“Rocked,” a documentary shot during Sum 41’s 10-day 2004 trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo with War Child Canada, will be released tomorrow (Nov. 29) via Universal Music Canada. The film previously aired in September in the United States as part of “think MTV: Global” and in Canada as a Much Music special.
The trip with War Child Canada founders Dr. Samantha Nutt and Dr. Eric Hoskins was meant to detail the impact civil war has had on Congolese children. An encounter with unexpected violence forced an emergency evacuation of the band led by Chuck Pelletier, who was immortalized as the namesake of Sum 41’s last studio album, “Chuck” (Island).
“We went to Congo to show people what war is like, how harmful it is to civilians, and we ended up becoming war-affected ourselves,” says drummer Steve Jocz. Proceeds of the DVD will benefit War Child Canada, which assists children affected by war; more information on the project can be found on the organization’s Web site.
Related
— Barry A. Jeckell, N.Y.
The off-kilter indie/Christian/outsider rock of high-pitched vocalist/songwriter Daniel Smith will be heavily promoted next year by Bloomington, Ind.-based independent label Secretly Canadian, with the help of three other labels and a host of indie rock’s finest.
Smith’s next album, once again credited to Br. Danielson, will feature not only his regular contributors (the Famile), but members of Kill Rock Stars act Deerhoof, engineer Steve Albini and Anticon artist Why?, among others.
The album, “Ships,” will be released May 9. In March, Kill Rock Stars, Anticon and Sounds Familyre will separately release 7-inch singles with non-album tracks.
— Todd Martens, L.A.
Electronic music luminaries such as Chris Clark, Richard Devine, Jamie Lidell, Jan Jelinek and Phoenecia make appearances on two new remix projects from the Schematic label exclusively available via Bleep, the download store of Warp Records.
Clark, Devine, Jelinek, Keith Fullerton Whitman and Leafcutter John contribute tracks to “External Combustion,” a tribute to famed drummer Glen Velez, while Lidell, Phoenecia, Soft Pink Truth, Quintron, Venetian Snares and Doormouse enrich “Armpit Buffet,” which salutes Schematic artist Otto Von Schirach.
— Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.