25 For 25, Part Two

Following up from last week's first half, today's 13-song selection rounds out the 25 For 25 highlights of the year so far. 

 

I've been fortunate enough to see two of these artists live on stage in the last couple of months, and with any luck by the time year end comes around, I'll have seen another two, also for the very first time.

 

I had an opportunity to see another this summer, with tickets for a "secret", "intimate" 5k capacity gig in Bristol, which I thought Lady K might be interested in going to. When I broached the subject, she gave me a withering look and said that they were "stuck in the 2010s".

 

I don't know what made me feel older: Lady K's reference to the 2010s - which I consider to be yesterday - as ancient history, or Mrs. K suggestion that a middle-aged man going on his own to a show with potentially a predominantly teen audience might draw attention for all the wrong reasons. I didn't go.

 

I leave you to hazard a guess at the opportunity that I passed up. 

 

Speaking of older, I've previously seen three other of today's featured artists, all who crashed into the public consciousness in the 1980s and/or 1990s. and have released great new music in the past 12 months.

 

Things change over time and my enthusiasm for certain things in my youth may have waned somewhat in passing decades, but my passion for music remains undimmed. 

1) Waiting: Yvonne Lyon & Boo Hewerdine (Things Found In Books)

2) Slow Emotion Replayed: The The (Slow Emotion Replayed EP)

3) Monday Murder: YUNGBLUD (Idols)

4) Rubber Inner Tube: Mark Rae ft. Heidi Haswell (New Town Ghosts)

5) Space Station Mantra: Andy Bell (Pinball Wanderer)

6) Metrosexual Man: Davey Woodward (Mumbo In The Jumbo)

7) Kicking Up Dust: F.O. Machete (Mother Of A Thousand)

8) On The Missing: Later Youth ft. Lissie (Living History)

9) Being Baptised (Piano Version): Manic Street Preachers (Critical Thinking (Deluxe Edition))

10) Portland Town: Heavenly (Portland Town EP)

11) pond song: Wet Leg (moisturizer)

12) Fuckboy: Billy Nomates (Mary And The Hyenas OST)

13) Moonlight Hotel: Charlie Noordewier (Moonlight Hotel EP)

Side Two (45:21) (GD) (M)

An Array Of Audio

As a companion piece to yesterday's post, ten more new songs that have piqued my curiosity in the past week. 

And this is still only scratching the surface. I've missed out Rialto's unexpected comeback single, but don't worry, Martin and Rol have got amply it covered at New Amusements and My Top Ten respectively. And Swiss Adam wrote some beautiful words about the opening song last Friday at Bagging Area.

As with yesterday's post, the ten songs are listed alphabetically by artist. With one exception, you can click on the artist's name to buy their music. 

And please do, they're all very good.

1) "i'm in love...": Andy Bell ft. Dot Allison & Michael Rother (Cover of The Passions)
2) CHROMA 008 TANGZ: Bicep ft. Eliza

3) Climbing (Solomun Mix): Caribou

4) Summertime (Joe Morris Dusk On The Playa Mix): Cree

5) Black Sun (Jack Essek Revision): Dead Can Dance

6) A Day To Breathe: Julie Pavon

7) The Place I Call My Home: Mark Rae

8) 8th Deadly Sin: Miki Berenyi Trio

9) Shake Yo Bum Bum: Moony ft. DJ VonDiego

10) Druantia (City Lights Sessions): The WAEVE

I could easily offer up another ten tomorrow, but it's Friday so...

 

  

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Music Of Light, That's Our Song

It's been a bit of a rum month, so I’ve been digging into my digital crate for some uptempo tunes for the last Friday in February. Being me, there's a melancholy edge to quite a few of them and the pacing is all over the place, but hopefully you'll be too busy moving your hips and waving your hands to care. Just make sure you put down that hot drink before you press play. 

We get down to business with Max Essa and a wonderful remix by Mark Seven of Uptown Vibration that - in my mind at least - has an intro that continually makes me think it's going to launch into A Certain Ratio's cover of Shack Up. More of them later.

audiobooks are Evangeline Ling and David Wrench. Wrench has a mightily impressive CV but I first heard of him via his link to Julian Cope. audiobooks are remixed here by Bruise, a duo featuring Darren House, better known to me as Diesel of Rocky & Diesel, Ballistic Brothers and X-Press 2 fame.

There was a lot of love for Blancmange over at The Vinyl Villain this week, so it would be remiss of me not to include Pete Herbert's remix of one of their finest moments from the 1980s. Living On The Ceiling is possibly their finest song, but it’s a tough call.

Coming in at the tail end of the 1970s, A Certain Ratio were smashing it in the 1980s and, like Blancmange, have been enjoying a purple patch this decade. 2021's Loco Remezclada saw a bunch of artists remix their album Loco, with deeply satisfying results. Featured here is Manchester-based DJ and producer Kirby Halliday aka Muddy Feet, delivering a cracking version of Always In Love. 

 

Speaking of cracking tunes, Hifi Sean and David McAlmont have released a whole album of them with Happy Ending. All In The World was remixed by Hifi Sean himself, a pulsing, energetic tune that retains just enough of David McAlmont's vocals to hit that sweet spot (though the vocal-free dub is excellent, too).

 

afterlife is a one-man act, Steve Miller, described in the Resident Advisor bio as "the sunset phenomenon, purveyor of romantic and melancholic mood music". Who better to guide a tune through the night and blinking into the sunrise than Sean Johnston in his Hardway Bros guise? This is kind of how I imagined a Slam remix of Ultramarine might sound, very 1990s yet perfect for a 2020s winter weekend too.

Jezebell should need no introduction if you're a regular visitor to this blog as I've featured them many times. Like A Certain Ratio, Pete Bones turned over his album Hyena Hopscotch to a clutch of creatives and the results were impressive. Jezebell have only been releasing music for a couple of years but have hit the mark each and every time. My regular stream of Bandcamp mailing list updates included the good news that there are more Jezebell remixes coming out next month, which will undoubtedly feature in future posts.

 

Abstract Incognito is also known as DJ Pants and to friends and family as Aditya Mehta. His music is inspired by "his love for bright sunny weather and warm coastal breezes" and I first heard of him last year, following Max Essa's trail to his Jansen Jardin label and the rather fine Collection Number One compilation. Another track with a strong 1980s vibe, this time a little swingbeat soul.

 

Speaking of the 1980s…cripes, I hadn't twigged the underlying theme when I was stitching this selection together! Mark Rae - taking a break from Rae & Christian - released The Tracks Of My Psychedelic Soul in 2021, containing a very familiar sample from one of my favourite bands underpinning a very satisfying mash-up.

 

I know very little about Unu' Marika aka DJ Marika aka Florin Marica, other than they are based in Romania and run the Selectro Records label, this track appearing on the 22-track compilation Free Download in 2021. Much of it made up of hit-and-mix remixes of artists as varied as Echo & The Bunnymen, Cardi B, Dead Or Alive and Massive Attack. This remix and accompanying dub by Romanian producers Sakdat & Balaur aka Paul Andrei & Loko Trashman are the highlights.

 

I've been following Nicolas Laugier aka The Reflex for many years, from his early outings with unofficial/bootleg reworks to the present day with official 're√isions' for the likes of Róisín Murphy, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and UNKLE. Here, he returns to a stone cold classic from the Bar-Kays, teasing out 1978's Holy Ghost to a satisfying eight and a half minutes.

 

Resident Advisor states that Deo'Jorge is a "well-known figure in New York's infamous underground off-location party scene". Sadly for me, being located in rural Gloucestershire in England, there's a distinct lack of an underground off-location party scene, but I can still appreciate Deo'Jorge. I originally bought his Robotic Souls EP in 2021 on the strength of featured remixes by Hardway Bros and Prins Thomas but the other tunes were pretty darn good too, as evidenced here by Do Androids Dream.

 

I like Jane's Addiction but haven't particularly bought their albums and have even less sense of Perry Farrell's other work with Porno For Pyros and as a solo artist. Therefore, I can only describe his 2021 compilation The Glitz; The Glamour: Remixes as an impulse purchase. It was a good one, though. Oh The Sunn! is a collaboration with The Avalanches and provides today's post and mix titles. Oh, and I've included the lyrics below if you want to sing along.

 

Hola Estrella are another act that I know very little about, apart from the fact that they are an Italian duo who appear to share my love of "obscure and psychedelic disco sounds and cosmic emotional tracks" - I mean, what's not to love? I believe Velax is Russian born but residing these days in Mexico City. As for AGD, you've gotta be kidding me, I haven't a clue! However, I will say that I'm very glad that they all come together for the closing track on this selection, Les Etoiles.

 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

1) Uptown Vibration (Mark Seven Downtown Mix): Max Essa (2022)

2) The Doll (Bruise Remix By Christian Campbell & Darren House): audiobooks (2021)

3) Living On The Ceiling (Pete Herbert Version Darkness): Blancmange (2021)

4) Always In Love (Muddy Feet Remix By Kirby Halliday): A Certain Ratio (2021)

5) All In The World (Hifi's Electro Flux): Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (2022)

6) Resistance (Hardway Bros Remix By Sean Johnston): afterlife (2021)

7) Submissive Background (Jezebell Remix By Jesse Fahnestock & Darren Bell): Pete Bones & The Stones Of Convention (2022)

8) Me Gusta Dancing: Abstract Incognito (2022)

9) The Tracks Of My Psychedelic Soul (Redux): Mark Rae (2021)

10) Stelele (Sakdat & Balaur Remix): Unu' Marika (2021)

11) Holy Ghost (Reborn) (The Reflex Re√ision By Nicolas Laugier): The Bar-Kays (2021)

12) Do Androids Dream: Deo'Jorge (2021)

13) Oh The Sunn!: The Avalanches ft. Perry Farrell (2021)

14) Les Etoiles (Velax Cosmic Dust Reix): Hola Estrella ft. AGD (2021)

The Music Of Light (1:29:10) (Box) (Mega)

 

 

Oh The Sunn! by The Avalanches ft. Perry Farrell 

The entertaining lights
When the sky and stars at night
Fashioned by divine light

 

Divine
Divine designer
Under lights, suicide

 

No, we don't understand
Why they treat us so mean
No, we don't understand it at all
But we'll do our best
To stand the test
And we'll never turn back no more (the big, big, beautiful lights)

 

No, we don't understand
Why they treat us so mean
No, we don't understand it at all
But we'll do our best
To stand the test
And we'll never turn back no more (under lights, suicide)

 

The music of light
The music of light
That's our song
Love is our song
It's what we've known all along
Love is our song
Big, big, beautiful life
Love is so powerful
Love is so strong
Love is our right
But we've known all along

 

No, we don't understand
Why they treat us so mean
No, we don't understand it at all
But we're doing our best
To pass the test
And we never turn back no more
Love is our right

 

No, we don't understand
Why they treat us so mean
No, we don't understand it at all
But we do it our best
To pass the test
And we never turn back no more