Tag Archives: TOTW

TOTW: Michael Kiwanuka_ You Ain’t The Problem

Posted on by
Reply

I first heard “You Ain’t The Problem” on last week’s Later with Jools Holland and was blown away with its modern take on 60s rock/soul.

What was even more surprising is how different the version on the record was to the live performance. Many current performances rely heavily on recreating the album experience live, using samplers and playback machines to fill out the sound. But Michael Kiwanuka and his band didn’t take this approach.

Instead, they used their musicianship and talent to turn a track into something more organic, and closer to a more traditional live performance, which is refreshing to hear in a live show these days.

The album version of the track takes things in a more psychedelic rock direction, with distorted guitar, key stabs and bass lines. These subside for the verses, which musically go into soul, overlaid by Michaels vocal flow. His vocal is both fast, smooth and highly engaging.

The track clearly is based around a singer songwriter performance and its basis could easily be from a classic soul record, but the way the track flicks between multiple genres and blends elements of each shows the hip hop production heritage behind the record. This results in a track that straddles the line between modern and nostalgic styles, and mixes them both together to make a perfect cocktail.

As the opening track from his self titled record, “You ain’t the problem” sets a high bar that the rest of the album manages to uphold:

Youtube:

TOTW Playlist:


TOTW: The National_ Runaway

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve been listening to The National a lot this week and forgot just how much I loved their music and its overall high quality. My favorite album “High Violet” never puts a foot wrong throughout its entire playtime.

“Runaway” comes towards the end of the album and slows down its pace both in tempo and production by stripping down the percussion to its bare elements. It then extenuates the emotion in the lyrics with use of strings and brass orchestration that swell in and out of the piece. A great track on a now classic album that’s well worth your time:

Spotify:

TOTW Playlist:

TOTW: lingua ignota_ MAY FAILURE BE YOUR NOOSE

Posted on by
Reply

CALIGULA is a very impressive, complete work. Blending classical, noise and metal, it creates an album with a clear and powerful vision.

When an album works so well as a singular piece, picking a single track always seems a little silly. But if you were to condense the ideas and themes into a single track it would probably take the form of “MAY FAILURE BE YOUR NOOSE”.

The track starts with classical piano and vocals that portray an abusive and suffocating relationship. Apart from the content of the lyrics, the track initially appears to follow a fairly traditional sound, with large, lush reverb, similar to classical music. But that quickly changes with the tracks first left turn.

A massive distorted bass line rips and tears its way into the sound stage, as if a portal to hell is opening right in the middle of the performance. At the 2 minute mark, distorted screams push the bass away along with the large reverb, and we are offered a brief and intimate respite before hell opens up and takes the whole track with it under massive explosive percussion and distorted screams.

It’s a bold, brave and outlandish sound that pays off in every respect. “MAY FAILURE BE YOUR NOOSE” is a great place to start but it shouldn’t be the end of your journey.

CALIGULA is shaping up to be a must for my end of year list.

Bandcamp:

TOTW Playlist:

TOTW: Daphni ft Paradise_ Sizzling

Posted on by
Reply

Dan Snaith is best known for his project Caribou, which blends dance and Indy to create some of my favorite albums of the past decade.

However today we’re going to focus on his other pseudonym. Daphni makes music that aims squarely at the dance floor and DJ record collections. The title track on the latest EP remixes “sizzling hot” by Paradise. Increasing the BPM, cherry picking the breaks and adding drum machines to beef up the track. Bringing it back to the clubs for a modern era.

Bandcamp:

TOTW Playlist:

TOTW: Nils Frahm_ All Armed

Posted on by
Reply

I’ve talked repeatedly about my love of Nils Frahm and seeing him towards the end of last year was a great experience. “All Armed” perfectly demonstrates what he does best. Namely stripping down music to its rawest form melodically and instrumentally. But then giving each of those instruments a rich sound and deep sound stage to shine in.

The bass line in “All Armed” is a perfect example. It’s comprised of only three different notes and looping every 8 bars for almost the entirety of this 11 and a half minute track. However it never gets stale, as filters slightly open and close, varying the synth between softer and a more aggressive edge as it oozes with the warmth that you can only achieve from analogue circuitry.

The bass may be the front and center of this track, providing the foundation and permanent drive of the piece. But other organic eastern instruments pepper their way throughout, creating a world that sounds brooding dark and exiting.

Some tracks just come along at the right times, I first heard “All Armed” when driving to a night shift in work and the atmosphere of the track perfectly suits this experience. So why don’t you do the same. Drop it into a driving playlist and see just how great Nils Frahm is at setting a scene and a mood:

Youtube:

Spotify:

TOTW Playlist:

TOTW: Cate le Bon_ Home to You

Posted on by
Reply

I recently went on holiday spending a couple of weeks traveling around Sri Lanka and took a trusty Spotify playlist of music from this year I needed to catch up on.

Home to You was a track that stood out to me immediately with its catchy jolly melody backed up by interesting rhythmic vocal patterns in its second half. They kept me returning to it throughout the holiday and since then back in the UK.

Home to you Is Pop music at its finest and well worth a listen:

Bandcamp:

TOTW Playlist:

TOTW: Clark_ Flask / Abyss

Posted on by
Reply

Clark’s latest album “Kiri Variations” elaborates on and develops themes that he made for the British tv show Kiri. In parts it does sound more like an OST then a traditionally tailored album but this doesn’t stop Clark from showing his incredible qualities as a producer and sound designer.

As you may well know I’m a sucker for synth pads and “Flask / Abyss” doesn’t disappoint. Warm warbling synthesis with slow attack and releases drift into and out of the track like waves. Bobbing on top of these waves is the light melody that only lasts briefly before the mood of the piece plunges into deeper darker territory.

Clark continues to make music that sounds lush vibrant and unique. His production is some of the best in electronic music. Pushing elements of sound design to new places without sacrificing quality in composition and production. “Kiri Variations” takes this in a more minimal and ambient direction but if you want something more dance floor orientated I would highly recommend his self titled album:

Bandcamp:

TOTW playlist:

TOTW: Purple Mountains_ Darkness And Cold

Posted on by
Reply

David Berman committed suicide this August and the outpouring from fans (many of whom musicians I admire) made me want to listen to his music.

I had never heard his music before but its easy to see why he has received so much love an adoration since his passing. His lyrics are full of poetic observations unique to his own world view and yet are easily relatable to any listener.

The track “Darkness And Cold” from his last and latest album is a perfect example. A sad subject matter about his ex lover going on a date with someone else is told with a wry sensitivity and poetic genius that elevates it above most alt-country. David Berman achieved this repeatedly on this album and his work in the band “Silver Jews” which I also highly recommend. His unique vision will be sorely missed.

Bandcamp:

TOTW Playlist:

TOTW: Prefab Sprout_Goodbye Lucille #1

Posted on by
Reply

I first came across this song under its original name “johnny johnny,” before listening to their album “Steve McQueen”. It stands as my favorite Prefab Sprout song, and one of my all time favorite songs.

There are many elements in this track that would later be found in the “shoegaze” genre. Slow plucked, with lots of reverb rise and fall built in, the soundscape works dynamically against the lyrics of Paddy McAllon. His ability to write about both sides of love is second to none.

The track manages to perfectly encapsulate the grieving of a young love breakup. The overblown instrumentation and vocal delivery sound almost filmic, but manage to be grounded by the lyrics, which tell a simple story in a sincere and truthful way.

It’s that ability to exaggerate the small that resonates so well with the feeling of youth, when emotions run high and everything means the world to you. Prefab Sprout capture the feeling well many times but “Goodbye Lucille #1” distills this down into four and a half minutes.

A perfect pop tune that deserves a listen:

Spotify:

TOTW Playlist:

TOTW: William S Fischer_Chains

Posted on by
Reply

For those who haven’t heard of the “Late Night Tales” compilations, the concept is fairly simple. Artists are asked to create a late night playlist of their favorite music along with an exclusive cover of a song from the artist themselves.

This then gets released as a CD compilation album with the “Late Night Tales” moniker. It has resulted is some fantastic compilation albums, which have introduced me to many acts.

This is especially true of “This Years Floating Points” compilation, which takes you through a collection of down tempo jazz, soul and ambient electronic music. The whole album is full of gems that flow together perfectly, making it well worth a listen. I especially like the track “Chains” by “William S Ficher”.

This track blends string arrangements with jazz to create a woozy sound that is perfectly suited to a late night playlist. If you like what you hear, give the whole album a try and if you’re still interested, the other “Late Night Tales” collections are well worth a listen. A personal favourite is the Flaming Lips compilation.

Spotify:

TOTW Playlist: