Riot !n Magenta – CTRL

Riot !n Magenta - CTRL demo (2011)

The first thing that came to mind when the intro hit was “Yes! This year’s Until We Bleed!”. It has a similar loop and Ibiza chill style to it. Minimal synth but less of the ethereal Lykke Li vocal, more…control. (!!)

Riot !n Magenta are singer-songwriter Eugenia Yip and keyboardist/producer Hayashida Ken from Singapore – and thank you to Dan & Brian for sending me their way.

Thinking of building a playlist – any more to go with these two…?  Fish Go Deep and DJ NG ft. the now massive Katy B to start.

Kleerup – Until We Bleed (feat. Lykke Li)

Kleerup - Kleerup (2009)

It’s the minimal beats and the soft, slightly other-worldly feel to Lykke Li’s voice that makes me keep going back to this track – plus the unexpected strings that simmer in the background and flow into the main mix every now and then.

Kleerup is actually Swedish producer Andreas Kleerup and vocalist, Lykke Li is an artist in her own right – she released her first studio album on LL Recordings in 2008 and, more recently, her single ‘Possibility’ was featured on the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack.

Some one(s) seems to have tagged that track ‘for crying’, ‘for a rainy day’ and ‘depressing’ on last.fm – Until We Bleed is anything but. Try ‘for dancing’, ‘for festivals in the sunshine’, ‘chill-inducing’ instead…it’s not an uplifting rave party though!

From Kleerup’s self-titled album released on EMI Sweden in May 2009.

Hope she does more of this…

Bonobo - Black Sands

But the album release is approaching and the control-grip seems to be loosening a little – so I was able to find it on youtube:

Bonobo – Kiara (YouTube)

I’ve been daydreaming in the sunshine for the last few days. Clear blue sky, crystal-clear sea, intense heat and it turns out my gut-instinct attraction to this song was strengthened by my surroundings, particularly when on a boat…

The stand-out track, for me, on the Ninja Tune-released latest from Bonobo, Black Sands, is an elegantly woven tapestry of beats and synths.

The album’s out in the UK on 29 March and available to pre-order here.

I just ordered mine. Now for the boat…

Post War Years

Full album ‘The Greats and the Happenings’ and then some available to stream on last.fm and spotify.

Post War Years - The Greats And The Happenings

If I’m honest, I have to say the recorded sound, although still extremely good, doesn’t do the live performance justice. I saw them at Ginglik (first time there, but this converted public toilet of a live music venue is a contender for my favourite in London) as part of Blue Flowers presents A Tribe Called West – a night that has previously featured acts including Flashguns and Stricken City.

The enigmatic and spacey indie-electro style of their music is almost hypnotic at times and they seem like really fun and charismatic lads – a theme that ran through their set was a mock-competition with questions ranging from “what is the name of the track we are about to play?” to “what does the drummer look like naked?”. Nice.

My favourite tracks are ‘Soul Owl’, ‘Whole World On Its Head’ and ‘Den’.

I could easily see them supporting Grizzly Bear or some other epic-type band at some point in the near future, or headlining their own show, but for now you can catch them at South East In East at the Vibe Bar on 3 September.

Moby – Porcelain

Tinkly floatiness with hidden sinister undertones if you actually listen to the lyrics. He spookily came up on the homepage just now as the Artist Spotlight on RCRD LBL when I went to look for the free download link that was sent to me a few days ago to include in this post.

Pale Horses (Apparat Remix) – mp3 download page
Last Night Album Mash-up Mix – mp3 download page

It’s all legal and approved so no need to worry…unfortunately no ‘Porcelain’ free download, though.

There’s quite a lot up on his Last.fm page. I think we could write some poetry with his song-titles…

Moby

In this world, we are all made of stars,
In my heart, natural blues.
Lift me up, flower, the sky is broken
Bring back my happiness, let’s go free.
Dream about me, live for tomorrow, I’m not worried at all.
Why does my heart feel so bad?

Left out ‘Ooh yeah’ but I’m sure someone more imaginative could work it in…

Miho Hatori & Yuka Honda - Cibo Matto

I had forgotten all about this track until I picked up ‘Underwater Love’ by Smoke City this morning…it has a similarly hazy, trippy floatiness to it:

Cibo Matto – Sugar Water

First came across it watching Season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Cibo Matto were performing at the Bronze in the episode ‘When She Was Bad’. The song conveys a character suitably dark and complicated but also strangely alluring…

More on their MySpace, but this one is by far my favourite. Here’s the music video on imeem.

This song has such a dreamy electro vibe and a stunning vocal – the…#oh… I wish I could fly, through the sky and the moon above me# part, especially – but with enough edge to be more Superman-Lois Lane (or even Silk Spectre-Nite Owl, if they could fly) than the Snowman-boy in stripey blue pyjamas.

Sol Seppy – Slo Fuzz

The Last.fm link is just a sample but the full track is up on the MySpace at the moment. London singer-songwriter and producer Sophie Michalitsianos is a former member of US indie band Sparklehorse, separately recommended to me by liketheboys (52 weeks. 52 musicvideos. 52 locations.) and most likely the subject of another post at some point in the not too distant future.

Lamb – Gorecki

The rest of the soundtrack’s pretty good too…here are a couple of my favourites:

• CJ Bolland – Sugar is Sweeter
• Imogen Heap – Getting Scared(unfortunately not a full-length version)

All a bit eerie and/or frantic, as one would expect from a teenage slasher flick, But they’re pretty cool.

• Day One – Bedroom Dancing: the album version of this track gets a bit cheeky towards the end so don’t listen to it too loud in public…really funky beat.
• Placebo – Every You Every Me: no match for ‘Nancy Boy’ in my mind but still a fun rock track.
• Craig Armstrong – This Love (feat. Elizabeth Fraser): this is the eerie I mentioned, and quite atmospheric.
• Counting Crows – Colourblind: from my favourite scene in the movie, Ryan Phillipe coming up the escalator to meet Reese Witherspoon at the train station. Leads to some ‘Ahem’ moments.

and finally…

• The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony: anthem.

I’m going to leave it there before I end up reeling off the whole track list – left Skunk Anansie out of it because I don’t think ‘Secretly’ is one of their better tracks. Let me know if you disagree.

Happy weekend!

La Roux – In For The Kill (Skream Let’s Get Ravey Mix)

It’s this remix, in particular, that got me, not the original. Has a bit of a sinister vibe but in a chillout-ambient way. No media on the last.fm page right now but it is up on their MySpace.

Shazam for iPhone is my new best friend.