 pro-dubbed cassettes are due for release on November 4.

Those of you in the DC area looking to catch a live glimpse of the band can see them this Friday, September 26 at the Communiverse with label friends Wildhoney and Two Inch Astronaut. A few other DZ jaunts are also lined up for the near future: In Chicago, where I'll be for the next week, Pool Holograph will be playing at Phyllis' Musical Inn on September 27 (Cassette Store Day!) and again at Township on September 29. Back in the district I'll be hosting DC maniacal funkwits Foul Swoops and high-speed chasers Thee Lolitas, Baltimore power couple Romantic States, and Boston pickle punks Halfsour on October 5 at the Dougout. Click the flyers below for more details about each show, and keep your eyes peeled for more from DZ14 in the near future.

ballooning

From where you are things may seem quiet here at DZ, but the post-In It Together Fest hiatus is over and there are quite a few fun things in the works. Another batch of releases has been confirmed with the hopes of getting most of them out before the end of the year, but there will be more on that in the near future. The Sister Polygon Jamboree has come and gone, Fields Festival flew by in the blink of an eye, and now the next live event on the docket that's sure to be a sweat-soaked good time is coming up September 4 at The Dougout. Boston rockers Krill will be joined by Baltimore's Et Al. in addition to local favorites The Effects and Two Inch Astronaut. Click the flyer below for more details:

DZ alum have been hard at work lately creating a wide variety of new sounds for your listening pleasure. Find a comfy groove in your seat and take a look + listen at some of the cool things that've been coming out recently:

"Old Ways" single by Pool Holograph


"Bread & Silver Water" EP by It Is Rain In My Face.


"Forest Moon" EP by Seabright

Wondering Sound interviews Adam Torres on music sharing and the drudgery of self-promotion in independent music.

"The Wrong Way" music video by Terror Bird

night running

Two quick bits of news here to keep you satisfied until a much bigger reveal later this week:

Pool Holograph have just released a stellar new single "Night Running" in anticipation of their next album due out later this year. Clear your schedule, dive into the song and lose track of time.



It Is Rain In My Face. has a kickstarter going to help him get to Ardent Studios in Memphis to record his next EP. Consider throwing a few duckets Mat's way to help get him back in the studio.

reels in motion

All orders of DZ09 have been shipped, thanks to everyone as always for your patience as I run back and forth to and from the post office every day on my lunch break. Catch a preview picture of these beauties below:

In some more offbeat news, apparently Myspace still exists, and they just released a list of their 25 Best Cassettes of 2013, two of which just happen to be from our catalogue. Pool Holograph (#6) and Birkwin Jersey (#19) were both featured, alongside some sweet tapes put out by friends at Bridgetown Records, Night People, Crash Symbols, Holy Page, Burger Records, Moon Glyph, Orchid Tapes, Chill Mega Chill, Bird Tapes, Orange Milk and others. Thanks to Kristen for the kind write-ups.

like lava

While from afar things may appear to be moving at a snail's pace, there are quite a few fun projects lined up for the near future at DZ HQ. So to help share the excitement for summer, there is now a temporary discount being offered on every physical purchase and digital download over at the Shop. To take advantage of this, simply use promo code "laroche25" at checkout to receive 25% off all orders until May 5.

The next DZ release is in it's final trimester of before birth. San Jose producer Seabright has been working his alchemy to fuse molten gems for the upcoming cassette "Tomorrow". Check out these preview tracks for a sneak peak:

In other news, the most recent showcase at the Dougout went off without a hitch late last month. Thanks to all the artists and fans for coming out to explore some untraversed aural soundscapes.

Lost Trail (courtesy of Charity)

Prism House (courtesy of Charity)

One more update out of Chicago, where Pool Holograph have been hard at work recording their next full-length release "Montage". The band has been kind enough to share a preview with us; watch them perform "Necking" in their practice space below:



Lastly, I'd like to thank Ian from Cactus Mouth / Chill Mega Chill for the profile piece he put together for DZ TAPES over at PORTALS. Interested parties can scope out the article here. More updates will be coming soon, so stay sound and keep curious.

Up(2)date

The latest releases for Pool Holograph and Birkwin Jersey have both received some very nice accolades from the folks at Ad Hoc, The FADER, I Found Music, Neighborhood Tapes, Obscure Sound, Portals, and This Is Fake DIY, and Weed Temple.

This past month has been much busier than expected at DZ HQ, but things are finally getting caught up to where they should be. All orders have been shipped out, my thanks go out to everyone for your patience. Being the only one running the show here, things can bottleneck fairly quickly if there's even a slight delay, so I appreciate you all bearing with me. The tapes all look and sound really good, so if you haven't ordered yours yet there's no better time than the present!

In other news, two additional releases are currently in the works and should be ready for release in the spring! Stay tuned for further details. :)

DZ07

POOL HOLOGRAPH is Chicago post-punk garage pop sound melded with sinister summer melodies and balefully breezy guitar riffs that conjure the sunshine through cracks in the sky on even the grayest winter days. DZ TAPES is proud to present a limited run of the band's self-titled EP, shipping January 29th. 

Limited Edition of 50

Cassette ships within the US for $7

In more somber news, due to the upcoming hike in USPS fares for international shipping, the cost of postage alone to send a single tape internationally after January 27th is going up to $9.45. Sadly, orders on single cassettes will now be limited to the confines of our nation's borders. For those of you outside of the United States who are interested in bulk orders, feel free send me an email and I'll be happy to work something out.