Kris Berle & Skydrips - Keep An Eye On You
Skydrips a live DJ act from Berlin, Germany teams up with artist and musician, Kris Berle for a nice gentle hip-swayer, Keep An Eye On You. They say, the song is a dialogue between the Moon and The Earth as a way to find a deeper meaning in life. Sounds fair enough. The other side is equally as good.
Hyroglifics - Hotwire (ft. Liza Jane)
Staying in a subdued rhythmic mode we head on over to the English west country city of Bristol where it does seem that a massive amount of cool releases emanate…Matt Harris aka Hyroglifics know for his drum ’n’ bass outings gives us a selection of grime, hip hop, techno and ambient with debut album, I’ll Wait, I Guess. About the theme of his LP, Mattsays, “I believe that good things happen with time, however, I also wanted this album to depict the realities of waiting for something and how seemingly hopeless it may seem at times”. And, we are advised that the album download includes mobile phone wallpapers. Nice.
Out of South Africa comes multifaceted artist, Lwendo with his self-titled album. With Season And Love, Lwendomakes it clear he isn’t mimicking anyone, instead setting his own unique style. Tasteful, competent work going on here.
As this one was playing I had to reread the accompanying promo notes a couple of times, ‘cause I thought, perhaps I was listening to the wrong cut. The Southampton-based artist says this about Summer Be Gone, “It’s loosely based around my dislike of the hot summer months and how I prefer being cocooned inside while it's dark and cold outside. I'm not really a fan of crowds, so I appreciate winter and the way there seems to be more space between folks in that season”. Now that sounds at odds to me as this lilting song unfolds. But then, Mike Gale adds, "I'm naturally introverted and have never enjoyed being onstage in front of people, so performing live was always my least favourite part of making music. Now I'm solo I feel no pressure to perform live at all, maybe one day but for now I'm happy.” So, it’s not all doom and gloom with Mike, although I suspect giving him a kind smile on a hot sunny day may brighten his mood, a little.
The name Fred Abong has popped up so many times over the years while listening to alternative and indie music. Fredbegan his musical career in the 1980’s on Rhode Island as a drummer, bassist and guitarist in various hardcore punk bands. Then he spent the early 1990s playing bass for Throwing Muses and then Belly. Later he put music as a profession on hold for academic pursuits, earning a PhD in Humanities and serving as a professor at various universities for eight years before returning to music. Apart from his work as a solo artist, Fred Abong is also currently bassist in the Kristin Hersh Electric Trio. Now Fred has a new solo album, Fear Pageant on Seattle’s Disc Drive label. We selected, Father for this volume, it’s a reflective song in keeping with the theme of this LP. Don’t overlook this one.
Wreckless Eric - The Old Versailles
I’m so pleased to have spent many hours in the company of Eric Goulden, better know as Wreckless Eric, in part because he is a very funny man, full of dry British sarcasm, but Eric is also a brilliant observer and commentator on our topsy-turvy world. His latest album, Leisureland is Eric at his Wreckless best, that is to say, this is a serious rock ’n’ roll record, his heritage, his passion, his love of a pounding good riff are all here. Turn The Old Versailles up way loud and then pop on over here listen to our recent conversation. An honest work by a lovely geezer.