#136 – Freedom Fry Release Video For ‘Tallest Dreams’

Here’s a band called Freedom Fry, an American boy and a French girl who met, well, who met. The music is surprisingly (refreshingly, even) hard to put into a category.

#112 – Matt Adlers ‘Get High & Fuck Mixtape #1’

I found this on the BIRP! website a couple of days ago and it has been played pretty much on rotation since then. The songs are all good, although my favourite has to be the Javelin track. The fact that this mix is well over a year old and I’ve only just discovered it is an oversight. Sorry.

Music For Horses no. 18

Bombay Dub Orchestra // Netsky

This installment is a couple of songs that have been recommended to me by people at work. The first is from Bombay Dub Orchestra. They manage to fuse cinematic classical music with traditional Indian instruments and melodies in a way that doesn’t patronise either genre. They also draw influences from Trip Hop, electronic, ambient / lounge and – if some of the promo for the next album is right – reggae. It’s a good long song too, coming in at just under seven and a half minutes, so you can just sit back and enjoy this instrumental.

Bombay Dub Orchestra – Amina [Buy]

The second song is a Drum & Bass song.

Review: Tennis – Cape Dory

Denver’s Tennis (husband and wife Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore) released their debut album Cape Dory two weeks ago and it’s fair to say I’ve played it quite a few times since I picked it up. It’s come off the back of a big year for them, getting an awful lot of internet exposure and a couple of EP releases over the summer. Anyway, here’s what I think.

The album starts with the up-tempo ‘Take Me Somewhere’, showcasing the 50’s guitar and ambient surf sound that has become synonymous with bands such as Tennis, Beach House, The Drums and How To Dress Well over the last twelve months or so. The third song, ‘Cape Dory’ is an early delight; the vocal melody is unusual enough to be remarked upon and the backing is wonderfully lo-fi. I’ve been trying to place what Alaina Moore’s voice sounds like and I think I may have placed it. A little while ago I put up a song by a Sheffield band called Jack Rabbit and their lead singer, Olivia Neller, has a very similar tone. There, that’s one mystery solved! (If you want to listen to them, click here.)

#39 – What’s That Song?

Here are two very different songs for you. The first is a pretty recent rap song that got some heavy rotation over the summer. When I read that NaS and Damien Marley had put together an album I was tripping. NaS is one of the best East Coast rappers out there, and the fact that he was married to Kelis for two years (one of my favourite R&B/pop singers) only makes him that much cooler. The fact that the guy who wrote Illmatic and the most talented son of Bob Marley were releasing a record together was (literally) music to my ears. This is the lead single off that album, As We Enter.

NaS & Damien Marley – As We Enter [Buy]

And this is the original sample. It’s by a not-very-well known Ethiopian artist called Mulatu Astatke. While he’s been very influential in his native country, cross-over appeal has been late in coming. It was only really after the film Broken Flowers that he became better known. Anyway, this is a great song and a fantastic example of a good ‘world music’ song that’s been able to infiltrate modern pop music.

Mulatu Astatke – Yegelle Tezeta [Buy]

#34 – Listening To Jamelia In The Sun

This is my patented ‘Early/ Mid/ Late Life Crisis Survival Kit’, but works equally well as a couple of great songs to just calm down to:

Caribou – Jamelia [Buy]

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Class Of 2011
Listen to Caribou and Baz Luhrmann

Music For Horses no. 14

Com Truise // Baths

Yet again, we’ve got more chilled out music for you. I know it’s exam time at the moment, so maybe this helps a little with the revision. I, for one, can never listen to anything too involved when I’ve actually got work on. Anyway, first up is a song from the wonderfully named Com Truise. He’s a New Yorker and he’s been on the go for quite some time but it seems like he’s now found his niche. It’s proper lo-fi ‘chillwave’, and it’s cooler than a cucumber wot’s been in the fridge for quite some time.

Com Truise – Slow Peels
Free download from his Last.fm page here. Or just right-click the title above

The next song is a remix by Daedelus.

#32 – Pieter Stoaling

Here’s a quick one for you. Was bouncing around on Twitter and came across this song by a guy called Piet (or Pieter) Stoaling. From the little I’ve been able to find out he’s a German tech producer who’s been at it for quite some time. According to Facebook and a couple of other blogs he also runs a night in Berlin called Soup Du Jour (check it out here.)

Anyway, here’s the song I’m on about…

It’s really good. A long, slow burning song that’s got a great driving bass that drops in around 1.30. File this guy next to Booka Shade and Gui Borrato, because off the back of this song, he’s that good. It actually sounds like something off the DFA roster. So much so that I’ve put up an LCD Soundsystem song that it reminds me of. And here that is.

LCD Soundsystem – Someone Great
Buy it here.

Remember to let us know what you think of the songs.

Music For Horses no. 13

The Antlers // Dangermouse & Sparklehorse // Yuck

It’s been a while since we’ve added to the playlist, so here are a couple more songs for you to chill out to. The first is a cracking remix of The Antlers by ZYNC. They’ve stripped it all the way down and turned it into a song that has hints of Four Tet about it (only half as long as one of his remixes!) There are no vocals on this one and it’s got a breezy feel all the way through that makes it a good happy song. Here it is.

The Antlers – Bird Bank (ZYNC Mix)
Buy their songs here.

Next up is a song from Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse.

Music For Horses no. 12

Mr. Little Jeans / Friendly Fires

Oops, I’m a couple of days late. Well, I’ll blame it on being at home and having all the standard christmas household chores distracting me. Anyway, a couple of absolutely great ones for you this week. First up is a delightful remix by RAC. The original is by Mr. Little Jeans, a Norwegian singer/songwriter based in London. The song has got a throbbing, melodic bassline that carries on through almost the entire song and a really good vocal. It’s difficult to find out much about her other than the fact that she’s Scandinavian, writes great pop songs and is being tipped to get some serious exposure over the next 12 months. So sit back and enjoy this one.

Mr. Little Jeans – Rescue Song (RAC Remix)
Get the song here. Buy her songs here or here.

Your second treat this week is another remix, this time by Air France. Funnily enough they are also from the very northern bit of Europe, hailing from Sweden. They’ve been described as ‘post-rave bliss’ by FACT Magazine (who put out some amazing mixtapes) and this couldn’t be more accurate. Imagine listening to this song quietly after a long night out and you’ll get exactly what they mean. It’s a little up-tempo but it is most definitely chilled out enough to make it on to this playlist. I’ve got to credit Sheffield’s own Lionel Vinyl for telling me about this one… It’s one of his favourites, and that makes it worth a ride!

Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy (Air France Remix)
Get the song here. Buy Friendly Fires here.

Sorry that they’re both remixes this week… I’ll have a little think and try to put up a couple of originals for my next post. Have a great Christmas and see you in the new year.