Tape Deck

Tape Deck are producers / DJs from london. They kinda put a whole london twist on the booty sound Diplo et al are putting out. It actually feels a bit more produced than a lot of diplo stuff which usually sounds like it wouldn't exist at all if it wasn't for the ableton series.

They've just sorted out a remix of Love by Veto Silver; a synth pop trio. It's a pretty interesting result especially at about 1.27 when the beat completely changes.

I've also stuck up the lost penguin remix which sounds like a booty rave take on the slits. its my fave thing tape deck have done by far.


Love (Tapedeck remix) - Veto Silver

Lost Penguin (Tapedeck remix)


Please excuse my general lack of literary prowess this morning. I don't feel very well.

The Best Kids Christmas Album In The World Ever!

Happy Christmas Everyone. I hope that Santa brought you everything you might want, and if he didn't, atleast you got some record tokens.

This year's been massive for 7" labels, what with Transgressive being snapped up by Warner, Tough Love continuing to release amazing stuff in Coventry and singles clubs from Truck and Moshi Moshi amongst others. There's been one though whose releases have hit the spot every time, without fail. That label is Kids, who this year have relesaed an amazing Christmas album, featuring specially recorded songs from their artists and with all proceeds going to the NSPCC. Tasty. Anyway, I've been playing this record on repeat throughout the holiday season, so it's only right I share some of its goodness with you.

First up, the appropriately named Kids Allstarz performing the best Xmas song to ever come from the Midlands, Merry Xmas Everybody. Noddy Holder opened the music department at my school. NoShit.

Next up the West End Girls doing Brenda Lee's 'Always On My Mind'. Not actually that festive, but fucking brilliant anyway.

Anyway, I implore you to go out and buy. The disc's available from all better record emporiums, and online direct from Kids here. Whilst you're at it, pick up the Assembly Now and Mighty Six Ninety singles as well.

Kids Allstarz - Merry Xmas Everybody

West End Girls - Always On My Mind

Duran Duran

A little while back I wrote a super long post about 80s remixes but it never published and was lost into the web :( disheartened and lazy i couldn't be arsed to write it all out again.

anyway this was one of the tracks involved. a rather hilarious duran duran remix which shows early signs of glitching. you can almost hear the glue.

Duran Duran - The Reflex (dance mix)

the cock n bull kid

aka my new favourite artist.


I stumbled across the cocknbullkid after seeing a flyer for some show or other and the name jumped out.

A cross between M.I.A. and Kelis and stating that almost all of my favourite bands are her influences I was in love before the first chorus of her Talking Heads cover kicked in. She's produced all the songs herself (and apologises for the song quality...even though its at a pretty decent standard) and they show a real ear for production. She's got a few upcoming projects with Metronomy, The Bleeps, Missoddkid and Goldielocks all of which are fine, fine artists in their own right.

I genuinely haven't been this excited about a new artist since I picked up M.I.A.s first promo 12 inch all that time ago...and she was signed...Thecocknbullkid is still her formative stages.

Thecocknbullkid - Psyhco Killer (Talking Heads Cover)

Thecocknbullkid - There's A Mother In Our Bed

Heads We Dance

Heads we dance formed less than four months ago. Within a month they supported the fabulous Dead Disco and they're currently advertising their show with Robyn.

Vocally they flick between David Byrne, Alex Kapranos and Bryan Ferry. Musically they're a synth driven Franz Ferdinand/Clap Your Hands sans the country upbringing. They list their influences as Roxy Music, Depeche Mode, Associates, Human League, Pet Shop Boys, Prince & the Revolution, Film Noir, Art Deco, Tom Tom Club, Daft Punk, The KLF, Dead Or Alive, Wham!...so its easy to see why they're producing such classic pop music. Tom Tom Club is cool kid speak for I like the talking heads more than you.

All their songs are available for download on their myspce but i've got two of my faves here for you...because this is an mp3 blog. not just a new musical opinion blog. they don't have anything to buy yet so we suggest you pop over and say hi to them and share the love that way.

Heads We Dance - Yoshiwara

Heads We Dance - So You Want To Stay...


elsewhere one of my own mixes has been blogged at Symmetrical Love. It's been described as yummy...twice.

Tiga

I thought Tiga's album was, for the most part, gash. All the good tracks were already on 12inch on my shelves and the new tracks it contained just sounded like flat, idealess fillers. The talking heads cover is a case in point. Far From Home was fantastic but it took the DFA to come along and make something really special. Move My Body was alright but it lacked any real force or power and so was lost amongst the other fillers.

Thank fuck Boysnoize came along and injected 12inches of life into it. Headphone Sex posted it back in June but it hasn't been pencilled for release until now. I'm still not totally sure when its out but there are some copies that have appeared on pure groove. The boysnoize version does what all good boysnoize remixes do and that's take the original and just add the most amazingly distorted synths creating some heavy electro...its almost Vitalic.

Erol Alkan has also been on remix duties. In the classic erol style this is more like a re-edit than a remix...taking the good bits and repeating them with some additional production. Anyone who has seen Erol djing recently will recognise this track as he seems pretty proud of it and its easy to hear why.


Tiga - Move My Body (Boysnoize Remix)

Tiga - Move My Body (Only For Erol Remix)



I know nothing about Jaunt except that the Traveller EP is out soon. Again you can pick it up from puregroove . I've been sitting on it for a little while and its racked up a considerable number of plays.

Jaunt - Travelling.

Evils

Y'see that? Dude's in a fucking Wendy House. How fucking cool?

Evils sounds like every pop record you ever loved, reversed, played through a Game Boy and cut up in some supersonic blender. It's dirty, it's bass heavy and in places it reaches something that you could call genius. I love it 'cos it manages to sound grimey, dirty, electronic and poppy and fuck all at the same time, like 2ManyDJs in purgatory. Oh and he's got a song called Pig Fucker. And did I mention the Wendy House?

Evils - Pig Fucker

Evils - Home Computer Music

Akira The Don - Patrick (Evils Bootleg Remix)


Oh and he does mixtapes too.

Evils - Live At Misery Mansions

Buy his rather fantastic EP, 'Give Me Evils' from the rather fantastic Norman Records.

Trash Fashion

As with all bands of this nature it's hard to tell if they're for real. When I first heard of klaxons back last year there was something a bit..."really?" about them. That was of course before I heard them and realised it worked.

Trash Fashion seem to come from similar pedigree but whilst Klaxons were listening to Neu and Can (and old school 2 for £3 mix tapes) Trash Fashion were giggling to every comedy record ever spawned...

It's A Rave Dave narrates Daves first rave. simple as that. The GLC of New Rave? Perhaps...but i'd like to think they were for real. unlike the middle class welsh pretenders.

Trash Fashion - It's Rave Dave

Checkout their myspazz for videos...the picture's the link.

Single It's Rave Dave is out at the start of december on bright yellow 10 inch. sweet. Pre-order from the fabulous Pure Groove here



I hadn't listened to this tune in years until the other day when i pulled out the 12inch from my shelves. it's incredible.

St Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart

and here's the original...
Neil Young - Only Love Can Break Your Heart

Both can and should be purchased from any record shop the world over.

Performance

You all know Performance, right? Manchester-based purveyors of poptastic electro and so-smooth-they'd-slide-off-a-flat-table vocals? Signed to Polydor? Two of the finest singles of the last twelve months? Yes? No? Maybe?

Either way you should. This band are possibly the finest thing to hit pop in many years. Trust. What's more, their first single 'Surrender', which has made up a part of many of my DJ sets done got remixed by Simian Mobile Disco. Good shit. Check it out, if only for the bit where the girl's voice sound exactly like they should be on an Annie record.

Performance - Surrender
Performance - Surrender (Simian Mobile Disco Mix)

Oh and you can buy Performance's latest release, the 'Short Sharp Shock' EP, here.

The Japanese Popstars

The Japanese Popstars are some geeky looking Irish lads who love their fucking electro. They haven't been together a year yet but the noise they're making both with their keyboard and their hype is huge.

Rodney Trotter is a bleepy electro monster that's gonna cross over pretty well with its fun broken beats and breakdown but the real gem is Dirty Popstars. Its all snarling synth and loud hi-hats and cymbals. Think Alter Ego, Mtsrkrft, Justice and the rest of the Ed Banger stable.

The Japanese Popstars - Rodney Trotter
The Japanese Popstars - Dirty Popstars

They've got some shit coming out on Paul Jackson's Dozer Records soon...

Purchase from Pure Groove here

Los Campesinos

Yeah, so he's the Welsh one, but this doesn't mean I'm denied the opportunity to bring a bit of amazing new music from Cardiff to the table, right?

Los Campesinos are causing quite the stir right now, being a massive favourite of Huw Stephens and making quite a few hotly tipped lists. It's shambolic, boy/girl indie pop, reminiscent of Belle & Sebastian, Pavement and Broken Social Scene. And there's loads of them. And they have great song titles. Take a listen before the inevitable coke habits, 'experimental' albums and acrimonious fallouts thanks to musical differences.

Los Campesinos - You! Me! Dancing!

Los Campesinos - Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks

Olafur Arnalds

photo courtesy of www.stuartbailes.com

My friend Al-athy's band Night & the City went to Iceland recently to play a couple of shows. He came back with a pretty decent list of bands for me to check out including this guy. He's 19 and is in a hardcore band called Fighting Shit and this couldn't be more different.

Given that it's 10am on Sunday morning and I didn't get home from work until about 4 I'm not in the mood for anything too heavy so this semi classical shit a la Sigur Ros (without the pomposity) is perfect. My girlfriend doesn't moan that it's too loud and it's also kind of beautiful so i wont get shouted at for not doing the washing up; for the tracks duration at least. It's the kind of music that even if it's on in the background and not right at the forefront of your listening it stills makes you feel different; enlightened in a way.

There's an album out soon and I can't wait...

Olafur Arnalds - 0040

Olafur Arnalds - 3055

Clarky Cat

In keeping with todays kids in bright colours theme Clarky Cat come across like a day-glo Gang Of Four.

Even though the whole knocking off the 80s post punk thing has been done to death I reckon Clarky Cat bring a whole lot more to the table; it's probably only the similarity in the vocal and the unrelenting bassline that really owe that much to Go4 anyways. Every other element screams come join the party!

I'll be playing Sightline tonight to the heaving mass orgy of indie kids...it's gotta be better than the requests for America by Razorlight.

Clarky Cat - A Reason (Demo)

Clarky Cat - Sightline (demo)

Hadouken

Morning kids,

Welcome to the inaugral post of this fine new blog. God bless all who might find out about sweet new music through her. Awesome.

First up, a fine young band of rapscallions from Leeds, Hadouken. This is grime for those lucky members of society who still get pocket money. For those of who bought the Kano and Testicicles albums in the same transaction. For those for whom drinking cider on park benches is not such a distant memory. Live, they need some work, but the singer is hilarious in an 'I don't know whether I wanna shake your hand or kick your face in' kinda way. Oh, and they're named after the noise Ryu made after doing a special move in Street Fighter, and there's no way you can argue with that.

Hadouken - The Bounce

Hadouken - Tuning In

Plan B - No More Eatin' (Hadouken Remix)