Robotic Empire returns with their third Nirvana tribute, “Doused In Mud, Soaked In Bleach”, completing a trifecta of homages to the legendary band’s studio albums. The Hall of Famer’s debut LP “Bleach” is covered in full, start to finish, by a diverse range of independent artists including Basement, Beach Slang, Big Hush, Circa Survive, Daughters, Defeater, The Fall Of Troy, Mean Jeans, Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place, The Saddest Landscape, This Will Destroy You, Thou And Young Widows.
Appropriately reflecting Nirvana’s rawest studio album alongside a full-circle nod to Robotic Empire’s roots, this is arguably the darkest, heaviest release in the tribute series. A tasteful re-envision of these classic songs sees all 13 “Bleach” tracks run through the bands’…

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…creative engines, putting an intense new perspective on these 25+ year old songs.

01. Defeater – Blew (3:18)
02. Thou – Floyd the Barber (3:07)
03. Beach Slang – About a Girl (3:28)
04. Basement – School (2:35)
05. Circa Survive – Love Buzz (3:39)
06. This Will Destroy You – Paper Cuts (7:00)
07. Young Widows – Negative Creep (3:11)
08. Mean Jeans – Scoff (3:31)
09. Rob Crow’s Gloomy Place – Swap Meet (3:50)
10. The Fall of Troy – Mr. Moustache (3:17)
11. Big Hush – Sifting (4:21)
12. Daughters – Big Cheese (3:33)
13. The Saddest Landscape – Downer (1:55)

There have been several excellent Nigerian rock and psychedelic music compilations issued by fine record labels that have gone to great lengths to assemble tapes and/or rare pressings of exemplary recordings. That said, Now Again’s Wake Up You! The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock goes a step further: it attempts to tell this music’s entire story between 1972 and 1977 in the aftermath of the three-year civil war.
The music is contained inside a sleeve placed between the covers of a hardbound book with a narrative essay written by musicologist and researcher Uchenna Ikonne (who assembled Who Is William Onyeabor?). This first of two volumes offers 18 burning cuts released between 1972 and 1977. Well-known acts from the Hykkers and…

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…the Funkees to Ify Jerry Krusade, the Strangers, and others are represented — though the choices are not always obvious and add another layer to the already complex dimensions of the Afro-rock portrait already available. One example is the inclusion of “Stone the Flower,” the B-side of the Hykkers’ “God Gave His Only Son” single from 1972 — it’s wonderful, but nowhere near the best cut here. Arguably, that honor is split between Ofo the Black Company’s “Beautiful Daddy,” the B-side of their “Allah Wakbarr” single, and “Graceful Bird” by War-Head Constriction, both frantic psychedelic scorchers with screaming guitars, rumbling basslines, and tom-tom-heavy polyrhythms. For rock guitar freaks, the Apostles’ “Never Too Late” from 1976, deeply influenced by Fela Kuti’s Afro-beat, is another excellent choice. There are plenty of funky grooves here too, from the Motown inspiration of the Formulars Dance Band’s “Never Never Let Me Down” (1973) to the psychedelic soul in the Strangers’ Temptations-influenced “Onye Ije” (1972) and the wailing Farfisa and bubbling conga rave-up in “Groove the Funk” by Aktion (1975). There isn’t a dud in this bunch, even though the music is all over the rock and funk map.

This set’s ultimate achievement, however, doesn’t only lie in the recordings presented (all of which were officially licensed). Instead, it’s in the way they offer a soundtrack to Ikonne’s essay, which is exhaustively — even painstakingly — researched and vastly illustrated (truly amazing photographs), containing quotes from artists, label heads, managers, etc. It also offers an informed opinion near the end that many — particularly in the white world — may find shocking (though it’s tough to argue). On the other side, Ikonne’s narrative posits another thesis that contradicts some popular Nigerian historical thinking on just how lasting the cultural and artistic import of the period is. If you want to know what they are, buy it. Sure, you pick this set up just for the music and it would be worth it. But when music and visuals are combined, the story is so exhilarating, heartbreaking, and revelatory, it eclipses that intention. Wake Up You! The Rise and Fall of Nigerian Rock is essential for anyone even casually interested in the era of Afro-rock.

There is a stream that courses through American roots music. Its source is in the Appalachian foothills in a place called Maces Spring, Virginia. It was there that A.P. Carter, his wife Sara and his sister-in-law Maybelle began their careers as three of the earliest stars of country music. From their earliest days as Victor recording artists to their international success via the phenomenon of Border Radio, the Original Carter Family made their mark on the history of American recorded music.
Beth Harrington’s documentary about this saga has played festivals and won awards and accolades across the globe. Omnivore Recordings, in conjunction with Harrington, present the soundtrack to this very important film: The Winding Stream: The Carters, the Cashes & the Course of Country Music.

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With original tracks from the iconic Original Carter Family, through performances by legends George Jones and Johnny Cash, and into the present with John Prine and Rosanne Cash, The Winding Stream sends listeners on an audio journey through the history of the music we now know as “country,” how it came to be, and how it endures today.

01. John Prine – Bear Creek Blues (4:23)
02. Grey DeLisle & Murry Hammond – Lord, I’m in Your Care (1:39)
03. The Original Carter Family – Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow Tree (2:55)
04. The Original Carter Family – Single Girl, Married Girl (2:49)
05. George Jones – Worried Man Blues (3:11)
06. Carolina Choclate Drops – Hello Stranger (2:46)
07. The Original Carter Family – Keep On the Sunny Side (0:29)
08. The Original Carter Family – Cannon Ball Blues (1:48)
09. The Original Carter Family – I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes (3:02)
10. Mother Maybelle & the Carter Sisters – Wildwood Flower (2:41)
11. Johnny Cash – Will the Circle Be Unbroken (3:19)
12. Murry Hammond – In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain (2:57)
13. Mother Maybelle & Sara Carter – Sweet Fern (2:38)
14. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – Gold Watch and Chain (with Kris Kristofferson) (4:06)
15. Home Folks, Joe Carter & John McCutcheon – Step Light Ladies (2:59)
16. Rosanne Cash – The Winding Stream (4:30)

There is a Californian myth of sun, sand and tanned blondes of both sexes enjoying a life of carefree exuberance. For black America, the Golden State offered a different dream and throughout the 20th century the lure of a booming economy attracted millions to the most populous state in the Union. Where there is money, an entertainment industry invariably appears to relieve people of it, and all over California– especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco’s Bay Area – clubs, bars and record labels sprang up. In the immediate post-WWII years these attracted black musicians from all over the country hoping to make their fortune.
The boom years of the ’40s and ’50s were followed by a decade when social problems from elsewhere in the country arrived to pierce the dream.

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Independent labels had a hard time competing with the resurgent majors and super-independents such as Imperial owned by white entrepreneurs. The black scene was pushed underground.

But with many years experience behind them, musicians, songwriters and record men continued doing what they were doing – forever hoping the next success, the big break, was on its way. Stevie Wonder was recording at the Record Plant; with a bit of luck, next it could be them. This is the spirit captured on “California Soul” – club singers, former doo woppers, bands of kids off the streets all hoping to break out of their day-to-day life. If it didn’t work out, at least make a living doing something they enjoyed.

We have an amazing selection of funk and soul contained within the 20 tracks. From the Soul Sensations’ ballad ‘When I Had You, Baby’ – one of the finest examples of harmony singing you will ever hear – to the raw street funk of Little Johnny Hamilton’s two-part ‘The Git Down’ and everything in between, this represents the best music coming out of California at the time. Who could ignore the exceptional ‘Butterfly’ by the Ballads or the Brenton Wood-composed ‘Strike’ by Union featuring the vocals of Gail Anderson.

Also present are some previously unreleased masterpieces, great Temptations-style vocal funk and club classics such as Brenda George’s ‘What You See Is What You’re Gonna Get’. Some of these artists went on to bigger things; others drifted away from the business when success didn’t come their way. — Ace Records

1. Choice of Colors – If She Wants to Go [03:35]
2. The Entertainers IV – Just Ain’t My Day [02:38]
3. Little Johnny Hamilton & the Soul Pack – The Git Down (Part 1) [02:54]
4. Little Johnny Hamilton & the Soul Pack – The Git Down (Part 2) [03:41]
5. The Soul Sensations – When I Had You, Baby [03:42]
6. The Ballads – Butterfly aka I Wish I Knew [03:28]
7. The Natural Resources Unpolluted – Funky with My Stuff [03:23]
8. Little Denise – Check Me Out [02:12]
9. Alvin Robinson – Tuned in, Turned On [02:50]
10. The Douzer – The Sneak [02:44]
11. Vernon Green – You Don’t Know (The Damage You’ve Done) [03:19]
12. Rulie Garcia – Earthquake [02:46]

Even at its most inclusive and open-minded, the underground dance community still aspires to a certain cool factor — man or woman, gay or straight, just, please, don’t be a dork. This is one of the reasons Beats in Space’s Tim Sweeney is a comforting presence: In addition to being one of New York’s best DJs and longest-tenured tastemakers, he comes off on his weekly WNYU radio show — broadcast every Tuesday night at 10:30pm since he walked in as a student in 1999, and meticulously archived on his website — like, well, a bit of a dork. His casual demeanor and idiosyncratic interview style, in addition to his musical curiosity, lends his show an irrepressible friendliness that is unusual in dance music culture.
It’s a vibe that has carried over to his record label…

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…of the same name, under which he’s released 20 records—mostly 12″s but also a couple of albums—since 2011. Sweeney’s tastes run wide and deep, and he’s been in on the ground floor of every important trend in underground dance music during the last 15 years (he notably interned for DFA and has regularly DJ’ed with James Murphy). He’s kept his label stylistically diverse but with a few common threads: groovy, lightly psychedelic tracks that might sound best at a deck party, or the beach. Balearic would be a good catchall, though Sweeney’s choices represent a very New York iteration—basically disco and its stepchildren—that includes various shades of electro, italo, house, and punky funk.

BIS: 001 – 020 collects a track from each of the label’s releases offering an easy, if slightly daunting (there’s nearly 150 minutes of music here) overview of the label. The collection doesn’t offer any household names; certainly given his connections and status Sweeney could’ve recruited higher profile producers. What’s on offer here is really Sweeney’s vision, the humid urban tropics his selections conjure.

In practice this is everything from the bratty guitar stomp of the Hidden Fees’ “So What”—as fine a replica of mid-2000s DFA clamor on offer in 2016—to the sprawling acid bass of Secret Circuit’s “Afterlife.” BIS: 001 – 020 doesn’t offer a discernible flow or progression; it’s a great record to jump in and out of, or to set to random and cook dinner to. Many of the tracks contain the kind of charming off-key vocals that helped differentiate, say, Ze Records disco tracks from gaudier major label productions. The compilation’s more traditional dance tracks—Matt Karmil’s Four Tet-ish “So You Say” and Crystal & S. Koshi’s roiling “Break the Dawn”—offer chopped vocals, never straying far from an easy tunefulness.

BIS: 001 – 020 is never less than good, but it also falls somewhat short of essential. Labels like International Feel and Permanent Vacation have offered similar thrills for years. It’s possible to parse out the peculiarities of Sweeney’s taste but there’s a certain irony in appreciating Sweeney on a granular level. What has made his radio show so special is that there is no one easy summation of it; its value increases as you return week after week (or archived stream after archived stream), listening to an ever widening variety of DJs and styles. Beats in Space the radio show remains an essential resource for fans of dance music; Beats in Space the label is a fun, friendly capsule of Sweeney’s favored style.

The annual double CD signature release from Proper presenting a track from each of the nominated artists for the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2016 which will take place on April 27th at the Royal Albert Hall, where artists including Sam Lee, Joan Armatrading and The Unthanks are set to perform with more acts.
This year, the legendary Sandy Denny will be inducted into the Radio 2 Folk Awards Hall of Fame which exists to recognise the special contribution of an individual to the world of folk music. The awards show will also include the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Making the announcement, Mark Radcliffe said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be back at the Royal Albert Hall which promises a huge sense of occasion…

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…for the Folk Awards. There will be many highlights but I can’t wait to hear The Unthanks singing in there. The nominees are a real mix of well established artists and some sparky newcomers – so the winners are very hard to predict this year which always adds to the excitement. The album category in particular is probably the strongest for many years. Can’t wait!”

1. Eliza Carthy – Great Grey Back (2:47)
2. Phillip Henry & Hannah Martin – Stones (4:10)
3. The Rheingans Sisters – Mackerel (5:25)
4. Špiro – The Vapourer (4:43)
5. Joan Armatrading – Baby Blue Eyes (3:57)
6. False Lights – Polly on the Shore (5:21)
7. The Furrow Collective – The Unquiet Grave (4:03)
8. Ghazalaw – Moliannwn (4:34)
9. Lynched – Cold Old Fire (4:25)
10. Ross Ainslie – Skins (5:21)
11. Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman – 52 Hertz (4:11)
12. The Young’uns – Waiting for the Ferry (3:53)
13. Leveret – Bagpipers (4:52)
14. Sam Lee – Lovely Molly (5:17)
15. Richard Thompson – Long John Silver (3:58)
16. Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting & Nancy Kerr – Richmond Cotillion (3:04)
17. Emily Portman – Seed Stitch (3:10)
18. Damien O’Kane – ‘Til Next Market Day (4:45)
19. Show of Hands – Hambledon Fair (4:00)
20. Stick in the Wheel – Seven Gypsies (4:09)
21. Dan Walsh – Lost Rambler (2:13)
22. Gilmore & Roberts – Cecilia (4:19)
23. Rhiannon Giddens – Shake Shigaree (4:24)
24. Marry Waterson & David A Jaycock – Sing Me into Your Tune (2:22)
25. Rosie Hood – William’s Sweetheart (3:11)
26. Sam Kelly – Jolly Waggoners (3:20)
27. The Unthanks – Madam (4:55)
28. Brighde Chaimbeul – Rattlin Roarin Wullie / The Deil’s Awa Wi’ Th’exciseman / Kelly Macinnes’ / Lord Macdonald’s / Mary Ann Macisaac’s (Live) (5:48)
29. Jack Cookson – Old Chapels O’ Stone (Live) (4:55)
30. Benammi Swift – Great North Run / Country Gardens (Live) (3:46)
31. Causeway Trio – Changing Places / Dlùth / Ruidhle an Dotair (Live) (9:55)

Following the recent success of French Disco Boogie Sounds, DJ and producer Charles Maurice is back on Favorite Recordings, this time engaging a musical World tour, in the search of hidden productions with a touch of AOR style.
The result is AOR Global Sounds, a new compilation made of 8 forgotten and rare tracks produced between 1977 and 1982 in all parts of the globe.
At the end of the 70s, many artists over the world were deeply influenced by AOR’s famous stars such as Steely Dan and his classic Aja LP, looking to reach the same attention to sound production and details, and this specific Westcoast style mixing together pop-rock standards, with soul (sometime disco) and jazz influences.
From Erik Tagg in Netherlands, and Ulla in Poland,..

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…to Diane Tell in Quebec, and Nohelani Cypriano in Hawaï, Charles Maurice found a real link between these 8 great songs and artists, in their music clearly infused with this special AOR touch, in a Soulful and Disco way.

Following the recent acclaimed first edition of AOR Global Sounds compilation, DJ and producer Charles Maurice’s dug even deeper through international lost productions to create a sequel for this series.
The result is AOR Global Sounds Volume 2, a new compilation made of 8 forgotten and rare tracks produced between 1975 and 1983 in all parts of the globe.
From Renée Geyer Band in Australia, and Boban Petrovic in Ex-Yugoslavia, to Carol Ray Band in France, and Greg Yoder in Hawaï, Charles Maurice and Favorite Recordings built another hot selection of lost tracks clearly infused with this special AOR touch, in a soulful and disco way.
Fully remastered from originals with the same attention to sound quality than in first edition.

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1. Jay Days – Long Way Home (4:32)
2. Greg Yoder – Things Were So Easy (4:14)
3. Renée Geyer Band – Two Sides (3:32)
4. O Ji Ji – The Shadow (3:49)
5. Robert Cotter – Everything I’m Living For (4:38)
6. Carol Ray Band – Quelques Mots Gentils (4:58)
7. Boban Petrovic – Prepad (4:07)
8. Byrne & Barnes – Love You Out Of Your Mind (3:16)

1. Josefin Ohrn + The Liberation – Sunny Afternoon
2. Cate Le Bon – I Was Born On The Wriong Day
3. The Bevis Frond – Hot Sauce Or Nothing
4. White Fence – To The Boy I Jumped In The Hemlock Alley
5. Gnoomes – Myriads
6. Fuzz – Let It Live
7. The Chemistry Set – Albert Hofmann
8. Black Mountain – Space To Bakersfield
9. Heron Oblivion – Your Hollows
10. Goat – It’s Time For Fun
11. Cavern Of Anti-Matter – Planetary Folklore
12. Flying Saucer Attack – Feedback Song
13. Spacin’ – Human Condition
14. Thee Oh Sees – Web

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A second collection of unreleased rarities from deep in the Motown vaults, Ace’s 2015 compilation Love & Affection: More Motown Girls contains nothing released in the ’60s — nothing that was issued before 2014 (all on the digital album Motown Unreleased 1964) — with many of the 25 cuts making their debut here. Ace concentrates on material recorded between 1962 and 1969, with the great majority of the sides cut during Motown’s glory days of the mid-’60s.
Like so many collections of Motown rarities, what impresses is the consistency; perhaps the songs aren’t as exceptionally sculpted as the singles that stormed the charts, but they’re still well-crafted and the recordings pop with style and spirit. These are tunes that very well may sound diminished if…

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…collected alongside Motown’s staples, but heard on their own they are infectious and giddy.

1. Brenda Holloway – Reassure Me That You Love Me [02:27]
2. Gladys Knight & the Pips – Any Girl in Love (Knows What I’m Going Through) [02:34]
3. Barbara Randolph – My Love Is Your Love (Forever) [02:28]
4. Martha Reeves & the Vandellas – This Is the Love (I’ve Been Waiting For) [02:39]
5. Debbie Dean – I Can’t Make It Without You [02:32]
6. Liz Lands – Midnight Johnny (Early Version) [02:29]
7. The Lewis Sisters – Many Good Times [02:29]
8. Labrenda Ben – Just Go On Sleeping [02:48]
9. Brenda Holloway – Lonely Teardrops [03:26]
10. Hattie Littles – Now That Love Is Gone [02:38]
11. Labrenda Ben – Fugitive [02:16]
12. Linda Griner – Envious (Fast Version) [02:47]
13. Connie Haines – Mr Pride and Mr Gloom [02:59]
14. Oma Heard – Momma Tried to Warn Me [02:35]
15. Chris Clark – Check Yourself [02:41]
16. Barbara McNair – Come Back Half Way [02:29]
17. Martha Reeves & the Vandellas – Mother Tell Me What to Do[02:04]
18. The Marvelettes – Girls Need Love and Affection [02:27]
19. Rita Wright – Give Back the Good Things [02:26]
20. The Lollipops – Go for Yourself [02:20]
21. Barbara McNair – The Good Times Are Gone [03:21]
22. Gladys Knight & the Pips – The Things Time Can’t Erase [02:29]
23. Yvonne Fair – Close My Crying Eyes [03:49]
24. Chris Clark – Forgotten [03:41]
25. Kim Weston – Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be) [03:07]

Bamako-based producer/educator Paul Chandler has been documenting the sonic and cultural complexities of Malian traditional music for more than a decade and Every Song Has Its End is an out-of-time, visceral collection of sounds from Chandler’s unparalleled archive.
Over the past few years, accompanied by a recording engineer and a video-maker, Chandler has ventured to off-the-grid villages and crossroad towns all across the vast Malian landscape. Through a network of long-nurtured local contacts this small team has sought out practicing traditional musicians and their under-documented and often endangered musics. Immersive and exhilarating, these field recordings and videos give us a privileged glimpse into the intricacies of the Malian musical experience.

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The tracks on “Every Song Has Its End” are in fact as varied as the land that they come from. The haunting modulations of the mostly female Group Ekanzam and the spiky, electrified drone of Super Onze were both recorded in Mali’s remote and embattled northeastern desert region. Conversely, the hypnotic, pulsing sounds of the Mianka Cultural Troupe’s elk horns (buru) and Ibrahim Traore’s warrior harp (bolon) have been recorded more than 1,500 kilometres away in Mali’s more verdant southern hill country. Some of the musicians are playing music that is tied to a specific traditional caste or village function. The declamatory “hunters” music of Sidiki Coulibaly and the “cultivator” balafon excursions of Kassoun Bagayoko are examples of this. And one track in particular, Sigui lé (It’s the Wild Buffalo) from the Nioguébougoula Cultural Troupe, seems to operate in a realm beyond mere music. The recording is a layered, 3D window into traditional village life, the “audience” and the “performers” interacting and fusing in a way that upends contemporary musical hierarchies.

While it is ultimately impossible for us to fully grasp the cultural context and depth of the recordings on “Every Song Has Its End: Sonic Dispatches from Traditional Mali,” it also seems nearly impossible not to be hooked in by the mesmeric sound culture that they mirror.

Musical history is littered with bands that never got heard outside their immediate circle. It’s a fact of life in this creative art and perhaps a shocking statistic if one was to ever collate any evidence.
It is therefore great news to see that once again Riding Easy Records have again delved deep into the bargain bins of yesteryear to dig up some real gems that have been lost in the mists of time for Brown Acid : The Second Trip. It’s almost like a form of archaeology and depending on your taste and infatuation with music, an invaluable source of discovery.
Some of the names here may even seem familiar but that will only be through those whispered voices that you hear at three in the morning after one doob too many and someone speaks…

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…of a mysterious song they once heard. Of course, in these days of immediate satisfaction through Spotify and YouTube, you can often find these songs with little issue which in itself is satisfying in some respects. If you look from a different point of view it sort of spoils the whole crate digging nature of discovery and it is testament to Riding Easy that they find songs which you would rarely find elsewhere. This is the real hidden stuff at the bottom of the barrel. The true gold.

Kicking off with a true lost classic in Ash’s ‘Midnight Witch’, it is obvious straight away that we are firmly entrenched in that period of the 70’s when long hair, long beards and wide trousers were de rigeur. Whilst the figureheads of such a scene were laying waste to hotels, groupies and concert halls, bands such as Ash were trying to make a break out of their local circuit with the extent of their success relying on a regional fan-base. It’s the same for lesser known (read unknown) fare such as Sweet Crystal whose funky ‘Warlords’ rides along on it’s in your face Hammond, Spiney Norman’s unbeatable ‘Bell Park Loon’ and Buck’s ‘Long Hot Highway’. It’s like a parallel world where you feel like you know these artists and songs yet even a simple Google search will throw up relatively little information.

One could argue the merits of such a compilation as perhaps a waste of time as this was music that never sold in the first place so why release it again now? That’s to miss the point of the whole exercise and besides the music actually being fantastic, the album serves another purpose in helping document music history. It’s all too easy to follow the lines through Elvis, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Oasis but here is the underbelly, the music which was made by real people believing in what they were doing and just never getting the break. It sounds fresh, exciting and vital too and helps join the dots for a whole other side of this thing called rock and roll.

1. Ash – Midnight Witch [04:02]
2. Sweet Crystal – Warlords [04:26]
3. Raving Maniac – Rock and Roll Man [02:06]
4. Crossfield – TAKE IT! [04:29]
5. Spiny Normen – Bell Park Loon [04:02]
6. Glass Sun – Silence Of The Morning [05:12]
7. Volt Rush Band – Love To You [02:40]
8. Buck – Long Hot Highway [03:54]
9. Iron Knowledge – Show Stopper [03:30]
10. Sonny Hugg – Daybreak [02:53]

…While the first album, Vinyl: Music from the HBO Original Series, Volume 1, primarily consisted of tracks from the two-hour pilot episode, The Essentials is, according to Vinyl music supervisor Randall Poster, a compilation of “some of our greatest hits from the season, along with some new things that were key musical moments in the latter episodes.” The Essentials combines previously released tracks – EPs featuring music from each episode have been made available on a weekly basis since the season premiere – as well as a handful of unreleased songs by artists such as Chris Cornell, Julian Casablancas and Charli XCX.
Poster talked with Speakeasy about how the musicians featured on the new album best captured the essence of 1973, which is when the show…

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…takes place. For example, Cornell, whose tune “Stay with Me Baby” played over the end credits during this past Sunday’s penultimate episode, is, in Poster’s estimation, “a contemporary artist who has that classic-rock stature. I think there are very few singers who could really take that track over the top the way Chris did.”

Poster also had equal praise for rock legend Elvis Costello, whose new version of “Back Stabbers” appears on “The Essentials” as well: “He is such a student of rock that he was really able to spin it so that it felt both fresh as well as in the era.”

1. Alex Newell – Kill the Lights (with Nile Rodgers) [04:34]
2. Charlie Wilson – Alright Lady (Let’s Make a Baby) [03:48]
3. Elvis Costello – Back Stabbers [03:12]
4. Trey Songz – Life On Mars [03:53]
5. Iggy Pop – I Dig Your Mind [02:51]
6. Charli XCX – No Fun [03:59]
7. John Doe – Strychnine [02:31]
8. Royal Blood – Where Are You Now [02:46]
9. The Arcs – Watch Your Step [02:58]
10. Chris Cornell – Stay with Me Baby [04:15]
11. Ty Taylor – I’ve Been Wrong So Long [02:20]
12. Nasty Bits – Woman Like You [02:36]
13. Sturgill Simpson – Sugar Daddy (Theme from Vinyl) [03:44]
14. Julian Casablancas – Venus in Furs [04:55]
15. Charlie Wilson – Love, I Want You Back [04:01]
16. Humble Pie – Black Coffee [03:10]
17. Nate Ruess – I Wanna Be with You [03:06]

The Danish trio WhoMadeWho are indie rock survivors. Since releasing their 2005 debut they have continually refined and redefined their sound. Part of that process has involved the incorporation of more electronic elements. They are far from the first indie band to take this approach, but it has worked particularly well for them, and they have produced remixes for Tahiti 80, Hot Chip, and others. Their first official DJ mix, then, seems like a natural progression.
Body Language is the signature mix series produced by the Berlin electronic label Get Physical. For their entry, WhoMadeWho present a mellow, introspective, and thoughtful sound, which is not at all at odds with their own work. There is some electronic-leaning indie pop as well as some…

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…outright Electronic Dance Music, but don’t expect floor-stompers here. Yes, you could dance to Body Language, Vol. 17, but you would be more likely to chill to it.

And, as a chillout mix, this 17-track set works pretty well. One impressive feature of WhoMadeWho’s curating is the consistency of tone. A lot artist-produced DJ mixes strive to showcase their creators’ varies tastes and large palate. The result is often a nice set of songs that does not even try to hold together, despite the continuous mixing. Most everything on Body Language, Vol. 17, though, fits nicely into an understated, cerebral space.

The downside is the middle part of the mix floats by a little too easily. Like many DJ mixes, it peaks early. The opening remix of the Acid’s “Ra” lets a full minute of lush atmosphere develop before the beat kicks in. A mellow-yet-funky bassline drives the track, while analog synths sweep and percolate over the top. There’s even a bit of cowbell for good measure! Fellow sensitive indie types the Invisible supply one of the entire set’s highlights with “The Stain”, a soft, sublime bit of dreampop that simply soaks into your ears. And, lest you float away, it is followed by Cubicolor’s tense, uptempo “Down The Wall”.

At this point, it looks like Body Language, Vol. 17 is turning out to be something special indeed, the rare mix of understated music that is truly engaging. Ghost Culture’s “Mouth” mixes chattering old-school house music with no-wave chill, which is not a bad conceit. &Me’s “Trilogy” plays with cool, wind chime-like sounds.  But DJ Tennis’ “Divisions”, featuring WhoMadeWho’s Jeppe Kjellberg on vocals, is nondescript synth moodiness, a description that could apply to most of the half dozen tracks that surround it.

WhoMadeWho themselves provide a nice late-mix lift. Their new “High & Low” places their trademark melancholy against a stark electronic backdrop, punctuated by tumbling sequencers and mini analog storms. An extended coda is richly atmospheric and sad, like shoegaze on downers. The track bodes well for the band’s future studio endeavors. In the meantime, Body Language, Vol. 17 gives you a nice idea of what WhoMadeWho are into lately, and a better-than-average comedown soundtrack.

1. WhoMadeWho – Body Language, Vol. 17 (Continuous Mix) (1:02:39)
2. The Acid – Ra (David August Remix) (6:34)
3. The Invisible – The Stain (5:17)
4. Cubicolor – Down the Wall (9:17)
5. Ghost Culture – Mouth (6:08)
6. The Golden Filter – Diamond Island (6:16)
7. Weval – Rooftop Paradise (4:09)
8. Nick Galemore – All Goes Wrong (8:02)
9. Luke Abbott – Modern Driveway (5:33)
10. George FitzGerald – Your Two Faces (4:08)
11. DJ Tennis – Divisions (Roman Flügel Remix) (8:28)
12. &ME – Trilogy (feat. Sabota) (7:40)
13. Fort Romeau – Lately (10:33)
14. Applescal – Onetasker (6:17)
15. WhoMadeWho – Hi & Low (3:23)
16. Clark – Strength Through Fragility (2:18)
17. Nosaj Thing – 2K (2:32)

Ólafur Arnalds, one-half of Icelandic band Kiasmos, has mixed the latest instalment in the Late Night Tales mix series. The BAFTA-winning multi-intrumentalist and producer is known for a hybrid sound that fuses classical and electronic music, as heard on his solo work and as Kiasmos alongside Janus Rasmussen. (He won the 2014 award for scoring British TV series Broadchurch.) The 18-track mix features music from Jamie xx, Jai Paul, Koreless and James Blake, as well as three exclusive productions of his own and a cover of Destiny Child’s R&B classic “Say My Name.” There’s also a cameo from acclaimed British actor David Tennant, who closes out the CD with a reading.
Arnalds says of his Late Night Tales instalment: “When I was asked to do the next installation of…

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…the Late Night Tales series I thought ‘This will be fun and easy, only a couple of days work. No problem!’. Six months later, I was still pulling my hair out in some kind of quest to make the perfect mix. As someone who has never really done mixes before, I learned a lot of things along the way and the whole experience was very inspiring. I decided to approach the mix in a similar way as I would one of my scores. This is the soundtrack of my life. I included songs from many of my friends and collaborators and tried to deliver a mix that represents who I am as an artist and where my influences are coming from – both personally and musically.”

1. Hjálmar Lárusson & Jónbjörn Gíslason – Jómsvíkingarímur – Ýta Eigi Feldi Rór (1:12)
2. Julianna Barwick – Forever (5:29)
3. Koreless – Last Remnants (4:20)
4. ODESZA – How Did I Get Here (Instrumental Version) (2:10)*
5. Anois – A Noise (4:05)
6. Samaris – Góða Tungl (4:10)
7. Ólafur Arnalds – RGB (4:38)*
8. Rival Consoles – Pre (5:14)
9. Four Tet – Lion (Jamie xx Remix) (7:08)
10. Jai Paul – Jasmine (4:13)
11. James Blake – Our Love Comes Back (3:39)
12. Spooky Black – Pull (4:13)
13. Ólafur Arnalds – Say My Name (feat. Arnór Dan) (5:41)*
14. Sarah Neufeld & Colin Stetson – And Still They Move (2:57)
15. Kiasmos – Orgoned (6:00)*
16. Ólafur Arnalds – Kinesthesia I (1:46)*
17. Hjaltalín – Ethereal (6:39)
18. David Tennant – Undone (3:52)
19. Ólafur Arnalds – Late Night Tales: Ólafur Arnalds (Continuous Mix) (1:9:23)

During the late ’70s and early ’80s, a crop of British experimentalists emerged with positions on conventional rock music that ranged from indifferent to hostile. Prompted by early electronic music and the advancements made by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, and Throbbing Gristle — and eventually their peers — they plied their trade on equipment with names like EMS Synthi A, EDP Wasp, Korg MS-10, and ARP Odyssey. For many of them, guitars and drum kits were obsolete. Synthesizers, drum machines, and tape delay units, many of them shrinking in size and cost, were the present and future way to sculpt jerking noises or strange pop songs. The fledgling musicians could record in bedrooms and release the results on cassette,…

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…or they could ally with independent labels and operate at studios like Blackwing, a haven for Mute and 4AD artists such as Depeche Mode and Cocteau Twins.

Released by Cherry Red, one of those original outlets for music of the margins, Close to the Noise Floor: Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984 collects four discs of the alternately thrilling, grim, silly, and just plain bizarre stuff. Some of the groups, such as Blancmange, the Human League, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, went commercial after they released their selected inclusions, while the likes of Wire’s Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis appear here with a divergence into sound manipulation that resembles animal calls. Some of these tracks have appeared on widely available albums and compilations. The making of this set must have been an arduous undertaking, however, as the majority of the tracks were originally issued on cassettes and 7″ vinyl in small quantities, previously heard by few sets of ears. Among the highlights of the accidentally obtainable and deliberately obscure: Thomas Leer’s spangly narrative “Tight as a Drum,” Adrian Smith’s skeletal and crepuscular “Joe Goes to New York,” and British Standard Unit’s mutilation of Rod Stewart’s “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” There’s also Gerry & the Holograms’ delightful self-titled theme song, placed on high rotation by temporary WPIX DJ Frank Zappa. The Mute massive — Cabaret Voltaire, Robert Rental, and so forth — are surprisingly absent, though they’re represented somewhat by Alan Burnham’s “Music to Save the World By,” produced by label boss Daniel Miller (aka the Normal, the Silicon Teens). Given that so much scarce material is discerningly compiled here, it’s hard to gripe about it and other exclusions.

A great essay and a fair portion of the track-by-track notes come from Dave Henderson, who documented the global post-punk electronic underground as it developed, after being lured by “reading dismissive reviews in the weekly music press.” Henderson’s own group, Worldbackwards, contribute a glum but enchanting ballad that drones and stirs, then fades out to a bit of Sylvia Plath’s “Lazy Lazarus.” Henderson’s assessment? “Man, we were pretentious.”

Record buyers of a certain age need no explanation for Los Alamos Grind!, they will be immediately transported back to a time when going to see The Dwarves was de rigueur for fresh-faced American youth, books like Apocalypse Culture were on everyone’s nightstand, and issues of Rollerderby were available everywhere, selling millions of copies.
A natural reaction to this onslaught of hypersexual, transgressive, post-Throbbing Gristle art was a wave of interest in a kinder, gentler era of sleaze. For those space-age bachelors who occasionally invited others into their space-age bachelor- pads, the Las Vegas Grind series appeared to, ostensibly, compile the sounds and smells of vintage strip clubs, with all the pastie-twirling, sweaty-hip-gyrating, lap-grinding one could hope for, as if compiled by…

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…Lloyd Llewellyn himself. Like every bootleg series, however, the Las Vegas Grind series slid quickly into the untold darkness, much like a rotted-stripper panty swept off the stage at The Can Can. Los Alamos Grind! picks up in the not-too-distant future where nuclear war has indelibly altered the physical structure of strippers and patrons alike, but the jukebox selections have returned to a simpler time. Join the time-traveling A&R men of Numbero as they simultaneously visit past and future, compiling a superior collection of sleaze than anything brought to the post-apocalyptic-bachelor-pad scene thus far. And because we are gentlemen and scholars, each track is licensed… no easy feat when the government has crumbled and all laws are dictated by treaties between mutant warlords (and warladies). Quantity limited to whatever we were able to cram into our fallout shelter…help us make room for more canned goods!

01. Thunderbitch – Closer
02. Joe Ely – Coyotttes Are Howlin’
03. Nadia Reid – Call the Days
04. Rocket from the Tombs – Coopy…
05. Chris Forsyth & Koen Holtkamp – Long Beach…
06. Bill Ryder-Jones – Two to Birkenhead
07. The Wainwright Sisters – El Condor Pasa
08. Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts – Outta Town
09. Beat Happening – Indian Summer
10. King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard – Paper Mache Dream Balloon
11. Kelley Stoltz – Crossed Mind Blues
12. The Chills – Warm Waveform
13. Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker – Land of Plenty
14. Sun City Girls – Blue Mamba
15. Floating Points – Silhouettes (I, II & III)

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Uncut Magazine, Issue 223, December 2015

Compiled By – Allan Jones
Mastered By – Andrew Thompson
Producer – Mick Meikleham

Assembled by Jon Savage as a soundtrack to his book 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded, Ace’s double-disc set of the same name does indeed bring his words to life, but it’s not necessary to read his book to find this 48-track collection thrilling.
The genius behind 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded is in its compilation. Savage assembled 1966 by relying equally on research and memory, intending to replicate the impact of the pop-art eruptions and the groovy swing of R&B, not to mention the nascent psychedelia floating in from the west coast of the U.S., the trash rock emanating from the American suburbs, and more than a hint of Britain’s overheated music hall vaudeville and blistering style of Mod. There may be no Beatles, Stones, Bob Dylan, or the Kinks, but their…

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…impact can be felt throughout, whether it’s through Tim Hardin, the Velvet Underground, and the Who — heavy-hitters that help anchor this collection — or with familiar songs by Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, the Four Tops, the Supremes, and James Brown.

What matters are not these staples but what happens in the margins, which are occupied not just by cult favorites — mainly some variation of psych or garage rock, but there’s a fair amount of soul as well — but by absolutely obscure and cracking singles that help re-create the electricity of 1966 and provide a considerable jolt to the warhorses, so they sound vital and alive again. It’s this context that makes 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded so valuable: the juxtapositions and transitions do indeed seem like an inspired creative blast, making a convincing case that this — not 1964, 1967, or 1968 — was the pivotal year of the ’60s.

CD1
1. The Ugly’s – The Quiet Explosion (2:37)
2. The Strangeloves – Night Time (2:29)
3. The Guys From Uncle – The Spy (2:30)
4. Dusty Springfield – Little By Little (2:32)
5. The Wheel-A-Ways – Bad Little Woman (2:32)
6. Norma Tanega – Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog (2:32)
7. San Remo Golden Strings – Festival Time (2:29)
8. James Brown & The Famous Flames – I Got You (I Feel Good) (2:45)
9. Link Wray And His Ray Men – Batman Theme (1:58)
10. Ray Sharpe & The King Curtis Orchestra – Help Me (Get the Feeling) Part 1 (2:32)
11. The Monitors – Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) (3:00)
12. Robert Parker – Barefootin’ (2:33)
13. The Who – Substitute (3:47)
14. The Association – Along Comes Mary (2:47)
15. The Seeds – The Other Place (2:22)
16. The Olympics – Secret Agent (2:24)
17. The Capitols – Cool Jerk (2:31)
18. The Electric Prunes – Ain’t It Hard (2:11)
19. Sandie Shaw – Nothing Comes Easy (2:28)
20. 13th Floor Elevators – You’re Gonna Miss Me (2:26)
21. Rex Garvin & The Mighty Cravers – Sock It to ‘Em J.B. Part I (2:38)
22. Rex Garvin & The Mighty Cravers – Sock It to ‘Em J.B. Part I (2:39)
23. The Roosters – One of These Days (2:44)
24. The Velvet Underground – I’ll Be Your Mirror (2:15)

CD2
1. The Lovin’ Spoonful – Summer in the City (2:40)
2. Lee Dorsey – Working in a Coalmine (2:47)
3. Joe Tex – You Better Believe It Baby (2:57)
4. Love – 7 And 7 Is (2:22)
5. Chris Clark – Love’s Gone Bad (2:21)
6. Wilson Pickett – Land of 1000 Dances (2:23)
7. Count Five – Psychotic Reaction (3:01)
8. The Tornados – Do You Come Here Often? (3:53)
9. ? & The Mysterians – 96 Tears (2:55)
10. Otis Redding – I Can’t Turn You Loose (2:33)
11. Four Tops – Reach Out I’ll Be There (2:58)
12. The Who – I’m a Boy (2:38)
13. Paul And Ritchie and The Crying Shames – Come On Back (2:33)
14. James Brown – Tell Me That You Love Me (1:40)
15. The Yardbirds – Happenings Ten Years Time Ago (2:55)
16. The Supremes – You Keep Me Hanging On (2:46)
17. The Oxford Circle – Foolish Woman (2:31)
18. The Human Expression – Love at Psychedelic Velocity (2:23)
19. The Blue Things – One Hour Cleaners (2:44)
20. The Freaks Of Nature – People! Let’s Freak Out (2:33)
21. We The People – In the Past (2:32)
22. David Bowie – The London Boys (3:19)
23. The Marvelettes – The Hunter Get’s Captured By the Game (2:46)
24. Tim Hardin – Hang On to a Dream (2:00)

When Billie Holiday released “Gloomy Sunday,” in 1941, accompanied by the Teddy Wilson Orchestra, no one could possibly imagine the back story and consequent repercussions associated with this song. Originally composed by Hungarian Reszo Seress in 1933 as “Szomorú Vasárnap,” it was quickly rewritten with lyrics by poet Laslo Javor, and recorded by Pál Kalmár in 1934, becoming the infamous “Hungarian Suicide Song,” among the populace. It has been imputed for the countless suicides connected with it, and considered a source of urban legend surrounding the tragedies.
Holiday’s popularization of the song caused the BBC to ban it from airplay — until 2002 — due to its morose and despondent lyrics.
Hungarian Noir is a compilation of diverse…

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… variations on the “Gloomy Sunday,” theme. The song is covered in several languages by international artists, and undergoes unique instrumental adaptations as well. The English lyrics by Sam M. Lewis are utilized, or loosely translated. No two versions are even remotely similar, the only common thread among them is the nucleus of the song itself, the disparity is obvious and that is exactly what the attraction is.

The record begins with the Cuban acappella group Vocal Sampling, whose lead singer’s accented voicing depicts the lost Latin lover. In keeping with the Cuban connection, Manolito Simonet y Su Trabuco perform a danceable instrumental mambo version, and Havana vocalist Glenda Lopez envelopes the song in a charanga rhythm. The mood travels to Mozambique where it undertakes an African/Portuguese transformation with singer Yolanda Chicane joining the group Wazimbo, and Brazilian hip-hop artist GOG gives it a tropical street groove with a rap twist. The American group Matuto present a swaying samba infused rendition, while the Polish superstar Kayah, singing in her native tongue, delivers with an avant-garde dance edge to her Eastern approach. Chango Spasiuk hails from Argentina, and saturates the theme in an acoustical tango infusion, for a deepening forlorn interpretation. Continuing with the South American vibe, the folkloric Colombian band Bambarabanda adds dramatic poetic flairs to the vocalization. Kálmán Balogh and Miklós Lukács are two virtuosos of the cimbalom (Hungarian dulcimer) who formed Cimbalomduo, to honor this traditional and respected instrument. They offer a heart wrenching elucidation, with dark passages depicting authentic sadness and despair.

The definitive Billie Holiday version is featured next to last, and the final track is the Hungarian recording by Pál Kalmár, the first vocal rendition. Both of these singers took this song to widespread audiences, though in different times and languages, back when radio was the established norm of music appreciation. Phonograph records would of course make the song available for the masses, and with the records came the connection to tragedy, as people tended to replay and repeat the song, wrapping the lyrics around their melancholia. There have been many covers of “Gloomy Sunday” in the modern era, though none of them can rival Holiday’s for effect and influence. Hungarian Noir is a heroic attempt to shake the song from its depressive association and reveal it as a work of musical art worthy of celebratory recognition, proposing it as a song for the ages.