July 11, 2010
Pulling it back to some hip-hop on a Sunday afternoon…this is a track from yet another Canadian artist, this time Toronto-born rapper, Drake.
Drake – Fancy (Ft. T.I. & Swizz Beatz) [last.fm]
Drake - Thank Me Later (2010)
To me, it sounds like a Jay-Z creation…along the line of Girls, Girls, Girls and it’s been tagged on some sites as feat. Jay-Z himself, but I think it’s T.I..
The new album didn’t make me smile from ear to ear like The-Dream’s last offering (new one out this week) but it’s a decent Summer R&B/hip-hop record.
Signed to Universal Motown, he’s apparently working on his second studio release at the moment.
He’s 24 years old and has already worked with the likes of T.I., Pharrell, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Jay-Z – with more collaborations to come on the new record, I’ve no doubt.
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Posted by nishajl
July 9, 2010
The reason I’m posting this song is a bit roundabout. I love the song – and I think it’s a great album. BUT, the main reason I’m posting it is because of a little dude on the train a few weeks back.
Foals - Total Life Forever (2010)
He was on the tube with, I think, his mum & dad, and his even little-r dude brother. He looked about 13-14…and…he was wearing a Foals T-shirt.
How frickin’ on it is that? To be wearing a Foals T-shirt at 13-14 years old. Assuming it wasn’t an enforced wardrobe choice by his “my kid’s going to be cool” mother or father, and that he was actually 13-14 and not just awaiting a growth spurt, he is way ahead of where I was on the ‘cool’ scale at his age.
Two words: Global Hypercolour. (Apparently, they’re club-wear now. So maybe it was I who was ahead in the ‘cool’ stakes…? Yes I’m ignoring the fact that they were 80s and it was the 90s already.)
So little dude. If you’re out there somewhere partying to the new Foals album, this song is for you:
Foals – Total Life Forever
It’s the title track from the album of the same name, released in May on Transgressive Records, by Oxford-based indie band, Foals. They’re touring like crazy right now.
Back in London on 12 November at Brixton Academy.
Reckon little dude will probably be there, even if I’m not.
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Posted by nishajl
July 7, 2010
This song has one of the catchiest indie hooks I’ve heard in a long time – as catchy as the hook from Two Door Cinema Club’s Something Good Can Work, if not more so -, a great indie build AND… the band are Canadian!
Tokyo Police Club - Breakneck Speed (2010)
They’re from Ontario, Canada, and as if to give a little nod of approval to the above paragraph before it was written, their guitarist is called Josh Hook. Seriously. I kid you not.
The rest of the band are Greg Alsop (Drums), David Monks (Vocals, Bass) and Graham Wright (Keyboards, Vocals) and together they are… Tokyo Police Club.
Would anyone have blamed me for writing Wyld Stallyns there? Unintentional.
Tokyo Police Club – Breakneck Speed
It’s my favourite track from their forthcoming release, Champ, out in the UK on independent label Memphis Industries on July 19 – the same label as The Ruby Suns! Good taste.
They’re coming to London on July 15 to play a show at Scala where the support will be another favourite indie band of mine – Flashguns.
It would be very silly of me not to go.
(I’m going)
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Posted by nishajl
July 5, 2010
Oh No - Dr. No
Dr. No’s Oxperiment.
Nothing to do with the Bond arch-villain, it’s the title of an album from hip-hop producer and MC, Oh No – a Turkish, Lebanese, Greek and Italian influenced concoction of beats.
It’s been dubbed a pretty much instrumental album – there are no obviously discernible lyrics in most of it, possibly because a lot of the snippets that are there are in languages I don’t understand – but there are definite vocal elements.
Oh No – Emergency
His name is Michael Jackson, he’s the brother of producer Madlib, son of 70s soul singer Otis Jackson, nephew of jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis (is there any wonder he turned his hand from video games to music?) and he’s released his albums on Stones Throw Records.
It seems he can work along similar lines to his brother – his 2009 album, Dr. No’s Ethiopium, was made entirely from samples of Ethiopian music… check out Madlib Medicine Show #3: Beat Konducta In Africa.
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Posted by nishajl
July 4, 2010
I almost posted this photo along with the song from The Swiss just because of the ‘Bath’ connection but, aside from loving Sarah’s photo, the cafe is actually called the Boat Basin Café, not the Basin Bath Café as was in my head. (?!)
It’s the last of the New York posts but don’t worry! I have a couple from France and another from Portugal coming up shortly…
The afternoon I took this photo was one of stories, and one during which an old friend revealed a lot about me to a new friend. No harm done, I’m sure the cool points would have gradually been chipped away at anyway, Kaj just provided a hammer :p.
So, the song has nothing to do with the photo itself, just more the day. And, by the way, I’ve ALWAYS been in the Blur camp.
Oasis – Roll With It
Boat Basin Café
200 West 79th Street
New York, NY 10024
Phone: (212) 496-5542
Web: www.boatbasincafe.com
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Posted by nishajl
June 29, 2010
The last.fm profile for this artist opens with the words:
“TOBACCO has a new record called Maniac Meat out on anticon records. It’s loud.”
Tobacco - Maniac Meat (2010)
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The guys seems to be a bit secretive – there’s not much info about him on the label’s site…well, that’s not strictly true. There’s a fair bit of info about him up there, just not his name! Hidden in the middle of it is the fact that his favourite record of all time is Beck’s Mellow Gold, and it’s Beck’s vocal that features on this track:
Tobacco – Fresh Hex (feat. Beck)
It’s on his new album, Maniac Meat, to be released on 5 July in the UK and it is a mother of a party track – only about 1m 30s long, but stuffed with dirty electronics and beats.
If I ever get round to trying to be a DJ, this’ll be on the setlist.
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Posted by nishajl
June 28, 2010
There are a few reasons I wanted to write about this band.
The Swiss - Bubble Bath EP (2010)
1. The Song – It’s an electro-disco party track, with a great title
2. The Nationality – They’re Australian. I love Australia. And Australians.
3. The Photo – I think it’s a great photo. I didn’t take it, Sarah did.
4. The Keyboard player – The band DJ’d at the Tonic party mid-June and the dude sat on the couch in front of the decks, hitting his board every now and then to produce the crazy electronics you hear below.
I think that’s enough reasons.
The Swiss – Bubble Bath
The band are signed to Modular, are from Adelaide, Australia (where every new character on Neighbours was from back in the day. As opposed to Perth, which is where they went to after a stint on Ramsey Street), and their Bubble Bath EP was released in February.
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Posted by nishajl
