Monday's Long Song

 

1979 is generally regarded as the year that marked punk’s breakthrough. What is often overlooked, however, is that electronic music was also exploring and breaking new ground. The Human League, for example, released Reproduction, a groundbreaking album in the dark wave/synth-pop genre.

This album fundamentally changed the way people listened to electronic music. Their deconstruction of conventional pop songs down to their essential elements enabled subsequent generations to refine this approach. They found success with driving, up-tempo tracks. But their greatest coup was that they broke down the ‘wall of sound’ classics by Phil Spector and the Righteous Brothers into robotic components, only to ultimately reclaim the magnificent melodic line.

The Human League - Morale...You've Lost That Loving Feeling

New Songs On Sunday

 

At the start of this week, I suddenly lost my internet connection. After endless phone calls with Deutsche Telekom, we realized that the credit on the router – which I’d been given on a temporary basis until my connection is hopefully activated next week – had run out. The instructions for topping up the credit are so poorly explained that I had to go to the nearest shop in person. After what felt like an eternity of back-and-forth and several days, the staff finally managed to top up the credit. So I now have access to the internet and TV again. The only good thing about the whole affair was that I finally had time again to read the books that had been waiting to be read for ages.

A few days ago Kate Staples aka This Is The Kit announced the release of her new album in January next year. The first appetizer is Skim A Stone, a short powerful indie song, with a driving rhythm, some distorted guitars and Kate's wonderful voice.

A new band called Warm Parts has emerged and will soon be releasing their new EP. Warm Parts are an instrumental band from Todmorden, West Yorkshire, whose psychedelic, expansive and guitar/drum-driven sound – drawing on influences from the late 1960s and noise rock – is sure to impress. They’re a band worth keeping an eye on.