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June 29, 2007
Friday grab bag
In a style reminiscent of vintage Boards of Canada, please enjoy this track by Xela, from the 2007 release For Frosty Mornings And Summer Nights.
Xela - Under The Glow Of Streetlights
All Good Funk Alliance have a new record out, replete with their typically enjoyable party tunes. But they've appended some pretty good remixes this time out as well, including this little stomper. From the album Slingshot Boogie.
All Good Funk Alliance - R E C (Ancient Astronauts Remix)
Apparently this track is of the "breaks" that all the kids are liking these days. Who knew!
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Animals on Wheels - Soluble Ducks
Fusonic - Base
Source Direct - The Silent Witness
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2007
Battles
Battles make music that only crazy people are likely to like: they meld the wacky dance jam styles of !!! with the prog rock tendencies of... uh... well, I'm not going to admit that I'm familiar with specific prog rock acts, but you'll get the idea soon enough. From the 2007 Warp Records release Mirrored.
Battles - Atlas
Battles - Prismism
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Thievery Corporation - Doors Of Perception (Feat Gunjan)
Sarah Vaughan - Whatever Lola Wants (Gotan Project Remix)
The Sons - Boomp Boomp Chomp
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (1)
June 25, 2007
Socalled
Klezmer hip hop? Uh, ok! From the 2007 release Ghettoblaster, by Socalled.
Socalled - (Rock The) Belz
Socalled - Baleboste
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Allah, Mohammed, Char, Yaar
Verbose - goneiguess
Golden Apple Corps - You Tell Me
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2007
Apparat
Apparat has a shiny new album out called Walls, a follow up to the eminently tasty collaboration with Ellen Allien. Although Allien doesn't feature on this recording, the yummy pop influence from that record is still on display, and still sounds great. This isn't the most complicated techno in the world, but that's just fine by me.
Apparat - Hailin From The Edge
Apparat - Limelight
Apparat - Holdon
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Growling Mad Scientists - Herd Rush
Parov Stelar - If I Had You
The Polyphonic Spree - Section 8 (Soldier Girl)
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2007
Angelo Badalamenti
Angelo Badalamenti, famed David Lynch collaborator, has put together a sweet little compilation of ambient dub with a global flair called Link Pins. The hints of various global styles adds a nice layer of cohesion to the proceedings, keeping the record from drowning in the aural morass that often accompanies dub offerings.
Fascade@137db - Character Of The Moment (Sinewave remix)
Brace - Brace Your Soul
Leaf System - Rocket Dub
Recently on Comfort Radio:
drone sickness and friends - tea poisons
Soundeffects - Axe Throws
Senor Coconut - Upper Mambo / Lower Funk
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 18, 2007
Guns of Brixton
Guns of Brixton make dub soaked post rock, an interesting fusion that keeps the dub from sounding swampy and the post rock from sounding derivative. I would never have expected this album - which is part of why I like it. From the 2006 release In Dub Out.
Guns of Brixton - Devant Leurs Yeux
Guns of Brixton - 8 Minutes En Corse
Guns of Brixton - Le Train Fantome
Recently on Comfort Radio:
DJ Spooky - DJ SoulSlinger/Abducted (UFO Mix)
Future Sound of London - Interstat
Buena Vista Fight Club - No Name, No Fame
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2007
Bonobo
After much delay, I finally got around to checking out the 2006 release by Bonobo, entitled Days To Come. It is tasty good, smoky downtempo with tight instrumentation and cool grooves, in a similar vein to label mates Cinematic Orchestra.
Bonobo - Transmissions94 (Parts 1 & 2)
Bonobo - On Your Marks
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Negativland - Helter Stupid
Camper Van Beethoven - Garden Love
Speedy J - Sabina Seat
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 13, 2007
El-P
If you're in the mood for some engaging, intricate, vaguely menacing hip hop, look no further than the excellent new release by El-P, entitled I'll Sleep When You're Dead. Me, I rarely think I'm in the mood for this kind of thing until the exact moment a record like this starts playing, and then suddenly I realize, "Riiiiight, that's what I like about hip hop."
El-P - Tasmanian Pain Coaster
El-P - Smithereens
El-P - Flyentology
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Ellen Allien & Apparat - Retina
Murcof - Urano
The Kleptones - Listen
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (1)
June 11, 2007
Datarock
Datarock makes swank and slinky indie pop on their new release, entitled, cleverly enough, Datarock Datarock. This album's actually been out for a while but is now seeing a domestic reissue; still sounds pretty fresh to me.
Datarock - I Used To Dance With My Daddy
Datarock - Fa-Fa-Fa
And just for fun, here's a track that's been a staple in my DJ set for a while...
Yukari Fresh feat. Datarock - Dead
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Emperor Penguin - Underwater Housekeeper
Barbara Morgenstern - Juist
Piero Umiliani - Lady Magnolia
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (1)
June 08, 2007
Friday grab bag
Mocean Worker has a new record coming out entitled Cinco De Mowo! It follows in the vein of his previous release, offering tasty little Mr. Scruff-esque dance tracks, and while the record is not as compelling overall as the last one, it's still a nice little toe-tapper.
Mocean Worker - I Got You (featuring Morley)
In the mood for a vaguely trip hop cover of an old Police track? Look no further! On Mudville's new album Iris Nova, guest appearances by Mike Mills, Karsh Kale, and Michael Blake from the Lounge Lizards are among the treats, but this track is nevertheless the standout.
Mudville - Spirits In The Material World
A little birdie informed me that Ulrich Schnauss has a new album coming out (which I'll post about soon), and to whet the appetite, an EP has been released with this reworking of an older tune by Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins fame. Needless to say, it's delicious. From Quicksand Memory.
Ulrich Schnauss - On My Own (Robin Guthrie mix)
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Department of Eagles - Noam Chomsky Spring Break 2002
Jah Division - Dub Will Tear Us Apart
The Concretes - Miss You
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2007
Give this site a birthday present!
In a little over a month or so, this little music blog turns three years old. To celebrate, I was thinking it would be nice to trick-- er, excuse me, talk one of you into redesigning this ridiculous looking web site, which is basically surviving on the out-of-the-box Movable Type "salmon pink" theme - and "surviving" is generous, considering how many people have bothered to let me know how much it makes their eyes bleed when they have to look upon it.
We don't have any form of budget here, but we do have a little money left over from a fund raiser we did a while back. The amount itself isn't even remotely adequate to trick-- er, excuse me, talk anyone with "mad skillz" into doing the work under ordinary circumstances, but here's what I propose: I'll use that money to pick up a nice MP3 player in the 30-60gb range (depending on the brand), I will stuff that bad boy full of highlights from the gargantuan Comfort Radio archives, and I will ship that little fella to whomever turns in the zippiest redesign. It doesn't have to be the super fanciest whizbangiest redesign; sleek & simple often does the job, and something relatively easy to implement is mandatory (this version of Movable Type only runs on Web 1.4).
If that sounds appealing, consider the contest open; please email me at scotto @ comfortradio.org with your submissions. A panel of celebrity judges will make a decision on June 22. If no one enters, or if our panel of celebrity judges can't find a winner, we will go digging through the default Movable Type themes to find an even uglier color for the next year. It's only right.
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (3)
June 06, 2007
Emilie Simon
In case you didn't know (I didn't), Emilie Simon delivered the score for the original French version of the movie March of the Penguins, and that music has just been released in the US. On the brief and wistful record, March of the Empress, Simon is more subdued than on her previous studio album, The Flower Book, but having seen the movie, I can say she definitely succeeds in evoking some very pretty imagery.
Emilie Simon - The Frozen World
Emilie Simon - Ice Girl
Recently on Comfort Radio:
Regina Spektor - Lady
Lee Perry & The Upsetters - Justice To The People
Chocolate Weasel - Music For Body Lockers
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (1)
June 04, 2007
Bluetech
Bluetech delivered a solid set of ambient chillout goodness, on the 2005 release Sines And Singularities. It's smooth and serene, with touches of dub to keep things interesting.
Bluetech - Airstream
Shulman - First Came The Stars (Bluetech remix)
Recently on Comfort Radio:
IQU with Miranda July - Girls On Dates (K.O. Love Mix)
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Arms Aloft
David Axelrod - Holy Thursday
Posted by Scotto at 08:00 AM | Comments (0)
June 01, 2007
DeVotchKa
I finally got around to picking up a DeVotchKa record, and now I don't know why it took me so long, since I have been smitten with the sound since I first started hearing the band pop up on KEXP a long time ago. It's crazy gypsy / klezmer / flamenco / indie rock / whatever they feel like playing music, with a sweeping scope that ranges from bittersweet to hard-partying. These tracks are from the 2004 release How It Ends; a 2006 EP is out there too, on my wish list of course.
DeVotchKa - Such A Lovely Thing
DeVotchKa - How It Ends
DeVotchKa - Lunnaya Pogonka
Recently on Comfort Radio:
King Missile - How To Remember Your Dreams
Peter Gabriel - Brimstone Theme
Beastie Boys - So Whatcha Want (feat. B-Real) (Remix)
Posted by Scotto at 07:53 AM | Comments (1)