And So The Feeling Grows

R.E.M. performing a cover of The Troggs' classic Love Is All Around at Rockline Studios in Los Angeles, California on Monday 1st April 1991, as part of the promo tour for the Out Of Time album.

This version appeared on the B-side of Radio Song, released as a single on Monday 4th November 1991.

On Thursday 15th May 2025, a special posting for a very special person.

This one's for you, Mrs. K

Unwind Yourself From All You Know

Tune-Yards aka Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner have collaborated with Ah-Mer-Ah-Su aka Star Amerasu on new single How Big Is Your Rainbow.

Best song I've heard all day.

And I've only been awake for 45 minutes.

On YouTube, @thecosmicblueautie has described the song as "a lot like getting a warm hug when you just feel like going Tasmanian devil on the entire universe.".

I couldn't put it better myself.

How Big Is The Rainbow features on upcoming Tune-Yards album Better Dreaming, available to pre-order from all the usual places. 

More goodies can be found at the respective Bandcamp sites for Tune-Yards and Ah-Mer-Ah-Su.

Run, don't walk!

As In Boom Not Bum

Today's selection heads over to Iceland and múm, performing at KEXP's Iceland Airwaves festival at the KEX hostel in Reykjavík, 2nd November 2013.

For this performance, múm comprise Gunnar Örn Tynes, Sigurlaug Gísladóttir, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason and Samuli Kosminen.

Five musicians and four songs in just under twenty two minutes, with multiple instrument swaps and oodles of musical talent. 

A Little Bit, Sometimes 0:00

The Colorful Stabwound 6:00

Toothwheels 10:05

One Smile 16:24

The opening song is from 2007 album Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy. The other three are from 2013's Smilewound which is múm's last studio album to date. The digital version of the latter is available on Bandcamp and includes an unlikely bonus track, a song the group recorded with Kylie Minogue. Yes, really.

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!

We Have Band first performed live circa April 2008 and played their final gig in August 2015 and in-between created some infectiously funky electronic music.

We Have Band were Darren Bancroft, Dede Wegg-Prosser and Thomas Wegg-Prosser, the latter two married, all three former colleagues at EMI, who met and formed a band. 

Oh! was their debut single in November 2008, re-released in June 2010. I latched onto the former via RCRD LBL and a clutch of remixes by Andrew 'Friendly Fires', Micachu aka Mica Levi) and Yo! Majesty aka Lashunda Flowers and Windy Baynham.

None of them featured here, though I have tracked down the two official videos and live performances from 2009, 2011 and 2015, the latter 55 days before their final gig. I've also included three of the remixes from the 2010 re-release, by Bit Funk, Vicarious Bliss and Filthy Dukes.

1) Oh! (2010 Video Version, directed by Blake Claridge)

2) Oh! (2008 Video Version, directed by Tom Ellis)

3) Oh! (Live @ Mohawk Inside Stage, Austin, Texas, USA, 20th March 2009)

4) Oh! (Live @ MELT Festival, Ferropolis Open Air Museum, Gräfenhainichen, Germany, 15th July 2011)

5) Oh! (Live @ The Lexington, London, 9th June 2015)

6) Oh! (Bit Funk Remix By Stephen J. Paul)

7) Oh! (Vicarious Bliss Love Dove Remix By Andy Gardiner)

8) Oh! (Filthy Dukes Remix By Olly Dixon & Timothy Lawton)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doused In Dopamine

Another round up of 2025 highlights so far, this time focusing on the electronic end of the musical spectrum.

I posted my first review in March and only one of the ten artists featured then reappears in today's selection. No surprise to find that it's 10:40 aka Jesse Fahnestock, with the flip side of his excellent Powder Wax Vol. 2 EP. 

A few surprises: it was a delight to discover that Montjuïc are James Hackett and Ian Carmichael, old buddies from The Orchids, the latter also delivering era-defining music with One Dove. 

Not only that, but the remix is by Cold War Cowboys, who happen to be Martin Watkins, long-time Marc Almond collaborator, and Phil Bloomberg, bass player with The Polecats.

But I've saved the best 'til last, with a beautiful dub-infused remix by Matias Aguayo of Lucrecia Dalt's Cosa Rara, with a spoken word vocal from none other than David Sylvian, who also co-wrote, played guitar and produced the song. A real "how did she do that?!" moment.

1) Dagger (Radio Edit By Charlotte Caluwaerts & Reinhard Vanbergen): Charlotte & Reinhard (Dagger EP)

2) Falling (What Time Is Love?) (Tronik Youth Remix By Neil Parnell): Blavatsky & Tolley ft. Gene Serene (Falling (What Time Is Love?) EP)

3) Field Of Dreams (Hardway Bros Cosmic Interpolation Mix By Sean Johnston): Hugo Nicolson (Field Of Dreams EP)

4) The Third Wave: Matt Gunn (Nowhere EP)

5) We're All Gonna Hurt (Extended Vocal): Le Carousel ft. Jolene O’Hara & Jess Brien (We're All Gonna Hurt EP)

6) Let's Change (Cold War Cowboys Remix By Martin Watkins & Phil Bloomberg): Montjuïc (Let's Change EP)

7) Miracle Me: 10:40 (Powder Wax Vol. 2 EP)

8) Popolina 90: Follytechnic Music Library vs. Pop Will Eat Itself (FML25 Baggy Ravers 3)

9) Like Fire (A Space Age Freak Out Remix By John Paynter & Ben Lewis): Airsine (Like Fire EP)

10) Cosa Rara (Matias Aguayo's Dopamine Dub): Lucrecia Dalt ft. David Sylvian (Cosa Rara EP)

Doused In Dopamine (1:00:09) (KF) (Mega)

You can find my previous 2025 selection, It's A Glamorous World, right here.

Explode Into Your Life Like A Tissue In A Washing Machine

2025 has been a good (albeit expensive) year so far, with some quality album releases before we're even halfway through.

I've compiled a 45-minute selection of a dozen artists that have been floating my boat. 

Enjoy!

Then buy!

1) The Swimmer: The Cowboy Mouth (Faultlines)

2) It Takes A Whole Lot Of Soul To Fill A Cup: Davey Woodward (Mumbo In The Jumbo)

3) All The Smartest People: Louise Connell (Clients Of Suddenness)

4) Music Concrete: Andy Bell (Pinball Wanderer)

5) The Mountains Are My Home: Edwyn Collins (Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation)

6) Another Fucked Up Druggy On The Scene: Gareth Sager (Play Yr Heart Out / Oh No, No Plan B)

7) My Devotion: Sparks (MAD!)

8) Sad Chord: Ellen Beth Abdi (Ellen Beth Abdi)

9) The Same Thing As Nothing At All: Destroyer (Dan's Boogie)

10) Good On The Inside: Mumble Tide (Might As Well Play Another One)

11) Dear Stephen: Manic Street Preachers (Critical Thinking)

12) Cinema Of Broken Dreams: Armory Show (Dead Souls)

Explode Into Your Life Like A Tissue In A Washing Machine (45:58) (KF) (Mega)

How Can It Be Remixed?

45 minutes of glacial Norwegian pop, courtesy of a-ha.

Most of these are 12" extended versions from the 1980s, including a couple that remained unreleased until 2016. I've also opted for one contemporary 21st century remix, plus revamps of their two biggest songs from the same decade.

Mark Vidler aka Go Home Productions is perhaps best known as a master of the mash-up, but also turned his hand to some (unofficial) remixes. The Sun Always Shines On T.V. appeared on a GHP compilation in 2007 but dates from 2-3 years previously.

The Twelves are a pair of Brazilian boys, clearly inspired by the likes of Daft Punk and Justice, who released music on the trendy Kitsune label and did tons of remixes for the hip and beautiful likes of New Young Pony Club, Black Kids, La Roux, Groove Armada and Fever Ray. Their remix of Take On Me appeared on a Chevrolet (Brazil)-commissioned promo for the Vectra GT sports car. 

Of the rest, you get Morten Harket's vocals on full display, be it for ballads, club tracks or rockier numbers (or at least, Norway's singular take on the genre). I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of a-ha, then or now, but they knew how to write and play songs laden with hooks, for sure.

Happy Friday, everyone!

1) The Sun Always Shines On T.V. (Go Home Productions Remix By Mark Vidler) (2007)

2) You Are The One (Dub Mix Edit By Justin Strauss & Daniel Abraham) (1988)

3) Cry Wolf (Extended Version By Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar & Gerry Kitchingham) (1986)

4) Stay On These Roads (Extended Remix By Alan Tarney & John Hudson) (1988)

5) I've Been Losing You (Extended Mix By John 'Jellybean' Benitez) (1986)

6) Summer Moved On (Remix By C.L.A.S.S. Production aka Andreas Herbig) (2000)

7) Touchy! (House Mix By Paul Simpson) (1988)

8) Take On Me (The Twelves Remix By João Amaral & Luciano Oliveira) (2009)

1986: Cry Wolf EP: 3

1986: I've Been Losing You EP: 5

1988: Stay On These Roads EP: 4

2000: Summer Moved On EP: 6

2007: GHP Unofficial Remixes 2: 1

2009: Vectra GT Remix EP (promo CD single): 8

2016: Time And Again: The Ultimate a-ha (2x CD): 2, 7

How Can It Be Remixed? (45:39) (KF) (Mega)

An End To All Resistance

I stumbled across a clip of The Human League performing Do Or Die on TV in 1982 and the next thing you know....

1) Do Or Die (O.T.T., UK TV) (1982)

2) Path Of Least Resistance (Mainstream, UK TV) (1979)

3) Empire State Human (Mainstream, UK TV) (1979)

4) Open Your Heart (Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, UK TV) (1981)

5) Love Action (I Believe In Love) (Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, UK TV) (1981)

6) The Lebanon (Countdown, UK TV) (1984)

Philip Oakey, Susanne Sulley and Joanne Catherall looking super cool throughout, with perhaps the exception of The Lebanon, where Phil looks like he's just returned from a Bryan Adams gig...

Two former League members have a birthday in May, so belated best wishes to Jo Callis (2nd) and upcoming congrats to Martyn Ware (19th). Hmmm, I might have to come back to the latter in a week or so...

 

 

 

 

 

Cut The Crap And Set I Free

The return of an anarcho punk outfit formed in 1980, with their first studio album in over two deacdes? 

A guest appearance from a much-missed revolutionary writer who passed away 18 months ago? 

A song seemingly named after the notorious final album by The Clash?

That'll be Conflict featuring Benjamin Zephaniah with Cut The Crap, then.

I have to admit that it was the second one that piqued my curiosity and hooked me in, but I'm glad it did.

Cut The Crap is a song of two halves: the first comes in with a clash of percussion, frenetic bass then full on aural pummel as vocalist Fiona Friel switches between shouting and spoken word vocals.

I am history!

My history, your history, our history.

It's not just black and white,

It's shared,

It's in us every day,

Bound by the chains of our mutual DNA.

We are all commodities, 

Yes, that is true.

But have you ever been bought and sold like cattle,

Treated like a chattel?

No, I didn't think so.

And for all the libraries and schools they built,

We'll never admonish them of their guilt,

Full of books filled with big white lies.

This is our history!

And then at 1:25, as Fiona is questioning herself ("But what do I know? Who am I to say?"), Benjamin appears on screen. the song's tempo changes down a gear and the notes of a melodica creep in. Fiona introduces the song's special guest

Listen to one who has felt your ignorance

A gentleman, a scholar, a poet

The song's second half then shifts into full on skank, as Benjamin delivers a monologue that gives the song (and this post) its title. 

I have not drunk your wine,

That blood you shed is mine,

Your paper I won't sign,

Cut the crap and set I free.

You offer me a share,

You're acting like you care,

But how did I get here?

Can we check the history.

You want me to look like you?

It's a fear you're going through,

What you offer me won't do.

Cut the crap and set I free.

All in all, an unexpected find but a great song that delivers on many levels. Possibly not enough of an enticement to purchase the full album, This Much Remains. That said, I am intrigued by the boxset limited edition of 300.

For a cool seventy notes, you get the album on vinyl (white), CD & cassette. In addition, there's a sticker, patch, tote bag, signed print, signed lyric sheet, A3 poster and badge set. 

Best of all though is the "Bottle of Conflict vegan chilli sauce". Not something you're going to find on the shelf at your local supermarket...but wouldn't it be great if you did?!

You're Welcome Here

A dip into my shopping bag from last week's Bandcamp Friday bonanza, a mix of new releases and 'catch up' purchases.

Heavy Heavy was the first album by Young Fathers that I bought, and I really liked it. I also got to see them perform live (kind of) when they joined Massive Attack on stage for three songs at last year's ACT 1.5 concert in Bristol.

Second album White Men Are Black Men Too has been made available as Name Your Price, so it was straight in the bag on Friday. Get Started is the closing song.

Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation, the 10th album - and first in six years - by Edwyn Collins, was out in March. I enjoyed the singles that preceded it, but this is also a primer for seeing Edwyn live in concert for the first - and last - time in September.

The Bridge Hotel appears two thirds of the way through, a wonderful paean to the real-life guest house in Helmsdale.

For one day only, most of Ibibio Sound Machine's digital catalogue was available as Name Your Price, which was an opportunity for me to plug the gaps in my collection, including the second studio album, Uyai.

I previously had the excellent Richard Norris remixes of side one closer Joy (Idaresit), and the album version is a welcome addition to my collection.

I've been a fan of Los Angeles-based Black Market, with their dub reimagining of iconic artists and music. In my bag this time were EPs by The Clash and Talking Heads and, going back to my entry point, the Thin White Dub EP. 

Posing the question, "What if David Bowie spent the summer of 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica with King Tubby instead of Philadelphia?", the EP recreates four songs: Young Americans, Modern Love, Station To Station and TVC15. 

The attention to detail is impeccable and the dub-infused versions are completely believable.

Another delightful discovery, also hailing from Scotland and released in March, is Things Found In Books by Yvonne Lyon and Boo Hewerdine. 

I'll admit that I was very familiar with Boo, having been a fan of his music since first hearing Graceland and Mahalia by The Bible nearly 40 years ago, but I knew next to nothing about Yvonne. 

It's a brisk album - 15 songs in 36 minutes - but does exactly what it set out to do. Vocally, Yvonne and Boo are a great pairing, with delicate acoustic chords and wistful horn elements providing an effective backdrop to their vignettes of imagined lives.