HOTTER THAN JULY
SPRING 2015 was the season and year Ned came to town. The atmosphere was incredible and the solo show was anecdotally crowd pleasing, even electric at times. But the venue stank like an open air toilet. Be With have fired out a timely Prone re-issue and conjured up a Letta, and, with more big-hitters in the pipeline (kindly forgiving the R & B), they deserve special praise indeed. Aficionado has entered the world of tens and as that means committing Menage a' Trois's Conditional Love to vinyl and an Eleventeen Eston track. It is a great idea. With Leo and the mighty Tommy Awards in the pipeline, this label is hotter than ever. Speaking of Tommy Awards, their blissful track Skogen Bortom off the limited comp Woodsmen & Lady Log is a fucking masterpiece. Just long enough to induce a trance-like state.
Cassette action has been thinner on the ground, but, am expecting a Len Leise soon. His Stars for Jorge edits twelve nearly caused me a hernia as my computer crashed mid-purchase. Needless to say, it would've been worth it. Les Halle's Invisible Cities has been the cream of the crop. Edits seem to be back on form. Basso has sold me some exceptional ones, and his own on Edits Des Amateurs, Bussi Bar has been the most played to date. Those boogie vibes everyone's complaining about but done properly. I was also ve
ry fortunate Piccadilly were taking pre-orders of Dubbla Budskap'a Lonely Behavior twelve too. Another great journey of a record and sleeve for people who like art and dancing.
The world domination that is Horsebeach has only supplied me with a b-side this year to date. A bloody good b-side called Let you Down, which is a guaranteed head-nodder. Aloah Got Soul has been teasing us with a couple of Mike Lundy promo sevens with the pick Tropical Lightning doing strange things to my senses. Highly recommended. As is Tired Tape Machine's Not Here LP whose string laden songs have a proper haunting quality. Although technically 2014, it's made this year very special at times. All Similarities and Technical Difficulties End Here, the debut proper of The Sly and Unseen doesn't disappoint either. Woozy, organic, and shimmering in ambient majesty, there is something heart-warming about this music. Live they were mesmerizing, taking very simple elements but making magical sounds. Pure alchemy.
On a heavier sound tip, Father and Son Record and Tapes is a label worth listening as well. 2 really strong twelves and counting. Plus, Robbie Williams rewired for some serious piano cabin fever. Another grower I was fortunate to purchase was Toulouse Low Trax's Kadiz on another buy on sight label Kunstkopf. It accompanies wrong dancing on the Persian rug superbly. Check the Juno chart for my other Turkish sauna, shufflers and the like. As DJH bows out leaving us more confused than ever about the politics of dancing, the bloody festival season is upon us, and I must confess to hating camping or staying in a good mood for more than 3 hours a week, so, I'll hopefully be concluding 3 years study instead. Needless to say, 'party hard.'
