De La Montaña

To be honest I was never really into electronic music. There's of course some things that I like but in general that's not my cup of tea. Yet from time to time I stumble upon little gems that I for some reason find really interesting and most of all worth sharing with my auditory. Well that's the case with this American/German/Chilean electronic band that combines some really intricate lo-fi electro sounds with nice lyrics and catchy melodies. At first hearing it sounds like a blend of indie rock with electronica and I guess it was intentional. The synth element makes the whole listening experience all so much better. And the vocals fits perfectly to the beat. The lo-fi production only adds more charm to this multicultural project. From the scarce information I was able to find about the band it seems that they got one demo which you can hear below and a LP that is on the way. If you're looking for something new, different and original you might as well check this band.

Ако трябва да съм честен, никога не съм си падал особено по електронната музика. Разбира се, има неща, които ми харесват, но като цяло този тип музика не ми е страст. И въпреки това от време на време попадам на малки бисери, които по някакви причина харесвам от раз и които намирам за уместно да споделя с аудиторията ми. Такъв е случаят с този мултинационален електронен проект, състоящ се от американец, германка и чилиец (ако не бъркам). Триото комбинира заплетени електро звуци с приятни вокали и лесно запомнящи се мелодии. На първо слушане имам усещането, че целта е била да се комбинира инди-рок с електроника и може би това е било нарочно. Synth елемента прави цялото изживяване от слушането доста по-приятно. И вокалите някак си пасват на ритъма. Ниското качество на продукцията само придава повече чар на тази мултикултурна формация. Според оскъдната информация, която намерих за групата, тя има едно демо, което можеш да чуеш и са в процес на записване на албум. Ако търсиш него ново, различно и оригинално, спокойно можеш да започнеш от тази банда.

De La Montaña "Money Hungry Astronauts" from Madison Velding-VanDam on Vimeo.

De La Montaña "Postmodern Whirled" from Madison Velding-VanDam on Vimeo.

Steve Martin Looses $850,000 in German Art Fraud Scandal

Who knew comedian Steve Martin was into art?

Well, some of us did.

If you watch The Colbert Report you have seen Steve and Stephen go head to head in their elite lust for the perfect piece of art and culture.

But seriously, Steve Martin is a connoisseur of fine art and has collected some of the most impressive, and expensive pieces out there for his private collection.

But know it looks like the banjo playing comedian has been burned – and bad.

In Cologne Germany, police believe Martin has been the victim of one of the biggest art forgery scandals in the country's history.

Cops believe he purchased a painting forged by a team of crooks being investigated for selling dozens of such forged art pieces over the last ten years.

According to investigators, in 2004 Martin purchased what he thought was a 1915 painting called “Landscape With Horses” by German modernist painter Heinrich Campendonk.

Landscape With Horses

He bought it from the Paris Gallery, paying $850,000, and then resold it in 2006 at Christie’s Auction House for only $350,000 taking a major loss on the deal.

But now it turns out it was a fake – a forgery so good that it even fooled the Paris Gallery and Christies.

Martin says,

“It wasn’t clear that it was a fake until after Christie’s had sold the picture, it was a long time after that, that it became known. The forgers were quite clever in that they gave it a long provenance and they faked labels, and it came out of a collection that mingled legitimate pictures with faked pictures.”

German police arrested the forgery gang leader Wolfgang Beltracchi, his wife Helene, her sister Jeanette and accomplice Otto Schulte-Kellinghaus, last year.

Investigators believe the group sold at least forty forged paintings over the last ten years and they were all forgeries of artists from the first half of the 20th century, including Campendonk, Max Pechstein, Max Ernst and several others.

Watch Stephen Colbert and Steve Martin Discussing Art


So we have to ask, if you had an extra $850 G’s laying around would you buy that painting for your family room?

Things must be nice in Hollyweird.

Follow InfoStar on Twitter – I’ll paint you a picture!
 

Germany, Germany - "Just Go" ft. Steffaloo

Canadian artist Germany, Germany's latest single off the album Adventures released via Distorted Disco Records. The song itself is a nice combination of electro and shoegaze with some really beautiful vocals from Steph Thompson aka Steffaloo. You can download this song as well as it's alternate version for free from here.

Olivia Palermo & BF At Couple of the Year Event

Olivia Palermo and longtime boyfriend Johannes Huebl attended the Couple Of The Year event on April 11, 2011 in Hamburg, Germany.

Credit: Zimbio

Photos by Krafft Angerer/Getty Images Europe

Homer Simpson’s Nuclear Power Plant Job in Jeopardy After Japan Disaster – D’oh

In a real world example of life imitating art, Homer Simpson has got himself into a little hot water these days – as in nuclear hot water.

It seems that Germany, Switzerland and Austria are none too thrilled with Homers clumsy and potentially dangerous antics in his day job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.

The countries have joined together to review and pull several episodes of “The Simpsons” that show Homer causing problems at work in a nuclear power plant.

The series has a long history of showing “green glowing blobs” as a result of Homer’s inept work ethic.

In fact, the opening sequence shows Homer dropping a glowing piece of radioactive fuel rod, and one episode shows Homer and two of his friends playing “Toxic Barrel Rolling”.

The worst offender is an episode that shows Homer getting shot by Ned Flanders while in the nuclear control room and falling on the “Destroy Core” button causing a nuclear explosion that destroys Springfield.

And what about the episode showing a singing and dancing radioactive Mr. Burns?

Germany says it is screening every episode to make sure there are no bad references to nuclear health and safety shown on the air.

So far two episodes have already been pulled: Episode 66, “Marge Gets a Job”, featuring scientists Marie and Pierre Curie dying of radiation poisoning; and Episode 346, “On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister”, where jokes about a nuclear meltdown are made.

Executive producer Al Jean says that Homer will be keeping his job at the nuclear plant, and added;

"We have 480 episodes, and if there are a few that they don’t want to air in light of the terrible thing going on in Japan, I completely understand that.”

But where do you draw the line? Maybe countries should screen each episode looking for examples of bullying, irresponsible drinking, adultery, racial intolerance, and other socially unacceptable acts.

And why stop with the Simpsons? What about Jersey Shore, Two and a Half Men, and other wonderful programming?

No, we suggest you see it as it is – comedy, parody, and art. If you make too much of a stink then the government will feel compelled to get involved and then we’re all screwed. All that will be left will be reruns of I Love Lucy and The Lawrence Welk Show.

My take:

At the end of the day I think adults, and most children, know the difference between a real world disaster and a cartoon parody. If you have any doubt, then you should spend less time letting television mold your kids mind - and more time doing it yourself.

Enough said.

Final Prayer/Redound/Senseless

Cheers mates!

Let me talk to you about a concert which was held not long ago. It was a night of hardcore with the germans Final Prayer supported by the local band Redound and the greeks from Senseless. I have to admit that due to the non-stop publicity by HC Spirit about this event there was a sizable crowd. Much more than at the Manifestation concert but somehow little less than during Hate City Fest. By my humble opinion the germans deserved to play in front of a much bigger crowd as they're fucking good live. To those who didn't make it for some reason I'll say only one thing: YOU MISSED A GREAT CONCERT. No joke 'bout it.

Now to the concert itself. First thing I've noticed was that there was definitely an atmosphere about it much like the Hate Fest which was something good. More people make for a better atmosphere and that was obvious that evening. And from what I saw the people were in the mood for some fast-paced energetic hardcore. I felt it too.

First on the stage went out Senseless from Thessaloniki, Greece. I have to admit that for me it was the first time to see live this band and therefore didn't know what to expect as it's with all the bands I see for the first time. Well they started their set. What I saw was a combination of fast hardcore with on and off-stage antics. I have to admit that they aren't bad. Actually they're quite good but it's just not my brand of hardcore. One good thing I remember from their set was that they set the atmosphere for some real hardcore moshing and dancing. Opposite to Manifestation Senseless made people mosh from the first to the last song. I give them that. And that's quite an achievement for our picky crowd.
Next on stage were Redound (ex-Envy), a band that is well known to the local hardcore community as well as around the country. One of the better-known Sofia hc bands. Analogous as with Senseless, it was my first time watching Redound. I guess that Redound can be described as a beatdown hardcore band. Definitely one of few such bands I know. Well they seemed to be popular with the kids around here. There were sing-a-longs, moshing and some karate moves that to me looked quite awkward. Well Redound definitely kept the crowd moving during their set. And in overall it wasn't bad. It's just that the whole beatdown thing is not for me. I prefer good old-school hardcore.
Nevertheless it was interesting for me to watch Redound. I'll hardly repeat though.
Last but not least came Final Prayer from Berlin, Germany. And again first time seeing them. Well the germans didn't lose time in preparations and started right away. what can I say about the berliners except that they deliver fast-paced, highly-energetic hardcore. They're definitely a band to see and one that won't left the crowd disappointed (our local audience wasn't for sure). Their gig was a feast for the eye - circlepits, sing-a-longs, violent dancing and even weak attempts for stage-diving. I really enjoyed watching them, that's for sure. If they come again I'll definitely go see them again. I only hope that next time they'll make a rendition of Loikaemie's "Good Night White Pride" as it somehow suits them to sing such songs. What can I say more except great band, great set, great night. I was happy that I had the chance to see them.

Finally I have but one complaint about the whole thing.
That night I noticed that in the club where the concert was held there were at least five-six boneheads (nazi-skins). I don't like them and I don't want to see them at punk/ska/hardcore concerts. I think that is wrong such persons to be tolerated during concerts as they often cause problems. It's just wrong. But it seem to me that this one club is somehow tolerating them. The reasons for this are unclear to me but such behavior from the club's owners jeopardizes future events. But because of that I'm forced to tolerate them and that I don't like. And how can I tolerate such presence when during a speech from one of Final Prayer's guitarists there were a couple of boneheads that were giving the nazi salute. Simply unacceptable. But I guess that's the sad reality in this poor little country of mine. Boneheads as well as other scums are being tolerated while nice people are being pushed away. That night made me think if it's worth going to hardcore concerts if each time's gonna be the same. We'll see.