The Listening Club - 25th August 2019

Greetings folks,

Well. the sunny and warms are back in these here parts, which is jolly nice, although I'm staying inside this arvo with a large fan for company feeling the aftereffects of a long day in the park yesterday. Beer may have been involved, yes...

Last week chez #LC it was me myself and I in the chair, dosing folks up with Alexander Tucker's "Don't Look Away", resulting in a bit of a mixed response, which is fair enough, his is definitely a bit of a marmitey sound for sure. All that was left was for me to sail the frisb across to @xpollen8, who is here with the intro to tonight's pick...

"Sometimes you just need something to chill to, and I've been
turning to this guy a bunch this year.  Also, his videos are super fun.
That's is all!"

Okaydoke. Direct download is here, and the stream is below:


See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1) tonight.

The Listening Club - 18th August 2019

Greetings folks,

Hope you're doing fine. Still pissing down here, off and on, and probably in the UK too, which is a bugger for those attending Lowlands, Green Man or whatever festival. Sure they're making the most of it regardless, I know I would be, but I'm sitting here at home, watching Lowlands on TV (Franz Ferdinand currently) and tapping this out waiting for the rain to stop... or start again... que sera.

Last week, @holette was back in the chair getting the congregation moving with her pick of Donny Hathaway's 1970 debut album "Everything Is Everything". Caps were doffed by way of thanks and the frisbaton was sailed across to me, so...

"Didn't think I had anything in mind, so I was flicking through the collection, thinking a retro pick would be a good idea, when I noticed an old text file sitting in my documents folder titled "Listening Club picks". Inside there was one album listed. So, brushing aside the possibility that someone had hacked into my computer and left it there, let's see what past-me wanted you to hear...

There is still no feeling quite like discovering an artist and finding out they've got a nigh-on 25 year back catalogue to investigate. This is one such person, who's collaborated with a whole ton of interesting folks, and also managed to put together a stack of solo albums, of which this is the seventh. I'm very pleased to have finally made their acquaintance, hope you will be also."

Direct download is here, and the stream's below:


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

The Listening Club - 11th August 2019

Greetings,

Well, wet and windy is back in force across Europe, which is kinda sad for the Dutch, as August is traditionally holiday month here in the Netherlands, to the extent that offices are almost empty, many cafes and takeaways are closed, and public transport runs on a reduced timetable. Still, it's lovely and peaceful outside the tourist zones... even if it is grey.

Last week chez #LC, @saucer was in the chair, serving up Brazilian delights in the form of "Sem Nostalgia" by Lucas Santtana, which certainly got the braincells quizzically tingling. Thanks to him for the pick, and the surprise deflection of the Frisb back in the direction it came from, which means @holette is here again, with tonight's intro...

“I have Iggy Pop to thank for many things: Raw Power; one of the greatest live performances I’ve ever seen; a really cool T-shirt that used to fit me; and (do Iggy voice here) ‘facilitating connections’. These days he’s deliciously intimate company on Friday nights on the radio, during which time he’s introduced me to this artist. 

The voice speaks for itself. It makes me feel calm and uplifted - sadly ironic given the artist’s struggles with mental illness. There are better known tracks to explore if you like this album, but to me it’s a good place to start for the direct emotions,  melody and musicianship.”

Okaydoke. Direct download is here, and the stream's below:


See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1) tonight.

The Listening Club - 4th August 2019

Greetings folks,

Yep, I'm back, after a week of rather hot holiday en France, plus a fine evening here in Amsterdam meeting up with @rougeforever and @mrhig of this parish, a cracking day yesterday bopping at Dekmantel Festival, and today a sweaty afternoon trying to hack the plants around the house back into some sort of sensible shape. So business as usual, and very grateful for all of it.

Thanks to @jimmccauley for keeping the lights on here in my absence, much appreciated, squire! And thanks also to @holette, who got the assembled bopping last Sunday with her pick of Sparks "No.1 In Heaven", and then sailed the frisb across the ocean to @saucer, who has this to say...

"Freshness and surprise are essential elements of music, and, frankly, sometimes my own taste bores me. These days I don’t have many musical friends IRL to pull me out of self-constructed ruts. 

That’s why I was so happy to meet a new musical friend... in an entirely nonmusical context... recently. They were conducting a test of something at work, and I, as a test subject, was lucky enough to get paired with them. This person is radically different from me in just about every respect you can imagine and we get along great: We’re both tickled by the disparities and also by the weird overlaps. She sent me one of her Youtube playlists and I disliked most of it, to my delight (and hers). It was fascinating to listen to.

Here and there among the entries I found points of brilliance, though, in the sense of tracks way outside the boundaries of my usual fare but nonetheless delicious and intriguing. That’s how I found the artist who made this album."

Okaydoke. Direct download is here, and the stream is below:


See you at 8pm BST (GMT+1)