Showing posts with label Southampton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Southampton. Show all posts

Saturday, 7 September 2013

GANG COLOURS LED BY EXAMPLE

Here is some really moody music. I don't mean moody as in, ill-tempered, but moody as in brims with emotion. Yep. Exactly that. It's from the Southampton-native (that's in the UK for people that don't know) Gang Colours and it's called 'Led By Example' - it comes from his upcoming second album, Invisible In Your City, out 16th September on Gilles Peterson's label, Brownswood. It is a storm of sound that suits perfectly this sudden transition from Summer to Autumn - perhaps it's just my mood. Either way, it's slow and sultry and it packs a damn nice punch.

It begins with piano chords, the type that progress in such a way as to conjure the feeling of rain falling, a hollow sound in those wooden tones. Sampling his own voice, it loops alongside the richly reverbing chords. Unrelenting bass zooms in taking no prisoners. It wobbles the air and helps to herald the semblance of a beat creeping in from underneath. Mr Gang Colours (aka Will Ozanne) himself sings on the track, sounding good in layers with thick dollops of echo giving it a faraway sound. Here the bass becomes meaner, resonant, as the beat begins to shake nervously all around.

A break gives the piano a chance to have its own spotlight once more, synth chords building up to the next drop into an ocean of bass and more glorious vocals. In some ways, this is a mire of melancholy close to bleakness yet it's done in such a way that makes it beautiful. The music itself, the melodies, the detached tinkling of the piano, the near monotone frankness of Will's own nicely textured voice, gives it an atmosphere of measured sadness without it actually sounding "dark".

There's a beat here, but there's nothing so concrete as to give you a clue into which genre it might neatly slot. That's what's so nice about this - it's completely fresh. It's not particularly following anything that's gone before it. Literally, if somebody asked me, "What kinda music is this?" I'd say, "dunno" - that's how much of an expert I am. There's a mix of organic sounds, a slow concentrated selection of beats, samples, heavily altered vocals - all to a slow, dirgy rhythm. I don't know if the title is supposed to be ironic or not because this definitely doesn't seem led by example. In any case, I've exhausted myself. It's a nice song. Let's be happy that there's more to come.

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Listen to Gang Colours on SoundCloud
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Thursday, 11 July 2013

GANG COLOURS MAN UP GIRL! OPEN FOR BUSINESS MIX

Everyone loves a good mix, don't they? I know I do. There's sometimes nothing better than getting yourself set up - whether it be sunbathing in the garden with blanket, book, suncream (stay safe), drink; eating breakfast on a Sunday morning with TV (for the news), best-breakfast-ever, some kind of juice; or working inside with coffee, inbox open, stressball to hand - and once you're in position and raring to go, blasting a good mix. Ahh, the pleasures of the mix know no bounds. No choosing the songs yourself. No getting up to change CD. Just a set amount of time, decided by said mix, to enjoy a daily task. For in daily tasks there is immense glory.

So anyway, there's a lot to be said for mixes. From 20 minutes to a few hours, they come in all shapes and sizes. Very versatile things. And on that note, you can also use them for a soundtrack to a not-so-daily task, something like - oh I dunno - the Grand Opening of a shop. That's the case in this instance, anyway. Gang Colours, whose lovely The Keychain Collection came as a fanfare of absolute chill last year, has created this 'Open For Business' mix for the opening of Man Up Girl!, a street & skatewear shop for women in Southampton (he is close friends with the founder, it's not a random thing).

Some of the stuff in that shop looks incredible. The prints are bright and funky with more than a little leaning towards the retro - quite frankly I wish I were able to wear some of that stuff. Maybe I could get away with a T-shirt or two... Check it out: www.manupgirl.com

Anyway, Gang Colours has made this lovely mix. Listen to it.

With effortless flow, GC delivers a hip hop-hearted 35-minute mix that really is a mix, I mean like in the literal sense of the word yo. From the dripping ambience of Volcano Choir to Isabelle Antena's pioneering electro-samba, the sultry crooning of My Toys Like Me and the rich harmonies of The Beach Boys, it is a mixed mix. Yet never once does it feel clunky. Not at all. I feel bad even SAYING that word because nothing like that ever even comes near to approaching your ears. It's fluid and summery, the soundtrack to chilling out under the dappled shade of a tree, to the heat of busy streets, to summer-breeze-filled houses.

Toeing a line between retro and modern, attitudinal and nonchalant, it shows off not only the skill of GC but also his wide taste in music. He's got a second release coming up on Gilles Peterson's label Brownswood, and this mix only reminds me of how excited we should be about that.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS MIX TRACKLIST:
Pink Priest - Field of Orgasms
2morrows Victory - Lift Off
Co$$ - Searching
RZA - The Birth
Volcano Choir - Dote
DELS - Black Salad
Isabelle Antena - Naughty Naughty
Common - Testify
Infinite Body - Drive Dreams Away
James Pants - Green Rivers
My Toys Like Me - All Over My Face
Daru Jones - Oh pt. 2
B. Lewis - Dat Juice
The Beach Boys - Walk On By
Rammellzee Vs K-Rob - Beat Pop
Shigeto - What U Really Needed Ft. Brandon Mitchell & Carlos Garcia

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Listen to Gang Colours on SoundCloud
Like Gang Colours on Facebook
Hear more Gang Colours on Myspace
Follow Gang Colours on Twitter

Check the official Man Up Girl! site
Like Man Up Girl! on Facebook
Follow Man Up Girl! on Twitter