The Underground of Happiness

And a quick one to finish the month, one to file between Esquivel and your favourite Disney soundtrack classics. Perrey is one of the original concrete artists and something of a Moog maestro having been drafted (or drafted himself) in to test the instrument by Mr Moog himself way back when. Chazam is the young French knob-twiddler who took him up on his invitation to collaborators in 1996. I'd recommend you check the full backstory at the bandcamp below. This tune is just a joy, a riot, a hoot. It's actually a version of Perrey's own 'Baroque Hoedown' which has been used by Disney as part of its theme park parades. So plenty of pop references crawling inside themselves if you're bored. Which you won't be listening to this. ELA by Jean-Jacques Perrey & David Chazam

Angel Deradoorian used to be in Dirty Projectors where her voice was used to tremendous and startling effect in a choral bank. She's a solo artist now using her surname and operating out of L.A. but still sounding in fantastic voice. Nice to hear her alongside her old muckers + Bjork from 2010 serenading whales in Northern California. C Duncan is a singer and composer from Glasgow who makes beautiful baroque sounds with room for...rejoice...whistling. It was a recommendation from Kathryn Joseph that put me on to him, she needs no recommendation from me or anyone else, just take a listen and weep. Blank Realm make psych pop with a lovely glide to it, they're from Brisbane . Totally Mild are from Melbourne and make very tasty guitar pop with a twist. De Lux are a duo from L.A. who clearly enjoy Talking Heads (and who doesn't) and make a great rattle reminiscient of Tina Weymouth's bass playing and David Byrne's shouty singing. And Kevin Murphy ...

A classic slacker (anti) anthem from the Melbourner. Apart from the wonderful pummelling riff I find I mostly get stuck on this line – Give me all your money and I’ll make some origami honey It’s one of those lines that probably reads quite plain on paper but somehow it shows off Barnett’s knack of being able to puncture all the bullshit poses we go on with while wrapping it all in lovely sloppy trashy guitar playing and hilarious wordplay. Right then, carry on. Doo doo doodoo Doo doo doodoo

Now and again a piece of music arrives that tends to wash other things out. Something arresting and transformative to make you want to put words away, that’s what this is. It’s a perfect miniature and soaked in atmosphere, such a prized quality in all music but particularly pop music. And all with just the merest piano chords and a voice that swoons and cracks. Kathryn Joseph is the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award winner and could there be a more deserving one especially when you read words like these from a recent interview at the SAY awards. http://thegenn.co.uk/kathryn-joseph-wins-scottish-album-of-the-year-award/ “I didn’t love my music before and now I love it because Marcus (MacKay, producer) has made it harder, stronger and more beautiful, and I’d never felt like that about it before.” And now I’m going to put words away and just listen. bones you have thrown me and blood i've spilled by kathryn joseph

A special show this week pairing two genres which I reckon have more in common than people might think. Kosmische is the electronic offshoot of "Krautrock", very often more meditative in tone and with a certain cosmic outlook as the name suggests. Hans Joachim Roedelius, Dieter Moebius & Michael Rother could be said to be the originators as Harmonia but you find kosmische leaking into folk, jazz/post rock, psych and all sorts these days. Exotica came about in the 1950s when American (predominantly) composers and orchestrators started taking influences from Asian & African music - the geo-politics of the time probably had something to do with this. So dreamy instrumentals by Les Baxter and glorious hippie manifestos by Eden Ahbez , all adorned with flutes and vibraphones and such, are in here, along with a few other suggestions for inclusion like Esquivel (space age bachelor pad), Ennio Morricone (soundtracks from Planet Heaven) & Serge Gainsbourg who was a f...

A gorgeous dreamy instrumental from the Brighton man’s new album. Spirals of low slung guitar float over jazz-inflected octave patterns until washes of cool synth create a mood that is somehow both langurous and searching. It’s wonderfully Tortoise but taking things so at its own pace that it carves very much its own space. The later stages see a gearshift into sublime Ennio Morricone territory courtesy of the kind of absentmindedly hummed la-la vocal the maestro (and Edda Dell Orso) would have been proud of. It’s a subtle shift but a glorious one adding a further layer of intimacy to something already full of low key emotion. And it succeeds in pleasing the ear while giving the heart a lovely unsettling rush which is endlesly satisfying. A timeless thing of rare beauty. Concrete by Marcus Hamblett

A wonderful return for ex-Cardiacs man William D Drake joined by friends from North Sea Radio Orchestra and Stars in Battledress among others, combining folk threads with medieval, British dancehall, sea shanties and avant garde musics. You’ll be hard pushed to restrain yourself when you hear opener ‘Distant buzzing’ with an irresisitible stomping rhythm lead by a winning sax honk and endearingly antique lyrics by Mr James Kelsey-Fry. Thereafter, enjoy the shanty swing with melodica of ‘Lifeblood’, the startling slave mutiny anthem ‘Heart of oak’ and the meditative medieval choral atmosphere of ‘Be here steryear’ with Drake’s constantly searching wrongfooting piano chords. ‘The Catford Clown’ comes on like a modern day madrigal, twirling melodies and undefined time signatures, until the breakdowns near the end which countenance heavy metal. By flirting with the spectre of ‘the novelty song’ the scathing satire of the lyric and wonderful instrumental technique are thinly an...

I wouldn't often use the word spellbinding but I'm comfortable using it in relation to Kathryn Joseph and partcularly the song in this week's show, 'The want'. Stop you in your tracks, arresting, quietening, words and phrases like this. Superb important music centred around one woman's pleading and completely convincing voice with spare piano. Jim O'Rourke is back with a new album which is great, sounding soulful and loose and loving it. Novella are a band from Brighton with a lovely line in motorik backbeat. The Phoenix Foundation whipping up a satisfying proggy storm from their new album. And loads more, check it out, plus more on these pages. June 16 2015 w/ Lee Hazlewood,Sterling Roswell,Jim O'Rourke,Circuit des Yeux,Novella,Tender Prey++ by The Underground Of Happiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundo...

New this week. Man of Moon , a duo from Edinburgh with a great line in motorik rhythms. A touch of Jagwar Ma with a NEU undertone, it's also thrilling psych rock full of conviction. David Sheppard , like a kosmische flip of that sound, softer but no less insistent. William D Drake bringing the madrigal back into pop music, along with satire - brilliant brilliant stuff. And AJ Holmes & The Hackney Empire , a kind of cockney ska with fantastic African style guitar licking. More of that. The rest is great too - Rozi Plain, Titius Andronicus, Daniel Knox, Giant Sand etc.. More on these pages as always. June 9 2015 w/ Rozi Plain,David Sheppard,Man of Moon,Vinyl Williams,Giant Sand,William D Drake++ by The Underground Of Happiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 359 Tues June 9 2015...

There's a new album by William D Drake who used to be in Cardiacs . It's another wonderful combination of folk with medieval with avant garde and overflowing with great tunes. One of them was in the middle of this week's show, the swinging 'Lifeblood'. New (to me) music also from Kathryn Joseph , a compelling singer from Glasgow, and Flo Morrissey an English folk artist who would remind you a lot of Alela Diane , always a good thing. The Apartments are having one of their albums reissued by Captured Tracks. One of The Apartments Peter Walsh was briefly in The Go Betweens , in fact two of the latter's songs were about him. Sounds like a double play made in heaven. Marcus Hamblett we've had on the show a couple of wks ago. A sublime semi-instrumental from his album would put you in mind of Ennio Morricone so we had him next to Il Maestro this week. And Those Unfortunates who've written a cracking garage rock tune in tribute to Malcolm McDow...