Review of the Year 2016

Now that the album of the year list is out of the way (you can read that here if you haven't already) it's time to pull out some more highlights from 2016. Let's face it, in some ways it's been a pretty shitty year so it's worth picking out the good stuff and looking at it again, Here are some of the things I've enjoyed this year.

Video of the Year: 'Friends' by Francis & The Lights

Simple but beautifully executed, this video features both Bon Iver and Kanye West. It never fails to make me smile when I watch it - I love the synchronised dancing, and I love how you can see Francis trying to control his breath as he sits and counts in his head after his first energetic burst.




Track of the Year: 'Love & Hate' by Michael Kiwanuka

It's hard to pick out one overall track, but this is probably the one I've played the most and has been stuck in my head more than anything else. It's pure quality, and when played live the guitar solo is outstanding.





Free Track of the Year: 'Transient Program For Drums & Machinery' by Soulwax

Soulwax burst back from nowhere with this amazing 8 minute long track, which you can get for free by clicking here.




Dance Track of the Year: 'Boss' by Disclosure

Just a brilliant dance track and a return to their roots for the Disclosure brothers. If this doesn't make you dance then nothing will.





Acoustic Track of the Year: 'In The Light of the Room' by Alexis Taylor

Just one man and a piano, as the lead singer from Hot Chip presented us with a stripped back record of original tracks and a few covers. This is the standout track, and one which I listened to a lot as I read the book of the year (see below). For me the 2 will always now be linked.




Free Album of the Year: 'Rubble Kings' Soundtrack and Mixtape

This is actually two albums - one is the soundtrack to the brilliant 'Rubble Kings' documentary about gangs in New York in the 60s and 70s, and the other is a mixtape inspired by the four parts of the movie. Grab them both by clicking on the images above and below.

Gig of the Year: Kojey Radical, The Jazz Cafe, Camden 22/9/16

Pushing Radiohead off the top spot is a hard thing to manage, but while their show at the Roundhouse was a great set from a well established band, Kojey's set was the energetic sound of the bright future of British music. Coming just days after his 2 MOBO nominations, he put on a near two hour show featuring a host of guests - most notably Maverick Sabre and Ray Blk - and was still playing at 11 o'clock when they pulled the plug on him.

Festival Performance: Christine and The Queens, Other Stage at Glastonbury

I was right at the front on the barrier for this one so it wasn't until I watched it back on the TV that I realised how many thousands of people had watched her. A spellbinding performance that cemented her position as one of the acts of the year.

Christine & The Queens, Glastonbury 2016

Music Book of the Year: 'Porcelain' by Moby

A really entertaining read, particularly for the fact that Moby seems constantly bemused by the fact that he's successful at all. About two-thirds of the way through he gives up being teetotal and there are a few chapters of complete debauchery before he gets back on the wagon again.

Book of the Year: 'A Little Life' by Hanya Yanagihara

Not just the book of the year but one of the best books I've ever read. Devastatingly emotional, savage and haunting, I'll admit that this book made me cry more than any book ever has. As tough as parts of it were to read, I never wanted it to end.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-1 Day: LCD Soundsystem

The last one to watch couldn't really be anyone else could it? Headlining the Other Stage on Sunday night, and closing their set with one of my all time favourite songs 'All My Friends, the recently reformed LCD Soundsystem will make you dance, sing, and maybe even bring a tear to your eye as they close out the festival.

Sure, they may have split up and reformed in a shorter space of time than many bands take between making albums, but that shouldn't detract from the fact that a) they've made some great tunes and b) they're brilliant live - just wait until it all kicks off in 'Movement' and see the crowd go wild.

At Coachella this year they played both Bowie and Prince covers so we should expect something special by way of tributes. But even if they don't their set will be a great way to finish the festival. I'll be there, and even if it means I miss Beyonce and Jay-z coming on with Coldplay then I'll have no regrets. Like it says in 'All My Friends': "I wouldn't trade one stupid decision, for another 5 years of life".

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-2 Days: Saint Etienne

Nestling nicely on the bill between E.L.O. and Beck (if you don't mind a sprint up to the Park stage and back), Saint Etienne will provide some blissful 90s beats for your Sunday afternoon. If you're not familiar with their particular blend of indie-pop then here are a few pointers. Let's start with what is possibly the best Neil Young cover version in history, their version of 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart', which was their first single.


I always loved the bit in 'You're In A Bad Way' where they lift the melody from 'Telstar'.


How about the Italian-house inspired 'She's On The Phone'?


Or the conga beats of the filmic 'Sylvie'?


As you can see there's plenty of great songs to choose from, so make sure you try to catch some of their set.

 

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-4 Days: Eska

Born in Zimbabwe, raised in Lewisham, Eska is a great talent who weaves together a range of genres from folk to soul to r'n'b to dance in a style that's all her own.



With support from the likes of Gilles Peterson her debut album soon came to prominence, and was shortlisted for the 2015 Mercury Prize.



There are a couple of chances to catch Eska at Glastonbury this year - midnight at The Rum Shack on Saturday or midday on the West Holts Stage on Sunday. I might well see you there.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-5 Days: St. Paul & The Broken Bones

A man with the voice of an angel (but the body of an overweight Alan Carr), backed by a stunningly-good band, Paul Janeway has come from heaven via Birmingham, Alabama to prove that proper soul music is alive and well.



If you passed him on the street you'd never imagine that he'd sound as beautiful as this, which for me is one of the attractions of this band - the unexpected strength and soulfulness will draw you right in.


If you watch the 2 live performances on here then I really don't need to say anything else, other than I'll see you at the Other Stage early on Saturday afternoon.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-6 Days: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

Listening to Rateliff's music it can be kinda hard to work out where it stems from. What lies at it's core may well be the gospel music he grew up with in church. On tip of that there's blues, there's soul, there's r'n'b, there's rockabilly, there's classic Memphis horns, and crowning it all is Nathaniel's excellent voice.



This is going to sound so good in the Sunday afternoon sunshine on the Park Stage, the only snag being that he finishes exactly at the moment that E.L.O come on the Pyramid Stage, so tough choices will have to be made.


If you do end up missing him at Glastonbury he's back in London at Brixton Academy in November.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-7 Days: Meilyr Jones

Welsh troubadour Meilyr Jones is a one man melting pot of sounds and influences. Take a dash of Super Furry Animals, a smattering of My Life Story, a smidge of Velvet Underground, a shake of Jarvis Cocker and even a bit of Bowie and you'll get an idea of what he looks and sounds like.



Live he's an endearing performer (I saw him at Field Day last weekend) who will fill the William's Green tent on Saturday afternoon with his wit and melodies.


If you've a penchant for great tunes, as well as the odd bit of cornet and viola, then seek him out.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-8 Days: Beck

Beck's albums are many and varied with his style changing seemingly with every release. It's now 20 years since his biggest hit 'Odelay', something he seems to be acknowledging in the genre-splicing new single 'Wow', which hops from Major Lazer style beats to horns to lyrics about a 'Lamborghini Shitzu' (whatever that is).


It's a continuation of the upbeat nature of his one-off release last year, 'Dreams', which was a big hit at the festivals he played last summer.

If you've never seen him live then you're in for a treat. He picks and chooses cuts from across his back catalogue, mixing them in with the odd choice cover version (I think he's currently doing Donna Summer). I've seen him a few times, the last being last year in Hyde Park where he was a million times more entertaining and fun than headliners The Strokes.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-9 Days: Car Seat Headrest

This band, headed by Will Toledo, hit the headlines recently when their new album 'Teens of Denial' had to be pulled from the shelves due to a last minute wrangle over a sample from the Cars' track 'Just What I Needed'. That song (originally called Not What I Needed / Just What I Needed' and now more succinctly revised to 'Not Just What I Needed') will no doubt feature in a set that's bound to lean heavily on the new record but also pull from their previous releases.

Their guitar heavy sound, which veers from The Strokes to Kings of Leon to even (unbelievably) Status Quo on current single 'Fill In The Blank' seems to tailor-made to kick start your day, so head up to the Park Stage on Saturday morning to catch them.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-10 Days: Blackalicious

This West Coast rap duo have been making records for nearly 20 years and their new album (the first in a trilogy no less) will be out in September. From it comes this track:


If you're not familiar with them but like rap acts such as Jurassic 5, Pharcyde or even De La Soul then it would be worth your while checking them out. They're on in the Pussy Parlure at half past Midnight on Saturday - I'll see you there.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-12 Days: Michael Kiwanuka

Kiwanuka's latest single 'Black Man In A White World' is quite possibly my favourite song of the year so far. The production, courtesy of Dangermouse, is spot on and the whole thing just exudes a quality 70s vibe. Just imagine this washing over you in the sunshine on the West Holts stage on Sunday afternoon, it'll sound so good.



His new album 'Love & Hate' will be out a couple of weeks after Glastonbury so I'm sure that he'll play a few tracks from it - here's the title track.


But there'll also be a lot of stuff from his Mercury Prize-nominated debut album to get your teeth into too. I saw him at a special Mercury gig when he was nominated and he's a fantastic live performer, so if you don't mind missing E.L.O. then make sure you catch him.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-13 Days: Beak>

Geoff Barrow's krautrock-loving offshoot from Portishead fuse different genres and styles with ease, and whatever they do they do it loudly.



There's a new album due from them soon, so expect tracks from that (like the one below) as well as some old favourites when they play William's Green on Saturday evening.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-14 Days: Jack Garratt

Already a recepient of a Brit Award and the BBC's Sound of 2016, Garratt's music sits somewhere between the balladeering Ed Sheeran and the soulfully electronic James Blake.



As you can see from the live videos on this page he's a one-man tour de force, playing guitar, keyboards and drums and using pedals and loops to keep things going.



It all looks a bit frantic, like he's doing about 6 things at once (which he is) but it should make for a good experience on the John Peel Stage on Friday.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-16 Days: Christine and The Queens

Heloise Letissier is something of a superstar in her native France, where the original version of her album 'Chaleur Humaine' has spent nearly two years in the charts and she plays to packed out audiences in massive venues. And since the revamped version came out this year, with some English lyrics and new songs added, the rest of the world is also taking her to their hearts, as you can see from this brilliant performance of 'Tilted' at Coachella a couple of months ago.

Her cool electronics and Gallic chic blend perfectly together, and she manages to combine some fascination and thought provoking lyrics with some proper full-on pop melodies.



It's a tricky thing to have an intelligent message to get across while at the same time wanting people to dance and have fun but it's something she pulls of with aplomb. And if you want just one example of how effortlessly cool she is take a listen to 'Paradis Perdus' below, in which she takes a 1973 track by French singer Christophe, splices it with 'Heartless' by Kanye West' and makes a track that sounds totally her own.


Tough calls will have to be made as she's on the Other Stage on Friday while Skepta is on The Pyramid, but I think mon coeur est avec la femme Francaise.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-21 Days: Ezra Furman

With last year's album 'Perpetual Motion People' Furman produced a record full of wit, warmth and energy while mixing musical styles from 60s do-wop to garage rock and beyond.

In the flesh he's even more energetic, an unpredictable force teetering on the brink of anarchy but just about managing to rein it in.

So let your hair down and join the perpetual party with Ezra and his band.

Glastonbury 2016 - The Ones To Watch - T-22 Days: Oddisee

You don't have to go very far in the pages of this blog to find me singing the praises of Oddisee. One of my favourite rappers ever, he's as brilliant live as he is recorded, as you can see in the live video below.



If you were expecting raps about drive-bys and bitches hopefully that's put you straight. Oddisse is much better than, with an intelligent, lyrical flow that deals with weighty subject matter without ever resorting to cheap shots.




Prodigious in output, he's already released a free EP and a full-length instrumental album this year, and I've no doubt there's more on the way from him too.



I love so much of his stuff it was hard to know what to put on this page, but hopefully there's more than enough here to get you into him. Wherever he's playing (I suspect West Holts or John Peel) I'll see you down the front.

2015's best live performances

In total this year I've seen 142 live performances at numerous gigs and various festival. Here are the highlights.

Top Ten gigs:

1. Atomic Bomb! live feat. David Byrne, Hot Chip, Sinkane, Money Mark & many more - Royal Festival Hall, London. Watch the whole thing live below.
2. Jon Hopkins - Brixton Academy, London
3. Sinkane - XOYO, London
4. Public Service Broadcasting - The Roundhouse, Camden
5. Songhoy Blues - Oslo, Hackney
6. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Islington Assembly Hall, London 
7. Algiers - The Lexington, London
8. The Gaslamp Killer Experience - Koko, Camden 
9. Run The Jewels - 100 Club, London
10. Caribou - Brixton Academy, London

Top Ten Festival appearances:

1. Patti Smith - Field Day Sunday, London
2. Beck - BST Festival, Hyde Park, London
3. Son Lux - Visions Festival, London
4. Clark - Field Day Saturday, London
5. The Flaming Lips - Victorious Festival Saturday, Portsmouth
6. Future Islands - BST Festival, Hyde Park, London
7. Super Furry Animals - Victorious Festival Sunday, Portsmouth
8. Peter Hook & The Light - Victorious Festival Saturday, Portsmouth
9. Loyle Carner - Visions Festival, London
10. Run The Jewels - Field Day Saturday, London

Live review & pictures: Visions Festival, London 8th August 2015

The sun always seems to shine on East London for Visions Festival, and so it was yesterday for the third edition of this annual event. This is a blessing in disguise as although it makes for pleasant strolls between the venues, it makes the venues themselves incredibly hot (especially the Brewhouse which was so hot and humid that it managed to turn the bar of chocolate in my bag from a solid to liquid state in about 30 minutes).

Oscar at The Laundry 8/8/15

First on my agenda was Oscar at The Laundry. This was an upbeat way to start the day - Oscar Scheller has a deep, rich voice and some great, melodic hooks to go with it. I was surprised at the quality of his songwriting and although it might be hard to pigeonhole him into a genre or market I hope he makes it.

Girl Band on stage at The Laundry

Next at the same venue were one of the current buzz acts, Girl Band. This four-piece from Dublin are loud and intense and definitely bring something fresh to the scene. It's hard to make out what he's singing but that's never been a barrier to success in the past and they definitely seem to be the sort of band they will inspire a rabid following.

Loyle Carner on stage at The Brewhouse 8/8/15

Just over the road from The Laundry is the aforementioned boiling hot Brewhouse, where the heat was matched with the talent. Loyle Carner is the future of British hip-hop. He writes brilliantly aware, emotional and heartfelt lyrics, and is a great performer to match. As well as his raps he did 3 poems which were well received, especially the one about his mum who was in the front of the audience. If you get a chance to see him then grab it, you won't be disappointed.

Torn Hawk

Next in the Brewhouse (after one of their excellent homemade pizzas) was Torn Hawk, who matches video images with experimental music. I couldn't see all of his performance though as I had to head down to The Oval Space to see one of my picks of the day, Son Lux.

Son Lux on stage at The Oval Space 8/8/15

I've loved this band for a while so it was great to get the chance to see Ryan and the boys live. They played mostly tracks from the latest but with a couple of older ones for good measure. It was a really powerful performance, Ryan definitely puts his heart and soul into the performance and his emotion was matched with a rapturous reception.

Ryan Lott (Son Lux) 8/8/15

Next it was time for a double bill back at the Brewhouse. Norfolk's finest Luke Abbott twiddled his modular knobs to perfection, building up to an electronic crescendo.

Luke Abbott

He was followed by California's Peaking Lights, who played a set of electro-pop-dub with some thunderous bass lines that got everyone dancing (including one or two of the guys from Merchandise who'd played The Laundry earlier.

Aaron Coyes (Peaking Lights) 8/8/15

Finally it was back up the road to The Oval Space for Holy Fuck, Having been away for some 5 years they treated us to a shitload of new tunes and their performance got better and better as they went on. No photos for this one as they were on a darkly-lit stage (and I was too busy dancing anyway).

Overall it was another great day, although I have a couple of (connected) gripes. St. John's Church in Hackney is a pretty long way from The Oval space, and led to people basically deciding whether to stay in Hackney or Bethnal Green for the evening as it wasn't feasible to move between the two. Also the organisers seemed to be trying to brand it as a 'Hackney' festival, no doubt for the hipster value, but most of the venues were still in Bethnal Green. So let's have the venues a bit closer together or if not, maybe a shuttle bus between the two?

Live review and pictures: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Silicon and Moon King, Islington Assembly Hall, London 21st May 2015

A brilliant evening at the Islington Assembly Hall kicked off with Toronto band Moon King. Lead singer and driving force Daniel has a great voice and is a powerful frontman. At times they rocked out pretty hard and at others they mellowed out a bit, but overall they had a lot of energy, and anyone who claims that their 2 favourite songs are 'Halcyon and On and On' by Orbital and 'Harvest Moon' by Neil Young is alright by me.

Moon King live at Islington Assembly Hall, London

Next up was Silicon. Fronted by Ruban UMO's brother Kody, this was a performance and a half that enthralled and mystified the audience in equal measure. After spending the first song onstage Kody very quickly jumped into the audience and spent most of his set there. Dancing, prowling, posing, walking along the edge of the balcony and even stroking some hipster beards, he packed his set full of spiky energy. He even performed a cover of UMO's 'Can't Keep Checking My Phone' while Ruban watched and sang along from the side.Personally I loved it and I'll be watching out for them next time they're on town.

Silicon on stage at Islington Assembly Hall

And so to headliners Unknown Mortal Orchestra. From Ruban Neilson's solo project UMO have evolved into one of the tightest and together live bands I've seen for a while. Ruban is a brilliant guitarist and a thoroughly engaging frontman and together with the rest of the band he plays a brand of soulful and funky indie music that doesn't really exist anywhere else.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra live at Islington Assembly Hall, London 21/5/15

New and old songs mixed together well and were given the chance to breathe, expanding through some great flourishes and solos. No need to pick out highlights as the whole set was one big smile on my face from beginning to end. I can only imagine how great this stuff is going to sound on sunsetting stages through the festival season.

Ruban Nielson, Unknown Mortal Orchestra live 21/5/15

Unknown Mortal Orchestra are back in the UK in October for another tour and you really should go and see them, because they're ace.

Live - in pictures: Jon Hopkins / East India Youth at Brixton Academy, London 24/4/2015

Last night was the last night of Hopkins' 18-month tour supporting his 'Immunity' album, and he saw it off in style.

East India Youth, Brixton Academy 24/4/15

Support for the evening was East India Youth who, after some technical gremlins that delayed the start of his set, played mostly songs from his new album 'Culture of Volume' with only 'Looking For Someone. Silhouetted, he cut a somewhat lonely figure as he switched between keyboards, bass and occasional drum-pad bashing. He stepped into the limelight for closer 'Carousel', proving he can hit the high notes like a diva.

Jon Hopkins beneath the screen at Brixton Academy

Hopkins played in the middle of the stage beneath a massive screen which was put to good effect. For the opening track images and shapes were directly linked to the buttons and keys he was pressing. As the show went on films, videos and animated graphics were shown as lights and lasers bounced around.

Jon Hopkins on stage last night in Brixton

A couple of the films were pretty intense and watching the show at times was comparable to living in a Darren Aronofsky movie.

At a couple of points in the evening Hopkins was joined by 4 dancers with flashing LED hula hoops, which twirled around their bodies as the lights syncopated with the music.

The hula-hooping ladies & their lights

On Twitter this evening Jon has described the show as "the best live experience I have ever had" which should give you an idea of how pleased he was with it. It was definitely a great way to give the album a send-off.

Lights, lasers, graphics - Jon Hopkins, Brixton 24/4/15