Bling Ring Soundtrack Releases June 11

Sofia Coppola’s newest film, The Bling Ring, isn’t set to release until June 14^th, but the soundtrack comes out on the 11^th. And considering it’s packed with notable artists like Kanye, Frank Ocean, Lil Wayne, deadmau5, Phoenix, and more, it should be worth a listen.

Daniel Lopatin, who is also known as the “synth experimentalist” Oneohtrix Point Never, scored the film. He also worked alongside Brian Reitzell, who has worked with Sofia Coppola before and served as the film’s executive soundtrack producer and music supervisor. The end result of Lopatin’s and Reitzell’s collaboration is a diverse soundtrack full-up with rap, krautrock, and alternative music. Lopatin, AKA Oneohtrix Point Never, also has a featured song on the album, called “Ouroboros.”

Lopatin also helped found the new music label, “Software,” which is the third member of the Kemado family. Andres Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp founded Kemado in 2002, and just six years following that, sister label “Mexican Summer” was born. While Kemado focuses mainly on different styles of rock music, Mexican Summer is geared toward independent artists and releases digital and vinyl albums. Software will be for electronic music like digi-psych, Contemplative Dance Music, and “popular noise,” as Lopatin calls it.

The Bling Ring soundtrack isn’t the first time that Lopatin and Reitzell have worked together. Together, they produced music for the TV show, “Boss,” which starred Kelsey Grammar. Reitzell’s other projects include Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, Lost in Translation, and The Virgin Suicides.

The film is both written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is based on the true story of a group of teenagers in Los Angeles who robbed the homes of celebrities, such as Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and Lindsay Lohan. The teens stole millions’ worth of clothing, bags, jewelry, heirlooms, and more.

Mexican Summer Hits Up Brooklyn Flea Market

Independent New York music label Mexican Summer is enjoying the warm weather by setting up camp at the Brooklyn Flea Market. The label, whose parent company is Andres Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp’s Kemado Records, is part of a market featuring hundreds of local vendors selling their wares.

According to the New York Times, the Brooklyn Flea Market is “One of the great urban experiences in New York.” The year-round market (outdoors April-Thanksgiving, indoors Thanksgiving-March) features food vendors during the summer, an outdoor concert series, and much more.

Brooklyn Flea Market was founded in 2008 by Jonathan Butler (founder of Brownstoner.com) and Eric Denby. The two have operated it ever since. Not only does the market provide a venue for local independent businesses to sell their wares and therefore stimulates the local economy, but it is also known for having only the best. Mexican Summer Instagrammed a photo of their setup at Brooklyn Flea Market last week, the caption reading, “We're set up at the @bkflea record fair - open for biz at 11. Come see us!!”

Photo from Mexican Summer Instagram.

The independent music label was in the company of a multitude of other local vendor types, including arts/crafts, antiques/collectibles, vintage clothing, art, photography, food, jewelry, furniture/salvage, and many more. 

Brooklyn Flea Market has grown to include several locations in the five years since its inception. To are located in New York City, while one is in Philadelphia. Catch the next most convenient one to support local vendors like Mexican Summer:

Fort Greene Flea: 176 Lafayette Ave, Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Williamsburg Flea: East River State Park, Sundays 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Philly: The Piazza 1050 N. Hancock St., Philadelphia, Sunday 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. (Starting June 2)

Kemado, Cult, and Kanine Partner with Essential Music & Marketing

Essential Music & Marketing is helping indie artists and labels expand their international reach. The group has made a deal with seven label groups in hopes of expanding the successes they saw last year, when 14 of the distributor’s releases made their way to the United Kingdom’s Top 40 list. The new labels include Kemado Label Group, Cult Records, Kanine Records, FatCat, Loose, Lex, and Nettwerk Records.

Kemado Label Group was founded by Andres Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp, is one of the groups that will be partnering with Essential Music & Marketing. The label group includes Kemado Records, Mexican Summer and Software. Kemado’s artists include Call of the Wild, The Sword, Moab, Wild Hunt, and others. For more information on Andres Santo Domingo, check out our profile of him here.

Cult Records was started by Julian Casablancas, frontman for The Strokes. The label made its first signing in late November 2012 with the NYC band “The Virgins.” The significantly more established Kanine Records will also be signing on with Essential Music & Marketing for distribution in the UK and Europe. Based in Willamsburg, Brooklyn, the label was started in 2002 by Lio and Kay Kanine and includes artists like Eternal Summers, Grizzly Bear, and Surfer Blood.

Essential Music & Marketing began in 2003 to provide labels and artists with digital and physical distribution services and packages, offering project management, marketing, and sales. They are based out of the UK and have made deals with a number of labels, including Black Hole Recordings, Pink Mist, R&S Records, and many more. This newest addition of seven labels to its repertoire brings total representation up to 24 labels.

Grails coming out with new volume!

Grails, a Portland instrumental rock band has announced that they'll be releasing a follow-up to last year's wonderful Deep Politics. 

If you don't know who Grails is, you should pick up Deep Politics as soon as you can and prepare to be amazed.  Maybe it's just that I love a piece that builds, but Grails is the kind of thing that you makes a simple walk down to the corner store feel like an epic quest to Mordor.  It's the ultimate transportation music, guaranteed to transport you to new and unusual places within your mind.

Of course, the real treat is seeing them in concert.  They're intense and mesmerizing, and they make me wish that I took drugs just so I could experience their music through that facet.  Although, given that they're in Australia right now it might be a bit difficult to see them. 

Grails' new album is called Black Tar Prophecies: Volume 5, and it's being released by Andres Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp's Kemado Records- which means that it'll probably be available on vinyl. I'm looking forward to heading down to their shop and checking it out. :)

Andres Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp with Kemado Records

Kemado records was founded in 2002 by Andrés Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp and includes a sister label, Mexican Summer. Based out of New York City, the label is a small independent one that embraces the idea of vinyl as a medium.  

Andres Santo Domingo and Keith Abrahamsson at their vinyl co-op store

When Kemado records opened up their new location in Brooklyn they looked particularly for a location that would allow them to include a small vinyl co-op store and commerical recording studio.


"We just needed more space. We looked all over Manhattan and found a couple of spaces -- we looked everywhere," Andres Santo Domingo explained to Black Book Mag. "But when we came out to Brooklyn and saw the spaces out here in Greenpoint, we knew we could do a commercial recording studio."

One of their biggest successes was as part of Mexican Summer, which was the 2009 release of Crazy for You by Best Coast.  The release sold around 57,000 copies, including 10,000 of which were LPs.  

For more information about Andrés Santo Domingo, Tom Clapp, Keith Abrahamsson, and Kemado Records check out our feature on them.