Audio Flare

Thrift, Thrift, Horatio!

Alrighty you assortment of fellow folks,

Welcome to Episode 4 of Audio Flare's 'Title's from Hamlet' season. It sure is educational.

Today's entry is going to be a short one, sorry about that but I'm simultaneously cream krackered, Kerry Packered, and rice caked. I.E. I am tired!

See?

Now that I've supplied you with a picture of a sleeping polar bear, I feel that my job is half done.

 

However, I've laid my grimey hands on Donae'o's album 'Party Hard' and have given it a review. Obviously I covered Donae'o last entry (Outrageous Fortune) and found his tracks such as 'Party Hard' and 'Riot Music' to be party starters, in fact they're so smooth (insert filthy joke here). 

Hey I'm tired. Fill in your own jokes! 

 

So here's Audio Flare's review of Donae'o's album 'Party Hard':

 

What I liked:

• This is party starting music right here, the two tracks I've linked already could get a Klan meeting dancing, it's infectious stuff.
• He does have that kind of smooth voice that'd (insert joke here).

What I didn't like:

• The songs all have a similar sound to them but of varying quality, obviously 'Party Hard' is great but 'Be Mine' is pretty poor in comparison.
• Several songs run too long and get repetitive.
• Not much lyrical or songwriting depth, these are purely songs to dance to.

Overall, I award Donae'o's 'Party Hard' a 2/3.

The album title gives it all away, this is 'Party Hard' music, make no doubt. Almost every track will certainly make sure the floor gets filled and moving. The songs are catchy and well produced, Donae'o's voice is a nice complement to the never to loud or offensive beats. The tribal edge really works on the tracks, especially 'African Warrior' and makes tracks like this stand out as more unique, effective song on the album predominantly filled with smooth floor filling tracks. On other tracks it'll take more than a listen to appreciate the style, for example 'Devil in a Blue Dress' took me several listens to like it.

But if you're looking for something deeper than simple floor filling tracks, you should look elsewhere. 

Moving on from Donae'o's sultry beats and we find ourselves at the hollowed-out Volcano lair of DJ Zinc, aka Benjamin Pettit.

Possibly most well known until recently for his 1995 fusion of hip hop and jungle 'Super Sharp Shooter'.

And he was one of the first Drum and Bass DJs to find a hit with the R&B orientated two step genre with his track '138 Trek' under his other name, Jammin.

It is fairly obvious to those among you blessed with eyes and ears that DJ Zinc has been a quiet pioneer of breakthrough styles and songs. In fact, DJ Zinc throughout his many years has been a DJ of music ranging from hardcore's rave and jungle phases through to it's hip-hop era. In fact, being musically active since 1993 has allowed him to share a timeline with the evolution and breakthrough of more underground dance styles in the UK.

However, in 2007, Dj Zinc stopped playing DnB music, stopped taking booking for DnB nights, in fact he turned his back on the whole genre after being disheartened by the sheer lack of originality. He spent the whole of 2008 with his family and figuring the best way to advance his music.

Guess who's back. Back Again. Zincy's back. Tell a friend.

Now operating under another pseudonym Crack House, DJ Zinc has released an absolute world destroyer of a track. 'Wile Out' ft. Ms. Dynamite.

Public Reaction to 'Wile Out'.

 

With an EP out late last year, it seems that DJ Zinc/Crack House has successfully moved out of the DnB style that he turned away from and instead has moved into the more urban/house scene. With tracks on the EP like the brutal 'Horrible', showing off the heavy basslines and 'Killa Sound ft No.Lay' showing (Just like 'Wile Out') just how well his music acts as a backdrop for rapping over the top, it seems fairly obvious that Crack House is a successful move from his old musical haunts.

The self entitled EP is out on the Beatport label and is a shining example of why UK dance is going to strength to strength.

 

That brings us to the end of a short, sweet Audio Flare entry, thanks for reading and listening. Chances are there won't be an entry this weekend and my diary is fit to burst like an (insert joke here). I may post a brief apology though.

Anyways, here's a track I hope ya'll like, MGMT's new-ish track 'Flash Delirium'. Enjoy!

Outrageous Fortune

Welcome once more to Audio Flare, this is the second entry under the new regime of 'titles taken from Hamlet' and much like Hamlet, Audio Flare this week is chock full of Danish princes, comedy gravediggers and murder most foul.

Can't teach comedy like that.

In reality though, today's blog contains two acts. 

 

 Act One: Donae'o

Donae'o (meaning Gift from God) is a UK Funky scene singer, songwriter and producer making good noises in underground music, especially in London. 

Just by way of definition, UK Funky is a recently emerged underground dance scene in the UK with its influences from UK Garage, soul, afrobeat and usually involves mixing beats and bass with contemporary African and latin music. 

So back to Donae'o, well firstly he has a silky voice as this video with Lethal Bizzle shows, 'Go Hard'. That song was released in 2009 but Donae'o has been active musically since early 2000s when he was a teenager. However, he started to get attention in 2009 with a string of brutally catchy songs like 'African Warrior', which exquisitely shows off the African/tribal influences of his genre. 

In fact, 2009 has been a pretty damn good year for Donae'o. Nominated for a MOBO award for Best UK Act, performances at Glastonbury and Radio 1's Big Weekend as well as headlining the 'I Love UK Funky' concert at Wembley. He also released an album 'Party Music' with such catchy tracks as 'Party Hard', 'I' and his current, well played single 'Riot Music'. 'Riot Music' has been receiving all manner of love from DJs ranging from DJ Zinc to Skream, who released a beat-driven remix: 'Riot Music (Skream Remix)'. In fact 'Riot Music' has come out on Shy Fx's Digital Soundboy Label and is currently tearing through London's Funky underground scene. 

I also felt a public service to let you listen to his minimix for Annie Mac at Radio 1. This is a piece of genius, maybe it's because a lot of the tracks mixed in here are utter tunes, early Enimem, classic Prodigy, Jay Z, The Shaman, Kano, it's all good. An awful lot of them I recall from listening to music growing up but at the same time he combines those tracks with an awful lot of contemporary music. 

Since 2009 was pivotal for Donae'o's rise to where he is now, hopefully you'll be hearing all manner of music from him this year. Hoping so.

 Act Two: Refused

Large rumblings on the horizon have made music folk all excited.

Apparently Refused are coming. There's been an awful lot of excitement from all quarters, from the punk bloggers, forums and internet all the way to Radio 1's Zane Lowe and NME. The announcement came this very day, March 27th just after midday.

 

Just a pity it's wrong.

An hour or two later, news started to break about the fact that the misleading Refused website which stated 'Refused, Coming Soon...' is actually a cheeky stunt from label Epitaph to promote a re-release of Refused seminal album 'The Shape of Punk to Come' in May. Punktastic broke the news just before half two this afternoon and the world got a whole lot less exciting.

 

No offense Epitaph but screw you for misleading us!

 

But the truth is, if the release goes well, Refused may well reform. I know for sure that myself as well as a whole heap of other folk are hoping this is the case. 

 

For those of you not knowing who Refused are, they're a Swedish punk band who formed in 1991, released three albums and then disbanded in 1998. Their last press release was entitled 'Refused Are Fucking Dead', named after a song off their 'The Shape of Punk to Come' album. It's fairly incendiary stuff and makes a fair old point about how finished Refused are. 

Refused have made a name for themselves with angry, powerful, clever punk music. Possibly one of the best punk bands since Sex Pistols and The Clash, they're that good. Tracks like 'Tannhauser/Derive' (a personal favourite) and 'New Noise' show off an intelligent yet brutal style that isn't quite punk and the reasons for that I will explain shortly.

Their first album was 1994's This Just Might Be....The Truth, and it was a sharp, hard, angry release. Songs like '5th Freedom' give insight into the talent and punk style of their music. Similarly, their second album Songs To Fan The Flames Of Discontent, released in 1996 is very much a typical punk offering. Lyrics about topical issues, very good quality musical skill and songwriting too. 

 

It is with the release of their final album, 1997's The Shape Of Punk To Come: A Chimerical Bombination In 12 Bursts (to give it it's full title) that the band started to feel that releasing punk music on a label, through a company, to people buying their CDs was not as anti-establishment as they wanted and felt they should be. It is why then that the album is a very varied mix of styles, sounds, genres, song lengths and so on. The album itself is anti-establishment to what an album should be. The two songs I linked earlier, 'Tannhauser' and 'New Noise' were both taken from this album and it is seen as the band's magnum opus, mainly because it plays so hard against what punk was at the time with releases from Blink 182 and so on who were classed as punk but were much more popular and mainstream. 

 

The album was wonderfully received by those who understood it, as the reviewer from Allmusic did. It was a punk album because it was so unlike what anyone assumed a punk album should be. And it is genius. 

 

So yeah, damn you Epitaph records for playing on my hopes for a desire to shift a remastered album. 

 

I'll be honest with you ladies n gentlefolk, I am knackered both physically and mentally so I will leave you for now.

Until another day friends.

Considering the tribal beats of Donae'o are still kicking around inside my brain, here's a great track in that style from Major Lazer and his work of art 'Guns Don't Kill People...Lazer's Do'. 

Here's the Jamaican styled 'Anything Goes (feat. Turbulance)'

Slings and Arrows

Hello all you lovely lads n lasses. 

My calendar is telling me that it is Tuesday, March 23rd. What joy!

My first order of the day is to draw your attention to the new Audio Flare page design, I hope you like it and a ma-hu-sive thank you has to go out to Samuel Haskell for his genius level skills of creativity in creating the shiny new Audio Flare banner. If you don't have it up on your page, either a) you need to 'refresh' the page or b) your eyes have stopped working.

Speaking of eyes, the sentient eye squiggles in my peripheral vision are telling me that today's Audio Flare should cover Motorhead, The Black Keys and Stone Temple Pilots.

Thanks Eye Squiggles!

Whilst I am not completely under the 'floater's' control, he does raise a good point. Today's blog entry should cover The Black Keys, Motorhead and Stone Temple Pilots. So I shall begin as such:

 

    With Stone Temple Pilots.

Scott Weiland's all-American early 90s rock band found their fame in 1992 with the release of their debut album Core. A hard rock/grunge album released the same day as the Dirt album by Alice in Chains, the album dealt with confusion over humanity, songs like 'Sex Type Thing' and 'Sin' dealing with themes of treatment of others. The album was well received commercially but badly by critics, who felt it was trying to fit into the grunge scene. In a mid-90s Rolling Stone poll, the band were simultaneously voted 'Best New Band' by it's readers and 'Worst New Band' by the critics.

The album itself sold very well and was eventually certified 8x platinum. Several songs off the album found their way into the STP live playlist and the most played song 'Dead and Bloated' usually gets left until the first song of their encore. Weiland sings the opening of this through a megaphone, holding his microphone at arms length.

 

After Core, the band recorded their 2nd album Purple. Weiland claimed that the reason for it being called purple was that purple was his favourite colour, the colour of bruises. 

The album showed a move away from the rock/grunge approach of Core and instead matured to include psychedelic rock on songs like 'Lounge Fly' as well as country music with songs like 'Interstate Love Song'. Because of this, the album was received much better by critics and the commercial response remained strong, the album staying at no.1 for three weeks. 

 

The band released three more albums before their separation in 2003, Tiny Music...Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop in 1996, No. 4 in 1999 and Shangri-La Dee Da in 2001. However, the promotion, writing and recording of these albums were consistently inhibited by Weiland's drug addition to crack cocaine and heroin. Neither of the three albums were as critically or commercially successful as their first two albums and the band split in 2003 and all the members went on to form other projects, the most famous being Weiland's own 'supergroup', 'Velvet Revolver' which has so far lasted for around five years. 

 

However, with Weiland now off the drugs and a successful 75 stop reunion tour in 2008 has reformed with STP and have been working on a new album. Entitled Stone Temple Pilots, it's expected to be released late May 2010 and contain twelve tracks. A private listening party was held and the album was given a very advanced playing to critics. The response over-whelmingly positive, with some critics hailing the album as good enough to place STP in the canon of historic rock bands. 

Eyes open for this album cover. Whilst STP are one of several early/mid-90s bands making a comeback, being one of the more interesting bands of that period makes me more excited than usual for their return. 

 

    I am moving on now to Ohio, where we shall find American Blues/Rock duo The Black Keys.

Formed in 2001, this band are formed of guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. Their debut album The Big Come Up was released in 2002 and the track 'I'll Be Your Man' was not only used for a few TV show themes but the song itself shows off the type of music this duo plays.

It's cool, it's rocky but in the way that it sometimes sounds like old rock, Credence and the like. Old, almost country guitars, steel strings, blisters on the fingers, sunburn and straw hats but somehow smartened up, the recording is not fuzzy, not clean but certainly more polished than you'd expect. Opening track 'Busted' shares a similar sort of sound, country blues/rock which is remarkably catchy and well made.

 

Certainly the band itself are compared to the White Stripes as being a rock/blue duo starting during the early 2000s as well as to the guitar stylings of Hendrix. The Black Keys also have some very high profile fans, Robert Plant, Josh Homme, Thom Yorke and Kirk Hammett have all said to have enjoyed the band's music. Several songs have appeared in films and television:

• 'When The Lights Go Out' was used in Black Snake Moan.
• 'Set You Free' was used in the film, School of Rock.
• 'Your Touch' makes an appearance in Zombieland.

We can see that there's a fair old variety not only to their music but also who enjoys their music and places their music can be found. 

Anyways, the reason they're making an appearance on the new, 'sexy' Audio Flare is that they too, like STP are releasing a new album, hoorah! It is called Brothers and is set to be released mid-May 2010.  It is their sixth studio album. If you're into suave as sin, cool music, jot down the name right now.

 

    I'm going to finish with a little known British metal band called Motorhead. If you're not aware of them, you might be aware of the iconic lead singer, Lemmy.

Fact is, this band have been around since 1975, have released twenty studio albums over their career and have become one of the world's most iconic bands thanks to albums like Overkill, No Sleep 'Til Hammersmith and Ace of Spades.

Oh you know that one do you?

'Ace of Spades' is a Motorhead song and easily, by a country mile their most famous track. The monster playing chords with the bass guitar, the mutton chops, the voice. It is for things like that Motorhead are famous for. Oh, and in that clip he's over 55 years old. Yeah!

Anyways, I could literally spend all day stating what a living, breathing rock n roll legend the man is but that's not the aim of the blog.

Instead I will simply say they're in the studio again working on album no. 21 to be released sometime this year. And the band have also announced that they're playing the legendary Rock in Rio in May 2010 as well as playing Download Festival this year.

Motorhead remain with us and music is a better place for it. 

 

I shall now leave you with that fair nugget of goodness. 

Until Saturday mes amis.

And I'll leave you with a tune. An AC/DC tune since Motorhead got me in that kind of mood.

Here's 'For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)' all the way from Donington Park in 1991. I need to fix my ears before the next entry. 

 

Where The Twist Flops

Unless my calender lies to me, it is a Saturday. Therefore, as is the tradition on  Saturdays, it's time for another groins to the groyne awesome Audio Flare entry.

 Not pictured: Groin.

 

Today's Audio Flare might literally burst your groynes with goodness, I warn you now. Longshore drift may well occur rapidly after this blog is done.  

 

Firstly, just over a Gregorian calendar month ago I brought SBTRKT to your attention (Audio Flare's Bonus). His illumination in this blog created a lot of love from various people, all of whom took greatly to his style of music. I promised that I would illuminate more of his music in future entries simply because it seems so many of you are fans of his work. Including myself, I must add.

And I am never one to break a promise, well, that's a filthy lie. But I'm not one to break this individual promise. Here's two tracks by him, the first being his own material 'Rekorda' as well as his remix of Modeselektor's (also covered in Audio Flare) 'Art & Cash'. Both tracks show perfectly just why I love his stuff, the first 'Rekorda' is a cool, laid back, garage-house piece with a cheeky bassline and 2 step beat. This is suave, lounge/club music but with a bit of edge. As for his remix of 'Art & Cash' (the original is here), the tone of the song is radically changed, the electro-edge is softer and it carries with it a much more serene tone, almost sounding like Chemical Brothers at times. 

Both damn good tracks and a perfect illustration as to why I, and others, are fans of his work.

 

I will lead you now to the Bristol Dubstep scene. You can thank me later.

We're on the lookout for Bristol based MC turned producer turned dubstep DJ Jakes, nowadays known as the father of renowned dubstep crew H.E.N.C.H.

Before working with H.E.N.C.H, Jakes was MCing for artists like TC on songs such as 'Drink' as well as collaborations with Tech Itch for drum and bass anthems including 'Darkheart', this collaboration was well known for being some of the darkest DnB released. 

Tech Itch broke through to a more popular audience and took Jakes with him for further collaborations. After some world touring he settled back into Bristol and formed with controversial DnB duo Distorted Minds and the three of them released 'T-10' on the Breakbeat Kaos label.

Nowadays, he and the H.E.N.C.H crew have released all manner of dirty dubstep into the Bristol scene, tracks like 'Warp 9', 'Titan' and 'Comply' all show off a heavy, deep dubstep bassline and wobble. However, all the tracks seem to be quite slow and deliberate, instead of busting ears with a brutal bpm they tend to like notching up the atmosphere with a slow beat. 

 

As promised last week when I covered Rollo Tomassi, Chicago based rockers, I bring to you now Rolo Tomassi. Sheffield based, 5 person, electro mathcore metal. 

 

Much like Rollo Tomassi earlier this week, Rolo Tomassi are named after the fictional character that appears in L.A Confidential. They've released one album so far under the ultra-trendy Hassle Records, 2008's Hysterics.

To give an idea of just how misleading the first few songs into the album are, I'm going to link the first two tracks in album order so you can hear how the style shifts rapidly and possibly Hysterically. The album opens with 'Oh, Hello Ghost', a very groove driven, keyboard filled track that only gets heavy with it's guitars and vocals after the two minute mark. From there we move on to 'I Love Turbulence', a track that starts so heavy it's like Enter Shikari on speed. From there it falls into it's mathcore territory, complete with bizarre rhythms and time signatures. The vocals go all shouty and it's here that we find Rolo Tomassi's signature sound, soft vocals with subtly bass, guitar and strong keyboards and then 'Boom!', everything goes to 11.

The reason that they are making an appearance on this blog (apart from my promise that they would) is that they've been working on a new album, entitled Cosmology and set for an April/May release date, and produced by American DJ/Producer Diplo. Singles set to be released from the album include 'Party Wounds' and 'French Motel'. I'll be keeping a rather close 'Audio Flare eye' on these folks for new videos from their upcoming album. 

Audio Flare Eye.

  

Anyway. That brings us to the end of another Audio Flare entry, number 43 at last count. Tune in Tuesday the XX of March where I shall be bringing you, among other things, The Black Keys and Motorhead.

I will leave you now (as is the custom) with a tune. In this case the tune 'de jour' is 60s mania. Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich with 'Hold Tight', a performance from Blue Peter in 1965, a year so long ago in history that I'm surprised that flying hoards of pterodactyls didn't interrupt the performance and the band had to fend them off with makeshift spears of flint. 

Nuke and Pave

Okey-Dokie, pig in a pokey!

Hello and welcome to another astounding episode of everyone favourite twice weekly musical blog, Audio Flare. With viewing figures literally and metaphysically 'through the roof' and people from all over the planet tuning in, my thoughts and opinions are now world-wide. A terrifying thought for those who know me and for those who don't, ignorance is indeed bliss. 

 

A subtle incest joke there to break the ice.

 

Today's entry is full to the brim with all manner of musical madness. I am Willy Wonka and this is my factory. Welcome to my factory. The first three stops on the tour will be Crystal Castles, Rollo Tomasi and Seiji, so get your tickets ready!

 

First of all, I'm going to start with all you L.A Confidential fans. If you are a fan then you already know which band I'm going to start with, for those that don't, it's Rollo Tomasi. In the musical world, Rollo Tomasi is a rock band formed in 1999 from Chicago. A quartet that can best be described as Invasion by way of Rage Against the Machine's groove led melodies. 

Their MySpace is here.

The name Rollo Tomasi is taken from L.A Confidential, as Detective Ed Exley says:

 

'Rollo was a purse snatcher. My father ran into him off duty, and he shot my father six times and got away clean. No one even knew who he was. I just made the name up to give him some personality..Rollo Tomasi is the reason I became a cop. I wanted to catch the guys who thought that they could get away with it.'

 

The band's aim is to fill the void of month by month 'scene bands' with timeless, aggression driven rock. Hooray! I like these guys. The tuned down guitars, the prominent basslines, the anger issues, it's all to provide a rock band in the vein of the great rock bands and by extension, great rock. 

Throw your eyes towards a performance like 'So Cruel' at Schubas, Chicago last year. The guitar and bass are so loud and crunchy they nearly drown out the singer, completely drown out the crowd and if a one hundred megaton warhead was detonated just outside the club, no one inside would notice.

Songs on their MySpace page such as 'Advanced Automation' and 'Route Two' show a style obviously honed whilst listening to RATM, Soundgarden and Pixies. They tour extensively around the Chicago area, playing underground clubs and the like. I admire their sound and their mentality, however it seems unlikely they'll be touring certainly as for out as the UK. Which I feel is a shame.

 

Next on my list is experimental electronic band called Crystal Castles. A duo of Ethan Kath and Alice Glass, these crazy cats are from the province of Ontario. Active since the year 2004, their music has been described as 'as being adrift in a vortex of deafening pain without a safety net'. Sounds a little ominous but their music is very experimental, very exciting and really rather good. 

Songs like 'Crimewave' sound like soft Ting Tings/MGMT mixed with Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The song was taken from their debut, eponymous album, released in 2008. Other songs from the album included 'Untrust Us' and 'Vanished'. Both songs highlight a style that is very electronic, sounds a lot like MGMT and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It's not as experimental as I was lead to believe but it's very catchy and well made. However, tracks like 'Courtship Dating' have an almost Timbaland production vibe about it. The singer, Alice Glass was the lead singer for a punk band and the vocal habits appear to have continued to Crystal Castles when she raises her voice, it's more of a yelp than a shriek. The song that appears to break the mould is 'Alice Practice', a short, sharp shock of fuzzy electro and harsh, punk vocals. However, this song seems much more aggressive and punk-like than anything else I've heard from them, like MGMT by way of Refused with some computer game style retro electro involved too. Short and loud and harsh.

Their debut album was very well received by fans and critics alike and spurred them onto to make a second album, news of which began late last year. Supposed to be released in April 2010, the album has so far no working title but several songs titles have been released, including 'Baptism', 'Violent Dreams' and 'Young Love'. 

The band are also known for their energetic live performances. Considering the sound of 'Alice Practice', it's easy to see why, the raucous, chaotic nature of the song could easily be the start of some manic rave at a gig. And it's true. Very true.

Even so, this band seem to have themselves a cult following of brutally loyal followers. I can see why, their music is certainly not for everyone but for who like it, they really like it. I'm not sure I really like it yet, I mean I really like the more punky 'Alice Practice' but their other songs don't have that bite and I don't feel them quite as much.

I am moving on once again to Paul Dolby, aka Seiji. Not to be confused with Seiji Ozawa, Japanese composer. No this is Seiji the London based DJ and Producer who is responsible for a fair few awesome tracks, mainly breakbeat and electronica. He says he would rather be responsible for simply making 'heavy music'.

And he does, whilst his more laid back, soulful tunes that I will start with would make you disagree, I promise that you'll agree by the end. Oh yes!

Tracks like 'Taste' exhibit a slightly big-beat Fatboy Slim and Crystal Method vibe to it. It's quite a quiet tune though, funky bass line undercutting and breakbeat with big beat synths over the top. 

Then we move onto 'Infectious' a newer, darker tune. Still retaining that break beat but adding harsher sounds and a faster speed help this track away from the soulful beach music of 'Taste' into a darker, almost DnB sound. 

The flip to 'Infectious' is 'Xplosive', a more Drum and Bass inspired piece. Holding onto the darker sound of 'Infectious', this B-side shows a faster pace and a much more DnB sound that anything he's done beforehand.

The same styles in his own work can be charted alongside his collaborations with other artists. From a softer sound to his own style of 'broken beat' as it's called.

Consider his two tracks with G Force, 'Northern Exposure' and 'The Return of 769', between the two tracks there is such a mix of styles at work, DnB, Breakbeat, big beat, electro, techno, hip-hop, jazz, it's amazing. 

However, in my humble and widely read opinion, all those tracks literally pale in comparison with his track alongside Riton 'Computer Juice'. Possibly the finest dance track I've heard for several years it's a lot harsher, catchier and fun than anything else I've heard for ages. Plus the video, in which an anthropomorphic Orange goes postal is pure brilliance. 

 

Hopefully, ol' Seiji will hang around long enough to make much more music because the stuff he makes so far is damn good indeed.

 

Anyways. That is it for another Audio Flare. 

Next week I shall, just for fun, be bringing you the English Rolo Tomasi (1 'L', not 2) as well as others.

I shall leave you with a new track from an Audio Flare favourite: 'Lucia, At The Precipice' by Esben and the Witch.

Enjoy!

 

Feel the Noise

Alright then you cheeky rabble.

Welcome to episode 41 of Audio Flare. The blog what shows you stuff 'n that. Today being March the 13th, I thought it appropriate to wish rapper and actor Common a Happy Birthday. So Happy Birthday Common!

  

Anyway, today's blog entry will be an amalgamation of all manner of genres and the like. Today's Audio Flare will illuminate the acts known as Joker, Meatloaf and Tall Ships. Three bands who I hope will show a vast array of genres and styles to tickle ye tastebuds.

Let's press on!

First of all, Meatloaf. Now there are probably a fair few folks out there who are already well aware of his music, perhaps you've seen him in such films as The Rocky Horror Picture Show:

or Fight Club:

Or maybe even the 51st State:

    

But aside from a thriving film career he is also known for his music. I can say with a huge degree of confidence that his most famous track is 'Bat Out Of Hell', certainly one of the most iconic songs of the 70s and one of most well known power ballads of all time. But recently, Meatloaf has dropped off the musical radar, aside from appearing on Loose Women and ITVs Popstar to Operastar. However he did release an album in 2006, the third Bat Out of Hell album and one of the first to not feature any songs written by Jim Steinman, this point was focused on by critics of the album. 

Songs that featured on the album include 'It's All Coming Back to Me Now', a very familiar sounding song, prominent pianos, Meatloaf's own inimitable voice and a power ballad vibe make this song very, very Meatloaf. 'Blind As A Bat' follows a similar sound, we can see that his style hasn't really changed since the first Bat Out of Hell album but since it's what he is famous for, there seems little point in radically changing his sound. 

Moving on from then we arrive in 2010, where Meatloaf's eleventh studio album is ready and waiting to be released in April. Entitled Hang Cool Teddy Bear it is a concept album that deals with the visions a dying soldier has of what his life could be. Meatloaf has pulled in the big guns for this album, rumours are abound that not only has the Darkness singer Justin Hawkins written a few tracks, but so has Jon Bon Jovi. The album will also feature guitar work from Steve Vai and Brian May, two of the best guitarists around. Hugh Laurie aka House and Jack Black also make appearances on the album, Black duets with Meatloaf and House plays the piano.

I am leaving the Meatloaf behind and moving onto the next course of this Audio meal. 

Enter: Joker.

British dubstep producer. Recently worked with Ginz which I will mention in more detail later.

Joker is around twenty years old, from Bristol and is starting to get his name out in the musical scene. By taking a hip-hop, soul and IDM style sound and mixing it with some harsh basslines and catchy dub beats, he's found a formula that is making him well known in the dubstep scene. Consider songs off his Kapsize EP, 'Re-Up', 'Do It' and Audio Flare favourite 'Purple City', all three songs highlight the dubness of his music, the beats and the wobble. But the inclusion of hip-hop effects, loops and samples, the IDM complex rhythms, it all works to form a style of dubstep that isn't as brutal in it's assault as a lot of songs. Instead you get a much more considered sound whilst still having your face melted into a messy puddle on the nightclub floor.

Joker opens the Ark of the Covenant  

Several of the tracks I just highlighted were co-created with Ginz. The two of them have been working closely for a few years now and creating some fine tracks. Joker, working with other folk such as J Kamata have created other EPs such as 2009's Digidesign, featuring tracks like the title track 'Digidesign', featuring a much more soulful electronic sound. Not sure if I like this as much as his work with Ginz but it is still a fairly unique combination of vaguely retro electronic sounds mixed with dubstep beats. 

The bizarre thing is that Joker doesn't have an album coming out soon, maybe in a while but not soon, I just wanted to highlight this guy because I'm a big old fan.

So there you go.

 

It's been a fair while since I covered an up and coming band, I feel that is a shame. Some of my favourite bands I've mentioned included Esben and the Witch, Holly Miranda, EEPROM, all smaller acts that just happen to be amazing. 

So, much like Esben and the Witch (whom I covered all the way back in October 2009) I have another Brighton-esque band to bring you. Being from Falmouth via Brighton, both coastal towns, it seems apt that this band is called Tall Ships. A three piece band that mixes electro/trance with Indie music, think of them as a quieter Enter Shikari or a less American The Killers. 

They've gotten an EP on their way, rumoured to be released on Monday 15th March (that's 2 days time folks!) entitled 'Tall Ships EP' and being released on the Big Scary Monsters label. The lead track taken from the EP is the rather excellent 'Books', other songs they've done include the slightly more epic 'Snow' and the genius 'Vessel'.

Another thing I like about smaller bands is you can't find all the songs you want to on Youtube so you have to scour t'internet to find what you want. 

They're currently touring with label mates Tubelord around the country, and their MySpace can be found here.

 

Anyways. That is all for today. As usual, thanks for reading, it means a lot.

By way of thanks from me, here's a tune: Velvet Revolver's cover of a Sex Pistols classic 'Bodies'

No Artificial Colours.

It is Tuesday the 9th of March 2010.

Because of this, it must be time for another Audio Flare entry. The importance of March 9th? The birth day of Lil Bow Wow and the death day of the Notorious B.I.G. 

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. 

Anyway, today, I will 'giveth', less of the 'taketh', I not really a 'taketh' type person, but I'm certainly a 'giveth'. Even though that does make me sound like a sexual predator.

Pictured: Prison Love

What I will giveth to you today is not only shiny new Modeselektor and Moderat but also a review of the latest album to cross my desk, Plastic Beach by The Gorillaz. Perhaps, if I feel so inclined, a little news from little known Scottish Electro-Folk pioneers Iron Maiden. 

I am going to start with a giddy, childish squeal. I apologise in advance.

Iron Maiden are doing another album! Woo!

If you don't know who Iron Maiden are, if you literally have never heard of them before, just get out! Leave this blog and never return, you are hereby exiled. Seriously. 

Commonly heralded as one of the most influential bands in rock music history, formed in 1975 and still going strong, this new album is their 15th Studio album and at least number thirty of their total albums released. Entitled The Final Frontier, this album will be released later on in the Summer.

To get a fair cross section of Iron Maiden music and just to absorb the sheer brilliance of their music, every video that follows will be of them live, just so you can build an appreciation of their following too.

'Hallowed by Thy Name' taken from their 1982 album The Number of the Beast. Performed live at Rock in Rio in 2001 to 300,000 fans. 300,000! The song is a fan favourite. For all 300,000 fans.

Here's them performing the same song but from 1982. 

It should be noted before I continue that the youngest member of Iron Maiden is 53 years old. Just thought I'd throw that in there. 

'The Trooper' Every air guitarist on the world can perform the entirely of this song. See?

'Aces High' 

'2 MInutes to Midnight'

'The Wicker Man' from one of their most recent album's 'Brave New World' in 2000.

'Fear of the Dark' and I'm going to include this Greek X factor audition because it is hilarious.

I could go on for much, much longer but I shall not.

So, it is obvious to see that Iron Maiden are responsible for some of the most well known rock/metal songs around. They are just that good. 

Their last album, A Matter of Life and Death showed a new direction of the band, obviously as they get older they start to lose to energy of youth but retain the skill. The last album took on more of a slower, Prog-Rock feel, brilliantly skillful, well written tracks but not as brutally energetic as some of their older material.

To give a comparison, here's a track from A Matter of Life and Death, 'The Legacy' compared to, say 'Where Eagles Dare' from the 1983 album Piece of Mind. Where Eagles Dare, obviously named after the seminal film of the same name.

Seminal film with awesome poster. 

I guess the overarching point of all this is that I am very much excited for their new album. Given their recently trend of 'aging gracefully' (as Rolling Stone put it), this album may well show off the insane level of musical skill achieved from nearly thirty five years playing and more than two thousand live shows.

Awesome!

 

I am moving on now to the shiny, electronic world of Modeselektor. Electronic duo from Germany consisting of Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary. The group started, as many groups did in Germany, in the euphoria and chaos that arose after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The two met in 1992 where Szard was DJing an illegal underground party, they first became Fundamental Knowledge but in 1996 changed their name to Modeselektor after a function on a keyboard. 

With a contract signed in 2000 to the BPitch Control label, Modeselektor (I never get tired of writing that) have released three albums, two on their own and one collaboration with Apparat under the name Moderat. 

Their first album, Hi Mom! was released in 2005 and amply shows of the variety of styles that Modeselektor take as influences. Songs like 'Die Club Nummer' show off an energetic, club style song, whilst 'Kill Bill Vol. 4' gives out a much dirtier vibe, less commercial clubland music but instead underground floor fillers. The album was well received and AllMusic's review dubbed the genre of album as 'Eurocrunk'. 

A second album, Happy Birthday! followed two years later in 2007. This album showed a much more beat orientated sound than the previous album with a style much closer to 'Kill Bill Vol. 4' rather than 'Die Club Nummer'. Darker, dirtier beats. 'Sucker Pin' highlights this beautifully. Another track from the album, 'Black Block' contains a very textured sound over a harsh, unrelenting beat. It also has a video that is a cross between Alice in Wonderland, The Wicker Man, It's a Knockout and Blade all rolled into one terrifying acid trip.

 

Sense; this picture makes none. 

 

However, their most recent album, 2009's Moderat was released as a collaboration with fellow Berlin electro-wizard Apparat, aka Sascha Ring. The title of the collaborative effort was also known as Moderat and they made a few songs such as 'A New Error', seen by some as being one of the best songs of 2009, 'Rusty Nails' and 'Seamonkey'. All three songs there show a much more varied, world, electronic edge to the music that Modeselektor by themselves didn't have. The album itself was released last year to good effect but I'm interested in the advance rumours of a new album Moderat are working on, not Modeselektor but Moderat. 

Indeed it seems that the terrible trio are touring once again, on the road again. From May this year onwards, Moderat will be floating all over the place and the word is they'll be playing some new material to test it out on the road. Again, this is only hearsay but as hearsay goes, it's a big one. If I hear any substance to the rumours I will let you know. 

Watch this space!

 

And now, as my final piece to you, my loyal readership. Here is a review of Gorillaz's new album Plastic Beach. Released in the UK on the 8th March 2010 on EMI Records. Yesterday, if my calendar does not lie. The album was released yesterday in the UK.

Obviously I mentioned an upcoming album and gave it some column inches a month ago. I said how Damon Albarn was saying this was going to be the most 'pop-like' Gorillaz record yet and I mentioned the long, long list of collaborative artists involved in the project. So here it is.

 

 

What I liked: 

• This is proper Gorillaz right here. Same sound, same style, same ability to make you smile/nod/tap your feet, this is good music right here. 
• One of the strongest points about this album is how the supporting artists are taken out of their usual styles and still get good sounds out of them. I'm thinking as an example the very first opening orchestral piece leading straight into Snoop Dogg, it sounds like Snoop Dogg but in a very unusual style and method. It's quite refreshing to see Snoop outside his usual, harder rapping style.
• Much like other Gorillaz albums, the influences are varied. You have your more Jazzy pieces, electronic, dirty, clean, fast, slow. Each song stands on it's own as a separate piece of music and keeps you on your toes as a listener and it never gets dull.
• Best songs on the album are 'Stylo', 'Plastic Beach' and 'Cloud of Unknowing'. 

What I didn't like:

• The lack of singular style means that the album could be too scattered for some people to enjoy.
• There's nothing really that breaks new territory for them. 'Superfast Jellyfish' could have been taken from the Gorillaz or Demon Days albums.

I hereby give Gorillaz's 'Plastic Beach' a 3/3. 

Fortunately, I am a great fan of the Gorillaz style of music and the scattered style of song just, personally, showcases just how talented they are at taking a wide mix of genres and making them sound inherently 'Gorrilaz-like'. Buy this album!

 

Phew! After all that, my fingers and aching, my ears are aching and the doctor's are engaged. I must suffer in silence though. I will be back with a full bill o' health by Saturday.

Until then, au revoir!

Oh, but I'll leave you with a filthy tune to taketh away. Pure filth. D.I.M & TAI's 'Lyposuct'.

Dirty!

Shake Before Using

Good afternoon to all you cheeky chaps and chapettes.

If you're reading this, then I've written it. Meaning that today must be another brutally interesting Audio Flare entry. Audio Flare today will be shining all manner of light over music's dark areas. The particular acts being illuminated in this here blog today will include Dam Mantle, Bombay Bicycle Club and Futureheads. 

 

It must be said that today's entry will not be as mellowed as my last entry. I give you a fair warning, just in case you've gotten used to this blog being your twice weekly chillout session. No more gentle reader!

In that spirit, I will start you off with Tom Marshall. A Glasgow based electronic music producer who operates under the name Dam Mantle. He decided on the name change of his solo project to match the change in progression and style of the music he made. His style of music is influenced through the continuous string of bands he has been in since the age of thirteen and now he finds himself working solo. He enjoys the move that lo-fi and DIY music has started, to be incorporated more into dance music in general. 

Using a whole variety of bizarre instruments and effects in his music, Dam Mantle's music at some points will have a glitchy edge such as Hud-Mo-esque 'Grey', complete with a sparse dub-style wobble and retro synth sweeps backing up and an old skool drum machine backing, whilst on another song 'Yoghourt (ft. Julie Augere)', we still find the obvious Hudson Mohawke influences but with a much more world music influence and instruments. 

Both those tracks though I find too glitchy for their own good. The problem with excess glitch is that it's hard to find and feel a rhythm, even a syncopated rhythm through the sporadic bleeps and beeps. It's like listening to thirty people playing Space Invaders and Pac Man at the same time inside an empty grain silo.

Beep! Boing! Boop! 

 

However, when Dam Mantle tries his hands at other genres of music, he ends up with tracks like the phenomenal 'Purple Arrow', hollow drum beats under a thick synth twinkle and a heavy, fuzzy track over the top. Everything about this track, literally every fraction of a second of it is genius. 

With an EP, entitled 'Grey' out early April on the Halleluwah Hits record label, Dam Mantle has the potential to become a fairly big name in UK dance music. Check out his MySpace for more tracks here. I recommend you check out 'Broken Slumber' and 'Rebong'.

 

Next on my list 'de jour' is London Indie quartet, Bombay Bicycle Club. Named after a local Indian Restaurant. 

After entering Channel 4's 'Road to V' in 2006. Upon winning that, by beating the Holloways, they were the opening act on Channel 4's stage at the V Festival. From there, NME named them 'the hottest band to come from London in some time' in their own inimitably specific style. Two EPs were released in 2007, the first being The Boy I Used to Be and the second, called How We Are. Both EPs were released on the independent Mmm...Records and produced by Jim Abbiss, known for producing the Artic Monkey's debut album. 

In 2008 they left school. 

Yeah. I know.

Anyway, in August of the same year, the band released their first single 'Evening/Morning'. A surprisingly catchy affair. A fairly sharp bass hook and guitar work over generic indie vocals. The video shows, for some reason, two men chasing the lead singer in a panda suit. Several more singles followed, including 'Dust on the Ground' and 'Magnet', the latter sounding more Brit-Pop with a drum intro I swear could have been 'Song 2' by Blur. All these singles, as it turns out, were from their debut album released in 2009, called I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose. 

The current song you may be hearing from them is called 'Jewel'. Its supporters primarily consist of Zane Lowe, who labelled it the hottest record in the world right now. It's actually a B-side from the single 'Evening/Morning' and shows a much more acoustic side than anything I've heard from them before. It's actually quite a pretty song to listen to. The vocals are a lot less 'generic Indie' than I've heard before and it's actually pretty good. I like it. 

 

Right, moving on now to the Futureheads. I'm covering the Futureheads for one simple reason. Literally every time I listen to the Radio for more than about twenty minutes recently, I will hear a Futureheads song. 

So here's a brief history, Sit at the feet of the teacher and listen. 

(A fun fact for all your fact finders out there; Rabbi is actually Hebrew for 'teacher')

Hailing from Sunderlands, the Futureheads started playing gigs in 2000 and released their first single, called 'First Day' in 2003. A self-entitled debut album followed in 2004, spawning such songs as 'A to B' and a cover of Kate Bush's 'Hounds of Love' which actually was a decent cover and became possibly their most well known song. 

A second album 'News and Tributes' was released in 2006. Songs from this album included 'Skip to the End'. Despite showing a more mature sound and a sound much more confident, the album did not sell well. Whilst it received a large amount of critical support and good reviews, the album sold so badly that their record label dropped them. 

So the Futureheads formed their own label, Nul Records for the release of their third album, This is Not the World in 2008. Three singles were released from this album, 'Broke Up The Time', 'The Beginning of the Twist' and 'Radio Heart'. All three singles show off just how their sound and styled had changed since their last album, a much more rocky, confident sound instead of the cookie cutter Indie band sound. This album was must better received in general than News and Tributes.

 Cookie Cutter Music.

 

Now the Futureheads are working on their upcoming album, set to be called The Chaos with a tentative release date set for late April. The single certainly I've been hearing a lot is 'Struck Dumb' and 'Heartbeat Song', both songs showing a really, really, really different direction in their music. I'm more fond of this style than the songs from their earliest albums. 

 

Anyway, that's it for me for today. It has been real.

Thanks for reading and I'll be seeing you on Tuesday.

As always, I'm going to leave you with a completely strange track choice to help pass those agonising few days until the next entry.

So here is Oceanlab 'Satellite' a vocal trance track of such quality, it melts your face.

Cool Fusion

Hello and welcome.

Today's riveting Audio Flare will be a cool, calm and collected collection of calm and cool croons. To match the improved weather outside, I will be bringing some of that sunshine here, to you. And yes, you are more than welcome!
Today's entry will contain some beautiful songs from a variety of beautiful people. Prepare to be mellowed out. 

I am going to start today with Holly Miranda. a 27 year old Brooklyn based singer songwriter. Whilst not hugely well known, she has been making a fair old name for herself, in fact, one of her songs 'Slow Burn Treason' was leaked by Kanye West on his own personal blog. She seems to have found a rebellious streak whilst growing up as she was raised in a very religious household where music was forbidden unless it was Christian or Motown. Upon finding secular music she had to hide the fact, it became her own private escape from the world she was living in.

At age 16, she dropped out of school and went to New York to stay with one of her sisters. Upon moving there, she found that the energy of the artists, musicians and painters around her inspired her to make music. Which is a good thing.

In a music scene where nearly every female vocalist is backed up with extensive electronic music, it is refreshing to hear a vocalist that only really uses electronic elements in her work to give the songs a dreamy, rather than poppy edge. Consider the song 'Joints', a few brass notes before the guitars and bass gently come in. A few keyboard sounds and sweeps really add that Pink Floyd edge to the song. The entire piece is wonderfully composed and deliberate. Even when the songs include more frantic drumwork and guitar work as in her song 'Waves', it never drowns out her voice or even tries to overwhelm it. 

It is no wonder then in my eyes that her album is called The Magician's Private Library, a term coined by her uncle to describe Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. The album itself is a marvelous mix of cool, New York Yeah Yeah Yeah's style production courtesy of Dive Sitek, Pink Floyd and every great female vocalist. It really is an album unlike anything I've heard for a long while, a considered, deliberate piece of work. Considering that she is still technically unsigned I have to wonder whether in this case, that is a good thing? The album is still available and yet she remains outside an industry that I doubt would fully understand her music and may have attempted to intervene.

Check her out!

Staying within this mellow theme I've built up, I would like to bring to your attention San Diego ambient rockers The Album Leaf. Now, it used to be I was like you, dear readers, the words 'San Diego ambient rockers' filled me with either cold sweat or a murderous rage.

Please no encore. 

 

But this band are actually something pretty damn special. With a career spanning five albums from their 1999 debut An Orchestrated Rise to Fall all the way to the very recently released A Chorus of Storytellers, they've built up a fair old catalogue of music. A few examples of their music will now follow:

'On Your Way' from the 2004 album In A Safe Place. The vocals sound like acoustic MGMT and even though all the instruments from a traditional rock band are present, they are downplayed so much that the song itself is very peaceful.

'Always For You' is from Into the Blue Again. Again, the duet vocals remind me a lot of MGMT, the consistent electronic buzz in the background seems taken from M83. Again, a quiet and calm piece.

Songs from their latest album include:

'Stand Still' a louder, more traditionally rocky song than anything I've heard from them before. Also, no vocals but instead a wider array or instruments in the background. 

'Falling From the Sun' A much more downbeat song, possibly even depressing. The chorus is more upbeat than usual and again, there appears to be a larger array on instruments on display.

Their most recent album 'A Chorus of Storytellers' is still undeniably by The Album Leaf, it sounds like them even if there is a wider set of instruments they have access to. It certainly gives the songs a rich texture but I wonder if either the songs will end up sounding similar or even if the texture becomes too thick and causes the songs to become too difficult to really get into. 

 

Anyway. I must leave you with this slightly shortened Audio Flare entry, I would apologise but that just isn't my style. 

However, as always I will leave you with a track, a bonus one might say.

In this case, my bonus track will need to be the opposite of mellow. I can't get anymore mellow, it wouldn't be good for me. I need a blue pill.

Thanks Morpheus.

Behold! Nero's remix of Calvin Harris's new track 'You Used to Hold Me'. See you on Saturday.