Y/N GUEST MIX 023 :: GOODNIGHT CODY

HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's 2015! Imagine that! We made it! We're still here! And to kick-start this year – whose numbers, if you're into numerology, add up to 8 (v lucky number) – we have an exclusive tasty guest mix from a producer whom I admire quite a bit. What a New Year's surprise this is!

First time I stumbled across music created by this man he went under the name Snorlax. As any good Pokémon fan, I followed my nose and leapt into his pool of music and found it to be like, well, just a delight, if I'm allowed to say so. Now creating music under Goodnight Cody, a moniker little closer to real life (his name is Cody Farwell) this producer and bass-player from Los Angeles creates music that at once introduces groove and atmosphere in scene-setting unions, tracks that jiggle your body and your mind at the same time – take, for instance, the wonder that is 'Full Count (Bases Loaded!)', it conjures an actual baseball game, a cartoony, Peanuts-esque baseball game. And that bass, right?!

And yes: he plays bass, has been since age 12, soon after realising he was "a horrible drummer" (which he started playing when he was 8). Then he started writing songs on guitar and piano at 15. "I've always been drawn to music," he tells me, "and I believe that is what started me to create it."

Coming from a punk background, the first electronic music that attracted him was that of Squarepusher; Cody "fell in love with his extreme sounds." Afterwards it was a case of "digging deeper and deeper for new sounds & styles, looking for inspiration."

After I asked nicely, he very kindly agreed to make a mix for YES/NO. And what a mix. Self-confessedly "constantly digging for timeless music from all over the world," it really shows in the collection he's put together for us.

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I think what continues to inspire me is the search for the perfect song for the perfect moment

CODY FARWELL

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"These tracks in the mix are very important to me," he explains, "as they are all by artists that have changed the way I perceive music." He tells me he never understood or enjoyed electro-pop until he heard Sonic Coaster Pop a few years back, and likewise with blues or gospel – "I didn't think [it] was very interesting, or that it would eventually change my life." He divulges it was listening to Blind Wille McTell that changed all that for him: "I found it to be an experience like no other."

This selection of music – "a good look" into the sounds Cody loves, an international hotch-potch ("I also love hearing a melody or an instrument and knowing what country or region it's from," he says) – is a pick-'n'-mix of wildly different flavours, from the soul-elating gospel of 'It's Been a Mighty Good Day', penned by Dr. Maceo Woods, and its sleepy, acoustic-guitar-laden neighbour 'Doçura Forte' by Brazilian singer Joyce, to the frenetic 'Amscray' by LA producer / boss of label Magical Properties, Daedelus, and the sugary hyperactivity of international J-pop phenomenon Perfume on their track 'ポイント'.

That's not to mention two gems from the brain of Yann Tomita, namely the heart-melting 'Some Day, That Place In Time' (by Doopees) and mix opener by Astro Age Steel Orchestra, 'Living Message From Pan Yard #2', or the v famous 1928 song 'Statesboro Blues' by Blind Willie McTell, or a spot of raï singing in 'El Fermlia' from Algerian artist Boutaiba Sghir – it's all lovingly patched together with Goodnight Cody's mixing skills, a mélange of seemingly disparate genres, jarring time periods and contrasting artists, all united with heart and soul.

So, now it's time for you to enjoy this, the longest mix ever made for Y/N! Have fun! :)

• T R A C K L I S T •

1. Astro Age Steel Orchestra - Living Message From Pan Yard #2
2. Sonic Coaster Pop - Spiral Neo Wave
3. Sonic Coaster Pop - SOCOPOGOGO
4. Gangpol & Mit - la comptine
5. Gorillaz - Dub Dumb
6. naivepop or petitfool - Chopstick Rest -休息は大事だよ-
7. Harpo Marx - They Say That Falling In Love Is Wonderful
8. 800 Cherries - Frozen
9. Hello Astronaut, Goodby Television - Masterpiece Backwards
10. Oleg Kostrow - Falling Dreams
11. Daedelus - Amscray
12. YMCK - 左折して右折して
13. Soundmurderer - Awamori
14. Bells Of Joy - There'll Be No More Sorrow
15. Perfume - ポイント
16. Boutaiba Sghir - El Fermlia
17. Itsutsu No Akai Fusen - I will kick a pebble
18. Squarepusher - Rebus
19. Hazel Nuts Chocolate - Kitten's Breaks Dub
20. Mount Kimbie - Maybes (James Blake Remix)
21. Blind Willie McTell - Statesboro Blues
22. Doopees - Some Day, That Place In Time
23. Sam Cooke - (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
24. Dr. Maceo Woods - It's Been a Mighty Good Day
25. Joyce - Doçura Forte / Água e Luz

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• Mr Cody is a part of beat collective Team Supreme – go check 'em out!

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☟ Goodnight Cody Social Media Presence ☟
Facebook • SoundCloud • Bandcamp • Twitter

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THIEVES LIKE US BLEED BLEED BLEED

Today, Thieves Like Us release new album Bleed Bleed Bleed following around five years of success since first appearing on a Kitsuné CD back in 2007. Via various international cities, such as Berlin and New York, the glittery dance-pop trio found themselves finally in Paris, making music that reeks of the French capital's ineffable stylish cool.

Finding solace in throwback 80s sounds like David Bowie and Iggy Pop, in their most glam of days, their music finds a convenient shelf space next to what would be a cross between contemporary stars of the late 2000s, Hot Chip and Crystal Castles - according to their Bio on YouTube. I don't find the comparison unfavourable. That 80s twist, however, gave them an edge and a different sound, and has evolved into what we hear now.

The album has this glorious sound, this echoing gloom that has been turned into wonderfully danceable tracks. This one below, 'Stay Blue', is a prime example (just the title alone). The bassline is deceptively chripy, a street-wise-sounding lot of trumps on a swag-along-the-pavement beat. Add to this a glitsy arrangement of synth strings that envelop everything else, and you have yourself a pretty nice song.



It's catchy, summer-afternoon music, perfectly aligned to the sun as it drops - not as it rises. If you're worried that this is an anomaly on the album then don't worry: the same atmosphere is garnered through the next series of songs, the swaggering attitude of title track 'Bleed Bleed Bleed' is a good example, as is the cocksure beat of 'Still Life', which features in it some laid-back, jangly guitar.

Darker still - but dark like a sun behind clouds, not dark like a dark room - is 'Fatima' and 'The Killing Revelation', the latter finding its melancholy pierced by cheery guitar stabs and pretty virtuoso bass. Actually, 'Bleed Bleed Bleed II' came as a pleasant surprise - almost a remix of the fist track of the album, it's a relatively energetic punt what with a little distorted guitar and a fast-paced chorus with some relentless drums thrown in for good measure.

Then we have the utter 80s vibe of 'Maria Marie' - listen below. It couldn't be any more that era if it tried. Everything from the vocals, to the slowly galloping beat, the empty echoes of the synthed-up bass and the blippy melodic notes fizzing around on top, smacks of many yesteryears ago.



That's not to say it's not a beautiful song, because it is. It is proper electro-pop. It's electro-pop in a suit, with a serious head on its shoulders.

The rest of the album goes as you'd expect it to, from vocal-heavy 'Memory Song', and a similarly-vibed 'Your Love Runs Still' (which could be a Hot Chip song, if Hot Chip loved these kinds of basslines as much as Thieves Like Us do). Closing on 'Worthy To Me', Bleed Bleed Bleed finishes with expansive, ambient sounds - possibly on the most 'serious' song of the album - and finishes favourably. It's an album of much sameness, but that is not a bad thing. If anything, it's a good thing.

I mean, you could even say Mozart sounds a bit samey. All those violins. More of the same sound, if the sound is really nice, is a good thing. It's the reason why you'd listen to the same song 10 times in a row. And if you'd do that, why not go one better and listen to a whole album of similar sounds?

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• Listen to Thieves Like Us on SoundCloud
• They have a Myspace page, too
• Official site for Thieves Like Us
• Facebook page
• Follow Thieves Like Us on Twitter
• (They're on YouTube, as well)
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COMPUTER MAGIC TRINITY

Relatively new Kitsuné hero, Computer Magic has released a new EP (12th March), Orion. It's hip-swaying, disco-friendly synth, harking back nearly to the heyday of this kind of electronic music (2006/7). But it still seems wonderfully relevant. How could it not be? Not heard of Computer Magic? Don't worry. Here's something from the About section of the official Computer Magic site:

Computer Magic began in the Winter/Summer of 2010, and is the solo project of 22-year-old DJ/blogger Danielle “Danz” Johnson.

Danz is originally from upstate New York, and now resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Currently, Danz is working on Computer Magic’s first full length album with Chris Egan on drums and percussion.

If this debut album is going to be anything like this EP, filled to the brim as it is with gentle, unearthly electro stylings that have marked the evolution from the brash, party-time saw-waves of a few years ago: it's now smart, minimal, moody and marked with a sensitivity to both a bit of headspace as well as the dancefloor. Here's 'Trinity', a song from the EP - have a listen:



What do you think? It has this consistent disco-esque bassline that keeps the song going underneath fizzy synth and distorted electronic squeals that serve as a great melody. The ambient warm sound that rise up every now and again lend the song a pop quality, especially in the chorus - when everything becomes jangly and climactic. A little New Young Pony Club, you know, but darker. Electro-pop heaven for a time in our collective history that isn't all roses.

It doesn't sound new. But then again, it doesn't sound old, old as in re-hashed I mean. It sounds of a certain era, and it sounds just fine that way. If you have Spotify, I recommend giving this very Kitsuné-typical artist a good listen. Those electro-pop soundscapes come alive in this new EP.

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• Here's Computer Magic on SoundCloud
• He's on defunct old Myspace, too
• Facebook page for Computer Magic
• He also has an official site
• And Computer Magic is on Twitter!
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QUEEN OF HEARTS SPANISH SAHARA

This is the new song from Queen of Hearts - yes, it's a cover of 'Spanish Sahara' by the unobsequious Foals; and yes, it certainly sounds the part. Have a listen below to the electro-pop goodness:


You can still download this track from SoundCloud - I would (I have).

Though, all goodness aside, there seems to be something not quite there about this number. Whilst it sounds great, the worry for me is how easily this sound could be transferred onto someone more generic. It's self-styled electro-pop, sure, but it sounds nearly too in the direction of formulated pop to be altogether spirit-liftingly life-changingly exciting.

However, that is a little harsh; I just think it could've been done better. Is it because the original is so good? Could well be. I particularly like the last third of the song, where the crescendo begins to build up, with some lovely floating-ghost vocals sweeping over the top like clouds in front of the moon. The whole song should've been like this, then built up to something even more intense. That's it - that's what it's missing. Intensity. And it's also missing more dreaminess - where the soft-harsh sighs fly around is the most perfect part of this song, and it's where more attention should be focused, rather than forcing out some arpeggiated synth as an afterthought.

Nevertheless, I am looking forward to hearing more from Queen of Hearts. She has a new EP coming out soon, The Arrival (3rd October), so with Foals' masterpiece as its centrepiece it will be interesting to see, and more importantly, hear what else is on the spread.

• Like what you hear? There's plenty more on her SoundCloud
• And why not follow Queen of Hearts on Twitter?

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