Anton Barbeau - Heaven Is In Your Mind (Ltd. col. 7")

Four song 7” from your favourite pre-apocalyptic psychedelic popster!

I've written about the music of Anton Barbeau before on a sadly now defunct website, his Empire Of Potential LP being something of a delight and a great entry point into his work. With that in mind it's good to know that since re-locating from Cambridge to Berlin he's still coming up with the goods musically. His latest single on the ever reliable Fruits de Mer label is a four song affair, sixteen minutes of music on one coloured 7” (nice work by the cutting engineer!)

The bad news is there's only one Barbeau-penned track here – 'Secretion Of The Wafer' is melodic, elegant, driven by synthy swells and sparse piano notes, and full of sphinx-like mystery. The musical equivalent of a Buddhist koan.

To say that's bad news is misleading as the the rest of the single is made up of three very enyoyable (and brave) covers. Traffic's 'Heaven Is In Your Mind' being the title track of along with versions of Big Star's 'September Gurls' and David Bowie's 'Scary Monsters'.

This blue or yellow vinyl only set is released on July 24^th but if you want more Anton Barbeau head to Fruits de Mer's annual three-day summer festival in Wales where Mr. Barbeau will be playing a solo set. The 15^th Dream of Dr. Sardonicus runs over the weekend of August 4th-6^th in Cardigan. Visit the Fruits de Mer website for more info.

Click here for the Fruits de Mer website.

Click here for more on Anton Barbeau.

Sideways Society – 4-track EP of Bowie / The Action covers (Ltd. Col 7”)

Californian band's discerning tribute to '60s UK modernism!

A true gem this one. Following on from the appearance on the recent Fruits de Mer freebie Bowie compilation, Sidewalk Society have recorded a couple less obvious tracks by the artist formerly known as David Jones. And well worth your pocket money they are too! A great tribute to a great man, and a reminder that there's plenty of Bowie tracks worth investigating pre-Hunky and Ziggy.

In keeping with the mod-nugget theme are a couple of tracks originally recorded by The Action. An art-school mod frenzy vibe for those who dig that kind of thing (hell, who doesn't?!) A platter that's sure to have you heading for the dance floor, but packed with a heft of latent psychedelia to keep the Heads satisfied too.

Released as a limited edition colour vinyl 7”. (OUT NOW!)

Tracklisting

1. Can't Help Thinking About Me (David Bowie & The Lower Third)
2. Look At The View (The Action)
3. Let Me Sleep Beside You (David Bowie)
4. Strange Roads (The Action)

Click here for more on Sidewalk Society.

Click here for Fruits de Mer Records.

Sendelica - Ziggy Stardust

Welsh spacerockers' tribute to Bowie gets released on 7” vinyl!

As the we adjust to living in a post-Bowie world, and try to work out what that might mean, the column page tributes continue to pile up. Save for Lady Gaga and Lourdes there haven't been that many musical tributes. Fruits de Mer Records released a timely Bowie tribute CD at the tail end of last year for their regular customers. Whether the man himself ever got to hear it is unclear. It's comforting to think he might.

Sendelicahad a live acoustic version of 'Ziggy Stardust' on that compilation but it's a seven minute studio version that's getting a stand-alone release on 7” vinyl next month. It does not attempt to recreate Ronson's crunchy glammed-up guitar chords that give the original it's pomp and purpose, opting instead for a slower, more ethereal and atmospheric take. The yin to Bowie's yang is provided by the layered female vocal. The B-side is an equally enthralling remix by Astralasia's Marc Swordfish. Both sides honour Bowie's preference for the new and experimental over anything tried and tested. David would no doubt have approved.

Released as a limited edition colour vinyl 7” (600 copies).

Click here for more on Sendelica.

Click here for Fruits de Mer Records.

The Roots Of Jeff Buckley - A Spotify Playlist

It's now 20 years since Jeff Buckley sole studio album Grace was released. To mark this I've made a spotify playlist of some of his main musical influences, in terms of songwriting, singing and spirit. It also includes songs Jeff covered. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to add suggestions for additions in the comments section.

Cold War Pop - A Video Playlist

Seems like quite some time since the end of the Cold War. The world continues to open up in so many ways. Been thinking about the Cold War a lot recently since watching "The Lives Of Others", so thought I'd put together a video playlist of some of the most memorable tracks inspired by that era.

Click over the jump for my Cold War video playlist