During the last weekend I found a song in the back of my hard drive. Shortly before The Sugarcubes broke up, they released It's It, an album of remixes from their debut album Life's Too Good. The standout performance came from Justin Robertson, who demonstrated just how much potential Birthday has. The standout mix came from Justin Robertson, who showcased Birthday’s potential. He transformed the new wave track into a dub gem.
Years later the brothers Reid did also an excellent Rework of Birthday.
And finally some songs with more post-punk power from their early days. Remember when I saw them live in summer 1989 on an open-air festival playing these songs.
Another band left the Sonora desert to give us their interpretion of what they call music for goblins, wizards, and dungeon masters. They may well be right, given that they play a mixture of post-punk with influences from The Stooges. A rolling bass provides the framework for the sometimes sawing guitars, which haven't been heard in a long time. Overall, the four-piece band creates a psychedelic sound that also contains elements of gothic, reminiscent of the good old Sisters of Mercy.
Justin Robertson's Five Green Moons Dub shows that her music can also be interpreted in a completely different way. He gives the song a soft reggae touch based on a great bass line, which is given a special groove by jazzy guitar passages, vibraphone, and echoing voices.
A few weeks ago, I switched my internet provider because I got a very good deal on a new fiber optic connection. So far, so good. The connection was activated yesterday, but my former provider had already cut off my connection on Saturday night. So I got to enjoy almost two days without internet access except on my mobile phone. Basically, it was a good experience to be disconnected from the internet for once and to devote myself to a good book and go for long walks again. I'm considering whether I should spend one day a week offline in the future.
Last year Justin Robertson released under his alias Five Green Moons one of the most impressive albums for me. Now he's back and has announced his second album for the end of November. Apart from a first song that was released last week, there is hardly any information on the web. He remains true to his style and picks up where he left off last year.
He continues on the path of post-punk and PIL-inspired, dark, hypnotic dub. He was able to get Brix Smith on board for some songs, who adds another mystical touch with her chants. I'm looking forward to the album.
2024 was certainly a good year for music and I couldn't commit to a specific genre in this review. There were phases when I listened to a lot of new electronic music, only to return to indie rock in the broadest sense and then favor singer/songwriters again.
Bill Ryder-Jones, an English singer-songwriter from Liverpool, released an album this spring that captivates with its beauty. Excellent songs across the board, reminiscent of the psych-folk of Gorky's Welsh Zygotic Mynci on the one hand and featuring sweet melodies, melancholy piano and strange tempo changes on the other. The album will probably go down as another overlooked masterpiece.
Anyone who thought Dublin's Fontaines D.C. would lose their stature after their fourth album was wrong. Here, too, they manage to write great songs. They have moved away from their early days, their songs are more differentiated and gather more inspiration. In the end, it even sounds as if they have covered an early song by The Cure. A consistently good album that loses none of its fascination even after repeated listens.
Justin Robertson released a few weeks ago Moon 1, the debut of his new project Five Green Moons. He moved away from his house controls and has dug deep in the sounds of PIL, Gang of Four, On-U Sound and Sabres of Paradise. He takes us to a dystopian disco where we share memories of dark post-punk echos.
Another album that stands out was the twelfth album by Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet Three. It touches on the many musical styles that he has already crossed before: Hip Hop, Down Beat, House. In the intro to ‘Skater’, my favorite number from ‘Three’, you can hear the rolling, drowned out by a looped guitar that meets synths reminiscent of 80's film soundtracks and voices somewhere far in the background, more echoes than vocals.
Justin Robertson is back with his new project Five Green Moons. With Moon 1, Robertson moves away from acid house and takes a different path. Much is reminiscent of the best times of PIL, On-U-Sound and post-punk. Powerful bass lines characterize the sound, everything flows and enchanted voices appear from somewhere in the cosmos.
The songs have a dark undertone in common, but they emanate a fascination all of their own. You have to listen to the album several times to understand why it is one of this year's highlights.
Another new release I got aware last week was the Hyena Hopscotch Remixes a remix project of an album London based DJ and producer Pete Bones released earlier this year. The original album was hybrid of industrial funk with a massive pop feeling and psychedelic elements. Now the re-work of this album is made by today's most talented DJ's like Duncan Gray, Justin Robertson and Jezebell. This album will be released next week and will reach probably in my years end list.
Justin Robertson is a veteran of British electronic underground music for many years. He released a lot of great tracks with his project Deadstock 33s during the last years. Now he's back with a new EP of electronic sounds featuring a very own mixture of slow down electronic funk that is similar to Jan Hammer's soundtrack to Miami Vice. Not a bad way for a new inspiration.
Back after four days of illness. I have caught to me a strong cold and could go neither to the work, nor at all follow activities on the Internet. I think I am not the only one around with this kind of illness in these days. A lot of my co-workers were ill too. I had to cure myself to be able to take part yesterday in an advanced training which is important for my job. Anyway, I feel myself much better than a few days ago. So here's a remix by Andrew Weatherall (knowing that this should be the part of SA) from Justin Robertson's For One Touch. A simple electronic track added with echoes, beats and a few guitar licks.
It is just a mix today but what a mix! I spent some hours on Soundcloud the other days and found a mix by Justin Robertson mostly known as a DJ during the Madchester era. This one is like a trip through musical history. Loved to hear Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in this mix.
Take time and enjoy (will be out tonight to watch the semi-final of UEFA-Champions League)
I don't know much about this band than you could find on their site of myspace. You could read there that they are making darkly psychedelic electro-rock reminiscent of the Ravonettes and the Kills. I found this remix by Justin Robertson. It's a fine low tempo house tune.
