TUNETOURIST

The Wall of Sound

2011-12-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

Thrills. Something I worked on with my friends at Bounce got nominated for an Econsultancy Innovation Award in the category of Innovation in Social Media. As a project that perfectly lives out my current obsession with creating the tools for the audience to create the content (ironically, this looks likely to be exploited most effectively by Spotify with the new API enabling all manner of exciting content filters to be applied for music discovery) I'm very happy to have it recognised. Credit due to Chris Wilcox whose brilliant creative technologising really nailed the creative execution.

Below is a little more detail and overview of how things worked. You be the judge as to whether we're a worthy winner.

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The idea was to draw attention to Deezer with an activity that reinforced their critical differentiator from the music streaming competition – that this is a service by music lovers for music lovers with editorial, human recommendation and more than mere hardcore search-powered tech.

So, we developed a Facebook integrated analogue/digital (which may just be a fancy way of saying experiential/digital) experience encouraging people to share favourite songs and stories to be brought to life in real-time by illustrators working on an installation in London. Essentially, this creative concept brought the Deezer strapline promise – “Where Music Comes Alive” – to life with a perfectly physical, interactive expression of just that.

Built from hundreds of illustrated postcards, the Wall was experienced online through a gigapixel image in which you could zoom into each card and even play the relevant track.

It lives on and you play around with it right HERE.

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1. The real-world experience

Between 19 – 24th October a group of illustrators and a gigapan-operated camera were installed in the Old Truman Brewery, off Brick Lane in East London. Through a Facebook application, audiences shared their favourite songs and the stories behind them. Illustrators turned each of these stories into unique hand-illustrated postcards and added them to the wall. The wall itself grew into both a visual and literal expression of the brand.

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2. The digital interface

Users could view the progress of the wall through a regularly updating gigapixel image that allowed it to be browsed from afar and zoomed into in close-up. As individual cards were selected in close-up, details then loaded in allowing the associated track to be played via Deezer, the track title and user comment to be displayed, and that card to be shared through Facebook and Twitter.

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3. Sharing

With 1000 entries we were able to send Facebook and Twitter notifications when each user entered their track. But the real excitement kicked in when a user’s card was created and added to the wall. At this point we posted to their feed both a packshot and direct link that zoomed elegantly into the gigapixel image within the Facebook app to focus on that individual’s card. These then became the focus for further conversations within Facebook. This turned 1000 entries into hundreds of thousands of impressions across Facebook.

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Brand awareness was achieved both on the ground for a week with a living, breathing brand embodiment in high-footfall Brick Lane, through NME and Facebook advertising and, most effectively, through the sharing across Facebook and Twitter.

A new player was introduced to the busy UK music-streaming market with an exciting, engaging and truly social experience. Complex in behind-the-scenes execution, the user journey itself was beautifully simple and depended only on the demographic’s willingness to express their individuality through music. They were rewarded with a unique, creative and shareable memento which achieved the elusive but highly prized goal of all social marketing: social currency.

F8: Talking loud, saying something

2011-10-12T02:36:00.000-07:00

Here's something I posted elsewhere as a first reaction to the Facebook F8 developments, no doubt it'll need a rethink as they roll out the new features and they come into focus. Meanwhile, I'm working on a project that will, in some part, use the timeline and the integration features of one of the third party partners announced at F8 at present, which I hope will be a really fun and creative exploitation, so more on that soon.

The below was originally posted on 23.9.2011:

For a Facebook sceptic, yesterday's F8 announcements were an eye-opener. There's a lot to take in but boiled to its essence, the big news is #1 the timeline and #2 integration with key third-party entertainment content brands. As with all things in Facebook's social graph stew, the two are intrinsically linked and it's these sort of tangential connections between all things in the ecosystem that makes the sum total of all yesterday's news hard to process - there's no neat beginning and end to the features.

The introduction of third party content seems like a pretty seismic development for a platform which, in the words of James Brown, often amplified the business of 'talking loud, saying nothing'. Now, integration of services like Spotify and Deezer allow realtime sharing of the music that you are listening to, the articles that you are reading - and with the integration of Netflix so far in Canada and Latin America - the TV and films you view. Crucially, this takes out that moment of consideration in the sharing process - the one where you think 'how will sharing this make me look to my friends' - instead replacing it with an unmediated stream of the audiences' actual media consumption. So, enjoy watching your most considered friends unmasked as avid Coronation Street viewers, lovers of REO Speedwagon and aficionados of the films of Kevin Bacon.

The Timeline is a much richer way of presenting the individual's story and answers the issue of what to do with The Wall, given that most people now only interact with the News Feed. We're big fans of the lovely Memolane start-up here and there's a similar richness to the Facebook timeline which was influenced by the personal infographics or 'scrapbooks' of designer Nicholas Felton (pictured).

This is a really exciting development for people like us, whose ambition is to make rich social applications that enable audiences to connect in social media and celebrate passions and interests. Apps now feel so much more central to the experience and will have to be smarter, richer and more personalised for the most sophisticated users.

Content, of course, becomes ever-more the principle currency for brands looking to interact in these spaces and the announcement of verb-based 'actions' to add crucial nuance to the act of 'Liking' content, opens up a new seam of advertising potential through Facebook's Sponsored Stories product. Integration with the social graph is crucial to driving the potential of this data and the humble Facebook brand Page - always a thin proposition - now looks woefully insufficient.

The overall impact is a significant further stride towards Zuckerberg's ambition to channel your web experience through Facebook, building a sort of shopping mall of digital content (albeit with Deezer, The Guardian, Netflix and others boasting some pretty great shops). Perhaps there are those of us who will prefer to continue making trips to boutique high street shops but, unquestionably, these are huge advances for the world's favourite social network.

We stopped being ourselves without realising it

2011-07-07T02:18:00.000-07:00

Back in January Laura Miller wrote an interesting piece in The Guardian about the faltering way in which the novel has slowly acknowledged the existence of the internet. The point being that literature tends to be reticent about subject matter that's likely to date the text; Miller points out that big names like Cormac McCarthy and Annie Proulx tend to stage their drama amongst the mountains and plains of ranchland America where laptops (let alone iPads) never threaten to puncture the mythical mise en scene.

It was this article that turned me on to Jennifer Egan's 'A Visit From The Goon Squad', which won this year's Pulitzer Prize for fiction. As Miller writes, this is a book that manages to address both the culture of social media and the cultural implications of this new world. The 'voice' that social media gives the individual is, she claims, presently only heard when it sings in harmony with enough others - providing enough data to tease out valuable analysis and quantifiable results - to become of note to the corporation. Or put another way - did you try getting most of your friends to communicate with you through any other platform than Facebook?

Egan's novel envisions a future in which a toddler demographic, just capable of operating simple mobile handsets is referred to by marketers as 'pointers'. For music mogul, Bennie Salazar, these mini consumers represent the 'reach' he needs to revive his ailing music empire, once founded on, you know, music. In this world, bloggers are 'parrots' and 50 such parrots are enough to create 'authentic word of mouth' for the live debut of a dismal musician. Operating this marketing infrastructure are young professionals whose "every bite of information" is "stored in the databases of multinationals who swore they would never, ever use it." As Egan puts it, this generation sold themselves "unthinkingly at the very point in [...] life when [they'd] felt most subversive."

So far, so much dystopian literary analysis of consumer culture. But can a vision like this really be considered dystopian at a time when we're learning that our media institutions consider news gathering to be the business of private detectives and hackers, when evidence in the murder of a child can be tampered with in the name of the communications industry? Perhaps it's not so far fetched.

What the book fails to acknowledge though, is the disruption and anarchy that we're seeing in digital channels right now. If you use Twitter, you can't possibly have failed to feel the impact of the News Of The World story and, certainly, News International has felt its impact as the advertisers have been (let's be honest) forced to withdraw, at least for a spell. In the brand world, other great examples abound. My favourite from recent months was that in which US fashion retailer Urban Outfitters was hung out to dry on Twitter after ripping off an independent designer's work - a practice that's long been rife in this industry but will surely now be reassessed by the major brands in the light of the damage it can do (we can do) to their reputation. Take a look at the story in full - it's a little bit heart-warming.

So, could it be that Egan's analysis is one of old world expectation applied to new world potential? Isn't there just a glimmer of hope here that, rather than turning us into drones to be co-opted into colouring the myth that propels the dismal musician to superstardom, we can in fact call out the emperor in his new clothes through these very channels. Unless we recognise the potential of the tools we have, there's a danger that we'll fail to notice as they're slowly taken away from us (Twitter users should keep a watchful eye on developments there over the coming months as they try to make good on their need to become a more effective channel for advertisers).

This isn't about some anarchic dismantling of the status quo but simply the emergence of a communications environment in which some truth and substance are returned to brand promises, where great products and businesses succeed by communicating their intrinsic values and their message is carried by their audience. Here's hoping that the novel is still just a little behind the people where digital communications are concerned, then.

Beck vs Burgundy

2011-06-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

Finally, a new pairing on drinkinmusic.net. If this gets popular, I may start taking requests.

Twitter and the death of Sufjan Stevens

2011-05-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

Last night's Sufjan Stevens show - the first of two dates at the Royal Festival Hall for the US indie deity - was remarkable for two reasons. Firstly, it may just be the best show I've ever seen at this fantastic venue. Secondly, the excitement he managed to whip up in the room led to so much Twitter activity that some users seemingly considered the possibility he'd died.

Fascinating, because it highlights both the best and worst of Twitter. It's a fantastic thing that a digital outlet allows for the mass outpouring of collective enthusiasm in that way. It gives us a forum to ask: 'It wasn't just me right? That was amazing, wasn't it?' And despite a few churlish types (notably those most active on Twitter last night) the collective record they created conveyed at least something of the wonder of the show but also hinted at its flaws and contradictions.

However, the Twitter community deals in absolutes and what struck me halfway into the show was how challenging it would be to review, to do justice to its variety and vitality, to his creative imagination and its startling contrasts in light and dark, calm and chaos, simplicity and the utterly baroque. But on Twitter of course, it was either 'amazing' or 'ridiculous', in fact the most insightful commentary I've found in a single Tweet is this, from @kofisarfo: 'It was fantastic and absurd!'

David Cheal, writing for The Arts Desk, manages to clock up both the most Twitter mentions riding the trending wave and the only comprehensive review to be published less than 12 hours after the show. Huge respect on that count, given what a challenge it is to deliver a review of a show like this to such a tight deadline.

The downside to all this activity is that this is, so far, the only professional review that's been published. So, why aren't more publications rising to the challenge of editorial that can rival the instantaneity culture of the social web and deliver satisfyingly nuanced reportage? After all the Twitter stream itself is really just one long, crowdsourced review of sorts. The answers are complex and the diminishing value of editorial in our connected culture and suspicion of the singular author both play their part, not to mention the clear superiority of Twitter's business model over that of websites like The Arts Desk.

Wonderful gig though, and a great indication of what makes Twitter so compelling. It's a passion platform; a medium for those that intrinsically have something to say. So when will online journalism rise to its challenge.

Instagram analogue

2011-04-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

There's plenty being written about Instagram at the moment as we lay bets on its continuing success, but amongst it all what I've learnt from the service is how primitive our requirements of technology remain. I mean this in the best possible sense: there is something reassuringly human and simple that is key to the service's success.

Compare it with Flickr which is great in its own way (although it seems to have been stalled for a good few years now) and the parred down basics of its success become clear. Flickr offers tonnes of functionality from mapping images to slideshows, multiple scaling options, privacy settings and uploader tools. Instagram has a few simple filters and the sharing infrastructure of Twitter, with simple options to extend beyond the network into your other social destinations on an image-by-image basis. So, ease of use and real time social sharing are the key to the success of a service that unlocks our intrinsic urge to share in a manner that avoids the clanging premeditation of the worst Tweets and status updates.

What has become clearer since Instagram released its API and the fans and entrepreneurs (or likely, both combined in the best cases) have gone to work is the irresistible pull towards the analogue world that these modest social time capsules inspire. The filters may be a re-presentation of the analogue effect but there's a very tangible physical allure that has manifested great service initiatives like Instaprint - a location based photo booth that prints out Instagram images based on hashtags relevant to localised activity - and Stickygram - which promises to deliver your Instagram images as fridge magnets. There's also Instagoodies which creates sticker books from your Instagram pics, Teenytile that makes 2" ceramic tiles from your feed and all manner of other services for printing, framing and displaying pictures in realworld settings.

Somehow this flurry of 'analogue' (I know its not strictly correct) activity somehow embodies the appeal of the service perfectly. Of course, I could be missing the point and the API extension that really nails the Instagram phenomenon might just be this.

PS. Special mention to Postagram which I just came across after hitting 'Publish' - postcards of your Instagram pics, of course.

Artisan for artisan's sake

2011-03-28T03:42:00.000-07:00

Sticking with wine, a bottle dispatched over the weekend got me to thinking about the industry's relationship to marketing and branding.

It's hugely diverse from the modern corporate processes that inform brands like those within the Constellation group - Hardy's, Banrock Station, Kumala - to the luxury language of the champagne houses and Bordeaux chateau. But in between these, at least at a certain quality level, wine remains an artisan product made by independent producers and sold largely on the strength of what is in the bottle; a refreshing antidote to the fetishisation of goods with little to differentiate them beside the myth making of the marketing industry.

The apotheosis of this kind of anti commoditisation is found in Burgundy where the wines are so unique, the levels of production so small and the industry itself enshrined in family production for so many generations that marketing is scarcely necessary. There was a time when it seemed to be hard to tell the wines of different producers apart in Burgundy as one calligraphy adorned bottle looked so similar to the next, as remains the case with this pair for example:

But it was a bottle of wine from Spain, where there seems to be a huge effort of modernisation in the styles and visual languages in which wine is sold to the wider market these days, that got me to thinking about the issue. Not a dusty old Rioja carefully stamped with its certification of "Reserva' or 'Gran Reserva', but this wine from neighbouring Navarra:

It's nice isn't it? A kind of retro styling with great use of type and not a single part of the experience up to the point of pouring the wine untouched by brand - from label to foil and cork all beautifully presented. Apparently this is selling like hot cakes at my local wine merchant, understandably, in a style conscious corner of east London where it looks great on the table. The wine itself is good, a slightly confused blend of varietals which is at present dominated by slightly dry tannin and the coffee and bramble character of the Grenache (here's Jancis Robinson's note). Not bad, but I doubt its charm is what's helping to shift it so quickly in E9, there are better wines at this price.

The recent troubles at Oddbins have been well documented and the most insightful commentary I've seen on their current strategy came from a commentator who observed that they were hardly likely to succeed with shelves full of wines that no one had heard of. A shame, because the selection seemed to have improved considerably under its recent management. But it's true that at Oddbins' price point it is no longer possible to 'break' new wines (in the 90s I tried my first bottles from now cult wineries like Ridge and some of the blockbuster producers of Brunello from their shelves).

But have any of the shoppers at my local heard of Emilio Vallerio? A few perhaps, but it's unlikely they are in the majority. This - like the first bottle of Ridge I spied in Oddbins years ago - appeals because its bottle promises a wine with attention to detail, all the best assets of modern technique, the cult of artisan craft and because it's going to look really nice on my table, damn it.

So, 'artisan' is marketable and marketed (except perhaps in Burgundy where a label as shonky as that of Sylvain Cathiard can yeild one of the most incredible things you ever tasted) and is that a problem? Well, in the final judgement that really will depend on the impact it has on the quality of what we drink. Naked Wines, has established a smart business by providing the model and infrastructure that those unrecognised, unglamorous but great wines need to find a market. Oddbins, however, might need to pursue the paradoxical 'commodified artisan' category to regain its foothold on the middle class high street.

What Warren G has in common with red Bordeaux

2011-02-28T00:12:00.000-08:00

Well you might ask.

The answer, of course, is only to be found at my Drinkin' Music blog - here.

Drinkin' Music eschews traditional wine parings, like food, and instead aims to find the classic album that shares its qualities with the wine in question.

Not quite as eccentric as it sounds, there is considerable evidence to suggest that music can influence our sensation of taste. Words are pretty flawed when it comes to describing sensory stuff - surely the only way to get closer to the experience then, is to find a sensory metaphor.

One day, wines will be available on YouTube. Or something.

Albums as tall stories

2011-02-23T07:11:00.001-08:00

My favourite release from a batch of LPs just reviewed for Uncut is this oddity from The Endless House Foundation.

Not necessarily because the content is any more accomplished or exciting than anything else from the current pile – although there’s some beautiful music here that will strike the right note for lovers of early 70s kosmische – but because of its brilliantly audacious proposition.

At a time when albums need desperately to be more than anonymous files at the end of a pipe, Endless House offers a scenario in which they take on a fictional existence, inviting listeners into the imaginative landscape in which they were conceived. It sets out a Ballardian tale of a futuristic club in the Bialowieska Forest where Europe’s avant-garde gathered for six weeks in 1973 and compiles the work of these imagined characters, presenting it as if it were an archive discovery of a lost musical history.

In the velco-sealed envelope in which it arrives (like a file from the worst kind of East German library) there are a number of postcards each depicting the album’s fictional auteurs – from Bauhaus drop-out Klaus Pinter to club-founder Jiri Kantor whose ill-fated vision was to create a space that would act as “the cradle of a new European sonic community... a multimedia discotheque.”

Of course, this sort of thing has been done before and it has been done on the scale of Gorillaz. But scale is what makes this project most endearing. The music here couldn’t possibly hope to appeal beyond its already well-defined sub-audience of electronica and kosmische lovers. But its creator (creators?) has lavished such attention to the stories behind the music that it becomes something to cherish.

The story doesn’t end here. There is even an interview with club survivor, Walter Schnaffs and a mix by Jiri Kantor himself.

Ad Mix015 - Jiri Kantor [Endless House] by Armchair Dancefloor on Mixcloud

A lovely project that is knowing enough about the plight of the album to find a solution but sufficiently heartfelt to avoid cold marketing theory.

Cut-up technique for the digital age

2011-02-17T06:31:00.000-08:00

YouTube's 'Life In A Day' project, a 90 minute film made up of thousands of clips filmed by users on one day last July was premiered in Berlin this month and has seemingly been well-received. Judging from the few clips available on the YouTube page, it has plenty of the raw material to make it a fascinating human document. My question though - and it's easier to ask before seeing and becoming emotionally invested in the film - is whether this latest frontier in film actually points to new structural possibilities for the form or will remain a glorious experiment, utterly of its time and seldom to be repeated.

Not a typical documentary, the film sets out to make concrete the human histories of one single day in 2010, splicing together cultures to find revelations in the humdrum routines that comprise a day. These become a string of multiple additions revealing what it is to be Moroccan, to be Argentinian, British, Japanese...

It also records the random pattern with which that one day becomes momentous for some of the film's subjects as they give birth, find themselves diagnosed with cancer, get caught up in the tragic events at German music festival Love Parade on 24th July, where 21 people died in a crush.

It offers a coming together of the personal and the social, the local and the global, the banal and the significant into a patchwork narrative of existential investigation which is made possible by our participative media culture. And it reconfigures the filmmaking process to make the editor the skipper, taking ultimate creative control, previously the domain of the director. (If nothing else, it certainly blows the auteur theory out of the water.)

So what does it mean for film? Clearly, this can be done again and filmed to coincide with major global events - imagine watching the impact of the announcement of war unfold across cultures or charting the effect of a major medical breakthrough on the lives of people across the world. But is there an opportunity for fictionalised narratives here? Could we crowd source an adaptation of Wuthering Heights?

I'm reminded of Penguin's attempt to crowd source a novel, generally considered to be an exciting experiment in form, rather than a satisfying creative product. In a user-generated environment in which endless contribution often leads to a relativistic tangle, we still need filters to tell a story or to make a film. Even to give an objective opinion on a hotel, if Tripadvisor is anything to go on.

'A Day In The Life' depends upon the work of its editor/director filters to conjure sense and narrative from the chaos of plurality - step up Ridley Scott and brother Tony, with their director ('director/editor'?), Kevin Macdonald. But could they make a decent story out of crowd footage if the brief were something like, 'shoot a film about a pair of doomed lovers on the run from the police'? You can't rule it out can you? There are analogue precedents in everything from the literary cut-ups of William Burroughs through to some of the filmic techniques of Godard.

What's certain is the raw material doesn't look like it'll be in short supply - it just remains to be seen what the editors can do with it.

A Mix, eight months in the thinking about doing...

2009-05-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

The infrequency of these mixes could be taken as a sign of either perfectionism or plain idleness. But time lets the selections settle a little and the more permanent tracks of the last year rise to the surface.

This one is a little more analogue in places, with less 'functional' stuff - except for that Boris Horel thing which I couldn't resist after hearing it out a few weeks back.

There's even half-an-hour of Berghain-shaped trouble at the end.

On the off chance that a couple of people failed to clear out their RSS feeds, here it is:

At Home With The Hoodies Mix 2

Tracklisting

Avon Sparkle - Newworldaquarium
A Crippled Left Wing Soars With The Right (DJ Sprinkles' Steal This Record Remix) - Terre Thaemlitz
Long Drive - Andy Stott
Pause (Isolee Mix) - Will Saul
Workshop - Move D
Red Cloud (Minilogue Remix) - Sian
Workshop - Evan Tuell
Foly feat. Sibiri Samake - dOP
Close To Me - Boris Horel
I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Re-Edit) - Chic
Workshop - Benjamin Brun
Wax 10 - Shed
Double Trouble - Pied Plat
Subzero - Ben Klock
X - Claro Intelecto
Vacuum Stance - LoSoul

The tunetourist podcast, back from the dead

2008-09-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

It's not the same as the original Tunetourist podcast series but with the dulcet tones of Messers Gilbert and Poletti long since a footnote in the history of digital music, this is the 'all music no bored-sounding blokes talking shit' version.

Precisely 90 minutes of the finest electronic shizzle, including a few recent gems from John Tejada, Luciano and DJ Koze. Use the sendspace link below to download.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0k4p59

Tracklisting - At Home With The Hoodies 01

Turning Point - John Tejada
Jive - Pikaya
Ribbons - Four Tet
Crazy Circus (Guido Schneider mix) - Matthias Tanzmann
Break Free - Michael Ho, Lil Dirty
Floppy - Alex Picone
Crazy Place (Luciano mix) - Dave Aju
Radar - HOSH & Stimming
Boiling Point Returns - FYM
Naked (DJ Koze mix) - Sid Le Rock
Pink Boots - Thomas Schumacher
Falling Stars - Smith N Hack
Nebula - Delta Funktionen
I Want To Sleep - DJ Koze
Acid In My Fridge - Dinky
Akustik - Par Grindvik
K-Maze - Radioslave

Six months off: some reviews

2008-08-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

Well, obviously, tunetourist has been on holiday. We had a nice tropical break but now we're back to the coalface in London.

So, whilst you can expect a few more Brazilian tips it's largely musical business as usual here. We'll try and resume some sort of service in the coming weeks and months - starting with a few reviews yet to be published by Uncut magazine.

The Luciano mix has rarely been off the stereo since I saw him play outside in the morning at Sunday Adventure Club in Berlin; a really nice balance of house and techno with lovely organic patterns and groove. Dettmann's Berghain mix is as staunchly techno as you'd expect and a few 'difficult' transitions creep in but that's kind of the point. No Ableton and a refusal to conform to the monotone unanimity of many mixed comps. All power to him.

Luciano, meanwhile, probably grew-up listening to Gilberto Gil and Tamba Trio; "Frevo Rasgado" may just get called 'the Brazilian Sgt Pepper' with as much lazy (and condescending) regularity as Caetano Veloso gets called 'the Brazilian Bob Dylan'. A wicked intro to Tropicalia anyway and, as I allude to in the review, one less obviously sanctioned by Beck, Stereolab et al than the oiginal 'Tropicalia' LP.

VARIOUS - Fabric 41: Luciano (FABRIC)
4/5
Mustachioed Chilean electronic figurehead in the mix
Emerging as one of the key expat Chileans behind the thriving European dance scene, Luciano has long shared billing with Ricardo Villalobos. It’s a misleading association as the Cadenza label boss’ sound is neither as proggy nor ‘difficult’. In recent years, Luciano has worked more and more Latin groove into his pristine sound and this restrained mix proves one of Fabric’s most rewarding recent offerings. A clear personal aesthetic colours the selection which flows as if time were no object through highlights like Galluzzi and Schneider’s unavoidable “Albertino” and Johnny D’s “Orbitalife”. A perfect soundtrack to Easy Jet Sundays in European sunshine.

VARIOUS - Berghain 02: Marcel Dettmann (OSTGUT)
4/5
Whilst the average DJ at London’s Fabric club is lucky to exceed two hours, Marcel Dettmann starts work at six AM and plays for 12 at Berghain. It’s a commitment to a borderline purist notion of the techno aesthetic that finds its ultimate expression on this Berlin dancefloor. This refreshingly rough-hewn mix manages to capture a little of the magic.

GILBERTO GIL - Frevo Rasgado / Cérebro Eletrônico (EL RECORDS)
4/5
Hipsters head straight for the Tropicalia LP and Os Mutantes’ debut but the second from Brazil’s culture minister, released in 1969, is as perfect a summation of the scene’s seamless blend of pop, politics and unhinged experimentation as you’ll find. Created by the dream team of Gil, Mutantes and Tropicalia’s resident arranger, Rogerio Duprat, this ranks amongst 60s Brazil’s finest.

TAMBA TRIO - The Miraculous Tamba Trio (EL RECORDS)
3/5
A selection culled from four releases by this early 60s bossa trio famed for their version of Jorge Ben’s “Mas Que Nada”, this is Brazil as painted on innumerable chill out albums. Later efforts prove they could play hard enough to clear a hotel lobby - “Consolacion” in particular is an astonishing reconfiguration of the possibilities of the trio format.

Felix Hot Chip picks the tunes

2008-02-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a selection of 10 fine and widely available shots of sunshine - courtesy of Hot Chip's techno guru Felix who was kind enough to share some faves with Tunetourist recently:

Controversy – Prince

I think we should start with this one because Prince is quite a big Hot Chip influence, obviously. I’ve always really liked this track; it’s got a really kind of immediate groove to it that’s really good. A real classic, funky song.

Gotta Serve Somebody - Bob Dylan

One of his Christian era songs, it was a real hit at the time and I like the idea of this critically unpopular period of 'Bob Music' actually getting somewhere in the charts. A really great song.

In My Secret Life – Leonard Cohen

On his quite recent album “Ten New Songs”, it’s latterday Leonard Cohen with quite corny electronic music in the background and I really love it. I think it’s very deep.

The Fat Lady Of Limbourg - Brian Eno

It’s on “Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy” and it’s kind of a short and very surreal song that tells a kind of story that I used to get endless joy listening to when I was a stoned teenager. And I still get joy listening to it now.

Put A Straw Under Baby – Brian Eno

This features Robert Wyatt doing backing vocals and it's got one of those melodies that’s been stuck in my head for the last 20 years or so… So, there must be something pretty amazing about it.

Dominik Eulberg & Gabriel Ananda – Harzer Roller

It got a very kind of organic feel to it, it feels like two musicians experimenting together in a kind of live way but in the context of a minimal techno dance track. From that point of view I think it’s quite close to some of Hot Chip’s music although some people might not see the connection, there’s a very live music feel to it I think.

Noze – Love Affair

This was on our DJ Kicks compilation; a very poppy, quite immediate song with a good groove to it in a slightly unhinged… very unhinged way, in fact.

Apples And Oranges – Pink Floyd

A psychedelic number from when they still had a good Syd Barrett kind of influence, before they went depressing and prog rock. This one’s got completely demented vocal refrains in it and it’s just very odd sounding, quite frightening to listen to. I like the fact that it got to number three in the UK charts.

Whip It – Devo

Just because the way that they used synthesiser sounds is really brilliant, I think. Particularly on this one. They use a kind of percussive synth sound, just the right side of being a bit nerdy and experimental with computers and synthesisers but making something really immediate and funky.

Neon Lights – Kraftwerk

Just a very beautiful piece of electronic music which - when I used to listen to it - it made you think that you could do things with electronic music that you didn’t necessarily think you could do before. It’s very gentle and light but at the same time it’s got this kind of propulsion to it.

Will Ashon picks the tunes

2008-01-09T07:23:00.000-08:00

Here's Big Dada label boss and acclaimed novelist Will Ashon picking the tunes, both from his own label and general faves. Lots of great stuff some of which we asked Will to tie up with reference to the Big Dada ethos, some of which was just buzzing around his head. It's a good insight into the mindset of a great British label, one that turned 10-years-old last year.

Roots Manuva – Witness

Probably our biggest club record and the biggest single we’ve ever had. I think it’s one of the all-time great basslines and some superb wonky drum programming from Mr Manuva. When he plays it live he says bands always have trouble ‘cause they try to be in time and the whole point is that it’s out of time. It’s a nice summary of the Big Dada label ethos really: it’s the wrongness that makes it right.

Bjork - Earth Intruders (XXXchange Remix)

It’s a fantastic remix. I think that Alex Epton – the guy who produced the Spank Rock album – is an amazing producer and this is one of the best remixes I’ve heard for a while. He’s turned it into a really low-slung, quite baggy remix which is quite bizarre for an American to have come up with.

Fiery Furnaces – Duplexes Of The Dead

From their latest album Widow City, this is just a killer, short psych pop song. What I like about them is that they’ve always done their own thing, whether it’s sensible commercially or not – down to making an album with their Grandmother singing the whole thing (which I bought and I can tell you is completely unlistenable). I kind of like that spirit, when musicians do exactly what they want to without any fear of the consequences.

Company Flow – Simple

The New York underground scene in the mid-nineties was a big influence on setting up Big Dada and I think that of those groups, Company Flow was probably the most cutting-edge and exciting. I remember picking up their first EP in a shop in New York and getting home and playing it and being amazed that anyone was doing anything like it.

Wu-Tang Clan – Proteck Ya Neck

Really the whole first album, just a huge record and out of step with everything else that was going on at the time and very exciting. Tough and stripped back compared with all the bloated stuff that was going on in the mainstream at the time. I was never a really big fan of the west coast, Snoop Dogg stuff…

The Specials - I Can’t Stand It

From their brilliant second album which, in a way, is a good reference point for Big Dada: where a British group very influenced by Jamaican music stepped out of that and made something which could only be made in the UK. Big Dada is an album label really and I think this is a great album in that it runs from start to finish and works as an album.

Bromhead’s Jacket - What Ifs And Maybes

I think they’re a really good, young guitar group – we actually tried to do something with them but in the end they decided to stay where they were. That would have been a departure for us, except for the fact that the lyricist in his teen years listened to hip hop and it shows in his style. I just think it’s a really good little tune.

Freestyle Fellowship – Seventh Seal

Once again, anything off the first album would do just as well. They were part of the whole Los Angeles underground scene of the early nineties that started around a café called The Good Life. They had freestyle sessions there and, along with the New York underground scene of the same time, this was one of the things that made me want to start a label. Amazing lyrically and an amazing group that never really got the props that they deserve.

Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U

An amazing record, I remember hearing about it and getting it on white label and I was staggered by it, really excited. Then I got all the Wiley stuff and Kano’s first thing and it was a really exciting time. It was something we really wanted to get involved in but due to the speed at which things move from underground to overground we missed that limited window where we’d have been able to afford to sign anyone and we had to wait a long time for it to settle down again. It was good to do Wiley’s record this year.

Slimm Calhoun – It’s Okay

It’s got Andre 3000 from Outkast on it and it’s a really good example of what makes him special. The track is an extended misogynistic rant about groupies but then Andre 3000 comes in and manages to do his verse from the point of view of the groupie. It’s one of those moments when you think, “Jesus, this man is clever.” It’s an incredible verse, brilliantly done. He’s a genius.

TTC – Dans Le Club

For a label that’s probably more known for its albums than its singles, this is probably Big Dada’s other big club record. An amazing beat from Para One: hugely pummelling and powerful. And then TTC do their French, nasal weirdness all over the top to beautiful effect.

Infinite Livez – Worcestershire Sauce

This is on the Well Deep compilation: a track about eating crisps… only it isn’t. Infinite is the archetypal Big Dada artist in that he just does what he wants to do regardless of whether people think he’s a mad pervert or whatever.

New Flesh – Stick And Move

Stick And Move, although it’s a bit slower, in terms of the sound and the vocals is kind of proto-Grime in a way. They’re another group that I think have consistently produced cutting-edge black British music and have largely been ignored for it. As a collective they’re one of the most important acts we’ve had on the label.

John Coltrane – Spiritual

From Live At The Village Vanguard which I was lucky enough to snaffle off my Dad… it’s just them playing their arses off really. I like a lot of jazz and Coltrane isn’t necessarily my favourite but that particular session is amazing.

Sizzla – Grow You Locks

A lot of the British stuff we’ve done on Big Dada sits between two influences: hip hop from America and reggae, dancehall and dub from the Caribbean which is where a lot of our black British artists’ families come from. It’s just nice to have something on there that reflects the Caribbean tradition as well.

Cadence Weapon – Sharks

A good mix-up of someone who is fascinated by electronic music and also hip hop. He combines the two really well, especially on this track: it’s got a really harsh electronic sound but, in terms of the way he raps, he still sounds like he’s from that tradition that I was talking about that goes back beyond Company Flow. People who put too many syllables in their rhymes, basically…

Flying Lotus – Reset EP

From a hip hop background, as a piece of instrumental music it’s the thing that has grabbed me most in the last six months. I think instrumental music is as much about creating a mood as anything and this has got a real feel to it, it doesn’t just feel like a retread of Mo Wax. I think his stuff is going to be great.

Os Mutantes – A Minha Menina

Just a fantastic pop tune. Good in that it came out at a time when no one expected fantastic pop records to come out of Brazil. One of the distinct things about Big Dada compared to other hip hop labels is that I think we’ve always taken a very international view of the music so it’s good to have a bit of an international flavour to my playlist.

2007 in 100 tunes

2008-01-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

Absolutely the last of the end-of-year lists. Promise. But we thought that an iMix would be the best way of presenting this mammoth selection of the tunes on heaviest rotation chez Tunetourist throughout 2007.

Boys love lists, we know this, but these things are a justifiable endeavour if only to remind yourself of just how much incredible music comes out in any given year. The industry itself may sailing off with nary a paddle to its name but it doesn’t seem to be making the slightest bit of difference to the quality of the music. So we may be out of work soon but we’ll never be sonically undernourished.

Click through to the iMix and you can check out 30-second samples of all of 100 tracks here. They’re belters.

Pete Rock, NY's Finest

2008-01-09T02:13:00.000-08:00

Perhaps if Kanye, Just Blaze, Mos Def and Swizz Beats say the kids ought to check out Uncle Pete Rock, then the kids will be duly schooled. Certainly, the sight of Kanye putting aside his ego to shower praise on this archetypal New York producer should shock a few people into paying attention - although his contention that Pete Rock invented the remix is a little spurious.

The really worrying thing here is the prevalence of R&B acts in the studio clips, let’s hope Pete hasn’t made an album’s worth of the weak half of "Soul Survivor" without any “Tru Master” business.

Tunetourist's 2007 with beats

2007-12-04T01:42:00.000-08:00

Resident Advisor kindly solicited Tunetourist for some end-of-year charts last week and so we narrowed the focus and concentrated on the beats (as we have been doing for most of the year, if we're honest). All in order, we have 20 tracks, five remixes, five artist albums, five producers and five DJs.

On the DJs front, we don't get out to this stuff as much as we'd like to but most of those in our top 5 have manned the decks on some great nights out - Ben Klock is the sound of Berghain, Weatherall played a great set at the SFA afterparty last month, Anja Schneider upstairs at Weekend in Berlin, Hot Chip playing to the street on Broadway Market... Efdemin we selected merely on the strength of a couple of great mixes found online. He plays a Sud Electronique party at a warehouse in Dlaston on 15th December, so we may finally get chance to check him out.

Top 20 Tracks (including remixes)

DJ Koze - Maripossa (Kompakt)
Good To Be Alive - Matthew Dear (Ghostly)
Rainbow Delta - Len Faki (Ostgut Ton)
Confessions Of An English Opium Eater - Danton Eeprom (Infine)
Atlas - Battles (DJ Koze Remix) (Warp)
Clt - Monomachine (Paradigma)
Falling Stars - Smith N Hack (Smith N Hack)
Black Beauty - Dapayk & Padberg (Mo's Ferry)
Ribcage - Dubfire (Desolat)
Papercup - Sleeparchive (Sleeparchive)
Elementary Lover (DJ Koze Remix) - Matthew Dear
Night - Benga & Coki (Tempa)
Reflection Nebula 056n - Tadeo (Apnea)
Bell Clap Dance - Radioslave (Rekids)
Khes - Dapayk & Padberg (Mo's Ferry)
Endorphin - Burial (Hyperdub)
Der Kammblaser - Ruede Hagelstein (Lebensfreude Records)
Low Profile (2000 And One Remix) - Lazy Fat People
Acid Bells - Efdemin (Curle)
Juror No. 9 - Adultnapper (Audiomatique)

Top Five Remixes

Battles - Atlas (DJ Koze Remix) (Warp)
Elementary Lover (DJ Koze Remix) - Matthew Dear
Low Profile (2000 And One Remix) - Lazy Fat People
Do It Again (Audion Remix) - The Chemical Brothers (Virgin)
Blood On My Hands - Shakleton (Villalobos Remix) (Skull Disco)

Top Five Artist Albums

Matthew Dear - Asa Breed (Ghostly)
Sound Of Silver - LCD Soundsystem (DFA)
Untrue - Burial (Hyperdub)
Kala - M.I.A. (XL)
Happy Birthday - Modeselektor (B Pitch)

Top Five Producers

Matthew Dear
DJ Koze
James Murphy
Danton Eeprom
Efdemin

Top Five DJs

Ben Klock
Andy Weatherall
Anja Schneider
Hot Chip
Efdemin

Radiohead's "In Rainbows"

2007-10-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Tunetourist joined the queue this morning to put hand in pocket and shell out for the new Radiohead album, “In Rainbows”. It was easy; we’re listening to it right now. There was some speculation from friends more heavily involved in the business of selling music online than we are that the mighty agitators of modern music had bitten off more than they could chew trying to birth their creation to all those eager fans at 7am. Servers would crash; Radiohead would suffer the same public relations disaster as befell the formerly sainted Michael Eavis. But then, people whose livelihoods depend on selling digital music would say that wouldn’t they?

We’re still not crystal clear what they’re trying to achieve by allowing us to choose our own price for the record. Mostly, it seems that the band who broke the US with the help of a nascent, illegal Napster (rather than the numbing slog of the tour bus) are again courting the more controversial elements of the zeitgeist for massive publicity. (Surely it’s a mark of how brilliantly Radiohead have managed public opinion that it strikes an almost vulgar chord putting the words ‘Radiohead’ and ‘publicity’ in the same sentence.)

You wonder how much this morning’s most punctual critics – Paul Morley on the Guardian blog and John Mulvey on his Uncut blog have both written impressively hasty appraisals – managed to pay for the record being so accustomed to the legitimate ‘free music’ that still arrives on writers’ doormats in Jiffy bags. We paid £3… well, £3.45 once you factor in the card-handling fee. It seems a fair price; we’ll certainly buy the CD next year, if not the extravagantly priced £40 box set.

So what of the music? Paul Morley’s smart but typically discursive review applies a caveat to every statement which goes something like this: “I’m writing a live review of the record as I listen to it therefore I must not fall into the trap of thinking this about it before I’ve really had chance to consider it: insert heavily qualified observation.” Not so much a cop out as a necessary reservation, to really cast judgement on a Radiohead album at this stage would be daft.

“In Rainbows” throws up a few interesting questions though. Most of these for us concern the issues of progress and maturity: what constitutes the endless forward motion that we desperately require from Radiohead? Over at Tunetourist, the band really began delivering on their massive reputation when “Kid A” came out in 2000. Remember this was a time when the Beta Band represented the pinnacle of the machine-human interface in popular rock music. “Everything In Its Right Place” sang out of our speakers back then like a prayer answered; the innovations of three decades of electronic music finding song amongst the texturally detailed and rhythmically urgent grace of what has always been reductively summarised as ‘dance music’. ‘Electronica’ if you prefer to remain a snob. This record – despite the false step of opening track “15 Step” which brings both Radiohead regulars Autechre and Thom’s buddies Modeselektor to mind in its opening bars – prefers ‘organic’ instrumentation to machines.

Nonetheless, there’s progress here from the last record. “Hail To The Thief”, as good as it obviously is, felt like a band returning for one last waltz with the sound so beloved of those fans who noisily complained throughout the “Kid A”/“Amnesiac” exercise. “In Rainbows” doesn’t, at first glance, feel like a compromise. Rather, it perhaps finds Radiohead in a similar place to the Wilco that recorded “Sky Blue Sky”, in working process at least. Satisfied that their experiments have opened new micro-vistas within their essentially traditional song writing process they're ready to enjoy themselves as musicians once again. The playing approaches a folksy warmth on some songs that’s most un-Radiohead, even if Thom’s clichéd anomie and the band’s default grandeur suggest a band, as Paul Morley puts it, “looking at themselves in the mirror… rocking and wailing somewhere between mystically and apocalyptically.”

Honestly, though, we’ve listened to it twice and it sounds great, particularly “15 Step”, “Nude”, “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi”, “Faust Arp”, “House Of Cards”, the much discussed “Videotape”. The album is bathed in wonderful strings – the arrangements on “Faust Arp” specifically recall Nick Drake’s “River Man” – and Yorke seems finally to be emerging as a coherent voice rather than a chatter of refracted paranoiac slogans. “In Rainbows”, we’re tempted to suggest, is progress and maturity of the best kind.

Not another Acid House compilation

2007-09-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

Don't ask why but everything has gone Acid House at Tunetourist HQ today. Maybe it's got something to do with the UK's Guardian newspaper catching on that the spirit of the movement is now firmly resident in post-Wall Berlin (sample quote: "Hedonistic freedom will always hold special significance for those who have known the absolute lack of any freedom"). But, in a brief break from our usual fwd>> agenda, we're going back to its earliest incarnations for inspiration.

Seldom though has the sound of 1988 - 90 as we recall it been captured adequately on a compilation album; even Soul Jazz's "Acid" comp beat a well well-worn and geographically focussed path through jackin' Chicago house. So, we hereby launch our manifesto for the first truly as yet un-compiled history of a certain strain of the movement we're happy to call Acid House.

Manuel Gottsching - "E2 - E4" (Disk Union reissue)

Let's kick off with the daddy of them all, Manuel Gottsching's majestic "E2 - E4"; 23 minutes of otherworldly inspiration that hit this member of Krautrock act Ash Ra Temple like a thunderbolt, sometime in 1981. Yes, 1981. If you don't recognise this minimal exercise in modal groove in its original form, you may recall it from the endlessly re-issued 'Balearic' dance classic "Sueno Latino" which first landed in 1989 and which rips off Gottsching's vision wholesale. Here, you can listen to 25 years of electronic music being mapped out in gently undulating grooves with an insistence and restraint that dance music has only had the courage to return to in recent years.

Neal Howard – “Indulge” (Network)

Some Derrick May track or other, usually the sublime "Strings Of Life" or bleeps 'n' bass-defining "Nude Photo" ought really to crop up at this point but instead we've opted for lesser-known Detroit-producer Neal Howard and a track called "Indulge". It was licensed to Network Records - a key UK distributor of the Detroit sound in the UK throughout the late 80s and early 90s. Usually the internet yields something on most artists, however minor. Here though, we have little supporting information for you. Nonetheless, this feels more like an unofficial follow-up to "Strings Of Life" than anything Derrick May released and points the way to the lusher techno soundscapes of second-wave Detroit producers like Carl Craig. Originally recorded in 1988 it still sounds wonderfully fresh.

Ron Trent - "Altered States" (Warehouse)

Sadly, Ron Trent is now probably better-known for meandering cod-spiritual house music of the kind proffered by Joe Clausell et al but once upon a time he was capable of delivering this aircraft hanger-proportioned epic techno belter. Later, he'd go on to more or less single-handedly define 'deep house' through the early nineties output of his Prescription label and seminal releases with Chez Damier, like "The Foot Therapy EP".

Suburban Knight - "The Art Of Stalking" (Transmat)

Another in our admittedly Detroit-centric take on the Acid House story which hails from the Motor City. This 1990 release from James Pennington is our only track from a foot solider of the legendary Underground Resistance. Included here because it neatly prefigures the 'dark side' sounds that would invade the euphoria rush of rave in '91.

Soft House Company - "What You Need" (Irma Casa Di Primordine)
Sha-Lor - "I'm In Love" (Gentie)

The Italo influence that soundtracked the sweaty joy of Nude nights at the Hacienda throughout '89 and '90 is summarised as well by "What You Need" as any other track. Don't ask us to tell you any more about it... Same goes for this '88 classic from Sha-Lor which was reissued by Mike Pickering's Deconstruction label in '89 and is one of the Hac's most enduring vocal house moments; one of the few that's still an absolute pleasure to hear. Beautifully dubby and restrained, it’s hard imagining such an elegant record rubbing shoulders with Black Box on Manchester's most hallowed dancefloor.

Nightmares On Wax - Aftermath [LFO Remix] (Warp)
Ital Rockers - "Ital's Anthem" (Bassic)
Renegade Soundwave - Thunder (Mute)

The Northern bleep moment is rightly remembered for LFO's eponymous earth-quaking debut and Nightmares On Wax's double-headed assault, "Aftermath/I'm For Real". On our alternative guide we leave both of those to other comps and opt instead for LFO's sublime remix of Nightmares On Wax. See what we did there. "Ital's Anthem" was one of the heaviest tracks to force its way inside our young ears back in 1990. Released by the Leeds label that ran parallel to Sheffield's Warp for a while, it is techno as understood by kids more accustomed to reggae 'blues parties' than 'Balearic' beats. Can you see rave coming yet? Finally, 80s industrialists Renegade Soundwave were uncommonly inspired on their 1990 release "Renegade Soundwave In Dub" which yielded "Thunder", another proto-rave anthem that, oddly enough, used to get mixed into Jimmy Somerville at the Hacienda.

Rum & Black – “Slaves” (Shut Up & Dance)

Finally, one that clearly points us off in the direction of jungle, when the East London kids got involved. Here's where things began to fracture and, arguably, Acid House span off in different dirctions. The London 'summer of '88' lot were already sneering about sweaty 'Acid Teds' but the break with 4/4 beats and increasing importance of breakbeats really seems like a good place to leave it.

Better than "Old School Euphoria", we hope.

Let’s go back, way back…

2007-09-21T03:23:00.000-07:00

The soundtrack to the original hip hop movie Wild Style gets a re-release for its 25th anniversary next month. Not the first document of hip hop culture, the 1982 film and soundtrack nonetheless seems as good a place to start as anywhere. Hugely influential in every respect, the tracks here from the likes of Cold Crush Brothers, Busy Bee, Rammellzee, Double Trouble and DJs Grand Wizard Theodore and Fab Five Freddy seem to blueprint most of the music that followed from the Beastie Boys to A Tribe Called Quest. Musically, Wild Style still finds hip hop stuck in the disco instrumentals phase of the Sugar Hill Gang era and the backing tracks - produced by Blondie’s Chris Stein - are largely indistinguishable.

The film also gets the deluxe repackage treatment with Rhino releasing a version with remastered audiovisuals and extras including interviews with the film’s stars, the aforementioned MCs and DJs themselves, and footage from the 20th anniversary reunion concert.

If that isn’t enough to satiate your hunger for back-in-the-day hip hop goodness, the 'rhyme inspector' Percee P releases his long-awaited official album debut this month on one of our favourite labels, Stones Throw. We say ‘long-awaited’ but, really, most people gave up waiting 10 years ago. Percee is frequently described these days a ‘fast rap’ legend, known for a style that recalls the mighty Big Daddy Kane for his Vesuvial way with the adjectives. It’s a long story but somehow Percee managed to play his part in both the late 80s and mid-90s hip hop boom periods and this album, appropriately titled “Perseverance”, manages to summarise much of the best of both. Stones Throw’s special weapon, Madlib, steps up to produce and sounds great delivering a more straight-up set than his recent jazz and beatstrumental excursions, making this one of the strongest artist albums the label has released in a while.

Kompakt action

2007-09-14T08:53:00.001-07:00

This time of year is always busy for techno’s renaissance label, Kompakt, the Cologne-based Empire founded by Michael Mayer, Jürgen Paape and Wolfgang Voigt. It’s around this time that they unleash the latest in their mammoth double CD “Total” compilation series – this year its “Total 8” – and throw a big bash at Popkomm and the C/o Pop event in Cologne. This year they follow it all up with a secondary strike from two of the label’s biggest artists, working under the combined moniker of Superpitcher, Michael Mayer and Superpitcher release “Save The World” next week, but more of that later.

“Total 8” has been the subject of some critical griping amongst the indie community and admittedly it’s a somewhat hit and miss affair. But there are plenty of reasons here to seek out the best of it. Jürgen Paape brings classic stalking and stabbing Cologne techno restraint to "Nord", while Robert Babicz’ remix of label star Gui Boratto’s "Mr Decay" bounces with the kind of irrepressibly groovy micro-twitches you’d expect from Spanish producers like Alex Under.

There’s nothing from indie darling The Field but the label’s acclaimed shift into gently sombre emotional terrain is represented instead by The Rice Twins. "Can I Say" already pegs them as potential crossover darlings with its elegant rethink of trance’s cruder emotional touch points. Amongst the record’s less inspiring moments, Aril Brikha’s overrated tribute to Berlin’s great techno shrine "Berghain" is wheeled out, but a more fitting tribute to the drama and dynamics of that legendary dancefloor comes from DJ Koze’s wonderful "Mariposa". Building through quietly intense swathes of noise that merge the functional drone of machines with the unexpected melodies they might sing as they work, it comes on like a symphony of engines learning to take their first graceful flight. Hear it in Berghain and you might fall over.

Supermayer’s “Save The World” is a step into new terrain for the label, Mayer and Superpitcher shaking off the confines of the Cologne sound to stretch out into more organic textures, live instruments and groovier disco territory, all whilst maintaining the label’s trademarked restraint. Superpitcher brings club dynamics to Mayer’s deft control of texture and the pair of them may be just the men to graft new, more organic sounds onto the over-familiar minimal framework and find something new within. They still find time for a few straight-up Kompakt-style bangers – “Saturndays” is as good as any club 12” released so far this year and “Planet Of The Sick” and “Two Of Us” won’t upset the purists. Elsewhere though, there are a few surprises, foremost amongst them the “Billy Jean” reconfigurations of “The Art Of Letting Go”.

Klaxons win Mercury Music Prize

2007-09-05T02:47:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Tunetourist favourites the Klaxons who won last night’s 2007 Mercury Music Prize. We won’t mask slight disappointment that it didn’t go to Bat For Lashes who, along with Amy Winehouse, gave the performance of the night but no doubt the prize’s mandate to award innovation is as well served by the Klaxons as anyone.

It was a clear surprise, though, to both band and the assembled industry throng, the room letting out a gasp as Jules Holland announced the winner. Jamie Reynolds – with sutured and strapped foot from his recent stage dive misadventures - James Righton, Simon Taylor-Davis and Steffan Halpern were by turns endearingly touched, shocked and awed, pathetically gurning and aimlessly posturing, as they collected the award. It was as if midway through their natural response the amphetamines kicked back in and they remembered an earlier pact not to ‘do a Gwyneth’ if they won, but completely forgot how they'd planned to make a rock’n’roll impression in the first place.

"I think they have rewarded forward thinking music," Jamie Reynolds said after the event. “We have made the most forward thinking record since I don't know how long.” Somehow we failed to feel quite the same thrill as when Dizzee Rascal surprised the event in 2003, winning with his genuinely radical “Boy In Da Corner”.

Bon Anniversaire Big Dada

2007-08-20T10:54:00.000-07:00

Ten years have passed since music journalist Will Ashon established the UK’s finest hip hop label in conjunction with Ninja Tune and presented the country’s rap CV on ’97 compilation “Black Whole Styles”. Few of us knew who Roots Manuva or New Flesh were back then, some of us had yet to discover Saul Williams and Lewis Parker who also featured heavily on that seminal double LP. Ten years later and we’re still learning. How many people had come across Spank Rock – arguably the most original and instinctively fresh sound to emerge from the genre in the last couple of years – before Big Dada unleashed their album “YoYoYoYoYo” last year? And this year has seen Rollie Pemberton aka Cadence Weapon find an audience for his reinvigorated take on leftfield hip hop on British shores thanks to a licensing deal with the label.

Then there are those acts that you can’t imagine anywhere else. Juice Aleem has contributed to his share of the label’s better moments either as part of New Flesh or Gamma, the latter’s ace “Killer Apps” still a bonafide party classic. Infinite Livez is the situationist nutter in residence, if you haven’t seen “The Adventures Of The Lactating Man” video, well, you’ve, er, missed out on one of the promo art’s most idiosyncratic moments.

From Paris (TTC), via the Bay Area (cLOUDDEAD) and onto the Bronx (Mike Ladd/Infesticons), the label has managed to avoid becoming that most endangered of species, the UK Hip Hop Label. In fact, latest UK signing Wiley confirms the wide berth with which Ashon’s office has regarded the purist backpacker mentality.

To celebrate their decade, Big Dada have a double CD/DVD for us which they claim covers just about every artist album they’ve released to date. “Well Deep: Ten Years Of Big Dada Recordings” arrives in early October with some essential hip hop units for those still in need of schooling. And, honestly, it can't be easy work trying to make money out of an independent hip hop label these days. We should be grateful for their perseverance, especially if there'sanother 10 years of this quality in them.

M.I.A. – “Kala”

2007-08-08T09:21:00.001-07:00

It can be a struggle to see through the hype with M.I.A., past the global music fetishisation that Diplo talked up around the street sounds of Brazilian favela funk, the militant posturing and fluro-ethnic styling. But things may be about to change. Content until now to leave us to insert an influential mate when we weren’t sure where the ideas were coming from, she spoke out recently in an interview with Pitchfork and furiously denied the notion that she defers to her talented friends. “I just find it a bit upsetting and kind of insulting that I can't have any ideas on my own because I'm a female,” she raged.

“For me to come from a mud hut and to be here and shouting in front of a disco, it took me 15 years. And that's all I represent. Everything boiled down is that, that's all it is. If I get it back to Africa, this is what I've accomplished.” This time the album backs up the claim. As it flits around the global bassbin “Kala”’s relationship with its sources seems far less forced – M.I.A. recorded on the road in India, Trinidad, Australia, Japan and London. Shortly after getting a flat in Brooklyn with the intention of settling in New York to work on the record, she ran into visa trouble and was denied entry, and the absence of a metropolitan base proves the record’s saving grace.

But it’s no easier to pin down than its predecessor, either for those looking to summarise the sounds or the objectives of the artist herself. You still listen with half an ear cocked to the possibility that this is all some grand scam perpetrated by a bunch of trustafarians from Notting Hill. But this time the political posturing isn’t quite so thuddingly crass. Instead of shouting about its fourth generation immigrant experience it actually sounds like it as bootlegged world beats collide with the Western version of pop history and the production techniques of contemporary black music.

And, regardless of the tolerance you have for M.I.A.’s delivery, she at least uses ‘rap’ like the democratic medium it ought to be. A point that’s glaringly obvious on “Mango Pickle Down River” which features rapping from four young Aboriginal MCs who sound like a hip hop project in a young offenders institution. Hardly Nas and Primo, then, this is raw, unskilled, and yet oddly compelling in its honesty. “Jimmy” is a rework of an old Bollywood number from a film called Disco Dancer, which M.I.A. was fond of whilst growing up, and provides not only some much-needed dropping of the hip production mask but also one of the album’s most obvious hits. The other is the thrillingly subversive pop of “Paper Planes” which should yet prove to be the first top 10 single about forging passports.

“Boyz” and “Bird Flu” you’ve probably already heard, add to them the Timbaland-produced “Come Around” (relegated to hidden track status) and that adds up to at least five clear single-worthy tracks on a record that’s equally at home with the percussive emissions of “Bamboo Banger” and crunk weirdness of “$20”. You better start taking M.I.A. seriously.

Exclusive: Bonde do Role LIVE at Nag Nag Nag

2007-07-25T08:13:00.001-07:00

As mentioned before, the lovely people at Domino have been kind enough to supply Tunetourist with some exclusive live footage of Brazil's premier funk carioca group, Bonde do Rolé. Our first installment sees a typically high-charged, enthusiastic rendition of the soon to be re-released single Solta O Frango. Stay tuned for more live treats over the next few days.

Incoming Hip Hop

2007-07-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

With a glut of fine hip hop set to drop over the next couple of months, including albums from major players Common and Talib Kweli as well as more underground names like Oh No, here’s three that we’ve already managed to get our hands on.

Oh No – Dr. No’s Oxperiment (Stones Throw)
Released August 06

Like Oh No’s previous album “Exodus Into Unheard Rhymes” - built entirely from samples of music by “Hair” producer Galt MacDermot - this collection of 28 instrumental tracks comes with a new sampling conceit. This time the Oxnard, California producer and younger brother of Madlib has restricted himself to the lurid grooves of label manager Egon’s collection of Turkish and Middle Eastern psych and Italian prog. The result is the label’s most inspired instrumental offering since Dilla’s “Donuts”. But where that album celebrated those treasured and well-worn soul gems from Dilla’s childhood, “Dr No’s Oxperiment” revels in the extreme otherness of its sources, crafting the heaviest of beats out of the fuzz psych of 70s artists like Selda and mining incredible swing from the music’s non-western scales.

Talib Kweli – “Ear Drum” (Blacksmith Music / Warners)
Released September 3

Up until track 10 this is sounding like Kweli’s most rewarding effort since his true solo debut, 2002’s “Quality”. Rather than crowbarring smart rhymes into clumsy metre, he sounds on point, his flow natural and relaxed. He’s kept a fairly tight control on the contributions from his excellent production line-up, including Madlib, Kanye West, Just Blaze and Pete Rock. Even will.i.am - current rent-a-hip-hop-hitmaker to any major label MC looking for a juicy crossover hit - has acquitted himself acceptably on the Jean Grae-featuring, “Say Something”. It’s a decent enough example of the typical 2007 major label hip hop album made by committee, with most of the right people sitting on the board. Why then does it labour its way on through to 16 tracks, with all the weakest material programmed into the record’s final 30 minutes? It’s a tired trick this scattergun programming and it falls wide of its intention to score mass appeal, only leaving the artist looking woefully unfocussed.

Cadence Weapon – Breaking Kayfabe (Big Dada)
Released September 24

Rollie Pemberton is the 21-year-old Canadian MC, producer and Pitchfork journalist who took time out of writing his popular Razorblade Runner blog to refix artists like Lady Sovereign and DFA 1979 and then release this Canadian debut back in 2005. Finally, the album gets a UK issue courtesy of the persistently forward-thinking Big Dada label where it finds a niche somewhere between the jarring leftfield efforts of signings like NMS and the electro-party bass of Spank Rock. The thrillingly claustrophobic “Grim Fandango” and “Black Hand” provide highlights and Pemberton proves a brilliant wordsmith and dextrous MC, when he’s not drowning his vocal in screaming, overdriven synth.

Animal Collective – Coronet, Elephant & Castle 11/07/07

2007-07-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

If their forthcoming album suggests that Baltimore’s reliably eccentric -noise pop adventurers are reigning in the mayhem, there’s little sign tonight that they’ve lost any of their gleeful sense of adventure. Certainly, ‘Strawberry Jam’ errs towards more traditional and concise structures. Gone are the epic 15-minute excursions into the wilder recesses of the collective's brain, replaced by a new found sense of restraint, the longest track peaking at just under seven minutes.

That's not to suggest they've turned into The Fratellis overnight - they’re still capeable of wigging out and howling like banshees over a cacophonous mixture of electronics and guitars. And that’s perhaps why it’s so surprising that they can fill venues like the Astoria and tonight's 2,200 capacity Coronet without comprising their signature esoteric sound. Maybe it's their knack for balancing a pop sensibility with experimentalism that draws in such a varied fanbase. The regular assortment of straight up indie-kids, older avant-garde types and hardcore scenesters are all present this evening - eyes glazed, staring at the band, heads feverishly nodding.

Avey Tare, Panda Bear and Geologist - resembling a trio of stoned Beach Boys circa 'Surf's Up' - take to the stage just after 10pm, mysteriously lacking guitarist Deakin. But this doesn't hold them back as all three take to their banks of kit and wring from their machines a mesmerising set, incorporating a sizable portion of the new album alongside old favourites like “Who Can Win A Rabbit” and “Grass”.

Strangely, there’s no live instrumentation this evening bar a couple of keyboards and a cymbal crash shared by Mr. Bear and Tare but those guitar sounds are coming from somewhere, perhaps from Geologist's bank of noises. In fact, it's this approach that makes them resemble more of a knob-twiddling techno outfit than an indie / noise band, emphasised as an array of percussive noises are looped into a swirling 4/4 beat for what seems like the majority of the performance. This driving rhythm is offset nicely by their three-part vocal harmonies, trademark screeching feedback and all manner of other melodic delights, to whip up a wondrous psych-out which lasts most of the evening.

With Domino behind the new album a new legion of fans may be about to stumble across Animal Collective’s raucous invention – next stop Brixton Academy? They’ll most likely remain far too willful a proposition for that level of success and that’s probably how it should be. Long may we cherish these mavericks.

Justin Steele

Wu-Tang Clan – Hammersmith Apollo, July 5

2007-07-10T02:27:00.000-07:00

You don’t go to Wu-Tang gigs expecting to lose yourself in the music, in fact you’re lucky if you can hear the music over the dismally engineered sound and combined shouting of whichever members have deigned to turn up. You’re more likely to be there to pay homage to one of late 20th century music’s most enduring cultural colossuses, an affiliation of talent, innovation and raw energy the like of which has rarely been seen.

It’s a hit and miss affair this pilgrimage, often disappointed by shoddy turnouts from the Clan or worse than dismal live productions but at Hammersmith Apollo last week they delivered a full house, even bringing film star and errant child Method Man back into the fold. To add to the congenial atmosphere of family reunion, it also happened to be both Wu-patriarch, RZA, and Inspectah Deck’s birthdays, so each member was equipped with a bottle of Dom Perignon and the Cognac flowed liberally throughout the night. So much so, that both a virtually immobile Raekwon and visibly shitfaced Streetlife were seriously worse-for-wear.

Last time they attacked this same stage back in 2004 it was Ghostface Killah that led proceedings, rightfully hailed as the only member consistent enough in his solo efforts to have earned the unfailing respect of the crowd. But tonight, despite stunning triumphs with his last two albums, Ghost takes a back seat to the hyperactive Method Man as the crowd celebrates his return to the brotherhood. Meth - perhaps because he can hold his drink - bounds about the stage with the energy of a hyperactive teen, frequently throws himself into the crowd and even overshadows the RZA in his command of the audience. Finally, we get to hear “Method Man” and “Bring The Pain” as they were intended and verses from “Ice Cream” to the still-peerless posse cut “Protect Ya Neck” (“Can I get a "sue"? / Nuff respect due to the one-six-ooh”) are elevated by his utterly distinctive, artful drawl.

At the heart of the celebration is the communion between fan and group, both ecstatic that it’s still possible to draw all these people together to celebrate the Wu revolution so many years on. It's good to see an act evidently having so much fun for a change and a hip hop show where the performers really respect and appreciate their crowd. Whether or not we can plausibly expect great things from the forthcoming “8 Diagrams” – and, honestly, you wouldn’t write it off – its difficult to name another act that’s enjoyed 15 years quite like this.

Some June highlights

2007-07-09T03:47:00.000-07:00

Here's an assortment of treats that have descended upon the Tunetourist headquarters over the last thirty days. Top quality US indie from Road and Reckless, techno - of both the Detroit and minimal varities - from the likes of Hard Wax and Vinyl Club, some first-rate reggae from Aquarius and some personal selections thrown in for good measure.

Phat Kat feat. Elzhi – Cold Steel (Look Records)
Seems J Dilla saved some of his best beats for fellow Detroit resident and old buddy Phat Kat. A surprisingly hard beat for Dilla this fierce track thunders along with snapping hi-hats and a Neptunes-esque electric bass whilst Phat Kat rips it with his vitriolic commentary. It's been floating around for while now but it must be heard.

Animal Collective – Peacebone (Domino)
With this lead-off single from their forthcoming Domino-released LP ‘Strawberry Jam’ the Tunetourist favourites are doing what they do best: making manic, warm-hearted indie music that oozes creativity.

Shape of Broad Minds feat. DOOM – Let’s Go (Lex Records)
After last year’s ace Beat Journey LP Jneiro Jarel has returned – and he’s brought some friends with him. This highlight, and single, from the forthcoming LP ‘Craft of the Lost Art’ is a spacey, disco-laden effort featuring the not inconsiderable talents of the Super-Villain himself. Don’t sleep.

Pan-Pot – What is What (Mobilee)
It’s getting ever harder to separate the dwindling wheat from the chaff in Berlin’s over- saturated minimal techno scene these days but Pan-Pot shine through with their latest release on Mobilee. Perhaps influenced by Sleeparchive’s ultra-reduced production, it’s a similar aesthetic but with a far groovier edge.

Lavender Diamond – My Shadow Is A Monday (Matador)
A dreamy, almost anthemic indie-folk record courtesy of this LA quartet. Becky Stark and co effortlessly conjure the late 60s / early 70s country pop sounds of Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt to marvellous effect.

Alborosie – Kingston Town (Forward Recording)
A relative newcomer to the Jamaican Roots and Dancehall scene, this Italian reggae artist chronicles the highs and lows of life in the capital. An impressive and heavy roots tune not too dissimilar to Damian Marley’s recent efforts.

Kubra – Unknown Swimming Object (AW Records)
A very impressive debut 12” from these Rotterdam based neo-Detroiters. A loving homage to deep Motor-City techno, which also harks back to the Artificial Intelligence sound of early Warp releases.

Oh No – Hot Fire (Stones Throw)
Oh No tries to out-do older brother Madlib in the obscure sample stakes. Delving into rare and raw psych from Turkey, Lebanon, Greece and Italy the Oxnard, CA native delivers on his third effort – ‘Dr. No’s Oxperiment’. With this track being one of many highlights from the 28 on offer.

Blonde Redhead – 23 (4AD)
The title track from the latest LP by Japanese and Italian NYC residents, Blonde Redhead, recalls early nineties indie rock in the best possible sense. My Bloody Valentine’s poppier moments weigh in alongside a sizeable chunk of St. Etienne for good measure.

Interview: Matthew Dear pt. 2

2007-07-05T04:39:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the delay, here's the second part of our interview with Detroit 'experimental pop' producer, Matthew Dear. Incidentally, his album "Asa Breed" is out this week and we reckon it's one of the most exciting of the last few months, well worth picking up.

Q: How do you decide if you’re working on Audion, Matthew Dear or False stuff on any given day?

A: Well I’m always doing everything. Right now I’ve been a bit too busy touring and trying to get the album out, I honestly haven’t sat down in the studio for a couple of months. I’ve just done a couple of remixes and that’s it. I’d like to get some more Audion songs down and we’re probably going to put out another Audion album early next year. I like the dual personalities, I love techno music, I love the environment of the club and I love being able to DJ, stay up late and get into that style of music. I also like playing with the band now, so there’s really no ‘favourite’ in my book, I’m just going to try and do both really well and if one suffers, I’ll take a break from it but I don’t want to give up completely.

Q: What sort of live environment suits this record? Are you taking it to the clubs?

A: I’ve tried to pick more rock style stuff for these shows, I don’t want to play the same places that I’ve played as Audion. I really just want to make a split and let my audience know more about each act individually, rather than going to the same club they saw Audion.

Q: Have you done the full live show at a UK venue before?

A: No never, I’m going to hopefully. Right now we’ve just got a festival lined-up. It’s just tough because I have to re-write the book on everything I’ve built up so far in terms of touring. When you tour you obviously build relationships with venues and promoters and then if you come out with a completely new project that appeals to a different set of people you have to find new venues and it can be a bit tricky.

Q: You were compared to LCD Soundsystem in a recent review, which seems rather off the mark to us…

A: What I’ve found doing interviews and talking to people, everybody has their own favourite song and everybody has their own favourite comparison. I’ve heard everything from the ones I thought – Arthur Russell, Brian Eno, Talking Heads – to Joy Division, some bands I never even knew of, some really obscure bands that made me think I was more credible than I am. A lot of these artists were just future-thinking electronic artists, mixing rhythm and melody like you talked about, they’re mixing pop structure with art structure… And I’d like to think that’s what I’m trying to do. I think we’re all just trying to carry the torch of modern experimental pop music.

Q: Do you feel affiliated to any particular artists working at the moment?

A: Not so much, I think I just see myself as part of a generation of artists that are branching out and trying new things because of technology becoming so rampantly available. I don’t want to say I’m just a genre mixer; I’m not like an electro house, vocal micro-house singer. I don’t like those labels, I just like to think of myself as making experimental pop music. In terms of other artists I’d like to hope I’m something like Four Tet who takes a different approach with each album. Anyone who just tries something new each time, like The Liars, they’re not getting locked into one style. I like Susumu Yokota, every album I hear by him is a new experience, it's like he’s really trying to adapt technology and express himself differently with each album. We’re not the same artist over and over again and we can constantly reinvent ourselves.

Q: There’s a critical short-sightedness in the UK that insists on pigeon-holing electronic acts who transfer to the live arena…

A: That’s a shame. I’m not trying to be an Underworld or a Chemical Brothers, I’m not trying to make electronic music like that again. I think people do just get stuck in this genrefication, they need it to be one thing. ‘This is where he’s coming from – he’s a DJ, he plays at techno parties in Berlin so this must be what he’s trying to say.’ I’m not trying to be a techno frontman, I’m just trying to be a musical frontman.

Q: Putting aside the associations of 'minimal' as a genre of electronic music, do you consider your music as minimalist?

A: Well I use a lot of spare sound. My new definition for minimalism in techno music is, there are a lot of small sounds and minute sounds happening although the music can be very broad and very expansive, it can still be minimalistic to a certain degree because there’s a lot of detail and care put into the production. There can be a lot of little things happening at once. In my mind that’s what ‘minimal techno’ has become because, obviously, the songs aren’t very sparse anymore, they’re pretty energetic and club-storming. So really it’s just the attention to detail and I definitely have a lot of that in my music, I’ll spend hours on one loop and make every sound perfect in my mind. So in that sense I think its minimalist because I’m really stripping it down to the bare elements and really working on every sound, trying to make it perfect.

Q: What do you make of the music coming out of the techno scene at the moment?

A: It’s a bit oversaturated right now but I still hear the diamonds in the rough that are well worth the wait. Mainly, I think it’s because with technology these days – programmes like Ableton Live and computers getting a lot faster and cheaper – you’re finding more and more people all over the world, kids in some random corner of Spain or all the way over to Argentina, are making music constantly. Unfortunately with that you’re getting a lot of repetition and people just doing the same thing over and over again.

The Fratellis Interview

2007-07-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

More interviews from this year's Glastonbury Festival in the below posts, including a rather 'sleepy' Fratellis, not exactly showing the strain as they prepared for their first ever Glasto performance on the Pyramid Stage.

The Hours Interview

2007-07-04T09:52:00.001-07:00

News: Doherty, UK festivals, Dizzee, Animal Collective

2007-07-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Pete Doherty pleaded guilty to charges of possessing crack cocaine, heroin, ketamine and cannabis yesterday and has been ordered to undergo yet more rehab. Sentencing has been deferred until August 7, after the singer emerges from a likely 5-day course of treatment at a centre in Harrogate. After turning up two hours late, Doherty reportedly wept in court and struggled to give his correct address, eventually declaring that he is now resident in Hackney and no longer living with Kate Moss in North London. Leaving the court he told reporters, “It’s rehab or jail. I was going to rehab anyway, to be honest with you, but this is a little push.”

Meanwhile, here’s a great review of Pete’s “Books Of Albion” from yesterday’s Guardian.

The miserable British weather has put paid to nine planned open-air events planned by the Classical Prom Company, either by deterring potential customers from making a ticket purchase or simply by rendering proposed sites “completely sodden.” As a result the organisation behind the events has gone into liquidation. Obviously, the ramifications for the UK festival industry could be immense. If things continue as they are what hope is there for those events still struggling to sell tickets to the unprecedented number of festivals taking place this year?

Now then, here’s a couple of new videos that got us excited this morning

Dizzee Rascal – “Old Skool” (aka "Pussyole")

Animal Collective – “Fireworks”

Not Long Now:

2007-06-28T01:34:00.000-07:00

News: Verve, Prince, 50 Cent, Interpol, Hell Razah

2007-06-27T03:01:00.000-07:00

Although Prince has threatened imminent retirement the man just can’t seem to stop working. Currently two weeks into his seven-week residency at LA’s Roosevelt Hotel -which precedes the release of new album ‘Planet Earth’ on July 24th and his string of London dates at the O2 Arena in August – the artist has announced the launch of a new perfume which will be available from July 7th. The scent, entitled 3121 will only be available from this here website at the witty tariff of $31.21.

The Verve have announced their reunion after eight years apart. Richard Ashcroft, Nick McCabe, Simon Jones and Pete Salisbury have reconvened minus Simon Tong who is currently enjoying success with The Good, the Bad and the Queen. Work on a new album has already started and is due to be completed in autumn before they embark on a winter tour. More details.

If last year’s ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’’ was anything to go by Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson better sharpen up those acting skills if he wants to go toe to toe with legends De Niro and Pacino. The NY rapper is in final negotiations to star alongside the acting veterans who play detectives tracking a serial killer in ‘Righteous Kill’. Fiddy will play a drug dealer aiding the detectives in their investigation.

Interpol’s fanbase continues to expand at an alarming rate with the announcement of yet another UK show. The NY rockers will play London’s Astoria on July 2nd to coincide with the release of new single ‘The Heinrich Maneuver’. That’s this coming Monday so you better be quick to get a ticket. The band will then return to the UK in August for a short tour including two nights at London’s 8250-capacity Alexandra palace. More info.

Finally, here’s a history lesson of sorts courtesy of Hell Razah feat. Timbo King, Tragedy Khadafi and RA the Rugged Man with new track ‘Renaissance’. Make sure you wait until the end to hear RA absolutely smash it.

Kieran Hebden Interview

2007-06-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Los Campesinos! Interview

2007-06-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

Glastonbury: Saturday

2007-06-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

With the continued blight of the weather prompting something of an exodus on Sunday afternoon, Tunetourist included, some of us will have to make do with our hazy recollections of Saturday night, until next year. And despite a shaky line-up, Glastonbury still rose to the occasion and delivered the fireworks - quite literally in the case of The Killers' headline set, announced by a spectacular display. It all ended, just as it should, with us wondering what we were doing dancing around behind the Park Stage at 5am.

Earlier in the day, after putting on a performance for the tabloid snappers and riding through the mud on a custom ‘Chopper’ bike, Pete Doherty actually managed to lead Babyshambles through a fairly convincing set. Much better than his appearance here in 2005, he papered over the cracks in their repertoire by milking stronger moments like “Killamangiro” and “Albion”. Lethal Bizzle joined him onstage and the inevitable Kate Moss appeared to cheers from one of the Other Stage’s biggest crowds of the weekend.

Over in the Green Fields tabloid frenzy was replaced by blissed out organic dall and coconut curry, storytelling and CND. At its furthest corner, the Avalon Stage hosted Super Furry Animal, Gruff Rhys’ second of three weekend shows, this time playing solo material with singer, Lisa Jen. Unhindered by the ‘greatest hits’ element of the Furries show on Friday, which kept things earthbound, here he allowed the songs to stretch and swell, tacking lengthy psychedelic outros to “Cycle Of Violence” and “Skylon”. Remarkably, the crowd stayed rapt as "GWN Mi WN" was gradually constructed from sampled beatboxing, vocals, harmonies, percussion and a dazzling array of toy instruments to become a true pocket symphony.

Most of the weekend, the Glade stage has seemed off-bounds, unless you’re a big fan of Dreadzone, Ozric Tentacles and Eat Static (isn’t it time for Glasto to let this stuff go?) But !!!’s Saturday night set was a revelation. On record the New York punk-funkers can be excessively proggy and unfocussed but they’re in their element here, working up increasingly tight grooves and then rolling them out across The Glade. Singer Nic Offer looked like he’d attained some otherworldly state as he strutted around in pervert’s 70s sport shorts, grabbing at himself and whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

Forget The Killers, the only other man at the festival capable of inciting this kind of anarchic hedonism takes to the Other Stage at 11 o’clock augmented by the Ashton brothers and new bassist, Mike Watt. Iggy Pop’s reformed Stooges are a scary proposition; there’s something unsettling about watching men of this age – remarkably, Iggy is 60 - playing such primal rock’n’roll. But there’s no question they mean it. “1969”, “I Wanna Be Your Dog” and “Fun House” are all dispatched with that economical, dark boogie that is their gift to popular music. Part way into “No Fun” Iggy shouts “I can’t stand this shit anymore! Let them up here.” And the crowd, who’ve been fighting with bouncers to invade the stage throughout the gig, piles on through. In a matter of moments there’s somewhere near 100 people on the stage as they carry on pounding out the track. Iggy thows himself into the crowd below the stage and charges through the field shaking hands and embracing them. When he finally clears his stage to get back up, nothing that follows can quite live up to this glorious moment of rock’n’roll anarchy.

We’re left to wander off into the Pilton night, taking in a set that switches from Country to Gabba to Favela Funk in the silent disco, a great set from Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve at the Stonebridge Bar, poetry readings in a fishing trawler beached in the mud and, finally, that party behind the Park Stage.

At four o’clock on Sunday the final score looks something like this: just two complaints from local residents (down from 13 last year), “close to 10 out of 10” from Mendip Council, 166,000 through the gates, 237 crimes and 1,820 people receiving medical treatment – mostly for slips and trips.

Glastonbury: yesterday's action

2007-06-23T08:39:00.000-07:00

The festival is nearing capacity with over 160,000 people onsite, most of the stragglers arriving after work and just in time for last night’s headline performances from the Arctic Monkeys, Bjork, Spiritualized and Hot Chip. Those that managed to clamber through 10 inches of increasingly sticky mud and stand precariously on ‘Pyramid Hill’ were rewarded with a great set from the clearly awed Arctic Monkeys. Those who paddled through rivers of mud to the Other Stage instead found Bjork in typically inspirational form.

Before all that though there was something of a festival greatest hits set from the Super Furry Animals, graced with the first significant break from the rain that blighted most of Friday morning. Kicking off with “Slow Life”, singer Gruff Rhys was sporting his favourite prop; a giant Power Rangers helmet with a microphone socket confusingly situated at forehead level. They proceeded to give the crowd pretty much exactly what they wanted, playing only a couple of straightforwardly poppy new tracks, including forthcoming single “Show Your Hand".

Rufus Wainwright brought some glamour to this unholy quagmire when, having played a set which included a duet with his sister Martha on “Hallelujah”, he encored wearing a silk dressing gown, bright red lipstick and high heels to deliver a perfectly choreographed version of Judy Garland’s “Get Happy”. Only Arcade Fire, seemingly the hottest ticket on the Other Stage today could possibly go head to head with that. But such is the critical mass that’s been built up around Win Butler’s everything-and-the-kitchen-sink Canadian outfit that you wonder why they weren’t offered a headline slot this year. Certainly the massive crowd (bigger than that drawn by Bjork later) and the ecstatic scenes which greeted “Rebellion” and “Wake Up” suggest that they might even be invited back for a Pyramid headline in the future.

It’s hard to envy the Arctic Monkeys, as thrilled as they surely are to be headlining the festival in such relative infancy; this set is a tough act to measure up to. Those who usually triumph here play stirring, complex, slightly otherworldly rock music not keenly observed three-minute indie rock. But perhaps their reluctance to embrace the occasion with the anxious careerism of a Coldplay endears them to the crowd tonight.

They certainly don’t lack ambition and feel rightly confident with the songs, which are played without ceremony or ego. Singer Alex Turner is obviously awed by the occasion, thrilled but struggling to communicate his excitement to the crowd, he glances left and right at his mates onstage, eyes bulging with disbelief. And despite the crowd’s obvious preference for material from the first album, the set gains depth from the complexities and tempo of the best of their new stuff: “505”, “If You Were There Beware” and “Do Me A Favour”. Dizzee Rascal causes a commotion when he comes out for a verse on “Brianstorm” b-side, “Temptation Greets You Like A Naughty Friend” and bless them if they haven’t been working away at a special tune just for us. In honour of Dame Shirley Bassey who plays the festival on Sunday, producer James Ford is brought out on keys and they run through a Monkeyseque take on “Diamonds Are Forever”. A triumph, then.

Remi Nicole and Los Campesinos!

2007-06-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

Glastonbury has welcomed its newest addition, The Park Stage, in fine style quickly turning it into a scene from the closing minutes of Apocalypse Now. Pity then, Remi Nicole who has the unenviable task of cheering up the sodden masses gathered at this inhospitable spot with her perky punk-pop ditties, surely better suited to summer shows in London parks.

Despite the gloom, the 23-year-old singer/songwriter bounds around in dungarees and confidently piles through a hook-laden set that includes single, “Fed Up”, and winning set closer, “Rock’n’Roll”. There’s enough here to suggest that the charts are likely to embrace her as a kind of sink-circuit Lily Allen. Remi speculates that if we all wish hard enough for the sun to come out we might pull off a positive twist on Travis' old rain-dance trick. We try. It rains even harder.

But despite the torrents, Cardiff seven-piece Los Campesinos! get a good turn out for their infectious feelgood indie pop. And, my God are they indie. We’ve described them here before as like Belle & Sebastian on e-numbers but we didn’t realise quite how accurate an assessment that was. They’re like an unholy alliance of The Beautiful South, singing B&S songs at the breakneck speed of The Stooges. Current b-side “It Started With A Mixx” is an undeniable winner but you imagine that the formula will outstay its welcome soon.

Finally, the raging Glastonbury skies may have one positive outcome. Mobile phone giants Orange have launched a prototype charger at the site today which uses wind energy to restore your phone's battery life. Sit the mobile wind charger on the top of your tent, plug in your phone and let God breathe new life into it. Genius. Presumably this is an accessory for owners of waterproof mobiles.

Then the heavens opened

2007-06-22T04:03:00.000-07:00

Earlier optimism about the weather has been replaced by gloom this morning as we slept through a night of almost non-stop rain, prompting fears of a re-run of Glastonbury 2005. But, thankfully, we awoke to few floods, just the usual gateaux of slurry. The sun came out. Then it rained again.

Things are looking up now though and the music is about to kick off. Rumours are flying about the site of surprise guests and unscheduled performances, many of which focus on the new stage at The Park. The 9pm slot is the one that’s getting all the attention with Q magazine’s festival daily reporting that Michael Eavis is expected to announce “a potty-mouthed special guest” who has been “coming to Glastonbury for years” for a secret performance. Since we can’t see Gordon Ramsey doing Greenwich Village folk standards (or attending the festival at all for that matter) we’re speculating on Lily Allen, who has been a regular at the festival.

Noel Gallagher is also rumoured to be appearing with Kasabian tonight and the set on the Jazzworld Stage at 8pm, which is billed as Malian kora legend Toumani Diabate, is thought to be shaping up as something of a Malian supergroup, “Africa Express”, also featuring blind husband and wife duo, Amadou and Mariam.

There are now 148,000 people onsite, there have been a reported 12 attempts to breach the super-fence and just 13 reported thefts from tents. At the foot of the press stats board it reads, somewhat optimistically, “weather will get better.” A quick glance at the BBC forecast for the area suggests more light showers today and then blissfull sunshine tomorrow. Followed by a wash out to close the festival on Sunday.

Glastonbury 2007 is full.

2007-06-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

Apparently most of the 177,000 people that are expected to descend upon Worthy Farm in Somerset this weekend got here already. When Tunetourist staggered through Gate D at 5.30 carrying twice its body weight in tents, sleeping bags and Jaffa Cakes it looked like we were late. Pilton real estate is suddenly more desirable than one of those cute Cornish villages that the locals can no longer afford to live in.

We found a couple of square feet up in the new camping area, “Paines Ground”, where Michael Eavis has expanded the festival this year up into his neighbour’s farm. (Too high for floods up here, see.) And despite a couple of micro-storms – those oddly intense and intensely brief showers that seem to be a unique phenomenon of this part of the country – the weather is pretty good. Though the skies were pregnant earlier, the sun is now out (8PM) and the ground is still fairly firm.

A stroll through the backstage area revealed that the Arctic Monkeys are already onsite in preparation for their headline set tomorrow night on the Pyramid Stage. All four of them were drinking at the bar, in a tight gang, just as it should be. As is customary, the press are hungering for the crime stats already. The official numbers are 18 reported crimes so far and 28 drug offences. Does this mean drug offences are no longer crimes? They do policing different down here.

Tomorrow we’re hoping to bring you news on performances from Los Campesinos, Tokyo Police Club, Super Furry Animals, M.I.A., Arctic Monkeys and maybe more, so check back with us in the afternoon.

Interview: Matthew Dear

2007-06-20T03:34:00.000-07:00

We spoke to Detroit electronic wunderkind Matthew Dear last week as he prepared for his live show at Sonar 2007. The coversation touched on his new album, “Asa Breed”, his techno project, Audion, and much more. Here’s the first part of the interview with the second to follow very soon.

I'm not even sure how to pronounce the title of your new record. Where does it come from?

"I’d say, ‘Arsah Breed’. It was a minor character from a novel by Kurt Vonnegut that I read last year, called Cat’s Cradle. I just really liked the way the words jumped off the page, more just the sound of them. There’s no conceptual meaning connected between the album and the book."

It could be a metaphor for the way you make music, with absolute attention to the minutiae of sound…

"You know what, I haven’t thought about that yet but I like that one. Run with it, run with it."

You’re heading left of the dancefloor with this record. What’s your background in writing music, do you come from the clubs or the more traditional band stuff?

"I guess a little of both. That’s what’s weird about me, I’ve kind of straddled this line between electronic and organic my whole life. My father was a folk musician and he played guitar – nothing recorded – but I grew up with that side of Texas rock, folk music and country. Then I had my older brother who - somehow growing up in Texas - got hold of a lot of new wave and early New Order, Depeche Mode, Nitzer Ebb, Front 242.

"So I had this split personality as a kid, I was growing up listening to my Dad’s records and my brother’s records and I liked it all. Slowly but surely when I started making music around the age of 14, I started playing guitar first and then got a drum machine and kept it going back and forth. I’ve always mixed these sounds in my head and I’ve found that groups like Depeche Mode to me are some of the best songwriters of the last 30 years. It doesn’t matter that they’re more electronic; I didn’t see boundaries between the music."

Audion, False, Matthew Dear… your music appears in numerous guises, what’s the logic behind them right now?

"I wanted to focus Audion on making club hits and dancefloor tracks, the DJ culture stuff. It was a good year last year for Audion because it was more pronounced in that split of my personalities and I think if I’d put the “Asa Breed” record out then, it would have confused even more people because they wouldn’t have realised I was really trying to make a separation between the stuff under my own name and the techno as Audion.

“Asa Breed” is a pretty daring record in the sense that it offers no obvious stylistic coherence. How did you come to compile this particular set of songs?

"I’ve always been a bit of a risk taker I think but mainly because of the system I have set up. I have a really good relationship with Sam Valenti who is the owner of Ghostly International records and he has become more or less a musical confidant and a best friend of sorts. I can show him anything that I make and he wants to hear everything that I make. Over the past three years this record has been growing and amassing more tracks. Each one he’s heard the week after I made it, so I don’t have a fear of having to confine my music to any sort of system or set of structures.

"I’ve had total freedom in the studio, one day I can sit down and make an Audion song and the next day I sit down and make a weird little pop song with an acoustic guitar. I don’t sit down with a theme or a concept; I don’t sit down saying ‘okay, now I’m going to make this album.’ I’m making music constantly and when it’s time to put an album together, I go back and I pick from all those songs I’ve made over the past few years and I decide which ones fit together and which ones don’t."

Do the songs on the album span a long period?

"The oldest one is probably “Deserter”; I made that about three years ago, right after “Leave Luck To Heaven”, my last album. I just didn’t have a home for it, it was a little too poppy, a little too rock based for what I was doing. The most recent song on the album is probably “Good To Be Alive”.

Pop music is usually either predominantly rhythmic or predominantly melodic. Yours sits right between the two now. Where do you find the most overlap?

"I think rhythm is more important when I start making the songs. At first I work on a loop, just the basic drums and bass and synthesizers. Then I almost use my voice as a synthesizer as well just to branch the melody all together. Then it takes a turn… I like to write waves of melody, very simple at times, very pop-based but I’m not one for crazy scales or odd tuning or timings. In my mind rhythm and melody go hand in hand, but I think I’ve been able to learn a lot about rhythm by making techno music and I’ve tried to translate that now to this new style that I’m trying to do."

Matthew Dear's "Asa Breed" is released on July 2. The second part of this interview will be published next week.

Daft Punk at Wireless, June 16

2007-06-18T06:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday’s Wireless festival was all about ‘The Pyramid’. Daft Punk’s giant onstage pyramid at the apex of which the French duo stood, peerlessly cool in their leather jackets and gleaming robot helmets. This was, according to most of the people we polled on the matter, quite simply the most awe-inspiring stage production ever witnessed.

That (we assume) it was staffed by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo - still techno’s most credible mass market live proposition - on firing form was enough to send most of the population of Hyde Park hysterical from 8.45 onwards. In fact, an event usually condemned for its corporate sterility looked like a gigantic outdoor rave right up until they closed the night with a deluxe filter-house medley built from seemingly random triggers of "Together", "Aerodynamic" and Bangalter's "Music Sounds Better With You".

Opening with "Robot Rock" Daft Punk essentially spent an hour and a half riffling through the favourites, mashing them all together and burning through somewhere in the region of 30 tracks in the process. You could spot a "Technologic" here, "Face To Face" there, then "Crescendolls", "Around The World" until you could barely focus on what was happening. A "One More Time"/"Aerodynamic" medley and the trio of "Rollin’ And Scratchin'"/"Alive"/"Da Funk" provided marker points in the first and second half of the set respectively.

Even if the guys in the robot suits weren’t Bangalter and Homem-Christo and the whole set was just a pre-record on which the faceless stand-ins simply flicked a switch then bobbed their heads, it takes little away from a set so perfectly crafted for maximum mayhem. It was enough to make you forget that it’s about six years since they’ve done anything meaningful, that they've been reinvented and rendered somewhat anachronistic by a new generation of French producers, that the Justice album is released this week, even. Who’d have thought Wireless could be this much fun?

News: Sonic Youth, Go! Team, Ornette Coleman, Lightspeed Champion

2007-06-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Shockwaves have been reverberating around Tunetourist all morning after rather unsettling revelations from Thurston Moore over the weekend. FACT: legendary art rock outfit Sonic Youth’s next project will be released via Starbucks’ record label Hear Music. But anti-corporate fans need not worry too much as there is only one exclusive Sonic Youth track on there – the rest are covers by artists chosen specifically by the band, including Jeff Tweedy, Beck, and Marc Jacobs. More info.

Sub Pop continue to expand their indie empire with the addition of Brighton based six-piece The Go! Team. The band – who will release their sophomore effort ‘Proof of Youth’ on September 11th via the Seattle label – will also release two singles prior to this on their first home Memphis Industries. ‘Grip Like a Vice’ and ‘Doing it Right’ will be out on July 2nd and September 3rd respectively.

Avant-garde jazz legend Ornette Coleman was hospitalized yesterday after collapsing on stage at the Bonnaroo festival in Tennesee due to heat stroke. The 77-year-old saxophonist is currently resting under doctor’s supervision at the local Coffey County Hospital. It is not clear as to whether his upcoming European tour – including dates in Norway, Spain, Poland, UK, Italy and Germany – will be affected.

Finally, Lightspeed Champion - aka the new incarnation of ex-Test Icicles member Dev Hynes – is about to unleash his new material upon us. Travelling in a completely different direction to Test Icicles, he has replaced the noisy, experimental rock of his previous band with warm but slightly sinister indie pop ballads… just in time for the summer. The first single ‘Galaxy of the Lost’ will be released via Domino on July 16th and here’s the video to whet our appetites:

Yesterday's New Quintet - Yesterday's Universe

2007-06-15T04:12:00.000-07:00

It’s hard work for the casual observer, trying to keep pace with Madlib’s Yesterday’s New Quintet project as it sprays albums from Stones Throw Records' Oxnard, California base. In a nutshell, the quintet is a jazz combo consisting of musicians Joe McDuphrey, Ahmad Miller, Monk Huges, Malik Flavors and Otis Jackson Jr. Except it's not, really. Even though each of the above musicians has released a solo jazz project via Stones Throw in the last five years there's only one face to put to all of them. Have you guessed it's Madlib yet?

Which, frankly, given the Beat Konducta's prolific work rate - currently readying for release tracks for Talib Kweli and Erykah Badu, an album for Percee P, a Jaylib-style collaboration LP with Karriem Riggins, an instrumental beat album called "Beat Konducta in India" - is simply exhausting to contemplate. Obviously those special herbs don't keep him in bed until lunchtime, like the rest of us.

It's worth noting that Madlib and his brother, producer/emcee Oh No come from an illustrious family of musicians. Their father was 70s soul singer Otis Jackson (who has the sort of name that sounds like you should of heard before, though we're not sure we have). And their uncle, Jon Faddis, was a jazz trumpeter who played with Charlie Mingus amongst others.

"Yesterday's Universe" marks the consolidation of all Madlib's jazz styles into one LP and features contributions from 'real' musicians Karriem Riggins (pictured) on drums and Azymuth's Ivan Conti (aka Mamão), also on drums.

"Two For Strata East", referencing the 70s label that released music from Pharoah Sanders as well as somewhat misfit masterpiece "Winter In America" by Gil Scott-Heron, hints at his affection for the afro-jazz of Sanders and labels like Impulse! A more complete tribute comes in the form of the superb "Cold Days And Rainy Nights" on which Madlib enlists every chime, swirl and percussive trick in the book of Sun-Ra to evoke that weightless blissout so brilliantly summarised on Soul Jazz's old "Universal Sound Of America" compilation. He does Brazilian jazz fusion with Conti on "Upa Neguinho" and funky Hammond jazz with a track attributed to Sound Directions, the project he's frequently trotted out for Blaxploitation party grooves. And that’s just scratching the surface really.

Utterly virtuoso then, but no less confusing. "Yesterday's Universe" provides us with a handy compact guide to the distinct styles/monikers of the Madlib jazz invasion; a loving homage to the old jazz vanguard and full ark of crate-digger’s progress in which the student becomes the teacher.

Justice at Mean Fiddler, June 11

2007-06-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

Below is a glimpse of the scenes witnessed at the Mean Fiddler on Monday night when French electro rabble-rousers Justice came to town. As you can see, it was fun and the crowd went appropriately berserk.

But these kind of launch events (strict stage time and early enough for broadsheet journalists to be bothered to attend) hardly seem like the natural habitat of this act. They're built for after-hours parties we suspect. After all, this is not exactly a live show with ambitions to rival The Knife. They trigger the hits and tweak the bits and that's all that's called for at 2 o'clock in the morning.

News: Radiohead, Cat Power, Noel Gallagher

2007-06-14T04:02:00.000-07:00

Radiohead have finally broken their silence about their new album, anticipated for release in the autumn. Apparently, recording is almost complete. Band member Ed O'Brien posted on their Dead Air Space website this week, saying: "A word from the studio. Yes I know its been a while... but we've been working on this album for a while... BUT WE ARE NEARLY THERE..." That's it. More news as we get it.

Cat Power has won this year's prestigious Shortlist Music Prize awarded by a panel of judges including Franz Ferdinand, Sufjan Stevens, the Flaming Lips, Snow Patrol, The Killers and others. Other artists in competition for the award - widely seen as an equivalent to the UK's respected Mercury Music Prize - included Beirut, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Joanna Newsom, Spank Rock, Tom Waits.

Oasis' Noel Gallagher is contemplating buying his beloved Manchester City football club, reports the Daily Star. Since the club's takeover talks with Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra ran aground he's spotted an opportunity to move in with former M-People star-turned-record executive, Mike Pickering. "I'm thinking of mounting a hostile takeover - me and Mike Pickering," he said. "I reckon we could scrape together about £400,000 in cash and I reckon we would get it for that."

News: Doherty, M.I.A., Timbaland, The Game

2007-06-12T02:05:00.000-07:00

We've been calling East London's Pete Doherty acolytes 'chimney sweeps' for ages but finally the moniker goes official. Doherty will be performing "Chim Chim Cher-ee" the chimney sweep's official anthem as popularised by Dick Van Dyke at the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday (June 17). Part of the Forest Of No Return: Hall Willner presents the Vintage Disney Songbook event, Doherty joins an illustrious cast including Jarvis Cocker and Van Dyke Parks in paying tribute to the best-loved Disney themes.

With lead-off single "Boyz" released yesterday (June 11), M.I.A. begins the campaign for her second album, "Kala", released on August 20. Timbaland and Switch are amongst those confirmed as producers on the record, the track list for which reads like this:

01 Bamboo Banga
 02 BirdFlu
 03 Boyz
 04 Jimmy
 05 Hussel [ft. Afrikan Boy]
 06 Mango Pickle Down River [ft. the Wilcannia Mob]
 07 20 Dollar
 08 World Town
 09 The Turn
 10 XR2
 11 Paper Planes
 12 Come Around [ft. Timbaland]

Staying with super-producer, Timbaland, the NME reports that the man who dreams up hits for artists from Missy Elliott to Justin Timberlake spent time behind bars in Cologne at the weekend following a brawl. Timberland is reported to have become involved in a fight outside a Cologne hotel when an individual shouted racist insults at the producer, who was talking to the man's girlfriend. Timbaland was jailed and later released on bail early on Monday morning.

Notorious rapper, The Game, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he threatened to shoot a man during an incident at a school basketball match, which was reported here last week. Appearing at Los Angeles Superior Court he denied charges of criminal threat, possessing a firearm in a school zone and exhibiting a firearm in the presence of an officer. He remains on a bail of $50,000 but faces five years in prison if convicted.

News: White Stripes, Robert Wyatt, Touch and Go, Foals and Fog

2007-06-08T03:36:00.000-07:00

Continuing the current trend of successful artists playing so called ‘secret’ and intimate gigs around the UK capital – QOTSA, Prince, Paul McCartney etc - The White Stripes are now getting in on the act with a ‘special one-off show’ in south east London. The Detroit duo will play the Rivoli Ballroom in Lewisham on Tuesday June 11th. Tickets go on sale the day before from LiveNation.co.uk and Gigsandtours.com and are limited to two per person with proceeds going to charities supported by The London Pearly Kings and Queens Society.

Prog/psych-rock legend Robert Wyatt has unveiled details of his forthcoming Domino released LP ‘Comicopera’. Featuring a host of collaborations including friends such as Brian Eno, Paul Weller and Phil Manzanera, the sixteen-track album takes the form of a three act opera which not only covers Norwegian jazz musician Anja Garbarek but also delves into the world of Spanish, Italian and Cuban music and poetry. The album is released on September 24th and has been preceded by a very affectionate press release by none other than Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor.

Renowned Chicago indie label Touch and Go – home to Big Black, Slint, CocoRosie and Calexico amongst others – has followed in the footsteps of its spiritual cousin Warp and taken the big leap forward into the world of digital retail. Their own online store officially opened its doors on Tuesday, offering DRM free, 256 kb/ps MP3s available as entire albums or individually. It is also the only way fans can obtain digital copies of classic releases such as Slint’s Spiderland and the Shellac and Rapeman back-catalogue.

Math rock / indie pop quintet Foals are set to get a whole lot bigger after an invitation from indie giants Bloc Party to join them on their forthcoming tour - which will include two nights at London’s Alexandra Palace. The Brighton based rockers will support the band on four dates in December, this will follow numerous summer festival appearances and a tour of their own in September and October. In other exciting news the band will spend the summer in NYC recording their debut album with TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek and have just finished recording three ‘unique compositions’ with Kieran Hebden aka Fourtet which will be released on a set of special 12”s. More news on this will follow…

Finally, avant folk-hopper turned fully fledged indie rocker Fog has employed the talents of music video founding father – and Devo collaborator – Chuck Stadler to create a surrealist introduction to the new incarnation of his band and their forthcoming LP, the ace ‘Ditherer’. The album, which we can confidently state is his best work yet, is released via Lex Records this August.

Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent

2007-06-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

Here's the ace new video from Arctic Monkeys to whet our appetites before the Domino released single on July 9th. Directed by Richard Ayoade, previously helming Nathan Barley and The I.T. Crowd, and featuring a typically violent performance from Stephen Graham - of Gangs of New York, Scummy Man and This is England infamy - dressed as a clown.

News: The Game, Macca, Akon and M.I.A.

2007-06-06T03:58:00.000-07:00

West coast hip-hop bad boy – and sore loser - ‘The Game’ has well and truly upped his own thug stakes this month. The 27-year-old rapper - and Dr. Dre protégé - has been charged not only with making a criminal threat but also with possessing a firearm in a school zone and exhibiting a firearm in the presence of a police officer. The charges stem from a basketball game in South Los Angeles where the rapper pulled a gun from his car after punching a player from the opposing team and threatening to shoot him. If convicted he faces more than five years in prison.

Paul McCartney has also run into a spot of bother - albeit a bit less serious - regarding his twenty first solo album, ‘Memory Almost Full’. The album has just been released on Starbucks’ newly launched label Hear Music but it turns out that the coffee chain’s 533 UK stores are not registered with The Official Charts Company, thus any copy purchased in a UK branch will not be eligible for the UK charts.

Controversial US R&B star Akon has managed to get in trouble for manhandling his fans for the second time in two months. Fresh after video footage of him provocatively dancing with a fourteen-year-old girl was unveiled, new footage has surfaced showing him picking up a teenage fan and throwing him into the audience at a gig near Poughkeepsie, NY, after the fan threw an object at his head. Please excuse the vertically challenged footage:

Finally, UK/Sri-Lankan rapper M.I.A. has announced a release date for the first single from her eagerly awaited forthcoming LP Kaya . Entitled ‘Boyz’ the Switch produced single will be released on 12” and USB memory stick via XL Recordings on June 11th in the UK and August 20th in the US.

Dizzee Rascal – Maths & English

2007-06-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

You don’t need a degree in Rapnology to be conscious of the fact that hip hop has been giving off a bad smell of late. East and west coasts either retread styles from back in the day or proclaim the death of their artform over pompous, shiny and hollow beats. Down south, flashes of inspiration struggle to surface through the morass of gaudy production line synths and dead-eyed gangsta parody. And when a fresh wind blows it tends to come from some unlikely cultural backwater. Baltimore for instance, where Spank Rock didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel but certainly gave the music a memory of its party-rocking past to chew over.

Grime may have been marginalised by the bloggers who first championed it – currently chasing dubstep into the same dark hole that swallowed drum ‘n’ bass around 2000 – and abandoned by the label A&R men that spread bling dreams throughout E3 in 2004, but don’t count Dizzee Rascal out.

“Showtime”, the largely excellent follow-up to his Mercury Prize winning debut “Boy In Da Corner” did little to bridge the gulf that had grown between Grime’s visceral street level impact and its absolute failure to present a palatable commercial face. Admittedly, “Dream” and “Fix Up Look Sharp” were more quick-witted and loveable than most of Roll Deep’s regrettable “In At The Deep End” but Dizzee was still at his best when knee-deep in paranoia and spitting bile over some clanking, industrial two-step.

“Maths & English”, released today, may just see him find the elusive balance between accessibility and credibility that everyone else appears to have given up on. For the purist, it’ll be greeted as his weakest to date, even though tracks like “Where’s Da Gs”, “Paranoid” and “Bubbles” are as strong and relatively uncompromising as anything that came before them.

The balance is right on “Sirens” which mines unlikely gold from a fusion of grime and new stadium metal. “Pussyole” too, manages to blend that old Rob Base & DJ E Z Rock break into a Belgian hardcore riff for pop perfection and “Temptation” just about gets away with including a vocal from the Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner, which serves no purpose other than the obvious audience buy-up. Elsewhere, though, there are the anticipated mis-steps. Lilly Allen hook-up “Wanna Be” is little better than you can expect from the singer responsible for “Alfie” and “Suck My Dick” should really have been left on the cutting room floor.

Pick your tracks though, and you have another fine record from the man who remains the UK’s brightest hip hop star.

Marco Polo feat Masta Ace

2007-06-04T06:22:00.003-07:00

Here's a recent favourite of ours from producer Marco Polo's "Port Authority" album and featuring the peerless Masta Ace.

Forget about innovation this is all about loving that mid-90s rap sound and it manages to recapture a mood that's a decade old without resorting to pastiche. The video even looks like the sleeve shots from mid-nineties classics like "Illmatic" and "The Infamous". Appropriately enough, the track's called "Nostalgia", check it out.

News: Glasto line-up, Sufjan Stevens, Jack White

2007-06-01T02:52:00.000-07:00

The full line-up for this year's Glastonbury Festival has been revealed in today's Guardian newspaper, filling in all the gaps behind confirmed headliners Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and The Who. Apart from a shocking scheduling pile-up on friday night - when Tunetourist favourites Bjork, Arctic Monkeys, Hot Chip, Spiritualized and Trentmoller all take to the stage at the same time - you should be able to compile an achievable wishlist of fine music across the three days. Our ones to watch include Bat For Lashes, The Klaxons (playing an electronic set in the dance tent on friday night), Super Furry Animals (who will preview material from their new album, "Hey Venus") and Tony Benn, whose Sunday afternoon talk is always a stirring proposition. Look out for live reports from Glastonbury on this page when the festival kicks off on June 22.

Just when you think you've got a handle on prodigiously gifted Michigan songsmith Sufjan Stevens, he goes and confounds all expectations. Seemingly the first fruit to emerge from Sufjan's studio since the mighty "Illinoise" LP, a new track has been unleashed, called "In The Words Of The Governor", which kicks his usual orchestral chamber pop into touch with a blast of wonky garage rock. The track will appear on a CD cover mount for Believer magazine and sounds more like a Pavement outtake than Sufjan. Listen to it here.

A hapless DJ on Chicago's Q101 radio station faced the full wrath of Jack White when she played a pre-release copy of The White Stripes' "Icky Thump" in full on her show this week, leading to poor quality audio rips doing the rounds on the internet. DJ Electra was called up by Jack White and given a stern talking to as soon as he discovered the source of the leak. In a web post explaining herself, the DJ wrote: "At 4PM today, Jack White called Q101's main offices from Spain, where they're touring, looking specifically for me, to yell at ME for leaking the album... I felt like I was going to throw up. Weirdest, most surreal conversation of my life." Let that be a warning to you: if you ‘jack’ Jack, prepare to explain yourself to the man himself.

Finally, passengers on Virgin Trains routes between London and Manchester may find themselves traveling on specially designed carriages customised by Damon Albarn collaborator and Gorillaz-creator, Jamie Hewlett. The trains feature graffiti-style set designs from Albarn and Hewlitt’s opera project, “Monkey: Jouney To The West” which opens at the Manchester International Festival on June 28.

Maximo Park, Interpol, Kings of Leon, Timberlake & Arctic Monkeys

2007-05-30T02:53:00.000-07:00

A flurry of indie-rock touring activity is to take place in the UK later this year as three of the scene’s biggest stars take to the road with a string of dates covering October to December - playing some of their largest venues yet. First off is angular Newcastle quintet Maxïmo Park who will kick things off in Glasgow on October 2nd before ending up in London ten days later. All the info. Next to hit the road are NY’s Interpol who will play Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom on November 28th and London’s Alexandra Palace on November 29th and hot on their heels are Nashville rockers Kings of Leon who will play nine dates across the UK starting from November 30th.

Kings of Leon tour dates:
Hull Arena – 30/11/07
Aberdeen, AECC – 01/12/07
Glasgow, SECC – 03/12/07
Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena – 04/12/07
Brighton Centre – 06/12/07
Nottingham Arena – 07/12/07
Manchester Central – 09/12/07
Birmingham, NIA – 10/12/07
London, Wembley Arena – 12/12/07

Not content with being one of the biggest selling pop acts around, Justin Timberlake is branching out into the corporate world with his own label, Tennman Records, which is a joint venture with Interscope. The artist will act as chairman and CEO with former Sony BMG VP of A&R Ken Komisar taking the role of President. Speaking recently on the subject Justin said: "We are all excited about the talent we have to offer already on our roster and I cannot wait to introduce the world to my new discoveries". Justin will continue to release his own music through Jive Records.

Finally, those nice people at Domino are to release two exclusive Arctic Monkeys tracks – ‘Matador’ and ‘Da Frame 2r’ – via a 7” white label. Previously only available on the Japanese release of their recent album ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ the 7” will be released on 18th June and can be pre-ordered now via Domino Mart. Be quick though as they are limited to 1000 copies.

News: Good Books, CocoRosie, SFA, Liars & Cream

2007-05-25T03:43:00.000-07:00

After trying to keep details of their secret Morden gig on the down-low, south London’s Good Shoes have been rumbled by the local council. But it’s all good though, as they’ve decided to let it go ahead anyway. The band will play Morden park bandstand at 2pm on bank holiday Monday 28th. It’s free and open to all and there is also a Flickr group for photos of the day so make sure you take a camera. Map (bandstand bottom left).

After their mysterious arrest earlier this month it seems that everything is back on track for NY indie/folk-hoppers CocoRosie. The sisters have announced a string of UK dates in June in support of their latest Touch and Go released effort ‘The Adventures of Ghostborn and Stillborn’.

Tour Dates:
12 June - Brighton, Komedia
13 June - Nottingham, Trent University
14 June - Bristol, Ansom Rooms
15 June - Glasgow, The Arches
16 June - Manchester, Academy 2
17 June - London, Bloomsbury Ballroom

How does Gruff Rhys fit it all in? Having recently released his latest solo LP ‘Candylion’ and still putting the finishing touches to the Neon Neon LP - his electronic side project with Boom Bip - he has just revealed details of the newly completed Super Furry Animals album and a string of various UK dates. The new album, ‘Hey Venus’ will be released via Rough Trade on August 27th. Tracklisting and tour dates.

New York art-rockers Liars have also unveiled details of a new album. The self-titled follow-up to last year’s superbly intense ‘Drums Not Dead’ will be out on August 20th courtesy of Mute records. Speaking to Pitchfork, singer Angus Andrew has proclaimed a change in direction that might be a bit easier on the ears for some listeners: “I'd never felt like a songwriter 'til this album... If you said I'd be playing guitar solos, I'd have called you a liar… this time I’m a bit shocked.”

Finally, bassist Jack Bruce of 60’s British rockers Cream has revealed that the band will reform this summer for one or more shows with guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker. Although not specifying when, Bruce stated that it would not be at Live Earth. Speaking to Associated Press he spoke of the recent denial that they would ever reform: “Then, the next day, it came up we're doing something if I wanted to. Obviously, I'm not going to be the one to say no”.

News: Prince, Justice, Simian Mobile Disco

2007-05-23T02:28:00.000-07:00

If you failed to get tickets to Prince's month-long London residency, make plans to be in Los Angeles in June. It is highly anticipated that the diminutive 80s legend will announce a seven-week residency at the Roosevelt Hotel beginning June 15, where he will perform two-hour sets every Friday night with a different celebrity guest each week. The shows won't start until 11.30 and comprise a built-in aftershow wherein the star's private chef will serve after-hours food whilst Prince and friends entertain dinners as part of a jazz ensemble. The fun will finally wind up at 4am. Ticket information is expected this week.

Parisian techno hipsters, Justice, have announced their debut London live show on June 11. The gig will feature support from Ed Banger labelmates Busy P and DJ Mehdi and tickets are only available via a competition on their MySpace page - www.myspace.com/etjusticepourtous.

New hope has arrived for Internet radio stations in the US, whose future is threatened with unrealistically high royalty charges. SoundExchange, a non-profit organization responsible for collecting digital royalties may prove the saviour of net stations like Pandora. It has offered to extend the current royalty rates until 2010 and give Internet radio stations a chance to develop before seeking payments "based on the value of music in the marketplace."

Finally, in preparation for this summer's live dates from UK new-rave standard bearers, Simian Mobile Disco, here's a clip of them playing "Sleep Deprivation" at Brighton's Great Escape festival last weekend:

In addition to their festival appearances, you can catch the band on the following dates:

Friday 25th May – Thekla, Bristol 
Saturday 26th May – Stylus, Leeds 
Sunday 27th May – The Custard Factory, Birmingham 
Thursday 31st May – Music Box, Manchester Friday
1st June – Fabric, London Saturday
2nd June – Chibuku, Liverpool Tuesday
5th June – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham Thursday
7th June – The Empire, Middlesbrough Friday
8th June – The Arches, Glasgow Saturday
9th June – The Plug, Sheffield

News: OutKast, Stones Throw, Stone Roses, Animal Collective

2007-05-21T03:47:00.000-07:00

Countering fears that the working relationship of OutKast's Andre 3000 and Big Boi's has completely broken down, the former has confirmed they are planning a new album together. However, it will be another dual-solo release in the style of "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below". "It's almost like a picnic," he told MTV of the planning stage. "You call your auntie and say, 'You bringin' some greens? Yeah? OK, I'm not gonna bring any greens.' I gotta find out what I gotta cook up. But to quote James Brown, 'Whatever it is, it's got to be funky.'"

Tunetourist's favourite purveyors of independent hip hop, California's Stones Throw records, continue to give their music away. Their latest podcast (number 21) is themed around the remixes of senior beat konducta, Madlib. It features ten years of the maestro's refix agenda and is mixed by the peerless J. Rocc. Click here to download.

Speculation is never-ending regarding the possible reformation of the Stones Roses but according to insider-blogger Johnny Famethrower, it'll never happen. Having a quiet word with the Roses and Primal Scream bassist after he was grilled on the very question by a BBC news crew, Famethrower learned that Mani is more likely to become intimately acquainted with the Queen mother than take part in a Roses reunion. Read the full story here

Spiky Brit trio The Cribs release their new album "Men's Needs Women's Needs Whatever" today (May 21) and embark on a short tour of the UK beginning at Keele University tonight and winding up at Leeds University on June 9. The latest instalment of their podcast is available now and features Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos - click here to download it.

Baltimore-bred psych-pop visionaries Animal Collective release a new album, "Strawberry Jam", in September. Melodies and lyrics were written largely by band members Panda Bear and Avey Tare and the album came together through full-band writing sessions with Geologist and Deacon. The full track listing is as follows:

1 Peacebone
2. Unsolved Mysteries
3. Chores
4. For Reverend Green
5. Fireworks
6. #1
7. Winter Wonder Land
8. Cuckoo Cuckoo
9. Derek

I Am Kloot - Bar Academy, London, 17.05

2007-05-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

Was it around the time that Noel Gallagher lent his endorsement that it started to look like it was never going to happen for Manchester three-piece I Am Kloot? Certainly, it didn’t help that their greatest shot at a hit, 2003’s “Proof”, had its single release fudged by their then label just around the time the Oasis oracle chose to speak. Since, they’ve remained impossible to align with any of the winds of fashion blowing in British guitar music, defiantly and marvellously individual.

The upside is, we get to sit on the floor in the relatively intimate Bar Academy and watch singer Johnny Bramwell run through a knowing selection of their best tracks, largely taken from the first two albums. All are worthy of acoustic treatment; his Dylanesque flair for simple folk songs having been obvious on both “No Fear Of Falling” and “Not A Reasonable Man”.

Bramwell is often characterised as having a knack for grim realism and sound bite but in truth his poetry can be much more nuanced than that. As a singer he controls vocal dynamic like a draughtsman controls line: gentle verses giving way to the thick black line of his voice in full flight, perfectly seasoned by cigarettes and Guinness. Happily, new material played tonight – particularly the elegant yearning of “At The Sea” – suggests they plan a return to the simple songcraft at which they excel, after the relative diversion of “Gods And Monsters”. Perhaps it’ll be the one to finally break them… if so, you’d better get down to the Bar Academy next month when Bramwell’s going to bring Elbow singer Guy Garvey along with him for another cosy little show.

Battles at The Scala last night, 16/05

2007-05-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

Beastie Boys - Off the Grid

2007-05-16T04:57:00.000-07:00

It appears that the Beastie Boys' new instrumental 'post punk' album is shaping up to be quite a winner as evidenced in this new video for the track entitled 'Off the Grid'. At first it sounds like the usual funky Beasties affair circa 'The In Sound From Way Out' until the track really heats up about two minutes in, although the term 'post punk' could be hotly debatable.

The album, entitled 'The Mix Up', will be released through Parlophone on June 26th.

Tracklisting:

1. B For My Name
2. 14th St. Break
3. Suco De Tangerina
4. The Gala Event
5. Electric Worm
6. Freaky Hijiki
7. Off The Grid
8. The Rat Cage
9. The Melee
10. Dramastically Different
11. The Cousin Of Death
12. The Kangaroo Rat

What's on the Tunetourist stereo?

2007-05-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

News: Pete Doherty, The Game, Pink Floyd, Drag City

2007-05-14T02:35:00.000-07:00

Babyshambles frontman / walking disaster Pete Doherty is turning his attentions to the art world this month in his usual outrageous fashion. The singer will be exhibiting artwork which he has painted with his own blood – so don't get too close. The ‘Bloodworks’ exhibition runs from May 15th for one month at Notting Hill’s Bankrobber Gallery where fans will be able to pick up prints signed in blood by the man himself for up to £2,500.

The Ibiza Rocks festival is back for the third year running with a rather impressive line-up to give the dance clubs a run for their money. The current line-up includes: Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, CSS, LCD Soundsystem, Mika, The Fratellis and The View alongside resident DJs Zane Lowe, and Rob Da Bank. The all-summer event will take place at Manumission’s Bar M from June 19th to September 11th.

Hip Hop bad boy The Game has been arrested on suspicion of making criminal threats after police searched his house for three hours last week. A spokeswoman for the LAPD stated that the arrest was also related to an incident that occurred in February but declined to elaborate any furthur. After being released on $50,000 bail the 27-year-old rapper told a film crew “I want to say that I’m not guilty and I love California”.

All four surviving members of Pink Floyd took part in a tribute concert at London’s Barbican venue last week in memory of their former frontman and founder Syd Barrett. Dave Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright reformed to play the band’s debut single ‘Arnold Layne’ whilst Roger Waters – still clearly at loggerheads with Gilmour – performed a solo version of one of his own tracks ‘Flickering Flame’, which we assume is a tribute to his old friend.

Finally, renowned Chicago indie label Drag City – who can claim Pavement, Joanna Newsom, Will Oldham and Royal Trux amongst their discoveries – are setting up a world music wing to their label. Yaala Yaala Records receives its proper launch on May 22nd with the release of three albums by West African artists Pekos & Yoro Diallo, Daouda Dembele, and a collection recorded at house parties in the Malian locales of Bougouni and Bamako.

Just easy as ABC...

2007-05-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

It’s been near impossible to escape the Ed Banger label for the last year, either at indie discos or on house dancefloors. From the potty outpourings of ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ Uffie, to electro heavyweights Sebastian and Mr Oizo, the label’s consistent sound and style could teach Coke a thing or two about brand. The ultimate expression of their twisted machine groove, of course, comes from the distorted synths and filtered basslines of Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay, aka Justice (try saying it with a French accent, its fun).

That Simian remix aside, Justice became inescapable when they put out last year’s pummelling “Waters Of Nazareth” in which the harder extremes of Daft Punk were reimagined through the mangled mind of Iggy Pop circa “Fun House”. With all the steely impulses of techno, yet as funky as anything on “Discovery”, this was a party soundtrack made somewhere between heaven and hell. Perfect.

Now the full-length is finally upon us and if you were expecting it to exhaust you, well yes, “†” is a fairly unrelenting 45 minutes of a sound whose chief flaw is its own distinctiveness. But only “Phantom” turns the distortion up to such ear wax-curdling levels as “Waters Of Nazareth”, current single “D.A.N.C.E.” taunts cynicism with irresistible disco drops and we bet Daft Punk wish they could still pull off a trick like “New Jack” with its complete reconfiguration of the tired filtered house formula into stupidly good new shapes. At times it sounds like one of those synth albums that EMI released to showcase Dolby technology; “Stress” is like a library music soundtrack to Catherine Deneuve’s nightmares in that Roman Polanski film, Repulsion.

Shall we start a petition to see them supporting Prince at the O2 Arena in August? You know it makes sense.

News: New Order, CYHSY, SMD, Hot Chip

2007-05-11T03:14:00.000-07:00

Mancunian dance-pop legends New Order have broken up – for the second time – according to bassist Peter ‘Hooky’ Hook. Speaking on his Myspace blog he referred back to his previous allusion to the split during an interview with Clint Boon on XFM: “(the rumour) was out at last. I’m relieved really hated carryin (sic) on as normal with an awful secret so let’s move on shall we?”

Following in the footsteps of Tom Waits, Bowie and Ice Cube, quirky Brooklyn-based indie rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are branching out into Hollywoodland. Director - and former erotic movie scribe - Sean McGinly has cast the band, who will also write the score, in his latest film ‘The Great Buck Howard’ alongside Tom Hanks, Colin Hanks and Emily Blunt.

Indie-dance kings Simian Mobile Disco will be taking their acid frenzied live show on the road with a string of UK dates this May and June in support of their anticipated debut LP ‘Attack Decay Sustain Release’ due out June 4th on Wichita recordings. Full Info.

If you’re a New Young Pony Club fan, fancy winning £500 and would like to see a video directed by yourself on MTV then look no furthur my friends. NYPC have put a call out to their fans to make a video for new single ‘Ice Cream’ due out June 11th on Modular/Island. All you have to do is submit your entry to the band's You Tube channel to be in with a chance of winning.

Finally, Music Recommenders favourites Hot Chip have announced a series of DJ appearances throughout the UK to promote their installment of the DJ Kicks compilation series. The mix album will be released on May 28th via !K7 Recordings with an exclusive single from the band – ‘My Piano’ – released on June 4th.

Dates:

Glasgow The Arches (May 10)
 Dublin Triniti Ball (11)
 Newcastle Empire (11)
 Leicester Sumo (12)
 Middlesborough Empire (18)
 Belfast Stiff Kitten (25)
 Edinburgh Sugarbeat (25)

In an exclusive Music Recommmenders interview, frontman Alexis Taylor describes the selection process behind the compilation. Read it here .

News: Happy Mondays, Robert Wyatt, Kitsune, Boredoms

2007-05-09T02:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Mondays fans who want to experience the shambolic Mancs playing live in a chip shop better get their skates on. As part of T-mobile’s Street Gigs season Bez, Shaun and co will be playing a chip shop on Brighton Pier and have also promised to debut material from their new LP – working title: ‘Freaky Funky Fish and Chips’.

Domino Recording Co. continue to expand their empire as a flurry of established indie artists join their ranks. First Animal Collective, then Spank Rock, now Robert Wyatt – with an album due in June - who’s going to be next to join the ever-growing roster of the nation’s favourite indie label? If that wasn’t enough they've also taken it upon themselves to reissue the classic LP ‘Colossal Youth’ by Young Marble Giants with a plethora of extra tracks taken from various singles and comps. The double LP will be released on July 2nd.

Paris’s hipper than thou indie/dance/fashion label Kitsuné are to release the eagerly awaited fourth instalment of their ‘Maison Compilation’ series. Featuring Kitsuné favourites, new-rave luvvies, and even some post rock artists, the compilation looks set to be another winner, as testified by the tracklisting:

1 : Darkel - Be My Friend
2 : The Whip - Divebomb (Short Edit)
3 : Feist - My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Classic mix)
4 : Hummer - Foals
5 : Hadouken! - Tuning In (H! re- rub)
6 : Passions - Emergency (Radio Edit)
7 : Riot In Belgium - La Musique (Adam Ski mix)
8 : Dragonette - I Get Around (Midnight Juggernaut remix)
9 : Guns N' Bombs - Crossover Appeal (Radio Edit)
10 : Punks Jump Up - Dance To Our Disco (Original)
11 : Thieves Like Us - Drugs In My Body
12 : Crystal Castles - Knights
13 : Whitey - Stay On The Outside

Finally, Boredoms are on the look out for 77 volunteering drummers to help out with their free ’77 Drum’ perfomance installation. So if you’re a drummer with a penchant for intense, druggy, aggressive and psychedelic noise rock then you can get in contact with the band via their Myspace page. The gig will take place July 7th on the lawn of the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park section of Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Matthew Dear’s “Asa Breed”

2007-05-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

It’s good to have albums from Queens of the Stone Age, The White Stripes – Devendra Banhart, even – on the horizon but, in fairness, we’re not really expecting any of them to reinvent the wheel. That’s why it’s nice on occasion for an exciting, ambitious, arguably flawed record to arrive out of the blue and twist your head around. “Asa Breed”, Matthew Dear’s second artist album on Detroit’s consistently inspiring Ghostly International label, is shaping up as the summer’s big contender for that fix.

Dear you may know as Audion, the moniker under which he’s dispatched heavy 4/4 acid workouts over the past couple of years, culminating in unlikely club hit, “Mouth To Mouth” late last year. As with other Ghostly artists - like avant hip hop producer Dabrye who also records techno as Tadd Mullinix - it’s probably wise to forget what you know in preparation for this record, which reaches the shops in early June.

Dear throws a lot at the wall on “Asa Breed” and falls between two musical personas: Eno/Byrne-inspired electro-pop innovator and, more unexpectedly, Texan Tom Waits delivering sun scorched tales in laconic baritone. Not since Beck was in his prime has an artist been simultaneously both so futurist yet rooted in genre traditions.

Tracks like “Will Gravity Win Tonight?” open as anyone who heard Dear’s Fabric mix might plausibly expect but they quickly shift into wholly unanticipated territory. “Good To Be Alive” could be the most perfectly formed four minutes of modern pop music this year. From a processed plucked-string Afro melody and 4/4 beat, it builds up electro claps and synth riffs around a repeated vocal to grow a groove that’s then punctured with increasingly intense electro squelching. Pause... and it all drops back in. It's an understanding of what makes machines ‘groove’ that couldn’t have been learned outside of nightclubs. And then the track that follows it sounds like Mark Lanegan!

Not everything works; “Pom Pom” sounds like Erasure covering one of Kraftwerk’s more throwaway moments and in places the record leans a little heavily on Talking Heads and Eno and Byrne’s “My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts”, the reference point most reviewers will probably reach for as they struggle with this uncategorisable record. Whatever, what’s certain is that “Asa Breed” is defiantly not what you were expecting.

News: Bjork, Zombies, Big Boi, Lupe Fiasco

2007-05-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

OK Bjork fans, if you weren’t lucky enough to get your hands on Glasto tickets and don’t have the cashflow - or time - to jet around the world to catch her US tour or various European festival appearances then salvation is at hand in the form of a webcast! We know, its not the best substitute - but its still a damn good one. NPR will broadcast her May 5th gig (with Konono No1) live from NYC’s United Palace and will also host it as a pocast free of charge whilst WNCY will re-broadcast the show on their website on May 14th.

British psych-pop legends The Zombies will be reforming – with deceased guitarist Paul Atkinson being replaced by Keith Airey - for a series of shows commemorating the 40th anniversary of their classic LP ‘Odyssey and Oracle’. À la ATP’s Don’t Look Back concert series the band will perform the album in it’s entirety but they will also find time to fit in some other gems from the rest of their back catalogue. More Info.

Lupe Fiasco has unveiled details of his follow up to grammy nominated debut ‘Food and Liquor’. Speaking to Billboard at Coachella Mr. Fiasco reiterated on his desire to rope in Pink Floyd: “Nothing has developed yet. But once the stew gets swirling and people start talking, you never know. I hope it does work out.” We hate to say it, but don't get your hopes up Lupe. He also cryptically mentioned a secret project with “another superstar rapper and someone who is a rapper/producer”. ‘The Cool’ is slated for a Halloween release.

After Andre 3000’s undefeated reign as hip hop’s King of Camp it appears that his own partner in rhyme, Big Boi, is going to be first to challenge the throne. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution Big Boi will be performing with the Atlanta Ballet on April 10-13 next year. It has been described by the ballet company as "an adventuresome, exhilarating evening featuring the world-renowned musical artistry of Big Boi of Outkast as well as artists of Purple Ribbon Entertainment. Daring, progressive, and soulful, these very talented artists perform a stunning collaborative piece, LIVE on stage with Atlanta Ballet's exquisite dancers." Can you imagine Purple Ribbon signee Bubba Sparxxx in a leotard?

Finally, America’s answer to the Mercury Music Prize, the Shortlist Music Prize, has announced its list of nominees. The lists are compiled by a panel of musicians and journalists known as ‘listmakers’. The listmakers this year include Franz Ferdinand (nominating LPs by Belle & Sebastian, Hot Chip, Liars), Sufjan Stevens (Dabrye, Danielson, Matmos) and Snow Patrol (Beirut, Bonnie Prince Billy, Mates of State).

News: Interpol, Babyshambles, Pharoahe Monch, Beasties, Kraftwerk

2007-04-27T03:18:00.000-07:00

Last month the tight-lipped boys in Interpol claimed that they were close to finishing their new album but revealed nothing more, but this last week has seen a torrent of new information spew forth from the NY indie rockers. Entitled ‘Our Love to Admire’ the LP will be released via Capitol on July 10th and will be preceded by single ‘The Heinrich Maneuver’ on May 7th. Full info.

Babyshambles’ follow up to their 2005 debut ‘Down in Albion’ looks to be on more of a collaborative tip than the previous effort. Currently in negotiations with Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder and good pal Amy Winehouse bassist Drew McConnell explained: “(Amy’s) a friend of ours. The Shaun Ryder one is in negotiation at the moment. Our people are talking to their people hopefully… we’ll see what happens.”

Legendary ex-Organized Konfusion MC Pharoahe Monch also has a new album scheduled for a summer release. The long awaited follow up to 1999’s superior Internal Affairs will be released via SRC/Universal on June 26th. Entitled ‘Desire’ the LP features production from Black Milk, Alchemist, vocal spots from Erykah Badu and with a brilliant cover of PE’s ‘Welcome to the Terrordome’ Pharoahe’s got his Chuck D impersonation down to a fine art.

There must be something in the water this week as the Beastie Boys have also unveiled details of their forthcoming album. Fans disappointed with their last LP’s stripped down old skool hip hop stylings will be happy to hear that they’re heading back in more of a rock direction this time round, harking back to the style of Check Your Head. Speaking to NME Mike D explained: "We play instruments on the whole album, as opposed to sampling. There's more rock on there. If you know us you can trace the influences and they're not completely surprising… It might make you flip your wig right off, or your hairpiece, if you're a casual listener.”

Kraftwerk are offering a free download of their classic track ‘Radioactivity’ in support of the Stop-Rokkasho organisation. The anti-nuclear campaigners are spreading awareness of the dangers imposed by nuclear reprocessing, specifically Japan’s Rokkasho-mura reprocessing plant. The track can be streamed and downloaded from Stop-Rokkasho’s website and is also available via the Stop-Rokkasho Podcast on iTunes.

News: Russell Simmons, LCD, Cooper Temple Clause, Sebadoh

2007-04-25T04:44:00.000-07:00

Hip Hop mogul and Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons has announced that three specific racial and sexist epithets – ‘Nigga’, Bitch’ and ‘Ho’ - should be removed from all clean versions of hip hop records. Most clean versions already have these words edited but quite often they slip through the net and Simmons is calling for an official ban. Speaking to Associated Press he said "We recommend these words are always out, this is a fist step. It's a clear message and a consistency that we want the industry to accept for more corporate social responsibility." His call-to-arms does not seem to include homophobia or glorifying violence for some reason.

James Murphy has roped in some very cool pals to help him out with the next LCD Soundsystem single. The Neu!-esque ‘All My Friends’ will be released via DFA/EMI on May 21st with two cover versions of the track performed by Franz Ferdinand (produced by Erol Alkan) and John Cale. Also on the B-side will be a cover of Joy Division’s ‘No Love Lost’ by LCD themselves.

Following two no-shows at last week’s Camden Crawl festival, Cooper Temple Clause have decided to call it a day after five years and three albums. First to leave was Daniel Fisher who, speaking to NME, explained “In the wake of this decision the rest of the boys agreed to call it a day and pursue other interests. Friendships are well and truly intact and the love very much remains within the camp.”

Details of this year’s Ivor Novello award nominees have been released with nice surprises among them. Artic Monkeys are up for ‘Best Song Musically & Lyrically’ with ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ whilst Hot Chip and Amy Winehouse will be battling it out for ‘Best Contemporary Song’ with ‘Over and Over’ and ‘Rehab’ respectively.

Finally, fans of the mighty Sebadoh can finally put their battered vinyl and tape cassette copies of their classic debut LP ‘The Freed Man’ into storage - unless they want that real lo-fi authenticity - as Domino will be reissuing the album on CD from July 10th with 19 extra tracks – that’s 52 tracks in total!

Foals and Bonde Do Role at The Spitz

2007-04-25T04:13:00.000-07:00

Apparently, East London arts institution The Spitz, like so many of the more cottage industry enterprises that give that part of London its character, has been served notice by its landlords. But nobody told Foals that this was a wake as they ripped through yet another stunning set at the venue last night, following a clutch of dates in the capital that have seen them leave jaws agape from King’s College to the Camden Crawl.

They didn’t actually make the stage until 11, in which time an influx of characters from the Arctic Monkey’s single “Brianstorm” arrived to watch recent Domino signing Bonde Do Role run through their party set. Like a favela funk take on the hip house of the early 90s, they jam together crude combinations of party beats and none-more-obvious classics from AC/DC to Cybertron. The result is probably too sophisticated to be strictly favela funk, funk Carioca or funk do morro (take your pick) – it really is more like a world music version of Doug Lazy. Great fun, anyway, with more energy than a Tuesday night deserves. There’s no point trying to analyse Bonde given the charm of funk Carioca itself, like most booty musics, lies in its crude energy.

Foals, of course, are an altogether different proposition, refreshingly smart in an era in which Brit rock is in danger of becoming a retrogressive embarrassment in the eyes of our American cousins. There’s no shortage of Devo and the like – channelled through Don Caballero - but what’s really interesting here are the more modern impulses. Techno is a big influence and it reveals itself in the complex oscillating melodies that chime between the two guitarists; ironically, it’s the guitars that bleep here more than the keyboards.

Facing each other on the tiny stage they jerk through precise, looping, ultra-clean and layered tracks that seem like the meeting point between math rock, minimal techno, punk funk and Timbaland. (In fact, I think someone in the crowd was shouting for a track actually called “Timbaland”, which would make perfect sense.) Ultra-tight, they play with the instinctive communication of a jam band and yet you know that there’s not a note out of place. And there’s a heaviness that a casual listen to current single “Hummer” won’t prepare you for with hardcore fans thrashing about at the front. An ace band. Here’s a clip of them in full flow at one of the showcases they performed at the South By Southwest industry shindig earlier this year…

Albums: Simian Mobile Disco & New Young Pony Club

2007-04-19T01:40:00.000-07:00

Two debut albums are sitting neatly back-to-back on the stereo this week from what’s been nominally lumped together as New Rave: Simian Mobile Disco’s “Attack Decay Sustain Release” and “Fantastic Playroom” by New Young Pony Club. Essentially both London bands, there are other good reasons for the pairing, particularly the fact that both have been around a while in other guises and chosen to reinvent themselves on the crest of the dance resurgence infiltrating UK indie.

James Ford and Jas Shaw of Simian Mobile Disco you’ll remember as half of Simian, the act that Ford helpfully summarised in our recent interview as a “psychedelic pop” band. Simian disbanded amidst musical disagreements and he and Shaw kept their occasional DJ moniker for their own acidic electro excursions. NYPC have a less documented history but you get the impression from talking to unusually switched-on front woman Tahita Bulmer that both she and Andy Spence have been around the industry block a few times.

So, it’s safe to say the key players here have more than a few years on the average punter at Fabric’s New Rave shindig, Adventures In The Beetroot Field. Unlike the sugar rush thrill of the Klaxons, both are possessed of a knowingness that’s something of a mixed blessing.

Beyond SMD’s previous twelve-inch releases - “Hustler” and “Tits & Acid” which are compiled here - “It’s The Beat” is the highlight from “Attack Decay Sustain Release” precisely because it’s happy to wear it’s love of Technotronic’s ’88 hit “Pump Up The Jam” on its sleeve. And NYPC would, ahem, be something of a one-trick pony if the only song they could write was a version of their brilliant debut single, “Get Lucky”. “Ice Cream” is arguably little more but at least the Bangles-esque “Hiding On The Staircase” chances it arm outside of the usual Tom Tom Club/ESG/Blondie flashpoints.

Both acts, though, struggle to elevate their sounds beyond their obvious mastery of style. Whether they like the comparison or not, SMD ultimately feel like a second coming of the Chemical Brothers for the Franz Ferdinand generation. The pounding 4/4 of each track thickens like porridge after a few listens, and sounds a little rudimentary at a time when European techno is finding increasingly deft ways to take percussive flight. Don’t get us wrong, we’re over the moon that SMD are injecting some fun back into the Brit indie scene and this is clearly an exciting release, in that context. But “Fantastic Playroom” is perhaps the more complete record, even if the sex-shtick and nonchalant vox start to grate after a while.

New Rave just like old Rave, you suspect, is destined to have a troubled relationship with the album format.

News: Snoop, DMX, Caribou, Lollapalooza

2007-04-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

The art of keeping it real whilst trying to remain upstanding citizens is proving to be quite a hard task for US rappers at the moment. First off, taking time out from his little league coaching for under-privileged kids, Snoop Dogg has managed to get in trouble with the authorities again. By pleading guilty to firearm and drug charges in a California court, Snoop, aka Calvin Broadus, has narrowly avoided a prison sentence and ended up with five years probation and eight hundred hours community service - half of which will consist of his coaching.

DMX has also got himself in trouble by failing to turn up to two court appearances in separate cities. Not quite as thug as Snoop’s offence, the rapper was arrested for speeding, dangerous driving, not wearing a seatbelt and driving with a suspended license. A new warrant has now been issued to the AWOL rapper for the no-shows.

Electronic popster Dan Snaith, aka Caribou and Manitoba, is ready to unleash his latest organic noodlings upon us. Leaving his previous homes Domino and Leaf, the album, Andorra, will be released on Merge in the US and City Slang in Europe on August 21st.

The nice people at Lollapalooza are not only nice enough to provide an excellent line-up of cutting edge new artists and old favourites from the world over but are also asking festival goers what they want to ‘see, hear, eat, feel, drink, buy or hug’ so recommend your favourite artists and eateries and your wishes may be granted. The gargantuan line-up so far includes: Modest Mouse, Interpol, CSS, MIA, TV on the Radio, !!!, Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, Muse, Hot Chip, The Stooges, Daft Punk, Kanye West, Snow Patrol and that’s just a taster. The festival takes place in Chicago’s Grant Park on August 3-5.

Finally, Foo Fighters have asked Nine Inch Nails to join them for their forthcoming show at Marlay Park near Dublin on August 22nd along with Silversun Pickups. They will also play together at the T on the Fringe show at the Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh.

Wilco – Sky Blue Sky

2007-04-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

A few dispatches have already hit the net concerning the new Wilco album, the gist of most centring on its comfortable orientation at the ‘adult’ end of the rock spectrum. Absent are Krautrock freakouts a la “Spiders (Kidsmoke)”, along with the lengthy passages of feedback that characterised the albums made with Jim O’Rourke. In fact, “Sky Blue Sky” shares more with the classic pop of 1999’s “Summerteeth” than either of the last two albums, “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” and “A Ghost Is Born”.

None of which should suggest that this is a disappointing record. Quite the contrary, it’s clearly amongst the band’s best, if yet to prove quite the equal of the last two, especially for those who saw the tension between traditional song craft and avant-garde impulses at the core of their appeal.

In retrospect it was clear on “A Ghost Is Born” that – with a couple of obvious exceptions – Wilco were beginning to incorporate their experiments into deceptively straightforward songs. Listen to “Pure Bug Beauty”, a half-time instrumental version of “Company In My Back” taken from the CD accompanying The Wilco Book, and then listen to the version of “Company In My Back” on the live album, “Kicking Television”. Clearly, it’s open to interpretation (by both listener and performer) as a straight vocal or more textural, experimental piece. (You can hear it on this podcast from Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche)

On the more complex tracks from “Sky Blue Sky” – “Side With The Seeds”, “Shake It Off” – these mutual influences within the band have merged still further, becoming less casually identifiable to we glib commentators. Elsewhere there’s definitely a prioritisation of the song over the skronk - so less tension-release and more purity of flow, for want of a clearer musical expression. There’s even a pursuit of the tone of classic 70s AOR. Warner, you suspect, were rubbing their hands with glee when they heard “Hate It Here” and “What Light”.

Most likely “Sky Blue Sky” simply reflects a harmonious mood within the band. In particular, oft-troubled frontman Jeff Tweedy who, after his successful emergence from rehab for addiction to the painkillers that treated his chronic migraines, is clearly in a more harmonious place himself. "Trading your health for creativity . . . it's a common mistake,'' he commented in a recent interview with the Herald Sun. "People have had it beaten into their heads that some struggle or suffering must go with the creative process. I'm convinced that is a self-perpetuating myth.”

Here’s a clip that perfectly illustrates the working process on “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”, we’ll leave you to picture how things have changed to arrive at “Sky Blue Sky”.

News: Glastonbury, Fridge, Lady Sov, Keith Richards

2007-04-04T04:37:00.000-07:00

Now that we’ve all failed miserably to get tickets those swines at Glastonbury have started boasting about the line up… and what a line up. In addition to already confirmed acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Bjork, The Who and The Killers are Arcade Fire, Bloc Party, Amy Winehouse, Hot Chip, The Stooges, CSS, Paul Weller, Simian Mobile Disco, Pete Doherty, Kaiser Chiefs, Beirut, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Klaxons (who, we can exclusively reveal, will also be playing a special electronic live set in the dance tent). Full line up.

London post rockers Fridge – comprising of Kieran Hebden (Fourtet), Adem and Sam Jeffers – are taking a brief hiatus from solo success and have announced news of the completion of their latest album, their first in six years. Entitled ‘The Sun’, it will be released by NY label Temporary Residence (home to Explosions in the Sky, Tarentel, Grails and Cex, amongst others) on May 15th.

Tracklisting:

01. The Sun  
02. Clocks  
03. Our Place In This  
04. Drums Of Life  
05. Eyelids  
06. Oram  
07. Comets  
08. Insects  
09. Lost Time  
10. Years And Years And Years... 

Poor old Lady Sovereign is in the wars. Not long since she last cancelled tour dates she’s been struck down again, postponing next week’s shows at Glasgow’s King Tut’s on April 10th and Birmingham’s England’s Academy 2 in order to undergo “treatment and recuperation”. In the words of the good lady herself: “I am gutted to have to postpone these shows, but I feel like shit.” Fair enough.

The Good The Bad & The Queen have picked the Tower of London as the venue for a special one-off show as a ‘celebration of London’s musical identity and history’. The gig will take place on July 9th and according to the band: “The album has been played live at many winter gigs around the UK and Europe but this Tower of London show will be the first outdoor gig in London, naturally the venue is of fitting historic significance sitting alongside the oft mentioned River Thames.”

Finally, Keith Richards – ever trying to up the ante when it comes to his drug intake – has admitted to snorting a line of his own dad! Talking to the NME he explained: "The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared, he didn't give a shit. It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive." Rumours that Keef wishes his own ashes to be scattered from the side of speedboat in the Panama Canal, by DEA officials, remain unconfirmed.

News: EMI & Apple, The Fall, Devo, Summer Sundae, Monkeys

2007-04-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

EMI and Apple’s Steve Jobs announced today that EMI will be the first major label to sell its entire back catalogue online without restrictive digital rights protection technology (DRM-free). EMI Group CEO Eric Nicoli also confirmed that this WILL include The Beatles back catalogue and Steve Jobs predicts that half of the 5M tracks on iTunes will be available DRM-free by the end of the year. This is good news for all online music fans who have hitherto had to endure the confusion of files that work on some devices and not others as well as music sites that work on, ahem, some operating systems and not others.

In more download news, If you can’t wait until April 16th to get your hands on the first Arctic Monkeys single from the forthcoming ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ then you can download ‘Brianstorm’ today from Domino's website.

London’s famed Hammersmith Palais closed its doors for the final time last night but not without a raucous send off from none other than volatile alternative punk favourites, The Fall. In true Mark E Smith style there was no mention whatsoever of the venue’s closure which incensed some fans resulting in a couple of stage invasions and fracas with security. The set ended abruptly half way through new number ‘Reformation’ with Smith quipping: “Thank you for letting us into your security area.”

Leicester’s Summer Sundae festival is shaping up to be one of the best events this year. Acts confirmed so far include: Divine Comedy, Spiritualized Acoustic Mainlines, Magic Numbers, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Aliens, !!!, Kate Nash, Gruff Rhys, Spoon, Malcom Middleton, Two Gallants, Jeremy Warmsley and more. The festival will take place on August 10th-12th costing £85 for adults, £20 for under 16s and free for under 5s.

Finally, quirky new-wavers Devo have announced that they will play their first UK appearance in ten years this June. Tour dates:

Brighton, Dome – June 18th
Birmingham, Symphony Hall – June 22nd
Manchester, Apollo – June 23rd

March’s Hip-Hop Highlights:

2007-03-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

Here’s a selection of hip hop highlights for April with 30 second clips, some of which are virtually impossible to find outside of specialist stores.

Pete Rock feat. Styles P & Sheek Louch – 914 (Fat Beats, New York)
Breathing new life into the tired UFO loop, Pete takes us back to ’95 with D-Block’s Styles P and Sheek Louch ripping it.

Super Chron Flight Bros – Panama Red (Fat Beats, New York)
Despite a DOOM produced A-side it’s the grimy as f**k flip that impresses from these under the underground weedheads from Brooklyn.

Masta Killa feat. RZA, U-God & Method Man – Iron God Chamber (Fat Beats, New York)
One of the highlights from last years LP “Made In Brooklyn”. The RZA-esque beat by Whiz Rhuger keeps things moving along nicely while members of Shaolin’s finest effortlessly take care of business.

Flavor Flav – Col-Leeping (Ear Wax, Atlanta)
Despite a disappointing LP, Chuck D’s crazy sidekick delivers with this updating of his classic “Cold Lampin’ With Flavor”.

The RZA feat. Big Daddy Kane, GZA & Suga Bang – Cameo Afro (Fat Beats, New York)
More Wu-Tang for you as RZA reminds us how he became so legendary in the first place. Enlisting the help of fellow rap icon Kane, RZA serves up a superior head nodder with typical finesse.

News: Patrick Wolf, Junior Boys, Only Ones, Mouse On Mars

2007-03-28T03:53:00.000-07:00

Eccentric troubadour (and MR fave) Patrick Wolf is taking to the road this April in support of his latest LP ‘The Magic Potion’. Fresh from his recent dates with Arcade Fire, Mr. Wolf will kick-start the European tour with a show at London’s Astoria on April 11th followed by shows in Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, The Netherlands and Austria. Tour Dates.

In very exciting news, wacky German electronica duo Mouse On Mars have teamed up with grumpy/violent Fall bandleader Mark E Smith to form a new side project called Von Südenfed. The trio will release the album ‘Tromatic Reflexxions’ via Domino on June 5th which will intriguingly combine Smith’s acerbic ramblings with the sounds of electro, dub-step, grime and disco. Lets hope that Smith likes the boys enough to start and finish a whole tour.

Legendary new-wavers The Only Ones are to reform this summer for a string of UK dates including appearances at All Tomorrow’s Parties and Connect Festival in Scotland. The tour will coincide with the reissue and remastering of their back catalogue which will include extra unreleased material.

Tour Dates:
27th April - All Tomorrow's Parties Festival
1st June - Manchester: Academy 2
2nd June - Glasgow: ABC
6th June - Nottingham: Rock City
8th June - Wolverhampton: Wulfrun
9th June - London: Shepherds Bush Empire
31st August - Connect Festival, Inverary Castle,

It looks like an eleven date UK tour plus two shows at the 50,000 capacity Lancashire cricket ground simply isn’t adequate enough to cover the colossal number of Arctic Monkeys fans throughout the UK. The band are pleased to announce two more shows at Cardiff International Arena on the 19th and 20th of June.

Finally, in more Domino related news, Junior Boys are to release a new remix EP entitled ‘Dead Horse’. Split over two 12”s the Canadian duo have enlisted the talents of Carl Craig, Kode 9, Tensnake and Hot Chip to rework four tracks from their last LP ‘So This Is Goodbye’. The 12”s will be in the shops from April 9th and can be pre-ordered now from Domino.

News: Bowie, Arcade Fire, White Stripes, Happy Mondays

2007-03-26T03:53:00.000-07:00

David Bowie, the Music Recommenders “Godfather” himself, is taking his musical endorsements to the next level by curating his own festival. The High Line Festival, which will take place at various venues throughout NYC, looks set to be a great showcase for some of his favoured acts covering not only music but performance, visual art and comedy as well. Running from May 9th to the 19th, acts confirmed so far include Arcade Fire, Deerhoof, Laurie Anderson, Daniel Johnston, The Secret Machines and Ricky Gervais. Please visit David's Site for the full low-down.

Poor old Win Butler has succumbed to a nasty sinus and bronchial infection resulting in the cancellation of the rest of Arcade Fire’s European tour. After going against his Doctor’s advice and continuing on with a hectic tour for the love of the fans he finally reached breaking point this weekend in Oslo, Norway where he couldn’t even recognise his own voice through the speakers. Visit the band’s website for more info on the situation from the man himself. Lets hope he gets well soon!

Happy Mondays are to release their first studio album for fifteen years. Shaun Ryder, Bez and co have hooked up with Howie B and Quincy Jones’ grandson Sunny D Levine to record the new material and hope to release a single in June via Sanctuary Records. It even features a guest spot from Ry Cooder and US rapper Mickey Avalon.

White Stripes have revealed details of the full tracklisting of their forthcoming sixth LP to CMJ.com. Apparently featuring bagpipes and no piano at all (unlike last album 'Get Behind Me Satan') the album is quite a varied affair, ranging from good old balls-out garage rock to some mariachi-style leanings. Full Tracklisting.

Attention Simple Kid enthusiasts! If you are a fan and would like to appear in (and make) the video for his forthcoming single ‘The TwentySomething’ then pay a visit to his Myspace page. Simple Kid is appealing to fans to film themselves singing the track and the best efforts will be pasted together to form the official video. All you need is a myspace profile, camera and the ability to entertain the man himself.

News: Flaming Lips, Jurassic 5, Timbaland, Chemical Bros

2007-03-23T05:11:00.000-07:00

First Abba, then Queen, now it’s The Flaming Lips’ turn to tackle Broadway. Lips frontman Wayne Coyne has announced plans to turn the majestic ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’ into a musical. They mean business too as they have already enlisted ‘West Wing’ creator and scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin to write it and the Tony award winning director Des McAnuff has signed on to direct. Lets hope it’s better than ‘Tommy’. Click here for more details.

After 14 years in the game, West Coast indie-rap legends Jurassic 5 have decided to call it a day. It appears that musical differences and a desire from certain members to go solo are the reasons for the break up. According to MC Zaakir: “…we’re not seeing eye to eye right now. People see us as a harmonising, loving group but that’s far from the truth". Oh dear.

Timbaland in post-punk shocker! The busiest man in hip hop has revealed plans for a very interesting new direction in sound for the next Justin Timberlake album. After initial talks with Timberlake they want the LP to sound like howling post punkers The Rapture, specifically their breakthrough single ‘House of Jealous Lovers’.

London’s magnificent indoor folk festival ‘Homefires’ is returning for its fourth year this summer. The two-day event will take place on the first weekend in June (2nd and 3rd) within the comfortable surroundings of Conway Hall
in Holborn. Alongside Music Recommenders favourites Bat for Lashes other acts confirmed include Nina Nastasia, Adem, Richard Swift, Emmy the Great and many more. Full listing.

Finally, The Chemical Brothers have announced that their sixth album ‘We Are The Night’ will be released this summer in June on Virgin Records. The Chemicals will also play a one-off show at London’s prestigious Roundhouse venue on May 31st showcasing the new material.

News: Maximo Park, Bjork, Flying Lotus, Domino

2007-03-21T04:25:00.000-07:00

Newcastle angular rockers Maximo Park are celebrating the release of new album “Our Earthly Pleasures” with a special gig on the roof of The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts in their hometown on 28th March. In order to get your mitts on ONE of the very limited number of tickets you best get yourself down to Newcastle’s RPM record shop (25 Highbridge, NE1 1EW) on Tuesday 27th. Tickets go on sale 10am at £5.00 each. There will also be a midnight in-store performance at Newcastle’s HMV on Sunday April 1st. The Gil Norton produced album is released by Warp on April 2nd.

Iceland’s most famous export has announced details of a forthcoming tour to promote new album Volta (released May 7th). In true spectacular Bjork fashion, she will take to the road with album collaborator Chris Corsano, old friend Mark Bell (aka LFO), an all female brass band and an Icelandic Chinese concert pianist with a “huge pipe organ” to perform “virtuoso dramatic performances in-between sets”. Business as usual then… Tour dates and more

Experimental LA hip hop producer (and Alice Coltrane’s nephew) Flying Lotus has signed to Warp Records. Previously signed with electronica/hip hop label Plug Research, his appearance on that label’s excellent “The Sound Of LA” compilation pricked up the ears of the Warp staff and roster (including Mark Pritchard and Prefuse 73) leading to the inked deal. Mr. Lotus’s scuzzy, off-kilter, electronic production is a very welcome addition to their ever more eclectic roster.

An exhibition of Domino cover art will be taking place at The Art Vinyl Gallery in East London (Broadway Market, E8) from 5th-18th of April. The gallery specialises in record cover art allowing artists, labels and bands to curate the space on a fortnightly rotation and now it’s the mighty Domino’s turn. The label (home to Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Fourtet, Pavement et al) will also be providing a night of live entertainment. On April 7th there will be an open door policy with a performance from Lightspeed Champion (ex-Test Icicles member Dev Hynes’s new outfit) and a DJ set from Psapp. More Info

News: Arctic Monkeys, Interpol, Simian Mobile Disco, 1990s, Green Man

2007-03-14T04:06:00.000-07:00

Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys have announced details of a UK tour this April to build up even more anticipation for their sophomore effort, “My Favourite Worst Nightmare”. Before you rush out and buy tickets though, as an effective ‘up yours’ to touts the Monkeys are only selling to fans on the band’s mailing list via a ballot. Click here for more info and tour dates.

Details of this year’s Green Man Festival have been finalised and it looks like it’s going to be an absolute winner. Acts confirmed so far include: Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation, Gruff Rhys, Smog, Vetiver, Dead Meadow, Tuung… the list just goes on and on. The folk fest takes place at Glanusk Estate in Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales on August 17th – 19th.

Indie kids-turned-acid fiends Simian Mobile Disco have unveiled details of their forthcoming debut “Attack Decay Sustain Release”. Released on April 6th by Wichita it features guest vocal spots from Ninja and Barry Dobbin of Go Team! and Clor respectively with seven new tracks alongside singles “It’s The Beat”, “Hustler” and “Tits & Acid”.

Glaswegian indie rockers The 1990s have also confirmed the release of their first LP. Produced by Suede guitarist Bernard Butler at the tail end of last year, “Cookies” will be released by Rough Trade on May 7th. Click here for a tracklisting.

Finally, Interpol have revealed that work on their follow up to 2004’s “Antics” is nearly complete. It’s their first with a major (Capitol) after leaving Matador records and is said to be more ‘expressive’ than their previous releases. According to guitarist Daniel Kessler: “There is a lot more texture and interesting sounds, there is definitely progression and growth.” No release date as yet but we’ll keep you posted.

Dance-punk: who’s the daddy?

2007-03-13T02:17:00.000-07:00

Back in 2002 when James Murphy unleashed his first sneery-groovy LCD Soundsystem single, “Losing My Edge”, and at least three members of !!! were in a band called Out Hud who sounded like they might be capable of reinventing the dance-punk wheel, hopes were high for rock’s return to the dancefloor. Now, New York trend thermostat Other Music reports that ‘beardos’ outnumber ‘angular haircuts’ 3-1 in the city. The Rapture’s “Pieces Of People We Love” album has stalled and the furiously reproducing hot house of the UK indie disco is looking like running away with New York’s dance-punk crown.

Two records released this month might have a thing or two to say about that, though. Firstly there’s !!!’s “Myth Takes”, in many ways their most accomplished album yet. But here’s the problem. The more they attempt to clip the wings of their sprawling jam-band funk and turn out disciplined songs, the harder it is to like what !!! do. Live they can be sensational as they seamlessly wash cathedrals of guitar into breakouts of pure rhythmic bliss, building and releasing tension. That’s the formula that made Out Hud’s “S.T.R.E.E.T. D.A.D.” LP so good and it’s why !!!’s Warp debut 12” “Me And Giuliani…” remains their most essential moment. We’ll still drag ourselves through fields of mud to see their live act this summer but “Myth Takes” could happily be edited down to a four-track EP.

James Murphy’s the daddy though, right? His second LCD Soundsystem album, “Sound Of Silver”, makes the first one sound like a collection of dance 12”s padded out with a few off-cuts and b-sides. That’s to say, it’s an album in the cohesive, ‘rockist’ sense. If not as thrilling and covetable as tracks like “Beat Connection”, “Yeah” or “Losing My Edge” - all of which demand to be owned on 12” vinyl the moment you hear them – this set has an identity beyond the party. And, that’s what the guardians of rock are looking for isn’t? And, in fairness, that’s what makes for a satisfying album whilst ever the album remains a meaningful format.

From the opening “Losing My Edge”-style pulses of relentless, brainy club banger “Get Innocuous!”, through to the ambitious seven-minute motorik of “All My Friends” it’s clear that Murphy has stepped his game up to another level. “Someone Great” is surely the first disco track to approach the subject of bereavement with its heart so touchingly on sleeve and the title track is wonderful; the axis at which Manuel Göttsching meets Liquid Liquid and Claro Intelecto. Until The Klaxons, Metronomy, Joakim, NYPC, Simian Mobile Disco - Hot Chip, even – approach this level of accomplishment, Europe may have stolen the energy but New York still has the daddy.

Soundwave: Faithless, Coldplay, Swizz Beats, REM, Lou Reed & Wilco

2007-03-12T07:23:00.000-07:00

What’s with the Coldplay / mainstream hip hop collabos? Hooking up with his second thugged-out rapper in under a year (after last year’s dubious duet “Beach Chair” with Jay-Z), Chris Martin and co will be guesting on new Swizz Beats album “One Man Band Man”. “Part of the Plan” will be the first single released from the LP, preceding yet another guest-spot on the forthcoming Kanye West album. Lil’ Chris and the College Boys better step their game up if they want to bring it to Ghostface, Doom et al.

REM are heading back into the studio in the next few weeks. Producer of the moment (and former UK big-beat type) Jacknife Lee will be at the controls this time around fresh from his work on the last U2, Bloc Party and Snow Patrol albums. The follow up to last year’s “Around the Sun” promises to have more of a rock edge and is planned for release in late 2007.

Faithless will kick start their eleven-date arena tour with a secret warehouse gig exclusively for Myspace users. The intimate gig is to be held in a 260 capacity venue in an undisclosed location just outside of Leeds on Friday March 16th. In order to get your hands on a ticket visit myspace.com/secretshowsuk and myspace.com/faithlessmusic.

After treating fans to a performance of his classic 1973 LP ‘Berlin’ in NY last Christmas the mighty (and generous) Lou Reed has decided to bring the show over to Europe this summer with a nine-date tour including two nights at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. He explained: “I only do this every thirty years. One time, one time only. You can tell your kids you saw Lou Reed’s Berlin.” Tour Dates

Poor old Wilco, just like their last two albums it appears that latest LP ‘Sky Blue Sky’ (due to be released May 15th on Nonesuch) has been leaked online by eager fans. It hasn’t seemed to faze Jeff Tweedy though. Speaking to Billboard yesterday, he said: “There's probably some good argument to be made that it will prevent a few people from buying the record, but there's also the idea that I believe is true for us, which is, it's people listening to our music."

Soundwave: Ryan Adams, Cat Power, Beasties, Beck and Bobby G

2007-03-07T03:53:00.000-08:00

Stonehenge might not be the most conventional rock venue but in the mind of Ryan Adams it’s just another arena. The alt country/rock songsmith has announced a gig there as part of the Salisbury International Art Festival on June 5th which also happens to be the release date of new album, “Easy Tiger”.

He’s not the only US indie darling with live plans… Chan “Cat Power” Marshall is bringing her beautifully melancholic songs to European shores this spring, kicking off proceedings in Glasgow on April 25th. She plays the Dirty Three-curated All Tomorrow’s Parties festival (April 27-29) and then a string of dates covering Europe. Dates in full.

Also on the road this spring is Beck making his first Australian appearance in four years as part of the finalised line-up for first antipodean leg of the V festival. Taking place in Sydney and the Gold Coast on March 31st and April 1st respectively, other acts confirmed include: New York Dolls (with their first Australian appearance ever!), Pixies, Pet Shop Boys, 2Many DJs, Jarvis Cocker, Gnarls Barkley and Nouvelle Vague.

The Beastie Boys are hinting at a summer release for their follow-up to 2004’s “To The 5 Boroughs” and plan to debut some new material on live outings in the US and Europe. It’ll hopefully follow hot on the heels of the new Bad Brains LP, which has been produced by senior Beastie, Adam Yauch. Featuring the original line-up, “Build a Nation” drops in late May / early June.

Finally, Bobby Gillespie has offered his drumming services to the newly reformed Jesus and Mary Chain. Gillespie, who quit the group in 1985 to form Primal Scream, has expressed a keen desire to complete the reformed original line up. The band have confirmed they will play LA’s Coachella festival in May. Lets hope the bickering Reid brothers can keep it together long enough to produce a new album.

Soundwave: White Stripes, Beirut, Boom Bip, Arctic Monkeys, Wilco

2007-03-02T03:12:00.000-08:00

The White Stripes emerge, blinking from the studio this month. Entitled ‘Icky Thump’, the fiendishly anticipated sixth studio album from the Detroit two-piece was recorded at Blackbird Studios in Nashville TN over, they claim, a three week period. It includes the songs “Catch Hell Blues”, “Little Cream Soda”, “Icky Thump”, “Rag and Bone”, “You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do What Your Told)” and “I’m Slowly Turning Into You” and will be released through Warner Bros ‘as soon as corporately possible’.

Meanwhile, Beirut already have an EP available online just weeks after the release of last release, “Lon Gisland”. Consisting of the two tracks “Fountains and Tramways” and “Napoleon on the Bellerophon” this one boasts subtle French pop influences and is apparently something of a departure from the usual Balkan gypsy stylings. It is available now for download from eMusic.com and will soon be available in Europe via Roughtradedigital.com.

Boom Bip (aka Bryan Hollon) is another one-man release schedule on the independent music circuit.Fresh from finishing recordings for the Neon Neon project with SFA’s Gruff Rhys, he’s somehow found the time to release a new EP of solo material. (We had a crafty listen to some of the Neon Neon stuff recently and can happily report that it’s ace with exciting contributions from Spank Rock, Yo Majesty and Fat Lip.)

"Sacchrilege" has a much harder, dancefloor orientated sound than his previous efforts, closer in spirit to the minimal techno of Berlin than the lush electronica he’s known for. One of the tracks (“1 of 11”) can be previewed at www.myspace.com/boombip. The release will coincide with a European tour covering the UK, France, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Italy and Russia.

The Arctic Monkeys new LP ‘Favourite Worst Nightmare’ will feature a track with grime’s leading man, Dizzee Rascal. “Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend” will feature as a b-side to the forthcoming single “Brianstorm” released by Domino on April 17.

And finally, Chicago alt. rock stalwarts Wilco have announced a world tour in support of the new album “Sky Blue Sky’ (released by Nonesuch on May 15th). Kicking off in April in Australia, they will then travel on to the UK and Europe playing a series of dates in May before wrapping it all up in June with an appearance at the Bonnaroo festival in the US. http://wilcoworld.net/tours/index.php

Shy Child at Pure Groove, London on 16.02.07

2007-02-22T07:27:00.001-08:00

Hip Hop goes back to school, again

2007-02-20T01:11:00.000-08:00

Hyped by The Guardian as one of the acts to break big this year, the first we heard of The Kidz In The Hall was a 12" from Fat Beats, accidentally dismissed as a simple rip-off of Souls Of Mischief's lost classic "'93 To Infinity". Happily their debut "School Was My Hustle", released on the recently relaunched Rawkus Records, delivers much more. In fact, it may be the most consistent hip-hop record since Spank Rock's "YoYoYoYoYo".

Spank Rock it ain't though. The title's probably enough to give that away. The group's Naledge and Double-O met at the University of Pennsylvania and, whilst their vision is expansive enough to reach out to thugs and graduates, they're not trying to hide their roots or reinvent the wheel. This is deeply nostalgic rap in the vein of 9th Wonder and Little Brother, incapable of hiding its longing for a return to the golden mid-nineties when the samples twinkled over a bed of boom-bap and smart rhymes flowed in a seamless union.

No bad thing. And, in some cases they even ramp up the formula with some of the rabble-rousing euphoria of Jay-Z and Just Blaze in full flow, hinting at broader appeal. But, it's a surprise that anyone expects this to truly break out of the independent hip hop ghetto just yet. As well as the nods to Souls Of Mischief and the Heiroglyphics crew, "Ms. Juanita" re-imagines A Tribe Called Quest's daisy age classic "Bonita Applebum" and throughout the LP familiar samples from the old-school canon - Gil Scott Heron to Johnny Pate - abound. Futurism, unfortunately, stays strictly off the agenda.

A fine album then, but a fine album in the same way that, say, The Strokes' debut was a perfect re-imagining of a golden era for rock. Even if "School Was My Hustle" has as much impact as those still lamenting the decline of Rawkus Records first time around are clearly hoping, its unlikely to offer any more of a route into brave futures for rap than "Is This It" did for the guitar four-piece. Where the record which does is going to come from is anyone's guess.

Klaxons – Myths of the Near Future

2007-01-28T01:05:00.000-08:00

It’s a good omen for 2007 that the year has been kicked into life by an album more concerned with breakdowns and euphoria than limp ska and meat’n’veg punk. Odd though that it’s a rock album. The Klaxons’ "Myths of the Near Future" is a thunderbolt of indie pop lasting a little under 40 minutes and boasting a clutch of potential singles fit to chase the last stragglers out of the manufactured pop party.

Dubbing themselves 'new rave' in collusion with the NME, Klaxons have pulled off that most spectacular of feats and actually gone boldly against the numb prevailing wind of angular post-punk fashion. The very idea of such a bold identity in such self-conscious times is enough to inspire change and this feels like an important album for that reason alone.

What seems to be puzzling most commentators is quite what they have to do with the last great spontaneous youth revolution of less media-literate times. They don't sound 'rave', in fact they recall nothing quite so much as the melodic Brit indie of the late 80s/early 90s - hardly a hip reference point. True, "Atlantis To Interzone" features air-horns and the album includes their cover of mid-nineties house anthem "It's Not Over Yet" by Grace. But, by-and-large, Klaxons' fundamentally conservative modus operandi manages to remind us just how innovative the Fisher Price anthems of '92 actually were.

If there's rave afoot here, it's in the band's valiant attempt to topple the self-awareness that set in when retrograde old rock'n'roll smugly triumphed over dance music's final bloated emissions at the turn of the century. Klaxons are clearly utopian in their adoption of the literary language of Pynchon and Ballard and its the embrace of futures possible that really aligns them with the spirit of rave. A point missed by some observers, keen to discredit their failure to measure up to rave aesthetics. (There are obvious parallels between this branch of utopianism, arriving as it does whilst we’re counting out the days remaining under Blair, and rave's utopian party in the last days of the Thatcher era).

Away from the stage-focused scrutiny of the indie gig but not quite back to the ego-free immersion into the synchronized whole of the dancefloor, there's an awkwardness to this band lodged between the past and future. You can hear the friction in the music. But that's where the adrenaline in their otherwise fairly formal - and often very good - songwriting has come from. Luckily for them, their more recent creations are arguably even better, stripped of obvious Rave signifiers. Latest single "Golden Skans" - an ode to the hi-tech lights that decorated raves the Klaxons aren't old enough to remember - surges with enough spine-tingling joy to match any amount of piano house.

Consider then that this band only formed a little more than a year ago and you can only hope that the hypermedia of 2007 doesn't burn them out before they get really good.

Some recent highlights

2007-01-25T01:41:00.000-08:00

Ultramagnetic MCs – “Nottz” (Fat Beats, New York)
The ’88 LP, “Critical Beatdown”, introduced the world to the unique talents and twisted imagination of former psychiatric patient Kool Keith who you may know better as Dr. Ogtagon or Mr. Gerbik, Rhythm X, Dr. Dooom… It was the first of three LPs the group recorded before splitting in the mid-nineties when Keith’s solo LP, “Dr Octagonecologyst”, was brought to the world’s attention by UK label Mo Wax. “Nottz” is the first release of the reformed Bronx crew with the album “The Best Kept Secret” apparently due soon, although no UK release details have emerged yet. “Knots” finds Kool Keith rhyming with more conviction and focus than on last year’s Dr Octagon follow-up.

Duke Spirit – A House Is Not A Motel (Pure Groove, London)
Released on a limited 7” – all long gone now but still available digitally – Duke Spirit recorded this tribute to the recently departed Arthur Lee, of 60s west coast psychedelic giants Love, as a prelude to their forthcoming second album. Unlike the flipside’s droney, Mazzy Star-esque take on Desmond Dekker’s “007”, “A House Is Not A Motel” is surprisingly deferential and succeeds not by reconfiguring the original but reinvigorating the familiarity with plenty of passion.

Clipse – Wamp Wamp (Reckless, Chicago)
It’s not every day that Chicago indie temple Reckless Records champions hip hop, so when they do you know that the act in question has made that rare leap into US hipster territory. At the end of 2006, Virginia brothers Clipse were the crack rap name on every Pitchfork reader’s lips as they finally unleashed the much-delayed follow up to their excellent 2002 debut, “Lord Willin’”. Once again produced in full by childhood friends The Neptunes, “Hell Hath No Fury” was even better and proved that the super producers hadn’t lost it after all. Or at least, they’d unlocked some vintage beats from their vaults.

Samim – Hardma (Unfinished Sympathy Mix) (Hard Wax, Berlin)
Few people make reduced club music as poised and groove-laden as Swiss-born, Berlin-based producer Samim, known for releases on Tuning Spork and Get Physical. Last year’s remix of Magnetic Base’s “Mad Racket” was a favourite here and this latest selection from Hard Wax hits similar buttons with an irresistible combination of shuffling yet tight programming and an innate understanding of club dynamics.

Dr. Victor Olaiya - Omelebele (Crocodisc, Paris)
Taken from a reissued compilation on the Damon Albarn-backed Honest Jon’s label this track from Nigerian trumpet player, Dr. Victor Olaiya, owes a huge debt to the Afrobeat of Fela Kuti. Best-known for 50s releases in the Nigerian and Ghanaian style of Highlife, the doctor’s take on Afrobeat just keeps on grooving on the spot until the players sound like they’re in danger of wearing a hole in the ground beneath their feet.

A Hawk And A Hacksaw - In The River (Missing Link, Melbourne)
From Albuquerque, AHAAH are the brainchild of Jeremy Barnes – one-time drummer with alt. favourites Neutral Milk Hotel. Taken from the album “The Way The Wind Blows”, released late last year, “In The River”, delivers on Barnes’ increasing immersion in Balkan folk, with “In The River” awash with gypsy elements, accordion and marching drums. As well as mariachi trumpets, thrown in for good measure. If you enjoyed the feted “Gulag Orkestar” album by Beirut which topped so many of last year’s polls, this’ll keep you fixed up… and not simply because Beirut’s Zach Condon plays on the album.

Entrance - Grim Reaper Blues (Missing Link, Melbourne)
From Chicago but fitting in perfectly amongst the glut of electrified psych rock currently flooding from various Californian bands - all operating within six degrees of separation from the peerless Comets On Fire - Guy Blakeslee channels the Blues into seriously wigged-out territory. It all adds up to the closest thing we have to Led Zeppelin in 2007 and for that we’re grateful.

Ray Darwin - People’s Choice (Aquarius, Kingston)
From Aquarius Records in Jamaica, this 7” from Ray Darwin is a huge smash in Kingston’s dancehalls and we love it. A simple, honest roots tune.

Len Faki – Rainbow Delta (Hard Wax, Berlin)
Something from Hard Wax that should appeal to both the techno camp as well as anyone that appreciates the art of beautifully crafted house music. Len Faki is a resident at Berlin’s clubbing temple, Panorama Bar, and this has the sound of dancing in daylight written all over it. “Rainbow Delta” fits easily into the warm, deep sounds mined by Dixon and the Innervision crew, currently introducing deep house to German dancefloors.

Pas/Cal – The Lot We Came Home With (Reckless, Chicago)
An irresistibly melodic blast of US indie to close our pick of January’s highlights, from Detroit’s Pas/Cal. This sounds like Belle & Sebastian playing Beach Boys covers, a bit wet perhaps, but so what?

We love Jan Jelinek

2007-01-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

With some of our favourite record shops - Small Fish in London, Reckless in Chicago and Missing Link in Australia - all avowed fans of Jan Jelinek’s new record, "Tierbeobachtungen" we thought it was time for Tunetourist to doff a cap to the genius Berlin soundman. In fact, no lesser authority than David Bowie recently praised Jelinek’s ‘bewitching’ music in print. For those unfamiliar with these beautifully loping, looping, swirling and pulsing productions, here's a quick bluffer's guide.

A philosophy and sociology student from Berlin who began releasing records straight out of university, Jelinek doesn't exactly conform to the techno dandy stereotype of the average Berlin producer-DJ. In fact, the academic analogy is a useful one as his evolution has tended towards an ever-closer analysis of the properties of sounds - their textures, weight, impact and interrelationships.

But this is anything but rigid academic music. Last year's "Kosmischer Pitch” paid homage to the circulatory patterns and repetition of 70s Krautrock and it saw Jelinek's music drift as far from the cold technical perfections of electronica as any other release in the genre, with the possible exception of Boards of Canada's underrated organic opus, "The Campfire Headphase". Incorporating sampled instruments into gradually shifting loops, he nails the texture of 70s German psychedelia and magnifies its character leaving compositions that sound like the reverb and echo of Can's studio after the band have left for the night.

Jelinek's repetition is hardly propulsive in the manner of the Krautrock motorik, though. In fact, driving your car to this stuff should probably carry the same penalties as after a bottle of scotch. Instead, it is woozy and disorientating, creating a push pull effect that simulates the most elemental human patterns: sleeping, breathing and eating. With beats absent on his most recent release, "Tierbeobachtungen", dynamics and texture alone propel the music, making for a trickier entry point than earlier releases under his Farben moniker. If you’re new to him, try searching for these in your local digital emporium:

"Farben Says So Much Love" from "Textstar" by Farben
"Tendency" from "Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records by Jan Jelinek
"Lithiummelodie 1" from "Kosmischer Pitch" by Jan Jelinek
"Universal Band Silhouette" from "Kosmischer Pitch" by Jan Jelinek
"The Ballad Of Soap Und: Die Gema Nimmt Kontakt Auf" from "Tierbeobachtungen" by Jan Jelinek

Check this one: Black Milk

2007-01-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

A new feature for 2007, each month we'll be selecting at least one artist that we think may just brighten up these dark days. For January we're singling out MC-producer Black Milk, from the Midwest hip hop scene that spawned the late J Dilla.

A Detroit native, he hasn't even celebrated his 25th birthday yet but is already shaping up as the scene's most exciting fresh talent. Known to his mum as Curtis Cross, his beats have graced tracks by Proof, Pharoahe Monch, Slum Village, Lloyd Banks and others. In March he releases a second solo LP, "Popular Demand", and we're guessing it'll be the one to get his name out there.

Those looking for a fix of the sampladelic goodness that oozed from Dilla's "Donuts" LP last year need look no further than the latest releases being pushed by New York-based underground hip hop uber-store, Fat Beats. They put out the "Broken Wax EP" which features the brilliant "Pressure" and are going to be the label behind the forthcoming LP.

Fat Beats
Black Milk on MySpace
Black Milk interview on YouTube

Ghostface: Hip Hop Hero

2006-12-21T03:08:00.000-08:00

The close of 2006, hip hop's annus horribilis, has been dominated by some pompous outpourings most of which have originated from the New York offices of Def Jam Recordings, most of which have left a bad taste in the mouth.

Jay-Z stalled as the album that was supposed to save hip hop proved a patchy affair, blighted by multi-tracked divas and ill-advised collaborations with celebrity friends. And no one made more noise about so little than Nas.

He arrogantly announced the genre’s demise with “Hip Hop Is Dead” and sat back to watch the ensuing debate clock up priceless publicity. Then, when it came to delivering his case for the defence, his self-satisfied detachment from the art for which he once set the bar let us all down again. Like hip hop’s answer to Sting, Bono or McCartney, we may have to finally accept that he’s never truly coming back.

But the very late arrival of Dennis Coles aka Ghostface Killah's second great LP of 2006 – "More Fish" the title of which misleadingly implied it would be little more than outtakes from the first – proves that great hip hop remains an art requiring total immersion. And total immersion was our reward when we slipped on the headphones. Neither Ghost’s first bonafide classic of 2006, "Fishscale", nor "More Fish" could have been made by MCs sitting behind the top desk at a record label or coldly surveying hip hop from atop a building as Nas claims in “Black Republicans”.

Ghost's hunger this year has been insatiable, exploiting his simultaneous reputation as the holder of the true Wu mantle and the enviable backing of the aforementioned Def Jam Recordings to stake, if not his claim to the commercial recognition he deserves, then at least a legacy cast in stone.

2006, then, was Ghostface’s year, the true saviour of hip hop and proof of its continued vitality and relevance. Let’s hope he stays hungry in 2007.

Top 25 Albums of 2006

2006-12-06T07:50:00.001-08:00

Beck – The Information (Polydor)

Finally, Beck Hansen unites the folk/pop art strands of his career with one layered and rewarding record, helmed by producer Nigel Godrich.

Bob Dylan – Modern Times (Columbia)

Likely to top every Dad-rock list going this year, Dylan continues to defy expectations. Whilst Neil Young lapsed into self-parody, his songwriting remained timeless.

Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – The Letting Go (Domino)

Announced by one of the year’s finest tracks – “Cursed Sleep” – Will Oldham delivered another great record, beautifully arranged and produced in Iceland by Valgeir Sigurosson.

Booka Shade – Movements (Get Physical)

A unique voice in a sea of sameness, like their contemporaries the German house duo recall primetime acid house but give things a groove that appeals across the board.

Cassy - Panorama Bar 01 (Ostgut)

A dispatch from Hard Wax staffer and Berlin club regular Cassy, this mix soundtracks the club many rate as the best in the world, blending minimalism with deep house.

Cat Power – The Greatest (Matador)

Produced in Memphis with a selection of soul greats and often rather too polite by her usually raw standard, the highpoints are nonetheless some of the finest of her career.

Clipse – Hell Hath No Fury (RCA)

As ringtone rap ruled all around them, brothers Pusha T and Malice stripped their rhymes back to an intense and uncompromising core. The Neptunes delivered beats to match.

Comets On Fire – Avatar (Sub Pop)

Figureheads for long-haired psychedelic noisemakers everywhere, the Santa Cruz band provided a focus for the scene as they added new textures and pace to their sound.

Cut Copy - Fabric Live 29 (Fabric)

Artfully pieced together on their computers, Aussie duo Cut Copy’s mix compilation for the Fabric Live series brilliantly summarised the vitality of the indie dancefloor.

Dabrye – Two/Three (Ghostly International)

Detroit’s Tadd Mullinix added MCs like MF Doom to his machine-tooled hip hop with great results and still found time for ace dance projects on sister label, Spectral Sound.

Dudley Perkins – Expressions (Stones Throw)

Once known as MC Declaime, Dudley Perkins’ transformation into a stoned soulman is welcome if he continues to release such effortlessly funky records with producer Madlib.

Ghostface – Fishscale (Def Jam)

The year’s best hip hop LP, this appealed across the board with a list of collaborators including Pete Rock, J Dilla, MF Doom and a cast of the Wu-Tang’s finest.

Hot Chip – The Warning (EMI)

It was definitely Hot Chip’s year in the UK - even if they failed to scoop the Mercury - with “Over And Over” apparently the track with the most repeat plays in our office.

Islands – Return To The Sea (Rough Trade)

Formed from the ashes of Unicorns, Islands kept Arcade Fire fans busy with a wonderfully inventive LP. Carelessly though, they’ve since managed to loose a member.

Isolee – The Western Store (Playhouse)

A compilation of Rajko Muller’s untouchable 12” releases, this proves just how far ahead of his German contemporaries the stripped-down house maestro always was.

J Dilla – Donuts (Stones Throw)

Simply the most soulful dispatch of the year, a life-affirming collection of hip hop instrumentals completed by the late J Dilla from his hospital bed. Timeless.

Joanna Newsom – Ys (Drag City)

It was inevitable that the critics would splutter superlatives but in small doses this ambitious record justifies the hype. One day they’ll call it freak folk’s Astral Weeks.

Spank Rock – YoYoYoYoYo (Big Dada)

Ingeniously channelling the Bmore Bass sound of their hometown Baltimore into a hip hop equal parts Autechre and Young MC, Spank Rock claimed party LP of the year.

Sparklehorse – Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain (Capitol)

Gorging on Beatles back catalogue and hanging out with Danger Mouse clearly injected pop nous in spades into Mark Linkous’s usual template. The results are wonderful.

Trilok Gurtu – Farakala (Frikyiwa)

Not just our token world music offering, this album produced by Frederic Galliano with musicians in the Malian village of Farakala rides on graceful, weightless grooves.

The Flaming Lips – At War With The Mystics (Warners)

Damn them! Another fantastic record that mines influences from prog rock to 70s AOR without once loosing its eccentric magic. The live shows are wearing a little thin though.

Thom Yorke – The Eraser (Rough Trade)

A treat for fans of Kid A as Yorke reverts to similar electronica territory whilst also keeping the songs as central to proceedings as the usual Radiohead fare.

Various – The Roots of Dubstep (Tempa)

While everyone lost their heads over the Burial album, this survey of the last six years proved how much more fun it was before all those Blokes started taking it so seriously.

Vetiver – To Find Me Gone (Dicristina Stair)

A member of Devendra Banhart’s band, Vetiver’s Andy Cabic proved himself a fine songwriter in his own right with an album that’s more Americana than freak folk.

Yo La Tengo – I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (Matador)

A fine return to the business of noisemaking, this merits inclusion for 10 minute opener “Pass The Hatchet, I Think I’m Goodkind” alone.

The new Jay-Z: track-by-track

2006-11-09T06:28:00.000-08:00

So, the man from Def Jam America came over with his pristine desert boots and bricklayer's hat for one day only, clutching one copy of the highly anticipated new CD from returning hip hop juggernaut, Jay-Z. He had to stay in the room at all times whilst we listened, flicking from track-to-track with his own brief introductions to each of the 14 tracks. And it went a little like this:

1. Prelude (produced by Ghettobot)

Intro-ed by Pain In Da Ass, known for vocal skits on earlier Jay-Z records, the opening was intended to be a sample from a well-known Blaxploitation movie but they wouldn't license and it had to be voiced at the last minute. The track is a fine opening salvo with Jay-Z's wordplay customarily quick - he runs a lovely set of puns around the figure '38' referencing his next birthday, gun and rims. Perfect.
[Sample lyric: "There's much bigger issues in the world I know / But I still had to take care of what I know."]

2. Oh My God (produced by Just Blaze)

Apparently delivered just hours before the deadline seemingly imposed by Jay's target of releasing on the 10th anniversary of "Reasonable Doubt", rather than sounding rushed, it just comes across as incredibly urgent. Like the rest of Just Blaze's productions, horns and screaming soul samples are bent to the will of the sampler for pure sonic bravado.

3. Kingdom Come (produced by Just Blaze)

The title track started life as a hastily compiled beat for Just Blaze's MySpace page, chopping up the unlikely choice of Rick James' "Super Freak" - generally considered cursed after forming the foundation of MC Hammer hit "U Can't Touch This". So, the story goes that ?uestlove of The Roots heard it and insisted that Jay-Z had to rhyme on it for his comeback. And it's better than you could possibly expect given its associative connotations and turns out to be an album highlight. One occasion where Jay's vocals sound a little rushed though.
[Sample lyric: "Not only New York I'm hip hop's saviour / So after this flow you might owe me a favour."]

4. Show Me What You Got (produced by Just Blaze)

You know this one, its the single. There's been some grumbling in some quarters but we like it.

5. Lost One feat. Chrissette Michelle (produced by Dr. Dre)

Pretty good track and an obvious single. Marsha from Floetry was originally slated to do the vocal but Def Jam marketing requirements became somewhat more pressing it seems.

6. Do You Want To Ride feat. John Legend (produced by Kanye West)

Really disappointing croon-fest (other than the album when was the last time Kanye delivered a winner?) The track is set up as a letter to a childhood friend in prison but, as our Def Jam friend explained, "Jay don't do letters so he did a track."
[Sample lyric: "I don't write letters / Shit, I don't even write rhymes."]

7. 30 Something (produced by Dr. Dre)

Dre on typically infectious form and Jay-Z with a cheeky glint in his eye as he tries to convince the younger generation that "30's the new 20." It'll probably be a single down the line given its eligibility for video treatment in the style of "Girls, Girls, Girls".

8. I Made It (Produced by Dr. Dre)

Another rather mawkish dedication to Moms on which Dr. Dre, amusingly, appears to take the piss out of Just Blaze. Interesting to hear him playing with more organic sounds.

9. Anything feat. Usher & Pharrell (produced by The Neptunes)

"A strip club song", our brickie's hat-wearing host explained. Or The Neptunes' audition for the next Bubba Sparxxx single. A pretty lame offering for which Usher apparently recorded his vocals in a matter of hours and FAXed the track back to Jay-Z's tourbus in time for everyone to get to the pub before last orders, or something.

10. Hollywood feat. Beyonce (Produced by Scyience)

A new producer but its a old sound. Plastered with vocals of enough velocity to give your ears hemorrhoids, courtesy of Beyonce. Its all about the ruins of Hollywood and its awful addictive powers. But, really, Beyonce's chorus is as close as pop music gets to a Gloria Swanson close-up.

11. Trouble (Produced by Dr. Dre)

If it didn't say Dre here, I'd swear this was Timbaland. Apparently though, Timbaland didn't come up with anything that Jay wanted to use this time. An album highlight with a brutal drum clack and near-industrial elements.

12. Dig A Hole feat. Sterling Simms (Produced by Swizz Beatz)

In which Jay adopts a Joe Pesci-in-Casino approach to his troubles with Cam'ron and Swizz soundtracks it with more bashing of gongs than Rank Screen Advertising. Does anyone really care about this Cam'ron beef? Wasn't it all because he dissed Jay-Z for wearing sandals??

13. Minority Report feat. Ne-Yo (Dr. Dre)

Not Dre's finest moment and a ploddingly literal condemnation of the floods in New Orleans from Jay. Stick to boasting about your possessions mate.

14. Beach Chair feat. Chris Martin (Produced by, er, Chris Martin)

Well, its an odd one with fairly thunderous production, and minor piano chords performed by Martin. He sings the chorus as well, and you have the suspicion that both he and Jay-Z encouraged the engineer to turn everything up in order to drown out their embarrassment.
[Sample lyric: "Never been on MySpace"]

"Kingdom Come" is released by Def Jam on November 20th.

The tipping point

2006-11-02T02:16:00.000-08:00

Soon we’re set to be inundated with lists. Most significantly, the all-important End of Year lists that allow those of us remiss through the year to catch up. The Christmas list at least offers us a better stocking option than the latest Abba Best Of. But it’s still a compromised process.

Firstly, magazines have to draw up their lists almost two whole months before publishing Christmas editions, thus missing out on the unusually good music that actually gets scheduled by major labels at that time of the year. (Perversely, the festive period is boom-time for good music as most of the departments in labels usually responsible for pumping out marketing-driven fodder have dispatched a deluxe edition Bee Gees Best Of and thus see their work as finished until February. So, the way is clear for something a little more adventurous.)

Then, there’s that nagging suspicion that editorial lists are a compromised business – not only subjected to the ‘festive backslap filter’ - seasonal thanks for this or that exclusive or interview granted during the year - but also influenced by the private agendas of the writers polled to compile them.

The list is also an economic way for a publication to make an editorial statement about where they’re at. Think of the two records that sit atop Pitchfork’s celebrated list of the top 100 albums of 2000-2004: Radiohead’s “Kid A” and Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint”. That says more about that publication’s agenda than a year’s worth of ‘Letter from the Editor’ columns. So, honest or otherwise, it’s a hard pairing to resist surely.

At Tunetourist we like to take our tips from independent record stores because, despite pressures that undoubtedly impact on the music they stock and push, there’s less between their ‘tip’ and the real excitement of discovering that track in the first place. The excitement of discovering something new is in the DNA of anyone interested in music – it kicks right in the frontal brain and has told you everything you need to know long before the critic has started to formulate ideas about why the track in question is a special piece of music.

Admittedly, if you’re unfamiliar with what to look for in a track you’ll need to live with it for a while, but the guys that work in record shops have already lived with all the styles of music they’re tipping and spot the winners instinctively. Arguably, they’re more valuable in the recommendation process – spreading the thrill of the new - than critics whose assessments are critical rationalisations. It shouldn’t be a great surprise that when many of us pick up music magazines we automatically head for reviews of albums we already know, ‘reviewing’ is a different game altogether.

The Bridge is over

2006-10-27T01:34:00.000-07:00

Now that Mobb Deep, Queensbridge’s second most famous rap sons (well, apparently the new Nas record is on form, apologies to MC Shan) are past the point of no return for those of us underwhelmed by their new sponsors G-Unit, it’s perfect timing for a retrospective. Hence, November sees the release of “Life Of The Infamous: The Best Of Mobb Deep”, which gets by surprisingly well despite only drawing three tracks from their classic ’95 LP, “The Infamous”.

Selected by Prodigy and Havoc themselves, the remainder of the tracklist peaks with Prodigy’s solo release “Keep It Thoro” and Mobb singles like “The Learning”, “Hell On Earth” and “Get It Twisted”. Bad luck, then, that commercial offerings like the Lil’ Kim hook-up, ”Quiet Storm”, and Lil’ Jon featuring “Real Gangstarz” are the tracks on which they’ve been judged by most. Its Havoc’s own brand of gothic, stripped-back, skeletal hip hop that best suits Prodigy’s frequently inspired verses and when they’re in that zone it’s a murky but exhilarating place.

If “The Infamous” proves too dense and dark, this could be your chance to figure out an act who, at their best, match the heights graced by the Wu-Tang and Nas during New York’s golden age. Otherwise, sit tight for the long-delayed return of Virginia’s Clipse – probably as close as you're going to get to Mobb Deep in their prime these days.

“Life Of The Infamous: The Best Of Mobb Deep” is released on November 20th.

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