singing detective

nigh

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:41:00 +0000

For the last post, I thought I'd skip E and move straight along to two tracks from folky electronica giant FourTet. These are both taken from a 12inch released just prior to his breakthrough album of 2001, Pause, though they weren't included on the album. So maybe there are those of you out there for whom they're new.
The first is about as laidback and stripped down as its possible for a song to be - the looping of fret buzz and the sound of finger-on-guitar-string are pretty inspired, I thought.
The second is more poppy than Keiran usually gets, though this is off-set by a pensive, almost melancholic mood. A really beautiful track.

FourTet ~ Look after your mermaid

FourTet ~ Warmer places

Well, that's it lads n lasses. It's been a nice experiment over the past year, and I'm grateful for your comments, time & attention. I may be back sometime in the future with a new blogging adventure, but that's it for now.
Take care.
J x

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retro void

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:40:00 +0000

This is a track that will be immediately recognised by anyone with either a passing aquaintance with De La Soul or with US children's TV of the 1970s. Or both.
It was re-released on Blue Break Beats Vol4 - that is, the fourth collection of old Blue Note tracks sampled by hiphop and other artists. But that's a bit of a swizz, as this track, to the best of my knowledge, was written by Bob Dorough for the Schoolhouse Rock series of children's-ed cartoons, and never actually released on Blue Note.
No matter, it's a great track, if a little weird during the counting sections...

Bob Dorough ~ Three is the magic number

You can buy a hold host of Bob's tunes here, or at his homepage here.

And here's the great animation for all you retro-voiders

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on weather

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:53:00 +0000

I've posted some Daedelus before, but he's a nice man making some very nice music, so here's some more.

This first track is from a dublab various EP that also includes tracks from the like of Sa-Ra, Nobody & Prefuse73 (an alternate take of the 'Rain Edit', the Perhacs sampling track from Surrounded by Silence). I'm not sure that anyone else could fuse the sources he does on this song without making it sound like a right dog's dinner, but he succeeds. A really lovely song, (unless you have issues with The Cure being sampled):

Daedelus ~ A touch of spring

And speaking of Prefuse 73, a slightly different version of this remixed Daedelus track was included on his One Word Extinguisher album, but cited as a Prefuse tune. Which I thought was a little cheeky, and for a while made me think they were, in fact, the same bloke. Anyway, enough jibbajabba, here's the song:

Daedelus ~ Busy Signal (P73 remix)

And another brilliant track from his '03 Household EP. This should be liked by fans of the Dirty Projectors, as it reminds me of their more electronic songs...

Daedelus ~ Snooze Button

Enjoy

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mama feelgood

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:28:00 +0000

This track is the ultimate party tune! A fine, fine break that's been sampled by everyone from the London Funk Allstars to yo mama. If this don't get you movin, you better be dead, or in jail.

Recorded during the 'coke and chants' period of James Brown's musical career, and I think it's a real pity that it doesn't go on longer. Most of his tunes pick up a groove and just hit it (and don't quit it) for close to 8 minutes, but no such luck here. They're in an out in under 3 1/2 minutes - so short in fact that when I played it at parties I used to cut a second copy in at the 2 1/2 minute mark when you hear that weird 'booiiing' sample.
A classic...

Lyn Collins ~ Rock me again and again and again

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crash the boards

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:03:00 +0000

I've decided to give it a rest on this blogging lark. I've enjoyed posting for this past year, and I've definitely been introduced to some great music, and music lovers, though this site. But I'll soon get to my 100th post, and I think I'll use it to bow out. I mean, with floodwatch droppin knowledge like this, how the fuck are the rest of us meant to compete?!..

Back to today, and I'm amazed that I haven't posted anything by the Cali Agents yet. I always found their music really intriguing, as I always thought they sounded like they were from the East Coast. - Their music was usually stripped down to the bare bones of perhaps a piano loop, bass, a couple of vocal samples, and a clean beat, it all sounded more like Premo than the stuff coming from the West at this time. It all made their name seem pretty ironic to me.

Here's three great tunes from their 2000 album How the West was One. Listen to this first track - ain't that a straight East Coast beat?..

Cali Agents ~ The Good Life

Cali Agents ~ Neva forget

And the album title track:
Cali Agents ~ How the West was One

Oh, and here's a track that Planet Asia recorded before he hooked up with Rasco

Planet Asia ~ Fresno state of mind

myspace
a good interview by DaveyD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update:
when I complimented floodwatch above, I didn't mean to suggest that blogging should be competitive. It shouldn't be, even tho some folk are trying to make it that way. I just meant that I think others' blogs are way better than this one.
~ For 'droppin knowledge' blogs, floodwatch is one of the best; I also definitely recommend domino rally, durutti, from da bricks and souled on.
- For 'diggin through the crates, enthusiasm-for-music' type blogs, obviously you should go to dilated choons, and pop register
~ And for 'new music' blogs you can't go far wrong by ch-ch-checking out FUCKING DANCE, analog giant, get weird turn pro and just press play.

Something for all the family in that list, I think.
Take care

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remove these clouds

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:45:00 +0000

The career of Judy Clay never really took off in the same way as many of her (usually less talented) contemporaries. Some of that is as a result of her being, by some accounts, a right-royal pain in the arse to work with - refusing to play the Harlem Apollo for less than a truckload of cash, for example, which effectively sunk the promotion of her '69 comeback single and caused Atlantic to drop her from the label.
But she remains an important figure in the history of soul, and for more reasons than just the quality of her vocal performances. Along with white soul singer Billy Vera, she was one half of the first interracial duo signed to a major label, for example. -Another move that didn't do her career much good, as the major TV networks refused to broadcast them singing together, such was the sense of the time...

Possibly the track she is most famous for is this belter, recorded with William Bell for Stax:

Judy Clay & William Bell ~ Private Number

and on the 12-inch version I've got, there are also three other really nice tunes. Here's one of them...

Judy Clay & William Bell ~ Left over love

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jackobooty

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:26:00 +0000

I bought this bootleg remix of Brandy's 'What about us' about 3 years ago in Sheffield. I think it's better than the original, perhaps because they shift her vocal by half a beat, so it no longer comes in on the upbeat.
I'm not sure who was responsible for it, but you can still buy it here at Boomkat, along with a pretty dodgy (but still funny) cover version of Michael Jackson's Thriller on the flipside.

Brandy ~ What about us? rmx [right click]

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puro teatro

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 16:29:00 +0000

From one Pedro to another, and a bit of a change of pace.

In '98 my sister bought me the collected 'Songs of Almodovar', knowing how much of a fan I was of his films. (It was actually only the second CD I owned, being a longtime opponent of the Devil's shiny beermats...) And I still haven't tired of the charm and beauty of many of the tracks. Sure, a few of them push the boat way out into camp-land - too far for me to share my love for them with you here. Others just dip their foot into such territory, like these three gems...

Luz ~ Piensa en mi [Think of me, while you're fucking her], taken from High Heels

Chavela Vargas ~ en el Último Trago [In the last sip], taken from The Flower of my Secret

Maysa Mataraso ~ Ne me quitte pas [Don't leave me], taken from Law of Desire

Buy!

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kept my high from the second one

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:21:00 +0000

Pedro's second full length album is about due to drop over in the UK, a full 6 months or so since some kind of scheduling error meant it was released in Australia.
There's much to admire in this album, and some tracks that I love already. I must keep in mind that it took me a couple of listens to really love his first eponymous album, so I guess I shouldn't rush this one. Still, I would have loved more of the broken piano-based tracks that lit up that first release and a few less tunes featuring bleating saxophone that feature here.

I'm sure that some will draw comparisons between the music that James makes as Pedro and folk like Four Tet, Manitoba, Prefuse 73 and others in that glitchy-folktronica ilk. I kind of get these comparisons, and it is difficult to write about his stuff without using the word 'reminiscent', but still I think that he is doing something a bit different. Similar but different. God it feels late, here's some of his nice songs...

Pedro ~ Hope is a happieness

Pedro ~ Hope is a happieness [right click save as]

Pedro ~ Spools

Pedro ~ Spools [right click save as]

mehspace
Buy!

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tricksy tricks

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:45:00 +0000

To celebrate their first 10 years of life, releasing some lahhvely records, Sonar Kollektiv have organised 10 days of gigs & parties across Berlin. The band list is incredibly impressive, featuring
most of the big names from their catalogue, plus some special guests.

More details in the player below...

10 Years Sonar Kollektiv
Uploaded by 10-years-sonar-kollektiv

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pay dirt

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 18:01:00 +0000

Sorry for the radio silence; the first week of semester is always a bit of a killer.

I've been wanting to post this track for a while now, and the occasion of my best bud (finally) getting his visa & clearing these hallow shores gives me the excuse I need.
John fact #27: I learnt how to play drums to this track. Ahh, the nostalgia...
Enjoy Alb, I hope all is sunny & bright where you are.

Rapeman ~ ~~Just got paid~~

And, for those of you who like the alphabetisation, here is the original by Zed Zed Top.

ZZ Top ~ ~~Just got paid~~

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the sundays+prefuse=?..

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 20:29:00 +0000

I stumbled across Your Infamous Harp whilst trawling around, and I really like what they're doing. Some of the tracks on their new album - Prah Suomafni Ruoy - do stray a little bit too close to twee-zone for me, and a few are too vocal (see posts passim), but other tunes are just beautiful. The fragility of the singer's voice is really complimented by the glitchy music. Listen to the full album here.

And download this ripped track here:

Your Infamous Harp ~ ~~Musicbox~~

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scrub-a-dub

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 19:15:00 +0000

What's that sound? A barrel being scraped?..

You may be happy to know that this is almost certain to be my last X post. Poly Styrene is a brilliant name for a punk singer though.

X-Ray Spex ~ ~~Germ free adolescents~~

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sho nuff a cat

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 19:06:00 +0000

Second in an occasion series of posts looking at versions and revisions, but unlike the one on the UTs, I've got the original track for this one:

Frank Williams ~ ~~You got to be a man~~

And here is DJ Food's reworking of this funk classic. The twelve-bar structure is taken out, as is much of the vocal track unfortunately, but what it put in its place works pretty well too.

DJ Food ~ ~~Uptight~~

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make another man sing...

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 17:16:00 +0000

I'm surprised that it's taken me three times around my a-b-c to post this great track from DJ Vadim, ft Sarah Jones.
I was lucky enough to see Sarah Jones live, once back in 2002 (I think). She was over here from the States on a brief tour promoting this track (amongst other things) and we caught her act in Sheffield. It was all going really well for her, until she switched character to give a short soliloquy by Pakistani housewife, which was all a bit too close to Mind Your Language for much of the audience.
As Huey Lewis could have put it: racial politics, is a curious thing.

DJ Vadim ft Sarah Jones ~ ~~Your Revolution~~

DJ Vadim ft Sarah Jones ~ ~~Your Revolution~~

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disco redux

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 19:01:00 +0000

Keepin' it on the one for this post.
It took me a while to clock onto the Unabombers series of 'mysterious disco edits' on their Electric Souls label, so I can't comment on the first 10 releases. This one is great though: a real smooth funky, mid-tempo disco cut, dug out from someones crate and souped for its 2005 release. Wish I knew who did the original - any ideas?..

The UBs ~ ~~Gotta get back to you~~

The UBs ~ ~~Gotta get back to you~~

Buy more recent UB disco edits here

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we got love

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 17:59:00 +0000

Repeat visitors to this blog will probably have a sense of my view of vocals. It's not that I don't like singing, I just don't always see the point. There's no quicker way to ruin a perfectly good tune than to put on some terrible singer, or some tedious cliche ridden lyrics, or, God be praised, both combined.
So when I find a singer I like, I tend to go a bit overboard and really like them. So it is with Tammi Terrell, who was blessed with a voice so sublime that it almost makes me want to get religious on yo ass. This gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. The best love song ever, ever recorded...

Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell ~ ~~You're all I need to get by~~

Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell ~ ~~You're all I need to get by~~

Buy

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strictly for groovers

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 09:54:00 +0000

When I was younger, the best best best parties I went to were put on by the DiY collective, in fair Nottingham city. Their combination of deep house, disco and (with the addition of DJ Emma) funk & downbeat, was everything I needed from a night out. So, in memory of those nights out, here's a few tracks that, erm, remind me of those nights out.

I love, love, love this track. An absolute belter, from their 'Definitions of Bounce' double 12"

DiY ~ ~~Interdeltic~~

Another from that brilliant record, this time DJ Emma's downbeat definition of bounce. The keyboard riff that comes in at about the 2.30 minute mark is sublime.

DiY ~ ~~the real emma~~

I always wondered if my copy of this 12" had been mislabelled, as on the other side there is meant to be a track called 'Get Down'...

To-Ka ~ ~~72 degrees~~

And two others from disco kings Swag, off their 2003 LP No Such Thing

Swag ~ <~~2+2=5~~ (No such Remix)

Swag ~ ~~Fat Chance~~

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zombie playoffs

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:38:00 +0000

Stones Throw released podcast #24 earlier this week, but given that I'm dumber than a bag of spanners, and I can't work out this iTunes thingy, I've had to wait until it started to float around the ether to post it here. Put together by Peanut Butter Wolf, it contains all the greats you'd expect it to, and some real nice leftfield surprises.
So here you go! And if you know how to iTune, you can subscribe to future podcasts here

Oh, and just to remind you: you can download this file by clicking on the divshare logo on the right of the embed below.

PB Wolf ~ ~~Stones Throw Podcast #24~~

Track listing:

00:00 Intro
02:30 Supreme Team "See (Suite)"
03:30 Quasimoto "Hydrant Game (Jaylib Remix)"
04:30 J Dilla feat. Kweli & Tip "Lightworking"
06:30 Madlib "Wigflip"
09:10 Dam Funk "Sidewayz"
10:18 Oh No "Breakout"
11:00 J Dilla feat. DOOM & Guilty "Mash's Revenge"
12:50 Guilty Simpson
13:35 Percee P feat Prince Po "Last of the Greats"
15:48 MED "Bring It Down"
16:45 Beat Konducta "Trouble"
17:35 Baron Zen "Electronic (Koushik Remix)"
18:50 Oh No "Action (Rap Version)"
20:25 Aloe Blacc "Find A Way"
21:55 Niko & DJ Babu "Now You Know"
23:05 J Rocc "Super Sound"
24:30 Bumps "Tryplmeade Gorsmatch"
25:45 James Pants "Ka$h (PB Wolf Remix)"
28:05 Arabian Prince "Professor X Saga"
29:35 Jonathan Brown "Bass Creator's Groove"
30:45 CX Kidtronix "Big Girl, Skinny Girl"

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popular ornithological bookmarks

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:26:00 +0000

From the SK site:
'Reunion are two well-known Swedish musicians - bassist & producer Jens Lodén and jazz pianist Mathias Landaeus. They met in the mid 80s as teenagers and have been playing and producing music together since then.'

I love the keys on this track, from their 2002 release 'RE' on Sonar Kollektiv, and the way they play off the bass & sax. The Latin percussive stabs, starting around the 3-minute mark, are also a great add to the tune.

Reunion ~ ~~P.O.B.~~

Buy

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sources du raï

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:36:00 +0000

Cheikha Remitti is, or at least was, the grandmother of traditional Algerian music. And she kicked ass for the whole of her long and creative life.

Born in 1923 in Relizane, she was writing and performing almost literally right until the end of her life in 2006 - her final concert being 2 days before she passed.
I first heard about her during my PhD. A newspaper article about her and her music really stuck in my mind, partly because it was one of only four reports on Algeria (out of over 250 I analysed) that weren't about the mass murders that were plaguing the country at that time. Her name - Remitti - is a phonetic corruption of the French remettez, meaning another, which is pretty fitting given her rep for hard drinking.

Although I don't claim to understand all her lyrics, I still love the music she made. I've read that her songs explore all forms of love, sing the praises of friendship, try to explain how people can drown themselves in alcohol and berate moralists - both secular and religious - for their lack of understanding of the human heart. She was one of the first to sing about the difficulties of being a woman in Algeria and, since the 1940s, sang, in great detail, about sexual pleasure and sexual disappointment. And you've gotta give the woman props for that.

Here's two tracks from her Sources du Raï album, released by the Institut du Monde Arabe. She's accompanied on both songs by Nouba Belahcene on derbouka, AbdelKader Medjahri on guellal and Mohamed Hamnache on gasba.
The first is about a tourist, and I don't know anything else about what she's saying.

Cheikha Remitti ~ ~~Djat Thawwes~~

This second one was written in the 1950s, and it really got her in trouble. In it she advises young women to lose their virginity as soon as possible, which is definitely the way to go if you're trying to wind up moralists.

Cheikha Remitti ~ ~~Charrag, Gattaa~~

Buy

Or Buy

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over and over

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:29:00 +0000

Time for a guitar-based post, me thinks.

Although I'm pretty sure that anyone wanting these tracks probably already has them, I thought I'd offer them anyway.

I've liked Queens of the Stone Age for a while now, and my enjoyment of this track hasn't abated. I love the way that they use the guitars in such a rhythmic way, bashing out the melody like it was part of the drum track. I imagine that hardcore fans prefer one of their less poppy tracks, but I think it's a belter.

Queens of the Stone Age ~ ~~No one knows~~.

Same goes for this one. Perhaps it's the way it sounds like a heavy-rock update of Blockbuster by The Sweet...

Queens of the Stone Age ~ ~~Do it again~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And, as a special treat, a song about David Yow's blockbuster. Not sure what it is. Not sure I really want to know.

Jesus Lizard ~ ~~Blockbuster~~

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prefuse preview

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 09:06:00 +0000

Yes, my children. Praise be to Jiminy Cricket and all his little shrimp boys, Prefuse 73 is releasing a new album this October.
This track is currently doing the rounds and, from the sound of it, it seems that old Guillermo Scott Herren may be taking this, his sixth full album, more in the direction of folktronica - hinted at in his past releases, of course.
He's also off on a tour of the US & Europe, starting today in Boulder CO. Dates here.

Prefuse 73 ~ ~~Class of 73 Bells~~

Oh, ok you're twisted my arm. Here's another track from Herren, in his Piano Overlord guise. Beautiful, n'est pas?

Piano Overlord ~ ~~Agrophobia~~

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tight. like grandpa's speedos

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:13:00 +0000

I guess most people will be familiar with Pharoahe Monch from his recent banger Body Baby. Perhaps a few will know that he's been releasing some cracking stuff since the start of the 90's as one half of Organized Konfusion.

Their 1994 release Extinction Agenda is a case in point. Although it received some critical acclaim at the time, it never really made it in terms of sales, which is a pity as I think it's a classic of mid-90s hip-hop. The usual reasons have been trotted out - bad promotion being the one settled on most frequently - and I guess there may be some mileage in that explanation. But, thinking back to what was in heavy rotation on my stereo during those years, maybe it also suffered from droppin too soon after the Pharcyde's debut. [And of course, I am, like, totally representative of the average hip-hop hed]

Here's three from this classic. First up, a bit of a party track, and unfortunately not one that tends to get listed too often as once of the album's better songs. Real nice summer-type groove

Organized Konfusion ~ ~~3-2-1~~

the perhaps more recognisable album title track

Organized Konfusion ~ ~~Extinction Agenda~~

before the widely acknowledged masterpiece of the album - a first-person narrative of the path of stray bullet

Organized Konfusion ~ ~~Stray Bullet~~

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[Image from here]

light of morning

noreply@blogger.com (John E) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 10:13:00 +0000

Next month, the debut album from Mojib - or Gothenburg's Staffan Ulmert - is due to drop on Canadian indie label NXR. This preview track I've been sent it is a really beautiful instrumental pop song, all lush strings & acoustic-sounding drum patterns.
The strings remind me a little of BoomBip's 'Roads must run' that I posted a week or two ago, but here the effect is lighter, more carefree, than BB's rather sombre treatment.

Mojib ~ ~~Break of dawn~~

To mark the occasion, Mojib has also made a series of mixes & mash-ups freely available on his site. There's a 4-part epic Mojib VS UNKLE mix containing over forty UNKLE tracks and, my particular favourite, a Mojib VS The Avalanches mix, that's as playful & creative as you'd expect.
MP3s free to d-load here at his site [in the mixsets drop down].

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