Gatto Fritto – Lucifer Morning Star
Excellence from my good friend the talented Ben Williams. The album this track is taken from was released almost eight years ago on International Feel, it’s incredible and deserves to be highly rated and recommended. Ben has a wonderful sense of melody which produces great feeling in what he does, this goes hand in hand with his analogue production. I feel there’s always a sense of his unique humour in it all too, no doubt he’ll hate me saying all that being the very modest man he is but it’s the truth! Just listen.
Mick Karn – Trust Me
One of my favourite things about Japan as a band is Mick Karn’s fretless bass playing and Japan – Visions of China in particular demonstrates this perfectly. There’s such a great groove in this tune on his first solo album, equally as good as his vocal hooks! 1982 perfection – R.I.P Mick Karn.
Minnie Riperton – Les Fleurs
The magnitude, quality and beauty of this track n’ vocal goes without saying. Back in about 2001 my mate Joe had it on the Incredible sound of Giles Peterson! I can recall hearing it for the first time back at our house just off the Peckham Rd after our usual Saturday night outing to Headstart at Turnmills. I was blown away, stood there still wide-eyed proclaiming “it’s so powerful Joe! Just listen to those strings!!!” Idiot. Although I was right, right!?
The Beach Boys – Feel Flows
I like to think I try to incorporate feeling into my music, that influence is demonstrated no greater than by this band through their melodies, harmonies and studio invention. They’re up there with four scousers as my very favourites for those reasons. The Beach boys track ‘Sail on Sailor’ is the reason Chris and I are called Ess o Ess. Feel Flows show Carl Wilson and not Brian at his very best! Surf’s Up is a fantastic, dynamic album and maybe my favourite of theirs. Just skip Mike Love’s Student Demonstration Time’ and you’ll be in back to yours heaven.
Carole King – I Feel The Earth Move
All back to Chris Stokers here! We had some wonderful times back in Olympic House, Dalston or Rave Hq as it became know to much of that London scene. Chris would often blast this uplifter from one of the all time greatest songwriters at around 8am after he’d kicked out the hangers on. He would usually play tunes at those kick on’s magnificently for 9 hours plus if you let him! How he managed to do it sometime’s is anyones guess.
Angophora – Scenes
Something relativity new! Max and Jake are very talented duo outta Sydney with a ability to demonstrate great texture through their sound and live performance. They convey this wonderfully on their debut album released on also Sydney based label Ken Oath. Go listen to it…Their live show’s well worth seeing and trust me their follow up album is even a step on from this beauty. I’m honoured to have had Max play live percussion on my forthcoming e.p.
Depeche Mode – People Are People
Gone for one of their hits here but I do and have always love this tune and band! People Are People sees them at the start of their voyage into sampling, banging on bits of metal piping then fed into The Fairlight sampler to create the melody. They, like New Order are owed so much by modern electronic music. Many of the Detroit techno greats have told of their love for and the influence Depeche and New Order had on their music. Google the pic of Dave Gahan and Derrick May making tea in the studio!
Tangerine Dream – Exit
I really love this track and album of the same name, the album was given to me by my late uncle some years back. It sounds very cinematic to me visually and although TD were very much seen to be visionaries I feel this record sound very much the way 1981 should sound. It’s also the track Stranger Things copied for their title sequence! It’s another record that Chis (Ess o Ess) also had a connection with when he saw it in my studio for the first time. It was his idea to sample a part from Exit for our track Re-Enter released on ENE a few years back.
Roots Manuva – Witness Dub
Too many wicked tunes to choose from the UK’s very best rapper/producer of the last 20 odd years in my option! I love playing this dub on a system, sounds mega on anything though. One for the neighbours to hate! My old band shared a studio with him and the Banana Clan under the arches in Waterloo back in the early to mid 00’s. Our band was Called Roland Shanks so he’d just refer to all five of us individually as Roland. A very enjoyable, smokey few years. Sadly the studio’s are gone now – R.I.P Alaska studio’s Waterloo, love ya Bev.
Jump St Man – Because
If I was to try and describe to someone what I thought a balearic house or sunset record of that ilk sounded like then this would be it, when I hear it I can’t help to feel transported to such a place. Props to Matthew and Jolyon from Lowlife for bring this to my attention, two of my favourite dj’s from those days when we were definitely the youngest in the club! Even at 28.
Jamie Blanco – The Progressive View EP (Kilsha Music)
Blanco has previously released on Felix Dickinson’s Cynic as well as Futureboogie and more recently on Pelvis & Tone Dropout. He is one half of Ess O Ess as well as a solo artist making waves with his wonderfully off kilter sounds, and has played all over the planet in the last couple of years. Eclectic in taste and inspired by Balearic beats as much as driving percussion and acid, he is all set for a busy 2019.
Right from the off, ‘Unit of Pleasure’ gets in your affections with its mix of original live recorded percussion, aircraft noise and hypnotic bass. It’s a wilfully diverse mix of sounds and scenes that is utterly compelling. The excellent ‘Progressive View’ then dips into broken beat and classic electro territory, with raw synths and cavernous hits driving things forward over a rhythmic b-line. Keeping up the unpredictable mood of the EP, ‘Grapefruit Agenda’ is a tripped-out piece of left of centre house music, with paranoid melodies and circling pads amping up the energy and taking you on a real journey. The superb ’XOX18’ closes things out with downtempo electro moods that are futuristic and dystopian, all with an effective analogue edge. These four tracks confirm Blanco is a fascinating artist with a fresh take on dance music and provide another superb instalment for the supremely promising Kilsha Music.
