anyway that you want me

Straying a bit off the track of the ''northern'' special i have been chatting all about lately,this a usual Monday afternoon post which usually is a bit more hazy ''blue''.The early recordings of Jason Pierce with Spiritualized have a certain feel that was never captured again in his long and really amazing career.Pierce is a personal hero for me from his early Spacemen 3 days but probably his first Spiritualized singles and especially the epic 13 minute single "Feel So Sad'' and the Laser Guided Melodies LP are top picks.This is a cover of the Troggs classic that adds a whole new dimension to the original recording.This is a remix from the 12'' version with some eerie radio voices in the background.

SPIRITUALISED - ANYWAY THAT YOU WANT ME (REMIX)

amore

music to cleanse your mind

The loved-up rave scene was a fertile climate
for the proliferation of New Agey ideas.
Between 1988 and 1990 ,there was a subtle
modulation -from music to lose yourself in (acieed)
to find yourself in (ambient house)

S'EXPRESS - MANTRA FOR A STATE OF MIND (ELEVATION MIX)

INNOCENCE - NATURAL THING

Jon Hassell vs 808State - Voiceprint (808 Mix1)

gorgeous 90's magic realism

''The original idea behind 808 State's ''Pacific''
was an attempt at modern equivalent of fifties
'exotica' :Graham Massey was a big fun of Martin Denny,
who's tiki music (quasi-Polynesian mood-music for suburban
cocktail parties)often featured tropical bird-calls.

On the album 90,'Sunrise' was a far superior take on the same idea.
tendrils of flute,mist-swirls of spectral sample-texture and lambent
synth-horizons conjure up a Polynesian dawnscape.

On this track and the earlier 'State Ritual' (which sounded like
aborigines trying to make Acid House using flutes and wooden
gourds),808 State are denizens of the 'Fourth World'(Jon Hassell's
term for a future fusion that melded Western hi-tech and traditional
ethnic musics as sketched on albums like Dream Theory In Malaya)''
words Simon Reynolds (Energy Flash)
808 STATE - SUNRISE

fac

Keeping my promise to deal with the northern special i had promised some time ago,this is part of a Factory records tribute with some tracks,memorabilia and videos.I guess you can't make a proper ''northern'' documentation without spending a great deal of time to focus on the label that turned Manchester to the european capital of contemporary dance music.The releases,the esthetic,the design,the influence of the city it's self,everything of this and more rate Factory as my favourite label ever.This is a small treat with loads of stuff to follow.This is Cath Carroll with Moves Like You.

CATH CARROL - MOVES LIKE YOU (REMIX)

the north ''invasion'' to paradise

Great video about the early days of the Balearic scene in Ibiza.Great footage of the island before it became a chartered flight shithole for low quality alcoholic tourism.Terry Farley,locals and loads of early clubbers talk about the reasons that Ibiza became the Mediterranean equivalent to Manchester,the music,the drugs,the way the balearic scene differed from the scene back in the UK,how it feels having to talk to people on the beach after ''coming down'' from last night's raving.

It's Love.It's Life.It's mental!

Candy Flip were a band that had a minor hit in the baggy scene with the cover of the Beatles classic Strawberry Fields.I remembered i used to love that tune back then.Well this track isn't the reason that this short lived band that emerged out out of the baggy ''craze'' ,surfaced in our blog.The reason is another of their efforts, the single Love Is Life.Straying far away from their downtempo balearic baggy releases this is a true rave anthem.For me the best mix on the 12'' is the O Zone Friendly Mix that sounds like it was intended to be a hit in the Belgian new beat scene.It's Love.It's Life.It's mental!

CANDY FLIP - LOVE IS LIFE -O ZONE FRIENDLY MIX

new order play at home part 1

This is great documentary on Factory records and their darlings.New Order,Martin Hannet,Saville,Mike Pickering,A Certain Ratio.It's all here plus some rare footage of Tony Wilson's ''willy''.Some really funny stuff going on in here like Gillian Gilbert sharing a bathtub with Tony Wilson and Hooky riding on a cross motorbike.Check out you tube for the rest of the parts as i never found any copy of this.

late november mix

A collection of songs and music i have been listening lately in the solitude of my room,mixed together for your listening pleasure.Memories of sleepy night bus rides to Streatham with "I",my apartment's radiators working while it's 19 degrees outside and November is coming to a n end,last minute thinking before going to sleep,''the north London book of dead'',listening to Perpetuum Mobile while stuck in traffic and thinking life is wonderful,''Imperfect List'',drunken fridays,the ''Sound Of the North'',my Lacoste windbreaker,autumn leaves,Sad Rob's Tokyo To Kissa mix,watching "Fallen Angels'',missing you.All of the these and more are somewhere in here.Listen and make your list.

Late November Mix

saturday's angels

As part of the northern special i had promised this is a slice of "e" fueled baggy balearic madness by London based dance outfit If?.This is the killer mix by Mr Monday which elevates the track to heaven.

IF? - SATURDAY'S ANGELS (MR MONDAY'S BRAIN MIX)

black north

in the wee small hours of the morning mix

Lazy.....
Sunday
tracklist.

1.Stomu Yamashta - Mysteries of love
2.Afternoon Delights - Midnight eyes
3.Fever Ray - Triangle walks
4.Coyote - Mongolia
5.Primal Scream -Higher than the sun (Tone 396 mix)
6.Al Di Meola ft Steve Winwood -Time is here
7.Don Cherry -Universal mother
8.Pacific - From outer space
9.Alan Parsons Proj. - Paseo de gracia
10.Future World Orchestra - Mission completed
11.The Grid - Rollercoaster (Global Com.intro)
12.Miyazama - Anjos irmaos (Rainer Truby Trio mix)
13.Ratatat - Swisha
14.Frank Sinatra - Wee small hours
15.Laurie Anderson - Speak my language
16.Architeq - Twilight
17.Nino Ferrer - Looking for you

In the wee small hours of the morning mix

imperfect list

Adolf Hitler. the dentist. Terry & June. fucking bastard Thatcher. Scouse impersonator. silly pathetic girlies. silly pathetic woman. macho dickhead. Bonnie Langford. neighbours. lost keys. phoney friend. ungrateful accusing mate. the Royal family. Stock Aitken & Waterman. smiling Judas. heartbreaking lying friend. Myra Hindley. acid rain. stinking rich female in furs. disloyal lover. wife & child beater. drunken abuser. racist. bully. The Sun newspaper. AIDS inventor. Leon Brittan. all nonsense. massive massive oilslick. Jimmy Tarbuck. loneliness. cancer. hunger. greed. gut wrenching disappointment. evil gossiping fashion bastard. tasteless a&r wanker. hard cold fish. overdraft like a mountain. the Jimmy Swaggart show. the Tory invention of the non-working class. poll tax. commie bashers. mister Jesse Helms. Hillsborough. weird british judges. apartheid. John Lennon's murder. anyone's murder. the breakdown of the NHS. the death of the rain forest. Heysel stadium. rednecks. rape. homelessness. the all-American way. Clause 28. Tiananmen Square. sexual harrassment. Nelson Mandela's imprisonment. Nancy's term. Ronnie's term. miscarriage. where were you?"

The Sound of the North Documentary

Great documentary on the Manchester scene for Granada TV.A lot of classic,a lot of oversized pants,a lot of bandwagon jumpers,a lot of factory,rave on,a lot of e,Shaun Ryder and the gang Stone Roses juts like angels,Grand Central Design,The Traitor Bar.Maybe bit dated but everyone who claims that never wore a pair of pants that looked like a bag is a liar.You can find the rest parts of the documentary by pressing

here
here
here
here
here
here
and
here

the sound of the north

This is the poster for this Friday's party at 6 D.O.G.S. that i mentioned on the previous post.I gave you an idea of what is all about so i won't get into anymore details.If you are living in Athens just put his on your calendar.

paul loves manchester

This post marks the beginning of a massive special section dedicated to the sound of the north.Music,videos,info,articles and more on the sound that was forged in the industrial north of England.Based around the manchester scene we are gonna be taking a trip going round the chicago house influences,the acid flashbacks,the Sheffield steel,the Hacienda,the indie slackness of baggy,the productions of ''be music'',Mike Pickering,the balearic beat,Peter Saville,Gerard, and everything else that got it's way into this mixture we consider the sound of the north.The culmination of the celebration is gonna be next Friday's party a new bar called 6 D.O.G.S where we are hosting a night full of acid smilies and guitar driven rave.We are hoping to see some of the people who loved the real sound of Manchester and celebrate with us.I'm posting a really special song to set off this ''northern extravaganza''.This is ex Josef K front man Paul Haig covering Joy Division's hymn Atmosphere.Rave melancholy on a cover that has the classic stamp all over it and adds a whole new dimension on the original track.

PAUL HAIG - ATMOSPHERE