2024

Sad to hear of the death of one of hip-hop’s unsung pioneers, Keith LeBlanc, creator of this landmark collaboration with black rights leader Malcolm X. 

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As soon as the sun comes out there’s no band I like to listen to more than Khruangbin. They may be hard to pronounce – but they are always easy on the ear. 

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I was not immediately drawn to the new film Disco Boy; not until I read the reviews and saw it – driven by French techno producer Vitalic’s soundtrack.

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Last night I went to see Sunn O))) at The Barbican. Notorious as one of the loudest bands in the world, they were, if anything, louder than expected.

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Happy Easter – here’s my March playlist to put a Spring in the air as you open your eggs today. There’s a cracking mix of old and new, borrowed and blue: some drum’n’bass, some soul and reggae, vintage Velvets, country music, banging dance beats and primal punk.

Bnny – Something Blue

31st March 2024 · 2020s, 2024, Music

This is very lovely, with a dark undercurrent. Bnny’s previous album, which was a gruelling grief-filled reflection on death. This is about trying to make a fresh start when you’re running from the past… “but the past keeps catching up.”

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Genital mutilation is a subject rarely tackled in popular music; even more rarely, I’d imagine, when it’s the male version under the microscope (so to speak). But here it is, by the Fat White Family.

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Is there a genre called jazz-dub? If there isn’t – or wasn’t – then I think it’s been invented on this tune. I can’t stop playing it.

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This is the best song I’ve ever heard by an artist from Luxembourg – and yes, it may well be the only one. It may also be the most romantic video I’ve seen.

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I’m not entirely sure what I think about these posthumous recordings, where a living artist duets with a dead one. Some work well; others defile the dead artist’s memory. I think this one settles the argument in their favour.

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