Independent Music Podcast

Dec 21

Independent Music Podcast #30 20/12/10

Independent Music Podcast #30 20/12/10 by Independent Music Podcast on Mixcloud

Dec 20

Podcast favourite Darren Hayman is setting off on a project to release a song every day throughout January. We’ll be reblogging now and again, but to keep on top of it, follow januarysongs.tumblr.com.

50 for 2010 - Gareth #6

Well Christmas time is nearly upon us, and it’s snowing outside. I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, quite unlike the dull, miserable grey ones we used to know. It’s the sixth to last great musical happening of the year…

Drum Eyes - Gira Gira (Upset the Rhythm)

Well Drum Eyes were an inevitable inclusion towards the top of this list. The band me and Anthony bonded over more than any when we first met way back in 2009 and also the band who I erroneously and confusingly picked at the top of my nominations for the BBC Sound of 2010 poll. Oh well, sorry BBC.

Regardless, Drum Eyes are incredible. I first saw them at Supersonic 2009 and they blew my mind. Upon release, Gira Gira did too, making Drum Eyes one of the very few bands who can blow you away in person and on disc (or mp3). Set up a number of years ago by the incredible and slightly mad DJ Scotch Egg, this is a band grossly under-appreciated. One of the best live bands doing the rounds in the UK these days (perhaps bettered by fellow Scotch Egg project Devil Man, but we’ll discuss them next year), Drum Eyes should have the forward-thinking musical world at their feet.

LISTEN TO DRUM EYES - GIRA GIRA ON SPOTIFY

Gareth’s 25 of 2010 so far

Various Artists - Thai Beat a Go Go (Subliminal Sounds)
Young Prisms - Young Prisms EP (Mexican Summer)
Thus:Owls - Cardiac Malformations (Almost Musique)
Konono No.1 - Assume Crash Position (Crammed Discs)
The Jellies - Jive Baby on a Saturday Night (Trunk)
Maria & the Mirrors - Omar (Parlour)
Various Artists – Soundway Records Presents The World Ends Afro Rock and Psychedelia in 1970s Nigeria
Starkey - OK Luv (Planet Mu)
Kenny Graham and His Satellites – Moondog And Suncat Suites (Trunk)
Leona Anderson - Music to Suffer By (Trunk)
Jacky Chalard - Superman, Supercool (Cache Cache)
Thee Oh Sees - Warm Slime (In the Red)
The Budos Band - The Budos Band III (Daptone)
Various Artists - Pomegranates (Finders Keepers)
Pretty Lights - High School Art Class (self-release)
Gold Panda - Snow & Taxis (Throwing Snow Remix) (Ghostly International)
Basil Kirchin - Primitive London (Trunk)
Tobacco - Maniac Meat (Anticon)
Various Artists - Study Series (Ghost Box)

Dec 19

50 for 2010 - Gareth #7

Multiple records in at number 7, sometimes it’s just hard to pick one.

Various Artists - Study Series (Ghost Box)

This year, Ghost Box Records became my newest favourite label thanks to their Study Series of 7” records. Featuring Belbury Poly, Broadcast & the Focus Group, The Advisory Circle, Moon Wiring Club and Hong Kong in the 60s (so far, I’m not sure how long it’s going for), the first four instalments have been right up my street. Like modern library music, the sounds are peculiar and wonderful - a very special collection that has been a huge highlight of 2010.

Listed below are the instalments so far, click the links to listen on Spotify, or click here to listen to the whole collection:

Belbury Poly – Study Series 01: Youth and Recreation
The Advisory Circle – Study Series 02: Cycles and Seasons
Belbury Poly – Study Series 03: Welcome to Godalming
Broadcast – Study Series 04: Familiar Shapes and Noises

Gareth’s 25 of 2010 so far

Dec 18

50 for 2010 - Gareth #8

Well the sad news this morning is the passing of Don Van Vliet AKA Captain Beefheart aged 69. Best wishes to the family of one of the most innovative musicians of all time. In my eyes, Trout Mask Replica is an album that was ahead of its time, and time still hasn’t caught up with it. Needless to say, me and Anthony will be putting some Beefheart tracks on next week’s podcast.

Anyway, we’re on to number eight…

Tobacco - Maniac Meat (Anticon)

Former Black Moth Super Rainbow man Tobacco released his second solo LP earlier this year, and blew the socks off his previous LP Fucked Up Friends and all the BMSR stuff. It seems to have got him a legion of new fans, arguably through getting Beck in to vocalise some of the tracks, but more likely because the album is utterly sublime.

Tobacco followed the record up with a new EP, released last week (and played on Podcast #29), which continued his good form. An absolutely blistering selection of ear-bleeding electronics, Maniac Meat is violent, insatiable and utterly unmissable. It is one of the few records this year you need in your collection, so get it.

Tobacco - Fresh Hex (feat. Beck) by Lukkyboy

Gareth’s 25 of 2010 so far

Dec 17

50 for 2010 - Gareth #9

This series doesn’t seem to have been going for long, but already we’re into single digits, which means things are getting very serious indeed. A late candidate for record of the year here:

Basil Kirchin - Primitive London (Trunk)

The last Trunk release on this list is something truly special. Released just two weeks ago (and featured on Podcast #28), Primitive London is a release that collates two soundtracks the late Basil Kirchin made in the 1960s. The first, ‘Primitive London’ is an outrageous mondo film (a clip from which you can watch here), and the second was from the quickly, and as I’m told, understandably forgotten film ‘The Freelance’.

2010 marked five years since Basil Kirchin died. His contribution to ambient, experimental music is grossly under-appreciated and in my eyes he is one of the greatest musicians Britain ever produced. Jonny Trunk wrote a very poignant piece on Basil’s final years for Bearded Magazine earlier this year, I urge everyone to read it.

As for Primitive London, it is classic Kirchin - peculiar and insightful - I can’t find a stream online, but you can buy it here.

Gareth’s 25 of 2010 so far

Dec 16

50 for 2010 - Gareth #10

We’re at the top ten, but that’s enough from me, let’s dive straight in:

Gold Panda - Snow & Taxis (Throwing Snow Remix) (Ghostly International)

Gold Panda has enough kudos from the best of 2010 charts to not require a shout out here, so I’ve gone with this absolutely fantastic remix of the brilliant ‘Snow & Taxis’ from Throwing Snow to kick off my top ten musical things of the past year.

A man who is likely to have plenty of success in his own right in 2011, London-based Ross Tones has been around a little while. I first heard of him when a writer pitched him for a feature in the first ever Bearded Magazine way back in 2007 (read it here). Since then he’s had a steady stream of consistently brilliant tracks leaking their way out into the public consciousness on labels including Lo Editions and his own A Future Without Records. His tracks tend to drag influences from all forms of music that is good and wholesome, you can listen to a lot of it on his Bandcamp page.

I have little doubt the man deserves success, and 2010 seems to have provided his watershed moment, hopefully the accolades will pour in through 2011.

Gold Panda - Snow and Taxis (Throwing Snow Remix) by Throwing Snow

Gareth’s 25 of 2010 so far

Dec 15

50 for 2010 - Gareth #11

Apologies for the delay in getting this up today. As Anthony is taking his time with filling out his 25, I guess it doesn’t really matter. Although expect an onslaught of stuff from him any day now. It might even include this track…

Pretty Lights - High School Art Class (self-release)

One of the best songs of the year, ‘High School Art Class’ is from the sublime EP Spilling Over Every Side released by Colorado resident Pretty Lights.

‘High School Art Class’ is so good that it deserves attention on its own, reminiscent of much late 90s electronic music coming Ninja Tune, this is Solid Steel for a new generation. It isn’t a throwback track, but something new and unique in its own right. It’s available to download free, and for an artist who has reportedly had a million downloads of his music this year, 2011 could be a very big year.

Download all Pretty Lights music from www.prettylightsmusic.com

Pretty Lights - High School Art Class by Nitro742

Gareth’s 25 of 2010 so far

Dec 14

50 for 2010 - Gareth #12

I have a number of new releases to shout about today but before I do that, here’s the next amazing musical thing from this year:

Various Artists - Pomegranates (Finders Keepers)

Without doubt one of the best compilations of the year (indeed The Quietus named it their 12th favourite reissue or compilation of the year this week), Pomegranates is a collection of Persian funk, folk, psych and idiosyncratic pop gems from the 60s and 70s. It is truly a mesmerising collection.

But as with many of these records, the liner notes reveal more insight than I ever could, so read on:

It’s no accident that the phoenix is an exalted moral, mythical, and figurative symbol in Iran. Like the phoenix, Iranian culture is in constant flux and, at times, elusive, with its existential wavering and blurred panoramas. Most of contemporary Iran’s artistic and creative leanings, its grapples with history and identity, are loosely and mystically conjoined and contested in memory. Iran is marked by the complex interplay of diverse constituencies, philosophies, and influences: ethnic, religious, political, geopolitical and historical. The glorification of pre-Islamic antiquity (in search of authentication) marked the socio-cultural attitude of a bygone era and is witnessing revival in the present day. The discordant reality of eastern traditions complicated by the rampant confusions of modernity has become a norm in Persian dialogue, not to mention revolution, exile, and diaspora. Like many other countries, the Sixties and Seventies were a time of tumult in Iran, bringing growth (via petrodollars) and freedom (under the banner of socioeconomic development) while exacerbating inequalities within the country.

My personal favourite track is the brilliantly titled ‘Soul Raga’ by Mehrpouya. Listen to it below:

BUY VARIOUS ARTISTS - POMEGRANATES

Gareth’s 25 of 2010 so far

Dec 13

50 for 2010 - Gareth #13

At the halfway stage(ish) now. So how about some Afro Doom Soul to brighten up your world?

The Budos Band - The Budos Band III (Daptone)

Okay, this album wins no prizes in the innovative titles stakes, but The Budos Band III (the follow-up to II obviously), does earn immense praise for its ability to aptly live up to its billing as ‘afro doom soul’ - clearly a genre name in a time of ridiculous genre names that you’d actually sell your own mother to get to listen to an accurate representation of.

Released on brilliant soul record label Daptone just this month, The Budos Band has a soul sound that is huge not in breadth, but in sheer power. This isn’t light-hearted soul you’d entertain your parents with, nor is it powerful in a Solomon Burke vocal kind of way, but this is deep down dirty - almost scary - brass power soul. Afro doom soul really is the only way to sum it up.

Needless to say, it’s brilliant, regular podcast listeners will have heard tracks from it in Podcasts #22 and #28 you can listen to the whole album on Spotify by clicking the link below.

Listen to The Budos Band - The Budos Band III on Spotify

Gareth’s 25 of 2010 so far