THE BEST MUSIC: NEW & OLD
Iconic French electro duo Justice have released their first album since 2021. Tame Impala (twice), Thundercat and Connan Mockasin all pop up on vocals. All in all it’s a nice release but I can’t shake the analysis from this tweet…
French electro doesn’t need polish.
Bonus tracks: my two Justice faves: one classic, one newer.
Post #365, would you believe it?! And we have a whole new visual identity to celebrate the milestone. You could now read a new post every day for a year* – what a year it would be.
Journey is Bondax’s second full length album, and it’s a real treat just in time for the summer. Feel good electronic music to soundtrack escapades in the sun. The album sits somewhere in between Flight Facilities’ blissed out electronica, and Disclosure’s high energy dance music – and for me, that’s a very nice place to be.
They have a great set of vocalists on the release, including one of my all-time favourites in Andreya Triana, also Tara McDonald and SHELLS; you can read my post on Fade (feat. SHELLS) here.
* Yes I know we are in a leap year
Trust me when I say I have something very different for you today: Drawn Onward is a palindromic audio documentary about the migrant experience. It plays the exact same forwards as it does backwards. The producers were inspired by the yearning of migrants to return to the lands they and their people have left behind. If they got it wrong this could have felt gimmicky, but the result is magical, unnerving and powerful. The reversed speech almost sounds like a foreign tongue which is then translated. All in all it is an amazing piece of sound design.
https://radiolab.org/podcast/short-cuts-drawn-onward
Credit to two of my favourite non-music podcasts, RadioLab, and BBC’s Short Cuts, presented by Josie Long.
Image credits: Jared Bartman
We are delighted to announce the successful acquisition of Harry’s Musical Emporium by new investors!
A New Chapter for Music Tech Innovation
This acquisition marks a significant milestone for Harry’s Musical Emporium, allowing us to accelerate our growth and solidify our position as a leader in the music technology industry. The combined expertise and resources of the new investors will fuel our mission to meet our growth goals.
Building on a Strong Foundation
We are incredibly grateful to our previous investors for their unwavering support in helping us reach this point. Their belief in our vision has been instrumental in our success.
A Shared Vision for the Future
We are excited to embark on this new chapter with our new investors. Their commitment to innovation and their passion for the music industry perfectly aligns with our own values. Together, we will continue to develop cutting-edge music tech solutions that empower and inspire creators around the world.
Looking Ahead
With this acquisition, we are well-positioned to meet our growth goals. We are confident that the best is yet to come for Harry’s Musical Emporium, and we look forward to sharing our continued journey with you.
This is a really special album. My Noise is Nothing is the second collaboration between poet and spoken word performer Ellen Renton, and producer Lord of the Isles. You can read my thoughts on their first release Whities 029 from 2020 here.
For this release they have re-located their unique alchemy. Lord of the Isles creates a set of beguiling, luscious soundscapes – over these Ellen Renton delivers her thought-provoking, evocative, yearnful verse. The music and her voice intertwine with a harmonic give-and-take that is hard to describe. The result is the kind of album you can play again and again.
If you are lucky, you may be able to grab a ticket to see them perform live. They touch down in London at Kings Place on 21st March.
There aren’t many more consistent house producers over the past few years than Fort Romeau. Now he has released a sumptuous 8 track number called Romantic Gestures Vol. 1 on his own Romantic Gestures imprint. RA describe it as vibey and romantic, which gets at half of it. What makes it special for me, is that these tracks are as at home in your headphones as they would in a big room club. Punchy house music made intimate. Lovely stuff.
Make sure you stick around for the second half of the release, when it really gets going. Here are my thoughts from the last time I raved about him, and specifically the last track on the album Be With U.
Now this is a party track. It has all the elements; you couldn’t ask for a funkier bassline; jammy organ synths; some soulful vocals; and a nice bit of crowd noise to give it a subtle pick-up. If it doesn’t get you stepping then I’m sorry, but not much will.
Bonus track: I can’t give How it Feels much more of a compliment than to say it reminds me of Maceo Plex’s Love Somebody Else. One of my all-time favourites. You can listen to that here. You can and you should.
What’s the best Christmas song you ask? Well there’s only one correct answer, and that’s Fairytale of New York*. In a genre ridden with turkeys, this one is a king. That’s right, you heard me, a king amongst turkeys.
https://open.spotify.com/track/3VTNVsTTu05dmTsVFrmGpK?si=31ea101cf5e44846
RIP Shane MacGowan. Here is a link to an obit. It’s worth a read because he was, by all accounts, an utter mentalist.
*Feel free to put your incorrect answers in the comments box.
One from the vaults. It’s Akala’s Shakespeare from his debut album It’s Not A Rumour from 2006. The album (and it’s 2007 follow-up Freedom Lasso) span hip-hop, electro and rock and I have to say they opened 14-year-old-me’s eyes. Akala is a great lyricist, combining humour and meaning with crazy delivery. He has grown to become an important figure in society with his activism. This track goes back to the start of his journey – enjoy.
Bonus track: I was reminded of Shakespeare whilst watching Emerald Fennel’s new dark comedy, Saltburn – well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it already. There’s a great party scene which features Tomcraft’s Loneliness. Shakespeare‘s backing track is lifted directly from it. Two very different tracks with two very different energies, but both hit in their own way.
A couple of week’s ago I had the absolute pleasure of being at the opening night of Madonna’s Celebration Tour. Production levels were off the charts. If you get the chance to go to one of the remaining legs, I can’t stress enough that you should make it happen. The show made the most of her insanely rich back-catalogue with hit after hit. She’s an amazing performer, and it was an amazing show.
For today’s track we are rewinding to 2003, and a grinding, nasty remix of Hollywood by Jacques le Cont (aka Les Rythmes Digitales, real name Stuart Price). The speed is lifted and the drones are amplified, giving the track a new, dark energy. Interestingly, this was the version of the track that Madonna performed during the MTV Video Awards. After this remix, Price went onto work as a producer on Confessions of a Dancefloor amongst other collaborations with Madonna.
Bonus track: it wasn’t easy to pick, but this was my highlight from the show.
HARRY'S MUSICAL EMPORIUM 