9 in 1 (8)

A decidedly backwards-looking list this time around. Like, there are two tracks from this millennium. Quit living in the past, Marge.

  

Michael McDonald - I Keep Forgettin'

Always a struggle not to bust into Regulate.

Steely Dan - Dirty Work

Ah, the Dan. How'd it take me so long? 

The Selecter - Missing Words

Two-tone rarely pulls on the heartstrings, but the chorus on Missing Words is properly affecting. 

Lee Scratch Perry & The Upsetters - Jungle Lion

God, I used to hammer this in Falmouth, back in the Radiowave days. RIP.

Womack & Womack - Conscious Of My Conscience

Cringe title but what a groove. From the same album as Teardrops, I need to get on that vibe.

Change - Mutual Attraction

Looking at the YouTube comments, this has something to do with Luther Vandross? Whatever, it's all about that bassline.

Todd Terje - Snooze 4 Love

Slipping into this one like a warm bath, a warm bath in space, yes mate, build it.

LFO - We Are Back

How great is this video? Apparently, it's the official one. As if I couldn't love this track anymore it features clips from Twin Peaks. Still bangs.

White Lies - Death (Crystal Castles Remix)

Ariel Pink last week, Crystal Castles this week, on the cancellation express. Fuck it, this too still bangs.

Related post: 9 in 1 (7)

Detroit Chicago New York Machynlleth

Did you know that Machynlleth in Powys is twinned with Belleville, Michigan? The Belleville from the Belleville Three - Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson - as in the birthplace of Detroit Techno?

I didn't until this excellent article from David Owens on Nation.Cymru. 

Nor did I know about Ffrancon, but he certainly knew the connection. His recent album Gwalaxia: Belleville 1315 / Machynlleth 1414 joins the dots between Detroit Techno and radical Welsh politics and went straight into my Wishlist on Bandcamp.

Big fan of that artwork too.

9 in 1 (7)

I could've just put the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS on this list, I've been playing it that much. Violent Micro Machines, love it. 

But no, here's some bangers instead...  

The Gloaming - Allistrum's March

Well, there was only one place I could start. Charlie Bones has left the building. He quit his breakfast show on NTS last Friday. The Do!! You!!! Breakfast show is no more... on NTS anyway. 

You may have seen me mention it a few times over the last 18 months but his show has been a lifesaver. Every day, from 9am till midday, it's got me through the pandemic, working under the stairs and now out in the country, Charlie Bones has been there bringing the vibes. 

Onwards man, onwards, can't wait to hear what you'll be doing next.

Allistrum's March was the opener for the final show and over which he announced his departure. Man, I'm gutted.

Fatima Yahama - What's A Girl To Do

One of many jams from the final Do!! You!!! my word I wish I caught this when it came out in 2004. That synth line is to die for, what a vibe, convertible cars and empty motorways and beaches at night, yes mate.

Joy Orbison - Better

The choice cut from Still Slipping Vol 1. Joy Orbison's first long-player. Big up for calling your Bandcamp Toss Portal, boo-urns for charging £5.99 postage for a cassette.

Prefuse 73 - Detchibe

Another one of those rediscoveries from having the CDs out again, this is on an old Mr Scruff mix CD. I do have One Word Extinguisher but hey, I pulled out Keep It Solid Steel Volume 1 first. Still sounds futuristic despite coming out in 2003, unreal beat-making.

Kola Bendy - Song of the Fisherman

Creep Zone gonna Creep Zone, James Pants brought the Soviet-Siberian disco on his most recent show. Seriously, someone should just do an edit of the last 5-10 seconds, splice in the instrumental at 1:40, absolute jam.

David Bowie - Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola

Space Oddity in Italian anyone? As in sung in Italian by David Bowie? Wuzza wuzza.

Todd Rundgren - Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel

A second "x in 1" appearance in a row for the original Todd the God (apologies to Todd Edwards). The horns on this are divine, proper soul music. Love it, what a groove, wish my Dad hadn't kept this from me all those years. I reckon he would've dug that track at the start by The Gloaming as well. Oh well.

Haley Bonar - Kismet Kill

Completely missed this in 2016, big 90s indie rock feel here and the "We're the kids who've got kids at parties" line cuts deep RN.

The Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar

It was my birthday recently and as I sat down for breakfast with the boy, Star Guitar came on. Life ain't so bad sometimes y'know? Also, shout out to the late-night MTV2-ness of the video.

Related post: 9 in 1 (6)

Field Day Throwback

I got a notification from MixCloud that someone had 'favorited' my Ceefax Of Life Presents Field Day Mix 2011.

"A mix of bands and artists that I look forward to seeing at Field Day 2011 on Saturday August 6th." I forgot all about it until that sweet, random dopamine hit of a like. 

So, I'd thought I'd give it a spin after some quality cask ales in The White Hart and The Old Swan Inn.

Ah.

Not one but two Ariel Pink tracks.

Well, I can't rewrite history.

Aside from that, it's alright like, and I'm quite happy with the transition from SBTRKT to James Blake in particular. I'm also happy that someone found a 10-year-old mix I did and listened to it, that it's still there, and that there's still a little bit of randomness and chance on the internet. Because, y'know it feels like being online is an increasingly sanitised experience with gated communities controlled by tax-dodging overlords.

Which I write on a platform owned and run by Google. On a Chromebook. 

Ah.

Still, give my old mix a spin yeah? And a like?

9 in 1 (6)

Here we are again. Nine tracks I've been enjoying this past week or so. 

Some old stuff that sounds like new stuff, some new stuff that sounds like old stuff. Dub reggae, EBMish techno, a krautrock-y remix and so much more. It's another one of these x in 1 (x) lists, baby.

   

Tim Burgess - I Got This (Andy Votel Remix)

Turns out that guy who does those listening parties on Twitter makes music too. Andy Votel spins The Charlatans singer's latest release into a propulsive krautrock jam. Tidy stuff and surprisingly the first Andy Votel remix on this blog.

Wet Leg - Chaise Longue

This is my song of the summer. Big Le Tigre vibes. Deadpan female vocals, indie disco action, daft lyrics. Was always gonna be into it. Frank is a fan too. 

Biz Markie - Bennie and The Jets

BENNIE! A perfect example of something that isn't technically a good performance, but is a brilliant performance through sheer personality, stagecraft, and fun. RIP Biz.

Todd Rundgren - Can We Still Be Friends

Rundgren was another one of those acts my Dad liked but he thought I wouldn't. Can We Still Be Friends is from a later album but I've been listening to A Wizard, A True Star a lot recently from my Dad's collection.

Willie Williams - Armagideon Time

Will I be cancelled if I say that my first thought when this comes on is to go 'rub-a-dub-dub-dub'? Came across this again on an old DJ Vadim mixtape. As in a mix that I taped from the radio years ago. For I am ancient.

NN - Deception (Original Mix)

Head down, dark and stormy techno with big EBM energy. Amelie Lens opened her recent Residency show with it. Brutal.

Panda Bear - Cosplay

David Holmes played this on a recent NTS show and man did it make me wish I wasn't stuck at my desk on a grey weekday. It's from the Animal Collective's...  I was gonna say drummer but he does kinds everything in the band... It's from his 2015 Crosswords EP. 

Brân - Y Gwylwyr

Shout out to NTS once again. Welsh psychedelic folk-rock from 1975. Into it.

Edwin Birdsong - Cola Bottle Baby

Right, now there's sampling, and then there's Daft Punk lifting the whole opening 20 seconds here for Harder Better Faster Stronger. My life is a lie.