Track of the Week

29 09 2006

Today I thought I’d share an indie pop/folk track from the latest Regina Spektor album Begin To Hope. I actually heard the track Samson absolutely ages ago, and I love it, but… I only recently checked out this album. It’s like falling in love all over again. First Samson and now Fidelity - although it is worth mentioning that the whole album is strong and another fav of mine is On The Radio - but for you today…

Regina Spektor - Fidelity
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 13th October.

Check out the video too…

Tomorrow I am off to the Parklife festival in Brisbane. I will see Cut Chemist, Mixmaster Mike, and Coldcut, to name a few, and… I’m really excited! Expect a thorough write-up either tomorrow or Monday, personal condition depending, but actually it might be early next week as I’ll need to get photos developed - no digital love here! Be great to hear from any readers that are going to the festival, please don’t stalk and/or stab me though, it’s just not nice… but you can buy me things, that would be good. Ta-ra for now!

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Categories : Info, Links, Track of the Week

Nothing’s Gonna Change Your Mind

28 09 2006

The first single from Badly Drawn Boy’s soon to be released album Born In The U.K. is due out on 9th October. It’s called Nothing’s Gonna Change Your Mind, and it sounds more like the BDB of old than the track Born In The U.K. does. First off, check out this video to the new single…

It’s a cool video and I love the idea that you could control a car by the power of keys! I think most of Badly Drawn Boy’s videos are cool, I even own the DVD that contains them all, what a geek! The release of the album is getting ever nearer, October 16th, and I cant bloody wait. Did you enjoy that video, yet as ever dismay at the audio quality? Well quit your moaning…

Badly Drawn Boy - Nothing’s Gonna Change Your Mind
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 12th October.

I like this track quite a lot. It took a few listens for me to appreciate Born In The U.K., but this one sounded pretty damn good at first go. Badly Drawn Boy is often an acquired taste though, and to be fair it took me a few listens to get into One Plus One Is One, but I’m a massive fan and I cant wait for this album to drop. If any of you pop pickers out there have heard other tracks from the forth-coming album, gimme a shout and let me know what they’re like, cheers.

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Categories : Info, Links, New Release, Preview

New Winehouse tracks

27 09 2006

The impending release of the new Amy Winehouse album Back To Black is getting ever nearer - 30th October, to be precise - and what better way to tease the hell out of you, than by sharing a few tracks! First off though, check out this video to Rehab, the first single off the new album. It is due out on 23rd October and was produced by Mark Ronson. Pretty strong first single, good job on the brass and the 60s soul style drums, the Ronson done good. I guess you want to get your grubby mitts on some mp3s now, so I shan’t delay any further.

So, first mp3, and I must first say thanks to homo eclectic for the heads up on these, is I’m No Good. This badboy starts with killer drums, then in comes some eerie strings and Amy’s (strong as ever) vocals. This has retro written all over it, but then from what I’ve heard so far (and read), the whole album has a 60s soul female group feel to it. Like Amy has kept the jazz connections, but gone for a retro pop stance on things. Anyway…

Amy Winehouse - I’m No Good
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 11th October.

Next up is the title track to the album Back To Black. This one leaves the whole upbeat swing feel to one side, and is actually more of a tragic soul ballad, if there is such a thing. It’s at this point you realise that we are dealing with a totally different animal to Frank (Amy’s debut album). Where others have failed to evolve their previously distinctive sound, Amy seems to have managed it fully, solid stuff indeed…

Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 11th October.

I actually do have an mp3 of another track from the album Addicted, but the quality is poor and I don’t want to spoil you either! Just know that it’s quite an airy soul jazz number with a lighter outlook on things. Essentially this new material, or what I’ve heard of it, is pop music - the sort anyone could listen to without many complaints, it has this whole 60s female soul thing going on, and it’s quite charming. It will be interesting to hear how the whole album sounds, specially since Frank was such a great (and underrated) album. Still, not long to wait now.

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Categories : Info, Links, New Release, Preview

Closer

26 09 2006

Usually when I receive an album for reviewing, I listen to it bout three times then review it - so I’ve normally posted up my review within 48 hours of receiving the album. This time, for one reason or another, it didn’t happen like that. As such, I’ve had Ty’s new album Closer for near on 6 weeks and listened to it a whole load of times. Not entirely sure if this will have an effect on how this review pans out, just know that I am far from tired of this brand new UK hip-hop masterpiece.

Closer is actually due out, on Big Dada, 16th October and the first single What You Want / Don’t Watch That (double a-side) was released last week. Ty’s 2003 album Upwards caused a few waves with it’s fresh approach to the UK hip-hop sound, but I’m quite confident Closer will cause a tsunami, read on to understand why…

A nice twelve track offering kicks off with Don’t Watch That (Knickers, Y-Fronts and Jockstraps), a track that is one half of the first single release. I did actually review the single a while back and said something along the lines of “…is a funky old skool kinda tune, but with a typical fresh Ty sound. The lyrics are humorous to the max - the story being that you shouldn’t believe internet rumours about artists.” I stand by those comments. The arrangement of this track is interesting, simple yet sublime, good drum roll and catchy guitar stabs - plus Ty’s spitting is catchy as hell - strong opening track. Everybody is the second track, “everybody wants to be the best in the world, I just really wanna have sex with my girl” - something quite apparent about Ty’s tracks are A) his obvious and excellent flow, and B) this seemingly simple construction that is put together as such that it is both simple and also seriously intricate. This isn’t intricate in the way you’d expect from The Cinematic Orchestra or Sigur Ros, but more so in the execution of solid beats coupled with catchy sounds and clever flowing rhymes.

This Here Music feat. Speech of Arrested Development is the third track and takes the album into a more relaxed atmosphere. Some real nice bass notes and spacey organ samples going on, plus the claps are a nice touch. The chorus is simple yet the combination of the group style singing, backed with the soulful female backing, works very well. This one will get your foot tapping, then *boom* the rhymes switch over to Speech, and he does a fresh job. Ty is fantastic himself, but it was good to hear someone else join him, and Speech more than steps up to the plate on this one. The Idea feat. De La Soul is up next, and it has real bashment undertones. This is another one that wont let you sit still for a moment, most of the album is like that really - The Idea maintains chants throughout and combines Ty with De La Soul, what a combination.

The fifth track is What You Want (Taylormade) feat. Taylor McFerrin, Joy Jones and Jason Yarde, this is the other track from the already released (and reviewed) single, I previously said “This track is in a similar vein to those two classic Ty tracks; Groovement and Wait A Minute - real shimmying rhythm accompanied by brass and intelligent lyrics. The beats were originally beatboxed by Taylor McFerrin (who is in fact the son of Bobby “Don’t Worry Be Happy” McFerrin), Ty and his associate producer Drew then created the tune around the original beatbox.” - fans of Upwards will love this! Closer feat. Maceo is my favourite track on this album at the moment. It’s different to a lot of the tracks on the album as it is not as focused on the fierce beats. The beats are still there, but the emphasis is on melody and partnered with Ty and Maceo it is just class…

Ty - Closer feat. Maceo
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 10th October.

Oh! feat. Bahamadia and Zion I greets us at the second half of the album. I really appreciate the sentiment of this track, the main narrative about genocide and the woes of the world, but musically I feel it is perhaps one of the less appealing tracks on the album. It’s catchy enough with it’s deep and dirty electronic stab samples and neat rhymes, but for me personally, it doesn’t hold too much replay value. Aim For Your Goals feat. Eska is positioned wisely on the album as it feels like an extended interlude of sorts. I love the unique stance on arrangement and sounds, plus Ty’s words are clever, but not quite up there with Closer or Don’t Watch that.

Sweating For Your Salary feat. Wumni and Dele Sosimi has an infectious bassline and rhythm. It follows a different sound set than most the tracks on the album, but keeps some of those killer base beats. Feels like a real tribal ditty, focusing on African style chants. Sophisticated and Coarse feat. Eska is brilliant. Eska works so well to compliment Ty - “these are just everyday folks” - I couldn’t stay still during this one. The high xylophone style keys create a fantastic melody to match the steady but firm beats. The words carry a strong moral and social message, take heed.

Penultimate track is L.O.V.E. (No Matter What) feat. Vula - this is just excellent. Like Closer, this takes a different angle to the majority of tracks, and that is definitely not to say those others aren’t as good, but I’m really feeling this track. The shimmying beats are present, but the backing vocals - “L O V E” - help to maintain the chilled atmosphere amongst the intense beat pattern and rhyme structure, also the female vocal backing is key to the mood. Last up is Hustle (That’s Why We) feat. Rich Medina, currently my second favourite track after Closer. It starts with a steady beat and a narrative by Rich Medina, talking bout things like being prepared and motivated, then 1:40 or so in and Ty drops his first rhyme. This is actually really beautiful. “Hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, that’s why we… hustle” - you really have to hear this for yourself.

This is a very good album. Fans of Upwards will love it for sure, but all fans of hip-hop should give this a go. Ty has clearly matured his sound from Upwards and despite his seemingly unique style, this new album does deliver a diverse array of sounds. The guest appearances are great and Ty’s flow is as good as it’s ever been. I genuinely hope Closer does well for Ty, cos he deserves it. It is clear that a lot of effort has gone into Closer and anyone remotely into hip-hop, that has an open mind, should check this out as a priority.

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Categories : Info, Links, New Release, Review

Unearthing MySpace Gems

24 09 2006

Time waits for no-one, ain’t that the truth? It’s Sunday once more, so once more I have gems. A quick reminder on how this weekly feature works; all pages featured have had less than 10,000 page-views. If you know of any artists on MySpace, with less than that many page-views, that you think I should feature, please let me know. You can either email me to the address at the left, or send me a message and/or friends request (if you are an artist or band) at my personal MySpace page or the >>just like music MySpace page.

Azevedo Silva - http://www.myspace.com/projectoparalelo

Not much I can really tell you here. This is beautiful acoustic music from the land of the Portuguese. There are three tracks available for you to listen to, and I would really urge you to listen to them all the way through to truly appreciate the immense beauty. I’m so glad that one way or another I found this page, I could listen forever. O Inicio is one of the most fantastic cinematic and emotive acoustic pieces I have heard in a while.

johnny longmind - http://www.myspace.com/johnnylongmind

Paul Stanek is johnny longmind, an experimental electronica artist playing out of California. His experimental downtempo sound is both captivating and compelling - just check out tracks like ruound and ism for perfect examples. This is truly fantastic stuff and needs to be heard by all electronica fans. This dude needs to be snapped up quick sharp, he’s ripe for the picking!

Aaron The Cutter - http://www.myspace.com/aaronthecutter

Some trip-hop from France. Emeline, Damien, Pascal, and Yves are Aaron The Cutter. This is some hot stuff indeed - I’m a sucker for storm samples and their track AIR starts with just that, a real head nodder of an electronica track. Emeline’s vocals are in a similar vein to Lou Rhodes and they compliment the diverse array of electronica on the Aaron The Cutter page extremely well.

Frank Filth’s Drive In System - http://www.myspace.com/frankfilth

Frank Filth’s big beat electronica sound is something to marvel at. At a time when many people strive to emulate the tried and tested, the Frank Filth’s Drive In System hits us with some crazy, but funky, electronica sounds. The track Naked is on a Daft Punk tip (before they turned shit), whilst Stand Up is on more of a neo-soul electro-funk tip. Check out this Dutch funky electronica as soon as you can!

abb-d - http://www.myspace.com/abbd

Looking for something a bit more on the ambient side? Then you’re in luck. abb-d is based in Brighton, England and certainly has the knack for making atmospheric electronic pieces. Just the two tracks on his page at the moment, but if you’d care to follow the links on his page to his website, you will find many more goodies. Anyone yearning for the more ambient side of electronica should definitely give abb-d a go, fella’s got skills.

That’s your five. If you like them, add them to your friends list and say ‘hi’. I’ve just this past week added three new tracks to the >>just like music MySpace page, naturally they are all fantastic tracks, but be sure to check them out. Until next Sunday, enjoy your gems!

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Categories : MySpace, New Discovery

Cheers Darlin’

24 09 2006

Mr. Damien Rice, the Irish acoustic folk extraordinaire, is finally about to deliver the new material we’ve been waiting so long to hear. 9 Crimes is the first single from his upcoming album 9. The single is officially out on 20th November, and the album is out beforehand on 6th November. This is the much anticipated follow up to his 2003 album O - the track listing looks like this…

1. 9 Crimes
2. The Animals Were Gone
3. Elephant
4. Rootless Tree
5. Dogs
6. Coconut Skins
7. Me, My Yoke And I
8. Grey Room
9. Accidental Babies
10. Sleep Don’t Weep

9 Crimes is a beautiful piano ballad, crammed with all the powerfully emotive goodness we’ve come to expect from Damien Rice, check it for yourself…

Damien Rice - 9 Crimes
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 8th October.

His 2003 album O was truly immense and I really cannot wait to hear 9. I’ve been calling James Blunt the “poor man’s Damien Rice” for a long time now, and I think Damien Rice is about to prove that once more. This talented gentleman has gone from European busker to acoustic folk superstar, and if by chance you’ve never heard of him or his music… you need your head checked. O was easily one of the albums of 2003, so if you don’t own it already, get it bought. Similarly the 2004 album B-Sides was also very good, and I’ll share a track from it now…

Damien Rice - The Professor and la Fille Danse (live at Cornucopia)
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 8th October.

I’ll bring you more news on the new album, as and when I hear it.

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Categories : Info, New Release, Preview

Track of the Week

22 09 2006

Been another quiet week, and for that I am sorry, so I’ll try and give you plenty of value for your money(!) today. Just really want to start by reiterating an urgent plea from the mother of a very poorly little fella in the UK…

7 year old Keiton Knight was initially diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, but very recently that has sadly turned into Acute Myeloidblastic Leukaemia and now he must have a Bone marrow Transplant. Time is running out for Keiton and the only way to save his life is to go give blood directly to one of the clinics in London. As Keiton is mixed race (one black and one white parent), his tissue type is very unusual, and as such the donor must also be of mixed race. Specifically the donor must have one black and one white parent, and be between the ages of 18 and 40.

If you believe you can help, please phone the National Blood Service on 0845 7711711. The next drive/clinics, working with the Anthony Nolan Trust, will be held in London during the first two weeks of October - please see the Keiton Knight website for more details. Don’t be scared to put yourself forward as a donor through fear of a painful procedure, for one you could be saving the life of a small child, so the pain should be irrelevant in my book, but actually, one of the procedures for removing the bone marrow stem cells is very simple and near on painless. A small needle will be placed in each arm and the blood is removed from your left arm and is passed through a machine which removes the Stem Cells and the blood is then passed back into your right arm. The procedure takes a few hours tops, and this little boy is desperate for your help - so if you can help, at least by spreading the word of this cause, please do so.

So, still on the job hunt, hence the quiet week on Just Like Music, but I’ve got two tracks for you today. Often I like to share stuff that I’ve had for quite some time, but is still quite obscure - just because something isn’t overly popular, doesn’t mean it isn’t amazing. So first up is a track by Backini, from his/their 2005 album Re:Creation…

Backini - Little Big Horn
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 6th October.

Fantastic downtempo electronica with a totally experimental sound, and that analysis is based more on the listening experience gained from hearing the full album. So many different sounds involved, and at some points during the album it is almost like a more laid back version of Aphex Twin. If you even remotely like the track above, then you should definitely check out the album Re:Creation. Backini is signed to Lumenessence Recordings in Brighton, England.

The other track I have for you is by Finnish jazz duo SlowHill. These fellas combine the talents of a DJ/Producer and a jazz musician to make funky fresh jazz-hop style creations. The track I have for you today is from their 2003 album Finndisc, that was put out on legendary jazz label BlueNote…

SlowHill - Valo
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 6th October.

Two tracks right there that you’ll never be likely to hear on the Billboard top 100 - I hope you enjoy them, and if you do, make sure you follow up that interest by visiting some links I’ll put below, and go buy this stuff!

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Categories : Info, Links, Track of the Week

This is a journey into sound…

20 09 2006

I read something the other day and my first thought was “oh no, he’s doing a Shadow”, but I read on a bit further, and somehow I came out at the other end thinking that actually, this could be really good. I’m talking about RJD2’s decision to dump hip-hop (and Def Jux) to join the label XL for his new electro-rock album. “Wha?!” might be your response, but you did read right.

This new album, so far un-named and not due out till early next year, will have a minimal amount of samples and will see RJD2 playing all the instruments. Apparently he learnt to play a lot of instruments when he was at high school, but the idea for the new album was born out of frustration during the making of 2004’s Since We Last Spoke. RJD2 said that he would spend so much time digging for records, then listening to those records, just to find a particular sounding sample and he thought it would be so much easier if he just created the sound via an actual instrument.

RJD2’s split with Def Jux is supposedly amicable, yet this deal with XL is not a one off, he has signed for a considerable amount of time. Still, XL have played host to some great acts over the years; The Prodigy, Badly Drawn Boy, The Avalanches, and Ratatat, to name some - so with their emphasis as a label on electronica and rock, RJD2 cant go wrong in that department. Although the new record is yet to be mixed, 39 songs have been recorded for it, RJD2 and his team now just need to chop that down to the 13 or 14 strongest tracks, and they are done. As I mentioned before, they are aiming for around spring 2007 for release.

A return to hip-hop sometime in the future hasn’t been ruled out, but for now RJD2 would like to just follow the path he can see unfolding before him. He did cheekily slag off his old work though, claiming that from an engineering stand point they were “jokes” - he felt they were perhaps too artificial. He also claimed that between 1998 and 2003 the only two decent records to be made were D’Angelo’s Voodoo and the Poets of Rhythm’s Discern/Define - that is to say from a production point of view. So if there’s anything we can expect from this new RJD2 material, it’s that it will be well produced.

Have something old…

RJD2 - June (Remix)
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 4th October.

You seen Microsoft’s new mp3 player Zune? I’ve read all the hype, studied the specs, watched the videos, I am a bit of a gadget freak - but I’m one of those people that reads up to the max, then comes to a conclusion (and apologies to any MS employees that might read this), but frankly I feel that buying one of these first generation Zune’s will be money wasted. For less money you can buy an iPod with a larger capacity, the Zune has the wireless sharing thing going on, but the chances of knowing many other “early adopters” that you can share with, is gonna be unlikely. I think the Zune could potentially be fantastic, but I for one will hold out till it is slimmer, has a larger hard disk, and more functions.

Apparently Britney will be rapping on her new album, I can literally hear her scraping the bottom of a barrel from here.

My super dope friend in Hollywood wants to let you hear Beck’s new single Nausea, so here you go, stream it away kids… Beck - Nausea.

Remember I said I would try to find the Danger Mouse remix(es) of Paris Hilton’s stuff? I found one. It’s just that track off the video, and it was originally 40 minutes long! The edit I have is bout 15 minutes long, I wont upload it, trust me it isn’t worth it, you aren’t missing out. Just a few samples of Paris saying “that’s hot” over the same tune for 15 minutes.

I’ve heard Bonobo’s new album Days To Come and I have to say it is amazing. Like a cross between Dial ‘M’ For Monkey and the Live Sessions, but with lots of female singing. It’s due out next month on Ninja Tune and I demand that you purchase it.

Right, leave me alone now, I better get back to my job hunt.

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Categories : Info, Links, Preview

Unearthing MySpace Gems

17 09 2006

Time to see what good has come of MySpace recently. I have five pages (as ever) to share with you this week. A quick reminder on how this weekly feature works; all pages featured have had less than 10,000 page-views. If you know of any artists on MySpace, with less than that many page-views, that you think I should feature, please let me know. You can either email me to the address at the left, or send me a message and/or friends request (if you are an artist or band) at my personal MySpace page or the >>just like music MySpace page.

Nathan Melsted - http://www.myspace.com/nathanmelsted

I first heard Nathan Melsted’s music as it played whilst I was watching the Ahree Lee video “Me” on YouTube. I decided to delve a bit deeper and I found Nathan’s MySpace page… I’m glad I did. The track used on that video is listed as Soundtrack for Me on Nathan’s page, it’s an eerie and beautiful electronic piece, full of ambiance. You should check out the other two tracks on Nathan’s MySpace page too, each bursting with ethereal creativity.

UNDER - http://www.myspace.com/underthemusic

UNDER are an indie electronica trio playing out of San Francisco. Their acoustic angle on downtempo indie electronica is a breath of fresh air. As can be heard on Cars Below, Jen Triano’s soothing vocals compliment the drums of Ricky Carter and keys of Eamonn Flynn beautifully. As we speak there are just two tracks on their MySpace page, but a four track EP was released just last month, so if you want to hear more, there’s how.

Ihokas - http://www.myspace.com/ihokasmp3

Some strange sounds coming from Finland. Ihokas is an experimental electronica artist and he’s been doing his thing since the 90s. The Ihokas sound wont be for everybody, but within this finely crafted electronic niché I’m sure many fans will appear out of the woodwork - think of a subdued combination of Kraftwerk and Aphex Twin, but with plenty more sounds and samples. The track Slow Freak might be a nice starting point.

Ribside - http://www.myspace.com/ribside

Clive Booth is Ribside, an experimental electronica dude from the UK. Just check out that John Nettles track, I think it really speaks for itself and explains what Ribside is all about. Crazy electronic samples, vintage vocal samples, killer beats - all wrapped up beautifully in a bizarre, yet perfect, harmony. Clive Booth is creating original sounding electronica tracks that ooze atmospherics and scream at you in a cinematic tone. Listen to all the tracks, I urge you, specially Daring Wife In London.

Chinatown - http://www.myspace.com/chinatownuk

Chinatown is a soul funk jazz band playing out of London, and they actually feature the vocals of previously featured MySpace Gem Inga-Lill. These guys have a nice energy about their music, not so much from an explosive point of view, but more from the appreciation of how the sounds come together. Check Optional Extras and Lemonade to see if you get what I mean - the tracks are laid back, but sound raw and very complete. There’s not enough soul funk being made these days, but Chinatown are certainly carrying the flag well.

Lots of different sounds for you to explore this week, so open that mind nice and wide, and jump right in. Be sure to add these fine artists to your MySpace friends list and leave them all lots of nice comments.

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Categories : MySpace, New Discovery

Well Planned Randomness

17 09 2006

Hello. Software eh? I cant 100% be certain that my current state of anguish is the fault of one last.fm, but all I know is that my iTunes was fine, then I had to upgrade the last.fm software. I re-opened iTunes afterwards and my library was empty, all playlists gone, all podcasts gone, it basically looked like a fresh install of iTunes. Don’t worry, the actual mp3s were still on my computer, but still a major pain in the arse having your library wiped. On a similar note I’d heard bout lots of problems with the new iTunes (version 7, until this point I was still using 6) - tales of lagging, skipping, and general failing. I was planning to hold off installing it, but I figured things couldn’t get much worse after my library incident. Anyway, I installed v7 and honest to god, it has been fine. Maybe they fixed the issues?

So this new iTunes, if you hate lots of big graphics and unnecessary menu frameworks, don’t bother with it - use foobar2000. If the aforementioned qualities leave you drooling over your keyboard, go for it! They have this new cover browser feature, the idea being that it feels like you are actually flicking through your own CD collection… well it doesn’t, it’s a totally useless feature, but it does look good and we live in a world built around attractive aesthetics, so indulge. Only thing I had to do to get this new feature to work was go through my library and replace all the tiny artwork with versions around 400 x 400px, this was so they didn’t appear pixelated in the cover browser view. Essentially this new version of iTunes was created to support the new feature of downloading tv shows and films from the iTunes store. Aside from that it leans more towards the user that has nothing but full albums on their pc, so if you are one of those people with thousands of single tracks, you might find the new features frustrating.

It’s amazing how quickly ‘we’ become attached to mod cons, I mentioned a couple of months ago that when MySpace went down for a whole day the worlds population of teenagers were having synchronised anxiety attacks, well to be honest, and maybe just for a minute, I felt practically numb when I saw my iTunes library had been wiped. Imagine how I’d feel if I lost 10,000 tracks?! Even just the thought of how much time it would take to rip a lot of music from CD all over again makes me feel ill. Still, and I failed to mention this before, the new iTunes has an option to backup your whole music collection to CD or DVD, and if your collection is bigger than one DVD iTunes will create a series of discs for you. I will be using this feature!

In other news, a compilation CD of John Peel’s favourite tracks between 1977 to 1987 is being released. The compilation will be called John Peel - Right Time, Wrong Speed: 1977 - 1987 and it is due out on 9th October. It will be a double CD featuring such artists as; Buzzcocks, The Cure, The Jam, Joy Division, Cocteau Twins, The Smiths, Grandmaster Flash, and The Fall.

More news on the Mercury Prize, nothing to do with Arctic Monkeys this time! Apparently a Mercury Prize for kids is being launched to coincide with National Music Week. School pupils will get to decide between ten British acts from varying genres, then the winner will be announced on 31st October after the National Music Week (16th to 20th October). The incentive, organised in tandem by the Government and the music industry, is to encourage better music education in schools.

This week expect a review of Ty’s soon to drop album Closer, I think it will be a good read, so don’t miss it. Thanks to all the people that have read my recent reviews and left comments on them, I appreciate it. I’m still on the job hunt - if anyone out their wants to employ me, please give me a shout! But once things calm down a bit I’ll try and get some more interviews arranged. Plus it’s only two weeks till the Parklife festival, so I’ll do a write-up of that, let you all know just how good Coldcut, Cut Chemist, and Mix Master Mike were! For now I will leave you with something interesting, and please bear in mind that I’m not a fan of country music, but sometimes you cant ignore certain angles on genres…

Lambchop - Cracker
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 30th September.

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Categories : Info, Links, New Discovery, Rant

Track of the Week

15 09 2006

The end of a long week… the start of a great weekend? Every cloud, my friends, every cloud! Today’s track of the week is a combination of two very talented British fellas. One is signed to Tru Thoughts, and the other is signed to the Tru Thoughts sister label Zebra Traffic. TM Juke’s 2003 album Maps From The Wilderness had a totally fresh blend of hip-hop, downtempo, and trip-hop. One of the tracks on the aforementioned album, Wilderness Kids, featured the emcee Rup - or Rup The Cunt, as he is affectionately known. The track paired the chilled out beats from TM Juke and the silky smooth flow of Rup, check it out for yourself…

TM Juke - Wilderness Kids
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 29th September.

Now, I’ve also been listening to Khoiba’s 2004 album Nice Traps a lot this past week, and one of my favourite tracks off that album is That Reason - I did post a link to it the other day, and it will still be active now, so definitely make sure you check that out too…

Khoiba - That Reason
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 19th September.

Some chilled out hip-hop and then some Czech indie electro rock to welcome in your weekend. Have a good one.

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Categories : Info, Links, Track of the Week

Return to Cookie Mountain

14 09 2006

TV on the Radio have literally just dropped their third album Return to Cookie Mountain in the US. The US copy has three bonus tracks; Snakes And Martyrs, an El-P remix of Hours, and Things You Can Do - well, lucky old me got sent a copy of the US release, so lets get to it…

In absolute honesty now, my appreciation of TV on The Radio before this new album was purely of the track Staring at the Sun - that’s not to say I don’t (or didn’t) like anything else by them, but more to say I just simply never listened to anything else. However, I’ve heard nothing but buckets of praise for this new album, and by all accounts I love Staring at the Sun, so I was very eager to hear this new creation.

The album is eleven tracks long, plus the three bonus tracks. It kicks off with I Was a Lover which, frankly, I love to bits, fantastic stuff. It has heavy slow paced bass beats, drawn out brass samples, and a very chaotic but graceful air about it - the vocals match the pace and feel of the music perfectly. Half way in it even breaks down with piano samples and higher pitched verses, although those heavy slow paced beats remain throughout. What a way to kick off an album.

TV on the Radio - I Was a Lover
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 28th September.

Next up is the track Hours. A laid back drum driven track with the ever-present high pitched vocals. It’s a pretty catchy track specially with its build up of instruments as it progresses, and maybe it’ll be a grower, but didn’t really think it was anything special. This leads us to Province, and by this point I’m really trying to work out this TVOTR method. One good quote from SPIN says “There’s an old saying that agitators play music because they like the noise it makes. TV on the Radio play noise because they like the music it makes.” Now my mind is working over time on this and if you try to ignore the vocals, the music doesn’t really sound too far detached from some Explosions In The Sky stuff (which is only a good thing), but I feel that TVOTR’s quirky high pitched vocals steal the thunder a bit too much for my liking. It overshadows the great music and actually irritates a bit. Maybe it would sound better live, I dunno.

The third track is Playhouses. It starts with some distorted electric samples and chant’esque vocals - then into a pretty funky drum arrangement. Playhouses has a great energy to it, but in a funny sense the vocals bring the whole thing back down to mediocrity, perhaps it’s just a case of “horses for courses”, but we’re four tracks in and I’m finding the vocals tiresome. Still, the music is great. Wolf Like Me is the track getting lots of hype at the moment, it has big punk feeling to it and actually steps away from some of the annoyances I found in a few of the previous tracks. Most rock albums have at least one ‘anthem’ on them and I think Wolf Like Me is the anthem on Return to Cookie Mountain.

A Method sounds like a TVOTR angle on a chant/barber-shop-quartet type track. It’s nice, and to be honest just a good breather from the previous chaos, although half way in it does perk up a bit. Like an extended interlude, a good album track for sure. Then Let the Devil In brings back the high octane energy. This is a brash experimental rock song, with the emphasis on tribal style drum patterns, electric guitar sounds, and chanting/shouting. Make of that what you will, it’s harmless enough, although nothing outstanding. Dirty Whirl calms things down once more, good keyboard sounds, retro style soul funk drum arrangement and interesting vocals. Although slightly calmer than some of the other tracks, it’s still pretty upbeat and has a good vibe to it.

Blues From Down Here is one of the less experimental sounding rock tracks on the album. It is mainly driven by chant style vocals and the traditional sounding rock drums. Like a lot of the tracks on this album, more instruments are layered and built into the track as it goes on - nice touch with the brass. Tonight is the penultimate track on the album and starts with very chilled pipe samples and laid back vocals. It builds on with a deep bassline and slow tambourine crashes. I like this track, the chanting vocals and chilled layers really come together to create a brilliant aural experience.

TV on the Radio - Tonight
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 28th September.

The last track on the album is Was the Day Away. They finish the album off with some distorted electric guitar, steady drums and a medley of their pretty unique chant style vocals. It’s a pretty intense album and I’m sure a lot of rock fans will like it, but really doesn’t do much for me. I previously mentioned some bonus tracks for all the lucky American fans out there, well… after 15 tracks each containing 17 seconds of silence, we reach Snakes And Martyrs. This steps away from the intense distortion driven chant efforts and actually sounds more like a folk song. This is really quite good, nicely arranged and containing good melodies. The vocals are soothing in a strange way and the lyrics intriguing - David Bowie meets David Gilmour and pals. I like El-P and although this is an interesting remix of Hours, it’s really not that much of an improvement, more a different angle on the original (like most remixes, I guess). Last bonus track is Things You Can Do - quite a laid back effort that almost sounds a bit Blur like through the vocals and Skalpel/Jaga Jazzist like through the music.

In essence any album has the potential to either be immediately liked by someone or be deemed as a potential grower - more so with the latter it is easy to say but harder to judge, as we’re talking about the possibility of something happening in the future. Either way, I have listened to this album a few times and so far do not really see it is a masterpiece in any form. I thought that generally the music was fantastic, but I often found the vocals to be overpowering, irritating, and tiresome, but this seems to be the TVOTR sound. Not to suggest that TVOTR are a “love them or hate them” kind of band, but from speaking to various friends, contacts, and reading around, it would seem most people love this album, and some find it irritating. At the moment, and not exclusively, I find myself to be in the “found it irritating” gang. As you will have read, I genuinely enjoyed some of the tracks, but as an album it was perhaps not my “cup of tea”. Probably best to just make your own mind up.

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Categories : Info, New Release, Review

An Active Mind Is a Healthy Mind

12 09 2006

Sorry for the absence of blog entries over the last day or so, I’ve been trying to get a job.  Well, you can only try, right?  Anyway, it’s late, I need sleep… and a job.  So take these tracks, digest them, and wait patiently for a more insightful, and perhaps more meaningful, blog entry soon.

Khoiba - http://www.khoiba.org/

Download >> Khoiba - Terribly
Download >> Khoiba - That Reason

Alvik - http://www.alvik.cz/

Download >> Alvik - Wonder
Download >> Alvik - Odysea

Xploding Plastix - http://www.xplodingplastix.com/

Download >> Xploding Plastix - More Powah To Yah
Download >> Xploding Plastix - Funny Bones And Crazylegs

Fill a void, go read the lovely Linda’s Eardrums Shall Fail.

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  • They’re all a few inches above here… click them
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Categories : Info, Links

Unearthing MySpace Gems

11 09 2006

You want gems? You got gems. A quick reminder on how this weekly feature works; all pages featured have had less than 10,000 page-views. If you know of any artists on MySpace, with less than that many page-views, that you think I should feature, please let me know. You can either email me to the address at the left, or send me a message and/or friends request (if you are an artist or band) at my personal MySpace page or the >>just like music MySpace page.

kujan - http://www.myspace.com/kujan2k

Tim Lasseter is kujan, an electronica/hip-hop producer, and he’s damn good at it. Each of the tracks on his MySpace page is a bit different, but all ooze quality in an equal capacity. Definitely a bit of a Soulwax thing going on here, the production is tight and presents diverse sounds, creating good wholesome music. The track Pimp Reflections is on an electro-funk tip, whilst Enigma is a more guitar driven effort. Take the time to listen to each track, it’s worth it - kujan’s beats are impressive.

fbcfabric & reindeer - http://www.myspace.com/fbcfabricandreindeer

Imagine shoegaze with dark and dirty beats. Ok, stop imagining now and listen to fbcfabric & reindeer - like a cinematic depression that reels you in, chews you up, and swallows you down, deep down. Words can only go so far to describe this sound, by its very nature it needs to be heard first hand, but needless to say it is extremely satisfying. The track Soulsuck is immense, with it’s gritty beats and hypnotic melody, not to mention reindeer’s fantastic emceeing. These guys are an important part of modern music’s painful progression, it’s your duty to go forth and seek out.

SON LUX - http://www.myspace.com/sonlux

SON LUX is Ryan Lott and his experimental trip-hop hurts it is so good. He’s cheekily labelled his sound as nugaze chant-hop! It will make a lot more sense if you actually listen to his stuff. Ryan has mixed the sounds of down-tempo beats, classical samples, and eerie vocals, to create an astonishing blend of music. you you had me totally captivated, seemingly simple and yet so complex at the same time - I could get lost in this music for eternity, and I’d suggest you go get lost in it right now.

Faux Pas - http://www.myspace.com/iamfauxpas

Faux Pas is a man named Tim, Tim is from Melbourne, Tim makes crazy electronic music that is causing quite the stir in Australia right now. Tim is also friends with my buddy Gotye. The Faux Pas sound is an extreme mash up of samples, ranging right through the genres to create a brilliant electro jazz style experience. The track For The Trees is somewhat of an anthem to the Faux Pas sound, and I’m certain any fans of cut-up style electronica will literally be salivating at this. Also check out Water Into Wine for an example of the more downtempo Faux Pas stuff - you shan’t regret it… promise.

Telemetry Orchestra - http://www.myspace.com/telemetryorchestra

Charlotte, Gavin, and Steven are Telemetry Orchestra, an electro pop act from Sydney. All I’ll say is… how can you ignore a group that list bowler hats and kipper ties as their influences?! What I really love about these guys is the element of surprise - their tracks can be going in one direction and then *bam* break into something else - although it’s all very well presented and has a great energy about it. Check Under The Cherry Tree to see what I mean. Telemetry Orchestra produce quite a diverse array of sounds, so make sure you listen to all the tracks on their page.

A real bias towards music of the electronic variety this week, and as ever, five very good pages for you to peruse and abuse. Be sure to add these fine artists to your MySpace friends list and leave them all lots of nice comments. Also, I’ve recently added Area 27’s Black Sun to the Just Like Music MySpace player, so give that a listen.

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Comments : 4 Comments »

Categories : MySpace, New Discovery

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