There was nothing and everything magical about it.

Final Fantasy.

Last night I saw a truly incredibly talented artist - Owen Pallett. Under the alias of Final Fantasy, Owen created a captivating show armed with only a violin and a keyboard (oh and the lovely accompaniment of an overhead projectionist, which added a nice little touch). With this ingredients (minus the overhead projectionist, she was pretty happy just cutting shapes) he used a sampler and a few foot pedals to concoct his songs before our very eyes by looping what he'd already played. I liked it bestest when he sang through his violin. 

So, with his cherub smile, he plucked and pounded his way through an impressive set, only to be called back for two encores - we would have had a third, if we'd had the guts to run into his dressing room. It's no wonder that we clapped so hard, he manipulated his violin to forge the kind of orchestral yumminess that only acts like Beirut, Arcade Fire and Patrick Wolf can try to serve up. Oh and wait, he's collaborated with them all. Currently, however, he's apparently doing the orchestra arrangements for Pet Shop Boys and The Rumble Strips.

Afterwards we were speechless; so in awe that we hung around in a courtyard, chain-smoking, waiting to maybe catch a glimpse of him (we did. he smokes.), to the point that we were locked in and, as it turns out, there's a lot more to Union Chapel than just the nave...

I'm still a little speechless to be honest.

Final Fantasy - The Dream of Emma and Cam (y.s.i.)

Because I don't think you can fully appreciate Owen Pallett's talent without seeing him live, here's a video. It gives an idea of how he builds his songs, however this is a Mariah Carey song and the recording is a little shit.

oh and there was also Cryptacize, who were, yeah, pretty okay:

.x.

p.s. Sorry for all the cooking imagery, maybe I'm hungry.

Because I Feel Like One

I'm back (I know it wasn't long now, was it), but I wanted to show the world about a band that piques my curiositybean. The Evangelicals.I heard them through SXSW, (if you havn't heard of it ask the ORACLE, but shame on you) not that I attended (yet). They played at an interactive social media jig there...

They hail from Norman, Oklahoma, across the pond and sound like the right side of Indie with a dollop of psychedlic pop to boot. They are very acousticy and great to chill out too, or if you're feeling a tad spaced out - in a good way.

One of their best audio creations is Skeleton Man, which just makes me incredibly happy and wavy (like a willow tree). It's really impressive because it brings a lot of different tangents together and still keeps a traditional beat while making you feel like you're swimming before bursting out of the water. They're by no means brand new but they get my thumbs up.

Evangelicals - Skeleton Man (y.s.i)

Byesies

So.. Here Am I (in Japan)

Err.. Hi all, I'm (hopefully) going to be adding to the lovely musical sussurus that our maiden, jingle bell waving GirlWithThorn has compiled over the past few yonks. Anyhoo, to start with I thought I would share a band from a country I love. I really Love it. Japan. Yup, anyway I am sure my limited knowledge of electro from the East is appalling but I really have not found any other band apart from MYSS who are any good at conveying hard core electronica rock/what have you (was never good at genres). So they're a bit 'underground' and even a bit harsh for my ears sometimes, but their Oh.SIX track is simply thumbs up good. Anything from Tokyo usually is..

"Various music is flexibly absorbed without being caught in the genre, and various sound and images sent through a peculiar filter named MYSS produce coloring the space of the place in all shape" - that's what they say, what we say - a good look at it, if you like the darker side of electro? But to be honest, it all sounds a bit Engrish - JapoEnglish to be precise.

The photo above, is, well, from Japan.

MYSS - Oh. SIX (y.s.i)

Byesies.

a criminal pleasure.

I was caught out on a serious guilty pleasure on Sunday - Ricky Martin.

Back when I was a naive 8 year old, I thought Ricky was a god; the Puerto Rican snake-hipped pop star just did it for me. Skip forward ten years and I get Ricky's 2000 album, Sound Loaded, which features the banger She Bangs, for my birthday and all the memories flood black - I even had a Ricky Martin sticker book and a signed photo! 

so for old time's sake here's Ricky Martin - She Bangs (y.s.i.) 

we all have one, mine just happened to be a well-chiseled Hispanic man with a bum-chin. 

.x.

thanks Tom.

And today Morrissey turns 50.

today's my birthday. here's my present to you.

...

Fergus & Geronimo.

"If Berry Gordy Jr. got sick of Detroit and moved to Denton he would be sitting in the sunny garden of the house that Tamla built, listening to the kids in the DIY punk band next door muffled through the wall of the basement. He’d go round with some Tammy and Marv vinyls for them and the next day they would have transformed into Fergus & Geronimo" 

They come out on Transparent this Autumn...

Fergus & Geronimo - Tell It (In My Ear)

Sharon Van Etten. 

"This coming Tuesday Language of Stone Records will released the debut full length from Brooklyn songstress Sharon Van Etten. For quite some time New York has been spoiled by the power of Sharon's voice and her sensitive and beautiful songs, but I have a feeling that as soon as Because I Was In Love is released the secret will be out and other places will be clamoring for a little more Sharon Van Etten in their lives."

Sharan Van Etten - Consolation Prize

Black Moth Super Rainbow.

"Their lo-fi, writhy grooves have stepped up to a studio album debut (complete with live drummer), Eating Us (May 26th, 2009), a recording they call their 'dark bubblegum freakout for 2009' produced by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips).

Here's the track from the new release, Eating Us, which sits among ten other juicy nuggets from Bubble Gum Animals to Tooth Decay:

Black Moth Super Rainbow - Born On A Day The Sun Didn't Rise"

John Vanderslice. 

"The irony here is that as John Vanderslice’s character sings about his need to leave his life behind and go it alone, his voice is shadowed by that of a woman, and the tune itself is open and inviting, like a futuristic campfire song. He sounds as though he is trying to talk himself into the decision, and can barely stand the thought of feeling so alone, even if he’s halfway there."

John Vanderslice - D.I.A.L.O. 

.x.

I'll just slip this in and everyone will notice.

Inglorious Basterds.

500 Days of Summer.

with music by The Temper Trap. 

How To Be.

.x.

Please can you make some beautiful babies.

...

SoKo.

Word on the street is that SoKo has stopped writing and performing. Her last appearance was a month ago in L.A., but, like the recent Patrick Swayze rumour pandemic about his death, the grapevine is insisting that SoKo the act is also dead and to top it all off, her myspace has been renamed SoKo is Dead with her "about" information saying simply "Goodbye". So, yes, it looks like the end. 

hmmm, I'm not convinced though. Stéphanie Sokolinski first came to prominence with her 2007 "I'll Kill Her" and floated around the scene, selling out shows without ever physically releasing a single single. 

But now she's stated that she's had enough of sitting in dark rooms and writing dark songs, she wants to travel and to be free. She's a funny French thing; when I saw her live, she stumbled for about 5 minutes with her ukulele repeating that she couldn't play it only to then go on to produce the most loveable lo-fi "garage band crap". I'm sure she'll be back, she won't be able to stay away.

here's her version of a The Teenagers song:

SoKo - Love No (y.s.i.)

.x.

Have you missed me?

Alexander Wolfe.

mmmm. A homemade video by the man himself.

I've asked him to write a song about a cowboy who's allergic to horses and he's turned it into a song about horses with a religious affliction...goodness knows what it'll sound like but I'm sure it'll be special. His songs are an eclectic mix but they're grounded by his soft voice and sensitive lyrics, it's the rest that's open to change - whether he uses his guitar skills or more orchestral ones.

.x.

Last Radio Show.

Howdy.

It was our last Newfangled Music Show at OSCAR Radio and it was THUPER. 

Here's another great poster for the show:

by Doug Anson.

This was our playlist:

Rotten Guts Featuring Cadence Weapon - Shuttle

Crooked Legs - The Acorn

Natural Light - Casiotone For The Painfully Alone

Dear Boy - Bodies Of Water

The Cave - Mumford & Sons (y.s.i.)

Friends Were Gone - Wavves

Work It Out - Esser

Velvet - The Big Pink

Crystalised - The xx

Lisztomania - Phoenix

Home and Somewhere Else - Mimicking Birds

Deadbeat Summer - Neon Indian (y.s.i.)

There Is No Light - Wildbirds & Peacedrums

The Last of the Melting Snow - The Leisure Society

Always Like This - Bombay Bicycle Club

Wolf Club - Burial/Four Tet

...

This was the WINNING POSTER:

By Imi Harris.

Thank you for listening! you're all just great.

.x.

Do you find comfort in your pockets?

Flora.

I love it when I think I know someone's face so well and then a look, that I haven't seen before, surprises me. 

This is the complete opposite: Neon Indian. . .

I know nothing about Neon Indian and so nothing surprises me. They are an anonymous man-woman duo from opposing sides of America. Playing hard to get, I guess. Their sound is a mishmash. Sometimes I think my iPod is breaking and then out of nowhere a coherent drone of lyrics will reach out. They foster blippy dreampop that has gritty beats laid down at unusual rpms, perfect for doing the 60s swim-dance to. 

Neon Indian - Deadbeat Summer

(y.s.i.)

.x.

Weeks makes my knees go weak.

Harriet.

The Maccabees.

I just received The Maccabees' sophomore album, Wall of Arms, in the post. I have no words in my vocabulary to explain how happy I am, so friggiexcitihappilla! The wailing voice of Orlando Weeks bypasses my ears and pounds my heart extra-hard to the beat of Sam Doyle's drummings and the two White brothers' strummings. agh, I could sink into a whirlpool to Seventeen Hands (Track 10 on Wall of Arms). 

If you can remember their debut back in 2007, Colour It In, with its highly charged staccato beats and freneticism, then Wall of Arms hasn't detached itself entirely from this sound but it can't be denied that they've expanded. There are intros in the majority of the songs, so now they work themselves into the frenzy of excited, pained songs that I enjoyed so much from their last album. The mood is still brooding, but now there's an atmosphere of it, which creates the kind of heartfelt pop that's sure to help found this Summer's "sound".

Enjoy sensibly: The Maccabees - Seventeen Hands (y.s.i.)

.x.

My doodles used to be hearts.

The Big Pink.

This post is more therapeutic for me than anything. I've been listening to a song of theirs over and over again for the past week or so to the point that I'm afraid that, if I have one more listen, I'll become sick of it.  

When The Big Pink were announced as part of the BBC Sound of 2009 selection, I really didn't see the attraction. They seemed like a less melodic MGMT with whining. BUT I stand corrected, it's grown on me - in a big way.

The Big Pink appeal to my grunge inclinations as well as shoe-gaze ones. With a fusion of scuzz music from the likes of The Jesus and Mary Chain and the electronic beats of artists such as The Chemical Brothers, The Big Pink draw comparisons from the early 90s, late 80s. However, Robbie Furze and Milo Cordell do it bigger, better and more concisely to create the kind of atmospheric psychadelic rock that's welcomed by fans of Telepathe and the like. Their second single, Velvet, encompasses this all and has the lyrics "These arms are mine, don't mind who they hold", which I'm often caught singing when alone. 

The song in question: The Big Pink - Velvet (y.s.i.)

"My doodles used to be hearts, and my hearts were never broken. But now I draw arrows, as if to pierce my own." 

.x.

I am here & I am ignited.

...

Orphans & Vandals.

I can't remember how I found these Blighty blighters but a summer ago I did and I've not looked back since. Here's a smattering of words that can be conjured from their music: bohemians, red wine, ale, Withnail & I, battered classic cars, squalor, leafy parks, roll-ups, busking, cobbled streets, rags and decadence. I think it's the perfect music to read 19th Century literature to, or maybe beforehand, just to get yourself in the context of novels such as those by Zola.

The core of Orphans & Vandals is Al Joshua and his compeer, Raven, with whom Joshua first imagined this idea up two years ago whilst on a pilgrimage to the Paris of Arthur Rimbaud, French poet and Libertine. The product is a five-piece band of multi-instrumentalists who tambourine and violin their way through the spoken word (of what, at a stretch, verge on!) librettos of Al Joshua; their track Mysterious Skin is over ten minutes long. It's a city summer sound. Their album came out a mere 4 days ago, I Am Alive And You Are Dead. 

I'm having an existential crisis over which song to give...

have Mysterious Skin: Orphans & Vandals - Mysterious Skin (y.s.i.)

I think this was the song that banned them from the BBC. Good.

.x.

The boy/man above is a fellow admirer. I guess, my first disciple. Arthur.