Mixtapes and Cellmates
Soon [single]
22/01/2010
One Little Indian
Shout Out Louds, British Sea Power, Sons and Daughters
What's to plug? January sees the release
of new single ‘Soon’ – a tumultuous and kinetic
force of nature that twinkles as brightly a bagful
of magic dust and gives you the kind of giddy
feeling you get when opening your Christmas presents.
They were on the verge of breaking up but now
they’re not, their internal problems finally being
resolved after a blistering five-day stint in
the band’s Grondal Studio in Sweden. The result
is second album ‘Rox’ – recorded live and due
for release on March 22nd.
Grasscut
Muppet - inc Nathan Fake remix [single]
01/03/2010
Ninja Tune
Four Tet, John Cage, Daedalus, Robert Wyatt
What's to plug? Keep your friends close
and your enemies closer still. In fact close enough
to record them droning on about your mate when
your back is turned. It’s a novel idea: tape someone
dissing a mutual friend and then construct a frisky
electronic pop tune around it. It’s crazy, uplifting,
adventurous and something that any decent mate
would do in your position. This is the second
single from their forthcoming debut album. It’s
good to talk.
What's to plug? We all loved ‘My Girls’
didn’t we? We didn’t have a clue what it was about,
but we assumed in the context of all the yummy
euphoria and Beach Boy harmonies that it would
have to be about something good: I mean, everybody
just wants a proper house for their kids, don’t
they? Anyway, I’m also sure that ‘Summertime Clothes’
got most repeats on your Ipod, probably for similar
reasons. Instantly infectious and as fizzy as
a bucket of Panda Pops. See the boys at Glastonbury
festival (Park Stage) and at London Brixton Academy
in August.
Jon Hopkins
Light Through the Veins [single]
11/05/2009
Double Six
Brian Eno, Four Tet, Morton Feldman, Sigur Ros,
John Cage
What's to plug? A ‘musical shapeshifter’
- that’s how his label describe him, which makes
him sound like some crazy morphing creature out
of the X-Files who can squeeze up U-bends and
the like whilst whistling or something. But the
truth is even stranger, because if this tune sounds
familiar it is because it lent its own musical
shape to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida album. Remember
the bit where it fades in and fades out? Just
before the clanging Teardrop Explodes strings
at the beginning and the really sad ‘escape’ bit
at the end? That’s this tune. Hopkins is credited
as the album’s ‘additional producer’ and for providing
‘colours’ (which I can only imagine is ambient
noises rather than for splashing Dulux everywhere).
Anyway, here it is without Chris Martin weeping
all over it. New album, ‘Insides’ is out on the
11th May. After the scrap they had with Joe Satriani,
it makes you wonder what Coldplay actually contributed
to the album.