I’m heading into the NC mountains to get lost in the woods for a week, but thought I’d leave you with this parting gift until I’m back on this internet thing. Without a doubt one of the funkiest homecoming jams ever laid to tape.
MP3: Elmer & Brenda Parker & The Nite Lighters :: Got To Get Back To Louisiana pt. 2
(Volume 13 of Clifton’s Corner. Every other week on the blog Clifton Weaver, aka DJ Soft Touch, shares some of his favorite spins, old and new, in the worlds of soul, r&b, funk, psych and beyond.)
I know I’ve said this before, but coming from a band background myself, it’s always exciting for me to hear new groups that I can get excited about. Writing these posts for Aquarium Drunkard has not only given me the opportunity to express my enthusiasm for music I love but has also exposed me to new music that I love as dearly as my existing collection. Two of my favorite records of the moment, Alice Russell & Quantic’s ‘Look Around The Corner’ and The Monophonics’ ‘There’s A Riot Going On’ were brought to my attention because of my Clifton’s Corner posts. As great as its been to shine a light on these worthy recordings, lately, the music that impresses me the most is either self released by bands/artists or on tiny indie labels (all the good music is on indie labels these days but some are smaller than others). Maybe its due to a nostalgia for my early band days, but I thought I’d give some recognition to these truly, independent artists who are creating something new with vintage inspirations.A few weeks back I was talking to my friend Rich, who books and promotes 60s oriented nights like The Bullet and Live Kicks, about new bands that we were into. I mentioned a group called Capital Grey (more on them later) and he waxed enthusiastically about a group he had recently booked called Mr. Elevator & The Brain Hotel. I looked them up on YouTube and all I can say is, “WOW!” The song “Right Where You Ought To Be” totally nails that late 60s Strawberry Alarm Clock sound. From the swirling organ, the Latin rhythms, the 60s style pop chorus and the psychedelic sheen that coats it all, this song is near to perfect, in my estimation.
MP3: Mr. Elevator & The Brain Hotel :: Right Where You Ought To Be
Quiet and introspective but at the same time jazzy and funky, ‘It Will Become’ by Eyas is not easily classifiable. Eyas is the solo project of LA musician Andres Renteria. Best known as a drummer/percussionist for such acts Mia Doi Todd, Jose Gonzalez, Flying Lotus, Build an Ark, the Life Force Trio, Pharaohs, and Nick Waterhouse, ‘It Will Become’ features a distinctive blend of those various styles as well as contributions from a few of those musical friends. Soul/jazz textures with Nick Drake-esque songwriting make for a surprising and satisfying musical combination.
MP3: Eyas :: First Light
MP3: Eyas :: No Need To Think
Finally, I’d like to leave you with some brand new funk from LA Afro/Latin-funk group Jungle Fire. I received these tracks a couple of weeks ago and kept putting off listening to them. My mistake! I thought I knew what to expect and I was wrong. These two tracks are pure dancefloor heat. I had to resist the urge to dance in my seat as I listened to them. It’d be easy to call them LA’s answer to the Budos Band but those kind of comparisons are unfair to both bands. Within the niche of Afro/Latin funk, both bands have carved out unique sounds. I’m hoping these are released on vinyl soon (or if they are, I can get my hands on it). “Tokuta” and “Comencemos” make up Jungle Fire’s new digital release.
Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can now be heard twice, every Friday – Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.
SIRIUS 244: Jean Michel Bernard – Generique Stephane ++ Takeshi Terauchi – What Have They Done / Venice – 30th Century ++ Beatle-ettes – Only Seventeen ++ Arif Sag – Su Sansunun Evleri ++ Nick Waterhouse – Some Place ++ Peaking Lights – Hey Sparrow ++ Sonny & The Sunsets – Dont Act Dumb (on The Tracks) ++ Buddy Holly – Dearest (version 1) ++ Ty Segall – Bees ++ Julian Lynch – Banana Jam Pt. 1 ++ Wild Nothing – Summer Holiday / The Walkmen – Woe Is Me ++ Air Waves – Knock Out ++ White Noise – Firebird ++ White Fence – Lillian / Kelley Stoltz – I Remember You Were Wild ++ The If Jerry Krusade – Nwantinti Die Die ++ Chocolate Watch Band – Baby Blue ++ Allah-las – Catamaran ++ Dump – Raspberry Beret ++ White Fence – The Mexican Twins ++ Dorothy Masuka – Khauleza ++ Fruit Bats – So Long ++ The Fresh & Onlys – Tropical Island Suite ++ Abner Jay – Depression ++ Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Jello And Juggernauts ++ Dr Dog – Heart It Races ++ Eleanor Friedberger – Early Earthquake (interlude) ++ The Samurai – Fresh Hot Breeze Of Summer ++ Sonny & The Sunsets / Cabezas Cortadas – Teenage Thugs ++ The Love Language – Britney’s Back ++ Fishing – Oooo ++ Chuck Berry – Come On ++ Gardens & Villa – Space Time ++ The Sapphires – Oh So Soon ++ Twin Sister – Synth Jamm ++ Javelin – Desert Island ++ Takeshi Terauchi – Hana-gasa Ondo / Beck – Random Order Times (words) ++ The Drifters – Another Night With The [Mondo] Boys ++ The Equals – Reincarnation ++ Washed Out – Untitled No. 5 ++ Dara Puspita – Pip Pip, Yeah ++ Monster Rally – Honeymoon / The Michaels – Past The Moon ++ The Oh Sees – Tidal Wave ++ Sonny & The Sunsets – Planet Of Women ++ Richard Swift – Drakula (Hey Man) ++ Kenny Graham Anf His Satellites – One Four / The Beach Boys – Whistle In ++ Phillip Glass – Winnie Goes To The Sea ++ The Beatles – Los Paranoias ++ News – Loser ++ Elmore James – Rollin’ And Tumblin’ ++ Bill Fox – Grand-ville Blues ++ Tom Ze – O Sandalo ++ El Guincho – Mientes ++ Kenny Graham And His Satellites – Tropical Sun ++ Brenda Lee – Is It True/ Harlem – Gay Human Bones ++ Susan Christie – Yesterday, Where’s My Mind ++ Yura Yura Teikoku – Ohayo Mada Yaro ++ Marie Laforet – Marie Douceur, Marie Colere ++ Richard Swift – The Atlantic Ocean (pacific Ocean Version) ++ Emmit Rhodes- Promises I’ve Made ++ Nashville Teens – Tobacco Road ++ Clarence Carter – Gettin The Bills (but No Merchandise) ++ The Bees – Silver Line ++ Deerhunter – Revival ++ Edwyn Collins – Losing Sleep ++ Black Moth Super Rainbow – I Am The Alphabet ++ S.E. Rogie – Please Go Easy With Me
*You can listen, for free, online with the SIRIUS three day trial — just submit an email address and they will send you a password.
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It’s not our own world in which “everyone’s talking ‘bout haircuts.” The world Foxygen inhabits – one of enigma, sudden shifts in the weather, triumph and desperation, doesn’t have time for the filler that peppers most of our lives. Here, each crescendo, synth layer, sha-bopped and aah’d harmony section are dropped with deft precision – like Jackson Pollock doing a covers set of Titian paintings.
The bursts and jaunts that erupt across the Take The Kids Off Broadway ep are economical, yet bombastic. Controlled chaos, there’s an order to the world of Foxygen. With influences that reference some of the Kinks oddest moments to Jonathan Richman and the aural decadence of one-time disco troubadour Maxine Nightingale, the ep’s flow is loose, yet one that never feels randomly slapped together from darts thrown at torn out pages of a diary. In this, their homespun world, everything must feel good – each beat, horn, and synth choice must be just so; every gap must be plugged with an experiment, a murmur, a whisper – not another rhythm guitarist; neighbors should be respected when vocals are recorded at night but fuck the neighbors when they’re all at their day jobs. We’ll scream and ooh and ahh as loud as we please. words/ b kramer
Dr. John, née Mac Rebennack, released his 29th record last month, Locked Down. Produced by the Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, the set is a distinct return to the doctor’s hoodoo alter-ego, the Night Tripper – his go-to persona between 1968-1971. Swampy, muggy and psychedelic, this week’s twenty track Spotify selection focuses solely on this side of Rebennack’s dark muse: Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya. Tracklisting here, direct Spotify link here.
Given that Teenage Fanclub has been releasing music for more than 20 years, it’s amazing that the first major steps outside of the group were only taken by members in the last year. First came Norman Blake’s work with Euros Childs of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci as Jonny and now comes Fannies’ bass player Gerard Love with his first project under the name Lightships. Enlisting original Fanclub drummer Brendan O’Hare as well as members of Belle and Sebastian, the Pastels and Teenage Fanclub’s touring incarnation, Electric Cables is a gorgeous record that matches some of the best of Teenage Fanclub’s later period albums.
Love is already responsible for some of Teenage Fanclub’s best moments – “Sparky’s Dream,” “Don’t Look Back,” “Ain’t That Enough,” and the fantastic “Shock and Awe” from 2010′s Shadows – but it’s the Fanclub records from 1997′s Songs From Northern Britain onward that have the most in common with this album. Encompassing some of the electronic flourishes that dotted 2005′s Man Made and the soft, lilting orchestrated pop of Songs From Northern Britain and Shadows, the album pulls from a deeper well of influences than could really be easily calculated.
Lightships is an appropriate name for the sound of the group Love has assembled. One of the more surprising musical choices is the prevalence of Tom Crossley’s flute throughout the album. This is where the music most echoes moments of Van Morrison’s early 70s work. The hypnotic “Muddy Rivers” meanders like its title bodies of water and creates a warm blanket of harmonies, flute and guitar effects and the brief “Every Blossom” takes a finely picked guitar melody and creates a song that never deviates from its orchestrated focus, yet doesn’t overstay its welcome either. The opening “Two Lines” is like a song built around a clock chime and creates the most inviting opening album track imaginable.
But it’s moments like the note perfect “Silver & Gold” that best weave the airy feel of the album to the power-pop that Love and his cohorts in Teenage Fanclub are most known for creating. Taking its time warming up, it launches into a classic chorus of fuzz and keyboard punctuations that send the song soaring. As one of the album’s finest moments, it’s also the best distillation of how much Love’s knack for pop songwriting has added to Teenage Fanclub over the years and why the Lightships album positions itself as every bit the equal of Fanclub’s past two excellent records. words/ j neas
MP3: Lightships :: Sweetness in her Spark
MP3: Lightships :: Silver & Gold
Our weekly two hour show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35, can now be heard twice, every Friday – Noon EST with an encore broadcast at Midnight EST.
SIRIUS 243: Jean Michel Bernard – Generique Stephane ++ Whitefield Brothers – Rampage ++ JD & The Evil’s Dynamite – Beer (So Nice, Right On) ++ Ebo Taylor & Uhuru-Yenza – Love And Death ++ Mor Thiam – Ayo Ayo Nene ++ Nora Dean – Angie La La (Ay Ay Ay) ++ Alex Chilton – Jumpin’ Jack Flash ++ Rob Jo Star Band – I Call On One’s Muse ++ Bo Diddley – She’s Fine, She’s Mine ++ Nina Simone – To Love Somebody ++ Michael Kiwanuka – Tell Me A Tale ++ Roy Ayers – Pretty Brown Skin ++ Junior Parker – Tomorrow Never Knows ++ Lil’ Ed & The Soundmasters – It’s A Dream ++ Willis Earl Beal – Take Me Away ++ Tom Waits – Books Of Moses (Skip Spence) ++ Africa – Paint It Black ++ Black Rock – Yeah Yeah ++ Yaphet Kotto – Have You Ever Seen The Blues ++ King James Version – He’s Forever (Amen) ++ The Budos Band – Up From The South ++ Dorothy Ashby – Soul Vibrations ++ Kukumbas – Respect ++ F.J. McMahon – Sister Brother ++ Bosques – Heya ++ The Samurai – Fresh Hot Breeze Of Summer ++ Howlin’ Wolf – Smokestack Lightning ++ Karen Dalton – Something On Your Mind ++ Serge Gainsbourg – Requiem pour un Con ++ Vanessa Paradis – Paradis ++ Nancy Sinatra – Drummer Man ++ Arthur Verocai – Sylvia ++ Scott Walker – On Your Own Again ++ Allah Wakbarr – Ofo and The Black Company ++ Henri Debs – Bidonville ++ Bonnie “Prince” Billy – It’s Expected I’m Gone ++ Cass McCombs – Dreams Come True Girl
*You can listen, for free, online with the SIRIUS three day trial — just submit an email address and they will send you a password.
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