blog

In one of the most compelling shows we have ever witnessed, video director Chris Cunningham unleashed a shocking audio-visual torrent of savage material upon the Royal Festival Hall faithful earlier this year. The highlight of the show was the calm but ominous finale that featured a song from Gil-Scott-Heron's recent album accompanied by a dark portrayal of NYC. Turns out this segment was actually a preview of Cunningham's first music video in 4 years and it will hopefully feature on a new dvd album which he's currently working on.

A little bit annoying that it's Andrew Meza of BTS Radio, who incidentally resides in the U S of A, to flag up this promising gem of a muse from.... Ipswich, UK. On closer inspection of his neatly packaged homepage, it becomes obvious that S.Maharba is a whizz not only at striking a happy medium between psych-soul and the illustrious boom-bap from days now passed, but also between photography and graphic design with his remixed imagery. Enjoy the following pics and then make your way over to http://www.btsradio.com to check S.Maharba's mixtape.

Ghostly International releases are becoming a regular fixture in our blog content. Following on from Mathew Dear's eery portrait of the Black City he no doubt frequents in his dreams, they are now getting ready to put out Gold Panda's debut album entitled Lucky Shiner (named after his Grandmother who knows him inside out according to the man himself). The preview below kicks off with synth stabs that wouldn't sound out of place in a Michael Mayer Immer mix, but soon they fall by the wayside to a dreamy and evolving soundscape that's heavily underpinned by a club-ready house beat.

Found this one lurking around in Nathan Fake's BTS Radio mixtape like a sulky beast that hates being the centre of attention. I would definitely recommend sticking around for the full 7 minutes because there's oodles of stuff to take in. In fact, get those old headphones on and put your head down for a bit.

We are big fans of Matthew Dear's work here at {work:ethic} headquarters. His consistent output of acid house as well as the 80s referencing paranoid-pop songs on 2007's quietly conquering Asa Breed album (not to mention the unstoppable series of 12"s from his raunchy Audion alter-ego) have made it difficult for us not to get excited about every bit of music he comes out with...

MP3 file: 

Matthew Dear- Soil to Seed

Not sure what the RSPCA will have to say about the video for Tame Impala's 'Solitude is Bliss' (especially the bit at 02:50) but I'm sure they won't have any complaints against the song itself. Not only is it a refreshing take on Summertime psyche-rock, but it's also a welcome reminder that there's so much more to the music spectrum than glitchy hip-hop, hazy electronica and bumpty 4:4 beats (-as much as we love this stuff as well). Looking forward to investigating this Australian band further and I suppose their debut album 'Innerspeaker' is probably a good place to start.

Not quite sure how we slept on this, but better late than never. It turns out that Washington-based producer Oddisee has been making albums to coincide with the passing seasons, and his latest contribution in the series is 'Odd Spring', which you can download from his Bandcamp, free of charge.

MP3 file: 

06 In The Now Feat. Olivier Daysoul.mp3

The prodigal son, James Blake, has surpassed himself with 'CMYK'. Aaliyah's classic vocal (from the Dr Dolittle soundtrack - don't shoot the messenger!) shines through nicely against Blake's syncopated beats and lush basslines. Something tells me this one will keep the ladies happy too.

I'm up to track 4 in Cherrystone's selection for Vice's online magazine. Track 1, "Creeping" by a group called 2.54, is a breath of fresh air in particular. In Cherrystone's own words... 'This number is a moody slice of distorted shoegaze, kissing the shadowed corpse of pop. I hope these two do well, I’m sold on the guitar and harmonies alone. They’re like The Raincoats and Family Fodder, but with black light bulbs and sensual intentions'. I have no idea who The Raincoats or Family Fodder are but I want more of the same please.

'Look upon people or scenery that have been sacrificed through photography as offerings to the next world.' - Shigo.

More heavyness here: http://liekoshiga.com/main.html