Reloaded 14/May/2015 One of my favourite 'unofficial' recordings by any artist. The various remixes are clearly very professional and also quite intriguing. The bands minimalist approach on their website and other searches I have made don't give much away about this recording. It is clear however that some mainstream music websites are unaware this was never officially released by the band. -----------------------------------------------
Toccata Electronica is possibly the most stunning bootleg of Kraftwerk ever 'released'. Comprising of rare and different remixes of many well known Kraftwerk songs this bootleg first surfaced in 1995 as a CD with professional looking packaging and high quality audio. Different pressings including differing artwork and CD labels are in circulation however the front cover is usually the one shown opposite.
On one CD version the band are called 'Kundendienst' and Kraftwerk are not mentioned on this CD at all. On another version released as a CD the band is confirmed as Kraftwerk but the album is called "Kundendienst". Toccata Electronica is however overwhelmingly the most produced and circulated version of this compilation both as CD and as music files on line.
There remains a significant error on this release namely track eight which contains a sample taken from the Kraftwerk song Home Computer but the song is actually by a techno group called 'Time To Time' who comprised of Martin Recke, Stefan Grino and Udo Weiler.
Like many other so-called Krautrock bands Kraftwerk was heavily influenced by the pioneering compositions of Karlheinz Stockhausen. Hütter has also listed The Beach Boys as a major influence, which is apparent in its 1975 chart smash, Autobahn. Fellow bandmember Joey Pursel also made a similar remark comparing Kraftwerk's German identity to the Kinks and their strongly-English brand of pop/rock.
Kraftwerk's lyrics deal with post-war European urban life and technology—traveling by car on the Autobahn, traveling by train, using home computers, and the like. Usually, the lyrics are very minimal but reveal both an innocent celebration of, and a knowing caution about, the modern world, as well as playing an integral role in the rhythmic structure of the songs. Many of Kraftwerk's songs express the paradoxical nature of modern urban life—a strong sense of alienation existing side-by-side with a celebration of the joys of modern technology.
All of Kraftwerk's albums from Radio-Activity onwards have been released in separate versions: one with German vocals for sale in Germany, Switzerland and Austria and one with English vocals for the rest of the world, with occasional variations in other languages when conceptually appropriate.
Source: Studio Soundboard.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3 variable 242kbps average.
Reloaded 14/May/2015 - This has been requested for re-posting many times, however I do not know of any other file that has corrupted as much as part one of this recording, that said I am now hopeful that part one will work fine.
One of my all time favorite (officially released) live albums has to be Renaissance Live At Carnegie Hall from 1976. Despite the emergence of punk and the associated back lash to the 'millionaire rock stars' and the music business excesses, somehow Renaissance seemed to sit outside of the fury.
For me it was simply a band that were both astonishing musicians and writers rather than posers and pretentious, and their live performances reflected this. Annie Haslam's five octave range, and the balanced use of a live orchestra just added to the bands credibility'
This is a recording originally broadcast live on WNEW from a concert at the Academy of Music, New York on the 17th May 1974. It makes a great companion to the subsequent Carnegie Hall album and the sound quality is crisp and clear.
Renaissance (including Annie Haslam and Michael Dunford) will be performing live this summer, some forty years after the original incarnation of the band was formed.
Source: FM Broadcast (WNEW - New York).
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.
Genre: Progressive rock, Folk.
Set: Full Set.
Set List:
1. Introduction & music
2. Can You Understand
3. Black Flame
4. Carpet Of The Sun
5. Cold Is Being
6. Things I Don't Understand
7. Running Hard
8. Ashes Are Burning
9. Mother Russia
Comments:
Renaissance were accompanied by a 24 piece orchestra & conductor. Ashes Are Burning included Andy Powell (Wishbone Ash) on guitar and promoter Howard Stein on piano.
The Academy of Music was a theater and opera house located at East 14th Street and Irving Place in Manhattan, New York City. The Academy was built in 1854 and seated approximately 1,500 people.It was rebuilt in 1866 after being destroyed by fire. It served as a venue for rock concerts in the 1970s, and in 1985 became the Palladium nightclub. The theater was demolished by New York University and replaced by the present Palladium Residence Hall.
Reloaded 14/May/2015 New part one link, (part two fine & as before) both in comments.
Reloaded 13/May/2015 - I am delighted to be able to share this rare recording of Sandy Denny again, this is a treasure for all Sandy Denny fans.
This is a recording of Sandy Denny live at the Eltham Well Hall Open Theatre, London, back on May 5th, 1972. This was apparently an open air gig with folding chairs provided for the audience.
The recording was made on a Radio Shack $20 cassette recorder with a built in condenser mic, and considering this, the sound quality is surprisingly listenable with clear vocals and instruments and very little 'noise or hiss'. The recording made it on to DAT and kept the quality as close to the original standard as possible. For fans of Sandy this really is a must have. Richard Thompson was also in the band.
Sandy Denny's second solo album, Sandy (with a cover photograph by David Bailey) was released in 1972 and for many remains her most cohesive musical statement as a singer and songwriter.
Source: Audience recording.
Sound Quality: Mono very listenable mp3@160kbps.
Genre: Folk, electric folk.
Set: Full set.
Set List:
01 For Nobody To Hear
02 Bushes & Briars
03 Love's Made A Fool Of You
04 The Music Weaver
05 Crazy Lady Blues
06 Reynard The Fox
07 Sweet Rosemary
08 Matty Groves
09 It'll Take A Long Time
10 The Lady
11 John The Gun
12 Down In The Flood
13 When Will I Be Loved
14 Rigs Of Time
Reloaded 13/May/2015 - This first appeared on Beehive Candy in January 2009, survive the gushing intro and your in for a superb gig.
This is Paul Simon live at the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre, London, on the 25th May 2006, in part promoting his then new album 'Surprise'. Source: FM Broadcast from BBC Radio 2 originally aired 21.00-22.00 on Saturday 3rd June 2006.
Sound Quality: Excellent, recorded 'off air' in stereo, converted to mp3 @ 192kbps.
Genre: Folk - rock and pop orientated - oh come on you know !
Set: Limited set tailored for radio broadcast (see my comments).
Set List:
01 Introduction
02 Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
03 Outrageous
04 Slip Slidin' Away
05 You're The One
06 Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard
07 How Can You Live In The Northeast?
08 The Boxer
09 Father And Daughter
10 Loves Me Like A Rock
11 Graceland
12 Wartime Prayers
13 Outro
Links: Official site HERE. Wikipedia tries to stay factual HERE.
Comments: The UCL (University College Theatre) is in Central London and seats 535, making for quite an intimate gig, especially for someone who can fill major city parks.
I understand he also performed 'Cecilia' and 'Boy In the Bubble' on the night, these may have been edited out to fit the show into a nice rounded one hour (ah - those schedulers and their stop watches).
Ironically the introduction goes on way to long and is rather gushing, (learning point, never let an obsessive fan near a microphone). The first song 'Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes' is nicely re-worked, the guy after all is a musical legend, that's all that needed to be said at the start.
Edition three already, well there have been some real gems come our way and so to share them seems reasonable, would you not agree, anyway enough tripping over my own words and down to business or music if you prefer...
Well if this round up is called 'Out Of Our Inbox' and a glance above confirms that it it, then King of the Travellers did not so much come out of it, more they leaped, charged and flew out, taking no prisoners, with the fantastic track 'Trenches'. An absolute powerhouse of a song, genre busting, energising and what's more there from Freemantle, Australia, so once again Australia is throwing up another great band for the world to discover.
They have been described as follows - Having already established themselves as one of Fremantle’s most exciting up and coming bands, King of the Travellers are set to explode onto the national scene with the release of their upcoming single ‘Trenches’. A band that’s almost impossible to pin down to a single genre, The Travellers draw on a number of influences including punk, folk, gypsy music and sea shanties. In their two and a half years as a group, they've proven themselves to be amongst the most entertaining live bands in Perth today. ‘Trenches’ very much follows in this vein, with an emphasis on punk and sounds from Eastern Europe. The use of mandolin, French horn and accordion coupled with the distinctive vocal delivery of singer Nathan Hull gives the song all the trademark sounds of a King of the Travellers song. The single was recorded at Blackbird studio with acclaimed producer Dave Parkin (Jebediah, Karnivool, but not the coach of Carlton Football Club’s 1995 Premiership team) and mastered by Grammy Award winning William Bowden (Gotye). ‘Trenches’ paints a picture of a handful of soldiers in a nondescript war choosing a bottle of booze over guns and ammunition. It’s short, sharp, catchy and brimming with attitude.
Crooked House Road are a Toronto based indie folk band who contacted Beehive Candy just over a week ago and kindly provided me with a copy of their debut album due out on May 23rd 2015 and the self titled album is produced by Juno winner and Grammy nominee Ken Whiteley..
This is how member Shaina Silver-Baird describes the band - Crooked House Road began when I met Mirian Kay at an open mic and we immediately sparked a friendship. She became my musical partner in crime and we began performing my original songs around Toronto. Since then Crooked House Road has grown into a full band with our own unique fusion of folk, pop and blues music. After a successful first show at Soulpepper Theatre, we set out to build our repertoire and find a solid collective of musicians to write our first full length album. In a way the Crooked House Road musicians found us: Derek Gray was my upstairs neighbour; Gram Whitty was a substitute musician we brought in for one gig and never let go; I met Joshua Skye Engel at synagogue playing a show for kids; and Tom Mifflin was an old buddy from university.
You have got to check out El Conjunto Nuevo Ola (ECNO), and their incredible music. Here are some well written words about them as I'm being lazy again.
ECNO’s mission is simple: blend elements of cumbia, new wave, rock, and disco to get audiences dancing. Offering original songs and hits from iconic groups such as La Sonora Dinamita, Chico Che, and Rigo Tovar, ECNO have appeared on several prominent Hispanic television networks, including Telemundo, Telefutura, and Univision. More information on El Conjunto Nueva Ola is available on their official website HERE.
A peculiar concept for a band, ECNO have drawn attention from thousands of people who have labeled them “los enmascarados,” or "the masked ones.” Their faces are covered with luchador (wrestler) masks at all times, thus hiding the true identity of each group member. While many media reporters have asked, no one yet knows who these anonymous rockers are. What is known is that ECNO have graced the stages of the top Hispanic television networks, including Telemundo, Telefutura, and Univision. The one common factor in all of their performances is top-notch entertainment and the band’s obvious intent to spread a genuine sense of goodwill. Singer Urbano Lopez of ECNO recently summarized the band’s goals:
"At our shows, we want the good times to be a sure thing. We are musical wrestlers, and our enemy is the mundane and boring aspects of everyday life. We want every single audience member to sing, dance, and enjoy themselves.”
Lots of great videos over on YouTube HERE. The wonderful cover version of Billy Idol's 'Dancing With Myself' below.
Jennie Vee is gaining a lot of attention from some very influential people in the music business. She is currently on tour as bassist for Courtney Love, who is touring with Lana Del Rey. Jennie’s second EP, Spying, is due out this summer, as her solo career goes from strength to strength.
As I Remain bone idle here are some words written about Jennie by someone else - Last year Jennie caught the ear of Grammy Award-winning producer Chris Lord-Alge (Bruce Springsteen, Green Day, Stevie Nicks) when he handpicked and remixed her song “Wicked.” Years after Alan McGee left a handwritten compliment for Jennie because he liked her demos, the Creation Records founder immediately booked her for his first-ever Creation Unsigned Acoustic Night. Snow Patrol’s Paul Wilson mixed the title track of her upcoming release. In the UK and Europe, Jennie is signed to 25 Hour Convenience Store, owned and operated by Gary Powell of The Libertines.
Jennie’s dedication to memorable songwriting reminds listeners of what they love about ‘80s college rock. But she also makes her songs her own, steeping her mixes in the soothing brashness of deeply revered shoegaze and dream pop pioneers such as Ride and My Bloody Valentine. Jennie’s vocals, unfettered, deeply emotional, feature perfectly arranged verses, driving pre-choruses, and finally, airy, memorable choruses.
She has very recently made an excellent cover of Echo and the Bunnymen’s “Lips Like Sugar,” and we feature the video below!
Will from The Rebel Light contacted us a few days ago and had this to say - Music saved my life…and so did moving to California. A few years ago I moved to the West Coast. I was in a band that I didn’t believe in, playing songs that I’d written but felt soulless. Fortunately for me that band fell apart. When we started The Rebel Light, nothing was planned and no direction was discussed. We just let the music take control and simply stopped caring about what or who we should be or sound like. Most importantly we just ignored all the bullshit and just started playing what we felt in our hearts….. The culture and those infamous California vibes began to seep into our soul and penetrate every part of our music. We became truly inspired by our new world and our sound slowly began to evolve, taking in the past and present sounds of the California landscape. We think we have finally found our own voice and hope that our music does an okay job at representing our new home. We have really tried to embrace that DIY spirit and produce/engineer all our own music….recording vocals in a bathroom and the drums in a woodshed. We start reaching out to some radio stations ourselves and so far people seem to like what we are doing.
Clearly California and the West Coast has it's own special something that sparks so much great music along with innovation and experimentation. The band have been getting airplay from some of the better U.S. radio stations ( KROQ, KCRW, KEXP, KTCL, KCSN), and from what I have heard from The Rebel Light deservedly so! Check out the track Strangers, it has that 'Californian something'.
We are back to Australia for our final piece in this round up and Ludodowwn (which my spell checker is telling me should be 'let down' and nothing could be further from the truth). There has, in my opinion, been some really strong tracks in this round up and Ludodowwn is a great artist to end with, so until next time, Enjoy!
Ludodowwn is the work of 20-year-old West Australian songwriter and electronic producer, Bensen James. Beginning as a medium for bedroom sound experimentation, James found it demanding more and more of his attention, resulting in his departure of several bands and university to decipher what it wanted. After a long process of evolution, Ludodowwn now wants to be heard. Big World is the compelling first single, a suburban ode about longing for connection. Fusing understated lyricism with over large soundscapes, Big World announces an exciting new voice in electronic music.
