Music Diary #17 – 17th January 2012 – Salford Music Scene

The arrival, in the post, of a new Moff Skellington album cheered me up considerably. It is called “The Pukes of a Hot Cloister” and it is rather marvellous, as we have come to expect with Moff’s work. He advises me that the website will soon be updated to facilitate access to his back catalogue and the new one.

Ronin, the Italian avant garde quartet heavily inspired by Morricone, who blend country, psychedelia, jazz noir and americana  can be heard on their new release “Fenice”. The album’s opening three tracks – “Spade”, Benvenuto” and “Selce” – are a pure mix of country-pyschedelic, almost as if the soundtrack to Jodorowsky’s masterpiece “El Topo” had been played by Ry Cooder.

And so it’s time for Salford Music Scene again……the show is dominated by the new release by those cheeky ailurophiles Breen and Gregg aka Borland who have weaved  their magic to create a stunning new slab of electronic loveliness (reviewed elsewhere on this blog) ……i’m also introducing a couple of hitherto unheard bands Conquer Rio and Ruby Tuesday…..and delighting in the sound of Taser Puppets…..playing a couple of requests (I know it’s the slippery slope to being the hairy cornflake) and another excellent tune from Long Hat Pins.

On the show for today therefore …… and you can hear it here……

1	The Tapestry	Rode Your Luck	Single
2	Hunting Bears	Routine Inebriation	Demo
3	Kill Pretty	Ace Tone	Demo
4	Borland	Wildlife	Romantic Animals
5	Taser Puppets	Wasp	Demo
6	Ruby Tuesday	Spirit and Soul	Demo
7	Conquer Rio	Down from Mars	Demo
8	Long Hat Pins	An Understanding Light	Compilation Album
9	Borland	Fire, Ice and Dynamite	Romantic Animals
10	Taser Puppets	James Bond in Drag	Demo
11	Conquer Rio	Stay A Little While	Demo
12	Borland	Moondog (Radio Edit)	Romantic Animals
13	The Fall	The Joke	Cerebral Caustic

Music Diary #4 – 4th January 2012

Busy Busy Busy

Anyway lets kick off with a bit of math/prog from Gravesend

Interesting …… that was one of the many e-mails I got in today. I will be playing that on the show next week. The hyperbolic promo wordage says

“After The Ordeal (better known by fans as ‘vanguard UK four-piece of prog-rock awesomness’) is fired up to announce the launch of hotly anticipated single “We Divide” – track 8 off the band’s yet-unnamed new album due for release in 2012. Recorded with Dan Lancaster of Studio Glasseye (We Are The Ocean, Lower Than Atlantis, Don Broco), “We Divide” is the first of several singles set to drop before the Big Album Launch.

To coincide with the release of the single is a conceptual video that reflects the band’s penchant for the innovative and passion for the experimental.  Filmed with Blackpapersky and starring hot model Mel Clarke from FRONT magazine, the video is a visual metaphor for the dismembering confusion that is so often invoked by lack of communication – in life, in love and in everything else. The video for “We Divide” encompasses the story driving ATO’s forthcoming album.

So, other than making smashing music and rocking up a storm, what has ATO been up to in the last while?

The band has been riding a wave of momentum following 2009’s ‘Red Bull Bedroom Jam’ streamed live at Download. ATO went on to play live on the ‘Red Bull Bedroom Jam’ stage at Sonisphere 2010 and at the Camden Crawl in the same year. The guys have opened for the Cancer Bats and supported Madina Lake, Mayday Parade and We Are The Ocean. 2011 has seen the five-piece become a four-piece which, along with a manic gigging and recording schedule, has incited a cutting-edge spark of alternative genius that is set to grow the band’s already massive following.

ATO encourages liberal thinking and embraces deeper meaning, all of which translates charismatically in recording as well as on stage.

Of ATO’s first single, Ian Camfield from the XFM Rock Show said: “Not very often you hear a debut single which is that strong. How good does that sound?” “The first time I’ve heard any of their music, and it’s very, very strong.” “A band I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot more from in 2010.”

…“We Divide” betters this!”

Indeedy…..anyway what else have I had in……?

Conquer Rio from Warrington contacted me – also sent a couple of tracks from their debut recording – we will be squeezing them into the Salford Music Scene Show (which is rapidly turning into the Greater Manchester Music Scene Show but there you go …….) – some great potential here from this band.

Spent a lot of the day finalising the line-up for the first Salford City Radio Music Night at the Kings Arms on 26th January – we will be featuring bands which have had a lot of exposure on our evening shows in the last year – Factory Star, Sandells and Kill Pretty – and they are all sort of linked with one another in one way or another in that the bass player is in two of the bands, his son is in one of them, one of the drummers played with one of the guitarist in another band in 1979, the bass player has recently played in a band with the keyboard player from another of the bands (in another band completely), the drummer of the latters band used to be in that other band but has left….etc etc Pete Frame would have a nightmare!!! Anyway it’s only a fiver to get in and there will be Salford City Radio DJs there as well playing music and standing around looking cool. More details to follow…….

…….and that’s your lot for today (given it is now tomorrow)