Three Six Five

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I write this post to pay my respects to the late Lou Reed. I found out about his passing while checking my phone during a break at a gig I was attending. The news struck me hard, a new feeling - one that I haven't felt before. I have experienced the loss of musicians during my life so far, but this was the first time I guess it really mattered to me. Like many people, I connected with Lou's music on a much more intimate level than other musicians.

I am going to bring you a track that is maybe not so well known of Lou's - This Magic Moment (a cover originally sung by The Drifters), which appeared on the 1995 David Lynch film Lost Highway was a staple summer track during my time at college. There is something about Lou's music that made it so unusually romantic.

R.I.P. Lou Reed - as someone on reddit said, see you on the B-Side.

- Hartmann

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Not only do I post music that I found this minute, yesterday or even last week. But I think it's a good place to share with you some of my firm favourites - some that might be your favourites already or might become your favourites.

I discovered Dark Dark Dark (ps. I love the band name, but it seriously makes searches difficult) via the medium that is YouTube. While watching some clips from one of my favourite live session channels, Watch Listen Tell (who influenced the name Three Six Five) I stumbled across Daydreaming. I was passing through a lot of videos that night, not just from WLT but other channels like Mahogany Sessions, Ont Sofa and KEXP's live sets. But I came back to this the next day, and then prioritised listening to the album "Wild Go" above anything else.

Now "Wild Go" isn't Dark Dark Dark's latest release, the 2012 release "Who Needs Who" is (which in my eyes refines the quality of the former album) - but it does contain most of my favourite songs of theirs, and sadly some of my most disliked. The album prominently features Marshall Lacount's vocals on some tracks, whose vocal style is just not my cup-of-tea, and causes me to skip tracks . However strangely his vocals fits perfectly under Nona's wails giving it this rich texture. The sound of this album is hard to define - it's Indie Folk for certain, but stands out as it introduces an Accordion which is an unusual instrument found in rising bands these days.

Here is the studio version of Daydreaming which I just love. I guess it's the way it just carries you, almost into a daydream. I feel this is a great time to listen to when you are own your own, walking around a place you know well so not to think about where you are - your mind focusing on other matters, indulging fantasies or reliving memories.

Honestly, give it a go - who know's where you might end up.

-- Hartmann

For those interested here is the WLT session:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pe7QOfs-aE

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Melody! Noise! Nostalgic Archive footage - hell yeah! - Gray

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As I said in my last post I made, I have been experiencing some de-motivation recently - with all my projects, not just this one. I became... lost with them, I create projects all the time in my head - great projects, and of course I want to do every single one. However most of the time it takes a long time for them to materialise because of time and money constraints. Over this last year and its events I have become fustrated that I haven't spent my time better with my projects - and it's nearly the end of the year, and I have nothing to show for it.

That feeling is horrible - you come home, and just do nothing, and then go to bed beating yourself up about not doing anything - repeat this for a couple of weeks and you just begin to loathe yourself. I am usually quite self-motivated but I just struggled to attempt to do anything.

I have gone back to my project that is already going, and the one that matters the most at the moment - ThreeSixFive. And I knew that I had to make an effort to find great new music to share. And well, I have found - quite a few tracks. The first being this - and to be honest with you all, this was the first track that I heard while riding on a stuffy bus back from work that just refreshed my mind and reminded me that good music does exist.

I discovered this via SoundCloud - specifically the profile of Full Time Hobby (a favourite label of mine). They are quite heavily promoting Samantha Crain's music and I look forward to her upcoming album.

If you like woozy, bluesy folk music - then make sure you take 5 minutes to listen to this track.

It is also available for free download here - http://www.samanthacrain.com

-- Hartmann

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As I write this, it has been mere hours since the second of two standalone concerts in which Neil Halstead (Who was headlining the event) and Rachel Goswell of Slowdive and Mojave 3 were reunited on stage for the first time in almost ten years. Held in the intimate (read: small) basement of Cecil Sharp House, I was fortunate enough to acquire tickets to yesterday evening's performance, where roughly fifty people packed the limited space and waited in anticipation for the act to begin. I was unsure quite what to expect; the gig was first brought to my attention through the Creation Records post in which an almost-Slowdive reunion was certainly alluded to, but shortly thereafter Halstead sent an update in response, stating that it was not the case. The duration of the performance consisted mostly of Halstead's solo material, which did the studio versions justice and then some - to my regret, whilst with Goswell on stage there were a number of Mojave 3 tracks that were given an outing, none of the expansive Slowdive back catalogue made it onto the setlist. Props to the band who joined in with Halstead intermittently and to the support act, Pete Greenwood - whilst his work was not necessarily to my taste, the man undeniably has talent and displayed nothing but good humour throughout. I had the pleasure of meeting both Halstead and Goswell as the evening drew to a close, and can say beyond a doubt that they are both immensely genuine, articulate people. All in all, it was an excellent night; in the event that you get the opportunity to see either of them, I assure you that it would be neither time nor money wasted. - Gray Later: A comprehensive review of the debut Black Hearted Brother album.

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An incredibly atmospheric live rendition of Cocteau Twins' "Love's Easy Tears" from 1986. Enjoy. - Gray

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I am back from a slightly prolonged break. I haven't really been in the right mind-set to post anything. This doesn't mean I have forgotten the page - oh no, quite the contray. I actually have felt rather guilty for my neglect. Being one of the co-founders of this page, I felt angry with myself for not posting as much as I could.

Things have changed for me recently in regards to the way I can consume music - I am now able to discover new music on-the-go instead of those measly few hours I have when I finish work. So it's not like I have had nothing TO post, just not really been in the mood to post - or do anything at all really.

I am making this post to let everyone know that I am still here, and I hope to be back in full action soon. I shall put together some posts of my recent finds and keep everyone up to date with my new discoveries.

To ensure I provide you with some stunning music, here is the theme tune to Twin Peaks. Although I myself have not finished watching this series - the theme tune still moves me. In a way, I feel it aurally reflects how I have felt recently.

Enjoy.

-Hartmann

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Mirrors have consistently offered delicious 80s-inspired Synthpop tracks, and "Something on Your Mind" is no exception. Sporting vocals that are as reminiscent of Robert Smith as they ever could be, James New's inflection blends nicely with the keyboards to make a well-rounded piece of music. - Gray

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Curve's "Coming up Roses" is a defiant, catchy electronic track that inexplicably always reminds me of The Matrix.  - Gray

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Still awake? What better to ease your passage into morning than the eerie, hushed tones of Porcelain Raft in this recorded live performance on KEXP? - Gray

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Cuushe's sublime atmosphere has been compared to Cocteau Twins, Slowdive and Porcelain Raft, but for every layer that holds the slightest measure of influence from the aforementioned artists, Cuushe's unique style is applied tenfold. The album, Butterfly Case was released on the 23rd of September - you can listen to the sampler and buy both physical and digital copies of the record here (http://www.flau.jp/shop.html) Sort of Light kicks the whole thing off - it's an effortless, mellow stream that's great for any kind of easy listening. - Gray

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I have always been a big fan of Polly's music. From the day I downloaded Please Don't Touch as a free iTunes download, to the time I heard the début album in full.

It seems like it has been an eternity since the day she announced she would be working on her new album, to the day that the album being released (sometime this October).

Not every track is an instant favourite of mine, some take time to grow on me. I am still making my judgements with the first track Wanderlust, but the second track (in this post) has taken first place for the best track from her new material.

Cocoon plays heavily into my loves for electro-pop, and has me excited for the full album release soon.

- Hartmann

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Keaton Henson's whispery vocals tell intimate, uncomfortable stories. I was delighted to be introduced to his work not so long ago, and remain struck by how powerful this shy wordsmith has the capacity to be. - Gray

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Earlier this month I covered the release of Arcade Fire's "Reflektor" in a post that was less than optimistic about the new (or actually, recycled) sound that the band seemed to be showcasing as of late. I signed-off hoping that further releases from the album would cast Reflektor aside as a standalone track that I just didn't happen to enjoy, but after viewing a rather lengthy clip from Saturday Night Live that features three further upcoming songs, I cannot help but feel that the future is bleak for a group that was once one of my firm favourites. The music just sounds forced - I hate to say it - I feel that this shift of direction is a terribly negative thing for Arcade Fire. Perhaps it would be easy to forgive if they appeared to be having a good time and seemed sincerely committed to this new approach, but truth be told, the whole thing resembles some awful musical hostage scenario - Where are the strings? The belting keyboards and the towering guitars that fade chaotically in and out of earshot? Win and Régine, both usually so emotive, sounding reserved in all of their recent material - it's almost as if the pair are reading lyrics penned by a far lesser band, and that's a dire shame. - Gray

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It's my opinion that The Returned was a fantastic show; I was hooked from start to finish by the top-notch acting, screenwriting and a very intriguing take on the zombie premise. It has to be said that music played a huge part in conveyingthat all-consuming feeling of isolation which permeated every episode, and that's no surprise when one discovers that it was scored by the fantastic Mogwai. One track that stuck in my mind was "Wizard Motor", particularly for the way it opens. - Gray

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Seefeel's "More Like Space" (from the 1993 More Like Space EP) features discordant, slightly paranoid undertones not dissimilar to those found throughout Boards Of Canada's Geogaddi, although that's probably as far as the comparison can be stretched. The piece is an odd mixture - it's not quite ambient, it's not quite shoegazing - honestly, I'd have real trouble putting it into a definitive category, and I don't envy the folks who were actually tasked with such a thing (I believe it was dubbed "Experimental" in the end). - Gray

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Last one for tonight. I actually am not all that much of a fan of Blur's music (ducks incoming objects) I am more of an Oasis fan. Anyway, I do really really like this track.

It may be about drugs (which apparently was confirmed in a documentuary with the band) but for me it has slightly more... simpler meaning. Anyway, it was the first track in a while to give me that slightly orgasmic feeling that you get when you listen to a really good track.

Night people.