Nuggets

I thought it was about time i wrote some guff on here - it's been a while, hasn't it? Not much going on over here in Bristol, or at least not much i can afford!

Tonight sees the Bristol debut of Mr Oizo at the Blue Mountain Club, alongside SebastiAn, Si Begg and my ginger bredren 30Hz. I would love to go, but it's one of those "oh fuck i seem to have spunked £60 on piss-flavoured lager and some pills with a mild MDMA flavouring" kind of nights. Oh well! I would have preferred to have seen the Frenchies down in London at that Our Disco night the other month, but so it goes...

On a cheaper tip, our friends the Under_Score boys (Bristol's tasteful minimal selectors) are hosting Steevio, tommorow night at Cosies Wine Bar (the best venue in Bristol, without a doubt). Door tax is minimal, in keeping with the night, (ha ha!) and things kick off from about nine. Dunc, one of the promoters, was playing me some of his stuff the other night - sounds great. Really organic sounding minimal, made using analogue gear. Anyway, apparently this Steevio chap is a bit of a lovable old hippy. He has dreads down to his arse and can normally be found in Wales putting on minimal techno parties out in the countryside, under waterfalls or summat, which sounds like a much nicer proposition than the general (nasty) techno/ketamine/muddy vibe we get over here. Hmmm, maybe a road trip over the border is in order at some point?

I strongly advise anyone in Bristol to come down and have a spliff with Uncle Puffin.


Puffin's non-techno alignment chart


1. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country LP
Glasgow's 2nd best band (after the mighty Belle and Sebastian) return with another near-flawless long player of melodic retro-pop; this time with a decidely foot stomping soul feel and a 'big' production sound, courtesy of the bloke who did the Concretes. Oh, and some great lyrics. I would love to put some audio up for this but i don't have access to a computer at home, maybe if I twist Rich's arm he'll sort something out [EDIT from Softie: I've whacked a coupla up for ya - top notch album, s'right up my stasse...]...

Download:
Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken // Elefant

Camera Obscura - Tears for Affairs // Elefant



2. Various Artists North by Northwest
An amazing comp put together by probably the nicest pundit on the telly, and one of my personal heroes, Paul Morley. He really is one of those people I would love to have round for dinner/have a drink with. Him, Germaine Greer, Noel Gallagher and some others. Anyway, I digress, the comp traces the development of punk and post-punk in Liverpool and Manchester. It's literally rammed with good tunes, from popular favourites like 'Reward' and 'Rescue' through to more obscuro bits (at least to me) like Lori and the Chameleons and the Lotus Eaters, those being a particular faves.

3.Cut Chemist The Audience's Listening LP
Another great hip hop LP for 2006, well at least the 2nd of ther year after the awe inspiring Dillage. Put simply, this is great party music from a turntable superhero without too much deck wankery. The lead off single 'The Storm' is top notch, with a chugging almost electro-esque beat pushing the song forward. You will definitely hear this in my sets soon. (I wish the bloody vinyl would turn up!)

4. Various Artists Nuggets
Seminal psych/garage comp that has had me jumping round my gentleman's lounge like a right numpty.

5. Timeblind - Ghostification
Excellent 12" that turned up out of the blue from Cargo, this is some seriously heavy left-field dubstep/sublow. The first track on their, it's called 'Ontological' or something, has a super heavy bassline and some off-kilter disco break that keeps dropping in to create a rather unsettling soundscape. I recommend you hunt this 12" down, it's on the Soot label.


I would have charted some other dubstep bits but my TAPE brothers beat me to it! Listen to what Softie is saying: that Skream track on Tectonic is superb. Should have my dubstep mix ready by next week - it's been driving me mad! I've been trying to strike a balance between its many forms without it ever getting too lairy. Believe me bruv, it ain't easy!