Sleep Mix

I have a playlist on my iTunes called Sleepy, it's made up of ambient, folk-y, IDM type stuff, so I thought I'd get Ableton on the go and do a "mix" of sorts with some of the tunes that help me get to sleep.

1. Samoyed-Making Snow
2. Brian Retzell & Roger J Manning-Shibuya
3. Headless Heroes-Hey, Who Really Cares?
4. Joe Hisihashi-The Merry-go-round of Life
5. Brian Eno-Another Green World
6. Grizzly Bear-Granny Diner
7. Mogwai-Now You're Taken
8. Scott Walker-Boy Child
9. Fleet Foxes-Meadowlark
10. Boards of Canada-Over the Horizon Radar
11. Philip Glass-Truman Sleeps
12. Boards of Canada-Dawn Chorus
13. Team Sleep-Ever
14. Fever Ray-Triangle Walks
15. Jesus and the Mary Chain-Just Like Honey
16. Icasol-Ongou
17. Belle & Sebastian-If You're Feeling Sinister

ERRL FLNN-Sleep

Rainbow Arabia

With shades of Gang Gang Dance, The Rapture (circa Echoes, not the shitty second album) and Crystal Castles, L.A.’s Rainbow Arabia sound like the in-house band at a Moroccan asylum, fronted by a lusty witch. Like so many bands coming out of the States at the moment, they manage to weld experimentation to pop sensibilities in a way that no band in Britain can come near to at the moment.

Let them Dance could be the theme tune to a North African remake of Knight Rider in which Kit is replaced by a whooping camel that races purposefully around a congested Casablanca. The object of each episode always being to get several Moroccan nu-ravers to a party where they are playing a peak time Zouk set, the highlight of which is the electrifying Omar K. It is intoxicating stuff.

Unlike most folks, Rainbow Arabia don’t get the photo album out for friends, on return from their travels. Instead, they get home, roll up the magic carpet, get the electric guitar out, plug in the old Casio and write songs to sing to their friends, over a shisha and some minty tea, as evidenced by the lovely Holiday In Congo.

Having released two e.p.'s on the increasingly essential Merok, there are unconfirmed rumours that the husband/ wife duo are shacked up in a Harem with Ali Baba working on an album. Definitely confirmed as happening is a May tour of Europe, which if it is even half as mad as the picture up top suggests, will be amazing.

Let Them Dance

Omar K

Holiday In Congo

http://www.myspace.com/rainbowarabia

Pedro-phile

Pedro’s back and Madrid has gone wild. With the release of his 17th feature film, “Los Abrazos Rotos” (Broken Embraces) Almodovár tells the tale of a blind film director (Lluis Omar) and how he came to lose not only his sight, but also the love of his life (Penelope Cruz). The film is by no means a departure from the Spaniard’s typical traits, with the picture employing the usual Almodóvar fodder – love, lies, tears, melodrama, comedy - to great effect. The film journeys between the past and the present, and interweaves diverse stories and viewpoints, to construct a fascinating drama full of twists and turns. The acting is terrific and there are many ‘in-jokes’ involving subtle references to previous Almodóvar films, with the picture rounded off nicely by a soundtrack produced by the ever-brilliant Alberto Iglesias (featuring original music alongside tracks by Uffie, Cat Power and Can). My only gripe would be the film’s length, clocking up over 2 hours – a factor which is noticeable given that the film’s storyline does seem to run out of steam after the 90-minute mark. But that minor complaint should not detract from the fact that Almodóvar has demonstrated himself to be one of the most individual and consistent film-makers in modern cinema. It must be said that ‘Los Abrazos Rotos’ is not the tour-de-force that some fans may have hoped for and falls short of eclipsing what in my opinion was his career high – Hable Con Ella (Talk to Her). Nevertheless, Almodóvar delivers a very engaging film which is sure to become another hit, and will no doubt earn more accolades for the man who can deservedly call himself Spain’s most successful film-maker of all time.

Gentlemen, I give you a track which features in the film and shows that Almodóvar, almost 60 years old, is still in touch with today’s youth and has an obvious penchant for Kraut rock.

Can – Vitamin C:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/573252519748691e/

Grizzly Bear

One of my favorite bands ever, Grizzly Bear, are preparing to release their new album just in time for summer.

Having not released a full length album since the immense 2006 effort Yellow House, the band have been busy gathering new fans and touring across the globe.

In between Yellow House and their upcomng album titled, Veckatimest, they released the superb Friend EP which contained the haunting and minimalistic He Hit Me and the sombre but endearing Shift.

Their new album seems promising having heard a couple of the tracks on their Myspace. My favorite of the two is Two Weeks, a lighthearted affair that is dominated by simple notes looping on a keyboard, with the drums plodding along in the background but the vocals from Chris Taylor give it that classic Grizzly Bear finish .

Their new album is out on May 26th on the ever-impressive Warp.

Grizzly Bear-Alligator

Idle hands...

On April 27, DJ Hell releases Teufelswerk on International Deejay Gigolo Records. The title is German for “Devil’s Work,” and divides sixteen tracks into “Night” and “Day".

The double disc set features collaborations with Bryan Ferry, P. Diddy, Peter Kruder, Billy Ray Martin, Christian Prommer, Robert Di Gioia, Mijk Van Dijk, Stefan Robbers, Anthony Rother and &ME.

Check out “The Angst”, Hell's first single from the “Day” disc, and the excellent video that accompanies it, directed by Nicole McDonald [ParanoidUS].

Angst pt.1 - DJ Hell