Evening all, today sees me back from the VSO Assessment day so am in a very buoyant mood which is well needed considering how much Ive had the shit kicked out of me at work over the last couple of weeks. Still, some of it was deserved and medicine has been taken and the road back to the top is a long one and it wont be easy but Im up for the challenge. As ever music has been the salvation and a couple of goes on my favourite guilty pleasure singalongathon album has really helped. As has the new music provided by you two gents which as ever has my undying thanks. So, to business:
Sully - well, electro has never been a big love of mine really. Some of it I think is really wicked but mostly it fails to register too much for me, so your selection really took me out of my comfort zone musically - never a bad thing though. First up was 'Al-Naafyish -Time' which to be honest didnt do much for me, BSEF I would say Im afraid... 'Computer Age' put me in mind of some stuff that came later in the nu-romantic stage surprisingly, but rarely does a vocoder do anything for me which rather spoilt this track for me 'Running' I would definitely say is a stage along, electro / nu-romantic crossover even but again doesnt register much - I wasnt really a nu-romantic fan either, sorry ! Boogie Down Bronx is much better for me though, great riff and despite a little vocodering (which is actually bareable), some nice rap action although surely that cover is just a random picture of someone because I cant square that away with the guy thats rapping... ?? 'Lesson 3' is very much a come and sample this invite, not sure how many I could pick out as a) having been taken from somewhere before and b) used since again. A definite step in the evolution of dance music and sampling which im sure was way ahead of its time but hasnt dated well I dont think. Sorry Kev, not much love there which isnt deliberate, I tried !
Hodgson - a piano line rarely fails to get my attention, so kicking off with 'Black Stone' was a winner, if slightly melancholy, nice first choice... 'man in the maze' is a fucking sinister piece of music isnt it ? Almost sounds like the score to a chilling horror film and doesnt do much for me Im afraid. 'Borderline' is real mood music I think, doesnt do much but does set a scene, not surprised Warren kicked off a mix with it, you could really build a musical landscape from here. Fuck, did I really just say that ? What a cunt. Then what for me is the stand out track of your 5 fella 'Waves' has some totally class piano action with a wicked build and when it kicks in at about a minute it really gets me going - this lad is bang handy on a piano. Love the second bring-back and even when it gets a bit floaty towards the end. Into my personal faves, no question. For 'fur die liebe' I totally understand what you mean by 'lovely and clean' which this certainly is. If DHS was a class of pupils this track would be the neat and tidy quiet kid who always did his homework on time and never caused the teacher any problems. Has a real deep vibe to it though, especially with the sparingly used vocal. Nice.
So to my selection, well:
Sleeping at Last 'Households' just love the simplicity of this track that was used in the 'kid president' you tube clip I sent you recently, which I love and must have watched a dozen times now 'NOT COOL ROBERT FROST !'
Rudimental 'Not Giving in' I love the voice this guy has, and the tempo of this record which builds up and then goes a bit excitable, the drops make it all worthwhile - and the sentiment resonates a lot with me.
Claptone - 'Cream' is the opener from our latest mix effort which you really should listen to Hodge, not least because one of Kevs tunes will drop your jaw, so it will. This track is extremely quirky and thats why I love it - original riff and a fat bassline give this some oomph.
Jamie Martin - 'Butterflies' also from LSD2 this too has a touch of the quirk about it, but is a much bigger record for me and the drop in the middle is enormous and worth the admission price alone, before it goes back to doing what it was doing without much fuss. Original.
Alicia Keys '101' a piano lick got me, and the lyrics are the best Ive heard since 'read all about it' (which are possibly unbeatable) and we all know about Keys' vocal delivery which gets its full range here. Also check the reprise which sounds just like Sigur Ros for the first 30 seconds !
Hope at least one thing here helps keep the darkness away...
One love
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