Sock Free Hideaway

BEATS OF LOVE 

103. Moloko Island LP by Mike Salta & Mortale

FROM 1964 until 2006, there was a consensus as to what constituted the charts. Linked to its flagship Thursday night show TOTP, it was every British pop star's dream to get into the BBC top 40 to stand a chance of appearing in it. For that reason, the Sunday evening countdown was exciting. 

That the show fizzled out after a decade long decline since moving to Friday's in 1996, the chart itself became meaningless. Pop stars are now ubiquitous and can express themselves on social media all year round. Amassing likes for posting pictures of their dinner loses a lot of the mystique that made them so fascinating in the past. 

That said, it liberates the fan from caring about such superfluous detail and invites a deeper listening experience. TOTP could make or break folk. I was quite taken with Babylon Zoo until I saw a po-faced TOTP performance then distanced myself from it completely. You could banter about it whilst being conscious of the indie charts because it was an axis point. Like talking about the footy scores. Now I am resigned to blogging coz nobody in my real world actually cares about the things that fascinate me. Like reading Sonic Life by Thurston Moore.

Or deciding that this LP is a masterpiece. The tracks have been teased out individually but make much more sense together. The cover is super too and complements the music brilliantly. I can't differentiate between stand-out tracks coz the quality is so high. It plays coherently and really suppresses its disco, funk, and Tropicália influence to infuse something calmer and more soothing. Whilst maintaining those highly distinct flavours. No mean feat.  

All you need to know in this world of insignificant charts is this whole LP is this week's number one. And next weeks. 

https://musicfordreams-mikesalta.bandcamp.com/album/moloko-island