THE BEST MUSIC: NEW & OLD
This one is pretty special. ALFOS / Sean Johnston has played it the last couple of times I’ve seen him and both times it has been one of the set highlights. After the second listen last weekend Sean very kindly ID’d it for me, and so here we are. Talking Heads and LCD Soundsystem brought together in beautiful harmony. Enjoy.
If you are a regular reader you’ll know of my love affair with A Love From Outer Space. If not, you’ve got some catching up to do.
You don’t need me to tell you that a lot changed in the world between August 2018 and August 2022. That time period also marked the gap between the second and third edition of Houghton Festival. 2019 fell victim to ‘high winds’ and 2020 and 2021 were both casualties of COVID.
The 2018 festival was the first time I came across A Love From Outer Space, the project of Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston. They delivered a transfixing set, which felt both completely at home in, and completely distinct from, the house music surrounding it. Fast forward four years and we are now without Andrew Weatherall, who tragically died in February 2020.
Sean Johnston has been keeping the spirit of the duo alive by playing under the ALFOS moniker, and returned to play one of the closing sets at Houghton 2022. It was highly emotional, studded with tributes to his dead friend, and once again utterly transfixing. As well as some ALFOS favourites, Sean played Canto Della Liberta by 3rd Face. This was probably the most memorable tracks of the festival for me – bizarre, punchy and loads of fun.
Sean Johnston is playing as ALFOS at Phonox in December. Trust me, not one to miss if you can help it.
I’m going to let this one speak for itself. Enjoy.
*update it looks like they may have disabled embedding, you watch the video here.
In rural county Cork, a lone fisherman met a weary traveller who was on his way to a gig. They soon began to exchange stories, namely tales of the sea. During their conversation, the seafarer shared a sentiment that would stay with his passenger forever: “fail we may, sail we must.” The Tenth Man presents Sail We Must directed by Grizzly, a short film telling the beautiful story of the chance meeting between iconic artist Andrew Weatherall and fisherman Gerard Sheehy. The 10-minute film explores how the words of wisdom Sheehy shared with Weatherall changed his path and went on to influence another generation of musicians and creatives. The film also features Cian Ó Cíobháin who was instrumental in finding Gerard, as well as Andrew’s close friend and collaborator Sean Johnston. All proceeds from this film and any screenings will go to Andrew’s family and the charities that meant the most to him. thetenthman.com
Last week the music world mourned the loss of Andrew Weatherall. The tributes have come raining in – he was clearly an amazing man, as well as being a uniquely talented artist and producer. For a full piece on him read his The Times obit here, or JD Twitch’s ode on RA here.
I was due to see him alongside his long-time friend and collaborator Sean Johnston (as A Love From Outer Space) last week, and the night went ahead as a tribute to the big man. The club (and the floor) was full from 10pm until close at 4am, and the atmosphere was special – the crowd felt filled with his friends and family.
Andrew produced Primal Scream’s Screamadelica, and Sean closed the night with a blissed out, full volume cut of Come Together. Goosebump-raising stuff. Enjoy the original here.
More from me on ALFOS here and here. Finally, if you are a Weatherall super-fan, you can browse and download around 900 hours of his mixes here, on a fan-built Google Drive. Big props.
I’m growing a moustache to raise money for the Movember Foundation. So this month I will be honouring some of the best moustaches in music. You can donate to my mo here: https://mobro.co/harry-mo?
Think moustache, think music, think Andrew Weatherall. He is one half of A Love From Outer Space, creating sets comprised of ‘slow’ electronic and club music for you to shake your hips to. An “oasis of slowness in a world of increasing velocity”. They have a cult following, and I think you’ll be able to see why.
HARRY'S MUSICAL EMPORIUM 