Music
Originally published on Tuesday, 21st July 2009
Crystal Fighters, Basque Country, Spain.
Our favourite upcoming sounds & gigs, all strictly Off The Record, including gloriously flamboyant tunes from ColouringIN, the latest chanteuse on the block who does it DIY, and oddball dindie misfits The Crystal Fighters. Listen in…
ColouringIN
Sounding like Depeche Mode meets a Zoot Woman jam session, with Antony sans the Johnsons on vocals and beats added by DJ Koze in full pop-remix mode, ColouringIN are a band that one should prick ones ears for. A project combining the chiseled party-friendly beats of Tom Neville of LoveMinusZero fame, with the operatic skills of front man Henry Bennett, it’s got a look that’s gloriously (and strangely understatedly) flamboyant.
ColouringIN will be playing at We.Are.A.Fever. @ Hoxton Pony Wednesday August 12th.
George Pringle
It’s not often one finds an artist (in the truest sense of the word) who splits opinion quite as perfectly as this chanteuse. George Pringle’s brand of DIY, Garageband based part sung/part spoken word pop tomfoolery manages to escape classification whilst remaining perfectly accessible. An easy comparison would be something like ‘Keira Knightly fronting Black Box Recorder’, but her astute lyrics fill the tracks with a suburban haze so glorious, it reminds one of the first time you heard Blur. Oh, and she’s also releasing her album herself on her own label. DIY til she drops. And much better for it.
Grab her single ‘Physical Education’ when it drops in August 16th, or better yet, keep an eye out on her myspace for some inpromptu gig action.
George Pringle’s single, ‘Physical Education’, drops August 16th.
Crystal Fighters
Oddball Dindie misfits (oh yes, I brought it back for one item only!) Crystal Fighters are on a roll. When the five piece, made up of two British chaps, an American and two Spanish chicas, are not making an alt/art/electronirock noise, they’re pulling it back down to sound a bit like a deranged Animal Collective – all gentle harmonies and moving instrumentation. That they’re signed to Kitsune and their tracks tend to make one want to run naked in a forest with a dozen or more feral, fun loving friends is also a plus.
Crystal Fighters will be playing the 1-2-3-4 Festival on Sunday July 26th as well as Wednesday July 29th at The Factory @ Proud Galleries.
What UJ’s loving right now…
Folky-Rock goodness : Kurt Vile ‘Beach On The Moon’ [Matador]- Like being kissed by the sun and hugged by the beach. Awesome.
Beautiful Classic House re-rub : Le Loup ‘I Keep Secret’ [Wolf+Lamb] – The W+L label seem not to be able to make a wrong turn. Especially with this masterstroke on P.Bradock’s ‘Deep Burnt’. Ahem. Hot.
Gallic pop with a Japanese twist: Koko Von Napoo ‘June’ [Trouble] – As if a Japanese 4-piece decided to take early Pheonix as a starting point. Crazy, off-kilter and pretty darn good.
Electronic disco action: Sorcerer ‘Chemise’ [Tirk] – Something tells me Hall&Oates had a finger in this somewhere. So summery it actually hurts.
Beatalicious: Tobacco ‘Hairy Candy’ [Anticon]– Like Biblio and Eliot Lipp had a kid. Ra.
