Return To The Valley Of Kissing The Mix

Side 1 of a mixtape, compiled 21st April 2000. It's back to the 80s indie-not-indie disco time with another eight twelve inch hits and misses. 

Starting off with Prefab Sprout and Paddy McAloon's love song to the Big Apple. A wonderful song, Hey Manhattan! had the thankless task of being the follow up single to The King Of Rock 'n' Roll, their first (and only) Top 10 hit in the UK, reaching #7. Hey Manhattan! also had a '7' in it's highest chart placing. Unfortunately, that '7' was #72. It deserved better.

 

Lloyd Cole & The Commotions fared better, reaching #17 with Lost Weekend, two places higher than previous single Brand New Friend and, it turns out, Lloyd's biggest UK single success, with or without The Commotions.

Howard Devoto followed up Magazine and a solo album with Luxuria, a partnership with Norman Fisher-Jones aka Noko. After two albums and a handful of singles, the pair worked again, Devoto writing lyrics for songs on Apollo 440's debut album and Noko later joining the reformed Magazine in 2009. The 12" of Redneck was a beautiful thing, the vinyl single housed in an embossed brown cardboard sleeve. 

I really liked China Crisis' first album but didn't get any of the follow ups until well into the 21st century. I did go back and buy the 12" singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hanna Hanna wasn't a particular favourite as a single, but the extended mix won me over. It's only when I looked up the lyrics and listened more closely to the song that Gary Daly snuck in the F-bomb with the verse,

 

"We're living on a catwalk, catwalk
And swimming with the sharks
Biting into poison, poison
In a city all full of fucking sharks"

 

Naughty Gary, wash your mouth out with soap. If you're quick, you can catch up with the rather wonderful Imaginary Compilation Album of ten China Crisis gems over at The Vinyl Villain. So good that Martin, who collated the collection, didn't even need to include this song. 

 

By 1984, Wang Chung (formerly Huang Chung) were a core duo of Jack Hues and Nick Feldman and were enjoying greater success on the other side of the pond. Wait was taken from the soundtrack to the film To Live And Die In L.A., starring William Peterson and Willem Dafoe. Depending on which 12" single you bought, the 12" version featured here was variously known as Wait (Special U.K. Remix), Wait (Extended Dance Remix) or just plain Wait (Remix).  

 

If, like me, you knew Kissing The Pink for their 1983 UK Top 20 pop noir single The Last Film, their return as SAW-affiliated pure popsters was a bit of a surprise. Thankfully, no sign of Stock, Aitken or Waterman on the mix here and Phil Harding did have form remixing the likes of Nitzer Ebb and Depeche Mode. Personally, I enjoyed the run of singles from this period, but neither this musical volte face or a rebranding as KTP changed their chart fortunes in the UK. We're an unforgiving lot who dislike change, I guess...!

 

I'll put it straight out there: if you want to hear the definitive version of Bedbugs And Ballyhoo by Echo & The Bunnymen, then head straight to the B-side of Bring On The Dancing Horses. They re-recorded the song with The Doors' Ray Manzarek at the controls and keyboard. It's good but it's a bit like gilding the lily in my opinion. Being a sucker for an extended remix however, when I was on a family holiday in Florida in 1988 and snuck off to find a record shop, my haul included this 5-track 12" single. Ivan Ivan's a fairly safe pair of hands and he does a fairly decent job on this.

In the week that Depeche Mode announce their return with a new single, Ghosts Again, See You is a nice reminder of their melancholic pop days. The video, directed by Julien Temple, is a pretty cute narrative and a reminder of how much of a social focal point the humble photo booth was. My own photo booth collection, though with several losses and gaps over the years, tracks an intriguing narrative of friends, girlfriends and a variety of frankly ill-advised hairstyles. The video is also interesting in that Alan Wilder had clearly come on board slightly too late to be included in the full video. So, it's mostly Gahan, Gore and Fletcher, with a few blink-and-you'll-miss-them cuts to Wilder in a completely different room!

Happy Friday, everyone. 

1) Hey Manhattan! (JFK Version By Tony Phillips): Prefab Sprout (1988)

2) Lost Weekend (Extended Version By Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley): Lloyd Cole & The Commotions (1985)

3) Redneck (Album Version By Gavin MacKillop, Howard Devoto & Noko): Luxuria (1988)

4) Hanna Hanna (Extended Mix By Mike Howlett): China Crisis (1984)

5) Wait (Special U.K. Remix By Stephen Lipson): Wang Chung (1984)

6) Never Too Late To Love You (Kissing The Mix By Mixmaster Phil Harding): Kissing The Pink (1986)

7) Bedbugs And Ballyhoo (Club Remix By Ivan Ivan): Echo & The Bunnymen ft. Ray Manzarek (1988)

8) See You (Extended Version By Daniel Miller & Depeche Mode): Depeche Mode (1982)

 

Side One (46:19) (KF) (Mega) 

Side Two here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Au Revoir

Yesterday, my father-in-law was cremated. We made the just-under two hour trip to her parents to join Mrs. K's mum and brother, before the hearse arrived bearing his coffin and we were taken to the crematorium a short drive from home.

My mother-in-law selected the music which soundtracked our time together with him, moments of reflection, sadness at his passing and joy at the many, many memories of his kindness and love for his family.

 

I'm not a traditionalist in most things, but I did ask him for permission to marry Mrs. K and his reaction - there were tears (of happiness, I hasten to add) - will always stay with me. I knew him for over two decades and he was the best "in law" I could have wished for, welcoming me into the family and just being a great dad to us.

 

I'm pretty sure there were seven songs in the twenty-or-so minutes of music; I can only recall six, thinking I've missed the actual penultimate song somewhere. Back at the house, my mother-in-law couldn't remember all of the songs either; hardly surprising as our thoughts were elsewhere. She didn't write it down beforehand and will contact the funeral directors as she's asked me to burn a CD-R of the songs for her.

 

The songs will be familiar to many of you. Not your typical Dubhed fare perhaps, although by sheer coincidence one of the artists appeared a couple of weeks ago in my tribute to Sylvia Sims.

 

I've scoured YouTube to find the songs and - in all but two cases - live/TV performances by the artists in question. The opening song has a monologue at the start and a second song at the end, so the song in question runs from approx. 2:00 to 7:30.

 

The closing song is about as good a choice as one could wish for.

 

My father-in-law's ashes will be returned home on Friday. In many other respects, he never left and will always be with us in our hearts.

 

Thank you, David, for everything.   

1) The Lonely Shepherd: James Last ft. Gheorghe Zamfir

2) Moon River: Andy Williams

3) As Time Goes By: Perry Como

4) It's All In The Game: Nat King Cole

5) My Way: Frank Sinatra

6) What A Wonderful World: Louis Armstrong

 

David

'Nuff said.

 

1) Holy Thursday: David Axelrod (1968)

2) Diamonds Are Forever (Orchapella) (Cover of Shirley Bassey): David McAlmont / David Arnold (1997)

3) Rock On (Mojo Filter Gold Plated Edit By Ben Zaven Crane): David Essex (2019)

4) Rolling Downhill Backwards: David Nakedsson (2020)

5) Heart Of Gold: David Johansen (1981)

6) Hey Don't You Cry: Stuart A. Staples & David Boulter (2006)

7) Fill Your Heart: David Bowie (1971)

8) I Heard Wonders (Andrew Weatherall Instrumental Mix): David Holmes (2008)

9) The Way it Is: David McClymont (2022)

10) Magnolia (Cover of J.J. Cale): David Kitt (2004)

David (41:00) (Box) (Mega)

Django Django In Dub

My shopping spree on Friday increased my existing collection of three Django Django songs (two are remixes of the same song) by 1,800%.

I belated got their debut self-titled album in it's 10th anniversary deluxe edition, the big draw being Django Django Meets Mad Professor: A Dub Rework, the entire album recycled and dubbed up a la Massive Attack's No Protection. It was probably in a review of the latter that someone opined that all albums should have a Mad Professor dub companion and I can see their point.

A few days in and I'll confess that I haven't yet listened to the parent album but the dub rework is all that I could have hoped for and then some. 

Not content with that, I also bought the remix album Hi Djinx! which accompanied the original debut, a mix of styles and genres but with a few dub inflected excursions from the likes of Adrian Sherwood and Bullion aka Nathan Taylor. 

I also  picked up a few EPs, released around the time of their second and third albums, featuring Wrongtom aka Tom Robinson and Peaking Lights aka husband and wife duo Aaron Coyes and Indra Dunis. The former is firmly rooted in dub, the latter influenced maybe but taking a more psychedelic path to close out this half hour selection.

Today's photo is The Knife Angel, which has been touring nationally since 2018 and is in Gloucester this month, in the grounds of the cathedral. Created by sculptor Alfie Bradley, it's an awe-inspiring, thought-provoking artwork that stands as a national monument against violence and aggression. You can read the story of The Knife Angel and the victims of knife crime that inspired it here and here.

1) Hand Of Man (Mad Professor Dub) (2022)

2) Fountains (The Incredible Shrinking Dub) (Remix By Wrongtom) (2018)

3) Skies Over Cairo (Mad Professor Dub) (2022)

4) Skies Over Cairo (Bullion Version) (2012)

5) WOR (Adrian Sherwood's Hey Gringo Remix) (2012)

6) First Light (Wrongtom Dub) (2015)

7) Love's Dart (Mad Professor Dub) (2022)

8) Love's Dart (Peaking Lights Remix) (2016)

Django Django In Dub (29:45) (Box) (Mega)

The Only Way To Gain Approval Is By Exploiting The Very Thing That Cheapens Me

On Bandcamp Friday, The Anchoress released a cover version of This Is Yesterday, which originally appeared on Manic Street Preachers' 1994 album The Holy Bible. The timing is not insignificant: Richey Edwards went missing on 1st February 1995.

In the press release, Catherine Anne Davies wrote, 

"I thought I would return to the beginning of it all and the band that originally sparked my obsession with music, literature and all things cultural, who I’m lucky enough to have gone on and collaborated and worked with - the Manic Street Preachers.

It was a pretty tall order to choose a Manics song to reimagine but I settled on the majestic “This Is Yesterday” from The Holy Bible, reworked here in collaboration with the talented Charlie Cawood and my now overflowing collection of vintage synths. Of course you can’t improve upon the original, but I hope this version captures some of my own bittersweet nostalgia for the purity of childhood that, for me, the song effortlessly evokes."

 

Here's the original version:

...and a solo acoustic version performed by James Dean Bradfield in concert in 2011 (yes, that's Allen Toussaint and John Grant sitting on stage behind him):

 

The Anchoress follows a similar, plucked acoustic path to JDB but the addition of the synth tones underpins her beautifully poised vocals. 

 

This Is Yesterday is available as a digital purchase for a very limited time and whilst it may follow the trend of 2022's cover version EPs and eventually be included on a physical release, why wait? 

 

I'm seeing The Anchoress live in concert in May and I am really, really looking forward to it.

 

Nostalgia Burns

A selection of David Sylvian songs has been percolating since I posted about his first 'interview' (actually an audio diary), broadcast on Mary Anne Hobbs' 6 Music radio show last October.

Undaunted (or just plain foolish), I've matched the ambition of David Sylvian's career-spanning compilation A Victim Of Stars, released in 2012. Whereas that sought to encapsulate three decades in 31 songs, I've attempted the same with 11 songs and just over three quarters of an hour.

My other constraint was to avoid using any songs that appear on a David Sylvian C90 compilation that I recorded in the early 1990s, spanning 1984 to 1989 and most of the singles from that period. Inexplicably, The Ink In The Well didn't feature on that cassette and I used a different version of Taking The Veil, so they’re in. However, it does mean that this selection doesn't feature anything from Secrets Of The Beehive, possibly my favourite Sylvian solo album, jostling for pole position with Brilliant Trees. On the plus side, that battered old tape didn't include either of David Sylvian's hit singles with Ryuichi Sakamoto, so they make the cut here.

 

David Sylvian's music has arguably taken an increasingly esoteric path and I've only relatively recently started to dive back into his catalogue, having stopped regularly buying his albums with 1999's Dead Bees On A Cake. This selection falls slightly short of A Victim Of Stars' scope, 'only' covering 1982 to 2011. Rather than mirror that compilation’s straight chronological path, I've mixed things up, finding my own way through the songs in a direction which I think makes sense from start to end.

 

The selection didn't start with the intention that it would specifically be a Sunday post, but I think it works particularly well, listened to on a dark, cold weekend in winter.

 

1) The Ink In The Well (Remix) (1984)

2) The Greatest Living Englishman (Coda) (Manafon Variation) (2011)

3) Taking The Veil (7" Version) (1986)

4) Dobro #1 (1999)

5) Godman (Wagon Christ Mix By Luke Vibert) (1999)

6) Forbidden Colours (Theme From "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence") (Vocal Version): David Sylvian & Ryuichi Sakamoto (1983)

7) Small Metal Gods (Album Version) (2009)

8) Blemish (Remixed By Burnt Friedman) (2005)

9) Five Lines (2010)

10) Bamboo Music (Full Length Version): David Sylvian & Ryuichi Sakamoto (1982)

11) A Fire In The Forest (Album Version) (2003)

 

1982: Bamboo Houses EP: 10

1983: Forbidden Colours EP / Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence OST: 6

1984: The Ink In The Well EP: 1

1986: Taking The Veil EP / Gone To Earth: 3

1999: Dead Bees On A Cake: 4

1999: Godman EP: 5 

2003: Blemish: 11

2005: The Good Son vs. The Only Daughter: The Blemish Remixes: 8

2009: Manafon: 7

2010: Sleepwalkers: 9

2011: Died In The Wool: Manafon Variations: 2

 

Nostalgia Burns (46:50) (KF) (Mega)

You Scream 'Cos You Know It's A Long Way Down

Young Fathers released their fourth album, Heavy Heavy, on 3rd February. My shopping list for Bandcamp Friday was pretty long, but this was right at the top, along with Mykki Blanco and pre-orders for Unloved and 10:40, both out later this month.

 

There have been three singles preceding the album release: Tell Somebody, I Saw and Geronimo, all showcasing Young Fathers' range and ambition.

The press release states that Heavy Heavy "could be a mood, or it could describe the smoothed granite of bass that supports the sound… or it could be a nod to the natural progression of boys to grown men and the inevitable toll of living, a joyous burden, relationships, family, the natural momentum of a group that has been around long enough to witness massive change."

 

Heavy Heavy is a brisk, energetic album with frequent changes of tempo and mood over ten songs and 33 minutes and, on a first listen, a cathartic experience. Well worth the five year wait since their last album. Welcome back, Young Fathers.

Happy Ending Is Here At Last

Happy Ending, the long-awaited album from Hifi Sean and David McAlmont, is officially out today. 

 

I was so enthused by the run of singles that preceded that I subscribed to Last Night From Glasgow and purchased the double yellow vinyl edition of Happy Ending in December last year. 

It ended up being my 2022 album of the year, even though it wasn't officially released. It's really that good.

 

A fifth single was released on 20th January, the aptly titled Beautiful. And if you ever wanted to see Hifi Sean on a beach, dressed up as a lobster, this is the video for you.

 

The digital EP also offers up a beautiful dub excursion of the song by Hifi Sean himself.

 

 

Happy Ending has it all: lyrics that sing of the wonder and the horror of the world around us; soaring, cinematic sweeps courtesy of an 80 piece Bollywood orchestra; perfectly sequenced beats and melodies that complement that incredible voice. Hifi Sean and David McAlmont's previous collaborations only hinted at what this album could achieve. It plays and sounds like a greatest hits compilation. It's really that good.

The album begins with the title track, which feels like a contemporary relation to Massive Attack's Safe From Harm, and opens with the line, 

 

One day the wind will blow away this stubborn joke

It has to happen sometime

 

 The album closes with Aurora (Parts 1 & 2) and the line,

 

Will you forever turn around and stage another day?

 

Over a dozen songs and just under an hour later, I'm reaching to drop that needle back on Side 1, Track 1 and start all over again. 

 

I've posted about the previous singles All In The World, Maybe and The Skin I'm In, so for the sake of completeness, here's the video for the very first single, Bunker To Bunker, which came out all the way back in June 2020.

Happy Ending is still available on double vinyl from Last Night From Glasgow. You can buy the CD (signed by Sean and David) and digital versions from the Plastique Recordings Bandcamp page. And it's Bandcamp Friday today so it's a win-win. 

 

 

If all of that isn't incentive enough, Sean and David have also provided a beautifully created lyric booklet as a free download. So buy the album, pore over the lyrics and set yourself up for a premiere on Tim's Listening Party tonight at 9.00pm (UK). It's really that good.

 

2023 album of the year? Happy Ending is the one to beat.

I Wonder If They'll Ever Claim Us

Finger on the pulse as always, a YouTube catch up with Kelsey Lu brought me to Mykki Blanco and their collaboration on French Lessons from last July.

I've heard of Mykki Blanco but, apart from a guest spot on a track on Tricky's 2014 album Adrian Thaws, I don't own or have knowingly heard any of their music. French Lessons is a wonderful single (in addition to Kelsey Lu, also featuring a contribution from Anonhi) with a striking video directed by Felix Kalmenson. 

I was sufficiently intrigued to check out another single from March 2022, Family Ties, this time featuring Michael Stipe. Apart from the fact that it's great to see and hear Stipe singing again, it's another strong narrative matched by a stunning, stark video directed by Kit Monteith and Krishna Muthurangu.

 

Mykki Blanco released their fifth album, Stay Close To Music, in October 2022 with a further single to promote it. Carry On is the closing song of the album, with a guest vocal from Jónsi, Sigur Rós front person and solo artist. 

Although I take Iffypedia with a pinch of salt, it's probably a better start than any ignorant and ill-informed effort on my part to outline the basics 'about' Mykki Blanco after half an hour's onliine 'research'. Suffice to say, theirs is a complex, challenging and ultimately optimistic journey. I've also posted the lyrics to Carry On below, which tell their own story of being a Black American trans rapper living with HIV and evolving and developing as an artist in the public eye over the last ten years.

The first Bandcamp Friday of 2023 lands tomorrow. I've added Stay Close To Music to my shopping list.

 

Black and gay
I wonder if they'll ever claim us
HIV, I've got HIV, can I still be famous?
Will they wait 'til I'm dead to give me credit
These thoughts run through my head
I try to dead 'em and just bless God instead
I've been with the shits since 2012, my nigga
Made it out of personal hell, my nigga J-Lo, the cell
I figure this, life is but a gift
Let me clean my chakras so I can talk to you proper
Beware of false idols, poppin' off like they prophets
Profitin' from your pockets, that shit's not cute
That's just not you
The light inside is blinkin'
I know all these people thinkin' I'm about to show out
Clarity over clout
What's the point of being blessed if your head's a fucking mess?
Mama, cue the drama, kill the trauma
Say it like the Dali Lama
Be kind, be wise
Keep that mental temple simple
All truth no lies

 

Carry on and keep on givin' all
Go on, don't give up
Carry on and keep on to Xanadu
No chain, no lock, no leash
Carry on and keep on to Xanadu
Go on, don't give up
Carry on and I won't let you down
No chain, no lock, no leash

 

Deep sleep, the dreams I keep, dead of the night
Push me, I got to win, yo, I got to fight
For every little queer, every kid alone with fear
Every kid that's dressin' up and dressin' out, just being them
Seeing them on CNN, they spoutin' hate
This country blood was never really that fucking great
Black imprisonment, genocide, the Indian
Immigrant detention men, dope fiend these kids again
My life, young jet set and feminine
This is for my sisters, for my sisters, keep blessin' them
I look inside my soul, I ain't stressin', man
I know who I am, God bless them man

 

Give me your hand, I'll never let you go
Give me your hand, I'll never let you go

 

Carry on and keep on givin' all
Go on, don't give up
Carry on and keep on to Xanadu
No chain, no lock, no leash
Carry on and keep on to Xanadu
Go on, don't give up
Carry on and I won't let you down
No chain, no lock, no leash

No chain, no lock, no leash
Nobody gon' stop, step on my feet
Hands up, don't shoot, can't breathe
My people gon' rock, gon' win, gon' sing
No chain, no lock, no leash

 
Nobody gon' stop, step on my feet
Hands up, don't shoot, can't breathe
My people gon' rock, gon' win, gon' sing
No chain, no lock, no leash
Nobody gon' stop, step on my feet
Hands up, don't shoot, can't breathe
My people gon' rock, gon' win, gon' sing
No chain, no lock, no leash
Nobody gon' stop, step on my feet
Hands up, don't shoot, can't breathe
My people gon' rock, gon' win, gon' sing

 

Carry on and keep on givin' all
Go on, don't give up
Carry on and keep on to Xanadu
No chain, no lock, no leash
Carry on and keep on to Xanadu
Go on, don't give up
Carry on and I won't let you down
No chain, no lock, no leash

 

Carry on and keep on to Xanadu
Go on, don't give up
Carry on and I won't let you down
No chain, no lock, no leash
No chain, no lock, no leash
No chain, no lock, no leash
No chain, no lock, no leash
No chain, no lock, no leash

Knots In Our Laces

I first heard Architecture In Helsinki around 2007. My initial impression was crap name, good music. Other artists that I was discovering around that time included Vampire Weekend, Metronomy, The Very Best and Passion Pit and Architecture In Helsinki were a bit of a melange of the sounds of their peers. 

I'm using the past tense as their last album was in 2014 and they appear to have been completely inactive since 2018. I've only sporadically listened to Architecture In Helsinki in the last couple of years, but a response to Alyson at What's It All About? for "February" song suggestions for her enjoyable series prompted my dusting off their songs with a Dubhed selection in mind.

 

It turned out that I ended up with a 2-part selection, 8 songs per side, a bit long for a decent vinyl compilation (unless you're K-Tel or Ronco, of course) but go with me.

The selection pulls together album tracks, singles and B-sides, remixes, radio performances and a cover of The Beach Boys.

Happy 1st February. I hope yours isn't too heavy.

Side One

1) Scissor Paper Rock (2003)

2) Sooner Than Soon (I Never Want To Go Home Version) (2002)

3) Frenchy, I'm Faking (Album Version) (2005)

4) Like A Call (Jeremy Dower Mix) (2006)

5) Adrenaline (Heart it Races) (DJ Rupture Mix) (Extended Version ft. Mr Lee G) (2007)

6) City Calm Down (2003)

7) To And Fro (2003)

8) Pet Sounds (Cover of The Beach Boys) (2006)

Side Two

1) One Heavy February 2008 (New Version) (2008)

2) Contact High (Album Version) (2011)

3) The Owls Go (Live On Triple J Radio Show) (2003)

4) Tiny Paintings (Album Version) (2005)

5) Do The Whirlwind (Hot Chip Remix) (2005)

6) Born To Convince You (2014)

7) Heart It Races (Album Version) (2007)

8) Cemetary (New Buffalo Mix) (2006)

Side One (27:30) (Box) (Mega)

Side Two (27:11) (Box) (Mega)