The Blue Walrus - indie & electro music for the masses

Alex Sheppard, Adelaide’s Cape & Bonnie Dune

Posted on 04.13.08 by lauren @ 9:36 am

My name is Lauren and I’m the newest walrae to haunt these parts. I’m based in Norfolk, England and my city of Norwich produces some pretty great music. I’m privileged enough to be located near some fantastic venues, such as Norwich Arts Centre, Wensum Lodge Music House, and the Queen Charlotte pub. We get some great underground folk and indie, and so much of this unsigned talent goes unnoticed by the rest of the world. Thus, my hope here is to show you some of that fantastic talent!

I approached The Blue Walrus to start writing because Tim had noticed Alex Sheppard, who is an indie gem from Norwich, whose career I’ve been following for quite some time. Alex is an amazing musician and a particularly good lyricist and she’s gaining increasing recognition now that she’s relocated to London. Now at uni in London, she’s hanging out with Carl Barat and Zane Lowe, which has made me feel quite privileged to have been the first person to ever review her! You can listen to some of Alex’s music on her myspace page (see below) and her first album ‘Fairy Lights & Lairy Nights’ can be bought at any of her gigs, or you can email her directly to get your hands on a copy. It’s one of the best albums I’ve ever bought.

Another fantastic little band from Norwich is Adelaide’s Cape. They mesh folk and indie sounds together, and strangely enough, it really works. Adelaide’s Cape is the sort of band that imprint themselves on your brain; from just one listen, you’ll be humming their ditties for days. They play gigs around Norwich, and are currently recording some new tracks. You can visit their myspace page here to have a listen. They currently have no material for sale, but an EP release has been announced for this summer.

One band that I have to mention, though not local to me, is Bonnie Dune. This Los Angeles-based band is currently unsigned, but they ooze talent and potential. Frontman Justin Wilczynski has recently been on MTV’s TV show ‘Kaya’, which is how I discovered Bonnie Dune. They’re really worth a listen; think an American version of The Kooks, but with smoother edges.

That’s all for now folks. Happy listening :).

-Lauren x

Links:

Alex Sheppard: www.myspace.com/alexsheppard

Adelaide’s Cape: www.myspace.com/adelaidescape

Bonnie Dune: www.myspace.com/bonniedune

Filed under: Music

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New discoveries…

Posted on 04.05.08 by rhino @ 5:19 pm

The Internet is a wonderful thing, particularly it seems, for finding new classical music. Until recently I hadn’t realised how much contemporary composers had embraced t’interweb, assuming unfairly that their chosen musical discipline indicated a lack of technological aptitude… How wrong I was! Myspace is veritably alive with classical music, a great many young composers posting interesting, unusual and often compelling examples of their work. One such is Caleb Burhans. Have a listen to ‘the things left unsaid’, an extremely rousing piece for several cellos, and then click on his friends’ pages and you’re off.

http://www.myspace.com/cburhans

A favourite of mine among this new (to me at least) breed of composers is Nico Muhly. He is quite a prominent figure, having contributed arrangements to the work of Bjork and more recently Sam Amidon, on the excellent album All Is Well.

The music he composes under his own name is really worth investigating. In 2007 he released Speaks Volumes, an album of chamber music (as you’ve never heard it before) - written and recorded in collaboration with Valgeir Sigurðsson of The Bedroom Community label - that consciously incorporates electronic sounds. Indicative of the composer’s all-embracing attitude and openness is the appearance of Antony Hegarty (of Antony and the Johnsons and Hercules and Love affair fame). His vocal blips are sampled and woven into the stirring melancholy of final track ‘Keep in Touch’. Many of his pieces – I particularly recommend ‘Seeing is Believing’ , the first performance of which I recently attended - can be listened to in the projects section of his website, which is itself regularly and often amusingly updated. A new album, Mothertongue, is slated for release in May.

http://www.myspace.com/muhly

Supporting many of these new musicians, especially those working in New York, is New Amsterdam Records. The label describes its genesis thusly: ‘New Amsterdam Records was formed as a haven for the young New York composers and performers whose music slips through the cracks between genres’. Their website has a extensive library of mp3s which are available to stream.

As well as all this classical music I have been listening to a folky musician called Lucie Wren, and a punky band who call themselves Past Lives.

Lucie Wren is from London (and some other places that sound like they must be in Wales). She has a beautiful voice that brings to mind What would the community think? - era Cat Power, and is not afraid to use the recorder - staple of primary school music lessons - to surprisingly good effect on woozily warm ‘patience’. Listen to this song and others here: www.myspace.com/luciewren.

Past Lives are a new band from Seattle. So new in fact that they don’t have any songs on their myspace, only live videos. The singer, Jordan Blilie, once of the now defunct Blood Brothers, presides over a band with bite and a fondness for distortion, but also an appetite for experimentation. The song ‘Beyond Gone’ exemplifies this, with its sampled xylophone pattern and occasionally dissonant guitar lines. Watch/listen here: www.myspace.com/pastlivesmusic.

Over and out.

Filed under: Music

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Clap to the Electricity Vol.8

Posted on 04.03.08 by tim @ 10:56 pm

So it has been a big last couple of weeks here at The Blue Walrus. I have officially written my last essay for university - just exams to go - which makes that an end of an era - and also means that I have revision leave which means I can spend more time updating you lot on the best music around. Secondly, we have a new author on board - Lauren - which is awesome and will mean (hopefully) more regular updates. Look forward to her first post in the coming few days and let us know what you think. Thirdly, a couple of friends and I have launched a free bi-monthly magazine for the Edinburgh area called The Supplement - which is basically a little bit like The Week, but more irreverent along with some arts reviews and a music section by yours truly.

Onto the electro…

As usual we have some awesomeness from a variety of places with some bands/artists you should have heard of and others you may not. I have to say a special thank you to Electrorash for a few of these gems who have been getting it right all the time for a while now. (edit 05/04/2008 - oops posted the wrong Cajuan track at first so please re-download it if you want the one I originally meant to post)

We’ve got The Shoes making Primary 1 sound even better, Rogerseventytwo adding his special touch to Yelle creating a French disco track that I think betters almost anything I’ve heard this year. Boys Noize are keeping their level of filthy hard electro where it should be, with Fantasadon going even heavier which I wasn’t sure was possible without becoming just straight growling distortion. Toxic Avenger finishes the mix with a Lies In Disguise remix creating some beautiful beeping climaxes that has defined their sound for a while.

If you are struggling to download any of the individual tracks from my file server you can also get them at:
Drio.io/electricity8

You can also download the whole mix as a zip file:
Clap your Hands to the Electricity Vol.8

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Review: Portishead - Third

Posted on 03.27.08 by tim @ 11:50 am

Now this has been a damn long time coming. Portishead [MySpace] were one of my favourite bands when I was at school, and those trip-hop grooves still sound as good now as they ever did. But finally, after a ten year hiatus we are getting something new. Rumours have been circulating about this album, title ‘Third’ for about the past three or four years but only now has it come to fruition. I wish I could post a couple of tracks from it, but none have yet been OK’d for promotional purposes (not that that has stopped some other people…). When they do they will be here.

Portishead-Third

The album is slated for release on April 28th, and yo can already pre-order a box set. However, like pretty much every other much anticipated album has already leaked and I can assure you has been worth the wait. This is not quite more of the same from Portishead as the scene they, along with Massive Attack, were famed for creating has moved on a little bit. The new album lacks the laid back jazz-styled groove within which they created their mastery - and they have replaced it with sounds a lot more sinister and haunting.

Silence sounds like it could be the soundtrack to the climax of a thriller/horror film, which is a theme that could apply to various parts of this album. It is just slightly aggressive, subversive but most notably different to what I at least was expecting. The whole album is a mesh of numerous influences that were less apparent on their previous work, the aggression on tracks such as Machine Gun reminds me of some later Prodigy, whilst others like Deep Water would not have sounded out of place in the bluesy american folk of the 1930s. Yet somehow this album works as a whole.

The Rip reminds me more of some of Beth Gibbonns’ solo effort such the minimalist Show she created with Rustin’ Man. It is a masterpiece that I hope gets a single release, as it evolves around her slow paced haunting vocals with a subtle synth line and simple drums that shows off Portishead’s expertise.

One things that has annoyed some other reviewers has been the aggressive and repetitive drums that are central to a number of the later tracks on the album, including Machine Gun in the video below, but rhythm has always been central to the Portishead sound. They have just transformed this on a few tracks into taking their sound away from the background as the drums drive the song forward. We Carry On an example of how well all this works.

You need this album.

Filed under: Album Review and Leaks and Music

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Snazzy Vol.10 with Noah and the Whale, Broken Records, FrYers, Teenagers and more

Posted on 03.03.08 by tim @ 2:19 pm

The Snazzy compilations have been left a little unattended since October (that is 3 quick months), but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been collecting great tunes to put on this latest update. Here we’ve got some of the sweetest songs you can imagine from Noah and the Whale and Lykke Li, along with the best band to come out of Edinburgh for a long long time, namely Broken Records, and some more crackers that have been sitting in my ‘To Post’ pile for far too long. My dissertation is now over, all finished with a night with no other than Erol Alkan (MySpace) which was just fucking awesome - but more on that in the next Electricity post.

Snazzy10-front

Lykke Li has created a cute, minimal track with just piano chords and percussion and such a fantastic childlike voice.

Noah and the Whale have been featured on TBW before, and for good reason - they are one of the most interesting bands currently coming out of the UK. The slow, sad ballad of the first half of the song breaks into an up-beat catchy delight that defines my views on the band.

Broken Records come out of my home town, Edinburgh, and finally give me a local band worth promoting. The piano, and distorted emotive singing style and what sound like orchestral chords add depth to a simple yet beautiful song.

Death to Anders have an album that flits between genres, but here is where I think they find their sound - reminding me of early Shins records that will get your foot tapping.

The Paper Cranes have and album out in a week and although it may be a little difficult to get hold of - it will be worth it - just listen to the piano and guitar driven melody on this from their first EP to understand what I mean.

The Dodos are a band that I humm’d and harr’d with at first, as they just sounded a little too chaotic. The drums don’t, on first listen, sound in time, and the whole thing sounds a quite a lot like a band jamming session. However, it really really grows on you and the chaos of the track just adds to its character with the band sounding like making the track was a lot of fun.

FrYers have been in my to post pile for far too long, as this track is catchy as hell. It is a great pop record that puls away form the crowd with the stroytelling and electronic bleeps.

Holy Hail have written a driving rock/pop tune that makes you wantt o move. It’s understated and simple but perfect.

The Teenagers have been getting a lot of press over the last 12 months and for good reason. Here is another of their pop/indie tunes that have created the deserved reputation of one of the most exciting acts to come out of 2007.

Look See Proof brings the pace of the mix up a little bit with a track that reminds me of early Bloc Party with doubletime drumming and sticcato guitars that did and does work very well.

The Fashion offer up a sound that makes me think of Kasabian but improving on their now slightly too mainstream formula.

You can also download the whole mix as a zip file:
Snazzy Vol.10

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Clap To The Electricity Vol.7

Posted on 02.11.08 by tim @ 3:47 am

So yeah I was lying about how I was going to have some best of lists up. I wanted to and I did have a selection, but life is too hectic to post too often shamefully. We have had some awesome nights out here in Edinburgh recently, with a climax being Vicarious Bliss from the Ed Banger team, who I’ve previously featured here, and they put every other DJ in The Caves to shame (all credit to the RIP boys who put the night together).

So posting wasn’t my top priority, but work has kicked back in and instead of doing that here is the latest instalment of the Clap To The Electricity series of compilations, and as usual there are some absolute stompers, some you may have heard on the dancefloor and some you will really wish you did. I have to say that the In Digital Time remix of TV On The Radio and Knightlife remix of the Bag Raiders are two of my favourite tracks I have posted on here. The TV On The Radio track feels like a party tune as opposed to its previous state as a come down chiller, and the Bag raiders just makes me want to hit the dancefloor. That’s not to say the other aren’t superb though. The Annie remix is one of MSTRKRFT’s finest, making that song sound as it always should have done, Spitzer cranked out another fine Kylie remix and We Are Terrorists and T.E.D.D have created some of their own brand of electro awesomeness. Ending with Soulwax remix always makes for a good mix