The White Noise Revisited

Dubnovoodoobasswithmyheadman

2009-07-01T12:00:00.001Z

Big Two Hundred - Drum Spell

Since disbanding Bizarre Inc back in 1996 after their second album, 'Surprise', was a commercial flop, Andrew Meecham and Dean Meredith have been incredibly creatively fertile, together and apart, with less chart success but with an increasingly eclectic sound. They both dabbled in Big Beat as Sir Drew and Psychedeliasmith respectively, before coming together again as Chicken Lips in 1999 and exploring the outer reaches of space funk, nu-disco and leftfield house. On the solo tip, Meecham has been recording spaced-out analogue disco as the Emperor Machine for DC Recordings since 2003 (more on that one day - the 'Vertical Tones and Horizontal Noise' series is brilliant), and Meredith's White Light Circus project (also on DC) is Moroder/Kraftwerk influenced dirty old school electro and celestial funk (again, I should really cover this some day as it is equally good).

But my favourite post-Bizarre Inc incarnation for Meecham and Meredith was Big Two Hundred. Under that alias they recorded a solitary album, 'Your Personal Filth', released on DC Recordings in 2003; a rampant collection of dub disco, punk funk and psychedelic garage rock, very much in thrall to Bristol's late-1970s post punk pioneers The Pop Group and with nods to The Clash and PiL. It's a fucking freaky far out and hugely underrated album with a dirty, stoned sound enhanced by the fact that it was all recorded on vintage analogue equipment. Check 'Drum Spell', which sounds like an outtake from a Can album - 12-minutes of locked Krauty grooves, a bucketload of spooky echo effects and insane, voodoo-influenced, dubbed-out percussion that sounds like it's being played with human bones. And to think this fell out of the same heads that made 'I'm Gonna Get You'. I want some of whatever it was they'd been taking...

Search eBay for Big Two Hundred
DC Recordings website
DC Recordings MySpace
Chicken Lips MySpace
The Emperor Machine MySpace
White Light Circus MySpace

I Just Can't Help Believing...

2009-06-24T06:00:00.000Z

Johnny Boy - You are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve

Sorry it's been a bit quiet here of late. I've got a lot on my plate at the moment, but one of the things I have been doing is starting to think about my end of the decade list. Yep, the first decade of the noughties (I hate that term but can't think of a decent substitute) is almost over. While I was sorting out an initial list (91 songs at the moment, hoping to whittle that down to 20 over the coming weeks), I came across this amazing song by Johnny Boy. I don't think my iPod has ever thrown this up in any shuffle and as it's the only song I have by them it's got swamped, but by crikey it's GOOD! Named after a character in Scorsese's 'Mean Streets', the Liverpool-based duo of Lolly Hayes and Davo were a precursor to the Ting Tings - boy/girl duo doing catchy indie pop - only far, far superior. Their second single, 'You are the Generation That Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve' was a call to arms against consumerism, produced by the Manics' James Dean Bradfield and released in 2004, when it reached # 50 in the hit parade. It's a brilliant tune - like Phil Spector producing Saint Etienne - with an infectious, euphoric, shout-along chorus. Unfortuntately, for various reasons it took them three years and two record companies before their self-titled debut album hit the shelves, and nothing on the album matched the brilliance of '...Generation'. But not many bands get it so very right at such an early stage in their career, so for that alone they should be lauded. Definitely one of the great lost singles of the decade.

Search eBay for Johnny Boy
Johnny Boy MySpace

Paint the Whole World With a Rainbow

2009-05-28T07:36:00.004Z

Black Moth Super Rainbow - Twin Of Myself

Black Moth Super Rainbow win band name of the year, if not the decade. But then great band names are in their DNA - previous monikers have included Allegheny White Fish (Pittsburgh-slang for a condom floating down the river) and satanstompingcaterpillars. Emerging from a chrysalis in an obscure Pennsylvanian forest glen in 2003, the fully-formed Black Moth comprise vocoder-wielding front man Tobacco, backed by four mysterious musical forces known as The Seven Fields of Aphelion, Power Pill Fist, Iffernaut and Father Hummingbird. So far so freaky deaky, weirdy beardy, right? Wrong. The biggest surprise of all is that the music concocted by the five-piece on their latest album, 'Eating Us', isn't as way out there as you might think. Sure, it's full-on under-the-influence-of-super-strong-blotter-acid psychedelia, but then whack your ears around 'Twin of Myself' - it's sublime psychedelic pop music, an inspired amalgam of Air's floaty Gallic goodness and some top drawer childlike melodies that could have come out of the Boards of Canada songbook. It's accessible and catchy - it wouldn't surprise me if it didn't worry the Top 40 if their UK label, Memphis Industries, released it as a single.

Granted, 'Twin Of Myself' is the poppermost moment on 'Eating Us', but the rest of the album is still easy on the ear. Produced by Dave Fridmann, it's a proper summer album, radiating warmth from start to finish, mainly due to the predominance of analogue electronic instruments including Tobacco's ubiquitous vocoder (which is set on soft and warm, not harsh and robotic), as well as a lush Rhodes piano and space-age Novatron. Other highlights include opening track 'Born on a Day the Sun Didn't Shine', which is a futuristic 'Strawberry Fields Forever', with heavy, looped beats and a gorgeous Rhodes, while 'Iron Lemonade' is a woozy bad trip, with a melody bizarrely reminiscent of the Grange Hill theme tune as re-imagined Plone. Not surprisingly, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips is a big fan, naming the song 'I Was Zapped by the Lucky Super Rainbow' after them.

'Eating Us' is a wonderful example of machine music with an organic, human heart and can be double-dropped straight into the day-glo melting pot of psychedelic classics.

'Eating Us' by Black Moth Super Rainbow is released in the UK by Memphis Industries on June 8th 2009. Pre-order it from Norman Records
Black Moth Super Rainbow MySpace
Black Moth Super Rainbow website
Memphis Industries website

Jackin' in the Community

2009-05-21T08:00:00.001Z

Nathan Fake - Castle Rising

Norfolk’s finest big-haired knob-worrier Nathan Fake is back with a new six-track mini-album ‘Hard Islands’, which was released by James Holden’s mighty Border Community imprint on Monday. I caned the arse of Fake’s 2006 debut album, ‘Drowning in a Sea of Love’ - an inspired concoction of toytown synths, blissful, life-affirming distortion and thumping beats, and definitely up there with the best of the Noughties. His latest offering finds the prodigious 25-year-old hitting his stride, remodelling his style with a tougher sound, honed over the last few years spent roughing up the dancefloors of Europe. “Playing live a lot over the last couple of years has had a profound influence on the way I make music now,” Fake says.

Opening track ‘The Turtle’ is a straight-up banger – marvellous bubbly, squidgy acid, while on ‘Basic Mountain’, Fake staples his trademark fuzzy, pastoral electronica to hard-edged, analogue techno beats. ‘Castle Rising’ is rough, raw and loopily experimental acid house, recalling the glorious early years of 808 State, when A Guy Called Gerald was behind the wheel; and both ‘Narrier’ and ‘Fentiger’ are packed with gnarly Aphexisms, off-kilter melodies and brutal beats. I only have one complaint – it’s far too short. More please.

Nathan Fake - Outhouse (Main Mix)

The music of 'Hard Islands' is a return to Fake's roots - 'Outhouse' was the single he burst on to the scene with back in November 2003, an absolutely bruising monster of a tune, with only an eerie, dissonant AFX circa-Polygon Window melody to keep the relentless percussion at bay. If he's now 25 (I think) that means he would've been, er, about 19-years-old when he produced this. Suddenly those "Norfolk's answer to the Aphex Twin" comparisons have some resonance.

Buy 'Hard Islands' from Norman Records
Nathan Fake MySpace
Nathan Fake website
Border Community website

Spirited Away

2009-05-15T08:09:00.005Z

LFO - Tied Up (Spiritualized Electric Mainline Mix

When I first got wind of this union between the Gods of bleep techno and Jason Pierce’s psychedelic space rockers - probably in the news section of the NME - I messed my pants in excitement. An inspired collaboration if ever there was one, the results did not disappoint as Jason Pierce took the original bass-heavy techno thumper and transformed it into a blissful nine-minutes of strung-out ambient wonder, easily on a par with Global Communication's reworking of Chapterhouse's 'Blood Music'. Coincidentally, the only other remix Pierce ever did (until last year's effort for Goldfrapp) was of the Global Communication track 'Maiden Voyage' around the same time as this.

Pierce had obviously been rummaging around in the darkest recesses of former cohort Sonic Boom's drug bag, as there's not a trumpet or gospel choir in sight. This isn't so much a remix as a piece of music inspired by the original, with oscillating synths and drones, a gently plucked guitar, washes of beautiful, dissonant noise and the vaguest hint of melody to tie this rework to the original. It evolves so gradually the changes are barely noticeable and is a wonderful demonstration of tonal control. This is right up there with the best things Pierce ever did, and if he's considering a change of direction post 'Songs in A&E' I'd suggest a trip back in time...

Search eBay for LFO 'Tied Up'
LFO MySpace
Official Spiritualized® website
Spiritualized® MySpace

The Return of Elf Magic

2009-05-07T19:28:00.002Z

Wisp - Keeper Of The Hills

Deep in a mountain valley in Middle Earth stands the mighty Wisp – resplendent in his wizard’s robes, the Merlin of electronic music thrusts his knotted staff towards the three-mooned sky as he orchestrates a deranged army of dancing Orcs, goblins and elves, whipped into a frenzy by an insane musical collision between Aphex Twin and Genesis. Welcome to the wonderful world of Progtronica.

And no, that tag is not meant to be disingenuous. ‘The Shimmering Hour’ is an epic and conceptual album, as much influenced by medieval folklore as it is by the electronic music scene. Wisp came upon his artist name while reading ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and has been known to dabble in the odd game of Dungeons and Dragons. The progressive element can also be found in Wisp’s exceptional musicality – the boy can play as well as program, and like the key protagonists of the progressive rock scene, he is not afraid to indulge himself. All he needs is to don a fox’s head for live performances a la Peter Gabriel and the link would be complete.

As an artist who has done all his growing up in public – releasing a plethora of high quality net releases for free and frequenting electronic music messageboards - Reid “Wisp” Dunn of Niagara Falls, New York has always been judged by the harshest critics of all; the notoriously hard-to-please IDM fanboy community. But Dunn has emerged unscathed, virtually bulletproof to the jealous sniping and totally driven by his own convictions rather than someone else’s idea of what electronic music should sound like in 2009.

‘The Shimmering Hour’ is the follow-up to 2005’s excellent ‘NRTHNDR’, Dunn’s first “proper” (i.e. you had to pay for it) album. There are references to all the various stages of his prolific musical career within, making ‘TSH’ his masterwork. There is no doubting Dunn’s technical prowess – his programming and production skills are exceptional - but what makes ‘TSH’ so special is the fact that you can tell he has poured his heart and soul into it. In an oft-faceless scene, Dunn’s quirky personality shines forth from every second of his music and his sound is unique. You could spot a Wisp track a mile off. Yes, he is undoubtedly under the influence of Aphex, but Aphex soundtracking ‘The Legend of Zelda’ as directed by Peter Jackson.

Joyous paint-the-sky melodies, fucked-up acid grooves, banging, emotive Euro-rave, Bukem-esque ambient jungle, bewitching medieval folk, lush breakdowns and complex, pulse-quickening breakbeats are all dropped into the musical cauldron and bubbled into life to create a magical brew, rich with the spirit of Bardic lore but driven by cutting-edge electronic production skills. Wisp is at the peak of his powers now; it won't be long before you all fall under his spell.

Buy 'The Shimmering Hour' from Norman Records
Incredible Wisp archive - all his net-label recordings are available to download for free!
Wisp MySpace

Box Fresh Techno

2009-04-30T07:40:00.004Z

Laurent Garnier - Astral Dreams (Speakers Mix)
Laurent Garnier - Astral Dreams (Headphones Mix)

The thing about top-notch quality techno is that it never seems to age. Take Laurent Garnier’s ‘Astral Dreams (Speakers Mix)’. It is nearly 15 years old, but rather than sounding dusty and ancient it still sounds box fresh today, like it was cooked up on Reason and burnt onto a CDr by some prodigious teen techno producer last week. 15 years is a long time, but the track is timeless, with super crispy production. OK, so if you were playing it out now you’d have to pitch it up a bit, but I probably would have given it a bit of a nudge even back then - you want everything to go faster when you’re young. As the ‘Speakers Mix’ suggests, this was one for the dancefloor, designed to shred ears – if you stood too close to the PA it sounded like a gigantic metallic dog was barking directly into your brain.

The ‘Speakers Mix’ originally surfaced on a 12” on FComm – the precursor to the French techno wizard’s debut album ‘Shot in the Dark’, which was released in the autumn of 1994. There was a ‘Headphones Mix’ that I’m also posting - this is a laidback, trancier affair that is more of the period and does sound slightly dated. But when that insidious acid line kicks in it’s a dead ringer for peak-‘Brown Album’ Orbital, which is a very, very good thing indeed.

Search eBay for 'Shot in the Dark'
Laurent Garnier discography
Laurent Garnier MySpace

As a footnote - I'm on Twitter now. You can find me here. Not sure how I'm going to use it at the moment, but I am considering doing occasional exclusive Twitter posts - 140 character reviews with tinyurl links to downloadable tracks - that won't feature on the main TWNR site. It may never happen, but if you want to see if it does - follow me! If I get 12 followers, I'll organise a supper for us all somewhere nice*.

* I won't.

Liberation Through Collaboration

2009-04-16T12:00:00.010Z

Mike & Rich - Vodka

Back in early 1996 when rumours of a collaboration between electronic behemoths Richard D. James and Mike Paradinas first reached my ears, I was so excited you would have thought it had just been announced that a re-animated Albert Einstein was getting together with Professor Stephen Hawking to finalise plans for a teleportation device. The reality was something far less highbrow - as Mike P revealed of their union: "With Rich it was ... fooling around pissed and on acid".

So not the groundbreaking, experimental electronic-fest everyone was expecting. Instead we got a couple of equipment-obsessed techno boffins getting mullered on vodka and acid in a studio and concocting some cheesy tuneage, though the resulting album, 'Mike & Rich' ('Extreme Knob Twiddlers' was a subtitle), is an underrated, joyful affair. Of the process itself, Mike P said in an interview with the brilliant Milk Factory website: "It started round his (Richard's) place and we just did this track. I think we both enjoyed working together, it was quite a laugh, so we carried it on. We were serious about the music though - it's not a pisstake, just elements of joy."

Many critics saw Mike P as the dominant force in the recording process, and the free-jazz keys of opener 'Mr Frosty' were certainly evocative of the music he produced under his Jake Slazenger moniker. Throughout, the playful synths and odd samples recall prime Rephlex-era µ-ziq material. But this simplistic view doesn't allow for the fact that (according to Mike P) the sessions were partly inspired by the unreleased Aphex Twin album 'Melodies from Mars'. Plus I can't imagine such a strong personality as RDJ would have been subservient to another producer - it's far more likely that he felt suitably liberated by the collaborative process, relaxed by multiple vodka shots, off his face on acid, and in the mood to create something a little bit different from his usual output. The crunchy techno of 'Vodka', with its off-kilter melodies is very Aphex, and 'Winner Takes All' recalls 'Cow Cud is a Twin' from the 'I Care Because You Do' album, while also being reminiscent of contemporary Luke Vibert's output as Wagon Christ.

'Mike & Rich' has aged pretty well considering and the cover is an absolute classic. Seeing the youthful Mike and Rich enjoying a game of Downfall is a reminder of more innocent times.

Squarepusher/AFX - Freeman Hardy & Willis Acid

Luke Vibert sent many a fan boy's pulse racing when he disclosed (again in an interview with The Milk Factory in 2003) that all of the electronic music scene's powerhouses have worked together at some point. "(Me and Richard) do work loads. Nearly every time I see him, we make music together. Same with Squarepusher. We’ve done tracks with Tom, I’ve done tracks with Mike Paradinas, everyone’s done tracks together." But, unfortunately, it appears that not many of these collaborations will ever see the light of day as they simply aren't good enough - too unfocused, sprawling and messy to be worthy of a proper release. Though tantalisingly, Vibert said that he might give some of them away via the internet - as far as I'm aware, this hasn't happened yet.

However, one track that did make it into the public domain was a collaboration between Tom 'Squarepusher' Jenkinson and RDJ under his AFX guise. Recorded to celebrate Warp Records’ 100th release and named after the popular high street shoe retailer, 'Freeman, Hardy & Willis Acid' marries some mournful Aphexian melodies to jazzy, rolling Squarepusher d'n'b beats. Then the ante is upped as the drums go all splattercore and it finally delivers on the acid promised by the title with some vintage squidge. With Warp celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, perhaps a few more collaborations between the old school heavyweights could be on the cards. Here's hoping...

Buy 'Mike & Rich' from Boomkat
Mike P's Planet Mu website
Aphex Twin fan resource/forum at WATMM - strictly for the hardcore fanboize - you have been warned!
Squarepusher MySpace
Warp Records website

A Scene Worth Celebrating Again

2009-04-09T08:00:00.000Z

The Early Years - Like a Suicide

As documented many times on TWNR, I was a teenage shoegazer. Ride posters on my wall, Ride T-shirt on my back, sporting the duffel coat/Converse combo, silly girls hair and a winsome, fey expression permanently etched on my fizzog. Now I consider myself to be a massive fan with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the scene, but everything pales into insignificance when compared to the shoegazer extraordinaire, Nathaniel Cramp of Sonic Cathedral. Nat has single-handedly resurrected the shoegazing genre, breathing new life into the much-maligned scene (Richey Manic famously said he hated it "more than Hitler") with club nights and a record label. If you want some more background info, we wrote a piece about Nat and Sonic Cathedral back in 2007 - you can find it here.

Nat's mission statement, as told to Jude Rogers in the Guardian, was to "contextualise shoegazing in terms of its influences and inspirations". But as well as looking back, Sonic Cathedral is also moving forwards, so the music he releases on the label is not a tired, hackneyed tribute to the original shoegazing scene. Instead, Sonic Cathedral represents everything that is great about music TODAY. Nat's eclectic A&R policy and fine ear has led to him releasing a series of phenomenal singles. All hits. No misses. That is quite an achievement in this day and age. If I were a major label I'd be getting Mr Cramp on my payroll quick smart...

Just how consistently great the Sonic Cathedral label output has been becomes evident when you listen to 'Cathedral Classics Volume One' - a compilation of the first eleven 7" singles released on the label since 2006, out on CD on April 20, 2009. It is, without a doubt, the best compilation I have heard for eons - a real throwback to the classic Creation compilations that were a testament to Alan McGee's A&R talents during the 1990s.

Kicking things off, The Tambourines' 'Sally O'Gannon' is a heady burst of fuzzy guitar pop - like Jesus and Mary Chain crossed with the Dandy Warhols. Courtney Taylor-Taylor (one surname not enough?) of the aforementioned Dandys would cut off his cock and flog it to Satan to still be writing songs this good.

For the label's second single, Nat rolled out the big guns - the union of Mark Gardener and Ulrich Schnauss was one made in heaven. The latter's remix skills transforms the former Ride man's heartbreaking country song, 'The Story of the Eye', into a lush slice of celestial folk - not so much shoegazing as stargazing. They should make an album together and then I can die happy.

Another shoegaze luminary to feature in the Sonic Cathedral oeuvre is the former Slowdive mainman Neil Halstead. He rocked up on the seventh single, remixing the San Francisco folk rocker Miranda Lee Richard's tender country ballad 'Lifeboat' and transforming it into a feedback-drenched slo-mo trip hop wonder, more reminiscent of Portishead than Halstead's former band (for whom the phrase 'sonic cathedrals of sound" was originally coined).

Things get really post-modern with the re-interpretations of tracks from Japancakes instrumental treatment of My Bloody Valentine's 'Loveless'. James Rutledge (aka the mighty Pedro) turns 'Soon' into a bleepy microhouse marvel, the swoons and groans of the original just about audible amid the bonkers skittering electronics, while Ricardo Tobar's reworking of 'Touched' is six-minutes of blissed-out, technoid brilliance - a Balearic classic in the making.

But the stand-out single for me is The Early Years (Brian Eno's favourite band) dark epic 'Like a Suicide'. A distorted, pulsing drum machine holds everything down, steady as a metronome, while a melody reminiscent of Joy Division's 'Isolation' hovers into earshot. It all shifts up a sonic gear when the vocal drops - a Gary Numan-esque baritone intones, "I'm not falling apart, just into pieces", before a guitar is mangled to death. Fuck Editors - this is how a 21st-Century Joy Division would have sounded.

Having said there are no misses, I am not the biggest Kyte fan. Under their own steam the Leicester band are unremarkable; their overwrought, piano-heavy torchsong 'Planet' is just a little too close to Keane for my liking. But when James "Maps" Chapman gets involved it's a different story - his remix of 'Secular Ventures' transforms the band into a credible proposition - imagine early-OMD with spikey Aphex rhythms. They should ask him to join full-time.

Elsewhere, Maps and M83 swap remixes, the Contino remix of Sarabeth Tucek's 'Something For You' is a comedown classic, and Sonic Boom goes all Radiophonic Workshop on Dean & Britta's (of Galaxie 500 and Luna fame) 'White Horses', a cover of a 1960s kids cartoon theme tune. And finally, with SCR011, the label released something resembling old school shoegaze - the bloody marvellous 'Within the Boundaries' by Daniel Land and the Modern Painters, an epic soundscape reminiscent of prime-Cocteaus.

Nice sleeve too - a gloriously yellow pastiche of 'Loveless'. Hopefully this is just the start for Sonic Cathedral. The label is preparing to release its first artist album later on this year - from Sweden's Sad Day for Puppets, who sound a bit like the Concretes crossed with Dinosaur Jr.

Forget the scene, it's the label that is worth celebrating...

Buy 'Cathedral Classics Volume One' from Norman Records
Visit the Sonic Cathedral shop
Sonic Cathedral MySpace

People in Motion Again

2009-04-02T12:00:00.002Z

Papercuts - The Machine Will Tell Us So

San Francisco is gearing up for another Summer of Love as there's a properly tasty scene building in the city at the moment. At its heart is Jason Quever, a guy with a very interesting back-story – he was raised in a commune in Humboldt County in Northern California, orphaned, and moved up and down the West Coast before settling in San Francisco. A talented multi-instrumentalist with a fine ear, he's become a focal point for West Coast musicians, playing with and producing a whole heap of acts including Devendra Banhart, Vetiver, Donkeys, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Cass McCombs and Beach House.

As well as his role as the Phil Spector of modern-day San Fran, Quever also has his own Papercuts project and the optimistically-titled ‘You Can Have What You Want’ is the third album he's recorded under that nom de plume, but the first to be released in the UK (on April 13 2009, by the ever-reliable Memphis Industries). It’s a dreamy collection of reverb-drenched pop songs, dominated by vintage analogue organs and Quever’s soaring vocals. The songs evoke hazy summer days, rich with melancholic drama and stunning arrangements – that Spector comparison was not a joke, though perhaps Brian Wilson circa-'Pet Sounds' is a more accurate sonic comparison.

It has a retro-future vibe - new sounds recorded on old equipment - that immediately brought to mind ‘The Noise Made By People’-era Broadcast (who incidentally have a song called Papercuts in their oeuvre – coincidence?), especially the drums, nailed on the press release as “Kraut-via Ringo”. Quever himself has flagged up 'The Twilight Zone' as a big influence on the album (he was watching the boxset on repeat during recording) - "It's clear to me that the show's mysterious, melancholic vibe seeped into the album", he revealed. This does actually make perfect sense. There's also a laidback, Gallic feel to proceedings; the evocative whiff of Gauloise and Gainsbourg permeate the tracks. Love it.

Catch the Papercuts experience live when Quever and his merry band tour the UK and Europe in April in support of the album -

09 April - Deaf Institute, Manchester
11 April - Bird On The Wire, London
12 April - Freebutt, Brighton
13 April - Rough Trade Instore, London
14 April - Cafe de la Danse, Paris
15 April - The Cellar, Oxford
16 April - The Legion, London
17 April - Buffalo Bar, Cardiff

Preorder 'You Can Have What You Want' from Norman Records
Papercuts at Memphis Industries
Papercuts MySpace

Life Without Britpop

2009-03-26T08:00:00.000Z

Blur - Never Clever

Imagine a world without Britpop... No 'Parklife'. No Jarvis waggling his arse at Jacko. No Noely G at No. 10. No Blur v Oasis. No Chris Evans. No Menswear. No ladettes. No Loaded. Hang on, that doesn't sound so bad...

But look, it could actually have happened. If Blur's 'Popscene' had been the Top 10 hit it deserved to be when it was released in 1992, the musical landscape would have been radically altered. In the grand plan of the band and their label, Food, after 'Popscene' had re-established Blur at the top of the indie tree, they would release 'Never Clever' - a bratty slice of pop punk where Graham's frenetic, phased thrash guitar loops back a rather lacklustre vocal performance from Damon. It's an exhilarating ride, but ultimately leaves you feeling let down and a bit empty. What's it actually saying? Not very much. Would it have been a hit? We'll never know. But if things had gone according to plan Blur would have had two Top 10 singles in the bag and the outlook for both band and label would have been a hell of a lot rosier...

ANDY ROSS (FOOD): They had this track 'Popscene' which we thought was great - this fucking song is a huge hit. Then it went in at 32 and we thought, Ah, this isn't going right at all. They had a song called 'Never Clever' that we thought was equally brilliant and the cunning plan was to have a big hit with 'Popscene', capitalise with 'Never Clever' and then we'd all be rich.

So 'Popscene' flopped, 'Never Clever' was shelved and the band hit the booze in spectatular style, almost self-destructing in the process. They regrouped, licked their wounds and came back with 'Modern Life is Rubbish' (arguably their finest) which, as we all know, invented Britpop and changed the face of music in 1990s Great Britain. For ever.

A live version of 'Never Clever' recorded at Glastonbury 1992 appeared on the b-side of 'Chemical World'. The studio version available to download here surfaced on a promo CD to commemorate Food's 100th release.

Anyone going to Hyde Park? I'll be there!

Buy Blur records from Amazon
Official Blur website
Buy John Harris's excellent account of the Britpop era 'The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock' from Amazon
Official Blur fanclub
Veikko's excellent Blur fansite

I'm Kool Keith Not a Bill or Dan

2009-03-19T12:00:00.000Z

Ultramagnetic MC's - Kool Keith Housing Things

I'm a bit snowed under this week so am posting a track that requires very few words from me. This is as good as it gets, and in this version from the remastered 'Critical Beatdown' (one of the ten finest hip-hop albums of all time), Ced Gee's awesome beats are boosted with an extra injection of bass to make speaker stacks crumble and fall.

Kool Keith is a one-off. Arguably the greatest - definitely the weirdest - MC of all time. The Salvador Dali of rap, his abstract, surrealist rhymes are beamed down from another planet. An unstoppable psychedelic force. I'll say it again - this is as good as it gets. Blast it.

Search eBay for 'Critical Beatdown'
Kool Keith website
Ultramagnetic MC's MySpace

How Danny's Noise Became a Force for Good

2009-03-12T10:00:00.001Z

Dan Deacon - Red F

Nu-rave eh? What happened there then? If you put the glow sticks, the pills and the multi-coloured leggings to one side, you were left with - musically at least - a rather joyless scene, producing very little music worthy of the title. Even the movement's poster boys, Klaxons, were (let's be honest) Jesus Jones with slightly better hair and trousers.

Step forward, then, Dan Deacon, who with his latest album, 'Bromst' - a luminous, euphoric collection of reach-for-the-laser rave epics - has produced an album that captures the giddy emotion of the original rave scene. Each song is heavily daubed in colourful melodies, pummelling Nintendo beats and hooks big enough to catch Moby-Dick.

I'll hold my hand up and say I was never Deacon's biggest fan. The "wacky" warning signs flashed up whenever I heard something by him, watched any number of the garish OTT vids available on YouTube or saw clips of him coercing groups of clubbers into dance-offs during his live set. Think an emo, laptop-wielding Timmy Mallet, and then consign that image to the dustbin...

However, it seems that even Deacon has tired of this perceived persona, and is determined to shake the (perhaps unfairly applied) "wacky" tag with a more mature outlook to making music. And rather than this resulting in an album of po-faced chin scratching and introspection, instead you get a broader, richer sound that still generates extreme levels of energy and excitement. Hey, I can even forgive him his overuse of the voice manipulation software this time around - in this dense, richly layered soup of sound, the vocals become another instrument - an essential component, rather than an irritating quirk. 'Bromst' also has a more organic, less mechanic feel, as Deacon explains -

"It’s different, there’s much less computer and a lot more live instruments (marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, live drummers, player piano, etc) so the sound is a lot more rich. It was recorded to tape with many analogue synths so the sound is not as plasticy… its probably a little more dance at times too but also more intense, varied, serious… the tracks are meant to be listened to as a whole to get the complete experience."

About halfway through the second song, the argy-bargy punishing gabba techno of 'Red F', I lifted my jaw up off the pavement and realised that I was listening to something truly awesome. 'Of the Mountain' is stunning, as Deacon somehow manages to combine the playful twinkling glockenspiels of Penguin Café Orchestra with shamanistic, mantric chanting that wouldn't sound out of place on The Lion King soundtrack, pounding tribal rhythms and a portentous, synth-drenched outro that rivals Arcade Fire in its epic sonic scope. 'Slow With Horns/Run for Your Life' recalls Fuck Buttons distorted analogue drones, adds a cacophonous, almost funereal, wall of horns, before busting out into a tinkling, piano symphony, underpinned by hammering beats. Elsewhere, the bendy twanging 'Woof Woof' is a joy, 'Paddling Ghost' is a nifty slice of 'Bonkers'-style Toytown Happy Hardcore if DJ Sharkey played the marimba, and he even lobs in a curveball in the form of the medieval 'Wet Wings', which consists solely of a haunting, female vocal loops. As if to prove the leopard hasn't totally changed his spots, the chipmunk chorus and quirk-noise of 'Baltihorse' annoys. But that's a minor quibble.

I don't think Dan Deacon needs another blogger jibber-jabbering on about how good 'Bromst' is (Google it and you will see what I mean) but it is an incredible album - more than worthy of my fawning prose - and as this decade comes to a close, it feels like a benchmark for the future has been set.

'Bromst' is released on Carpark Records on March 23rd 2009. You can pre-order it from Norman Records
Dan Deacon's website is still shit but there's loads of free mp3s here
Dan Deacon MySpace

The Biggest Midget Got The Maddest Skills

2009-03-05T16:00:00.002Z

Lady Sovereign - I Got You Dancing
Lady Sovereign - So Human

I've completely lost touch with what's going on with UK hip-hop but I have got a massive soft spot for Lady Sovereign, despite the fact she is starting resemble Stacey Slater doing a photo shoot for Dazed & Confused. I wasn't into some of more commercial tracks on her debut album 'Public Warning', but I absolutely love her vocal style and she is a shit hot lyricist. Sov got mad skills, yo. Ahem. Plus being a bit of a labels geek, the fact she had a record out on the ubercool US hip-hop/electronic hybrid label Chocolate Industries gives her extra kudos to me.

Sov's new album, 'Jigsaw' is due to drop soon and in the grand tradition of all business savvy artists these days, it is being released on her own label, Midget, but is being distributed by a major. The first single 'I Got You Dancing' was a pop rap cracker with some awesome hoover noises and Sov busting out the Auto Tune to give it that 'NOW' sound. OK, so it doesn't sound a million miles away from Vicky 'MC Posh' Beckham's two-step collab with Dane Bowers back in the day but it still should have been a huge hit. I don't know how it fared in the hit parade - I stopped looking at the charts when downloads were counted. Yes. I am getting old... The second single 'So Human' makes liberal use of the Cure's 'Close To You' in way which will probably have Goths the world over burning effigies of Sov but works brilliantly. As well as using regular producer Gabriel 'Medasyn' Olegavich she's also worked with Benny Blanco (Britney, Katy Perry) and Dr Luke (Kelis, Leona Lewis) on the album (released in the UK on April 13 2009) which gives the impression that she is looking to crossover properly this time. Best of British Sov.

Medasyn featuring Lady Sovereign, Shystie, Frost P & Zuz Rock - The Battle

But before she went all crossover, Sov used to drop the real shit in dodgy council estates in Hackney. Or plush recording studios in Chiswick, but whatever... I first came across 'The Battle' in demo form under the title 'BoysnGirls' - it was a piss poor recording but had the feel of a real old school mic battle between two male MCs (Frost P and Zuz Rock) and two female MCs (Lady Sovereign and Shystie). It eventually got polished up into the version you can download above, which was released as a single by Ross Allen's Casual label in 2003. The rhymes are pretty much the same but it's lost a lot of the vibe of the original demo, which was recorded live and feels raw and spontaneous. I'd probably say the ladies win the battle, but it's a close run thing. I especially love Frost P's opening verse = boy spits fire. The badass string-heavy beats were knocked up by Medasyn.

Preorder 'Jigsaw' from Amazon
Lady Sovereign website
Lady Sovereign MySpace

Melodies from Mars, Vicious Beats from Venus

2009-02-26T10:00:00.003Z

The Tuss - Rushup I Bank 12

I realised that after all the shit surrounding whether or not The Tuss was Aphex Twin I hadn't actually got around to giving the album a proper listen. Grant Wilson-Claridge (Rephlex co-owner) gave an interview around the time the controversy was in full swing and made one very salient point - "People seem more interested in speculation and celebrity than content, quality or music. Be careful you don't miss something really great that isn't really famous." Nail whacked firmly on the head.

Over the past week, The Tuss's album 'Rushup Edge' has rarely been off me pod, and it rocks so fucking hard I feel very stupid for getting sucked into a debate over and above the one thing that is really important - THE MUSIC! This is mind-meltingly mental metallic machine funk of the highest order. As good as any electronic music I've heard over the last decade. Seriously. I played 'Rushup I Bank 12' about 15 times in a row the other day. Spasmoid-electro with stellar drum-programming that absolutely SMACKS it without resorting to the ludicrous off-kilter rhythms of the worst excesses of drill; plus twinkling pianos, Human League-esque chord sequences and the sickest, squelchiest avin' it acid squark. In the words of MasterChef's Gregg Wallace, "It's DEEEEP, it's DAAARK, it's DEEETROITY - I just want to stick my face in it."

Aphex Twin - Xtal

In a connected note, an mp3 of the wonderous 'Xtal' from Aphex Twin's masterwork 'Selected Ambient Works 85-92' popped into my inbox yesterday. Basically, the seminal Belgian techno label R&S Records is back! To commemorate the label's resurrection, it is releasing some of the most seminal albums from its impressive archive. These classic albums have been hard-to-find for several years and are to be digitally remastered for their release as the 'Masters Series'. On the 7th April 2009 Aphex Twin 'Selected Ambient Works 85-92', Model 500 'Classics', Ken Ishii 'Jellytones' and Dave Angel 'Classics' are to be released. A month later on the 12th May 2009, Derrick May 'Innovator', Model 500 'Deep Space', Joey Beltram 'Classics' and Aphex Twin 'Classics' will complete the series. The label are also signing new artists, so we can hopefully expect a new generation of quality tuneage from the stable. Hail to the horse...

I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that 'SAW 85-92' is one of the most influential records in my collection. The soundtrack to many a comedown, 'Xtal' is a giant marshmallow pillow of lush ambient wonder to disappear into. Lovingly remastered too - it just sounds even better...

Buy 'Rushup Edge' from Norman Records
The Tuss MySpace
Or The Tuss MySpace?
Brand new R&S Records website
R&S Records MySpace

Because Kurt Said So...

2009-02-19T12:00:00.000Z

Captain America - Flame On

Back in early-1992, if Kurt Cobain had told me to spray-paint my nutsack metallic green and moonwalk naked down South Street in Dorchester I would have done so without blinking, such was the influence he had over my dope-addled teenage brain. Luckily he made no such demands, instead bigging up a Scottish band called Captain America in an interview, thus leading me to discover a band who remain close to my heart to this very day.

I found this transcript online - it might not be the actual one I read (which I think was in the NME, where he also sported a Captain America T-shirt as pictured above) but Cobain, in discussion with Nirvana bassist Chris Novoselic, reveals his love for the Vaselines, and in turn, Captain America:

Chris Novoselic: "Kurt and I were totally into the Vaselines. I mean, they were my favourite band. They still are one of my favourite bands."

Kurt Cobain: "Definitely our Number One favourite band."

CN: "We finally got to play with them. They reformed, to play with us when we played Edinburgh, Scotland, in, er, early winter of 1990. So we met Eugene, and kind of kept a rap going with them. Then we heard Captain America, the band. We heard the tape, we were totally blown away."

KC: "Yeah, that's his new band, Captain America. They're really good."

Captain America was formed by Eugene Kelly in 1990 after the disintegration of the Vaselines, the Glasgow indie poppers he fronted alongside Frances McKee. The original line-up was a bit of a Scots supergroup, featuring Brendan O’Hare from Teenage Fanclub on drums, the guitarist Gordon Keen (BMX Bandits) and James Sheenan, (The Vaselines) on bass. O’Hare was replaced early on by Andy Bollen. After reading the interview where Kurt namechecked CA, I went straight down to Big Brian's Record Shop in Tudor Arcade and ordered the 12" and then had to wait for a few days before it arrived.

It was more than worth the wait. Captain America were like a grungier Teenage Fanclub - distorted, melodic guitars and Kelly's stoned, lackadaisical drawl delivering his bitter retort to a former lover: "I know what's in your head, I read your diary when you were in bed. Then I threw the pages on the fire...". You can see why Kurt loved them so much. It was tuneful and poppy but also ramshackle, noisy and raw. Even as someone who had never heard of the Vaselines I was totally smitten. Cheers Kurt.

Eugenius - Breakfast

Not content with nicking the name, the band also appropriated the logo of Captain America which was all too much for Marvel Comics who leant heavily on the band to change their name. So Captain America became Eugenius - either a godawful idea or pretty cool (I'm somewhere in between) - for the recording and release of their debut album 'Oomalama' on Paperhouse in 1992. Kelly dismissed the record as "indie-rock-by-numbers" but later declared this judgement to be a bit harsh.

From the nonsensical, chanting mantra of the title track (and album opener), 'Oomalama' had a sunny disposition that didn't really fit in with the angsty vibe that made grunge popular at the time - powerpop chords and soaring, melodious choruses abound. Kelly's voice often sounds everso slightly out of tune and he delivers the words like it's an effort for him to get them out but that works well with the overall laidback feel of the album.

But it was the words that really made me fall in love with 'Oomalama'. Like many of my favourite albums from this time, Kelly's worldview resonated strongly with me and whenever I listen to the album I am transported back to a very specific moment in time. Lyrically, Kelly's major obsessions seemed to be staying in bed ("Back to bed but this time wearing socks" - 'Bed-In'), a can't-even-be-bothered relationship with religion ("I kinda wished I'd found God" - Flame On) but he also writes some killer romantic couplets ("I'll be the words, you'll be the tune" - 'Breakfast'). The album does have a dark heart - the closing track of Side 1, 'Down On Me' opens with the lyric "Jesus take my life from me" and the song itself is downbeat. My only complaint now would be that the production is a bit murky in places but nothing that a good remastering wouldn't fix.

The Vaselines - Jesus Doesn't Want Me For a Sunbeam

It took me a while to get around to buying anything by the Vaselines - I was never really into the twee-pop scene - but I finally picked up 'All the Stuff and More' a couple of years ago. Nirvana covered three Vaselines songs - 'Son of a Gun' and Molly's Lips' (included on the 'Incesticide' album), and 'Jesus Doesn't Want Me For a Sunbeam', part of the intense yet beautiful 'MTV Unplugged in New York' performance, which was recorded in November 1993, just 6 months before Kurt's suicide. The Vaselines have kind of got back together again to play a few gigs.

Buy 'Oomalama' from Amazon - this edition also includes a bonus disc containing the b-sides from the original Captain America single releases plus radio sessions
Eugene Kelly fansite
Eugenius at MySpace

The Drums... The Drums... The Drums...

2009-02-12T10:00:00.001Z

2 Bad Mice - Bombscare

'Bombscare' by 2 Bad Mice is widely credited as the first track to use breakbeats, and 2 Bad Mice were instrumental in the mutation of the hardcore rave scene into jungle and drum and bass. I was raised on a diet of exemplary drum programming from the likes of Kurtis Mantronik and Hashim, but even my lid was flipped the first time I heard these bad boy breaks. 2 Bad Mice definitely had the potential to be bigger than the Prodigy. OK, maybe that's an overstatement - I don't think any member of the trio of Rob Playford, Sean O'Keeffe and Simon Colebrooke had Liam Howlett's commercial ear, but the small amount of original material they released was easily the equal of the early output of the Essex combo. To this day, 'Bombscare' is an absolute dancefloor slayer. It's been released in so many different versions over the last couple of decades (it's coming on 20 years ffs!) but the original version is still the best. The real trick here is the combination of sampled breaks with their own slamming 808 rhythms. Oh, and that ridiculously infectious hook, the fat sub-bass and the multiple explosions. It's a shame that Playford decided to focus his efforts on his Moving Shadow label, rather than 2 Bad Mice. They coulda been contenders.

Kaotic Chemistry - Drum Trip

Another fierce slice of percussive heaviosity from the Mice. The ubiquitous Amen Break is here in all it's glory - before it was adopted by all the junglists and latterly, by Venetian Snares and the breakcore massive - along with crazy razor sharp cuts. Released under the Kaotic Chemistry moniker on the 'Five in One Night EP' in 1991. "ECSTASY!!!"

Blame - Music Takes You (2 Bad Mice Remix)

Finally, I can't write about 2BM without dropping one of my favourite tracks of all time - the 2 Bad Mice rework of Blame's 'Music Takes You'. Another deep, dark bonafide rave classic. Anyone who ever went raving and heard this tune will remember going loopy when the piano break drops close to the end. The chopped-up breaks are out of this world too. As with all the other tracks posted here today, the real marvel is how well they have aged. I don't get out that much admittedly, but I would imagine all of these tracks could still do a job on the nation's underground dancefloors.

Search eBay for 2 Bad Mice
2 Bad Mice discography
Moving Shadow website

Banjo and Ergo Do Freaky Covers

2009-02-05T10:00:00.002Z

Banjo Or Freakout - Archangel (Burial Cover)
Banjo Or Freakout - Kissability (Sonic Youth Cover)

Bit late to the party, but I recently stumbled upon the magnificence that is Banjo Or Freakout, the splendidly monikered musical project of one Alessio Natalizia, a Turin native now resident in London. His album of covers (including Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, Vampire Weekend, Battles and loads more) caused quite a stir in blogland last year, while I was asleep. I managed to get hold of one - in handmade spray-painted freakout artwork for only a fiver! - shortly before they sold out and was completely blown away.

Natalizia's talent is to take a song and gently peel back the layers to reveal its heart, which he carefully removes and then wraps back up in a blanket of gorgeous, frazzled ambience. I've popped up a couple here - his stunning rendition of Burial's 'Archangel', in which he applies heartfelt yearning to the mangled soul boy vocals of the original over dissonant guitars (bizarrely redolent of U2's 'With Or Without You' - but in a good way) and muffled drums that sound like an apocalypse in another time-zone. His cover of 'Kissability' by Sonic Youth is equally awesome - kinda sounds like Ciccone Youth if they were tackling one of their own, with a side salad of Slowdive's ethereal guitars. "I work with one rule, a bitch of a rule," Natalizia explains. "My rule is to record every track just one time. No second chance." I think I'm in love...

You have to visit the Banjo Or Freakout blog - he often posts exclusive material here, like the 'Everything Fast EP', which was a collection of original Banjo material.
The covers CD is sold out, but you can still pick up his debut 7" (released in Jan 2009) from Norman Records
Banjo Or Freakout MySpace

Ergo Phizmiz and His Orchestra -Trick Me (Kelis Cover)

Who'd a thunk that lurking at the heart of Kelis's bumptious R'n'B banger 'Trick Me' was an eerie Balkan funeral march? Ergo Phizmiz and His Orchestra - that's who. The prodigiously talented Phizmiz is another purveyor of the singular cover version (his Aphex Twin covers album is immense) and this one is taken from the album 'Arff and Beef', which I got free when I purchased his album 'Nose Points in Different Directions' (Womb Records, 2007). I don't think 'Arff and Beef' is available any more, which is a huge shame as it also featured an absolutely deranged rendering of Destiny's Child's 'Survivor' as well as the entirety of the Velvet Underground's 'White Light/White Heat'. Hunt it down if you can.

Visit Ergo Phizmiz's website where you can purchase music and learn more about this truly unique musician.
Ergo Phizmiz MySpace

Golly Ghosh, Summer's Come Early!

2009-01-29T10:00:00.000Z

Koushik - Lying in the Sun

I only knew Koushik Ghosh from his uplifting guest vocalising on fellow Dundas, Onatario homeboy Manitoba’s awesome ‘Up in Flames’ LP, so I was very excited when I unearthed his latest offering ‘Out My Window’ in a box where I work. What it was doing at the bottom of a box with a load of other unwanted CDs I’ll never know, such is the loveliness contained within these lasered grooves.

‘Out My Window’ is the debut album from Ghosh, following a series of singles and EPs on cracking LA-based label Stones Throw. It is a proper summer record – track titles like ‘Lying in the Sun’ confirm as much – so it does seem rather incongruous to be listening to it in the depths of winter. But, like a drowsy hip-hop Panda Bear, Koushik works his magic with this delightful stew of 60s psychedelia, pastoral whimsy, smooth soul, shimmering funk and beats, with soft, echo-drenched dreamy vocals and Peanut Butter Wolf’s deft hand on the production tiller. Lush and highly recommended.

Buy 'Out My Window' from Norman Records
Koushik at Stone Throw
Koushik MySpace

I'll Wax You Down Like a Candle

2009-01-22T08:00:00.001Z

J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E. - Strong Island (The Blue Mix)

The original 12” pressing of the ‘Blue Mix’ of ‘Strong Island’ by J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E (AJ Rok, B-Luv and Curt Cazal) is rarer than Dodo doo-doo – the cheapest you are likely to pick one up one of these bad boys for nowadays is around $600. The mix was released specifically for the UK market in 1988, as the rapper AJ Rok explains –

“The UK was giving us mad love. So we did something just for the UK. It ended up going other places, but it was just for the UK.”

I find it hard to fathom why it is so sought after – though the original is definitely one of the finest hip-hop tracks of all time, the ‘Blue Mix’ doesn’t bring that much extra to the party. In places it feels more like a stripped-down dub – the vocals are often left accapella and the main guitar lick comes and goes. You can hear the awesome break nice and cleanly, and get a feeling for how the song was constructed – it's a bit like opening up the bonnet of a car and having a look at the engine. There are a few extra samples lobbed in here and there, in an effort to capitalise on the success of Coldcut’s remix of Eric B and Rakim’s ‘Paid in Full’, but it isn’t anywhere near as commercial as that. It’s raw and heavy. Dope, but not super dope.

And no, I don't own it. The re-released CD version of the Force's debut album 'Doin' Damage' featured the 'Blue Mix' as a bonus track, though that doesn't seem to have devalued the price of the original vinyl.

If you're feeling flush, here's an original pressing on eBay
J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E. discography
J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E. MySpace

Kowalski Worship

2009-01-15T10:00:00.002Z

Casino Versus Japan - Via Hotknives

I love it when music and a moment come together perfectly. I was walking home from work the other day through a proper London pea-souper – almost completely surrounded by fog as I marched over Tower Bridge in eerie darkness – and this fantastic song by Casino Versus Japan came on my iPod. The swirling haunted fairground synths and warm melodies enveloped me like an opiate cuddle as the static fizz and thud of the beats dictated my walking rhythm. ‘Via Hotknives’ is taken from a 10” released back in 2001 on the fabulously-monikered Wobblyhead.

Like many, I have been eagerly awaiting the Milwaukee-based producer Erik Kowalski’s fourth studio album. He hasn’t released an LP since ‘Whole Numbers Play the Basics’, which came out on Carpark Records in 2002 (the 2004 retrospective 'Hitori + Kaiso: 1998 – 2001' (Attack Nine) doesn't count as a new album, though it is utterly essential listening). I suppose the upside of this seven-year wait is that I am constantly revisiting his back catalogue, and falling deeper and deeper in love with Kowalski’s incredible output. His consistency levels are unparalleled and his sound is truly unique - every single song he has composed is a melancholic delight. As Boomkat once proclaimed - "you wonder how this quiet little guy from Milwaukee isn't king of the world". 2009 is slated as the year Kowalski re-enters the fray - I'm crossing everything I can that this is the case.

On a final note – massive apologies to my throat and lungs. Hot knives – what the hell was I thinking…

Nearly all Casino Versus Japan releases are out of print, but you can search eBay
Casino Verus Japan discography
Casino Versus Japan MySpace

Listen Yourself Warm...

2009-01-08T10:00:00.001Z

Mandy Smith - Mandy’s Theme (I Just Can’t Wait) (Cool and Breezy Jazz Version)

Brrrr... I’m sure, like me, if you live in the UK you’re bored stupid of people banging on about how cold it is. But it really is cold and it made going back to work on Monday after a couple of weeks off even worse than usual. So, as always, I turned to music to put a smile back on my face and transport me away from the Arctic capital and towards memories of summer holidays and being warm...

1998, the Greek island of Naxos, a nameless beach bar, a battered old backgammon board, endless pints of Amstel and chain smoking Lucky Strikes... The guy who ran the bar only had one tape - well, one tape that he actually played, he might have had a mighty collection of C90s for all I knew. Side A was some Richard Clayderman comp - I’ll spare you that now, but 'Ballade Pour Adeline' will always have a special place in my heart. Ahem. Anyway, over on the flip was an awesome collection of Balearic grooves, which I have since deduced must have been 'Balearic Beats Vol.1', as it’s the only compilation I can find which has Nitzer Ebb and Mandy Smith on it. The owner of the bar was definitely a huge fan of Bill Wyman’s child bride, as the ‘Cool and Breezy Jazz Version’ of ‘Mandy’s Theme (I Just Can’t Wait)’ often got a rewind. I’m a bit of a fan too - it’s a classic Stock, Aitken and Waterman production, and luckily there’s not too much of Miss Smith’s vocal (which is drowned in reverb so she sounds generic - it could any one of Banarama singing). But I love the cheesy Euro guitars and evocative chord sequences in a totally non-ironic way. It’s just a corking track, and one that is guaranteed to add a bit of sunshine and warmth to your life. Listen yourself warm...

Search eBay for 'Balearic Beats Vol. 1'
A Smash Hits interview with Mandy Smith
Stock, Aitken and Waterman website

It's Great When It's 2008, Yeah

2008-12-23T10:00:00.002Z

Look! I made a list! My favourite songs of the year.

Happy Christmas y'all, and have a great new year. Meet you back here in 2009 - my New Year's Resolution is one post a week!

x

1. Bright Tomorrow - Fuck Buttons (ATP Records)

Back in Dorset in the early 1990s, a legendary story was doing the rounds; of a rave at Weymouth Pavillion where an unscrupulous drug dealer sold valium instead of pills and it ended up with hundreds of ravers lying around on the floor in a dribbling mess, while manic cartoon techno blasted out of the PA. This incredible Fuck Buttons song is the soundtrack to that night - slo-mo mogadon techno with church organs and a gigantic swarm of wasps attacking your ears to conclude.

Taken from the album Street Horrrsing - buy it from Norman Records
Fuck Buttons MySpace

2. Daniel Land & The Modern Painters - Within The Boundaries (Sonic Cathedral Records)

Magnificent, ethereal, wonderous - insert (positive) adjectives previously used to describe Slowdive in here. It's the aural equivalent waking up and drawing the curtains to find it's a beautifully sunny day. The gorgeous instrumental ebbs and flows for over two minutes before Daniel Land opens his lovely gob. Schnaussed up by Lord Ulrich for that authentic nu-wave of shoegaze feel.

Taken from a 7" on Sonic Cathedral - buy it from Norman Records
Norman Records
Daniel Land MySpace
Sonic Cathedral - celebrate here

3. Feedle - Half-Light (Ecke Records)

If the Blur reunion does lead to the band reconvening in the studio, they would do well to come up with anything better than this cracker from Graham Clarke aka Feedle, from his second album, 'All Your Days Are Weird'. I only say that because it reminds me of a cross between Blur's 'Tender' and Albarn's 2007 supergroup The Good, the Bad and the Queen. Plus there's something of the Bowie in Clarke's vocal. But do bear in mind that this was made by one man in his bedroom in Sheffield, rather than musical royalty in a multi-million pound studio in dat London. Or a shack in Morocco. I am biased though as I released the album, but still... 'Half-Light', with its woozy 3am guitars and fairground organs, is sublime, plus it twinkles enough to also make it a wee bit Christmassy.

Taken from All Your Days Are Weird - buy it from
Ecke Records
Feedle MySpace

4. Chris Moss Acid - Sub For You (Futonic Records)

Bournemouth's finest 303 mentalist Chris Moss Acid wrote three songs in the time it took me to type that sentence. Prolific he may be, but the quality control isn't always there. That's not the case with 'Sub 2', the eagerly awaited (by me) follow up to the marvellous 'Sub', a concept album about a submarine written almost entirely on Moss's beloved TB303. The 'Sub' recordings represent a more melancholic, tuneful side to his usual banging acid output and 'Sub 2' is more of the same. 'Sub for You' is three-minutes of lush chords, Pac Man noises and subtle beats. And his name - Chris Moss - is a bit Christmassy. Ha.

Taken from 'Sub 2' - download it for free from
Futonic Records
Chris Moss Acid MySpace

5. Minotaur Shock - Jason Forrest (4AD)

You can’t get much for 54p these days. I checked in my local supermarket and these were a few of the things on offer for that price - a can of chopped tomatoes, baking soda, a small bag of Kettle Chips, a 200ml carton of milk for a cat, a large box of Bryant & May long matches. All staple items, no doubt, but if you're really looking to get some bang for yer buck, howze about, in exchange for yer 54 pence you get a stonking slab of electro breaks. Dave Tipper would be proud to have those dancefloor-friendly metallic beats banging out of his car-cum-soundsystem. But this is Minotaur Shock country, so amidst the clank, klang and acid squelch you also get fruity trumpets and a chiming guitar coda to close.

For those of you who don't know why this excellent song costs a mere 54p, here you go - 4AD - for reasons best known to themselves - decided to release 'Amateur Dramatics', the third album from Minotaur Shock aka David Edwards, as a download only, leaving Edwards to come up with a unique and amusing track pricing system to entertain potential punters in the absence of a hard copy CD. The entire album (which is fantastic) is available to download for £6.41. Thankfully, Audio Dregs, a lovely label from the US, have done what 4AD should have done in the first place and released the album on CD. Nice one dudes.

Taken from 'Amateur Dramatics' - download it from
Minotaur Shock website or buy it on CD from Norman Records
Minotaur Shock MySpace

6. Max Tundra - Number Our Days (Domino Records)

Ben Jacobs is Trevor Horn for the 21st Century. A true wonky pop marvel. A surefire hit like 'Number Our Days' should be lording it up at the top end of the hit parade. Hot Chip know this and invited Ben on tour with them. I know this and now I am telling you. Definitely the only album this year to be made available as a can of kosher chicken soup.

Taken from the album 'Parallax Error Beheads You' - buy it from Norman Records
Max Tundra MySpace

7. Gang Gang Dance - First Communion (Warp Records)

Gang Gang Dance exist in the space between the decimal point and the second number on all Pitchfork reviews. From Brooklyn, NYC - are they a band? Or are they a sixth form art project? On 'First Communion', world music-tinged guitars collide with acid house, tribal beats and a female vocal reminiscent of MC Kinki doing battle with Bjork. I like it.

Taken from the album 'Saint Dymphna' - buy it from Norman Records
Gang Gang Dance MySpace

8. Factory Floor - Taxidermist (One of One Records)

Drums of the year. A chilling tribal onslaught from the Floor, with a monotous intoning vocal about an animal stuffer and some detached, ice-cold new wave synths that sound like they're coming from the cellar of the house next door. The production is incredible, and this one is super, super LOUD. Watch yer eardrums, I'm tellin ya. Can't wait for them to do an album.

Taken from the 12" 'Planning Application EP' - buy it from Norman Records
Factory Floor MySpace

9. Portishead - The Rip (Island Records)

'The Rip' is 0.2mm away from being the most perfect song ever written. Who would have thought Portishead could have sounded so essential in 2008? Not me that's for sure, but I was happy to be proved completely and utterly wrong by the brilliant 'Third' - their finest album yet.

Taken from the album 'Third' - buy it from Norman Records
Portishead MySpace

10. Televise - Flood Out (Distant Noise)

Televise is Simon Scott, formerly of Slowdive, and this sounds pretty much like an outtake from the archive of his former employers. An instrumental soundscape of textured ambience, 'Flood Out' broods and builds into a shiting, organic wall of sound - a bit like watching a drop of ink in a glass of water. Proper mood music for a Sunday morning chill out sesh.

Taken from the album 'Secret Valentine' - you could have bought it from Norman Records but it's sold out! eBay's your best best.
Televise MySpace

11. Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez - A Magic (Carpark)

If you're going to be a singer-songwriter, having a tremendous name like Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez helps to set you apart from the plethora of lone guitar-wielding troubadours. Born in Cuba and now residing in Baltimore, Alvarez's debut album 'Why is Bear Billowing?' is a reminder of what one man and his guitar can do - this is whimsical, earnest and downright lovely. Extra kudos for the ace interpretation of Edward Lear's 'The Owl and the Pussycat'.

Taken from the album 'Why is Bear Billowing?' - buy it from
Norman Records
Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez MySpace

12. The Travelling Band - Lonely Day To Take A Train (Sideways Saloon)

Sometimes it's not about haircuts or trousers. Songwriting is a craft and the Travelling Band are master craftsmen. I'd have missed this one if it wasn't for my wife. She hasn't stopped playing their debut album, 'Under the Pavement' since it dropped unannounced through our letterbox back in September. I found it hard to pick one song out as this is a proper album, in that every single song is essential, but in the end I settled for this heartbreakingly glorious moment with a husky, battered vocal that is still as sweet as a nightingale. The album has echoes of everyone from Dylan, Crosy, Stills & Nash and Neil Young to The La's and The Coral. While everyone else is waxing lyrical about the Fleet Foxes album, 'Under the Pavement' is the one that I keep on coming back to.

Taken from the album 'Under the Pavement' - buy it from
play.com
The Travelling Band MySpace

13. The Ruby Suns - Remember (Memphis Industries)

Tender horns, lethargic beats, sighing vocals and a general mood of monged out reverie - 'Remember' is like a poppier Panda Bear, capturing that "Beach Boys playing in a faraway field after you've eaten four hash cakes" vibe that Noah Lennox does so well, but adding their own sunny, Polynesian-influenced psychedelic pop twist to the mix. Lysergic-drenched magnificence, all the way from New Zealand.

Taken from the album 'Sea Lion' - buy it from
Norman Records
The Ruby Suns MySpace

14. M83 - Couleurs (Mute Records)

Like a Francois Kervorkian remix of a long-lost Depeche Mode track, 'Couleurs' is perfect for closing an epic seven-hour DJ set in a sweaty Ibizan nightclub. Hardly surprising as remix master Ewan Pearson was on tweak control, assisting Anthony Gonzalez with this blissful moment of euphoric balearic brilliance.

Taken from 'Saturday = Youth" - buy it from Norman Records
M83 MySpace

Joe.

Everybody Rock to the New Wave Funk...

2008-11-20T10:00:00.002Z

I went to my mate's birthday party recently - he's an old school electro nutcase (one of his presents from his wife was an Egyptian Lover wig!) and the music played throughout the night has sent me into yet another phase of old school electro love and obsession. Below you will find a zip file containing ten of the best - from Warp 9's 'Nunk' from 1982, through to the dub version of 'Automan' by Newcleus, which sounds like it was recorded last week rather than nearly quarter of a century ago - specially unmixed, full length 12" versions. They're the originals and still the best. I'm now in this headspace where nothing else will do - it's as if my brain can only deal with thumping TR-808 beats, synthesised melodies and vocodered vocals. Anyway, some you'll have heard, some you may not. I'd love to write more but I don't have the time. One hour, ten killer tracks - download and love...

Download here: ElectromixxVol1

1. Warp 9 - Nunk (Arista 12", 1982)

2. The Russell Brothers - The Party Scene (SV) (Portrait 12", 1983)

3. C-Jam & Kid Frost - Commando Rock (Vine Street Mix) (Baja Records 12", 1984)

4. Whodini - We Are Whodini (Jive LP, 1984)

5. Captain Rock - Cosmic Blast (Extended) (Nia 12", 1984)

6. Man Parrish - Boogie Down Bronx (Dub) (Boiling Point 12", 1984)

7. Chris "The Glove" Taylor/Dave Storrs/Ice-T - Reckless (Club Mix) (Polydor 12", 1984)

8. The L.A. Dream Team - Rockberry Jam (Dream Team Records 12", 1985)

9. Det Reirruc & Latin Rascals - Axel F (Club Mix) (Streetheat Records 12", 1985)

10. Newcleus - Automan (Dub Version) (Sunnyview Records 12", 1984)

For all your old school needs go to Electro Empire

Joe.

A Blatant Act of Self-Promotion

2008-10-22T10:00:00.006Z

I know, it's been a long time...

But this time I have a valid excuse! I started a record label. Yes, laughing in the face of the credit crunch I decided to shove some of my hard-earned (or ill-gotten) cash back into the music industry. It had to be something pretty special to make me come out of my self-inforced record label mogul retirement (this is the third time I've done it), and they don't come any more special than Feedle. Regular readers will know that I've been waxing lyrical about Sheffield's finest purveyor of odd melodic noise pop for years, and when it seemed possible that he might like to release a record with me at the helm, of course, I jumped at the chance. Jumped so high I banged my head on the ceiling.

Ecke* Records was born...

Feedle - Picturedrome

The debut release for Ecke Records is 'All Your Days Are Weird', Feedle's wonderful second album, following 'Leave Now for Adventure', the history of which you can read about here. Over the ensuing twelve songs, it becomes evident that it is giant steps on from his debut. There is a greater emphasis on vocals, with proper big, shiny choruses and raucous guitars, but it still makes extensive use of synths and programming and the soaring electronic hooks that made Feedle’s name. Imagine a psychedelic sea shanty soundclash between Kevin Shields, the Orb, Plone and Syd Barrett. On a fairground waltzer...

It's actually been out since the 6th October, but I've been on holiday since then and have only just found any time to squeeze this post in. It's already found favour with Huw Stephens at Radio 1, who played the opening song 'Picturedrome' (following in the Feedle tradition of attention-grabbing album openers - 'Song for Dogs' anyone?), describing it as "wonky pop". That same song also featured on Huw's Radio 1 podcast. A few bloggers have picked up on it, but other than that it's all been rather quiet on the UK front...

But that hasn't been too much of a problem, as it's all gone loopy in Japan. Yes, as Alphaville once sang, Feedle is "Big in Japan." Obviously the Japanese have impeccable taste in music, and demand has been so great we've had to do a repress. Even record shops in far-flung corners of the countryside have been ordering it. Feedle's bigger than Shape Shifters in Japan - fact.

So, if you want to hear what all the fuss is about, go to the Ecke Records website (thanks to GS) where you can purchase the album for just £7.99, including postage to anywhere in the whole wide world. It's lovingly packaged in a digipack with beautiful artwork from Camilla at Cut Out and Keep. Following in a rich tradition of using album covers as a means for showcasing great art, there is no text to be found anywhere on the sleeve, just Camilla's sublime, absorbing landscape. This makes it fucking hard to find in record shops, but who cares about that when it looks so good? In my dreams there's a gatefold vinyl edition. Maybe one day... And keeping it in the family, my lovely wife designed the scribbly logo!

There aren't many copies left, so if you do want one, I suggest you get your order in quick. On the website you will also find a free five-track live EP called 'Go and Get Your Head Fucked', which includes old stuff, alternate takes on 'All Your Days Are Weird' songs and something exclusive.

As a final word, I like what somebody said about Feedle on the 65daysofstatic messageboard a few days ago -

"I reckon that Feedle will become one of them cult type figures. Like Ivor Cutler. Maybe after his death."

*Ecke means corner in German.

Buy Feedle 'All Your Days Are Weird' from Ecke Records
Or alternatively you can buy it from Norman Records - they liked it too!
Or if you don't buy CD's anymore, you can also purchase it from
To hear a selection of songs from the album, go to Feedle MySpace
Feedle is also on LastFM

On Saturday it will be four years since the mighty John Peel died. There can be no doubt that he is partly responsible for my extreme enthusiasm and passion for music, ergo, Ecke Records would not exist were it not for he. I'll be raising a glass to JP this Saturday, I suggest you do the same.

Joe.