Dels feat. Joe Goddard & Roots Manuva – Capsize (Entrepreneurs Remix) by Entrepreneurs

Around that time a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumentalist called Wouter de Backer started making sample filled tracks that got the attention of Oz’s (rather good) Triple J radio. He’s now better known as Gotye (pronounced like Gautier), released 3 albums and won a few ARIA’s (down under’s answer to the Grammys).

His new album Making Mirrors is out now and you can hear the whole thing on Gotye’s SoundCloud page. Or on just about any other music blog right now. With hints of Andrew Bird and Broadcast 2000 his quirky sample pop still manages to sound natural, maybe even lo-fi on occasions. I’ve picked out two of my favourites from the record:

Somebody That I Used To Know featuring Kimbra is a mesmerising heartfelt love lost song, and probably the most poppy on the album; it’s got a good video too.

Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra) by Gotye

Smoke and Mirrors is full of all sorts of layers woven together into pop bliss. It makes you want to sway until you get the big build up towards the end of the song:

Smoke And Mirrors by Gotye

Well that is my relationship with pet fish.

Naming your band, like Binko Swink have done, after your pet fish might be a better way to remember your little scaly friends.

Lyla Foy and Dan Bell have made music under many various guises, more recently as Oldwick, who I came to know a couple of years ago after playing at a gig with them at the Half Moon in Putney. When I saw them again this year with a new lineup, style and songs as Binko Swink, I was amazed at how much more I loved their music.

With accomplished song-writing, serene and charmingly nonchalant lead vocals from Lyla as well as some perfectly judged lead guitar solos from Dan their music has taken a drastic leap forward. I’m excited for them.

Their first single Patient, is an intricate mid-tempo pop number which focuses perfectly on the song and the intimate vocals. It’s refreshing for a record made at home not to try and use every filter and button they can in their pro-tools rig. You don’t need to try and hide your music in layers all the time.

Patient by Binko Swink

Here’s the video:

Patient is being released by Adventure Club Records on 12 September 2011 – they’re having a single launch party on Battersea Barge.

It’s from Canadian Jordan Klassen who’s growing quite a following in the land of the maple leaf.

There’s a slew of influences including Sufjan Stephens and Beck, but aside from that I think this song stands on it’s own as a gracefully dramatic little masterpiece. There’s a bit of everything on Go To Me - whistles, trumpets, glocks and choirs that all come together to a refreshingly over loud anthemic climax.

Jordan Klassen – Go to Me by chippedhip

Don’t you find when the sun’s out you can’t beat strutting down the street listening to an awesome tune feeling pretty fucking good about yourself?

So my tune for a summery ego filled weekend is by Fitz & The Tantrums which I just came across at Mad Macrkel.

Founded by Michael Fitzpatrick in L.A., this six piece are quickly becoming known for their soul tapping tunes. They’ve recently toured with the rather lame Maroon 5 – but don’t let that put you off, they are far better than any pseudo soul pap. They have real soul.

So whack on your headphones, walk down the street take pride in the fact that you’re so effortlessly amazing you Don’t Gotta Work It Out.

Fitz & The Tantrums – Don’t Gotta Work It Out (mp3)

You can buy their album Pickin’ Up The Pieces from their own store and you can follow Fitz & The Tantrums on Twitter

I wouldn’t say that Bill Majoros, otherwise known as The Foreign Films, is anything like Kitano, or Japanese films, but his music would can certainly fill my time like Kitano did.

Marjoros’ former band Flux A.D. included Julie Fader (Feist, Great Lake Swimmers) and Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck) and has toured much of North America in various guises. Now he’s montaging all his experiences and sounds into a new soundtrack of his life as The Foreign Films.

Out of Marjoros’ songwriting skills and crunchy compressed vocals comes forth a mix of jangly 60′s guitars, 80′s new wave and soul bass riffs. It’s a refreshingly infectious summery feeling that will hopefully take him as far as the land of the setting sun.

He recently released the EP Fire From Spark which features appearances from Kori Pop and Alex McMaster (Arcade Fire). Courtesy of Bill, here is my highlight from the release, Lucky Streak, a catchy number which oozes class, so much so that it wouldn’t go amiss on a James Bond soundtrack…

The Foreign Films – Lucky Streak (mp3)

You can buy Fire From Spark from Bandcamp and follow The Foreign Films on Twitter

Brendan Angelides more commonly known now as Eskmo is an electronic experimental producer and recording artist based in San Fransico.

I’m sure that Entrepreneurs has taken a ton of inspiration from Eskmo. His bleeptastic hip hop soundscapes are impressive monuments created with grit and dirt. There’s so much going on, and it all comes together in some kind of harmonic thrust propelling you back 100 yards.

As I’m at a stag do I’m going to miss 4 June’s gig with Eskmo and Dels at Village Underground in Shoreditch. This makes me well up inside, but I’m sure by the time I’m at karaoke singing Stand By Me I’ll be drunk enough to forget all about it.

Here are a couple of tracks from his self-titled album Eskmo:

Eskmo: Moving Glowstream (Ninja Tune 2010) by Eskmo

Eskmo: Color Dropping (Ninja Tune, 2010) by Eskmo

You can buy Eskmo on Amazon and follow Eskmo on Twitter

The musician come graphic designer from Ipswich, Dels (born Kieren Dickins), is in a three album deal with Big Dada and can proudly include Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard amongst his fans. He is, like Gil Scott-Heron, a real innovator. Dels is a musician who happens to rap.

Dels’ first album GOB, is an experimental explosion of synths, beats and rhyme. ‘I am the architect of my thoughts where unicorn shit glitter are welcome aboard‘ is declaimed within the first 30 seconds of the record which pretty much somes up the rest of it. At the moment, GOB is leading my album of the year list – and would recommend listening to it now to really understand what Dels is all about.

You can find out more about him in his interview on my favourite podcast: Guardian Music Weekly. Here is one of the singles from the album, Trumpalump which features none other than Joe Goddard. Listen and you can see why he wanted to work with Dels and why I’m writhing with excitement every time I put this record on:

Trumpalump Featuring Joe Goddard (Hot Chip) by DELS

You can buy Gob on Amazon and follow Dels on Twitter.

In 2002 when Shania Twain‘s alleged tracklisting for her Up! album leaked I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about hearing a collection of songs. No, now don’t be silly, I wasn’t, and am not, a huge Shania fan or anything, but when you read a proposed tracklisting that consists of titles like: Thank You Baby (For Making Me Come So Soon); Waiter! Bring Me Water!; I’m Not in the Mood (To Say No!) and In My Car (I’ll Be the Driver), you can almost piss yourself with excitement at the thought of a major international pop artist throwing away the rulebook and choosing comedy over quality.

Where’s Shania today? Oh, she’s OUTSIDE THE BOX. Of course, these tracks all turned out to be pedestrian country-pop throwbacks, but at least the signs were there that Twain understood the importance of a stand-out song title.

Recycling is boring

You know what I mean. Oh look, let’s hear the latest single from No Direction, or Fiona Lewis, or any other made up derivative of an existing pop act, who churn out single after single with titles like “I Love You”, or “Girl”, or “Stay”, which are created under the standard process of recycling the same unimaginative, generic verbs and nouns. Mainstream pop is the most guilty genre of this crime, and presumably this is because the pop market essentially aims to please everyone at the same time.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. That’s right Fiona Lewis, in 2005 The Cardigans dropped an unexpected Personality Bomb on us with I Need Some Fine Wine And You, You Need To Be Nicer, which narrates the turbulent relationship of a dysfunctional couple who get drunk and then angry at each other every night. Kirsty MacColl told it like it was in 1981 with There’s A Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis, and even that dreadful emo act Panic At The Disco got it right one time with There’s a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven’t Thought of It Yet.

A good song title doesn’t have to necessarily be long to be interesting either. How I wished that the craze Rihanna started for inanimate objects as song titles had continued after her Umbrella in 2007, but alas, all we got was Eve and her Tambourine later that year.

Music can be a very stale place because once a new idea works commercially, every record company under the sun tries to make a carbon copy. When Britney Spears broke sales records in the first quarter of 1999, what followed was a wave of similar blonde-haired pop wasps, primped and programmed to get in on the honey. (Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, Alsou and Ellie Campbell were all launched within a year of Spears) And with the market saturated at the best of times, the least you can do as an artist is to throw an interesting song title into the mix. Should being interesting fail, listen to Shania and never underestimate the power of a well-placed bracket.

Top Ten Song Titles:

Not only are these song titles great, but they also fit the music underneath them. Bingo:

1. Kerry McGregor – A Yodel In The Canyon Of Love
2. The Cardigans – I Need Some Fine Wine And You, You Need To Be Nicer
3. Bobby Womack – If You Think You’re Lonely Now (Wait Until Tonight)
4. The Tamperer featuring Maya – If You Buy This Record Your Life Will Be Better
5. Nancy Wilson – Tonight May Have To Last Me All Of My Life
6. Wayne Carter – My Wife Ran Away With My Best Friend And I Sure Do Miss Him
7. Sufjan Stevens – They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!
8. Kirsty MacColl – There’s A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He’s Elvis
9. Golden Boy – It’s Good For You To Meet People Like Us
10. Bobby Fuller – I Fought The Law (And The Law Won)

Fishing is the experimental electronic pop duo Russell Fitzgibbon and Doug Wright from Sydney. Like the Avalanches they make big beaty tunes that turn your frowns upside down.

Their current single OOOO is a testament to their sunshine sound, and despite being full to the brim with ideas, samples and melodies, it all manages to merge into a happy and harmonious cacophony.

You can buy the LP and get a bonus EP with it. In the meantime have a listen to the OOOO and the b-side from the LP, Pee Green Bote, and give yourself a smile.

OOOO by FISHING

Pee Green Bote by FISHING