The Bulletin: Arts & Culture News | 17 April

NEW DOCUMENTARIES: THE STONE ROSES, THE NATIONAL
Made of Stone is a new documentary about The Stone Roses, directed by celebrated UK film-maker Shane Meadows (This is England, Dead Man's Shoes). Meadows followed the band for a year from the very start of their 2012 reunion, with unprecedented access to archive footage from their early career, and to the band themselves as they began to prepare for their homecoming gig at Manchester's Heaton Park, where they played to more than 200,000 fans.

The legacy of The Stone Roses as one of Britain's best-loved bands is unquestionable – they were one of the defining bands of the 'baggy' era of Manchester's musical history, alongside the likes of Happy Mondays and the Inspiral Carpets. Embraced by the dance music fraternity as well as rock'n'roll fans for tracks like Fools' Gold. Made of Stone examines their lives, their careers and their lasting influence on British music. 

Meadows described the personal and wider cultural significance of the film, saying: "Making this film, I got to be part of something truly remarkable, the double decade awaited ‘resurrection’ of my all time favourite band, The Stone Roses... The Roses were never allowed to reach their peak first time around so as far as I and millions of fans around the world were concerned, with this comeback the Roses could be even greater.“This film isn’t a history lesson, nor is it a two hour concert film. It is a film about defying the odds, sticking it to the man and telling the cynics to shut their pie-holes! The Stone Roses are back baby!” The film opens on 5 June.

Also preparing to release their own 'rockumentary' are Brooklyn-based indie band The National. Their film, entitled Mistaken for Strangers, follows the band on the road throughout 2010, and was directed by Tom Berninger, brother of singer Matt Berninger. Tom explained the genesis of the documentary, saying: "When my brother asked me along on tour as a roadie, I thought I might as well bring a camera to film the experience. What started as a pretty modest tour documentary has, over the last two and a half years, grown into something much more personal, and hopefully more entertaining.” The National return to the UK in November to play two nights at the Manchester Apollo on 11 and 12 November. Their new album, Trouble Will Find Me, is out on 21 May.

NEW MUSIC: AIDAN BAKER, CAMERA OBSCURA, THUNDERCAT, POLICA, GOLD PANDA, OPTIMO, WRONG ISLAND
Experimental post-rock performer Aidan Baker has a new album out this week – Already Drowned sees the mastermind behind Nadja and ARC inspired by folk tales, myths and legends about female water spirits. The whole album is available to stream below.

Glaswegian indie-pop legends Camera Obscura are all set to return to the live arena, with their fifth studio album Desire Lines slated for a 3 June release on 4AD. The band were affiliated with Belle & Sebastian in the early 00s, with Stuart Murdoch producing their 2001 debut. They were championed by John Peel, and were highly regarded among the Scottish indie fraternity, with their name being mentioned alongside everyone from Orange Juice to The Pastels. The first track to be revealed to the public from Desire Lines is Do It Again.

The much-anticipated new album from Brainfeeder signing Thundercat has been executive produced by label boss Flying Lotus. Apocalypse is out on 8 July. A bassist, singer and songwriter, Stephen Bruner has been using the Thundercat alias since 2011, but has also been a player on FlyLo's Cosmogramma, and on tracks by Erykah Badu and Suicidal Tendencies, among others. Brainfeeder describe his new album as "a fusion of pop, soul, electronica, prog rock and funk."  

Poliça's new track features Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. It hasn't been confirmed if the track will feature on an upcoming release from the band, but it is now available to buy on iTunes, after premiering at Coachella last week. 

Gold Panda has revealed a track from his forthcoming album Half Of Where You Live, due out on 10 June via his own label NOTOWN and Ghostly International. It's available for pre-order now.

From Glasgow, we bring you news of an exciting new compilation from Optimo head honcho JD Twitch. The Underground Sound of Glasgow will feature tracks from the length and breadth of the vibrant and diverse Glasgow music scene. "Glasgow is a relatively small city but has always had a very vibrant nightlife with wildly enthusiastic audiences,” states Twitch. Bands and producers featured include Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat, remixed by Twitch himself, a collaboration between Planet Mu star Konx-Om-Pax and electro veteran / Machines In Heaven member Magic Daddy, Highlife's Auntie Flo, and Golden Teacher, the collaboration between Silk Cut and members of Ultimate Thrush. The compilation is out on May 6.

Another Glasgow set of clubbing legends are also gearing up for a new release - the duo behind long-running hedonism-fest Wrong Island, Teamy and Larry, are in the process of pressing up their first vinyl, to be released under the title of M|O|ON EP, by producer Stephen Gilarde. Pre-order their 4-track vinyl by sending an email to communications@wrongisland.co.uk.

NEW VIDEOS: MARK LANEGAN & MOBY, SMALL BLACK, AZEALIA BANKS
Mark Lanegan, Screaming Trees founder, collaborator with Isobel Campbell, and itinerant member of Queens of the Stone Age, has added another notch to his bedpost of collaborations – his latest track is a hookup with hairless electronic producer Moby. The collaboration will be released on a limited edition 7" for Record Store Day.  

Brooklyn-based outfit Small Black caught the world's attention last year with their fantastic Moon Killer mixtape, on which the band mixed hip-hop beats with dreampop and shoegaze to create a hypnotic, involving journey. They're back with a new album (their second proper, not counting the mixtape): Limits of Desire is out on 13 May. 

Azealia Banks is coming to T in the Park this year, and her new video for the Lil' Internet-produced Yung Rapunxel,taken from her forthcoming debut album, shows why she's not to be dismissed as mere pop fluff. It seems like she's been leafing through the Death Grips playbook, with distorted, shouted vocal riffs and nightmare-inducing visuals.

FESTIVAL WATCH: ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES, BLOODSTOCK, TERRANEO, SUPERNORMAL, LATITUDE, UNKNOWN, STAG & DAGGER
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have been announced as the headliners for All Tomorrow's Parties in Iceland (28-29 Jun), joining the likes of Chelsea Light Moving and The Fall. Details and tickets here. Metal-fest Bloodstock (8-11 Aug) has added a few new names, including Exodus, Death Angel and 3 Inches of Blood. Details and tickets here. 

Terraneo (7-9 Aug) is a new festival happening this Summer in Croatia, featuring the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Azealia Banks and Calexico. Details and tickets here. Meanwhile Supernormal (9-11 Aug) is taking place in Oxfordshire, and will feature Hookworms, Mugstar, Bass Clef, Shit and Shine and Richard Dawson. It's a non-profit festival, with tickets an absolute steal at £50 for the weekend. Details here, and watch the preview below.

SUPERNORMAL TRAILER 2013 from Andy Moore on Vimeo.

Latitude (18-21 Jul) has gained a few new names too - Grzzly Bear, Tim Burgess, Ed Harcourt and British Sea Power join headliners Kraftwerk and Foals for the Suffolk-based festival. Details and tickets here. Unknown (10-14 Sep), another Croatian festival, has also added a few acts to its bill, including Factory Floor, Richie Hawtin, Nina Kraviz and The Horrors. Details and tickets here.

Finally, a few more details have emerged about Glasgow's annual Stag & Dagger one-day festival, taking place at venues across the city on 18 May. The first wave of acts to be announced includes Fatherson, How To Dress Well, Hudson Taylor, Kitty the Lion, Mac DeMarco, Temples, United Fruit, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Widowspeak, and Wolf People. Details and tickets here.

ON TOUR: TRAIL OF DEAD
A quick roundup of tour news - ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are on their way around the UK as we speak, coming to Manchester's The Academy on Friday (19 Apr), before playing Glasgow's SWG3 this weekend (20 Apr – which happens to be Record Store Day). The band's Jason Reece recently wrote this love letter to his favoruite shop back home in Texas for our current issue.

COACHELLA ROUNDUP: JAMES BLAKE, TAME IMPALA
The much talked about Coachella Festival's first 2013 outing took plave last week, playing host to revellers from around the US, and seeing headline sets from the likes of Wu-Tang Clan and Red Hot Chili Peppers. A few videos have surfaced showing several performances from the weekend  – check out these clips of James Blake and Tame Impala below. 

FREE DOWNLOAD OF MOOG'S FILTRATION APP – TODAY ONLY
Less than a decade ago, the idea that you could have a complete DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) on your phone would have seemed like the stuff of science fiction. Now, there are a whole host of apps for making beats while you're on the go. The latest is synth pioneers Moog's Filtration app, which lets you control samples and inputs through a variety of filters and effects. It's available for today only as a free download for iOS users. Grab it here, and enjoy! Here's a track created with the app.