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Seeks Music asked me to join them for a Guest List spot
Seeks Music asked me to join them for a Guest List spot
Before christmas I was asked to record a podcast for the lovely Seeks Music people (coined and set up when 6 music was threatened with closure) and operating in a similar vein..
I finally got round to it this morning!
My Louder Than War 100 bands tip list..
My Louder Than War 100 bands tip list..
I’ve been writing for John Robb’s ‘Louder Than War’ website for a whole year, kicking off with a list of 50 bands last january. To this day that blog is one of the most read posts on the website!
And so I thought I’d step things up in 2012 with 100 bands! Believe me, they’re not all brand new but bands that I feel will be making some kind of impact in 2012. Happy listening!
So many bands, so little time..
Any of my friends will tell you that Its very rarely that I have a night in, infact, not only am I at gigs multiple times each week, my voice recorder joins me on most festival trips and weekends away, just incase y’know..
I’ve been known to interview bands in an array of random situations over the last three years. A few that stand out for me this year:
Interviewing Young Husband at the end of the bar in The Griffin, whilst the Jesus & Mary Chain sat across from us; Interviewing the Black Angels sat cross legged on the concrete outside the service entrance to the Ruby Lounge, meeting Crystal Stilts on the stationary train-bar at Indietracks and fawning over their vinyl; my Deaf Institute bunk bed interludes with EMA, Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Sissy & The Blisters, watching Twin Shadow re-string his guitar and hold down an interview simultaneously, fun times with Frankie & The Heartstrings whilst they played pool at Salford Lads Club (technically 2010 but aired 2011), quizzing Lee from Viva Brother to see if he really was a total tool whilst he wore a pirate hook for a hand..
Mostly though, its not as glamorous as people think, waiting around for hours (i now own a kindle and a fancy phone for that time killing reason) chatting in dark vans, in corridors, or whilst they’re eating their tea. Looking back, I’ve interviewed over 100 bands/musicians in 2011 and have loved meeting every person. I love hearing their stories, influences etc and a meeting face to face is so much more personal and interactive than a phoner, so i’ve tried to shy away from them this year.
My biggest ‘whoop whoop’ moment this year was finally meeting the lovely Edwyn Collins and wife Grace at Indietracks festival. More adorable and hospitable people you could not wish to meet, and a dream come true for me. I even got to make a visit to the legendary West Heath Yard in December, although master and mistress were not at home, I got to meet the awesome Susan and Seb, check out the latest project from the guys at http://aedrecords.com/ the home of their new record label.
Amazing music, amazing people! Here is the list of interviews from 2011. Here’s to many more in 2012, and from me to you for 2012 Happy New Year!
If you want to listen to any of these shows again, they can all be found on my mix cloud HERE
06/01/11 Sound of Guns
09/01/11 Orphan Boy
13/01/11 !!!
16/01/11 Little Comets (x3)
20/01/11 Darwin Deez (x2)
23/01/11 12 Dirty Bullets
27/01/11 Black Angels
30/01/11 Silver Columns
03/02/11 James Yuill
06/02/11 Lysergic Suite
10/02/11 The Vaccines
13/02/11 We Are Scientists
17/02/11 Ringo Deathstarr
20/02/11 Salem
24/02/11 Answering Machine
27/02/11 Frankie & The Heartstrings
03/03/11 Trojan Horse
06/03/11 Blind Atlas
10/03/11 Engineers
13/03/11 Paul Smith (Maximo Park)
17/03/11 Sleigh Bells
20/03/11 Twin Shadow
24/03/11 The Rainband
27/03/11 Doyle & The Fourfathers
31/03/11 The Narrows
03/04/11 The Crookes
07/04/11 Eagulls
10/04/11 The Joy Formidable
14/04/11 Danny Mahon
17/04/11 Trophy Wife
21/04/11 Duke Spirit
24/04/11 Brother
28/04/11 Wolf People
01/05/11 May 68
05/05/11 Miles Kane
08/05/11 Dinosaur Pile-up
12/05/11 The Boxer Rebellion
15/05/11 Pigeon Detectives
19/05/11 Crocodiles
22/05/11 Benjamin Francis Leftwich
26/06/11 Vinyl Jacket
29/05/11 Foreign Office
02/06/11 Cloud Control
05/06/11 Kill Van Kulls
09/06/11 Pete & The Pirates
12/06/11 The Dears
16/06/11 The Wave Pictures
19/06/11 The Leisure Society
23/06/11 Fixers
26/06/11 Sarabeth Tucek
30/06/11 Jim Jones Revue
03/07/11 Patterns
07/07/11 Beat Connection
10/07/11 Deep Sea Arcade
14/07/11 Arrows Of Love
17/07/11 Holy Ghost
21/07/11 Cults
24/07/11 Various Cruelties
28/07/11 Battles
31/07/11 Papercuts
04/08/11 Greetings From Beacons Festival preview
07/08/11 Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
11/08/11 Breton
14/08/11 Hyde & Beast
18/08/11 Tame Impala
21/08/11 Babeshadow
25/08/11 Edwyn Collins
28/08/11 Crystal Stilts
01/09/11 Beth Jeans Houghton
04/09/11 Janice Graham Band
08/09/11 Factory Floor
11/09/11 Ogenesis Records
15/09/11 Other Lives
18/09/11 Wye Oak
22/09/11 Replicas
02/10/11 Milk Maid
16/10/11 Visions Of Trees
20/10/11 EMA
23/10/11 Howling Bells
27/10/11 Slow Club
30/10/11 Lets Buy Happiness
03/11/11 Teeth
06/11/11 Golden Glow
10/11/11 Constellations Festival preview
13/11/11 Wakey Wakey
17/11/11 Veronica Falls
20/11/11 Spectrals
24/11/11 Underground Railroad
27/11/11 Summer Camp
01/12/11 Outfit
04/12/11 Ghost Outfit
08/12/11 Gardens & Villa
11/12/11 Trophy Wife
15/12/11 Sissy & The Blisters
18/12/11 Swimming
Top 50 albums of 2011
So I write almost the same disclaimer every year, but for what its worth I’m going to write it again.
At the current time I work full time and not in the radio or music industry. Don’t get me wrong I listen to a lot of new music, but there is only so much music I can listen to on an iPod at work. Truthfully, I have not listened to all this years new releases, No Kate, No Bjork, I’ve not even managed to grab a listen to the Kurt Vile record. Whilst I would adore to, there simply hasn’t been the time. So people may disagree with me, or there will invariably be albums I discover from 2011 when i’ve already written my top albums list. There, disclaimer done!
The truth of the matter though, is I love sharing the music, and if you can discover one band that melts your heart or one band that gets you excited about seeing live bands and music, then my heart is warmed and It has been worth the effort.
It has not been an easy decision this year, despite people tweeting me saying they can barely find 5 great albums of the year, i’ve struggled to cut my list down to just 50. Despite topping an array of lists elsewhere and winning the Mercury Music Prize, there could be no other winner than PJ Harvey – Let England Shake. Raw, emotional, inventive and soul destroying perfection. If you listen to one song from this post, make it this one:
My top 50 albums of 2011 are:
- PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
- Other Lives – Tamer Animals
- Real Estate – Days
- Cloud Control – Bliss Release
- Black Keys – El Camino
- Unknown Mortal Orchestra – Unknown Mortal Orchestra
- Wye Oak – Civilian
- Veronica Falls – Veronica Falls
- I Break Horses – Hearts
- Frankie & The Heartstrings – Hunger
- Crystal Stilts – In Love With Oblivion
- The Horrors – Skying
- Dum Dum Girls – Only In Dreams
- Wild Beasts – Smother
- The Boxer Rebellion – The Cold Still
- Cults – Cults
- The Kills – Blood Pressures
- Summer Camp – Welcome To Condale
- The Antlers – Burst Apart
- Metronomy – The English Riviera
- The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar
- Sarabeth Tucek – Get Well Soon
- Little Barrie – King Of The Waves
- Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
- Peggy Sue – Acrobats
- Foster The People – Torches
- Dutch Uncles – Cadenza
- Memory Tapes – Player Piano
- Doyle & The Fourfathers – Man Made
- Ice Age – New Brigade
- Gardens & Villa – Gardens & Villa
- Colourmusic – My ______ Is Pink
- Swimming – Ecstatics International
- Tom Vek – Leisure Seizure
- Spectrals – Bad Penny
- Anna Calvi – Anna Calvi
- Slow Club – Paradise
- The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
- The Crookes – Chasing After Ghosts
- Wolf People – Steeple
- Austra – Feel It Break
- Hyde & Beast – Slow Down
- Toro Y Moi – Underneath The Pine
- Still Corners – Creatures Of An Hour
- The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – Belong
- Pete & The Pirates – One Thousand Pictures
- Little Dragon – Ritual Union
- The Leisure Society – Into The Murky Water
- M83 – Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
- Blood Orange – Coastal Grooves
Louder Than War 2011 Summary
Well it might not be Louder Than War, but it’s the loudest train you’ll probably hear, the good old Steam Train from Indietracks this summer. It’s been an eventful year overall, and one I shall look back on with great fondness, but one thing runs through 2011 for me and thats writing for John Robbs cool as website Louder Than War.
It was back In January that John told me he was putting together a list of new bands and he asked would I do the same, so I stayed up late after work one night and wrote a list of 50 bands. For days, weeks and even months afterwards I got asked about that post, it is one of the most popular posts on the site to this date and for that reason I continued to write every month for the site, albeit about 10 new bands a month, a more manageable delivery.
You’d think there would be a shortage of new bands and music, but I’m dumbfounded to realise that I’ve tipped 150 bands on Louder Than Wars pages this year. This week I’ve spent time pulling together my next list and i’ll be offering 100 new bands in January 2012, as such I thought it would be useful to try and capture the lists that i’ve already written during 2011, to summarise, if you wish. I’ve only ever repeated one band twice (an accident) and therefore bands mentioned previously won’t make the next 100 bands post.
So here it is my summary of 2011 for Louder Than War, I’ll provide the links to the detailed posts on Louder Than War which hold band descriptions and links to their music, but this will just offer a brief summary. I missed one month due to holidays and backlogs but as I still work full time outside the music/radio/media industry I’ll let myself off on that one.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!
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January (LTW POST)
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1.Slow Motion Shoes (RIP)
2. Brown Brogues
3. Young British Artists
4. Spectrals
5. Rodeo Massacre
6. Boy & Bear
7. Esben & The Witch
8. Doyle & The Fourfathers
9. Chapel Club
10. Little Comets
11. The Joy Formidable
12. Flashguns
13. Porcelain Raft
14. Trophy Wife
15. Patterns
16. With That Knife
17. The Lysergic Suite
18. Blind Atlas
19. Veronica Falls
20. Ringo Deathstarr
21. Miles Kane
22. Smoke Fairies
23. Wolf People
24. Fiction
25. Chief
30. Tamaryn
31. Two Wounded Birds
32. Black Dove Experiment
33. Dutch Uncles
34. Airship
35. The Suns
36. Milk Maid
37. Weird Era
38. Suzuki/Method
39. The Boxer Rebellion
40. Islet
41. Golden Glow
42. Beat The Radar
43. Travelling Band
44. Run Toto Run (RIP)
45. Daystar
46. Sad Day For Puppets
47. The Screening
48. Arcadian Kicks
49. May 68 (RIP)
50. The Lines
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February (LTW POST)
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51.Money
52. Eagulls
53. Frankie & The Heartstrings
54. Alex Winston
55. Jamie Woon
56. Cults
57. Plank!
58. Friends
59. Fixers
60. The Crookes
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March (LTW POST)
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61.Mazes
62. Tom Williams & The Boat
63. The Naked & The Famous
64. Sissy & The Blisters
65. Deep Sea Arcade
66. Erland & The Carnival
67.Wye Oak
68. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart
69. Joan As Police Woman
70. Luke Rathborne
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71. Kilto Take
72. The Spires
73. The Narrows
74. The Louche FC
75. YAAKS
76. Ghost Outfit
77. Christian Aids (RIP)
78. Let’s Buy Happiness
79. Vinyl Jacket
80. New Villager
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81. Polarsets
82.Prison Library
83. The Heartbreaks
84. Lower Dens
85. Mammal Club
86. BRAIDS
87. Austra
88. Beat Connection
89 Boy Friend
90. Trojan Horse
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91. EMA
92. Tu Fawning
93. Vessels
94. Tape The Radio
95. Foster The People
96. Echo Lake
97. Driver Drive Faster
98. Is Tropical
99 . Bleeding Knees Club
100. Swimming
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101. Breton
102. The Silver Seas
103. Destroyer
104. Tennis
105. Memory Tapes
106. Copy Haho
107. Kitty, Daisy and Lewis
108. Babeshadow
109 . Emmy The Great
110. Found
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111. SBTRKT
112. Fanzine
113. Vondelpark
114. Man Without Country
115. Dom
116. I Break Horses
117. Theme Park
118. This Many Boyfriends
119. Joseph Coward
120. Summer Camp
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September (LTW POST)
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121. Hyde & Beast
122. Crystal Stilts
123. This Many Boyfriends (Repeated again – slaps hand)
124. Outfit
125. Other Lives
126. Caged Animals
127. Lanterns On The Lake
128. Love Inks
129. IceAge
130. My Tiger My Timing
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October ( No post due to holiday)
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November ( LTW POST)
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131. Gardens and Villa
132. Big Deal
133. Replicas
134. Real Estate
135. Niva
136. Spotlight Kid
137. Kill It Kid
138. Slow Club
139. Letting Up Despite Great Faults
140. Silverclub
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December ( LTW POST)
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141. Loney Dear
142. Sweet Baboo
143. Still Corners
144. Howler
145. Real Fur
146. Niki & The Dove
147. Various Cruelties
148. Michael Kiwanuka
149. Alt J
150. Zulu Winter
Mint Julep
Mint Julep have probably sent out the most consistently cool music videos of 2011, but that aside, the music has also kept my ears enraptured.
Falling somewhere between Chairlift and Saint Etienne, the light and airy indie pop electronica has been a joy to discover in 2011..
The Stepkids..
If you know nothing of my music taste, know this – I love psychedelic, far out and sometimes slightly wacky music.. some call it eclectic, others may understand it better by me explaining that I prefer MGMT’s Congratulations to Oracular Spectacular..
For this reason Connecticut’s The Stepkids fit me like a glove, tipped on twitter by James Endeacott and it’s not hard to hear why.. spaced out, extreme, but ultimately fulfilling..
Gone Swimming
You know when you’ve been waiting to see a band patiently for a number of months and through one reason or another, every attempt you make to see them fails. Well despite broken vans, I managed to finally get to see Swimming last night, and boy was it worth the wait..
I also got to hear about an exciting binaudio shindig that the band will be involved in at the Broadway Cinema in Nottingham on the 2nd December, if you’re in the area don’t miss it!
Despite my earplugs being in place at the gig though, I was also overexcited to have this absolute TUNE dedicated to me, Swimming YOU ROCK..
Trophy Wife twice in a week..
Twice in a week, and its still not enough right?! The Oxford three piece who play live as a four piece have been a band that got totally under my skin from the first time I heard Microlite. By the time The Quiet Earth / White Horses hit the shelves I was happy to get in the car and drive to Sheffield to catch them live for the first time..
That seems so long ago now though! They finally have a new EP out, the ‘Bruxism EP’ which boasts tracks produced by a range of different producers including James Yuill and Yannis from Foals. Plus they’ve now played Manchester a handful of times.. I honestly can’t wait to hear the album, which they are heading off to record after their current set of tour dates. If you want a taster of whats instore, you could do worse but listen to these two tracks, taken off the latest EP.
Flickr Photos
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