Two excellent compilations, each containing 15 vintage psychadelia gems handpicked by The Gaslamp Killer. No tracklistings for them but many are quite well known. They are both brilliant selections and perfect for chilling out to. Hope you enjoy them.
I cannot write a review good enough for this LP so heres a stolen one from Boomkat which comes close to describing what a stunning collection of work this is, definately one more for the classical, electronic, ambient, abstract fans out there but I would recommend it to every good music lover since it's such beautiful, timeless music. 'This really is a treat - a brand new re-mastered edition of one of the most elusive, sought-after compilations of all time. I know I have a habit of banging on about how rubbish compilations are (and for the most part, they really are) but occasionally there are one or two which really catch my ear. This isn't one of those occasional compilations either, this particular one is a 'once in a lifetime' affair, the sort of compilation which absolutely never comes to life anymore - it has everything you could possibly ask for. Firstly, every track is a winner... yep no matter what sort of music you're interested in, you have no grounds for criticising one moment on this record, secondly it's all exclusive material. For some reason, the label managed to secure not only a gang of interested (and interesting) artists but managed to procure great material out of them, great exclusive material - something almost unheard of. Thirdly, and one might say most importantly, this is supremely varied with tracks ranging from modern classical to new wave with room in the middle for a couple of 'ambient' interviews. Rarely (especially in 1980 when the comp was originally released on limited edition cassette) do collections of work come this varied and work so perfectly - in fact this sounds like the sort of cd a rabid muso friend might make for you after hours of long, hard thought. The sort of cd you'd listen to and think 'wow this is musical perfection but it would never be released, it's way too risky'. It took Belgian label 'Les Disques du Crepuscule' to actually muster up the courage to put something like this together, and with connections to Manchester's Factory label and also to influential composer Wim Mertens they managed to reign in an unusually large and bizarre sphere of influence. Where else would you be able to hear Gavin Bryars, Harold Budd and Michael Nyman next to Durutti Column, New Order (appearing here with a totally exclusive track, which has never appeared on other collections), Bill Nelson, Belgian no-wavers The Names and Joy Division super-producer Martin Hannett? 'From Brussels with Love' is the most wonderful of things, a disc packed with ideas so fresh and so groundbreaking that they still sound life-changing even today - and without a doubt is the perfect introduction to a label which would influence so many of today's classic independents. To put it simply, this is a music collector's wet dream and one of the most seminal, inspired compilations of all time. ESSENTIAL PURCHASE!' Courtesy of Boomkat
Some quality leftfield disco damage compiled and mixed by DJ Harvey. I believe this was a Japan only promotional only item that came out in 2001 but still sounds remarkably fresh. The info link below gives you a lot more details. Also, the 'official' tracklisting doesn't give away any track names although the link below gives you the majority. Highly recommended.
A top quality mixtape as requested by someone who enjoyed the DJ Muro mix below with over 50 tracks mixed in under 80 minutes. Various classic funk/soul tunes which have been sampled numerous times over the years in hip hop, primarily in west coast gangsta stuff. Check the tracklisting link for more info. If anyone else has any requests, please feel free to email/leave a message and I will see if I have it...
A wicked promo comp that came out last year to celebrate Staple Design's 10th anniversary. Along with some rarer stuff it also contains a lot of well known soul samples that some of you will no doubt recognize and which have been used by producers such as Kanye West, DJ Premier, Jus Blaze, RZA and J Dilla to name a few. The description on the disc says: 'Every track on this compliation is recorded using 2 turntables and vinyl records only. No part of this CD was digitally enhanced in anyway. In addition,every record was originally meant to be played back at 33rpm. DJ Muro has masterfully created this mix whereby he plays each record at the incorrect speed of 45rpm.' It sounds like it shouldn't work but it does so brilliantly. A compilation that I guarantee you will keep coming back to. Enjoy.
A wicked limited edition compilation Benji B put together last year for Triple 5 Soul. It still sounds great and you can tell a lot of time & thought went into it. Check Benji's show every Friday on 1Xtra for more quality sounds. I've also been meaning to get down to one of his Deviation nights this year which I've heard have been great also. The guy is a legend and looking at his career so far, it's amazing he's packed so much in so young...I'm quite envious, ha. A quality compilation.
Something slightly different to the usual stuff I've been posting on here recently. Mixed entirely on vinyl, legendary DJ/Producer/Remixer Andrew Weatherall has produced one of the best compilations of 2007 and one that took me completely by surprise. The mix is basically a musical journey through genres such as northwest grease, punk and rock n roll to sixties psychadelica, post-punk and hard rock. Weatherall has looked back to classics from the 50’s and 60’s and has mixed these with more obscure numbers from the same generation such as the opening track, ‘Rock n Roll Radio’ from Joe Boot and The Fabulous Winds. Progressing through the decades, there are some esoteric classics and exclusives from T Rex, Primal Scream and The Fall as the mix kicks up a more punky attitude. Admittedly I was not that familiar with a lot of the stuff on this comp before I listened to it but it has definitely opened my ears up to a whole new world of music which can be only be a good thing. Your highly unlikely to come across another CD like this all year and I throughly recommended you try to purchase it if you like what you hear.
Along with the Burial LP, this is definitely my other most listened to LP of the year. Inspirations such as Chicago & Detroit electronic music, soul music etc are clearly recognisable, but the way it's worked and moulded into his own Theo sound/style is what really impresses. You'll find tracks like 'Second Changes' or the amazing 'They Say' (both featuring vocals from Monicablaire) or 'Soul Control', that have echoes of work once released under 'The Rotating Assembly'. Furthermore there's the hardhitting 'Synthetic Flaem' very much on a minimal chicago tip, tracks like 'Galactic Traffic' & 'Friskie Biscuits' that have the signature offbeat programming and 'The Rink' which just screams Detroit Soul. Deep, soulful music which I can't recommend highly enough. A Simply Good Music Classic.
A quality, v warm sounding, soulful hip-hop LP from the duo of rapper Raw Poetic and producer K-Murdock known together as Panacea. Nothing very new or different in the sound/production here but the LP just works really well as a whole and it's one I have found myself coming back to quite a bit. You can hear the obvious Native Tongues influences but they successfully add their own quirky twist. They personally remind me most of Blackalicious. Two quotes I quite like which describe them are " A Tribe called Quest meets Final Fantasy" and "Stax on Syzurp". If you like your soulful 'Roots-esque' hip hop, you will enjoy this LP.
Firstly apologies for the lack of posts and file server problems I've been having recently. If you'd like anything in particular re-upped, please leave a comment and I shall see what I can do. Back to the music, this is an LP from 2006 but which I've only recently discovered and been listening to a lot. I had never heard of the French rapper Abd Al Malik before but on the basis of this LP, I will definitely be doing some more digging on him. The LP is a very original mixture of hip-hop, jazz, slam poetry and French philosophy which is reminiscent of some of MC Solaar's best works. The LP also won a 'Victoire de la Musique' award in France which I'm led to believe is similar to the Mercury Music Prize we have over here. A really solid LP that I was very pleasantly surprised by and highly recommend to everyone.
"That difficult second album then. Not content with having to follow-up on the success of his staggering debut, the kind of uncontrollable hyperbole electronic musicians have rarely had to deal with and the small matter of keeping his identity concealed from all but his closest friends (and some of those apparently don't even know), Burial has just gone and produced an album that appeared on first listen to satisfy even our most unreasonable expectations and, on repeat play, surpass them. "Untrue" is a much more emotive beast than its eponymous predecessor, a mood augmented by the vocal emphasis present on all but the short interlude tracks included on the cd edition. The most startling of these is the much-discussed "Archangel", a track framed by one of Burial's most devastating submerged-woodblock rhythms to date and devoured by an androgynous auto-tuned vocal that not only highlights Burial's spiritual descendance from UK Garage and 2-step but also his uncanny ability to create archetypal songs from the darkest, most foreign ingredients. As the legend goes, these pieces were all recorded deep into the night and the uncontrollable sense of loneliness and longing seeps out of every pore of this incredible collection of tracks. There's an overwhelming sense that, much like the abandoned streets and hazy luminescence of early-hours London, all normal rules of engagement have been suspended both musically and spiritually. This is music with a powerful, almost narcotic urge to connect with the outside world, like an emotional sleep-paralysis that imbues these pieces with an outsider aesthetic that seems neither forced nor self-aware, but beautifully ingenuous. And this is ultimately why (despite almost universal acclaim and legions of followers) no one has even attempted to copy Burial's signature sound - it's so removed from the everyday, daylight machinations of music-making that to have done so would have just been absurd. Towards the end of the album the majestic narcosis of the title track (an incredible piece of music that seems to squash a million different emotions into a barely contained mass of midnight percussion and exhausted narrative) makes way for "Shell of Light" - the cathartic turning point of the album and a quietly overwhelming push into slowly emerging daylight. The effect is both joyous and utterly startling, and ultimately extremely moving. Beyond all the myth-making and emotive resonance - "Untrue" is also an album that manages to offer percussive innovation and a submerged deviant funk that you will be as powerless to resist as we were on first listen - and if a better album has been released in 2007, we've yet to hear it. ESSENTIAL PURCHASE." Courtesy of Boomkat
I've been feeling this LP quite a bit recently. Nu-jazz and broken beat have become terms/genres associated with boring music over the last year for some reason even though the scene is still thriving. Admittedly their is a lot of shit being released but like any genres, their is still always a lot of great stuff to be found, you've just got to dig a little bit deeper. This LP is a good example of quality broken beat/nujazz/lo-fi/deep house/club jazz/whatever you wanna call it still being made. Watch out for Atjazz and Charles Websters forthcoming EP under the name 'Version'.
Gilb'R and I:Cube mix up Italo (Arken) , disco (Todd Terje) and their own Château Flight productions over the first half, before straying into techno (Westbam, Henrik Schwarz, Smith N Hack) and even Italian soundtracks (Riz Ortolani) in the latter half. Overall it's a brilliantly executed selection and mix which for me personally, just about edges it over the previously mixed volume by DJ Dixon. One of the better comps of the year.
Eskimo records are one of the best labels out there for releasing consistently quality compilations. This is no exception and one of the best of the year in fact. The Glimmers have managed to make a pretty eclectic selection of tracks work well together without being too retro or trendy in the process. Essential stuff.
"This is a unique record release series, much of it from the glorious explosion of soulful, sorrowful and joyful music cut between the repression of absolute monarchy and the cultural insanity of the Derg regime. The spoilt complaints of Western pop musicians pale into insignificance compared to the defiant human spirit contained in these recordings. Do yourself a favour and discover the Ethiopian R&B counterparts to James Brown, Elvis Presley and Jackie Wilson but also jazz composers, choral groups, folk minstrels and bluesmen with power and wildness of Bukka White or Son House, or contemplative piano music that might suggest Bill Evans or Maurice Ravel for a moment, but is really from a strange and wonderful place of its own." Elvis Costello
An essential compilation which again I recommend very highly. Eskimo Records, which this came out on, are also responsible for another of my favourite compilations this year which I will try to upload soon. If you like what you hear, please try and purchase the record or support the artist/label in some way.
Admittedly this album came out in late 2006 but I didn't discover it until the beginning of this year so thats why it's here. It's also such a great record it doesn't matter. It's basically Erlend Øye from Kings of Convenience fame along with his pals making stripped down rock/pop music without layering, editing or effects. The simple combination of drums, bass, guitar and Erlend's breezy, yet intimate voice create a sound that is both funky and melancholy. A truly original pop band making the simplest sounding dance songs in the most organic way, this is one of the best albums you will hear this year (if you haven't already heard it in 2006 that is).
Timeless, beautiful music probably best describes this album. Very hard to describe musically and as you have probably already guessed I'm not too great at describing LP's either. Think of a mixture of the best bits of Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Air, Talk Talk, Arthur Russell, Santana and Midlake and your getting kind of close. Best probably to just listen for yourselves. Drugged out balearic prog-rock maybe? An essential album.
Kathy Diamonds debut LP came out in April and is produced by the genius that is Maurice Fulton. It is an excellent modern day boogie/disco record that I can't recommend highly enough. The guy is one of the most talented producers around as well also being one of the best and most exciting DJ's I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Kathy Diamonds voice is also captivating and perfectly suited to the production. I hope they decide to record a follow up.
I didn't give this LP much time on first listen and disregarded it as a bit boring. Like most albums to which I do this to though, it has slowly grown on me to now become one of my favourites of 2007. Little Dragon are four friends from Sweden who produce/play quirky, sparse and genre defying music based around Yukimi Nagano's (of Koop/Swell Session/Hird fame) eerie yet heartfelt tones. Jazzy electronic future soul sums up the tone of the LP well. Out on the ever excellent Peacefrog records, it comes highly recommended. They are also supposed to be great live.
This was an LP that completely took me by surprise and has become one that I have kept coming back to. I had no idea who Angil or the Hidden Tracks were beforehand but after a bit of online research I managed to find out a bit more. At the moment I think it's only released in France officially, on the 'We Are Unique' label but available to order online. The best way I can describe it is to imagine an inventive, experimental mixture of jazz, folk and classical influences. It reminds me very much of Robert Wyatt's music, especially Angil's voice and vocal style. A challenging, not instantly accessible LP but well worth it.
Yet again, I am too lazy to write a proper review except to say that this is my favourite jazz LP of the year and it will take something very special to beat it. This review puts into words, better than I could anyway, as to why it's so good. Another essential LP that I urge you to buy if you enjoy what you hear.
I'm not sure this LP was ever an official release or whether it will be for that matter. It was supposedly scheduled to come out on Troubleman Unlimited around now but I believe Chromatics have recently signed to the Italians Do It Better label and have/are releasing an LP entitled 'Night Drive' which I haven't heard except for one track. Whatever is happening about this LP, I can't recommend it highly enough. It's like a combination of after hours disco, krautrock, ethereal electronica and new wave. Essential stuff and one of the best of the year. If anyone does know if this is going to get an official release somewhere, I'd love to know.
Map of Africa are the duo of DJ Harvey and Thomas Bullock (Rub 'N' Tug, A.R.E Weapons). Released on the cult-like Whatever We Want Records it has been on constant rotation for me since it came out a few months ago. I've read the term 'Swamp Boogie' used to describe it which I quite like but yet again with a lot of stuff I've been feeling this year, it's really hard to classify into a specific genre as such. I really recommend you purchase it if you like it since it comes in a beautifully packaged limited gate fold sleeve and the cover design itself is also my personal favourite of the year so far.
