Tuesday 30 September 2014

Recommended music: 'The Light Brigade' by Daedelus

"Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred"
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Charge of the Light Brigade


An album about the 1853-56 Crimean War might not be top of everyone's to-do list, but when you've already made an EP about the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 (2009's 'Righteous Fists of Harmony') then I guess anything's possible. And so following in the footsteps of Alfred, Lord Tennyson comes Alfred (should we call him Lord?) Darlington a.k.a. Daedelus to create an artistic work based on this very specific battle.

As you might expect from the subject matter this is not a bright, sunny creation but neither is it all doom and gloom. There are enough moments of light and shade to reflect the fact that even in extreme battles moments of calm can descend. It's also interesting that he's chosen to incorporate other elements into the story, with 'Baba Yaga', a supernatural woman or witch from Slavic folklore, getting a mention amongst the paraphernalia of war.

The mostly instrumental tracks are shot through in three places by some ethereal vocals from Young Dad, most noticeably on 'Onward', a devastatingly beautiful and haunting track that pretty much brings tears to my eyes each time I hear it. It's not all electronics either; gently-picked acoustic guitar forms the backbone for 'The Victory of the Echo Over the Voice' and 'Sevastopol', but it's soon overcome by the dark, swampy intro of 'Tsars and Hussars', another of the tracks to feature Young Dad.

In a lot of ways this reminds me of Apparat's soundtrack for War and Peace (Krieg und Frieden), both in the way it's constructed and the mood it puts across. The fact that further conflict has arisen in the area since the record was made adds an undeniable poignancy and currency to it, making it stand as much as a reflection on modern-day warfare as a comment on a specific piece of history.

I absolutely love this record and I'm sure you will too when you immerse yourself in it. It would work really well as a soundtrack to maybe an animated movie about the war, but it also stands on its own as an outstanding piece of music and art.

Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die

Sunday 28 September 2014

Recommended music: 'Shaker Notes' by Paul White

"I try not to think in genres at all, I think music is music!" - Paul White, 2014


Following on from a spell producing hip-hop records for the likes of Danny Brown and Homeboy Sandman, White's third album (the first for R and S Records) is a very different proposition. Putting the samples to one side, he plays pretty much all of the music on here himself, and sings as well. There are guest appearances from friends and even family (his uncle plays the violin on 'Sitting In Circles') but really this is White opening himself up for all to see.

In keeping with the quote at the top of the page there's an array of styles on display here, from the more hip-hop flavoured tracks like 'All We Know', to the Balearic house stylings of 'Where You Gonna Go?' and on to the swampy electro-blues of 'Honey Cats' (and that's just the first three tracks!). Elsewhere there's a hint of Thom Yorke on 'Wait & See', a drums and sax pairing on 'Fighting To Dance' and a dub feel on 'Is It Up To Us?'. 'Sitting In Circles' sounds like a lost 60s film theme, while 'Numbers of Change' is the most electronic thing on here and in part conjures up the ghost of John Carpenter. Closer 'Shaker Notes' is a suitably eclectic and slightly melancholic way to end the record, which wraps up the musical themes that have been explored before it.

Something about this record feels really intimate and personal, it's almost like in ditching the samples and picking up instruments he's managed to communicate a message from his soul. You can stream the whole album below, and after you've listened to it I urge you to buy it for yourself (you can get it direct from his Bandcamp page here). I'm really looking forward to my red vinyl copy arriving in the post but in the meantime I'll be shaking along to the download!


Saturday 27 September 2014

Recommended music: 'Tomorrow's Modern Boxes' by Thom Yorke

Another day, another new way of releasing an album...


It's hard not to dwell on the delivery method of this record, when Yorke made such a big thing of it. Dropping it on us all by surprise just over 24 hours ago, he decided to release it via a new version on BitTorrent, which features a pay gate on the front end so that you can charge for files instead of giving them away for free. One of the stated aims of Yorke's experiment was to see if people could get on with the technology - well, at the time of writing 119,000 people have downloaded it, so it seems OK so far (also, at $6 a download, it also means that York is approximately £440k better off than he was this time yesterday).

So the question is - is he coming up with all of these new ideas to distribute his music to hide the fact that there's nothing new in the tunes themselves? Well one of the most noticeable things about this record is that, despite spending a couple of years on the road with his 'Atoms For Peace' band, this is his most electronic album yet. Apart from a (heavily treated) piano you'd be hard pressed to spot any 'real' instruments. Taking 2006's 'The Eraser' as its starting point it develops the musical ideas even further, and becomes more experimental as it progresses. If it wasn't for Yorke's distinctive vocals you'd be hard pushed to know that this was one of his records rather than one of the many electronic artists that he loves. 'A Brain In A Bottle' opens the album sounding very much like Pink Floyd's 'On The Run' when it starts, but once it gets going it could have been on his last album, as could 'Guess Again!'. 'Interference' sounds like Radiohead on downers (yes, it's that happy), but when we get to 'The Mother Lode' things start to get interesting. 6 minutes of skittery beats and looped melodies over which Yorke sings quietly of 'hollow men' who 'can't see their way out of this'.

Side 2 (as it will be on the rather over-priced £30 vinyl copy) starts with the slow-paced 'Truth Ray' - simple and hypnotic, it's the most emotional piece on the record and provides some humanity amongst the electronic heartbeats. 'There Is No Ice (For My Drink)' (which may or may not be a comment on global warming) is a heavily repetitive, mostly instrumental track with just some backward-spun spoken words and a few warbles in the background. It leads into 'Pink Section', all warbled tape loops and distorted piano and the most unsettling thing on the record, which takes us on to 'Nose Grows Some', which could probably have been on 'Amnesiac'.

Overall then, it's a development on from 'The Eraser', rather than a complete reinvention. With Radiohead back in the studio this week, maybe this has got the electronic leaning out of Thom's system and they'll return with an album of Bends-era guitar belters. We'll have to wait and see...

Friday 26 September 2014

Recommended music: 'Grey Skies 3' by Genesis the Greykid

"Can you hear me, I'm thinking out loud
Painting pictures with the sounds tryin' to help you see clearly"


If Genesis the Greykid is a new name to you (as it was to me until Giles Peterson's radio show last weekend) you should know he was born in Tennessee, he's a poet inspired by TS Eliot, a rapper who's now released three 'Grey Skies' mixtapes, and his real name is the same as mine (Russell).

The mixtape is loosely themed around Christopher Nolan's 2006 film 'The Prestige', lifting dialogue from the movie and stretching its ambitions as high as the magicians in the film.

This is a really atmospheric album, which flows together as one feally good listen. Never resoring to the lowest common denominator rap of bitches'n'hos or guns'n'drive-bys, there's intellectual though on display here, together with some genuine emotional moments, stuff about growing up and goofing around mixed with deep stuff about life and death. Take a track like 'Lab Rats'; slow paced - "I'm sorry you can't dance to this, but just listen" he say's at the end - it's a downbeat tale of a break-up and how that can lead to an uncertain happiness if you can move on. And the first time I heard 'Miles Miles Miles' it genuinely made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up - he might not be the first rapper to sample Bon Iver but he uses it so well here, backing the story of his young mom and what she went through before she had him.

If you're looking for a comparison I think he's right up there with Oddisee for lyrical flow and intelligent discourse, while his choice of samples is equally as good.

You can get this album for free, along wuth the 2 previous mixtapes, from his Bandcamp page using the link below. Ridiculously I almost wish it wasn't free as he really deserves to be paid for something as good as this, but I guess that's how the world works these days.


Sunday 14 September 2014

Track of the Day: 'Playing With Fire' by Redinho

The lead track from Redinho's debut album is a sleazy, funky track with an insistent groove and a Zapp-esque choros. It takes the autotuned vocal to a new level by adding the vocoder effect to creat something that sounds both classic and contemporary. the album is out at the end of the month and having taken three years to come together I'm expecting big things from it.



It says a lot for this record that the two 11 year-old boys who were in the car with me when I first heard this thought the voice was 'freaky' - and therefore loved it!

Wednesday 10 September 2014

New music: 'Songs of Innocence' by U2

So what do you reckon? A stroke of marketing genius, or an invasion of privacy and Orwellian nightmare? Whichever side of the fence you're on, you have to admire the sheer audacity and force if Apple and U2 combining to drop their new album into half a billion users iTunes accounts all at the same time last night. You also have to assume that U2 have either got 1) more money than they're ever going to be able to spend or 2) some sort of massive follow up tour planned, since they're never gonna be able to sell a single track from a record they've spent 4 years working on (although they have confirmed this morning that Apple bought it from them to give to us 'as a gift', so some money has changed hands for it).


On to the record itself then - what does 4 years and 5 producers (Dangermouse, Paul Epworth, Flood, Ryan Tedder & Declan Gaffney) get you? Musically it's fairly simple and uncluttered. The Edge has toned down his guitar effects, the drums and bass are gently insistent rather than bombastic, and overall there's the feel of a band who just wanted to write some engaging, open and uplifting songs. Likewise Bono has notched down the messianic tone of his lyrics, and while there are still a few references to miracles and pilgrims, these are mostly either autobiographical words about how and where the group grew up or straightforward love songs. This does mean that at times they sound more like Coldplay or, dare I say it, The Script, than U2 songs, but maybe that's the price you pay for finally accepting that you're never really gonna change the world when you're 'just a rock'n'roll band'.

Although due to the various producers involved there's not necessarily a cohesive thread or feel throughout the whole album, this probably results in a better listen overall. It really feels more like a collection of singles than an album, and it certainly contains some of the most radio-friendly and straightforward pop songs they've ever recorded. After a few listens my favourite so far is album closer 'The Troubles', which features guest vocals from Lykke Li and is a subtle and enigmatic way to finish the record.

If you're one of the anti-Bono brigade then I doubt very much that this album and its method of delivery are going to change your mind. But if you like the band or you're prepared to give them a fresh start then you might be surprised at what you discover. Ultimately I think that they've finally decided to grow old gracefully rather than attempting to keep up with 'the kids', and as a result have started a new chapter in their career (one which apparently might continue quite quickly with another record called 'Songs of Experience'). Bono might sing on here that "I get so many things I don't deserve" but maybe a fair hearing is something he's entitled to after so many years in the game.

Tuesday 9 September 2014

Recommended music: 'Mean Love' by Sinkane


On his fourth full length album (the first for DFA Records) Ahmed Gallab shows that he's finally ready for the big time. With his confidence having been boosted by a starring roles in Luaka Bop's 'Atomic Bomb: Who is William Onyeabor?' live project, he's created a classy and stylish album that's full of brilliant touches. Effortlessly switching genres, from Afrobeat to funk to soul and back again, his voice is smoother than a silk negligee sliding down Kate Moss's freshly shaven legs.

With tracks harking back to the 70s and the 60s, this is still a thoroughly contemporary record that could only exist in the melting pot of today's cultures. Take 'Galley Boys' for example.It's got African rhythms, a reggae bassline, tons of pedal steel and a chorus melody similar too Primal Scream's 'Star'' Topped off with Ahmed's brilliant voice it all sounds so easy, but you know that sounding so laid-back is a hard thing to achieve.

It's the kind of record that you can play at any time of day or night, whatever mood you're in, and emerge feeling like a better person. Basically if you're at all fed up it'll put a smile on your face, and you could as easily dance to it as make love to it (or maybe even do one followed by the other?).

I reckon this album cements him as a major talent who'll not only continue to make his own great records but can have his pick of whichever artists he wants to work with in the future.

Currently on a whistle-stop tour to promote the album, Sinkane are back in the UK later in the year for some more dates, including one at Oslo in Hackney on December 1st which promises to banish the winter blues. I'll see you there!



Saturday 6 September 2014

Track of the Day: 'Hey Mami' by Sylvan Esso

According to Soundcloud this has been around for about a year, so maybe I'm a bit late to the party. But the first time I heard it was when Mary Anne Hobbs played it this morning, and I've been hypnotised by it ever since. I love how it starts out like a simple child's rhyme, one of those things they used to teach you to sing in a round at school, and then the electronics kick and it becomes a totally different animal.



If, like me until 12 hours ago, you've not heard of them before, Sylvan Esso are comprised of Amelia Meath from Mountain Man and Nick Sanborn (Made of Oak / Megafaun). Their album came out earlier this year (I'm off to check it out when I've finished writing this) and they're on tour in Europe in September and early October before heading back to the States at the end of that month).

Things that remind me of other things #2: 'Tough Love' by Jessie Ware & 'Little Red Corvette' by Prince

The very first time I heard this Jessie Ware track I knew I recognised the percussion sound.



It's not just the percussion though, the feel of the track is the same, there's the same sort of sultry vibe to both of them. BTW, it's pretty damm impossible to find 'Little Red Corvette; on the internet - the Purple One is a pretty litigious chap and I imagine he's quick to get them taken down. But I imagine everyone's heard and most people own it or know someone who does, so play the Jessie Ware and then go off and find Prince

Friday 5 September 2014

Track of the Day: 'Onward' by Daedelus

So apparently the new records from Daedelus will be a concept album inspired by the Crimean War (the old war that is, not the new one that's erupted since he made the record). If it's difficult to imagine what that might sound like then it's even harder after listening to 'Onward', which is one of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I've heard for ages. I'm wondering whether the album itself will be similar to Apparat's 'Krieg und Frieden' soundtrack for War and Peace, as that's the sort of vibe I'm getting from this. The album's out on September 29th on the ever excellent Brainfeeder label.


Recommended music: 'Golden Skies' by Mono/Poly


The début album  from Mono/Poly on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label is a cosmic whirl of tinkered with and twinkling electronics, beats and ambience, which combine to create a pyschic soundscape where nothing is quite what it seems. Less jazzy that FlyLo's output, and less funky than Thundercat's (whose 'Heartbreaks + Setbacks was made with Mono/Poly) this is a trippier, more mellow flow of mostly instrumental music. In place it's not a million miles away from stuff like The Orb, while other parts are more like film soundtracks, and although there are a few dance beats in there for good measure this is more of a record to throw on and drift away to rather than to hit the floor to.

In places you could accuse it of being a bit to vague and unfocused but that's also part of its charm - Charles Dickerson (the rather sober-sounding guy behind Mono/Poly) is not afraind to try a load of things at once, knowing that most of them will work out.


Video of the Day: 'The Sunlight' by New Build

The first track to appear from New Build's second album 'Pour It On' has a gloriously blissed-out Balearic feel that puts me in mind of the stuff The Beloved used to do back in the day (ask your dad if you're too young to remember). Felix and Al (from Hot Chip) have crafted a great track here that bodes well for the album, which comes out on Sunday Best on October 20th. They'll be on their first ever live tour in October and November to support the album so catch them out and about if you can.


Thursday 4 September 2014

Video of the Day: 'Breakdown' by Peaking Lights

The first track from Peaking Lights forthcoming album 'Cosmic Logic' now comes with a clever and amusing video about how someone's obsession with a smart phone ruins their life. It's a cautionary tale for sure so make sure you take the message on board my friends.



The album comes out on October 6th via Weird World Records, and the band will be playing a few dates in Paris, Glasgow, Liverpool & London between 21st and 28th November, so go see 'em.

Remix of the Day: 'Can't Do Without You (Tale Of Us & Mano Le Tough Remix)' by Caribou

OK, so this first half of this is pretty much the same as the single version of the track that appeared a while ago. But that's fine by me as any reason to listen to this is a good one. It goes all ethereal and dreamy in the middle and then by the end returns pretty much to normality. So not the most inventive remix you'll ever hear, but it's one of the best tracks of the year, and the remix is available to download for free (for now anyway) so if you haven't got the track already here's your chance.


Recommended music: 'Annabel Dream Reader' by The Wytches


First things first - this is a record that cries out to be played (loudly) on vinyl, which is what I'm doing as I write this. Its swampy, garage-rock pyschedelia harks back to days before the invention of crisp digital files and seems tailor-made for the surface noise of a record (as an added bonus the record is gold vinyl which looks pretty neat as it spins around). Recorded at Liam Watson's famous Toe Rag studios in a short space of time it could well have dropped through a wormhole from the late 60s if not for the faint whiff of Hoxton hipster that somehow seems to accompany this Brighton trio.

Co-produced with ex-Coral member Bill Ryder-Jones the albums is apparently a loose concept album about a breakup. While you can hear tales of woe in the lyrics it's as much the sound of Kristian Bell's voice that tells the story as the words. His Jack White-wine is at times pathetic and at others terrifying as he swings from pleas to screams. Beneath this there's plenty of variation and depth in the music which suggests that the band could turn their hands to pretty much any musical styles they want. Previous single 'Wire Frame Mattress' is one of the stand-out tracks but there's plenty to keep your interest throughout the record, especially the closing pair of 'Crying Clown' and 'Track 13'.

The album is out now on Heavenly Recordings, you can hear a few tracks below. 

Wednesday 3 September 2014

EP of the Day: 'A Little Late' by Loyle Carner

If memory serves me correctly I came across Loyle Carner when he was supporting Oddisee at a gig in London. And while it might be a little premature to declare him as the UK's heir to Oddissee's crown there's a certain feel to his flow and the vibe of his tracks that shows that he's certainly heading in the right direction. Maybe it's a little late in the season for the mostly summery vibes contained in these six tracks, but they'll certainly leave you with a spring in your step, not least because the EP is free to download.



Tuesday 2 September 2014

Track of the Day: 'Owing' by Febueder

Febueder are new to me, and probably most of you (could someone please tell me how to pronounce their name). Apparently they're a trio of 18 year-olds from Ascot in the UK who spend their time making music and skateboarding. This track is taken from the 'Lilac Lane' EP, only their second release and the first on the Melodic label. Out on October 13th, it pairs alt-J-esque vocals with handclaps and an almost African groove to burrow wormlike into your brain. It's only coming out as a 5-track digital download so there's probably no need to preorder it, but if you want to guarantee it appearing in your inbox on release day then click here.


Recommended music: 'The Time and Space Machine presents The Way Out Sound From In'


This collection of remixes from Richard Norris is well overdue as he's put out some crackers in his Time and Space Machine guise over the past year or so. If you're not familiar with Norris in this guise then you might know him from being one half of both The Grid (with Soft Cell's Dave Ball) or Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve (with Erol Alkan). The eight tracks here all adhere to Norris' ethos of "...staying true to my favourite artists while adding technicolor and hypnosis to the mix", giving a psychedelic feel to the songs (in places similar to the Future Sound of London's Amorphous Androgynous offshoot) and resulting in a coherent sound throughout the record.

So what (or who) do you get on the record? For me the T&SM remixes of Jagwar Ma's album Howlin' last year were even better than the original, turning it into a modern-day Screamadelica, so it's no surprise to find 'Uncertainty' is one of the stand-out tracks on here. Almost as good is the mix of 'Mesmerize' by Temples, which I already had and have played to death (there's a whole remix of Temples' 'Sun' album on the way from Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve in November which will be worth hearing). Of the remaining 6 tracks I must confess that I've only heard one of the originals, by Warpaint, which here becomes a bit of a pulsing, throbbing beat. It can be hard to judge a remix when you've not heard the source material, as you're never sure whether the good bits (or bad bits) are down to the original artist or the remixer. By far my favourite of the remaining tracks is the mix of 'Ride' by A Mountain of One. In the interests of study I guess I should go away and find out more about this but I kind of don't want to destroy the picture I've build up in my head, which is that Norris has discovered a rare track from the late 60s  or early 70s and worked his magic on it. Somehow combining a Jean-Michel Jarre-type riff, some Pink Floyd vibes, Spanish guitar and Eastern drums, he's produced a monster of a mix that I could listen to over and over. (Update: I've just been off and listened to the original on Spotify. It's good, but nowhere near as good as this mix).

The rest are maybe not quite as good, but overall it's a great combination of tracks that's well worth your money. You can order a copy of the limited-edition vinyl here or get it on download from the usual suspects (but preferably not tax-dodgers Amazon). Here's the tracklist:

  1. Warpaint - Disco // Very 
  2. Jagwar Ma - Uncertainty - The Time and Space Machine Dub
  3. Temples - Mesmerize - The Time and Space Machine Remix
  4. Cheval Sombre - Couldn't Do - The Time and Space Machine Remix
  5. The Sufis - Sri Sai Flora - The Time and Space Machine Remix
  6. The Lucid Dream - Devil Rides Out - The Time and Space Machine Remix
  7. A Mountain of One - Ride - The Time and Space Machine Remix
  8. Psychemagik - Valley of Paradise - The Time and Space Machine Remix