Little Dragon – Twice
I first heard of this Swedish band when they collaborated with DJ Shadow on his latest record, The less you know, the better. That track is more up tempo, but this has a quiet charm which is perfect for some mellow Sunday night listening.
RjK
Breakbot (featuring Irfane) – Baby I’m yours
I needed a midweek boost of energy and this did the trick. It is a fun and upbeat number from French DJ Breakbot. There is also an aptly hip video here.
RjK
Air France – It feels good to be around you
Air France are a Swedish band and are one of several European bands with a similar upbeat, summery sound that have caught my attention recently, such as Delorean. Wikipedia categorises this sound as Post-rave bliss, beach foam pop or Balearic disco all of which are both pretty funny and pretty pretentious. All I know is that this tune has infected my brain for the past week.
Are you in Air France? Are you in Air France?…
The Field – Then it’s white
This is a little meandering but it is very soothing and hypnotic. Is it just me or is no surprise, based on this track, that The Field is Swedish? It is taken from the album Looping state of mind, which I happen to think is a great title.
Alphabeat – Fascination
It is Saturday. Time to party. This is energetic and fun – all you could ask. They have something of Abba about them, and it’s not just the fact that they are both Scandinavian. It is 3 minutes of pure sunshine, with a video to match. Give it a listen/watch and I dare you not to smile.
Fox the fox – Precious little diamond
This is a strange one. Fox the fox are obscure, Dutch, one hit wonders from the 1980’s. However, I have heard this played by 3 DJ’s in the past month. It is great, with a classic 80’s sound, but a rather strange track to be undergoing a revival.
Also, a classic 80’s video here. A little reminscent of this gem.
Crystal Fighters – Champion Sound
This has a bit of a cheesy vibe for my normal taste. But it is very infectious and has been something of a guilty pleasure for me over ecent days.
Sigur Ros – Hoppipolla
When I first heard this I thought it was the most beautiful track I had ever heard. It is still pretty glorious quite a few years later. I am not sure what it is exactly but I find it spellbinding. Maybe it is the strange language in which they sing or the undulating between quiet fagility and soaring urgency that makes it entralling.
It was another day of torrential, almost biblical rain today in London. This is a very sootheing song and that isn’t the worst kind of song to listen to on such a day.
Kings of convenience are from Norway. Scandanavia really seems to punch above it’s weight musically. Certainly in music that speaks to me anyway.
This track is taken from the wonderfully titled Riot on an empty street, which also features a couple of collaborations with Canadian artist Leslie Feist of Broken Social Scene fame.
/RjK
Daft Punk – Around the world
Given that it is Bastille Day today I thought I would post something gallic. To be honest I am surprised I haven’t posted these guys already.
They were the soundtrack to the year I spent in California culminating in seeing them play live at the greek theater in Berkeley. It was one of the most fun evenings I have ever spent.
I was torn whether to post this or High Life, but in the I went for this beacuse of the video. It is one of my favourite of all time, if not my favourite. Very high praise indeed. It is crazy but somehow I can’t take my eyes off it.
Around the world, around the would, around the world…