Alternative Take: Zaflon - Colder

Zaflon - Nightmare Division (feat. Gilan-Music).

Background - An ambient and sinister down tempo, LDP 1 is the debut EP from South London innovator Zaflon. Two songs featuring Zaflon’s latest collaborator Gilan_Music among the cyclonic sub-bass, abstracted guitars, harmonic piano and crooked percussive breaks.

The featured track is described as follows - ‘Nightmare Division’ (feat Gilan_Music) – is the first of two tracks featuring Gilan (both the low male vocal and high female vocal are sung by her). “This track uses a lot of samples of river noises that I recorded on the Thames riverbank, including the hull of a big old barge being hit with a stick. There are flies, doors and breaking watermelons in there, too, among plenty of other things. Abstracted guitars and an outro consisting of an old piano and a 909 drum machine play out as a modern nocturne. The river driftwood vibe is a theme that runs throughout LDP 1.” 

'Nightmare Division' is the second of four tracks on LDP1. You can stream the entire EP as one piece (here). I can't really add much to the description above, the sheer amount of work and attention to detail that runs throughout the EP, makes this a must hear for anyone, with a liking for trip-hop or down tempo ambient music.

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Colder - Your Kind (Kasper Bjørke Remix).

Background - Following the digital release of “Many Colours”, Colder keeps digging on his post-punk approach to the contemporary electronic scene, using the raw material of his long awaited third album to come up with a remix EP for lead single “Your Kind”, and a limited edition vinyl of the album featuring unreleased B-sides. Including four guest artists from different horizons and a remix from Colder himself, the Remix EP of “your Kind” manages to blend in a various mix of influences with great results:

Influenced by the new wave and krautrock scenes, Kasper Bjørke seemed like a match made in heaven for the remix of a Colder song. With his take on “Your Kind”, the versatile Danish producer chose to put an emphasis in of the late 70’s influences already distinctive in Colder’s music. The result is a minimalistic song filled with troubling, addictive beats, making you reach for the replay button instinctively.

Featuring Matias Aguayo, Kasper Bjørke, Barney Khan, The Left Hand Path and an exclusive club mix by Colder himself. 

The sheer level of difference and interpretation between each remix on this EP is remarkable. My natural liking for Krautrock made the Kasper Bjorke remix an instant favourite for me. Can't argue with the description above, however the other versions are equally worth checking out.

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Saturday And: Slow Culture - Shields

Slow Culture - Hoax.

Background promo - Slow Culture is the musical child of four guys who spent their adolescence saturated in music. The culmination of various lineups and bands dating back to 2009, their music holds within it the personality of four people who've effectively grown up together. It started (as all promising bands do), when Jack, Ben and Lee decided to form a band even though two didn't play an instrument. Ignoring this basic requirement, the three carried on. With Payton joining later, opting for bass synth, the groups sound was cemented, developed from a wide variety of influences. 

The product of various lineups dating back to 2009, Slow Culture could be described as the meeting place of psychedelic and alternative rock. Their debut single, “Hoax”, alternates between quiet withdrawn verses and raucous choruses, layered with psychedelic sounds reminiscent of early Pink Floyd. Recorded at Free Energy studios in Camperdown and produced by the legendary Phil Punch, the singles reliance on experimentation in the studio is clear. Layers of guitar effects, synths and a cigarette lighter used as a guitar slide are the meat on the bones of a song held together by the incessant practice and revision that the band undertook prior to recording. 

The band describes how the song “came out of an acoustic jam [they] just happened to record years ago”, the name taken from a biography of Brian Jones which was sitting in the corner of the room. Stating that the single has taken on so many forms that it’s almost “unrecognisable as the same song”. “Hoax” will be released 15th of January 2016.

I don't know why, but Radiohead sprang to mind when I started listening to 'Hoax'. It's certainly not a copy of their style, Slow Culture from this song at least, have quite an individualistic sound. Whatever, I like 'Hoax' and it's easy to understand the psychedelic meets alternative rock reference above.

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Shields - Mezzanine.

Background promo - Shields embody the Playlist Generation. While other artists publicly decry music streaming services, Shields have been shaped by the diverse artists whose music they might never have heard through more traditional means.  Shields’ musical output is a reflection of these diverse influences, and their debut album ‘How Can We Fix This?’ has a genuinely broad appeal whilst at the same time refusing to conform to a simple description.

After hitting the live circuit heavily (including support tour dates with Placebo and Everything Everything, and performing at Glastonbury and the BBC6 Music Festival in Newcastle), the band crafted a tight sound and a solid body of songs, ready to record this debut. The development of their unique sound has been largely due to their DIY approach to production. Using their own studio space to record a vast range tracks over a 12-month period, the band caught the eye of double Grammy award-winning producer Adrian Bushby (Muse, Foo Fighters) who helped them complete their debut album.

Bushby said, “Shields, in my opinion, are one of the best bands I've heard in a long while in both songwriting and performance. They are an incredibly fresh and original-sounding band who I think will go on to achieve great things.” The recent single ‘Face to Face’ captures the kind of innovative alt-pop instrumentation and delicate harmonies that saw 2012 single ‘Mezzanine’ (also on appearing on the album) featured as iTunes’ single of the week and garnering praise from sources as diverse as Kylie and Zane Lowe. Shields – How Can We Fix This? is out 26th February 2016 on Kaleidoscope Records.

'Mezzanine' is the third of ten songs on the forthcoming album, and typifies the quality and vibrancy of the album. The band have toured a lot and worked hard to develop their pristine sound, something that becomes clearer the more you hear from the album. Work and effort aside, this is great music, after all that's what it's all about.


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Friday Pairing: Anna Rose - Powerkompany

Anna Rose - Start A War.

Background promo - At first glance, one wouldn’t guess that Anna Rose, the adorably petite blonde with the sugary name, is a fearless, unabashed, mind-blowingly talented Rock and Roll powerhouse.  But, Rose, in fact, is walking, singing proof that big things most definitely come in small packages.   It’s no wonder that Pancakes and Whiskey declares her a “complete badass.”

Anna Rose is gearing up for the release of her new EP, Strays In The Cut, a collection of six mesmerizing tracks that find the singer/songwriter pushing her musical boundaries. “I am very much an album artist and a storyteller, so the idea of scaling it all back to the size of an EP was a challenge in itself. It forced me to look at the songs in a different way, the production, everything. These six songs needed to tell the whole story. The limitations I placed on the length made the process so much more imaginative in every other aspect.” shares Rose.

Strays in the Cut is the much-anticipated follow-up to Rose’s Beyond a Pale Horse, which Flashwounds declared a “deep swirl of Blues and Rock and Roll” that “beautifully represents the many dark and beautiful corridors of the human heart.”  Beyond a Pale Horse introduced us to Anna Rose’s dynamic voice and effortless command of the guitar; each song highlighted by attitude and pure grit.  Undoubtedly, Beyond the Pale Horse cemented Rose as a veritable force, with hard-driving Rock and dirty Blues coursing through her veins. 

In 2012, Rose also gained attention for her sultry take on Arcade Fire’s “My Body is a Cage,” which is currently available for download on iTunes. Cover Me Songs premiered the track, affirming, “The sparse cover showcases her effortlessly soulful singing.” Since then, Rose has shared the stage with a variety of notable artists, including: Crystal Bowersox, Howie Day, Teddy Geiger, Tyler Hilton and founding member of Live, Ed Kowalczyk. The consummate artist, Anna Rose lets her spirit shine through with every performance, while captivated fans hang on every note. Anna Rose is set to play the Brooklyn Bowl on January 27, 2016 with more dates to be announced soon.

 'Start A War', may be a little laid back, however the tension and drama in Anna Rose's voice simmers, as this gentle bluesy song unfolds. If the EP is as good as this, we have something special to look forward to.

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Powerkompany - Can't Cry.

Background promo - Powerkompany's compound noun name is hardly coincidental; by the sound of their first single off their upcoming two-part LP Fever & Chills, it's completely possible that they are a fully functioning power station (but not the Robert Palmer/Duran Duran supergroup). "Can't Cry" features vocals by the band's Marie Davon that are so massive that not only has the song been probably powering our entire office like a mini nuclear reactor, but it gives Diane Lane's performance in Streets of Fire a run for its wallet. 

Fever & Chills was recently completed at Chase Park Studio in collaboration with Andy LeMaster of Bright Eyes and Azure Ray fame. The two-part LP is made up of two sides of six songs that reach into the depths of the most orchestral music that permeated a more fun era in pop music, like in the 1980s, although there are hints of cabaret whimsy throughout that wouldn't be uncomfortable living in a dark, 1920s opium brothel. The album is out February 5th 2016, and its playful score and powerful vocals are a must for anyone who loves their favorite records to dabble in the cinematic. 

'Cant Cry' is just a taste of what is one very good album. Songs are imaginative, diverse and some are splendidly big in production. The sheer variety that comes across, in the twelve tracks that make up the album, left me wondering why they chose 'Cant Cry' as the 'streamed' song. I guess you have to start somewhere, and it's a good song, it needs to be to get on the album.


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Thursday Two: Three Tree Town - Ghost Wave

Three Tree Town - Two Birds.

Background Promo - The pleasantly contrasting vocals and war-drum beats of Three Tree Town’s latest track “Two Birds” marks the beginning of the bands delve into their new sound. After several successful festival sets and over ten years playing together, the band now takes their countryside popularity and head for bigger lights. 

In an unprecedented alliance with renowned musician and studio owner Beau McKee (Closure In Moscow) the band have managed to capture their alt/folk roots and combine them with new percussion grooves to form an en/rely alternate sound. “We never tire of this track” says one of two lead singers Dylan Berends. “And now with the alternate arrangement, this apple landed nowhere near the tree it fell from!” 

With a “pull and go” style guitar technique, mix of female and male vocals and bouncing drum rhythms, “Two Birds” is an upward journey, speeding towards eternity, gaining momentum with each bar. The raspy vocals Dylan Berends are relieved by the sweet and innocent return vocals of Tania Lodge that show hints of hit band Of Monsters and Men while maintaining reviews that Three Tree Town is Australia’s answer to an early Mumford & Sons. 

A story of crossed paths, misconceptions and everlasting effects it echoes a tale of how the slightest interactions can result in catastrophic results. “Two Birds” finishes with a smooth sigh, giving closure to the listener but reminding them that there is more to come from Three Tree Town.

This is a really good song. The contrasting vocals, intricate guitar work and 'marching' drums are so well woven together, the end result is one short and sweet song.

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Ghost Wave - Blues Signal '79.

Background words - Yesterday Ghost Wave released their Blues Signal '79 single, taken from a forthcoming album out early in 2016. The album was recorded in Auckland and mastered by Sonic Boom....more details to come.

The band explain the background to the song as follows - Blues Signal '79 kinda eventuated out of this other song that we used to play called Jazz Style. The original of the version of the song was way different to what you hear, and I'm really glad that after playing Jazz Style for 3 years, we scrapped it. I'm a big one for throwing songs away, even when I really like them... 3 years later, recorded, the song just wasn't meant to be. I just heard the original recording on the drum stem and was like "nope, this isn't happening", so deleted it. Within 5 minutes the new organ hook had arrived, we dropped the bass on it, and felt like we had a way more captivating piece of music. 

We decided to put this song out first cause it's kinda different to stuff we've released before. Ghost Wave isn't a singles band, but we're super proud to release Blues Signal 79 off our upcoming LP Radio Norfolk (Flying Nun). It's a slice of GW's future (album on the way), looking at the past (don't forget), wondering why nothing makes sense (or does it?).

This is one of those songs that's hard to pigeon hole in a specific genre. Whatever, it's catchy, clever and does the trick in making me look forward to checking out the new album, when it lands next year.

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