Wednesday 30 April 2008

Kids And Grown-ups Love It So



A first live performance is as good an excuse as any, so when 21 year old Tom Harris aka Harris Crumb told me he was playing his first show at Prostitutes + Policemen @ Sankey's in Manchester, I had to give him a shout out.

Especially when he's sharing a bill with the likes of Count Of Monte Crystal + Sinden, Crookers and Mary-Anne Hobbs on 30th May.

He's been producing and remixing for a few years now, it's only since studying at the School Of Sound in Manchester that he's finally ventured in to the live arena, and what a place to start!

Having grown up with the Late of the pier boys, he's also collaborated with Sam Eastgate aka LA Priest under the moniker LA Crumb.

Two of his best works are a remix of Heartbeat.Flicker.Line for his Zarcorp pals, and the other is his edit of my favourite Beatles songs - Tommorow Never Knows, which can be found on his Myspace.

Heartbeat.Flicker.Line (Harris Crumb Remix) - Late of the pier
Yallrite Mayte - Harris Crumb
Manky Gravy - LA Crumb
Harris Crumb's Myspace

Carl

Monday 28 April 2008

Big Shoes, Won't You Come With Me In The Rain



It's been a long wait since their self-titled EP was released in 2005 but here's the video for new Van She single Strangers.

Strangers is set to be the first single from their debut full length 'V' which is due for release in August through Modular.

Carl

Friday 25 April 2008

The Crack Constellation Of Prescribed Fantasy



Re-emerging from their bleak, shadowy hideout, London five-piece White Rose Movement are back with fresh material for the first time since their criminally underrated debut Kick was released in 2006.

Here's what I can only hope will be the first of many spanking new demos; Bones.

White Rose Movement - Bones (Demo)
WRM Shop
WRM Myspace

Carl

Tuesday 22 April 2008

I Suppose, I Suppose



Nineteen year old solo artist Jonjo Feather, nurtured his own brand of retro indie pop on the streets of West Yorkshire.

The multi-talented Jonjo plays all of the instruments within his records, and is accompanied by drummer Joe Love when performing live.

Check out his excellent debut single I Suppose, showcasing his talent for writing a great indie-pop melody, with a backdrop of scuzzy guitar and strong, sharp, solid percussion, as well as an effortlessly cool Julian Casablancas-esque vocal laid over the top.

Co-inciding with his debut release, he has a string of UK shows coming up as well as a few in France, check those out on his Myspace.

Jonjo Feather - Face By Your Window
Jonjo Feather Myspace
Jonjo Feather Merch

Bec

Sunday 20 April 2008

Take One, Take Two, Take Me, Take You



I've been meaning to write this post for a while now, but we've had a major backlog to get through and it's finally time.

Ark People is the brainchild of London duo, Miles and Marcus, who are currently at opposite ends of the country due to University commitments.

However, this tiny complication hasn't prevented them from getting together and producing a hand full of yet to be named demos, that have been getting me rather excited of late.

Sort of a mix of Beirut and Interpol, the pair produce a grandiose version of the dark pop that current next-big-thingers White Lies are riding the wave of, but without the Killers comparisons.

Whilst there is currently only the two of them, plans are in place to expand the band and there should soon be a live show in the works, which I'm looking forward to with great anticipation.

Check out their myspace for the other two demos.


Ark People - Song B
Ark People - Song C
Ark People Myspace

Carl

Thursday 17 April 2008

It's Official, Good Things Come...



...to those who wait.

Rather than post the bootleg of this bitch that's been floating around blogland for a few weeks, I thought I'd wait it out and only post the 100% authentic version.

Featuring as the B-side to the Mystery Jets' next single Hideaway, here it is, the evil love child of Erol Alkan and Switch...

Mystery Jets - Hideaway (Switch Remix)
Mystery Jets Myspace
Mystery Jets "Behind The Bunhouse" Blog

Hideaway is available on 12" on April 28th and download in June.

Carl

Wednesday 9 April 2008

**WORD Exlcusive**
Candybar's From Space

One night, young Sydney lads Dinesh and Jeremy were mucking about in their garage, mixing their tunes like they did every Friday night.

They'd met while working at the candybar at the local cinemas, and had become good mates through a near identical taste in music. A couple of local gigs was the source of their motivation to one day become the musical masters of the DJ decks. As we can see from the pic, they're pretty jovial guys, having a bit of fun.



But something strange happened that night. This is a a picture of the boys, moments before they were abducted by an alien life form. For days, nobody knew of their whereabouts. There was frantic searching though friends, family and coworkers had not the faintest idea of their whereabouts.

Fast forward a few weeks, to Candys apartment in Sydney's infamous Kings Cross. It's late at night and the dance floor is pumping, but nobody can quite see through the haze as to who is manning the decks. All that is apparent from the lights are a pair of gloves.

Two pairs in fact, creating havoc, mashing up the sounds and destroying the ears of anyone who hears it, infectious beats causing reflexive convulsions on the floor. As the lights shine on the decks, revelers think they can make out the shadows. Its Jeremy and Dinesh... only it's not. They seem different. They seem out of this world.

The next day, gossip is rife that the pair had been found, but still not a trace of them. People try to use their cameras for evidence of the their discovery, but all that can be seen is two bright orbs of light, and two pairs of leather gloves.

As each week passed, people would flock to Candy's apartment, eager to see the missing boys in gloves up on the decks, only to be mesmerised by the music that was streaming through the speakers. Oblivious to the crowd around them, the boys would play their stuff, and simply disappear until the next gig.

Information about the two is slowly leaking out. Apparently human no more, they prefer to be addressed by their alien names: Attack and Decay. When questioned about their disappearance, the solitary response from both is simply "MACHINE".

The only image of the two we have after the abduction is this: it was left behind on the decks and passed onto Illegal Tender, thinking we may be able to make sense of it.



Since obtaining this image, I have been contacted by Attack and Decay, who collectively refer to themselves as CANDYBAR. They sent me these songs, 'weapons' in which they said they plan to destroy electronic music as we know it, a direct order from machine. They said theres nothing more you can do, except brace yourself for the onslaught that is to come.

Be warned: Candybar will be attacking a club near you...

Myspace
Candybar - Phantom Is On Fire
SebastiAn - Walkman (Candybar's Insaner Edit)
Candybar - Landing Mix (40 Mins)

Tracklisting:
1. Landing
2. D.A.N.C.E. (Boys Noize Acapella) – Justice
3. Jupiter Room (Planetary Lobby Version) – Digitalism
4. Oh I like (CSK OK Remix) – Like Woah
5. Invaders (Busy P Remix) – DSL
6. One More Time (Redial Remix) – Daft Punk
7. I Used To Dance With My Daddy (Para One Rmx) – Datarock
8. Ice Cream (Kato vs Knife Machine remix) – Muscles
9. Disco Clown (Digitalism Remix) – Munk
10. When Doves Cry (Felix Da Housecat Remix) – Prince
11. Let's Buy Happiness (Proxy Remix) – Boys Noize
12. Paper Planes (DFA remix) – M.I.A.
13. Technologic – Daft Punk
14. Phantom Is On fire – Candybar
15. Where My Nerds At – Surkin
16. Flex – Dizzee Rascal
17. Walkman (Candybar's Insaner Edit)
18. Wannabe – Spice Girls
19. Girlie Rock (Flosstradamus remix) – Kid Sister
20. Phantom (Boys Noize Turbine) – Justice
21. Rocky Raver – Herve
22. Nil By Mouth (Knightlife Remix) – Bagraiders
23. Let Me Back Up (Crookers Remix) – Don Rimini
24. Bust It Homeboy – Wax Motif
25. Lauren From Glebe (Damage Remix) – Muscles
26. Frau (Puzique Remix) – Boys Noize
27. Throw Some D's (Jean Nipon Remix) – Tameil
28. DVNO (Justice Remix) – Justice
29. Aurora (Knightlife & Riot In Belgium Remix) – Alex Gopher
30. Body Crash (JFK remix) – Buy Now
31. Fun Punch (Bagraiders Remix) – Bagraiders
32. Fascination (Count & Sinden Remix) – Alphabeat
33. Rock The – Bobmo
34. Zdarlight (Rewind) – Digitalism
35. Do It Again – The Chemical Brothers
36. Chemical Beats – The Chemical Brothers
37. Rock n Roll – Daft Punk
38. Roscoe (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Remix) - Midlake

Ross

Tuesday 8 April 2008

We'll Never Amount To Anything, But We Don't Care



With the imminent release of Elle Milano’s long long long awaited debut Acres of Dead Space Cadets on the 14Th April looming, as well as touring over April and finishing with the Great Escape and Hull Festivals, I thought now would be a great time to talk about lead singer Adam Crisp aka Kobe Winona's other projects.

The myspace gives little away about Entrepreneurs, so its not difficult to understand why I have only recently found out about them, and even then it was down to the sharing-caring side of a friend.

However, that unmistakable voice belongs to Crisp and it can only be said that this guy has talent spilling out of his ears. Also worth a mention is another project, Kobe & The Konsoles.

Due to his commitments with Elle Milano, he hasn't released new material under either moniker since June 2007. Let’s hope that once the children of the world fall in love with Elle Milano, Kobe will return his focus back to his smaller projects.

Here's two songs from the Entrepreneurs only available EP I Love You But I Want You To Fail, the other two tracks can be downloaded from the Myspace page.

Entrepreneurs - Offensive Coordinator
Entrepreneurs - Soundtrack To The Party I Was Never Invited To
Entrepreneurs Myspace
Pre-order Acres Of Dead Space Cadets

Lea

Sunday 6 April 2008

Just A Couple Blocs…

I apologise for the lack of posts lately – finding an apartment in Sydney is like winning the lottery. That and Uni… you really don’t need to hear my excuses but they’re laid out for you there anyway.


The Bulgarian is about to arrive.

His bouncy baselines are deceptively upbeat, infectious and are a certainty to get the dance floor banging. Slightly dirty, you can’t help but to produce a smile and nod your head when the unique sound that is The Bulgarian comes blaring through your iPod earphones (the main method of listening to music for yours truly – train rides are a bitch).

Hailing from South Africa, the precocious talent has already toured the motherland and is one of the many who remixed Bryan Cox’s recently released hit Let’s Go To Work.

Throughout all of his songs, there is the assurance of the ‘bounce’ sound that I now come to identify as The Bulgarian.

The Bulgarian – Barnyard Dance
The Bulgarian – Lovely Bounce (Vukasin Re-edit)
The Bulgarian feat. Spoek – Jack it like a Zombie (Santiago & Bushido Remix)


Pic: LastNightsParty


And now time for a little bit of nostalgia. Somehow, this song became stuck in my head the other week, and it was just the song I was looking for to get through life's struggles at the time.

Needless to say, I hunted ferociously for the song, and eventually obtained it. So here for your listening pleasure is a song that can make you feel good in the darkest of times.

Chromeo – Me & My Man (Whitey Remix)

Ross

Friday 4 April 2008

Life, Sometimes You Wake Up In The Middle Of It



I recently stumbled upon the unbelievably talented Florian Lunaire through the usual means - Myspace - and really, and I mean this genuinely, hit the jackpot.

Based in London and releasing under the name F. Lunaire, his debut The Mondestrunken EP was released in February through Stiff Records. With songs that are comprised of a diverse range of instrumentals, all brought together by some fantastic piano work on his part.

When performing live, he's accompanied by members of Kid Harpoon's band The Powers That Be for whom he also plays keys.

My favourite track and current profile song is Quantum Physics In The Sink, a brilliantly poignant tale of finding yourself in strange surroundings, with nothing but the harsh realities of modern life and it's vices for comfort.

Seriously, get the damn EP and quick!

F. Lunaire - Josephine (Live)
F. Lunaire - La Lune (Live)
Myspace
The Mondestrunken EP @ 7Digital

Carl

Tuesday 1 April 2008

NLLR (Reprise)



So since I last posted about the No Love Lost Records Mixtape Project, there have been another twelve mixtapes, including some of the best so far.

So just in case people aren't up to date on things, here are some more highlights...

025 - The Bulgarian
028 - Matt Payne
030 - Chewy Chocolate Cookies
031 - AC Slater
032 - Hostage
033 - LA Mode
035 - Brodinski
036 - Steroheroes
037 - Grum

All tracklistings can be found here.

Carl