Saturday, 13 December 2008

Pancake Mountain

George Clinton on 'Pancake Mountain'


why the bejesus wasn't this around when i was a wee nipper, this looks like the most amazing kids show in the world. fuck off Playdays, Pancake Mountain is where it's at.

Thursday, 11 December 2008

...From Mole Hills

I just realised Dälek penned a track conveniently titled: '...From Mole Hills', it's as if it were meant to be!

Dälek: Gutter Tactics

New Jersey duo Dälek (pronounced dia-lekt) mix, and slice up the finest beats using a cut, copy, sample and paste ethic which sees them lean towards the more experimental side of hip hop.
After Recently purchasing ‘From Filthy Tongue Of Gods And Griots’ I was ecstatic to see this release land on my door mat. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to review a CD, it’s certainly the season for Ipecac at the moment, a label which I’ve held close to my heart for the past 4 years.
combining noise, drone and heavy rock influences by artists as diverse as shoegazers My Bloody Valentine and kraut rockers Faust, Dälek are often considered Avant garde hip hop, a term which the duo deplore considering themselves ‘hip-hop, in the purest sense.’
The dark ambience of Gutter tactics consumes you with each listen, although not too dissimilar from the duo’s earlier releases, the new record has an intensity and heaviness that has seen it compared to the work of Black Sabbath and label mates Melvins . ‘Atypical stereotype’ has a raw bassline heavy enough to melt your bones (no I’m not sure that’s possible either…). Certainly worthy of the albums title, the gritty Feedback and distortion on the record contribute a density that doesn’t exist on ‘From Filthy Tongue…’
One standout track and album opener ‘Blessed Are They Who Bash Your Children’s Heads Against A Rock’ takes it’s name and sampling from a controversial speech made by Reverend Jeremiah Wright and reminded me of a similarly styled Stokely Carmichael excerpt used by Blackalicious on the track ‘Cliffhanger’.
The Beautiful sonic brilliance of Dälek is proof of the evolutionary force of hip hop, having been active for the best part of the last decade the likes of Saul Williams, Blackalicious and Dälek by are no means part of a new skool but these are the sort of musical educators mainstream hip hop could do with taking a few notes from.

Wednesday, 10 December 2008

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

ahh that's better.

Melvins- Scala 9/12/08










( Melvins and Big Business)hardly a senile animal, but i can't say i'd like to see them nude in boots, except maybe you Coady...

After missing Nightmare Before Christmas curated by our heroes in question the Melvins and vocal acrobat Mike Patton and missing Fantomas perform the directors cut the previous night it was all I could do to see the behemoths of distortion and heavy low frequencies that are the Melvins, and disappoint they did not.

The ambiguously titled Melvins 1983 Stormed through a collection of songs from the mangled demos joined by founding member Mike Dillard on drums, Dale Crover took over bass duties. There seemed to be a theme of hippy bashing that night with Big Business front man Jared Willis expressing his disgust for this particular breed of liberal species. Despite this The drum and bass duo worked their magic, watching Coady Willis navigate his way around his extended drum kit is like watching a wizard at work, for those that think Dale Crover is a drumming Adonis, Willis is proves just as engaging. ‘Grounds for divorce’ was a particular highlight (unfortunately their cover of Devo’s ‘Be Stiff’ was nowhere to be heard). Jared’s bass could have done with being a couple of hundred decibels louder, I thought it would blow the cobwebs off of a few relics in the venue, however after the weekends antics which saw the band blow an amp after the first note of their set they probably thought better.

The Melvins and Big Business conjoined twinship is akin to a distorted mirror reflection. The synchronized drumming is nothing short of amazing to watch. Although Buzz had a solemn look on his face throughout, one glimpse from him felt like your eyes would be burnt out of their socket, like Medusa, albeit with scarier hair. The intimacy of the Scala suited the evening perfectly, no barrier between band and audience I thought buzz was going to knock out the front row with his guitar or mammoth afro from which he had actually carried his equipment and roadie in.

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the energy and stamina the Melvins seem to possess (in their stripped down incarnation and the current lineup). The band worked through mostly newer collection of songs from A Senile Animal and Nude With Boots much to my disappointment I was hoping for some older classics. Revolver was met with cheers and gentle shoving which constituted the mosh pit of the evening, compared to their Islington show last year, the evening was tame.

Highlight of their set were mainly golden oldies which included Eyes Flys in its entirety, slow, dense track prompting audience members to shuffle from foot to foot in anxiety as they anticipated the climatic detuned riffs punctuating the glacial paced drum beat. The haunting stroke of genius that is ‘Boris’ sounded equally amazing. As did the distinctively Melvins version of Star Spangled Banner which almost made me want to lift a clenched fist across my chest as a sign of patriotism.

The night drew to a close with an intimate last track from Buzz as the others abandoned the stage leaving him to a soulful rendition of ‘Okie from Muskogee’ which drew titters of laughter amidst annoying shouts and requests from audience members who should simply shut the fudge up and let the man sing in future, damn savage hippies.



Sunday, 7 December 2008

Mole FM 2


I have found a new hobby, it takes longer and it isn't quite as rewarding as writing, plus the sound and pitch of your own voice tends to grate after a few seconds, HOWEVER brothers and sisters here is the first 'properish' installment of MOLE FM, more to come hopefully and better quality, think of this as a guinea pig of sorts.

Tracklisting:
  • When you Sleep- Portatile Room Mobile
  • Bela Lugosi's Dead- Bauhaus
  • Across 110th st- Bobby Womack
  • Down in Mexico- The Coasters
  • Hustler- Simian Mobile Disco
i know, not a great deal of songs, but it's a good half hour long and there are some fine tunes right there, hope it works. ( just click on MOLE FM2 and use filefactory basic service)

mole fm