“The Sneaker Dance” sees the colourful worlds of London’s Kero Kero Bonito & LA visionary Kerwin Frost joining forces for a one-off release in partnership with Adidas. With a video directed by Nick Harwood (SOPHIE, Blood Orange, Kim Petras), “The Sneaker Dance” tells the story of four abstract characters ripping up the rulebook & scratching their new sneakers up, underpinned by bouncy beats, bubbling synths & Sarah Bonito’s distinctive vocal presence.
“We’ve known Kerwin for a little while and we were honoured to be asked to create this song. We traded ideas with him, inspired by both the Fourth World characteristics of KKB’s recent Civilisation mini-album and our earliest MIDI rap tracks, and very quickly came up with the carnivalesque stomp of “The Sneaker Dance”.
“The Sneaker Dance” explores the world of the Benchmates, the three animal characters featured in Kerwin’s designs, and details the dance routine undertaken by Lakeith – the nervy blue dog with the braced up teeth – when he sees a really special pair of sneakers. Do the sneaker dance. Dance as hard as you can’
Kero Kero Bonito will return to the US next month for 2 very special shows. They will play LA on December 3rd before heading the The Knockdown Center in Queens on December 9th. Details and ticket links can be found below.
Adult Swim Singles have shared a collaboration by Soccer Mommy and Kero Kero Bonito as the twenty-third entry in the 2021 program. “rom com 2021” is an update to Soccer Mommy’s recent standalone single “rom com 2004,” a guitar-driven indie-pop number that channeled via a fragmented and distorted production by Grammy-nominated producer BJ Burton (Low, Charli XCX, Bon Iver). Kero Kero Bonito have given the song a sugary facelift, replacing the original’s guitars with glossy keyboards in service of a decidedly poppy presentation. “We were very excited to be invited to work on ‘Rom Com 2021,’ state Kero Kero Bonito. “Our contributions were inspired by Bridget Jones’ Diary, late summer and UK Garage vocal manipulation.”
Bachelor—the collaborative project of Jay Som’s Melina Duterte and Palehound’s Ellen Kempner—will release its debut album Doomin’ Sun on May 28th via Polyvinyl Record Co. (North America), Lucky Number (ROW) and Milk! Records (AUS/NZ). To celebrate the album release they have also announced Doomin’ Sun Fest, a massive livestream festival / telethon to benefit and uplift Seeding Sovereignty. The festival will take place on June 10 starting at 6pm ET., and will be followed by a virtual afterparty inside the 3D social game Hotel Hideaway.
Created as a chance to gather for “Community, Compassion, Climate, and Celebration,” Doomin’ Sun Fest will be FREE to attend, but donations to Seeding Sovereignty will be highly encouraged. The organization is an Indigenous-led collective working to radicalize and disrupt colonized spaces through land, body, and food sovereignty work, community building, and cultural preservation.
Melina & Ellen will live-host Doomin’ Sun Fest, which will culminate in the first ever Bachelor concert, shot and directed by Haoyan Of America with designer Richie Brown, powered by HIFI Labs. “Basically we just wanna have fun celebrating our album release, raise funds for Seeding Sovereignty, and get people excited about donating and opening their hearts to themes of the fest – the “4 C’s” as we call them – that are driving this endeavor,” note Ellen and Melina.
Featuring:
Adeline
Adrianne Lenker of Big Thief
Alexis from Sleigh Bells w/ Young Women Who Crush
Alynda Segarra (Hurray For The Riff Raff)
Andy Shauf
Anjimile
Bartees Strange
Beach Bunny
Becca Mancari
Benjamin Gibbard
Black Belt Eagle Scout
Boy Scouts
Brijean
Christelle Bofale
Claud
Courtney Barnett
Faye Webster
Fime
Frankie Cosmos
Hand Habits
Japanese Breakfast
Jeff Rosenstock
Jeff Tweedy
Jessi Frick of Father Daughter Records
Jose James + Taali
Julia Jacklin
Julien Baker
Kero Kero Bonito
KR from Decolonize UnConference
Lala Lala
Long Beard
Lucy Dacus
Luna Li
Madeline Kenney
Madison McFerrin
Mannequin Pussy
Manu Grace
MICHELLE
Miloe
Pendant
Quinn Christopherson
Rozzi
Sasami
Sen Morimoto
Shamir
Soccer Mommy
Soft Glas
Sylvan Esso
Tagalikha
Tank & the Bangas
Tasha
Tegan and Sara
Thao
Tune-Yards
Vagabon
Today Alt-pop trailblazers Kero Kero Bonito — a.k.a. Sarah Midori Perry / Sarah Bonito, Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled — announce their new EP Civilisation II, out on April 21st via Polyvinyl, the long-awaited follow-up to 2019’s Civilisation I.
To celebrate the announcement of Civilisation II, KKB shares the first single off of the EP, entitled “The Princess and the Clock.” The song is a lively experimental-pop anthem about old-time mythology, with the lyrics recounting a fictional tale of a princess who is kidnapped while sailing the world. The band explain, “‘The Princess and the Clock’ is the tale of a young explorer who is kidnapped while sailing the world, imprisoned at the top of a tower and worshipped as royalty by an isolated society. Trapped in her chamber, she spends years dreaming of escaping, until one day she disappears. A legend of our own invention, ‘The Princess and the Clock’ was written before Covid emerged, though the long, lonely hours and escapist dreams its protagonist experiences will be relatable to many right now. It’s a song for anyone who has ever felt trapped, lost and alone.” The fable is masterfully illustrated through and animated by Dan W. Jacobs.
Spin Magazine