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Summer days through the folkish haze vol.2

Posted on 07.01.09 by tim @ 5:14 pm

This has been a long time coming, but today I’ve got 2 CDs worth of amazing summer music. The first disc is more folk based in keeping with last summer’s mix, with the second less folky but just as perfect for the summer afternoons in the sunshine.

We have a few of the bands that were on the last mix popping up again, but most on here have not been featured on TBW before. As I’ve been out of the game for a while, some of these have been around for a few months, and then of course there are a couple of older tracks thrown in for good measure. Also, as some people haven’t noticed – you an download each mp3 individually by the right clicking and choosing “save target as”.

Summer days through the folkish haze vol.2

Coeur de Pirate starts off the mix with a blissful and beautifully simple summer piano based piece. The vocals in french create ideas of a simpler time of love and life in the rural countryside.

Gregory and the Hawk offer a great bit of acoustic summery pop. The vocals and very clean production may lend this to some soundtracks in the future, but don’t let that put you off. Easy and relaxed.

Tom Brosseau has crafted exactly what I love about folk music that evokes green summery bliss. It may just be Tom and his guitar and feels familiar, but it is summer folk perfection. Where’s that cider festival right now?

Run Toto Run are on here for a cover of Passion Pit’s debut single ‘Sleepyhead’, which was fantastic in its own right, but here they take out all the sweet electrics and replace them with what sounds like a fiddle and yet somehow avoids sounding too sickly sweet. Once the chorus breaks in, the sun should break through the clouds.

Marina & The Diamonds have been making a name for themselves over the last twelve months, with neon Gold putting out a few records. Here they offer some perfectly formed harmonious pop with a beat that you can’t help tapping your foot to.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone have the rough production sound that gives their music a certain innocence, and ending this track with an organ line from when the saints go marching just adds to that view.

Jeffrey Lewis is one of those artists that has been established for a while but as I don’t have a history of folk was only recently introduced to him from a Song by Toad podcast. This is cute, funny and reflective, and a track I can’t get out of, even if it is a good few years old.

Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground are on here again with another pop song that sounds like it could have been produced by the Beatles back in the days of Revolver. I may be a Stones man, but pop and folk music came together in the 60s and this owes a lot to that time. Who can’t resist playing a little Beatles at a BBQ?

Drew Helsinki (McConnell) is another from the last mix. Compared to the last one we featured this track is less haphazard, but again shows off his skills for producing simple pop songs that fit on any playlist.

Laura Barrett is on here for a cover of a Harry Nilsson track which brings a xylophone, violins and whistling into the mix, how could I resist such American folk perfection? It demonstrates how we have always looked back to simpler times with rose tinted spectacles even since the industrial revolution.

Small Crew have written a effortless pop song of hope and chasing dreams. Something that is part of that gentle summer emotional reflection that forms plenty of my summer days.

Jay Jay Pistolet are another cropping up from last year and again have produced some folk mastery with Oh Caroline. A just wondrous guitar based folk love song with harmonies and an harmonica that demonstrates why folk music is summer music.

Mumford & Sons have been making a name for themselves over the past 6 months or so with their 3 EPs, following in the footsteps of Noah and the Whale and Johnny Flynn. More great new English folk.

Aidan Moffat & The Best Ofs may be one of the best band names I’ve heard in a while and here give us some more folky summery perfection, with some simple brush drumming and harmonicas tripping us through Aiden’s wonderful deep vocal drawl that almosts makes me think of a happy folk version of Johnny Cash.

The Crookes finish off the first disc pop folk track of stories of youthful and blissful love. Simple structure and catchy rhythms and a few hand claps makes this a fitting end for the first section of the mix.

You can also download all 15 tracks as a zip file:
Summer Days through the Folkish Haze Vol.2 CD1

Ex Lovers starts of the second disc with an easy and almost tweepop track that reminds me of the good parts of Voxtrot from a few years ago. Now seems to be the perfect time for listening to such tracks if ever there was a time.

Heartless Bastards offer an effortless and timeless garage rock ballad with singer Erika Wennerstrom’s voice easily falling between that rock growl and pop harmony. Wonderful.

The Paper Cranes demonstrate their talents for crafting great pop songs here. They fold a number of clever riffs into one song that should sound over complicated, but somehow finds its way it being simple, cheery pop pop pop as they say on their MySpace

Doctors & Dealers are another to be able to make a very simple and familiar song feel somehow new and interesting with a few well placed harmonies and a foot-tapping beat throughout.

Elizabeth & The Catapult’s Taller Children begins with just the vocals and drums making an easy pop song, before the rest of the band jumping in and making the whole thing a lot more interesting and showing off their rock and roll side which is always going to go down well with me.

Buke and Gass start off with a couple of pretty angular and disjointed riffs which slowly fall into place with the vocals. They are like a more pop YYYs, but with songs that blow the YYYs last album out the water.

Leopold And His Fiction have a track that reminds me of the Datsuns debut a good few years ago now. They might not have that bass driven growl, but write better 70s themed rock/pop than most actually did back in the decade.

The Fine Arts Showcase have written in ‘London, My Town’ one of my favourite tracks of the last six months. It is a wonderous rock/pop that sound familiar but new, rough round the edges and yet clean. I don’t how to pigeon-hole it right now and I don’t really want to, but you just need to listen.

Magic Wands are one of my bands to watch of the moment as they are regularly putting out catchy, danceable pop/rock and Black Magic shows off those quite impressive skills pretty well.

Goldhawks‘ ‘Where in the world’ may have been posted about within the last couple of months, but it is such an expansive and engrossing song that it fitted so well into this mix that I couldn’t leave it out.

Wolf Gang has a single out on the constantly amazing Neon Gold and have been on my radar for a little while now (thanks Angus). I have just been waiting for the mp3 and a good reason to share it. That is now, and here is a beautifully layered piece of unrepressed pop that should be on everyone’s summer soundtrack no-matter what genres you’re into.

You can also download all 11 tracks as a zip file:
Summer Days through the Folkish Haze Vol.2 CD2

Or download both CDs (26 tracks) as a single zip file:
Summer Days through the Folkish Haze Vol.2

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Latitude Warm-Up Interviews 3

Posted on 06.24.09 by lauren @ 10:56 pm

mew

Mew – Jonas Bjerre (singer) – Obelisk Arena – Demark

1. Who are you most looking forward to seeing at this year’s Latitude festival across the Arenas (Obelisk, Uncut, Comedy, Theatre, Literary and Poetry, Film & Music) and why?
I hope to get to see Bat For Lashes among others. There’s a bunch of bands playing that I am not familiar with, so I hope there’s time to walk around and take the music in.

2. What aspect of Latitude Festival interests you the most and why?
I like the fact that it offers more than music, I have been to festivals that have other things on their bills, like art, spoken word, etc. but never to this extent. I’m looking forward to taking it all in!

3. What can people expect you to bring to the festival and do you have anything special planned?
We’re a quite visually oriented band, in the past we’ve brought animations for projections and things of that nature. This time will be even more elaborate as we’re working with some really skilful directors like Martin DeThurah, designers and artists, some friends of ours that are helping us take our show further than before. However, it all depends on logistics, and on what time of day we are playing (of which I am not certain) as projections become irrelevant when daylight is on. But in any case it’s going to be a hell of a show!

4. If you weren’t doing this what would you be doing?
I would probably have gone back to Copenhagen to pack some clean clothes before we leave for the states the day after!

5. What do you always bring to a festival?
Clean clothes. I don’t bring mosquito-repellent because scratching the bites brings such pleasure!

6. Have you been to Latitude before, and if so, what has your favourite performance been?
I have not, I am looking forward to my first time.

7. Do you have any festival tips for those in attendance at Latitude?
Bring mosquito-repellant. Because after a while the scratching gets kinda old.

8. What is your favourite colour Sheep?
I don’t know, but I don’t like those goats that have wavy lines for pupils in their eyes… scary stuff!

Robin Ince – Literary Arena – London

1. Who are you most looking forward to seeing at this year’s Latitude festival across the Arenas (Obelisk, Uncut, Comedy, Theatre, Literary and Poetry, Film & Music) and why?
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, you know why. Also, it seems so wrong to see Magazine in the open air, especially if it’s sunny, so I am looking forward to that.

2. What aspect of Latitude Festival interests you the most and why?
The chance to come up with an idea behind a tent and then make it happen ten minutes later. I am very much looking forward to attempting to write a musical about giant killer crabs on stage with Robyn Hitchcock.

3. What can people expect you to bring to the festival and do you have anything special planned?
Maggot choirs, giant crab musicals, diet books called What Would Jesus Eat? The usual really.

4. If you weren’t doing this what would you be doing?
Imagining choirs of maggots at home in my head.

5. What do you always bring to a festival?
A wide selection of frilly shirts that are drip dry.

6. Have you been to Latitude before, and if so, what has your favourite performance been?
Seeing Nicholas Parson’s coming out of a chemical toilet is high up there!

7. Do you have any festival tips for those in attendance at Latitude?
Don’t just watch your favourite bands, there are so many things theatrical and beyond that you would see at no other festival.

8. What is your favourite colour Sheep?
Blue.
skintanddemoralised Skint & Demoralised, Matt – Sunrise Arena – Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Who are you most looking forward to seeing at this year’s Latitude festival across the Arenas (Obelisk, Uncut, Comedy, Theatre, Literary and Poetry, Film & Music) and why?
In the Obelisk I’d say Amazing Baby, definitely. This time last year we flew to New York to start recording our debut album and I met the singer so I decided to check them out when I arrived home and I instantly fell in love. In the Uncut I’d have to say Squeeze, who are one of my main influences. I used ‘Cool For Cats’ as the walk-on song for our first tour…they’re painfully underrated! Legends. My favourite comedians at the festival would have to be Ed Byrne and Russell Kane because Ed cracks me up every time and Russell has loads of potential. In the Theatre it’d be amazing to see any of Oscar Wilde’s work performed because I adore the man. In the Literary I’d be quite interested to see what Keith Allen has to say, and the poet would be Simon Armitage because we’re from the same neck of the woods. Finally, in the Film & Music it’d have to be Mark Lamarr presents God’s Jukebox! What a guy!

2. What aspect of Latitude Festival interests you the most and why?
The sheer range of mediums really intrigues and fascinates me. Having such a plethora of performance in one weekend means that you’ll never be bored. I’m bound to stumble upon something amazing that I never would have previously checked-out. Also, I’ve heard about this Pimm’s Island…

3. What can people expect you to bring to the festival and do you have anything special planned?
As well as the live set with the band I definitely want to wangle my way into the Poetry Area. Performance poetry is a huge aspect of Skint & Demoralised and there will definitely be some during the band’s set anyway. I have a few things up my sleeve but I’m keeping them quiet for now.

4. If you weren’t doing this what would you be doing?
I’d be at Benicassim Festival in Spain. Three years in a row may have spoiled it, though, and I’ve always wanted to go to Latitude so it’s worked-out perfectly. I love things to have a twist.

5. What do you always bring to a festival?
Last year I arrived at Reading Festival on Friday morning expecting to be there for a day, and I was still drinking at Leeds Festival on the Monday morning. How that happened I’m not quite sure, but this year a few changes of clothes and baby wipes will be in attendance for definite.

6. Have you been to Latitude before, and if so, what has your favourite performance been?
I’m afraid not. I’m quite inexperienced when it comes to music festivals because I was always a football freak in my teenage years so my financial priorities would lie elsewhere, which makes this all the more exciting for me!

7. Do you have any festival tips for those in attendance at Latitude?
Keep an open mind throughout the whole event. Obviously there will be acts that you specifically want to see but if you’re killing time between plans then wonder into the different areas because you never know what you might find. Everyone is obviously talented otherwise they wouldn’t be performing in the first place, so it’s always worth a shot!

8. What is your favourite colour Sheep?
I’d have to say pink so that an unsuspecting stoner confused it for candy floss. Not that I’d want them to eat the sheep, of course. It’d be funny at first, though.

The Dialogue Project – Outdoor Theatre – London

1. Who are you most looking forward to seeing at this year’s Latitude?
Literary Arena – The School of Life – they’re doing something really interesting.
Poetry – Roger Lloyd Pack, because he’s just a lovely man and he has a tender, gentle voice. (He appeared in An Oak Tree, a show I directed, for one night and was just exquisite.)
Music – Pretenders and Newton Faulkner – the old and the new. And Mark Lamarr’s night – the best source of great music in England.

2. What aspect of Latitude Festival interests you the most and why?
The mix of arts and artists. The small scale. The geography. And every year so far they’ve been a beautiful audience for our work.

3. What can people expect you to bring to the festival and do you have anything special planned?
This year’s conversations on Friendship are fascinating. We’ve recorded some already and as a theme it’s so rich. It’s something we take for granted (friendship) and yet so many people we’re spoken to about it have said that they’ve revealed new things to themselves and each other only because we’ve asked them to talk about it on tape. Soon we’ll find a way of asking Latitude festival goers to record conversations about their friendships. Maybe a friendship that came about as a result of the festival! (I also have a new conversation with an astronaut that I might let a few select people listen to….)

4. If you weren’t doing this what would you be doing?
Wishing I was there. My work was there in 2008 even though I couldn’t be. And I have never wanted to be somewhere so much.

5. What do you always bring to a festival?
Hope. Love. Water. And new conversations.

6. Have you been to Latitude before, and if so, what has your favourite performance been?
I’ve been at each festival (see above) but Anthony and the Johnsons in the first year was just magical.

7. Do you have any festival tips for those in attendance at Latitude?
Get there early. Wake up early (to come and listen to The Dialogue Project’s work obviously!) And next year, book early!

8. What is your favourite colour Sheep?
White – please leave some unpainted this year. I like my nature natural.

jessdelfino
Jessica Delfino – Comedy Arena – New York

1. Who are you most looking forward to seeing at this year’s Latitude festival across the Arenas (Obelisk, Uncut, Comedy, Theatre, Literary and Poetry, Film & Music) and why?
I’m really looking forward to seeing many of the comedy and cabaret acts because I enjoy a good laugh while something else is also going on. I am also excited to see the Pet Shop Boys, Regina Spektor and Pretenders because it’s the right time in my life, and my friends Jeffrey Lewis and Stuckey & Murray because I can say “Those people up there kicking ass right now are my friends.”

2. What aspect of Latitude Festival interests you the most and why?
I am eager to have mud fights with strangers while also being surrounded 360 degrees by art, music, fun and mayhem.

3. What can people expect you to bring to the festival and do you have anything special planned?
This will be my first time at Latitude and so I may be new to much of the audience. Therefore, I’m planning to hit them with my classic, quintessential hits, such as songs on my flying V ukulele and my rape whistle (rape whistles aren’t so popular in the UK, but in the US we use them to ward off rapists.) I may also bring my Q chord which is the most amazing instrument known to mankind.

4. If you weren’t doing this what would you be doing?
I’d be rocking some other muddy field, or maybe jamming at Stonehenge.

5. What do you always bring to a festival?
A poncho, snacks, pot brownies, instruments, a notebook and pens, my own fun.

6. Do you have any festival tips for those in attendance at Latitude?
I suggest you bring a friend and both of you come and see my act.

7. What is your favourite colour Sheep?
I like the plaid kind that they use to make those warm sweaters and kilts I see all the Scots wearing.

-Lauren Razavi

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Gold Teeth, Tigers That Talked & FranKo

Posted on 06.22.09 by lauren @ 5:17 pm

June has proven to be an extremely fruitful month for finding new artists here at The Blue Walrus. Among the many demos that have landed on my desk, a few have stood out as pioneers of the music of our 2009 British summertime. Here’s a quick introduction to my three favourites…

goldteethpic

Gold Teeth can only be described as naughty-good fun. I first saw them supporting Athlete at the Norwich Waterfront a couple of weeks ago, and was thoroughly impressed by their down-to-earth and audience-involving antics. The music is energetic pop rock with some serious personality behind it. Their current single ‘Tasty’ is out now and can be heard below.

Gold Teeth – Tasty

tigersthattalkedpic

Tigers That Talked weave beautifully crafted indie folk tunes, and would suite fans of Laura Marling and Mumford & Sons. Though comparisons tend to be made between all of the artists in these genres, there’s something very distinctive and naturally appealing about the experience of Tigers That Talked. The title track from their latest EP ‘Black Heart, Blue Eyes’ can be heard below.

Black Heart, Blue Eyes – Tigers That Talked

frankopic

And last but by no means least, FranKo are impressive alternative rockers with edge and talent in huge abundance. They’re well-established on the London live scene and are hitting New York for gigs and promo in a few weeks. Their debut album is expected early 2010, but to keep you going their song ‘The Secret’ can be heard below and downloaded for free from their MySpace page.

The Secret – FranKo

Enjoy!

-Lauren Razavi

Filed under: Blog Feature and Music

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Noah and the Whale – First Days of Spring

Posted on 06.22.09 by tim @ 2:39 pm

Noah and the Whale - First Days of Spring One of the leaders in the resurgence of folk that has occured over the past 18 months or so are Noah and the Whale, and I was delighted to find this title track off their new album entitled “entitled The First Days of Spring” pop up in my inbox this morning.

This new track seems to mark a bit of a change in direction for the band, moving a little away from their happy clappy folk roots of their debut, to a more reflective and grand sound which reminds me in parts of Mercury Rev and Sigur Ros.

The same slow pace and hopeful lyrics remain, but this time the claps and strummed guitar are subtly moved aside by beautiful and emotive string movements creating a more atmospheric and fully developed sound. Noah and the Whale have grown up and if this title track is anything to go by, they will have again demonstrated what sets them apart from the recent crop of imitators.

Noah and the Whale – The Fist days of Spring
[Homepage] [MySpace] [Last.fm] [Buy (soon)]

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Mumford & Sons Tour Announcement

Posted on 06.15.09 by lauren @ 2:19 pm

Photo by Lauren Razavi

The Blue Walrus favourites Mumford & Sons have just announced a nationwide tour this autumn, in addition to their numerous festival appearances this summer. The dates of the autumn tour are as follows:

12th September @ Glasgow, King Tuts
13th September @ Nottingham, Bodega
14th September @ Manchester, Ruby Lounge
15th September @ Bristol, Thekla
16th September @ London, Scala
18th September @ Aberdeen, Café Drummonds
19th September @ Inverness, Loopalu
21st September @ Newcastle, The Clunt
22nd September @ Hull, Adelphi
23rd September @ Leeds, Cockpit
24th September @ Sheffield, The Plug
29th September @ Birmingham, Glee Club
30th September @ Oxford, Bullingdon
2nd October @ Norwich, Arts Centre
3rd October @ Tunbridge Wells, Forum
4th October @ Cambridge, Junction 2
6th October @ Brighton, Komedia
7th October @ Bath, Moles
8th October @ Southampton, Talking heads
11th October @ Northampton, Roadmender

More info can be found by visiting their MySpace page here: www.myspace.com/mumfordandsons.

See you there!

-Lauren Razavi

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Athlete :: Norwich Waterfront :: 08.06.2009

Posted on 06.10.09 by lauren @ 9:50 am

More photos from the night can be viewed here.

The evening began with two incredible but very different support acts – a solo singer-songwriter affair with an electro-acoustic guitar and an unwashed look about him, and an astounding and electrifying indie-rock band called Gold Teeth that fall somewhere between Hard-Fi and The Maccabees. The latter band were charismatic and friendly, and made the time to talk to fans, sign CDs and generally make a nuisance of themselves (in a good way) after their set; watch this space to find out more about them soon.

After a wait of slightly too long, Athlete took to the stage and began an utterly breathtaking set. The alternative rock ballads that have so defined Athlete as a band are a picture of brilliance live – ‘Tourist’, ‘Twenty Four Hours’ and ‘Half Light’ were serious crowd pleasers, and there was a real new dimension to the songs being performed that isn’t there on the recorded versions. They chose just the right mix of old and new songs, showing their eloquent performance style, effortless musical extravagance, and their natural ability to connect completely with a sold-out audience on the very first night of their tour. The band are totally comfortable on stage, and are a joy to watch. Athlete really are what seeing a band live is all about.

The selection of new songs played were in the same vein as Athlete’s most popular songs from the ‘Tourist’ album, but certainly showed a degree of development and new creativity beyond anything they’ve done before. Frontman Joel Pott successfully managed to forget his lyrics on more than one occasion, but Athlete are one of few acts who can fuck up a song entirely and still retain composure, charisma and grace. If anything, the audience at Waterfront loved him more for the slip-ups; contrary to popular belief, it seems rock stars are only human underneath their beauty and lifestyle.

If you haven’t seen Athlete live yet, they come highly recommended from The Blue Walrus. If they’re not playing near you, make absolutely sure you pick up a copy of the new album (due out in August) – the new material is well worth a listen.

-Lauren Razavi

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