Random 30 2013: Lord Echo – Digital Haircut

Last but not least, something funky to take us into the New Year, straight out of Wellington, Black Seed Mike Fabulous, wearing his Lord Echo hat, with ‘Digital Haircut’, off the 2013 album, Curiosities. A fitting way to conclude the “Random 30” series of posts, which sought to (randomly) document some (well, 30) of the best of my 2013 pod fodder ... see ya in 2014 ..

Random 30 2013: Crystal Fighters – You & I (Gigamesh Remix)

Crystal Fighters released an album of such blissful pop perfection earlier this year, when it came to reviewing it, the miserable old cynic in me couldn’t help but search for reasons *not* to like it. I suppose I did rate the album, but I was damned if I was going to admit to being happy about something so blatantly summery and conspiratorial, when I myself was surrounded by so much frozen mid-winter discontent.

And all that sugar? … surely that stuff had to be bad for me, right?

Here’s the Gigamesh Remix of ‘You & I’ (a darker higher bpm mix than found on the album):

  

Random 30 2013: Darkside - Paper Trails

I blogged about Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington in their Daftside incarnation here, but as Darkside the same pairing collaborated to make Psychic, one of the best albums of the year. An absorbing mix of experimental state-of-the-art electronica and old style blues, ‘Paper Trails’ is one Psychic’s more instantly digestible cuts, but by no means the stand-out on an album chock full of surprises ...

 

Random 30 2013: Volfoniq - Hypnos

I’m really not sure what to say about this one – digital “one-man-dub” meets some kind of crazy ska/rocksteady beat, somewhere in southern France? … that’s about all I know. Well, apart from the fact that ‘Hypnos’ is lifted from Ernest, a free release that turned out to be one of the very best of the many new “dub” albums I managed to get my hands on during 2013.

Volfoniq on Facebook
 

Random 30 2013: Maps – A.M.A.

The work of James Chapman (aka Maps) keeps getting better with each new release. I’ve been following him for a few years now, and his 2013 album, Vicissitude, his third under the Maps moniker, is possibly his best outing yet.

 

'A.M.A.' doubles as the album opener and lead-off single, and if it’s the task of the lead track or single to accurately portray or provide a marker for the remainder of the album’s content, then the sense of urgency and subtle tensions found within ‘A.M.A.’ pretty much ensure the track does its job with aplomb.

 

 

 

 

Random 30 2013: HIGH HØØPS - Music Sounds Better With You

This track turned up mid-year, homegrown product for a summer’s day in the heart of a southern hemisphere winter. This is Auckland beatmaker HIGH HØØPS getting down on the arse of Stardust’s seminal ‘Music Sounds Better With You’ – a decade or so after the fact.

And it works. Cut up bits and bobs of cloudy, glitchy, lush electronica serve to highlight the solid R&B sensibility found in the original, and HIGH HØØPS somehow manages to breathe new life back into a tired old favourite. Best consumed through a quality set of headphones.

 

Random 30 2013: Calexico - Maybe On Monday

Continuing a theme, Americana or alt-country outfit Calexico was another band that took me into previously unexplored territory across the calendar year. ‘Maybe On Monday’ is lifted from the band’s seventh studio album, Algiers, which, naturally enough, was recorded in New Orleans.

Algiers wasn’t strictly a 2013 album; it was released in late 2012, and it probably represents a commercial highpoint for the band thus far. It wasn’t my first exposure to Calexico either, but I’ve only ever been a distant and very casual fan, and perhaps the time has now come for me to have a serious dig around the band’s already extensive back catalogue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Random 30 2013: The Civil Wars - The One That Got Away

Americana, country, folk … call it whatever you want, the music of Nashville’s triple Grammy-award-winning duo The Civil Wars made a big impression on me in 2013, for reasons I’ve yet to really fully fathom.

‘The One That Got Away’ appealed as one of the best tracks off the self-titled second album, which turned out to be a pretty big seller, topping the Billboard album charts and peaking at No.2 in the UK. It seems I wasn’t alone then …
 

 

 

 

Random 30 2013: Destroy DC - Dub It Down (Dub Architect Remix)

I’ve blogged a couple of times this year about Washington DC producer Dub Architect, and his Dub Volume 2 release of a few months back duly gave us a few new gems to drool over. Among that swag bag of seriously spacey vibes was a reworking of this track (‘Tear It Down’) by so-called “progressive punk” outfit Destroy DC. I’ve had this on regular rotate over the past few months ....

Random 30 2013: The Pixies - Indie Cindy

Okay, so the Pixies 2013 “comeback” wasn’t exactly the most widely celebrated return known to mankind. Truth be told, it probably WAS a bit crap in terms of meeting wider expectations, and it’s undeniable that the band is very much poorer for Kim Deal’s absence. But it was also new work from old favourites, and (fanboy alert) I certainly didn’t think it was as bad as some made out.

‘Indie Cindy’ was easily the pick of the bunch on the EP1 release, and it proved ideal pod fodder over the last six months of the year; as much for its faux-Fall chant-along/sing-along qualities, as for all of the rare Pixies-of-old touchstones it seeks to reach.

Not so much the comeback of the year, no … just a group of old-timers doing their wild and crazy old thing.

 

 

 

           

 

Random 30 2013: Primal Scream - 2013 (Andrew Weatherall Remix)

When I reviewed the latest Primal Scream album earlier in the year, I made note of the fact that More Light was essentially a hybrid collection of just about every musical style the band had ever thrown at us. My copy of the album came with a number of bonus tracks, and it seemed very fitting that among those bonus cuts was a remix by long-time collaborator Andrew Weatherall. ‘2013’ was one of the better tracks on the album in its original form, but it was even better after it got the Weatherall treatment.

 

Random 30 2013: Kavinsky - Nightcall (featuring Lovefoxx)

French electronic producer Vincent Belorgey is better known as Kavinsky, and his collaboration with Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo on ‘Nightcall’ (featuring Lovefoxx) was originally released on EP back in 2010.

After being included on the soundtrack for the movie Drive in 2012, the track received another fresh burst of life in early 2013 when Kavinsky included it on his debut album OutRun. In a further surprise twist, London Grammar also covered it on its own full-length debut effort.

The Daft Punk influence on the original is hugely obvious, and ‘Nightcall’ has to rate as one of the best electro tracks of the year.

 

Random 30 2013: The Kite String Tangle - Tennis Court (Lorde)

2013 was a huge breakthrough year for local artist Lorde, something further underlined (in bold) earlier this week when the teenage songstress received four Grammy nominations. I enjoyed her cover version of the Replacements’ ‘Swingin’ Party’, and thought Pure Heroine was a promising enough debut album … but to be honest, I think I can probably live happily enough without hearing ‘Royals’ ever again.

For me, her best track in terms of pure song-craft was ‘Tennis Court’, and I think this superb cover by Brisbane-based producer Danny Harley – aka The Kite String Tangle – hammers that point home. It’s one thing to offer up a cover when the original has already had its day, but quite something else to do so while it’s still so high profile and fresh. Of course it helps that Harley has a great voice and is a unique talent in his own right, and I look forward to hearing more from The Kite String Tangle.

 

 

The Kite String Tangle on Soundcloud

The Kite String Tangle on Facebook

Random 30 2013: The Analog Affair - We Were Lovers

The Analog Affair is an electro-pop duo working out of Washington DC and ‘We Were Lovers’ is a cut from an EP called Wild, released a few months back. It’s a bit of creeper, and there’s a great pop hook to be found amid its seriously lush tones. It’s a gently told story of hope and regret, but all the beautiful soft vibes in the world can’t hide the burnt out car wreck at the centre of it. As ever, love never ends well.

The Analog Affair on Soundcloud

The Analog Affair on Bandcamp

Random 30 2013: Radikal Guru - Chase The Devil

Another oldie but a goody ... with his brand new album, Subconscious, set to drop today, I thought it timely to post up something by long-time everythingsgonegreen favourite Radikal Guru.

Although The Rootstepa – this blog’s album of the year in 2011 – was his full-length debut, there were already a number of sampler and one-off releases floating around out there prior to that, and I’ve been slowly tracking them down ever since. Included in that voyage of discovery was this little gem – a stepper-style version of the much-remixed Max Romeo classic ‘Chase The Devil’. I was late finding this one, only getting to it in mid-2013 ... but better late than never.

I just can’t get enough of this guy’s heady mix of dubstep, deep bass, and roots reggae. If Subconscious is only half as good as the debut, we’ll still be in for a real treat.

 

Random 30 2013: Gotye - Hearts A Mess

Okay, so this one is six years old. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some 2013 relevance to everythingsgonegreen; a) it was one of the highlights of this year’s The Great Gatsby soundtrack, and b) it got played often after I belatedly discovered it mid-year.

Gotye is of course the artist behind ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’, one of 2011 and 2012’s most durable hits. ‘Hearts A Mess’ is quite different from that particular earworm in that it exposes a softer underbelly to Gotye’s music. There’s crazy offbeat percussion, subtle strings, and the clever use of what sounds like a vintage keyboard (a mellotron perhaps?) … all combining to supplement a set of lyrics so tragic, it’s almost enough to bring a tear to a glass eye … (if that’s your bag).

“Let me in/where only your thoughts have been/let me occupy your mind/as you do mine/your heart's a mess/you won't admit to it/it makes no sense/but I'm desperate to connect/and you, you can't live like this”

 

… *wipes tear*

Random 30 2013: Lasertom - Maelstrom

I picked up an mp3 download of the Lasertom track ‘Maelstrom’ on the XLR8R website a few months back and it’s a real gem. It’s still available as a free download (here), and it can also be found on Lasertom’s Drift EP.

Lasertom is Simon Cullen, a producer from Dublin with a background in funk and disco. Cullen’s a relatively new face on the electronic music scene but on ‘Maelstrom’ he gets the blend of bass music and electro-pop just right. ‘Maelstrom’ is all repetitive pulse and sparkling synth, a slow-building wordless foray into outer space … a trip that never quite peaks.

And anagram-spotters ... can you see what he's done there?

Grab a free mp3 download of ‘Maelstrom’ from the XLR8R website.

Lasertom on Soundcloud

Random 30 2013: Option4 - Do Work (Original Mix)

I’ve discovered loads of new music and new artists during the calendar year, but if I was asked to select one as the everythingsgonegreen “find of 2013”, it would be impossible to go past Option4, a producer/DJ working out of Denver, Colorado.

Option4 is Brennen Bryarly, and not only has he been prolific in producing new work throughout the year for his own (newly established) Night Supply label, he’s given most of it away – go to the Soundcloud and Facebook links below and grab what you like.

I’ve chosen ‘Do Work’ as the clip for this Random 30 countdown, but I could just as easily have selected ‘All The Girls’, ‘Street Love’, ‘Late Night Drop’, ‘Deep Diamonds’, or his remix of Two Door Cinema Club’s ‘Handshake’ ... each and every one of them a potential dancefloor filler.

‘Do Work’ is also available as a Bit Funk remix, but I prefer the original mix featured here. A little bit house, a little bit disco, but always funky, ‘Do Work’ reads like an Option4 mission statement ... this guy just doesn’t stop ...

Option4 on Soundcloud

Option4 on Facebook

Random 30 2013: Capital Cities - Farrah Fawcett Hair

I generally take music pretty seriously. You may (or may not) have noticed (ahem). But every now and then something catchy and irresistible comes along which is clearly not supposed to be taken too seriously. And we all love a good laugh, right?

The LA-based duo Capital Cities is well versed in writing catchy pop hooks; in a past life, prior to the release of this year’s debut album In a Tidal Wave of Mystery, these guys made a good living as commercial jingle writers ... one listen to the duo’s novelty track ‘Farrah Fawcett Hair’ and that much is immediately obvious.

The retro-flavoured ‘Farrah Fawcett Hair’ features a guest appearance from Outkast’s Andre 3000, and there is something quite contagious about its hook-laden delivery and highly amusing lyrics ... it’s good shit, as they say ...

Random 30 2013: The National - I Need My Girl

Trouble Will Find Me, The National’s latest album, is shaping up to be one of my favourite albums of 2013, and I can scarcely believe some of the poor reviews it received upon release earlier this year. It really wasn’t the barren snorefest some critics claim it was, and I'm still enjoying it six months on.

‘I Need My Girl’ was one of album’s stand-outs; a beautifully crafted song dealing with the twin themes of loss and hope … so good, it’s difficult to fathom quite how its reach could ever be anything less than universal. Vocalist Matt Berninger’s rich but gentle baritone is the perfect supplement to the restless sense of longing in the music, and it has to rate as one of the band’s best tracks (of any year).