Archives for July 2012

London 2012: Official Results App (Android / iPhone / iPad - FREE)

The Olympics have kicked off, and there's an official app to keep track on your phone or tablet. It has news, schedules, results, medal tables and the ability to follow athletes by sport and by country.

Muse 360 (iPhone / iPad - FREE + in-app payments)

Muse's live shows are famous for their pyrotechnics, but will they be as fun in 360 degrees on an iPhone or iPad? This app presents the band's Reading Festival headline set from multiple angles, although you have to pay 69p per song or £4.99 to unlock the whole set.

Unilever Series at Tate Modern (iPad - £4.99)

The Tate Modern has been using its Turbine Hall for 'Unilever Series' exhibits for 13 years now, and they're often spectacular. This iPad app is an official guide with photos and videos: "from Olafur Eliasson's sun to Ai Weiwei's carpet of sunflower seeds.

Your MPFree today comes from San Franciscan duo Two Gallants.

After a three year hiatus the pair tour the UK in October and November with a more intense grunge and punk influenced sound than their previous records.

Fourth album 'The Bloom and the Blight' is out on the 4th of September via ATO Records, and from it comes this track...

Two Gallants - My Love Won't Wait

Your MPFree today comes from a Florida duo called Blonds; fans of Beach House should take notice...

They released their debut EP Dark Roots at the end of last year and are now getting ready to release their debut album. In the past they have toured with Surfer Blood, Blonde Redhead and Cults and are about to tour with The Hold Steady.

Blonds - Time

What a week! There's been some massive toons on the show this week, but none as massive as this final offering.

Crystal Castles are back, and are still as bruising as ever. Their new album is expected later this year and it's being mixed in London right now. This is an early taste; not for the fainthearted...

Your other tracks this week are:

Freelance Whales - Locked Out

Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti - Only In My Dreams

Flying Lotus - "Between Friends" (Feat. Earl Sweatshirt & Captain Murphy)

The Mountain Goats - Cry For Judas

Crystal Castles - Plague

Some tracks may no longer be available.

This weeks Memory Tape comes from listener Louise Norris and what a story she has for us...

“ I found my way to your 'memory tapes' purely by chance from somewhere else in cyber space - and after a couple of random clicks to see what great things other listeners had written about the wonder that is the mix tape, I happened across one sent in earlier this summer from none other than my first love - who I have not seen or heard from in years - ah, the memories - I could almost feel the weight of the eye liner descending onto my lids and I swear I caught a waft of Body Shop White Musk on the wind......”

“I couldn't let this happy discovery go unmarked and several hours of digging through boxes of history later, I found the first ever mix tape he made me in those first heady days of goth fuelled teenage love when we thought a certain Robert Smith may well have been the big fella himself, and we were pretty sure we were the bees (very black) knees - oh for the undoubting confidence of youth!”

“Thankfully my musical horizons have broadened somewhat during the intervening years, and I can now boast off-black and even grey amoungst my wardrobe, but I still get goose bumps and feel slightly homesick when I listen to this tape! Enjoy!”

The tracklisting can be seen below:

Side 1

Away - The Bolshoi

Serpents Kiss - The Mission

Boy's Don't Cry - The Cure

There She Goes Again - The Velvet Underground

Looking Glass Girl - The Glove

Pluto Drive - The Creatures

Dream Now - All About Eve

Into The Night - Siouxsie & The Banshees

Wake Up - The Danse Society

Swamp Thing - The Chameleons

Wild Thing - The Troggs

Side 2

Sunday Morning - The Velvet Underground

Blind Lemon Sam - All About Eve

Killing Time - The Creatures

Pearly Dewdrops Drop - The Cocteau Twins

Waiting For The Flood - Love and Rockets

Pariah - Danielle Dax

Punish Me With Kisses - The Glove

2 Late - The Cure

What Kind Of Fool - All About Eve

Kernow - Danielle Dax

Hollow Heart - Birdland

A Night Like This - The Cure

Hope - Bauhaus

Your MPFree today sees the return of The Mountain Goats! Ace!

John Darnielle returns in October with his 14th (14th!) studio album Transcendental Youth which he's said focuses on outcasts, recluses and others struggling in ordinary society.

There's no UK or European dates announced yet, but as soon as we know, we'll tell you.

The Mountain Goats - Cry For Judas

Your MPFree today is another track from the Adult Swim series of free summer downloads.

It's a collaboration between Flying Lotus, Captain Murphy and Earl Sweatshirt of the Odd Future collective who we're hearing alot about this days thanks to Frank Ocean.

It's just a straight-forward, no strings attached collaboration, and won't be appearing on the new Flying Lotus album which is due in October. Until The Quiet Comes will be released through Warp Records and features Erykah Badu, Thom Yorke and many more. He has a couple of UK dates planned for November in London and Manchester.

Flying Lotus - "Between Friends" (Feat. Earl Sweatshirt & Captain Murphy)

Today's MPFree was yesterday's Headphone Moment. So if you liked it, you're in luck.

It comes from Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti and is a foretaste of his new album Mature Themes. The album will again be released through 4AD and is expected at the end of August.

He also has some European dates planned for November which include dates in Glasgow, Liverpool and London.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti - Only In My Dreams

Tech expert Stuart Dredge highlights some of this week's best apps...

The Blur App (iPhone / iPad)

To celebrate Blur's latest reunion and gigs, EMI has launched an iPhone and iPad app celebrating the band's 21-year career. It's not just marketing bumph though - there is lots of exclusive music, remixes and interviews, along with a big gigography (including setlists) from the early days to now.

Passion Pit: Gossamer (iPhone / iPad)

The man who worked with Bjork on her Biophilia apps, Scott Snibbe, has a new collaboration with Passion Pit. It's more interactive music videos, this time for two songs off their new album Gossamer, as well as fun remix tools to make your own versions of the songs.

Tom Hanks' Electric City (Android / iPhone / iPad)

Tom Hanks' latest project isn't in the cinema: it's online and on smartphones and tablets. Electric City is an animated web series which is being distributed entirely digitally. The apps came out last week, and include additional stuff as well as the basic episodes.

Your MPFree today is a welcome return for Freelance Whales.

The New York five-piece will follow up their 2010 debut Weathervanes in October with the album Diluvia. For this project they've recruited Vampire Weekend producer Shane Stoneback, and this free download will be the first single.

Freelance Whales - Locked Out

We're ending this week's run of free downloads with a Friday banger. It comes from Seams and is remixed by Enjoyed.

The original appears on Seams' debut double EP Tourist/Sleeper and is also the lead single released on 6th August.

The rest of your songs are as follows...

The Helio Sequence - October

Liars - A Ring On Every Finger

Yuna - Live Your Life (DJ Ayres & Scott Melker Remix)

Battleships - Your Words

Seams - Punch (Enjoyed Remix)

Some tracks may no longer be available for download.

This week's Memory Tape comes from Catherine Stratford, and we're back to boys and girls again...

"It's a rather straightforward tale: girl meets boy, boy moves to Belgium four weeks later to study, girl clings to long-distance relationship knowing this is the one. I was right, obviously (we married in 2001).

"This arrived in a jiffy bag at my student house sometime in 1994 and I clung to it massively. As a long-time Duranie and at the time fully immersed in Brit Pop it was a proper musical education (which was no doubt totally the intention along with the 'miss you' note)."

So here's the track listing:

Side 1

In Between Days - The Cure

Spaceboy - Smashing Pumpkins

Seasons - Chris Cornell

El Sol - Mark Lanegan

Here - Pavement

Fell On Black Days - Soundgarden

Something in the Way - Nirvana

Alright Sunshine Song - Submarine

Stay - Belly

Homesick - Soul Asylum

Daydream - Smashing Pumpkins

Side 2

Kangaroo - Big Star

Any Other Way - The Posies

Battle of Evermore - The Lovemongers

Pain In My Heart - Otis Redding

Castles Made of Sand - Jimi Hendrix

Black - Pearl Jam

Miss You - Rolling Stones

Big Black Car - Big Star

Fading - Submarine

Goin Home - Dinosaur Jnr

Kathy's Song - Simon & Garfunkel

Why not email Lauren your Memory Tape?

The MPFree today comes from Australian band Battleships who's debut single 'In Retrospect' was a free download a month or so ago.

Battleships are a four-piece from Sydney who cite their influences as The National, Doves, Elbow.

We're pretty excited about this band, so were rather pleased when their second single 'Your Words' came up as a free download.

Battleships - Your Words

Your MPFree today comes from a lady who we featured as one of very early MPFree-ers back in the olden days. It was a different song though!

It comes from Malaysian singer Yuna who realeses seperate records in both Malaysia and in the US. So far, she's up to album number two in her home country, but only recently released her debut in the US.

This song comes from that debut and was produced by Pharrell Williams, but remixed by DJ Ayres & Scott Melker.

Yuna - Live Your Life (DJ Ayres & Scott Melker Remix)

Today's MPFree comes courtesy of Liars. The track comes from their 6th album WIXIW which was released in June.

They have a UK tour planned for later this year which starts in Leeds on 10th October, in preparation, here's a track...

Liars - A Ring On Every Finger

Tech wizard Stuart Dredge runs you through a few apps new to the market...

Mixcloud (Android - Free)

Mixcloud is a popular website and iPhone app that streams DJ mix sets, podcasts and radio shows. Now it's available on Android too, so worth another look. You can browse for shows to listen to, mark your favourites and follow the DJs / podcasters that you most like.

Amazing Alex (Android / iPhone / iPad - 69p - £1.99)

Finnish developer Rovio is famous for its Angry Birds games, which 900 million people have downloaded so far. Amazing Alex is its first NON-Angry Birds game since that series became a monster hit, and is more about solving physics-based puzzles.

Recce - London (iPhone / iPad - Free)

Recce is a beautiful 3D mapping application, initially about London to let you zoom over the capital's landmarks and find places to go.

Your MPFree today is a track from the fifth studio album by The Helio Sequence.

The Oregon duo of Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel will release 'Negotiations' in September through Sub Pop. You can get an early taste of the album with the track October.

The Helio Sequence - October

This week's run of free downloads concludes with a song that has been touched by the hand of Richard Norris. It's a Frankie Rose remix from the musician, producer, remixer and one half of Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve who's now going under the moniker of The Time & Space Machine. If you like it, you can help yourself.

Your tracks this week are:

Slow Club - Beginners (King of Town Remix)

Tame Impala - Apocalypse Dreams

MNDR - Faster Horses

Talib Kweli & Das Racist - The Actual

Frankie Rose - Pair Of Wings (Time & Space Machine remix)

Some tracks may no longer be available for download.

It's a proper tape this week on Memory Tapes, and it comes from Verity Longley, who writes....

"So, this tape remains to be the best mixtape I've ever been given. My friend Sarah made it when I got my first car in 2003 and I needed things to go in the tape deck.

"I no longer have a cassette player, so can't listen to it which is sad.

"The track listing is a bit early 2000's era, but it's so good. I remember it was the first time I'd heard Neutral Milk Hotel and it just blew me away, I used rewind the Le Tigre track and listen to it over and over, and Hefner...just... I was more into punk at the time and oddly, this music resonates with me even more now than it did at the time.

"I occasionally run a club night in Bristol now and still play some of these songs."

Side A

Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945

The Clash - Safe European Home

The Libertines - Never, Never

Smashing Pumpkins - Hello Kittykat

Sleater-Kinney - Oh

Ramones - She's a Sensation

British Sea Power - Remember Me

Le Tigre - Fake French

The Rocks - Celeste

Belle & Sebastian - Piazza, New York Catcher

Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah

Radiohead - Thinking About You

Pixies - Allison

The Libertines - The Delaney

Side B

The Barbs - Massive Crush

Hefner - Hello Kitten

The Killers - Under the gun

Special Needs - Francesca

David Hasselhoff - Looking for Freedom

The Cribs - Another Number

The Ordinary Boys - In Awe of the Awful

Helen Love - Debbie Loves Joey

Guided By Voices - Things That I Will Keep

The Rakes- Ausland Mission

The Auteurs - Adolescent Song About Mindless Devotion

The Rocks - Can You Hear Me

Thurman - English Tea

Want to send Lauren your Memory Tape? Email her; go on...

Your MPFree today is a collaboration between Talib Kweli & Das Racist.

The song is a result of a collection of Brooklyn-based artists coming together to create the Eastern District Presents Mosholu compilation album.

Others involved in the record are Spank Rock, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Machine Gun Kelly amongst others.

Talib Kweli & Das Racist - The Actual

Today's MPFree is from MNDR; a New York duo of Amanda Warner and Peter Wade.

Those of you with better memories will already know these guys, as Lauren played one of their tracks in the not-too-distant past. This free track is a taster of the debut album Feed Me Diamonds which is set for release in August.

MNDR - Faster Horses

Your MPFree today comes from blissed-out Aussies Tame Impala.

This is some new material from the band but it's not yet clear if this will appear on their new album. The second album is called Lonerism and is set for release in October.

It's produced by frontman Kevin Parker and is mixed by Dave Fridmann. The first single is set to be Elephant later in the year, but for now...

Tame Impala - Apocalypse Dreams

Stuart Dredge is back with a couple of app recommendations for your smart phone/tablet.

Sonarflow (iPhone/iPad - Free)

This brand new app aims to help you find new music to listen to on Spotify. It's like a Venn diagram of artists and songs, showing you your Top Songs, your Starred songs and Spotify's chart, then a little spyglass to find similar music that you might like.

Word Lens (Android - £2.99)

Simple but genius: Word Lens gets you to point your smartphone at printed materials (signs, menus etc) and instantly translates them into English for you. It works with French, Spanish and Italian, and has just come out on Android following an iPhone version last year. The most useful tourism app yet, as well as being the most useful example of augmented reality.

London - A City Through Time (iPad - £9.99)

This is marvellous - a beautiful interactive encyclopedia of London through the last 2,000 tears, with text, images, maps, spinny objects, audio tours and anecdotes from famous Londoners. A real treat.

The first MPFree of the week is a Slow Club remix. The song in question is Beginners and is released in August as the next single from the band's second album Paradise.

The remix part comes courtesy of King Of Town (aka Paul Holden) who in the past has remixed the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Phenomenal Hand Clap Band and The Detachments.

Slow Club - Beginners (King of Town Remix)

It's been another strong week of MPFrees kids, and topping it off is a current fav.

London four-piece VuVuVultures release the single I'll Cut You on July 30th and we've been playing it a fair old while. But, if you like free things, and you don't like waiting then help yourself to the track right now by clicking the link below.

This week's downloads are:

The Raveonettes - Observations

Dead Can Dance - Amnesia

Wye Oak - Spiral

Chapel Club - Sleep Alone

VuVuVultures - I'll Cut You

Some tracks may no longer be available for download.

This week's contributor on Memory Tapes is big-bag-of-eclecticism Brandon Isleib, who writes...

"A couple years ago, four of my very close friends - sisters Alyssa and Ashley, their brother James, and his best friend Robert - moved away at the same time. They moved 2300 miles away, so this wasn't a "catch up with you in a few months?" kind of thing. As a music geek, the most personal thing I know to give is music, so I made mixes for each of them based on what they liked.

"I also made one of how I wanted them to remember me, all those miles away; this was easier to assemble. I don't know how much they listened to them, but when you're driving 2300 miles across America, you take each and every mix tape you can get, and hopefully it meant something to them."

For James:

1. BT - Movement in Still Life

2. Daft Punk - Da Funk

3. Moby - Honey

4. The Budos Band - Unbroken, Unshaven

5. Stereo MCs - Creation

6. Charlatans - Missing Beats (of a Generation)

7. Monty Python - Live from the Parking Lot at the Silbury Hill Theatre

8. Fortran 5 - Layla (Derek Sings Derek) [this is Derek Nimmo singing the Derek and the Dominoes track]

9. Chemical Brothers - The Boxer

10. They Might Be Giants - Wicked Little Critta

11. Lo-Fidelity Allstars - Battleflag

12. Groove Armada - Suntoucher

13. Massive Attack - Risingson

14. Deadly Avenger - Blade

15. DJ Shadow - Building Steam with a Grain of Salt

16. Flight of the Conchords - Leggy Blonde

For Robert:

1. BT - Everything's Gone Green

2. Daft Punk - Digital Love

3. Moby - Run On

4. The Budos Band - Black Venom

5. Stereo MCs - Connected

6. Charlatans - Page One

7. Monty Python - Live Broadcast from London: Premiere of the Film

8. The Electric Chairs - Barbie Girl [acoustic-ish cover on the Orb's Back to Mine mix]

9. Chemical Brothers - The Golden Path

10. They Might Be Giants - We Want a Rock

11. Lo-Fidelity Allstars - Deep Ellum...Hold On

12. Barry White - Playing Your Game Baby

13. Massive Attack - Angel

14. Deadly Avenger - We Took Pelham

15. DJ Shadow - Stem/Long Stem ** Transmission 2

16. Flight of the Conchords - Bowie

For Alyssa:

1. Saint Etienne - Action

2. BT - Always

3. As One - Contours

4. Underworld - Two Months Off

5. Pet Shop Boys - Where the Streets Have No Name (Can't Take My Eyes Off of You)

6. Chicane - Don't Give Up

7. Leftfield - Afrika Shox

8. Blu Mar Ten - Nobody Here

9. Peter Gabriel - Growing Up

10. Massive Attack - Teardrop

11. Sneaker Pimps - 6 Underground

12. Everything but the Girl - Before Today

For Ashley:

1. Massive Attack - Safe from Harm

2. The Outfield - Voices of Babylon

3. Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You

4. Soulstice - Lovely

5. Sarah McLachlan - Angel (Dusted Remix)

6. Jamiroquai - Cosmic Girl

7. Shara Nelson - One Goodbye in Ten

8. Gus Gus - Starlovers

9. Carl Cox - Dr Funk

10. Groove Armada - My Friend

11. Delerium - Innocente

12. Blu Mar Ten - Drive

13. Duran Duran - Ordinary World

14. Ashley MacIsaac - Wing-Stock

Of Myself:

1. Genesis - On the Shoreline

2. 10,000 Maniacs - These Are Days

3. Crowded House - Distant Sun

4. BT - Remember

5. Jaga Jazzist - One-Armed Bandit

6. Jazzanova - Soon

7. Blu Mar Ten - By the Time My Light Reaches You I'll Be Gone

8. Genesis - Blood on the Rooftops

9. Porcupine Tree - Gravity Eyelids

10. Underworld - Dirty Epic

11. Ozric Tentacles - Crackerblocks

12. Distant (Rubicon II) - VNV Nation

13. Hybrid - Break My Soul

The MPFree today sees the return of Chapel Club, and it's a different sounding Chapel Club to what you may expect. The band are giving one new song away, and are streaming three other songs from their website.

About the new sound they say: "These four songs (like the album entire) are pretty different from our old stuff, and we realise that may disappoint some of our fans. We didn't aim to mess with anyone's hopes or expectations, but we also knew we couldn't keep doing this if we had to spend another 18 months writing and playing The Big Music."

The album they refer to will be their second and is called Good Together which is still without a release date.

Chapel Club - Sleep Alone

Wednesday's MPFree is some new material from Baltimore duo Wye Oak. This isn't, however, a foretaste of the follow up album to 2011's Civilian.

This track is as a one-off as part of the Adult Swim series of music giveaways.

Adult Swim is an 'adult-oriented cable television network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network' and for the last three summers, they've given away a track every week for 12 weeks. They are now in to week three of 12 for 2012 and have so far given away tracks by Unknown Mortal Orchestra and The Hives.

Wye Oak are currently on the road in the US with Dirty Projectors.

Wye Oak - Spiral

Today's MPFree sees a return to 4AD legends Dead Can Dance. The Australian duo of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry will release their first new material in 16 years in August in the form of their album Anastasis.

They have a gig planned for October at the Royal Albert Hall, but don't get too excited, as it sold out in two days.

Dead Can Dance - Amnesia

Mr Stuart Dredge returns with more app reviews, mainly...

Musicians releasing music as apps

Adam Jansch (son of Bert!) released his Futures EP for iPhone, and claims each track will sound different every time you listen to it (1,418,633,882,621,706,240 possible outcomes for one of them).

The Sonnets by William Shakespeare (iPad)

This is from the same people who did The Waste Land (Faber and Touch Press) - every one of Shakespeare's sonnets read by famous actors (David Tennant, Sir Patrick Stewart, Fiona Shaw etc) along with notes, expert interviews and so on. Have MP3 to play too, if useful.

Podcasts (iPhone / iPad)

Podcasts might not get hyped as much as a few years ago, but they're still really popular. Now Apple has launched a standalone Podcasts app for iPhone and iPad, to help you find podcasts to listen to, and subscribe to your favourites.

Your MPFree today comes from Danish duo The The Raveonettes.

This download marks the start of the campaign for record number six which has been produced by Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, the Go-Go's). It's still unmistakably The Ravonettes, but this new material seems a little darker and more atmospheric. Listen for yourself below...

The Raveonettes - Observations