Nowhere Human

I heard "Waterloo Sunset" by the Kinks twice in the last couple of weeks, and each time it gave me that sad I-want-to-go-home feeling.  Recently I've been pondering home and places to live and I've realised that I may never really feel at home.  This may be something I have in common with other emigrants/immigrants -- a feeling that home is now only a place that exists in my head, an amalgamation of geography with nostalgia and fantasy.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just a fact really, but I'm starting to think that no-matter where I am I'll always feel like a bit of an outsider.

More Bangerz

Mostly from Jarvis Cocker's recently revived show this time (though I think it was a one-off).

First up, Dean Blunt, who seems like a bit of a mysterious chap.  Can't find a dedicated website, facebook, or anything for him, just artist pages at various music sites.  So a bit of a mystery for now, but I like this track and hope there's more goodness to discover by him.


Next, this bit of funky awesomeness by David Axelrod.  Jarv had this nicely mixed with a Kate Bush track, but it stands up just fine by itself too.


This I've been hearing all over Radio 6.  It's another Kate Tempest track, this time a collab.  I went a bit off her after I last posted about her, but then I read a bit more about her and learned she'd won a poetry prize, so she started to seem a bit more real to me.

The bloke she's collab'ed with, Loyle Carner, is pretty good on his own too -- very good actually:


OK, last up a new Oddisee track that he tweeted about.  It's quality, check it out.

Bangerz

The Christmas period is usually a good one on BBC radio, and this year is no exception.  There are great specials and wrap-up shows to be heard.  I haven't really been tuning in enough but when I have I've heard some great tunes.  I was discussing the amazingness of the BBC yesterday with one of my patients at work -- it's a bunch of non-commercial stations that don't really do government propaganda and we found ourselves asking... Why does it exist?  What do they get out of it?  They don't make any money, or profit I should say, so I suppose it's there just as a cultural good for the country (and for the world).  It's such a strange concept when viewed from America, where everything is basically profit-driven.  It's hard to imagine or remember that there's another way of doing things...

So, first up a couple of tracks I just heard on Gideon Coe's dance-themed show tonight.  Just nice songs really, nothing much to add, just listen and you'll get it.  Though I will say that I'm quite impressed by the number of great tracks I've heard that Malcolm McLaren's been involved with.




This next track I heard on Mark Riley's show tonight.  He's not one of my favourite 6 music DJ's, as he usually plays things on the weirder end of the spectrum and I'm not sure how my patients feel about some of his choices.  This track is dangerously twee but the jangly guitars save it for me.  Makes me think of summer, and sunshine, and grassy fields.


There's more to come, don't worry.  I'll leave you with some links to other media I consumed today -- I read this article about the current dance music scene in the UK, and I checked out this video about Jackmaster -- both good, and I'll be putting up more inspired by those two links later on.  

Ex-Hex

Short post.  Ex Hex are a local band who I keep coming across in a bigger way -- they're on Radio 6, they're on the Guardian's best of 2014 list.  I checked out their website and wasn't super-impressed by the tunes on there, but this song that keeps coming on the radio has grown on me.  The thing is, I want to like them, because they're local.  Maybe I'll give them another try.

For the heads. For the feets.

I'm at home today, not feeling well, so I'm going to keep this pretty short, at least on the words being typed front.  Lately, for reasons I won't go into right now, I've started thinking of this blog as a bit of a party playlist, at least in regards to my posts.  I had that in mind when I made the first few selections that follow; then then, today, at home, I heard some other songs that I think are worthy of a post too.  That's alright though, I think any party benefits from an eclectic selection, as long as the picks are good.

First up, Years & Years, who I first saw on the Jools Holland.  They've been tipped as the sound of 2015 by the BBC, but I'm not sure what they're basing that on since their Soundcloud page has about three tracks on it.


Next up a song by Kele Okereke of Bloc Party.  I never really got round to listening to a lot of Bloc Party stuff but I heard this on the radio and liked it; got some 90's elements to it, as does the Years & Years track, which I don't mind.


Here's an actual 90's track that I think will enliven any party:


Broncho are from Oklahoma.  Sounds about right.


Ooh, and this with the video up on a screen will be brilliant!

I was reminded of this song after seeing this article at the Guardian.  And they say people on the tube don't talk to each other?

Riyaaz Qawwali

A few weeks ago, a few days after I returned to New York, I took the train to Columbia University and went to a student event organized by a Pakistani students' association. It was a qawwali concert featuring the group Riyaaz Qawwali, a young group from Texas.

They were lively and great and the packed audience was really into it. Before we knew it, hands were waving money around their heads and about halfway in people started dancing, and by the end, it was full-on. It was my first time at a qawwali concert. This isn't something I would've enjoyed a few years ago but as I've gone on in my journey in Islam I've really come to appreciate Sufi music and artforms. I appreciate the intention to reach closer to God through music. Some would call it innovation or bid'ah, but I believe there's more than one way to get closer to God.

Riyaaz Qawwali has members who are descended from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, and they also do Hindu and Sikh songs too, so I'm guessing they are of various religions, which doesn't make them a typical qawwali group to my limited knowledge. In any case they put on a great show and the crowd loved it. A couple of Pakistani friends later told me that usually, uncles start dancing right away, while this crowd took some time to warm up, and also that the group mainly focused on choruses and didn't sing more of the poetic lyrics. Still, they were pretty good for a young group whose members grew up in America. I'd love to go to India or Pakistan and hear qawwali live. I've been told though that those spaces are usually segregated which annoys me - but that was another good thing about the Columbia University concert, for men and women were enjoying the music together.

I bought their CD at the gig and haven't gotten a chance to listen to it yet, but here's a couple of youtube videos that you can enjoy in the meantime.

Surfing on sine waves... or floating on soundclouds

Been hearing a lot of good stuff via Soundcloud recently so what better than to share it via this blog.  I'll keep 'em brief.

I came across Aurora Halal via a random visit to Resident Advisor.  I thought she was more of a party organiser and video artist, but then I came across her SC page and found myself getting into the techno tracks she's got up:



Lee Bannon I came across via the Vice journalist Clive Martin on Twitter -- I'm always intrigued when someone mentions jungle so I followed through from his link to Vogue (!) and liked what I heard -- good jungle sounds without much of a retro twist.  The track below is his latest effort and has shades of Aphex to it, at least before the main beat kicks in:

I'm liking his spooky Neneh Cherry remix too:


The Guardian has a preview of Cooly G's new album up, and I've managed to hack it and post it below!  No idea how long it'll work though.  I wasn't prepared to like this cos I heard a mix by Cooly G recently that I didn't like very much, but I'm liking this album.  I like the genre I'm starting to think of as digital-soul -- like Aaliyah but made by a wide range of artists today; I'd put the Neneh Cherry remix above into this category too.  The Guardian compares the new Cooly G stuff to FKA Twigs; I have to say I prefer Cooly G:


Lastly, Gorgon City, who I heard on Later with Jools Holland yesterday.  Poppy-dancey-housey music that seems to be well respected from what I can glean from their SC page (sets from Rinse FM and NTS radio are up there).  I heard them and thought "GTI music".  What's GTI music?  GTI music is music that'll sound good coming out of the speakers in my imaginary new VW Golf GTI.  All of these artists could probably go into that category, but these guys the most.  Quite like the chunky bassline they're putting in their tracks, but could it get too gimmicky after a while?  There's an album sampler up below; check out 'Ready for Your Love' and 'Real':