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Monday 20 May 2013

20 May 2013

A lot of instrumental electronica today. But don't let that put you off... But first, something topical.

Billy Bragg - Sexuality
John: His biggest hit from back in 1991, off the album 'Don't Try This At Home', and full of still-relevant themes as the marriage equality bill is currently being discussed in the Commons. Kirsty MacColl on backing vocals - still much missed.

Kraftwerk - Expo 2000
John: Not one of their more well-known ones. Imagine life in the 21st century.... That's a non-album single from 1999.
Carolyn: So life probably not that different.

Apache Tears - Barricades
John: A local band, these guys met at Rastrick High School. I heard this a couple of weeks ago and was fair blown away. It's their debut single which comes out on June 3 and I'll certainly be keeping an eye out in future. And was that a hint of of the Manic Street Preachers I could hear?
Carolyn: I see what you mean. A little bit, perhaps.

Cover Version Corner
Thin Lizzy/Happy Mondays - The Boys Are Back In Town
John: Different and yet immediately familiar, that Happy Mondays track was a B-side and appeared on their Greatest Hits album of 1999. Thin Lizzy, of course, requires no introduction. Off 'Jailbreak' from 1976.

Vessels - Attica
John: I'm absolutely blown away by that. Now, we went to see Public Service Broadcasting last week which gave lie to the notion that playing electronic music live is easy and just a few key presses. This was recorded live at The Garage in Leeds - that being their home town - and is an impressive sight.
Carolyn: I remember seeing the Pet Shop Boys and Chris Lowe didn't look like he was up to much. But PSB were working really hard. It kind of changed my outlook a bit.
John: This single came out last month. A real cinematic quality to it.


Jon Hopkins - Open Eye Signal
John: That split the room... I flippin' well love it and have had it on a loop for much of last weekend.
Carolyn: It wasn't bad, but I'm not as into it as you clearly are.
John: That's off the album 'Immunity' which is out June 3.

Physics House Band - Titan
John: Public Service Broadcasting plugged these on their Twitter last week, so naturally I followed it up and... wow. Three lads from Brighton, a multitude of instruments and a real energy to it. That's available as a free download and is off their debut EP 'Horizons/Rapture'.

One Degree of Separation
Jesus And Mary Chain - Some Candy Talking
Primal Scream - Invisible City
John: That's the new single off the latest Primal Scream long player 'More Light' which came out last week. Before that was the Jesus And Mary Chain from back in 1986. The link is Bobby Gillespie, driving force behind Primal Scream who was in Jesus And Mary Chain up to 1985.

Teleman - Steam Train Girl
John: Three ex-Pete And The Pirates combining to make something quite lovely.

Daft Punk - Giorgio by Moroder
John: Now, Daft Punk. You can't fail to have heard that they've a new record out - 'Random Access Memories'. It's all about collaborations and the debut single, Get Lucky, is precisely what you'd expect of a Nile Rodgers record. Polished within in an inch of it's life, but... but what? And some of the other tracks on the album leave me similarly cold, but this? This is a work of art. Giorgio Moroder talks through his career and it's period equipment for each stage of his life. But then, they also said they'd given him a microphone from the future at one stage, so that might be horse manure.

Keel Her - Don't Try This At Home
John: To prove the power of social media... We played Keel Her last week and Rose - who pretty much is Keel Her - got in touch with me on Twitter, saying thanks for playing her record. I said if she keeps making great music, I'd play some more, so she sent me this.
Carolyn: I hope she doesn't think you're some media mogul or this station gets a million listeners. But it was very nice anyway.

Junip - Your Life, Your Call
John: The latest single from these, off the album 'Junip'. Right out of the Hot Chip/Dutch Uncles envelope.

Still Corners - The Trip
John: Still Corners are Greg Hughes and Tessa Murray from London and this is the first track off the album 'Strange Pleasures' which came out a fortnight ago.

Here's your YouTube playlist with all that on bar the Teleman record (see link above for that one). Bank Holiday next week, so we're on holidays.

Monday 13 May 2013

13 May 2013

Another Bank Holiday last week meant another week off for us, but we're back and we brought some thumping tunes.

Kraftwerk - Radioaktivität
John: The original of this was out in 1975, off the album also called 'Radioaktivität', but this version is from 1991's 'The Mix', an album of remixes of their bigger hits. It started as an homage to the discovery and power of nuclear energy, but as time went on became more and more anti-nuke. I'll put both on the playlist for comparison's sake. I think I prefer them in German.
Carolyn: More authentic maybe?
John: Perhaps. Just a bit more exotic. We play that as our cat died last week and it was her favourite song.
Carolyn: Well, she liked the flashing lights.
John: Basically the same thing. Either way, she was transfixed by it and we both miss her.

Brannigan Dobson: August 2000-May 2013

Rex The Dog - Do You Feel What I Feel
John: Bloomin' love that, I've been listening to this most of the week.
Carolyn: Heavily influenced by Donna Summer, I'd say. Like all of it.
John: Think you're being a bit harsh. Rex The Dog is Jake Williams from Brighton and this came out last week.


Public Service Broadcasting - Inform Educate Entertain
John: Finally, the album came out last week and we've got our hands on it. This is the title track and is a bit of a sampler for the rest of the album, so if you like this, you're quids in.
Carolyn: We do, and we're off to see them at the Leadmill next week.

Cover Version Corner
The Cure/Art Brut - Catch
John: I think the Art Brut version is where Eddie Falco finally just gave up pretending to have some singing ability, but they're about so much more than that. We play that as there's a new greatest hits album out - 'Art Brut Top Of The Pops' - which this features on. It first appeared on an NME album of Cure covers, 'Pictures Of You', in 2009. The original was on 'Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me' from 1987.

Musa Okwonga - Heavyweight
John: Some spoken word from poet/sports writer/journalist/author/broadcaster/polymath Musa Okwonga, subtitled 'A Love Letter To London'. I think a lot of that applies to the rest of Britain as well.
Carolyn: Yes, possibly. And it's not a town. It's a city. A mega-city.

The Fall - Sir William Wray
John: Out today, the 30th studio album by The Fall. It's called 'Re-Mit' and this is the first single off it which came out at the back end of last month for record store day. As noisy and belligerent as ever.

Razmataz Lorry Excitement - China Town (Razmataz Lorry Excitement remix)
John: To Newcastle now and also out today, this is off an EP of remixes of China Town. The original came out in December last year on the album 'If It Takes Me All Night'.
Carolyn: Sounds very '90s. I can see me dancing to this in the Plaza.
John: Not that there's anything wrong with that.

One Degree of Separation
Aphex Twin - Analogue Bubblebath 1
Cocteau Twins - Pearly Dewdrops' Drop
John: The Cocteaus from Grangemouth, that's from 1984. Aphex Twin is Richard James from Limerick and that's off the 'Didgeridoo' EP from 1992.
Carolyn: The link being twins then?
John: Yes, but not quite. They're all called twins without being twins. There's four of them in the Cocteaus, for starters.
Carolyn: And they're not related.

Keel Her - Riot Grrrl
John: How many people are playing on that record, d'you reckon?
Carolyn: One.
John: Dammit. That's Rose Keeler-Shaeffeler from Brighton.
(We have subsequently been told that there were three people playing on that track)

Gladkazuka - El Untitled
John: A big hello to the nation of Colombia. These are from Medellin and it's off an EP on Cómeme records which I'll be keeping an eye on in future.

The Crookes - Bear's Blood
John: From Sheffield, this is their new single which comes out on May 21, so you're bang up to date with it.

And that's your lot. Gladkazuka and PSB aren't on the YouTube playlist we've put together, but there are links to find those tracks elsewhere.