I've waxed lyrical about Lykke Li many times on here and struggle to believe that it's now been 4 years since her brilliant Swedish pop made it's way into my life.
When that wondrous Little Bit EP first appeared in late 2007, it was clear that this was a young and talented songstress, brimming with emotion and subverting it to leave her music with a slightly suppressed mood to it. Though her music was bold, her performances were controlled and she rarely let loose, on record at least.
2011's Wounded Rhymes finally sees the beast extracted with grandiose compositions, multi-layered vocals and more incredible pop hooks brought into the forefront of her songs. This is most evident in lead single Get Some, first premièred way back in October. It's tribal, aggressive rhythms wrestle with Lykke Li's finally upfront vocals, stating
"Like the shotgun need an outcome,
I'm your prostitute, you gon get some"
You know that sexuality that seems to be bubbling under in her early work that I'm always enticed by? It seems she's ready to bring that to the fore now.
The album is brilliant, as expected. Though there aren't as many clear "singles" as the first album had, it is just as complete an effort and with it's bolder and more expansive sound, it feels like Lykke Li has lost her shackles and is truly making the music she wants to make. Those quiet moments from the first also wouldn't feel out of place on this album at all which is important to the continuing growth of her as both a pop star and a more critically acclaimed artist, when newcomers choose to visit her older body of work.
My DJ appearances are increasing at the moment and with another confirmed over the weekend, it's nice to be out and about playing tunes that I love.
My next gig in March is a bass night and the guy booking the night asked me to put together a mix for him with some of my favourite bass lines, but luckily avoiding dubstep. As much as I love dubstep, I cannot DJ it to save my life and though my sets are become more vibey I still play music I'm confident with and confident my audience will enjoy.
As the gig is now booked, I thought I'd share the mix with you to get you going on a Monday. It's a mixture of some older stuff and stuff I've never tried to play before but I think it works pretty well.
It's Friday, I have the day off and, oh yeah, THE NEW RADIOHEAD ALBUM IS OUT A DAY EARLY.
After a terrible week, the world is turning my way again. BOOM.
If you've preordered it, it's available now. It's amazing, in case you wondered.
As anyone that's ever seen Radiohead or Thom Yorke live can attest to, the man has some moves and reinforces my belief that you should dance how the music makes you feel, whether people think you look cool or not. If you're having fun without worrying what others think, you're having more fun than those judging you.
I've been listening to lots of new music recently which has led to me writing nothing here. This of course is completely against the point of having a place to tell people your opinions on music but this music has been so good, I wanted to listen to it a hundred times and squeeze every bit of joy out of these records before I attempted to tell you about them.
I've good news to report though, much like a teenage boy, you can squeeze and squeeze but the goodness just keeps flowing (too much?).
Ninja Tune released their beautifully packaged retrospective Ninja Tune XX: A History of Beats and Pieces last year to great aplomb, packed full of fantastic reworkings, exclusive remixes and brand spanking new music from one of the greatly innovative labels.
One of the records that stood out immediately from listening through was Double Edge by Emika. Drawing her influences from the evolving Bristol music scene as well as her training as a classical pianist and composer, Emika talks intelligently about the creation of music and how people connect with it's various instruments.
“I am focused on the world of sound and the power of the human voice, the instant connections it makes with listeners, in music. In general I feel there is a lack of vocabulary in the field of electronic music.” Emika, Ninja Tune profile
Emika went on to live in Germany and it was while she was there that she connected with the legendary Techno club Berghain which has played host to some of the worlds best DJ's. The club is housed in a former power plant and it was while attending nights at Berghain that she noticed the entire building resonating with frequencies. As her interest shifted into how the sounds of the building influenced the songs being played, she was led to investigate the sounds a building would make without the influence of a large sound system impressing sound upon it. After sampling sounds such as strobe lights and drinks cooling systems, she made her field recordings available to Ostugut Ton artists to create music for their 5th birthdau compilation, entitled Fűnf.
Double edge is a breathy piece of electronic music, it's dub bass line and beats could easily be taken as menacing but her softly spoken vocals emerge from the smoke to offer a glimmer of hope, a ghostly apparition that could easily be friend or foe. To use the term glitchy on her vocals is not quite accurate, they stutter instead perhaps and, combined with the beats, highlight her industrial influences from her surroundings to create a piece of 'dubstep' that has very little 'step' to it. As with so much contemproary electronic music, she is perhaps highlighting the benefits that space can offer in a recording, as Scuba has done before here and James Blake since and this space is filled with a cautious ponder, an unnerving openness.
Check out her first single Drop The Other or the darker Double Edge and revel in her treacly music slowly smothering your ears and mind.
A day to celebrate love, so when better for Radiohead to announce their new album, available for download from THIS SATURDAY. I've shelled out for what the band claim to be the world's first Newspaper album but a digital version is also available.
Blah blah more Burial. What's left in my arsenal to say about this guy? Apart from everything, after years of trying, I'm still yet to convey how his music makes me feel.
After another slightly hedonistic weekend, it's Monday again and though my good mood is still there, it's facing an uphill struggle against fatigue, still feeling slightly drunk and general messiness. It was lovely to meet up with old friends again, Bright Club was fantastic and a Sunday consisting of Jurassic Park, Fifa and Little Big Planet is always an achievement.
The feeling of exhaustion has always personally been coupled with Burial, the floating and spacious nature of his music accurately reflecting the feeling of barely being present in either my body or the situation that body is in. I also find that emptiness strangely comforting, when you barely the only thing to rescue you from your fragile state is sleep, Burial's unobtrusive construction's are just perfect.
Here's Fostercare from the marvellous 2009 compilation 5 Years of Hyperdub.
One of the truly seminal bands from a the generation when I started to care about music in general. I could post videos of my favourite songs or brilliant performances but you know what they are and if you've ever heard The White Stripes, you'll undoubtedly have your own favourite too.
It's almost as traditional to celebrate the end of January as it is to celebrate the end of December. Traditionally a month for detoxing, fresh starts and trying to break old habits, it is of no surprise that the month turns into a long arduous experience only compounded by the grey and cold weather.
I've managed to keep the intentions I made so far, not typical resolutions perhaps but personal aims to do things and be places have so far proved easier than imagined. Things are basically good. After a month that feels like it lasts 6, we're now into February, a month that barely lasts 4 weeks. It's one of my more favourite months with the promise of Spring in the air and this February is chocablock with amazing things including Warpaint, She Keeps Bees and my first ever experience of worriedaboutsatan. To say I'm excited would be an understatement. There's also Bright Club, lots of meetings with old friends and again, new ventures to be cemented.
Anyway, that's enough about me. For now at least.
I'm going to try and steer motivators away from dance music and play you some brash late 60's funk instead. This song will always remind me of being very young when I first showed an interest in music and though soul and funk wouldn't connect with me at the time, this song is so full of effervescence and soul that it's impossible not to be caught up in its swagger, both then and now.
