It’s a great moment when you go to see a band play, and discover an amazing support act. Adam Barnes was just that, and I am not being over zealous when I tell you that I have been listening to his music incessantly since seeing him perform.
Previously a member of acoustic folk act Motion In Colour, and hailing from Oxford, Adam creates a joyous blend of American Style Nu Folk, but all the while retaining a beautiful innocence in his music. Poignant melodies and affecting vocals will have you absolutely mesmerised: trust me, I have experienced it. Influenced by such artists as Bon Iver, William Fitzsimmons and Joe Purdy, Adam infuses light-hearted melodies with rather bleak subject matters to great effect.
Adam has recently released an EP entitled ‘Blisters’, a six song delight that is enchanting and endearing in equal measure. With beautiful and breathtaking moments such as ‘Lighthouse’ that with its powerful a cappella intro, will send shivers down your spine. The electric filled ‘Procession’ shows a more bluesy influence to Adam’s music. My personal favourite has to be ‘Come Undone’, which, with just a simple guitar melody and Adam’s deeply moving voice, you can’t help but get completely wrapped up in what the man has to offer.
‘Blisters’ is out now and you can find it HERE we all strongly recommend you listen to it.
To find out more information on Adam, you can check out his MySpace or visit his Soundcloud site and stream the entire EP.
Florence Joelle, the songstress with a style all her own, and a subconscious colonised by vintage American tunes, sings of things that go bump in the night. While her inspiration draws from the past, she and her marvellous band have carved out a sound that lives in the present, bringing their own slant to Chick Webb’s ‘40s reefer blues ‘When I Get Low I Get High’, and the ‘50s R&B staple ‘Unchain My Heart’. Of Florence’s own compositions, ‘Stardust Merchant’ echoes early jazz standards and the melodrama of the post-war French songbook, whilst her ‘Watermelon Gin’ is a wistful, calypso-tinged serenade to love lost…
1. Tell Us About Your Upbringing, specifically with regard to how you developed your love of music.
Paris-born, to a jazz-loving father and a classical mother, I was blown away when I first saw and heard Elvis in King Creole at a friend’s house. I was ten years old and didn’t even know he existed! Elvis changed everything, very quickly I started listening to Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent and Chuck Berry, and by the time I was 13, I was trailing the flea markets collecting rhythm and blues and rockabilly singles. The world was filled with records I didn’t yet know and needed to have! During my later teens I discovered the melodrama of French chanson, accordions and the music of Django Reinhardt, the North African rai from the street, and spent much time watching black and white American gangster films with jazz soundtracks where great Latin sounds were being played in louche bars. Later I discovered country, soul, folk and everything else, but it is the music of my early years that shaped my songwriting.
2. Define suave sophistication.
Suave, my favourite word… Not a question I have been asked before, would you believe. Suave sophistication has nothing to do with how rich or attractive you are, it is about how you choose to live: be true to yourself at least, know not to follow conventional thoughts, fashions and crazes as you have your very own, behave at all times as if you were walking on flower petals and existing on the best cocktails, live like a king even if you are a pauper. The following people are, or have been suave: Robert Mitchum, Miles Davis, Oscar Wilde, Orson Wells, Juliette Greco and obviously the lady in the song ‘The Lady Is A Tramp’, who is archetypically suave.
3. Complete the sentence: Elvis is…
The beginning of popular music as we know it. There is something beautifully tragic in the way he led his life, a beautiful, golden-voiced semi-god, glowing with oomph and cool, who grew into a man gone so early… The first of his kind, he didn’t have much control of his career, creatively especially.
4. London, Paris, New York… Your thoughts please.
Vital locations on the ley line of suave… London is still the world’s capital of music, and its energy and vitality are intoxicating in many ways. Paris is elegant and beautiful, and full of lovely sounds when you get past the surface, Django’s music can still be heard on the street, as well as African sounds (from north and south of the Sahara) old and new, and so much more… New York, now there’s the place… Sitting on a subway platform you realise that only there could bebop and modern jazz have taken shape, just hear these old trains passing along, sounding like avant-garde rhythm sections. Boogaloo (one of my favourite things) can still be heard, and beautiful folk music still being played. It’s as if the street is a giant magnet, and you might miss something if you don’t come out. Add to it dilapidated art deco everywhere, and the fact you can buy flowers from corner shops at 4am, my favourite playground!
5. What is the greatest song ever written, and why?
This is such a hard choice, there are so many… W.C. Handy’s ‘St Louis Blues’ comes to mind, if I try and make a rational decision. It has a beautiful melody that fits its story of love and deception, going from a standard 12 bar blues to a haunting minor tango, and back. The lyrics have emotional depth and tragic acceptance: her man has gone off with the St Louis woman, but she still loves him ‘like a schoolboy loves his pie’. It is so well crafted that people like Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and even the Flamin’ Groovies could make it their own.
What a trip, the first annual 360 trip to L.A. was a roaring success, with the team even managing to get some fun and recreation in.
The trip began with a touchdown on Los Angeles’ hottest day since records began (124 years ago!), so that was nice. 117 Degrees is pretty warm, but the 360 team are made of sterner stuff than the usual weedy rock and roll types and we sauntered into a Mexican restaurant to start the visit as we meant to go on (with a beer and a large plate of food in front of us). Dinner was followed by trips to Record Surplus and Amoeba, where money was spent and old records were procured. Not a bad start…back to the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood for some shut eye.
Day two began with an early breakfast in Santa Monica with 360’s spiritual godfather, Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman. Jac’s enthusiasm remains unabated a mere 60 years after starting one of the greatest labels of all time, and he talked passionately about our own Ben Sommers, as well as extolling the virtues of independent record making. After a cab back to Hollywood, the gang headed off up Hollywood Boulevard to take in the historic sites. We bumped into actor Seth Green, (he of Austin Powers and Entourage fame), who was attending a premiere at the Egyptian Theatre, before heading over to Largo to witness a stunning performance by legendary soul singer Bettye LaVette. Just time for a late dinner at a French bistro on La Cienega Boulevard, with iTunes music guru Gary Stewart, before heading back to the hotel.
Wednesday brought a get together with Rob Campanella, our pal from Brian Jonestown Massacreand The Quarter After. Rob was the perfect host, playing us loads of amazing music by his own bands and many others, showing us round his wonderful home studio, and taking us up to the Hollywood Hills for a spot of sight seeing and a few photo opportunities. Mexican lunch was devoured, and a good time had by all.
Thursday morning found our team having breakfast with Englishman abroad Mike Hodgkinson, a talented journalist and a man of taste. Jean Gabin’s films were discussed, as was Avi Buffalo, the British urban underground scene and several other subjects. Next stop was Melrose Avenue, and more money was spent on Nike trainers and old folk records from the ‘50s…then we headed over to Chateau Marmont with our good friend Elizabeth McCarthy, who has just written a marvellous book that you’ll all be hearing about next year. Cocktails were drank and star spotting reached its apex with sightings of John Malkovich, Eva Longoria and Aaron Johnson of Kick Ass fame. Then we went for a rather splendid Thai dinner, before heading to Hollywood club Boardens, where we witnessed synth pop outfit Ming & Ping, surely one of the worst bands in existence!
Friday was HOT. I mean REALLY HOT. After a breakfast at The Griddle, on Sunset, we headed over to VeniceBeach with Richard Bridge, a man whose knowledge of dance music is second to none. We discussed the state of the market, and opportunities in the future whilst getting a guided tour of the Venice canal system. IN THE HEAT! The afternoon was spent with Bill Inglot, the world’s greatest tape researcher, archivist par excellence and a man with great ears. A trip to Freakbeat Recordsin Sherman Oaks meant more record buying, and a chat with Bob and Tom at the store. A busy and HOT day was brought to a close by a visit to the legendary Troubadour club, to see Fountains Of Wayne. Unfortunately, the sound was poor, the set list was disappointing and the band seemed to be operating at well below their best…
The weekend meant more shopping for records, books and posters, and I can certainly recommend Mr. Musichead on Sunset Boulevard, where proprietor Sam Milgram showed us some fantastic exclusive posters and photos of Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, The Velvet Underground, Wilco, Deerhunter and many more. Great shop.
Then a two day tour of Silverlake, Echo Park, The Valley, Hollywood Hills, Laurel Canyon, Malibu, the mountains, the ocean, some spectacular views. We just about managed to drag our weary bodies along to the Arclight cinema on Sunset, for an 11pm Sunday night screening of ‘The Social Network’, which was packed. What a movie, we can unreservedly recommend this film – riveting, shocking, funny, articulate, sad, inspirational and ultimately brilliant.
STEVE MILLER BAND RETURNS
ROYAL ALBERT HALL, LONDON
Thursday 7th October 2010
What a curious career Stevie ‘Guitar’ Miller has had. Despite being born in Wisconsin, Miller spent his formative years in Texas, and his guitar tone retains that Texan blues sound to this day. His father’s relationship with legendary musical icons Les Paul and T-Bone Walker ensured a righteous and prodigious path, and whilst still a teenager, Steve moved to Chicago to play the blues with another two musical giants, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. In the mid sixties Miller hooked up with Barry Goldberg to form the short-lived Goldberg-Miller Blues Band. After another short spell in Texas, he took the bus to San Francisco, and became part of the burgeoning SF psychedelic scene, with his new band, named after himself. The first recordings released as The Steve Miller Band were on a Chuck Berry live album, as they had backed Berry at his Fillmore shows in 1967. In 1968, the first true Miller Band album ‘Children Of The Future’ was released, and in the next two and a half years a string of classic tripped out blues albums were issued: ‘Sailor’, ‘Brave New World’, ‘Your Saving Grace’ and ‘Number 5′ still rank among his finest work, and were followed by ‘Rock Love’ and ‘Recall The Beginning’, both failing to achieve the sales or critical acclaim afforded their predecessors. 1973’s ‘The Joker’ restored Miller’s waning reputation, and gave him his first major hit with the title track, whilst simultaneously ushering in a new era of radio friendly pop rock that would indelibly mark his next two albums, ‘Fly Like An Eagle’, and it’s sister record ‘Book Of Dreams’. A four year period of inactivity was broken by ‘Circle Of Love’ and a year later came ‘Abracadabra’ whose titles track once again saw Miller topping charts round the globe. The rest of the eighties saw a disappointing glut of compilations, a turgid live album, and a couple of forgettable studio records. The nineties yielded the solitary studio album ‘Wide River’, another round of compilations and reissues and a long absence from recording, which remained unbroken until this year’s ‘Bingo’ another highly disposable release of blues covers.
Thursday night’s show was a must see for me, having been a fan of the man, his records, and guitar playing for almost forty years. The show did hold some trepidation for me though, as I realised that this was the first time he had played in the UK for 28 years, and that I hadn’t liked an album he had made for even longer.
Opening with the crowd pleasing ‘Jet Airliner’, Miller was in fine voice, but the uplifting impact of familiarity combined with a great sound and loving audience reaction was tempered by the ludicrous shape throwing and mugging of vocalist Sonny Charles (he of Checkmates Ltd. Fame). I must confess I spent the first few numbers trying to avert my gaze from the rest of the band apart from Miller, as guitarist Kenny Lee Lewis seemed to have mutated into a mulleted drongo, affecting a look somewhere between Billy Ray Cyrus and Kenny Powers; the keyboard player was wearing a sequined top that would have caused Ru Paul to blush in the ’80s; a drummer who sacrificed subtlety for flash and an overactive use of tom toms…
Miraculously, the evening was still a success, due mainly to Miller’s stunning guitar playing, beautiful vocals, and a well judged song selection. Highlights were an acoustic ‘Seasons’, a rollicking ‘Rock’n Me’, a subtle ‘Wild Mountain Honey’ and sublime readings of ‘The Stake’ and ‘Jungle Love’, with a storming ending that included ‘Abracadabra’ and ‘The Joker’. Special mention for a nice tribute section that bade farewell to former bandmate Norton Buffalo, who died last year, late sixties and early seventies collaborator Nicky Hopkins; godfather Les Paul, whom Miller paid tribute to with a fabulous a cappella rendition of ‘Nature Boy’, but minus points for a distinctly average band, and no bass player!
So, another month and another DJ poll! Fear not – this isn’t another rant! If you read my first blog you may be relieved to hear that I’m actually going to offer some fairly positive and comparatively concise thoughts this time out as Mixmag pose a mind bogglingly tough question – Who is the greatest DJ of all time?
To make this little thinker a bit less daunting they have made the poll multiple choice but even with your options laid out in front of you it’s still a hell of a task to pick from what is, in the main, a pretty comprehensive selection of genuinely worthy contenders!
As a side note it is interesting to see that only one of the three DJs I saw fit to moan about last month has made the shortlist of 35 but Mixmag’s question does give me an opportunity to do what I neglected to do previously and that is suggest a few names that I believe are deserving of claiming the title of greatest ever DJ, and probably also top the DJmag Top 100.
So which DJs should be, in my humble opinion, considered the greatest? Actually I have to contradict myself slightly with my first selection as sadly the late Larry Levan is no longer with us and is therefore unable to gain votes for the Top 100 poll. I also never had the privilege of seeing him spin. However few could argue with his role in the emergence of dance music in 1980s New York at what has been described as the “prototype” of the modern dance club Paradise Garage, and it is easy to justify a vote for a man of such stature when a number of the other candidates (including Francois K and Frankie Knuckles) have all cited him as a big influence on their own careers. The man is quite simply a legend.
Two other contenders worth shouting about have been at the forefront of the techno scene for more than 20 years and in their own ways have constantly pushed boundaries with an ultra innovative approach to their trade. Sven Vath and Richie Hawtin are not only superb DJs, producers, label heads, A&Rs and promoters but they have also mentored many of the DJs that have followed in their footsteps. Techno might remain one of the more underground genres of dance music but there is no denying its ability to drive a party, and these guys have done it as well as any of their peers for longer than some of their dance floor disciples have been on planet Earth!
And whilst I’m handing out praise I’d also like to single out Sasha. I had the privilege of working with Sasha as an employee of his booking agency, Excession until a couple of years ago but it is without bias I throw his name into the ring. Of those mentioned above, Richie Hawtin is as synonymous with technological advances in dance music as anyone and is renowned for his often spectacular use of it. But equally, Sasha has developed a reputation for being ahead of the game and was the first DJ to use Ableton software for an Essential Mix on Radio 1 back in 2005. The emFire boss can construct a DJ set of epic proportions and mind blowing quality and his productions and remixes are pretty tasty too, as his 2008 compilation cum artist album ‘Involver2’ will testify.
Other names worth a mention are Derrick Carter, Andrew Weatherall (whose Fabric mix is one of the greatest of them all), Laurent Garnier and erm… Jimmy Saville?!
Hmmm, not sure who fixed it for Jimmy Saville to make the shortlist but on the subject of all things legendary the unbelievably brilliant Ninja Tune hit 20 bloody years this year! Home to some insanely talented artists – many of whom have made their names on the label – Ninja Tune are rightly celebrating in style. Their October party saw them showcase a bag full of label stalwarts including Cold Cut, Toddla T, Amon Tobin, Roots Manuva, Mr Scruff and Floating Points, and that followed a recent exhibition of Ninja Tune artwork at London’s Black Dog Space. Very classy, but perhaps not as classy as the record collector’s wet dream that is the ‘Ninja Tune XX’ box set of CDs, 7” vinyl, a stunning book and stickers! Yep, stickers! I’ve been lucky enough to thumb through this masterpiece and only wish I had a spare hundred nuggets to shell out on it!
And talking of birthdays, I wanted to mention the mighty Warm who celebrate 11 years this year. Ok, that may not be as impressive as 20 but their party looks like a corker with Sebo K, The Revenge and Marc E taking over Corsica Studios in October. Their last soiree with Tim Sweeney at East London’s newly revamped Plastic People was superb. The intimate basement venue was always a cracking club with a blinding sound system but somehow they have made it even better. Totally awesome, even if the security staff were complete twats. I’d also like to express my gratitude towards Warm’s head man Ali Tillett who kindly snuck me in that night after some, ahem, ‘guest list issues’!
I believe I ended my first blog with a couple of recommendations and some shameless self promotion and that’s exactly how I’m going to finish this one. For starters I’m going to point you towards Metronomy’s 2008 remix of Lykke Li’s ‘I’m Good I’m Gone’. Li’s vocal is sensual and utterly sublime but Metronomy have crafted a track that at just over five minutes long makes me wish it was double the length. Synth heaven.
The other release you have to have in your life is ‘I Would’ by Dirty Doering on Berlin label Bar25. This is one of the most blissfully spine tingling records I have heard in ages with an acoustic guitar led hook that almost makes you forget that another depressing English winter is sadly upon us. But don’t think for a second that that is where it ends as Matthew Styles chimes in with his 19 minute rework (yes, count ‘em – 19 glorious minutes)! In truth Styles’ version seems to contain few reference points to the original but it is an incredibly well crafted slice of deep house that beat my Friday morning hangover better than 2 paracetamols, a bacon sarnie and another beer ever could have. I say it beat the hangover but that’s a lie – I still felt terrible on Saturday! But it did soothe it!
To finish up you can listen to my new tune (below) via Soundcloud. I actually knocked this dark, moody little number together a couple of years ago but have recently given it a touch up in order to release it. Hopefully coming to a download store near you soon.
It’s the start of a new era for Shoreditch, as the brand spanking new XOYO venue opened its doors to the public. It has been well reported that the club had experienced some early difficulties – so much so that they had to cancel their opening night on that same day – but as I make my way downstairs into the basement, it’s evident that these problems are now a thing of the past.
I am here to see the much talked about band, Dum Dum Girls, but I must confess I’m equally excited to be seeing Wild Palms (in support) for the first time. I’d heard mixed reviews about their live shows, but I wasn’t going to let that put me off, and as the band made their way to the stage I really wasn’t sure what to expect.
Then the opening chords and the almighty voice of Lou Hill tore through the chatting audience and I was hooked. Their sound is a mix of 90s shoegaze and modern indie ala Wild Beasts – haunting and dripping in subdued atmospherics, effortless and sublime. As their set came to a close I was left with a feeling of euphoria and a hunch that I’d just witnessed a band on the cusp of becoming something great. A revelation!
Dum Dum Girls on the other hand, not so much. I’d heard a lot about this band as they were a storm at last year’s SXSW conference – Velvet Underground New York chic wrapped up in a goth inspired, Adams Family get up. On record, Dum Dum Girls, have this cool, breezy, scuzz influenced sound that is quite mesmerising and their album ‘I Will Be’ was an independent success and loved by many but live, the band just seemed to lack anything but good looks. The acid psychedelic edge that is present on their releases was unfortunately lost live. They became dreary, inconsistent and rather dull at times, so much so I didn’t even stick around for the encore.
As I head off I find myself disappointed with the performance of Dum Dum girls, but happy to have discovered Wild Palms who were awesome. The venue, XOYO itself was also a treat and it’s certainly great to know we have a cool new place in London to see live music against a backdrop of so many venue closures.
Sweetness in song with an angelic voice that would make the harshest of hearts swoon in her presence… I give to you the wonderful Roxanne De Bastion.
Raised in Berlin, this endearing songstress has been honing her craft since the tender age of 10. Creating beautiful melodies entwined with dreamy imagery and touching balladry that allow the listener to become lost in her world.
Roxanne recently released her single, ‘One Morning’ which captures both subtlety and innocence within its story-telling. Add in the mix, her sultry and awe-inspiring voice, with its underlying tenderness and you find yourself surrendering totally to De Bastions charm.
Since moving to London, Roxanne has played up and down the country at many famous venues, including the Cavern Club, Barfly and the 100 Club and more recently, on tour with Nik Kershaw. I had the opportunity to catch Roxanne at the 12 Bar on Denmark Street performing to a small but totally captivated audience. Playing tracks from her recently released ep Mono, she effortlessly grabbed everyone with her enchanting approach and audience participation. One of the highlights was her track, Indie Electro Pop. It’san ode to all the uber cool London bands, with a few bars of MGMT at the end to boot.
Comparisons to Regina Spektor and early Kate Nash are evident in her performance, which for me means Roxanne De Bastion is something special. On top of all that she is one of the loveliest people you will ever meet, fact!
White Collar Weapons’ Kieran Rafferty talks Newcastle, improv and a growing obsession with video…
So I’ve moved to Newcastle to concentrate on writing music. I can live cheaply here and record at the university, and as such I’m thriving. I’ve been attending improv. groups and songwriter’s groups and have immersed myself in guitar and piano practice, studio work and studying music with great people who are really dedicated explorers. Whilst having my horizons expanded I’ve written lots of new songs and been working on a new three-piece project with Tim and Tom from White Collar Weapons as well.
The band comes up in small teams to record and we’ve got a new definitive studio version of ‘Uni town’ about a week away, and there’s gonna be a little live video for that made by a really good American filmmaker called Rei Vallejo.
Most recently we put together ‘Keep Your Deadbeat Hidden’, and it’s accompanying video. It was just a really simple idea that I’d wanted to do for ages, and in the process of making it, I’ve become addicted to making videos so hopefully there will be more being churned out shortly.
Over the summer WCW has morphed a little bit. We have a new drummer, Merijin, who is a dream and is performing better than you could ask despite the fact that we’re doing a lot of long-distance ‘rehearsing’, and I’m just starting to work with some new brass players too.
Also, we just did a Nokia web advert with ’sister’ band Summer Holiday, and they’re about to release ‘Drive to China’as a single. So things are going well for all.
Personally, I feel really dedicated to just making things for people’s iPods, as well as I can, at the moment, and maybe now also Videos for them to watch in the office. We have some really dedicated followers who seem to get a kick out of what we do and they keep the whole show on the road ’cause when you’re a small band and you’re not making money from it, it’s the random messages of appreciation that keep you going.
So I’m riding this purely creative wave, writing and making, discovering and learning as I go. Having said that, we’ve found time to play the odd live show – Redfest in Surrey, Playgroup Festival in Kent, St Andrew’s University, my local pub in Newcastle, Videopia in Notting Hill, Brixton Jamm and Camden Barfly in the last couple of months.
Seeing as the lovely guys at 360 Degree Music have offered me a regular outlet for my ramblings I would like to begin with a few words on a subject that’s topical in the world of dance music right now. DJ Mag’s annual Top 100 DJs poll was launched in August with great fanfare; cue a bombardment of emails, online campaigns, virals and general tat by DJ’s, DJ’s managers, agents, fans and wannabes trying to persuade you that they are worthy of your vote. Most of them are not!
Originally launched so long ago I can’t remember how the votes were cast – probably by postcard and restricted to voters from these fair shores – last year’s search for the world’s ‘best’ DJ took in more than 350,000 votes from over 230 countries with some trance jock named Armin van Buuren topping the list by beating another trance jock called Tiesto and some shampoo advertising popstar named David Guetta into 2nd and 3rd spots respectively.
The supposed beauty of this poll is that votes can be cast by anyone and everyone from all corners of the globe, but in the same way that shit, unimaginative pop dominates the hit parade and ‘reality’ TV (horror) shows bung up the airwaves, the DJ Mag Top 100 seems to illustrate that too few people who are eligible to vote have a vote worth counting! You can argue that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I can assure you Armin, Tiesto and Guetta are not the ‘best’ DJs in dance music – not even close!
I can’t help but think that the higher echelons of the Top 100 are remarkably unbalanced by the number of Trance DJs present. This may have made sense 10 years ago when the genre was absolutely massive; numerous records crossed over to the mainstream and most clubs had nights dedicated to it, but whilst Trance seems to have stood still and stagnated for years the landscape of clubland has changed dramatically. I don’t want to knock an entire genre of dance music because my own tastes have progressed since my heady youth (I used to indulge in the occasional euphoric reach for the lasers in years long gone by), but the top heavy presence of these guys in the Top 100 poll baffles me.
If you ignore the dizzy heights these guys occupy though (even I cannot argue with their successes – Guetta smashes the charts to pieces on a weekly basis, Tiesto played an Olympic Games opening ceremony, and Armin packs out entire football stadiums on his own), the consequence of the free vote that arguably screams irrelevance more than anything else is the inclusion of acts such as Daft Punk – legends in their own lifetime but they aren’t even DJs!
This is not the first time I have seen fit to rant about DJ Mag’s Top 100 poll… two years ago (following a few too many alcoholic units) I directed a scathing attack on the magazine itself by drunkenly penning a similar argument to the one above. In truth I don’t even remember writing it – I only know I did because it showed up a month later on the letters page of the issue revealing the results of that year’s vote (sad huh!?). I’m probably doing myself a slight disservice as it wasn’t just a moan for the sake of moaning – I constructively offered a solution to the ‘problem’ as I saw it along the lines of a regional vote with regional results as I believed this would provide a more realistic reflection of the world we party in.
But the reason I’m bringing the subject up again two years later is because it seems I’m not alone in the belief that the once revered Top 100 is now an unreliable judgement of dance music’s biggest hitters.
Following this year’s Ibiza Music Summit (the industry conference launched in 2008 by Mr Pete Tong of Radio 1 and Essential Mix fame) an ambitious working group of “artists, managers, booking agents, club owners, record label executives, retailers and radio representing acts across the electronic music spectrum” was set up to develop an “accurate and authoritative new DJ popularity index”. As I understand it, everything from DJ fees, club attendances, sales and air play will contribute towards a definitive league table of DJs, and at the same time take the public vote out of it. Whilst I quite like the concept I do suspect that the Top 100’s Big Three are still going to feature prominently based on such criteria, albeit with facts and figures to back them up.
To add credibility, supposedly the IMS will take their Index to the Official Charts Company once the principles are agreed (making it very official indeed), and with the backing of Mixmag DJs now have two contests to compete for in what could prove to be a good old VHS vs Betamax style ding dong.
Anyway, that is my two pennies worth on the subject (or maybe ten quid’s worth judging by the word count). On a change of tack I’m going to share a few things that I am really loving right now!
The first is Tensnake’s Remix of Azari & III’s ‘Reckless With Your Love’ on Permanent Vacation. The original came out at a similar time to a Tensnake record called ‘Coma Cat’ (also on Permanent Vacation) and my thoughts then were that it was the better of the two. Since then House music super power Defected Records have picked up ‘Coma Cat’ and it is rightfully all over the radio and delightful in its own right. Hamburg’s Tensnake has now touched up ‘Reckless…’ and it is a listening experience of epic proportions. As a German with as much potential as the frighteningly good World Cup side that pissed all over England last June, Tensnake is one to watch most certainly!
The second treat for your ears is ‘Move Me’ by the irrepressible production duo Mood II Swing. These guys have been big in the game since the early 90’s and this was actually released originally way back in 1995. Thanks to a re-issue by French label P&D every House DJ worth their salt seems to be spinning it at the moment and rightly so – this is an awesome record. Get on it (again).
An extended Episode 1 as I had a lot to get out off my chest! If you feel inclined you can check out my remix of 360’s very own Roses Kings Castles, ‘One Born Every Minute’ below.
So I get told…“go see Warpaint when they come to London… you have to go see Warpaint when they come to London.” I’m like, “what is all the fuss about?” So I found out – what all the fuss was about – and I LOVED the fuss!
When I arrived at Camp Basement it was rammed to the rafters with industry people and famous hangers-on, not to mention, Nicholas Hoult of Skins fame and Michael Fassbender, star of Inglorious Basterds… It was a who’s who kind of affair, but hey, gigs like this one always are. For me, not being familiar with any Warpaint songs, just added to the fascination about this band that has become one of the most talked about in recent months.
So where do I begin…
Well, not knowing what to expect, I felt sheer joy as that first ‘90s indie riff got shredded and an instant grin appeared across this writer’s face, that’s for sure. Dreamy, psychedelic shoe gazing wonderment in abundance as Warpaint gently eased themselves into their set list. What amazed me most was just how enigmatic they are as musicians, with what seemed like a perfect mix of Shocking Blue and Sonic Youth riding the wave of Tank Girl comic book geekdom. I did feel like I’d stepped into Empire Records though, and was being entertained by an in-store band which was a great feeling – a step into nostalgia if you like. Also don’t get me started on how fucking brilliant their drummer, Stella Mozgawa was – just simply off the scale, with her rip roaring drumming skills – crashing and creating such wonderful noise. At times I wondered if I was hearing a drum machine, but it was just perfect sticksmanship which stood out as one of the highlights of the night for me. The band continued through their set, harmonising effortlessly, while all the time just oozing coolness with a total belief in themselves that did not once transpose into egotism.
Tonight was a preview gig for the bands Reading and Leeds slots this coming weekend and it certainly did have that feel. We were left in no doubt that this was something special we were witnessing as the band rattled effortlessly through songs off their recently released EP as well as, what will be new tracks from their just announced album ‘The Fool’, released through Rough Trade Records in October.
So, as the night drew to a close and heads were slowly coming to a head-shaking end, a feeling of jubilation was left in the air. It takes a special kind of band to come through a night like that unscathed and Warpaint did. Finally, we have a band that lives up to the hype.
