Thu, 08 May 2008 13:52:50 +0100 Mute http://www.mute.com Podcast Maker v1.2.9 - http://www.potionfactory.com/podcastmaker Mute Station presents an irregular sequence of transmissions from the London headquarters of Mute Records. Mute Station presents an irregular sequence of transmissions from the London headquarters of Mute Records. Mute Station presents an irregular sequence of transmissions from the London headquarters of Mute Records. en Mute Records Ltd. Mute info@mutehq.co.uk http://www.mutestation.com/mutestation_itunes_144.jpg http://www.mute.com 144 144 Music Mute Records, Music, Depeche Mode, Moby, Goldfrapp, Erasure, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Blast First, novamute, The Grey Area, The Fine Line, 13th Hour Recordings no Mute The final part of our 8 part series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. The final part of our 8 part series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. The final part of our 8 part series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. http://www.spoonrecords.com/irmin_kumo.html http://www.mutestation.com/Interview%20Pt8.m4v Thu, 08 May 2008 12:13:04 +0100 Music no 00:02:56 Mute Records, Music, Irmin Schmidt, Kumo, Can, Axolotl Eyes Mute Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for the final part of this series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for the final part of this series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for the final part of this series. http://www.spoonrecords.com/irmin_kumo.html http://www.mutestation.com/Interview%20Pt7.m4v Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:39:35 +0100 Music no 00:03:23 Mute Records, Music, Irmin Schmidt, Kumo, Can, Axolotl Eyes Mute Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 7 of this 8 part series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 7 of this 8 part series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 7 of this 8 part series. http://www.spoonrecords.com/irmin_kumo.html http://www.mutestation.com/Interview%20Pt6.m4v Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:52:06 +0100 Music no 00:03:52 Mute Records, Music, Irmin Schmidt, Kumo, Can, Axolotl Eyes Mute Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 6 of this 8 part series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 6 of this 8 part series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 6 of this 8 part series. http://www.spoonrecords.com/irmin_kumo.html http://www.mutestation.com/Interview%20Pt5.m4v Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:26:05 +0000 Music no 00:01:58 Mute Records, Music, Irmin Schmidt, Kumo, Can, Axolotl Eyes Mute Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 5 of this 8 part series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 5 of this 8 part series. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 5 of this 8 part series. http://www.spoonrecords.com/irmin_kumo.html http://www.mutestation.com/Interview%20Pt4.m4v Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:17:42 +0000 Music no 00:02:02 Mute Records, Music, Irmin Schmidt, Kumo, Can, Axolotl Eyes Mute Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for the fourth and final part. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for the fourth and final part. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for the fourth and final part. http://www.spoonrecords.com/irmin_kumo.html http://www.mutestation.com/Interview%20Pt3.m4v Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:23:04 +0000 Music no 00:01:57 Mute Records, Music, Irmin Schmidt, Kumo, Can, Axolotl Eyes Mute Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 3. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 3. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 3. http://www.mutestation.com/Interview%20Pt2.m4v Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:16:16 +0000 Music no 00:02:05 Mute Records, Music, Irmin Schmidt, Kumo, Can, Axolotl Eyes Mute Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 2. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 2. Irmin Schmidt, founder of Can, the influential experimental rock group and breakbeat pioneer Kumo discuss their collaboration on the forthcoming album Axolotl Eyes. Check back soon for part 2. http://www.spoonrecords.com/irmin_kumo.html http://www.mutestation.com/Interview%20Pt1.m4v Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:06:38 +0000 Music no 00:01:43 Mute Records, Music, Irmin Schmidt, Kumo, Can Nick Cave & Warren Ellis Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, of the internationally celebrated bands Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, The Dirty Three and Grinderman, have composed, played and produced a compelling and intense soundtrack for director Andrew Dominik's savage tale of the true West, The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. The original soundtrack is released on CD and download. Dominik, who previously directed the 2000 cult classic Chopper, the biography of the notorious Australian criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read, has brought his distinctive vision to bear upon the story of the slaying of one of the most infamous outlaws of the American West, Jesse Woodson James (1847-1882). The film, based upon Ron Hansen's novel and adapted for the screen by Dominik, charts how Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) joined Jesse James' (Brad Pitt) cutthroat gang of bandits, train-robbers and bank-robbers, only to become resentful of James' nationwide notoriety, he then formed a plan to kill the deadly gunslinger. The film also stars Sam Shepard, Robert Duvall, Sam Rockwell and Mary-Louise Parker. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have previously collaborated on a film score, for John Hillcoat's critically acclaimed 2005 Australian 'Western', The Proposition, starring Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce and Danny Huston. Cave (who provided the script for The Proposition) and Ellis' haunting semi-acoustic score, featuring plaintive violin, eerie sound loops and mournful piano, received universal praise. Cave, of course, is no stranger to film scoring and has established a renowned reputation for his work in this field. Together with fellow Bad Seeds Mick Harvey and Blixa Bargeld, Cave wrote the indelible soundtracks for two other motion pictures directed by John Hillcoat: the harrowing 1989 prison drama Ghosts... Of The Civil Dead and the 1996 emotionally charged jungle melodrama, To Have And To Hold. Nick Cave has also been commissioned by various directors to compose specific songs for their motion pictures; including Wim Wenders, for his pictures Until The End Of The World (1991) and Faraway, So Close! (the 1993 sequel his Wings Of Desire, in which Cave And The Bad Seeds performed), and Jez Butterworth for Mojo (1997). Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' thrilling new score for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford captures perfectly the charismatic and unpredictable nature of its central protagonist. Like the film, Cave and Ellis' music cuts through the mythic figure of Jesse James to reveal the complex, contradictory man beneath. Daring and passionately delivered, Cave and Ellis' beautiful soundtrack retains its captivating power even without the benefit of Dominik's images. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis discuss their compelling and intense soundtrack for director Andrew Dominik's savage tale of the true West, The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, of the internationally celebrated bands Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, The Dirty Three and Grinderman, have composed, played and produced a compelling and intense soundtrack for director Andrew Dominik's savage tale of the true West, The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. The original soundtrack is released on CD and download. Dominik, who previously directed the 2000 cult classic Chopper, the biography of the notorious Australian criminal Mark 'Chopper' Read, has brought his distinctive vision to bear upon the story of the slaying of one of the most infamous outlaws of the American West, Jesse Woodson James (1847-1882). The film, based upon Ron Hansen's novel and adapted for the screen by Dominik, charts how Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) joined Jesse James' (Brad Pitt) cutthroat gang of bandits, train-robbers and bank-robbers, only to become resentful of James' nationwide notoriety, he then formed a plan to kill the deadly gunslinger. The film also stars Sam Shepard, Robert Duvall, Sam Rockwell and Mary-Louise Parker. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have previously collaborated on a film score, for John Hillcoat's critically acclaimed 2005 Australian 'Western', The Proposition, starring Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce and Danny Huston. Cave (who provided the script for The Proposition) and Ellis' haunting semi-acoustic score, featuring plaintive violin, eerie sound loops and mournful piano, received universal praise. Cave, of course, is no stranger to film scoring and has established a renowned reputation for his work in this field. Together with fellow Bad Seeds Mick Harvey and Blixa Bargeld, Cave wrote the indelible soundtracks for two other motion pictures directed by John Hillcoat: the harrowing 1989 prison drama Ghosts... Of The Civil Dead and the 1996 emotionally charged jungle melodrama, To Have And To Hold. Nick Cave has also been commissioned by various directors to compose specific songs for their motion pictures; including Wim Wenders, for his pictures Until The End Of The World (1991) and Faraway, So Close! (the 1993 sequel his Wings Of Desire, in which Cave And The Bad Seeds performed), and Jez Butterworth for Mojo (1997). Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' thrilling new score for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford captures perfectly the charismatic and unpredictable nature of its central protagonist. Like the film, Cave and Ellis' music cuts through the mythic figure of Jesse James to reveal the complex, contradictory man beneath. Daring and passionately delivered, Cave and Ellis' beautiful soundtrack retains its captivating power even without the benefit of Dominik's images. http://www.nickcaveandthebadseeds.com http://www.mutestation.com/jessejames.m4a Mon, 29 Oct 2007 17:20:31 +0000 Music no 00:17:57 Mute Records, Music, Depeche Mode, Moby, Goldfrapp, Erasure, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Blast First, novamute, The Grey Area, The Fine Line, 13th Hour Recordings Mute The inimitable Dave Gahan makes a dynamic return with 'Hourglass' - his eagerly awaited second solo album. Best known as the iconic frontman of Depeche Mode, he continues his impressive career with a blazing new side-project, which follows his critically acclaimed solo debut 'Paper Monsters'. Produced by Dave with Christian Eigner & Andrew Phillpott, both members of the Depeche Mode touring band, 'Hourglass' also reflects Gahan's growth as a songwriter. Initially showcased with 2003's 'Paper Monsters', he later wrote 3 stellar tracks for Depeche Mode's recent 2-million selling 'Playing The Angel' – 'I Want It All', 'Suffer Well' and 'Nothing's Impossible'. Hourglass highlights include the gospel-tinged 'Saw Something', which kick-starts the album with stealth before effortlessly setting the tone for the other nine tracks. “That was the catalyst that started the idea to write again,” Dave recalls, adding that is was also “the first lyric, and the key to open the door to thinking, ‘Okay, I can go here.'" Other standout moments include the exhilarating, tour de force roar of 'Deeper and Deeper', the soaring epic first single 'Kingdom' and the addictive pull of 'Use You', where he scathingly lets loose his disgust with people, and specifically, himself. Meanwhile, on 'Down' - perhaps the most confessional song on the record - he confesses, "I feel so old, down on the ground is where I’m bound to end up." Sonically, the record cuts across a range of influences and styles with grace. Decidedly more electronic than his previous solo work, he has seamlessly swapped the guitar of ‘Paper Monsters' for the synthesizer he epitomizes so well. "It doesn't feel so much that the band is my identity anymore, although I owe everything to it. I'm starting to really feel that I have my own voice, and it's definitely coming out in the songs. For me, it’s the best possible record I could make at this time. And it’s gone well beyond what I expected of myself." The inimitable Dave Gahan makes a dynamic return with 'Hourglass' - his eagerly awaited second solo album. The inimitable Dave Gahan makes a dynamic return with 'Hourglass' - his eagerly awaited second solo album. Best known as the iconic frontman of Depeche Mode, he continues his impressive career with a blazing new side-project, which follows his critically acclaimed solo debut 'Paper Monsters'. Produced by Dave with Christian Eigner & Andrew Phillpott, both members of the Depeche Mode touring band, 'Hourglass' also reflects Gahan's growth as a songwriter. Initially showcased with 2003's 'Paper Monsters', he later wrote 3 stellar tracks for Depeche Mode's recent 2-million selling 'Playing The Angel' – 'I Want It All', 'Suffer Well' and 'Nothing's Impossible'. Hourglass highlights include the gospel-tinged 'Saw Something', which kick-starts the album with stealth before effortlessly setting the tone for the other nine tracks. “That was the catalyst that started the idea to write again,” Dave recalls, adding that is was also “the first lyric, and the key to open the door to thinking, ‘Okay, I can go here.'" Other standout moments include the exhilarating, tour de force roar of 'Deeper and Deeper', the soaring epic first single 'Kingdom' and the addictive pull of 'Use You', where he scathingly lets loose his disgust with people, and specifically, himself. Meanwhile, on 'Down' - perhaps the most confessional song on the record - he confesses, "I feel so old, down on the ground is where I’m bound to end up." Sonically, the record cuts across a range of influences and styles with grace. Decidedly more electronic than his previous solo work, he has seamlessly swapped the guitar of ‘Paper Monsters' for the synthesizer he epitomizes so well. "It doesn't feel so much that the band is my identity anymore, although I owe everything to it. I'm starting to really feel that I have my own voice, and it's definitely coming out in the songs. For me, it’s the best possible record I could make at this time. And it’s gone well beyond what I expected of myself." http://www.davegahan.com http://www.mutestation.com/recordinghourglass.m4v Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:17:06 +0100 Music no 00:04:59 Mute Records, Music, Dave Gahan, Hourglass, Depeche Mode, Moby, Goldfrapp, Erasure, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Blast First, novamute, The Grey Area, The Fine Line, 13th Hour Recordings Mute Richard talks about the inspiration behind "Tonight The Streets Are Ours", the first single from his new album "Lady's Bridge". The single is out now, including an acoustic version available exclusively from iTunes. Richard talks about the inspiration behind "Tonight The Streets Are Ours", the first single from his new album "Lady's Bridge". The single is out now, including an acoustic version available exclusively from iTunes. Richard talks about the inspiration behind "Tonight The Streets Are Ours", the first single from his new album "Lady's Bridge". The single is out now, including an acoustic version available exclusively from iTunes. http://www.richardhawley.co.uk http://www.mutestation.com/hawley_episode01.m4v Thu, 09 Aug 2007 11:39:31 +0100 Music no 00:02:11 Mute Records, Music, Richard Hawley, Lady's Bridge, Coles Corner, Sheffield, Shane Meadows, Martin Parr Mute Liars release a single, Plaster Casts Of Everything today followed by the brand new album, Liars - on 20th August 2007. The video for Plaster Casts Of Everything, directed by Patrick Daughters (Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Kings Of Leon), sees Angus on a sinister car ride across the desert and can be seen in full on the band’s newly launched website, www.liarsliarsliars.com. Liars release a single, Plaster Casts Of Everything today followed by the brand new album, Liars - on 20th August 2007. This podcast looks at the single and the fantastic new video. Liars release a single, Plaster Casts Of Everything today followed by the brand new album, Liars - on 20th August 2007. The video for Plaster Casts Of Everything, directed by Patrick Daughters (Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Kings Of Leon), sees Angus on a sinister car ride across the desert and can be seen in full on the band’s newly launched website, www.liarsliarsliars.com. http://www.liarsliarsliars.co http://www.mutestation.com/liarspodcast.m4v Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:42:34 +0100 Music yes 00:02:14 Mute Records, Music, Liars, Plaster Casts of Everything Recoil After a 6-year break from recording, musician / producer Alan Wilder returns with Recoil's 5th studio album, subHuman, released on Mute today. Here, Alan discusses the project for this exclusive Mute Station podcast. The album will be available on CD and limited edition gatefold vinyl as well as in a special collector's DVD package featuring an enhanced stereo CD, a 5.1 Surround Sound version, an exclusive ambient reworking of the entire album and all the Recoil videos to date. Collaborating with Recoil on subHuman is Bluesman Joe Richardson, whose evocative vocal style is complimented by accomplished guitar and harmonica performances. Born in Southern Louisiana, Richardson spent years immersed in the murkier side of New Orleans life and offers a unique commentary on conflict, religion, incarceration and personal struggle. English singer Carla Trevaskis, a songwriter in her own right, brings an expressive range and control to subHuman and has worked with artists as diverse as Fred de Faye (Eurythmics), Cliff Hewitt (Apollo 440) and Dave McDonald (Portishead). Wilder's skill at blending diverse and eclectic musical styles with often controversial subjects has produced an album of complex sonic imagery and expansive dynamic range. subHuman asks us to reach within ourselves and extract the very essence of what makes us human - and more importantly what allows us to subordinate others, sometimes with the most brutal consequences. We are all subHuman in somebody's eyes. www.recoil.co.uk | www.myspace.com/recoil After a 6-year break from recording, musician / producer Alan Wilder returns with Recoil's 5th studio album, subHuman, released on Mute today. Here, Alan discusses the project for this exclusive Mute Station podcast. After a 6-year break from recording, musician / producer Alan Wilder returns with Recoil's 5th studio album, subHuman, released on Mute today. Here, Alan discusses the project for this exclusive Mute Station podcast. The album will be available on CD and limited edition gatefold vinyl as well as in a special collector's DVD package featuring an enhanced stereo CD, a 5.1 Surround Sound version, an exclusive ambient reworking of the entire album and all the Recoil videos to date. Collaborating with Recoil on subHuman is Bluesman Joe Richardson, whose evocative vocal style is complimented by accomplished guitar and harmonica performances. Born in Southern Louisiana, Richardson spent years immersed in the murkier side of New Orleans life and offers a unique commentary on conflict, religion, incarceration and personal struggle. English singer Carla Trevaskis, a songwriter in her own right, brings an expressive range and control to subHuman and has worked with artists as diverse as Fred de Faye (Eurythmics), Cliff Hewitt (Apollo 440) and Dave McDonald (Portishead). Wilder's skill at blending diverse and eclectic musical styles with often controversial subjects has produced an album of complex sonic imagery and expansive dynamic range. subHuman asks us to reach within ourselves and extract the very essence of what makes us human - and more importantly what allows us to subordinate others, sometimes with the most brutal consequences. We are all subHuman in somebody's eyes. www.recoil.co.uk | www.myspace.com/recoil http://www.recoil.co.uk http://www.mutestation.com/subHuman%20Podcast.mp3 Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:20:03 +0100 Music no 00:17:46 Mute Records, Music, Recoil, Subhuman, Alan Wilder, Depeche Mode Komputer Komputer release a brand new album, Synthetik. The follow up to 2002’s "Market Led,""Synthetik" will be available on digital format only on August 14 2007. In this two-part podcast, Simon and David discuss the album. Komputer’s sound is rigorously electronic, their subject matter is varied: from Russian cosmonauts to rubbish compactors and mobile phone ringtones – as on new track Headphones and Ringtones, their paean to a time you could listen to songs on the radio, bird song and the wind in the trees, rather than today’s ubiquitous headphones and ringtones. For Synthetik, the band’s third album, the music gradually evolved over a long period of time, tracks were tried out in live sets then discarded or reworked in the studio, maturing into a return to the more traditional electro sound of the first album, The World Of Tomorrow, with the incorporation of a more experimental and contemporary electronica approach. Opening with the futuristic International Space Station, a farewell song to planet Earth, the album looks to the future, takes a slightly nostalgic look at time’s past, nature (with the pounding, relentless Rain) and then, unapologetically tells the listener how it is with the artisan anthem What We Do. Komputer is the project of two London-based synth-meisters: Simon Leonard and David Baker who, described as an electronic evocation of Syd Barrett’s madcap laughter, originally signed to Mute in 1984 as I Start Counting and continued with releases under the moniker Fortran 5 until the release of Komputer’s debut album, The World of Tomorrow (1998), a reaction against Oasis’ glorification of The Beatles, a rewriting of pop music with Kraftwerk as heroes. KOMPUTER release a brand new album, Synthetik. The follow up to 2002’s "Market Led,""Synthetik" will be available on digital format only on August 14 2007. In this two-part podcast, Simon and David discuss the album. Komputer release a brand new album, Synthetik. The follow up to 2002’s "Market Led,""Synthetik" will be available on digital format only on August 14 2007. In this two-part podcast, Simon and David discuss the album. Komputer’s sound is rigorously electronic, their subject matter is varied: from Russian cosmonauts to rubbish compactors and mobile phone ringtones – as on new track Headphones and Ringtones, their paean to a time you could listen to songs on the radio, bird song and the wind in the trees, rather than today’s ubiquitous headphones and ringtones. For Synthetik, the band’s third album, the music gradually evolved over a long period of time, tracks were tried out in live sets then discarded or reworked in the studio, maturing into a return to the more traditional electro sound of the first album, The World Of Tomorrow, with the incorporation of a more experimental and contemporary electronica approach. Opening with the futuristic International Space Station, a farewell song to planet Earth, the album looks to the future, takes a slightly nostalgic look at time’s past, nature (with the pounding, relentless Rain) and then, unapologetically tells the listener how it is with the artisan anthem What We Do. Komputer is the project of two London-based synth-meisters: Simon Leonard and David Baker who, described as an electronic evocation of Syd Barrett’s madcap laughter, originally signed to Mute in 1984 as I Start Counting and continued with releases under the moniker Fortran 5 until the release of Komputer’s debut album, The World of Tomorrow (1998), a reaction against Oasis’ glorification of The Beatles, a rewriting of pop music with Kraftwerk as heroes. http://www.komputer.org.uk/ http://www.mutestation.com/Komputer%20Podcast.mp3 Sun, 01 Jul 2007 10:10:40 +0100 Music no 00:14:47 Mute Records, Music, Komputer, Simon Leonard, David Baker Mute Erasure - Light At The End Of The World Leave it to Erasure to hole up in a cottage abutting the woods of Mid-Coast Maine, surrounded by ocean, forest and mountains to produce one of the most computer-based, modern albums of their career. In a setting perhaps better suited to the creation of last year’s critically-acclaimed acoustic Union Street project, Vince Clarke, Andy Bell and producer Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Wire, Clinic, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) spent six weeks last autumn recording the songs that comprise the new CD Light At The End Of The World. The most recent release in an incredibly fertile and prolific period, Light At the End Of World proves Erasure’s creative vitality, musical influence and cultural relevance is just nearing its peak more than twenty years and twenty million albums into their historic collaboration. Heralded by the relentlessly uptempo single ‘I Could Fall In love With You’, the songwriting process for the ten-track Light At The End Of The World benefited from the organic surroundings in unexpected ways. Bell’s lyrics are some of the most intensely personal of his career - true mediations on love, loss, regret, hope and starting over. Exciting and dramatic throughout, even in the quieter moments as on ‘Darlene’ and ‘Glass Angel,’ his voice soars on a bed of Clarke’s pulsing and irresistibly melodic synths on virtually every verse and chorus, many of which are arranged quite traditionally despite the high-tech software employed to construct them. Unfazed by their iconic reputation among such chart-topping devotees as The Killers, Franz Ferdinand and Madonna and having eclipsed, according to The Times, no less than Kraftwerk in influence among today’s hitmakers, Erasure left their reputation as one of the Top 100 Most Successful Acts Of All Time at the studio door and proceeded to make one of their most heartfelt and mature albums ever. And as ever, have turned out a collection that is one of the few places where punk, electronica and disco can still co-exist naturally. Owing a tip of the hat as much to Simon & Garfunkel as their electronic forebears, Light At The End of World is as magical and spiritual as its title suggests. A snapshot, both musically and lyrically, of Clarke and Bell at this moment, proud of their legacy but unafraid to take chances, still growing as artists but true to their electronic roots, and still greeting the ups and downs of life with a song. "This album is to show people that our pop isn't finished,” Andy declares. “It's saying we can still do it, we can still write great songs," he adds, trying to pinpoint Erasure's appeal. "We're a bizarre mixture - people don't get it a lot of the time. We're quite British and working class - working people love a good tune in a pub - but we're also quite eccentric. We're the UK version of Sparks: the Gilbert & George of electronic pop. And we don't play the game." Erasure release a new album Light At The End Of The World through Mute on May 21st. This is the first release since the band’s acoustic album Union Street in April 2006. Erasure - Light At The End Of The World Leave it to Erasure to hole up in a cottage abutting the woods of Mid-Coast Maine, surrounded by ocean, forest and mountains to produce one of the most computer-based, modern albums of their career. In a setting perhaps better suited to the creation of last year’s critically-acclaimed acoustic Union Street project, Vince Clarke, Andy Bell and producer Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Wire, Clinic, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) spent six weeks last autumn recording the songs that comprise the new CD Light At The End Of The World. The most recent release in an incredibly fertile and prolific period, Light At the End Of World proves Erasure’s creative vitality, musical influence and cultural relevance is just nearing its peak more than twenty years and twenty million albums into their historic collaboration. Heralded by the relentlessly uptempo single ‘I Could Fall In love With You’, the songwriting process for the ten-track Light At The End Of The World benefited from the organic surroundings in unexpected ways. Bell’s lyrics are some of the most intensely personal of his career - true mediations on love, loss, regret, hope and starting over. Exciting and dramatic throughout, even in the quieter moments as on ‘Darlene’ and ‘Glass Angel,’ his voice soars on a bed of Clarke’s pulsing and irresistibly melodic synths on virtually every verse and chorus, many of which are arranged quite traditionally despite the high-tech software employed to construct them. Unfazed by their iconic reputation among such chart-topping devotees as The Killers, Franz Ferdinand and Madonna and having eclipsed, according to The Times, no less than Kraftwerk in influence among today’s hitmakers, Erasure left their reputation as one of the Top 100 Most Successful Acts Of All Time at the studio door and proceeded to make one of their most heartfelt and mature albums ever. And as ever, have turned out a collection that is one of the few places where punk, electronica and disco can still co-exist naturally. Owing a tip of the hat as much to Simon & Garfunkel as their electronic forebears, Light At The End of World is as magical and spiritual as its title suggests. A snapshot, both musically and lyrically, of Clarke and Bell at this moment, proud of their legacy but unafraid to take chances, still growing as artists but true to their electronic roots, and still greeting the ups and downs of life with a song. "This album is to show people that our pop isn't finished,” Andy declares. “It's saying we can still do it, we can still write great songs," he adds, trying to pinpoint Erasure's appeal. "We're a bizarre mixture - people don't get it a lot of the time. We're quite British and working class - working people love a good tune in a pub - but we're also quite eccentric. We're the UK version of Sparks: the Gilbert & George of electronic pop. And we don't play the game." http://erasureinfo.com http://www.mutestation.com/lightattheendoftheworld.m4v Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:48:41 +0100 Music no 00:06:12 Mute Records, Music, Erasure, Vince Clarke, Andy Bell, Light At The End Of The World grinderman.com Foul-mouthed, noisy, hairy, and damn well old enough to know better, Grinderman are Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos. On 5th April 2006, Nick, Warren, Martyn and Jim entered RAK studios, London, for a week with producer Nick Launay and recorded thirteen songs. It was mixed in September at Metropolis Studios. Calling themselves Grinderman, the album is set for a March 2007 release. Grinderman are Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos. This short film looks at the writing and recording of their new album 'Grinderman', released by Mute on 5th March 2007. Foul-mouthed, noisy, hairy, and damn well old enough to know better, Grinderman are Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey and Jim Sclavunos. On 5th April 2006, Nick, Warren, Martyn and Jim entered RAK studios, London, for a week with producer Nick Launay and recorded thirteen songs. It was mixed in September at Metropolis Studios. Calling themselves Grinderman, the album is set for a March 2007 release. http://www.grinderman.com http://www.mutestation.com/grinderman_short_film.mov Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:30:06 +0000 Music no 00:10:16 Mute Records, Grinderman, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey, Jim Sclavunos Mute To celebrate the forthcoming UK tour and exclusive digital release of rare sides and udder stuff, for the next 4 weeks the Moo-te Station will be taken over by Inspiral Carpets. The album, Keep The Circle, is released on 26th February. With the definitive cool as f**k band line-up of Tom Hingley, Clint Boon, Craig 'Noddy' Gill, Martyn Walsh and Graham Lambert, the band embark on an eight date tour that includes London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 10th March, the Inspirals' first date in London since their sold out shows in 2003. The album comprises the flip sides of their 13 Top 40 singles and various rarities featuring, amongst others, a previously unreleased version of Saturn 5 (featuring Mark E Smith of The Fall) and the first ever Inspiral Carpets recording Garage Full Of Flowers (previously only available on a limited release flexi disc in 1988). 2007 will also see the release on DVD of their legendary 1990 G-Mex show where the band performed to 14,000 fans following the release of the timeless debut album Life which had just peaked at number 2 in the album chart. One of Britain's great singles bands, Inspirals Carpets are the boys that famously gave Noel Gallagher his rock n roll schooling (as their roadie) but more importantly, introduced the mainstream to Madchester with a bevy of pop anthems (including the hits, Joe, Caravan, I Want You, Saturn 5 and This Is How It Feels) Back one more time - the 4th and final episode of our series of Podcasts celebrating the forthcoming UK tour and 'Keep The Circle', an exclusive digital release of rare B sides and udder stuff, released this week and available now from iTunes!!! To celebrate the forthcoming UK tour and exclusive digital release of rare sides and udder stuff, for the next 4 weeks the Moo-te Station will be taken over by Inspiral Carpets. The album, Keep The Circle, is released on 26th February. With the definitive cool as f**k band line-up of Tom Hingley, Clint Boon, Craig 'Noddy' Gill, Martyn Walsh and Graham Lambert, the band embark on an eight date tour that includes London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 10th March, the Inspirals' first date in London since their sold out shows in 2003. The album comprises the flip sides of their 13 Top 40 singles and various rarities featuring, amongst others, a previously unreleased version of Saturn 5 (featuring Mark E Smith of The Fall) and the first ever Inspiral Carpets recording Garage Full Of Flowers (previously only available on a limited release flexi disc in 1988). 2007 will also see the release on DVD of their legendary 1990 G-Mex show where the band performed to 14,000 fans following the release of the timeless debut album Life which had just peaked at number 2 in the album chart. One of Britain's great singles bands, Inspirals Carpets are the boys that famously gave Noel Gallagher his rock n roll schooling (as their roadie) but more importantly, introduced the mainstream to Madchester with a bevy of pop anthems (including the hits, Joe, Caravan, I Want You, Saturn 5 and This Is How It Feels) http://www.inspiralcarpets.com http://www.mutestation.com/inspirals_04.mp3 Wed, 28 Feb 2007 11:17:26 +0000 Music no 00:14:11 Mute Records, Music, Inspiral Carpets, Tom Hingley, Martyn Walsh, Graham Lambert, Craig Gill, Clint Boon Mute To celebrate the forthcoming UK tour and exclusive digital release of rare sides and udder stuff, for the next 4 weeks the Moo-te Station will be taken over by Inspiral Carpets. The album, Keep The Circle, is released on 26th February. With the definitive cool as f**k band line-up of Tom Hingley, Clint Boon, Craig 'Noddy' Gill, Martyn Walsh and Graham Lambert, the band embark on an eight date tour that includes London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 10th March, the Inspirals' first date in London since their sold out shows in 2003. The album comprises the flip sides of their 13 Top 40 singles and various rarities featuring, amongst others, a previously unreleased version of Saturn 5 (featuring Mark E Smith of The Fall) and the first ever Inspiral Carpets recording Garage Full Of Flowers (previously only available on a limited release flexi disc in 1988). 2007 will also see the release on DVD of their legendary 1990 G-Mex show where the band performed to 14,000 fans following the release of the timeless debut album Life which had just peaked at number 2 in the album chart. One of Britain's great singles bands, Inspirals Carpets are the boys that famously gave Noel Gallagher his rock n roll schooling (as their roadie) but more importantly, introduced the mainstream to Madchester with a bevy of pop anthems (including the hits, Joe, Caravan, I Want You, Saturn 5 and This Is How It Feels) The Inspirals return for the third episode in our series of 4 Podcasts celebrating the forthcoming UK tour and 'Keep The Circle', an exclusive digital release of rare B sides and udder stuff. Look out for the final episode next week! To celebrate the forthcoming UK tour and exclusive digital release of rare sides and udder stuff, for the next 4 weeks the Moo-te Station will be taken over by Inspiral Carpets. The album, Keep The Circle, is released on 26th February. With the definitive cool as f**k band line-up of Tom Hingley, Clint Boon, Craig 'Noddy' Gill, Martyn Walsh and Graham Lambert, the band embark on an eight date tour that includes London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 10th March, the Inspirals' first date in London since their sold out shows in 2003. The album comprises the flip sides of their 13 Top 40 singles and various rarities featuring, amongst others, a previously unreleased version of Saturn 5 (featuring Mark E Smith of The Fall) and the first ever Inspiral Carpets recording Garage Full Of Flowers (previously only available on a limited release flexi disc in 1988). 2007 will also see the release on DVD of their legendary 1990 G-Mex show where the band performed to 14,000 fans following the release of the timeless debut album Life which had just peaked at number 2 in the album chart. One of Britain's great singles bands, Inspirals Carpets are the boys that famously gave Noel Gallagher his rock n roll schooling (as their roadie) but more importantly, introduced the mainstream to Madchester with a bevy of pop anthems (including the hits, Joe, Caravan, I Want You, Saturn 5 and This Is How It Feels) http://www.inspiralcarpets.com http://www.mutestation.com/inspirals_03.mp3 Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:22:45 +0000 Music no 00:11:13 Mute Records, Music, Inspiral Carpets, Tom Hingley, Martyn Walsh, Graham Lambert, Craig Gill, Clint Boon Mute To celebrate the forthcoming UK tour and exclusive digital release of rare sides and udder stuff, for the next 4 weeks the Moo-te Station will be taken over by Inspiral Carpets. The album, Keep The Circle, is released on 26th February. With the definitive cool as f**k band line-up of Tom Hingley, Clint Boon, Craig 'Noddy' Gill, Martyn Walsh and Graham Lambert, the band embark on an eight date tour that includes London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 10th March, the Inspirals' first date in London since their sold out shows in 2003. The album comprises the flip sides of their 13 Top 40 singles and various rarities featuring, amongst others, a previously unreleased version of Saturn 5 (featuring Mark E Smith of The Fall) and the first ever Inspiral Carpets recording Garage Full Of Flowers (previously only available on a limited release flexi disc in 1988). 2007 will also see the release on DVD of their legendary 1990 G-Mex show where the band performed to 14,000 fans following the release of the timeless debut album Life which had just peaked at number 2 in the album chart. One of Britain's great singles bands, Inspirals Carpets are the boys that famously gave Noel Gallagher his rock n roll schooling (as their roadie) but more importantly, introduced the mainstream to Madchester with a bevy of pop anthems (including the hits, Joe, Caravan, I Want You, Saturn 5 and This Is How It Feels) The Inspirals return to Moo-te Station for part two of our series of Podcasts celebrating the forthcoming UK tour and 'Keep The Circle', an exclusive digital release of rare B sides and udder stuff. Look out for episode 3 next week. To celebrate the forthcoming UK tour and exclusive digital release of rare sides and udder stuff, for the next 4 weeks the Moo-te Station will be taken over by Inspiral Carpets. The album, Keep The Circle, is released on 26th February. With the definitive cool as f**k band line-up of Tom Hingley, Clint Boon, Craig 'Noddy' Gill, Martyn Walsh and Graham Lambert, the band embark on an eight date tour that includes London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 10th March, the Inspirals' first date in London since their sold out shows in 2003. The album comprises the flip sides of their 13 Top 40 singles and various rarities featuring, amongst others, a previously unreleased version of Saturn 5 (featuring Mark E Smith of The Fall) and the first ever Inspiral Carpets recording Garage Full Of Flowers (previously only available on a limited release flexi disc in 1988). 2007 will also see the release on DVD of their legendary 1990 G-Mex show where the band performed to 14,000 fans following the release of the timeless debut album Life which had just peaked at number 2 in the album chart. One of Britain's great singles bands, Inspirals Carpets are the boys that famously gave Noel Gallagher his rock n roll schooling (as their roadie) but more importantly, introduced the mainstream to Madchester with a bevy of pop anthems (including the hits, Joe, Caravan, I Want You, Saturn 5 and This Is How It Feels) http://www.inspiralcarpets.com http://www.mutestation.com/inspirals_02.mp3 Wed, 14 Feb 2007 13:48:32 +0000 Music no 00:11:38 Mute Records, Music, Inspiral Carpets, Tom Hingley, Martyn Walsh, Graham Lambert, Craig Gill, Clint Boon Mute To celebrate the forthcoming UK tour and exclusive digital release of rare sides and udder stuff, for the next 4 weeks the Moo-te Station will be taken over by Inspiral Carpets. The album, Keep The Circle, is released on 26th February. With the definitive cool as f**k band line-up of Tom Hingley, Clint Boon, Craig 'Noddy' Gill, Martyn Walsh and Graham Lambert, the band embark on an eight date tour that includes London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 10th March, the Inspirals' first date in London since their sold out shows in 2003. The album comprises the flip sides of their 13 Top 40 singles and various rarities featuring, amongst others, a previously unreleased version of Saturn 5 (featuring Mark E Smith of The Fall) and the first ever Inspiral Carpets recording Garage Full Of Flowers (previously only available on a limited release flexi disc in 1988). 2007 will also see the release on DVD of their legendary 1990 G-Mex show where the band performed to 14,000 fans following the release of the timeless debut album Life which had just peaked at number 2 in the album chart. One of Britain's great singles bands, Inspirals Carpets are the boys that famously gave Noel Gallagher his rock n roll schooling (as their roadie) but more importantly, introduced the mainstream to Madchester with a bevy of pop anthems (including the hits, Joe, Caravan, I Want You, Saturn 5 and This Is How It Feels) To celebrate the forthcoming UK tour and exclusive digital release of rare B sides and udder stuff, for the next 4 weeks the "Moo-te Station" will be taken over by Inspiral Carpets, talking about tracks from the album, 'Keep The Circle'. To celebrate the forthcoming UK tour and exclusive digital release of rare sides and udder stuff, for the next 4 weeks the Moo-te Station will be taken over by Inspiral Carpets. The album, Keep The Circle, is released on 26th February. With the definitive cool as f**k band line-up of Tom Hingley, Clint Boon, Craig 'Noddy' Gill, Martyn Walsh and Graham Lambert, the band embark on an eight date tour that includes London's Shepherds Bush Empire on 10th March, the Inspirals' first date in London since their sold out shows in 2003. The album comprises the flip sides of their 13 Top 40 singles and various rarities featuring, amongst others, a previously unreleased version of Saturn 5 (featuring Mark E Smith of The Fall) and the first ever Inspiral Carpets recording Garage Full Of Flowers (previously only available on a limited release flexi disc in 1988). 2007 will also see the release on DVD of their legendary 1990 G-Mex show where the band performed to 14,000 fans following the release of the timeless debut album Life which had just peaked at number 2 in the album chart. One of Britain's great singles bands, Inspirals Carpets are the boys that famously gave Noel Gallagher his rock n roll schooling (as their roadie) but more importantly, introduced the mainstream to Madchester with a bevy of pop anthems (including the hits, Joe, Caravan, I Want You, Saturn 5 and This Is How It Feels) http://www.inspiralcarpets.com http://www.mutestation.com/inspirals_01.mp3 Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:04:02 +0000 Music no 00:10:31 Mute Records, Music, Inspiral Carpets, Tom Hingley, Martyn Walsh, Graham Lambert, Craig Gill, Clint Boon Mute Today, there is no shortage of serious young men in groups, sketching out how they imagine the extremes and depths of emotion might be. Time was, though, that only those who had earned the right to sing of love, loss and striving would share such confidences - real singers, of the calibre of Scott Walker, Roy Orbison, or even Nancy's old dad, The Chairman himself. Richard Hawley understands this. The man who could well be Britain's finest songwriter insists his mind is full only with "confused thoughts and Guinness". But when he sings, he does so in a voice that's deep and low, and does not lie. His merciful, wise songs tell of the heart's truths as seen in the dark, revealed by moonlight. Remember, this is the hopeless romantic who, on returning home from a lengthy tour of America was reduced to tears by the sight of a bottle of sauce - Sheffield delicacy Henderson's Relish - on his kitchen table. Coles Corner, Richard's first album for Mute, was released on 5th September 2005. While his previous long-players, Late Night Final (2001) and Lowedges (2003), scaled remarkable heights of elegance and emotional candour, this collection is surely his best to date. Within, orchestral splendour sits alongside earthy rock and roll in songs that are by turns intimate and soaring. So go with him as he leads you down to the ocean, or reveals the secret interior of a hotel room, or shows you the seductive open road. Take the string-led, alone-in-a-crowd title track, where Hawley's narrator walks the city at night and hopes that "Maybe there's someone waiting for me/ With a smile and a flower in her hair." A smouldering take on the same ambivalence that drives Petula Clark's Downtown, it's a telling foretaste of what else is coming down the wires. Born Under A Bad Sign, by contrast, is a drifting, country confessional for glockenspiel and guitar, which slow dances around autobiography and universal experience: "What are you like?/ You've had a right life/ Taken a long ride/ But oh, at what cost?""Every time I felt myself pushing it orchestrally, I thought of the Sun studio, one-mic, one guitar thing," explains Hawley of this juxtaposition of town and country. "It's all roots music to me, even with a string section, and I wanted to prove that side by side, both work. I think there's a flow to the record - I'm expressing how I feel, truthfully. And when people tell the truth, no matter how ugly it is, it can't help but be a beautiful thing." Recording took place at Sheffield's Yellowarch Studio, with Hawley and Colin Elliott at the producers' desk. Remarkably, several songs on the album came to Hawley fully formed and were nailed in just one take. "Last Orders was written in a cab on the way to the studio," he confirms, still slightly disbelieving. "I had a minging hangover, but I had this melody in my head, so I walked in and said 'Mic the piano up and tap me on the shoulder when it's time to record'. We got it in one take. With Wading Through The Water, we were all wearing overalls 'cos we were plastering the studio walls. All I did to change was to wash the plaster dust off my hands... we did that in one take too, and then went downstairs again to get back to work." In a career that began playing r 'n' b in German beer halls in 1981, Hawley has never been a stranger to toil. His early musical life involved playing guitar for lost indie heroes Treebound Story. He commenced his solo career with a self-titled mini-album in 2001. Recent activities have included producing songs for Nancy Sinatra, who invited him on her UK and European tour in 2005, gigging with his rockabilly band The Feral Cats, and getting over a vicious attack of pleurisy. In between came the realisation that the music he had always loved - whether Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Little Walter, or any number of past giants - would be his salvation. "I've been around but I'm not jaded," he says. "I've been through what I've been through, and I've come out of it, quite alright, you know. I don't remember the hang over, I just remember the party. 'Cos there's hope in a beautiful record. Just recently I've come out of the other side of a couple of years of complete shit. People very near me, several of them, got sick. It seemed like every time the phone went someone else had cancer. But when I started recording this record, gradually, one by one, I started getting phone calls saying they were all right. Now I feel quite optimistic, that I can almost believe that I might actually sell some records, and my oddball music might be heard." As is often the case, blame the parents for just how oddball he is. The son of a Gene Vincent-obsessed Sheffield steel worker, Hawley grew up close to rock and roll - his mum once sang with the Everley Brothers on the back steps of Sheffield City hall, and he later learned guitar via his father. Indeed, his dad Dave once played with Eddie Cochran, and recounts a tale of the doomed rocker standing in a shower at 3am holding an umbrella, "so water wouldn't go in his whiskey". Perhaps this upbringing is why it's so hard to find a comparative voice in the here and now. "There's a lot of factors involved in music today that aren't music," he muses. "But once all the crap is gone, the good stuff's still there. If the core of what you're about is tangible and worth it, and it goes down to your fucking boots, you've got to stick with it because it will stick with you. If the world was just like a fucking Coca Cola advert all the time, all the individual expressions would be denied. So it's good I'm in the position I'm in now. 'Cos I'm not going to be denied anymore." Now we leave him to play a series of high-profile shows with R.E.M., and to spend his rare free hours searching eBay for the few Santo and Johnny albums he has yet to track down. There's just one last thing to clear up: What is Cole's Corner?" It's where Cole Brothers, an old department store in Sheffield, used to stand," says Hawley. "There's a blue plaque there now. It was a convenient place near a lot of tram and bus stops, and for well over 100 years Sheffield's couples, lovers, friends, mums and dads or whatever, would meet. I've always found it quite a romantic notion - how many kids in Sheffield are knocking about as a result of a meeting at Cole's Corner?''I'll meet you at Cole's Corner...' People still say it, even though it hasn't existed for years. It only exists, really, in the ether." Cole's Corner was demolished in 1969. In Richard Hawley's dreams it's still there. You can visit, if you want. Just close your eyes, and listen. Richard Hawley talks about his album Coles Corner, one of the Nationwide Mercury Prize Albums of the Year 2006 Today, there is no shortage of serious young men in groups, sketching out how they imagine the extremes and depths of emotion might be. Time was, though, that only those who had earned the right to sing of love, loss and striving would share such confidences - real singers, of the calibre of Scott Walker, Roy Orbison, or even Nancy's old dad, The Chairman himself. Richard Hawley understands this. The man who could well be Britain's finest songwriter insists his mind is full only with "confused thoughts and Guinness". But when he sings, he does so in a voice that's deep and low, and does not lie. His merciful, wise songs tell of the heart's truths as seen in the dark, revealed by moonlight. Remember, this is the hopeless romantic who, on returning home from a lengthy tour of America was reduced to tears by the sight of a bottle of sauce - Sheffield delicacy Henderson's Relish - on his kitchen table. Coles Corner, Richard's first album for Mute, was released on 5th September 2005. While his previous long-players, Late Night Final (2001) and Lowedges (2003), scaled remarkable heights of elegance and emotional candour, this collection is surely his best to date. Within, orchestral splendour sits alongside earthy rock and roll in songs that are by turns intimate and soaring. So go with him as he leads you down to the ocean, or reveals the secret interior of a hotel room, or shows you the seductive open road. Take the string-led, alone-in-a-crowd title track, where Hawley's narrator walks the city at night and hopes that "Maybe there's someone waiting for me/ With a smile and a flower in her hair." A smouldering take on the same ambivalence that drives Petula Clark's Downtown, it's a telling foretaste of what else is coming down the wires. Born Under A Bad Sign, by contrast, is a drifting, country confessional for glockenspiel and guitar, which slow dances around autobiography and universal experience: "What are you like?/ You've had a right life/ Taken a long ride/ But oh, at what cost?""Every time I felt myself pushing it orchestrally, I thought of the Sun studio, one-mic, one guitar thing," explains Hawley of this juxtaposition of town and country. "It's all roots music to me, even with a string section, and I wanted to prove that side by side, both work. I think there's a flow to the record - I'm expressing how I feel, truthfully. And when people tell the truth, no matter how ugly it is, it can't help but be a beautiful thing." Recording took place at Sheffield's Yellowarch Studio, with Hawley and Colin Elliott at the producers' desk. Remarkably, several songs on the album came to Hawley fully formed and were nailed in just one take. "Last Orders was written in a cab on the way to the studio," he confirms, still slightly disbelieving. "I had a minging hangover, but I had this melody in my head, so I walked in and said 'Mic the piano up and tap me on the shoulder when it's time to record'. We got it in one take. With Wading Through The Water, we were all wearing overalls 'cos we were plastering the studio walls. All I did to change was to wash the plaster dust off my hands... we did that in one take too, and then went downstairs again to get back to work." In a career that began playing r 'n' b in German beer halls in 1981, Hawley has never been a stranger to toil. His early musical life involved playing guitar for lost indie heroes Treebound Story. He commenced his solo career with a self-titled mini-album in 2001. Recent activities have included producing songs for Nancy Sinatra, who invited him on her UK and European tour in 2005, gigging with his rockabilly band The Feral Cats, and getting over a vicious attack of pleurisy. In between came the realisation that the music he had always loved - whether Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Little Walter, or any number of past giants - would be his salvation. "I've been around but I'm not jaded," he says. "I've been through what I've been through, and I've come out of it, quite alright, you know. I don't remember the hang over, I just remember the party. 'Cos there's hope in a beautiful record. Just recently I've come out of the other side of a couple of years of complete shit. People very near me, several of them, got sick. It seemed like every time the phone went someone else had cancer. But when I started recording this record, gradually, one by one, I started getting phone calls saying they were all right. Now I feel quite optimistic, that I can almost believe that I might actually sell some records, and my oddball music might be heard." As is often the case, blame the parents for just how oddball he is. The son of a Gene Vincent-obsessed Sheffield steel worker, Hawley grew up close to rock and roll - his mum once sang with the Everley Brothers on the back steps of Sheffield City hall, and he later learned guitar via his father. Indeed, his dad Dave once played with Eddie Cochran, and recounts a tale of the doomed rocker standing in a shower at 3am holding an umbrella, "so water wouldn't go in his whiskey". Perhaps this upbringing is why it's so hard to find a comparative voice in the here and now. "There's a lot of factors involved in music today that aren't music," he muses. "But once all the crap is gone, the good stuff's still there. If the core of what you're about is tangible and worth it, and it goes down to your fucking boots, you've got to stick with it because it will stick with you. If the world was just like a fucking Coca Cola advert all the time, all the individual expressions would be denied. So it's good I'm in the position I'm in now. 'Cos I'm not going to be denied anymore." Now we leave him to play a series of high-profile shows with R.E.M., and to spend his rare free hours searching eBay for the few Santo and Johnny albums he has yet to track down. There's just one last thing to clear up: What is Cole's Corner?" It's where Cole Brothers, an old department store in Sheffield, used to stand," says Hawley. "There's a blue plaque there now. It was a convenient place near a lot of tram and bus stops, and for well over 100 years Sheffield's couples, lovers, friends, mums and dads or whatever, would meet. I've always found it quite a romantic notion - how many kids in Sheffield are knocking about as a result of a meeting at Cole's Corner?''I'll meet you at Cole's Corner...' People still say it, even though it hasn't existed for years. It only exists, really, in the ether." Cole's Corner was demolished in 1969. In Richard Hawley's dreams it's still there. You can visit, if you want. Just close your eyes, and listen. http://www.richardhawley.co.uk http://www.mutestation.com/hawley_podcast.m4v Wed, 04 Oct 2006 15:53:36 +0100 Music no 00:12:33 Mute Records, Music, Richard Hawley, Sheffield, Coles Corner, Nationwide Mercury Music Prize Mute Pink Grease return with the second part of their podcast talking about the forthcoming album. Pink Grease return with the second part of their podcast talking about the forthcoming album. Website: http://www.pinkgrease.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/pinkgrease Pink Grease return with the second part of their podcast talking about the forthcoming album. http://www.pinkgrease.com http://www.mutestation.com/pinkgrease_2.m4a Mon, 26 Jun 2006 17:47:13 +0100 Music no 00:06:29 Mute Records, Music, Depeche Mode, Moby, Goldfrapp, Erasure, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Blast First, novamute, The Grey Area, The Fine Line, 13th Hour Recordings Mute Pink Grease talk about the recording sessions for their forthcoming album, cut with exclusive excerpts of new tracks. Pink Grease are back and are set to release a new single on the Mute label on the 29th of May. ‘Ordinary Girl’, the first new material in over year from the Sheffield five - piece, will be available to download and as a very limited edition 7” single. Backed with ‘Hate’, the new tracks are a hint of what to expect from the band’s forthcoming album which is released in September. The group’s second album, the follow up to their 2004 debut ‘This Is For Real’, was recorded at Toerag and Metropolis Studios in London over the last few months with legendary Hip Hop pioneer Arthur Baker. The new recordings see Pink Grease and Baker bring together their love of perfect pop, glam electronics, and punk rock and the result is one of the most dynamic and ambitious records in a very long time. Pink Grease talk about the recording sessions for their forthcoming album, cut with exclusive excerpts of new tracks. Website: http://www.pinkgrease.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/pinkgrease Pink Grease talk about the recording sessions for their forthcoming album, cut with exclusive excerpts of new tracks. Pink Grease are back and are set to release a new single on the Mute label on the 29th of May. ‘Ordinary Girl’, the first new material in over year from the Sheffield five - piece, will be available to download and as a very limited edition 7” single. Backed with ‘Hate’, the new tracks are a hint of what to expect from the band’s forthcoming album which is released in September. The group’s second album, the follow up to their 2004 debut ‘This Is For Real’, was recorded at Toerag and Metropolis Studios in London over the last few months with legendary Hip Hop pioneer Arthur Baker. The new recordings see Pink Grease and Baker bring together their love of perfect pop, glam electronics, and punk rock and the result is one of the most dynamic and ambitious records in a very long time. http://www.pinkgrease.com http://www.mutestation.com/mutestation02.m4a Tue, 25 Apr 2006 12:23:09 +0100 Music no 00:05:59 Mute Records, Music, Pink Grease Mute As an English duo who write and produce everything together, the new album, ‘Supernature’ is the sound of Goldfrapp breaking through their own crash barrier, a strident, psychedelic, 100% uncompromising creative force at the top of their very own game. Theirs is a self-made, alternative reality - in music, vision and soul. “We create our own, personalized environment,” says Alison Goldfrapp, “and it’s more how bands or duos used to do it in the 70s or 80s, your own music, art directing your own sleeves, wearing your own clothes, which is unique compared to a lot of bands. Now, you might get people writing their own music, if that. And they’ll have a whole entourage creating all the other stuff. I like being part of that scene, the people who’ve created everything themselves.” “It’s an alternative reality,” says Will Gregory, “taking ourselves somewhere else and that’s why we do it.” ‘Supernature’ takes everything ‘Black Cherry’ achieved and boots it into infinity, with a thrilling, lip-glossed euphoria (mixed by Spike Stent, legendary twiddler for Madonna, Bjork, Massive Attack, U2, everyone else). “We’ve stepped up a gear,” says Alison, “because we’re more knowledgeable. With ‘Black Cherry’ we were still discovering ourselves whereas this time we’re just much more confident.” “We’ve grown a lot,” adds Will, “found other ways of expressing. We’ve even got a couple of guitars on this album.” “It’s always good to break your own rules,” laughs Alison, “that’s the fun bit. There’s bigger dirty bass lines and guitars, alongside the synths and strings. From the off, ‘Supernature’ is a colossal, multi-layered, sonic-pop thriller, a radical, confident, bold record, like a Roxy or Revolver for the twenty-first century: the acid-tinged, bewitchingly-sung ‘ U Never Know’, the irresistible, catch-all throb of ‘Lovely To See You’, the roaring Numanoid synths of ‘Koko’ the woozy, orchestral dreamscape of ‘Time Out From The World’, the perverted robotics of ‘Slide In’ and the gorgeous, beguiling ‘Let It Take You’. Before that, though, there’s ‘Satin Chic’ featuring Will, going berserk, on the honky-tonk piano. “Great fun,” grins Alison, “quirky and a bit nasty but simple as well, lots of references to colours, competitiveness and possessiveness, exaggerated through these ‘boings’. I remember, years ago, going to see Jah Shaka and thinking that he was absolutely amazing with all the homemade equipment he had and the sheer inventiveness. It was really inspiring and has stayed with me ever since. I was yelling in the studio, stupid with excitement. ‘Get those ‘boings’ up’!” And, of course, the traditionally sizzling Goldfrapp first single, ‘Ooh La La’, a pulsing, sophisticated, glam-pop dynamo featuring Alison’s homage to the almighty, aloof, playful vocals of classic Marc Bolan. “Decadent and ooh-la-la,” notes Alison, correctly. “We’ve always been into layered vocals and how they treated vocals on albums in the 70s, using slap-back effects and thick drum sounds. I love that campness, that slightly throwaway but slightly nasty poutiness which is always appealing. And Marc Bolan was always bloody great at that. As was Marlene Dietrich. Sulky, sexual and ambiguous.” The ‘Ooh La La’ video, naturally, is vibrant, visceral, sexualized insanity. “Glam fantasy,” says Alison, “with lots of post-production and fantasy graphics. Wanton girl goes wrong. Broken heart and fuck off. “ Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory talk about their new album Supernature (including excerpts from the album) Website: http://www.goldfrapp.co.uk As an English duo who write and produce everything together, the new album, ‘Supernature’ is the sound of Goldfrapp breaking through their own crash barrier, a strident, psychedelic, 100% uncompromising creative force at the top of their very own game. Theirs is a self-made, alternative reality - in music, vision and soul. “We create our own, personalized environment,” says Alison Goldfrapp, “and it’s more how bands or duos used to do it in the 70s or 80s, your own music, art directing your own sleeves, wearing your own clothes, which is unique compared to a lot of bands. Now, you might get people writing their own music, if that. And they’ll have a whole entourage creating all the other stuff. I like being part of that scene, the people who’ve created everything themselves.” “It’s an alternative reality,” says Will Gregory, “taking ourselves somewhere else and that’s why we do it.” ‘Supernature’ takes everything ‘Black Cherry’ achieved and boots it into infinity, with a thrilling, lip-glossed euphoria (mixed by Spike Stent, legendary twiddler for Madonna, Bjork, Massive Attack, U2, everyone else). “We’ve stepped up a gear,” says Alison, “because we’re more knowledgeable. With ‘Black Cherry’ we were still discovering ourselves whereas this time we’re just much more confident.” “We’ve grown a lot,” adds Will, “found other ways of expressing. We’ve even got a couple of guitars on this album.” “It’s always good to break your own rules,” laughs Alison, “that’s the fun bit. There’s bigger dirty bass lines and guitars, alongside the synths and strings. From the off, ‘Supernature’ is a colossal, multi-layered, sonic-pop thriller, a radical, confident, bold record, like a Roxy or Revolver for the twenty-first century: the acid-tinged, bewitchingly-sung ‘ U Never Know’, the irresistible, catch-all throb of ‘Lovely To See You’, the roaring Numanoid synths of ‘Koko’ the woozy, orchestral dreamscape of ‘Time Out From The World’, the perverted robotics of ‘Slide In’ and the gorgeous, beguiling ‘Let It Take You’. Before that, though, there’s ‘Satin Chic’ featuring Will, going berserk, on the honky-tonk piano. “Great fun,” grins Alison, “quirky and a bit nasty but simple as well, lots of references to colours, competitiveness and possessiveness, exaggerated through these ‘boings’. I remember, years ago, going to see Jah Shaka and thinking that he was absolutely amazing with all the homemade equipment he had and the sheer inventiveness. It was really inspiring and has stayed with me ever since. I was yelling in the studio, stupid with excitement. ‘Get those ‘boings’ up’!” And, of course, the traditionally sizzling Goldfrapp first single, ‘Ooh La La’, a pulsing, sophisticated, glam-pop dynamo featuring Alison’s homage to the almighty, aloof, playful vocals of classic Marc Bolan. “Decadent and ooh-la-la,” notes Alison, correctly. “We’ve always been into layered vocals and how they treated vocals on albums in the 70s, using slap-back effects and thick drum sounds. I love that campness, that slightly throwaway but slightly nasty poutiness which is always appealing. And Marc Bolan was always bloody great at that. As was Marlene Dietrich. Sulky, sexual and ambiguous.” The ‘Ooh La La’ video, naturally, is vibrant, visceral, sexualized insanity. “Glam fantasy,” says Alison, “with lots of post-production and fantasy graphics. Wanton girl goes wrong. Broken heart and fuck off. “ http://www.goldfrapp.co.uk http://www.mutestation.com/mutestation01.m4a Sun, 01 Jan 2006 12:17:06 +0000 Music no 00:28:19 Mute Records, Music, Goldfrapp, Supernature, Felt Mountain, Ooh La La, Fly Me Away, Number 1, Alison Goldfrapp, Will Gregory