Haim are an up and coming band, with heavy promotion by the BBC they are quickly becoming “The next big thing”. Although I don’t usually follow this as a sign of quality, or with more attention then a passing listen, I really like their Music and am interested in seeing where it will go in the future.
Have a listen to the single Falling below:
In the modern era of computer music limitations can be a good thing. You can now carry a laptop and have access to hundreds of gigabytes worth of sample librarys featuring thousands of instruments and synths that can realistically create almost any sound imaginable.
Although a blessing all this choice can leave you in a bit of a creative quagmire. You can spend so long tweaking the way a track sounds it never gets finished. That’s when limiting the equipment you use to a few things really speeds up workflow.
The OP1 is a small portable synthesiser by teenage engineering. Apart from looking really cool it has the tools to create full songs. To prove this a Cologne based electronic collective called Noorden released “Rumble when Bumble” a compilation album from different artists using purely the OP1.
And it’s from this album i found this track by Furry Hands. All i know is that they are “a group of musicians and photographers based in Helsingborg, Sweden” and that I like their music which is all made using the OP1.
There’s something about the way this track slowly develops that really gets to me. I have always been a fan of organ and pad sounds created by synthesisers and these slowly layer developing into something delicate and blissful before it turns into a more jagged percussive track that staggers and pops its way to its conclusion:
If you like what you hear Furry Hands have a collection of albums available to download from there bandcamp page available here:
I head this and had to share it 30 minutes of re-mixes from DJ Shadow, If you like his stuff its a must listen:
The eels have been around for over 15 years and in that time have created a large verity of music spanning different ideas and genre. I have seen them live several times and yet each time don’t quite know what to expect. You could be going to see the frontman Mark Oliver Everett (E) in a suit and being accompanied by a large string section, as an denim dungaree wearing two piece with a drummer or even as a traditional four piece rock band.
All the eels albums vary greatly and yet they all seem part of a whole. Partly because of E’s voice but also because of the brilliantly written lyrics which fit into the different styles the eels perform in.
If you haven’t heard the eels and like what you hear, they are a great band to get into. There’s a lot of material to go throughand you can clearly hear them evolve through the albums which are all worth a listen.
So lets start near the beginning, Susan’s house is on their first album “beautiful freak”:
I got to see Sigur Rós Live Last monday and realised I hadn’t included them in my Track of the week segment yet. Although you may not know the name there is a strong chance you would have heard their music on many TV shows, adverts and Films. The reason they are so widely used by these industrys is their ability to create really emotive music, tracks can be broodingly dark and gratifyingly uplifting. For me they seem to connect to a Primitive core of my subconscious in a way I usually only feel from some classical music.
With their six albums of material there is quite a lot to get your teeth stuck into. I thought I would go back to one of the early tracks that got them noticed. Svefn-g-englar is from their second album and is still one of my favourites.
If you like it give more a listen as their sound is so unique they are the only way to get it.
I’ve only just recently heard of the album Odessy and Oracle By The Zombies due to the fantastic BBC Radio 4 Show Mastertapes. However it contains tracks easily recognisable to me, picked up through osmosis from pop culture. A mark of music clearly defining it’s time and place.
Time of the Season is one such track and a perfect example of 60s pop psychedelia, The bass line on the verses are reminiscent of Ben E. King’s Stand by me but twisted like a drug endued fear. This darkness drifts away with the introduction of the rhythmic guitars and harmony’s as we get to the chorus. Then for good measure a few Organ solos give us a true feeling of a 60′s jam synonymous with that psychedelic sound.
It’s truly some good stuff:
One of the centerpieces of the Post rock movement, Godspeed You! Black Emperor create music that is slowly progressive. Tracks are never short, instead they build structures over time usually repeating melodys to build a sence of tension and dread untill they release it all with fast attacks from their fretboards and rhythm section.
Sleep is a good place to start, tell me what you think:
I received a recommendation about Datassette from Disasterpeace’s bandcamp page and recommended the first track from their album people without mouths on a previous TOTW.
Over time this album has been a grower and out of the 7 tracks Power Ballad really stands out. It has a bouncy synth bass line and plucky guitar that’s always been a favourite of mine but when the FM synth chords come in at the 1:50 mark it really gets going.
This blend of organic instrumentation and electronic lines that slowly drift in and out of tune has always been a fascination of mine and something I aim to recreate in my own music. Datassette manage to do a cracking job of it here:
MGMT have just announced a new album with Dave Fridmann back in the producers seat and it’s made me very exited.
They were catapulted into the limelight with the first album “Oracular Spectacular”. Which has the instantly recognisable singles “Time to pretend” and “kids” at the start but then went more psychedelic towards its conclusion. Including the track “of moons birds and monsters” thats simply sublime.
Following this they released Their second album “Congratulations” which saw a departure from the pop hits to something far more guitar driven and psychedelic. It isn’t as easily accessible as there first and suffered airplay because of it, but on multiple listens it’s another great record.
One of the reasons I’m such a fan of MGMT is they seem to stick to their own artistic integrity. Modern pop has a way of becoming diluted to make it more manageable to the masses as bands try to keep their success. MGMT have always felt like they were nurturing their own thing rather than adapting it to the whims of their label and I greatly respect them for it.
Here’s the title track from their second album which somehow manages to blend the line of being both uplifting and depressingly self reflecting:
This week I have listened to the album “In the Court of the Crimson King” repeatedly. It truly is a masterpiece and the digital reissue of it that came out a few years ago is a fantastic way to experience the whole thing. You get 5 tracks that are complex in their structures, played by incredibly competent musicians who all seem perfectly in sync with each other. It’s a real pleasure to listen to.
Although “21st Century Schizoid Man“ is the most famous track of the album, on repeat listens “Epitaph” is the track that stands out most for me: