via mixpod.com
Streaming clips from the new Gabrielles Wish single.
New single out March 8, available here:
http://www.arkade.com/default.aspx?a=Gabrielles_Wish
More details here:
http://www.gabrielleswish.com/gw/news.html#pomp
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Gabrielles Wish - Pirate Of Mens Pants (sampler) (2 tracks)
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Section 25 - Be Brave with Nifty Natalie, a tribute to Larry Cassidy
This video has been assembled by a fan with a great early Section 25 song and clips from the Pollock and Pollock show, apparently a surreal broadcast which happened in the second half of the 80s on some TV station in Winnipeg, Canada, which featured this Nifty Natalie trying to dance in a funny expressive way. I think it looks like a really cool match somehow and can be a nice tribute to Larry Cassisdy (1953 - 2010) from this blog.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Section 25 leader dies
Here's Cerysmatic Factory's obituary (pic taken from this live review) :
Larry Cassidy (1953-2010)
We report with great sadness the death of Larry Cassidy, singer and bassist with cult Factory Records post-punk group Section 25. Larry was found at his home in Blackpool on Saturday 27 February, and though the cause of death has not yet been confirmed there appear to be no suspicious circumstances.
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Sanremo 2010
Quest'anno la categoria si chiama Nuova Generazione, ed era impossibile che ci fosse un exploit come quello dell'anno scorso. Infatti il vincitore Tony Maiello andrà bene a chi apprezza i cantanti sentimentali napoletani, ma ben difficilmente ripeterà il successo di Sincerità di Arisa, che quest'anno è tornata con un brano un po' confuso: ritornello orecchiabile ma troppo veloce, e completamente staccato dalla strofa, un potenziale successo viene pasticciato e alla fine si può solo sorridere per le simpatiche coriste, le Sorelle Marinetti, un trio di travestiti... degna di nota l'esibizione con il jazzista Lino Patruno, che ha dato un po' più di coesione e significato alla canzone.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Udachi, brightest talent in ages
We were getting used to music not being able to spark an exciting scene anymore.
With notable exceptions like Mew, rock music has become more and more derivative and predictable, but even dance music has been suffering from an abuse of samples and has sounded just safe in the recent years.
But now, from New York, comes a new scene kicking the ass of dance music and waking up music in general.
It just sounds as innovative as acid house, and as exciting as punk. It's dance music you can pogo at, it's just that powerful and fresh. They call it Fidget house, but it's being called many other names, like "dirty house", or "electro house". I prefer Fidget because it's just a new term which doesn't just mix two other terms.
At first it sounds like the DJs have been inspired by Mr Oizo and his 90s ad hit Flat Beat, you know, that video with Flat Eric, the yellow puppet in the office, but of course it's just more than that. Drawing from the fringes of rave, gabba, techno, hip hop, breakbeat, electro and dubstep, Fidget house looks forward and creates a new world of heavy bass, fast rhythm, sharp sounds and simple but not stupid tunes.
Apparently the first true hit came from Italian duo Crookers, when they remixed Kid Cudi's Day N Nite.
But the best label right now pushing the best Fidget is based in Brooklyn and it's called Party Like Us, which is owned by AC Slater, one of the best DJs of the scene.
But there's an artist really standing out, miles above everyone else. It's an Ukranian immigrant called Greg Pesochin, best known as Udachi.
Be it his own music, or remixes for other artists and bands (which are always far better than the original versions), he always makes innovative, powerful, funny, inventive and emotional stuff, the biggest genius to emerge in this century by far.
The best track to start with is his club hit Smoke Rings (released with Jubilee), which is the video I've embedded, because it's really accessible and exciting, since featuring dubstep elements and female vocals.
I've discovered this music thanks to Faulty Kru's DJ sets in my town and just noticed the best stuff they're playing is all made by Udachi.
There are other talents around the world, like the mighty Jokers Of The Scene from Canada or Rico Tubbs from Finland, but let's get back to Brooklyn and let's learn more about Udachi's story reading this interview.
He also has another project called Boltan, which does even heavier stuff, like Braindead.
Udachi has a profile on SoundCloud where you can download loads of free MP3 files, I especially recommend his remix for Body Part(y) by Paragraph or for the nu gaze hit We Own The Sky by M83 (there are just no barriers for a Fidget DJ), or his whole DJ set at the Infatuation in San Francisco.
Other great tracks you must hear are Paypur (again released with Jubilee and more purely Fidget than Smoke Rings) or his storming remix of Hype, joint effort by Dre Skull and JuiceBoxx.
After releasing on labels like Trouble And Bass (Jellyroll) and Nightshifters (Smoke Rings), Udachi has just released a single on Party Like Us, my favourite version of P-Funk Skank is the remix by French DJ Costello, who returns the favour to Udachi for his excellent remix of Bitchy Skills (don't click on the 123music.net link on the page, it's spam).
Some of Udachi's music is available on iTunes, but you find more tracks on the specialized Beatport.
Definitely a scene to rave about!
Friday, 25 December 2009
The Best Of 2009 (and Merry Christmas)
Never Cry Another Tear
02 MASSIMO VOLUME
Bologna Nov. 2008
03 PREFAB SPROUT
Let's Change The World With Music
04 Marlene Kuntz - Best Of
05 Elio E Le Storie Tese - Gattini (deluxe edition)
06 Diaframma - Difficile Da Trovare
07 Pet Shop Boys - Yes
08 Section 25 - Nature + Degree
09 Mew - No More Stories Are Told Today
10 Egle Sommacal - Tanto Non Arriva
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
4AD sampler streaming here and for free download.
This is a really interesting compilation, it's amazing given that British label 4AD went through the most of this decade almost unnoticed, pushing the wrong emerging bands (with the notable exception of Blonde Redhead) and getting mentioned only for the odd Pixies compilation.
If there's still some irritating stuff, like the kitch retro of Camera Obscura, the most of the bands (some Americans, some English) bring a refreshing sound and are worth investigating: Atlas Sound is the solo project of Deerhunter's Alex Cox, both play a unique take on psychedelic noise, Tune-Yards's fragmented mix of melody and rhythm sounds really original, M Ward's ethereal ballad seems inspired by Bowie's Low and Future Of The Left play an excellent revision of At The Drive In.
Best of the bunch are The Big Pink, which blend perfectly baggy and shoegazing, and St. Vincent which confirms Annie Clark as a genius as inventive as Bjork with an eclectic and emotional song.
The rest of the playlist is pretty average contemporary indie folk, or post folk, but discovering six interesting bands out of 12 is good enough.
Monday, 30 November 2009
Friday, 23 October 2009
Exit Calm - Always A Way (live)
I've made this video for this astonishingly intense live performance of a truly emotional song.
Exit Calm are an English emerging band, all four members are extremely talented and I think this is the best showcase for their talent. They are the best band to emerge from England in this decade.
The first single, the wonderful Higher Learning, is sold out but you can still find the video here on YouTube, and you may want to check the video of the second single, the brilliant We're On Our Own, before purchasing it on iTunes.
Check http://www.exitcalm.net for links to their (really active and interesting) forum and their MySpace, which links itself to other MySpace profiles created by Spanish, American and Japanese fans, featuring many streaming tracks.
