What are you listening to now? : Non-metal Edition

One of the maybe dozen live albums I bother with these days. A decidedly more funky and steady Hendrix backing band really allows him to get out there. Buddy Miles is solid on the drums, and his vocal interactions are definitely a love it or hate it proposition, but you do wonder what Mitch Mitchell would have dished out (I suppose you don't have to wonder as some of this material would appear live following the Experience's kinda reunion in 1970). It's always great hearing Hendrix 100% unrestrained.

The Knife - "Silent Shout" (2006)

The fourth album from this Swedish electropop duo. I don't mind it.

Underworld - "Dark & Long" E.P. (1994)

Absolutely supreme UK techno & progressive house from one of the undisputed masters of dance music. Fucking love it!

Black Honey - Black Honey (2018)

Delicious indie-pop from Brighton (UK) - perfect for summer.

Tumbleweed’s self-titled debut, from ‘92. It still holds up quite well. I’ve never been quite sure where they fall on the musical map - there’s little bits and pieces that they pull from all over the place, but at the same time they are pretty simple and straight ahead with little pretension. Maybe that’s what I appreciate about them. This would probably be a solid 4 fists for me.

I must have seen Tumbleweed live on three or four occasions at around the time of this release. They frequented the Northern Beaches part of Sydney as they had a strong fanbase there & my school friends & I were going to pretty much any all-ages gig we could get to during our last couple of years of high school.. I'd suggest you've put this release in the right forum though. The stoner rock tag seems to be fairly appropriate in my opinion.

The Joy Formidable - Wolf Law (2013)

Soft alternative rock from Wales to start Thursday off.  Had the debut album of theirs at one point but seem to have misplaced it.  The sophomore is a step up though, more mature without losing any of the fun elements of their sound.  Positive vibes for these dark times. 4/5

The Field - "From Here We Go Sublime" (2007)

Outstanding minimal tech house from Sweden. A couple of really big tracks from my DJ days on this one.

Autechre - "Glasgow Art School (15/04/05)" (2005)

A bootleg desk recording of the legendary Manchester IDM duo in all their glory. It amounts to 68 minutes of textured, challenging, complex, layered & techy electronic music presented with a class that only the elite performers can achieve. It's not a particularly dancy set. It seems to me that it's intended more as a piece of art which lines up nicely with the fit-for-purpose venue. I definitely prefer Autechre's more ambient 90's material over this more up-tempo & busy dancefloor stuff but I can't deny my fascination with adventurous & consciously anti-commercial music like this & subsequently found myself really enjoying the experience, even if I occasionally found that I wasn't consciously engaged at all times.

Cloud Rat -  Do Not Let Me Off The Cliff  (2019)

Dark, gazey, folkly, industrial (at times) intensity for a rainy Monday morning

Blue Oyster Cult - Tyranny And Mutation (1973)

Hard rock is the flavour of the day for Sunday, as the sun is out for the first time in about a week.  The sophomore from Blue Oyster Cult is a bright sounding record that is still full of their trademark shadowy allure.

Blue Oyster Cult - Tyranny And Mutation (1973)

Hard rock is the flavour of the day for Sunday, as the sun is out for the first time in about a week.  The sophomore from Blue Oyster Cult is a bright sounding record that is still full of their trademark shadowy allure.

Great album, especially side one.

Tracks like Hot Rails to Hell and 7 Screaming Dizbusters whilst not being metal as such, enormously influenced metal, especially thematically.

Painted Doll - s/t (2018)

Chris Reifert and Dave Hill make lots of cool rock music when they get chance to.  Had this in my library for a while but it is criminally underplayed.  Makes me wanna sit in my lair and listen to B.O.C all afternoon.

4.5/5

Model 500 - "Night Drive (Thru-Babylon) / Time Space Transmat / No UFO's" 12" (1985)

Dusted this old dancefloor bomb off for a loungeroom dance-off with my one & four year-old daughters this morning. It was one of earliest Detroit techno releases from the legendary Juan Atkins (i.e. the creator of techno music). The two tracks on the A side might as well be identical but they're both totally killer examples of electro-tinged acid techno & I used to pull them both out on occasion whilst DJing in underground techno clubs back in the 2000's. The B side is a remix of Juan's classic "No UFO's" that never did much for me. It's overlong & peters out quite badly during the second half.

4/5

Autechre - "Amber" (1994)

Sensational IDM & ambient techno from Manchester, England. I spent many a morning recovering from all-night benders to this one. For fans of Aphex Twin, Boards Of Canada & The Future Sound Of London.

Basic Channel - "Phylyps Trak" E.P. (1993)

High quality German techno including the trademark dubby, analogue atmosphere from the originating godfathers of the sound. These three tracks all floated around my DJ sets back in the mid-to-late 2000's however "Phylyps Base" was probably the mix that got the most play time from me as it's a touch darker. For fans of Maurizio, Cyrus & Plastikman.

Basic Channel - "Quadrant Dub" E.P. (1994)

This one is more of a dub techno affair & far less dancefloor oriented than "Phylyps Trak". I used to use "Quadrant Dub I" as an opening track when I was playing the early opening sets early on in my DJ career & I'd use "Quadrant Dub II" when I needed to go to the bathroom & get a drink mid-set as it's a bit housier & is 20 minutes long! These days I use this E.P. to get my kids to sleep in the car  as it's highly repetitive & trance-inducing.

The Devil’s Trade - The Call Of The Iron Peak

Arguably acoustic doom I suppose but I posted it here anyway as feels a little too folkly for the The Fallen.  Definitely not an everyday play for me, need to be in that darker headspace to truly appreciate it.  Having a restless head for a few weeks now I found this album a great relaxation piece and managed to use it as a gentle way to achieve a decent sleep the other afternoon (not that it bores me - the exact opposite).

A solid 3/5

The Thelonious Monk Quartet - Monk's Dream (1963)

I don't listen to a lot of jazz, it is one of the much neglected genres of music that I only seem to get as far as flirting with.  This is and Kind of Blue by Miles Davis are my two most played records though and are both by far the most memorable as a result.  Took delivery of a new desktop PC yesterday and after a couple of years without one, I now have a soundcard and can play music through my PC again.  Monk is the first music I chose to play through it before I start my working day.

P.s. no rating as I don't consider myself knowledgable enough about jazz to be able to rate what is good and what is bad. 

Orbital - "In Sides" (1996)

The fourth album from these English dance music icons & the record that would be my introduction to the duo in the late 1990's. "In Sides" represents the progressive breaks sound in its most elite form & it would encourage me to explore the rest of Orbital's back calatlogue which would see them becoming a major contributor in me becoming a techno DJ during the 2000's.

Going through the Three 6 Mafia discography. On Chapter 2 right now!

Orbital - "Brown Album" (1993)

Hugely influential melodic techno from Kent, England. Well ahead of its time & arguably Orbital's best record from a purely dancefloor perspective. Plus it includes the all-time classic progressive house anthem "Halcyon + On + On" which would prove to be one of the great closing tracks for DJs to drop as the lights came on for decades to come. 

HEALTH - DISCO4 :: PART 1

Not metal, but it does have features from Full of Hell and Youth Code so...that counts right?

I really enjoyed this post-industrial darkwave album from L.A. group HEALTH. The record is called DISCO4 :: PART 1 and has features across the spectrum of unconventional soundscapes to create a dark, claustrophobic environment.

7/10

https://youwillloveeachother.bandcamp.com/album/disco4-part-i

I’ve been pretty into this one lately. 1981’s “Deceit” by British post-punk/experimental group This Heat. Not metal, but very dark, weird and even heavy at points. Sort of a Kraut rock vibe too. I’m not a sucker for stuff like this, but I think this record sticks out as being more interesting and having a lot of cool hooks. “A New Type of Water” is my favorite song I’ve heard lately. If you’re into early Savage Republic, you’ll dig this.