de-minimis: December 2016

26 December 2016

treetop flyers - 'sleepless nights'

Boxing Days are made for indulging in what you love best. For me that's listening to music.

14 December 2016

hyenah - 'the idea (frankey and sandrino remix)'

Last track from me for the night and I'll leave it with this banger.

laura mvula - 'people (feat. wretch 32)'

What a voice. So many great British singers out there.

mutual benefit - 'skipping stones'

This is from Texas music collective, Mutual Benefit, a band whose subtlety belies a very professional and accomplished edge. The whole album on Bandcamp is well worth checking out.

thom sonny green - 'neon blue'

How's this for an intense dance track?

graham candy - 'broken heart'

This is a very sad tune, the lyrics bittersweet and the tune an acoustic masterpiece.

whyte horses - 'when i was a scout'

This is only the second song I've blogged about from their fantastic 2016 album 'Pop or Not' and I'm feeling a little guilty about that. Let's rectify matters with this fine tune.

nick cave and warren ellis - 'song for bob'

Taken from The Assassination of Jesse James soundtrack, this is a mighty fine composition and especially as around that time, Nick Cave's other projects were getting a little stale.

grandaddy - 'way we won't'

This song seems to have gone by relatively unnoticed which is a real shame as it's pretty decent with a hell of a guitar riff.

kristin velvet - 'roulette'

I love this new tune from Kristin Velvet on so many levels. It's so subtle, so warm but still a great club track.

still flyin' - 'get out of my car'

You can't beat a great bit of pop and this a bloody great song.

ensaime & marco simeone - 'back to the bedroom (original mix)'

I've got this on a compilation album and only just got around to listening to it. Bloody hell, what a fantastic track!

françoise hardy - 'ça a raté'

And now a track that is over 50 years old but still sounds as fresh as a daisy.

ra ra riot - 'foreign lovers'

I really should spend more time listening to Ra Ra Riot. I'd forgotten just how good they are.

british theatre - 'mastery'

This is taken from their album of the same name. I love the way this builds and builds.

suuns - 'instrument'

Here's Montreal's finest, Suuns, with a dark and brooding track.

billie marten - 'live'

The wonderful thing about working from home is that I can put my iTunes on shuffle and then randomly, beautiful tracks like this pop up for me to listen to.

drugdealer - 'my life (feat. danny james)'

I just can't stop listening to this new album as I work from home today. It's very addictive (sic)!

ashley shadow - 'tired'

Another Bandcamp discovery and just as good. This particular track is a real grower. The more I listen to it, the more nuances I hear.

dimi kaye - 'long drinks paradise'

This was a Bandcamp recommendation that piqued my interest a few days back. I'm glad I did listen to the 'La Luna' album as it's a lovely retro 80s disco funk affair. Check this tune out.

11 December 2016

dengue fever - 'tiger phone card'

I haven't listened to Dengue Fever in an age. Time was when I used to play this track to death.

air - 'danger zone'

Taken from their 'TwentYears' album this is a quieter side to the French duo.

damien jurado - 'on the land blues'

Damien Jurado is a man who sets the bar high yet consistently rises above it to produce beautiful music.

nite jewel - 'over the weekend'

This is one ice cool tune.

cage the elephant - 'too late to say goodbye'

My youngest son and I are in agreement here. It's a great track.

talk talk - 'does caroline know?'

Well? Does she?

thao & the get down stay down - 'nobody dies'

This is a new band to me and I'm quite blown away by the music, the attitude, everything about it. Taken from their 2016 album 'A Man Alive'.

mystery lights - 'follow me home'

This Brooklyn band have a great rock sound. Love the retro psychedelic edge to this.

Seattle duo Iska Dhaaf had a bloody brilliant album out this year that seems to have slipped past a lot of radars which is a real shame. This song named after the Twin Peaks murder victim is just epic.

mick harvey - 'boomerang'

Bad Seeder Mick Harvey's solo stuff really does deserve a wider audience. There's a lot of great music to be discovered.

tigercub - 'omen'

Always happy to play a tune by a Brighton band and especially so when it's as kick-arse as this.

money - 'you look like a sad painting on both sides of the sky'

One of the stand-out songs on one of my albums of the year.

steve bug - 'painkiller (feat. miss kittin) (original mix)'

I've always got time for a bit of Miss Kittin.

beyond the wizard's sleeve - 'creation'

Their debut album 'The Soft Bounce' is quite sublime. Take this tune for example.

nick cave and the bad seeds - 'black hair'

Taken from possibly my favourite album ' The Boatman's Call' this is Nick Cave at his most reflective and romantic.

lou pride - 'i'm com'un home in the morning'

Now this is a classic. A Northern Soul tune all the way from Texas, no less.

anthony joseph - 'neckbone'

Very nice grooves.

bebel gilberto - 'august day song (king britt remix)'

It's certainly not August but I can't wait 9 months to post this tune. It's too lovely for that.

linnea olsson - 'weekend'

There's something very Kate Bush about this track by Swedish singer Linnea Olsson. As Chamber Pop goes, this is quite wonderful.

10 December 2016

nils bech - 'glimpse of hope' (joe goddard remix)

This is a rather lovely Saturday morning discovery.

mexican institute of sound - 'escribeme pronto'

This is a blast from the past. Still sounds as fresh as when I first heard it.

08 December 2016

we cut corners - 'of whatever'

There's so much great new music to share tonight. This is quite wonderful.

jay daniel - 'knowledge of selfie'

Oh my, this is quite lovely.

new jesus and mary chain song

This is the first track from their new album scheduled for 2017, the first in something like 20 years. I like it!

http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2016/12/08/504855643/the-jesus-and-mary-chain-returns-with-new-album-shares-first-single

phoria - 'red'

A lovely track that beguiles on so many levels. How would you characterise this kind of music? No idea but it is rather good.

05 December 2016

emma russack - 'if you could see me now'

Last one of the evening from me (probably!) and a good way to bow out is with this fantastic tune from Australian singer-songwriter, Emma Russack.

fact mix 579: jenny hval

The Fact Mag mix is always great fun but this one curated by Jenny Hval in particular has been quite a journey of discovery

And here's the tracklist:

Valerie and her Week of Wonders (excerpt from film, music by Luboš Fišer)

Ariel Kalma – ‘Bakafrica’

This Heat – ‘Not Waving’

The Girl With The Crystal Plumage (excerpt from soundtrack, music by Ennio Morricone)

Lush – ‘Sunbathing’

Aurora Halal – ‘Overpass’

Jessica Sligter – ‘Run, Now’ (live in Oslo December 2015)

Christina Carter live at Aquarius Record Store, San Francisco 2010

Fruit of Paradise (excerpt from film, music by Zdeňka Liška)

Milton Nascimento – ‘San Vicente’

The Girl With The Crystal Plumage (short return of the same excerpt from soundtrack, music by Ennio Morricone)

Johanna M. Beyer – ‘Music Of The Spheres’

More details can be found here.

raime - 'dead heat'

There's something quite Massive Attack meets Joy Division about RAIME and that can't be a bad thing.

the goon sax - 'telephone'

They sound very British in their delivery but this is a strictly Aussie affair. There does seem to be a great indie music scene in Oz at the moment and The Goon Sax are firmly at the forefront.

poliça - 'lime habit'

Love this tune. Such a great sound to it.

kognitif - 'so let's begin (feat. jeanette robertson)'

I don't know he they do it but the quality of musical output from Kognitif is unrelentingly high, there's never a bum track. This is as good as anything they've done. Superb!

ruede hagelstein - 'nonnenrauschen'

I caught this track on a compilation album recently and have wanted to share it since then.

gigi rowe - 'run the night'

I do love well-crafted electro-pop, this is a superb track.

austra - 'future politics'

Can man exist in a post-political world? Austra thinks so.

bomb the bass - 'empire'

Vampire, you feed on the life of a pure heart. Vampire, you suck the life of goodness.

kiddie coke - 'medical walls'

How's about this for in-your-face indie-rock? Great stuff.

miynt - 'cool'

Aka Fredrika Ribbing, this is the first track from a forthcoming EP and I hope to be hearing and seeing much more of this band in the future.

warhaus - 'against the rich'

I've been revisiting their 2016 album and thoroughly enjoying it a second time around. Love this track.

temples - 'certainty'

The Kettering band have been a bit quiet since their fantastic debut album but it sounds like they are back and in a big way.

piano magic - 'exile'

There was a time when playing under Gus Poyet's management, Brighton and Hove Albion were described as 'languidly clinical' in front of goal. I've always loved that phrase ever since and could possibly describe Piano Magic.

san cisco - 'slomo'

Here's a great party tune from Aussie pop band San Cisco.

the magic gang - 'only waiting'

A Brighton band featuring a Brighton street performer, Disco Bunny in their latest video. That's my hometown right there doing what it does so well.

03 December 2016

pink floyd - 'pigs'

40 years ago today, the Pink Floyd pig floated away from Battersea Power Station.

team ghost - 'the riser'

They describe their music as 'coldgaze' an electronic sound but with a glacial punk element to it. Confused? Well. listen to the music and all will become clear!

Hazel O'Connor - 'Will You'

It's a classic.

flora cash - 'for someone'

What a tune. Great stuff from Stockholm duo Flora Cash.

kaitlyn aurelia smith - 'envelop'

The album slipped past me this year but having seen it on so many Best Of 2016 lists I've finally gotten around to listening to it. It's certainly not what I expected but sometimes (as with this) that can be a wonderful surprise. Yes...I'm a fan!

thee oh sees - 'nervous tech (nah john)'

I love the new album 'An Odd Entrances' (sic) by psychedelic heavyweights, Thee Oh Sees. It's relatively short but takes so many twists and turns it feels much longer.

portishead - 'strangers (vaccine remix)'

It's a Portishead kind of morning.

amiina - 'cafe'

It's great to see the Icelandic four-piece back and with a very strong album.

02 December 2016

mowree - 'automatic soldier (dub makers rmx)'

I do find there's something very hypnotic with minimal techno and I find it very conducive to me concentrating on work. This tune popped up on my iPod this morning and went down very well.