The Listening Club - 23rd August 2015

Hey all,

Sunshine abounds this weekend in Amsterdam, which I'm sure suited everyone bopping at Lowlands festival, the folks lining the Prinsengracht for the annual Grachtenfestival classical concert, and the hundreds of thousands packing out the harbours to see the big-ass ships (as no-one else but me seems to call them). Even though I've been doing none of these things (a slight lie, as we did hear a bit of the music from the classical concert and many a toot from the ship horns), there's still been more than enough frolicking around the quieter areas of the city to declare it a successful weekend. Yes indeedy. Simple pleasures - good company, food, booze etc. Finest kind.

Back in #lc land, you may have noticed that I've started sticking up some "Tune!" of the day links - feel free to DM, post of email a link to a tune if you want to include one - old, new, whatever, lets keep sharing those fine sounds all week long...

Also looking for a #vortex theme for next week, so thinking caps on, tweet yer suggestions please!

Last week @mrhig was in the chair and played well against type with his pick of Fantastic Plastic Machine's "Luxury", which achieved its intention of wrong footing many of the assembled, myself included. Many thanks to Matt for the curve-ball, and for flipping the frisbee across to @nessiest, who is here with the pre-match...

"I listened to a load of new albums that have been on my playlist of late, searching for something new and interesting, goodies to share with the club. 

But. 

You know those albums that form part of the soundtrack to your life? You give copies to friends and know the tunes by heart, go to the band's gigs and shout with the joy of recognition when they bring out one of those old tunes? 

That. 

I am wearing my heart on my sleeve by sharing a dearly loved, well-worn favourite, all the way from my home-town. The desire to share this wee beauty with the discerning ears of the listening club outweighs any fear you'll be bored pantsless by it, as always you'll make up your own minds.

Ten years old and the band's first studio album, it has mellow grooves, blending roots, dub, soul, jazz and funk with the occasional moment of earnest naivete which a biased listener like me finds charming. Self-produced and released on their own label it made the band world famous in New Zealand.

I made @kleptones go to one of their gigs and he's put up with me raving about their talents for the past two years. Now I get to share the love with you guys. 

Substance of choice tip: whatever you like, the mellower the better. Best listened to with no shoes on."

There you go. Direct download is here, and the mixcloud, if we're really bloody lucky, will be here (best download just in case if you can though...)

See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1) !!!