Bonnie “Prince” Billy & The Cairo Gang are at it again!

Empty Cellar is proud to announce the latest single by Bonnie “Prince” Billy and The Cairo Gang, “We Love Our Hole” b/w “I’ll be Alright”. This latest product of their fruitful collaboration finds Will Oldham and Emmett Kelly sitting barefoot on a sand dune, plucking the last rays of an Australian sunset from the sky. These two songs were recorded for “SPIRIT OF AKASHA”, a film/soundtrack celebrating 40 years of the classic 1971 Australian surf film “Morning of the Earth.”

“We Love Our Hole”, a warm and fuzzular take on the notorious Aussie localism, recalls the carefree back to earth acoustic jams on the original “Morning of the Earth” soundtrack. Twangy leads punctuate the bongo-driven tune (music by Kelly / lyrics by Oldham) exalting their hole… the kind of place you discover by following your bliss, “a cove where love is free”. Unbridled, the duo’s dueling voices find rare, compelling, moments of unison amidst rich harmonizing. The B-side, “I’ll be Alright”, is a stripped-down take of the Terry Hannagan song from the original soundtrack. Equally melancholy and reassuring, Hannagan’s meditation on the drag of modern life is dispensed thoughtfully by Oldham in his fearless, self-assured, voice. The recording as a whole finds Oldham and Kelly stepping confidently across the beach, fully trusting each other in these songs as only seasoned brothers can.

This 7” vinyl record comes packaged in a high-gloss photographic jacket featuring a golden still by “SPIRIT OF AKASHA” filmmaker Andrew Kidman. Limited to a single pressing of 1000 copies, this release is a perfect assurance that summer is coming through the clouds, and its music positively sparkles like a sun-lit sea. Bonus points: Each 7” comes with a special fart-cloud sticker drawn by the great Nathaniel Russell that you can place in the wind of your favorite Surfer pic! Get yours HERE!

The Cairo Gang – “Take Your Time” from Maximilla Lukacs on Vimeo.

SPIN premiered a new video directed by Maximilla Lukacs for The Cairo Gang’s “Take Your Time” from their latest release, Tiny Rebels.  It is super psychedelic…

Get your copy HERE!

“He’s a man who loves music with every fiber of his being, and that comes through on tracks like this.“ – Mark Schoneveld, YVYNYL

Empty Cellar Records is proud to present our latest release The Corner Man, by Chicago’s notorious The Cairo Gang (In stores 10/23). PREORDER the album HERE

The Corner Man is the much-anticipated new LP by The Cairo Gang and the first full-length of new material since the impossible to find ’06 record Twyxt Wyrd. In the time between, Emmett Kelly and The Gang has worked on various projects including 2010’s Holy Clover, EP (Empty Cellar), and collaborations with Bonnie “Prince” Billy for the critically acclaimed LP and 10″, The Wondershow of the World and Island Brothers, both on Drag City. This is their first full length for Empty Cellar, and we couldn’t be more psyched to see how it’s come together. The Corner Man is a marked departure from Wondershow in presenting a diverse program of songs that explores Kelly’s own singular voice and production styles. It contains lush, full arrangements that span from tentative and intimate ballads, to searing guitar and deep pocket drumming – always with the lead voice way out front and a wild bed of gorgeous harmony just behind it.

On this effort Emmett is joined by Chicago musicians Leroy Bach (Wilco, The Boogie Band), Ben Babbitt (Pillars and Tongues, This Is Cinema), Sam Wagster (The Father Costume), avant-garde pianist Ben Boye. Mixed with worldly recording wizard David Vandervelde and mastered by Paul Oldham, The Corner Man is presented on glorious vinyl in an elegant old-style paste-on sleeve and letter-pressed obi.

Track Listing:
Side A: Everybody Knows / Now You are One of Us / Gland in Gland / Put on a Smile
Side B: Gone is the Light / Freak / Ill Force / There is Something Here

Pre-order: HERE
Learn more about The Cairo Gang: Emmett Kelly on Wikipedia

Will Oldham and Emmett Kelly (Bonnie “Prince” Billy & The Cairo Gang) have been touring The Wonder Show of the World (Drag City) for many months now, and it has taken many forms. Here they are performing “Troublesome Houses”, Live at Store Vega Copenhagen 05.25.2010 with Nori Tanaka on drums:

…and here they are performing “The Sounds Are Always Begging” in Whelans, Dublin. 07.29.2010 with The Trembling Bells:

This weekend (Friday and Saturday) they will be playing shows on opposite sides of the San Francisco bay in their latest incarnation. Both shows will feature bassist Danny Kiely, drummer Van Campbell, keyboardist Ben Boye, and backing vocalist Angel Olsen.

(((folkYEAH!))) presents Tomorrow’s SOLD OUT event in Sausalito. The venue looks like this… hot dawg!

Cavallo Point, Wooden Chapel (Mission Blue), Sausalito, CA

If you weren’t able to procure a ticket for that performance, then you can still catch them (and about 100 of your musical heros) for FREE on Saturday at the 10th annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. They close out the Star Stage at 4:40 PM.