It's been a brilliant year for music as already outlined in the Top 10 Albums of 2011 feature. There were some artists who really impressed this year without making it on to that list, there were also ovbiously some amazing tracks featured on the albums of that list. So this short feature is to pay homage to some of the tracks that have racked up the most plays on my iTunes, iPhone and in my DJ sets during the year. Though it is ranked, not a great deal of significance should be taken from the position all tunes are in here on merit and they are all incredibly high quality.
Note: Tracks that were included in the recent 'Dancefloor Tracks of 2011' feature haven't been considered for this for the sake of avoiding repetition.
10. Metronomy - The Bay
9. SBTRKT ft. Little Dragon - Wildfire (Drake remix)
2011 has been an incredibly strong year musically. It has also saw a major shift in the way I consume music having spent the majority of my adult life preferring to visit clubs and allow DJs to shape my night. I grew disillusioned to an extent with club nights and DJs in favour of catching live acts and this has reflected on the albums I have listened to. The majority of albums I have heard this year I have actually managed to catch the artist live.
There have been some good albums that could quite feasible made the list Rustie's Glass Swords and Sepalcure's self titled album both suffered from being released late in the year the same applies to Drake's Take Care which for what it's worth was probably the best hip hop album released this year especially after the disappointment of Watch The Throne by Jay-Z and Kanye West. There were other highlights Battles and Wu Lyf both released albums that were more destined for live performance than home listening and both delivered scintillating live performances at the Kazimier. The list of albums I enjoyed is vast Metronomy delivered a great indie pop record, Nicolas Jaar a lovely LP of electronica, Aloe Blacc's LP oozed soul and Balam Acab some haunting future bass music. However, none of the aforementioned albums moved me as much as the below list.
I first heard Jamie Woon on a TruThoughts covers compilation album a couple of years back doing a cover of Olive’s You’re Not Alone, it took a while to get from then to the release of a full album but boy was it worth the wait.
The album has easily been the most played album of my year hence the award of album of the year. Lady Luck has also found its way into 90% of my DJ sets this year, also having a crossover appeal with house DJ and king of DC10 Luciano making an edit of it and dropping it in his sets too.
The ethereal feel of Mirrorwriting encapsulates the feeling of being in a big city surrounded by people, yet feeling alone in a subtle and beautiful manner. Night Air begins the journey and sets the tone, with a little help of the genius that is Burial, with his trademark beats and haunting melodies coupled with Woon’s emotive voice. There aren’t enough superlatives to express how good this album is, it glides effortlessly from track to track losing you in the moment and before you know it you are at your final destination (assuming you have it on while travelling). Anyone who has watched the Youtube version of Spirits can bear witness to the talent of Jamie Woon where he plays as a one man band with the use of a sampler and he played a part in the production, writing and obviously vocals of Mirrorwriting, a multi talented exceptional artist.
The only criticism I can offer is that Jamie Woon’s live show left me disappointed on two occasions this year, while the sound of his voice is as good live as it is on the album I found the live performances a little wooden and lacking in personality. However this is an album of the year feature not a live performance of the year feature so Mirrorwriting wins hands down.
It's another mixtape at number 2, I'm not the only person to rate it so highly too with House of Balloons being made FACT magazine's album of 2011 not quite there for me but I'm sure The Weeknd will get over it!
2. The Weeknd - House of Balloons
A recommendation from a friend was how I discovered The Weeknd (Cheers Gary!) and what a discovery it was too. House of Balloons is the first in a trilogy of mixtapes, the second was recently released and is of outstanding quality. However it is House of Balloons what we are here to talk about primarily, some of the production makes me thing that this is what Burial would sound like if he was a vocalist and making R&B. Unlike the earlier mentioned Frank Ocean, this is a record that probably is R&B but it is much less radio friendly than Frank’s offering.
The Weeknd started off with a bit of a Burial vibe enigmatic approach, a secrecy to identity, recent collaborations with fellow Canadian Drake have entered him more into the eyes of the mainstream and deservedly so. My favourite DJ of the year Oneman has been championing tracks from the album all year, the sumptuous ‘What You Need’ in particular. The mixtape has the usual samples of well known records, but they are expertly chosen and used in such a complimentary fashion none more so than the Juan Maclean version of Happy House by Siouxsie and the Banshees. All in all this body of work is something that is extremely easy to listen to over and over again, I haven’t met a single person who could disagree with that either.
Both mixtapes mentioned in this piece are available for FREE DOWNLOAD on The Weeknd's official website. A third is due to drop in 2012, which I for one am eagerly anticipating.
James Blake’s self titled LP was much anticipated and did not fail to deliver. Rightly included in the BBC Sound of 2011 feature he has had a brilliant year touring the album with an incredibly charming live show which I was fortunate enough to witness in a 300 capacity dark room in Liverpool as well as on the main stage of The Big Chill festival with about 20,000 other revellers.
James’ voice is brilliant and in ‘Give Me My Month’ he showcases it with only a piano for company resulting in an effortlessly beautiful two minutes. The album contains what has to be credited as the most emotive track of the year the mesmerising Wilhelms Scream. It’s not just raw emotion and ballads on this body of work though Limit To Your Love has a quivering bass and I Never Learnt to Share a synth laden breakdown that would certainly wake you up if listened to on the morning commute to work. All in all what James Blake offered with this album was something I had never heard before and it will continue to be played for many years to come.
It’s an American artist who hasn’t strictly released an album up next in the countdown. This mixtape was released in February and blew up soon after, landing Frank Ocean some big time guest appearances including on two tracks of the Jay-Z/Kanye West collab Watch the Throne.
4. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia Ultra
I can remember hearing Novacane for the first time on a DJ Oneman Boiler Room set and straight away typed in the lyrics to Google to find out what it was. This album, sorry mixtape was released to vent frustrations that Frank’s record label Def Jam had neglected him proclaiming on Twitter that "i. did. this. not ISLAND DEF JAM”. The album uses the ultra soulful voice of Frank together with well used samples to create what is essentially a pretty poppy R&B record. But it’s a bloody good R&B record!
The tracks are linked together with nostalgic interludes named after 90’s video games with the sounds of a cassette player rewinding, fast-forwarding, and clicking. Giving the mixtape an old school vibe, the content matter of the lyrics are more meaningful and dare I say slightly higher brow than you would come to expect from a 21st century R&B record. Swim Good deals with suicide, We All Try is an uplifting look into faith in humanity and Songs for Women has humour to it as Frank tells of the toils and troubles of getting the girl.
The mixtape is available for FREE DOWNLOAD over on Frank's TUMBLR page.
The final five begins with two masked dance producers, but it’s not Daft Punk...
5. SBTRKT - SBTRKT
SBTRKT (and Sampha) put together quite possibly the best dance album I have heard for a good few years, with a stellar cast of guest vocalists the masked man glides effortlessly through a myriad of future garage, dubstep and house to produce not only a dance floor friendly LP but also one that is pleasantly listenable. Sampha provides vocals on a lot of the tracks with his trademark soulful tones and is joined by a harem of excellent female vocalists in Jessie Ware, Roses Gabor and Yukimi Nagano (Little Dragon). US rapper Drake was equally as impressed with SBTRKT as I was and used the Yukimi Nagano vocalled track Wildfire for a remix.
The live show is also well worth seeing, with a tour on the horizon next year. I was fortunate enough to see them on the banks of the lake at Melt! Festival with a couple of thousand incredibly nice German people, the Drake remix of Wildfire was met with great joy! My only critique of the live show was that it failed to include my favourite track from the album Pharaohs.
A Mercury Music Prize nominee and yet another Londoner comes in at number 6. Though while a Londoner Ghostpoet is actually a fan of Liverpool FC, something he demonstrated at the Liverpool Music Week closing party by entering the stage with an LFC scarf, the poor chap didn’t count on the partisan nature of the LFC/Everton divide and a chorus of boo’s comically rained down upon him. Yet, he did produce a standout album hence his inclusion here.
6. Ghostpoet - Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam
If ever there was an aptly named artist then it’s Ghostpoet. The quirkily named Peanut Butter Blue and Melancholy Jam brings together urban poetry and haunting electronic production not to dissimilar to that of Burial at times. Spoken rather than rapped the London voice of Ghostpoet narrates through a story of struggles in a 21st century city, much like Joshua Idehen does on the earlier mentioned Routes. Despite the chapters which deal with struggles with alcohol and heartbreak the album has a resistant element of embracing the struggles, as depicted in the uplifting Survive It. The live show is well worth a look, having caught Ghostpoet twice this year I was not left disappointed especially at The Big Chill where to quote the man himself “I must admit it got quite wild”.
Number 7 brought together a rising star (Jamie XX) and what sadly became a fading legend as Gil Scott Heron departed this life for the next in 2011. It was quite fitting that his music was remixed before his passing to create a new fan base to carry on his legacy.
7. Gil Scott Heron & Jamie XX – We’re New Here
Jamie XX had a massive 2011 (as was predicted by this here blog in January) with this remix album, a critically acclaimed single, probably the remix of the year with his Adele rework and now Drake and Rhianna are using his beats for their respective new albums. This album uses Jamie’s trademark production skills, there is “space between the beats” and it is also used to showcase some of his influences with the old school piano riff on I’ll Take Care of You and the Rui Da Silva ‘Touch Me’ sample in Ur Soul and Mine.
The album ranks in my top 10 for the amount of plays it got during the early part of the year, it has fallen by the way side somewhat which is why it ranks lower than a couple of albums which were released around the same time, however I will go back to it and I’ll Take Care of You has been a staple tune at my Lovely Job gigs.
“What do ya know about Moorgate?” *stifled laughter* “I don’t know anything about Moorgate!”
8. LV and Joshua Idehen - Routes
When I first heard Northern Line I couldn’t help but smile; the comic vocal over a quality electronic beat perhaps offered up this year’s novelty track. However when listened to in the context of the album on which it resides it all begins to make sense. My deciphering of Routes is that it is a musical portrait of London life, using the deep voice of vocalist Joshua Idehen to lay down what I would class as urban poetry over the high quality electronic beats that have became the trademark of LV. From the comedy that comes from Northern Line, there is also a darker side with Murkish Delights describing a very 21st century struggle.
The album works extremely well live, Joshua Idehen has a good presence on stage and the euphoria of album track Primary Colours is designed to be heard loud in a club full of people. Had I got onto this album earlier in the year and not just after witnessing the live show then it could actually have ranked higher and it continues to grow in stature with each listen.
Next up on the list is a German duo who were responsible for creating a phenomenal line up in such an idyllic setting with their beach stage at Melt! festival.
9. Modeselektor - Monkeytown
Monkeytown crafts together techno, dubstep, electronia, hip hop and more within its eleven tracks, a true example of how to construct a ‘dance music’ album in that it never leaves you bored and is not predictable. Well not unless you have listened to their first offering Happy Birthday which was equally as impressive, more so in fact; as upon its release it seemed ahead of its time. Monkeytown has definitely been one of my favourite albums hence its place in this here list, however I do somewhat feel the German duo may have rested upon their laurels a tad, this coupled with the fact it was released late in the year has ultimately led to it being one or two rungs further down the ladder than perhaps it should have been. On the whole though a really solid album with two tracks in particular standing out for me and neither Berlin or Pretentious Friends are the tracks that feature their good friend Thom Yorke.
In a change to how the 'results' are presented from last year I have decided to announce an album every couple of days with a summary of all to recap once all have been announced. First up is number 10.
10. VA - Fabriclive 57 (Mixed by Jackmaster)
Thanks to the Boiler Room’s ever growing success it is now cool to be a DJ again, along with Oneman and Ben UFO the Glaswegian Jackmaster has forged a reputation at the cutting edge of the UK Bass music scene over recent years and as such was asked to mix the 57th instalment of the Fabriclive CD series. The mix is fantastic; it encapsulates a Jackmaster set perfectly never fearing to blur the boundaries between musical genres. Including anthems from Inner City, Larry Heard and Sia the mix has a strong party vibe to it while also managing to remain current as these classic cuts are intertwined with fresh beats from UK Bass stalwarts such as Addison Groove, SBTRKT and Hudson Mohawke. Thoroughly enjoyable throughout, a definite way to ease someone in to the musical realms that have made more waves than any other in 2011.
Is it too early to be dropping 'Best of' lists in October? Perhaps it is but here is one anyway. While in 2011 I have kind of shifted away from electronic music somewhat and barely visited a club; I have been able to remain in touch with it thanks to festivals, blogs and the Boiler Room, which has become my main supplier of new 'dance' music. So I have decided to compile a short list of some of my favourite dancefloor aimed tracks of the year, there is no order besides the order that the tracks popped into my head.
This post is a precursor to the Top 10 Albums of the year post, which will be a more in depth review of the year's releases. That particular post will be made on December 1st, the eve of the year's final installment of The Lovely Job, where I shall be playing tracks from the top 10 albums and more.
Hudson Mohawke - Thunder Bay
This track just makes me want to lose my mind whenever I hear it, an ultimate smash out tune. I was fortunate to be able to play this at the September Lovely Job and to my amazement if actually went down well!
Dark Sky - Neon
Old school vibes on this one from Dark Sky, when it kicks it it reminds me and many others of Robin S' Show Me Love.
Daphni (Caribou) - Ye Ye
An extenstion of the work from last year's TRM album of the year Swim, Caribou under the alias Daphni delivers a more 4/4 offering in this groovy track with a simple yet hypnotic vocal sample. Really enjoyed dancing to this on the Dutch soundsystem on the Thursday night at the campsite at Melt! festival.
Joker ft. Jessie Ware - The Vision
What happens when one of your favourite producers and one of your favourite vocalists team up? A killer track thats what!
Cassius - I Love You So (Skream Remix)
Skream showing his versatility once again with this tribute to old school piano hardcore. Almost sounds like it brings Awesome 3's Don't Go into the 21st century.
Scuba - Feel It
A groovy house track from the Hot Flush head honcho which went down a treat at The Big Chill during his excellent set. 2011 has saw a big revival in the acid house sound, as tipified by the next track...
Boddika & Joy Orbison - Swims
Its a toss up between this and Thunder Bay if I was pushed to name a favourite dancefloor track of the year, this is sheer brilliance from the acid to the repetitive vocal to the cow bell it all works brilliantly and I was delighted that Scuba allowed me to experience hearing it at a festival.
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Jimmy Mack (Addison Groove Bootleg)
A bit of fun to end on, probably the biggest musical regret of the year was missing Addison Groove at Melt! festival due to a state of inebriation and thus the opportunity to hear this. I am a massive fan of the original and oh my word when it kicks into Addison's trademark sound, wow.
So there it is a collection of my favourite dancefloor tracks of the year, hope you enjoyed reading/listening as much as I have enjoyed this eight tracks throughout the year.
Not so long I made a post bringing back MJ Cole’s seminal essential mix back from the vault to share with readers of the blog, for those who may have missed it first time round or wanted like me to revisit it for reasons of nostalgia. Well I am back with on a (much shorter) UK Garage tip. This time it comes in the shape of a short 30 minute mix that I recorded at home using 100% vinyl mainly bought from Discogs during my spring UKG revival. The mix can be streamed or downloaded below using the Soundcloud widget. Tracklist is below. Enjoy.
Cleptomaniacs - All I Do (Bump & Flex Mix)
Blowfelt - Lickle Roller
Beatfreaks - Speaker Box
Daniel Bedingfield - Gotta Get Thru This
The Streets - Don't Mug Yourself (Big $hot Mix)
Rip Groove - Double 99
Love Station - Teardrops (Classic Mix)
Armand Van Helden - You Don't Know Me
Summer 2011 is now over, what better way is there to embrace the winter than donning your new winter coat and heading out to catch some live music? Liverpool's staple indie night returns to The Zanzibar on Friday 30th September with an eclectic array of artists on board for what shapes up to be yet another memorable evening. I will again be providing the soundtrack to the interludes, whilst simultaneously celebrating my 26th birthday. A birthday celebration it may be, however the party music shall not be stretching to Jive Bunny and Bad Manners. Expect classic cuts of hip hop and soul blended with guitar music that spans the decades. Given the nature of this month's headliners there could also be scope to dabble in a little bit of the electronic music that this here blog is so usually concerned with.
Our headliners this month are Killaflaw, an act who have dominated the Liverpool scene for a number of years now. That's not to say they are exclusive to this fair city, far from it having built up a strong following in the capital including none other than XFM's Eddie Temple Morris who has tipped these guys for success predicting that their forthcoming album is to make waves akin to The Prodigy, Oasis and Kasabian, high praise indeed. Take this opportunity to catch them for five British pounds in the intimate Zanzibar while you can.
Assisting Killaflaw in headline duties are resident band Tone Puppets who are fresh from overcoming adversity to deliver a scintillating headline performance on their return to London. The band are currently working on a new single as they look to push on from the success of 'Ignore' and will be likely trying out a couple of new bits on the Liverpool faithful. They were recently interviewed for Liverpool lifestyle website Seven Streets and the interview can be read by clicking this link.
Elsewhere providing support for Killaflaw and Tone Puppets during the evening's festivities will be Post Romantics, a band who with their duel lead vocals have been likened to The Libertines. Continuing with the pop rock theme are a relatively new Liverpool act in The 10 B's who received glowing reviews from their performances at the August Matthew Street fringe festival. The Wild Eyes will be bringing a psychedelic edge to proceedings. Breaking up the Liverpool love in at this month's event will be Sunderland's own Lilliput their driven acoustic indie rock will be an excellent way to kick off the evening. Finally last but not least is acoustic singer/song writer Ian Dunn who is my tip for the best of the rest. With a melancholic chord progressions and an emotive voice Dunn is likely to offer up an intimate showcase of his inner musings.
Upstairs Dean Mack's Mod and Northern Soul party 'Uptight' returns for a second Lovely Job, this time headlined by an acoustic performance by Liverpool band Chemical Casino. Two nights for £5, 11 live acts spanning wide variety of musical genres. The Lovely Job is providing value for money and a line up that cannot be competed with in Liverpool on Friday 30th September. Pay a visit, it will be lovely.
For more information tweet me @therealmikael or e mail riseinfo@hotmail.co.uk placing "The Lovely Job" in the subject heading.
Another festival looms, time to get listing! Much like I did for Melt! (which was amazing by the way) I have compiled a list of ten of the acts I am most looking forward to catching at this year's Big Chill festival. Some of these acts will be ovbious picks but there will be as usual some hidden gems selected, usually on a post-dubstep/future garage tip. I will note that Jamie Woon and Metronomy are both worthy of places in this top ten but in the interest of not repeating myself I shall point you over to the Melt! post for information on those two.
Upon completing the list I have realised it may be a bit more mainstream than I had first expected, if you feel this is the case let me redeem myself by pointing you in the direction of three DJs from the People's Ear stage who I will be hoping to catch. On Friday I will be enjoying the sounds of Hot Flush recordings boss Scuba who's recent Boiler Room set is superb. Saturday is time for a bit of old school jungle vibes as I plan to take in Congo Natty & Tenor Fly. Finally on Sunday, in addition to Fantastic Mr Fox there is also the brilliant Sepalcure flying the flag for the post dubstep elite. Anyway on to the list proper now!
10. Craig Charles' Funk & Soul Show
Saturday/Starburst Stage
"Fancy going to see Craig Charles DJ for 20 minutes for a laugh?"
The above quote was made by one of my friends at last year's Big Chill. We duely adhered to this request and went to see good old Dave Lister on the ones and twos. However this was no laughing matter and twenty minutes turned into the full two hours of his set as we discovered Craig Charles is an extremely talented DJ with an excellent selection of funk and soul, both new and old. In 2011 with a set on the outdoor Starburst stage, I and my friends will be there from beginning to end fully getting our funk on!
9. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Friday/Deer Park Stage
Creator of one of the buzz albums of 2010, Ariel Pink brings his band to The Big Chill and is likely to be one of the first acts that I catch on the Deer Park Stage. With a slight look of Kurt Cobain about him and a tempremental streak that saw him walk off half way through his Coachella performance Ariel is what you might call a "proper rock star". His music certainly has a feel of the 80s about it, synth laden pop with an experimental twist. It is going to be an intriguing performance, one that I am very much looking forward to.
8. Fantastic Mr Fox
Sunday/Starburst Stage
The Big Chill are really quite good to me, last year I had been waiting a long time to catch a Joker DJ Set and they booked him. Much is the same this year I have been wanting to catch Fantastic Mr Fox since I heard his FACT Podcast and subsequently awarded it the mix of the summer award for 2010. He is a DJ who was handpicked by The XX to play the after shows of their US tour, high praise indeed for a producer/DJ who has already had several EPs of critical acclaim released. His future garage infused with an emotional edge has the potential to be one of the highlights of the weekend, especially as he plays on the outdoor Starburst stage on Sunday (hopefully under the stars!).
7. Aloe Blacc
Friday/Revellers Stage
Upon hearing 'I Need a Dollar' my initial thought was that it was a catchy tune, but I immediately thought he would either be a one hit wonder or even worse go on to be a Cee Le Green rip off. Listening to his album and in particular watching his Glastonbury performance set the record straight, a consumate performer who can deliver incredible live soulful vocals and theres lots of fun when he's around as can be seen in the above video as he bursts into a bit of Bob Marley. Also worth checking is his Jay Z '99 Problems' cover from the Live Lounge, which I would very much like to hear performed on the Revellers Stage.
6. Digital Mystikz
Friday/People's Ear Stage
At Glade 2009 I bore witness to the best dubstep set that I have ever experienced as Coki and Mala, joined by Loefah absolutely destroyed a full to the brim 3000 capacity Vapor tent. Rare banger after banger, but these two do not deliver the Radio 1 friendly wobble, expect some underground melt your face off type bass music. I hope the People's Ear stage is structurally sound as the low frequencies delivered by these two coupled with the guaranteed vociferous reaction of the crowd. Mala and Coki will smash it!
5. James Blake
Thursday/Deer Park Stage
Post Dubstep's poster boy appears at the Big Chill for a special Deer Park stage Thursday night performance where the attention will all be on him. Attention that he has earned, fresh off the back of a much deserved Mercury Music Prize nomination for his stunning self titled album he will blow the crowd away with amazing vocals, haunting use of the piano and lets not forget the quivvering bass. Having been fortunate enough to catch Mr Blake in a small 300 capacity show in Liverpool in June I know how good he is live and I am looking forward to seeing how this very astute and charming performer steps up to the big stage, I have every faith in him.
4. Janelle Monae
Saturday/Deer Park Stage
Having been a fan of her album I was pleasantly surprised to see that the BBC had chosen to air a good portion of her Glastonbury performance. What was to follow was a 'wow' moment, talk about an electric performance. She is all action, she raps, she sings, she dances - a lot! On stage she resembles a child with A.D.D. who hasn't taken their Ritalin for a couple of days, but in a good way. Her vocals do not suffer one iota despite the strenuous cardio vascular workout that she partakes in during her show. A true show woman.
3. Kanye West
Saturday/Deer Park Stage
From a show woman to a show man, possibly the best show man to burst into the public eye in the past decade. There's not a lot I need to say about Kanye West; he's brash, cocky and self assured but he has continued to back it up and has an unenviable back catalogue to woo the Big Chill crowd with on his Saturday night headline slot, including tracks from an album which many critics rated as 2010's best not to mention a forthcoming duel album with Jay Z that is due to be released three days before the festival. Exciting times, there is a very good chance that Mr West will be the show stopper of the weekend.
2. The Chemical Brothers
Friday/Deer Park Stage
I am so excited for The Chemical Brothers, having watched two of their past Glastonbury performances on TV wishing I could be there so badly, the time has now come to experience their live show in all its glory and in a much more intimate surrounding than the hoardes upon hoardes of people at Worthy Farm. I don't really need to sell this act with their amazing visuals, incredible back catalouge of anthems all mixed together with pounding acid techno they sell themselves. Unmissable.
1. Warpaint
Sunday/Deer Park Stage
Previously featured in this piece is The XX's handpicked US Tour DJ, well now its time for their handpicked US Tour support act. This all girl quartet have both an incredible EP and longplayer to their name, both of which I have played a ridiculous amount of times. Packed with emotion and brilliant vocal harmonies - all four of the group can and indeed do sing. They take to the stage in a humble girl next door type of way before launching into songs of great depth and meaning. I stayed up until 3am to catch their Coachella performance live and it was all worth it to hear the live version of Billie Holiday, I will be right at the front when these girls take to the Deer Park stage. In the run up to the line up announcement I was praying for Warpaint, so maybe there is a God.
If anyone reading is going to the festival I'd love to hear who you are looking forward to catching. Tweet me @therealmikael. Also of interest to some of you might be the Big Chill 2010 review that I wrote in the wake of last year's festival. Thanks for reading.
The third installment of TRM’s residency at Liverpool’s stalwart bi-monthly indie night The Lovely Job is scheduled for Friday 29th July at its usual home of The Zanzibar on Seel Street in central Liverpool. With a tantalising line up as ever the night is shaping up to be full of fresh new music not to mention the usual fun and frolics. Resident band Tone Puppets return after having the night off for the last event. They are fresh off the back of delivering an epic performance in The Monto in Kings Cross, London which saw a pretty rowdy mosh pit develop during 'Ignore'. Tone Puppets certainly left their mark on the capital, so much so the next installment of The London Job has already been confirmed! (More info at the end of this post). Expect high energy, great tracks and who knows maybe mosh pit part two!
Also on the bill are a Liverpool band who are causing a bit of a stir lately in Bird, recipients of regular radio airplay, their music is very atmospheric and has a folky feel, Phantoms actually reminds me in certain ways of Warpaint and regular readers of the blog will know how much I love Warpaint. I also love a good female vocal and this band certainly have one of those in abundance, its no wonder they have been selected to join Tone Puppets on the bill at the next edition of The London Job, in addition to gracing this month's Liverpool installment.
Support comes from the elusive Slow Motion Stranger (Ian Ruddock) from whom you can expect an acoustically driven performance which will encapsulate facets of blues, fock, funk, folk and even Asian music. With his complex structures Ian Ruddock creates a strong dark and twisted atmosphere whenever he plays and will certainly offer something for The Lovely Job audience to think about. The evening is also the place to catch a rare Liverpool performance from Chris Selmen who brings a full band back with him to the city where it all began to play tracks from his new longplayer 'All or Nothing'. The next band on the line up are a 3 piece outfit who have been described as having a 60's Merseybeat sound with a slight psychedelic edge, so when The Romley's take to the stage there is a chance that the Zanzibar may be akin to a certain Eric's nightclub. Completing the bill and performing live together for the very first time will be Sons of Caligula, replacing Chemical Casino, who unfortunetly had to pull out.
Slow Motion Stranger - King of Rock & Roll
Debuting upstairs on July 29th is going to be long time Lovely Job favourite DJ Dean Mack who begins his new party 'Uptight' where he will be playing a variety of northern soul, mod, ska and reggae in between two acoustic performances by Mark James and Western Promise. For more information about Uptight check out their official Facebook group.
As ever this blog will be providing the backing soundtrack to the evening downstairs, the date of this edition of The Lovely Job is sandwiched in between my visits to Melt! festival in Germany and The Big Chill, not to mention much time spent watching the TV coverage of Glastonbury and T in the Park. So expect a heavy emphasis on music that will be rocking this summers festivals, maybe even a little Beyonce (well more likely Destiny's Child) well if she is good enough for Glastonbury! For an insight of what to expect check out the post about my top 10 acts to catch at Melt! and keep your eyes peeled for a post in a similar vein about my trip to The Big Chill. Also enjoy the below hour selection of tracks that I put together for my own aural enjoyment during my flight to Berlin, many of these have featured at past TRM appearances at The Lovely Job.
The Lovely Job kicks off at the earlier time of 7pm with upstairs opening with Australian comedy folk duo 'Anyone For Tennis?' who are due to take the stage at 7.30pm with yours truly kicking off proceedings at a similar time downstairs. The event takes place on Friday July 29th 2011, the door charge for the night is £5. If you are planning to come, why not let us know by clicking 'Attending' on the official Facebook event or by using the official hashtag #thelovelyjob to discuss the event on Twitter.
As promised earlier in the blog a little mention about the next installment of The London Job featuring Tone Puppets and Bird. This night takes place at The Bowery on Saturday September 10th 2011 and there is a return coach from Liverpool which will be departing at 10am, giving people the chance to spend a full day in the capital. Tickets are priced at £25 this includes entry to the venue and return coach travel. For more information e mail Colin at riseinfo@hotmail.co.uk
After receiving the tickets for my first foray into European festivaldom the excitment is approaching fever pitch, so in order to harness the excitement and also plan for the festival I have decided to collate a quick list of the ten acts or DJs that I hope to catch more than any other. I say hope as once there anything can happen! The ordering isn't really to be taken too much notice of and this isn't a list of hidden gems either (though there are a couple on it) anyway I hope you enjoy reading and if you are going to be at Melt! tweet me @therealmikael.
10. Richie Hawtin
Having left my techno shoes at the door back in 2008, this DJs inclusion may raise a couple of eyebrows. However he is undeniably a showstopper on his day and has a penchant for dropping a crowd pleasing anthem towards the end of his driving sets of electronic techno. I imagine he will be on around 4am which with a German crowd should be one hell of a close to whatever night he plays!
9. Addison Groove
It was a tough decision selecting a Future Garage/UK Funky stalwart from the line up to include, Addison Groove is in my list ahead of Doc Daneeka and Benjamin Damage primarily because of the Jimmy Mack bootleg he has recently made and been hammering, I love a bit of Martha! Addison’s DJ set is one of my most eagerly anticipated DJ sets by far.
8. Rusko
Festivals are about fun right? Well not many people bring the party like Rusko, expect all the dubstep hits and get ready to wobble! The ultimate party dubstep DJ with the energy behind the decks to match, I would be very surprised if a DJ set at the festival goes off as much as this is destined to. Riot.
7. Chase & Status
I have referred to Chase & Status as my generation’s The Prodigy after both the previous times I have been enjoyed their live show (they were easily one of the Bestival highlights), with an abundance of anthems and a variety in sounds all of which are represent the current trends in UK dance music our generation finally has a dance band capable of smashing it up as a festival headliner. With Plan B in Germany also at Melt! A cheeky cameo to perform Pieces and End Credits would certainly make the Chase & Status live show a highlight.
6. The Koletzkis
I remember when Oliver Koletzki was making swashbuckling electro, he appears to have matured his sound and while his house music does have elements of the electro edge in there it is a lot more subtle now. He brings his live show to Melt! And with a massive German following his live performance should attract a big and receptive crowd. I cannot wait to hear the stunning Hypnotized performed live.
5. SBTRKT
SBTRKT is another person who was definitely one of the highlights of Bestival, absolutely destroying the Bollywood tent. I have been eagerly awaiting his new album which drops a couple of weeks before his live show at Melt! The live show from the bits I have caught on radio and TV looks superb and features the soulful tones of the man Sampha and occasionally the stunning voice of Miss Jessie Ware, whom I hope will be in tow at Melt! Little Dragon also features on the album and is at Melt! So who knows a cheeky cameo could be in the offing, SBTRKT is going to explode this year – with Drake picking up on one of his tracks - so I cannot wait to catch him to say I was there at the start!
4. Metronomy
I was late getting onto Metronomy, even then it took me a while to fully appreciate their talents. I am now however a full convert and have been championing a fair few of their tracks at recent Lovely Jobs. They are brilliant live and incredibly good fun pop music with an electronic edge, I really enjoyed their recent Jools Holland performance. Their 2011 album currently gets regular plays and Nights On/Off is one of my most played albums of the last 6 months. I included Metronomy ahead of Everything Everything and The Naked & Famous as I am yet to see them, however the two aforementioned bands are high on the agenda as they too are both excellent live acts.
3. The Streets
It still saddens me to the day that I was slow on the uptake with The Streets, initially unable to see the genius behind Original Pirate Material and as a result missing the initial tour. It is quite criminal that Mike Skinner has eluded my gig career to date so his addition to Melt! was met with great delight. I hope to hear mainly older material although I did quite like the most recent album Computer and Blues. Hearing Blinded By The Light on the main stage of a beautiful festival is certainly going to be a ‘moment’.
2. Pulp
It may be a cliché but Jarvis Cocker has got 'it', what exactly 'it' is, is quite hard to quantify or describe but whatever it is, Jarvis Cocker has it in abundance. Afer witnessing Pulp at Melt! there is a serious chance that I will be witnessing the performance of the most charasmatic front man that I have seen to date. A huge array of hits, this has the potential of being a very special headline performance.
1. Jamie Woon
It was only in January that on this blog I was championing Mr Woon, in the months that have since past his album has surpassed James Blake's in the TRM long player of 2011 stakes. I am so excited for seeing him live, expecting it to be an early evening affair, though with the Berlin heat the only chills will be coming from the haunting melodies of his musical offerings. Lets see if he can surpass Mr Blake on the live stakes too.
Superstitious? Well let us prove it all to be a load of old codswallop as on Friday 13th May the next instalment of The Lovely Job hits The Zanzibar in Liverpool bringing a predictably strong line up to the table yet again. Headlining the event are arguably 2011’s biggest buzz band on the Liverpool scene Seville, formed by two ex members of The Black Velvets they have an abundance of live experience and will undoubtedly deliver a performance worthy of their headline slot. They are joined by Strait Laces, a band who will be travelling over the Irish Sea to perform for the Lovely Job faithful – with a SXSW appearance to their name these are certainly a band worth sticking around for.
In addition to Seville and Strait Laces support comes from the able groups of Oxygen Thieves and Man Get Out who will both be providing a rock fuelled influence to the evening. We also have a folk and blues element to the evening with The Donja Vines and Dusty and the Termites, two exciting bands who both encompass a variety of sounds into their live performances expect the unexpected.
Providing the backing soundtrack to the evening will be this blog, after a successful debut back in March The Real Mikaél once again takes over the reins behind the decks. Past features from the blog will give an insight as to what to expect. For those who do not wish to trawl past features expect an eclectic array of contemporary music from acts such as Jamie Woon, Warpaint, The XX, The Naked & Famous and Everything Everything blended into a portion of well known hits from the likes of Paul Weller, Blur, Pulp, Bob Marley and The Clash with a side order of classic hip hop and a bit of soul thrown in for good measure.
Doors for the night will open at 8pm with myself, playing a nice array of music to ease you into the night, with the first act due on stage around 8.45pm. Door charge for the evening is £5. I hope to see you there, if you are coming why not let us know on the official Facebook event.
It has been a little while since my last blog, for this edition I have compiled a Youtube Playlist of 10 of my favourite cover versions after trawling the internet to find some contemporary takes on classic tracks in preperation for May's The Lovely Job where this blog will again be providing the backing soundtrack to the night. Once again becoming the Supremes to The Lovely Job's Diana Ross. More info to come in the next week or so.
I will get to the good stuff now, the music. I initially tried to devise an order to play these tracks but it was difficult to rank on merit (apart from the fact Nirvana would be number one every time) so I am afraid I sat on the fence for this one and opted for alphabetical order - via song title. If its good enough for the Premier League then its good enough for TRM! Below the embedded playlist is a list of the tracks with a little sentence or two to explain their inclusion.
Warpaint - Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie)
These girls can do no wrong in my eyes at the moment, really enjoy the female vocals on their take of this classic.
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence (The Beatles)
Thanks to The Weeknd using Happy House in his excellent 2011 mix tape I have rediscovered Siouxsie and the Banshees, they give a darker and in my opinion more polished take on this White Album track.
Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats (The Knife)
You know its a good cover version when the track becomes more syonymus with the coverer than the original artist and that has certainly happened in this instance. I cannot wait to see this performed on a Sunday afternoon at Melt! Festival.
Method Man & Mary J Blige - I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)
There aren't really that many covers about in the hip hop world and I thought the genre needed to be represented as it has had a big infuence over me. This is a high quality version of one of my favourite Marvin Gaye tunes.
Nouvelle Vague - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Joy Division)
I stumbled accross this very performance while channel hoping during Glastonbury coverage a few years ago. Simple, refined, angelic, stunning.
James Blake - Limit To Your Love (Feist)
I will be honest here, for the first 3 months of blasting this I was unaware that it was a cover. It is such a brilliant effort staying true to the original while giving it the post dubstep twist, no wonder James Blake is one of my men of the moment.
Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie)
There are no superlatives to describe the brilliance of this version. In my opinion this is the seminal cover version of all time!
Otis Redding - Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)
The soul boy in me just adores this. A fantastic danceable fun cover.
Soft Cell - Tainted Love (Gloria Jones)
Not many people know that this is a cover, well it is. Such a brilliant take on a Northern Soul track. Quite possibly the defining track of the 80s.
Paul Weller - Thinking of You (Sister Sledge)
This could perhaps be the most disputed inclusion in my list, the covers album from which it is taken did not recieve high praise. However I really like this version, really liked the covers album and I really like Paul Weller.
Today the sad news broke of US Hip Hop vocalist supremo Nate Dogg's death, his is a sad loss to the music industry. It came at a time when I had been revisiting his and Warren G's seminal collarbaration 'Regulate' a lot recently. In dedication to Nate Dogg's memory I opened Itunes, searched for a few of my favourite tracks that he had did or appeared on then loaded them into Torq, turned on my Technics and away I went and recorded a short tribute mix. I hope you enjoy. Rest in Peace Nate Dogg.
Warren G & Nate Dogg - Regulate
Nate Dogg, Lil Mo & Xzibit- Keep It G.A.N.G.S.T.A
Nate Dogg - I Need Me A Bitch
Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg - The Next Episode
Dr Dre, Nate Dogg & Snoop Dogg - Lay Low
Ludacris & Nate Dogg - Area Codes
Snoop Dogg feat. Nate Dogg - Ain't No Fun
2 Pac & Nate Dogg - All Bout U
Mark Ronson, Saigon, Trife & Nate Dogg - Ooh Wee
If you would like to download this mix please click the link below. DOWNLOAD LINK
I’d like to extend a big thank you to The Lovely Job and in particular Colin from Tone Puppets for having me down on Friday for my guest appearance. It was a thoroughly enjoyable night with all bands performing well, in particular Cold Shoulder and Tone Puppets both of whom drew the biggest crowds of the night and both of whom rocked it. It was a pleasure to be given the opportunity to play an eclectic array of tunes that have been staples in my CD/MP3 collection for years in addition to some of the fresh stuff that I have discovered since beginning this blog. It was great to be able to play Jessie Ware & Sampha’s Valentine and the Jamie XX remix of Adele (both of which have featured in previous TRM Recommends features) to a receptive and sizeable crowd. Gratitude also needs to be extended to the sound engineer from The Zanzibar who did an exceptionally good job with all the bands and with myself.
There has been talk about another The Real Mikaél guest appearance at The Lovely Job, though no date has been confirmed. It is something I am looking forward to immensely and will continue to scour the internet for exciting new music for both the blog and to unleash next time I am handed the reigns of The Lovely Job.
Tone Puppets, the instigators of The Lovely Job are about to embark on a series of road trips to play for a variety of indie nights around the country, the first of which sees Tone Puppets hit the capital for The London Job. A return coach trip has been organised for the event on Saturday 4th June 2011 and it priced at £24 which includes entry into the event. Further information is available on the Facebook event page. If there is any questions regarding this event I can ensure they are directed to the organisers so drop me a line on Twitter @therealmikael if so.
Note: Coming soon to the blog: March album reviews featuring Jamie XX/Gil Scott Heron and Frank Ocean. Plus the blogs first artist feature with TRM Meets Gareth Cheshire.
One of Liverpool’s best live music nights reconvenes on Friday 11th March at The Zanzibar for another instalment of The Lovely Job. The night is the brainwave of local band Tone Puppets who have used the night not only as a vehicle for gaining live experience but also to showcase the diverse and plentiful pool of talent of live acts from the local area.
Alongside The Lovely Job residents Tone Puppets his month’s instalment features performances from; Cold Shoulder, Strawhouses, Freedom of the City, Trinity Test and Silent Fiasco. In addition to the live bands on offer, this blog will also be acting as the guest selector playing a variety of music before, in between and after the bands. For those of you who have Spotify I have put together a short 30minute playlist to give a taster to what to expect. Artists that have featured in past blog posts such as Jamie XX, Caribou, Sleigh Bells and Foals will be amongst the artists getting spun throughout the evening.
I have attended previous Lovely Job’s and have always been impressed by the quality of the sound, as often sound quality suffers when there are a lot of bands playing at the same venue on the same night. It is expected to be a busy night and I for one am looking forward to catching the acts and am excited to be able to put my little stamp on proceedings by sharing some music that I like with a wider audience. For guaranteed entry Tweet me @therealmikael before Friday morning to be added to my £5 guestlist. For more information on the night please read the official press release below.
Press Release
Full Line Up:
Downstairs:
Tone Puppets
Cold Shoulder
Strawhouses
Freedom Of The City
Trinity Test
Silent Fiasco
DJ: Mike F (therealmikael)
Upstairs:
Playmasta P and The Biotics
The Hip Hop Jam Band
David Barnicle
Beat Milk Jugs
Xed
Strawhouses
With continuous airplay for this Liverpool band, 2011 looks to be heading to well deserved good year for them.
Their sound has been described as being reminiscent of early Radiohead and REM and there is definitely a grand passion that rises from the delicate melodies that reside within their music.
Built on a forte for intense and emotional live sets, with gripping melodies and soaring guitars, It’s a challenge not to become mesmerised by one of Liverpool’s most exciting talents.
Cold Shoulder
Cold Shoulder are a band recently formed consisting of members from well known and successful Liverpool bands Aeroplanes and The Black Velvets. Christopher Kearney, Andy Ashton and Nick Kilroe deliver a haunting acoustic driven affair with chiming guitar melodies.
While not afraid to turn it up a notch now and again throughout their edgy repertoire, Chris Kearney’s vocals are reminiscent of Lennon at his vessel busting best pushing the use of band dynamics to the limit.
Tone Puppets
Resident band to The Lovely Job, Tone Puppets have an alternative rock sound with an eastern influence. The mix of these musical styles makes for a sinister sound that’s been likened to the Beta Band/Nirvana and The Doors.
Tone Puppets are working on material to be released in 2011 with remixes by some well known Liverpool DJ's including the storming remix of 'Indian kind' by electronic duo 'Killaflaw', which can be streamed at the moment on their various sites.
Recently signing with ‘Bite Size Music’ this Manchester band described as ‘One of the most promising acts of the year’ by MCR magazine deliver indie rock anthems that could sit quite easily with the best of The Charlatans.
With a well received debut EP released in 2010 the band take to The Lovely Job stage as part of their album promo tour bringing a whole host of influences that can be heard throughout their material including The Music, The Charlatans, Stone Roses.
Silent Fiasco
Self proclaimed ‘Rockabilly Indie Soul’ group Silent Fiasco are a Liverpool four piece made up from the remnants of ‘The Stays’. They have a definite folk edge to their material with gentle harmonies provided by Sarah Coulton duelling with the lead vocal of Jack Halewood.
Acoustic lead tracks are doused with flute and keys throughout, reminiscent and often as catchy as The Zutons.
The Trinity Test
The Trinity Test have a psychedelic edge to their music that’s uplifting and has all the hall marks of the classic gang mentality that all good indie rock bands should have. Drawing comparisons to Working For A Nuclear Free City they also resurrect the tripped out baggy era of the madchester scene.
Edging more towards an electro ambient direction the band take the listener on their own interpretation of what an anthem means to them.
DJ Mike F (thereamikael) playing a variety of indie treats new and old throughout the night.
Upstairs / Good Vibrations:
David Barnacle starts the night off with his acoustic musings.
The Hip Hop Jam Band do spontaneous hip hop improvised jams and invite mc’s to join them.
Also, on the hip hop tip; Playmasta P and the Biotics delve into the archives of hip hop and cover some great hip hop bangers!
Beat milk Jugs have their new album looming and decide to celebrate at GV with their rock tinged electronica!
Not forgetting, joining the dots in between are Xed plying his dubstep and drum and bass trades!!
After a weekend listening to quite a lot of old UK Garage and 2/step including the seminal album 'Sincere' by the man MJ Cole, I rediscovered this BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix that is almost 11 years old to the day.
Listening to Jamie XX's 6mix for Rob Da Bank gave me the impetus to upload and reshare the MJ Cole ESM, as Jamie in his mix plays a couple of old garage tunes in beween his own productions to highlight the similarities between them and to show how his production style has been influenced by UK Garage of old.
UK Garage has played an important part in shaping a lot of the good music that has been surfacing over the past few years, my favourite remix of the last 12 months being a prime example (The XX - Crystalised (Dark Sky remix)). Listening to this also highlights the quality that UKG had to reach a commercial audience, when compared with the trash that comes from David Guetta, Basshunter and now The Black Eyed Peas, tracks like Sincere, Crazy Love and even Daneil Bedingfield's 'Gotta Get Thru This' have so much more longievity and dare I say class. Anyway enjoy the mix, hopefully it will bring back some memories and allow you to relate to the sounds that it has influenced.
MJ Cole- Essential Mix (12/03/2000) Download Link! or Stream below.
Tracklist for the tune spotters is available from HERE.
[18/10/11 Note: I recently recorded a short garage mix of my own which some of you may be interested in, it can be found on the blog or by clicking THIS LINK.]
Just thought I would add a short blog to share some of the fantastic music that is about at the moment.
First up, I might be two days late with the sharing of this charming and elegant offering from the angelic voice of Jessie Ware and the soulful tones of the man Sampha. I have been a lover (pun intended) of this tune ever since hearing it on Dark Sky’s FACT Mix but came to enjoy it even more when seeing the two of them perform it on Monday’s nights Young Turks takeover on the Boiler Room, I implore you to search Youtube in the hope that it gets uploaded as it’s an impeccable performance. Anyway enough of the ramble enjoy their track ‘Valentine’ if you like it as much as I do then you may be interested in the 7” heart shaped vinyl available from the Young Turks record shop .
From the angelic vocals of Jessie Ware to the haunting vocals of Romy Madley Croft of The XX who has provided her talents for fellow Young Turks’ stable mate Creep. I have gone for the remix by a man who had an excellent 2010 with his remix of Drake’s Fireworks receiving a nomination on the Dubstep Forum awards. High quality future garage with strings and vocals remnant of The XX, you can’t go wrong really.
I could fill this post with Young Turks’ related stuff as they are on fire as a label at the moment; I am going to save waxing lyrical about Jamie XX and Gil Scott Heron’s album until next month’s album reviews though and instead change the mood of the piece with some uplifting disco. The Magician offers up a piano-laden dance floor friendly rework of Lykke Li’s ‘I Follow the Rivers’. Free download is available for those interested.
From upbeat disco fun to an R&B slow jam as Jacques Green remixes Cassie’s ‘Must Be Love’ (featuring Diddy), first heard on the Jamie XX mix for Benji B earlier this year, a link for which can be found further down this blog in 3 J’s for January. I was delighted to track this remix down after hearing how well it blends with Mount Kimbie’s ‘Before I Move Off’ and have recently been moving down to the realms of 100bpm to incorporate this track into mixes. Again it is available as a free download, details of how to obtain are on the Soundcloud page.
Last but by no means least, a mix for your aural pleasure is another mix from TRM favourite Fantastic Mr Fox. Having provided this blog’s favourite mix of summer 2010 he was back behind the turntables to deliver another excellent selection of tracks in a bite size airing of 23 minutes.
Tracklist
1. Bjork - Hidden Sphere (Illum Sphere Remix)
2. Gold Panda - Snow and Taxis
3. Blawan - Bohla
3. Usher - Nice And Slow (Bad Autopsy Remix)
4. Jamie XX & Fantastic Mr Fox - untitled
5. Fantastic Mr Fox - Evelyn
6. Julio Bashmore - Battle For Middle You
7. Jamie xx - Far Nearer
8. SX - Bricks
9. Sepalcure - Fleur
10. Airhead - Black Ink
11. Unknown - Transmission
The most eagerly anticipated album of the last few years for me, having followed James Blake for the past year and witnessed how he has began to incorporate his own vocals into his productions I have been extremely interested in seeing out it would transpire as a long player after the initial beautiful teasers of the Feist cover ‘Limit to Your Love’ and his own ‘Wilhelms Scream’.
Blake is a classically trained pianist, this is a predominant feature in the album however there is not many classically trained pianists who juxtapose that sound with urban glitchy bass music shown in the opening track the piano rides against a dubstep beat before an off kilter clicking percussion joins us along with Blake’s own scintillating R&B vocals. The following track is the unspeakably beautiful Whilhelms Scream, this track when listened through headphones almost feels as if Blake is singing it to you personally. The optimum listening experience for this album for me is to listen via headphones, somewhere urban and at night time – Watch the street lights glisten and the cars go by with people leading their lives around you as you listen to the heart wrenching piano notes play over the urban sounding bass with the heavily effect laden soulful vocals. If it’s not an emotive experience then you have no emotions!
The biggest compliment I can pay James Blake with this album is that at parts it holds an intensity akin to The XX’s debut album and harbours percussion of a similar context. I read a piece which cited ‘Give My Month’ as the low point of the album. The review this statement came from was otherwise glowing and something I’d agree with, but I am a big fan of the simplicity of the aforementioned track just Blake’s voice and piano. I can imagine it would be a nice moment seeing that particular piece performed live just Blake and his audience.
The whole album is simply fantastic. Rumour has it Ladbrokes have stopped taking bets on whether this will win the album of 2011 for this blog!
Highlight: Wilhelms Scream
9/10
Chase & Status – No More Idols
For those who know all about Chase and Status this album does pretty much what they are famed for. It’s a high octane ride through the more commercial Radio 1-esque branch of dubstep, drum n bass and hip hop. I was fortunate enough to catch them performing live at Bestival last year a performance that included some tunes from this album, particularly the opening gambit “No Problem” which forges tribal drums, an African vocal and some old school Prodigy style riffs to create a really solid drum n bass track, sadly one of the few high points on the album.
The album features a wide array of big hitters in the UK music scene, but fails to really get going for me. It may be a sign of my tastes changing but the album just fails to move me, failing to reach the highs of More Than A lot. At the very least I expected a fair few anthems on the album but aside from the three singles that have already been released (End Credits, Let You Go and Blind Faith) and the quite euphoric 'Time' it flatters to deceive. I’d go as far as to say some of the guest appearances are pointless White Lies and Tempa T notably, the latter needs to eradicate the word hype from his vocabulary and come up with some new lyrics.
Magnetic Man appear to have stepped the big dance act game up a few levels with their long player last year and for me Chase and Status have fallen behind, when it looked as if they were due to cement themselves as the big players in live dance music for the next decade.
Highlight: End Credits feat. Plan B
4/10
Talib Kweli – Gutter Rainbows
Upon finding out Talib Kweli had gone back to his roots for his new album I was excited to hear what he would come up with after the experiment with the more commercial Eardrum. He was on form last year with Hi-Tek in their Reflection Eternal project, an album which was close to making it into my top 10 of the year.
The album on a whole is a bit meh, there are some good moments such as the collaboration with Jean Grae in which she begins the track in similar vein as to Timbaland on Aaliyah’s ‘Try Again’ added the usual high quality lyrical flow of Kweli which is here in abundance, as you would expect from his own album. But aside from some nice beats I was left feeling underwhelmed. The album seems to be missing the urban poetry that was found on ‘The Beautiful Struggle’. All in all this album is not bad, but it’s not particularly good either making writing a lengthy review almost an impossible task so I will stop here. If you like Talib give it a spin but don’t expect it to start any ghetto movements. If you don’t like Talib you won’t like this... and if you don’t know who Talib is, get ‘The Beautiful Struggle’ it’s much better!
Highlight – Uh Oh feat. Jean Grae
6/10
The Streets – Computers and Blues
Lets start with the good news; this album is currently being streamed for free on The Streets Soundcloud page. Now for the bad news; it’s a bit average.
I head back into the realms of mediocrity for this review. Again the album isn’t particularly bad, one doubts that ‘not bad’ was what Mike Skinner has been striving to achieve but aside from a few moments that is pretty much all he has achieved since 2001 and the release of the monumental ‘Original Pirate Material’. The brilliance of that album has been a millstone around his neck as he has been unable to replicate anything of that quality certainly in LP form anyway.
The first track speaks of agoraphobia and paranoia through years of excess with quite an unstructured vocal that fits in well with the subject matter of a person suffering mental frailty. The highlight of the album for me comes for me with ‘Roof of Your Car’ which is quite a happy electronic track with a female vocal sample the subject matter of the track sees Skinner reminisce about a happier time with a loved one. The blues aspect of the album can really be found in ‘We Can Never Be Friends’ a guitar laden ballad about a love lost.
With Computer and Blues as a whole I can’t help think that I’ve heard the narrative before on the previous four albums. However there are some particularly good solid tracks, especially the more up-tempo positive ones.
2010 was a fantastic year for music, whittling down all the albums to compile a top ten was extremely difficult. It appears 2011 could be just as, if not more difficult. Three names have jumped out to me opening days of the year and they all have very similar names and are all producing high quality electronic music. Below is a bit of information about each of the 3 J's and a track by each of them.
Starting first with the man who I think is going to end up becoming my favourite artist of the year, despite the fact his album dropping in February I think it's an early contender for album of the year. From what I've heard I certainly hope it gets a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize. James Blake having made a fair few productions and a couple of EP's notably the Kelis sampling anthem of summer 2010 - CMYK, Blake has decided to go deeper and add his own soulful voice in the mix. The track that's really doing it for me is Wilhelms Scream which is hauntingly beautiful.
Note: Also worth checking is the BBC Sound of 2011 page for Mr Blake which includes a mesmerising live version of the above track as well as a couple of others and some interviews. The album drops on the 7th February.
Next on the agenda is a man who's DJ Mix for a French boutique was constantly on my iPod over the summer 2010. His band was also without a shadow of a doubt the best thing I seen all summer, well probably all year! Jamie XX has an exciting 2011 in front of him, there is a remix album with Gil Scott Heron about to drop soon from which two tracks have been teased out and they are both extremely strong! I hear he has a solo EP to come out some time in the year too. I would like to see and hope that a Jamie XX/Fantastic Mr Fox collaboration is in the pipe line, which would be mouth watering stuff! The track I've chosen for the blog is something that I just cannot stop playing over and over again is his remix of Adele. The percussion, the vocals and the strings are just arranged so well. It's quite dancey.
Note: Jamie XX recently did a DJ mix for Benji B which is well worth a listen, it includes the above track. It can be found at Pinglewood's blog.
Finally last but by no means least is someone who I have been a bit later getting onto than the two above mentioned artists. He is another with a widely anticipated debut abum dropping in the early part of 2011. Jamie Woon has a distinctive R&B voice laden with soul, not too dissimilar an artist to James Blake. However the smooth soulful vocals are more prominent on Woon's tracks than that of his counterpart yet it is still very much in the realms of the urban soundscape that is what you might call "Post Dubstep". The track I've chosen is actually a remix, as I am a sucker for a Burial remix. If this guy has got Burial's backing he has definitely got mine.
