de-minimis

26 June 2012

daniel steinberg - 'aribaba'

He's temporarily ditched minimal techno for a more mainstream disco/house sound. It's a lovely light tune with humour and funkiness in equal measure.

para one - lean on me (feat. teki latex)

If you thought dream pop was the preserve of fey 80s English bands and, latterly, of achingly cool Swedes from Gothenburg then prepare to re-assess those thoughts. Here's French band Para One with a quite exquisite little number. They've taken the genre and fused it with what sounds like a proto-UK garage sound. It works so well that you wonder why it wasn't tried before.

Postscript - Thanks to the band for getting in touch with me to let me know they are French and not Japanese as I previously reported. I'm sorry about that and happy to correct the error.

lace curtains - 'bedroom honesty'

The album is out next month, in the meantime have a taster of what will be a massive band with a bit of luck and a lot of vinyl justice.

sexton blake - 'girl you know it's true'

Confession time here. The Milli Vanilli tune has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. As pop tunes go, it's catchy, the riffs that it hangs upon are pretty good and the chorus definitely works. I know the 2 pretty boy 'singers' were frauds but so what? It never did Boney M any harm.

If the original is beyond the pale for you then how about a version that is more sensual and definitely authentic? Here's Sexton Blake's take on it.

sébastien tellier - 'russian attractions'

I think you'll quite like this video to accompany a slow ballad from the French maestro. It sounds quite Depeche Mode-like to me and I wonder if he's now moving away from the bubblegum pop towards a darker edge.

24 June 2012

sigur rós - 'fjögur píanó'

And so to bed. This is brand new and exquisite. Worthy of their fellow countryman, Olafar Arnalds.

que sera

I've just looked at the BBC website and found out we lost on penalties. I can heartily recommend listening to music instead of watching England penalty shoot-outs, if only for your stress-levels.

Come on, Gregory. Soothe the pain.

fat jon - 'how you feel'

Right now I'm nervous. I'll check the scores in 5 minutes. If England go out then don't blame me. I gave 110% tonight.

england expects

...me to do my duty so I switched off the telly and listened to some music at the end of the first half of extra time. There is a rationale behind this. The season that Brighton flirted with relegation a few years back I considered that it was me that was the unlucky mascot so I stopped going with about 8 matches to go. Brighton stayed up, Russell Slade got the plaudits and I remained the unsung hero. I'm using the same logic tonight. You can thank me later.

Herman Dune - 'My Home Is Nowhere Without You'

siobhan donaghy - 'coming up for air'

The title seems very appropriate as I watch England hold on against Italy (and Rooney has just fluffed a golden chance...my stress levels are very high now).

praying to the sun god

If you are in serious need of summer loving then a friend of mine has put together a brilliant summer mixtape. I'm very jealous of this chap's musical knowledge and he even has a blog that you can follow by clicking here. Seriously, it's a very clever selection of great tunes. Get involved!

sofa rockers - sofa surfers (richard dorfmeister remix)

quantic and alice russell - 'here again'

Tru Thoughts' star performers have recently released a new album and it's an absolute joy. This is track 2 from the long player.

die antwoord - 'baby's on fire'

Their best hit yet, I reckon.

jimmy vaughan - 'dengue woman blues'

hot chip - 'flutes'

I'm giving the new album a good listen this morning and this track is a seriously danceable tune.

22 June 2012

nightmares on wax - 'mind eye'

From the Mind Elevation album. Does it get any more laid back than this?

back once again is the renegade master

At last, my laptop is back in my hands and I'm able to continue posting the music that moves me. Here's a tune I've been listening to this morning, Ken Boothe with 'Artibella'. Top tune, top singer, top of the morning to you!

17 June 2012

normal service will be resumed as soon as possible

Unfortunately, my laptop is still being repaired hence the lack of posts of late. I'm really sorry about this and am having to post blog entries via my New iPad and it means that I'm going to be restricted to the layout and content for the next week. I hope you can bear with me until I'm back to normal.

In the meantime please have a listen to this Sunday mash-up from Wax Audio.

15 June 2012

roberta flack - 'killing me softly'

10 June 2012

angus & julia stone - 'all of me (oliver rado remix)'

war of the worlds - 'horsell common and the heat ray'

This still scares the bejasus out of me. I hated this album for years because it was played to death every Sunday by my step-father when I was little (both records, both sides) but recently I've re-visited it and it stands the test of time very well and the casting is inspired. It's the bit where the spaceship opens that really gets me.

levi stubbs

I'm watching the 'Little Shop of Horrors' with my children and we were curious as to who the voice of Audrey II, the man-eating plant was. Google remains a dear friend and within seconds we had the answer - none other than Levi Stubbs. It lead to a conversation about the Motown, the Four Tops, the link with the Lockerbie bombing (very chilling, I recommend looking it up) and how the English took Motown and created Northern Soul. Levi Stubbs is a great name and the man wore the name very well. He had, without doubt, one of the most distinctive voices in pop and could carry a note to places others can only see on a map. Here he is at his prime with the Four Tops.

blonds - 'run'

Fantastic tune for a Sunday morning.

09 June 2012

amy winehouse - 'girl from ipanema'

What a talent that woman had.

junior wells - 'give me one reason'

new york city is killing me

Not the Gil Scott-Heron song but instead Ray Lamontagne. This is so beautiful.

tom waits - 'down there by the train'

My mate Barri adores Tom Waits. I can see why.

08 June 2012

eek a mouse - 'ghetto living'

who are the warriors?

MC Wildski is one for starters. Top, top tune.

ólöf arnalds - 'innundir skinni'

avenue d - '2d2f'

Wise words.

whomadewho and the pitfalls of man

This two-song, one-part video is a cautionary tale of chasing the dream. I think the message here is that people are as pissed off with modern living as they ever were. Except me. I have music.

bob welch 1945 - 2012

And still they keep dying. This time it's Fleetwood Mac guitarist and singer Bob Welch who killed himself at his Nashville home. He was instrumental (pun well and truly intended) in helping Fleetwood Mac from arty blues to mainstream and played on 5 albums before leaving for minor solo success. Here he is, live in concert with the band playing "Believe Me' and featuring Bob Weston who also died this year.

sebo & madmotormiquel - 'boys boys'

I think I have my soundtrack for the summer, this is just so good!

gza - 'liquid swords' re-mastered, re-released

One of the great hip hop albums has been re-mastered from the original tapes and given the deluxe boxset touch. It comes with a bonus CD including instrumentals of the album tracks and sleevenotes from Chris Faraone and numerous pieces of artwork but that's not all! Oh no, there's a miniature chess set as part of the collection. Just check out it out the picture:

'Investigative Reports' - from the 1995 album.

As a wonderful psotscript, I love this quote from a fan on Youtube: "I love the Wu almost as much as I love taffy. And I'm a man who enjoys his taffy"

andres gonzalez - 'perpendiculares (agustin cooper remix)'

I'm working from home today and I always find crisp minimal techno a Godsend as it is perfect music to zone out to. Here's a perfect example.

grass widow - 'goldilocks zone'

On first listen I thought this might be Warpaint but they don't have the "oomph" that Warpaint have, instead more accomplished guitarwork with echoes of the Pixies and the vocals are more Sleeper or the Primitives. I think I'm going to have to give this a few listens before I make my mind up on hit or miss. The video is definitely a hit though!

dj ss - 'lighter'

That Nina Simone track reminded me of this absolute monster of a drum and bass track from Leroy Small aka DJ SS

micachu and the shapes - 'ok'

Their new album 'Never' is released at the end of July, with this as the first single from it. I've been trying to shoehorn a pun into this entry around the words 'never' and 'ok' where I eventually describe this song as bloody brilliant but I have tried and failed so let me cut to the chase and say this song is....bloody brilliant.

portishead - 'humming'

nina simone - 'feelings'

From a live performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. I don't think I've seen a more mesmerising performance by any musician ever. She berates the audience for being robots, demands they clap, questions the need for a song with lyrics such as this, she is godly. She soars, she swoops, she pauses, she blows all others away and the final note that she holds....wow!

06 June 2012

dave brubeck quartet - 'take 5 (take take 5 edit)'

This is a very fresh and clean edit of a timeless piece of musical history. I like the build up here, as with the original, it's not rushed but rather we're teased and soothed into the song.

the eels - 'fresh feeling'

What is about the Eels lyrics that somehow all manage to lift me despite the nature of the song?

05 June 2012

grizzly bear - 'sleeping ute'

This is the first track to be released form their September scheduled album. I like the sound of this from first listen, it has a complex structure with some intricate guitar work and some very spacial interludes that remind me of Neil Young.

04 June 2012

new order - 'true faith'

It needs no introduction but I'll just briefly give one anyway. This song is one of the most important songs in my life and saw me through some rough times.

dirty three ft. nick cave - 'sea above, sky below'

A rather beautiful tune from a hotel room in New York.

terror bird - 'she kissed me and i fell ill'

Nice use of a Masahiro Shinoda video also.

bobby womack - 'the bravest man in the universe (live stream)'

Here's a nice bank holiday treat for us all. I haven't listened to it yet but happy to pass on the link for anyone who wants it. Do let me know what you think of it, the link is here.

'smells like teen spirit' casting call

Thanks to Eric Alper's twitter feed, I was alerted to this piece of musical history. It's the video casting call for the Nirvana classic.

I would probably have gone for the preppy look. What about you?

03 June 2012

wiley - 'I'm skanking (the 2 bears remix)'

I went to the Fatboy Slim after party at Digital down on Brighton seafront last night and the DJ dropped this and the place went mental. Rightly so.

Altogether now "1, 2, 3, 4..."

anika and obi blanche mixtape

This is a very special mixtape from one of my favourite female performers and is a wonderfully eclectic collection with dance, punk, hip-hop and all sorts thrown in and for all that it all blends in beautifully.

curtis mayfield - 'the makings of you (live in concert)'

Oh, now this is beautiful. Just listen to that voice.

curve - 'fait accomplit'

There are people who like music and then there are people for whom music is an essential part of their lives. I'm really lucky to have so many friends who fall into the second category and with great taste in music. Take this for instance, it's a classic and I'd forgotten about it completely. I'm making amends by listening to their first album, Doppelgänger, right now.

junior murvin - 'tedious'

From his Police and Thieves album of 1976(?). It's a great album and I'm due to see him perform it in full later this year.

02 June 2012

marrs - 'pump up the volume'

Let's go back to the beginning.

01 June 2012

brand new beach boys track

Rolling Stones magazine are streaming a new song from the Beach Boys ahead of their new album and tour this summer. It's very much a summertime song and it's great to hear those familiar voices again. You can listen to it here.

This is also the perfect excuse to play one of my favourite Beach Boys tracks and I'm never one to miss an opportunity to listen to the Beach Boys!

unkle - 'eye for an eye'

Fridays were made for big tunes.

31 May 2012

gary numan - 'are friends electric' live in session

He's slowed it right down and made it a rockier, more paranoid experience and gives an old classic a new lease of life.

saschienne - 'unknown (dixon mix)'

Kompakt, the record label, have been telling everyone just how good this act are and after listening to this deepest of deep house mixes I can see why.

doc watson 1923 - 2012

Sad news wings its way from North Carolina where it's being reported that bluegrass singer and master flatpicker, Doc Watson has died after a fall at his home.

the wednesday experiment - 'play with something'

I'm something of an aficionado when it comes to trip hop even if I do say so myself and once in a while a track comes along that blows me away and it feels like 1994 all over again. I think this is one of those occasions and the influences are writ large across the whole track. At one point Tricky, another point Portishead and is that a bit of Massive Attack I can hear at the back? It seems very appropriate that I'm in Bristol as I listen to this and thinking about getting up for work. Trip hop this good is so uplifting.

30 May 2012

taragana pyjarama - 'lo ng'

Following on in the moody dance track vibe is this absolute peach of a tune from Taragana Pyjarama. I adore the way it builds with each layer amplifying and hypnotising. It really hits the sweet spot for me.

edu imbernon & triumph feat. sutja gutiérrez - 'mystery inside (kellerkind remix)'

I love it when dance tracks really get deep down like they mean business. If the DJ sticks this monster on then he doesn't expect you all to be standing around admiring each other's trainers. He expects you to be in the zone, dancing to the beat. It's the least this track deserves. I love it, I really do.

a ghost train - 'chemin vert'

This video is extremely clever. It was made from splicing together Google Street images and then put through the mangle. The result is this masterpiece.

antony - 'coral:rekindling venus'

Antony Hegarty has released this track available for download for a donation to the Australian Research Council Centre for Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. You can get it from here. Why the Coral Reef Studies charity? Well...it's the soundtrack to a film about coral by Lynette Wallworth.

It is a beautiful track but I do feel with his songs that it's all getting a bit samey. Perhaps because his voice is just so distinctive or maybe because he tends to favour piano pieces played in the same key but I'd like to see him branch out into a different direction.

tomas barfod - 'broken glass'

This is a very understated track with nice use of vocoder and some really clever drum programming.

lucid mover feat ghetto priest - 'weapon of choice (kaze remix)'

A damn fine remix of a damn fine hip-hop track.

king tuff - 'bad thing'

A new album out too. This band are definitely one to watch.

29 May 2012

big star - 'holocaust'

lucy rose - 'red face'

In session at the All Saints Basement Sessions.

alt-j - 'an awesome wave'

I'd heard snippets before of this album but this has been the first chance to hear the entire album and I think the comparisons with XX, Maccabees, James, Gomez...even Stornoway are pretty accurate. Remember this is their debut album so it really is amazing just how much of a finished article it sounds. They have a blues-y feel and it suits the narration style of the songwriting down to a tee. It's not as whimsical as I first imagined but the harmonies are very soulful and they are all accomplished musicians that harks back to those early James albums, Strip-Mine in particular. Overall, the album has a lovely balance to it and one that I will keep coming back to when I get a chance to buy it (it is released this week).

I got into an online argument that I really shouldn't have over the weekend where I rushed to the defence of new music. Someone, rather pompously in my opinion, declared that modern acts are relatively talentless compared with those of yesteryear. It's bands such as Alt-J and others that make me so excited about music and they are the reason I spend far too much time hunting down and getting so evangelical about music. They are the raison d'être for this blog.

Right, enough tub-thumping from me and I'll leave you in peace to listen to what could be one of the albums of the year.

28 May 2012

the low anthem

Two tracks from the Low Anthem, the first is from their Charlie Brown album of a few years back; this is them in session with the familiar line-up.

And from an earlier incarnation with Daniel Lefkowitz.

florence and the machine - 'spectrum (calvin harris remix)'

He's never been one to shy away from a "wave your hands in the air" disco tune, has our Calvin. He's done it again with this Florence and the Machine remix that you will probably be hearing lots of over the next few months.

ike and tina turner - 'proud mary'

In honour of John Fogerty who wrote this song, he's 67 today. Just look at the energy they put into the second part of this video. I'm worn out just watching it!

nóló - 's.j. (fm belfast remix)'

They don't just make good music, they mix pretty well too. Here's a mix they did for fellow Icelanders, Nóló. It reminds me in part of Lykke Li's 'I Follow Rivers'.

faye - 'water against the rocks'

After a name change to make her a bit more web-friendly for British audiences, she returns as Faye with this massive tune complete with stunning video.She's definitely got the right voice for this kind of electronic power pop following on from fellow countrywomen Fever Ray and Lykke Li which makes me think that the Swedish/English accent must play a part in that. This song is definitely one of those that lays its intentions bare from the start as an anthem and then duly delivers on its promise.

tibetan youth

Let's just make one thing clear, they're not from Tibet but rather Halifax, West Yorkshire. Their music is a rather wonderful mix of classical, almost Oriental and operatic and this track, Lullaby is a really good showcase for their talents. The video itself is as difficult to pin down as the music but I think I may have seen parts of it before in a Casiokids video (just in case you wondering!)

27 May 2012

sunday bloody sunday

Leonard Cohen - 'Tower of Song'

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - 'Cassiel's Song'

Sandie Shaw - 'Always Something There To Remind Me'

26 May 2012

crystal fighters - 'earth island (ldr4 life remix)'

Last one of the night from me and this is a very intense remix of Crystal Fighters 'Earth Island'. It's almost unrecognisable from the original which to my ears sounds Oriental, minimalist and other worldly. This, on the other hand is definitely of this planet, probably in the zone at 3.15 am in a cool as f**k nightclub somewhere in East London. I'm now reaching double figures for hitting the rewind button on this and would be here for some hours yet if freshly laundered bed linen on my bed wasn't seducing me.

This is a seriously good remix.

cairo - 'i like blue beat'

I heard this song once on Radio 1 on (I think) Peter Powell's early evening radio show way back in 1980, I was 11 at the time and I remember thinking just how good it was. It stuck in my mind over the years and I finally tracked down a copy in a record shop in Soho in the early 90s. I lost it soon after without actually hearing it again and it was only a few years ago that this tune started popping up on the internet.

It's funny how certain songs stick in the mind and I distinctly remember what I was doing and where I was when I heard it too. This is all the more remarkable as I have huge gaps in what I remember from my childhood. Whether it's just that time has addled the brain or there was a group meeting of my memory banks and they decided not to recollect what was a pretty tough time for me, who knows but I guess it goes to show how important music has always been for me.

This is what could best be described as underground British ska and definitely marks a time when the lines between pop and ska were becoming more and more blurred.

chromatics - 'kill for love'

I love all the current wave of neo-New Wave bands out there at the moment. At this point I'm rather pleased with that terribly pun in the first sentence, tomorrow I shall probably regret it. Ah well, let me tell you about this new song, the title track from the new album from the Oregon-based Chromatics. They are signed to THE record label that have done more to push New Wave back onto the musical agenda. I'm talking of course about Italians Do It Better. The whole album has an anthemic feel to it and the female vocals help to lift it brilliantly whilst carefully avoiding the trap of slipping into a power ballad. Why is it that all New Wave sounds like it's sung with an English accent? It's a great album and one of my tips for the critics' top 100 for 2012.

sun kil moon - 'king fish'

This is my favourite track from his new album 'Among the Leaves' which is currently receiving a lot of critical acclaim. This tune particularly sounds very Will Oldham but the album overall has more of a feel of a Lambchop or Midlake album rather than Bonnie Prince Billy. It's quite a deep album with the music and lyrics a lot heavier than the deliberately pretentious track titles. I won't spoil the surprise but if you fancy a giggle, you can read them here.

sin fang - 'walk with you'

Truth be told, I'm shattered. I've had a lovely day with my 2 sons down on Hove Lawns and the weather has been what can only be described as glorious but we were out all day and the heat has finally beaten me. There's still time for some music though, there's always time for music and so I'm keeping the tempo down and the mood lighting low with this live performance from Sindri Már Sigfússon.