the quiet before the storm

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I've had a very relaxing morning, starting off with a bit of Louis Jordan as I got my children ready for school. I'm a firm believer in not having shouty music or radio DJs that spend all the time talking. There's a time and a place and breakfast isn't it. Since then I listened to a rather naff radio-friendly reggae album that sounds like the kind of music that Heart FM would rave about. That came off and since then I've been pottering about and listening to the new Death in Vegas album. They never cease to amaze me with the way they go about their business, making great music that, time and again, slips under the radar. 

This is Silver Time Machine, the first track off the album although I kind of wish they's saved that title for the second track which is a bit electro-shoe gazer and reminds me a bit of Hawkwind's seminal classic 'Silver Machine'.

As a bonus, let me add another tune from the album. This is a much deeper, less ambient track called 'Your Loft, My Acid'.

happy birthday to me

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Everyone should play some Nick Cave on their birthday.

the twilight sad mix 2

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I received a link to this podcast/mixtape this afternoon from Brighton-based Fatcat Records and is a brilliantly eclectic choice of tunes as selected by Twilight Sad guitarist Andy MacFarlane. It's been on loop this afternoon and I've especially enjoyed catching up with all those Scroggins sisters (otherwise known as ESG). I'll definitely feature them in a future post.

The Twilight Sad Mix 2 - FatCat Records Podcast by Fatcat Records on Mixcloud

philco fiction - finally

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This was released as a single back in August last year but is well worth a trip down memory lane which, funnily enough, the video seems to allude to as well. Philco Fiction are Norwegian indie poppers who are very good live. I do like to hear people sing in their own accents.

paradise circus (gui boratto remix)

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This is a quite stunning remix of the Massive Attack/Hope Sandoval track.

they smile in your face

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those backstabbers. O'Jays at their very best.

..faster, stronger

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This is a sneak preview of a new Solo remix of the Anna Lunoe and Diamond Lights track 'Stronger'. It's a bit slower and sexier than his usual fare and is released on February 1st.

lee stevens & the beautiful people - ridin high

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Good morning!

irene goodnight

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I can't decide which version to play so I'll post both. First Big Bill Broonzy and then Ry Cooder with a wonderful Old Grey Whistle Test session. (This isn't to detract from Leadbelly's original. They are all classic recordings as is the Pete Seegers one but I think any more than 2 versions on this entry is just plain greedy). 

Goodnight one all.

deer in the headlights (radioslave remix)

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I heard this superb heavy duty tune on the Jesse Rose Body Language compilation. It's very bass-y, very moody and deserves to be taken very seriously indeed.

orenda fink - high ground

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This is from her debut album 'Ask the Night' and very good it is too. The album has been on loop this afternoon in the house and it's really growing on me. It's more traditional country than alt or Americana but that shouldn't detract from listening. What it lacks in mawkish sentimentality it more than makes up with beautiful lyrics and simply delivered but complex tunes.

da sound of da polica

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This has been out a few months now and although it's a great tune, I do wish people wouldn't use auto-tune so much. I promise you, in 10 years time it will seem as outdated as cow bells. 

Polica - 'Lay Your Cards Out'

home at last

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Let's celebrate with an old anthem from a great band.

Spiritualized - Stop Your Crying

kyrstyn pixton

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The Premier Inn in Manchester isn't the most seductive of environments but I can still lie back and dream thanks to the Apple Mac, an internet connection and Bandcamp. Soothing my aching bones is this album from Krystyn Pixton, Portland-based singer/songwriter with her new album 'Embyrs'. i Discovered this a few days ago and have played it a few times since. I've also bought the limited edition album that includes all sorts of goodies - proof indeed that buying direct from the artist is a worthwhile way of doing business for artist and fan alike.

Ms Pixton plays electronic synth-pop with subtle trip-hop undertones. I've listened to this as background music and also with headphones on and am really impressed with the sound production at play. It remind me in part of the recent School of Seven Bells album but she cites the likes of Bjork, Regina Spektor and Massive Attack as influences so it should give you an idea where she is coming from with the album. I like it a lot, she has a strong voice that doesn't need to strain as she hits the top notes and there's a fair few catchy choruses too. It's radio-friendly without losing its credibility. She also steers well clear of the power ballads that are very in vogue viz Zola Jesus, Austra, PlanningToRock, Lykke Li. With 13 tracks on the albums you'd expect one or two duds but I don't think there's one song on there that hasn't deserved its place. I hope she hits these shores soon.

andre crom & martin dawson - gonna be alright (original mix)

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This tune is a real slow burner with an ever so slight little nod to L'il Louis 'French Kissing'. It's damn funky too.

gus gus - hateful (ada feat. mayburg rmx)

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Why did no-one tell me before about this awesome tune from everyone's favourite Reykjavik collective?

silver swans - 'let it happen'

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Their first official song from their upcoming album, this is a lovely introspective number that should see them do rather well this year.

chelsea wolfe in session

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The more I hear of this American chanteuse, the more I become a fan of her work. She's certainly not a by numbers performer and neither is she too generic to get pigeon-holed with (dare I say the word?) "goth". Her music is too varied and complex for lazy tags. Here she is with, admittedly, a dark atmospheric number that showcases her wonderful voice to perfection. It's called 'Movie Screen' and was recorded for Room 205.

major lazer is here to save the day

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Original Don (feat the Partysquad).  This is such a cool video.

ship shape and bristol fashion

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Bristol seems to attract its fair share of musical emigres and here's one longstanding band of French extraction, François and the Atlas Mountain, firmly rooted in the West Country. They really should be bigger in my opinion but then again maybe it's just as well that they aren't. They have a kind of whimsicalness (is that a real word? I probably mean whimsy) that is perhaps a little too French and a little too twee for mass appeal. Anyway, I like it, it's Sunday evening kind of music and this is my blog so I'm putting it on here. 

michael kiwanuka

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It amazes me sometimes how we continue to produce high quality musicians despite the pernicious influence of the reality TV music on our charts. Michael Kiwanuka is British-born of Ugandan descent, his family fleeing the tyranny of Idi Amin in the 1970s. He plays a soulful blues with a lot of respect to those who have gone before but is definitely his own man. Definitely one to watch for 2012, Kiwanuka is yet another musician proving that we can still make great music.

laberge - we don't know

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I haven't heard this track in a while. Is it nu-disco? I never can tell with genres but it seems perfect for a sunny afternoon here in Manchester. The video rocks too.

insomniac dub

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It does rather sound like a King Tubby track but is more a portmanteau of my situation right now. I'm in Manchester on business and trying to get to sleep but stupidly, I booked a cheap hotel in the middle of town and can hear all manner of things going on down in the streets and next door in my hotel. I've resorted to listening to dub reggae in an attempt to get some sleep and have stumbled across this track by HZ Klopfen called 'Loaded Weapon'. It doesn't actually go anywhere musically but it soothes my mood. Let's hope I nod off soon.

the kills - 'last goodbye'

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I'm always useless at remembering anniversaries so it comes as no shock that I have missed the first birthday for this blog. As such, I think I've foregone the right to make a big song and dance about it (pun intended). Oh, well. Thanks anyway for all the people who have taken the time to read my musings.

Here's a lovely tune just for you by the Kills and a killer video to match.

cheeky little number

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This track popped up on the very excellent online radio station http://www.minimalstation.de/

Erik Mnml - 'Extasis Congenito (Original Mix)'

downtempo all the way

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This is the tune that kicked off two of trip-hop's greatest tunes. Isaac Hayes at his most majestic.

EBTG - 'Single (Photek Remix)'

And this is just so beautiful. Get lost in this track. Submotion Orchestra - 'Perfection'

akasha - brown sugar (pfm's cosmic journey mix)

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I came across this chilled little drum and bass track on a random album I bought earlier today. It hits all the right notes.

phil selway - the witching hour

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He's better known as the drummer from Radiohead but I bought today his 2010 album 'Familial' and can highly recommend. It's mainly acoustic guitar based and he proves to be a great songwriter too. This is the last track on the album. It's called Witching Hour.

glitch mob / the weekend mash-up

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Brought to you courtesy of Frail Limb Purity & DJ Bahler

As a bit of a postscript, I think The Weekend are about the only act I've heard of late that use vocoder/autotune with artistic merit. It's an overused piece of kit for lazy producers but I'm so glad to see that it can enhance a song when used properly.

beastie boys megamix

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Z-Trip has compiled a kickass megamix of everyone's favourite white old skool rappers. He's even added an alternative 'clean' version in case you have children listening. That reminds me of my youngest son's 3rd birthday party. We had Beastie Boys as the music for 'Pass the Parcel' game. Promise me one thing though, you play this mix LOUD!

real estate - 'easy'

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If jangly guitars and fey indie harmonies are your thing then today is your lucky day. This is the video to their latest track and could serve as a corporate video in how bands can increase listenership.

a few classical pieces

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There's no words to describe adequately the beauty of this music from Vivaldi and Mozart.

Mozart - Lacrimosa

Andreas Scholl - Vivaldi's Nisi Dominus (Largo)

Vivaldi - Nisi Dominus - Cum Dederit - Mingardo

radůza - dopis taťáně

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I'm a keen collector of world music but I must confess that much European traditional folk music leaves me cold.  Scandinavia excluded, it can sound very homogenous with it difficult to tell a song from Greece, Portugal, Romania or wherever. Czech music can fall into this category. I've been to a concert with a Czech ex-girlfriend to see Ostrava's favourite son Jaromir Nohavica, perform and although all the Czech, Polish and Slovak emigres in London who watched it with me had a great time I was left feeling a bit 'yes, but....'. I guess, when you don't understand the words and because of the different cultures you can't put the music into a historical context then you are left with just the music and there is only so much oompa or accordian you can take before you get a feeling of deja vu.

A traditional Czech performer who can break this feeling is Radůza, a Prague-born singer/songwriter still in her 30s. She's a multi-instrumentalist with a lovely melancholic voice, much travelled (where she draws a lot of inspiration from) and seems to keep a low profile despite achieving much success both in her native country and beyond. I've featured her before on this blog with the string arrangement 'Oh My Blackish Angel' which you can listen to here (and I do recommend you to listen. It's beautiful) but this time I am picking her piano-based piece 'Dopis Taťáně'.

happy birthday david bowie

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He's not just a genius, the man literally re-defined popular music in the 70s, re-invented himself in the 80s and even had the vision to predict the rise of Yuppie-dom (just check out the styles in the Let's Dance video). 

This is pure pop but also my favourite Bowie track, Modern Love.

something for the inner shoegazer in all of us

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The last one from me tonight before I go to bed. I've been listening to bits of this mix of new shoegazer pop over the last week. I love the raw energy of a damn good shoegaze tune and the freedom the genre gives the bands to escape from the limits of a conventional 3-4 minute tune.

ole torjus - at the bottom of a strange hill

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My love of all things Scandinavian continues unabated with this track by Norwegian, Ole Torjus (ably aided by Danes and Londoners). His music is minimalist electronica but with a folk-tinge to it. It sounds similar in part to the music of Silje Nes but being an instrumental it obviously lacks her fragile voice yet fragile it remains although I suspect that hidden within lies a very strong composition and I'm looking forward to giving this a few proper listens with headphones on to fully appreciate it.

crazy baldheads

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My brother got me onto Johnny Clarke. He assures me he should have been bigger than Marley.

dj shadow - organ donor

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I haven't heard this in a while. Time to rectify, methinks.

i challenge you to find a funkier track than this

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Seriously, this is rocking my world right now.

minnie riperton - loving you

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What a tune.

david lynch gets busy with the remixes

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Oh yes. Two of my favourite artists from last year, David Lynch and Zola Jesus have collaborated to bring together this wonderful remix of 'In Your Nature'.  I will try hard to avoid any film based cliches to describe the result but suffice to say it has Lynch's paw prints all over it.

the smiths - i know it's over (live)

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This is from the 'Rank' live album recorded in 1986. It has one of my favourite ever soaring finales to a Smiths song as Morrissey builds and builds that last line to an incredible conclusion whilst Marr provides the stunning background for this beautiful/tragic musical portrait.

I do my little turn on the catwalk

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Bonus points if you can name the song that the lyric in the title comes from*. Thom Yorke made some floaty, moody music for a fashion house some time back and has now made it available on the internet for the rest of us to strut around to at home. I quite like it, it's quite Richie Hawtin-like and not half as bad as the concept sounds.

*Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy

linkwood - secret value ep

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This is a wonderful little EP from Ukrainian label, Schevchenko. It's quite dubby for a deep house track and even hints at a bit of Chicago House. 

exitmusic - 'from silence ep' live in session

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As the title says, this is the NY pair's entire EP played live. I think (and hope) that they really break it into the big time as their music goes from strength to strength. The band name and comparisons are all deliberate and of the many post-Radiohead bands that cite them as influences, Exitmusic are at the forefront of those with the talent to carry forward the miserablist banner. 

calling all billie holliday fans

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If you are a fan of 'Lady Day' (well, who isn't?) then you could do worse than listen to this beautifully crafted album by L'Orange which is also available as a free download. It's a trip-hop tribute to the great singer and in the words of the artists:

Billie Holiday is my muse. Her creative vision and stylistic integrity have influenced both my music and my writing. When I decided to work on this project, I wanted to approach it with respect for her music. I wanted these remixes to be both inspired by and dedicated to the life and craft of one of the most innovative and soulful singers of all time. Each track is designed to represent a significant part of Billie Holiday’s life.

Actually, my opening line does this album a great disservice, alongside the 'Billie Holliday Remixed and Re-imagined' album it is a great primer for anyone unfamiliar with Ms Holliday's work. Her voice and languid style lend themselves so beautifully to the downtempo dance style of trip hop and I love how the music conjures up the smoky jazz joints of the 30s and 40s. 

what's more, you'll be a man, my son

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My 2 sons are picking the tunes for this entry. Bear in mind they are both just children and the songs are completely their choice. I'm not sure that them being musical magicians (their words) is a good or bad thing but there's no denying they know their dance music.

First up is Gabriel (aged 9) with a drum and bass makeover.

Vampire Weekend - 'Cousinz (Toy Selectah Remix)'

and then Thomas (aged 12) opting this time for a bouncy dubstep tune.

Skream - 'Fick'

Gabriel is back with his second song, this time opting for giggles.

Alan Parker - 'Little Grey Clouds'

And back in the DJ seat is Thomas with some serious dance tuneage. Thomas tells me he particularly likes the drop

Piddy Pi - 'Giggle Riddim'

long dark tunnel

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Origin Unknown - 'Valley of the Shadows'

One of the greatest drum and bass tunes ever written, still as fresh now as it did then. Proper old skool.

mark e - 'call me (dixon edit)'

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Oh, you can dance to this one. It bubbles along very nicely indeed and sounds like it picks up Diana Ross en route.

new mj cole ep - 'red and black'

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Don't expect to be able to dance to these (well maybe the one-armed bandit mix) but the quality more than makes up for that. It reminds me of DJ Shadow/Massive Attack in a big way and I expect these mixes to feature heavily as soundtracks to thrillers on the telly or cinema. I like this a lot, see what you think.

music for airports

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Never has a Brian Eno album title been more apt. I'm in Costa Coffee in Kiev airport waiting for my flight back to Gatwick and my iPod on shuffle has thrown up a few tracks that are worth sharing.

Aretha Franklin - 'Do Right Woman'   

Lamb - 'Gorecki'

Bedouin Soundclash - 'Cyborg Stepper'

Rampa - 'Man'

Something for everybody, I hope you agree. See you back in the UK.

cheers, me dears

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They've been far too quiet of late but one of my favourite Swedish bands, JJ, have put together this remix and it's classic synth dream-pop all round.


"Cheers (JJ's Save Our Souls Remix)"

sick french (ac-c-coustic)

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This is such a cool version of the Lil Louis classic 'French Kiss'. Seriously, just check it out for yourself. It's my favourite track from the album.

 

once upon a time in norway

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I came across this very revealing documentary on Youtube detailing the catastrophic events that marked the Norwegian Death Metal Scene in the late 80s and early 90s. The music was of dubious quality but the influence the scene had was huge and it was, very importantly, a homegrown scene. There are obvious parallels with grunge in Seattle or punk in London but what separates the Norwegian Death Metal scene was the internal politics and the limits that were broken by the protagonists. Suicides, murders, church-burning - it was a nihilist's wet dream. I am particularly impressed with the insights shown by those right at the centre of it all. They were well aware of the psychology of gang membership and the roles they all played within that. 

One thing is quite clear to me, the music is a secondary factor in this film. The music was a catalyst to bring together disaffected, high-IQ teenagers who had trouble expressing themselves in larger society. That's probably true of most  teen scenes but that's not to denigrate the music at all. I don't own any Mayhem albums, it's not really my cup of tea although I do enjoy some mathcore stuff and going right back I was fascinated with bands such as Napalm Death and Stormtroopers of Death although more out of curiosity than anything else. Morbid curiosity with names like that!

happy new year

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This blog is nearly a year old. It was a New Year's resolution from 2010 that I would start a music blog, if only as a way of channelling my nerdiness when it comes to music. It's been a real labour of love and I think I've surprised myself with some of the music I have posted on here. I'm also overwhelmed by how many hits I've had on this blog and the positive responses from people, not just friends but strangers from foreign lands too. Music is such a personal thing and I think it is impossible to make someone like a record* so I'm fully aware that I have been unable to please all of the people all of the time but hopefully you've found a few things you've liked. Mind you, this blog was never intended as a popularity contest nor do I lay claim to some higher qualification as to what makes great music. I've just posted the things that interest me. 

Bearing all that in mind, let's go right back to the blog's roots. The choice of blog name was deliberate and I intended to feature mainly minimal techno and sparse electronica but it's been anything but that as the posts have shown. I aim to fix that right now with a lovely little minimal techno set that is fresh for 2012. I hope it's a good year for everyone.

*Unfortunately, the converse does not also hold. There are plenty of records out there where I have gone from 'love', 'like' or just plain old 'meh' to the point of actually disliking a song. viz. 'Fairytale of New York'.