Music Mashup
The sun hath finally arrived. This means skimpier clothes, Pimms and frolics in the park! Yay! Musically this month I’m checking out One Taste West, Jack Penate at Heaven and many other exciting audio goings on. Enjoy soundsters.
Story Highlights
- OneTaste West
- Jack Penate at Heaven
- Kurran & the Wolfnotes
- Dates For Your Diary
OneTaste West
In the intimate setting of the Distillers, One Taste West provided its usual eclectic mix of unsigned acts. First up was Fin, a David Gray wannabe strumming nice folky tunes with random lyrics about sea women. A good following but not at all memorable. Moving on to my girl crush ‐ Excentral Tempest, who provided her usual fire and brimstone poetry. The new poem, Best Intentions was brilliant, speaking out on the things you do for love and hinting quite darkly at domestic violence. Despite the overwhelming strength of her delivery, the subject matter shone out and in typical Excentral style, it was all about the madness of love, not the romance. I always feel poetry is a cathartic exercise for Excentral and no more so than in the delivery of an unnamed poem later on, which bravely tackled child abuse and rape. I’m looking forward to her next album and if you haven’t already done so ‐ check her out!
After all the rage, there was the straight out of cuckoo land kookiness of Laura J Martin. You either think she’s brilliant or crazy. Or perhaps a unique mix of both. Clearly influenced by Bjork and Kate Bush, Laura armed only with a flute, mandolin and RX machine provided great entertainment with the song Doki Doki. Randomly this uses the melody from Under The Sea, of Little Mermaid fame!
The show wasn’t over as Laura proceeded, Pied Piper style, to cover a version of the 1990s hit Tease Me, by Chaka Demus and Pliers. You have to see her to believe me! Finally I can’t leave out the lovely Stax who will probably be gracing the top 40 with her simple, girlish tunes if she can find a USP. While all her tunes were lovely, I particularly liked Stranger which followed her lusting after random people on a train. Other than this however there was nothing to distinguish her from all the other pretty blonde girls who can sing.
Jack Penate at Heaven
I’ve been waiting a while to see Jack play and I wasn’t disappointed. He was on form throughout and he has garnered a loyal following who bellowed out the lyrics to Second, Minute, Hour and Have I Been a Fool, among others. There was an unsure reaction to some of the new songs which unfortunately, he didn’t identify by name. School boy error. New song ‐ Tonight’s Today isn’t a favourite of mine but I love Jack’s style so I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of the new album.
Kurran and The Wolfnotes
I was randomly out at the Bloomsbury Bowling Alley when I noticed these guys. They sounded interesting and had some well crafted melodic songs, all about being lovelorn. On speaking to the crowd (who were clearly friends and fans) I was assured the band would be the next big thing. Personally I didn’t think so but you never know ‐ so if they do become famous, you know where you heard it first.
Dates For Your Diary
Revisit Britpop with Blur and Oasis both playing London dates, and also Massive Attack for some Bass in your ear. LoveBox is back with a fabulous line up which includes Groove Armada, N.E.R.D and the Doves. It’s going to be a long hot summer so I’ll be seeing you there. Before I sign off though here’s a quick list of other events and new acts not to be missed.
- Blur at Hyde Park - July 7, 2009
- Oasis at Wembley Stadium - July 9, 11 and 12, 2009
- LoveBox at Victoria Park - July 18 and 19, 2009
- Massive Attack at Brixton Academy - September 17 and 18, 2009
‐ DJ Michelle
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