This track is beautiful, it really is as simple as that. Sometimes you don't need words to sell something, the beauty speaks for itself, but as this is a track review I guess a few words would be appropriate.
Musically this track encapsulates stripped down folk of the 1970s whilst staying new and fresh. This freshness comes from her amazingly unique voice and the sheer honesty of her lyrics. Her voice rises and flows like a great ocean whilst at all times keeping you harboured within the tale that her song weave's. With so many female singer/songwriters out there at the moment it is difficult to be heard and to be exciting. Maguire has two things in her favour; firstly her incredibly mature voice and unique voice, even more impressive as it comes from a 26 year old. And secondly I want to hear her songs, I want to hear, as sadistic as it sounds, the pain in her lyrics that creates intrigue and draws you in.
Lovely little track here from Mapei, a girl who hails from Rhode Island but is now based in Stockholm. This track can best be described as Soul-Pop, but has much more to it. Her vocals are confident, they easily handle jazzy guitar riffs and echoey digital treatment that the likes of Daft Punk so love. What is so great about 'Don't Wait' is it is instantly recognisable whilst being new and innovative, which makes listening to it a shear joy from start to finish. Well worth a listen and if you want something even more streamlined, the remixed version by Kingdom only serves to strengthen Mapei's undoubtable talent.
Part of Hot Since 82's aka. Daley PadleyLittle Black Book collection, released on Moda Black and well worth a listen. Intense house that sounds like a foggy night with surprises lurking within; definitely worth checking out!
Amazing, gorgeous, stunning, beautiful, incredible, hair standing on end stuff! The best way to describe this track is it fills you up with so much joy that you can't control yourself and eventually you go all Sound of Music and want to sing it and shout about it from the top of an alp.
Loads of artists do this as it's a great way for them to build up a fan base and it gives a little back to us the trusted and ever important consumers of their music. It's not always easy to find new music or free music, so this is just a little list of treats and goodies to get you lot excited about some great new artists.
This one is going to be a bit different, it's still about a track which I love, however it is not brand new and has a slightly different feel to the sort of thing I have written about before.
I came across this whilst listening to Annie Macs Sunday show on Radio 1, which is based on the pretence of music you would listen to just before the act of sleep, and I love it. Peaceful, relaxing and calming music is in my opinion the best thing in the world. It connects with me far more than another area of music, it drifts me off and puts me into a head space in which I am the master, king of my own thoughts with no interference from the outside world.
The main feature on Annie Macs Sunday show is the 'bedtime mix', in which a guest (a musician) is invited to come up with four songs that they feel are appropriate for bedtime. A couple of weeks back Jon Hopkins was invited in, a man who is multi talented and makes very organic feeling electro music. Anyway to cut a long story short it was one of the greatest bedtime mix's I've heard, but particularly one song jumped out to me and immediately I searched it out and downloaded it. That song was 'Running The Loping' by Smog aka. Bill Callahan. What immediately
stood out to me was the simplicity of the music, he uses only a few cords
and very simple melodies, but his music is far deeper than the simplistic
composition suggests. 'Running The Loping' leads you into Callahan's world, you
are given a glimpse of his insecurities. What really struck me though and
what I could relate to was he doesn't look at himself through rose tinted
glasses, the simplistic nature of the music reveals a human, a man who
honestly asses himself. The honesty in the track connects with me, and the
simple composition lulls me into a trance, a place of peace where,
without sounding too airy fairy, you connect with yourself.
And isn't that what music is all about? The connections we feel with it, the connections it has with our past and the overriding sense of being consumed by something that we can't quite explain.
This London singer-songwriter seems to have the ability to create a remarkably big sound that swells and consumes itself all at the same time. With 'Eden' though he pushes his breathy vocals to the forefront far more than previous tracks such as "Drive (part 1)". He preaches "Palms to the sky on a religious high", although the sounds within this track evoke Walter White rather than conventional religion.
This is one of my favourite kind of musical genres, I like to think of it as 'bedroom soul'; it certainly makes perfect listening for a relaxed environment. Whenever I listen to it I find myself being consumed by the synth and guitar working and throbbing harmoniously together. If you had to give someone a one sentence description of what this track sounds like it would have to be...."Imagine if the motion of your heart made a sound". It has the contracting nature of a heart swelling and subsiding, its sound floods through your body and it does it all with ultimate confidence.
Absolutely immense track, no more needs to be said really. Or should I say I can't go into the intrinsic nature of why it's musically great because I just don't know. All I can say is I think it sounds epic, the sound swells, the continuous clapping in the background give it such scope and match beautifully with the sweeping synth. F***ing amazing!
Howard Ivans is rekindling some of the old funk vibes once held by bands such as Booker T. & the MG's. He is expertly helped by the lads over at Spacebomb who are trying to rekindle the funk vibe, which I have to say seems to have been very successful in this track. You certainly can see yourself getting up and 'boogying' on down with this (but hopefully in a cooler manner than 'boogying on down suggests'). I'm especially a fan of the guitar riff, which I can picture in a Starsky and Hutch chase scene! Well worth a couple of moments of your time.
Heard this track yesterday and my days have I become a little obsessed with it! It just marries so bloody well together, the slow crooning sounds of Maribou State, two lads based in London, with the vocals of rising New York city based star Jimi Nxir. Which is pronounced Noir for those not in the know, and don't worry I am one of those; luckily I did a little bit of research and that is the only reason I have any idea how to pronounce it!
I have had this tune on repeat all day long, and I am positive you will as well.
I wasn't really sure what this blog was going to be about when I first got it going. Was I just going to make interesting musings about various aspects of music and the musical world or was I going to review albums and songs and such like? Well I think I tried to make interesting musings; they kind of worked I guess, if you like that sort of thing. And I will continue to do that, when the moment takes me or if another 'great' idea strikes me. But I think what I really want this blog to be about is everything musical, whether that be posting a track I especially like or an EP or LP, basically musical things.
I'm no music buff, I haven't a clue about technical music terms, they baffle me! The only reason I use 'EP' and 'LP' is because they make me sound informed and knowledgable about music. Otherwise I'd probably just call an 'EP' a mini album, not something I'm proud of so we'll forget that ever happened and gloss over it. Anyway don't be scared as that is as technical as I will ever get about a piece of music! I do love music though, it speaks to me; a cliche I know but hey it just does. So all the tracks, EP's and LP's I post are things I like, things that resonate with me somehow and hopefully there will be a few that will speak to you also.
So here goes, the first grown up post this blog has made; in my head there are trumpets with a big fanfare playing. Very egotistical, but the fact I am even writing a blog is egotistical, I mean I think people actually care what I am writing about...deluded right!
Sampha, Sampha, what to say about Sampha...I am in love with his debut EP Dual, I have been in love with his music since I heard his voice on SBTRKT's self-titled LP which was released in 2011. The diversity he showed in his vocal range on that LP was immense. Why I love his EP Dual though, is it is raw, personal and from the heart. There is no pretence, you feel like your in a room alone with Sampha and he is pouring his heart out about the difficulties he has encountered. The last track on the EP especially resonates with anyone who knows the helplessness of loss, as Sampha weaves his vocals over a mournful tune with the lyrics "I can't get close to you". A song he wrote about his dad, whom he lost at the age of nine. This is a brave EP and one that I urge you all to rush out to the shops and buy, if that is too much effort though just join the technical age and buy it online. That way is a win win, you don't need to leave your home and you can listen to it immediately.
Did I get away with all that seriousness? I doubt it, it was even a bit intense for me and I was writing the dam thing!
What came first the chicken or the egg?
A debate as old as time, although one that I think has now been solved by some
scientist somewhere. I believe the chicken came first, or was it the egg? I
forget now and I digress. The reason I bring up the ‘chicken and the egg’
debate is I want to spark another debate, perhaps one that is far more relevant
and interesting…or maybe not. But hey ho lets plow ahead with it and see what
happens!
What came first the Vinyl or the iPod
(other music devices are on the market, so I am reliably informed)? Oh wait it
was the vinyl! Erm seems the debate is solved I guess. Or is it? Perhaps a
better question to ask is which is a better way to listen to music?
Free
live music. Whenever I hear those words I am immediately suspicious, is that
because I am part of the modern day cynicism that if something sounds too good
to be true it most likely is, or is it because I am harboring some childhood
trauma? Did I once attend a birthday party where a children’s entertainer sang
a rendition of Happy Birthday so badly that it destroyed my faith in all things
musically free. It could be either one or both of those things; all I know is I
had to get back on the horse, in a manner of speaking, reinstall my faith in
free music.
So
I surveyed the options in Nottingham for free live music, and there were
numerous, however I must be living in a cave or extremely ‘un-hip’ because I
knew none of the venues bar one; Rescue Rooms. I’d been there for the odd
drink, or blind stumble after hours of searching for the toilets in Stealth. In
regards to the latter point Rescue Rooms felt like an oasis after the blinding
strobe lights of Stealth and the throbbing music that feels like a serpent is
slowly constricting your mind. So I thought as a first foray back into the
world of free music, this would be the place to restore my faith in humanity,
as long as none of the performers were dressed as Chucky the Clown or sang
happy birthday.
Success
number one, it seemed that Chucky the Clown wasn’t in the building, I was
through that potential pitfall. Immediately it felt like a great venue to see
live music and acoustic music at that. It is a small intimate venue. It felts
like a cross between an uber trendy club and a traditional opulent venue. A
mish mash of styles is how I would describe the décor. Stag horned chandeliers
and a stag’s head behind the bar made it feel like something from game of
thrones, but funky artwork on the walls and old LP covers of bands gone by all
made it feel trendy and ‘cool’. Industrial lighting that ran along bare brick
walls gave a surprisingly warm feel to the place, which could have something to
do with the reddish glow that is achieved via the fairy lights lining the
ceiling. I was immediately in love with that, fairy lights are my major guilty
pleasure, I love them, I find they enhance a room no end.
I
seated myself in one of the booths lining the walls, upholstered in plush
leather, fitting in nicely with the stag horned chandeliers and opulence such a
thing will inevitably bring. The first couple of acts came on, singer songwriters,
all with a nervous air about them, happy to be in the spot light but nervous
about the crowd’s reaction. All the performances had their own charms, aided by
the atmosphere created by the venue. It has a warm and friendly feel which
relaxes the artist but eases the crowd into the evening, I often fear free
music nights or things of such an ilk can be for the pretentious, those who
spend more time posing than they do enjoying the evening and the music. Rescue
Rooms was not like this at all, it was the perfect place to go and chill with
your mates and have a few drinks and be treated to some free live music.
You
only need to look at the artists that previously played Monday’s nights at
Rescue Rooms to appreciate that it is an extremely good venue and the quality of
music you here there is of a high standard. Jake Bugg, Dog is dead and many
more have all started their steps into the world of music from that very
platform. My only criticism is perhaps the speakers are slightly too loud for
what is a chilled evening, often you must shout to the person next to you if
you wish to get heard. But then again I am somewhat of an old man, so that may
be something that normal people do not find an issue. I urge you though to cast
of any worries aside that it sounds too good to be true and go down and
experience it for yourself…Also I forgot to mention, you can get a pint for
£1.95.
