NEWS: The Rapture Mix Tapes

New York post-punk partiers The Rapture are releasing a compilation LP of inspiring tracks gummed together with their own finest DJ glue.

Released on October 20th Tapes is the latest in the DJ Kicks series which has seen contributions from Hot Chip and Four Tet in the past, delivering their own brand of mixtape mastery.

According to the press release:

Tapes is a treasure trove of rare grooves and cult classics spanning three decades, from the late 1970s to 2008. One key thread running through the mix is the evergreen sound of the New York underground, epitomised by classic tunes like Vaughan Mason & Crew’s 1980 disco-rap milestone ‘Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll’ and the irresistible beat-pop ditty ‘I’m An Indian Too’, recorded in 1979 by East Harlem’s Don Armando and his Second Avenue Rumba Band. NYC’s latest clubland stars also make their mark, from neo-disco supergroup Arcade Lover to hip-hop DJ Frog’s dazzling robo-funk alter ego, Dances With White Girls.

There’s also a selection of European-grown talent crammed into the tracklist too but the overriding influence is clearly 80s disco and hip-hop.

Of course a heavily influenced back catalogue like The Rapture’s is expected to be as eclectic as Winehouse’s taste in illegal substances so it’s only natural to expect a few unfamiliar names alongside golden roller-disco oldies.

The proof is in the pudding as they say so have a gander below for the full tracklisting:

Tracklist:

1. The Undisputed Truth - “Earthquake Shake”

2. Ghostface Killah - “Daytona 500”

3. Junkyard Band - “The Word”

4. The Bar-Kays - “Holy Ghost”

5. Vaughan Mason & Crew - “Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll”

6. Northend - “Tee´s Happy”

7. Don Armando´s Second Avenue Rumba Band - “I´m An Indian Too”

8. Martin Circus - “Disco Circus”

9. Arcade Lover - “Fantasy Lines”

10. Thomas Bangalter - “Club Soda”

11. Kiloo & Phonique - “The Passion (Phonique Mix Down)”

12. Armand Van Helden - “Flowerz”

13. Cajmere feat. Dajae - “Say U Will”

14. Syclops - “Where´s Jason´s K”

15. DJ Mujava - “Township Funk”

16. Donk Boys - “Cpstyre”

17. Dances With White Girls - “Everybody´s Got To Make A Living”

18. Alter Ego - “Why Not?!”

19. Paul Johnson - “Get Get Down (Extended Mix)”

20. Kid Crème - “Austin´s Groove”

21. Richie Havens - “Going Back To My Roots”

22. Galaxy 2 Galaxy - “Afro Arps And Minimoogs (S2)”

For more information visit these websites:

www.therapture-tapes.com

www.myspace.com/therapture

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Press Pack Shot

NEWS: Oberst Streams Entire New Album On Official Site

Bright Eyes star Conor Oberst has made his new, self-titled solo album available to all via a stream on his website.

Conor Oberst will be officially released through Wichita Recordings on August 4 but it is already up on his official website as a live stream for those who’re too impatient to wait a week or two.

A single, ‘Souled Out!!!’, will follow on August 25 as a special one-track 7” with a special etching on the B-side by artist Kaite Murphy, creator of the Grace McSorely comics.

ASAD is told the track will also be made available via all the normal digital outlets.

This news story can be found on Drowned in Sound with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Google

NEWS: Oasis’ Studio Bribe

Ego juggernauts Oasis today declared that they kicked U2 and producer Rick Rubin out of Abbey Road studio in order to record their new album.

Guitarist Noel Gallaher is claiming this morning that the band paid the owners of the legendary London studio to evict the Irish rockers.

The situation dates back to last December when U2 had been booked to take up the controls in the sound-booth.

“U2 were booked in there with (producer) Rick Rubin. I was like, ‘U2? U2 have to have a fucking six-hour meeting (to discuss) whether to get tea or coffee in the rehearsal room! They are not coming in here any time in the next five years’.”

Talking to Mojo Gallagher went on to say, “The guy from Abbey Road was like, ‘I've got it block-booked for the exact time you want it.’

“We actually went down to Abbey Road with a bag of money, and said, ‘We can pay for the studio now’.”

Dig Out Your Soul, Oasis’ new studio album is released on October 6th, preceded by the single, ‘The Shock Of Lightning', out on September 28th.

Although there’s a wait for the album, the band have already released the artwork which you can see below.

This news story can be found on the Quietus with other pieces by Dean Samways.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: the Quietus

ALBUM REVIEW: The Futureheads, This is Not the World (Released: 26.05.08)

Let’s not kid ourselves: This Is Not The World was almost the album that never happened. So many great bands fold after being dropped by major labels, so it could have been easily assumed that The Futureheads would follow the likes of Hope Of The States into the history books.

The band’s third album always had to be something much more than a return to form, then; it had to make a statement of longevity that would welcome in Nul Records-era Futureheads and see them through this challenging new chapter. Considering the magnitude of the task they’ve pissed all over it, laughing their socks off.

The Sunderland four-piece would’ve been forgiven for taking on the task with a degree of restraint, approaching this LP with a fear of pushing their evolution too far, too soon. But the only back-pedalling here is evident in the absence of two-minute raging pop songs and the presence of very definite structures: verse, chorus, verse, bridge, chorus, chorus. However, This is Not the World remains a frenzied dash through stunning build-ups and punk poundings.

The disco angst of patented material brazenly shines through, but there’s a suggestion of dissent where there used to be unashamed fun. The opening track and first single ‘The Beginning Of The Twist’ is a call to arms, proclaiming an imminent shift in something chaotic; it’s already the song of a picture of great big middle digit pointing skyward from a tightly clenched fist. And why not?

After all, following their dumping by former label 679 this was always going to be a retaliatory record. Documenting many of the feelings and exploits in the aftermath, these 12 songs are dark in places with hints of confusion about where the band currently is.

‘Walking Backwards’ is deceptively chipper; it cries out in confusion, not knowing a role or direction. Suffering the abuse of an oppressive body, the entire album is a mouthpiece for a creative freedom not felt for a long time.

Built of compounded riffs and sliding basslines ‘Sale of the Century’ is a Pumpkins anthem that Billy Corgan never penned, a crude anger outlet. Snapping between darkness and traditional liveliness the transition is so blatant and underhanded it sounds like a cut and paste job. This is overshadowed by the extraordinary outro: a complex unravelling of missed drumbeats and guitar interjections that morph into something almost unrehearsed.

The new single, ‘Radio Heart’, is something very different. Wetter than what surrounds it, it longs for a girl with a transistor blood pump. Sticking out like a sore thumb, feels like an afterthought addition with standalone cuts firmly in mind. Some will expect this album to bash the music industry throughout, from the electronic hum of a second in to the record’s climax 39 minutes later, but it’s peppered with inoffensively tuneful offerings that need, maybe, to grow some balls to really keep such company. Then again, no band can be angry all the time.

That said the standout track is a post-love song chronicling the transmission of advice from one friend to another as he tries to get over a girl. There’s something brutally honest about ‘Hard To Bear’: “You lock yourself in your room / You keep your curtains closed to help seal in the gloom / Your bedclothes still stink of her stale perfume / But you hope the smell doesn’t vanish too soon.”

Another highlight attacks that destroyer of life, routine. ‘Everything’s Changing Today’ is a boozy emancipation from being stuck in a rut every night to becoming a social butterfly; the kind of escapism all bands offer their fans.

In places this album is the statement it should be, a Trojan Horse bringing down one of the biggest symbols of capitalism from the inside. It’s a shame then that, sometimes, the quartet chooses to equip themselves with teaspoons and not chainsaws to do the job. Still, it’s one almighty journey through realms uncharted by The Futureheads thus far, and it’s done in fine form.

Words: Dean Samways

Image: Nul Records

LIVE REVIEW: The Futureheads, Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms (Date: 05.03.08)

Being dropped from a label is something many of us can only empathise with. Perhaps as gutting as your mum throwing you down the stairs, but apparently not. According to reports The Futureheads have never felt so creatively free since splitting with Warner. It maybe a pushy maternal instinct to see your creation to thrive but to cut them loose when the second album proves a commercial miss is a bit much. Kicking shit into the eyes of the majors, they’re now doing it their way. This tour, the album, ‘The Beginning of the Twist’ are the fires whence this phoenix rose.

Ever confident and holding absolute belief in their new mission, Sunderland’s favourite sons storm through ‘A to B’, ‘Area’ and more. Turn to a friend, chat to a neighbour and you’ve already missed the opening numbers. The playful aggression nurtured at Fantastic Plastic Records suddenly seems a lot more belligerent tonight as mettle is tested. Despite this serious rites of passage, Barry and Ross maintain a mischievous mood demanding people dance as if at the school disco just as ‘Skip to the End’ explodes from the setlist. Barry’s new hair, a throwback to a This Is England age, and raged filled expressions stand juxtaposed to his request for everyone to sing along mimicking the call of the seagull.

The effort in making ‘Stupid and Shallow' and ‘Meantime’ as dance-able as humanely possible has been used to demonstrate growth in the band with new songs reflecting a maturity that’s not all pretense and pomp; that is if you overlook the ballroom timing of the future hits. Ross announces proudly: “The next one starts in waltz time”, the title track of ‘This Is Not the World’ that is. You’d be forgiven for thinking the boys are catering for the Strictly Come Dancing audience as the last song started in tango time. The current single and the ‘Man Ray’ encore indicate that they’re definitely not turning into pounces as the din peaks at stadium rock anthem levels.

There’s a natural pause in the ‘Man Ray’ lyrics while the music ticks over mercilessly. The four Futureheads each graciously thank the crowd for dancing the school disco salsa to which a roar silences the instrumental din to reassure the band that while 679 Recordings may have deserted them their fans certainly won’t.

Words: Dean Samways

Photo: Dean Samways