Return To The Other Side

From yesterday's working class hero to today's Working Men's Club and a new song and video, Devout.

First impressions, very good. I can't help but be reminded of Clan Of Xymox in their 4AD pomp, but Sydney Minsky-Sargeant's vocals are less aching and forlorn, more insistent and inviting.

The beats are pulsing and insistent, with lots of squalls and screeches to keep the listener present and not drift into a trance. I'm intrigued that Working Men's Club have worked with producer Atticus Ross on this one, who I'm familiar with from his collaborations with Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails, Barry Adamson, Jehnny Beth and Bomb The Bass. On the strength of this single, I hope there's more.

Heading over to Bandcamp to buy, I was put off by the eye-watering $9.00 price tag for the track, with no indication that this is a pre-order for an album, so I can only assume it's a typo and will be corrected.

In the meantime, head straight to WMC's label Domino where you can buy Devout for a much more reasonable 99 pence.

Couldn't Drag Me Away

Today's eclectic selection is linked by one thing. According to Apple Music, I last listened to these songs on 16th December in previous years. I'll leave you to surmise which ones got an airing last year and which haven't troubled a playlist since 2015 and which have fallen into varying degrees of neglect in between.

Nothing wrong with any of the songs per se, it's one of the challenges of having so much (too much?) music to listen to, with more new stuff coming in all the time, this year being no exception.

The selection opens with two of 2022's top acts, Working Men's Club and Confidence Man coming together in a remix soundclash. Prince appears in potty-mouthed abusive character from The Black Album, recorded in 1987 but shelved until an official, limited release in 1994. Another Prince - Prince Fatty, that is - pops up twice, firstly with Big Youth and Marcia Griffiths and again at the controls with Horseman. There's also a rematch between The Beatles (courtesy of My Brightest Diamond) and The Stones.

 

As I said, an eclectic selection that starts off in the club, staggers to the late night cafe and then stumbles home, regretting the excess the following morning. Perfect for a Friday going into Saturday, in that case.

1) First Class Bitch (Working Men's Club Remix): Confidence Man (2020)

2) Lararari (Canzone Felice) (Santos Disco) (Edit) (Remix By Sabino Contartese & Davide Marsilio): Santos & Sabino (1998)

3) Bob George: Prince (1987)

4) Gangster Tripping (Long Edit): Fatboy Slim (1998)

5) Of Course I'm Lying (The Truth Is) (Remix By Boris Blank & Dieter Meier): Yello (1989)

6) Steppin' Out Of Babylon: Prince Fatty ft. Big Youth & Marcia Griffiths (2019)

7) Wild Horses (Acoustic): The Rolling Stones (1971)

8) I Sold My Soul On Ebay: Swansea Sound (2020)

9) No In A Dat (Album Version): Horseman (2014)

10) Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey (Cover of The Beatles): My Brightest Diamond (2008)

 

1989: Of Course I'm Lying EP: 5

1994: The Black Album: 3

1998: Gangster Tripping EP (USA promo CDS): 4

1998: VC Recordings Summer Sampler EP: 2 

2008: The White Album Recovered (Mojo magazine promo CD): 10

2014: Dawn Of The Dread: 9

2015: Sticky Fingers (Deluxe Edition): 7

2019: In The Viper's Shadow: 6

2020: First Class Bitch EP: 1

2021: Live At The Rum Puncheon: 8

Couldn't Drag Me Away (45:19) (Box) (Mega)

Is There Room In Your Life For One More Trip To The Moon?

In case you were disappointed by Friday's lack of beat-laden bangers, here's a suitably slipshod mix to see in Saturday. 

As usual, it's an eclectic mix spanning 1993 to 2022. It may not keep you moving, as k.d. lang implores, but you will hopefully get an involuntary twitch or jerk here and there. I would like to apologise for the cack-handed segueways and fade ins but if I did, I'd have to do so for each and every track. Hopefully, the quality of the tunes will encourage you to overlook my enthusiastic but amateurish approach...!

A couple of current loves in here, including one of many excellent remixes of the current David Holmes single and the latest in a consistent series of great one-off tracks by Pye Corner Audio aka Martin Jenkins. There are some reworkings of musical legends Gong, Kraftwerk and The Cure and - I couldn't resist - two helpings of Andrew Weatherall, back-to-back. 

The opening twofer by Baron Von Luxxury aka Blake Robin and k.d. lang remixed by Tony Garcia may be a bit of red herring regarding the subsequent direction of the mix, but I think it just about works. 

I've also dropped in a bit of uptempo Four Tet, from Kieran Hebden's excellent 2020 album Parallels, as well as Confidence Man. The latter track might be from 2017, but their current album Tilt is on constant rotation at Casa Khayem.

 

To close, another Dubhed favourite, Dan Wainwright. Dan and his partner Elle Redding have just released a new album, Mother Oak, which I received this week, so expect to a further appearance here in the not too distant future.

1) I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Drawn That Way (Instrumental): Baron Von Luxxury (2013)

2) Just Keep Me Moving (Wild Planet Mix By Tony Garcia): k.d. lang (1993)

3) It's Over, If We Run Out Of Love (Working Mens Club Remix): David Holmes ft. Raven Violet (2022)

4) A Sprinkling Of Clouds (Belly Dance Mix By System 7): Gong (1999)

5) Evidence The Enemy: Andrew Weatherall (2017)

6) Bubblegum (Andrew Weatherall Remix): Confidence Man (2017)

7) Aerodynamik (Intelligent Design Mix By Alexis Taylor & Joe Goddard): Kraftwerk (2007)

8) Wrong Number (Crossed Line Mix By Omid Nourizadeh): The Cure (1997)

9) Parallel 8: Four Tet (2020)

10) Dirty Window Of Opportunity: Pye Corner Audio (2022)

11) Nothing Ever Stays The Same: Dan Wainwright (2021)

Is There Room In Your Life For One More Trip To The Moon? (47:45)