BEYOND THE WIZARD'S SLEEVE

...is one of the greatest band names EVER. EVER EVER.


So... I haven't really slept much this evening. I snoozed a little but, mostly, I spent the evening alternately writing and jerking off.
I think I've exhausted the seemingly inexhaustible supply of fetishes listed on TubeKitty - I mean, there's only so much more and more bizarre and, somehow enticing, your searches can become before the chance of a hit obviously, and unfortunately  lessen.
I mean, searching "Midget Amputee Anal Watersports" is guaranteed to not get you a hit.

But all that is mostly besides the point.



I have a little rockenroll tale to weave before your eyes. I'll try to keep it brief and concise, but the chances of that are very slim as to be practically non-existent. I can only promise to not lie. I'll presume to myself that I only speak the truth in the following paragraphs - Like James Murphy, who only cuts like a knife. I'm just going to Lester BANG this shit out.. like a dribble.. just a fucken WRITE. Faces of Coltrane SHIT.
You see, the thing is, for the past year and a half so me and music have been fighting; I think we've been mostly avoiding eachother so that we don't hurt eachothers feelings. This makes alot of sense considering my recent penchant for the washed out, the overly reverby, the mostly non-comittal sounds that I have been absorbing - it started unconsciously but, at some point, I realised something was very very wrong.
Now, this may seem absurd to you. A rather overdramatic statement, perhaps. But, since you are reading a music blog, I can mayhaps assume you are as much of a music obsessive as I am: once you have noted this characteristic it doesn't seem like a silliness at all. We all know how effecting music can be. It can hurt. It can change and transform you. It is fucken magick, and powerful magick at that. And you are a wizard, of course. You know how to wield this power, and I don't have to say much more than that, do I?
No.
Fuck You, you fucken wizard.

You see, I didn't want to feel. I really didn't. There was some dire avoidance. And this rode over into other sectors of my life; bleeding into things with a slow insidious sickness - don't get me wrong. I love shoegaze. I love nu-gaze. I love SHOEHAZE. I love the non-committal: hazyness is fucken awesome.
But not ALL the TIME. It starts to do things. :O






BUT POINT.
Essentially this little tale comes to head this past weekend which, I can unequivocally state was one of the best I have EVER, EVER had. It really was. I still feel a warm transformative white fiery glow burst from my chest region. No lies.


I was tired. Tired of HAZE. Tired of BEATS. TIRED OF CARING ABOUT ALL OF YOU.

So, for my DJ set at Kitchener's this Saturday past I sat and meticulously crafted a rather torrid, confrontational, obnoxious noise-based set. I wanted to kill. I wanted to walk up to music and strangle it and shout:
"FUCK YOU, CUNT. LET'S JUST FUCKEN HURT EACHOTHER AGAIN, OK? OK."

I thought this set would be painful, in the wrong sense, for people. I thought, I really truly believed, it was just a mite bit too much: people would run in utter terror and fear back to the bar, at a slow walk, a small patronising shake of the head, murmuring: "what the fuck".

I didn't succeed, to my intense surprise. I mean, people danced. And I killed myself, Ishouted out choruses; I spazzed myself the fuck out. I, to sound a touch silly, FELT IT. I fucken did. And, apparently, so did a whole bunch of others.



Now, of course, I need not mention the obvious ones, the ones from our personal Post-Secret Legendarium, the fucken heroes that decided they'd pop through. The ones with true magic bursting from the fingertips and pouring from the mouths like liquid gold: the ones for whom music truly HURTS. It PAINS them.
But good PAINS. PURE HEART.
I needn't mention them, but I think I very well shall. They are great, truly great human beings.
There is Rob Cass for whom music is a battle. We swear at eachother in sheer wonderment, cursing and gesticulating wildly, we look like we're fighting eachother when we do our little bursts.
There is Kyle Wallace. God. That boy. What a fucker, eh? And so fucken young [quote Losing My Edge under your breath why don't ya?]. How does he have such grand taste. Young little cocksucker.
There's Colleen Balchin.
*She is the most beautiful GURL in the whole of Joburg.*
 She makes dresses seem like some bizarre transformative uniform of utter and disastrous power. And she can DANCE. FOR HOURS.
REALLY. REALLY REALLY, LIKE FOR REALZ. And SEX. AND MARRYING RIAAN.
There's Iain Cluett, that fucken faggot. And, yes, if you're in and about and out in the, dare I use the word, motherfucken "scene", your girlfriend has undoubtedly fallen in love with him. Who wouldn't?

There is the Jewish Vampire, Warren Cohen, 138 yrs old, give or take; we're not sure and neither is he. I suspect he was drunk as fuck when he was turned, had blacked out, and woke up undead. He hasn't expounded on how this felt. Frankly I couldn't care. His heroin chiclessness is striking and he kills people with his Anti-Folk guitar. AMPERSAND. LOOK IT UP, CUNT.

OR, HERE:




 Dead.


And, last, but so not even close to least, if we were grading, is Riaan motherfucken Botha; He knows too much, Bonapartie. Too much. It's absurd. He'll make a link from something you like and rant off 5 acts you should, and MUST, be listening to. What a cunt. I don't understand how he fits it all up there?

All you others know just exactly who you are. But my fingers got tired.
*lights fag, sips mampoer*

Shit.
So... there was them, they came, they watched in awe [sick sic] and pure joyous enrapturation or something of that notionness as I got away with THESE:

LIARS and
EVANGELICALS and
COLD CAVE and
EAT SKULL and
JAPANTHER and
 noise noise noise. FUCK OFF noise. FUCKEN <3 br="br" hz="hz" noiz.="noiz.">

I thought all the noise/lo-fi/garage kids had died out in the Electro-Jock massacre of 2k6.
No, they were waiting, apparently.

And, as I poured out my heart, played songs that I had KNOWN before just would KILL the FLOOR and make me ingloriously sad; and as I smoked and steamed and downed beers and thrashed and pained and raised my hands heavenly for THAT chorus, and pushed some buttons here and there which is, ask anyone, SO FUCKEN DIFFICULT, I, of course, felt validated. I was right. About it all. I had forgotten how to make Magick Spells. I had forgotten how to be effective. God, I even 'finished' with JPNDRDS' The Boys Are Leaving Town which, I thought, was a rather magnificent song to end with, of course. Haha. Hoho. Sly musical thingymadoodles.
I ended with an Addendum. A secret track by noise-pop-dancey as fucken hell Think About Life's secret track form their S/T which BEGS you to:
"CLOSE YOUR EYES." It's fucken SCREAMY AND SHOUTY AND FUCK OFF AND DIE AND DEAD DEATH AND... strangely, so full of fucken life I can't believe it.

I was happy, truly happy, in that moment. My joy washed ridiculously around after that as I spilt burnt ochres and swished around bitter oranges and fiery maroons and shit in my wake, in front of me, behind, above, on people's fucken faces: I musta looked like a beatific retard.
I would proclaim, when introducing one of my Wizard's, THIS GUY! GREAT! AMAZING! to anyone within hailing distance. And, I meant it. I did.


Music and me have reconciled, we can play again now.

DL THE SET BELOW.
*******THE PASSWORD is:
wizard


###################################3

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HERE'S THE SET.

HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.HERE'S THE SET.

######################################33



YO! Grapes, MuthaFucka.



Well. What the fuck else is there to say about this splendiferous side-project from Mr. Craig Durrant of Tutus' fame?
The smashing thing here is that there is no riding on coat-tails or bandwagonism on his part; he hasn't hitched his trailer to his former companions' cars, getting dragged along in their dust. This very much is his own project, isn't it?
Ok, you moan, and you'll see: The new track, I Need A Lift has some ridonkulous cowbells during it's intro. I guess you can't escape your past, can you? But, upon further perusal, there's a delight and splendour as I awaken to the realisation that it's merely a recapitulation of dance-punk as a whole, quite-removed from the self-proclaimed 'kwela-punk' of his compatriates' offerings.
More Tom Vek than Indie, more plonks and squelches and synth-splurges than angular guitar riffing, more genteel Kings of Convenience influence: Think Whitest Boy Alive - their side-project than, well, something other than that, more joy and delight in the small things than overworking of structures. It's simple, joyful, fun music done for that sake. It's delightful to see this man grow and grow and grow from the compost-heap that is the Joburg rockenroll scene into well, something cheesy, like a sunflower or something.

Here is the track to listen to whilst reading my unprofessional interview:

Yo Grapes - I Need A Lift on Soundcloud


SB: Hi Craig, How are you?

Yo Grapes: Very fine thanks and you.

Since it's inception [which was when?]...
Ok, so since it's inception, what has been the most revelatory thing about working with yourself?

I made one or two songs in 2010, but made most of my songs in 2011 and 2012. I don't rate myself as a technically good musician, so every time I make a song - it's me trying something new. I mix and master all the stuff on my own then just chuck it out there and if people dig it then awesome.

Fuck, we hate to do this, but, well, we as listeners see our own shit in your musical palette; what kinda stuff you been listening to of late? I mean, what drove your last piece, I Need A Lift? What was gaining major rotation whilst you were crafting that guy?


I've been listening to a lot of nu-disco and indie-dance in the last few weeks. Mostly stuff like Peter & the Magician, Cassian, Pnau, Classixx and Gigamesh. With 'I Need A Lift' I tried to make something that would be cool to hear on a dance floor - something remixable too. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.
I like the simplicity and, well, haha, good-naturedness, of your lyricism, do you see the world as a giant fucken cupcake? We've heard you only see in pastel colours? Is this a gift?


Haha, I have tried to write serious songs but I just can't take it seriously - I end up reading the lyrics back to myself and cringing. So I try to keep it sweet and true.

Jocularity aside, it's great to see a new musician working solo in the electronic field. Have you gotten any inspiration from artists working 'along-side' yourself?


I am loving stuff like Vampire9000, Matthew Mole and Christian Tiger School at the moment.

Electronic-vibez of this nature are continuing to become more and more of a vogue in JHB and SA in general, and less of a underground, background thing, in terms of a more, shit, better word, fuckit, 'indie' kinda thang: do you see a scene building itself up around this? Will it fizzle out?

I think it's pretty exciting, there's a new wave a bands and electronic artists - maybe not as many bands as there were when D&TT first started but still there's new stuff happening all the time which is great. I think it will always exist - bands will always form and then break up. But I just hope that the guys doing awesome things will not give up soon. We saw cool bands like Eat This, Horse and New Loud Rockets disappear and it's a damn shame that for many bands, the emotional rollercoaster that is the SA music industry is just not worth it.

When I saw you last I was struck by the intensity of joy on your face. Is it a terror being onstage? Did you have doubts as to whether you could perform this stuff live?

I like to think that when I play live it's more about the songs and less about me being an outrageous performer. That's my aim anyways, I want people to dance and sing along, thats cool too.

I wish I was doing this with a tape recorder and not via fucken e-mail.
Ok, for tech geeks: What gear do you use? What do you craft your electronic-vibez on?

I use a Telecaster, Fender deluxe reverb, a Novation Launchpad that triggers samples from Ableton Live. I used to use a Roland spd-s live too but it was unnecessary - the launchpad is a really sick little gadget that can do pretty much anything.

Ok, tough question, for all the gurls out there: What are your all-time Top 5 debut albums?

in no particular order:
1. Silent Alarm - Bloc Party
2. Guns Babes and Lemonade - Muscles
3. Manners - Passion Pit
4. Dreams - Whitest Boy Alive
5. Bright Like Neon Love - Cut Copy

Also: More cowbell?


there can never be enough cowbell. ever.

Thanks, Craig. Have a lovely day. Hugs 'n shit.






New Duckt@ils Song...



Ducky has a new song for a nwe album... and it starts with this plonky bite of some kinda cheesy lounge-y synthy organ (without the swirl that you'd associate with previous Ducky work) before jolting you back into awareness with Ducky's natural sound. Well, at least as far as his delightful last album. But there's more. The guitar sound is different here somehow. It's tighter and coarser, sonically and structurally. I kinda miss the old Ducky who swirls and scopes and lo-fis EVERYTHING out into a distorted nuclear fallout-beach coated with kids and pizza and spectral mutants.
However, this song is delightful, I can't deny it.
However, Ducky now has a full-time band, so I almost can't refer to HIM anymore as DUCKY. Which kinda grates.
However, now that Ducky isn't just Ducky anymore, how much creative control has he won or lost?

Just listen to this fucken song and not worry about my awkward ramblings [it's early]:

http://soundcloud.com/dominorecordco/ducktails-the-flower-lane

Slow M@gic's Hipster-Chill. It's called fucken Triangle. OBVS.


This is it. My new favourite. It may even surpass Pur3 X as my favourite thing to listen to almost ever. I mean, just look at the fucken album cover. Those are on the fucken beach and they have SPACE shining through them! FUCK.
Gushy schoolgurl vernack aside...

This is a chill wet dream. It's upbeat as all hell while still maintaining that constant and disturbingly comfortable hazy lo-fi wonderfulness that I've come to love. Doef Doef that kills. <3 Hz.

I am in love with this album and I'm still only halfway through. Holy fucken shitballs. I want to cry.
Gush. Gush. Gush. I couldn't help it.

TAKE IT, BEFORE I SHOOT YOU IN THE FACE.

New H0t Ch1ps!!!!!

s

Hey y'all. Nu H0t Ch1ps has landed. I've always maintained that H0t Ch1p can heal all wounds... and then LCD can re-open them again. I truly believe this. Unfortunately their last release was a let down, for me. Let's hope this one can live up to the grandeur or tracks like Baby Said, Playboy, Boy From School, the obvious Over and Over, Made In The Dark, etc. I could go on. We all know how FUCKING SWEET this band is. Let's hope the album lives up.

I ain't listened to it yet. Will report back.

TAKE IT, BITCHES, LIKE A PUERTO RICAN SHEMALE.

New Greenisforturbo single - Misdirected


Here it is, for your health!




$leigh Bells REIN IN TERROR

I really don't need to explain this one. I mean, I havent even listened to it yet. But if $sleigh Bells' first offering of Treats is anything to go by then:

YOU BEST TAKE IT

I've listened to it now.
ilham: 
ok
 me:  and she sings a bit more
 ilham:  thats a bummer
 me:  it's a bit more genteel
 ilham:  i like the hardness
 me:  ME TOO
It's not as hip hop either
But, that said, it's still nice
it's just
Different
 Sent at 1:57 PM on Tuesday
 ilham:  okies
 Sent at 1:59 PM on Tuesday
 ilham:  sleigh bells file seems to be removed everywhere
 me:  I'm uploading a copy onto my personal mediafire for you
25%
 Sent at 2:01 PM on Tuesday
 ilham:  ah thanks pooface
then send me the link?
 me:  Of course, dummy! It
it's not like I'm going to with hold it from you
as some sort of bizarre
blackmail technique
Like... "SO ILHAM, it's Uploaded..."
"So... do you want it?? HUH?"
"What are you gonna give me for it??"
 I mean, Jesus. Get dancefloor slamming already. Here's a treat:





I$lands' New Offering.


Lissen. Because I've been a motherfucken pussy-ass motherfucker [classy, that] the great and godly goodness that is Cameron Lowry has been running the site of late. I thank him for that, I bow at the waist.
Thanks Cameron. Thameron.

Anyway, that brief and unsubtle distaste aside, LOOK, it's the new I$lands. Aren't you excited?

Well, not really, you may say. Yes, yes yes, Return To $ea was fucken marvellous in it's not-so-subtle Graceland Gloriousness. Wow. Yes. Then followed the overtly proggy and not so great In @rm's Way... or whatever it was called. Vap0urs followed, but we'd lost interest. Sorry Nick, we had. We just had. It happens.
What a fickle fucken world.
Well, lissen, this new one is here, and if the banter on sites is anything to go by, it is actually quite good and solid.
Give it a try. I've just started lissening to Track1 now.

Yo Grapes - Human of the Week



Yo Grapes is back with another great track. As usual it's packed with quirky lyrics and bouncy electronic beats.



"My life is a mess, but I try to keep in pretty high spirits about it.
My mom's bolognaise is tasty, still it's not enough to make you stay"

Greenisforturbo - Dinosaur


I played bass guitar in greenisforturbo a few years
back. The band, very sadly and reluctantly, died after a brief spell of fun which played out

between Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Luckily for you the readers we managed to get our song into some microphones just in time.

Now presenting the second single off the upcoming album "Lunchbox for a dream".






The Phenomenal Handclap Band - Form & Control


The Phenomenal Handclap Band feels and sounds like a super group from the 60's playing songs written in the future. They manage to combine everything that is good into one sound that fits so well together, taking any part away would cause some sort of groovy apocalypse.

It has been 3 years or so since the debut, self-titled album but finally, their second studio album is here!



Yesterday's Pupil


Yesterday's Pupil has been hiding in the shadow of Bittereinder for a while now, so it's about time that we got something new from the beast that is Yesterday's Pupil.

"Hi, my name is Peach and Yesterday’s Pupil
is my solo project.
I am about to release my second full-length album.
Unlike my first album I am going to release this
album for free in sequential parts.
Part 1: Singularity will be released on 1 November
2011 and all following parts will be released in
approximately two-month intervals.
Each individual part will consist of two brand new
original tracks accompanied by an
artwork for each track as well as the lyrics
and artist notes."


Free downloads of Part 1 and Part 2 are available now at the official YP website. Each part comes as a zip file containing 2 high quality MP3's, beautiful artwork by Louis Minnaar, the song lyrics and artist notes. The music itself is top notch. Expect a whole bunch of dirty synth, energetic beats and that typical YP swagger you've come to love.


I was intrigued by the approach so I asked Peach a few questions:

Sad Birthdays: Does the new collection of YP songs have a collective name?
Yesterday's Pupil: Yes, I am looking at two options, but once I decide I will stick to one and announce it.

SB: Why did you decide to release the songs two at a time instead of the usual album release?
YP: Because it is a free release. I liked the idea of a little series that people could follow instead of giving them everything all at once. Besides people won't be able to handle it all in one go, they will OD.

SB: Has your involvement with Bittereinder changed the way you approach YP?
YP: It has in the sense that I have learned how to work faster. I don't know how working with Bittereinder can really affect YP musically but the experience is in there somewhere.

SB: The production on the new songs is world class. How do you manage this when so many South African musicians struggle to get a good sound out of their recordings?
YP: Thank you! I have been doing production for almost 10 years and I have worked on variety of different projects and genres, I think that it is a combination of those experiences and my own trial and error.
I have learned a lot from my production mistakes. I will never be done learning so I try learn something new everyday, and I do, I am Yesterday's Pupil.

SB: The collaboration with Tumi once again worked out really well. If you could collaborate with any musician worldwide, who would you choose?
YP: Thom Yorke from Radiohead.

SB: Do you have any plans to tour?
YP: Yes I do, there are a bunch of dates pencilled already.

SB: Any inspirational words for the kids out there?
YP: Don't try follow any scene or trend. Be yourself, nothing original sounded cool at first. Be patient but work your ass off!




Beach Party EP

I've really been enjoying the first release by self-professed Beachwave rockers Beach Party. While music genres are useful when trying to describe a bands sound I find them to be quite useless at the same time. In this case, after ruling out the chances that the Beachwave genre is related to the beach wave hairstyle I've concluded that Beachwave = A wave of Beach Party. Fair enough.

Much like their chosen genre, the bands aesthetic and music is littered with sense of fun and lightheartedness. I'll explain with an excerpt of their biography, "Beach Party are a popular South African band best known for their hit 'Girls' as well as for co-creating the music genre of heavy metal."


The production on the EP is solid, which when combined with some great upbeat tracks, makes it pleasant on the ear. To attest to this, I listened to it 3 times while writing this and didn't get bored. I'm genuinely excited to hear what Beach Party can offer when it comes to a full length album.




White Denim D

D is the fourth studio album by Garage Rock band White Denim.

If you like guitars, harmonies and good melodies, TAKE IT

They love petroleum products...
and know how to have fun with them!