Arc Of Doves - Impressions

Another limited edition of just 300 hand numbered and assembled copies from Brock Van Wey's Quietus imprint.

In the same way that Brock Van Wey is BvDub, Tetsuya Nakamura is Arc of Doves.

This debut album is nothing short of exquisite with every piece here being finely crafted and absolutely full of warmth and emotion.

There's a range of influences from classical music, deep electronica, the occasional Berlin-esque texture and a nice sense of percussion. This album has a magical, ethereal feel to it that grows the longer you spend with it.

Another ambient future classic, then. Can Brock Van Wey do no wrong?

320 Kbps.

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We Took Our Name From the Neu Track...

I haven't had much time for a few days to post much, but to make up for that, here's something a bit special.

Formed at the end of 2004 by Tim Felton, who previously officiated as part of retro-futuristic sci-fi popsters extraordinaire Broadcast, and Billy Bainbridge, once a member of fondly remembered electronic entity Plone, two of Birmingham’s finest bands of recent years, Seeland released their first single on Stereolab’s Duophonic in mid 2005, followed by an EP a year later. Since, they have grown into a trio as bassist Neil McAuley joined the ranks, and have developed their sound to fit the realm of their first long player.

Fond of old style library music, BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Joe Meek or early German Krautrockers à la Kraftwerk or Neu!, Seeland add some refined pop touches which find their roots in the early to mid eighties synth pop of the Human League or Depeche Mode to create a rather warm and inviting record with Tomorrow Today. Effortlessly assembling little pop gems, wrapping gentle catchy melodies around delicate electronic motifs, drenched in pre-Autobahn Kraftwerk, old Doctor Who sound effects and library music-style polish, the trio create a dreamy and vivid soundtrack, where tones contrast without clashing and forms are all rounded and smooth.

This new promo EP includes not only "Captured" a track taken from the highly recommended album, "Tomorrow Today" but also a trio of remixes of album track "Call The Incredible" from Ghost Box's Advisory Circle.

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Richard X - Back To Mine

This wonderful personal selection from Richard X feels thematically linked to the Gatekeeper and Maiovvi stuff I've posted over the last few weeks.

A compilation, of sorts. The sound of too much white wine, Pro Tools and a record collection. You can get the CD and read the liner notes for soundbites on the merits of each track if you like. Its a very indulgent compilation (sorry DMC boys) but I've heard it in a central london pub one night, and i thought Legowelt certainly imporved the ambience. The tracks that we couldn't get were Le Parc by Tangerine Dream, What It Is by Busta (and Kelis) and the theme from the Equalizer by Stuart Copeland. You could burn these onto the end yourself for a limited edition rerelease if you want. Anyway if you haven't got it here's a personal tracklist overview: Dean from I Monster is one of the best Uk producers, Assault is a great film, Goldfrapp are also great even though Alison might have gone off the Black Melody empire, Jona Lewie is not just for Christmas, Kelis is my hero, Nivea shouldn't have been lost in the crowd, H17 will get another day in the sun or The Sun, Animotion are all good americans, SYD needs to get more things out, Legowelt doesnt need to get out more, Pete Shelley is beyond Sapien, Mum and Dad are the family RX never had, Denton and Cook should have done Byker Grove, Trans X are not guilty, Tiga is funny, The Silures are serious. As said, better get the compilation.

01. I Monster 'Who Is She?'
02. John Carpenter 'Assault On Precinct 13'
03. Goldfrapp 'Black Cherry'
04. Jona Lewie 'You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties'
05. Kelis 'Young Fresh 'n' New'
06. Nivea 'Run Away (I Wanna Be With You)'
07. Heaven 17 'Let Me Go'
08. Animotion 'Obsession'
09. S.Y.D. featuring Nancy Fortune 'Discomanic'
10. Legowelt vs. Orgue Electronique 'Haunted Arp'
11. Pete Shelley 'Homosapien (Dub)'
12. Mum & Dad 'Dawn Rider'
13. Denton And Cook 'Tomorrow's World: Theme from the BBC TV Series'
14. Trans X 'Living On Video'
15. FPU 'Ocean Drive (Tiga's White Linen Vox)'
16. The Silures '21 Ghosts'

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The Sight Below - Murmur EP

Over the past two years much of the ambient-electronics community has become attuned to the sonic subtleties of Rafael Anton Irisarri. Either in his 'The Sight Below' guise for Ghostly International, or using his birth name for the Miasmah label, Irisarri has conjured gorgeously blurry soundscapes that appeal to everyone from Thom Yorke to Biosphere, who provides a very rare remix of 'The Sunset Passage' on this limited 12".

A side tracks, "Murmur" and "Wishing Me Asleep", provide hissing, blissed-out ambience driven by pulsing 4/4s. Irisarri's looped, delayed and reverbed guitar treatments cause his tracks to swell and contract with a head-expanding effect, creating vastly ethereal atmospheres that are as natural as they are lush and electronic.

For the flipside, ambient hero Biosphere appears with a remix of 'The Sunset passage', creating a widescreen vista of extended guitar notes, ominous drones and a pulsing throb that works a deep, enthralling magic on your brain-sac.

Wikipedia.

A free EP, "No Place For Us", which is just as good as this 12", is available for high quality download from the Ghostly International website.

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Antoni Maiovvi - Shadow Of The Bloodstained Kiss

As promised in the recent Gatekeeper post, here's more of that classic dark Italio disco sound for you.

‘Shadow of the Blood Stained Kiss’ is the Antoni Maiovvi score to a nonexistent 1983 Italian Sci-fi giallo starring Barbara Cupisti and Ian McCulloch. In the distant future "Europa," the 2nd moon of Jupiter has been colonized by man. In the midst of this Utopian era a dangerous struggle for power between organised crime and the highest level of government is underway and when Juliet Hardy (Barbara Cupisti), a stunning discotheque singer, becomes witness to a murder the only person who believes her is tough-nosed cyber-journalist, Jason Scott (Ian McCulloch). Together, they unravel more than they bargained for as a sadistic killer runs loose brutally slaying anyone in connection to the crime. Who does this man in black work for and what is the connection between him and an ancient order that have been controlling the known universe since the dawn of time?

This is really, really authentic stuff and is a total must for all of us fans of Carpenter and Romero soundtracks and those deliciously Eighties fat analogue sounds. Although a strictly limited edition, this terrific album is still available here, so I'm only keeping this up for a few days. I also heartily recommend the first album which was limited to 100 copies, but is available for download here.

320 Kbps.

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Four Weeks Left...

There's a five week countdown. Here we are at week four. I have no idea if this will be of interest to anyone else, but something which feels important to me will be happening. I'll tell you about it. It will be a bit of a celebration. A few things might get explained. Interested? There are four weeks to go.

Mood Altering Mushroom Music

Cardiff based Illustrator/DJ/Crate-digging-vinyl-hound Pete Fowler’s first volume of Monsterism Island was full of obscure exotica and lost first era psychedelic records, but this second volume comprises a top drawer selection of all-new spaced out bleepery from an impressive cast list.

Instrumentals drawing on lounge, exotica, folk and plenty of inspiration from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, involving well known names like Gruff Rhys, Luke Vibert and Jerry Dammers, plus members of Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve and Future Sounds of London. Not to mention a few tracks from Ghost Box. This expertly complied selection of nu-psychedelia doesn’t look back but takes dance culture as the lift off point to create a new strain of mood altering mushroom music.

Although I really could live without the "humourous" spoken word sections from the Wizzard.

1. Intro - Rum Cove
2. Magic Morning - Monsters At Work
3. Magma On My Mind - Marc Shearer
4. Designated Wizard Practice Area - Belbury Poly
5. Silver Snorse Hotel - Luke Vibert
6. Snyrds Rising
7. Nest We Forget - Jonny Trunk
8. Fisherman's Jam - Monsters At Work
9. Village Strollin' - Wolf People
10. Golden Blooms
11. 'Til We Merry Meet Again - Circulus
12. Mr. Sponge's Groovy Oscillations - Amorphous Androgynous
13. Wild Robots Power Up - Gruff Rhys
14. Welcome To The Night
15. Chocolate Skull - Squonjax
16. Empty Library - Jerry Dammers
17. To All The Wizards In Lockdown - Richard Norris
18. The Purple Woods
19. Seven Thousand Pound Bee - Cherrystones
20. Volcanic Drive - Hardfeelingsuk
21. Final Froog - Tremortex
22. Dreamer's Dream
23. Lair Of The Grolfax - The Advisory Circle
24. Wandering Black Holes - Richie Crago
25. Owl Ritual - Nancy And Paddy
26. Crystal Hermitage - Batfinks
27. Outro - The Call Of The Horn

320 Kbps.

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BBC Radiophonic Workshop - Selected Radiophonic Works

Brilliant 3 hour BBC radio documentary about the Radiophonic Workshop presented by former Communard, Richard Coles.

Richard Coles tells the BBC's Radiophonic Workshop's extraordinary story.

In 1958 an extraordinary musical laboratory opened at the BBC. It was called the Radiophonic Workshop and provided music and sound for a wealth of BBC programmes, from The Goons to Dr Who.

With contributions from Coldcut, Dick Mills and Mark Ayres, Richard Coles explores the achievements of the unit and presents a carefully chosen selection of programmes showcasing the department's work:

The Dreams (05/01/1964)
The Goons (02/02/1959)
Inferno Revisited (17/04/1983)
Relativity (1974)
Electric Tunesmiths (30/12/1971)
Bath Time (1976).

This is a great overview of the work and history of the revered Radiophonic Workshop and really succeeds in placing the work they produced in context. Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in December 2008.

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For those that missed them, I also recently Tweeted some rare Radiophonic Workshop tracks which I ripped from a 1974 BBC Soundtracks album. As far as I know, unavailable elsewhere.

Open Golf '73/Wimbledon '74 Theme.
Theme From "Take Another Look."
Theme From Moonbase 3.

Melanie C - Northern Star

I’m guessing that some of you might take some convincing about the joys of this one and that I might have a bit of a sales job to do. But the nights are drawing in, the children are asleep and I’m up for the challenge. Join me if you will...

So: Melanie Jayne Chisholm. Born January 1974. Nine years younger than me. Born in Whiston, Merseyside. One hundred and six miles away from where I was born. Sporty Spice. The one who could really sing. Spice Girls 1994 - 1998. Solo career 1998 – present. Spice Girls reunion tour in 2007. Became a Mum earlier this year. New album promised next year. Found an extended welcome in continental Europe after we did our usual “build ‘em up, knock ‘em down” routine in the UK.

Melanie Jayne Chisholm. Liverpool fan. Sporty spice. The one with the voice. The backflips, tracksuits and pony tails. The least attractive one. Lesbian rumours. Clinical depression. Eating disorders. The one who could really sing.

I’ve got nothing but happy memories of the initial Spice Girls period. It was a crazy time wasn’t it? I was utterly beguiled when I first saw 'em bouncing around in the "Wannabe" video. PROPER pop music. Full of vitality, youth, fun and sex. Hormones and laughter. I never bought any of their music, or saw them live, or even watched the film, even though Richard E. Grant was in it, but I was really, really glad that they were around. Good times. Happy days.

I look back to that period and it feels like the first half of the Nineties might have been my actual halcyon days. I sometimes think that the Noughties have all just been a horrible dream. And I want the world to wake up now. War. Terrorism. Another war. Security paranoia. Economical crisis. Hard times and stress. The rich getting richer. Jobs for the boys. Clinical depression. Evil people wielding great power. Abuse of power. Celebrity. Opium for the masses. Celebrity meltdown. Big Brother is watching you, watching us, watching you. Eating disorders. Build ‘em up, knock ‘em down. In your face. Up your skirt. Deeper. Further down. Darker. Fade to black.

Where can we turn? What can we do? Well, it’s the artists, isn’t it? We turn to art (or God, I suppose, but I can’t offer you anything in the way of hope or enlightenment in that direction. I'm firmly in the Dawkins camp). We look to our culture to provide enlightenment. To place things in context. We turn to our artists to express the pain. To articulate the feelings which we all feel. To make sense of the chaos in which we find ourselves. To find some common ground, some connection, some humanity in the tide of negativity. Some vulnerability among the arrogance. Some love among the indifference. Some understanding.

Melanie Jayne Chisholm. Born January 1974. Manufactured pop star. Celebrity. Clinical depression. She’s been there, done that. She’s been there, bought the T shirt. The T Shirt had her name on. It was her face on the soft drinks, on the washing powder, on the supermarket hoardings, on the products in our kitchen cupboards. It was her voice on the radio. She was the one who could really sing. Backflips, tracksuits, pony tails.

I have an argument which runs along the lines that ALL art is valid. Any attempt at expression, any attempt to document the human condition in any way, shape or form is of equal value. Criticism is nothing more than a filter. There is a beauty in any art. Everything has some value. A connection will be made somewhere, with someone, at some time now or in the future. It matters not if a single person finds it relevant and powerful, or it connects with the masses. Mainstream or cult success. Posthumous reappraisal. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is getting it down. Leaving a mark. Self expression is fulfillment. “Live your life without regret/Don’t be someone that they forget.”

“Northern Star” was Melanie Jayne Chisholm’s first solo album following the Spice Girls disintegration. It was 1999. The Spice Girls had ended as these things do. Cultural phenomenon. The world loved them. Cynical marketing. Milk the cash cow. Build ‘em up, knock ‘em down. The end. Solo career beckons. The dumper. Popular on the Continent. Big in Japan. Reunion. Disappointment.

“Northern Star” is one of the most affecting pop songs I have ever heard, and I’ve heard a lot of pop songs. It’s obviously autobiographical. And in context of her career, her life, it’s one of the finest songs ever written. This isn’t hyperbole, I’m totally serious. It’s all in there: the career, the rise, the fall, the pain, the doubt, leaving your mark, making human connections. It is pop music in excelsis. It is low culture attaining the status of high art. It is one of the purest things that has ever been made. It moves me a way that is difficult to articulate. It’s beautifully written, produced, arranged, recorded and sung. It’s damn near perfect. No wait, it IS perfect. How about that? It is an erudite expression of the power of human emotion. It is a statement about defiance in the face of adversity set to a towering musical accompaniment. It is, quite simply, everything I love about music.

In Private Lives, Noel Coward wrote, “[It is] Extraordinary how potent cheap music is”, and Heaven help me, this is potent stuff. I have never heard, nor do I ever want to hear, the whole of the “Northern Star” album. Down that road there can only be disappointment for me. Nothing else can be this good. This wonderful. This truly, truly great.

To conclude, I should probably list a few of the myriad things which make this song so celestial. A little guide for the unconvinced, perhaps? An I-Spy book for the reluctant? Well, apart from the lyric and the vocal performance, there’s the string arrangement. Romantic and powerful, like being ravished by a siren. There are the multi-tracked harmony vocals, so beautifully arranged. There is the final chorus section which kicks in after the instrumental middle section, so uplifting, it feels like a key change, but it isn't. There’s a little fizzing synth line which appears in the coda which goes up the scale and then back down again, which makes the hairs on my neck rise. There is perfection. There is beauty. There is Melanie Jayne Chisholm.

I love you for this song, Melanie Jayne Chisholm. Born in 1974. Nine years after me. 106 miles away from me. You have made my heart burst with joy and you have made me cry. Within the space of 4 minutes and eleven seconds, time and again and again and again, in public and in private. You have made your mark. You have gotten it down. You have made a connection.

320 Kbps.

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Roedelius - Works (1968 - 2005)

An epic compilation from the great Hans Joachim Roedelius, renowned pioneer of Krautrock and early electronica.

The motorised, ear-melting drone of Harmonia’s Monza opens this retrospective, complete with blueprints for Bowie’s Berlin years and circuit diagrams of whole subcurrents of 21st-century electronica and avant-rock. Cluster’s fizzy synthetic soundscapes follow, including a collaboration with Brian Eno.

Roedelius then immerses himself (and us) in a three-decade-long warm bath of ambient minimalism and sepulchral piano figures. Listening to "Works (1968-2005)" is like taking a degree course in groovy experimental electronic music. It contains so many important starting points for many sounds and genres, it's quite amazing that it all came from the brain of one musician.

Properly amazing.

320 Kbps.

One
Two
Three
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Pulp - Countdown

A compilation of the first four pre-fame albums from Fire records - "It", "Freaks", "Separation" and "Masters of the Universe". This 2 CD set was released at the height of their fame, much to the anger and resentment of Jarvis. Fire records are, by all accounts, a bunch of unscrupulous bastards who didn't treat the band in a fair manner during the wilderness years, but who were more than happy to cash in when success came a-calling.

Highlight of the set is undoubtedly the eight minutes plus extended version of the title track which was released on a 12" single. Beyond that, there is much to enjoy, but the overall impression is that the band just weren't ready. It seems apparent that as soon as they got good, everybody noticed them.

My friend, Trina, who majorly dug the "Different Class" period Pulp was kind of horrified by this when I played it to her once. "They sound very different" she said. Still good though, Treen, Still good.

This is out of print now and is currently going for about a fiver on eBay.

320 Kbps.

Countdown One
Countdown Two

Petter & Dairmount - Subakuatik Blues EP

I grabbed this earlier in the year, but it's now available at a bargain price over at Boomkat. That's a shame, as it indicates that this hasn't shifted the units too well, which is a surprise, cos this is sounding great to me.

The Underwater Dance mix is a great, bouncy, accessible house track. I had it on in the room today while I was playing with my kids and they said they liked it a lot. They may have just been humouring me though. Try it out on your children and report back.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Gatekeeper - Optimus Maximus

I'm super-stoked that there seems to be a slight resurgence of the bombastic fat analogue soundtrack type of stuff so brilliantly typified by the works of John Carpenter et al.

Inspired by the ghoulish soundtracks of Goblin and the synthetic drama of John Carpenter, Kompakt's new offshoot, Fright records, delivers a disco shocker from Gatekeeper. 'Optimus Maximus' comes on collectors edition granite vinyl and is limited to only 300 copies. These tracks brew a potent blend of darkside Italo with a demonic suspense made to fully grip the floor. While the arpeggiated basslines and drum machines are purely retro vintage, the dynamic synthlines and hi-end processing give this away as a modern production, but that's a large part of its spellbinding charm and should be considered a stone-cold essential for all darkside disco fiends.

This four tracker is consistently great, but my favourite two tracks are "Forgotten" and "Obsidian", both of which are to be found on the second side. This really is a massively clever repositioning of that clunky Carpenter-esque sound to something blisteringly NOW. Enjoy.

For those of you who want more of this stuff (and let's face it, who wouldn't), can I respectfully point you in the direction of a revitalised Illegal Smoking Robot (Welcome back, Tone. You still rule the school), where The Emperor Machine's very good "Space Beyond The Egg" has just been posted. Not exactly coming from the same place, but shall we say, going on the same journey.

Can I also hereby give you notice that another recent classic of the genre will be arriving here at Castles In Space very shortly.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Tim Hart & Maddy Prior - Summer Solstice

I've frequently skirted around the edges of folk music looking for "the good stuff", but have been bitten a few times buying into highly acclaimed music which ultimately left me totally cold. To complicate things further, there are deep issues of identity relating to this traditional music for me. I'm Scottish in lineage, but coming from parents who were both born and bred in the North of England (as was I), I feel slightly fraudulent enjoying Scottish and Irish folk music, which is unfortunate for me, as the Celtic stuff is generally much, much better than the swathes of hey-nonny-nonny English music which proliferates. How typically English that seems to me - unbearably parochial, but envious of the perceived shared history and instant comradeship so apparently prevalent in the communities to which I can never be a part of.

One of the routes into the truly good traditional English based folk music that I have managed to stumble upon, was the early music of Tim Hart and Maddy Prior. These names may well be familiar to any Brit growing up in the seventies, due to the work of Steelye Span, who, almost unbelievably at this distance, regularly used to hit the upper echelons of the chart with their folk-rock singles back when I were a lad. "All Around My Hat" anyone?

I was also familiar with the stunning voice of Maddy Prior due to her appearances on several Mike Oldfield albums, who was a big favourite of mine before the punk wars hit and I had to pretend I didn't like fantastic albums such as "Hergest Ridge" and "Incantations" anymore, at least for a few years. Prior's vocal work on the latter album in particular is utterly great and hearing that album now, I am always transported back to my Mum and Dad's front room, where the stereo sat next to the Christmas tree. I used to sit in the dark with nothing but the fairy lights on and listen to the album that the NME had called "The most boring piece of music ever made" and while my horizons were quietly expanded (I don't think there were any other kids at Barrow Technical College For Boys asking the English master for a copy of Longfellow's "Hiawatha"), I learned that it was important to make your own mind up about some things, and that sometimes, people who should know better were plain wrong.

Anyway, obsessed as I am and always have been, I am always on the look out for new thrilz, wherever they may lay. Which brings us to this gem.

Wikipedia:

From 1970 to 1982, Hart and Prior were the backbone of Steeleye Span. In 1971, as well as recording two albums as part of Steeleye Span, they recorded Summer Solstice - a much more professional recording than their first two albums, including a string arrangement by Robert Kirby, better known for his work with Nick Drake. Almost every song that Hart sang was traditional. Steeleye Span's commercial success peaked in 1975. They toured in the United States and Australia and used electric instruments more frequently. However, further hits eluded them. They announced that their 1978 tour of the United Kingdom would be their farewell.

Those two early albums, "Folk Songs of Olde England" (Volumes One and Two), are pretty special, but this takes the prize for hitting the target exactly for fusing the right amounts of the traditional with some more contemporary touches.

The more broad minded among you should get a kick out of this great record (sounding good on a 1996 Mooncrest reissue) and the highlights are legion. Try the irresistible version of "The False Knight On The Road" or the wonderful, wonderful "Sorry The Day I was Married". And no sniggering at the back for "Fly Up My Cock", OK? They are singing about a bird, OK?

Or ARE they? I've seen a documentary about the period called "Carry On Don't Lose Your Head", and it transpires that those hey-nonny-nonny dudes were pretty bawdy.

320 Kbps.

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Five Weeks Left...

There's a five week countdown. A personal milestone will be reached. There will be a celebration. A secret will be revealed. A story will be told. There are five weeks to go.

Exotic Pylon - Quiet Village/De Wolfe/Mordant Music

Pretty awesome Exotic Pylon Halloween special radio broadcast featuring Quiet Village discussing and playing library classics from the De Wolfe stable, followed in the second half by a session from Castles In Space favourites, Mordant Music, is now available here.

Only 128 Kbps, but still totally worth it.

Audible Visions

I promised you some more cosmic space disco, so here we fucking go.

Audible Visions is a collaboration between Alexis Le-Tan (Space Oddities, les edits du Golem) and the design collective Ill-Studio: a spaced-out musical ceremony in which sounds from the past meet ideas from the future. This mixtape from another dimension blends electro, new beat, space disco, minimal-synth, afro and new-wave grooves in a concoction which after one listen, is bound to give you sonic hallucinations.



Beautifully packaged in a hand numbered Warhol Factory silver pillow with beautiful poster. There are but a few of these of these still available here.

Go and get one. This download will only be available for a few days.

320 Kbps.

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Sylvain Chauveau - The Black Book Of Capitalism

French composer Sylvain Chauveau has released several records of minimal compositions for piano, strings, wind instruments and electronics, "with silence as an important musical element". Two of his tracks were chosen this year for Kompakt's annual "Pop Ambient" compilation.

This debut album is ageless and timeless. Full of otherness, like smoke billowing around the corners of a darkened room. Music like this doesn't age. It's lovely, inventive stuff. Rooted in European soundtrack work, but with enough dark twists to keep the interest levels super-high. Gallic voices appear and then fade to black. There are pianos, guitars, brass, bells, crackle, sweet female voices and strings. It's a bit Badalamenti/Lynch and it's a little bit Yann Tiersen, but both lighter and darker than either.

His later work is equally beautiful, but perhaps less edgy, sometimes drifting into a string drenched, drone-y minimalism. Check out the website for more details. It all comes with a massive recommendation. There's even a fantastic album of chamber music versions of Depeche Mode songs.

For research purposes, and because I'm a totally hopeless case, I've tested this music both at home and outside, as a soundtrack to the London commute. It's perfect at home, especially for very late at night (I'm listening to it now) but it works terrifically well on the iPod, where it has the effect of adding a stillness and welcome back step from the in-your-face rigours of London tube journeys. I'm playing myself in a film about my life, basically. But that might just be me.

You'll like it, I promise.

320 Kbps.

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Transvolta - Disco Computer 12"

Rare electronic cosmic disco from 1979 produced by one third of Telex. Transvolta's Disco Computer features a funny and very cool combination of synthesized bass and high-concept vocoder vocals.

This is a recent bootleg facsimile re-release. The original is currently changing hands for around £50.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Visage - The Anvil

As promised, here's the original full length second album from Visage, circa 1982. This is the original vinyl edition with textured cover and poster, photographs of which have been included in the archive.

From Wikipedia:

This album sparked a brief controversy at the time of its release for being named after New York's infamous gay club.

The only musician of the first album line-up that didn't participate in this album's recording was John McGeoch. McGeoch commented in an interview: "One time I was in Spain [touring with Siouxsie and the Banshees] at the same time as Visage were recording the second album in London. Rusty wanted me to put a guitar solo on something or other but I only had one day off and there was no way that I could fly home on my one day off. Rusty is not a man to be put off by such things and he was actually trying to put together a satellite linkup from Madrid to London for this one guitar part. Not surprisingly it didn't come off but I was sorry not to have been as involved on The Anvil as I had been on the first album".

The Anvil was also the last Visage project to feature Ultravox frontman Midge Ure who left the band after its release.

The original vinyl release of The Anvil came in an embossed/textured sleeve (considered as deluxe packaging for the time), and a limited number of copies came with a free poster of Steve Strange posing in front of a hotel with a number of models (the same models can be seen on the cover of the single The Damned Don't Cry).

The album saw a re-release on the CD format in 1997 with bonus tracks, though they are tracks from the 1980/1 Visage era and not that of The Anvil. For a long time, this was the only official CD version and was extremely rare.

'The Anvil' was re-released on CD again on 17 March 2008, containing more bonus tracks and detailed liner notes.

I'ts a bit patchy, but there are some great tracks on here. "The Horseman", in particular is sounding great to this pair of ears, although it's a more guitar-y sound than that which was their signature. Midge's presence can be felt heavily on that one. Can it really be time to reappraise "Vienna" as well?

A couple of tracks are sequenced together on side one, so I haven't split them in the edit. As (super)nature intended.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Nelson - I Say You Can't Stop/Dammerung 7"

Excellent double A side 7" from 2008 from French art rockers, Nelson, who claim to sound like a mixture of Joy Division, The Rapture, and Animal Collective. Dunno about that, but there's a couple of great songs right here.

The tracks featured on the AA sided single are "I Say You Can't Stop" and "Dammerung", the latter of which was inspired by a German love poem written in the Battlefield trenches of the First World War.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Say What You Want Promo 12"

The name of the band whose single this actually is, is hidden from sight on this promo club 12" like a dirty little secret. So, accepting for the fact that you wouldn't normally find anything by that band up on here, let's consider the work of the remixers.

Rae & Christian give it some smoooooth downtempo beatment and while taking a lot of the track away to make much more space, they don't really add much to the original except for some super cliched (at this distance) scratching and cutting.

Much, much better, and the sole reason why I'm posting this is the fucking brilliant Andy Votel mix which is a totally deconstructed dust 'n' crackle take on the track. Vocals are submerged under water, a distant car alarm is triggered, some acoustic riffing is obliterated by a pitched-up air raid siren as the beat reemerges and then drops out. Everything stops then starts again as things proceed cautiously to a wonderful oscilloscope fade out. And then silence.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Burning Sensations - Belly Of The Whale 7"

Burning Sensations came out of Los Angeles in the early 80's and were a brief success (mainly for this single) on the fledgeling MTV in the USA.

According to Wikipedia, the group is best known for "Belly of the Whale", and for covering the Jonathan Richman song "Pablo Picasso", which was used in Alex Cox's cult classic, "Repo Man".

This is a great track in the Eighties stylee, which might spark some happy memories for a few of you. It's that kind of song.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Music For When The Clocks Have Gone Back.

These Cotton Goods albums are as much limited edition art projects as they are actual music releases, but for those who are lucky enough to get hold of them, the quality of the work reveals itself as being truly beautiful and special.

Variable Resistance is the work of Miles Whittaker, also of recent deep, deep, dub techno project "Demdike Stare" among several other dark and delicious electronic outfits shrouded in a doomy Northern fug of rolling mist and wasted dreams.

This amazingly packaged 3x3" CD set is housed in bespoke handmade sleeves inside customised microfilm boxes that have been individually numbered. 175 copies for the world. Sold out.

320 Kbps with full artwork.

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Beyond The Wizards Sleeve - George

I've just done a fresh rip of this fantastic third album from the wonderful Beyond The Wizards Sleeve.

I'm hanging out for some fresh material from the band and find myself returning to these early records time and again. They always go down well here on the blog so I thought I'd stick it up here as I think it was Spinster's Rock days when I last posted this.

There's a couple of tracks on here which didn't appear on the Ark 1 CD I posted a while ago.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Various - One Little Indian Take On The Cowboys With Greatest Hits Volume One

Excellent and early collection of tracks from the One Little Indian label, featuring Sugarcubes, A.R. Kane, The Very Things, Flux Of Pink Indians, D&V, Loudspeaker, The Babymen And Annie Anxiety Bandez.

"One Little Indian was founded by various people (including members of Flux Of Pink Indians), and inspired by the DIY principles and anarchistic ideals of independent labels such as that of anarcho-punk band Crass – who became so frustrated with the restrictive nature of the music industry that merging the creative aspect with the distributive side of things became the only viable option.

"Instead of rooting itself in the anarchic punk niche Flux Of Pink Indians spearheaded, the budding label set about homing a roster of artists as eclectic as they are unanimously enticing"

The A.R. Kane track is a fucking belter.

320 Kbps.

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Jeans/Scott 4 - Jean's Record (Choke Bore) Promo 12"

Terrific single sided 12" from 1997 which mutates the Scott 4 track "Choke Bore" into a leaden-footed, hypercolour, electro disco funk monster of massive proportions. Remixed by S.G Blixen (from the band) & I.E. Slater.

Lost classic, I'm saying.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Black Sheep - Kiss My Sweet Apocalypse LP

"Kiss My Sweet Apocalypse" is the debut double-LP and 2CD set from Julian Cope's group, Black Sheep. This here is the double vinyl LP set which has a significantly different track list to the CD.

In common with most people who hear this, I really didn't like it that much at first, but it's dusty charms reveal themselves over the course of a few listens. I guess as good a starting point as any is the parched cover version of "Just Like Leila Khaled Said" from the Teardrop Explodes second album "Wilder". Here reduced to basically an acoustic riff strummed over and over with a distant synth picking out that classic melody. This is great stuff for Cope heads everywhere and is just about worth the price of admission on it's own.

Also great is the Holy McGrail led title track which is 24 minutes of krauty synth drones and buzzed out textures, sounding not unlike a darker Queen Elizabeth.

The album is mostly lyric free apart from the repeated protest chants appearing occasionally. "War! Peace!" is a typical example, but for the most part this stuff wears very thin, very quickly.

I believe there are spin off albums due sometime from several members of the Black Sheep group. Indeed the first one, from former Universal Panzies frontguy, Christophe F. has already appeared and is available over at Head Heritage. Christophe F. also leads the fourth side of this album with a brace of acoustic 'n' mellotron singalongs from around the acid campfire. Accomplished.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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McAlmont & Butler - You Do

"I never want to see you break down, but you do. You do."

It's soul music is what it is. Healing and powerful like the strongest of medicines.

Its the 7:29 extended version that I go for, but there's a radio edit here for those who are in desperate need of a shot and just can't wait for the full strength potion to take effect.

In the end, when all is said and done, don't we all just want someone who cares?

320 Kbps.
Artwork included.

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Visage - The Damned Don't Cry 7"

Enough with the maudlin shit. Let's have some fun.

The recent and ongoing popularity of 80's inspired electropop has given me the excuse, if one were needed, to dig out some more Visage. And at the risk of temporarily transmogrifying into one of those Eastern European blogs that post this stuff without distance or irony, I hereby reserve the right to have my cake and eat it by posting this stuff inside big inverted commas, while secretly being as filled with love for it as I always have been (off and on) throughout the years.

This is from the brilliant second album, which is MUCH better than the first. By this time McGeoch had exited, but even better, Barry Adamson had turned up. So what we have is some of Magazine and some of Ultravox all topped off with just a little too much Steve Strange. I seem to remember that the Helmut Newton photo shoot was more expensive than the recording budget for the whole album. How Eighties. And worth every penny.

The instrumental B side, "Motivation" is a solid classic which genuinely sounds like a funked up Magazine sans Devoto, but with that Adamson bass in FULL effect. Genuinely fantastic.

I'll be posting the second album, "The Anvil" in all it's glory over the next few days. You lucky bastards.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.
Full artwork.

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Tony Christie - Made In Sheffield

Produced by lifelong Tony Christie fans, Richard Hawley and Colin Elliot, “Made In Sheffield” is a beautiful dedication to the city that Tony Christie grew up around, featuring new recordings of songs by the city’s most revered contemporary artists and songs by unknown city songwriters deserving of acclaim.

It is a record dreamed up on the roads of late night Sheffield, and one that’s fruition stretches far beyond the simplest of dreams,

Tony Christie, “I was in the middle of an album project, when on the drive back home after a late session, I heard ‘Coles Corner’ by Richard Hawley on the radio. I said to my son, “that’s the sort of production I should be getting.””

Unbeknownst to him, Richard Hawley had already sent him over ‘Coles Corner’ four years ago, but due to prior commitments they were unable to record the track together. Weeks later, Tony went to see Richard in concert to request his production duties and guitar on a new version of ‘Coles Corner’. The pair bonded immediately, and Hawley immediately requested that he and co-producer Colin Elliot record and produce the whole album together at their Sheffield base, Yellow Arch Studios.

Tony’s original recording project developed into a new concept that the album should only feature songs written by Sheffield’s own songwriters, and new songs by Tony himself.

Tony Christie, “When we started listening to material, we were amazed at not only many songs there were, but the quality just blew us away. Some of the songs on the album are by completely unknown writers and might possibly have never seen the light of day.”

Some of Sheffield’s most acclaimed contemporary artists feature on the record, including album opener ‘The Only Ones Who Know’ by The Arctic Monkeys, ‘Born To Cry’ by Jarvis Cocker, ‘Louise’ by The Human League, and that long awaited recording of ‘Coles Corner’ by Richard Hawley.

It is the sound of the lesser-known city songwriters that Tony holds close in the aftermath of the album sessions, including Martin Bragger, who contributes two songs (‘Danger Is A Woman In Love’/’Paradise Square’).

Ultimately, ‘Made In Sheffield’ takes the glittering career of the 65-year-old Tony Christie into a bold new direction. It contains all the grittiness and beauty of a city that often loses its prominence as a cultural birthplace, shunned for the proud history of Manchester and London, and moulds it into a romantic journey that could have been created at any point over the past four decades.

Tony Christie, “We are a proud community and the artists that have hailed from Sheffield are some of the most exciting and successful UK artists in pop history. I wanted to celebrate our culture.”

320 Kbps

EDIT: New Link:

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McAlmont & Butler - Yes

It's been another energy sapping week, packed with more trials, tribulations and traumas. I really don't know how I'm getting through this period in my life. I know it's wrong to wish your life away, but I wake up every morning doing just that. I also know that reading me bleating on about how hard things are for me does not make for interesting blogging. Hence the lack of posts for a few days.

I'll be glad to see the back of 2009 and no mistake.

I just had Simon and Garfunkel's "America" on in the car (Look to the right. I've just tweeted it). This is a song that has always resonated with me, but I swear to God, when I just heard them sing:

"Kathy, I'm lost, I said, though I knew she was sleeping. I'm empty and aching and I don't know why"

I had to pull the car over.

At least there's always music. Positive, life-affirming, uplifting music like this.

320 Kbps.
Full artwork.

Yes, I do feel better.

Cold Cave - Love Comes Close

You just have to hear this brilliant darkwave/synthpop/factory album. Released earlier this year on the bands own Heartworm Press, this has now been picked up by Matador and will be re-released in November.

You will hear influences from Joy Division & New Order to Chris & Cosey with a coating of low level noise. Just nine tracks long, it arrives, it astounds and then it leaves. This is a proper old school indie electro album with heaps of panache, skill and fantastic tunes.

I've fallen in love with it.

Link Expired.

You Know The Drill...

...Two days only.

Trunk Records

Scuba - Negative/Speak 10"

'Negative' is the result of some focused research, a blend of halfstep-swung snares and powerfully driven but subtly clean sub-bass with expertly manipulated dub chords carefully eschewing the formulaic pitfalls of operators we won't care to mention.

However, the solid-gold is saved for the flipside on 'Speak', finding a glowing sweet spot at the centre of Basic Channel indebted dub-techno, Artwork-styled 2-step rhythm alchemy and the sort of lonely post-Garage-soul he shares with Burial or Peverelist.

A sound that's been informed by time well spent in clubs studying the physical impact of tracks, hence the attention to detail and resultant tension of flexible bounce with a heavy heads-down effect that many attempt to nail, but fail to execute.

Link removed.

Go here.

Portishead - Portishead

This self-titled album manages to amplify and improve upon everything that made their debut so special. The vast spaces between the noises, the sense of menace, that deep streak of romantic fatalism. The widescreen, cinematic quality of the sound. And the voice. The voice.

Pretty much perfect really. Only bettered by the next album, which arrived just 11 years later.

320 Kbps.

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Sparras/Bushout! - Amigaman/Pretsel Chokin. Split 7"

This double A-side 45 from Sheffield is a pairing of super-cooled instrumental afro-funk and soul tracks. This is trerrificly authentic sounding stuff and could easily be one of those great lost singles that turns up on rare psychedelic funk compilations. Perhaps it will do 20 years from now.

Bushout!'s "Pret$el Chokin" is a powerhouse soul jam with West African horns hogging the spotlight. "Amigaman" by Sparras is a more low slung affair, bound by bongos with a three-way play-off between Hammond keys, wicked guitars and muted sax.

Fucking awesome and rare as hell.

Ltd 7" one-off pressing, limited to only 500. Clear pink vinyl in a handsomely designed sleeve.

320 Kbps.

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BvDub - We Were The Sun

Brock Van Wey has been building a fantastic catalogue of dub techno and ambient work for a few years now and is showing no signs of slowing down just yet. Indeed the opposite seems to be true as he follows his stunningly beautiful 2 CD set "White Clouds Drift On And On" from earlier this year with this equally exceptional album released in a criminally limited edition of just 300 hand numbered and assembled copies on his own Quietus imprint.

Stepping ever further away from the techno and beats (muted though they were) and calmly diving into the soft, warm pool of immersive ambient, this guy is delivering something really special at the moment and for my money is making the best ambient music there has been for years.

"We Were The Sun" is in a similar vein to "White Clouds..." but if anything is even better. Huge suspended chords hang heavily in the mist around you. Droning choral and string tones lift you up on a bed of warm air and transport you to distant beaches, faraway lands. Abnormally extended guitar plucks wrap a warm blanket around your weary head and kiss away your troubles as you drift off to sleep. You get the picture. This is beautiful. I feel like I'm being taken care of.

There's echoes of Eno (natch) and especially his work with Harold Budd. This is lusher, though. Better. Weirdly modern yet absolutely timeless. This is working for me not only as a functional ambient (I'm not going to use the term chill out, but you know what I mean), but also as a rewarding close-listening experience.

Head over to his BvDub site where there are many of his earlier works available to download. If you get a move on, you will be able to grab one of the few remaining copies from here. In the meantime, come on in. The water's lovely.

320 Kbps.

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Pulp - This Is Hardcore

I've already posted the first EP of this set up on here, but have since turned up the second EP which features three remixes of the track. There's nothing that's as good as the original, but some interesting reworkings all the same.

Beloved readers, we discussed this at length last time round, but this is a wonderful single from a wonderful band's best album. The sheer, warped nastiness of the Stock, Hausen and Walkman mix is yet more evidence of the self hatred seething away in Jarvis' dark heart around this time.

I love it.

I've got a few more Pulp treats lined up for the blog. It seems like a good time to reappraise that final album, doesn't it?

320 Kbps.

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Manic Street Preachers - Tsunami

Just the two tracks on this CD, but CD2 has remixes from Stereolab and Cornelius.

Anyone?



320 Kbps.

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Hypo - The Dark Leader Speaks 7"

Massively obscure clear vinyl 7" about which I know next to nothing.

It comes from NYC, I think, and in complete contrast to the previous Accidental post, this is wired, dirty and ugly.

The A side in particular is awesome in a mental, stalky, padded-room type way. Less of a song, more of a anguished, paranoid monologue set to a strung-out soundtrack.

Any info about this most welcome.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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The Accidental - 2x7"

Comprised of members of The Memory Band, Tunng, and The Bicycle Thieves, The Accidental make a quite lovely noise.

Both of these are taken from the debut album "There Were Wolves", which was released in April 2008.

Highlight of these four tracks is probably the Hot Chip Remix of "Knock Knock" which is fragile, fractured and beautiful.



Vinyl rips at 320 Kbps

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Karl Jenkins And The London Philharmonic Orchestra - Adiemus II: Cantata Mundi

Composer-genius Jenkins has managed to meld ethnic-style vocalizations, many of them exuberant and\or hauntingly beautiful, with rich Western European orchestrations in the late Romantic-to-now style. The result is a unique genre that is instantly recognizable and can be downright infectious.

There are similarities here with the "Mystery Of Bulgarian Voices" albums as released to massive impact by 4AD in the mid Eighties. It occasionally strays into mobile phone advert territory, but that's hardy Jenkins' fault.

320 Kbps.

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Supergrass - Richard III

And here's the second single to be released from "In It for the Money".

Again, according to Wikipedia, "The song's name comes from the band's method of creating working titles for songs - giving them people's names. This was the third called "Richard" and the band liked the reference to the king Richard III and the Shakespeare play Richard III in which the king is depicted as a dark and evil character, as it matched the menacing tone of the song. Neither the king, nor the play are mentioned in the song."

320 Kbps

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Supergrass - Going Out

The first single taken from their second album, "In It for the Money".

According to Wikipedia (so it must be true), "the song was originally written in the key of E, because the engine of Supergrass' tour bus would tick at that same musical pitch."

320 Kbps

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Stereolab - Banana Monster Ne Repond Plus: 2004 3" CD Tour Single

This Stereolab 3 track tour single was limited to 2000 copies, released on their own Duophonic label.

You already know what this sounds like, so expect the usual French-groove-Sixties-pop-kraut noise.

320 Kbps.

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Red Organ Serpent Sound - Autobahn: Baseball Furies Remix 10"

I love a good 10" single, and this is a REALLY good one.

Red Organ Serpent Sound are an Irish band. This one sided 10" was released in 2006. They apparently signed to Vertigo, but I don't think any further material appeared after this?

It reminds me of LCD Soundsystem.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.

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Rvng Prsnts Mx2 feat. J S Process & Diabolic

Another (earlier) mix CD from the terrific igetrvng crew, this time from J S Process & Diabolic.

Cat #: Mx2
Release date: 11/23/2004

Track listing:

1. Butthole Surfers - Sweat Loaf
2. Dub Diablo - Thunderstruck
3. 2 Live Crew - Me So Horny
4. Tone Loc - Wild Thing
5. Plump DJ's - Something Goin’ On
6. The Gap Band - Dropped A Bomb On Me
7. Steve Miller Band - Abra Cadabra
8. Big Apple - Break Record
9. MC5 - Kick Out The Jams (Testimonial)
10. Chemical Brothers - Losing Control
11. Gang Of Four - Outside The Trains Don’t Run On Time
12. Audio bullies - We Don't Care
13. Prince - U Got The Look
14. Felix The Housecat - Cyberwhore
15. Radioactive man - White Label
16. Stooges - T.V. Eye
17. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Green Label House mix)
18. Robotanks - Body Rocker
19. Northern Lite - Reach The Sun
20. AD /DC - Dirty Deeds
21. GTO’s - What If There Were No Cones?
22. Kreisel Yellow - Pleasure My Flesh(7")
23. Michael Jackson - Billy Jean (Valley Style)
24. PIL - Bad Life
25. Daft Punk - Da Funk
26. Kreisel Yellow 7 Inch - Get It On
27. Aphex Twin – Men 1 Rmx
28. Fat Boys - Beat Box
29. Animotion - Obsession
30. ZZ Top - Sleeping Bag
31. The Jacksons (Feat. Mick Jagger) - State Of Shock
32. Pixies - Field Hockey Interlude
33. Ginuwine - Pony Song
34. Mr. Lovelace - Coca Bass
35. Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue
36. Prince – Controversy (Purple Mix)
37. Bennie Benassi - Satisfaction
38. Creme De Menthe - Plastique
39. Roxanne Shante - (accapella)
40. Devo - Disco Dancer (Bonus Beat)
41. Drive Like Jehu - If It Kills You
42. Romantics – Talkin’ In Your Sleep
43. Missy Elliot - Gossip Folks (accapella)
44. White Label Clash - House The Casbah
45. Blonde Redhead - In Particular
46. Dee-lite - Pussycat Bonus Beat

Liner Notes Julian S Prcss
01/05/2007

ian, jg and i mixed it during one of our lost summers. lots of internet porn, hangovers and nosebleeds. we put together the mix mixed it live to the computer and then edited it. pretty representative of what our crew had been doing for the past couple of years. smart and stupid all at once. from that summer, we went on to start the Pink Skull project. Dave threw a release party at the Ukie and we did a four turntable routine for like 3 hours.

Selecting and mixing: Julian S.Prcss & Diabolic
Additional mixing and editing: JG
Design: Kevin O’Neill

500 CDs produced for 11/04 release
500 CDs produced for 2/07
Packaged in really boring 4 color cardboard sleeves (sorry, J & Ian)

This has been mastered fairly quietly, so you might want to turn it up a bit.

320 Kbps.

Expired.

George Clinton - Atomic Dog: Australian Promo 7"

I paid an eye watering amount for this baby many years ago. And you know what? I think it was just about worth it.

Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps

Expired.

LHOOQ - LHOOQ

Precious little about these guys on the internet. The backroom boys are Icelandic duo Jóhann Jóhannsson and Pétur Hallgrímsson. I'm not sure , but I think the Female singer (Sarah?) is English. She appears to be uncredited on the sleeve.

This appears hazy and slightly out of focus at first, but after a few listens, the quality starts to shine through.

The name LHOOQ is lifted from the Duchamp "readymade".

I bought this at the time because it is part produced by Steve Hillage and because it was released on the Echo label, one time home of Julian Cope. I was also smoking a hell of a lot of dope.

320 Kbps.

Expired.