music
Over the last couple of years, Magazine’s debut Real Life has gradually crept from the fringes of my consciousness to become one of my favourite albums. I’ve owned it for three or four years (or maybe even longer) but other than ever-brilliant Shot By Both Sides, early listens failed to pierce my heart, mind or sou
Read MoreIn 1981, a young Nicholas Currie handed a home-recorded demo cassette to Malcolm Ross at what would transpire to be Josef K's final Edinburgh gig. Ross was impressed enough to put a band together with Currie including Davy Weddell from Ross's former group. Ronnie Torrance, also late of Josef K, would eventually join on drums and so, although Ross left to join Orange Juice prior to any official recordings, comparisons to the Postcard band were and are inevitable. Their solitary album The Man on Your Street is a bit of a lost classic and the song above marks the point where the album really takes off. There's no denying the scratch and shuffle of Josef K is present, but there's a brightness of tone that renders The Happy Family somewhat less gloomy, despite a rather grand 'plot' centring around the son of an evangelical detergent salesman and the daughter of a fascist dictator set in Switzerland and the north of Italy. It wasn't to last long in any case and the band would split up shortly after 'in a spirit of apathy and aversion to the force of habit'.
Currie recommenced his university studies and would later transform into Momus. He will release a second collaborative album with former Orange Juice bass player David McClymont in the next few weeks and will also perform at Neu Reekie at Summerhall on 28 February.
Formed in Edinburgh in 1979, The Delmontes only released two singles through Rational Records before splitting up three years later. The band boasted a sound that consciously looked at the past (Nuggets-style garage rock, 60s psychedelia) and yet also was rooted in the more restrained minimalism of some of their contemporaries (The Teardrop Explodes, Young Marble Giants), The songs are surprisingly infectious; vocalist Julie Hepburn's lyrics are darkly intelligent. The Delmontes were briefly signed to WEA before they disbanded - they never got their due. Drummer Bernice Simpson went on to join The Pastels.
Fortunately, the ever- wonderful LTM has managed to put together a comprehensive compilation, Carousel, which contains many gems like Love In Guillotine, Tous Le Soirs and Don't Cry Your Tears. Go buy. Now.
Weekend - Red Planes (Demo)
So, a new regular Blasted feature for the New Year. As you might gather from the (possibly occasionally inaccurate) name, we will be endeavouring to bring you obscure (or at least obscure versions) of songs that we stumble across. The name of course comes from James Young’s rather excellent snapshot of six years in the life of the ever-inimitable chanteuse Nico.
The first pick isn’t entirely a coincidence. Firstly, because it was a track discovered on the week that we conceived of this new feature, and secondly because it bears a passing resemblance to what could’ve been a lost (possibly slightly more upbeat) outtake from one of Christa Päffgen’s John Cale-produced albums.
The song we’ve chosen for this inaugural bulletin is by Welsh band Weekend. No, not that Weekend, the other one. Fronted by former Young Marble Giants singer Alison Statton, Weekend were a shinier affair than the minimalist, monochromatic and mesmerising abstractions of YMGs and definitely weren’t as special or, as…well…good. Not by a long chalk. Presumably recorded in the direct aftermath of Statton’s former band’s breakup, this is a strange piece of music, swirls of ambient strings hypnotising over a minimal and (actually very YMGs-like) electronic beat, Statton’s vocals deeper than normal and bordering on Nico-esque.
Credit for our discovery has to go to the continually intriguing Mr Kiran Sande of Blackest Ever Black, one of the most consistently interesting and exciting record labels in the world. His excellent mix (of which there are many) in which we found this song was Dream Theory in Haltemprice
Lewis Allan Reed died today, aged 71, in Long Island. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family. His music has been a source of inspiration to many (including us here at Blasted- to an absurd level, in fact) and will continue to be so for a very long time. If you don't have the The Velvet Underground & Nico, White Light/White Heat, The Velvet Underground, Loaded, VU, Transformer and Berlin, get them all tomorrow and learn them all back to front, you may well find some of your favourite records. R.I.P. Lou.
From Loaded (1970).
This month sees the publication of yet another interesting (and rather lavish) music tome - a photographic book documenting the 12-year relationship of legendary Gallic musician Serge Gainsbourg with English model and singer Jane Birkin. This collection of intimate family portraits has been put together by Birkin's brother Andrew and offers an interesting and unusual angle on a very public and sometimes controversial union.
Jane & Serge. A Family Album by Andrew Birkin & Alison Castle is available now.
Image courtesy of Taschen
The video for the brilliant Casual Sex's Nothing on Earth has just been unveiled. The track finds them channeling late-70s New York Mutant Disco to the backdrop of a nocturnal Glasgow. The song is taken from their forthcoming The Bastard Beat EP , to be released on We Can Still Picnic and launched on 22 November at Nice'N'Sleazy. Check. It. Out.
This was announced a while ago but we thought we'd chip into remind/alert you of/to the fact that the first Glasgow Independent Label Market (presented by the Vinyl Factory) is this Saturday from 10 till 6 at the Barras Art & Design Centre, supported by AIM, SMIA, The List and Kiltr. There's going to be DJ sets from local heroes such as Edwyn Collins, Belle & Sebastian and JD Twitch, as well as gourmet food and of course a lot of exclusive records and merchandise. It's really very exciting - see you there. Penury, here we come...
See the poster below for full details.
Next month sees the release of a very special book indeed, Sam Knee's A Scene In Between: Tripping Through the Fashions of UK Indie Music. If anything 'book' seems barely an adequate descriptor, it's a labour of love, a precious document - something like that. Blasted will have an interview with Mr Knee up on the site within the next week, but until then we've got an exclusive (never before seen) photo of the Shop Assistants to whet your appetite. Cheers Sam!
The Shop Assistants, 1985. Photo by Martin Whitehead. Courtesy of Sam Knee.
