Filed under: free music friday, mp3 | Tags: charlotte richardson andrews, saint etienne, the pains of being pure at heart
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
‘Higher Than The Stars’ [Saint Etienne Visits Lord Spank remix]
NYC-based indie-pop quartet The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart released one of the early contenders for album of 2009 in the shape of their self-titled debut back in February, and followed that up in September with the swoon-worthy EP Higher Than The Stars containing four new songs and four remixes, one of which was this retooling by UK pop legends Saint Etienne. The Pains’ keyboardist / vocalist Peggy Wang-East has become something of an indie pin-up in the process, but aside from being a rad and very pretty musician, she’s also a blogger for the viral real-time site Buzzfeed, a role she meets in tandem with the band. Her vocals were all too often buried in the mix on the album, deferring slightly to the dreamy tones of frontman Kip Berman, but this remix puts them on equal pegging. While the identity of the mysterious Lord Spank is never quite explained, the Saint Etienne tag is all you need to know to get a sense of this track’s dreamy, dance-pop quality. MP3 after the jump.
Filed under: free music friday, mp3 | Tags: ash koley, charlotte richardson andrews
Ash Koley
‘Mary The Inventor’
Ash Koley has come a long way from her stint as a member of Canadian ABBA tribute band Super Trooper. Recently signed to Nettwerk Music Group’s management roster, the Winnipeg-born singer-songwriter is poised to release her debut album in the new year, the culmination of a career that started aged 5 when she first took up formal singing lessons. While her debut is being honed, she has a quartet of EPs waiting in the wings for digital deployment, each one colour coded (The White EP, The Blue EP, The Red EP and The Black EP) and comprised of produced demos given a sparkly sheen by longtime musical partner, Phil Deschambault. Obviously fans of DIY quirk, the pair have produced a number of music videos, using time-lapse photography in some and a no-frills homemade approach in others (see their aptly named ‘Bathroom Series’). Their songs have also featured on mainstream TV, including ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and high-school drama ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’, which should give you an indication of Ash’s accessible pop sound. ‘Mary The Inventor’ is the lead track from The White EP, out next week. Between them, Koley and Deschambault count Eurythmics, The Cardigans, Imogen Heap, Erasure, Madonna and ABBA as inspirations, and a thread or two of these can be picked out in this track. Musically, ‘Mary The Inventor’ is a wholesome number, energetic and affable in equal measures, and Ash’s voice is both sweet and voluminous, clearly well trained and practically made for pop. MP3 after the jump.
Filed under: news, trouser press | Tags: charlotte richardson andrews, rachael dadd
To celebrate their release of Rachael Dadd’s upcoming EP, Moth In The Motor, boutique indie label Broken Sound have launched an arts project of the same name in which aspiring artists are encouraged to submit their own sleeve designs. A number of the submitted pieces will go on display at during an unplugged event headlined by Rachael and friends in February, and every artist who creates a sleeve will be granted the rather fabulous reward of a permanent profile, including a biography and links to their other works, on the Broken Sound website.
Filed under: news, trouser press, where's the gigs | Tags: charlotte richardson andrews, slow club
Following on from the success of last year’s free download single ‘Christmas TV’, the ever-likable Sheffield duo Slow Club have announced a shiny new, ribbon-wrapped Yuletide offering. The five-track EP, Christmas, Thanks For Nothing, out December 14 through Moshi Moshi, includes two new originals, two Darlene Love covers and, of course, the brilliant ‘Christmas TV’, which has quite deservedly gone on to be a year-round favourite at gigs. Charles and Rebecca take turns to have fun with the covers; Rebecca sings the Phil Spector-penned ‘Christmas (Please Come Home)’ from the mighty perennial A Christmas Gift For You, while Charles heads up a stripped down version of ‘All Alone On Christmas’, as featured on the soundtrack to ‘Home Alone 2′. The two new songs are the title track and ‘It’s Christmas & You Are Boring Me’.
Filed under: news, trouser press | Tags: charlotte richardson andrews, katiejane garside, ruby throat
Out Of A Black Cloud Came A Bird inspired by plane crash horror
News of fresh Ruby Throat material has come as a pleasantly unexpected surprise today as we were under the impression that all they had in the works was a re-release of their exquisitely crepuscular debut The Ventriloquist. Released on November 12th to coincide with their gig at Madame Jojo’s in London the same day, Out Of A Black Cloud Came A Bird will initially be available as a run of 500 limited edition ‘art packages’, with a standard(ish) gatefold package coming later. The evocative title seems to be a reference to the plane crash that Garside witnessed last year while hiking through the Himalayas, a traumatic experience she described to us back in September saying, “Everything I’ve done since has been infused with that experience. I’m trying to work with it; it’s given me a sense of urgency that I haven’t had for a long time.”
Filed under: feature, women in industry | Tags: chantelle fiddy, charlotte richardson andrews, interview
women in industry #3: chantelle fiddy
After an autumnal mini-break, WII is officially back, shining the spotlight on the ladies working their magic within the music industry. This month we catch up with multitalented journalist Chantelle Fiddy, a resident columnist for RWD Magazine and freelance contributor to Mixmag, SuperSuper and The Guardian. Her earlier ventures included roles at Smash Hits, i-D, Tank, Arena and Sunday Times Style, but she’s not just a writer; Chantelle has also worked hand in hand with artists and labels, spearheading projects with The Streets, 679 Recordings, Island Records, Ministry Of Sound and award-winning TV show Dubplate Drama, and a keenness to share her skills with others resulted in a mentoring role at LIVE Magazine.
Keeping a firm hold on her first love for radio means she’s regularly a guest on air with Diesel U Music radio, Radio1, 1Xtra, BBC Asian Network and Capital FM, but it’s her recent work as editor of www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk and its biannual magazine that’s got her hyped at the moment. The edgy current affairs publication is aimed at turning 18-25 year olds on to social injustice and global development. It’s a project close to her heart, and one clearly made possible by the strong work ethic she rocks and the dedicated years of music journalism that have created this platform. Chantelle talks to Wears The Trousers about facing challenges head on, keeping things competitive whilst staying humble, and the restorative powers of cake baking.
Filed under: album, review | Tags: 2009, charlotte richardson andrews, inara george, music
Inara George
Accidental Experimental ••••
Everloving
Though she is perhaps best known as the Bird to songwriter/producer Greg Kurstin’s Bee, Inara George is a cottage industry unto herself. Having graduated from early outfits Lode and Merrick to go it alone, the Californian singer has chalked up an impressive catalogue in the four short years since her solo album All Rise, produced by ‘Donnie Darko’ soundtrack composer Mike Andrews. As well as The Bird & The Bee’s two albums and three EPs, she’s recorded an elegant second album with Van Dyke Parks (2008’s An Invitation, complete with 24-piece orchestra), toured with Eleni Mandell and Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark as The Living Sisters, and made a (currently shelved) album with Idlewild’s Rod Jones. In some respects, her new release Accidental Experimental comes full circle as George realigns with Mike Andrews for a rummage through some of her forgotten songs, including four reworked numbers from An Invitation and others she regards as source material for that album’s luxurious symphonies.
Filed under: news, trouser press | Tags: 2009, barbra streisand, charlotte richardson andrews, cyndi lauper, debbie harry, joan jett, music
Icons turned into tiny-waisted toys
Mattel, the brand behind anorexia’s poster girl Barbie, have recently announced their latest disempowering line, Ladies Of The ’80s. Released just in time to hit those Christmas shopping baskets, the range includes Debbie Harry and Joan Jett, who go on sale in December, and Cyndi Lauper who goes out in January, presumably because she’s ‘Good Enough’ to compete with all January sales items. Barbra Streisand will also have a mini-me doll out in November, though she’s not officially part of the range. True to form, Mattel have managed to turn these beautiful, iconic women into unrealistically proportioned, inert lumps of vinyl, a process that reduces their careers and achievements to disposable playthings in one fell swoop, undoubtedly aimed at young girls who would benefit more from the gift of a real guitar rather than the miniature, plastic one that Jett’s emaciated figure is accessorised with.
Filed under: news, where's the gigs | Tags: amiina, charlotte richardson andrews, josephine foster, polly scattergood
Amiina and Polly Scattergood will also play the anti-jingle festive celebrations
The dreaded deluge of Christmas-themed drivel seems to start earlier and earlier each year, and by the beginning of November most of us are already seeking refuge from the monotonous audio torture of Yuletide-themed audio spam. Whether it’s time honoured cheesy anthems or torturous jingles you’re fleeing from, look no further; the Barbican have come up with the perfect escape. After their successful debut last year, which featured Jarvis Cocker, Patrick Wolf and the wonderful Sandy Dillon (whom you’ll find on our upcoming tribute album, Beautiful Star: The Songs Of Odetta), the Twisted Christmas show makes a very welcome return on Tuesday 15th December.
Filed under: free music friday, mp3 | Tags: alina simone, charlotte richardson andrews
Alina Simone
‘Beautiful Machine’
Against the backdrop of a tumultuous childhood, her family having fled from Ukraine to the US to avoid the repercussions of her parents having refused KGB recruitment, Alina Simone began her musical career in earnest on the cusp of her teen years. As well as her own tentative material, her early recordings included a clutch of Madonna covers, and she distributed her homemade tapes DIY-style among her friends. Her sharply-titled debut album Placelessness arrived in 2007, quickly followed by last year’s Everyone Is Crying Out To Me, Beware, an homage to the works of Siberian punk poet and songwriter Yana Stanislavovna Dyagileva, who drowned in suspicious circumstances tragically early into her career, leaving a small but inspiring legacy of work.
The fire and passion that Alina has become renowned for is instantly evident on ‘Beautiful Machine’, an exciting preview of her upcoming third album Make Your Own Danger, due out early 2010. A simmering alt-rock number shot through with a streak of defiance, it’s driven by Alina’s rousing vocals that seem to cry out in a personal call to arms and should rally more than a few keen new listeners. Keep an eye out for Alina’s accompanying collection of humorous essays about Russia, family and the tragic-comic struggles of an aspiring indie-rock artist, also out next year. MP3 after the jump.
