Let’s start at the beginning – Max Richter is one of my favourite post-classical composers who you might say has literally been around the block. He currently records on the German classical label Deutsche Grammophon, but many of his earlier releases were via the imprint ‘130701’, an offshoot of the indie label FatCat Records, one-time […]
This is the second outing in about a year from Christopher J Connelly (Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Sons Of The Silent Age) and Jason C Novak (Acumen Nation, DJ?, Acucrack, Czar) and can be summed up in one word (pretty much) BRUTAL !!!
30 year old Nikki Lane caused a bit of a fuss when she said she wanted to be the next First Lady of outlaw country. Some over-sensitive country fans misinterpreted this as her suggesting that she actually was the next First Lady. “On one of my first interviews, someone asked me who I would like […]
Aside from the music itself, one thing that popular music culture has always provided is a home for people – both artists and fans – who don’t fit elsewhere in the world. Ezra Furman is a cross dressing, bisexual, depressive, observant Jew. If you happen not to be a cross-dressing, bisexual, depressive, observant Jew but […]
What do you think of when you think of New Zealand? Sheep perhaps? – the country has 7 sheep for every human inhabitant. Hobbits maybe? – Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations have made the islands practically synonymous with Middle Earth. The Haka? – The Maori war dance is famous for striking terror in the hearts of […]
If I told you that this album is recorded by a 26 year old male from Glasgow, you probably wouldn’t believe me. That’s because – putting Chris Duncan’s geographical origins to one side for a moment – ‘Architect’ sounds like it might have been recorded at some point during the sixties. It’s so far away […]
Judith Owen describes her latest album, her 10th studio release, as “a love letter to Laurel Canyon”. In the late 1960s and early ‘70s, Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles was home to several members of the Californian rock music community. Joni Mitchell lived there and David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash first met in […]
Dave Pen and Mike Bird formed BirdPen while sharing a flat in their hometown of Southampton. Self-releasing a handful of well-received EPs, the duo went on to release their debut Album On/Off/Safety/Danger in 2009. Evolving and honing their sound, new album In The Company Of Imaginary Friends, their third, harnesses subtle melodies to evoke widescreen […]
Duo Inga Calstrom and Leck Fischer were discovered by producer Mike Mason in a club in the small Swedish town of Sveg. Unimpressed by the entertainment on offer, Mason was on his way out. “A monstrous bass line rabbit punched me in the back of the head and a voice made me weak at the […]
Woozy Summer days. The French TV version of Robinson Crusoe. Sky Ray ice lollies. If these things could have a sound, it would be the sound of Sarah Cracknell’s new album. An album that the words “pastoral” and “sun-kissed” were made for. Sarah Cracknell is, of course, the singer with Saint Etienne; a band that […]
Back in November 2013 I reviewed Bird Radio’s first outing “The Boy and The Audience” and said ” Bird Radio is like a demented Pied Piper cum Cat Weasel character for the Ableton Live generation – fail to listen at your peril!” and he’s just released is his Oh, Happy England album. Oh, Happy England […]
Known as the French Elvis, Johnny Hallyday is a bit of an iconic figure here in France and he still manages to draw huge audiences. Eighty or nine years ago he headlined the Vieilles Charrues festival a few minutes up the road from where we live and folk travelled from all over the country to […]
I used to hammer “Laughing Gas” by Juno Reactor on the Nova Mute label back in the day (1993 if memory serves)…I can still remember the yellow and blue cover, but the 12″ is long gone sadly and since then I’ve not really taken much notice of his output. This may have been a mistake and a […]
Since forming in 1983, Ozric Tentacles have released almost 30 albums of psychedelic, space rock goodness. Technicians of the Sacred, their first double album since 1990’s classic Erpland, delivers dubby bass, trippy electronic grooves and extended Steve Hillage-influenced guitar explorations over the course of 11 tracks. Ethnic instruments are marinated with guitars, synths, bass and […]
Recent output from 4AD continues to amaze me. One minute you think you’ve pretty much nailed the type of musical output which 4AD produces – and then comes along ‘Platform’ by Holly Herndon, like a kid who comes running into the room, kicking over everybody else’s creations and then leaves through a different exit, completely […]
Panamanian (now resident in Minneapolis,, USA) José James attended The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. In 2008, he debuted with his first album, The Dreamer, on the Brownswood label with Blackmagic following in 2010. 2010’s For All We Know came out on the Impulse! label and became the winner of both the Edison Award[ and L’Académie du Jazz Grand […]