Gabrielles Wish - Processed sampler

Processed, the legendary "lost" debut album by Gabrielles Wish, has been finally released on CD (with four bonus live tracks, including the totally unreleased Never Know Why) by Plastic Frog Records.
The album was recorded with Joy Division's sound engineer Chris Nagle (Martin Hannett's assistant) at Peter Hook's studio Suite 16 in 1997, when the band was, after two highly acclaimed EPs, the best promise on Manchester Records, the label of New Order's manager Rob Gretton, and shelved when Gretton died just before its planned release.
Processed sees at last its first official release on CD, enhanced with a new cover designed by the band's keyboardist, Karen Leatham, and some bonus tracks such as a live recording coming from their support performance at New Order's reunion gig at the Manchester Apollo in 1998.
Get Processed from Plastic Frog Records,
http://www.plasticfrogrecords.com/

More info here: http://tinyurl.com/39xerus
http://gabrielleswish.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/gabrielleswish

The Best Of 2010 (and Merry Christmas)

01 MASSIMO VOLUME
Cattive Abitudini
 
02 GABRIELLES WISH
Processed
 
03 MARLENE KUNTZ
Ricoveri Virtuali E Sexy Solitudini

04 Skarnemurta - Traffic

05 Freebass - It's A Beautiful Life

06 Beautiful - Beautiful

07 Kalevala - Musicanti Di Brema

08 Exit Calm - Exit Calm

09 Blonde Redhead - Penny Sparkle

10 Jungle Radio - Live Session

11 Serena-Maneesh - S-M 2: Abyss In B Minor
12 Culpable - Culpable
13 Section 25 - Retrofit
14 Pet Shop Boys - Ultimate
15 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - History Of Modern

This year has been a weird mix of different trends for me. I've been discovering artists I've been guilty of overlooking in the past which haven't released albums this year, like the years of Brian Wilson as a genius in The Beach Boys (second half of the 60s) and Maxwell, a genius of contemporary black music. I've also been hearing a lot of singles released in the past few years in the Fidget house scene, especially Brooklyn artists like AC Slater and Udachi, who are doing the most inventive music heard (and danced) in this century so far.
I've also discovered 4AD (which was a cult label in the 80s with bands like Cocteau Twins and Pixies) is still releasing great albums, this year with bands like Blonde Redhead (who are progressing further in refining their sophisticated and melancholic synth pop) and Serena-Maneesh (who try too often to sound like My Bloody Valentine but still show a lot of talent, especially when doing something more personal).
Then we've had great comebacks, reissues or compilations of bands which have been around for ages. Massimo Volume came back with a studio album after 11 years. They had been playing half of the new songs in concert so we expected the new album would have been great, but nobody was really ready to hear their best album ever. Gabrielles Wish released for the first time on CD their excellent lost debut album, recorded 13 years ago, adding some bonus tracks. Marlene Kuntz involved production genius Howie B (he did Bjork's most inventive albums in the 90s) and he produced their less commercial album ever, a record full of ideas daring to take many different directions, mostly unconventional, with some wonderful sounds enhancing the formula. The collaboration went further in the project Beautiful (which sounds even more experimental), where Howie B plays keyboards and bass legend Gianni Maroccolo (formerly in Litfiba and CSI) comes back to complete the line-up and release the album on his own label Al-Kemi. Peter Hook finally released, after an EP with guest vocalists like Tim Burgess from The Charlatans) the Freebass debut album which is great, pity the band have already split. Another long awaited debut came from Exit Calm and, even if they haven't included all their best songs in the tracklists, the album is good enough to say they're the best new band in this century so far.
Section 25 survived the death of singer Larry Cassidy, his daughter Beth sings now, and have released an album with re-recordings of their classics. Pet Shop Boys released a compilation of hits missing some important singles but including their excellent new single Together, which also has a really beautiful video.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark came back with a new studio album after 14 years and it's alright but unfortunately, just like their last album before this long time off, shows their best inspiration is long gone, though it tries a return to the sound of their former glories.
2010 has also been a great year in my local scene in Parma. There are other great bands who haven't released records playing fantastic gigs, there are cool DJs in the dance scene, and we've had also some excellent releases. Skarnemurta had another triumphant tour in Ukraine and repackaged their last album and EP with a bonus track on one CD while recording a new album which should follow in a couple of months. Kalevala are selling promo copies of their astonishing and truly inspired new album while waiting for a wider release next year. Jungle Radio emerged with their inventive blend of DJ set and live performance and Culpable finally made available on iTunes the studio recordings of the wonderful songs they've been playing live for years.
Merry Christmas and Happy 2011, hoping to hear more great new music!

Zune in Italia, una scelta in più

Ho provato Zune, il negozio online di Microsoft, con molto scetticismo.
Il software serve anche per la vendita di applicazioni per smartphone con il nuovo sistema operativo Windows Phone 7 e per i film (anche a noleggio), ma in questo momento ero interessato alle possibilità che offriva come negozio di musica, incuriosito dallo Zune Pass, un abbonamento (in pratica, l'unica cosa che manca ad iTunes), che a prima vista sembra che imponga troppe restrizioni.
In realtà la prova gratuita, concessa per 14 giorni dopo che si è installato il software (che sembra ben fatto e piacevole come grafica e utilizzo) ed effettuato l'accesso con il proprio account Windows Live (lo stesso di Messenger, per intenderci, vanno solo aggiunte le informazioni sulla carta di credito, che ovviamente può anche essere una prepagata come PostePay), ha evidenziato un nuovo tipo di esperienza su più livelli che è forse il miglior equilibrio possibile tra basso costo e quantità e qualità dei brani ascoltabili e scaricabili.


Lo Zune Pass può essere acquistato in abbonamento mensile a 9,99 Euro, oppure annuale a 99,99 Euro, usufruendo di due mesi gratis.
Con questo pass puoi ascoltare un numero illimitato di brani in streaming.
Puoi anche scaricare un numero illimitato di brani in WMA con DRM, il che significa che li potrai solo ascoltare sul computer, sulla X Box e su uno smartphone con Windows Phone 7, ma non li potrai masterizzare su CD, né convertire in altro formato o trasferire ad un altro lettore. Inoltre, se non rinnoverai l'abbonamento, non potrai più ascoltare alcun brano di quelli scaricati con il pass, né ovviamente quelli in streaming.
Però puoi anche acquistare i brani ad un prezzo simile a quello di iTunes, solo che in questo caso il formato è MP3 di massima qualità senza DRM, in pratica dal momento dell'acquisto puoi fare coi brani ciò che vuoi: non ti occorre più un lettore specifico (mentre quelli di iTunes non convertiti possono essere riprodotti solo su iPod e pochi smartphone) e puoi masterizzare CD.
Gli acquisti si effettuano con i Microsoft Points, che vengono venduti in pacchetti diversi, ma il costo non cambia, un punto costa sempre 1,2 centesimi. Per esempio un album di 12 brani può costare 835 punti, ovvero 10,02 Euro.
Quando acquisti gli MP3 ti viene automaticamente cancellata la cartella dove avevi i file WMA con DRM, il che ti risparmia anche questo passaggio.
Se poi cambi la posizione della cartella dove hai scaricato gli MP3 (o di qualsiasi MP3 della libreria), Zune (al contrario di iTunes) li ritrova subito e non te li fa cercare.
Puoi acquistare gli MP3 anche senza pass, ma forse 10 Euro al mese (anche meno con l'abbonamento annuale) sono ben spesi per ascoltare in streaming, sul PC o su un cellulare compatibile un numero illimitato di brani...
Il giudizio su Zune è quindi sostanzialmente positivo, anche se al momento non dispone di un catalogo vasto come quello di iTunes. Chi ascolta solo musica commerciale forse non se ne accorge neanche, ma se cerchi roba un po' più alternativa, soprattutto se dei decenni scorsi, ti accorgi subito della differenza...
In ogni caso un'opportunità che offre più libertà rispetto ad iTunes e magari spingerà Apple a rendere più libera anche la sua offerta...

Nuovi brani nel Massimo Volume sampler

Aggiunti la splendida In Un Mondo Dopo Il Mondo e Fausto a Litio, dal nuovo album Cattive Abitudini Massimo Volume sampler by massimovolume

Massimo Volume - Fausto

via youtube.com

Stupendo video ufficiale del miglior brano di sempre dei Massimo Volume!

Posted via email from Mick's posterous

Tutto Qui – La Storia Dei Massimo Volume

La biografia di Andrea Pomini (Arcana edizioni)
Il 31 ottobre, alle ore 19, prima del concerto di anteprima del tour di Cattive Abitudini a Ferrara (nella Sala Estense), si terrà presso il circolo ARCI Zuni, in Via Ragno 15, la presentazione della prima biografia dedicata ai Massimo Volume, “Tutto Qui – La Storia Dei Massimo Volume” di Andrea Pomini (Arcana editrice) con la partecipazione dell’autore e della band.
Sul blog di Pomini, SoulFood, sono presenti vari post con alcune anteprime della biografia.

via massimovolume.it

Posted via email from Mick's posterous

Litio in anteprima dal nuovo album dei Massimo Volume

A 10 giorni dall'uscita di Cattive Abitudini, il nuovo album dei Massimo Volume, è finalmente possibile ascoltare in anteprima Litio sui profili ufficiali di SoundCloud (il cui player è incorporato in questo post) e MySpace.

Cattive Abitudini, nuovo album dei Massimo Volume il 15 ottobre!

Il 15 ottobre esce il nuovo, attesissimo album dei Massimo Volume, Cattive Abitudini.
Verrà pubblicato dalla prestigiosa etichetta indipendente La Tempesta, di cui fanno già parte band e artisti del calibro di Frigidaire Tango, Giorgio Canali E Rossofuoco, Moltheni, Sick Tamburo, Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti, The Zen Circus, Uochi Toki, Le Luci Della Centrale Elettrica e Il Teatro Degli Orrori.
La tracklist di Cattive Abitudini include alcuni brani che hanno già suscitato l’entusiasmo del pubblico durante i concerti dei tour più recenti:


01 Robert Lowell
02 Coney Island
03 Le Nostre Ore Contate
04 Litio
05 Tra La Sabbia Dell’ Oceano
06 Avevi Fretta Di Andartene
07 La Bellezza Violata
08 Invito Al Massacro
09 Mi Piacerebbe Ogni Tanto Averti Qui
10 Fausto
11 Via Vasco De Gama
12 In Un Mondo Dopo Il Mondo

Shoegazing playlist on YouTube

Shoegazing playlist page on YouTube

Someone asked about a shoegazing playlist and I've been more than happy to assemble this on YouTube.


When punk and new wave happened, I was still a kid and while I remember the TV showing something of those scenes, I had to discover everything when their most glorious moments had gone.
Still, when I got into music in the second half of the 80s, many bands like New Order, Depeche Mode, Cocteau Twins and The Smiths were still on great form and releasing some of their best albums.
When I was about to turn 18 I liked baggy bands like Happy Mondays or Northside, but something else was keeping me busy: alternative radio and TV programs were showing the videos of these new bands coming from a label called Creation, I had started reading the NME and apparently this new fantastic sound they were doing was called Shoegazing, and you should know why, if not check Wikipedia.
This was the first and last great scene I really saw happening in England (I remember how it was exciting to buy My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive and Swevedriver albums in the same week) before the media attention turned to mediocre and derivative Britpop bands ruining forever the English music scene, which basically never recovered since then. There have been other great bands, like Radiohead, and other great scenes in America and especially in Italy, where the second half of the 90s has been amazingly more exciting than in England, but we had got used to labels like Factory, 4AD and Creation introducing us to great new bands and that wasn't happening anymore and nobody took their place. Actually Factory had to shut down, 4AD turned to boring indie folk and Creation was a key label in the same Britpop scene which destroyed Shoegazing. It was appalling to see the same label who released the last My Bloody Valentine album, in 1991, releasing the Oasis debut album three years later, mostly because it sounded like recorded 25 years before the MBV album.

This playlist opens with Slowdive, simply because Shine (though the embedded player in this post doesn't show it, but you can find it on the playlist page) is not only the most beautiful shoegazing song ever, but has also possibly the most beautiful video ever. Slow is my favourite My Bloody Valentine song, Swervedriver look incredibly cool in the Sandblasted video, Moose's Boy just proves what they could have done had they not turned to Britpop in a vain attempt to survive. The same must be said for Ride, Lush and The Boo Radleys. Autosleeper by Chapterhouse is a truly emotional song. There are songs by Pale Saints which sound more shoegazing than Two Sick Sisters, but I chose it simply because I've always found it wonderfully frightening.
Then we have the shoegazing one hit wonder department, with Revolver, Drop Nineteens (from USA) and Adorable, three great songs, especially the amazing Venice, but basically their only truly great songs, followed by disappointing albums and even more disappointing sales.
Bands like The Swirlies and Curve would have deserved more though, but by the mid 90s even excellent albums by Slowdive and Swervedriver were getting ignored, or worse, unfairly derided, in favour of silly Britpop bands, the very most of which today don't have a cult following of people of different age like those shoegazing bands do.
But this playlist has a positive feeling: shoegazing as we knew it ended back then, except for contemporary nu gaze revivalism bands like Airiel, but its influence has been strong on very different music genres: you heard it in the mid-90s in Flying Saucer Attack's lo-fi noise, or in Seefeel's and Bowery Electric ethereal vision of dub, you heard it in the 2000s in bands like Mew, described as "My Bloody Valentine meet Prefab Sprout", only from a prog persepective, and today you can hear M83 singing a synth pop tune with vocals recalling Slowdive and being remixed by dubstep-fidget genius Udachi, or if you prefer guitar indie there's the best debut album of this century so far by Exit Calm.
The spirit and heritage of shoegazing is stronger than 20 years ago.

Slowdive - Shine
My Bloody Valentine - Slow
Swervedriver - Sandblasted
MOOSE - Boy
Chapterhouse - Autosleeper
Ride- Dreams burn down
Lush | De Luxe
Pale Saints - Two Sick Sisters
The Boo Radleys "kaleidoscope"
Revolver - "Venice" live at ULU May 1992
Drop Nineteens - Winona
Adorable - Sunshine Smile
The Swirlies - Sounds of sebring
Curve - Horror Head
Flying Saucer Attack - Always
Seefeel - Charlotte`s mouth
Bowery Electric - Fear of Flying
Mew - Apocalypso
Airiel - Peoria
M83 - We Own The Sky (Udachi Remix)
Exit Calm - You've Got It All Wrong - FAC251 - 11/06/2010

Exit Calm, debut album of the century so far

These are tough times. The Zero decade hasn't been able to bring anything new on the scene, a terrible contrast when you think what each of the previous decades has sparked since the birth of rock'n'roll.
Not everything's lost. Bands like Mew have emerged, they still believe music doesn't need to be safe and can be brave end emotional. In the electronic field, the Fidget house explosion of the last couple of years brought us artists like AC Slater, Costello and Udachi, which I still regard as the biggest genius of this century so far.
The first truly great debut album in guitar music comes from Barnsley, halfway between Leeds and Sheffield.
Lyca Sleep were a band with a fantastic guitarist called Rob Marshall.

Perfectly balanced between post-shoegazing soundscapes and actual tunes, he's much more than a disciple of The Verve's early Nick McCabe, counting only that inspiration doesn't do justice to his immense talent. That band didn't go beyond a couple of singles, Dan Cutts wasn't a bad singer, as he proved in his following releases both solo and with new band Two Skies.
But when Lyca Sleep became Exit Calm with new singer Nicky Smith they found the most amazing voice since Kurt Cobain. His voice can be rough and delicate and is the perfect match for Marshall's guitar.
With two enormous talents like these, Exit Calm built a feverish and loyal fanbase. Recordings of both demos and live performances started circulating increasing the interest on the web.
So it comes as a disappointment at least three of their best songs aren't actually included on the album, and one of them is the first single, Higher Learning. God knows what went through their heads when compiling the track list for the album... and yet this album, even with those songs missing, is easily miles above any other debut album released in the last decade. Extremely emotional songs like You've Got It All Wrong (a call to arms opening the album with a long guitar intro), When You Realise (starting all delicate just to explode halfway into a noise hurricane), Forgiveness, With Angels and Recovery (all featuring wonderful melodies and sounds from the guitar and the best vocals you've heard in a long time), plus much loved second and third singles We're On Our Own and Hearts And Minds and the touching acoustic beauty of closing track Serenity... well, these songs are more than enough to define this as an absolute masterpiece and the best debut album of this century (if you count Gabrielles Wish as debuting in the 90s with two EPs and a delayed album).
A band to follow, they make you believe in todays music, again.

Nuovo sito ufficiale dei Massimo Volume

Finalmente è online il nuovo sito ufficiale dei Massimo Volume!
E' ancora in fase di completamento, ma ha già un ottimo aspetto.
C'è qualcosa del sito Stanze nel sito ufficiale, e continuerà ad esserci: il sito ufficiale, Stanze e MySpace continueranno i loro percorsi autonomi ma integrati.

Stanze Live dei Massimo Volume su YouTube

E' ora disponibile su YouTube la playlist con tutti i video dello storico concerto al Covo di Bologna il 27 marzo scorso (ormai conosciuto come "Stanze Live"), sempre scaricabile da MegaUpload.
Ogni video può essere votato, commentato e condiviso.

Freebass - It's A Beautiful Life, great album finally out!

 After five years and in line with Hooky's release schedule we are all delighted to announce that the Freebass Album: Its a beautiful life is ready for download.

www.fac51thehacienda.com/product/music/audio/freebass-its-beautiful-life

via fac51thehacienda.com

Absolutely excellent! Every song sounds great.

Posted via web from Mick's posterous

Scarica gratis il video di Stanze Live 2010 dei Massimo Volume!

Era inevitabile che un evento storico come il concerto del 27 marzo al Covo di Bologna, nel corso del quale i Massimo Volume hanno eseguito integralmente Stanze dal vivo, venisse registrato da un fan.
Fortunatamente Marco Leone ha registrato sia audio che video, Enrico Galli ha sincronizzato l'audio col video e il risultato è piaciuto tanto ai Massimo Volume che ne autorizzano la condivisione.
Scarica il file! (604 MB, e ne vale la pena per ogni secondo).

Malcolm McLaren dies aged 64

Malcolm McLaren, the former manager of the Sex Pistols and impresario, has died. He was 64.

Despite early reports that he had died in New York, McLaren’s girlfriend of many years, Young Kim, 37, confirmed the impresario died of mesothelioma at a hospital in Switzerland
It is a rare form of cancer that develops from the protective lining that covers many of the body's internal organs, the mesothelium and is usually caused by exposure to asbestos. His body is expected to be brought home to be buried in Highgate cemetery, north London.

Related articles

• Malcolm McLaren: 'I'm most probably a missing link'
• Search the news archive for more stories

His spokesman Les Molloy told The Independent: “He had been suffering from cancer for some time, but recently had been full of health, which then rapidly deteroriated. He died in New York this morning. We are expecting his body to be brought back to London and buried in Highgate Cemetery.”
McLaren was best known as manager of the iconic UK punk band The Sex Pistols. He achieved the notoriety that never left him in 1977 when The Sex Pistols’ anti-establishment single God Save The Queen, released during the Queen's silver jubilee was banned from the airwaves by both the BBC and the Independent Broadcasting Authority. It still managed to reach the number 2 spot.
Born in 1946 in north London, the son of war deserter Pete McLaren, who left home when Malcolm was was two, he was raised by his grandmother in Stoke Newington. He left home in his teens, attending and being expelled from several art colleges before leaving education altogether in 1971.
That year he opened a clothes shop on the King’s Road , Let It Rock, with Vivienne Westwood.
The boutique sold primarily Teddy Boy-style clothes, before McLaren became disillusioned by the actions of the shop’s patrons. The couple’s son, Joseph Corre, went on to found the lingerie brand Agent Provocateur.
By 1975 McLaren had renamed the store SEX. It was now selling S&M clothes.
Also in 1975 he began to manage the fledgling punk band The Strand. After his assistant Bernie Rhodes had brought in John Lydon, whom he had encountered hanging around outside sporting green hair and a Pink Floyd T-shirt with the words “I Hate” daubed across it, Lydon became Johnny Rotten and the band The Sex Pistols.
Controversy was always high on the band’s agenda, and it was McLaren, primarily, who ensured they achieved it. In May 1977, during the week of the Queen’s silver jubilee, McLaren booked a boat trip down the Thames where the band were to perform their single “God Save The Queen” outside the Houses of Parliament. The boat was raided by police. McLaren was arrested.
Whatever resentment the establishment had for him after this, it was soon to be magnified by the band themselves. The following year The Sex Pistols embarked on a tour of the US. They would return on separate flights. The band split up after a series of arguments, with members accusing McLaren of mismanaging them and withholding money.
A solo career, with mixed success, followed. His 1983 album Duck Rock scored two top 10 hits, and is regularly cited as being a significant influences in bringing hip-hop to a wider audience in the UK. More recently, Mariah Carey and Eminem have sampled his work.
More recently he stood for the then newly created London mayoralty in 2000. Amongst his policies was the serving of alcohol in libraries.
In 2007 he was slated to take part in the ITV show I’m A Celebrity Get ME Out of Here, as Lydon had before him. In the end he never took part, arriving in Australia, dismissing the show as “fake” and promptly flying home again.

via independent.co.uk

Godfather of punk and hip hop

Posted via web from Mick's posterous

Nuova mailing list per i Marlene Kuntz

Sparita misteriosamente la storica mailing list dopo più di 10 anni di onoratissima attività, si ricomincia da qui: http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/marlenekuntz2

Man Ray - Summer 88

Haçienda Records

is proud to make available its debut release, the “Summer 88 EP” by Man Ray which sees Hooky (New Order) and production partner Phil Murphy indulge their passions for acid house, paying homage to the sound of the early days of Acid. 

Originally produced as the opening tracks to 2009’s “Haçienda Acid House Classics” album, both tracks have been extended and reworked from these versions for the new EP.
Using analogue technology to recreate precisely the sounds of summer of ’88, a mixture of classic Roland synths and drum machines were employed to simulate the early acid house vibes with samples only being used for sound effects.
Opening track, “We’re On It” presents itself as a twisting, laid back groove, permeated with references to early Detroit and Chicago, Larry Heard, Mr Fingers and the classic exponents of the lighter side of acid. With Hooky chatting over the vocal version.
Second track, “Ways Of Making Music” continues with Hooky’s voice over  mixing classic breakbeats, sirens and a dancefloor shaking electro bass.

via fac51thehacienda.com

Deliciously vintage house from this Hooky spin off.

Posted via web from Mick's posterous

Freebass supergroup releases EP, Two Worlds Collide

In took some five years, but Freebass, the Mancunian bass supergroup comprising of three of music’s most notable strummers, Peter Hook (Joy Division), Gary “Mani” Mounfield (The Stone Roses/Primal Fear), and Andy Rourke (The Smiths), finally has a record to its name. In fact, this time next month, they’ll have two.
This week, Freebass released its debut EP, Two Worlds Collide. Coming some five years after its initial formation, the four-song effort hears the all-star bassists teamed up with the likes of The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess, The Mighty Wah’s Pete Wylie, and Howard Marks, all of three of who lent their vocals. The band had planned for even higher levels of supporting star power, such as Liam Gallagher and Billy Corgan, but scheduling conflicts prevented them from making an appearance. After all, they only had five years to make it work!

“We asked them but we’re all jobbing musicians so it’s impossible to fit it in,” explained Hook in an interview with the BBC. “I get asked, and Mani gets asked, to do a lot of sessions and stuff. Literally you have the best intentions of doing it. We had Liam at one point but you really just can’t fit it in.”
Two Worlds Collide serves as precursor to the band’s forthcoming full-length, which is due out next month. On that particular release, former Haven singer Gary Briggs will make his debut as the band’s full-time vocalist.
“We had a sort of indie Pop Idol,” Hook went on to explain. “It took us about a year and a half to find a singer and we came up with Gary Briggs.”
“In the mean time we’d asked a few friends of ours – Tim Burgess, Howard Marks, Pete Wylie – to help us out and we submitted some vocals. So we ended up with four guest vocalists and a proper vocalist… We thought we’d split it in two. So the EP with the guest vocalists is coming out first, and the LP will be coming out in four weeks with Gary.” Make sense?
Hook also jokingly called the band’s lightning fast gestation a “living hell.” “The problem with it was that when it started, we had a lot of time on our hands – Mani, Rourkey and I. And then as soon as we started it, our respective band leaders, in their wisdom, decided to work. So it’s had a lot of false starts.”
The EP can now be purchased from Hook’s Hacienda website. You can preview a few tracks here.
In support of the releases, Freebass has also announced its first two gigs: June 1st at 100 Club in London and June 3rd at FAC251 The Factory in Manchester.
TAGGED AS: Andy Rourke, Freebass, Mani Rourke, Peter Hook

• + Bookmark & Share

via consequenceofsound.net

You Don't Know This About Me is a great song with fantastic vocals by The Charlatans' Tim Burgess, Pete Wylie also sings wonderfully on The Milky Way Is Our Playground, Dark Starr with Howard Marks sounds like a great Velvet Underground track and Hooky sings the best song, Live Tomorrow You Go Down which recalls early electro New Order... don't miss this EP!

Posted via web from Mick's posterous

Exit Calm - Hearts And Minds

via youtube.com

Guitar pop sounds good again, after many, too many years... best British new band of the 00s, must conquer all in the 10s!
The official video for Exit Calm's Hearts And Minds, released on Club AC30 May 3rd, followed by self titled debut album May 17th.
www.myspace.com/exitcalm
www.exit-calm.com
www.progressfilm.co.uk

Posted via web from Mick's posterous

Gabrielles Wish - Pirate Of Mens Pants (sampler) (2 tracks)

Streaming clips from the new Gabrielles Wish single.
New single out March 8, available here:
https://gabrielleswish.bandcamp.com/album/pirates-of-mens-pants
More details here:
http://www.gabrielleswish.net/2010/03/pirates-of-mens-pants.html

Posted via web from Mick's posterous

Section 25 - Be Brave with Nifty Natalie, a tribute to Larry Cassidy

This video has been assembled by a fan with a great early Section 25 song and clips from the Pollock and Pollock show, apparently a surreal broadcast which happened in the second half of the 80s on some TV station in Winnipeg, Canada, which featured this Nifty Natalie trying to dance in a funny expressive way. I think it looks like a really cool match somehow and can be a nice tribute to Larry Cassisdy (1953 - 2010) from this blog.

Section 25 leader dies

Very bad news, their last two albums were honestly excellent.
Here's Cerysmatic Factory's obituary (pic taken from this live review) :

Larry Cassidy (1953-2010) 
We report with great sadness the death of Larry Cassidy, singer and bassist with cult Factory Records post-punk group Section 25. Larry was found at his home in Blackpool on Saturday 27 February, and though the cause of death has not yet been confirmed there appear to be no suspicious circumstances.

Born in Blackpool in April 1953, Lawrence John Cassidy decided against joining his father’s family business (Casdon Toys) and opted instead to study art in London, gaining a first class degree in 1977. Inspired by psychedelia and Krautrock, and by exposure to punk at the Roxy club, Larry decided to form a band back home, recruiting younger brother Vin on drums, and guitarist Paul Wiggin. The name Section 25 referred to a clause in the Mental Health Act allowing for involuntary detention. Thanks to early mentors Joy Division the group joined Factory Records in 1979, recording their first single (Fac 18) with Ian Curtis and Rob Gretton producing.

Their debut album Always Now (1981) was recorded with producer Martin Hannett, and came packaged in a costly and elaborate pochette sleeve designed by Peter Saville. "I did get a fascinating brief from Larry," explains Saville on one of his finest works, "I seem to remember he wanted something quite European, but psychedelic - and with some Oriental influences. After that, I was on my own!"

Saville also designed the cover of From the Hip, their third album from 1984. Co-produced by Bernard Sumner of New Order, From the Hip saw a successful transition from abrasive post-punk to smooth electronics, best heard on the proto-techno club single Looking From a Hilltop. By now Larry’s glamorous young wife Jenny had joined the band, Tony Wilson having failed to interest a pre-Smiths Johnny Marr from taking over on guitar following the departure of Wiggin.

Both Wilson and Gretton found Section 25 frustrating at times, not least their lack of orthodox management. Indeed Gretton joked that the band were unmanageable, and that their sole gimmick was that they had no gimmick. A charismatic curmudgeon, and slightly older than most other musicians on the label, Larry sometimes found it hard to balance the aesthetic satisfaction of being a Factory band with the scant financial rewards. ‘You have to stand there out in the desert, holding on to your own little truth, waiting for the boat to come in.’

Section 25 effectively split in 1986, Larry afterwards running a light industrial unit, and retraining as a schoolteacher. Plans to reform the group were upset by the tragic loss of Jenny Cassidy to cancer in November 2004, naturally also a devastating personal event for Larry, but three years later Section 25 released a new album, Part-Primitiv, followed by Nature + Degree in 2009. The Guardian also listed From the Hip as one of ‘1000 albums to hear before you die’. As appreciation of Section 25 and Factory continued to increase, the group again found themselves in demand as a live attraction, visiting Germany, Italy and the United States in 2009, and joined by Larry and Jenny’s daughter Beth Cassidy on vocals and keyboards. Larry played what proved to be his last show with Section 25 at the historic Plan K venue in Brussels on 12 December 2009, along with fellow Factory pioneers A Certain Ratio, Biting Tongues, The Names and The Wake. At the time of his death a remix album, Retrofit, was almost complete.

Larry leaves a partner, Lesley, and two children, Nathaniel and Bethany.

Peter Hook, the Joy Division/New Order bassist who joined Section 25 for several shared dates in 2008, said: "I am so deeply shocked to hear about Larry, and very upset."

Says Vin Cassidy: "My brother Larry wasn’t always the easiest person to be in a band with, but he was the best."

John Robb, writer, musician and fellow Blackpool native, writes in his blog: "Section 25 were leagues ahead of everyone else in Blackpool. They were organized and had invented their own sound – a deceptively doomy, powerful, stripped-down, bass driven, dissonant, postpunk that combined the nihilism of the times with Larry’s art school cool. Another great lost genius. Maybe Larry’s death will wake everyone up to how great his band was."

Sanremo 2010

L'anno scorso era stata l'edizione delle Nuove Proposte, da cui erano emerse voci così interessanti da impedirmi di notare subito Malika Ayane. Mea Culpa: Come Foglie meritava (soprattutto la voce), e infatti alla distanza è emersa, ed è anche maturata. Quest'anno porta Ricomincio Da Qui (tratto dall'album Grovigli, di cui vedete qui la copertina), un brano molto più sofisticato, meno immediato, ma più emozionante. I palati fini lo riconoscono, e per il premio della Critica, giustamente, non c'è storia.
Quest'anno la categoria si chiama Nuova Generazione, ed era impossibile che ci fosse un exploit come quello dell'anno scorso. Infatti il vincitore Tony Maiello andrà bene a chi apprezza i cantanti sentimentali napoletani, ma ben difficilmente ripeterà il successo di Sincerità di Arisa, che quest'anno è tornata con un brano un po' confuso: ritornello orecchiabile ma troppo veloce, e completamente staccato dalla strofa, un potenziale successo viene pasticciato e alla fine si può solo sorridere per le simpatiche coriste, le Sorelle Marinetti, un trio di travestiti... degna di nota l'esibizione con il jazzista Lino Patruno, che ha dato un po' più di coesione e significato alla canzone.


Dalla mediocrità degli appartenenti a questa categoria (con episodi davvero irritanti come quello dei teen idol Broken Heart College) possiamo salvare appena Romeus per quel pizzico di inventiva in più, La Fame Di Camilla, una band che almeno ci prova, a fare rock, e Nina Zilli che ha una canzone zeppa di stereotipi soul ma una voce molto valida che merita di essere riascoltata in una migliore occasione.
L'unica ad emergere davvero è una quindicenne, Jessica Brando, anche se forse pochi si accorgono di lei, se non per il fatto che la prima serata non può cantare perchè è troppo giovane per esibirsi dopo mezzanotte. Valeria Rossi, sì, quella del tormentone Sole-Cuore-Amore di quasi un decennio fa, le fa cantare Dove Non Ci Sono Ore, una canzone molto sofisticata (in particolare il ritornello è di una raffinatezza incredibile) e con un testo meraviglioso ma forse troppo complicato per lei, che però se la cava e la interpreta bene, anche grazie alla sua bellissima voce.
Come il vincitore della Nuova Generazione, anche il vincitore dei Big, Valerio Scanu, proviene da Amici. Anche il suo brano è del tutto insignificante, e mi pare che non abbia neppure una gran voce o qualità interpretative, ma evidentemente il personaggio televisivo è sufficiente a ribaltare, col televoto, l'eliminazione da parte della giuria demoscopica della prima serata. La sua vittoria è, incredibilmente, un sollievo, se si tiene conto che l'atroce trio Pupo, Emanuele Filiberto e Canonici è arrivato secondo (sempre ribaltando l'eliminazione della giuria, tra moti di sdegno e ribellione nel pubblico, in sala stampa e tra gli orchestrali).
Un altro personaggio televisivo arriva terzo, Marco Mengoni proviene da X Factor e non si capisce bene se può essere qualcosa di più di un alter ego più irritante di Giuliano Sangiorgi dei Negramaro... forse sì forse no, come canta lui stesso... dallo stesso talent show proviene Noemi che, come Karima l'anno scorso, dimostra che, sebbene raramente, da questi programmi inguardabili può anche emergere una voce interessante: Per Tutta La Vita ha strofa e ritornello che sono una cucitura di due canzoni già sentite, ma lei sembra un incrocio tra Nada e Loredana Bertè, perciò merita attenzione, e infatti al momento domina la classifica dei singoli di iTunes.
Toto Cutugno e Nino D'Angelo sono parodie di loro stessi, e meritano la conferma della loro eliminazione, i Sonohra sono più giovani ma sono ancora peggio, anche di chi ha portato sul palco una Nilla Pizzi novantunenne in evidente difficoltà, mancandole completamente di rispetto.
Povia sfrutta, come al solito, argomenti delicati e porta un brano su Eluana Englaro che un cardinale definisce "inno all'eutanasia". In realtà non si può far meno di ammettere che la melodia è piacevole e il testo emozionante ma rispettoso, alla fine nessuno ha niente da ridire...
Simone Cristicchi sembra Caparezza con la sua canzoncina divertente e polemica, Fabrizio Moro sembra un cantante reggae, due brani piacevoli, ma in quest'edizione di Sanremo tra alti e bassi c'è di meglio: Irene Grandi richiama Bianconi dei Baustelle che, dopo la mega hit Bruci La Città, le scrive un'altra canzone che funziona, La Cometa Di Halley, e poi c'è un Enrico Ruggeri sorprendente: di solito mi dice poco, ma La Notte Delle Fate è una canzone ambiziosa e molto emozionante.
Irene Fornaciari ha imparato un paio di trucchi dal padre (ovviamente Zucchero) e li utilizza con la sua splendida voce per un'interpretazione sbalorditiva di una bella canzone, accompagnata dai Nomadi.
Questo è Sanremo, un carrozzone di cui si vorrebbe fare a meno, ma ciò significherebbe rinunciare a quella manciata di belle canzoni che puntualmente emergono nel marasma trash, e che nell'esecuzione con l'orchestra sono sempre impreziosite rispetto alla versione in studio.
Per ogni Pupo che si porta dietro un Savoia per uno squallido inno populista c'è una Fornaciari che incanta, per ogni Scanu che vince immeritatamente c'è una Malika Ayane vincitrice morale.

Udachi, brightest talent in ages

We were getting used to music not being able to spark an exciting scene anymore.
With notable exceptions like Mew, rock music has become more and more derivative and predictable, but even dance music has been suffering from an abuse of samples and has sounded just safe in the recent years.
But now, from New York, comes a new scene kicking the ass of dance music and waking up music in general.
It just sounds as innovative as acid house, and as exciting as punk. It's dance music you can pogo at, it's just that powerful and fresh. They call it Fidget house, but it's being called many other names, like "dirty house", or "electro house". I prefer Fidget because it's just a new term which doesn't just mix two other terms.
At first it sounds like the DJs have been inspired by Mr Oizo and his 90s ad hit Flat Beat, you know, that video with Flat Eric, the yellow puppet in the office, but of course it's just more than that. Drawing from the fringes of rave, gabba, techno, hip hop, breakbeat, electro and dubstep, Fidget house looks forward and creates a new world of heavy bass, fast rhythm, sharp sounds and simple but not stupid tunes.
Apparently the first true hit came from Italian duo Crookers, when they remixed Kid Cudi's Day N Nite.
But the best label right now pushing the best Fidget is based in Brooklyn and it's called Party Like Us, which is owned by AC Slater, one of the best DJs of the scene.
But there's an artist really standing out, miles above everyone else. It's an Ukranian immigrant called Greg Pesochin, best known as Udachi.
Be it his own music, or remixes for other artists and bands (which are always far better than the original versions), he always makes innovative, powerful, funny, inventive and emotional stuff, the biggest genius to emerge in this century by far.
The best track to start with is his club hit Smoke Rings (released with Jubilee), which is the video I've embedded, because it's really accessible and exciting, since featuring dubstep elements and female vocals.
I've discovered this music thanks to Faulty Kru's DJ sets in my town and just noticed the best stuff they're playing is all made by Udachi.
There are other talents around the world, like the mighty Jokers Of The Scene from Canada or Rico Tubbs from Finland, but let's get back to Brooklyn and let's learn more about Udachi's story reading this interview.
He also has another project called Boltan, which does even heavier stuff, like Braindead.
Udachi has a profile on SoundCloud where you can download loads of free MP3 files, I especially recommend his remix for Body Part(y) by Paragraph or for the nu gaze hit We Own The Sky by M83 (there are just no barriers for a Fidget DJ), or his whole DJ set at the Infatuation in San Francisco.
Other great tracks you must hear are Paypur (again released with Jubilee and more purely Fidget than Smoke Rings) or his storming remix of Hype, joint effort by Dre Skull and JuiceBoxx.
After releasing on labels like Trouble And Bass (Jellyroll) and Nightshifters (Smoke Rings), Udachi has just released a single on Party Like Us, my favourite version of P-Funk Skank is the remix by French DJ Costello, who returns the favour to Udachi for his excellent remix of Bitchy Skills (don't click on the 123music.net link on the page, it's spam).
Some of Udachi's music is available on iTunes, but you find more tracks on the specialized Beatport.
Definitely a scene to rave about!