Sunday 28 February 2010

PLASTISCINES

WOW!  2 posts in one day, what have you done to deserve this, you might be asking yourself either in despair or surprise.  The latter would obviously be preferable.

More French music too, from 'Plastiscines.'

However, before addressing the music, I feel we must first deal with that enormous elephant in the corner.  Yeah, they're dead fit, or as fellow French rock-popsters 'The Teenagers' might say, 'more than fuckable.'



As far as modern influences and similar artists go I'd have to say I feel like I can hear a bit of 'Ting Tings' which isn't necessarily bad, and of course since they are are rock band with female vocals the wonderful Karen O and the 'Yeah Yeah Yeahs' can be heard in there too, but without quite the same lyrical sophistication, but for me, I'm all about the music behind that talking nonsense.

What's also good to hear is that they do sing some of their songs in French which I do like to see/hear just because I feel it's important that they should not neglect their home fans.  Also, it makes them sound like what Yelle might if she swapped the synths for guitars.



Très belles, non?

Saturday 27 February 2010

Eine Kleine House Musik

Howdy doodle, peeps.

Last night, something occured to me as I was staring at a poster, is it 'rit-on', 'right-on' or is it 'brighton' with a silent 'b.'  All this time I've always assumed that it was the first pronunciation, but he's English, not French.  If you haven't already worked out, I am of course talking about Riton; DJ, producer and musician extraordinaire.

Recently he's been busy making some squelchy and banging electro beats with Seiji.



Computer Juice (official video) from Riton Time on Vimeo.

Nice.

But, that's not what I'm talkin' 'bout Willis!

I am of course on about his latest collaboration with super Coolcat DJ Mehdi which is an all house project called 'Carte Blanche.'  I was of course a little apprehensive at first, I mean, when I were a lad, it sounded like this:



But, let's not forget that it can sound like this:



I have to say that after listening to 'In The Mix', the first track to be 'leaked' from the upcoming EP sounds pretty nice and is definitely on the Daft Punk side of the spectrum and is very condusive for move-bustin' and I expect to be throwing some crazy shapes to it next Friday.

And by the way, according to his wikipedia page I was wrong with all my guesses, it's actually pronounced reet-on.  Which kinda makes sense, seeing as he's from the north of England

Tuesday 23 February 2010

So what do drums eat?

Helloooooo.

Did you like my echo effect?  Me neither, frivolous and annoying.  Let me start again.

Hello.

But now I can't concentrate, knowing that we are living in this artificial and totally contrived greeting because surely, once we know life is artificial and contrived there really is no reason to continue and the only option remaining must surely be suicide.  Let me offer my sincerest apologies to you, my readers, but please don't kill yourselves for then I will have no readers and my blog will have no purpose and will have to commit sui-blog-icide/ I'll just discontinue it.

Anyways, that was all a bit weird, not really sure where that all came from

More New Yoikers, that is at least after they left New Joysey, for y'all today, but these ones are called 'Cymbals Eat Guitars.'  Perhaps what I like most about them is they're a little different from other stuff I've been listening to lately because, just for the moment, I'm growing a little tired of dreamy pop and surfer rock.

This guys are just playing their very own 'indie-rock' music, and it is good.  Definitely American from the sounds of its guitars, but not typically (contemporary) New York, at least in the current musical climate.

'And The Hazy Sea' sounds like it's strarted about 2 minutes into itself, it's opening is that grand, and listening to it I get the impression that seeing it live would be quite impressive with the almost shouted lyrics and merciless guitars.

So if you're in the London area then tomorrow, go see them at the Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, a really nice and small venue, too.  I would, but I have no money and I don't think many people I know really care.

Sunday 21 February 2010

LOUD

SLT!

How's it going? Remeber me? I'm the guy that writes stuff here? You know, about 1, 80m, medium-long brown hour, incredibly handsome? What do you mean 'doesn't ring any bells?! You best remember quick-smart or I'm gonna hurt you!

Sorry for the lack of update-age, if anyone is indeed out there, I've been brushing up on my Big Pink and Drums in preparation for yesterdays Shockwaves NME tour at the O2 academy in Brixton (gotta keep the sponsors happy, hey Tiger).

Anyway, it was definitely worth it. Even though I missed the opening song from The Drums due to the absolutely epic mission involved in getting from Canada Water to Brixton when the Jubilee line is shut and buses taking 20 minutes to turn up, but whatever, I wasn't annoyed at all.

Anyway, The Drums were pretty darn good with Jonathan adding some interesting effects to his vocal performance, but still keeping it powerful and then there was some c-crazy tamborine work going on at one point and I must confess I can't quite remember if it was Adam or Jacob jumping across the stage. They played a few tracks from their 'Summertime' EP, but also played some new stuff too which sounded good.

Next up were The Big Pink, and my oh my, what a performance. With a smoke machine and a cool lighting show going on behind as they walked on and then the incredible noise they managed to produce as they geared up to play 'Too Young To Love,' is actually impossible to describe as I just wouldn't be able to do it justice, you'll just have to see them live to understand.

At this stage, I think a few Bombay Bicycle Club fans may have wet themselves in fear and there were two guys standing next to me who looked thouroughly unimpressed throughout the set. Afterwards Robbie was clearly a bit hot and decided to take off his jacket and to be honest I was expecting him to be classic heoin chic, but in fact his arms were magnificent, I was quite taken aback by their musculature, but that's irrelevant. They follwed that up with 'At War With The Sun' which is a good track, but after hearing how they played 'Too Young To Love,' I would have loved to hear 'Crystal Visions,' but alas they only had a 30 minute set.

'Velvet' was, as expected, amazing too and then came 'Frisk' followed by 'Tonight.' So, therfore, they closed with the positively anthemic 'Dominos' which went down an absoulte treat and was even followed by some crowd surfing from Robbie and you could see the steward was not best pleased with this, but hey man, this is rock 'n' roll! But, for me the highlight of the performance was definitely the opening because as I said, it was just so loud and, just, wow.

What struck me after this performance though was how tame The Drums seemed in comparison to this. This is probably just because of their different styles and that The Drums were the opening act so therefore the least big, but honestly, The Big Pink were on another planet.

I decided to leave after that because I'm really not too fussed about BBC and that would mean waiting ages for The Maccabees, who are alright I reckon, but I did only buy tickets to this because I saw 'The Big Pink ' were playing.

Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera and take any pictures because I thought an NME show would be a great time to wear my 'Sonic Tramp' tee, thinking that other Big Pink fans will appreciate the Sonic Youth reference, and you don't wear a cool shirt like this only to cover it up with a jacket (which would have provided space for a camera), no matter how cold it is. But unfortunately, it recieved no attention at all which has led me to beleive that the 'indie' crowd is nowhere near as fun as the electro crowd where my tees go down a treat.

All in all though, a great gig.

Yours
Electro-Bitch






Sunday 14 February 2010

Horse Shoes

Why do horses need shoes? What's so special about horses? Why not cow shoes or dog shoes? What does it mean?!

Well, anyway, they have served one useful purpose at least and given their name to a pretty good New York band, Horse Shoes.

These guys sure sound purty nice. On their track 'Changing Winds' they manage to combine some dreamy and tropical beats with soothing vocals which sounds a bit like what might happen if 'Friendly Fires' and 'Air France' had a baby, but then Fires walked out only for it to then be raised by 'The Sound of Arrows' in a weird musical love triangle.

The other songs that I've managed to listen to follow the same sort of genre. 'The Perfect Combination' has a pretty tasty synth intro that you could probably listen to forever with your eyes shut with a huge grin on your face, hell I'm even doing it right now!

Basically, you should definitely get your hands on their music because they are good ande depending on how my financial situation develops I'll try and catch them in London later this month, although I may have to save my money for Crystal Castles in April.

Here's a little playlist I made for today, will try and get it on Spotify, but it's being a pain and not working for me.

  1. Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys
  2. Denis - Blondie
  3. If I Ever Feel Better - Phoenix
  4. Into The Clouds - The Sound Of Arrows
  5. Ce Jeu - Yelle
  6. Islands - The xx
  7. F1rst Love - Uffie
  8. Back Of The Van - Ladyhawke
  9. You Please Me - Dragonette
  10. Velvet - The Big Pink
  11. Golden Pendulum - The Big Pink
  12. I Felt Stupid - The Drums
  13. Last Dance - The Raveonettes
  14. Holdin' On Together - Phoenix
Sunday is for lovers.
x

Wednesday 10 February 2010

Who IS that racket?

Hey there guys.

Just to clear something up from my last post, it was 'Heads Will Roll' and not 'Zero' that got played at Decked Out and that has now been corrected. Durrr!

Anyway, I've been cheating lately and not talking about music. Today, I feel 'Housse de Racket' are worthy of a mention because, let's face it, who doesn't love them?

This funky synth-pop duo hail from the home of all good electro music, France.

Anyway, their first real big track 'Synthétiseur' is definitely a winner with it's huge synths just not letting you go. Then come the dreamy, french (they sing all in French) vocals followed by a funky beat which you can't help but nod along too. No wonder it's such a hit for their live shows.

'Sur le Papier' is also another good track. You can definitely hear the similarities with 'Too Young' on this track, and there are most definitely worse songs too sound like! But, there's no need to get too hung up on comparing them with their predecessors (Daft Punk, Phoenix and Justice) because they are enormous shoes too fill and they definitely have thier own style and could maybe break up that Holy Trinity one day.

More news for you guys: I pre-ordered the Late of the Pier Blueberry/Best in the Class 12" last night and am rather excited about it, even though I'll only be able to look at it as I don't have a vinyl player, but if anyone has any other ideas for potential uses, let me know!

Saturday 6 February 2010

Decked Out

Roasting hot potatoes!

That was awesome!

Last night/this morning, I had the privilege of going to the Decked Out 10th Anniversary Party at the Elephant and Castle Coronet, and it reallly did not disappoint. Although for me, the awesomeness of that day started at about quarter to 4 in the afternoon when, whilst on the phone to my Dad by the Savoy Gardens, who should I see walking towards me? None other than Clara 3000, in full Coolcats gear and to top it off, I too was in full Ed Rec apparel! Naturally, I kept on the lookout for other members of the Ed Rec crüe, but alas no more where to be found, for now ...

I prepare to leave and as I bid farewell to my housemates, my attire did bring about a few laughs, but I'll be the one laughing soon (I got my photo taken by this lovely girl and fingers crossed I'll make the cut!)

I arrive eagerly anticipating Busy P's special French Touch set which would get the night off to a flyer, ut I also manged to catch the end of Justin Robertson's set and it sounded pretty solid. But, when Monsieur Winter took to the decks the floor filled up pretty quick and the highlight was most definitely the crowd singing along to 'Da Funk.'

Next up were Feadz and Brodinski, who played a hip-hop set which went down pretty well and it was good to hear some Uffie on a night out. Although, Feadz definitely stole the show with his dancing on stage which really livened things up.

Taking the decks at 1 was Dave Clarke and I have to admit I didn't stay for much of it because I was eager to catch Aeroplane, who were playing in the second room at the same time who played a nice mix of more disco-y dance music.

And then, at around 2 in the morning, something very special happened: Erol Alkan and Xavier de Rosnay took over and all hell broke loose, but in a good way. From the very beginning, when you heard that monstrous opening to 'Genesis,' you knew you were going to hear something special. They brought all of Justice's big tracks: Genesis, D.A.N.C.E., Waters of Nazereth, DVNO, We Are Your Friends and Stress (but no Phantom Pt. 2, but I'm not going to be that guy and complain when the rest was so awesome). Then there was the moment when they slapped down 'Zero' (err it was 'Heads Will Roll' actually you moron!) and silver glitter paper rained down from the ceiling, but the highlight had to be their closing track, 'Roxanne,' which went down a treat!

Taking possibly the hardest job of the night and following these two after a hour of sweaty moshpit-like madness were Boys Noize and DJ Mehdi, who played a set of slightly more techno-ish music, which although couldn't match the hedonistic atmosphere of Erol and Xavier, kept the party well and truly banging.

Unfortunately, that was where the night ended for me as by that time I was hungry, thirsty and tired and decided that since I'm not a huge Crookers fan I'd call it a night and be happy with what I'd already got.

Oh yeah, just remembered I had a slightly cryptic ending to an earlier paragraph relating to meeting the Ed Rec crüe. Well, whilst walking around the place I only managed to stumble across DJ Mehdi and Gaspard Augè and they very kindly agreed to give me a photo each, and although I may have my 'special' face on, I don't care!

End Transmission
(part 2 coming 5th March!)




Friday 5 February 2010

Party Time

'Sup peeps?

First off, I'm a little confused, and here's why: the other dayI put one of those fancy hit counters on this page and overnight it has jumped from about 30 to nearly 3000! Now, if it's real and not some sort of malfunction, which I'm more inclined to believe it is, then let me reiterate what I said in my last post, get involved and get in touch!

Second on the agenda is tonight. I am going to the party of the decade and boy am I excited, except I'm a little gutted that I won't get to see all of Aeroplane, since there's no way I'm missing Xavier de Rosnay and Erol Alkan.

Et enfin, I'm also a little bit excited about Kavinsky, Uffie and Cassius in London on 23 April, which sounds rather tasty.

Virtual love x

Thursday 4 February 2010

Back From The Wilderness

Hey there guy(s) and/or girl(s)! It's been much too long.

Merry February and a happy new Thursday! Ok, so it may now be the 4th, but the well-wishing stands.

Just got back from the pitchers, where I've only gone done seen 'Avatar.' I went to try and jump on a good old fashioned bandwagon only to find that not only has it left, it has now reached new lands so I'm just left sitting in the dust. But it was actually good, kinda makes me want to find some sort of Socialist Revolutionary Forces and join the fight against the thieving , imperialist motherlickers!

Today, I will share with you lovely lot 'Olympic.' They are French of course.

Listening to their most playd track 'Promises,' they sound like fellow Frenchman and Grammy winners (whoop!), Phoenix, but without the hope, yet it still sounds good.

Then for 'NY to LA,' they go more Teenagers-y, with their upbeat synths and roving guitars and drums.

Put together Phoeix and The Teenagers and more often than not you will get a winning combo, in my book anyway, and this is one of those joyous occasions.

P.O homies and get involved and contact me here, on myspace or on twitter, the links are all on here somewhere, probs on the top right link list.