A few good times in my life
I ask myself why I didn't featured Kombynat Robotron, a Krautrock inspired band located in Kiel, Northern Germany yet. During the lock-down in spring this year they found time for several jams they are going to release the next days. Their sound with the jamming guitars and a free bass is so much late 60's that I sometimes think someone found some lost tapes after decades on the attic.
Thomas Fehlmann is an electronic musician, producer and DJ now living in Berlin. He made his first releases with Palais Schaumburg, a German band in the times when punk changed into New Wave. They were known for their combination of guitars and electronic sounds. With the raise of the club scene he got rid of the guitars and commit oneself in electronic sounds. Some people might know him as a long-time member of The Orb. During the last week I got the news that he is going to release a new album under his own name. Exactly what I expected - a pulsating excursion on electronic sounds.
Nothing new at my place during pandemic days. We have a still a lockdown that was extended by the government until Christmas keeping public life on a low level. My former wife is still here and she has no opportunity to go back to Sri Lanka because the airport is closed. So we stay at home and following the rules of less contact to other people except family. I had a week of last week because I had to consume my holidays that I usually spent at her place in December. So I found the time to compile an ICA for our mate Jim. The ICA was rapidly finished because too many songs came to my mind that should be on it. Here is one of those that didn't made it on the final list. August Darnell and Andy Hernandez made the sound of 1982. It was a kind of weird listening to his mix of Disco, Latin and Carribean music when all around fantastic new bands were on the scene. Their legacy was guiding my ears to the new and excellent Indie- and Nu- Disco scene in NYC.
Kid Creole and the Coconuts - Annie, I'm Not Your Daddy
Once again I feature Fields Of Dream, a Birmingham electronic by Chris Kentish and Al MacKenzie who met a few years ago, had a couple of drinks and decided to work on some stuff together. Seems like the same way many other did but their output is full of different sounds based on house music in many variations. This one, based on a acid house theme, from 2018 is one of those overlooked songs that was in many personal years end charts but didn't got the critical acclaim it should have
This evening the sad news arrived that maybe the best football player died at the age of 60 in case if a heart attack. For me he was the perfect football player ever and it doesn't matter how he ruined his life during the last years on drugs and alcohol. I remember a day in May 1989 when I was witness of the UEFA-Cup final between Stutgart and Napoli. The first game in Napoli was a deception when Napoli got a penalty that never was a penalty and we left 1:1. The second leg ended 3:3 and was one of the best games I ever saw. Maradonna was the one that directed Napoli's game and we were lucky enough to see a great game.
Colognes electronic label Kompakt is always good for the release of a song that is more than average or re-release lost ones from this genre. Axel Bartsch is a German techno producer living in Berlin. More than 10 years ago he released Redlight a 12-inch with melodic and pulsing techno. It is not the kind of music I used to listen often to these days but it is a song that should be featured on these pages.
It was in the early 80's when I heard a new sound among other new sounds. King Sunny Adé introduced me into Nigerian sound and a style called juju a guitar inspired sound with African drums. Used in former times by ceremonies of witchcraft it is a sound that is real timeless.
King Sunny Adé and his African Beats - The Message
The classic way to reinterpret a song is to make a cover. In the late 80's many artists found a new way to feature a good song when they sampled a part of it and integrate into a new song. One of the first and most popular ones was Pump Up The Volume by M|A|R|S|S, a song that stamped 1987. M|A|R|S|S was a collaboration between A.R. Kane and Colourbox, an English electronic group formed by brothers Martyn and Steve Young. They released some EP's and only one full album and are almost forgotten but I liked their combination of reggae /soul covers with using samples and a beat-box. It was the sound of only one summer and it is good to go back to these days from time to time.
Colourbox - Say You (12 inch version)
M|A|R|S|S - Pump Up The Volume
One of the best findings last year was Kompromat by 10.000 Russos, a band from a coastal town in the north-east of Portugal. I got aware of them when they released their third album on Fuzz Club records. I have to admit that I never supposed that music like this was made Portugal. But it is better than many other bands all over the world. These guys are the ones that give psychedelic music a new inspiration (except some bands from Sweden that was featured at this place). The band have a combatative repeato rock sound with nods to Suicide and Neu! with lots of abrasive guitars and motorik percussion. And Joao Pimenta barks out rants like a futurist Mark E. Smith or Captain Beefheart. Hypnotic drones, pulsing beats and shaman-like mantras stamp their sound - perfect for a party in a basement garage in post-apocalyptic days.
Sophia Kennedy, a Baltimore born and now in Hamburg living musician, released the first single from her upcoming album the recent days. She was the half of pop-dance duo Shari Vari, which was featured on this place a half year ago. Since the first time I listened to her voice I was fascinated and thought she can't destroy a song with her voice. Now she is back with a single and video that reminds my on the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is a song commuting between glamorous pop and diabolic rap over a catchy beat.
The recent days I rediscovered Nikki Sudden's second album The Bible Belt while I searched for another LP in my collection. I have to admit that I almost forgot this little gem from the early 80's. After the Swell Maps disbanded Sudden forced his solo career with a different sound. When the Maps were a arty punk band he was now more or less a singer/songwriter but still with roots in the music of The New York Dolls, T. Rex and Dylan. This album is full of great songs showing Sudden's abilities about writing songs. It is also the first collaboration with guitarist Dave Kusworth before the formed The Jacobites, a band that started to carry up the flag of British bands like The Faces - but this is another story to be told. Nikki Sudden had a big fan crowd over in Germany and I was lucky enough to see him several times before he died 14 years ago.
Nikki Sudden - Missionary Boy
Nikki Sudden - Six Hip Princes
Nikki Sudden - The Only Boy In Heaven
Nikki Sudden - Bethlehem
During the last weekend I played a few records by Velvet Underground at my place again and suddenly remembered that Jonathan Richman made a homage to this great band many years ago. His words were wise and describe exactly what the Velvets are and mean to a lot of people. Seldom an artist praised his heroes like he did.And this is not the only reason to feature this song at this place for the first time.
Jonathan Richman - Velvet Underground
During the last months Bob Dylan released beside a new album various extended versions of his albums with additional versions of his songs. A few weeks ago he also released an album with alternate versions and not released outtakes. I am not a huge fan of Dylan but he was an artist that accompanied me during the last decades and from time to time he was able to release a fantastic album. In 1989 Dylan released Oh Mercy, maybe one of his most political albums. I like this album produced by Daniel Lanois and recorded with local musicians in New Orleans. Sadly Series Of Dreams didn't appear on Oh Mercy because it shows him at his best with cryptic narrated lyrics over an floor of rhythmic guitar dominated guitars. Glad that he released this one years later
Bob Dylan - Series Of Dreams
Steve Jones and Sally Rodgers aka A Man Called Adam released a few days ago a compilation of unreleased and reworked material. The album sounds like a mixtape from their 30 decade of work. I always liked their combination of electronic sounds from balearic to tribal. One of the forgotten ones is a collaboration with Jose Padilla who died a few weeks ago and on the the other AMCA worked together with African Singer Brenda Fassie, a song with a township jive and jangly guitars Johnny Marr could have played. Two fine pieces to start into the weekend.
In days like these we try to escape the pandemic, staying at home if possible and the never ending story of the mad president of America. So we took a trip by train to our local capital and take a walk through the forest around the symbol of Stuttgart, the television tower. It was fantastic to walk through the autumn wood and watch all the autumn colors by a clear and cloudless sky.
I featured Kerala Dust, a London based band, a few times at this little corner of the web and now they released a single from their upcoming album. Another fine tune with a slow groove and picked electric strings. Perfect for a start into the weekend.
As suspected there is no new president elected in America. The old one is fighting maybe his last fight trying to stop counting postal votes. Exactly this shows how Trump hates and ignore democracy. If this happens in any country for example in Africa the world would react disgusted. Today's track is from the new album Addict by Dub Pistols. It is what you can expect from the West-London based band. Relaxed reggae vibes with horns and various guest artists at vocals. An album that make wet and foggy days tolerable.
David Holmes offers a new track for the latest Late Night Tales release. Kurangbin, a three piece band from Houston, Texas deliver a brilliant version of Kool and the Gang's Summer Madness. They replaced the synthesizers form the original for relaxed sparkling electric guitar sounds over a trip-hop based floor. A band I will investigate for more.
Tom Petty - I won't back down
Neil Young - Rockin' in the free world
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son
Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes
A few days ago I was looking for an old album I suddenly found The Wild, the Innocent and the E-Street Shuffle, Springsteen's second album from 1973 again. One of the earliest records I bought from my own earned money and still an album I like to return. Filled with great songs showing his view of New York. In times before punk appeared he was named as the future of rock and roll. A liability he couldn't confirm. But with his first two albums one of the greatest storytellers and musician appeared to the scene. Even at the age of 71 he has more to tell than many others.
Bruce Springsteen - Incident on 57th Street
Yesterday afternoon when I met a few friends for our last drink in a pub for a longer time the news on the radio arrived that Sean Connery died at the age of 90. We suddenly stopped talking and remembered him. Every of us grew up with him watching him in the role of British secret agent James Bond the first block busters of the 60's. I always liked to see him not only as Bond, also in many other movies. Born in Edinburgh he was an ambassador of Scotland wherever he lived.
Rest well Sean.
