Merge Records

Caribou

Caribou
About a year ago, Caribou mastermind Dan Snaith couldn't swim. On a good day, he might get a decent doggy paddle going but, really, he could barely stay afloat. All that changed when his wife got him swimming lessons for Christmas. "Then I became completely obsessed with it and now I swim constantly," he says. "The only times I really left the house in the past year were either to go out to a club late at night or, in the middle of making music during the day, I'd go to swim every day. It was important to get some distance, and ideas would percolate around in my head as I was swimming away. So it seemed like a theme that was appropriate."

With its absorption of club culture sounds weaved within subtle pop frameworks, Swim is Caribou's masterpiece-the record he's wanted to bring to fruition for as long as he's been making music. A Canadian from small-town Ontario now based in England, Snaith has been a leading figure in electronic music over the past decade. A mathematics scholar and an ingenious multi-instrumentalist/composer, he surprised critics and fans with 2007's Andorra, a brilliant, electro-tinged pop breakthrough with a timeless grace that made most year-end "Best of" lists and won Canada's prestigious Polaris Music Prize. After the startling infectiousness of Andorra, Swim is a more complex, multi-layered affair-ripe with fascinating rhythms, instrumentation, and vocals (including those of Born Ruffians' Luke Lalonde, who appears on "Jamelia")-that becomes more alluring with each listen. And it's got Caribou floating.

"The real substance of the sound of the record for me is this idea of making dance music that consists of liquid elements," Snaith explains. "Rather than sounding metallic and rigid, everything is washing around you while you're listening to it - from one ear to another - but also the pitch is oscillating up and down, and each instrument is going in and out of tune with everything else. Sounds are emerging and disappearing, like everything is made out of water. Dance music is very much associated with very crisp, metallic, clean sounds. I like this idea of dance music that just washes around with fluidity." "I feel like it's the most 'me' album that I've made," Snaith continues. "In the past, oftentimes part of the excitement of making music for me was hearing someone else's music-some long-forgotten record from the past-and deciphering how to make those sounds and incorporate those ideas into something of my own. This record is much less a product of its influences. I think this is the record that I'm most proud of because it's the most 'me' in the way things sound; I feel like I have my own vocabulary now. So much of contemporary music is soaked in referencing this or that. I wanted people to put the record on and not be able to say, 'This sounds like so- and- so.' I want people to say, 'This sounds like Dan!' It's what everybody wants-to have their fingerprint on the music they're making. I feel like I've achieved that to a greater extent than I have in the past, and that's exciting."

caribou.fm
myspace.com/cariboumanitoba
08/12/10
Caribou will return to North America next month for the second string of North American dates in support their latest release, Swim.

The full Caribou band have been on tour all over the world for most of 2010 in support of their Polaris-prize nominated album, Swim. Visit their website for photos and videos from the road, including a ride on the Great Wall of China, and follow them on twitter! Also, watch their recently released video for “Sun.”

Swim is available on CD, dbl-LP and digital download in the Merge store.

Swim is a reminder that even at his most challenging, the man’s compositional capabilities can dazzle.” – Pitchfork

Caribou on tour:
Sep 14 Guelph ON – Ebar^
Sep 15 Ottawa ON – Babylon ^
Sep 16 Montreal PQ – National^
Sep 17 Toronto ON – Phoenix ^
Sep 18 London ON – Lolafest @ Victorias Park
Sep 19 Boston MA – Paradise*
Sep 22 New York, NY – Webster Hall*
Sep 23 Washington DC – Black Cat*
Sep 24 Cincinnati OH – Midpoint Music Festival
Sep 25 Champaign IL – Pygmalion Music Festival
Sep 26 Chicago IL – Metro*
Sep 27 Minneapolis MN – First Avenue*
Sep 28 Winnipeg MB – West End Cultural Center*
Sep 29 Saskatoon SK – Amigos*
Sep 30 Edmonton AB – Starlite*
Oct 01 Calgary AB – Republik*
Oct 03 Vancouver BC – Vogue*
Oct 04 Seattle WA – Showbox*
Oct 05 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom *
Oct 06 San Francisco CA – Regency*
Oct 07 Los Angeles CA – Dance Right @ La Cita
Oct 08 Los Angeles CA – Music Box*
Oct 09 Tempe AZ – The Clubhouse
Oct 11 Salt Lake City UT – Urban Lounge
Oct 12 Boulder CO – Fox Theatre*
Oct 14 Austin TX – La Zona Rosa
Oct 15 Baton Rouge LA – Spanish Moon
Oct 16 Tallahassee FL – Engine Room
Oct 17 Tampa FL – Crowbar
Oct 18 Orlando FL – Backbooth
Oct 19 Miami FL – Grand Central
Oct 21 Guanajuanto, Mexico – Mutek/Cervantino Festival
Oct 23 Santiago, Chile – Festival Fauna Primavera
Oct 27 Sao Paulo, BR – Clash Club
Oct 28 Bogota, Colombia – Downtown
Oct 30 Asheville NC – Moog Festival
Oct 31 Chapel Hill NC – Cat’s Cradle*
^With Russian Futurists
*With Emeralds

05/10/10
Caribou are playing tonight in Washington, DC at the Rock and Roll Hotel. The show is sold out, but thanks to NPR Music, you can stream the entire set live from the comfort of your own home! Check back tomorrow to download the archive, too!

Congratulations to Caribou for their first debut on the Billboard Top 200 with the release of Swim last month! The critics are raving with Pitchfork deeming Swim “Best New Music” and declaring “Swim is a reminder that even at his most challenging, Snaith’s compositional capabilities can dazzle.”

Order Swim on CD, dbl-LP, or digital download now in the Merge store.

04/09/10
Caribou is challenging fans to a remix contest of the song “Sun” from their forthcoming new album, Swim.

Visit SoundCloud for the song parts and further details on how to enter. The contest ends May 7, and winners will receive Swim on double-LP and CD along with an “Odessa” 12-inch, a t-shirt and two tickets to a Caribou show near you.

Pre-orders are available now for Swim on CD and double-LP in the Merge store, and a special digital pre-order at iTunes which includes an exclusive Junior Boys remix of “Odessa.”

03/05/10
Caribou has announced their world tour that begins in Manchester, England on April 19th. The North American leg of the tour will begin on May 3rd in Toronto. Caribou’s new album, Swim will be released on April 20 and is available for pre-order now in the Merge store on CD and double-LP.

On this tour, you will also see a dramatic difference in the Caribou live performance. Now that technology has finally caught up to Dan’s ambitions for the band’s show, while it will still be four musicians on stage, the dynamic interplay between visuals, electronics and the live sound is totally pliable.

“Now we can play the mix onstage like a dub mixer would – but even moreso than a Lee Perry because almost everything can be manipulated – not just the things that are controlled on a recording studio mixing desk. We can get that washing-around feeling and the unpredictability of sounds undergoing changes all the time.”

CARIBOU TOUR DATES

Apr 19 MANCHESTER – Deaf Institute
Apr 20 LONDON – Corsica Studios
Apr 21 AMSTERDAM – Paradiso
Apr 22 BRUSSELS – Beursschouwburg
Apr 23 PARIS – Le Point Ephemere
Apr 24 LAUSANNE – Le Romandie
Apr 25 ST. GALLEN – Palace
Apr 26 MILAN – Magnolia
Apr 27 MUNICH – Feierwerk
Apr 28 BERLIN – Berghain
Apr 29 HAMBURG – Prinzenbar
Apr 30 AARHUS – Pop Revo Festival
May 01 STOCKHOLM – Strand
May 03 TORONTO, ON – Phoenix
May 04 OTTAWA, ON – Babylon
May 05 MONTREAL, PQ – Tulipe
May 06 BOSTON, MA – Middle East Downstairs
May 07 BROOKLYN, NY – Music Hall
May 08 NEW YORK, NY – Bowery Ballroom
May 09 PHILADELPHIA, PA – First Unitarian
May 10 WASHINGTON, DC – RNR Hotel
May 11 CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Jefferson
May 12 CHAPEL HILL, NC – Cat’s Cradle
May 13 ATLANTA, GA – Earl
May 14 BATON ROUGE, LA – Spanish Moon
May 15 HOUSTON, TX – Warehouse Live Studio
May 16 AUSTIN, TX – Emo’s
May 18 PHOENIX, AZ – Clubhouse
May 19 LOS ANGELES, CA – El Rey
May 20 SAN DIEGO, CA – Casbah
May 21 MEXICO CITY, MX – Teatro Fru Fru
May 24 SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Independent
May 26 PORTLAND, OR – Hawthorne
May 28 VICTORIA, BC – Sugar
May 29 VANCOUVER, BC – Rickshaw
May 30 GEORGE, WA – Sasquatch
May 31 CALGARY, AB – Republik
Jun 01 EDMONTON, AB – Starlite
Jun 02 SASKATOON, SK – Amigo’s
Jun 03 WINNIPEG, MB – Royal Albert Arms
Jun 04 MINNEAPOLIS, MN – 7th St Entry
Jun 05 DAVENPORT, IA – Rock Island Brewing Co.
Jun 07 ST. LOUIS, MO – Firebird
Jun 08 LOUISVILLE, KY – Zanzabar
Jun 09 CLEVELAND, OH – Grog Shop
Jun 10 HAMILTON, ON – Casbah
Jun 11 HALIFAX, NS – Paragon

01/25/10
Today, Caribou announced the release of their new album, Swim on April 20th.

Caribou mastermind Dan Snaith’s latest recording sees him getting busy in the basement with some expertly constructed, rave-tinged sounds that sing with soul. But that’s not all. As a songwriter of considerable standing, Snaith has not subsumed his uniquely recognizable touch in an orgy of technical bliss – although, there is plenty of euphoria in the musical alchemy on offer. From Snaith’s perspective, he says, “The most important thing for me with this record was finding my own sonic vocabulary. That’s why I’m proud of this record.”

Visit Caribou.fm to download, “Odessa” the first MP3 from Swim!

Tracklisting:
1. Odessa
2. Sun
3. Kaili
4. Found Out
5. Bowls
6. Leave House
7. Hannibal
8. Lalibela
9. Jamelia

05/12/09
Caribou mastermind, Dan Snaith took a break from recording the new Caribou album to update us on a few happenings this summer:


I’ve just added some summer festivals and DJ sets to our Live Dates. Hope to see you there!


In particular, the Flaming Lips have invited us to play at their ATP New York festival on September 13th. We’ve put together a special 14-piece band, named Caribou Vibration Ensemble, to play this show and a show at the Opera House in Toronto on Sept 10th.

Caribou Vibration Ensemble features Kieran Hebden (Four Tet, Fridge, Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid), Koushik (Stones Throw Records), John Schmersal (Enon, Brainiac), Kathryn Bint (One Little Plane), Ahmed Gallab (Sinkane), a four piece horn section, choir, four drummers, etc.

In addition, for the ATP show only, we will be joined by MARSHALL ALLEN, Sun Ra Arkestra leader and Arkestra member for over 50 years!

At both shows we will be playing new and old Caribou songs reworked to make the most of this special line-up.


Also I’ve just done a remix of Cortney Tidwell’s track ‘Watusii’ under the name Daphni. It’s out on City Slang shortly.

Finally, Andy Lloyd who has played bass with us these last couple years is unfortunately not going to be playing with us in the future (apart from the Caribou Vibration Ensemble shows) as he’s now touring with our friends Born Ruffians. Andy is a dear friend and a great musician and will be sorely missed but we are very lucky that John Schmersal (Enon, Brainiac) will be joining Caribou and playing bass and singing with us from now on – starting with the upcoming shows this summer.

I think that’s it for now. Hope to see you at a show,

Dan

09.14.2010 Guelph, ON Ebar
09.15.2010 Ottawa, ON Babylon
09.16.2010 Montreal, QC Le National
09.17.2010 Toronto, ON The Drake DJ Set
09.17.2010 Toronto, ON Phoenix Theatre
09.18.2010 London, ON Victoria Park Bandshell
09.19.2010 Boston, MA Paradise w/ Holy Fuck
09.21.2010 New York, NY Le Souk Blackout Party - DJ Set
09.22.2010 New York, NY Webster Hall
09.23.2010 Washington, DC Black Cat
09.24.2010 Cincinnati, OH Midpoint Music Festival
09.25.2010 Champaign-Urbana, IL Canopy Club @ Pygmalion Festival
09.26.2010 Chicago, IL Metro
09.27.2010 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
09.28.2010 Winnipeg, MB West End Cultural Centre
09.29.2010 Saskatoon, SK Amigos
09.30.2010 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room
10.01.2010 Toronto, ON Republik
10.03.2010 Vancouver, BC Vogue Theatre
10.04.2010 Seattle, WA Showbox at the Market
10.05.2010 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom
10.07.2010 Los Angeles, CA La Cita
10.08.2010 Los Angeles, CA The Music Box at Fonda
10.09.2010 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse
10.11.2010 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
10.12.2010 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
10.14.2010 Austin, TX La Zona Rosa
10.15.2010 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
10.16.2010 Tallasassee, FL The Engine Room
10.17.2010 Tampa, FL Crowbar
10.18.2010 Orlando, FL Backbooth
10.19.2010 Miami, FL Grand Central
10.21.2010 Guanajuato, Mexico Mutek/Cervantino Festival
10.23.2010 Santiago, Chili Salon Tudor
10.27.2010 Sao Palo, Brazil Clash Club
10.28.2010 Bogota, Columbia Downtown
10.30.2010 Asheville, NC Asheville Civic Center Moog Fest
10.31.2010 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
People Eating Fruit single - Leaf 2004
Paul's Birthday single - Leaf 2001
Start Breaking My Heart CD/LP - Leaf 2001
Give'r single - Leaf 2001
If Assholes Could Fly This Would be an Airport single - Leaf 2003
Jacknuggeted single - Leaf 2003
Up in Flames CD/LP - Leaf 2003
Hendrix with KO single - Leaf 2003
Special Edition EP CD single - Leaf 2003
Up in Flames Special Edition double CD - Leaf 2003
Barnowl 12" single - Leaf 2005
Yeti 12" single/CD single - Leaf 2005
Tour CD CD - 2005
The Milk of Human Kindness CD/LP - Leaf 2005
Marino. The Videos DVD/Video - Leaf 2005
Andorra CD/LP - Merge Records 2007
Swim CD/DBL-LP - Merge Records 2010
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On Tour

Arcade Fire [+]

September
02 Bologna Arena Parco Nord
10 Mexico City Palacio de los Deportes
22 St. Paul, MN Roy Wilkins Auditorium
23 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
25 Saskatoon Credit Union Centre
[see all]

Lou Barlow [+]

September
02 Cambridge, MA Middle East
03 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's
04 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's

Richard Buckner [+]

September
07 Charlottesville, VA The Southern
08 Asheville, NC The Grey Eagle
09 Columbia, SC Columbia Museum of Art
10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Music Festival
11 Charlotte, NC Evening Muse
[see all]

Caribou [+]

September
14 Guelph, ON Ebar
15 Ottawa, ON Babylon
16 Montreal, QC Le National
17 Toronto, ON The Drake
17 Toronto, ON Phoenix Theatre
[see all]

The Clean [+]

September
28 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
29 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
30 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge
October
02 Lawrence, KS Granada Theater - SCION Festival
04 San Francisco, CA The Independent
[see all]

The Clientele [+]

September
06 Seattle, WA Bumbershoot
07 Portland, OR Doug Fir
09 Oakland, CA New Parish
10 San Francisco, CA Independent
11 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex
[see all]

Fucked Up [+]

September
05 Monticello, NY All Tomorrow's Parties
09 Washington, DC Rock n' Roll Hotel
10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival
11 Atlanta, GA The Drunken Unicorn
12 Charlotte, NC Amos Southend
[see all]

Lambchop [+]

November
11 Berlin Admiralspalast - 20 Years of City Slang
22 Katowice Ars Cameralis Festival
24 Zagreb Kino SC
25 Munich Amerikahaus
27 Copenhagen DR Concert House
[see all]

Let's Wrestle [+]

September
04 Los Angeles, CA FYF Fest
05 Santa Barbara, CA Club Mercy Presents
06 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
08 Seattle, WA Neumo's
09 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre
[see all]

The Love Language [+]

September
03 Atlanta, GA The Earl
03 Atlanta, GA Criminal Records
04 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theatre
09 Winston Salem, NC Earshot Records
09 Winston Salem, NC Krankies
[see all]

Conor Oberst [+]

September
28 Pioneertown, CA Pappy & Harriets
30 Santa Barbara, CA Soho in SB
October
01 Big Sur, CA Fernwood
02 San Francisco, CA Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

Polvo [+]

November
05 Baton Rouge, LA Spanish Moon
06 Houston, TX Fitzgerald's Downstairs
07 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest at Waterloo

Radar Bros. [+]

September
24 Montreal, QC Le National
25 Boston, MA Royale
27 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
28 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
October
01 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre
[see all]

The Rosebuds [+]

September
10 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival

Shark Quest [+]

October
09 Carrboro, NC Carrboro ArtsCenter

She & Him [+]

September
05 Los Angeles, CA Paramount Studios
October
17 San Francisco, CA Treasure Island
22 Portland, OR Schnitzer Hall
23 Seattle, WA City Arts Music Festival - 5th Avenue Theatre
24 Vancouver, BC The Orpheum

Spoon [+]

September
11 Harrisburg, PA The Forum
12 Clark, NJ Oak Ridge Park
13 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
30 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Palladium
October
01 San Diego, CA Soma
[see all]

Superchunk [+]

September
16 Durham, NC The Nasher Museum of Art
17 Washington 9:30 Club
18 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
19 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
21 Boston, MA Royale
[see all]

Teenage Fanclub [+]

September
22 Toronto, ON The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
23 Toronto, ON The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern
24 Montreal, QC Le National
25 Boston, MA Royale
27 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
[see all]

Telekinesis [+]

September
02 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
03 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
04 Toronto, ON El Mocambo
06 Montreal, QC Casa Del Popolo
07 Cambridge, MA TT The Bear's
[see all]

Versus [+]

September
21 Boston, MA Royale
22 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre

Wye Oak [+]

September
02 Cambridge, MA Middle East
03 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's
04 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
October
04 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
05 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
[see all]
see all tour dates

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