Wednesday 26 December 2012

MY TOP TEN SINGLES OF 2012


Merry Christmas! I hope you have all had a good one.

So, here we are, almost at the end of 2012! I’ve been thinking about what my favourite tracks were of this year and the list was rather large. After a struggle I’ve managed to whittle it down to my top ten below, so without further ado, and in reverse order, my top tracks of the year were:

10. Black Keys “Gold On The Ceiling” YouTube Amazon
Now, I’m not usually a massive fan of bluesy stuff, but I absolutely love this track, I think in part because I love Dan Auerbach’s voice, and also because this track is not overdone with the sort of bluesy widdling that normally puts me off of any blues tracks. In fact it’s kind of the opposite - very simple and effective.

9. Gabrielle Aplin “The Power Of Love” YouTube Amazon
I happen to think that the original of this track, by Frankie Goes To Hollywood, is the greatest Christmas track ever made (although really it’s only the original video that qualifies it as a Christmas song). I usually hate cover version of great classics like this, but in this case I think Gabrielle Aplin’s version is almost as good as the original. Her vocals are stunning, and the arrangement gives it a whole new lease of life which, I think, is superb. Of course it helps that the tear-jerking advert that brought it to our attention (courtesy of M&S) is a stroke of genius. All together now….”Ahhhhh!”

8. Photek feat Ray LaMontagne “This Love” YouTube Amazon
Ray LaMontagne’s voice is not dissimilar to Alex Clare’s (in fact I think I thought it was Alex Clare when I first heard this track). I love the darkness and bass of this track, and with LaMontagne’s vocals there is an added special dimension.

7. Gotye “Somebody I Used To Know” YouTube – Gotye version
Amazon
YouTube – Walk Off The Earth version
I’m a bit of a sucker for unusual tracks, and this track falls squarely into that category. With the plucked bass and guitar, and jaunty xylophone intro, this track just hooked me in. Then when another band, Walk Off The Earth, did an acoustic cover of this where all 5 members played the same guitar at the same time (using it as a guitar, bass, and drums), I was captivated all over again by its cleverness. I’ve included the cover link above so you can see what I mean.

6. Foo Fighters “Bridge Burning” YouTube Amazon
When I bought the Wasting Light album back in 2011 this was easily my favourite song, and so when the Foos released it in March of this year I did a little jig! Not only is it a bloody fantastic rock track by one of my favourite rock bands (with one of my favourite rockers, the lovely Dave Grohl, at the helm), it’s produced by one of my favourite producers, Butch Vig. Although I didn’t catch all of the Foo Fighters’ set at Reading Festival this year I did manage to catch this song and it sounded absolutely awesome live. For me, this is one of those tracks that is really, really therapeutic if played at ear-blistering level after a bad day.

5. Alex Clare “Too Close” YouTube Amazon
I can’t be the only one who heard this on the Microsoft advert and was instantly smitten with the dubstep instrumental of this track. After a bit of research I found the vocal version, which I loved even more due to Alex Clare’s smoky vocals. Alex is a former boyfriend of the late sultry singer, Amy Winehouse, and I can only imagine how fantastic the vocals would have been if they had recorded a track together!

4. Coldplay “Up In Flames” YouTube Amazon
The first time I really took notice of this track was at one of Coldplay’s gigs at the Emirates Stadium in the summer, and I was blown away right from the simple bass/drum and snare at the beginning. The lyrics really resonated with me. They are so simple but say so much. I am not easily brought to tears but this song, for some reason, always brings a lump to my throat. It’s even better live.

3. The Weeknd “Wicked Games” YouTube [Explicit] Amazon [Explicit]
I’d heard this track a couple of times, but it wasn’t until I heard The Weeknd playing it live on Jools Holland in November that it blew my head off. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I was completely captivated by it. The vocals are fantastic against the slow, dark beat, and even though the lyrics are absolutely laden with expletives (….Argh! I sound like my mother!!), this track is absolutely stunning.

2. Rudimental “Feel The Love” YouTube Amazon
The first time I heard this happy drum and bass hit on the radio I instantly loved it. I missed the announcement of who it was so I spent half an hour frantically, but fruitlessly, searching the web to find out who it was. When I did eventually find out who it was I pre-ordered it and spent what felt like a very long time waiting for it to become available. Then I played it to death. Despite that, I still absolutely love it, which is a very rare thing for me. Usually if I play a song to death I go off it quite quickly. Fantastic!

1. Maccabees "Feel To Follow" YouTube Amazon
A fusion of soaring guitars and haunting vocal harmonies, this track effortlessly travels from a laid back, chilled start to a burning, wild finale. The drums, bass and piano provide a solid foundation for the ascending guitar riffs and vocals. It is a brilliantly beautiful song and easily made it to my number one spot.

So what do you think of my selection? Do you think I’ve missed a trick somewhere? Which track had you scrambling for the volume knob this year?

Friday 21 December 2012

FULL GIG REVIEW – The Prodigy at the Brixton Academy


"End Of The World Extravaganza"
18th December 2012
Support: Gedo Mega Bitch, South Central, Jaguar Skills, Caspa


To celebrate fifteen years since the release of their third album, The Fat Of The Land, The Prodigy generously treated their fans to a re-release of the album (with additional Added Fat remixes) and three (almost) all night raves at London’s Brixton Academy. They lined up a whole host of support acts, with Caspa playing all three nights, and Jaguar Skills, Araab Muzik, Shy FX, South Central, Gedo Mega Bitch, Devious D and I.R.O.K. sharing deputy support responsibility at various points over the three dates.

Kicking off on the first night, the first support act up was Gedo Mega Bitch, who happens to be the wife of The Prodigy’s Keith Flint. The show started tentatively, swinging from trance to dubstep and drum & bass, with opportunities for epic drops being sadly wasted as she, almost timidly, played through her set. The audience didn’t seem particularly excited except at one point when the set crashed into an unplanned silence.

The following set from South Central started with more promise, particularly as you could see on the projected screen that they were doing more than just cueing tracks up. They glitched and mashed their way through their set, playing Pendulum riffs over the top of the tracks and making the most of drop opportunities. The crowd cautiously left any reticence behind and started to warm up, and by the time the third support act (Jaguar Skills) emerged, things were starting to go off in the audience.

Jaguar Skills presided over his impressively genius set from what looked like the side of an ice cream van. Mindful of the audience before him, he mashed metal classics from Motorhead and Metallica (much to the glee of an avid metal fan behind me) with old school jungle and rave classics like Original Nuttah and Sweet Harmony, and even finished, slightly bizarrely, with Madness’ One Step Beyond. By the final throes of the set the crowd was fizzing and eagerly anticipating the main event of the night.

And so, just after midnight, The Prodigy finally took to the stage and launched straight into Voodoo People. The crowd went nuts. What followed was a set that infused classics such as Breathe, Omen, Poison and Firestarter with a fresh dubstep-style undertone. With production genius Liam Howlett at the helm of The Prodigy’s control centre, wild-eyed Maxim and scary-haired Flint roamed the stage barking and snarling lyrics, much to the obvious elation of the audience.

While they were on a roll, the band sporadically threw in new tracks Jet Fighter and AWOL from the new, eagerly anticipated album, How To Steal A Jet Fighter, the former of which had been previously aired at Download Festival in the summer. These were well received, as was brand new track The Day, with the crowd moshing and throwing themselves about as enthusiastically as when other favourites like Thunder, Run With The Wolves, World's On Fire and Spitfire were played. During Invaders Must Die Flint disappeared (or at least that seemed to be the case to those of us trapped in the Circle seats), and Maxim distracted the crowd by encouraging everyone to do the classic hand movements to Queen’s We Will Rock You.

Suddenly, as Diesel Power struck up, Flint appeared in the gangway about 10 feet away from me, at the front of the Circle. How he got there I have no idea, and at this point I’m not sure how the Circle didn’t collapse due to the excited hopping and grabbing that ensued! Far from being the scary mentalist he seems to be onstage, Flint obliged by stopping for pictures and clasping the hands of his adoring fans and then, as swiftly as he appeared, he vanished through the exit and reappeared back onstage in time for the final epic track of the set, Smack My Bitch Up.

After opening the encore with Take Me To The Hospital and another new track, Dogbite, those of us who have loved the band from the beginning were treated to Hyperspeed and (my personal all-time favourite) Out Of Space from their first album, Experience. Whilst I would have preferred that they had played Fire from that album instead of Hyperspeed it was still a perfect journey back to the old school rave classics that started off the band’s 22 year career. And with that, the band disappeared into the murkiness at the back of the stage and left the audience, exhausted but happy, in the hands of their last support act, Caspa.

My only other slight disappointment with the set was that they didn’t play Warrior's Dance, which is puzzling since it was such a huge hit for them. But whatever their reasons for omitting that track, the rest of the set was a shining triumph, and they certainly put their Brixton Warriors through their paces!

My review score: 8.5/10

Monday 17 December 2012

SINGLE REVIEW - Among The Echoes, "Freak"



Birmingham band, Among The Echoes, have a unique style that manages to successfully fuse dark wave, synth pop, ambience and 80s electronica, the result of which has spawned tracks such as the intriguing earworm, "Freak". Whilst the song would not be out of place in a Depeche Mode set due the expert use of ethereal and swirling synths courtesy of Among The Echoes’ Steve Turrell, it is also reminiscent of the style of current indietronica band, M83, and reminds me in particular of M83’s fantastic track “Couleurs” from their “Saturdays=Youth” album.

With lead vocals from Rachael O’Hara and Ian Wall, who sound uncannily like Siouxsie Sioux and David Bowie respectively, and edgy bass from Phil Lockhart, “Freak” swirls moodily through dark verses to the stop-start of a softer interlude, before sweeping up into an anthemic chorus. Fans of dark wave electronica will not be disappointed – this an absolute gem that is likely to awaken an urge to dig through your music collection for similar 80s, dark wave and indietronica anthems.

To listen to "Freak" go to this link to Among The Echoes' Soundcloud page.

Among The Echoes will be headlining the Birmingham O2 Academy on 25th January, 2013. For more information on the band, gig dates and tracks visit the Among The Echoes website at www.amongtheechoes.co.uk or their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/amongechoes.

Sunday 16 December 2012

UNEARTHING MUSICAL GEMS - Dance Classics Special no.1 (16/2/12)


Someone asked me last week what my favourite dance classic is, and about a dozen songs tripped off my tongue without me even having to think about it. Once I deployed my brain, and then looked down the "Dance Classix" playlist on my iPod to see if I'd missed any, I realised that I don't have a hope in hell of answering that question because there are so many to choose from.

So following my other Musical Gems Specials, I thought I'd start off a mini series for the dance nuts among us, accompanied some facts about each song. I've done my usual thing of setting my iPod off on shuffle within the list, so without further ado, and in no particular order, I present the first ten....

1) Insomnia - Faithless
YouTube Amazon
Originally released in the year that Faithless formed, 1995, this was Faithless' second single. It was re-released in 2005, having hit the top spot in the UK chart in 1996. With its most famous lyric, "Tearing off tights with ma teeth", this track is an absolute anthem, although in my opinion there are quite a few Faithless songs that would fall into that category. Faithless called it a day in 2011, after six albums and their final gig at the Brixton Academy for the "Pass The Baton" tour. The song was sampled in Tiƫsto's track, "Dance 4 Life" on which Maxi Jazz from the band provided vocals. I've included the album version of the song for the Amazon link as it's the long version from the "Reverence" album from 1995. Absolutely superb!

2) Greece 2000 - Three Drives
YouTube Amazon
A trance classic, this was released in 1998 by the Dutch duo who are Three Drives. Originally called "3 Drives on A Vinyl", due to track listing errors the artist was variously labelled as "Three Drives", "Three Drives On A Vinyl", and "Greece 2000", so the band changed their name to Three Drives to be less confusing. This track has since been remixed and re-released in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008. The track contains samples from China Town's "Cruisin' Gang" and has been both covered and remixed by other bands.

3) Voodoo Ray - A Guy Called Gerald
YouTube Amazon
This acid house classic was released in 1988, and contains samples from Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's "Derek And Clive (Live)". It has been used in films such as 24 Hour Party People, and in the Grand Theft Auto video game series. The vocals were sung by Nicola Collier.

4) Original Nuttah - UK Apache with Shy FX
YouTube Amazon
This oldschool jungle hit is credited for pushing the jungle genre into the mainstream in the UK and is one of the best known tracks of the genre. It was released in 1994 and contains the famous "Amen break" that is the mainstay of a lot of drum n bass tracks, from "Amen, Brother" by The Winstons. It also contains the horn sample from Cypress Hill's "I Wanna Get High". It has since been sampled itself in various tracks including "Watch This!!" by Superior and Shy FX's own "Raver".

5) I'm Alive - Stretch n Vern
YouTube Amazon
Containing the unmissable sample from Earth, Wind and Fire's "Boogie Wonderland" this track was released in 1996. The original video featured model and actress Jaime Murray, daughter of Bill Murray, miming the lyrics in her acting debut.

6) Valley of the Shadows - Origin Unknown
YouTube Amazon
Another very influential jungle/drum n bass track from 1993. The "long dark tunnel" vocal is sampled from a BBC Q.E.D. programme about out-of-body experiences. It also samples part of the countdown to Apollo 11 landing on the moon ("thirty-one seconds").

7) Setting Sun - Chemical Brothers
YouTube Amazon
From their 1997 album, "Dig Your Own Hole" this big beat track features some mental bass drops and some vocals from fellow Mancunian, Noel Gallagher. The Chemical Brothers have won four Grammys and a Brit Award for their music and have released 7 studio albums, a live album, three compilations and a film soundtrack for "Hanna". They are now in their 18th year!

8) Yeke Yeke - Mory Kante (Hardfloor Remix)
YouTube Amazon
I absolutely loved this remix when it came out! From 1994, it was remixed by Hardfloor, a German techno and trance duo. I loved how unusual it was - it features Mory Kante's vocals and kora harp. The original song came out in 1987.

9) Silence - Delerium
YouTube Amazon
Canadian trance duo, Delerium, co-wrote this song with Grammy winner and singer/songwriter Sarah McLaughlan, who also lent her vocals to the track. It was released in 1999, and the video was shot in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It still regularly pulls a full crowd to the dancefloor today.

10) Meet Her At The Love Parade - Da Hool
YouTube Amazon
Released by German artist, Da Hool, in 1997 this track makes reference to the Love Parade, the massively famous dance festival held in Berlin which was cancelled permanently in 2010 following the tragic deaths of 21 people, with nearly 500 injured, due to a crowd rush. The track has since been sampled in songs by the Vengaboys (oh dear) and 50 Cent.

That's it for this Special, but stay tuned for the next instalment - No.2 is coming soon!

What are your favourite dance classics? Comments? Speak now below...or forever hold your peace! :-)

Sunday 2 December 2012

GIG REVIEW - Skunk Anansie at the Brixton Academy


Brixton Academy, 1st December 2012
Support: Arrows Of Love


For their last European tour date of this year, Skunk Anansie chose to do a homecoming gig at the mighty Brixton Academy. The gig had sold out early, leaving unsuccessful fans desperately trying to find tickets for what promised to be a cracking gig.

Those who were able to get tickets were not disappointed, except perhaps by the support band, Arrows Of Love. Unfortunately they failed to engage with, and win over, the majority of the audience. They suffered badly from technical and sound issues, and this was not helped by the fact that you could really only see the outlines of the band members in the haze of dry ice and poor lighting. Most of the audience continued to chat (loudly, to overcome the wall of noise emanating from the stage) and ignore the band, and the band eventually slinked off stage.

Over an hour later, it was a completely different story. Kicking off with The Skank Heads, the band burst onto the stage to projected footage of a car racing through traffic, with their "fearless leader", Skin, appearing in a black, feathery looking outfit resembling the image on the front of their new album, Black Traffic. From the moment they started, the audience was in the palm of their hand. A couple of tracks later Skin ditched the feathery effort, and bounced back onto the stage in sparkly hotpants, proving that she is one of the only people who can pull off this look whilst still remaining the epitome of a rock chick. She then joked, "Some of our songs are a tiny, teeny, tiny bit political...", raising laughter and cheers from the eager crowd.

The band played effortlessly, with drummer, Mark Richardson, providing a solid, relentless backbone for bassist, Cass, and guitarist, Ace, to power their way through a really tight set. After I Will Break You, I Believed In You and God Loves Only You, and bringing it down a notch, the band played their new single, I Hope You Get To Meet Your Hero, before Skin whipped the crowd up into a frenzy with Twisted (Everyday Hurts), marking the start of a number of surfing voyages over the heads of the lively audience. A few tracks later Skin cheekily told the frazzled security guards to give up as she urged all of the audience on the balcony to their feet, and launched herself into the crowd in the stalls, only to be lifted up above their heads so that she looked like she was on a rather unsteady podium, to sing Weak with absolutely flawless vocals.

After returning to the stage for Hedonism, Skin then introduced another singer (Erika), and the two of them sang Our Summer Kills The Sun to a projected backdrop of speedily growing flowers, after which Skin stated that she was coming back to the audience for some more surfing and teased the audience about grabbing her backside during her previous escapades. Alternating between crowd surfing and throwing herself around the stage (all, I hasten to add, whilst delivering perfect vocals) she and the band sliced their way through the following few tracks, including I Can Dream, Spit You Out and Because Of You, before Skin jokingly chastised the audience, during Sad Sad Sad, that there was way too much camera phone action, again raising cheers from the crowd. The band's final song of the set was the mighty Charlie Big Potato, which was enthusiastically received by the audience, and was delivered uncompromisingly by the band, to bring the set to a shuddering climax with much clapping and cheering from the crowd.

Coming back onstage for the encore, the band delivered Tear The Place Up and the downbeat Secretly before Skin introduced the band and urged drummer Mark to take his t-shirt off. This revealed "scientific shit" (as Skin put it) by way of a contraption resembling an heart ECG to monitor how hard he was working (which, given the heroic performance that he and the other band members were providing, must have been sending the device into a frenzy). After thanking the crowd, Skin once again threw herself into the stalls for the final song of the night, Little Baby Swastikkka, making it all the way from the stage to the sound desk. After standing on top of the desk and posing for photos, she returned to the stage to finish the song, and the band left the stage to deafening whooping and clapping.

The whole gig was spectacular and memorable due to the tightness of the band, the flawless vocals of Skin, and the band's ability to identify with the audience and get them involved. It helps, of course, that their back catalogue is brimming with energetic, solid tracks. They really are a must-see act.

My review score: 9/10

Did you see the gig? What did you think? Leave your comments below...

Friday 30 November 2012

UNEARTHING MUSICAL GEMS - TFIF Five! (30/11/12)


TFIF!!! To celebrate the end of the week I thought I'd do a quick blog for the first 5 tracks that came up after shuffling my iPod. This week's selection is totally random rather than a shuffle within a particular playlist (as I've done previously for the two specials (rock and disco) that I published.

So...without further ado....

1) Picking Up The Pieces - Paloma Faith
YouTube Amazon
Whether you think she madder than a hatstand or not, Paloma Faith has one hell of a voice. I'd not seen the video for this song until doing this blog, but immediately spotted the stunning Golden Ball and West Wycombe Park, which are local to me, being used a backdrop. Telling the story of a woman whose boyfriend is still in love with his ex, this is the first release from her second album, "Fall To Grace".

2) Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police
YouTube Amazon
A 1981 classic from the legends that are The Police. Despite only having three members, The Police never sound like they are lacking in any way, I think partly due to the phenomenal drumming of Stewart Copeland. The demo version of the song, pre-1981, can apprently be heard on Strontium 90: Police Academy, and the final version has been used over and over on film and TV ever since.

3) Raspberry Beret - Prince and The Revolution
YouTube Amazon
Ah, the original purple pixie! From the album, "Around The World In A Day", this featured Middle Eastern finger cymbals and strings (most notably a violin) and came before Prince had an identity crisis and changed his name to something unpronounceable. He was a keen advocate of pushing the boundaries of sexually explicit lyrics - I remember listening to "Darling Nikki" and being mortified at the time, although of course no one would bat an eyelid nowadays. Anyway, this is a jaunty little song with some rather tame lyrics for Prince...

4) Heaven For The Weather - The Streets
YouTube Amazon
From the now-defunct The Streets' 2008 album, "Everything Is Borrowed", this one was particularly good live due to the ascending baseline. This was the last single released from that album, with only two others being released, and a studio album, before the band called it a day. Mike Skinner, the lead singer and synth programmer, is now part of The D.O.T., a more dance focused band that provided some of the soundtrack for The Inbetweeners Movie.

5) Going For Gold - Shed Seven
YouTube Amazon
Released at the height of the Britpop era, and a rather downbeat indie effort, this was arguably Shed Seven's best known song and is their biggest seller, reaching Number 8 in the UK charts. With the media circus that was the battle between Blur and Oasis, Shed Seven just quietly got on with it. Sadly that might not have been the best ploy for them.

So, just a quickie today because I have another gig review coming out over the weekend....watch this space..! :-)

So what did you think of them? Send me a comment below!

Monday 26 November 2012

ALBUM REVIEW - Deftones, "Koi No Yokan"


It has been almost two and a half years since their last album, but the Deftones are back with a vengeance with their 7th studio album.

Hailed as a resounding success by Deftones' fans, Koi No Yokan takes no prisoners, being slightly reminiscent of their much-revered album, White Pony from which their Grammy winning track Elite came. It seems more cohesive than the last album, Diamond Eyes, perhaps due, in part, to the turmoil that the Sacramento band were going through at the time. Bassist Chi Cheng had been involved in a car accident that had tragically left him in a coma, and he had been temporarily replaced with Sergio Vega. The band took the decision to put Eros on hold (the album that they had been working on with Cheng), and replace it with something that would better represent the new line up. The resulting Diamond Eyes album was safe, conservative and, at times, slightly laboured.

But Koi No Yokan sees the band returning to their former glory, keeping the listener on their toes by sweeping from the antagonistic to the ethereal. In the opener, Swerve City, the bass is more assured and skips aggressively around the crashing drums and anthemic vocals. The song will surely be a winner in a live setting. Keeping up with the same theme, Romantic Dreams cleverly switches between time signatures whilst the rock-steady drums and bass compete with Chino Moreno's pleading vocal and Stephen Carpenter's euphoric guitar.

The following Leathers is one of the shining stars of the album, with the delicate intro lulling the listener into a false sense of security before a brash vocal and guitar combo crashes in and punches the eardrums. Once again the song contains anthemic, tormenting vocals against a backdrop of heavy guitar riffs, with Moreno urging someone to come out of their shell and reveal themselves. In the following track, the choice of using programmed claps at the start of Poltergeist over the heavy bass and guitar riff seems strange, but in a funny kind of way it seems to work, giving way to a strong performance by Carpenter on guitar.

Entombed serves to calm the frenetic haze of the previous tracks, uniting angst-ridden lyrics about being under someone's spell with soothing guitar riffs. The combination of programmed beats from Frank Delgado and live beats from Abe Cunningham work well. However, whilst the song is perfectly placed, it is slightly drawn out. But no matter, the following Graphic Nature is another triumph, building on the lyrical theme of the previous track, but with stronger guitars, bass and drums.

In Tempest, the listener is once again soothed with the intro before heavy bass and insistent vocals compete for air, with the fantastic Gauze bringing up the rear and sending the band into a rhythmic mantra with Moreno spitting lyrics out in a one-sided argument. To bring perspective, the pulsating and moody Rosemary once again starts in a vapour of rhythmic guitars and samples, with Moreno's angst clearly on display as a metaphoric plane crash ensues.

Penultimate track, Goon Squad, is dark and ambient to start with, giving way to angry vocals and heavy guitars and bass. It is, however, laboured, and loses its impact because of this. Fortunately, What Happened To You? is very different, being less of a dirge and very unusual compared to the other tracks, and ends the album in a cloud of soaring guitars, unusual drumming and harmonious vocals.

So it seems that the Deftones are back on form and raring to seize the world by its throat. It will be interesting to see how this album pans out when they play it live, particularly due to the anthemic qualities, and the contrast between light and dark in the tracks. Overall this is a great album, and a surefire winner for Deftones fans.

My review score: 8/10

Have you heard the album? What did you think? Leave your comments below...

GIG REVIEW - Crystal Castles at the Brixton Academy


Brixton Academy, 24th November 2012
No support


For me, Crystal Castles is one of those bands that must be seen live to be appreciated. Whilst their albums tick all the boxes when it comes to punky electronica, a fifth dimension is added when those tracks are heard in the confines of a dark, sweaty festival tent or gig venue, because you experience their rib-shaking bass overlaid with ear-splitting chiptune synth in all of its glory.

I'd heard great things about Bo Ningen, their Japanese punk band support act, so I pitched up early, ready to see what was on offer. On entering the Academy the stage was already occupied by an old skool style DJ, complete with obligatory female in white hotpants who was raving and shaking her beer. The support time slot came and went, and the DJ continued. I took to Twitter to investigate, and all I could glean was that Crystal Castles had decided that they didn't want a support act tonight. Slightly baffled, I carried on nodding my head to the DJ set until he disappeared. Then finally, quite a lot later than planned, Ethan Kath, Alice Glass and their live drummer took to the stage in a frenzy of lights and synths, kicking off their set with Plague from their new album, (III).

As Alice shrieked and cursed through the first few songs it was apparent that something wasn't quite right. There were silences, and Alice seemed pre-occupied. It was at that point she knelt and lit some candles on the stage next to some flowers. She finally raged, "There's no hell. There's no heaven. There's f***ing nothing." She was visibly upset about something.

The band seemed to rally at this, and they powered through tracks from all three albums. In a haze of furious drums, ferocious bass, raging synths and snarled lyrics, Alice threw herself around the stage and into the crowd, and then climbed on top of the drum kit in a swirl of lights and spat out the lyrics to Crimewave. The sound was phenomenal, probably because the sound guy was banging and bouncing like a mad thing at the sound desk, and you could see that he was absolutely absorbed in the music and sound. It is not often you see the sound guy raving like a club DJ, and it magnified how easy it is to get caught up in the live Crystal Castles experience.

The biggest crowd pleasers of the night were Celestica and Not In Love, the latter of which finished their set, with the band disappearing, without a word, backstage. The crowd seemed a bit confused, but eventually started baying for the band to come back out for more. Finally they returned to top off the night with three further tracks, two of which were from the new album (Insulin and Sad Eyes). And then they disappeared, again without a word, although I should point out this is not particularly unusual for Crystal Castles. Again the crowd were slightly baffled, unsure as to whether the band would appear for a second encore, but it was not to be, and the crowd shuffled out.

It bothered me that there was something amiss, something lacking, that you normally see at a Crystal Castles gig. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but it felt a bit like the band were going through the motions, certainly in the first part of the set. Following further investigation I now know that the band tragically lost a friend the day before the gig to terminal cancer, hence the candles, flowers, the silences and Alice's rant. How they performed at all I will never know, but given the circumstances, and on reflection, I think that they gave their all for the gig in very difficult circumstances.

Whilst it wasn't the best Crystal Castles gig I've been to, it was still memorable. I hope Ethan and Alice take comfort in the fact that they did their friend, who was an avid Crystal Castles fan, proud.

My review score: 8/10

Did you see the gig? What did you think? Leave your comments below...

Friday 23 November 2012

UNEARTHING MUSICAL GEMS - 70s Disco Special No. 1 (23/11/12)


After last week's genre-specific blog (it was a Rock Special, so if you missed it you can find it here), I thought I'd do another one in a very different genre today. So this week's Musical Gems are all 70s Disco tracks. It's No.1 of the series, so expect to see more over the coming months.

As always, the tracks are generated by my ipod on its shuffle setting, so there's no rhyme or reason to the order, or as to why certain songs don't appear yet. That's the beauty of my Unearthing Musical Gems blogs, they are completely random!

So without further ado, here is the first batch...

1) Best Of My Love - The Emotions
YouTube Amazon
Released in 1977, this song was composed by some of the members of another legendary disco band, Earth, Wind and Fire, and won both a Grammy and an American Music Award. It has been used in many films and has been covered by everyone from Mary J Blige to Christina Milian to Sheena Easton to CJ Lewis (the latter reaching no.13 in the UK charts in 1994).

2) More, More, More - Andrea True Connection
YouTube Amazon
Sung by a porn star and initially released only to discos in 1975, this song went on to be a chart hit, reaching the top ten in the UK, USA, Canada and Ireland and the top 25 in Europe and Australia. It has subsequently been rerecorded by the likes of Samantha Fox, Bananarama, Rachel Stevens and Dannii Minogue, and sampled in numerous songs such as the 1999 hit by the band Led, "Steal My Sunshine".

3) Relight My Fire - Dan Hartman
YouTube Amazon
Yes, believe it or not, the original version of this song was NOT sung by Take That, but rather Dan Hartman, and was originally released in 1979. It was the follow up to Hartman's other disco smash, "Instant Replay", and featured the late legendary vocalist Loleatta Holloway in the "Lulu bits". In terms of sales it didn't match those of Take That's version, but outlived Take That's two week stay at Number One in the UK charts by four weeks. Regardless of which version is played, it is a guaranteed floorfiller.

4) Never Can Say Goodbye - Gloria Gaynor
YouTube Amazon
Perhaps not quite as popular as her other disco chart topper, "I Will Survive", this track is still a stomping disco number. It was released in 1974 and was originally recorded by the Jackson 5 in 1971 before being recorded by Gaynor. It was subsequently released by The Communards in 1987 with Jimmy Somerville's distinctive falsetto starkly contrasting against Gaynor's soul diva vocal in the earlier version.

5) That's The Way (I Like It) - KC & The Sunshine Band
YouTube Amazon
Another disco smash, this track has been sampled in more than 32 other tracks, and covered at least 9 times, including by Dead Or Alive and Clock. Released in 1975, it was considered racy at the time because of the sexual connotations or the title track and the "uh-huh"s in the chorus (oh, how times change...).

6) Can You Feel It - The Jacksons
YouTube (original director's cut version) Amazon
Ok, so this is not strictly 70s disco as it was released in 1980, but is included here as one of the final disco smashes before anti-disco protesters finally had their way, and the takeover of disco as one of the premier genres of the era was halted, with punk/rock taking over. Whilst the video is fairly over-indulgent, the track itself has stood the test of time and can still fill a dancefloor in seconds.

7) Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes
YouTube Amazon
From the film, "Shaft" (obviously), this was recorded in 1971 and went straight to Number 1 in the US on its release. Both written and performed by Hayes, the song describes the film's lead character and, again, was considered risquƩ at the time. It has been used in many TV shows, has been parodied by Sesame Street, has been covered more than 16 times, and has been sampled more than 30 times in tracks such as "Get Down" by LL Cool J, "Street Tuff" by Rebel MC and Double Trouble, "100 Miles and Runnin'" by N.W.A., "Power To The People" by Public Enemy, "Lovely" by Bubba Sparxxx, and "Reservoir Dogs" by Jay-Z.

8) Movin' - Brass Construction
YouTube Amazon
A brass and synth lover's dream, this track was cut down from a 16 minute jam session which was recorded by the band in 1976. It is perhaps best known from the sample used in TLC's "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", and The Bucketheads' track "Got Myself Together" in 1992 and 1995 respectively.

9) Every 1's A Winner - Hot Chocolate
YouTube Amazon
Featuring that distinctive rock guitar riff, this was as big a hit as "You Sexy Thing" but doesn't usually get as much airplay. This brings back memories of me and my Mum playing this at full volume to wind up my Stepdad because he absolutely hated Hot Chocolate (in fact he wasn't too keen on disco as a whole). This track was released in 1978 and followed their popular tracks such as "Brother Louie", "Emma" and "So You Win Again" as well as the aforementioned "You Sexy Thing".

10) Forget Me Nots - Patricia Rushen
YouTube Amazon
Ok, again this was not a 70s disco number, having been released in 1982 as a post-disco song, but it's often lumped into the disco genre due to its discoey feel. However the shift into the 80s is marked by the introduction of a short sax solo, prevalent in a lot of 80s pop, R&B and soft rock records. It has been sampled many times, most notably in "Fastlove" by George Michael and "Men In Black" by Will Smith.

So what did you think of today's selection? Comments? Criticisms? Did they stir any memories? Send me a comment below!

Monday 19 November 2012

UNEARTHING MUSICAL GEMS - Rock Special (19/11/12)


So, a new set of musical gems, this time all rock based to coincide with AC/DC's decision, finally, to make their back catalogue available for digital download. As of today you can get their tracks on iTunes with, I'm sure, others distributors to follow suit (although you still can't get them on Spotify).

There will be more rock gem blogs in the future so stay tuned. As always, the tracks are generated by my iPod completely randomly via its shuffle setting, so there's no specific order or reason as to why they're on here other than they've popped up from my indiscriminately from my rock playlist.

So here are the first ten...

1) Shake A Leg - AC/DC
YouTube iTunes
So, they've finally followed in the footsteps of The Beatles and have agreed to let iTunes sell their back catalogue after years of shunning the digital download world! I think they've probably realised that continuing to rely on physical sales alone and shunning downloads if futile, and they're hurting their pocket if they don't embrace it. Whether you like it or not, digital downloading is here to stay. So, putting AC/DC on shuffle, this was the first track to come out of my iPod. This one's from their 1980 album, Back In Black, which has sold 50 million physical copies worldwide, and probably a ton more now that it's available digitally. The Back In Black album was written as a tribute to Bon Scott, the Australian band's Scottish former lead singer who tragically died at the age of 33. The black album cover was to signal that the band was in mourning.

2) I Will Break You - Skunk Anansie
YouTube Amazon
This is a relentless distorted guitar fest! From their new album, "Black Traffic" this is a great track with some huge vocals from lead singer, Skin. If you haven't heard their album yet go and have a listen, it's well worth it. I'll be reviewing them live in December so look out for that.

3) As Heaven Is Wide - Garbage
YouTube Amazon
More guitar distortion and female vocals, this time from Garbage's first album, "Garbage" from 1995. The album was produced by Butch Vig, who also produced Nirvana's "Nevermind" and is a member of Garbage, and who just happens to be one of my favourite producers. Whilst this isn't my favourite Garbage track, I have to say that the first two Garbage albums, in particular, are fantastic. The thing I like about them is that they are not afraid to mix traditional rock with synths, programmed drums and other electronic devices. In the late nineties I wanted to be their lead singer, Shirley Mason! I just love her attitude.

4) Love In An Elevator - Aerosmith
YouTube Amazon
Ok, so maybe they're slightly cheesy, but Aerosmith have inspired even the hardest of hardcore rockers to play air guitar at one point or another! Released in 1989, the video for this track features Mƶtley CrĆ¼e guitarist Nikki Sixx's wife (she's the one who, at the beginning, asks Steve Tyler if he's going down...) and also Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry's wife (she's the topless one canoodling with him the in elevator), as well as various random characters such as Dorothy for the Wizard of Oz (God knows what that's about!).

5) Saturday Superhouse - Biffy Clyro
YouTube Amazon
From their 2007 album, "Puzzle", this is one of my favourite Biffy tracks (although I have quite a few of them). The cover art for the single featured a man on fire and was chosen after lead singer, Simon Neil, had suffered a bereavement. The entire sleeve was meant to represent anger, grief and sanity. The album climbed to Number 2 in the UK album chart.

6) B.Y.O.B - System Of A Down
YouTube Amazon
In acronym terms, "BYOB" usually means "bring your own beer", but SOAD have cleverly changed this to "bring your own bombs" in homage to the lyrical content of this track. Whatever your view on war, this track is a superbly tight heavy metal track, produced by Rick Rubin, from 2005. I particularly like Serj Tankian's cry of "Blast off! It's party time! And where the fk are you?!?!!!". I have a bit of a thing about people who are always late and I find it's particularly fulfilling to yell that at them as they arrive...although perhaps not so good to yell that at your boss....

7) Love Spreads - The Stone Roses
YouTube Amazon
From 1994, this track was the first single from their second album, "Second Coming". The song reached Number 2 in the UK chart and has been used on TV and in the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games. Two videos were made for the track after their label was not happy with the first one (which featured home footage and hidden images amongst footage of member of the band dressed in various costumes).

8) Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
YouTube Amazon
As you can see, I have quite a liberal interpretation of "rock" as we have strayed into rock n roll...from the King himself, this was released in 1957 to coincide with the film of the same name, and was his 9th US Number 1. It came a year before he was drafted off into military service, and after he had signed a $25,000 record deal with RCA in 1955.

9) Club Foot - Kasabian
YouTube Amazon
Released in 2004 and from their debut album, "Kasabian", this track was written as a tribute to a Czech student who committed suicide as a political protest. It has been used in numerous films (including "Green Street", "District 13" and "The Guardian"), TV shows, and video games, as well as being used by Arsenal Football Club as a player entrance song. If you haven't seen this band live I would thoroughly recommend it as they are great.

10) If You Wanna - The Vaccines
YouTube Amazon
From their debut album, "What Did You Expect From The Vaccines", this was their third single and was officially released in March 2011, with a demo of the song having been released on YouTube in 2010 shortly after the band formed. The band immediately drew great reviews from the likes of Zane Lowe, The Guardian and Q magazine amongst others. I particularly like the urgency of this song, which is on a par with their first release of only one minute 24 seconds, "Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra)".

So that's today's set of rock gems! As I said, I'll continue the series at a later date, so stay tuned.

What did you think of today's selection? I'd love to hear from you so if you have comments, criticisms, or even general rants, post them below!

Rock image courtesy of marklar

Saturday 17 November 2012

Album Review: Loreen, "Heal"


Eurovision Song Contest entrants usually either sink without trace, or end up being ridiculed to the end of their days...or at least that's the way it tends to go in the UK. It wasn't always like that; acts such as Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Bucks Fizz, Celine Dion and, most notably, Abba were embraced by the British and had musical success, but since the nineties this seems to have taken a turn, and now the Eurovision is seen by some as somewhat of a poisoned chalice.

So it was with trepidation that I listened to this year's winning entry from Sweden, performed by Loreen. Whatever misconceptions I had were immediately extinguished, because "Euphoria" is an absolutely fantastic trance track. Heartened by the fact that I actually liked a Eurovision track, I found myself browsing her album, "Heal". And because my misconceptions were completely turned on their head I decided to do an album review... Here goes....!

First off, if you're looking for every song on Loreen's album to be a dancefloor filler like the mighty "Euphoria" you will be disappointed. Instead, the album shows off her versatility across several styles, from ballads to R&B to dance. It charts the journey through a relationship, from the excitement and anticipation at the beginning, to the complacency of the partner who fails to appreciate the other as the relationship progresses, to the doubts of whether the relationship is right, and finally concluding in its demise and all of the pain and bitterness that comes with it.

Kicking off the album with "In My Head", this is a great opener with an unusual beat and bassline combination which turns it into somewhat of an earworm, charting the dizzying euphoria felt in the first flushes of a romance. This is followed by the dancefloor friendly "My Heart Is Refusing" which is reminiscent of Avicii/Tim Berg and Afrojack, and contains a good singalong build up and chorus. It tackles the conflict of being in love and refusing to believe that there is a reason to mistrust your partner.

Loreen's vocals are unfaltering, and particularly exceptional in the third track, "Everytime". With an acoustic start it is a refreshing twist and a very beautiful, haunting, downbeat song. For me it is the jewel in the album and tells of the emotional struggle to leave someone. The mood is lifted by "Euphoria", the dance anthem with a slightly baffling ship fog horn at the start.

"Crying Out Your Name" is an upbeat song with another good singalong chorus, and describes the torment of searching for the answers to a crumbling relationship at the bottom of a bottle. "Do We Even Matter" follows, and continues the theme of questioning whether the relationship matters to her partner. In a strange way it reminds me slightly of "Mama" by Genesis.

The realisation that her partner is actually a snake hits her in the following "Sidewalk", which contains a dubstep style break that really suits the song. In the upbeat "Sober" she seems to have reconciled with her partner, hoping that it is not a temporary thing. But it clearly is with the inevitable acknowledgement of the "other woman" that follows in the R&B tinged "If She's The One", with her imploring her partner to make a choice.

A more upbeat "Breaking Robot" follows, where the final throes of the relationship are laid bare. This track is reminiscent of "Get Together" by Madonna in terms of style and contains some cracking vocals from Loreen. In an effort to get the toxic relationship out of her system she embarks on a one night stand "See You Again" (which again has hints of Avicii/Afrojack's style), with all the danger signs of a rebound relationship rearing their head in her desperation to see her conquest again.

The final song of the album, "Heal" is, for me, the weakest. It's a downbeat number in which the topic of trying to salvage a relationship is touched upon, but the lyrics lack the depth of those in the rest of the album, and the song feels more laboured and lacks the strong hook of some of the others. The song also seems out of place given the story that is told throughout the rest of the album.

Overall, this album contains some poignant lyrics that are conveyed articulately and passionately by Loreen. With a good mix of ballads and upbeat songs across different styles it shows that not all Eurovision winners should be written off by my fellow countrymen without at least giving them a listen. It's certainly changed my attitude!

Have you heard the album? What did you think? Leave your comments below...

Friday 9 November 2012

UNEARTHING MUSICAL GEMS - Fabulous Friday Fifteen (9/11/12)


It's Friday!! WOOOHOOOO!!! To celebrate I'm giving you fifteen, yes FIFTEEN!, little gems for you to start your weekend with.

So whether you're after some new music, or feeling like a trip down memory lane, I hope you'll find something you like in the following:

1) Real Love - Mary J Blige
YouTube Amazon
A 1992 R&B smash hit, giving Mary J Blige her first top ten US single, and was from her debut album, "What's the 411?" It reminds me of summer, for some reason.

2) Off The Wall - Michael Jackson
YouTube Amazon
I can't believe that this one is from 1979!! It came from MJ's fifth studio album, "Off The Wall" which spawned hits such as "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", "Rock With You" and the tear-jerker, "She's Out Of My Life". It was his first album working with soul legend, Quincy Jones.

3) Reeperbahn - Digitalism
YouTube Amazon
In a similar style to The Prodigy's dance/punk-electro/rock, but less aggressive, this is a great electronic track from Digitalism's second studio album, "I Love You Dude".

4) Oy - Gipsy Kings
YouTube Amazon
I'm loving the crowd action in the YouTube vid of this one. The Gipsy Kings' fans' version of a moshpit is a giant rumba session! Love it!!

5) Darts Of Pleasure - Franz Ferdinand
YouTube Amazon
This was actually Franz Ferdinand's debut single before their third, arguably best known single, "Take Me Out". Released in 2003, "Darts Of Pleasure" piqued the interest of John Peel, who proclaimed them "the saviours of rock and roll". They even managed to roll some German lyrics in at the end!

6) Little L - Jamiroquai
YouTube Amazon
This was the lead single from Jamiroquai's fantastic funk album, "A Funk Odyssey", and was allegedly written following Jay Kay's split with then-girlfriend Denise van Outen over his drug use. The album continued Jamiroquai's progression from acid jazz to a more disco-funk sound.

7) Superstylin' - Groove Armada
YouTube Amazon
Ahhhhh, I absolutely LOVE this song (as the 242 plays in my iTunes library confirm!). From their 2001 album, "Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub)" this reggae tinged, funky electronic track (that description does them no favours, but I promise it's wicked) is an absolute stormer!

8) Coming Closer - Sub Focus
YouTube iTunes
Featuring Takura, who you might recognise from some of Chase & Status' tracks, this is a great dark dubstep track. I'm eagerly anticipating his next album following the debut album that was released in 2009, from which this track came.

9) Heart Of Glass - Blondie
YouTube Amazon
Another one from 1979! This track was an experimentation into a more disco type of vibe from their previous rock/pop classic, "Hanging On The Telephone", a move credited to Debbie Harry. It obviously worked because this track earned them their first Number 1 hit in the US and all over Europe.

10) Damaged - Plummet
YouTube Amazon
This is a fantastic trance track, albeit that the video is a tad strange!

11) Funky Shit - The Prodigy
YouTube Amazon
From The Prodigy's 1997 album, "The Fat Of The Land", this is full of electronic lasers and beats. Renowned for their mental live performances, the YouTube vid is was recorded live in Red Square. I'll be reviewing them live in December so watch out for that!

12) Can You Feel It - Mr Fingers
YouTube Amazon
Eighties deep house classic, "Can You Feel It", was released in 1986 and has been hailed as a song that defined the genre. It's been used on probably every 80s house compilation ever since...

13) New Song - Howard Jones
YouTube Amazon
Another 80s classic! Howard Jones lived in my home town when I was growing up and I used to follow the reports on him in our local paper because I absolutely loved the synth stuff he did. This is no exception - it's got a great, happy vibe, and is full of synths and Lindrums galore!

14) Folding Stars - Biffy Clyro
YouTube Amazon
One of Biffy's less frantic tracks, this is a great song, and really shows that they are more than just a frenzy of drums and guitars (putting aside "Many Of Horror", which is another absolutely superb downbeat track by the band). My favourite thing about Biffy is that they're not afraid to use unusual time signatures in their tracks. They are absolutely top notch musicians.

15) Little Sister - Queens Of The Stone Age
YouTube Amazon
This is one of my favourite QOTSA tracks, and was originally recorded with Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) before being re-recorded for their fourth album, "Lullabies to Paralyze". It is rumoured that the song was recorded in one take.

I hope you've found something in that little lot to tickle your fancy! As always, I'd love to hear your comments...

Friday 2 November 2012

UNEARTHING MUSICAL GEMS - Friday Five (2/11/12)


Well, I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned, TFIF!! Are you ready to finish the week on a high? Or start the weekend with a bang?

Here are this weeks gems. They work best when they're turned up loud... ;-)

1) Angel - Massive Attack
YouTube Amazon
This track is absolutely fantastic. The way it slowly builds up to the climax, and then drops back out again, is genius. It's no coincidence that it has been used in many films and TV shows, from "Snatch" to "West Wing". This is in my top ten tracks to listen to after a bad day...where I shut the door of the studio, turn the light off and whack up the volume. Pure class.

2) People Are People - Depeche Mode
YouTube Amazon
Released in 1984, this track is one of Depeche Mode's most well known tracks. Depeche Mode were a firm staple of the electronic music genre in the 80s, and it was this band, along with others such as Yazoo, Human League, OMD, Tubeway Army, and Kraftwerk to name a few, that turned me into a total synth geek.

3) Aerodynamic Beats/Forget About The World (Gabrielle) - Daft Punk
YouTube Amazon
This track comes from Daft Punk's "Alive 2007" album which was recorded live in Paris and used Ableton on huge supercomputers, which Daft Punk accessed remotely from midi controllers. And it's an absolute banger! Daft Punk's unique vocoder type of house music is instantly recognisable, and hugely popular. One of the two band members, Thomas Bangalter, was also involved in the side project that spawned another French house classic, Stardust's "Music Sounds Better With You".

4) Home - Kelis
YouTube Amazon
From her 2010 album, Flesh Tone, this is another upbeat belter and, for me, the best track on the album. She worked with various popular producers on the album, including Benny Benassi, Diplo, will.i.am and David Guetta, and the change in style from some of her previous work such as "Caught Out There (I Hate You So Much Right Now)", "Tricky" and "Milkshake" seems to suit her, albeit that this album wasn't quite as quirky.

5) I Believe In Miracles - Jackson Sisters
YouTube Amazon
OMG - I LOVE this song!! It was originally written in 1973, but this song was not really a hit until the 80s when the Rare Groove scene was big. It's funkier than a funky thing!!

I hope you enjoy this week's selection. As always, I'd love to hear your comments...

What's your favourite TFIF track?

Tuesday 23 October 2012

UNEARTHING MUSICAL GEMS - Tuesday Ten (23/10/12)


Things have been busy this week in the Nikki Noodles studio, as you will have seen from my other posts. So today is the first chance I've had to sort out the next set of gems for you, but I don't think these will disappoint... Here goes...

1) Situation - Yazoo
YouTube Amazon
I bought the Upstairs at Eric's album when "Don't Go' came out but I soon decided that this was my favourite track and I played it to death. The vinyl was later commandeered by an ex during a nasty split, but this is one of those songs that I credit for igniting my unwavering love of EDM.

2) Walking On A Dream - Empire Of The Sun
YouTube Amazon
At one point this song seemed to be everywhere, and like a lot of others I kept hearing it and thinking, "What is that song?". A real earworm of the chilled out genre.

3) Inertia - AutoVaughn
'Inertia' on iTunes
'Hell Of A Place' on YouTube
These guys supported Cage The Elephant when I went to see them in 2008 and they were absolutely fantastic. I can't find a YouTube video of Inertia, so I have instead included the link for another of their songs, 'Hell Of A Place', which was the highlight of the night at the gig. This was one of the rare occasions for me where the support outplayed the main act.

4) Greece 2000 - Three Drives on A Vinyl
YouTube Amazon
Arguably one of the best progressive trance tracks of the early 2000s, this is an absolute tune! A proper Ibiza anthem.

5) Cold Game - Maverick Sabre
YouTube Amazon
From the album 'Lonely Are The Brave', this is a great song from the Irish singer/rapper. His soulful voice is very current, whilst his style is slightly reminiscent of Plan B. If you haven't heard the album it's worth a listen.

6) Such A Fool - 22-20s
YouTube Amazon
Jangly guitars ahoy! The song sounds like it's constantly building up to something that never comes, in a quirky, interesting way.

7) Raver (Benny Page Remix)- Shy FX and the Ragga Twins feat Kano, Donae'o
YouTube Amazon
Great drum n bass that'll have, "When me was a yoot me used to blow my orn like a rayva!" whipping round in your head for aaaages.

8) Cry For Help - Rick Astley
YouTube Amazon
A stark contrast from the last entry, and equally different to Rick Astley's Rickroller, "Never Gonna Give You Up". This song is beautiful and shows that he's not just a Stock, Aitken and Waterman/PWL cookie cut out. He probably goes a bit far in shaking off that image with his Lion King mane though...

9) Ghost Town - The Specials
YouTube Amazon
A ska classic with great use of minor harmonic scales, it was released when there was widespead rioting in British cities, and became a bit of a theme song for them due to its topical lyrics about urban decay, violence and unemployment. I just remember loving the video!

10) Jump Around - House Of Pain
YouTube Amazon
This probably need no introduction at all! The most recognisable, incessant scream in the planet plays as a constant theme in the track. No party is complete without this blaring from the speakers and everybody in the room, well, jumping around. All together now..."Jump around...jump around...jump around...jump up, jump up and get down....JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP..."

What do you think of this week's selection? Are there any that you just can't bear? Or maybe one of them is your favourite ever song? Let me know!!

Sunday 21 October 2012

Exciting News! 'Plummet' to be used in a film!


I have some exciting news to share with you about one of my tracks!

'Plummet', one of my drum n bass tracks, will be used in the forthcoming Luke Mordue film, "Fallen Angels".

Filming starts next month. Luke is a local young film producer and actor, and his work has attracted financial backing from the likes of Sir Ian McKellen, as well as advice from Alan Rickman and Peter Firth of the BBC drama, Spooks. The film itself is quite dark, and follows the fallout after a Halloween prank goes wrong.

For more details on the film see Luke Mordue's "Fallen Angels" website here.

You can hear 'Plummet' here on my ReverbNation site or on any of the links in my profile to SoundCloud, MySpace, YouTube etc on the bottom left of this screen.

Needless to say I'm absolutely thrilled that Luke chose one of my songs for the film. More updates soon!

FULL GIG REVIEW - Bloc Party "Bloctober"


O2 Academy Birmingham, 15th October 2012
Support: Theme Park


When I last saw Bloc Party at the Reading Festival in 2009 it was the first time I'd seen them live, and I was completely captivated by them as they strobed, stomped and frantically strummed through their set on the main stage. I vowed to go and see again as soon as I could, but they thwarted my attempts to by going on a 3 year haitus. And that was that.

So imagine my glee when I saw that they had made plans to tour in 2012 for what they called "Bloctober", following the release of their latest album, 'Four'! I couldn't wait to part with my money to get the tickets, although not quite quick enough it seems as I could only get balcony seats. As it turned out, this was probably a blessing in disguise...

Bloc Party were ably supported by Theme Park, who I'd not seen live before. After a tentative start they soon got into their stride with 4 of the 5 band members swapping jobs from song to song, like they were sharing a bag of pick 'n' mix. One band member in particular had his work cut out, multitasking between synth, guitar, vocals, and a baffling array of pedals, although this threatened to be his undoing at one point as he struggled to regain control of a rogue foot pedal that was evidently not supposed to be playing an escalating synth sound. However, apart from the more pronounced midrange of the song, he seemed to get away with it, and you could almost sense his relief as he pulled the plug out of the pedal at the end of the song. Overall, though, their set was reminiscent of the Friendly Fires kind of vibe, with happy, quirky, jig-inducing songs which were ever so slightly cheesy but in a good way. And they were the antithesis of the set that was to follow by the main act, which was a stroke of genius by whoever planned the gig.

From the moment they began, Bloc Party absolutely blew the roof off the venue. Kicking off with 'Octopus' from the new album, they pounded through their set like James Bond being chased by an angry herd of rhinos, but with more pace and precision. Matt Tong thrashed the drums with such fervour that at one point a technician had to come and revive a bit of kit that he'd killed. By the time they got to 'Hunting For Witches', I was regretting being stuck on a seat on the balcony rather than jumping around like a thing possessed on the floor below (although, due to a neck and shoulder injury it's probably just as well). The pace continued with the band concentrating mostly on the tracks from 'Four', supported by some old favourites from their other 3 albums. But with each new stomper the mood in the mosh pits got increasingly more alarming. By the time they broke into the truly mental 'Coliseum' the fists had started flying and I could see at least 2 people with blood all over their faces. I will never understand why some people think this type of behaviour is acceptable at a gig (or anywhere else for that matter). It was clearly spoiling the enjoyment of the gig for the gig goers that inadvertently got embroiled in the action at floor level, and from my viewpoint on the balcony I could see a lot of people on my level being completely distracted by what was unfolding below (myself included).

Despite the mentalness of the moshpit, the band delivered sparkling performances for every single song. They succeeded in bringing things down a notch with 'The Prayer' and 'V.A.L.I.S.', only to bring the set to a shuddering climax with 'We Are Not Good People', which sent the troublemakers in the moshpit into an absolute frenzy.

All too quickly the first encore was upon us, with a few of their more subdued songs being thrown in before the mighty 'Helicopter', which was my absolute highlight of the gig. They deployed a genius trick of turning the lights off and on with military precision in time with the stops and starts of the song in the run up to the chorus, which added perfectly to the tension of the song. Of course the musicianship of Russell Lissack, Gordon Moakes, Kele Okereke (the lead singer) and Matt Tong really shone through, and it showed what a fantastically tight band they are.

Finally, for the second encore, they dusted off 'Ares', one of only two tracks played from their 'Intimacy' album. The bass drops absolutely shook the venue. They finished on a slightly odd choice, 'This Modern Love'. At that point I'd have prefered the final song to be something like 'Banquet' or 'Talons' (both of which were played earlier in the set). But all in all it was a truly fantastic gig, marred only slightly by a few mindless, lairy thugs who seemed intent on getting fisty in the moshpit.

My review score: 9.5/10

Did you see the gig? What did you think? Leave your comments below...