Can’t Go There: An Introduction to Jocky Venkataraman June 28, 2009
Posted by matthew in scottish music.2 comments
Jesus fuck. This is genius.
This is just a wee ten track sampler that’s available for free download over at Adam Stafford’s Wise Blood Industries site, but by God is it fucking genius. Jocky Venkataraman has a full album out and another on the way.
Did I mention this is fucking genius?
Pop this on and you’re put straight into a Christmas song, which I find slightly funny seeing as it’s June. The songs are so odd and amusing, it’s hard not to find yourself singing along. The stand out tracks for me are Why Am I Stuck and Glasvegas mainly because they made me chuckle like a silly bastard. I guess they just appeal to my sense of humour.
I would write more, but I can’t be arsed. Just trust me; it’s fucking genius.
Why Am I Stuck – Jocky Venkataraman mp3
My Kappa Roots – The House of St Colme Burnt Down June 27, 2009
Posted by matthew in scottish music.Tags: lo-fi, scottish
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My Kappa Roots is the moniker of Pablo Clark, who hails from the mighty kingdom of Fife and is a co-founder of the Fife Kills collective.
I want to try and keep this quite short, because I know I’ll end up talking irrelevent pish and I don’t want to ruin this.
I’m pretty much only at the stage where I can write about stuff I more or less listen to on a regular basis, which is to say things that have been about for a while. This album, it has to be said, is one of my all-time favourites. It really is outstandingly gorgeous. It’s one of those timeless albums that completely transports the listener somewhere only they can go. It’s like those afternoon naps that rid you of a particularly gruesome hangover; afterwards you wake up feeling totally transformed and refreshed.
The structure is gleamingly beautiful; an equilibrium of perfectly balanced ups and downs. Touched softly with additional bits of violin and other classicaly modest instruments, it’s mostly just the careful and soft plucking of guitar under a warm blanket of a voice that is the epitome of calm.
I think it would be rather daft to try and go into detail about the songs individually, as in some cases over-analysis can sometimes tarnish the integrity and the simple endearment of its artistic nature; be it a painting, poem, novel or song.
Please please please go and buy this album now. You won’t regret it… Not one bit.
Withered Hand – You’re Not Alone June 20, 2009
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Withered Hand, aka Dan Willson, is just brilliant. This second EP is just another whiff of more great things to come. Recorded and mixed by King Creosote it has a much more personal tone to it, as opposed to the full-band recording of the first EP Religious Songs, with it’s catchy sing-a-long tunes. Ultimately miserable and depressing. I love it.
The first song No Cigarettes is a gem. Possibly one of the most honest and sadest songs I’ve heard in ages. I first heard No Cigarettes at one of his shows and it was incredibly touching and down to earth without being at all pretentious and in your face, and this recorded version captures the same sort of atmosphere perfectly.
Oldsmobile Car is a song I keep hearing different versions of. Meursault have done a cover called Red Candle Bulb which appeared on their Nothing Broke EP, which was smashing. This version, though, is a little different. That I suppose should be commended seeing as in an artistic point of view change and new perspectives show diversity and originality – I mean, you get bored hearing a song performed the same way again and again and again. It’s a good song with a good message, even if it is a bit of a retired one that doesn’t really get used properly anymore. Having said that…it may be ironic and I’ve missed the point completely.
Big Ten Four (Paul’s Song) is a complete mystery to me. It’s strange how the song is written specifically for someone else and yet I feel like I understand every detail as though it’s for me. Not because I’m anything like the person it’s for or that I can relate to it personally, but it’s played in a way that you can automatically empathise with ease. Anyway, it’s great.
R U Courageous? is a cover by Tigersaw, who, if I’m honest, I don’t know anything about so it’s kind of hard to write about. All I can really say is that it’s a well played song that finishes the EP comfortably and modestly.
