Magical musical musings care of the marvellous John Matthews. The Durutti Column formed in Manchester in 1978 and were one of the first acts signed by Tony Wilson to Factory records. Originally a short-lived group, over the last 40 years the band has transformed into the singular vehicle of gifted, elusive guitarist Vini Reilly. A […]
Pukka prose by Patrick Syms. When I was three my family moved to Ramsgate. More specifically, to a farmhouse that overlooked Pegwell Bay. The end of our garden was steps away from the cliff edge. It would have been hard to live closer to the coast. At Little Cliffsend Farm there was no electricity, no [ ]
Wild shouts, barks, yelps and handclaps accompany a fierce acoustic strum. Machines strike up a big, banging mid-tempo march, and an insane, insistent accordion leads a deranged, drunken dance. Party whistles blow and it’s on. Less a boogie, and more a barely contained riot. Soundtracking a scene so exciting, it’s almost frightening. The music mad, [ ]
Having previously graced labels such as Good Morning Tapes, Gi Gi brings their sample-based sorcery to Mood Hut with a 10-track set titled “In Lieu”. A cool quote from the press one-sheet neatly lays out the method, and thinking, behind the music: “A borrowed sound, looped and bent, eventually forgets where it came from; it [ ]
Colorado-based trio Prairiewolf’s latest long-player for La Selva Beach-based label, Centripetal Force, blurs the boundary between live and studio recording. The band have taken tapes of 2 club performances, edited, layered, collaged them, and added overdubs to construct 6 new tracks. The music, in their own words, was then “mixed for the hallucinations.” If this [ ]
While KiF Productions’ debut soundtracked the English landscape, and a road trip from Yorkshire to Devon, the duo’s contribution to Ran$om Note’s Music To Watch Seeds Grow By series is a score for the lifecycle of the Passion Flower. Employing similar KLF-inspired techniques of sampling and collaging as their previous release, the pair create a [ ]
Magical musical musings care of the marvellous John Matthews. Music To Watch Seeds Grow By is an ambient imprint, curated by Ran$om Note’s Wil Troup and Tia Cousins, that aims to provide a soundtrack to gardening, plant cultivation and to assist in unwinding the mind. To quote Tia from an interview with Ban Ban Ton [ ]
In-depth interview, and dispatch from Ibiza, care of gentleman abroad, Christopher English. Next year will mark two decades living on this strange island. I don’t really know how I got here, let alone stayed for so long. It’s been five years since my first contribution to Ban Ban Ton Ton. The past five years have [ ]
Attempting to recreate the golden yesterdays of Jose Padilla’s White Isle sunsets with the tunes of today… Jun Arasaki Nine Sheep / Kajyadhi-Fu Bushi / EM Records “Kajyadhi-Fu Bushi” is a traditional Okinawan song, passed down from generation to generation. However, in 1970, jazz musician Jun Arasaki produced a radical arrangement of the number [ ]
A few current favourites, jazz and world vibes mainly, care of Secret Soul Society’s Cal Gibson. Highlife Alpacas Collective The Goss One Cali remix of Highlife is subtle, sweet and dancefloor primed: irrepressible guitar lines and beats that shimmer in the sun from this Belgian collective. A joyful Afrocentric noise that works a [ ]
Super selections and wonderful words by our favourite four-to-the-floor expert, The Insider. PETE HERBERT / FAR FLUNG / MUSIC FOR SWIMMING POOLS Pete Herbert distils 3 decades of globetrotting disco, Balearic and house wizardry into Far Flung, an album that feels like postcards from everywhere he’s ever played, lived or daydreamed. It’s Herbert in full [ ]