Easy Like Sunday Morning #3

In march of 1978 when avid fans came home and put the needle on the record that succeeded exodus, the first track they heard was "Easy Skanking" by Bob Marley and The Wailers. I personally don't listen to an excessive amount of Bob Marley as in some respects a lot of his tracks just aren’t my thing due to my belief that a lot of his work is tarnished by constant overplaying, which creates a cliché and tackiness that ruins the majority of them. However, I was introduced to Kaya about 4 or so years ago on a camping trip with friends, and the album stuck with me ever since, so it's probably more of a nostalgic thing to listen to. The track I associate the majority of the album to is Easy Skanking, the first song on the album which is essentially a song about dancing, taking it easy, slow and relaxing which is why it is perfect for this playlist.

Bob Marley & The Wailers - Easy Skanking


Au Revoir Simone are an indie orientated synthpop group that have found themselves being featured on Kitsune compilations and being played late night on the now defunct 120 minutes. They seem to generate a more organic sound than the other indie-electro based groups out there, which is one of the reasons why they stand out from the crowd. The girls seem to emanate a presence within their music, which probably originates from the airy vocals that are present with the majority of the tracks.Coming from the Brooklyn based trio, this instrumental is an ambient that track speaks for itself, just give it a listen.

Au Revoir Simone - The Winter Song


I was introduced to this track when I heard it playing in a bar, I went up to ask the dj what it was called, the funny thing being he didn't know; skip forward a year and I come across is again on a blog by coincidence. The track is very limited in release terms, and I'm led to believe that it may have just been a white label. For me this track is all about the bass and the deep voice that predominates the track, that is beautifully complimented by keys that stink of 80's funk. The Rainbow Brothers are a duo who originate from france and are better known as the groundbreaking ambient electronic band Air.

Rainbow Brothers - 818.323.01


Hailing from L.A, Lucas MacFadden, Cut Chemist, found his fame when he joined the unity committee, who would later join the Rebels of Rhythm to for the internationally successful Jurassic 5. Cut chemist collaborated with J5 on 3 studio albums, before departing the band to pursue his own career.Tolling in as the third track on cut-chemists first full length studio album, The Garden is a very ethnically themed which seems to be a homage of sorts to Bollywood cinema and the filmi genre of music contained within those films. The song, which is a great balance between old and new, the goal that most turntableism artists try and achieve, has an ambiance to it, achieved through bass and high-hats, that flows throughout the song and compliments the vocals and string based instruments harmonically.

Cut Chemist - The Garden


A song which comes to us from the last days of The Doors, Riders of the storm is purportedly the last song recorded by all 4 original members of the doors, before Morrison's death. The song is suitably inspired by and partially based upon the famous Ghost Riders in the Sky, a western telling of a cowboy who must change his ways. Riders on the Storm also has allusions to a non-fictional murdering hitchhiker (a killer on the road) who Jim was interested in and also based a screenplay on his actions for a purposed film. The song is one of the doors most atmospheric songs, this is clearly thanks to the use of the storm sound effects contained throughout; it's also partially attributed to Morrison's whispering the whole song as well as singing it and then having both tracks played over each other. I actually think that this is a track is more suited to Sunday evening rather than Sunday morning, this is mainly due to the more relaxed nature that the song conveys through the bass and dropping keys on Manzarerk's instruments and the subtle changes of key within Morrison's signature style; that is why I'm leaving this song for last, to round up your Sunday and lead you back into your day to day life, hope you enjoyed the weekend.

The Doors - Riders on the Storm

TFI Friday #2

Weekend has arrived again and not soon enough. Here's some tasty tunes to kick start the celebrations. Late post is due to my internet randomly acting up, took about 20/30 mins to upload each song when it usually only takes 1 or 2 minutes.

Songs this weekend are just a few things I've been rotating recently, expect to hear one or two of these tracks on an upcoming mix of mine. Special mention goes out to Jack Beats. Came across this track back in July and have had it sitting gathering dust on my computer since, turn up the bass for this one, you want JP style ripples appearing on any near by liquids, if they don't it isn't loud/bassy enough.

I-robots - Frau (database remix) 
Man Like Me - London Town (Doorly's Cockney Wideboy Remix) 
Jack Beats - UFO 
Jay Robinson - Acid Line (Tom Deluxx Remix)
Wolfgang Gartner - Fire Power

The Requesters

Roughly a year and a half ago, I predicted that both The Bloody Beetroots and The Requesters would explode. In retrospect, it turns out I was only partially right. While it was almost a given that the Beetroots would take the world by storm with their standout, ferocious brand of electro, The Requesters were a little bit more of a gamble. Although it is undeniable that they ticked all the right boxes for an up-and-coming dance act, particularly within the electro and house genres, they never received the same mainstream exposure as the likes of Justice, Digitalism or Crookers.

Hailing from Barcelona, The Requesters have been kicking up a fuss on the local and festival circuit for quite some time, yet in spite of this, even though they were the darlings of the blog community, they have become less and less talked about in recent times. This was most likely due to the fact that after releasing such bombs as Warriors, Air Guitar and the sensational Delorean remix As Time Breaks Off, they seemed to just disappear off the radar. It wasn't that they stopped playing, as their tour schedule has consistently been packed with slots and residencies. Rather, they stopped releasing original productions as frequently and thus somewhat slipped away from the spotlight, which was a crying shame as they brought a degree of funkiness and flair to a genre that had been becoming overpopulated with stagnant fidget/wobbly productions and remixes.

With the release of their self-titled EP, however, all of that has changed. It seems they are ready and more determined than ever to get their original productions out there, which can only be a good thing for the rest of us, as they craft a sound which has an unmistakable, exotic disco flavour that doesn't compromise that big beat dancefloor feel. One of the most interesting aspects about their music is that they place a large amount of emphasis on infectious piano/keyboard segments, and more specifically, piano breakdowns; a rare occurence in dance music. On the other hand, what is perhaps most engaging of all is their subtle yet remarkable use of sampling. It is often difficult to pinpoint the original sample, which most definitely adds a layer of mysteriousness to their work, as you never really know what's sampled and what isn't unless you're some kind of encyclopedia of music. One sample I found particular fascination with was the vocal melody of Live, which contains the line "ain't nothin' tooty fruity, get on the floor if you got that booty," a sample from the MC Cool Rock & MC Chaszy Chess record Boot The Booty, released in 1987. To listen to the tracks side by side, while there is a major comparison on the vocal front, they are literally nothing alike. In fact, the original track only uses that sample in the intro and then takes it in another direction, whereas it is a predominant feature within The Requesters' take. This is just another example of their creativity and originality in a genre which has a tendency to focus on repetition and heavy build-ups. Hopefully this EP can garner them some attention because right now they are one of the freshest acts in the business. Don't just take my word for it, take a listen to the tracks or better still buy the EP.

The Requesters - Chrisis
The Requesters - Live
Delorean - As Time Breaks Off (The Requesters Remix)
The Requesters - Tiumfalizm Live (a forgotten gem)

I was also going to post Air Guitar here, but unfortunately my other computer is fried at the minute and as usual any blog that has it either isn't responding or their bandwidth is full. Hopefully I can get it hosted sometime in the near future but for now enjoy the Youtube link. It really is fantastic.

Genesis

It seems that no matter where I go I can't escape Pink Floyd. Don't get me wrong, I am by no means a hater of their work, I just think that they are one of the most overrated bands of all time. That does not in any way suggest that I find their music lacklustre or uneventful, in fact my opinion is quite the opposite. The way I see it, the majority of their albums have a timeless quality to them that is difficult to replicate. In spite of this accolade, however, unfortunately most music fans have a tendency to place them on this unattainable pedestal. I have had many heated arguments at houseparties with strangers over this and 90% of the time they hit me with the line "you just don't understand it," which has to be one of the biggest cop-out rebuttals of all time.

I'm not bitter about this topic, I just think that there are plenty of other works out there which equal or better the likes of Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here or The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. I do have respect for those who mention the Syd Barrett era because a lot of those older albums are misunderstood, but Dark Side Of The Moon, in particular, is an album of contemporaneous elation and contention for me. While I love it for what it is, too many people drop it into conversations as the be all, end all of Progressive Rock. This couldn't be further from the truth. People tend to forget that Progressive Rock existed for a very long time (until Punk effectively killed it) and had a large foothold within society within that time. For every Dark Side Of The Moon, there is a Close To The Edge, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, ... In The Court Of The Crimson King, Gentle Giant or Brain Salad Surgery.

Out of all these albums, the recording band that stands out the most is Genesis, mainly because they are treated with both admiration and detestation. Their newer work is considered blasphemy amongst progressive enthusiasts, yet their earlier stuff is in many respects unsurmountable. Like Quentin Tarrantino summarises in Pulp Fiction regarding The Beatles and Elvis, you are either a fan of Peter Gabriel or a fan of Phil Collins. Unlike Tarrantino's assertion, however, it isn't quite as cut and dried as that as personally I like both old and new Genesis. There, I said it, start the witch hunt. I wouldn't say I like all of their newer work but on a similar level I'm not down with all of their older stuff either.

The album that is considered by many to be the ignition of the spark of their inevitable downfall is their self-titled album. It was the first album that truly strayed off the track, owing more to pop than prog. Many fans abandoned ship upon hearing this record, which gives some degree of indication as to just how radical it was perceived to be. Here was a band responsible for creating some of the greatest progressive masterpieces of all time doing exactly the opposite. The song Illegal Alien personifies this the best with its Reggae-esque, Sting-like vocals and intriguing song structure. Admittedly, it took me a very long time to warm to this track (it is still hit or miss) but the rest of the album just presses all the right buttons. The compositions aren't quite what you'd expect, but they are not only incredibly original but also a pleasure to listen to. Though certain tracks really give the impression that they were trying to break the mainstream one step at a time with this record, it is still very Genesis-like, but in a different way. The musicanmanship is not only tight, but extremely unique. I'm not talking unique as in Sleepytime Gorilla Museum or Brand X unique, but rather unique as in catchy hooks combined with effective vocal melodies that suggest a creative intrigue that is hard to come by in this day and age. I'm not saying the album is a masterpiece, it has its highs and it has its lows. What I am saying is that listeners shouldn't automatically dismiss it as pop nonsense or 'new Genesis'. Instead, listen to it with a clear conscious and an open mind and see where or if it takes you.

For this post I have chosen four of my favourite songs from the album: the storming opening Mama, the extremely catchy That's All, a song I've just learnt to properly appreciate tonight, Silver Rainbow, and one of my favourite songs and favourite lyrical piece of all time, It's Gonna Get Better. Enjoy.

Genesis - Mama
Genesis - That's All
Genesis - Silver Rainbow
Genesis - It's Gonna Get Better

IKKI

Coming from the very heart of Spain is a sound which isn't too dissimilar from the Beetroots recognizable synth laden style, however this sound has a heart of pure metal. This is the sound of IKKI. IKKIs calling in life has thus far to produce remixes of fairly famous heavy metal songs. The sound IKKI is producing is a testament to how, I think, electro can seemingly progress through all genres of music and possibly has the largest collection of sub-genres which can only be paralleled to the rock/metal scene.

IKKI's remixes include the likes of Slayer, Metallica, Pantera, Iron Maiden, Jimi Hendrix and even Stevie Wonder. According to the man himself he has upcoming Slipknot, System of a Down, Megadeth and more Metallica remixes on the way. I am particularly looking forward to his Megadeth and Slipknot remixes and I'll be sure to post them as soon as they are available.

IKKI began in September of 2008, has a residency in Madrid (soundsick) and has already played festivals with the likes of the aforementioned Bloody Beetroots and an upcoming date with Redial. Keep an eye on this guy as he will no doubt be a name that will be appearing on the "scene" in the very near future.

The Tunes:
Metallica - Ride lightning vs Enter Sandman (IKKI Remix)
Slayer - Dead Skin Mask (IKKI Remix)
Pantera - Cowboys From Hell (IKKI Remix)
Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff (IKKI Remix)
Nine Martine - Ice Cream (IKKI Remix)

Easy Like Sunday Morning #2

Welcome to the second edition of our weekly update, Easy Like Sunday Morning. This week I will be jumping between genres to find some laidback tracks to make your hangover or whatever else seem more bearable. I've been thinking about this quite a bit, and although not all of my original inclusions will make it onto this list, they will definitely feature in another post sometime in the near future.

First up is Pearl Jam's seminal hit Jeremy. Taken from one of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time, Ten, Jeremy is both famous and infamous. Although it peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and had similar success on an international scale, the song was tarnished with controversy. After all, it was mainly inspired by a newspaper article about a young student, Jeremy Wade Delle, who shot himself in front of his English class in 1991. This subject matter is depicted in a somewhat raw manner within the music video, which climaxes with Jeremy putting the gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger, submerging his classmates in his blood. Naturally, MTV opted not to show the original ending, deeming it too unscrupulous for TV audiences, but lead singer Eddie Vedder maintains that there was a certain level that needed to be reached to do the article justice, "to give it that action, to give it reaction, to give it importance."

Pearl Jam - Jeremy

Secondly, we have Lupe Fiasco's The Coolest. It is likely that you have heard of Lupe Fiasco, both for his collaboration on Kanye West's Touch The Sky and from his huge hit from The Cool titled Superstar. Even though the latter track received a lot of airplay when it was released, I got a rather lukewarm feeling from it. It wasn't by any means bad, but it certainly wasn't the stand-out track from the album. Although I don't really listen to a lot of more commercial rap artists because they do little for me, Lupe Fiasco is one of the main exceptions to the rule. He is outstanding in almost every sense of the word and The Cool is a testament to that. It has some of the freshest production values seen on a hip-hop record, smooth flows and equally smooth beats. Most people aren't aware of this, but it is actually a concept album based on the darker realities of growing up on the streets and in the game. One of the main reasons I chose this track was because it helped me out on a potentially terrifying plane journey. When we were on our way back from Rock Werchter in Belgium, we decided to smoke an absolutely huge all-weed prerolled joint in Amsterdam just outside the airport. The experience was surreal to say the least and by the time we got on the plane we were incredibly stoned, so when it took off I wasn't expecting it at all and could hardly look out the window. Minutes later I decided to put on some music on my headphones and The Coolest was the first track picked. I went from serious nervous paranoia to absolute bliss in a matter of seconds and the plane ride became one of the most eventful I've ever been on.

Lupe Fiasco - The Coolest

When I woke up this morning and briefly thought about what tracks should be included in this post, the first thing that came to mind was Massive Attack's Teardrop, which is slightly strange as I haven't listened to it in years. The most likely reason for this sudden wave of consciousness is because it is, without a doubt, one of the most laidback tracks of all time. There isn't really much you can say about this track except that if you haven't heard it before, unless you listen to a lot of trip-hop, it will be unlike anything you have heard up until this point. What should be pointed out is that it is a long shot to even assume that people haven't heard this track because it is frequently used in a variety of different media outlets and has been covered by the likes of Incubus and Jose Gonzalez. Featuring Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins on vocals and sampling a Les McCann track 'Sometimes I Cry', Teardrop remains a contemporary classic of this generation.

Massive Attack - Teardrop

Next up is Jeff Buckley's Last Goodbye. Despite the fact that the more cynical amongst us would dismiss Buckley's phenomenal debut album, Grace, as an overrated cash-in, I disagree. Even today, Grace still remains both relevant and untainted. The songwriting displayed on the album is far and beyond effectually everything that has came since and the vocals retain a soothing, almost majestic quality. Of course you could put this down to the fact that, like Nick Drake, he died long before his time, but the difference between Buckley and other songwriters is that he knows how to convey the right emotions at the right times. This album isn't solely filled with heartwarming, accoustic ballads. Instead, it focuses on gradual stylistic shifts between heavier and softer tracks. This balance is conserved throughout the entire album and can best be demonstrated in songs such as Hallelujah and Eternal Life. Last Goodbye on the other hand is more difficult to define. It has a beautiful, sentimental quality to it that is never too much or too little. In many respects, it has the perfect equilibrium and that's why it has made it onto this list.

Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye

I've perhaps saved the best for last, The Beatles' classic Blackbird. I personally consider The Beatles to not only be the most influential band of all time, but also the best. They didn't just create songs with feeling, they created songs that would change the musical landscape forever. There are few bands today who don't owe something to The Beatles. Their influence is so widespread that many consider Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band to be the first Progressive Rock work and I'm of the opinion that Helter Skelter was one of the first tracks to have Metal tendencies. Though it is impossible to pick a favourite album by them, The White Album has to be up there, as it is one of their most experimental albums due in large part to their fascination with LSD and other hallucinogenics around the time of recording. The track Blackbird, however, is not based around such activities. It was actually written as a reaction to the racist treatment of black people in America in 1968. This aspect alone validates Lennon and McCartney's songwriting ability because they were able to combine structurally uneven, free verse with a very real message of freedom without compromising the artistic or background functions.

The Beatles - Blackbird

Yousendit

Can anyone explain to me the fascination with this website? I just don't understand it at all. At first glance, it seems to serve the same function as the likes of Mediafire and Zshare, but upon further inspection, it doesn't come close to those filesharing websites in any way. Yes, it has decent uploading and downloading speeds but these are crippled by the fact that file's expire within the blink of an eye. For instance, for 'lite users' uploads expire within 7 days or after 100 downloads. This means that downloaders have to be constantly up to date with the latest blogs and websites that use this service, otherwise they could potentially miss out on some worthwhile tracks. Naturally, there is a remedy to this situation, and it comes in the form of paid and/or promo users who get an extended expiration date of 14 days or 500 downloads. This is a little better, but even a fortnight isn't that great and the majority of users don't have this account.

Although it could be said that such qualms are trivial, there is nothing worse than jumping from blog to blog chasing a trail of expired links. Case in point, a few months ago when Streelife DJs remixed the Michael Jackson track Wanna Be Startin' Something, it took me just under two weeks of constant searching to get my hands on it due predominantly to dead links or expired Yousendit files. Sort it out.

Oh, and here are a few tracks I've been enjoying recently. Hope you appreciate.

Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Something (Streetlife DJs Remix)
Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours (Breakdown Remix)
Tocadisco - Senator
Royksopp - The Girl And The Robot (Spencer And Hill Remix)
Alex Gopher - Aurora (Riot In Belgium & Knightlife Remix)
ZZZ - Lion (Bag Raiders Remix)
Miike Snow - Animal (Fake Blood Remix)