He's slowed it right down and made it a rockier, more paranoid experience and gives an old classic a new lease of life.
31 May 2012
saschienne - 'unknown (dixon mix)'
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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
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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'
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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'
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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)'
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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'
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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'
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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'
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This is a very understated track with nice use of vocoder and some really clever drum programming.
29 May 2012
alt-j - 'an awesome wave'
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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
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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)'
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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'
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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)'
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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'
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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
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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!)
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