I’ve been inundated with remixes lately but here’s two that have been getting extensive attention of late.
Trophy Wife‘s ‘The Quiet Earth’ goes from quaint to magnificent in pulsating fashion under the stewardship of James Yuill while Glass Animals give These New Puritans‘ ‘Hologram’ an impressive tropical calypso makeover.
You can stream/download both below. Happy Monday.
London-based dubstep duo 16bit were invited to do a ‘Klassroom Mix’ for Kissy Sell Out on BBC Radio 1. This you got to hear.
It’s an unadulterated aural assault of big tunes, big beats and big bass! The pace and tempo is unbelievable. Sit back, relax and turn up the speakers as loud as possible – this one’s not for the faint hearted.
The tracklist is after the jump – you can download it from here.
There’s been freebies galore this week. Dublin based punk quartet The Vagabonds have done their bit by making their fantastic debut EP Another Victory for Hysteria available for FREE.
These guys have come in for quite a bit of well deserved praise on the blog in the past – they’re definitely one of the top breakthrough bands in Ireland at the moment.
The EP was put together with the help of Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur, Babyshambles). It’s a fantastic blend of bash-em-out punk and stirring renditions of personal heartache, strife and politics.
Think of the bastard child of The Pogues, Stiff Little Fingers, The Clash and Whipping Boy – there you have it.
Give it a spin and grab it for FREE via bandcamp below.
London Ska/Punk collective The King Blues have just dropped a ferrous no holes bared universal declaration of fury and non-compliance in the face of cuts and austerity.
‘We Are Fucking Angry’ is loud, brash and raw with catchy as hell shout-a-long choruses. Easy to see it as a UK response to The Mighty Stef’s ‘We Want Blood‘, there are striking similarities between the two, not in sound or styles but certainly their messages are in sync.
‘We Are Fucking Angry’ is available for download for FREE via bandcamp and taken from the forthcoming album Punk & Poetry out this April.
The King Blues play Dublin’s Academy on Saturday, March 26th. Tickets €16.
EDIT: The video has been taken down with the following message left, “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by YEAH! Films Company”. Not sure if this is permanent of temporary yet, shame.
Take one of the world’s top DJ’s, give him a tune from one of the best albums from 2010 and wallah!
Erol Alkan reworks Tame Impala‘s ‘Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind’ as only he can. Lap it up.
Want it for keeps? Pop on over to JP’s Blog who has a download.
Tame Impala – Why Won’t You Make Up Your Mind (Erol Alkan Rework)
The first we heard from Dublin punk trio Ginola was their take on Rihanna’s ‘Rude Boy’ for Quompilation #1.
Now we the introduction of You Never Met Someone Like Me, a free double a-side via the same source, Quarter Inch Collective.
It’s a fine brand of fiesty shout-a-long garage punk along the lines of Double Dagger et al – always welcome around these parts.
They are playing a couple of gigs around Dublin this weekend, The Lower Deck on Thursday, Whelan’s (Upstairs) on Friday and The Bernard Shaw on Saturday.
Connor Obert and crew can’t be accused of being tight-fisted with previews of the new Bright Eyes record, The People’s Key.
Hot on the heels of ‘Shell Games‘ comes ‘Haile Selassie’, taking its name from long-time Ethiopian Emperor who is perceived as a messianic figure in Jamaica’s Rastafari movement.
With a myriad of differing material to date it’s hard to call anything ‘typical Oberst’, yet that’s the best way to describe this. Lots of overlapping instrumentation, rhythmic riffage and that renowned lyrical prowess.
You can give it a spin below before downloading it for the price of an email address via Spinner.
Mp3: Bright Eyes – Haile Selassie
Right, I’m a little late to the game with Chicago quartet Smith Westerns, who since the release of their eponymous debut in 2009 have attracted many column and blog inches to discuss their merits.
Their glam-fused indie sound is deeply, deeply rooted in early 70’s glam rock and garage punk of the T. Rex and David Bowie ilk. So much so that you would be forgiven for thinking they had been commissioned to make the soundtrack to retrospective BBC sci-fi/police drama Life on Mars.
Of their two albums the debut record is the stronger. It’s very much a lo-fi fuzzed-out-glam affair of hooky heartfelt grooves, bound by reckless youthful energy. 2011’s follow-up Dye It Blonde while polished and detracted slightly, retains that youthful exuberance and recklessness which make the debut so captivating.
A brazenly honest band who wear both their heart and influences on their sleeves. At the age of just 20 and two albums in, the future is looking pretty bright for these guys.
You forgot a username for the YouTube shortcodeSmith Westerns – Girl in Love via Transparentrec
Warp announced the return of Clark (Aka Chris Clark) today, dropping an absolute belter of a mix via their website.
The Phrenic Mix showcases some new material as well as some choice cuts from elsewhere. It’s apparently the first in a series of MPC mixes which got premiered on Tom Ravenscroft’s show on BBC 6Music last Friday.
Clark and Warp have kindly made it available to download for free via soundcloud.
Clark will play the Button Factory, Dublin on February 4th. Doors @ 11pm/€9 (seriously?).
Tracklisting:
Clark – Dulceria Remix
Neil Landstrumm – Index Revisited
Cajmere – Only 4 U (Instrumental Edit)
DJ Hyperactive – Teeter-Totter
Thomas Kroner – Woodcarver
Surgeon – 9 Hours Into The Future
Actress – Let’s Fly
Paris Mitchell – Ghetto Shout (Clark Edit)
Waxmaster Maurice – Tha Wop
Dorian Concept – Trilingual Sex Experience
Bernard Purdie – Disco Beat
Clark – Dirty Pixie
Clark – Untitled
The Quarter Inch Collective’s is set to release Quompilation #1, a compilation of 13 Irish artists performing re-worked and re-imagined renditions of favourites from 2010.
The bands and guys from Quarter Inch Collective have outdone themselves – take a bow. The quality is ridiculously high throughout and it is simply littered with excellence, Hipster Youth, We Are Losers and No Monster Club.
A guys gotta have his favourites, yeah? Ahead by a nose are Squarehead, Kid Karate, Ginola and Spies tackling Adebisi Shank, Tinie Tempah, Rihanna and The National respectfully. A lot of love and care has gone it to this, fingers crossed it is the first in a long running series.
To stream the album/more info pop over to The Quarter Inch website. Here’s a couple of tasty morsels to get your mouth-watering.
Squarehead – (-_-) (Adebisi Shank Cover)
Kid Karate – Pass Out (Tinie Tempah Cover)
Ginola – Rude Boy (Rihanna Cover)
Spies – Terrible Love (The National Cover)
Quompilation #1 is launched in The Lower Deck on Thursday (Jan 27th) with seven of the bands playing on the night. €10 entry w/a free cassette/download.