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Reviews

Review: Ghostpoet – Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jams

A ghostwriter is someone who writes for and gives credit of authorship to another. A ghostpoet, we can infer, is that specific kind of ghostwriter whose work takes on a more creative, flowing, literative interpretation of events. Calling yourself Ghostpoet is actually pretty clever. It draws the focus on the music and not the musician, on the art and not the artist. It tells us to view the artist only as the pen, putting things together for the sake of the content, not the sake of the writer. It draws on the numinous of creativity, rather than the identity of it.

Also, it’s a pretty cool name.

It’s this juxtaposition between heady artistry and down-to-earth easiness that Peanut Butter Blues and Melancholy Jam presents us with. If he’s the ghostwriter, you’re the fence.

Categories
News

News: Radiohead – The King of Limbs

That’s the question we were all asking. Thankfully Radiohead have come to tell us the answer: in a newspaper on Monday 9th May (or download for £6 notes on Feb 19th). Yes, as you’ve probably already heard, there’s a new album less than a week away!!

Newspaper Album – PRESALE
Radiohead’s new record, The King Of Limbs, is presented here as the world’s first* Newspaper Album, comprising:
* Two clear 10″ vinyl records in a purpose-built record sleeve.
* A compact disc.
* Many large sheets of artwork, 625 tiny pieces of artwork and a full-colour piece of oxo-degradeable plastic to hold it all together.
* The Newspaper Album comes with a digital download that is compatible with all good digital media players.
* The Newspaper Album will be shipped on Monday 9th May 2011 you can, however, enjoy the download on Saturday 19th February 2011.
* Shipping is included in the prices shown.
* One lucky owner of the digital version of The King Of Limbs, purchased from this website, will receive a signed 2 track 12″ vinyl.

*perhaps

http://www.thekingoflimbs.com/ | Radiohead on Spotify

Categories
Playlists

152 Spotisfaction Friday – 4th February 2011 – Phil Cooper

Good morning Friday playlisters!

Got a great playlist for you today. Phil Cooper has put together all the best folk/acoustic/americana, including The Haiku, Gomez, Band of Horses, Elbow, and a few surprising choices along the way.

Ignore the image. It’s apparently ‘folk art’. It just amused me. Now it’s made me hungry.

James

Categories
Playlists

151 Spotisfaction Monday – 31st January 2011 – Ben Hawling

Apparently today is the most depressing Monday of the year. Or, depending on who you listen to, last Monday was. Listen, it’s January, the weather is shit, you’ve had Christmas, what do you want? It’ll be Spring soon. Yay, daffodils and lambs. You know what lambs mean? Better Sunday roasts, that’s what.

Anyway, we’ve got a great little life-snippet of a playlist today. Ben Hawling is picking out years of his life and retrospectively soundtracking it. I think that’s really cool. Everyone can get taken back to a time in their lives when they revisit music, and so a playlist like this is a way to share that reminiscence. As I listen to the playlist myself, I remember when and where I was when it was part of *my* life, and it becomes interesting how music permeates through our lives like a giant audio Bayeux Tapestry. Anyway, enjoy.

James

Categories
Features Reviews

Feature: Autumn Tone Records

It’s amazing how you sometimes stumble across treasure by accident.

At the height of Autumn, whilst wistfully day dreaming and listening to music in my room, I considered what sounds and music best represented the leafy season. In my curiosity, I typed the words ‘Autumn sounds music’ into the search engine in the hope of finding perhaps a list of possible suggestions. Instead, what came up was a link to the recently established Autumn Tone Records, which was instantly intriguing. I set about exploring the site, and checking out the varied list of artists, until I was satisfied that it was exactly what I was looking for. I felt like a child who discovers a den whilst playing in the woods; an image quite fitting when considering the alternative and natural character to the music offered on Autumn Tone Recordings.

Following it’s creation in 2005 by the music blog Aquarium Drunkard , Autumn Tone Records, based in Los Angeles, has been host to a number of acoustic, indie, folk, harmonic, and rock outfits who have all been driven out of obscurity and into the public eye. Currently, at least ten artists are represented on the label’s main website and are all definitely worth a listen.

Categories
Features

Feature: The Gin and Tonic Youth

I found this album (The Gin and Tonic Youth! ”“ New Times) the other day and it got me thinking: why do I know far more Swedish bands than Norwegian ones? The Gin and Tonic Youth! are a Norwegian band and join Röyksopp, Casiokids and A-Ha on my list of good Norsk bands. I”™m half Norwegian and my natural dislike for Swedes makes me upset that I can think of a far greater number of Swedish bands ”“ The Concretes, Radio Dept, Jose Gonzalez, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Hives, Ace of Base to name but a few.

Can anyone tell me any good Norwegian bands? And I don”™t want metal bands like Turbonegro. I know about them; my cousin”™s into them and I”™m not. Or if you don”™t want to help me, just check out the album I started off by mentioning. And check out this vid:

Categories
News

News: Venetian Snares

Venetian Snares (Spotify) is set to play this years Bloc Festival (11-13 March 2011), and having recently set up his own Timesig label, he’s released a new track for us exclusively via hyponik.

It’s typically… difficult… for a Venetian Snares release, but it’s got all the quirk and blast that he’s known for. Lovely for a Monday morning!

It’s also worth noting Venetian Snares is one of the only breakcore/experimental electronica artists with much of his repertoire on Spotify, which is great news and I’d love to see some of the other mainstays of the IDM scene on there too. Anyway, just a heads up.

New track | Ventian Snares on Spotify

Categories
Playlists

150 Spotisfaction Friday – 21st January 2011 – Dave Christensen

Morning all. Just a quick one to let you know that we’d love your playlists like they were our first born children. They deserve a good home, yo, so send them to us. We have candy.

Also, as you may have noticed, we’ve relaxed our update schedule a wee bit – we decided that a formally scheduled, magazine style format wasn’t really for us (tbh, it was a bit too much like real work). This means that there should be an awful lot less pressure for contributors to come up with stuff, so if the reason you didn’t want to get involved in the site previously was that you didn’t have enough time to commit, then fret ye not! If you want to write a paragraph about a new album that’s exciting you then great! Want to run a poll on the public’s favourite Descendents album (everyone knows it’s Milo Goes to College. Fact)? Perfect! Less structure, less rigidity, fewer (no) deadlines, more fun. That’s the aim, anyway. Get in touch if this sounds good to you.

Got a new playlist for you today, courtesy of the mighty Dave Christensen. I love playlists like this, to be honest – something about a good instrumental tune that truly helps you get through the day.

Anyway, catch you on the other side (of the weekend)!
Dave

Categories
News Playlists

Audio: Rygo Electro Mix

We’re always on the lookout for great mixes, and to that end Soundcloud is a veritable treasure-trove of awesomeness. Here’s the latest electro mix from our friend Rygo. I must say, some of his mixes have heavily influenced some of my own Spotify playlists featured on Spotisfaction (to the extent of actually stealing a couple of song combinations because he’s shown me how well they flow together), so I’m looking forward to giving this one a whirl. Check it out below and let us know what you think!

If you have your own Soundcloud or Mixcloud account, why not send us your own mixes?

 Mix 09 – Interesting music, beats and noise vol. 2 by Rygo

Tracklist:

1. Paul White – A Quiet Place
2. Oneohtrix Point Never – Stress Waves
3. Trentemøller – Häxen
4. SBTRKT – Evening Glow
5. Mount Kimbie – At Least (Instra:mental Remix)
6. R̦yksopp РThe Fear
7. Untold – Kingdom
8. Scuba – Three Sided Shape
9. James Blake – Tell Her Safe
10. Airhead – Paper Street

Categories
News

News: The Decemberists – The King is Dead

A favourite of ours at Spotisfaction, The Decemberists have just released their latest album The King Is Dead (Spotify). A slight departure from their previously epic orchestra-like arrangements, this album seems to be stripped back and raw; a quality that is making the album grow on me hugely.

The good news is that The King Is Dead is on Spotify, and the band are touring this album later in the year!

Dates:
Dublin, Vicar Street ”“ March 4
Glasgow, 02 ABC ”“ March 5
Birmingham, Institute ”“ March 7
Bristol, 02 Academy ”“ March 8
Manchester, Academy ”“ March 10
Leeds, 02 Academy ”“ March 11
London, Hammersmith Apollo – March 16

The Decemberists online | The Decemberists on Spotify

Categories
News

News: Glassjaw

Update! Please, Don’t Let Me Down is on Youtube:

Glassjaw fans, you’ve been so very patient. It’s been 10 years since Worship & Tribute (Spotify). 10. Years. It looked like they were never coming back, especially when Daryl took his side-project Head Automatica (Spotify) mainstream. But they got back together again in 2007 and then… nothing. A few singles popped up, a promise that things were happening, but never a commitment to any sort of release at all.

10. Years.

But your wait is over. Glassjaw are back! The singles they released over the last 3 years were collected and released as the EP Our Colour Green (Spotify) on 1 January. And even better, their website has now been updated and is streaming a brand new song entitled Please, Don’t Let Me Down. All indications are that this will be on a forthcoming EP containing brand all-new material. I can’t jeffin’ wait.

Glassjaw online | Glassjaw on Spotify

Categories
News

News: I’m About to Go HAM


Head over to This Is Fake DIY to hear the first track from the forthcoming Kanye West / Jay-Z collab album Watch The Throne.

I wouldn’t criticise the track, because otherwise the boys will ‘go’ what is colloquially known as HAM, or ‘Hard As A Motherf*cker.’ So that’s you told. Anyway, TRACK IS GREAT YO!

Kanye West on Spotify | Jay-Z on Spotify

Categories
News

News: Jamie xx Interview

Last year Gil Scott-Heron released one of my most-loved albums of 2010, I’m New Here (Spotify), his first in thirteen years. I was nervous to hear that Jamie xx was going to do a remix of the album entitled We’re New Here (scheduled for release in the UK on 21 February 2011), because I thought Richard Russell’s treatment of Scott-Heron’s reflective spoken-word blues was one of the most impressive and artistic production efforts of 2010.

However, my fears were ungrounded, as the two tracks on the albums webpage show. Track NY Is Killing Me is also on Spotify, and is already a massively impressive track.

Jamie’s interview with Martin Clark (the Blackdown half of dubstep outfit Dusk + Blackdown) was originally intended to be used in the sleeve notes for We’re New Here but, as you can read on Clark’s blog Blackdown Soundboy, the interview hasn’t directly made the sleeve notes, and so he’s put the full interview online. The interview is an intriguing read and heightens my anticipation for the release. Have a read, have a listen!

Categories
Features

Feature: Dubstep Warz

Just listening to this Mixcloud of Mary-Anne Hobbs’ legendary Dubstep Warz Breezeblock show back in ’06. Hobbs has always been pushing new electronic music and her influence in helping Dubstep to the forefront of the British music scene was immense, and this show was pivotal. Amazing mix, get it done!

 

 

 

 

Update. You want a sign of how Dubstep has ‘made it’? Check out the breakdown in Britney Spears leaked new single. That’s right, Dubstep is ‘the cool breakdown section’ in Britney Spears new track.

Britney Spears – Hold It Against Me

Categories
Features News

Feature: Cloudkicker

I don’t know who Amy is, but maybe I should love her too:


Cloudkicker – Amy, I Love You