The Underground of Happiness

Something very active in my ether this month and a sound that would remind you of Berlin. Warm fluid dance music in the territory of a Caribou or a Floating Points. Soulful. Hook laden. Insinuating. Wonderful pop music.

Things you should know. Phil Christie of O Emperor is involved. Bit of Beefheart. Bit of doomsday jazz. Bit of improv spirit. Bit of mongrel swamp rock action. Prog pop tendencies. More than the sum of its parts. In short very good. Cipher by The Bonk Monologue by The Bonk Ancestor by The Bonk

It’s good to have St Vincent in the world. And it’s good to have St Vincent back in pop music. I imagine most people’s view of this song will be coloured by the staggering video which is a breathtaking pop art meets surrealist confection directed by Alex Da Corte. But for me this song nods back to her first album a little when the music was as baroque and intriguing as her choice of moniker. In particular the moment the massed bank of St Vincents in the chorus sing these lines - I have lost a hero I have lost a friend One of this year's anthems I can feel it in my bones. I wonder if those lines are a reference to David Bowie but the uplift of emotion is glorious in any case. It could just be a love letter to the home of art pop. Or a hymn to motherfuckers everywhere. Legend.

A musical collaboration between a film maker and a former academic. That’s the kind of set up liable to put some people off. But this project involving Rick Alverson and Emilie Rex has many great things. Textures to hang your hat on. Haunting melodies. Intriguing atmospheres. A sense of yearning and adventure. (Are they the same thing?) A certain kind of classic 60s folk music is clearly an influence although fed through a surrealist filter. The citing of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s film Holy Mountain in the song of the same name is a clue to where they’re coming from. In 'Come and see' a finger strummed guitar is the main company for the beautiful double tracks of Rex's vocal. One strained high. One soft close up. String swells make a compelling chamber atmosphere in 'Watch me'. In my favourite 'Her body in the sky' Rex's voice sounds like it will break at any second as a clarinet noodles around a to die for organ hoo...

There’s something about duets, and something extra about husband and wife duets. This week we had the new song from The Saxophones , another gorgeous/unsettling dream pop number straight out of a David Lynch soundtrack. Then later one of the classics of the genre, Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin with the lesser known yang to the yin of 'Je t’aime'. And Dean & Britta with what is probably a homage to Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra/Suzi Jane Hokom and isn’t that just fine. Other than that some sumptuous cuts from The Clientele, Hater and This is the Kit . And wonderful Russian film music from 1975 from Mikael Tariverdiev . More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 461 Tues Sept 26 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen live on the web...

Another fantastic slice of psych folk boogie from the Parisian resident et sa bande a famille. Certain trademark elements are all in place. Lethally infectious melodies. Baggy dancefloor friendly grooves. A progressive bent but endearingly lightly held. Most of all a glorious horn section adding an extra burst of energy and maybe it’s just me but throwing a nod in the direction of ska on this track perhaps giving a teasing hint at fruitful avenues of exploration for TITK in the future. A wonderful group to have in the world.

A few themes in this week’s show. Female folk artists. Bedouine , bringing a great soulful touch (and a Middle Eastern tinge if you listen closely) to a sound reminiscient of 60’s folk pop. Lean Year , a male-female duo in fact, but a psychedelic swirl of intrigue amidst hushed melodies. Something cosmic. Colleen , using a Moog to convey the universe, gorgeously. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith , using a Buchla Music Easel to create brilliantly light and playful electronic tunes. And Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra , a genius orchestra with swing or is it jazz sound. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 460 Tues Sept 19 2017 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 goo.gl/G8Wrvx Playlist...

Another to die for slice of dream pop from Oakland husband and wife duo Alexei Erenkov and Alison Alderdice . The combination of plucked electric guitar with pillowy synths and softly thudding floor toms would inevitably put you in mind of Angelo Badalamenti. In fact this tune wouldn’t sound out of place in a David Lynch film with its air of hushed disquiet. A storm of emotion hidden under a calm exterior. Gorgeous and unsettling in equal measure. Aloha by The Saxophones

A predominance of people playing live shows this week. Robert Forster is in Europe promoting his wonderful memoir Grant & I , giving public interviews and playing songs from his own and The Go Betweens legendary back catalogues. Amiina and Autre Monde are just two of the many bands playing the Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival in Cork this week. We also had haunting folk music from The Doomed Bird of Providence and The Nightjar . And sumptuous dream pop from The Saxophones , music to dream and yearn to. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 459 Tues Sept 12 2017 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 goo.gl/j55QsQ Playlist Julie Byrne – Follow my voice ( playing Union Chapel,...

First show back after the August holiday and we’re working through a bit of a backlog but that can be good. Russian soundtrack maestro Mikael Tariverdiev , a great melancholic string swoon. Colleen , a beautiful Moog-based kosmische. Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra , wonderful quixotic orchestral shapes. Ariel Pink , glorious lovelorn jangle pop. And The Clientele , adding brass to a sunset Byrdsian sound quite brilliantly. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappiness Twitter: UndergroundOfHappy Playlist 458 Tues Sept 5 2017 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 goo.gl/tt2fiQ Playlist Colleen – November Lali Puna - Two windows Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra – Vula ( playing Musikbrauerei, Berlin, Oct 14 ) Diagnos -...