Ladytron's Gravity the Seducer on Spotify Today!

Ladytron's 5th studio album, Gravity the Seducer, due to be released in the US on September 13th by Nettwerk was released on Spotify today!

This was especially exciting for me as I got to do a bunch of facebook ads and other social media work to help promote their upcoming album tour and track the release while interning at Nettwerk this past summer, which I documented over at Summerphones.

After the initial release of opening track "White Elephant", as well as "Ace of Hz" and "Ambulances", it was awesome to hear the album from start to finish. The right mix of trance, electronic ambience, and haunting vocals make this album worth a listen. The album allows for a lot of space between the listener and the vocalist, sounding haunting and beautiful.

In continuing their trend of darker themes, there is something incredibly creepy and somewhat forbidden sounding about the album. If the video for "White Elephant" didn't make the foreboding clear, I don't know what does. Perhaps, however, "90 Degrees" is my favorite track with its minor, descending chord progression and synth-y strings.

I'm certainly awaiting the tour, and can't wait to see Ladytron at The Vic on October 4th. Check out the rest of the tour dates on their website.

Peace.Love.Music

Kara Ali

...and, we're back! What better way than with Wilco?

Well Folks, after a summer interning at Nettwerk Music Group this past summer and putting Kara's Headphones on hiatus to keep a separate blog devoted to my time there, I'm happy to say that I'm back.

Keeping my Summerphones blog, reading up on Billboard, NME, Pitchfork, and various other blogs and music sites taught me a ton. From Spotify to Summer Tours to Warehouse Fires to Amy Winehouse's death so much has happened over the past few months in the world of music, as it always does and I got a taste for just how much news there is to report on. Plus, interning at Nettwerk taught me a ton from pitching songs for music licensing, to creating press kits to social media management for touring artists...

...All the while, I was writing songs for my own band, The Cables and even gigging a bit as Kara Ali along with Ursula Ellis and my good friend Rachel Naar around the Lower East Side. Fat Baby, Rockwood Music Hall---some fun stuff for sure.

In a few weeks I will be going back to Chicago for my final year at Northwestern, and my first year as president of Niteskool Productions, the student music group on campus. Along with being Outreach Chair for WNUR, rehearsing with The Cables again, and sound designing a few shows and movies, I will be planning a bunch of awesome events to promote student music. The first, being Rock at the Rock, which will have artists playing around NU's famed "Rock" in early October. Never thought I'd be ready to leave NYC, but I'm actually looking forward to all that's in store this year!

What better way to celebrate my return to Chicago than with a listen to Wilco's new album--The Whole Love--due to be released September, 27th.

But wait, their 8th full length album comes out the 27th? How could I possibly be listening now? Well, thanks to Pitchfork, I found out the album would be stream-able for 24 hours, today only and completely free on the band's website. (Still a few hours left, one more if you're in the Midwest so get on it people!) I am loving what I hear so far with a variety of sonically fulfilling sounds, highs and lows, with a mix of soothing down tempo folk melodies and catchy upbeat repetitions. The page features a spinning vinyl, with track names to the left as the album is played from start to finish. There is no skip option, no button but pause, and a simple thumbnail of the album artwork in the upper left hand corner. Not only does this give listeners a chance to listen the way the album was intended--from start to finish--but I would venture to say that it's an awesome promotional tool for the upcoming September release. Just as Radiohead released In Rainbows as a free download, and then decided to release King of Limbs days before its intended release date, the free streaming from Wilco only makes fans more excited. In the digital age, why not? 12 tracks and a bonus of pure bliss. Enjoy!

Expect even more intriguing sounds to be playing through Kara's Headphones.

Peace.Love.Music

Kara Ali

Changes for the Summer!

Hello All--

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. In the midst of finals at Northwestern U and moving back to the east coast for the summer it has been a pretty hectic few weeks. I finished up sound design ona couple of movies, had a few awesome end of the year gigs with my new band The Cables, and wrapped things up in Evanston for the year.

As of this past Thursday, I started my summer internship at Nettwerk Music Group, a company that takes on the role of Record Label, Artist Management, TV and Film Distribution, Publishing and Marketing. Nettwerk has worked with such artists as Sarah McLachlan, Shiny Toy Guns, Guster, William Fitzsimmons, Nneka, The Submarines, and Ladytron just to name a few. The company started in Vancouver but has offices in New York, London, Germany, LA, and Boston to widen its reach and involvement.

Interning at Nettwerk is an incredibly exciting opportunity to further my knowledge of the music industry and widen my skill set in various areas. As part of my internship, I am actually required to keep a blog, and thus will probably be reporting on here less during the next few months. Although I may update this page with new information regarding The Cables and some acoustic gigs in NY that I am planning, you can follow me for the summer at Kara's Summer Phones.

Peace.Love.Music

Kara Ali