Tag Archives: culture

Black Says

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In a recent edition of Life Elsewhere Music we invited Josh Idehen and Tom Leaper of Benin City to talk about their new, timely single, Hold Them Close. A song, written over a year ago, that urges us all to remember to care about each other, even in these trying times of Covid-19. Josh Idehen wasted little time in expressing his displeasure of our so-called leaders in the UK and the US on how they have handled the pandemic and ongoing racial problems. Josh, along with being a talented musician, is also an acclaimed poet and spoken word artist was motivated to speak at an event in London, after the tragic murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. We have included the audio from the video of Josh Idehen reciting Black Says in the latest volume of Life Elsewhere Music. The powerful words of Josh Idehen’s Black Says can be heard at the end of this volume. Please listen carefully.

We begin with Know Like Dat by East Man. The cut is from Prole Art Threat the new LP by producer Anthony Hart, aka East Man. On this long-player, Anthony brings together talented MC’s from all over London. And, the title, Prole Art Threat is a big nod of respect to the late, Mark E Smith of The Fall. Next up I Left You a track from the debut EP y? by Julia Sophie from Oxford who says, “I Left You” is a song about struggling with love and life, being torn in all kinds of directions, choosing how to live and who to live for”. We admit to being fascinated by covers, so the EP Reestablishing Connection from Sega Bodega demanded our attention. Teardrop originally by Massive Attack was selected as reworked by Sega Bodega & Lafewndah. Salvador Navarrete is Glaswegian producer, singer, songwriter, and label head aka Sega Bodega. He shares that all profits will be donated to the AIM COVID-19 Crisis Fund, providing vital support to contractors and freelance workers in the independent music industry. Next, it’s off to Reykjavic, Iceland the home of Katrín Helga Andrésdóttir – also known as Special K with Dinner For 1 from her EP, Lunatic Thirst. Followed by Alpha Steppa out of London featuring Eva Keyes with Fever and Fever Dub, from a superb compilation, Raise The Ark on Steppas Records. We stay in London to hear from Joel Baker with, London She’s Just Not You a cut from Bran Flakes Vol 1.5. Originally from Nottingham, Joel has made an LP you need to check out. Su Lee has a fascinating charm which she happily demonstrates in what appear to be her home-made videos. She also makes enjoyable “indie pop on speed” she insists. The delightful, Go My Way is from her EP The Rough. Barry Snaith is a big fan of this show as we are of him. In his guise as TIJ (The Inconsistent Jukebox), Mr. Snaith has produced a new LP. Gig Economy demonstrating his excellent taste and talent, you’ll hear Left Me In A Dream. Mark Gardener & 2 Square are next with Chained. Gardener is best known as a songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist with Ride and 2 Square is Stephan Haeri of Telepopmusik out of France. From rural England comes Archie Stagers with Beneath The Surface, who sent a sound file to us with this message: “I’ve really been enjoying your isolation mixes so far and wanted to submit a song of my own”. We discovered Archie Stagers runs a small indie label, Crafting Room Records – a not for profit label for passionate musicians, based in Wiltshire. From rural UK go over to Nashville to hear from Sophia Boro with And He Said To Me from her debut EP due out later this year. We close the show with the eloquent Josh Idehen and Black Says.

Thank you for listening

Life Elsewhere Music Vol 175 – Isolation Mix #1

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Producing a weekly sixty-minute mix of new releases just became a little more difficult than usual because of the stay-in-place order. We cannot get into our studio to record, mix, and produce. Instead, our shows will be produced at home and that means the commentary may not sound so polished but the music will definitely sound as good as always. Until things change you’ll hear an open and close message and in between a non-stop music mix. The usual ad-libbed info about the cuts will be posted here, every week.

We begin with an artist out of Brooklyn, Margaret Glaspy with Killing What Keeps Us Alive from her album, Devotion. Don’t let the vocoder effect at the start of the song bother you, Ms. Glaspy has an excellent voice and on this outing, she proves she is a good songwriter. Next, we head to Halifax, Nova Scotia to hear So Tired from Nap Eyes, a cut from their fine Snapshot Of A Beginner album. The new single, Circles by Francis Of Delirium remind us that their earlier single this year, Quit Fucking Around is worth your opinion. So we have included both cuts. The band says this about themselves, “A sometimes rock band based in Luxembourg. Homemade indie rock from our hearts to yours.” Songwriter/Producer Mazlyn hails from Suffolk in the UK, his tune is Confessed. We have played Biig Piig on the before and gave a large thumbs up to the London-based Irish singer. We are continuing o rave with her latest, Switch. Clair Adams, Bobby Glew, and Kathy Grey are Nape Neck. Leeds is their hometown and they, unfortunately, list all the places they would have been playing along with a message saying there are more Euro dates coming. On a happier note, the sleeve artwork for their self-titled album is wonderful. You Stand, You Sit displays a band you need to check out. From the excellent LP, Less Of Everything we selected, Hidden Track by Es is next up. We hear Maria Cecillia Tedemalm, Katy Cotterel, Tamsin M Leach, and Flora Watters were putting on amazing live shows before being ensconced in their homes. All Or Nothing the title track from the LP of the same name by Shopping shows off their skills. From London originally, now the band are spread across the globe with Billy in LA and Andrew and Rachel in Glasgow. A change of genre for the next cut by San Francisco’s Monophonics. Day By Day from their LP, It’s Only Us, led by Kelly Finnigan the band has drawn on their colorful history, both their experiences as veteran touring performers and as individuals growing up in the Bay Area. Witch Prophet takes us in another direction with Makda from the album DNA Activation. Out of Toronto, produced by Sun Sun and Witch Prophet, named after Witch Prophet’s family members, and inspired by biblical stories, myths, and her Ethiopian, Eritrean roots. Seb Taylor is Kaya Project and says, “I present to you a song full of hope, love & devotion – another uplifting & optimistic track to counteract the uncertain times we are currently living through.” There are five different versions of Souls Entwined Featuring the beautiful vocals of Pooja Tiwari, together with two Classical Indian Violinists (Deepak Pandit & Kartik Raghunathan) & Hungarian Flute Virtuosa Fatima Gozlan making a cameo appearance in the middle of the track. We selected the bass-forward Digitalis Remix. The kora is an ancient African, 21-string harp-lute hand made from natural materials. “Our aim is to expose the beauty of this instrument to a more diverse audience,” said John Haycock & Alan Keary. Mostly recorded in an afternoon at Alan’s place to sell at a busking festival in Switzerland. You’ll hear Abode from the LP, John & Alan. Next, we bring you dubstep in fine style from Manchester’s Biome with Found You from Unreleased Dubs Part 2. Qiii Snacks Records are out of Guangzhou, China. We are not sure where Your Boyfriend Sucks are from but their EP Episode 2 is really cool and Mathias is a perfect example. Dub Invasion Records are out of Italy and Wellette Seyon’s Spiritual Thing is a worthy addition to this mix. The other side is a nice dub version. Staying on a Dub Reggae tip. The closing cut is Isaac Chambers featuring Dub Princess with Back To My Roots (Deep Fried Dub’s Refried Remix), from Melbourne, Australia. 

Make sure you let us know what you think of LEM Vol 175 – Isolation Mix #1

Be well, be safe and be nice. 

LEM Vol 175 

 

A Rare, Intimate Conversation With Colin Moulding

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While XTC was founded in 1972, it wasn’t until 1979 that XTC had their first UK charting single. Although less prolific than his bandmate, Andy Partridge, bass-player, Colin Moulding wrote the first three charting singles Life Begins At The Hop, Making Plans For Nigel, and Generals and Majors. By 2007 it was reported that Colin “was not interested in music”. Yet over the next couple of years, he made guest appearances on a number of recordings with various artists. Then, in 2017 Moulding announced that he and former XTC drummer, Terry Chambers had recorded a four-track EP, titled Great Aspirations.  The bass player and drummer began promoting their new project under the moniker of, TC&I and planned a small tour in England. After hearing the remarkable new recordings, and recognizing a large ongoing interest in XTC and Moulding, we set about arranging an intimate conversation with the Swindon-based musician. The result, an unabridged chat between Colin Moulding and Life Elsewhere host, Norman B. You’ll hear Colin talk about the early days of a fledgeling rock band, his early influences and a preference for an intuitive approach to songwriting. He also dismisses the ragged myths of unquenchable availability sex and drugs for young musicians, but he does endorse being reasonable while learning along the way. Colin Moulding is a gracious talented man and a delightful conversationalist. Make sure you don’t miss this edition of Life Elsewhere.

Photo by Laima Bite

Show #357

Another Conversation With Martin Atkins

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Best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and Killing Joke, drummer, Martin Atkins has many fascinating stories to tell. In the next edition of Life Elsewhere, Martin shares never before revealed intrigues of his time in and out of Public Image Ltd. He talks of his often uneasy relationship with John Lydon and the mutually volatile association with Keith Levene. With his charming Midlands brogue, Martin Atkins recalls unexpected moments – when backstage at a concert two of his (then) very young sons had giggly-fun pulling back the ears of an atypically docile Mr. Lydon. And, he blames Sir Paul McCartney for Public Image Ltd not being able to play in Japan, (listen for details). The question of age comes up in the conversation,  Martin suggests that to have survived all these years of the non-stop rounds of a rough and tumble life on the road with an often motley cast of characters, is quite possibly a miracle. Martin’s buoyant energy and enthusiasm for life and rock ’n’ roll permeate through the airwaves as you enjoy one of the best raconteurs in the business. 

Show #356

Not The Best Of 2019

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Arlo Parks
David J
Matilda Mann
Biig Piig
The Great Dictators
Bryde
All Girls Arson Club
The Proctors
Cate Ferris
Just Mustard
The Dove & The Wolf
Neev
Digital Vagabond
Primitive Heart
Spartan Jet Plex
The Ghost Wolves

Here at Life Elsewhere Music we are not against “Best Of” lists. We understand why the annual barrage of “Best Of” for everything from toothbrushes to movies, cars to books, shampoo to music…the lists go on and on. But, at Life Elsewhere Music so much good music has come our way in the last 12 months, it would be unfair to classify one release better than another. After all, incredible talent and effort have gone into the releases curated at Life Elsewhere Music, in fact, some cuts improve with each play. To be completely fair, this year we present Not The Best Of 2019. We tabulated all the requests and all the repeat plays of all the releases we have aired on L E M in the past twelve months. And we counted which songs we played most often at Life Elsewhere Towers, at home, at the gym, and in the car. For 60 minutes you’ll hear a non-stop mix of Not The Best Of 2019.

PS: If we didn’t include your band or song or your favorite cut, don’t worry, remember, everything we curate and play at Life Elsewhere Music is the best.

 

LEM Vol 161

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