DAY-GLOW-RADIO

The Hit List

2012-01-17T21:53:00.005Z

Here's some new(ish) music. Some of it's good, some it's shit. Yay.

Sleigh Bells ~ Comeback Kid

Well well well! This has had me excited for a while. The prospect of a new Sleigh Bells album is the sort of news that makes me use gratuitous amounts of exclamation marks. I shall try to restrain myself as I listen to this song for the third time in fifteen minutes. Hmm, I like it, I really do, but I think my expectations and excitement are far too high right now to form my thoughts into words. Needless to say, it has some awesome noises and riffs and it's starting to take hold. I can imagine myself jumping around my house and endangering my neck to it. That's what Sleigh Bells is made for. I am literally pissing myself with excitement for the album now. REIGN OF TERROR. VALENTINE'S DAY!

Niki & The Dove ~ DJ Ease My Mind

Coming ahead of their imminent debut album, Niki & The Dove release a new song that further establishes them unavoidably as a sort of common ground between The Knife and Florence & The Machine. That's not to say they lack originality, their track Mother Protect is one of the most beautiful electronic pop songs Ive heard in a long time, but it is an arguable comparison. Their music isn't quite as angular and stark as that of Karin and Olaf Dreijer, but it also lacks the hystrionic shrieking of Florence Welch, making them a lovely combination of the two. Basically, this is the sort of music Fever Ray would make if she was ever in a good mood. Very much looking forward to their album.

Michael Kiwanuka ~ Home Again

Winner of the coveted Sound of 2012 prize, this refreshingly talented London born Ugandan singer songwriter is tipped for big things this year. This is a delightful song from a no doubt delightful album. It doesn't thrill me exactly, but music isn't always about being cutting edge or inventive, sometimes it's just about writing really good songs and being able to perform them really well, in this age of smoke and mirrors, it's easy to forget that sometimes. Also, he plays sitar, which is awesome, and brings us nicely onto...

Anoushka Shankar ~ Dancing in Madness

Acclaimed sitarist and fusionist, Anoushka Shankar has released another sublime album, entitled 'The Traveller' in which she masterfully blends classical Indian music with raw Flamenco rhythms and Spanish guitar. It's an amazing and hypnotic album, as this track shows, and not to missed by anyone who considers them a fan of 'world' music.

DJ Fresh ft Rita Ora ~ Hot Right Now

Someone should probably tell DJ Fresh that it's not summer for bloody ages yet! He's only gone and released a massive summer anthem in January! His last two big hits Gold Dust and Louder were on festival overkill in 2010 and 2011 respectively and it looks like he's probably gonna be everywhere again this year. It's about as mainstream as drum and bass can get without becoming too exploitative, but it's undeniably infectious and movement-inducing all the same. Big!

The Ting Tings ~ Hang It Up

The Ting Tings, after the riotous success of their monotonal hit 'That's Not My Name' back in 2008, obviously didn't feel like changing the formula too much. But listening to this, I can't help but think that they should maybe have thought about exploring the possibilities of using more than three notes... This song's complete lack of melody genuinely becomes painful after about 30 seconds. Avoid.

Pitbull featuring Chris Brown ~ International Love

Sounding like they're rapping over an instrumental of a rejected Estonian Eurovision entry from 1995, Chris Brown and Armando Christian Perez (aka 'pit bull') unload a whole mess of tacky misogynistic lyrics about women all around the world wanting to have sex with them (as well as constantly reminding us of how much money they make in doing so) which is a bit weird given that Chris Brown has been arrested for beating a woman and that Pitbull has the sleazy presence of a man who traffics 13 year old girls out of Chechnya. Unpleasant.

Cher Lloyd ft. Astro ~ Want U Back

Cher Lloyd continues her meteoric rise to, er, something with this bouncy piece of urban bubblegum. She keeps shouting "UURRRRGH!" and then does an impression of a helicopter. It's annoying and has a child from the american x factor rapping in it (clever cross promotion there!) but unlike her jealous mentor Cheryl Cole's boring soulless music, this is actually a lot of fun as well, which would explain why she's doing so much better in the US than Cheryl did... It's still shit mind you, but it's a piece of shit that smiles at you and knows it's shit, rather than a piece of shit that pouts it's lips at you and tries to be sexy, not realising that it's a piece of shit. Ahem.

will.i.am ft. J.Lo & Mick Jagger ~ T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)

I can't quite believe what I'm seeing or hearing. This is dreadful. A car crash from start to finish. And it's called 'THE'...?!

Does will.i.am actually believe all that stuff he says about himself? The fact that he's been employed by Pentium Intel as creative director suggest lots of people do, which is worrying when he's dropping lyrical nuggets of wisdom such as; "I woke up in the morning/hard like morning wood/in the morning" (insightful) and "I get stacks of cash/you get cashews" (hurtful will, really hurtful).

Although, maybe he's not as stupid as he sounds, the lyric "imma go hard like a mother fuckin boner/imma make a beat to put the people in a coma" suggests a level of self deprecation as yet unheard in his work; to finally admit that listening to his music repeatedly will leave the listener in need of a life support machine!

Anyway, Jennifer Lopez comes on and says some stuff but it's a bit boring really and she may as well not have bothered, pretty uninteresting video you might think but then, it gets weird. Mick Jagger appears, seemingly beamed in by will.i.am's patented intel htc sponsored blackberry lazerbeams that he invented with his super mind, and totally upstages them all, but only in that the words coming out of his mouth are mildly less idiotic than those that have preceded him. Well, apart from the bit about trigonometry.

"You can go hard, or you can go home" they all repeatedly chant. I know which I'll be choosing.

Alaa Wardi is awesome!

2012-01-13T19:34:00.004Z

This is my new favourite musician! His videos are so well made; kinetic and exciting multi tracked awesomeness! Some people may say he is just an Arab version of Michael Tompkins, and don't get me wrong, Michael Tompkins is a very talented young man, but at least Alaa Wardi doesn't process and auto tune his voice to the point where he sounds like an army of evil Glee clones...

This is fresh, uplifting new music coming out of a generation of young Arab musicians, who have suddenly found themselves getting a lot more attention overseas after a year of uprising and global solidarity.

Check out his youtube channel and like his Facebook page for more cool videos, songs and remixes!

on the air!

2011-12-19T19:03:00.004Z

I have recently returned to the wonderful world of amateur community radio, if you missed my show you can download it here!

It's one hour of some blissed out sounds from around the planet and also features my often fabulously awkward voice and one fantastic cock up... Enjoy!

Big up to all the folks at http://www.peterborough.fm for letting me into their studio!

AFRIQUOI?

2011-12-14T12:20:00.001Z

AFRIQUOI!

Get to know!

Awesome new live dance act based in London, fusing african music and uk bass culture and founded by Andre Marmot and Nico Bentley of Wormfood London...

Featuring legendary exiled musicians Kudaushe Matimba (Zimbabwe: formerly of the Bhundu Boys) and Fiston Lusambo (Congo: Zong Zing All Stars), Afriquoi fuse live marimba, African guitar, djembe, African vocals, dancehall MCing and crisp, heavy beats, blending dancehall, soca, chimurenga, soukous , house, dubstep and electro in a powerful, uplifting, dance-friendly blend. http://soundcloud.com/afriquoi

Abida Parveen

2011-11-06T19:06:00.002Z

This beautiful sufi ghazal, split over two videos, features one of the most amazing openings I have ever heard, from one of Pakistan's biggest stars... Enjoy.

NEW MUSIC (Judged)

2011-11-02T16:58:00.003Z

Yes it's that time again, in absence of any real motivation to write or produce something good, I'm just gonna slate some shit music, amongst other things...

LABRINTH ft. TINIE TEMPAH - EARTHQUAKE

Well it's not all negative, this new one from Labrinth is pretty amazing and further proof that he is the one good thing to come of Simon Cowell's SyCo company. The production is suitably big and club filling with delicious curved basslines and thuddering beats. We could discuss for hours about the commercialisation of dubstep, and while I do agree with James Blake's recent comments that popular dubstep is becoming nothing more than a pissing competition, sometimes it's alright to enjoy pop music's flirtations with the underground.

However, a couple of things let this down somewhat. First off, Lanrinth shouts out Mr. Cowell and his empire at one point. Just not cool. And secondly, Tinie Tempah's rap is some of the most shockingly arbitrary nonsense to come from someone who is actually talented and can do much better lyrically. Boasting about one night stands... really?

CHER LLOYD - WITH UR LOVE ft. MIKE POSNER

Gaining dozens of extra brownie points for merely being less offensive than the truly awful Swagger Jagger this is actually an enjoyable pop jaunt from the divisive young pop sprog. But this is faint praise. And then, as above, and with most current chart outings, the whole thing is ruined by some dire middle eight guest appearance by some smug and chinny douchebag.

WILL YOUNG - COME ON

Will Young continues excelling at producing understated pop music with slick glossy videos. It's nothing hugely special but there's something about Will Young that deserves respect, not least the fact that he's one of the very few people who had survived the nightmare of reality talent shows and carved out a decent career.

JLS - TAKE A CHANCE ON ME

When they start their video miming piano chords in a lift you know there's something horribly wrong. JLS decide to go a bit soppier and ballady, after all, it's getting cold isn't it? They also perform on a rooftop to show how much they care. (Boyband cliches No.553 and No.551)

JUSTIN BIEBER - MISTLETOE

What makes you think of christmas? Is it the holy Christian saviour Jesus Christ? the giving and receiving of gifts from loved ones? Peace on earth and good will towards men? A few days off work and great telly?

Or is it the scarily androgynous visage of an ever more pubescent Justin Bieber, sappily harkening unto you through fake snow over a backing track that is basically an instrumental of acoustic backpacker anthem I'm Yours by Jason Mraz? If the latter is the answer then perhaps it's time to convert to Islam.

LOWKEY - HAND ON YOUR GUN

It's not all bad news though folks, some people are still making good music! Hurray!

Here we see the enigmatic rapper Lowkey unload a tirade of vitriol against some of the most corrupt and evil corporations in our society. The message is loud and clear, our hard earnt and easily spent money, as well as much of our taxes, are being spent on weapons and murder throughout the world. The video even features the devastating image of one of the many Iraqi children born with hideous deformaties as a result of depleted uranium bombing.

This sort of thing is usually very underground, restricted to activists circles and rarely heard in the charts. But at a time when being politically minded and aware of the injustice in the world is, globally, becoming very popular amongst youth, this song, and the album it was taken from, Soundtrack to the Struggle, was propelled into the top ten, outselling the likes of Rihanna and David Guetta on downloads only. The people have spoken! He's the Malcolm X of UK Hiphop.

Virus

2011-08-08T17:09:00.004+01:00

The third song to be revealed from Bjork's fascinating and ever expanding Biophilia project has appeared over the weekend and has been getting quite a lot of love. Whereas Crystalline divided a lot of fans at first, Virus seems to be receiving almost unanimous approval, and it's not hard to tell why. The song is gorgeous. A twisted love story, from the perspective of a parasitic virus that loves the cell of its host tissue so much even though it knows its love can only end in destruction. The song features the bespoke Gameleste, with arrangements based on natural self replicating algorithms to reflect the spread of a virus, slowly taking over the song and over powering Manu Delago's gentle hang drum playing and Bjork's voice. Biophilia is shaping up to possibly be one of her best albums. The song and accompanying app, with interactive game, essay, animated lyrics and score, is released tomorrow.

Bombino

2011-07-28T19:34:00.002+01:00

Bombino has just released his solo album Agadez, to global acclaim, taking him up alongside Tinariwen as one of the definitive Saharan artists in the world right now. It an amazing album and can't be recommended highly enough. Here is a cut from his old band's offering on Sublime frequencies... Enjoy.

گوگوش ، بمون تا بمونم

2011-07-28T19:14:00.000+01:00

The incredible Googoosh, get to know!

Gondry and Bjork party with the Clangers...

2011-07-27T21:18:00.003+01:00

Bjork and Michel Gondry have revealed their new video for the song Crystalline finally, and they've gone proper old skool on us. Harking back to Gondry's early short films the multi media animation combines stop motion and drawn images to create a neon world of lazers, crystals, lunar landscapes and Bjork rocking out in heels and massive orange wig to some awesome jungle courtesy of 16bit. It's adorable!

Reminds me of his short film Three Dead People...

It also reminds me of the Clangers as well... which is nice!

I'm so judgemental...

2011-07-15T15:55:00.009+01:00

In the absence of any real material to write about, I'm just gonna slag some stuff again intead... It's not all bad news of course. This is also my 100th post! Hurray!

TODDLA T ~ WATCH ME DANCE

The title track from Toddla's (formerly) forth coming album (now released a month early thanks to some bastard journalist leaking it earlier this week) this track has a bombastic swagger that brims with the kind of confident yet restrained quality that you would expect from anything that Roots Manuva lends his name to. Toddla's last album Skanky Skanky was a blinder and the new one is no different. However, I am of the opinion that this could've been a lot dirtier... I am still looking forward to his set at Secret Garden Party!

NERO ~ PROMISES

While nowhere near as good as their breakout hit 'Guilt', this new offering from the dubstep/D'n'B chart invaders is still a rousing piece of dance pop with an interestingly stylised and glossy video in which they use the ReacTable, a piece of musical hardware developed in Spain and pioneered in live music by Bjork and Damian Taylor in 2007. It's cool to see such an amazing instrument getting more exposure but it's only ever used decoratively here and as a result none of the youtube commentators seem to even notice it, instead preferring to talk about whether or not the singer should get her teeth straightened. Which brings us onto the dilemma of flirting with the mainstream. You could argue for hours about whether or not this is a crime against dubstep or not but at the end of the day, the more commercial club music that takes its inspirations from the underground the better, as it's miles less suicide-inducingly awful as the sort of shite we're usually subjected to and as a result, commercialisation of certain genres always pushes them deeper underground and forces artists on the fringes to push boundaries further. It's healthy people, relax!

RIZZLE KICKS ~ DOWN WITH THE TRUMPETS

No, I didn't know about them before they got big, so I can't comment on whether or not they've sold out but I do know that this is going to be one of those summer tunes that will be blasting out at festivals up and down the country (a bit like Yolanda Be Cool's hit We Speak No Americano last year) but that we may all be sick of by September. The bassy buzz of the house rhythm and the sampled brass section are undeniably infectious and uplifting. A wobbly pop surprise and a breath of fresh air...

THE SATURDAYS ~ NOTORIOUS

In the absence of Girls Aloud the Saturday's have often been considered the next best thing but rarely have they ever released anything deserving of the comparison. Here however they step up to the plate and deliver a floor filling belter of a pop tune with a sexy rolling bassline and beats that are sufficiently fidget inducing. It won't win any critical acclaim by any means but it has a fun vibe that is absent from so much of the faux-serious pop being made by the plethora of 'artistes' with messiah complexes we are constantly being bombarded with at the moment. Oh and they all look well fit.

JLS ~ SHE MAKES ME WANNA ft. DEV

If you're from Peterborough, like me, you'll know that JLS are heroes, mainly cos Aston Merrygold (seen here in contractually obligated shirtlessness) is a local lad. But much as I sound cynical, JLS are at least further proof that it's generally the people who DON'T win X Factor/Pop Idol etc that actually go on to have careers. (Joe McElderry anyone? Still no second single Matt Cardle?) So hats off to them.

That's not to say necessarily that this is good, cos it isn't really, fun and catchy as it may be. It's got those 90s euro trance synth chords that have been in roughly 1 in every 4 pop songs released in the last 12 months and features the currently fashionable practise of name dropping places, like LA, London, Ibiza, Miami, and ambitiously, the whole of Africa! (Still no love for anywhere in Asia in the pop charts though...)

It also features a middle eight 'rap' by what looks like a Ke$ha tribute act. Apparently she is called Dev, but judging from her disastrously delivered and totally dire lyrics I think div is probably a better name.

JOE JONAS ~ SEE NO MORE

The pretty one from the Jonas brothers steps out on his own! Shock! If you're like me you'll be gladly oblivious to the Jonas brothers and this information will mean nothing to you. Yes I've heard their music a few times while watching television, but thankfully, not a single note has ever wormed its way into my head, proving that they have failed to live up to the one basic tenet of pop scripture. Catchiness. Thusly even Rebecca Black shits all over these dullards and this solo offering is no different. It's so bland and inconsequential that I can't even remember how it goes and I've just listened to it. It sounds like Enrique Eglasias quietly farting in his sleep. See no more? I'd like to hear no more either thanks! Terrible.

ANTON LORIEN ~ WE ARE THE BRITS

Now, I've saved the worst for last. I genuinely feel brain damaged after seeing this.

A dire, hackneyed, mawkish and overwrought piece of sappy nationalist propaganda that 'proudly' celebrates the great British values of "freedom through strength of arms" among other dubious things, with images of war and the sound of churning helicopter blades accompanying images of the royals in all their finery. It also uses the plight of our young and brave yet misused service men and women fighting a pointless war as a way of making anyone who doesn't agree seem unpatriotic or a traitor. The uploader has even disabled all ratings and is deleting all negative or critical comments. Democracy indeed!

However, this is bringing a little too much politics into things and though i could go on, I won't, because regardless of the political slant, this is an absolutely terrible piece of 'music'. It almost seems like a parody it's so knuckle bitingly cheesy. The singer has a forced Butlin's charisma in the saccharine video that is uncomfortable to watch and it's so tacky and typical of the kind of dumbed down, watery, granny-pleasing shit-juice that occasionally spills into our mass media around a noble cause that I almost expected Mr Blobby to make a cameo appearance for the final chorus surrounded by singing children. Or perhaps Robson and Jerome.

Lyrically it sounds like someone has just sang some random phrases from Wikipedia and it amazingly manages to fit in the national anthem during the middle eight, sung in tear-inducing falsetto.

However, that said, the chorus, which reads " We're the Brits, you better get used to it ... We're the Brits and we're in your face.." is quite an amazing and incisive analogy of Britain's attitude to foreign policy throughout history. And while I'm not saying that British influence has been 100% negative, we've dominated most of the world, made our language the global default communication, enslaved more people and changed more societies than I could begin to list, so shouting about it in this smug boastful way seems a bit uncalled for, we get the message!

~*~*~*~*~

That's enough, my ears are bleeding...

Single reviews...

2011-07-01T17:45:00.010+01:00

The good, the bad, and the downright terrible. It's time to have a look of some of the new music floating around the airwaves and pass judgement... oh yes.

LAZY HABITS ~ STARTING FIRES

This London based 8 piece band are a force to be reckoned with on stage, quickly gaining recognition as one of the best underground (real) hip-hop outfits on the UK scene, having raised the roof off every tent at every festival they play. This is the first look at long awaited new material from their forthcoming debut full length album and promises that none of their energy has been lost. The vocal delivery is razorsharp and the instrumentation is slick as usual, with a darkly graceful slow motion video that serves to remind me why I don't really go out in the town that much anymore! The single is out to buy on July 30th and check out more of their stuff here.
Brilliant.

BJORK ~ CRYSTALLINE

Still no official video for this yet although it shouldn't be long before Michel Gondry's clip for the song is revealed. I've already mentioned this one on here before but had to give it another big up, it's just so good. It's got all the things you might expect for a Bjork song, yet at the same time, sounds like nothing else you've ever heard. Quite how Bjork manages to pull this stunt off each time she releases a new album is beyond me, and testament to her uniqueness, that she can have such an instantly distinctive sound despite never really doing the same thing twice. Here she emulates the hidden growth of crystals deep in the earth with some oblique and fractured musical extremes. From the sparkling chimes of the 'Gameleste' arrangements and hollow earthy throb of the basslines to her ecstatic vocals and even a glitched out explosive breakcore finale, it shouldn't work, but it does. Shiny!

BEASTIE BOYS ~ MAKE SOME NOISE

Featuring more celebrity cameos in five minutes than are seen in an entire year of Saturday Night Live, the beastie's new video is so cool it hurts. Thier new album, Hot Sauce Committee Part Two is a fabulous return to form and this track is an epic booming piece of old skool hip-hop rawk, with a squelching vintage synth bassline and those sort of vast echoey beats that sound like they were recorded under Brooklyn bridge. A bit of a corker really, and the sight of Elijah Wood aggressively rapping is genius.

SBTRKT FT. LITTLE DRAGON

After gaining fame as a prolific remixer for the likes of M.I.A. and Basement Jaxx, SBTRKT has finally gathered an army of respected guest vocalists to produce his first proper album and has managed to ride the wave of hype safely all the way to the beach. The album is a bit good really and this song displays why quite perfectly. Angular synth arrangements and skittering beats slide effortlessly around the beautiful vocal to create something which is edgy enough to retain underground grimey edge yet will probably make him a fair few bob without selling out to boot! Tying elements of UK sub culture to soulful pop vocals is definitely a la mode this year, and this can join the ranks along side Jamie Woon, James Blake, Katy B and others of a brilliant exercise in restrained and subtle crossover music, which has as much for a party playlist as it does for just chilling out.

JESON DERULO ~ DON'T WANNA GO HOME

Sadly it can't all be fun and games, there's always someone who has to spoil it for everyone else. Now I can't say I follow Jason Derulo closely, but it's hard to escape his music and it seems to me he has carved a career out of carving up other people's songs with all the subtlety of an epileptic butcher in a strobe exhibition. As if breaking into Imogen Heap's home in the night, kidnapping her signature song 'Hide and Seek' and then violently raping it in the soul wasn't bad enough, he's at it again here. Instead this time he's chosen the timeless classic calypso song "Banana Boat' by the now 84 year old legendary singer Harry Belafonte, and brutally grafted its still flailing mutilated corpse to the horrified and spasming body of Robin S's 90s house anthem "Show me Love", human centipede style. Now, perhaps a more gifted team of musicians and lyricists would be able to do something wonderful with such a combination, but seeing as Jason here evidently has nothing to say, he just starts things off by saying his own name a few times, before going into an autotuned nightmare of inconsequential banality about wanting to dance and get drunk. It's going to be absolutely massive isn't it? Dreadful.

MANN FT. SNOOP DOGG ~ THE MACK

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, along comes another bastardised cover version that genuinely begs belief. Quite how anyone anywhere stops and thinks that this is a good idea, let alone proceeds to then get lots and lots of money to make a painfully cliched video with which to promote it , is quite unbelievable. Here someone called Mann and someone called Iyaz say some stuff over the classic single 'Return of the Mack' by Mark Morrison, which itself was sampled from 'Genius of Love' by Tom Tom Club (watch the original here) and then Snoop comes on and says some stuff too. Then it's over and we can all go back to our lives and pretend it never happened.
Snoop Dogg joins the likes of Bjork, Damon Albarn and Marina Abramavicz this month at The Manchester International Festival where he will be performing his classic debut album Doggystyle in its entirety, now that's a show that would be worth seeing!

CHER LLOYD ~ SWAGGER JAGGER

The waif-like emotional brat from last year's X Factor has launched her solo career at long last. Oh goody. She brazenly 'raps' the verses and then 'sings' the chorus (which sounds a lot like Phoebe Bouffet's untouchable classic 'Smelly Cat' crossed with 'Oh My Darling Clementine) while dancing and throwing all her pint sized attitude in your face leaving you feeling like you've just been assaulted by a child in the street. She looks worryingly like Cheryl Cole's as yet under-developed clone and quite frankly one is enough. Then again, the track itself is is not quite as offensive as I expected it to be and has enough ballsy bleeps and squelches and 'banging' beats to make it highly enjoyable to dance to when you're smashed on Kopparbergs at the local meat market. However, the whole thing is just ultimately baffling.
(P.S. The screenshot on the video is amazing non?)

CHRIS BROWN AND JUSTIN BIEBER ~ NEXT TO YOU

Despite the brief lived redemption of the brilliant Benny Benassi produced club hit 'Beautiful People', Chris Brown is back to unloading the kind of over-wrought, faux-sincere, wishy washy wank that is enough to turn even the most pious individuals into mass murdering psychopaths, and this time he's enlisted the help of one of the few human beings on the planet capable of matching up to this level of emotionally bereft mediocrity. With more clenched fists and furrowed brows than a night of bare knuckle fighting, the pre-teen swoon factor is through the roof here, as Brown and Bieber perform some of the most ludicrously over the top and frankly ridiculous dance moves ever seen, while the city around them collapses and their pretty love interests wander around in a confused daze looking weak and crying. Big old shite.

BEYONCE ~ THE BEST THING I NEVER HAD

It sounds like the Baywatch theme tune. Take this as either positive or negative. Nuff said.

ZED BIAS FT. OMAR ~ DANCING

Now we can't leave on a sad note, so here's a happy ending!
Been hyping this for weeks and it's FINALLY been released on iTunes. A right summer anthem. African styled percussive tones cascade down a UK funky rhythm and the result is undeniably infectious. I challenge you not to shake your bums. Awesome.

~*~*~*~*~

I think that's enough for now...

Björk ~ Crystalline ~ Biophilia debuts at M.I.F.

2011-06-28T15:05:00.007+01:00

Crystalline cover artwork by M/M Paris

After weeks of mystery and build-up in the form of obscure teaser videos of bizarre bespoke instruments and Omar Souleyman's Syrian remixing, the first single from Bjork's new project Biophilia has been released on the iTunes store.

The track features some typically Bjorkish lyrics in which vivid scientific metaphors liken blossoming human emotional awakening to the growth of crystals deep in the darkness of the Earth, undiscovered and unfulfilled until they strive for the lights. She sings these in a series of soaring and plummeting flourishes over some deep subterranean basslines and fracturing crystalline beat patterns, before dovetailing into an exhilarating and totally unexpected glitched out drum and bass finale. I was breathless the first time I heard it. Yet another total curve ball from one of pop's few genuine innovators.

There is limited information about the track's production as of yet, but we know it was mixed by renowned Romanian pop engineer Serban Ghenea. A music video has been made by the one and only Michel Gondry and will be released shortly.

Edited to add: 16Bit have confirmed via their Facebook that they produced the track

Even more exciting is the debut of the Biophilia live installation, a seven date residency at the Manchester International Festival held at the Museum of Science and Industry. The show had it's special preview last night and reactions were ecstatic, with Twitter trenders running out of superlatives...

I am one of the lucky few people to have tickets for one of the shows, July 10th, which is apparently the only non-festival Bjork gigs in Europe this year. According to the previews there were dozens of custom made instruments, a choir of beautiful Icelandic girls in space age outfits, and stunning interactive visuals which even featured thundering Tesla coils!

Here are some photos from the rehearsals.

Lady Gaga ~ Born This Way

2011-05-25T15:50:00.009+01:00

Hurtling towards us for weeks now, like some era-defining neon comet covered in dildos and crucifixes, comes Lady Gaga's second/third album, and unless you are somehow blessed with being able to avoid such things, you'll probably have heard about it. From a PR perspective, it's quite simply genius, and as a military-like carpet-bombing operation in exclamatory super-hype, it's entirely successful. But what about the music?

Now before I get into detail I am fully aware that this is a pointless folly; Like trying to make water run up hill, critiquing lady gaga from an objective standpoint based on musical and lyrical analysis, is an entirely vain task. Millions of people across the world have near death experiences every time she changes her tampon, and now amount of backlash or bad reviews will change this.

Also, I will point out that, while I am not quite a fan of hers, I do enjoy her music. Her glastonbury performance in 2009 was pretty amazing, as are many of her shows, and she does often make some bloody good pop music (although maybe in danger of being too catchy, I've had the chorus from Judas stuck in my head for about three weeks now and have considered therapy...)

However, unless you are a hardcore follower (I think the correct term is 'muggle' or something) this album is often going to disappoint (or more likely, annoy).

The first thing you will notice on your virgin listening experience are the beats. Gaga herself promised "sledgehammer" beats throughout and that, with one or two exceptions (the dark and wonkily brilliant 'Bloody Mary' being one), is exactly what she has delivered; An entire album of almost exactly the same rhythms, thudding aggressively across the surface of the world, smothering everything in their path in an unstoppable assault against subtlety of any kind. By the time you've reached the end you will feel as if you have literally been sledge hammered... in your temples... It hurts.

Then there is the vocal processing, Gaga's pitch is altered so much it sounds like several different singers have been drafted in to finish the songs off. Whatever happened to the raw sound of the human voice? The lyrics also grate regularly, a combination of ill-fitted phrasing that doesn't match the melodies, and a sort of rushed earnestness (resulting in racial slurs on the title track) that goes to show writing songs in 15 minutes (as she has boasted) probably isn't the best way to go about crafting 'the album of the decade' (again I am using her own words)

I could go on listing things that annoyed me about it but I won't, because there are a lot of good things to be enjoyed here too. Behind all the garish attention seeking and gratuitous shrieking, there is a great pop album lurking to be hummed along to. It's just a shame that it's all trying so hard to be something greater.

Does Lady Gaga genuinely believe her own hype? Or is it all yet more genius marketing from the Haus of Gaga? Whatever it is, it's working, because this album is being lapped up by the billions worldwide as some kind of religious text, despite being no better or worse than Britney's album that came out a month ago. OK, maybe that's a little harsh, Born This Way does address some genuinely valid and important concerns (such as gay rights and violence towards Mexican immigrants in Texas), albeit it in the cheesiest and often most patronising way imaginable. But perhaps, in this age of superficial mediocrity, celebrity worship, and total numbing idiocy in the music industry, the only way to get a decent message across to a lot of people is to do it with a deafening 4-4 euro-disco beat and some tacky outfits?

There are moments of glory here as well as misfires, for example, Gaga sounds like the Edith Piaf of the balearics on the theatrical and storming Americano and the kraut-techno-lite of SheiBe is hard not to enjoy.

After all of my criticisms the album has improved on repeated listens, a lot of the tracks need time to show themselves for what they are, which is buried under ten tonnes of over produced glare, making it hard to actually hear what's going on (this is something you can see from the many superior cover versions of her songs so many bands have done on youtube, like the brilliant Pomplamouse rendition of Telephone for example, which stripped away the squelching blaring synths to reveal the melodies underneath).

All in all then, it could just do with some fine tuning, the result of someone being so famous and powerful that no one in their creative team dare suggest that something might not work, which would probably explain why the cover is so unbelievably shite.

This leaves me in a conundrum, because I can't decide if Lady Gaga is a genius or not... The album certainly isn't, that's for sure. But she very could be. It will be interesting to hear what more she has to bring us, if as she gets older she mellows out just little bit and stops filling her music with MSG.

EDITED TO ADD: It's been out for a while now, has my opinion changed. Yes, but it's changed twice. Initially it grew on me loads until i conceded defeat and decided I loved it, having insatiable urges to listen to certain tracks very often. Then however, it fizzled out and I haven't listened to any of it for a whole month now really. Hmmm?

Zed Bias & Omar are Dancing!

2011-04-26T13:56:00.003+01:00

From producer Zed Bias, aka Maddslinky, this track has been floating around the interwebs since last august as a radio rip but finally sees an official release on Tru Thoughts records. It's UK soul singer Omar's first release in 12 years I believe and it looks set to be a seriously prominent dance floor feature this summer after a huge amount of blog buzz and popularity in the clubs.

Finding Googoosh (and keeping her too)

2011-04-24T16:22:00.003+01:00

Exciting news if you are a fan of vintage Persian pop sounds and funky middle eastern psychedelia; The incredible Finders Keepers Records are releasing a new album soon of some classic and rare cuts by famous exiled Iranian star of pre-revolution 60s and 70s music, Googoosh. After their frankly mind blowing Pomegranates compilation last year, (which i cannot recommend highly enough!), this is very exciting indeed...

Check out the tracklisting and information here

Jamie Woon ~ TMRW

2011-04-20T17:10:00.003+01:00

I have been looking forward to the debut album from the extremely talented Jamie Woon for quite some time now, having been a follower of his music since 2007. It was released this week to extremely favourable reviews and wave of truly deserved hype, and following is possibly my favourite track so far. I couldn't find this one online anywhere so uploaded it myself. Enjoy!

I highly recommend that you purchase the album, entitled 'Mirrorwriting' at your earliest convenience if you want your life to be filled with sweet and swooping vocals, dark ethereal waves of misty synths and scattering glitchy beats par excellence!

Oh and yes, you are not hallucinating, this is an actual blog post, finally! Hopefully there will be many more of these...

ceo ~ illuminata

2010-12-26T12:41:00.001Z

Brand new video for the second single from ceo's acclaimed album White Magic. It's my favourite album of the year by far!

omg

2010-11-04T17:56:00.000Z

i'm so sorry dear blog, i have been neglecting you of late...

i promise to improve!

Infinity Guitars!!

2010-09-20T17:51:00.002+01:00

Fresh off the internet, it appears that the almighty New York duo Sleigh Bells have FINALLY made a video. About time too! This shit ain't even on youtube yet!

Watch it here now

I knew it would have cheerleaders and fire in it, hey presto!

Glasser - Ring

2010-09-17T14:34:00.002+01:00

I was lucky enough to catch this band opening for Jonsi in London in May and have slowly been catching little bits of their sound since. Now their debut LP is imminent, releasing on Monday. It's getting quite a bit of hype attention and deservedly so.
Glasser create beautifully crisp and vivid sounds that are at once low-fi fuzzy and celestically ethereal, primal and futuristic, glowing and cold. A really great debut with a huge amount of depth and texture.
You can stream the whole thing here, so check it out!

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New Music Review; Mixy & Big G ~ MMX

2010-08-20T14:21:00.002+01:00

24-year-old hip hop word smith Michael ’Mixy’ Riccardi has risen to prominence in recent years as quite possibly the saviour of Peterborough’s otherwise marginalised and secretive scene, uniting the younger beat hungry clubbers with the older literary aficionados of the poetry circles by becoming the youngest person and first ever MC to be awarded the coveted Peterborough Poet Laureate title, as well as releasing one of the best local mixtapes to be heard (last year’s MMIX Mixture Mixtape).
His succes has made him just as likely to be seen at a poetry workshop as rocking the mic in a sweaty dancehall and has even taken him as far as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with fellow scribes Keely Mills and Mark Grist (both ex Laureates and the latter forming the other half of Mixy's well lauded duo Dead Poets.)
His second full length mixtape, entitled MMX (which for anyone unfamiliar with Roman numerals means 2010) was released earlier this summer and continues what he and producer Gareth ‘Big G’ Smith started in 2009.
Calling it a mixtape is almost belittling to it’s unique quality, even though of course the word mixtape can in hip-hop terms mean a lot more than just a glorified compilation with guest rappers, it is still more like a complete album in its own right, lacking the peiced together shuffling plot line of some mixes you might hear.
In true hip-hop style the wealth of samples used, and the ingenuity with which they are implemented, is diverse and clever, deftly moving between obscure 70s Colombian salsa, Cretan folk music, luscious classical orchestration and famous popular songs such as Beverly Craven’s ‘Promise Me’. Still, the samples would be nothing without the production skills of producer Big G, who handles everything from classic hip-hop rhythms to dubstep and drum and bass with bombastic flare. Even the presence of my pet hate, sped up chipmunk vocals, on penultimate track My Love can’t detract from the great beat work that makes up the track itself; a genre sprawling floor filler with heartfelt vocal performance from Mixy.
Speaking of whom, Mixy is of course the star of this show and I haven’t even mentioned his output yet. So, has the Laureate title gone to his head? Does he still have the wry and clever charm that gave him the edge in the first place? The answer is a resounding yes, and indeed he is even better than when he first emerged, having gained confidence and scope, covering everything from his personal reflections on relationships to the well publicised struggle for interracial community cohesion in his native city.
His ability as a poet shines through in the tracks, all of which tell stories, some of them funny, some of them shocking but all with the same skill and ability that first elevated him above the jump-up-jump-up banality of so many other MCs. His sensibility is intelligent and tends away from too much of the exclusive lingo that may alienate some people from the genre.
Sometimes he may even be guilty of going into too much lyrical detail, spinning out on tangents of minute observations and aspects of the situations he is rapping about, but further listening enables everything to fall in to place, his verbosity simply too much to digest in one listen (which isn't a bad thing, as immediacy is not always a virtue).
Not just a great achievement on Peterborough’s scene, but good enough to impress hip-hop listeners up and down the country.
In summary then, Mixy and Big G are, to use their own words, merkin it!
To get it for a meagre £3 check out his website here...

And as a sneak preview grab one of the tracks, Peterbronx, here for free!

Big Boi - Shutterbug

2010-06-24T08:19:00.000+01:00

So finally Shutterbug gets a release, hinting that maybe the legal battle with his record company has come to an end, meaning we should get the album soon? Until then enjoy the video.

Mount Wittenberg Orca UPDATE

2010-06-24T08:01:00.000+01:00

So yesterday we were treated with a brief and mysterious teaser trailer for the impending new Dirty Projectors EP featuring Bjork. Today we not only get two more teasers but also tantalising new info and a tracklist.

01 Ocean
02 On and Ever Onward
02 When the World Comes to an End
04 Beautiful Mother
05 Sharing Orb
06 No Embrace
07 All We Are

The E.P. will be released on June 30th and can pre-ordered now for a minimum donation of $7, all the proceeds from which will be donated to The National Geographic Society.

This is the best news I have had all week!

Here follows a letter from David Longstreth of DP from Stereogum.com

In April 2009, Brandon Stosuy from Stereogum.com asked me if we wanted to play a benefit concert at a bookstore in New York. I said yes. He asked Björk the same thing, and she said yes. Then he asked us if we wanted to collaborate, and we said yes. Björk asked me what we should do, and I said, “I don’t know, I guess I’d really love to write a bunch of new songs for us to sing together?” And she said Yes.

That same month, Amber from Dirty Projectors was walking along a ridge on Mount Wittenberg, north of San Francisco. She was looking out at the ocean and saw a little family of whales, as you sometimes do in April on the Northern California coast. I wrote some songs about it and sent them to Björk, who agreed to sing the part of the mom whale. The songs became Mount Wittenberg Orca. Amber and Angel and Haley sang the part of the kid whales, and I sang the part of Amber. We sang all week long and learned the music just in time to perform it at the bookstore on May 8th.

Then our album Bitte Orca came out and we went on tour forever. We finally got a chance to record Wittenberg last month, almost exactly a year after we first sang it. We went into the Rare Book Room in Brooklyn and rehearsed it for three days, then we recorded it as quickly and as live as possible. We only overdubbed lead vocals and a guitar solo.

Now we’re making a website for it, which will be the only place you can buy it. It’s going be up June 30th (we are playing in Utrecht that day!) The music is going to be $7, because there are seven songs. You can preorder now if you click here.

We’ve decided to give away all the money that Wittenberg generates to the project of creating international marine protected areas. Only 1% of the oceans are protected in any way and this is a huge problem. We’re working with the National Geographic Society to create areas of sustainability, so the oceans don’t end up like a giant poisonous corpse hugging the continents. You can learn more about this project here and here and here and here.

We’re so psyched about how this recording came out and hope you are too. Don’t listen on those tinny computer speakers — put in on the stereo and blast dat shiiiiiiiiii!!

Enjoy.

–David

Check out the new teasers...

Bjork & Dirty Projectors! Teaser Trailer!

2010-06-23T12:23:00.000+01:00

After their much talked about and exclusive live collaboration in a bookstore in Brooklyn last year, it now seems that the rumored and mysterious studio recordings will now see the light of day, as early as June 30th if the following youtube teaser trailer is to believed ... Very exciting times indeed!

Mana Wasa - Nic Sarno

2010-06-22T10:32:00.000+01:00

Enchufada have just release the second volume of their Hard Ass Shaking series of Kuduro inspired EPs. Vol. 2 features tracks by Douster, BokBok, Zombies for Money and Nic Sarno, who has also made an awesome video for his contribution.

Fans of African house music or tropical club in general will love this, myself included!

My Radio Tracklist!

2010-06-15T14:07:00.000+01:00

Day-Glow-Radio Peterborough FM Sunday June 13th 2010

Keep 'em peeled for a full download of the show! And don't forget I am on air again at 8pm this sunday June 20th! 87.7 Peterborough FM or www.pborofm.com!

Oh Yeh Soweto ~ Teaspoon & The Waves
Giving Up The Gun ~ Vampire Weekend
Gypsy ~ Oi Va Voi (Featuring Earl Zinger)
Outerspace ~ David Harks
'81 ~ Joanna Newsom
Aicha ~ Khaled
Golden Phone ~ Micachu
Go Do ~ Jonsi
Apply ~ Glasser
Warm Heart of Africa ~ The Very Best (Featuring Ezra Konig)
Elengwen ~ Emmanuel Jal
The Woods ~ Cartridge
Lauch Yourself (Tomas Erikson Mix) ~ Adem
Somlandela ~ Mariyube
Sihambile ~ Mahlathini
Bouger Bouger ~ Magic System
Eres Para Mi (Sonidera Nacional Remix) ~ Julieta Venegas Featuring Anita Tijoux
Rap De Felicidade ~ Cidinho & Doca
Dazeitlak Dezzelli ~ Omar Souleyman
Klara ~ Olof Arnalds
Paris ~ Patrick Wolf
Triangle Walks ~ Fever Ray
Cassandra ~ Joe Driscoll
It's Not Up To You ~ Bjork

HOME

2010-06-10T13:26:00.000+01:00

Just sat in silence for 90 minutes watching this amazing film and strongly urge you to do the same. Thought I'd just watch the beginning to see what it was like then go about my day and watch the rest later as have loads I need to do but was totally unable to look away from the screen and hey presto, an hour and half had gone by!
Mind-blowing, jaw-dropping, brow-furrowing stuff!

WATCH IT FREE ON YOUTUBE, CLICK HERE NOW!

We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth's climate.

The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being.

For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film.

HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand

HOME official website
http://www.home-2009.com

PPR is proud to support HOME
http://www.ppr.com

HOME is a carbon offset movie
http://www.actioncarbone.org

More information about the Planet
http://www.goodplanet.info

David Harks ~ Outerspace

2010-06-07T17:11:00.000+01:00

New music alert!
Hot off the press (not that videos are made in a press but yeah...) comes the debut video from David Harks, an up and coming singer songwriter with a soulful voice and an intergalactic groove!

Download the single over at iTunes or sit tight and wait for the album...

Directed & Produced by Emma Swinton { velvetswag.wordpress.com } See http://www.velvetswag.wordpress.com/ for full credits
http://www.myspace.com/davidharks
http://www.DRMRLLPLS.com/

Day-Glow-Radio finally on the actual Radio!

2010-06-03T13:48:00.001+01:00

Thanks to the amazing people at 87.7 Peterborough FM, a new Grassroots community project here in Ptown, I will be taking to the airwaves on Sunday the 13th and 20th of June at 9pm and 10pm respectively. This is very exciting. I am currently in a training programme here at the station which is on a trial run at the moment with official launching on the 13th. A lot of my friends are also involved with their shows covering everything from Poerty, hip-hop, Techno and Drum and Bass so tune in or log on to www.pborofm.com to hear what's happening!
My show will obviously be of similar fare to the content of this blog; i.e. eclectic music from around the world, from vintage bollywood swing to thundering baile funk, contemporary alternative pop to retro afrobeat. I am thrilled!

The project is a really amazing thing for peterborough and has already brought an amazingly broad range of people and communities together from school children to pensioners.
This is just what the city needs... Please support us!

If you are on Facebook please join the group where you can find out all about what is coming up

I have read the right books...

2010-05-21T17:19:00.000+01:00

...to interpret your looks!

Joanna Newsom - Peach, Plum, Pear from Kurtis Hough on Vimeo.

Favela Finally On Blast!

2010-05-21T15:35:00.000+01:00

That new trailer I posted a few weeks back did indeed turn out to mean that release of Favela On Blast was imminent! Very good news!

Here's the press release from Mad Decent's blog...

DVD AND DIGITAL RELEASE COMING ON MAD DECENT JULY 20th

On July 20th the film will be available digitally and on DVD through Mad Decent. Fans will get an early chance to preview the film when it airs on Pitchfork TV's 'One Week Only' starting July 9th.

Favela on Blast, the directorial film debut from Grammy-nominated DJ and producer, Diplo, and his partner Leandro HBL, documents a vibrant and innovative musical subculture that has emerged in Brazil's impoverished slums, known as favelas. Well beneath the radar of mainstream society for the last 20 years, they have their own language, style and heroes. Their music and culture have gone mostly unnoticed outside of South America until now. Favela on Blast captures the rarely seen stories of MC's, DJ's, dancers, and cultural producers through the eyes of Diplo and Brazilian filmmaker Leandro HBL, with memorable appearances from funk superstars Deize, Tigrona, Mr. Catra, and Duda Do Borell.

Favela on Blast documents the culture surrounding "Funk Carioca," a musical rhythm that mixes the American electronic funk of the 1980's with the most diverse influences of Brazilian music. It is one of the most interesting musical movements in the world and it comes from one of the most violent and poorest places too: the slums of Rio de Janeiro. Bombastic rhythms coming from the Miami Bass and loops and samples are united to powerful rap vocals using Brazilian slang. This music is designed to be listened to as loud as possible and with high bass pumping through the tropical nights of Rio. The heroes are the creators- the musicians. Their pace is set between colossal street parties; propped with rudimentary sound-systems, warring drug factions, and an eerily tense city where the Police and societies elite have the upper hand until it comes to their musical culture, always Brazil's heart and nation's identity.

An Official Selection of SXSW Film Festival 2009, Favela on Blast was not an easy feat to be conquered. Little funding, unfamiliar territories, and broken translations proved to be harsh obstacles for Diplo and Leandro. However, to show the world the music that has helped acts such as Diplo, Bonde de Role, and a heap of Mad Decent artists rise to international prominence was worth the trouble.

Here's the trailer one more time...

Favela On Blast - Official Trailer from Mad Decent on Vimeo.

Rusko - O.M.G.!

2010-05-21T13:00:00.000+01:00

The long awaited full length album by one of Dubstep's original pioneers and golden boys has arrived. Having been signed to Dilpo's super dirty label Mad Decent this is a slight change in direction. If you were expecting 12 tracks of Cockney Thug variations then you will be sorely disappointed. Dubstep purists too will probably bemoan the more 'cross-over' tracks on the album but then again if they had their way no one would know about dubstep except them so who gives...?
Any album that features Dirty Projectors vocalist Amber Coffman singing on a garage track has got to be worth a listen! And it is.
This a big album, with an epic foundation wobbling tone of voice, similar to the Crookers' debut earlier this year, in that it is going to be melting the speakers at a million parties for the duration of summer.
When Rusko makes dubstep he is of course a master having been very much responsible for making the genre known to a wider audience with his earlier releases, but here he stretches his producers muscles a lot more, covering old skool rave, garage and bassy ghetto party music that doesn't really seem to be have a specific label. With so many collaborations there's a lot of genre blurring making this a very interesting beast at times. It's always compelling listening; with moments of filthy bass heavy fun (Rubadub Shakedown) sitting alongside some breathtaking moments of deftly ambient beauty (District Line) and some just plain freaky (My Mouth and Oy featuring Crookers).
All in all a very satisfying experience, maybe not the album people were expecting, but OMG what did you expect?!

Download Oy feat. Crookers here

Around the World in 80 Minutes Volume 2!

2010-05-20T00:08:00.001+01:00

~*~*~*~

So here it is at last, finally! I have been sitting on this for ages and have not given my self the oomph to get round to uploading it until now but after several months it is yours to keep.
As with volume one this is a rollercoaster ride around the globe and through time with no care for genres! 'World' music is such a tired old phrase, let's mix it up!

Day-Glow-Radio presents Around the World in 80 Minutes Vol.2

(Algeria) Didi ~ Khaled
(Benin) Les Djos ~ Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo
(Bolivia) Le Gran Pelea ~ Los Ecos
(China) The Lady of Mount Ali ~ Koo Mei
(D.R. Congo) Loi ~ Koffi Olomide
(Egypt) Ya Ramal ~ Adel El Musree
(Guinea) Soko ~ Tropical Djoli Band De Faranah
(Iceland) Ruby Baby ~ Björk Gudmundsdóttir & Trió Gudmundar Ingólfssonar
(India) Aaj Mausam Bada Beimann Hai ~ Mohammed Rafi
(Iran) Tesh Bad ~ Mousighi Jonub Siraf
(Jamaica) Baltimore ~ The Tamlins
(Japan) うるま島 Huruma Island ~ The Hoptones ﾎｯﾌﾟﾄｰﾝｽﾞ
(Lebanon) Imminent Journay ~ Rabih Abou-Khalil
(Nigeria) Dancing Time ~ The Funkees
(Pakistan) Allah Hoo ~ Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
(Peru) Tookie Tookie ~ Telegraph Avenue
(Senegal) Africa Child ~ Abass Abass feat. Daby
(South Africa) Vuli Ndlela ~ Brenda Fassie
(Syria) Lanshob Sherek ~ Omar Souleyman
(Zimbabwe) Hende Baba ~ Thomas Mapfumo & The Blacks Unlimited

DOWNLOAD IT HERE (157.3 MB)

First off we are in Algeria and who better to show us around than the almighty Khaled, the biggest name in the Rai genre. Didi is his massive hit from 1992 which made him a name around the world and not just Arab speaking countries, resulting in nearly 50 million album sales round the world!

Next up we move down through Africa to Benin, home the Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo, a voodoo funk band who have recently seen a revival thanks to a series of reissues by the likes of Soundway and Analog Africa. Fela Kuti and the like dominates most people's image of 70s African funk but Poly-Rhythmo were a force to be reckoned with and I cannot recommend their Kings Of Beninalbum highly enough.

Now when you think of Bolivian music most people picture native dress and panpipes, not screeching psych-rock. But the makers of the Psicofásicos De Bolivia - Go-Gó A 4000 Metros compilation obviously knew different and dug out some rare finds up in the Andes, they must have felt like Indiana Jones in a record store!

Next up we are in China courtesy of the beautiful Koo Mei. Known at the height of her career as The Little Skylark, she started out as an actress and moved in recording jazz songs, which can now be heard on Pathe 100's series of reissues (Vol.14). Her beautiful voice and the classy arrangements bring to mind the high life of Shanghai Jazz clubs, you can almost smell the opium!

To the Democratic Republic of the Congo next, and the sounds of soukous are made for moving! Koffi Olomide is one of the big stars of the scene and even named his own personal style of the genre (Tcha Tcho). He was recently reported dead but made a tearful television appearance claiming he had not died in a car crash, much to his fans relief! This track features so many beautiful guitar riffs and clattering beats, it's impossible not to feel like dancing.

The next track comes from Yalla! Hitlist Egypt, a 1990 album of Egyptian urban pop music that can be found here for those wanting to hear more

More music from the golden era of African guitar music now, and we are in Guinea, straight after they became independent from France in 1958. The 60s and 70s saw alot of hardship in post colonial times but as a result a huge west African movement of musical freedom and expression that lead to such a rich and varied musical heritage, preserved in Guinea mostly by the legendary Syliphone label, responsible for recording all the major bands in the country.

From African heat to Nordic blues now, Iceland specifically. Taken from the 1990 album Gling Glo this cover of the Drifter's marked Icelandic punk singer Bjork's first experimentation away from guitar-based rock music. Guðmundur Ingólfsson was a great and famous piano player in Iceland and he remembered Bjork as a 16 year old girl who, obsessed with jazz, would hang around his recording sessions. The album was a huge hit in Iceland and since Bjork's success worldwide has become even more popular. Sadly Guðmundur died not long afterwards and the band disbanded.

Mohammed Rafi sings to us now, from India. His four-decade career as one of the greatest bollywood playback singers can not be argued with, having recorded an estimated 26,000 songs in this time! This track (Today The Weather Plays Tricks On Me) can be seen in the film "Loafer"

Iran next, to southern Iran and some Janub music. Iran has an incredible musical heritage that fascinates me and this is another example of how much cool music it has to offer. This is a little different from the usual you think of when you think of Persian music, but the banging rhythms and choirs have a really big hypnotic sound.

The Tamlins provide our next track, the 1979 hit Baltimore, which was also covered by Nina Simone in the same year. The Tamlins were very famous in the 70s and this is one of their classic songs. You can hear this and much more soulful reggae on the compilation Darker Than Blue; Soul from Jamdown.

Okinawa pop is up next, from the Hoptones. There is a great amount of rock'n'roll, rhythm'n'blues and jazzy pop from the pacific Asia during the 50s and 60s and it has achieved a very cool cult following. Labels like Sublime Frequencies release almost nothing else. This is a brilliant song from Ryukyu Rare Groove: Shimauta Pops in 60's-70's 琉球レアグルーヴ

One of the greatest Oud players in the world can be heard in the next song; the legendary Rabih Abou-Khalil. He has released scores of incredible jazz-fusion albums, mixing the middle east's traditional music with western jazz and classical. This is from his album Yara.

Nigeria is famous for it's funk and here from the Nigeria 70 series is a classic example of what makes the country so famous for just that! Pakistan next, and the renowned Sufi singer, easily the most famous of them all (in the west at least), Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Allah Hoo is one of his most famous recordings and is a great example of devotional music.

More low-fi rock from the Andes now, except this time from Peru specifically. This track has a really funky feel to it and again, like the Bolivian track earlier, shows that Peru is not all about panpipes. Telegraph Avenue were a popular underground band in the 60s and often sang in english, being inspired by the American rock music of that era. Some hip-hop brings us to Senegal next, home of Abass Abass. This a great track that shows the depth and beauty of African hip-hop, which really is where it's at! There's alot of exciting hip-hop and ghetto music coming out of africa and always has been.

Speaking of African ghetto music, Kwaito is a form of house music from South Africa's townships, coming in many forms, from full on techy house (see DJ Mujava's huge 2007 tune Township Funk) to more pop sounding, like Brenda Fassie's classic song Vuli Ndlela. Brenda Fassie was one of the huge 90s stars of the electronic pop movement in South Africa and her song about Nelson Mandela (Black President) was a huge hit.

Another artist who mixes traditional with electronic beats is Omar Souleyman, Syrian music's wild card, this man has recorded over 500 albums and attained mythic cult status in the west thanks to the Sublime Frequencies label who started releasing hhis albums a few years ago.

And then finally, the Lion of Zimbabwe sings us out, Thomas Mapfumo. With his band The Blacks Unlimited, he became a massive icon of African music, just as much for his outspoken political views as for his music(of which Bob Marley was a fan), a trait which got his music banned numerous times and resulted in him having to flee to America. He still lives there, in Oregon to be exact and still tours the world.

............And there you have it, I hope you all enjoy listening to this as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
*GEEK*

DOWNLOAD IT HERE (157.3 MB)

Koffi Olomide

2010-05-19T15:52:00.000+01:00

For those that downloaded and enjoyed my mixtape Around the World in 80 Minutes last summer, here is a preview of Part Two, which will be available to download here shortly!

Koffi Olomide is one of the biggest stars in the world of Congolese Soukous, a vibrant and uptempo form of African music perfectly exemplified above. Earlier this year the 54 year old musician was presumed dead but don't worry folks, he is still alive and well and churning out hits!

Robyn - Body Talk Pt.1

2010-05-19T13:30:00.000+01:00

Her eponymous LP from 2005 was without doubt one of the highlights of noughties pop, an unashamedly good record that proudly sat atop the throne further cementing Scandinavia as the Pop capital of the world. She returns this year with not one, not two but three EPs under the name Body Talk. The first part is already all over the internet and is probably old news to most people in the habit of blogging but come June 13th when the first proper single from Body Talk Pt.1 is released it should very well be a dancefloor anthem for the summer.
Dancing on my Own is somewhat like With Every Hearbeat; The Sequel. Where the latter was her walking away from a lover and swearing she wouldn't look back, the former sees her slip up and follow him to a club to watch him dancing with his new girl. And boy does it hurt.
This is pure Robyn; Euphoric melancholic electro. The rest of the EP is similarly brilliant, featuring collaborations from Diplo and Royksopp among others, with ballsy lyrics and deftly handled production it quite frankly shits all over the competition.
She is the indie kid's favourite pop star, lacking the over the top trashiness of the likes of Gaga and having a clear knowledge of 'electro' as a beautiful form of music rather than a cliche that means it's perfectly hip to like her.
Here is one of the remixes from the forthcoming Dancing On My Own single release, by the joyous Rex the Dog. Enjoy.

Passing Judgement!

2010-05-18T11:12:00.000+01:00

Once again in the absence of anything significant to post about I will instead pawn off some reviews of some new singles.
First up...

Roll Deep (feat. Jody Connor) - Good Times

If Roll Deep's manifesto was to become possibly the ugliest trio of rappers to ever appear on music television, then it would appear they have been entirely succesful in their endevour. However something tells me that they have actually set out to dominate the charts, and while it is true that they very probably wil achieve this (in the short term) it must be noted that this song is so bad that it makes N-Dubz look deep and positively genius by comparison.
Not only does the lead rapper's fascination with rhymes involving the term 'late-night shopping' leave the listener agog from the very beginning of the track, but he and his fellow MCs don't get any better than that, repeatedly repeating the same tired cliches about champagne and having an awesome time. Jody Connor seems to be enjoying herself though, fulfilling the 'Girl who sings the chorus and looks pretty' role with generic aplomb.
Then again I would probably dance to this if I was drunk enough but relying on the fact that most of your listeners will only dance to your shit if they are as a hammered as your Champagne-boasting lyrics would suggest isn't a good thing. Oh and at 3.23 you can actually see a minge. Avoid.
*

Crystal Castles - Baptism

OK so this isnlt their new single, most people are currently enthusing about the tracj 'Celestica' but I am totally in awe of this album track at the moment. Taken from their new and also self titled album (meaning they now have two albums called 'Crystal Castles', just to confuse the novice) this is like Courtship Dating on steroids. In a cathedral. In space.
Huge stabs of anthemic rave synths shatter the stained glass and rain around you in a torrent of lazer-fuelled angst and passion. This is what they do best. Furiously beautiful ravepunk, except this time they seem to have honed and polished their sound into something more streamlined and sleek, without losing the gritty charm of their debut. MEGA.
****

Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em

Much hype is currently surrounding this noisy Brooklyn duo, currently signed to M.I.A.'s label N.E.E.T. recordings. I am yet to hear the whole album but I can say that so far I am very impressed. This is messy joyous anarcho-pop of the highest order, and further evidence of just how much variety and creativity is out there at the moment in American ' indie' music (see also, Yeasayer, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear etc). Certainly more than the UK indie scene which is still mourning due to the Arctic Monkeys' refusal to do the same thing twice.
Judging by this fanfare of an opening single, in which they combine screeching guitars, crunky baltimore beats with a half-time cheer-leader pom-pom waving rhythm and rainbow synths, and the other youtubes I have dug out, they promise to be a highlight of 2010's sound (which is going to be pretty loud). RAWR.
****

M.I.A. - XXXO

The third song to slip through the net ahead of her third album (out at the end of June) is yet another total change in sonic direction. First we had the dreamy and beautiful Rusko produced Space , followed by the explosive, raw, kraut rock sampling Born Free (a song which was almost totally eclipsed by the video that accompanied it) and now this. First listen was sceptical. Yes this has a very 'commercial' sound, as many furious fans have pointed out on youtube's comments section, but I am still willing to give it time, as I didn't enjoy Born Free at all on first listen, and consequently love it.
Yes it does have a commercial sound but only in that is more accessible than most of her other tracks. Compared to other commercial tracks (see Roll Deep, above!) this is still in a league of it's own. The beats are there, the sound is suitable M.I.A. without losing too much of her guerilla appeal, and who knows, flirting with the mainstream may just be the best idea she has ever had. Cross-over potential!
****

Big Boi- Shutterbug

This has been out for a while now but I still feel it is necessary to big it up, up, up!
One half of OutKast for those unfamiliar, Big Boi has come back with a huge hulking beat of epic proportions. This makes me want to be in a club. Yes that is a cliche, but that beat! That beat is "shittin on niggaz and pissin on the seat"
OutKast can always be relied on to come up with consistantly brilliant party tracks with significant lyrical and musical depth to lift them above their contemporaries. Of course it won't be as huge as Hey Ya! but few songs ever will. Produced by Scott Storch this funky riff is a perfect match for Big Boi's eloquent turns of phrase. Epic.
****

Justin Bieber Ft. Ludacris - Baby

No the title isn't referring to Justin himself, but to a school sweetheart; romance before pubic hair. Ludacris' rap reminicses back to when he was 13. Unlucky for some. This is a bit weird really isn't it. As for the music, it's alright as bubblegum goes but I just can't quite swallow this. It smells funny.
Justin's hand gestures seem to be a lot like those of Chris Brown, who dances alot like Justin Timberlake, who is a bit of fond of Michael Jackson, who was a child music star who got seriously fucked up. Oh shit! Someone call Childline and send this poor kid back to school quickly!
**

Favela on Blast - New Trailer...

2010-04-29T17:12:00.001+01:00

Favela On Blast New Trailer from Leandro HBL on Vimeo.

So a new trailer finally surfaces; could this mean that, after a triumphant round at the film festivals, this hugely anticipated documentary about the music of the slums of Rio could at long last see a release? It's about time, the film, made by superstar DJ Wesley 'Diplo' Pentz and filmmaker Leandro HBL, was finished two years ago and has attained mythic status.
Here's hoping for a UK showing sometime soon please!

Check out lots more trailers and clips and behind the scenes tidbits here at the Vimeo page

Also loving the track they have used for this new trailer, I need it!

Leja Leja Leja!

2010-04-29T04:08:00.000+01:00

M.I.A. ~ Born Free

2010-04-27T00:26:00.000+01:00

More new M.I.A. material has finally surfaced, ahead of her new album in June. At first listen I was taken aback by the massive change in direction and didn't quite know what to think, but I guess that's what she was aiming for and how could I really expect anything less? Then I saw it with the video and I am currently blown away. This is some seriously amazing shit right here!
The message is quite frankly mind blowing and I am still in shock. And people think Lady Gaga is 'provocative'...!

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

It's a shame it'll never get shown on TV...

Apparently it's already been banned but it still seems to be available... I can see the Daily Mail headlines already...

Omar Souleyman

2010-04-21T13:12:00.000+01:00

CHOON!

I have been listening to his album Folk and Pop Sounds of Syria: Dabke 2020 alot lately and need more!

Low-fi Syrian techno-pop is a bit tasty really!

Check out the amazing label Sublime Frequencies to buy his albums as well as a myriad of other amazing compilations of folk, pop, rock'n'roll and whatever else from all over Asia.

He is touring the UK very soon and I am gonna buy myself a ticket as I reckon it would be absolutely mental!

Here's his press release, give it a read and I challenge you not to be at least intrigued!

Omar Souleyman is a musical legend from Syria. For the past 15 years, he and his group have emerged as a staple of folk-pop throughout the country, having issued more than five-hundred studio and live-recorded cassette albums which are easily spotted in the shops of any Syrian city.

Hailing from the rural Northeastern city of Ras Al Ain, Souleyman began his musical career in 1994 with a small group of local collaborators that have been with him from the start. The group tirelessly performs concerts throughout Syria and has accepted invitations to perform abroad in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Lebanon.

The myriad musical traditions of the region are evident in their music, which reflect the sounds of Syia, Iraq, Turkey and the sizable Kurdish population. The moods swing from coarse and urgent to dirgy and contemplative in the rugged anthems that comprise Souleyman's repertoire. Expect the ultimate party music. Omar's superb and varied vocal stylings feature over high-octane Syrian "Dabke" (the regional folkloric dance music) and a host of other styles. Frantic Arabic keyboard solos provided by the incredible Rizan Sa'id intertwine with reeds, stringed instruments and percussion. Mahmoud Harbi, a long-time collaborator and the man responsible for much of the poetry sung by Souleyman accompanies Omar for an unforgettable onstage collaboration as they perform the Ataba, a traditional form of folk poetry, where Omar's unaccompanied freestyle "mawal" singing stands in a league of its own.

Sublime Frequencies & QuJunktions are honored to present the Western debut of Omar Souleyman and his group with this UK/European concert tour. This is a rare opportunity to glimpse into Syrian street-level folk-pop - a phenomenon seldom heard in the West in this form, and rarely, if ever, included on the import agenda of worldwide academic musical committees. Experience the genuine sounds of Syria and the Middle East without the condescending polish and shine of much exported "world beat".

Taken from his website, Click here for tour dates!

Bombay Connection

2010-03-29T16:43:00.000+01:00

OK so I just found out about this and was instantly desperate to hear it, a fascinating musical relic from 80s Bombay that was so far ahead of it's time it's hard to believe...

This will blow your mind!

"Until recently it wasn’t much more than some rumours on the web: a 1982 released LP called TEN RAGAS TO A DISCO BEAT containing Kraftwerk-like acid house music, years before the genre was invented...

So it turns out, the record was no rumour. Only a few hundred copies of the LP were ever pressed, and only a handful seem to have survived. Moreover, the LP outdoes all expectations. Performed on the synths that would later define Acid House, the Roland TB-303 and TR-808, the album sounds light years ahead of its time with its repetitive beats and hypnotic electronic melodies. Its maker, Bollywood session musician Charanjit Singh, set out to translate ancient Indian classical Ragas to the modern synthesizer and in doing so seems to have invented House music along the way. The 10 tracks make a consistent listen from A to Z. Its restrained minimalism and lack of cheesiness makes it incredibly contemporary, sounding animated, fluid and unabashedly alive."

Taken from www.bombay-connection.com

Buy it HERE!

Kerry Devine ~ It's Morning

2010-03-10T15:43:00.000Z

Beautiful song! From her forthcoming album out soon on Drip Dry Productions...

South African Rhythm Riot

2010-03-09T15:24:00.000Z

The Indestructible Beat of Soweto Volume 6 is a brilliant foray into the 80s and 90s birth of electronic music in South Africa, known as kwaito. Featuring brilliantly retro sounds combined with traditional African beat patterns and instrumentation this is a fascinating and catchy album that features such Kwaito legens as Arthur Mafokate and Brenda Fassie. There is many a tune! Download download download!

Here as a taster is a couple of videos from youtube that feature on the album. The first, in addition to being terrible quality (sorry), is by Brenda Fassie, one of Africa's brightest stars. This song is wonderful! She tragically died in 2004 aged only 39.

Next up is the huge hit Oyi Oyi by Arthur Mafokate, while british teenagers were dancing to Spice girls and Blur, this guy had the hits in S.Africa. Still going strong today!

Micachu - Backchatter

2010-03-09T14:52:00.000Z

Here's a little choon I've been bouncing in my seat to for the last hour and a half. It's taken from the Filthy Friends Mixtape that Micachu released awhile back via the internet and features a sample from Toddla T's track "Rice and Peas"

It's had me clicking repeat for some time now, I flippin well love it! Download it here!

Also I highly recommend getting the full mixtape as it is a glorious messy noisy celebration of Londonsounds! ( download it here)

Crookers + Roisin Murphy = ROYALTY

2010-03-05T18:19:00.000Z

Ok ok ok, Crookers release their long awaited debut full length LP on Monday and if only half the tracks are as mighty as this one then it's definitely gonna be a winner. Roisin Murphy has long been in collaboration with the Crooks and one gets the feeling they always save their best for her, so feast your ears on this...

Crookers & Roisin Muprhy ~ "Royal T"

PS ; I have no idea what this image is about, I just googled Royal T and this is first thing that came up, it's strangely appropriate...

Have One On Me

2010-03-01T14:32:00.000Z

Joanna Newsom is by far one of the most exciting and talented artists to have emerged in the last decade. Her debut The Milk-Eyed Mender was a heart stopping collection of songs that sounded like the oldest folk tales passed down from generations ago, yet at the same time sounded totally new and unlike anything else you had ever heard. She followed it up with the bewilderingly complex Ys, an album which required a lot of work from the listener in this age of 3 minute radio edits, and the equally labyrinthine Ys Street Band EP. But for the avid music fan who has the patience to sit down and immerse themselves in an album, there were bountiful rewards to be reaped.
The same goes for her new album, a stunning collection of songs that is spread over three beautifully presented discs. There is over two hours of music here and most of the songs are between 6 and 10 minutes long, but having been listening to it all day I can safely say the desire to skip tracks is non-existent. Not that skipping tracks or dipping in and out would take away from your enjoyment, because as with Ys this is a long term relationship of an album. It's going to take several weeks, maybe even months before I've unlocked all of its treasures.

And as a taster for those not yet acquainted, here is the song Go Long, which have had on repeat for awhile now, to download for free
(click here!)

The Woods by Cartridge

2010-01-25T22:15:00.000Z

I am absolutely in love with this song at the moment and thought I would share it with you

Download it HERE

Get their album Fractures it's wonderful

SAGA AFRICA E.P.

2010-01-22T15:50:00.001Z

Radioclit proudly presents the Saga Africa E.P. featuring the first official release of Douster's almighty remix of Circle of Life from the Lion King entitled King of Africa, see below if you haven't already experienced it!

Head over to itunes and get it now, it's genuinely brilliant

Songs from Aleppo

2010-01-20T20:32:00.000Z

If you;ve never discovered the hypnotic and relaxing sounds of Syrian Tarab music then feast your ears on this! It's about time I posted some far flung rarities for a change as opposed to all these oh-so-cool glimpses of future indie/dance albums. Back to the the silk road!

Sabri Moudalal is the main musician on this album, from the amazing Institute du Monde Arabe's stunning and exhaustive series of CDs covering just about every aspect of the Arab world's musical traditions you could ever wish to hear. He died in 2006 after a distinguished career as one of Syria's foremost performers.

This elegant traditional music has entranced me many times before and I thought I would share it. Huge thanks to the amazing welove-music.net for their tireless pirating, without which I would never have discovered the IMA's archives.

Download HERE! (65MB)

Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate release new album!

2010-01-20T19:40:00.000Z

It seems every time I go on the internet I discover another forthcoming album that gets me excited, and this is no exception.
4 years after Ali Farka Toure's death, a second collaborative record made between him and Toumani has now been released by the wonderful World Circuit records. It's out on February 22nd and promises to be nothing but beautiful if their previous duet album In The Heart of the Moon is anything to go by. It also features Orlando 'Cachaíto' López (from the Buena Vista Social Club, sadly now also passed away) on bass.

Click here to see a video of them performing Kala Djula

Ali Farka Toure was simply one of the greatest blues guitarists/vocalists of all time and his haunting hypnotic, polyrhythmic laments put African blues on the map in a big way. Toumani Diabate, currently going from strength to strength having collaborated with Damon Albarn and Bjork to name but a few, is bringing traditional Malian folk sounds to the pop world without selling out or cheapening his musical traditions. Quite simply, two of the greatest musicians of modern times. Something to really look forward to.

Head on over to http://www.worldcircuit.co.uk to claim your free download from the album, a very beautiful track called Kenouna. Enjoy!

M.I.A. & RUSKO

2010-01-20T17:36:00.000Z

Here is what must be the first glimpse of what M.I.A. has in store for us with the release of her third album later this year.

Early reports of her working with Rusko had many people theorising that she would be doing a dubstep album but come on people, this is M.I.A. we're talking about, she wouldn't want to jump on a bandwagon or make music that we would expect so thankfully this is a new direction for both her and Rusko. Mellow and hypnotic and beautiful, a year that has seen her work with A.R. Rahman, see the civil war in her homeland come to a bloody end, and become a mother has left her feeling less obligated to make club bangers and more interested in more musical pursuits, as she was quoted in an interview in NME's 2010 preview. I am sure we can still expect some CHOONS from her but it's very exciting to hear her doing something so different with a producer who is known for floorfillers. Yet anopther album I can;t wait for this year!

Come one, come all! To the Mystic Ball!

2010-01-20T14:33:00.000Z

Gosh! I am on a flyer! Along with many other people. If you are unlucky enough to live in the cultural desert of East Anglia then pop along to this oasis of diversity and magical entertainment. There will be a strong Gypsy magic theme with fortune telling in the back room and everything from Django-style gypsy guitars and all out punk, to electro, hiphop, folk and techno in the main room. From the people who brought you The Glass Onion.

Parker - Where's my Monkey?

2010-01-15T18:01:00.000Z

This has got to be one of the best remixes I have heard in a long time, by a very clever DJ known as Parker.

Not only is it very funny, sending up the massively overplayed Where's my Money with its tongue firmly in cheek, it is also musical genius!

The opening parody of the sample from the original is funny enough, but when the beat drops you really aren't expecting what's next.

If you still haven't heard it, I won't spoil it.

Enjoy

The Colouring of Pigeons

2010-01-15T17:43:00.000Z

Tantalisingly close is the release of the soundtrack album "Tomorrow, In A Year", taken from the electronic opera written by the Knife in collaboration with Mt Sims and Planningtorock. In fact it's out on February 2nd. I did not know this. Until just now. I can't quite describe how learning this made me feel suffice to say it involved lots of swearing.

To tide us over until this release the mighty Pitchfork has offered up this fascinating preview track, The Colouring of Pigeons.

I still haven't listened to it all the way through, it's 11 minutes long and I only just downloaded it myself. Thus far it is an epic and primal amalgamation of intertwining voices and instruments, constantly building and building with an effect quite hypnotic and also strangely unnerving... But then again The Knife are masters of creating atmosphere and evoking wild and vivid mental landscapes with the touch of a button or the suggestion of some cerebral lyric. Opera seems to suit them quite fantastically.

EXCITED

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

Jonsi goes solo...

2010-01-11T12:53:00.000Z

Lead singer from Icelandic avant-garde, classical, post-rock, future-pop band Sigur Ros is stepping out on his own with a debut solo album released on March 22nd. It's all very exciting indeed and here as a sneak peak is a free download from it thanks to his website

Jonsi - Boy Lilikoi (download here)

my first impression is very good so far and I cannot wait for the album if it's going to be as beautiful as this. He's retained some of that epic grandeur of Sigur Ros but it seems somehow downscaled (in a good way) and thusly a bit more human, as opposed to sounding like a mountain or a whale or a galaxy. Maybe this is just cos he is singing in English finally and I can actually understand what he is saying for once. There are less abstract atmospherics and more to-the-point pop flourishes. Roll on March!

It seems 2010 is already shaping up to be a great year for music with this, Crookers and Roisin Murphy's new LPs only a tantalising matter of weeks away. Also stick around cos I am very close to uploading Day-Glow-Radio's Best of 2009 compilation for you all to enjoy, it's just a bit tricky with no internet at home...

Crookers ~ We Love Animals

2010-01-07T15:09:00.000Z

Starting off the new year with another great preview (Roisin Murphy's new song Momma's Place being the first) we have a free download from the MASSIVELY anticipated debut album from the ubiquitous Italian DJ/Producer duo Crookers

Clickety click

The album Tons of Friends is out in March and my levels of excitement are already at Major Lazor levels...

Momma's Place

2010-01-06T19:40:00.001Z

Roisin Murphy returns... Jan 18th!

Aeroplane

2009-11-25T17:48:00.001Z

Douster - Triassic

2009-11-12T17:07:00.000Z

ZZK Records presents its latest monster...

and here is a sample of the 4 tracks from the EP. (Two minutes in is my favourite track, yum!)

DINOTASTIC!

Fever Ray live in Lulea!

2009-10-29T15:37:00.000Z

Here I have an amazing live recording of very good quality from Fever Ray's current tour...

It was released exclusively by The Guardian on their website but only for a limited time, so here it is for those who missed it...

DOWNLOAD HERE

I am hopefully seeing her London gig at the Forum in Kentish Town on December 5th. It's her last gig apparently, after which she will retire the project and get back on Knife material with her brother Olof...

BONUS!

Here as an extra treat is the Rex the Dog mix of Marble House, a song by the Knife

Voila

New singles - REVIEWED (by me)

2009-10-07T13:48:00.000+01:00

OK, so in the lack-of-internet-induced absence of real updates, I thought I'd prattle on and pass hoity toity judgement on some new music I have heard recently...

First up;

HADOUKEN! - M.A.D.

Yes, the Nu-Rave bratpack are back, despite the very obvious extinction of their flash-in-the-pan, NME buzzword genre. So, have they brushed up and developed their sound into something a little more substantial? The answer sadly (if this first single is anything to go by) is no. This is the exact same self aware, self appreciating, self referential tosswank. Lyrically bereft of anything deeper than WE'RE COOL AND WE'LL SMASH YOUR HEAD IN and featuring beats and synths that sound pretty much the same as all their other tracks, it shows thay haven't got the hint that nu-rave, or indie-grime, or whateverthehell this horrible sounding ear-rape is called, went out of fashion at least two years ago.

Only suitable for ages 14 and under.

Amanda Blank - Might Like You Better

Fans of the likes of Diplo, Santogold, and Spank Rock will be very familiar with Amanda Blank's spitfire vocals. The fastest pottymouth in Philly by all accounts. Her uber-rude knowing rhymes have been decorating many a hip-hop/electro track for the last few years and her combination of some kind of feminism with overt sexuality, topped off with cool underground grimey production has been setting clubs and blogs alight for as long. Now she is branching out solo with this surprisingly poppy number.

Lyrically it it's not much more than "Hey, let's shag", and the beats, while retaining a little sound of the underground quirkiness, are nowhere near as raw as her previous collaborations, so the jury is still out I'm afraid. Granted it's cool, and very hip, but it doesn't exactly blow me away. Of course this sort of track is not really supposed to be dazzingly intelligent or challenging, it's meant to be heard in a club booming on a soundsystem while everyone gets drunk and grinds eachother in the groin. The same could of course be said of the above Hadouken track, but at least Amanda's offering is alot more listenable.

***

Fever Ray - Seven

Fever Ray's self titled debut album is probably my favourite record of the year so far and it's been a good year for great albums too. So I don't really have anything but praise to lavish upon her really. This, the 4th single from the record, speaks to us ominously about everything from distant childhood memories to dishwasher tablets. Her ability to make even the totally domestic into something mysterious shows that she must have a sense of humour and probably doesn't take herself half as seriously as everyone else does.

Granted she is a singer from a Nordic country whose songs are 'kooky' and whose voice is 'odd' and she does indeed conjure up magical images in the listeners heads with vivid lyrics and atmospheric production, not unlike another famous icey pop star, and like Bjork, Fever Ray not only has a sense of humour in responding to how the western world views her music and country, but also has buckets of creativity and uniqueness to render any comparisons to Bjork nothing more than pointless geographical similarities.

If you haven't already got her beautiful album, then do so now!

*****

The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa

Last one now, and it's the lead single from the new album by Radioclit and Esau Mwamwaya, aka The Very Best. Their mixtape was a musical highlight of 2008 and their fist proper LP together does not disappoint, full of tracks that wonderfully combine many different aspects of African music with western club beats and indie coolness.

This track features a brilliantly distorted high-life riff sampled from Nigerian legend Sir Victor Uwaifo's 'Guitar Boy' with propelling pots-and-pans beats and Ezra Konig from Vampire Weekend on inescapably uplifting guest vocals. The overall effect is one of intense catchiness and upbeat vibes. I challenge you not to at least nod your head!

****

Here endeth the lesson

The Vintage Compendium is back!

2009-09-22T15:40:00.000+01:00

Day-Glow-Radio's Vintage Compendium Vol.2!

1. When I See an Elephant Fly~Cliff Edwards

2. It Don't Mean A Thing~Duke Ellington With Ivie Anderson

3. The Joint is Jumpin'~Fats Waller & His Rhythm

4. I Only Have Eyes For You~Frank Sinatra & Count Basie

5. 'Taint What You Do~Ella Fitzgerald

6. I Want Your Love (I Want You to Be My Baby)~Grace Chang

7. Jaan Pechechaan Ho~Mohammed Raﬁ

8. Shine~Django Reinhardt

9. Guilty~Al Bowlly

10. I'm Gonna Meet My Sweetie Now~Jane Green

11. Si Tu N'étais Pas Là~Fréhel

12. How Do You Think I Feel~Georgia White

13. Shave 'em Dry (Take 2)~Lucille Bogan

14. Devil Got My Woman~Skip James

15. This Little Light~The Montgomery Improvement Association

16. It All Began With Adam And Eve~Lord Flea

17. Playboy~Bob Marley and The Wailers

18. Teardrops From My Eyes~Ruth Brown

19. Grandpa Can Boogie Too~Lil Greenwood

20. You Better Stop~LaVern Baker

21. Zing Zing~Art Neville

22. Mama Said~The Shirelles

23. Needle In A Haystack~The Velvelettes

24. Savoy~Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra

25. Christopher Columbus~Andy Kirk & His Clouds Of Joy

26. What A Little Moonlight Can Do~Billie Holiday

27. La Vie En Rose~Edith Piaf

DOWNLOAD HERE! (160.25 MB)

OK so I have finally got my arse into gear and made another mix, this one a follow up to my first on this blog (click here if you ain't got it yet).

It's very much more of the same, with some well known tunes nestled amongst the weirder more obscure tracks, and all in all will hopefully be another toe tapping, foot stomping adventure through jazz, swing, blues, rock'n'roll, r&b and anything inbetween. Vol. 2 here actually has alot more rock&roll and r&b than Vol.1 as I've been getting very much into this sort of stuff since Secret Garden Party, where all the dubstep, breaks, hip-hop, electro and so on couldn't compare one jot next to the rock'n'roll swingathon in the Conspiracy Camp on the last night. It was the most rammed tent of the weekend and had the best atmosphere, plus the ceiling was dripping and the air was literally fogging up with sweat. Now that's what I call and old school rave!

Opening with the crows' song from Dumbo, which for all it's accusations of racism, is still a great tune (Although admittedly, if the makers hadn't had the audacity to call one of the crows Jim Crow, thought to be a reference to the Jim Crow Laws which seperated public facilities into black and white in America between 1876 and 1965, then perhaps dumbo wouldn't have had such accusations) we can enjoy some classic swing from Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Fats Waller and Ella Fitzgerald.

The Sinatra cut is from a brilliant album he made with the legendary Count Basie which has many great songs on it and can be found here if you fancy some further listening.

Next up we have two examples of Asian swing/rock'n'roll that are both wonderful. The first being by the beautiful Grace Chang, an actress from Hong Kong who was famous in 50s and 60s China for her musical roles for which she always sang her own vocals. She is followed by Mohd. Rafi, one of the most prolific Bollywood singers of all time. The song is from the film Gumnaam and there's the corresponding film clip below. Film fans will recognise this song and video from the opening scene of cult classic Ghost World.

Of the other tracks worthy of a mention Lucille Bogan's 2nd take of Shave 'Em Dry

is famous for being one of the rudest blues takes in history.

Featured on just about every compilation of banned blues and x rated songs available

it has become a favourite and it's hard to listen to it and keep a straight face...

Lucille was among the first American blues singers to be recorded and most of her songs were up front pieces about drinking, prostitution, sex and lesbianism, among many other aspects of 'the Life'.

A young spritely and dread-less Bob Marley makes his appearance next with a track from the Another Dance album, a collection of the Wailers very early songs when they were more of an R&B outfit who occasionally did abit of Jerk and Ska...

Grandpa can Boogie Too is one of my favourite discoveries and is taken from a great LP called Rare Blues Girls from King Records that features loads of singers you've never heard of singing great songs you've never heard. It was available at the amazing blog http://bebopwino.blogspot.com but sadly the blog appears to have been shut down or moved... I am in mourning!

And finally, cos I can;t prattle on about every track, I thought I would just post a picture to Edith Piaf, who closes this selection with one of her few English recordings; the beautiful La Vie En Rose. It's one of those famous songs that's been sung by hundreds of different artists, from Louis Armstrong and Aretha Franklin to Grace Jones and Cyndi Lauper, but Edith's version is the original, which she wrote with Luis Gugliemi and made famous in 1946.

So there you have it, from me to you, another mixtape to listen to, hope you like 'em...

Summer isn't over yet!

2009-09-18T16:05:00.001+01:00

If you love Baile Funk or latin beats in general, then you will find it incredibly hard to resist the rolling rhythms of Cumbia Nueva, a glorious mix of traditional Colombian and Mexican folk and electronic club beats. If you're not already down with the Cumbias then get on it!

Download this mix and have a stomp!

SONIDO DEL PRINCIPE – CUMBIA 4 LIFE MIX, SEPT ‘09

http://www.mediafire.com/?dzzjftn4htm

01. el original – me matas (dj andy & sdp edit)

02. kiko de galo – mi morenita rebelde (sdp edit)

03. chief boima – techno rhumba (sdp edit)

04. the peronists – haitiana (sdp edit)

05. el remolon (sdp edit)

06. sdp cumbia guitara edit

07. systeme solar (sdp edit)

08. dj landrea – mi camino (sdp edit)

09. sonido del principe – jozefa matia

10. marcelo fabian – sel y mar (sdp rmx)

11. bomba estereo – fuego (sdp rmx)

12. sonido del principe – boom boom

13. dynamic – this is why i’m hot (sdp rmx)

14. dj panik – ice ice baby (sdp edit)

15. sonido del principe – cumbia del mondo

16. toddla t – full up mi portion (sdp rmx)

17. general levy – champagne body (sdp rmx)

18. suckafish p – cloak & dagger (sdp rmx)

African Tribal Music and Dances

2009-09-01T14:43:00.000+01:00

Just found this album on the wonderful www.welove-music.net (which is a great resource if you're a fan of indigenous, tribal, religious or general "ethnic" music from around the world) and I must say it's something else, featuring some of the best drumming, chanting and harp playing I have heard.

Genuine live field recordings of traditional tribal rituals from several different tribes (The Malinke, Baloue and others) make this a wonderful collection of real African sounds to take you away from the dull trappings of boxed-in Blighty and into the open grasslands of the Motherland.

This CD also seems to be out of print so let there be no guilt in downloading it for free!

TRACK LISTINGS
Music Of The Malinke
[01]. Festival Music
[02]. Solo For The Seron
[03]. Hymn Of Praise
[04]. Percussion Instruments
[05]. Festival Of The Circumcision
[06]. Dance Of The Hunters
[07]. Dance Of The Women
Music Of The Baoule And Others
[08]. Invocation, Entrance And Dance Of The Glaou
[09]. Duet For Flutes
[10]. Solo For Musical Bow
[11]. Xylophone Solo
[12]. Male Chorus And Harp
[13]. Dance Of The Witch Doctor
[14]. Sicco
[15]. Toffi
[16]. Ibonga
[17]. Gnounba Gnibi
[18]. Dianka Bi
[19]. Sibi Saba
[20]. Sindhio
[21]. Didrenquo
[22]. Bonomiollo

Download it here! Part One | Part Two

Enjoy!

Calling all assassins!

2009-09-01T13:17:00.000+01:00

If anyone wants to murder my landlord for me, please get in touch!

Offside

2009-08-17T18:40:00.000+01:00

In Iran, women are banned

from men's sporting events.

In 2005, Iran defeated Bahrein

to qualify for the World Cup.

I recently got this film on DVD and was amazed. From director Jafar Panahi, who also directed the amazing White Balloon, this is a tale of feminism and football, prejudice and patriotism.

It follows a group of Iranian girls who get arrested for disguising themselves as men and trying to sneak into the men-only football stadium to see Iran play Bahrein to qualify for the world cup. They are held in a pen where the football action is frustratingly out of sight for the young women.

Panahi uses this bizarre and unjust situation to expose and ridicule the archaic restrictions imposed on young Iranians by the right wing government and to poke fun at the gender clichés of Islam. One scene in which one of the girls must be escorted to the toilet by one of the guards is particularly amusing (there are no ladies toilets in a men-only stadium).

The amateur cast are completely convincing, especially the rough-talking tomboy, and the mini journey-of-discovery of the head guard is a joy to watch, as the film wonderfully illustrates the unifying power of a major sporting victory and consequent explosion of national pride can overcome such conservative prejudices.

It's certainly the best football film I have ever seen, even though you don't actually see a single football being kicked.

Watch the trailer here

WATCH THE FULL FILM HERE

Shortbus

2009-08-17T16:51:00.000+01:00

A film about which must fuss has been made, mainly due to the sex scenes, reportedly the most graphic ever to go on general release in America. However this film is less about sex but more about sexuality, love, and emotional repression/liberation.

The sex scenes are more there to completely lay the characters (and the audience) totally bare, vulnerable and exposed. They are intimate and realistic, often uncomfortable and sometimes unintentionally hilarious, much like real sex. They are more likely to make you laugh than turn you on or shock you. In fact the sex is often secondary to the relationships it's illustrating.

The film follows a small group of screwed up people who find solace in the 'salon for the gifted and challenged' known as Shortbus, an anarchistic arts centre and squat with a sex room based on a real place in Brooklyn called DUMBA, which was closed down during mayor Giuliani's prudish purge. Male and female, straight and gay, the characters find one and other, and eventually find themselves, when they set foot in Shortbus, "a mad nexus of art, music, politics, and polysexual carnality."

"The boldest provocation of Mitchell’s sweet, tender and gently funny film may not be its depiction of graphic sex, but rather its exuberant celebration of community and togetherness at a cultural moment rife with fatalism and disconnect." ~ LA Weekly

"If there is such a thing as hard-core with a soft heart, this is it." ~ Rolling Stone

The film sparkles with subtly hilarious dialogue and a great array of characters played by an ensemble cast and more cameos than you can shake a stick at. The soundtrack is awesome too.

So sit back, relax and climb aboard the Shortbus (just don't watch it with your granny)

WATCH THE FULL MOVIE HERE

PART ONE

PART TWO

The Elephant in the Room

2009-08-17T16:06:00.000+01:00

For everyone who finds all those conspiracy documentaries about 9/11, the war in Iraq and the US government hysterical and insufferable, but is still interested in the subject, there is thankfully this wonderful and intimate film by Dean Puckett, a man who came to my home town and showed the film at one of the film nights at our local community centre.

Rather than simply having an unseen narrator ranting and raving about conspiracies over stock footage and archive film (a la zeitgeist), this film instead investigates the cultural impact the event has had on the world using real people; face to face soundbites from people all over the world who have been directly or indirectly affected. From the appalling treatment of NYC's first responders to the Muslim backlash in Britain, and much much more.

There are many fascinating interviews with all number of people including famous democratic politician Cynthia McKinney, whose willingness to speak out about numerous human rights matters has lost her a seat in congress, and MI5 whistle blower Annie Machon.

The director travelled the world to make the film and you can tell it was as much a voyage of human discovery as a documentary about bigger matters. Intimate, intelligent and at times devastating, this is fascinating viewing, whatever your opinion on what may have happened on that day in September may be.

The film won Best Documentary at the London independant film festival 2008

Check out the trailer

WATCH THE FULL MOVIE HERE (1hr 50mins approx)

An American Tail ~ Fievel Goes West

2009-08-07T20:49:00.000+01:00

Watch it for free here!
(You know you want to)

Since I been gone...

2009-08-01T17:52:00.000+01:00

...I went to Secret Garden Party

Here's a couple of photos, click 'em for HQ

I'll try and get all of them online soon, along with a new mixtape, working on three actually; Motherland (afro-sounds) Tropic Thunder (Baile, Kuduro etc) and volume 2 of the Vintage Compendium...
Hurray! Just need internet at my new house and all will be well...

Mishka presents Keep Watch X: by Major Lazer

2009-07-28T19:06:00.000+01:00

Here's another filthy sweaty summer mixtape to get you wobbling, this one from Major Lazer, courtesy of the amazing Mishka series, now in its tenth installment. Expect lots of rowdy bass lines and hip injuring beats. Here's the tracklist.

It features some wicked reworkings of the Major Lazer album as well as mighty remixes of otrher artists including the monstrous Switch remix of Bjork's Thom Yorke collaboration 'Nattura'

Download it here!

I've gone on about Major Lazer alot lately, so maybe you would like some of his history...

Major Lazer is a Jamaican commando who lost his arm in the secret Zombie War of 1984. The US military rescued him and repurposed experimental lazers as prosthetic limbs. Since then Major Lazer has been a hired renegade soldier for a rogue government operating in secrecy underneath the watch of M5 and the CIA. His cover is that of a dancehall night club owner from Trinidad and he enlisted the help of long-time allies and uber-producers, Diplo and Switch, to produce his first LP. His true mission is to protect the world from the dark forces of evil that live just under the surface of a civilized society. He fights vampires and various monsters, parties hard, and has a rocket powered skateboard.

Buraka Som Sistema - Blood Diamond Mixtape

2009-07-14T15:20:00.000+01:00

If there was ever a band to capture the true rumble of tropic thunder, this is it. Buraka Som Sistema are Angola's answer to the Prodigy in a way.

Earthquake bass and bombshell beats explode throughout their work and around their many collaborators and their album Black Diamond is possibly my favourite LP of 2008.

Here is their latest offering, a bloody mixtape through Kuduro, Baile Funk, Dubstep and more inspired by and dedicated to the 3.7 million people in Angola, Sierra Leone, The Congo and Liberia who are believed to have died because of the diamond trade.

BURAKA SOM SISTEMA - BLOOD DIAMOND

01. Diamonds are Forever Intro
02. Dj Znobia feat Jaime Foxx- Africa
03. Buraka Som Sistema – Kalemba (wegue wegue) Afrikan Boy remix
04. Os Lambas – Sapo (BSS Edit)
05. Radioclit vs Guns’n'roses – Sweet Secousse of Mine (Bss edit)
06. The Kiss – Black Diamond
07. Tunes for Baby That Won’t Drive You Crazy – Black Diamond
08. Buraka Som Sistema – IC19 (Toy Selecta remix)
09. Buraka Som Sistema – Aqui Para Voces (FAVELA FUNK SAMBA edit)
10. Buraka Som Sistema – Wawaba (James Braun Copyflex remix)
11. Lykke Li – Dance Dance Dance (BSS Remix)
12. Dirty Tricks – Black Diamond
13. Rusko vs Puto Prata – Let’s Go (BSS Edit)
14. Buraka Som Sistema – R.I.A.D.
15. Lil’Joao feat Aloe Blacc – Off with ya head
16. Buraka Som Sistema – Gang Bang feat Blaya
17. David Zé – O Guerrilheiro
18. Johnny Clarke – Come Back To Me
19. Buraka Som Sistema – Sound of Kuduro (D1 remix)
20. Zomby feat Pongolove – Kuduro Rumours (BSS Edit)
21. Rusko – Cockney Thug (BSS Remix)
22. Paul Simon – Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

DOWNLOAD HERE

Troglodyte!

2009-07-14T15:12:00.000+01:00

I am shortly to be moving into a new house. Lovely.
A house with no internet. Not lovely.

Thusly updates here are not gonna be very regular but I will try my best to get on the web as much as possible (else I will go completely insane)

Pearl's Dream

2009-07-09T12:31:00.000+01:00

The sublime Bat For Lashes returns with a new video, it's all a bit magical...

Watch it in HD here

I Like Turtles

2009-07-04T12:30:00.000+01:00

Since the Major Lazer album excitement I have listening to lots of Diplo related material lately and he really is, how do you say..? The tits.
Here is a really fun mix from a couple of years ago that goes all over the place like a joyous rollercoaster of musical merriment. Hip-hop, dub, dancehall, reggae, drunk, rock'n'roll, it's all there. And Paper Planes into Iko Iko into a choral version of The Knife's Heartbeats is genius. Expect vast amounts of Diplo's trademark tongue-in-cheekiness...

Tracklist

01. Nancy Francis & Jonathon Ware - I Like Turtles

02. Mr. Vegas - Lean Wit It

03. M.I.A. Feat. Bun B & Rich Boy - Paper Planes

04. Schooly D. - Gucci Time

05. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Rockers To Swallow

06. Jellybean - Sidewalk Talk

07. Belle Stars - Iko Iko

08. Scala & Kolacny Brothers - Heartbeats

09. Diplo & Switch Feat. Elephant Man - East, West (Remix)

10. Nirvana - Drain You

11. Huey - Pop, Lock & Drop It Marc Houle - Bay Of Figs (Remix)

12. DJ Tamiel - Bump Like This

13. Queen Feat. David Bowie - Under Pressure

14. Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight

15. Soulja Boy - Crank Dat Superman

16. Bat For Lashes - What's A Girl To Do (Break)

17. DJ Shadow - Organ Donor (Sandrinho Remix)

18. Diplo & Switch Feat. Beenie Man - Solta Frango

19. Mr. Vegas - Hot Fuk (Diplo Mix)

20. Enur Feat. Nastasja - Calabria (2007 Mix)

21. Spoon - Paper Tiger

22. Circle Children - Zulu

23. M.I.A. Feat. Akon - Boyz Remix

24. Boy 8 Bit - Suspense Is Killing Me

25. KW Griff - Tony's Back

26. Diplo - Work Is Never Over

27. M.I.A. - Bamboo Banger

28. Sizzla - Bamboo Banger (Dubplate)

29. Blaqstar - Supastarr

30. Shai - If I Ever Fall In Love Again (Dub)

31. Orbital - Halcyon

32. LA Priest - Engine (Erol Alkan Remix)

33. Petter - Some Polyphony

34. Rihanna - Umbrella (Vandalism Mix)

35. Justice - Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax Remix)

36. The White Stripes - Little Cream Soda

37. ZZT - Lower State Of Consciousness

38. Kia Shine - Crispy

39. Bart Simpson - Bartman (So Krispy Mix)

Download the mix in MP3 here (62mb)

Buy the CD and many other fun things at the Mad Decent store

Fellini's Nights of Cabiria (1957)

2009-07-02T15:37:00.000+01:00

"Welcome to a bittersweet world of episodic adventures and strange encounters. Welcome to a sordid, nocturnal world of ruthless, callous boyfriends and stray movie stars looking for seedy kicks. Welcome to the harsh, unforgiving streets of a crumbling Rome, where hope can still prevail and dreams cradle the lost. Welcome to the world of Cabiria, a feisty, loud, outspoken and somewhat naive prostitute waiting for a miracle, and one of the most unforgettable and endearing characters of European cinema."

Nights of Cabiria is a bittersweet, poignantly moving and often humorous film that marked iconic Italian film maker Federico Fellini's farewell to this gritty emotional neo-realism before venturing into the surreal satire and dream logic of films such as La Dolce Vita.

Starring his wife, the fantastic Giuletta Masina, in yet another breath taking performance equal to her portrayal of the doomed circus girl Gelsomina in the better known Fellini film La Strada, this is a wonderfully made film that will leave you swept away by her tragic existence yet uplifted by her unbreakable lust for life. Superb.

Watch it on youtube here...
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=02AA6643620B0101

Etz Limon (2008)

2009-07-01T11:00:00.000+01:00

Winner of the Berlin Film Festival audience award, Lemon Tree is the true story of a Palestinian woman's fight to save her beautiful lemon tree grove when the Israeli defense minister who moves next to her demands it be torn down for security reasons. Both an intimate human drama and a powerful allegory to the greater issues of Israel and Palestine, Lemon Tree is a beautiful and heart breaking film.

Watch it here on youtube
(For subtitles click the Closed Caption tab on bottom right of the player, next to the HQ and Volume tabs.)

Alice In Wonderland (1903)

2009-07-01T09:41:00.000+01:00

Chose your own soundtrack...

Black Orpheus

2009-06-29T11:13:00.000+01:00

All the way from Brazil, Marcel Camus' 1959 film that retells the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice in the vivid setting of 50s Rio De Janeiro during the famous Carnival season. The film won the Paslme D'Or at Cannes and Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. It is also famous for it's soundtrack of bossa nova and samba by Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Watch it on the youtube playlist below

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=DCAD02AB764BC676

Major Lazer Update!

2009-06-18T10:19:00.000+01:00

So Major Lazer's album 'Guns Don't Kill People, Lazers Do' has finally arrived! I am not disappointed. It's full of sweaty dancehall and simmering reggae, among many other things.
BUY IT HERE
Check out the awesome new video for Hold the Line. And while you're at it have another HEAVY song from the album! Anything Goes ft. Turbulence DOWNLOAD HERE

Coraline

2009-06-17T09:41:00.000+01:00

Here you go, enjoy the stunningly animated, breathtakingly beautiful new Henry Selick film (the man who gave us the Nightmare Before Christmas), based on Niel Gaiman's novel. Watch the high quality stream below.
WARNING! This is a megavideo stream so it will stop after 72 minutes and tell you to wait an hour until you can watch the rest (unless you give them money, which for something which has been pirated in the first place is just not on) so I highly reccomend you just download it from the source HERE (696MB)

Download the whole film here

TV worth shouting about

2009-06-17T08:45:00.000+01:00

One thing I thought I'd recommend is the new BBC Three series Blood, Sweat & Takeaways which has to be one of the best things I've seen on telly in a while.
Taking the done-to-death format of a reality TV show and turning it into a socially, culturally, politically relevant documentary, the makers have sent six 20something Brits packing off to South East Asia to toil amongst the thousands of underpayed workers who create all the food they are so used to eating back home.
The group of fast food lovers have to gut endless barrels of fish, pack tonnes of rice, irrigate paddy fields, slit thousands of chicken necks per hour, and many other soul destroying tasks.
They do the same hours as the native workers and receive the same wage, which results in six very hungry people most of the time, desperately pooling together their pittance in exchange for small amounts of bread and rice to live on.

Some of it is truly shocking, while some scenes in the final episode genuinely moved me to tears. These were the scenes in which the brits discovered the true personal cost of the food industry and how it massively affects the lives of men and, in this case especially, women.

It's available on iPlayer for ONLY FOUR MORE DAYS! So hurry up, you won't regret it.
WATCH IT HERE

Blood, Sweat & Takeaways cleverly uses the ever popular reality TV show formula to sell a hard hitting and important documentary to the Big Brother generation. Unmissable TV.

Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do

2009-05-20T16:19:00.000+01:00

Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do

That is the title of the forthcoming album from Major Lazer (a.k.a. Diplo & Switch) and I am quite excited. If lead single Hold the Line is anything to go by, it's gonna be some mental raggamuffin' ghettocrunkyspazzcore. I played the aforementioned track the other night at Opaque's album launch and it made people bob up and down like zebedees on a bouncy castle. Download it here.

Diplo and Switch are brilliant enough on their own but combined should be even better, one would assume at least. The album features a host of other guest stars as listed below, and they are currently working with M.I.A. as well (and they also accidentally stole her headphones) according to Twitter.

01 "HOLD THE LINE" Feat. MR. LEX & SANTIGOLD
02 "When You Hear The Bassline" Feat. MS. THING
03 "Can't Stop Now" Feat. MR. VEGAS & JOVI ROCKWELL
04 "Lazer Theme" Feat. FUTURE TROUBLE
05 "Anything Goes" Feat. TURBULENCE
06 "Cash Flow" Feat. JAH DAN
07 "Mary Jane" Feat. MR. EVIL & MAPEI
08 "Bruk Out" Feat. T.O.K. & MS. THING
09 "What U Like" Feat. AMANDA BLANK & EINSTEIN
10 "Keep It Goin' Louder" Feat. NINA SKY & RICKY BLAZE
11 "Pon De Floor" Feat. VYBZ KARTEL (Additional Prpduction By AFRO JACK)
12 "Baby" Feat. PRINCE ZIMBOO
13 "Jump Up" Feat. LEFTSIDE & SUPAHYPE (Co-Produced By CROOKERS)

Check out the madness at SXSW Festival...

Mad Decent SXSW
by maddecent

Born Into Brothels - Calcutta's Red Light Kids

2009-05-19T10:40:00.000+01:00

This award winning documentary from Zana Briski and Ross Kaufmann won worldwide acclaim in 2004 for its depiction of the often neglected children of Sonagachi, Calcutta's red light district.

Documentarian Zana decided that rather than simply go into the brothels and backstreets and make an observational film, she would get involved, and she decided to do this by teaching some of the many children she met the art of photography, so that they can document their world by themselves.

The film attracted critisism for simplifying the problems of extreme poverty, and was even accused of exploitation (is there such a thing as poverty porn?) but watch it and make up your own mind. Watch it here on googlevideo

The aftermath of the film led to the founding of the Kids with Cameras photography school. Whether or not knowledge of photography will help these kids out of the slums or not remains to be seen but it is certainly a fanstatic insight into their lives. Check out the Kids with Cameras website here to see their photos

Milk - Gus Van Sant

2009-05-18T16:17:00.000+01:00

Watch online here

Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk, America's first ever openly gay elected official, and wins an Oscar for his portrayal, in this brilliant film from cult director Gus Van Sant which charts his life through his struggle against discrimination and his fight for gay rights, right up to his infamous assassination in 1978.
Deftly combining a civil rights tale of morality and politics into an emotive and believable biopic of a man's life and whole generation's personal revolution, Milk is an unmissable film which acts as a wonderful view into America at a time when the whole world was changing and struggling to accept the liberal explosion of the 60s.

The film also won an Oscar for it's screenplay and features a fantastic supporting cast as well.
Curiously it was banned in Samoa, but has avoided controversy almost everywhere else, proving that perceptions have obviously changed a lot since Harvey Milk's plight.
Captivating. Heart breaking. Uplifting.

Milk is released on DVD on June 8th.

Day-Glow-Radio presents Around the World in 80 Minutes!

2009-05-13T15:01:00.000+01:00

Here it is from me to you, another mixtape to listen to!

Day-Glow-Radio presents Around the World in 80 Minutes!

1. (Afghanistan) Wai alâ Shâheshâbo jân alâ ~ Mohammad Rahim Khushnawaz
2. (Brazil) Berimbau ~ DJ Sandrinho
3. (China) Plum Blossom ~ Li Xiang-lan
4. (Colombia) Salsa Na Ma ~ Fruko & Sus Tesos
5. (Congo) Dibwe Diambula Kabanda (Marriage Song) ~ Les Troubadours Du Roi Baudouin
6. (Cuba) Chan Chan ~ Buena Vista Social Club
7. (Ethiopia) Muziqawi Silt ~ Wallias Band
8. (France) La java bleue ~ Frehel
9. (Ghana) Bukom Mashie ~ Oscar Sulley & The Uhuru Dance Band
10. (Greece) O Filos ~ Stratos Gounakis
11. (Hawaii) Lady Be Good ~ Sol Hoopii Trio
12. (India) Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu~ Geeta Dutt
13. (Iran) Mahur ~ Dariush Safvat & Bruno Caillat
14. (Iraq) Palestinian ~ Ja'afar Hassan
15. (Jamaica) The Weed (aka Man Pyabba) ~ Count Lasher with Lyn Taitt & The Baba Brooks Band
16. (Macedonia) Siki, Siki Baba ~ Kocani Orkestar
17. (Mali) Seya ~ Oumou Sangare
18. (Nigeria) Ayamma ~ The Anambra Beats
19. (Panama) Rocombey ~ Lord Cobra and Pana-Afro Sounds
20. (Romania) Iest Sexy ~ Mahala Raï Banda
21. (South Africa) Click Song ~ Miriam Makeba
22. (Trinidad & Tobago) Black But Sweet ~ Wilmoth Houdini
23. (Zaire) Brrlak! ~ Zap Mama

DOWNLOAD IT HERE (94mb)

23 tracks, 23 countries, phew! I thought this would be a cool idea for a mixtape, simply cos I am obsessed by all sorts of musical styles but had never done this sort of compilation. It took ages to whittle it down to some of my favourites but there was time limit (this should hopefully fit on one CD if people want to burn it)
Also, the one track per country rule proved fun, this makes it more interesting and varied I think.

There are some very well known tracks in here, like Chan Chan and Siki, Siki Baba (which was propelled to popularity by the Borat soundtrack) but I tried to make it mostly pretty obscure stuff. I guess I was trying to emulate one of the compelling things that I love so much about discovering new music styles from around the world (call it ‘world’ music if you want to, although the term is sort of ridiculous; Until we start listening to some new genre of sound created by aliens, surely ALL music is ‘world’ music??). So sink your ears into pop songs from 1970s Iraq or voodoo boogie tunes from Trinidad.
This mix is largely older vintage stuff with a nice crackly glow to it, but there is also some new stuff as well, such as Africa’s great diva Oumou Sangare’s new single, and DJ Sandrinho’s trademark baile funk anthem Berimbao (cos choosing bossa nova for Brasil would’ve been a bit obvious).

And one track at least should be pretty much exclusive as well, unless by any chance you have ever eaten at Taverna Gounas in Rethymno, Crete. O Filos by Stratos Gounakis is from a CD I picked up while travelling in Greece. There was a beautiful little taverna near where I was staying that was run by a traditional family who had their own mini record label and instrument shop next door. Mum and the sisters cooked the amazing food while every night dad and his three sons played live for the diners.
It was really tucked away and secret from all the overpriced neon dsiplays of TRADITIONAL ENGLISH PUB FOOD and blarring racket of current UK chart hits, thank goodness. So I hope you like my little postcard from Crete.

Another track of interest is Wilmoth Houdini’s Black But Sweet, which surely must be one of the most prolifically sampled tunes in history. Used by Sabres of Paradise for their track Wilmot, and more recently by Gypsy dancefloor mashup-artist Shantel, who’s Balkan brass flavoured rendition has been remixed and reworked by dozens of DJs in the past two years, translating this little calypso tune into everything from hiphop, house and disco, to drum & bass, dubstep and even breakcore. Shantel’s version, entitled Bucovina, has become one of the flagship tunes of the recent Balkan music revival, despite it originially being from the West Indies. Which ever form it comes in, the hook is undeniably great, and Mr Houdini’s orignial has a gorgeous atmosphere to it.

A personal favourite of mine is the rapturously upbeat Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu, which I think is a great example of classic Bollywood experimentation with western music styles.
Any song which succesfully melds swing and rock & roll into a Hindi showtune has got to be worthy of a listen, and Geeta Dutt puts in one of the most vivacious and uplifting vocal performances I’ve heard in a bollywood song. Taken from the 1958 film Howrah Bridge (which I know almost nothing about, can’t find it anywhere). Here’s the Tarantino-esque poster though...

Finally, I can't not mention the amazing Miriam Makeba, who was affectionately known as Mama Africa and made the South African tradition of Isicathamiya, or 'click' singing, famous throughout the world. She sadly died last year on stage in Italy, but will be remembered as one of the greatest voices of her continent.

~*~*~*~*~

I spent ages rearranging the tracklist trying different orders, like blending it from the slow tracks up into the faster funkier ones etc, but in the end i decided to list them in alphabetical order of country of origin, which means it’s quite random but it sort of works really well. It has a nice flow to it, rather than me just grouping similar styles together, the mix goes up and down in waves of different styles. I am very pleased, especially as I don’t think any of the tracks could have ended the mix quite like Zap Mama’s amazing a capella masterpiece Brrlak! (Which by the way used to be mine and my best friend’s alarm clock, and I can tell you there is nothing lovelier to be woken up by!)

Enjoy!

Le Roux gets Foamy

2009-05-06T19:25:00.000+01:00

Current chart sensation La Roux's electro pop single In For The Kill has received alot of attention from the club world thanks to Skream's almighty dubstep remix but now the equally commendable electro/fidget DJ commonly known as Foamo has added his two pence in a remix of Skream's remix. A re-remix as it were.
The result is yummy.
Download it here.

http://www.myspace.com/foamo

Satyajit Ray - Pather Panchali

2009-05-04T22:33:00.000+01:00

Saturday May 2nd was what would have been Satyajit Ray's 88th birthday (he died in 1993 shortly after receiving an honorary Oscar) and to celebrate I made a playlist for youtube so you can watch his acclaimed debut film Pather Panchali

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AB643E435E096E42

The film is the first in the famous Apu Trilogy, about a man's life from his birth and impoverished childhood in rural India, to his adolescence in Benares to his adulthood in Calcutta.
Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) is about his childhood and brought Satyajit Ray's uniquely beautiful and hauntingly realistic depiction of India to a world who'd only seen the country through the rose tinted lenses of Bollywood.

Immature

2009-05-03T13:31:00.001+01:00

Bjork performs Immature with Wonderbrass and Jonas Sen in Reykjavik

This track was cut from the final Voltaic DVD

Enjoy

Who Is It?

2009-05-01T17:49:00.000+01:00

Björk ~ Who Is It? (Live in Paris) from Joseph Devine on Vimeo.

OK so here is another preview from Voltaic, don't think you can see this anywhere else on the internet yet muwahahaha!

Break the Circle Review

2009-05-01T13:09:00.000+01:00

Opaque - Break The Circle - Day Glow Radio's Totally Unbiased Review!

So, it's been 4 years since The Last Moustache first greeted our ears. In that time Opaque have achieved an awful lot for an unsigned local band, having been involved in organising and contributing to music & arts festivals, such as Grassroots, Small World, and Secret Garden Party, running the Glass Onion community centre and promoting events, music and arts that have massively furthered Peterborough's much neglected cultural underbelly.

Now they are back with a sophomore album that proves that The Last Moustache was no fluke.
Break The Circle is an album about change and development, much like the organic way in which the band, and peterborough's ever evolving arts scene, has grown over these years. Their sound has blossomed and become more layered, more mature, a bit darker at times yet still with an uplifting singalong element, and, as ever, more and more unlike any other band you've heard.
Added to the line up have been many collaborative musicians from the local area and beyond, bringing the extra flavours of cello, saxophone and jazz piano to the already eclectic electrofolkrock wonkypop sound that is Opaque.

First single Karma is a breezy feather light groove with a serious message, while next single Ball Of Fire is quite simply scorching! With a synth line that sounds like Egyptian sufis at a rave winding in and out of gypsy punk guitars and aggressive urgent vocals that will have everyone on their feet once the tour commences.
Taken By Surprise is another highlight; opening with a mariachi band style flamenco intro and featuring backing vocals from Abi Evans from FreePeace, it starts as a soft lulling acoustic ballad before breaking into a rapid catchy chorus with shout along lyrics about the shock factor of falling in love.
The Lady Is A Tramp is classic Opaque, a runaway train of a song that doesn't stop for breath with stabs of sax exploding into the noise of bassist Chopper disposing of a broken guitar in the true rock and roll style.
Topically, they have progressed as well, with songs addressing political madness and racial equality to name a few themes touched upon. And lyrics about the more traditional subjects, such as love and break ups and whatnot, are emotionally charged and poetically elegant.
Album closer All About The Music is one of their most beautiful songs, with charming lyrics that will really strike a chord with anyone who has ever found comfort in sound.

All that remains for you to do is get your hands on a copy, preferably the deluxe edition that comes in stunning packaging with beautiful artwork and a bonus remix CD with floor-filling reworkings of the album's tracks by local DJs, blending Opaque's sound with everything from dubstep and triphop to breakbeat and techno.

DOWNLOAD NEXT SINGLE BALL OF FIRE HERE

Click the tour poster for new updated lists of tour gigs

The Hip-Hop Vs Bjork Mixtape

2009-04-29T12:40:00.000+01:00

As if further proof were needed of Bjork's genre defying influence and adaptability, or the ingenuity and resourcefulness of a good producer, here is a brilliant hip-hop mixtape by Boston MC Moe Pope and producer Headnodic.
They've taken a huge range of Bjork's beats and sounds from across her albums and mashed them up, cut them into bits and pasted them together again. The results makes for some wicked hip-hop tracks. These two have done an awesome job.

Highlight for me is the last track, which is a sizzling hot big band jazz version of Venus as a Boy which turns into a proper stealthy stomper hip-hop tune before melting back into a swinging jazz hands finale!

DOWNLOAD HERE (64 mb)

Source: onthedownload (Thankyou)

My Daughter The Terrorist

2009-04-25T13:17:00.000+01:00

MY DAUGHTER THE TERRORIST
(58 minutes) Sri Lanka/Norway/USA
Director: Beate Arnestad
Producer: Morten Daae

This fascinating documentary is an exceedingly rare, inside look at an organization that most of the world has blacklisted as a terrorist group. Made by the first foreign film crew to be given access to the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) of Sri Lanka, the film offers insights into the recently re-ignited conflict in Sri Lanka. Twenty-four-year-olds Dharsika and Puhalchudar have been living and fighting side-by-side for seven years as part of LTTE's elite force, the Black Tigers. Their story is told through cinema verité footage, newsreel footage, and interviews with the women and Dharsika's mother.

The women describe heartbreaking traumas they both experienced at the hands of the Sri Lankan army, which led them to join the guerrilla forces. As they discuss their readiness to become suicide bombers and their abiding loyalty to the unnamed "Leader"-who they are sure would never harm civilians-grisly images of past LTTE suicide bombings provide somber counterpoints. Their curiously flat affects raise the possibility that they have been brainwashed. This even-handed documentary sheds light on the reasons that the Tamil Tigers continue their bloody struggle for independence while questioning their tactics.

Watch the whole film on this Youtube playlist http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=6116C06833C109A8

OPAQUE - BREAK THE CIRCLE

2009-04-23T11:45:00.000+01:00

Opaque's new album is almost here! Check out the tracklist below and download new song Ball Of Fire!

Opaque - Break The Circle

Building Burning Bridges
Ball Of Fire
They Chose To Lead Us
Anything You Want
Karma
Billy The Circus Freak
The Lady Is A Tramp
Butterflies
Taken By Surprise
The Way It Seemed
Rise & Fall Of God
Unity
It's All About The Music

Press Release

“Psychedelic indie folktronica? The band that refuses to be pigeonholed is back with a new album of beautifully crafted songs ”

Break The Circle, the new album from Opaque, out May 2009 on
Drip Dry Productions

Renowned as the most original band to hail from the city of Peterborough, the members of Opaque have garnered attention from across the UK since their formation in 2002 – taking to the stage to support the likes of Kasabian, The Kooks, Biffy Clyro and more. The festival fields of England soon became their regular haunt and they’ve been invited to play everywhere from Secret Garden Party to Bestival and Small World. Opaque’s debut album, The Last Moustache, won over a new legion of fans and the band’s philanthropic nature saw them get busy organising their own festival, GrassRoots, and setting up the Muddy Promotions arts collective (www.muddy.org.uk) while touring the album throughout 2006.

This fruitful time saw Opaque win plenty of recognition for their artistic endeavours – they were nominated at the 2008 Indy Awards for best alternative act, sold almost 1000 hard copies of The Last Moustache and started a community record label, Drip Dry Productions, cementing their DIY approach to merry music making. Such a creative burst of industry can be a hard act to follow but the ‘difficult second album’ syndrome was avoided by this bunch of troubadours… who even brought in a collection of new musicians and instruments for Break The Circle, with cello, saxophone and piano all adding a layer of melody to the songs. Recorded over 12 months at The Glass Onion, home to the Muddy collective, the album was engineered and produced by band members Benny and Moony. The year-long production mirrors the cyclical themes behind the album nicely and, when not recording, Opaque were busy signing a management deal with Peter Jones (of Dragon’s Den fame) and touring with Dragon’s Den winners, Hamfatter.

The album’s title, Break The Circle, was taken from the chorus line of the opening track – Building Burning Bridges, a lament about harmful relationships that you entrench yourself in, despite the knowledge that change is necessary. However, the album title has a myriad of meanings and references for the band.

Opaque’s lead singer, Moony, said, “For me it’s a general ethos about breaking bad habits or any destructive cycles in your life, from bad relationships to drub habits. It’s more than just that though, it’s also in recognition of the many cycles and circles that surround us all the time – from the planets to the seasons – and the effects of breaking these circles. And it’s a call, a call for anarchy and change. So it’s many things in one.”

Break The Circle marks a departure from catchy pop and takes the fork in the road that leads to a little extra meat on their symphonic bones. It’s a welcome and natural development for Opaque’s sound, a sound that is still unmistakably Opaquian but signals a more introspective, multi-layered approach to song crafting that still features an eclectic mix of jaunty rock and electro sprinklings. A wonderful addition to the album is a demonstration of all that the Opaque boys hold dear in the mould of an 11-minute version of My Favourite Things, which features a plethora of friends and fellow musicians adding extra verses. The album has seen the band flex their creative muscles, bringing on board talented illustrator Lee Mason to create the karmic themed artwork, and it is being sold in three guises: -

• Break the circle (standard) – £8

• Break The Circle (deluxe) – double CD including remix CD all housed in a gatefold vinyl pack with lyrics and poster £12

The first single from the album is entitled Karma and also includes the politically antagonising They Chose To Lead Us. Opaque will be touring extensively throughout the summer so head to www.myspace.com/bandopaque for details

Email: opaque_moony@hotmal.com

Website: www.bandopaque.com

Myspace: www.myspace.com/bandopaque

Management: www.JamieTurnerNewMusic.co.uk

Patrick explains it all

2009-04-21T17:56:00.000+01:00

Randomly found this on the internet, it's well old but I'd never seen it before

Donwload an acoustic version of Hard Times (The next single from forthcoming album The Bachelor) recorded live on XFM sessions last night HERE
It's nice and has violins and doomsday lyrics
Get b-side 'Tinderbox' HERE

Björk ~ Voltaic

2009-04-20T14:29:00.000+01:00

The long awaited 4-disc live boxset from Iceland's finest export chronicling her amazing 2 year Volta world tour has been delayed AGAIN!
The suspense is killing me, but now I must wait until June for two full DVD concerts in 5.1 surround sound, 11 music videos, a documentary, a live session album and a remix compilation to fall into my grubby mits.

One track from the Paris DVD has leaked on the internet and can be viewed here.

Preorders made on the One Little Indian website will be sent out from mid May apparently.

Here are some still from the DVDs (click for full size)

Now that's a drum kit!

the WonderBrass girls in full swing!

L'Olympia in rainbows

Låt den rätte komma in

2009-04-20T13:14:00.000+01:00

Let The Right One In is a new Swedish film about a 12 year old boy, bullied at school and lonely, who falls in love with a quiet girl who moves into his block of flats. Pretty everday situation right? Wrong. She just happens to be a vampire.

Currently receiving rave reviews all over the shop, this brilliantly crafted film, which combines a subtle atmospheric horror with a touching coming-of-age tale, is the sort of thing which will easily become cult viewing. And I should imagine Hollywood is currently falling over itself to make an English language version, in the wake of Twilight's success even more so.
There are some superbly gruesome and macabre moments in this, but it's all done so artistically and elegantly, that it never becomes gross-out. Clever technique and a less-is-more attitude to gore proving far scarier and creepier than mainstream shock tactics.
Sadly its not available in the cinema in my town, due to the fact it's all in foreign and obviously no one wants to go to the cinema to read, so thank heavens for piracy!
Watch the film here!

Bat For Lashes - Sleep Alone & Glass (live)

2009-04-19T11:49:00.000+01:00

The amazing Bat For Lashes performs Sleep Alone from her new album Two Suns (which is at no.5 in the uk album chart woop woop!) for Zane Lowe, and it is an awesome performance.

Click here to watch "Sleep Alone" live in session from Zane Lowe

Also, you can download the audio of Glass recorded live at Nimes Arena in France when she opened for Radiohead. Click HERE

Bat for Lashes will be performing tracks from ‘Two Suns’ on Later with Jools Holland on BBC2 on April 21st

The first episode of ‘Later’ will start at 10pm on the 21st and will be broadcast live, with a more extended version of the show being shown on the 24th of April.

For more information visit the BBC ‘Later…’ website

Bat for Lashes is Awesome. Listen to her now. Here endeth the lesson.

Lovely music time!

2009-04-18T19:31:00.000+01:00

"This is around the time we first started calling it acid. I remember lying flat on our backs for hours. We'd listen to Ravi Shankar and Missa Louba, from Zaire, which is the mass, partly in Latin, done entirely with drums and African chanting. That was one of our favorites, along with the late quartets of Beethoven." ~ Timothy Leary

So if that's not recommendation enough for you I can't think what else to say, other than, regardless of whether this is great on acid or not, it's incredibly beautiful music that should be listened to at all costs.
Comprising of an African children's folk choir, who sound more angelic and heavenly than anything you'd hear in a western cathedral, and poly-rhythmic drumming that hypnotises your mind, it's a great record for relaxation, contemplation, soul searching, and especially (as I have found myself) getting menial housework out of the way...
The most arduous annoying task seems effortless with this weightlessly uplifting music playing in the background

Download it HERE (74MB)
Big thanks to What's In My iPod (one of my favourite blogs) for turning me onto this.