Free Download of the Day: BBC6 Mix by Kutmah

Spliced together for a guest slot on Tom Ravenscroft's show on BBC6 music, Kutmah has just made this 23 minute mix available on soundcloud. Grab it while it's hot - undoubtedly the best free thing you'll get hold of this weekend.

Recommended music: 'Love Me Oh Please Love Me' by Bullion

An intriguing release from Londoner Nathan Jenkins, on which he potentially starts the transition from mash-up maestro to fully-fledged pop act. Making full use of his own vocals throughout the tracks, there's an upbeat, summer feel to the songs. The cover of Robert Wyatt's 1984 track 'The Age of Self', whose words seem even more pertinent now than they did 27 years ago, sits well with Jenkins' own compositions, and overall the EP hangs together well, displaying much of Bullion's talents and hinting at stronger things to come.

For me there are strong hints of Metronomy, both in terms of the sound and what he is trying to achieve - think mainly 'Nights Out' with a bit of 'The English Riviera' thrown in. If he can transport this to the live arena (and overcome his desire not to sing in front of anyone) then Bullion could hit the same sort of heights that the band from Torquay are now reaching.

Jenkins has often talked about his 'un-coolness' in terms of his influences and sensibilities, but on this evidence 2012 could well be the year that 'uncool' is the new 'cool'.

You can stream the record, and buy it direct from Bullion, below.

 

Live: in pictures and video - Lower Dens at The Lexington, London 16/5/12

Lower Dens brought their rhythmically dreamy, soothing but brittle new album 'Nootropics' to a packed Lexington last night. Mixing in a fair smattering of old songs as well, the highlight (as expected) was a blisteringly-good version of 'Brains', which you can watch below.



The band are continuing their tour throughout Europe and America, but will be back in the UK for the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas Festival curated by The National - details here.

Tracks of the Day: 'Mountain / Financial District' by Gold Panda

Gold Panda's new single came out yesterday, and above and below you'll find the videos for both tracks. 'Mountain' has a similar feel to the stuff on his debut album, although maybe with a slightly harder edge, while 'Financial District' evolves into something slightly dancier but just as good. It's great to have the Essex boy back from Berlin - let's hope there's a new album on the horizon too...

Free download of the day: 'Odd Renditions' by Oddisee

Ahead of his new album 'People Hear What They See', which is released on 12th June, Oddisee is giving away this 4 track EP. On it he remixes and raps on tracks by Bon Iver, Metronomy, Marvin Gaye and K-Os, and pretty good it is too. Grab your free copy below, and also make sure that you check out his great album from last year, 'Rock Creek Park'

Track of the Day: 'Lost In The World (Tiesto Remix) by Kanye West

Has Yeezy fallen back in love with this track? A couple of weeks ago he gave us the stunning black and white video for the original version of the song which had been lying around for a year or so (watch it here). And now he's finally allowed Tiesto to play the remixed version on his Club Life podcast (which you can subscribe to on iTunes). Yes, of course it's over the top, that's what you expect from a Tiesto remix, but you can't deny it's a bit of a monster that'd go down a treat on the dancefloor. Extra props to Tiesto for including most of the Gil Scott-Heron rap on the end as well. Listen below.

Live: in pictures and videos - Milagres / Vadoinmessico / Peter and Kerry at Camden Barfly, London 9/5/12

Wednesday night saw another of the regular XFM Xposure nights at the Barfly, introduced by John Kennedy.

Peter and Kerry

First up were the lovely Peter and Kerry, who I last saw at Tom Ravenscroft's Christmas shindig in December. They've got some new songs ready for their forthcoming debut album, which seem to be a bit more poppy and a bit less introspective than the ones on their first EP. You can watch the last of the new track, 'Cirque', below.



Next on were the almost unpronounceable and even more unspellable Vadoinmessico. They played tracks from their new album 'Archaeology of the Future', songs which have a strong world music influence. Highlight of the band was probably the drummer, who was the most brilliantly energetic sticksman I've seen for a long time.

Vadoinmessico

Headliners Milagres hail from Brooklyn (I think I've seen more Brooklyn acts this year than London ones, they all seem to be over here!). They played a really powerful set with more than a hint of The Antlers about them. I really like the album 'Glowing Mouth', and the songs come across really well live - with the right exposure they could get bigger and bigger this year. You can watch the band perform 'Halfway' below (the sound's a bit distorted but it gives you an idea of what they're like live).



After the gig Milagres headed downstairs for what was apparently their first ever dj set - sadly I had to head back up Chalk Farm Road in the rain to catch a train and so I missed out on the extravaganza!

Milagres on stage

Track of the Day: 'The Prize' by Gravenhurst

One of my favourite tracks from 'The Ghost In Daylight', which came out this week on Warp Records. I love how this track, and the others on the album, marry excellent songwriting and folk influences with psychedelic undercurrents and hints of electronica.

New Music Mix - 4/5/12

DJ Cull's New Music Mix - 4/5/12 by Dj Cull on Mixcloud

Here's the latest of my mixes, with 10 new(ish) tracks to feel your ears over the Bank Holiday weekend. Just press the play button above to listen, here's the tracklisting:

1. Paco Sala - Tre's Future First
2. Kelpe - I Felt Fuzzy (BNJMN Remix)
3. Super Magic Hats - Happy Jazz
4. Ole Torjus - 3810
5. Olafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm - Stare (Max Cooper Remix)
6. John Cale - Catastrofuk (Alva Noto Remodel)
7. Syndicate - Why Don't You
8. Dam Mantle - Her Woes
9. Modeselektor & Thom Yorke - Dull Hull (Edit V7)
10. Airhead - South Congress

Video of the Day: 'Lost In The World' by Kanye West / Ruth Hogben

Despite the long wait (the album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy came out in 2010, but this has only just appeared) this video is well worth watching. Beautiful black and white images combine effortlessly with the music to create the sort of tasteful, arty video that is the complete antithesis of a normal hip-hop track.

As soon as I hear even a snippet of one of the tracks on MBDTW it makes we want to listen to the whole thing over and over again, so that's where I'm off to...

Track of the Day: 'Crew Love (Star Slinger's Jersey Refix)' by Drake feat. The Weeknd

In which Star Slinger proves that he's got the cohones to match his rapidly-growing reputation. Taking on Drake (and The Weeknd), and turning the track into dancefloor smash, he still manages to keep the Star Slinger vibe and ethos intact. Grab it for free and play it to death - they might be loving the crew, but I'm loving the Slinger!