A few good times in my life
The trend towards instrumental albums seems unbroken and the central element is and remains the electric guitar. Many bands in this genre are more associated with country or surf music. Hermanos Gutiérrez - the Ecuadorian-Swiss sibling duo of Estevan and Alejandro Gutiérrez combine the sound of Morricone's Spaghetti Western with Latin American sounds and a touch of psychedelia on their new record. Music and soundscapes that need no words to sound fantastic.
Another superb compilation by Bristol Archive Records was released yesterday. Their releases each cover a style of music that was released by local artists decades ago. Whilst last time the label highlighted the Bristol reggae scene, this time they turn their attention to the post-punk scene again . As you would expect, there are plenty of bands to discover here that were previously unknown to me. This compilation also lives up to its promise. A great overview of the music of the early 80's. Often with funk influences, short chords and/or massive drums. An album that simply gave me pleasure with its journey through time.
It was back in spring 1998 when a Gravelands by King was released and turned into the album that was played in almost every pub in my town. It's clever that an Irish postman came up with the idea of reinterpreting classics from the last few decades by laying a sonorous Elvis Presley voice over the classic song structures. It is of course perfectly legitimate to condemn this seemingly cheap concept of reinterpreting well-known world hits in this way, but for sentimental minds with a secret penchant for schmaltzy romanticism, this is a real treat. The initial euphoria of hearing classics in a new guise was fascinating at first, but quickly lost its lustre. Despite everything, it's an album that I enjoy listening to from time to time - even if it's just to hear these old songs again.
In the days when music said goodbye to the dinosaurs and turned to new shores, there were plenty of bands that accompanied this transition but didn't get the recognition they deserved. Many groups from the pub rock scene have accompanied the path to punk but few others have faded into obscurity. One of these bands was Doctors of Madness, founded in 1975 in Brixton by guitarist and singer Richard Strange. Partly they anticipated the power and energy of punk and partly they were deeply rooted in the sound of early David Bowie with a high proportion of the sound of Cockney Rebel. I recently rediscovered them and listened to their music and I have to say that their sound with the integration of a violin at that time is extraordinary but also fascinating in a certain way. Doctors of Madness only existed for a few years, but left their footprint in music history.
A few days ago I rediscovered a track from last year by Dirt Bogarde, a British producer and DJ. His music is a superb melange of Balearic, slow acid house and cosmic chug. Peyote Plains is one of those relaxed tunes you hear and will come back to it. Nothing more for me than an overlooked song from last year.
A brief summary after a week of European Championship football on television. Many teams have not convinced me and delivered the performances that they undoubtedly have. Only Spain impressed me with the way they played football. The Scottish fans are an enrichment and, no matter which city they were in, represented their home country in an inimitable way. Chapeau. As the fans will be arriving in Stuttgart today, I will be on my way in the late morning to welcome them to our city.
Today's song is from Water Still Flows, the new album by Nashville's ambient explorer Rich Ruth. Still based on mesmerizing loops, he complements his cosmic music with a heavier guitar sound, electronic drones and occasionally interrupts his flow with fragments of free jazz. I think this is another album not easy to listen but with so many ideas inside that it could get a hidden gem.
Last week British Murder Boys, a long running project by DJ's Surgeon and Regis, returned with a new album. Both were regular acts in Berlin's former techno temple Tresor at the begin of the new century. Mostly based on massive drums, a rattling bass and menacing synths the create an actual version of modern techno. Hypnotic and far from everything I listened to this year so far.
It's seldom that I feature the same artist within a few weeks but I can't resist doing this with the last release by 100 Poems, the project of Dublin's DJ and producer Mike Wilson. Ten weeks ago he surprised me with his first release Everything's Balearic When You Believe and now he's back with another album full of spaced out Balearic sounds. His trademark is the combination of typical Balearic beats and Westcoast sound guitars. Sometimes I think the guitars are played by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour but this doesn't disturb and fits perfect to the rest of the music
I couldn't imagine that my employer would give me so much work to do in my last weeks before I retire and that I would have to finalize projects. I also had to deal with a lot of correspondence with the pension fund in order to fulfill the formal requirements for my pension. For this reason, and because I couldn't muster the time, I decided to take a break from updating this blog last week. Last Friday, as usual, I had a look through the new releases of the week to see if anything had been published that was worth mentioning. The only thing that stuck in my mind was the release of Come Undone, the latest release by Glasgow's Walt Disco. Their music is more than retro and is orientated towards the best times of David Bowie, Roxy Music,Talking Heads and glam-pop, who try to bring their music to the dance floor. Surely not groundbreaking but good and a journey back to these days.
Spititualized released their third album Ladies and Gentlemen we are floating in Space in 1997 and I was confused when I listened to it the first time. Somewhere between Spacemen 3's feedback sound, 6ß's psychedelia, Brit-pop and solid songwriting I couldn't file them and was not sure if it was worse or a great album. After listening to the album more times I found the beauty of the songs and have to say that they made a little masterpiece from the 90's.
Spiritualized - I Think I'm In Love
Yesterday our city celebrated the 25th anniversary of a music night. It all started when a local musician brought back an idea from France. Several musicians and bands were to play in various pubs on one evening and the proceeds were to be donated to social projects. What began as a very good idea developed over the last few decades into a commercial collection of local cover bands that were more and mostly less good. Only the inclusion of DJs brought a fresh sound and was a far cry from the oldies that were too often replayed. After several years I bought myself a ticket and has to say that nothing had changed. And to be honest I only went there to meet some friends I didn't see for a long time and that was joy.
Today's song is a remix originally released a few years ago on a sampler by Higher Love Records by Residentes Balearicos, a two piece electronic project by two Italians living in Ibiza. Don't ask me who Puerto Montt City Orchestra is, I couldn't find details and presume, that they are some label-mates. Anyway it is a song that leads into the upcoming summer with it's superb Balearic vibes.
Spring 1998: Modern Talking are celebrating their comeback, Celine Dion has been at the top of the German singles charts for months with My Heart Will Go On. Light-heartedness and sentimentalism are on the agenda. Back then, I came across a song that, with its creeping slow-motion beats and ominous electronics, was completely different to what most of the mainstream had to offer. It was joined by a strange voice that sang ‘love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you ...’ after around a minute and a half. This was followed by a heavy electric guitar. Emotional abysses opened up. I had never heard anything so dark. This song was Angel from Massive Attack's third album. While the predecessors Blue Lines and Protection were already in a class of their own, Massive Attack have created a monument to themselves with Mezzanine. With reggae legend Horace Andy on vocals Angel became the trademark of their sound and still a song that shaped this years sound.
Massive Attack - Angel
Yesterday evening I watched the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund together with a few huge Dortmund supporters and once again I had to face the fact that Madrid couldn't loose a final game. Dortmund was for a long time the better team and had chances galore but as always Madrid needs one chance to make a goal and win the game. Later this evening when being at home I listened to Frog In Boiling Water the new album by Brooklyn's four piece band DIIV. They returned after personal problems and drug abuse with an album I didn't expected this way. They have said goodbye to their sound of distorted hardcore and borrowings from rap and turned to more melancholic sounds. The result is a powerful work of dark dreampop, post-rock carpets and lulling shoegaze. Not new but their songs are fresh and far above the average.
Today starts the meteorological summer and the forecast that we could expect steady rain during the next days. In this constellation, I can stay at home with a clear conscience and finally finish reading the books that have been waiting too long and reorganize my record collection. The soundtrack to it could be something like Trentemøller, a Danish indie/electronic music producer and was featured at this place a couple of times. Now he is going to release a new album later this year and he released a first appetizer. With A Different Light he includes elements of folk into his music. Dark wave meets dreampop, and acoustic guitar meets synth lines and wistful vocals seems to be right according the weather.
