Life's A Well-Thumbed Machine

Back in time half a century (really?!) to a dozen songs from 1972.

 

Most of these I discovered in the 1990s and 2000s. Speed, Glue & Shinki was one of a number of bands that I looked up after reading Julian Cope's 2007 book Japrocksampler. The fabulous Art Decade blog ("specializing in music of the 'long seventies'") was a rich source of new (to me) artists and lost songs in the 2010s, including Israeli singer and actress Esther Ofarim. Gnostic Serenade featured on the brilliant 'double album' Winter-Harvest, posted by one of the regular contrinbutors Emmett, on 11th February 2010. You'll need to scroll down the page to find the post, but amazingly the zip file link is still live. Highly recommended if you enjoy today's selection.

 

Some more obvious choices included: Exile On Main Street and Harvest were a given, classic singles from David Bowie and Hawkwind, along with a should-have-been single from Jonathan Richman & co.

Quite a few of these songs haven't had an airing on my playlists for a while, so I'm pleased to give them a dusting off and present them for your listening pleasure. Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Side One

1) Flat Fret Swing: Speed, Glue & Shinki

2) Loving Cup: The Rolling Stones 

3) Faust '72: Dynastie Crisis

4) She Cracked: The Modern Lovers

5) John, I'm Only Dancing (Single Version): David Bowie

6) Silver Machine (Single Version): Hawkwind

Side Two

1) Gnostic Serenade (Cover of 3's A Crowd): Esther Ofarim

2) Alabama: Neil Young ft. David Crosby, Stephen Stills & The Stray Gators

3) Wishing Well (Single Version): Free

4) Keep On: Bang!

5) Stars (Single Version): Kevin Ayers

6) Listen, Listen: Sandy Denny

Side One (22:39)

Side Two (23:00)

Let Me Know When You Can Breathe Again

Another of my Bandcamp purchases this weekend was the Georgia Gothic Dubs EP by Mattiel. As the title suggests, 4 dub remixes from the Georgia Gothic album by Raf Rundell, appropriately enough on the Heavenly label.

 

All four are highly recommended, though the original album is such a rich source to begin with. My disappointment that there isn't (yet?) a dub of album opener Jeff Goldblum is more than compensated by the tracks on offer.

 

As an example, here's the excellent video for second single Lighthouse, released in January, together with the Salty Man Dub version.

Lighthouse (Album Version): Mattiel (2022)

Lighthouse Dub (Raf Rundell's Salty Man Dub): Mattiel (2022)

підтримка україни компіляції

Sticking with the theme of the past few days, I mentioned in Friday's post that
Munich-based label Toy Tonics had released the Support Ukraine Compilation in March. I bought the digital format on Bandcamp Friday and have been enjoying it over the weekend. Drawing on Toy Tonics releases from 2018 to this year, it's just over an hour of uplifting grooves, many of the artists completely new to me. 

 

The 13-track compilation is available on Bandcamp for free/name your price, but all profit from payment goes 100% to the Red Cross Ukraine crisis appeal. As of itself, the album is worth paying for anyway, even more so given the cause. 

 

For today's selection, I've sequenced a 30-minute sampler to whet your appetite for the full album, including a couple of Toy Tonics label head Mathias Modica aka Kapote and closing with a edit from the legend that is Danny Krivit. The title is Support Ukraine Compilation in Ukrainian (as far as online translation tools can be trusted, that is). Enjoy! Then buy!

 

1) The Semimodular Bird Of Jazz: Felipe Gordon ft. Paula Pedraza (2020)

2) L.O.V.E. 2020 (NYC Tribute): Kapote (2020)

3) Danza Organica (Extended Version): Sam Ruffillo (2022)

4) LS Anthem: Cody Currie ft. Andy K & Ally McMahon (2021)

5) Strangers: Kosmo Kint & Kapote (2021)

6) Let Out On The Loose (Danny Krivit Edit): The Phenomenal Handclap Band (2020)

підтримка україни компіляції (29:59)

'Cause It's My Time And I Stand Proud

Yuksek is a French DJ and producer, better known to his butcher, baker and candlestick maker as Pierre-Alexandre Busson. Most of the songs and remixes in my collection date from 2009 to 2012, when he was creating a sound not dissimilar to Justice, another French act that I liked very much.

Since his initial releases in 2002, Yuksek has continued to develop his sound, with his fourth and most recent album, 2020's Nosso Ritmo, diving into addictive disco and electrofunk to great effect (and the cause of my divergent, pre-emptive post yesterday).

I've taken ten Yuksek songs and remixes for other artists from the late 00s/early 10s, shaped them into two sides of imaginary vinyl and present a little under 45 minutes of Gallic grooves to get you in the mood for a wonderful weekend.

Side One

1) Fool For Love (Yuksek Remix): Das Pop (2008)

2) A Certain Life: Yuksek (2009)

3) Mistake (Yuksek Remix): Moby (2009)

4) I Like To Play: Yuksek ft. The Forum Digital Choir (2009)

5) Rue De L'Aresnal (Yuksek Remix): Bot'Ox (2010)

 

Side Two

1) So Far Away From The Sea (Remix by The Twelves): Yuksek ft. The Bewitched Hands On The Top Of Our Heads (2009)

2) Shame On Me (Yuksek Remix): Amanda Blank (2009)

3) Always On The Run (Album Version): Yuksek (2012)

4) Lisztomania (Yuksek Remix): Phoenix (2009)

5) Extraball (Y A L L Remix): Yuksek ft. Amanda Blank (2009)

 

Side One (21:54)

Side Two (22:08)

This Is The Start (Of The Weekend)

Down the rabbit hole again. Today's post was supposed to be a selection of Yuksek tracks and remixes from my collection, mostly from the late 2000's. 

Whilst doing a bit of research, I discovered that he released an album, Nosso Ritmo, in February 2020. It completely passed me by in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown shortly after, but is on my list for a digital purchase this Bandcamp Friday. Second track in features a collaboration with Confidence Man, who appeared on this blog in their own right on Monday. Aptly titled Gorgeous, there's an even better Extended Disco Version amongst a slew of remixes on the 5-track 12" that was released in Australia in August 2020.

Taking a left turn from there, I also discovered a couple more Yuksek remixes from earlier this year, including Nathalie Duchene, a fellow French DJ and producer, who dropped the Praia EP in March on 12" vinyl and digital formats.

A couple of weeks ago, Yuksek's remix of Adama by Omri Smadar appeared on his Phase Of Motion EP. I think this one may only be available digitally but is well worth a listen. I'm also quite partial to the original mix.

All of these (with the current exception of Phase Of Motion) are available on shiny black plastic or digital formats. You can find lots of cheaper alternatives to Bandcamp, e.g. Juno, Boomkat, but it is Bandcamp Friday today so whilst you may pay more, a larger chunk goes directly to the artist. 

 

As an added incentive, you can buy the Nathalie Duchene/Yusek remix of Praia as part of Toy Tonics' Support Ukraine compilation, a 13-track name your price album that's worth your time and money.

Back to the originally planned Yuksek post tomorrow...

Gorgeous (Album Version): Yuksek ft. Confidence Man (2020)

Gorgeous (Extended Disco Version): Yuksek ft. Confidence Man (2020) 

Praia (Yuksek Remix): Nathalie Duchene (2022)

Adama (Original Mix): Omri Smadar (2022)

This Nature That Is Wonderful Like A Kiss

If it's Thursday, it must be The Field Mice. Tuesday's post and memories of my jangly music-loving former girlfriend and Wednesday's review of The Wedding Present's recent gig by The Vinyl Villain have kept me on a similar musical thought process.

After years of resisting their musical appeal, my girlfriend was the one that properly introduced - and converted - me to the brilliance of The Wedding Present. She had most of their albums and sealed the deal in June 1996 by taking me to see them live at The Fleece in Bristol where they were, quite frankly, fantastic. 

I was also educated in The Field Mice ouevre, albeit the Sarah Records CD issues rather than the now-uber valuable vinyl releases. Clare Wadd and Matt Haynes ended the label in August 1995 after the release of SARAH 100, the compilation There And Back Again Lane, which led off with The Field Mice's Sensitive (a track that also featured on the jangly mixtape my girlfriend gave to me).

 

Matt Haynes went on to form Shikansen Recordings, which in 1998 helpfully released the 36-track, 2-CD compilation, Where'd You Learn To Kiss That Way?, providing not only an "almost complete" back catalogue to fill in the gaps but an ideal Christmas present for my girlfriend.

For today's selection, I pulled a random 10 songs from The Field Mice back catalogue and then sequenced them into a vinyl-friendly two sides. I could have sworn that The Vinyl Villain had previously featured The Field Mice in the long-running An Imaginary Compilation series but, having checked, that doesn't seem to be the case. Regardless, this will inevitably be missing a few 'must have' fan choices but, for a random sample, I've really enjoyed revisiting these songs in this particular order. I hope you do too.

Side One

1) Star Of David (1991)

2) Humblebee (1990)

3) The World To Me (1990)

4) Below The Stars (1990)

 

Side Two

1) I Thought Wrong (1989)

2) Think Of These Things (1991)

3) When You Sleep (1988)

4) Everything About You (Album Version) (1989)

5) Between Hello And Goodbye (1991)

6) Tilting At Windmills (1991)

 

Side One (21:03)

Side Two (20:44)

Secrecy Is Incredibly Important To The Both Of Them

I love this song by Yves Tumor, which captures an early 80s alternative vibe yet sounds completely fresh. Secrecy Is Incredibly Important To The Both Of Them originally came out last July on the 6-track digital release, The Asymptotical World EP, followed in October by vinyl releases on 12" and 3x 7". The official video finally dropped in February and it's a riot.

 

Yves Tumor has been releasing music since 2015, via Warp Records from 2018, and I first heard them via Adrian Sherwood's incredible Warp vs. On-U Sound Mix from 2019. They also collaborated with Dubhed favourite Kelsey Lu on Let All The Poisons That Lurk In The Mud Seep Out in December 2020.

 

Apart from the above and a previous single, Kerosene! (also excellent), I haven't dug any deeper yet but I'm intrigued enough to investigate further.

Secrecy Is Incredibly Important To The Both Of Them: Yves Tumor (2021)

 

Buy The Asymptotical World EP and other Yves Tumor music on the Warp Records website.

Roots 'n' Culture

Side 1 of a mixtape compiled for my then-girlfriend, circa September 1995. I think we were living together by this point and this may have been recorded as an extra birthday present but, as Tears For Fears once sang, memories fade. 

 

This is another mixtape tracklist rescued from some papers boxed up in the attic, otherwise lost to the mists of time. No other info apart from the year I recorded the mixtape, but the inclusion of the opening track helped me to narrow down the period. Something Wicked This Way Comes was previewed on 180°: A Mute Records Compilation, a cover-mounted CD with The Wire magazine, dated October 1995. The song subsequently reappeared on Barry Adamson's 1996 album Oedipus Schmoedipus and (in edited form) the soundtrack to David Lynch's film Lost Highway the same year.

 

This is the same girlfriend who was heavily invested in indie music and later gifted me with the Now That's What I Call Jangly mixtape which I posted previously. My mixtape was obviously an attempt to satisfy some of those loves (Lightning Seeds, The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Boo Radleys), whilst also sneaking in some electronica and dance music (Global Communication, The Future Sound Of London, The Grid). 

 

Saint Etienne's excellent So Tough album is served by a mere 25-second snippet featuring Simon Price, who was a journalist with Melody Maker at the time as I recall.

 

The Colour Of My Love previously appeared on one of three Ed Ball/The Times compilations that I posted last year. Ed re-recorded the song (as Edward Ball) as Love Is Blue for his 1997 album Catholic Guilt and it also reached #59 in the UK singles chart. Personally, I think The Times' version wasn't bettered.

 

I've swapped out the single mix of Enjoy The Silence for an alternate version labelled 'cold end'. To these ears, it sounds like an earlier, pre-release mix but I think works better with the lead in to The Future Sound Of London track.

 

What can I say about Floatation? One of the greatest electronic pop singles of the 1990s, which is no surprise given the involvement of Andrew Weatherall, Richard Norris and Dave Ball. One sadly lost to us, the other two continuing to produce great music in 2022.

 

1) Something Wicked This Way Comes (Album Version): Barry Adamson (1995)

2) 15 Reasons: Lightning Seeds (1990)

3) Memo To Pricey: Saint Etienne (1993)

4) Leonard Nimoy (Extended Version): Freaky Realistic (1993)

5) Sometimes Always (Album Version): The Jesus & Mary Chain ft. Hope Sandoval (1994)

6) The Colour Of My Love: The Times ft. Jan Stevens (1993)

7) Funk In The Fridge: Global Communication (1994)

8) Enjoy The Silence (Single Mix/Cold End): Depeche Mode (1990)

9) Bring Me Home: The Future Sound Of London (1994)

10) Lazarus (Album Version): The Boo Radleys (1993)

11) Floatation (Subsonic Grid Mix By Andrew Weatherall, Richard Norris & Dave Ball) (7" Version): The Grid ft. Sacha Souter (1990)

 

1990: Enjoy The Silence EP: 8 

1990: Floatation EP: 11

1990: Gigantic! 2: 2 

1993: Baby Girl EP: 6 

1993: Giant Steps: 10

1993: Leonard Nimoy EP: 4

1993: So Tough: 3

1994: Maiden Voyage EP: 7 

1994: Signed Sealed Delivered 2: 9

1994: Stoned & Dethroned: 5

1995: 180°: A Mute Records Compilation: 1

1996: Oedipus Schmoedipus: 1

 

Side One (45:05) (KF) (Mega)
 

Holiday

It's a public holiday (aka bank holiday) here in the UK, although I'm working today. To dispel the Monday blues and the frankly dismal weather outside, here's Confidence Man, who have produced an early 2022 highlight with their second album, Tilt.

Holiday was the first single and actually came out in December 2021. It immediately transports me back to the 1990s, capturing that euphoric house sound with statement lyrics ("One life, good as it gets, I'll take it"). 

 

But there's also a tongue-in-cheek, piss-taking approach which I love. Another sample nonsense lyric from Holiday is "When I was a child, I was so naked” and the official video is suitably overblown and cheesy.

The Tilt album was preceded by a mock press conference and series of adverts for breakfast cereal, pharmaceutical and soft drink products. No surprise then that the album itself came out on 1st April aka April Fool's Day.

The album itself is 45 minutes of pure party sounds, with some real bangers in there. It's been on repeated plays at Casa K and whilst it's arguably nothing new, in terms of timing it's exactly what's needed right now.

A couple of remixes accompanied the Holiday single, including this one by Erol Alkan.

Confidence Man are currently touring the UK and it promises to be a lot of fun, and what can be better than that?

 

Holiday (Live On The Sound, ABC TV, Australia) (2021)

Holiday (Official Video) (2021)

Now Here's A Little Something You May Not Like

Feels like a while since there's been a rap selection and, with Saturday's sunshine, shorts and smiles during the day replaced by torrential rain through the night, something a little less languid for a soggy Sunday seems in order.

A mixed bag, as ever, mostly 21st century, apart from a remix of Beastie Boys from 1999 that I couldn't resist including and which provides today's post title. A little bit of an alternative music crossover here and there, with Lethal Bizzle taking on The Ruts and The Black Keys masquerading as Blackroc, collaborating with Jim Jones.

There's the characteristic nod to my birthplace, care of local boy done good Tricky, and another track from one of my favourite albums so far this year, from Mr. Oizo (yes, really) and Phra aka Francesco Barbaglia from Crookers. 

I'll confess that I haven't listened deeply to the lyrics of all of the tracks featured here, so my apologies for any inappropriate cussing or questionable content.

1) Big 'n Bashy (Original Mix): Fallacy ft. Tubby T (2003)

2) Alive (B.R.A. Remix By Bentley Rhythm Ace): Beastie Boys (1999)

3) Sea Level: Little Simz ft. ALXA & Mick Jenkins (2015)

4) Bristol To London: Tricky ft. Blackman & Marlon Thaws (2010)

5) The City (Remix): Darwin Deez ft. DJ Hummus (2011)

6) Babylon's Burning The Ghetto: Lethal Bizzle (2007)

7) Flip Flop Rock: Outkast ft. Killer Mike & Jay-Z (2003)

8) Queen Of Hearts: The Black Opera ft. Mayer Hawthorne (2012)

9) What It Look Like (Pocketknife's Poppinspiel The Glockenspiel Remix): Spank Rock (2007)

10) Rumbling: Young Fathers (2011)

11) Un Attimo (Album Version): Mr. Oizo & Phra (2022)

12) Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo): Blakroc ft. Mos Def & Jim Jones (2009)

13) Ghetto Pop Life (Album Version): Danger Mouse & Jemini (2003)

1999: Alive EP: 2

2003: Blackmarket Boy: 1

2003: Ghetto Pop Life: 13

2003: Speakerboxxx: 7

2007: Back To Bizznizz: 6

2007: What It Look Like EP: 9

2009: Blakroc: 12

2010: Mixed Race: 4 

2011: Tape One EP: 10

2011: Wonky Beats: 5

2012: Libretto: Of King Legend: 8

2015: Age 101: Drop X EP: 3

2022: Voilá: 11

Now Here's A Little Something You May Not Like (46:12)