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Monolith Cocktail Social (Playlist): Volume #XLV: Little Richard, Tony Allen, Kraftwerk, Embryo, Officer!…
May 13, 2020
Playlist/Dominic Valvona
Cool shit that the Monolith Cocktail founder and instigator Dominic Valvona has pulled together, the Social playlist is a themeless selection of eclectic tracks from across the globe and ages. Representing not only his tastes but the blogs, these regular playlists can be viewed as an imaginary radio show, a taste of Dominic's DJ sets over 25 plus years. Placed in a way as to ape a listening journey, though feel free to listen to it as you wish, each playlist bridges a myriad of musical treasures to enjoy and also explore – and of course, to dance away the hours to.
The latest volume includes a few tributes to those we've lost; a sprinkle of rock deity Little Richard, Afrobeat and Afrojazz doyan Tony Allen, and electronic music progenitor Florian Schneider amongst the unusual usual mix of post-punk, transcendence, psychedelic, electronic, folk, acid country, dreams…blah blah blah. We could go on and on. Just listen and have a whale of a time, even in these most anxious of times.
Tracks in full:
Little Richard 'King Of Rock And Roll'
Rasputin's Stash 'What's On Your Mind'
Rodian G.A. 'Nu Tu Vei Fi'
Nat Turner Rebellion 'Laugh To Keep From Crying'
24 Carat Black 'Brown-Baggin"
Hieroglyphics 'All Things'
Faine Jade 'Ballad Of The Bad Guys'
Joe Byrd & The Field Hippies 'Nightmare Train'
Blonde On Blonde 'Circles'
Merrell Fankhauser & H.M.S Bounty 'Everybody's Talkin"
Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso 'Cento Mani e Cento Occhi'
Peter Janes 'For The Sake Of Time'
Le Orme 'Summer Calling'
Jeff Simmons 'Appian Way'
Lula Cortes & Lailson 'Satwa'
Anandi Bhattacharya 'Jai Ganesh'
Yusef Lateef 'Ching Miau'
Tony Allen 'Cool Cats'
Oliver Nelson 'Anacrusis'
Embryo 'Code 7'
yuk. 'Kulam'
Autechre 'sinistrailAB air'
Jennifer Touch 'Chemistry'
Kraftwerk 'Pocket Calculator'
Lizzy Mercier Descloux 'Sports Spotnicks'
Jean-Luc Ponty 'With A Little Help From My Friends'
Allan Wachs 'The Lord Will Provide'
Delaney & Bonnie 'Poor Elijah'
Will Boelts 'Boring'
Dunkelziffer '(Do Watch You Can) Prof.'
Officer! 'Anagrams'
Little Richard 'Hound Dog'
Essential Logic 'Quality Crayon Wax O.K.'
Granicus 'Hollywood Star'
Tony Allen 'Nepa'
David Sancious 'further In The Forest Of Feelings'
Damara 'Mmamamkhabtha'
Afro-Haitian Experimental Orchestra 'Salilento'
Boogie Down Productions 'Remix For P Is Free'
Keith Hudson 'Man From Shooters Hill'
Julian Koster 'The Sea Of Tranquility'
Kraftwerk 'Endless Endless'
And for those without Spotify access, a smattering of video versions:
Perusal #003: Singles, Previews & Oddities Roundup: Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela, Verses Bang, Brona McVittie…
January 27, 2020
Dominic Valvona
In quick succession, following last week's inaugural roundup of 2020 of perused singles, videos, previews and the odd album that threaten to overload our inboxes, another selection of releases that you need to know about. This week's honors go to Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela, Brona McVittie, Ippu Mitsui, Verses Bang and JZ Replacement.
Tony Allen & Hugh Masekela 'We've Landed'
(World Circuit Records) Preview Video
This is one convergence of talent worth 'rejoicing'. Arguably two of the most important motivator/instigators in the development of African music over the last 50 years, Afrobeat progenitor, drummer extraordinaire Tony Allen and his foil trumpet virtuoso, bandleader, activist and South African national treasure, the late Hugh Masekela, finally crossed paths in 2010 to record this sublime swinging and lilted atmospheric album: an album that had been in the making since the two central figures in Afrobeat and Afrojazz first met in the 1970s. However, those original sessions were put on hold until last year.
With renewed resolution, Allen and producer Nick Gold, with the blessing and participation of Hugh's estate, unearthed the original tapes and finished recording the album last year at the same London studio where the original sessions had taken place. Allen and Masekela are accompanied on the record by a new generation of well-respected jazz musicians including Tom Herbert (Acoustic Ladyland/The Invisible), Joe Armon-Jones (Ezra Collective), Mutale Chashi (Kokoroko) and Steve Williamson.
Rejoice is set to drop on the 20th March 2020; until then here's the loose Francophone swinging jazz announcement 'We've Landed' to savior: every bit as effortlessly cool, bouncing and smoky as you'd expect. Look out for a full review on the site in the next month or so.
Links of interest from our archives
Hugh Masekela ''66-'76'
Tony Allen 'The Source'
Afro-Haitian Experimental Orchestra 'A.H.E.O'
JZ Replacement 'Tubuka'
(Rainy Days Records) Single/Now
Introducing the new dynamic fusion project from saxophonist Zhenya Strigalev (Ambrose Akinmusire, Eric Harland) and drummer Jamie Murray (Sun Ra Arkestra, Native Dancer), the first single to drop from the JZ Replacement moniker duo is the off-kilter acceleration of moodier Massive attack prowls, lurching breakbeats, d'n'b and vortex squawking contemporary jazz with blasts of hard bop, 'Tubuka'.
With an already enviable providence as both a performing duo in their own right and with a host of luminaries on the scene, Strigalev and Murray look further afield to develop and challenge their sound. As part of that challenge, the duos upcoming new LP, Disrespectful (due to drop on the 13th March 2020) was recorded with the increasingly in-demand L.A. bass master, Tim Lefebvre (who played with the Donny McCaslin led troupe that backed David Bowie on his swansong album, but also such notable talent as Wayne Krantz, Elvis Costello and Mark Guiliana). On the evidence of this precursor single, the album promises to be a ball of exploratory jazz and grooves.
Verses Bang 'The Eagle Has Landed'
Single/Video/January 2020
In case you missed one of the UK's most burgeoning talents on the Hip-Hop and beyond music scene, the ever sartorially sharp Verses Bang drops a reminder single and new video from last year's high anxiety deconstruction of an addicted personality, Cardigans & Calories, 'The Eagle Has Landed'. From his own mission control, Verses' convergence of rap, grime and trap lurks menacingly on this unsanctioned Apollo flight into the shadows.
Verses name drops idiosyncratic references to British culture and TV and tongue-in-cheek digs at the varnished validation culture of many of his more puffed-up peers on social media, with the pressures of trying to make it whilst battling those addictions. One to watch for sure in 2020.
Ippu Mitsui 'Break Through 50 Watts'
(Pure Spark Records) LP/23rd January 2020
Always in a state of developing and reworking, Tokyo electronic composer and label boss Ippu Mitsui draws breath with an album of rerecorded, remasterd and in some cases, alternate visions of his back catalogue on Break Through 50 Watts.
Delivered via his very own burgeoning experimental electro and dance label, Pure Sparks Records, Ippu hurtles and careers through a miscellaneous of tracks from 2017, including a freshly coated twitch-house take of the opening 32-bit, dial-up tone skittish collage 'Bug's Wing's' (taken from his L+R LP for the Edinburgh label Bearsuit Records) and a sophisticated shadowy airy refresh of the cruising 'Rotation' (taken from his Shift Down EP for Submarine Broadcasting Company). Ippu watchers might also recognize remasters of the E Noise EP's breakbeat thriller 'Chromium' and the Resonance EP's re-Warp busy percussive 'Biorhythm'. Scattered amongst these are a host of equally cybernetic and machine code engineered techno treats: the dulcimer chiming timepiece soundtrack 'Recovery', melodic childlike piano downtempo 'Playground' and the strange putting-robots-to-sleep deconstructive techno number 'Sea Slug In Love' being some of the more interesting and diverse tracks on offer.
New to the charms and exploration of Ippu Mitsui, then this collection would be a grand starting point to a one-man electro and techno industry.
Links of interest from our archives
Ippu Mitsui 'L + R'
Brona McVittie 'The Green Man/Eileen Aroon'
(Company of Corkbots) Single/20th January 2020
In anticipation of the ephemeral harpist and diaphanous lulled singer's second solo album this year, Brona Mcvittie releases a couplet of fluttery yearnings that pay homage to Celtic imbued contoured landscapes. Brona's magical, lingering, self-penned ode to the atavistic 'The Green Man' (a song idea that "literally grew out of the trees visible from my living room window") and beautifully sang version of the Carroll O' Daly 14th century paean 'Eileen Aroon' (a song in which the protagonist of that tale espouses his love for Eleanor Kavanagh, daughter of the Leinster chieftain, comparing her to a "flower of the hazel glade") continue the harp-led evocations and trip-folk cinematic landscaping of the debut LP We Are Wildlife (which made our albums of 2018).
Producing melodies and phrases that often feel like a breath or just the merest presence of the harp and voice, Brona amorphously pushes the often-ancient feelings and geography towards John Martyn and Bert Jansch one minute, towards the Incredible String Band or Boards of Canada the next.
Be sure to keep an eye out for a future review of that upcoming album.
Links of interest from our archives
Brona McVittie 'We Are Wildlife'
Quarterly Playlist of 2017: Part Three: Tony Allen, Chino Amobi, Liars, Nicole Mitchell…
September 28, 2017
Selection: Dominic Valvona, Matt Oliver and Ayfer Simms
An encapsulation of the Monolith Cocktail's tastes and a showcase to reflect our very raison d'être, the 'quarterly revue playlists' feature an eclectic selection of tracks from artists and bands we've enjoyed, rated highly or believe have something worthwhile to offer. Chosen by Dominic Valvona, Matt Oliver and Ayfer Simms this latest collection includes both recordings featured on the site, and a few we've either missed or not had the room to include.
Though we try to offer the best listening experiences, ordering tracks in a certain way for highs and lows, intensity and relief, we don't have any particular concept or theme in mind when putting these playlists together. Yet by accident we have selected quite a few moody, meditative and often contemplative tunes this time around; from the most brilliant (corners) exposition and vivid experimental jazz suite and beat poetic descriptions of John Sinclair and Youth's recent Beatnik Youth Ambient team-up, to the Slovenian peregrinations of Širom. We also include however more upbeat, if in protest, Afrobeat flexing from the Chicago Afrobeat Project (featuring the original rhythm provider legend Tony Allen, who as it happens appears twice on this playlist, on both the Chicago collectives What Goes Up collaboration and on his own solo album debut (proper) for the illustrious Blue Note label, The Source); and at opposite ends of the spectrum, the cool kids aloof post punk of Melbourne's mini supergroup Terry. We also include tracks from the sauntering laxed smouldering grooves of Africa Analog's Bro. Valentino reappraisal Stay up Zimbabwe, Hive Mind Record's debut re-release of Maalem Mahmoud Gania's Colours Of The Night, and a host of 'choice' hip-hop from The Green Seed, Skipp Whitman, The Doppelgangaz and Tanya Morgan.
Circumnavigating the globe and beyond, the third playlist of 2017 is as eclectic as ever and also features music from India, South America, West Africa and Sweden. See below for the full tracklist and links.
Chicago Afrobeat Project & Tony Allen 'Race Hustle' Review
Golden Teacher 'Sauchiehall Withdrawal (Edit)'
Msafiri Zawose 'Chibitenyi'
Tony Allen 'Moody Boy'
Bro. Valentino 'Stay Up Zimbabwe'
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble 'One Hunit'
Chino Amobi 'BLACKOUT'
Nosaj Thing (ft. Kazu Makino) 'How We Do' Review
Beans (ft. Elucid, That Kid Prolific) 'Waterboarding' Review
The Green Seed 'Revolution Ok'
Tanya Morgan 'Truck Shit' Review
Skipp Whitman 'Downtown'
Room Of Wires 'Game Over' Review
Sad Man 'Birman' Review
Tyler The Creator (ft. A$AP Rocky) 'Who Dat Boy' Review
Open Mike Eagle 'My Auntie's Building' Review
The Church 'Another Century'
Co-Pilgrim 'Turn It Around'
Martin Mânsson Sjöstrand 'Waiting' Review
Vukovar 'The Clockwork Dance' Review
Liars 'Cred Woes'
Candice Gordon 'Nobody' Review
Hajk 'Magazine' Review
Gary Wilson 'You're The Girl From The Magazine'
Terry 'Take Me To The City' Review
Pale Honey 'Get These Things Out Of My Head'
Trudy And The Romance 'Is There A Place I Can Go'
CHUCK 'Caroline' Review
Modern Cosmology (ft. Laetitia Sadier) 'C'est Le Vent'
Diagnos 'Reflections' Review
Sebastian Reynolds (with Anne Muller, Mike Bannard, Jonathan Quin and Andrew Warne) 'Holy Island'
Teonesse Majambree 'Umuyange'
Maalem Mahmoud Gania 'Sadati Houma El Bouhala' Review
Nicole Mitchell 'Timewrap'
Clutchy Hopkins & Fat Albert 'Mojave Dervish'
Širom 'Just About Awake' Review
Deben Bhattacharya 'Raga Bageshri In Teentaal' Review
Yazz Ahmed 'Bloom'
Hermeto Pascoal 'Casinha Pequenina'
John Sinclair 'Sitarrtha' Review
A Lover & Cairo Liberation Front 'Level 1'
The Doppelgangaz 'Beak Wet' Review
Ill Move Sporadic & Big Toast 'Do Wat Sunshine?' Review
The Menagerie (Professor Elemental & Dr Syntax) 'Only A Game' Review
Tickling Our Fancy 053: Chicago Afrobeat Project, Deben Bhattacharya, Odd Nosdam, Širom, Nosaj Thing
August 21, 2017
This latest roundup of the imaginative, exploratory, venerable and refined musical discoveries includes a second collection of film and field recordings from the late legend ethnomusicologist Deben Bhattacharya; the third peregrination from Glitterbeat Records' new imprint tak:tile, Širom's Slovenian soundscape odyssey I Can Be A Clay Snapper; a rebooted soul-in-the-machine electronica collection from Nosaj Thing; and the latest ambient soundtrack from Odd Nosdam.
But first of all we have a reenergized Afrobeat collaboration between the genre's doyen rhythm guru, Tony Allen, and the eclectic, protest driven, Chicago Afrobeat Project, called What Goes Up.
Read on…
Chicago Afrobeat Project Feat. Tony Allen 'What Goes Up'
September 15th, 2017
Starting life as a shifting collective of musicians jamming in a artist's loft, channeling the fervor of Afrobeat's progenitor Fela Kuti, the Chicago Afrobeat Project initially covered the Nigerian icon's back catalogue before developing their own variant style. Transducing the sound of downtown Lagos and the Afro-Spot nightclub via the rich musical heritage of their own native metropolis, the group, now settling with a regular lineup, open the studio doors to embrace the city's famous blues, soul, R&B, jazz, gospel, house and hip-hop culture.
Expanding on and playing with the Afrobeat foundations but staying true to the roots of the African fusion that first merged the popular Ghanaian Highlife hybrid with funk and soul, the project members invite a number of vocalists and rappers from the area to enthuse, lead and prompt the music towards the political; reinforcing the main message and activism behind much of Kuti's own, often dangerous, protestations and rebellious denouncements.
As if it wasn't already enough, the Afrobeat ante is upped with the appearance of Kuti's wingman and rhythm guru, Tony Allen. Showing those youngsters a thing or two, Allen brings certain levity, a craft and connection to the source, to this ten-track album. Flown in especially from his home in Paris, Allen, who's also recently recorded a tribute album to Art Blakey (which he says fits in well with the Chicago Afrobeat Projects What Goes Up), doesn't just turn up to add a roll and drum flair here and there, he plays on all the tracks, laying down the foundations, leading the way and rattles off his trademark polyrhythm shuffles, jazz timed syncopations and, most important of all, infectious grooves: the fight against injustice has never rarely so funky.
The elder statesman of Afrobeat, sounding almost effortless with his limbering and relaxed drumming, brings a sagacious quality to What Goes Up, though his comrades bring the bright and heralding horns, laser zappy synths, church organ and sunny Hammond sustained rays to the get-down.
Guests, of which there are many, on this sweltering and sauntering conscious album include a new jack swinging, bordering on gospel house style hook, protesting JC Brooks (Race Hustle and Sunday Song); an Igbo lullaby and Afro-futurist meets atavistic soul of Western Africa Oranmiyan (Cut The Infection, Must Come Down and Afro Party); the soulfully sassy, tumbling R&B songstress Kiara Lanier (No Bad News); and a metaphorical conversationalist style Rico Sisney and Maggie Vagle (as sparring partner) of Sidewalk Chalk (Marker 48).
As Rico Sisney puts it on the skit for environmental justice, Marker 48: "Something's gotta change!" And over the course of the album the collective tackle every kind of current injustice filling up the newsfeed: from the alarming murder rate in the inner cities, including Chicago's own widely publicized tragic rates and by extension the Black Lives Matter campaign; racial profiling and harassment; tensions between communities; and of course, Trump.
Speaking Kuti fluently, channeling the Afrobeat totems and the most hustling, hot footing rhythms, the Chicago collective offer a unique take on the genre under the watchful eye of Tony Allen. Bridging two generations, adding some fresh licks and eclectic sounds from their own backyard, they do more than most in reenergizing the Afrobeat blueprint.
Nosaj Thing 'Parallels'
Innovative Leisure, 8th September
An urgent rewire; a forced reboot; the fourth album from the Los Angeles-based electronic producer/composer/performer Jason Chung, under his Nosaj Thing alter ego, focused the mind like no other project before. As a warning to us all that backing up your hard drive is not only vital and reassuring but also a security precaution, Chung lost three years worth of demos, sketches and compositions, many of which were destined for this LP, in a robbery whilst out on tour with Warp Record's signing Clark.
Losing all his equipment and a number of precise hard drives, all of which were never backed-up or saved anywhere else, meant that Chung would have to start from scratch, and as it has proven, reexamine not only his methods of storage and quality control but also his process of creativity.
Parallels is in fact billed as some kind of "epiphany" for Chung; a journey into "uncharted territories" for an artist renowned for his collaborative fusions with Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi and Chance The Rapper. Changing direction and playing to it to his advantage, Chung uses this as an opportunity to explore deeper expanses. Far from wild and edgy however, Parallels is a quite vaporous but controlled soulful listening experience. Counterpointing various succinct philosophical questions ('Dystopia or Paradise', "Love or Regret?') and themes ('Emotions vs. Technology', 'Soul vs. Machines') Chung's electronic suffusions linger in a woozy sometimes haunting fashion between his many juxtapositions, yet always remains connected with a touch of humanity: from the resonating visages of a taped conversation with a security guard watching over the Picasso & Rivera: Conversations Across Time exhibition, to the trio of varying degrees of ethereal and soulful vocal contributions from guests Kazu Makino, Steven Spacek and Zuri Marley.
Emerging from the ether, Chung opens the album with a veiled drone rumble, piano arpeggiator and ring of articulate beats before hooking up with London producer/singer Spacek on the haunted broody lament, set to a Polygon Windows meets minimalist R&B pop, All Point Back To You. A precursor, a taster, of what you can expect to hear on the future Makino/Chung collaborative EP (released we're told at some point later on in 2017), the breathlessly whispered cooed and chilled suffrage How We Do, adds a ticking drum beat and Japan style ice-y synth to the gauzy shoegazing Blonde Redhead signature. Nocturnal dreamy downtempo house, ambient meditations and finely-tuned kinetic soul-in-the-machine meanders follow, before reaching Marley's rich soaring to lilting contour hovering past love affair ruminations on Way We Were.
Finely chilled, articulated electronica, amorphously floating between escapism and dystopia, Parallels never quite settles on either. And despite a number of equations that pitch technology and the machine against humans, Chung's music has a real soul and yearning.
Odd Nosdam 'LIF'
Sound In Silence
Few have changed the direction of hip-hop and modern ambient soundscapes like David P. Madson, the co-founder of both one of rap music's most experimental outfits, cLOUDDEAD, and the seminal Anticon label. Forging a post millennium course with a number of collaborators, including Dose One, Yoni Wolf and Jel, Madson deconstructed, eviscerated and then rebuilt a more avant-garde, strung-out and expansive vision for hip-hop.
Under the Odd Nosdam title, inspired by the minimalist composers, and on this latest soundscape immersion, the degrading in quality traces and language of sound/video artist and composer William Basinski's The Disintegration Loops IV, he delves ever deeper into the ambient sphere.
Informed by a prolonged spell of "nonstop rain" in his native Bay Area home, the LIF album transduces the West Coast of America's winds and rains weather patterns into an analogue controlled, filtered and manipulated field of ebbing and flowing pulsing electricity. The capital three lettered titles (codes? Abbreviations?) fade in and out; like passing through a cloudy overcast or static resonating wave, which eventually dies out. Subtly alluded to, drizzling downpours are simulated, falling on glass, on the slight Japanese sounding RAI, and detuned TV set feedback accentuated moiety KEI I and KEI II. Whilst far gentler droplets fall like notes on the enervated rasping vignette AIN.
Prompts and themes of loneliness – and when listening to the varied ambient passages, you'll find plenty of space to ruminate in isolation -, love and fear are key to unlocking, or at least perhaps deciphering, these ten mood compositions: articulated at times through subtle plucked out notation, bellowed harmonium, dreamy ascents above the clouds and floating lingers of melody. Refining emotion from a pylon hum, showers of rain or generators, Madson's minimalist soundscapes traverse the Kosmische and ambient genres with a contemporary feel and movement.
Deben Bhattacharya 'Musical Explorers: Krishna In Spring'
ARC Music, 25th August 2017
In praise of the field recordists, leading world music label ARC continues to champion the music and film recordings of the late ethnomusicologist Deben Bhattacharya in its latest series venture, Musical Explorers.
The project was launched back in June with Bhattacharya's 1950s and late 1960s spanning Colours Of Raga, which included an introduction and illuminating set of notes from Songlines editor-in-chief, author of the "rough guides" to world music, Simon Broughton, who once again offers context and insight on this, the second volume in the series.
A self-taught producer, recording not only the sounds of his native India but also the Middle East, Asia and Europe, Bhattacharya travelled extensively cataloguing rare performances, bringing his exotic wonders to a his adopted British home and audience via various BBC commissioned documentaries and radio programs.
As the title suggests, Krishna In Spring is a paean of instrumentals, dances and venerable verses dedicated to, perhaps, the most venerated and famous deities in Hindu mythology. Demon vanquisher, protector of the common people, the mischievous incandescent blue portrayed god represents the "spirit for life" and for his tumultuous love affair with Radha. Said to have the common touch; never happier than when cavorting and leaping and springing about with milkmaids in his role as humble cow herder, Krishna is often depicted flute in hand, amongst the earnest folk. Almost every love song in the Hindu songbook is in his honour or at least references him. The diaphanous articulated Indian bamboo flute, the Bansuri, is even used as a colloquial signature and evocation of his presence.
Taking the full extended performances, seen and heard briefly on the soundtrack, from the title's twenty-five minute documentary come public information film (first aired in 1969), Bhattacharya captures a panoply vision of the famous Holi Festival: the "festival of colours" that ushers in the Spring, dedicated to the deeds and spirit of Krishna, or as Bhattacharya himself puts it, "…to surrender oneself to the spirit of life. That is the message of Krishna in Spring."
Humongous sized drums; bicycle-pump tie-dye abandonment; women browbeating their menfolk with broom handles, enacting Radha's stormy love affair with Krishna; silky clothed flag carriers and joyful communion, the Holi Festival footage, even in its scratchy washed-out by time and quaintly narrated form, encapsulates a vivid, chaotic worship. It is a festival steeped in tradition and seems out of time with modernity, but as we are told in the album's accompanying notes, continues to be practiced in the exact same way today.
Glimpses, as I said, of the evocative drones, syllabic 'bols' speak and poet exultations are played-out in their entirety on this collection's eight sweet and beautiful audio recordings. Half of which feature the backing of R.K. Bharati laying down elegant melodies and drones on the short-necked Indian fiddle, the 'sarangi', Hidayat Khan taping out various coda and frenzied sophisticated patterns on the tabla, and Chiranjilal planting atmospheric brassy drones foundations.
Touched with the afflatus, there are fine examples of dusky hour pentatonic scale flightiness and serenaded flute pulchritude to Krishna throughout, including Suraj Narayan Purohit and Indermall Mathur's Raga Bhupali, the adulating voiced incantation to the many names and trials of the beloved deity Devotional Song Of The Ballabh Sect In Praise Of Krishna performed by Amarlal, and the lengthy lyrical prose turn conversational drama, based on the late 14th century poet Chandidas' original and the subsequent additional litany of poet contributions throughout the ages, Mathur, performed by singers from the Mitra-Thakur family.
Every bit as revelatory, especially to those unfamiliar with India's multifaceted belief systems and extraordinary musical heritage, as the first of Bhattacharya's collections in the Musical Explorers series, Krishna In Spring does however offer an even deeper and varied window on classical Indian music: A celebration of sounds that traverse Rajasthan, West Bengal but above all the holy.
Širom 'I Can Be A Clay Snapper'
tak:til, 8th September 2017
With an unspecified, but as the name suggests, emphasis on the "tactile", Glitterbeat Records new imprint label gives a welcome platform to entrancing experimental tonal performances (launched earlier this year with 75 Dollar Bill's Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock and Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society's Simultonality albums) and sonic polygenesis traverses alike. In the latter camp is this Slovenian peregrination suite from the landlocked, Alps nestling country's visceral sonic conjurors, Širom.
Evoking memories and feelings, both real and imagined, with a soundtrack thick with atavistic connections, the trio of punk and post-rockers turn experimental folk and acoustic instrumental cartographers convey a personal relationship to their homeland, on their second album together under the Širom banner.
Though part of a litany of Empires, including the Habsburgs, Italian and either through their own forced amorphous cultural, ancestral ties with neighboring regions and peoples, became part of the Croat-Slovenian and Yugoslavian annexations at one time, Slovenia has despite its size and battle for independence, maintained a distinct identity. In less glowing terms but pretty accurate, the writer Simon Winder in his Habsburg travel saga Danubia, described what we know as the modern Slovenia as being, "[…] stuck together from the rubble of the [Habsburg] Empire's end, with its core made up from the Duchy of Carniola with bits of Styria, Gorizia, Istria and a small piece of the old Hungarian county of Vas."
One of the central themes of I Can Be A Clay Snapper, and amongst the country's most richly abundant resources, is water; the leitmotif of which appears throughout the album's five odysseys, evoking mountain streams, lazy lowland meandering rivers and the mysterious vanishing water of Karst through a sonic transcription.
Revisiting a number of locations held dear, including some that proved very difficult to reach, Samo Kutin, Iztok Koren and Ana Kravanja travelled to locations as diverse as the bright yellow turnip rape fields of Prekmurje to the snowy mountain top of Kal above the village of Čadry to channel their inspirations and compose from improvisations this, often, meditative peaceable experience. As if the music didn't quite signal the intentions and psychogeography well enough already, the trio have also made a film, Memoryscapes, to document this landscape surveying experiment: each, the album and the film, influencing and informing the other.
Though all three of Širom have different varied experiences to share, with both Kutin and Kravanja citing punk rock as a starting point, both playing apart in various bands in the Slovenian capital before eventually crossing paths at an improvisational music workshop and forming the kalimba-based Najoua duo, and Koren meanwhile, feeling a peculiar shame at listening to music during his childhood, but making it up for it ever since, serving in a succession of metal and post-rock bands, they manage to accommodate each other's particular strengths, personalities and depth. Which can't be easy especially when you glance at the scope of instrumentation used; each band member a deft practitioner of instruments as cosmopolitan and eclectic as the balafon, banjo, mizmar, lyre, ribab and as humdrum – but when put to good use and made into a impromptu device for making a rhythm or unusual sound – as common everyday objects such as a pair of drawers and household junk.
Yet whatever the backgrounds, traces of North Africa, Adriatic and the middle East, and individual influences, the performances sail scenically through a dreamy otherworldly representation of Slovenia: Oriental, alien and Balkan visions permeate the plucked, malleted, chimed and purposefully played compositions, which subtly and rather cleverly build up complicated layers and various overlapping time signatures during the course of their journey.
Theremin like siren voices drift in and out, enacting the myth and seraph, whilst on the watermill turning Everything I Sow Is Fatal Sun Ra travels with John Cale and Pharaoh Sanders on a pilgrimage to Samarkand. The most recurring sounds however pay testament to the Balkans ghosts. The folkloric stirrings, lulls and yearning of Slovenia's past bordering both a pan-Europa of migration and grief – stretching back a millennia – are transduced into often haunted vistas and metaphysical passages.
Changing tact so to speak, following the first two and ahead of a fourth re-issue (a second volume of Jon Hassell's pioneering Fourth World ambient evocations is to be released just a few weeks after Širom's LP), I Can Be A Clay Snapper is the first tak:til imprint to meander into south central Europe. And what an impressive and expansive inaugural Balkans travail it is too; different from the previous two releases, yet keeping to the tactile, accentuate and imaginative remit; whilst conjuring up mystical new soundscapes.
Choice Albums of 2016 (Part One): A – L
December 1, 2016
Aesop Rock to Bob Lind.
Continuing to shy away from fatuous rating systems and 'best of lists', the Monolith Cocktail endeavours to offer a more eclectic spread of worthy 'choice' picks, with no album dominating or holding any particular numbered position – unlike most of our contemporaries lists; stuck with the ridiculous task, for example, of explaining why one album doesn't deserve the number 32 spot and has been placed at number 33 instead.
Lined up in alphabetical order then, our favourite new and reissued albums from 2016 are of course considered to be the most interesting, vibrant and dynamic of the year's releases. But the best? Granted, to make this list you have to make some sort of impact, but we'd never suggest these entries were categorically the best albums of 2016, even if that might be true. Instead our list is an indicator of our amorphous tastes, rounding up a year in the life of the Monolith Cocktail, and we hope, introducing you to titles and artists/bands that may have dropped below the radar.
Split into two parts, the first installment begins with Aesop Rock's's hip-hop masterpiece The Impossible Kid and ends with the latest adroit songbook from the legendary troubadour Bob Lind. In between those two sagacious bookends are albums from David Bowie, David Broughton, Danny Brown, Cluster, Eleanor Friedberger and John Howard (plus many others).
Aesop Rock 'The Impossible Kid' (Rhymesayers)
"The waterfall of words, snide quips and intricate stories recalled from both close to home and far away worlds, are as good as he's ever done". Matt Oliver
Seeming to get better rather than older (and don't you dare mention the ageing process as per 'Lotta Years'), the original 'Bazooka Tooth' is still ablaze out of somewhere to the left, but now giving lesser mortals more of a chance of accessing him than ever before. Entirely self-produced and applying funkiness to the bulkiness of alien-scanned beats he's always rocked his way, AR's extra superpower as the self-deprecating hero of syllaballistics ("the impossible kid , everything that he touch turns probably to shit"), is to humanise the fantastical and still make the everyday sound like a comic book lead, even when soul is bared for all to analyse. Rock also added more great cover art, and the visuals for 'Rings' and 'Kirby' are bound to feature in hip-hop video of the year lists.
Read original review here…
Afro-Haitian Experimental Orchestra 'A.H.E.O' (Glitterbeat Records)
'Elevating beyond the borders it was created behind, the Afro-Haitian Experimental Orchestra's root foundations shuffle and shake free of their stereotypes to move freely in an increasingly amorphous musical landscape. You're just as likely to hear vibrations and traces of Dub, native Indian plaintive ghostly echoes, Sun Ra's otherworldly jazz and funk as to hear the indigenous Haiti sounds and Afrobeat pulse. Tony Allen is once more at the heart of another bustling, dynamic explosion in rhythm.' Dominic Valvona
Progenitor and embodiment of the Afrobeat drum sound, still in high demand four decades after his explosive partnership with Fela Kuti, the much-venerated Tony Allen once more extends his infectious percussion style beyond the African homeland. Sharing an obvious entwined history with Africa, the shared Hispaniola Island of Haiti proves both an esoterically mysterious and congruous collaborative foil to Allen's distinct drumming patois.
Invited to perform in 2014 by the French Institute Of Haiti's director Corinne Micaelli, Allen's visit would end with a public broadcasted concert in the main square of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Collaborating with Allen would be a cross-section of local percussionists and singers recruited by vocalist, dancer, 'voodoo priest' and director of the Haitian National Bureau Of Ethnology, Erol Josué; Josué would himself lend his sweet yearning and reflective tones to two of the tracks on this album.
The call went out and the great and good of the Haitian music scene came. Racine Mapou de Azor, the Yizra'El Band, Lakou Mizik and, featured on the Monolith Cocktail at the start of the year and one of the choice albums of 2016 with their highly-rated Manman M Se Ginen LP, RAM. Another Monolith regular and one-time Port-au-Prince resident, Mark Mulholland was drafted in as the experimental orchestra's guitarist, and as it would turn out, eventual legacy overseer. Swelling the ranks still further were Olaf Hund, recruited on keyboards and 'electronics', and an old friend of Allen's, the bassist Philippe Dary, who became the de facto musical director. With only five days of studio rehearsal time to gel and work out their performance, the sessions proved both, as Mulholland observed, 'chaotic' and overwhelming'. Based upon various sparks of inspiration and rhythmic workouts the eventual structured compositions took shape from organically flowing jams. At the heart of each, Allen's signature Afrobeat drums and Dary's liquid, and often funky sumptuous basslines.
Read the full review here…
Bitori 'Legend of Funaná – The Forbidden Music Of The Cape Verde Islands'
(Analog Africa)
'Following the summertime thrills aplenty Space Echo – The Mystery Behind The Cosmic Sound Of Cabo Verde Finally Revealed compilation, with the emphasis on the Funaná; Analog Africa continues to pay homage to the previously suppressed music genre with a reissue of, what many consider, the best Funaná album ever recorded, Bitori Nha Bibinha.' DV
Helping to ignite a full-on Funaná revival, the quintessential and legendary anthem of Cape Verde's once banned – considered too salacious and unruly by the Portuguese authorities who ran this archipelago of islands until the mid 1970s – infectious music style was given a reprise by Analog Africa this year. A master class from the inter-generational duo of singer Chando Graciosa and renowned gaïta maestro Victor Tavares (better known as Bitori), who'd both grown up with the blazing and often raucous Funaná, Bitori Nha Bibinha captures the passion and spirit of the people and the times it survived.
Read the full review here…
The Bordellos 'How To Lose Friends And Influence No-One'
(Small Bear Records)
'Despite the caustic bravado and world-weary bitterness channeled into the antagonistic song titles on this new album, The Bordellos lo fi edicts are always surprisingly melodic. Think of them as a tuneful The Fall; resigned and swiping at society but hopeful enough to challenge it despite banging their collective heads on the doors of the music industry for years.'
Gaining this coveted spot (sic) in our 'choice albums' feature for perseverance in the face of despair, the St. Helens trio once more man the barricades with another despondent protest. Feeling, like many of us (I know we do), out of synch with the digital epoch, they rally against the Internet's most depressing byproducts, and the loss of real 'motherfuckers' from the music world – who they duly list on a song of the same name; a cry for a new leader or at least more individuals and rebels. Wearily antagonistic, righting slights and a lifetime of rejection, The Bordellos go for broke on How To Lose Friends And Influence No-One with titles such as 'Did The Bastards At The BBC Kill John Peel?', 'Gary Glitter' and 'Piss On Spotify'. Uneasy truths to a lo fi backing of The Velvet Underground, Julian Cope and The Fall abound, yet this could be the group's best and most complete songbook to date.
Read the full review here…
David Bowie 'Blackstar' (ISO/RCA)
'…this could be the most pure, at least concerned, version of Bowie yet. Resurrected free of his characterisations, the gilded "Blackstar" is just as uneasy and scared at the anxieties, stresses and daunting prospects of the future as the rest of us. Fame, celebratory is mere smoke after all and offers little in the way of comfort and safety in the face of the impending end times. Yet despite being easily his best album since Earthling, Blackstar is still underwhelming and falls short of being a classic.' DV
The swansong of an irreplaceable polymath proved to be one of the year's most sad moments, as the man who fell to Earth, Aladdin Sane, the Young American, the thin white duke, the absolute beginner, whichever version you fell in love with, departed for the ether. We lost a great many unique and inimitable artists in 2016 but though ever death is tragic none left quite the pit of despair that David Bowie's did. Don't even try to crown a successor; he was a force unto himself, the "Blackstar", the supernova of pop. Reams have been written – a great many by myself – yet no one will ever truly reflect his importance and legacy.
Though released just before his death the augur that is ★ was a curtain call. Just as oblivious to Bowie's fatal cancer as everyone else, I did remark at the time that this album seemed to be a poignant goodbye, an elegy even. Returning to a first love, jazz, Bowie who proved an eager saxophonist in the burgeoning years of his career worked with a N.Y. West Village jazz troupe to produce one of his best albums in decades. Old faces, including a decomposing Major Tom, themes and sounds returned, with traces of Diamond Dogs, Scary Monsters, Black Tie White Noise and Outside. Despite the often cryptic and veiled words, this was an anxious, weary and reflective Bowie; looking back before a rebirth. A pity time ran out for him.
Read the full review here…
David Thomas Broughton 'Crippling Lack Vol. 1 – 3' (Song, By Toad Records)
'An ambitious undertaking, David Thomas Broughton's sprawling opus Crippling Lack is both musically and geographically expansive. Recorded trans-continental style with a host of collaborators over the last few years, Broughton, who's based himself more recently in the capitals of, unbelievably, North and South Korea, has laid down various parts and vocals in France, the UK and the US. Logistically impressive, Crippling Lack is a testament to the DIY ethic and remote collaborative experimentation.' DV
A magnificent and masterful undertaking by Broughton, the Crippling Lack trio of recordings is demarcated into three parts, the entire song collection, if you decide to experience in one sitting, stretching to 1 hour 40 minutes. It features twelve songs in all of varying meticulously and slowly unfurled beauty, with some, epics in their own right. The press release separates the album out into a musical journey, beginning with what it calls 'deceptively approachable pop songs', moving through a more testing 'unraveling and disintegrating and barely-stretched fragments' segment, before ending with a final section that 'slowly weaves' all the loose and previous sections together.
It is nothing short of a magnum opus; cohesive and flowing along to a sophisticated backing, sonorous with the artist's venerable travailed voice, and his acerbic foils wit. The album's scope is immense even though it meanders to a, mostly, folk signature and gentle accompaniment. It is outstanding even by Broughton's standards.
Read the full review here…
Danny Brown 'Atrocity Exhibition' (Warp)
"Juggling the mic like a grenade missing a pin…one of 2016's most individual threats." MO
'Atrocity Exhibition' throws up so many positive talking points. #1 – the transatlantic odd couple of Danny Brown and Paul White, a relationship rooted in 2011's 'Rapping With Paul White' album, fears nothing and no-one. #2 – Brown continues to show he has one of the maniacal mic grips in the game that you can't ignore, here with added malleability. #3 – White's reputation has really hit its stride on an upward curve; though other producers contribute (Black Milk, Alchemist and Evian Christ are not to be sniffed at), it's essentially the Englishman's show on the boards. #4 – a show stopping hook from Kendrick Lamar on 'Really Doe' doesn't hurt one bit. #5 – despite Brown's mile-a-minute persona shearing safety bars off rollercoasters, and White and co by default becoming the straight man sidekick, you really have no idea what's around the next corner, from soaring superhero soundtracks to proper hip-hop dope to something suspiciously shuffling through the undergrowth. "This is not regular rap", Brown offers. Amen.
Read the original review here…
Cappo 'Dramatic Change of Fortune' (YNR)
"When autumn becomes winter, here's your listening." MO
You should always bet on the flow of Nottingham's finest that has evolved into a complex work of art. On past albums and years gone by Cappo would've destroyed opposition with crosshairs locked and ammo loaded; here his own brand of introspection, still packing uniquely orbital rhyme schemes but now more than ever full of coded messages and open ended verses awaiting interpretation, kills the noise and heighten the mysteries surrounding the emcee's inner thoughts and circles. It packs two absolutely heaters of singles as well – 'OOB' and 'Ether' are both unassuming phantoms of the opera, but white hot in a pretty slimline session – another contributing factor to the building of the suspenseful and mournful, chilling on a razor's edge. YNR took the weight off their plates in 2016, but this was easily the jewel in their calendar year crown.
Read original review here…
CHUCK 'My Band Is A Computer' (Old Money Records)
'CHUCK's kooky collage-rock and lo fi wonky electronic pop, which congruously flows between The Magnetic Fields, Mercury Rev, Weezer, Apples In Stereo and even The Pixies, absorbs its influences to create a gorgeous, quietly optimistic, kind of melancholy and pathos.' DV
From the inimitable label of hopeless optimism and resigned despair another lo fi songbook of obscure modern idiosyncratic pathos. Released via Audio Antihero's new imprint Old Money Records this marvelous kooky collection from Massachusetts's songwriter and multi- instrumentalist CHUCK is a congruous bedfellow of the label's previous releases from Benjamin Shaw, Frog and Cloud.
Bringing an upstate, more pastoral, lilt to the New York metropolis where he now resides, CHUCK's quasi-Tropicana Casio preset bed of quirky wounded observations are both funny and profoundly sad; lo fi but ambitious. An outsider in some sense; an observer of the foibles and peculiarities of the Brooklyn boroughs, the maverick artist paints a reflective, wry and often ironic picture of our modern times.
Far too good to be hidden away his collection of songs, penned over the last decade, have thankfully been given the platform to reach a wider audience.
Read the full review here…
Clipping 'Splendor & Misery' (Sub Pop)
"Provocative electronics and sermons from the LA leftfielders will clamp you to the edge of your seat." MO
For the record, 'Splendor & Misery' is a 20/80 split in favour of the latter. Comprehensively proving that the end of the days is still compelling material when done as well as this, particularly in this year of all years, Clipping were another to give themselves a veneer of accessibility with their zero gravity screams. Futility set adrift to a perfectly captured fear found frozen behind the visor, had rhymes dealing with the pending shitstorm with West Coast fearlessness usually reserved for low-rider rollin'. Interspersed with choral episodes praying for the album's lead, the intelligent stage management demands your full attention; that's to say, it's a struggle to dip in and out or pick a favourite track by itself – do so and you'll risk detracting from the whole performance pushing hip-hop's outersphere. What odysseys are made of and reputations are built on.
Read the original review here…
Cluster '1971 – 1981' (Bureau B)
'Patriarchs of the German music scene, Cluster, are quite rightly celebrated for their contribution to the last forty-odd years of experimental electronic and ambient music with this latest grandiose gesture of adulation. Though attempts have been sporadic, past collections have gathered together, more or less, all the standard Cluster recordings, leaving out live and more obscure albums, until now. German label Bureau B, concentrating on the group's output from 1971 to 1981, chronologically compile a full discography from that decade, which for the first time ever includes the previously unreleased Konzerte 1972/1977 album.' DV
All attentively remastered, rather impressively I might add, by Willem Makkee, the nine-album box set offers the die-hards another excuse to own the back catalogue, with the added bonus of requiring that former live LP that got away, Konzerte, and for those not familiar or with a passing fancy, the best complete picture and evolution yet of the much revered group. 1971- 1981 will serve as a worthy testament and reawakening of the Cluster back catalogue and legacy: now sounding better than ever, the remastering for once very much welcomed.
Read the full review here…
Ian William Craig 'Centres'
Passing us by on release Ian William Craig's unassuming but nevertheless epic sweeping ambient opus Centres arrived without much fanfare on its release. However, these cerebral peregrinations, songs of hope, soulful expansive hymns and sonic journeys into space were given rave reviews by those who did pay attention. And so initially missing coverage on the Monolith Cocktail, we've made up for it since by featuring tracks from the album in our 'quarterly playlists' and now, in our 'choice albums of 2016' feature. It is one of the year's most beautiful, inspiring and often just meditative concatenate suites; offering glimmers of awe. DV
Dillon & Paton Locke 'Food Chain' (Full Plate)
"Gourmet underground platters rooted in the South but giving you seven courses of funk and back." MO
It might only be found as small print on some menus, but who are we to ignore prime indie cuts encouraging you to "pour a bucket of gravy over yourself and just feel that". When they're not rewriting the rules of the Ice Bucket Challenge, Dillon & Paton Locke are always gnawing on something, rhyming as they chew it. Funky, crate-rifling beats are laced with an overzealous streak, cogently able to stop the album dead from 60 to 0 and then re-energise it the other way, and a press-record-and-just-go appetite never misses a trick on the mic, with a hint of political soap-boxing and getting down to some grown man, take a look around biz. Their guest chef specials aren't too salty either – R&V favourites Homeboy Sandman and J-Live, Dres from Black Sheep and people's president Lobsterdamus, help flavour a certified belly-buster for 2016.
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Ed Scissor & Lamplighter 'Tell Them It's Winter' (High Focus)
"An intriguingly created world of wisdom, paranoia, numbness and finding peace in its own mind". MO
High Focus have had the mother of all years, the consistency of everything they've dropped dominating the last 12 months of homegrown hip-hop. Ocean Wisdom ('Chaos 93') boasted youthfully infinite ammunition. Dabbla ('Year of the Monkey') got up to a whole load of japery reaching across the bar. Fliptrix ('Patterns of Escapism') executed label ideals to the fullest. Yet in the spirit of thinking differently, Ed Scissor and Lamplighter, the absolute antithesis of those mentioned, take the honours by a short head. Blair Witch hip-hop with its nose to the wall, barely keeping its head above water while barely raising an eyebrow, pulls off the Houdini-like stunt of subverting hip-hop norms while sticking close to them like a second skin. A slow and deliberate bittersweet bloom of triumph, creating the ultimate flip script of offering easy solace and comfort when all looks lost.
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Elzhi 'Lead Poison' (Glow365)
"Ear-catching narratives covering the everyday grind…not far off being a complete LP". MO
Coming out the other side of mental health issues has Elzhi using 'Lead Poison' as catharsis, resulting in some of the year's most vividly delivered rhymes and storytelling in the process. Done so in near enough bite sized chapters, proves that if the story's interesting enough, it's long enough. Never buckling under pressure, even when the likes of 'Cloud' feel like everything is conspiring against him (not to mention the potential of his health showing overall weakness), heart is worn on sleeve and self-examinations are set to a forceful soul soundtrack pushing its protagonist. With softer neo-soul going back to Elzhi's Slum Village heritage, there's also room for a little light heartedness, with 'She Sucks' doing forbidden love by garlic and wooden stakes, and 'MisRight' bending the thesaurus. An album that goes from strength to strength, listen on listen.
Read the full review here…
Eleanor Friedberger 'New Views' (Frenchkiss Records)
Another album we missed on its release, Eleanor Friedberger's third solo spot New View is another impressive songbook of idiosyncratic pop. Streamlining the signature intelligent reference-heavy prose of her sibling act The Fiery Furnaces, Eleanor continues the clever turns of phrase but in a more attentive, breezier and lightened but less cluttered manner. With elan she sets out on a dry-witted but emotionally philosophical picnic through the East Village with Patti Smith and Harry Nilsson in tow.
Paul Hawkins and the Awkward Silences 'Outsider Pop' (Blang Records)
'Lethargically executed and quintessentially an antifolk statement of protest, Outsider Pop is a highly infectious album of pop parodies that penetrate the bland veneer of the contemporary irksome vacuum known as the mainstream. Shambling discontent at its finest.' DV
The disgruntled savant of disco funk pop and antifolk Paul Hawkins completely in the dark, oblivious to the dreadful proclamation of David Bowie's impending death paid an augur homage to his white-suited and booted pop incarnation of the 1980s by transmogrifying 'China Girl' into an Outsider Pop anthem. Produced by that nutflake nostalgist, and one of the busiest men in the industry right now Ian Button (of the mighty Papernut Cambridge, Gare du Nord label and umpteen other projects), Hawkins' third album also finds foibles of inspiration from REM, The Fall, Toto and The Art Of Noise; reflecting a much broader sound than before. The no wave, white funk, pop melodies act as a Trojan Horse, the themes far from advocating a hedonistic lust for life or suggesting the listener suppress the doldrums of modern life, are filled with malcontent at the state of the world.
Read the full review here…
John Howard 'Across The Door Sill' (Occultation Recordings)
'Not so adrift and experimental as to have cut all ties to his signature profound sincerity and sad romanticism, John Howard's Across The Door Sill dares to go further with an even more immersive experience. Expanding his poetic lyricism and piano performances, stark and stripped-back, his vocals multiplied to fill the space and build the atmosphere; Howard has room and time to create some stirring music. It is a most sagacious reflection from the artist, still finding the inspiration to develop and take risks. In doing so he's reached what could be one of the creative pinnacles of his career.' DV
Imbued with the 13th century poet Rumis 'Quatrains' poem, which encourages us to broaden our horizons and to not just accept what we've done in the past, the adroit songwriter and pianist John Howard experiments with a stripped back sound of multilayered vocals and the melodious gravitas on his latest songbook Across The Door Sill. Attentive and epic the album's sagacious stream of consciousness is a deeply reflective observance on where we are now. In no hurry to get to a hook or chorus, his source material, a collection of unhindered, unhurried and floating poems, was developed overtime, set to music in an organic fashion. Hence why three of the five songs on this LP are nine-minutes long. On a successful run of collaborations and solo projects Howard is enjoying his most productive period yet in a career that's spanned five decades.
Read the full review here…
Illogic 'A Man Who Thinks With His Own Mind' (Weightless)
"Streams of quotable IQ create a fever dream. Snooze, you lose." MO
Ohio rhyme scientist Illogic provided his own version of a hip-hop out of body experience, a canon of verbosity when bedding down for the night and setting free streams of consciousness while looking through a telescope. This in itself created its own contradiction of being an album expressly trained to set you afloat (The Sound Cultivator's star-shaped soul powered by plasma rays > strictly no cloud rap), which still kept you wide awake with naturally intricate rhymes, both book and street smart, about life, the universe and everything else. Anyone who starts an album with the observation that "the tofu was not as firm as I'm used to" deserves nothing but praise and respect. The modern equivalent of becoming engrossed in a good book that tells your imagination to run.
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J-Zone 'Fish n Grits' (Old Maid Entertainment)
"Dripping in home truths from his funk soapbox, disillusionment with hip-hop and its cultural hangers-on has never been more entertaining". MO
Better placed than most to justify a love-hate relationship with hip-hop, J-Zone proclaimed "there's only two types of music – good and bad. Make good music, or shut the fuck up." Paired with helium alter-ego/juvenile imaginary friend Chief Chinchilla as hilarious equal opportunity offender, and showing the strain of 'Peter Pan Syndrome' remains strong, 'Fish n Grits' goes in with scathingly relatable accuracy about the state of the game, misty-eyed nostalgia replaced by a nose-bloodying team of goons busting a whole load of myths. Additionally, whereas Zone's production used to pop off all over the place in a skilfully spring-loaded criss-cross, he's honed his own funk skills into a true mastery to compliment his industry disses. Hallelujah that he can't leave the game alone.
Read the full review here…
Fela Ransome-Kuti And His Koola Lobitos 'Highlife-Jazz And Afro-Soul 1963-1969' (Knitting Factory Records)
'Hot stepping and sure footing through Savoy label like jazz and Stax/Volt revue soul, Fela and his first ever professional band Koola Lobitos were the missing link on the eventual road to the Afrobeat phenomenon. An evolving Fela, only a few shuffles short of cultivating his signature, already shows a raw energy on this compilation's studio and live recordings.' DV
In the midst of another celebration and anniversary appraisal the Afrobeat pioneer and political protagonist Fela Kuti has seen the back catalogue legacy re-released and repackaged countless times. There's been a stage production of his life, and a documentary film in the last couple of years alone. But one of the most revealing and raw tributes is this burgeoning showman showcase; a labour of love that collates together a number of previously scattered, thought lost, rare early recordings – both in the studio and on stage – from the stax/funk/soul years. A "labour of love", stemming from Toshiya Endo's African Music Home Page website, launched in the late 90s, the Fela Kuti and His Koola Lobitos material were collected from around the world, from the collections of various fans. By day a professor of Chemistry at Ngoya University, Endo's passion and hobby of cataloguing West African music attracted the author of the Fela: The Life & Times Of An African Musical Icon bio Michael E. Veal. Lucky for us the dynamic duo produced this lavish and arduous compilation of explosive early Fela beauties; one of the best and revelatory introductions to the great polymaths work yet.
Read the full review here…
Bob Lind 'Magellan Was Wrong' (Ace Records)
Another masterclass from the sagacious Bob Lind, his latest album is a majestical and often jazzy lilting lesson in songwriting. With decades of elan and adroit performance behind him Lind isn't ready just yet to rest on past melodic triumphs and spoils, showing himself ready to adopt and try out new ideas on Magellan Was Wrong – a reference to the Portuguese explorer who first circumnavigated the world, proving it was of course a globe and not flat, though Lind's song of the same name and homage metaphor questions that wisdom in the face of despondency and disappointment. The characteristic voice and style is of course signature Lind, the songs and themes timeless. With a host of producers, including progressive jazz pianist and composer Greg Foat, on board this strongly nautical feel and reference strong songbook, both the entertainer and troubadour are lent a new lease of life.


text: TV Bob Kusbit to Head Development for Renegade 83 (Exclusive) 11:00 AM PST 1/23/2017 by Lesley Goldberg FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Courtesy of eOne Bob Kusbit His One Louder production banner will be folded into the company behind 'Naked and Afraid.' Renegade 83 has acquired One Louder and tapped the company's Bob Kusbit to oversee development for the company behind the Naked and Afraid franchise. Kusbit will take on the role of head of development for Renegade and will oversee reality projects, manage internal development and focus on developing programming for broadcast, cable and syndication for the company. Renegade 83 — an Entertainment One company run by CEOs David Garfinkle and Jay Renfroe — was launched in 1994 and also produces Naked and Afraid: XL, Fit to Fat to Fit, 4400, The Kennedy Detail and Blind Date. "We're very excited that Bob and One Louder have joined the Renegade 83 and eOne family. Bob's wide-ranging broadcast experience, sharp instincts and his knack for putting shows together will help keep our incredible momentum going as we prepare for future growth and a world-class lineup," Garfinkle and Renfroe said in a joint statement. Earlier in his career, Kusbit created Total Request Live and served as president of Maury Povich's production company as well as MTV senior vp production and head of development at CMT. "When I first met David and Jay, it was clear to me that they were both hit makers and just terrific guys, and we've had a great time working together for many years now," said Kusbit. "When the opportunity came to work with them full time and bring One Louder with me to Renegade, I jumped at it. I couldn't be more excited for what's ahead." FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Lesley Goldberg email@example.com Snoodit

subset: commoncrawl


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text:
Consulats Embassy
Earthquake in Iran and Pakistan: Statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Spokesman [fr]
(Paris, 17 April 2013)
We learnt with sorrow about the earthquake which impacted the area of Saravan, located in the region of Sistan-Baluchistan in Iran.
France presents its condolences to the families of the Iranian and Pakistani victims. France remains at the disposal of the authorities of those two countries regarding humanitarian assistance.


text:
Learning Resources Beaker Creatures Review: If you are regular readers of Mudpie Fridays then you will know we are huge fans of Learning Resources. I am certain I have a proper little scientist on my hands. So when they contacted me and asked if we would like to try out their new range – Beaker Creatures. I of course said yes. Monkey loves collectables, loves things that fizz and loves anything to do with science and experiments. I thought these would be right up his street and I wasn't wrong. Read on to find out how we got on with them.
We were sent three different toys from the range. These were Beaker Creatures™ 2-Pack with Bio -Home, Beaker Creatures™ Magnification Chamber and Beaker Creatures™ Liquid Reactor Super Lab. We started with the 2-Pack Bio Home. Monkey was very excited and couldn't wait to put the reactor pod in the water. In the set you get two classification cards, two double-sided mini-posters featuring amazing science facts and fun images, a beaker creature reactor pod, a bonus beaker creature and a plastic bio-home. I felt this was a lot for £10.
When you put the reactor pod in the water it fizzes away. Leaving behind a small plastic pod with a creature in it. As our reactor pod was red we already knew that we would have a creature from Minisaurs planet. Turns out Monkey got Swoop. His other beaker creature came from the Buglettes planet and was Gnate.
The bio home has a built in magnifier on the top so that you can take a closer look at your little creature. Plus there is a care which can slot into the back of the home. It has a picture of the creatures likely environment. The bio-home is the ideal place to display Monkey's collection.
We then moved onto the Magnification Chamber which came with two Beaker Creature reactor pods. Also included in the ten piece set is a 3-piece plastic magnification chamber, two classification cards, two double-sided Mini-posters and an experimentation guide featuring step-by-step instructions for three experiments.
This time we had a purple reactor pod as well which meant the creature inside was from the Frostonians planet. Again Monkey put the pod into a bowl of water and watched it react. Although he couldn't help put stick his hands in to help it along!
The third item we were sent was the Beaker Creatures Liquid Reactor Super Lab. This was without doubt Monkey's favourite out of all of them. I think this is because of the way that the reactor pod is put into the water. Unlike the other sets where we have used our own bowl. With this one you fill two giant syringes up with water and then plunge them at the same time. This then fills the beaker and starts the reaction process.
There is a little bit of assembly required with this set. All you need to do is slot the beaker in place and also the casings for the syringes. Making sure the tubing all connects. It only takes a couple of minutes and is really straight forward. There are also clear pictorial instructions in case you need them. There are fifteen pieces in this set;
- Two Beaker Creature Reactor Pods
- Two Classification Cards
- Two double-sided Mini-posters featuring amazing science facts and fun images
- Two Hydroplungers
- Two Beakers
- Liquid Reactor Super Lab base
- A set of tongs and a stir rod
- Experiment guide featuring step-by-step instructions for five experiments
- Full-size poster for display
Monkey very carefully set the plungers up with water once I had completed construction. Before adding the reactor pod and fishing out his collectable.
Things we love about Learning Resources Beaker Creatures:
- I like that Learning Resources have taken the new collectable craze and turned it into something educational
- Its the same brilliant quality I have come to expect from Learning Resources
- They are well priced, ranging from £10 – £25 they make ideal presents. Its also possible to buy a pack of 24 reactor pods separately. Since Monkey wants to collect them all I can see us doing this. They would be a great reward in return for good behaviour and work out at £4 each
- The mini posters are a great way to expand Monkey's knowledge
- The first series has 35 Beaker Creatures to collect. Six Creatures from five planets: Astrolytes, Oceanites, Frostonians, Buglettes and Ministers
- You can download the experimentation guides from the website incase yours gets a bit messy while the kids are having fun. Its a really nice way to expand the set.
We had great fun playing with all three sets. Although Monkey's favourite was by far the last one. He had already asked if we can buy some more pods, which we will be doing. Along with trying out some of the different experiments which the guides suggest. Prices range between £10 an £25, aimed at 3+ the sets can be brought online through Learning Resources website.
The lovely people at Learning Resources have offered my readers the chance to win a Beaker Creatures set worth £50 for themselves. To enter please use the Gleam application below and please note the T&Cs.
Learning Resources Beaker Creatures Set with £50
- Competition is open to residents of the UK aged 18 and over
- There is no cash alternative offered
- One winner will be drawn at random and will receive their own Beaker Creatures set which includes a Beaker Creatures™ 2-Pack with Bio -Home, Beaker Creatures™ Magnification Chamber and Beaker Creatures™ Liquid Reactor Super Lab combined worth £50.
- The giveaway will close on the 23rd August at midnight, the winner will be notified through Twitter
- The Winners will be asked to provide a full postal address
I have some other giveaways running at the moment so please check them out in the Blog Giveaways Page above.
If you've liked this post please follow me on my social media channels:
Mudpie Fridays: YouTube | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | LinkedIn
We were given a Beaker Creatures™ 2-Pack with Bio -Home, Beaker Creatures™ Magnification Chamber and Beaker Creatures™ Liquid Reactor Super Lab for the purpose of this review as every all words and opinions are my own.


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Radii follows up their seasonal "Define Yourself" editorial with a tonal blue version of their BASIC silhouette. Constructed of Wolverine suede, the global leader of performance leathers derived from pigskin, the no-fuss upper is set atop a vulcanized outsole with waxed cotton laces. The aptly titled "Blue Magic" is finished off with the brand's Cloud 9 insole, which features balance spheres on the ball of the foot said to act as a form of reflexology designed to calm the nervous system and increase blood flow.
Available now, you can pick up a pair straight from Radii's online shop.
Originally posted: http://www.highsnobiety.com/2015/04/06/radii-spring-2015-basic-blue-magic/#slide-1


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Some see blinking red stars when they get stuck behind this school bus in Memphis, TN, while others see blazing Satanic pentagrams in the tail lights. As WBRC's newscaster wryly quips, "the Devil is in the details."
As a good, upstanding Christian, Robin Wilkins sees the Satanic pentagrams. In fact, she found the school bus's tail lights so upsetting, she took a photo and spread the word.
"Anyone who fears a God, if not God and Jesus Christ, should be outraged," an incensed Wilkins declared.
But wait, Wilkins has more to say about the Satanic school bus:
"If you can't put a swastika there, you cannot put a pentagram there. Would we allow a swastika, for instance, to be on the back of the bus?"
Wait, what? Oh, she's referring to that kerfuffle with the Nazi swastikas spotted in a pattern on the Hanukkah wrapping paper at a Walgreens in Southern CA. There's just one problem with that comparison, though: Adolf Hitler's Nazis systematically murdered 11 million Jews and 5 million other victims they deemed genetically and morally inferior during the Holocaust — and continue to espouse hate and white supremacy. Whereas Satan may or may not even exist.
When WBRC's Kontji Anthony showed Marsha Hudson the star-shaped tail lights on the school bus and asked what she saw, she flatly replied "It's a light." But, then she wonders aloud:
"Why'd they put it up there? Why'd they put it upside down?"
Another passerby also sort of saw Wilkins' point about the school bus' tail lights:
"People should be upset if it's against their religion et cetera."
But Jo Applewhite, a Wiccan for whom the pentagon is also a holy symbol, fumes over Wilkins' intolerance:
"Find out what it really means before you start getting riled up and all worked up about something. Wiccans, we believe in God, we believe in Jesus, but we don't call him God."
Yet some people — like NBC's Holly Baker — find the star-shaped tail lights on school buses charming and don't see them as Satanic at all. She tweeted:
Never noticed until now tail lights on some school buses are shaped like stars! #daybrightener
Regardless of whether these school buses' tail lights are star-shaped or Satanic pentagram-shaped, we're bound to see more of them in the future. Durham School Services — which contracts school buses for Memphis and other school districts across the nation — are the ones who fitted the Satanic bus with the star-shaped tail lights.
Neither the school bus company nor the school district could be reached for comment, but we expect bus drivers all over America to soon receive memos ordering them to screw their tail lights on straight.
WBRC reports on Satan's school bus.
Featured image: Video screen grab, WBRC Fox 6 News.


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Solid Work Ethic: Shanghai Construction Worker Shoveling A Rain Puddle
This is a video of a construction worker in Shanghai doing the absolute bare minimum to shovel a rain puddle. Any less effort and he'd still be at home in bed asleep. Maybe he just realized that it's a pointless task so why bother. Although, to his credit, he's still working harder than the other three construction workers just standing around watching. Where do I get that job? I'm a great stand around and watcher. "You watched a carjacking and didn't do anything." Not my job. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." First of all, if you're trying to inspire me to be a superhero, you're failing. Also, nobody has ever said I was a good man. If anything I'm more of a horrible shark/wolf hybrid. I even tried calling the Syfy channel to see if they wanted to make one of their shitty made-for-TV movies about me. "What did they say?" Nothing, my mom was tying up our house line talking to her sister.
Keep going for the video.
Thanks to Adam MC, who loves it when going through the motions is more than enough.


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Enough Projects?
As if I didn't already have enough little projects to do, I took advantage of a pattern sale at JoAnn's this weekend and now I can do even more sewing. Today, I picked up embroidery floss so I could start a little quilt for the now 3 year old knitter #2. Last year I bought all the fabric for it thinking I would do it before her little sister was born. I was pregnant and couldn't keep up with projects or knit for the first six months. The quilt never got done. I might be able to get it done for christmas this year, though. Let's see how many projects I actually finish by the end of the year!
I may be biting off way more than I can chew. Fortunately, that stash reduction promise I made to myself only applied to yarn. Of course, then I went out and bought a load of yarn from Knit Picks. See, I am just as weak as everyone else. I do have some stash reduction projects planned. And I can always knit/crochet a load of toys for my knitters and my neice.


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You're watching: Grilled Flank Steak "Pastrami"
Grilled Flank Steak "Pastrami"
In this video, Chef John will show you how to make a quick pastrami using flank steak. Rather than spend several days curing and preparing a true pastrami, Chef John uses a flavorful spice rub to imitate that signature flavor. A couple hours in the refrigerator and it's off to the grill where the steak is cooked to medium. Don't be tempted to slice right away, let it cool for 15 minutes so all the juices can redistribute and then you'll be ready to stack this high on marbled rye. Get the recipe for Grilled Flank Steak "Pastrami".


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Vaulx En Velin is in the department of the Rhône which has a population of 1,578,869 covering an area of 3,249 km². Situated within the region of Rhone-Alpes, the region has a population of 5,645,407 covering an area of 43,698 km²
The capital of the Region is Lyon, Vaulx En Velin has a local population of 40,339
There are 20 Car Hire locations near Vaulx En Velin including; Brignais, Caluire, Chaponnay, Dardilly, Decines, Ecully, Lyon, Lyon Airport, Lyon Jean Jaures, Lyon Part Dieu, Lyon Perrache Train Station, Lyon Vaise, Meyzieu, Rillieux La Pape, Saint Priest, Tassin La Demi Lune, Vaulx En Velin, Venissieux, Villefranche Sur Sao, Villefranche Sur Saone,
Hire a car with France Car Hire, in Vaulx En Velin we offer you unbeatable prices and great service. The Vaulx En Velin car rental is convienently located. Thoughout France we can offer rental locations at city centres, airports and railway stations. We have a range of rental cars from small budget cars up to luxury top end spec cars, with or without GPS. Booking your rental car at Vaulx En Velin could not be simpler, it is quick and easy to reserve your car in Vaulx En Velin.
For over 10 years France Car have been one of the best providers of car hire in Vaulx En Velin along with 937 hire locations in France.


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Feature Article:
Plan Before Buying Rose Bushes The following article was written by David G. Hallstrom for and originally published by National Realtors Directory.com . So, you have decided to plant rose bushes in your yard or on your patio, porch or balcony. Now all you have to do is go out...
...Read More
Set Out a Feast for your Feathered Friends
Additional Reading
February is Feed the Birds month in much of North America. And what great timing! If youre going through a cold winter, you can help the wintering birds that are going through it with you. If you live further south, youll have not only year-round feathered friends to feed, but also an influx of migrating visitors from colder climates.
If you grow native plants in your garden, chances are good you already have quite a few feathered visitors already. If youd like to supplement that, or if nothing in your garden attracts birds, here are some tips for successful birdfeeder use.
There are three main factors to consider when you choose where to place a feeder:
The first priority with the seed in a feeder is to keep it dry. Seed will spoil quickly when it gets damp or wet and can breed diseases like salmonella.
Birds are notoriously picky eaters and they will methodically discard most of the seeds in a seed mix to get to their favorite. Seeds that wind up on the ground are likely to be contaminated by dampness and bird droppings and will be unappetizing to the birds. If you leave the debris there, you will most likely attract rodents.
To prevent a great deal of waste, choose only the types of food that will attract the birds you want. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service recommends putting out separate feeders for each food. Why not give these a try?
There is no research to indicate that backyard bird feeding has a negative effect on wild bird populations. In fact, it may help in many situations, such as when natural food sources are scarce or birds are migrating. Once you start feeding though, you should keep it up throughout the year. And dont let the feeders get empty before re-filling, or the birds will look for food elsewhere and may take a while to find you again. What specific birds you attract and feed will vary depending on your location and the treats you offer. You can look in a bird field guide to determine which species are likely to be in your area and then look up what foods are their favorites. So get out there and feed the birds!
Debbie Rodgers owns and operates Paradise Porch, and is dedicated to helping people create outdoor living spaces that nurture and enrich them. Visit her on the web at www.paradiseporch.com and get a free report on Eight easy ways to create privacy in your outdoor space. Mail to firstname.lastname@example.com
More Reading:
Electrical Industry's Protection - Destruction for GoodDestruction! Blow Up! Eliminate! These are not pleasant words!
Unfortunately, when it comes to safety we have no other choices.
In the electrical industry, fuses are destroyed in order to
protect lives or property.
Whenever there is...
...Read MoreDecorating Toolbox 101 Where is that hammer ? Save time and frustration by assembling your own decorating toolbox. Most do-it-yourself projects are hampered by the lack of tools (or knowing where to find the tools) to get the job done. Storing Your Tools: A toolbox,...
...Read MoreJar Lid and Jar Candle Decoration
Supplies Needed:
Most items can be found around the house or in a craft store.
Jar Candle with lid with removable plastic bottom
Craft Glue
Decorating Candle Jars and Lids is a fun and easy project for all...
...Read MoreComplete Home Rehab In 10 Days
This report is about taking a house and restoring it to an aesthetically pleasing dwelling that has reclaimed its functional utility. In effect, it is the anti-aging medication for bricks and mortar.
This report assumes that you have...
...Read MoreTroubleshooting Pump Problems the Easy WayIn any problem analysis, we have to specify the problem, check
whether there is any deviation from the normal condition,
identify the possible causes, evaluate the possible causes and
then confirm the true cause.
Pumps or other...
...Read More


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Pro-choice leaders misrepresent abortion limits
I don't know if they're ignorant or lying, but pro-abort leadersĀwho should know better are spreading flatly false information about how long in a pregnancy a mother can abort….
I don't know if they're ignorant or lying, but pro-abort leadersĀwho should know better are spreading flatly false information about how long in a pregnancy a mother can abort….
The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation has quietly hired Tracy Weitz, PhD, MPA, to head its domestic operation.
STBF is the charitable giving outlet for 83-yr-oldĀWarren Buffett, theĀsecond richest man in the world, with a net worth of $63.4 billion.
Originally theĀBuffett Foundation, STBF was renamed by the billionaireĀin honor of his wife after she died in 2004.
STBF is currently ranked #14 in the Top 100 U.S. Foundations by Total Giving. STBF's focus is population control. According to Buffett biographer Roger Lowenstein, Buffett has a "Malthusian dread that overpopulation [will] aggravate problems in all other areas – such as food, housing, even human survival."
by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Pro-Life in TN, and Kelli
We welcome your suggestions for additions to our Top Blogs (see tab on right side of home page)! Email email@example.com.
One of the topics woven into the 4th season of AMC's Mad Men, a cable tv show set in the 1960s, has been abortion. It started in August with a tip of the hat: According to Lauren Bans at Slate: Joan is sitting in a hospital gown in her doctorÆs office, cool and calm as […]
Couldn't find any political cartoons directly related to our issue this week, although there were many other good ones. Here are my top 5 favs… by Mike Luckovich at Townhall.com…
The HBO movie, April 22 post. Most likely You Don't Know Jack will end up pleasing and displeasing both sides of the assisted suicide/euthanasia issue, as this
by Susie Allen, host of the blog, Big Blue Wave points out that in officially atheist countries like Vietnam (which has no restrictions on abortion), the doctors who perform these abortions feel sadness and conflict about killing these "unlucky" babies. The alarmingly high abortion rate in Vietnam, as well as the
by intern Heather B. It's time to make room on the bookshelf for another gem:


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The Blue GLS LED Polycarbonate Light Bulb (E27) is rated to use only 5 watts of electricity or over 90% less energy consumed by its equivalent 40-watt incandescent bulb. The Blue GLS LED Light Bulb has a brightness of 440 lumens.
This LED light takes a page out of the incandescent bulb's design by using LEDs attached to it, which is then encased by a polycarbonate bulb. The LED's design allows the bulb to emit light in multiple directions.
The Blue GLS LED Light Bulb is designed to last over 25,000 hours of continuous use, and completely free of mercury.
Technical Details
|Product Number
Blue Polycarbonate
|240 volts
Cap Type
E27 Edison Screw
Luminous Flux
440 lumen
|5 watt
Incandescent Equivalent
40 watts
Colour Temperature
Colour Rendering Index (CRI)
Average Life
25000 hours
Bulb Size
24 months
We offer free standard delivery on orders over $79 and only charge $9.90 for orders below within Australia. Express delivery also available at the checkout.
For orders to New Zealand we charge
- $20 for orders below $100,
- $30 for orders between $100 -$200
- $40 for orders between $200 - $300
- $50 for orders over $300
- Free for orders over $400
Guide to Product in Stock
All orders with payment received by 1 p.m. (NSW time) on business days will be dispatched from our Alexandria, NSW warehouse same day! Nearly all of our orders are dispatched quickly. We don't like you to wait for your purchases. Our transit guidelines are:
- Sydney Metro: 1-3 working days
- Other NSW: 2-4 working days
- Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide Metro area: 1-4 working days
- Other Capital & Regional areas: 2-7 working days
*We can ship to international locations for more information please contact our support firstname.lastname@example.com with your order enquiry.
Lost Shipment
If you have tracked your package and there is a discrepancy in delivery information or it has been lost in transit please contact us by phone or email immediately. We will contact the courier company right away and initiate a trace for your package and have them start an investigation. This investigation can take up to 5-8 business days. If it is determined that your shipment has been lost a replacement will be sent pending couriers' investigation of the situation. If the product comes returned to us as undeliverable, we will contact you and re-ship the item at our expense depending on the situation.
Incorrect Product/Order
In the rare occurrence of a mistake or delay from our end, we will make every effort to correct it. If we shipped the wrong item or something is missing, we will re-ship it at our expense using the same method of shipping as on your order. You must notify us of any incorrect or missing items within 7 days after receipt of your shipment.
Please note: we are closed from Christmas until first week of January.
LiquidLEDs products are available for pickup. Orders that are placed by 1 pm Monday - Friday are available for collection on the same day after 2.30 pm.
For more information call us on 02 8880 9033.
Customer ReviewsWrite a review
Quality product that was delivered on a timely basis.
Quick delivery. Great product!
This bulb shows the exact light that the customer wanted.He required it for the passageway between two rooms in his secondhand bookshop to create an ambience. He is happy and so am I to be able to create the atmosphere for my client. Thank you so much.If you need me to recommend your products don't hesitate. Lionel
Fast and easy . Great product
Three BC globes were sent instead of E27, so one star for the wrong items, but I added another star for the efficient way returns have been handled (although it's too early as the returns were only sent today).
We ship fast! All orders placed before 1pm AEST Mon-Fri ship the same day from our warehouse in Alexandria, Sydney.
We offer free shipping within Australia on orders over $79 or more. Free shipping, and other expedited shipping methods will be shown at checkout.
With over 10 years in the LED bulbs industry, your experience is our top priority. We're here to help.
At LiquidLEDs, we stand behind our product! If for any reason a LiquidLEDs customer is unsatisfied with their purchase, they can contact us within 30 days of taking delivery, and organise to return the product and receive a refund of the purchase price excluding the associated Delivery Cost.
We're happy to help you!


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This event has passed.
11/13 Snowman Paint Party @ Villa Verona 6pm-SOLD OUT
November 13, 2018 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm| $45.00
Please join us at the Villa Verona tasting room for this adorable snow man paint party. All materials provided and no experience necessary! Included with your ticket is your first glass of wine and light snacks! Grab some friends and join us, register today, $45.00 per person.


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Datadog, the leading monitoring and analytics platform for modern cloud
environments, today announced the availability of Watchdog, a machine
learning based monitoring capability that automatically identifies
hidden issues and anomalies in dynamic, cloud-based applications.
In traditional monitoring, engineers explicitly define the expected
behavior of their application and set up dashboards and alerts to
monitor for deviations from this behavior. However, due to the scale,
elasticity, and complexity of modern cloud applications, issues often
occur in unexpected places that engineers may not have thought to
monitor explicitly.
Watchdog takes a radically different approach: it observes all
performance data automatically and surfaces anomalous behavior that
would have otherwise remained invisible to the application's engineers.
These observations help engineering organizations resolve existing
performance problems, or head off emerging issues before they are noted
by end users.
"As the complexity of applications explodes, the need for automated
issue detection becomes a necessity for teams to build highly performant
and reliable applications in the cloud," said Homin Lee, Head of Data
Science at Datadog. "Watchdog builds upon our years of research and
training of algorithms on our customers' data sets. This technology is
unique in that it not only identifies an issue programmatically, but
also points users to probable root causes to kick off an investigation."
"We run complex applications which need to respond rapidly to frequent
behavioral changes," said Caedman Oakley, Director of Resilience
Engineering at Castlight Health. "Having Watchdog automatically examine
all our metrics will enable us to spot anomalies and take action before
those anomalies become issues."
"As application environments become more complex and the volume of
operations data that teams collect grows, engineers require new
technologies and tools to glean insight from that data," said Nancy
Gohring, Senior Analyst at 451 Research. "Advanced analytics systems
that separate the important data from the noise can help DevOps teams
get the most out of operations data so that they can quickly repair or
prevent performance problems."
General Availability
Watchdog was announced at Dash, Datadog's conference for engineers who
are building and scaling the next generation of applications,
infrastructure, and technical teams. This capability is now generally
available within Datadog for all customers on Datadog's Enterprise APM


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Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Are as a string of pearls to me.
I count them over, every one apart,
My rosary, my rosary."
Robert Cameron Rogers 1862-1912 "The Rosary" 1894
"Time is of the essence" so the saying goes. And these days I'm trying to make the best of it. Without my computer I am 'lost', what to do after my housework is finished by 10 a.m.? What to do in the evenings when there isn't anything worthwhile to watch on TV? It's times like this that I realize how much time I actually spend at the computer. And right now, without it, I feel frustrated and a bit at loose ends. For one thing, just as it crashed (sick with a virus) I was ready to launch into some serious editing on the last chapter of my novel. There's also other writing projects to keep up-to-date, and of course, the email correspondence which I miss. I've had to resort to the local web cafe or library and perhaps by next week I'll actually have to try doing my writing here at the cafe if things aren't fixed by then. Today a techie friend is coming by to check and give a diagnosis. But it might mean lugging the precious machine to the computer hospital. Another unexpected expense!
A lot of my time these days is spent at the hospital with my friend. Yesterday I stayed six hours, cancelled going to my writer's critique group because he needed/wanted company. It was a pleasure though. These times we spend visiting, talking, and helping him out by warming meals, making tea, are precious moments. It's emotionally exhausting, but worthwhile. He's an intellectual and loves to discuss books and tell stories about his country (Chile) and his life. These days there's a lot of soul searching and meditations. And I know my company, especially on a day like yesterday where few other visitors came, was much appreciated.
Today I made a pleasant diversion by figuring out what to write here and doing some research for my future trip to Malaysia, so I have added a new chapter to my travel blog at http://travelthroughhistory.blogspot.com
I'm getting antsy, anxious to be working on my novel, but somehow I'll have that figured out soon. Meanwhile, another blessing came my way this morning just when things had been a bit bleak. The daycare sent me the two days pay they owed me and the government informed me my rental subsidy will be increased at the end of the month. Prayers do get answered!
"A little time for laughter
A little time to sing.
A little time to kiss and cling
And no more kissing after."
Philip Bourke Marston 1850 - 1887 "After" st.1
5 comments:
The silence of the blogger.
Yep, I've been pretty quiet this last week in terms of posting because tomorrow marks a new phase in my blogging life and I've been writing more code and spending more time in Photoshop than I've ever spent ...
Hey I really like your blog I came across it randomly one day and luckily I bookmarked it so I've come back many times since. If you have time please stop by my site. (gotta get a plug in right? lol) You can find dsl availability at www.DSL-Experts.com. See? That was painless eh? lol
- Wynn Bexton said...
- Sam said...
Didn't Harry Potter's author write her novels at a café?
I'm sorry about your computer. Mine is on its last legs and I'm nursing it along. It fizzles and groans, and often takes little breaks in the middle of something I'm doing. Just sort of stops and rests, lol.
My car is also in the shop - I don't know if it can be saved either. I may be out a computer and a car this month. I hope my pay check is decent.
There are a lot of anonymous spammers on the blogs lately. I've been scraping them off my comments board to the rate of one or two a day. I wonder what they want - I never ever click on their links if they post anonymously. (Here that, anonymous posters! You are losing time and energy posting on my blog!)
I hope your computer gets fixed soon Wynn!
- Wynn Bexton said...
Thanks Sam. I'm back in business and hope to get some writing time in soon. Night school classes start tonight. Computer seems to be working okay so far...Autumn is here. All is well (except, of course, for my suffering friend.)
- Daisy Dexter Dobbs said...
I always feel as if I've had a relaxing massage after reading your lovely posts, Wynn.
Your friend in the hospital is fortunate to have you. I'm sure he values your visits, more than you know. It's emotionally taxing to spend so much time with someone who is so ill, but so incredibly rewarding at the same time.
I'm glad that you've received good financial news. Methinks your kindness is reaping what it has sown. :-)


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