Fopp goes under

Music and DVD retail chain Fopp went into administration yesterday (June 29th), and all stores were closed with immediate effect. The full story is at the BBC website here.
Although the usual story of downloads affecting CD sales was reeled out, it seems that Fopp’s main problem was bone-headed management at the highest level. In a [...]

Song of the Day: SHANNON - Let The Music Play (1983)

In the mid eighties, I would sometimes enliven a dead Saturday afternoon by going to the Queensmere Centre in Slough to watch the breakdancers and boddy poppers. There was usually a healthy crew there with their customised ghetto blasters, each a little smaller than an aircraft carrier. It was there that I first heard this track, [...]

Song of the Day: CARLA BOZULICH - Evangelista I (2006)

Carla Bozulich was the first non-Canadian act to sign to Montreal’s Constellation records, and the first with a substantial track record behind her. Her debut album for the label, Evangelista, involved many of the Hotel2Tango studio crew, so sounded right at home among the other acts on the imprint. Evangelista is an intense record. There [...]

Album: PAN SONIC Katodivaihe / Cathodephase (Blast First Petite 2007)

Finnish electro-minimalist duo Pan Sonic’s last work was the four CD, four hour Kesto box released three years ago. It was a mightily impressive work, but at least two of the CDs showed a hitherto unexplored warm, almost dreamy side to the pair’s music. Anyone thinking that Mika Vainio and Ilpo Vaisanen were mellowing out may [...]

Album: PIANO MAGIC Part Monster (Green UFOs 2007)

Piano Magic came together in 1996, although they seem to have been around a lot longer. There have been countless shifts in personnel over the years, with guitarist, singer and songwriter Glen Johnson the only constant. In the UK they have remained a cult concern. The nearest they came to the ‘big time’ was during [...]

Some of the best albums of the last 6 months

Here are my 20 favourite albums from the first six months of the year. There’s been a lot of strong releases so far in 2007.
65 DAYS OF STATIC THE DESTRUCTION OF SMALL IDEAS MONOTREME
AMON TOBIN THE FOLEY ROOM NINJA TUNE
BJORK VOLTA ONE LITTLE INDIAN
BLACK DOG BOOK OF DOGMA SOMA
DEXTRO CONSEQUENCE MUSIC GRONLAND
DO MAKE SAY THINK [...]

Album: FENNESZ / SAKAMOTO Cendre (Touch Tone 32 2007)

Two plays on, Cendre still sounded like eleven tracks of elegaic, late night piano overlaying a quiet electronic burble, with little variation in sound, mood or tempo. The combination on paper seemed to be perfect. Christian Fennesz’s back catalogue is a pretty varied one, and it’s often collaborative projects that bring out the best in [...]

Song of the Day: REPLACEMENTS - Bastards Of Young (1985)

The BBC’s consistently infuriating Seven Ages Of Rock reached episode six and college rock/alternative rock/grunge - call it what you will. There were small flashes of the Pixies, Black Flag, Mudhoney and Hüsker Dü, but the bulk of the programme was predictably given over to REM and Nirvana. The ‘Mats had a fleeting presence due [...]