Blog: Cassette Culture

Robots in Disguise God knows why I didn't switch on to these guys when I heard thier Disco Sirens remix a while ago. Billion Dollar DJs are lining up dancefloor tracks for us and here are just a couple that blew me away. Crack this one out at your next house party and be prepared for heavy smoke machine congestion: Robots In Disguise - The Tears (Billion Dollar DJs Funk [...]

The Faint have had more than their fair share of blog time recently but the possibility that I might get to see them on my upcoming Berlin trip has excited me enough not to care and tell you about them all over again anyway. Its all borderline dancefloor stuff, slightly distorted vocals and upbeat tomfoolery. Seriously, there's sweet basslines jumping out of windows in these tracks. Tune in below for some catchy hooks and licks (what's a lick? I don't know. Sounds impressive though). [...]

Earlier today, in a moment of desperation, I combined jacket potato and strawberry jam as part of a mid-afternoon snack. Needless to say I left the kitchen unsatisfied and actually fairly angry. So! How glad I was to listen to Lykke Li who very much calmed me down. Her voice is very...soft. And she's the very epitome of cool, taking over the blogosphere in the last week or so and appearing on Urban Outfitter's playlist and I'm quite sure there's is nothing cooler than that. Except for this . [...]

Photo courtesy of Marcel Sauer Hi all, sorry about the lack of posts the last few days, I've been down in London at the Notting Hill Carnival which was pretty fun. I haven't got my photo's developed yet but this chaps are quite good if you fancy a ganders. Guess I've got a lot of catching up to do! Good news is I have a few interviews in the pipeline which is really exciting. I'll keep it a surprise who they are because its just [...]

Aaaalright. So Cassette Culture is getting quite old now (ahem...2 weeks) and I've noticed there isn't a single mash-up on the site!! Now that's fairly rubbish given I was listening to loads of them at the time I started all this. To solve this problem, I think it's only right that I introduce you to Immuzikation , a DJ/Producer based in Athens who was shipping out excellent mash-ups on an almost daily basis about a month ago. He's done some stunning work, particularly on the track "Fish Tacos" in which he seamlessly blends together 5 different artists [...]

I posted recently about Bloc Party's rather tame new single "Mercury" that had been nicely jazzed up in a remix by Telemitry . Bundled with the single came a few official remixes from CSS , Herve and Flosstrodamus. I thought I'd give you a taster anyway so here's CSS's take on Mercury: Preview "Mercury (CSS remix)": And while were all here...this is just amazing: Preview "Helicopter (Weird Science remix feat. Peaches)": [...]

This has nothing to do with tea really but I felt I needed a title for this new series of regular features and, well, I'm doing pretty rubbish at thinking well at the moment. So "Tea Friendly" is going to be the place I post about less-upbeat music, mainly acoustic stuff...basically stuff that won't make you spill your tea. Today, I thought I'd delve into the archives and whip out a couple of cheeky covers for you to accompany a more recent track from Ben Folds & Regina Spektor. Enjoy. Free download: Ben [...]

Here's a great track for you I've been listening to recently. Its not new or anything, just something I think you should be aware of, especially if you're called Ben. Preview "No Sex For Ben": Oh found this too - Alex Metric remix of "The Devil" (give it a minute to get going!) Preview "The Devil (Alex Metric remix)": Download free: The [...]

#22.1 St.Vincent - Marry Me from Handheld Shows on Vimeo . Hullo there. While it's nice to see a band on a stage, all plugged in to amps and illuminated by various coloured lights against an artistic backdrop, its even nicer to see that same artist knocking around in a campervan with a couple of clapping men and a violinist. That's the essence of Handheld Shows - a website of jerky, handheld video footage of bands really getting down to some bare, stripped down music. Here's one of my favourite videos: St [...]

So here's your first monthly themed mixtape: Psychedelic Australian Electro-Pop. Scary title. Amazing sounds. I've posted in the last week about a few of these artists; namely Cut Copy , Van She and Ladyhawke . Turns out most of these guys are signed to the same record label ( Modular ) and they've all been messing round with each others tunes. So! To the very first Cassette Culture mixtape. It's pure Australia. All the tracks are remixes of Australian artists by Australian artists. And here's mixtape #1's tracklist [...]

I'm finding it hard to keep up to be honest. Having stumbled across Cut Copy a few months ago, I'm suddenly been bombarded with Australian electro-pop from all sides . However, far from sidestepping this onslaught of Aussie shaped meteors, I find myself bowled over by their charms and lie helplessly as they strike me, just simply embracing their glory. Yes. I like this stuff! I think I notice a handy theme arising for a themed mixtape =) Today then, I bring you Ladyhawke who is a lady from Sydney who likes cats, [...]

Death Cab For Cutie must be nearing legendary status by now having just completed their 6th studio album, Narrow Stairs. For those of you who are unenlightened you may recognise the Transatlanticism album cover above from the wall of Seth Cohen's bedroom in the OC... No? Well you're missing out then! For today's post I thought some covers would be nice (let's have a little break from all that Australian electro-pop ) and, quite brilliantly, Death Cab have been known to play the odd cover version at their live shows. I've included "Blacking Out the Friction" [...]

The Whip were one of my favourite acts at Glastonbury this year. Two of their songs in particular caught my eye (ear?) - Trash and Blackout, which both build slowly to these massive dance-floor crescendos. Like many other bands these days, The Whip have dabbled in a bit of remixing and you can listen to their efforts on their remixes myspace . To be honest I don't think the remixes are all that impressive, although The Editor's track isn't bad. See what you think. You get the impression there's quite a lot more to come from [...]

Tip of the day is London band Battle (not to be confused with Battles - they are very very different!). Battle are currently signed to indie label Transgressive Records but haven't really had a great deal of exposure on the radio or otherwise. Battle have done some great live sessions they record at park benches and cemeteries.I'd love to randomly encounter them on a walk through London's greenery. Battle call their sessions "advertising breaks" and you can watch them all on their Youtube channel for free. I have, very generously, provided advertising [...]

Bloc Party are behaving very strangely. First we had Flux, a rapid-paced dancing shoes track that drove far deeper into disco city than previous songs. Then came Mercury and... well it's certainly had a mixed reception. Despite "Mercury" being a bit 'iffy', I was encouraged to find a great remix by Telemitry which I think nicely jazzes the whole thing up a little. Let's look forward to the single release on 11th August which comes bundled with remixes from CSS , Herve Is in Disarray and Flosstrodamus. Here is Bloc Party's new [...]

Oh dammit I can't resist! There's just too much good stuff coming out of Australia at the moment so here's another quick Monday post for you and good glory its a good 'un. Ok these chaps are called Van She and like Aussie neighbours Cut Copy they have roots in '80s electro-pop and psychedelia. A couple of Van She members, under the name Van She Tech are also dabbling in a bit of remixing which is always good to see. So here's your tracks. Strangers by [...]

This is a cracking tune! Disco Sirens from DJ Damian Harris a.k.a. Midfield General makes me rush for the nearest dance floor whenever I hear it (often with embarrassing consequences). Ooof! Yes. And if you start getting a cheeky bit bored of the original (or just knackered from running to dance floors) I've cracked open a couple of remixes for you... Preview "Disco Sirens" below: Download free: Midfield General - Disco Sirens (A Billion Dollar DJs [...]

That's Katie Dove-Dixon in the photo, on what appears to be a particulary windy day. Now I've been wanting to write about Katie for ages. In fact, I'd say she is one of the inspirations for me starting this blog in the first place. She reminds me a lot of Regina Spektor (particularly on "Go Go Go"). A hint of Eva Cassidy too maybe? See what you think. As far as I'm aware, Katie is currently unsigned. Watch this space. Preview "Go Go Go" below: [...]

Cut Copy have been popping up all over the shop recently. They had a few glorious weeks in the music blogs a while ago, put on a cracking show at Glastonbury Festival and even appeared on Channel 4's "4Play" music show the other night when I got back in from the pub. I think they have quite a chilled-out sound but some of their tracks are certainly tinged with dancefloor potential. Talking of which, here's a couple of cheeky remixes from Moulinex and Midnight Juggernauts. Anyway, lets let the music speak - I hope you like them: [...]

There was a time, many moons ago, when we would share music through the romantic medium of chunky plastic cassettes. We would compile a list of our favourite songs, order them, record them, label our masterpiece and then nervously share our hard work with another in the hope that they too would appreciate the music that you love. 'Cassette Culture' refers to this trading of mixtapes. And I hope that through this blog great sounds will be shared. If you want to share a mixtape, give me a shout - cassetteculture {@} gmail.com (ignore the brackets). [...]