Two tracks today from Moshi Moshi Records, a British label doing good things with folktronics and indie rock, and, um, other stuff.
Matt Harding - "What I Meant to Say". Starts as a lukewarm, echoing folk thing, like a Reindeer Section b-side, but then that ends as soon as it started, reemerging with clicks, careful picking, and warm baths of sound. "Cause I'll be the one who's here for you," Harding repeats, over and over. It's a mantra that doesn't need much fuel, it seems - there's enough here, in these little sounds, to push it forward, to make the assertion true. Glimmers of Four Tet, shades of Sam Beam, and the shiny black eyes of a longing lover. From Committment. [buy]
Pedro vs Kathryn Williams - "Demons in Cases". Kathryn Williams is one of my very favourite English singers - just as soon as I get my hands on her new covers record (Pavement! Nirvana!), there will be a whole Said the Gramophone post devoted to her restrained, cloudy delivery. In the mean time, though, here's a track from her collaboration with the DJ James Rutledge,. Her words break apart, tumbling over cliffs and into pink-fiery pits. Squelches bump up against Books-like string-samples, an electro vibe drifting through like neon gas. Pedro's part of Twisted Nerve-signed DOT (whom I've never heard); the production's by Joe Robinson (Badly Drawn Boy/Lone Pigeon), and you can hear a little of that pre-Bewilderbeast play. (Note: Robinson didnt produce anything pre-Bewilderbeast. But still.) Pretty, diving, and thick as chocolate cake. Ends a little prematurely, though. [buy]
People should definitely go out and grab Mase's new track, "Welcome Back." It's jovial, abashed, totally likable. In other words - good.
RIP, Elvin Jones! And for those who don't know his work enough - like me - start (or resume) your listening with some tracks at The Suburbs Are Killing Us. I'll be listening to A Love Supreme a lot, tomorrow.
gmail swap update: I spoke today with reporters from Wired News and the Ottawa Citizen. The Canadian Press story made the front page of Google News. It's mad!