This week we headed down to London’s Hoxton Bar & Grill to check out Spectrals. Headed by the enigmatic Louis Jones – who solely writes all the music – we were taken aback by the gloriously melodic lo-fi indie on show. Backed by his band, Jones led a set that included tracks from his forthcoming ‘Spectrals Extended Play’ EP. The music is rooted in the catchy melodies of ’60 and ’70’s soul but sewn together by Louis’ distinct Northern accent. While there may be a crop of bands from the US displaying similar influences - for example Harlem, who took to the stage after Spectrals – it’s refreshing to hear an unmistakably British slant on the sound.
Tracks such as the loveable ‘7th Date’ show Jones to be a hopeless romantic, albeit one with a killer ear for a melody. Live the band are particularly understated, only acknowledging the crowd after one particularly “wacky individual” placed a plastic deer’s head on stage.
‘Spectrals Extended Play’ will be released through Moshi Moshi on October 10th. They will also be supporting the likes of Avi Buffalo, Yuck and Les Savy Fav before playing the Welsh Sŵn Festival in October. For more details head to their MySpace. Read more…
For all of you who weren’t lucky enough to win our previous LED Festival tickets competition, fear not! We now have another chance for you to win a pair of VIP tickets for Saturday 27th August. With a line up that boasts the likes of Leftfield; Goldfrapp; Friendly Fires; Aphex Twin and Annie Mac, it looks certain to be one of the unmissable events of the bank holiday weekend in London. Plus you’ll get the chance to experience the festival in VIP style!
To be in with a chance of winning just email us the answer to this question:
What does L.E.D stand for?
Please send your answer to LED@free-prizedraw.co.uk, along with your name and mobile number. If you don’t want to be contacted about further events please state ‘competition only’ in you email.
Today’s Tag Of The Day belongs to Hamburg’s Tensnake’s. Opening with an ecstatic wail – evoking A Guy Called Gerald’s timeless classic ‘Voodoo Ray’ – and a provocative bassline, ‘Coma Cat’ quickly draws you in with its charms. However, the dark disco vibe rapidly evolves when the bassline gives way to a euphoric synth break down bringing the track into unabashed joy-filled house territory.
The simple repeated vocal hook of “can I get, can I get get” is guaranteed to invade your head and has become the standout moment in Tensnake’s many sets over the summer. The German producer/DJ will be playing a number of dates from the tail end of summer up to December, where he’ll be performing at Manchester’s Warehouse Project. For a full list of dates check his MySpace.
For those looking to get more Tensnake action, check out his ‘Remix Selection’ mix below which fatures reworks of Azari & III, The Faint and Foals to name a few.
Zola Jesus is the alter ego of 21 year old singer/songwriter Nika Roza Danilova; a classically trained former opera singer who specialises in haunting ethereal pop. Zola’s sound is somewhere midpoint between Florence & The Machine and Fever Ray – who invited the singer to support her forthcoming European Tour.
Her latest track, ‘Night’, opens with eerie synths and hushed vocals before giving way to a hypnotic beat backed by the singers haunting tones. It’s an intriguing track that puts Zola Jesus leagues ahead of most other 80’s obsessed female singer songwriters. For more info and tour dates head to her MySpace.
Night’ is taken from her recent ‘Stridulum II’ EP, currently available from iTunes.
Sufjan Stevens is back!! Years since ‘(Come On Feel The) Illinois’ established him as one of the defining artists of the past decade, and many minor projects and rare material compilations afterwards, fans were starting to worry about some form of writer’s block affecting the young songwriter. His original project of releasing an album per State of the Union seems now parked, but instead the singer-songwriter has released out of the blue a new 8 track EP called ‘All Delighted People’ and a brand new full-length is expected to follow.
The record is built around two different versions of the title track, which according to his Bandcamp page was conceived during Steven’s 2009 tour as ‘a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s ‘Sound Of Silence’ and it shares the same grandiose qualities that made of ‘Illinois’ such an unique work.
‘All Delighted People EP’ is available now. You can stream it in full here.
London collective Roll Deep crash landed to the top of the UK charts with ‘Green Light’, a cut of house injected hip hop that seems to have continued the winning formula from their previous #1 ‘Good Times’. Roll Deep, led by grime’s most enigmatic character Wiley, have been in existence since 2002 but are now enjoying their most fruitful time in the limelight. While former members Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder went on to find chart success in their solo careers, Roll Deep hadn’t topped the charts until May of this year; now it seems they simply won’t leave.
The track is taken from their forthcoming album ‘Winner Stays On’, due for release later this year. You could do worse to bet that the album will be bothering the higher end of the charts on its release. Their recent success is yet another interesting chapter in the world of Wiley, who recently gave away several albums worth of demos on Twitter and previously dismissed his last album ‘See Clear Now’ swiftly after its release. ‘Green Light’ is currently available on iTunes.
‘Crossfire’ is the first single from The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers forthcoming solo album ‘Flamingo’. While The Killers went on hiatus last year following the grueling promotional tour for ‘Day & Age’, it’s clear their frontman didn’t intend to spend any of that time putting his feet up. As with the last Killers album, Flowers has roped in the production skills of Stuart Price, as well as recruiting Daniel Lamos (U2, Neil Young) and Brendan O’ Brien (Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen).
It’s a typically bombastic epic track from the singer, which could see him soon entertain the same crowds alone as he did in his day job. While the future of the band has yet to be confirmed, it’s clear Flowers has no worries about delivering the goods alone. The accompanying video is also worthy of a mention, where Oscar winner Charlize Theron battles a swarm of ninjas – administering a mean death star to the head– to save Flowers from capture. Currently racking up over 1.7 million views, it’s clear that this will be bothering the charts when it’s released later this year.
After making their name as the biggest Nu-disco name on the block and producing lush remixes for the likes of Grace Jones, Breakbot, Friendly Fires and Sebastian Tellier; it seemed only logical that Aeroplane would take things up a level for their debut album. However, ‘We Can’t Fly’ certainly isn’t the collection of Balearic infused synth cuts many expected. It’s a far more bold and accomplished record than their previous work hinted at.
One development that clearly influenced the album was Aeroplane scaling down to a one man operation. Aeroplane previously consisted of Stephen Fasano and Vito Deluca, but have now have amicably decided to go their separate ways; with Deluca continuing to release music under the moniker. The classically trained musician has clearly relished the challenge, creating a versatile and ambitious debut album referencing artists as varied as Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, and Giorgio Moroder – who was so taken with the album that he penned backing vocals for a re-recorded version of ‘Superstar’.
While Aeroplane will be DJing all over the world this year, Vito will also be performing the album with an expanded band later in the year. The debut single ‘We Can’t Fly’ is currently available on iTunes, while the album is due for release on September 27th through Wall of Sound.
