SEVEN DAY SLUMP

'Sup bitches, so looks like I failed to keep up with the new blog format after just one week. Too bad, so sad. Here is the best of what I've seen in the past week. Enjoy...

• Warmest Chord, the clever new London label are releasing their second record with the very excellent Slow Talk. Coming complete with a limited edition screen print courtesy of Micah Lidberg this is an essential purchase, if only for the fact that 'Fashion Statement' contains the dinner party hating line, "I don't want to get to thirty because that's when I'll die. " which is pretty ace.

• Second up, Willow Smith a.k.a Rihanna meets Avatar has had her track remixed by a fan to include a verse from Nicki Minaj. This is not official but is pretty much the most zeitgeist thing in the world right now.

• Kickball Katie of the very excellent Vivian Girls has gone solo (for a bit, new VG album due in 2011) and is calling herself La Sera. This is her very, very lovely new single 'Never Come Around'
  
  
• Jarvis Cocker is doing Disco like it's 2000 with this new Discodeine collab.
  
  
• Zola Jesus has ANOTHER new EP coming out, this one is called 'Valusia' and is a US only release. Here is a track from it called 'Poor Animal'
  

These New Puritans have teamed up with Main Attraktions, giving them '3000' to rhyme over. It's great.


Finally, this video pretty much goes to show why I'm more excited by Katy B than anyone else in the world right now. Her solo album can't come soon enough...



Img: Charles Negre

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VIDEO: These New Puritans - Attack Music

Brand new video for one of my favourite songs of the year so far...

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BoringMix: 001

Last week I broke the charger for my iPod and am too broke to replace it so have been listening to a lot more music on Spotify than usual. Bored this afternoon I decided to make a mixtape of a few things I'm listening to at the moment. The tracklisting is below and you can open it up by following this link here.

J Dilla (aka Jay Dee) – Workinonit
Jay-Z – Dirt Off Your Shoulder
These New Puritans – We Want War - Sbtrkt Remix
Thom Yorke – Harrowdown Hill (The Bug Remix)
The xx – Islands (Nosaj Thing Remix)
Skream – Sub Island
Gold Panda – Quitter's Raga
Gil Scott-Heron – Me And The Devil
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Heaven Can Wait
Atlas Sound – Walkabout (w. Noah Lennox)
Vampire Weekend – Giving Up The Gun
Rihanna – Rude Boy
Flying Lotus – Auntie's Harp
Esben and the Witch – Skeleton Swoon
Wild Beasts – Hooting & Howling (Debukas Remix) - Debukas Remix
Yeasayer – Ambling Alp (Memory Tapes Remix)

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For The Record: January 2010

January has been a fairly good month all in all. I've started up interviewing bands again, spending some quality time with Alexis Hot Chip, 4/7ths of Los Campesinos, Jack from These New Puritans, Delphic and Vivian Girls too. Gigs have been thin on the ground but that's partly due to my poverty.

In terms of album there have been a host of great releases chiefly 'Hidden' by These New Puritans. An uncomprimising and massively adventurous record it will no doubt be a mainstay throughout the year and hopefully elevate the band to a higher pantheon, something they richly deserve.

Albums of the Month: January 2010

Vampire Weekend - 'Contra'
Surfer Blood - 'Astro Coast'
These New Puritans - 'Hidden' (Album of the month)
Charlotte Gainsbourg - 'IRM'
Chew Lips - 'Unicorn'

Other notable relases: Beach House, FourTet, First Aid Kit, Delphic.

To download the best of January's MP3's visit the link to the left of this post. There you will find stuff by Dum Dum Girls, Everything Everything, Summer Camp, Memory Tapes, SBTRKT and much more.

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45 Minutes Of War: These New Puritans discuss 'Hidden'

Slight and pensive Jack Barnett does not initially strike you as a man behind one of the first great albums of the year. As he sits across the small, rickety table in North London his quiet voice emanates from just above a neatly buttoned up shirt collar: the atmospheric and foreboding rhythms of his bands album ‘Hidden’ seem galaxies away. It’s not until we scratch at the surface of These New Puritans spectacular second record that the creative drive and cerebral restlessness which power the album emerge. “This album is exactly the music I wanted to make. Says Jack, the word ‘exactly’ firing from his mouth like gunfire. With our first album, as with most first albums, bands find that history dictates what you have to do so with ‘Hidden’ I just wanted it to be totally what I imagined.”

That he has done with aplomb. ‘Hidden’ has set the standard for music in 2010 at a dauntingly high standard. Combining the terse and confident attitude of the Southend four pieces debut ‘Beat Pyramid’ with new found instrumental flourishes then hanging the results off branches of experimentation the album represents a great leap forward for a band already pushing boundaries wherever possible. The density and depth of the record is perhaps explained by the fact that it was originally to be split in two, “At the very beginning it was pretty different. I was writing an album that I was going to call ‘Attack Music’, the tone of that was pretty harsh and then I was writing another album of music for woodwind and brass instruments.” Introducing the orchestral elements into These New Puritans does have some drawbacks however as Jack explains that the band don’t know how to actually play the brass and woodwind parts of ‘Hidden’ meaning a reliance on sampling to transfer the album into a live experience. Add to this the scattered use of a children’s choir throughout and you see that ‘Hidden’ might provide more than a few headaches for the band. Logistics don’t matter in Jacks brain though as he says, “When I realised that I could put the two together into one, from that point onwards I knew exactly what it was going to sound like.”



Picking up on this element of These New Puritans Jack says, “The more you do your own thing then the better chance you have of finding a niche of people. If you create something that’s not done before then that’s great, people fall down by attempting to do something unique for the sake of being different.” Talk moves on to the way bands rely on the parameters of genre and style as a safety net and how releasing yourself from these shackles is the best way to make interesting music. Any heavy metal bands who have been sharing space with These New Puritans recently may want to look away however, “We’ve been playing in a lot of rehearsal studios and you always hear absolutely terrible bands practising in the rooms next door. I think a lot of people want to be in bands but can’t really be bothered to write the music, whereas I’m not that bothered about being in a band but love writing music.”

This love for writing and creating is none more obvious than later that evening when These New Puritans take to the stage for an instore appearance at London’s Rough Trade East. Flanked by two drummers who are doing their level best to demolish both their sticks and the audiences ears the tribal beats blend with Jacks looped and distorted vocals amidst a bed of sampled brass and woodwind. These disparate bedfellows should not rest easy yet they combine to create a dense sound reminiscent of a gang fight in a post apocalyptic sci-fi novel.

The sense of dread and forthcoming terror on ‘Hidden’ manifests itself across the album as well, from the swiping of swords as percussion to the desolate children’s chants. Even the recording process had a feeling of finality “We recorded it in various studios, all of which closed down practically as soon as we left. We were going to them and about two we were literally the last bands to record in there”. Recording the brass and wood parts in one day in Prague These New Puritans finished their album in September of last year but decided to wait until 2010 to unleash it on the general public. The reason Jack gives for this wait is that he feels the album would have been “lost” in amongst other releases in 2009. Despite saying this he states that the band hold no great similarity with innovative acts like Animal Collective and The xx and that he finds no inspiration in the present day. Whilst it’s strange that you would avoid being lumped in with similarly unique and creative bands then deny any affinity with your peers it shows Jack and his bands bullish independence, a streak all great creators need.

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SBTRKT - 'Soundboy Shift'

Just before Christmas last year I posted a great remix of 'We Want War' by SBTRKT. Now I have brand new, original material from dubstep's latest vowel denier.

Keeping things secretive 'Soundboy Shift' will be a limited release on Young Turks and follows the aforementioned TNPS remix and one of Basement Jaxx's 'Scars' which you can find on Spotify. 'Soundboy...' is a minimal but insistent track, looping and swirling two-step and tech before focusing half way through and storming home. Stream it below and enjoy your weekend.

SBTRKT - Soundboy Shift

MP3: These New Puritans - 'We Want War' (SBTRKT Remix)

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These New Puritans - 'Hidden'

Today is These New Puritans day for me. I'm interviewing them this afternoon then going to see them play at Rough Trade this evening so can't think of a better time to post my review of their new album from this months Clash.

These New Puritans/ Hidden/ Domino

If the phrase ‘Do a Radiohead’ means to give your album away for free then to ‘Do a Horrors’ will soon be used for when a band make a stunning album defying all expectations in the process. ‘Hidden’, These New Puritans follow up to ‘Beat Pyramid, must surely be an early contender for the Horrors crown. Fans will tell you how the quality of this album was to be expected but to many TNP emerged from Southend as pretentious, cold and heavily indebted to The Fall. Humble pie all round then as ‘Hidden’ boasts a parade of stunning moments from the bashment style beats of ‘Fire-Power’ to the solitary electrical confinement on ‘White Chords’. Showing clear progression and monumental ambition TNP have crafted a stark and dense knock out performance.

9/10

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These New Puritans- 'We Want War'

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Albums To Be Excited About In 2010

Artist: Vampire Weekend
Title: 'Contra'
Due Date: January 11th
What Can We Expect? From the songs aired at their KCLSU gig and those recently played on US TV a lot more of the same. Big Summer time hooks, off kilter instrumentation and Ezra Koenig's detailed musings and introspections on his life.
Free Download: 'Horchata'


Artist: Los Campesinos!
Title: 'Romance Is Boring'
Due Date: February 1st
What Can We Expect? Word going around is that this is LC!'s masterpiece. Having grown vastly between their shrill but charming debut and it's follow up 'We Are Beautiful...' this much derided but woeful misunderstood band are turning out to be one of the most intriguing and forward thinking bands around. New single 'There Are Listed Buildings' feels like a condensed version of everything that makes the band great. With a new band member, guest spots from Xiu Xiu and Parenthetical Girls alongside the best album title going this could be an early contender for album of the year.
Free Download: 'The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future'



Artist: Lightspeed Champion
Title: 'Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You'
Due Date: February 1st
What Can We Expect? Produced by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley) the second Lightspeed Champion album is set to be a more upbeat and life affirming effort than the depressed escapism of Dev Hyne's debut. Song subjects include much talk of England (Hynes now lives in New York) including a prostitute from Dalston and indie girls from Hackney.


Artist: These New Puritans
Title: 'Hidden'
Due Date: January 18th
What Can We Expect? Lazy bastards will probably liken this album to 'Doing a Horrors' and entirely missing the point that TNP have always been amazing. Nothing has been heard of 'Hidden' yet but expect big big drums, itchy paranoia and the sound of Mark E. Smith being dragged through the back streets of London at midnight.


Artist: Yesayer
Title: 'Odd Blood'
Due Date: February 8th
What Can We Expect? If 'Ambling Alp' is anything to go by an astonishing and baffling piece of brilliance is in the pipeline. Chris Keating showed the world via Simian Mobile Disco that he is a warped genius and that he can turn his hand to anything. Reports coming from recent Yeasayer gigs have told of a brand new sound whilst the bands percussive work on Bat For Lashes 'Two Suns' bodes well for a dance orientated dose of psychedelic pop.
Free Download: 'Ambling Alp'


Artist: Field Music
Title: "Untitled due to practical reasons" whatever that means.
Due Date: February 15th
What Can We Expect? A 20 track double album from the brothers Brewis. Expect head bending melodies, fragile heart break and probably cameos from The Futureheads.
Free Download: 'Measure'


Artist: The Kills
Title: Nothing yet...
Due Date: Early- Mid 2010
What Can We Expect? Speaking to Alison Mosshart recently she said, "Me and Jamie probably have about twelve or thirteen songs written now. The way we work is on acoustic guitars but the whole thing totally changes when we programme in the drums so whatever it sounds like now I know the end product will be nothing like it currently is. I’m hoping it will be out in early to middle of 2010 if we can get things sorted after Christmas.”


Artist: Christina Aguilera
Title: Untitled
Due Date: Tbc
What Can We Expect? This could be amazing or awful. Working with a glitterati of names including M.I.A, Goldfrapp, Ladytron and Sia the 'Dirrty' star is certainly pushing the pop envelope and I can't wait to hear the results. Danny from Ladytron first spoke about working with Aguilera a good few years ago so the chances of hearing this album any time soon might be hopeful but fingers crossed it comes out this year and doesn't sound like a bad Lady GaGa rip-off.

Also due next year:

LCD Soundsystem (Jame Murphy is prepping this for March)
Mystery Jets (Recently showcased new tracks to journalists)
Liars- Sisterworld
The National
Hot Chip
FourTet- 'There Is Love In You'
Errors- 'Come Down With Me'
Foals (Recording now)
MGMT- Celebration
Friendly Fires (Recently spoke of wanting it out for next years festivals)
Kele Okereke (Recording w/ Hudson Mohawke + Armani XXXChange)
Crystal Castles
Blood Red Shoes
Battles
Klaxons (In studio w/ Rick Robinson)
Radiohead(Maybe!)
Deftones

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These New Pu-Return

Set for release on January 18th 2010, Hidden marks the next step for These New Puritans since ‘Beat Pyramid’ infiltrated the minds and hearts of people yearning to find a band who would challenge, perplex and mesmerise in equal measure.

Produced by TNPS's Jack Barnett and Graham Sutton (Bark Psychosis, Boymerang) and mixed by Dave Cooley (J Dilla, MF DOOM) the album draws equally on on the rhythmic lexicons of dancehall and 20th century post-minimalism, with instrumentation redolent of both the oceanic brass of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes and the plastic textures of modern U.S. pop. It is sometimes brutal, sometimes melancholy, and sounds like nothing else.

Hidden features six-foot Japanese Taiko drums, a thirteen piece brass and woodwind ensemble, sub-heavy beats, prepared piano, a children's choir, Foley recording techniques (including a melon with cream crackers attached struck by a hammer, used to simulate the sound of a human head being smashed), and the ethereal voice of Heather Marlatt from dream-pop group Salem.

The band unveils the album at a very special London show at Bush Hall on 25th January 2010.

Single ‘We Want War’, in all its 7-minute glory, will precede the album on January 11 on download and 10".

Hidden: Tracklisting

1. Time Xone
2. We Want War
3. Three Thousand
4. Hologram
5. Attack Music
6. Fire–Power
7. Orion
8. Canticle
9. Drum Courts–Where Corals Lie
10. White Chords
11.5

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Andersen Ben-Hilliers

I won't be posting anything much til' Monday as I'm going to a gig and *hopefully* doing an interview. To bide you over let me introduce you to my favourite blog on the internet. Andersen Ben-Hillier has been around a while but has recently started gaining some notoriety with a mention in The Guardian the other day.

Andersen is a Danish paprazzo who takes photo's of the best bands in the world. His work is outstanding and I have no reason to doubt his credibility. Just look at his work in action below or check his full portfolio here-

The Kills-

Young Knives
Arcade Fire
Kate Nash

The White Stripes
Henry Rollins
White Lies
These New Puritans
Queens Of Noize

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