The Supremes - My World Is Empty Without You (Drop Out Orchestra Remix) (2011)

Slow and sinister dubbed-up remix of The Supremes classic.

A great Motown original which was covered to great effect by Afghan Whigs (must dig that one out and post it).

This version is slow house jam with a gentle 4/4 beat, a simple, spartan Fender Rhodes line and deep bass creating a sensitive new home for Diana Ross' vocal.

Very, very nice indeed.

Pulp 'This Is Hardcore' (Live at Wireless 2011)

A triumphant, epic performance from the live comeback.

'This Is Hardcore' is probably the single that signalled the end of Pulp's mainstream career. A bitter, twisted ballad of self-disgust and disillusionment.

It shouldn't work in the wide open spaces of a festival-style gig but it's just so big in scope and almost operatic in scale that it stands up to scrutiny.

Download Pulp 'This Is Hardcore (Live at Wireless 2011)' (indie Britpop mp3) (Box)

#Bestof2011 - SBTRKT 'Heatwave (Live at Abbey Road)' (Young Turks)

Best album of 2011. Perfect hybrid of soul and machine. 

SBTRKT's debut album is my album of the year, displaying an aptitude for mind bending beats, gorgeous sequencer lines, a bit of dubby space and warm, soulful vocals.

SBTRKT released a series of very tasty records, culminating in his debut album that didn't even contain all the best tracks. Check 'Living Like I Do' for more greatness.

This live version of album-opener 'Heatwave' takes the mix of flavours/flavas even further with some delicious, chunky, almost Post Rock drumming courtesy of the masked man himself. This makes the sparkling, airy sequencer lines shine even more.

Somewhere between dubstep, postrock, looped-up electronica and house - great stuff.

Having had an mp3 of this tune removed a couple of times by our friends at the DMCA, you'll have to enjoy this otherwise unavailable track via Youtube.

#Bestof2011 - Creep ft Romy xx 'Days' (Young Turks)

Best xx side-project of the year! 

A tough call up against Jamie xx's 'Far Nearer' but 'Days' is an icy piece of lusty electropop. It bursts into life with some curly synth that sounds like it came from  Blakes 7 before settling into a menancing sinewave bass groove.

The song is graced by Romy Madley Croft's dulcet tones, providing a warm, intimate contrast to the otherwise austere, glassy sound.

The only thing I don't get is why the 12" cost me something like £13. Is it impregnated with some kind of 'dance drug'? Made of gold? Anyway, a fine, fine track.


YT053 - Creep - Days by Young Turks

#Bestof2011 - Neverest Songs 'Paper Trumpets' (Tea At Yours)

Best newcomer of 2011. Beautiful, orchestrated folk-gazer delight.

A delightful, wistful slice of gently unwinding folk with strings, gorgeous backing vocals and subtle guitar. 'Paper Trumpets' boasts a shoegaze-y sensibility with  circular, ensemble singing in the mode of A Silver Mt. Zion.

A very promising single to file next to the similarly talented Peter Broderick, Sufjan Stevens and the exquisitely arranged prog-pop of Spoonfed Hybrid. He's released a handful of CDs including an accomplished film soundtrack so he's not really new. New to me this year though and great to see him at the Green Man festival.

The seven-inch vinyl release available direct from the artist.


Paper Trumpets by Neverest Songs

#Bestof2011 - Bombay Bicycle Club 'Shuffle' (Island)

Had, wrongly it seems, written BBC off as useless fops. Couldn't get this tune out of my head though.

I had Bombay Bicycle Club down as Landfill Indie but I never tire of hearing this tune with its insistent, interweaving lines and a certain stiff but mellow funkiness.

They've been talking up their love for 'Remain In Light' era Talking Heads and it makes sense given the rumbling bass, insistent groove and joyous topline.

It's begging for some great remixes, I think. It's had some not-so-great ones so far that pale next to the original. Something like the bootleg mix of 'Once In A Lifetime' (will have to dig that out and post it) might make this a dancefloor killer. Pretty great as it is though.

A wonderful surprise and one of my best of 2011 selection.

#Bestof2011 - Baubles 2011: The TRNWRD Annual Round-up

My round-up of the best of 2011. Hope you enjoy. 

It's always a good year for music, you just have to look harder some years than others IMHO. The overall mood is quite subdued/thoughtful but some banging tunes supplied by SBTRKT, Jamie xx and Friendly Fires to balance the more introspective mood of Bon Iver, Neverest Songs and James Blake.

Amazed that Bombay Bicycle Club managed to make my favourite single of the year. Despite the xx seemingly having a year off to recuperate, two of their number still managed to be involved in great records.

SBTRKT became the first artist to have more than one track on my year-end compilation thanks to the stupendous live drumming of 'Heatwave' and the frantic 'Living Like I Do'. A great album too.

A couple of tunes weren't released in 2011 - Hatchback's Krautrocktronics and, I believe, Karl Hector and the Malcouns' haunting Sun-Ra-channelling breakbeat jazz.

Anyway, hope you find something enjoy in the mix. Comment if you do! (Comment if you don't if you like - that would seem a bit mean though...)

Tracklist: 
01. Bon Iver 'Perth' (4AD/Jagjaguwar)
02. Jamie xx 'Far Nearer' (Nmbrs)
03. Creep 'Days (ft. Romy xx)' (Young Turks)
04. Big Deal 'Homework (Original 7" Version)' (Records Records Records Records)
05. Neverest Songs 'Paper Trumpets' (Tea At Yours)
06. Trophy Wife 'Microlite' (Moshi Moshi)
07. Karl Hector and the Malcouns 'Girma's Lament' (Now-Again)
08. SBTRKT ft Sampha 'Heatwave (Live at Abbey Road' (Young Turks)
09. Bombay Bicycle Club 'Shuffle' (Island)
10. Class Actress 'Keep You' (Carpark)
11. Wild Beasts 'Lion's Share' (Domino)
12. SBTRKT ft Sampha 'Living Like I Do' (Young Turks)
13. Friendly Fires 'Live Those Days Tonight' (XL)
14. When Saints Go Machine 'Fail Forever (Nicolas Jaar Remix)' (K7)
15. The Leisure Society 'The Hungry Years' (Full Time Hobby)
16. Joe Goddard ft Valentina 'Gabriel' (Greco Roman)
17. I Break Horses 'Winter Beats' (Bella Union)
18. British Sea Power 'Who's In Control?' (Rough Trade)
19. James Blake 'The Wilhelm Scream' (Atlas)
20. Hatchback 'Everything Is Neu' (Lo Recordings)
21. Patrick Wolf 'The City' (Hideout)

Baubles 2011 - An Eclectic Best of 2011 by Occasional Rain on Mixcloud

White Hills 'Paradise' (Thrill Jockey, 2011)

Gnarly, locked-groove Krautrock/Space Rock party tune.

Don't know much about White Hills but I'll give most things on Thrill Jockey a spin, given the delights of post-rock and electronic instrumental music they have released over the years.

I'm glad I did as 'Paradise' is a relentless, trippy Krautrock groove with plumes of dirty synth twisting some nice shapes.

It is also very long, clocking in somewhere over 12 minutes. The band are also highly political, though you wouldn't know it from the instrumental music alone, and colloborate with Krautrock-sage Julian Cope on one of the Rough Trade bonus tracks.

Listen to White Hills 'Paradise' (Krautrock, Space Rock) (via ThrillJockey.com)

Outshine Family 'Get Laid Like An Egg' (Black Maps, 2011)

Beautiful over-looked gem from 2011.

I picked this album early in 2011 on the back of giving it a spin on a listening post in Rough Trade.

It's a gentle, slowly-unfolding piece of laidback folkiness built up on what seems like an orchestra of instrumentation - banjo, strings, pedal steel, choir, guitars, drums, percussion, plus delays and backwards masking...

A distant cousin of the sleepy vibe of The Lilac Time's 'Black Velvet' with added atmospherics a la Neverest Songs 'Paper Trumpets'.

The album is a real treat too. Perfect Sunday fare.

Download Outshine Family 'Get Laid Like An Egg' (folk, indie mp3 download) (Mediafire)

New Music - Nightmare Boyzzz 'Nuclear Summer' (Happenin Records, 2011)

Slightly ramshackle but fizzing with noise and melody. 

Stumbled across this via Facebook and took a listen. To be honest, the band don't look promising and the name is terrible but 'Nuclear Summer' is an unexpected delight.

The song opens with sweet falsetto vocals a la Glasvegas and storms into rough-and-ready punky indie rock with a Power Pop edge. There are echoes of Big Star sweetness in the melody department, waves of trashy indie rock guitar a la The Strokes or The Libertines. All wrapped up in a breathless headrush of momentum.

There's a lot of energy in its three minutes duration but it hangs together - just - and is a real earworm. Can't wait for my 7" copy to arrive.

Enjoy.

Availabe as a 7" from Happenin Records or a download via their Bandcamp page.

The Necks 'Angle Of Repose' (Live at Sydney Festival, 2011)

Live improvisation for film soundtrack recorded at the Sydney Festival, January 2011.

More gliding, gently building and shifting improvisation from The Necks. 'Angle Of Repose' was recorded live as an improv against a projection of the film 'The Boys' in their home city of Sydney, Australia back in January. Oddly, they released their soundtrack to 'The Boys' as an album - but this is a completely new piece.

Utterly enthralling, stick on your earphones or make 45 minutes of free time to drift away to this ullulating, barely-there mood that sits somewhere between Miles Davis' 'In A Silent Way' and Triosk's scratchy jazz from a few years ago.

Download The Necks 'Angle Of Respose' (live, jazz, improvisation, mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Constellation Records 2011 Sampler (13 Tracks inc Tindersticks)

Generous sampler of 2011 releases from the mighty Constellation label.

Constellation has evolved from just being Godspeed You! Black Emporer's label with a few (admittedly awesome) postrock luminaries alongside - Fly Pan Am, Do Make Say Think, Sofa...

This showcase of 13 tracks from their 2011 releases includes tracks from Tindersticks Claire Denis soundtrack box, former Godspeed/Silver Mt Zion man Efrim Manuel Menuck, delight chamber music of Esmerine, Colin Stetson's twisted jazz and more besides.

Happy christmas.

Tracklisting:
01 SANDRO PERRI - Love & Light
02 PAT JORDACHE - Phantom Limb
03 SISKIYOU - Twigs and Stones
04 COLIN STETSON - The Stars in His Head (Dark Lights Remix)
05 EVANGELISTA - Artificial Lamb
06 EFRIM MANUEL MENUCK - Our Lady Of Parc Extension...
07 MATANA ROBERTS - Pov Piti
08 ESMERINE - Walking Through Mist
09 TINDERSTICKS - Children's Theme (White Material)
10 SISKIYOU - Always Awake *
11 SANDRO PERRI - Love & Light (Max Gross Remix) *
12 EFRIM MANUEL MENUCK - Carpenter's Orphan *
13 TINDERSTICKS - Le Rallye (Vendredi Soir)

Download Constellation 2011 sampler (alternative, post rock, soundtrack mp3 downloads) (via cstrecords.com)

Gruff Rhys 'Shark Ridden Waters' (Ovni, 2011)

Drowsy, sweet, sun-dappled West Coast loveliness.

The supremely talented former-Super Furry Animals man has carved out a string of gorgeous records over the last couple of years on his 'Candylion' and 'Hotel Shampoo' albums.

This tune was featured on Uncut's recent covermount CD tribute to the genius of Brian Wilson's 'Smile' sitting alongside the likes of Panda Bear, Plush, Grizzly Bear, Ruby Suns and Sufjan Stevens.

This made me redisover this wonderful tune with it's gentle 60s backbeat, Bacharach & David vocal sample and almost-whispered hymn to a magical girl.

Lovely.

Download Gruff Rhys 'Shark Ridden Waters' (indie mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Download the whole 'Still Smiling: A Tribute to the Genius of Brian Wilson' on archive:live+rare

Listening Post - Kate Bush '50 Words For Snow' (Fish People, 2011)

Kate Bush continues where 'Aerial' left off, drifting even further into abstract, comtemplative territory.

'Aerial' was a gorgeous, deep amber dream of a record, sliding out of reach of trad song structures away into the stripped back, piano-led territory of Talk Talk's 'Spirit Of Eden'.

On first listen, '50 Words For Snow' is as good, moving further away from song structures. Sounding wonderful to me.

Tracklist:
Snowflakes
Lake Tahoe
Misty
Wild Man
Snowed In A Wheeler Street
50 Words For Snow
Among Angels

Listen to Kate Bush '50 Words For Snow' (via NPR.org)

Advisory Circle Mixtape (November 2011)

Expansive mix from the man behind The Advisory Circle's haunted electronica. 

Taking in library sounds, classic Techno, Radiophonic experiments and more besides, this is an intriguing mix that takes in Carl Craig (in his 69 guise), Jim O'Rourke, library guy Keith Mansfield, the timeshifted dubstep bleep of Holy Other and a host of other things I've never heard of.

'Everything is Neu' by Hatchback is a particular favourite, a rumbling synthetic hymn to the motorik beat. It builds beautifully to a euphoric splendour.

The mix opens with a track from the latest release in Ghost Box's Study Series. Entitled 'Autumnal Activities', it's Number 7 in the series of desirable 7"s and sees Pye Corner Audio in collaboration with The Advisory Circle. It's a sombre, gentle piece of public information film soundtracking, riven by the sounds of wind and the sound of a haunted oboe.

Available from the Ghost Box shop of course.

The Advisory Circle present 'Autumn Cycles' by Cafekaput on Mixcloud

Listening Post - Korallreven 'An Album By Korallreven' (Acephale, 2011)

Gorgeous, florid dreampop explosion.

Korallreven have unleashed a few utterly gorgeous dubbed-up, electronic indie pop singles over the last couple of years. Finally, here is their debut album (out in the US on November 16th).

It's a lovely, light and airy collection that brings to mind some of Saint Etienne's most breezy moments, along with Dubstar and maybe even the Beloved.

Tracklisting:
As Young As Yesterday
Sa Sa Samoa
The Truest Faith
Keep Your Eyes Shut
Loved-Up
Comin Closer
Pago Pago
Honey Mine
A Surf On Endorphins
Comin' Down

Laura Marling 'I Was An Eagle' (New Song) (Live, 2011)

New song performed live by indie folk songstress Laura Marling in September 2011.

A brand new song from Laura Marling's current live set.

She sounded great at Green Man festival back in August and this is great recording of the same band in a Washington DC synagogue in September.

Download Laura Marling 'I Was An Eagle' (indie folk mp3 download) (Divshare)

Download the whole live set Laura Marling Live in Washington DC, September 2011 (indie folk mp3 download) over on archive:live+rare mp3s

The Drift 'Hello From Everywhere' (from Blue Hour) (Temporary Residence, 2011)

Rolling, post rock instrumental business from the new album, Blue Hour.

Recently included on The Wire's Wire Tapper 27 compilation, another new track from the post rock dons The Drift. The departure of two of the band since the last album sees a shift in emphasis away from gauzy jazz jams, towards a more rootsy sound.

Lovely post rock instrumental business though - echoes of the more plangent sections of Explosions In The Sky and the rolling jazz bassiness of Tortoise and Polar Bear.

Check-out The Drift on Temporary Residence and buy some of their albums!

Download The Drift 'Hello From Everywhere' (post rock mp3) (Mediafire)

Bon Iver 'Towers, Perth, Calgary - Live on Later' (2011)

'Perth' in particular given an expansive, muscular makeover.

Bon Iver's second album is a treat, which is a quite an achievement after the brilliance of the 'For Emma, Forever Ago'.

This set from Later with Jools Holland features three songs played by an incredibly large ensemble - an array of multiple guitarists, drummers, brass and keyboards. This is one indie alternative hero who isn't skimping on the presentation.

'Perth' is a revelation - a stand-out for me on the album, here rendered even more epic but with a more muscular edge balancing the sweetness.

'Calgary' is a choir of yearning set over a driving, almost Arcade Fire-like chassis, bouyed by subtle brass touches. 'Towers' is a clattering shuffle with hints of Calexico/Beirut mariachi boogie.

Very beautiful.

Download Bon Iver 'Towers (Live on Later)' (indie alternative mp3 download) (Mediafire)
Download Bon Iver 'Perth (Live on Later)' (indie alternative mp3 download) (Mediafire)
Download Bon Iver 'Calgary (Live on Later)' (indie alternative mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Rough Trade Counter Culture Radio - indie alternative mixtape

Excellent eclectic indie alternative music selection by Rough Trade Shops.

Nice mixtape curated by the staff at Rough Trade Shops, taking in classics like The Sonics and The Skatalites and introducing Little Dragon, Modeselektor, The Field and lots more.

Playlist:
1. 'Have Love Will Travel' The Sonics
2. 'Fidel Castro' The Skatalites
3. 'Santos & Ken' The Stepkids
4. 'Genuine' Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
5. 'Too Late' M.E.D.
6. 'Information Critic (The Heavy Remix)' Black Samurai Ft Daddy Freddy & The Ragga Twins
7. 'Berlin' Modeselektor Ft Miss Platnum
8. 'Scale It Back' Dj Shadow Ft Yukimi Nagano Of Little Dragon
9. 'It's Up There' The Field
10. 'Ritual Union (Maya Jane Coles Remix)' Little Dragon
11. 'Early Morning Lights (Marcel Dettmann Remix)' Sigha
12. 'Sanctum' Throwing Snow
13. 'Popgun' Martyn
14. 'Bax' Mosca
15. 'Hex' Pangaea
16. 'Master Plan' Willie Williams
17. 'Rock For Dub' Prince Jazzbo

Counter Culture Radio_20.10.11 by Rough Trade Shops on Mixcloud