HOT CHIP NIGHT AND DAY

Hot Chip are back! I covered the first single from their upcoming fifth LP, In Our Heads, the wonderful 'Flutes' - but this new one, 'Night And Day' is no different. Well, of course it's a different song, but it's no less wonderful. Not at all.

The video is crazy. It's mental. It's directed by Peter Serafinowicz. But the song. It's a catchy, radio-friendly, car-windows-down kind of song - instantly electro. It has this galloping hi-hat going throughout, makes you feel like you need to keep up with it - so you're always listening. There's a breakdown towards the end of the song that could easily be from a 2 Bears number. It's much less glitch-oriented than their earlier stuff, but I am not complaining.

I am dancing in my chair.

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• Hot Chip's official site
• And here's Hot Chip on SoundCloud
• They're on Myspace too
• Become a fan of Hot Chip on Facebook
• Follow Hot Chip on Twitter
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MARCONI UNION BROKEN COLOURS

Marconi Union have an album coming out June 18th this year. Judging by this song, 'Broken Colours', it's going to be a collective anthem of beautiful sounds and such utter chill that you won't even know which way to lean or recline, a completely legitimate anthology of ambient prettiness.

The song is slow and has at its core a never ending wash of sound, warm and fuzzy, like a teddy bear, but like a teddy bear which is actually a vast ghost that is nowhere and is intangible. It's a study in dynamics and build-up, going from understated, almost tidal sounds, to a busy, bustling highway filled with delicate synth sounds. A busy afterlife, the plane beyond: an ever-shining limbo of electronica.

Underneath it all there's this muffled, metronomic dub-like beat, carrying with it the gentlest bass sounds and a snare that comes only every so often, but reverberates as if it would go on echoing forever.

It's the perfect kind of music for the weather we are currently experiencing in London. A fluid sound to wash over us like an ethereal sprinkler as we melt in the glory of the sun, languidly going about our lives in the oneness of the heat. What an illustration of the friendly sun! 'Broken Colors' is a wonderful effort from the Manchester-based Marconi Union, and I am anticipating their album very gladly. More than that, I hope that the weather will continue to match these skyward, totemic and all-encompassing sounds of vast comfort.

Listen for yourself below.



They are a very relaxing group. In fact, a little Google threw up this article on the Telegraph's site. Have a read. But for the moment, enjoy this quote:

Boffins say the eight minute track, called Weightless, is so effective at inducing sleep it should not be listened to while driving.

Manchester trio Marconi Union worked with sound therapists to create the soothing tune, which also slows breathing and reduces brain activity.

Scientists played the song to 40 women and found it to be more effective at helping them relax than songs by Enya, Mozart and Coldplay.

The study - commissioned by bubble bath and shower gel firm Radox Spa - found the song was even more relaxing than a massage, walk or cup of tea.

Nuff said.

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• Marconi Union's OFFICIAL SITE
• Follow Marconi Union on Twitter
• Find out more about them on Wikipedia
• ... And they're still on Myspace.
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NZCA/LINES OKINAWA CHANNELS

'Channels, Okinawa n. (oki-nawa) : def. Neutral objects become active. Surfaces form conduits for distant messages.'

Whatever it means, 'Okinawa Channels' by rising star NZCA/LINES is a force to be reckoned with. I'm talking about this one a bit late in the day, but there is always time to feature wonderful music and this song counts as particularly wonderful indeed.

Please listen/watch video below if you have never heard 'Okinawa Channels' before.


Somehow it captures a sunny early 90s pop-song vibe, pure electronica but with a retro throwback that gives it an indomitable sound. It's a tribute to, or sounds like a tribute to, this style of music. The execution is fabulous, the sounds rising up in waves, delivering fuzzy synth straight into the pleasure centre of the brain. It is lush and refreshing, like a water fight on hot grass.

It reminds me of having the radio on in the kitchen in summer. School has broken up and all the windows in the house are open, letting a breeze blow in. That's what it sounds like, anyway. NZCA/LINES writes some great melodies, including a nice little, Japanese-inspired refrain that keeps coming back like a happy yo-yo over the top of a dextrous, warm bassline. A satisfyingly complex (to an extent) beat carries the song on its back, including the singalong vocals.

A brilliant song. I cannot stop listening to it. Comes from the album NZCA/LINES.

And I am very happy this guy is from London.

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• NZCA/LINES official site!
• Follow NZCA/LINES on Twitter
• Listen to more NZCA/LINES on SoundCloud
• Facebook page for NZCA/LINES
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HEALTH TEARS MAX PAYNE 3 SOUNDTRACK

My God. My sweet Jesus. I'm not religious, but I almost became so after I confirmed my suspicions: the song on the Max Payne 3 advert IS by HEALTH!

I love HEALTH, I have loved HEALTH for a long time. They're an interesting band. Their earlier stuff is characterised by brutally vigorous drums, crunching, alien-sounding distorted guitars and screeching electronics, topped with faint vocals that float ghostly above all the chaos. It was also characterised by a flagrant, revelling disregard for time signature or normal track dynamics.

Both of their albums, the self-titled HEALTH and their somewhat milder second outing, Get Color, have been turned into remix albums (HEALTH DISCO and HEALTH DISCO 2). This is a clever move as it gets some very good names, Salem and Crystal Castles to name just two, involved in the process of getting HEALTH's name to the masses. This next move is even cleverer.

HEALTH have created hundreds of hours of their gritty, no-frills, balls-out electro/noise/rock for Rockstar's new Max Payne 3. Probably comes as a surprise to many, not least to me, but it's a very smart move: both by Rockstar and HEALTH. It's a benefit for the two. The videogame gets some amazing music; HEALTH gets recognition they'd probably never have imagined. Listen below, if you haven't heard it already.

And if you have heard it already, you know you'll want to listen again.



'Tears' - what a song. It towers above you, distorting and relentless, insanely repetitive but addictively so. Their scratchy bleeps are sheer gems of production, turning what was just a strange Noise band into a fully-fledged, albeit underground (but for how long?), electro-rock band. A lot like HEALTH DISCO 2 track (not a remix), 'USA Boys'.

The crazed drums have gone, but remain strong. They are the heart of the track, played with a thunderous force and augmented electronically so that everything fits nicely, but jumps out at you at the same time. That's not to forget what gave it away for me in the beginning: the vocals. The phantomlike, nearly monotone, slightly altered, quiet and unassuming vocals - these wind in and out of the stamping sounds calmly, with all the minimalist, meditative philosophy of a Zen koan.

I cannot get enough of this song. I want the soundtrack.

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• HEALTH on Twitter
• HEALTH on Myspace
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THE INTEREST GROUP THE PASSENGER & THE BOYS AND THE GIRLS

Self-releasing things these days is the norm. Why not? It's a really simple way to connect with thousands of people very quickly. There's no use messing about with a record label or a PR company, or both, if what you want to do is get your sounds out there as quickly as possible.

As such, wild Philadelphian soft rockers The Interest Group are joining the self-doers, musical polymaths who all think that do-it-yourself does it best: they have released a two-song EP (I suppose) on both their Bandcamp and SoundCloud pages. It's called ∞. Infinity? Infinity sign? Either way, it doesn't matter.

They seem to have found a bridge somewhere in the world that spans the gap between now and the psychedelic freewheelers of the late 1960s. From the sounds of it, they frequent this temporal crossing quite often, revelling in beauty of it. They basically sound like this picture above.

'The Passenger' soars as a kind of melancholic Nancy Sinatra-esque airship above any kind of modern sound. Complete with guitar sounds straight from a spaghetti Western, not only does this song scream Americana, but it also whispers darker, more sombre themes. 'The Girls And The Boys', on the other hand, is a little more sunny, starting with a chaotic intro that makes it seem as if a surf rock song is coming along. However, what ensues is a Jefferson Airplane-meets-lo-fi-Beatles chill-out of a song - from the washed-out vocals to the poppy bassline, it's a soft, cushiony song that presents less hard edges than 'The Passenger'.

Get to know. Can't wait for more songs. The enigma of The Interest Group will reveal itself soon!



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• The Interest Group on SoundCloud
• Here's their Bandcamp page
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