Pacific!'s "Sunset Boulevard" Gets Remixed by Lord Skywave
We were sold by the first second of Pacific!'s debut single, "Hot Lips," a year or two ago. The Swedish duo has since gone on to push its surfer-meets-electro-pop LP all across the globe, from the U.K. to the U.S., and even to India where they're now enjoying the number one slot on the nation's MTV and VH1 music rotations. Not too shabby!
There've been many remixes of Pacific!'s work, but this new one by half of Black Ghosts, Simon Lord, a.k.a. Lord Skywave, is one of the most stunning we've been graced with since Breakbot's stellar effort. As Daniel -- half of Pacific! -- aptly puts it, the edit is reminiscent of "an old Bollywood soundtrack somehow." How perfect, then, that they're a Hindu hit!
Check out the remix of "Sunset Boulevard" below and be sure to pick up the debut, Reveries, when it hits the States on July 22!
When I was younger and on a major Pizzicato Five/Shibuya-kei rampage, I remember taking a great liking to Ursula 1000, partially due to the fact that he used a P5 sample in one of his older cuts.
I'm not saying that the loungey heyday of Ursula 1000, Thievery Corporation, and other related artists has come back full swing, but many DJ's seem to be attracted once again to the swanky melodies and rhythms of old jazz jams ... Latin American stuff in particular.
One such act is Ray Mang, a.k.a. Raj Gupta, a London-based disc-jockey who contemporizes the bossa nova and swinger lounge vibes of old. Imagine a Westernized Fantastic Plastic Machine or Konishi Yasuharu in 2008. That's essentially what this guy's like. (He actually toured Japan last year!)
Check out a few cuts below. "Praia do Londres" is pretty old -- it was originally released as an R&S Records 12" and later included on an Eskimo Recordings LP -- but certainly worth putting on repeat. I'm including "Angel" as a sort of joke -- I'm assuming that Gupta intended it as such himself ... Gupta accidentally sent me a bad copy of "Angel," so download it again now and you'll have the authentic MP3. It's a slower jam that just is all at once soothing and exceedingly catchy.
Lather yourself with some sunscreen, throw a linen shirt and Fedora on, grab a Corona, and relax to the smooth beats of Ray Mang on an island in the sun somewhere.
Great Britain's most promising youths, Animals Talking, just finished up in the studio and sent BBBD a couple new tunes that are purely irresistible. "Colours" and "New Dawn" are more contemplative and dark than the gem that is "It Was," but they're certainly no less vibrant or energetic.
Animals Talkings' tunes are a whirlwind of spastic punk riffs, time changes, and sugary lyrics that culminate into something more mature than their collective years. While the cuts are still rather raw and in need of a finishing, their freeness and down-to-earth sincerity is still front-and-center.
Put these songs on your iPod, hop on a bus or a train or just play them for your significant other and be swept away into a world of heart-on-sleeve Brit-pop sonic creations. For all their in-your-face energy, these guys are utterly emotional, and BBBD just can't get enough. Keep keepin' an eye on them. They'll go places.
It seems a little early to be celebrating the style (or memory?) of Pete Doherty, but that's what Roses, Kings, Castles is attempting ... and they're doing so with success, in flying colors. The Alphaville Records (MySpace), London-based band isn't purely derivative, though -- while their lo-fi recordings, charming and earnest arrangements, and cutely strummed guitar melodies do immediately remind one of some calmer Babyshambles works, the Littl'ans, or heartfelt Doherty demos, there's an ingenuity and uniqueness that makes them stick out.
Interestingly, Alphaville Records is based in Japan ... and the "Sparkling Bootz" single features a Kaji Hideki track on the flip side! Seems unusual for a U.K. indie outfit, but hey, they lads are anything but normal. Check out the killer single below -- it'll be a hit -- and be sure to tickle your eardrums with their other cuts on their MySpace page.
To be brutally honest, BBBD wasn't into London's Little Boots when the singer hit several months ago. Our outlook has morphed, though: this chick is pretty friggin' great, and the new single, "Meddle," is proof of her fresh talent.
Little Boots is the culmination of our current fascination with Italo-disco, 1980s girly pop, and grimy, dark, atmospheric electronic grit. "Meddle" is a stark and magical pop gem that stands out not only for the downright sexy vocals, but also for the snake-charming jazz melodies, techy yet mystically organic beats, and nontraditional arrangements. Catchy and alluring through creepiness and spacey uniqueness. Ach, it's killer. With breath baited, we wait for more, more, more!
Talk about uninspired returns ... Dirty Pretty Things (MySpace) -- long known as the other band to splinter from the Libertines -- is back, but this time they've completely lost their bite. The appeal of Carl Barât & co. was that they represented the clean, the stoic, the knowing that the Libertines and Pete Doherty lacked. Dirty Pretty Things, with their delicate arrangements, intricate guitar melodies, consciously distorted rhythm guitar lines, occasional horn and string arrangements, and sweet, sweet hooks positioned themselves as the band to succeed and be in it for the long haul.
Now, not so much. The London quartet's returned with one heck of a pub-rocking single, "Tired of England." Equal parts psych-rock haze and deliberate, extra-straight bar band rock. There's an iota of a hook and a lovely little bridge in the middle of the track, but aside from that, the song is a half-baked thought about British nationalism (that's an oversimplification, but you'll get it once you hear it).
"How can they be tired of England?" How can we be tired of you, Barât?
America's strangest musical entity, Bradford Cox, AKA Atlas Sound/frontman of Deerhunter, has worked his remix magic on the Chap (MySpace), London's closet thing to the Sparks, 2008. Atlas Sound, known for its bizarre breed of flowing, atmospheric shoegaze, constructed in a soft-spoken and shy lo-fi/bedroom recording sort of way may not be the most likely remixer for the Chap's "They Have A Name," but the result is more compelling than one would originally thing.
Whereas Mega Breakfast's opening track is a gooft kraut-rock-inspired sing-along sort of ditty, the Atlas Sound interpretation is a glitchy, laptop-pop, "folktronic" sort of mix that's a bit more soothing and melodious. It's completely different (there are no vocals on the Atlas Sound remix, for example), but well worth a listen.
Grab both the Chap's original tune and Cox's altered one below.
What Friendly Fire Recordings lacks in size, it duly makes up for through the awesomeness of its roster. From Asobi Seksu (which actually recently left the label) to the Faunts to the Whitsundays, Friendly Fire has never hit a sour note, and continually releases strong albums and EPs from no genre or style in particular.
London's Windmill (MySpace) is the latest addition to the ever-growing family, and, as to be expected, it was a good idea, bringing this one-band-band on board.
Thomas Dillon -- the man behind Windmill -- writes and records these really emotive, ballad-y pop tunes that are all at once haunting (that high voice!) and mesmerizing in their depth, complexity, and wonderful lyricism. Imagine Isaac Brock going solo and writing sad songs on an old piano while pulling some help from Iceland's Seabear or something. These songs are delicate, fragile ... but somehow they're all held together by Dillon's skeletal, piercing vocals. Hmm ... a little difficult to describe! How about you listen to the below cut and buy the new Puddle City Racing Lights LP, too.
Those of you who have been reading BBBD for longer than just the past few weeks (whoops, I wrote some left-field stuff!) may remember Buttonhead, the London, U.K. experimental and spastic rock band we loved to death and accidentally omitted from one of our many year-end best artists lists.
Anyway. This post is not about Buttonhead, but rather Ross Blake, one of the members of the above mentioned quintet. While Blake is still an active and integral part of Buttonhead, he's gone off to pursue more fine art endeavors, namely composing the soundtrack to a new play entitled The Dybbuk. Judging by the glowing reviews and enchanting musical work, it's both very good and quite haunting as well.
We don't mean to draw too many comparisons, but would like to note here that when we first wrote about Buttonhead, we mentioned the group's likeness to Deerhoof in some regards. Isn't it quite the coincidence, then, that both bands have interacted with theatrical productions at some point? Hmmm ... we're feeling a transatlantic collaboration coming on ...
Back to the soundtrack. The Dybbuk O.S.T. is reminiscent of a Danny Elfman score with the quirkiness and off-kilter penchant for spasm and wall-of-sound noise barrages that only a modern London pop musician could churn out. The technical abilities of Blake must be pretty stellar, anyway, considering the complexity, depth, and dense construction of the fifteen-song score. It's incredibly expressive and enigmatic, which is all at once alluring personally -- this is some great standalone music! -- and a concrete reason to check out the actual production. But alas, BBBD resides in L.A. and can only hope to catch this on tour (not going to happen). For now, we'll just anticipate an Owen Palette/Deerhoof/Ross Blake supergroup.
It's been said many times before, but today's pop music scene is one dominated by producers rather than musicians. (Yes, that's an overstatement, but the core point remains: the music that surrounds us is made with the notion that a good producer -- and not necessarily a good artist -- is what makes a hit single.)
BBBD's expressed a love and adoration for Erol Alkan several times before, but we want to solidify this opinion into something a little more meaningful and substantive. What makes this guy so good? We all know that he (1) took a promising young band, Late of the Pier, and rejiggered them into the spastic club-meets-post-punk-pop they are today, (2) picked up the Long Blondes before they embarked on the hyperbolic sophomore slump and spit them back out as an angsty, hook-riddled, ultra-clean and concise outfit, (3) gave Mystery Jets a shiny waxing and through them reinterpreted the nuggets of the 1980s in a totally not cool-because-it's-ironic sort of way, (4) spun decaying Klaxons in an unexpected manner, and (5) is supposedly producing those aged hipsters representing the Sound of Scotland, 2008, Franz Ferdinand ... but we don't really look at his technical prowess and admire what he's doing behind the mixing boards; for all we know, he could be just a lucky guy springboarding of his long and successful club circuit in the right place at the right time.
Alkan is applying what is noticeable old and tried to an era of music that is in constant denial of its place in history and the tradition of pop. It ought to strike us all as slightly strange that so many music journalists, critics, and tastemakers -- BBBD included -- note that the best bands of today always sound like someone else who was most likely cooler than them, more authentic than them, and more original than them. A sweeping and broad statement, yes, but comments like, "Franz Ferdinand sounds like a band right out of 1980" or "Long Blondes could've opened for Gang of Four in 1979" isn't necessarily flattering; it's a bit condescending and discredits the fact that such acts are living in their own time, making their own music, and doing their own thing. All music is derivative, but that doesn't mean that we have to make such comments front and center.
So, Alkan takes the old and doesn't attempt to imagine himself a musician or producer living through the times of Martin Hannett ... Furthermore -- and this is the yeah, duh remark -- he applies the techniques he picked up as a renowned DJ to every track he works on, a characteristic that is readily pointed out, but rarely highlighted as one of the most important facets of his work. Alkan reappropriates an aesthetic that no one else before him could've ever injected into music -- there was no London scene quite like the one he matured in ever before and there was definitely no club Trash until 1997. Alkan took advantage of the situation he prospered in and catapulted to success by merging his unique gifts from his nightclub tenure and the dedicated study of the Old Master he had under his belt.
So listen to these Long Blondes b-sides as they're absolute proof of his genius. "Five Ways to End It (Erol Alkan 12" Mix)" is the most obvious testament to Alkan's dance music abilities, and a solid one at that. "I'm Coping" is one of Long Blondes' greatest lyrical achievements, and really deserved to be on Couples. Is this song about cutting off a relationship or quitting heroin? Hmm. Considering the explosion of Strokes-infused guitar jangling at the end, it's primarily about the latter, but thinly veiled (how does the intial jolt of heroin running through your veins feel any different?) Spectacular. "Whippet Fancier" is a song that could only be composed and performed in the U.K. (who the hell talks about whippets here?) Again, the fills are more club than rock, the lyrics more disco than post-punk, the synth line more theme-song-esque and gimmicky than serious garage; Alkan's production leads one to believe Long Blondes are copycats, imitators of the greats of three decades ago, but dig beneath the surface and you'll find much more going on. The magic this guy works on his bands is awe-inspiring ... absolutely mystifying. He should make his own group with "wizard" in the name, yeah? What card will this wizard reveal to have up his sleeve next?
BBBD is in a state or turmoil. The world has become more complex for your favorite blogger: he neither wants to quit not exert more time into writing daily posts; he wants to pursue other things but utilize the freedom that BBBD gives. A conundrum has arisen, and solving it seems unlikely.
We can no longer churn out daily posts that hail the Hot New Thing -- such artists are few and far between, anyway, and not the stuff of frequently-updated blogs such as this one -- and we no longer want to compete with the other names out there. BBBD is content knowing it's been around, that it maintains a voice, and that it is still of at least some relevance.
That being said, expect to see plenty of articles on this website, but perhaps with diminished regularity. Today, we commence an experimental column of sorts: "Don't Start A Band." That's right, BBBD is prescribing abstinence. We're tired of the tirade of press releases, are afraid that every conceivable band name has been registered on MySpace, and are annoyed with our own desire to keep churning out write-ups for God knows why. With "Don't Start A Band N° 1," we indirectly outline the reasons why one shouldn't create a band (one-man or otherwise) through a brief look at more worthy artists. This is all we need. Sorry.
The Kills
The early 2000s were huge, and this doesn't need to be reiterated. Others had revived genres and styles before, but no previous generation of young musicians had done it so self-consciously. BBBD personally holds that this occurred because wannabe hip acts realized their fathers were actually listening to some pretty friggin' sexy music, played by pretty sexy kids, in pretty sexy and gritty clubs. Conversely, it's hard to imagine a twenty-something admiring Elvis in all his blandness in 1975 and thinking, "Wow -- I could totally reappropriate the King's sound, aesthetic, and fashion for my own, more current needs and desires." For a myriad reasons, 1975 - 1985 was an exceedingly appealing era to the younger musicians of the late-1990s and early-2000s who grew up on hip records by the likes of the Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, Sonic Youth, Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and so on. This was before the massive reissue trend put the CD market into a deathlock. Teenagers were listening to music that wasn't necessarily grounded in an era -- "In Between Days" still makes any somewhat emotional person fall prey to tears -- and certainly detached from prudishness, uptight behaviors, and constriction. The Beatles may have churned out some stunning pop tunes, but do you know what really has left them eternally ingrained in our psyches? Their fedoras, two-button, skinny cut blazers, narrow, leather-soled shoes, and knit ties. That and their rabble-rouser behavior ... who else could compete with their immediately gratifying nature? No one.
But we're digressing here. At the beginning of this millennium, kids growing up on the post-punk of the 1970s/1980s reservedly acknowledged that their parental units were actually attached to a pretty damn cool musical epoch, one that deserved to -- no needed to -- be revived. Hence the post-punk revival (or post-post-punk if you're especially dim). (Now we're bringing back "original" rock 'n roll, the stuff that finally snapped people out it and got them rejecting the crud that was on the radio ... after this Black Lips-fronted phase ends, though, what will we have? A revival of the 21st century's post-punk? Let's hope Devendra Banhart isn't in the equation, whatever it may be. Square.)
The Strokes, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Futureheads, and, of course, the Kills were at the forefront of this reincarnation of post-punk ... and we are forever indebted. Now those of us too young to have actually bought a vinyl record but old enough to remember the bad days of 1990s pop can happily live through both the modern and the trendily old both. That's the whole appeal of post-modernism, right? Keep recycling, reinterpreting, reading ... and never become unaware. As long as we understand what we're getting ourselves into, we're all set. The Kills, unlike the other aforementioned outfits, perpetuated their existence by pushing forward this whole post-punk revival trend. "Warm Leatherette" may be a tremendous piece of industrial post-punk music history, but it serves as a gimmick to many; that crap Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner put together as Electronic was only intended to be a goofy side-project that neither moved the early U.K. electronic movement forward nor compelled many folks to actually listen; likewise, we're starting to believe that perhaps the Strokes (and like bands -- there are thousands ... use your imagination) didn't actually want to stick around, but rather hop into the scene at an opportune moment and profit off our collective interest in the post-punk of yesteryear. The Kills have plodded through the eight or so years since the dawn of postpunk revival and have kept their charisma and core principles intact. The Kills are a band to aspire towards, but few can do what they've accomplished. Plus, Jamie dates Kate Moss. Dream on, Brit-poppers. Tie your shoes and go home.
It's 2008: the Strokes have yet to return, Interpol has yet to impress us like they did with "P.D.A.," and Jack White has yet to shed the pounds. Hack DJs clutter out clubs pretending to be the voices of a generation, but have no idea what the hell their generation is, who don't give a rat's, and haven't an iota of a clue as to how to become relevant. Let's just mosh in the meantime, right? Next time you consider checking out Le Castle Vania or Steve Aoki or Guns 'n Bombs, resolve to staying home and watching Jeopardy at 3 AM. It's better than walking into a club, immersing yourself in the noise and confusion, and fooling yourself into thinking it's music. Until a duo like the Kills comes along again -- and the Old Guard of 2001 is replaced by a New Guard -- we've nothing. Don't Start A Band until you've something to say.
Metronomy and Black Kids Remix My Beloved Lykke Li
Not only did BBBD discover Lykke Li Stateside, but we've persistently been her biggest fans. Our review of her live show at the El Rey in L.A. sort of cements that sentiment.
Anyway. London-via-Brighton's Metronomy (an outfit we were on at the very beginning) and Black Kids have remixed my beloved Lykke Li's "I'm Good, I'm Gone," with quite promising results. Black Kids' interpretation involves more atmospheric flourishes, heavy post-punk bass lines, and dancier guitar hooks, but reverently maintains the original vocals for the most part. It sounds sort of like what would happen if Lykke Li formed a rock band ... with Damon Albarn, maybe. Metronomy's remix is, as usual, quirkier and more electronically-driven ... and a little eerier. The three-piece has dropped in lots of spooky synth ditties and light funky riffs. Sort of a toss up between these two, so ... check 'em out for yourself!
I tend to not post music videos on BBBD simply because they're too many of 'em out there, and who am I to select a couple out of the hundreds floating around in the vast Internet?
That being said, Cazals' (MySpace) latest music video for "Somebody Somewhere" is stunning and certainly deserves all the attention it can get. Not only is the song a great the-Jam-meets-the-Strokes sort of garage-rock pop cut, but it also features one of the cutest and coolest animations I've seen in a while (by French street artist André), and, duh, a beautiful French chick, dancing up and down the streets of Paris with such gleeful finesse. Love it, love it.
We're also drawing the Kitsuné Records video to your attention because we've a surprise waiting for you that'll drop in a few ... Kitsuné-themed, of course.
Imagine the Cure producing Good Shoes with some new Lily Allen-type chick subbing in on vocals and you'll have a rough approximation of how ridiculously awesome the Kabeedies are.
U.K. bands may come a dime a dozen, but every once in a while, one of those groups is a gem that's just been unfortunately overlooked or shoved to the side. The Kabeedies seems to be one such band. The Norwich quartet has been pumping out hooky singles for a while now with little exposure (and certainly none in the States) even though they're undeniably catchier and more talented than the bulk of British acts.
"Lovers Ought To" is literally one of the best pop tunes BBBD has heard in a while ... it's abrupt, straightforward, and accented by a wonderful dose of unique vocal talent, angular guitar riffs, and slightly off-kilter drum patterns. The Kabeedies are charming in that way ... they outwardly appear completely coherent and solid yet subliminally convey a sort of scatterbrained aesthetic that's exciting and ... perfect.
So there's the BBBD endorsement. In a major way. Enjoy a couple tunes below and be sure to hit up the MySpace page for more jams and purchase information.
I vividly remember first hearing two particular artists at some underground Turntable Lab-esque record boutique in the heart of Shibuya a few years back: Whitey and Padded Cell. As it always is in such a shop, there's a certain thrill that comes along with vinyl sampling ... pulling a 7" or 12" from it's sleeve, approaching a polished and well-kept turntable, flipping the disc on it, putting the headphone on, tweaking the bass, middle, and treble, and, finally, listening to the organic sound waves only a wax recording can produce. A sublime moment.
I wish I could hear Padded Cell's new stuff in such a fashion, but alas, my gear isn't up to snuff. I'm confined to sample the cuts on a mediocre pair of speakers sans the glamor of a posh Tokyo record distro. That being said, the new material is spectacular, and there will be a time that I hear this stuff in a more proper and reverential manner.
But what is the "new stuff" exactly? The London disco/funk/psychedelic/post-punk duo has a new dark, brooding, and spacey LP coming out on Monday, May 19 on DC Recordings. The label's been kind enough to make a pretty cool e-card for the forthcoming Night Must Fall full-length, so if the below freebie ("Faces Of the Forest") ain't enough to hold you over until the album's release, hop on over there and check out more material! The record is going to be great ... quite possibly their best yet.
BBBD has long been a fan of London's Blamma! Blamma!, and while everyone seems to be giving the duo props these days, we can't resist this time 'round as their remix of Cazals' (MySpace) "Somebody, Somewhere" is just too good to pass up.
Blamma! Blamma! warned me to be careful with this one as "it bites," and that it definitely does. A driven, energetic remix that chugs along at a rapid, robotic pace from the very beginning to the end. Nicely filtered vocals, bouncy synth lines, and noisy beats suit the original's aesthetic well. Check it out below. (Blamma! Blamma! gets extra points for making the longest remix title in history.)
Dandi Wind Directs Metronomy's "My Heart Rate Rapid"
Canada's finest, Dandi Wind (MySpace) and Summer Lovers Unlimited's second finest roster member (sorry guys -- the Tough Alliance is number one in my book still) directed the video for U.K. boy band (okay, so not really), Metronomy's latest single, "My Heart Rate Rapid" (above). (Was that a run-on or what!?) My sound card is acting up, leaving me unable to actually hear the song, but the video is ... awesome. Really bizarre. Dandi applied her typical colorful yet oblique and perplexing aesthetic to the killer electro-pop ditty. Once I get my speakers fired up again, I will thoroughly listen to this, but for now, it's just stunning eye candy.
If all U.K. guitar-pop bands were as good as Animals Talking, N.M.E. would be a 500-page weekly and music blogs would have a pretty tough time keeping up with the times. Fortunately, the London quartet is a rare gem, so for now, we'll just cherish them.
While the below two demos are pretty rough and sound crummier than they ought to, the beauty of Animals Talking's lo-fi indie-pop is undeniable and clearly juts out amongst the fuzz and scuzzy recordings that most likely were recorded in one take or minimally mixed. Or something. Keep an eye on these four as they're bound to churn out some phenomenal stuff ...
