Utility Fog

Sunday, 1st of August, 2010

Wow, mad rush of a weekend, but I made it! And many many lovelinesses to play you tonight.
LISTEN AGAIN via the link at the bottom - you know the drill.

Er, I have a good excuse for not getting this spiel done properly today - I got a new iPhone 4 on Friday, and the jailbreak was released today, so I've been having fun fiddling with things all day :P
And the weekend was mad busy rehearsing in Canberra with FourPlay for this thing with Neil Gaiman at the Sydney Opera House, see...

So... The Book of Knots, Charming Hostess, Tin Hat Trio and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum are all projects featuring the wonderful violinist, violist and vocalist Carla Kihlstedt, a big hero of mine dare I say. Everything from klezmer & gypsy-influenced folk to death-prog-metal (well... sortof), Americana and improv.

Sophie Hutchings is the sister of Jamie Hutchings from the much celebrated indie band Bluebottle Kiss, although she'd probably like to be renowned for her own music, and so she should be. Her album is perfect for Preservation, with per piano playing either solo or nestling in lovely string and band arrangements, which sometimes don't come in till halfway through a track. Recommended.

Mothlite again come to me courtesy of These New Puritans’ FACT mix. Very nice piano-led postrock/indie.

Portuguese electronic pop group :papercutz have a remix album out on Audiobulb with a whole lot of great remixers there. I'll probably play a couple more last week. He Can Jog I need to check out more! Simon Scott’s a legend of the shoegaze movement now doing lovely lovely drone stuff.

fos is the most exciting find of the last month or more... A young Greek lady living in London, studying dance and making extraordinary experimental songs, made from a large array of instruments and electronics. Really highly recommended - listen to the show or listen to her online.

Sweden's Andreas Söderström has been maing music as Ass since 2006, and it was around then that I heard his beautiful first album - guitar finger-picking, organ, field recordings... It's no surprise that members of compatriots Tape appear on his newie.

Sydney's own boy genius Marcus Whale aka Scissor Lock has an album out through our Canberran friends hellosQuare Recordings, and it's some of his best work yet. Centring around his layered vocals, with deep electronic processing, it makes for beautiful listening.

Since I've been obsessed with the latest album and previous mini-album of Janelle Monáe’s the last couple of weeks, I thought I should give her a spin on the show. She's very pop, very soul/funk/r'n'b even, but hugely inventive, genre-hopping, and just plain talented. As well as great songs and great musicianship, there's plenty of interesting sounds on both albums, and it was great to see one of my favourite rappers, Saul Williams, appearing there too.

Jean Jacques Perrey has been around for yonks, and pioneered the use of the Moog synthesiser, inspiring decades of cheesy music. He's now teamed up with Cosmic Pocket for some new tunes, and the album Froots Juice sees this work remixed by many experimental electronic artists from the '90s to the present. Tonight we have Himuro, who I played some brilliant drill'n'bass from last week, Jega (who inaugurated the Planet µ label years back), and sometime-breakcore artist Ebola, bringing the heavy dubstep.

Our Melburnian friend Faux Pas has a new free EP out, and we took a couple of cuts — one featuring a very chewed-up sample of Carole King, and one remixed by the wonderful Pasobionic.

As we heard last week, Markus Popp has revived Oval to make some rather different sounds now - wonderful little vignettes using acoustic sounds and simple computer splicing, along with brilliant drumming and his ear for aural construction. I really can't wait for the album, but meanwhile the Oh EP is pretty fab.

The Book of Knots - Pray (feat. Tom Waits) [arclight/Anti-]
Sophie Hutchings - Portrait of Haller [Preservation]
Mothlite - The One in the Water [Southern]
:papercutz - The gift of self (Simon Scott remix) [Audiobulb]
Simon Scott - She Came From The Sea [Immune Recordings]
:papercutz - A way to emerge (He Can Jog remix) [Audiobulb]
fos - sunset [near the exit music]
Ass - Astrid, where have you been so long? [Headspin Recordings]
fos - un courant [near the exit music]
Ass - Guidelines for bespoke [Headspin Recordings]
Ass - Back To The Old Ways [Headspin Recordings]
Ass - Hit considered [Headspin Recordings]
Charming Hostess - I'm Not Hungry [Vaccination Records]
Tin Hat Trio - Beverly's March [Angel Records]
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Formicary [The End Records]
The Book of Knots - Traineater [arclight/Anti-]
Carla Kihlstedt, Matthias Bossi & Shahzad Ismaily - Listen With My Feet / Bicycle Brigade [Victo]
Scissor Lock - Broken English 3 [hellosQuare Recordings]
Mothlite - Hypnagogue [Southern]
Janelle Monáe - Cybertronic Purgatory [Bad Boy Records]
Janelle Monáe - Dance or Die (feat. Saul Williams) / Faster [Bad Boy Records]
Jean Jacques Perrey & Cosmic Pocket - Frothy (Himuro remix) [In Vitro Records]
Himuro - B To A [In Vitro Records]
Jean Jacques Perrey & Cosmic Pocket - Cheng Guy (Jega remix) [In Vitro Records]
Jean Jacques Perrey & Cosmic Pocket - No Frogman No Cry (Ebola remix) [In Vitro Records]
Faux Pas - I Will Follow [self-released] {free EP - grab here!}
Faux Pas - Pretend Tough (Pasobionic remix) [self-released] {free EP - grab here!}
Oval - hey [Thrill Jockey]
Oval - grrr [Thrill Jockey]
Sophie Hutchings - Toby Lee [Preservation]

Listen again — ~ 165MB

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