Gah, i've been away for a long time again. Well in my defence, bank holiday comes but 6 times a year, and the August bank holiday is always the silliest what with carnival and in recent years the TDK festival.
My main gripe with previous TDK's were the £4.50 beers (that's basically £4.50 for half a lager), and the worrying trend towards making people pay (in this case £3) in order to simply find out who was playing. The beer situation was sorted thanks to smuggling in a bottle of whisky, and I will remember in future the top tip for avoiding line-up rip-offs.... take photographs of someone else's listings using a camera phone.
With all that out of the way, I have to say the TDK festival was brilliant. A fantastic atmosphere and great music.
Most of the 'bands' I saw were in the Adventures Close to Home tent. Black Affair (a collaboration between Steve Mason of the Beta Band & The Verve's bassist) were nice enough but didn't really threaten to soar to Beta Band levels of greatness.... apart from maybe a collaboration with Miss Odd Kid that despite needing to be done twice due to bad sound, gave a very warm glow to my whiskey-addled mind.
It was great to finally see South Central live, and frankly they rocked the place. It's not just me saying that either... all around me people were looking at each other & saying 'this is fucking great'. Or 'hospitalised by awesome' as a myspace comment says!
A little treat for the punters came with a cover of 'Higher States of Consciousness'.. which also went down a storm. Hopefully they picked up a good few fans. That's if anyone can remember anything of the evening... it was that kind of night.
I also caught Friendly Fires, who impressed me a lot. 'Your Love' is surely one of the greatest cover versions of all time.
Otherwise the terrace was where it was at. It was beautiful man, beautiful. 'The Chain' by Fleetwood Mac was a fantastic moment, as was the Soulwax mix of Justice..... what a tune. The point where the sound drops out completely in the middle is devastating.
Has this been all over the internet already? Probably. But if not, and even if you're suffering Justice fatigue you should check this out immediately. Erol Alkan also smashed up Field Day with it the other week...
Some of this kind of thing went on afterwards.... followed by carnival. Although I think i've left it a bit late to unleash my carnival selection. Next year perhaps!
This is a bit quieter than the usual racket you'll find here, but i've been blown away by this single... an ideal accompaniment to picking figs from the tree. Liz Green's incredible voice vibrates with the sounds of dusty French gramaphone records, warm brandy and bicycles in the countryside.
I bought it following some slathering reviews on the boomkat & rough trade newsletters, and haven't been disappointed in the slightest. A voice this special with songs this good... I forsee an appearance on Jules Holland and millions of album sales.
This is actually the b-side, but I thought 'French Singer' was quite an appropriate title. Beautiful.
LIZ GREEN - FRENCH SINGER EDIT: TRACK REMOVED BY REQUEST Download it here or listen at her myspace.
I stuck this new Ian Brown single into my CD player, and thought 'oh yeah, here we go. Another anti-war song'. Then I realised that actually there's not been too much musical opposition to this ridiculous war, and perhaps a good anti-war song is exactly what we need. Remaining silent is to be complicit in this murderous farce.
Of course now that we're up to our necks in the mire (in Afghanistan as well as Iraq), singing 'bring the soldiers back' isn't quite as easy as all that. But at the same time we shouldn't be forgetting that this is going on, and shouldn't be forgetting that Blair and the labour party went directly against the wishes of the electorate (as well as the UN of course) in waging this phoney war.
ITV screened John Pilger's must-see documentary 'The War on Democracy' the other night... a very interesting look at US 'interference' in Latin America... 'interference' being one of these terms like 'collateral damage' that really doesn't cover the complicity in murder, torture and theft of natural resources that has been endemic in latin america for the past 50 years. I've spent quite some time on the continent myself, and have seen first-hand the poverty and ruination caused by US imperialism in the region. It warms the bottom of my heart to see Chavez & Evo Morales sticking two fingers up at their powerful neighbours, and implementing policies that actually benefit the people of their countries rather than a military junta and their US multinational backers.
(you can watch the whole thing on youtube if your eyes & broadband can take it) Now I can't pretend that this Ian Brown single is going to change any of the world's ills, but it made me sit and think about what's going on for the first time in a while. And reminded me of how quickly we accept. And forget. So for that reason I applaud it.
One song won't make a shit heap of difference to the world, but it's good to occasionally be shaken from the political apathy enduced by Tescos cheesecake, cheap trainers and Sky Super Soccer Sunday.
The postie brought glad tidings this morning, with the new single from Late of the Pier - released as part of the Moshi Moshi Singles Club.
The singles club concept seems to be enjoying a renaissance recently, and though I keep hearing of new ones it seems that the impeccable taste of Moshi Moshi is most ideally suited to the format. Already we've had 7"s from Kate Nash, Matt & Kim and Dananananaykroyd (among others) and now comes this Erol Alkan produced gem from Late of the Pier.
It's a pretty large cauldron full of ideas, where they seem to try a couple of choruses on for size before finally settling on some kind of Rocky Horror Picture Show stompathon. It would suit a silly formation dancing video...
Is 'Kala' the album of the year so far? From the moment the drums kick on 'Bamboo Banga' with M.I.A. proclaiming 'MIA coming back with power power' you know you're in for a ride here. Though recognisably British, it's in truth a global hip-hop production... the grimey beats mingle with sounds from America, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Australia, Jamaica, India and beyond.
Released from the tinny confines of youtube, Bird Flu's inventive beats sound reborn, while $20 is a crunked up cover of The Pixies' 'Where is my Mind'. Final track 'Come Around' with Timbaland also has 'single' written all over it...
The album's probably highlight of the album is 'Paper Planes', with its memorable gun shot / cash machine chorus fine evidence of Switch & Diplo's amazing production skills.
I reckon unless someone comes up with something spectacular in the next few months, this is a shoe-in for next year's Mercury Prize.
Next Monday sees the first edition of a new night in Shepherds Bush designed to showcase biggish bands in a tiny venue, playing semi-secret gigs. Brakes are up first in what should be an interesting series of gigs. All the details are below:
Fresh outta Detroit is this new platter by Omar-S, a mysterious house legend cut from the same cloth as Moodymann and Theo Parrish - who helps out with percussion on this track (though it sounds like he's rattling his jewelery!).
Omar is now billing himself 'The Grandson of Detroit Techno', and has certainly picked up some tricks from his forebears. Being a Detroit production, subtlety is key, and the different elements quietly fade in & out of the mix; while the drums seem to kick slightly off the beat, bringing a shwing to the sound.
This isn't going to smash you round the face like an Ed Banger production, but will take you out for dinner & bring you home for cognac.
Yet another superb single on Lo Experimental Beats is a new 12" by Black Devil Disco Club. Since Rephlex unearthed & reissued their classic 1978 single, the Black Devils have been at the forefront of this disco revival we're enjoying.
The new one features remixes by Prins Thomas, Unit 4 & Black Mustang (whose amazing single I posted about a month ago). The Prins Thomas one is probably the best and most Disco Club like. But i'm sure you'll hear that elsewhere at some point... cos i'm also hot for the Unit 4 reworking, with it's wobbly bassline and chirping atmospherics.
Smith & Hack found fame and fortune through their stunning remix of Herbert's 'Like a Train'. Now they have a new rekkid out, 'Space Warriors' & it's all shimmering disco goodness, but with a few strange noises going on at the same time, which makes it NOW rather than THEN.
On the flip is this marvellous Moroder goes Gigolo track. Blissful 5am jazz.
This is taken from Tom Middleton's new compilation 'Crazy Covers Vol. 2'. Now i'm probably one of the world's biggest Tom Middleton fans, and have a good few inches of his records about the place - Reload; Jedi Knights; The Chameleon; Cosmos; Chaos & Julia Set; Global Communication, The Mod Wheel and so on and so on!
So I was very much looking forward to a second volume of 40 'crazy and beautiful cover versions'. I have to say i'm finding it a bit forgettable though. There are two many bluegrass versions of songs, and too much stuff that could have come off a daytime Radio 1 session. The Fratellis? Bleurgh.
There are certainly tracks that are worth hearing - like Paul Anka's version of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', and the Jam covering 'Moving on Up', but overall it tends to blend into an easy-listening mush.
The Usha Uthup track (above) stands out a mile though. A complete bollywood reinterpretation of the original with an entirely new chorus, apart from the title you can't be entirely sure that it's a Donna Summer cover at all. Love it.
This weekend was Field Day.... which was a nice day out, but not without some massive problems. The main ones being the unbelievable queues for drinks & toilets. It was a bit of luck to be honest that no-one could buy any beer, else the toilets would have gone into complete meltdown.
The other big problem was the sound on the main stage, which was hopelessly inadequate. I'd been really looking forward to both Battles and The Aliens, but they were virtually inaudible.
Fortunately the sound was pumping in the Bugged Out tent, where 'Safe Hands' Alkan rocked the place. (a Soulwax mix of Phantom Pt 2 being a particular highlight), and we had the good sense to get down the front for Justice so that we could actually hear them.
Most people I spoke to afterwards thought they were dull, but I think that was due to the sound. It was certainly rocking hard enough where we were, and this probably saved the day to be honest.
To be fair the organisers have recognised the problems & promised to rectify them next year, but although you can add more bars and toilets, if the sound levels were cabooshed by the council there's not much you can do about it is there? Also i'm not sure what you can do about some seriously overzealous policing... a kid being cautioned for smoking a spliff, which was then sealed in an evidence bag! Someone else outside being arrested for some tiny stencil graffiti. Have they nothing better to do?
So it seemed that getting hammered on fine tequila was the order of the day after that... and can I wholeheartedly endorse firstly the Watermelon Margaritas served at Green & Red on Brick Lane. Phwoar! I can remember saying at one point that i'm never going to drink anything else again. A bit impracticle down the local boozer I think, but there's no harm in asking I suppose!
Could I also recommend this Tapatio Tequila. Damn it was good....
Excuse the pissed up photos, but it was my birthday, and we had been necking tequlia for several hours!
I heard rumours recently that Zoot Woman were going to be heading back into our conciousness, however it seems they've been beaten to it by Frankmusik, who does a great impersonation of their lush electropop on his debut EP, Frankisum.
You may be off-put by the new rave hair & glasses, but he's clearly a talented kid. This version of 'confusion girl' from the EP is a bit 'x-factor' but rather nice all the same....
An article in this weekend's Observer Music Magazine covered the 'birth of rave'... you know that tale repeated ad nauseum of how Oakenfold, Rampling, Holloway & Johnny Walker went on holiday to Ibiza, dropped a load of pills & then came home and started Shoom, Spectrum and Acid House.
Probably the figure who escapes the credit for all this raving is DJ Alfredo, whose DJ sets at Amnesia actually inspired all this. This may be redressed now however, with a new double CD mix album - 'The Original Sound of Ibiza'. Disc 1 contains a blend of glorious balearic anthems - well known stuff like Chaka Khan; Tears for Fears and Soul II Soul, alongside many lesser known gems such as this. 'Jibaro'... a blissed out bit of latin-tinged funk.
Disc 2 is better still, especially for someone like me who can't get enough of early house & techno. There's loads of trax tunes, euro proto-industrial weirdness like Les Liasons Dangereuses, and this absolute cracker by The Residents. A tune that's supposedly a cover of a Hank Williams song, but enhanced with a Billie Jean bassline & a gloriously distorted horn section. You'll know it (it was on the 2 Many DJ's album), but perhaps didn't realise it was done by a load of blokes with eyes for heads. I'm sure I heard it spilling out of one of the tents at Field Day at some point...
This whole album is beautifully compiled and flawlessly mixed... and guaranteed to turn you all misty eyed & jabbering on about how it's not as good as it used to be. Ahhh, Joe Smooth's 'Promised Land' has just come on now... it really doesn't get much better than that! :-)
Shit has it been that long since my last post? This glorious period of unemployment was supposed to give me lots of time to do magical things with the site. Still, best laid plans & all that!
So last weekend saw me venture into deepest Norfolk for the Tales of the Jackalope festival... a cosy little gathering blessed by bright sunshine and an easily circumvented 'no booze' policy.
It was a little hard to catch the bands we wanted to, since there was no sign of any line-up listing anywhere, so there was no clue as to what was on where & when. However fortunately there were only 4 small tents, so it was easy to stumble across what you wanted.
The somewhat unexpected highlight were The Fall, who were absolutely scintilating. The grumpy one has got a tight band together this time, who fired out razor sharp riffs to accompany the prowling fuhrer. It's easy to see how so many people leave the band... just as they reach their showpiece part of the song, Mark E Smith creeps round behind & turns their amp off, or messes with their sound. The band have to carry on regardless as their levels disappear then return at double volume at the whim of their master.
It was quite magnificent, but by that time of the night my memory was in tatters, and the only song I remember is this one....
Elsewhere Dizzee Rascal played the traditional hip hop game of keeping everyone waiting for an hour before coming on... I must admit my patience was just about exhausted but it was almost worth the wait. It was too quiet though, and his performance wasn't enhanced by having some cohort bouncing around on stage joining in at the end of every line. I wanted to hear Dizzee's raw skillz, not some oaf shouting at me.
Mama Shamone were as good as ever. I'm still a bit puzzled as to how they're not famous yet.
At one point I heard a familiar song I wrote about in 2005... dashed into the tent and saw the last 10 seconds of The More Assured. Well I can't think of many 'last 10 seconds' of a band i've seen that have made me wish i'd seen the rest of it so much. It looked good!
Well after a year & a half it's probably OK to pimp this one again... it's a great tune
Also memorable were Fucked Up - producers of that Justice remix I posted the other day, and a big, sweaty, thrash metal racket. The kids came from nowhere to go absolutely apeshit though, and watching them push each other around was in truth far more entertaining than the musical accompaniment.
I can't remember much else right now. There were nice folks, nice scenery, and good tunes. Think I may go back next year...
I'll try & get some more music up tomorrow, cos chris knows i've got a backlog of hottness to share with y'all. But for now just a couple of things to tell you about.
Tomorrow sees the opening night of my worldwide DJ tour, as I take the coveted midnight to 1am slot at Adventures Close to Home (otherwise known as the bit where everyone's upstairs watching the band). Obviously my vast hareem of fanatical groupies won't be interested in the other entertainment on offer, but U guess some of you might want to know who else is playing....
COMPETITION ALERT!!!
I also have another of my 'if you enter you're pretty much guaranteed to win' competitions! Woo!
On offer are 5 tickets to see those pre-teen rockers The Tiny Masters of Today at the Buffalo Bar in Islington. This Saturday. Personally I can only think that seeing 12 year olds making better music than I would ever dream of would make me feel a bit suicidal. However perhaps you will see otherwise and have some kind of musical epiphany.
This gig is to celebrate their debut album coming out on Mute, and they'll be accompanied by Russell Simins - the drummer from John Spencer Blues Explosion.
To win a ticket you don't even have to answer a question. Just send me an email with the subject "i want to feel past it" and you'll more than likely get a golden ticket.
You can download a track of theirs (K.I.D.S.) for free by clicking here.
If you're near London and have any interest in art you simply have to check out the current Adam Neate exhibition at Elms Lesters. Alongside Banksy, I think Adam stands head & shoulders above anyone else working at the moment, and this exhibition has seen many people drawing comparisons to Picasso or Francis Bacon. It's that good.
It's unfortunately impossible to convey the scale or sense of the pieces very well by looking at photographs. Most are rendered in 3-dimensions using cardboard & staples... and in the case of these breathtaking self portraits using things like empty spraycans, car speakers and a paint roller (round the left eye of the white portrait) as well.
I managed to pick up a couple of prints at the exhibition, but unfortunately i've missed the boat a bit when it comes to buying originals. Prices started at £30k and apart from one piece the entire show sold out in minutes.
That's no reason not to pop down & enjoy probably the best individual show i've ever seen though.
I'll let you feast your eyes on a few more photos.... but truly these need to be seen in the flesh. The photos do them a great injustice. The show's on until 25th August so you have plenty of time.
Adam first became famous for leaving hundreds (thousands?) of pieces out on the streets for people to help themselves to. There's quite a nice little video here of him from childrens telly (but you'll have to turn the sound right up)
It's been a long while since i've posted a mix up here, but i've bought (and been kindly given) a few tasty new records recently, so I thought i'd best lay a new mix down on the old hard drive.
A few cock ups as usual, but i'm pretty happy with it overall.... any comments good or bad are very welcome! Don't worry, I can take the hate....
Tracklisting: KAOS - CEREBRAL TREMELO (BRENNAN GREEN EDIT) (KITSUNE, 2006) SERGE SANTIAGO - ATTO D'AMORE (DUB VERSION) (ARCOBALENO, 2005) SPANK ROCK - BUMP (BIG DADA, 2006) KLEIN & MBO - DIRTY TALK (ZANZA RECORDS, 1982) DAVID E SUGAR - OI NEW YORK THIS IS LONDON (GRECOROMAN, 2007) LIFELIKE - SO ELECTRIC (DIFFERENT, 2007) BONDE DO ROLE - OFFICE BOY (BRODINSKI REMIX) (DOMINO, 2007) NEW ORDER - BLUE MONDAY (12" REMIX) (FACTORY, 1986) SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO - I BELIEVE (SWITCH REMIX) (WICHTA 2007) NEW YOUNG PONY CLUB - ICE CREAM (HERVE GOES BANANAS REMIX) (MODULAR, 2007) JUSTICE - LET THERE BE LIGHT (ED BANGER, 2005) OUTLANDER - VAMP (R&S, 1991) D-MOB - WE CALL IT ACIEEED (FFRR, 1988) DAFT PUNK - BURNIN' (VIRGIN, 1997)
Amazing! As is everything the Brazilian maestro touches.
This is around London somewhere apparently... anyone seen it?
You can get a couple of his prints from Pictures on Walls. They're on my list... but so are a lot of things!
Ah yes, the music.
A fresh exclusive from the Merok label - part-time home of Klaxons, The Teenagers & Crystal Castles, is this bitching new remix of Comanechi from those Gentleman Drivers.
It sounds a bit like the ultimate Crystal Castles track to me... 8-bit tinged, with a repeated vocal loop and a very danceable beat. Everything i've heard by Gentlemen Drivers has been quality, and this is no exception. It would be vying with David E Sugar for Headphonesex Single of the Week, if there was such a thing.
Also bitching is the Passions remix, which you should check out here....
Speaking of Merok, and of Crystal Castles, i'm sure you'd all like to hear their latest mentalistic remix. I'm getting curiouser and curiouser as to how they do this shit live. But perhaps some dark secrets should remain so. Look what happened to Harry Potter when he started nosing around the darkside....
(not that I know or care what happened to Harry Potter, but I reckon it was probably something bad)
This is what the Soho Dolls look like by the way, in case it inspires you to seek out their original material:
This is a slightly different version to the one that appears on the single... so you can download this and buy the single as well if it grabs you by the balls (or tits).
More hottness comes from the new album by Melbourne's Midnight Juggernauts, Dystopia. And it's excellent, as anyone who's heard 'Shadows' or 'Tombstone' would probably expect. Check this euphoric space disco anthem... which should get the boys frugging & the girls circling their handbags. Tune!
Time for a little relaxation now, courtesy of Iceland's Mum. They're another well regarded band who i've never listened to, and whose extensive back catalogue it now seems I will have to raid.
This track comes as the b-side of forthcoming single 'They Made Frogs Smoke Until They Exploded', and is some lovely folky electronica. It sounds to me a bit like a pastoral Metronomy. With added accordian. It's nice yeah.
