Classical

Way Back Wednesdays: Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five – ‘Friendship’

June 9, 2021 — Leave a comment

Keep your friends close and keep your close friends closer to you. Let’s go Way Back!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “Disc D: 1947-1949) (Released on July 18, 2006) (via JSP Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for you to read your daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! When writing about the sounds of the past that have influenced those of the present for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, Louis Jordan and his 6-piece accompaniment Tympany Five certainly qualify for such an equation. An inductee of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall Of Fame, Louis Jordan was an Arkansas-based Saxophonist who was a seminal figure in the development of R&B and Rock ‘N’ Roll in the 1940’s and 50’s. His witty lyrics, his interactive stage presence and the jolting, engaging rhythms of his music aided him to become one of the first African-American artists to enjoy a crossover popularity with the predominantly White audience of his time. It’s tricky to pinpoint exactly when and where today’s recording, ‘Friendship’, was issued for release in it’s first form. You can hear it on the 1984 Vinyl re-issue of ‘Louis Jordan & Friends’, a double single release in 1952 as the b-side to ‘You’re Much Too Fat’, a 2006 reissue of ‘Disc D; 1947-1949’ on streaming platforms and CD, or, like me, as a part of the ‘Mafia 2’ video game soundtrack of 2010. Either way, give it a spin.

Louis Jordan took on the honorific nickname of ‘The King Of The Jukebox’ due to his exposure in the media, and he went on to continually refine his qualities in duetting with most of the other stalwarts of the time, such as Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, and, although comprehensive sales figures are not available, trajectories suggest that he shifted up to four million-selling units of his singles during the Swing era of his heyday. ‘Friendship’ was one of his many leading recordings during his career, before we sadly lost him due to a heart attack in Los Angeles in 1975. It was most famous for it’s refrain of ‘You ain’t friend of mine’ that he delivers at the end of the track. The talkative, near-duetting backing vocals from his Tympany Five feel very conversational, with the vocals being delivered in a Spoken Word section where Louis arguably never sings. He talks about the trials and tribulations of friendships, and how people used to treat each other during his time, using a character called Zeke as a muse for this. Anecdotes like “And what about that night I came home and caught lipstick on your face” and “But when she feeds you chicken and steak, and gives me Irish stew/You’s a little lizard in the bushes, that’s what you are” as his band members react to the little stories that have fractured Jordan’s connection with Zeke. It soon becomes clear that Zeke was just using Jordan as a way to get to his wife, an implication of cheating and abusing of trust. Sequences like “And even when we went on our Honeymoon/The bellboy told me you rented the very next room/I know you’re my friend, but I didn’t want to see you that soon” make this narrative clear, before the famous closing section of “Do you call that friendship?/You ain’t no friend of mine” closes things off. However, the bitter resentment in Jordan’s voice and the confrontational style of songwriting also makes him look like a ‘lost boy’ in some aspects, an angry character that has a certain viewpoint that takes us along the narrative. It’s possible to consider that his wife wasn’t happy with him, or Zeke was getting payback for a past activity, and so Jordan’s feelings may consume him. Therefore, there’s a lot of complexity underneath the hood, which Jordan carries along in his stride as his Tympany Five quibble in the background. The instrumentation is obviously dated, with a light Alto Saxophone melody and a classical Piano riff being the only real elements in play to really speak of. Limited technology aside, it’s tremendous to remember what Jordan has achieved in his time and through the tools that he had in his disposal. The gentle embrace of an old friend.

  • Pictured: Louis Jordan (Lead Vocals/Saxophone), Courtney Williams (Trumpet), Lem Johnson (Tenor Sax), Clarence Johnson (Piano), Charlie Drayton (Bass Guitar/Occasional Backing Vocals) and Walter Martin (Drums/Percussion) in New York City between 1946 and 1948 (Photo by William P. Gottilieb)

That’s all for now! Please feel free to join me again tomorrow, as we go down the route of Country and Folk with an in-depth look at an emerging female solo artist who was born in Texas and is now based in Brooklyn, and has inked a new deal with Columbia Records. She recently collaborated with Lord Huron on ‘I Lied’ from their new album ‘Long Lost’, and she tells The Guardian that she has started making her own sculptures of little alien people in her bathroom… If that’s what floats your boat. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Way Back Wednesdays: Nat King Cole (feat. Helen Forest & Lionel Hampton) – “I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You”

June 2, 2021 — Leave a comment

Where do baby ghosts play during the day? Dayscare Centres. It’s time for a new post.

  • Pictured: Nat King Cole in the Capital Records Recording Studio (Date n/a) (via Capital Photo Archives)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to read your latest entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ posts where we take a look back at the sounds of the past that have influenced those of the present, not forgetting that it’s still my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of new music every day! A real golden oldie for you this week – ‘I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You’ was originally recorded in 1932 by Bing Crosby, who had recorded the song for his starring role in the 1933 film, ‘Please’, directed by Arvid E. Gillstrom, which Crosby later re-recorded in 1954 for his album, ‘Bing: A Musical Autobiography’. Since then, it has been covered by multiple different artists in multiple different styles. The long list includes Chet Baker, Stan Getz, The Solitaires, Bobby Hackett, Vaughn Monroe, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and more. One of the most famous reworkings came from Nat King Cole, who linked up with Lionel Hampton and Helen Forrest, somewhere between 1941 and 1945, with more of a subtle and soft Jazz style in comparison to the Orchestral arrangement of Crosby’s original version. Check out Nat King Cole’s spin on it below.

Nat King Cole – the singer, Jazz player, Pianist and actor – ended up recording over 100 tracks that became hits on the radio pop charts, and this led to his ‘Nat King Cole Trio’ becoming the blueprint for small ensembles that followed. As well as performing music and acting roles on Broadway. It’s also important to note that he was the first black African-American man to host a national TV series in US broadcasting. As the title may probably have you expecting, ‘I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You’, is a melancholic reflection of young love and clear infatuation. However, it’s all delivered quite sweetly, and it feels nostalgic or dream-like in it’s production, as opposed to bleak and depressive. The Organ melodies feel a little playful and tinny. Yet, with a hell of a voice, Helen Forrest croons out emotional lines such as “I need your love so badly, I love you, oh so badly” and “I thought at last I found you, but other lovers surround you” that have a rhyming scheme to give it a poetic uplift. The Piano sequences, especially at the start, is very long, and this sets up an atmosphere where you could easily imagine Forrest singing under a spotlight in front of a captive audience in a bar like The Cotton Club. The second half of the track puts lust and desire at the forefront, with lines like “If you’d surrender just for a tender kiss or two/You might discover, that I’m the lover meant to you” and “I’d be true, but what’s the good of scheming/I know I must be dreaming” that reveal more layers of unrequited romantic daydreams and the illusions of love, and things start to feel more hopeful. However, it’s crucial to remember that “I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You” is the common thread here. Overall, yes, this is granddad music. However, it was a very well-created take on a very influential recording. The refrain is very memorable, and it came from one of America’s most significant musical players.

  • Pictured: Chord Sheet for “I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance” (1932) (Image via Sheet Music Direct)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow with some brand new music to share with you, and it comes from an Irish indie folk band from Dublin who have been nominated for Mercury Prize and Choice Music Prize awards, and they have toured with the likes of Grizzly Bear, Bell X1, Tindersticks and Elbow in the past. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Nils Frahm – “O I End”

April 13, 2021 — Leave a comment

The bold Hamburgian Piano virtuoso who is anti-NFT and All Melody. New post time!

  • Pictured: Nils Frahm (in 2015) (Photo Credit: Joseph Okpako/Redferns/Pitchfork.com)

Good Morning to you – I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up on the blog for your track of the day, as per usual, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A German composer who has gained wide critical acclaim and sizable global success since the mid-2010’s, Nils Frahm is known for combining sensibilities of electronic music and ambient Jazz with his distinct slice of self-composed Contemporary Classical music. His elaborate set-up kit of a grand piano, an upright piano, Roland Juno-60, Rhodes piano, drum machines and a Moog Taurus synth are the tools at his disposal to help him convey emotions and thoughts through his brand of mostly improvised work. He’s hugely prolific, with close ties to similarly inventive modern composers like Ólafur Arnalds, Anne Müller and F.S. Blumn, through frequent collaborations. He also performs with Frederic Gmeiner and Sebastien Singwald as Nonkeen. If I had to flip a coin, it would probably land on ‘All Melody’ as being my personal favourite album of his, and I’ve been an avid follower of Frahm’s recordings for the last four or five years. ‘O I End’ turned out to be a teaser single for ‘Graz’, an album which Frahm recorded in 2009 that never saw the light of day until this point. He ‘surprise dropped’ the nine-track recording in appreciation of World Piano Day on March 29, and you can also put your name down to pre-order the vinyl release of ‘Graz’ due on May 21st via Erased Tapes, and it was mixed by Thomas Geiger. Let your anxieties dissipate with ‘O I End’ below.

A fun fact about ‘World Piano Day’ is that actually happens specifically on the 88th day of the year – and that has been determined to represent the 88 total keys on a Piano. In a press statement on the belated release of ‘Graz’, Nils Frahm had an ambiguous comment to make, and all he had to say was this: “Sometimes, when you hear a Piano, you might think it’s a conversation between a man and a woman”, continuing, “At the same time, it can hint at the shapes of the universe, and describe how a black hole looks”, concluding, “You can make sounds that have no relation to anything we can measure”, in his gently philosophical musings. He’s also been in the news lately for his stance against the digital art format of the NFT which is generating a lot of buzz in the business, saying “Some of my heroes like Aphex Twin are selling, sorry, crap for 130,000 bucks… It’s unforgivable to participate in something which is so bleak and so wrong” in his take on the popular digital format, which he seems to feel is much more of a fad, although I still can’t get my head around what the platform even is. In any case, these comments were a reminder to me on what Nils Frahm is all about. What keeps us coming back to his work is the sense that, in the emotive qualities of his practices, he has an artistic gift of composing music that gives me the feeling of time slowly dissipating, and the more superficial worries of the world becoming much less important through these subtle melodies. It’s a staple from his old bag of tricks that he manages to pull off, once again, on ‘O I End’, a track which sounds contemplative and downbeat. While direct contextual meanings are open to interpretations based on your own feelings and daydreams when you listen to the track, it gives me a feeling of looking back on the fragmented memories of my life. Paired with the rather dark track title of ‘O I End’, it makes me imagine an elderly character reflecting on his life while playing an improvised sequence alone at a piano. The rhythms are deep and soulful, as the washing waves of rolling Piano melodies calmly ease their way from one moment through to the next. The downtempo keys feel isolated, but schooled in a vintage Classical music training that also meets the spontaneity of instrumental Jazz music. It’s gentle, but raw enough to make you feel as though you may be intruding on a more personal experience of the auteur’s soul. It doesn’t really “go anywhere” in the traditional sense, but you could argue that it just doesn’t need to. This is just a well-paced, but soothing and still, moment of reflection.

  • Pictured: Nils Frahm in Berlin, Germany (2018) (Photo by Mustafah Abdulaziz/The New York Times)

There’s my musical musing for the day – but please don’t forget to check back with me here tomorrow, for a new entry in our weekly ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ feature where we throw back to the sounds of the past that have influenced the recognizable sounds of the present – or sometimes look back at old rarities that are simply a bit bonkers. The mood strikes me for tomorrow for a flash back to an early recording from a Welsh rock band who are colloquially known as “The Manics” and were a key figurehead of the Welsh Cool Cymru cultural movement in the 1990’s. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Christmas Day Special: Angela Morley – “Snow Ride”

December 25, 2020 — Leave a comment

So – this is Christmas Day. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “The Film and TV Music Of Angela Morley” (Released in 2004) (via Vocalion)

Great Tidings I hope to bring – my name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get writing up on the blog all about this year’s especially Festive track – because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write to you about a different piece of music every day! That includes Christmas Day – otherwise you wouldn’t be reading these words right now – would you? I really wanted to do something unique and special for this year’s Christmas Day post, and so we’re going to turn to some classical music to bring some light into a Christmas that’s unusual for us. An idea that may or may not have been suggested by my own mother – I’ll leave that one for you to get worked out. In any case, Angela Morley’s “Snow Ride” is a recording which began life as a Classical music composition for film directors and television producers to use for their suitable backgrounds of an icy winter’s journey, before it was originally lost in 1964 due to the Chappell fire. Although it’s sadly unclear when this composition was first recorded, originally, the track was later digitally restored from it’s original recording by the code of Morley’s webpages. It seems to be cleverly reconstructed – and the fascinating thing about Morley is that she was the first openly Transgender person to be nominated for an Academy Award, back in 1976. Morley has also scored works like ‘Watership Down’, ‘The Little Prince’ and ‘The Slipper and The Rose’. Sadly, we lost Morley in 2009, at the age of 84, due to some complications from a heart attack. Her memory lives on from hits with the likes of Dame Shirley Bassey, Robert Farnon and Scott Walker – and my research into her career tells me that she would have been a familiar household name with the BBC in the 50’s. Let’s check out “Snow Ride” below.

The work of “Snow Ride”, by the English – and later Arizona-based classical music composer – was included on Naxos’ compilation album of seasonal classical music entitled “Another Night Before Christmas”, and you can also catch it on the John Wilson Orchestra’s album comprised of reworkings of Angela Morley’s work entitled “The Film & Television Music Of Angela Morley”, which was released in 2009 – as a celebration of her life – via the Vocalion record label. Obviously, there are no singing vocals at all to be analysed here – but the orchestral String sections and the wide-eyed crescendo of Cello melodies mixed with sweeping Horn patterns manage to evoke a very nostalgic and cheerful range of emotions – The childhood excitement of waking up to a tree full of presents and the delightfully frozen, Arctic environments of a Scandinavian winter springs to mind for me. The instrumentation is catchy and melodic, with a jovial sense of percussion blending with a comforting and Traditional range of Brass instrumentation. The pacing is actually quite stop-and-start and push-and-pull – if you read between the lines here – as a sparse Woodwind melody creeps into the frame at the mid-way mark – only to be teased instead – and pushed aside by the main repetition of the theme of the Violin arrangements. It leads to polished Sleigh bell melodies and even an Xylophone beat supplying layers to the theatrical, swooping chorus of climactic, grand String melodies. Most of these instruments convey an exotic expression – but they never really enter the soundscape thereafter. Although the melodies are quickly paced, the laidback moods of each of these phases, if you will, within the track imply to me that there is no particular hurry to the winter’s journey taking place in the narrative framework – but the aim seems to be a fun, exciting time in the cold air. A warm mix of familiarity and powerful layers is the key and although it’s not something that I’d usually go out of my way to seek out – I enjoyed it – as the traditional sounds give me a warm feeling of pure winter joy inside.

  • Pictured: Angela Morley at an American Society Of Music Arrangers & Composers talk (1999) (Yost.com)

Thank you for taking the time out of your Christmas Day to read my special post. Join me again for Boxing Day tomorrow – as we clear up our trilogy of unique and different seasonal posts with another large stylistic change. Instead of Hip-Hop or Classical music – We’re looking at a fun novelty track from one of the internet’s original favourites. Some of his most famous works have spooked or parodied the likes of Madonna, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Lady GaGa, Nirvana, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Backstreet Boys, Coolio, and many more. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio – “Inner City Blues”

August 14, 2020 — Leave a comment

What do you call a Wizard who Potters around the house a lot? Harry! New post time!

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Inner City Blues” (Single/EP) (Released on May 22nd, 2020) (via Colemine Records)

That has nothing to do with today’s track, by the way, I just wanted to make you roll your eyes! Anyhow, I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up your daily post on the blog since, as you’re aware of, it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Also known as DLO3, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio are a Jazz Fusion group based in Washington in the US, who formed in 2015, under a different original line-up. Their band name refers to how Delvon Lamarr, who is obviously at the helm of the trio, switched to playing the Organ at the age of 22 after playing the Drums and the Trumpet since an early age. Lamarr now works with Jimmy James (Guitar) and Dan Weiss (on Drums) to make up the trio. Commercially, they are probably best known for their debut album, “Close But No Cigar”, which reached the #1 spot of the US Contemporary Jazz Albums Chart when it was released in 2015. “Inner City Blues” marks a new era for the Colemine Records label, who have launched the “Brighter Days Ahead” initiative as a response to the COVID-era difficulties being faced by independent labels. As a result, they have been releasing a new single, from their artists, weekly on their Bandcamp page to coincide with Bandcamp’s waiving fees on the day, meaning that 100% of revenue from sales goes directly to the artists. This is a cover of Marvin Gaye’s 1971 track “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” from his landmark LP, “What’s Going On”. Let’s give it a spin!

An upbeat, instrumental version of a vintage 70’s classic track, which can be a hit-or-miss prospect in the odd few cases, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio put a new spin and a different perspective on Gaye’s original composition with a hefty splash of cool, involving Acid-Rock guitar lines and a Dub-based Funk style which reminds me of Khruangbin, amongst a casual and contemporary Jazz format that seems akin to GoGo Penguin. Driven by an airy Organ harmony, as per usual from the Seattle-born trio, the Jazz trio infuse elements of Soul and Swing that recreates the authenticity of a 1970’s New Orleans sound. Its embellished with short Brass sections and joyous, childlike keyboard chords to replace Gaye’s original lyricism of the bleak economic situation of the 70s and his informed lack of support from the government during the recession with deep bass guitar lines and increasingly layered Classical instrumentals to create a hopeful and optimistic mood with a vintage 70’s Jazz Fusion feel. Jimmy James turns the Funk up a notch on his guitar part, with consistently grooving, light-hearted guitar patterns. Meanwhile, Dan Weiss creates warm Drum beats that feel momentous, increasing the pace from Gaye’s recording, before it comes together with a mellow finish. Frankly, they all play perfectly well individually, but they all sync-up together very cohesively, and that springs the record to life. A head-nodder of a cover.

  • Pictured: Delvon Lamarr (Keyboard), Jimmy James (Guitar) and Dan Weiss (Drums) (2020) (via Promogogo.com)

Thank you very much for reading my daily blog post! Don’t forget that your weekly edition of Scuzz Sundays is coming up very soon, but in the meantime, please make sure that you visit the blog again tomorrow for an in-depth look at the brand new solo project from the frontman of one of the world’s most internationally popular Alternative Rock music groups, Sigur Ros. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when each new post is up and like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime

Today’s Track: Jockstrap – “The City”

June 17, 2020 — Leave a comment

The two giving ‘The Beauty and The Beast’ a needed modern spin! It’s new post time!

  • Pictured: Georgia Ellery (Lead Vocals/Violin) and Taylor Skye (Backing Vocals/Producer/Flute) (2019) (via BBC News)

This Experimental duo are inseparable… Or, so it seems! Good Morning, I am Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing about your daily track on the blog because – as I keep reminding you each time – it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Jockstrap, along with 5-piece alternative punk group Squid, are one of the most recent sign-ups to the iconic Warp Records label, which has housed a range of genre-blurring artists like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher since the 1990’s. Jockstrap are a brand new duo from Guildhall, London comprised of youngsters Georgia Ellery and Taylor Skye, who met while studying at the Guildhall School Of Music and Drama in 2016. It’s very difficult to box the duo into one specific genre, and Kev Geoghegan of BBC News called them “The music duo defying description” in 2019. It’s fair to say that “Acid”, their single released in April, completely blew my socks off. “Acid” paired soft violin strings with metallic synth beats, with classical-style lyrics, that created an odd ballad of strange Acid-Pop sounds. I was delighted to read that Jockstrap have been working on their second EP, “Wicked City” – and it’s set to release this Friday! Get a taster of the unique duo with new single “The City” below.

In a way that feels inspired by “Acid”, the duo mesh two seemingly different songs together to lull you into a false sense of security and comfort, before unleashing an unexpected storm of strange, surreal brilliance on “The City”. Again showing off an impressive vocal delivery, Georgia Ellery starts: “The city I met was pink/I tasted the city, ate out in the city” over a somber Piano line and very minimalist instrumentation as she remembers her time spent in a city shared with someone who is no longer part of her life, and a dream or a fantasy that never materialized. The piano notes feel lonely, and Ellery continues to sing in an old-fashioned crooner style that gives off a broken record effect, before, all of a sudden… They flip the switch. An aggressive, industrial synth beat creeps into the frame, which glitches and buckles with heavy distortion effects, and the duo put the use of feedback noise to strong effect by making this plot twist sound glitched and trippy. The tempo shifts with disorientation, and the pitch dips in-and-out of a compressed high-pitched and an overly bass-driven reverb delivery. The vocals dramatically change from a child-like lullaby to a freakish nightmare, as Ellery spins the surreal spoken word section with lyrics like “I sat on the beaver’s face/He sat on the beaver’s face and told him what the problem was” and “Ginger Marmalade/Plastic Jelly, Jelly”, that sound nonsensical and cold to a degree that makes it begin to feel grotesque. Ellery’s vocal pitch delivery sounds incomprehensible, ranging tremendously, with a beat that feels influenced by hip-hop and drum-and-bass in it’s ever-winding distortion effects. The innocent piano ballad feels beautiful and soft, while the lysergic second half is visionary and uncomforting – and this bewilderment is what is making me feel captivated by Jockstrap. I even prefer “The City” to “Acid” due to it’s energetic storytelling, and a sound that has to be experienced individually. I could never see this track getting on a daytime radio playlist of any station because there’s no way that the mainstream are going to get it – but I don’t want them to. The sound feels very creative and inspired, it seems a bit too clever for the masses. It’s faultless. I’m highly excited for the new EP.

  • Pictured: Georgia Ellery & Taylor Skye in a press shoot to promote the release of “Acid” (2020) (via DIY Mag.com)

You can also discover or revisit “Acid”, along with my positive thoughts on it here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/21/todays-track-jockstrap-acid/

  • Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Wicked City” (EP) (Set for release on June 19th, 2020) (via Warp Records)

Thank you for reading this post! In regards to #BlackLivesMatter, we endorse the peaceful protests on One Track At A Time. Please go and check your local area for good charity causes that help those directly affected by racism and injustice. I’ll be back tomorrow with an in-depth look at a slightly older track that I didn’t get around to covering earlier, from a Newcastle 5-piece Indie Rock band led by Hazel Wilde who are signed to Bella Union in the UK, and PIAS Recordings in the US, who released their underrated fourth album “Spook The Herd” back in February! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: GoGo Penguin – “F Maj Pixie”

June 11, 2020 — Leave a comment

Penguins are tricky to get on with. They Fish for compliments! It’s time for a new post!

  • Pictured: Cover Art for “GoGo Penguin” (Released on June 5th, 2020) (via Blue Note Records) (recordstore.co.uk)

Did you know that a Penguin’s favourite relative is Aunt Arctica? Fine, I will move swiftly on… I’m Jacob Braybrooke and I’m writing up about your daily track on the blog since it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! GoGo Penguin is a name that immediately jumped out at me when I was reading Saturday’s edition of “The Guide”, a free little magazine that my mother gets with The Guardian newspaper on Saturdays. It’s not just because Penguins are my favourite animals, but also because the writer deduced that their appeal goes far beyond the modern Jazz scene, as they implement several elements of other genres such as Techno, Trip Hop, Ambient Experimental and Progressive Jazz into their minimalist sound. A trio from Manchester in the UK, GoGo Penguin refer to themselves as “The Radiohead of British Jazz” with wider, more intricate structural influences in Four Tet and Aphex Twin, on their Spotify biography page. It sounds right up my street then. Their new record is a self-titled fourth album. Have a nice listen to “F Maj Pixie” below.

There’s no need to give this one a frosty reception. “F Maj Pixie” is quite on the lengthy side at almost 6 minutes long, but it feels diverse enough to keep you invested in in it’s stop-and-start, push-and-pull nature which replaces the lack of vocals with a vibrant mix of computer-controlled technology and classically composed instrumentation. The beginning of the track uses light pedal and delay effects to develop a bass-driven groove, on the part of Nick Blacka’s riffs on Bass Guitar. Illingworth matches the fast chord progression with symphonic piano lines that jitter and fluctuate to the delicate sound of the vibrating guitar patterns. In the middle of the track, Rob Turner joins in, with big strokes of drum cymbal clashes and frenetically paced drum notes. As a result, this syncs up a crescendo of classical piano notes, electric bass guitar harmonies and organic drum patterns that build up a soundscape of tidy electronic instrumentation paired up to more freeform, organic effects. The end is a slower fade where the pace gradually lowers, but the constant melodies retain their presence until the very end as the tone becomes more left-field and downbeat. Their name might come across as daft and silly, but the band are dead serious and they seem confident in knowing what they’re doing. It’s a futuristic take on the Easy Listening sounds pioneered by Brian Eno, with a focus towards the relationship between electronic instrumentation and classically composed works. It sounds fresh and appealing, with a range of sonic influences that melt softly together.

  • Pictured: Chris Illingworth (Piano), Nick Blacka (Bass Guitar) and Rob Turner (Drums) (2020) (Photo by Jon Shard)

Thank you for reading this post! As a reminder, at One Track At A Time, we endorse the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Please go and check your local area for good charity causes that help those directly affected by racism and injustice. I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at a track from 1981 that a Zoom quiz reminded me about. It has a type of English takeaway in the title and it was performed by a female singer-songwriter who is the co-writer and featured vocalist of The Pogues’ 1987 christmas classic “Fairytale Of New York”! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Michelle Lally – “Rascal You”

June 10, 2020 — Leave a comment

Her ex-lover is such a Rascal, but she’s not a Dizzee Rascal! It’s time for your new post!

  • Pictured: Michelle Lally performing in Salt Restaurant and Bar, Salthill (in 2017) (via artist’s Facebook page)

Good Morning! I am Jacob Braybrooke and, as like always, I’m here to write about your daily track on the blog because it’s my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! A reader has got in touch, David Lyons, with a request for me to have a look at Michelle Lally, who is a Jazz singer born in Limerick, Ireland. Don’t forget that all reader requests are very welcome, just read the details at the bottom of the post to find out how you can get in touch! Back on-topic, there is a lot of information about Michelle Lally on the internet and she is quite an interesting lady. She was a member of Irish Folk band De Dannon, as well as working with big names of Irish Jazz and Folk like Jimmy MacCarthy and John Spillane on “If This Be Love”, her debut solo record, which was released in 2008. On top of this, she has performed at The White House in Washington, D.C. on two separate occasions for George Bush and Barack Obama, respectively. Her latest record is “A Moment In Time”, which she self-released in April 2019. I have also been informed by Lyons that six of the tracks from “A Moment In Time” have been play-listed for RTE Radio 1 by RTE, which is Ireland’s lead national broadcaster. Have a listen to “Rascal You” below.

Gosh, that sounds very upper-class, right? “Rascal You” definitely has a very old-school and brass-based sound which can quite easily transport you right back to a 1960’s Las Vegas setting. Michelle Lally hints at a lost eroticism and a sad end to a long romance on the opening verse: “You filled my head with dreams and now my eyes are weeping/You left me behind, with just a broken heart to cling to”, before a bridge towards the chorus takes a more direct address viewpoint as she questions the faithfulness of the ex-lover: “Don’t it make you wonder? What kisses in the moonlight can do?”, before a chorus refrain: “You should have let me be/You Rascal, you”, paves the way for subtle Brass melodies, before Lally begins to ponder the possibilities of what could have been: “You took my hand and said/I’d be yours forever/and nothing in this world can ever change a thing between us two”, before the next section becomes, lyrically, a little bit more pessimistic: “Too late for the notice/You took my love to run it right through/You never wanted me, you Rascal, you” before a swing-laden conclusion built up of a gentle Saxophone solo, with well-spaced horn melodies between, and a daydream atmosphere created by the slow-paced, but satisfyingly sweet and soothed, structure. I would usually prefer Jazz of a more contemporary and youthful sound, as a massive fan of The Comet Is Coming and Kate Tempest, but I’ve enjoyed the relaxing sound and cinematic narrative on “Rascal You” as you’d be forgiven for thinking she’s a Hollywood hotel singer straight from a 1950’s gangster flick instead of a contemporary Irish artist. The instrumentation is subtle, but it feels bright, with a light mid-tempo drum melody that sounds like a Cuica running throughout the track, pulling a soft influence from the Tropicalia genre. It’s a sublime slice of calming old-school Jazz, with a good cinematic sense of songwriting which feels light and reflective, but there is a memorable sense of sad contemplation.

  • Pictured: Concert poster for “A Moment In Time” Dublin launch (Hampton Hotel in Donnybrook) (June 8, 2019)

Thank you for reading this post! As a reminder, at One Track At A Time, we endorse the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Please go and check your local area for good charity causes that help those directly affected by racism and injustice. I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at another Jazz track, this time created by a trio based in Manchester, who are named after a well-known arctic bird animal, who blend influences of Techno, Trip Hop and Ambient Synth-Wave with their traditional Jazz String instrumentation to compose a modern sound that has declared them to be “The Radiohead of British Jazz”, according to their own biography on Spotify. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Jockstrap – “Acid”

March 21, 2020 — 1 Comment

Talk about Science – these two have wonderful Chemistry! It’s time for your new post!

  • Pictured: Georgia Ellery (Lead Vocals/Violin) and Taylor Skye (Backing Vocals/Producer/Flute) (2019) (via BBC News)

Good afternoon to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke – making my trip back home to my family and sitting on the train as I write – writing about today’s track on the blog, as it’s my day-to-day pleasure to do so! “The music duo defying description” is a quote that Kev Geoghegan, a BBC News journalist, used to describe the subversive melodies of Jockstrap, a duo from Guidhall, London comprised of Georgia Ellery on the vocals and the violin, and Taylor Skye on the production, cello and flute, who met each other while studying at the Guildhall School Of Music and Drama in 2016. Interestingly, the duo are signed to Warp Records – the home staple of ambient electronic and techno artists such as Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, especially in the mid to late 1990’s! The latest release from the duo is “Acid” – a new single which oddly mixes a string-based arrangement from Ellery with a vibrant, experimental electronic pop production compostion formed by Skye. It’s weird, but it’s wonderful! Let’s listen to “Acid” below.

OK, let’s face it! Jockstrap’s “Acid” is a record which masses of people aren’t going to “get” – in a traditional context – but, I feel the curiosity of the string format and the wonky melodies of the track are what makes it sound really appealing to me! It’s a fantastic track to keep to yourself a little bit. Georgia Ellery is beautiful on the violin and she provides stunning vocals: “Smash some papers of acid/And I’ll smash it if you need something more to blame”, before Taylor Skye joins the equation with a buzzing synth-line, eventually forming a crescendo of metallic trickery and jarring electronic glitches. He also adds some solid, reflective male backing vocal harmonies, dueling with Ellery: “What am I to you?” – before the violin strings fade to a tripping-out, sharp line of soft-techno psychedelia: “Acid dream/My whole life”, a Damon Albarn-esque vocal that makes it sound a little like 2D from Gorillaz might enter the fray at any moment. Ellery’s vocals are heavily manipulated in one section: “Love forever, ever/Frankly never broken/Together, ether”, with the classical Cello sections of the track leading us to a gorgeous ending, as a elegant, analogue-produced line of electronica fizzles to a halt. I really enjoy how the classical mixes with the modern electronic in this track, which plays out as a washed-out, vintage love ballad under a strange influence of glazed folk-tronica. It wouldn’t feel out of place in the next Jordan Peele horror film and it would suit a horror-based, 1950’s-periodic cinematic environment very nicely due to it’s subversive, modulated production. Overall, I think it’s a very strong and inventive track. I would describe it as “imperfectly perfect pop”!

  • Pictured: Georgia Ellery & Taylor Skye in a press shoot to promote the release of “Acid” (2020) (via DIY Mag.com)

Thank you very much for reading this post! – Keep safe and healthy! It’s time for my weekly Scuzz Sundays feature tomorrow, which is the time of week where I take you on a leisurely stroll down a memory lane of late 90’s to mid 00’s emo, pop and punk tracks, as popularized by the defunct Scuzz TV freeview music video channel in my childhood days. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/

Today’s Track: Katarína Máliková – “Vodník”

January 3, 2020 — Leave a comment

Here’s a new track for you to hear while you’re taking down those Christmas decorations before heading back to work next week, if you haven’t done so already…

  • Pictured: Katarína Máliková at the Radio Head Awards (2016)

Jacob Braybrooke here! Since it’s the 3rd January, a rather nothingless day since we all haven’t quite got back into the swing of returning to our normal working lives. Have you eaten all your Christmas chocolates yet?, I thought it would be a great chance for me to showcase something truly unique and different on the blog. Today’s musing is on “Vodník” by Katarína Máliková, a track which I discovered from KEXP’s Song Of The Day podcast a few weeks ago. Máliková is a Singer-Songwriter from Slovakia, who has been causing a lot of positive buzz in Slovakian indie circles. On “Vodník”, she wisely dodges any-and-all comparisons to the Eurovision Song Contest. Instead, she opts for an intriguing mix of Orchestral folk and dark synthpop melodies!

On “Vodník”, Máliková displays a wonderful prowess of emotionally moving lyricism with dark new-wave synths that stutter and crash into each other, with the track sounding like music made in the magic hour throughout. The lyrics are Slovakian, which evokes a distinct ambiguity for English-speaking listeners. It sounds orchestral and theatrical, with a folklore vibe which is comparable to Björk’s style of vocal performance and electronic production on 2001’s “Vespertine”, with an industrial beat-driven backdrop full of IDM-eque distortions and reverb-drenched drum snares, often comparable to the 80’s-influenced soundscapes found on Bat For Lashes “Lost Girls”, which was released last year. It isn’t such a far cry from Peel-branded acts such as Joy Division and New Order, but it does definitely have a unique flavour of Polyphonic and experimental sounds that makes it feel unlike anything else in direct comparison, although the evocative, Scandonavian-inspired synthpop falls between the category of Grimes and KKA Twigs in equal measure. Overall, I feel the vocals work harmoniously with Máliková’s bold sense of electronic instrumentation to complete a brave and intimate track. The track is available to buy or stream from her sophomore LP, “Postalgia”, which was released in November via the Sinko Records label. Judging from how fresh and powerful she sounds, combined with a strong layout, on “Vodník”, I really hope that 2020 is going to be absolutely massive for her!

  • Pictured: Katarína Máliková performing a live set at Pohoda Music Festival (August 2017)

Thank you for reading this post! I’ll be back tomorrow, as usual, with an in-depth look at the new track from an English synth-pop/dance group who, in an interview in 2010, told the press that none of them knew how to drive, as the band got around the old fashioned way – on their own two feet, instead! Also, don’t forget to check out the blog on Sunday, as it’s almost time for my first Scuzz Sunday post of the new year! If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/