The album Untitled by Phoenix came out in 2000, 12 years ago! Most of it has held up incredibly well, especially it’s most well known track If I ever Feel better.
Although it feels light and frothy, this well crafted pop gem still holds up today, The dance orientated Indie scene has become a dominant force in modern pop, and Phoenix contributed to its progression:
Moderat haven’t released an album since there debut in 2009 and from what they have said in the past it didn’t look hopeful that they would.
Made from two successful acts (Apparat, Modeselektor) it was reported that their opinions on music creation and how to do it, resulted in a seven year gap between their first EP and their album.
So it was a surprise to hear that they are working together again on a new album last month. Something I greatly anticipate.
I think its partly due to the two styles of electronica and methods of creating it that make Moderat so good, You get the Beats of Modeselektor with the evolving organic sounds of Apparat, resulting in music that is original and yet catchy. It has made their album, although ancient by electronica standards, still as forward thinking and fresh as ever.
Here’s an instrumental track from the album entitled Les Grandes Marches:
The album Take Care, Take Care, Take Care by Explosions In The Sky took a while to get into, It’s a more laid back than some of their others, and it fits a mood almost perfectly but you have to be in that mood to really get the most out of it.
With time it has slowly become a go to album when the days are long and the nights are warm, there’s something about putting it on as a backtrack to a late night drive home or when your working late and need something to just seep into your subconscious, Take Care does this perfectly.
It’s hard to pick a stand out track as they all work well together, however be Comfortable, Creature is a good central point to the album and gives you an idea of it’s mood:
As summer eases its way through what’s been a fairly wet few months, hip hop has been more and more prevalent in my playlists, There’s something about the sun beating down on the bonnet of your car, feeling the wind rush through its open windows as you drive, that blends so well with an accompaniment of hip hop.
Every year one artist has stayed on rotation in my car above others, Nujabes was a fresh and fantastic talent from Japan, Blending traditional hip hop drum lines with a large collection of Jazz samples to create a fantastic bed of music for well selected collaborators to rap over.
Unfortunately in February of 2010 He died in a car crash, leaving just a small collection of full albums and compilations to his name. All of which have a close connection to me and a strong place in my collection.
As an introduction I thought I would start with one of my favourite tracks from him featuring lyrics for Cise Starr, If you like this please spend some time trawling the net for his other works, You wont be disappointed:
The Blend of The Cinematic Orchestra’s rich layered music underneath the lyrical stylings for Roots Manuva are truly sublime. Give it a Listen:
Japandroids are kicking up quite a fuss with their sound, Its garage rock done incredibly well, oozing with raw emotion and distorted guitars The house that heaven built is a fantastic assault on the eardrums, Crank up the volume to above recommended safety levels and press play:
Das Racist create a weird blend of stoner hip hop which lyrics ranging from the obscure and stupid to intellectual and witty. You Oughta Know manages to cover both of these perfectly.
If you like what you hear, their first two albums are free to download of the internet so just give them a search:
No one is quite like Tom Waits, His tracks have a brooding, longing feeling with lyrics that are both sinister and sorrowful, for some reason Alice has been running round my head for this week and shows Waits at His best for me:
Ben Folds Five have got back together this year for a new album and a tour, For me the album “The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner” is my favourite and The track Mess is a highlight from an impressive line up of tracks:
Shipbuilding is both lyrically and musically fantastic, It manages to view a difficult subject matter in such a way that even outside of the Falklands war it stands out as a brilliant track: