Saint Germain - Easy To Remember (F Communications, 1995)

Majestic deep house.

From the amazing 'Boulevard' series of 12"s, 'Easy To Remember' is ten minutes for sumptuous jazzy deep house.

It mixes gorgeous organic touches with chugging machine beats. It begins with a locked piano and brushed drum loop, throwing in ride cymbal, Detroit techno clicks, a lonesome Miles Davis-esque muted trumpet and a double bass run building, building, building before hitting a delicious groove propelled by a sweet, cubic four-to-the-floor beat.

There's lots going on but it's all masterfully arranged to leave loads of smoky space and allow the groove to ebb and flow as the track progresses.

Awesome.

Download Saint Germain 'Easy To Remember' (Deep House mp3, Jazz) (Divshare)

Jaga Jazzist - Animal Chin (Smalltown Supersound, 2002)

Breakneck, melodic Post Rock-Jazz madness.

A flurry of melody and breakneck rhythm, this track by Norwegian Post Rock big band Jaga Jazzist is a deliciously tricky beast. The melodic side is driven by a Cardigans-esque flute but the shifting layers of rhythms are a flood of energy and shifting directions.

It's like being thrown around in the world's first 4D helter skelter water slide. Nice.

Download Jaga Jazzist 'Animal Chin' (Post Rock mp3) (Divshare)

Neil Cowley Trio - Let's Go Away For A While (Beach Boys cover) (Mojo, 2012)

Yet another gem from the 'Pet Sounds Revisited' freebie.

It's obviously hard to ruin source material as amazing as 'Pet Sounds' but the Neil Cowley Trio turn this delicious instrumental into a gently post-rocking jazz masterpiece.

Waves of bright piano roll along over a twisty post-rock rhythm section, using the song's structure from some added tension-and-release dynamics.

Tasty.

Download Neil Cowley Trio - Let's Go Away For A While (Beach Boys cover, mp3 download, Mojo) (Divshare)

Thomas Lang - Sons Of (Jacques Brel cover) (Epic, 1987)

Delicious, baroque Jacques Brel cover.

Thomas Lang's 'Scallywag Jaz' is a truly a piece of buried treasure. An album of midnight blue jazz ballads and torch songs, wracked with loss and longing. The acceptable face of fretless bass and just perfect.

'Sons Of' was a b-side to much-re-re-released single 'The Happy Man' which was as close to a breakthrough as Thomas Lang was to have unfortunately. The poise of the Jacques Brel original is perfectly rendered on voice, piano and strings.

As graceful and captivating as Anna Pavlova dancing to the sound of a music box. Made out of lace. On ice.

Download Thomas Lang - Sons Of (Thomas Lang mp3s, Jazz, Jacques Brel cover) (Box.net)

Edo Lobo - Vento Bravo (EMI Brazil/Odeon, 1973)

Simply a mental track - drum'n'bass vamps in 1973.

Borne of the Bossa Nova scene, Edu Lobo is a bit of a genius. 'Vento Bravo' is from his 1973 album 'Missa Breve' and, to me, I can hear a massive amount of dubstep/drum'n'bass/Warp-type complexity in it.

When you listen deep into the maelstrom of rhythmic piano lines, metronomic drumming carefully placed brass and wandering bassline, it's easy to get lost with its exquisite, hypnotic structures.

Anything you can get your hands on is worth picking up as far Edu Lobo is concerned. The two new Bossa compilations of Soul Jazz - Bossa Nova and the Rise of Brazillian Music in the 60s and Brazil Bossa Beat: The Story of Elenco Records seem to have spurred a bit of a reissue programme so I will be replacing my dodgy mastered-from-vinyl Brazilian CDs for shiny new ones.

Insanely good.

Download Edu Lobo 'Vento Bravo' (Bossa Nova, Genius, mp3) (Rapidshare)

Alice Coltrane - Journey In Satchidananda (Impulse, 1970)

Expansive, springy and a just a little bit Free. 

A spectacular record for its time and still pretty damn amazing today. It's underpinned by a loquatious looping double-bass running through the whole track, anchoring the chorus of bells and understated drums.

A mysterious springy sound constantly unfurls whilst Alice Coltrane's harp scats playfully across the sound field.

Whilst the track doesn't develop in either arrangement or intensity, it's completely engrossing.

Download Alice Coltrane 'Journey In Satchidananda' (Free Jazz, elongated, mp3) (Rapidshare)

#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

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)

Red Snapper 'Crusoe Takes A Trip (John McEntire - Tortoise Mix)' (Warp, 1996)

Red Snapper's acoustic jazz-and-double-bass given a moody overhaul.

Tortoise's John McEntire, post rock music's producer-of-choice, adds layers of synth oboe, machine hums and a wickedly squirming sinewave bassline to Red Snapper's tune.

The original main riff is subdued beneath the layers. McEntire takes the track in a decidedly Ghost Box-y, Radiophonic Workshop direction, long before that came into vogue outside of Stereolab and Broadcast's rehearsal rooms.

The synthetic oboe is the main bearer of ooky spookiness, before the track is pared back to it's light-as-air jazzy drums. The Jazz Factor is heightened as a spare but sumptuous semi-acoustic guitar picks out a new melody, like George Benson contemplating Suicide.

The opposite effect to the typical remix of Tortoise, Luke Vibert's remix of 'The Taut and The Tame' for example. The rhythm is downplayed and the soup of jazzy intrigue is dialed-up. Gorgeous late night stuff in a Funki Porcini, Ninja Tunes-in-the-nineties kind of way.

Brown.

Download Red Snapper 'Crusoe Takes A Trip (John McEntire - Tortoise Mix)' (dub, jazz, postrock mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Miles Davis 'Ife (Live at Philharmonic Hall, New York)' (Columbia, 1972)

27 minutes of taut yet meandering, organic, rhythm-heavy electric jazz genius. Tortoise were listening.

'Ife' is a majestic piece from an incendiary period of music development between 1968 and 1974 that fused jazz to rock as only Miles Davis could.

I've been itching to write about Miles Davis for ages - but one never knows the right time to introduce jazz into the conversation..

The studio version of 'Ife' was recorded in 1972 but not released until 'Big Fun' in 1974. This version is from a 1972 live recording and 'Ife' is very much a journey of a piece. Over twenty-seven minutes of journey in fact, meandering from calm to locomotive, drum-powered groove.

I've never figured out whether the likes of Can on 'Tago Mago' (mp3) took inspiration from Miles Davis or vice versa, but it's clear that they were channeling the same wild spirit when they made their best works. More obviously, post rock jazzacists Tortoise and The Drift clearly basked in this music.

Enjoy.

Download Miles Davis 'Ife' (jazz, alternative, improvisation) (Mediafire)

Polar Bear 'It Snows Again (Live at The Spitz)' (2007)

Elegant, stately jazz procession from Seb Rochford's Polar Bear.

Polar Bear meld together post-rock, found sounds, electronics and brainfuckery into their sometimes loquacious, sometimes frantic, sometimes poised and beautiful jazz. They play in the same deep water as Triosk, Tortoise, Morphine, The Drift and, on this tune, even rubbing shoulders with the great Stan Tracey's 'Starless And Bible Black'.

'It Snows Agains' was recorded live at the The Spitz in 2007 - the venue has sadly since been replaced by property-developer flats. It meanders gently at a stately pace, accumulating feedback and noise along the way, distrupting the otherwise elegant surface.

Download Polar Bear 'It Snows Again (Live at The Spitz)' (jazz mp3) (Mediafire)

Triosk 'Two; Twelve' (The Leaf Label, 2004)

Intense and organic hybrid of post-rock, jazz and glitchy looping.

Triosk were an Australian jazz trio who blended post-rock grooves and electronic loops and glitches into their mellifluous, flowing pieces. They incorporated the sound of Tortoise's lock-groove wonder with controlled intensity, dynamics and improvisatory nous of The Necks. They evolved into Pivot (later shortened to Pvt) who have released a couple of albums on Warp.

'Two; Twelve' is a teasing, languid jam that grows in intensity across some expansive, jazzy drumming. There some Tortoise-y vibes and some rich, dark brown double bass action. Little touches of glitch and squiggle rough up the smooth edges, making the sound akin to Miles Davis' fusion band somehow jamming with Autechre at the Isle of Wight in 1970. Under sedation.

Magical. Triosk's two albums on The Leaf Label are highly recommended.

Download Triosk 'Two; Twelve' (jazz, post rock, electronica mp3) (Mediafire)

Pivot 'Sweet Memory' (Warp, 2008)

Twisty post-rock instrumental business from Warp's premier progressive Australian jazz masters, now known as PVT.

'Sweet Memory' by Australian machine-jazz-post-rock-hybrid guys, Pivot aka Pvt, always makes me think it's the theme tune to a Scandinavian crime series.

A crime series where the protaganist is somewhere on the Autistic spectrum, tapping out rhythms in 17/9 time on his Moleskine journal as he ponders the precision and bent-minded, but admirable, obsession of a serial killer who leaves his victims splayed into semaphore positions, eventually spelling out the words Tygers of Pan Tang. In Swedish obviously.

It's a fabulously kinetic tune that marries sleek, gliding sections with fabulously funky detours and glitchy breakdowns. Less aggressive and bombastic than the likes of Three Trapped Tigers - who also merge electronics and conventional instruments - but very magic nonetheless.

Download Pivot 'Sweet Memory' (post rock, electronica mp3) (Mediafire)

Kruder & Dorfmeister 'High Noon' (G Stone, 1993)

Very deep shit from kings of dubbed-out, jazzy hip-hop flavoured instrumentals.

Very, very languid stuff. Brown slabs of moody keys slide over a brushed drum shuffle. Hasn't dated a day to my ears.

File alongside Red Snapper, DJ Shadow, Isolee 'Beau Mot Plage', Ultramarine 'Saratoga' and then forget about the filing and listen to 'Girma's Lament' by Karl Hector & The Malhouns.

Download Kruder & Dorfmeister 'High Noon' (trip-hop, downtempo mp3) (Mediafire)

The Necks 'Sunken (Live at MONA FOMA, Hobart)' (2011)

More epic, evolving, post-jazz magic from The Necks.

The Necks deal in expressive, subtly shifting and evolving improv, making magic from a trio set-up of double bass, piano and drums.

Ostensibly jazz, their pieces are usually an hour or so of music that builds from nothing to a simple riff on one instrument into a piece that takes on a life of its own, going way beyond what might simply be termed jazz.

The Australian trio are very much a one-off but there are echoes of Miles Davis's 'In A Silent Way' in there as well as postrock like The Drift or late-period Talk Talk. The length and repetition/evolution forces you to submerge yourself in the music in the same way as great ambient dub like Seefeel.

The intensity they create is staggering and they're well worth catching live when they come back to the UK later this year.

This piece was recorded for radio at the MONA FOMA arts festival in Hobart, Tasmania.

Download The Necks 'Sunken (Live at MONA FOMA, Hobart, Tasmania, 2011)' (jazz improvisation, 320kb, mp3) (Mediafire)

Morphine 'The Night' (Rykodisc, 2000)

Deep, brown moodcore from Morphine's last album.

Morphine dealt in a rich, jazz-infused, bluesy take on alt/postrock, anchored around the late Mark Sandman's langorous bass. A powerful, sodium-street-light-lit trio, they remind me of the wonderful Breed.

'The Night' is the title track from their final album, released after the death of singer Mark Sandman. It's a gorgeous, moody voyage through a fog of see-sawing strings, pattering drums and deep, dark bass.

Morphine used a limited palette to great effect and a great band with acres to explore. This is a great place to start.

Download Morphine 'The Night' (alternative, indie mp3 download) (Mediafire)

David Sylvian 'Let The Happiness In' (Live, 1988)

Syrupy, langorous and expansive contemplation, recorded live in 1988.

'Let The Happiness In' is a brown, sombre hymn, pondering one of Sylvian's Long Dark Nights. From today's perspective, it's hard to believe it was released as a single - a fantastic 12" which came backed with the edgy funk of 'Buoy (Remix)' and the languid jazz instrumental 'Blue Of Noon'.

It processes at a stately pace, based on a simple organ motif and Sylvian's rich voice, slowly building with percussion and trumpet embellishments.

Initially true to the 'Secrets Of The Beehive' original, this live version slowly adds more layers - more intricate percussion, some gently skyscraping guitar and some of the most downbeat scat vocal improvisation you might ever hear.

Glorious.

Download David Sylvian 'Let The Happiness In (Live in Japan, 1988)' (alternative mp3) (Mediafire)

Download the complete David Sylvian 'Live in Theatre' concert over on archive:live+rare (mp3 download) (Mediafire)

Karl Hector & The Malhouns 'Girma's Lament' (Now Again, 2011) (mp3)

Don't know much about Karl Hector but I heard this head-turning piece of heavy funk-hop with a spy theme edge and a melancholy Afro-Beat brass chorus in Sounds Of The Universe yesterday and I can't get enough.

Don't know if it's contemporary or a reissue but it is damn good. File alongside The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

Download Karl Hector & The Malhouns 'Girma's Lament' (mp3) (Now Again Records)

Connan Mockasin 'Forever Dolphin Love' (Because, 2010) (mp3)

Very much the mysterious Mr. Mockasin's Krautrock-tinged Jazz Oddyssey.

'Forever Dolphin Love' starts with a gently oscillating pulse-groove - a la Miles Davis circa 'Bitches Brew' - before drifting into a more song-based section that rides on deft bass and guitar interplay, tides of dolphin sonar rising as the track progresses into a locked-groove Can-athon.

His recently reissued album includes a spellbinding live version of the track that extemporises on the theme, busting out to over twelve-minutes of madness.

It opens straight into a Can-at-Der-Schloss-in-1969 late-night groove lock-in before receding in intensity to usher in the song section and those vaguely disturbing (presumably treated) vocals.

By the eight minute mark, it's mutated further into a dubby monster, each rotation increasing the tempo until it's as giddy as a village idiot chasing a cheese down a hillside. Having just huffed a load of lighter fuel.

By the time the track collapses in an exhausted heap, only able to loop through its vinegar strokes in half-time, it's created staggering momentum - the guitars spinning out shards of skronk, the bassist pounding away and the drummer flinging his cymbals round your ears.

Astounding.

Download Connan Mockasin 'Forever Dolphin Love (Live)' (mp3) (Mediafire)

Available on the Forever Dolphin Love (Double CD reissue) of Connan Mockasin's album.