The Underground of Happiness

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 199 Tues Nov 29 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here https://rapidshare.com/files/563072973/The_Underground_Of_Happiness_Nov_29_2011.m4a Playlist St Vincent - Year of the tiger ( playing Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, Feb 27 2012 ) Pepe Deluxé - The storm Field Music - (I keep thinking about) A new thing ( playing Deaf Institute, Manchester, Feb 19 2012 ) Atlas Sound - Lightworks Chairlift - Sidewalk safari (edit) Black Cherry - Modern lover Antonymes meets Slow Dancing Society - That moment Eden Ahbez - Mongoose ( Trunk Records ) Kramies - Inventors Rozi Plain - See my boat Tom Waits - Chicago KXP - Easy Portishead - Chase the tear Real Estate - It's real Lambchop - If not I'll just die (...

One of the best albums of this year was the collaboration between the veteran Scottish pianist Bill Wells and ex-Arab Strap man Aidan Moffat , Everything's getting older on Chemikal Underground (go here to refresh your memory). Wells has a new album coming out on Double 6 next week, Lemondale , for which he recruited a host of Japanese musicians for one day's recording in Tokyo , as well as Jim O'Rourke , who lives there now I believe. The press release has this nice detail - Musicians that had never met and had come from different sides of the tracks suddenly found themselves together in the same recording booth. Tori Kudo, self proclaimed Japanese 'King Of Error' was coupled with virtuoso pianist Satoko Fuji, a classically trained graduate of Berkley Music College in Boston. The recording also brought together instruments as seemingly incongruent and unrelated as a modified electric fan played by Tetsuya Umeda and the entirely unique and heavenly voices of Sa...

You'll remember we mentioned Peaking Lights recently , signing to Weird World and all that. Well here's another beguiling little off-the-beaten-track number from the reissued album, 936 . The video by Cam Archer reflects that mood - just a girl putting junk together in a field, with gorgeous close-ups - although I'd feel bad about treating a pair of Converse the way she does. The band are also streaming various 936 remixes this week, including this one. Peaking Lights - Marshmellow Yellow / Amazing And Wonderful (Main Attrakionz MAN WORLD remix) by Weird World Record Co You can check the others on a dedicated website, http://www.936.fm/ , including Adrian Sherwood, patten, DaM-FunK, Damu, Cadenza, Sunless ’97, d’Eon, Doldrums and Maria Minerva. They're wonderful, basically.

A few things of note on the Asthmatic Kitty front. First a new video from the great Shara Worden , that is My Brightest Diamond , taken from the current album All things will unwind (you'll find other Diamond-related info here and here ). At the risk of sounding churlish, I must admit this video gives me a bit of a rash - it's just sooo right-on. However, it's chamber pop, people, and we have religious obligations around here about catchy, effervescent pop tunes played on orchestral instruments. My Brightest Diamond - ALL THINGS WILL UNWIND: High Low Middle from Asthmatic Kitty on Vimeo . And next to something so bonkers, it makes Gruff Rhys look staid and conformist (which he's not, at all). The name of the group is Pepe Deluxé , new to me. Have a read of this first. This is the first ever composition for The Great Stalacpipe Organ, the largest musical instrument in the world, located deep in the caverns of Luray, Virginia. The Organ consists of hand-tuned anc...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 198 Tues Nov 22 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here https://rapidshare.com/files/1569957061/The_Underground_Of_Happiness_Nov_22_2011.m4a Playlist Left with Pictures - River Avon ( playing Arctic Circle @ Union Chapel, Islington, Dec 10, *midday ) Olafur Arnalds - Near light Bachelorette - Blanket ( playing Whelan's Upstairs, Dublin, Dec 1 ) Butcvher the Bar - Alpha Street West The Grunts - Into submission ( playing The Roundy, Cork, Dec 8 ) Crystal Stilts - Dark eyes *d'load i'view with Crystal Stilts here http://soundcloud.com/underground-of-happiness2/crystal-stilts-interview Bill Ryder-Jones - Give me a name Future Islands - Balance ( playing Whelan's, Dublin, Mar 10 2012 ) Mint Julep ...

We love a bit of Field Music around here. So imagine how happy we were to hear the news about the new Field Music album, due out in February 2012. It'll be called Plumb , and will be released on Memphis Industries . Here's the stream and download. Field Music - (I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing by memphisindustries It sounds very much like a continuation of where (Measure) left off, which is to say, great. And it seems timely to upload the interview with the Brewis brothers, Peter and David, from September 2010, when they played in Cork shortly after that year's Electric Picnic Festival . It features... ...Stratocasters vs Gibson SG's, a village in County Durham called Noplace, Sunderland's shipbuilding past, The Beatles' Happiness is a warm gun , the predictability of pop song structures, Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds , teenage pub gigs, singing like Joe Cocker, and more... Field Music Interview by underground of happiness My other n...

As a follow-up to the post the other day on Olafur Arnalds' new release, Living room songs , you can also stream my favourite track from it on Erased Tapes' soundcloud now. The aquatic electronics and sumptuous strings make it worth every second of the 3.28. Ólafur Arnalds - Near Light by erasedtapes

It’s a triple whammy for Erased Tapes this month (following Nils Frahm and Peter Broderick albums). We were big fans around here of Arnalds’ last album, …and they have escaped the weight of darkness . This latest project saw him create and record a song from scratch every day for a week in October, making the results available immediately in video format to fans, from his apartment in Reykjavik . It’s a stunningly beautiful collection, laden with strings but lightened by skipping electronics, and grounded with trademark lachrymose piano. I notice Arnalds is currently on tour with Ryuchi Sakamoto and there is a valid comparison to be drawn in the air of dignified melancholy you’ll find here. Superb.

Another notable release from the prolific Mr Broderick. It’s a double A-sided single featuring the only sung track from Music for Confluence (album reviewed here ), backed with an instrumental from another soundtrack he’s found time to work on, Grace and Mercy , a documentary about Haiti after last year’s earthquake. Purchasers of the single get the added benefit of a digital download of the full 14-track soundtrack to the latter. Having heard it - it’s another hauntingly beautiful series of piano and guitar-centred instrumentals wrapped in an ambient gauze - I recommend you do the same. The man’s ability to evoke a range of emotions from a few (deceptively) simple materials is quite amazing. The wonderfully woozy Fibromyalgia , with a chorus of sliding, drunken violins, is my own favourite. Peter Broderick – Old Time (Official Music Video) from Erased Tapes on Vimeo . Grace + Mercy. A Film of Haitians helping Haitians. from luis pena on Vimeo . Confluence (Official Trailer) ...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 197 Tues Nov 15 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here https://rapidshare.com/files/3963518144/The_Underground_Of_Happiness_Nov_15_2011.m4a Playlist Richmond Fontaine feat. Deborah Kelly - Inventory Bill Ryder-Jones - Leaning (Star of Sweden) Crystal Stilts - Dark eyes *d'load i'view with Crystal Stilts here http://soundcloud.com/underground-of-happiness2/crystal-stilts-interview Diagrams - Tall buildings (radio edit) Peter Broderick - Old time (from the soundtrack of the film Confluence ) Nils Frahm - Keep Roll the Dice - Calling all workers ( playing ATP's Nightmare Before Christmas, Minehead, Dec 9-11 ) Yann Tiersen - I'm gonna live anyhow ( playing Jeff Mangum's ATP, Minehead, Mar 9-1...

You might have come across the Domino imprint Weird World . Set up this year, they've already released a couple of impressive records by Smith Westerns and Washed Out . Now they've announced the signing of US west coast husband and wife duo Peaking Lights . Their 936 album gets its first full European release later this week (it came out previously on Not Not Fun in the US). And their new album is due out in the spring. From 936 , here's the great All the sun that shines , which, with its cavernous reverb and deep sea bass, is the perfect soundtrack music for any number of nocturnal activities. All The Sun That Shines by Peaking Lights Aaran Coyes and Indra Dunis are their names - that's them in the very-un-rock-n-roll-but-so-very-rock-n-roll photo above, with their new baby Mikko. Aaron had this to say about the new album - I feel the need to reprint all of it. “The songs that we've been working on have been very groovy and psyched out, foraging deep...

In a break with tradition, I've decided to put up an interview without broadcasting an excerpt on the show first. So here's Crystal Stilts speaking to me before they played in Dublin , just over a week ago. The soundcheck was running late when I arrived at the venue (just as well as I was running late myself) – I learned that the band had missed their flight from London earlier in the day. I occupied myself downstairs with a beer and the crossword, while taking note of what passes for hipster in Dublin - it seems to be all about the manicured beards. Presently, the excellently moustached (but far from manicured) keyboard player Kyle found me at the bar and we repaired to the band’s dressing room, which was festooned with fake trophy antlers and period furniture. Kyle fell asleep, citing jet lag, but the rest of the band contributed fully to a discussion of… …the cultural landscape of South Florida (where Brad & JB grew up - it's dominated by beaches and techno, app...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 196 Tues Nov 8 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here https://rapidshare.com/files/1733169933/The_Underground_Of_Happiness_Nov_8_2011.m4a Playlist Patrick Cleandenim - Crazy in the night Wild Flag - Romance ( playing ATP's Nightmare Before Christmas curated by Battles/Caribou/Les Savy Fav, Minehead, Dec 9-11 ) Odonis Odonis - Blood feast The Scaramanga Six - Trouble Field Music - (I keep thinking about) A new thing ( playing KOKO Theatre, London, Nov 30, Memphis Industries 13th Birthday Party, w/The Go! Team, Dutch Uncles & Colourmusic ) *d'load i'view with Field Music from Sept 2010 here http://soundcloud.com/underground-of-happiness/field-music-interview Other Lives - Old statues Walls - Int...

Yann Tiersen – I’m gonna live anyhow (Mute, from the album Skyline ) Welcome to a world where circus music meets pop, featuring an unruly arrangement made up of electronic tambourines, mouth trumpets, falsetto choirs, no-nonsense gorgeous melodies and the winningest refrain. Gruff Rhys feat. El Perro del Mar – Space dust #2 (Turnstile, single) Irresistible duet between the Super Furry Animals’ frontman and the Swedish singer. Hints of Tropicalia in the brushed samba beat, as well as the gloriously over the top lyrics recounting love at a conference – “ When I saw you at the seminar/Raindrops and fireworks flow/When I saw you at the seminar/Active volcanoes aglow ”. Superb. *The single is backed by Whale trail , which comes accompanied with aye-Phone app features. Anybody know the Welsh for bonkers? Crystal Stilts – Dark eyes (Sacred Bones, from the Radiant door EP) Knockout opening tune from the New York band’s new EP, which splits itself (as if unable to choose) between ga...

If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember Jubilee Allstars , a Dublin band from around the turn of the last century who had some great, downbeat alt country tunes and flirted with (major) record label success. Barry McCormack was the singer and main writer in that band and went on to record and perform solo when the Allstars split. (I remember meeting Barry about ten years ago in Nancy Spain’s – that used to be a live music venue in Cork, kids – supporting The Pernice Brothers; he was a regular visitor to the city on such support slots around that time). This is his fourth solo album but his first to be recorded with a full backing band. I’m sorry to say I’ve heard none of the other three, but I’m glad this one found me. The first thing to mention is the lyric sheet, because this is an album you should read as well as hear. The lyrics are printed in full, they are lengthy and they read like a series of dirty realist short stories or prose poems. On first glance, the songs seem to...

We've spoken about Serge Gainsbourg in these pages before . His Histoire de Melody Nelson album from 1971 is one of the great concept albums, in fact albums full stop. Which you might not guess to read this description. http://www.allmusic.com/album/histoire-de-melody-nelson-r288302 You don't need to speak a word of French to understand Histoire de Melody Nelson - one needs only to look at the front cover (with its nearly pornographic portrait of a half-naked nymphet clutching a rag doll) or hear the lechery virtually dripping from Serge Gainsbourg's sleazily seductive voice to realize that this is the record your mother always warned you about, a masterpiece of perversion and corruption. A concept record exploring the story of - and Gainsbourg's lust for - the titular teen heroine, Histoire de Melody Nelson is arguably his most coherent and perfectly realized studio album, with the lush arrangements which characterize the majority of his work often mixed here wit...

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Playlist 195 Tues Nov 1 2011 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web at www.ucc.ie/983fm *listen back to this show here https://rapidshare.com/files/904457803/The_Underground_Of_Happiness_Nov_1_2011.m4a Playlist Patrick Kelleher & His Cold Dead Hands - Too many harsh words Metronomy - Everything goes my way Crystal Stilts - Silver sun ( playing Grand Social, Dublin, Nov 4 ) St Vincent - Cruel ( playing Button Factory, Dublin, Nov 13 ) (The) Caseworker - National runner The Go! Team - Rolling blackouts ( playing KOKO Theatre, London, Nov 30, Memphis Industries 13th Birthday Party ) Apparat - Song of Los ( playing Sala Apolo, Barcelona, Dec 9 ) Simian Ghost - Free agent Mint Julep - Aviary Tune-Yards - You yes you ( playing Button Factory, Dublin, Feb 12 2012 ) Jean-Clau...