Tracyanne and Danny

I'm off to see Tracyanne and Danny the night and I am right looking forward to it. I ordered the album from Monorail but couldn't pick it up on Saturday when I was in as the copies had not been signed yet by the duo but they did have it on in the shop while I perused the shelves and it sounds very lush, the first word that popped into my head while listening to it. They are playing in St Luke's,  a church just round the corner from the Barrowlands. This is a new venue for me but I have it on good authority that it is a great place for a gig. It is bound to be better than Broadcast where I saw the Regrettes on Tuesday night, the band were great but the view is very restricted unless you are in the front two rows and I don't think the acoustics are that good but it was cheap.

The Dreemas

I was going to post the mp3 for this but I think that if you like this you really should buy it. The Dreemas ep is one of my favourite releases of the year so far which is no mean feat as it seems that great new records are being released on a weekly basis which is not good for the bank balance but great for my aural pleasure, even with all the mutterings of space and records encroaching on space that was not meant for them.

The ep is a collaboration between two long time friends, Jono Ma of Jagwar Ma and Angus Gruzman of Dreems. They worked together on the 2015 release Another Day In The Sun, a cover of a song by Austalian psych rock band the Moffs which is also very good. The Dreemas ep is a bit different, more techno but with tinges of psychedelia, whatever it is, A Love Trance Mission from NK to 7s is epic. The rest of the ep is pretty damned magic too.

The picture was my pretty poor attempt at trying to catch the ISS on camara. I have been watching the fly over every night for the past week and full of awe at this thing travelling at five mile per second over my head

He's What I Need

Last week's bit of soul was He's All I Got and this week we have He's What I Need.

He's What I Need was one of three tracks that Little Rose Little recorded in 1969 for the NYC label GWP Records. The track is quite different to the other singles that were released on this excellent label. it's grittier and more of a Funk record,  and this is probably why the track was never releaesd as a single. I think it is an absolute belter. The track can be found on the excellent GWP compilation from the Kent label which also includes both of the Debbie Taylor singles that have previously appeared on the blog.

I can find very little on Rose Little, according to Discogs she recorded three singles between 1964 and 1967 and that is it which is a bit of a shame as she had a very strong voice.

Little Rose Little - He's What I Need

Asteroid No. 4

I sort of stumbled across the Asteroid No.4 a couple of years back. The track that hooked me was was from their fifth album, released in 2008, so it would be truthful to say that I was not an early adopter. That album is full of West Coast jangle, sunshine and psychedelia. As I explored the back catalogue, I still don't own or have heard everything by them as up until this month they had released nine albums over a twenty one year period. Therte is a definite harking back to the hippy days in the band's music but also a healthy dose of Spacerock and on more recent releases what you would probably call shoegaze for want of a better word.

Next week will see the release of the ninth album, Collide and to promote this album the band are coming to the UK which initially had me rejoicing as I reckon that they will be pretty good live, not sure what I'm basing that on but I have a feeling. Then I checked the date 31st August which rung a bell but I wasn't able to put my finger on it until I consulted my social calendar, L in otherwords and was informed that I would be at the Electric Fields festival, which is a better reason for missing them than a wedding or some such shit. I am still a bit pissed off as I have listened to the album and it sounds very good. Below is the first track from it.

Dub Together

All of this sunshine has had me digging out the dub. The music of Jamaica is not the first style that you think of when Jason Pierce or Spiritualized are mentioned but I think that Richard Fearless did an excellent job here when he mashed up bits of Come Together, one of the outstanding tacks from Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, with His Majesty's Dub by Prince Jammy and King Tubby. Long may the sun shine, although not sure my neighbours or the cats for that matter are enjoying the bass but they will get used to it,

Death In Vegas - Dub Together

He's All I Got

Not really much I can say about the Supremes that hasn't been said before so I'm not going to bother. Today's track, He's All I Got was the b-side to Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart released on the Motown label in 1966 and one of the few Supremes from this period not to reach number 1 in the Billboard Charts, it did make the top ten though, it peaked at number 9 for one week. I'm fucked if I will ever understand the record buying public of the 60s where soul was concerned as both of these tracks are as good as You Can't Hurry Love, You Keep Me Hanging On or the other ten singles that topped the charts in the US.

The Supremes - He's All I Got

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

Is this acid?

Me, I don't think so, however it was included on a compilation, This Ain't Chicago : The Underground Sound of UK House and Acid. For me Pressure Dub is an excellent example of Bleep House. The single was originally released on the Bassic label the Crash Records Shop in Leeds in-house label, a piece of evidence right there for it being Bleep. It was then picked up by Outer Limits, the home of LFO and Tricky Disco and there I rest my case m' Lud.

Irrespective of the tag you give it this is a quality piece of dance music that was sadly missing from my collection and coveted by me until it was re-released last year with the original mix, the exquisite dub mix, the only version you really need and a less than essential remix by Luca Lozano. I have been playing this quite a bit over the past few weeks and I think that it has stood the test of time extremely well.

Have a good weekend people,

Ability II - Pressure Dub

Celestial

Back in February SA featured a track by the Telescopes from way back in the dim and distant past, 1991to be exact. As I commented over at The Bagging Area,  I think I dismissed this band as another load of Shoegaze bandwagon jumpers and MBV soundalikes at the time without even giving them the courtesy of a listen, something I'm not proud to say I did pretty frequently back then, less so now but I have still to knowingly have heard a track by Cabbage on account of them having such a pish name. I know my bad, as the LYT would never say. Back to the Telesccopes.  After listening to Flying I decided that these bandwagon jumpers were not half bad and I had done them a huge disservice at the turn of the 90s so forked out for Splashdown: The Complete Creation Recordings to explore further and very good it is too. The outstanding track for me is Celestial, a blissed out, strung out version of the band's single Celeste, the single prior to Flying. I would have loved this tune back then and think it would have been given some serious turntable time. Ok, now it sounds quite of it's time and quite My Bloody Valentine(ish), so I was right in one respect, but that is no bad thing, there are worse periods in music or bands to be reminded of.

Kicking myself a bit to be honest for not picking up on this lot at the time, in my defence there was so much good music coming out in 1991 that it was inevitable that some would slip under the radar.

The Telescopes - Celestial

Penny Goodwin

A bit of jazzy soul for you today. courtesy of Penny Goodwin who as far as I can fin out only release the one album, Portrait of a Gemini in 1974 on the Milwaukie label, Sidney Records. I remeber somebody likening Goodwin to Marlene Shaw's sound at this time in the 70s. The album includes a hairs up the back of the neck version of Amazing Grace that even a heathen like me can appreciate, a gorgeous version of Rain Sometimes and a very jazzy version of What's Going On. But the pick of the bunch for me is the cover of the Gil Scott Heron classic Lady Day and John Coltrane.

Penny Goodwin - Lady Day and John Coltrane

Swam

I have to admit that I don't have much enthusiasm for blogging, can't seem to get my arse in gear.

Last week over at The Sound Of Being OK, Tim was musing if in the future there would be people who would lust over rare mp3s the way some of us sad sacks salivate over obscure pieces of vinyl and cds. I opined that I for one would not and that mp3s would never be that rare for me as I always make back ups of back ups and burn cdr versions of tracks that I don't have on either cd or vinyl. That's just the way I roll.

Today's track is a prime example of this. Ever since I first heard Swam from a Song By Toad session by Le Thug I have been wishing for,  pleading with the band via Twitter and Matthew at any opportunity to release the track on vinyl and at one point pitching the idea of an Optimo remix which could do for Swam what Weatherall's mix did for My Bloody Valentine's Soon.  However,  now five years later I don't think my wishes will be granted and I will have to make do with the inferior digital  version, the download code I received along with another seven tracks that were included with a four pack of Barney's Beer released for RSD 2013 from Song By Toad Records, when Matthew decided to put to the test his hypothosis regarding what was more important to people who bought records from his label , beer or records. Along with the 4 pack of excellent beer which contained a download link for 2 tunes from Le Thug, Zed Penguin, Plastic Animals and Magic Eye, SbT released a 12" ep containing a further two tracks from sessions recorded for the label from each of the 4 artists. The lovely red vinyl 12" did include two great tracks from Le Thug including the epic Sense In Scotland but not Swam, I had to buy the beer to get that track, which wasn't that much of an ordeal, although being alcohol it wasn't available in Monorail and I had to trapse up to Bath Street to the location that used to house 23rd Precinct Records but at that time had been turned into a rather upmarket offie.

Anyway, the point of the piost is that this track is probably the rarest and most precious MP3 I own which Has been backed up in several places and has been burned to at least 3 cdrs.

Le Thug - Swam

Our Girl

Quick post as I'm going out on my Scooter, annual leave to take and the sun's shinning.

Heard this mob yesterday on 6Music and then instantly ordered the single. It's magic.

Don't Feel Like Dancing

If the reports are true and I really hope that they are wrong, alternative music has lost a great talent and a genuine good guy with the passing of Scott Hutchison. From the first time I heard Frightened Rabbit probably courtesy of JC over at the Vinyl Villain, I realised that they were something special. I have nothing else to say at the moment apart from to repeat something that Prof Clark of the much missed And Before The First Kiss blog said earlier in a tweet. "Talking helps. call 116 123".

What Does That Remind Me Of?

 This was first posted back in 2009 and the record has been played many times and has indeed taken it's place in the singles box that would be grabbed in an emergency. A few months ago I heard the new single by Mattiel , Count Your Blessings which reminded me of the Sonny J single from 2009.  I couldn't get the tune out of my head, eventually biting the bullet, ordering from Burger Records and paying the extortionate postage rates from the USA. Over the last few weeks I have heard the song quite a few times on 6Music which suggests that the track will be getting a UK release.

Sonny J, real name Sonnington James III (aye right!) is an English musician/producer from Liverpool. The music on his debut album is a real mish mash of styles and samples, think the Go Team and The Avalanches and you are in the right ball park. I absolutely love it.

If you're not familiar with him and you live in the UK, you probably have heard his first single, Can't Stop Moving, as it was used in a TV ad for Fabulous Radio 1 but don't let that put you off as it is a rather fine single also, really uplifting with more than a hit of northern soul and Jackson 5 in the mix. I'm sure that I read somewhere that when this single, which was originally self released came to the attention of a few industry types it led to a small bidding war between the labels with EMI winning out as they agreed to put the single out on the long mothballed $tateside label, but don't quote me on that I may just have made it up.

Hands Free was the third single from the album and was released in June last year and although very reminiscent of the mid sixties, sounds really fresh to these ears, although I'm a sucker from that kind of stuff. I think that this may be right up Mondo's street.

Sonny J - Hands Free (If You Hold My Hand)

and the promo for Count Your Blessings

While The Flies

I'm not sure why I didn't keep up with the Joy Formidable after Wolf's Law which was released a while back now. It might be because that album didn't grab me like the previous two as at the moment I can't remember any of the tracks from that album. I will need to give it a listen in the near future.

While The Flies is one of my favourite tracks from the band's debut album, A Ballon Called Moaning which came out a decade ago now! On album the track sounds good but it reaslly comes into it's own in the live setting when it is usually extended to double it's length on record and hits you like the proverbial wall of sound. The version posted was recorded live at the Garage in London a comes to an abrupt end when the guitar amp blows up.

The Joy Formidable - While The Flies

Bank Holiday Soul

I have spent half of the gloriously sunny weekend on the scooter and am therefore I'm feeling pretty darn soulful at the moment.

I thought that this bank holiday Monday we should have a track from the first Goldmine/Soul Supply compilation that I bought. The cd, yes it was on cd is crammed full of classics from the likes of Chuck Wood, The Poets and of course Dobie Gray amoungst twenty three others.

I Can't Get A Hold Of Myself was released in the US in 1968 on the Bell subsiduary Elf Records and 1970 on Pama Records in the UK. Clifford Curry came from Knoxville, Tennessee and resided there his whole life, he died in 2016 at the age of 79.

Clifford Curry - I Can't Get A Hold Of Myself

It's Friday . . . Let's Dance

I've really enjoyed looking out and listening to all these old acid tracks recently, even if it is making me feel incredibly old. There has also been quite a bit about it in the music press, feel Mixmag anyway, which I had a browse through at Aldergrove airport last Wednesday then I had four hours to kill, I was that nostalgic that I nearly bought it! I was intending to feature Acid Rain by Victor Romeo today but when I listened to it and the flip I realised that the a-side was actually better. Love Will Find A Way featurinng Leatrice Brown is quite a rare thing for me an acid track with a full vocal as I think that the majority of acid tracks I have are either instrumental or with the odd sample or two thrown in. The record is unmistakably from the Windy City and was released on Dance Mania in 1988. There were remixes that came out in 1997 by Deep Dish but this, the Club Mix is all you really need.

Well that's the season over and one which all concerned with Airdrieonians will be glad to see the back of I'm sure. As I've said previously finishing seventh is not that bad with all the shit that was happening behind the scenes during the first half of the season. Onwards and upwards, as they say and let's hope for a top 4 finish next season.

Have a good weekend people.

Victor Romeo presents Leatrice Brown - Love Will Find A Way

Lovely Stuff

Can't wait until this album comes out.

A Song For You

God this is gorgeous and I think I prefer it to the Gram Parsons original, so shoot me. Sometimes I really love Ryan Adams, he has a knack of being able to add a little something special to the songs he covers a bit like "The Boy Wonder". This is another song that really gives me goosebumps and is probably the musical equivilent of being smothered in chocolate.

Ryan Adams - A Song For You

Geek Love, Again

It's been a couple of years since I last posted this track, too long, Even now, every time I hear Geek Love it takes my breath away it just never seems to get tired, it should be aired frequently and also be played very loud. Although clocking in at over 9 minutes the song never outstays its welcome and indeed I usually go over to the turntable and put the needle back to the beginning or if it comes on the iPod the back button is pressed. That bit nearly two and a half minutes in when the song explodes into life sends shivers through me every time. Peel once said "even if they never made another record, they will have achieved more than most of us do in our entire lives" and you know what he wasn't wrong. Classic is an overused word when I am talking about music but I think you should let me off if I use it to describe Geek Love.

Bang Bang Machine - Geek Love

user48736353001 Revisited

I returned to the Soundcloud dump that The Aphex Twin surprised everybody with back in January 2015 at the weekend, not all 198 tracks but a good few. Now I am not an expert on Richard D James so I don't know if it's legit or not but others better informed than myself were convinced that it was so I'm not going to argue. Whether it is or isn't him it is mostly very interesting and some of it very good indeed. Here are two which particularly caught my attention, one even has a recognisable Joni Mitchell sample, not something I would have expected from James but then again he does have a habit of doing the unexpected.

user48736353001 - Parking Lot

user48736353001 - African Rhyt