Besides co-creating the awesome Mental Beast web series and curating Vancouver's annual Music Waste festival, man-about-town Cameron Reed has also been hard at work with his electronic project, Babe Rainbow. Under that moniker, Reed's hazy experiments in dub-step and otherworldly soundscapes have earned some serious blog love across the spectrum, including a write-up in our own Click Hear section in July. Now, he has told us that he'll be releasing his debut EP on legendary electronic imprint Warp Records this February.
In an interview with Exclaim!, Reed says the deal sprang from his willingness to share his songs online. "All of my output, I put up on my blog and made available for free download," he explains. "In the summer, I received an email from Warp asking what my plans were for releasing my music. After a while of emailing them updates and new songs they expressed an interest in releasing an EP. I screamed hysterically at my laptop for a couple minutes and then wrote back."
While there's no question that Babe Rainbow was making waves all over the place, signing with Warp was an easy decision for Reed. "They are undeniably one of the most acclaimed and well-respected labels in the world," he says. "The amount of progressive, genre-defying/creative music that has been released on that imprint is staggering. I just feel so fortunate to be in such company."
Warp will release Babe Rainbow's Warped debut, called the Shaved EP, on February 9 in North America and a day earlier in the UK. Reed is currently working on a number of projects to promote the release, including a mixtape of new songs, a music video for his track "Shaved," a remix of the Midnight Juggernauts single "This New Technology" that will be released on Vancouver's Acephale Records (which has released records by Memory Tapes, Salem, CFCF) and a series of seven 30-second shorts with the city's Salazar collective, who have done videos for Metronomy, Fan Death and Dandi Wind. Look for those shorts on the Babe Rainbow site leading up to the EP's release.
In terms of what upcoming material will sound like, even Reed doesn't know. "I'm just trying something new every time I sit down to produce so I don't even know what to expect from Babe Rainbow," he says.
Also, if you're in Vancouver, Mental Beast will be holding its Christmas party and compilation release at the Biltmore tonight (December 18), when you'll have a chance to fill up on holiday performances from Brasstronaut, Machu Pichu, Fine Mist, Makeout Videotape, World Club, Needles & Pins, Analog Bell Service, Rose Melberg, Basketball, Tight Solid, Vancougar and Apollo Ghosts. And if not, you can still download to charity Xmas comp here.
Babe Rainbow's Shaved EP:
1. "Popcommon"
2. "Screwby"
3. "Combed"
4. "Care"
5. "Tummy Sticks"
6. "Celebrate"
7. "Shaved"
In an interview with Exclaim!, Reed says the deal sprang from his willingness to share his songs online. "All of my output, I put up on my blog and made available for free download," he explains. "In the summer, I received an email from Warp asking what my plans were for releasing my music. After a while of emailing them updates and new songs they expressed an interest in releasing an EP. I screamed hysterically at my laptop for a couple minutes and then wrote back."
While there's no question that Babe Rainbow was making waves all over the place, signing with Warp was an easy decision for Reed. "They are undeniably one of the most acclaimed and well-respected labels in the world," he says. "The amount of progressive, genre-defying/creative music that has been released on that imprint is staggering. I just feel so fortunate to be in such company."
Warp will release Babe Rainbow's Warped debut, called the Shaved EP, on February 9 in North America and a day earlier in the UK. Reed is currently working on a number of projects to promote the release, including a mixtape of new songs, a music video for his track "Shaved," a remix of the Midnight Juggernauts single "This New Technology" that will be released on Vancouver's Acephale Records (which has released records by Memory Tapes, Salem, CFCF) and a series of seven 30-second shorts with the city's Salazar collective, who have done videos for Metronomy, Fan Death and Dandi Wind. Look for those shorts on the Babe Rainbow site leading up to the EP's release.
In terms of what upcoming material will sound like, even Reed doesn't know. "I'm just trying something new every time I sit down to produce so I don't even know what to expect from Babe Rainbow," he says.
Also, if you're in Vancouver, Mental Beast will be holding its Christmas party and compilation release at the Biltmore tonight (December 18), when you'll have a chance to fill up on holiday performances from Brasstronaut, Machu Pichu, Fine Mist, Makeout Videotape, World Club, Needles & Pins, Analog Bell Service, Rose Melberg, Basketball, Tight Solid, Vancougar and Apollo Ghosts. And if not, you can still download to charity Xmas comp here.
Babe Rainbow's Shaved EP:
1. "Popcommon"
2. "Screwby"
3. "Combed"
4. "Care"
5. "Tummy Sticks"
6. "Celebrate"
7. "Shaved"
