Attending a really well organised Oxjam elsewhere in North London a couple of nights earlier hadn’t exactly quelled my fears. Listed in Time Out (unlike me despite numerous attempts) it spanned 3 rooms with inspired comedy, an eclectic mix of live music, and DJ’s (including Coldcut’s Matt Black!!) It was genuinely superb from the soul of Nike Jemiyo backed by south London’s answer to The Dapkings to the amusingly titled Yorkshire Rapper (Listen to “Up North” – up north up north up north).

"If this doesn't work I could just stand like this all night"

It’s the little things, so many little things, that trip you up.
Take the picture (above) featuring my puzzled attempts to construct a desk for CDJ’s out of empty beer crates and a stray coffee table, while in the background the sound man knocks up a wire for the mixers non-standard output. Meanwhile it’s an hour and a half before doors, 4 acts to soundcheck and time seems to be the only thing rushing.
The soundguy’s so laid back he appears to move in as if filmed in timelapse. It stressed the hell out of me but was thankfully merely the calmness and consummate skill that comes with having seen it and done it all before… “it’ll be fine” he reassured. Sure enough only 20 minutes after the advertised time, the doors were flung open and fortified by a glass of dry white, the volunteer on the door began to take punters money. Punters! Actual real people have come… and there are some I dont know by name.

I’d love to be able to give you a band by band review but the entire night exists to me only as some vague blur so if anyone wants to tell me what it was like please do!
All I can say with any certainty is thank god for Akira The Don, not only for performing but for his wildly enthusiastic hosting. He set the tone introducing The Melting Ice Caps (or Melty Ice Caps as he took to calling them) as his new favourite band… “OH MYYY GODD they’re incredible!“.

Described by a friend as “Divine Comedy channelling Morrissey in Marc Almond’s boudoir while wearing a Pet Shop Boy’s scarf” I’ve seen David Shah’s Melting Ice Caps a few times. Most notably a hilariously fractious performance, accompanied only by a DVD player in a sunken pit in the corner of a boozer. At the end of a truncated set Shah quite rightly declared “Im never playing here again“.

Thankfully for Oxjam Shah took full advantage of The Standard’s unusually wide stage with the full band Ice Cap experience, now with added Sax. New tracks “Join The Dots” and “In Bloom” were given an airing ahead of an EP in the new year, along with many of their nine “mostly free to download” singles (Grab them here).

A stray set list at the end of the night revealed that even with a bumper 45 minute slot there was no room for the superb “Pavlovian Boy“, or singles “Being No One” and the melancholic magnificence of the breakup song “Hard To Get“. As ever it ended with “Selfish Bachelor“, the diamond in a jewel encrusted crown of bittersweet pop songs. “You’ve been the best audiences we’ve had all year” said Shah before adding “although this is only the third time we’ve played…“.

For some reason #oxjamwalthamstow wasn’t trending worldwide at this point but word of the mighty Ice Caps did spread into the twitterverse with the local MP tweeting from Westminster:

Setlist:

Mise En Scene, Through a prism, Join the dots
Strike in the dark
our lovely afternoon

le cafe et les hommes, in bloom, ohio
between eros and agape

Selfish bachelor

Pavlovian Boy

BARBAROSSA (Above)

Barbarossa (Italian for “red beard”) has been around in various guises since 2006, and recorded the first and so far only MusicLikeDirt Live session earlier in the year during a brief sojourn under his real name James Mathe. Most recently “Stones” a track featuring Jon Hopkins from the 2006 LP “Sea Like Blood” LP featured on the hit US series “How I Met Your Mother“. Fans of the show filled chat rooms with plea’s like “Help! I need to know what that song at the end of the last episode was… I want to play it at my wedding!!“. Basically the man’s got a beautiful voice, what more is there to say? That voice was even more to the fore as this was a solo stripped down performance, just James with his instruments spread out across 3 low tables.

The gig took place days before he was due to head to the hills outside Manchester to record the next Barbarossa LP at the Analogue Catalogue Vintage Recording studio (with Adem on production duties). He can’t however be totally averse to digital technology as for a final flourish James took the slogan “there’s an app for that” literally and played “Pallyacho” backed only by his iphone. One of the best versions of one of my favourite tracks of his.

Meanwhile someone was replying to Stella:

James Mathe – “Pallyacho (Home Demo)”

The load (demo) by BARBAROSSA_UK

Wishing Well demo by BARBAROSSA_UK

I should really self promote with a clip from the MLD session, but for my money you cant beat this wind swept roof top rendition of “The Load” – “I will not ever take this for granted, I am forever in your hands”.

POLARBEAR (Above)

We’ve had Indie, we’ve had soul, now the evening moved into its hip-hop segment. By 10.30 The Standard would be raining rappers, but a gentle start first for those who perhaps profess to not like rap. Tonight they were to be converted, charmed, sucked in by the witty insightful lyrics and rare talent of Steven Camden aka Polarbear.

With rehersals imminent for his one man 11 night run at Camden’s Roundhouse I was amazed and unbelievably excited that Polar agreed to play in the first place, especially a set, 90% of which had never been performed live. 90% is also about the amount I missed, due to a stint sorting tickets on the door, and organising the raffle! I did however finally manage to get a copy of some Polar on vinyl. Back in 2009 Polarbear and DJ Session “foolishly” pressed 500 copies of their collaboration “The Session & The Bear EP” and as Polar tells it the majority of which now live under their respective beds. They had a dozen to give away, and unsurprisingly weren’t short of takers.

AFROBEAR – Lilliput DEMO by homeofpolar

PolarBear – ‘David (Player Piano mix)’ (MP3)

At the end of the evening I heard so many variations of “I cant stand rap but Polarbear was simply amazing“.
If you were one of those people be sure to see his one man show “OldMe” at The Roundhouse from the 21st November.

Session (aka Noisses)

Akira, Marvin The Martian & brother Zef

AKIRA THE DON & GUESTS (Above)

And finally the host with the most Akira The Don, single handedly helming the whole shebang, manning his merchandise stall, cajoling people to buy raffle tickets, all while rocking cowboy boots and a transformers cap. Actually maybe its best to draw a discreet veil over the raffle, many people helped selling tickets and local firms donated an eclectic range of prizes but it didn’t quite go to plan. It started well as Akira thrust a box of Quality Street to the sky like it was the Jules Rimey declaring “all this stuff is cool but we all know this is what you really want“. The first winner was drawn but no one quite believed their ears when he yelled “You’ve won all this stuff..everything” and then proceeded to throw the rest of the tickets into the crowd and launch into his set! What can I say, blame the organiser, it was a genuine mixup!

Its ALL about the Quality Street

Akira was joined by DJ/rapper Jack Nimble, Marvin The Martian, as well as what would’ve been a surprise guest – had he not announced it on twitter – American poet/activist/rapper B Dolan. I can safely say the Standard stage has never held so many rappers in all its history, or have so many rappers ever performed alongside a trestle table stacked with a microwave, 2000AD comics, an assortment of booze and 24 cans of Irn-Bru!!! Tonight Walthamstow we give you rap’n'raffle.

B Dolan in the backstage room

Im not sure who was more pleased when B Dolan sent an out of the blue tweet saying “Im in the UK, I could rock a little set ting at Oxjam if you want“, me or Akira The Don? As he succinctly put it “He’s ACE!!!!!!“. True to his word Dolan arrived, along with tour-mate Scroobius Pip (or as someone whispered to me..I think Ive seen Dan Le Sac here!) The Don graciously welcomed Dolan to the stage to perform a fantastic live take on Buddy Peace’s Redux of “Earthmovers“.

EARTHMOVERS REDUX by B. Dolan and Buddy Peace by Strange Famous Records

What little I saw of Akira’s set I witnessed from the middle of the stage where I was attempting to perform the 6ft6 bloke dismantles a drumkit right behind the main act without being noticed trick with little success. I did hear “BabyDoll” Akira’s gloriously upbeat tribute to his new wife, and I was as touched and uplifted by it as a man surreptitiously trying to unscrew a bass drum can be. A local studio offered a reduced rate for the hire on the condition they had to be back by 1130 so after 2 rushed car journeys I returned to find Akira still in full swing.

Akira The Don – “Thanks For All The AIDS (NY Master)”

B Dolan returned to the stage along with Marvin The Martian for what seemed like a set closing blast through the maddeningly addictive Elastica sampling “BOOOMMM!!” By now it was almost 11.30pm and the numbers if not the enthusiasm were thinning out a bit but Akira still attempted one final triumphant crowd surf.
“Thats the least number of people Ive ever seen being crowd surfing on before” said an awed B Dolan, “you were surfing on like one guy!”
“Hey I make records and I break records” retorted Akira.

Here’s a selection from Akira The Don’s brand new Mixtape tribute to Manga Comics: I can’t tell you if he performed any of these live but as with all Don tapes its well worth a listen and his 2nd Stephen Hague produced LP “The Life Equation” was well worth the epic wait!

MANGA MIXTAPE
Golgo 13 by Akira The Don
Full Metal Alchemist ft. Time by Akira The Don
Urotsukidoji ft. Littles by Akira The Don
Dominion Tank Police ft. Marvin The Martian by Akira The Don

THANK YOU!

A final thanks to the huge list of people who helped me raise around £620 for Oxfam, the 70ish people who came down out on a Wednesday in Walthamstow, all the bloody brilliant acts who gave their time, friends, neighbours and work colleagues who facebooked, raffle ticketed, and manned the door. Harriet (and Adrian) for the splendid photos. My brother for the poster and generally being the brunt of my panic… the list could go on and on. Thankfully all the artists who played got a good response, and hopefully gained some new fans. On Facebook Akira The Don responded to a very kind comment from The Melting Ice Caps keyboard player by declaring that I was “a G!!! a G!!!, a G!!! a G!!!” Having consulted my big book of street slang for the almost 40′s I’ve discovered this is a good thing and not in fact a comparison with former Bucks Fizz member Bobby G.

THE STANDARD MUSIC VENUE

A last mention to The Standard Music Venue, a part of this community for decades and one which will be sadly missed when it closes its doors for the last time in December (2011).

Its yet another mark of the disregard and contempt Waltham Forest Council have for the people living in this borough, as The Standard joins Walthamstow Dogs, the EMD cinema, etc etc on the rotting and closed list. Its difficult to work out if its corruption, incompetence or both but I emailing Paul at The Standard in 2005 to ask if he was aware the council had circulated a plan for the area with no mention of The Standard but a huge pink blob in its place for a plaza and of course “landmark” tower blocks. Back came the reply: “I personally neither received an invite or a brochure. It is sad that this council has never recognised the Standard or given any recognition for what we do. We entertain thousands of people a year”. At a later planning meeting, one of the council appointed developers responded to my question about the numbers of people who attend the Standard by saying “our research shows the majority of the Standard’s customers come from outside the borough”. People coming to E17 from elsewhere, give me the keys to the bulldozer I’ll take it down myself!

To this day the council refer to the venue as “The Standard Public House”, so much easier to write it off as just a boozer, not the only dedicated music venue in the borough. After many complaints they inserted a waffly paragraph about having an aim “to re-provide, if possible, The Standard Music Venue within the new development”. It recognised the venue’s importance as an essential part of the “night time economy” but provided no actual plan or promise to work to keep The Standard.
I’m privileged to have the opportunity to put on a night at The Standard and raise some money in the process but once the stage empties for that final time, the area will be left with either a another Turkish Supermarker or longer term 1000′s packed into towerblocks.

Update: The lovely people at Londonist have listed Oxjam Walthamstow as one of their “Music Choice’s” of gigs in London this week.

Indie Electro pop from The Melting Ice Caps, electronic folk soul from Barbarossa, and spoken word meets hiphop courtesy of PolarBear. Oxjam Walthamstow’s already varied and pretty damn packed bill just got a little bit bigger with the news that Akira The Don who’s closing out the evening will be joined by a “surprise” guest.

At least it was a surprise until US Rapper, activist and spoken word artist B.Dolan took to twitter and facebook:
“LONDON! I’ll be making an impromptu appearance and doing a few songs with the homeys Music Like Dirt and Akira The Don at an Oxfam Charity Show this Wednesday. In addition to Akira and myself, you’ll also see PolarBear, Barbarossa & The Melting Ice Caps. All for £6! Wha? Come give me a high five for caring, you fucks. ♥”

Akira (above) will be showcasing tracks from his Stephen Hague produced (Pet Shop Boys, New Order)  2nd LP “The Life Equation” but jumped at the chance to have Dolan – who’s over touring with Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pip – guest and perhaps performing a couple of his own tunes.

Here’s one of the highlights of Akira’s new album – the love gone wrong but can’t quite let go duet with Envy “Nothing Lasts Forever“:
06 – Nothing Lasts Forever by Akira The Don

The Mux Mool remix of B.Dolan’s “Hunter” from the “Fallen House, Sunken City” LP

B. Dolan – Hunter (Mux Mool Remix) by Strange Famous Records

And B. Dolan performing his song “50 Ways to Bleed Your Customer” over M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” instrumental during a show at London’s Scala last year.

B. Dolan – 50 Ways (Paper Planes Remix) – live in London by Strange Famous Records

Akira The Don – “Living In The Future (Feat. Big Narstie, MC Lars, Eddie Argos & Scroobius Pip)”

Ahead of his 11 night run at Camden’s Roundhouse, the highly acclaimed PolarBear will be bringing his beguiling mix of spoken word and hip hop to Walthamstow.  Barbarossa aka James Mathe performed a session for Music Like Dirt earlier in the year, and his gorgeous track “Stones” recently featured in US Series “How I Met Your Mother“.  Blessed with a gorgeous voice and a knack for tying lovely melodies to melancholic lo-fi electronics, he’ll be playing a stripped down set. One not to miss.
Also on the bill are MLD favourites, The Melting Ice Caps with tales of love, loss and betrayal courtesy of lead singer David Shah. Reminiscent of the great English lyricists, Heaton, Tennant, Morrissey… able to craft intelligent, witty lyrics but with a slice of pop to embed them in your brain.

Knitting it all together will be the one man multimedia empire Akira The Don who’ll not only be playing but also has kindly agreed to host the evening! Originally signed to the giant Interscope Records, home of Bryan Adams and Dr.Dre, Akira has just released his second LP “The Life Equation”. The mighty Stephen Hague produced the album, otherwise known as the man on the mixer for New Order, Blur, Robbie Williams, and The Pet Shop Boys.

UPDATE: Akira will now be joined by a special surprise appearance by B.Dolan. He’ll be joining The Don on the mic and maybe performing a couple of his own tracks! More here.

OXJAM WALTHAMSTOW – WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 19TH

Get your tickets from WeGotTickets.com for £6 (£5 if bought before end of September)
BUY TICKETS

(We love physical tickets, so we made the lovely ones to the left – pick them up on the night or email us your wegottickets reference to be sent one)

Can’t make it along but still like to support our fundrasing efforts?

There’s a Justgiving page which gives extra cash to Oxfam if you’re a UK taxpayer - OXJAM WALTHAMSTOW JUSTGIVING.
You can also donate via text message:
Text HQJB81 followed by the amount to the number: 70070 – eg to give £1 text “HQJB81£1″ to 70070.  You wont incur any extra charge for the text.

The Standard Music Venue is literally across the road from Blackhorse Road tube station, 20 minutes from Oxford Circus on the Victoria Line (or close to St James Street Station for those coming from Liverpool Street on the train).

POLARBEAR
Octave Mouret – “Locked Doors (feat. PolarBear)” by calmfarm

AFROBEAR – Lilliput DEMO by homeofpolar

MELTING ICE CAPS

The Melting Ice Caps – “Selfish Bachelor” (MP3)
The Melting Ice Caps – “A Good Night” (MP3)

The Melting Ice Caps – “Hard To Get” (MP3)

BARBAROSSA

Wishing Well demo by BARBAROSSA_UK

The load (demo) by BARBAROSSA_UK

AKIRA THE DON
Thanks For All The AIDS by Akira The Don

Akira The Don ft Big Narstie MC Lars Eddie Argos & Scroobius Pip – Living In The Future 2.5 by Akira The Don
Akira The Don – Interesting Times by Akira The Don
2 Akira The Don ft Chilly Gonzales – Babydoll (Remix) by Akira The Don

Check Oxjam’s website to find a gig near you, or even better buy a ticket for my night from We Got Tickets for the very reasonable price of £6.
I am both honoured and excited by the artists who’ve agreed to play but as a first time gig organiser frankly I’m terrified no one will turn up!

There’ll be more details on the blog in the next few days but first I thought I’d give a mention to a concert being put on by one of the bands who are playing, long time MLD favourites, The Melting Ice Caps.

Ice Caps head honcho David Shah describes SPECKS IN THE SKY as a night of stratospherically dreamy music (but without the night bus, or a stratospheric ticket price).  It’s taking place at The Willmington Arm’s in Clarkenwell on September the 29th – at 4 quid its at least worth a gander at their Facebook page.

THE SOFT CLOSE-UPS

Keeping it in the family Shah himself will be performing, not with The Melting Ice Caps but his other group, The Soft Close-Ups.
They’re an art-pop duo who veer (beautifully, of course) from the acoustic to the electronic.

You can grab their album, ‘In Retrospect‘, for free (they also accept money) here: http://corporaterecords.co.uk/artists/The+Soft+Close-Ups/

“Fireworks” in particular is a delight, with such sparse production that there’s little but a burbling 80′s synth to accompany David’s plaintive voice.  It’s even more special when coupled with a simple but very effective video.

“A delectably knowing way with lounge pop” said God Is In The TV

The Soft Close-Ups – “Fireworks” by calmfarm

OWEN DUFF

I’ve not had a chance to listen to Owen’s music yet but David assures me of his brilliance and canny ability to wring magic out of piano, ukulele and cello.  My list of lazy comparisons includes Joan As Police Woman and Rufus Wainwright template. He rarely plays live and usually releases his music through playful stunts – copies of his last EP were hidden in secret locations for fans to hunt for.

Have a listen at www.owenduff.co.uk or watch his lovely Joanna Newsome cover below (He also sacrilegiously covers Whitney’s “I wanna dance with somebody”)

HONG KONG IN THE 60s

HK60s’ debut album, ‘My Fantoms’, comprises delicious vintage sounds, perfectly judged melodies and drifting melancholia. They wouldn’t be at all out of place in the esteemed company of Stereolab, Broadcast and Saint Etienne.

“…heart-melting beauty…” – Sean O’Hagan, The High Llamas

Stream the album for free at http://propersongs.net/label/2011/02/hong-kong-in-the-60s/

You Can Take A Heart But You Cannot Make It Beat by Hong Kong In The 60s

THE HALL OF MIRRORS

Jessica Spencer and co make glorious, hazy, psychedelic pop. Many of the studio recordings are laden with sumptuous 60s-ish orchestral touches that recall the Carpenters or even the Mamas & the Papas, while other tracks would do Kate Bush proud.

“Dream-pop collective The Hall Of Mirrors are probably South London’s best kept secret.” – Shindig Magazine

A selection of songs are streamable on the band’s site, and there’s always always a track for free download there too – at the moment it’s “Love Child“.

While theres clearly some truth in the charge that over 40 years the festival has become more commercial, less edgy and enevitably at £195 pounds a ticket overrun by the middle classes. I can only judge it through my own first timers eyes, and on that basis, it was like somekind of musical wet dream.

A typical evening begins with Jarvis and the newly reformed Pulp revisiting the festival that made their name back in ’95.  After that a short hop up the hill to The Crows Nest cafe where The Master Musicians of Joujouka are winding up a bewitching set, before the new queen of country Caitlin Rose takes to, what just about qualifys as a stage. A crowd of about 30 lap it up while sipping their herbal tea.
Leaving the nest, the walk down to the main site is accompanied by a sky alight with lazers from the Chemical Brothers. Their music booms out, but over on the West Holt, Big Boi from Outkast has the crowd bouncing to the catchiest riff of last year, “Shutterbug”. He ends with a triumphant “London, thank you, you’re the best“.

And thats just a few hours of music, as the cliche goes, Glastonbury is about much more than that.

THURSDAY

Most of the first day involved getting there, finding a muddy swamp on which to pitch and then cycling through a series of perplexed facial expressions while working out which pole goes where.  Its never ideal to be on your own in these situations as throwing the tent pegs on the floor and storming off in a huff is much less rewarding when on your return, someone else hasnt put the tent up for you.

Earlier in the year 40 bloggers were chosen to judge new bands applying for a coveted “Emerging Talent” slot at the festival, and a few left their computers behind for the weekend to attend.
Robin from the Breaking More Waves blog had the foresight and a twitter account to summon a handful for a meetup in the Park bar.  Remarkably the people behind Just Music That I Like, Flying With Anna, Hot Cakes, and This Music Wins were charming, friendly, knowledgable about a wide range of musical styles and in many cases claimed to hold down jobs, relationships, and children (well not hold down children, but you know what I mean).
The conversation naturally focused on things like how long your blog had been going, music you like, the story behind your name, and of course a few mildly competitive when did you first hear X band.  Take Caitlin Rose, one by one those who’d seen her recounted the ever increasingly tiny and obscure places they’d first seen her play.
At this point – realising I hadnt seen her at all yet – I panicked and claimed to have introduced her parents… but I think I got away with it.

Later @BMWaves and myself headed to Croissant Neuf (who said Glasto was middle class!) to catch Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer. Its been five years since Mr.B arrived delivering Banjolele led Hip-Hop history lessons for those that say Scone, not Scon but given that “Chap-Hop History” still cracks me up I was eager to see him live.
The set was packed with cricket inspired takes on Hip Hop, “Let Me Clear My Throat“, becomes “Let Me Smoke My Pipe“, followed by “Straight Outta Surrey” and “Timothy” an ode to fellow posh boy hip hopper Tim The Big Dawg Westwood.  I loved it initially and many people struggled to get in so packed was the tent but after about half an hour the joke started to wear a bit thin for me. I departed to research the relationship between sleep and the ability to remember to pack a blow up mattress.
Download Mr B’s DJ Mix featuring George Formby, Brass Bands, and Spank Rock here.

FRIDAY

The day began with a few bands at the BBC Introducing tent, the pick of which were Brighton’s Twin Brother. They were selected for the Emerging Talent finals by This Music Wins, but despite missing out made it to the festival and delivered a very confident performance. Stand out track “Lungs” certainly wears its Strokes influence with pride.
Placing them in his top 3, Peter described their songs as “intensely catchy and well thought out, but retain that youthful spontaneity and feeling of being thrown together at the last moment which keeps them unfailingly fresh”.

Lungs by Twin Brother

After lunch I squelched off to the Common Area, home of Mexican wrestlers and the Ken Fox Troupe of daredevil wall of death riders.  This has to be one of the most incredible things I saw all weekend, even though I assume this kind of show has been around pretty much since someone first strapped a motor to a push bike I was gobsmacked. Watch the video here or here but neither quiet conveys the excitement as they perform trick after trick whizzing round an 18ft cylindrical wall about an inch from your nose… look no hands, not impressed how about no hands and facing the wrong way, ok what about three bikes at the same time.  The only time the performers seemed nervous was when coins were flung down from above in appreciation at the end of the show.

As the rain begins the full compliment of surviving Wu Tang Clan members emerge telling the crowd exactly what they don’t like about the UK.  No, not the rain… Customs! Apparently – and Im paraphrasing – the mother fuckers treated them like the fucking Taliban and almost sent them back.
I’m not convinced Glastonbury goers are ever going to be the most enthusiastic hip-hop crowd but Method Man asked for  ”some motherfucking noise” and largly got it, along with lots and lots of “W’s” held in the air (pictured).
Dressed in an oversized dressing gown Method Man led the clan through a 40 minute set, that inevitably peaked the moment the crowd were asked to check out their gravel pit.

Well worth seeing in the rain even if when Method Man implored “Who in the crowd loves real authentic hiphop?” the response was half enthusiasm and half confusion… authentic??? Do you mean Eminem or Will I Am?
Wu Tang vs. Beatles – Slang Editorial by Polonium210
Download “Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers” Wu-Tang Vs The Beatles here

All That I Got Is You by GhostfaceKillah

Blues legend BB King came on next or rather he did after 20 minutes warm up and solos from his band. Looking very frail but still with a fine voice and guitar skills, I’d love to enthuse about what many have declared one of the best shows this year, but stupidly I wasn’t massively impressed by the opening 30 minutes and buggered off.
If I manage to make it to 85 it might take me a little while to warm up, so i’m disappointed I missed what the Guardian reported as King’s  “imposing, regal presence”.

The photo above shows the crowd waiting for the days “secret” guests on the Park stage, Radiohead.  Well before Thom and the boys arrived the Park had to be closed off due to overcrowding.  Mick Jones reformed Big Audio Dynamite were the happy beneficiaries of the massed early arrivers as they welcomed a much bigger crowd than they surely must have expected.  From my soggy vantage point high on the hill they held the attention of an impatient crowd with their mix of punk rock, dance, hip hop, reggae, and funk…

“Thanks for coming! We’re called Radiohead”

Which is more than can be said for Radiohead. In some ways I admire the band for refusing to play the kind of hit filled singalong set that Glastonbury cried out for, especially a crowd who’ve stood dripping in torrential rain for several hours.  Excellent though their last two albums were, playing almost exclusively from them felt needlessly self indulgent. By the time Street Spirit arrived during the encore, many had opted for drier tents with bands more willing to pander to the occasion.

Radiohead wouldnt let the Beeb film their set but AustinBrock has cut together the complete performance in youtube clips to watch.

The limited edition “King Of Limbs” Remix 12″s have been superb so far with Caribou’s version in particular hopefully being the first shot in a campaign for more harp action in modern music. Mark Pritchards electro-floorfilling take on Bloom is also rather tasty.
RADIOHEAD – Little by Little (CARIBOU Remix) (2011) by cossetgaleria
Radiohead – Bloom (Mark Pritchard RMX) by Radiohead
Radiohead – Street spirit (fade out) Blunt Instrument Dubstep remix by bluntinstrument

I’d come to the park to see the side project of Alexis from Hot Chip, and Grosvenor, the chosen name Bang and Olufsen probably indicates this is strictly a never for release hobby. Having seen them play once before I expected a crowd in the tiny Crow’s Nest up on the top of the Park Hill but no half a dozen people were mooching around sipping herbal tea. Another bunch sheltered from the rain while attempting to catch the end of Mssrs Yorke and co.
Playing a upright piano Alexis from Hot Chip performed some tracks from his solo album along with Bang and Olufsen originals. It was one of the highlights of the whole festival, with covers of Roy Orbison’s Love Hurts and a incredible version of McCartney’s Let Me Roll It being the best of a lovely set. When you’re playing with someone with a voice as beautiful as Alex Hot Chip then it must put some pressure on you but Grosvenor’s guitar licks on Let Me Roll It were phenomenal. The only sad thing is I cant find a single second of audio or video of the performance (or indeed any other) online.  Brilliant.

Alexis Taylor – “Coming Up” (MP3)

“Let Me Roll It”

Paul McCartney and Wings- Let Me Roll It by ursamajor81

U2 on the Pyramid, gave up to go watch the stunning Primal Scream on the Other stage.

But its a good excuse to post Negitivland’s U2 remix (above) and the two tracks featuring U2 samples and Casey Kasem that incurred the wrath of Island/U2′s legal team.

Poked my head in the East Dance to hear a bit of Fatboy Slim before bed.

SATURDAY

Peel Stage at midday: Fight Like Apes, then Yuck
Catch Fujiya and Miyagi (Live) at Oxlyers In West 1pm
Nicolas Jaar LIVE 13:45 West Holts
Isobel Anderson 15:00 Acoustic
including a mesmerising version of Portishead’s “Glory Box”

Emily and The Woods 16:00
The Kills Other Stage -ZZzzzzzzz
Gold Panda (Live) 18:00 CUBEHENGE
MPB by Gold Panda

Pulp in The Park

20,000 people standing in a field, was in fact guestimated at over 30,000
Pulp – “This Is Hardcore (End Of The Line Remix)”

James Blake 21:30 The Park
The Master Musicians of Joujouka

Caitlin Rose (pictured) in the Crows Nest
The Chemical Brothers 22:30 Other Stage
Big Boi 22:45 West Holts

SUNDAY

Midday Cassetteboy + Dj Rubbish – G Stage

Whipp interlude by Cassetteboy

Jah Shaka Soundsystem (Live) 13:00 CUBEHENGE
BILL’S BIG ROUND UP feat. Billy Bragg & Kate Tempest 15:00
Paul Simon 16:30 Pyramid
Paul Simon – “Diamonds Dub”
Plan B 18:15 Pyramid
Pendulum 19:45 Pyramid (endured this for a ringside position for Jay Z’s mrs)
Beyoncé 21:45

The long queue for a bus home…

Introduced via The Daily Growl blog back in late 2006 when recording under the guise of “Barbarossa” (“Red Beard” in Italian), James’s latest EP gave a taster of what to expect on his eagerly awaited LP “Care Cracks“.

In the past Ive compared his vocals to Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor (a comparison reinforced when they played after each other at one of the final Luminaire shows). Thankfully he also shares the Chips gift for melancholic lo-fi electronic beauty coupled with beguiling melodies.

First up the beautiful “Bloodlines”, it was a real privilege to see James and his band play this track live. Thanks must also go to Pure Evil for letting us film after hours.

You can hear more from James on the links below. You’ll also get a few musical tips too, like this gorgeous Findlay Brown remix which completely passed me by back in January.

James Mathe – Facebook / Myspace / Soundcloud

For the second track James put the Omnichord to one side, grabbed a drumstick and joined the drummer for the urgent stripped down sound of “Turbine“. Lovely guitar work, especially as the guitarist had only learnt the songs the previous day!

Back in 1995 Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine were less than flattering about “Lenny and Terence”, but James is clearly a fan. He covered Trent D’Arby’s “Wishing Well” (listen below) for the limited edition ‘The Bedrume Cassettes’ EP and now Kravitz’s “Heaven Help” has received Mathe’s golden touch.

12,” 7,” CD, MP3… my record rack runneth over with the output of Rodney Smith aka Roots Manuva, dating back to the mid 90′s. A chance to catch him old school style in a tiny East London basement crammed with a 100 lucky punters is one sticky sweaty opportunity too good to miss. During the course of the evening Rodney himself casts his mind back to bygone Brixton parties and 3 pound draws, before summing it up succinctly while wiping his brow… “I’m sweating me balls off here“.

I’d arranged to interview Mr Manuva MC so when Ninja’s lady in command Maddy spotted Rodney strolling towards us she asked “Quick Interview?,” I gulped in trepidation, or more accurately terror. A shake of the head in the negative later and without breaking stride he was gone and I have to say Ive never been happier to be blanked in my life. No more stressing, just enjoy the show!

A week or so later I caught up with the “Duppy Writer” himself (Ghost writer in Jamaican patois) DJ Wrong Tom to chat about the debut live performance, if he was happy with reviews like “the best reggae album of the last 30 years” and how he was first introduced to the sprawl of musical styles covered by the term, Reggae.
Watch the interview below, featuring clips of the live show and a multi-location interview (entirely planned obviously and nothing to do with me running out of batteries 5 minutes into the interview).

Roots Manuva – Twitter / Facebook / BananaKlan
WrongTom – Twitter / Website / Soundcloud

Read: Tony McDermott talks about his classic Greensleeves sleeve designs – Must read
WrongTom selects 10 all time favourite tracks for CMU Weekly

Buy: Order “Duppy Writer” Now

Listen:
Roots Manuva Vs. WrongTom – “Butterfly Crab Walk (feat. Riddla)” (MP3)

Roots Manuva – “Join The Dots (Drums of Death remix)” (MP3)

Roots Manuva – “Witness (Floorman M20 Edit)” (MP3)

Listen to a “Duppy Writer” minimix below courtesy of Pop Matters.

Kid Koala “Skanky Panky (Wrongtom Dub)” by wrongtom

A quick glimpse at a track by a band WrongTom has been producing called Phantom – WrongTom say “in shit-journalese I’d describe it as Link Wray goes on a murder spree at the hop then sits back and lights a cigarette contemplating who might be next”.
Phantom “Monster” (excerpt) by wrongtom

New album “Crush Depth” was a year in the making, with the process likened to “giving birth to a 14-pound spiny lobster. Slow, agonising and bloody“. To celebrate their new arrival, Hackney’s Bocking Street Warehouse was transformed into the ‘Chrome Hoof Space Station‘, where we were told revellers would be “taken on an inter-planetary voyage of discovery through space, time and music”. They do like a bit of hyperbole do the Hoof, but the huge sparse warehouse was equipped with the mother of all sound-systems, designed to make your eardrums feel like they’ve been beaten by the combined forces of Bonham, Purdie & the Animal. Watch the video below for a flavour of the night, although the mega speakers overwhelmed my camera mic, requiring a few little audio snips and cheats.

At 1am the gurgling synth intro of “Crystalline” rings out & the massed ranks of the Hoof emerge through the smoke, resplendent in head to toe spangly cloaks… think Gandolf the Grey if all he’d had to magic up some clothing were leftover disco balls. The crowd roar approval as the “Temporary Secretary“esque analogue opening transforms into a full on horn and violin driven assault, as is the way with Chrome Hoof’s “take 5 genres, then mix thoroughly” approach to music.

At the centre of it all is Hoof & Spektrum lead singer Lola Olafsoye, often described as voodoo priestess/Grace Jones/dominatrix/sultry, she certainly owns the stage, but the rest of the ensemble are hardly shrinking violets.

Of the two founding brothers Leo & Milo Smee, its Bassist Leo who takes Chrome Hoof closest to the death metal sound of his previous band, Cathedral. Donning a metal mask pilfered from MF Doom’s dressing room, he roars his way through the full on doom metal of “Death is Certain?” ably abetted by Emma Sullivan who summons up a scream that would have the priest hurriedly unpacking his exorcism kit.

Elsewhere tracks like “Vaporise” meld funk, electro and more to have dancefloor lovers salivating. Where some groups flit between styles over the course of an album, Hoof will switch time signatures, five different genres and various rhythms in one track. Skittering R&B beats, thudding 808 acid bass getting down and dirty with the classically trained sounds Sarah Anderson on Violin, and Chloe Herington on Saxophone and “what the fuck is that thing that birds playing” (as the bloke standing next to me asked his mate… a Bassoon I believe).

Every album sees the Chrome Hoof clan expand and Iranian guitarist Kavus Torabi (below) seems a particular fine addition. According to Wiki (and its funny enough not to care if its true) he learnt guitar by inventing his own form of notation and using it to score out the theme from CHIPS. I was about to suggest his axe work has more grunt than Erik Estrada’s chopper, but I’ll swiftly back away from that analogy as the Urban dictionary informs me Erik Estrada is a sexual manoeuvre involving aviator sunglasses and motorcycle noises.

As if there wasn’t enough to keep your attention on stage, two dancers are positioned on plinths above the crowd. Their mission, to get the crowd moving (as if encouragement were needed) while wearing futuristic outfits picked up when the BBC called time on Sylvester McCoy era Dr.Who.

With a final flourish, the band bring out their answer to Maiden’s “Eddie” or ACDC’s inflatable uber-breasted woman, a 12ft tall chrome goat with metal hooves and flashing eyes. Previous incarnations of the goat were ritually sacrificed, but version 3 provides a suitable climax to the show and encore.

SECRET CINEMA – BLADERUNNER

A few weeks later a last minute trip to “Secret Cinema” offered an unexpected chance to see Chrome Hoof again. Secret Cinema started out as small wonderfully thought out word of mouth concept, enhancing the chosen film by screening it in a fitting venue or with a special guest and encouraging people to turn up dressed in the spirit of the film. So when they showed “Anvil“, they got the actual band to play afterwards. Initially one off screenings, they guarded the title of the chosen film and instructed the small number of attendees to “Tell No One!“. At the latest event, Bladerunner played twice daily for a week, and attendees can now buy t-shirts saying “Tell No One!“.

What hasn’t changed is the staggering attention to detail and inventiveness of the organisers. Its now become a kind of promenade theatre that Punchdrunk or Shunt might put on, immersing the audience in a world to wander.

Arriving at Canary Wharf, air hostesses welcome you to Utopia Airways ushering everyone onto buses while tourists and weekend city boys gaup at all the weird and wonderfully dressed people who’ve materialised in this mecca to money.

Each step of the way, actors playing parts from the film interact, so the bus abruptly stops and everyone inside is instructed to immediately draw the curtains. When most passengers respond by laughing, the “Bladerunner” screams to “shut them NOWWW!!”. For the rest of the journey he asks questions (as the film) designed to reveal if the chosen victim is a “humanoid”.

I’m not going to go through every detail of the experience as its simply too rich to cover in what’s ostensibly about Chrome Hoof! Suffice to say upon arrival at the hanger they’d chosen to show the film in, they’d recreated the Bladerunner world in its entirety. Midgets attack cars with baseball bats, hawkers tout carpets, film characters mingle, snakes and iguanas’ are offered to pose with, iris’s scanned, dancers writhe in-front of neon lights… its incredible. Enjoying the sun in the Warehouse yard I made the mistake of placing my pint on the boot of a wrecked car, only for a fleeing Zhona to send it flying while careering over the cars roof escaping a Bladerunner (as in the film).

Anyway, what band could they possibly pick to play Taffy’s Bar in a dystopian LA circa 2019… Chrome Hoof of course. So for all the twitterers and google searchers asking “Who were the band playing Secret Cinema…they were AWESOME”… Chrome Hoof is the answer!

Chrome Hoof – Facebook / Twitter / Buy the album + Tshirt

Look: RedBull sponsored photo gallery from the launch night

Secret Cinema Flickr set

Read: I Heart AU says Hoof raised the “live show to stratospheric proportions”

Spoonfed got hot and sweaty but loved the show.

Secret Cinema review

Listen:

Chrome Hoof – “ProNoid” (MP3)

Chrome Hoof – “DJ Mix” (MP3)

RedBull Academy radio has a superb recording of the bands Primavera Sound gig.

Watch:

Official film of Bladerunner Secret Cinema event

Even BBC News noticed Secret Cinema

After a hard & deeply thrilling day grouting bathroom tiles the option of sitting on my rapidly expanding posterior while watching a bunch of semi-celebrities playing terrible football on ITV seemed oddly appealing.   Thankfully at some point in the 2nd half sense prevailed and a quick dash to the Old Queens Head later I arrived in the nick of time to catch Meursault.

For this  “God Don’t Like It” organised free album launch five Scottish bands braved the Sassenach Capital.   Meursault’s timing couldn’t be better, the 2nd LP arrives as the buzz around the band reaches a new high.

And for once the excitement is justified – they may not be reinventing the wheel – but Neil Pennycock and his accomplices deliver on two fronts. They meld glitchy electronics to folk as well as the best of that genres exponents, but are equally capable of delivering a rousing tune stripped back to just banjo and vocal.  They seem to take a purverse delight in wrong footing the listeners expectations of which is the “Meursault sound”.

“Crank Resolutions” is from the laptop folk side of the catalogue and while I wouldnt quite agree with venerable blogger The Daily Growl’s description of it as “Song of the Year so far?”, its pretty special.

“William Henry Millar” is a tale of the Eighteenth Century politician, who unlike Lady Gaga was generally believed to be a hermaphrodite.  He also requested he be buried face down, 40 feet beneath the Earth. It’s an unlikely topic for a song that sets the audience off in a bout of joyful if slightly off kilter clapping along.

Before the closing number Pennycock shoots tongue in cheek glares at some in the audience unable to stop chattering. Live “One Day This’ll All Be Fields” improves on the recorded version, with the antique voice effect removed, and the crowd encouraged to add another dimension by sweetly singing along with the chorus. Its a fitting end to a short set, that certainly left me wanting more.

Meursault – Facebook / Myspace / Song By Toad Records
Meursault – “Crank Resolutions” (MP3)

Meursault – “A Few Kind Words” (MP3)

Meursault – “William Henry Millar Part 1″ (MP3)

Buy: Meursault – “All Creatures Will Make Merry” LP

Chrome Hoof’s new album’s been 3 years in the making so to celebrate its launch they’re throwing what promises to be one of the events of the year.

The Hoof live experience is the stuff of legend, a full 12-piece doom house electro-disco metal extravaganza, 30ft robots and a warehouse transformed into the Chrome Hoof space station for one evening. Simian Mobile Disco (DJs), Andrew Weatherall, David Holmes and Nathan J Wilkins are all on the bill plus extra special surprises on the night!

The Crush Depth party takes place at the Bocking Street Warehouse on the 4th of June. Tickets are 11 pounds and available here.

OR

WIN a PAIR OF TICKETS from Music Like Dirt courtesy of their label.

To enter simply leave a message via Facebook / Twitter / Comments at the bottom or good old fashioned email! On the 1st of June I’ll pick a winner at random. Good luck!

Chrome Hoof – Facebook / Twitter / Buy the album + Tshirt
Chrome Hoof – “ProNoid” (MP3)

Chrome Hoof – “DJ Mix” (MP3) – see bottom of post for tracklisting.

Track Listing:
1-Piramis – soha nem volt ilyen jo neked
2-Triumvirat – Illusions on a double dimple
3-Chrome Hoof – Towards Zero feat. J.P. Massiera
4-Whodini – Nasty Lady
5- African Headcharge – Some Bizarre
6- This Heat – 24 track loop
7- Visage – Night Train
8- Acid Junkies – sector 9
9- Kate Bush – sat in your lap
10- The Police – When the world is running down (edit)
11- Angletrax – Anorexia Nervosa
12- Chrome Hoof – Mental Peptides
13- Tontos Expanding Head Band – Birds Fly Free
14- Vangellis – Bacchanale
15- Blue Pyramid
16- Unique 3 – Theme (original chill mix)
17- King Crimson – Larks Tongues in Aspic