Scrambled Music

#Gaming6Music Has to be “Theme from Narc” by Pixies....

Sun, 13 Sep 2015 18:18:08 +0100

#Gaming6Music Has to be “Theme from Narc” by Pixies. Apparently inspired by a tour bus pastime

Dean McPhee - Son of the Black Peace

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:25:31 +0000

Awesome on album as he was live. This is one man, one telecaster, a handful of effects and a valve amp. One take, and I can only imagine a minimal amount of mixing/mastering. Just sublime.

Talking, as we were, about New Order covers, here’s one by...

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 22:21:43 +0000

Talking, as we were, about New Order covers, here’s one by my current musical crush, Buke & Gase.

Apparently originally recorded for RadioLab, which if you’re not familiar with, is well worth a listen.

merlin: copycats: “Ceremony” by Chromatics Originally by Joy...

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 20:00:07 +0000

merlin:

copycats:

“Ceremony” by Chromatics

Originally by Joy Division / New Order

Just lovely.

Nice cover of Ceremony. Chromatics are one of the bands of 2012 for me, having seen them at La Route Du Rock in August.

ATP Shellac of North America

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:27:38 +0000

Just on the train on the way home from another great ATP. Well, great from the perspective of bands at any rate. The venue (Pontins at Camber Sands) took a bit of adjustment after the relative luxury of previous years – a severely limited choice of food and a bordering-on-the-suicidal bar management policy (running out of three of the four frankly below-par draught beers mid-way through the second day, and chronic understaffing the bars) being the most obvious areas of want. Then there was the frankly baffling security policy – randomly closing exits for no apparent reason, very rigid application of apparently arbitrary traffic control – very rum.

However, rant over, there were some excellent bands on offer – with no real duffers, but here are my highlights…

Day one

The event being curated by Shellac (billed as Shellac of North America, presumably to differentiate them from all the other Shellacs in circulation) this was always going to be a noisy line up, and Bristol’s MyOwnFlag were the first to fulfil the promise. Good, honest, angular math rock! Scrawl gave an awesome performance of proto-Riot Grrrl indie (© lazy comparisons ‘r’ us). They were also the most prominent band in the audiences at the festival – everywhere I turned, I ran across the drummer. I even bumped into them at the station waiting for the train on they way home.

The final highlight of day one was the set by Turing Machine. Great loping grooves and Hawkwind-y motorik stuff going on, with a few nods to the funkier elements of post-punk. Other points of reference: !!!, an altogether noisier Hot Chip (geeks with grooves) and LCD Soundsystem (whose Nancy Whang joined them for the finale).

Day two

Day two brought a further series of delights, starting with Buke and Gase wielding their wonderful series of musical contraptions to superb effect. Coming on like a cross between Throwing Muses, Grizzly Bear, Kate Bush and Rodrigo y Gabriela on acid, they were one of the highlights of the festival. I’d recommend a listen to the recent EP Function Falls and 2010’s Riposte (standout track Revel in Contempt).

An unfortunate scheduling clash meant I wasn’t able to see the majority of what was promising to be a great set by Wire – the sonic assault of Melt Banana was calling. They didn’t dissappont, and the crowd reacted with a volatile mosh pit and more crowd surfing than I’ve seen in a long time. They even chucked in a cover of “Wonderful World” for good measure. Awesome. This was given a run for its money by Zeni Geva’s set, which delivered on the promise of the “prog hardcore metal” label. Even better, however, was KK Null’s solo set which unleashed 15 minutes of relentless aural assault.

Day three

The third day delivered delights in the form of The Cravats’ skronky para-punk (and best song introduction of the festival: “This song is called I Hate The Universe, which pretty much covers everything”), and The Membranes’ bombast. The Ex also impressed, although it did look like they were being menaced by the brass section at times. Then there was the psychedeilic rock of Alix, the best of a number of Italian bands on the bill.

Sunday, however, was all about Dead Rider and Shellac. The former lived up to my expectations – brilliantly unhinged live, and one of the few bands I’ve seen who seem to manage to translate this to their recordings (2010’s The Raw Dents being exactly what I was hoping it would be). Really great chunky, vision-disrupting sub-bass and angular guitar and rhythms combined with a brilliant display of showmanship (verbally abusing the drummer during the drum solo, the virtuosic catch and subsequent seamless donning of an unexpected woolen hat thrown from the crowd) to produce far and away the most entertaining set of the weekend.

And finally to the headliners. Shellac’s set was as intense, powerful and accomplished as one has come to expect – they’ve lost none of their drive in their twenty year career. What sets them apart from the “me too” acts is the biting humour and intelligence exhibited by the band. This was a set for the mind as well as the body. The mid-set Q&A incorporated a grammar lesson, and Steve’s impassioned plea to make the bands part of our lives underlined their utter commitment to talent. The closing act of Steve and Bob dismantling Todd’s kit as he continued to play was a joy to behold. Inspiring.

ATP, here we come!!!

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 08:15:00 +0000

Just getting ready to set off to ATP at Camber Sands. It’s going to be a great weekend! As a service to my fellow revellers, I’ve dropped the running order into a calendar you can subscribe to on your phone (or whatever).

Just click here and see what happens…

EDIT: hmmm. Doesn’t seem to be working in all cases… Try this link instead… Sorry!

EDIT II: So on an iPhone, press and hold this link and select the “Copy” option. Then open the iPhone settings app, scroll down to “Mail, Contacts, Calendar”, select “Add Account…”, “Other”, “Add Subscribed Calendar”. Press and hold in the “Server” box to paste in the link and it should work!

The five myths about contemporary classical music Tom Service,...

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:40:16 +0100

The five myths about contemporary classical music
Tom Service, guardian.co.uk

Contemporary classical music is devoid of melody and appeal, all noise and no fun. At least, that’s the cliche. But this is music that is very much at the heart of our modern world
1. It all sounds like a squeaky gate
There are two side…

Perfect summation of an open minded approach to music appreciation. Music is, after all, music…

Steve Reich Rewrites Radiohead thequietus.com Influential...

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:12:00 +0000

Steve Reich Rewrites Radiohead
thequietus.com

Influential minimalist composer Steve Reich is to debut a work based on two songs by popular Oxford group Radiohead, reports The Guardian. Radio Rewrite will be performed at the Southbank Centre next March by 13 musicia…

Interesting to see what this produces…

Left Silver Apples halfway through for fear the gig would ruin a...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:41:51 +0000

Left Silver Apples halfway through for fear the gig would ruin a great album for me. Didn’t click with Junior Boys (Spandau Ballet covers). Omar Souleyman, whilst a default choice, is bringing a huge grin to my face.

Sun Ra Arkestra win the prize for sparkliest capes, hats and...

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:11:37 +0000

Sun Ra Arkestra win the prize for sparkliest capes, hats and outlooks of the festival. Strangely Christmassy.

Pharoah Saunders: Legend! This will certainly be the most...

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:25:22 +0000

Pharoah Saunders: Legend! This will certainly be the most original thing I hear all weekend.

One of the finds of ATP, for me: Dead Rider

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:06:52 +0000

One of the finds of ATP, for me: Dead Rider

Flying Lotus doing some astounding things with a laptop.

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:03:04 +0000

Flying Lotus doing some astounding things with a laptop.

Dead Rider.

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:59:15 +0000

Dead Rider.

This what people came to see Gary Numan for. He didn’t...

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 20:38:28 +0000

This what people came to see Gary Numan for. He didn’t disappoint, but I get the sense there was more new material than old. Good set - very gothy-industrial. I expect Are Friends Electric was the closer, although a potentially yelling daughter meant I missed the last 10 minutes.

Battles, co-curators of ATP Nightmare Before Xmas, kicking off...

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 15:42:54 +0000

Battles, co-curators of ATP Nightmare Before Xmas, kicking off day two. Yesterday was pretty good - one or two duds, but set the standard for what’s promising to be a great line-up.

Holy Fuck. Holy fuck!

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 01:35:44 +0000

Holy Fuck. Holy fuck!

Oxes cover of Wild Thing. Who needs more than guitar, vocals and...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:02:00 +0000

Oxes cover of Wild Thing. Who needs more than guitar, vocals and drums. I am standing near the PA, vibrating gently.

The Budos Band: bastard offspring of The Horny Horns and...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 20:57:01 +0000

The Budos Band: bastard offspring of The Horny Horns and Metallica. Like ‘em!

ATP Nightmare Before Christmas: Les Savy Fav/Battles/Caribou

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:24:35 +0000

Bodes well - Marnie Stern (2nd band on) tearing the roof off…

Scrambled Music

#Gaming6Music Has to be “Theme from Narc” by Pixies....

Dean McPhee - Son of the Black Peace

Talking, as we were, about New Order covers, here’s one by...

merlin: copycats: “Ceremony” by Chromatics Originally by Joy...

ATP Shellac of North America

Day one

Day two

Day three

ATP, here we come!!!

The five myths about contemporary classical music Tom Service,...

Steve Reich Rewrites Radiohead thequietus.com Influ­en­tial...

Left Silver Apples halfway through for fear the gig would ruin a...

Sun Ra Arkestra win the prize for sparkliest capes, hats and...

Pharoah Saunders: Legend! This will certainly be the most...

One of the finds of ATP, for me: Dead Rider

Flying Lotus doing some astounding things with a laptop.

Dead Rider.

This what people came to see Gary Numan for. He didn’t...

Battles, co-curators of ATP Nightmare Before Xmas, kicking off...

Holy Fuck. Holy fuck!

Oxes cover of Wild Thing. Who needs more than guitar, vocals and...

The Budos Band: bastard offspring of The Horny Horns and...

ATP Nightmare Before Christmas: Les Savy Fav/Battles/Caribou

Steve Reich Rewrites Radiohead thequietus.com Influential...