Easier Than A Comedown

For your weekend delectation, an hour long mix of favourite tunes from the last couple of years, with a few samples and stems thrown in to spice things/mask some dodgy segue-ways (delete as applicable).

Persevere and you will get some wonderful tunes courtesy of Róisín Murphy and The Orielles, an unexpected appearance from Annie Hogan with Kid Congo Powers, a rather good cover version/remix of Groove Armada's Superstylin' and living legends David Holmes, A Certain Ratio and Humanoid. I've also dusted off a song by Iklan featuring Law Holt. If the band name isn't familiar, you will undoubtedly have heard of them in their previous incarnation, when they had a rather big hit with this song.

 

I just went with the flow, so the mix is all over the place BPM-wise and I'm not sure if you're supposed to dance, relax or just arch your eyebrows at various points throughout. If it makes you smile, shimmy, sigh (happily not dejectedly) or, even better, all three then my job is done. You can see why I don't do this for living, can't you?!

 

1) Look For What's Looking: Alex Donofrio (2021)

2) Maneki Neko (Watch Sample): Miss Kittin (2013)

3) Into The Madness: Mundo D (2022)

4) sT8818r (Yage Remix By Brian Dougans & Garry Cobain): Humanoid (2022)

5) "...a ghost": Lord Of The Flies OST (1963)

6) Kingdom Of Ends (Album Version By Crooked Man aka Richard Barratt): Róisín Murphy (2020)

7) Stelele (Sakdat & Balaur Remix - Dub): Unu' Marika (2021)

8) No Use: Iklan ft. Law Holt (2020)

9) Superstylin' (Rob Smith aka RSD - Remix) (Cover of Groove Armada): Rude Boy ft. Kardi Tivali (2021)

10) "...you're nicked": John Thaw (The Sweeney OST) (1975)

11) It's Over, If We Run Out Of Love (Working Mens Club Remix): David Holmes ft. Raven Violet (2022)

12) Get A Grip (Maps Remix By James Chapman): A Certain Ratio ft. Maria Uzor (2021)

13) Yuka (Ranga Remix By Coen Helfenrath & Ted De Jong): Flamingods (2017)

14) My Career (Mekon Remix By John Gosling): A.M Hogan ft. Kid Congo Powers (2021)

15) Prince Introducing "Purple Rain": Prince (1984)

16) Sjaj (Dan Wainwright Remix): DJ Magija (2020)

17) Dancing Flame '21: Faint Waves (2021)

18) Bobbi's Second World (Confidence Man Remix): The Orielles (2020)

19) Looking (VC Man Swell Stem): Tosca (2013)

20) Deeper Space: Pye Corner Audio (2020)

Easier Than A Comedown (1:00:30)

 

Remix My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To

Happy birthday, Paul Weller, born 25th May 1958. 

 

From yesterday's sorrow to today's joy, celebrating 64 years of musical genius. It's not proven that Weller was composing music in the crib but I'm sure he was thinking about it.

I've had an on-off relationship with Weller's music, particularly his solo career, and sporadically purchase his albums, usually on the recommendation of friends and fellow bloggers.

What has always piqued my curiosity, however, has been Weller's openness to the art of the remix. From his earliest solo forays with the stunning Brendan Lynch remixes of Kosmos and Sunflower to last year's Fat Pop (Volume 1) reworkings by Pet Shop Boys, Jagz Kooner & Andrew Innes and Stone Foundation, they've always been of interest to me. At best, the songs are taken on a new, equally rewarding aural journey; at worst, they'll lift a song that I originally found less appealing.

So, to celebrate Weller's constant search for new sonic environments for his song ideas, here are 12 selections across the last three decades, coming in at a smidge under 64 minutes, one for each of Weller’s birthdays to date.

I have to give a credit to the superb Thirty Minute Paul Weller Remix Mix posted at Bagging Area in April, which planted the seed of inspiration for today's selection. I've managed to avoid duplicating any of Swiss Adam's selections, so I'd strongly recommend getting over there after listening to this for an extended Weller Remixed aural experience.

 

Tenuous link time: absolutely no apologies for today's punning post title; it came to me part way through the mix in a flash of inspiration (if you can indeed call it inspiration). The last time I featured Paul Weller (albeit as The Style Council) here was on 15th May 2022, which apparently was also the 7th National Pun Day in the USA (the UK seems to have plumped for 8th February instead). Either way, that's good enough for me.

1) Aim High (Aim Higher) (The Amorphous Androgynous Remix By Brian Dougans & Garry Cobain) (2010)

2) Phoenix (White Label Remix By Steve Aungle, Anth Brown & Tom Doyle) (2017)

3) That Pleasure (Get Involved) (Remixed By Stone Foundation) (2021)

4) Wishing On A Star (Steve Mason Remix For The Beta Band) (Cover of Rose Royce) (2006)

5) Brushed (Unreleased Brendan Lynch Remix #1) (1997)

6) Rockets (Jane Weaver / Mind Control Remix By Jane Weaver & Andy Votel) (2020)

7) Starlite (D-Pulse Remix) (2011)

8) Sunflower (Lynch Mob Dub) (Remix By Brendan Lynch) (1994)

9) Fast Car, Slow Traffic (The Primal Scream Remix) (7" Version) (2010)

10) Rip Up The Pages (Lynchmob Mix By Brendan Lynch) (2008)

11) There's No Drinking After You're Dead (Noonday Underground Remix By Simon Dine) (2000)

12) Kosmos SX Dub 2000 (Remix By David Harry) (1993)

Remix My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To (1:03:53)

I'm So Deep In A Cloud I'm Drifting Out

Storm Eunice was fairly gentle with us: a couple of smashed windows and a strip of roofing ripped off of the shed and that was pretty much it. The Saturday morning sky promises a calmer day, and although the wind and rain will be back in force later, hopefully nothing like yesterday.

To capture this moment of serenity, today's selection gathers up some healing and uplifting tunes from the past couple of years. I raved about Jezebell's new one on Monday and Little Dragon's latest EP in January. I subscribed to The Future Sound Of London's digital calendar again this year and include their first offering for 2022. 

 

On the last day of 2021, Dave Allen's new project Uptick released the marvelous Universe, with a typically fantastic remix from 10:40 aka Jesse Fahnestock, bringing Bolton & Stockholm together in a stupendous soundclash. Available as a free download on Soundcloud.

 

Thanks also to blogging legends The Vinyl Villain and Bagging Area for the nods to Mogwai, GCOM (aka Tom Middleton) and Hypernatural (including Cut Copy's Dan Whitford). The selection closes with Mildlife, hailing (like Hypernatural) from Melbourne and bringing some welcome Antipodean sunshine to dispel the stormclouds.

 

1) Drifting Out (Version): Little Dragon ft. Jakob Koranyi & Yo-Yo Ma (2021) 

2) Beyond The Milky Way (Edit): GCOM (2021)

3) Jezebelle Et Moi (Original Widescreen Version) (Cover of Max Berlin's): Jezebell (2022)

4) Opk Machines Trx M2: The Future Sound Of London (2022)

5) Ritchie Sacramento (Other Two Remix By Gillian Gilbert & Stephen Morris): Mogwai (2021)

6) Universe (10:40's Dark Matter Mix By Jesse Fahnestock): Uptick (2021)

7) Stormfront (Album Version): Hypernatural (2022)

8) Automatic (Jono Ma Ascend Mix By Jonathan Marr): Mildlife (2020)

I'm So Deep In A Cloud I'm Drifting Out (51:44)
 

Day One

Happy New Year, everyone! In the interests of avoiding posting any on-the-nose songs by U2 or ABBA, here's a relatively forgotten remix of Deadly Avenger from twenty years ago instead. The "v2" remix is a good one to loop if you're planning a walk/fresh air to clear that fuzzy head. Both v1 & v2 appeared on the 2002 single We Took Pelham, albeit respectively exclusive to the 12" and CD single formats.

The Future Sound Of London only released one other 'Cosmic Jukebox' remix - Paths by Robert Miles, which I featured previously here. I've only discovered from researching this post that there was a planned then scrapped 'Cosmic Jukebox' project, which was subsequently replaced by the long-running A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble series. The 'Cosmic Jukebox' also pointed the way to the re-emergence of Amorphous Androgynous, with their incredible album The Isness that same year.

Amorphous Androgynous returned last year with We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal, an epic 6-part single/mini-album and remix companion, featuring Peter Hammill on lead vocals and Paul Weller tucked away in the mix, tinkling the ivories. A new album, Listening To The Head Chakra, has been promised for a few years now but may finally see the light of day in 2022.  

Day One (FSOL Cosmic Jukebox Mix v2): Deadly Avenger (2002)

Day One (FSOL Cosmic Jukebox Mix v1): Deadly Avenger (2002)

We Persuade Ourselves We Are Immortal (Official Video): The Amorphous Androgynous ft. Peter Hammill (2021)

 

Viewed From Outside

Back to the future...The Future Sound Of London, that is. This is a 30-minute mix by Brian Dougans & Garry Cobain, tying in with Record Store Day 2016. It was originally broadcast in the closing segment of The 6 Mix With Nemone on BBC 6 Music on Saturday 16th April 2016, roughly 1.30am or thereabouts. Nine tracks from 1991 to 1994, including B12 (as Redcell), Reload (aka Mark Pritchard & Tom Middleton), Luke Slater (as Morganistic) and closing with an (at the time) unreleased FSOL track.

 

1) Papua New Guinea (12" Original): The Future Sound Of London (Papua New Guinea EP, 1991)
2) Mad Monks On Zinc (Original Mix): Holy Ghost Inc. (Mad Monks On Zinc EP, 1991)
3) Schottkey 7th Path: Aphex Twin (Selected Ambient Works 85-92, 1992)
4) Paradroid: Redcell (Redcell EP, 1992)
5) Go To Sleep: Laurent Garnier (A Bout De Souffle EP, 1993)
6) Le Soleil Et La Mer (Original Mix/Album Version): Reload (Auto Reload EP: Volume 2 / A Collection Of Short Stories, 1993)
7) In The Shadow (Original Version): Morganistic (In The Shadow EP, 1992)
8) Basscadet (Bcdtmx): Autechre (Basscad,EP, 1994)
9) Viewed From Outside: The Future Sound Of London (1994) (Ramblings Vol. 1 EP, 2017 / Music For 3 Books, 2021)

Nemone's Electric Ladyland Mix: The Future Sound Of London (29:59)