2 sa-weet songs 4 ya.
Number One:
Les Savy Fav with Let's Get Out of Here
Number Two:
Jens Lekman and The End of The World is Bigger than Love
Both lovely songs and well worthy of an email address and the effort of downloading.
29 July 2010
27 July 2010
1-2-3-4, Go!
Despite being described by one magazine as the best-dressed festival of the year, Shoreditch's 1234 Festival proved it had plenty of substance to back up its indisputable style. Perhaps the bulk of this substance was provided by Peter Hook and his showcase of Joy Division's classic Unknown Pleasures. It was a fitting setting for such a performance, Joy Division a band that launched a thousand Shoreditch post-punk copycats, and this was confirmed by the huge, raucous crowd who came to witness the spectacle. And spectacle it was, as Hook tore through the album, giving it the full rawk treatment, often far removed from the minimal, menacing restraint of the original recorded version. Having obviously never had the fortune to see J. Div perform for real, i have no real point of comparison aside from the record itself, and despite this most recent incarnation being different, it was no less affecting. This was aided on a number of songs by the powerful vocals of former Happy Monday and X-Factor contestant Rowetta, again making no attempt to mimic the distinctive Ian Curtis, which was perhaps for the best. The highlight was saved until the end however, with the only non-Unknown Pleasures track, Love Will Tear Us Apart. The sight of a thousand Shoreditch scenesters finally shedding their cool insouciance to dance, sing and all but cry along to every indie kids favourite song was a somewhat touching moment.
Peter Hook's set would have proved a fitting headlining show, had he not been on at 6, with numerous acts to follow him. Instead, much of the crowd dissipated before Wavves came on to rip through his snotty lo-fi punk, before being told to get off the stage by an equally snotty festival organiser due to over-running. Wavves were in fact a more fitting representation of the kind of bands i ended up seeing throughout the course of the day. The likes of Mazes, Dum Dum Girls and Vivian Girls all played lo-fi alt-rock that evoked different decades of American indie, from the Pavement-inspired Mazes to the 60's girl-groups and West Coast pop of Dum Dum Girls. Notable exceptions to this rule of thumb however, included S.C.U.M, a group of black-clad post-punk upstarts who have discovered the art of making a song since i last saw them a year ago, as well as the Japanese prog/punk/noisefreaks Bo Ningen who tore apart the tiny Artrocker tent with their collective insanity.
The only negatives on what was an otherwise beautiful and entertaining day in Shoreditch park were my sunburn and the sound problems of These New Puritans that resulted in them pulling out of their headlining slot in the Rough Trade tent just two minutes into their first song.
 |
| Prepared for the sunny weather better than i was |
22 July 2010
Side-projects, secrecy and SALEM
A triple whammy for ya:
1. Offshoots of Indie Kings Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear have both released new material lately. In the GB corner, Daniel Rossen has unleashed a series of old songs and outtakes under his Department of Eagles moniker, collectively (and originally) entitled Archive: 2003-2006. While We're Young is a typically beautiful track that will be instantly familiar to fans of the Bear.
In the AnCo corner, we have the heavy-hitting Noah Lennox, AKA Panda Bear, releasing his first material after the much lauded (and much copied) Person Pitch. It's woozy, off-kilter pop is instantly recognisable, but equally instantly lovable. His full album, Tomboy, is out sometime in the Autumn.
2. Secrecy and anonymity are watchwords for 2010 it seems, withholding your identity the latest marketing ruse for many new bands. Most of the pioneers, the likes of Summer Camp, have since been rumbled, but Wu Lyf, who supposedly hail from Manchester, have managed to preserve their secret status. I followed a link to their website today that goes straight to a video depicting a struggle between white invaders and natives on a seemingly tropical coastline. It's got a sweet twist to it, plus some good old gore, and the song that soundtracks it (that i'm obviously assuming is by Wu Lyf themselves) is pretty great. It's got a similar aesthetic to the nostalgic pop that's so in vogue right now, save for the vocals that sound incredibly pained and impassioned, a dimension sorely missing from most other such bands. Check it out here.
3. SALEM are a band who make spaced-out goth pop, but who have come to be seen as leaders of the so called witch-house genre. Ludicrous genre names aside (i realise the witch connotations from the name, but seriously??), they've done a remix of the latest These New Puritans single, Hologram. As i'm meant to be seeing TNPs this weekend, it seemed rather timely, as well as the fact that it's a cool song, all slow beats, handclaps and deep vocal with a heavy drawl. SALEM's own stuff is also worth checking out, especially the song King Night.
In the AnCo corner, we have the heavy-hitting Noah Lennox, AKA Panda Bear, releasing his first material after the much lauded (and much copied) Person Pitch. It's woozy, off-kilter pop is instantly recognisable, but equally instantly lovable. His full album, Tomboy, is out sometime in the Autumn.
You can listen to them both on the Pitchfork Playlist.
2. Secrecy and anonymity are watchwords for 2010 it seems, withholding your identity the latest marketing ruse for many new bands. Most of the pioneers, the likes of Summer Camp, have since been rumbled, but Wu Lyf, who supposedly hail from Manchester, have managed to preserve their secret status. I followed a link to their website today that goes straight to a video depicting a struggle between white invaders and natives on a seemingly tropical coastline. It's got a sweet twist to it, plus some good old gore, and the song that soundtracks it (that i'm obviously assuming is by Wu Lyf themselves) is pretty great. It's got a similar aesthetic to the nostalgic pop that's so in vogue right now, save for the vocals that sound incredibly pained and impassioned, a dimension sorely missing from most other such bands. Check it out here.
3. SALEM are a band who make spaced-out goth pop, but who have come to be seen as leaders of the so called witch-house genre. Ludicrous genre names aside (i realise the witch connotations from the name, but seriously??), they've done a remix of the latest These New Puritans single, Hologram. As i'm meant to be seeing TNPs this weekend, it seemed rather timely, as well as the fact that it's a cool song, all slow beats, handclaps and deep vocal with a heavy drawl. SALEM's own stuff is also worth checking out, especially the song King Night.
20 July 2010
Creators Project Party
The Creators Project is perhaps the boldest undertaking in modern popular culture, seeking nothing less than to be the "first spark of creativity that gives life to the hopes and aspirations of the Twenty-First Century." Such claims need backing up, and that's just what The Creators Project did, in conjunction with Vice and Intel, this Saturday with the party they threw at Victoria House in London.
All those lucky enough to get in were treated to a series of performances from some of the artists who have been profiled by The Creators Project, including Mark Ronson (and his new band, the awkwardly titled "The Business Intl."), Kele and Tinchy Stryder. I was disappointed to miss a set by Yuck, a band who make lovely lo-fi rawk a la Dinosaur Jr. and stuff, influences that belie their north London roots. They also have a drummer who is basically Jonah Hill's bigger, funnier brother.
My disappointment was soon swept away by the strident opening chords of Mark Ronson' latest hit Bang Bang Bang. I've been neglectful before in not saying how fucking awesome this song is. Ronson has moved on it seems from being the super cool guy with a horn-fixation to a super cool guy with some good tunes of his own. The rest of his set was an interesting combination of new, unknown songs that didn't go down as well as some classic covers that had the drunken crowd singing along with abandon.
Whilst waiting for Kele to set up, fun was had in the form of Saam Farahmand's DJ set that utilised footage recorded earlier in the night of party-goers dancing in front of a blue screen. I think i spent the majority of the time either boasting that my moves were better, or trying to copy those i was secretly jealous of. When Kele came on i gave up all pretence at busting out anything that could actually be called a "move" however, instead letting my inner fanboy out to shout along and pump his fist and generally have a brilliant time (thanks free bar). The new songs really worked in a live setting, produced as they are by Hudson Mohawke, a man who knows how to get people moving. Thrown in for good measure were a few Bloc Party classics, although they too tended towards the more electronic, club-friendly end of the spectrum, with the likes of The Prayer and Flux.
The night was about a lot more than just some gigs however, with impressive installations round every corner, such as the UVA light art, or Nick Zinner's photos, or the 8-bit video games that had me baffled in my drunken state despite their evident simplicity.
The future cultural landscape looks set to be in safe hands with The Creators Project.
Peaches on the decks with a broken leg. Nice one Peaches.
All those lucky enough to get in were treated to a series of performances from some of the artists who have been profiled by The Creators Project, including Mark Ronson (and his new band, the awkwardly titled "The Business Intl."), Kele and Tinchy Stryder. I was disappointed to miss a set by Yuck, a band who make lovely lo-fi rawk a la Dinosaur Jr. and stuff, influences that belie their north London roots. They also have a drummer who is basically Jonah Hill's bigger, funnier brother.
Whilst waiting for Kele to set up, fun was had in the form of Saam Farahmand's DJ set that utilised footage recorded earlier in the night of party-goers dancing in front of a blue screen. I think i spent the majority of the time either boasting that my moves were better, or trying to copy those i was secretly jealous of. When Kele came on i gave up all pretence at busting out anything that could actually be called a "move" however, instead letting my inner fanboy out to shout along and pump his fist and generally have a brilliant time (thanks free bar). The new songs really worked in a live setting, produced as they are by Hudson Mohawke, a man who knows how to get people moving. Thrown in for good measure were a few Bloc Party classics, although they too tended towards the more electronic, club-friendly end of the spectrum, with the likes of The Prayer and Flux.
The night was about a lot more than just some gigs however, with impressive installations round every corner, such as the UVA light art, or Nick Zinner's photos, or the 8-bit video games that had me baffled in my drunken state despite their evident simplicity.
The future cultural landscape looks set to be in safe hands with The Creators Project.
14 July 2010
Things that I'm listening to/want to be listening to...
Into the first category (things what i am currently listening to) fall the following:
1. On a literal level, i am literally listening to this as we speak/I type:
The Notorious xx- a mash up of The xx's debut album of late night melancholy minimalism and hip-hop hero Biggie. It shouldn't work, but it does. You can listen to it all at Soundcloud. (This is a few months old by the way, i just wanted an excuse to mention it)
2. I've been listening to an online stream of blog darlings Best Coast's debut album, Crazy For You. Online streams of albums ahead of their release seem to be the new thing, The National and LCD Soundsystem just two others to have followed a similar strategy this year. Anyway, you've probably all read about how Best Coast make that lo-fi nostalgia-pop everyone seems to love this year, music that must have a crick in its neck from all the nods it makes to older bands. Despite its zeitgeist-riding derivative nature, it's got some wonderful melodies and enough charm to carry it all off. Listen to it here.
4. Hugo is a singer i'd never heard of until recently when i discovered his intriguing, and ultimately enthralling cover of Jay-Z's 99 Problems. He turns it into a roots-y, blues-y stomper that's pretty much as far from the original as can be imagined. Well worth checking out, again on Soundcloud.
5. Flying Lotus' Cosmogramma album is pretty much amazing, unsurprisingly, but i've been enjoying the latest video he's released. It's for the track Mmmhmm, which features Thundercat, and was directed by Special Problems. The track itself is pretty deep and psychedelic, a trippy, bewildering amalgam of shuffling beats, pianos and high, velvety vocals. The video somehow enhances all these aspects, a weird and wonderful ride from collage seabeds to space scenes, with some floating Indians for good measure. The space theme in particular seems particularly resonant, it's what FlyLo's productions always remind me of. If such a name hasn't already been made up before, he should be crowned king of space-hop.
And onto the second category of things what I'm looking forward to hearing...
1. Arcade Fire and their new album, obviously. In this i'm probably not alone. Hype for The Suburbs has been building for some time now, hype that i like to think i helped build, and now that we've heard a few songs in full, it seems fever pitch has been reached. We'll just have to wait until August 2nd though.
2. Deerhunter.
I bloody love Deerhunter (childish swearing intended, i'm that excited).
Microcastle and Weird Era Continued were excellent, as were all of the various side projects, such as Bradford Cox's Atlas Sound and Lockett Pundt's Lotus Plaza. Their new album, Halcyon Digest, isn't out until the end of September, but they're marketing strategy is also of note, harking back as it does to the good old (halcyon????) days of rock and roll and when posters for all your favourite bands were plastered on all the city walls. Cox has designed a poster for fans to print out and stick up around town, with photos of your handiwork earning exclusive ownership of the first single and a non-album track.
Here's the poster (and a link to the appropriate website):
Apologies for the length of this post. I hope it was worth it.
1. On a literal level, i am literally listening to this as we speak/I type:
The Notorious xx- a mash up of The xx's debut album of late night melancholy minimalism and hip-hop hero Biggie. It shouldn't work, but it does. You can listen to it all at Soundcloud. (This is a few months old by the way, i just wanted an excuse to mention it)
2. I've been listening to an online stream of blog darlings Best Coast's debut album, Crazy For You. Online streams of albums ahead of their release seem to be the new thing, The National and LCD Soundsystem just two others to have followed a similar strategy this year. Anyway, you've probably all read about how Best Coast make that lo-fi nostalgia-pop everyone seems to love this year, music that must have a crick in its neck from all the nods it makes to older bands. Despite its zeitgeist-riding derivative nature, it's got some wonderful melodies and enough charm to carry it all off. Listen to it here.
3. Another online stream worth checking out this week is that of Mount Kimbie's Crooks & Lovers, another debut effort. Unlike Best Coast, Mount Kimbie's music could only have been written today, or perhaps tomorrow, a fact i've mentioned before i believe. They're one of those production teams forging a new path away from the wobbly dubstep of of old and into the future, taking with them a whole new army of fans not previously so enamoured with the genre. Listen to it here.
4. Hugo is a singer i'd never heard of until recently when i discovered his intriguing, and ultimately enthralling cover of Jay-Z's 99 Problems. He turns it into a roots-y, blues-y stomper that's pretty much as far from the original as can be imagined. Well worth checking out, again on Soundcloud.
5. Flying Lotus' Cosmogramma album is pretty much amazing, unsurprisingly, but i've been enjoying the latest video he's released. It's for the track Mmmhmm, which features Thundercat, and was directed by Special Problems. The track itself is pretty deep and psychedelic, a trippy, bewildering amalgam of shuffling beats, pianos and high, velvety vocals. The video somehow enhances all these aspects, a weird and wonderful ride from collage seabeds to space scenes, with some floating Indians for good measure. The space theme in particular seems particularly resonant, it's what FlyLo's productions always remind me of. If such a name hasn't already been made up before, he should be crowned king of space-hop.
And onto the second category of things what I'm looking forward to hearing...
1. Arcade Fire and their new album, obviously. In this i'm probably not alone. Hype for The Suburbs has been building for some time now, hype that i like to think i helped build, and now that we've heard a few songs in full, it seems fever pitch has been reached. We'll just have to wait until August 2nd though.
2. Deerhunter.
I bloody love Deerhunter (childish swearing intended, i'm that excited).
Microcastle and Weird Era Continued were excellent, as were all of the various side projects, such as Bradford Cox's Atlas Sound and Lockett Pundt's Lotus Plaza. Their new album, Halcyon Digest, isn't out until the end of September, but they're marketing strategy is also of note, harking back as it does to the good old (halcyon????) days of rock and roll and when posters for all your favourite bands were plastered on all the city walls. Cox has designed a poster for fans to print out and stick up around town, with photos of your handiwork earning exclusive ownership of the first single and a non-album track.
Here's the poster (and a link to the appropriate website):
Apologies for the length of this post. I hope it was worth it.
10 July 2010
Head on down to Hadestown
I'm a few months late on Anaïs Mitchell's recent Hadestown album, which is unsurprising really considering the low-key nature of its arrival in April. Neither was it a release that would have caught my eye in the first place: i'd never heard of Mitchell before, rarely listen to folk and have a limited knowledge at best of the Greek myths. The critical response it garnered from those who did pay it some attention was anything other than low-key however, with universal applause directed its way. . On the back of the overwhelmingly positive reviews however, it would have been wrong to have avoided it any longer.
Mitchell has enlisted an ensemble cast including Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Greg Brown, Ani DiFranco, Greg Brown and Ben Knox Miller (The Low Anthem), with each giving voice to a different character in the story. The result neatly avoids any of the ridiculous excesses that blight many a supergroup or concept album. Instead, the piece comes together quite wonderfully, aided by Michael Chorney's scoring, and a true story, or odyssey, unravels.
The songs work both together and on their own, tracks such as When the Chips Are Down making fine stand-alone singles. The aforementioned song, featuring the Haden Triplets, is a wonderful, skronking, soulful hoe-down that demands a sing-along from the first listen. But don't stop there (or start there even), play it through whole, and then do so again, and again. On an album as rich and deep as this there's always more to uncover, and plenty to savour multiple times.
Now go and check it out on Spotify, or buy it.
7 July 2010
So here you go...
There's been a lot of focus on Kele of Bloc Party fame lately, what with his transition from angst-ridden indie front man to happy electro entertainer. Perhaps it's an inevitable and universal shift, such as the classic metamorphosis from student lefty to middle-aged conservative, but either way it got me reminiscing about his early work. Silent Alarm maintains a high, and seemingly permanent, place in my list of favourite albums, and i'll always be an old Bloc Party fanboy at heart, and so i went back and re-listened to much of their back catalogue. It was an enjoyable nostalgia trip, enlivened by the rediscovery of the Silent Alarm remix album, which contains a few corkers, particularly this one:
It's by another old favourite, Four Tet, in which he takes the original and stretches it out, giving it a spacious and euphoric feel. It bears that distinctive Four Tet hallmark, electronic production that sound remarkably organic, giving his work a heart that most producers seem unable to inspire.
Aaaaaanyway, thought i'd remind people (and myself) of the song, and whilst you're there to give some of the others a go, such as those by Whitey, Mogwai and M83.
It's by another old favourite, Four Tet, in which he takes the original and stretches it out, giving it a spacious and euphoric feel. It bears that distinctive Four Tet hallmark, electronic production that sound remarkably organic, giving his work a heart that most producers seem unable to inspire.
Aaaaaanyway, thought i'd remind people (and myself) of the song, and whilst you're there to give some of the others a go, such as those by Whitey, Mogwai and M83.
4 July 2010
An update of sorts
I've been home for two weeks now and can safely say i've spent my time wisely. By day i've done my utmost to preserve my porcelain skin, watching Come Dine With Me repeats rather than dare go outside. At night, whilst failing to fall asleep due to the suffocating warmth and constant buzz of insects, i've been listening to a lot of techno, wishing i was at places like this, rather than in a place like this (although far less idyllic). I've also just gained access to a set of car keys, and i enjoyed spending the weekend zooming around (within all legal speed restrictions) listening to a series of mix cds, most of which are hangovers from last summer. As well as the summer toonz of '09, i've also been listening to more recent choice cuts, such as these.
I've also been prepping myself for the upcoming 1234 Festival, and i've come to the rather inevitable conclusion that most of the Shoreditch vampires whose bands will be playing there sound a lot better live than on record. However, the prospect of seeing Peter Hook playing live the whole of Unknown Pleasures is enough to keep me awake on it's own, 'heat-wave' aside. I'm also looking forward to seeing These New Puritans performing their rather brilliant new album, especially after my girlfriend's rave reviews of a live show she saw earlier this year.
Summer's shaping up pretty well so far then, and it's set to get better, albeit with a few brief library excursions thrown in to remind me that at some point i do need to actually do some work.
Tune for the day: Janelle Monae- Tightrope (Feat. Big Boi)
She's been getting a lot of attention lately, and as a blogger i feel i'm not doing something right if i don't mention her. This song justifies it though. And she looks great.
Tune for the day: Janelle Monae- Tightrope (Feat. Big Boi)
She's been getting a lot of attention lately, and as a blogger i feel i'm not doing something right if i don't mention her. This song justifies it though. And she looks great.
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