88 days in my veins

Frankly when a PR sends through an email titled ‘Amazing video’ 57 times out of 62 i’m going to ignore it - though turns out this is actually pretty sweet.

July 28th, 2010 | Tags: Hermanos Inglesos feat. MeMe - Wanderland | Category: Electronica | Leave a comment

Who is the A&R man at Rough Trade who managed to combine a right pair of testicles (or not, it could be a girl) to ask Wooden Shjips to mix up ‘Dreaming Of Another World’ but also to snare disco gods Lindstrom and Prins for the next remix? Envious i really am. Using none of the original musics other than the lead vocal and synth hook stems - the rest of the goodness is built around one hell of a moog bass line (similarly amazing to the Holy Ghost! Monarchy remix in quality) that bounces away for the entire 10 minutes. This is amazing. And jesus, a soundcloud stream too. YIKES.

For optimum listening: find a beautiful person. Get Naked. Frolick in the sun. Drink vodka. Make out. Be happy.

July 25th, 2010 | Tags: A&R men, holy ghost, Lindstrom, Monarchy, Prins Thomas, Rough Trade, Wooden Shjips | Category: Electronica | Leave a comment

There’s a pretty real lacking of jazz on these pages of late ( - let alone actual effing blog posts) but anyway - there’s this time in our life when we’re actually broken people thanks to love, or sexuality, or money, or jobs or just generally ‘lyfe’ and (bear with me on this indulgent whaffle) end up wanting to skip and live inside a world just like the new Katy Perry video
brand new Flylo video. Yes the video is amazing and yes the song is amazing and yes the LP is amazing. Whatever is going on in LA right now is right on rad.

July 18th, 2010 | Tags: flying lotus | Category: Electronica | Leave a comment

Whilst this week we’ll see the launch of the much vaunted (and often ignored and lets face it) at times hilarious (and justifyingly mocked) Mercury Music Prize, it’ll not contain this band. Nor will it list the band next year, or probably the year after - which goes to a long way to define the music gatekeepers actual view on new music, rather than the crap that Mercury’s stick their brand behind year on year.  This is a story about how a band called Factory Floor etched itself onto my arm and became a refreshing new obsession.

1. Hanging out in Rough Trade, ahem, eyeing up records I probably shouldnt afford myself -i spotted the rather gloriously attractive ‘Untitled EP’ sitting pretty in the racks. A 10″. Transparent vinyl but with a DVD, any 2000 copies (seriously, who presses 2000 copies of vinyl anymore, and a NEW band at that - financial suicide or indeed just hopeful) with a rather nice colour backing.

2. Someone i worked with who has rather attractive hair and decent to acceptable taste in music mentions them.

*at this point i buy the Untitled EP*

3. I’m stood watching Caribou and someone IM”s me ‘FACTORY FLOOR ARE AMAZING, WE’RE AT THE LEXINGTON’.

4. A feature in NME appears - it’s two whole pages.

5. A feature in the Quietus appears, John Doran, won’t shut up about them.

6. They play an instore at Rough Trade - my friend says she couldn’t physically cope and needed a sit down. It pretty much fucked her up for the next 14 hours. Good game good game.

*I bought their two remix EP’s*

They’re maybe not the band we’re all hoping for to realign the musical hemisphere of anti bullshit - but they most certainly will realign something. The next question should be, do you have £20 to buy their EP and 2x 12″ remix releases?

Don’t go asking me explain what they sound like, though if you have any appreciation for the fine diving line of noise + electronica + guitar music - you may well love this band.

More here, myspace.com/factoryfloor or indeed on twitter.com/factoryfloor

July 18th, 2010 | Tags: Factory Floor | Category: Electronica | Leave a comment

In the very first interview we’ve done over on 88days, one of the albums of the year for us, it’s beautiful and extremely delicate - and yet blissfully pop at times. When even the bass slinging masses of online blogs love a record like this - you know it’s something special.  Released last week in the UK and US via the pretty much amazing Captured Tracks we recommend you buy and enjoy this record | Rough Trade buy link |

This record was a beautiful friend when my heart was recently broken.

Can you tell us who you are?
Yes I can. My name is Jack Tatum and I write songs as Wild Nothing

And how you reproduce your music live, and how you feel about performing your music live.
I think that live my music comes across a bit differently than it does on record. The record is very intimate and hazy but I think live people might find us more clean and energetic. It definitely takes on a full band sound, a little bit louder, little bit faster.

How do you see your music evolving both sonically and in terms of how people consume it?
I mean I think for right now I’m happy with how things are going, learning the ropes of playing shows and touring, but recording is my first love and I want to keep making records that people can get excited about. Sonically I think I’ve gotten a lot out of my system in terms of influences, and while I’m really happy with what I’ve done I’m ready to explore different genres in the next couple years. Ultimately I’d like to find the perfect balance of all the things I love and just make my own kind of pop music.

What influences do you take from other musicians, literature and visual art and how to they reflect in your music?
I think when it comes down to it I’m inspired by sincerity more than anything else. In music, film, art… I like things to have intentions and meanings behind them. The more honest something is the better in my eyes.

What’s your favorite song or music video today?
Ah I dunno. Ariel Pink recently made a mix for FACT that I’ve been listening to like crazy. Lots of ridiculously obscure stuff. My favorite on the mix is a Sumatran folk song called “Indang Pariaman” by Samsimar. It’s super repetitive and addicting

MP3: Ariel Pink: FACT mix

June 14th, 2010 | Tags: Wild Nothing interview | Category: interviews | Comments (1)

1. James Blake – CMYK
2. Marcus Price & Carli – Var e Naaaken (BOK BOK remix)
3. Dubbel Dutch – Deep Underground
4. Azari & III – Reckless With Yr Love (Tensnake Remix)
5. LOL Boys – 123
6. Guido – Mad Sax
7. Aeroplane – We Can’t Fly
8. Brodinski feat Radioclit – Plz Let Mi Fuk Ya
9. Wild Nothing LP
10. Goldfrapp – Alive (Joakim NRG Dub)
11. Renaissance Man – Babbadabba
12. Foals – Spanish Sahara (Mosca Remix)
13. John Talabot vs We Are Standard
14. Aaliyah – ‘R U That Somebody? (Brenmar Windy City Mix)
15. Expendable Youth – Cannibalistic (LOL Boys Remix)

The monthly Grindin chart is compiled by the Grindin’ network. Read more about Grindin’ 
here. We will be back in July.

June 14th, 2010 | Category: grindin | Leave a comment

In light of one of the best remixes I’ve ever heard by way of Holy Ghost! taking on Monarchy’s ‘Love Get Out Of My Way’ it surely is time to look back at the Monarchy story to date…

Be sure to check out their remixes on Hype for Gaga, Alan Pownall, Penguin Prison, Kelis and so on.

MP3: Monarchy: Gold In The Fire (Demo)
MP3: Monarchy: Black, The Colour Of My Heart (Demo)
MP3: Monarchy: The Phoenix Alive (Demo)
MP3: Monarchy: Love Get Out Of My Way (Holy Ghost [featuring Dixon] remix!)
MP3: Monarchy: It Must Be Love

June 7th, 2010 | Tags: holy ghost, Monarchy | Category: Electronica | Leave a comment

Great mix. We love you Slutty Fringe.

Mix: Slutty Fringe Mix Series #8: Simon A. Carr (This Is Not An Exit Recordings)

May 31st, 2010 | Tags: FEELING SOME CHILL VIBES | Category: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Am i right in thinking we’re both a tad bored of this blog in its current state? Perhaps…

From now on we’ll have 2 new changes to content - one is this part which will be some sort of mix - probably encompassing a bunch of songs we like and never got round to bloggin’, the second will be coming up in a day or so which is no less exciting that a freshly baked batch of sourdough bread.

Here we have a wee mix of all the tracks that have caused our hearts to tremble or hearts to melt or fists to shake over the past few months. No less so than a wonderful companion through some troubled months of lost love and Catalan isolation. Stand up, DOM are fantastic. Embrace.

The John Talabot remix is one of the finest pieces of music we’ve heard this year. It’s i n c r e d i b l e. The rest of the mix is intended to ignite any lost love in modern music and that’s not even touching on some amazing material that Zola Jesus is producing, or indeed the Holy Ghost remix of Monarchy, or indeed well, anything else that caused me to smash my head against a brick wall at The Great Escape this year.

Can we just confirm that Frankie And The Heartstrings are the best new band in Britain and help them on their way to Brixton Academy please?

Tracklisting:
Cults: Go Outside
Gold Panda: You
DOM: Living In America
We Are Standard: Don’t Give Up (John Talabot slow remix)
Burial and Four Tet: Moth (Forest Swords rework)
Mystery Jets: Dreaming Of Another World (Wooden Shjips remix)
The Swiss: Soap Opera

MP3: 88days: Mixtape 1 // In Love We Trust

May 31st, 2010 | Category: MIXES | Leave a comment