Despite coming close to two decades in the mighty Auks and the stenching shire that is NZ my default settings, at least navigationally, are still in Blighty.
So when I think of Manc mistresses (and 1 mister) Sisters Of Transistors and Glasvegan beat brutaliser Rustie, my Midlands mind automatically goes 'up north' (with a doff of the proverbial cap to the KLF).
Having just released one scorching single on This Is Music, Sisters Of Transistors may have not have produced a blip on enough folks radar yet, but the strength of that 12" suggests it won't be too long. The four sisters are keyboard toting madams who also sing, and they are joined by the ever impeccable Graham Massey, ex-of 808 State, Toolshed, Homelife etc etc. In all honesty the track that provoked me into searching out, and securing, this wonderful wax (thank you Piccadilly Records) is 'Pendulum' a smoldering instrumental that sets the organs (their keyboards, and possibly my vital ones) onto stun, but the A-side 'The Don' has also worked its charms on me big time. This kind of reminds me of Cadet Records incomparably fruity Rotary Connection being dragged willingly into the 00's, and it carries that delightful Bisto-like whiff of musical obsession that Manchester seems to have in spades. Last time I played in Manchester, 5 or 6 years ago with me pal Trevor Whateva, I was delighted and not a little flummoxed that every single person encountered was charged and ready to enter into serious and intense musical discussions and enthusiastic, knowledgeable 'have you heard this???' conversations at the drop of a proverbial piece of headwear. They take it serious, and I can respect that till the bovines have returned to their domicile.
You can hear that kind of passion in the Sisters Of Transistors tracks, and it once again proves that man Massey should have a target on his back, for easy identification as far as following them tunes is concerned. This track gets remixed quite nicely by those stereophonic sluts Hot Chip (is there anyone they haven't remixed?? come on, get off there and give someone else a go, honestly they're like the kids on the trainset at Toys R Us) and I know James Ford (Simian Mobile Disco, Klaxons producer etc) is a big fan, when I interviewed him a year or two ago he spoke at length and very highly about Massey as a major influence and mentor, so Im guessing you can expect SMD mixes at some point in the future.
You can pick the 12" up from these fine folk
or right here
And the murdokkkspaz is ici
On the back of just a few 12"s and remixes Glasgow's Rustie has become a standard bearer for 'wonky' alongside the likes of Flying Lotus, Ras G, Samiyam, Bullion etc. Despite have a pretty rubbish umbrella name for what is essentially messed up beats, them folks are making some good and challenging tunes. The crossover with the more progressive end of dirty old dubstep, and the simple fact that this seems to be a musical area where experimentation is encouraged bode well for the future, though I have difficulty with the fact that all these artists have a tendency to draw on a similar palate of sounds and feels which makes it a little bit like when everyone wanted to be Prefuse 73 a few years ago (and look where that ended up!) Rustie does seem to have the handle though as his devastating remix of Zomby's 'Spliff Dub' on Hyperdub easily demonstrated, and this track which is the B-side of his collabo with the utterly mindboggling Joker on the jocular ones Kapsize label has sent me in the last couple of weeks. Joker has been responsible for several of my favouritest and most played tunes in 08, so the mere fact that I'm whacking up the flipside should speak volumes.
You can score it like this
or like that
Keeping it Glaswegian and on a completely different tip, this 'last gang in town' have done my nut in (ta for the early warning KH) and will no doubt be getting a post of their own soonest, in the meantime check this Youtubery (not allowed to embed any of the proper vids, boo hoo)for a rare case of believe the hype!
Posts
Kids on the train set at Toys R Us!!!!! Hahahahahahaaa! Too much Jim!
ReplyDelete