L.A. Salami – Jianni’s From Australia (She’ll Get By Fine) | Music Review

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Lookman Adekunle Salama aka L.A. Salami is a bright young new London singer. I’ll call him a singer-songwriter because others will but I think we can both agree that calling someone that doesn’t actually give any information away.

His new single ‘Jianni’s From Australia’ is, apparently, “a nod to Nigerian Apala music from the Youba tribe. It straddles the lines of indie and folk with a voice that is both enchanting and hypnotic. This single is two tracks of gorgeous pop-indie-folk magic that suggest he’s one to keep your eyes on. Go forth and listen!

 

‘Jianni’s From Australia’ is released on 11th June 

 

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The Great Park – Stitch | Music Review

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Let’s clear one thing up – The Great Park is a man not a band. He’s called Stephen Burch and he’s an Englishman living in the musical hotbed of Berlin, the place where David Bowie and Iggy Pop once shared a flat. There’s some great folk music coming out of Berlin right now courtesy of Woodland Recordings but none great than The Great Park.

Despite being British he doesn’t really play a huge amount in The UK. His 150-ish concerts in the last few years have mostly been in Continental Europe although he has been involved with the excellent Brighton-based label Bleeding heart recordings.

‘Stitch’ is a beast of a record at 31 songs long, spanning two discs. The 1st disc is of songs from his last few records and the 2nd is of live recordings from his various journeys. It’s good of Burch to take us on a physical journey through the live record as he takes us on an emotional one with him in his music. It’s an emotional journey that paints a vivid picture of a man with exposed, open wounds. Burch is clearly a man with the lyrically-introspective nature of Tom Williams. Perhaps also cut from the same anti-folk cloth too, although I’d imagine he’d want less of the anti.

The songs on the record are intimate, they’re at times melancholic and difficult to listen to but something about it draws you in so Burch can paint his bleak picture and on repeated listening he reveals new lyrical nuances, a bit like Forrest Gump does. Whoever coined the term “Problem Folk” for him deserves a medal – I can do no better myself. It’s not without hope though. My only hope is he continues to make records for a long time to come. Buy. This. Record. NOW!

 

‘Stitch’ is out now via Bandcamp

 

Links:

http://www.woodlandrecordings.com/

http://www.woodlandrecordings.com/thegreatpark.htm 

www.bleedingheartrecordings.com

http://thegreatpark.bandcamp.com/album/stitch

 

 

Science meets Art at the Enlightenment Cafe

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An exciting and unique new theatrical project will be taking place from 31st May – 4th June in the vaults of the Old Vic Tunnels.

Presented by LAStheatre, the Enlightenment Café combines the beauty of science with the power and imagination of immersive performance in a place of exploration, where people from all walks of life can debate, play and laugh the night away.  Only the tedious will be off limits as The Enlightenment Café aims to provoke imagination and intrigue; scientists will demonstrate their art and artists will demonstrate their science.  Scientists in residence include Tim McInerny, Stuart Clarke and Alex Bellos.   This is an interactive adventure where new theories can be mooted as to why things are, how they got there and what will happen next. The Enlightenment Café will delve into topics ranging from astronomy to paleontology, from My Little Pony to zombies and from art to invention.

Doors to the Old Vic Tunnels will open every night at 7pm, and the evenings will be split into three sections: firstly, a period of immersive theatre and free exploration; secondly, stage pieces and panel discussions; and, finally, live music and entertainment. Each night will have a different theme and aesthetic but will all inspire, breaking away from the idea that science and facts can only be learnt in a lecture theatre or laboratory.

Times and tickets for all events at the Enlightenment Cafe can be found at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3487295595. Tickets are priced at £15 with a booking fee of £1.55.  For more information about LAStheatre visit www.lastheatre.com.

Wildeflower – Good Girl | Music Review

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Surrey folksters Wildeflower‘s new single is another gem from the rather fine Stella Mortos record label. The single is released on 14th May and it is one of the best of 2012 so far. Splendid. The title track sounds like The Great Park having a roll around in the hay with Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, creating a folk sound with something more complicated and swirling over the top. It’s a joy to listen to. The b-side, ‘Amazing Discovery’, is more Beatles-esque. The perfect soundtrack to a summers day.

 

‘Good Girl’ is released on 14th May by Stella Mortos

 

 

She Makes War – Little Battles | Music Review

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It’s all about War these days. Good Old War, The War on Drugs, She Makes War. Terribly aggressive this life, ain’t it? Except it’s not really. Not when you listen to Laura Kidd’s She Make War, previously a Friday Five tip. No – she’s had her heart trampled on it but manages to sound lovely about it all. As someone who shouts at inanimate objects on a regular basis I can’t begin to empathise with her relative calmness.

There are two things to know about Ms Kidd – she’s incredibly beautiful and makes incredibly beautiful music. Ah yes and she does things all by herself. DIY. Oh go on then, she’s played bass for Tricky, A-ha and former Fame Academy winner Alex Parks. But don’t let that put you off though.

‘Little Battles’ is unmistakably a record documenting the end of a relationship that one wished hadn’t actually ended. Sadly it’s the war of art that means such great stuff is produced in these periods. There’s an edge of unpredictability in SMR’s sound – you never really know where the song’s going to lead. I’m not certain Kidd does either, mostly building around a guitar and taking us wherever the emotion blows us. Not in a whimsical way though.

The closest we get to a title track is ‘Exit Strategy’, which is the stand-out track on the album built around a rock beat, with haunting vocals and a ramblingly beautiful melody stitched over the top.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkyPXSwHYB0&w=560&h=315]

Mostly on this record we get down-beat confessional tales of woes though. ‘Butterflies’ is built around a ukulele with Kidd singing ‘butterflies, leave me with your lovely lies” and being built around a cheery ukulele should be a bright and breezy sunshine pop number but is as black as midnight on a moonless night given its lyrical content. It’s not all Kidd though, she’s joined by recent touring partner Chris TT on piano for goth-pop number ‘In This Boat’.

A couple of the songs on this record fail to deliver on the drama they are building towards but in all it’s a splendid album, striking a balance between polished pop songstress and a murky goth-rock sound. On ‘Delete’ Kidd goes all a capella on us adding a bit of beatbox in there then dives straight into ‘May Our Daughters Return Home’, a song about female abduction and murder in Mexcio.

All told, this album is splendid. A masterpiece given the background. With no label support, it was made entirely using Pledgemusic. It’s a record where the artistic statement are equally as admirable and given that it’s a break up record it doesn’t stray into petty cliches – it’s an emotionally mature record made by a very accomplished musician. It’s a fine alt-rock record and one that gives us hope. Hope that She Makes War will continue to make music for a long time to come.

Little Battles is out now via Bandcamp for the wonderful price of £3.

 

Links:
http://shemakeswar.com/
http://www.twitter.com/warriorgrrl
http://www.facebook.com/shemakeswar

 

 

Kristmann Op – Hátt fjall | Music Review

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I’d love to be able to tell you a lot about Kristmann Op but I don’t know a lot other than that he/she/they are from Iceland. Having spent a week in Reykjavík last year I can confirm it to be the hippest place on earth and Kristmann Op sound like he/she/they would fit in just fine.

 

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Their single ‘Hátt fjall’ has earned them a lot of attention and on listening to it, it isn’t hard to tell why – it’s a well crafted piece of electonica. The video features a chap dressed up like an alien and looks like he could be a Matt Lucas-character. What’s not to love?

Alto45 – The Spectrum Sings | Music Review

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Norwich indie boys Alto45 are a band after my own heart. They describe their sound as “trying to make music that bridges the gap between the unassuming beauty of Daniel Johnston and Darren Hayman and the electronic madness of Add N to (X) and Hardfloor“. It’s no wonder they were so feted by the late, great John Peel.

There’s a great home-made feel to this record; not in a crap way but in a way that makes you think of a band bubbling away in their lair, dressed in their trademark lab coats, creating the sounds that they want to create and releasing the sounds they want to release. This is how John Peel (the god of music) intended for it to be created. A wholly democratic process not lead by or reliant upon record labels, radio stations or national, mainstream press.

Alto45 create an electro-lead indie sound but not one reliant or built using laptops and modern technology, no not Alto45. In fairness you worry that such technology hasn’t reached Norfolk yet and it’s done in the belief that this is cutting edge stuff rather than a nostalgia for days when hair was bigger, Liverpool were good at football and the internet didn’t exist.

‘The Spectrum Sings’ was produced by Owen Turner of Magoo, a band who once tried to reshape my head following a review I wrote that wasn’t entirely complimentary. Don’t worry though, I’ve forgotten all about it.

The album jolts to life with ‘The Robot Heart’ which is a nice slice of indie pop, centred around a driving bassline, with James Boyce’s awkward Hefner-esque vocals over the top. It’s a joy. The rest of the record follows a similar pattern of bass, vocals, guitars and synths and creates quite an enjoyable sound. That’s it though, it’s just quite enjoyable. With Darren Hayman’s voice you ignore it because he holds you in with his unlucky-in-love schtick, Boyce doesn’t quite manage that and so after 11 or so songs it starts to grate.

Ultimately the record’s lack of variation leads to a rather unmemorable album. Immediately after hearing it I can barely remember hum a tune. Maybe you like that, I guess it’s better than the mug at work who hums something awful only for it to stick in your head for the next 72 hours. Buy this record, just don’t expect to remember it!

‘The Spectrum Sings’ is out now

 

Something Personal release free single as download | Music News

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Today’s Friday Five tip Something Personal have released a free 3 song EP to download via their website. Click here to have a listen and download the songs. The Welsh band take their inspiration from the likes of Ac/Dc, Nirvana, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and have been described by John Robb as “Oasis’ish with a psych edge!”

Catch the band on tour throughout the summer.

 

Photo by Marc Griggs