Thursday 27 May 2010

Felix Cartal Live at Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh 26/05/2010



It was a very pleasant surprise when I received a facebook message yesterday not only saying that Montreal DIM MAK dj and producer Felix Cartal was playing in Edinburgh as part of his 'Popular Music' tour but also that it was free. It's suprising that a producer as talented as Cartal would play a venue like Sneaky Pete's but his popularity was obviously considerable as he packed out the tiny venue.

I am always hesitant about a dj that mixes from Ableton Live, he certainly got everyone in the mood but in contrast to the quality of the music he produces I have to say I was slightly disappointed. It definitely leaves you ambivalent and you go to bed feeling as though you have been somewhat cheated, a band actually plays their instruments the least a dj could do is properly mix.

I managed to catch a quick chat with him afterwards but unfortunately I was too drunk to record the interview which I expect wasn't particularly good anyway. One thing that did strike me though was how young he was. At 23 and looking relatively fresh faced he has already seen a substantial amount of success being signed to Steve Aoki's label and releasing a quality album which has been dropped in the sets of some of the biggest names in House music.

All in all despite how much I admire the artist I feel he should definitely stick to producing rather then delving into the djing side of things unless he actually learns to mix.



'Popular Music' is out now on DIM MAK Records

Sunday 16 May 2010

I'm Back

Having successfully completed the hitch-hike without dying as well as end of year exams I finally have time to post blog entries again.

It's setting out to be a very exciting Summer for music with the Dead Weather having released 'Sea of Cowards' on May 11th and LCD Soundsystem's 'This is Happening' being released on May 17th. That alongside new albums from Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster, 65daysofstatic, The Black Keys and The Chemical Brothers amongst others is enough to make anyone's ears twitch.

The new single 'Swoon' from The Chemical Brothers' upcoming album 'Further' has got me particularly excited accompanied by an excellent video from Adam Smith and Marcus Lyal. The album is set to be released as a visual record in DVD format with corresponding films for each track and apparently contains no guest vocals unlike previous album 'We are the Night' which featured artists such as Willy Mason, Lightspeed Champion, Klaxons and Ali Love.

'Swoon' has already seen a brilliant remix from the likes of Don Diablo which I have posted here alongside the original:





'Further' will be released on June 7th

Friday 26 March 2010

No Posts For While



I won't be able to post for a while as I leave in the morning on a hitch hike from Edinburgh to Morocco in aid of the charity Link Community Development which aims at providing quality education to Sub-Saharan African Schools.

For more information or to make a donation visit my justgiving site here.

Thanks for all your help and support

Tuesday 23 March 2010

More New Broken Social Scene



'World Sick' from the Canadian musical collective's upcoming album 'Forgiveness Rock Record' was all over the blogosphere a few weeks ago and already the band have given us more tracks to get salivating over. 'Forced to Love' and 'All to All' will also feature on the album and you can hear them right here:








'Forgiveness Rock Record' will be released on May 4th

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip Live at The Classic Grand, Glasgow With Support Acts B. Dolan and Sound of Rum 21/03/10



I first heard of Sound of Rum on BBC 6 Music where Scroobius Pip was talking about the importance he found in choosing really good support acts. Part spoken word, part rap and part hip-hop, Kate Tempest proves that there is such a thing as talented female rappers. Their closing song ‘Promethius’ was particularly good beginning chilled and atmospheric, breaking down to a rock riff and heavy drums.

B. Dolan provided a very animated set and was excellent in getting the crowd fired up for the headline act. Coming on wearing a mask of our dear Queen of England but with a bushy beard sticking out, he was comical from the start. Dedicating ‘Joan of Arcadia’ to Sarah Palin who he referred to as sexual chocolate, wearing an Evil Knievel suit under his clothes and claiming a crippled blind boy who had cancer of the aids told him that the spirit of the daredevil must live, he epitomised all that we British like to make fun of when we speak of American’s. Saying that, he was a good rapper.

As Dan le Sac came to the stage of the old porn cinema he began by playing electric bagpipes especially for the ‘weegie’ audience before breaking into ‘The Beat that my Heart Skipped’ from first album ‘Angles’ which immediately got the crowd into a frenzy. Scroobius Pip then entered wearing his trademark beard and baseball cap with a bottle of Rosé. Having released ‘Logic of Chance’ last Monday the set was very heavy with this new material and a strange gig as the new album is very dance orientated in comparison to the more hip-hop sound of the first record making it seem to be almost half gig/half club night.

The first single ‘Get Better’ from the latest album was a massive crowd pleaser as was ‘Thou shalt Always Kill’ where the addition of the lyrics ‘the Proclaimers, just a band’ didn’t go unnoticed. ‘Stake A Claim’ saw Pip make his defence for why he should be made the first president of the UK which he read from a prodigious leather bound book while there were very touching moments in the cases of the harrowing track of self-harm ‘Magician’s Assistant’ and ‘Look for the Woman’ with its beautiful piano part and backing vocals from Dan le Sac.

It is always nice to see a dj that doesn’t simply play off a computer or even just decks but instead uses an electronic drum machine, does live sampling and looping and a whole host of other things I don’t understand. Not just that but I feel Dan le Sac is underrated in his vocal contributions to the duo which fit very appropriately.
The encore saw Pip read ‘Letter From God to Man’ from a tattered piece of paper where he arguably shows his finest lyrical side, he then proceeded to leave the stage as Dan continued to fervently play a five minute long instrumental to finish and thus end what was a fantastic night of live music.

First Track From Black Keys New Album



I announced details in an earlier post about the Ohio blues-rock music duo 'The Black Keys' upcoming album 'Brothers'. Their last album 'Attack, Sustain, Release' came out two years ago although many of you would have been aware of the collaboration they did towards the end of last year with various hip-hop and R&B artists entitled 'Blackroc'.

The band have recently uploaded the first track from the album 'Tighten Up' on their Myspace page. The only track on the album to be produced by Danger Mouse this definitely comes through with the addition of whistling and his signature upbeat tempo and groovy guitars. Even though Danger mouse isn't producing the whole thing i'm sure it will be very good.

Hear it right here and judge for yourself



'Brothers' will be released on May 18th

Monday 22 March 2010

Erol Alkan & Boys Noize New E.P Out Now



Many of you would have heard the fantastic release last year from Erol Alkan and Boys Noize 'Waves/Death Suite' and to our delight they have released a new E.P which arguably improves on the first. This time they have switched the order of their names around and rather than being on Boys Noize's 'Boys Noize Records' label, the E.P has been released on Erol's 'Phantasy Sound' Label.

Both tracks are excellent and you can really hear both the producer's individual sounds. With 'Lemonade' having already been remixed by the likes of Deaf Tunes it is shaping up to be one of the biggest dance releases of 2010.

The new E.P entitled 'Avalanche/Lemonade' is out now and can be purchased on beatport here