Sunday 28 February 2010

Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit Live At Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh 26/02/10 With Support Act Anna Calvi & James Mathe



I am unsure whether James Mathe played his own material or whether I just turned up too late to miss his performance as Anna Calvi was setting up just as I had purchased a beer from the bar. I find something intimidating about a woman who is excellent on a guitar as Anna's slight frame seemed almost dwarfed by her telecaster which she put into expert use as she began her set with some beautiful solo guitar. The dark atmospheric romanticism of her music seemed fitting for the dim atmosphere of the Cabaret Voltaire. 'Blackout' seemed to be definitely popular amongst the crowd as red tainted lips uttered confident vocals and 'Marionette' was a personal favourite with the use of a vintage harmonium giving the song an enchanting Parisian feel. Definitely one of the better support acts I have seen for a band.

As the bare faced youngster descended the steps to the stage the crowd were met with a cheeky smile and a somewhat shy 'hello' before breaking into the first song of the evening, 'Box'. It's hard to imagine from looking at him that he's twenty six although the maturity of his vocals warrants some form of justification. When the London-based performer descended on us with his 2008 album 'A Larum' we were introduced to his distinctive vocals and acoustic guitar which set him firmly in the London nu-folk scene along with 'Laura Marling' and 'Noah and The Whale'. Now almost two years on with new material only being released as a short EP in the form of 'Sweet William' in November, it's a treat as Johnny alternates his set between new and old songs the former set for a release as an album in May.

Merely listening to his records it's hard to appreciate his talent as he constantly switches from guitar, to mandolin, to banjo, to violin, to trumpet playing each with equal precision and dexterity whilst at the same time delivering stunning vocals. The addition of his band 'The Sussex Wit' greatly added to the overall atmosphere with some fantastic cello from Joe Zeitlin and backing vocals from James Mathe. The alteration between noticeably upbeat songs such as 'Tickle Me Pink' and 'Eyeless In Holloway' where the crowd began to start bopping against more sombre numbers such as 'Brown Trout Blues' was particularly effective.

It seems easy to attribute Johnny's popularity and the fact that he is selling out venues up and down the country due to his blond hair and public school boy good looks as could be suggested from the female heavy makeup of the audience although this is more probably just jealousy on my part as the combination of his poetic lyrics delivered with a stunning voice against a striking mix of folk and blues instrumentals is something really to be admired.

Thursday 25 February 2010

Fancy New Music From Zoo Brazil



New Techno release from Swedish producer John Andersson which came out on February 15th. Having released huge numbers of tracks under different aliases and writing the Kylie Minogue song 'One' he has gained a decent reputation in the music industry. As expected from the Scandinavian it is an excellent piece of minimal tech-house.

'Fancy' can be heard here.

Also released in conjunction is a terrific remix by French producer Popof, one of my personal favourite techno djs which can be heard here.

Wednesday 24 February 2010

Miike Snow - Sylvia (Remixes)



Out this month, a selection of remixes of the track 'Silvia', from Miike Snow's self-titled album the single of which came out on January 25th. This selection of remixes sees some great producers giving their own interpretation of the the track. It's tough to decide which one is best with Felix Da Housecat, Sinden and Hugg and Peep presenting equally exquisite renditions. More information can be found here.

Miike Snow have also released a new single with djs Crookers who remixed their hit single 'Animal' last year calledy Remedy.

Deftones - Rocket Skates



Very exciting news, yesterday Sacramento rock band Deftones released the first track from upcoming release 'Diamond Eyes' which is set to come out on May 18th. What makes this even better is that they have made it available for free download here.

Playlist for Radio Show 24/02/2010

Here's the playlist for my most recent radio show:

1) Get Down (Streetlife DJs Remix) - Groove Armada
Quite an old song by dance standards but thought I would play it since Groove Armada released a new album on January 29th called 'Black Light', plus Streetlife DJs are really good. The London duo are so underrated despite being referred to as the British 2manydjs and have just released a brilliant remix of 'Superman' by Lee Mortimer & Foamo. Check them out here.
Groove Armada play ABC, Glasgow on Monday.

2) Drum - Johnny Flynn
Taken from the Sweet William E.P released in November, Johnny's striking voice and folky instrumental parts never fail to please. Apparently he has a new album set for a May release that is untitled as of yet.
Johnny Flynn plays Cab Vol, Edinburgh with his band The Sussex Wit on Friday

3) Turtle (Bonobo Remix) - Pilote
A beautiful track taken from 2002 album 'One-Offs and B-Sides' when Bonobo was referred to as the king of chill out. The simple combination of piano, double bass, light drums and whistling make this one of my favourite downtempo songs. His latest album 'Black Sands' is released on March 29th.
Bonobo is playing for the Departure Lounge night at the Caves, Edinburgh alongside Hip-Hop, Reggae outfit 'Ordinary All Stars' on Friday.

4) Kiss The Sky - Audio Bullys
From their upcoming album 'Higher Than The Eiffel' released on March 29th which is their first release in five years. It has a really good guitar riff that is looped throughout the song although the vocals are a bit annoying, there is something about sub-par singing on dance records which really bugs me.
Audio Bullys are playing live at King Tuts, Glasgow on March 13th.

5) Jackrabbits - Joanna Newsom
'Have On Me' was released yesterday and this track is taken from that. Having only listening to it first last night, already I feel this is a better album than 'The Milk-Eyed Mender'. As expected it is filled with some amazing harp and piano parts but I still can't decide whether or not I find her voice too 'child-like'. Interesting news, apparently Joanna is teeming up with the Seattle based indie-folk band Fleet Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold to tour America in March and April.

6) Me & The Devil - Gil Scott Heron
Taken from Feruary 8th release 'I'm New Here' this is Scott's first album in sixteen years following a massive drug addiction and numerous prison sentences. This album shows the 60 year old still has it although he has moved on from his characteristic rhythmic jazz-funk sound to more of an electronic minimal one. With some interesting guests in the form of Damon Albarn and Chris Cunningham amongst others it's one to check out.
Gil Scott Heron plays HMV Picture House, Edinburgh on April 21st.

7) Rocket Skates - Deftones
The first track, released yesterday from the upcoming album 'Diamond Eyes'. After a bit of confusion in the media it turns out 'Eros' which was set for a May 2009 release is not the new album but a different one that wasn't released due to bassist Chi Cheng's illness as a result of a bad car crash. 'Eros' is still going to be released, hopefully when Cheng recovers and is supposed to be more dark and ambient than previous albums. 'Diamond Eyes' from which this track is taken sees replacement bassist Sergio Vega take on Cheng's role and heavier sounding guitars although still very Deftones-esque.
Download Rocket Skates here.

8) Silvia (Hugg and Pepp Remix) - Miike Snow

Taken from the 'Silvia Remixes' E.P which came out this month it also has excellent remixes from the likes of Felix Da Housecat and Sinden making it a touch decision as to which one to play but in the end the Stockholm cousins one my vote with a superb remix.

9) Golden Brown - The Stranglers
A classic track taken from 1981 release 'La Folie' few people realise that this song is a metaphorical reference to heroin.
The Stranglers play the Academy, Glasgow on Friday

10) Never Going Home (Eskimo Twins Remix) - Cassette Jam
Another excellent release from the Leeds Wax On residents. With plenty of blippy sounds this is a techno song worth replaying

Saturday 20 February 2010

The Knife - Tomorrow, In a Year Review


3/5

The new album from the Scandinavian siblings is one that is definitely different. Rather than a standard release it is the soundtrack for an opera based on Charles Darwin’s seminal work ‘On the Origin of Species’ which they wrote for Danish performance group ‘Hotel Pro Forma’ and so cannot really be seen as a follow up to their 2006 album ‘Silent Shout’ but rather more of a side project. A collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, it really stretches the boundaries of modern music. It seems to be the popular thing in modern opera to recruit the aid of contemporary pop artists as was seen in the ‘Monkey Opera’ whose soundtrack was written by Blur frontman Damon Albarn.

An album that can’t really be put on as background music it has to be viewed as a performance piece and thus in conjunction with the opera that it is written for. The opening song (if you can call it that) is a collection of minimal clicks and droplet modulations reminiscent to the intro for ‘Like A Pen’ immediately leaving the listener questioning the intentions of the album. As the album progresses, the juxtaposition of beautiful classical vocals against the harsh and garish synthetic noises provides a truly original concept as can be seen in ‘Ebb Tide Explorer’ which offers a chilling combination of soothing masculine tones and very deep synthesizers with an ever present treble that is constantly fluctuating in intensity. The addition of outside singers Kristina Wahlin Momme, Danish actress Lærke Winther Andersen and Swedish pop artist Jonathan Johansson adds dimension to the album, the Scandinavian vocals perfect for the record.

It has to be taken with a fairly open mind as some of the intros for tracks, such as ‘Variation of Birds’ would seem more appropriate in a Merzbow or at the least one of Aphex Twin’s more out there records. It is only in combination with the vocal parts that the music becomes in anyway accessible unless for the overly pretentious. There is a definite underlying development which progresses through the album with ‘Letter to Henslow’ using human vocals with delay effects to simulate jungle animal noises and the following track ‘Schoal Swarm Orchestra’ where what I assume is the scratching of a microphone produces a similar feral sound.

It isn’t until cd two that the album becomes properly accessible to someone who is only listening and not watching and one is able to relate to a more ‘Knife’ like sound. ‘Annie’s Box’ offers a gorgeous combination of violin and soprano whilst the transition from ‘Tumult’ into the breath taking odyssey that is ‘Colouring of Pigeons’ is superb.
I would like to give the album a better rating and perhaps I am not doing the album justice but its initial inaccessibility which would only be more suitable for the opera it is written for makes this hard to do so. Nevertheless it is an extremely engrossing album and one definitely worth a listen.

‘Tomorrow, In a Year’ is out on digital release and will be released on cd on March 1st. Also, the opera is touring various European countries, information of which can be found here

Friday 19 February 2010

Christopher Lee - A New Power is Rising



I came across an article the other day in the Guardian that announced that Christopher Lee, the renowned English actor most famous for his roles as Dracula in the Alan Gibson adaptation, The main villain Francisco Scaramanger in the Bond film 'Man With the Golden Gun' and more recently as the evil wizard Saruman in the 'Lord of the Rings Trilogy' will be producing a symphonic metal album about the first Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne.

No stranger to singing, Lee is classically trained and has contributed to the soundtrack of 'The Wicker Man', the rock/comedy musical 'The Return of Captain Invincible' and played the Wizard King for the Italian Symphonic fantasy power metal band Rhapsody of Fire as well as doing some brief work with Manowar.

He returns then to another fantasy role where composer Marco Sabiu has arranged a full orchestra, heavy metal musicians and choir to accompany the 87 year old with apparent guest vocalists to feature as well. The lyrics are written by Bristol University graduate Marie-Claire Calvet and are said to be 'mesmerising' and really 'bring the legend to life'.

More information and sample's of the the songs can be found here.

See Christopher Lee talking about 'Charlemagne':



'Charlemagne' will be released on March 15th

Wednesday 17 February 2010

Playlist for Radio Show 17/02/2010

Here's the playlist for my most recent radio show:

1) Ambling Alp (The Very Best Mulomo Remix) - Yeasayer

Remix of the first single from Yeasayer's latest album 'Odd Blood' by Malawian-born, London-based singer Esau Mwamwaya. His album 'The Very Best' a collaborative work with Radioclit which came out last year was a superb blend of modern music and African roots.

2) Stylo (Alex Metric Remix) - Gorillaz
This is a remix of the new single featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack from the virtual band's upcoming third album 'Plastic Beach' which is out on March 8th. An album to look out for it has some very interesting featuring guests.

3) Mirrorball - Peter Gabriel

Brand new from Peter Gabriel off 'Scratch My Back' which came out on Monday. His first album in almost a decade, it features covers of various old and new artists, this particular cover being originally by Elbow. The addition of orchestral parts, most notably the strings arranged by John Metcalfe make this a beautiful rendition.

4) Volcano (Felix Cartal Remix) - Felix Cartal
Remix by the artist himself of his latest single featuring Johnny Witney from his upcoming album 'Popular Music' which is out February 23rd. After hearing the title track and 'Drone' which came out towards the end of last year this is shaping up to be a very good album.

5) Radio Protector - 65daysofstatic
Classic track from album 'One Time For All Time' by the instrumental post-rock band with some very moving piano. They have announced a new release 'We Were Exploding Anyway' for Spring to look forward to.
65daysofstatic play Oran Mor, Glasgow on May 3rd

6) Donut (Boy 8-Bit Remix) - M.A.N.D.Y vs. Booka Shade
Techno collaboration which came out at the end of January, it has also seen a remix by Brazilian dj Gui Boratto. Boy 8-Bit played at the Corn Exchange, Edinburgh alongside John Digweed, Timo Maas and Joe Goddard from Hot Chip for Musika's 3rd Birthday.

7) Art Czars - Japandroids
Brand new from the Vancouver garage rock duo. Slightly less grungey and home studio-esque in production it shows the band are still making good music into the new year following the success of 'Post Nothing' which came out in 2009.

8) Hundred Mile High City - Ocean Colour Scene
Classic track from the 1997 album 'Marchin' Already' and featured on the sound track for the British Classic 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' from Guy Ritchie. Their latest effort 'Saturday' was released on January 25th.
Ocean Colour Scene play the HMV Picture House, Edinburgh tonight and tomorrow.

9) P-Funk Skank - Udachi
Brand new electro from the Staten Island dj and with its brass horns and twisted bass line it is a great floor filler.

Japandroids - Art Czars



Brand new track from Japandroids showing their intentions for 2010. Less home studio sounding than anything from 'Post Nothing' but still that grunginess and raw vocals that give them their characteristic sound.

Japandroids: "Art Czars"

Felix Cartal - Volcano



The latest single from Felix Cartal's upcoming album 'Popular Music' has just been released along with his own remix featuring vocals from Johnny Witney of Jaguar Love

Tuesday 16 February 2010

Hot Chip Live At HMV Picture House, Edinburgh 13/02/2010 with support act Casiokids




Norwegian band Casiokids bravely opened for Hot Chip at the HMV Picture house last Saturday. A relatively new band they did well to please the fans of one of the UK’s most popular electropop acts. The vocals which are entirely in Norwegian didn’t seem to put people off as their exuberant stage presence made for an enjoyable set. Despite this however, their focus on an array of eclectic electronic sounds seemed to deviate from the coherence of the music as a whole and as a result there were moments where the music sounded a bit sloppy and confused with too many contradictory sounds. A band definitely to look out for in the future and to do them justice they are still in their early stages and have already come a huge way in such a short time although I feel that they need to focus on the basic structure of their song writing before experimenting with different sounds/instruments.

As a warm blue light filled the stage Hot Chip emerged to hungry fans, their array of synthesizer’s, guitars and the latest addition of steel drums made for quite a spectacle. The thump of the kick drum announced the start of the set as they broke into the opening song ‘Thieves in the Night’ from their latest effort ‘One Life Stand’. The perfect start to a Saturday night the crowd were ecstatic from the get go with the impeccable blend of dancey and affable numbers appealing to everyone. Having just released a new album the set list as would be expected reflected this with highlights including ‘Brothers’ which they claimed was the first time they had played live and was beautiful with the gentle trumpet from Al Doyle. ‘Alley Cats’ another personal favourite from the latest album provided a mellow contrast to the more disco-house orientated songs such as ‘One Life Stand’ and ‘Take It In’.

Perhaps the highlight of the show was the alteration of some of their more classic songs which gave the audience a pleasant surprise. It’s always a bit depressing when a band reproduces their songs sound for sound when played live and the best live acts are those that add something different to the songs to satisfy the fans. In this case the addition of steel drums to the intro of ‘And there was a Boy from School’ was a refreshing change whilst in the case of ‘Ready For the Floor there was a completely different intro altogether and it was only when Alexis Taylor broke in with ‘Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it do it now’ that the audience acknowledged what song it was. Other songs which the crowd loved include ‘I Feel Better’ from the latest album which really got them going and ‘Hold On’ from ‘Made in the Dark’ where a sea of people filling the 1,500 person capacity of the picture house bopping along was quite a sight.

A terrific show to mark an excellent album although their choice of ordering of songs was a bit confusing. As they left the stage before the encore one was left wondering what they would play having already given us the likes of their most popular records and thus it seemed a strange choice to be playing tracks such as ’Slush’ which I really don’t rate very highly in what should have been the pinnacle of their set. Apart from this their actual playing cannot really be faulted and so it is not something that should really be questioned in relation to their overall performance which was far above par.

Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back Review



4/5

It’s been a while since Peter Gabriel has given us something to really sink our teeth into with his last solo album ‘Up’ being released in 2002 almost a decade ago. His latest album ‘Scratch My Back’ which came out today features a selection of covers of various new and old artists encompassing a diverse range of styles. Unlike the standard cover, Gabriel offers an insight into his own creativity by giving us his own interpretations of the songs aided only by various orchestral instruments arranged by John Metcalfe and none of the standard rock band set up. His husky voice gives a sense of raw emotion to each of the songs which conveys new meaning to them and allows the listener to approach them from a different perspective.

The title of the album is so for a reason as Gabriel plans to release another record later on in the year aptly named ‘I’ll Scratch Yours’ where the artists involved in Gabriel’s project will return the favour by covering one of Gabriel’s tracks with The Magnetic Fields’ cover of the Gabriel song ‘Not One of Us’ already available to download.

The result of Gabriel’s interpretation of each of these songs is ambivalent as for some songs it seems to work really well whilst others seem to detract from the poignancy and success of the originals. For example his cover of Bon Iver’s ‘Flume’ which is already a highly emotional song becomes rather exorbitant, however, tracks such as ‘Mirrorball’ originally by Elbow are made beautiful with the addition of strings and his deep, hoarse voice.

There are a few classics in there such as a cover of Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ and Paul Simon’s ‘The Boy in the Bubble’ which are insightful whereas the addition of newer artists such as Regina Spektor, Arcade Fire and Radiohead gives a fresher more modern feel to the album.

An album that could potentially reinstate Gabriel’s musical creativity or see him as ‘past his best’ it is one that will see a thorough analysis from critics. Personally I feel that in ‘Scratch My Back’ Gabriel has presented us with a discernment of his own feelings of today’s music, hand picking tracks which although may not be the most loved or appreciated of songs truly encompass the spirit of decent song writing reflecting true creativity and emotion. ‘Scratch My Back’ shows a Gabriel back on form in a society that is constantly changing its opinion of what constitutes ‘decent’ music and managing to slot itself amongst the contemporary artists of today.

‘Scratch My Back’ was released on February 15th on Virgin

Hot Chip - One Life Stand Review



4/5

Few bands have been as consistent in the quality of their music as Hot Chip. From their debut album ‘Coming on Strong’ in 2004 they have been giving us their quirky electronic pop which the nation can’t get enough of. Their latest album ‘One Life Stand’ is no exception containing its fair share of blippy synthesizers, drum machines and Alex Taylor’s dulcet falsetto. The epitome of geek chic, Hot Chip manages to combine an array of electronic instruments with heartfelt lyrics giving us their original sound.

Their latest effort, arguably less get up and go then their previous releases seems to be more of a relaxed and sentimental affair. Love seems to be a recurring theme throughout this album as can be seen simply from the title’s of some of the tracks: ‘Hand me down your love’, ‘We have love’ and the title track whereas ‘Brothers’ offers Joe Goddard’s insight into brotherly love. The opening song ‘Thieves in the Night’ sets up the standard for the rest of the album with atmospheric synths leading into a thrusting drum beat and soaring vocals. They still have the catchy dance tune similar to the likes of ‘Ready for the Floor’ on ‘Made in the Dark and ‘Over and Over’ in ‘The Warning’ in the form of the title track where the combination of Taylor’s euphonious singing and the floaty vocals of Joe Goddard with a stable backing and the addition of steel drums make for a track to remember. ‘Take it In’ offers another more upbeat track with evil backing synths in the verse leading to a much more ethereal chorus.

However, there are a couple of down points in the album most notably tracks such as ‘I Feel Better’ where the effects put on the vocals in the verse make it sound more akin to a popular house tune found in a commercial club and the track ‘Slush’ doesn’t seem to have enough substance leaving you wondering where the song is going apart from a cheesy exclamation of love. Finally, arguably the best track on the album is ‘Alley Cats’ whose chilled out guitars and mellow vocals can be paralleled to the likes of ‘And I was a boy from School’. Despite these minor setbacks ‘One Life Stand’ is a very good album overall and one that definitely warrants a listen.

Playlist for Radio Show 10/02/2010

Just to let you know the playlist for the first radio show of the year was as follows:

1) Come On Over - Kissy Sell Out & Tinashé
Collaboration of London whiz kid Kissy Sell Out and new artist Tinashé originally from Zimbabwe. The story behind this new artist is rather interesting, described as the next big thing, he was sent over to London from Zimbabwe at a very young age to become a doctor or lawyer and send money back to his family but decided to follow music instead.
His debut EP, Mayday, will be released on February 28th.

2) Girl I Love You feat. Horace Andy - Massive Attack
A track from the latest album 'Heligoland' it has some really good bass throughout and the addition of brass instruments goes very well making for an interesting track.

3) Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend Cover) - Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel

Brilliant one off collaboration between Hot chip and Genesis front man Peter Gabriel covering the Vampire Weekend Song. Picked perhaps because he got to sing his own name, the melodious backing provided by Hot Chip makes this an excellent track.

4) Norway - Beach House
Taken from their latest album 'Teen Dream' released on January 26th this rather eerie and spacey song epitomises the bands style.
Beach House support Grizzly Bear at Queen's Hall, Edinburgh on March 9th

5) Angel Echoes - Four Tet
Taken from Keiran Hebden's newest release 'There is Love in You' which came out on January 25th, the looped female vocals make this track really quite beautiful.
Four Tet is playing Bongo Club, Edinburgh on March 13th

6) Popular Music - Felix Cartal
The title track take from Cartal's upcoming album to be released on February 23rd its a definite floor filler with grimey basslines and sexy female vocals.

7) Mountain Ride - Wareika
Taken from the Fitness Funk release from Tartelet which came out in December this song by the German trio encompasses everything from house, afrobeat and dub-funk with some rather Eastern Balkan horns and Elvis-esque vocals.

8) Roscoe (Beyond the Wizards Sleeve Remix) - Midlake
Taken from 'Beyond the Wizards Sleeve Re-Animations Vol 1.' by Erol Alkan and The Grid's Richard Norris' Psychadelic outfit this is one of the nicest electronic songs I've ever heard.
Midlake's latest album - The courage of Others was released on February 1st

9) VCR (Mathew Dear Remix) - The XX
The XX's debut album was one of the most popular albums of 2009 and this fairly recent remix of one of the tracks that is has notions of James Murphy style remixing is just brilliant.
The XX play Studio 24, Edinburgh on March 9th

kisses

Top Albums of 2010

Since it is the beginning of a new year and decade I thought I would kick start the posting by looking at what music we can look forward to in the coming year. 2010 is set for some highly anticipated music and already it has seen the release of some excellent albums. Here are a few of the albums that I am most excited about in no particular order:

Yeasayer – Odd Blood




Although very different to ‘All Hour Cymbals’ the change of direction to a more electronic style is not a bad thing and Yeasayer have produced a very good album to start the decade off.

Odd Blood was released on February 8th

Hot Chip - One Life Stand



Once again Hot Chip has pulled another brilliant album out of the bag. Slightly less disco-housey than previous records and a bit calmer it comes together very nicely as an album showing why they are the kings of Geek-chic.

One Life Stand was released on February 1st

Four Tet – There is Love in You



Kieran Hebden has released a beautiful album in ‘There Is Love In You’. An amazing exposition of the power that can be created in electronic music. There are definite influences from greats such as Aphex Twin in the likes of tracks such as ‘Sing’.

There Is Love In You was released on January 25th

Beach House – Teen Dream



New album from Baltimore dream pop duo. Once again it doesn’t disappoint and is arguably their best work to date. An album fuelled by nostalgia its creepy organs are not one to miss.

Teen Dream was released on Jan 26th


Massive Attack – Heligoland




Heligoland shows a Massive Attack back on form with good driving bass lines, plenty of brass and some excellent guest vocals from the likes of Martina Topley-Bird and Horace Andy.

Heligoland was released on February 8th


Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back



It's been almost a decade since rock legend Peter Gabriel has released anything and this album consisting of covers of old and modern artists sung by Gabriel with the aid of an orchestral accompaniment arranged by John Metcalfe shows he still has what it takes to produce excellent music

Scratch My Back was released on February 15th

Ratatat - LP4



The modular music duo of guitarist Mike Stroud and multi-instrumentalist Evan Mast are set to release their latest LP at some point this year although it hasn't been disclosed but I am sure whatever they throw our way it will be very good.

Felix Cartal - Popular Music



We have already seen the likes of 'Drone' the first single of the album released last year and more recently the album's title track 'Popular Music' and after the huge success of 'Skeleton' released in May last year which sadly won't be on the album we can only expect amazing things from the electro dj. One dance album definitely to look forward to in 2010.

Popular Music will be released on February 23rd on Steve Aoki's DIM MAK Label


Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks




The indie band from the Scottish borders have seen huge success in the past year especially in Edinburgh and for many the suspense of their latest release is becoming all a bit too much.

The Winter of Mixed Drinks will be released on March 9th

MGMT - Congratulations



After the success of 2007 release 'Oracular Spectacular' with singles such as 'Kids' and 'Time to Pretend' being hugely popular, their latest effort is surely to be one of the year's most highly anticipated albums as fans look forward to more of their psychedelic indie.

Congratulations will be released on April 13th

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach




The third album from the virtual band featuring some very interesting guest performances from the likes of artists such as Snoop Dogg, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, De La Soul and The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music. First single from the album 'Stylo' featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack was released on January 26th.

Plastic Beach will be released on March 8th

Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip - The Logic of Chance



The combination of Dan Le Sac's electronic backing and Pip's lyrical genius have made this duo one of the best current acts of British Hip Hop. The first single from the album 'Get Better' has shown that they are still producing quality music and so this should be an album worth waiting for.

The Logic of Chance will be released on March 15th

Deftones - Eros



The new album from Deftones has seen a major setback from it's initial intended release date of early 2009 after bassist Chi Cheng fell into a coma following a bad car crash. Sergio Vega of 'Quicksand' has stepped up to the challenge of filling Cheng's boots and Moreno claims the album is going to be very weird and atmospheric with similarities to 'White Pony'.

Eros will be released on April 27th

Those are the albums that have got me going that I have definitive information for although there are other intended releases from:

LCD Soundsystem
Arcade Fire
Klaxons
Foals
Interpol
The Strokes
Avalanches
and many many more

All in all its looking to be a very exciting year for music and many of these releases I really can't wait to get my hands on.

Kisses

Hello folks

Seeing as this is my first entry I thought I would introduce myself. My name is Ali Quaile I am 20 years old and studying Philosophy and Theology at the University of Edinburgh. I thought I would use this blog to help promote my radio show: 'Ali's Eclectic Afternoon' on Fresh Air Radio (Edinburgh University's student radio station) on Wednesday's from 16:30 - 17: 30 which can be heard by visiting:

http://www.freshair.org.uk/

My aims for the blog are basically to put down the playlist for my radio show each week as well as reviewing live gigs/club nights that I manage to go to in Edinburgh and Glasgow posting interviews where possible and also reviewing/posting new music that I manage to get my hands on.

I guess that is all for now but I look forward to making my first proper post

kisses