Broadcasting a live edition of my radio show from the annual Melksham Christmas Fayre last weekend (December 23) turned out to be most enjoyable. As usual we had to deal with lots of technical problems, but soldiering on with that unique British spirit and pursuing our aims made it even more rewarding.
The magnificent Dodgy are releasing a brand new festive track entitled 'Christmas At The Food Bank'. This song will be released at the beginning of December with all proceeds going to The Trussell Trust, who are the leading charity providing food banks and tackling poverty and exclusion in the UK and Bulgaria. The song will be backed by a short film by fantastic young film maker Kris Thompson. I spoke to Dodgy frontman Nigel Clark about the single in an interview that you can read HERE. You can download the track by going to - http://www.dodgyology.com/shop when it's released on December 10th.
On Wednesday I was sorry to hear that the magnificent Puressence had decided to go their separate ways. Dear Puressence: Thank you for making the late 90's and beyond an even more glorious time. Thank you, and your legacy WILL live on with all of us who still love the music that has soundtracked our lives. Much respect and best of luck for the future, guys...
In gig action this week, I went to see the legendary Sparks for the first time, as they visited Bristol as part of their "Revenge Of Two Hand One Mouth" tour. A fantastic night in the company of Russell and Ron Mael, a fascinating act who remain as unpredicatable and forward-thinking as ever. A gig review will be coming soon in the Gig Reviews section HERE. In the meantime, photos from the gig can be seen HERE.
A few nights ago on Friday, I enjoyed a great night of local music at the Three Horseshoes in Bradford-On-Avon courtesy of the excellent Hell Death Fury, with support from the recently emerged Bite The Hand. Formed in around 2006, Hell Death Fury keep going from strength to strength, and after years spent strengthening their sound are preparing to release the follow up to their 2010 debut 'Free Porn'. Tonight they were supported by the newly-formed Bite The Hand, a heavy five piece group playing rock and hardcore covers. Walking in to a band playing 'Sabotage' by the Beastie Boys is always a good way to begin your night, and as their set rolled on, it was surprising how powerful they were for a group only on their second ever gig. Singer Trigger and bassist Matt were also both former members of Nishe, and ex bandmate Bean made a guest appearance on a hectic and massively enjoyable cover of Refused's legendary 'New Noise'. What a blast, and the first time in years that the three had shared a stage. With a superb drummer and a line-up who seem to gel brilliantly the future is bright for this lot. Hell Death Fury pitch their sound as a fusion of punk rock, ska, metal, dub and reggae. Never understating their love for a spliff, tracks from the debut LP like 'Crack Party', 'Rude Boy' and the awesome 'Green Lane' sounded fatter than ever, while their cover of Technohead's 'I Wanna Be A Hippy' went down a storm. Three brand new songs mixed ska, hip hop and hardcore, taking their sound to more complex but hugely enjoyable places. Certainly promises great signs that the second album could be even better than the first... Read more HERE, where there are also photos from the gig...
Audiophiles is a music forum in Bristol, with monthly sessions to discuss new album releases, promote gigs, interview local bands and discounts on gigs and events... They also have an insightful radio show too, which can be heard HERE. Their second annual celebration of Bristol music takes place on Saturday December 14 from 6pm-2am, over three floors of The Louisiana. Among the acts playing will be Seasfire, An Axe, These Colours and Evil Twin. Drop down to the middle floor to throw some shapes to great dance music from Shanti Celeste and Ivor Wilson DJ sets, with live performances from The Crisis Project and Kayla Painter. For a more intimate experience, huddle in with Mary Spender and Kitten And Bear plus an extra special guest to be announced soon in The Louisiana cellar. The Audiophiles team will be playing the choicest cuts of the year, video visuals and a few prizes. Tickets available from Bristol Ticket Shop and Rise, just £7. More info can be found HERE at their Twitter page.
Paul McCartney's 'Early Days' is an album highlight and a brilliant riposte to his critics.
The 71-year-old released his 16th solo studio album 'New' last month. Paul said: ''Well it is a bit defensive, yeah. It didn't start off particularly defensive; it was just this idea of not just me, anybody who has sort of done something in their past and then the younger generation is saying, 'Well yeah, it wasn't that good.' ''It's just this idea of people robbing your history from you, that it's not just me but in my case it started off with the case of 'they can't take it away from me because I lived through those early days. I was there.'"
Scottish four-piece Vladimir have released their new single ‘Come Over’ as a free download. It's not a million miles from what a psychedelic Joy Division might have sounded like, with a raving chorus and fierce, noisy guitars. The band, only 18, have captured the youthful disregard for civility with their renowned and excessively loud chaotic live shows that has seen them go on to support bands such as Peace, The Twilight Sad and Wet Nuns over the past year..." More releases are expected in 2014.
This is definitely one of those where I prefer the B side to the A side. Technically this is a 3 track EP (even thought the CD I was sent only contained two songs) so all the songs are supposed to be A sides in theory, even if the lead track 'Distant Shorelines' also lends the release its name The urgent, dark rattle of the rhythm, low slung bass and epic guitars of 'Mint And Lime' take the listener on a more eventful and enjoyable journey than its lead track, almost like a post-punk Morrissey. “Dublin band Spies' searing indie-rock has an assured delivery that suggests an abundance of experience. The truth is the five-piece band are still in their early twenties and have sounded like seasoned professionals since their first releases: the 'Liars Call Me A King' debut EP in late 2010 and the subsequent 2011 single 'Barricade'..."
Heard this on Gideon Coe's BBC Radio 6Music show last week... Junip's ‘Oba, Lá Vem Ela' is a cover of a track by the legendary Brazilian musician Jorge Ben... of course I didn't know that until I researched more about this song for this brief feature. Over the last few years I have become a lot more open to music of different cultures, perhaps owing something to the fact that my hero Damon Albarn has been dabbling in world music for quite a few years now... But I still have no awareness of this Jorge Ben character. One thing I do know is that this song is fantastic, and if the original is as good as this, I must seek out some of Ben's recordings. A dark, slinky funk groove meets shimmering acoustic guitars, the fantastic instrumentation growing bolder throughout, before a deliciously spacey synth towards the end provides the cherry on the icing. This can be found on the ‘Brazilian Beats 7' compilation, celebrating 25 years of Mr Bongo Records. According to the press release "This compilation continues the label’s persistent dedication to shining a light on the country’s wealthy musical heritage, both past and present. The hype surrounding all things Brazilian will only increase in the coming months due to the fast approaching 2014 World Cup. Brazilian rhythm fever is brewing." Indeed. Junip are a psychedelic folk trio from Sweden, consisting of childhood friends José González (guitar, vocals), Elias Araya (drums) and Tobias Winterkorn (organ, moog).
One of my favorite new bands of recent times, Temples have announced the release date for their debut album 'Sun Structures'. The 11 track LP is out on February 10 2014 via Heavenly Recordings. The LP was produced by James Bagshaw of the Midlands-based band and was recorded at his home in Kettering. It was mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer. A new single is released on January 13, it's called 'Mesmerise' and it does exactly that. More info on the album and the accompanying UK tour dates can be found HERE.
Here is an old track, but it's one that will be new to most people, and it features on a soon-to-be-released compilation. It's hard not to fall for 'Os Angos', with the irresistible shake and shuffle of its rhythm topped with caressive bass and fluid guitars. I don't know a thing about Avante Juventude though.
The great Analog Africa label's new compilation 'Angola Soundtrack 2' is released on December 2, and represents the best of the short lived recording industry in Angola, the former Portuguese colony in south central Africa. It documents a brief moment of history between 1969 and 1978, when three recording companies produced approximately 800 limited records, mostly singles. They are rare jewels, each song with a significant story and feel behind it. You will hear exciting music blazed with the anticipation of emancipation, tracks fueled with a sense of unity, community, importance and immediacy. In 2010, against all odds, Angola Soundtrack Vol.1 was awarded the German Record Critic's Prize in the category "Black music". Read Dominic Valvona's great review of the compilation HERE on his superb Monolith Cocktail site, a priceless resource for the eclectically-minded listener.
Stephen Jones (best known as the genius behind Babybird) has been a busy man this year. I've actually lost count of the number of Black Reindeer albums he has released over the last 12 months. The latest is entitled 'Demons, Demons, Demons', described by Jones as "heavily reliant on guitar implosions and explosions... Stephen says "This is fucking very good"". He's right. Listen to the album HERE (and download it for just £7.99).
Rewind: 1995 (continued)
Now for the 'Rewind' part of the column, where I continue to tell the story of my life and how music has shaped it. I think every music blog writer should do these every so often, it may be time consuming but it's brilliant for reliving the past and enjoying old memories. It also brings the reader closer to the writer, giving them a better understanding of the author's musical roots and maybe allowing them to identify more with the writer too. And those of you who also grew up with Britpop will certainly be able to relate to my recollections of 1995. I have now reached the latter part, around about this exact point 18 years ago in fact...
More next week.