The Underground of Happiness

The first instalment of my favourite music of 2018. Categories are a bit arbitrary as always. Parts 2 and 3 to follow. Enjoy. Playlist Django Django – In your beat (Because Music) De Lux – 875 dollars (Innovative Leisure) Tune-Yards – Heart attack (4AD) Kamasi Washington – The Space Traveller’s Lullaby (Young Turks) Todd Tobias & Combo Qasam – Do the Massabu (Tiny Room/Hidden Shoal) Khruangbin – Maria tambien (Dead Oceans) Richard Swift – Broken finger blues (Secretly Canadian) Terry – The whip (Upset The Rhythm) Gulp – Claudia (E.L.K Records) Blue Orchids – Get Bramah (Tiny Global Productions) Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread – When (Full Time Hobby) Jessica Pratt – This time around (Mexican Summer) Steve Gunn – New moon (Matador) Soccer 96 – Harmonious Monk (Slowfoot Records) Orchestra of Spheres – Koudede (Fire) Nightports w/ Matthew Bourne – Exit (Leaf) Camera – Super 8 (Bureau B) Snapped Ankles – Drink and glide (Leaf) Sz...

A collection of recent favourites here at UOH Towers. Mostly new or upcoming releases. Across genres. The way it should be. Plus a few of an older vintage. Enjoy. Playlist Elaine Malone – You Josephine Foster – Shepherd moon of starry height (Fire Records) Todd Tobias & Chloe March – Lillavva (Hidden Shoal) Kamasi Washington – Will you sing (Young Turks) Szun Waves – Moon runes (The Leaf Label) Spike & Debbie – Always sunshine (Tiny Global Productions) The Free Design – Make the madness stop (Project 3) Alison Statton & Spike – Open portal (Tiny Global Productions) Terry – The whip (Upset The Rhythm) Comet Gain – If not tomorrow (Tapete) Hater – I wish I gave you more time because I love you (Fire Records) The Chills – Deep belief (Fire Records) The Big Lovin’ – Adiadiadio The Honey Hahs – River (Rough Trade) Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread – When (Full Time Hobby) Lee Hazlewood – My autumn’s done come (Light in the Attic) Kathryn Jo...

A review of the year so far in music. Some great sounds in 2018. Enjoy. Playlist 489 - Best of 2018, Jan-July Kacy & Clayton – The siren’s song (New West Records) Kacey Johansing – The hiding (Night Bloom Records/Melodic) Jessica Risker – Anyway when I look in your eyes (Western Vinyl) Jim Ghedi – Sloade Lane (Basin Rock Records) Szun Waves – Constellation (The Leaf Label) Spindle Ensemble – Moonbow (Adderwell Music) Nightports w/ Matthew Bourne – Exit (The Leaf Label) Get Well Soon – Martyrs (City Slang) Caroline Says – First song (Western Vinyl) The Saxophones – Aloha (Full Time Hobby) Jack Hayter – At Crossness Pumping Station (Gare du Nord) Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread - Less than positive (Full Time Hobby) Jennifer Castle – Texas (Paradise of Bachelors) Kamasi Washington – The Space Traveller’s Lullaby (Young Turks) Django Django – In your beat (Because Music) De Lux – 875 dollars (Innovative Leisure) BOYTOY – Mary Anne (Stolen Body ...

A playlist for summer. Sunshine. Heatwave. (We've been having that around this neck of the woods.) When the heat does things to you. Changes your brain. Makes everything blurry. So it shimmers. Enjoy. Kacy & Clayton – The light of day (New West Records) Gene Clark – Why not your baby (A&M Records) The Byrds – Wild Mountain Thyme (Columbia) Jess Williamson – I see the white (Mexican Summer) Naim Gabriel Amor – Just before revelation (Vacilando ’68) Kamasi Washington – The Space Traveller’s Lullaby (Young Turks) Esquivel – My blue heaven (RCA) Ennio Morricone feat. Edda Dell’Orso – Una spiaggia a mezzogiorno (from the soundtrack of the film Vergogna Schifosi) (Ariete) LWW – CTP (radio edit) (The Leaf Label) Szun Waves – Constellation (The Leaf Label) Kody Nielson – Bic’s birthday (Flying Nun) Os Mutantes – Bat macumba (Polydor) Malena Zavala – If it goes (Yucatan Records) Tenniscoats – Ende (Alien Transistor) The Saxophones – Aloha (Full Ti...

******************************************************************************************************** Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble – Undying love for humanity (from the album Find me finding you , Drag City) Wonderful Brazilian twist on Laetitia’s signature kosmische. It’s hard to pick out any one element but I must say the vocals are a particular joy. Not just the lead which is as clear and pure as the best Stereolab . But the inspired backing ba da das which drive the playout. Still sounds fresh as a daisy almost a year after release. Michael Nau – I root (Full Time Hobby) Sublime hazy memories of love from Maryland in the US... ... as if Harry Nilsson turned his mind to happier fuzzier times. There’s very little detail to list here – a one and a half note guitar figure, a snare roll, a ride cymbal, a dream of a voice – but really the story is more to do with the atmosphere. Languid is a word. Sleepy maybe. Intimate for sure. ...

Some classic Pavement on the show this week from their great Wowee Zowee album from 1995. The Stevens from Melbourne sound like fans, taking their serpentine guitarlines and winding them into thrillingly surreal rock shapes. Marika Hackman too has something of the Pavement spirit I think. Her new album has lovely clipped acerbic lyric lines (hot and steamy too) and the backing from English group The Big Moon is good and sturdy and suitably spiky. Kamasi Washington is in Europe playing shows. Take 13 minutes out of your day to listen to his masterpiece ‘Truth’, an epic and freewheeling work of orchestral cosmic jazz. Future Islands are in the middle of an Irish tour (when did we think we’d ever be saying those words?). We heard one of their pre-Letterman genius cuts, authentic southern soul meeting a rushing New Order world view. And Joan Shelley with a delicate feather of a vocal a gorgeous uplifting thing of beauty. More on these pages. The Underground of Hap...

We played an extract from the new Kamasi Washington single a few weeks ago. It's an epic freewheeling piece in roughly three movements, featuring choir, orchestra, band, the works. This week, for your pleasure, we have the full wonderful 13 minutes. Around that we had a selection of somewhat like minded gems. Ennio Morricone , also genius employer of vocals in (mostly) instrumentals. Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble , influenced by Il Maestro for sure, but also dipping into some kind of deep Brazilian kosmimsche. The High Llamas , on tour in Ireland soon which is marvellous news. The Beach Boys , bringing a little baroque to contemplation of the universe and deeply moving. And Yorkston Thorne Khan , with another sublime crossing of western and Indian styles, playful yet still full of feeling. More on these pages. The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com www.facebook.com/theundergroundofhappines...

There’s a wonderful freewheeling atmosphere to this epic new music from the Los Angelean composer and bandleader... ...using the great and simple effect of massed voices, without harmonies and in unison, belting out a rousing melody and reaching a thrilling crescendo by the end. Also these things. The beauty of one riff and letting it breathe to the full. The orchestral majesty of the interlocking undertones and overtones. The stoic brass, twinkling xylophones and skittering drums. Not even the unexpected appearance of some Santana style guitar flourishes late on can ruin the mood. Inspirational is a word.

Kamasi Washington has a new EP out, called Harmony and Difference . We heard roughly one movement from the lead track 'Truth', it's about 13 minutes long in all (listen to it all below). It's a wonderful freewheeling affair with choir, orchestra, constantly shifting sands of drums, guitars, xylophones, saxophone of course, and more. Some beautiful BBC Radiophonic Workshop strangeness from Delia Derbyshire & Anthony Newley . Jane Weaver filling our lugs with great propulsions. Laetitia Sadier Source Ensemble with the drifting kosmische/psych pop. And some Appalachian a capella from House and Land , primal and ancient and quite strange in its way. 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 446 Tues May 9 2017 11.00am-12.00pm (repeated on Tuesdays 8.30pm) UCC 98.3FM listen ...