R.I.P. Trish Keenan of Broadcast

Lead singer Trish Keenan's soulful and hypnotic vocals will always be remembered for creating such beautifying, soothing sounds to Broadcast's music.

While her earthly and artistic lyrics will never be forgotten, warming listeners into a hearty emotional reflection.

Like the sunrise of summer, Keenan's glow filled the minds of all who came in contact with such profound exhilaration, combining an essence of bohemian bliss with sensitive lulling perfection.

Though there was so much more of Trish to be heard, as we find ourselves cut short of such an effectual, heroic female pioneer.

Blending '60's pop with electro/sci-fi, Broadcast were able to craft stirring, retro-futuristic admirations, taking inspiration from experimental/psychedelic rock outfit The United States of America into a whole new dimension of past and future fixations.

With tracks such as Until Then breaking into a slow motion horror-gazing soundtrack and Before We Begin providing the sweetest ode to life “Oh it's in tomorrow, fortune or sorrow, wait you may win”, Trish's grasp of emotions portray effortlessly throughout her lyrics.

While never forgetting her roots, Michael a Grammar provides the perfect association to home, “Wake up we're going back to Chelmsely Wood” re-connecting with her past as well as early fans.

As a huge contribution to the Birmingham music scene Trish will be dearly missed, never forgotten and always cited as a groundbreaking creative figure.

If only her talent could have been continued, for us all to feel the vibes of a truly magnificent artist once more.

R.I.P. Captain Beefheart :(

I realised I haven't done a post about Captain Beefheart, after he died nearly two days ago. Learning of his death really knocked me back, especially as it was Multiple Sclerosis that got him in the end and not the drugs.

I really couldn't believe it, after I'd just been discussing with a friend how I have Lick My Decals off, Baby on record, which is now seemingly impossible to purchase. Beefheart was such a ground-breaking musician and artist, merging genres such as blues, jazz and rock into his own, dadaist, poetic, avant-garde get-up. 

Proving to be a HUGE influence on John Lydon, which is definitely present on PiL albums Metal Box and Flowers of Romance, Beefheart's controversial sound developed the foundations for punk, as well as many later experimental rock genres. (and of course, Blue Jeans and Moonbeams was greatly championed by Kate Bush).

In addition to collaborating with old school friend Frank Zappa on Willie the Pimp, Beefheart's legacy will live on, from allegedly locking the Magic Band in a room for weeks in order to record Trout Mask Replica, to apparently being bed-ridden from LSD, the Captain is still a leading genre inventor in my eyes and will always affect the style and sound of music to come.

So this is for you Beefheart 

Nurse With Wound - The Six Buttons of Sex Appeal

A 13 minute masterpiece or just a bloody racket?

 The Six Buttons of Sex Appeal. Masterpiece or racket?

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  Masterpiece
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  Racket
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  Unsure
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  Racket but I love it

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Free vote poll

From Nurse With Wound's debut album A Chance Meeting on a Dissecting Table of a Sewing Machine and an Umbrella, Some may describe The Six Buttons of Sex Appeal as one of the greatest, obscurest avant-garde works ever to be created. While others have been known to shun the piece as a purely unstructured noise.

The controversy arises as the songs tends to push, and effectively destroy, any sign of musical boundaries, with a seemingly unfocused view on anything. Though this is where the balance comes into play. I believe that it is this very unpredictability that uncovers a theme of disarray.

Considered a pure genius, Nurse with Wound leader Steve Stapleton has gone on to develop tonnes of avant-garde work, but none can come anywhere close to sounding as menacing as this. (here's the first three minutes):

But personally, I do love the song. It has influenced me greatly when creating my own music, helping me discover that there are no rules or boundaries within music, music is a form of art.

There'd be no Kraftwerk without.............

Organisation.

For those of you who are unaware, electro-pioneers Kraftwerk would never have existed if Ralf Hutter and Florian Schneider had not firstly delved into avant-garde in 1967. Organisation held the key to both pre-Kraftwerk members in discovering their place within the music world, and what a discovery it WAS!

With only one album released entitled Tone Float, Organisation held a very early experimental Krautrock sound. While songs such as Silver Forest bravely submit a horror soundscape, leaving pale-faced fans to feel shivers down their spines in a traditional goth fashion. Other avant-works such as Rhythm Salad and Tone Float opt for a less sinister view and more tribal affect. With varied use of percussion and little else, it's easy to see how the pathways to the likes of Nurse with Wound were built. Though Milk Rock certainly seems to be the beginning of Krautrock, with use of progressive guitars and odd Indian-sounding flutes providing the backbone to Hutter's organ precision.

Kraftwerk's iconic traffic cone logo is also present on Tone Float, providing the driving force forward, onto Kraftwerk and Kraftwerk 2, which seemed to mature the Krautrock sound a little more. Especially Ruckzuck.


I LOVE Ruckzuck!!!

Pram

Pram really did start my journey into the avant-garde world, so I owe them a lot! They are by far the band I favour the most. I just love how indescribable they are, exploring entire different genres. Track of the Cat brings an alien world to a lounge scenario and provides a soundtrack to a journey of enlightenment. By far their best track to my ears. These Birmingham-based experimentalists take pride in not fitting into any genre, allowing an audience to feel a brand new experience into music. Their vast 20 year career has delved into genres such as jazz, sci-fi, post-punk, funk, avant-pop, flamenco and even a bit of jungle.

Album Descriptions:

• Gash - Raw, avant-punk. Heavily influenced by The Raincoats and The Slits. Child nightmarish. Best Track: Blue Singer

• The Stars are so Big, the Earth is so Small... - Lo-fi. Eerie, almost lullaby-like, lyrical, magical, harsh, mesmerising, free-jazz. Best Track: Loredo Venus
• Helium - Child nightmarish, exotic, jungle, alien, high, floaty, slow-beat. More Captain Beefheart/The Residents influence. Best Tracks: Things Left on the Pavement and My Father the Clown
• Sargasso Sea - Very exotic, almost flamenco, nightmarish themed, up-beat, funk, lounge, relaxed, lyrical structured. Best Track: Loose Threads
• North Pole Radio Station -Sci-fi, nightmarish, egyptian, jazz, ska/reggae, alien, hypnotic, playful, lyrically structured, eerie, French, dreamy, western. Best Tracks: Cinnabar and Sleepy Sweet
• The Museum of Imaginary Animals - Avant-pop, happy, playful, lyrically structured. Hawaiian, Sci-fi, dreamy, shoegaze, soundtrack, jazz, floaty, exotic. Similarities to Stereolab Best Tracks: Mermaid's Hotel and Mother of Pearl
• Dark Island - Horror, early soundtrack, sci-fi, jazz, lounge, western, alien, mysterious, funk, soul, floaty, exotic, nightmarish. Influenced by black and white silent movies. Best Tracks: Track of the Cat and Sirocco   
• The Moving Frontier - Soundscape, soundtrack, horror, exotic, foreign, sci-fi, indian, tribal, jazz, moving, hypnotic journey. Influenced by foreign movie soundtracks. Best Tracks: The Silk Road and The Empty Quarter  (Obviously The Silk Road is influenced by a Captain Beefheart lyric)

Gash

The Stars are so Big, the Earth is so Small... Stay as you are

Helium

Sargasso Sea

North Pole Radio Station

Museum of Imaginary Animals

Dark Island

The Moving Frontier

Autechre - Untilted

Ever since I bought this album a couple of weeks ago, I can't stop listening to it! Untilted is like the electro-dance alternative to Trout Mask Replica. And like Beefheart's masterpiece, Autechre craft the album with chaos at first listen. Initially, I wasn't a huge fan of either Captain Beefheart or Autechre, simply because I did not get to the depth of both difficult albums. Yet once you get it, the albums captivate you and become slow burning favourites.

Though I never expected Untilted to indulge me as much as Trout Mask..., and I didn't even notice the similarities until yesterday! Yes, Beefheart mixes blues, jazz and r'n'b, and Autechre are completely different with IDM, but it's not the genres of music that are blended, it's how both albums are constructed! Almost inhuman sounds that expand your mind into a whole new level of music, leaving you wondering what's going to happen next. Untilted launches you to a completely different universe, inspiring and trancing a dance that leads nowhere. Thought that's exactly what's amazing about the album, you have no idea how it's going to pan out, you forget where to dance. It's like a huge experiment, testing you memory and almost brainwashing you to the beat. So by all means, widen your sound ranges, but beware, you may not get it first time around!

Autechre are certainly an under-rated dance duo, while Untilted should be praised as much as Trout Mask Replica for importance to music, without a doubt.

Autechre - Untilted

Keeping with my Theremin obsession.......

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL


Thought I'd post my favourite theme tune, and yes, you guessed it! It's recorded on the theremin.

You have to love a bit of black and white sci-fi, especially when it's backed up with an eerie theremin soundtrack. There's nothing better! I can't believe how futuristic the theme sounds, the instrument perfects the unknown, alien world, bringing a pure, spine-shivering atmospheric sound. Where most old movies, when watched nowadays, fail to build suspense, the theremin still hold that glory. Latter films scores still use the instrument, check out Mars Attacks!!.