IAN BROWN (Polydor)
It’s 1996. The Stone Roses – arguably one of the most important bands of |
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Die Sterne (L’Age d’or/V2)
Die Sterne’s last album was called "Das Weltall ist zu weit" ("Outerspace is too vast") and the story of it’s creation went something like this: the band members were sitting around and asking themselves: "What are we going to do now? Where are we at?". The words ‚rock album‘ and ‚do it yourself‘ popped up and so the band decided not to bring in a producer this time, and instead of going to a studio they headed for their basement , where they recorded 12 new songs in three sessions. Maybe someone had written the word ‚reduction‘ across the wall, because that is actually what the album sounds like. Everything that Die Sterne stands for can be heard on this album: urgency, dance moves, invention and straightforwardness. Though there is less of it and therefore more. Every bass line a hook line, every beat a monolith, every sentence a thought. The essence of twelve years. |
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The Kills (Domino)The Kills, W and Hotel, have a special relationship. They met five years ago in London, while W, née Alison Mosshart, was on tour in Europe with her then band "Discount". Hotel, then simply known as Jamie Hince, had just wound up his group Scarfo and was just knocking around a few solo ideas of his own. Before Alison returned home to Florida, they exchanged numbers … |
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Ladytron (Telstar)Four like-haired, like humoured and very different individuals assembled from different parts of the world. Ladytron initially existed as a concept dreamed up by founder members Danny Hunt and Reuben Wu, two friends who shared a love of music and djing. The idea of Ladytron as a band became a reality when the duo were joined by Mira Aroyo and Helen Marnie. The bands not only shared a similar view on the world but also on what type of music they wanted to make – make pop songs that cleared the skies for city kids, country kids, kids who love the sound of analogue synths and for kids who don’t know what a synth is. Ladytron exist outside fashion and against the grain, and whilst synths may drive their music, what lies at it’s heart is a strong melodic base and a killer pop instinct. |
The Wedding Present (Stickman)"The boy Gedge has written some of the best love songs of the Rock ’n‘ Roll era. You may dispute this, but I’m right and you’re wrong!" John Peel. After the pause of The Wedding Present in 1997 David Gedge and his then girlfriend Sally Murrell started the duo Cinerama. From then on Gedge put all his effort into Cinerama. With their 2002 album "TORINO" the sound became darker again and the guitars prevailed. Occasionaly the band would play old Wedding Present songs in their live sets. In retrospect this development appears to be a writing on the wall, predicting the dark days to come in the private life of the protagonists. After the break-up of their relationship David Gedge moved to Seattle and started writing songs about his disappointment and his loss. The resulting album "TAKE FOUNTAIN" – recorded by Steve Fisk in Chicago and Seattle – became the first album since 1996’s "SATURNALIA" to be released under the name THE WEDDING PRESENT. |
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The Undertones (Usa)It all started in 1978 with the single "Teenage Kicks", a song that although in heaven John Peel should would still regard as the best song ever written. After diverse follow-up hits they called it a day in 1983. The singer turned to pop, and what was left behind were teenage dreams so hard to beat. Almost 20 years later it turned out that the band from Northern Ireland still had a lot of life in them. Coinciding with the bands first "Best of" cd 2003 saw the release of a new Undertones album. It turned out not to be the work of a bunch of aging ex-punks in need of money, displaying instead a band who still knew how to do it. Though decidedly retro here was a band that was more convincing than half of the hip "the" bands around. And the live performances with their new singer Paul McLoone still manage to amaze the audience. |
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Animal Collective (Fat Cat)
Despite the evident appeal of their deliciously skewed songs, heartbreaking hooks and deep pop sensibilities, Animal Collective is clearly not a simple ‚band‘ proposition. Friends and musical partners since 1992, Animal Collective came together in 2000 with the intention of moving pop music in a direction that would place heavy emphasis on sonic experience – from beautifully skewed pop ballads to fiercely ruptured noise-squalls to tribal rhythmic work-outs to simple folk songs, to who knows where. Their refusal to accept obvious formulas and creative desire to continually shift and rapidly move forwards has meant them testing audience expectations and always appearing to be one step ahead of themselves. |
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Whitey (1234)
Nathan J Whitey has spent a while sneaking around the periphery of things, writing songs on borrowed guitars. During this period (which he has mostly blanked from his memory), he has been a journalist, a graffiti artist, danced in a dog suit, formed many non-existent bands, slept badly, and released fourteen records under various pseudonyms. He never wanted to be a DJ. On the recent self-produced WHITEY recordings, he provides the vocals, programming, and plays the guitar, bass, keyboards, vibraphone and piano. "Gorgeous, throbbing synthetic rock… Black leather ’n‘ shades dragged screaming into the 21st century." i-D Magazine |
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Sons and Daughters (Domino)Sons and Daughters are the kind of band that you wish there were more of, but whose very rarity makes them all the more thrilling. They know their music inside out, they’re the tightest of live bands, and they represent for the girls without leaving out the boys. Their mini album "Love The Cup", released last summer, introduced us to their lyrical world of relationships that don’t function. The music, no less compelling, scratches and screeches around them, recalling the Velvet Underground and label mates (Smog). Touring with Franz Ferdinand and Clinic among others led to growing acclaim that portrayed the band as "a Buckfast-drenched Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood". Their upcoming debut album „The Repulsion Box“ has been recorded at the legendary Conny Plank Studio in Cologne, and the result sounds thoroughly alive, while their live shows continue to amaze with their sheer abandon. |
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Black Dice (Dfa)Their music consists of pedals, delay, computers, solemn guitar arpeggios, loops, robot jungle sounds and cosmic ambience. Black Dice and their music is almost completely divorced from any strand of rock or even punk, yet sits comfortably alongside fellow New York trippers Suicide and English provocateurs Throbbing Gristle. On their new Album "Creature Comfort" (their second on DFA) the listener finds percussive moments, but no real beats; there are noisy moments, but it’s hardly a "noise" record. Much of it seems improvised, yet for the most part the album proceeds in a linear fashion. Black Dice have delivered one of this year’s most interesting records and proved that you don’t have to be noisy to make beautiful noise. |
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Liars (Mute) |
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The Beat Up (Fantastic Plastic)
The Beat Up recently released their debut album, Black Rays Defence, through Fantastic Plastic Records. The 10-track album was produced by the enigmatic Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine, and of late, Primal Scream fame at his North London studio in the summer of 2004. Trading in a fuzzed up, delinquent strain of rock’n’roll, the tracks on their debut long player ooze a primeval spirit that recalls the likes of Blue Cheer, the Dead Boys and The Sonics. Operating at full throttle with Kevin Shields at the helm, The Beat Up have created the first sneering blast of unadulterated punk rock of 2005. The Beat Up are: Nick (vocals/guitar), Matt (guitar/vocals), Dino (bass) & Todd (drums). |
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Cosmic Casino (Sticksister)
Cosmic Casino are notorious for their exciting stage performance: |
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BERLINFESTIVAL June 4th, 2005
