DUKE SPECIAL – Freewheel (Re-Issue CD Single)

V2 VVR5044373: 5th February 2007
1. Freewheel
“Save me from the movies and someone else’s dreams, while angels make their music and give my spirit wings”
2. Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes (Feat. Neil Hannon)
“The thirst that from the soul doth rise, doth crave a drink divine, but might I of Jove’s nectar sup, I would not change for thine”
3. I Think I Am Losing You
“Tattoo my heart, take the needle to the skin, plunge it in the deepest part, and just stay there where the ink goes in”

To my ears, ‘Freewheel’ isn’t as good as Duke Special’s last two singles but it’s picking up radio play everywhere.  However, such a great songwriter does deserve the exposure and he more than makes up for it with the B-sides.  First up is a beautiful performance of Ben Jonson’s (A contemporary of Shakespeare) poem ‘Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes’ with Duke arranging the music and Neil Hannon providing guest vocals.  ‘I Think I Am Losing You’ is a gently rolling tune that had me humming along within a few seconds.  It’s got warm Double-Bass and a few Pet Sounds production touches.

Click here to download a 5-track Duke Special EP for free!

Click here to watch the new video for ‘Freewheel’ on YouTube.

Duke Special Website / Duke Special MySpace

NOUVELLE VAGUE – Come On Eileen (7″ Single)

Azuli ALN717: 5th February 2007
1. Nouvelle Vague – Come On Eileen
“These people round here, wear beaten down eyes, sunk in smoke dried faces, so resigned to what their fate is, but not us, no not us”
2. David Shrigley – What I Ate
“For breakfast I had bacon and eggs, two cups of tea and some holiday brochures”

This 7” is to promote two tracks from Nouvelle Vague’s new ‘Late Night Tales’ mix CD.  Their wonderfully delicate cover of ‘Come On Eileen’ resembles Dusty Springfield singing ‘The Girl From Ipanema’.  So in other words fantastic and it’s nice to be able to understand the brilliant lyrics for once.  I’m a huge Kevin Rowland fan,but his voice is a little hard to understand at times.  David Shrigley provides an incredibly odd b-side in the form of a list of what he supposedly ate.  It’s a bizarre poem read over weird industrial/vegetable noises.  You’ve got to hear it.

Click here to buy the ‘Late Night Tales’ CD from HMV for £8.99.

Or click here to buy David Shrigley’s album from HMV for £9.99.

Nouvelle Vague Website / Nouvelle Vague MySpace
David Shrigley Website / Late Night Tales Website

HEATWAVE – Mad LDN / LDN Rights (7″ Single)

Punchline White Label: 5th February 2007
1. General Levy & Lily Allen – Mad LDN
“I’m balanced by one shoulda, gonna gan ‘cross the borda”
2. Papa San & Lady G – LDN Rights
“Me ‘ave a police cousin, they live at Kingstown”

This is an essential 7″ for anyone who is even remotely interested in Lily Allen’s music or for anyone else who has got a pair of ears. Both tracks take the music from Lily’s ‘LDN’ (Which itself originally sampled ‘Reggae Meringue’ by Tommy McCook & The Supersonics) and adds new vocals.

‘Mad LDN’ blends the vocals from ‘Champagne Body’ and ‘Mad Them’ from General Levy’s 1993 album ‘Wickedness Increase’ with Lily’s chorus. ‘LDN Rights’ combines Papa San & Lady G’s duet from ‘Legal Rights’ with the ‘LDN’ instrumental. Both tracks work equally well and make these cold winter days feel like the midst of summer. Lily took something Jamaican and created a distinctly English Pop single and now Heatwave has turned it back into something wholly Jamaican again. It’s another chapter in the vibrant interaction between the two islands.

You can still buy this 7″ from Piccadilly records… if you’re quick.

Here are the original tracks that went in to making these two classics:

General Levy – Champagne Body mp3
General Levy – Mad Them mp3
Papa San & Lady G – Legal Rights mp3
Lily Allen – LDN (Instrumental) mp3

Click here to downloads hours and hours of Heatwave’s mixes… for free!

Punchline Website / Heatwave Website / Heatwave MySpace

SCHIZO FUN ADDICT / THE BOY FROM SPACE (Split 7″ EP)

Bracken FERN09: 5th February 2007
1. Schizo Fun Addict – Jericho Son Down
“The Jericho Son Down came for them as they rode on out of the city”
2. Schizo Fun Addict – Mercy Calling
“Maybe the time has come to decide the fate of the world, who will be gold and who will be burned”
3. The Boy From Space – The Farm
“Instrumental”
4. The Boy From Space – Wouldn’t You Rather Be A Winner?
“Commitment means being prepared to do extra things, going the extra mile”

‘Jericho Son Down’ is a dark atmospheric ride with waves of shimmering Guitars and it’s not unlike Frank Black covering Nick Drake.  In contrast ‘Mercy Calling’ is a breezy acoustic song with haunting Nico like female vocals.

‘The Farm’ is a fun little instrumental complete with handclaps that’s sure to put you in a good mood.  The best track ‘Wouldn’t You Rather Be A Winner?’ is saved for last.  It takes the voice from a motivational tape and layers it over what sounds like the music from Mario Kart to create something danceable and totally hypnotic.

Click here to get loads of free mp3s from the very generous Schizo Fun Addict.

Schizo Fun Addict Website / Bracken Website
The Boy From Space Website / The Boy From Space MySpace

THE WORLD DOMINATION Vs ADAM SKY – Galactic Lover (12″ Single)

Kitsuné KITSUNE045: 5th February 2007
Galactic Lover (Version 1 / Raverbilly Mix)
“Walk the Milky-Way with me, you’ll be infinitely mine, there’s as many stars in my cosmos, as there’s things for us to do, you know you’re in love when I put my… tentacles around you”

‘Galactic Lover’ is produced and remixed by Adam Sky (Formerly Adamski) and performed by Germany’s The World Domination. The ‘Raverbilly Mix’ is good in a glitchy, trancy sort of way but ‘Version 1’ (Or simply the original version) is the one to have. It’s got a filthy head-nodding bass beat, clashing Guitars and echoing sound effects that made me imagine an abandoned robot factory at midnight (If that makes any sense whatsoever). The slightly hysterical vocals tell the curious story of an astronaut who’s sent into space to shag everything in the galaxy, and to quite possibly “Go where no man has gone before”.

Click here to buy the 12″ from HMV.

Or click here to buy the latest essential Kitsuné compilation, which features ‘Galactic Lover’ and other great acts like Simian Mobile Disco, Gossip, Klaxons and The Whitest Boy Alive.

World Domination Website / World Domination MySpace / Adam Sky MySpace

STOP ME’s DIY Round Up

It’s been a while since my last post and that’s mainly down to constructing two vast shelving units for my CDs (See above) and other DIY jobs. A lot of records have come through my post box in that time, and there’s just far too many for me to review. So I’ve decided to do a quick round up of the last few weeks…

First up is a shimmering B-side from Bloc Party‘s comeback single, a typically lyrical song from Bromheads Jacket and a moody Rocker from Arab Strap’s Malcolm Middleton.

Bloc Party – We Were Lovers mp3
Bromheads Jacket – SRI’s + Big Bore 4’s mp3
Malcolm Middleton – A Brighter Beat mp3

I’ve purchased a couple of excellent new albums; one from Wimbledon’s Jamie T and the other from the controversial Klaxons. Here are the two best album tracks.

Jamie T – Pacemaker mp3
Klaxons – As Above, So Below mp3

I’ve grabbed a couple of boots from Go Home Productions and White Enemy. ‘Sexybox’ is greater than the sum of it’s parts since I had rather luke-warm feelings about both Robbie’s ‘Rudebox’ and Justin’s ‘Sexyback’ but fused together it’s a classic. Plastic Little sampled The Cure last year, now White Enemy have done it too.

Go Home Productions – Sexybox mp3
Nas Vs The Cure – The B-Boy Lullaby mp3

Next up is a funky taster from Mark Ronson‘s eagerly anticipated covers album, this one was of course originally by Coldplay. Another producer that made 2006 a great year was Diplo and he’s added his trademark drums to ‘Notorious’ by Jamaica’s Turbulence.

Mark Ronson – God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (Feat. Daptone Horns) mp3
Turbulence – Notorious (Diplo Vocal Version Feat. Sandra Melody) mp3

Here are a few beautifully produced Pop-Rocks songs. One is a gobsmacking cover of Larrikin Love‘s latest single from Guillemots’ front-man Fyfe Dangerfield, one is a lush Phil Spector B-side from London’s Lucky Soul and the last is a flamboyant highlight from Luke Toms‘ new EP.

Fyfe Dangerfield – Well, Love Does Furnish A Life mp3
Lucky Soul – Struck Dumb mp3
Luke Toms – Hangover Blues mp3

Next we’ve got two Hip-Hop tracks from both sides of the Atlantic. There’s a funky scratch-fest from Canada’s Anonymous Twist and an addictive bit of Grime from Sheffield’s Small Arms Fiya.

Anonymous Twist – Respect That (Radio) mp3
Small Arms Fiya (Feat. Serocee & LS) – Give It To Mi mp3

Here’s a selection of knob-twiddling Electro and synthetic Art-Pop. First is a thudding Remix from “The true living Pimp” (To quote the liner notes) Felix Da Housecat. Second is an irresistible bit of Punk-Funk for LCD Soundsystem fans from Calvin Harris. Third is a bonkers Electronic tune from Canada’s Dandi Wind.

Buy Now – For Sale (Felix Da Housecat Remix) mp3
Calvin Harris – Merry Making mp3
Dandi Wind – Adolescent mp3

I purchased a couple of cheapo compilations, which had a great track on each. One had a highly danceable track by Heads We Dance and the other had an oddly anthemic ode to creating a single from Cardiff’s Los Campesinos!.

Heads We Dance – Love In The Digital Age mp3
Los Campesinos! – It Started With A Mixx mp3

There were a few spiky rock singles among my purchases. One was the result of a collaboration between Whirlwind Heat and Dev from Test-Icicles under the name Lightspeed Heat, one was a slice of The Fall influenced savagery from Stray Dog Cafe and the last was a grungy tune from Zapped By A Million Volts.

Lightspeed Heat – How Do You Do? mp3
Stray Dog Cafe – Maxamillion mp3
Zapped By A Million Volts – Red Is Green mp3

I haven’t just been listening to new music though. Here’s a few old-skool tracks that’ve been rocking my world. The Hot Chip track isn’t that ‘old-skool’ since it’s from 2005, but it is rare and it is a damn fine tune that name checks R. Kelly. Next is an incredible Kraftwerk sampling Remix of late 80’s rapper MC Duke. Lastly I managed to track down a strangely hard to come by un-edited version Public Enemy‘s classic ‘Fight The Power’ anthem. So you get the “Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant shit me, you see straight out racist, that sucker was simple and plain, motherfuck him and John Wayne, ’cause I’m Black and I’m proud, I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped, most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamp” line in all it’s glory. Why the sanitised version is still included on almost every compilation, album and single is beyond me.

Hot Chip – My Shit’s On Fire mp3
MC Duke – I’m Riffin’ (1990 Remix) mp3
Public Enemy – Fight The Power (Rare Un-Edited Version) mp3

There’s twenty-five tracks for your enjoyment and business as usual will resume on STOPME shortly. Most of these records are available to buy from the fine people at Piccadilly records.