At nearly 400 pages of full-color artwork and editorial, Chromatic: The Crossroads of Color and Music is a dynamic print presentation of independent musicians and artists who are using or exploring color in unorthodox ways. It’s a highly saturated, prismatic presentation of some of today’s most adventurous underground artists, including Sonny Kay, Seripop, John Zorn, Daft Punk, Sigur Rós front-man Jónsi, Blue Man Group, The Zhou Brothers, Ratatat, Holy Fuck, Damon Locks of The Eternals, Rob Mazurek, NewVillager, Andy Gilmore, and many others.

Order a regular edition today ($40) and secure free domestic shipping, or snag a copy of our limited-edition hardcover ($60, also with free domestic shipping), which is limited to 200 signed and numbered copies and 200 unsigned.

Over the course of Chromatic's 12 chapters, readers are introduced to:

- Performers who saturate their stage shows in vibrant shades

- Musicians who create concept albums based on color

- Kaleidoscopic, polychromatic cover art

- Composers and other famous musicians who experience musical synesthesia, the involuntary intersection of senses where someone might “see” notes as different colors or shapes

- Special guest editors and featured artists who share their inspirations

- The concept of audible color

- Wild illustrations of musical notes translated into hues to create elaborate geometric works of art

- Bands photographed in their favorite hues

The Eternals: "War's Blazing Disciples"

Damon Locks — frontman for experimental dub-punk band The Eternals, former member of Trenchmouth, and part-time member of Exploding Star Orchestra – is an accomplished visual artist in addition to being an accomplished musician. For ALARM's newest book, Chromatic, Locks curated a section of handmade mix-tape art. In addition, his sociopolitical mixed-media art is featured alongside a story that details his upbringing, influences, and guiding principles. Here, Locks compiles a playlist of tunes that he repeatedly turns to for inspiration.

The Uncompromising Art
by Damon Locks

I side with the ones that follow their hearts,
Not the ones making due rather than making art

These 10 tracks are tunes that inspire me to make work both visual and musical and to trust in the creative process. Upon every listen, these pieces always feel so kinetic and vital. The music business is now so savvy and marketing is so embedded into the processes of music-making that the impetus to make most music generally feels (and sounds) suspect. I wanted to put a list of tunes together whose intentions felt truthful and without an eye for its profitability.

1. Eddie Gale: "Song of Will"

A spiritual and uplifting female vocal chorus crescendos to reveal a cacophonous horn melody that punctuates and empowers.

2. Elis Regina & Zimbo Trio: "Zambi"

The amazing Elis Regina doing the Edu Lobo tune sends shivers with its intensity and beauty.

3. Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou: " Ballad of the Spirits"

A piano piece by an Ethiopian nun whose music is forlorn and magical, feeling at once familiar and fantastic.

4. Missing Brazilians: "Missing Brazilians"

A mystery. A constant question. A connection and a revelation.

5. Archie Shepp: "Attica Blues"

I just discovered this song last year. It seems so unbelievable that this tune has eluded me for all of these years. Inspirational and charged.

6. Sun Ra: "Love In Outer Space"

My favorite version is the instrumental from Out There a Minute. It is haunting and lovely…so lyrical and melancholy.

7. Voices of East Harlem: "Run Shaker Life"

An incredible, amped-up version of the tune originally by Richie Havens.

8. The Specials: "Ghost Town"

The Specials' finest hour. Dark and hopeless.

9. Mix Master Mike: "Cummm Get Summm"

Mix Master Mike's Anti-Theft Device and Return of the Cyklops are criminally overlooked masterpieces. This tune is a great example of his brilliance.

10. Philip Cohran And The Artistic Heritage Ensemble: "The Spanish Suite"

Listen to snippet here

With a run time of around 40 minutes, this is a major piece of work by Phil Cohran. The recording quality lacks initially, but the work as a whole is an incredible experience.

Mogwai: Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (Sub Pop)

Mogwai: "Rano Pano"

Mogwai, everyone’s favorite Glaswegian post-rock quintet, recently celebrated 15 years together, and during that span, its nearly unaltered lineup has been as consistent as its mid-tempo rock instrumentals. The band’s sound has changed along the way, including intermittent vocal activity, but by and large, fans know what to expect: reverberated guitar melodies, glimmering keyboard lines, steady beats, and lots of fuzz.

Along the way, the band has shifted a bit from hypnotic, repetitive guitar lines to have songs with more conventional rock leads, and a prime example is “How to Be a Werewolf” from its seventh and newest full-length album, Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will. Still, nothing here will take listeners by surprise. It’s another 10 tracks of roughly five-minute instrumentals, with a smattering of highlights – a ghostly guitar/keyboard line in triplicate, an upbeat rock track with a half-time breakdown, and a sunny yet sludgy bass melody.

Mophono: Cut Form Crush LP (CB Records)

Mophono: "Be Human Part One"

Another of the up-and-coming DJs/producers from San Francisco’s beat scene, Mophono (also known as DJ Centipede) has just released a neck-breaking full-length debut called Cut Form Crush.  It follows a handful of EPs and remixes that were scattered over the past six years, but outside of beat junkies, it likely is an introduction for most listeners.

Released on Mophono’s own CB Records, Cut Form Crush is an LP/digital-only release where Moog bleeps meet hard hip-hop beats, jazzy fills, heavy funk cuts, and fanatical synth hooks.  Though it features guest spots by Flying Lotus and MC Subverse, Mophono does all of the heavy lifting, splicing samples over boom-bap beats and spacey dubstep passages.

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra: World of Funk (Ubiquity)

Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra: "Cairo Cairo"

A super-prolific and accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Shawn Lee has made a career of splicing disparate styles over his foundation of funk, soul, R&B, and more.  Now, just two months after the release of a dub-, funk-, and rock-infused album of classical covers, Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra is back with a world-driven collection of exceptionally funky jams.  It’s not old-school funk, of course, but a similar brand of Lee’s multifarious style – hip-hop and down-tempo beats, grooves galore, and layers upon layers of sounds.

Like usual, Lee employs a small music shop’s worth of instruments to achieve his diversity, this time tabbing sitar, kalimba, charango, bouzouki, tambura, steel drum, castanets, udu, and balafon among other choices.  It helps World of Funk make virtual visits to India, Egypt, the Mediterranean, and many other locales while adding Ethio-jazz, Latin psychedelia, and Eastern funk.  Guest singers also help to establish the global vibes, including some with Brazilian, Egyptian, and Cambodian heritage, with the latter coming from Dengue Fever frontwoman Chhom Nimol.

And with additional guest spots by mysterious beat-smith Clutchy Hopkins, multi-talented bandleader Michael Leonhart, and NOMO songwriter Elliot Bergman, World of Funk is a bona-fide melting pot of talent.

Total Fucking Destruction: Haters (Translation Loss)

Total Fucking Destruction: "Time Theft"

Formed after the first demise of Brutal Truth, Total Fucking Destruction has spent more than a decade presenting themes of nihilism, annihilation, and nonsense over grind, thrash, and punk rock.  Led by drummer/vocalist Richard Hoak of Brutal Truth, the band exists as a mocking assault on the global power structure, the inhumanity of homo sapiens, and mindless consumption.

Musically and vocally, the band has a very defiant vibe, and its new album, Hater, is no different.  There’s a punk-rock flair with overdubbed growls and gang vocals, and there’s the usual dose of rock-'n'-roll riffage, but the base of blast beats, double kick, and power chords remains the same.  Unlike a lot of grind bands, Total Fucking Destruction has plenty of tempo shifts, and though Hater isn’t as off the wall as previous albums have been, it might be the band’s most polished and cohesive release.

Sims: Bad Time Zoo (Doomtree)

Sims: "Burn It Down"

Headlined by Rhymesayers recording artist P.O.S, Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree has some up-front name recognition but also a roster full of talent.  That includes Andrew Sims, an MC and early member of Doomtree who has done his part to help cultivate independent rap.

Bad Time Zoo is Sims’ second and newest solo album, produced by Doomtree associate and DJ Lazerbeak.  There’s enough sociopolitical content – including the call to action of “One-Dimensional Man” – but there are personal themes along the way, such as the unabashed balladry of “Love My Girl” and “When It Rolls In.”

With horn, piano, and guitar samples, double-time hi-hats, and thumping bass and synth hits, Bad Time Zoo sets a head-nodding foundation for Sims’ steady (and often doubled) delivery.  P.O.S drops a guest verse on “Too Much,” but this is far from another group effort, standing on its own as Sims continues to define his style.

Shugo Tokumaru: Port Entropy (Polyvinyl)

Shugo Tokumaru: "Lahaha"

Port Entropy is the latest full-length from Shugo Tokumaru, a Japanese singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who performs or produces every sound on his records.  It’s his first US release on Polyvinyl Records, but Tokumaru has already achieved considerable commercial success in his native nation and abroad, including TV ads and a spot in the Japanese top 40.

With self-professed influences of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Japanese pop, Tokumaru wields an array of sounds behind his cheery, airy, harmonized vocals.  Guitar, glockenspiel, flute, banjo, and homemade percussion are just a handful of what one hears on an average album.  Some may feel overwhelmed by the layer upon layer of major-chord melody, but Port Entropy is another golden nugget of sunshine pop, with chops that aren’t too shabby either.

Honorable Mentions

Arbouretum: The Gathering (Thrill Jockey)

Beaten by Them: Invisible Origins (Logicpole)

Bright Eyes: The People's Key (Saddle Creek)

DC the MIDI Alien: Avengers Airwaves (Brick)

Elk: Let’s Get Married (Shape Up)

The Eternals: Approaching the Energy Field (Plustapes / Addenda)

PJ Harvey: Let England Shake (Vagrant)

Tim Hecker: Ravedeath, 1972 (Kranky)

The Natural Yogurt Band: Tuck in With… (Now-Again)

Austin Peralta: Endless Planets (Brainfeeder)

Phaedra: The Sea (Rune Grammofon)

La Sera: s/t (Hardly Art)

The Skull Defekts: Peer Amid (Thrill Jockey)

Win Win: s/t (Vice)

Don Caballero, DD/MM/YYYY @ Reggie's (Chicago)

Closing out its coast-to-coast tour, heavy cross-timed rock trio Don Caballero hits Chicago before a final stop in Cleveland. Quirky Toronto rockers DD/MM/YYYY finish out the tour, which included the melodic 8-bit rock of sBACH for a stretch.

Yoome, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone @ Subterranean (Chicago)

Joining with producer Tony Trimm and vocalist/keyboardist Renee-Louise Carafice, local MC/producer Serengeti leads Yoome in a left-field production of hip hop, synth-flavored post-rock, and indie vocals.  Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, headed by singer/songwriter Owen Ashworth, merges minimalist indie pop with bits of Americana.

Saturday, February 28

These Arms are Snakes @ Subterranean (Chicago)

Splashing touches of progressive pop into an indie/hardcore mix, These Arms Are Snakes recently returned to the road for another spate of tour dates. The quartet will hit most major cities by the end of March, when it will be joined for a week by spastic math rockers Tera Melos.

Andreas Kapsalis Trio @ SPACE (Evanston)

Makers of boundless pseudo-soundtrack work and one of last year’s best albums, Original Scores, the Andreas Kapsalis Trio performs at a multi-purpose venue (restaurant / performance area) in Chicago's closest northern suburb.

The Eternals @ The Hideout (Chicago)

Mixing hip hop with dub, reggae, electronics, experimental passages, and rock, The Eternals have a great sound for live performance. Idiosyncratic lyricist/keyboardist Damon Locks leads the group in this return to Chicago's Hideout.

Shining (Norway)

Thursday, October 23

Pillars and Tongues, Remindring @ The Hideout

Somber vocal harmonies emanate from aptly named Pillars and Tongues, an experimental trio whose creations exhibit mystical influences. As Remindring, multi-talented bassist Josh Abrams (Town & Country, Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble) lays out looped soundscapes with Emmett Kelly and Frank Rosaly.

Fucked Up @ Reggie's Rock Club

Punk-rock misdirection artists Fucked Up hit Chicago two weeks after the release of The Chemistry of Common Life, the group's follow-up full-length to Hidden World. This time around, Fucked Up's material moves through more variety of atmosphere than your standard punk/hardcore, with peaceful, otherworldly intros and layers and layers of guitar. There's less stop-start fury than Hidden World-more sheets of sound-so it will be interesting to see how this vigorous live act performs.

Coliseum starts North American and Japanese tour dates

Louisville hardcore staples Coliseum begin five weeks of performances today, hitting many cities in the USA as well as a few in Canada and Japan. The group doesn't hit Chicago until Nov. 15, but there's a good chance that it will be your city in the near future.

Friday, October 24

Ears & Eyes Festival @ The Hideout

With three outstanding weekend shows at The Hideout, independent jazz/avant-garde label Ears & Eyes Records celebrates its third annual Ears & Eyes Festival. The performances feature groups on the Ears & Eyes roster as well as other local standouts and friends of the label, and one such outside artist, Brooklyn's Parts & Labor, headlines this first night with a catchy mix of indie rock and electronics.

The six-artist, six-hour show also includes bass-and-drums rock duo Black Ladies and free-rock guitarist Tobin Summerfield, but the biggest highlight might be the collaboration between Sunfish Ensemble guitarist David Daniell and Tortoise cofounder/bassist Doug McCombs.

Voodoo Experience begins @ New Orleans' City Park

With a massive three-day lineup that can only really be explored at thetenthritual.com, New Orleans' Voodoo Experience celebrates its 10^th anniversary. If you're in the Big Easy on Friday, the fest's first day, be sure to catch DeVotchKa, Reverend Horton Heat, The Gutter Twins, Man Man, Extra Action Marching Band, and Andre Williams.

Shining (and other picks) at CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival

There are hundreds of bands playing at the dozens of CMJ venues on Friday, the festival's second-to-last day, but we had to single out Norway's Shining at Cake Shop (and again at Knitting Factor on Saturday). The post-prog jazz-rock experimentalists return to New York, one of three cities on their first US tour earlier this year, and it might be a while before they return. If you're in NYC, do yourself a favor and check them out (and pick up Grindstone on Rune Grammofon).

The night's other highlights include sBACH, An Albatross, Akimbo, Phosphorescent, Sole and the Skyrider Band, and Broken Social Scene.

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