Archives for January 2013

Thursday's MPFree comes from Simon Green a.k.a. Bonobo with his new single 'Cirrus', the first from his upcoming album 'North Strides' out the 1st April.

It's been three years since his debut 'Black Sands' and was an album that saw him tour the world with his fantastic live show for well over a year.

He is set to tour America and Europe with the new album too, here are the UK dates:

18th May - Roundhouse London

20th May - Rock City, Nottingham

21st May - Plug, Sheffield

22nd May - Manchester Ritz, Manchester

23rd May - The Picture House, Edinburgh

24th May - The Sage, Gateshead

25th May - Love Saves The Day, Bristol

Get the single for free right here, you have to provide your email address but it's worth it...

'Cirrus' - Bonobo

Midweek MPFree time and today we have some electronic pop disco house from Cologne based duo Coma, with their new single 'Hoooooray'.

Their new album 'Technicolour is released on April 15th on German label Kompakt and to celebrate they have made this single available as a free download.

The album features guest apperances from Vimes and MIT frontman Edi Winarni, and 'Hoooooray' is no exception, with cameos from ADA and ROOSEVELT...have a listen...

Hoooooray - Coma

Today's MPFree is 'Million Fans', the first release from RDGLDGRN's self-titled debut EP, released the 12th February on Fairfax Recordings.

The single and all the tracks on the EP feature Dave Grohl on drums. He met the Washington trio in LA at the old site of the Sound City Studios where Faifax temporarily moved to record the album. Grohl happened to be there recording his new documentary...and the rest is history so they say.

RDGLDGRN are currently on an extensive your of the States. If you can't make any of these, and can't wait for the EP, get the free download below...you have to provide your email address but it is very much worth it.

Million Fans - RDGLDGRN

Good Monday to you! Today's MPFree comes courtesy of The Strokes with their new single 'One Way Trigger'.

This is the first material from the band since their 2011 album 'Angles' and for the big fans they have a brand new album due for release this year.

The new song is available for free from their website right now, follow the link below and see what you think...

One Way Trigger - The Strokes

It's been a very varied week of downloads from slow soulful covers, to guitar driven power houses and also some piano driven disco thrown in for good measure.

Finishing off the week is the new one from Matthew Hubert with 'Suddenly', a track from Accidental Records comprehensive overview of Huberts works between 1996 and 2006.

Enjoy it, and while you're there you can download the rest of the weeks tracks...

Jessie Ware - What You Wont Do For Love

Harper Simon - Bonnie Brae

Black Rebel Motorcyle Club - Let The Day Begin

Grizzly Bear - Gun Shy(Lindstom Remix)

Matthew Herbert - Suddenly

Some tracks may no longer be available for download.

This weeks guest for Memory Tapes is John Hutton, who writes...

"Not much of a story here, nowt lifechanging here or anything. I'm reminded of this mix, though, because there's the possibilitly of snow in the next few days and I remember first sticking this on the old iPod and wandering out into a surprisingly heavy snow fall. The sort of snow where the roads are totally deserted - I was living in a little village having just finished at Uni in London - and the snow damps all the sound. It wasn't planned but this mix turned out to be grand listening in such conditions.

I really liked the symmetry thing going on here, with the odd chirping at either end. Can't for the life of me remember which version of Albion I started with, but it was one of the many acoustic sessions uploaded here there and everywhere. I definitely remember the second version of Albion was the album version - I was a massive fan back in those days and I recall how narked off some folks were with the whining, unhinged and lengthy intro to that particular version of the song that totally made it for me.

Anyhow, a lot of these songs take me back to the little flat I shared with a mate in Muswell Hill, and the time another mate stayed and brought his entire CD collection with him - in the process opening my ears up to an astonishing amount of music I'd never even heard of. Exceptional times.

Here's John's CD track listing:

Albion - Pete Doherty

Aerial Tal - Kate Bush

Washaway - (reprise) - Joe Purdy

Moon Mall - Johnny Greenwood

Star Star - The Frames

Ataronchronon - Boards Of canada

Sleeping In - The Postal Service

Twilight - Josh Rouse

Under Your Breath - Whiskeytown

Wurlitzer - David Gray

One Man Guy - Rufus Wainwright

Kids Will Be Skeletons - Mogwai

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

#16 - Aphex Twin

The Only Living Boy In New York - Simon & Garfunkel

Ostrich & Chirping - Elliot Smith

Albion - Babyshambles

Bonus Tracks:

1/1 - Brian Eno

Merry Go Round - Babyshambles

We always like to read your stories and track listing - why not email Lauren with both now?

Warped Record's Grizzly Bear have unveiled a new remix of their atmospheric track 'Gun Shy' by Norwegian disco aficionado Hans-Peter Lindstrom.

Lindstrom has transformed a rather somber reflective piece of warm piano-driven disco, which treads a similar path to his and Todd Terje's recently released 'Lanzarote'

The track originally appreared on the Grizzly Bear's 2012 'Shields' album but is unrecognisable, see what you think...

Grizzly Bear - Gun Shy (Lindstrom Remix)

Good day to you. Our MPFree for you on Wednesday the 23rd January is the new single from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

Their new single 'Let The Day Begin' is the first single from the bands upcoming album 'Specter At The Feast', due for release March 18th.

They have a European/American tour coming up, which you can buy tickets for on their website, dates are as follows:

10th March - Limelight, Belfast

11th March - The Academy, Dublin

13th March - Usine, France

14th March - Caprices Festival, Crans Montana, Switzerland

15th March - Le Trainon, Paris(sold out)

16th March - Le Trianon, Paris(sold out)

18th March - Magazzini Generali, Milan, Italy

....the list goes on and on and on finishing in LA, California on the 1st June.

You have to provide your email address via the link below in order to download the single, but it's worth it...

Let The Day Begin - Black Rebel Motorcylce Club

Toasty Tuesday? Raise a glass to Harper Simon, son of Paul Simon, for he has made a little gem of a record which we have made available for you to download today.

This is the first track to be taken from Harper Simon's forthcoming second album 'Division Street' - released on Play It Again Sam on 25th March, which follows his 2009 critically acclaimed self-titled debut.

He is to announce UK dates for late March/early April, until then, and the release of the album, have a listen to a taster below..

Bonnie Brae - Harper Simon

Good Monday to you. Todays' MPFree is a cover of the Bobby Caldwell track 'What You Won't Do For Love' by Jessie Ware. On keys, Julio Bashmore.

The download has been made available by the team at Future Classic, who are hosting their own stage at St Jeromes Laneway Festival in Australia. As well as putting on Jessie Ware other artists to grace their stage include Nicolas Jarr, Flume, Holy Other and Julia Holter. The festival starts this weekend.

Jessie Ware - What You Wont Do For Love

It's been a strong week of free downloads, and it comes to a head today with Billy Bragg. Billy returns in March with his first new album in five years. It'll be called Tooth & Nail and is set for release on 18th March. Your final MPFree to a taster from that album.

As for the rest of the week's MPFrees, help yourself...

Farao - Forces

Simian Ghost - Be My Wife

Joey Bada$$ - "Unorthodox" (Prod. DJ Premier)

Junip - Line Of Fire

Billy Bragg - Handyman Blues

Some tracks may no longer be available for download.

This week's guest for Memory Tapes is Stuart Fletcher, who writes...

"I was home for Christmas and rooting through old boxes under my old bed at my Mom and Dad's house and found some wonderful compilations made for me in 1997, one from my best friend at the time for my birthday and the second by the girl I was seeing who lived miles away in Doncaster (I was in Birmingham).

"I was blown away by the effort put in to making these things look so good.

"The tape 'Born to Entertain' was a birthday present from Peter Green, singer of The Sweet Nothings who Lammo played a few times last year. We used to be in the Regulars together who were great wee band but we got nowhere. I haven't seen him in three or four years but we still talk on the phone, mainly about music, West Bromwich Albion and Grimsby Town."

The tracklisting is:

SIDE ONE:

Even As We Speak - Getting Faster

The Wedding Present - Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft

Daryll-Ann - I Could Never Love You

The Only Ones - Why Don't You Kill Yourself

Televison - See No Evil

Housemartins - Me And The Farmer

Darling Buds - Burst

The Primatives - Thru The Flowers

Springfields - Sunflower

The Byrds - All I Really Want To Do

Jasmine Minks - Cold Heart

Luna - Ride Into The Sun

SIDE TWO:

Belle & Sebastian - You Made Me Forget My Dreams

Robyn Hitchcock - Vegetation and Dimes

Sea Urchins - Please Don't Cry

Big Star - Thank You Friends

Buzzcocks - Why Can't I Touch It?

Broadcast - The Book Lovers

REM - New Test Leper

East River Pipe - Bring On The Loser

Inspiral Carpets - Party In The Sky

Spacemen 3 - Feel So Sad

Julian Cope - Las Vegas Basement

We always like to read your stories and tracklistings - why not email Lauren both now?

Your MPFree today sees the return of Junip and thus, the return of José González. They are a three-piece from Sweden fronted by Mr González who released their debut album Fields back in 2010.

This is the band's first new material since then, and comes from their self-titled second album which is due for release in the Spring. Download below...

Junip - Line Of Fire

Your MPFree today comes from Brooklyn teenage rapper Joey Bada$$. Most recently seen on the 6 Music playlist with the single Waves, this is his first track for his new label Green Label Sound.

The label has paired him up with Gang Starr legend DJ Premier for this track, which you can download below...

Joey Bada$$ - "Unorthodox" (Prod. DJ Premier)

Your MPFree today is a Bowie cover - he's everywhere at the moment! The cover comes courtesy of Simian Ghost who were asked to contribute a Bowie track for a tribute album Mojo Magazine were putting together.

In the end the album didn't happen, but Simian Ghost were pretty pleased with their reworking of Be My Wife and have decided to put it out there. And so they should. They've smoothed out and taken the edges off and it sounds rather lovely. Download below...

Simian Ghost - Be My Wifep>

Your first MPFree of the week could've blown in with the cold Scandinavian cold snap. Farao is the pseudonym of Norwegian singer/songwriter Kari Jahnsen.

Having moved to London last year, she relocated to Reykjavik to record with friend of the show Mike Lindsay from Tunng. If you remember, Mike is now based in Iceland pursuing his Cheek Mountain Theif project.

The debut Farao EP is set for release in April, and this track is taken from it.

Farao - Forces

Today's Memory Tape comes from one or our fave production duos Two Fingers. Basically, they fancied creating a tape for us (one side each) and, obvioulsy, we said yes please!

Joe Chapman aka Doubleclick writes...

"We're both still kicking ourselves about things we didn't pick, Amon especially (I had the luxury of being able to think for a while, but Amon had to make his choices very quickly in between various engagements). He started off with a track from R.D. Burman's soundtrack to the film "Shalimar". I remember about ten years ago when Amon had several crates of Indian vinyl sent to his house, and everyone had to step around piles of the stuff for months while he was mining it for samples. "Venus in Furs" has popped up in dozens of Amon's DJ sets.

"We're admirers of The Neptunes' productions, which is why Amon's picked the Britney and Kelis tracks. People we meet are often horrified at our shared enjoyment of Brandy's music, but if those people can't see the merits of "What About Us?" then we pity them. Growing up in England when we did, and ending up making electronic music, we have fond memories of all the twisted music that the BBC Radiophonic Workshop pushed into our heads; his side ends with Delia Derbyshire's theme from ""Doctor Who".

"My side a little different. I love Cardiacs so much that I could quite easily fill the tape with various Tim Smith projects and call it a day, but I've whittled them down to one. It's not necessarily my favourite Tim Smith track, and I'm not sure I could pick a favourite, but it's a good one to hear if you've never heard his bands before. My friend Polly got me into Cardiacs when we met more than 20 years ago, so I was lucky enough to see them live many times. I've seen all kinds of crowds before, but I've never seen a hive mind like a Cardiacs audience. Those gigs were, I would guess, something like going to church and it makes me a little sad to think that I might never encounter anything like that again. You'll sometimes hear a Tim Smith track sneaked into Amon's DJ sets on his tours too.

"I threw in a couple of hip-hop tracks to represent two poles that influence us as Two Fingers: a DJ Quik track for the sparse, stripped-down, bass-heavy style and a track by Finale, which is a more delicate Black Milk production. There's a lot more we could have included; Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim, Busta Rhymes and a lot of other people are very important to us."

Tracklisting

AMON'S SIDE

R.D. Burman - Theme from Shalimar

The Stranglers - Golden Brown

Giorgio Moroder - The Chase

Velvet Underground - Venus in Furs

Siouxsie & The Banshees - Dear Prudence

Kelis - Milkshake

Britney Spears - I'm a Slave 4 U

Brandy - What About Us?

The Kinks - All Day and All of The Night

Deep Purple - Hush

Jimi Hendrix - If 6 Was 9

Rolling Stones - Paint It Black

Delia Derbyshire - Theme from Doctor Who

JOE'S SIDE

Secret Chiefs 3 - Ship of Fools (Stone of Exile)

Kourosh Yaghmaei - Gole Yakh

Cardiacs - Ain't He Messy Though

Slapp Happy & Henry Cow - Strayed

Can - Vitamin C

Quasi - Tomorrow You'll Hide

Baader Meinhof - Meet Me at the Airport

Moonshake - Capital Letters

DJ Quik & Kurupt - 9 X's Outta 10

Finale - One Man Show

Rahsaan Patterson - You Make Life So Good

Annie - Chewing Gum

Tamiko Jones - Creepin'

Bettye Swann - Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye

Tom Waits - Martha

You don't have to be in Two Fingers to send us your tracklisting and story. Hop to it, send Lauren an email.

Today's MPFree is a track from the new album by Apparat.

It's not your average album either. It's title is 'Krieg und Frieden (Music for Theatre)', and it's an album of music based on Sebastian Hartmann's theatre production of Tolstoy's War and Peace.

Sebastian Hartmann asked Apparat (real name Sascha Ring) to contribute to this project, and after he'd spent some time with Tolstoy's original text Ring returned to Germany and spent four weeks in an old abandoned factory building and rehearsed with the whole 30-piece ensemble.

Anyway, the long and short of it is he's releasing it as an album, and here's a taster which is brilliant:

Apparat - A Violent Sky

Today's MPFree comes from an LA four-piece called Hands.

The band are gearing up for the release of their debut album Synesthesia which is set to arrive in April.

Here's an early taster of their work...

Hands - Trouble

Your MPFree today sees the return of Tribes. Almost a year to the day since the release of their debut album Baby, the four-piece unveil a new track from their second album Wish To Scream.

You've got a bit of a wait until the release of that album; it's not out until May, but if you can't wait until then, you can catch them on tour at the end of January / start of February. In the meantime...

Tribes - Wrapped Up In A Carpet

You're MPFree today comes from Canadian Alex Calder.

It comes from his new EP which is set for release in March and will be called Time. It's released through Captured Tracks, which is always a good sign, plus, he's mates with Mac DeMarco which is also a good sign.

Alex Calder - Suki and Me

Rapper/Producer A Chal, a Peruvian in Los Angeles, provides today's free track courtesy of Nemone on BBC Radio 6 Music. It is a dark but thrilling hip hop cut from A Chal's debut EP, Ballroom Riots (out now). If that tickles your fancy, why not download it for keeps.

A Chal - Dirty Mouth

(some downloads may have expired)

The first Memory Tape of 2013 comes from one Sophie Sveinsson who made the mix for driving! "When analogue radio fails me," says Sophie "this comes out. Perfect for thinking and looking out and rocking out in those traffic jams."

The tracks are:

Anna Calvi - Desire

Enon - Conjugate the Verbs

MAD RAD - Epiphany

First Aid Kit - Lions Roar

Songs for Walter - Tougher Than Soldiers Boots

Daniel Rossen - Up On High

War On Drugs - Come To The City

THEE Satisfaction - Queens

My Toys Like Me - Sweetheart

Portishead - Glory Box

Kate Bush - Big Sky

Sharon Van Etten - We are Fine

Belle and Sebastian - Funny Lil Frog

The Blue Up - Shine

M83 - Skin of the Night

BSS - Late Night Bedroom Missionaires

My Bloody Valentine

Nirvana - You Know You're Right

PLAYDOOH - HOMETIME

Hey, you, email Lauren a mixtape, alright?

Happy 2013!

Today's show was a New year's Resolution special, and today's MP Free is in keeping with the theme. Cambridge twee-folk band The Puncture Repair Kit offer up a wish for the next 12 months in the form of 'This Year', free to download and keep. See what you think, let us know if you like it:

The Puncture Repair Kit - This Year

(some downloads may expire)

Your first MPFree of the year comes from Brighton indie band Shrag - an excellent track from their album Canines (out now).

On the Spines of Old Cathedrals has a sweet exterior and a dark centre. It's good, and you'll find the download link below. Have it on us

Shrag - On the Spines of Old Cathedrals

(Some tracks may no longer be availabe for download)