shdwplay#1: catch some waves.

"If you don't think drugs have done good things for us, then go home and take all of your records, tapes and CD's and burn them." Bill Hicks said it best, he always says it best and with his sentiment let me introduce The Super Vacations.

Now, I can't be sure whether the band had to claw the singer off the ceiling to do the vocals, or whether they do drugs at all but it seems pretty elementary. The Super Vacations' music is an old fashioned kaleidoscopic journey through their own states of consciousness. It's the bigger picture, it swirls and it sweeps, it distorts and contorts, it twists and it glides, it's up and it's down. It's a vacant solitary hut trapped on a stormy beach front but it's emanating a warm, radiant, all consuming love. There is sand in your mouth and salt-water in your eyes but their candy hearts are filled with sugar and bliss. Their music sounds like it was recorded in a basement, in the 60's, psychedelic licks cut through the sonic surf, muffled vocals claw there way through 40 years of crackling fuzz, it's crude, it's enchanting, it's out there. It's fucking amazing.

I've just invested in their recent self titled LP out on the amazing shdwply records, maybe i'll give you the lowdown when it gets here, until then, enjoy this piece of lo-fi beach pop brilliance.
Also, you can catch the drummer Ryan who will be over here doing live drums for Nathan Williams' Wavves in the new year, check tour dates here.

The Super Vacations - Van America.mp3 (zshare)

The Super Vacations - Sea Song.mp3 (zshare)

Check out The Super Vacations' Myspace here.

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a deer is for life, not just for christmas.

I was tidying up my desktop and organising things into folders yesterday (sad i know, it's a habit that Cassie got me in to) when I stumbled upon a folder of pictures from ATP vs Pitchfork back in may which I had completely forgotten about. When thinking back to that night, it's hard to imagine i'd easily forgot the ordeal I went through in order to get them.

It was the Sunday night of ATP and we'd consumed way to much of whatever we could over the course of weekend so we were bouncing about Camber Sands like kids full of sugar on the night before Christmas. Needless to say, after a weekend of such epic proportions our attention spans had dwindled into something equally as juvenile. Not content with the Sunday night offering of bands and all smoked out, we had no reason to be outside in the chilling night air so we decided to go and make use of what the arcade had to offer. All was going well at first, we played some games, playfully harassed some elders, won loads of prize tickets and were generally making the most of the last night at my favourite place on earth. Then...we saw it.

"It" was Extreme Hunting 2 a 1st person shoot 'em up but this wasn't your standard, post-apocalyptic zombie type affair, this was "hunting", or aimlessly shooting poor innocent animals for £2 a go. One of these sets of animals being DEERS, yes DEERS.
For those of you who don't pay attention, the comics that come with each and every stop scratching tape detail the adventures of a cat, who represents myself, and a deer, who represents Cassie. So you can imagine my outrage. It was probably about 1am, Sunday night, but I had to phone Cassie and express my outrage. Much outrage later, I let her go back to sleep but I couldn't let Sega get away with this travesty so I set about the Lord of the Rings sized task of warning everyone off playing the game.

Now, at this point in time to quote Alexander Shulgin's system, I was definitely not at baseline, so standing next to a video game shouting about how my girlfriend is a deer and not to kill them to anyone who walked by quickly wore thin, not to mention getting me a fair few odd looks.
A NOTE. I hate to find some paper and leave a note to warn people off playing it, something simple and to the point. DON'T KILL DEERS. That should do it.
Now, finding a pen and paper at 1.30am on Sunday night standing in an arcade in the middle of a festival at Butlins. Easier said than done, believe me. After some more harassing of passers by for a pen or some paper I noticed across the way a small kiosk was open, selling drinks, crisps and other such holy grails of late-night-munchie-seeking-festival-goers. After a lot of difficult searching I discovered that they didn't sell paper, but they did sell pens! One step closer. After about 10 minutes of trying to frantically explain the whole thing to the cashier, I convinced him to donate some till roll to the cause.

So, with the note wrote we headed back over the horrible game but quickly realised the paper was not going to sit on the slippery, slanted surface of the screen. So I went back to the shop in search of sellotape or any kind of adhesive, they didn't have any. I stood there for a while. Refusing to be defeated I went back over and tried and failed again to stick the paper to it. CHEWING GUM IS STICKY. It hit me. Everyone has chewing game. Again some more harassing of the general public ensued. No-one had chewing gum!? Back the shop!
He had chewing gum, so I bought some popped one in my mouth and made my way across the arcade to finally put Extreme Hunting 2 out of action.

When we got there, much to my surprise and dismay, a young man with a hat on was standing there, gun in held proudly in hand, choosing his poor defenceless victims. I ran over panicking, what if he'd chosen Deers already!? Ohmy.
He hadn't. He had however, just paid his £2 and as much as I flapped about, I couldn't convince him to not play, he was a nice, accomodationg chap though and after I explained my ordeal he agreed to shoot mooses instead. Me and Louise did a good job of sabotaging him and because of our interfering he only managed about 3 shots on the whole level and thus failed to get to the next round (if you're reading, man in hat, sorry but it had to be done).
He finished playing by which time the chewing gum was soft and good to go, so after apologising to the poor fellow, we stuck the sign to the front and danced around with a warm sense of achievement and an ever warmer sense of accomplishment. It was hard work, and all together took about an hour but we saved a lot of deers lives that night so it was all worth it in the end.

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end of year part deux.

I thought crafting this Top 10 would be pretty easy, though as i took a place at my computer i had a sick moment of realisation 'Suicide' by 'Suicide' was actually released in 1977 (and i would've got away with it as well if it wasn't for that pesky Alan Vega!) However in a mad scramble i have managed to piece together my super lovely TOP 10 of the year. It's does vary from Benjamin's list, even if that variation is slight at times. With so many good rekkids released this year, i undoubtedly left some awesome stuff off, so say something if you disagree, lets chat.

1. Autechre – Quaristice
2. Off Minor – Some Blood (12”)
3. Deerhunter - Microcastle
4. Cardopusher – Unity Means Power
5. Flying Lotus – Los Angeles
6. La Quiete – La Quiete (7”)
7. Starkey - Ephermeral Exhibits
8. High Places - 03/07-09/07
9. Fuck buttons – Street Horrrsing
10. Gang Gang Dance – Saint Dymphna

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end of year.

10. Foot Village - Friendship Nation

9. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals

8. Starkey - Ephermeral Exhibits

7. K-The-I??? - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

6. iTAL tEK - Cyclical

5. No Age - Nouns

4. Rings - Black Habit

3. Flying Lotus - Los Angeles

2. Why? - Alopecia

1. Nisennenmondai - Destination Tokyo

So there you have it, my vision of 2008's finest offerings summed up in 10 pictures.
Feel free to tell me if you think I missed anything or if indeed you disagree. In the end there are way more electronic based albums on the list than I would have imagined but I put a lot of thought into it and I feel that these are the releases i've been able to come back to and enjoy more than any other this year. It's been a good one.

Top 15 songs and live acts after the jump.

TOP 15 SONGS

15. Little Trooper - Wasn't Ready

14. Night Jewel - Artificial Intelligence

13. Telepathe - Chromes On It

12. TV On The Radio - DLZ

11. Nisennenmondai - Mirrorball

10. Baby Venom - Eye Patch

9. Pens - Hate Your Calender

8. Human Hair - Happy Birthday

7. Nisennenmondai - Souzousuru Neji

6. Drop The Lime - Hear Me

5. Gentle Friendly - Five Girl Night

4. Arch M - 21st Union

3. Starkey - Spacewalk

2. No Age - Cappo

1. Baby Venom - Frank


TOP 15 LIVE PERFORMANCES

15. Barr @ The Luminaire(London)

14. Fuck Buttons @ ATP vs Pitchfork (Camber Sands)

13. Chrome Hoof @ Dot to Dot (Nottingham)

12. Ex Models @ Dot to Dot (Nottingham)

11. Foot Village @ The Luminaire (London)

10. No Age @ Stealth (Nottingham)

9. Dan Deacon @ Dot to Dot (Nottingham)

8. Banjo Or Freakout @ No Shows Forever (London)

7. Aids Wolf @ The Rainbow (Birmingham)

6. Japanther @ The Old Blue Last (London)

5. Mika Miko @ The Dome (London)

4. Nisennenmondai @ The Hare And Hounds (Birmingham)

3. Glass Candy @ ATP vs Pitchfork (Camber Sands)

2. Dalek @ Supersonic Festival (Birmingham)

1. Why? @ The Regal (Oxford)

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i don't wanna build an empire.

King and the Olive Fields is a hip young man named Phillip Serfaty, he resides in the infamous London borough of New Cross, he is sometimes but not always accompanied by his very talented, beautiful group of friends who often come and go and when they come, they lend his music the sound of their percussion, their oboes, their cellos, their banjos, their ukuleles and their voices.

The music is delicate and thoughtful folk, it’s minimalistic but the quaint nature of it ensures that none of the charm is lost. The focus though for me his mature and distinctive vocals and of course, the lyrics, which are an endearing account of the life, the loves and the troubles of the whimsical Mr. Serfaty. It’s when you pay close attention to them that you notice the references to life in London but fortunately Phillip seems to have divorced himself from the often negative affects the city can bestow on you and sings about his idiosyncrasies in a convincingly upbeat manner. I asked him a few questions to work into this write up but his answers were so amazing i’ve left them exactly how as they are and are in full here for you to read. Enjoy.

(this post was originally written for http://thisisoffset.co.uk)

BS: How does living in a suburb as infamous as New Cross effect your music? Do you find yourself getting grouped in with a scene you evidently don’t want to be a part of?

PS: I don’t know how much of a difference it makes to the music itself, but most of KATOF live no further than fifteen minutes from each other and we’re recording our first record above the off-license opposite New Cross Gate Station, so i suppose you could say that we’ve created a little hub for ourselves, for better or for worse. As far as getting grouped in with a scene, i don’t think there is any such thing. I mean, musicians, promoters and artists know each other, but i reckon that has more to do with proximity and mutual friends than any kind of shared ideals.

BS: You often reference not wanting to be a ‘part of this’ or ‘getting out of here’, what it that bothers you so much?

PS: The immediate though that popped into my head is the first scene in ‘Annie Hall’ where Woody Allen paraphrases Groucho Marx: “I would never want to be part of any club that would have someone like me for a member”.

BS: Your lyrics are contemporary and sometimes relate to life in London, do you think KATOF can exist without the artistic inspiration of life in a big city?

PS: Sure, I think I could always find things to write about, whether I’m a penniless shmuck in a city or a dribbling recluse out in the sticks.

BS: You seem the have the unbridled ability to talk about your life and tell stories in and amusing and honest in a way I find similar to Brandon Flower of Barr. Who/what would you site as your main sources of inspiration?

PS: That’s a nice comparison, Barr are great! Daniel Jonhston, Smog and the ethics of K Records inspired me to start home-recording when I was about 17. Jimmy from The Bobby McGees taught me how to play the ukulele. I listen closely to lyrics and I’m a big fan of the SIlver Jews. I long to be able to write a lyric like : “When I go downtown/ I always wear a corduroy suit/ cos it’s made of a hundred gutters / that the rain can run right through”. I’ve been listening to a lot of Arthur Russell, so I seem to be more enthusiastic about the cello these days. I like baritone voices and my favourite performer is Jacques Brel.

BS: Your friends often join in with the fun, how important is their role in your music? Could you not say just do it all with an acoustic guitar and a few other bits and pieces?

PS: The line-up is constantly changing, members come and go. It gives me a lot of freedom, in that I can always play a show, whether solo with a ukulele or with a five piece band. Also, it means that musicians are less reluctant to play with me as there are no contracts involved, they can come and go as they please. There’s the cliche that being in a band is like being married. Well, we’re more like swingers.

BS: I admire the fact you don’t want to play shows because of their supposed benefits but say you were scouted one day at a show in one of these A&R hangouts? Would you actually be opposed to taking this project somewhere because it’s something you did for fun?

PS: If don’t think anyone would be crazy enough to take an interest in my music from a financial perspective. But if someone offered me the opportunity to release a record and travel for a while, well, that could be fun. However, as soon as money gets involved, your relationship to your creative activity does change. You approach it differently when it becomes your source of income, I worry the pressures of success would impinge on the music. I suppose I like the idea of taking the project to different places, both literally and metaphorically, but doing so with great caution. I’d try to avoid signing anything. Not that I have had any offers, you understand.

BS: What are your intentions now? What do you see in store for the future of KATOF?

PS: Well, we’re recording a five song EP that we’re going to release ourselves, hopefully on 7″ in early ‘09. I’m hoping to move to Paris in the summer, I know it really well and am desperate for a change of scene, I’m too comfortable these days. The music is my main creative output and will continue no matter where I live. Also, it’d give me the opportunity to rename the band to King And Ze Olive Fields.

BS: And lastly, what is favourite dinosaur and why?

PS: Probably the Diplodocus. It’s a huge towering beast but it’s a herbivore so it’s not too threatening. I doubt it would crush a fellow vegetarian. I imagine it would pick me up by my shirt and pop me on its back, at which point I would run up his neck, sit on the top of his head and keep an eye out for carnivores in the distance.

King And The Live Fields - Empire.mp3 (zshare)

You can check out KATOF's myspace here and go see them live this Thursday (Dec. 11th) @ The Amersham Arms.

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missletoe and wine.

STOP SCRATCHING ECZEMAS PARTY.

FRIDAY DEC. 19TH || THE LOCK TAVEN || CAMDEN

8.30PM-2.00AM || FREE ENTRY

STOP SCRATCHING DJS
KEV KHARAS ( NO PAIN IN POP )
MIRROR! MIRROR! DJS
LONDON SUNSHINE
& UNITED DJS OF BENETTON

it's the last friday before jolly old saint nick pulls on his furry leather boots and jumps in his sleigh, so in light of these events we've decided to have a little get together with our friends, play some music, have a dance and generally get in the christmas spirit. it's free entry all night and they'll be xmas gifts and giveaways for all who attend.
we've been chatting with santa too & he's told us that your name will be transfered to the naughty list if you don't come, so if you want that remote control car or a barbie dream house, i suggest you pop on down to camden and help us spread the xmas cheer!

& to get you in the mood...
menegaur - christmas isn't christmas.mp3

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careless whisper.

resonant guitars, crackling delicate vocals, twinkling keys, serene distortion, echoing electronics. crackling delicate vocals, twinkling keys, serene distortion, echoing electronics, resonant guitars. twinkling keys, serene distortion, echoing electronics, resonant guitars, crackling delicate vocals.
serene distortion, echoing electronics, resonant guitars, crackling delicate vocals, twinkling keys.
echoing electronics, resonant guitars, crackling delicate vocals, twinkling keys, serene distortion.
oh and of course, lots of loops.

8 tracks, laptops, computer software, tiny bedrooms, pissed of neighbours, garages, penny pinching, scuzz, a mass of wires all tangled beyond comprehension. home recording and lo-fi production have been the surprise stars of 2008.
with everyman and his dog picking up a modified synth, a broken drum kit and a tesco price guitar and having a stab at pouring their angst onto an 8-track or garage band, no mastering, and before long, it's on myspace for the world to share. i can't say i'm opposed to this, after all i run a tape label, i love the fuzzy punch of home recording and it has given me a lot more music to listen to too. some people have took the lo-fi sound and approach and ran with it, and have acquired many a more adoring fans than they had in previous years, no age, bradford cox and times new viking to name a few. some have tried and failed. i have a fair few pending requests that demonstrate this, i just don't have the heart to deny them, after all this isn't some polished, £1mil, pre-packaged jewelcase release, this is an extension of these people and who i am to judge them as people?

so aside from the big hitters and their new found record deals with sub pop or witchita, one italian born londoner has shone like a un-polished star amongst all of this, un-polised or not a star is a star non the less. his name is robert pulsan, it's not sorry, i couldn't resist. his name is actually alessio natalizia but you might know him better under the moniker banjo or freakout. he started recording his majestic art-pop a couple of years ago, surrounded by people he didn't know in his girlfriends house and without any sign of her showing up, he turned to her computer and began playing around on a music programme and not long later had written his first song, freak out. now, i can't speak for you but i'm certainly glad that his girlfriend never showed that night because since then alessio's music has grown from strength to resonating strength.

he gives himself just one strict rule when recording and that is that he always goes with the first take, of everything, including vocals. of course, he toys with the whole thing afterwards on his laptop, adding loops, and samples and all manor of other-worldly intricacies. the option to go with the first take gives his music a very punk-rock quality and with each new song or cover (upto date alessio has recorded 20 amazing covers of artists such as bob dylan, pavement, why?, amy winehouse, invisible congo people and even burial) that that he posts on his blog comes with a distinct lack of progression in terms production but a sense that he really is finding himself and his place as a recording artist.

below, is possibly the pick of alessio's original material, a track titlted '42' from his upside down ep. it brings together the resonant guitars, the twinkling keys, the serene distortion, the echoing electronics and the delicate vocals crackling away as allessio passionately lets the world know that "i'm not upside down". type banjo or freakout into any search engine and you'll be met with an abundance of interviews and mp3 blogs, which all suggest that he isn't upside down at all, in fact he is very modest and remains grounded despite his growing popularity. all the evidence suggests that 2009 could be a busy year for alessio.
keep your eyes peeled for his debut single 'mr no' out soon on the amazing no pain in pop.

banjo or freakout - 42 (upside down).mp3 (zshare)
banjo or freakout - the hollows (why? cover).mp3 (zshare)

check out banjo or freakouts myspace here
& no pain in pop here

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stella drinking grannies and other such tales

on the train last week, i saw the best lady in the whole world. she was about 70 i think, but was one of those shrunken small grannies who seemed to be growing down. she had a laura ashley twin-set on with a string of pearls and perfectly curled bluey hair. i liked her already. then out of her carpet bag she took a sandwich box and started eating some home made triangle sandwiches. i wanted to see if she had cut off the crusts but i thought she might see me staring, so lets just say she had.. for the story. i loved her already.

THEN she went into her bag again and pulled out nothing other than a can of stella. she popped it on the table we shared, got a hanky out and dusted off the top, opened the can and took a slurp. im pretty sure she did the 'mmm mmm ' shoulder shrug thing that i do when i like something. again.. lets say she did.

i almost asked for a picture. she is what stop scratching is made of.

ive been travelling all around recently. been to london more than i have been at home it seems.. which is actually quite clever considering i live in reading. not very long until the move now though. im hoping that my new found addiction to property websites will ease off once we're actually living in one. if the housing market wasnt in such a pickle i would maybe think of becoming an estate agent. a nice one ofcourse! who doesnt wear a suit. ive managed to find lots of lovely houses, even a new cross one with a swimming pool (we're abit scared we'll do a barrymore) SO if anybody needs a help finding a house to rent, im your girl.

i also went travelling to birmingham for jennifers birthday. i nearly had an asthma attack on the train home because i dont think i took a breath all night through pure excitement of being in jennifers company.

ooh also, something funny happened. really, its a blog in itself - a very long story. but i shall cut it into a small after dinner pie slice for this occasion. four or so years ago i was having the best time a girl could have at reading festival. running around, being silly, not even wearing a coat! me and my friend hannah-fringe, during a squiggle through mainstage crowds whilst trying to hold onto each other, a bottle of water and gravity.. made a song up. it went...

uh oh, dont let go. the waters getting low but you cant let go.

i cant say it was an immediate hit. but we sang it for the rest of the weekend anyway. later, in birmingham, during nights out i would maybe sing it to special people. then after knowing benjamin for not so long but him charming me into having the band kit stay at my house - i also sang it to vice cooler (drummer of kit and vocalist of xbxrx). at the time i thought he found it quite funny, and recorded me singing it on his recordable thing (that in my memory he just had in his pocket.. but probably not) FAST FORWARD to now - vice, as hawnay troof, has an album and has used my acual real life song and vocals on his song 'water' off his new album, islands of ayle. accidental popstar, me.

hawnay troof - water.mp3 (zshare)

sorry, that turned out to be a whole pie of a story. with custard. x

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"i don't make disco music"

For those who are remotely familiar with my writing it would seem as though I have a slight obsession with all things LA, while I can't dispute this fact, i must point out that I never go out of my way find music specifically from this corner of the world. It just so happens that almost everything I hear coming of the sunny state of California shines like a beacon and my ship can do nothing but be drawn in by it.
This time though I am going to write about someone a little different from what i'd normally rattle on about. Her name is Ramona Gonzalez aka Nite Jewel, Ramona is a artist specialising in video and sound installation and while i'm not really an art buff, in any sense of the notion, her CV is an impressive collection of collaborations and recommendations from all walks of underground art & music world. Her music as Nite Jewel is, refreshingly, recorded all on 8 track cassette deck which gives it the delicious lo-fi sounds we've come to associate with a lot of what's coming out of LA at the moment. The beautiful hazy sound of layering tape tracks lends the music a distinct esoteric quality, in the sense you feel as though you're sitting on her bed intently listening while she sways about the room wearing something elegantly sexy and performing solely just for you. Unfortunately, she's not but I did manage to get her to answer some questions for us.

**This interview was intended to be my first peice of editorial for a new blog i'm starting to write for thisisoffset but as a whole i'm not overly pleased with the outcome now so I thought i'd post it up here so that it's not wasted in e-space forever.**

BS: Firstly, could you describe your music as though describing it to someone who has never heard it.

RG: I think the Japanese got it right: "xanax pop". I also like "lounge".

BS: What made you choose to record on an 8 track, was it through lack of better equipment or was in a conscious effort to give the music a delicate, otherworldly quality?

RG: My friend Whitemare got me my 8 track. So in that way it was a matter of convenience. But also I don't jive well with digital material. It's not visceral enough for me.

BS: Your planning on releasing a 12" on the super hip Italians Do It Better imprint, how did that come about?

RG: It's already released. I was at Whitemare's house listening to some records. His roommate said I was biting "Glass Candy", who I had never heard of. So I listened. I didn't think we resembled, but I wrote to Glass Candy asking them what they thought of that comparison. That's how the lines of communication opened.

BS: Why do you think the sound of disco's past has been revived to such an extent recently?

RG: I don't really have an opinion about it.

BS: When I was younger I remember my Mum used to laugh at my Dad for being a disco fanatic in his youth. Do you think neu-disco is always going to carry that stigma in some peoples eyes or do you think sexy, cool acts like yourself, Glass Candy, Sally Shapiro etc. can rid it of it's misconceptions?

RG: I don't make disco music. I just happen to have grown up in musical traditions that also lend importance to bass and drums. Sometimes people can dance to my music, which is great. If people have misconceptions about dance music, so much the worse for them.

BS: You're from LA right? Are in involved/associated with the LA lo-fi youth punk scene at all? The Smell, Mika Miko etc. How do you rate the current scene in LA, does it help/hinder you in anyway?

RG: Actually I'm from Oakland. I'm not really associated with The Smell scene, but I love to play there. I can't really rate anything because I have such a tiny purview. I mean, I have a small group of friends and basically just go to see them play. Also, Los Angeles is so huge, you can't take such a broad brush to the music that is emerging here. I will say that Los Angeles gets an A+ for its ability to make its people feel comfortable NOT ascribing to any scene at all.
(BS: I wasn't taring LA with the same brush, i was mearly asking if - with her being based in LA an all - she's involved with that scene!?)

BS: And what about being immersed in a rich art scene, what are the benefits or downfalls, if there are any, to that?

RG: The benefits are all the crazy people and all their art information that gets stored in your brain so you can then spew it out in any configuration you please.

BS: What's next for Romana/Nite Jewel?
RG: My full length LP is out now on Gloriette records and full length CD out on Human Ear in a few weeks. Touring with Times New Viking and Deerhunter next week. Some possible dates with Glass Candy in the future.

BS: Lastly, what tracks are guaranteed to get you on the dance floor?

RG: Over and Over by Shalamar

You can purchase Nite Jewel's IDIB LP here
And you can check her myspace here

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the circle of life

rings (http://myspace.com/firstnationlove) are three girls from new york, they came about when drummer abby joined other members kate and nina who up until then had recorded a 7" and a full length together under the moniker first nation. they continued to play under that name until the recording of their most recent effort black habit, by which time they felt that their name change symbolised much more accurately what they were doing and what they represented. like a circle, they are all connected, they are uninterrupted they are whole. their music also mimics the pleasant shapes that are willingly thrust into our thoughts; effortless, soothing, continuous.

still, this isn't as wholly pleasant as one might imagine upon picturing the geometry and it's aforementioned principles, sure it takes great pride in appearing an unassuming folk outfit but underneath all the enchanting multi-layered three way vocals lurks a much more experimental, maniacal beast.
in 'double thanks' the vocals become short, sharp daggers that stab through circles and the haunting effect created by keyboards and ghost-esq wailing. 'is he handsome' is broken up with electronic noise that explodes into the furor from nowhere and the breathless gasping conjures the song a sense of urgency which perfectly compliments the frantic, yet beautiful keyboard hook.
upon each listen to black habit another door is opened into it's darker depths and you start to notice all manor of twisted intricacies that you were previously unaware of. this alone gives the album a great sustainability and has certainly had me reaching for the replay button.
as unpredictable as animal collective, as thoughtful as high places and as oddly unrestricted as (old) gang gang dance, this is certainly worth a listen, or two. or three, or four....

rings - double thanks.mp3 (zshare)

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yes we can.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

powerful words from the man who captured not only the hearts and the hopes but the doubts and the fears of not just the american people but the world over and overcame all the obstacles all the ignorance and sits now in the oval office atop the dawn of a new age in not just american politics, but history itself. we here at stop scratching couldn't be happier that at 4.00am today barack obama clinched the all important 270 electoral colleges and became the 44th - and not to forget first african-american - president of the united states. today america has risen above the cliches and the stereotypes and proved to us all that it's more than just a nation of obese, ignorant idiots and have voted in possibly the most exciting politician of recent times, one who promises change in america, which i'm sure will inspire change in the rest of the world, change that i for one, welcome with open arms.
i'll bet that today, for the first time in a long while, is a proud day to be an american and if i had a glass right now i'd raise it to them, to barack, to democracy and to a seemingly brighter future.

click here to watch barack's acceptance speech in full.

meanwhile, as the rest of the world is caught up in election fever and history is preparing to be written i've been spending as much time as i can this week watching the writers of arguably my favourite album of all time, why? playing live in both oxford and london. that's something one doesn't get to do every week so i figured i'd make the most of it.
on monday i travelled to the regal in oxford with alex and sally, we set out early so we (sally and i) could enjoy the sights and tastes of it's offerings and so that alex could swoon over a new lady friend. after walking around in an attempt to and failing at finding a decent charity shop we decided to settle down for a few drinks in a quaint little old fashioned hole in the wall named the white horse and after ordering beer and mulled wine we took a seat at a table which was opposite to one seating none other than the mighty boosh's julian barret (& the american one with the funny voice. sorry, i'm not the biggest fan).
we decided to stay for food as the prospect of 'oxfords best fish and chips' was one i felt i had to get involved in. sally had her whole meal in a yorkshire pudding, which apparently is a very exciting and tasty way to eat your dinner. the fish and chips while they were great, left me wondering how average the rest of oxfords fish and chips might be (perhaps someone could enlighten me here?) and definitely failed to make the top 5 in my opinion. after food we noticed that the bar had a very appealing and unique feature in that of a carton to take home 2 pints of your favourite ale/cider/draft, this is also something we now felt obliged to take part in so we opted for addlestons cider and black to take away, a brilliant choice until i spilt the majority of mine all over the streets of oxford.

the first support, whose name i forget, were okay but they seemingly wanted to be architecture in helsinki way beyond citing them as an inspiration and their abundance of people/instruments on stage mostly just sounded cluttered and unnecessary.
i actually fell to sleep during jonquil, that says pretty much everything about what i think of their music and their performance, the music sounded to me a little as if it wanted to be a british arcade fire, the vocalist as though he wanted to be morrissey or something, it all ended up sounding a little to much like keane, or something else frustratingly middle of the road.
the dead science were shockingly uninteresting, the vocals were irritating and pointless and despite the drummer being incredible, they failed to realise his brilliance and instead opted for a rather insignificant minimal approach and succeeded in only boring the hell out of me and everyone i spoke to about them thereafter.
i realise these are all quite unjustified ways to sum up those bands but none of them captured my attention nearly enough for me to write anything more, apologies.

so with all these poor to average bands and performances as the only ground to stand on tonight, and despite my childlike anticipation and excitement, i can honestly say i wasn't expecting to much from the ohio quartet, (which coincidentally started as one of the major deciding states in barack's battle to take the whitehouse) now in hindsight i believe they undoubtedly played the most exhilarating live show i've seen this year.
the sound in regal was one that perfectly captured all the intricate beauty of yoni and co's music while still managing to be loud and clear enough to immerse you completely within the performance. in a time when every man and his dog is using/abusing any instrument they can get their hands on in order to create their own abstract version of what pop music should be why? shine like a beacon to all these budding would-be instrumental whores and proceeded show everyone exactly how it should be done with their infectious, multi-layered hip-pop.
i can't remember feeling that level of excitement upon hearing the opening note or vocal of a song taken from an album i've listened to religiously for the last couple of years probably since i saw something corporate play at the irish center in birmingham about 6 years ago. i found myself singing along at the top of my voice without even realising it, which then made me notice that not many other people in the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as myself. this then brought to mind the question, is it uncool to sing along at gigs now? my guess is it probably is, everything is looked upon with to much cynicism in this day and age, gone are the times when we could just let down our metaphorical locks and let loose with a complete and selfish disregard, i write of course from solely my own perspective.
tonight though, i managed to recapture some of this youthful vigor, just as japanther had helped me do last month, and it fills me with hope that live music is returning to the days of old and i think i probably have a certain move to london to thank for me renewed faith. so, thank you.

the future certainly is looking very bright today.

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sons and daughters.

happy sunday everyone, we have some nice news and music to accompany t4 and your roast dinners today and that is that we're very pleased and equally excited to announce that we'll be doing a tape for the righteous lo-fi synth pop act, baby venom! (http://www.myspace.com/babyvenombaby).

they hail from baltimore, which for me along side LA and brooklyn is home to one of the most exciting underground music scenes in the US and everyone involved seems fiercely intent on keeping it that way, underground that is. with the likes of the notorious collective wham city, dan deacon, videohippos and cult tv show the wire to boast but a few of it's offspring, this is a city that oozes cool and conscious excellence. now couple those contemporaries and being from a city so culturally rich as baltimore and i can imagine that there is a great deal of pressure on new bands to uphold this level of integrity so it bodes well for baby venom that they are doing exactly that.
as a band they are still somewhat in their infancy, which gives it a real positive, esoteric quality. they make music that sounds like it was made solely for you, warm and affectionate full of endearing vocals and beautiful hooks. think along the lines of telepathe meets high places only that it doesn't sound like it wants to be either, it sounds as though it wants to be precisely what it is, which is the perfect pop music. but don't take my word for it, go listen yourself, you won't regret it. so, if i was baltimore and baby venom was one of my children, i'd be very proud them.

we'll be re-releasing a tape that the band put out themselves with a few extras thrown in for good measure as our fourth tape to replace the gap that will be left by doom patrol which for various reasons, we regret to inform you, we unfortunately won't now be putting out. we do wish both matt and curtis all the best though and just to clarify there are no hard feelings at all. hopefully you can expect to see something for baby venom before the end of the year but just keeping checking back for news on that.

baby venom - frank.mp3 (zshare)

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anything but crass

sorry i haven't updated in a while i've been busy working in order for me to be able to stay in london, it's going well, and in between pouring pints of peroni and sailor jerrys and coke i've managed to find time to attend two of the most exciting gigs i've been to in a long while, foot village @ the luminaire and japanther feat. pennie rimbaud @ the old blue last.

foot village, for those who aren't aware, are somewhat of an underground supergroup of sorts, hailing from LA they feat. members of the awesome gang wizard, among others. put along side that the fact that one of their members also helps to run deathbomb arc and the smell and this really becomes a band that demands your undivided attention and they certainly know how to go about getting that. from the moment they begin setting up their vast array of drums all eyes in the room are fixated.

foot village you see are everything but conventional, they aren't just out to make music and sell records they are out to create a civilisation one where "the national language is drumming and the national pass-time is screaming". they start with the ocean of drums which spill out over the stage from the inside out, presumably heading for new land and thus the promise of fresh resources and followers to help realise their intentions of a new age. the boats land ashore and the primitive sounding drums hit you instantly and perfectly notify you of the arrival of these forward thinking explorers obsessed with creation, but refreshingly, it's creation which is very much on their own terms. as the conquering continues, you become less and less aware of how involved you are as you're just so immersed in the evolution of the feral drumming, from what at first seemed like unrefined chaos to that which you soon understand - through their leadership - to be uniformed precision and the founding of their nation. the vocals shriek and wail out the orders over the top as the everything starts to come into place.

by the time it's all took shape and you're just beginning to understand what they are all about they already have london quartet pre (who did an amazing job of head support on the night) dancing under their banner, who join them onstage to aid them in our own complete conversion. you very soon begin to realise that these aren't just a bunch of tribal savages with a radical idea, because in terms of discovery and creation, they know exactly what they are doing and if that is building a world based on this background and these simple principles then write me up a deed of citizenship and i'll be on the next boat out to join them.

here is a track taken from their latest album friendship nation (tome) which was recorded by jonathan snipes of captain ahab and mastered by pete swanson of yellow swans!

foot village - materialist crap.mp3 (zshare)

a few months ago i had a brief e-conversation with one of the two members of japanther which left me with a sour taste in mouth due to him telling me that they are tied down with touring commitments in the u.s until at least early next year. this was awful news for me as their most recent effort, skuffed up my huffy, with it's distorted sing-a-long vocals, dance inducing hooks, hilariously defining samples and positive lo-fi energy has been a permanent fixture in my stereo this summer. so you can imagine my excitement when i get a facebook invite, of all things, on friday afternoon informing me that they're playing a gig at the old blue last that coming sunday. not only that but that they'd also be feat. pennie rimbaud of infamous punk legends, crass (at this point i'd been working may to much recently to realise japanther had brought out a new album very recently feat. pennie doing spoken word/beat poet on a few tracks).

they opened their set with pennie doing some of this spoken word and at first it was very interesting, if not awe-inspiring to be watching this totally still with-it old punk rocking back and fourth with complete disregard for his surroundings warbling on about africa being so very far away and other such vague insights. unfortunately this ended up making up what felt like the majority of the set and while i completely respect what both pennie and japanther are doing with this i couldn't help but think that this perhaps would have been best suited for the album and just a little bit to much live. despite the lack of audience participation during these mellow offerings it took not much more that a few notes of a song we all recognised for japanther to whip the crowd up into crowd surfing, floor punching, teeny bopping frenzy, which exactly what they did, consistently. the energy during the room - perhaps partly due it it being so pent up during the rest of the set - when they played their older material was so delightfully enthralling i couldn't help but find myself singing along at the top of my voice, which is something i haven't done in a long time!

japanther describe themselves as pop-punk, a term which so often has people turning their noses up, recalling misspent youths queuing up and getting drunk hours before gigs and generally being feeding off of each others excitement to see our heroes play all our favourite songs onstage. i'm happy to say that this gig, in it's element, did a wonderful job of recapturing my somewhat lost youthful enthusiasm and i left with that feeling you can only get from seeing a a band you love play the songs you love to sing-a-long to, a joyous warmth that kept me smiling all the way home.

here are two tracks which between them perfectly portray japanther and for serve as a great introduction for anyone who hasn't heard them. the first with it's simple hooks and distorted vocal chanting taken from skuffed up my huffy and the second from an older release wolfenswan which highlight's their knack for consistently using samples so effectively. enjoy.

japanther - boyz donut cry.mp3 (zshare)

japanther - cocaine sucks.mp3 (zshare)

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How to: destroy one soul

Take one 6.30 alarm clock and combine with a que for the bathroom and a 20minute walk. Ensure that the wind blows for added flavour. Take a dollop of grumpy commutors and roll into a late train, sprinkle with four pounds. Repeat this process but substitute the train for a bus, preferably with no seats. Mix these ingrediants in a bowl with some bitterness and a faint hangover. Now you can start adding the patronising supervisor, weak tea and broken mouse, but do so slowly to make sure the mixture does not appear flat. Once fully combined, put the mixture into a liquidiser and set to grating collegue laugh, and spin for 30 minutes. Then carefully spoon the mixture into a square tin, previously greased with emergency tax and bake in office temperature for 8 hours.

Having is job is baaaaadddddddd. Reading in the metro that an 18 year old girl won 7 million on the euro lottery nearly reduced me to tears the other morning. I dont need 7 million. Just enough to buy me a little shop and a house and maybe some mussels in that italian near charing cross every once in a while.

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viva la revolution

four straight days on the sauce has given me a painfully sore throat. was it all worth it though? very much so...

saturday night was shunt, a club that is made up of a sprawling labyrinth of caverns and tunnels underneath london bridge. the club is ran by a collective of artists who take it turns to curate a uinque event based around a certain theme. everyone bailed on me so i ended up going down on my own to dj a three hour set from 12midnight-3am, when i got there i was instantly stopped by a barrier and two men dressed in full militant attire adorning pig noses, who were refusing to let some customers through and even giving them some (in charachter) grief, luckily i told them i was playing and avoided their totalitarian ways. after being propositioned for gay sex by one of the workers, which i politely declined, i moved through an impressive corridor scene scattered with authentic looking props, dancing woman, men with accordions and all sorts of other atmospheric goings on. the vibe, all though was meant to be that of shunt-state control felt to me more like i'd stepped into the middle of a military coup détat with everyone around me behaving in an fun, inspiring and friendly manor.
i went and set up in the humid, dark, sweaty corner of one cavern in front a dancefloor that already consisted of around 150 people and after the national shunt anthem i began my set. i quickly learned that the crowd weren't into guitar based music and were here to dance their shoes into heelless oblivion. i of course complied. after warming it up the dance floor consistently had 300 or more people on going for it all night and when i finally managed to run off for a toilet break i realised that i wasn't just djing to that room but the music i was playing was in fact being played through the whole club, which had to stop letting people in at 12 because it was so busy. daunting to say the least, but none the less it was easily the most receptive crowd i've ever played to and by far the best experience i've ever had as a dj. i recommend you all go to shunt at some point. they've invited us back to play again, so i'll let ya'll know when that happens.

the rest of the four days of abuse and lack of sleep consisted of the last ever tuck shop in birmingham, the no shows forever house gig and the rolo tomassi album launch party. all were incredible but a special shout out has to go to banjo or freakout who played the house gig on sunday, who totally stole the show for me (gentle friendly teamed up with ponytail to the tune of a huge super group improvisation and while it was very impressive and exuded talent it didn't quite capture my attention like either of the bands actual music would have). the focus of banjo's set for my was on the enchanting drums played himself and dan from gentle friendly, i've not seen such a captivating display of drumming since i saw duracell play in the middle of the crowd in the middle of drained out pool last year at supersonic, it had me hooked from start to finish. unfortunately i missed all but 2 songs by pens because we were outside and hadn't realised they had started by which time the room was so packed full of immaculately dressed beautiful young people that we couldn't even see anything anyway.

i've got a job interview in a bit too, wish me luck.

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i need a job.

monday morning, the worst part of almost everyones week. i'm not even at work and i still can't ignore the distaste for this particularly gruelling part of the week, after an amazing weekend of free bars, good food and amazing company i'm having to go back to trawling through monster.co.uk and reed.co.uk in search of a crappy job. so i thought i'd procrastinate for a while and bring you a long overdue update on the next stage of stop scratching's plan for world domination.

so today i bring you the news on the next four tapes we shall be releasing after doom patrol. we decided that we're going to do releases, in terms of packaging and artists, in groups of four. for these next four though, we're making them extra special by giving away a fancy screen printed poster (by meesh of danger! laser! phaser! razor!) with each release, and when put all together form a four frame comic of their own. so without further a due...


the opening riff to human hair's 'happy birthday' is discordant, post-punk gold. it instantly crawls under your skin and pollutes your unconscious and you won't even notice until 5 minutes later when you're suddenly singing the notes aloud. human hair are a 4 piece from nottingham featuring henry of lovvers fame, they play cohesive, sullen post-punk with infectious, jangly hooks and smart, inviting vocals. they combine the abrasive, at times slightly uncomfortable elements of arab on radar, with the the importance (at least in my eyes) of les savy fav circa the cat and the cobra. they effortlessly blend together the confrontational with the listenable. i'm really exited for this.

human hair - happy birthday.mp3 (zshare)

teeth!!! are a three peice based in london, they fuse punk rock energy and ethics with positively unrestricted electronica. pitch bending infectious synth lines layered over the top of earth shaking drum beats and topped off with the seductiveness of lead singer veronica's raw but somewhat relaxed vocals. musically they are much more akin to the likes of a less polished dat politics, or if poney p of les georges leningrad headed a more balls out extreme politics, less rehearsed but with no less conviction. for those of you who are out of the loop, they basically just sound like kap bambino raised on a diet of punk instead of electro. they have remixes by the magnificent eats tapes coming out soon and are recording for the tape at madonnas studio in notting hill in october.

teeth!!! - dead boys.mp3 (zhshare)

male bonding are 3 guys from london, the play brattish garage punk with an un-ignorabley natural edge. scuzzy, brittle percussion that almost but not quite overpowers the frenzied but dynamic guitar playing. the vocals splutter with confidence and a sort of clarity and while each section is clearly defined and has a definite individuality it all comes together with the same clumsy cohesiveness found in the sounds of the butthole surffers and kin. it's britain's answer to everything that is coming out of LA at the moment, fun, energetic good times punk. they have a split 7" with pens coming out soon on paradise vendors inc. so keep an eye out for that.

click for link to male bonding's music (myspace)

chupacabra are a mysterious bunch, i've only heard two recorded songs by them. on those recordings, they create dark and atmospheric noise that makes you feel like you're cloud walking through an industrial graveyard on your way to the final showdown with sephiroth. live it's certainly a lot less daunting affair, lauren's wrangler brutes esq guitar sound ferociously rattles away with careless abandon while the pummeling tribal drums earge the march onwards and charleigh's wailing, eerie vocal lines bring it all together with complete unity. they're recording this month in new york and will apparently be returning next month, complete with a couple of new members to boot.

click for link to chupacabra's music (myspace)

so there you have it, keeps your eyes peeled for developments on those little beauty's.
x

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the n35 to elephant and castle, the n something or other to new cross and the n136 to catford.

good morning.
sorry i haven't wrote anything on here in a while, i've been busy making like the majority of female a-level or equivalent students in the country with delusions of being a fashion designer and i've upped sticks and moved to the capital. i hope dior will buy my crappy designs or something, failing that i can just go work in american apparel and live on apples & cosmopolitans and tell people i'm a model.

anyway, london life is suiting me quite fine at the moment, it was all a bit of a whirlwind of events and i only wish i had a little more money so i could be a little more picky with the shit job i'm inevitably going to have to get to be able to enjoy it all. yesterday i went for an interview with what i can only imagine is the epitome of your slick city cockney wide boy idiot, as soon as i sat down he told my i had to lose my moustache, and made some ridiculous sounds as though it were causing him actual distress. i knew then i wasn't going to accept the job. then he answered his phone, harped on about something unbearable pretentious and uninteresting to his friend for about 5 minutes (not standard practise in most interview) then he spoke about the money and bonuses, didn't tell me anything about the role and said i could start monday. i won't be starting monday. i told the agency who got me the job he was one the worst people i've ever met in my life, which he genuinely was.

so deciding i was in dire need of a drink and some socialising with real people i headed down to the old blue last to watch teeth!!! play at the vice launch party. i got there way to early and decided to read my book alone in the corner with a pint, which was going quite nicely until a mammoth party of young western european louts and their infuriating dates decided to pretty much sit on top of me and blow those insanely loud party whistle things at 3 second intervals without fail and pretty much ruined any concentration i had going on. anyway, it was about 9.00pm now and i imagine that reading a book alone in a pub at that time might come across as a bit desperate, or as though i might appear to be trying to look solitary and intellectual in order to impress girls or something. i really wasn't, i just have no friends.
so, i started flicking though one of the many new issues of vice scattered about the place in hope that it would at least make me look like i was there for the same thing as everyone else. i've never really read anything more than the reviews or the music interviews in there and here's what how i would sum it up; we've all seen city of god right? great film. anyway, take that, put it into a magazine some eastpak and fly 53 adverts, write some pointless reviews that don't ever talk about the music on some admittedly good bands and you've pretty much got vice.
there's only so long you can sit around pretending to read that magazine before you might actually start to look like you're enjoying it, so i decided to go upstairs and see if teeth!!! were on. they weren't, so i had to stand around and flip through it some more.
i'd had a fair few pints by this point and i actually quite enjoy my own company, so i didn't much mind. i was curious as to where the free shots and laughing gas were though, i was hoping to re-live atp 07 when me and trav followed the dude who was selling laughing gas around for like 2 hours and bought most of his supply. but no, no clowns on tables pouring spirits into peoples shot glasses, and not even a single balloon, save for the three behind the bar that were oh so comically arranged to look like cock and balls. bad form.

finally 20 or so minutes of leaning against the bar with my arms folded later teeth!!! were ready to go on, at which point oscar from sister mantos came in (who played my night last saturday and was incredible and certainly lived up to my expectations of being a genuine, interesting guy) so we headed to the front the stage for a better view. i don't know how many of you are aware, since i've not really mentioned it at all probably not many, but were doing a tape for them soon, so i'm going to save all the musings (as this post is getting to long for anyone to bother reading anyway) for another post, maybe later today, on all our new babies with some mp3s etc. they played a great set though, energetic and lively, fused together with a punk rock spirit and a general good time party vibe. it propbably wasn't gothic indie enough for the crowd as nobody seemed to move at all, they must have been to busy talking about the birthday party or nick cave or something.

we left shortly after that and went down to simon's (from teeth!!!) night nails at the fili bar, we were greeted by a 7 foot man in a gold leotard, long fur coat, afro wig and gold body paint, not quite what i was expecting but i guess that's the beauty of london. anyway, we headed down stairs where there were just as many interesting characters all seemingly having a great time, which is what i like to see. a reasonably jack daniels later and some dudes from manchester dressed head to toe in lyca with balloons stuffed inside their skin tight attire came onto the dance floor, danced around to some house track and preceded to pop all the balloons in a rather provocative manor. i haven't a clue what that was all about, but it made me chuckle all the same.
next, blechdom and blevin blectum were on. blectum sung about 30 minutes of delightfully quirky, but beautifully sincere pop songs, accompanied by some extraordinary piano playing, at times it was heartfelt, at times it was hilarious and at times it was a little south park, but in a really enjoyable way. i only managed to see about 15 minutes of blevin, who started with some incredible rhythmic electronic noise that had me wanting to stay, defiantly have to check out more of her.
i decided though i was starting to slow down and that i better had embark on the perilous quest of the night buses back to catford, thing is i didn't actually know what bus to get or where to get it from and as my housemate alex had it phone off, i ended up getting three separate buses, at £2 each and not getting home until about 3am, when i left at 1am.

in all, i think it was a great first night out in london on my own and a great introduction to the city. despite the occasional feeling of being so obviously on my own, i think i'd much rather than be here than in birmingham at some wannabe disco night or another.

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