The Underground of Happiness

The human voice. Singers. Vocalists. Solo. In groups. Harmonies. Dissonance. A capella. Sotto voce. Screeches. Swoops. Croons. Devotional. An attack. A glide. A growl. A swoon. A yearning. Jazz. Blues. Folk. Pop. Psych. Electro. Classical. Doo Wop. Whatever. Sometimes the simple effect of massed voices. Sometimes singing just for the joy of it. Sometimes a voice not technically great but still with something great about it. Intonations are involved too. Maybe not even words. A voice below the brain. Giving breath to feelings. Backing vocals. Sometimes so crucial and innovative they are the true heart of a song. Backing vocals that don’t deserve to be called backing. Some of my favourite singers and vocal arrangements and performances. Enjoy. ************************************************** Playlist Cocteau Twins – Cherry coloured funk (4AD) Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares – Pilentzee Pee (4AD) Julianna Barwick – The magic place (Asthmat...

This week's show was dominated by a look back at some of my favourite music of 2014. (There'll be more on this in the next few weeks by the way, stay tuned for details.) So plenty of album of the year candidates in Caribou and Wildbirds & Peacedrums , Future Islands and East River Pipe (albeit reissued), Adrian Crowley and Aldous Harding . There was also some new music from Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Slow Dancing Society , more from both of those in the new year. And a Hawaiian Christmas treatment from Arthur Lyman (thanks Trunk Records ), just to keep things seasonal. As I said, more on the blog over the next few weeks on my fave music of 2014. And the next show is on Jan 6th. Happy holidays. Dec 16 2014 w/ Caribou,W&P,Adrian Crowley,Jessica Pratt,Aldous Harding,Cool Ghouls,East River Pipe++ by The Underground Of Happiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed www.theundergroundofhappiness.blogspot.com...

The 4th album from Swedish husband & wife duo Mariam Wallentin and Andreas Werliin is all about the blues. Although not necessarily the blues as you know them. There is the pain of the blues, the desire of the blues, the tension and release, the insistent rhythm of the blues. That’s not to say that it’s miserable or depressing, far from it. It’s one of the most invigorating records you’ll hear. But all the songs revolve around that blues hub. So the opener ‘Ghosts and pains’ sets a series of vocal sighs, gasps and gospel flourishes above a repeating drum tattoo. Knockout single ‘The offbeat’ takes a more strident tone, Werliin exploring the limits of the snare drum while Wallentin implores and pleads as if her life depends on it. That’s the thing with Wildbirds & Peacedrums , you always get the feeling that they are committed, to the core. It makes listening to them a thrilling experience. ‘Mind blues’ mentions the genre explicitly but the scattergun of pe...

More new material from Wildbirds & Peacedrums this week - their wonderful new album is available to stream on Spotify and bandcamp now. And a new band (on me) with a Halloween reference from San Francisco, Cool Ghouls , playing sprightly psych rock which I like very much. Also a new album from Elisa Luu , great to hear from her again, and sounding just as beautiful and strange as ever. Silver Servants with Anna Bronsted on vocals, and that gauzy dream pop that I hear as a kind of companion sound. Benjamin Schoos is back too, new album soon but here's the single feat. April March on duetting vocals - swoonsome is the word. Grasscut covering Robert Wyatt gorgeously. And East River Pipe being many shades of wonderful. More on these pages as always. Oct 28 2014 w/ Cool Ghouls,W&P,Little Tornados,Benjamin Schoos,East RIver Pipe,Elisa Luu++ by The Underground Of Happiness on Mixcloud The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed ...

The great new Caribou album loomed large over this week's show - from it we played the gorgeous 'All I ever need'. I find I'm pairing it with the new Wildbirds & Peacedrums material, they have a second thrilling single of drumbeat soul (let's call it) from their upcoming new album. I've been reading the 4AD biography of late so I thought it'd be nice to pull out some Tarnation from 1997, an old No Disco staple in the Donal Dineen days. You could file that sound next to Calexico, so as luck would have it we also had the writer Sylvie Simmons with her debut album produced by that other Tucson legend Howe Gelb . Sean Nicholas Savage plays in Ireland this week, Paul Smith & Peter Brewis with beautiful, lyrical chamber pop. A Lazarus Soul and Women's Christmas , two fine Irish bands with new albums out around now. Jennifer Castle and A Winged Victory For The Sullen , you'll find more on the blog on those; Circus Devils and GBV , ...

A special extended 2-hour show this week to usher us back in after the August recess. And there was quite the backlog of stonking new music to get through. Like Wildbirds & Peacedrums , stripping the punk out of punk funk to leave you with something sounding like Nina Simone jamming with LCD Soundsystem. And Caribou , with more delicious deep soul/house grooves. There's some gorgeous new folk cuts from Rachael Dadd, Lutine and Mary Lattimore & Jeff Zeigler finishing this first hour. Some intriguing psych from Brother Earth , and cosmic country from The Asteroid #4 . And kosmische from the debut SlowPlaceLikeHome album, that's a beaut; and the new Laetitia Sadier project, Little Tornados . Like The Fall, she's always the same, always different. Plus a Japanese memory from 1996 by Takako Minekawa , alongside something from her new album with Dustin Wong , the completely unhinged and wonderful slice of wonky pop that is 'She he see feel'. Sep...

Great to hear back from this Swedish duo after four years (they’ve been busy, just not as Wildbirds & Peacedrums ). Soulful, primal, visceral – one drumbeat and one voice (some layers of both, and a few bleeps later). There’s also cowbell involved. I’m listening to it just now and imagining Nina Simone hooking up with early LCD Soundsystem. Punk funk stripped back to the bone, a meditation on the beat (sexual desire comes into it), dredging this from the deepest core. In a word. Thrilling. From the upcoming new album Rhythm , due out on Leaf in November. I can't wait. Rhythm by Wildbirds & Peacedrums

The Underground of Happiness uplifting pop music of every creed Best of 2010 Podcast *in most cases, you'll find album and label details for these in the "best of 2010"  post   *d'load this podcast at http://rapidshare.com/files/437128544/UOH_Best_of_2010_Podcast.mp3 Playlist   Frankie Rose & the Outs - Candy Field Music - Measure  Future Islands - Tin man Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round and round Caribou - Odessa Peter Broderick - Part I: Discovery (from the soundtrack of the dance piece Congregation ) Toro y Moi - Leave everywhere Wildbirds & Peacedrums - Fight for me Bjork & Dirty Projectors - On and ever onward Joanna Newsom - '81 CocoRosie - Hopscotch Boxharp - The green Sone Institute - On tree hill She & Him - Over it over again Oh No Ono - Swim Secret Cities - Boyfriends The Chap - Pain fun Seeland - Black dot, white spider Darren Hayman & the Secondary Modern feat. Emmy the Great - Calling out your name again Dum Dum Gi...