You can now pre-order and listen to parts of all the tracks for the forthcoming ‘Brainbox’ compilation that I have provided the artwork for on De:tuned records from Belgium. The line up is immense and all the tracks are exclusive, this has taken a long time and a lot of care to put together. The box consists of 6 vinyl LPs, each in full colour inner sleeves with unique artwork and is limited to 300 copies. There is a digital DL version too but no CD, the box set also comes with a DL code and a sticker. The line up reads like a who’s who of 90s electronica: Plaid, As One, FSOL, Scanner, Meat Beat Manifesto, Speedy J, MuZiq, B12, Mike Dred, David Morley, Christian Vogel… and the quality of the content is very high. Pre-order here
Design
Here’s a Kickstarter by a friend of mine, he makes some of the best, immersive gifs I’ve seen and we talked a bit some time back about bringing some of his work into my 360 dome shows. He’s now putting together a hi-res animated film of his work and trying to kickstart it to pay production costs.
This looks promising – the first new Karminsky Experience record in as long as I can remember – out Nov…
Spotted these at the Spitalfields record fair yesterday, beautiful cover designs, how to speak Hindi language course.
Out today on LP, CD and DL – The Pattern Forms is a new Ghost Box supergroup formed of the mysterious, media-shy, man-who-can-do-no-wrong Jon Brooks and vocalists Ed Macfarlane and Edd Gibson of Friendly Fires. The album is gorgeous, full of beautiful, yearning songs of love and loss, perfect autumnal audio occasionally lifted by electro/disco stylings, it shouldn’t work but it does. I wasn’t sure at first, after the dark electronica of Pye Corner Audio‘s ‘Stasis’, it seemed quite a whimsical release, but the more I listen the more the songs seep into me and it may be one of the most accessible GB releases yet. Order here
Artwork comes from the ever-excellent Julian House as well as the teaser promo film above and there’s a Rough Trade exclusive version of the LP with an alternate cover and translucent green vinyl. The band will be playing tonight from 6pm at Rough Trade East off Brick Lane in London to launch the record and Julian will be DJing too. Check the special library records mix they knocked up the other week too for Radio Belbury.
I’m loving this new album by Vanishing Twin, a new group spawned from members of Orlando, Zomgamin, Neon Neon and more and produced by Malcolm Catto. Taking off where The Soundcarriers left off on their last album for Ghost Box and drawing immediate comparisons to Broadcast and Stereolab‘s blend of pop meets radiophonica they create an otherworldly mix of tunes, tones and textures on the album, ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’.
Check the video and band photo below too, thank god we still have people willing to put as much effort into presenting themselves as they do writing music, there’s only so many bored / earnest producers standing against brick walls or sitting in studios that one can take. The album is available on Soundway Records, there’s LP, CD and DL but the regular black vinyl is sold out, only the green version is left. There’s even a gorgeous screenprinted poster of the artwork too! (no credit for the designer on the album though?)
Clipping. seemingly came out of nowhere and blew my head off last week. They’ve actually been around for a few years but were well under my radar and I’m not the only one judging by the comments I’ve had from various friends I’ve played them to. I was drawn to them by the cover to their latest album, ‘Splendor & Mercy’, which riffs off the Philips Prospective 21st Siecle LPs with silver foil covers that I collect and adds a cosmonaut in silhouette. It caught my eye, can’t remember where, so I thought I’d check it out, assuming it would be a synth-y, spacey kind of thing but then noticed it was on Sub Pop Records, the legendary indie rock/alternative label of old. OK, so maybe I’ve misjudged this. A full album stream on YouTube revealed the broody rumble of deep space, static and star transmissions before a rasping voice interjected, shortly before bursting into double time raps against hyper drive engine throbs – or is it the sound of a star dying?. Crackling distortion, warning sirens and sub bass pulses, this is hip hop, just not like anything I’d heard before.
The trio of Daveed Diggs (vocals), William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes (electronics) have set up camp in their own little corner of hip hop, one that no one else I can think of is inhabiting right now. It’s such a deep corner that few have even ventured near before that I’d say they’ve got a lot of space to move around in right now. One of the most interesting aspects is that the music is entirely free of conventional music samples, instead consisting of noise, fx, found and electronic sound and that it’s entirely subservient to Diggs’ voice. He drives the compositions, weaving in half, double and triple time through the sometimes barely-there rhythms – witness the performance for Moog below.
As an MC he’s incredible, up there with Busdriver, Mika 9 or Andy Cooper in the vocal acrobatic stakes with raps that pull no punches but don’t kowtow to traditional cliche´s of keepin’ it real or playing the game. Equally, Hutson and Snipes’ jagged digital landscapes fight and intrude with the vocal’s restless energy. They’ve previously composed soundtracks for TV and film, most notably the documentary on Stanley Kubrick‘s hidden meanings in ‘The Shining’, ‘Room 237′, on Death Waltz Recordings.
I forgot to mention; it’s a concept album too, from the release page on Bandcamp: “Splendor & Misery is an Afrofuturist, dystopian concept album that follows the sole survivor of a slave uprising on an interstellar cargo ship, and the onboard computer that falls in love with him. Thinking he is alone and lost in space, the character discovers music in the ship’s shuddering hull and chirping instrument panels. William and Jonathan’s tracks draw an imaginary sonic map of the ship’s decks, hallways, and quarters, while Daveed’s lyrics ride the rhythms produced by its engines and machinery. In a reversal of H.P. Lovecraft’s concept of cosmic insignificance, the character finds relief in learning that humanity is of no consequence to the vast, uncaring universe. It turns out, pulling the rug out from under anthropocentrism is only horrifying to those who thought they were the center of everything to begin with. Ultimately, the character decides to pilot his ship into the unknown—and possibly into oblivion—instead of continuing on to worlds whose systems of governance and economy have violently oppressed him.”.
Given some of the toss I’ve read in press releases and reading that AFTER I’ve heard the record I can actually get with it. Oh, and the reason I even checked it in the first place – the cover – it’s a beautiful package on vinyl: a clear vinyl ‘Loser’ edition with faux Philips label designs co-opted to the band name and a reflective silver foil triangle.
This is pushing things forward, breathing new life into a genre that’s been coasting alternatively on waves of pop commercialism, independent underground hustling or niche nostalgia for some time. This, and the records they’ve made before them, show a new way, give permission to the next generation, are as important as De La‘s ‘3 Feet High…’, PE‘s ‘It Takes A Nation of Millions…’ or NWAs ‘Straight Outta Compton’. You’ll love it or hate it, and it’s not always an easy listen (or watch – their videos are just as uncompromising) but it won’t go unnoticed for much longer. One of the most important albums of 2016. Check some of their other releases too, the ‘Wriggle’ EP, released earlier this summer, is just as raw and possibly just a bit more accessible.
I just discovered Victoria Topping‘s work and it’s blown me away – touching on so many elements I love; music, African patterns, synths, records, collage, circles, eyes, crazy detail, textures…. just stunning. She sells hand-embellished prints, originals, cards, slipmatts and wallpaper over at her site – so much there I can barely take it all in. She’s also on Instagram and Mixcloud
No explanation needed
I still get buzzed off the fact that my name is on the design credits of the recent reissues of this classic album which meant so much to me as a 14 year old and still means so much to me 32 years later. Not two years after the huge ‘Inside the Pleasuredome’ box set that I worked on with Philip Marshall comes a standalone vinyl reissue of the LP contained inside the set.
The music is the same but there are some slight differences to the packaging: mainly the actual vinyl itself which now has the original label designs with the F, G, T and H restored (I had to remake them from scratch) and white vinyl instead of black. Eagle-eyed collectors will also notice that the fig leaves have been restored on the back cover image to cover the animal’s modesty whilst in the midst of their orgy. Philip had to remake each one from scratch too.
This edition will be available exclusively, I’m told, from Sainsburys – that bastion of record emporiums where we all go when we need our fix of the black crack. Whether this is just the white vinyl version or whether there will be other colours available elsewhere, I do not know.
I do know that this is the nicest looking vinyl reissue since the box set version though; heavy card, full colour inner sleeves, coloured vinyl, different labels etc. Also, high quality images, not the anti-aliased, bitmapped, jpegged, over-saturated coloured version that the Music On Vinyl issue had some years back – quite possibly the worse reissue of any album I’ve ever seen, an insult to this album’s legacy and one of the only undamaged records I’ve ever thrown away.
These are stunning, beautiful Penguin Galaxy series of hardback sci-fi classics from Penguin Random House with design by @AlexTrochut – The back of the edition of ‘Dune‘ is genius. Buy individually or as a 6 volume set. More info here.
Great line up at one of my local venues this Saturday when Mike Ladd, Strange U, Juice Aleem and Mongrels (Kid Acne & Benjamin) rock up in support of Scotty Hard, the legendary producer currently partially paralysed and facing huge medical bills in the US. Loving that Battle of the Planets-referencing flyer there.
I’ve been meaning to post about Mongrels’ recent ‘Attack The Monolith’ album – the limited vinyl of which is a thing of beauty and still available here. It comes in one of 3 alternative colourways (Gold, Silver or Bronze) hand-pulled screen printed sleeves + risograph insert, inner sleeves plus embossed and numbered on the back. The album features multiple appearances of Sebash from New Kingdom who is now an honourary member. Back in July, on the 20thh anniversary of NK’s 2nd album, ‘Paradise Don’t Come Cheap’, Mongrels made a special celebratory mix
I do love a good series of records. From Luke Insect’s Instagram: “A new project I’ve been working on for @tannenrecords in Italy – rare 60’s/70’s Library Records remastered and repackaged. First 5 out today from tannenrecords.com“
My latest Freaky Formats piece for The Vinyl Factory just went up – this time it’s about handmade sleeves, above and below are a couple of shots that didn’t make the cut.
Newly opened last weekend, the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington plays host to a celebration of the latter part of the psychedelic 60s under the banner, ‘You Say You Want A Revolution: Records & Rebels 1966-1970’. It’s an often stunning and inspiring look back at a small section of the counter culture that we now think of as ‘The Swinging Sixties’, encompassing music, art, fashion, politics, advertising, product design, expos and the space race. What was interesting, in the light of the recent drug-related deaths forcing Fabric to close, was that LSD was mentioned copiously in the quotes as you entered the exhibition and kept popping up throughout, as a catalyst for the many strands of the hippy movement. One national institution celebrates drug-fuelled counter culture in the heart of the richest part of the city just as another is closed in the East End – the irony.
The exhibition isn’t just about the beautiful flower children chanting ‘hari krishna’ and wearing threads from the Kings Road via India either (*slight spoiler alert!*). A middle section brings you down to earth with a bump, confronting you with the more political side of events at the end of the decade, the Vietnam War, racism, The Black Panthers, police brutality, feminism, gay rights and more. The starkness of this section, largely in monochrome, against the multi-coloured blossoming of earlier rooms, is a reminder that it wasn’t all peace and love man, and that the curators weren’t wearing rose-tinted spectacles the whole time.
It was worth the price of admission alone to see Mati Klarwein‘s original ‘Grain Of Sand’ painting up close. I’ve always loved this piece, never thought I’d see it in the flesh but there is was, nestled behind the entrance as I walked in. Absolutely wondrous.
There is a LOT to see and take in, an associate who works at the museum confided that the curators wanted ‘everything’ but were restricted by time and conservation rules. There was some padding in parts, a section about consumerism and advertising sees corridor walls plastered with ads, interspersed with huge mirrored sections which give the impression of much more in the reflections but ultimately can’t conceal that not much is actually on display. Film and TV is given fairly short thrift aside from a section about Blow Up, a selection of experimental shorts in a walled-off cinema area and the Woodstock footage (although it has to be said that the Woodstock room is very well put together). Underground comics were almost entirely missing aside from one interior spread used to comment on the Manson murders, no Robert Crumb, Zap, Furry Freak Brothers... The Oz trials were mentioned but I didn’t see any copies of the magazine, or IT, or Ink. There was a lot in it but some omissions were glaring.
Leaving, to the strains of Lennon‘s ‘Imagine’ and a fast cut montage zooming through the decades up to the present day, you’re depressingly but inevitably taken via the gift shop where you’re confronted with sanitised, consumable versions of the era to take home. Most of it is utter tat and the price tags are enough to burn a huge hole through the Levi jeans they seem to think were a good idea to have on sale. Cleverly, and as a sign of the vinyl-resurgence times we currently live in, they’ve released a compilation album alongside the usual book of the exhibition. Unfortunately the cover – a denim jacket covered in band logo badges – is so horrendous it looks like the kind of three quid compilation you’d find in a service station. There are some beautifully executed repro posters but the prices are so exorbitant I’d rather seek out an original, they’d probably only be a little more.
Still, there may not be many revelations or things you’ve not seen before in an era that’s been to widely celebrated already but it’s well worth the entrance fee. It runs until Feb 26th 2017 – more info here.
A collection of Lego control panels that I posted daily over the last week or so over on my Instagram for no reason other than I like them – stay on target!
La Boca do it again with their annual poster for Beyond Fest – fantastic work and the full line up has now been announced.
Lost Idol‘s new album is out at the end of the month (his fourth I think?), ‘Chrome Machine Tales’ is a perfect collection of ambient pop and electronica. If you only check out one track make it the last one, ‘Slow Drive’ – one of my tracks of the year so far. Available on CD and DL from here
The Book & Record Bar in W. Norwood have just bought over 200 sci-fi books and are currently pricing them. Here’s a selection of what they have, maybe come down and have a look today while I play the Out of the Wood radio show from the shop between 12 and 2pm.
