Very Best – “Warm Heart Of Africa (Alan Wilkis mix)” (MP3)

Finally a doff of the cap to Father Abraham for taking part.  Visit 52pickup.us for a brand new track every Thursday until the end of the year or subscribe as a podcast (click here for itunes).

So enjoy Part two of “Listen To This” aka “My name is Father Abraham and I’m here to tell you my grandma has better musical taste than you do“! (Part One here)

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 2

Cracks In The Concrete – “Ballad Of Ashley Marie” (MP3 Removed by request) Buy

MLD:

“you cant afford me, you sad sorry fuck… im dearer than rubies, youre shit out of luck”

If my first pick Polar Bear’s lyrics read like screen plays, then Glasgow based “Crack In The Concrete” deliver the whole damn film. The tense score and narration generate a brooding building menace that sparks images up flickering before your eyes, like an unknown Burroughs or Hunter S screen adaptation.

Writer Megan Green collaborated with Graeme Miller (aka Cracks in the Concrete) after meeting in a disused underground tunnel. The resulting work sounds like they didnt return above-ground until the track was completed.  A “mutual fascination for distortion, perversion and the murder ballad” gave birth to this torrid tale of putrid water, smeared lipstick and seeping blood.

I stumbled across this on Ten Tracks, a highly recommended website that offers up bundles of tunes hand picked by wise musical boffins at the astounding price of a quid for 10 songs!!

Cracks In The Concrete have also teamed up with vocalist Louise McVey for an EP due in October.   McVey brings the same world weary torch singer sound to CITC that Beth Gibbons does to Geoff Barrow’s Portishead. Myspace

Father Abraham:

Man, you like long songs.

I far prefer the passages where Miller’s vocals don’t rhyme or at least stray from recognizable rhythmic patterns. Something about the Seussian cadence of the section starting at around 3:35 really undoes the song for me. It seems like a step back from the opening section. Also, “Ashley Marie” and “eternity” seem to me an awkward rhyme and a stilted way to end a song.

I will say that I’m probably completely missing some of the stylistic nuance, or noir, or whatever, that drives this song as a murder ballad.

FATHER ABRAHAM CHOICE 3

Perrey & Kingsley – “‘One Note Samba (Spanish Flea)” (MP3)

Father Abraham:

It’s the waiting room song!

The liner notes for The Essential Perrey and Kingsley describe these guys as “The first music for easy listening ever recorded on the Moog.” I cannot argue with that.

I was first introduced to Perrey and Kingsley in college. A friend of mine named Bob Cobb put on The Essential Perrey and Kingsley while we played a promotional DVD for Acacia National Park on mute. Wizard of Oz + Dark Side of the Moon it was not, but I purchased the CD the next day and had 4 seizures, which was a record for me at that time.

Perrey and Kingsley are the disaffected lovechildren of Walter and Wendy Carlos.

P&K are endlessly sampled, although not by me, so I cannot link you to any related songs, although I did once make a song about Jacques Cousteau called (wait for it) Jacques Cousteau.

I will now leave you with this quote from their Wikipedia page, because if I’m going to write like a ninth grader, I might as well research like one, too:

“Moog Indigo, a Jean-Jacques Perrey solo album from 1970, featured a cut called “E.V.A.” This slow, funky track is one of the most sampled in hip hop and rap music history. In the U.S., it is currently being used in a TV ad for Zelnorm, a prescription medication for female irritable bowel syndrome.”

MLD:

As a bloke sat typing on a laptop that with the right software could emulate practically every instrument known to man its hard to grasp the ground breaking nature of the work of people like Jean Jacques Perrey.  Pioneers like Perrey (and of course the BBC Radiophonic Workshop) created their soundscapes using complex tape loops, effects and early precursors to the synth (like the Ondioline).

For me whats special about Perrey is his playfulness. He may be using the principles of musique concrete, channelling Salvador Dali or stretching out the envelope of recorded sound but his music never seems far from a giggle.  Witness this YouTube clip of a 80 something Perrey’s delighted face as he recreates a nursery rhyme on theramin and Moog. Its a joy.

As with much of my musical taste I was first introduced to Perrey’s work through Coldcut’s seminal Solid Steel radio show. Back in 1997 they even got the man himself into the studio for a chat:

Coldcut meet Jean Jacques Perrey – “Solid Steel 1997” (MP3)

I wish I could remember where I know “One Note Samba” from… which TV series used it as its theme. No amount of googling will reveal the answer).  How he made the weird bleeps, scrapes and beats that make up the tune remain a mystery, but this is a man who once spent a week cutting and painstakingly glueing excerpts from a recording of bees he’d made over the top of his take on “Flight of the Bumble Bee“.

While browsing YouTube I came across a tribute to Harpo Marx set to the music of Perrey… so for that Father (Abraham) I am very thankful.  Hopefully one day i’ll have children I can indoctrinate in the brothers Marx (and for that matter Perrey too) as my father(s) did me.

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 3

Nine High – “Cook Out (M-Phazes Mix)” (MP3)

“Give me bacon chops, give me steak on top… make sure its blazin’ hot or i’ll get the raging trots”

Music Like Dirt:
Named after their local underage alcohol vendor, Nine High claim to represent UK “to the fullest” Hip-Hop even though two of the three members emigrated to Oz in 2007.

There are some that would present “Cookout” as Exhibit A in the case for UK HipHop being a terminally backward, innovation starved poor relative of the US. I can’t deny that the insanely bouncy looped piano riff and singalong chorus sounds like something dating back to the 80’s or early 90’s but does it matter when it puts a grin on my face this wide!?

From ATCQ’s high cholesterol “Ham ‘n’ Eggs” to those Bitties in the BK lounge it seems HipHop is at its fattest and finest when worshipping at the greasy feet of fast food (actually Chicken Boi’s “On The Way to KFC” (YouTube) amusingly proves an exception to that rule).
Nine High hold the chicken wing factory to ransom and gatecrash the BBQ’s all with tongue firmly placed in cheek. “Cookout” might not be clever but it is big, unadulterated fun.

Incidentally if you have even a passing interest in UK HipHop then bookmark the Certified Banger blog. For some reason I forgot about the site for an age but everytime I visit now some undiscovered gem appears. Jee4ce & Riddlah’s celebration of under appreciated celtic hiphop (download here) was almost my pick for this feature before a later visit served up “Cookout“.

Father Abraham:

Homophobia in hip-hop is a scourge. The rise and reign of “no homo” embarrasses me. It is inexcusable. Hip-hop’s social conservatism is outdated and wrong. Further, it seems financially detrimental for a genre struggling for sales to not only turn its back on an entire demographic but to actively work to exclude it as well. That said,

“all the meat we can eat”

Really?

(MLD: Reading this set me off frantically re-listening to the track to check what Buju Banton-esque lines I’d not noticed. I now realise Father Abraham has a dry sense of humour).

Also,

There is no second layer to this song. The theme is: we like to eat. I think I did a halfway decent job at flipping the script on underwater exploration in my song Jacques Cousteau. I was hoping for some more of that. At least some “We like to eat, whereas other crews are terrible at eating and possibly have eating disorders.” Or maybe some, “We like to eat… humans… because otherwise the sun will turn into a piece of coal and come crashing to Earth as was predicted by The Lord Our God Raymond Kurzweil.”
So yeah. There it is.

2009 has been a year of mixed fortunes for Father Abraham. On the one hand he’s recently joined the ranks of the non-bailed out unemployed so he’s rapping about his Ford Taurus one week and having to sell it the next.
So far so fed up, but on the plus side he’s in the creative form of his life. The “I Am Not A Sailor, I Am The Captain” album has been widely touted as the years hidden hiphop gem, and his clearly bonkers decision to release a new song every week for a YEAR has been made to look perfectly sane!

Father Abraham – Visit 52Pickup.us to nab a new track every Thursday or all the songs so far in one handy ZIP.

Buy: Father Abraham’s music store

Listen:
Father Abraham - “Helpsaveme” (MP3)
Father Abraham -“Parking Spot” (MP3)
Father Abraham – “HIAFC” (MP3)

Welcome to Part one of “Listen To This” (Part 2 here).
As ever one persons essential new tune is another’s blackboard scrapping irritation. Read on for 3 new loves from us both, and for the answer to the most important question… can Father Abraham make it through a sentence without mentioning one of his own tracks!!?? (A shameless self-publicist but as long as the music’s good we’ll let it pass!)

PS: Calling yourself Father Abraham causes all sorts of problems when trying to find decent pictures online. Not that I don’t have love for bearded Dutchmen and Smurfing beer.

FATHER ABRAHAM CHOICE 1

Alan Wilkis – “Pink and Purple” (MP3)

Alan Wilkis – “Pink and Purple (Black & Blue Remix)” (MP3)

Father Abraham:

Alan Wilkis is on some Prince shit. Prince Fielder, specifically. He is a portly, menacing, left-handed power hitter with limited range in the field. He plays synthesizers with batting gloves on so as not to get blisters.

It is clear from this recording that Alan knows what women like. Ribbons. Pink. Purple. Evenings of eternal bliss, which by definition warp the fabric of time and space. Tesseracts.

It is also clear from this remix of Pink and Purple that I recently put out as a part of my project to release one song per week for all of 2009 that I have no clue what women like. Yelling. Industrial drum sounds. Frenetic synth breakdowns that devolve into noisy nothingness. Despite all of this, somehow I manage to maintain a somewhat healthy relationship with my girlfriend, who sometimes performs Miami-sampledelic hooks for my songs.

MLD:

After Mr Abraham sent me this track I did what all amateur scribes do, search the internet for quotes and copy to… well, copy. Describing his musical taste in one interview Wilkis mused: “One day I might be listening to some death metal, next day it’s 80s hip-hop, then Bach fugues, and then it’s Elvis Costello all weekend“.

By all means correct me if I missed Napalm Death’s experimental “Talk Box” album or Bach’s “Well-Tempered Slap Bass” but not all of his influences quite made it into the recording studio.
What we have instead is the kind of 70’s/80’s funky bass loving, Rick James referencing, pop funk Chromeo made before they dropped the glitter ball with their second album.
If this track was a haircut it’d be a Jheri curl, and a sweat drenched one at that.

Wilkis plays a mean synth line and that along with “Pink & Purple’s” unmistakable twanging slap bass lost me an afternoon as I wandered off on an extended YouTube nostalgia trip.
Two “Soul Train” recordings of The Dazz Band’s “Let It Whip” sowed the seed that I might just be able to dance a bit funkier if only I had a basketball as a cool prop, and as for the ladies… its ok to get down while the tassels from your grandma’s tiebacks swish around your nether regions.
Zapp! reminded me that live performances these days would be improved no end by the simple addition of a man in full military regalia playing a machine gun shaped guitar with his teeth. The Gap Band’s fabulous “Dropped A Bomb“ was another highlight but I’m sure this paragraph started out with at least the promise of an Alan Wilkis review.

“Pink & Purple” wears its influences very clearly but its more than just an unimaginative pastiche. The chorus packs an addictive hook and its simply a very likable record.
Even the fact that it contains a keyboard solo Rick Wakeman would consider overblown doesn’t spoil the enjoyment. And you simply have to admire the brazen cheek of morphing that keyboard into the type of squealing guitar solo that’s been outlawed in the uk since the days when Top Of The Pops still used saxophone shaped video wipes to get between performances.

If all that wasn’t good enough Father Abraham himself has turned the track on its head and produced a rather splendid remix (although he doesnt like to talk about it). Letting rip at the cocky girl Abraham rages at her arrogance tearing right down to “you think you look good in those jeans“.

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 1

Afrobear – “Moves” (MP3)

MLD:

“aint no news at 4 in the morning going to be good ”

Polar Bear post number 43… its got to the stage where I’m such a fan boy Mr Polar should fully expect me to appear at his next gig wearing a ra-ra skirt, doing the splits while energetically thrusting pom poms in the air and demanding the audience “Give me a P… give me an O“.

The name Polar Bear stems from a childhood obsession with said bears prompted by one of David Attenborough’s magical BBC wildlife extravaganzas (Arctic Circle). The ascent of this son of the 2nd city Birmingham has itself been glacial, slow and inevitable but frustrating. Far from making obvious career moves, he seems to wilfully do the unexpected, the uncommercial.
For gods sake if Just Jack can be a pop star, go find a house beat and to hell with artistic integrity, except of course doing what he pleases is one thing that makes Polar Bear such an interesting act to follow.

I could have picked half a dozen tracks or spoken words as my Polar “Listen To This“, each one under a different name or a guest appearance on a previously unheard producer. Clicking around his myspace friends opens up a world of hidden tracks.
“Locked Doors” a collaboration with Octave Mouret is so beautiful it’ll make you weep (or maybe thats just me?) Billy Valves takes his most well known poem “Jessica” and twists it into the dark electronica of “Wow“.

And finally to Afrobear, a new group that’s survived hard drive crashes, lost tracks and several incarnations. Featuring Polar Bear, Afrosaxon, and female vocalist Stac, they say the project combines “Hip-Hop sensibilities, a love for warm sounds and honest lyrics, a need for jokes and a philosophy that anything goes as long as its great.”

If Ken Loach or Jimmy McGovern possessed mad rap skillzz they’d probably sound a bit like Polar Bear. His words describe what some might sneeringly consider mundane lives but the detail, warmth and wit in his lyrics would melt the heart of the sniffiest critic.

“Moves” is a case in point – an entire song based on getting a text message at 4am – it takes in ass whippings on International Superstar Soccer, custard cremes and the weirdness of hearing your own music on the radio. Afrobear is conceived as an evolving online project, tracks, remixes and the like will appear and disappear, and as such “Moves” is available in two versions, the original (as Polarbear) and a Afrobear remix featuring the honeyed tones of Stac.

Polarbear, Afrobear and all of his incarnations and guest appearances are certainly making moves, just dont expect them to be the obvious ones.

Father Abraham:

I have issues with the despondency of this song.

Look, I’m living a pretty bare-bones life right now, too. I’m losing my job in a month. I count oven pizza and decent coffee as delicacies. I spend an absurd amount of time cold-emailing music bloggers like you and trying to push my weirdo synth-hop on them. I have been around long enough to know that a big break isn’t really a big break until the money is in my bank account. I am faced daily with the paralyzing fear that in a context that extends beyond my studio walls and and my little corner of the internet, I might actually be nothing more than a hack. Shit’s tough, requires thick skin, eye of the tiger, blah blah bullshit etc. However, I try not to let it inform my music, because for me, at its heart, music is a hopeful pursuit.

I guess what I’m saying is that this guy is very talented, and his professional trajectory seems encouraging based on the content of the song, but I don’t often give harbor to music about how hard making music is.

FATHER ABRAHAM CHOICE 2

Electric Laser People – “The Makeout Song” (MP3)

Watch: Make Out Song Instructional video (learn the chords)

Father Abraham:

I knew these guys back when they were The Product. No matter. This song is great. Whereas Alan’s romantic style is sweet and saccharine, Electric Laser People are all about that red meat: “I want to get steak takeout with you.” So do I. With them, not you. Maybe you, too.

I saw them play this song live once and the place went insane. Have you ever been at a bar/party when “You Shook Me All Night Long” came on and wondered how it might be possible to leave without finding a willing partner? It was like that.

Did I mention I sampled the opening break to this song in the second verse of Oscillator Blues, the seventh song in my series of 52 songs that I released in 2009 as a part of my effort to produce, record, and release one song per week for an entire year? I didn’t? Shit.

Also, Dan Paluska of Electric Laser People co-authored (co-built? co-did?) this, so everything else he does is cool by proxy.

MLD:

I hate this song, it ruined my teenage years or at least I think it did? At every school disco it soundtracked my ritual humiliation as the cool kids moshed and made out with the subjects of my teenage infatuations. While they “Locked those lips” I was left standing awkwardly at the edge of the dancefloor sipping my Top Deck cider through a straw.
It’s the slow dance hell of Jennifer Rush’s “Power Of Love” as covered by Rage Against The Machine in the mosh pit. “The Makeout Song” may have only been recorded last year but even on first listen it sounds so familiar your brain subconsciously weaves it into your life story.

Kicking off sounding like the return of Tone Loc and continuing to get noisier and dafter from that point in. The grin inducing lyrics declare “I wanna have an acne breakout while I make out with you” before the bellowed command to “lock those lips” signals what I can only imagine must carnage on the dancefloor.
Is it even physically possible to mosh and make out…? Sounds like a recipe for chipped teeth and dentist bills to me.

The song has been universally loved by anyone I’ve played it to, and what’s more the whole album is available to download for free.

For three more selections read Part Two here.

But not just any Owls.

Officer Owl is a secretive duo, one half with more than a hint of Mancunian treasure Stickboy – the other – well, all we know is she’s a lass from Leeds.

What with only coming out at night, Officer Owl have been hard to pin down.  What started in September ‘08 as a “Listen To This“ feature is now an abbreviated “Officer Owl says Listen To This” (perhaps the tracks I picked out just didnt turn their heads).

Read on to find out what musical delights Officer Owl discovered when rummaging through their nest.  As for the Owl’s own music I can’t recommend it highly enough, beautiful, enchanting classic songwriting,  with backwards loops, banjo’s and luscious melodies all floating in and out of the mix.  A guaranteed delight for all fans of laptop folk and to my ears at least The Postal Service.

Officer Owl – Myspace / Last.fm

Listen: Officer Owl – “Untitled Number 7” (MP3) – Recommended
Hear all 3 Officer Owl tracks on Lastfm (more music is promised!)

Owl facts / Medieval Owl facts

Video: Completely unrelated video about Owl Vomit collecting.

“and the animals spoke, as the buildings turned to smoke“

OWL CHOICE 1: Firstly a rather unknown Manchester band called These eyes are cameras….. i bumped into these on myspace and instantly fell in love…. traditional kinda music, bit of a Bright Eyes feel but still very British.
I love that Manchester is always known for its Oasis, Stone Roses type bands but every now and then something unexpected raises its head above the skyline.
I love all their tracks but would like to point you towards “Sacred Blue“.

These Eyes Are Cameras – Myspace / Full album previews on Frig.com

Listen: These Eyes Are Cameras – “Sacred Blue” (MP3)

OWL CHOICE 2: Next, Sweet Baboo…. i first heard this chap on Marc Rileys BBC 6 music show and got hooked and HAD to buy the album. Right now it doesn’t leave my player, its so diverse and fresh.
Has a beautiful lo-fi feel that never sounds false. I guess its for fans of Bonnie Prince Billy and Daniel Johnston. An amazing understated voice and a great talent.

Sweet Baboo – Myspace / Sweet Baboo.co.uk

Listen: Sweet Baboo – “Emotionally Alone” (MP3)

OWL CHOICE 3: And my final choice… well there is so much out there but i will point you in the direction of Howard Eliott Payne. Once frontman of the often overlooked “The Stands” and now flying solo. Hes been to America and recorded what i think will be a beautiful album with the genius that is Ethan Johns (Kings of Leon, Ray Lamontagne, Ryan Adams).
This is just amazingly written music, its not complicated…. its how music used to be. One man, a guitar and a few bits to fill it in. Album is due out soon and i think its going to be rather special. Take a listen to “Until Morning“

Howard Eliott Payne – Myspace

Listen: Howard Eliott Payne – “Until Morning” (MP3)

Music Like Dirt is pleased to have two of its most blogged about bands taking part in “Listen To This” and picking three tunes each for the other to digest, discuss and hopefully delight in. More on The Superimposers in Listen To This Part two (click here) but first a little on Glass Shark – three grown men with serious man crushes on LCD’s James Murphy (or is just the drummer/singer Tam who suffers from Murphy Love?).

Check out my review of their live show. They claim to be “Tighter than David Gest’s face” and I can’t recommend catching them live highly enough (even in the unlikely event that you don’t rate them on record). Their riotous mix of cowbells, dance floor destroying disco, and unlikely cover versions has even been known to get Londoners dancing! I even ventured out from behind the comfort blanket of this blog to show a little Shark love on the BlogFresh Radio show (Listen in here). Apparently I’m their favourite blog named after a reggae song (wow theres a lot of competition in that field too!)

Glass Shark have a new single The “Model” EP out now and they’ve also sworn me to secrecy about a top collaboration thats in the pipeline (oh please let me at least hint!).

Glass Shark Myspace / Website

Listen:
Glass Shark – “Toni Collette (Shark Attack mix)” (MP3)
Glass Shark – “Clap Yr Hands (extended version)” (MP3)
More Glass Shark downloads

Buy:
Download/Listen to ‘Model’, ‘Intruder’ and ‘You Got Served Again’ from iTunes now.

Watch:
Glass Shark vs Brains from Thunderbirds – “Disco Robot” (YouTube)

Right over to Tam from Glass Shark to kick off the choices:

GLASS SHARK CHOICE 1

Jenny Lindfors – “Night Time” (MP3)

Glass Shark:
It was her voice that drew me in first and then the layered vocals and arrangement of the song. I absolutely love her album – it’s very simple and stripped down and so far away from the stuff I’d been listening to/working on.
I did a General Store gig where she was also on the bill, that’s how I got into her music and I’ve been telling her (and anyone else who’ll listen) how awesome she is ever since!

Superimposers:
This track has a strong intro, almost reminiscent of a Zero 7 song with the guitar riff and percussion giving it a loop feel which is something that we’ve been naturally drawn to in the past, particularly when we’ve been sifting through old records. There’s certainly an influence there, more so the vocal and melody which is hard to put a finger on what that might be. You can almost imagine Stevie Nicks doing a cover of this song.
Well rounded, nice vibe and hooky with a warm rootsy feel. Not come across this artist before so it would be interesting to hear the whole album. A good choice.

THE SUPERIMPOSERS CHOICE 1

Citizen Helene – “‘Till Tomorrow” (MP3)

Superimposers:
We stumbled across Helene whilst surfing a folk blogsite a while back, can’t remember which site but glad we found her all the same. The first track we heard was this song, ‘Till Tomorrow.

Our first thoughts on hearing this track was what a unique voice she had, quite low, almost a touch of Nico going on but very melodic, great harmonies and strong guitar picking matched to a low-fi recording which was enough to draw us in and find out a little bit more about this Lady.
One quick visit to her Myspace and everything started to fall into place. Reading through her influences we realised that the familiar sound we were first drawn to was no accident. Helene’ main influences, to name a few, The Beach Boys, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Van Dyke Parks, the list goes on. You can certainly hear these artists in Helene’s song-writing and vocal harmony deliveries, heartbreaking chord changes and curious lyrics.
There is a slight comic angle to some of her lyric writing yet when she performs these songs live, currently with her vocal backing group ‘The Racists’, you can really hear the soul in her delivery, she really means it and stands strong with guitar in hand and closed eyed concentration.
We were lucky enough to have her come down and play a few songs at our Superimposers night in Clerkenwell recently and if we can entice her down again we’d recommend you coming down and checking her out, you won’t be disappointed.

Glass Shark:
As soon as this track began, way before the vocals came in, I thought “Beach Boys” and I absolutely WORSHIP the Beach Boys, especially the post-Pet Sounds era when Brian had totally lost his marbles on acid and the other Wilson brothers took up the slack. (Ha! I just checked out Helene’s Myspace! Helene: you really need to check out The General Store, one of my many side-projects). (MLD – Jump here to check out another side project).

This track really reminds me of that whole ‘Surf’s Up’/ ‘20/20‘ period but also it’s very Bacharach and Byrdsy and I can totally hear Dusty Springfield covering it on some ’60’s pop show with a grandiose Scott Walker-esque arrangement.
I love her voice, too. Marvellous!

GLASS SHARK CHOICE 2

Machines – “Killer” (MP3)

Glass Shark:
I’ve been trying to get these guys to support Glass Shark for ages but apparently they’ve split up. They won’t return my emails, no matter what I bribe them with. Shame.
I guess what they’re doing isn’t that original but when I stumbled upon them a year or 2 ago, I thought they were really exciting.

Superimposers:
Unfortunate to hear this band has split up, in fact its always a shame to hear about a band splitting up but everything runs its course in time. An interesting sound and again can’t help to make a few comparisons. Perhaps a bit of Franz Ferdinand, some Scissor Sisters (Sorry!)
It’s a very ‘up’ tune with all the right ingredients to take it away from being too indie, which isn’t a bad thing but there is a lot of it about, bit like a cold doing the rounds. A slight dancey feel with a heavy dash of electronica.
It’d be interesting to see this band live but by the sounds of it that might be a bit tricky going by their current situation(!!) which is a shame as i could imagine their live set to be pretty energetic and entertaining.

Long time readers of this blog (no really there are some) will be familiar with The Superimposers. Back in January readers could win their latest album simply by emailing in with the subject line “I’ve never heard the Superimposers album but I agree its the best album of the year by far”. I also went on Blogfresh Radio to rave over its lush 60’s influenced sound and it not containing a single duff track.

Since then Dan Solo broke his leg but wrote an album, while the Super’s put on their own nights, started a blog and last week entered the legendary Maida Vale studios to record a session for Gilles Peterson. Their Wonderfulsound Libraries Radio show has also reached Volume 15 over on the Radio Page @ wonderfulsound.com.

Superimposers Myspace / Website
SIGN UP to their mailing list for exclusive FREE mp3s and info

Buy: The Superimposers – “Harpsichord Treacle” – Highly Recommended

Listen:
The Superimposers – “Kicking Around (Live @ BBC Maida Vale Studios)” (MP3)
The Superimposers – “Superimposters” (MP3)
The Pretty Things – “The Good Mr Square (superimposed)” (MP3)

On with the final three choices:

THE SUPERIMPOSERS CHOICE 2

Fleet Foxes – “White Winter Hymnal” (MP3)

SuperImposers:
We’ve come to this lot maybe later than most but glad we did none the same. White Winter Hymnal is taken from their critically acclaimed new album of the same title and a gem of an album it is too.
This track has some great vocal deliveries and the vocal hooks they come up with are really addictive. There’s moments of The Beach Boys, CSNY, America but these moments are a feel thing rather than an obvious take off and the vocals are strong and carry the songs effortlessly to their conclusion.

The instrumentation is simple but solid and the overall sound they produce is really earthy and complimentary to the songs, that subtle reverb always does it for us, especially on vocals and drums.
The band recently played at the 100 club which sadly we missed. By all accounts they have a very strong stage presence and a real interesting mix of band members so an effort to see these Seattle minstrels is definitely on the cards for their next return to Europe.

Glass Shark:
Like the ‘Posers (sorry), I’ve heard much about this lot but this is the first time I’ve actually heard anything by them. This is totally up my street. Again, I hear the Beach Boys influence – the track almost sounds like a traditional song covered by a modern band (see the Beach Boy’s ‘Sloop John B’) but I also hear My Morning Jacket and The Flaming Lips in there.
Like Helene’s track, it kind of ends and you want it to carry on (unless Neil has done some crafty editing) but this is a good thing. Songs that outstay their welcome are a nightmare (unless you’re sitting round a campfire, trying not to fall asleep incase you get frostbite or eaten by a bear in which case they’re totally necessary.)
Long story short, I love this and will definitely be buying the album.

GLASS SHARK CHOICE 3

O.B.E. – “Sex Offender” (MP3)

Glass Shark:
We supported these Glaswegian chaps. Unfortunately they had a nightmare gig, as the power kept cutting out.
For me, this song stuck out. Very !!! and The Rapture-esque live.

Superimposers:
Fast and furious, nice, like the upbeat sound this track kicks out, bit of a frantic Saturday night record that has got the potential to be a bit of a dance floor filler at an alternative club night near you.
Pretty catchy with some fine guitar riffing, slightly Ska influenced and a bit Dead 60’s in a way. A rather short tune but that’s a good thing as it seems to do all the right things in that space of time. We’re fans of short tunes that don’t need to hammer their point home.
Good pop music. Another band that sounds like their worth checking out live.

THE SUPERIMPOSERS CHOICE 3

Pete Greenwood – “Penny Dreadful” (MP3)

Superimposers:
This is Petes debut release on the Red Bricks label which is a lovely slice of country folk with good lyrical content and Petes own style of speed folk finger picking.

Pete has recently joined the Heavenly Recordings family which will see him doing various gigs up and down the country. A great live player, we first saw Pete some time ago sharing the bill on a few Red Bricks nights we played at and have always enjoyed his sets. This single has a fresh, up feeling, a pretty happy affair brought on perhaps by his backing band, the nicely recorded guitar bouncing off excitable drum rolls which is rare to hear with Pete after seeing him mostly play solo in a live environment.
The keyboard sounds and chimes are really uplifting in the instrumental break down and the change of tempo and feel at the end of the track brings things to a lovely, 3/4 close. We’ve always liked a bit of 3/4.

Glass Shark:
A-ha! Pete was in the Loose Salute, wasn’t he? I played banjo in The Loose Salute once. We supported The Polyphonic Spree at the Camden Barfly. Picture that in your mind – they had to build the stage out! But, I digress.
I was really surprised to hear Pete had left the band but I guess these things happen and people move on (thanks a lot, Machines.) This is my least favourite of the three although it does bring to mind a lot of bands I like: Nick Drake, Neil Halstead, the Lilac Time… but it doesn’t seem to have its own identity whereas the other 2 definitely do.
Nice, but I wouldn’t cross the street to help it up if it slipped over in the snow. That’s just how I roll.

Warning! Heat Ray! started a campaign to get the BBC to release their Windrush 60th anniversary documentary on DVD. Find out more, email Auntie, do the facebook thing and get this essential historical document on the shelves and in the classroom.

Ash from Warning! Heat Ray! kindly agreed to a musical duel with MLD co-writer Ryan, both picked 3 tracks they love for the other to either gasp in delight or feign enthusiasm for. Also download Ash’s latest 60 minute mash-up mix of 7″ guitar-based records here.

WARNING! HEAT RAY! CHOICE 1

Rob Marr – “Addicted to drama” (MP3)

Robb Marr Myspace

Ash (WHR):
It’s rare for me to feel anything for piano-oriented singer-songwriters; but in Rob’s case, this is one such rare occasion. His hip-hop influence is immediately apparent from the rolling bass lick which sits well with a breezy sounding drum kit (which Rob also plays: frustratingly, annoyingly talented).
The lyrical content of ATD sustains interest throughout the length of the song with a bright, anthemic chorus featuring good use of double-tracked vocals. There has been a recent tendency for vocalists to accentuate regional accents to establish some sort of ‘class-integrity’ and to bond with an audience. I find it a nauseating practice, but Rob’s colloquial splashes and phrasing is integral to his songs; and, more importantly, I believe them to be genuine. 

With strings in the middle-eight backed by a broken-beat; there could be little more that I could want from this song. The stuttering ending, and perhaps unnecessary use of feedback, is a nice exercise in artistry vanquishing the pop glory of ATD.
Listen to this on MP3 and you will miss the delicious low end bass that resonates throughout. 

One to pick up.

Ryan (StopMe):
‘Addicted To Drama‘ brings to mind the Hip-Hop influenced Indie of Jamie T, Mr. Hudson, Kate Nash etc (Although with considerably more subtlety). If they can score regular hit singles, then somebody pass this guy a large scale record deal. The Bass rumbles, the keyboard bounces and the explosion of strings midway through is gorgeous.

STOP ME IF YOU THINK CHOICE 1

Party Ben – “Callin’ Up The Pieces” (MP3)

Visit Partyben.com for a ton of free MP3’s

Ryan (StopMe):
The first track is based on the idea that everyone should have Party Ben in their lives. It was almost agonising to pick just one of his inspired Mashups to recommended. ‘Callin’ Up The Pieces‘ is a seamless blend of the legendary Sax from ‘Pickin’ Up The Pieces‘ by The Average White Band with some rather wonderful rhymes from Lyrics Born.
I’ve currently got seventy-plus Party Ben tracks rockin’ my hardrive. They’re Mashups put together with love and no small amount of cheek. His self-deprecating website is constantly updated with new mp3s. Go there now and you’ve got a musical friend for life.

Ash (WHR):
Party Ben – I wasn’t so sure about the name and I remember Osymyso mashing 101 tracks up in the 90s on Intro-Inspection which kind of killed off the ‘genre’ for me. Anyway, I found the first 27 seconds of the track a little overbearing, but the mix of the two tracks works really well. The musical changes are matched well to Lyrics Born’s verse / chorus.
It’s a good mix, and I did go and dig through Ben’s back catalogue afterwards, sadly not finding anything as good as this there. Clearly a novelty tune; one that I’d play if I was DJing – it’s not something I feel like I need in my life. Osymyso.com is much more my thing.

WARNING! HEAT RAY! CHOICE 2

Hotclub of Cowtown – “Orange Blossom Special (Live at the Continental Club)” (MP3)

Hotclub of Cowtown Myspace

Ash (WHR):
Hotclub are a Texan swing trio I first saw at Glastonbury, 2004. Whit, Elena and Jake drove the acoustic tent to frenzy with their electric take on swing-country-jazz-blues. Each musician’s talent frequently beggars belief; often playing three part harmonies between them both vocally and instrumentally. Little wonder they were selected to support Bob Dylan. 

After a two year hiatus, they’ve returned from their split and made amends. Having seen them on tour just the other week (Sep 4th) at Dingwalls – they completely re-ignited the flame in my heart.

It’s almost impossible for me to pick a song from their extensive catalogue – but whatever the song was to be, it had to come from their live set as this is where they’re at their most exciting.

I chose Orange Blossom Special as it simply demonstrates everything that I just said – if you don’t feel a little chill at that key change…well there’s nothing more that can be done. If it hadn’t been for McCartney at Glastonbury 2004 – HCC would have been pick of that year.
A band that consistently plays on the edge, I spoke to Whit after the show and asked him how he enjoyed their frenetic set. He replied – “Just holding on there – just holding on”.

 Beautiful.

Ryan (StopMe):
I’d consider myself open minded to new sounds but I’m struggling to love this Hot Club Of Cowtown song (Even in an “ironic” Hayseed Dixie kinda way). That said, if any track was going to make me like Bluegrass this’d probably be it.
The fiddle is played so furiously you’d think her life depended on it. She’s like the violin playing Hendrix bringing to mind trains rushing past my ears (Which is clever as the ‘Orange Blossom Special‘ was infact a train).

STOP ME IF YOU THINK CHOICE 2

Calexico – “Two Silver Trees” (MP3)

Calexico Myspace / Buy Album

Ryan (StopMe):
My second choice is a brand new track from Calexico’s ‘Carried To Dust‘ album. It’s cold, moody and beautiful like the moon reflected in dark sinister waters. Whispered vocals, creepy Bass, and twinkling Pianos add up to an intoxicating song. Definitely music made for listening to in the witching hour.

Ash (WHR):
The icy feel continues with Calexico’s latest. I’ve been a fan of Calexico since seeing Shane Meadow’s Dead Man’s Shoes (incidentally, Anjan Sarkar who drew the graphic novel to DMS also did the artwork to the WHR single).
This song is a slight departure from the Tex-Mex of Black Light. The familiar instrumentation is there but the glorious, shimmering chorus seems so unlike them – but it’s no bad thing. If this single is anything to go by, the album should be invigorating. I’m looking forward to seeing them live later this year.

WARNING! HEAT RAY! CHOICE 3

The Bug – “Skeng (feat. Killa P & Flow Dan)” (MP3)

The Bug Myspace / Buy album

Ash (WHR):
Already contender for my album of the year. London Zoo is a sound I never realised I was waiting for. A ferocious collision of some of the best Caribbean music forms, and all pulled together by a man called Kevin.

Futuristic and creepy production combines with explosive MC-ing to produce this dark, sickening track for the zeros. 

I came to the dubstep scene quite late, introduced to it by Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad when they played it during their set at Brixton earlier this year. I never thought music so slow could make you want to jerk your body so violently. Indeed, though the track has violent connotations (skeng is patios for a gun), I find the messages permeating London Zoo to be thrillingly uplifting.

Ryan (StopMe):
‘Skeng‘ is the first track from the Dubstep genre that I’m totally loving. Maybe that’s just because it’s got vocals (And I do like my vocals and lyrics) giving shout-outs to all four corners of this island. The atmosphere is dark, the Bass is subsonic and it’s got more lines about guns than an NRA recruitment leaflet. I’m checking out the rest of The Bug’s ‘London Zoo’ album as soon as I’ve typed this.

STOP ME IF YOU THINK CHOICE 3

Blood, Sweat & Tears – “And When I Die” (MP3) / Youtube (Live 1970)

Ryan (StopMe):
My final selection is a classic Jazz-Rock number from 1969 by New York Band Blood, Sweat & Tears. It’s a cover of a Laura Nyro song from two years before that’s been a personal favourite for some time. When the Harmonica starts off you might think it’s a bit cheesy but by the end it’ll have you pumping your fist in the air like a Trombone. They just don’t make Rock music as odd as this anymore.

Ash (WHR):
I don’t know why, but I went about listening to Ryan’s choices in the opposite recommended direction. Maybe it’s because I’m a Londoner. Either way, starting with this slice of jazz-rock-funk was an inspirational revelation. I’m a big fan of The Band’s Rock of Ages CD which featured the Memphis Horns. There’s a similar feel here, but wrapped in the wintry spirit of New York across this beautiful, jittery piece; the funk at 2.57 sends the track into hyperdrive. I am completely smitten by this record – so very much more, please!

Links: Brubekk – “EarthShaker” / Finger Magazine / Horse Latitudes music blog

HORSE LATITUDES (JEZ) CHOICE 1:

Hercules And Love Affair – “Classique2″ (MP3)

Myspace

Download: Andy Butler mix on Beats in Space podcast (March 21st) – visit for free download or subscribe.

HL (JEZ): I think it is telling that Larry Heard AKA Mr Fingers is the first friend on these guy’s myspace page. Talk about wearing your influences on your sleeve…but that’s not a negative, nor is it the sum total of their sound.

It starts with the lush thuds and bumps of a nice mid tempo groove and some old school cascading vocal samples, a sound Chicago would be proud to call its own. But then the bubbles of a wicked analogue-y hook come through. A hook that if you didn’t know any better would make you say “this band should be snapped up by DFA” – and you’d be right.

I chose Classique 2 purely because it had less downloads, and I like to fight for the underdog (some people just call that ‘being contrary’…) Athene rocks hard too, but this one for sheer head-nod-a-bility just pipped it. Thanks to Jaksoul for the nudge in this direction.

MLD: The opening thud thud of the 4:4 house drum, a burbling acid bassline, snatches of twisted vocal samples and I’m in heaven. Even better god’s thrown some classic Chicago house on the turntable.

Rock has been eating itself for 30-40 years now, and similarly this is a dance sound that could’ve been recorded at any point in the last 20 years, but when the source you’re supping from is as delicious as the glorious house sound of Chicago and Detroit, I for one wont be complaining. On the heavily treated hook lines it even sounds like they’ve dragged Inner City’s Paris Grey out of retirement just to provide a 5 word pleading end to the chorus’s “Do… You… Really… Want… Me”.

I’ve only heard a couple of tracks so far but the debut album from Andrew Butler’s Hercules And The Love Affair is already shaping up to be all over those end of year lists. With guest vocals from Antony Hegarty (of “and the Johnson’s” fame) – a man who provided the stand out track on the My Robot friend album last year – and the backing and kudos of DFA its difficult to see how it can fail. Aside from Bjorks mouth-watering new album featuring Timbaland and the Konono No.1 this is probably my most eagerly awaited release of the year (and to think i hadn’t even heard of it 2 weeks ago when Jez’s mail popped into my in box).

HORSE LATITUDES (JEZ) CHOICE 2:

The Cinematic Orchestra – “To Build A Home (Edit)” (MP3)

Buy: Pre-Order the new single “Breathe“ / New album from Amazon

Watch: Cinematic Orchestra – “All That You Give” (YouTube)

Cinematic Orchestra – “To Build A Home” (Live – YouTube)

Read: Interview with J.Swinscoe

HL (JEZ): A human and a piano can be one of the most devastatingly effective conduits of human emotion – bar none. Throw-in a sustain pedal, a tortured soul, and a quartet of strings and I’m practically blind with tears before the music starts!

When you think Cinematic Orchestra you probably think all clever outdoor festivals with beard stroking and silent Russian movies and people who read the Guardian and know more than you about ballet. Me too. The Cinematics went off to the ICA for a while back at the turn of the century and I lost interest. In fact the whole Ninja Tunes operation lost sight of the things that made them legends in the 90s. Sure, everyone has to make a dollar, but you’re not getting mine anymore.

Then this track slid across my desk (how we grow up…I’m not asking the DJ anymore, I’m asking the secretaries…:)) and it is one of the most beautiful tracks I have heard for a long time.

In fact I feel quite spoilt today. This morning I spent listening to Regina Spektor’s ‘Samson’ (seek and find) and now I sit and listen to this. Both tracks borrow heavily from Antony and The Johnson’s, and the tradition goes back before him to Billie Holiday (I’m thinking Strange Fruit) and back further… But a melody is a melody, a hook’s a hook and good lyrics are damn hard to find. Patrick Watson, the Canadian singer, is a perfect match for the music. I trust you will agree.

MLD: As I was both in attendance at the live soundtrack for the Russian silent movie, and by and large have been a Guardian reader most of my life I slightly object to the thrust of Jez’s comments, although I discount myself from the slander on the basis of my lack of beard or ballet knowledge.

Ninjatune have always existed with their feet on the dancefloor but their hands on their beards… that’s their charm. True, sometimes they stray too far into bearded territory, one memorable moment being at the interval to Cinematic Orchestra’s live “Man With A Movie Camera” score, when an wide eyed young man enthused to my girlfriend at the time how “it was breathtaking” only to be informed that she’d slept through the first half so bored had she been (for the record I enjoyed most of it).

2002’s “Everyday” album ranks as one of Ninjatune’s finest releases, if only for Fontello Bass’s tracks, and the colossal genius of Roots Manuva guest spot on “All Things To All Men” so no pressure for the new release then guys!
The fact – and Im afraid it is a fact, not just sloppy journalism – that this track sounds like Coldplay covering Anthony & The Johnson’s has ensured it a tough reception on Ninja’s very own forum. Someone suggested joining a Coldplay noticeboard and posting it as a leaked new track to see how many people noticed it wasn’t Gwynth’s hubby.

When it first leaked late last year I have to admit I wasn’t that impressed either, but once you strip away all the expectation and the music snobbery, and actually LISTEN as George Michael once said without prejudice, what you’re left with is an absolutely beautiful track, that will touch your soul (if you let it)!
Ninjatune have been giving away the radio edit of the track so that’s the one Im sharing. For the full length version complete with sumptuous strings pre-order the album.

HORSE LATITUDES (JEZ) – CLASSIC CUT:

Earth, Wind & Fire – “Kalimba Story” (MP3)

Watch: Recent AOL live performance of “Kalimba Story”

EWF – “Got To Get You Into My Life” (from Sgt. Pepper The Musical) – YouTube (Not EWF’s finest moment)

HL (JEZ): The Kalimba is a Zimbabwean instrument, a finger piano that makes the most ethereal sound you’ve ever heard. Used to create waves of repetitious trance like sounds, it is as much the sound of today as of when it was created. You can hear it in The Juan Maclean, Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, Joni Mitchell, Nine Inch Nails…and also in Earth Wind and Fire’s fifth album from 1974, ‘Open Our Eyes’.

Ramsey Lewis introduced Maurice White to the instrument when White was working with the Lewis band on the Sun Goddess sessions. White and the whole of EWF had a very Afro-centric roots based approach to soul and funk and this traditional African sound fit right in. I love the fact Maurice sings of how this ancient instrument will help him make “future music“. Damn straight people. This is still future music.

Of course the future for EWF was Boogie Wonderland and massive chart success followed by languishing in dollar bins all across the globe, but hey, in 1974 lots of people were optimistic I had ignored EWF for too long, when I chanced across this track. I think we all have. Head back to the early albums and you’ll uncover some gems. This album alone contains ‘Drum Song’ ‘Devotion’ and ‘Mighty Mighty’. Check it.

MLD: As the saying goes “There’s many a fine tune played on an old piano“, and so its equally true that there’s many a funky tune played on a traditional instrument. Recently I saw Ba Cissoko’s 21 string Kora Harp’s out Hendrix Jimi himself while their drummer played a huge traditional drum that made a great booming noise like an 808 at the bottom of a 30ft well. Now add to that the back catalogue of Earth Wind and Fire, thanks to Maurice White’s love of traditional African instruments (although the Kalimba was sort of “invented” by an Englishman in the 1920’s, based on the traditional Mbira).

“Kalimba Song” takes a very Sly & The Family Stone bassline (“Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”?) and perfectly mixes in the plucked sound of the Kalimba finger piano. On the basis of this I’ll be hunting down some early EWF asap, although with the exception of the Kalimba solo towards the end I have to ask if the track would be much different if the Kalimba channel on the mixing desk was faded down? (actually that’s a little harsh).

By all accounts Maurice did for the Kalimba what Rolf Harris did for the Wobble board placing it at the heart of the group, all over the early material, and giving it exposure it would never otherwise have achieved (although I can’t find so much as a sniff of Kalimba on Boogie Wonderland). Personally I just love the idea that a group like EWF would release a song about a Southern African finger piano as a single in the US, and reach number 7 in the R&B charts.

Incidently if youre a lover of lists, top 10’s and records to fall in love to questions check out the latest edition of Finger Magazine. Its got lists galore from dozens of musicians from Richard Hawley to Sven Vath, and Coldplay.

Anyway on with the tunes: First up my selections – 2 brand new and one oldie but goldie. In a slight change of format Jez responds with an opinion piece at the end. It seems my accidental choice of two remorselessly bleak relationship songs has given the poor sod the blues… thank god for the Jackson’s riding in to save the day. 

Pt.2 with three selections from Jez will follow in the next few days.

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 1:

Stuart James – “The Food Between Her Teeth (Camberwell Hit Factory mix)” (MP3)

Download: More free Stuart James remixes on Myspace, 3 more MP3’s on Stuart’s own page or a dozen from his last.fm page.

Stuart James – “City On A Roll” (MP3)

MLD: Ever wondered what Mike Skinner would sound like if he’d listened to more Bragg & John Cooper Clarke, and less 2-step? Well wonder no more, the answers Stuart James. Hailing from South London he arrives armed only with acoustic guitar, wonderfully inventive lyrics, and a delivery style to leave Daddy Freddy wheezing like a red faced pensioner (Daddy Freddy on Record Breakers).

In fact the lyrics compel you to write them down, but don’t bother its bloody frustrating (actually do bother, then send them to me!)
On a separate Myspace to his original own name recordings Stuart offers up these “Camberwell Hit Factory” versions that meld his slam poetry style delivery to brilliantly basic beats and samples. The simplest keyboard line, a pulse, and a 4:4 beat are all that back an accusatory tale questioning an unknown man’s worthiness to be with his woman, culminating in the accusation that “you’re not worth the food between her teeth”.

“Does she make you melt
when you hear her voice
Do you give her time
Do you know she’s cool
Do you play her for a fool
Does she make you blush“

All the tracks on the Camberwell Hit Factory page are worthy of your time, as are the original acoustic versions. Definitely one of the ones to watch in 2007 (although Im those with their fingers on the pulse were saying that last year). Thanks go to Dan Le Sac for gently *cough cough*ing in Stuart’s direction.

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 2:

The Cock’n'Bull Kid – “There’s a Mother In Our Bed” (MP3)

Visit: The Cock’n'Bull Kid’s Myspace / “There’s a Mother” Live on YouTube

MLD: Declaring “Morrissey met Neneh Cherry. They procreated. The end” on your website takes some bravado, but fortunately CocknBull Kid is well on the way to delivering on these rash claims. “There’s A Mother In Our Bed” sounds less like Mozza & Cherry and more like Grace Jones taking Jamelia down a dark alley with a strap on – but maybe that’s just me – either way it’s the ultimate Mother-in-law song, delivering viciously witty rebukes to her mummy’s boy boyfriend:

“I understand you want to put your mother first
wouldn’t ask you to choose between me and her
but to be honest id rather see her in a hearse…in a hearse“

The music matches up to the razor sharp lyrics, a looped “1.1.1.1.2.1.2” starts it off, while a joyously batty operatic chorus provides the killer “Why Don’t We just face it our relationship is very fucked up” hook. Her listed influences range from Morrissey to East17 and The Spice Girls, showing that while she may operate on the bleedin’ edge she’s not afraid of a good old fashioned pop hook or a healthy dollop of wit.
Check YouTube for a bizarre interpretative dance performance to Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” featuring a horse’s head and a man who’s clearly never kissed a woman in his life – odd!

MUSIC LIKE DIRT – CLASSIC CUT:

The Jackson 5 – “It’s Great To Be Here” (MP3)

Watch: “Eat More Cereal” say The Jackson 5 on YouTube / “Killing Me Softly” on The Cosby Show (YouTube)

MLD: For anyone old enough to remember the dance Snoopy did when he was happy, this is what he must have been listening to, or at least its the reaction the track has on me. In my overactive imagination its the perfect end of set track, the music’s gone down a storm, the crowd are ecstatic, and it sends everyone home delirious. The beats, euphoric strings, fat bass, and MJ’s beautiful beautiful imploring voice crying out “Its Great to be Here“, hands are in the air, smiles are on faces and life simply doesn’t get any better.

Its difficult to listen to the track when typing as its not something you sit and admire, its a tune that lifts the spirit, warms the soul, and more often than not gets you on the dancefloor.
Released on the Jackson’s fourth album, which with the exception of “Never Can Say Goodbye” actually wasn’t a great success, but has since proved a gold mine for samplers. P’Diddly and Mariah Carey have pilfered from “It’s Great To Be Here” probably due to its inclusion on Volume 10 of the famous “Ultimate Breaks and Beats” bootlegs in the mid to late 80’s (It’s where I first fell in love with the track, and numerous others).

HL (JEZ): …I’d like to first thank the Academy, and my broadband provider for the fact that I’ve been asked here to review music on ‘Listen To This’. The call came and I was off scrabbling around the ‘Net trying to find some new blood to offer up as sacrifice. Drawing in favours and hanging around Hoxton corners, ears pinned back for a URL to be casually dropped…I thought it was hard to pick my own music choices, I find it much harder to review someone else’s…

Having found my own tune reviewed kindly on these glowing pages it would be churlish to commit to anything but the greatest praise for Music Like Dirt’s offering, but then again I may be neglecting my duties over at Horse Latitudes if I did.

I therefore have done my best to keep an open mind – and to steer clear of the whole “there’s no such thing as bad music” non-opinion pole dance…

Listening to the two tracks (‘Mother’ and ‘The Food Between’) side by side I couldn’t help but wonder what the world had come to. Here I was listening to the Kylie & Jason of 2009. The lovers and fighters of the generation below me, and the role models for the generation below them…and I was left thinking like some insipid ‘Peas once said “Where is the Love?”.

Now I know it’s all about the sparse production. Pushin’ the plug-ins. Wrecking that soundcard and setting your PC speakers on fire. That modern yout’ take punk up a notch and it is attitude and t’ing that rocks, not just the words that are strung together.

But this is where I guess I come across as too old, and where the younger generation gleefully dance on my grave. I mean it’s right that I don’t get it isn’t it? There would be something wrong with the music if I loved it, innit? When Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue roamed the airwaves, criticizing the Mother-in-Law was unheard of. When I was a youth, girls wanted fellas who got on with their mums, it showed balance… or something…and they always respected the rule of the house they were visiting. I reckon The Cock n Bull Kid needs her head checking and her mouth rinsing. If she’s clever enough to drop the word “thus” she’s wise enough to know that the Mother-in-Law is better with you than against you. Believe.

And for his part Stuart James too seems to have a very distopian view of relationships. These two should get together a la Jason & Minogue, I think they’d make a stunning collaboration. Possibly with Wyclef on the production…

Which brings me to The Jacksons. Here is the love! Exactly what I’m talking about. Something to shake my rheumatic tailfeather to, and bathe in lyrics of love. Maybe I’m just in turmoil because CnBK & Stuart James seem to have a handle on the truth about Love. That The Jackson’s and Michael with his sweet turns were actually lying to us. Perhaps life and love – real life and real love are not really the subject of pop songs…

Perhaps these “love” songs are showing us what post-millennial post-teenage life and love is really all about. This is what you get in a world of 24 hour news, illegal wars, illegal searches, crumbling education systems and roaming Wi-fi mobiles phones. You don’t learn about love incrementally over 40 years. Like Milla Jovich in the Fifth Element, you get the knowledge of the World over night. In an instant. In a download.

Or maybe this is what the Supremes and the Shirelles would rather have been singing about, if they weren’t being handled by older male producers. Maybe if we always let the kids speak for themselves the truths they know will always shock us. Having not yet learned to curb their lack of enthusiasm…?

The more I think about these songs, the more I warm to the fact that they are unrestrained. That CnBK and Stuart James didn’t feel the need, in the world of digital music and downloads to limit their strong sentiments for a radio play that will never happen. I wish them both luck in finding a real love that they will enjoy, and I hope they can sing as strongly and as purely about that too. In the meantime though, I’ll be listening to The Jacksons with my old lady – while I hope CnBK and Stuart really do get together and make sweet music.

I’ll let Marcy explain the concept: “This is how it works: MLD picked three songs and I picked three songs and then we each listened to them (hence the name) and wrote our reviews. I’m thrilled to be a part of it, and I must say I went out of my way to pick three tracks that I was fairly certain he wouldn’t choose for himself, and he certainly chose ones I’d never pick.”

Over to me with a hopefully more successful choice than my first track:

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 2:

Glass Shark – “Clap Yr Hands” (MP3)

Buy: Glass Shark – “First Bite EP” from Puregroove

Watch: Glass Shark – “I Love My Disco Robot” (Video)

Download: Free Xmas mix, and more free goodies on Glassshark.com

MLD: Clap your hands, and say hit!

It’s the hottest band, not in NYC as you might think on first listen, but NC… North Cornwall. Before you phone DFA HQ to inform them they’ve sprung a leak – this isn’t the new LCD Soundsystem LP – but Glass Sharks main influence is pretty damn clear.
Squelching synths, hand claps, that bass guitar, and of course the cow bells, this is LCD, only less po-faced perhaps after they’ve had one to many beers and are feeling a little frisky.

“Put on your latex boots, I’m hot and in the mood“.

The lyrics may be aimed at getting you on the dancefloor and then into the sack, but they’re endearingly daft and delivered with tongue firmly in cheek. From bontempi hand claps to sing-along ahhhhh-ha-haaa’s, it will exercise the grin like an idiot muscles as much as those required when shaking your ass.
This is taken from a compilation of their first two EP’s (buy now @ Puregroove), and there’s not a duff track to be found. Think of this MP3 as a first glimpse of a glass dorsal fin approaching in the water, then holler Brody like “You’re going to need a bigger boat!”. Glass Shark are all set to be huge.

LIYIB: Now this track had me at its very first beats. It’s a simple song, actually, pretty straightforward. It never gets too complicated or overly layered with sounds or extraneous instrumentation. It’s got just enough to keep you moving and shaking, which is exactly what I like about it. It has a pretty clear message, too, which is basically, Let’s get it on, baby, on and off the dance floor!

One question: Is this some kind of play on the band name Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? I don’t hear any similarity in this song to anything I’ve ever heard by CYHSY, but I get the feeling I might be missing something.

LOST IN YOUR IN BOX CHOICE 3:

Beat Radio – “Mexico” (MP3)

Free: Download the entire debut album for free/nada/zilch – visit here

LIYIB: Beat Radio is one of my favourite bands right now. And I know, I know, this song just screams “indie.” But it’s everything I love about indie rock: the bouncing guitars and drums, the melodic hooks and meaningful lyrics, and the way it builds to a crescendo of feeling–approaching abandon without ever getting overblown.

At almost the exact midpoint of the song, there’s a drum smack that signals that the song is beginning its expansion, which it does until it decompresses at the very end. And the words convey a longing for what could have been, what was glimpsed but not quite grabbed onto, and what there might still be hope for, if you’re lucky enough to find your way back to wherever you were.

MLD: Oh god, the law of averages said that eventually someone would pick a record that no matter how hard I tried (and I have honest) I just couldn’t get into. That’s not to say its a bad record, in-fact I’d say its a good example of indie pop rock. Its got a nice Libertines-esque opening guitar riff, it’s upbeat, the vocalist is pretty good, and the melody is catchy, but I think the basic problem is…well… I’m not sure how to put this, but I just don’t really like Indie rock. If it was to vanish off the face of the earth tomorrow I’m not sure I’d notice or more importantly care (well apart from not being able to find Xfm, Virgin, Capital etc on my radio).

As I type this Im listening again just in case I finally “get it” but no. I can hear it doing well, I can imagine it being excellent live, and I can hear lots of great elements within it, but as it finishes I have absolutely no desire to listen again. It sounds like a hit anyway so I’m sure our paths will cross.

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 3:

Yungun & Mr. Thing – “Forget Me Not” (MP3)

Buy: Yungun & Mr. Thing LP or Top of the Class 2006 (Best of UK HipHop) – £8 inc del

Visit: Yungun Myspace / Mr.Thing Myspace

Watch: “Forget Me Not” (YouTube)

LIYIB: Oooh, I love the way this starts. It’s oh-so-retro with that Motown-Smokey-Robinson-70s-groove-thing going on. The female background vocals and the falsettos, the tambourine and the big bass line all add up to a seriously infectious backdrop to his vocals. And he’s got such a deep, resonant voice. I just about melted when I heard it.

My only complaint is that I wish he sang more and rapped less. That’s actually my major issue with most hip-hop. Too much talking, not enough singing. But all told, I could definitely listen to this a lot more readily than “Wifey.” I like the words and the way he rhymes “forgot, right” and “flop, right” and “spotlight.” And his accent, well, I have quite the soft spot for a right nice British accent, what can I say?

MLD:
(In finest British accent) This should have been a summer smash in the vein of Jazzy Jeff & Fresh Prince’s “Summertime“. I’ve just become obsessed with the track all over again after it featured on the excellent “Top of the class 2006” UK HipHop compilation. It’s HipHop at its most poppy and accessible, but what’s wrong with that?

From the opening doo woppy “No, No, No” sampled female hook its impossible to resist, and once the dipped in molasses voice of Yungun comes in you’ll be floored. “Thought that I forgot, right” – The delivery across the whole track, and especially on the killer chorus is wonderful. I listened to this about 10 times in a row when I first heard it, and thankfully I haven’t crossed over to the point where I’ve overdosed on it yet.

Even on a grey cold rainy day in East London its summer when this track is playing, it achieves the audio equivalent of that cheesy effect in films where black and white changes to radiant colour, winter to summer, and sadness turns to joy.

Anyway over to Marcy for her first selection: (Part 2 to follow in a few days)

LOST IN YOUR IN BOX CHOICE 1:

Munck//Johnson – “Slavesong” (MP3)

Buy: Munck//Johnson 2nd LP or super cheap compilation featuring this song.

Download: More free MP3’s @ Myspace

LIYIB: I have to say that doing a feature like Listen to This – the chance to discuss in detail exactly why I love an individual song – is a music lover’s dream come true. And this particular song is so dear to me. Why? Well, first, the chords. The vocal harmonies are so dense, so full, and they sit atop a single acoustic guitar being plucked one string at a time. I think there are three people singing, but it sounds like so much more. And then there’s the way they vocalise each word. Sometimes a single syllable stretches over three notes. Another amazing thing is that his song was recorded live, yet it’s perfect in its intonation.

The lyrics are extremely compelling, too. In very few words, it describes the loss of faith and the utter despair of regret. It’s so bare, so exposed, just like your heart is after the realisation of the end of love. Uplifting it’s not, but affirming of how low one’s spirit can sink, it certainly is. You might want to save this one for a really dark day.

MLD: When I heard that this song was recorded live in Djursland, Denmark, my slightly over active imagination got to work. Conjuring up an ethereal picture of a dark misty night amongst the ancient Bronze age burial mounds of the Djursland area. Breaking through the eerily quiet night a distant yet beautiful female voice is barely audible… getting closer you’d discover Søsser – the vocalist on this track – in full voice unaware of the elements swirling around her.

With just a single guitar as backing its a deceptively simple song, but its amazing the emotion that can be expressed with just a slow plucked guitar line, and those multi-tracked vocals. Its not something I’d normally listen to but that’s the beauty of having someone else recommend you some tracks.
It does have to be said that its not a very cheery song, so don’t go asking Marcy to pick the soundtrack if you’re not in high spirits, unless you want a bad case of “I’m drowning here, and all you’re doing is describing the water“. (Jack Nicholson – As Good As It Gets).

No, in all seriousness, a gorgeous first selection.

MUSIC LIKE DIRT CHOICE 1:

Dark Art Magic – “Not Wifey” (MP3)

Visit: Dark Art Magic Myspace / Ras Kwarme’s Homegrown podcast

Live: Club L.A – Luton – Jan 12th 07

MLD: “Listen To This” was in danger of becoming a little bit like a love in where everyone sits around and applauds each others marvellous tastes (and where’s the fun in that)! So for my first selection I picked out a slice of UK Garage which I originally stumbled across thanks to Ras Kwame’s excellent “Homegrown” BBC 1xtra podcast (subscribe for 100% new UK black music).
While I had my doubts that Marcy was a hip hop or garage fan I do know she loves her lyrics, and on this track the words fly out, tumbling over each another as they squeeze into the 3 minutes. Luton’s Chris Jullien aka Dark Art Magic somehow manages to deliver his lyrics at an amazing speed, while managing not to sound in the slightest bit rushed.

“Push comes to shove you’ll probably end up being my youts mum… 3 years, 2 cars, 1 kid and a yard.. but you ain’t my girl“

Its essentially a love song, a garage LL Cool J “I Need Love” if you like but with commitment issues. There are songs that are sung to declare love and ask for someone’s hand in marriage… this isn’t one of those. At times you can hear the exasperation as he explains he loves her, but he doesn’t want “No Wifey“. She is however like his “vitamin B.. the strength that I need“, but at the same time she’s not really his girl. Confused yet?… If this was Trisha she’d be banging heads together and packing them off to her team of skilled TV councillors.

Its not just about the lyrics though, Chris has been a bedroom producer since he was 13, and he nails it with this track. A pitched up snatch of female vocal is sampled, and cut up to form the hook, this is perfectly complimented with melancholic keyboard chords. The beats skip and stutter to great effect too.
The song ends with an ultimatum to “his girl”, so until she records the answer record “No Groomy” we’ll just have to guess how it all turned out. On the basis of this track though Dark Art Magic’s musical future should turn out very well indeed.

LIYIB: So my first thought was, MLD picked this song because he KNEW I wouldn’t like it. Oh, I know that’s not true (I think), and it wasn’t quite right, either. Because even though I didn’t love it at first listen (actually, I still don’t), I do like it, although mostly for the music.
As you may know, I’m a lyrics person, so I listen very intently to the words. And they’re clever, I’ll give our singer that, but they’re not very endearing. I can’t say as I much care for this fellow, nor do I have much sympathy for his plight. In fact, if I were his girlfriend, I’d be asking myself, what exactly am I getting out of this relationship? Oh, I kid. I’m not here to judge his life choices or attitude, just the song, right? Except he IS the song. Hmmm.
I think what appeals to me most about it are the rhythmically complex and entertaining drums and little electronic chirpy riffs. And I marvel at how fast he spits out the words, even as I dislike what he says. That said, I’m wondering if I would run out and buy this or tell my friends, you’ve got to hear this? Probably not.

LOST IN YOUR IN BOX CHOICE 2:

Huski – “Easy Life” (MP3)

Buy: Huski LP

Live: Madame Jo-Jo’s – London 21st Dec 06

LIYIB: Ah, this song epitomises what I find most appealing about certain music. It’s got an upbeat, uptempo melody all right, but the words are disconsolate and searching and belie the happy-go-lucky instrumentation. The vocalist, Maple Bee (what a great stage name, btw), has this scrumptious, sexy voice that drips sensuality, yet she’s so very discontented. It plays so well against the synths and the pulsating drums, guitar and bass lines. It’s a satisfying sing-along for those days when you can’t seem to catch a break, when even getting out of bed seems to be more of a challenge than you can begin to meet. And I love that warbling whistle-like sound, whatever it is (MLD: sounds a bit like a theremin to me).

MLD:
Another track I’d never heard of, and a fine piece of slickly produced pop it is too. I’m not sure if this was ever released in the UK, but if the All Saints seriously wanted to revive their faltering comeback they should cover this and watch it fly to No.1 (and perhaps the album up to 43 – one song cant do everything!). It would suit them perfectly, but they’d struggle to match the original sultry honeyed tones of Maple Bee.

“Easy Life” starts in fine style with a church organ, and proceeds with a very up-tempo happy radio friendly sound, but at the same time there’s a disconsolate air to it all, with the lyrics, and Maple’s treated voice both expressing a kind of sad acceptance.
After doing a bit of delving it seems Ms Bee is a woman of many talents. She’s part of Huski, has a solo album that sounds a bit like Kate Bush doing Portishead covers, and also appears to be part of something called “Mediaeval Baebes” which the press release describes as a “provocative collective of beautiful maidens“. Its very popular with the Daily Express, and Classic FM, but I’m afraid I didn’t make it past the opening Pan Pipes.