Missing Mylo

It's hard to believe that it's now nearly 6 years since Mylo released one of the albums of the decade. Last January, he sent the following track into Radio 1 as a taster of what was to come. Over a year has drifted by and it still sounds amazing but no sign of any official releases.
After popping up for a few DJ dates here and there over the last while and compiling the cover CD for this month’s edition of Mixmag, maybe this year will mark the return of Myles MacInnes.

Check out this tumble dryer of chopped pianos, hi-hats and gulping bassline which irons out into an absolute stomper. Unfortunately Annie Macs voiceover slightly ruins the ending so hopefully it will feature in its entirety on the album, whenever, if ever, it gets released.

Download below.

Mylo - I'm Back

View his myspace here and buy his music here.

Miike Snow & Ali Love

I went to see the awesome Miike Snow last Friday night in Newcastle. If you are a fan of their album in any shape or form, definitely try catch them while they are on tour at the moment. Below is a short video from Fridays show (apologies for the poor sound quality)...



Supporting Miike Snow was Ali Love. This is another act who had fallen off the radar since his first release back in 2006. I checked out some of his new material before hitting the concert, but there was a lot to be desired. It's mediocre, whiney electro-pop that really only has something to offer when played live. So if I were you, don't bother checking out his new stuff unless you are planning on catching him live.

So why mention him? Well, before being dropped by Columbia Records and resorting to these self-pity ditties, Ali produced some very slick pop tunes that would have given Calvin Harris a run for his money. Unfortunately they didn't perform too well on the charts, which resulted in him losing his record deal and subsequently, his way.

However don't let the bland aftertaste of his latter work stop you from appreciating some his more sumptuous produce from two years back.

Download below:

Ali Love - Secret Sunday Lover

Ali Love - Late Night Session (The Phones Filter Fromage Edit)

Two Door Cinema Club

Every now and again, an Irish act emerges outside of the boring and generic singer/songwriter scene that Irish music has been synonymous with over the past decade. Unfortunately, a lot of them fail to live up to the hype and fade into oblivion (Humanzi, Director and Star Little Thing to name a few).
Two Door Cinema Club are a bunch of Bangor boys hoping to break the mould in 2010. From what I’ve heard, their sound is a cross between Foals and early Bloc Party, combined with the amicable and candid nature of Vampire Weekend.
The French have certainly taken a shine to them; they are currently signed to Kitsune, Philippe Zdar of Cassius is part of their album's production team and they have already remixed Phoenix’s ‘Lasoo’ and are due to support them on some of their European dates.

Checkout their myspace here

Downloads removed.

Phoenix live on the streets of Paris!

Here are some videos of Phoenix playing some rather charming, impromptu gigs on the streets of Paris in places like Trocadero Square, the top deck of a tourist bus and under a bridge. They show the strength of the songs on their recent Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix album by how great they sound in such a stripped-down form. These guerilla performances are wonderfully shot by Vincent Moon as part of his fantastic Take-Away Shows series which also includes Sigur Ros, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Lykke Li, Animal Collective and Arcade Fire etc.

"1901"

Phoenix - 1901 - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

"Listzomania" / "One Time Too Many"

Phoenix - Lizstomania / One time too many - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

"Long Distance Call"

Phoenix - Long distance call - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Irish Hearts, English Blood

I've been meaning to pick the right moment to write about this song, and seen as Orbital have just finished up two dates in Dublin, and David Gray is due to play this December, now is as good a time as any.

Gray has enjoyed unrivalled success in Ireland, with White Ladder remaining the biggest-selling album on the isle. Orbital have been gigging over here for nearly two decades; Electric Picnic was one of their first stops on their comeback tour. Unfortunately I've never had the honour of witnessing the Hartnoll brothers perform live (my parents wouldn't let me go see them in The Point back when I was 15) but considering they crept in at 49 in the Top 50 Bands to See Before You Die list (Q Magazine, 2002), I would recommend anyone to go catch them before they split up again.

Gray collaborated with the Sevenoak's duo for 2001's 'The Altogether'. Illuminate is mellower than their usual acidic sound, but still reams of their trademark twinkles and signature basslines, with Gray's voice adding a radio-friendly dimension to it. Cool, but not too chilled.

Orbital ft David Gray - Illuminate [Click Link to Download]

Ellie Goulding

Anyone who caught Ellie's performance on Jools Holland a couple of weeks ago will have undoubtly posed the question 'Who's this one?'. Her slightly awkward and unorthodox stance on stage pounding a drum reminded me of when Jamie first showed me Little Boots singing and simultaneously playing the Yamaha Tenori-On, stylophone and piano on Later...

Coincidently, Ellie has spent the last month touring with Little Boots around the UK. She's currently working on her debut album with Mark Ronson, with this taster officially released this month. One to watch? Let's hope it's not as hurried as 'Hands'.

Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets [Follow link to download]*

* Some people are having a little trouble downloading MP3s, but if you click on the link above and wait for about 10 seconds or so, the download should appear. Ignore any pop-ups also!

New Alan Braxe Remix

Another remix post, this time Beyoncé gets the Alan Braxe treatment, who seems to have got his mojo back with his take on Broken-Hearted Girl. Forget what you know of the original, and if you haven't heard it, don't bother. Chopped up vocals, silky smooth synths and a pinch of bass slappin'. Back to what he does best. Back to Braxe.

Beyonce - Broken-Hearted Girl (Alan Braxe Remix) [Follow link to download]

Heads Will Roll Remix

A-Trak (see Duck Sauce post) continues to make his mark in the dance music world with this stomping cut up of Yeah Yeah Yeahs 'Heads Will Roll'. It seems that this is most people's favourite track off It's Blitz, and now Alain Macklovitch's take on it has really made it one for the dancefloor. One of my favourite remixes of the year. On another note, the guillotine was only abolished in France in 1981, and the last head rolled in 1971. Those crazy French.