skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Picking this month's best mixtape was really hard - tons o' good stuff!
Among the tapes just missing out were mixes by Plastic Little and our old friends MeMeMe, both on the hyper prolific No Love Lost Recordings. In a similar vein was the excellent new tape from Sinden, available exclusively from We Make it Good.
In a different vein, Riton has celebrated the release of his German-inspired LP, Eine Kleine Nacht Musik, by putting together this superb mix of diamonds from Deutschland: Zehr Gut!
But trumping them all (and thanks to the wonderful Get Weird Turn Pro for sharing) is this summertime mix by Sammy Bananas. Bonus points immediately for including Corona (see Memory of the Month), and extra kudos for the great graphics. Fave moments? The sublime blend of Happy House and Rhythm of the Night... sliding from Sammy's own Ladies into the irresistible groove of Treasure Fingers...Work Me!!!!...Get Set Go to Chromeo to Love Action - fantastic!!
Here's the full tracklisting:
Metro Area - Orange Alert Estelle - American Boy The Juan Mclean - Happy House Corona - Rhythm of the Night Sammy Bananas - Ooh Bop Foxy - Get Off Afro Rican - Give It All You Got Sammy Bananas - Ladies Treasure Fingers - Come True Dominic Fabrig - Ain’t No Fun Laidback Luke & Steve Angello - Be (Fourcolorzack’s Wineup mix) DJ Sega - Brighter Days Sammy Bananas - Work Me Nadastrom - Pussy Soul San Serac - Dub Tactics CC Peniston - Finally Sammy Bananas - Get Set Go Chromeo - Bonified Lovin (Yuksek Remix) The Human League - Love Action Janet Jackson - Rock With U Only Freak - Can’t Get Away (Solid Groove Mix)
I caught a powerful live set by Sheffield's Firesuite at Night & Day in Manchester a couple of weeks back. The group, which has been together five years, consists of Chris Anderson (guitar, vocals), Jemima Grace (vocals, piano), Chris Minor (bass, gratuitous nudity), and Richard Storer (drums, style). Anderson and Grace alternated vocal duties, occasionally harmonising to powerful effect. Anderson has a good voice in the Jeff Buckley/James 'Starsailor' Walsh mould, but it was when Grace took on lead vocal duties that Firesuite (incidentally, named after Stravinsky's Firebird Suite) really took off, reminding this listener of such luminaries as 10,000 Maniacs, Mazzy Star and Belly. In particular, check out 'If only time were distance' on the Myspace.
So sorry - mmmblog* is gonna be a few days late this month. I do have a life you know! Come back on Sunday for the whole enchilada. And take a look at the awesome new playlist (to the right) while you wait. And if you are in London this weekend, check out this event at the ICA. Punk Robots - how good is that?!! Nearly as good as this. They'll be teaching chimps to play Seven Nation Army next.
The missing link of the Manchester post-punk scene has been rediscovered, or rather it has discovered me! Gods Gift was the one band I was unable to track down for my history of New Hormones records. Now, the band's former guitarist Steve Murphy has discovered the website and dropped me a line. I had a fantastic chat with Steve over the phone last weekend, the results of which can be seen on the New Hormones site later this week. (:-)
...When the excellent Merz is touring his album in Borders rather than traditional venues, and even Moby is taking to playing acoustic shows in bars as a promotional gimmick, it should have been no surprise to see members of Dirty Projectors working the merch stall after their fine performance at the Cirque Royale the other week. DP were supporting the frankly superb Explosions in the Sky (no nonsense psychedelic rock - just what the doctor ordered). If only all gigs were this good.
...Just after last month's musings, it was announced that Duran Duran and Mark Ronson would be playing a special invite-only concert together in Paris in July, at which Ronson would be reinterpreting various Duran hits, with the whole caboodle being sponsored by Smirnoff Vodka and filmed for broadcast on the web, etc. It will probably be a mildly diverting occasion, but there's something about the buttoned down coolness of Ronson that irritates. A little too slick, a little too knowing and actually, when it comes to the crunch, a little too bland. Coffee table beats and dinner party pop. If he has to be trendy could he at least unsettle the listener a little too - like the feeling you get flicking through a copy of Wallpaper magazine in a dentist's waiting room?
...Black Kids, Black Noise, The Black Ghosts, White Denim, White Williams, White Lies...(Not forgetting the return of the Black Dog!). Are we to assume from this selection of hip new projects that we are living in a black or white world? Absolutes in place of (on top of) Absoluts? Absolutely! Now, where's that Monochrome Set LP?
Cheezface, from Wilkesboro, NC (population 3,159) shares a myspace friendship with Music Muziek Musique, the awesome Drums of Death and Rustie's label Dress2Sweat. If that isn't reason enough to like him, then producing experimental /grindcore /Spanish pop(!) tracks with titles such as "demonic anus piss" and "penile bisection with a blunt instrument" in a town best known for hosting America's biggest folk and bluegrass festival (MerleFest) surely must be.
Actually, what I really like about the work of Cheezus H. Christus (aka Bryan Stancil) is the way he combines the themes of bodily waste and mutilation that were staple elements of '80s US underground greats such as Big Black, Butthole Surfers and the Pixies, with the manipulation of electronic beats and noise of a Squarepusher or Knifehandchop. "Americas Doctor" is like "22 Going on 23" remixed by the Aphex Twin, "Heat of the Bowel Movement" twists a sample taken from some early 80s stadium rockers (Asia? Yes?) and grinds it into the dust. Then it goes back and gives it another kicking just to make sure, finely balancing noise and tunefulness, humour and disgust.
With Gilli Milligan from noise-rockers Torpid frantically recording dozens of great new electronic tracks in his Brussels bolthole perhaps it's time to start joining the dots. 1980s = recession, cold war, right-wing neo liberal governments, hardcore music; 2008 = more of the same, but with 20 years of club culture in between. Time to get on the dancefloor and SCREAM!
It's a couple of months old now, but still worth hearing. Christian Shank from Partyshank mixes tip-top electro with the niche sound of new side project A1 Bassline (debut single 'Girl Thing' is out this month on Meal Deal). Highlights of the mix, which is available to download here include...Opening track Journey - cinematic and jittery, as wired and wide open as the soundtrack to a phonecam remake of The Warriors on the DLR...15:01 - who can resist a Sexual Seduction?...27:53 - the martial drums of Samo Ti - all fall in!...41:41 - here comes the Big Dippa!...50:26 - It's a lot: car alarm synths, wonky bass, semi-breaks and a 4/4 hi-hat - bassline house in a nutshell. Sweet as. ...52:35 - Kiss Kiss, mwah mwah...57:23 - The Jesus and Mary Chain - and why not?
Playlist:
01 A1 Bassline vs Christian Shank - Journey
02 Christian Shank - Play Around (A1 Bassline Edit)
03 Zinc - 138 Trek
04 A1 Bassline - Fasters Better, Harders Better Dub
05 T2 - Why?
06 Wideboys - Sexual Seduction (Bassline Mix)
07 A1 Bassline - Girl Thing
08 Nasti Boi - Bangorz
09 The Count and Sinden - Beeper (Fake Blood Remix)
10 Fairy Faggots - Samo Ti (A1 Bassline Switch Remix)
11 Wideboys - What You're Thinking (ft Sarah Saville-Up North Dutty Mix)
12 Cadence Weapon - House Music (A1 Bassline Remix)
13 Dexplicit - Over You
14 Duke Dumont - When I Hear Music
15 Damaged Goods - Yo Righteous (A1 Bassline Big Mix)
16 DJ Q - Shottaz
17 A1 Bassline - Big Dippa Dub Flex
18 Chemical Brothers - Boot it Again (Mowgli Mix)
19 Detboi - Gunshot
20 A1 Bassline - It's a lot
21 Chris Brown ft. T Pain - Kiss Kiss (Dexplicit Remix)
22 A1 Bassline - Somebody
23 Jesus and Mary Chain - Just Like Honey.
(By the way, the cool artwork for Girl Thing is by Ferry Gouw of Semifinalists).
Another from the Vice Belgium stable. Here they are in their mutha tongue...
It’s a sick world indeed where Napalm Death live in harmony with Goblin, but Trencher have not only found that world they have been elected its presidents and are now busy rewriting the constitution to become leaders for life. Before that, the Casio-Grindcore pioneers had the little matter of a gig at infamous London trend-spot, The Macbeth…
JT: I thought you said ‘soundchecks are for weaklings’: Why have you just been soundchecking?
M. Shit: I’m feeling quite weak today: I’ve just got back from holiday.
JT: You’ve got some great song titles: which is your favourite?
M. Shit: ‘Chatter of Slimy Teeth’.
Pox: ‘Wounds Cordon Bleu’.
Lock-Monger: ‘Two semis don’t make a hard-on’.
JT: It’s been a while since the last Trencher album, have you been waiting till you can afford a better keyboard or something?
M. Shit: There’s nothing wrong with my keyboard! I’ve just been buying more pedals to make it sound more sick. No, it just seems to be a slow process this time round, but we’re coming up with the goods as we speak… Right now!
Lock-Monger: Not right now, not literally as we speak.
M. Shit: My mind’s only half here – I’m composing.
JT: You’re a body double.
Lock-Monger: Arse double. Yeah, we’re writing at the moment, just been busy touring.
Pox: We’ve got lots of debts as well. So we have to make money – cash…for the gash.
JT: One of your influences is 1970s Horror soundtracks. What frightens Trencher?
M. Shit: The thought of my keyboard breaking. It’s quite hard to replace.
Pox: Grannies and children, little kids, Nazis…
Lock-Monger: Fear itself.
JT: Do you have a message for the people of Belgium?
Lock-Monger: We love your beer and women.
JT: What about their chips?
M. Shit: I don’t think I’ve had the Belgian chip.
JT: They’re double-dipped.
Lock-Monger: Double-dipped!!
JT: Yeah, they fry them, take them out, and fry them again.
Lock-Monger: What, and then they eat them and throw them back in the fryer?
Fuck. Double-dipped: that’s harsh!
JT: I’ve gone through all my questions. I had a dumb question about Madonna, but I’m going to scrap that.
Lock-Monger: Go on, give us it.
JT: Ok, but it is a shit question – if you were going to cover one of her songs, which one would it be?
M. Shit: It’s obvious, but I think ‘Like a Prayer’.
Lock-Monger: Or ‘Like a Virgin’.
Lock-Monger: Like a Virgin Prayer. Mix ‘em up, push ‘em up together, put a Holiday in there.
M. Shit: Prayer for a Virgin.
Lock-Monger: Prayer for a Holiday Virgin.
M. Shit: Prayer for a Belgian Virgin.
Lock-Monger: Double-Dipped.
M. Shit: With two chips stuck up her arse… easy on the Mayo!
JT: Is there anything else you want to say?
Pox: Bring drugs to all the shows.
M. Shit: It’s hard to get them on the road sometimes.
Lock-Monger: Yeah. What else, our philosophy of life?
JT: Yeah, how do you sum up your band in one line?
Lock-Monger: Life of the party, death of life. C’mon Pox have you got any words? …No popcorn today?
Pox: See you in Valhalla you motherfucking crippled fucking jessies.
Lock-Monger: [laughing] We’re gonna end up getting boycotted!
M. Shit: Vikings will no longer listen to our music.
As originally seen in Vice Belgium, here it is in English:
Unlike Goths of yore, Ipso Facto don’t mind a bit of daylight. In fact, Rosalie and Victoria from the band actually volunteered to sit in a sunny beer garden and tell me about their plans for world domination (next step is the Gareth Jones-produced second single, ‘Little Puppet’). Kids today, eh?
JT: A lot of people comment on your image before they talk about your music, does that bother you?
Rosalie: Not really, as long as they listen to the music, coz obviously it grabs people’s attention. It’s a lot better than looking like a load of sweaty indie boys.
JT: Do you dream in black’n’white?
Rosalie: Oh no, I dream in Technicolor.
Victoria: I’m colour blind. So for me, it’s just a natural choice.
JT: Are you really colour blind?
Rosalie: I didn’t even know that. No you’re not!!
Victoria: You don’t know, I could be.
JT: Who’s the funniest member of the group?
Victoria: Sam. It’s got to be.
Rosalie: [to Victoria] You.
Victoria: I’m not funny. I’m funny as in, ‘ahh, she’s a funny one, that girl’. I’m accidentally funny. I don’t mean to be.
Rosalie: Sam’s the comedian.
Victoria: I’m just a bit odd.
JT: Before your band came along, the last time the phrase ipso facto appeared in popular culture was when Jerry Hall said it in a Bovril advert in the 1980s. Jerry chose Mick Jagger over Bryan Ferry, was she right to do that?
Rosalie: Of course she was: Mick Jagger’s really sexy.
Victoria: He is sexy.
JT: And Bryan Ferry? Not as sexy?
Rosalie: No.
JT: How would you sum up Ipso Facto in one line?
Rosalie: Are we gonna say it again? Gothic Spice Girls.
JT: Is this a cliché?
Rosalie: We’re trying to spread this so we’re mentioning it in every interview.
JT: And do people take this bait?
Rosalie: I don’t think anyone has yet.
Victoria: They don’t believe us.
Rosalie: They’ll believe us when we dominate the world! Have a movie out…
JT: You’ll need a black and white tracksuit.
Rosalie [to Victoria]: You can be Sporty.
Victoria: I’m Sporty, Scary and Ginger all in one.
JT: What question have you never been asked in an interview that you wish someone had asked?
Rosalie: Don’t know. Errr….
…[Long pause]…
Victoria: God, we’re so hypocritical.
Rosalie: Yeah, we’re always moaning about how they’re always asking the same old questions, I wish I could write the interview. But now I’m put on the spot, I can’t. I’m sorry.
JT: Ok, what’s the dumbest question you get asked then?
Rosalie: So, you’re very like The Horrors, how does that feel?
JT: Do you have fans that follow you to every gig?
Victoria: We’ve got one: he’s Spanish.
Rosalie: It’s pretty much just one.
JT: One stalker.
Rosalie: And he’s probably going to read this.
JT: [backtracking] He’s not a stalker: he’s just a big fan.
Victoria: He should get recognition, you know.
Picking this month's best mixtape was really hard - tons o' good stuff!
