Red Tin

Snow & Ice

2012-02-05T16:52:00.000Z

A wintery selection

December Duende

2011-12-15T11:47:00.002Z

Kitchen 646 menu

2011-12-15T11:45:00.002Z

Music from the Blue Pig II

2011-10-15T11:06:00.001+01:00

This is my set from the last Duende night at the Blue Pig recorded "live". I was playing vinyl through some archaic Bozac mixer of Craigs so not the usual set up for me. There's a quiet bit in the middle of Traffic's "Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" where we had to turn the music down for the winner of the prize draw to be announced (it was a Dave someone, sadly not me, and as he wasn't in the club so the money is rolled over 'til next week - it must be mounting up now) - how rock 'n roll is that?

2011-08-29T18:04:00.001+01:00

I had a great time at Solfest largely thanks to the ever wonderful Dogs In Space tent.

For anyone who cares here's the track list from my Sunday afternoon Dogs In Space set:

Velvet Belly - This Mortal Coil

Woodpeckers Dream - Guru Guru

Absolutely Cuckoo - The Magnetic Fields

I Woke Up One Morning - The Rockingbirds

Peace in the valley - Alabama 3

Come To The Sabbat - Black Widow

Walking Spanish - Tom Waits

My Gal's a Jockey - Big Joe Turner

Bell Bottom Trousers - Jack Hylton & His Orchestra

Tent - The Bonzo Dog Band

Singin' In The Rain - John Martyn

Singin' In The Rain - Féloche

Whatever Lola Wants (Gotan Project Remix) - Sarah Vaughan

Countrymusicdisco45 - Jeb Loy Nichols

Bobby - Wooden Wand

Mercy Now - Mary Gauthier

The King Of Carrot Flowers Parts Two and Three - The Broken Family Band

I Don't Care If There's Cursing - Phosphorescent

Jackson - Johnny Cash/June Carter Cash

Seeds And Stems (Again) - Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen

Right On For The Darkness - Willie Wright

Strawberry Letter 23 - Shuggie Otis

Purple Haze - Johnny Jones And The King Casuals

Who Is He (And What Is He to You)(edit) - Bill Withers

Femme Fatale - Aloe Blacc

Pale Blue Eyes - Marisa Monte

Venus In Furs - Sendelica

Sweet Jane - The Velvet Underground

Palaces of Montezuma - Grinderman

How To Be A Werewolf - Mogwai

Sequenced - The Field

African Drug (Four Tet remix) Bob Holroyd

Autobahn (cumbia merengue) - Señor Coconut and his Orchestra

The Perfumed Garden, Sunday morning

2011-07-17T12:55:00.001+01:00

Here's a selection of the tunes I played on Sunday morning in the Perfumed Garden tent at Beat-Herder 2011

Floral Dance

2011-05-30T17:29:00.000+01:00

A floral themed mini-mix to set the mood for the Perfumed Garden Pre Beat-Herder party at the Trades club in Hebden Bridge, this Friday June 3rd ....

It's got Fairport, M83, Animal Collective, The United States of America, Low and a couple of dodgy covers by The Lemonheads and The Fall ....
... and no Terry Wogan.

The Perfumed Garden at Beat-Herder

Music from the Blue Pig

2011-03-13T16:35:00.001Z

Here's a selection of the tunes I played at the last Duende night at the Blue Pig - all squished together in one lump - I hesitate to call it a mix as there wasn't really any mixing involved, just me trying to press the play button at the right time. It's a laid back selection of songs to ease people into the night. There are some old favourites in there as well as some new tunes ...

I'll put a track list up later for anyone who's interested.

Fuzzy Lights

2011-02-10T18:11:00.000Z

An album I forgot to mention in my half-arsed round-up of my favourites of 2010 was Twin Feathers by Fuzzy Lights. It has hints of 60s British folk mixed with post-rock style guitar drone and I've seen it described as having a subdued violence.
Anyway it's a gorgeous, haunting album - this track's a good place to start:

You can buy the album from Piccadilly Records here

William Tyler - Behold The Spirit

2011-02-08T22:56:00.002Z

William Tyler is a guitarist whose playing I know best from Lambchop but who's also played with Charlie Louvin, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Silver Jews, and Wooden Wand.
He now has a beautiful album out under his own name called Behold The Spirit.

The album mixes his guitar playing with field recordings, buzzes, hums and clicks as well as some bits of piano, strings and brass. It's a gorgeous thing and I suggest that after you've listened to this track that you go out and buy it.

Duende set list

2011-01-16T13:33:00.002Z

Thanks to Sam for the pic.

These are the tunes I played at the "Duende" night at the Blue Pig.

Intro and sound check
Rain on foliage - BBC Sound Effects
The Man Who Waters The Workers' Beer - Roy Harris with the Pump and Pluck Band
Wild Horse Of Stony Point - Black Twig Pickers
Femme Fatale - Aloe Blacc

Main set
Velvet Belly - This Mortal Coil
Lull IV; Can't Stop It Raining - Rachel Unthank & The Winterset
Muddy Water - The Seldom Scene
The Ellan Vannin Tragedy - Richard Hawley(Featuring Smoke Fairies)
The Pirate's Gospel - Alela Diane
Devil In The Details - The Broken Family Band
I Don't Care If There's Cursing - Phosphorescent
Jolene - Susanna & the Magical Orchestra
Expecting To Fly - Buffalo Springfield
Birdman: Birdman Flies! - McDonald & Giles
Singin' In The Rain - John Martyn
Horse Out In The Rain - Moby Grape
Postcards of Scarborough - Michael Chapman
Rituals - Fuzzy Lights
Half Light - Low
Rainmaker - Sparklehorse
Palaces of Montezuma - Grinderman
You're Gonna Miss Me - 13th Floor Elevators
Return Of The Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons
Brouhaha - Vanessa And The O's
Hit the Ground Running - Smog

Odd tracks played later in the night
Hopping Down in Kent - The Albion Dance Band
Zebra - Beach House
Lucky 1 - Avey Tare
All the Pretty Little Horses - Coil
Pepper - Butthole Surfers
I Want to Be Evil - Eartha Kitt
I Need A Life (Four Tet Remix) - Born Ruffians
I'd Like That - XTC

Precipitation

2010-12-29T16:28:00.003Z

Here's the rain themed mix I've been threatening for a while...

It's just over an hour long and as usual it's an unholy mess of musical styles and it contains 3 versions of one song, but I think it hangs together. See what you think.

(Let me know if you want a track list)

My Three favourite albums of 2010 ...

2010-12-27T15:04:00.002Z

Again, I'm not saying "the best of ..." just my favourites.
First off is the obvious one - it seems to be somewhere in most of the Top 20 / 50 / 100 lists I've seen - but that's probably just because it's so good.
High Violet by The National
Matt Beringer's baritone voice just sends me and the album is peppered with gorgeous tunes to show it off at its best.
Here's "Little Faith" - any song with the lyric "we'll play nuns versus priests until somebody cries" is OK by me:

Next up is the Roky Erickson and Okkervil River collaboration "True Love Cast Out All Evil" that I've already gone on about on here. It's remained one of my favourites of the year. Here's Goodbye Sweet Dreams:

Buy it from Rough Trade

Micah P Hinson and the Pioneer Sabateurs

Last time I went to see Micah he played a lot of stuff from this album - just him and an acoustic guitar - and it demonstrated how strong the songs are. That said, What makes this album really special for me is the arrangements - strings, occasional off-kilter percussion and growling feedback guitar or echo laden bottle-neck make a great backdrop for his pained voice. At the gig he said that the album cover had caused a bit of a fuss - in the US people wanted to know why the woman had no clothes on and in the UK they wanted to know why she had a gun ....

Here's "Watchers, Tell Us Of The Night"

Buy it from Rough Trade

2010-12-25T18:53:00.001Z

Asian Jingle Bells.mp3

A Whole Bunch of Christmas Tunes

2010-12-25T09:35:00.012Z

I know it's late but I've been drinking beer and whisky and cooking (without cutting myself!), I've uploaded some christmas tunes - a bit different from the normal stuff - you can download the whole lot zipped up here -

This is they:

Child's Christmas In Wales - John Cale
Honky Tonk Christmas - Dale Watson
In the Bleak Midwinter - The Pipettes
Just Like Christmas - Low
Stone Soul Christmas - Binky Griptite
Little Drummer Boy - The Dandy Warhols
The Christmas Song - The Raveonettes
Frosty the Snowman - Leon Redbone
Jingle Bells (Dan The Automator Remix) - Dean Martin
I Hate Christmas - Sesame Street
Lucky Too - Bob Neuwirth
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Reverend Horton Heat
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (Stuhr Remix) - Kay Starr
Joy To The World (Mocean Worker Remix) - Cathedral Brass
So Much Wine - The Handsome Family
The Christmas Orphan - John Shuttleworth
There's No Lights On The Christmas Tree Mother, They're Burning Big Louie Tonight - The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Baby, It's Cold Outside (Mulato Beat Remix) - Louis Armstrong, Velma Middleton
Christmas at the Zoo - The Flaming Lips
Papa Ain't No Santa Claus (And Mama Ain't No Christmas Tree) - Butterbeans & Susie
Winter Wonderland - Moog Cookbook
All I Want For Christmas - Spike Jones & his City Slickers
Don't Shoot Me Santa - The Killers
Please Daddy (Don't Get Drunk This Christmas) - Alan Jackson
We Dress Up Like Snowmen - The Wave Pictures
La Fille Du Pere Noel - Jacques Dutronc
Christmas in Vegas - Dale Watson

Phosphorescent

2010-12-19T14:35:00.000Z

A new discovery for me in 2010 was Matthew Houck who trades under the name Phosphorescent. I think my mate Lee over at Speakers Push Air turned me on to It's Hard To Be Humble (When You're From Alabama) when he visited us on his trek North. And then I heard I Don't Care If There's Cursing on Marc Riley's Radio 6 show.
This year's Album is called "Here's To Taking It Easy" and apparently it's his 5th - so how I've missed him 'til now I don't know. There's just too much music out there - I can't keep up!

A Couple of Christmas Crackers

2010-12-19T12:46:00.004Z

When you hear Low's Just Like Christmas being used for BBC2's Christmas ad, it makes you think that maybe you aren't quite as out of step with the rest of the world as you thought you were, (until you see the declaration of the winner of "Strictly Come Dancing" makes headlines in the broadsheets that is).
Anyway, here's a couple of slightly less well known seasonal songs, maybe they'll get used on Radio 4 trailers next year ....

There's No Lights On The Christmas Tree Mother, They're Burning Big Louie Tonight

We Dress Up Like Snowmen

More from 2010

2010-12-19T11:35:00.003Z

A few of my old favourite artists have released new stuff this year:

For The Ghosts Within

Robert Wyatt brought out an album that mixes jazz standards and some new material. Wyatt's distinctive voice is accompanied by some beautiful string arrangements and Gilad Atzmon's alto sax and clarinet.
I'm sharing his version of What A Wonderful World here - it closes the album and is almost throw away in its simplicity so perhaps isn't the best way to represent the album, but it seemed right for the time of the year. Where Are They Now on the other hand has German rapping and its electronic swing beat reminds me of some of the Verve remix albums or the music from Belleville Rendezvous.

Invariable Heartache

Cortney Tidwell leads somewhat of a double life musically, producing some great shoe-gazy dance numbers (check out Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up and Watusii) and , as you'd expect from someone Nashville born and bred, some nice country tinged songs. Kurt Wagner's band Lambchop definitely lean towards the country side of things and have produced some sublime music over the years. Together, calling themselves "Kort", they have produced an album of country tunes from the 60s and 70s, emphasising, in their words, the songs' "the beauty and simplicity".
This is probably the most up-beat track from the album - Picking Wild Mountain Berries - but it's all good.

Long Live The Duke & The King

The Felice Brothers were one of my discoveries at the Primavera festival in Barcelona a few years ago and it was Simone Felice's showmanship that really made their live performance something special. His side project, The Duke & The King, seems to have taken over and the Felice Brothers are no more. This is the band's second album and they've really settled in to their stride. It's a great tumbling mix of country, soul, folk and 60s style rock with gorgeous C S N & Y style harmonies. Hard to pick a single track but here's Shaky with its great opening lines "Baghdad she's a mean old town / I get the feeling she don't want me around".

Not the best of 2010

2010-12-18T14:35:00.002Z

I'm not going to follow the music blogging herd and do a "Best Of 2010" list.
I did think I'd share some of my favourite stuff from 2010 though. Not a "Best of ..." by any means just a collection of music I've enjoyed over the past 12 months. In no particular order.

I'll kick off with the second Grinderman album, imaginatively called Grinderman 2. The single with the video below came out before the album and it's just brilliantly bonkers - you just knew the album was going to be good:

There's a great version called "Super Heathen Child" with Robert Fripp on guitar that's well worth seeking out. Having said all that I think my favourite track from the album is Palaces Of Montezuma

More later ....

Catalan style rabbit casserole

2010-11-28T13:18:00.006Z

(I find recipes really difficult to write so I hope this works OK - let me know if you spot any mistakes or have any suggestions for improvements)

Ingredients

1 rabbit, jointed

seasoned flour

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 carrot scrubbed, topped and tailed and roughly jobbed

1 stick of celery scrubbed and roughly chopped

1 smoked cooking chorizo chopped into 1 or 2cm chunks

1 small glass of fino sherry or glass of white wine

4 tomatoes skinned and quartered

about half a dozen juniper berries bashed about a bit

3 or 4 sprigs of thyme

Olive oil for frying.

Method

Dredge the rabbit pieces in the flour.

Gently fry the chorizo in a heavy casserole until the orange juice starts to run from it, remove from the pan and set aside and then fry the rabbit pieces until they brown and remove them from the pan and put with the chorizo.

Add a little more oil if needed and fry the vegetables, apart from the tomatoes, until they start to brown scraping the flour residue from the bottom of the pan as you go.

Add the wine/sherry to the pan, give it a good stir and then put the meat back in the pan with all the other ingredients. Add some water so everything is covered and season as necessary - the chorizo will add a salty, smoky taste so don't over do the salt.

Put it in a low oven about 150 C for 2 or 3 hours, preferably while you go down to the pub.

Bon Voyage ...

2010-11-09T12:32:00.002Z

... the piano has been drinking

*the image is a still from a short animated film by Jeff Desom

Bon Voyage 29

2010-11-04T20:21:00.000Z

Bon Voyage 28

2010-11-03T08:07:00.001Z

We're on to the drinking songs now ...

Bon Voyage 27

2010-10-26T19:58:00.000+01:00

7 Heures du Matin

Bon Voyage 26

2010-10-25T22:39:00.001+01:00

Bon Voyage 25

2010-10-23T15:11:00.001+01:00

Nouveau Western

Bon Voyage 24

2010-10-22T16:41:00.000+01:00

Bon Voyage 23

2010-10-21T20:02:00.000+01:00

Bon Voyage 22

2010-10-19T08:24:00.000+01:00

Bon Voyage 21

2010-10-17T19:28:00.000+01:00

... in France so what better than a bit of Amelie

Bon Voyage 20

2010-10-17T11:18:00.002+01:00

We're on holiday and the sun is shining!

Bon Voyage 19

2010-10-14T18:14:00.000+01:00

Once in a Lifetime

Bon Voyage 18

2010-10-13T19:27:00.000+01:00

Lovely chilled version of Solsbury Hill by Kyte

Bon Voyage 17

2010-10-12T21:44:00.000+01:00

Bon Voyage 16

2010-10-11T18:04:00.001+01:00

From the sublime to the ridiculous -
Miles Out To Sea

Bon Voyage 15

2010-10-10T22:38:00.000+01:00

A beautiful David Crosby song from the Paul Kantner/Jefferson Starship album "Blows Against The Empire"

Bon Voyage 14

2010-10-09T10:17:00.001+01:00

One of those wonderful over the top "whole opera in a single song" tunes. Maybe not what you should listen to as you drive aboard the ferry ....

Bon Voyage 13

2010-10-07T23:23:00.001+01:00

A bit of empyrean modern prog rock for you today

I'm trying out the Yahoo media player. S'cool isn't it?

Bon Voyage 11 & 12

2010-10-07T09:11:00.018+01:00

Two tracks today - well the first is more of sound effect (courtesy of Polly Harvey).
Anyway, first one to see the sea gets sixpence!

Bon Voyage 10

2010-10-06T08:01:00.004+01:00

I forgot to do one yesterday - lets see if I can redeem myself.

Bon Voyage 9

2010-10-04T17:39:00.004+01:00

this seems to have become my theme tune of late

Bon Voyage 8

2010-10-03T11:46:00.004+01:00

don't want to miss the boat - better put your foot down ...

Bon Voyage 7

2010-10-02T09:47:00.004+01:00

A Beautiful Peace

Bon Voyage 6

2010-10-01T18:35:00.004+01:00

Roll bus roll, take me off
A rolled sweatshirt makes the window soft
If I fall asleep, don’t wake me up.
Roll bus roll, take me up...

Bon Voyage 5

2010-09-29T17:53:00.007+01:00

"I Scare Myself" - the proper, original version by Dan Hicks. Perfect for driving.

Bon Voyage 4

2010-09-28T08:36:00.006+01:00

Driving through Northern England the soundtrack has to include a brass band. A brass band playing a KLF tune ....

Bon Voyage 3

2010-09-27T09:28:00.005+01:00

I think I've packed everything but I've got this nagging doubt ...

Bon Voyage 2 ....

2010-09-26T09:01:00.005+01:00

... start the car ....

Bon Voyage

2010-09-25T19:56:00.010+01:00

Over the summer I put together a playlist for my son Loz to listen to as he drove from the North of England to France. I thought I'd share it on here one tune a day (when I remember).
So here we are waking up early in the morning to start the journey with John Martyn ...

It's a Mystery ...

2010-09-05T16:51:00.009+01:00

This is a mix I did for a competition over at the DJHistory forum - it didn't get anywhere with all those house bunnies and disco divas but I was quite pleased with it so I thought I'd share it here. It's loosely based on the "Watch Out For That Bat!" mix that's also on here, so some of the tracks are the same - and some aren't ...

2010-08-20T22:14:00.000+01:00

Sun Sea and Sand

2010-07-27T09:51:00.022+01:00

Hot on the heels of "Brasso" here's another mix. It's longer than usual - I'd have problems squeezing it on to a C90.
It would be a jolly seasonal selection of tunes apart from the fact that the sea bit involves a ship wreck or two.
I'll maybe post a track list later.

The image is a "mashup" by Beau Bo D'Or - John Hassall's Jolly Fisherman, from the famous poster advertising the joys of Skegness, joining the dancers of Jack Vettriano's The Singing Butler. Click on it to download the mix as an .mp3.

Brassed up

2010-07-10T16:21:00.008+01:00

Does what is says on the tin. A selection of tunes with brass bits in.
No. There's no Peter Skellern. It veers a bit close to Radio 2 territory as it is.

(click on the pic to download .mp3)

Rocky returns

2010-06-17T20:03:00.003+01:00

There's a new Roky Erickson album out - 14 years after his last. He's backed by Okkervil River and it's produced by their main man Will Sheff. And it's great!
The production incorporates "found-sound and archival recordings culled from Erickson's home videos and recordings made in the Rusk State Hospital for the Criminally Insane", where Erickson spent several years in the early 70s. These hissy snatches of birdsong and bits of conversation add a real atmosphere to the album.

Here's the title track on Youtube -

... and here's another track from the album for you to listen to -

Roky Erickson & Okkervil River - Goodbye Sweet Dreams

Erickson has been plagued by mental illness for decades - his life was chronicled in the excellent 2005 documentary You're Gonna Miss Me.

Mix Tape

2010-05-16T19:34:00.001+01:00

Holy Fuck ...

2010-05-08T10:59:00.001+01:00

... have a new album out called "Latin". Sounding great on the first couple of listens - possibly slightly less "full on" than their last album - it's still got the great driving rhythms and it still has the excitement generated by the feeling that the whole thing may fall to bits at any minute. But it has kind of floaty bits too.

This is the official vid of the track Latin America -

If you pre order 'Latin' from my favourite record store Rough Trade you will also receive a bonus cd called 'Ghost' with four extra tracks.

Jónsi – go

2010-04-01T14:46:00.015+01:00

Jónsi of Sigur Rós has a solo album out next week. It's called "Go" and you can read about it and order "special" and "limited" editions of it here .
I reckon if you like Sigur Rós you'll enjoy this.

You can pre-order it on vinyl from Amazon

Here's a track from the album to download -

Boy Lilikoi.mp3

Or you can stream a preview of the whole album from NPR Music

Watch Out For That Bat!

2010-03-19T22:17:00.006Z

A shortish "mix tape" for you (it'd very nearly fill both sides of a C60).

Thanks to Cosmic Jane for help and inspiration with this one.

I'll bung up a track list later if anyone asks for one.

Watch out for that bat!

Pantha du Prince ...

2010-03-13T11:36:00.003Z

... has a lovely new single out featuring Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear out of off of Animal Collective) ...

And there's a Four Tet remix available for free download

The single is available as a 12" from Rough Trade and has remixes by Efdemin and Lawrence as well as Four Tet - I've ordered my copy even though I still don't have anything to play vinyl on ....

Caribou

2010-03-13T11:00:00.005Z

Caribou were one of those bands I stumbled across at a festival (Primavera) and was completely blown away. I just couldn't stop grinning. I saw them again at Greenman and they were just as as impressive. I've played their Andorra album to death.
So now I'm ridiculously excited I've got tickets to see them at the Deaf Institute in Manchester on April 19th - the day before their new album, Swim, is released in the UK.
I've just download Odessa, the first single off the album from here and have played it 3 times back to back - let's hope the rest of the album is as good.

I'm the man, the very fat man ...

2010-02-05T22:29:00.002Z

... that waters the workers beer.
I heard this on Desert Island Disks today and was reminded how much I like it.
It's early dance music.

The Man that Waters the Workers' Beer.mp3

Spanish Orange and Almond cake

2010-01-19T10:06:00.002Z

I first saw the recipe for this delicious Spanish cake in a Claudia Roden book. I was reminded of it when I saw a variation in one of the Sunday papers. This recipe is based on the latter version but adapted so a bit more work is done by the food processor and there's one less bowl to wash up.

Ingredients

3 medium oranges
6 eggs, separated
225g caster sugar
200g ground almonds
A handful of flaked almonds

METHOD: Place the clean, whole and unpeeled oranges in a large pan of boiling water making sure they are covered and bring back to the boil. Simmer for 1½ hours adding more water when necessary. Drain the oranges and leave to cool (I've hastened the process by putting them outside in this freezing weather we've been having recently). When they're cool cut into quarters and discard any big pips or big bits of pith. Put them in a food processor and whiz the lot, including the peel.. Add the egg yolks and sugar to the oranges and give them another blitz until they are well mixed. Then put in the almonds and give it another quick mix. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks in a large bowl and then fold in the orange and almond mixture.
Pour into a 23cm (9in) cake tin (I've been using one of those silicon ones I got cheap in TK Maxx), scatter the flaked almonds over the top and bake for about an hour at 180C/Gas 4, until firm to the touch (cover with a loose sheet of foil if it looks like it's starting to go too brown). Cool in the tin and dust with icing sugar to serve. It's great served as a pudding while it's still warm with a blob of plain yoghurt or fromage fraise. Or as a cake, when it's cold,. with a cup of strong black coffee.

Birdmen, Tomatoes, Drums, Brass and Serpents

2009-12-31T17:51:00.002Z

A new mix for your delight - more or less a distillation of what I played last time I DJ'd.
I'll bung up a playlist later if anyone wants it.

Birdmen, tomatoes, brass, drums and serpents.mp3

end of year stuff ...

2009-12-29T15:49:00.025Z

... well I'm not going to contribute to the ubiquitous end of year lists, partly because they are ubiquitous but mostly because I can't be arsed.
And I actually don't really believe that you care what I think.
I can't resist reading them though. Mainly so I can shout "you must be joking - there is NO WAY that is the best album this year!", or "why the fuck haven't they included ...".
It's also a way for me to catch up on stuff I've missed. Although at least half of it I realise that the reason I've missed it is that it's just not very good.

Talking of catching up on stuff, for some reason I missed Marianne Faithfull's Easy Come Easy Go album last year. The stand out track on that is a duet with Nick Cave of a Decemberist's song - you can't go wrong with a combination like that can you?
Here's a recording of her doing it live (sadly with out Cave buts it's a great performance) -

Some good tracks I've missed this year and discovered on end of year lists include Hard Times by Patrick Wolf -

Patrick Wolf - Hard Times

Animal by Miike Snow (there's a nice dubby remix by Mark Ronson too) -

Miike Snow - Animal (Mark Ronson remix)

... and Day Light by Matt & Kim -

Matt & Kim - Daylight.mp3

Along with loads of list compilers Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion is one of the year's high lights - the new EP "Fall Be Kind" sounds pretty good too -

01 What Would I Want Sky - BBC session.mp3

Same goes for Fuck Button's Tarot Sport -

I'm surprised Mumford and Sons aren't in more lists - I love their album -

I'm equally surprised that the Bat For Lashes album features high up in a load of run-downs. It just didn't do it for me - but I'm going to give it another go to see if they're right and I'm wrong.

Another oft' listed album that I was also disappointed in was Bill Callahan's "Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle" - and I love Bill like a brother - but the production on this album, the drum sound in particular, I find really distracting.

Cue more surprise that We Gave It All Away... And Now We Are Taking It Back by Mungolian Jetset didn't appear outside dance oriented lists - it deserves a wider listening -

All that and I haven't mentioned Grizzly Bear or Fever Ray yet ...

... and a tip for 2010 - banjos are the new ukuleles ...

McDonald & Giles

2009-12-15T17:12:00.012Z

I noticed Robots In Heat had included "Flight of the Ibis" by McDonald & Giles in one of their podcasts.

It reminded me how much I used to listen to and love the McDonald & Giles album back in my teens. It's one of a few albums from that era that I still have in my possession so I dug it out. I know that there's a real danger digging out old stuff and that, once you've got over the nostalgia and remembered you were probably stoned last time you listened to it, it turns out to be a bit rubbish. Specially true of prog-rock. Surpisingly this has stood the test of time really well. The drumming is out standing throughout, there's little in the way of prog self indulgence. Pete Sinfield's lyrics do get slightly hippy at times although at their best they are reminiscent of Ray Davis or Pink Floyd era Syd Barret. It's quite funky in places and I reckon Tomorrow People would make a good edit - if only I could get my head round how to do that stuff.
The Birdman Suite (taking up all of side 2 on the vinyl) is the real stand out for me - the Birdman Flies builds beautifully and still has the wow effect I remember from my youth.

Am I just a sad old hippy or am I right that this is an over looked minor masterpiece?

You can judge for yourself from this Youtube upload

Or you can come and hear me DJ at Nelson's Wine Bar in Hebden Bridge on Christmas Eve where I plan to open my set with The Birdman Flies!

Record player ....

2009-12-11T10:18:00.016Z

An old Bush valve record player from the late 50s or early 60s.

A couple of additions if you look closely.

.. open it up ...

Fuck Buttons

2009-10-26T16:59:00.015Z

Tarot Sport

The new album from Fuck Buttons had me dancing round the office this morning like a demented uncle at a wedding disco.

Having seen Fuck Buttons a couple of times performing stuff from their Street Horrrsing album and been completely captured by their "machine noise with a human edge", I've been looking forward to hearing this new album. I wasn't disappointed.
The Andy Weatherall production doesn't seem to have changed their sound too much - and I much preferred the original of the Street Horrrsing single "Sweet love for planet earth" to his remix anyway.

There are real tunes here and there and, unless I'm mistaken, the track Olympians is a re-working/tribute the Vangelis music for Chariots of Fire! But don't let that put you off - Fuck Buttons always have a load more grit than Vangelis's plinky plonky synth anthems.

You can get a taste for the album from this 7" edit of Surf Solar.

Fuck Buttons - Surf Solar (7_ Edit).mp3

Go and buy the album

Bally Ear Ache

2009-10-12T22:33:00.010+01:00

Here's a "mix tape" I've done - 'cept it's obviously not a tape it's a mp3 ...
It was recorded "live" from Traktor (1st time I've done that) - the only audience I had was a fat black cat and he didn't seem too impressed ... see what you think.

Bally Ear Ache.mp3

here's a track listing -

1 Velvet Belly - This Mortal Coil
2 I Need A Life (Four Tet Remix) - Born Ruffians
3 Solsbury Hill - Kyte
4 Cello Song - The Books
5 Alone Again Or - Love
6 Brother Sport - Animal Collective
7 Take a Heart - The Sorrows
8 I Just Can't Take It Anymore - The Lemonheads
9 Roll Bus Roll - Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard
10 Spinning Away - Brian Eno & John Cale
11 This - Brian Eno
12 Vitamin C - Can
13 Bell Bottom Trousers - Jack Hylton & His Orchestra
14 Bad Bernie - Load
15 She Don't Use Jelly (Lounge-A-Palooza) - Ben Folds Five
16 Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing - Stevie Wonder
17 Moon Song (The Gospel According To Mung 2012 Live At The Hacienda Version) - They Came From The Stars (I Saw Them)

Roast Chicken Risotto

2009-10-11T15:19:00.002+01:00

This is based on a Nigel Slater recipe and is my favorite way of using up left over roast chicken. A perfect Autumn Monday supper.

Arborio or Carnaroli Rice (I prefer the latter)
3 shallots finely chopped
Chicken Stock made from the picked roast chicken carcass, an onion, a carrot, a stick of celery and a bay leaf boiled together for 30 minutes to an hour.
Bits of roast chicken
Butter
Parmesan
Salt & Pepper
Wine or Vermouth
Flat Leaf Parsley

Strain the stock and keep warm.

Sweat the shallots in some olive oil and when they start to turn transparent add a big knob of butter and continue frying for a few minutes.

Add the rice to the pan and fry, stirring continuously, for a minute or two until the grains start to look opaque round the edges.

Turn the heat up and add a glass of wine so it sizzles. Turn the heat back down, stir gently until wine is absorbed.

Add a ladle of stock and stir gently and continuously. As each ladle is absorbed, add another.

When the rice is looking nearly done, add the chicken to warm through.

When the rice is done (it takes between 30 and 45 minutes depending on the rice), turn off the heat, add a generous knob of butter, a big handful of parmesan, and a big handful of chopped parsley. Season.

Put a lid on it and leave for 5 minutes. Stir, check seasoning, serve with more parmesan on top.

Baked Cod with Harrissa on Potatoes and Tomatoes

2009-08-22T22:14:00.007+01:00

This recipe is my variation of one of Claudia Roden's in her book Arabesque. It's a great book I can highly recommend.

To serve 2
a big dollop of harrissa - Belazu rose harissa is my favorite
juice of half a lemon
2 thick pieces of cod fillet
about 300g of small potatoes such as charlottes, scrubbed and cut into 1cm slices
2 large tomatoes cut into quarters
half a red onion finely chopped
extra virgin olives oil

Mix the harissa, lemon juice and some olive oil in a bowl then add the cod pieces and make sure they are covered with the mixture. Leave in the fridge to marinade for a couple of hours turning for time to time.
Pre-heat the oven to about 200 C.
Put the potatoes on to boil.
Put a splash of olive oil in an oven proof dish and add the onions. Put the dish in the oven for five minutes or so. Remove from the oven and scatter the tomato quarters in the dish. When the potatoes are just starting to go soft drain them and leave to dry out for 5 minutes or so and then add them to the dish. Season and give the dish a good shake to mix in the onion, oil and tomatoes with the potato slices.
Put back in the oven. After about 30 minutes move the contents of the dish around a bit to ensure the potatoes get evenly browned and mix in the juices that will have come out of the tomatoes by now.
Cook for another 15 minutes and then put the marinated cod on top spreading any remaining marinade over the potato mixture.
Cook for about another 15 minutes until the cod is done.
Serve with a green salad.

Music and Food

2009-08-21T21:24:00.005+01:00

Mad as a box of frogs and always puts a smile on my face. The French Toast Man.

Volcano Choir

2009-08-17T10:06:00.003+01:00

Volcano Choir is a collaboration between Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and a band called Collections of Colonies of Bees who I'd not heard of until now. They're all mates from Wisconsin apparently and the track they've pre-released as a download to trail the up coming album "Unmap" puts them in the Fleet Foxes/Grizzly Bear/Bon Iver compartment in my mind.
The song's called Island, IS and you can download it from the Jagjaguwar record label web site - although you may want to avoid reading the blurb on there - it's toe curlingly pretentious pseuds corner material.
Or listen to it here

I like it a lot and I'm looking forward to the album being released at the beginning of next month.

The Big Chill - how was it for you?

2009-08-11T13:44:00.004+01:00

Well, I had a great time. The weather helped - sunshine throughout. Not being able to take booze on sight coupled with an exorbitant 3.50 a pint for crap lager and bitter only available at one bar is still a massive downer for the Big Chill. It means you really have to smuggle booze in - which luckily isn't difficult if you use the right gate(s).
Musical highlights were Spiritualized, who I've seen half a dozen or so times now, but this was one of their best. Maybe the shorter set meant they compressed all the goodness into a zinging, full blast performance.
Noah and the Whale were a revelation - all trace of whimsy has been wiped away and they delivered a powerful set - the violin owing more to John Cale style viola than folksy fiddle and just when I thought they reminded me a bit of Neil Young the tune they were playing morphed into Rockin' in the Free World.
David Byrne delivered the goods even if the dancers reminded me a bit of Rolf Harris and the Young Generation at first.

The Big Chill

2009-08-04T10:01:00.002+01:00

Off to the Big Chill Festival at the weekend. Let's hope summer starts before then.
One of the bands I'm really looking forward to seeing is Noah and the Whale. I really liked the last album - i like a bit of English whimsy now and then - and what I've heard of the new one, "First Days of Spring", sounds like they're getting better. The Twelves remix of Blue Skies (the first single from the album) is particularly good in that kinda funky disco style that The Twelves do. You can download it for free at http://www.noahandthewhale.com/twelves/

I'm also looking forward to a bit of Dennis Bovell reggae in the sun (yes there is going to be sun), but looking on his My Space he seems to think the Festival is in Brighton so lets hope he makes it to Eastnor OK

cooking for one ....

2009-08-02T17:58:00.009+01:00

... just me this Sunday so I'm roasting half a duck marinated in the Hugh F-W's Ginger & soy marinade that was in yesterday's Guardian - it's the second recipe down on this page.
It should go nicely with some charlotte potatoes i've boiled and then squashed a bit and then put in the roasting tin with the bird along with some par-boiled parsnips.
There was a lonely little gem lettuce in the salad drawer in the fridge so that's going to get braised to have with it -

1 Little gem lettuce per person
1 shallot per lettuce finely chopped
Olive oil
About 20g of Butter per lettuce
Half a glass of white wine (more if you're doing more lettuces) and/or 1 rounded teaspoon Marigold bouillon powder

Half the lettuce length wise and wash carefully, fanning the leaves slightly but making sure it doesn't come apart. Dry on kitchen paper and then leave, cut side down, on a double layer of kitchen paper to dry some more.
Heat the olive in a saute pan big enough to hold the lettuces and gently fry the shallot until it starts to go transparent but not brown. Add the lettuce halves cut side down and turn the heat up a bit. Fry for 2 or 3 minutes until they start to soften round the edges. Add the butter a bit at time and keep gently moving the contents of the pan about making sure the lettuce doesn't break up. When the butter is melted and starting to foam chuck in the glass of wine or a wine glass of water and the bouillon powder. Taste the liquid and season with salt if necessary and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil then turn the heat down to its lowest and cover the pan. Leave to cook very gently for about 5 minutes. Take the lid off the pan and reduce the liquid if it needs it until it is thick and glossy.

Magic Arm

2009-08-02T17:14:00.008+01:00

I'm enjoying the bleepy, lo-fi feel of Magic Arm's Bootsy Bootsy at the moment.

You can download a remix by Real Dolls for free here

or check out the original (which I prefer - it's more bleepy and lower-fi ...) on the the Magic Arm web site

"Indie" type tune remix's

2009-07-31T17:48:00.006+01:00

I recently asked on the DJH forum for recommendations for remix's of "indie" (oh how I hate that word) tunes. Of all the great suggestions these two were the stand out ones for me and now get "played out" regularly.

Late Of The Pier - The Bears Are Coming-Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Remix - wonderfully bonkers, listen out for the sound of Sweep (Sooty's pal) get buggered towards the end ...

and Moon Song (The Gospel According To Mung 2012 Live At The Hacienda Version) by They Came From The Stars I Saw Them - that's just a sample. The full thing is 12 minutes of riotous, joyful, danceable fun and I love it. You can buy it here - This Is Not A Shop

Bad Bernie

2009-07-31T15:01:00.002+01:00

I've been after a copy of this song for ages. I think I first heard it in a Lost Vagueness tent somewhere and was reminded of it again in the Trailer Trash tent at Beat-Herder a few weeks ago. I don't know anything about the band - Load - but I finally managed to find the track on a Lost Vagueness compilation.
Vamp it up in your best sleazy style to ...

One of my all time favorite songs

2009-07-31T14:03:00.001+01:00

A sublime meeting of classic Shangrilas' style teen ballad and finger-in-the-ear, Arran sweater wearing folk music.

2009-07-31T00:07:00.000+01:00

Fish Pie

2009-07-31T00:01:00.001+01:00

1 cod fillet – about 300g
1 smoked haddock fillet (preferably undyed) – about 200g
250cc milk
500g spinach thoroughly cleaned
150g good strong cheddar cheese, grated
1kg potatoes (preferably Maris Piper)
25g butter
20g corn flour
250ml milk
Some chopped flat leaf parsley
salt freshly ground pepper

Extra milk and butter for the mash

Depending on how long your oven takes to reach 200c turn it on at sometime during the proceedings so it's ready to put the pie in when it's assembled.
First prepare the seperate bits:

Scrub the spuds then cut them into 5cm chunks with peeling them. Boil in lightly salted water for about 15 mins til soft. Leave them til they're cool enough to handle and then peel the skin off with your fingers. Mash or put through a ricer with a knob of butter and a splash of milk.
Cut both bits of fish in to 4. While the spuds are cooking gently poach the fish in the milk either over a low light on the hob or ping it in the microwave. Either way it should only take 5 mins or so and should be slightly under cooked.
Steam the spinnach for about 7 or 8 minutes then squeeze it dry and chop it up finely.
Melt the 25g of butter over a low heat in a non enamel saucepan add the corn flour and stir with a wooden spoon getting rid of any lumps, cook gently for a minute or 2 then pour in the milk from the fish stirring constantly. Keep stirring it and watch til it thickens then turn the heat right down and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Keep stirring or it'll burn. It should be the consistency of thin cream – add some more milk if it looks too thick. Take off the heat and stir in the parsley and the cheese saving a bit to go on top later. Taste it and add some salt if it needs it (it might not because of the fish and the cheese) and planty of freshly ground pepper.
You've got all the bits now you need to assemble the pie:
In a buttered oven proof dish put the spinnach in a layer on the bottom. Arrange the pieces of fish on top (you can add prawns or cooked shell fish of your choice if you want at this stage). Pour the cheese sauce over the top. Spoon the mashed spuds over the top of that and even it out and makes pretty patterns with a fork, Sprinkle some of the grtated cheese over the top. Put it in the oven for 25 to 35 mins til it's brown. The sauce can bubble over so it's a good idea to put a tray underneath to catch and drips and save then burning on to your oven.

2009-07-30T22:05:00.001+01:00

Here's some of the artwork for fliers for the occasional Dig That Crazy Beat night at Nelson's Wine Bar in Hebden Bridge

Obviously images purloined from film posters and record sleeves.

I've put together some big posters and backdrops using Rasterbator - which is one of the best, most useful graphicsy things ever! And also Andrea Mosaic - which is equally cool.

A combination of the two meant I could make 2 meter square poster, pieced together from A4 sheets, made up of images of about 400 CD covers that, when viewed from a distance, looked like a giant vinyl album.
Not exactly great art but it look good on the night. The great art comes next .... I'm working on it.

Zarzuela

2009-07-17T15:51:00.002+01:00

My version of the classic Spanish fish stew.

Olive oil for frying
1 glass white wine
½ glass sherry
2 bay leaves
dozen or so clams and the same of mussels
1 medium Spanish onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 or 3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
smoked paprika
small dried chili chopped or the equivelant in dried chili flakes
150g hake
150g monk fish
1 medium sized squid
4 langoustine
4 big raw prawns
corn flour
½ glass of pernod or similar
a handful of fresh chopped parsley

Put wine, sherry and bay leaves in a large pan and bring to boil – add the clams and mussels and cook gently with the lid on for a few minutes until they open (chuck away any that don't open). Remove them from the pan, strain the liguid and put to one side.
Gently fry onion and garlic 'til just going transparent (don't brown). Add the tomatoes and cook squishing them about til soft. Add a big pinch of paprika and the chili and continue cooking 'til it's nice and thick.
Cut the fish and squid into chunks and dust with the flour then gently fry in a big casserole - start with the firmest fish first - 'til golden. Add pernod and boil off the alcohol or have some fun and set light to it! Add the tomato sauce and the liquid the clams and mussels were cooked in and enough water to just cover the fish (if needed), give it a stir and simmer for 10 - 15 mins. Stir in parsley and season to taste.
Serve with fresh, crusty bread.

gigs what I went to as a youngster ...

2009-07-17T15:49:00.000+01:00

I posted this list on the DJ History forum recently in a thread about The Dirty Projectors.

Gigs I went to back in the 70's and early 80s (I'll add to it from time to time as I remember more) -

Mostly at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester.
Tyrannosaurus Rex first electric gig with Micky Finn on bongos and the support was John Peel reading a Ray Bradbury short story.
The Groundhogs - Tony McPhee's guitar lead was too short so it kept pulling out of the amp when he walked to the front of the stage.
Led Zep at UMIST - didn't like them.
Pink Floyd doing Atom Heart Mother - boring without Syd
Hawkwind more times than I care to remember - they usually had a good light show but I never got to see Stacia get her kit off..
Genesis twice with Peter Gabriel singing and Phil Collins in his rightful place stuck behind the drums - first time they were playing support to Lindisfarne.
David Bowie with so few people there they closed the circle and put everyone in the stalls. He played a load of stuff off Ziggy Stardust although it was just before the album's release.
A great version of the Velvet Underground's White Light, White Heat
I was there with my long curly hair and my duffle coat, but went home and changed my image after that - Bowie and the band were in full Ziggy regalia. I remember Mick Ronson's guitar playing being amazing.
The Strawbs with Rick Wakeman
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - one of the best gigs I've ever been to. I can't remember the name of the venue - it was on old converted cinema in Manchester with most of the inside painted mat black. A bloke in front of me turned round and threw up and I got sick on my shoes.
Carol King and James Taylor - tedious and weary
Loudon Wainwright III - brilliant and very funny
Fleetwood Mac when they were still good with Peter Green
Taste with Rory Gallagher - I had to leave before the end to get the last train and you could still hear them nearly all the way to Victoria Station they were so loud.
The Byrds - brilliant - they did a 3 hour long version of 8 Miles High (well it felt like 3 hours )
Tangerine Dream in Manchester Cathedral - I was bored witless and freezing cold
Soft Machine - I enjoyed it then but I'm not sure I would now
The Rolling Stones at Belle Vue (I got pushed out of the ticket queue for their Free Trade Hall gig by Hells Angels)
Humble Pie - Steve Marriot had such a great soulful voice
Jethro Tull - I seem to remember the gig started at midnight - I don't recall much else about it. I don't think I enjoyed it much.
MC5 at the Clitheroe Festival - I went to it twice and also saw Barclay James Harvest, Stackridge, Bridget St. John and The Third Ear Band.

When I was on a 6th form geography field trip in Torbay I went to see the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and as he sung something along the lines of "and your brain leaves you body" someone dressed as a giant brain wobbled across the stage and at the climax of the show they "poured" Arthur into a giant syringe ....

A mate at art college asked if we'd like to go and see his brother, a drummer, in a punk band. They were on at a gay club in Manchester called The Ranch next door to Foo Foo Lammar's. They were called Buzzcocks and had a slightly odd looking little singer called Howard. They only managed about 20 or 30 minutes of their set before Foo Foo came through from next door and told them they had to stop as the noise was interfering with his act.