I haven't written anything for a while, that's not because I've been busy, more of that I'm lazy. I decided to compile some links what have been best things for today:
I got my film developed, which includes trips to Helsinki, Sledding and Stockholm:
MGMT had put their new album for listening because of a leak:
Caliroots had amazing sneakers for sale, (that I would never buy if someone is wondering)
Electronic music is still great
Two of my favourite artists are just releasing new material.
Hot Chip got their new album One life stand released. Didn't remember the exact release date so I was very happily surprised when I saw it by chance on the new additions page in Spotify, as I usually don't check it.
First thing you notice is that it has really ugly cover, although props for the beginnign of the 90s computer graphics:
I have listened it now few times and the first impression is good. It hasn't got clear hit single along the lines with Ready for the floor or Over and over, but the overall feel is good. Initially the song Brothers rose from the album, but can't really say anything else yet. I'm just really excited about the album as a whole. They also released super extra 1000 copies limited £35 gatefold double 200 gram vinyl that I might have to pass. Hopefully there is still regular vinyl version for sale.
The second big thing was the release of the music from Electro-Opera Tomorrow, In A Year. An opera about Charles Darwin's book Origin of the Species. What makes it interesting is that the music is done by The Knife with Planningtorock and Mt. Sims. Two last names don't ring any bells, but The Knife should be known by everyone. And if not, you should really go to shop and buy the Silent shout. It's one of the best records ever.
Well the double album is available for pre-listening and for sale at their website theknife.net. And yeah, it's just as strange as the synopsis for it. The A side is Really experimental, but B side was actually quite nice. As with all stuff from the Dreijers it needs some time to really get into it. Initially the song called The height of summer sounded nice. Have to get the album to my shelf and to my earphones.
Some other notable old and new stuff:
Hadn't heard about Caribou before I bumped in to this track in the Pitchfork news. Insta liked this song though. Erlend Oyesque vocals combined to sound that has some dubstep influences combined into catchy rhytm. Or something, all in all, very good track.
Second track of note is the second single from forthcoming Yeasayer album. It's called O.N.E. and it's downloadable for free from their website: http://yeasayer.net/ Well at least in theory, didn't work with my trusty Opera and decided to listen it from youtube instead, I'm really looking into this album after this track and the previous taster Ambling Alp:
Third track today is an old favourite that I re-found last week. It's from an album that's not maybe the most liked of the artist, but the track is one of my favourite from him. I'm talking about Common, his album Electric circus and the track I am music. Last time I listened it intensively was about exactly one year ago when I was just about to begin the best 4 months of my life having my exchange studies in Prague.
Now with the Hot chip album and the Knife opera out of way next big releases are going to be my favourite finnish rap group Kemmuru's new album that's coming in March and LCD Soundsystem's new album that is coming also somewhere next months.
With work concerning a play that I'm producing finally done I can finish the text that I started while ago.
Helsinki 78-82 is a Disco-House? project from dj's Flipper and Koobra from Helsinki (d'uh). They are also part of the Top billin collective that's been mentioned here before few times. It's bit along the same lines with Fred Falke. That means it's absolutely dancable feelgood music. Ideal for the dark Finnish winter to get moods up. They just released an ep with two tracks, Cruising and So lifelike which features Villa nah (who have also been mentioned before). Ep is available at least in juno. The release of the ep was backed with a nice video. It's about cruising, but not with lowriders but bicycles (although the fixed gear type that raise lots of emotions in certain groups.). Here's the video:
HELSINKI 78-82 - CRUISING from Top Billin on Vimeo.
And here are links to their Myspace with both mentioned songs and as a bonus link to nice mixtape by them:
http://whitelightmixes.blogspot.com/2009/12/white-light-16-helsinki-78-82.html
http://www.myspace.com/helsinki7882
Spotify is great application, even if I usually find 2/3 out of things that I'm searching from there. I've made Summer and Fall playlists and now it's time for the winter one. There tries to be some sort of logical thing going on with the songs. It begins with folky and psychedelic indiepop and continues towards more minimalistic techno and dub sounds.
Tracklisting:
Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnial
Sigur Ros - Staralfur
Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why
Grizzly Bear - Knife
Regina - Näinä mustina iltoina (Schmamix)
Yeasayer - Ambling Alp
Animal Collective - Derek
Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes (Zomby's Analog Lego Mix)
Edu K - Jumpin n Pumpin (Femme en Fourrure Mix)
Jori Hulkkonen - Re Last Year (ft. Villa Nah)
Trentemöller - Take Me Into Your Skin
Burial - Unite
LCD Soundsystem - New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down
Year 2009 has been very, very special year for me. I spent the spring as an exchange student in Prague and met many fantastic people and had fantastic time there. So I'll spend some time concluding it.
The first part of the series 'Year 2009' is the normal 'favorite tracks from the year'.
Burial & Four tet - Moth
Burial makes sounds that I simply love. I first time heard Four tet this spring when my friend recommended it to me, and loved it too. Then I found out that they just had released a track together, simply golden.
Joker - Digidesign
Joker has risen up to be my number one when talking about Dubstep. Big part is because of this particular track. Haven't been in many dubstep parties this year, but this was part of Kode9:s set in Prague and it caused some serious skankin'. Have heard it later played also in a hip hop party so this is getting lots of love.
La Roux - In for the kill (Skream remix)
My friend linked the original song from youtube around the time it was released, I liked it. Quickly I realized that Skream had made simply golden remix of it. This have been playing all year on my playlists while original songs by Mrs. Roux soon died out.
Grizzly bear - Two weeks
This has also been playing for the whole year. Great tune and getting lots of attention, just heard it in a Car commercial in tv and some time ago it was playing in How I met your mother.
Rubik - Wasteland
I have heard lots of hype for Rubik and still never really haven't listened it. For some reason I have thought it as some sort of hardcore punk. Don't ask. Well finally when I got back to Finland in the summer I decided to check out as they had released new album this year. Well I think I didn't practically listen for anything else for the whole summer. Saw them also live twice. So I could say I liked it. My favorite track Indiana isn't found in youtube, so here is the single Wasteland. Pure gold all the same.
The XX - Heart skipped a beat
I noticed this in Stupido-shop's top 20 most sold albums and the description was interesting. After that I typed letters XX to Spotify and now it's my most played band for the year in last.fm.
Passion pit - Folds in your hands
Again from the same friend who introduced me to Four tet. I fell love instantly. Initially just found few songs from Hypem and this was one of them. It has still stayed as my favorite from the album, of which almost any track would be worth the mention. This album has also lots of memories packed from my time in Prague so it gets some special boost.
Phoenix - 1901
Well this was my phone ring tone for few months. Every time I hear the opening sounds I start to move my hand towards my pocket.
Michael Black Electro - Agape
Waited this album since I heard it was coming this year. Didn't let me down. I bought the vinyl instantly with my friends address while I was in Prague, got the download code and saw the physical album only after 3 months or so. RoopeK is the best producer in Finland .point.
Animal Collective - What would I want, sky?
Was released quite late in the year, after the Merriweather post pavillion album (which I haven't listened but few times). Has been playing in the back of my mind ever since. Reminds me of something, but I can't tell what.
Clouds - Protecting hands part I & II
Clouds are one of the best artists in Finland. This was released by Deep medi, which is quite an achievement. I'm still missing the physical copy though as it was sold out when I was about to buy it. There were still some left in Chemical records when I last checked, I'll have to correct my mistake some day soon.
Randy Barracuda - Ketamine strut
Also good Finnish sound. Skweee has had a place in my heart ever since I heard it first time. Album has 8 tracks of greatness, Ketamine strut is only one in Youtube, my favorite is the final track Love axe/Heavy metal with vocals by Michael black electro.
Honorable mentions:
White lies - Price of love
Kings of Convenience - Peacetime resistance
Röyksopp - Miss it so much (ft. Lykke Li)
Bat for Lashes - Daniel
Fever ray - Seven
Whitest boy alive - 1517
Villa Nah - Ways to be
Zebra & Snake - Colours
Regina - Totuus minusta
plus many others.
Juuso Malin is one of my favourite artists. He also seems to have lots of different projects going on.
He used to produce some nice hip-hop tracks with the alias Kimarr with nice synth sounds. This era sparked the 'Miss you already' ep in year 2005. Of which the title track appeared also in the soundtrack of 'Tyttö sinä olet tähti' movie. It features rapping from Tommishock and they also made a full lenght cd called 'Perfect strangers'. It's really dark and grimy album. They said in an interview for Basso magazine that the album is about the different personalities people have to use for work, personal life etc. And about growing as a person and about madness. Here's the title track from the album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvMPPO_zBvw
They talked about doing an album that was rapped in Finnish, but in the end I think only one song "Olemme" (found in spotify: Tommishock & Kimarr – Olemme) got released on Mestarisoundi 2007 soundcheck collection. Kimarr also did some beats and remixes for other artists. Especially the song 'Lume' by Pyhimys from the album 'Tulva' is great. Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nac-ADPNqWM
It caused some serious controversy when it was released. Pyhimys had released under a year before album that was praised by the "Finnish-rap scene". Now suddenly he released a very unconventional track with a beat that reminds The Knife and trance music. So basically all the "true rap" guys hated it and all the rest loved. I personally of course loved it so much that I must have constituted for at least third of the listens in MySpace.
Also from the Kimarr time originates the four splendid pose it up mixtapes. They were released in web and also in physical form as cd:s that were given for free in several record and clothing stores in Helsinki and at his dj gigs. I got only the third one but it got lost somewhere :( I think originally the first one was sort of a "abc of indie posing" and then it got three sequels. My favourite is the number three, which I listened for the whole summer and it's one of those mixtapes that I know every point the track changes by heart. At least the last one is still available in missingtoof:
http://missingtoof.com/2007/11/03/kimarr-pose-it-up-4/
After this in 2008 Kimarr started the Ka So Re project. Soon after this it was announced on his myspace that Kimarr is dead.
Ka So Re is straight on synth dance pop, or something eightiesque, I'm not good with genres. In any case, it's really good. The 'Petite' ep was released by Gaea records and had five songs and 2 remixes. Here's the title track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UziqwX5Nb0I
The ep can also be found in spotify: KA SO RE – Petite EP and of course it's sold in many digital music stores.
Ka So Re has done some (great) gigs with the Skweee-star Eero Johannes around Finland. I of course haven't seen any as I'm living in the hard core punk capital of Finland and haven't been able to be in any correct place at any correct time. (As I'm just wandering around randomly in time and space). But hopefully someday I manage. There also was nice Spring got cancelled mictape in the beginning of 2009. It hit well as it had sorts of minimal feel and I had just randomly wandered to Berlin and out around that time.
The most recent activity of Ka So Re I've heard about is the remix of
And now we finally get in to the point. Which is the newest alias Femme en fourrure. This one is more techy and minimal (as given indication by the Ka So Re mixtape) with heavy bass. I stumbled upon it while I was watching through videos of Miikka Lommi to show hmm, an assbrush to my firend. Finding the aforementioned brush took some time, but finally I found it and also happened to see new video by the Femme en fourrure. I didn't realize it was again another project for mr. Malin this time with guy called Bianca, but I thought that the guy in video sure looked like him. And finally, today I stumbled upon this name again and realized that it was indeed him. There is links to two mixtapes in their myspace and there's a remix of some song by some french artist that I don't know in discobelle:
http://www.discobelle.net/2009/12/08/train-to-bamako/
There is also single coming out in January from Top Billin and, TADAH, finally here is the video from which the whole text originates:
Femme En Fourrure - Plump Biscuit from miikka lommi on Vimeo.
Enjoy.
Dj Fiskars, of Top billin fame, has made a mix of the week, and it contains a XX song so it's obviously good:
You'll find it here: http://mixoftheweek.com/mixes/motw284.html
I've heard praise for the other mixes also and those what I've heard are good good good.
Jamo mark of approval to this one.
Well as we have snow again I can sincerely say that it's winter. I've been listening some cheering up dance music recently because for some reason I have been in really good mood for a while, aven if I don't have anything special to cheer about currently.
Well, enough of small talk, this is my first music post so what would be better track to open it with than one of my favourites for past few years. I'm talking about incredibly cheerful Fred Falke from France and his remix of the Whites boy alive's song Golden cage. It was quite a big hit in summer 2008, but still works:
The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke remix)
Let's continue with a band that has links with the previous one. The New wine is from Bergen Norway and Erlend Øye of King of convenience and The Whitest boy alive fame is their friend. They had an ep downloadable in their myspace while back and this is my favourite from the four songs:
The New Wine - Revolving Cylinder
Then from Norway across the border to our sweet Finland. Villa nah has gained quite much hype already, including featuring in Jori Hulkkonen's new album and a podium place in Rumba magazine's and YleX radio station's "Dozen of the future" "ranking" of the best rising acts in Finland along with Jaakko&Jay and Les Corps mince du whatever. I finally got the three song VN Ep last monday and I love it. I'm waiting eagerly for the release of their LP, produced by the aforementioned Hulkkonen. Here's quite crappy quality live version of the song "Ways to be" from last summer's Flow festival.
Villa Nah - Ways to be (Live in flow 09)
And what would be better to top this post than fresh Hot Chip single from their next album coming in the beginning of 2010. Practically nothing to say about this, just enjoy:
