Shaking off a heavy one…

New Foals track – Spanish Sahara

"I was thinking more ambient with this next record...you know, mature sound, no?"

…And there was us thinking Foals were all angular hair cuts and clever-dick styling’s with little substance.

Judging by this little ditty, the boys have come on a long way.

Foals – Spanish Sahara

Album ‘Total Life Forever’ due 10th May

www.myspace.com/foals

It’s only an Active Child…

This is the first release of the new year on Transparent and what a way to begin the new decade. Active Child is the sprawling, ethereal creation of Pat Grossi and is a beautiful piece of work on delectable white vinyl. You need this in your life.

One Active Child

Although tickled with the same brush that made Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares…’ a bit cringe worthy, it is nonetheless a bizarrely wonderful slice of synth pop, from one of the most intreuigng blog’s around at the moment.

Active Child – She Was A Vision

http://www.transparentblog.com/

Death of an Indie Hero

From the Linkous Family: “It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today. We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.” – March 6, 2010 / http://www.sparklehorse.com

The alternative rock world has lost another giant. Over the past couple of days the news of the death of Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse has shocked and saddened many fans, friends and artists. On Saturday, The New York Times reported that Linkous committed suicide in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was 47.

R.I.P - Mark Linkous

Last year, Linkous teamed up with Danger Mouse and producer David Lynch on the Dark Night of the Soul project, which was not released due to a legal battle between Danger Mouse and EMI. However, Pitchfork announced last week that Danger Mouse and EMI had resolved their differences, and the multimedia project, which Linkous co-wrote, co-composed and co-produced, would officially be released sometime this summer. Much of music from the project had already been leaked on the Internet. I for one, was lucky enough to pick up a promo copy when rustling through record stores; and I can without hesitation – if you haven’t got one – do everything in you’re power to change it it.

Marvellous music from a true understated hero.

Sparklehorse – Little Fat Baby

Chuck Wood VS Dexy’s

VS

J Dilla – I’m sorry, it appears I have forgotten how good you were. Mistake corrected.

R.I.P J Dilla

Who makes tunes like this any more?

J Dilla – So Far To Go Feat. Common & D’angelo

Jason Schwartzman (Coconut Records)

Schwartzman: Crazy in the coconut

Who’d have thought Shwartzman, yeah, that guy from all those kooky films you love – Rushmore, Spun, I ♥ Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited etc- could create such a damn fine record.

Performing under the name ‘Coconut Records’,  Jason sounds more than a little similar to Ben Kweller, Brendan Benson, or the care-free-Utopia Parkway -album-era Fountains of Wayne.

Perfect for summer. If it ever arrives,

Enjoy M’dears

Coconut Records – The Summer

Coconut Records – Is This Sound OK

Be My Wife

Breakbot and Air lend a hand to Haiti

Breakbot

One of our favourite artists right now, Breakbot, has lent his golden touch to those French fancies Air on brand spanking new track.

Air – So Light is Her Footfall (Breakbot Remix)

The remix will appear on the Hear to Help charity CD available next month exclusively at American Eagle Outfitters, benefiting Oxfam America’s Haiti Recovery effort. Air’s Love 2 is out via Astralwerks. More on Breakbot at MySpace.

And it’s with rose tinted glasses we look back on another brilliant Air collaboration with the blissed out (or should that be paranoid?) Beck.

Flying Lotus and Hendrix?

Lotus

Cosmogramma, Flying Lotus’s highly anticipated sophomore release on Warp, will be dropping May 4th. Quakes didn’t quite make the final cut of the album, but it sure is getting a lot of people excited. Mary Anne Hobbs for example is already calling Lotus the Hendrix of our generation. Slightly ott maybe but it does pack one hell of a punch.

In anticipation of the release Warp are giving away three non-album tracks here. They include the Gucci Mane remix that appeared on the ‘Free Gucci’ mixtape and a couple from the ‘2010′ compilation including a Flying Lotus produced track from the upcoming Gonja Sufi album. You dig?

Flying Lotus – Quakes