"...Un Reve Nu is a new netlabel that specializes in experimental improvisational music. Their first album titled Running Awayfeatures eight tracks by Ivory Coast bassist Guillaume Viltard. These are solo efforts on the upright bass but there does appear to be some electronic effects on a few tracks. However the main attraction is Viltard's clear virtuosity in getting a wide range of emotion and sounds from this sometimes unwieldy instrument. Another interesting musical experiment that you will never hear from the commercial music concerns.."
I have fallen in love with Stand of Oaks after down loading the wonderful Pope Killdragon from E Music. Stand of Oaks is the working title of Timothy Showalter based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The sound is wonderful blend of wired haunted folk with strange synth noises bubbling underneath. Think Bon Iver produced by 70's Brian Eno. It's a strange brew of fractured dreamscapes, half remember childrens stories and historical fantasy.
Get a free taste via the wonderful Daytrotter. They have a free Strand of Oaks session to download.
Billy Bragg seems to have everywhere lately. All over Twitter, Facebook, the radio and TV fighting the BNP in Barking and winning! Well done Mr Bragg.
He has also been working on Pressure Drop and he is giving away four free tracks from the play on his website. You just need to sign up to the site to get the link to download the tracks.
The four tracks are:
There Will Be a Reckoning - Billy Bragg
Tomorrow's Going To Be a Better Day - Billy Bragg
Same Again - Billy Bragg
Home - Billy Bragg
Visit his website to sign up and get the free tracks - Billy Bragg
I have just discovered that Momus(Nick Currie) has posted up all his Creation era LPs free on URU Web. The LPs come with some wonderful notes for Momus himself explaining the inspirations and the music behind the tracks.
They have been up since Christmas but somehow I missed them!
Here is Nick Currie's statement
“"Okay, this is quite a big decision, but I've taken it. Six Momus albums -- the ones I recorded for Alan McGee's Creation label between 1987 and 1993 -- are out of print. Creation doesn't exist any more, and in theory Sony owns the rights to these albums, but isn't doing anything with them and probably never will. In the meantime, only Russian pirates are profiting, charging punters for illegal downloads.
So, during the rest of December, I've decided to release mp3s of my six Creation albums here on Click Opera, for free. Think of it as a sort of Creation Advent Calendar, with a new old Momus album every couple of days. If you're the sort of person who likes to donate to the artist when you download, do it here. But it's not really necessary; these albums paid for themselves long ago. Think of this as a Christmas present. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"
- Momus”
I love The Tender Pervert, it is one of my favorite LPs of all time. The word play and the music sit so well together, the themes are close to my heart and I am sure Jarvis Cocker spent a good few years listening to it. I Spy by Pulp bares an uncanny resemblance in my mind to The Homosexual by Momus although the Momus track bites much harder, it is simply amazing even if Neil Tenant told Nick that it didn’t have enough melodic hooks!
The Caretaker (James Kirby) has a wonderful blog History Always Favors the Winners. They are links to various media articles, interviews and free downloads.
One is this beautiful V/Vm Test album - White Death.
This is the text for the album.
"For nearly a year-and-a-half, the twenty five men and one woman aboard the Saint Anna endured terrible hardships and danger as the icebound ship drifted helplessly north. Convinced that the Saint Anna would never free herself from the ice, Valerian Albenov and thirteen crewmen left the ship in January 1914." V/Vm Test - White Death
