Dienstag, 29. Juni 2021

Hazel And Gold

 

One of the most productive artists today in electronic music is Daniel Avery. After his superb collaboration with Alessandro Cortini he released in spring a handful of EP's, singles and remixes he is now back with a new album. Together In Static was planed as another 12-inch but soon turned into a complete album full of synth-laden ambient with pulsing beats. Hazel and Gold sounds sometimes like early Aphex Twin having a session with Boards of Canada. Another high class record from Mr. Avery. 

Montag, 28. Juni 2021

Monday's Long Song

 


33 years ago Sonic Youth released their masterpiece Daydream Nation in alternative music from the 80's. They started as another band from the no-wave and noise corner in New York and soon showed that Thurston Moore, Lee Ronaldo and Kim Gordon are much more than average. Daydream Nation was their finalization of alternative rock before they moved to a major label. This album is still played at my home when I am in mood for great guitar music from the post new wave era and Teenage Riot is the best example how great music was made at these times-



Sonntag, 27. Juni 2021

E Too D

 


The Small Faces were without doubt one of the best early British band from the early to the mid 60's. I have to admit that I was a huge fan of Steve Marriot in my younger days. While most of my friends listened to The Beatles or The Rolling Stones I favoured The Small Faces and The Kinks. Probably because their sound was much rougher than the the other ones. The recent days I heard about that a live concert of The Small Faces from autumn 1966 in Belgium will released. What I found was a raw version of E Too D showing the best of them and what they are able to do live. Fantastic, even the sound is not high class but this don't mind for a former bootleg.



Mittwoch, 23. Juni 2021

Shaded Moon

 

Anders Trentemøller is back with a few new songs after a couple of new songs as well as the Danish team in the European championship. With his new songs he move back to his early influences like Joy Division or Slowdive. Shaded Moon starts like an outtake of a session by Joy Division and The Cure with a deep tuned bass and moves towards pulsating synths. An unexpected and superb return by him and one of the best songs this year so far.

Dienstag, 22. Juni 2021

Live Music On German TV

 


It was in the early 70's when two brothers from Los Angeles appeared on the scene. Ron and Russel Mael came to play their very own kind of glam rock and I have to admit that I didn't heard something like this before or after. Inspired by British bands like The Kinks, The Move and early Pink Floyd when Syd Barrett was their mastermind they made their masterpiece with their art-pop sound album Kimono My House from 1975. With their songs they were pre-punk, new wave and early synth-pop and had a massive influence to many bands and singers of the new wave era. This footage is an almost 15 minutes live appearance in the monthly show Musikladen. Love to see them after a long time and remembering a great and almost forgotten band.



Montag, 21. Juni 2021

Monday's Long Song

 


A few weeks ago Kelly Lee Owens released some reworks of songs from her latest album Inner Song. I like Kelly Lee because she never made a record that is dull or not worth to listen a second time. She also is able to create something new on things she did once. So I was surprised to hear that John Cale appeared on a song on Inner Song. Now it is out as a rework by London based musician and DJ Coby Sey. The vocal reminds me to the late albums by Gil Scott-Heron talking over a skittering drum workout but it is fascinating.

Donnerstag, 17. Juni 2021

Man Of Constant Sorrow

 


One of the oldest American folk songs is Man Of Constant Sorrow first recorded by a blind fiddler from Kentucky. Since then many artists made versions of this song. The probably best known version was by Bob Dylan released on his first album almost 60 years ago. This song appeared on my mobile phone a few days ago on my way to the office in a version by Rod Stewart. He also made a version on his first album and I almost forgot how great his version was when he was a kind of lad next door.

Rod Stewart - Man Of Constant Sorrow

In 2000 the song appeared on the soundtrack of the Coen brothers movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thoug their homage to Homer's Greek poem The Odyssey. It is also one of my favorite movies of all time because it is one of the few movies that transports a classic poem into the time of great depression with a superb atmosphere showing the South of the United States. 



Montag, 14. Juni 2021

Monday's Long Song

 


Alessandro Cortini is well known as a part of Nine Inch Nails and for me during the last years by his collaboration with Daniel Avery released his second solo album Scuro Chiaro the recent days. Bright and dark is the perfect translation/description of his album. There are short songs with a kind of dark vibe in it and there are dark songs like Nessumo that sounds like they were from behind a wall of fog evoking a kind of slow-motion panic. The songs as far as I heard yet are not easy to listen to but the more I listen to them and it's somber mood the more I like them.

Sonntag, 13. Juni 2021

Bored

 


A friend once said great pop songs will ever come unexpected. And I have to admit his words when I first heard Bored, the new single from IDER an London based songwriter duo. Over a rattling drum line Megan Markwick and Lilly Sommerville take the opportunity to reel off all the things they've been pissing them off. I really like this song and in better times this could be the song of the upcoming summer.



Samstag, 12. Juni 2021

Della Notte


 Sometimes it needs just the name of the band to draw my interest. This happened the last time when I first read something about The Vendetta Suite and their first album The Kempe Stone Portal. It is the long running project by Gary Irwin and shows his year long journey through different musical worlds. Acid house, synth pop, Balearic, psyched krautrock and dub were the main stations of this journey. Here are only a few pieces to explore but enough to investigate for more.

Dienstag, 8. Juni 2021

Earth Trip

 


Last week the new album by Rose City Band arrived at my home. Ripley Johnson's side project beside of Mood Duo and Wooden Shjips captivates me every time I listen to it. Even if you're not into Americana or desert music his pearling guitar licks makes you feel like you arrived at a common place. Earth Trip is similar to the other albums and present nothing new or groundbreaking - just a kind of music you can listen to at a campfire close to the beach. You might call it retro but I love this music right now for a start into a new era after hard days of social distances. 

Montag, 7. Juni 2021

Monday's Long Song

 


Irmin Schmidt, the last living member of Can is going to release lost live recordings from Can during the next months. The first one he released was a full concert from 1975 in Stuttgart. I remember that some older friends would like to take me to this concert but my parents didn't allowed because it took place in the middle of the week. And now I am able to listen what I missed. Can moved at this evening away from their early works and drifted into long and inspired jams. The quality is more than acceptable for a better bootleg and shows the magic of their sound. Excellent stuff and still worth to listen even after almost 50 years. 

Mittwoch, 2. Juni 2021

Woods


 It was in 1977 when Michael Rother released his first album Flammende Herzen a masterpiece in late krautrock inspired guitar masterpiece. It is an all time favorite of mine since I heard it the first time and it was the first idea that came to my mind when I listened to Hans Hjelm's first solo album Factory Reset a few days ago. Hjelm is probably known as the main guitar player by Stockholm's finest psychedelic band Kungens Män. Educated to play a jazz guitar in the 90's in North Texas he played all instruments except drums on this album and it surprised me massive because I didn't expected to hear this kind of music again. Free formed sparkling guitar chords with reminiscenses to Can and psych-rock over a floor of warm synths is what this instrumental album makes so much different to many other. This could be a classic in others times.

Dienstag, 1. Juni 2021

If We Don't Make It

 


James Lavelle established UNKLE back in 1994 together with his class-mate Tim Goldsworthy as a stage for his own kind of electronic music. The press stamped this sound as trip-rock a mixture of unhealthy string harmonies, sluggish rhythms, driving guitar riffs and intimidating, melancholic melodies. Covid 19 brought him back to studio last year and he released a few weeks ago his latest song If We Don't Make It, a song with it's trippy mood could be the soundtrack for the meteorological summer that starts today.