Hold your Tunng...

My favourite experimental folk band, Tunng, are set to release their new album And Then We Saw Land on March 1st on Full Time Hobby records. From the Tunng site:

"Our new album '..And Then We Saw Land' will be released on March 1st. It's available to pre-order on CD, LP, MP3 download and FLAC lossless audio download, as part of an exclusive bundle which includes a live DVD of the our Twisted Folk collaboration with desert dudes Tinariwen. You can pre-order the album (and DVD) from Full Time Hobby and if you would like to download a taster track right now click here!"

Well go on then! I've just ordered the CD/T-shirt bundle.

George & Caplin get remix'd...

Plastic Sound Supply are a record & art label from Denver, CO, USA, specializing in genre defying experimental electronic music and art.

They're celebrating the release of George & Caplin's 'He Really Got Through to Advertising' remix album with a free MP3, and how could I resist?

This Cacheflow remix from the album is right up my street. The term 'melting pot' may have been coined for just such an occasion, as Cacheflow segues seamlessly from glitchy futurism to dubstep-lite and all the way through to folksy, ambient beats.

Grab it for yourself here (Right-click)

Preview & buy MP3s from the album here

The Monday Chiller #24 - Johnny Flynn...

Johnny Flynn is one of those annoyingly multi-talented people who seem to be good at everything, especially when it comes to making music. Along with his band The Sussex Wit he creates good old-fashioned folk/pop music with no hint of pretension that serves as a complete antithesis to the current trend in certain scenes (i'm looking at you, Hoxton).

New single 'The Box' is getting a good push on 6music at the moment, get on down to Flynnspace to hear it in all its 96kb/s Myspace glory.

MP3: Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit - Oh, To Eat An Apple (Thanks to The Daily Growl)

And in case you missed it first time around, Brown Trout Blues is one of my favourite songs of the year and is well worthy of a re-posting.

MP3: Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit - Brown Trout Blues

'I could be somewhere else,

I should be someone else but,

I guess i'm happy as I am.
Sometimes I find it hard to be a man,
and it's easier just to play the same old game,
of trying to forget my bloody name.'

With lyrics like that at age 24, you know the guy has a future in music.

Flynnspace
The Box is out 12th November on Vertigo

Super Turbo bonus material:

The Black Cab Sessions Chapter 1: Johnny Flynn

The Black Cab Sessions, Chapter 12: Langhorne Slim and Johnny Flynn

The Monday Chiller #22 - Angus and Julia Stone...

'A book like this is an absolute winner. Hands down a five star master-piece.' Eleven Magazine

Eclectic Hermit favourites Angus and Julia Stone have truly delivered on the promise of their early EPs and produced a beguiling album well worthy of commercial success. Why is it that mainstream music outlets champion mediocre artists? Sod playing it safe, put some money into supporting people with real talent.

Angus and Julia Stone - Horse and Cart

Seriously, this album is in the year's top 10.

Stonespace
Buy A Book Like This

The (late) Monday Chiller #20 - Tom McRae...

Before Tom McRae became the wearisome troubadour he is today, his eponymous debut album contained a perfect mix of brooding menace, melancholic lyrics and musical experimentation. The first track on the album, 'You Cut Her Hair' is a fine example of this and only serves to remind listeners of McRae's later work that they'd be much better off listening to his first effort.

Tom McRae - You Cut Her Hair

Buy the album here. Average 5 stars after 60 reviews? On Amazon? Good skills.

McRaespace. Listen to an ace live version of Bloodless from 'Tom McRae' with total audience participation.

The Monday Chiller #13 - Nick Drake...

I'm in Edinburgh at the moment for a few days at The Fringe, but I did go record shopping today for the first time in yonks and have got 6 new albums and a couple of vinyls to pick tunes from, so expect a steady trickle of these from Thursday onwards, which is when I have to get back to Yorkshire and reality.

I got the Nick Drake Family Tree album last week and pretty much every track is worthy of being a Monday Chiller but Leaving Me Behind fits the bill perfectly.

Nick Drake - Leaving Me Behind

Maybe this feature should be renamed the Monday Melancholy Moment, most of the songs I post are quite depressing! Not to worry, upbeat electro next week.

Oh aye and if you are in Edinburgh this week then go see Hostage on Friday night @ Studio 24.

The Monday Chiller #12 - Tunng...

Tunng have a new album out August 20th. From it, here's 'King', a killer song containing a rambling grip of melodies combined with an ominous vocal delivery and the usual array of intriguing glitches and samples.

Tunng - King (Removed at the request of the Web Sheriff and Tunng. Buy the album!)

Pre-order 'Good Arrows' from Amazon.

The new single 'Bricks' will be released August 13th (my birthday) on Ltd Edition 7", featuring remixes from Dntel (aka Figurine / The Postal Service member Jimmy Tamborello) and Daedelus. Download it from Bleep.com on August 6th.

The Monday Chiller 11# - John Martyn...

Apparently when Beth Orton was at uni she spent most of her time getting high and listening to John Martyn's seminal 1973 album Solid Air. I can't argue with that. The title track, available below, is a tribute to John's friend Nick Drake, who was suffering from depression at the time. Heavy.

You've been taking your time
And you've been living on solid air
You've been walking the line
You've been living on solid air
Don't know what's going wrong inside
And I can tell you that it's hard to hide
When you're living on
Solid air

John Martyn - Solid Air

I Fink he's gonna be big...

Yeah bad pun but Fink is bringing the tunes and being helped along nicely by the latest UK Mastercard advert. You can stream his new single on the old myspace and download the tune below which is off his previous album Biscuits For Breakfast.

Fink - All Cried Out

He's a bit like John Martyn except not, but i'll probably do some JM on the next Monday Chiller so you can contrast and compare. Contrast, and compare.

Kings of Convenience / Feist...

Feist is deservedly blowing up all around the internet/radio/print world right now, so instead of posting the latest remixes from her album The Reminder i'm going for the guest spots she took on the Kings of Convenience 2004 album Riot On An Empty Street.

I wouldn't own the album were it not for a couple of guys I randomly met while working behind a bar at uni. One of them owned a bookstore and recommended the excellent Confederacy of Dunces, and the other told me about Riot. I'm not usually one for taking up the recommendations of strangers but these guys seemed pretty clued up so I took a chance, and both the album and the book remain two of my favourites.

It comes as no surprise that Feist's tracks are among the best on the LP, especially on The Build Up, her haunting voice coming out of nowhere with a melody that kills me everytime. (I didn't realise how much I was into singer-songwriter/folk music til I started this blog. Gotta get back to the beats!)

Kings of Convenience ft. Feist - Know How

Kings of Convenience ft. Feist - The Build Up

Ah go on then, here's the Chromeo remix of Sealion and a track from Feist's new album. Go Buy.

Feist - Sealion (Chromeo Remix)

Feist - I Feel It All

The Monday Chiller 6#...

Lavender Diamond - Like An Arrow

I get sidetracked easily. I was supposed to write about Lavender Diamond's debut album 'Imagine Our Love' last month before its release but, as with other post ideas, I never quite got round to it. But wait... Aha! The Monday Chiller, perfect.

If you really wanted to get into what Lavender Diamond are about and what their manifesto is, you would find out plenty about the 'friendship revolution' and all sorts of talk that owes a heavy debt to the vibe of the 60s and 70s. However if you're all about the music then you would do right to think of words like uplifting, heartfelt and charisma to name but three.

Led by golden-voiced singer Becky Stark, this Los Angeles four-piece have crafted a beautiful album full of pop songs (chamber-pop is a bad name for a genre), full of shimmering tambourines, deep drum beats, soaring melodies and lyrics about love, peace and friendship. It's good to see that the hippies never died out completely. It's not all flower-power though, Like An Arrow is a hypnotic piece of music with layers intertwined with layers and a P.H. phat beat.

Two other songs off the album for your listening pleasure:

Lavender Diamond - Oh No

Lavender Diamond - Here Comes One

Find out more about the LD on myspace or at their offical website

Word to your mother...

Word magazine are responsible for one of my favourite ever CDs, a free compilation that came with one of their issues back in 04 and opened my eyes to some great new music. I had forgotten about it for a while but yesterday I was thinking about Nick Cave and his performance with Grinderman on Jools Holland, which led to 'where the hell is that amazing CD I used to have with Nick Cave and a multitude of great artists on it?'. So here are the best songs off of the disc I got for free and am passing on for the greater good.

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Easy Money

Many people would kill for melodies like these. Many good songs have been written in prison.

Sondre Lerche - Two Way Monologue

Jaunty indie from a fellow who was on Marc Riley's show on 6music this week. Go listen again if ya likes it.

Paul Weller - Early Morning Rain

Go on Weller! One of his best songs since The Jam, dude sounds like he's trying to be Bruce Springsteen and succeeds in writing something better than old Brucey ever did. This is the one. too right.

Groove Armada - Little by Little

Sounding more like Zero 7 than the radio-friendly Groove Armada i've come to hate, my anger that The Armada even exists subsides slightly when I hear these beats. Barbecue-perfect.

Robyn Hitchcock (with Gillian Welch & David Rawlings) - If You Know Time

Shimmering acoustic folk with an eastern tinge thanks to the guitar work. Let this one soak in.

The Bees - Wash in the Rain

The ever-excellent Bees do it again with a great uptempo singalong song. All together now, wash in the rain!

Sons and Daughters - Awkward Duet

This song prompted me to buy Sons and Daughters second album which in turn prompted me to buy the first. They had me hooked, and they're from Scotland which is always a bonus. I'm gonna stick this on repeat for a while.

The Handsome Family - Gail with the Golden Hair

Time for a bit of oldschool country now, get some wheat in yer mouth and sit on the porch reminiscing about love ones lost and chances taken.

The Honeymoon - Passive Aggressive

Oh man this CD just keeps on giving, it would be my desert island disc no doubt. Ethereal melodies abound on this beauty.

The Concretes - You Can't Hurry Love

It's like the lady says. Bouncy indie-pop with horns, drums and singing aplenty.

Adem - Everything you Need

If there is one unifying theme to these songs it would be that each has a great melody that really hooks the listener in and enables you to either sit there humming along or get a little deeper and check the equally as amazing lyrics. Adem ain't no slouch, he's got the hook(s)up too.

Sorry about the brief descriptions on each track but I can't be arsed to sit here and pontificate all day. Tell me what you like or don't like about these songs, and how's the new Hermit? My photoshop has died so it's a work in progress but so far I likes it. Blue is the colour eh.

The Monday Chiller...

After a seriously inauspicious start the Sunday Chiller is moving to Mondays to become... ah you guessed it, the Monday Chiller! (Did the title give it away?). This will probably work out better than a Sunday post because anyone reading this at work on Monday will be in need of some calming tunes to allay fears about the week ahead. Or maybe it should be called The Comedown for all you party heads. Anyway, whatever it's called and whenever it's posted there will always be a great tune at the end of the rainbow.

So Tunng then. If I had a blog two years ago I would have posted this song right there and then, instead of sitting on it until now. Chances are you've never heard of them, so briefly here is the deal: two guys called Sam & Mike, both play guitar, one produces and the other sings. Their sound is basically folk, but with a few glitches and bit of electronica thrown in. They are taking music back to basics, and they make beautiful songs that meander through soundscapes of abandoned towns, forests and information superhighways. That last bit is made-up and nicked from Fight Club. The album that this song comes from was recorded underneath a lingerie shop, and the guys had to go through the changing room to get to the studio. Savage.

You can download extra goodies and find out more about Tunng at www.tunng.co.uk

Tunng - Tale From Black

And a little something else, I just got this one off their website today but it's what the Monday Chiller is all about.

Tunng - Woodcat

Smog...

Bill Callahan AKA Smog has just released his twelfth studio album and coincidentally i've just rediscovered his 1996 album The Doctor Came at Dawn. So to celebrate both of these facts here is a taste of the new record and some of my favourites from the old one.

From Woke on a Whaleheart

Sycamore

From the Rivers to the Oceans

From The Doctor Came at Dawn

You Moved In

Somewhere in the Night
Lize

I prefer the depressing/downbeat feel of his earlier work but the new shizzle aint half bad for a dozenth alb!

The Sunday Chiller #1...

Starting this week, every Sunday i'm going to post a track that will ease you through the week ahead and soothe your soul in times of stress. Well that's the mission statement, let's see how well it works out. And i know it's saturday today but my dad's birthday is tomorrow and i'm gonna be bare busy with all that lovely family time.

I hope it's sunny where you are because this track will go great with a beer or glass of wine out in the garden. Suggestions for future Sunday Chillers are welcome.

Devendra Banhart - A Sight to Behold

Angus & Julia Stone...

And he told me, i'd taste the pain
But i taste it everyday

I thought it best to do a bit of research for this post instead of being lazy like i normally am and nicking tunes from everyone elses blogs then impudently posting them as my own findings.

First time i really listened to this band was when their song Sadder Than You got picked randomly from a playlist of new music on my computer. I was trying to concentrate on writing an essay at the time, and it was half-way through the song when i realised i was staring at the screen and drifting away into day-dream mode. I listened through to the end then stuck the whole track on repeat for twenty minutes. The first thing that struck me was how effortless it sounded, the combination of guitar and voice sitting perfectly with the sentiment of the song. Since then it seems that effortlessness could be the buzzword for Angus & Julia Stone. I don't want to go and and gush at how amazing they are but i do think they're pretty damn good and if the following songs don't convince you then i can do no more. Angus's voice is described as like a young Paul Simon and Julia a diluted Bjork, whereas big Johnny Sharp has this to say: “Most impressive though are the songs - simple but blindingly effective acoustic compositions, warm boy-girl harmonies and delicate, less-is-more arrangements." Check it.

From the Chocolate & Cigarettes EP (2006)

Paper Aeroplane

From the Heart Full Of Wine EP (2007)

What You Wanted
I'm Yours
Sadder Than You previously posted here

The band are playing in Glasgow tonight then on the 11th in Norwich and 17th in Brighton. For more details go to their

myspace

or you can buy their two EPs combined into one CD from

amazon

Lastly, by the power of Youtube...

The host on this Australian show needs to seriously chill out but they manage to get through a slightly strained interview before performing a cool version of Mango Tree right under the Sydney harbour bridge.



Trippy video for I'm Yours, filmed on the recent UK tour in the van and various hotel rooms.

From MSTRKRFT to folk in one fell swoop. Boom!

It's still Ray Day, nigga...

If you don't know the story yet go here to catch up. Abridged version - dude was living in the woods in a log cabin he built himself, ready to commit suicide after working 65 hours a week in a shoe factory, heard a Stephen Stills song one morning on the radio and set off to become a musician. Now he probably has lots of money but still always sounds depressed.

I think the guy is great, saw him in Edinburgh a few months ago and he blew me away, one of the few artists to sound so much better live than they do on record. All the songs posted today are unreleased so if you like them then buy the stuff he has put out here and here.

I would write more about Ray but the songs are more than able to speak for themselves.

From the Green Demo:

MP3: Back on the Mountain

MP3: Water from the Well

MP3: Isabel

From Introducing Raycharles Lamontagne:

MP3: Trouble

MP3: Burn in my Skin

MP3: Shelter

From a collection of live & unreleased tracks:

MP3: Still can't feel the Gin

MP3: Simple Consolation

MP3: She's your Girl

And for a little extra somethin' somethin', check this duet with Damien Rice. Ray kills him.



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