TICKETS TO THIS year’s Pitchfork Music Festival went on sale earlier than usual—in fact, you could buy discounted three-day passes as of 12/21. The three-day event will be held the weekend of Fri 7/19 in Union Park, and though the lineup hasn’t been announced, this Wolf has a few guesses about who might play: noise-rap provocateurs Death Grips, British R&B singer Jessie Ware, Florida postpunks Merchandise, foodie MC Action Bronson, Toronto grunge trio Metz, downer R&B group the XX, San Francisco metal band Deafheaven, and local singer-songwriter Angel Olsen.
Chicago sound artist Nicholas Szczepanik has earned kudos from the likes of Pitchfork and Anti-Gravity Bunny—he dominates the latter’s annual “best drones” list—as well as Twitter shout-outs and solicitations for collaboration from hip peeps such as ghost-soul crooner How to Dress Well. On Christmas Eve he swerved into Saint Nick’s lane and dropped what he says is “the only full-length piece I recorded this year,” a 43-minute track/album called La Luna del Este, which sent fans of dreamy long-form loops scurrying for a download. La Luna del Este is available on Bandcamp for whatever you care to pay, even zilch, but this Wolf thinks you should kick Szczepanik some bucks—he deserves it for making such infinitely pleasing music.
The folks behind local labels Pretty All Right and Teen River recently banded together to launch Lake Paradise, an imprint focused on vinyl, and the LP team already have their first three releases lined up. The first is “No Luck” b/w “Fading Out,” a seven-inch by Humboldt Park bedroom-pop artist J. Fernandez that’s available now; Lake Paradise also plans to drop a full-length by local experimental rockers Mines and an LP by synth-pop project Potions. Those three acts perform at a DIY space on Fri 1/4, along with Wume and the Hecks; e-mail lakeparadiserecords@gmail.com for info. —J.R. Nelson and Leor Galil
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