Saturday, December 24, 2011

Happy Holidays!


Enjoy this little Xmas mix tape. It has a bunch of fun holiday music, both traditional classics and some leftfield gems too. A great soundtrack for whatever you are doing - decorating, dinner, cocktails. Happy holidays from SIART!

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Darlene Love
Christmas in Hollis: Run D.M.C. - Very Special Christmas
White Christmas - The Drifters
Happy Christmas - John & Yoko and The Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir
Merry Christmas Baby - Otis Redding
Wonderful Christmas Time - Paul McCartney
Sleigh Ride - Ella Fitzgerald
Do They Know It's Christmas? - Band Aid
Blue Christmas - The Platters
Christmas Song - The Raveonettes
Happy Christmas - The Maytals
Happy Christmas - Pretenders
The Christmas Song - Marvin Gaye
Last Christmas - George Michael
Christmas Ain't Christmas, New Years Ain't New Years Without The One You Love - The O'Jays
Christmas Time Is Here Again - The Flirtations
It's Christmas Time - Yo La Tengo
All I Want For Christmas - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Christmas Reindeer - The Knife
Soulful Christmas - James Brown
White Christmas - The Flaming Lips
Christmas Rappin' - Kurtis Blow
I Was Born on Christmas Day - Saint Etienne
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Frank Sinatra
Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses

Monday, November 07, 2011

Oceans Vs. Mountains


Oceans vs Mountains by Dear Data
New music from the Minneapolis band formerly known as Yasercise, now known as Dear Data. Delightful.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Never

Orbital have reformed and are putting out a new album next year. Here is a new track for your downloading and listening pleasure. And yes, it sounds like Orbital.

Orbital - Never



Orbital


Sunday, October 16, 2011

Autumn House

Sunday, October 09, 2011

Fully Bearded

Groove Armada & Bryan Ferry - Shameless Dub

Tim Love Lee founded the Tummy Touch label back in 1996, and immediately established a presence in the dance music world with Groove Armada. In the last few years has brought us Tom Vek and The Phenomenal Handclap Band. He also found time to record several fine albums and curate a few compilations. 15 years later he is commemorating his label with Fully Bearded: 15 Years of Tummy Touch in Dub, a collection of dubbed out versions of Tummy Touch classic tracks, plus a few choice extras.

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TRACKLISTING

• Bing Ji Ling: Everybody Dub – A collaboration with Tommy Guerrero from the singer / guitarist with Phenomenal Handclap Band.
• Bud Bongo: Dub One – Tim’s first ever commercially released dub mix, from 1994.
• Circuits: Dubbing At Dawn - Indie hopefuls from 2007 who imploded after their one and only tour of Japan.
• Dawn Landes: Love Dubbed – A cover of Margo Guryan’s 1968 proto-psyche rarity.
• Groove Armada feat Bryan Ferry: Shameless Dub* - A complete re-work of the stand out song from their last album, Black Light.
• Little Barrie: Dub It Over – Tummy Touch will be taking care of the US release of the Nottingham blues rock trio’s new album.*
• New Young Pony Club: Dub Cherie* - Once signed to Tummy Touch as Organic Audio, NYPC have since taken the pop world by storm.
• Phenomenal Handclap Band: Following Dub* - A moody interpretation of the first single from PHB’s brand new album, Form And Control, which is released in Jan 2012.
• Sargasso Trio: Dub The Saxlingham One* - From Tummy Touch’s sister “folk” label, Boy Scout Recordings, comes Norwich’s own electro samba band.
• Striplight: No Dub No Entry – as featured on DFA’s “Not Wave” compilation.
• Tom Vek: Aint Dubbin' My Goodbyes – commissioned by Island Records for Tom’s ground breaking debut album but never released.*
• Zook: Slinky Dub* - two ex members of 2 Tone Records' The Higsons get the Love Lee treatment.

Thursday, October 06, 2011

She Is Beyond Good And Evil

St. Vincent - She Is Beyond Good And Evil
St. Vincent covering Bristol post-punk heroes The Pop Group? Yes please! Want some more St. Vincent covers? Check out this page over at You Ain't No Picasso for covers of Big Black, The Beatles, The National, Tom Waits, Neil Young, INXS and Dolly Parton.

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Daphni

Daphni is the alias of Caribou frontman Dan Snaith. He's done edits of tracks and also has recorded some new music, some of which has surfaced in the last couple of days. It is playfully funky and geared more to the dance floor. Delicious!


Daphni - Yes, I Know

Daphni - Jiao

Cos-Ber-Zam - Ne Noya (Daphni Mix)

Friday, September 30, 2011

Funk In Yr Friday

The beats for your feets are here - a wicked Greg Wilson mash-up of Fujiya & Miyagi’s ‘Ankle Injuries’ and Madonna’s ‘Ray Of Light', a nice edit of a Lou Rawls classic, an 808 State anniversary remix, and tracks from Korallreven & Recloose.
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Fujiya & Miyagi vs. Madonna - Fujiya & Madge (Greg Wilson Mash Up)
Lou Rawls - You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine (Womack ReWork)
808 State - Cubik (21st Anniversary Remix)
Korallreven - As Young As Yesterday
Recloose - Electric Sunshine

Saturday, September 17, 2011

I'lls'

I'lls' ("isles") are a Melbourne trio that are starting to make a bit of a splash lately. They played at the big Parklife in Melbourne yesterday alongside such notables as Diplo. Gossip, Lykke Li and Little Dragon. They play a lovely mix of music which veers from electro to ambient folk to indie to shoegaze-y pop and back again. Skittery programmed beats mesh with guitars and ethereal keys. It is delightfully mesmerizing stuff. Their first EP is called Thread and is available from the Bandcamp link above. Like them on Facebook too...

Friday, September 09, 2011

Funky Friday!

Time to put some funk in yer Friday. Enjoy a bunch of stuff covering all kinds of styles. If these don't get your feet moving then forget you!

John Foxx & The Maths - Watching A Building On Fire (Andy Gray Remix)
Joey Negro ft. Gramophonedzie - No Sugar feat Shea Soul (Le Crayon Remix)
Midnight Magic - What The Eyes Can't See
Bullion - Time For Us All To Love
Cud - Magic (SirBilly ReStart)
Glass Candy - Beautiful Object
Tyrone Brunson - The Smurf
Bent - British Summertime
Royksopp - Shore Of Easy
SBTRKT - Pharoahs

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Bring Me Coffee Or Tea

Can - Bring Me Coffee Or Tea
Spoon Records and Mute are set to release the 40th anniversary edition of the classic Can album Tago Mago on November 15, 2011. It comes packaged in the original UK artwork for the first time since 1971, and includes a bonus CD featuring 50 minutes of unreleased live material from 1972, all remastered in 2011. Tago Mago was the first album with Damo Suzuki on vocals and features the line up of Holger Czukay on bass, Michael Karoli on guitars, Jaki Liebezeit on drums and Irmin Schmidt on keyboards. To further celebrate the 40th anniversary, Abtart gallery in Stuttgart (Sep 16 – Nov 5) and Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin (Nov 24 –Dec 18) will host Halleluwah!, a visual homage to Can. Artists have been invited to interpret Can’s pioneering role in composition, sound, playing technique, and group dynamics. Comprising painting, drawing, videos, objects, and sound pieces that relate to the broad spectrum of the band’s manifestations and to the facets of the collective, including critical considerations of its being turned into a myth, some works will respond to the covers of Can albums, others will be investigations or continuations of sound into the present, while yet others will simply be hallucinatory bows before these great musicians. All 14 of Can’s studio albums have been newly cut to vinyl from the remastered tapes for release as a vinyl deluxe box set, The Lost Tapes. Curated by Irmin Schmidt and Daniel Miller, and edited and compiled by Jono Podmore, this will include CDs of all the albums, extensive booklets, an exclusive never released live album (vinyl only) and a newly remastered "Out Of Reach" previously unavailable! The vinyl deluxe box set will be available for pre-order at the beginning of October 2011, and will be released in March 2012.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Kinshasha One Two

Damon Albarn recently traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo with a bunch of his muso friends - T-E-E-D (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs), Dan The Automator, Jneiro Jarel, Richard Russell, Actress, Marc Antoine, Alwest, Rodaidh McDonald and Kwes. They all made the trip with a plan - to make an album in 7 days and release it for charity through Oxfam. The DRC is home to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises – it's been wracked by years of conflict. Proceeds from the DRC Music album will help Oxfam support thousands of the DRC's poorest people. Damon & Friends recorded with a bunch of the local musical talent and the first fruits of those sessions are in. No release date yet. Lovely stuff.

DRC Music - Lingala (featuring Bokatola System and Evala Litongo)

DRC Music - Ah Congo (featuring Jupiter Bokondji and Bokatola System)

DRC Music - Hallo (featuring Tout Puissant Mukalo and Nelly Liyemge)

Friday, August 26, 2011

Funky Friday

A fine selection of tunes to get your groove on to - a few choice remixes, a couple of covers of Nirvana & Donna Summer songs, two hot Euro jams and the Chaka anthem, written by Ashford & Simpson - RIP Nick Ashford, who passed away his week.

Dennis Coffey - All Your Goodies Are Gone feat. Mayer Hawthorne (Shigeto Remix)
Tame Impala - Solitude Is Bliss (Time & Space Machine Remix)
Grace Jones - Pull Up To The Bumper (PHASE5 Moombahton Rework)
The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love (Buffetlibre Remix)
Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band - Stay Away
Munk - Can I Have Your Attention?
Grace Jones - Well Well Well Dub
Chaka Khan - I'm Every Woman
Pollyester - Concierge d'Amour
Black Strobe - I Feel Love

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Interplay

John Foxx & The Maths - Evergreen
John Foxx & The Maths - Have A Cigar

As I've mentioned in the past on this blog, I spent 6 years in the UK in the late '70s and early '80s. Those years had a major impact on my musical tastes, especially when it comes to anything synth driven. One of my favorite acts of that time is Ultravox. Not the Midge Ure version mind you, but the John Foxx era. They were pioneers in combining art rock with drum machines and new synthesizer technology. The music combined with Foxx's eerie vocals and futuristic lyrics really impressed me. They managed to have some success before Foxx left the band to chart a solo career. Of course Ultravox went on to become very successful with their new singer and song writer, but they lacked the artistic coolness of the original band. I was a big fan of Foxx's solo stuff too - all cold and synthetic and robotic, it sounded like no-one else. Lots of acts went on to cop his steeze and some of them even had greater success with it than he did - hello Gary Numan!

Fast forward to 2011 and John Foxx is still making music. Over the last few years he has released a bunch of stuff, and much of it has been on the ambient side. He has collaborated with UK electronic musician/producer Benge, who is also a collector of vintage studio gear. Together they have released Interplay as John Foxx & The Maths, using old machines to make totally modern music. It is a delightful record, faithfully recreating the music of Foxx's early years but in a totally modern style. Interplay sounds to me like the album Ultravox would release in 2011 if Foxx had never left the group. His themes remain futuristic and so is the music. The beats are both classic and modern, as are the synth sounds. Everything is beefed up and full of speaker rumbling low end. There are a lot of really good pop moments on it, including the new single Evergreen and the track Watching A Building On Fire which features Mira Aroyo from Ladytron on vocals. Falling Star is a gorgeously dreamy ballad while Shatterproof and Catwalk add a dash of glam rock stomp. I am captivated by it. If you are a fan of electronic music you would do well to check this record out!

As a little bonus enjoy their freshly recorded version of the Pink Floyd classic Have A Cigar. The cover mount CD from the October issue of Mojo Magazine features this song. However it has been announced that the version on the CD was unfinished. The version I offer today is the full, finished version.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Funky Friday Play List

The beats to move your feets are here. Today's selection is a little bit of everything for everyone - enjoy!
Here is your Funky Friday play list on Spotify.

Featuring...
Malcolm McLaren, Brand New Heavies, Ford & Lopatin, Donna Summer, Lupe Fiasco, Cannonball Adderley, Colourbox, Barry Adamson, Paul Haig, Soul II Soul, The James Gang, Jill Scott, Washed Out, Raphael Saadiq & Yukimi Nagano, Cut Copy, Barry White, Neon Indian, Nikka Costa, J Dilla, Sergio Mendes, Kraftwerk and Herbie Hancock.

Monday, August 08, 2011

Starlite

Paul Weller - Starlite (Drop Out Orchestra Remix)
Paul Weller's new single is a straight up return to the sweet, funky sounds of his old band, The Style Council. Listen to the original on the Soundcloud player, then nab the Drop Out Orchestra remix - they smooth it out, add the slick disco vibes, strings and bongo goodness. I think I like this remix better than the original!

Saturday, August 06, 2011

Polish Girl

Neon Indian - Polish Girl

Neon Indian's
new album Era Extraña is out on September 13th. He has already leaked one song - Fallout - and today brings another. Polish Girl is quite the little pop song - not as dreamily abstract as what you might have expected. Still has that Neon Indian sound though, so fans should like it!
Preorders here...

Friday, August 05, 2011

Funky Friday Play List

A slightly different approach to Funky Friday today - a Spotify playlist! A few vintage jams, some remixes and a bunch of current faves. Fire up your Spotify and get the beats to move your feets!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Funky Friday!

It's baaaaaack! After a long break, it's the return of Funky Friday. Today, a fresh crop of beats for your feets - new Neon Indian, Rapture and Holy Ghost! (with Michael McDonald!), a couple of bitchin' covers of Duran Duran (Tinpong) and Cherelle & Alexander O'Neal (Toro Y Moi), and a groovin' Adele remix by the Buffetlibre team that bumps up the dance factor. Oh yeah - DJ Jazzy Jeff & Ayah have made an album of hip hoppin' r'n'b that is actually pretty damn good. The best part? It is available for you to download for free here.

Neon Indian - Fallout
Tinpong - New Religion
Toro Y Moi - Saturday Love
DJ Jazzy Jeff & Ayah - Back For More
Adele - Someone Like You (Buffetlibre Remix)
Holy Ghost! feat Michael McDonald - Some Children
The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love? (Emperor Machine Remix Edit)

Monday, July 25, 2011

Your Loft

Your Loft by Death In Vegas

Your Loft is the new single from the forthcoming Death In Vegas album Trans Love Energies. It features Katie Stelmanis from Austra on vocals, and marks a return to the dark electro sounds of their early career. The album drops on September 26th on Drone Records.

Death In Vegas / Facebook / Soundcloud

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Channel Pressure

Ford & Lopatin - Emergency Room
My new favorite record this week is Ford & Lopatin's Channel Pressure. Formerly known as Games, Joel Ford & Daniel Lopatin have created the '80s record of your dreams. They've taken all of the sounds that were so revolutionary back in the early '80s and made one hell of a groovy pop record for the oughties. I hear echoes of so many good things - Scritti Politti, Junior Boys, Jan Hammer's Miami Vice soundtracks, Harold Faltermeyer's electro themes, and even a bit of Neon Indian's chill wave-y goodness. There are straight up pop songs, abstract instrumentals, loads of funk and plenty of vocal trickery. It gleams and glistens in all the right ways. LOVE. And while it is a love letter to the sounds of the '80s it holds up as very well as the sound of Summer 2011 too!

Channel Pressure by Ford & Lopatin

Monday, July 18, 2011

Billy Super Duper


This is a great find for you T.Rex fans - free T.Rex! Billy Super Duper is Marc Bolan's unfinished rock opera. Some of the songs have been previously released, and a few have never been out before. I am totally digging it. It has all of the glam-tastic riffing you love, and some of this stuff is also pretty damn funky - which I love. Anyway, listen, and if you like go to the Bandcamp page and download it! For free!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Saturday Love

Toro Y Moi - Saturday Love
I am a big fan of Toro Y Moi, the nom de plume of musician Chazwick Bundick. His music reminds me of MGMT, but a kinder, gentler, and much funkier version. His latest album Underneath The Pine came out in February and I have been playing it ever since. He is about to drop an new EP called Freaking Out, and it features a bitching cover of a Minneapolis funk classic, Saturday Love. The original song was recorded as a duet by Alexander O'Neal and Cherelle, and it was the bomb tune back in the day. I love that Chazwick has decided to cover it - he does a great job of bringing his chillwave flavor to it. Bonus video action of the original below...


Cherelle & Alexander O'Neal - Saturday Love

Monday, July 11, 2011

Yasercise

Yasercise are a relatively new band that has popped up from Minneapolis' always fertile rock scene. They have played a few shows around town over the last few months, and have also been spending some time in the studio recording. These two tracks are the first to leak out from those sessions and they are pretty sweet. Both are cool, atmospheric indie rock songs topped off with the lovely and sultry vocals of front woman Yasmina - who just happens to be a co-worker of mine! Anyway, I dig and hope you will too. Like 'em on Facebook and follow them on Soundcloud...

Yasercise - Lights on For Gaza

(image courtesy of Keri Carlson)
Yasercise - Charlie Machine
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Facebook / Soundcloud

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Hurricane

Grace Jones - Sunset Sunrise
Hallelujah! Grace Jones' 2008 album Hurricane is finally being given a US release on September 6th by PIAS (America). Produced by Jones and Ivor Guest, it marked a pretty successful return to form. I bought the EU import version a couple of years ago and loved it. It might not be a classic like Nightclubbing but it covers a lot similar ground. There are plenty of tough reggae riddims, some sleek electronica and a hint of rock guitar. I do wish that there was more uptempo, clubby material on it, but I am ultimately satisfied with the record. Best part of this news? Not the new artwork, but the newly added second disc - a dub version of the record. This has me psyched - can't wait to hear it!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Dance By Accident

Halloween, Alaska - Dance By Accident
The Minneapolis quartet is gearing up to release it's 4th album in August. Called All Night The Calls Came In, it sees the band moving further away from the electronic, ambient soundscapes they are known for and into more of a live band driven, ever so slightly rocking direction. Dance By Accident is a tightly grooving beast. Dave King's drums drive everything, then the band layers scratchy guitar and gentle keyboards over it all, and top it all off with the melancholic vocals of James Diers. Lovely. Can't wait to hear the rest of the record.
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Halloween, Alaska / Twitter / Facebook

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Forever Young

Joakim - Forever Young (Discodeine Remix)

French producer and artist in his own right Joakim is putting out a new album in September called Nothing Gold. I'm a big fan. My first exposure to him was as the producer of Panico, and over the years I have grooved to his remixes for the likes of Goldfrapp, Late of the Pier, Cut Copy and Friendly Fires, as well as his stellar production of Poni Hoax. The first single from the new album, his 4th, is this delightful track, Forever Young, which has been remixed by Discodeine. Joakim describes the song as the "soundtrack to a late beach sunset on an Indian Summer's night, a setting where time is meaningless, yet quickly fades away." All know is that I like the synthy propulsiveness of it and the nice '80s melancholy feel.
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Joakim / Facebook / Tigersushi

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Safari Disco Club

Yelle - Safari Disco Club

Monday, June 06, 2011

RIP Martin Rushent

One of the great music producers of the '80s died this week. Martin Rushent started out as working as an engineer on records by T-Rex, ELP, Yes and Fleetwood Mac. However it was a producer that he made his name. He helmed the first 3 Stranglers albums, as well as records by The Buzzcocks, 999, Generation X, XTC, The Rezillos, Téléphone and Rachel Sweet. He produced Altered Images, Intaferon, Leisure Process and The Associates too. It was his fascination with the newest synth technology that brought him his greatest successes, first with Pete Shelley's Homosapien album, and most notably with The Human League. Dare and it's companion remix album Love And Dancing were pop music at it's best, gleaming and modern. I thought he was a production genius. I used to buy records just because his name was on them. He made a bit of a producer's comeback in the 90's and was also involved in records with The Pipettes, Kila Kella and Does It Offend You, Yeah? (whose lead singer James is his son). He was a production genius and a legend of the mixing board. Rest in peace...

The Human League - Love Action

The Human League - The Sound of the Crowd [Extended 12" mix]

The Human League - Seconds

The Human League - Don't You Want Me

Monday, May 23, 2011

Let's Play Master & Servant

Depeche Mode - Master and Servant (RSS Remix)
Remixes 81 - 11

Out June 6th
Depeche Mode

Saturday, May 21, 2011

General Practice

Faux Pas - General Practice
A nice bit of dreamy, blippy ambient with guitars added.
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Faux Pas / Soundcloud / Facebook

Saturday, May 14, 2011

The Return of SirBilly

SirBilly is a long time fave here at SIART. He remixes almost exclusively '80s music, often by some relatively obscure acts. I have enjoyed pretty much everything he has ever sent to me. I was very happy to hear from him again, especially considering the song he has remixed is Heaven 17's Let Me Go. It is a stone cold classic tune - a tight groove and some deliciously rubbery wubba-wubba synths combined with a great pop song. I never get tired of this track - not bad considering it is 29 years old! You can listen to the original here. Now have a listen to SirBilly's edit...

Heaven 17 - Let Me Dub (SirBilly ReCutt)

As a little bonus coolness he has also put together this mix that is chock full of classic grooves.

DIVE AND LET LIVE
(download)
TRACKLIST
THE KLF - What Time Is Love? (Virtual Reality Mix)
COLDCUT - Autumn Leaves (Irresistible Force Remix)
LAURIE ANDERSON - Excellent Birds (12")
CHRIS AND COSEY - He's An Arabian
KILLING JOKE - Requiem (Spiral Tribe Remix)
SIMPLY RED - Picture Book In Dub (Adrian Sherwood Remix)
TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY - Sign Your Name (SirBilly Dubitalic)
NEW ORDER - Blue Monday (Jam & Spoon Andrea Mix)
CLARA MONDSHINE - Caesar In Cameroun
NICO - Das Lied Vom Einsamen Madchen (Live)
SINEAD 'O CONNOR & CHIEFTAINS - The Foggy Dew
EASY STAR ALL STARS - Time
DUB SPENCER & TRANCE HILL - Pop Muzik
THE POLICE - Walking On The Moon (JoolsMF Mix)
GENESIS - Mama (SirBilly Rework)
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Facebook / Soundcloud

Choco Pudding

Box Codax is the new project from Franz Ferdinand guitarist Nick McCarthy. He has enlisted the help of his wife Manuela Gernedel and friend, poet and singer Alex Ragnew. Their new album Hellabuster is out now on Gomma. It features some production by Metronomy, and it is really quite delicious. It kicks off with the very Franz-ish title track, morphs into some tasty disco, then into some lovely downtempo balladry. It touches on chanson, folk, garage rock and of course a smidge of post-punk. The variety of the music combined with the fact that all three members sing (and with quite distinctive voices) makes this record a lot of fun to listen to. Enjoy a bit of Choco Pudding, and as always, click the arrow on the Soundcloud player to download the song. You can also listen to the whole album here.

Box Codax - Choco Pudding

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Violent Sensation Descends

NYC based combo Violens are my current obsession. Born from the ashes of Miami art collective Lansing Dreiden, they pick up from where that band left off. LD mixed art rock and prog with idyll pop, and slathered it in the gloss of the '80s. Violens retain all of those elements, but they punch it all up a bit more. Their debut album Amoral came out at the tail end of last year and it is chock full of psych pop gems. They start with a foundation of '60s jangle pop and '70s art rock and then couch it all in the sounds of '80s new wave with a dash of post punk. The record is crisply produced and the songs are super melodic, full of lovely vocal harmonies and anthemic choruses. One minute they are raging loudness - think Kevin Shields' guitar on a My Bloody Valentine record - and the next they hit you with blissful, quiet bits of dreaminess - think the perfect jangle of Johnny Marr. The music seduces you with it's sweetness, and then you realize that they're singing about nightmares, death and drug induced hallucinations. Gloom never sounded so good. They are good friends with MGMT - they've toured together and have remixed MGMT songs, so if you like MGMT there is a pretty good chance you'll like Violens. I am seriously amazed at how under the radar these guys are flying - I love this record and wish the whole world would get on board too.
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Violens - Spirit

Violens - Acid Reign

Violens - When To Let Go

Violens / Soundcloud / YouTube / Twitter / Facebook

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

SIART Decade

It recently occurred to me that I've been doing this blog for 10 years now. When I started in 2001 I was a relative newbie to the web. I used Yahoo's GeoCities as my first foray into audio blogging. The name of the page was The Rezidence. It was a lot of writing and a few mp3s. Over the first 4 years I really dug into posting, and enjoyed seeing my readership grow. By 2004 I was stymied by GeoCities' limitations and decided to switch over to Blogger, and at the same time decided to rebrand the blog. (A few years ago Yahoo shut down GeoCities, and I found out too late to save any of the archive, so the only evidence of The Rezidence is preserved as a few pages on the Wayback Machine.)

Silence Is A Rhythm Too was born, the name borrowed from a lyric by The Slits. I've been here ever since, with over a million visitors logged. Over the last decade my wife and I have had 2 kids. As the kids aged life got a little more hectic, time a little more precious. As a result I haven't always had time to post stuff. I might go a month without posting, but I have never given up. There has also been a shift in content over the years. Initially I posted what I wanted to. As the blog grew I began to get posts removed by Blogger due to copyright infringement, so I switched to posts that featured content sent to me by bands and labels. It has meant less of the personal posts and more of the corporate whoring. I would really like to get back to a bit more of my personality here, so I'm making that a goal this year with the blog. So, you might not get a free download anymore, but you will get some good opinion. Let's see if I can make it another 10 years!

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

When You're Out


Kauf - When You're Out
Ronald Kaufman is LA based one man band Kauf. Recording out of his bedroom studio, he has just released his second single When You're Out. It is a delicious slice of mid paced bump and grind disco, all smothered in tasty synths and sequencers. He is currently putting together and EP for Fall release, and then plans to tour with a band. Fans of Miike Snow, Neon Indian and Junior Boys will definitley find something to enjoy here...
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Kauf / Twitter / Soundcloud / Facebook

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Spherical Aberrations

Alexander Turnquist - Spherical Aberrations
Hallway of Mirrors
Out May 17th
VHF Records
A lovely bit of acoustic guitar driven systems music.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sing For Your Meat


Cymbals Eat Guitars - Gleemer
La Sera - Watch Me Jumpstart
Western Civ - My Valuable Hunting Knife

Released yesterday for Record Store Day, Sing For Your Meat: A Tribute to Guided By Voices is a compilation of GBV songs covered by a multitude of hipsters who have been moved by the influence of GBV. Released by No More Fake Labels it represents the the many facets of GBV's work, from lo-fi, scrappy songs to well produced gems. Lou Barlow recorded his song 12 times on a Walkman and then stacked them on top of each other. Mass Solo Revolt’s track used vintage analog synths and everything was played and recorded by Martin Brummeler at home. Western Civ recorded some of their vocals through an old bullhorn. Both of their tracks were recorded in their practice room by a guy they had never met before. Several tracks were bedroom recordings. There is also a companion digital EP - full tracklist below...

01. Kelley Deal & Buffalo Killers – Scalding Creek
02. Thurston Moore – Stabbing A Star
03. Elf Power – Man Called Aerodynamics
04. Superdrag – A Salty Salute
05. Western Civ – My Valuable Hunting Knife
06. Crooked Fingers – Tractor Rape Chain
07. Lou Barlow – Game Of Pricks
08. Sorry About Dresden – Echos Myron
09. James Husband – Buzzards And Dreadful Crows
10. Flaming Lips – Smothered In Hugs
11. La Sera – Watch Me Jumpstart
12. I Was Totally Destroying It – I Am Produced
13. David Kilgour – How Loft I Am?
14. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Gleemer
15. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Everywhere With Helicopter
16. The Pneurotics – I Am A Tree
17. Blitzen Trapper – Hot Freaks

Free Digital Companion
01. Mass Solo Revolt – Gold Star For Robot Boy
02. Gregg Yeti – Quality Of Armor
03. Western Civ – Goldheart Mountain Top Queen Directory
04. North Elementary – They’re Not Witches-Ex Supermodel
05. Marie Stella – Little Lines
06. Free Electric State – Weedking

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Stuck In The '80s

A funny thing has been happening in my music world this year. Many of the bands I was listening to 30 years ago have been resurrecting their careers and recording new albums. While this is not uncommon in music history, what has been surprising is the general quality of these new records. That is to say, they do not suck. Here are a few examples...

In January seminal post-punkers Gang Of Four put out Content, their first record of new material since 1995. Jon King and Andy Gill, now both 55 years old, are ripping it up with a new rhythm section. Their politics are intact - both when it comes to the ills of society and love - and the guitar riffs are as huge, angular and fierce as ever. The new rhythm section match the intensity of Andy's guitar with muscular deft. Thankfully, there is no aging gracefully here...


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Wire also released a new record in January called Red Barked Tree. These guys have been on again/off again for the last 20 years, breaking up and reforming and recording. In the early 00's they returned with a vengeance, ditching their post punk sound for something approaching metal. The last few records have seen the band return to the style of music that they originally broke with, a mix of post-punk riffing, punk rock energy and some quieter, gentler moments. The overall quality of the music is amazing - check out Two Minutes - and the album will be on my end of year best-of list for sure!
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I have always been a Duran Duran fan. Sure, there have been some lean years when I didn't buy the records, but I always kept up with them. Their latest album All You Need Is Now came out in March. Produced by Mark Ronson, it is, in my opinion, the logical follow up to 1982's Rio. Ronson clearly encouraged the band to recapture the zeitgeist of their early years, and he has done a bang up job. The songs are good, a mix of catchy dance floor movers and artful ballads. Kelis and Ana Matronic from Scissor Sisters make nice cameos. Simon's voice is great. Nick Rhodes' keyboards are as artfully tasteful as ever, adding just the right amount of gloss and pretention. Roger Taylor's drumming can still keep pace with John Taylor, who has to be one of the better bass players in music today. His signature popping and sliding are what drives the songs, and he sounds fantastic. A remarkable return to form that makes me very happy. I'm seeing them next week in a medium sized club setting - can you say geeked?


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Friday, April 01, 2011

Funky Friday With Wagon Christ

Wagon Christ - Toomorrow (Megamix Album Preview)
The return of Luke Vibert's Wagon Christ is always a welcome thing in my world. The man is prolific, recording under many aliases. His beats always get my head bobbing, and his samples range from zany to delicious. His new record Toomorrow is out now and is a must have for fans of left field hip hop beats and quirky downtempo. Enjoy this 15 minute mini mix of album tracks. First 100 to click the arrow on the player can nab it as a download...

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Rolling In The Deep Again.

John Legend - Rolling In The Deep Feat. Kenton Dunson (Kenton Dunson Remix)
This is a pretty sweet take on the Adele hit - kind of church. I like John's voice a lot, and the rap is pretty good too.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Need You Now

Need You Now (Architecture in Helsinki Version) - Cut Copy
This is just awesome. Architecture In Helsinki have completely altered the vibe of the original from dance floor stomper to Roy Orbison/Chris Isaak-y crooner ballad. And it really is quite lovely. Really.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Hammocks And Honey


Hammocks and Honey - Toolz (Faux Pas Remix)
Spellbinder is the first release from Aussie electronic duo Prudence Rees-Lee and Alex Nosek - Hammocks and Honey. Prudence is a classically trained cellist turned synth obsessive, while Alex is a member of experimental electronic outfit ii. Baroque chord progressions collide with hypnotic, pulsating beats, tropical percussion and the purest of pop sensibilities. This lush, dreamy remix is courtesy of SIART fave Faux Pas.

Friday, March 04, 2011

Funky Friday

Land of Bingo - Bottle It In
Land of Bingo - Headwarmer
The Knocks - Aint Too Proud To Beg
Boombox Saints - Bringin' The Boom Back
Bangers & Mash! - Switch (Remix) Phoenix - Lisztomania (Daze Remix)
Albert - Murder Laden Indie Finger (Take A Biff Off)
GAYNGS - Coercion Van (MK Larada Regrind)