Join us in Austin for the Chop Shop Records/Atlantic Records SXSW Party! Make sure to RSVP to rsvp@chopshoprecords.com and we will see you there!!

Set times:

4:00 – Kitten
4:20 – Scars on 45
5:00 – The Republic Tigers
5:45 – The Joy Formidable
6:30 – Portugal. The Man

March 19th – Brush Square Park – 409 E. 5th St.

It was about this time last week that the Chop Shop crew was embarking on the adventure that was SXSW 2010. Now we are back to reality, working hard to make up for all the lost time spent partying in Austin. While we were there, we had a showcase and party (if you follow this blog, you might have heard about it). Both went off without a hitch, and were a big success. It got a little cold on the last day but a little weather wasn’t going to bring us down.

CLICK HERE for more photos from the Chop Shop/Atlantic Records Party

Thanks to everyone that came out the shows, to the folks that helped make it happen, and to all the bands for being a part of the Chop Shop 2010 SXSW experience. Can’t wait until next year!

Photography: Will Bolton

Marina & The Diamonds debut US release, ‘The American Jewels EP’ is out today! The 3-track EP features two album tracks, and an exclusive ‘I Am Not A Robot Flex’d Rework (Passion Pit Remix)’

‘The American Jewels EP’ tracklisting:

1. I Am Not A Robot
2. Obsessions
3. I Am Not A Robot Flex’d Rework (Passion Pit Remix)

The EP can be bought from Atlantic Records | iTunes

Marina’s album ‘The Family Jewels’ is out in the UK, but will be released in America on May 25th on Chop Shop/Atlantic Records

Also, Marina was quite a hit at SXSW. Here is what some folks are saying about her performances in Austin:

The New York Times: “Along with British songwriters like Lily Allen and Kate Nash, she’s redefining songs about coming of age, and the aftermath, with bluntness and crafty intelligence.” (source)

Los Angeles Times: “Her album hits the U.S. shores in late May, and it’s danceable, clever pop with plenty of big choruses. Think of it as splitting the difference between Lily Allen and Katy Perry. But she gets added points for forgoing any typical pop star trappings and instead sporting baggy Mickey Mouse overalls.” (source)

Entertainment Weekly: “Marina has dance-pop hooks galore, a dramatically swooping voice, and very real magnetism. Whether you know it yet or not, she’s a star.” (source)

The wait is almost over! South by Southwest starts tomorrow and the Chop Shop crew is heading to Austin. If you are one of the fortunate ones that will be at SXSW, you do not want to miss the Chop Shop Records Showcase or the Chop Shop/Atlantic Party.

Here is a full list of all the shows our artists will be playing this year, mark them on your calendar and we hope to see you there!

Make sure you follow us on Twitter @chopshopmusic for updates on all the SXSW madness!

Thursday March 18th

4:15-4:45PM
Anya Marina
Banyan Branch + Aloft Party
Max’s Wine Dive – 207 San Jacinto

12 Midnight
Marina & The Diamonds
Official SXSW Showcase Presented by Neon Gold
Lamberts – 401 W. 2nd Street

Friday March 19th

6-6:25PM
Marina & The Diamonds
Fader Party
Levi’s Fader Fort – 1101 E. 5th Street

8PM
Scars on 45
Chop Shop Showcase
Maggie Mae’s – 323 E. 6th Street

9PM
Anya Marina
Chop Shop Showcase
Maggie Mae’s – 323 E. 6th Street

10PM
Mackintosh Braun
Chop Shop Showcase
Maggie Mae’s – 323 E. 6th Street

Saturday March 20th

4PM
Mackintosh Braun
Chop Shop/Atlantic Party
East Tent, Brush Square Park – 409 E. 5th Street

4:45PM
Scars on 45
Chop Shop/Atlantic Party
East Tent, Brush Square Park – 409 E. 5th Street

5:30PM
Marina & The Diamonds
Chop Shop/Atlantic Party
East Tent, Brush Square Park – 409 E. 5th Street

11:00PM
Marina & The Diamonds
Perez Hilton One Night in Austin
The Whitley – 301 Brazos

We are very excited to have Marina & The Diamonds as a part of the Chop Shop family. Look for the US release of “The Family Jewels” on May 25th wherever you buy or download music. Also, they will be playing at the Chop Shop/Atlantic Party at SXSW on March 20th. For more info on the show and how to RSVP…click here.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:

Chop Shop/Atlantic Records has announced the upcoming release of “THE FAMILY JEWELS,” the dazzling debut album from Marina & The Diamonds which made a stunning chart debut this week at #5 in the U.K. The collection will arrive stateside on May 25th.”THE FAMILY JEWELS” will be heralded by “THE AMERICAN JEWELS EP,” a three-track EP featuring the album tracks “I Am Not A Robot” and “Obsessions,” alongside the exclusive “I Am Not a Robot Flex’d Rework (Passion Pit Remix).” “THE AMERICAN JEWELS” will be available at all DSPs on March 23rd.

Marina & The Diamonds — the nom de musique of Marina Diamandis — has quickly become a sensation in the UK, where Diamandis was recently named the #2 artist on the BBC’s ever-prescient “Sound of 2010″ ranking. Dividing her time between her birthplace of Abergavenny in rural Wales, London and later her father’s traditional family home in Greece, Diamandis developed a truly idiosyncratic aesthetic, equal parts self-deprecating songstress, unabashedly intimate lyricist, and passionate pop star-in-waiting. A sequence of ’09 singles and EPs — released on the influential UK indie label, Neon Gold (Passion Pit, Ellie Goulding, Your Twenties) — earned her a steady stream of admirers, both public and in the press, all in thrall to Marina’s extraordinarily prodigious talent.

Diamandis will make her US live debut with a series of much anticipated performances, beginning March 14th at Brooklyn’s The Bell House and March 15th at New York City’s Le Poisson Rouge. Marina & The Diamonds will then head to Austin, Texas for the annual South By Southwest (SXSW) festival. Among the scheduled events are the Neon Gold showcase at Lambert’s on Thursday, March 18th and the all-star Chop Shop/Atlantic Records party, slated for Saturday, March 20th at Brush Square Park.

What’s more, Marina & The Diamonds will be among the artists appearing on this summer’s 2010 Lilith Tour, joining a remarkable line-up that includes Sarah MacLachlan, Norah Jones, Mary J. Blige, Loretta Lynn, Tegan & Sara, Janelle Monáe, Colbie Caillat, and many others. Full tour details will be unveiled shortly.

Highlighted by the UK Top 20 hit single, “Hollywood,” “THE FAMILY JEWELS” is proving an early contender for 2010′s most distinctive debut. Songs like the dramatic “Oh No!” (produced by Greg Kurstin of The Bird And The Bee), “Obsessions” and the boldly ambitious “Mowgli’s Road” see Marina gleefully melding the theatrically lavish vocal and orchestral flourishes of Kate Bush with the wonderful pop eccentricity of everyone from Sparks to the Scissor Sisters.

“Astonishing,” declared NME of “THE FAMILY JEWELS” in its nine-out-of-10 rave. “Raining down on the ears like an explosion of sonic confetti, (‘Hollywood’) boasts a chorus so killer it should probably be investigated by the police.” The Times’ Pete Paphides awarded the album four-out-of-five stars, praising it for “parachuting you into the world of a singer who wants your attention but hates compartmentalization.” The Telegraph decreed “THE FAMILY JEWELS” an “arch, clever debut,” hailing Marina for having “a larger-than-life quality, coming on like a drama queen using her personal neuroses as a prism through which to view the world.”

In its first full week of release, the New Moon Soundtrack took the top spot on the charts, selling an impressive 153,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The soundtrack features songs by The Killers, Muse, Thom Yorke, and several other amazing artists.

Here at Chop Shop we are so excited that the soundtrack has been well received and are overwhelmed by the positive response.

Thanks to everyone for your support!

If you are out there and have not picked up a copy of the soundtrack, or are waiting until the movie comes out (21 days left!)…here are some neat little moving pictures that will hook you up: