It is happening again. After two dormant weeks of doing virtually nothing (OK, very little is more like it), evenings this week were spent spinning vinyl by The Smiths and painting Andi's sewing room in preparation for putting in the bamboo flooring this weekend. Next up will be my record room, which will be a big pain; moving thousands of CDs, LPs and 73 Singles is not a task I will find enjoyable (hence the top photo). But the finished product will be the ultimate reward. I digress. [...]
Stuarto and I talked a lot just before my show began and in the minutes after it started about the radio station he's been building at his house. He's dubbing it 1020Radio, and you can check out the (right now) super minimalist site he's running over at 1020Radio.net . You can also find it on Facebook . It's been a long time coming; the station is nearing completion and just about to hit the Internets. All goes well, and time permitting, [...]
I waited till 2011 to finalize my albums list - all my lists - partially due to laziness, being busy, the holidays... but mainly because I'm not sure what the hurry is. I don't do this for the web traffic (clearly), so I gave myself a little more time to decide than usual. (And as long as this goes up before the Village Voice' s Pazz n' Jop, I don't feel delinquent.) So here's my list, the top five or so have been a lock for almost half a year, but the rest were in flux right till I [...]
On Wednesday October the 19th Music Like Dirt will be joining forces with Oxfam for a charity gig featuring some of my favourite music of recent years. Its all part of the Oxjam festival which sees hundreds of gigs across the country to raise money for Oxfam's work. Check Oxjam's website to find a gig near you, or even better buy a ticket for my night from We Got Tickets for the very reasonable price of £6. I am both honoured and excited by the artists who've agreed to play but [...]
Proper Songs have just released the first in a series of remixes of songs from Hong Kong In The 60s' wonderful album "My Fanthoms" . The series is called "My Fantoms Remixed", and the first volume consists of Grovesnor's version of "Diaryland" and Rough Fields' remix of "You Can Take A Heart, But You Cannot Make it Beat". The next edition will be released in September, and will be led by Design A Wave's 'At Your Door'. You can download the [...]
L'amour et la mort. Sans doute les thèmes les plus lus et relus par les artistes toutes disciplines confondues depuis la nuit des temps. Mais ne fuyez pas : il ne s'agit pas ici d'un opéra rock en hommage à une quelconque tragédie grecque, ni d'un album concept rococo, mais juste d'une production twee pop inspirée par un recueil de nouvelles écrites par Théophile Gautier intitulé My Fantoms , comme le présent album. Hong Kong In The 60s s'est en effet entiché des belles et courtes histoires centrées sur des fantômes féminins de retour d'entre les morts à [...]
'Other People's Toys' is a 5 track EP released two months after Special Benny's debut album Toys . It features some unique remixes of tracks taken from this album by the likes of 'Specialist' and Johnny Beverton. The reason I think this EP is worthy of a feature is because these artists have done what any good remixers should, they've made the song their own. You can really hear their own unique musical stylings in each of these tracks from Hong Kong In The 602s stripped out (almost MIDIish), yet [...]
A band I've been meaning to feature on this blog for well over a year now, Hong Kong In The 60s finally released their debut album 'My Fantoms' digitally on the 2nd of May and will also release it physically on June 6th. Influenced by early electronic pop, 1960s Chinese music and European film soundtracks, the 12 tracks include bittersweet pop songs, dreamlike instrumentals and even excerpts from a mouse opera for children. [...]
Here it is, the Turntable Kitchen March 2011 mix. It came together surprisingly quickly, and yet I feel like it is one of my favorite mixes I've put together in awhile. It is certainly eclectic, but that undoubtedly reflects the fact that my mind has been suffering from musical attention deficit disorder. I've been listening [...]
Today's new discovery? Hong Kong in the 60s. This London-based trio make music that is cuddly, analogue, soothing and shimmering. On their debut LP, My Phantoms, they have woven together a beautiful and quietly understated collection of feather-light ballads delicately imbued with gently rolling melodies, twinkling ambiance and vintage Casio keyboards. Lead vocalist, Mei Yau [...]
Hong Kong In The 60s are a multilingual London three-piece who formed in 2007 and are influenced by early electronic pop, 1960s Chinese music and Italian film soundtracks. Using their collection of old Casio keyboards, the group combine bittersweet pop melodies and atmospheric electronics to create what Sean O'Hagan of The High Llamas describes as a "lovely, understated and quite beautiful sound". Whats not to love about this amazing song? Enjoy Hong Kong In The 60's [...]
Med hjälp av influenser från tidig elektronisk pop, kinesisk 60-talsmusik och italienska film-soundtracks skapar London-trion Hong Kong In The 60s ett sockersött och atmosfäriskt pop-sound, som trots ganska enkla medel (gamla Casio-keyboards huvudsakligen) aldrig blir enformigt. Deras debutalbum My Fantoms släpps genom Proper Songs den 2 maj, och kan nu förbeställas/höras på Bandcamp . Nedan kommer smakprovet You can take a heart but you cannot make it beat - deras "... updating of the feather-light Brazilian-inflected sounds of '60s and '70s sunshine pop." [...]
Library Music done by actual librarians from Oxford? Now that's an interesting proposition!. Although of course it's not the only appeal of Hong Kong in the 60s , the London hauntologists, who managed to befriend the man Jon Brooks aka The Advisory Circle and Ghost Box with their restrained electronic pop melodies. Fans of the Ghost Box aesthetic , retrofuturism , and all kinds of nostalgic and ephemeral music should jump on Places, their free download EP, and subscribe to their blog as well. [...]
Tweet Hong Kong in The 60s will be releasing their album on Proper Songs early next year, but while we wait for it, we can enjoy the new free EP, "Places" , which was released today. It's a real goodie, with 8 mostly instrumental songs, - one of them a remix of their song "Disintegration" by The Advisory Circle . HK60s and The Advisory Circle released a brilliant single together earlier this year on Ghost Box, and if you [...]
Hong Kong In The 60s is a band I have kept my eyes and ears on for some time now, and I was very happy when I saw that their debut-album will be released later this year. The album is almost finished, and I have been lucky enough to be allowed a sneak listen to four of the new songs. The title of the album is "My Fantoms" , and all the songs I have heard are top quality. I especially like "You can take a heart but you cannot make it beat" and "When [...]
If you could tell us a bit about how the band got together and where everyone is from? Tim and Mei Yau have known each other since they went to school together in Berkshire. Christopher is from Cambridge, and met Mei Yau when they were both working as library trainees in Oxford. The three of us [...]
Upon first listening to Hong Kong in the 60s, it is apparent that the band does not adhere to the norm. You will found no danceable upbeat tracks to bop your head to, nor will you find electrically driven to thrash your head to. The band's music is more 1960s Chinese inspired. Hailing from London, [...]
Hong Kong In The 60s are Mei Yau Kan (vocals, keyboards, guitar); Christopher Greenberg (keyboards, vocals, guitar); and Tim Scullion (guitar, keyboards, vocals), a multilingual three-piece from London. The band have their first EP 'Willow Pattern Songs' due out on on June 1st. Download: Hong Kong In The 60s - Footsteps Share This:
Citing old Oriental pop, classic AM radio and the baroque melancholy of groups like Blonde Redhead and Broadcast as influences, Hong Kong In The 60s produce a timeless, delicate sound that exists between dreams and reality. PS: Tell everyone a bit about yourselves and what you're up to. Mei Yau: I sing most of the vocals and play a variety of small instruments from the 80s. I'm currently studying for an MA in Library and Information Sciences. Chris: I play keyboards and sing some vocals, and I'm currently leading a life of [...]
Fensepost
Sound Bites
music like dirt
Eardrums Music
HARTZINE
Indie Music Finds
Turntable Kitchen
lyfstyl
No Modest Bear
undomondo
Comfortcomes.com
Proper Songs
The Bee Gees – Tragedy (Equateur Remix)
Saint Motel
Knickers - My Baby's Just A Baby EP review
Lupe Fiasco Expresses His Anger Toward Pete Rock
