Filed under: BRILLIANT, Chilled, Dance, Electronica, Experimental, Upbeat, Vocals | Tags: Brillian, Brilliant, Concrete, Electronic, experimental, Synth, Upbeat, vocals
Tree‘s music sits at the helm of a collaborative creative effort which also encompasses visual artists. Warrior comes from the upcoming (and much anticipated) album Splitting Branches, and contains a mish-mash of found-sounds including breaking-eggs, toasters and scissors, as well as a neat 8-bit style Gameboy solo.
Despite the typically non-musical sources of sound, Warrior still holds it’s own as a BRILLIANT (that’s right… it’s getting tagged as BRILLIANT) lo-fi synth-pop piece that’ll keep you coming back. Dreamy but not sleepy, upbeat but not twee, artistic but not pompous, Warrior‘s quality is accessibility through balance. Enough said; you need to listen:
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/themusictree
Filed under: Electronica, Psychadelic, Vocals | Tags: beat culture, glo-fi, lo-fi, steffaloo, synth-pop, vocals
Beat Culture‘s Goldenback Weaver has been gaining quite a few plays on my iTunes over the past month or so, and with the release of a new collaboration with one of my favourites Steffaloo last month; I think it’s time you started listening to him as-well (that is to say, if you have not-already been).
Belong is a beautiful lo-fi synth-pop style piece. SBTRKT and The XX influence is prevalent, even perhaps some M83 in for good measure. But that’s not to say that Beat Culture has simply mimicked the sounds of other artists- to the contrary, his solo trip-hop works are a stylistic blend of sampled records, lo-fi synths and mish-mashings of other noises, while pairing up with Steffaloo has given him the opportunity to showcase his talents as working with a vocalist to create something more dynamic. There’s a-lot going on in Belong, however it’s all crafted to fit together so-well it manages to avoid sounding busy or ‘cluttered’ as can sometimes be the temptation when artists produce vast-dreamy glo-fi pieces.
Beat Culture – Belong (ft. Steffaloo)
Check out his two albums available for free!
http://beatculture.bandcamp.com/
And soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/beat-culture
Filed under: Rock, video, Vocals | Tags: Acoustic, James Blake, James Litherland, Progressive Rock, Rock, sample, Video, vocals, weekend post
This weekend I’m going to hit you up with another video (perhaps I’ll do this regularly from now on):
The main focus is on the first minute or so- James Blake fans will get tingles. Funnily enough, it was James Blake‘s father who produced Where to Turn, released back in November ’06 before James Blake heavily re-worked it into the minimalist-electronica piece that it is now The Wilhelm Scream. Give the original a listen and see what you think- I must admit progressive rock is not usually my thing, and James Blake did such a magnificent job capturing the mournful emotion behind the lyrics in his version; but I’m a real sucker for talking about samples and the whole father/son thing makes for a neat story.
Of-course, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you simply must check out James Blake‘s The Whilhelm Scream which I coincidently included on this mixtape.
Also, if you think this sort of stuff is cool- I recently wrote an article with some more widely-known samples for Purple Sneakers right here: http://www.purplesneakers.com.au/2012/03/listen-where-does-that-sample-come-from/
Filed under: Chillwave, Electronica, Vocals | Tags: Chilled, chillwave, downtempo, oliver tank, relaxing, Soothing, vocals, wintercoats
Here we are, the first post of 2012- going to Wintercoats from Melbourne, Australia.
Someone to Share My Life With is a cover of sorts- the original being the folky tune by Television Personalities of the same name; but Wintercoats has transformed the clanky electric guitar into the type of beautiful downtempo/chillwave that Aussies seem to be quite talented in producing. Fans of Oliver Tank will enjoy the sounds that Wintercoats have to offer- and on that note Wintercoats is Oliver‘s support act in Melbourne on the 20th for his EP launch party.
Give the track a download and be sure to check out their bandcamp page for several more tracks and an EP all being given away for free! 😀
Download:
Wintercoats – Someone to Share My Life With
Bandcamp:
http://wintercoats.bandcamp.com
CHERRY MISTMAS
Hope all is well, and that your relatives aren’t giving you too much grief.
There are obvious songs that are ‘christmassy’. You’ve got your Santa related shit like Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and Jingle Bells and whatnot… Then there’s always the more modern trashy pop songs Jingle Bell Rock (which I do admit is kinda catchy) and All I Want For Christmas Is You (ugh)
Then of-course you have your more traditional religious carols… Silent Night, Away in a Manger… Ave Maria.
But then there are songs that are ‘christmassy’ without referencing presents, santa, or some super-baby demi-god being born in a dumpy farm shack.
Today I’m posting a track by Mocky called Hymne and it’s one of those christmassy feeling songs, but not necessarily cemented forever within the latter half of December by cheesy lyrics. It takes real talent to come up with something that can capture a feeling like ‘christmassy’ with choral vocals and piano. It’s a neat piece.
Filed under: Electronica | Tags: beats, Happy, sample based, Upbeat, vocals
Handbook‘s music is no stranger to people’s ears, at 10,000+ Soundcloud fans, he could easily sit back on his throne of musical accomplishment and feed bullshit to the masses.
But there’s a nostalgic sincerity present throughout Handbook‘s music that brings groups like The Avalanches and perhaps, Bibio to mind. I think ‘sweet’ would be the right way of describing it… not candy sweet or pleased frat boy “sweeeet”; but bringing flowers home to your wife ‘sweet’.
No, despite having followers in the 5 digits, Handbook crafts his music with love. And the wonderful 23 is a good example 🙂
Download:
Soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/handbook
Filed under: Rock, Upbeat, Vocals | Tags: dreamy, Electronic, folk, vocals
Beirut- much like previously posted Sea Wolf are a band I liked when I was 14/15. I just recently revisited My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille remembering it’s warm electronic sounds were somewhat comforting during the more awkward moments of puberty.
Not to make it sound like I’m still awkwardly waddling my way towards masculinity (that journey ceased once and for all when this crazy shit put hair on my chest). My Night captures the dreamy escapist feeling I craved as a 14/15 year old- and to an extent still do.
Beirut – My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille
Filed under: Dance, Electronica, Trance, Vocals | Tags: progressive, techno, vocals
All the way from Iceland we have Sesar with a melodic track called Sól – which google translate tells me means Solar in Icelandic; fitting perhaps that it complements the previous few space-themed tracks I’ve posted.
It’s a melodic progressive techno track with some vocals that remind me of uplifting trance. Check it out if you enjoyed 06R – AIR. It’s also got a neat guitar section towards the end.
Download:
Soundcloud:
Filed under: Chilled, Vocals | Tags: album, Brilliant, Chilled, independant, mellow, visual, vocals
There’s an inherent irony about having a blog called Fuck the Radio and then expanding it into a radio show- almost equally ironic is posting Polographia‘s 5-track long masterpiece Sunsets, as the record’s opening track Righteous Hit has enjoyed a whole lot of radio play lately- and deservedly so. If you were to delve deeper into the irony of Sunset‘s rlease I suppose you could point out that it was released at midnight, long after the sun had set… But this is where the irony stops; as everything else about Sunsets is ridiculously spot on.
Each of the 5 tracks on the album teem with an euphoric sense of summer-beauty that is held together with such thematic artistry it’d be fair to call Sunsets a concept album rather than a meaningless mish-mash of random tracks. There is nothing but warmth beaming from the eclectic collection sounds used- from dancing flute melodies to nostalgic 80s organ-synths, organic-sounding pads and even some dreamy vocals. There is a slight contemporary electronic-disco feel present throughout the record’s opener Righteous Hit that carries on subtly in all 5 of the tracks; this complements the overall glo-fi/chillwave sounds Polographia have composed with an authentic naturalism which seems too good to be giving away for free.
Speaking of giving away for free- stop reading and pick up your free digital download before they all get snapped up!
Yes I’m tagging it under BRILLIANT
Filed under: Rock, Vocals | Tags: Acoustic, folk, indie, Pop, Rock, vocals
I haven’t posted much indie/folk music on Fuck the Radio simply because I feel that it’s developed it’s own strongly established scene in its own right. Fans of the genre will most likely already be familiar with the more mainstream names like Bon Iver and Morissey (I don’t use the term ‘mainstream’ negatively here, unlike many hipsters that will abandon their favourite band once it’s Facebook page reaches over 1,000 likes in order to look ‘alternative’). Even the most indie-twee-of-twee such as Kimya Dawson (and her anti-folk duo The Moldy Peaches), Joanna Newsom and Antsy Pants enjoy their spot in the relatively ‘popular’ limelight (one only needs to listen to the soundtrack of the film Juno to discover this).
There was a time when I had a *whatever the latest iPod device was* chock-a-block full of indie punk-folk music. I’d spend weekends lying in bed listening to Noah and the Whale (I occasionally do still indulge in the odd listen on Five Years Time), My Little Pony, Laura Marling, Neutral Milk Hotel etc. This was the time that I learned to love music; when I discovered there was a world beyond the ubiquitous pop music that I never quite found accessible. Then came the whole indie-revolution, and suddenly everyone was trying to like the most edgy and obscure bands they could find.
Sea Wolf aren’t particularly edgy- The album Leaves in the River was released in 2007 and they play out much like a Death Cab for Cutie clone. As for obscurity, You’re a Wolf was in shows as popular as Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries… It even plays during a scene in Zombieland. But I think it deserves a more in-depth listen than being the backing track for a movie or television show can provide.
The melodic, dreamy mood shaped by the brilliant bowed strings and Church’s vocals fills your ears with a near euphoric indie-pop sound that has manage to retain it’s listening pleasure to me all these years since my indie-rock phase.
It may not be the most groundbreaking song you ever hear, but put simplistically, You’re a Wolf is a thoroughly enjoyable listen.
The Beastie Boys‘ debut hip-hop album License to Ill is my top 3 hip-hop albums of all time. I know this may seem a little out-of place on this blog, but Paul Revere is just too good for people to be missing out on. The whole reverse-beat it has going is fucking great, and the lyrics are entertaining to say the least… a spaghetti-western type story that reads like a play, each Beastie having his own role in the tale, here’s my favorite verse:
MCA:
“Now, I got the gun, you got the brew
You got two choices of what you can do
It’s not a tough decision as you can see
I can blow you away or you can ride with me”
Ad Rock:
“I said,
I’ll ride with you if you can get me to the border
The sheriff’s after me for what I did to his daughter,
I did it like this, I did it like that
I did it with a whiffleball bat”
The Beastie Boys started as a hardcore punk band, but switched to hip-hop around 1983, and in my books, any hip-hop before ’96 earns a green tick. But the ’86 (or was it early ’87?) Paul Revere (much like the rest of License to Ill) is a track that could have been released yesterday and still be fresh. Take a listen and you’ll see what I mean:
Anti-Pop Consortium‘s alternative hip-hop sound is much underrated, especially at a time where artists such as Tyler the Creator and The Neptunes thrive. That said, I’m not making a direct comparison between the groups. Four Tet‘s remix of Volcano is a perfect addition to the Ninja Tune XX label’s catalog, whereas it may look a tad out of place on something like Interscope.
The tune is the prefect balance of lo-fi without sounding messy. The melodic arpeggiated synths remind me of something that you’d hear from Jarre or Vangelis, but that’s probably just me. The rap vocals are tight and flow well over the top, as you can expect from a group as reputable as the Anti-Pop Consortium, who have been doing their thing since the late 90s (not counting a 5-year hiatus from 2002-2007). Check it out:
Anti-Pop Consortium – Volcano (Four Tet Remix)
Filed under: Vocals | Tags: Acoustic, Brilliant, mystic, organic, visual, vocals
I started this blog as a way to escape my Mum’s terminal cancer. The reality of living at home with somebody on their deathbed is not easy.
I used music to escape. And when that wasn’t distraction enough I started this blog. I started writing early September last year, scheduling the posts to be released in October. I wrote the first post and scheduled it for October 1st, the next post for the 2nd etc… I continued to write daily, scheduling more posts for October. They stop abruptly when she started to really slip. She died on the 23rd of September. That’s a year ago today.
She asked this song to be played at the funeral, and it’s beautiful. Although I’m sure my Mum would probably disapprove of the name I chose for this blog, she’d really dig the music I post on it. This one I know for a fact that she did, and I can see why.
Mckennitt‘s vocals are beautiful, the song is so gorgeously haunting, the atmosphere it embodies is captivating, it draws me into a medieval world with it’s droning pedal tone and ritualistic drum patterns. Simply magical and powerful music. A MUST for lovers of Celtic music (although this is pretty much the Stairway to Heaven of celtic songs, so I’m sure if you’re a celtic music fan you’ve at-least heard of Loreena McKennitt before), also a perfect introduction for a novice to the genre. The percussion, vocals and overall ambiance of the song is so perfectly and elegantly crafted.
Loreena McKennitt – The Mystic’s Dream
Filed under: Psychadelic, Rock, Vocals | Tags: Acoustic, Guitar, Psychedelic, Rock, vocals
Death in Vegas’ sound spans across many genres, from grunge to electronica to acid-rock the list goes on and on. Typing their name into iTunes and playing through their stuff on shuffle can trick you into thinking you are listening to several different bands. I feel Aladdin’s Story is a good psychedelic rock track to show off their sound- and it’s been awhile since we had music like this on the blog.
I recommend you check out Death In Vegas if you like a mix of Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Tame Impala and stuff like The Chemical Brothers, Primal Scream and Unkle. A very eclectic band.
Death in Vegas – Aladdin’s Story
Doctor Rockit is hailed a pioneer in using ‘organic’ (read: not electronic) sounds in predominately electronic music. I picked up his album Indoor Fireworks by chance and I must admit, it is a challenging listen. However the last track of the album deserves to be played during the last call of every bar, imagine you and your mates arm in arm, swishing your pints around in drunken glory.
A perfect finish to my week-long daily posting marathon – I’ll see you Monday 😀
Doctor Rockit – This is the End
