Track Of The Day: Thelonious Monk - Blue Monk (Norway, 1966)

Thelonious Monk, an otherworldly presence, communicating through his piano in a style only matched by a bongo player. Every time I listen to him I’m waiting to hear something jar but, in spite of his out-of-kilter approach, nothing does. I’m convinced that Monk, like Sun Ra, was a celestial being, sent here to spread a word so far out that we haven’t caught on yet. Les Dawson got close though.

Yoyaku instore session with Christopher Ledger

Track of The Day: Francis Harris - You Can Always Leave (DJ Sprinkles Remix) (Scissor & Thread)

Another day, another incredible DJ Sprinkles remix that repurposes the original track and turns it into something that embodies the essence of house. The original is good, but this remix raises it to new levels of abstraction. An exemplary shuffling beat, adorned with all manner of sonic embellishment, the stand out of which has to be the steel drum flourishes; this is a deep, expressive masterpiece that should be required listening for anyone who doubts the healing qualities of music. Check the Youtube comments. They’re fab!

Jezebell - Weekend Machines EP (Ransome Note Records)

 

Title: Weekend Machines EP 

Artist: Jezebell 

Label: Ransome Note Records

Cat Number: R$N45

Genre: Italo Chug (Really!)

1: Weekend Machines

2: Autostrada

3: Citric

4: Weekend Machines (Shubostar Remix)

After having found out about Jezebell via the excellent ‘Jezebell Beats Vol. 1’, and duly snaffled that up, I was more than a little pleased to have ‘Weekend Machines’ drop into my inbox unsolicited. And it does’t disappoint. The title track is an angular piece of concave funk. Metallic overlays and an all important disembodied vocal sample that floats in and out of focus are the all important elements that constitute it. ‘Autostrada’ is up next, and there’s a similar “popcorn” style noise to that used in ‘Weekend Machines’  underlaying it. It also has a rather reassuring phased buzzsaw feel to it. (Don’t ask me. I know what I mean.) ‘Citric’ is a departure from the preceding two tunes. And the jury’s still deliberating. It’s got handclaps, a nice bassline, but sounds a little too bubblegum for me right now. The Shubostar remix of the title track on the other hand, adds more flesh to the original’s bones. The result is a fuller, more symphonic piece with a synth line that sounds dangerously similar to Moby’s ‘Go’. Which is nice.

Track Of The Day: Ovatow - Flame (Harbour City Sorrow)

One of my favourite electro tracks. The work of Klen, aka Ovatow, on the sadly defunct Harbour City Sorrow, this is abstract by default, yet it’s not. What it sound like is a signal from a distant galaxy. The beats are coherent, but everything else feels like a dissonant fabrication. “The record is dedicated to the loss of South Rotterdam based DJ Juvenile Jay, who played an important role in the early career of . . . . Klen . . . “ It’s a brilliant evocation of the febrile transmissions that inhabit the space between all levels of consciousness, and which, in this case, are as at home on the dance floor as the headspace. Incredibly imaginative.