Tuesday 24th January 2012
The first New Noise podcast of 2012 gathers up some of the songs I’ve been listening to relentlessly over the past month or so (the tracks from the Bathetic Records Expressway compilation, Sinkane, Hospitality, Altarboy, Amateur Best, Coolrunnings and Way Yes) alongside a few of the best things I’ve discovered within the past week (Constant Mongrel, Schoolboy Q, Cross Record).
Originally I’d decided to give over 100% of the podcast to flagging up the songs I’d been enjoying over Christmas and January – principally all the new stuff I’d played on the 6music shows (the main reason for the absence of a new New Noise) – but while putting it together last Friday I couldn’t help feeling that it needed a few fresh bits too.
So once you’ve had a listen, scroll on down the page and you’ll find another list of all the other songs I played on the radio but didn’t have space to include on the podcast, complete with links.
Thanks for listening. See you next week.
Honestly.
Click here to download this New Noise podcast directly (right click save as), subscribe free via iTunes here or alternatively, subscribe directly to the podcast RSS feed here.
New Noise: 24th January 2012
(intro). William Cody Watson ‘Hand on My Knee’ (Bathetic Records) from free ‘Expressway’ compilation [download here]
1. Constant Mongrel ‘Reflex’ (80/81 / RIP Society) from album ‘Everything Goes Wrong’ due April
2. Sinkane ‘Jeeper Creeper’ (-) from forthcoming album ‘Mars’ [free download here]
3. Altarboy ‘Crap ft LL Caspi’ (Wonder Wet) 12” single out now [via Keytars & Violins]
4. Hospitality ‘Eighth Avenue’ (Merge) from album ‘Hospitality’ out 31st January [download track from Fluxblog]
5. Tonstartssbandht ‘Dad Beating Up Dudes Downtown (Orlando, 1992)’ (Bathetic Records) from free ‘Expressway’ compilation [download here]
6. Amateur Best ‘Be Happy’ (Double Denim) aa-side single out now
7. ScHoolBoy Q ‘There He Go’ (Top Dawg) from album ‘Habits & Contradictions’ out now
8. Coolrunnings ‘Spirit of the High’ (LebensStrasse Records) from album out 13th Feb
9. Cross Record ‘In A Volcano’ (Bandcamp) from album ‘Ring Bell’ out now [via Bandcamp]
10. Way Yes ‘Important’ (Lefse) from ‘Walkability’ EP out 27th March [download track via Stereogum]
Had I been making podcasts instead of being on the radio, these would have all been included. I played each of them on BBC 6Music at some time during the three weeks I was on.
The Weather Station ‘Everything I Saw’ (You’ve Changed Records) from album ‘All Of It Was Mine’ [via Bandcamp]
Japanese War Effort ‘Our Land Could Be Your Life’ (Gerry Loves) from split tape w/Field Mouse [via Bandcamp]
Frankie Rose ‘Know Me / Night Swim’ (Slumberland/Memphis Industries) from album ‘Interstellar’ out 21st Feb [via Pitchfork]
Pushing Hands ‘He’s Still Here’ [via Don’t Die Wondering]
John Talabot ‘So Will Be Now (ft Pional)’ (Permanent Vacation) from album ‘fIN’ out 6th Feb [via Stereogum]
Disclosure ‘Tenderly/Flow’ (Make Mine) forthcoming single [via Soundcloud]
NZCA/Lines ‘Okinawa Channels’ (LOAF) single out now, from album ‘Nasca Lines’ out 27th Feb [site]
Diarrhea Planet ‘Raft Nasty’ (Infinity Cat) from album ‘Loose Jewels’ out now [via Deckfight]
Alt-J ‘Fitzpleasure’ (Infectious) single out 27th Feb, from album due May [Soundcloud]
Jack Steadman ‘Tsim Sha Tsui’ [via Soundcloud]
120 Days ‘Dahle Disco’ (Splendour) from album ‘II’ out 5th March [Soundcloud]
Bleached ‘Electric Chair’ (Suicide Squeeze) single out now [via Pitchfork]
Georgia Ann Muldrow ‘Seeds’ (prod. by Madlib) (Somothaship) from album due March [via Passion of the Weiss]
Trailer Trash Tracys ‘Los Angered’ (Double Six/Domino) from album ‘Ester’ out now [Domino]
The Wave Pictures ‘Stay This Way a Little While’ (Moshi Moshi) b-side of single ‘Eskimo Kiss’ out now [site]
Battant ‘Feverish (Ise8 Pre Demo) (self-released) from ‘A Few Things From Ivan Smagghe’ album [via Keytars & Violins]
Norse Horse ‘Sun Corridor’ (Polyvinyl) from ‘Grids’ EP out now [Soundcloud]
Herzog ‘Fuck This Year/You Clean Up Nice’ (Exit Stencil) from album ‘Cartoon Violence’ out now [via I Rock Cleveland]
Fránçois & The Atlas Mountains ‘City Kiss’ (Domino) from album ‘E Volo Love’ out now [Domino]
[image: Reuters]
ATP Nightmare Before Christmas. 9/10/11 December 2011
A new New Noise podcast will be posted by the end of this week. I’ve not had a chance to make a new one for a month or so, largely due to a three week stint covering Chris Hawkins on BBC 6 Music, but now -free of 3am alarms and a withered, sleep-deprived mind - typically unreliable regularity should resume.
In the meantime, below is a review I wrote for Clash Magazine (the edited version of which appeared in the January Issue of the magazine, here) of ATP’s Nightmare Before Christmas.
I’m all too aware that the piece reads like a giddy stream of unwieldy, cack-handed euphoria tapped out at 5am on the day after magazine deadline day, but that’s because it is a stream of unwieldy, cack-handed euphoria tapped out at 5am on the day after magazine deadline day.
It was also the same day I’d returned home from the three day sonic pummelling, and I’d appreciate it if you could bear my frazzled state of disrepair in mind while reading.
ATP: Nightmare Before Christmas, December 2011, curated by Les Savy Fav, Battles & Caribou
Having cursed and spluttered up the A39 for an impatient hour inches from a bumbling silver Punto, we arrive in Minehead for ATPs Nightmare Before Christmas somewhat later than planned. So late in fact that we’ve not only missed today’s curators Les Savy Fav play their opening set, but also Marnie Stern too. My cohort for the weekend graciously hides his seething rage. We even remain buoyant when presented with our chalet: a dim showerless box reminiscent of an American motel room of the type frequented exclusively by serial killers and adulterers in 1970s road movies.
Minutes later we finally set foot on the carpet of the vast Centre Stage, nostrils tingling with the familiar whiff of the hot dog stand (a vinegary stink that somehow grows stronger with each re-entry across the weekend). Surfer Blood are already on stage, doing their best to warm a fairly placid crowd. Something’s not quite clicking, save for the odd whoop for the likes of Swim or a cover of Pavement’s Box Elder, and it’s difficult to ignore that fact that we can literally feel another, altogether more enticing performance rumbling away beneath our feet. Indeed directly below in Reds all eight bearded members of The Budos Band are brewing a horn-heavy storm of afro-funk, soul and thick bass, which is extremely well received by the ever-swelling Friday night crowd.
Back upstairs, Wild Flag deliver on every conceivable level. Whether strutting, screaming or high kicking, Carrie Brownstein’s presence is the stuff of rock legend, perfectly offset by Mary Timony’s understated contribution. I’m not entirely sure how, but the grinning foursome seem to thrive on a kind of powerful, tight-knit gang mentality that, rather than coming across as exclusive, sweeps everyone in the room along for the ride.
Next up in Reds we witness Baltimore’s OXES deliver a handful of ‘respectful mosh-pitters’, a wilfully ironic cover of Wild Thing and a ‘new one’ that falls apart in amusing fashion when even the band themselves are unable to master its obtuse time signature. No Age follow and, with faithful ferocity, suck yours truly into an intensely satisfying mosh pit, the joy of which is only partly tarnished when a fresh faced young chap informs me that my exhausted, sweating face makes him feel old. I’m not quite sure how to take it. Randall and Spunt also throw open an invite to the crowd for vocal assistance on a cover of Black Flag’s Wasted, and it has to be said a Scot by the name of Mikey delivers a punishingly brilliant rendition. ‘I need to change my shirt’ he complained when I drunkenly accosted him later on. ‘People keep recognising me and coming over to chat’. Fame, eh?
Other highlights of the day: Hot Snakes blasting through a brilliantly paced, frenetic set, and an indescribably spectacular, emotional and ecstatic show to close the night from Les Savy Fav.
Day 2 starts with a swim (followed by a shower soundtracked by Death Grips’ Klink. Where else but ATP?) and a tempting teaser of an early opening set from the day’s curators: Battles. Acknowledging the early stage time - “We’re no Shellac, it’s an early set for you and us” -, and their hangovers - “I literally fucking puked just before we hit the stage” - the band are gone after an hour, leaving plenty to spare for their closing leg.
Walls and Washed Out follow and are decent enough but it quickly becomes apparent that, from here on in, this ATP is to be defined by rhythm. It’s unsurprising of course, John Stanier of Battles – perhaps one of the most celebrated percussionists alive - having a hand in saying who plays today, but it’s fair to say that over the course of the next 48 hours I would experience what might be described as the perfect coalescence of decks, drums and rock ‘n roll.
The Field is the first act to truly blow my mind at this year’s event. Axel Willner’s sumptuous, throbbing techno is given a new level of dynamism with a live rhythm section and, stood inches from the speaker on one side, the likes of Looping State of Mind and Burned Out prompt those around me to uncontrollably bob, bounce or dance wildly. To be honest, though, I spend most of the set with my eyes closed, completely and utterly lost in the unfolding swathes of glorious sound.
Out in Crazy Horse Baltimore’s art-rock four piece Thank You deliver their unique blend of propulsive rhythm and rock during what is revealed to be their last ever show, an emotional affair that ends with a great version of Continental Divide, from this year’s excellent Golden Worry LP. That’s before the biggest rock star of the weekend takes to Centre Stage.
Throughout his set (which ends with a delirious press-fleshing session in the photographers gangway) Flying Lotus wrestles with the engineers over volume. No matter how many times he’s told to shave a notch off the peaking lights, his bombastic, crushing basslines soon creep back up to literally crack the limits of the sound system. Without visuals or effects and the simplest of stage set-ups, FlyLo serves up a supremely confident, brilliantly controlled yet relentless and infectious assault on the senses of the crowd. It’s truly unforgettable stuff.
Closing the night, Battles deliver an absorbing, tightly controlled, far more disciplined set than earlier in the day. Highlights include killer renditions of Leyendecker and Ice Cream, plus extended, warped versions of old favourites such as Atlas, now brilliantly reworked with a childrens’ choir singing the refrain at its core.
Spirits sapped, senses overloaded, the prospect of further musical onslaught is slightly daunting by the time Sunday morning rolls around. Today is Caribou day, though, and perhaps Dan Snaith made a conscious effort to ease our frazzled minds by piping looped birdsong into the neon-lit central arena. Indeed it works, until the heavens open onto the circus tent roof creating a slightly surreal atmosphere, the rain sounding like a kind of aggressive, static interference. After lunch, having braced the frankfurter fug of Centre Stage once more, a paired-back incarnation of the Caribou Ensemble does a good job of rekindling spirit, a particularly striking version of Leave House being a stand out. Like Battles the previous day, heavy hitters like Odessa and Sun are notable by their absence, with the best presents remaining wrapped under the tree for later.
A few hours on and the epic, analogue compositions of Swedish duo Roll The Dice serve up a pleasing, if faintly sinister barrage of filmic crescendos. It’s an absorbing set that sits nicely in the scheme of the day, especially considering what’s to come, namely the only man of the weekend to arrive with his own hype man. I’d already seen Omar Souleyman deliver one of the highlights of Field Day in London in August but yet it remains a surprise to witness the surreal, almost shamanistic effect the Syrian has on his crowd. And it really is his crowd. Unlike at Field Day, this time around composer and synth virtuoso Rizan Sa’id employs a more hands on approach, reproducing a greater portion of the machine-gun percussion and Arabic synth solos live, lending the show a slightly more unpredictable edge. That said, perfectly planned and executed gear changes in the pace of the set heightened the impact perfectly, not that Omar himself even appeared to break a sweat while roaming around, clapping and beckoning the rapt audience.
Inevitably, as with any festival, there will always be clashes and so it is that we attempt to divide the next 90 minutes as effectively as possible between Four Tet on Centre Stage and Factory Floor in the basement of Reds below. It’s interesting to see Keiran Hebden perform in a stripped down fashion not dissimilar to Flying Lotus the night before and thus difficult not to compare the two, however different the musical style. An early jazz house tune goes down especially well before a brilliant take on Love Cry, the last thing we see before disappearing downstairs.
In Reds, the atmosphere is a little more intense. The relentlessness of a Factory Floor gig is well documented but tonight the band seemed determined to advance their assault to even higher ground. A blistering version of recent single Two Different Ways goes down especially well with the audience, now determined to squeeze every last drop out of their weekend. At one point - as the incongruous mesh of bowed guitar and hypnotic loops grew ever more apocalyptic - I was driven to tap out a note in my phone, reading ‘psychedelic techno tractor’. I don’t know what it means.
Finally, with fried brains, aching limbs and numbed nostrils, we return to Centre Stage for the expanded 11-piece Caribou Vibration Ensemble. The collective are now replete with mad scientist (James Holden hopping around a modular synthesiser hooked up to one of the drumkits), a skronking, honking four man horn section including legendary Sun Ra octogenarian Marshall Allen (playing at one point what looks like a sci-fi duck whistle), Keiran Hebden back to contribute electronics, and two drummers, facing each other at the centre of the throng. There are far too many highlights to mention, but it feels perfectly apt that the final set of this ATP features a complex network of percussive experts weaving each of their unique beats, rhythms, synths, programs, samples and sounds together as one, and that this mindblowing Nightmare Before Christmas should end with a glowing, blinding burst of Sun.
Friday 9th December 2011
This is a turbo podcast. I started compiling it at 8am this morning and managed to get it recorded, edited and uploaded etc within 3 hours: a new personal best. I’m most likely now listening to these songs (loudly) on repeat while bombing down the M4 to Minehead for ATP’s Nightmare Before Christmas.
Obviously, then, you’ll find included a few of the many, many things I’m excited to see at Butlins over the weekend (namely Hot Snakes, Caribou, Roll The Dice and Thank You), along with other new stuff, such as the glorious return of AU, a short sharp/daft shock from new Sub Pop project Full Toilet, disturbingly special audio chocolate from Zack Christ, Hookworms (swiped from an excellent new free Gringo Records sampler), and the very welcome arrival of fresh Royalty.
There’s also something brand new from New Noise favourites Breathe Out – a new aa-side made in aid of Shelter. Spend spare pence in the name of charity if you can.
Click here to download this New Noise podcast directly (right click save as), subscribe free via iTunes here or alternatively, subscribe directly to the podcast RSS feed here.
New Noise: 9th December 2011
1. AU ‘Solid Gold’ (Leaf) single out 9th Jan, from album ‘Both Lights’ out in March
2. Hot Snakes ‘Automatic Midnight (John Peel session version, tx November 18, 1994)’ (Swami) from ‘Peel Sessions’ 7” (2005)
3. Zack Christ ‘Steadybeat Holidays (Old Beat)’ [via Soundcloud]
4. Thank You ‘1-2-3 Bad’ (Thrill Jockey) from album ‘Golden Worry’ out now
5. Royalty ‘Cookie Dough’ (Five Easy Pieces) from ‘Purple Nights’ EP out now
6. Hookworms ‘Teen Dreams’ (Gringo Records/Faux Discx) from ltd. ‘Hookworms’ 12” EP out now, also from free Gringo Records sampler
7. Breathe Out ‘White Chalk Cross’ (via Bandcamp) part of aa-side download single out now, all proceeds to Shelter
8. Junior Boys ‘You’ll Improve Me (Caribou Remix)’ (Domino) from 12” single out now
9. Full Toilet ‘Keys, Wallet, Phone, Gun’ (Sub Pop) from album ‘Full Toilet’ out now
10. Roll The Dice ‘See You Monday’ (Leaf) from album ‘In Dust’ out now
Image: PA
