1+1=2

So I was bored. So I love Sleep Deprivation by SMD. So I also love New Jack by Justice.

The rest flows naturally.

Sleep Jack (or New Deprivation) - SMD vs. Justice (Tom Adams Mix)

Mix

Hot damn.

For those of you who cannot be bothered to listen to individual tracks- fuckers- I present a mix of roughly the past four posts on this humble blog as spliced by yours truly.

Mix 01

Tracklisting:

Feist-1234 (Van She Mix)

Alan Braxe- In Love With You

Tiga- You Gonna Want Me (Van She Mix)

Benjamin Theves- Texas (SebastiAn Remix)

Simian Mobile Disco- Sleep Deprivation

1, 2, 3, 4

Feist has been getting a lot of love from, well just about everyone recently so she hardly needs my help, but what the hell it's damn my blog and I'm going to do what I want with it . She recently released her second solo album- The Reminder on Interscope to almost universal critical acclaim. The second single to be taken from The Reminder (after the seductive PJ Harveyesque My Moon, My Man) 1, 2, 3, 4 is innocent, concise but confused. It's instrumentation is saccharine sweet but the vocal takes us deeper to reveal the destructive truth of teenage love.







"One Two Three Four



Tell me that you love me more



Sleepless, long nights



That was what my youth was for







Oh teenage hopes are lying at your door



Left you with nothing



But they want some more







Oh, oh, oh



You're changing your heart



Oh, oh, oh



You know who you are"







The piece builds from beginnings of humble, restrained instrumentation to what I consider a slightly overblown horn festooned climax (whats wrong with subtlety dammit), my only gripe about an otherwise fantastic track.





Talking of subtlety- my friends and yours Van She Tech took 1, 2 , 3 , 4 hit it over the head with a great big fucking electro sledgehammer and managed to make the results nearly as beautiful as the original. It all starts pretty innocently but mutates gradually into something a million miles removed from the original, whilst retaining the subtlety of Feist's lead vocal, never burying it in the mix. Honestly I don't know how they do it, but when I figure it out I will be unstoppable rather like banana man after eating bananas.





1, 2, 3, 4 (Van She Tech Remix)





More Van She Tech goodness to feed the habit:





Dragonette- I Get Around (Van She Tech Remix)- I love the build on this one- to be honest the track is at its best before 1:30 but what you gonna do?





Tiga- You Gonna Want Me (Van She Tech Remix)- This one is absolutely fucking huge. It demands to be heard on the best speakers money can buy.





Klaxons- Gravitys Rainbow (Van She Tech Remix)- The First slice of Van She Tech I got my hands on. Hot, but its brilliance has now been eclipsed.

Music (Yes I know that's all I post about but this is special)

This is the first time I have ever actually bothered uploading a track onto the net rather than simply stealing other peoples links so you had best believe this is special.


Parisian Alan Braxe is one third of Stardust ("ooh baby..."), one half of Alan Braxe and Fred Faulk (surprisingly) and also an entity in and of himself. "In Love With You", which featured on his 2005 release "The Upper Cuts" (which I will be damned if I can find anywhere), is life affirming to the point ridiculousness. The beautifully spaced intro, building piano take us through the first half a minute, and when that beat hits, when that beat hits (purposeful repetition- I am not just tired), nothing else matters. The elements of the song merge hypnotically into one to make for a truly astounding piece of music. If pure ecstasy is impossible to capture perfectly in art, which it may be, then in my opinion this comes pretty damn close.

In Love With You

Steak- A Threesome to Remember

SebastiAn

+

Sebastien Tellier

+

Mr Oizo

=

Possibly the hottest soundtrack of the summer

The film Steak is playing on limited release in France as we speak. The soundtrack- out on Ed Banger (of course) hits the US and UK soon.

A taster- Chivers as a Female

An introduction to these three artists for those of you who know nothing about anything:

SebastiAn- The hottest remixer on the Paris scene right now- Testarossa Autodrive Remix.

Sebastien Tellier- A French soloist who has opened for Air, the Magic Numbers, Moby and Royksöpp. His album Politics, dropped way back in 2004, but sometimes (most of the time) I’m a little behind hence this being my first post about the man. La Ritournelle

Mr Oizo- Two words- Flat Beat. Two more words (well one is actually a number- but I could write it as a word so fuck y'all) Patrick 122

File Under Heavy

Daft Punk- Technologic (Vitalic Remix)

Damn.

Warm Potato Based Accompaniment To Steak

Whats this you say? New Hot Chip you say? Its orgasmic you say? They're the future of dance music you say?

Well I might just agree with you.

Hot Chip- My Piano

Like Hairspray Only More 80's

UnkleJam- What Am I Fighting For (LA Priest Remix)

Its like the past 20 years never happened.

The DK illustrated guide to the track:

00:00-00:14- not great

00:14-00:29- great

00:29-01:15- also great but less so (annoying vocal)

01:15-02:08- building to greatness

02:08-02:22- flip reverse

02:22-02:52- like a party in your ears

02:52-03:39- the rest

The Knife

These cuts go deep.

Silent Shout

We Share Our Mothers Health

Pass This On

Got Moves?

Simian Mobile Disco- Love

Simian Mobile Disco- Hustler

"Im a hustler baby. Thats what my Daddys made me."

Enough said.

The New (and Old)

Starting predominantly with the old. TV On the Radio. These guys took me a while to get my head around (TV on the radio? Would that not just be radio?). But once I did I really did. Staring at the Sun builds slowly, majestically like dawn then at 0:33 grinding synths unsettle the mood in preparation for Tunde Adebimpe's fantastic doom leaden vocal. Wolf Like Me another of their best is from the latest album Return to Cookie Mountain. The drop mid song is simply fantastic and at 3:06 when the whole piece shifts back into gear, well it just leaves you trailing behind.

The new... Chromeo. OK the band have been around for a while (check out the debut album She's in Control) but this track of their forthcoming second lp is hot off the press- Fancy Footwork. If there was anything more 1980's than this track (other than hairspray and possibly Grace Jones) I have yet to find it. The chorus, David Macklovitch's vocal (its hot- even I would sleep with him) and those synths. This shit makes me want to dance and that is all thats important.

May Day

To celebrate... a few songs to ease away the hangovers (or in my case the pain of falling asleep on my guitar). So yeah we are going to keep this post relaxed.

Maximo Park-Books from Boxes. The introduction is stunning. Paul Smith's voice is as haunted and instrumentation is as clipped as one would come to expect from one of Britain's most underrated indie bands. Only slight problem- the bridge at 2:12. With this exception-truly beautiful.

Arcade Fire- Maps. Covering one of the most touching love songs to have been written in a very long time was always going to be difficult. Admittedly it doesn't eclipse the poignancy of the original (Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Maps) but instead adds a sense of fragility which makes the message of this piece almost unbearable to listen to.

LCD Soundsystem- Someone Great. I've posted it before but this track means too much to escape your attention. It's the most perfect break up song if ever there could be such a thing.

"I wish that we could talk about it,

But there, that's the problem.

With someone new I couldn't start it.

Too late, for beginnings.

There shouldn't be this ring of silence,

But what, are the options

When someone great is gone?"

Back

Thats right this blog is back mother fucker. Its author is tired, so tired and has recently been violated by a tramp. I refer you dear reader to the Sexual Offences Act 2003:

Section 66 - Exposure

(1) A person commits an offence if-
(a) he intentionally exposes his genitals, and
(b) he intends that someone will see them and be caused alarm or distress.

And that is precisely what happened to me on Saturday. Conclusions to be drawn- Never trust anyone ever and try to dress in a manner less pleasing to horny 50 year old homeless men.

Police reconstruction of "happy to see me" tramp

In other news- I went to see JUSTICE at Canvas. Thats right. Simply the coolest fuckers out there right now. It was exceptional as one would expect. DJ Feadz was also pretty hot. SebastiAn was actually a bit disappointing on the decks but so long as he keeps producing the messed up dark stuff I don't care and neither should you- SebastiAn- Walkman

Been checking out DJ Mehdi a lot recently. Best beat off the new album- I am Somebody. 80's bliss.

Until next time...

Arcade Fire

The Arcade Fire are not a band. They are a fairy tale: fifteen musicians trapped in a universe where it is forever night-time. Their appeal? The Arcade Fire are this decade's tortured romantics. By their name alone they evoke the looting delights of video games and furious pain of experience. The first album, Funeral is a steady journey through the underworld, beginning in the tunnels of a city where two young lovers clandestinely meet ('Tunnels'). 'Haiti' washes up on the Styx-like shores of an island torn apart by warfare, gently pushing back the debris to sing the most bittersweet of laments. But the album's uncontestable anthem is 'Rebellion (Lies)'. It is noisy, sexy, angry. Rigid, intense moments suddenly broken by an onslaught of furiously romantic piano, guitar and violins, inspiring the sort of all-out thrash dancing that takes it to the next level entirely. The new album, Neon Bible is what friends have effectively called "a grower." Whereas Funeral was almost always accessible and upbeat, Neon Bible is darker, more haunting, daring and epic. 'Keep the Car Running' is the first single to be released from the album. Being melodic and buoyant, it is perhaps an obvious choice, bearing the most resemblance to the best-loved tracks from Funeral. 'Ocean of Noise' is a mess of clouds and wind that parts to reveal a simple chord sequence and the murmur of Win Butler's vocals as he serenades the night. 'No Cars Go' replaces 'Rebellion' as the album's centrepiece, so powerful, wild and far-reaching that it is a wonder that strings did not break before the end of the recording. Such is the passion of Neon Bible. And now I ask you, am I writing to a tortured, romantic soul, an insomniac looking to engaged to the very soul by a piece of music? Or none of the above? Either way, The Arcade Fire are worth the listen, whether as innovative music-makers or as gothic, Kohl-lined jesters whose dirges pierce lonely nights.

No Cars Go

Written by Kate Busby (http://katebusby.blogspot.com/)

Reading Festival (Part 1)

Glastonbury may well be the ultimate festival experience, but Reading happens to be 20 minutes away on the train. As a result the last hour has been spent repeatedly pressing F5 and going on MSN for the first time in 5 years (and yes it's still rubbish) so as to correlate ticket buying, which it turns out is a highly complex process.

Anyway- Music

Red Hot Chili Peppers- Suck My Kiss- Heavy, misogynist dirty funk.

Klaxons- Atlantis to Interzone- Glow sticks a prerequisite.

Kings of Leon- Mollys Chambers- Sleazy rock and roll goodness.

Mothers Day

Plan B- Mama (loves a crackhead)- The strongest tune from the "Who Needs Actions..." LP (amazon)

"I Know The Truth Hurts Mama,


But This Shit Has Gotta Be Said,


He Doesn't Love You, He Never Has N' That's A Fact,


Cos' The Only Thing He Really Loves In This World Is Crack "

This man is seriously underrated. His flow is tight, he's permanently fucked off and wants us all to know every single detail of why that is. Plan B's lyrics are so tightly interwoven that you can't help but be caught up in his anguish. In combination with beats from Epic Man aka Phones on More Is Enough Plan B is pretty much untouchable.

Talking Heads

In tribute to my 3 confirmed regular readers- Probably one of the best things to come out of the 80's (actually one of the only good things to come out of the 80's- it wasn't a pretty time). David Byrne et al crafted intelligent art rock, as accessible as it was challenging. Even when they "sold out" the band managed to produce some pretty fucking awesome music. And so in the first of many (or until I get bored of this whole blog thing) of my "retro" posts I will introduce you to 3 stages of the life and times of Talking Heads. Enjoy. Credit to http://instrumentalanalysis.blogspot.com/ for the MP3s.

The breakthrough- Psycho Killer - edgy angular stuff

The Brian Eno years- Once in a Lifetime- one of my all time favourite songs although still not entirely sure what its actually about (the album Remain in Light from which this is taken is probably the most consistent of the Talking Heads albums and is well worth £4 of your money- Amazon). Also if you've got time Talking Heads were immense live- Once in a Lifetime live

The "sellout"- And She Was- It starts off terribly, but when that chorus hits you it doesn't even matter. Feel good, pick you up whenever pop genius- with a pretty damn cool video (come to think of it as was the video to once in a lifetime).

Go buy albums for here we have merely skimmed the surface- nothing from Fear of Music,More Songs About Buildings and Food, Speaking in Tongues, True Stories or Naked.

In conclusion- awesome band.

And on another note-

LCD Soundsystem

I tend to get a little overexcited about tracks, maybe over hype them a little. This is different. James Murphy has created an absolutely stunning album of mature dance music which you should go ahead and purchase right now (Amazon). The absolute highlight is Someone Great.

"I wish that we could talk about it
but there, that's the problem.
With someone new I couldn't start it.
Too late for beginnings

The little things that made me nervous
are gone in a moment.
I miss the way that we used to argue
locked in the basement."

I have listened to this piece well in excess of 10 times today and it sends shivers down my spine pretty much every time. Even if you are never going to read my blog again (and you probably aren't if we are being honest- better things to do right?) download this, sit on your own and immerse yourself. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Electro For Your Good Selves

Dance music happens to be beating all other genres round the head with a big fat stick in terms of innovation right now and so to celebrate a few tunes (not "choons" by the way- we are not here talking Dave Pearce "Dance Anthems"- this stuff is rather cooler).

Mainstream indie is pretty much wholly devoid of substance at the moment. The View, The Fray, The Fratellis are all so boring that I would rather gouge out my eyes with a particularly blunt wooden spoon whilst being massaged by an over attentive David Cameron. Its best that we don't even mention the Feeling or Mika for that matter. Some things are better left unsaid or, as in the case of the former two artists, unborn.

Hip Hop as Nas has recently so helpfully told us is dead. Jay Z couldn't even rescue us with Kingdom Come (OK maybe not completely dead- the new Clipse album was pretty damn cool).

So by process of elimination that leaves dance music (that's right there are only three genres). MSTRKRFT,Justice, Fischerspooner, Vitalic and even old skool artists like Daft Punk and Felix Da Housecat are currently producing music so unbelievably good that it demands hearing. Hence...

Fischerspooner- Emerge- the tracks a bit old but sounds every bit as good today as it did in 2003

http://linxy.guitars.ru/pop/Fischerspooner__1__2003__Emerge.mp3

Justice- Phantom and Waters of Nazareth- two of the best pieces of music to come out of France in a long time (and the French are usually pretty good at this kind of thing) the latter probably being one of the most raw and exciting 4 minutes that I have ever sat through.

http://boyfromschool.com/GWFAS/Justice/03%20Phantom.mp3

http://www.mediamax.com/jerseyjerseyrob/Hosted/01%20Waters%20of%20Nazareth.mp3

Felix Da Housecat- Silver Screen Shower Scene- once again a bit old but definitely worth the revisit. Felix is probably the coolest guy ever (one day I shall steal his identity)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZaLvP74R9kk

MSTRKRFT (pronounced Master Craft apparently. If only someone had told me earlier as I spent several months telling everyone about this cool group called MisterKerFrt)- Metric- Monster Hospital (MSTRKRFT remix) remixers of 2006. Pity the album (the Looks) didn't live up to these standards. But hey what you gonna do.

http://www.musiclikedirt.com/wp-content/MP3/stuff/04%20Monster%20Hospital%20(MSTRKRFT%20Remix).mp3

Ed Banger Records- Just about all their artists are making waves right now so go check them out- http://www.myspace.com/edbangerrecords

Modular Records- A slightly less cool, slightly more Australian version of Ed Banger. Still home of several greats- Cut Copy, MSTRKRFT, The Avalanches- http://www.modularpeople.com/

So many more artists to mention- SebastiAn http://www.myspace.com/0sebastian0, Phones http://www.myspace.com/phones, Erol Alkan http://www.myspace.com/erolalkan. I could go on but on the off chance that your not completely sold on this stuff (in which case you are wrong and should go away and have a long think about what you have done) I will cease. Au revior.

J Dilla RIP

Its been over a year since one of the most innovative, soulful and brilliant producers ever passed away. He died on the 10th February last year having suffered for over three years with an incurable blood disease. Known as a "producer's producer" Dilla was highly regarded by better known producers such as Kanye, Just Blaze and Pharrell. He truly deserved during his lifetime the recognition he is finally receiving now. This mans music means a lot to me and I hope it does to you also.

http://keepinitright.com/soundsamples/Nothing_Like_This.mp3

http://youtube.com/watch?v=terRELJ2-Vo&mode=related&search

http://youtube.com/watch?v=vVYza0NiWuU

3 am Music

Title pretty self explanatory to be honest. As we speak I am roadtesting the song in said conditions and it sounds pretty fucking amazing. One of the strongest pieces put out by DJ Mehdi, remixed by one of the greatest men ever to live- Thomas Bangalter. So it comes as little suprise that this is pretty special.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/dj-mehdi-signature-thomas-bangaltier-edit-mp3.html (courtesy of discobelle- http://www.discobelle.net/)

Further proof of Mehdi's skill- http://www.zshare.net/audio/nasty-boy-dj-mehdi-_le-cirque_-remix-mp3.html (courtesy of http://theserockspop.blogspot.com/index.html)

New Justice Track

Whlist a definate departure from the sheer unrelenting rawness of Waters of Nazareth (which may well actually be my favourite dance track of the 2000's so far) this new direction is in no sense a bad thing (http://www.balladofbob.com/BTHPmars/01%20D.A.N.C.E%20(original).mp3 courtesy of http://breidholt.blogspot.com/). Well I say new direction but the influences on this song really hark back- 70's disco infused with the trademark Justice bass sound. Discovery era Daft Punk springs to mind. Its accessible, fun and as per usual with Justice so fucking cool.

http://www.myspace.com/etjusticepourtous

Idlewild

The Remote Part was with out a doubt one of the very best albums of 2002. Its follow up Warnings/Promises unfortunately did not scale the heights of its predecessor. The first taster off the new album (released tomorrow) No Emotion (http://www.marsneedsguitars.com/mp3%20February/Idlewild/02%20No%20Emotion.mp3- courtesy of www.marsneedsguitars.com) is good but sadly no more. A certain feel, but no edge. Perhaps a grower. Lets hope.

Daft Punk

Best dance band ever... No contest lets be honest. Anyway the important news is that they are rumoured to be playing both Glastonbury and O2 wireless this summer! So exciting that it actually made me... well...

I think its best that I let those crazy Frenchmen explain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8fqev4a7dc

If the music isn't by itself orgasmic enough (which it is) the fact that they are actually robots (yeah really) should have you performing the same uncontrollable bodily functions as I at the thought of them live.

Bloc Party

Sod the critics.

The new Bloc Party album is a truly great achievement. Its heartfelt, honest and dense. Whilst a definite change from the tight angular sound of Silent Alarm (with the exception of the driven Hunting For Witches), A Weekend In The City is a very natural progression rather than a disappointing regression. If you need convincing: http://www.andreachiu.com/music/bloc-sunday.mp3 (with thanks to foxymoron for the file).

Photos

My friend Kate takes photos and I think they are pretty cool so I thought I would share a couple with you. She has her own blog but competition is tough (i.e. her blog is better) and i can't afford to lose readership (which itself presupposes the having of a readership which is in my case highly debatable) so I'm not advertising it.

By the way check out this band called Indigo Moss they are pretty cool http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=38552392

Flat Beat

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YQXiew-DQH4

Genius in every way possible.

Mr Oizo we bow down to you.

Blogness

The origins of my blog title stems from my love of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. If you will allow me to indulge I will quote the title in context so that you my dear reader (notice the singular- and even then it may be that hope of one reader is a little ambitious) may truly appreciate the inherent justification for my blog's existence:

'Curiouser and curiouser!' cried Alice.

Perfection would you not agree?

The reason for the slight alteration in the actual url (curoiuseretcuriouser)is that some bastard had this brilliant idea before me. None the less I have persevered and through the power of my Collins school french dictionary been able to translate part of the quotation. You will notice "and" is now transformed into "et" (which is actually french for and) which I believe adds a level of multicultural accessibility somewhat lacking in the inferior "Curiouser AND curiouser". With this I hope to engage the french readership. One can only hope that Mr Carroll was not a virilent racist and that what I have done will not leave him cursing at me from his grave.

I think its time that you get to know me and so to break the ice... a video of me falling over at new years http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX_PdgTJxBs. Enjoy. The magic happens about 25 seconds in before which your time will be spent experiencing some "creativity" on the part of my friends on the dancefloor. Persevere none the less. I consider it well worth the wait, even though I do say so myself.

On a related note (I say related- it's not) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L49DKHb30M. Some wonderful French electro for your ears. Justice will be huge this year.

Until we meet again au revoir.