First up we have British producer Graphics, who is marked as one to watch for the future. The weirdest thing about this track is not the spooky vocal, or the
skeleton’s ribcage xylophone but the layering of all the different sounds,
samples and influences; influences that shouldn’t work together but somehow in
this single Mamma Grizzles, does.
This track is suited
to daybreak in Ibiza, well what day break in Ibiza should be like, beautiful,
calm, humbling and reflective rather than the raucous, beer soaked, drug
fuelled, over the hill raver infested, lecherous cesspit of regret that it
really is.
To a Frontier Sounds
favourite now, not only for her beautiful voice but for her links to one of our
catchment areas, France. As previously mentioned here, Charlotte Gainsbourg has just
released an albums worth of previously unreleased studio and live recordings in
a collection called Stage Whisper and this track Anna, is taken from that
release.
To my singles selection
of the week now, juxtaposing as far as possible with my first track, here is
some feel good indie from Casiokids. Golden Years is a perfect, good-time head
bobbing remedy to counteract the January blues.
That producer who is causing all the fuss in the electronic music scene at the moment does a track with that girl who is Bruce Willis and Debi Moore's Daughter. Of course it is Nicolas Jaar featuring the voice of Scout Larue, making what is essentially the soundtrack to Raymond Chandlers The Big Sleep. The sax, the lyrics, the womanising, the urge to drink hard liquor and the haunting streets at night sounds, it all fits.
I like the variation in styles on this EP from We Are Animal, like a rapidly evolving hallucination it goes from experimental electronic contained within crystal clear guitar, to Lou Reed waking up after a long nap with a turbo charged Long Island Ice Tea. To Kurt Cobaine trying his luck in a 80's Venice Beach roller disco, to sounding like what Kasabian would sound like if they were still any good. My new favourite band, buy this EP now, you won't regret it.
In these times of economic hardship with people seeming to be blowing each other up and or rioting all over the shop, it is sometimes nice to be reminded of the stupidly idyllic ideals of the 60’s. With universal peace sadly an impossible dream, it is still nice to reminisce about a time when people, not cynically scathed like me, still had hope. Listening to Who Thought? by The Proper Ornaments with it’s sounds of the sixties vibe, might just restore some of your faith in human kind and give some credit to that time. As Hunter S Thompson would put it, if you have the right ears you might just hear the high water mark, the point at which the wave crashed and rolled back down.
Irresistible melody with an irresistible voice on this one which is the title track to the Londoners second E.P. Her previous E.P. was made with just a copy of Fruity Loops and a digital recorder and you can hear that still impressive effort over on her band camp. Got a thing at the moment for the double bass and this one embraces it fully.
My other new favourite band is brixton based The Thirst, ex-grafiti artists turned funk, soul, rockers. This "E.P.," which is longer than most albums these days, is totally free from here. Previously signed to Ronnie Woods' Wooden Records before it went into administration, this is a cracking free download and an exciting live prospect, so keep eyes on their site for performance dates
I can't decide if I am pleased, disappointed or indifferent to this latest offering from The Shins; one of my favourite bands of all time. It sounds very The Shins, which is fine because sounding The Shins is why I like the The Shins in the first place but I guess there is always a tendency to feel a new album should incorporate something new and in fairness to them, there are some intriguing, distinctively un The Shins like sounds hidden within that distinctively The Shins like body. I guess only time and a copy of the whole The Shins album will tell. I am also on a contract with The Shins that pays me in The Shins, to mention The Shins, so I can buy music by The Shins and avoid having my The Shins kicked in by The Shins mafia. The Shins now has semantic satiation (Thanks to Radio Frontier and Topical News Quiz About Things You Use Everyday But Don't Know What The Name Is for teaching me that one)
No it's not Cry Me A River as that intro first suggests, it's something far more beautiful (although don't get me wrong, that is one of the best pop songs ever made). Just take a break from what ever your doing this thursday afternoon, close your eyes and listen to this, allow it to take you off somewhere, somewhere of your own choosing, I am not going to ruin it for you with my own interpretation today I promise.
Exciting new London based production duo, with some stylish garage infused funky house. This old school A and B side release will be out later this month on Make Mine.
The band that pretty much singlehandedly got me into more experimental, dance oriented sounds, have had their latest release rather successfully remixed by Cosmic Kids. You can hear the characteristically Rapture-esq sounds, vocals, cow bells and all, still sounding strong amongst that funky bass and drums.
Nice production on this one from Bullion, this is coming out on the 30th January.
Also out on the 30th January, probably the most anticipated and talked about album of the last six months, Born To Die by Lana Del Rey. Come on, I had to mention it and another day brings another remix of it's title track, this being one of my favourites.
I was secretly hoping this was the Animal Song by this band I saw in The Nest once as they really were a joke (another classic was called Your Hole Is My Hole), what was even more of a joke was the arty, East London crowd pretending to like it; I swear I had walked into the filming of a spoof. Not so sadly this isn't that song, rather a jaunty, English, Vampire Weekend sounding track. Very pleasant and, East London trendy mugs, you don't have to pretend to enjoy it.
This is feel good guitar music at it's best, the brass just making you want to swing further. This is out on the 10th of February and I'm looking forward to hearing more because I sure do like to dance, especially now as I'm trying to get fit and I really don't fancy spending an hour with Davina and her latest work out video.
This might be a bit James Blakey for some form this solo singer and producer but I like the reesey base and the way the track has been put together. Out on the 27th February.
My first SoundCloud
selection is a dedication to Radio Frontier’s very own Duchess of Dutchness,
Fleur, in the form of hip hop from one of her fellow countrymen, Milos Jonic. As
previously mentioned here I have a penchant for foreign hip-hp as it introduces
my ears to a delightfully larger array of rhyming sounds. I also like to
imagine what possibly they might be rapping about and on hearing the twanging
banjo on this one I picture Milos spinning some Deliverence-esq yarn about the
perils of urban folk underestimating the dangers of the rural. That bubble
bursts however, when he slips into English and sights sipping Bacardi in da
party and I realise he’s talking the same, tired hip-hop rubbish most rappers
do. Shame, this is Zeik (1).
Jack Haigh and Gemma
Tilly make up Leeds based acoustic duo Jack and Gill’s daughter and this track
Circles, was written by them back in 2009 but has only just come to my
attention. A beautiful song, slaging off those people and everyone knows one,
who always think they’re right.
If you’ve got some
bass friendly speakers then turn them up now, if your listening through lap-top
speakers then you might not fully able to appreciate this next one, an exciting
drum and bass collaboration released on Goldie’s spearheading Metalheadz label.
Subwave and Enei are two relative new-comers both working from the production
hot base that is fast becoming Russia. Normally incorporating dark, hostile and
bleakly soviets sounds in their music, Bring Me Down is an un-stereotypically
light, upbeat number. Subwave has a new album out on the same label worthy of
note.
Finally to my SoundCloud Selection of the week for it’s beautiful combination of rolling double base and
beautiful vocal, it’s Sverige from Tanya Auclair. Her first EP was made with
just a copy of production software fruity loops and a digital recorder but
still received rave reviews. This taken from the West Londoners second EP and
is available from www.tanyaauclair.bandcamp.com.
In these times of
Economic hardship with people seeming to be blowing each other up and or
rioting all over the shop, it is sometimes nice to be reminded of the stupidly idyllic
ideals of the 60’s. With universal peace sadly an impossible dream, it is still
nice to reminisce about a time when people, not cynically scathed like me,
still had hope. Listening to Who Thought by The Proper Ornaments with it’s
sounds of the sixties vibe, might just restore some of your faith in human kind
and give some credit to that time. As Hunter S Thompson would put it, if you
have the right ears you might just hear the high water mark, the point at which
the wave crashed and rolled back down.
Whilst we’re going
back in time and reminiscing, let us go back to the end of the last millennium
and the debut album, Operation Doomsday from MF Doom and this track from that,
Rhymes Like Dimes, which is being re-released this week. This is beautifully
old school, it sounds dated but that doesn’t make it any less brilliant, in
fact it makes it more so. That eighties sax in the back reminds me of music
from games of that period, say Sim City or Theme Hospital.
Some ‘Rude Boy Techno,’
now from the delightfully named Spam Chop. Rude Boy Techno is their words not
mine by the way. This sounds like Mike Oldfield has ingested a whole cocktail
of substances and gone on a Tubular Bells rampage, playing this 2012 version
and at a heap of trendy clubs across the country. See if you get what I mean,
this is Spam Chop and Chuck Up, released on the Nottingham based Mimm Label.
A free download now
from Foxes, available from www.iamfoxes.com.
Youth is the debut single from 22-year-old Loui Rose Allen, whose debut album I
hope is soon to follow. This track could easily fall into the trap of sounding
like one of those gym friendly, mass produced dance numbers ala Fredie La Grand
but instead it sidesteps it cheekily and wows you with a roaring sub base,
booming drums and interesting synth sounds and for that reason, it is my
Singles Selection of the week.
How about this for a collaboration just released on Bad Taste and in regards to my own tastes, it fuses just the right amount melody with just the right amount of dark grit. Tune with a capital T.
I'm always game for a bit of Westwood bashing, hence the inclusion of this by Mr B The Gentleman Rapper. Quirky; Kind of. Funny; not really, kind of comic relief funny when newsreaders do a 'hilarious" rendition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, suspenders and all. Successful in it's aims (that being discrediting Westwood a tiny bit); yes.
Once my sister was tricked into high-fiving Westwood, no that's not a euphemism, although I'm sure the Big Dog has tricked many a mans sister. She was lured into central London on the premise that she had won Strokes tickets only to find out they were thatdesperate to fill an audience for Westwood's appearance on MTV. To rub salt into the wound the producers then singled her out as the one to give him some staged respect upon his entrance. True story.
Can't get enough of this one, free EP available from www.debianblak.bandcamp.com. It's all twisted logic and ambient, minimal jazz style beats. Expertly crafted and well produced.
The latest single from Wiley, out on the 16th taken from his latest album Evolve or Be Extinct which is out fully on the twentieth. You can't deny your body wanting to move to this proper bubbling funky house beat, dark but fun at the same time, this is a strong single.
Something a bit different now, apparently from Afghanistan but I find that hard to believe, un till I start listen to that xylophone, like the wind wiping through a sandy desert, a jeep takes me further, over countless checkpoints and roadblocks, through vast opium plantations whose crops seep faint, arabic music as their sap, luring you like Sirens to stop and be sliced open by sweeping samurai swords. You didn't hear that? Just me then, good track though.
It's like being back in the eighties but viewing it from a twentieth century point of view and seeing it for the fun, not really serious period of music that it was. As if Marty Mcfly has taken you back to some fledgling electro-pop club, you and him are dancing as outsiders, enjoying yourself rather than concentrating on keeping your leggings and quaffed hair styles in shape.
It's unusual to see a house track up here but this really is a wonderful remix, excentuating some of the better sounds from the original and adding some welcome extras, like that deep knocking sound at the end of ever other bar. Really enjoyable and fantastic name as well.
A relatively gentle start with some female
pop rock from FOE and Cold Hard Rock, taken from her debut album, Bad Dream
Hotline, out on the 16th. This track is a classic grower, which I
was first unmoved by, but have now grown to love, much like a homeless dog or
the comedy of James Cordon. I especially like the pounding drums in this as
well as the sound of the milk yoke, sea-soaring back and forth on a Fischer
price xylophone.
My next selection is the latest release
from one of my albums of last year, SBTRKT by SBTRKT. Also worth mentioning is
the live version that SBTRKT did of this track for the BBC live lounge with
Annie Mac.
Finally to my Singles Selection of the
week, which is a motivation tune of sorts. It’s the type of track that would be
used in a film when the protagonist throws caution to the wind and marches with
purpose from his house. As he passes through the streets on route to his
destination he is joined by more and more people, tramps, post men, vicars, all
either in agreement with his ideals or just keen to jump on a bandwagon and
miss a day of work. Their destination is unknown, they’re probably just gonna
dance in perfect sync outside his lovers house but it doesn’t matter, because
it the journey that counts.
