Cloud Cult is excited to announce their fall headlining tour in support of their new full-length album – Light Chasers – due out September 14^th on Earthology Records.

The record is the band’s first new studio release in more than two years and critics are already weighing in favorably with Pitchfork calling the album “…epic, millennial indie rock…” and John Richards from KEXP saying that Light Chasers is “the best thing Cloud Cult has ever done, which is saying a lot as everything they’ve done so far is near perfection.”

The CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival has announced its first round of performing artists including:

DeVotchKa, Surfer Blood, Two Door Cinema Club, School of Seven Bells, Bad Books (feat. Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra), Four Tet, The Drums, Ghostface Killah, Greg Dulli, Helmet, Lissie, Foreign Exchange, Katzenjammer, Kristen Schall & Friends, Dean & Britta, Bayside, Senses Fail, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Salem, The Blow, Small Black, Big Freedia, Dominique Young Unique, Angus & Julia Stone, Frankie and the Heartstrings, Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr, and Langhorne Slim.

Hundreds of additional acts will be announced in the upcoming weeks, so make sure to visit www.cmj.com/marathon for continuous artist updates. This year’s CMJ Music Marathon will be held from October 19^th-23^rd.

The multi-platinum international phenomenon known as Owl City is teaming up with the world’s largest and notably most successful online distributor TuneCore in a unique partnership designed to empower developing artists.

TuneCore has created a special website in collaboration with Owl City. Artists that choose to go through this website for distribution can have Owl City’s Adam Young listen to one “single” off their release. Young will choose his favorite among all of the music submitted and provide a constructive critique of the song directly back with the artist. Young will choose the artist and song on December 1, 2010.

“When I look back on the last 24 months of Owl City – the ease of getting music pushed out to the masses in the music industry today was without a doubt a huge factor in people being able to discover my music, said Young. “I feel honored to work with TuneCore to provide Owl City fans this same opportunity I was fortunate to have at the inception of my project.

After hiding in the shadows for years, Scott Hardkiss has been on a tear since last year’s Technicolor Dreamer full-length, having also just released the You & I EP, featuring remixes of his work by Telepathe and Christian Prommer, among others.

This alternate version of the title track from Norweigian house and space-disco producer Bjørn Torske swaps out the original recording’s IDM/D&B influences for heavier dub sounds, stopping for a lovers’-rock detour midway through when Bobby Harden‘s vocals are spliced in to the mix…

All the other prominent signifiers of current Scandinavian electronic music (Italo synths, reverb, and long, spacey jams) are present as well. And that isn’t a bad thing at all, if you ask us.

Northeast mainstays I Am Alpha and Omega have announced the September 5^th release, The Roar and The Whisper, one of the most highly anticipated releases of the summer.

The record, which will be available at Revelation Generation beginning September 5^th, is one of the most highly anticipated records of this summer.

The Roar and The Whisper is a passionate work of real heart. Chronicling the band’s life over the past year, the title comes from the idea that sometimes messages and lessons in one’s life are sometimes subtlety whispered to the individual and sometimes they are roared in order to be heard and followed.

Cisco Adler and the Miami Ski Team Announce a Remix Contest

Following the release of his debut, twenty-three track, free mixtape - SUPERCALIFORNIALIPSTICKSEXYMAGICDOPESHIT (SUPERCALI) – performer/songwriter/producer Cisco Adler announces “Beat the Remix,” a remix contest to all aspiring MCs and DJs launched Tuesday, August 31st.

Any contestant up to the challenge will have three weeks to pull out all the stops to “beat the remix” and come up with a track killer enough to one-up DJ duo Miami Ski Team’s version.

Emii will be releasing the follow up song to her hit single “Magic” next month.  The heart pounding new song is called “Mr. Romeo” and has Emii lusting after her dream guy, Mr. Romeo. Will she get bitten’ by love?

The indie artist has been taking the world by storm with her infectious music and her rocking style. Her video for ”Magic” has received over 1.5 million views on YouTube  She has performed on ABC Grand Rapids, ABC Buffalo, ABC Chicago, ABC Las Vegas, FOX Connecticut, FOX Austin, FOX Grand Rapids Michigan, Fox San Diego, ABC San Diego and more are scheduled. and can been seen on Fuse TV and MTV’s LOGO network.

Emii received continued support from radio stations coast to coast including Chicago’s KISS 103.5, San Francisco, Grand Rapids, Texas, New York and more!

Critically acclaimed performing songwriter Tucker Finn, will release her emotionally riveting debut solo album, The Cup & The Lip, on October 26, 2010 via Jane Wayne Records.

No stranger to the musical stage, Tucker was co-creator of the alt-country crooners, The Jane Waynes, commended by press and fans alike for their rollicking shows and songwriting skills. The indie artist’s premiere solo album, The Cup & The Lip, features ten original songs.

The album title, The Cup & The Lip, borrows from an old English proverb, “There’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup and the lip”, which cautions that even the best laid plans can go awry. Tucker’s songs are all about that slip – the vast space that lies between anticipation and the upshot, between your lowest low and your wildest dreams.

The Italy based group has created a video for their single, “Day After Day.” The single is off a four-track EP, “How Could You Turn a Village into a Town,” that includes two original songs and two remixes by Anti Anti and Stabbyoboy.

Oh, untold hoards of loving readers, I guess this is sort of like goodbye. After five years of life in the sticky, smoky trenches of music journalism, I’m hanging up my hat and paddling my canoe in the direction of uncharted waters. Enough banal metaphor usage for you? Ya, for me, too.

I know that I don’t have to worry about you once I’m gone, loving readers. The webosphere is so full of smart, eloquent folks writing about music that I know you won’t suffer from any shortage of information or half-baked ranting. I am, on the other hand, a bit concerned about what’s going to happen to the music industry once my back is turned.

State of the Tune-ion

Things are looking a bit shaky these days. While I’ve enjoyed guiding you through the collapse of the major label-dominated music industry, the glittering digital phoenix that has risen from its ashes isn’t exactly everything it’s promised to be.

While professional-grade recording equipment has become accessible to all, it’s also created a production scene ripe for manipulation by middlemen who promise much to aspiring artists, but deliver little.

While the Internet offers unprecedented levels of access to promotional tools and global fan bases, it also creates a fertile breeding ground for mediocrity, and for a new kind of anonymity, bred not by obscurity, but by dearth of access.

Returning with the party anthem of the summer, ever-glamorous Kaci Battaglia has done it again, following up her hit single “Crazy Possessive,” with yet another smash: “Body Shots” featuring super-star rapper Ludacris.  Already exploding at radio and charting in clubs across the country, Kaci welcomes the reception with open arms, as she awaits the release of her aptly titled album Bring It On (Curb Records) on September 21^st.

Based on a conversation that Kaci had with some of her girlfriends right before her 21^st birthday, “Body Shots” sassy lyrics were penned by Battaglia, who has co-written all of the songs on her upcoming release.

National Public Radio’s is featuring The Orbans for their song of the day.

The indie band will release their debut album When We Were Wild later this fall! Having worked with producer Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Yo La Tengo, Clem Snide) on the album since the summer of 2009, When We Were Wild is full of pop magic.

The Dallas Observer’s review stated “the debut…is so full of pop hooks that there is almost no discernable lead single on there.”

When We Were Wild is full of singles that have been compared to Big Star, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and Ryan Adams. Keep your eyes open for the album’s physical release this fall and look for The Orbans on tour this fall with date’s to be announced soon.

Producer and musician Cisco Adler, best known for his work in alterna-rap duo Shwazye, is preparing to debut his new solo project.

Cisco Adler and the Pigeons will play their debut show on Saturday, August 28th at legendary Roxy Theater in Hollywood, CA, as part of the 3rd annual Sunset Strip Music Festival (SSMF). The festival runs from August 26th-28th and will include established headliners such as Slash, The Smashing Pumpkins, Kid Cudi, and Common. It will also serve as a platform for up-and-coming artists.

Adler recently released “The Rough Demos”—three brand new solo songs, online for free on his bandcamp page. All of the tracks feature Adler’s ever-present California sound and distinctive production style. “Body Language” has a catchy, classic vibe to it, showcasing upbeat piano and horns.