Spotisfaction writer Ben Hawling is not one to blow his own trumpet (and believe me he has tried) but he does have other talents. When not spewing forth intriguing and in-depth prose that stimulates intellectual debate, our Ben creates culinary masterpieces such as chocolate pizza and has also been known to occasionally hit things with sticks.
Luckily the things he hits are drums, and in a random set of circumstances that I am led to believe involved baked beans, a deer, some sellotape, the complete written works of Enid Blyton and a Commonwealth Games silver medal, Ben has recently ended up as the drummer for Cheltenham-based band Stressechoes.
After a successful appearance at Cheltenham Underground”™s Decent Days and Nights weekender, Stressechoes, complete with new drummer, have gone on to play at other events in Cheltenham to such crowd approval that they decided to record a few tracks for a demo.
And so it was that last week the four Stressechoes found themselves in a recording studio for a day and out of this session a four track demo was created. Visitors to the band”™s MySpace site can now check out the tracks and I would highly recommend that you do so now so that in future you can claim to all your friends that you knew about them before they became popular.
As they approach their first birthday, our friends over at Mixcloud will be showcasing some of the biggest editorial voices around, who they have been proud and honoured to have worked alongside in the last 12 months.
Everyday throughout August an exclusive Cloudcast from their pick of the best curators will be available to listen to exclusively on Mixcloud. Â The line up has been announced and includes the likes of Vice, Mixmag, BBC 1Xtra, RedBull Music Academy, Fabric, Don”™t Stay In and many more.
I”™m sitting in my lounge watching Nirvana”™s headline set at Reading Festival in 1992 on DVD. The heavy fuzz of Kurt”™s guitar, the chaotic nature of their live show and the screaming, unruly crowd is a far cry from my pleasant, family-friendly experience in the Dorset countryside at Camp Bestival last weekend.
My weekend, which was interrupted by shifts working for Oxfam, started with a midnight set by the exceedingly talented comedian Tim Minchin on Friday night in the Big Top. Minchin accompanied by a piano ran through a short but well received set of songs including an expletive-ridden attack on the ”˜mutherfucker”™ Pope Benedict XVI. But the highlight came at the end when Minchin was on the brink of doing the unforgivable by forgetting his words during an encore. Minchin”™s saving grace came in the form of a random trumpet player in the audience who started playing along and then was beckoned on stage by Minchin which turned into an electrifying 10 minute jazz improvisation with both performers showing off their formidable playing capabilities.
Morning ladies and gents. Quick one for you – as well as one-off pieces, we”™re still looking for people that can regularly contribute to Spotisfaction to come and join our ever-growing team.
If you”™re the kind of person that prioritises buying albums or going to gigs over buying food, then come write a few reviews for us.
If most of your time is spent in a mammoth Spotify click-through blur, come be one of our playlist crafters.
If you spend all day on the Internet trawling music sites, then compile that stuff and chuck us some news.
If you spend more time looking through a camera viewfinder than your own eyeballs, be our lensman/woman.
If you fancy yourself less grammar Nazi, more grammar Hitler, come help us edit our content.
If you can view HTML and PHP like Neo views the Matrix, slip in as our resident grouchy coder.
If you think you may be able to help us out (even if you don”™t think you”™re much of a writer), please get in touch and we”™ll see if we can work something out. Our aim at the moment is to build a team of music-lovers and really concentrate on creating as much worthwhile content as we can. Whatever your skills, come and help us.
Today”™s playlist is by me, and is a nostalgic trip through some of my favourite albums while I was at Uni. Yes, it”™s a bit emo, but I”™m ok with that – we all go through phases! I”™d like to think that my taste is a lot more eclectic these days ;)
Welcome everyone to another edition of Tomorrow”™s Sounds Today, where we pick all that”™s best from the “What”™s new?” section of Spotify and present it to you, neatly packaged with some thoughts and links!
In this edition we have quite the mix for you, from classic rock, through pop, to that Motown sound.We hope you enjoy it as much as we have!
1. Robert Plant ”“ Angel Dance
I couldn”™t really start with anything other than the great Robert Plant, mostly as I”™m a huge Led Zeppelin fan since my early teens, via my first guitar.Ok, I”™ll grant this is thus far just a single track but it is well worth a listen and is hopefully a sign of a new album due to grace us soon.Classic Zeppelin it is not but it is full of the hallmarks Plant is famous for and a great addition to a playlist!
2. Tired Pony ”“ The Place We Ran From
Next up is a new band on the circuit, Tired Pony with their debut effort. I listened to the album before looking into the band and whilst the sound is not entirely original to them, it is a great piece of work. There are hints of Snow Patrol and a definite homage to Buck/Stipe which didn”™t surprise me when I read of his involvement.There are also some definite country hints to the sound but all with beautiful vocal work and the standout track for me, “Get On The Road” is a wonderful build up track.
We thoroughly encourage you to read the interview with Richard Russell of XL Recordings in today”™s Telegraph. The article provides a revealing insight into the history and ethos of Britain”™s most influential label.
XL Recordings have gone from strength to strength since the label”™s inception in the late 80s to release dance and rave music. Now they are home to Dizzee Rascal, Thom Yorke and Gil Scott-Heron, and in the wake of The xx”™s recent Mercury Prize nomination, the Telegraph have featured an interview with the XL founder.
Morning all. Didya miss me? Today is a shock to the system, fo sho – first day back in the day job after two weeks off, and I”™m very much not with it yet. This weekend saw the wedding of two good friends of mine and therefore I”™m in a very good mood today. So, in celebration of this rarity, I”™ve picked Kev”™s soul playlist for today”™s aural consumption.
Congratulations to Dr Dave and Sarah Monks, with love from Spotisfaction.
The Underworld is the best name they could ever have given this grimey little hole in central Camden. It has established itself at the heart of alternative rock, metal and hardcore in England, and continues to attract the best the scene has ever had to offer. In the basement of the Worlds End, several pillars obscuring your view, and a stage so small that bands practically fall off it into the crowd, gigs are always intense. Only two days before, a good friend of mine had the pleasure of witnessing the bloodbath that was Enter Shikari – every song interrupted by a stage invasion, mass stage-diving, and reports of blood and broken noses all over the shop.
You can understand, then, a slight sense of trepidation about what injuries I”™m likely to sustain when I go to see the seminal hardcore act Converge during their European tour forAxe To Fall (Epitaph, 2009).
Don”™t do it, kids. Seriously. Just stay at home. I”™m feeling like 17 tonnes of horrible today. It”™s been a very busy week, very stressful. Speaking of stress, Stressechos (the band that Ben drums in when he”™s not giving out free candy to children) cut an 4 track EP yesterday. I had a sneak listen to it and I have to say, I”™m blown away. Further proof that there is more to the Cheltenham music scene than new-folk (not knocking new-folk, here. Just sayin”™, is all). Is it “new-folk” or “nu-folk”? Gah, that conjures up horrible images of Fred Durst with a resonator”¦
Anyway, without further delay, here is today”™s playlist. Bought to you by my very own Joform Hawling, entitled “Indie Disco”. Have a listen.
Last year, a Facebook group got Rage Against The Machine to Christmas UK number 1. It even got Rage themselves to put on a free gig for us all.
This year, it’s Cage Against The Machine. A new Facebook campaign has been started to get John Cage’s famous avant-garde work 4’33” – notable for it’s 4-and-a-half minutes of pure silence – to Christmas number one this year.
Feel free to make as many ”˜Silent Night” puns as you see fit, and make sure you sign up for your email reminder to buy the single in 6 months time!
We like this one; lets hear silence at the top spot this Christmas.
So, the millennium is suddenly ten years old, and the initial growing pains and troubles have been dealt with, and everyone is left looking forward in collective optimism. How apt it is then that the bands that carried the people through the bad times, remain as the soundtrack to their lives ten years on.
In 2010, Broken Social Scene continues to shine a light through the darkness.
Having released their forth studio album, Forgiveness Rock Record in May of this year, the Canadian mass ensemble seem to have created not just another skilled blend of sounds and emotions, but also a hugely credible indie-rock album. As a collection, Forgiveness Rock Record is arguably the band”™s most accessible album yet, and certainly has a mood for any listener.
Opening with the epic and achingly beautiful World Sick, it is also noticeable that the group has perfected some true anthems here. As a gentle guitar refrain meanders against an ethereal pulsing rhythm, the chanting lyrics break in, just as the guitar sprinkles off, up into the atmosphere, culminating in a ”˜smile on the face, hands in the air”™ moment of bliss. Similar moments occur in Texico Bitches and inverse romantic ballad, Sweetest Kill.
On the flip side, the band quicken the tempo and apply the brass section on tracks such as Art House Director, Forced To Love and the awe inspiring instrumental Meet Me In The Basement, to generate a wall of sound that manages to blow you away in such a charming way.
However, the true gem of the collection is All To All; an interstellar blast that fuses together everything that the band, and their previous work, is all about, dream like emotional escapism. It achieves this euphoria through its use of tinkling guitar and synth effects, with the addition of a crisp drum machine beat, laced with mouth watering vocals.
The most striking element of this current album is the transition Broken Social Scene has made, and the path that led them to it. As one trawls through the unique band”™s back catalogue, one cannot help but be amazed at just how different each collection appears; From the wispy instrumental debut, through the dark You Forgot It In People, and eventually landing in the anthemic power house of sound and feeling that they find themselves in today. This journey has molded the group from being simply another experimental indie band, to becoming fully fledged artists. After years of lulling the listener through a sweet dream, Broken Social Scene have finally escaped and now exist within their own sun soaked dream.
It”™s very quiet at Spotisfaction Towers right now. Everyone is out doing busy things. Dave has gone on a trek to find himself. He found himself sat in front of his TV in his pants watching”¦ whatever it is the people of the daytime watch. Some god awful show no doubt, a loud mouthed presenter barking at a family of criminals to change their ways. Yes, because your angry little-penis rant will really accomplish what a 2 year stretch in a correctional facility failed to do to these people. I shudder to think that TV such as this is allowed to exist. That”™s why I don”™t watch TV. That and Big Brother. Oh, and soaps. I mean, seriously guys”¦ come on. I digress”¦
Today”™s playlist is by the standup gentleman known as “WastedLegend”, aka Mike Sheldrick. A long serving, long suffering friend of mine. I”™m quite excited about this one, truth be told. Hardcore Mike is hardcore. I”™ll leave the rest to him.
Ballads of a Broken Man ”“ Playlist by Mike Sheldrick (@Wasted_Legend)
Creep – Radiohead
The Scientist – Coldplay
Dry Your Eyes – The streets
Blinded by the Sun – The Seahorses
Original – Leftfield
40 Days – Lali-Puna
Image of you – Red Snapper
Six Says – DJ Shadow
Everybody Hurts – REM
Mr Nicholls – Coldcut
Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen
Fast Car – The Rock Masters (Tracy Chapman cover)
Open your window – Reverend & The Makers
Get yourself together – Tahiti 80
The Warmth – Incubus
Hello – The Seahorses
Everything will be alright – The Killers
The title should explain the main theme of this playlist. I wanted to create a mini-symphony of tracks to play that really captivate the emotions behind the moment you hit rock-bottom. The tunes compiled here are a few numbers that I think best tell the story of a mind going round in circles trying to make sense of a situation. Taken literally, the songs listed here may demonstrate emotions you might feel during a break up, but this isn”™t necessarily the theme. Rather, the tracks are meant to hold a sense of understanding that you can connect and relate to.
Starting with “Creep”. Reminding me of my days at school, I can picture a lost soul wandering round the courtyard feeling like a very small fish in a very big pond, struggling to fit in. The next few tracks sort of reflect a mind in pieces questioning all angles, The themes get a little darker towards the middle, towards the lyrically intense “Mr Nicholls”. I felt that to help ease the mood, I introduce a masterpiece of song writing from the legendary Leonard Cohen. Having seen this live at Glastonbury a few years ago, I can remember being reduced to tears as I witness a chorus of countless thousands waving their arms as he serenaded us with his deep and purposeful voice. Continuing in a refreshing vein, the list concludes with a few tracks that I feel still have a soulful sadness whilst also maintaining a sense of quiet optimism. However desperate the situation, two things you should remember.
You are not alone.
No matter how dark the night, the sun will always rise.
Mystery Jets career seems to be in an odd yet encouraging position compared to the wave of British indie bands that have fallen before them. Never achieving mass commercial success, but with a dedicated following, critic approval and song writing stamina to still warrant the attention of fans, critics and media alike. At the grand old age of 3 albums, the Mystery Jets have everything to play for. The good news for all involved is that the Eel Pie islanders from London have produced another gem to add to their last release, 2008”™s infectious ”˜Twenty One”™.
It seems inaccurate to state that the Mystery Jets have matured on this album, but there is a noticeable added depth to the song writing on ”˜Serotonin”™. ”˜It”™s Too Late”™ demonstrates the bands ability to recreate the grandeur of power-ballads without descending into Bonnie Tyler-esque melodrama. The melodies are as striking as the honest and tender delivery by lead singer Blaine Harrison, accurately evoking the feelings of many heart-broken 20-somethings across the land. ”˜Flash a Hungry Smile”™ feels like, what can now be titled as, a ”˜classic”™ Mystery Jets track. It”™s an experimental yet playful outing into the pop universe with fuzzy guitars, sweeping whistle harmonies and lyrics about the more promiscuous side of love. Like many songs in their back catalogue, it”™s instantly catchy yet they never bore, nor do they repeat themselves, such is the skill and craft of their material. And just when you think they”™ve peaked, title track ”˜Serotonin”™ starts its cinematic, pop assault on the listener. The vocal refrain near the end ”˜Sero, Serotonin”™ has been lingering in my head for at least 2 weeks as if to prove two points. Firstly that a) this is the best song of the summer so far and b) that I still haven”™t finished reviewing this brilliant album yet you moron!
There are a couple of tracks which contain some less inspired moments as these peaks. ”˜Melt”™ plods along, struggling to keep up with the 80s pop-euphoria pace and ”˜Lady Gray”™ lacks the flare of other tracks, but these are minor set backs. ”˜Serotonin”™ will cement the love for fans of the Mystery Jets and hopefully serve as an invitation card for those who may have passed them by. It”™s an album which is deserving of more exposure and a bigger audience than it will sadly receive.
We never could have dreamed of MySpace let alone Spotify: we were still making cassettes to swap in the playground. This was before Radio 1 DJs started chatting over the intros and outros of tuneage so us guerillas couldn”™t capture tracks whole. Then the internet made this redundant, thank goodness.
I thank goodness for the usual reasons: bring music to the people! let music be free-in-the-monetary-and-ethical-sense-of-the-word! bring down the taste makers! let not music be goverened by radio committee! and other pop favorites. I”™m unforgivable because I agree with the above statements yet, brace yourselves, I want to make a living out of art. “The horror! The horror!”
It feels dirty to say that as if it violates artistic integrity and the art itself. ”˜I”™ve made all my money from copyright,”™ says Richard James of Aphex Twin fame, the indie darling, pivotal in the pioneering of ”˜bedroom studios”™ and the popularity of experimental music evangelists Warp Records. For many of us former guerillas looking to live off doing whatever the hell we want, copyright can be a foul spirit sitting on our shoulder, offering us the dollar”¦Â
Darren Wershler, media scholar and poet who”™s made the majority of his books accessible online (and, among other things, assisted the internet archiving of lengendary Canadian poet bpNichol), uploaded an article, originally published in THIS titled, ”˜Writers Of The World, Unclench: Digital technology is making it impossible to control the speed of intellectual property. So, how are artists supposed to make a living from their work? Give it away.”™ (http://www.alienated.net/files/unclench.pdf). Here”™s a very good excerpt:
Canadian media activist and SF writer Cory Doctorow has taken the success of a hybrid online/print approach to publishing and cranked it up to 11. His novel Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom was simultaneously published in hardcover by Tor Books and made available for free download from the author”™s website. Doctorow reports that the book received over 75,000 downloads in the first month. Many of those people will shell out for a print copy of either Down and Out or Doctorow”™s other titles, partly because reading off of a screen is an intensely annoying experience, partly because people crave the solidity of a book the same way that they fetishize any other object (yes, book readers, you are all perverts), partly because they want to show support for what they believe is a good idea. Doctorow has built a massive, appreciative audience based on goodwill. And what”™s the point of writing without an audience?
The eponymous debut album by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was self released and praised on MP3 blogs then released in the UK by the lovely Whicita Recordings. The record, initially mailed out by the band”™s bassist Tyler Sargent, has now sold over 125,000 units.
Many homies in my age range (20-25) heard of Aphex Twin via reputation so we downloaded a couple of tunes and, hurrah!, bought his records: even if albums were initially released within copyright”™s shackles they can have a life longer than the one CDs would have afforded them.
Bands and/or laptop musicians need not worry about giving everything away, writers can calm down about books.google.co.uk/.com and filmmakers can upload their their work to YouTube and/or Vimeo.
1. Behaving Badly – Animals As Leaders
2. Praha (Ancient Gold) – Ephel Duath
3. South Side Of The Sky – Yes
4. The Return Of The Giant Hogweed – Genesis
5. Strange Deja Vu [Scene Two] – Dream Theater
6. Deus Nova – Pain Of Salvation
7. Vocari Dei – Pain Of Salvation
8. Point To Point – Animals As Leaders
9. To Rid The Disease – Opeth
10. Blind Curve: Vocal Under Bloodlight/
Passing Strangers/Mylo/Perimetre Walk/Threshold – Marillion
11. Hoedown – Emerson, Lake & Palmer
12. Cross Eyed Mary – Jethro Tull
13. Plant A Nail In the Navel Stream – The Mars Volta
14. Faminepulse – The Mars Volta
15. Kasia – Rolo Tomassi
16. The First Man on Earth – Ayreon
17. The Sound Of Muzak – Porcupine Tree
18. Duel With The Devil – Transatlantic
Blurb:
The term ”˜Prog rock”™ seems to have a lot of connertations. One of my favourite answers to the dismissal of certain ”˜labels”™ was uttered by the Mars Volta thus:
“We are really tired of those labels and questions. Concept album? How can any huge project that takes up most of your life for a year not have a concept? Prog? How can any innovative, forward-thinking art or music not be progressive? It reminds me of when I first heard the term “Emo”, which was the most ridiculous label ever. How can anything you put your heart and soul into not be emotional?”
With that out the way, I”™ve tried to do a mix that introduces people to what Prog, is, was, can be. Yes, there are odd time signatures, long songs, a little cheesiness, frantic musicianship, but there are also interesting, beautiful songs, incredible lyrics, and heartfelt experimentation.
The founders of prog from the 70s and 80s are well represented – crazy tracks from Yes, Genesis, Marillion, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Jethro Tull help outline the heritage of prog. A noticeable absence is King Crimson: Robert Fripp deciding to have all of his music removed from Spotify.
Then there”™s perhaps the most visible representation of prog these days – Prog Metal. Animals as Leaders blend jazz riffs, crushing metal guitars, electronic percussion and soft synths to create a plush, dynamic atmosphere. Ephel Duath blend thrash with pure jazz aesthetic. Pain of Salvation take concepts to their extremes, whilst at the same time creating the most loving compositions – Vocari Dei is one of the most touching progressive songs I think you”™ll ever encounter. Rolo Tomassi go for abstract song structures and extreme changes in dynamics, while Porcupine Tree craft accessibility into all their songs.
Closing the mix, Transatlantic are quintessentially prog. Suite-length songs, pop/rock/metal/jazz/psychadelic segues, cheesiness, musicianship. At 26 minutes, Duel With The Devil doesn”™t try to be anything, other than a joy!
Image courtesy of 
