Grungey, synthy, understated rock, with more than a flicker or beach pop persevering through – that the best way to describe the wonder of music that up and coming Swedish duo, Pale Honey, make. The minimalistic rock outfit called Gothenburg home, and are set to release their self-titled debut album on May 4th. Their debut single, Youth (which you can check out below), has been premiered on Stereogum, already receiving critical acclaim and the promise of big things to come.
Watch this space – we think these guys might be the next big thing….
At dawn, with little fanfare, psychedelic rock wonders Tame Impala revealed a brand new, eight-minute long track entitled “Let It Happen”.
Representatives for the band have stressed that this new swirling synth-led adventure is not the first single from the band’s forthcoming album, the follow-up to 2012’s Lonerism, but instead a track just for fans. There’s evidently plenty of them as well, with the initial release causing the band’s website to crash. Everything is back online now and “Let It Happen” is being offered as a free download in exchange for your email address. You can also stream it below.
The nearly 8-minute song has heavier lean towards the electronic compared to their previous stuff as the group’s keyboardist Jay Watson told Faster Louder in an interview, building on the band’s signature psych-rock sound.
There’s still no word on an official release date for the new record, but the release of this new single, which is their first new music in three years since 2012’s Lonerism, gives us reason to be excited and indicates that the time may be drawing close.
From the sunny climbs of Rome – Marco Mestichella is here in London and ready to conquer the world.
With a smorgasbord of sounds at his disposal – his previous releases are a walk through a myriad of musical influences.
With a style equally influenced by Massive Attack, Isaac Hayes and Madonna he’ll keep you guessing. Marco represents a new vanguard of art pop artists who can create vicious soundscapes and soft ditties all from the comfort of their front room – allowing for a prolific back catalogue.
Two of our faves are Should Have Stayed at Home and Treason – both from his debut EP The Day I Killed My Ego.
There are rumours that there is another EP on its way in the not too distant future…..keep your ears open for Mr. Mestichella.
Marco is next playing at the O2 Academy Islington 19/03
If ever there was a cautionary tale of the excesses of drug, sex and rock n roll that will bring a tear to the eye – the story of one of the pioneers of psychedelic rock – Roky Erickson – is it.
Like Syd Barrett, a common point of reference, Roky Erickson rose to cult-hero status as much for his music as for his tragic personal life; in light of his legendary bouts with madness and mythic drug abuse, the influence exerted by his garage-bred psychedelia was often lost in the shuffle. Born Roger Kynard Erickson on July 15, 1947, in Dallas, TX, he began playing the piano at age five; by age 12, he had also taken up the guitar. The child of an architect and would-be opera singer, Erickson dropped out of high school to become a professional musician. In 1965, he penned his most famous composition, “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” which he first recorded with a group called the Spades. The song and his high, swooping tenor brought him to the attention of another area band, the psychedelia-influenced 13th Floor Elevators, whose lyricist and jug player Tommy Hall invited Erickson to join; the Elevators soon cut their own version of “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” and took the single to number 56 on the pop charts in 1966.
The 13th Floor Elevators were perhaps the inventors of psychedelic rock. Certainly they were among the very first to play it. They were also one of the first bands to suffer the prejudice of the moralists and the law. They were, alas, also among the first to pay the consequences of drug abuse.
The band formed in Austin, Texas, around jug musician Tommy Hall and vocalist Roky Erickson, who had already released an earlier version of his You’re Gonna Miss Me in 1965, with the Spades. Tommy Hall, who had a background in science and philosophy and had been one of the first kids in town to experiment with drugs, was the brain behind the project. He wrote the cerebral lyrics to their songs, and he invented the sound of the electric jug that became the trademark of their arrangements. Stacy Sutherland was the quintessential fuzztone and reverb guitarist.
Their first album, The Psychedelic Sound Of The 13th Floor Elevators (International Artists, 1966), released in the spring of 1966, is one of the most fascinating of the acid age, the archetype of psychedelia. The album presents a collection of acid ballads that feed on sound effects (Reverberation), on ethereal folk-rock (Splash), on rhythmic boogie (You’re Gonna Miss Me), and on down-and-dirty improvisation (above all Roller Coaster, but also Fire Engine). Theirs is a rhythm and blues a la Rolling Stones, viewed through the deforming lens of LSD.
The group’s anthem, You’re Gonna Miss Me, which made history in the genre, is a ferocious and dissolute soul song with hints of Tex-Mex and depraved vocalizations, full of instinctive fury, and propelled by the demented rhythm of Hall’s deafening electric jug.
Despite the instability of the lineup, the group recorded Easter Everywhere (Radar, 1967), which includes Postures, She Lives In A Time Of Her Own and Skip Inside This House. The album was Tommy Hall’s attempt at assimilating Eastern philosophies (Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism) as well as Quantum Physics into psychedelic music. Then Hall left the band while Erickson was arrested for drug possession, and locked in a psychiatric hospital for schizophrenia. He is practically absent from Bull Of The Woods (Decal, 1968), an album that contains some of their most bizarre experiments. After their break-up the band attained cult status. Best (Eva, 1994) is a good anthology.
When Erickson came out of the psychiatric hospital (1972), he published a book of poetry. Despite his mental instability, he hit the scene again during the rush of psychedelic revival and punk-rock, with dark humor and a taste for the supernatural that carried him away from his origins, towards a macabre rhythm and blues, with lyrics filled with alarming monsters (Bermuda, 1977, Two Headed Dog, 1975).
And The Aliens (CBS, 1980) and The Evil One (415, 1981 – Sympathy, 2002) are the two albums which define Erickson’s solo career. The second contains bewildering rave-ups such as Creatures With The Atom Brain and Stand For The Fire Demon, voodoo-blues a la Credence Clearwater Revival, such as Night of the Vampire, and his spiritual testaments: I Think of Demons and I Walked with a Zombie.
An album of previously unreleased material, Don’t Slander Me (Pink Dust, 1986), is a work of lesser quality, except for Bermuda and the wild Don’t Slander Me.
Erickson ended up in a mental institution again, but the record industry continued to release every thing that he had absentmindedly recorded. I Think Of Demons (Edset, 1987) is a compilation of leftover cuts from those sessions. Gremlins Have Pictures (Pink Dust, 1986), Mad Dog (Swordfish, 1992) and Love To See You Bleed (Swordfish, 1992) include several rarities. Click Your Fingers (New Roses, 1990) is a compilation of EPs: Mine Mine Mind (Sponge, 1977) and Clear Night For Love (New Roses, 1985), and the Holiday Inn Tapes, which are very crude acoustic recordings. Never Say Goodbye (Emperor Jones, 1998) is a collection of home recordings made between 1971 and 1985. Three live albums were also released.
Broke and incapable of caring for himself, Erickson released one last, very spartan album, All That May Do My Rhyme (Trance Syndicate, 1995), recycling old material (the EP Clear Night For Love, the 1966 single We Sell Out by the Spades, and remixes of old classics) along with new compositions.
Parklife of Manchester – best known for their regrettable location choices, fucked Northeners and well….. mud, seem to have really pulled their finger out this year – announcing a blistering lineup for this year’s incarnation.
With a bunch of Dissatisfied faves, including Jungle & NAS – we’ll see you there!
HEATON PARK MANCHESTER
JUNE 6 & 7 2015
ANNOUNCED SO FAR, TO PERFORM LIVE ACROSS THE WEEKEND
Wampire are great. Fucking great. After seeing them support Mac Demarco (Also great) at Kentish Town forum late last year, We felt compelled to let you guys know how great they really are.
Known for wearing puke inducing shirts- and sporting questionable facial hair these guys are committed to doing things – shall we say- unconventionally.
The Hearse is a track that sports a synth in it that wouldn’t seem out of place in an 80’s ski movie montage – and a rocking base line. With an equally shoulder padded video to match.
Wizard staff is an anthem that bears a real hard listen and is beautifully, yet challengingly l arranged we expect big things from this two. The Video shows the twosome as private investigators – sometimes riding a two man bike – as you should have guessed…
Oh yea – and listen to Fly on the Wall- another GREAT tune.
Only a short one from us- but check em out- Wampire are your new favourite band.
We love Chromeo – and whilst they may be hugely popular, touring the hottest clubs across the globe, we still think they deserve a little bit more love. As such – here’s some stuff about we learnt recently about the French-Canadian duo….
The duo met in the mid-1990s at Collège Stanislas in Montreal. Considering their backgrounds, the two childhood friends jokingly describe themselves as “the only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture
At the beginning of March 2011, Chromeo sent out notice that they had recorded the “world’s smallest album”, entitled Drive Time, which consists of 55 songs in only 183 seconds.
Their latest full offering White Women (check it out the lead track Jealous (I Ain’t With It) above) is arguably their best yet – a seamless combination of energy and melancholy, disco and soul, all mixed together into some of the most effective songs they’ve written. We’d even go as far as to say it’s timeless and well-crafted, a shining example of disco’s renewed relevance from a pair of musicians for whom the genre never went out of style.
Our fave track of theirs is below – Fancy Footwork. We even included a link to the LA Riots remix for your audio pleasure – aren’t we nice?
After a leave of absence (No – we’re not telling you why!) We at Dissatisfied Sounds are back and ready to shield you from the musical nasties that are out to get you.
We’re kicking off 2015 with a string of articles profiling who we think are going to be huge this year – but unlike Radio 1 – we ‘aint getting payed a penny for our troubles.
So sit back – relax – and get ready for some satisfaction.
Everyone’s fave Pepperoni Playboy Mac Demarco, not content it seems with writing one of the albums of the year (Salad Days for those of you living under a rock) now wants to take over the retail world. Kind of….
The above pair of rather tattered vans were posted on eBay by Mac himself with the following caption –
“I’m selling an old pair of my shoes. I’ve John Hancocked the left shoe. Will anyone buy an old stinky pair of shoes? I don’t know. lets wait and see.”
Well following a bidding war someone was willing to buy the pair – for a whopping $21,100 on eBay. Yea you read that right – $21,000
He even answered a few of the weirder fan questions on the site – our faves below;
Q: i love you but my mom thinks that you are a reckless hillbilly who does nothing but smoke cigarettes and be foul. can you convince her otherwise? i cant seem to convince her myself. P.S. you should play an all ages show at brooklyn sometime goodbye mac (i love you)
A: Not a hillbilly, just Canadian, there’s a difference. Sorry mom. We’ll do a bk all ages show soon
Q: hey so whats the deal man?
A: Pee pee!!!
Q: What are your thoughts on Nickelback?
A: Look at this photograph.
Q: Do you have any interest in trading a jar of ghost cum for your red clown shoes? #slimer Best Jeremiah
A: I don’t think they need any ghost cum at rock camp for girls
But if you were unsure as to the pong – he even posted a video of his much serenaded lady – Kira – giving them a ceromonial whiff – watch below.
We love Mac and the fact that all the proceeds went to benefit Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls – so he’s a doing his bit for charity too. It seems like everything this guy touches turns to gold at the moment – even a pair of smelly old vans.
Need a further dose of the Mac? Check out his “Mac-umentry” below – following him and his band touring Salad Days.
Mac Demarco is a huge favourite of ours here at Dissatisfied Sounds. His two most recent full length offerings ‘2’ and ‘Salad Days’ garnered him a huge hoard of devotees, but it is this low-fi track from his first album that got us intrigued.
Mac is known for being prolific, being competent on most instruments and its interesting to hear a track such as this where he is still carving out his musical identity. With warbley Elvis like vocals this track is underminned, as always with Mr. Demarco, a really juice guitar riff. Enjoy…
SATISFIED
FLEETWOOD MAC – RHIANNON (1976)
Rhiannon is one of our fave Fleetwood Mac tracks, and one of their first bangers after Nicks and Buckingham joined the group. From the Fleetwood Mac White album – the song itself has an interesting background.
Nicks discovered Rhiannon in the early 70’s through a novel called Triad, by Mary Leader. The novel is about a woman named Branwen, who is possessed by another woman named Rhiannon. There is mention of the Welsh legend of Rhiannon in the novel, but the characters in the novel bear little resemblance to their original Welsh namesakes (both Rhiannon and Branwen are major female characters in the medieval Welsh prose tales of the Mabinogion).
Nicks bought the novel in an airport just before a long flight and thought the name was so pretty that she wanted to write something about a girl named Rhiannon. She wrote “Rhiannon” in 1974, three months before joining Fleetwood Mac, while living with Richard Dashut and Lindsey Buckingham in Malibu,[6] and has claimed that it took 10 minutes to write.
After writing the song, Nicks learned that Rhiannon originated from a Welsh goddess, and was amazed that the haunting song lyrics applied to the Welsh Rhiannon as well. Nicks researched the Mabinogion story and began work on a Rhiannon project, unsure of whether it would become a movie, a musical, a cartoon, or a ballet. There are several “Rhiannon Songs” from this unfinished project including “Stay Away” and “Maker of Birds.” Nicks wrote the Fleetwood Mac song “Angel” based on the Rhiannon story.
Nicks avoided wearing black clothing for “about two years” in an effort to distance herself from the witchcraft and dark arts associations surrounding her as a result of the lyrics to “Rhiannon” giving fans the wrong impression.
Its not the album version that we keep returning to however, its the above live 1976 version. Just wait until after the Lindsey Buckingham guitar solo and the building middle eighth – to see Stevie Nicks at her most 70’s (and probably most coked up) best. In the words of Nevermind producer Butch Vig in Dave Grohl’s Sound City – Reel Reel, “Boy, that Girls’ got some pipes!”
SATISFIED
RZA – YOU CAN’T STOP ME NOW
Coming from the Wu Tang Clan’s commander in chief the RZA’s fourth studio solo album Digi Snacks – You can’t stop me now represents the obligatory Hip Hop tune on our countdown. The album Digi Snacks can be seen as a concept album, with RZA himself saying,
“This world wasn’t in a digital format in 1998. Now digital is the most compelling form of commerce and entertainment so this is like a relaunch of the character.
The album is Digi Snacks because it’s a snack pack of Bobby Digital’s world. Not only music and sounds, but also the comic background, the sci-fi background, the black-exploitation background. Look at the artwork—a girl with an afro, an Asian girl, Bobby sitting in the big king’s chair and then the villains—Raven, Hawk, Eagle and Crane, the four birds of prey that I use as my enemies. Bobby Digital’s life-long nemesis. That adds a comic element to it—as well as martial arts. I’m planning a comic book, a video game—I’m already talking to people. I want fans to be aware of these things.“
Clearly RZA is an ambitious dude – but this track is worth all the pretence. Featuring our third fave Wu-Tang memeber Inspectah Decks and underpinned with an amzing sample of the Whatanauts – Mesage from a Black Man RZA spits his world view in true East Coast fashion.
SATISFIED
THOM YORKE – HARROWDOWN HILL
We love a good change of pace to keep you guys on your toes here at DS and so lets go for a but it of electroey rocky – well…. its hard actually to define Thom Yorke. The Radiohead frontman simultanously breaks down generes he himslef creates. his first solo effort the Eraser is no better exampke of this.
Harrowdown Hill in Longworth, Oxfordshire is notable for being the place where the body of Dr. David Kelly was found in 2003. His evidence had raised questions about Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction — the official justification for the UK government’s decision to invade Iraq. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Yorke said, “The government and the Ministry of Defence… were directly responsible for outing him and that put him in a position of unbearable pressure that he couldn’t deal with, and they knew they were doing it and what it would do to him… I’ve been feeling really uncomfortable about that song lately, because it was a personal tragedy, and Dr. Kelly has a family who are still grieving. But I also felt that not to write it would perhaps have been worse.” In another interview, Yorke said that “Harrowdown Hill” is “the most angry song I’ve ever written in my life. I’m not gonna get into the background to it, the way I see it… And it’s not for me or for any of us to dig any of this up. So it’s a bit of an uncomfortable thing.”Yorke also notes that “‘Harrowdown Hill’ was kicking around during Hail to the Thief, but there was no way that was going to work with the band.”
A deeply personal, dark track that bears repeated plays. One that leaves us uncomfortable and at that same time….
We love a bit of Barrington Levvy here at Dissatisfied Towers and frankly we also love a good remix. Anthem’s Black Rose provides us with both and that makes us very happy!
Henrik Schwarz and Jesse Rose are two names synonymous with House music, no doubt. The former releasing a strew of quality originals and remixes for a long time now (one of which featured in our top 2010 list) ; the latter is the boss of the glorious Made to Play imprint as well as Front Room and Play it Down, not to mention a superb producer. In fact his “Let’s Start Again” EP on Dubsided back in 2005 is a huge record and I relish playing that badboy on the ones and twos every time I get a chance.
These two pillars of modern dance music culture have come together to bring you a track of such epic proportions that there can only be one word in the Oxford English Dictionary apt to describe it, and that word is Anthem. Now you may be thinking that they are blowing their own trumpet a little bit, however when these two mammoth minds collide under their Black Rose moniker it is safe to say they have the “cojones”, the gravitas and an esteemed music CV to label their debut output as such.
The video will make you trip harder than falling down a flight of stairs – but its definitely worth a watch. Check this massively original tune out and check Anthem out – the duo make literally crazy music.
SATISFIED
RJD2 – GIMME THE LOOT
RJD2 is an amazing DJ, creating haunting;y orginal soundscapes with the same ease that he creates melodic joyful tunes. Ghostwriter is probably our favourite of his – so when we came across this remixed with our third fave Biggie track, we were in love. The two tunes seem to mesh perfectly, with the horns of Ghostwriter mixed perfectly with the GIMMME THE LOOT chorus. We almost prefer this to the Biggie original, as when we hear “from the berretta, putting all the holes in ya sweater” nothing can stopping us from jumping up and grooving to this remix. We don’t feel the need to say much more about this one- it speak s for itself.
SATISFIED
COWBELL – HANGING BY A THREAD
Cowbell – and their debut offering Beat Stampede – aren’t breaking new ground by any means. But you don’t always have to be different to be great.
‘Hanging By a Thread’, Sam Cooke-esque soulful pop inviting replay after replay, shows a lighter side of the band daring to emerge from the album’s crackling, cranked guitars and stampeding drums. Beat Stampede is a record so studded with top notch tunes that, in the good old days when people hung on a disc jockey’s or popular music journalist’s every syrupy word and duly trooped off to department stores with real paper to buy real plastic, it would genuinely and without irony, be described as ‘chart topper’. Unfortunately now days – its a bit old hat.
Plus points as well for getting more women in rock n roll, especially on the drums.
This however, is not to say we find it, how do you say….
SATISFYING
REMY SHAND – TAKE A MESSGE
In case you forgot, Shand hit it big in 2002 with his debut album “The Way I Feel.” In 2003, he picked up four Juno Award nominations and won in the category of R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for the track “The Way I Feel.”
He was also nominated for four Grammy Awards that year, including, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Vocal Performance – Male, Best R&B Song and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.
His best tune in our opinion is the above “Take A Message”.
Then disappeared, some claiming that he had fallen into drug addiction, others that he had quite the music biz and finally others claimed that he had finally just topped himself. That is…..until the middle of 2013 wheremysterious videos sta`rted popping up on his youtube account.
We love a bit of George Michael here and Remy easily takes up the mantel and rolls with it – cool pop tunes from Canada.
The Heavy claim to be the music industry’s worst kept secret. They make blazing, urgent, infectious rock-soul with a strong dose of hip-hop and if you’ve eve been on Dissatisfied Sounds before – that never goes amiss. You’ve heard their songs in a lot of different places, and it’s likely that you loved them.
Hailing from good old Blighty, and forming in the fertile swamps of England’s West Country in the mid-naughties, around the axis of Dan Taylor (guitarist and songwriter) and Kelvin Swaby (vocalist and songwriter,) the Heavy immediately astounded. Jaw dropping, freshly minted riffs, swinging hip-hop drums, funk-ridden bass and Swaby’s startling, Mayfield-esque vocals meant early singles ‘That Kind of Man’ and ‘Colleen’ blew minds and won hearts. The debut album they were taken from – ‘Great Vengeance and Furious Fire’ – became an instant connoisseurs’ classic.
Their third LP may be titled The Glorious Dead, but soulful rock-‘n’-rollers The Heavy are alive and well—and the classic guitar riffs, funky horns, and Curtis Mayfield-reminiscent vocals that fans have been missing since their 2009 album, The House that Dirt Built, are all in tow. That album’s lead single, “How You Like Me Now,” was one of the year’s most joyful surprises; and the first single from The Glorious Dead, “What Makes a Good Man?” follows in its catchy, triumphant footsteps. Play this album loudly enough, and it may just be possible to rouse the dead.
It was their sophomore album, though, that saw them blasting into homes across the globe. ‘The House that Dirt Built’ was everything a second album should be: a deeper, richer progression from the band’s early work. It also yielded the mighty ‘How You Like Me Now?’ The single was licensed for a major commercial in the 3rd Quarter of the Superbowl (the biggest ad slot in the world) and quite simply went stratospheric – whilst not even being the best on the album (that award goes to Short Change Hero – listen below)
“How You Like Me Now?” continued to be eaten up by the mainstream media machine – A heady mix of impassioned, incandescent vocal, gargantuan riff and boom-bap drums, it also happened to conjure up a triumph-in-adversity sentiment that struck a chord across the globe. The song went on to become the first for which David Letterman ever requested an encore, when The Heavy played the “Late Show,” and appeared everywhere from “Entourage,” Academy Award-nominated film The Fighter, and Mark Wahlberg’s hit comedy ‘Ted.’
“It became such a big tune, that people asked, ‘How are you going to top that?’.” Swaby says.
The answer was 2012’s ‘The Glorious Dead,’ the band’s third album. Searching for inspiration, The Heavy – which in addition to Taylor and Swaby includes Spencer Page (bass) and Chris Ellul (drums) – travelled from their Bath, England hometown to Columbus, Georgia. There, they hooked up with local gospel singers and musicians for some Southern Gothic sublimity.
The final magic ingredient in the mix was Gabriel “Bosco Mann” Roth of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, who added string and horn parts to four songs.
Even deeper, a touch darker, and with shades of Southern Gothic infesting the swampy rock n’ soul of previous records, the album was another giant step forward, Frankensteining swampy voodoo and b-movie zombies with garage rock and Gospel-soaked soul.
Lead single ‘What Makes a Good Man?’ showed that The Heavy were able to write brilliant singles time after time, with synchs snowing in once again, and American radio coming on board. The band toured the world exhaustively, wowing audiences with their transcendental live performances.
“It was over the top, in a good way,” adds Heavy frontman Kelvin Swaby. “We went pretty cinematic, setting out to score a film that hasn’t been written.”
“It’s good to have a bit of light and shade,” Taylor adds.
Since then, The Heavy has gone on to achieve storming success in Japan, playing Fuji Rock, chalking up a #1 alternative album on iTunes Japan, scoring a major Pepsi synch and playing Japan’s biggest breakfast TV show, ‘Sukkiri.’ The band will play a full Japanese tour in October 2014.
Their music was used in the stunning Guiness Sapeurs ad, they played Glastonbury, sold out Shepherd’s Bush Empire and re-recorded How You Like Me Now? with none other than 50 Cent, to launch ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft Week.
Whilst they may, in the same vein as the National, have traded in their underground credibility for a slot in the Super Bowl. Its always nice to see a band be rewarded with fame, glamour and cash for being original and frankly – pretty fucking good.
Not to be confused with the Ghost Pokemon that evolves when trading a Haunter – yea we went there….Gengahr (apparently pronounced Geng-er) are another band we suggest you keep your ears open for.
The band claim Gengahr was born out of a desire to create something fresh and unique, Gengahr are part of the new breed of indie bands able to create large soundscapes and original sounds straight from their bedroom.
Seemingly effortless smooth and melodic indie-rock that meanders along at a laidback pace – think Tripwires and a Joy Division with a bit more Joy. Their influences draw from icons such as The Smiths and Modest Mouse, to the more recently revered Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Youth Lagoon. Gengahr have already received support from Huw Stephens, NME, DIY and host others.
With more news to follow in the coming months get more acquainted with Gengahr via the 3 tracks they are giving away on their Soundcloud, which include the spellbinding ‘Fill My Gums With Blood’ and the shimmering ‘She’s A Witch’ and check out the recent release of ‘Powder’ below.
We love a bit of Shoegazey music at Dissatisfied Sounds – and these guys are definitely worth checking out on their upcoming October tour. Details below;
Excessive lifestyle, noise, hype, drugs, ego, illusions of grandeur.
According to 150 Friends Club – That’s not them….
Singing of exclusion – 21st Century ennui they certainly aren’t One Direction.
Check out I Don’t believe in Atheists above….
Forming after the split of David Goo Variety Band came to its natural conclusion, David Goo wanted to do something different. After reading Dunbar’s theory that society works best in groups of 150 people, he concluded an audience of exactly 150 could be pretty sweet too. Smaller numbers, intimate settings, personal rather than alienating. The 150 Friends Club was born.
It was to a crowd of just under a hundred at the famous Half Moon in Putney at our favourite even of music and poetry Union (definitely one to check out – details at the bottom) that we had the pleasure of watching the Club in action. With deep crazy Lupen Crook-esque vocals David Goo conducts the four-piece who look as if they’ve been plucked from four totally separate bands. Somehow it works – we suggest you check out on Spotify Airbrushed AKA Your Children Will Not Inherit Your Plastic Surgery (that got a laugh from the audience).
Original songwriting and funky vocals make this band one to definitely keep an eye open for.
Check out Union‘s next night at the Half Moon in October ft. Dissatisfied Faves – Bella Figura
On their debut, Jungle show that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel as long as it’s travelling down brand new, unexplored avenues- it might just earn you a Mercury nomination.
With elements of 80’s pop, Afro beats and 90’s house – these musical cannibals have been setting our record player on fire of late. The elevator pitch is that they’re an amalgam of every great white funk band. A backhanded compliment? Not at all – imagine Happy Mondays’ baggy stomp, the avant bits of Talking Heads, Steely Dan’s studio perfectionism and the Bee Gees’ falsetto, and you’re very warm indeed.
What’s really intriguing about ‘Jungle’, though, is its darker side. There’s a tone of inner-city malaise, romantic ruin and psychedelic alienation to a raft of its tracks that speaks to those modern urbanites feeling screen-wiped and robbed of opportunities, busy earnin’ for nothing. It’s the sound of a 21st Century ‘What’s Going On’, a sister-piece to Bobby Womack’s Albarn-produced ‘The Bravest Man In The Universe’, and it’s encapsulated in the atmospheric interlude ‘Smoking Pixels’, a Morricone reboot resembling a electro-fried amalgam of The Beatles’ ‘Long, Long, Long’, Pink Floyd’s ‘Echoes’ and The Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’. But it also infects the lovelorn ‘Julia’ with a trip-hop undertone and ‘Accelerate’ with boudoir broodiness. It drips through the downbeat future jazz of ‘Drops’ and 110th Street shuffle ‘Son Of A Gun’ and throbs at the bruised heart of ‘Lucky I Got What I Want’. Indeed, from jubilant beginnings, ‘Jungle’ seems to follow the collapse of a relationship in its latter half and ends in heartbroken desolation, sat alone on the edge of ‘Lemonade Lake’ lamenting “every day and every night/’Cos I don’t know what went wrong/I miss you”. A rounded future pop record then; funky and reflective, ominous and ecstatic, as pouty as it is party. We’ll be rooting for them in the upcoming Mercury awards.
LONDON’S FIRST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY FESTIVAL – 25th – 28th SEPTEMBER 2014 (Hackney Picturehouse)
At the beginning of 2014, Doc‘n Roll was born out of the collective passions of its directors, for independent film and niche music genres. They identified a gap in the cultural arts market and a large community of like-minded individuals, whose interests were not being served. This drove them to combine their knowledge and strengths, launching the UK’s first Music Documentary Festival, as a DIY project, in the autumn of 2014.
They will create an immersive event for their audience, which extends beyond film screenings. The Festival Hub will expand the audience experience for socialising and enjoying great live music and DJs, themed with each day’s screenings. Through its festival and pop-up events, the company will discover, support, and exhibit compelling music stories and associated acts, across all genres, to London audiences.
It’s all about the celebration of music subcultures and providing a unique platform to support their cinematic expressions!
Yo Yo – Dissatisfied Sounders – welcome back to another iteration of our fave sounds of the week. Let’s jump right in…
BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE – SERVO
We’ve spoken about Dig! before – one of the best music docs out there and we really can’t stress enought the quality of the band the doc focusses part of its time on the BJM.
Anton Newcombe, the tortured genius of a frontman is wise in his choice of instrumentation and band members contributing in all the tracks. The mad genius he is, often plays all the instruments himself but in “Servo”, he and Matt Hollywood the usual bassist do everything, Matt playing the acoustic guitar and Anton playing the catchy riff tearing through the lonely synth opening the song.
A acid-rocky number this is definitely in our top five BJM tracks – and from the stellar Give it Back Album – you should definitely check it out.
Also check out Anton’s Youtube channel – he’s just as mental as ever….thankfully.
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CHRIS ISSAC – WICKED GAME (SOULCLAP REMIX)
Chris Issac’s Wicked Games is a phenomenal song – unfortunately is best remembered as the soundtrack to Ross & Rachel’s breakup (“We were on a break!). However Mr. Issac’s song is given a bit of a lift by the Soulclap guys. It’s always great when a remix gives you more of what you loved in the original – exactly what this tune does. He may be a massive Elvis look alike – but this remix is dripping with plently of 21st Century hooks and an echoey soundscape.
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DEVO – GUT FEELING (SLAP YOUR MAMMY)
Yep…..pretty weird
As always at Dissatisfied Sounds we like a good change of pace- so here we go with 80’s mentalists Devo. We’re big fans of Wes Anderson’s films and we were pleasantly suprised to realise that his long term score provider Mark Mothersbaugh is actually one of the two brothers in Devo. Hence this track cropping up on the seminal The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. A special band with weird hats and with a title that contains Slap Your Mammy – they’re hard to pin down – but never dull. Gut Feeling may be one of the bands more conservative efforts – it certainly is no bore and if you’ve ever seen The LIfe Aquatic you’ll know what we mean when we say this track conjures images of the open sea.
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BUGSY FT. SKITZ – BORN INNA SYSTEM
Well it wouldn’t be Dissatisfied Sounds with out a Hip Hop select….so here we go….
Buggsy, The fast spitting Rasta emcee from the district of St.pauls in Bristol, UK. Not shy of entertaining crowds down to his poetic also african drumming based background.
First came to the Airwaves in 2005, On Rodney P and Skitz’s 1Xtra show with a smashing track produced by drum and bass legend Dj Die, Followed up by another smasher ‘Nail Biters’ Produced by Dj First Aid. Both tracks displayed crazy flows with loads of clarity which caught many peoples ears and they wanted more.
Now he has made his First Official release named ‘The Great Escape’ Which is surley due to set standards in the UK also Display Buggsy’s true musical abilities. Featuring Tracks Like BORN INNA SYSTEM, PURE GAS AND CONNECT THE SPDIF FT. JEHST AND FARMA G.
from the burgeoning Birmingham indie scene – band Peace have divided critical opinion with their debut album. They are seen by some as British indie’s great hope. They made the BBC’s Sound of 2013 list and have been championed by NME, which described them as “important”, the music press’s highest accolade; others call them derivative, and make unflattering comparisons to early-90s post-baggy bands. Both camps have a point.
This new track isn’t exactly a change of tack – but is well produced and definitely worth a listen. The band are evidently aiming to conjure images of 21st century ennui – check out the reference to Bitcoins – and it certainly tickles us enough to recommend it. Check it out and let us know what you think.
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RICHIE SPICE – YOUTHS DEM COLD
“If Education is the key – then tell me why the Big Babylon make it so expensive for we?”
It’s lines like the above that separate Richie Spice from the rest of the neo-Reggae pack. Much like Hip-Hop plenty of artists in 21st Century Reggae fall on the wrong side of satisfaction and fail to capitalise on genuine talent – by relying on base subject matter and unoriginal source material. Richie Spice bucks this trend by painting pictures of what life is actually like for most Jamaicans – toasting over sun dripped dub beats.
This is one of our favourite tracks out of Jamaica in the last ten years and as such we suggest you definitely get acquainted by Mr Spice. With rising University fees – the question has never been more relevant – why do they make so expensive for we?
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THE BAND – THE NIGHT THEY DROVE OLD DIXIE DOWN
The Band garnered huge success, were Dylan’s go to band on tour gained little mainstream recognition in their own time – one of those exciting nomadic bands that only the 60’s and 70s seemed to produce. Rag Momma Rag may be the band’s most radio friendly tune – but its this that has lest the most lasting impression.
The Night they Drove Old DIxie Down was written by Robbie Robertson. The lyrics tell of the last days of the American Civil War and the suffering of white Southerners, as evidenced by the lyric “the winter of ’65”. Dixie is a nickname for the Southern Confederate states. Confederate soldier Virgil Caine “served on the Danville train”. Union cavalry regularly tore up Confederate rail lines to prevent the movement of men and material to the front where Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was besieged at the Siege of Petersburg. As part of the offensive campaign, Union Army General George Stoneman’s forces “tore up the track again”.
The song’s lyric refers to conditions in the Southern states in the winter of early 1865 (“We were hungry / Just barely alive”); the Confederate states are starving and defeated. Reference is made to the date May 10, 1865, by which time the Confederate capital of Richmond had long since fallen (in April); May 10 marked the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the definitive end of the Confederacy.
Robertson claimed that he had the music to the song in his head but had no idea what it was to be about: “At some point [the concept] blurted out to me. Then I went and I did some research and I wrote the lyrics to the song.”
Considering the band are from Canada and have little invested in the South – other than it being their adopted home later in life – it is the ability to paint a portrait of such an intense time – and portray the suffering of the pro-slavery South in the Civil War with such empathetic success smacks of Nirvana’s Polly and really stands as a testament to the power of music to tell a story.
We dare you to listen to the song and not feel a swell of compassion for those lives lost in a war that turned brother against brother – father against son. The live version we’ve embedded above is our favourite – as you can really hear they emotion in their voices – very satisfying we think…
Quite heavy? Well have a listen – have a cry and then move onto out next selection.
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DAS EFX – THEY WANT EFX
Well it wouldn’t be our satisfactory sounds of the week if we didn’t include some Hip Hop would it? This one’s no recent find but one we think has garnered enough main stream accolades that it should. When Jay-Z say he was most influenced by DAS EFX when coming up with his flow-style – you know these guys aren’t to be played with.
With one of the best rap samples of all time – using James Brown’s Blind Man Can See It – this song is a classic with an original flow that makes our Top 10 Hip Hop tunes of all time.
Our Satisfactory Sounds Selections of the Week (01/09/14)
Soooooo – September is here. Its gunna start getting cold soon – so we thought it best you get all cuddled up with a blanket – whack on the fire and warm yourself with this week’s satisfactory selects.
COLD WAR KIDS – ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS
Speaking of the cold – Industry veterans Cold War Kids have been around a while (10 years to be exact). We loved their first full offering Robbers and Cowards (check out that screechy guitar on We Used to Vacation) but they’ve been a bit quite of late . That is until their latest release All This Could Be Yours pricked our ears. Complete with jazzy piano and funky cymbal playing the band are known for, they have maintained the style that won them so many critics at SXSW where the band really broke globally. However when we first heard the poppy chorus we did worry that maybe the band had decided to hitch a ride on the mainstream; however the chorus is succeeded by some cracking screechy guitars and they bring it back and smash it out the park. A top tune for a top band – the forthcoming Hold My Home LP could take them into the stratosphere. To be released in October of this year – we suggest you check it out – this track certainly left us satisfied
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PRINCE FATTY – SHIMMY SHIMMY YA
We loved the original – RIP O.D.B! – but we have to say that Prince Fatty knows how to produce a respectful remix. Using the same hooks that made us fall in love with the cracked-out genius that was Ol’ Dirty Bastard – but with a really dense dub reggae beat and the spot on choice of Horseman to toast; this track reminds you of the original without ever feeling derivative.Not easy to do.
psssst! Prince Fatty’s the white one
There’s Not really much else to say about this one except that Prince Fatty is definitely worth seeing live and never stops touring. Also check out this other cover of Shimmy Shimmy Ya by the Wu-tang produced El Michels Affair – very satisfying hearing one of our best rap tunes sung by a school choir. O.D.B. Would be proud……we think.
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JUNGLE – THE HEAT
Jungle are a massive Dissatisfied Sounds favourite. We want to say that they’ll be massive but they’re most of the way there already. Album at the top of the iTunes chart? – check – Embarking on a big US tour? – check – Massive sets at Glastonbury and Coachella? – you get the jist…. Watch out for our forthcoming post on their eponymous first album – but as a little taster we wanted to satisfy you with TheHeat. Pick any of the tracks from their first LP and it is a scientific fact that you will be grooving at the LATEST by the 1:00 minute mark. Nothing exemplifies this better than the above video for The Heat. With a rainforest of sounds and beats -these guys are bringing the originality back to sampling – rejecting the common practice of recycling old successes in favour of creating their own unique soundscapes. Having watched them at Reading this year – we have never seen a crowd be converted to a band so quickly and so completely. The Satisfaction was palpable – as is ours…..
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NORMA FRASER – THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST
No for something a little more mellow. “The First Cut Is the Deepest” a 1967 track written by Cat Stevens, originally released by P. P. Arnold in the spring of 1967. Stevens’ own version originally appeared on his album New Masters in December 1967.
The song has covered by the whole world and their wife, most notably spawning hit singles for four different artists: P. P. Arnold (1967), Keith Hampshire (1973), Rod Stewart (1977) and Sheryl Crow (2003).
But its Norma Fraser’s version that we like the best. It’s somber but with enough humour to avoid sounding earnest. A big hit in Jamaica in the 1970’s – if you’ve ever felt some teenage heartbreak your young life. This song will resonate.
We loved it at the time (2008 if you didn’t know) and having heard this track trickle from the PA at a recent festival – we just had to remind you of it. More timeless than retro (thanks Dave Simpson) the Golden Silvers only ever had a keyboard, drums and bass – and this track proves it’s all they ever needed. The band went on to curate the Bronze club at the Macbeth in Shoreditch – which was so dangerously trendy – most of the regulars are probably dead.
It is a shame however that rarer than both Gold or Silver would bee seeing the band live again. There’s something to be said for letting your songwriting take the lead, and we could do with another group like this today. Maybe then we wouldn’t be so Dissatisfied!
Check out their album (also called True Romance); embrace a loved one and let the mellow vocals of Gwilym Gold convert you. Ahhhhh – oh so satisfying
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