Seven songs – actually eight albums. Sorry.

Gutterbreakz wrote:

Got passed this latest blog meme t’ing by Paul over at Deeptime…

‘List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they’re listening to’.

Then Mapsadaisical also invited me, at least writing at this late date, I think he did. Anyway, I began to write a response in timely fashion in May. Then things went off the rails (they hadn’t been on the rails for a long time in fact). Now I’m sorting my life out again, thank goodness, so um better late than never… here goes. Only thing I’m doing is summarily failing to pass this onto 7 others as I don’t know enough people and I can’t do tracks cos I’m an album sort of person. Oh and it’s 8 albums. Because I’m an arse. For all it’s failings, hopefully it’ll be of a little interest anyways…

Miles Davis – Complete Jack Johnson Sessions

Is gave me the Complete Bitches Brew Sessions when they came out and I was seriously underwhelmed by a shedload of tracks that probably shouldn’t ever have seen the light of day and served to potentially dilute Miles’ legacy. Later I got a promo copy of the In A Silent Way box. Same thing, but worse. So I gave up on ‘em. And also stopped listening to Miles for a few years. As of 6 months ago, I’ve started playing him again – he is a jaw-droppingly amazing genius after all. I tried the On The Corner box and found it better than I’d feared, I’m still in two minds, but I’ve just recently downloaded the Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (a very reasonable £9 from the iTMS). It suffers some longeurs, but there are enough brilliant tracks to justify the outlay twice over – including some excellent abstract sonic work from the late, great Sonny Sharrock.

snd – 4,5,6

snd have been away. Then they came back with this brilliant triple 12″ release limited to only 300 copies and no official digital release. Shame. It’s brilliant. I love their playful, inverted approach (no bass, emphasis upon syncopation, mid-range and treble). Been playing their back catalogue for quite a while now. Their graphics are brill too. This isn’t really an album, so I’m not even being consistent myself. Sigh.

Yello – 1980-1985 The New Mix In One Go

Rediscovery. Loved this back in the day, forgot all about it and them. Didn’t keep up with them after 1988′s Flag. Tremendously cinematic, playful and tinged with darkness. Loved the stories about vocalist Dieter Meier being a retired millionaire playboy industrialist. Brilliant soundscaping from Boris Blank. One of Switzerland’s great cultural exports.

Tinariwen – Aman Iman: Water Is Life

Touareg nomads big on showmanship vis-a-vis traditional dress worn onstage. Very much enjoyed the gig with Is a couple of months back at Jazz Cafe. This is delightfully minimal, rolling, electric music that should be played very loud and danced to until a sweat is broken.

Mark Hollis – Mark Hollis

Had this a long time, just recently opened my ears properly to it. Truly beautiful: all acoustic, mournful and only solo release from the former Talk Talk singer. Released 10 years ago (1998). Talking to Vaughan Oliver at work the other day (he spotted the album on my iPhone) I gave him a copy and he revealed that Mark Hollis had joined the working men’s club Vaughan goes to in Wimbledon. It’s such an amazing album I resisted asking him to pass on a begging missive to return to music making (he retired some years ago). If you haven’t heard this album, please do so. It’s £2.50 + P&P from Amazon currently, so you’ve no excuse.

CéU – CéU

I’m pitifully ignorant of South American music apart from the likes of Astor Piazzolla, Gotan Project and sundry compilations like Gilles Peterson’s In Brazil. One day, I’ll enthusiastically investigate, I reckon. I think I might have encountered CéU on a last.fm auto recommendation, whatever, she makes lovely, sultry jazzy, hip-hop and occasionally electronic infused Braziliana. Definitely worth hearing, on heavy rotation in the Eleventhvolume mansion.

Erykah Badu – New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War

I bought this for Is, am enjoying muchly. Compared to her debut in which she sang about rimshots and cups of tea in frighteningly anodyne fashion, it’s almost unrecognisable.

Scott Walker – The Drift

This took me a long time to get almost nowhere with, despite an adoration verging on mania for its predecessor Tilt (my album of the last century). Due to personal circumstances, it suddenly made an awful, I might even say a dread-ful sense which I’ve inhabited for a few months now. Things are definitely improving for me personally, but I retain an unshakeable sense of awe for this music and these words. I’d say it was as serious as your life, but it would be more accurate to say it’s as serious as your death. I honestly don’t know anything darker than The Drift.

And…

I guess I’m not really allowed to mention the Steinski double, the Luciano Fabric 41, Ø / Oleva, Morton Feldman or am I? No? Okay, I won’t then.