Optical Atlas

Over the last couple of years, perhaps the only E6 parlor game more popular than “when will that second Circulatory System album come out?” (followed rapidly by “when will that Circulatory System bonus LP come out?”) is “when will the Major Organ and the Adding Machine DVD/Expanded CD come out?”  But, honestly, the great thing about Elephant 6 is that they usually make it worth the long wait (and those gaps are filled with so many of Montreal and Robert Schneider-related releases that the wait doesn’t really matter all that much).  Anyway, at long last the Major Organ and the Adding Machine re-release has been announced, but first a history: the 2001 album was one of the flagship releases of the Athens-based Orange Twin Records label, draped in the E6 logo and featuring an all-star cast from the E6-East universe, though none of them were named on the album.  (Nonetheless, it was pretty easy to recognize that prominent members of Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Music Tapes, of Montreal, and Elf Power were contributing.)  The CD drifted out of print, though the LP remained generally available.  Although initial reviews of the concept album – a harrowing mix of avant-garde sound collages and psych-rock – were mixed, with some being very harsh, over the past nine years it has deservedly developed wider admiration and the requisite cult following.  For the 2008 Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise tour, Eric Harris  (OTC, Elf Power)  would begin each evening’s program with a screening of the Major Organ and the Adding Machine short film, which he co-directed with Joey Foreman: a years-in-the-works cross between music video and experimental children’s fantasy, telling the story of Madam Truffle, a bunch of people with beards, a giant lobster, and, um, other things that happen.  (It’s all great fun.)  A DVD was announced and then postponed, and postponed, and postponed again.

Now Pitchfork has announced the real deal: on September 14, Orange Twin Records will release the deluxe Major Organ and the Adding Machine reissue, which will feature the complete album plus seven bonus tracks, bundled with a DVD of the film and bonus features such as music videos, live footage, and other E6-related projects, perhaps some of which were featured in the Eric Harris-curated E6 film program which screened last year in Athens.

Conclusion: Viva Francisco! (Thanks to Kathy with a K for the head’s-up.)

I haven’t posted about of Montreal in a while, but the indie-glam royalty collaborated with Janelle Monáe on the track “Make the Bus” from the upcoming album The ArchAndroid (due out March 18th). You can stream the track at Some Kind of Awesome. You will notice the Kevin Barnes touches, in the style of Skeletal Lamping, just about immediately.  If you’re anxious for a freak fix between oM albums, this does the trick.

On the subject, Lexington, KY-based You Ain’t No Picasso has a contest going where the winner gets a $50 shopping spree at Lexington’s CD Central with of Montreal’s B.P. Helium when the band visits the city on May 27th.  Details for entry (which are rather unique) can be found at YANP.  Get your entry in before May 24th for a chance to win.

A new documentary on of Montreal, called Family Nouveau, will premiere at Chicago’s CIMM Fest (Chicago International Movies and Music Festival) on March 5th. This 45 minute documentary, directed by Spenser Simrill Jr., chronicles of Montreal’s 2009 European tour. Tickets are available at the CIMM website now. Here’s the trailer:

of Montreal European Tour 2009: Family Nouveau Trailer from Spenser Simrill, Jr. on Vimeo.

Tour dates below!

April 6 – Oxford, MS – The Lyric – 18+
April 7 – Tallahassee, FL – The Moon – 18+
April 8 – Tampa, FL – The Ritz – AA
April 9 – Miami Beach, FL – The Fillmore – AA
April 10 – Orlando, FL – Firestone Live – AA
May 22 – New Orleans, LA – Howlin Wolf – 18+ **
May 23 – Austin, TX – The Mohawk – AA **
May 24 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater – 14+ **
May 25 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom – AA **
May 26 – Columbia, MO – 9th Street Summerfest – AA ** FREE
May 27 – Lexington, KY – Buster’s – 18+ **
May 28 – TBA
May 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of the Living Arts – AA **
May 30 – Waterford, CT – B.O.M.B Fest – AA
May 31 – Charlottesville, VA – The Jefferson – AA **
June 1 – Richmond, VA – The National – AA **
June 2 – Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle – AA **

** w/ James Husband & Noot d’Noot

MIDNIGHT: A Celebration in Athens is being held on New Year’s Eve by the GROOP collective, and will feature numerous DJs including List Christee (Kevin Barnes) and DJ A Dot (Dottie Alexander) in addition to Krush Girls, Washed Out, Black Dominoes, and more. The event will be held at the Chase Park Artist Warehouses on Barber and Tracy Streets beginning at 9pm on 12/31. Tickets go on sale next week, and more details can be found here.

Under the Radar’s next issue features their favorite artists of the decade, and they’re revealing one artist each day in the lead-up to the issue’s release.  The first is of Montreal.

And it looks like that’s Che Guevara standing next to him?  Congratulations Che!

James Husband’s excellent debut album A Parallax I, a decade in the making, is released today on Polyvinyl Records. I highly recommend it to all fans of E6 or of Montreal.

Concurrently, Polyvinyl is reissuing on vinyl the early of Montreal records Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies, Aldhils Arboretum, The Early Four Track Recordings, The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit’s Flower, and The Bedside Drama, and you can purchase all of them now at the label’s website.  This is the vinyl debut of The Early Four Track Recordings and The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit’s Flower.

of Montreal at Fashion Week:

Babelgum has posted a number of videos from XX Merge, including some delicious footage of The Ladybug Transistor.  View all the videos here.

Autographed of Montreal and Olivia Tremor Control merchandise is for sale in a charity auction from this eBay seller.  Thanks to James Brown for the link.