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Thursday, November 24, 2011

West End Girls

Starswept



























1. Allegro - CLATTERBOX & METAMATICS
2. Into The Ether - NORTHERN PICTURE LIBRARY
3. Small Hours - JOHN MARTYN
4. Leaving The World Behind - ERIC SERRA
5. Hope We Never Surface - TWO LONE SWORDSMEN
6. Starswept - FOURTH WORLD MAGAZINE
7. Nitedrive - FUSE
8. Serenade Out Of Tune - PEER RABEN
9. Summerdays - WEEKEND
10. Un Homme Et Une Femme - MORGAN FISHER
11. Diana - WAYNE SHORTER
12. Goodnight - TRIOSK

Isabelle Antena




























As part of the trio Antena, Isabelle Antena created one of my very favorite records ever, and one that couldn't be any closer to my heart: Camino Del Sol. Released by Les Disques Du Crépuscule in 1982 and later expanded by Numero Group in 2004, there are very few things in this world that come close to the inner-Riviera, sun-soaked perfection of these songs. Exotic, gentle, breezy, insular, and pure, the sound of this record is transportive, mysterious, and comforting. These songs sound like a faded postcard, a fuzzy memory.. like they were trapped in a bottle washed up on shore. I really can't say enough about how special this record is to me. There is no reason for anyone not to be close to these songs.












Since Antena, Isabelle has released several beautiful solo albums, each combining elements of bossa-nova, café-bleu cool jazz, and synth-pop samba. Her debut solo release, En Cavale, was released in 1986, again by Les Disques Du Crépuscule, followed by 1987's Hoping For Love. These records, filled with everyday dreams and far-off longing, are equally evocative, easy, and smart. Her next two albums, Tous Mes Caprices and Jouez La Cinq, expanded to include more of a late-'80s sophisti-pop, lounge-torch sound.

Isabelle has also worked in several side projects, including Fragile On The Rocks, The Powaga Sisters, and Pause Cafe. She continued releasing records through the '90's and 2000's and still performs live. Truly a personal vision, expanded upon for decades, the music of Isabelle Antena is filled with a timeless beauty that stands alone.












LTM has reissued many of her albums which are available through iTunes or from Darla. Camino Del Sol is available on CD, download, or vinyl from Numero Group. For more information, you can also visit Isabelle's website here.

Isabelle was kind enough to send me a list of some of her favorite music.


FAVORITES FROM ISABELLE ANTENA

Innervisions - STEVIE WONDER
Harvest - NEIL YOUNG
West Side Story - LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Porgy And Bess - MILES DAVIS & GIL EVANS
Radio-Activity - KRAFTWERK
Songs In The Key Of Life - STEVIE WONDER
Take It Off - CHIC
My Favorite Things - JOHN COLTRANE
Off The Wall - MICHAEL JACKSON
Other Directions - NICOLA CONTE

...I guess there's too many to tell but let's also say that some of my favorite artists, such as Peggy Lee, recorded plenty of singles that were collected onto albums after, but don't exist officially as a long playing recording. And also, some of my favorite music (like classical, from Handel to Bartok, or Chopin, or ....too many), is recorded in too many versions to tell exactly which is the best recording.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Glow Worms


Blue Nights




























1. Polyhymnia - STEVE HAUSCHILDT
2. Take Care - DRAKE
3. Goodnight Jade - SQUAREPUSHER
4. Drunk On Love - RIHANNA
5. Misery Beat - PETE SWANSON
6. Wassup - ASAP ROCKY
7. You - MOOMIN
8. Sister - NITE JEWEL
9. Fatal Games - MALVOEAUX
10. Among Angels - KATE BUSH
11. See Me Feel Me - SEPALCURE
12. More Than Alive - 200 YEARS

Bridget Hayden
























Bridget Hayden's music is equal parts scuzz, drift, echo, and dream. She started in the late '90's as part of the Leeds-based psychdrone quintet Vibracathedral Orchestra. Since then, she has released four solo records in addition to collaborations with Melanie Delaney and Stephen Lawrie (The Telescopes). The first record of hers I fell in love with was her 2002 self-released Just Ideas, followed by the incomparable Ground Zero Cerebration Pessary with Ashtray Navigation's Melanie Delaney.

Her most widely-available solo release to date, A Siren Blares In An Indifferent Ocean, was released earlier this year. The sounds here are truly sounds to get lost in and lost to. Self-assured, deeply focused, and blisteringly/quietly emotive. From the opening detritus of Silk Wheels to the naked blues of closer Waste, this record is easily one of my favorites of the year. Bridget's latest record, Exquisite Falling Dust, is an equally enveloping study in stasis, outsider abandon, and hard beauty. The music is vast, filled with tiny elements of ambient, voice, drone, blues, and tidal unease.








An Indifferent Ocean
is available now on iTunes or on vinyl directly from (K-RAA-K)³. Also be sure to visit Bridget's website here.

Here is a list of favorites she sent me.


RECORDS

I Feel Good - JOHN LEE HOOKER
Evil - HOWLIN' WOLF
After The Goldrush - NEIL YOUNG
The Blues - NINA SIMONE
Heavier Than A Death In The Family - LES RALLIZES DENUDES
Trapdoor Fucking Exit - THE DEAD C
My Ancestors - CHRISSY ZEBBY TEMBO
Superstars Of Greenwich Mean Time - UNCLE JIM
Heart Shaped World - CHRIS ISAAK
In Utero - NIRVANA
Rare Little Batch Of Wonder - BOB DYLAN
Moth Lake - VAMPIRE BELT
Gravest Hits - THE CRAMPS
Transparent Day - WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND
Clearwater - CLEAR PEOPLE
Hex Induction Hour - THE FALL

The best show I ever saw was Hijokaidan at Install. Also Lightning Bolt, ESG, Josephine Foster, Portishead (recently).









OTHER STUFF (not records - just songs from YouTube or unidentifiable memories)


Mad Dogs And Englishmen - JOE COCKER/LEON RUSSELL
Whoopin The Blues - SONNY TERRY/BROWNIE MCGHEE
King Bee - SLIM HARPO
Pretty Polly - DOCK BOGGS
I Lost Something In The Hills - SIBYLLE BAIER
Lovely On The Water - FRANKIE ARMSTRONG
Sex Problem - HARRY PUSSY
Lonesome Dog Blues - LIGHTNIN HOPKINS
Careless Love - MAE MERCER
Cool Water - HANK WILLIAMS

I also recommend Bo Diddley, Mutual Extermination Club, Stephen Lawrie, Mick Flower, Hototogisu, The Piss Superstition, Obey, Richard Dawson, Jazzfinger, and Ignatz.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Elsewhere


Small View





















1. Charlie Brown - COLDPLAY
2. Jane's Well - RANGERS
3. The Living Word - CASS MCCOMBS
4. Past - MICRODISNEY
5. Sharon & Hope - STINA NORDENSTAM
6. Sketch 3 - TIM HECKER
7. Lay Myself Down - MAZZY STAR
8. 4 - APHEX TWIN
9. Terra Incognita - ATLAS SOUND
10. Quien? - JUANA MOLINA
11. Through This Time - LE VOLUME COURBE
12. Replica - ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER
13. Astral Traveling - PHAROAH SANDERS
14. We Found Love - RIHANNA