podcast no 92 - the man in the blue suit

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French Disco - Introduction

"This San Francisco quintet is not French, nor does its sound replicate effervescent Gallic dance music. Instead, French Disco's second EP, Icon, is less Donna Summer and more moody dream pop. Deeply rooted in lo-fi indie, shoegaze, and '90s Brit sounds, Icon references bands such as My Bloody Valentine and Ride, instantly transporting the listener to 1991, a time when distortion pedals ruled and ethereal vocals were de rigueur."
-SF Bay Guardian

Buy at:
CD Baby


The 4th Parallel -Learn Our Lesson

A great song, that I've been playing for 2 years. Strong Joy Division influences (can anyone else hear echoes of "Atmosphere" in this?). I'm trying to find out if this band is still active. If you know, please send me some news.

Buy The 4th Parallel at: Scotloads 7digital indie store



French Disco - Avant Garde Bubblegum Factory

A second song by this excellent san francisco indie rock band.





Two Loons For Tea - Sunset Room and Blue Suit

Two Loons for Tea are Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer, from Seattle.

Sarah, besides having an extra rib, was raised by a free-spirited single mom in such exotic locales as the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, near a nudist colony in the Mountains of Santa Cruz, and in metropolitan New York City. She has integrated the bohemian lifestyle into her own personal take on life, channeling it into her soulful singing.

Jonathan came to music from a different scene: although a life-long musician, he's been academician working in evolutionary biology, climatology, human genetics, Internet development and biostatistics, where he nurtured his attention for detail and a passion for invention.

Together, they make organic, lush, rich, and innovative music that defies genres and expectations.
Two Loons For Tea
"Sunset Room" (mp3)
from "Nine Lucid Dreams"
(Sarathan Records)
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Two Loons For Tea
"Blue Suit" (mp3)
from "Looking For Landmarks"
(Sarathan Records)
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This week, for soundbed music I used Rays by Kosmika. The title music is by Tragic Shell Suit Disaster.

podcast no 91 - a song for AMPed

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I need your help. I have been asked to nominate my favourite of all the songs that I have submitted to AMPed, the weekly podcast of the Association of Music Podcasting, to be played on AMPed 100 in a few weeks time. I've narrowed the field down to 5 songs, and I'm asking you to vote. To vote please send me an e-mail on this link



Svelte - Cat's Paw

Bluesy rock from this 3 piece from NZ. This one was played on AMPed 46





The Free Press - Storms

Submitted to AMPed, this is a great song by a four piece from Toronto, Canada.




A Band Called Quinn - Baby When I See Your Eyes

ABCQuinn are from Glasgow. I submitted this song to AMPed 62.




Jaq Gallier - Undone

Jaq is from LA. I submitted this excellent acoustic song to AMPed 70





The New Black - Karenin's Smile

These guys from Melbourne sound like the Buzzcocks, well that's what I think. I submitted this great pop song with a thumping beat to AMPed 43


Send me those votes!

This week, for soundbed music I used Mrs Otisphere by Cagey House. The title music is by Tragic Shell Suit Disaster.

podcast no 90 - cagey, ancient, free and shy

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No, the title of this week's podcast is not the name of a law firm. As I was de-stoning about 2 kilos of damsons (see pic on left) I realised that the 3 bands that I planned to feature all have an adjective as part of their name.

And it took ages to preoare these shownotes, Blogger kept crashing. Grrrr.... Anyway, tomorrow I'll be preparing apples from our trees, and the freezer will be stocked with the wherewithal for apple and damson crumble through the next few months.



Cagey House - The Grand Tower (Midnight) and The Grand Tower (9 am)

2 tracks from Model City, the latest album by Cagey House, the musical project of Dave Keifer from Baltimore. Dave says "the music is a kind of psychedelic pseudo-post-avante-synth-rock -exotica (so to speak)—and it's lots of fun and catchy, but also a little anxiety-producing."

And about Model City:

"It's kind of an odd one. There's a noir-ish vibe to it, thanks largely to some dubious experiments with really deep reverb fields. And there's lots of weird sounds and clangy-crunchy rhythm stuff, too. Come to think of it, the whole thing sounds kind of like the attack of the mechanical private eyes."

Buy music at nishi records

Ancient Free Gardeners -I Am Not a Shipwright and My Soft Bitten Thumb

"Ancient Free Gardeners is the moniker for three recently Melburnian, country-bred indie-rocking gents attempting to make musical sense of the nonsensical musings of singer and songwriter James Milsom. Touted as sharing the sound-space of Augie March, Weddings Parties Anything and The Wedding Present, the band are quickly gaining local recognition for their oft-waltzing, gently driving tunes, each one immersed in honest, organic emotion."

Buy the ep "Ancient Free Gardeners"

Rachel Clutterbuck - Mexico

Two weeks ago I played this song again (I had played it on no 6). I said that I could not find any information about the singer with the beautiful voice. Well a bit of detective work tracked down Rachel Clutterbuck, and I am happy to give her full credit for this lovely song.


Shy Girl - Equation and Sous La Lune

Shy girl is a musical story... the story of Christophe and Sophie, the story of a shy boy and a girl. Partners in creation and associated on stage... They share theirs emotions through music. Sophie use to mix sounds like if she was cooking while Christophe use to hang around from one stage to another with his guitar... After having started a band with whom they played on several stages in Montpellier, they chose to carry on the adventure together. Thus after hard months of work, they came up with a new formula : a show where rock'n roll is close to beat boxes, electro acoustics and soft voices... A subtle balanced musical microcosm both sensitive and devastating.

This week, for soundbed music I used Mrs Otisphere by Cagey House. The title music is by Tragic Shell Suit Disaster.

podcast no 89 - addicted to sin?

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Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!

The "second most punk rock band in Britain", Los Campesions! are: Aleksandra Campesinos! - Singing/Keyboards/Melody Horn, Ellen Campesinos! - Bass/Singing, Gareth Campesinos! - Singing/Glockenspiel/Keyboards, Harriet Campesinos! - Violin/Keyboards/Singing, Neil Campesinos! - Guitar/Singing, Ollie Campesinos! - Drums/Singing, Tom Campesinos! - Guitar/Singing and Todge Campesinos! - sound guru/eating.

"Hold on now youngster, this is a good thing to look into the maw of the void, but let's not be excessive, there is still Los Campesinos!. And one day you will wake in the middle of the night and the water on your face will not be from the cold sweat that your dreams of impending doom have produced but from tears of joy squeezed out by a lingering melody, a droning violin, a haunting mantra or a panic attack brought on by a song so tight and serene and messy and polished and dense that it suffocates you like the fumes of the paint that made your favourite album covers. Actually, it's just pop music."

And here's a great video of You! Me! Dancing!



Parker Street Cinema -Midnight Shakes The Memory

Parker Street Cinema are Brian Glover - Piano, Kevin Dick - Bassand Ken Mahru - Drums, an instrumental rock band from San Francisco, California. Their debut full-length record is due out on Abandoned Love Records in October, 2007.




Eliot - Sin

You can download Eliot's songs at garageband. I asked Eliot for some info, and this is what he says:

"More about me: I have a home in los angeles and a couple of other residences in different US cities where i like to write and record. all of my music which is featured at myspace and garageband is free for anyone to download and share, and is not for sale anywhere at this time. i am talking with my partner in nashville about producing and distributing a CD of the myspace/garageband tunes because of all the recent interest. however, at this time all of those songs have been designated for promotional purposes. i am currently preparing to record a new body of work which will be made available to purchase and for which i intend to do a short tour for here in the US."

Strangers In Wonderland - Addicted and Behind The Mask

Strangers in Wonderland: Asa Girgensohn - Vocals and everything else, Lasse Thomasson - Just everything else.

"Imagine a badly lit backstreet a few blocks from Wonderland. In the distance you can hear music and laughter. Every day we queue to get in, longing to be part of all the magic in life. And every day after closing time we are thrown out, back to our ordinary lives. That's where we are, two strangers with a suitcase full of songs about love, longing and the wish to belong. Belong to something else, life or just ourselves."

This week, for soundbed music I used White Hotel by Torchomatic. The title music is by Tragic Shell Suit Disaster.

podcast no 88 - back to the grindstone

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I'm back from my summer break from podcasting. But somehow I'm not fully in the swing, and here's a nice relaxed podcast for you.


Blue Jar - Hey Mr Pelican

Blue Jar, the Irish Gypsy Jazz Group is unique. They may have been influenced by Stephan Grapelli, Nora Jones, The Rosenberg Trio and others, but their style can only be described as Blue Jar - "music bottled at source".

Nils Krogh - Things We Do

Jazz with an electronic but organic touch from 22 year-old Gothenburg based producer/artist Nils Krogh. (DNM - Dealers of Nordic Music)



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1147 am - Mexico

I honestly wish I could find out something to tell you about 1147 am and the owner of the lovely voice on this song, but I can't. I did play it on podcast no 6, and hearing it again while in Normandy, I knew that I had to play this song again for you.




The Falls - Just Remember and Please

"I wasn't sure what to expect when I first listened to The Falls CD because they were so humble about their talents. But no matter what my expectations I was very impressed. I heard a gorgeous languorous voice and the kind of well-crafted pop songs that sound like classics on first listen - beautiful stuff." - Amanda Easton, Host of 'AcousticA' 2SER 107.3fm

I agree. And, once again, many apologies for losing these 2 songs for more than one year.




This week, for soundbed music I used Summer Strummer by Dave Rave (also played on podcast no 6). The title music is by Tragic Shell Suit Disaster.