New podcast - Austerity Audio vol. 4

A month in and we're already on the fourth instalment of my free new music podcast series. As usual these tracks have all been legally culled from the internet over the past week or so, and gathered together in one tidy package for you to download and listen to at your leisure.

Left-click on the miserable pig above to listen, or right-click to download for free. The ethos behind this series is pretty straightforward - you get to hear 10 great new tracks free of charge, from all sorts of genres, and all I ask in return is that if you find something you really like you spend a few pence to download something else from that artist. Win-win eh? Like the man said, we're all in this together. Here's the tracklist for this week's selection, with details of where to find the tracks or more information about the artist:

1. Eyedress - Yin Yang Gang - available on Soundcloud
2. Jikan Ga Nai - Of Course We Weren't Always Superstars - on Bearsuit Records
3. Esben And The Witch - When That Head Splits (Maps Remix) - details here
4. Haq - Bees In My Feet - also on Bearsuit Records
5. Kandodo - July 28th (edit) - available on Soundcloud
6. Honeyslide - Deep Architecture
7. Cloud - Mother Sea - new signing to Audio Antihero Records
8. An Escape Plan - Coastlines
9. New Build - Disease Of Conceit - details here
10. Adam Stafford - Please - from the forthcoming album on Song, By Toad records

Live - The National & Local Natives at The Roundhouse, Camden 26/06/2013

On a bill mirroring the end of The National's ATP event at Camber Sands last year (pictures from that event here), the band rolled into town with Local Natives in tow to play one of the lower-key last minute gigs that they're fitting in around their summer festival schedule.

Local Natives played a solid 45 minute set, winning some new fans amongst those in the crowd who hadn't heard of them before. They were joined onstage for one song by Aaron Dessner, who produced their latest album, and by the time they left the stage an already-full Roundhouse was primed and ready for their heroes to appear.

Local Natives with Aaron Dessner, London 26/6/13

The massed crowd weren't to be disappointed, with The National putting on a heroic performance - 2 hours, 23 songs (see the setlist below) and each one a mini-masterpiece. With a full-on lights and visuals show, which started by showing the band on screens while they were backstage, they ripped through most of the new album and a host of tracks from its predecessors.

Matt on stage, Matt on screen 26/6/13

Matt Berninger was his usual self-deprecating self, explaining that self loathing is good ("if you don't hate yourself then everybody else will") and claiming that his version of dancing involved stumbling around and smashing things. Although he was on fine form it did seem as if the Matt from a few years ago had taken the stage - during the evening he drank a whole bottle of wine, and gradually became simultaneously more introverted (crouching at the back of the stage with his head practically in a guitar amp) and more extroverted (throwing the mic stand around, smashing the mic into the side of his head). This was the sort of performance you used to get before he got married and had his daughter - he seemed to have mellowed since then but last night it looked as if some of the demons might have returned.

Matt Berninger, The National, London 26/6/13

Undoubtedly one of the finest National performances I've seen, and probably the gig of the year so far - here's the setlist:

• I Should Live In Salt
• Don't Swallow The Cap
• Bloodbuzz Ohio
• Secret Meeting
• Sea of Love
• Demons
• Afraid of Everyone
• Conversation 16
• Squalor Victoria
• I Need My Girl
• This Is The Last Time
• Abel
• Apartment Story
• Pink Rabbits
• England
• Graceless
• About Today
• Fake Empire
• Heavenfaced
• Humiliation
• Mr. November
• Terrible Love
• Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks (acoustic)

The National, London 26/6/13

Recommended music: 'Wash The Sins Not Only The Face (Remixes)' by Esben And The Witch

I've always felt that E&TW have somewhat under-performed. A good band, full of energy live, their records always seems to have just a little something lacking, as if they're holding back on what they really want to be. There's nothing disappointing about this package of remixes that they've just made available to download for free though. Full of intriguing twists and turns, although they're done by 6 different people they really go together well as a set, each one bringing out a different facet of the band's character. It's hard to pick a favourite, the first and last (by Maps and Teeth Of The Sea respectively) would probably top my list, but really there are no bad apples here.

Listen to the full set and grab the mixes for the price of an email address below.

Track of the Day: 'It All Feels Right' by Washed Out

Perfect for the summer (if we ever see it in the UK) this slice of dreamy, gently psychedelic pop marks a change of style for Washed Out. The new album 'Paracosm' is out on August, and hopefully it'll be full of this sort of quality, melodic music.

Track of the Day: 'Disease Of Conceit (Bob Dylan cover)' by New Build

5 reasons why this is today's track of the day:

1. I love a good cover version
2. As well as entertaining you, it will educate you as well (see the description on the Soundcloud page about why New Build have put this out e.g politicians destroying the NHS)
3. The guitar reminds me of Dire Straits (in a good way)
4. It also reminds me of Leonard Cohen, for no specific reason
5. It's free to download

Grab it here:

New podcast - Austerity Audio vol. 3

It's been a few weeks since the last one, due to the fact that my laptop was in the menders for 10 days. Because of that I've forgotten where some of these tracks actually came from - the rules are still the same though, each one has been downloaded free and legally from the internet.

Left click on the picture to listen to the podcast, or right click to download it for free. It's another genre-hopping selection that should prove to you that there's good free music out there for you, whatever style you're into. And remember - if you hear something you really like then why not buy a track or two from that artist next time you have some spare cash - everyone needs to make a living.

1. Yong Yong - Bzzzr (available on Soundcloud)
2. Paul White - Watch The Ants
3. The Jet Age Of Tomorrow - De-Generic (from The Jellyfish Mentality bonus tracks EP)
4. Hodgy Beats - Years (from the new EP, get it on the Odd Future site)
5. Fenech-Soler - Magnetic (Sane Beats Remix) (available on Soundcloud)
6. Rustie - Slasherr (Flume Edit)
7. Grumbling Fur - Dancing Light
8. Thunder Tracks - Graffiti (available on Soundcloud)
9. Old Pretender - I'm Alright
10. White Hills - Forever In Space (Enlightened) (details here)

New music: 'Forever In Space (Enlightened)' by White Hills

It's Friday afternoon, and what you really need in your life is an 8-minute psych-rock freak-out - am I right? Well here's the perfect thing to hit the spot, and better yet it's free.



It's taken from an album that's being released track by track to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Scion AV, so you should probably seek out the rest of the tracks as well. Click here for the full set.

Track of the Day: 'Thor's Stone' by Forest Swords

It's been since we've heard from Matthew Barnes a.k.a. Forest Swords. After changing labels again he's back with a new album, this time for Tri Angle records. The first track to appear from that release is 'Thor's Stone', a fantastically engaging and immersive track that's got loads going on, but not too much that you're head can't take it in. Definitely bodes well for the album, and also for the continued success of Tri Angle, who've already put out one of the best records of the year in the shape of 'Excavation' by The Haxan Cloak.

New podcast - Austerity Audio vol. 2

It's time for the next instalment in my series of free, downloadable new music podcasts. As before (click here if you missed the last one) all of these tracks have been culled (legally) from the Internet over the past week or so, and it's a complete mish-mash of musical styles.

Left-click on the picture above to listen to the podcast, or right-click to save the podcast in full and then listen to it on your 8-track cassette player or phonograph later on. The full tracklisting is below together with some pointers as to where you can download some of the tracks individually. Remember - we're all in this together, so if you do find something that you really like in here then why not spend a few pence buying a track by that artist?

1. Gidge - For Seoul Pt. 2 (click here for details)
2. Ólöf Arnalds - Af Staö
3. Ásgeir Trausti - Going Home (click here for details)
4. Daughn Gibson - The Sound Of Law (available on the Sub Pop Soundcloud)
5. Marijuana Deathsquads - Dark Farm (click here for details)
6. KRTS - Close The Closet Door (Sieren Remix) (available on Soundcloud)
7. Orphan - Horns For The Spirits (Karen Gwyer Remix) (available on Soundcloud)
8. Kutmah - Changin' (available on Soundcloud)
9. The Jet Age of Tomorrow - Wonderful World (feat. Domo Genesis & Vince Staples) (from The Jellyfish Mentality)
10. Doin' It Good (Kanye West vs. Daft Punk) - The Hood Internet (available on Soundcloud)

Live - in pictures: Oddisee at Camden Barfly, London 20/5/13

Just a few snaps from Oddisee's excellent show at the Barfly last week.

Oddisee, London 20/5/2013

Oddisse is the master of intellectual, lyrical hip-hop who frankly deserves to be much more well-known than some of the imbecilic rappers around today (I'm looking at you Tyler). But the fact that he's not means that we got to see him in a tiny venue where he could really interact with the audience.

Oddisee & Olivier

The evening started and ended with a couple of acapella pieces that were almost like poetry and really showed off the force of his words.

The full band onstage

Olivier Daysoul played with Oddisee for the whole of his set, and took the mic for a couple of solo songs.

Olivier Daysoul

Support on the evening came from The 42, four young rappers from Croydon playing refreshingly old-school hip-hop.

The 42 - Croydon in the house!

New music: 'Music Rocks Parts 1 & 2' by Marijuana Deathsquads

The latest release from the collective from Minneapolis consists of 2 EPs, recorded a month or two apart and then put together for what they describe as 'a two-part series of one musical experience'.

The band are saying that this is 'the best, most representative recording' of them to have been put out so far. it certainly reflects their penchant for drummers (on occasion they've had 6 drummers on stage at once) and is full of pounding, driving rhythms, distorted vocals and electronics. As well as founder members Ryan Olson (GAYNGS leader and Polica producer), Isaac Gale and Stefon Alexander (P.O.S) the tracks feature a whole host of other friends and local musicians, most notably including Channy Leaneagh, who sings in Polica. To get your free download of the album just click on the picture of the album sleeve above.

The band are in the middl of a busy and fertile period, having just played a month-long residency and also announced an entire remix album of P.O.S.'s 'We Don't Even Live Here', which will be given away later this month. They also found time to put together a near 27-minute long track called 'The River' which will be released later in the year - you can listen to that below.



One last thing - if you're wondering where the band's name came from, I asked Isaac Gale that very question - this was his response:

The name Marijuana Deathsquads just sort of appeared naturally, as great poetry often does. The words were put together and the inspiration struck that it would be a fantastic name. We try our best to pull off as many ridiculous feats as a band that we possibly can...