Album: ENNIO MAZZON – The Scent of Morning Lights (Timetheory TMTH040 2008)

If you had the time and the patience, you could spend the rest of your life downloading and listening to new music, and never pay a penny. I’m not talking about dodgy P2P networks, bootlegging or piracy either. The Internet Archive (www.archive.org) lists more than a thousand netlabels, most of which release new music for nothing under a Creative Commons license. That amounts to an extraordinary archive of music, but it makes one wonder if it’s all become an impenetrable babble. How much of the good stuff is simply drowned out by a great mass of mediocrity. It’s like someone who’s been in a cave for forty years wandering into HMV and trying to pick something to buy out of a vast array of stuff they’ve never heard of.

I’ve reviewed a fair number of netlabel releases over the past year or so. Generally, I’ve found the standard to be no different to what you’d expect to find in a decent record shop. Not much is life-changing, but a lot is very good indeed. And the clunkers? Press delete and move on – you’ve lost nothing. I’ve come across very few things I’d put in that category, though. Even so, what I’ve downloaded has tended to be stuff that’s found me, rather than the other way round. I’ve either been sent them, had them recommended to me, or read a review somewhere that made them sound interesting. I’ve not gone trawling. Time (and patience) permitting, I intend to do a bit more of that in future. The things I’m prepared to do for you lot out there, eh!

Ennio Mazzon is from Treviso in Italy, and his album The Scent of Morning Lights is an experimental laptop project, encompassing elements of noise, drone and glitch. There are shades of Fennesz in tracks like “Beautiful Wings Nowhere to Fly”. “Anchorage” is like hearing a serene ambient piece on an ill-tuned shortwave radio whilst sitting in a field of crickets. Sometimes the static crackle can be a little overdone. The stand out cuts are “Wetlands” and “Cressidra”. The latter is a beautiful, minimal, glassy tonal piece: still and calm, but quite beguiling. The only track that really doesn’t work is the closing “Suddenly Bright”, whose arrhythmic crackles and clumps don’t really add up to much more than random noise. On the whole, it’s an impressive work, with some interesting and original passages.

It can be downloaded from the sites listed below

Tracks
1 Anchorage
2 White Fence and Red Tulip
3 Beautiful Wings, Nowhere to Fly
4 Snowdrop
5 Anemone
6 Clessidra
7 Wetlands
8 Stalagmite
9 Suddenly Bright

Websites
http://www.myspace.com/emazzon
http://www.archive.org/details/tmth040

Gig: RED SNAPPER / CINEPHILE (Oran Mor, Glasgow, 29/11/08)

Red Snapper took a five year break at the end of 2002 to pursue other projects. At the time it was perceived as the end of the band, but this has proved not to be the case. On the back of a new mini album, the trio of guitarist David Ayers, bassist Ali Friend and drummer Richard Thair are back with new boy Tom Challenger on sax and clarinet. In the mid to late nineties, it looked as if they could cross over to a mainstream audience. They even had a hit single, of sorts, with the lush ballad “Image of You”. Despite that, the overuse of guest vocalists seemed to water down their muse, and they lost a bit of edge.

I was surprised that they were playing a venue as large as Oran Mor. With a pretty steep ticket price, an icy fog, the Christmas party season in full swing and the recession, I feared that the audience might be rattling around like peas in a whistle. Although far from full, there was a healthy sized and vociferously supportive crowd, and the atmosphere, despite the chill, was electric.

Red Snapper 2008 is a stripped down mean machine. Gone are the vocals. Also jettisoned tonight was nearly all of the more reflective, introspective material. What was left was a rock hard jazz quartet that swung like a funk band and rocked like a punk band. Ali Friend and Richard Thair have always been one of the best rhythm sections in the business. Tonight, they were mixed right up, so the rhythm dominated proceedings. Friend’s monstrous string bass pounded out licks that were quite phenomenally, well, bassy. (Is it me, or is his bass about twice the size of anyone else’s? The head was practically scraping the ceiling). David Ayers’ guitar licks were economical when they needed to be, but broke out every now and then into a frenzied slide assault. New lad Tom split his time between sketching out the basic melody lines, and going off in wild abandon.

They kicked up a hell of a groove. Old songs like “Space Sickness” were turned into punishing free jazz workouts. The new material showed that they may yet to have reached their peak. “Wanga Doll” was superb – a blitz of guitar noise over a crunching rhythm; and “Lagos Creepers” was a fanatastic feet-friendly funkster. On occasion, they reminded me of Rune Grammofon’s Shining. There are definitely a lot of shared characteristics between the two. Indeed, if they hailed from Trondheim or Bergen, they would probably have a lot more coverage from the press. In any event, it’s good to have them back. Even better that they seem to be in the form of their lives.

Support act Cinephile suffered from the early curfew (due to the venue being used for a club night later in the evening – a bugbear of mine that I’ve moaned about frequently in the past). There were probably only twenty people in the room when they came on. So starting with what turned out to be their best song was probably not the smartest move. I liked them, though. They are a trio of keyboards/samplers, guitar and vocals, and sound roughly like a cross between Curve and early Goldfrapp in a suitably cinematic way.

A Few Forthcoming Releases (December)

This month’s list of things to look out for. There’s more good stuff than is usual for a December.

Dec 1st
FLIPPER – Sex Bomb Baby (Water)
HEXSTATIC – Hexstatic Presents Videos Remixes and Rarities (Ninja Tune)
HUMCRUSH – Rest at World’s End (Rune Grammofon)
JOHN ZORN – Filmworks XXI: Bellede Nature (Tzadik)
MURCOF – the Versailles Sessions (Leaf)
NEIL LANDSTRUMM – Lord for 39 Pounds (Planet Mu)

Dec 8th
ANGEL – Hedonism (Mego)
FENNESZ – Black Sea (Touch)
KAZUMASA HASHIMOTO – Tokyo Sonata: Original Soundtrack (Noble)
LARSEN – La Fever Lit (Important)
NEIL YOUNG – Sugar Mountain (Live 1968) (Reprise)
PAVEMENT – Brighten the Corners (2CD edition) (Domino)
TWILIGHT SAD – The Twilight Sad Killed My Parents and Hit The Road (Fat Cat)
VARIOUS – Complete Motown No. 1s (Universal)
VARIOUS – Money Will Ruin Everything 2 (Rune Grammofon)

Dec 15th
B12 – B12 Archive Series Vol. 2 (B12)
ROBERT HENKE – Atom Document (Imbalance)

Dec 29th
ANTHONY PATERAS & ROBIN FOX – End of Daze (Mego)

Jan 5th
FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON – Environments 2 (Jumpin’ & Pumpin’)
FUTURE SOUND OF LONDON – From the Archives Volume 5 (Jumpin’ & Pumpin’)

Jan 12th
KTL – IV (Mego)
VARIOUS – Praxis: a Factory Box Set (Rhino)

Jan 19th
JAH WOBBLE – Chinese Dub (30 Hertz)
MENDOZA – Si Me Duermo… Choco (Static Discos)
SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE – RTZ (Drag City)

Jan 26th
JEM COHEN / SMZ / VIC CHESNUTT – Empires of Tin (DVD) (Constellation)
MY BLOODY VALENTINE – Isn’t Anything / Loveless remasters (Sony)
THIS WILL DESTROY YOU – Field Studies (Magic Bullet)
VARIOUS – Complete Motown Singles Volume 11A 1971 (UK issue) (Island)

Feb 2nd
DAKOTA SUITE – The End of Trying (Karaoke Kalk)

Feb 9th
MOS DEF – The Ecstatic (Downtown)

Feb 23rd
PAN AMERICAN – White Bird Release (Kranky)

2009 (no date given)
HARMONIC 313 – When Machines Exceed Human Intelligence (Warp)
WOUNDED KNEE – Shimmering New Vistas (Benbecula)

Deluxe double reissue with unreleased track, unpublished photos and an “I have been mugged by the record industry. Again” sticker.

In a week or so’s time, the fourth Pavement album Brighten the Corners gets the deluxe edition treatment. Like the previous three, this promises to be a bit of a treat with 34 bonus tracks taken from singles, EPs, live shows and demos etc crammed into a package set at mid price. It’s five years since Slanted and Enchanted was given the same treatment. At the time it was a milestone in how to do a reissue properly. Unfortunately, it also opened a very unappetizing can of worms.

Walk into any record chainstore these days, and the racks (at least those not given over to DVDs and computer games) are full of these Deluxe editions. Very often retailing for two or three times the price of the bog standard issue, a closer inspection usually reveals a ragbag collection of demos and even half-finished backing tracks. The majority are just glaring examples of record company cynicism – trying to get punters to buy stuff they already have, with the minimum of thought and effort put into them.

Some examples:

Love’s Forever Changes was initially issued on CD in the same form as the vinyl album. In 2001, an expanded edition was issued with a couple of unissued demos, both sides of the “Laughing Stock” single and some, frankly tedious, alternate takes and backing tracks. Then that was superseded this year by a double CD which also included a different mix of the original album, plus most of the previously released extras. No doubt to be repackaged again in a 2CD plus documentary DVD super-deluxe edition in the future.

The New Order back catalogue had another facelift thus year. The bonus discs are a hodge-podge of single tracks and remixes that appear to have been thrown together randomly. The glaring omissions of things like the original vinyl mixes of “Temptation” make the project a complete pig’s ear.

It’s not just the majors – 4AD’s initial Cocteau Twins CDs often came with bonus tracks, all of which disappeared with the latest batch of reissues: no doubt scheduled to reappear in future when the double CD deluxe editions come out. The latest outing for the EMI Wire albums also suffered from the mysterious malady of the vanishing bonus track.

I’ve not even touched on the now commonplace practice of reissuing popular chart pop albums after a mere few months with a couple of added tracks, encouraging fans to shell out again. Nor have I touched on the endless anthologising (just how many Smiths comps are there now?).

Of course, you don’t have to buy any of this shit – and by and large I don’t. But it’s difficult to have sympathy for an industry continuously bleating on about how downloading is theft, when they are more than happy to fleece the gullible.

The M M & M 1000 – part 6

Here’s the latest batch of Music Musings and Miscellany’s unapologetically subjective selection of the twentieth century’s best 1000 singles. We’re on to the Bs now.

COLOURBOX – Baby I Love You So / Looks Like We’re Shy One Horse (4AD BAD604 1986)
The Young brothers’ two 1986 singles were both their finest and final moments. “Baby I Love You So” was a reimagining of a Jacob Miller reggae tune, where as the flip was a cut-and-paste dub mash that would have done Steinski proud.

FOUR TOPS – Baby I Need Your Lovin’ / Call On Me (Motown 1062 1964)
The Four Tops were veterans of more than a decade, and had been at Motown for a couple of years by 1964. They’d made little impact. This song was the breakthrough, and marked the start of a four year period where the group and writers Holland, Dozier and Holland could do no wrong.

ELLA FITZGERALD & LOUIS JORDAN – Baby it’s Cold Outside / Don’t Cry, Cry Baby (Decca 24664 1949)
Different to Louis Jordan’s normal brand of good time jump blues. This is a ballad. Of sorts. Ella’s had a nice time, but wants to go home. Louis is trying to think of every reason he can why she should stay. It’s funny, and has a kind of innocent sexual tension to it.

BIG JOE WILLIAMS – Baby Please Don’t Go / Wild Cow Blues (Bluebird 6200 1935)
Joe Williams was billed as the “king of the nine string guitar” – not sure there was much competition for that particular throne. Legendarily eccentric and cantankerous, he nevertheless came up up with some enduring classics. “Baby Please Don’t Go” is probably better known in its incarnation by Them – led by another cantankerous eccentric, Van Morrison.

RUTS – Babylon’s Burning / Society (Virgin VS271 1979)
The Ruts were the first punk band that were really successful in fusing reggae and rock. The Clash didn’t really crack it until London Calling. “Babylon’s Burning” is probably their most famous song, and it still, erm, burns with a fierce energy.

BJÖRK – Bachelorette / My Snare / Scary (One Little Indian 212 1997)
One of the outstanding tracks from Homogenic, an album that she’s never come close to matching as far as I’m concerned.

KING BEE – Back By Dope Demand / Feel the Flow (First Bass 6 1990)
King Bee were, I think, Dutch. Which in 1990 was a strange place for a classic hip hop track to hail from. It’s all about the bass line which comes from a Herbie Hancock tune called “Wiggle Waggle”. It’s an absolute monster.

SUPREMES – Back In My Arms Again / Whisper You Love Me Boy (Motown 1075 1965)
A sort of sequel to “Stop! In the Name of Love” in which Diana Ross’s runaround boyfriend has sheepishly returned to the fold. Not as well known as “Baby Love” (which isn’t on this list), but I prefer my Motown with a bit of grit, a bit of drama – “Baby Love” is a little too sweet for me.

O’JAYS – The Back Stabbers / Sunshine (Philadelphia International 3517 1972)
“They’re smiling in your face, all the time they want to take your place”. It’s the universal tale of duplicitous, two-faced friends that applies to love, work, politics and diplomacy in equal measures. It was the first big hit for the O’Jays in their Philly period. They remain a criminally underrated band.

CREAM – Badge / White Room (Polydor 56315 1969)
Cream’s final single was a short and sweet pop tune with an edge, and a lot preferable to wading through fifteen minute versions of “Spoonful”.

TEMPTATIONS – Ball of Confusion / It’s Summer (Gordy 7099 1970)
Whitfield and Strong at their very best. The whole thing is an urgent, psychedelic funk maelstrom that encompasses lyrics that don’t scan, but pour out like a deranged spewing of grievances. Unlike most vocal groups, the Tempts were never a lead singer and a bunch of back-up guys. Everybody gets their place in the limelight – a tradition continued by rap crews like NWA and the Wu Tang Clan.

BYRDS – Ballad of Easy Rider / Wasn’t Born to Follow (Columbia 44990 1969)
Post ’68, the Byrds went into a creative nosedive, beginning with Sweetheart of the Rodeo, one of the most overrated albums in history. This two minute gem was one of the few good things they came up with. Known as the theme tune of the eponymous film, this version wasn’t actually used in it.

MARIANNE FAITHFULL – Ballad of Lucy Jordan / Brain Drain (Island 6491 1979)
The synth backing sounds horribly dated, but Faithfull’s fag and booze soaked growl is perfect for this song about thwarted ambition and mid life crises. The sound of dreams dashed.

FREDA PAYNE – Band of Gold / The Easiest Way to Fall (Invictus 9075 1970)
This was a UK number one in 1970, and has since become a karaoke standard for wannabe divas. Still a great song, though.

More soon

Goodbye Mojo

I’ve been buying it since issue 6, but increasingly have been wondering why I bother. it’s forever churning up the same old ground where it used to look outside of the obvious on occasion. Remember Nick Drake on the cover (before he became the soundtrack to Estate Agent wankers’ dinner parties)? Kraftwerk, Miles, George Clinton, Marvin? Not to mention articles on genuine mavericks like Moondog, Coltrane and others. OK, the obsession with the Beatles and the sixties was tiresome, but even the most over-trodden ground sometimes was given a fresh angle.

Thought things might be on the up last month with Leonard Cohen’s doleful but dapper presence on the cover. But no – just had an e-mail informing me that this month’s is a bumper Oasis special. I mean, for fuck’s sake – they don’t even sell records any more. Who still gives a shit?

So, as the ever-narrowing dividing line between Mojo and Q becomes invisible, I’m off.

Surely there is room for a magazine that is intelligent and can offer a more mainstream alternative to the Wire? There used to be one – it was called Mojo. Sigh – end of rant.