TRACKS OF THE WEEK 17/08/2014 - Courteeners, Alt-J, Ryan Adams, Congo Ashanti Roy and Pura Vida, Kiesza

TRACKS OF THE WEEK 17/08/2014 - Courteeners, Alt-J, Ryan Adams, Congo Ashanti Roy and Pura Vida, Kiesza

Alt-J Congo Ashanti Roy and Pura Vida Kiesza Ryan Adams The Courteeners Tracks of the Week

Shellhunter:-
Kiesza - 'Hideaway' (2014)

Warning! Do not listen if you are an old fart! That's pretty much what I was thinking when some young pup put on KissFm on in the office. I like a bit of dance music but some of the stuff that gets the kids wild in clubs is beyond me. Saying that, every now and again a song creeps up and hits me. This track did exactly that and I was happy to say so in the office much to the surprise of my colleagues who I fight with to put on BBC6. Kiesza is a multi talented, Canadian dancer/musician who mainly dabbles in dance, house and electro. I later found out it went in straight at number 1 in the charts back in April, no mean feat in this manufactured pop idol age. It also makes me feel kind of smug that of all the songs that hit me, it was a chart topper!

London Scouser:-

Courteeners - 'How Good It Was' (2014)

Finally after what seems like an eternity it's back. The Premier League I mean, and before you ask me what has that got to do with music I'll tell you. Every week on the BBC website, former mustachioed legend Mark Lawrenson predicts the scores of this weeks games and pits his skills against a celeb. This week he is up against Liam, lead singer of Courteeners. As mentioned in a previous post I've been a fan for a while and am pleased to see they have a new album out on August 18th called 'Concrete Love'. This song is bang on form for them and I predict a win for them although they might have to settle for a mid-table finish.

Flycasual:-
Alt-J - 'Left Hand Free' (2014)


Triangles were top of the pops as my favourite shape for most of 2012 when Alt-J released their debut, An Awesome Wave. They have recently released three quick fire tracks in anticipation of their imminent 2nd album, This Is All Yours, the haunting 'Hunger of the Pine', 'Every Other Freckle' and the official single 'Left Hand Free'. The single is pretty unusual as it doesn't really sound like any of Alt-J's previous stuff (sounds a bit like The Bees to me) nevertheless despite the video looking like a phone ad, it's pretty catchy and had me humming it after a few listens. It may have apparently taken them only 20 minutes to write the song but it also suggests that they have their fingers firmly in different musical pies. So far so good for the difficult second album.

Sfw:- 
Ryan Adams - My Wrecking Ball (2014)


I am excited.  In fact I am frothing at the lips in anticipation of Mr Adams' album release next month.  My Wrecking Ball is more like classic RA.  A catchy hook littered with sadness all rolled up in X. In recent interviews he said that he scrapped an entire album that he recorded with Glyn Johns because it was "to sad".  Don't worry though, you can see here that he still has his dry sense of humour.

Old Pa's Corner :-
Congo Ashanti Roy and Pura Vida - 'Manuel Club' (2014)

This is the new album by Congo Ashanti Roy and Pura Vida and is called Step by Step (2014) and I just love it and I just can't stop playing it. It took me some time just to pass the first 2 tracks and it was a hard choice to choose from those. This is great old school reggae and must be about the best of the gendre around at the moment. Excellent stuff and a must hear.

Pura Vida are a Belgium reggae band and have teamed up with the legend that is Congo Ashanti Roy (Roydell Johnson)  of the fabulous Congos.

Listen or even better, subscribe to our tracks of the week playlist here...

sfw Pada 03:19 3 Komentar

TRACKS OF THE WEEK 17/08/2014 - Courteeners, Alt-J, Ryan Adams, Congo Ashanti Roy and Pura Vida, Kiesza

TRACKS OF THE WEEK 17/08/2014 - Courteeners, Alt-J, Ryan Adams, Congo Ashanti Roy and Pura Vida, Kiesza

Alt-J Congo Ashanti Roy and Pura Vida Kiesza Ryan Adams The Courteeners Tracks of the Week

Shellhunter:-
Kiesza - 'Hideaway' (2014)

Warning! Do not listen if you are an old fart! That's pretty much what I was thinking when some young pup put on KissFm on in the office. I like a bit of dance music but some of the stuff that gets the kids wild in clubs is beyond me. Saying that, every now and again a song creeps up and hits me. This track did exactly that and I was happy to say so in the office much to the surprise of my colleagues who I fight with to put on BBC6. Kiesza is a multi talented, Canadian dancer/musician who mainly dabbles in dance, house and electro. I later found out it went in straight at number 1 in the charts back in April, no mean feat in this manufactured pop idol age. It also makes me feel kind of smug that of all the songs that hit me, it was a chart topper!

London Scouser:-

Courteeners - 'How Good It Was' (2014)

Finally after what seems like an eternity it's back. The Premier League I mean, and before you ask me what has that got to do with music I'll tell you. Every week on the BBC website, former mustachioed legend Mark Lawrenson predicts the scores of this weeks games and pits his skills against a celeb. This week he is up against Liam, lead singer of Courteeners. As mentioned in a previous post I've been a fan for a while and am pleased to see they have a new album out on August 18th called 'Concrete Love'. This song is bang on form for them and I predict a win for them although they might have to settle for a mid-table finish.

Flycasual:-
Alt-J - 'Left Hand Free' (2014)


Triangles were top of the pops as my favourite shape for most of 2012 when Alt-J released their debut, An Awesome Wave. They have recently released three quick fire tracks in anticipation of their imminent 2nd album, This Is All Yours, the haunting 'Hunger of the Pine', 'Every Other Freckle' and the official single 'Left Hand Free'. The single is pretty unusual as it doesn't really sound like any of Alt-J's previous stuff (sounds a bit like The Bees to me) nevertheless despite the video looking like a phone ad, it's pretty catchy and had me humming it after a few listens. It may have apparently taken them only 20 minutes to write the song but it also suggests that they have their fingers firmly in different musical pies. So far so good for the difficult second album.

Sfw:- 
Ryan Adams - My Wrecking Ball (2014)


I am excited.  In fact I am frothing at the lips in anticipation of Mr Adams' album release next month.  My Wrecking Ball is more like classic RA.  A catchy hook littered with sadness all rolled up in X. In recent interviews he said that he scrapped an entire album that he recorded with Glyn Johns because it was "to sad".  Don't worry though, you can see here that he still has his dry sense of humour.

Old Pa's Corner :-
Congo Ashanti Roy and Pura Vida - 'Manuel Club' (2014)

This is the new album by Congo Ashanti Roy and Pura Vida and is called Step by Step (2014) and I just love it and I just can't stop playing it. It took me some time just to pass the first 2 tracks and it was a hard choice to choose from those. This is great old school reggae and must be about the best of the gendre around at the moment. Excellent stuff and a must hear.

Pura Vida are a Belgium reggae band and have teamed up with the legend that is Congo Ashanti Roy (Roydell Johnson)  of the fabulous Congos.

Listen or even better, subscribe to our tracks of the week playlist here...

sfw Pada 03:19 3 Komentar

FRONT ROW CENTRE - LATITUDE 2013 SPECIAL - DAY 2

FRONT ROW CENTRE - LATITUDE 2013 SPECIAL - DAY 2

Alt-J Front Row Centre Hot Chip Latitude Night Engine Shell Hunter

Welcome back to the Latitude Festival 2013 Special - Day 2!

Latitude Festival Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk on July 20th 2013



Talk about chalk and cheese with the weather! I woke up on Saturday morning and it was grey and drizzly. Having checked the weather frequently on the run up to the festival, it clearly stated sunny all weekend! Well, needless to say I had not packed for this eventuality apart from the hoody incase it was cool in the evening. So that was me for the day: shorts, flip flops and a hoody. I was bloody freezing and damp but it still didn't take away from the great music that was on. It was a relief that we still had a few sunny spells especially whilst seeing the bands featured here. It was the first day I really noticed people milling around in fancy dress with my particular favourites being a bloke dressed as Alice In Wonderland and several blokes in full ball gowns. Other amusing sights were a guy with a stuffed budgie clipped to his shirt and a man with a massive fried egg T-shirt and bunny mask.



Night Engine - 'Seventeen'

If there is one new band you check out this year, make it Night Engine. My good friend Dominic who plays keyboard for the band, made my visit to Latitude possible so they were up there with my 'must see' bands. Perched along the barriers right at the front of The Lake Stage, I was swallowed up with Night Engine's energy. They got the crowd dancing to funky hits Seventeen, Treat Me Like A Baby and my personal favourite (featured previously on totw), I'll Make It Worth Your While. My friend mused that it was difficult to behold all the facial expressions but in my opinion, its what sets lead singer Phil asides from the rest! Well worth watching these guys if you get a chance, they really give it their all. If it was possible for steam to rise up off the stage from drummer Lee and bassist Eddy during their last track then they warranted it!



Hot Chip - 'Ready For The Floor'

One of my all time favourite dance groups really put on a fabulous show. I was sat in a field on a portable chair shivering under a gloomy sky but as soon as they knocked out big numbers like One Life Stand, Boy From School and this great rendition of Ready For The Floor I was rocking around in my chair and heating up nicely. I was especially impressed when they played Over And Over as despite the fact I was towards the back of the stage, the volume from the crowd singing along felt like I was bang smack in the middle of the mosh pit! I was also surprised to hear that their female (and might I add, highly skilled!) drummer was also playing The Obelisk Stage the previous night, headlining with Bloc Party!



Alt-J - 'Breezeblocks'

A hard decision had to be made: A historic 3-D Kraftwerk show or Alt-J? For me it wasn't that tough as I know far more of Alt-J and they were such a mega part of my listening pleasure last year. On our way to the BBC6 tent, we heard Kraftwerk kick off with Robots which sounded pretty good. As it was now dark out, it was much colder so it was a relief to seek refuge amongst the warmth of a packed tent. The sound was so crisp and the band tight so credit to BBC6 for that. It was really like being part of a community in that tent, the crowd all knew every word of every song and sang in perfect timing. Tessellate and Something Good came surprisingly early on but Alt-J kept me waiting for Breezeblocks and it didn't disappoint.

Enjoying these reviews? Come back next week for the last instalment with Day 3 or listen to my best of Latitude Spotify playlist!

sfw Pada 12:46 4 Komentar

SHELL HUNTER'S Best of 2012

SHELL HUNTER'S Best of 2012

Alt-J Ben Howard Best of 2012 Dan Croll Hot Chip John Hopkins King Cresote Shell Hunter

Come on Team GB!!!

What can I say? It's been a pretty heavy year for me. With the usual ups and downs during the year came a new more responsible job, I turned 30, learned how to scuba dive and got my first (and last) tattoo! We had the most amazing summer surrounding the Olympics that made me feel patriotic for the first time in my life and the best thing is, I have a year's worth of great music to show for it all. Impossible a feat as it was to whittle it down to my TOP FIVE, here they are! Cue gospel like singing....aw aw awwwwww!

Alt-J - Tessellate

It all started with a low rumble, who was this Alt-J I had heard of but never listened to? I thought the name was gimmicky and they probably wouldn't be that good, but bloody hell how wrong was I?! I gave Tessellate a quick whirl and was instantly hooked, the quirky lyrics, gripping piano chime and little ticks and clicks made it so unique. It was also one of my favourite albums of the year and lo and behold a Mercury Music Album of the Year Winner! You can't say fairer than that, triangles are now my favourite shape!

Ben Howard - The Wolves

Okay, this was probably a re-release but I missed the boat the first time round. Sfw had pointed Ben Howard out before but singer songwriters were not really my bag. This song though, has real significance to me. The beginning of this year was a difficult time in my household and having to prove myself in a new role at work was extremely stressful. I used to hear this on the radio at work and sing a long, instantly feeling transported to somewhere calmer and I thought that the "wolves" referred to in the lyrics were all the things and people trying to get me down. I never get sick of hearing it, oooo oooo oooo oooo oooo!

Dan Croll - From Nowhere

2012 has been a real year of discovering new music and new artists. Reading about Dan Croll's story winning £5000 in a Musicians Songwriting Award competition in Uni and his ambition to use this money to record his debut album really inspired me. Who needs the X-Factor and a free ride? Hard work and great talent goes a long way and this song has got success written all over it. It's got a fantastic feel to it with it's electro sounds and instruments in the right balance for a perfect holiday song. I'll be watching out for more from Dan thats for sure!

Hot Chip - Motion Sickness

My favourite dance geeks were back this year with, for me, a very long awaited album. Although I also love Flutes and Night and Day, Motion Sickness has to be my favourite from it. I remember being so excited about listening to the album In Our Heads and worried that I may be disappointed. As soon as I heard this, which is the first track, I was relieved and instantly smitten! It also reminds me of going to see them at Heaven in London as it was the first track they played. A sighting of 2 of the band members whilst trying to find a pub was a bonus! Any bad memories from previous gigs, truly erased!

King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - John Taylor's Month Away

You'll have to excuse the arty video, but at least it adds a little interest to the music! When I first listened to it on Old Pa's choice for Tracks of the Week, I thought, yeah its okay and its got some sea gulls in there. I later listened to our TOTW playlist whilst in my car and it came on again. I was absolutely banjaxed by it. I was hypnotised by the mantra of the 2 chords and gentle voice singing of these poor young sailors who "dream of woman they cannot afford and cannot have". I was literally in tears and find it very difficult not to cry when I hear it. The waves and when it fades away then comes back in is pure genius. A real surprise contender for me but the whole world should hear it.

Subscribe to Shell Hunter's Best Of 2012 Spotify Playlist below!

sfw Pada 21:00 5 Komentar

TRACKS OF THE WEEK - 22/07/12 - Rollo Jean, Winston Reedy & The Donkey Jaw Bone, Cat Power, Alt-J

TRACKS OF THE WEEK - 22/07/12 - Rollo Jean, Winston Reedy & The Donkey Jaw Bone, Cat Power, Alt-J

Alt-J Cat Power Reggae Ting Rollo Jean The Donkey Jaw Bone Tracks of the Week Winston Reedy

Do you have any Tracks of the Week? Post a comment to let us know and we'll include them in a spotify playlist

SFW:-
Cat Power - Ruin (2012)


Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall's) latest track, features a great piano melody and lyrics that are based on the idea of travel (mentions of Saudi Arabia & Great Britain can be heard).  Although I can't hear Pollenca, Mallorca (where I was this time, last week), it get's you in the mood, or may even give you some destination ideas!

Download it for free from RCRDLbl here

Old Pa's Corner :-
Winston Reedy & The Donkey Jaw Bone - 'Buying and Selling' (2012)

This track is taken from the Album 'Make a Change' (click for full review of album and information about Winston) a collaboration between Winston Reedy and the French Reggae Band 'The Donkey Jaw Bone'. Now that is what I call one cool name for a Reggae or in fact any Band. This track just ambles along quite nicely and really the lyrics are a bit stupid. 'Your Grandmother is an old turnip' but it is his voice and the way he says the words in that Jahmaycan accent that tips the balance for me. There are probably better tracks on the album 'Make a change' and 'Lion of Judah' maybe, but 'Buying and Selling' is fun and very enjoyable indeed.


Shell Hunter:-
Alt-J - 'Tessellate' (2012)

I've kept hearing the name Alt-J over the last couple of weeks but never got round to giving them a listen. After hearing this track which is their new single out on 16th July, it immediately reminded me of the XX with its sparse backing and fragile singing. It sparked my interest big time! I found out that although they sound very electronic, they use no electronic instruments at all! Their new album 'An Awesome Wave' has been hailed by many. If it spans many genres including Dubstep and Folk and is as clever as most make out, I am looking forward to listening to it over our mini heatwave (now that's what I call 'an Awesome wave')! There has been some intriguing comparisons to that of Radiohead, Fairport Convention and Wild Beasts so with all this behind them, it screams success! Oh, and for those of you(like me) that didn't know, Alt-J is what you type on a Mac to get the triangle symbol! Very geeky, so I definitely like that!

Ctrl-Alt-Del

Check out their site for tour info and to follow the band! www.altjband.com

Flycasual:-

Rollo Jean - 'Cellar of Love' (2012)

'Cellar of Love', my dream of rows upon rows of dusty bottles of red wine all settling down?.... Hmmm, Probably not....Nevertheless this is a fabulous saucy slice of camptastic 21st century Disco. I heard in on Lauren Laverne's BBC6 radio show a couple of weeks ago and the catchy beat, the high pitched vocals, the strings, it all ticks my Disco box. I have this urge to don an all in one white 'boogie suit' and take over the dance floor, probably not in a Travolta way but more like an elephant seal kind of way.... 


Like a good wine, Bristol based Rollo Jean, seems to have let this song mature for what looks like a couple of years now and is going for an official release this August. A vintage year awaits?! 


Download Rollo Jean's free 2 track album..... from band camp here.



Listen / subscribe to our Tracks of the Week spotify playlist here

sfw Pada 03:51 7 Komentar