FUCK THE RADIO

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Something different…

Hello readers. This is a nice song. Originally by Aphex Twin, covered by the Alarm Will Sound Orchestra. Something that came on iTunes shuffle and I felt like sharing.

NO FUTURE (inc. music you should listen to vol. 2)

NO FUTURE opened at Highlander bar last night, now that I’m over my hangover and crippling neck pains due to head-banging to Dubstep are preventing me from doing anything else… Here’s some music bloggin’ for your soul.

James Kane (being the legend that he is) has got me on board to dj @ No Future on Thursday nights. Here’s what I’ve got going for my sets:

• Aphex Twin
• Bibio

Bibio focuses on location recording using cassettes, a half-broken sampler, dictaphones, and experimental ways of affecting sounds. An artist I’ve come to love and draw inspiration from, a blend between electronica, folk and musique de concrete, Bibio has crafted a unequalled style that is as subtle as it is powerful.

• Kraftwerk

A group I love for two reasons: Their amazing cheesiness- especially by today’s standards.  and also their pioneering of electronic music in the 70s.

• Animal Collective
• The Clash

The Clash along with The Ramones are the two greatest punk bands of all time. The Clash‘s punk-reggae fusion creates punk that you can dance to with tracks such as The Magnificent Seven.

• Elvis Presley
• The Seatbelts
• Ratatat
• El Ten Eleven
• The Shortwave Set

Replica Sun Machine is a fun album- cute without being twee- indie but maintaining mainstream quality. Glitches and Bugs was one of my favourite songs for awhile.

• Skream

One of the biggest names of dubstep, Skream has been a notable dubstep producer/dj since the genre’s creation.

• Boy 8 Bit

Love him for his chiptune/electro fusion- Boy 8 Bit produces all sorts of genres of EDM under various aliases.

• Daddy Cool
• The Kinks

• The Ramones
• Death From Above 1979

Before Jesse Keeler formed the great MSTRKRFT he was in this dance-punk/metal duo. Some awesome hardcore punk tracks to be found.

• Cassette Kids
• Plasticines
• Sonic Youth
• Franz Ferdinand
• Gorillaz
• The Who
• Hooverphonic
• The Oceans
• The Decemberists
• Devo

As you can see, anything goes really, a mix of Dubstep, Acid, Indie, Punk and good ol’ 50s rock. Some classics mixed in with some unheard things to be introduced too. That’s what it’s all about.

And with that it’s time for bed. I just want my neck to stop hurting!

If you want you can come check out NO FUTURE yourself every Thursday night @ Highlander

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=124569994231181&ref=ts

And you can add b& up for any news on other upcoming gigs

http://www.facebook.com/beeampersand

Music You Should Listen To: Vol. 1

So It’s been awhile.

I took a break from blogging, school started, my music started generating a small amount of interest from record labels/djs and my computer committed suicide. But I’m back now, I’m on a break from school and I’m going to tell you what I’ve been listening to while I was away, as well as some of my old favourites.

The Toxic Avenger

Got this amazing electro producer recently. Heavily saturated synths pack a real punch. Saloperie De Minimale is a real fist pumper. Electro fans should get their hands on it if they don’t have it already.

Proxy

Another recent discovery. Russian DJ/Producer Proxy delivers some heavy sounds, especially in the hard hitting Who Are You?.

Digitalism

More nice electro I’ve been listening to the past few weeks. Home Zone should be a party anthem. Check out the Proxy remix of the track too.

Wolfgang Gartner

Very sexy electro-house. Dropped a few of his tracks at a set recently and had everyone jumping. Bounce has a beast of a bassline.

Datsik

Filthy Dubstep. Game Over and Southpaw are perfect examples of good dubstep.

Aphex Twin

Changed my life. His ambient works are musical compositional genius. I give Blue Calx a regular listen without getting tired of it. Come To Daddy contrasts amazingly but is pure acid techno greatness.

Boys Noize

Remember how Iron Man by Black Sabbath proved that you could be heavy without being fast? Well Boys Noize‘s Kontact Me is the electro equivalent. Slower than normal- but still a real head banger.

Les Petits Pilous

Look up Wake Up and Housi. The only way to describe would be to mash the keyboard like this: ujgfbjsbgvfuckingamazingdjvebvdjbvw;edbs

Bob Rifo

Kinky Malinki is a fun punk song that you’ll be listening to over and over. The video is a treat too.

Ratatat

Falcon Jab was my favourite song for awhile. Seventeen Years, Lex, and Wildcat also deserve mentions.

El Ten Eleven

Talented two-piece instrumental electro-rock group. Guess you could call them Shoegaze if you’re a fan of the genre. Hot Cakes is a top track.

Animal Collective

My girlfriend and I made lists on the top ten songs of all time. Animal Collective‘s My Girls topped mine.

The Decemberists

Just get The Hazards of Love album. It’s an adventure- like reading a really good book but in music.

The Seatbelts

I’m a huge jazz fan. The Seatbelts did some amazing stuff for the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack. Ask DNA, Tank!, Clutch, Piano Black, Don’t Bother None heck, just download the discography.

Noah and the Whale

5 Years Time is adorable.

Daddy Cool

Aussie rock legend. Eagle Rock is a timeless hit.

Chateau Marmont

Yay! Party! Beagle.

The Beatles

Duh.

Pheonix

Gained a-lot of popularity last year. Some trivia: the guitarist used to be in a 3-piece punk band with the two members of Daft Punk but left when the songs started getting too electronic. Napoleon and Lisztomania are my two favorites.

Cassette Kids

Another band that gained a-lot of popularity recently. Spin is their breakthrough hit, but I enjoy the earlier You Take It better.

The Strokes

Hipster bullshit? God no! Garage rock at it’s best. Reptilia and Juice Box are simply great.

Plasticines

French babes, neato glam rock. Has a real Blondie feel. Loser is what got me interested, Mister Driver is what got me hooked, Barcelona is what kept me interested.

Blondie

As mentioned just before. A great 70s new-wave era group. Debbie Harry was a babe. Call Me still, and always will rock.

The Ramones

The original punk-rockers. Blitzkrieg Bop defines a genre. Rock N Roll Radio and Beat On The Brat are two personal favourites. But I struggle to find a song by them that I dislike.

Rage Against The Machine

I could fist fight a bear after listening to these guys. And trust me, I listen to them a lot. Luckily there aren’t any bears around where I live, or else I would most definitely be dead. Killing In The Name is probably their most well known, while their cover of Soul Sonic Force‘s Renegades of Funk is probably my favourite.

Imogen Heap

Worth a mention purely for the beautiful Hide and Seek. True ear candy.

Jurassic 5

Hip-hop when it was actually good.

That’ll do it for now. I’ll get my exploded computer back from the technician any day with my music library on it, so I’ll be able to write vol. 2 then. Keep an eye out, or subscribe!!

Also,

http://soundcloud.com/beeampersand

http://www.last.fm/music/B%2526

http://www.facebook.com/beeampersand

Who said electro fans can’t mosh?

Imagine in 20 years time when this comes on the ‘classic hits’ radio station in the car  and your kid is telling you to turn your lame old-people music off.

ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Phear Phace

Dubstep has been called (in a derogatory tone) “Studentstep” because- lets face it- nobody over the age of 25 listens to it. Infact- I doubt there are few people above the age of 30 that have heard of the genre, and nobody over the age of 60 has had the pleasure of the sound to grace their hairy old-person ears. So really it’s no wonder when a 17 year old producer gets signed to a record label for creating some of the greatest, dirtiest, thumping tracks in the genre.

Phear Phace hails from the U.K and has recently signed onto Hijack Records. Just listen to what he’s producing now and you’ll be able to say that you liked him before he was big. Definitely has a huge career ahead of him.

Major Lazer & Dancehall

In a world with Dubstep, Techno, Electro-House and Fidget who has time for repackaged Dancehall for hipsters?

This is what the latest nonsense to hit the scene from DJs Diplo and Switch is, who have paired up to create Major Lazer- an alias linked with a Jamaican hoverboard riding vampire hunter (no shit).

Pon De Floor has been a relative success, making onto Ministry Of Sound‘s The Annual 2010 (Track 11 on disc 1) but if not for the clever- almost brilliant- vocal line, what does the track have? The beats just don’t hit you like they should; the snare is overused; the seemingly random electro effects just don’t mix with the steady stream of Jamaican music the pair have created.

If you are a Dancehall fan then you’ll probably enjoy the track… and the rest of the album, the lyrics are somewhat different to the typical- but other than that there isn’t anything really new or special brought to the table here.

If you are like me and like your stuff to pack a punch- steer towards a remix of Pon De Floor; I’m sure there will be a bunch of great mixes to hit the net soon that utilize that awesome vocal line. Other than that I’d have a laugh at the video clip and then leave the track to sink into the never ending abyss of your iTunes library.

ALBUM RLEASE ‘b&’s Sound Circus’

So the album to match the blog’s name is released and the blog begins being promoted.

The album art was hand-drawn by my friend Kathryn. It’s easily the greatest album release in the past 30 years and you need to get it FREE here http://www.sendspace.com/file/po2eqg although considering I have roughly quadruple the amount of listeners as I do readers, you probably already have the album and found this blog from the included link.

In other news, I have a couple of upcoming DJ sets, first of which is  an upcoming Oakleigh Party that you and your friends are all invited to. A recent collaboration with my mate DJ Jakey Kak resulted in this short set on YouTube. Also, there is a somewhat secret album release that I havent promoted, http://www.sendspace.com/file/h6nrhm
It’s a collection of the music I produced pre-b&.

5 Non doof doof albums (and why doof doof fans should listen)

This week we’ll look at 5 great albums not classified as EDM and why EDM fans should listen to them…

5. Art vs Science EP – Art vs Science

My girlfriend introduced me into this band and I haven’t stopped listening since. Another Dance/Electro/Rock act, Australia’s own Art vs Science has been getting people moving up an down like an elevator at the best of parties. The hit single Parlez Vous Francais? has a music video that could rival Thriller‘s. The distorted bass guitar, the synth riffs, the heavy kick drum… It’s a great combo- and theres a freaky reason why. Keyboardist Dan Mac cites his degree in psychology as one of the band’s influences, “There are certain noises that make people feel a certain way,” he tells us, “My knowledge of how the mind works probably seeps into my writing of songs”. Either clutch your ears and shout GET OUT OF MY HEAD or sit back and enjoy the band for their great dance/rock sound- the choice is yours – just promise me you’ll give the Parlez Vous Francais? video here.

4. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand

Easily one of the top albums of 2009, Franz Ferdinand maintain their funky-rock sound and mix in “a streak of electronica” (says Kapranos, the band’s front man). It’s clear in hit singles Ulysses and No You Girls that these guys know how to handle their soviet-made polivoks analogue synth. The band works in perfect harmony in creating the perfect mix between a rock and dance album; the rhythms used by Hardy on bass, Thomson’s funky drumming, McCarthy’s keyboard work and Kapranos’ vocals all fit stunningly together. Album highlights are Ulysses, No You Girls and Lucid Dreams, but don’t let the name-dropping fool you; EVERY song on this album is great. PLUS if you get your hands on the deluxe edition you get treated to Blood: Franz Ferdinand which contains some neat dub remixes of the songs recorded by the band. And if all that is not enough to convince you,  I can assure you that their performance at Future Music Festival (alongside The Prodigy, David Guetta, Dubfire, Booka Shade… too many to list…) was absolutely mind blowing.

3. Endtroducing - DJ Shadow

Those of you who have seen the 2001 documentary Scratch are already familiar with the Hip-hop genius DJ Shadow. A miasma of amazingly well cut and juggled samples from various vinyl records found in the abyss located in the basement of a record store; Endtroducing is the world’s first record made from 100% sampled sources. Recorded on just a 12-bit sampler, a set of turntables and a very early version of Pro Tools- Endtroducing is a testament to the potential talent and creativity possible from old-school hip-hop DJs. Like a relic from a time when hip-hop was good; track #10 “Why Hip-Hop sucks in ’96″ is a 44 second anthem that anybody that listens to Kanye, 50 Cent or any other popular rap artist should listen to on repeat until the message gets across. Relaxing and yet at the same time engaging, Endtroducing is certainly one of the most important albums released in the last few decades. Don’t even bother to judge- just sit back and appreciate.

2. Since I Left You – The Avalanches

Aussie Trip-Hop/Electronica artists The Avalanches did not expect Since I Left Youto be a hit at all. Instead they ended up in the charts for a full 25 weeks, peaking at #8 as well as 4 ARIA awards, and a plethora of awards from various music magazines etc. The production on the album is brilliant, Frontier Psychiatrist is a chaotic mishmash of vintage movie quotes and sound effects thrown into a blender with some big-beat drums and some fancy turntablism. The other tracks are the work of genius – if you enjoyed Endtroducing you will love Since I Left You and vice versa.

1. Demon Days – The Gorillaz

One of my favorite albums of all time, Demon Days slapped the music industry across the face by going against the norm and selling like crazy. The contemporay-pop album fuses funky beats, hip-hop rhymes, brilliant falsetto vocals topped off with production from the great Danger Mouse adding choir-like childrens vocals and sexy synth lines to the mix. Reaching double platinum sales in the US and 5 Times platinum in the UK, you must’ve been living under a rock for the past few years if you haven’t heard this album. Picking out specific tunes would make it seem the rest are not above average (but I assure you this is not the case), however Kids With Guns, Dare, Dirty Harry and Clint Eastwood are exceptionally brilliant tunes that deserve high play count values on your iTunes. Then there’s the main hit Feel Good Inc. which is a super-mutant of a song- a funked up bassline, a guest appearance from De La Soul and a chorus that sounds like it could be taken from an unreleased song by The Beatles. The cartoon simians sure know how to rock, and with their recently released 3rd album selling like crazy, it doesn’t look like they will stop anytime soon.

Next week- 5 Doof Doof Albums (and why non-doof doof fans should listen)

computer club vs frankmusik

Computer Club – a big man with a big hairstyle and some seriously big electro house tracks- releases his first EP entitled Nerd Secrets on the 9th of March. If you aren’t going to be already occupied with the new Gorillaz album by then; you should probably check out Computer Club‘s dirty funky house beats.

Particularly of interest is his team-up with Frankmusik the powerpop Londoner. The pair produced a great track together entitled Loosing Streak and two versions are floating around- one is the original and one is a DJ edit. Heres the original:

Loosing Streak – Computer Club vs Frankmusic

Check out more Computer Club here.