Lately I can not seem to get enough of the Blues. Be it Country or Electric, the way it oozes with depth and genuine emotion makes it superior to anything else. I have long had a love and appreciation for the Blues which started as a teen when I discovered Muddy Waters, who was a well known inspiration of the great, Jimi Hendrix. Recently I have began listening to Son House and Willie Brown, both pioneers of the genre in the 1930's and 40's. The rawness of Son House's voice on 'Grinnin in your face' (which features only his voice and a mere 2 minutes long) has fastly become one of my favourite tracks (Looks like me and Jack White have something in common.) Son House played regularly with other early greats such as Charley Patton, Robert Johnson (often given the name the "Father of the Blues", but that's a whole other story) and as I earlier mentioned, Willie Brown, all of which paved the way for the beginnings of a music phenomenom that was brimming with potential.
Son House - 'Grinnin in your Face'
Another Blues artist I have become obsessed with as of late is the enigmatic, Howlin Wolf who came to fame on the well known 1950's record label, Chess Records (Check out the film "Cadillac Records" though it does star Beyonce, why do singers insist on being actors as well?) Howlin Wolf is the optimum example of rawness that almost borders on animalistic (hense the name), with live performances that boiled with energy in the same way that Screamin Jay Hawkins did with R&B.
Howlin Wolf knew how to bring his music alive, with performances that resemble that of an exorcism as he became possessed by the rhythmic powers of the music (perhaps his defining trait?) Whatever your opinion the Wolf there is no doubt of his creative genius which made him stand out from so many of his peers.
Howlin Wolf - 'Moanin at Midnight'
Being a strong influence in popular culture, elements of the Blues can be found readily in many forms of music, but it is never as captivating as it is in its originating form.
If you liked Howlin Wolf and Son House you may also enjoy: Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Willie Brown, John Lee Hooker, Bessie Jackson and Robert Johnson.
Well what do ya know, after a bit of lunch and a Pink Lady apple (My new favourite snack) here's a little bit more for you all!
Now I have been pondering over who to introduce to you next for a while with two artists in particular on the agenda... lets just talk about both, well it's my blog after all and perhaps I do have a bit of extra time on my hands.
The first artist who I want to introduce to you is someone who I first heard about when I was at Bestival in 2009, although I only caught the end of her set her name interested me (Some of you who know me may understand why?) after a bit of research once I was back at home I found out her music is pretty good.
Subeena (which is her real name 'Sabina' spelt wrong) lives in London and as well as being musically gifted she has her own up and coming record label Opit. Furthermore she is also signed to Planet Mu who boast the likes of; Shitmat, Benga, Bong-Ra and Venetian Snares to name but a few.
Her sound is a sublime mixture of; ambience, mixed with dubby rhythms, and finished off with her own touch of imagination, setting her apart from the dubstep scene which she could so easily (and perhaps naively) be associated with. Yes Subeena's appraoch to music is one hard to categorise; ranging from the chillful, R&B vibes of 'Solidify' (featuring Jamie Woon and Om'Mas), the frantically paced rhythm of 'Rakeeh', to the notably darker, dubby feel of 'Transient'(My personal favourite). But whatever she is she is definitely worth having a listen to so I will leave you with this little number:
Subeena - 'Solidify' (Feat. Jamie Woon & Om'Mas)
Lastly but by no means least we come to my second artist of the afternoon, Mike Slott.
Highly favoured by Mary Anne Hobbs, featuring on her 2009 compilation 'Wild Angels', Slott is another one renowned for his chopping up of rhythms and dramatic, electronic beats which is becoming all too popular at the minute. Along with; Hudson Mohawke, Dominic Flannigan and Martyn Flyn he formed a record label that goes by the name of 'Luckyme' in 2004, the same label he has used to release his newest album 'Lucky 9teen' (2009). The album is thick with stimulating Four Tet style rhythms, and exuberant artificial melodies that are enough to fill even the most demanding musical palettes.
Here is Mike Slott - 'Snow Birds'
If you liked Subeena and Mike Slott you may also enjoy: Debruit, Four Tet, Starkey, Zomby and Dabrye. www.myspace.com/subeena (Check out the Beatport link) www.myspace.com/mikeslottbeats www.myspace.com/dbruit www.myspace.com/fourtetkieranhebden www.myspace.com/starkey www.myspace.com/zombyproductions www.myspace.com/taddmullinix
Regards¬
P.S - Listen to 'Rekordah Presents Astro:Dynamics' available on Spotify.
...well that's what happened, however I suppose that is a slightly lazy excuse for not having posted anything for well over a month! Indeed I have been rather busy organising my new life, looking to the future you could say and it is becoming more and more promising, there is hope at last! *Applauses*
Anyway I shan't bore you any longer with the minor details of my life, I can only imagine that you have been feeling rather lost without this little blog to inform you about the many musical delights that still lay out there undiscovered (I hope haha). So to make up for any hard feelings I have decided to make this post (actually I prefer to call it 'Issue', has a nice ring to it) an extended one, so speakers at the ready!
I thought I would start by introducing you to a music producer who I have been harking on about for a few months now and If you know me personally you may be able to recall these moments? For those of you that don't I wonder whether the Names 'Harald' and 'Bjork' ring any bells? Let me start off by saying that he is of no relation to the Bjork who famously dressed up as a swan and generally likes to make no sense at all (I love Bjork really).
...But anyway this Bjork hales from Sweden and his melodic brand of minimal techno is uniquely emotive and thick with bitter/sweet undertones. Interested yet? Well he is already making a name for himself in the techno world knocking heads with the likes of Miss Kittin and James Holden who regularly play his records as part of their sets.
Harald Bjork's most recent EP 'Kranglan' (named after part of the Nacka nature reserve Stockholm) is a prime example of electronic goodness. Take for example 'Skvaltan' the third track on the EP, its progressive build up and deeply pulsating bassline is a feast for the ears, and 'Cykeltur' the second EP track commences with an unusual repetative melody which makes me think of icey caves and snowflakes. Hmmm maybe that is just because of my slightly peculiar imagination... However check him out and then you can come to you own conclusions, and hey maybe you will agree with me?
For now I will leave you with this little number, possibly my favourite tune of his and one which leaves me feeling strangley nostalgic?
Harald Bjork - 'Glimt'
If you like Harald Bjork you may also enjoy: James Holden, Nathan Fake and Actress. www.myspace.com/haraldbjork www.myspace.com/iamtherealjamesholden www.myspace.com/nathancake www.myspace.com/actresskhz
Other Random Musings: Travelling, Truman Capote, Pink Lady apples, Holga cameras (I want one!), long walks, 'Dogtooth' (Has anyone seen this film yet?)
Hang on there is still more to come. Watch this space...
Okay so I've been meaning to write a blog for a while now and by a while I actually mean two years, university makes you lazy I guess. The best thing about 'blogging' is that it can be carried out completely anonymously and I like this. All you need to know is that I like cats, music and bread so I suppose my blog should centre around one of these three things...
I find something very appealing about this potato bread loaf:
I could go on however I don't think bread is a topic many are particularily interested in...
So over the past few weeks of no longer being a student I have come to realise that my life pretty much revolved around shopping, partying and for two weeks a term, coursework. Yep life was easy to say the least and stupidly I never really stopped to think about the real world which was slowly but surely approaching. Right now I am sitting in a living room, laptop in front of me, eating cream cheese on toast, still in my pyjamas and still unsure of what I want to do with my life. It was around this time yesterday under very similar circumstances whilst browsing the internet that I stumbled upon Nosaj Thing.
Nosaj Thing. Yes I was struck by the unusual name as well however he is hailed as one of LA's finest music modulators (Yes I did just copy that from his Myspace page) and his music is simply marvellous. You may remember recently that he did a remix of 'Islands' by The xx which has the most tremendous bassline, 'tis on his Myspace page if you don't. I for one love strange, almost unclassifiable, electronic music and if you do as well then you should definitely check out his 2009 album 'Drift' (which I purchased just yesterday). The album consists of 12 tracks and has a peculiar, dream-like quality to it, it also lacks vocals which is definitely a positive point in my books. My favourite track has to be 'Fog' closely followed by 'Quest', the latter would fit perfectly on a banking advert or home program, think Air.
For now I'll leave you with 'Aquarium':
If you like Nosaj Thing you may also enjoy: Mount Kimbie, Dorian Concept and Deceptikon.
Son House played regularly with other early greats such as Charley Patton, Robert Johnson (often given the name the "Father of the Blues", but that's a whole other story) and as I earlier mentioned, Willie Brown, all of which paved the way for the beginnings of a music phenomenom that was brimming with potential. 
Howlin Wolf knew how to bring his music alive, with performances that resemble that of an exorcism as he became possessed by the rhythmic powers of the music (perhaps his defining trait?) Whatever your opinion the Wolf there is no doubt of his creative genius which made him stand out from so many of his peers. 
