Sunday, December 07, 2008

Release Roundup December Special...er...thingy


As Birmingham's number one music related site...uh...oh...alright then, Bearwood's number one music related site, I'm in the enviable position of being sent all manner of musical goodies from lovely record labels and their equally lovely PR type people. It's a music lovers (and cheapskates) dream I tell ye. There's been a veritable flurry of stuff recently, so here's my pick of the bunch.

First up - and a truly big deal for anyone with even a passing interest in late 70's / early 80's industrial electro - the return (after a decade away) of Sheffield's mighty wizards of sound, Cabaret Voltaire (pictured)! Oh yes. Well, not strictly a true return. The new release is a remix project, taking Maori dubsters Kora's latest album and cutting it up with a bucket load of old skool industrial tunage (yes, tunage). On the whole it's a pretty successful mix, still dub heavy but with now with a darker dance edge. Whoohahahahah. Top tracks Skankenstein and Burning work particularly well. Gutted I missed Kora when they played in Brum last month 'cos they sound awesome, but the press release promises a Cabaret Voltaire tour in the new year. Perhaps they can hook up as joint headliners? Just a thought. Anyways up, the album's out on the 15th December (the perfect pressie for your industrial dub lovin' Auntie Mildred...you know how she loves her dub...she's a bitch for that dub...remember her Lee Scratch Perry knickers?) on Shiva Records.

Next hotly tipped deck abusers Cassette Jam with no less than four mixes of their new track Don't Lose Control, a dirty electro banger that's destined to end up on more than one or two trendy dance comps next year. Fans of Erol Alkan and Kavinsky will love it. Get ahead of the Jones' and pick up the original - it's out now on Pieces Of Eight Records (for the record - pieces of eight or otherwise - my favourite mix is the Loose Cannon's one - sounds like Flat Eric on acid. Niiiiiiice).

Finally - for now - the return of Plump DJ's with the frankly vocodatastic Beat Myself Up. Featuring the catchy line 'I keep on fucking thiiiings up' (don't we all?) it too has a distinct Flat Eric vibe (that armpit squelchy bass bit), mixed up with naggingly catchy Jacques Le Cont style electro madness. It comes with an acapella version of the vocader bit which is strangely addictive...I think newsreaders should have to use a vocader to read the news. The world might be as depressing as a night out with Cheryl Cole / Tweedy / Cole (who curiously seems to be attaining the level of adoration normally reserved for people who discover a cure for cancer whilst rescuing an old lady and her cat from a burning tree) but it would sure sound as funky as hell. Beat Myself up is out on Finger Lickin' Records on 26th January 2009. That's nearly two months away...ha...munch on that scenesters!

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