Category: Old

9 Beet Stretch – Leif Inge

 Every Sunday I am going to bring you something a little more downtempo to ease you back into the world.

Okay, so, today, something extremely different.

This is less song, more sound-art. To a lot of people, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is pretty instantly recognisable. Artist Leif Inge took the composition (which normally lasts 70 minutes) and stretched it to last a full 24 hours without any distortion of pitch. What results is in an incredibly cinematic piece, with unimaginably deep texture and nuance. If you want to switch off, or go to another mental plane, this should be your soundtrack.

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-EGtq6vVHY

Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQfa-I6Gczc

Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0-OC8yo0f0

Part 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfBZeAQ-Vt0

Smalltown Boy – Bronski Beat

This one is a bit massive. Its only Bronski Beat perfecting the 80s dance track.

Smalltown Boy became a huge gay anthem back in the day – it’s about the rejection of a homosexual kid by his family and society. Since then it found new life in Supermode’s massively popular Tell Me Why.

This track sent the crowd flying at Giant Steps at Houghton this year – expect it to do that to most dancefloors.

Echo Mountain Sessions – Sylvan Esso

Sylvan Esso are a lovable duo from North Carolina. Listening to them always makes me feel some mix of nostalgic, happy, hopeful and wistful. In this live EP they invited a group of their musician friends to perform their tracks for a day – they only did a few takes to make sure the compositions feel fresh, and it really really works. If you know the band the tracks are instantly recognisable, but still feel completely new. To be honest, they are worth listening to for the sax alone.

The Thief That Stole My Sad Days – Moodymann

Who doesn’t love Moodymann? Kenny Dixon Jr. has been making weird, funky house from Detroit since 1992. 1992! Anyway, here he delivers 8 minutes of blissed-out piano chords and one of those euphoric vocal samples that makes you glad to be alive.

If house dripping in piano is your thing, check out this playlist I made with some of my faves. Perfect for your Saturday between the hours of 7-11pm

Feelin Blue – Aldous RH

I don’t know much about Aldous RH, other than that this track sounds a lot like a mixture of Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Mac DeMarco – which can only be a good thing. If that brand of quirky indie-pop is your bag, get ready to groove.

And speaking of Mac, he and Aldous RH have a tour starting next week, with a few dates in the UK. Mac is the master of the live show. If you can go, make sure you don’t miss it. Here’s a track from a demo album, out last week.

 

Innervisions @ Royal Albert Hall

Tonight I’m headed to a pretty exciting event. For about 6 hours German Electronic music label Innervisions will be taking over one of the most famous homes of classical music in the UK for a live show. Details are pretty scarce, but with production support from LWE and a line-up including some of the label’s biggest names (and founders Dixon & Ame) it’s all set to be a pretty special gig. Last time I checked there were a few tickets available too.

A handful of my favourite tracks from people on the line-up:

Huge uplifting Afro-house from Henrik Schwarz (I could have picked any number of his jams though tbh)

 

An Emotional, goosebumpy house remix from Matthew Herbert

 

Finally, Howling & Ame combining for some more heart-string tugging house back from 2012