This evening I'd like to talk to you about Tiny Ruins, the performing name of Hollie Fullbrook. She's originally from Bristol and emigrated when she was little to New Zealand. In a recent 6music interview she said how this probably influenced her songwriting, on account of the stark difference in surroundings and the isolation of Wellington, her new home. In between the talking, she played one of the most impressive live sessions I've heard in a while. It had me down tools and just stare at the little radio I was listening to the whole [...]
Bobby Womack is back! And his new song, 'The Bravest Man In The Universe', is a class bit of work. His voice sounds as rich and as emotive as ever, while the production (from Damon Albarn and XL head-honcho Richard Russell) adds a depth and groove that gives a great modern spin on the Bobby Womack of old. It's funky, edgy and, above all, really, really good. After hearing this new track I indulged myself and had a Womack-sesh at work today, listening to The Poet (I & II) in their entirety. With the [...]
There are times when I listen to a song and immediately know that it belongs in this playlist. But when it's as good as my first choice today it needs an equally superb companion. It took a while, but I was able to find the perfect 'part 22. Anyway, I'll stop talking about myself and start on the music. We begin this evening with SBTRKT's 'Wildfire', which features the vocals of Little Dragon. The laid back, synthy bass that drives the song gets in your head, while the vocal melody floats above it in a way that I'm struggling to [...]
It's been almost exactly a year since we last posted about Fancy Mike, and seeing as he's just put up a new song on his Soundcloud it's about time he got some more airtime. Or pixeltime. Or whatever you want to call this. Moving on from the semantics, the new track is a two minute treat. Spacy, bassy and dubby in places, it's got a chilled ominous feel that's enhanced by the sampled vocal that drifts in and out of the instrumental. It's seriously good, [...]
I was sent a copy of the newest Kitsuné mix the other day and I've been trying to listen to it but I'm having problems. These problems are due to the first song, by St Lucia, being so damn good that I have more or less put it on repeat and not listened to the rest of the mixtape. Regular readers will be only too aware of my (and the other writers') love for all things electronic. Specifically the sunny, slightly camp electronic stylings of Cut Copy and Architecture In Helsinki, so the first song on Kitsuné [...]
People who know them have been waiting for this for ages now, so I'm happy to be able to say that Leisure have announced a release date for their debut album, which will be called Plastic Soul . It's due to be released on 18th June digitally. They came to prominence supporting Girls back in 2010, with the song 'It's Alright (On The Suez Canal)' catching many an ear. With Beatles-esque strings, quirky guitars and the charming vocals of singer Jed Rouhana. Fans of Girls, Bowie and Grizzly Bear should definitely take [...]
Tru Thoughts' Belleruche are now on to their fourth full-length release and they've made a concerted effort to shake things up a bit. We all know that they do the DIY electro-soul thing well, so it seems that they wanted to show us they can make a darker, more complex sound work too. Luckily, they don't disappoint. The percussion-led songs from 270 Stories and Turntable Soul Stories are replaced by a bass-driven, smokier sound. The production values on Rollerchain are dramatic: it no longer feels like a small band making an album on a budget. [...]
Jesca Hoop, showing off a pretty sweet hat It's all in the title really... Jesca Hoop, the Northern Californian girl living in Manchester whose music Tom Waits described as "like going swimming in a lake at night", is giving away a song over at her website for free. All you need to do is enter your email and then BAM!, you can be the proud new owner of her latest song 'Born To'. It's from her upcoming album called The House That Jack [...]
It's very nearly one of my favourite days of the year. It's a day when people are encouraged not to just click the 'download' link next to the song they're listening to, but to put on some trousers, shoes and other going-outside necessaries, totter down to the local (preferably independent) record store and pay in circular bits of metal and rectangular bits of paper for a - wait for it - physical copy of said song. Now bear with me. This isn't some new-fangled idea that some hipster came up with, but it's what people used to do [...]
If you've visited the site recently you may have heard us - specifically our newest contributor Max - raving about Anchorsong. Max saw Anchorsong supporting Belleruche last month and was blow away. Some people apparently describe the show "like watching a painter drawing on a white canvas"; Max said he's pretty sure the guy uses some kind of black magic to make his live show work. Whatever it is, you've got the chance to see him touring his awesome debut Chapters , starting in London's Cargo on March 22nd . [...]
Okay, it's a little more specific than the title suggests, but not by much. Producer/band member Johnny Jewel has done an interview with Self-Titled Magazine , which suggests that we can expect the long, long awaited album at the end of this month. As a teaser, they've released their fourth single from the upcoming LP, Kill For Love , called 'Candy'. That's the video you can see above. While we've all been waiting for the album to meet Mr Jewel's exacting standards, the [...]
It's pretty back-to-front, playing live an album that was created from samples. But somehow Introducing did it - and they did it well - with one of the defining albums of the 19902s. DJ Shadow's Endtroducing was a true labour of love, crafted from hand picked samples that he created, one by one. Nowadays it doesn't sound that impressive, but when you think of the technology we've got that Shadow didn't, it becomes a much, much bigger achievement. Enough about DJ Shadow though. Introducing, the live 10-piece band, have turned their sights [...]
This the band Escort, originally a production duo that has grown into a seventeen piece live band, who make some awesome 'nu-disco'. Except it's all done live, by such a large group that their tour bus is probably a double-decker bendy bus. And I can imagine that booking them isn't all that easy, as it means finding a backstage area enough to hold them all as well as putting them all on stage at the same time. However, if we stop concentrating on the minutiae, you'll see/hear that they are really bloody good. I stumbled across them on [...]
I f*cking love Rye Rye. She is awesome... a mix of dirty rap, sex, feminity, B-more and she's got a sense of humour about everything she does. On top of this her songs are always awesome. The list of people she's worked with reads pretty well too, with MIA, Diplo and Sinden among some of the big names. She recently (this week) played one of Noisey's Special Engagements in Seattle which was livestreamed across the internet. In case you weren't lucky enough to catch it, they kind people at Noisey have put up a video from the gig, [...]
The man who's the brains behind Sheffield/London based Secret Diaries was recently asked to make a mix for Stock-71 , the French music website. Unfortunately he's not all that good at following instructions... Luckily this means he made two mixes, instead of the one they asked for. He's split them into 'Day' and 'Night', with the songs he's selected fitting the moods appropriately. The first mix is a melange of experimental dubstep, two-step and upbeat melancholia. It never crosses the line into inaccessible, remaining engaging [...]
I've been sitting on this for a week now, enjoying it all to myself. And I really have been enjoying it. Quantic is a name that ought to be used as an adjective: "That track is so Quantic", "I just had the most Quantic meal" and "I met this girl last night and we totally bumped Quantics". Okay, so that last one wasn't an adjective, but who cares. My point is he's been consistently great for over a decade now and reassuringly this new album seems like it's going to stand up next to his previous ones (of which there [...]
It's two slices of Groove Armarda for you today, although they're both remixes. The first is by my favourite camp disco producers The Twelves. This is a more sedate slice from them, but it's got all the ingredients that make a fantastic Twelves production. It's still funky, dance-worthy but if it's on a little quieter then this would go down a treat for a chill. Groove Armarda - Drop The Tough (The Twelves Remix) [...]
We get loads of music to listen to every week (which we like) and a good chunk of it is really good (which we really like). Unfortunately it's impossible to put everything we like up, but we'll have a crack. Here are five songs from signed and unsigned acts that have ended up in the Safety, Fun & Learning inbox this week. First up we've got a song from Kaylee Johnston. This song is a lovely slice of acoustic pop [...]
Bands doing covers is a risky game. There's every chance - nay, likelihood - that they'll make something that either sounds too similar, too twee or just naff. Luckily here we have two bands who have done it right. First up is a cover of Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' by Revere featuring Toumani Diabaté. The original song is melancholic enough, but these guys have turned into something almost haunting. The simple, acoustic instrumentation allows the vocals to really come to the fore in a way that they don't in the original. And the Cello, oh the Cello! [...]
So the time has come to announce another big album release for 2012. It's only been 18 months since Serotonin came out, but they've been to Austin, TX and recorded a whole bunch of new songs that they want to share. In the video above they're all on their best behaviour, describing how great it was to be out there and the likes. I don't doubt it for one minute and I'm a little jealous, if I'm being perfectly honest. Anyway, the release date is 30th April and leading up to that they've got a whole [...]
Safety, Fun & Learning
![Quantic & Alice Russell with the Combo Bárbaro - Look Around The Corner [live]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/p4yJp4CLRL4_130.jpg)
The Rains of Castamere by The National
Nas - Daughters
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
CHROMATICS "THESE STREETS WILL NEVER LOOK THE SAME"
A Place To Bury Strangers - "You Are The One" (Official Video)
Azealia Banks - '1991' [Listen]
Metric Debuts Album via Synthetica Hide+Seek, Tickets On Sale Now For Fall Tour
THE MASTERSONS — BIRDS FLY SOUTH
