Legendary rave pioneers and art mavericks the KLF are selling their old samplers and the armoured car cum sound system which they used to terrorise the Turner Prize in the early 90s.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Advanced-Acoustic-Armaments-Funktion-One-P-A-system_W0QQitemZ250483082456QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL?hash=item3a51f484d8&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14#ht_500wt_1182
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/KLF_W0QQitemZ250484343342QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Pro_Audio_Samplers_Accessories_CV?hash=item3a5207c22e&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14#ht_500wt_1182
For those who don't recall, the KLF - or K Foundation, as they were by that point - decided to offer double the Turner Prize amount for what the public voted the country's worst piece of art. In the end it was won by Rachel Whiteread's 'House', a work which filled a terraced house in Bow with concrete, then removed the bricks to simply leave the space the house once had inside. Here are a selection of their TV ads for the project.
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
ALBUM REVIEW: TWO FINGERS: INSTRUMENTALS
Format: CD / vinyl
Label: Big Dada
Released: September 7
Any list of the most underrated electronic producers about must include Amon Tobin fairly near the top. His sound might take in influences from drum & bass, dubstep, hip-hop and leftfield electronics, but he never apes any genre, taking very much his own path. His latest sonic exploit, together with partner Joe Chapman as Two Fingers, saw him sound tracking the rhymes of various hip-hop MCs including Sway.
Even though this bonus track-packed instrumental version may be more a home rather than dancefloor listen that doesn’t stop it from being downright confrontational and aggressive in parts - a ‘Ministry Chill Out’ session it most certainly isn’t.
There are individual musical touches like twanging surf guitars, weeping violins and unnerving incidental found sound samples which all help to lend Two Fingers their own identity, but the wall of uniquely assembled beats still dominates tracks like ’Not Perfect’ and current single ’That Girl’.
From the strummed Spanish guitars to the layers of Latin-styled percussion and almost Bhangra-like flourishes of ’Keman Rhythm’, there’s a global feel to the different flavours on offer, always rooted in the sturdy beats of hip-hop culture but never afraid to experiment.
Stick Two Fingers up to everything else around and hear this instead.
9/10
Ben Willmott
www.myspace.com/2wofingers
Label: Big Dada
Released: September 7
Any list of the most underrated electronic producers about must include Amon Tobin fairly near the top. His sound might take in influences from drum & bass, dubstep, hip-hop and leftfield electronics, but he never apes any genre, taking very much his own path. His latest sonic exploit, together with partner Joe Chapman as Two Fingers, saw him sound tracking the rhymes of various hip-hop MCs including Sway.
Even though this bonus track-packed instrumental version may be more a home rather than dancefloor listen that doesn’t stop it from being downright confrontational and aggressive in parts - a ‘Ministry Chill Out’ session it most certainly isn’t.
There are individual musical touches like twanging surf guitars, weeping violins and unnerving incidental found sound samples which all help to lend Two Fingers their own identity, but the wall of uniquely assembled beats still dominates tracks like ’Not Perfect’ and current single ’That Girl’.
From the strummed Spanish guitars to the layers of Latin-styled percussion and almost Bhangra-like flourishes of ’Keman Rhythm’, there’s a global feel to the different flavours on offer, always rooted in the sturdy beats of hip-hop culture but never afraid to experiment.
Stick Two Fingers up to everything else around and hear this instead.
9/10
Ben Willmott
www.myspace.com/2wofingers
SINGLE REVIEW: TWO FINGERS: BAD GIRL
Format: CD / vinyl
Label: Big Dada
Released: August 31
A new version of the strutting ragga track from Two Fingers’ eponymous debut LP, with Jamaican dancehall queen Ce’Celle’s vocals added to successfully by Mobo-winning rapper Sway, who recently signed to Akon’s Konvict label.
Remixes from King Cannibal, who add a new, more junglist edge to the rhythm, and Spikyben favourites The Bug, whose reworking further emphasises its dark, brooding rave side, go to make this a true bumper package even without the original and a pair of instrumentals.
Ben Willmott
7&½ /10
Label: Big Dada
Released: August 31
A new version of the strutting ragga track from Two Fingers’ eponymous debut LP, with Jamaican dancehall queen Ce’Celle’s vocals added to successfully by Mobo-winning rapper Sway, who recently signed to Akon’s Konvict label.
Remixes from King Cannibal, who add a new, more junglist edge to the rhythm, and Spikyben favourites The Bug, whose reworking further emphasises its dark, brooding rave side, go to make this a true bumper package even without the original and a pair of instrumentals.
Ben Willmott
7&½ /10
ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS: CHROMEO - DJ KICKS
Format: mix CD
Label: !K7
Released: October 26
Wonderfully named Montreal duo Dave 1 and P-Thugg aka Chromeo spinning a luxurious sounding selection of synthpop, disco and electro funk, explaining a lot about the origins of their own sound in the process.
First up is Kano, not the street tough East End grime lord but the Italo house innovator, whose proto-electro offering ‘Ikeya-Seki’ is the missing link between Giorgio Moroder and ‘Popcorn’. Irresistible vintage French disco from Pierre Perpall (an online payment system, surely) follows - and is gone far too quickly - and the other 26 tracks take in everything from Lifelike’s pulsating, Daft Punk-like digi-disco (‘Sequencer’), Leo Sayer, The Alan Parsons Project and Chrome’s covering The Eagles’ ‘I Can’t Tell You Why’.
The pair have insisted their choice is not ironic, saying they love the innocent sincerity of the 70s/80s era, and although this track listing will be considered downright cheesy by some, in the right conditions it’s hard to dislike.
Ben Willmott
6&½/10
Label: !K7
Released: October 26
Wonderfully named Montreal duo Dave 1 and P-Thugg aka Chromeo spinning a luxurious sounding selection of synthpop, disco and electro funk, explaining a lot about the origins of their own sound in the process.
First up is Kano, not the street tough East End grime lord but the Italo house innovator, whose proto-electro offering ‘Ikeya-Seki’ is the missing link between Giorgio Moroder and ‘Popcorn’. Irresistible vintage French disco from Pierre Perpall (an online payment system, surely) follows - and is gone far too quickly - and the other 26 tracks take in everything from Lifelike’s pulsating, Daft Punk-like digi-disco (‘Sequencer’), Leo Sayer, The Alan Parsons Project and Chrome’s covering The Eagles’ ‘I Can’t Tell You Why’.
The pair have insisted their choice is not ironic, saying they love the innocent sincerity of the 70s/80s era, and although this track listing will be considered downright cheesy by some, in the right conditions it’s hard to dislike.
Ben Willmott
6&½/10
ALBUM REVIEW: VARIOUS: FABRIC LIVE - RADIO SLAVE
Format: mix CD
Labek: Fabric
Released: October 20
Operating under a number of well-respected guises, including Radio Slave, Rekid, Quiet Village, Mathew E and his collaborative Sea Devils project with Caged Baby, South Londoner Matt Edwards has been contributing to the British house music scene since his days spinning at Ministry’s Open All Hours night during the early 90s. Here he mixes ultra-current minimal tech-house with the traditional machine funk of classic house/techno.
The Michel Cleis remix of Spencer Parker’s ’The Beginning’, for instance, owes much to Chicago and Detroit in general and Lil Louis’, Steve ’Silk’ Hurley, Derrick May and Carl Craig in particular, with its chugging, automated pianos and exotic Latin percussion. But elsewhere, like exclusive unreleased Radio Slave track ‘DDB’, it’s more slanted towards the linear, stripped down Euro pulsations of Mauritzio.
Heads down, frug-inspiring grooves, with the odd sonic diversion like Nina Kraviz’s wonderfully personality-laden ’Pain In The Ass’ thrown in to stop it getting too relentless, showing that Edwards has a superb feel for structuring a DJ set, this is well worth getting enslaved to.
Ben Willmott
7&½/10
Labek: Fabric
Released: October 20
Operating under a number of well-respected guises, including Radio Slave, Rekid, Quiet Village, Mathew E and his collaborative Sea Devils project with Caged Baby, South Londoner Matt Edwards has been contributing to the British house music scene since his days spinning at Ministry’s Open All Hours night during the early 90s. Here he mixes ultra-current minimal tech-house with the traditional machine funk of classic house/techno.
The Michel Cleis remix of Spencer Parker’s ’The Beginning’, for instance, owes much to Chicago and Detroit in general and Lil Louis’, Steve ’Silk’ Hurley, Derrick May and Carl Craig in particular, with its chugging, automated pianos and exotic Latin percussion. But elsewhere, like exclusive unreleased Radio Slave track ‘DDB’, it’s more slanted towards the linear, stripped down Euro pulsations of Mauritzio.
Heads down, frug-inspiring grooves, with the odd sonic diversion like Nina Kraviz’s wonderfully personality-laden ’Pain In The Ass’ thrown in to stop it getting too relentless, showing that Edwards has a superb feel for structuring a DJ set, this is well worth getting enslaved to.
Ben Willmott
7&½/10
ALBUM REVIEW: LEE COMBS: LIGHT & DARK
Format: CD album
Label: Lot 49
Released: October 12
Instrumental in combining techno, house, breaks and electro to create ‘tech funk’, Lee Combs’ third album I big on slamming big room grooves, but still manages to inject variety and personality into the formula. The opener, ‘Control’ features the belting vocals of Katherine Ellis, ’Detox’ boasts a genuinely surprising breakdown alongside wriggling acid and ’Blue I’m Singing’ owes as much to echo and the Bunnymen as Chicago or Detroit. Often nodding back to the past - see the monstrous rave chords of ‘Right Now’ with Uberzone - but with its sights set very much on the future, this is as ingenious as it is infectious.
Ben Willmott
Label: Lot 49
Released: October 12
Instrumental in combining techno, house, breaks and electro to create ‘tech funk’, Lee Combs’ third album I big on slamming big room grooves, but still manages to inject variety and personality into the formula. The opener, ‘Control’ features the belting vocals of Katherine Ellis, ’Detox’ boasts a genuinely surprising breakdown alongside wriggling acid and ’Blue I’m Singing’ owes as much to echo and the Bunnymen as Chicago or Detroit. Often nodding back to the past - see the monstrous rave chords of ‘Right Now’ with Uberzone - but with its sights set very much on the future, this is as ingenious as it is infectious.
Ben Willmott
SINGLE REVIEW: THE LAUREL COLLECTIVE: WIDOW / FLAME THROWER
Format: 7” vinyl
Label: Pure Groove
Released: September 7
Interesting combination of programmed rhythm and more traditional band type behaviour reflecting the trio’s er, collective roots in Nigeria, England and Wales. Although luckily there‘s not a trace of Max Boyce, The Alarm or the Manics here.
In fact, it’s more like a funked up version of Kate Nash’s friendly, cheerful songwriting style, with the fey falsetto male vocals of Martin Sukutu a considerable improvement on Nash’s, even if there’s a hint of the same mockney posturing. Not quite there yet but still more original than most, The Laurel Colective may be onto something good.
2&½/5
Label: Pure Groove
Released: September 7
Interesting combination of programmed rhythm and more traditional band type behaviour reflecting the trio’s er, collective roots in Nigeria, England and Wales. Although luckily there‘s not a trace of Max Boyce, The Alarm or the Manics here.
In fact, it’s more like a funked up version of Kate Nash’s friendly, cheerful songwriting style, with the fey falsetto male vocals of Martin Sukutu a considerable improvement on Nash’s, even if there’s a hint of the same mockney posturing. Not quite there yet but still more original than most, The Laurel Colective may be onto something good.
2&½/5
LIVE REVIEW: GRAHAM COXON
GRAHAM COXON
LONDON CAMDEN ROUNDHOUSE
JULY 23 2009
With a couple of sold out Hyde Park shows, a Glastonbury headline and sundry other massive gigs already under his belt, you’d forgive Graham Coxon for spending the rest of the summer sitting back and counting his money.
Love or loathe him, there’s no denying the Blur guitarist is someone who likes to get out on a stage and play, and there’s a certain bravery to him testing out his new folk direction on a few thousand or so iTunes competition winners who‘d probably rather be spilling their lager to ‘Girls and Boys’ and ‘Parklife’. There’s a certain restlessness among the full Roundhouse early on, as Coxon sits down and out of most people’s view and picks his way through a succession of hushed Nick Drake-inspired songs on an acoustic.
He mumbles inaudible greetings into the microphone, something onstage starts feeding back awfully, and for a moment the sound of talking threatens to overwhelm the fragile sound. But as bassist Gareth Huw Davies, best known for his work on all three of R.O.C.'s albums to date, and drummer Graham Fox begin to get more involved, the crowd steadily warms to their understated but often infectious sound.
There are a few (vaguely) rowdier diversions, where the self-styled Power Trio do the full on fuzzbox overdrive of Dinosaur Jr or reference psychedelic space rock ghosts of the Roundhouse’s former life like Hawkwind and Pink Floyd. But the main offering remains Coxon’s quirky take on late 60s/early 70s folk, heavily influenced by Drake, Syd Barrett and Robert Wyatt.
That said, the shambling but emotionally engaging delivery and ability to pen a memorable, fresh tune are all his. Once the audience begins to cheer, clap and hoist their mobiles skywards he seems to emerge from his shell, step up to the microphone and establish a decent raport. So by the time they reach the hypnotic, harmonium-led set closer ‘November’
it feels like a shaky start has been turned into a triumph. A triumph on Coxon’s terms, too, which after the surefire safety of the Blur reunion, must feel pretty good.
Ben Willmott
LONDON CAMDEN ROUNDHOUSE
JULY 23 2009
With a couple of sold out Hyde Park shows, a Glastonbury headline and sundry other massive gigs already under his belt, you’d forgive Graham Coxon for spending the rest of the summer sitting back and counting his money.
Love or loathe him, there’s no denying the Blur guitarist is someone who likes to get out on a stage and play, and there’s a certain bravery to him testing out his new folk direction on a few thousand or so iTunes competition winners who‘d probably rather be spilling their lager to ‘Girls and Boys’ and ‘Parklife’. There’s a certain restlessness among the full Roundhouse early on, as Coxon sits down and out of most people’s view and picks his way through a succession of hushed Nick Drake-inspired songs on an acoustic.
He mumbles inaudible greetings into the microphone, something onstage starts feeding back awfully, and for a moment the sound of talking threatens to overwhelm the fragile sound. But as bassist Gareth Huw Davies, best known for his work on all three of R.O.C.'s albums to date, and drummer Graham Fox begin to get more involved, the crowd steadily warms to their understated but often infectious sound.
There are a few (vaguely) rowdier diversions, where the self-styled Power Trio do the full on fuzzbox overdrive of Dinosaur Jr or reference psychedelic space rock ghosts of the Roundhouse’s former life like Hawkwind and Pink Floyd. But the main offering remains Coxon’s quirky take on late 60s/early 70s folk, heavily influenced by Drake, Syd Barrett and Robert Wyatt.
That said, the shambling but emotionally engaging delivery and ability to pen a memorable, fresh tune are all his. Once the audience begins to cheer, clap and hoist their mobiles skywards he seems to emerge from his shell, step up to the microphone and establish a decent raport. So by the time they reach the hypnotic, harmonium-led set closer ‘November’
it feels like a shaky start has been turned into a triumph. A triumph on Coxon’s terms, too, which after the surefire safety of the Blur reunion, must feel pretty good.
Ben Willmott
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