Volcanic ash clouds, the death of Malcom Mclaren and the dreaded return of Kate Nash just around the corner; Trinity 2010 begins with a flurry of portents. In these authors’ opinion, this is just as it should be. As we move in earnest into the new decade we will see a musical sea change, an end to the bland retrospectivity which characterised the latter half of the past decade. America is rising again, Europe is producing its hottest music in years and the occasional British artist is daring to suggest that maybe not all music needs to sound like it was made in the early 80s.
In this guide, we’ve put together a few bits and pieces to point you straight and true into the unknown waters of the 2010s. Go forth on the good ship Cherwell and explore! (or something).
Impress your friends with:
Perfume Genius
Underground credentials as watertight as these are rare. Otherwise known as Mike Hadreas, Perfume Genius fled his smalltown home for a few catastrophic years in the Seattle gutter. Eventually retreating to his mother’s house in the suburbs, he sequestered himself in his bedroom and spent three years alternately “lying face down on the bed” and crafting a series of waiflike piano ballads devastatingly gorgeous enough to make Antony Hegarty look about as fragile as Eamonn Holmes. Start with debut single ‘Mr Petersen’s reflections on the premature death of the teacher who seduced him, and you’ll be desperate for the album release this summer. Unless, of course, you haven’t even the meanest vestiges of a soul.
www.myspace.com/newmagik
Welcome Back:
LCD Soundsystem
A month’s time will see This is Happening, the third release from James Murphy’s sardonic dance group, hit record shops. However, this being the 21st century, and all industry values and certainties thus being entirely obsolete, they’ve uploaded the whole bloody thing for every chubby scheister in the blogosphere to pore over for a week and then discard before anyone’s thought of paying for it. That notwithstanding, it’s a fine effort. In advance interviews, Murphy described himself as being ‘less afraid of a tune’, and that certainly shows: the record is a little more crystalline without losing any of the band’s trademark chutzpah. Whether you think this points to the influence of obscure mid-80’s Detroit Techno cuts or media darlings Hot Chip, however, will depend on how generous you’re feeling.
www.lcdsoundsystem.com/
Leave the Country With:
Buraka Som Sistema
If you’re interested in fleeing the shaggy haired indie-pop vortex of the transatlantic area, check out Buraka Som Sistema, the Portuguese electronic music collective pioneering a progressive ‘kuduro’. For the uninitiated, ‘kuduro’ is a brand of Angolan music originating from the 1980s, blending African percussive samples with basic calypso and soca rhythms and, eventually, incorporating European and American electronic music. Echoing their colonial relationship with Angola, the Portuguese were quick to adopt kuduro, and, thus, Buraka Som Sistema was born. Yah! ft. Petty is an excellent introduction to the group’s refreshingly eclectic sound, with a simple yet infectious dance beat accompanied by the monotone rapping of Angolan hip-hop MC Petty. Written in Portuguese, the lyrics are, naturally, somewhat obtuse. Nevertheless, Petty’s incessant exclamations of “Yah!” ensure that the song will be remembered as an anthemic dance song and an ode to Angola’s vibrant musical heritage.
www.myspace.com/burakasomsistema
Buy your 7″s from:
Transparent Records
Evolving from a promotion collective at the heart of the London ‘underage scene’ circa 2006-7, Transparent Records’ Sahil Varma and Jack Shankly cut their teeth working closely with mid-decade trendsetters Way Out West. Now a bit more grown up and eager to look outside the Capital’s collapsing bubble, the duo are blogging their hearts out and working to bring out a series of impeccably chosen limited run singles, including a good number of otherwise unheard of cuts from across the pond. Current staple signings include Chicago lofi-ers The Smith Westerns, as well as the aforementioned Perfume Genius. Upcoming releases include [former Video Nasties member] Lonely Galaxy’s excellent debut EP.
transparentblog.com
