Recommended music: 'Elemental Themes' by Chrome Canyon

Not what you might be expecting from the Stones Throw label, and I must admit that having heard a couple of snatches of this before I got the album I thought I was going to hate it. But after the first play of the whole album end to end I loved it so much that I wanted to put it straight back on again.It's one of those rarities these days where listening to the album in one go really pays dividends - the more you sink into the mood and atmosphere of the record the better it gets.

So what does it sound like? Imagine the soundtrack to the best film Ridley Scott or John Carpenter never made. Imagine a record that sounds like electronic musical equipment had stopped being developed after about 1985. Imagine influences from Giorgio Moroder, Vangelis and Pink Floyd. Yes, that's a lot of imagining to do, but that's what this record encourages. As the tracks unfold you'll be picturing the scenes from a non-existent film, seeing the action played out in front of you as the music plays on. It's like Morgan Z (for he is Chrome Canyon) really did go back to the future to create a vision of the future that's welded to the past.

The title track even throws in some dialogue, as does 'Carfire on the Highway'. And as that staple of early 80s soundtracks, the saxophone, slowly drawls its way through an appearance on the fifth track, before making way for an evolution into something from A Clockwork Orange, you really will feel like you're in a cinematic time warp.

This is much more than a pastiche, or a homage to the past. There are some great melodies in here, some brilliant atmospherics, and hopefully the fact that Morgan's chosen specialist subject on Mastermind would appear to be 'classic electronic soundtracks' won't stop this record getting the exposure it deserves.

Right, I'm off to write a film called 'Elemental' so I can use this as the soundtrack, but in the meantime I'll leave you with this quote from 'Carfire On A Highway' which stands as a pretty good epitaph for the album:- "...a scorched reminder of what we saw ourselves as, and how far from it we still were...".

You can grab a free track from the album below.

Live - in pictures and video: Radiohead at The O2, London 8/10/2012

In a night potentially full of surprises, the first was that the ticketless system designed to foil the touts wasn't actually as laborious as it might have been, and 40 minutes after leaving the tube we were inside the arena.

Caribou on stage at The O2

Caribou were first, arriving bang on 7.30 and launching straight into what sounded like a new track. They followed this with a selection of highlights from 'Swim' which gradually pulled in more of the audience, finishing with a storming version of 'Sun'.

As they cleared the stage the questions began to be asked - what would Radiohead start with? Would they play anything brand new? What about Paranoid Android? For the answers to those see the set list below, but they came out of the blocks powerfully and managed to keep the energy level high all night.

Radiohead live at The O2

Another question formed - how and why had they cloned Phil Selway? The doppelgänger didn't seem to add much to the sound when he was onstage and it seemed to add a slight awkwardness to the stage set up. Meanwhile Radiohead continued to work their way through a set that seemed designed to keem them interested as much as us.

Radiohead live 8/10/12

Highlights? The fantastic stage set, with moving screens creating a constantly moving scene. New song 'Identikit', which was full of melody and hooks. The brilliant version of 'Give Up The Ghost' performed just by Thom and Jonny, as Thom's vocals were looped and built up into a choir of his own voice. The way 'Staircase', 'Feral' and 'Bloom' worked live, along with great versions of 'Myxomatosis' and 'Weird Fishes'. And Thom singing R.E.M's 'The One I Love' before starting 'Everything...'



Lowlights? 'Climbing Up The Walls', which for its first half seemed ill at ease and a bit out of tune. The way 'These Are My Wicked Words' really didn't work live. The lack of any songs at all from 'The Bends'. And a nagging feeling that something was missing, that there was no emotional engagement with the audience.

Don't get me wrong, it was really good, as Radiohead shows always will be. But maybe, now that Thom's got a certain swagger rather than his old timidness, and now that the band are driven by a desire to constantly explore and make music that keeps evolving, maybe it'll never be quite like it was.

Radiohead played:

• Lotus Flower
• 15 Step
• Bloom
• Kid A
• The Daily Mail
• Myxomatosis
• Climbing Up The Walls
• The Gloaming
• Separator
• These Are My Twisted Words
• Like Spinning Plates
• Nude
• Identikit 
• Karma Police
• Feral
• Idioteque
• Pyramid Song
• Staircase
• Morning Mr Magpie
• Weird Fishes / Arpeggi
• Reckoner
• Give Up The Ghost
• There There
• Everything In Its Right Place

New Music Mix - 28/9/12

DJ Cull's New Music Mix - 28/9/12 by Dj Cull on Mixcloud

Here's my latest selection of new-ish tracks for your aural pleasure. Special mention this week should go to Morning Ritual Recordings who haven't released a bad track yet this year - there's 2 of theirs in this mix. Just click on the play button, then sit back and listen. Here's the track listing:

1. The xx - Sunset
2. Connan Mockasin - Forever Dolphin Love (Erol Alkan mix)
3. Jacques Greene - Prism
4. Eaux - Luther (Holy Strays Reshape)
5. Grasscut - Blink in the Night (Shadow Version)
6. Holy Other - Held
7. The Pictish Trail - Imperfect Time
8. Holy Strays - Christabell (B)
9. Atoms For Peace - Default
10. Chet Faker - Terms and Conditions (Nicolas Jaar remix)

Live - in pictures: Gravenhurst / Eyes & No Eyes at Cecil Sharp House, London 26/9/12

A rather unusual and quaint venue (the home of English Folk, apparently) but they do a decent line in real ale and were warm and welcoming to us. My learned friend (who'd been there before) said that there are normally chairs put out in the venue, but the promoter had asked for these to be taken out - maybe they were expecting a moshpit to develop?

Eyes & No Eyes (there were actually more than 6 people watching them..)

Eyes & No Eyes were the support - an interesting four piece who do the quiet/loud/quiet well, with lots of experimentation and, unusually, a cellist.

Gravenhurst at Cecil Sharp House

Nick Talbot (Gravenhurst) took to the stage flanked by 2 ladies and entertained us for over an hour with his beautiful melodies, bursts of loud guitar, and a witty line in banter that bordered on stand-up comedy. Having had a tough time in Nottingham the night before - "At least 40 people paid to see me and then stood and talked all evening. I told them that it wasn't like watching the TV, and I could actually hear what they were saying, but they didn't take any notice" - he was pleased to have an appreciative audience.

Gravenhurst live (heckling mum not pictured...)

The only heckling came when he came back on for an encore. A lady shouted out "Are we allowed to call out for songs we like?" and Nick's reply - "Yes Mum, you can, that's what an encore's for" - had the audience in stitches and gained cheers for his Mum & Dad, who were standing at the front.

All in all a great night out.

Track of the Day: Brats (Cadence Weapon Remix) by Liars

The squelchy, hi-hatted original is turned into a stomping anarchic whirl by Cadence Weapon as he proceeds to dissect and disseminate the original. Frontloading it with the original vocals, he reserves the second half to spit his own verses over and give us his own opinion on what makes a brat.

Listen and download it for free above.

Video of the Day: 'Putty Boy Strut' by Flying Lotus

When I first heard this track I wasn't too keen - it's all a bit Bobby McFerrin for my liking, particularly until Thundercat turns up half way through to lay down some bass grooves. But this video suddenly makes sense of the whole thing in a mad kind of way - it's the best marriage of visuals and music I've seen in a long time.

Anyway, the signs are looking good for the new album 'Until The Quiet Comes' which is out on 1st October - you can pre-order it from Bleep here.

Track of the Day: 'Angels (Four Tet remix) by The xx

After their live performance with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra last night The xx topped the night off by whipping out this new mix of Angels for the first time. Due to be released 'in a few weeks' it's a gentle, looping remix with a an entertainingly distorted middle. Check it out below.

Download The xx Angels (Four Tet remix)