January 2012
2 posts
2011: Tracks of the Year
1. Macintosh Plus ‘リサフランク420 / 現代のコンピュー’
2. D/R/U/G/S ‘Unified Field’
3. Love Inks ‘Blackeye’
4. Leather ‘Relapse’
5. Holiday Shores ‘Spells’
6. New Look ‘Janet’
7. The Antlers ‘French Exit’
8. Death Grips ‘Spread Eagle Across The Block’
9. SebastiAn ‘Embody’
10. Ferguson &...
2011: Albums of the year
1. Death Grips ‘Exmilitary’
2. M83 ‘Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming’
3. Dum Dum Girls ‘Only In Dreams’
4. Tennis ’Cape Dory’
5. The Antlers ‘Burst Apart’
6. Ferguson & Geronimo ‘Unlearn’
7. Gang Gang Dance ’Eye Contact’
8. Love Inks ‘ESP’
9. SebastiAn ’Total’
10. Girls ‘Father,...
December 2011
1 post
NIGHT: Macintosh Plus
I hate genre names these days, it always feels so desperate, clutching onto something new because you don’t want to be drowned by the decline of ‘sex-wave’.. ANYWHO, today not am I only jumping on the bandwagon with coining such said genres but I’m creating my own. Macintosh Plus have been in my ears for a few weeks now, you can listen to their album via the Beer On...
October 2011
1 post
SUMMER IS OVER: White Ninja
After our 2-day ‘Indian Summer’ (thanks Metro!!!!!) I thought I’d share something beautifully summery. I can only describe White Ninja as what I imagine Neon Indian fronted by Jamie Lidell would sound like.. There’s something fragile about the whole sound, like its about to fall apart at any time. EP opener ‘El Alfa’ has been nicely synced to some what I can...
August 2011
2 posts
NIGHT: Shannon & The Clams
I’m not sure how I feel about music when it sounds and looks more like a remake than just an influential nod but Shannon And The Clams is incredibly infectious so I guess all rules out the window… yeah? Charles from Slow Club put me onto the band and it wasn’t until I googled it myself I realised it was something new(ish). It really could be ripped from an old...
NIGHT: The Long Lost
I love France. I’ve been about 3 times for I’d say collectively 72 hours.. Its not so much the visits that have fueled such a love its more the story I’ve created around it. I love the language, the music, the films and the general idea that they live in this cafe culture with all the cliches whilst Serge Gainsbourg subtlety whispers out the stereo. The Long Long are what...
July 2011
3 posts
SUMMER NIGHT: Milagres
I say the term ‘warms your ears’ a lot when describing music. This probably means nothing to most people but its meant to refer to music that is warm in tone, deep with layers and essentially a comfortable yet pleasing listen.. still got no idea? Thought so. Well listen to Milagres, for me it epitomises such a saying. Its beautifully steady, confidently tempoed at a pace that pulls...
OLD: Modey Lemon
What the bloody hell happened to Modey Lemon? I think its pretty much practice that a few decent rock bands come through the ranks (usually from somewhere obscure in America or Australia/NZ) every now and then. What tends to happen is they end up making a few waves, people get excited and they go away and make the follow-up to which is never released/or released to damming reviews. This was...
June 2011
1 post
SUMMER (20 years ago): Gross Magic / Weird Dreams
Every band I was ever in the standard format for creating names was: an everyday noun + unrelated word/object. This obviously (90% of the time) created a bunch of terrible names that will only end up haunting you in future interviews when the infamous question gets asked. Two bands who have chose to embrace such a formula (and I’d argue successfully) are Gross Magic and Weird Dreams (ok...
March 2011
3 posts
NIGHT: SebastiAn 'Embody'
Geeeeeeeeez.. SebastiAn have unleashed what can only described as a (sorry to get all Essex on you) banger. Perfect early dance-floor music. Albums out in May, lets hope this is just tip of the sexy (possibly melting?) french ice-berg.
I’ll leave you with the steamy homo-erotic theme they’re sporting as a visual aide.
SebastiAn - ‘Embody’
SUMMER: Love Inks
I really need to stop playing this song, 1m55s of joyous-summer noise. Love Inks make perfect short pop songs, simply laid out, all led by beautiful vocal lines that warm your ears listen after listen. I always struggle with mix CD’s, you don’t want to be too musically/lyrically suggestive but at the same time you want to excite the listener.. Love Inks make music for the perfect mix...
SUMMER: Matt Berry
Matt Berry - Take My Hand
If being a cult comic ins’t enough.. Matt Berry makes music. Somewhere between Papercuts and Sleepy Jackson, it makes me want to dig out my black sack of ‘Summer Stuff’, beautifully distant and reverberant. Joke or not, it works..
February 2011
4 posts
NIGHT: CONTINUOUS NOISE
I thought I’d let the sound-waves be your visual aid on this post to further my continuous noise theme. Both Moon Duo and PS I Love You aren’t fans of gaps, so going against ‘XX and James Blake make noise with gaps in it so thats gonna be big right?’ I thought I’d give you two tracks of constant-amazing-noise. Plug in your speakers, turn it up loud, why...
EVENT: Funk You Up
Any excuse to play funk music out loud I will… and when the opportunity come to actually play it loud in a room full of people I couldn’t quite control my excitement. A good friend of mine has put together a new night going under the name HOUSE, the next one will be just short of Stoke Newington, London at Vogue Fabrics on March 4th. To be honest, the duo behind this...
SUMMER NIGHT: Friends
Friends are very new, yet visually it feels together. I never quite got Warpaint, I found what they were doing very underwhelming.. there’s something about Friends that although it crosses similar Brooklyn-shaped bridges feels more accessible. Once ‘Friend Crush’ drops it takes me back studious nights convincing my friends guitars can be simply an accessory to a solid bass-line...
6 tags
NIGHT: Miami Horror
Taking music away from your heaphones can go either way, it can completely open up a track or take away everything that felt so bright and exciting. Miami Horror sound amazing loud, its dance music for people that don’t like dance music. The beats are simple four to the floor but the melodies could hold their own in any other setting, with strong vocal lines and built up layers taking the...
December 2010
1 post
6 tags
SUMMER NIGHT: Dent May
As we approach the whole albums of the year, tracks of the year, silly blogs hosting mundane things that seems remotely funny because they’re viewed via the medium of a screen of the year, I always have a final dig through things I feel I may of missed in case there’s a few late entries. In this case I’m a year or so late.. To my credit a UK Dent May debut...
November 2010
5 posts
NIGHT: Closet R'n'B
So much music is filtered through the blog process and then judge by its source. I think there’s so many bands that are dismissed as something they’re clearly not for the sake of lazy writers love of labeling and closet genre fans. I like R&B, in its traditional form and more contemporary takes on it. In my ears Junior Boys feel like an R&B band, its so clean and beautifully...
NIGHT: Becoming Real
Where UK guitar music has really struggled this year, its really gave prominence to a hub of sub-genres that may not of made the impact they would of had if NME had some landfill indie to ram down our throats. We had Becoming Real aka Toby Ridler down at Maida Vale last week and having seen him live and listened to a bunch of demos prior to the session I must say it took this...
NIGHT: Twin Sister
I can’t stop listening to this song, such a groove on it. I love the drops, its like a radio DJ’s dream, perfect moment to talk up to lyrics. Her vocal wispiness does feel a little forced it still feels right.
These visuals fit really well, love the simplicity of it.
Twin Sister - All Around And Away We Go
SUMMER: Childhood
Something that always excites when I listen to new music is potential at the very first listen. Childhood is a sterling example of this, the complexity of their layers, the strength of their melodies, the pleasing vocal tones.. its a good bet that stick this London duo in a decent studio and they’ll come out with something special. For now here’s a demo for your ears.
Visually,...
TRAVEL: Tame Impala
I think Alter Ego by Tame Impala is the biggest inkling of the which direction new material is likely to take following the release on their debut LP released earlier this year. The formula is very strong, taking their psychedelic roots and laying on it something far more contemporary structurally whilst leaving the familiar analogue warmth recognisable in their earlier recordings.
As soon as...
October 2010
2 posts
NIGHT: Zach Hill
I was first introduced to Zach Hill when working on a mix for Marnie Stern, she selected a couple of tracks for a mini-mix one of which was Zach Hill ‘Memo To The Man.’ First thing is not the most mix friendly track, b) there’s not 5 minutes of fruity loops and c) there isn’t a tempo. The production is so aggressive, feel like compression was more of an after thought.. I...
AUTUMN: Still Corners
I know its a Shoredtich no-no not to opt for the MASSIVE HUGE LONG CHURCH setting on your Reverb unit when mixing your tracks but Still Corners feels right. Her voice slots among the layers perfectly and the programmed beat stop it from becoming background.
As for imagery, an autumnal Windows style background felt to obvious so I liked the idea of things being not so perfect, these leaves work...