konstantinos’ blog

Time to update my blog with something that my readers will find interesting, exciting and catchy… What can that be? What should I write for? Maybe about how busy these last days have been at the office or maybe about the (welcoming) surprises I had since Monday and on? I guess this news won’t satisfy my idea. Therefore, and since listening to music has not been part of my everyday life in the last 10 days, I’ll just post the videos that caught my attention (along with my ear’s attention, eeerr… my two ears’ attention please). So let’s start…

Brand new and great! “This Boy’s in Love” by “The Presets“. They are Australians. Remember the name in a few weeks. I’ll test you… (meaning that in my opinion this is a nice happy dance tune that will probably be a big hit in the following months). I like a lot the darkness of the video too. Maybe the song sounds a bit 90s but the video doesn’t look 90s at all.

You know “Justice“, or you should… No? Shame on you! (don’t bite DJart!) Anyway, I’ll excuse you for now but this is the second (correct me if I’m wrong) official video from their first album with the cross. One of my favourite albums for 2007. “Justice” are considered a really important group of the best electro scene worldwide at this moment (…Eiffel Tower, Bordeaux, Le Louvre, Carla Bruni… congratulations for saying French!) . You may not know why but you can take a small taste of their “art” by pressing the play button 68pixels below. In any case, the video is just awesome! Kudos to whoever made it.

And let’s continue with the two (personally) most anticipated albums of the last months; in no random order: Moby’s new “Last Night” and Portishead’s new (after 10 years please!!!) “3″. I got really excited when I first listened to “Last Night”. Now, after approximately 20 times of listening to it I can be less subjective and say that it’s a very nice album and in my opinion similar to “Play” (although not as good) and superior to the average “18″ and “Hotel”. In other words, TGI Fridays and Moby created an album based on his great old style (of “Play” and before). My favourite track is number seven (.07) called “Hyenas” but since no video is available for that right now, I’ll let you enjoy the again brand new video of “Alice” which is the second released single from “Last Night”. P.S. Visually, one of the most “explosive” videos I’ve ever seen! Just live the weed in the drawer…lol

And for the end the amazing “Machine Gun” from Portishead. I always had believed that you need to be patient and listen to the whole track before judging it. This is the absolutely best example for me to confirm that. I could never imagine how an industrial iterative beat coming out of a drum machine and Beth’s depressive and tired vocals can create such a great tune! I shouldn’t think the opposite though… we are talking about Portishead! Judge for your own but please have in mind that the recorded studio version of the album sounds much better.

Have a nice weekend…

It was one of these Friday nights with (dr.) Mario and (future dr.) Antonio (hehe) at Trash Palace when I first heard this song for the first time. At first I couldn’t understand why a wave of euphoria started spreading across the dance floor. After a minute though I started realising the reason. I hadn’t heard such a catchy tune for a long time now. And then there was this voice! Familiar voice; but nooo it can’t be him …his repertoire doesn’t include this kind of music. But I can’t be wrong. Antony has such a characteristic voice. So characteristic that it’s impossible to forget or at least not pay attention to!

And then the next song started playing and I was left with the question. But I was at Trash Palace. The following tune can easily make you forget the previous ones. And this was the case once more. So days passed and I randomly heard this haunting song on (best) radio in the rush half hour between deciding what to wear for the office and eating my (always) minimalistic breakfast. The important here is that I also heard the name of the song, and realised how correct I was about Antony. It was him. Lending his magnificent voice to the first grand hit of the “fanciest groove of the moment” according to an early description at last.fm; Andrew Butler’s Hercules & Love Affair project.

This wiki has now been changed to something more modest, but still the acceptance of this musical project is impressive and that’s fair in my opinion. “Hercules is the brainchild of NY resident, producer and DJ Andrew Butler & The Love Affair is one of the most inventive and original collaborative studio projects in many years, where beautiful, bruising harmonies and tensile rhythms collide in resurgent soundscapes and emotive dancefloor workouts.“… as less modest this info can be!

SO… all this intro for “Blind”? Maybe I’m exaggerating (and to tell you the truth …that’s the truth! I’m exaggerating) but you cannot easily bypass a dance track with vocals from Antony Hegarty (yeap! the one from “Antony and the Johnsons“) and this unique Balkan-style melody. Of course “Blind” is not big news for all the early music adopters out there. But as for every decent pop/dance track, remixes are part of the game. And one of them is probably this summer’s hit. If I liked the original version a lot, I should admit I like the “Frankie Knuckles Dub” version 4.3 times more (hehe…. someone please close my laptop’s lid now before I write more crap things… !).

Anyway, back to reality. Just listen to the track and sing the lyrics. That’s all a legal (lol) blog can offer to its non-existent readers. The play button is just a few pixels away.

As a child, I knew
That the stars could only get brighter
And we would get closer
Get closer
Oooooh

As a child, I knew
That the stars could only get brighter
That we would get closer
Get closer
Leaving this darkness
Behind

Mmmm-mmmm
Oooooooh

Now that I'm older
The stars should lie upon my face
When I find myself alone
Find myself alone
Oooooh

Now that I'm older
The stars should lie upon my face
And when I find myself alone
I feel like I
I am blind

Feel it
Feel it
Feel it
Feel it
Like I am blind
I am blind

I wish the stars could shine now
For they are closer
They are near
But they will not present my present
They will not present my present

I wish the light could shine now
For it is closer
It is near
But it will not present my present
It makes my past and future painfully clear

To hear you now
To see you now
I can look outside myself
And I must examine my breath and look inside
Ooooooh

To see you now
To hear you now
I can look outside myself
And I must examine my breath and look inside
Because I feel blind
Because I feel blind

I feel it
I feel it
I feel it
Like I
Like I'm blind
Ooooooh
The movie will
Mmmm, and feel it
Oooooh, I feel it
Feel it

I heard this song for the first time half an hour ago and I have heard it more than 5 times since then! I can’t decide what I like most. Is it the music and the rhythm or the amazing 80s disco style and VHS quality clip?

Im gonna take my time mmime!
she gon’ get hers before I…
im gonna take it slow..ow..oo..ow,
im not gonna rush to stroll, so she can get a…
Sensual seduction-duction so she can get a..
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa!
so she can get a sensual seduction-duction duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa!

she might be with him, but shes thinking bout me, me, meee,
we gon’ go to the mall, we gon’ go out to eat, eat, eeeeat,
and all that we ever do is play the machine-chine-chiiine,
smoke us a cigarette, and go back to sleep, sleep, sleep, so we can get a!

Sensual seduction-duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa! ooh whoa!
sensual seduction-duction duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa!
Im gonna take my time mmime!
she gon’ get hers before I…
im gonna take it slow..ow..oo..ow,
im not gonna rush to stroll,

if ya dont know right know, doggy-dog is a freak,freak,freak!
i keep a bandage with me seven days of the week, week, week!
and all that we ever do is play the machine-chine-chiiine,
smoke us a cigarette, and go back to sleep, sleep, sleep, so we can get a!

Sensual seduction-duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa! ooh whoa!
sensual seduction-duction duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa!

i was all in da clup sippin some jin smokin on a benadrome when i
peeped this little hoe out, i was all in a bum and drifter, shorty then
came, then she hit da floor know, with a see through dress long hair
light broen eyes lookin like ms. O.P, and a nigga know if i take her
home with dem wide ass hips and you damn right im gon’ be, so hot-uh!
goes da chick with da real pretty face, big ass booty and ity-bity
waist i whispered in her ear little mama what you drink? i know you a
freak, but you knoe i aint gon’ say shit, see my game is
outrageous, i got it tippin crippin exchange and fuck faces, but it
aint no use to rush da bus
cause i wouldnt want to have her to rush!

Sensual seduction-duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa! ooh whoa!
sensual seduction-duction duction
Sensual seduction-duction ooh whoa

Two songs, one new and one a remake of an older one (Golden Brown by The Stranglers)… but both addictive! Two songs from my two latest addictions: “Justice” and “Frankmusik“.

Justice is a band from France and they are considered (obviously in my opinion) the new Daft Punk, although their stylistic approach is a bit different. Forget about robots, men with masks and full anonymity. Justice feel more free to party with their exponentially growing audience (already 2.240.000!!! plays on last.fm with Madonna having reached 9.600.000 for example) while having a rock/metal style layout at their lives (huge, huge, HUGE amplifiers).

Frankmusik is an almost teenager Londoner (east London in particular) and there is already a lot of hype around his name. His music is described as pop…but it’s not the pop you are used to listening to. It’s fast, with maaaany electronic elements and it will remind you of soundtracks of old arcade games! Who knows…maybe he can be Madonna’s next producer or “advisor”.

Both Justice and Frankmusik have released their first albums although I think the former have presented already many other things in the music industry. Who can forget about the amazing “We are you friends” from “Justice vs. Simian”? Nobody after having listened to it on the dancefloor (…preferably an original 80s dance floor with the lighted floor :D)

… I don’t think that you are still sitting in front of your screen!

Let’s cheer up! I introduce you to Foals (if you haven’t already heard of them)

“Combining poly-rhythmic casio guitars, pulsing analogue synth, vocal melodies and chopping drum-lines, Foals create organic agitated dance-pop. This is accessible techno for kids who hate techno but love guitars” (from the description on last.fm). The five-piece dance-punk band from Oxford has another interesting characteristic (for me): a Greek vocalist/guitarist named Yannis Philippakis.

Enjoy the clips of their two debut singles (after having signed to Transgressive Records): Hummer and Mathletics(!)

Thanx a lot Darren for this suggestion

It doesn’t hurt me.
You want to feel, how it feels?
You want to know, know that it doesn’t hurt me?
You want to hear about the deal I’m making.
You, (If I only could, be running up that hill)
You and me (If I only could, be running up that hill)

And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
Get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building.
If I only could

You don’t want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
Unaware that I’m tearing you asunder.
There’s a thunder in our hearts, baby

So much hate for the ones we love?
Tell me, we both matter, don’t we?
You, (If I only could, be running up that hill)
You and me (If I only could, be running up that hill)
You and me, won’t be unhappy

And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building.
If I only could

Come on, baby, come on, come on, darling,
Let me steal this moment from you now.
Come on angel, come on, come on, darling,
Let’s exchange the experience

And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.

And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And I’d get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.

If I only could, be running up that hill

My summer vacations are very close and I already cannot stop thinking of beaches, sand, sunburns, bars and sweating! In less than two weeks I will be in Greece feeling summer for the first time this year. Life in London may be interesting based on a lot of things, but definitely high temperatures and sunny weather are not among these.

So while counting the days, here are a few of the tracks that I love and I kept on listening to during last summers. Sit back, press the play button (on of the five :p) and relax… What are your favourite music tracks that remind you of past summers?

1. Chicane - Saltwater

2. Schiller mit Heppner - Dream Of You

3. Paul Oakenfold - Southern Sun

4. Grace Jones - La Vie En Rose

5. Sade - No Ordinary Love (live)

+1 Moby - Whispering Wind

Chrysa, one of my best friends from dA, posted first this video on her journal commenting that “here is something that made my day … and enhanced my summer mood. Listen and experience the trip”. After I heard that song I immediately agreed with her.

Beirut according to “Billboard” is “the moniker of 20-year-old Brooklyn resident Zach Condon, a high school dropout who spent some time in eastern Europe soaking up the culture and music styles of the “old world.” Beirut’s MySpace page describes his music as sounding like “Jewish immigrants,” which rings very true. “Gulag” is his first offering and is a gorgeous collection of traditional-sounding eastern European folk songs, which are accented by a horn section and accordion throughout.”

“While it may sound like an entire Balkan orchestra playing modern songs as mournful ballads and upbeat marches, [Gulag Orkestar] … was almost completely recorded at home. Horns, violins, cello, ukuleles, mandolins, glockenspiels, drums, tambourines, congas, organs, pianos, clarinets and accordions (no guitars on this album!) all build and break the melodies under Condon’s deep-voiced crooner vocals, swaying to the Eastern European beats that sound like they’re being brought to you by a 12-member ensemble.” [via last.fm]

I don’t know if being a Greek (and therefore a Balkan) plays an important role in loving Condon’s music but I think that when an American 20-year old guy makes that kind of music the outcome will certainly be interesting and original!

Listening to “Alone” from the amazing Moby on last.fm, I started reading the “Artist Description”.
My attention was caught by this: “Moby has recently scored the soundtrack for Richard Kelly’s upcoming movie ‘The Southland Tales’. Whilst he is generally against composing music for films, he was a huge fan of Kelly’s previous film ‘Donnie Darko’ and could not resist the offer the director gave him.”

“Donnie Darko” is one of my favourite movies and Moby is one of my favourite composers/producers. So I was excited by learning about this cooperation! I guess ‘Donnie Darko’s great OST featuring songs from Joy Division (which is Moby’s favourite band) must have motivated him to compose the music for Richard Kelly’s 4th movie. According to wikipedia, “Southland Tales is a 2008 science fiction film… Set in the near future, the film is a portrait of Los Angeles and a comment on the military-industrial newstainment complex.”

The “Southland Tales” website is up and running and you can here some music from the movie’s OST. The music is characteristic of Moby’s music with an ambient character and heavy use of atmospheric pads. I am looking forward to watch the Movie and listen to the OST. The release date is on March 2008.

I just discovered this song through the myspace page of a friend of mine.

It’s a song from a pop group called Kore. Ydro. and I’ve already listen to it for several times! The lyrics are in greek (sorry for all the non-greek speakers) but I really wanted to post this song.

Kore. Ydro. is a musical/artistic collective from Corfu, Greece and I think they deserve some attention.

According to the group’s official site, the second “proper” Kore. Ydro. album contains 12 songs written in their majority between the years 2003 and 2005 and recorded in the group’s “home” studio in Corfu, long before the EMI contract. The LP constitutes one of the few cases in the history of world discography that an entirely DIY production of substandard budget sees a first time mass distribution and promotion by a major label.

Enjoy and please tell me what you think of the song