Everything Playing At Once

"How did I get here?" as David Byrne once said. I know what he means. It's been a pretty crappy year in many respects, but music - and blogging about music - has been my salve, my safe space, my springboard back into the, at times, sheer madness of the wider world.

"What, no mega-mix?" as Ernie Goggins commented yesterday. Well, I'd always planned a Dubhed selection to sum up 2023 and see in 2024. Thankfully, it's not a 24-hour marathon attempting to squeeze everything in. Instead, it's a much more ear-friendly party mix at a smidge over an hour, sampling 17 tracks (and one interview snippet) including one song which didn't even make yesterday's end of year list!

This may be the only place today where you will hear Balearic, post-punk, downtempo, travelogue, dub, house, alternative, r 'n' b, politics, jazz and psychedelia all cut and pasted together. As I said to Ernie, more manic- than mega-mix. I think it turned out surprisingly well.

 

I have no plans for Dubhed to slow down in 2024, so expect more of the usual make-it-up-as-I go-along nonsense on a daily basis, inspired as ever by the music that soundtracks my life and keeps me going through good and bad times. 

On that note, a massive thank you again to you all for your continued support this year, it really means a lot. I hope that however you are spending New Year's Eve, it's a good one and that 2024 brings you much joy and happiness.

 

Happy New Year!

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Bliadhna Mhath ùr! 

Athbhliain Faoi Mhaise Dhuit!

Bonne Année!  

Ευτυχισμένο το νέο έτος!

Feliz Año Nuevo!  

Щасливого Нового року!

 

1) Ride A Cloud (Xavi's Campfire Mix - Khayem's Nice 'n' Splicey Edit): The Woodentops ft. Kyoko Sato *

2) Master Of Time: Jah Wobble

3) That Time Of Night (Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Uptown Dub): GLOK ft. Shiarra

4) Lack Of Sleep (Pye Corner Audio Remix): Maps

5) Cleanse Your Guilt Here: Algiers

6) Somehow It Feels Important (Auren Remix): Hairdressa

7) Tender Years: Robert Forster

8) I Laugh Myself To Sleep: David Holmes ft. Raven Violet

9) "do you wanna know what's changed about the music industry?": David Holmes **

10) Many Hands (Retroforward Dubbin' Hands Remix): D:Ream 

11) Brigada (Single Version): Bárbara Boeing ft. Phil Mill

12) Baba Louie: Jaimie Branch ft. Akenya Seymour & Kuma Dog

13) Go On Dub (Adrian Sherwood 'Reset In Dub’ Version): Panda Bear & Sonic Boom

14) 3rd Highlands And Islands Tour: Julian Cope

15) wifi: Spare Snare

16) There Will Be No Crying: Cleo Sol

17) $1 One Vote!: The The

18) Sunday's Cool: 10:40

 

Everything Playing At Once (1:02:45) (KF) (Mega) 

 

* This is possibly the laziest edit I've ever done. I've simply laid a copy of the mix on the other, with a 20-second delay and (roughly) beat matched. I like the repetition of Kyoko Sato's voice, so this version stayed in. 

 

** A snippet from Edith Bowman's interview with David Holmes earlier this month. Well worth an hour of your time.

Music Is The Cure

All this week I've been plugging albums that I've purchased in 2023, so time now for some singles and EPs that I've bought (or will buy) via Bandcamp Friday.

 

Cupid Home Delivery by HANN has been a summer pleaser since it was released in July, with a rather lovely video edited together from fan contributions, Hannah and friends and a special appearance from Frank Sidebottom and Little Frank...kind of. I've been a recent but enthusiastic HANN fan and I'm looking forward to the debut album, due soon-ish.

 

deary describe themselves as "dream pop from London". This is pretty on the nose, listening to their debut single Fairground, which emerged blinking into the winter sunlight back in January. 

A rather fine reworking by Saint Etienne followed in March, the wonderfully titled "Saint Etienne Meet Augustin Bousfield At The Top Of Town Mix". I held out until May for the full 4-track EP release, which includes both versions plus an extended mix and the shimmering, ambient Hide In Glass Mix, both by deary themselves.

 

deary's second single and video, Beauty In All Blue Satin, followed in May and is equally lovely. Both of these and a new track Sleepsong are also available for pre-order as an eponymous 6-song EP, ahead of a full release in November.

 

SCALER is a Bristol 4-piece who release a new single Loam, produced by Daniel Avery, on 20th October. It's a banger, as they say. If the sound is familiar, it's because I first wrote about the band in March, having accidentally discovered their music whilst looking for something else. In September, as reported by Crack magazine, the band changed their name from SCALPING to SCALER and retrospectively applied this to their entire back catalogue. SCALER is on tour in November and December.

 

 

Laura Mikučionytė is from Vilnius in Lithuania and creates music as Hairdressa, a nod to her other profession. Somehow It Feels Important was released at the end of September, an 8-track EP featuring 4 original songs and remixes of each by fellow Lithuanian artists Auren, Cport, Cistema and Pletnev, as well as Lauer (not Lithuanian).

 

Laura provides full vocals, with the blurb describing "a low, deep voice that easily reminds listeners of early Madonna". I kind of agree, though personally I think the songs are more reminiscent of late 90s Madge, a specific touchstone being Nothing Really Matters. The remixes are all good and, all in all, considering that I first heard this about ten minutes before starting this post, it's been an intriguing introduction to Hairdressa, her Lithuanian peers and the Vilnius-based Electric Shapes label in general so I will be going back for more.

 

Peah was released on the Stereo MC's Connected label back in February, teaming South African house artist Diamond Dealer with Kenyan musician Idd Aziz. It's a monster 8-minute track, with stabbing chords, a pulsing beat and Aziz's vocals flying just above the surface. Peah translates from Swahili as 'to give', which this song does and then some.

 

Justin Robertson has been treating listeners to a steady stream of music this year, a dozen releases via Bandcamp as at September and I suspect at least one more dropping on Friday. A mix of new and unreleased music from the archives, the most recent EP was a brace of 'lost' Deadstock 33s songs, Lone Raver In Dub and Golden Twilight 23. Justin describes them as "Dub acid thumper and trippy dream house"; I'd add "essential purchase". I've been buying them one at a time but if you've not yet discovered this 2023 treasure trove, I'd recommend the full digital discrography bundle. Currently at 30% off and worth every penny.

 

More Bandcamp Friday recommendations tomorrow.