Star Slinger - Elizabeth Fraser (Live)

Star Slinger - Elizabeth Fraser.

Considering Liz is my favourite singer of all time (I approximate her voice to be that of God), I was a little dubious when I came across an IDM rework of the Cocteau Twins song Heaven Or Las Vegas. But then I underestimated Star Slingers talent, he is a master of the trusty MPC and the sound that emerges is mind blowing. How he ever got J Dilla hip hop beats and retriggers to work with Liz's angelic voice is left a mystery. The clip is of him playing live at his favourite comic book store (Hey what a narc!).

Star Slinger has just released an EP with Teams via Mexican Summer. Its disco crossed with hip hop and abit of glitch. Here's a nice ambient one off it:
Teams vs. Star Slinger - Close to Me

Feel Good Sundays

Ok so its not Sunday, but we still have to try and feel good on Mondays too eh? Diana Ross is a fox but she has an unhealthy obsession with pianos.

Com Truise - Colorvision

Yes I know he's spelt colour wrong and Com Truise is a ridiculous name in the first place but this is a tune. It's 80's synths galore but it has the funk behind it to discard any pretense. Different from some of this other tunes which are ultimately Chillwave (see Sundriped and Slow Peels) but I think variety is something we can expect off his forthcoming debut which will be released later this year.

Colorvision (WIP) by Com Truise

Baths - The Nothing

Cerulean was one of my favourite releases of 2010 (Check out the review here) and now baths is back with a new one. It's a 7" EP The Nothing / Nightly, Daily and is out in March. Check out the A-side below. I'm pretty sure I like it, but I think I expected more after Animals. I dunno, I think it's the vocals that are throwing me off.

Baths - The Nothing[Pitchfork]

Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie XX

We're New Here



Gil Scott-Heron - NY is Killing Me (Jamie XX Remix)

Comeback err.. Granddad Gil Scott-Heron released his album I'm New Here this time last year after a 16 years hiatus. Regular attendance to prisons for drug charges kinda got in the way. A spectacular album I'm sure, more interesting however is that XX mastermind Jamie Smith is releasing a remix album of I'm New Here, entitled We're New Here. By now we've all heard NY is Killing Me and we've all agreed it is an absolute stonker. Like it's ridiculous how on the money that tune is, I couldn't think of a song better suited to the demands of the average Warehouse Project goer. It's almost enough for me to hate it, but I don't. The ghostly organ with that bouncy bass really does raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

The other big one off the album is I'll Take Care of You which is the polar opposite of the danceable aforementioned tune. It's a soulful, bluesy one of Gil's which is the main feel the original album. It starts off subdued with his raspier, age-weathered voice against a single piano and then it breaks into the trademark XX ethereal guitar. Midway through the song the vocals are chopped and it turns more dancey. The Crutch is an uptempo glitchy one contrasted against Gil's spoken word which actually does well not to sound out of place. My Cloud is a soulful lullaby that is beautiful in its simplicity.

The whole album, together with a few jazzy interludes is an interesting listen. You don't find many remix albums, especially not as debuts, so it is quite a bold move of Jamie's. It is varied and you could invent a different genre for most of the tracks. I think fresh would be an apt word to describe it. Amazing is another.

8.5/10

Release Date | 21st February

Benni Hemm Hemm @ Buffalo / Cardiff / 28.01.11

Last Friday I had the pleasure of seeing Benni Hemm Hemm live at Buffalo Bar in Cardiff. To some up the gig in one word: Melancholy (but in the best way possible). Who said melancholy is bad anyway, I like melancholy. Sometimes I'm melancholy and I even like saying the word, it sounds nice. The trio that make up the brass section looked bored to the point of tears, raising their gaze from the floor only to play a high note on the trombone or trumpet (The girl on the french horn only changed position to empty a globule of spit from the valve). The drummer however, he was great, he had the comedy drummer facial expressions down to a tee.

Front man Benedikt H. Hermannsson has a truly amazing voice and is incredible on the guitar. The number of members at his shows range from 3 to 40 so this particular event was towards the bottom of that spectrum. Between songs he showed himself to be quite the comedian, in his own melancholy way. The band finished the gig with a great freak out and quick exit. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was enthralled by the level of respect the population of Buffalo offered. Here is a beautiful video from their latest album Retaliate.

Benni Hemm Hemm - Retaliate .

Purity Ring

Two For Tuesdays

Toro Y Moi "New Beat" by carparkrecords

When I saw Toro y Moi in Cardiff last November I remember him announcing that he wanted to play a new song and proceeded to play a distinctly more funky, dancier number than the rest of the Causers of This catalog. Since then I have been trying to locate it and finally its here. It's called New Beat and it's taken off the forthcoming LP Underneath the Pine



The Kills - Satellite by DominoRecordCo

Thanks to that slag Kate Moss, we have had to wait 2 years for the new Kills Album. It was rumored that the supermodel threw Jamie Hince's laptop into a swimming pool resulting in the loss of 6 new kills tracks. It may also have something to do with the Dead Weather, I dunno. Anyway the new album is called Blood Pressures and this is the first sneaky taster from it.