I’ve never know a venue get as much love as The Luminaire. Hardly a day passes without a dj, punter, or musician raving about the facilities, the sound or just how “frightfully nice” the people running it are. The support act tonight continued the “Luminaire love in”, with The Shadow Orchestra’s harpist Kat Arney bigging them up on Myspace for “Cheap food! Comfy sofas! So much tea I felt sick! Free beer! Great sound! Seriously, if you’re in a band, try and get a gig there. It’s a refreshing change from what is sadly the norm for smallish London venues.” Anyway Luminaire advert over, its certainly all those things, but most importantly its got a bloody MASSIVE glitter ball above the stage!
A typically chilled start to a Luminaire evening finds me sat on a step pint in hand, a foot from where the excellent Shadow Orchestra are playing. Chris Bangs is the leading force of the group simultaneously playing Cello, and Macbook, with superb backing by a drummer, violin player and harpist. Their music’s a joyous mix of classical, pop melodies, found sounds, and inventive rhythms - part chill out, part electronica. One track “Seafront Arcade” samples ancient amusement arcade machines, but the bleeps, and karate chop sound effects are gorgeously intertwined with strings, and a looping electronic riff (extra points if anyone knows the game???Street Fighter?).
New tune “Dark and Sweet” received a first airing, and the debut album sounded if anything better than it does on CD, with the orchestration louder in the mix so cello, violin, and especially the subtle picked harp sounds from the beautiful Kat Arney much more to the fore. Even a momentary laptop crash meant we got to hear the delights of a reboots worth of acoustic Shadow Orchestra.
Check out their website for constantly updated free stuff, possibly a recording of the gig, and of course to buy their album.
Main act Daedelus creates some of the finest hand crafted electronica around, and is not a man afraid to take risks collaborating with everyone from Busdriver through to on his forthcoming Ninjatune LP, Sa-Ra, and Australia’s Enfa(?) (due May/June). Tonight however is a rare chance to see the man in the UK and very much solo… he arrived on stage apologising for being totally jet-lagged having just stepped of the plane.
Dressed in a white formal morning suit with tails, and sporting impressive sideburns his live show is a minimal affair consisting of Daedelus himself, laptop, and a wonderful light flashing controller gadget known as the Monome. Developed by his friend Brian Crabtree, the Monome is essentially a means to give live control over sampled sounds, and patterns via a huge bank of programmable buttons (which all light-up). Daedelus uses a prototype Monome 100h, of which only 2 exist. Its all very impressive, and stood behind the machine in full tails, lights flashing like crazy, Daedelus resembles some kind of 21st century bingo caller!
Which brings us punningly onto house. It was a very upbeat set, with dnb and acidy type sounds dominating, one particular dancer up the front did his best to enhance the rave style sounds with some serious acid house style dancing. Daedelus got most of the crowd moving but this guy (who by the wonders of the internet I’ve discovered is called Tom) single-handedly gave me flash backs to the second summer of love… give him a boiler suit and a mask and it could be an Altern8 reunion (NB: Im just jealous!). Daedelus encouraging him by throwing in huge samples of a long forgotten old rave track called “Maggies Last Party” (by V.i.m - sampling Maggie Thatcher saying “lets have a party, acid party“).
Sales pitch: The monome 40h is a reconfigurable grid of sixty-four backlit buttons. Buttons can be configured as toggles, radio groupings, sliders, or organized into more sophisticated systems to monitor and trigger sample playback positions, stream 1-bit video, interact with dynamic physical models, and play games.
There were no pauses between tracks, well deliberate ones anyway - Daedelus also suffered a laptop crash, and didn’t have a Harpist to bail him out - instead each song blended into another. He said he was trying out quite alot of new stuff, but the crowd seemed to love it all.
The genius that is “Like Clockwork Springs” received possibly the best reception as its big buzzing fuzz riff emerged from the mix to reveal its own chaotic mixture of elements seemingly fighting each other for sonic supremacy. Over it all Daedelus play acted above the lights of his Monome, like a conjurer about to perform his next trick he rubbed his hands together, looked puzzled or adjusted his cuffs (checking for rabbits?) before his fingers darted over the buttons tripping off the next array of dizzying samples and loops.
This is a man at the top of his game, every track fizzing with ideas, and inspiration. The internet bloggers and forums also sang their approval: “One of the best live electronic gigs ever” enthused Luzian on last.fm, “truly majestic” raved Kat on her myspace, while K on Daedelus’s page cryptically added “fantastic gig! Yeah it did sound like sleepy kitten, nervous bunny and shinny hippo.” Personally nervous bunnies aside while it was a superb gig, and I’ll be returning next time he plays these shores, it would have to be approximately 4000% times better to get near to my own best live electronic gig: Kraftwerk, but that’s one hell of a hard marker to beat.
Now in its third year the African Soul Rebels tour goes from strength to strength. Three of Africa’s finest take turns to shake up the staid atmosphere but stunning sound of the Barbican Centre: Akli D from Algeria, Ba Cissoko from Guinea Bissau, and top of the bill Nigeria’s Femi Kuti.
If there’s a natural heir to the kind of barn storming grand show that James Brown produced its the Afrobeat funk of Femi. Just as his father Fela influenced and was influenced by The Godfather, Femi’s band Positive Force begin the show in theatric fashion. Building up the sound and the excitement, first the drummer, the keys, and guitarists take to the stage. That familiar Afrobeat groove takes over and in single file on dance the half a dozen strong brass section beaming with delight, before stepping back to build things further with blasting horns. Next up 3 dancers in beaded costumes move to the edge of the stage and do their best to make Beyonce look like a uptight amateur. Only now with the crowd on its feet in feverish anticipation does Femi himself bound on, immediately setting to work on Keyboards, before launching into the first song.
Its almost 10 years since his charismatic, and controversial father passed away, and Femi has long since stepped out of his shadow, subtly updating his fathers Afrobeat template complete with its unerring ability to get people on their feet.
Fela was famously an implacable foe of Nigeria’s numerous dictatorships, and Kuti Jnr while mellower and less intense is nevertheless true to his political blood. Jokingly offering to take over from Tony Blair as British PM given that he can’t be any less popular throughout the world, his songs cover AIDS, and the forces that have laid his country and continent low over the years. The storming black pride anthem “Blackman Know Yourself” is a typical example of his winning mix of social message and funky as hell groove.
Femi knows how to have fun too, although in 1999 that fun got his track “Beng Beng Beng” banned by Nigerian State Radio on the grounds of indecency. It gets one of the loudest responses of the evening as Femi moves front stage to playfully deliver the nudge nudge lyrics “To the left now, don’t slow down now, To the right now, don’t come too fast“.
Having started the evening in a black outfit with fire like patterns at his feet, and waist he ends it without his top, dripping with sweat as he alternates between furiously playing his keyboard or demonstrating his formidable Sax playing. His fathers 11 minute classic “Water No Get Enemy” gets an airing in all its magnificent finery.
Each song sounds as if it could be stretched out into the kind of 30 minute grooves Fela made famous, but tonight’s show is sadly short at around an hour. So by the time he manages to coax every member of the Barbican from their comfy seats its gone 11, and time for him to take an admittedly triumphant departure. The Barbican therefore never quite transforms into Lagos’s Shrine but that’s an unfortunate consequence of packing three superb African acts into one amazing evening.
Having missed the opening act Akli D, I fortunately arrived just in time to add another favourite to my admittedly shoddy “World music” collection. Ba Cissoko are named after the lead singer and Kora harp player, who’s joined by fellow Kora player Sekou Kouyaté, bass player Kourou Kouyaté, and Ibrahima Bah on percussion. Playing traditional instruments in an untraditional way seems to be Ba Sissoko’s mission.
With a clenched fist Kourou Kouyate literally thumps a huge round drum resembling a huge bald head creating a booming bass sound not unlike hearing an 808 drum machine down the bottom of a 30ft well. On top of this backing Ba plays acoustic Kora, while Sekou Kouyaté takes the non conformist approach and plugs his Kora into an effects pedal. Wearing his Kora down as low as his jeans, he produces an amazing sound switching between different pedal effects like an African Jimi Hendrix, only Hendrix never had 21 strings to pluck.
Live the sound is magical, and Ba Cissoko soon have the crowd singing along despite not sharing the same tongue. Gesturing and talking in French he signals for everyone to get to their feet, proceeding to teach them to sing along with something like “Si-Ali Oowkozajaima“. By now won over, the Barbican rises as one, and when the moment comes and the music drops low ready for the audience to have their turn, we sweetly coo “Si-Ali“, before an embarrassed mumble of “Oowkozajaima“. Cissoko chuckles to himself, and helps out. language may not be universal, but on tonight’s performance his music is.
This is the only time The Killers & U2 are likely to feature on this blog, but thanks go to Q magazine for putting musiclikedirt in its “100 ways to get free music” feature. Apparently I’m “prolific” which makes me wonder if they’ve actually looked at the site, but its lovely to be noticed, even inaccurately!
So welcome to any Q readers, make yourself at home, say hello.
Its really not a million miles away from Q here, maybe less guitars, fewer articles on rock dinosaurs, and a black act may feature more than once a decade but good music is good music (and the Killers are The Killers).
It’s actually a decent list featuring blogs much finer than mine, like the ridiculously good Dilate.Choonz, 20 Jazz Funk Greats, Soul Sides and Copy, Right? Not only that but the cover says 27 pages of U2 await inside!.. a promise or a threat… you decide?
Anyway my listing says I’ve got the latest Jamie T, and The Good, The Bad & The Queen, so I thought I’d share a few obscure oldies from Wimbledon’s favourite.
Jamie.T - “Panic Prevention Mixtape Vol.1” (MP3)
Genourously sent out for nada to people on his mailing list, and at early gigs. The tracklist featuring Prince, Rancid and The Beastie Boys can be grabbed on Jamie’s site.
All the best to Tony and of course to the NHS. The pride of Britain despite New Labours current plans to close scores of local hospitals, and privatise the rest.
Chromeo are Dave 1 & Pee Thug: purveyors of the finest 80’s funk for the noughties, the bastard love children of a drunken Prince, Hall & Oates threesome, and a band who put on a live show its physically impossible to be miserable during (and believe me I tried).
Prior to this gig I’d never seen a London crowd emit a collective titter of delight. However when Pee Thug placed the pipe from his trusty talkbox into his mouth and uttered a synthesized “Heeelllllloooo Lonnnndonnnn… We’re Chrom-eooooo” I swear the audience performed a massed gleeful belly chuckle. My pregig mardyness was swiftly replaced with an ear to ear grin, while Pee’s oversized hoodie emblazoned with the New York Subway map (see pic partially obscurred by the back of my head) also drew some admiring glances.
Do The Talkbox
Pee Thug’s Talkbox is key to the Chromeo sound, but what is a Talkbox? Most people’s first thoughts are its a vocoder thing like “on that Cher record“, but there are in fact no computers involved. Pee explains: “a talkbox takes the sound of your synthesizer and puts it through a speaker. There’s a tube attached to the speaker, and the sound travels through it to your mouth. You then shape the sound with your mouth, and back into your mic. You’re not speaking, you’re shaping“.
Idolising Zapp’s Roger Troutman as a youth it took him a while to master the instrument, as well as learning to cope with the rattling teeth, headaches, and potential electrocution that can come with it! (click here for an excelent interview with Pee Thug).
Dave and Pee have been best friends since they were teenagers in Montreal, although Pee is originally from Lebanon, leading to tongue in cheek claim that they’re “the only successful Arab/Jew partnership since the dawn of human culture. Although they’ve been dismissed by some as a little more than a nostalgic 80’s tribute act, catching them live its obvious that although they’re certainly having fun, they’re deadly serious about the music, and most importantly about getting the crowd dancing and shouting along.
“Needy Girl” was one of the tunes of 2004, and unsurprisingly it goes down an absolute storm tonight, sounding bigger than before, the synths stronger, the talkbox louder, and the fantastic scratching breakdown midway through even funkier than on record (if that’s possible). Its a timeless funk-pop classic, setting Chromeo the tough challenge of beating it on their soon to come 2nd LP. Even after its been played some in the crowd still shout out “Needy Girl” leading Dave to say “come on we’ve got like 20 other songs apart from that!”.
Tracks from their debut album are rapturously received, and like “Needy Girl” are all improved by time, and the fantastic live sound. Dave introduces an epic “Mercury Tears” with a hilariously clunky intro story of how although they’ve been friends for years some nights Pee keeps ringing him and wanting him to come round… (exasperated expression) and he just wants to say to him… (cue “Mercury Tears” opening talkbox lines) and mass sing-along:
“I don’t want to be with anybody at all
I don’t want to be seen with anybody at all
The world is much to big for me to handle alone
But I don’t want no friends, I want to stay on my own”
Dave is in full axe mode as he churns out riffs on his perspex V shaped guitar, with Uhhh’s and Owwww’s for “Destination:Overdrive“, while the gigantic chorus of “Rage” provides one of the many moments of the night. Massed hands are thrown into the air as everyone bellows “RAAAAAGE!”. Even tracks which passed me by on the album like “You’re So Gangster” sound like old friends on this form.
And so to the new album, can it match the success of their debut?
Dave who peppers any gaps between songs with gags, anecdotes, and generally working the crowd says their new label is “working them like Little Richard” with the aim of breaking into the main charts. Stand out new tracks included “Tenderoni” which Dave’s promoting as the new word to describe “your girl“. First single “Fancy Footwork” looked worryingly like it might be a “Cha Cha Slide” cover version at first, as Dave morphed into DJ Casper in front of our very eyes explaining how he wanted to bring back the two step as the new/old dance craze everyone must learn. Pee Thug gallantly demonstrated the moves at Dave’s insistence. Listen to “Fancy Footwork” here.
After two encores they departed victorious with the crowd still baying for more. Sadly looking at their Myspace page the highly touted secret free gig at the Old Blue Last turned out to be a guest list only industry liggers event leaving quite a few Chromeo fans who turned up bitterly disappointed. It would be a shame if their visit is remembered for that instead of the phenomenal show they put on here (and in all likely hood at the Old Blue Last too).
Unless you live in a cave… or America (not that I’m implying that’s the same thing) you’ll have heard of the Beautiful South, and chances are you or someone in your family owns their mega selling “Carry On Up The Charts” compilation.
On January the 31st they announced they were splitting after 19 years, citing in typically unique style “musical similarities“as the reason. The group are often filed under that terrible catch all “Guilty Pleasures”… as if anyone should every feel guilty about liking music! In 19 years they were never once cool, even accidentally, but what they lacked in cool they made up in pure genius. Few other bands have managed to describe so eloquently the extraordinaryness of the ordinary, so much so that historians wanting a picture of British life in the 80’s/90’s could do worse than transcribing Paul Heaton’s wonderful lyrical observations on real life, love, lust, and loss, glugged down with a dash of booze.
The Beautiful South, like The Housemartin’s from which they emerged are essentially Heaton’s band, or “Paul’s Gang” as a documentary on the group was titled. Paul writes the lyrics, and Dave Rotheray (guitar) provides the music. Completing the line-up are Sean Welch (bass), Dave Stead (drums), ex Housemartin Dave Hemingway (vocals), and a female singer of which there have been three. Its an unusual set up: 6 members, 3 vocalists. Paul from the start chose to divide royalties between all members of the band, even writing into his will that all rights to his songs go to the other band members when he dies. Although politics were not as central as had been the case with The Housemartins you didn’t have to dig very deep in most songs to spot an ardent and proud lefty. Take Paul’s views on New Labour coming to power: “Tony Blair can go and fuck himself with a broken bottle. New Labour is a big fucking joke. It’s not a left-wing party anymore. How far right can you go and still claim to be on the left wing?”
The original female vocalist Brenda Corrigan’s complimented the two male vocalists perfectly with her angelic Northern Irish fairly “girlie” voice. She remained a member until 1994 when she supposedly left after reading Heaton’s lyrics for their 4th album “Miaow” and disapproving. It had long been rumoured that she didn’t appreciate Heaton’s take on page 3 models “36D” or more importantly the beered up responses to it at some gigs. She left to go solo, producing one LP, and a fantastic single “Love Me Now” but sadly not troubling the charts.
“36D so what (D) so what… Is that all that you’ve got?
You’re just another 365 night stand, But you’re so handy, you’re so handy
You cheapen and you nasty every woman in this land
But you’re so handy, you’re so handy”
The Beautiful South did of course write love songs, just not the saccharin blandness of your James Blunt’s, but rather love with complications, a beer belly, and a mid life crisis - Paul: “I find it difficult to write straightforward optimistic love songs . . . I throw in a row, a fight, get a few knives out . . .” When asked once if The Beautiful Souths dark tales of failed or imperfect love would ever show a brighter side, Paul responded “I hope so. Our next single ‘I Drowned Your Mother’ is much lighter“.
The Beautiful South - “Diamonds” (MP3) Corrigans voice was never more beautiful than on this B-side to “Old Red Eyes Is Back” The lyrics, and her performance make this a true heartbreaker of a song.
“Little sister don’t you cry…Lay your head down close your eyes
And dream of when before young men… Looked at youDiamonds always shine… You’ll find true love again
The mud gets washed off with the rain”
“So if anyone asks you, Do you know where you’re from, say yes
You’re from your mother’s womb… And your father’s stinking breath”
A live favourite, and another one of Heaton’s classic anti-love songs. Performed as a duet with former supermarket shelf-stacker Jacqui Abbott who became the South’s second female vocalist. She joined after Heaton had heard her sing at an after show party in St Helens and remembered her vocal talents. Its a tale of two different angles on how a child came to be, on one hand the father telling of five star passionate love, where the mother sees only a one star drunken screw, in a one star motel. This song was the last number at many South gigs, often being stretched out to 10 minutes with brass blasting out, and most of the audience dancing in the aisles (not to mentions Heaton’s propensity for daft dancing on stage).
“Fond memories of the bloody bridge you failed to hold
Many of your buddies killed or maimed
You would’ve shot at rabbits if that’s what you’d been told
Till the General said ‘I’m sorry you’ve been framed’
Cause the rulers always laugh
At a video bloodbath”
Rumours that this will be used as Labours election campaign song, along with footage from Iraq have so far proved inconclusive.
“Old Red he died…And every single landlord in the district cried”
Drink was a constant theme throughout the Souths career, due in part to Paul’s own problems with the stuff. The song is both compassionate and damning of the waste of a life. According to Heaton “It sold respectably but the radio didn’t really play it. I don’t suppose they like songs about alcohol abuse.” It’s one of the classic songs about drink, although with the classic “Women In The Wall” they managed to top the bleakness by combining alcohol abuse with wife murder! “He was just a social drinker, but social every night… he’d enjoyed the thought of killing her before”.
Its difficult to pick just a few tracks as up until the last couple of albums their output had been so consistently brilliant, including enough B-Side gems to make a couple of albums (buy the Carry On Up The Charts double CD for a bonus B-sides comp). Even their final “Superbi” album contained a few killer numbers including “Bed of Nails” a gorgeous countryish tale of long term love come to an end, sung by the groups third and final female member Alison Wheeler: “I wouldn’t mind being left up on that shelf… If I hadn’t actually built, built the thing myself”.
One thing is sure we haven’t heard the last of the talent that is Paul Heaton, he’ll hopefully return with a follow up to his brilliant solo album “Fat Chance” (recorded under the name Biscuit Boy aka Crackerman). It may have sold about 5 copies but its the equal of any of the Beautiful Souths strongest work. Typically it deals with everything from religious hypocrisy, love, and of course booze. The standout track “Poems” is one of my favourite Heaton tracks of all time.. South, Housemartins included. Paul duets with the gorgeous vocals of Zoe Johnston, who surely deserves to be heard more of.
but good music is good music (and the Killers are The Killers).
