Tag Archives: music made with instruments

today’s special: toy box

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I heard about 90 seconds of this in a very fresh and fun disco/groove mix from Brainfeeder’s TokiMonsta a couple of days ago, and as the secretive lady didn’t want to reveal the tracklist (booooo!) a heavy period of investigation finally revealed that the tracks was by Sylvia Striplin, she of bona fide disco anthem “Give Me Your Love”.

“Toy Box” is from her 1981 album Give Me Your Love, produced by Roy Ayers and James Bedford. The lyrics are extremely cutesy and silly, but it’s frickin’ adorable, about toys getting down and having a disco in a toybox when the lights are out… HOWEVER despite the sweetness it still has a very slinky and grown-up disco-funk groove. Listen to this first thing in the morning, it will put you in a great mood.

track(s) of the day: malachai and tame impala

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As my attempt to locate all of the marbles lost during an epic May Day weekend continues in vain, I’m finding that my ears are experiencing a temporary intolerance towards electronic music. Thankfully two lots of psych-lovin’ shaggy-haired lads are helping me through this fragile period.

Malachai – Snowflake
Bristol duo, with some kind of involvement from Portishead’s Geoff Barrow. A number of tracks have a bit of a sneaky hip hop/programmed beats influence, but this is a huge-riff-n-sing-along tune.

Tame Impala – Solitude Is Bliss
They’ve been part of The Canyons lovely little Hole In The Sky family for some time, but their new material has managed to elicit extremely rare bursts of jingoism from me that other referential bands like Wolfmother and Jet never have. New album out soon, and I am excited. Even though the track featured in their 2nd album teaser video seems to be a rip of Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression”, other tasters give me faith.

i love liars

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angry stone

I am endlessly impressed by The Liars.

I first encountered the NYC-based art-punk trio in 2004 or 2005, when they supported the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at Sydney’s Metro Theatre. They delivered a jaw-dropping set that at times felt like being at the receiving end of one of those heat guns designed to blister the paint off walls, and casually interspersed with Angus Andrew’s heartwarming shoutouts to his parents in the crowd. The night ended dramatically not long after The Liars exited stage left, with Angus gallantly carrying then-girlfriend Karen O offstage, after she fell headfirst into the pit and concussed herself 3 tracks into YYY’s set.

From the more accessible post-punk of their first album They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top, through the experimental electronica, noise, and garage of all that’s followed, The Liars are a band who I am always genuinely excited to hear new material from.
Their new album Sisterworld has just been released, along with the amazingly weird video for the lead single “Scissor”. I can’t find an embeddable version but you can view it at the link below. Not recommended for anyone with a phobia of shipwrecks, blunt head trauma, loud guitars or vengeful pebbles.

Liars “Scissor” from A Bruntel on Vimeo.