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Pick of the Week: Super Cool: California Soul 2. Another super fine compilation on Luv N' Haight/Ubiquity, this one comes heavy on the ‘60s and early ‘70s Cali funk and soul, with contributions from Darondo, Spanky Wilson, Gow Do Experience and many others.
Interview with Montreal-based author Nairne Holtz, speaking about her debut dyke mystery novel, The Skin Beneath (Insomniac Press. |
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Props to DJ Andrew Allsgood who filled in this week and moved through chilled cosmic disco, downtempo, funk, electro, house, tech and even the Beach Boys. Check this show for a special focus on red-hot T.O. label Truffle Music, featuring music by Dubious, Dirty 30, Sans Soleil, and Mr. Allsgood himself. |
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Pick of the Week: the deep, thick and beautiful electronic dub of Ashtec’s Walkin’ Target (Sub Signal/Interchill). Produced by Gaudi and featuring vocals by Chesire Cat. Wicked!
Interview with Toronto-based hip-hop emcee and freestylist extraordinaire Abdominal, talking about his new and brilliant album, Escape From the Pigeon Hole. |
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I had sooooooo much fun this week! Near the top, there were two songs from The Cinematic Orchestra’s gorgeous forthcoming album, Ma Fleur, followed by the guitar ‘n electronics sonic experiments of Glissandro 70, Juana Molina and psychedelic pop-rocker Panda Bear. On a related tip, the Pick of the Week came from Montreal’s Miracle Fortress, one of the greatest new songwriters I’ve heard of late. Influences like Brian Wilson, Eno and My Bloody Valentine are obvious in his work, but the guy makes it all his own in the instrumentation and arrangements. Five Roses is out soon on Montreal indie Secret City, the same label that brought us Patrick Watson. That’s two for two!
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Loads of brand new music this week! After missing a Monday, I came back raring to go, with many a new tune and album to share. British duo Pushmipulyu helped lead the charge with a piece from their excellent new album 133 Thursdays (Interchill). Equally cinematic, and rightfully so, is Matthew Herbert’s The Score, a collection of pieces he composed for specific project. I played two tunes from that before sharing two stunningly beautiful songs from The Cinematic Orchestra’s forthcoming album, Ma Fleur. If you’re a Cinematic fan, you will not be disappointed as the album is a stellar piece of work, with vocal contributions from the likes of Fontella Bass, Lou Rhodes (Lamb), and Montreal’s Patrick Watson.
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Carrie a.k.a. DJ Switch in the hot seat this week. I was at home, feeling under the weather, but couldn’t miss that Switch was feeling the sunshine! Have a listen as Carrie moves from the new jazz sounds of Nostalgia 77, Loka, Four Tet and François K’s reworking of Nina Simone’s “Here Comes the Sun” through to new Ben Mono with T.O. spoken word artist Jemeni, the reggae of Horace Andy and The Congos, newish Champion, LCD Soundsystem, Rjd2, and loads more. |
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Carl Craig, new releases by Panda Bear, Electrelane, Mark Ronson, Junior Boys and more. Mental Chatter came in on a jazz note, moving from classic Miles Davis to the new collaboration between Kieran Heben (aka Four Tet) and jazz drummer Steve Reid (who played with Miles for a period), to local jazz pianist and vocalist Elizabeth Shepherd (remixed by Nostalgia 77) followed by Detroit-based jazz vocalist Sheila Landis, and more on that tip. Things got a little more beat-y with Mark Ronson and the Daptone horns covering Coldplay’s “God Put A Smile on Your Face,” and local duo Circle Research turning in remixes of both Sunshine State and Apostle of Hustle.
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Fujiya & Miyagi, MC Abdominal, Tayo + loads of new music! I kicked it off in a jazz stylee, with the Cinematic Orchestra reinterpreting Radiohead, new Kieran Hebden + Steve Reid, new Nostalgia 77, Moodyman remixing Alif Tree, and Daisuke Tanabe remixing Toronto’s Elizabeth Shepherd. |
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Interviews with Gilles Peterson and Noah Pred were two of this week’s highlights. I had a chance to catch up with Gilles, the host and programmer of BBC Radio 1’s super popular and influential Worldwide program, just before he left his home in London for a three-week tour, which included a DJ date here in T.O. We spoke a great deal about radio, his travels to Brazil and elsewhere, his relatively young Brownswood label, and loads more. |
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A downtempo lover’s delight! This week featured a one-hour spotlight on B.C. based label Interchill Records as both Andrew and Naasko of the label were in T.O. and in the CKLN studios. Together, we talked about the label’s 10-year history, its many fantastic releases, the global downtempo community, and much more. Also featured were selections from new Interchill compilations Bliminal and Sub Signals Vol. 1. The guys also gave us advance listens to two amazing artist albums coming out in Interchill in April and May, by PushMiPulYu and Ashtec (with vocalist Chesire Cat!) respectively.
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