It's a Saturday night special edition of hot promo action, and it's all about the beats. Bonnie Prince Billy remixes Hot Chip (say what?!?), Audio Bullys is ruff & ready, Juan Maclean is damn tasty disco (from his forthcoming DJ Kicks comp), and the Copacabana Club are Brazilians with a killer groove.
She is London's favorite tranny with a fanny. She is Holestar, the gender-bending Drag Goddess - a woman dressing up as a man, dressing as a gorgeous woman - a Victor/Victoria for the oughties. A queer woman and a a former soldier in the British Army, Holestar is also a Central St Martins Fine Art Masters graduate, club promoter, DJ and cabaret artist. And her last name really is Hole. The best thing about it all for me is that she pegged my fellow blogger (Worrapolava) and web friend PhilEastend to help her birth her new single "NyLon Woman" (out worldwide on iTunes, Amazon and Napster on April 12th). He provides Holestar with a delightful electro pop backing track and a now a remix to boot. He writes on his blog "And do you know what's brilliant about all of this? We're doing it all with no money, no third party backing and no risk. All we have are ideas and the willing to make something out of nothing." Super fun idea, super fun execution - the new wave of internet based grassroots music promotion. Holestar loves you, love her back...
Today's random "pull the record out of the hat" yields this delightful 1982 single from John Foxx. This was the first single from The Golden Section album and he continues to move away from the icy synthetics of his early records. Endlessly draws deeply from all things Beatles, full of sitars and snaky vocal riffing and strings. Love the Linn drums on this. The B-side is a chipper little track replete with shoobeedoobees and lalala's. Tasty!
Some killer tracks to start your weekend? Say no more! New Caribou, new Archie Bronson Outfit - who knew they could bring the funk? Kavinsky drops the killer electro jam. We Have Band cover Pet Shop Boys to great effect. Calvin Harris encourages you to relax with his mellow guitar riffs and fine grooves. Madlib the Beat Konducta is leading an excursion to Africa, sound tracked with head nodding goodness. Remixes? Sure - SirBilly is a perennial fave at SIART and he delivers the goods with his remix of Baby Ford's cover of the T-Rex classic. Speaking of covers, how about The Doors, covered by late '70s LA synth band Moebius - originally released in 1979, reissued due to popular demand by dance label Light Sounds Dark. Finally, The XX already kind of groove in an indie pop kind of way - CHLLNGR brings the groove to the forefront. Good stuff. Happy Weekending!
Steve Winwood - While You See A Chance Steve Winwood - Night Train
(links removed due to a Blogger take down - because you know, my ripping a couple of songs from a 30 year old piece of vinyl is bringing the music industry to it's knees...)
It is amazing to think that Steve Winwood's Arc of a Diver turns 30 this year. I used to love this record back in the day, mostly because it is full of synthesizer-y goodness. Steve proved he could get with the times and delivered some memorable tunes laced with the sounds of the day. The album was a big hit in the US - not so big in the UK. Back in the late '80s I unloaded my Winwood records - probably to buy beer. I have been jonesing for a hit of this record for a couple of weeks now, so I ran over to Cheapo's used records and scored a copy of it and it's follow-up Talking Back To The Night. Sweet. They sound as good as I remember, and the two tunes I share today are the big singles. While You See A Chance is all swoony organs and a big chorus couched in killer synth riffs, while Night Train is a dance floor mover - uptempo beats, rubbery bass and big guitars. Love it.
Another Friday, another round of clearing out the inbox. There are a couple of big remixes of new Massive Attack and Bomb The Bass tunes. Dub, synthpop, a bit of disco and leftfield stuff - it's all here. Put on your red shoes and dance the blues...
The other night I re-alphabetized my box of old 7" singles. It represents the years 1979 to 1985, which is when I was living in the UK. There are some killer tunes in there - classics of the early '80s. As a sort of recurring feature on SIART I have decided to occasionally close my eyes, wave my hands over the box and pull something out to post here - both the A and B sides. Truly random. On to the festivities - today's mystery pick is...
Pete Shelley - Telephone Operator (A-side) Pete Shelley - Many A Time (B-side) A delightfully synthtastic 1983 release from the Buzzcocks frontman's solo period, produced by the legendary Martin Rushent.
MGMT are giving away a new song today on their website. Flash Delirium is a little taster from their forthcoming LP Congratulations! due out on April 13th. I like the sound of this one for sure - lots of things going on, and it moves nicely between spaciness and big rocking.
On Mulatu Astatke's first official solo release in over 20 years he explores new directions in the fusion of Western jazz with Ethiopian modes, building on the pioneering sound he developed during the ‘60s and ‘70s. The tracks were recorded with a variety of musicians - members of Either/Orchestra in Boston, traditional Ethiopian musicians in Addis Ababa, members of The Heliocentrics and some of the UK’s leading jazz and African players during the final sessions in London in November 2009. The record comes out March 30th on Strut.
A Mulatu Astatke tune that gets sampled by Nas & Damien Marley on "As We Enter", a track from their album Distant Relatives which is out later this year.
Time to clear out the inbox. The common theme? To get you to shake your groove thang all weekend long. We got your disco, your electro, your Norwegian synthpop, your rap and your '80s flashback - it's all here. Have a good weekend! _______________
Chinese Christmas Cards are from Barcelona. In their own words - "We always meet in a little room and we make music because we love it. We love song-writing and electronic music so we mix both in our songs. We use a computer, guitars, synthesizers and other instruments and electronic devices. We hope you like our music" I do!
Nada Surf - Electrocution From their forthcoming covers album if i had a hi-fi
Track List Electrocution (Bill Fox) Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode) Love Goes On (The Go-Betweens) Janine (Arthur Russell) You Were So Warm (Dwight Twilley) Love and Anger (Kate Bush) The Agony of Laffitte (Spoon) Bye Bye Beaute (Coralie Clement) Question (Moody Blues) Bright Side (Soft Pack) Evolution (Mercromina) I Remembered What I Was Going to Say (The Silly Pillows)
I have always loved to share my favorite music, going way back to my mix tape days of the early '80s. This blog is an extension of that, a sort of an ongoing mix tape.
If you like what you hear I encourage you to go out and buy the CD, LP, cassette, 7" or 12". Support the artists who make the music.
FYI - ALL LINKS ARE DEAD ONCE THEY DROP OFF OF THIS FRONT PAGE.
If you own the copyright to something and want it removed contact me at djrez1 at silence is a rhythm too dot com.
It's a Saturday night special edition of hot promo action, and it's all about the beats. Bonnie Prince Billy remixes Hot Chip (say what?!?), Audio Bullys is ruff & ready, Juan Maclean is damn tasty disco (from his forthcoming DJ Kicks comp), and the Copacabana Club are Brazilians with a killer groove.
