Back from Juhannus, just about

This picture embodies my midsummer/juhannus. Fair enough I'm neither of the guys in the picture but still, the warmth of togetherness as we walk towards the tranquil sea on our way to share our mutual love for the warmth of togetherness is pretty obvious here. Something I'd only trade for a bit of money and a slice of pizza.
The can of cheap beer held ever so gently represents the flowing liquid-esque mobility of our love for each other. Come what may, we'll swish and swirl our way back to each other, unless you're Moses and then we're fucked.

The two onlookers in the background are quite visibly jealous of what we have. Why shouldn't they be? What we have baby is magical. What we have baby is some real Harry Potter-shit.

This is Juhannus.

Anyway, eyes to the future ya.
I'm heading of to Poland for some business soon so yet again I'm going to abandon ship for a while, but before I do that let's have some good old musical times.
Starting with some picks from our midsummer playlist.

I am completely obsessed with this band/song.

Window by PVT

I could also listen to I Look to You by Miami Horror all day and on Saturday almost did.

I Look To You by Miami Horror (Official)

USA BOYS by HEALTH

Gold Panda - MPB

I keep repeating myself saying that "This-or-that artist, whose album this-or-that from last year was MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE album of the year, has now released a new track."
The way things are going it seems I've got loads of favourite albums of last year and they're all releasing new tunes.
Seeing as I didn't do an end of the year top-list you'll just have to take my word for it.

Anyway here I go again: Gold Panda whose album Lucky Shiner from last year was (one of) MY ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE album(s) of the year, has now released a new track MPB (mp3).

MPB by Gold Panda

MPB is basically just Gold Panda giving a xylophone a good hiding backed with a banging beat. Simple, but with astonishing results when done properly.

And just for good measure let's post his remix of Lykke Li's Sadness is Blessing, just because it's ace. Oh and because as everyone obviously knows, sadness IS a blessing.

Lykke Li: Sadness Is A Blessing (Gold Panda Remix) by Gold Panda

Alas I shall be leaving you wonderful readers for a few days as it's midsummer in Finland and midsummer over here is yet another great reason to get completely shit-faced for three days (like you need an excuse). So in true Finnish spirit I'm either going to pass out in a sauna and wither away, crash my non-existant car into a moose or simply drown after trying to piss over the side of a boat. Looking at statistics it seems like whatever I do, I'll probably die.

So hey! Happy midsummer people.
xoxo

Everyone, I need your help

Hello, I'm about to reveal a secret that not everyone knows. Yet.
I have an alter-ego. Yes that's right, as well as being this super awesome music blog guy, I also do normal day-to-day stuff.
During the summer that involves taking part in the runnings of the family business: a quaint little local shop in the countryside for local people. This is all fine and nice but I've just got the tinyest beef with what tunes the matriarch wants to plays in the café. All day, every day we listen to Radio Nova. It's what I like to call the parent-friendly, grand-parent friendy and great-grandparent friendly radio station. Not Thomas-friendly though.

Today, through the seemingly endless torrent of Laura Pausinis and Eros Ramazottis and Bruno Marses (how did this guy get so big?) I caught an advert saying that the top-200 most voted songs will be played on Radio Nova on midsummer's day ie. Saturday ie. the day i'll be really flipping hungover. So I want everyone here to make my day just that tiny bit easier and vote for something I want to listen to. How does that sound ladies and gents?

All we have to do is head over to
http://www.radionova.fi/ohjelmat/radio-novan-yo/Juhannuslista-Top-200-tulee-taas--Aanesta-suosikkiasi--21300.html


IT'S EASY! We can do this.
The only bits that need filling are the two first boxes:
Nimi: Your name
and the bit where it says: "Ehdota omaa suosikkia" you type in, um, I don't know how about, Gang Gang Dance - Mindkilla seeing as that's where we left off yesterday
and then just press 'Lähetä'

Brilliant. Thank you!
Everybody have a Gang Gang Dancey midsummer
xxx

Just pondering, you know, about J-Lo and Justin Biebs

I was sitting around today thinking about stuff in general and then some other stuff. Then I got to thinking about how Gang Gang Dance's Mindkilla is possibly the best song of the year so far and how when the DJs before Crystal Castle's gig played it and it was better than the gig itself.



This got me thinking about another Gang Gang Dance tune, Dust from their previous album Saint Dymphna and how it always reminds me of Kula World. Anyone remember Kula World for the PS1? What a great game that was! Just rolling about as a beachball collecting fruits and keys. Back in the day when men were men and video games were video games.

Does Dust sound anything like Kula World? Well, um, not a lot. Feel like my memory's tricked me and am kind of worried as to what other visions have been distorted by time.





Then I was thinking about other stuff, like how many times does Jennifer Lopez say the word 'floor' in her new "hit" On the Floor?
Because I'm lazy + I didn't really want to listen to it any more than never, I googled "how many times does Jennifer Lopez say the word 'floor' in her new "hit" On the Floor?" and apparently she says it 21 times which is actually a lot less than I was expecting. A simple calculation tells me "floor" pops up every 12 seconds. (Justin Bieber says "never" 66 times in Never Say Never, once every 3 seconds.)

I think the repetition is meant to put me off the fact that the song's just a shit rip-off of Kaoma's Lambada. Unfortunately it hasn't. In fact I've heard a bunch of really annoying, stoned (and awful melodica players) hippies playing Lambada on melodicas in a park which has been better than J-Lo's version.
Also having Pitbull tell me how he's gonna bump me like a tonka truck and then incept and mess up my brain hasn't really worked in the track's favour. Call me old fashioned but I prefer being bumped into and then get issued a formal apology.

SBTRKT album preview

Cwoar! Get a load of this masked magician!

Hype Machine are previewing SBTRKT's debut album before it drops June 28th.
I caught the last bit of his set at The Great Escape so a couple of the tracks on here are already familiar and big big favourites. Check out first single Wildfire feat. Yukimi of Little Dragon (mp3) if you need reassuring. This track's already huge and is only gonna get bigger.

It's almost midsummer here and I've got people coming round and, like it or not, they're probably going to have listen quite a fair bit of this.

Magical music

Guys oh guys. I am a man-mess.
I was on a stag-do. The first one I've been on and what can I say? Great fun but hopefully my friends don't get married too often because the body just can't take this anymore.
I just got up and here's how I'm feeling:

If I had any muscles, they'd be in torturous agony.
My throat is harsh like there's a regiment of Lothern sea guards (I'm pretty confident that it's now officially cool and totally post-ironic to use Warhammer references) marching the perimeters.
My head, darn, my head is a blank void. The above drivel has taken me 2 spaced-out hours to write and the quality of writing just isn't going to get better, so without further ado let's say hello to some of the stuff I've been listening to this week.

Future Islands dropped their new single Before the Bridge (mp3). Which is getting a release on Thrill Jockey as a limited edition 7". It follows up In Evening Air which has gone down as one of my favourite albums of last year. This guy's unique voice is instantly recognizable and it's, I guess, one you'll either love or hate.





Cold Specks are being all secretive and that. Either they're using aliases because they "want people to focus on the music or whatever blah blah blah", OR Cold Specks are all criminals wanted for various heinous crimes. Whoever goes by the name Al Spx is possibly wanted for chewing gum in Singapore and O Cromwell maybe got done for talking on the phone whilst driving. Whether or not we'll ever find out who these people are, what we do know is that the song Holland is fantastic.

Holland by Cold Specks

Silver Wren's new track Estranger is a wonderfully hushed and relaxed piece. Driven along by a lovely Fleet Foxes-esque guitar pattern the vocal parts are very much "reverbed bedroom producer" but with well-fitting harmonized elements. Somehow Estranger is making me think of a lo-fi Josh Rouse.

Estranger by Silver Wren

Young Montana?

Yes, Young Montana? are the shit.

Coming as a recommendation from my cousin-bro, and judging by his taste in music they were either going to be absolute shite, or they were gonna be the kind of amazing banging sweet hot electro he's very much into. Young Montana? are very much the latter. Very much.

Cut-and-paste sampling and the sorts are what's going on here. All done in a silky smooth way, there's no room for any mis-beats or anything I like to call "wanking about". Pretty much everything on their new Limerence album sounds like it wouldn't have anywhere else to go other than exactly where it fits in on the new album.

Dem boys sent me their Solar Bears remix and it is sounding super special (actually checking my e-mail again it turns out it was Solar Bears who sent me the track so I guess I'm actually indebted to them now.)

Dream Valley (Young Montana? Rework) by Solar Bears

But then again I feel like if you haven't listened to Sacre Cool off of Young Montana?'s debut album Limerence you haven't listened to enough stuff this year. Is this just my opinion? Listen to it yrself.



As they may or may not say in the track: Ooh la la!

Crystaly Castlesies tonight

There's only one thing I can post about today and that is Crystal Castles. It's almost three years since I last saw them and tonight that's about to change.

The venue (Helsinki's The Circus) is new and strange, I don't have very strong emotional ties with their second album, it's Monday and it's raining. But other than that I should probably stop complaining.

2008's gig has gone down as possibly the best gig I've been to. It had it all, the three S's:
Suspense (do they turn up or not?)
Sweat (by far the hottest, sweatiest and smelliest gig)
Sex (I supported the crowdsurfing Alice that night so there we go, close enough)

I'm expecting something equally magical this time around.

Adios.

Crystal Castles - Courtship Dating by Crystal Castles

Sunday's get-yr-dancing-shoes-on post

Ok for most people weekends are the time for crazy partying and dancing and whatever shenanigans they get up to. So for most you guys this post is one or two days too late but for me: perfectamundo.
A weeks holiday, the sun is pretty darn scorchio, oh, and tomorrow it's Crystal Castles in Helsinki. Life ain't too shabby. So let's quickly go through these ace tunes before I hit the sunshine.



So what's a better way to start this off than with AGDTCT resident favourite Star Slinger's remix for Rizzle Kicks' Down With the Trumpets. Rizzle Kicks are a young duo who are set out to make hip-hop fun again. Star Slinger's remix is a banging beat-heavy homage towards some of the finest earlier UK Garage.

Down With The Trumpets (Star Slinger Remix) by Rizzle Kicks

Maxxi Soundsystem or just Sam Watts from Brighton if you're on more familiar terms is releasing his brand new single Get Up on Nurvous and it is sounding like a slowburning instant late night summer-sun anthem.

Maxxi Soundsystem 'Get Up' by wearemachinemusic



Tobias is a Parisian producer who I wish was this guy but probably isn't. He makes hard-hitting almost aggressive IDM, but seems to have a softer side too as Echoes off his new EP Circumstances shows

Echoes by drycry.records

New Male Bonding (Bones)

Whahey, dem crazy punkerboyz with the funny name Male Bonding are back with album #2 Endless Now. This means loads more non-stop thrills and loads more violent body spasms (I call "dancing") alone at home because I'm too afraid to go to gigs due to people like these:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WfrDvx_2QA

They're sharing their first song off the album with everyone and it's called 'Bones'
Enjoy!

Laurel Halo

Anyone who's been with me on the magical AndygoesdowntoChinatown journey for a while now will remember Laurel Halo (if you don't remember then refresh your memory) and her brand of dark theatrical electronica.

Well a good year onwards and she's, if not completely, reinvented her style of music for her upcoming EP Hour Logic. Embracing a much more patient minimal approach than on her King Felix EP. Whereas Laurel's voice was a key driving factor on King Felix, some of her newer material hardly even feature vocals, instead letting the synths create the subtle floating soundscapes.

I mean if you wanted to you could describe a couple of her new track as minimal house. Never a bad thing. So hey, Laurel you go girl!

Listen to the title track Hour Logic or stream the entire EP (via Altered Zones)

Laurel Halo: "Hour Logic"

Band of the day: Lorena B

Lorena B are quite easily the best thing I've heard from Israel. Not exactly hard to do seeing as Gene Simmons is the only other music related Israeli I can think of. Regardless of this they carry their weight incredibly well.

Think post-rock with soft electronic touches and add lead singer Adi Ulmansky's gorgeous almost hushed voice and you end up with something sounding oddly Scandinavian with bands like Husky Rescue and Kemopetrol not too far off.

Their first single Swallow My Gum is doing the rounds on MTV Israel and this is what it sounds/looks like.


Its 'sequel' Swallow My Gum 2 is a free download from
http://lorenab.bandcamp.com/
where you can also stream the entire Siblings album.

Lorena B - Swallow my Gum 2 by AndygoesdowntoChinatown

Germany Germany

This guy who goes by the moniker Germany Germany has been confusing me for ages now. With a name like that I keep thinking he might be German, but it turns out that this is nay the case. Not that this has any relevance towards anything, but I've been meaning to post about his new album Adventures for ages and only just now realized where this ace music is actually coming from. And that is Canada. With the sheer amount of amazing music constantly coming out of Canada, this should come as no real surprise.

Germany Germany is the synth-pop project of Drew Harris and Adventures is already his 5th album in a series of more or less free downloadable albums. This one just happens to, um, be a less free download. But still streamable on bandcamp:
http://grmnygrmny.bandcamp.com/

Highlights come as back to back tunes Too Fast and Natural. Smooth stuff, eh?
Too Fast by Germany Germany

Natural ft. Donne of TLGLTP by Germany Germany

A Bunch of Songs I'm Liking. Dig it

I had a bit of a scare on Friday, warming up before a football match. The sun was shining, the sweat was glistening on my sexy pale/translucent skin. Everything was beautiful and then I somehow lost my footing and landed with my leg twisted underneath me. My knee said "SNAP", I said "OW OW OW OW" then the doctor said "good news! Your leg hasn't fallen off."
Good news indeed! I may not be able to walk at the moment but I still have two legs! So I still look pretty normal when standing still. Aces!
I would just like to add that the famous philosopher who said: "It's Friday, gotta get down on Friday. Fun fun fun." was wrong. Friday wasn't fun. It was shit.

Anyway this gives me a great opportunity to go through what's hot, what's lukewarm (like green tea left to brew for the duration of a Jeff the Brotherhood album), and what's cold (like green tea left to brew for the duration of Schindler's List).

What's hot is the new Beirut track East Harlem. Their first bit of music since 2009, Beirut are back with the new 7" East Harlem/Goshen.

Beirut - East Harlem by Revolver USA

Also pretty darn nice is the new single from London dance pop trio Get People.
Well they're described as dance pop, but Away has got more like the 3 D's of dark, dubstep and Delphic written on it.

Away by GET PEOPLE

New Yoikers Jump into the Gospel start their new single 2012 off with a synth line that sounds like it's straight out of the dirty sequined loins of a wedding band's "keys virtuoso" but even still manage to turn it into a tasty dance number. There are some kind of Madchester-revival vibes flying about here and I'm loving it

2012 (New Single) by jumpintothegospel

What are teenagers good at? Good at making pavements slippery with bodily fluids? Good at mixing alcopops with beer with cider with wine with vodka to make super-cocktails? Good at making you feel bad about not having done anything with your life?

Well the teenagers of Edelweiss, are good at making wicked post-punk/post-rock/post-indie/post-yourmum tunes as their single Icarus proves. Skirting about the nether regions of Foals, Bloc Party and the likes, they're rapidly making a name for themselves and rightly so.

Emmy the Great - new stuff

Seeing as most of the time I'm just one person, I can't find out about everything.
I mean I love to tell people I know everything about everything but, at the end of the day, sometimes that's just an exaggeration of the fact that I know most things about most things.

But anyway, imagine how I came crashing down from my Mt. Olympus scale pedestal when I just pretty much now heard about Emmy the Great's new up and coming album 'Virtue' and I heard that everyone on the interwebz knew about it at least, what, 2 weeks ago.
I'm almost ashamed to wear this cool technicolour cape that says "most awesome internet-writing dude" on it in huge Helvetica fonted letters that I made for myself.

Almost ashamed but not quite. I have no time for shame. Between two jobs and just generally being awesome, I actually listened to some new Emmy and it had the same effect as she always has on me: Bringing out a huge smile and making me forget everything around me, just concentrating on her gorgeous (and super cute) voice.

There are no nearly-had babies here this time but if one of your songs is called Dinosaur Sex you know you're good in my books.



A Woman, A Woman, A Century of Sleep by Emmy The Great

RCRD LBL are giving away a free download of the track Century of Sleep ie. the above track here:
http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Emmy_The_Great/music