Neomix Volume Two

Finally after so many people bugging me, I've put together another mixtape in the Neoloop series Neomix (I guess I can call it a series now there is a second volume!). Volume Two is as eclectic as the first and covers all the stuff we love on Neoloop.

Tracklisting is as follows:

• 1. Get Free: Major Laser
• 2. Why: Carly Simon
• 3. On and On (Ruined by Rick Rubin): Justice
• 4. Big Love: Matthew E. White
• 5. Without You: Behling
• 6. I Walk This Earth: King Biscuit Time
• 7. I'm on Fire (Cousin Cole's Bad Desire Remix): Bruce Springsteen
• 8. Hamjam (Tofu Mix): The Soul Session
• 9. Social Studies (Plastic Plates Remix): Body Language
• 10. So Good At Being In Trouble: Unknown Mortal Orchestra
• 11. Big Shot: Dr.John
• 12. Bombay: El Guincho
• 13. Tear Club: Moullinex
• 14. Chip Off The Old Block: Chic
• 15. Destiny: John Talabot
• 16. Le Grand Sommeil: Ginger Ale
• 17. Get Lucky: Daft Punk
• 18. Utopia: Footprintz
• 19. Juicy Onion: Brusco
• 20. Benediction: Hot Natured & Ali Love
• 21. Bourgie Bourgie: John Davis & The Monster Orchestra
• 22. Inspector Norse: Todd Terje
• 23. Lost: Frank Ocean
• 24. Sea: Roosevelt
• 25. Done and Over It: Marie Madelenine
• 26. Goblin City (Holy Ghost Remix): Panthers
• 27. Island: The Whitest Boy Alive
• 28. La La La: Snoop Lion
• 29. Fashion Killa: A$AP Rockey
• 30. Perfidia: Phyllis Dillon
• 31. The Baddest Man Alive: The Black Keys
• 32. Blue Skies: Willie Nelson

Late Night choice

One of the best Late Night Tales compilations for a while, the compilation series that maintains a quality output have chosen the effervescent Friendly Fires, an inspired choice as it turns out. The selection covers many genres as well as uptempo house, obscure indie, disco-funk, art-pop and ambient chill. This tune is a stand-out, fourth track in, anthemic porn-disco Fly Like An Eagle by Dennis Parker. And it's not just the old stuff that makes for an impressive collection, Melody Echo Chamber's Endless Shore is a welcome addition from a great artist. Friendly Fires’ exclusive cover version of the ’78 electronic classic Why Don't You Answer by Eberhard Schoener and Sting sounds like one of their own.

Surprise choice perhaps is Olivia Newton-John's cover of the Elton John classic Love Song from Tumbleweed Connection, an amazing version that I've never heard before. Also includes choice cuts from Cocteau Twins, SBTRKT, Iron Galaxy, Bibio, Stereolab, Slowdive, Joe Simon and Sonna. 

Definitely one of the best comps of the year and certainly one of the best Late Night Tales comps ever, no mean feat considering it's on it's thirtieth edition. Highly Recommend.

Buy it now on iTunes

Tiki Tropical!

Former Concretes' frontwoman Victoria Bergsman released her third album last month as Taken By Trees. Following the excellent Eden LP which Bergsman recorded in Pakistan she's now been to Hawaii to record the follow-up Other Worlds. I love the whole Hawaiian sound of steel guitars and tropical beats mixed with Bergsman's soft laid back vocal style. Produced by Henning Fürst this album is the perfect accompaniment to to the summer, so listening to this in the cold autumn months soon warms you up inside deeming of hotter climates.

Intro song Horizon starts with the sound of the sea while coconut shells clip clop out the beat and the first sounds of Hawaiian steel guitars subtly twang in the background. Highest High drifts with ease and grace, filling your head with beautiful sounds of tiki wooden percussion, whirring guitars and Augustus Pablo-esque melodica. Dreams sets off into a faster pace with balearic beats and more luscious steel guitars.

Pacific Blue adds to the tropical mood with ocean-breeze steel pans and a easy going carnival beat. Only You sounds like a lost Cure song re-imagined by Bergman. Large ups the pace once more for a skanking ska beat with horn section and intricate percussion giving us a calypso flavour. Dub reggae tune Indigo dub is pure horizontal relaxation and blends nicely into reggae tinged I Want You. The album finishes with Dreams (Coconut Cut) bringing the sound back to where it started laying in a hammock on the beach sipping on a planters punch. Wonderful. Highly Recommended.

Buy it on iTunes here.

Temptation

Time for an soul old track, this tune from Eddie Kendricks wasn't a big on it's release back in 1973, he had success with better know tunes like Keep On Trucking, Boogie Down and the expansive, eight minute Girl, You Need A Change Of Mind. Darling Come Back Home has everything I love about good old soul music, great orchestral arrangements, rumbling bass, soaring violins and steel pans. Kendricks voice is sounding as good as his Temptations days. Taken from his self-titled third album. Eddie Kendricks was an American singer and songwriter, noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style and being a co-founder of The Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. He made 13 solo albums and also one with fellow Temptation David Ruffin. He died in 1992 from lung cancer. A true soul legend.

Like this? Try: The Temptations, Gil Scott-Heron, Al Green, Shuggie Otis

Iron Fists

RZA unleashes the opening track for his upcoming The Man With The Iron Fists soundtrack. 

The Baddest Man Alive is a collaboration between RZA and The Black Keys, and it's a badass slab of rock, up there with the best tracks from the Blakroc album, The Black Keys previous venture into Rock/Hip-Hop crossover.

Aside from The Black Keys, The Man With the Iron Fists soundtrack also features new compositions by Kanye West, Ghostface Killah, Pusha T, Raekwon, Wu-Tang Clan and Talib Kweli, as well as RZA collaboration Flatbush Zombies. The soundtrack hits officially on October 23rd, while the film lands in theaters at the start of November. 

The film stars Russell Crowe, Cung Le, Lucy Liu, Byron Mann, RZA, Rick Yune, David Bautista, and Jamie Chung. RZA‘s takes on his directorial debut.

Wonky Disco

Sébastien Tellier returns with new album My God Is Blue, produced by Mr Flash. Looking more like the messiah with every release Tellier's trademark beard and long messy hair is symphonious with his own brand of sexy-disco electronica. The frenchman's music remains in the high quality bracket, all the usual influences are omni present, the old styles of Philippe Nicaud, Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier to the contemporary sounds of Air, Daft Punk and Bertrand Bergalat. Cochon Ville is the lead single released with a suitably erotic video of naked dancers in gods own disco. Tellier always does just enough to remain on the right edge of kitsch with an electro-pop sound that could have been released anytime in the last thirty years or far into the future. Future-retro maybe?! Sedulous is my choice pick of this LP, a slow jam that Serge Gainsbourg would be proud of, a dramatic drum roll strolls into a slow digi-funk beat with a waltzing horn section and funky quitar stabs. Good to have you back Sébastien! HIGHLY RECOMMEDED!

Out now on iTunes

The Black Keys - El Camino

Ten years and seven albums down the line The Black Keys latest long player strikes solid gold. Out last month El Camino has rarely left my speakers or headphones since. It's another pummeling throb of retro-blues-rock-stomp of course, but having Brian Burton (AKA Danger Mouse) back to co-produce and co-write the entire album The Keys are primed and aimed for the mainstream. I can highly recommend all the previous 6 albums, the early LP's are naturally rough and raw with grimy rhythm and blues. The last three, Magic Potion, Attack & Release and the breakthrough Brothers have been edging towards big arena domination the world over. 

All El Camino's songs are written and composed by Singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney and Brian Burton. In contrast to some of the slower, quieter tracks from Brothers, the songs on El Camino are more uptempo and riff-driven. It has been said that during the tour for Brothers, Dan and Patrick realised that many of Brothers songs were too slow to translate to a live setting, which led them to write more uptempo material for El Camino. Carney said, "This record stemmed from that, the fact that it's easier for our songs to come across well live if they are fast. So we were just trying to make a guitar rock album that was more upbeat than anything we've ever recorded"

So we find ourselves with one hell of a heavy slab of rock here, first single Lonely boy kicks off the album in full throttle with a Duane Eddy 50's rock foundation before it absolutely bulldozes into the next track Dead and Gone with a new found fury. The sound then goes head first into this track Gold on the Ceiling, which sounds like T-Rex jamming in a dirty strip club. All glam-nasty rock and big bombastic choruses with plenty of Bolan Boogie. Little Black Submarines slows things down to a blues ballad, until two minutes in that is, then it bursts into a distorted Tom Petty-esque riff. The last three but one tracks are sure fire crowd pleasers from Hell of a Season, a big arena-rocking tune, to the shimmy shimmy pomp of Stop Stop and the standout track Nova Baby which will have the crowd singing in unison with their hands in the air.

The Black Keys are determined to reinvigorate rock’n’roll from the roots up and with El Camino they are succeeding. The best rock record of 2011 Highly Recommended.

I heard that you like the bad girls, honey, is that true?

Undoubtably one of this years most blogged tunes, Lana Del Rey has made her mark in 2011. Seemingly coming from nowhere, the power of the internet launches another star, the gangsta Nancy Sinatra has earned a faithful following and deservedly so as the B-side Blue Jeans and forthcoming single Born To Die proves she's not a one hit wonder. There's a good few versions of Video Games, Chicago house legend Mr. Fingers mesmerising house mix, Kasabien's live cover and Bombay Bicycle Club. So far my favourite mix is from the night-stepper Jamie Woon. Lana's vocal never sounded better over Woon's intense dark beats, a pop-noir delight.

Official site

Histoire de Melody Nelson (40ème anniversaire)

Hard to believe Histoire de Melody Nelson is 40 years old. But given it is also 20 years since Serge Gainbourg's death it puts it into perspective. Widely regarded by critics and fans alike as Gainsbourg's most influential and accomplished album. It certainly stands the test of time, a classic not just for Gainsbourg but as a piece of music made in the early seventies. 

Thanks to a big budget following international success with 1969's Je t'aime... moi non plus Gainsbourg's 1971 collaboration with Jean-Claude Vannier proved to be the ultimate magnum opus in a prolific career that covers over 3 decades. It's the young Vannier's lush, deep orchestrated string and choral arrangements composed with Serge that make this album truly unique. Never before had pop-rock songs, slow funk and soul been produced with such extravagant orchestration. Add to this Gainbourg's brooding narration and Jane Birkin's (Melody) sweet and innocent voice and you get an incredibly grandeur sound. But that's what Monsieur Gainsbourg was all about, constantly pushing boundaries and making new music and sounds that had never been done before.

Many musicians have marked the LP as a major influence, David Holmes based the majority of his second album Let's Get Killed on remakes of Melody Nelson compositions. Beck, whose 2002 track Paper Tiger from Sea Change is extremely close to the distinctive Histoire de Melody Nelson sound. Air, Jarvis Cocker, Portishead and Daft Punk have all been inchanted by it's magic.

I first discovered the album during the mid-nineties and it's remained a constant favourite ever since. Histoire de Melody Nelson is essentially a concept album based on the Lolita-esque pseudo-autobiographical plot involving the middle-aged Gainsbourg unintentionally colliding his Rolls Royce Silver Ghost into teenage nymphet Melody Nelson's bicycle, and the subsequent seduction and romance that ensues. 

The original album is under 30 minutes long and starts and ends the epic tracks Melody and Cargo Culte clocking in over seven and a half minutes each. Now available in a new 40th Anniversary edition with outtakes and alternative versions. Also there is an interesting documentary by Sebastien Merlet about the making of the album with interviews from Jane Birkin, Jean-Claude Vannier, Jean-Claude Charvier, Tony Frank and Andrew Birkin.

Occasionally imitated but never matched, truly exceptional and highly recommended.

Buy it on iTunes

Neoloop Mixloop Volume 1

Thought it was about time I posted up some mixes for you, here's a new 2 hour mix I've put together for your listening pleasure. It's an eclectic mix of tunes that have featured on Neoloop over the last 2 years. You can just download it by clicking the little download button next to the player or play it here. Sit back, relax and enjoy, Cheers! Neo

Track listing ...

• The Look - Metronomy
• Close Your Eyes (feat. Lucy Liu & Jay Electronica) - The Bullitts
• Light Seep - Bibio
• Rain Showers (7" Edit) - Sizzla
• Midnight Sun featuring Elodie Rama (Prince Fatty Version) - Natural Self
• P.I.M.P - The Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band
• Bluebird - One Self
• Benzie Box - Cee-Lo and Danger Doom
• Hangin' On A String - Loose Ends
• Insane In the Brain (feat. Horseman) - Prince Fatty
• Before I Move Off - Mount Kimbie
• Senseless (Original Mix) - Maya Jane Coles
• Muskrat Love (T2MM Beta Edit) - America
• You Put A Smell On Me (Breakbot Remix) - Matthew Dear
• The Warriors (Cristoff Remix) - Barry De Vorzon
• I Wanna Dance (Todd Terje Tangoterje Edit) - Claudja Barry
• VCR (Matthew Dear Remix) - The xx
• Around (Solomun Vox) - Noir & Haze
• Fun Girl (Keinemusik Remix) - Jessica 6
• Home - LCD Soundsystem
• Gli impermeabili - Paolo Conte
• Demolition Derby - Bertrand Burgalat
• Sweet - Black Affair
• Walkin' - Thundercat
• Santa Fe - Beirut
• Waiting for a Train - Flash & the Pan
• Colourless Artibella - Major Lazer & La Roux
• Tungstène et Bakélite - Pierre Robin
• Le Vieux Piano De La Plage - Charles Trenet

ACTION ADVENTURE!

I can't get enough of Jeymes Samuel's The Bullitts, I've posted tunes previously by The Bullitts but this superb track is a defining moment in their growing catalogue. It first surfaced at the end of last year and the more you hear it the more you get mesmerised by it's charms. Featuring a narrative by KILL BILL star Lucy Liu who plays an ice-cold murderess called Amelia Sparks awaiting execution on death row and it also features a sublime rap from Jay Electronica…

Have you ever had that feeling like you been falling for weeks in a well? I was on the verge of dying like E.T. in the bald spot in the forest, right next to the speak and spell…

The full debut album THEY DIE BY DAWN & other short stories is finished and due to drop anytime soon. The album features some amazing artists including Tori Amos, Jay Electronica and Mos Def along with character cameos from Lucy Liu and Edris Elba. Release date TBC. The Bullitts played the Big Chill last month and according to Jeymes Samuel's twitter they will be doing some live dates soon.

Each release comes with unique movie inspired videos and cool film poster artwork, love this one...

Remastered releases for The Jesus and Mary Chain

Since Psychocandy was first released in November 1985, The Jesus And Mary Chain's seminal debut album has received a massive amount of critical acclaim and is now widely regarded as a classic. Influenced by the likes of The Velvet Underground, The Stooges, and The Shangri-Las, brothers Jim and William Reid's milestone LP went on to influence further generations of bands, the LP also includes a young Bobby Gillespie on drums. Psychocandy is a wash with feedback distortion, fuzz and a gothic undertone, the Mary Chain's wall of noise is immense. In particular Just Like Honey, a single from the LP still sounds amazing today and nowadays it's better know for being included on the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation.

The whole JAMC catalogue - six studio albums, are to be reissued as double CD's plus DVD, including B-sides, live recordings, BBC sessions and more later this year.

Jay Electronica teams up with British collective The Bullitts  (AKA  Jeymes Samuel) in this French noir set short film titled, Run & Hide. ELISA LASOWSKI IN: FUIR ET SE CACHER (RUN & HIDE)

This comes off The Bullitts’ free EP, Mos Eisley. I'm loving everything the Bullitts are doing and this tune samples David Bowie to great effect. Love his old style film poster too...

Retro-futurist electro-pop!

John Maus new album We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves is an interesting record. Heavy synth-led songs of retro-futurist electro-pop intwine a wealth of influences from The Doors, Kratfwerk and  Joy Division to Daft Punk, Jan Hammer and Giorgio Moroder. Over these freak-beat workouts and soaring synth's is Maus deep and brooding voice telling strange stories. Head For The Country is a great track, also Hey Moon and Matter of Fact are highlights. Recommened.

Buy it now on iTunes

The Stepkids a Connecticut trio of singer/songwriters who make what they call futuristic electro soul, recorded on a reel-to-reel.

I'm definitely feeling their brand of soul! They certainly have the right mix of classic soul, neo soul and psychedelic funk. There is some serious influence of psychedelic-era Temptations, Silver Apples, Sun Ra and Roy Ayers. Thanks to Rach for the heads-up on this one. Check-out the full story on Stonesthrow.com

Bands place in MySpace

Any excuse to put up some Sebastian Tellier, listening to Darkstar track Dear Heartbeat below reminded me of this tune from Sebastian's Sexuality LP - His third studio album which was produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk, a classic album that I never get bored of. 

Sebastians's done a few classics in his time including the seminal orchestrated hit La Ritournelle and his Eurovision entry Divine. Born in 1975 in Paris the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is currently signed to Record Makers, a French independent record label. He sings in English, French and Italian.

Check out all his albums, cool stuff!

Like This? Try: Bertrand Bergalat, Yuksek, Etienne de Crécy

Official site, buy on iTunes

It's really cool to hear an album that is fresh and new yet still embraces the sound of classic soul. Aloe Blacc has made a cracker of an album, oozes influences of Marvin Gaye, Al Green and Sly and the Family Stone and mixes it up with a nu-soul adroitness. Good Things, co-written by the versatile vocalist and songwriter in conjunction with the in-house production team at Truth & Soul Records, Leon Michels and Jeff Silverman.

I Need a Dollar — commissioned by HBO as the theme music for the series How to Make It in America — because ultimately, that is how to make it in America. Other standout tracks on the album include the cool reggae funk of Miss Fortune, the smooth laid-back groove of Femme Fatale and the Sly Stone sounding You Make Me Smile. RECOMMENDED. Aloe Blacc, new the new Marvin Gaye? Maybe or just perhaps Aloe Blacc new soul sensation!

On Stones throw, Aloe on iTunes, Official Site, His place in MySpace

The ever engaging Brooklynites School Of Seven Bells first single Windstorm is taken from the forthcoming album Disconnect From Desire, released 12/07/10 on Full Time Hobby. This remix takes to original track in an altogether darker place while retaining the beautiful background harmonies of sisters Claudia and Alejandra Deheza and adding a banging kick drum. I actually think this is better that the album version, excellent.

Like this? Try: Their first album Alpinisms

David Holmes releases his greatest hits this month, a true pioneer DJ, producer, musician and composer who'se made some outstanding tunes under his own name. This new LP The Dogs are Parading pulls together all the singles and other stella album tracks, remixes and rarities. He's produced many great soundtracks Out Of Sight, Ocean's Eleven and last years The Girlfriend Experience all of which feature on The Dogs are Parading. The track featured here is from his album Let's Get Killed and is Holmes's retake on Serge Gainsbourg's Melody from Histoire De Melody Nelson LP, considered to be one of Gainsbourg's finest works and featured orchestral arrangements of Jean-Claude Vannier. Holmes's classic version is pretty sympathetic to the original, bringing it up to date. All of Holmes's great tunes in one place with a few obscure remixes thrown in can't be bad, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Like this? Try: Serge Gainsbourg, Massive Attack, Unkle, DJ Shadow

Buy it on iTunes, Official Holmes site here.

Outstanding! Coming in from the leftfield, Jamie Lidell releases a new LP next week Compass. Ever the experimentalist Lidell has ventured into many musical directions with varying results, R&B and electronica have been very fruitful. This new LP is produced by Beck and you can really hear the Beckisums in there, it has a real raw quality to the whole album, nothing is to polished and all the better for it. Lidell's soulful voice is rattled around clanging and banging percussion and sounds incredible, fluctuating from soul and R&B to folk and funk with a a new found swagger. There are so many influences in here, I'm hearing Prince, George Clinton, Tom Waits, Nick Drake, Gonjasufi and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and of course Beck. This LP features some impressive guests too, including Beck, Feist, Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor, Daniel Rossen, and Chris Bear, Wilco's Pat Sansone, legendary R&B drummer James Gadson, soul belter Nikka Costa, Beck keyboardist Brian LeBarton, and Gonzales. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Like this? Try: Beck, Prince, Chris Cornell, Bibio

Pre-order on iTunes, Official Site

The excellent Foals are back with a new album on Monday 10 May titled Total Life Forever, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut Antidodes. And I'm please to say the new LP carries on from where they left off only raising the bar higher, it's full of potential singles and it will undoubtably propel them in to the mainstream arena. The Oxford band possess an extra edge that they didn't have before, a mature sound that really fills up your headphones to bursting point. One thing they always did well was percussion and Jack Bevan's drumming is immense, the driving force behind an incredibly accomplished second album. 

Even frontman Yannis Philippakis's vocals sound better than ever, often big albums feature one or two epic tracks, Total Life Forever encompasses 4 big blow-out numbers - opening track Blue Blood, Black Gold, Spanish Sahara and After Glow each build into an exhilarating euphoria that is just amazing. In-between these are perfect pieces of hands-in-the-air sing-a-long pop such as this excellent title track. A captivating masterpiece that is surely a massive contender for one the best LP's this year. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

Like this? Try: Friendly Fires, Late of the Pier, Battles

Buy on iTunes, Official Site

Following an excellent gig by LCD Soundsystem on Friday night I've been listening to all their old stuff and been digging a bit deeper into some old Disco influences. When you listen in very closely to James Murphy's arrangements you hear a plethora of old Disco nuances, it's no secret that James loves his old disco collection, some of which was showcased on the excellent Fabriclive 36 mix he did with Pat Mahoney. This track from A Taste Of Honey was an old favourite of mine back in the day and I remember dropping it in my old sets to great appreciation. We've Got The Groove was never really big hit, they were of course best known for their 1978 hit Boogie Oogie Oogie from their self titled debut LP. Because of the massive success of that seminal disco tune they were often passed off as just a one hit wonder, but they did record some great tunes on 4 albums. This tune is from the 1982 LP Ladies Of The Eighties (Not to be confused with The Roy Ayers produced band of the same name). The subtle cowbell on this reminds me of a few LCD tunes.

Like This? Try: Chic, Heatwave, LCD Soundsystem, Mtume, Mary Jane Girls

Buy on iTunes

A new LCD album is a very exciting prospect, I've been a massive admirer of James Murphy's project since Daft Punk was playing at his house. LCD's first album was brimming with original ideas and formula's for uniquely crafted songs, Losing My Edge, Tribulations, Too Much Love and the momentous Daft Punk Is Playing At My House all contributed to one amazing LP. Then we had Sound Of Silver which didn't disappoint either with - North American Scum, Someone Great, the hypnotic Get Innocuous, the brilliant Time To Get Away and the euphoric All My Friends marked LCD's second LP as 2007's album of the Year. 

So the big question is can he do it again? Well, I've given the 3rd album, titled This Is Happening a good listen and all I have to say is a resounding HELL YES! This tune, the opening track is the first of 7 epic tracks all clocking in over 7 minutes and beyond. Starts as a slow paced easy little jam intro before clashing in at 3 minutes with a pounding electro beat that is pure LCD at heart, next up is the shortest tune on the album Drunk Girls which was the first track to be released as a single, bringing in a bit of garage punk it's the new Daft Punk is Playing at my house. But while the album has the unique LCD flavour it still breaks new ground and treats us to some magical moments. One touch sounds like LCD remixing an old long lost Depeche Mode track while All I Want sounds like what David Bowie should sound like now with soaring guitars and pop hooks a plenty. I Can change is The Human League jamming with Kraftwerk on an electro-ballad with heart felt words of love. You Wanted A Hit is all about writing hit records and or their accidental hits, a low-slung bass epic, 9 minute groover. Pow Pow is the new cousin of Losing My Edge, followed by Somebody's Calling Me which is like Iggy Pop's Nightclubbing for the future-disco kids. The album ends with Home, a long catchy groover with a baseline reminiscent of Losing My Edge, a nice mellow end to another outstanding LCD Soundsystem LP. Can't wait for the live show next week at Brixton Academy.

Like This? Try: Hot Chip, The Juan MacLean, The Rapture

Released date for the album This is Happening is 17 May

Buy on iTunes, LCD Soundsystem's Official site

Absolutely loving this new track from the mighty Black Keys, whistles in with a light air before Patrick Carney’s drum beat comes banging in and Dan Auerbach heavy whiskey soaked croon and you think it's business as usual, but this has more polished sound to the previous raw edged production courtesy of Mr. Danger Mouse. But fear not the the heavy blues riffage is all there and the track just builds and builds into a Black keys monster the key changes bring a new psychedelic edge pulled through an echo chamber with maximum effect, glorious! 

Taken from their forthcoming album Brothers set for release 18 May, with just this track produced by Danger Mouse it will be interesting to hear how the rest of the album sounds. It's self produced by the Black Keys and mixed by Tchad Blake who mixed the Blakroc album and includes a cover of the Jerry Butler classic Never Gonna Give You Up.

Like This? Try: Blakroc, Dan Auerbach, Broken Bells

Bands place in MySpace, Check The Black Keys back catalogue on iTunes

Clanging drums and wonky tonk piano... A grand masterpiece of crazy pop... Heaven Can Wait.

Following on from her excellent album 5:55 from 2006, Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin's daughter has collaborated with Beck to make IRM, her best album to date. Full of Beck's distinctive style and lyrical nonchalance, who himself is massively influenced by Serge Gainsbourg. And it's all in there, it's an eclectic mix of tunes that hang together well, Charlotte is sounding more and more like her mother, although Charlotte does has a better voice, not to say I don't enjoy Jane Birkin's songs as she has made some quality pop with Monsieur Serge.

It's sounds practically like a new Beck album but with Charlotte doing all the singing, Beck does chip in with background vocals here and there, apart from this track which is a full on duet. So Beck plays Serge to Charlotte's Jane, and in true style of the legend they have also managed to maintain Serge's forward thinking pop while plundering from his past. It's very early indeed to think about albums of the year, I just hope come the end of the year it won't be forgotten about as it really is a magnificent album. With such talented parents the expectation bench mark is set very high, Charlotte has a lot to live up to, with IRM I think she has achieved it… The old man would have been proud. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Like This Try: Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, Beck, Jean-Claude Vannier, Bertrand Burgalat

Charlotte's Official Site, Beck's Official Site, Buy it on iTunes

A pounding heavy slab of white noise, yet strangely melodic, distorted sounds crash and collide beating each other up until the most powerful one pushes to the fore until it get smashed away by another creating a captivating chaos. You need to turn the volume up to stun on this one. If you imagine My Bloody Valentine jamming with Giorgio Moroder in a dark heaving disco you come close, The main riff is oddly reminiscent of Sly & the Family Stones' Into My Own Thing (as sampled by Fatboy Slim on Weapon of Choice). Die slow is taken from their 2nd album Get Color, out now. LA's HEALTH are best known in the UK for their collaboration with Crystal Castles on hit dancefloor filler Crimewave, something of a disco departure from their usual brand of ear punishing cacophony. Also available is an album of remixes, HEALTH//DISCO featuring new versions of first their first album. Check out the video for Die Slow, pretty gruesome!

Like this try: No Age, Atlas Sound, Wavves, My Bloody Valentine

Official Site, Bands place in MySpace, Buy all HEALTH albums on iTunes

Fantastic expectations, amazing revelations… went to see Ian Brown at Brixton Academy last night, amazing gig with all his hits rounding up with an epic version the Stone Roses classic Fools Gold. His new material sounded really good, Stellify and new single Just Like You standing out the most. Marathon Man suffered from a few sound problem which was a shame. Overall Mr.Brown delivered rip roaring performance, he is real a Legend. Ian's classic tune F.E.A.R is just a lyrical masterpiece, posted here on neoloop for your pleasure although I'm sure you already own this!

For each a road, For everyman a religion, Find everybody and rule, For everything and rumble, Forget everything and remember, For everything a reason, Forgive everybody and remember...

Final eternity arouses reactions, Freeing excellence affects reality, Fallen empires are ruling, Find earth and reef, Fantastic expectations Amazing revelations

Final execution and resurrection, Free expression as revolution, Finding everything and realizing... You got the fear.

Ian's website, Buy Ian Brown on iTunes

After seeing the Specials live again this week, I've been listening  to a lot of Specials. This tune hasn't featured in their new live sets, which is a shame as it's one my top fives! Way ahead of it's time I think.

While the Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca album has been well raved about since it's release earlier this Summer, I've found it to be a slow burner that just gets better with every listen. It's hard to highlight one individual track, in the world of mp3 it's easy to just pull out the popular tracks and never listen to rest of the album. So it takes a really good album stand up in its entirety. With Bitte Orca it really is a complete listening experience required. However, No Intention is a captivating listen, even if it does sound better at track 7 nestled in as part of the whole LP. 

Surely a front runner contender for album of the year. Intricate melodies, epic landscapes stripped bare to reveal beauty in it's most simplistic and triumphant form. Frontman Dave Longstreth's lead vocal is strangely jarring at times but it works, add to that the female harmonies of amber coffin, angel deradoorian and haley dekle you end up with a unique record.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Buy Bitte Orca on iTunes, Bands place in MySpace

Following on from the last post about AIR sounding like Bertrand Burgalat, what better time than to share a bit more bert. You'll find other tunes by bert in previous months. This is his superb collaboration with Robert Wyatt, a little late for summer but a classic bert tune, taken from the album Cheri B.B. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Amour, Imagination, Rêve - Absolutely love this track from Air's new album Love 2. Sounding more and more like Bertrand Burgalat these days the duo from Versailles always have to live up to that outstanding debut, I think this new album comes close without a doubt.

Bands place in MySpace

Infectious hypnotic groove

I can't stop listening to this tune, it's so incredibly catchy it's off the hook! Featuring guest vocals by Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip. Last month I posted up Cruel Intentions SMD's collaboration with Beth Ditto, the whole album is brilliant mix of vocal talent. Get it!

Get it on iTunes

B.T.W.S Official site

Life is just a moment so enjoy it!

A big slab of classic funk from the vibraphone master Roy Ayers. I love this tune, a real feel good vibe. Gives you an extra spring in your step! Perfect for a late night funk session.

MMmmm... Please me, I don't want to do it with.

What can I say about Bertrand Burgalat other than he is a genius! He's made 6 albums, all brilliant. Impossible to pick one track from Bertrand as there are so many great tunes. This is from the Portrait-Robot album (2005). I'll post some more in time.

Burgalat is well-known for his cool, breezy 1960s-style pop sound, something he has lent to his production work with Air. His musical influences include the "ye-ye" sound of French pop made famous by France Gall, Françoise Hardy and Brigitte Fontaine, as well as the singers Jacques Dutronc and Serge Gainsbourg.

Official site - tricatel.com

Berts place in MySpace - myspace.com/tricatelburgalat

Buy Bert - iTunes

Driving along to the rhythm of the sun.

Imagine yourself cruising in an old open top sports car along a winding road high in the mountains on a bright sunny day, the wind in your hair, designer shades and the sound of this floating out the speakers. A new album from KOC is due this September, looking forward to that!

Official site - kingsofconvenience.com

She's Strange and I like it!

A classic bit of funk, still sounds fresh today as it did in 1984. Drum machine beats, wonky synths, strange sirens and Larry Blackman's 'Owww!!'  Unmistakably Cameo. Pure classic!

Buy it - iTunes

Lazer guided Killa riddims and baselines from Babylon!

Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do, the new album from Major Lazer is just gonna blow up, buy it, beg for it, steal it... A massive contender for album of the year. Electro squelches, sirens and Nokia ringtones sprinkled over Basslines booming with intensity and distortion, digital dancehall for the future, but the future is already here! Bags of special select guests make it an eclectic affair.

Major Lazer is a Jamaican commando who fought in the “secret Zombie War of 1984” and lost both arms in combat. Then the U.S. military equipped him with experimental lasers that double as prosthetic limbs. That's the pitch, but it's really Diplo and Switch!

A bands place in MySpace

Bar grooves and Mojito's!

I was out last night in very cool little bar in Soho and the DJ was spinning some great stuff, mainly on hip hop tip. This track went down a storm, a great party vibe from a class act. I've been hammering this album in the car for the last couple of months.

Q-Tip has definitely found his mojo on The Renaissance, his latest long player offering. This track also features vocals from Amanda Diva. 

Official site for Q-Tip - q-tipnetwork.ning.com

Official site for Amanda Diva - www.amandadiva.com

Buy it - iTunes

The Specials are and always will be the greatest band ever for me.

Following the last blog entry of Terry Hall's collaboration with Mushtaq it only seams right to follow the loop with a Specials track. Doesn't Make It Alright - is from their debut album The Specials.

The Specials had the perfect combination of fucking great tunes, impeccable style and attitude, they are just as important to the Ska revival as what the Sex Pistols were to punk and the Clash were to bring Reggae to a punk generation. The Specials first toured the UK in support to the Clash back in 1979. I was ten went I first heard the Specials debut album on a tatty old record player I shared with my older brother. By default my brother always used to introduce me to latest tunes during the late 70s and early 80s - Fellow 2 Tone acts Madness and the Selector were also skanking on the stereo along with The Beat and Bad Manners. The Specials started it all, the great Ska revival as it was dubbed at the time covering old 60s Jamaican Ska which was irresistible for those who founds punks sartorial alienation just that bit too alienating. After two amazing albums and various EPs The Specials spit in 1981 following their crowning moment when Ghost Town was at number one in the UK charts during the run-up to the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

Now 30 years later their music is still relevant, the landscape has changed but the message is still the same. If you don't own a copy of the Specials (1st Album) and More Specials albums, buy them quick, become a convert and make out you've loved them all along!

Brigitte Bardot was born in Paris to Anne-Marie 'Toty' Mucel (1912-1978) and Louis 'Pilou' Bardot (1896-1975). Her father had an engineering degree and worked with her grandfather in the family business. Toty was sixteen years younger and they married in 1933. Brigitte's mother enrolled her and her younger sister Marie-Jeanne ('Mijanou', born 5 May 1938) in dance. Mijanou eventually gave up on dancing lessons to complete her education, whereas Brigitte decided to concentrate on a ballet career. In 1947, Bardot was accepted to The National Superior Conservatory of Paris for Music and Dance and for three years attended the ballet classes of Russian choreographer Boris Knyazev. (One of her classmates was Leslie Caron). By the invitation of her mother's acquaintance, she modeled in a fashion show in 1949. In the same year she modeled for a fashion magazine "Jardin des Modes" managed by another friend of her mother, journalist Hélène Lazareff. She appeared on a 8 March 1950 cover of ELLE and was noticed by a young film director Roger Vadim. He showed an issue of the magazine to director and screenwriter Marc Allégret, who offered Bardot the opportunity to audition for "Les lauriers sont coupés" thereafter. Although Bardot got the role, the shooting of the film was canceled, but it made her consider becoming an actress. Moreover, her acquaintance with Vadim, who attended the audition, influenced her further life and career.