50 for 2010 - Gareth #21-19
Thanks to issues with Tumblr over the past few days, putting one record a day on the blog has been impossible. So to catch up, here are three musical highlights from this year.
The Jellies - Jive Baby on a Saturday Night (Trunk)
Rather out of left field, Trunk records pulled this long-forgotten funky post-punk gem out of landfill and gave it a new lease of life in August. Originally released in 1981, played by John Peel and then thoroughly ignored, ‘Jive Baby on a Saturday Night’ is a dance anthem it is impossible to dance to. The 12” came backed with some fantastic remixes, which you can listen to on Spotify.
The Jellies - Jive Baby On A Saturday Night by subraw
Maria & the Mirrors - Omar (Parlour)
Bizarrely confused with Marina & the Diamonds when their debut single came out early this year, Maria & the Mirrors have nothing but a vaguely similar name to the Radio One songstress. Insane noise, off-kilter drums and plenty of screaming, ‘Omar’ was the first record of 2010 to make me sit up and take notice.
Released on the ever-brilliant Parlour records, who have made a habit in recent years of unearthing some real gems, Omar is calculated verocity that, when played live, often goes of the beaten track - probably unintentionally but always with interesting results.
Here’s the b-side to ‘Omar’ - ‘From Egypt with Love’
Maria and the Mirrors - From Egypt With Love by Brattwell Recordings
Listen to Maria & the Mirrors - Omar on Spotify
Various Artists – Soundway Records Presents The World Ends Afro Rock and Psychedelia in 1970s Nigeria (Soundway)
Given the innumerable old African records released this year, it would surprise me if this particular well wasn’t dry. One of the best to emerge was this one, a collection of psychedelia from 1970s Nigeria.
What interests me most about this type of music, and about labels like Trunk or Finders Keepers, is that often the music that is found in unlike anything anybody has heard before. Often it’s more new and fresh than most bands populating lists like this across the internet, and that is cause for both dismay and celebration.
This is an absolutely fantastic selection though, and the track by The Funkees below is one of my favourites, click the Spotify link to get the whole album
The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelia in 1970s Nigeria by Soundway
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)
