Twin Shadow - Forget

This is a wonderful song off an excellent album of contemporary new wave (at times sounds like Morrissey fronting New Order), released by Twin Shadow on 4AD. On 7digital you can preview each track and purchase it, 320 Kbps DRM-free MP3, for €9.99
http://it.7digital.com/artists/twin-shadow/forget/

Former Japan bassist Mick Karn dies aged 52

One of the artists I admired who made me proud to be called Mick

Mick Karn, the former bass player of pop band Japan, has died at the age of 52 after suffering from cancer.
A statement on Karn's website said the musician "passed away peacefully" on Tuesday at his London home in Chelsea, "surrounded by his family and friends".
Japan came to prominence in the early 1980s with hit albums that included Tin Drum and Gentlemen Take Polaroids.
John Taylor of Duran Duran said he was "one of the great visual and sound stylists of the late-70s/early-80s."

An appeal was launched last year when news of Karn's illness was announced.
Porcupine Tree - a band featuring former Japan keyboardist Richard Barbieri - were among those who donated profits from auctions and album sales.
Punk alternative
Born Adonis Michaelides in Cyprus in 1958, Karn emigrated to London when he was three years old.
His official biography tells how he bought his first bass guitar for £5 after a bassoon he played in an orchestra was stolen.
He formed Japan in 1974 with David Sylvian and the latter's younger brother Steve Jansen, performing for the first time when Karn was 15.

The band's albums include Quiet Life and Adolescent Sex

Having been joined by Richard Barbieri, another school friend, Japan landed their first record contract in 1977.
With their dyed hair and make-up, Japan offered a "glam" alternative to punk and later became associated with the New Romantic movement.
After Japan split in 1982, Karn continued to work on solo projects and recorded with Kate Bush, Gary Numan, Midge Ure and Joan Armatrading.
Karn briefly reunited with other members of Japan in 1991 for the one-off project Rain Tree Crow.
Tributes have been left on Karn's website, with one fan saluting his dexterity with the bass.
"No one will ever touch him on the fretless," wrote 'ngriff' on Wednesday. "He shaped the way that instrument is played like no other."
BBC presenter Jeremy Vine has also remembered the musician's "sensual and stylish" playing.

via bbc.co.uk

Some great videos featuring this genius:

JAPAN - Gentlemen Take Polaroids

 Dalis Car - Create and Melt

 David Sylvian & Mick Karn - "When Love Walks In"

Rain Tree Crow - Blackwater

Posted via email from AllMix

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...