Santa’s Scuzz Sundays: The Smashing Pumpkins – ‘Christmas Time’

December 19, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Pictured: Billy Corgan (Lead Vocals/Writer/Producer), James Iha (Bass Guitar), Jeff Schroeder (Keyboard/Rhythm Guitar) & Jimmy Chamberlain (Drums/Percussion) in a press shot for ‘Cyr’ (2020) (Photo via PR)

Happy Ho-Ho-Holidays to you from me, Father Christmas, and – for a final time this year – I’ve got a new entry in my ‘Scuzz Sundays’ December takeover to give our regular writer Jacob Braybrooke (Who is almost the busiest man in the world, bar me) a little break, because it is his day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! My takeover has come and gone incredibly quickly, almost as quickly as the time it takes for one of my Elf’s to create a toy for the little children of the world, but it draws to a natural conclusion with a rare track from one of the most established alternative rock bands of the 1990’s, The Smashing Pumpkins. Best known for albums like ‘Melon Collie and The Infinite Sadness’ and ‘Siamese Dream’, the name of the group probably has more to do with Halloween than Christmas. However, their blend of soft metal, dream rock, shoegaze, electronica and gothic rock has persisted throughout the ages, and their ambitious frontman Billy Corgan, who was also once a promoter for Total Nonstop Action wrestling, has ensured the project has sold its way to over 30 million records worldwide. It is also a solid achievement that the band are still going, having released a new album as recently as their eleventh LP outing – ‘Cyr’ – in 2020. Our good friend Jacob tells me that he is quite fond of The Smashing Pumpkins himself and that although their discography can be a little hit-or-miss, particularly in their dwindling late-00’s period and with some of their most recent material garnering mixed-negative receptions from him, they make music that is never inherently uninteresting and he appreciates all of the visual work that Corgan puts into their art, and so he still likes to make it clear that even his least favourite releases of The Pumpkins are not without merit. Believed to have been released in 1997 originally, their creative rendition of ‘Christmas Time’ was an original Christmas song that was a rare recording to come across since it was never formally released on one of Corgan’s albums. Instead, it was found on the compilation ‘A Very Special Christmas 3’ that was produced by the usual trio of Bobby Shriver, Al Cafaro & Linda Feder to benefit the Special Olympics via A&M Records. Let’s check it out below.

‘Christmas Time’ can also be found on The Smashing Pumpkins’ 2005 compilation, ‘Rarities and B-Sides’, that just does what it says on the tin. The original source, as mentioned, was ‘A Very Special Christmas 3’, the third in the titular of Christmas box sets released for charity. This iteration of the series also featured some appearances from Mary J. Blige, Dave Matthews, No Doubt, Natalie Merchant, Sting, Enya, Hootie & The Blowfish and Steve Winwood, and the big release runs for over 66 minutes in its entirety. It reached #2 on the US Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart and it was certified as ‘Gold’ for shifting over 500,000 units by the RIAA. Keeping things short and sweet at a less daunting 3:17 however, was Corgan’s original track ‘Christmas Time’ which was second in the track listing, and it feels like a natural choice to warm you up for the more mellow or hard-hitting cuts later on. Reflecting on the fuzzy and kind-hearted memories of times gone by, Corgan uses nostalgic lyrics like “We watch the children playing, beside the Christmas tree/The presents are wrapped up, it’s beautiful and secretly” and “I remember dreaming, Wishing, hoping and praying for this day/Now I sit and watch them/The little ones I love” introduced a more mature theme of enjoying Christmas time as an adult, which feels like unique and relatively untapped subject matter in other yuletide anthems. There’s a delicate String section that dominates the backbeat, as well as some whimsical Horns that help to set the tone of a simple Christmas done right in the opening. The key hook of “Christmas time has come, toys for everyone” gets the simple message of ‘Christmas is finally here’ across in a sweet and pleasant way. Musically, this probably has the most in common with the band’s ‘infinite sadness’ era as it doesn’t really reflect harder rock archetypes, but it feels almost child-like in the way that it depicts Christmas in such an earnest way that is complemented by Corgan’s vulnerable vocals well. There’s a few Synth textures buried in here, but the track certainly has an eclectic air of rhyme and reason to it. As a complete package, this makes for a really gorgeous and subtle Dream-Pop release that wears its heart on its sleeve and conveys a basic message in a pleasant way. It plays to the softer side of The Smashing Pumpkins that is rarely seen, but is very appreciated when it does pull in an appearance, and it feels somewhat strange that it hasn’t really been given any cover versions or re-workings for John Lewis ads at Christmas in later years. At the time, it was a refreshing change of pace for a band who are known to release intimidating double albums and inter-connected albums to opt for something simpler and indulge in straightforward holiday cheer, and Corgan strikes a good balance between child-like joy and more adult-oriented nostalgia in his lyrics. I’m sure that Jacob would love for me to point out that Corgan could have easily just recorded a simple cover version of an already more established song for the record all of those years ago as it would have cost him nothing. However, he instead decided to write his own lyrics and chord sheets from scratch. This is testament to what makes Corgan’s project so appealing over the decades and why The Smashing Pumpkins have survived throughout the saturation of ‘Indie’ for so long. He never repeats himself and, as an artist, he always gives his all into everything what he does. That’s something that we can all deeply admire about Corgan. To conclude, this is an essential addition to your playlist as it has everything that you could want from a Christmas song since it feels traditionally festive as well as original.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Mellan Collie and The Infinite Sadness’ (LP) (Released in 1985) (via Virgin/EMI Records)

Jacob has also informed me that Corgan and his co-horts have made two previous appearances on the site. You can catch up on their recent material with ‘Wyttch’ from 2020’s ‘Cyr’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/11/27/todays-track-the-smashing-pumpkins-wyttch/. Or, you can relive their ‘Melon Collie and The Infinite Sadness’ days with his take on ‘Tonight, Tonight’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/10/27/scuzz-sundays-the-smashing-pumpkins-tonight-tonight/

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Cyr’ (LP/Album) (Released on November 27th, 2020) (via Sumerian Records)

I’ve got to give Rudolph’s nose a wipe – and so I’ll leave it there for today! Thank you very much for having me throughout December, and I’ll leave you in the capable hands of Jacob Braybrooke again tomorrow, who will be having a brief reset before Christmas to help you catch up on some music that you may have missed in 2021. The next pick comes from a Black Metal-influenced Art Folk and Country singer songwriter who issued her tenth studio LP via Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union in October.

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Today’s Track: Hiro Ama – ‘Autumn Colours’

November 9, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Promo for Hiro Ama’s interview on WorldwideFM.Net (2020) (Photo via Artist/Facebook.com)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to enjoy a stroll in the Autumn along to your daily track on the blog, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Autumn, which is more widely known as ‘Fall’ to any Americans reading this for some strange reason, is a month where we all love to reflect. This is clearly very significant for the Japanese-born and now London-based Japanese Ambient composer Hiro Ama, who has just released the seasonal new single, ‘Autumn Colours’, via PRAH Recordings. Dabbling in the Contemporary Classical, Drone and Electronica genres, Ama is perhaps best known for his ‘Uncertainty’ EP that he released in 2020. On that record, Ama mixed tonal references to his Japanese homeland with pared-down House melodies and Pan-Asian instrumentals and it was self-produced within one month in his London flat during lockdown. Keen gig-goers may have noticed that Ama is also the drummer of the British Indie Pop group Teleman, alongside vocalist Thomas Sanders and bassist Pete Cattermoul, whose three studio albums have all reached the Top 75 of the UK Singles Chart and they opened for Belle & Sebastian on a tour in 2016. For his solo work, Ama has taught himself how to play the both Guitar and Piano. He has also remixed the likes of Rozi Plain and Alabastor De Plume. Out now on his Bandcamp page, ‘Autumn Colours’ is the first taste of his upcoming second solo EP, ‘Animal Emotions’, which comes after a rare break from live touring in eight years, will be released at an undetermined point of time. Settle into Ama’s ‘Autumn Colours’ below.

“As the song title says this is a song for Autumn which is my favourite season. Autumn makes me feel nostalgic and melancholic somehow and I like those feelings. Spring is too pretty and Summer is too happy – I feel Autumn represents myself perfectly”, Hiro Ama explains on his Bandcamp page, adding, “I find a bit of sadness or darkness makes music more beautiful, maybe because it’s imperfect or fragile”, to his discussion behind his latest single’s themes and explorations. Opening with an easy-going kick drum beat that rolls along at a joyous pace, ‘Autumn Colours’ bursts into life with a contemplative Piano riff and a scattering Bass line that occasionally crackles along to the upbeat tempo of the instrumental grooves. The floating Piano riff cascades into a variety of colourful guitar licks and spacious Drum grooves, with a reflective tone that keeps the proceedings feeling warm and relatively bright, but gentle and grounded in delivery. The second half of the song is where things get a little more progressive, as a harsh Synth riff introduces a more distorted nature into the track and continues to add some more diversity to the ongoing spiral of pretty, yet a little somber, Piano melodies and the Drums/Bass combo that adds a more melodic quality to the beats. There’s no need for the vocals, as the more downtempo feel of the Classical instrumentation and the more buoyant acoustic instrumentation conjoin together for a relaxing mix of laidback melodies with a darkened, sometimes rougher, undercurrent. The wavering Synth riff, found in the latter half of the track, continues to add more contemplation to the emotive style of the track and blur the lines between the lighter feelings and the more intense sequences. Overall, ‘Autumn Colours’ is a seasonally appropriate mix between an interpretation of surroundings and an internal monologue, with some hazy melodies and an ever so slightly more sinister touch, yet the Easy Listening style and flair of the track and the blissful instrumentation keeps a fairly light-hearted Jazz element in tact, as the jolly feel of seasons past draws to a close and the leaves turn brown in a surprisingly short notice.

Pictured: Hiro Ama with a Vinyl copy of the ‘Uncertainty’ EP (2020) (Photo via Artist/Facebook.com)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest blog post, and I’ll be back tomorrow for the final entry in our ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ feature of the year, as the series will be taking a short hiatus until very early in the new year. That’s because Chrimbo is a-coming, and so we’ll be beginning our ‘Countdown To Christmas’ where we review some alternative festive anthems, both old and new, that could make your seasonal playlists this December. We’ll be rounding things off with a bang instead of a whimper, as we divert our attention to a cult classic single from a French-English Avant-Pop group who are still one of the most influential bands to reach our shores as they renewed interest in older analogue equipment at a desperate time of need. They combined elements of Kraut-Rock & Lounge Jazz, and founded their Duophonic label.

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Today’s Track: Jon Hopkins (feat. Ram Dass & East Forest) – ‘Sit Around The Fire’

November 4, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Jon Hopkins in a photoshoot for a FACT! Magazine feature (2015) (Photo by Dan Medhurst)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’ve got a relaxing pick for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! You may know the Kingston Upon Thames-born electronic music producer Jon Hopkins from his work on composing the soundtrack for the 2010 cult science fiction drama film ‘Monsters’, or his time playing the keyboard for Imogen Heap on tour. He has also produced or contributed to albums released by Brian Eno, Coldplay, David Holmes and others, and he’s taken part in various collaborations with King Creosante and Leo Abrahams. Whether you’ve heard of him or not before, the fact remains that Hopkins has always left exciting projects in his wake. His next album – ‘Music For Psychedelic Therapy’ – is set for release on November 12th and it promises nothing different than a bold new chapter of his career, exploring genres like Ambient and Electronica in their most blissful forms. The follow-up to 2018’s Mercury Prize-nominated sister projects – ‘Singularity’ and ‘Immunity’ – his next record was inspired by a creative expedition that he took at the Tayos Caves in Ecuador during 2018, and he says, “What grew from this experience is an album with no beats, not one drum sound, something that is closer to a classical symphony than a dance/electronica record”, also adding, “The freedom from traditional rhythmic structures unlocked so much – it felt like I was free to explore a new form of rhythm, one that you discover when you just allow things to flow without letting yourself get in the way”, to his announcement. The lead single, the 8-minute LP closer, is ‘Sit Around The Fire’, that sets a lesser-known talk from ceremony guide Ram Dass, as well as a music video set to scenes from his illustrated book ‘Be Here Now’, to additional production by East Forest. Let’s drift off to it below.

“Music For Psychedelic Therapy is not Ambient, Classical or Drone but has elements of all three. For me, it’s a place as much as it is a sound. It works for the somber mind, but takes on a new dimension entirely when brought into a psychedelic ceremony”, Jon Hopkins notes in a press statement, explaining, “I love this idea of music as something you inhabit, something that works on you energetically. In fact, it was while in that state that the title appeared to me. Psychedelic-assisted therapies are moving into legality across the world, and yet it feels like no one is talking about the music; the music is as important as the medicine”, in his own words. ‘Sit Around The Fire’ is possibly the most accessible track on the LP because it features some fairly conventional lyrics, which are recited in a Spoken Word poem recorded by Ram Dass that was used for a real-life psychedelic ceremony. The first half of the track is dominated by field recordings instead of catchy chords, with some sparse Lo-Fi beats and a motivational speech about presence of being and the source of the light from Dass driving the lyrics forwards. Later, East Forest introduces a calm and plaintive Piano melody to the mixture, which gently complements the ongoing vocal samples. Hopkins brings some melodious chimes into the background, while Dass continues to confront inward vocal tones through to the eight minute mark. The recording feels long, but it never feels overbloated because Hopkins manages to mesh the glitchy elements of Indietronica with the solemn, meditative style of softly building Ambient music to create something that feels more refined and introspective altogether. The lead vocals from the spiritual teacher allows you to feel sand slowly sinking between your fingers, with some calming vocals and some spacious pacing that provides some extra breathing room for the instrumentation to come through clearly. Standouts include lyrics like “You don’t need loneliness/For you couldn’t possibly be alone” that speak about the judgments and opinions of the mind, and vocals like “You don’t need greed/Because you already have it all” that evoke anti-materialism ideas, and later sections like “You don’t need doubt/Because you already know” that speak about finding inner connection and submitting yourself to existence beyond a metaphysical construct. Overall, ‘Sit Around The Fire’ was something very interesting. Far from a conventional single, it is not beat driven at all and is simply built for a different purpose than most other music. It may appear too fanciful at first glance, but the new single is an exemplification of Hopkins’ ideas to arrange music for philosophical commentary. It strengthens Hopkins to be a proper artist because he is not restricting himself to conventionality, and instead chooses to explore broader concepts on his own terms. We could all do with this 8-minute psychological mindfulness in our lives.

Pictured: Cover for ‘Music For Psychedelic Therapy’ (Available on Nov 12, 2021) (via Domino Records)

Thank you for reading my latest post, and I look forward to delivering yet another ‘New Album Release Fridays’ pick tomorrow as we delve into one of the singles taken from one of the weekend’s most notable album releases. If you were a big fan of Soft Cell or Depeche Mode in the 1980’s, you’re hopefully going to love tomorrow’s post. It comes from a US indie Synth-Rock/Post-Punk band who have previously worked in other side projects including The Static Jacks and Machinegum throughout the years.

Pictured: Jon Hopkins performing a live DJ set at Parklife Festival (2018) (Photo by Max Miechowski)

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Today’s Track: Cate Le Bon – ‘Running Away’

November 2, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Pompeii’ (LP) (Available on 4th February, 2022) (via Mexican Summer)

Good Morning to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for yet another daily track on the blog to get brought to your attention, because its always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Known for her subversive spin on vintage guitar rock music, the Carmarthenshire-born Welsh alternative folk singer songwriter Cate Le Bon is a woman of many talents and she can perform her music fluently in both English and classical Welsh. She has also toured across the globe with artists like St. Vincent, John Grant and Perfume Genius, and she has production credits on albums by Deerhunter, Josiah Steinbrick and Tim Presley. Jeff Tweedy – of the popular Alternative Rock band Wilco – has even named Cate Le Bon as one of his personal favourite musicians of the moment. She has released three EP’s and multiple singles, and Le Bon is now six solo albums into her dynamic career. In fact, we previously covered her track ‘Mother’s Mother’s Magazines’ on the blog for one of my daily posts back in the late half of 2019. It was a long time ago, so you would be forgiven for struggling to remember reading it. However, it is a good time to try and delve into her material again since her sixth full-length album, ‘Pompeii’, is on the way, and the playful songstress has set it up for a release date of February 4th, 2022 via Mexican Summer. The follow-up to her 2019 Mercury Prize-nominated record, ‘Reward’, Le Bon says that “Pompeii was written and recorded in a quagmire of unease. Solo. In a time warp. In a house I had a life in 15 years ago”, adding, “I grappled with existence, resignation and faith. I felt culpable for the mess but it smacked hard of the collective guilt imposed by religion and original sin”, as she explained in a press statement. The first single to be taken off the new LP, ‘Running Away’ is your first taste of the record. Le Bon played every instrument on the new record, and she was joined by her regular collaborator Samur Khoja for recording studio sessions in Cardiff for a pair of tracks. Let’s give ‘Running Away’ a listen below.

Speaking of her new single, ‘Running Away’, the Welsh folk crooner describes, “The world is on fire but the bins must go out on a Tuesday night. Political dissonance meets beauty regimes. I put a groove behind it for something to hold on to. The grief is in the Saxophones”, in her press notes. An enforced period of lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic has, according to the Penboyr-born vocalist, also resulted in a “more extreme version” of Le Bon’s studio process, making way for a collection of more “Playful, satirical and surrealist” songs than what may have come from Cate before. These themes become clear in ‘Running Away’, which is of no resemblance to the 70’s Sly & The Family Stone Psych Funk classic of the same title. Another wayward progression of her complex instrumentation style, the track immediately feels mid-tempo, yet buoyant, with some ghostly guitar strums mixing with a softly Funk-inflicted backdrop in a strange way. Observational lyrics like “It’s the sweetest thing/That you never had” and “You can’t put your arms around it/It’s not there anymore” are wise to keep their distance because, although Cate Le Bon refuses to give us many specifics within the lyrics, as you would probably expect given her experimental nature, it feels clear that all-encompassing emotions of longing and reminiscence are placed at the center of her core. The vocals in the chorus are obscure in tone, but tinged with a feeling of lethargy, with drowsy guitar melodies that slightly evoke a 00’s ‘Slacker Rock’ feel akin to Terry Presume or Mac DeMarco, and a bubbling amount of weariness in the lovesick croons of her voice. The usual trademarks of Cate Le Bon are here, but the production feels more refined with an air of Kate Bush about it. The regal blasts of Saxophone melodies and the ambient washings of the Synths are sparse enough to reveal little, but light elements of Prog-Rock and Ambient Jazz get scattered through the verses. Together, the different elements of the song feel relatively sparse and unidentifiable on paper but they are neatly buried and they place Cate Le Bon at the center of her work, as she uses surreal songwriting with great patience and sculptures enigmatic vocals on remaining unsure about whether she should seek some things that sound lost to her. In conclusion, ‘Running Away’ is a solid evolution of Le Bon’s style because it encourages her to pale back the layers of her common material. It feels slow, but never filler, ramping up her sound by shaping something so tidy and intricate, but suitably vague and mysterious.

Pictured: Cate Le Bon in a still from the ‘Wonderful’ music video (2016) (Photo via Colorising.com)

As I’ve mentioned, we previously covered Cate Le Bon’s track ‘Mother’s Mother’s Magazines’ on the blog a long while ago. If you’d like to remind yourself of that post, feel free to check it out here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/09/30/todays-track-cate-le-bon-mothers-mothers-magazines/

Pictured: Cate Le Bon in promotional art work for ‘Reward’ (2019) (Photo by Huw Gwynfryn Evans)

I have completed my task for another day, and, on that note, I thank you for coming along on the ride. I’ll be back tomorrow for a new edition of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ where we’re looking back at a well-known 1972 hit that was associated with a film of the same title. It comes from a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted Ska, Reggae, Rocksteady and Prog-Soul multi-instrumentalist who is the only living Jamaican musician to be awarded the Order Of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by his government for services in Arts, as he helped to popularize Reggae music globally.

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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/

Way Back Wednesdays: Moby – “Porcelain”

May 26, 2021 — Leave a comment

I’d be horrified to hear what took place in his 2020 Quaran-Dreams. Let’s go Way Back!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Play” (LP) (Released on May 17, 1999) (via Mute Records/V2 Records/Virgin)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for today’s track on the blog, just like always, because it’s still my day-to-day pleasure to write about a different piece of music every day! Moby’s ‘Reprise’ comes out on Friday, the 19th studio album release from the 90’s EDM cornerstone Richard Melville Hall, which features new reworkings of orchestral and acoustic variations of some of his favourite tracks with numerous guest artists joining him. The guest list includes Gregory Porter, Kris Kristofferson, Skylar Grey, Jim James and others. So, to coincide with the release of that project later this week, I thought it would be a great time to revisit the original version of Moby’s highest-charting single for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, as it was certainly one of the sounds of the past that influenced the present. ‘Porcelain’ reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart following it’s release as a single in June 2000. One of the few tracks on his 1999 breakthrough ‘Play’ to feature his own vocals, Hall wrote ‘Porcelain’ as a rather melancholic electronic/classical blend of production with lyrics reflecting on the recent break-up of a relationship. The album would have been exposed absolutely everywhere back in the day, and I read an interesting statistic online that each track from the album has been used in a film, TV series or advert of some kind. Check out the Jonas Åkerlund-directed video below.

In addition to his career writing and producing music, Hall is also a notable Vegan who heavily supports humanitarian aid and animal rights programmes. He’s drawn a fair share of criticism over the decades for his political views and thee different stories in the press concerning him, but he was, before July 2020, the owner of Little Pine, a Vegan restaurant in Los Angeles, and the Circle V non-meat food festival. You can read more about his life and career in the two memoir books that he’s authored: 2016’s ‘Porcelain: A Memoir’ and 2019’s ‘Then It Fell Apart’. The title track of his first memoir was a very important release in bringing electronic music to the mainstream eye. From this, you can hear a chilling and emotional atmosphere of experiencing the vigorous emotions of an ideal romantic scenario never quite materializing, as lines like “I never meant to hurt you/I never meant to lie/So, this is goodbye?/This is goodbye” start by questioning the flaws of the situation, before a light call-and-response form of vocal affirms the decision and mutually agrees with it. Dreams is also a common theme of the lyrics, with the two verses starting with lyrics like “In my dreams I’m jealous all the time/When I wake, I’m going out of my mind” and “In my dreams, I’m dying all the time/Then I wake, it’s kaleidoscopic mind” as the fragile mood of the fluttering String sections, evoking a cinematic affair, gradually turn into a more soothing affair, with twinkling Piano melodies that are more melodic. There’s also a Trip-Hop influence that flows very nicely throughout the moods, with the distorted vocals of “To tell the truth, you’ve never wanted me” being dressed up in a very soft Hip-Hop breakbeat production that reminds me of Boards Of Canada or Joey Pecoraro, and a soulful backing vocal created through a sample that I believe goes “Hey, Woman, It’s alright, go on” that gets looped over the top of the techno evolutionary sounds, and this part just emphasizes the themes of the vocals and the simple points of the personal reflection being made. The track may have got a little over-exposed over the day, including it’s notable use in a scene of 2000’s ‘The Beach’, and so I can definitely see why you may have grown tired of it, and some of the more radio-friendly cuts on ‘Play’ may have perhaps been a little too close to comfort to his contemporaries of the time. However, I do certainly think that ‘Porcelain’ is a more interesting track than it possibly appears on the surface. A fragility can be felt in both the shaky vocal delivery and the wavering moods of the instrumentals within the piece, and it’s surprisingly varied in it’s sampling that evokes diverse genres. It’s also important to remind ourselves sometimes, as well, that it was a big hit and that it did cross over to the charts of the mainstream. I’m not particularly a huge fan of Moby emotionally, but I’ve always found him to be an interesting chap who has made some fascinating music, although the consistency of it’s quality hasn’t always landed with me every time. As for ‘Porcelain’, it was definitely an influential example of how to framework some fragility with sympathetic musicality, and it’s partially made by the rather understated, sublime vocal performance from Hall himself. It’s pretty beautiful.

Pictured: Moby (aka Richard Melville Hall) in a promotional shoot (2019) (Photo Credit: Mo Kaufer)

Eons ago on the blog, we also looked at ‘Power Is Taken’ from Moby, a much more rave-oriented single that would eventually appear on last year’s album, ‘All Visible Objects’. If that sounds cool to you, why not give me a few views here?: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/07/todays-track-moby-power-is-taken/

Pictured: Cover Art for “Power Is Taken” (Single) (Released on January 14, 2020) (via Mute Records)

That’s it for another throwback! As always, on Friday, we’re going to be sampling one of the weekend’s notable album releases. As for tomorrow, I’ve got some brand new music to share with you. It comes from an emerging Manchester-based indie rock singer-songwriter signed to Memphis Industries, where he will be releasing his forthcoming second LP, ‘Mircale’, next month. His 2019 debut album, ‘A Dream Is U’, garnered critical acclaim from global publications such as Uncut, Paste Magazine and The Line Of Best Fit. 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: Hannah Peel – “Ecovocative”

April 22, 2021 — Leave a comment

You better not slip over a Banana ‘Peel’ on your way to work after this. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Fir Wave” (LP) (Released on March 26th, 2021) (via My Own Pleasure)

Good Afternoon to you – I’m Jacob Braybrooke and since I’ve got my radio show for this week queued up (That’s 7pm on OMG Radio if you fancy tuning in), it’s time for me to quickly get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Ecovocative’ comes to you from the Northern Irish electronic composer Hannah Peel, who is known for blending Classical instrumentation with the latest high-tech Synth gear. She has also composed scores and soundtracks for numerous film and TV productions as well as some theater and dance stage shows, including work on a documentary about ‘Game Of Thrones’. Her sixth album is called ‘Fir Wave’ and it looks at the different cyles of life through a sound design lens. She was inspired to create the work by Delia Derbyshire, who lived on until 2001 as a bit of an unsung hero. She deserved more credit for carrying out the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop during the 1960’s and creating the iconic theme tune for ‘Doctor Who’. The likes of Aphex Twin, The Chemical Brothers and Orbital have all cited her as a major influence during interviews in the past. For her latest record, which was released on March 26th via My Own Pleasure, Peel was allowed the permission to access the database of Derbyshire and the Radiophonic Workshop by the specialist library organisation KPM, allowing Peel to re-interpret the ‘Electrosonic’ work of Derbyshire to create an Experimental Electronic Ambient album that is thematically based around climate change and sustainability. Let’s check out the puntastic track – ‘Ecovocative’ – below.

Hannah said: “I’m finding it harder to express all those huge feelings and lyrics in words like I used to” in an interview for the new album recording, elaborating, “Instrumental Music can conjure so much more with this new track, I wanted to evoke those patterns in nature, celebrate the detail, the changes in light, play with primal shimmering energy, using obscure bells and the bubbling beats of electronic music” when she mentioned her recent single, following up on a stint when she curated BBC Radio 3’s ‘Night Tracks’ programme. While the publicity chatter drums up music influences of 70’s early Ambient and the Hauntology sub-genre, ‘Ecovocative’ brings up imagery of East Asian biomes and outer Tokyo, feudal Japan aesthetics for me. With no lyrics to construct a meaning from, the context radiates from the clicky Bass sounds and the swelling Synth melodies instead for me. While the heavily electronic instrumentation has not been discarded entirely and dubbed over with natural instrumentation, there’s still something that feels almost ritualistic and pure about the sequences of sound. The opening sounds a little unsettling and evokes a theme of paranoia with slowly glimmering depth, but the tone feels like it’s becoming progressively more hopeful, with a rhythmic drum beat which twinkles and forms a chorus of-sorts in the early going. The chord progression continues to change keys slowly, as the low-lit, gurgling undercurrrent lingers in the background beneath the tolling, Bell-like synths. To me, it feels relaxing and it seems visually broad, but the direct meanings feel unexplored and vague. On the whole, it sounds infinitely tinkered with and merticulously layered, but the slow-burning movements pay off with the gradual introduction of new beats. It dances around your ears and radiates with a circling effect, and so it achieves the explorations of life cycles with a nice level of vibrancy. I feel like I might need to be in a certain frame of mind to enjoy the album as a whole, but the three minute duration of the track glides by very smoothly overall.

Pictured: Hannah Peel before a “First Cut Interview” feature (2017) (Photo via MusicTech.net)

The bell tolls for another day – and you can join me again tomorrow for a new entry in our “New Album Release Friday” series, as we shine the spotlight upon one of this week’s most promising new releases. We’re going to be looking at the much-anticipated new album from one of the leading figures behind the young scene of the UK’s Jazz circuit. Signed to Anti- Records, this male producer taught himself to produce beasts in East Ham, London – inspired by his hip-hop sampler heroes Madlib and J Dilla. 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/

Today’s Track: Black Country, New Road – “Track X”

April 6, 2021 — Leave a comment

X-Men, X-Rated, Xtr-emely good, or reminiscent of the X-Factor? Time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Art for “For The First Time” (LP) (Released on February 5, 2021) (via Ninja Tune)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Have you eaten all of your Easter Eggs yet? If not, here’s a few minutes to indulge along to. ‘Track X’ comes from the fresh Math-Rock and Prog-Rock (It’s tricky to label their sound under a specific category), London band Black Country, New Road, who seem to be one of the most hotly-tipped new alternative music projects in quite a long time. Their early singles generated a ton of rave reviews, and the release of their debut long-player – ‘For The First Time’ – was absolutely hyped up to the hills prior to it’s release in February on Ninja Tune. The Quietus even thought they were “the best band in the world” leading to it’s release. It is less of a group per-say, and more of a 7-piece collective of young creatives mixing Post-Punk guitar riffs with classical, orchestral instrument sections. Usually when a release gets this eagerly anticipated over, I wait for a few months before I take any focused listens. That’s just because I often feel that rave reviews, or even universally negative ones, usually sway your pre-conceptions. It can be a tricky thing to navigate, where there’s no right or no wrong, but I’m ready now to unpeel the skin of these layers. Made from stock footage, check out the video for ‘Track X’ below.

“Never made it out into one of our live performances – We decided to resurrect it during the recording of ‘For The First Time’ and assemble it into the studio. The story is old, but a good one and worth telling” is what the pen man Isaac Wood had to say about the story of ‘Track X’. One fun fact about BCNR is that violinist Georgia Ellery, from the Warp Records signed duo Jockstrap, is a part of their line-up. Now, I am a huge fan of Georgia and that water-tight little project, and so that’s how I first found my way to them. BCNR have also been known to play around with Jewish Klezmer music for their atmosphere-oriented output, although ‘Track X’ feels like a more subdued and relaxed affair. A set of confessional lyrics, matched to Reichian percussion and a dreamscape of equal Strings and Saxophones, ‘Track X’ is a slowly unveiling ballad about finding romance in the UK’s DIY gig scene. Lyrics like “You’ve got great hips, I’ve been shaking ever since” and “In your name, in the same room where we f****ed as kids” have an earnest and unsettling feel, but the folk-inspired female backing vocals counteract this dry crooner delivery with a soothing, relaxed tone. The wry vocals are also referential to the band and their stories themselves, with lines like “I told you I loved you in front of Black Midi” and “I tried my best to stay afloat, after I sacrificed the goat” that each feel like inside jokes, giving the vocals an intimate touch (Black Midi being the name of another hugely popular DIY band in the UK). When I read that a release has been this mulled over as “the next big thing” by critics and people in general, I often find them difficult to connect with because it doesn’t always feel personal to me. In the case of BCNR, this is partially true. I find the rhythms don’t really go anywhere and the themes being explored in the songwriting feel a bit jumbled, and pinballed around the place at points. However, I’ve read many times that a truly great album should always be a snapshot or document of the artist at that place in time, and BCNR manage to do this quite comfortably. Albeit disfigured and left to the listener to fill in the blanks due to the vagueness of lines like “I guess, in some way”, there’s a straight essence of who they are that I can latch onto, although I can’t claim to fully understand everything that was going on. It feels very articulate, with a solid emphasis on how it makes you feel. So, overall, you know what – not bad.

Pictured: Isaac Wood (Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar), Georgia Ellery (Violin), Tyler Hide (Bass Guitar), Charlie Wayne (Drums/Percussion), Lewis Evans (Saxophone), May Kershaw (Keyboard/Synths/Backing Vocals) and Luke Mark (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals) (2020) (Photo via Max Grainger/TheGuardian.com)

I guess, in some way – That line wraps up everything I’ve come here to do today. I’ve got another special weekend of unusual posts on the way from Saturday onwards, but, until then, we’ve got another ‘Way Back Wednesday’ to burst through. It’s another Easter-themed track, which didn’t previously make the cut. It’s related to the festival pretty closely, however, and it comes from a wildly successful Irish rock band who have strung their fans along past “The Edge” of a whopping 150-170 million sales globally, and have won a total of 22 Grammy Awards, known for their elaborate live tours in the 80’s and 90’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/

Today’s Track: Sibille Attar – “Hurt Me”

September 22, 2020 — Leave a comment

The Swedish songstress who wants not to be immune to pain. It’s time for a new post!

Pictured: Sibille Attar in a press shoot to promote various singles (in 2019) (via PNKSLM Recordings)

Good Morning to you! I am Jacob Braybrooke and, as per usual, I’m typing up about your daily track on the blog, since it is still routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A pretty intriguing violinist, Sibille Attar is a Swedish singer-songwriter and self-producer who burst onto the indie scene in 2012 with a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Newcomer” following the release of her critically-acclaimed debut EP, “The Flower’s Bed”, that same year. Since then, Attar has become a valuable collaborator for several other artists, including the likes of David Lindh and Jonathan Johansson, and Attar has also performed under the Prince-inspired alias of Little Red Corvette. This autumn, at a yet-to-be determined point, Attar is set to release her first full-length LP record effort since 2013’s “Sleepyhead”, although Attar’s 2018 EP release “Paloma’s Hand” sort-of bridged that seven-year gap. A former member of touring bands like The Tourettes and Speedmarket Avenue, she is one of the most anticipated recent signings for PNKSLM Recordings. She’s previewed her upcoming album with “Hurt Me”. Let’s hear it below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFeCBI5YpwI

“Sleepyhead”, released in 2013, was Attar’s major label debut, and she told BTR Today on the pressure she faced: “Being told what to do was not my favorite thing, which meant it was a lot of unnecessary struggles, and I realized I should be independent … So I had to recollect myself — I was questioning my entire motive of doing music at all because I thought the industry was so shitty. I kind of lost my confidence. When everyone starts having opinions on what you do… I started questioning myself.”, and she’s hoping to expand her sound with a new-found confidence. On “Hurt Me”, Attar matches a fragile bass guitar pattern with a rumbling synth sequence, before reciting: “Another week of silence, A childish act of violence”, before a swelling Cello section gets added to the mix. Attar puts her Violin to good use for the chorus, where she powerfully explodes: “It doesn’t hurt me, It doesn’t hurt me anymore” over the top of a crescendo of sweeping Violin strings and a vulnerable, two-step drum signature pattern. The production feels quite technical, and Attar subverts our expectations in the second half of the track, with a drastic key change that replaces the dramatic, up-tempo String instrumentation with a relaxed Synth interlude that incorporates a wider focus of Art-Pop into the Synth palette. Attar begins singing in French as the strings become more angelic and graceful. The tone flickers again at the end, where the intensity of the previous Violin melodies take hold again. Overall, I find this little track to be rather inventive and original. The mood is constantly changing with the dramatic effect of the chord layout, but the elements feel even enough for it to work, although this cohesion may feel a little risky in places, it manages to hold it’s weight due to the overlying Art-Pop elements. I feel it’s definitely an exciting effort from Attar and a good selection to show you on the blog, for it’s solid creativity and imagination.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for “Hurt Me” (Single) (Released on May 8th, 2020) (via PNKSLM Recordings)

Thank you very much for reading my daily blog post! As per usual, I’ll be back at it again tomorrow, where we’ll be taking an in-depth look at a recent single from a staple of the local music scene in Seattle, Washington. It comes from am Experimental Hip-Hop artist who has been credited to be a catalyst in the uprising of dynamic underground rap acts from the Pacific Northwest during the 2000’s as a member of the groups Abyssinian Creole and CopperWire. 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/