How Times Fly

 

How fast our time is I recognized when a few days ago I heard about the release of a special edition of Django Django's self titled debut from 2012. I liked their album because of it's manifold quotations of pop history. Without problems, Django Django switches between influences from surf pop, art rock and even more exotic forms of pop music. This album was one of those a lot of people around me could agree with. 

Django Django - Default

Django Django - Hail Bop

Now they whole album was remixed by Mad Professor, adding his distinctive ambient electronic stylings and a melee of rhythmic drum beats to their sound. 

Adding his distinctive ambient electronic stylings, Mad Professor weaves a melee of rhythmic drum beats and mellow and magnetic instrumentals into the record’s fabric. 

Monday's Long Song

 

A few days ago Teneil Throssel aka Haai released their debut album Baby, We're Ascending via Mute records. I have to admit that I didn't knew anything by the Australian born and London living producer and DJ but what I heard was more than interesting. She surprised with dark floral vocals, stomping nineties rave rhythms and playful samples of welded club anthems. In addition to elements from drum 'n bass and vocal house. The title track is co-produced by Jon Hopkins and he added a lot of rave-drums to this song. An optimistic song in better times.

Another Almost Forgotten Post-Punk Band

 

Girls At Our Best! were a band from Leeds and active from 1979 until 1982 and they surfed very well on the same new wave that made others famous. I don't know why they split but for me they were a band from this genre that were able to write great songs that hit the nerve of the times. I have to admit that I seldom listened to them during the last years but the re-release of their fantastic debut album Pleasure brought them back to my memory. Their sound was a mixture of The Banshees and Buzzcocks guitar with a massive touch of melodies with chart potential. In 1981 they played a session for John Peel where China Blue and Sister Rosetta Stone's This Train are from.

Girls At Our Best! - Pleasure

Girls At Our Best! - Getting Nowhere Fast

Girls At Our Best! - This Train

Girls At Our Best! - China Blue

Love Died In Our Arms

 

Some artists can release whatever they want and I can't resist to think it is great again. One of those is Dot Allison, the Scottish singer with a voice I really enjoy. A few years ago she released Heart-Shaped Scars another album I enjoyed and she is going to release an EP with a few remixes from this album. And for me it nothing more or less a superb rework. 

I Survived, It's Over

Nashville artist Rich Ruth released two years ago Calming Signals one of those albums that I explored months later. I really enjoyed his combination of ambient and guitar sound mixed to a unique kind of relaxed music. Now he announced a new album and released the first track Taken Back. It seems like he is drifting more into psychedelic regions with a fuzzy feadback guitar over an ambient floor. Not the kind of song you say great when you listen to it the first time but a highlight that grows the more you listen to it. 

Sixty Three

 

Today it 63 years ago when I was born and saw the light on earth. As every year it is just a day I got a year older and the age really doesn't bother if you have more fun in live than anger. For me it is also a day to the last year in comparison to the years before and I have to say it was another good year with all the troubles surround us. And I am happy to be alive in best health with good friend around me. This will be not the day to make a big party but I will meet with a couple of friends for an early lunch with Bavarian veal sausage, pretzel and a pint. Sadly there are no songs with 63 in my collection and I couldn't find any one in the internet so I will offer you a few tracks released in 1959 by Eddie Cochran. He was the one for me that made the real rock 'n' roll anthems playing his peerless twang guitar.

Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues

Eddie Cochran -  Something Else

Radiate Like This

 

Warpaint is one of these bands I came back often to during the last years not only because they made timeless and great music for me. So I looked forward to their new album that was released last week. To be honest I didn't have more expectations than another good record by them and I have to say they disappointed me. All the songs were made during the lockdown and any musician recorded their parts in isolation and the songs were built together later, slowly and layer by layer. And this worked very well because they had the time to create their sound perfectly. The songs seems to have a bit of westcoast feeling and sometimes they remind me a bit of Fleetwood Mac at their best times and by comparison, feels more complete… more accomplished even. Anyway, they are far away from them and they didn't lost their roots. They made songs that grow the more you listen to them. It is an album that will stand the test of time. 

Monday's Long Song

 

During the last week there was a lot of work to do in the office and I didn't found time and inspiration to keep the blog going. And it seems that this week will not be much different. On Saturday all of thoughts cruised around the last game of Stuttgart. They needed to win against Cologne and simultaneous Berlin has to lose in Dortmund. Sadly I got no tickets so we had to watch the game in a local pub. The pub was filled over one hour before the tingler and Stuttgart made probably their best game in the first half this season but missed like always to make more than one goal. So it happened like many times this season that Cologne made the balance by a huge mistake of our goal keeper. The same time Dortmund made the 2:1 against Berlin and we come to terms with the relegation this week until our mid-field player Endo made our 2:1 with a header in the extra time. This results were enough and we will play in Bundesliga next season again. All over the town we saw so many happy people that we missed the third relegation in six years. Today's song is from a new compilation called Sound From The Iranian Ultraverse I got aware last week. Artists from the Iranian diaspora located sometimes in the Bay area and New York became a platform for slamming electro, techno and propulsive breakbeats with parts of dizzying synths and warehouse raves. This song by Voiski is a good example of what is possible for these artists. Foreboding minimal techno with a massive futuristic touch.

Astronaut From Dubai

 

I got aware of a new release by Fjordfunk, a band/collective from Troms, Norway. They name their sound Arctic funk and it seems to be the right description. Jann Dahle created with his project a cool down and reduced funk sound based on on  northern funk with massive bass and influences of 90's disco sound. For me superb mixture that works on every time of the day. A fantastic title by the way.

Intakes

 

Yesterday Adam featured on our Monday's Long Song series a superb song from Craven Faults from their series of 12 inch Lowfold Works EP's. I don't have to say much more about them that they are nothing more or less a band that made me happy with most of their releases during the last years. This one is a remix by Pye Corner Audio. Atmospheric drone sound from another galaxy. 

Monday's Long Song

 

Leeds' Paisley Dark label are going to release a new version of Shelter Me, a compilation of from their artists and other remixes during the next weeks. They released only four songs from this album and one of them impressed me much. Ed Mahon, a  Blackpool DJ and producer, remixed Bowroux an indie-dancefloor song originally release by Pete Callard a couple of years ago. It is a song with stomping beats interrupted by shouted uh's and some piano chords. Just another overlooked song and perfect for the start into a new week. 

Back To Guitar Sound

 

Back then in 1990 Bristol's The Blue Aeroplanes released their fourth album Swagger a little Masterpiece of guitar dominated sound you heard seldom before and after. They created a sound for a summer that made us feel end and timeless. On And Stones they made a unique combination guitar drive and dance beat. This song was played at our place in every good club and after all the decades that passed me by it is an album I will always come back with great joy. Timeless and superb music that wasn't made these days but I am sure this kind of revival will come soon.

The Blue Aeroplanes - And Stones

A Bit Of Previous

 

Belle and Sebastian are going to release a new album after a long time. I always had a huge fondness to them and not only they made timeless songs that you could hear at any time at any place. As far as I heard from this album I think the title is program. They didn't changed their sound and they are have still the abilities to write cheerful and weighty songs like we used to get from them. Nothing spectacular or groundbreaking - just more indie-pop songs high above the usual level. Good to have them back.

Live Music On German TV

 

Another post in a long living series of live music in German Television. Back then in the early 80's the airplay in radio stations for modern music for young people were a desert. I can remember when we were lucky that local radio station played rock music for just one or two hours each day. Me and my friends switched to AFN, the local radio station for American soldiers close to my town. It got better in the beginnings of the 80's when also local TV stations made formats for young people. Beside Beat-Club which were featured at this place for several times, Bavarian TV produced a format for twens where political and social themes were discussed by young people. I remember the first discussions about HIV and new right wing fascists in Germany that impressed me much and built the tenor of the thoughts and meanings I have right now. It was usual that after the discussions a band played a short live concert that was featured on TV. Searching for clips from Live From Alabama, an old concert hall in Munich, I found a lot of live performances that are worth to be featured now and during the next weeks. One of those was a concert by Everything But The Girl from May 1985 and it shows the abilities of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt playing songs from their first albums. They were great at this time and never lost anything of their attraction during the last decades. A footage that is superb for me.

The Notwist

 

Recently I came back to another German band that I almost forgot. The Notwist were formed in 1989 in Weilheim, upper Bavaria as another Hüsker Dü and Sonic Youth inspired young band playing strong and fast songs like their idols. After their fabulous debut they changed their sound into more melodic and you could hear influences by New Order in many songs. Their second album Neon Golden from 1990 is sadly a forgotten highlight and only known by some hardcore fans from this band. For me it is a timeless album showing the abilities of German new music in these days and this is not the worst reason to feature a few songs from their first albums. Enjoy.

The Notwist - Nothing Like You

The Notwist - Seasons

The Notwist - Pilot

The Notwist - Pick Up The Phone

Monday's Long Song

 

Last Friday our friend JC over at The New Vinyl Villain posted a superb story about Chemical Brothers' Surrender 20th Anniversary Vinyl Box. He was tempted to release a 21 minute version of Out Of Control but finally selected another song. Thankfully he delivered me a copy and after listening to a tour-de-force of dance music I think it is necessary to feature it on this series. Written together with Bernard Sumner from New Order and backing vocals by Bobby Gillespie the song has a fantastic base line and guitar and synths keep pushing this song forward. A mad psychedelic mix full of echoes and beats from an era long gone by but still at the height of time.

Chemical Brothers - Out Of Control (The Secret Psychedelic Mix

Songs From The Guestroom

 

There is a long running series in Austrian radio called FM4 Gästezimmer. In this show artists could present their favorite songs. A few weeks ago Austrian electronic duo HVOB were at the radio station presenting their faves, mostly songs by artists that were new to me. Some of them are just nice others were worth to mention. The first one I want to feature here is by Bob Moses, a band from Vancouver formed in New York about ten years ago. Love Brand New is one of their latest releases and starts with a bass-line you heard in many other songs but in combination with this guitar it sounds new. Another good and cool alternative pop song.

Okay Kaya is new to me and the internet didn't tell much that she is a Norwegian- American musician and actress from New Jersey. Comic Sans is one of those pop gems from the last years that didn't reached my ears. Starting with a remarkable bass line to join later with some chords and her expressive voice lifts this song to an extraordinary level.