Horse Meat Disco

The NME have posted a new Horse Meat Disco mix, a six track, thirty minute, camp disco workout.

It's out (and proud) to promote their latest release, Horse Meat Disco II, out June 28th on Strut.

mp3 ---> Horse Meat Disco - NME Mix

Tracklist:

1. Eastside Connection – You’re So Right For Me

2. Linda Evans – Don't You Need Somebody

3. Carlos Romanos – 1-2-1

4. Lourett Russell Grant – Hot To Trot

5. Lonnie Smith – Do It

6. El Coco – Afrodesia

Songs Of The Sea

Went to Cornwall for a wedding over the weekend.

It was thus a pleasing surprise to find that it was also the Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival.

I'm sure my fifteen-year-old self would cringe at the thought of Future Sam not only going to, but thoroughly enjoying a sea shanty festival. I no longer care for the concept of cool.

You have not lived until you have seen a group of elderly German gentlemen singing What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor complete with a slapstick drunk. Who said Germans can't do comedy?

Though the festival (and Skinner's Press Gang) plastered a smile across my face, I couldn't part with the £10 for the festival CD. My thinking was that it would never get played; That I will never have the urge to listen to sea shanties.

Stewing on this thought on the train back, I came to the realisation that some of the main attractions of shanties, the narrative, the history, and most pertinently the collective voice, are sated by other forms of popular music.

The sturm und drang of Arcade Fire's music draws greatly on the collective wail (amongst other tropes), but I shall not post one of their songs, as I shall probably save them for the new album out in August.

Instead I shall go with the more nautical Port O'Brien. Named after a now-abandoned bay on Kodiak Island, the band's leader Van Pierszalowski spends his summer months fishing commercially with his father. I believe you can hear the bonds with the ocean, the family-unit, the lore of the sea within their music.

mp3---> Port O'Brien - I Woke Up Today

Tiny Streaker

There is only one truth....

Ad men are wankers.

Yet despite their coke-addled ears they can still pick the odd tune.

mp3 ---> Men Without Hats - Safety Dance

Preview: Unicorn Kid

Did a quick preview of Unicorn Kid's gig at Barfly on the 28th for theSprout, which you can read here.

Fuck Mini Babybels

Finally caught Four Lions last night.

Ferocious and funny, there are many parallels between Chris Morris’ and Aphex Twin’s work before you consider the links of Warp and Blue Jam and now Four Lions.

The final montage scene of the film is underpinned by the threnodic Avril 14th from Drukqs, Aphex Twin’s 2001 LP.

Beautifully wistful, it is a fitting ending to the film and sparked a somewhat shocking realisation that I haven’t posted any Aphex tracks, despite passing 100 posts last month.

[Right click and Download Document for mp3 of Aphex Twin – Avril 14th]

The Good LFO, Not The Bad LFO

Went to Quiz Quest a few weeks back in Gwdihw.

It was their 4th quiz, all about the number 3 and we came 2nd.

We won this.

One of the rounds was all about musical trios or bands with three in their name. During the round a particularly awful pop song cropped up and the bad LFO made an unwelcome return to my thoughts (incorrectly as it turned out).

The bad LFO are the Lyte Funky Ones. Just typing “Lyte” made me feel nauseous, so click the link if you want more info on them.

The good LFO are bleep pioneers and British techno dons, synonymous with Sheffield and early Warp.

When the good LFO get talked about, people usually focus on their seminal debut album Frequencies, which came out in 1991. So I’ve decided to post something from the 1994 Tied Up EP instead.

Enjoy this slab of fizzing crunchy techno. And forget about the other LFO.

[Right click and "Download Document" for mp3]

P.S. Quiz Quest is usually on the third Monday of the month, so the next one should be on the 21st. Join the Gwdihw facebook group for deets. It’s well good.

P.P.S. - News Flash! Quiz Quest 5 is on the June 21st and is on Now That's What I Call Music 29.