de-minimis

01 December 2011

happy iceland music day everyone!

This is from the album that first ignited my interest in Icelandic music

Sugarcubes - 'Delicious Demon'

kuchibiru network 2

Friendzone have put together a free to download compilation of all that's good in the world of Witch House. It's available here. As with most things Witch House there are a lot of genres spanned, many degrees of (un)comfortable listening and more questions than answers.

kids eh?

Coasting - 'Kids'

30 November 2011

plants and animals - 'lighthouse'

If, and it's a bloody huge if, U2 were still relevant and making great records instead of ..well, I think we all know what I'm going to say, suffice to say that I don't think U2 are anything more than a brand that Bono uses as his soapbox. Where was I? Oh, yes. If U2 still made great records....In my opinion they would sound a bit like this one by Montreal trio, Plants and Animals. They've got a new album coming out in January 2012 and this is the first track from it.

i'm free, free to do what i want to do

Amazon are offering a free download of the Stereocolors 'Underground'. It's a great track that sits somewhere between intelligent drum and bass and trip-hop. It's the sort of tune that will never set the world alight but play this to your friends and they will marvel at your good taste. It comes from their album 'Marzo' released earlier this month. The link to the free download is here.

enter shikari - sorry, you're not a winner

Man United play Crystal Palace tonight. This is dedicated to both sides.

new vince clarke track

It's called Spock and is quite trippy, certainly a bit deeper than the usual poppy tracks that he's better known for.

and now the end is near

This is my last day working at my current job. My contract is up and it looks like I won't be working for at least a month. I decided to treat myself so I spent my lunchtime in record shops in Soho and I managed to snaffle some real beauties. Here's the lowdown on what went into my shopping basket:

Arthur Verocai (self-titled) It's a collection of songs from one of Brazil's foremost funkateers from the 70s. He was quite a controversial figure and often in opposition to Brazil's then military rulers. It's a real peach of an album.

Gold Panda - DJ Kicks Peckham's finest, Gold Panda is given free reign to spin his dream mixtape.

Mr Chop - Switched On A homage to the synth-led funk from the late 60s and early 70s from Cheshire based Mr Chop.

Xeno and Oaklander - Set and Lights - I've written about this New York duo before. They do a great line in 80s English inspired electronica. In the words of the Inspiral Carpets, as cool as f*ck.

Ringo Deathstarr - Shadow - They're shoe-gazer heaven as far as I'm concerned and although from Austin in Texas sound very British Isles in their music. Sort of mid to late Jesus and Mary Chain or My Bloody Valentine. They sound fantastic, almost epic at times.

Right...enough chat, let's get to the serious stuff.

beck and charlotte gainsbourg in collaboration

This is called Paradisco. I like it a lot. They seem very suited to each other, music-wise.

28 November 2011

les sessions cubaines

Philemon Chante are a band that I don't know too much about but their Cuban Sessions album is the business. It combines the coolness of Cuban jazz with a Gallic-ness that is so languid that they don't even shrug. It's perfect for this time of night before I head to bed.

tom zé

He's one of Brazil's most respected musicians who first came to fame in the 1960s. He drifted into obscurity until rediscovered by a new audience in the 1990s eager to hear the man and his music. Seriously, get your ears round this. It's brilliant.

ry cooder - dirty chateau

This is from his 2011 album ' Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down'. It's got a Leonard Cohen coolness to it that I like. It's also a little bit James Taylor. What a lovely tune.

plastikman - ask yourself remix competition

This is the entire shortlist for the Plastikman remix competition from earlier this year as judged by Richie Hawtin himself. I should have posted it at the time. Apologies for not doing so early. You can read more about the competition here.

27 November 2011

the drugs don't work

This is an interesting mash-up of a tune I'm not a big fan of: 'White Rabbit', This seems to work though. Maybe I do like the original after all. It's late. I'm off to bed.

renegades of jazz

This album gets the big thumbs up from my 12 year old son and from me. Lots of head nodding and white man overbite going on at De-Minimis Towers to this collection of tunes from Germany which combine the funkier end of jazz with a hip-hop feel. It feels very old school breakbeat with someone like the JB band in attendance. There are probably funkier albums out there but I haven't heard them recently.