The Machines Are To Blame

What better way to clear the weekend away than with a new single and video from Tino Piontek aka Purple Disco Machine? And he's brought a friend.

 

Friedrich Liechtenstein is not a familiar name to me, but has an impressive and varied CV, encompassing roles as a puppeteer, theatre director and actor. In 2003, Friedrich pursued a career as a musician, releasing numerous solo and collaborative albums and singles. In 2023, Friedrich was one of 16 celebrities taking part in the German celebrity version of TV show The Traitors, making it to the final episode.

Tino has been no slouch, either. Active since 2011, there have been hundreds of Purple Disco Machine remixes and releases. Although the name is a fused tribute of sorts to Prince and Miami Sound Machine, the middle word is a giveaway that Purple Disco Machine's music is firmly rooted in 70s disco, branching out into funk and boogie.

 

Die Maschine encapsulates this perfectly. Born in Germany, roughly 185km and a quarter of a century apart, Tino and Friedrich are in perfect synch on this track. The introductory bass and beat immediately calls to mind You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) by Sylvester, albeit with the dial turned from Hi-NRG to chug. Friedrich's loose, relaxed vocals draw an obvious comparison with Dieter Meier of Yello.

It's a lot of fun, especially combined with the video. Friedrich spends the first couple of minutes with a silver corrugated hose up his bum and later transforms into a long haired (even) old(er) man, looking uncannily like present day Paddy McAloon.

If life is feeling pretty serious at the moment, stick Die Maschine on and you will have a smile on your face and a funk in your hips that will keep you going for the rest of the day.

 

 

 

In Space We Trust

The final selection of 2022 highlights was becoming a bit of a monster. This nearly ended up as a 22-track, two-and-a-half hour megalomaniamix, such was my difficulty in paring down the many, many songs that I've loved this year but which hadn't made it onto the previous selections this week. 

 

Nobody needs a monster mix on New Year's Eve though, me included, so here's a rather more reasonable 10 track selection at just over an hour. I could quite decide if I was creating a club or a chill out area but hopefully enough to get a party started...in our case, Clan K, the cat, some food and party games and skipping Jools Holland's Hootenanny.

 

More of the usual suspects but a couple of new (to me) artists, BT COP and Residentes Balearicos, that were respectively introduced via the superb Shelter Me and Higher Love Vol. 2 compilations earlier this year.

 

And, just under the wire for consideration in 2022, I got home from work to find that my first package from my Last Night From Glasgow subscription had arrived. Four beautifully packaged coloured vinyl albums from Popup, Billy Reeves and The Soup Dragons and - most eagerly anticipated of all - on double yellow vinyl, Happy Ending by Hifi Sean and David McAlmont. Needless to say, the latter made my night/week/year.

 

Following yesterday's single of the year award, guess what? They've only gone and done it again.

 

2022 has seen some outstanding albums that I've lived with and listened to repeatedly. However, in face of incredibly strong competition, Happy Ending is just perfect from start to finish. I will be coming back to it again (and again) in future posts but in the meantime, no better way to close this compilation and my 365th post in 2022.

 

Happy Ending is my album of the year. 

 

Thanks for your support and comments and for continuing to inspire and motivate me on a daily basis. I never thought that I'd still be going, two years after starting this blog, but the constant delight of new music, unearthing personal favourites and being introduced to artists and music that I'd missed altogether is stronger than ever.

 

I hope, however you're marking this evening and whoever you're spending it with, that you have a wonderful New Year's Eve and a fantastic start to 2023.

 

1) First Rays Of A New Life: Dan Wainwright & Elle Redding (Mother Oak)

2) Proof Of Stake: BT COP (Shelter Me: various artists)

3) Silent Disco Sucks (Duncan Gray Remix): Pete Bones & The Stones Of Convention (Hyena Hopscotch Remixes)

4) Balearic For President: Residentes Balearicos (Higher Love Vol. 2: various artists)

5) Summer Lovin' (Full Length Version): Cerrone & Purple Disco Machine (Summer Lovin' single)

6) Dexter In Dub (Bedford Falls Players Remix): Perry Granville (Dexter In Dub single)

7) Space Is Us (Basement Jaxx Remix): Telefís ft. Sean O'Hagan (Space Is Us EP)

8) Jezebellearic: Jezebell (Jezebellearica Volume 1 EP)

9) Sail On: Al Mackenzie (Sail On single)

10) Beautiful: Hifi Sean & David McAlmont (Happy Ending)

 

In Space We Trust (1:02:00) (Box) (Mega)

Holding Out For Something Greater

A final dip this week into my recent Bandcamp Friday shopping bag, with another 10-track selection, split into two sides for your listening pleasure.

 

The selection starts off with two legends, Winston Reedy and Dennis Bovell, performing an acapella version of Lovers Rock classic After Tonight by Bovell's former band Matumbi. Dennis Bovell returns for the finale on Side 2, this time with Roots United and Skarra Mucci.

 

In between, there's a fair bit of globe trotting, taking in artists from or based in France, Germany, England, Norway, Australia, Mexico, Chile, Jamaica and the USA.

 

I've included two artists on the ever-excellent Paisley Dark Records and a couple more extracts from the EarthPercent x Earth Day Compilation Album, featured yesterday. 

 

An eclectic but fun selection, I think.

Side One

1) After Tonight (Cover of Matumbi): Reedy & db (2022)

2) Summer Lovin' (Edit): Cerrone & Purple Disco Machine (2022)

3) Tacrolimus: UFO Club (2021)

4) Deep Time Exploration: From Beyond (2021)

Side Two

1) Somethinggreater (Gaspard Augé & Victor Le Masne Remix): Parcels (2022)

2) Silk Sea: Blancmange (2015)

3) You're Not God: Anna Calvi (2022)

4) Closed World (Single Version): Roswell Brothers ft. Nyx (2022)

5) Distance Mover: Orlando Weeks (2022)

6) Fall Babylon (Version): Dennis Bovell & Roots United ft. Skarra Mucci (2020)

2020: Fall Babylon EP: B6

2021: Repeat Prescription EP: A3

2021: Semi Detached (Extended Version): B2

2021: Simulated Emotions EP: A4

2022: After Tonight EP: A1

2022: Closed World EP: B4

2022: Day/Night Remixed EP: B1 

2022: EarthPercent x Earth Day Compilation Album: B3, B5

2022: Peaky Blinders: Season 5 OST: B3

2022: Summer Lovin' EP: A2

Side One (21:11)

Side Two (20:20)