Self styled, flame haired, penchant for sounds of days gone by…. inevitable La Roux comparisons out of the way, and with no disrespect to the wonderful Elly Jackson – and of course Ben Langmaid, LoneLady, is an altogether different beast. Julie Campbell, a Manchester based singer, songwriter and guitarist, harks back to a slightly different 1980s to that of Heaven 17 or Yazoo… LoneLady’s inspiration is clearly a darker, jerkier, tighter and altogether more Factory Records 80s, with more than a hint of the Bunnymen from just down the East Lancs. Produced in an abandoned mill on the outskirts of town in just a few weeks with Breeders, My Bloody Valentine and Stereolab producer Guy Fixen, we’re sure you’ve an already an idea of how Campbell’s nervous, awkward debut will sound…. well you’re wrong, it’s even better than that. An early rival for These New Puritan’s hold on record of the year, ‘Nerve Up’ is a truly brilliant record… we’re positive you’ll be hearing more from this unique talent.
New bands, future collectors items and must-be-seen-at gigs, we offer our readers the lowdown on influential international music trends and ‘next-big-thing’ artists.
We like our bands reasonably embryonic here at We Heart… after all, everyone’s heard them by the time they release an album – or sometimes even a single – and that’s just no fun at all is it. Four London-based 20 year olds who know a thing or two about embryonic status – half the band were in underage popsters Cajun Dance Party – are early 90s alt-rock admirers, Yuck. With no more than two recorded tracks to their name, Yuck are certainly at the fledgling stage of their new band, the style they ply however is not so youthful… with their single ‘Georgia’ coming over all chugging and poptastic, like Lemonheads at their best, a self confessed adoration of Dinosaur Jr and Silver Jews and the beautifully sparse, boy/girl tenderness of ‘Automatic’ having shivering echoes of Pixies or Sonic Youth. You can stick your ‘grunge revival’, this early 90s homage is much more our cup of tea….
Yuck: Automatic
Yuck: Georgia
Dumbfoundead: Jam Session 2.0
8 people, 5 instruments, 4 Continents, 3 languages, 1 song....
February 5th, 2010
Very little information around as to exactly how this was put together, but one thing’s for sure, is that the end result quite simply demands your attention. LA based emcee, Dumbfoundead – aka Johnathan Park – fronts an 8 person multinational collective, who with some magic from LA’s interactive media agency, Cain Mosni, have created a unique online jam session that pays homage to Galt MacDermot’s 1966 ‘Coffee Cold’ and Handsome Boy Modeling School’s MacDermot sampling 1999 track, ‘The Truth’. Just another example of how today’s technology, when used in the right hands, can create original and truly inspiring art.
Aptly named, Factory Floor have more than a passing resemblance to Factory Records’ early 80s outfits or maybe the likes of Cabaret Voltaire, Neu! and Suicide…. so not new, nor original, but if your sort of dancefloor is dark, beer-soaked and gloriously somber, then you’ll understand their undeniable potential for cult status. Incendiary live performances that transform the dark metallic disco of their studio work into raging industrial noise, via guitar strings abused with violin bows, are already causing somewhat of a demand for their pulsating anti-melodies and intense Joy Division-esque rhythms, if you’re in London this week then catch them on Thursday night at Shoreditch’s brilliant Cargo venue…. If not, then look forward to their first release for Blast First (Petite) in February, or indeed listen to a preview of said release right now…..
Well, it’s this time of year again, the previous year’s retrospections are out of the way, desks are clean, as is your living… almost. Yes, January is the time to look forward to all the good that the remaining months will bring… new beginnings, new horizons! We’ve got a few posts lined up to bring you our, and others, thoughts for the new year, and first up, it’s our predictions for the sound of 2010…. We won’t be boring you to death with The Drums, Ellie Goulding or Everything Everything like everyone else, we’re even shying away from Delphic, no matter how good they are, because we’re sure you’ve heard it all before, we’ve broken it all down into five very rough movements that we think will shape alternative music in the coming 12 months…. and please, don’t take the names for said movements seriously….. it’s only a little bit of fun…..
We’re gonna say this quietly, but ‘grunge’ is looking an early contender for the revival story of 2010. Electronic music, and the wonderfully dirty bass of dubstep/wonky/aquacrunk/[insert this weeks sub-genre], may be continuing it’s relentless ascendancy from underground to overground, but the outrageous uninhibitedness of ‘Pulled Apart By Horses‘ and pop-rock sensibilities of ‘Dinosaur Pile-Up‘ certainly look set to take a grip on the nation’s playlists in the coming 12 months. No better time then to reminisce one the fabulously gritty late 80s to early 90s Seattle and it’s grubby assortment of disenfranchised youths who would go on to change the face of modern rock music. Celebrated rock photographer Michael Lavine showcases his work from the time whilst Sonic Youth legend Thurston Moore writes fondly of the movement and the bands involved. Whether you’re looking to the future or just want to relive a bit of your heady youth, this beautifully presented book is a must-have.
Long time admirers of the traditional Ghanaian guitar music known as ‘Highlife’, it was with great pleasure to stumble across a modern artist, a Londoner living in New York at that, plying the trade with sincere authenticity. This is no Peter Gabriel, Paul Simon or even dare we say, Vampire Weekend, this is the traditional sound of free, loose, summer jams at their very best. Possibly better known as the frontman of New York outfit ‘White Magic’, but more than likely not, ‘Sleepy Doug Shaw’ recently supported Animal Collective on their UK tour under his ‘Highlife‘ pseudonym and with a little help from his friends in ‘Gang Gang Dance’ and ‘Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti’, ‘Highlife’ are the MP3 bloggers wet dream, we on the other hand are just truly captivated by Shaw’s stunning recreation of Ghana’s most beautiful export.
Highlife: F KENYA RIP
There’s nothing that makes you feel old like an electronic music label turning 20, and that’s just what one of the most reliably underground labels of the last, well, 20 years is doing. Warp Records, the Sheffield based label that has brought us seminal releases from the likes of Aphex Twin, Autechre, Black Dog, The Orb, Squarepusher and Boards of Canada, whilst single handedly defining the sound of a generation of bleeps and beats artists, is now two decades old, and to celebrate they’re releasing a typically well designed box set on 25th September. Comprising of a series of 10″ vinyls, CDs and a beautifully produced book showcasing the label’s rich design history, Warp20 features new songs, older previously unreleased material from their artists, a personal selection by co-founder Steve Beckett and the top ten pieces voted for by Warp Records fans on Warp20.net.
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A 20-strong female choir decked out in futuristic technicolour capes who sing and scream about drinking and smoking over a post-dubstep clatter... Gaggle are the London based rebel yell we've all been waiting for. Previously mentioned in our midweek newsletter, their debut, 'I Hear Flies', is released today and yes, it's rather brilliant....
We love this cute little illustration from Central Illustration Agency's Chris Brown for Carluccio's
'The Lambeth Palace' is London's "newest, darkest and dirtiest purpose built cinema".... the temporary space set up by street art legend Banksy is showing his new film until March 4th, there's only a very few tickets left, so if you're in town between now and then, we suggest booking them right now....
Independent Dublin based design studio, Superfolk, are launching a new range of products at this week's Stockholm Furniture Fair, that will pay tribute to Irish heritage... whilst remaining desirably modern.
Loving this high quality print from the ever-impressive Scott Hansen... highly limited to 200 pieces so move quick.
Previously only available in German, Berlin’s Innervisions have released a limited English run of Tobias Rapp’s book, ‘Lost and Sound: Berlin, Techno and the Easyjetset’. Investigating the city's love affair with electronic music and the world's descent upon the German capital in search of the ultimate party....
Ether, the Southbank Centre's annual culture-fest of music, art, technology and experimentation is back from 16th - 24th April with the likes of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio, Broadcast and Gil Scott-Heron... the highlight for us has to be the 23rd where mindfuck genius Chris Cunningham performs a live multimedia extravaganza... expect to be disturbed....
Running from 5th - 13th February at the rather brilliant Darkroom, 'An Exhibitional Orgy of Love Hearts' is a celebration of Saint Valentine's in which a host of creative types have been commissioned to create a piece of work based upon the heart.... All pieces will be for sale for £125, with a portion of the profits going to the Haiti Fund
The latest product from magic industry pioneers, theory11, is this rather tasty set of playing cards that commemorate 125 years of design and development by the US Playing Card Company....
Everyones favourite handmade accessory makers, Hard Graft, are already on the 'case' with an iPad prototype... nearly as fast as these domain name jerks...
Gaggle: ‘I Hear Flies’
Chris Brown for Carluccio’s
Banksy's Cinema
Superfolk
ISO50 'Adrift' Print
Lost and Sound
Ether 10
An Exhibitional Orgy of Love Hearts @ Darkroom
Bicycle 125 Playing Cards
Hard Graft iPad Case
