Music Leeds Us

 

At the start of the week, I flew to Leeds for a few days to take part in this year’s BlogCon 26 meet-up. As always, I had a wonderful time spending those days with the brilliant bloggers Alyson, Cee, Ernie, The Swede, John and their partners. Among other things, we visited an exhibition on the evolution of the music scene in Leeds, which inspired me to post a short round-up on the subject.

It’s rather unusual to start with Soft Cell, who have carved out their own musical niche with their synth-pop.

Gang Of Four are a fixture on the Leeds music scene with their politically charged new wave funk.

Leeds would be a much poorer place without the magnificent Mekons, and few bands have struck such an impressive balance between new wave and country.

The goth scene is represented by the Sisters of Mercy.

I saw for myself last year that The Wedding Present are still relevant and brilliant today.

Utah Saints represent electronic dance music with their blend of rock and synths. 

I’d completely forgotten that Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, with their dark wave sound, are also from Leeds.

The Kaiser Chiefs were at their peak at the start of the new century.

Post-punk is represented by Delta 5, who appeared briefly in the late 1970s and, sadly, disappeared again all too soon.

The Plague

 

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.

Vultures

During the week I got a lot of inbound e-mails and mostly promotion material. Usually I delete them unread but sometimes I take the time to read the headlines and open the e-mail if I am interested in the content. This happened when I got promotion material by an Oslo-based band named Mayflower Madam. I've never heard of them before but wanted to know what is behind the headline Joy Division influenced psychedelic post-punk. What I heard was Vultures the first single of their upcoming album. The song is a hybrid of JAMJ-riffs added with the echo sound of early Sisters of Mercy and bit of Krautrock. Surely one of the better songs released this year.

This Corrosion

The Sisters of Mercy released their second album back in 1987 and brought gothic to many people at my place. We didn't knew much about the dark and black scene Andrew Eldrich tried to explain about but the music was one of the sounds of these summer. Produced by Jim Steinmann who made Meat Loaf great Floodland were THE sound of the year when a few of my friends turned into dressing in black. A few month ago I saw the Sisters live and was disappointed what they offered to me. Nothing more than some retired musicians grabbing some money for what they did a few decades before. But this song grabs me from time to time when I listen to it - if only brings back some memories from times long gone by.

Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back To Leeds

It was a long time ago since I heard something by The Mountain Coats, that Californian new-folk band but I remember that it made fun listening to them. The more I was surprised that they are still a band and able to release a new album next month. I was more confused about the title of the song Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back To Leeds and thought it will be worth to listen to the lyrics closely. Sounding like a singer-songwriter doing country, this song is a simple, smooth and somewhat modernized MG anthem, which just happens to be about Sister Of Mercy's erstwhile leader.

There's indifference on the wind

But a faint gust of hope

At a club nobody goes to

With a musty velvet rope

Guys in Motörhead jackets

Who knew him way back when

Haven't raised a drink in years

But now meet up again 

To remember how it was

When they all thought they'd move away

And ride in Lotus 7s

Through the London streets one day.

Nobody ever gets away

Even the best of us come back some day

To the unmarked rooms, where the dry dust breeds

Andrew Eldritch is moving back to Leeds

No-one anticipates the rush

The breezy feeling of the faceless crush

At the end of things, where the salvage bleeds

Andrew Eldritch is moving back to Leeds

They don't throw him a parade

He just comes in on a train

One suitcase in his hand

And an old army backpack

From the second world war

From a Leipzig secondhand store

And as a bonus one of the Sister's classic songs:

Silent Still

During the next weeks I will move in my new flat. Therefore, I have spent the last days a lot of time to clear up my cellar and my attic to sort out what I don't want to bring to my new flat. Besides, things have come to me again which I had forgotten for a long time. So, for example, a whole cardboard completely with CDs in addition of various music magazines. It made fun to go back in time and recall what was new years ago. One of these CDs stood under the subject 'Forgotten songs from the New Wave era'. I put the CD in my player and the result is that I can present a little gem today. Modern Eon were a post-punk/new wave band formed in Liverpool in 1978. They just released on album and I just know this song that has everything what a song from this genre should have: a vibrant bass, short picked chords on the guitar, steady drums and a singer that fits to it all. If The Cure or Sisters of Mercy would played this song it would be a hit those days.

Enjoy and have a good week.

Modern Eon - Second Still

Putting out fire with gasoline

It is just a Sunday with nothing to do than checking the letters I got during the week, pay some bills, relax and doing nothing till I go out to watch some game on telly. By doing this stuff I watched a movie along - Inglorious Basterds. For a movie, made by Quentin Tarrantino there was less song in the movie. But one of them I give you for Sunday.

It's made as title track for the 1982 movie with the same title. I think it is a co-production with Girorgio Moroder - a legendary producer in his time. For me it is David Bowie's last song, where he influenced musicians of the next generation. In this song he combines Goth themes with the deep voice that was well known some years later as the Sisters of Mercy.

Enjoy and have a good start into the next week

David Bowie - Cat People