Courtesy of Fervor Records

If you find yourself stomping the grounds of Old Town Scottsdale next Thursday night you might want to heed the haunting melodies dwindling from the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.

Inside you'll find visual artist/vocalist Anna Vivette performing songs off of her debut album, Coloratura; a dark operatic take on electronica musings anchored by Vivette's classically-trained coloratura soprano.

Over the last 10 years the Chicago-transplant has been living in Arizona, honing her sound which she describes as a fusion between Sarah Brightman, Portishead and 90's New Ager Enigma. Teaming up with Phoenix-based Fervor Records President and renowned composer Jeff Freundlich as well as touring Marilyn Manson bassist Andy Gerold, the trio collaborated to produce a sound that's equally ambient and alluring without all the Gregorian chanting.

The album officially drops on Tuesday, April 24, on Fervor Records, with the official release party going down Thursday, April 26, inside the SMoCA Lounge from 6:30 p.m. until 9. Sample a track after the jump and head over to Vivette's website for a free download of "Illusions of the East."

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Asaf Borger, known to many as Borgore or to others as the dude who "ruined dubstep." See if that's the case when he performs at School of Rock in Tempe tomorrow night.

"They call me the ice cream man/I serve it on a cone with two giant balls/And you swallow it even if it comes up your nose."

As the above lyrical bit illustrates, the music of Asaf Borger (better known in the music world as Borgore) is provocative and downright filthy. The epic rhymes spat by 23-year-old Israel-born DJ/producer concern such debauchery as hardcore sex, drugs, and even more sex, coated with quite possibly the grubbiest dubstep bass in existence.

It's called "gorestep," and it's a mix of dubstep depravity laced with Borger's libertine-like affinity for heavy metal hooks (he's the veteran of an Israeli hard rock band Shabira) and hip-hop raunch.

And its so filthy that taking a shower after listening might be necessary, especially if you've been grinding away to Borger's tracks amid a sweaty mass of grinding clubgoers.

Borger not only embraces the decadent nature of his music, he revels in it. And dubstep fans have dug his shit. Head for YouTube and be one of the millions who've listened to the wickedness of "Nympho" (sample lyric: "Do you know what's hardcore?/Me shoving an elephant up your sister's back door") or watch him frolicking with gyrating strippers in the video for his new Flex EP.

Long before Skrillex got flack for amping up the macho in dubstep, Borger was criticized for "ruining" the genre with gore and filth. We asked him about such things when interviewing him via telephone recent, as well as inquiring about his recent performance during the first week of Coachella and other subjects.

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Shervin Lainez

Frankie Rose

Two years ago, when Frankie Rose started talking about following her breakthrough debut album with a synth-pop record, friends assumed she was joking.

As the drummer for Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, and Dum Dum Girls, Rose was at the center of a 1960s girl pop revival even before her first solo outing, so an if-it-ain't-broke strategy of sticking with reverby guitars and bittersweet melodies would've been welcomed by her record label and fans alike.

But Rose had no interest in sticking to the formula. She reached out to her friend and dance producer Le Chev, even though the pair had essentially zero shared ground musically outside of an utterly transformative remix he had made of her 2010 single "Candy."

"I think he'd never heard a Smiths song, but at the same time, he showed me so much stuff I didn't know existed," Rose says.

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Valerie LittleJohn

Landmine Marathon

See also: Metallica Curates Orion Music and More Festival: Who Picked Which Bands?

Lucero's Brian Venable on Metallica Being Dead to Him, ATO Records, and Women & Work

When Metallica revealed the lineup for Orion Music and More, the two-day festival curated by the band members themselves, plenty of folks were surprised by the non-heavy acts included, like breezy pop-rockers Best Coast and country-soul boys Lucero.

Phoenix's Landmine Marathon doesn't come as much of a left-field choice -- along with the other acts on the Damage Inc. stage, Suicidal Tendencies, Sepultura,Torche, Red Fang Kyng Black Tusk, and Thy Will Be Done -- the band illustrates that Metallica is still in touch with its heavy roots.

"My right hand does this [mimic's palm muting technique] because of 'Kill Em All, Ride the Lightning, Master of Puppets, and ...And Justice For All," guitarist Ryan Butler says. "People would not down-pick like they do if it weren't for those records. They're masterpieces."

Vocalist Grace Perry says the band didn't even waste time considering the offer. "We said yes before discussing it."

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http://www.facebook.com/weareknesset

Knesset

Released last year, Coming of Age is an appropriate title for Knesset's first album, as the band is only now starting to step up locally. Pronounced KA-NESS-ET and named after the legislative branch of the Israeli government, these locals have played in the background of Phoenix since 2007.

"[Originally] we wouldn't play shows that often," explains Knesset's frontman Evan Fox. "We'd play shows, see what worked or what didn't and we'd stop for a few months, which is probably a terrible idea, which is why things are just now starting to pick up."

Knesset is scheduled to perform Friday, March 23 at Crescent Ballroom.

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Photo by Gabriel Grimm

The Attitude.

The closing of The Clubhouse in Tempe is shaking up the Arizona music scene and forcing two dozen bands to either cancel their shows or find a new venue to perform.

Earlier this week, hundreds of people showed up to the Tempe town hall meeting held to address the future implications of the shooting that took place outside of the venue that injured 16 people.

Although the majority of attendees argued passionately on the behalf of owner Eugenia Ruven, it appears their opinions fell on deaf ears.

Local industrial rockers, The Attitude, were scheduled to play the venue on April 2 with Los Angeles band Orgy, but were forced to cancel the show.

"It's really just an unfortunate situation for the entire music community that it's no longer with us," Attitude frontman Jim Louvau says of the closing. "But I suppose someone had to be the scapegoat for what happened.

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Line-up changes and schedule conflicts over the last year and a half have slowed down Tempe blues rockers Quick Henry, but haven't stopped them from rocking out at local watering holes on a near daily basis.

At the helm of it all is vocalist/guitarist Kevin Redlich. Whether he's pulling double duty on Tuesday nights with acoustic sets at Long Wong's in Tempe and Old Town Tavern in Scottsdale, or rocking out with the full band at Yucca Tap Room, the busy schedule helps Redlich stay sharp, even when he's sloshed.

"Everything we do, we do with passion and soul," Redlich says. "Even when we fuck up; there's still a lot of energy [when we play.] Whether I'm crawling from the rafters at Roxy in Scottsdale or falling over drunk at Long Wong's, it's all done with passion and soul."

Quick Henry will be bringing some of that fire to The Sail Inn on Saturday, March 10, when the Tempe venue hosts their Spring Music Festival.

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RVNG Intl.

See also: Sun Araw covers Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonesque at the Hard Rock Cafe in LA

L.A.'s Sun Araw, the slow-rolling psych project of Cameron Stallones, is an ideal gateway into long-form music for those suspicious of epic jam territory. There is nary a Sun Araw tune shorter than six minutes, but rarely have the most compelling aspects of psych, dub and ambient music been so carefully alchemized.

Earlier records featured booming bass, minimal beats providing dub-funk momentum and blistering guitar that never ventured into drug-addled meta-shred oblivion. Last year's Ancient Romans, released by Drag City, found Stallones treading in calmer, more ponderous ambient terrain while still maintaining pleasant melodic density.

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http://thesaltmine.com

DMX at Saltmine Studios

See also: Five Reasons We Still Love DMX
See also: DMX: Going Old School on New Album?

Settled right of Main Street in the heart of Mesa, you would have no idea just by looking that Saltmine Studios is the recording home of legendary artists, producers, and hit tracks. The first time I set foot on the grounds (at least, according to my iPhone map), I wandered around the entire steel compound through alleyways, trying just to find an entryway before calling my friend who works as an engineer on-site. I'm guessing I was a good laugh for whoever was watching the ever-present security cameras stationed discreetly inside and out.

Some of the music industry's biggest heavyweights have recorded at The Saltmine over the years, including Bone Thugs N Harmony, the Jonas Brothers, Sheryl Crow, Soulfly, Lil Wayne, and Megadeth. Recently, DMX has been on-site more often than not, bringing with him a huge posse and appetite to record his new record. He recorded a music video at the studios a couple months back, and around the studio is known for his infectious energy, the awesome rhymes he's been coming up with, and a hatred for male flip-flops (don't ask).

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Sareena Dominguez

Ambition goes a long way -- just ask Sareena Dominguez, who signed with River Jones Music Label a scant six months ago, is releasing her debut in the spring, and is currently booking her first tour -- and she's only 19.

Raised in Gilbert, Dominguez came from a rather large family in a suburb, to her, the perfect place to focus solely on her creativity because as she puts it, "I almost had to make up my own. There wasn't too much creativity going on where I was."

Her deep admiration for old classics like Etta James, Janis Joplin, and modern soul singers like Amy Winehouse and Adele, is driven by how they "take command of an entire room." With her soft-spoken, laid back demeanor, Dominguez is kind of the opposite, lacking the deep contralto vocals, but still able to grab your attention with her coffeehouse jams a lá label-mate Courtney Marie Andrews or Ingrid Michaelson. Like a harp, Dominguez plucks gently at her acoustic guitar, her voice a less sugar-coated version of Lenka, with a lot more suave and rockstar personality.

Sareena Dominguez is scheduled to perform Tuesday, February 28, at The Fixx in Tempe.

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