TRASH IS BACK! It's been a while since we had a dedicated music blog but we've decided to return from the ashes to bring you the latest and greatest in the world of music. If you want to join us head to /submit and leave us your details
Otherwise known by the much cuter-sounding acronym TAGABOW, They Are Gutting A Body Of Water have been called the saviours of shoegaze. Hailing from Philly, the band started off as a solo project of lead singer Douglas Dulgarian (of the House of Dulgarian, the first of his name). God, doesn't it just feel good to feel the fuzz again?
I recently picked up a copy of their first album for ATO Records, LOTTO. With no obvious A side, I preceded to play the album in the wrong order. Whilst still feeling incredibly fresh, there is something deeply nostalgic about TAGABOW's sound, whisking me off my feet back to sunny summers as a kid listening to Dinosaur Jr or Sonic Youth on a cheap CD player. But the slowed-down tempo now better suits my aging bones. Maybe, there is even a whiff of early Deftones in there? It could just be me. Just a whiff, mind, but a sniff.
On LOTTO, there is the classic, American speaking over the top of the guiter song in 'American Food'. This has to be a genre in and of itself. Think The Teenagers – Homecoming. Did you know this was a genre? As it's been so long, then it still works incredibly well. Maybe I've missed the talked-over track all this time!
When I flip the record to the first tracks, I am met with opener 'The Chase', followed by 'Sour Diesel'. Both of these tracks are of equal stature and sound. I can't pick a favourite, so I won't. But these are the standout tracks when it comes to the heavy fuzz that defines their sound.
As the record finishes, I can feel a sense of longing, as though I have heard it all before, but can't quite put my finger on that memory. This record will be played a fair bunch as the spring begins to dissipate and the grass outside begins to burn yellow. Make sure you do the same.
Joe Thorpe, better known to most as simply as Burial Thorpey has been busy staking his claim in the bass scene like a pilled up Van Helsing. With releases already on Mutant Bass, Off Me Nut & Basshound it shouldn't be long until long time fan Diplo snaps him up to make a gabba bashment electro love child.
Like many of his peers Thorpey kicks and squeals if you try to jam him into a pigeon hole. This is demonstrative in how varied some of my favourite tunes are! Whether that be something like Wonk which feel like you're being tea-bagged by a pair of wrecking balls, the frantic jungle clusterfuck with catchy fem vocale that is Close Your Eyes, Acid Trek which sounds like a tramp trapped in his dog's nightmare or the Arniecore sample-heavy Fist Space. I could go on but i'd be in serious danger of just turning into Discogs. NOT THE BEES! Whilst he gets better and better at producing tunes - you sure as hell know that you won't be bored!
Being the gent that he is he laid on this exclusive mix for TRASHED - Free to download - Enjoy!
And that's not all! I caught up with the man himself to find out what's next:
You're DJ name is Thorpey - where did you come up with the name? (That's a joke ha).
Haha, just a nickname from school that no one who called me it at the time actually calls me anymore
What was the first tune you ever made? Do you still have it and what does/did it sound like?
I cant even remember, I think it was a liquid drum and bass tune – I do actually and its not like... terrible, definitely not good though
I think I heard some of your tunes before the Cannon fodder EP came out in 2011 but your tune on that, 'Velocifaptor' really sounded like a step up in your sound. Was it just me or did you feel that too?
Yeah I would probably agree – I remember being quite proud of it, which is rare for me, and then Kanji Kinetic showed an initial interest and later asked if I would be up for releasing it on Mutant Bass, made me feel like I had made a big step up.
Speaking of which, I seem to recall Kanji saying on one of his shows that you were his "favourite producer of the year". Did that make you tingle inside?
Yeah man mad tingles!
So more recently you've done collabs with Krissi B & Kanji which are unsurprisingly quite different. Do you enjoy those collabs and do you ever get to sit down and make tunes with other people in the same room or always sharing files over tinternet?
I love them yeah, well it's mostly over internet – I do really enjoy sitting down to make tunes with people too. For example, my mate's project called The Beaupreau Project – they record a lot of live instruments and I worked on a tune with them and it's some of the most fun i've ever had on a tune.
If there was anyone you could do a collaboration with - who would it be?
I would have to say someone like Current Value or FFF, just some pure heavy madness vibes!
You like making some dumb shit like JAKAZiD but sometimes it really works. 'Boom' on the Technofear EP for example is a guilty pleasure of mine. Is it a challenge to make something awful sound good or just for jokes on the dancefloor?
Hahahah well, when I was making that tune the basic idea was a standard breakcore tune – then I started messing with a few silly samples in there and then decided it was never going to be silly enough until it had the vengaboys with a donk and chopped up amen breaks :)
The gabba stuff really reminds me of the stuff I used to listen to on wrong music (albeit dancier). You ever inspired by those guys?
Definitely yeah! To be honest i’m influenced by most producers I like in some way or another. I'll always hear little noises and patterns that make me open up Reason and try to recreate and see how I can manipulate it to work with my particular style
You guys don't seem to play London much - which sucks. Why is that do you think?
You were at Bangface weren't you? Ha. That was a heacy night.
Also, this is one of my favourite mashups - when is the Bieber mix coming or have I missed that?
Yeah it's piss funny – dunno actually. I Have got a few more silly breakcore bits in the works though – plenty of airhorn.wav and early 2000’s pop track remixes
What is your party trick?
Pouting viciously
Skills! So what's next for Thorpey?
Money and bitchez ;)
What more do we need to say? Keep your eyes peeled and your ears pinned and bug him to do some more Arnie samples ;)
It's been just a little over 2 years since Mausi released they beautifully upbeat and summery track Sol which had us throwing off our clothes and running into the nearest lake to jostle amongst the glittery ripples. Throughout the track the words 'Dance! Dance! Dance!' are repeated; subliminally commanding us to move our bodies with a care - which leads us nicely onto their next order of the day: Move.
Keen to find out more we caught up with the band ahead of their much anticipated London gig tonight to get the skinny on what makes them tick:
Firstly, I'm always fascinated as to how people come up with their band names? Mausi makes me think of mousey hair - but then I could be opening with the biggest faux pas by pronouncing the name wrong :)
Mausi means darling in German. It's a pet name for a lot of German girls, it sort of means cute, like a little mouse. We really wanted a short simple word that didn't really mean anything in English, so we could create a whole image to go with it but also reflect the European side of us. One of our friends from Italy is half German and her mum calls her Mausi and that's where we first got the idea from.
You guys have a lot of remixes on your soundcloud - if anyone could remix one of your tracks who would that be?
We would love Breakbot to remix one of our tracks. We included a lot of Breakbot remixes on playlists we put together to inspire our first songs when we realised we were good at writing electronic pop music - he was a real inspiration for us. We love a lot of French producers, but we would love to hear what one of our tracks would sound like remixed by him.
If you could play anywhere in the world where would you play? I mean I would love to see a gig in the abandoned Bulgarian Communist Party's mountain headquarters
Just googled it. That place cray! But, that aside, playing an intimate gig at the top of the Eiffel tower would be bad ass, or in the Duomo in Milan, with choirs.
Wow, yeah that would be pretty rad!
So, listening to 'Move' it definitely sounds like we need to bring our dancing shoes tonight. Got anything special planned?
MOVE is definitely a dance floor track, we love to dance, well, I love to dance a lot on stage! I dance hard when I get into it. Our live set is very energetic and our aim is to get as many people dancing with us. We have played quite a few festivals this summer and it's so amazing to see how into it people get. It brings our performance up a whole other level.
Shoes ready then!
Something we weirdly ask everyone we interview... MAUSI - THE GAME. Tell me about it. You have carte blanche
Mausi the game I think would definitely involve travel.
You have to travel to different countries (each level is a different European city) and you need to collect the Mausi 'M's', to get them. You may have to get your player to do things like dance, go swimming in a lake or drive a Vespa round some mountain roads as fast as you can.
It sounds easy, but it would be challenging. I would love to play that game.
Finally, what's next for Mausi?
We have lots of music we want to share with everyone! You can hear some of it in our live set, but we really can't wait to put it all out there. Another single in the next few months then we'll lead in to an album next year I think. Lots of gigs, lots of dancing. It's going to be awesome.
Thanks Mausi! It sounds like it's going to be awesome indeed. If you can't wait to see them at the Duomo then you can catch Mausi along with Avec Sans & Trashed friends IYES tonight at Hoxton bar & Grill, Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, Hoxton Plaza, whatever it's called:
Legendary techno promoters Time Warp heads to Croatia with Sonus Festival
It must seem like there's load of festivals cropping up in Croatia these days. Outlook, Hideout, Soundwave, Electric Elephant, Dimensions, and Unknown.
So with the announcement of Sonus Festival you're probably thinking, 'who cares about another one?'
Well, perhaps you'll perk up when you know Sonus is techno-techno-techno from Europe's premier electronic music festival organisers Time Warp, who has launched a new festival on the beach of a hot Croatian tropical island.
The first Sonus Festival will take place on Wednesday 21 August to Sunday 25 August 2013 on Zcre Beach, Pag Island, Croatia.
The festival promises to deliver the world's best DJs over four nights and five days - including Ricardo Villalobos, Loco Dice, Seth Troxler, Magda, DJ Sneak, and so many more than you can shake your sunglasses at.
The festival will spread its music action over the two main clubs and two boat parties each day. To see the full line up and information on how to book tickets (including special all-in-one packages), see www.sonus-festival.com.
In the meantime, I'll leave you with these highlights.
Beat-herder Festival 2013: The year the sun came out
Photo courtesy of Beat-herder
This July, I trekked - for a second year in a row - up to Lancashire for one of the North's finest electronic music festivals, Beatherder. Set amongst gently rolling hills, sheep, woodlands, friendly locals, it's a perfect place for a medium-sized festival to boast big bad sound systems.
This year made a change in that it was not raining, unlike last year. 2012 was dubbed the "wet year", which saw people huddling under any available shelter and wading through muddy swamps.
Quite a few folk who weren't there last year said things like:
"Oh, I heard last year was really bad. It was wet right?"
"I'm glad I didn't go last year - I heard it was really muddy"
Although mud was a defining feature of 2012, it wasn't the most memorable. Crazy rave antics in the woods, cramming into church services singing pop songs, getting pulled out of the mud by my mates and generally getting lost in the music was my overriding memory of fun. Life is what you make it, no?
So this year, like the rest of the UK basking in the glorious sunshine, so did Beatherder 2013.
The festival organisers presented a bigger and brighter line up with Chic featuring legendary guitarist and producer Nile Rodgers, Buraka Som Sistema, reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff and Booka Shade on the main stage, flanked by many great supporting acts including Prince Fatty ft The Horseman and Dizraeli and the Small Gods,
Oh yeah, and the occasional Ceildh band and local act during the day times for those folk who came to Beatherder but "weren't really into electronic music". Bless.
Meanwhile there were several smaller stages offering the finest in breaks, drum n bass, dub step, future house and garage, techno and reggae.
Beatherder's festival site is actually quite small for an audience of 10k punters, and yet there are some great little areas with a big heart.
Photo by James Abbott Donnelly. Originally featured here:
Toil Trees is a large clump of birch woodlands right in the middle of the site and home to the more dance-oriented acts. The area holds a surprisingly large capacity. This year's acts included breaks legends Stanton Warriors, hip hop/grime Jaguar Skills, everyone's favourite Mr Scuff, and the legendary Norman Jay MBE.
A new addition to the festival was The Fortress, an ancient Chinese styled open-air auditorium designed to contain the edgier, more banging dance acts. For example, on Sunday morning DJs were playing out hard house and techno until 1pm, followed by another few hours of bassline and wobble - DJs were greeted with hands in the air, crowd surfing and non-stop partying. This year's Fortress acts included Elite Force, DAVE The Drummer, Squire of Gothos, and Mumbai Science.
Maison D'etre, with its permanently darkened windows and dedication to live, indie acts, saw a lot of edgy bands throughout the weekend including Temples and Sicknote, who is a Beatherder favourite.
The Bushrocker HiFi is a one-stop reggae and dancehall tent placed right in the middle of the festival, as you go up to the Toil Trees. It does what is says on the tin - in a good way!
Likewise, The Snug, is a tiny little shack dedicated to house and techno on the one hand, funk and soul on the other. Last year, I spent at least a solid 24 hours in here. This year, I had a good old rinse out to acid and hard house on Sunday morning.
The Stumblefunk tent is dedicated to bass heavy acts. The weekend saw Roni Size & Dynamite MC, Rennie Pilgrim, the Mouse Outfit feat. Dr Syntax and Sparkz and many many more excellent dnb, dub step, reggae, garage, 2step and future beats DJs.
Smoky Tentacles Shisha Lounge is a chill out tent and cafe placed a bit further off the beaten track in the alternative and children's fields. A visit was always worth it, with audiences treated to lively musical types such as Bristol's Dub Mafia, Joe Driscoll & Sekou Kouyate and Brighton darling Bunty and band.
Trailer Trash is a tent I've never been sure about - it always seems like a bit of a musical free-for-all, with a vintage bent. This year, it played host to dubstep and grime producer Shackleton, which I didn't manage to catch, unfortunately.
Last but not least, Beat-herder's mini American desert village included a Hotel California and a popular Church, where a less than holy-than-thou singing choir invited sinner to sing Madonna and Eurythmics and other 80s classics on Sunday morning.
Photo courtesy of Beat-herder
What's great about Beat-herder:
it's unique - and it's clear a lot of planning and care goes into putting this Northern festival together. loved this year's knitted maps and
the people - a couple of people I met last year where there this year. Many high fives went round in recognition. Great place to meet new friends.
the site - it's gorgeous! where else can you hear the sheep bleating you awake? lots of facilities which on the whole were well maintained.
commitment to electronic and dance music - with parties going on until way past 5am on Friday and Saturday, not a problem. The campsite also kept the parties going undisturbed.
What could be improved:
keep the festival small - this year it seemed like there were too many teenagers and townie types, which made me wonder if the festival organisers were trying to grow too fast.
better security - particularly in the children's and alternative field. A potentially difficult situation arose, but no security were in the area, and none came when I reported said incident.
sound acoustics and planning - Roni Size was placed in a small tent, but he could have easily been placed on the main stage: the tent was over capacity. Then, when the crowd realised the volume had been turned down, they started chanting "turn the volume up". Which worked. Last year, there were a few sound issues in in the Toil Trees in which a Saturday night act had no bass or treble and was quiet.
music programming - on the whole extremely good, but the electro feels a bit dated now.
Overall, Beat-herder is a great festival with so much going for it, and it was nice to see a good geographical mix of people represented: Northern friends (Lancaster, Leeds, Manchester) were definitely in the house, along with people from London, Brighton and Bristol making the journey too.
And I haven't even mentioned the shed load of little things that add to the festival magic: the nightly fire pit, visual projections in the woods, abandoned cars (where we had an impromptu rave), plus lots of great vendors, child friendly workshops and theatre performances.
There's a campaign where I come from to "keep Austin weird" - I'd say Beat-herder needs a similar slogan, like "keep Beat-herder barmy".
A bit of fine-tuning for a fun electronic music festival, yet it's sure to be on my social calendar for years to come.
Oh yeah, and it would be great to have a proper cocktail bar and hot tubs for next year - thanks!
Pretty much everyone who heard Jakwob's Fade and the subsequent remixes; fell in love. The vibe, the lyrics, the sentiment - it all gelled together so perfectly. Just when you think all the remixes had been released up pops another one. Normally the latter remixes of any tune rarely throw up anything new but this time I was pleasantly surprised.
Once you've got a taste of his remix work we recommend listening to the Untamed EP to see what this talented producer can do by himself. SHAKE WHAT YA MOMMA GAVE YA!!!
Seeing as so little is still known about the 'man behind the music' we caught up with him to get the skinny on 'that remix' and see what the future holds:
So, the remix of Fade. I already loved the original track and remixes - there seemed to be so many that just when I thought I couldn't listen to another one yours drops and brought something completely new. How did that come about?
I submitted my Untamed EP to Jakwob, then he just randomly asked me if I wanted to remix his single; I said OK and gave it go. Before he could even send the individual parts of the song, I already had an idea of what to do – I took the first 5 seconds of the song and just played around with it. To be honest, I didn’t think much of the beat when I sent it through, but people are really digging it.
That remix as well as everything on the Untamed EP has a very distinctive sound which doesn't really seem like it should be coming from the UK (which is awesome). I'd call it a sort of chilled trap but what led you down the path of producing that style of music and who inspired you?
It was only towards end of 2012 I started getting into trap. Before that I used to make Hip-Hop and Pop. I got into trap through Ollie Hucci, he commented on one of my old beats and asked me to check out his. I really liked his stuff but when I found out he was only 16 I thought maybe I could try to do the same and “blow up through trap”. When it came to making the EP it was really just me making beats with a little trap influence and I guess that’s how it turned out (apart from “Evenesce” that song I made in the summer of 2012).
You used to have a load of stuff up on YouTube & Soundcloud which you've since taken down. Why is that? Do you feel that they don't stand up to your latest stuff?
Yeah exactly, I thought my old beats weren’t up to scratch with my new stuff. The songs lacked in quality but those beats were made when I was like 15-17 so I obviously wasn’t as good back then. My tracks represent me so I want to be happy with everything I put out rather than just happy with just some.
What can we expect next from Sane Beats?
In the future I think maybe another EP in the coming months - this would probably be Trap again. Expect a few remixes soon too. In the future I hope to be producing for other artists in pretty much any genre from Rap/Pop/Dance/Indy/. But, I guess that’s a while off yet.
If you could remix or collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Hmm… I’d go with Labrinth, Kid Cudi, Miguel or Toro Y Moi - with artists like that, there are less limits with what you can do and make. But those are just a random few off the top of my head.
So at the moment you're just producing, are you tempted to hit the decks anytime soon?
I’ve been prompted to tour but I think in future I’d prefer to be a record producer than DJ. But maybe that will change soon…I mean, it would be cool have people raving to your music but I guess time will tell.
Ok, last question. If you could trash one thing what would it be?
If I could trash anything it would be my own laptop because it crashes and I always lose my ideas!
Someone please get the guy a new laptop, we don't want any more ideas getting lost! Keep a close on this guy, we think he's going to go far!
I originally came across IYES after hearing Foamo drop the Hannah Wants remix of their first demo 'Lighthouse' in one of his mixes and instantly thought to myself "WHAT IS THAT TRACK?! I WANT IT". After copious listens to Foamo's mildly muffled namecheck I tracked down the Soundcloud of this fresh faced band from Brighton. Given the quality of the demo I was astounded (firstly that it was a demo at all) but that they had only a handful of followers on their Facebook page.
However, to merely say "the next XX" is a disservice. The next demo to be released 'Glow' showed a more energetic sound that soars far and away from the melancholic melodies they'd previously presented. Desperate to see more, myself and fellow Trashed blogger James Joseph caught the band's first London gig at The Shacklewell Arms where instantly the self-inflicted hype proved to be fully justified. If I had been one of the other bands playing on that stage that evening I probably would have quit hearing IYES's soundcheck, let alone the final performance - succinct, beautiful, utterly flawless.
We couldn't leave it there though so we recently caught up with the band at their last gig supporting the awesome Retro Stefson from Iceland.
IYES are Josh, Melis & Tom and here's what they had to say...
So how did the Hannah Wants remix come about seeing as that's where I heard you first?
J: I know her from Birmingham. It's the Birmingham connection! We've actually done a few remixes but we've not put them out yet. We wanted to put something out with her first as we know her and it was the right time. We've actually seen a lot of attention coming from American blogs - which is amazing!
So this is only your 9th gig but you sound so polished? Even at the Shacklewell Arms you stood out by a mile.
J: Well I wouldn't say that but thank you! There's definitely room for improvement but then I'm a total perfectionist.
T: OCD I think is the more appropriate term :)
M: We all have musical backgrounds & have worked out the kinks in how to operate as a live unit. I think the next step for us is to bring in some more live musicians i.e. a drummer.
J: Yeah, I could have been famous before (said jokingly)
R: But you decided to be famous now!
J: I dropped everything for this! (joking again) Melis has an amazing voice, she's the face & I'm the brains.
R: Sounds like you should cover Eminem's 'Lose Yourself'; you've only got one shot!
J: Haha, yeah we should open with that!
I opened this piece saying how originally when I heard Lighthouse my instant reaction was 'these guys are the new XX' but you've done something different with every demo - where do you see your sound going?
J: 'The new XX' - we've had that a lot :) The single that we're going to put out is going to be an amalgamation of all 3 of our previous songs. It won't be Lighthouse - it's just the first thing we did even though the reaction has been great.
R: So when is the single coming out?
J: Haha, we can't tell you just yet. When the sun goes down!
R: The Adam F & Fresh tune?
J: Elton John - Don't let the sun go down on me?
M: Arctic Monkeys! *singing ensues!*
So what's the story behind the name IYES?
J: Because we have nice eyes? We just wanted something that short & unique.
Paul (the band manager) who appears suddenly like Dracula transforming from the bat that flew through the open window: "It's because when Josh was younger he used to like jabbing the eyes out of his Barbies". (Rumour has it he still has a box full of the eyes under his bed).
Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!
So in your set you cover a 'Flume' track, is there anyone you would love to work with?
M: I want to 'work' with Pharrell!
J: It would actually be fun to cover Snoop Dogg & Pharrell 'Let's get Blown' but a really chilled out version.
Okay, one final question before you enter the Crystal Dome: IYES - The Game. What would that look like and what's your special move? Personally I think something along the lines of Streets of Rage. You've got the look!
J: Melis would be like a little devil and can pull her horns out and become an angel.
M: No no no...
T: That's shit. No, Josh would just turn into a hammer!
R: (To Melis) And you become a farrier and can use him to make horse shoes to throw at enemies?
T: I think my power would be to turn into a cockroach - only once ever in my life and that's it - I'd be stuck as a cockroach.
R: What would be the turning point?
T: Just if some gets my belly button and presses really really hard
R: And the final boss?
M, T, J: Paul our manager but dressed in a golden cloak or that guy who has a shirt made of gold. We would then wear it, well, except Tom who is a cockroach.
M: I think that game would really suck
R: So you'd have to give it a good name!
J: Look into my IYES!
T: IYES of envy? Streets of Envy IYES??? (haha)
R: Snake IYES? More than meets the IYES? Ok. We should end it there :)
It's safe to say IYES 'The Game' won't be coming out any time soon (we tried) but we look forward to hearing that single! But while you're waiting check out their latest demo 'Daddy' & go see the band live. IYES play The Great Escape this week @ Blind Tiger Club. Check out their Facebook to keep tabs on their forthcoming gigs!
Bass Drum of Death crashed into the garage rock scene in 2011 with their debut album GB City and have left fans craving for more ever since. Well, the wait is finally over with the release of new single 'Shattered Me' backed up by a (long awaited) European Tour. It's more of the same and boy are we glad!
Bass Drum of Death started out a lot like Metronomy with John Barrett playing and recording everything himself up until 2008. Whilst on the latest tour you'll see a few more members this is really a bolstered twosome bringing in support to thicken out the sound & raise venues to the ground.
As BDOD hit the UK next week expect high energy shows, sleazy lyrics and pounding drums that will garner the Mississippi boys a whole new fan base in UK. Garage bands are best when heard in the tiniest of venues so get yourself down to one of their smaller shows to get the best out of them.
Glasgow. 2013. Given the latest crop of CHVRCHES remixes popping up you would have no idea the utterly joyous sound came from a place more commonly associated with poverty, alcholism & religious sectarianism. Oh, and a host of Frankie Boyle jokes. I guess the darker it is the brighter the light seems to shine. In fact it's blinding.
CHVRCHES, better known as a 3 piece have started busting out a series of remixes. A few months ago they dropped this remix of St. Lucia which had us gasping for more. Unlike Yodel (if you've ever ordered anything from Argos you'll know this name), they delivered....
Taking MS MR's otherwise dark and moody 'Hurricane', CHVRCHES whip this up into an utterly magnificent track that's more addictive than Anniesland crack.
It feels like music from the future as portrayed in the 80's.
It's easy to not know, and to be honest - when it's this good who cares. All i can suggest is that you turn up your speakers and let this tune take you away. I dare you to keep your head still whilst listening (good luck).
Oh, and please don't wear out the mp3 - I know you'll listen to it more than once. Immediately.
As a bonus (and on another tip here's the much darker Recover remix). Brutal but awesome :)
Ricky Gervais once joked that Iceland should be smothered in tarmac to be used as a car park for the "Real Europe". And, whilst Iceland isn't in favour with councils up and down England after "nearly" losing millions in the banking crisis; we fucking love it.
Admittedly, when most people are asked about Iceland they'll tell you about frozen prawns and how much they hate that drunk one from Atomic Kitten. But that's because they don't know that there is also a place called Iceland. I know, right? There is no IQ gate on Trashed so we thought we'd get that one out the way now ;)
So now we have the basics down, here's one reason to love it - Retro Stefson. I first heard of them in 2010 when the Icelandic Tourist board commissioned them to make a video for their song 'Kimba'. My attention was caught like a cat's eyes on a warm laptop. I had (& still have) zero idea what they're singing about but that didn't matter - I was spellbound. Soundwise they have it all; waxing between light and melodic to a good old fashioned heavy riff overlayed with some cute sounding words. I once described their sound as "'Foals', but in a field". I thought that was pretty good.
It makes me wonder who our Tourist board would choose? I hate to think - probably some shit involving the reunion between Shrek and Myleene Klass with a little bit of Macca tossed in for good measure.
See, Iceland rules! Maybe go there, yeah?
AND JUMPERS! DID WE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THOSE JUMPERS!!! <3 (Although the guy with the cowbell is pretty hard - he's only in a t-shirt).
The band just released the brand spanking new video for 'Qween' which shows how much their sound has developed - smoother vocal harmonies and Jamie XXish vibes quickly swept up by the usual tight rhythmic gyrations we've come to expect. There's a groove and we're in it.
If you're lucky enough to be in London on Wednesday they'll be playing at Hoxton Bar & Grill Kitchen supported by IYES! (Who we'll be interviewing for your pleasure - so watch this space!).
Most of you won't have heard of MØ. Yet. Whilst the world obsessively has 'Lucky' on repeat we've been hooked to this young artist's latest track 'Pilgrim'. Succulent guitars, a catchy as hell horn section all stitched together with vocals that ooze sweet seduction.
Having recently been included in the line-ups for Dot-to-Dot and some festival they hold in Reading & Leeds; it's only a matter of time before the nation is gripped with one question:
"How the fuck do you pronounce "ø"?!!!"
While we let you figure that out we'll be here getting our Danish on. Hola!
For those of you living in the UK (& DK) check out her tour dates for May:
