hiatus

this blog is on hiatus.

brand new ghosting season,

same hi quality.

the road

New track from an old Toby favourite, permanently good.

brilliant folk

remix

opera

hyperdiamond

Gaudi

Here's some Spanish architecture:

disco

Psychologist - Disco At Twin Peaks from Tali Clarke on Vimeo.

MESSAGE TO BEARS

Message to Bears is multi-instrumentalist Jerome Alexander. He has recently released a new album, Folding Leaves, and it’s fucking great. It’s an album which has some great ambient beats to act as a foundation which allows the vocals and strings and samples and piano and xylophones and so forth, to soar.

I can’t recommend it enough. So what’s it about.

The loose theme of the album, to put it simply is sort of the idea of having a desire to run away/escape when all you needed was right where you are.

I did sense that element of travel/travelling on the album, so I asked him a question about where the most beautiful place he had visited was. (Though with such an intriguing answer I should have asked what the best thing about being at home was.)

Probably the Iguazu waterfalls in Brazil, absolutely incredible.

I’m gonna try and catch a live offering when it roles in to town because the sound is so intriguing. I asked what the live show will be like, that answer is below as is the album (The physical's a sellout). Enjoy.

The live show includes a small ensemble, it's quite different to the recorded material actually, less ambient and louder.

veil of ignorance

Ambient. On free download.

dying embers

By way on an apology I will put up a new track every day between now and Easter. Hopefully.

Bruised Skies - Embers

EVERLONE

Everlone is a London based music maker, specialising in the ethereal and, apparently, the night bus sound. Here’s what he said when I asked him to describe the music:

I'm not sure how I'd describe my music to be honest, it's been described in a few bizarre ways before, like 'slowcore' and 'night bus' but I don't even know what they mean, let alone agree. I don't want to come across as being pretentious, but I don't think it's healthy to pigeon hole music either to be honest, otherwise you're forever having to live up to that expectation. I just run with it and see what happens. 

The music features lots of layered vocal samples which create a great atmosphere, presumably it’s more suited to accompany a dark room?

I don't think there's a particular setting my music is suited to. I'd much rather it affected someone on a personal level, and if that means they want to hear it in a club then so be it. Maybe this is what 'night bus' is all about!? Basically, so long as someone is enjoying it, it could be played in a tree house for all I mind.

Let’s leave all this talk of night buses behind us. Everlone, tell us about the samples.

With sampling I never set out looking for things to use, pretty much all the samples in my tracks are things that I've stumbled upon and have ended up being exactly what I needed. I always start a track with a melody rather than a beat too, so it helps when your starting point is something you've found and really enjoy.

Next time I'm on the N1 I know what to listen to. The EP is coming out really soon and will feature his own vocals. He promises it will be an interesting offering. Look forward to it. 

evian christ

I stumbled across these beautifully psychedelic offerings couple of days ago. As filler goes it's not too bad at all, my favourite is MYD. Apologies for the lack of postings, I've spent a lot time recently listening to Silent Alarm (lately).

message to bears

I've been listening to Message to Bears a lot recently, the songs are a great combination of folk and ambient. Great artwork too. enjoy.

writing for the 405

Yes, I have been lazy, but not totally lazy.

Been writing for the 405 recently, here's what I wrote, or at least the start, go to the site to read the whole thing.

Music is invariably about what you hear not what you see, right? Yes. But the visuals deserve our attention too.

There are many songs which people have been utterly dismissive off at first, perhaps they were too loud or too quiet to grab our attention - but when a video is added, and it’s good enough to grab your attention again and again, the song and the band all of a sudden become noteworthy (I for one became a fan of Health and the xx through their videos).

Every few weeks I’ll be interviewing music directors, taking a closer look at their work and seeing where they get the inspiration from when it comes to putting together visual representations of our favourite songs.

interview with Christopher J Ewing

keith fullerton whitman

Keith Fullerton Whitman has posted some of his live shows and other recordings on Soundcloud for all to hear.

I especially like the commentary that goes with this one. Enjoy.

WISE CHILDREN

Wise Children is electronic/acoustic artist Robin Warren-Adamson. He’s just released his second EP, The Woods. Lyrically this is a great collection of songs, which sound, to these ears at least, quite heartfelt.

I asked him what his inspirations were when writing:

Half the time it's biographical, the other half it's fictional, but I think you always use your own biography to access the feelings you're trying to write about, even if they're made up. I'm really interested in creating characters or narrators that are different to myself. Not necessarily likeable characters. Sort of trying to push the way in which the audience reacts to the character, whether they empathise with them or not.

There are a lot of themes in this: love and loss, the seasons (winter), birth and renewal. Folk, when it gets it right, can be such a good vehicle to express these ideas. Add some electronics and I’m there.

I’ve been listening to The Woods through earphones, and therefore isolated. Does that make it more folksy compared to say listening at a massive field in Welbeck Abbey?

I've always found that those kinds of arguments to do with authenticity are a bit distracting and pointless. I think people tend to fetishize certain elements that you associate with a genre, in the case of folk, acoustic instruments, voice, intimacy, small environments etc. but I find them to be a bit exclusionary. I don't know, depends on each artist I suppose, as to how they come across best. I don't consider myself to be 'folk' and I don't really care about being considered within that framework. If folk is just 'music of the people' then numbers shouldn't really come into it. 

You can listen to The Woods here, or download it from his website. Enjoy.

 The Woods by Wise Children 

yellow ostrich

My favourite diy pop music project from late 2010, early 2011 is back with a new album, Strange Land. the observant among you will notice there's a more of an amplifed guitar sound here.

It's out, March 6.

Here's the first song you can here off the album, Marathon Runner. Free download here.

halls

Halls is back in our ears with another offering, a new EP, Fragile.


His style of rhythmic ambience is clear to hear - there's great haunting vocals to accompany as well. I'm enjoying listening to this and you will too. Enjoy.


 Halls - Fragile EP by TheSoundsOfSweetNothing