The Black Keys Work

This year's Field Day festival is approaching, and as well as another eclectic & interesting line-up we've been assured that we will be able to piss and get pissed this year. Despite the queues I had a great time last year, and with more bars, bogs & volume it should be a gay old time.



I've got a pair of tickets to give away. To win them (and I hope I don't live to regret this), just email me something interesting from youtube. It doesn't have to be music but it mustn't be PR. Mark your email 'watch this then give me some fucking tickets'.

For inspiration i've just watched a pretty interesting documentary about Northern Soul courtesy of Noodles and Broth, but sleepy puppies or suicidal Saudis are fine also.


How about some music then.

The latest excellent compilation from the Strut label focuses on 'Calypsoul' - Caribbean Soul from 1969 - 1979. It's mainly worth checking out for this killer opening track by 'The Revolution of St. Vincent'. I have no sleeve notes, i know nothing of the band. But I know good & this is it... and it sounds twice as sweet when listened to in this unrelenting heat.



THE REVOLUTION OF ST. VINCENT - THE LITTLE YOU SAY

Even more mysterious is this track I was sent the other day. I'm sure i'm not leading you up the garden path with another faux-Bangalter tune, but all i know about this is 'It's a secret track, and i can't tell you who it's by just yet. . It's a secret track by a really well known band... it'll be on the radio (also without a name..) and what not soon, but currently we're keeping it's identity secret..!

The high decending chords seem nicked straight from Glass Candy, but i'm at a bit of a loss as to who it might be. Rumour has it that Franz Ferdinand have a new disco-fied direction, so my shout is that it could be a new track by themselves. In fact i'm starting to become convinced of it. Anyone got any better ideas?

SECRET TRACK

Slightly less mysterious is the news that Riton has a new pseudonym for Modular records - 'Eine Kleine Nacht Musik'. He sounds like he's been listening to Jean Michelle Jarre & Stereolab, and this track (the album opener) is awesome, combining spaced out melodies with pounding krautrock drums. Must investigate further.....



EINE KLEINE NACHT MUSIK - ERTRINKEN

Primitive World

Phew, well it's been a rather hairy week, with my newish Vista PC suddenly deciding to not recognise my external hard drive - containing all my music. I'm rather embarrassed to admit quite how much is on there, but suffice to say it would have been slightly annoying had I lost it all.

Fortunately though, after a bit of messing round with drivers it seems to be back in business. Relief all round.

As a result i've finally been able to fix that Brand Image track that didn't upload properly last week. Yay!

So today i've been mainly listening to a track I was first sent & indeed should have posted up last year. Tahiti Boy is a guy called David who's formed a band with people from Poney Poney, Bitchee Bitchee Ya Ya and sometimes TV on the Radio. They had a single out last year on Ed Banger offshoot Arcade Mode, and this was it.



Based on this single, he seems blessed with a similar gift for pop & melody as Phoenix, and there's something about the way the track gently crescendos towards the end that hooks you in & makes you skip straight back to the beginning again.

TAHITI BOY AND THE PALMTREE FAMILY - SHE WAS MINE

Tahiti Boy are playing their first UK gig next week... which could be interesting. It's clear that So Me wasn't roped in to design the flyer though!




Could there be another band with a worse but also tropical sounding name? Why yes... how about Desmond and the Tutus. Yep that's pretty bad.



This wasn't exactly what I was expecting from a release on Tiger Sushi records, and in fact on first impressions I thought it was quite bad... but like a Black Mamba from their home country, it slithered up on me and sunk it's fangs into my buttocks. I guess this is evidence of the Afrobeat influence that I hear is infecting indie music these days?

DESMOND AND THE TUTUS - KISS YOU ON THE CHEEK

If you're at a loose end on Friday could I heartily recommend a trip to Adventures Close to Home's new home in Shoreditch. I'm djing, and Alex & Will will be buying fancy cocktails for every single person who comes.**




**this may not be true, but there's no harm in asking..!

Robot is Systematic

'Supreme Re-Edits' is how Cosmic Club Mastercuts describe themselves on myspace, and on the strength of volume 5 of their 12" series, I don't see how anyone could argue. If you thought that the Italo / Cosmic Disco era had already been mined to within an inch of its life, it seems there are still plenty of nuggets out there.



It's a little hard to find any information on the original artists (or indeed the mystery man behind the edits), so just enjoy the tunes. These 12"s are limited to 350 copies, so buy on sight!

BRAND IMAGE - ARE YOU LOVING? (COSMIC CLUB MASTERCUTS EDIT)

'LECTRIC WORKERS - THE GARDEN (1982 ORIGINAL MIX)


Another new exponent of Italo has cropped up on Cosmo Vitelli's excellent 'I'm a Cliche' label...



According to the blurb he's a DJ, graphic designer, Hip Hop artist, remixer & compilation compiler (totally Mexico, yeah?) but now turns out similar dark instrumenal sounds to Zombie Zombie. Well worth a listen for a modern take on some old noises...

UNCLE O - JUPITER MENACE

I enjoyed this new remix of Sebastien Tellier by Boys Noize... an overload of synths worthy of Jean Michelle Jarre or Jaques Lu Cont, with vocal accompaniment by Speak & Spell. I keep expecting it to break out into a more typically banging Boys Noize production, but on the whole I think the restraint works well.



Sorry the quality's not great on this one....

SEBASTIEN TELLIER - L'AMOUR ET LA VIOLENCE (BOYS NOIZE REMIX)

I don't get sent vinyl too often, so when I do it's great... and when it turns out to be really good it's even better.

Instantboys are (is?) yet another scandinavian master of the slow jam, this time hailing from Gothenberg. It's the b-side track that really works for me.. It's just occurred to me that it's very reminiscent of some old Carl Craig tunes, particularly when the breakdown drops half-way through. The crazily arpeggiated synths sound old enough to sound fresh & new (if that makes sense), and the whole thing seems so well produced that it seems odd to find it tucked away on the flipside of a debut single.




INSTANTBOYS - NYA FARGER

The latest European sounds to be picked up by DFA's 'Death From Abroad' label come from Berlin's Supersoul Recordings. Their Banksy-lite sleeves caught my eye quite a while ago, but I hadn't really let them into my ears too much. To be honest on the whole the double CD compilation comes across a little samey for my tastes, but there are undoubtedly some gems to be found within.



The following track appears on the album edited by I-F, but I really love the original... a simple but effective dancefloor riddim containing two great synth hooks where most producers struggle to find one.

WALTER JONES - DEUTERONOMY BROWN

DJs Take Control

I almost forgot to pimp my forthcoming appearances behind the 1s & 2s. Friday night's session is free... you can't get much better value than that in Shoreditch! Expect music for dancing.