A few good times in my life
Another month is over and as usual The Woodleigh Research Facility released as usual another song. WRF is a the result of a more than 30 year ongoing collaboration between Andrew Weatherall and Nina Walsh. After Andrew passed away too soon Nina is going to keep their spirit in cosmic space funk sound alive. Alcyone was released last week in it is a perfect example why this kind of music is still worth to listen to.
Since today, public life in my hometown has moved back towards normality. The incidences have fallen so far that it is again possible to meet in groups also in a pub. Of course not without the government having ordered regulations for this. So visits to a pubs and beergardens are only allowed to those who can show a negative vaccination test. For this reason, the public test centers cannot save themselves from an unusually high rush. Yesterday after work I managed a date for testing today and so in the late afternoon I will be able to meet some friends personally to those I had only contact via chat or Zoom. Hopefully this will be a few steps into normality. Today some songs I found on a sampler that was played often in times when me and mates met in a pub.
Pretenders - Brass In Pocket
Tom Robinson Band - 2-4-6-8 Motorway
Dr. John - Right Place Wrong Time
Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop
Little Feat - Dixie Chicken
Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane
Dr. Feelgood - Milk and Alcohol
Almost two weeks ago the second release of Andy Bell's trilogy was released. It is his his first single from 2020 with additional mixes by Pye Corner Audio. I have to admit that I missed his first release under his own name but both songs from his single are superb and showed what we could expect from him. And for sure he fulfilled every expectations with his LP and as GLOK. A dreamy psychedelic influenced song with laid back guitar licks and echoed vocals. One of those songs that would have appeared in my year's end list if I knew them before. And PCA's remix is also worth to be listened and a perfect start into the second half of the working week.
The recent days I found another gem of live music filmed for German TV-station. Back in 1968 the Berlin Jazz Days was a forum for jazz purists featuring arty musicians like Pharoah Sander and Gary Burton. To show their open mind they there also Muddy Waters played a gig with Otis Spann and Brian Auger together with Julie Driscoll and Trinity. This was one of the first gigs they played after they left Steampacket, a blues band they might be know as the first band Rod Stewart the lead vocals. Trinity had many jazzy influences and worked maybe as one of the first ones on an organ sound and tried to implement his musical collaborations from Jimi Hendrix to John McLaughlin. They had big success with a cover version of Dylan/Danko's This Wheel On Fire. This footage shows another cover version and their interpretation of Donovan's Season Of The Witch is maybe the most ad-lip one beside Vanilla Fudge's scary version.
Amon Düül II - Yeti
New York based band Suss released their first album Ghost Box in 2018 and they called their sound ambient country music. I had no idea what this could sound like but I was fascinated by their songs from the first time. The closest description was Brian Eno joins Ennio Morricone for making a new soundtrack for a spaghetti western. During the last year I played this record often when I would like to come down and relax. Now Suss released their third album Promise and their sound moved more to a nocturnal journey closer to space music while also having a sort of psychedelic undercurrent. Loops and light beats are sometimes present, but the music largely feels unbound by rhythm and free to drift away in wide-open spaces. Sometimes I think this could be an alternative soundtrack to Paris, Texas and I enjoyed this record much but I fear that Suss will be a best hidden secret still.
In January a fantastic ICA from was posted at JC's place. Dirk showed us some real highlights of songs sung in German language. I remembered this when I rediscovered a song from 1981. It was the time when more and more bands tried to sing in their native language. Most of them are not worth to lose a word about but a many were forgotten in the course of time. This song is from a band close to my hometown and they were very famous at my place for a couple of years. Their unique feature was that they sung their songs not only in German - the sung in a dialect that is typical for the place I grew up. Schwoissfuass (sweaty foot) were a band based in the left-wing oriented alternative scene from the late 70's and incarnated the spirit of my generation with their lyrics and influenced by different styles like rock, blues, funk and reggae. That they also had a critical position to the commercialization of reggae music and the philosophy behind was shown on Bin I selbr Rastaman. If you are interested in the lyrics you can use a translator and I am not sure if Dirk will understand the lyrics because the dialect is as understandable as the Cologne dialect (Neckermann is one of the biggest travel agencies in Germany; Mannesmann was one of the leading companies in iron and steel industry).
Schwoissfuass - Bin I selbr Rastaman
Neckermann.....Mannesmann
Urlaub in Jamaika
letztes Jahr in Kreta
Mit Neckermann zu Rastamann,
Reggae und Ragout
Urlaub in Jamaika
und nächstes Jahr noch weiter
Komm ich zrück nach Deutschland
mit ganz lockigem Haar
Rauch ich viel Marihuana
bin ich selbst Rastamann
und bezahl 3000 Mark an Neckermann, ooh ja
Treff ich in Jamaika
Freak aus Alemania
Möchte nächstes Jahr nach Mexico
in Deitschland machen es alle so
Freak aus Alemania
hat viel Geld und kannes sich auch leisten
Kommt er zurück nach Deutschland
mit ganz brauner Haut
Sagt er immer yeeaha
ist er selbst Rastamann
in seiner Wohngemeinschaft kann er dann errzählen, ooh ja
Und alle sagen Reggae,
und kaufen für viel Geld
Bob Marley in Amerika,
Records für Maffia.
Und alles sagen yeeaha,
und keiner versteht es
Und alle sagen Kaaja,
Bob Marley freut sich
Komm ich zrück nach Deitschland.
mit viel Souvenieren
Rauch ich wieder John Player,
bin ich wieder Neckermann.
Und wieder Kopf in Arsch von Mannesmann, ooh ja
Welsh producer and DJ Alexander Paul Coe aka Sasha announced a compilation of electronic music a few weeks ago. He was influenced by acid house music and the Hacienda scene in Manchester and got critical respect for his remixes of songs by The Chemical Brothers, Madonna and Moby. His latest project was inspired by an Spotify-playlist called LUZoSCURA and with many other artists he made a compilation showing the possibilities of uniting different styles like breakbeat, ambient and melodies. This one is by himself and shows how good his project can work.
During the last weeks I was listening to ambient music a lot. I can't tell the reason why this music fits to much more than many others. Maybe it's because I am getting older or just because this music is perfect to relax after a hard working day. Anyway, this genre has a long tradition and has it's roots in German electronic music in the late 60'd/early 70's. A few rock musicians from England became aware of the possibilities of the ARP 2600 synthesizer. One of the first was Brian Eno releasing a series of ambient albums. The first one Music For Airports is inspired when he had to wait for a connection flight in 1972 at the airport in Cologne-Bonn. He wasn't satisfied the music should have a calming effect on passengers. He decided to create a better sound and he made a successful job. In studio of legendary German producer Conny Plank he made an album with only four songs and for me it is the blueprint of a sound without many today's artists wouldn't exist.
Brian Eno - 2/2
It took more than six years for Isaac Brock, guitarist and singer of Portland based indie-rock and art-punk band Modest Mouse to release a new album. The Golden Casket will be released next month and the first appetizer We Are Between was released the recent days. Of course nothing new or groundbreaking was expected and this song is what they stand for: a powerful rock song with concise riffs over a chugging rhythm guitar. Repeating a good recipe is better than creating a spoiled new menue.
In February Kid Congo Powers released Swing from the Sean DeLear an unexpected EP with The Pink Monkey Birds after a few years of absence. Delear was was the singer of LA punk band Glue who died four years ago. Kid Congo is now living in Austin, Texas and some could think he lost his power in the Texas heat were wrong. The first three songs show that he is still able to play a powerful garage sound with the Birds. On the second side of this EP he turns into another way. For 14 minutes he turns into an another direction. The music has a laid-back Chicano flavor reminding me a bit of Santana with flutes and bongos coming step by step to the forefront. As far as I know, the song came into being after Powers had a dream about late friend and bandmate Jeffrey Lee Pierce, who passed away in 1996. Power's voice is reminiscent of Vincent Price's, giving the song and eerie vibe especially when he sings 'Although you've been dead for quite some time, you walked into my room, you walked into my mind'. This could be featured in our Monday's series but it could be also a good start into the weekend.
I got aware of this song by cleaning my inbox from promotion mails the other day. I gave that mail promoting the new release by Duncan Gray a listen because it was released on the same label who gave us the superb album by The Long Champs. Gray is a British DJ, producer and founder of Tici Taci label and known for several collaborations with Sean Johnson. May your toes kiss the sand again has a remarkable bass and is inspired by Latin grooves and a perfect soundtrack to start in a bank holiday. Probably the best title of this year so far.
I didn't knew that there was a musical scene in Winston-Salem, North Carolina especially in the 70's. A few days ago a live recording came to my ears where former original member of bands from Winston-Salem came together again to perform the songs of their younger days. They reanimated the garage sound and the enthusiasm from their fuzzbox years and I have to admit that it was fun listening to these song that relegated me into times before punk when it was easy to take your instruments and play your own garage rock. This project was initialized by Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple both members of Winston-Salem's most popular band The db's.
Rittenhouse Square - Hot Smoke and Sassafras
The Royal Opposition - Galaxies Of Love
The Imperturbable Teutonic Griffin - I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)
One of the first so called supergroups of the krautrock era was formed in 1973 as a collaboration of Cluster's Hand-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius and Michael Rother, guitarist by Neu!. When their first album was reduced to repetitive sound producer Conny Plank gave them a more brighter sound with dominating synths. Their second album De Luxe is a classic and played often when I don't really know what to listen to.
Harmonia - Deluxe (Immer Wieder
Last year Róisín Murphy released with Róisín Machine one of the best albums in 2020. An album house music should sound today. Now she is back with a new interpretation of this album. Together with her long time collaborator Richard Barratt aka Crooked Man they remixed the songs in a way I've never expected. If Róisín Machine was a great night on the dancefloor these remixes will be an after-show party where all things get darker and contorted. Another album for a years end list. And if this wasn't enough she will go on tour and swing by at my place. A good chance to see a live concert after many months.
From time to time I come back to a series of live performances in German television I started a couple of years ago. The recent days I found a clip from an appearance by The Byrds in 1971. It is an almost 14 minutes long version of Eight Miles High but frankly speaking it has nothing more in common with the original than a few chords but shows a side of the band that is seldom heard. This version is like The Byrds jamming with Little Feat and or Grateful Dead. What makes this song great is to listen to the superb bass played by Skip Battin and the guitar picking by Clarence White. It is a kind of stuff they don't do in this days anymore.
Uschi Nerke, the little lady appearing at the start of the songs tells the story behind the song: five years before, 8 Miles High had been banned from US radio. The song they're performing is a new version from the album Untitled.
On the last day of April Laurent Garnier, the French electronic music producer and DJ announced the release of an album in September. For this only it is not remarkable but it will be a collaboration with France's best neo-psychedelia rockers The Limiñanas. I never expected that Garnier who began his career in Manchester in the late 80's in the orbit of the Hacienda to explore later house music and working together with Frankie Knuckles in NYC. The result is neither a Limiñanas techno record nor a Laurent Garnier rock album. It is more like a road trip through American desert with Lionel's typical guitar as a soundtrack to a 60's film noir. For me it sounds like Garnier's contribution goes beyond the mere production of beats and samples - he might inspired them on their way moving westwards. Looking forward if the rest of this album will be as fascinating as this song.
Almost 30 years ago Jason Pierce formed Spiritualized after the split of Spacemen 3 and released their debut Lazer Guided Music. I have to admit that I had a spot on Spiritualized with their epic Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space and digging deeper into their spaced out sound I came to their debut and I can say nothing more that from this time on I love the kind of their unique and never boring sound. A classic album that will be re-released on vinyl during the next weeks. A must have.
Spiritualized - Shine A Light
A band I featured from time to time is Wolf Alice formed in North London almost a decade ago. I really like their powerful forward forcing sound and Ellie Roswells multifaceted vocals. Wolf Alice is going to release a new album and the first foretaste was The Last Man On Earth, a penetrative ballad ending with massive guitars made me looking forward to their new album. Now a second song from this album was released and shows them in the way we loved this band for: great riffs, a tough rhythm group and Roswell's voice between shouting and whispering. A song that is made for a live gig that will work more than well in a small club where people soaked with sweat are dancing around you. Hope I can see this once again not too far away.
April is gone and one-third of the year is gone and I ask myself another time where time has gone. With May we should leave the cold and wet days finally behind us and we probably can look into a brighter future. This decampment could accompanied with Mattiel's new single Those Words. She gave us two superb and soulful albums that I often came back during the last years. Now it seems that she changed the soul for a more clean record and turned into a guitar pop sound. If it works well this means nothing. A song that had become a summer hit in former times.
