Artist: Oberhofer
Date: 22 May 2012
Venue: Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London
Description: Good, energetic show from the Brooklyn act performing mostly catchy and melodic indie rock though sometimes a little bit too reminiscent of other bands like Vampire Weekend and The Drums
Rating: 6/10
Artist: Watch The Throne
Date: 21 May 2012
Venue: The O2, London
Description: Jay-Z and Kanye bring their impressive hit parade to London - a 2+ hour tour de force of highlights from their collaborative album spiced up with some of the best hip hop tunes from the last decade and a simple, stylish and effective stage show
Rating: 7.5/10
The official Watch The Throne website
If you want to see actual (and good) photos from the show, have a look here.
Artist: Willis Earl Beal
Date: 16 May 2012
Venue: The Tabernacle, London
Description: Very good and refreshingly stripped down performance from the charismatic Chicago artist only equipped with an old school reel-to-reel tape player, a sparsely used electric guitar and a strong, raw and soulful voice
Rating: 8/10
Artist: Gwilym Gold
Date: 16 May 2012
Venue: The Tabernacle, London
Description: Solo project from ex-Golden Silvers singer/keyboardist playing melancholic pop - best when the rhythms were minimal and the BPMs low
Rating: 5.5/10
The official Willis Earl Beal website
The official Gwilym Gold website
I have nothing against paperless tickets, but you cannot put them on your wall so you remember when you need to go to the show
Artist: The Tremelo Beer Gut
Date: 10 May 2012
Venue: The Wheelbarrow, London
Description: The legendary Danish surf rock band’s first London show in 12 years - not one of their best live performances, but a much welcome return to the UK capital’s live circuit
Rating: 6.5/10
Artist: Snake & Jet’s Amazing Bullit Band
Date: 10 May 2012
Venue: The Wheelbarrow, London
Description: Quirky alt.rock trio signed to the Danish Crunchy Frog label - no big surprises but a charming performance nevertheless
Rating: 5.5/10
The official The Tremelo Beer Gut website
The official Snake & Jet’s Amazing Bullit Band website
NB: The images above of The Tremelo Beer Gut were taken on the crappy camera on my old - or maybe that should be vintage - Nokia phone. I hope you at least find them interesting…
Event: Conlon Nancarrow: Complete Studies For Player Piano 10/10
Date: 22 April 2012
Venue: Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London
Description: Another great session of Nancarrow’s works performed on player piano with insightful and amusing comments from Rex ‘The Wizard’ Lawson and Wolfgang Heisig
Rating: 7/10
Works performed: Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study No.37, Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study No.10, Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study No.36, Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study No.4, Conlon Nancarrow - For Yoko
The rolls of perforated paper featuring Conlon Nancarrow’s compositions for player piano are packed away after the tenth and last Complete Studies For Player Piano performance in the Purcell Room
Event: Conlon Nancarrow: Arditti String Quartet - Impossible Brilliance
Date: 22 April 2012
Venue: Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, London
Description: String quartet successfully tackle the maverick 20th century composer’s works - their version of his String Quartet No.3 and György Ligeti’s String Quartet No.2 are particularly thrilling
Rating: 7/10
Works performed: Conlon Nancarrow - String Quartet No.1, György Ligeti - String Quartet No.2, Conlon Nancarrow - String Quartet No.3, Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study No.33 (Arr. Paul Usher For String Quartet)
The official Conlon Nancarrow website
A curtain outside the Queen Elizabeth Hall at the South Bank Centre
Event: Conlon Nancarrow: Virtuoso Of The Player Piano
Date: 21 April 2012
Venue: Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London
Description: Very well produced documentary about the legendary, yet relatively obscure 20th century composer’s life and work - most informative and entertaining
Rating: 7/10
Event: Conlon Nancarrow: Complete Studies For Player Piano 5/10
Date: 21 April 2012
Venue: Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London
Description: Fascinating showcase of Conlon Nancarrow’s works - played on player pianos using rolls of perforated paper featuring the composer’s compositions except the last two pieces which were performed on pedalled pianolas by Rex Lawson and Wolfgang Heisig
Rating: 6/10
Works performed: Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study No.25, Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study No.43, Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study No.7, Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study No.40a, Conlon Nancarrow - Player Piano Study No.40b
Event: Conlon Nancarrow: London Sinfonietta - Impossible Brilliance
Date: 21 April 2012
Venue: Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, London
Description: Very interesting showcase of London Sinfonietta interpreting Conlon Nancarrow’s works - tied together by quotes and images from the life of the outstanding composer himself
Rating: 7/10
Works performed: Conlon Nancarrow - Study No. 21, Conlon Nancarrow - Piece No. 2 For Small Orchestra, Conlon Nancarrow - Study No. 6, John Cage - Five, Conlon Nancarrow - Study No. 5, Conlon Nancarrow - Study No. 26, James Tenney - Spectral Canon For Conlon Nancarrow, Conlon Nancarrow - Toccata For Violin And Player Piano, Conlon Nancarrow - Tango?, Conlon Nancarrow - Piece No.1 For Small Orchestra, Conlon Nancarrow - Piece For Tape, György Ligeti - Continuum For Solo Harpsichord, Conlon Nancarrow - Study For Player Piano No. 49a, Conlon Nancarrow - Study No. 49 A,B,C
The official Conlon Nancarrow website
The Purcell Room was decorated with examples of the rolls of perforated paper featuring Conlon Nancarrow’s compositions for player piano
Artist: Chelsea Wolfe
Date: 09 April 2012
Venue: The Old Blue Last, London
Description: Amazing condensed set of dark-tainted alt.rock from the modest black clad singer/songwriter and her band - the new songs sounded particularly magical
Rating: 8/10
The official Chelsea Wolfe website
I was too absorbed in the performance to take photos during the show, so here is a post-show snap of guitar pedals on the dark stage… sorry
Artist: Earth
Date: 11 March 2012
Venue: Union Chapel, London
Description: Introspective instrumental guitar driven rock with twang, lots of space and occasionally slow motion headbanging potential
Rating: 7/10
Artist: Mount Eerie
Date: 11 March 2012
Venue: Union Chapel, London
Description: Soft male vocals and a 12 string electric guitar combine to make soothing alternative one-man singer/songwriter pop with personality
Rating: 6/10
The official Mount Eerie (and P.W. Elverum & Sun) website
Looking at Union Chapel’s wooden roof construction you’ve gotta hope they have a ‘no old school Norwegian black metal bands’ policy in place…
Artist: Azealia Banks
Date: 27 February 2012
Venue: Heaven, London
Description: The hyped 212 hit-maker brings undeniable proof of her singing and MC’ing skills to a dedicated London crowd at short, focused and abruptly finished headline show
Rating: N/A (I work with the artist’s label)
The official Azealia Banks website
212 white balloons… possibly
Artist: Kindness
Date: 23 February 2012
Venue: Arcola Theatre Tent, Dalston, London
Description: Intimate tent performance from Adam Bainbridge’s project featuring infectious funked up alternative pop with great vocals and plenty of cool dance moves
Rating: N/A (I work with the artist’s label)
The official Kindness website (not very useful)
Kindness Tumblr (not sure if official, but useful)
A couple waits for the show to start at Dalston’s Arcola Theatre Tent
Adam Bainbridge cuts a lean figure in front of his funked up ensemble
The show’s setlist - my favourites were the first and last song
The admission stamp for the show
Artist: Tim Hecker
Date: 06 February 2012
Venue: St. Giles-In-The-Fields, London
Description: Dark church performance featuring organ sounds worked into waves of ambient noise - still not sure if it was actually played live or the artist was in fact present
Rating: 6/10
Artist: Emeli Sandé
Date: 25 January 2012
Venue: Koko, London
Description: Great voice and some big pop songs but so perfectly rehearsed and polished in terms of sound that it washed out most traces of a personality and spontaneity
Rating: 6/10
Artist: Michael Kiwanuka
Date: 25 January 2012
Venue: Koko, London
Description: Warm pop with a soulful uplifting feel and plenty of flute and horns
Rating: N/A (I work with the artist’s label)
Artist: Delilah
Date: 25 January 2012
Venue: Koko, London
Description: Soothing urban pop performance centered around a good voice and a charming stage presence
Rating: 6/10
The official Emeli Sandé website
The official Michael Kiwanuka website
It’s good to know the M occasionally still stands for Music
Artist: The Maccabees
Date: 24 January 2012
Venue: Koko, London
Description: What-you-see-is-what-you-get performance by the UK indie band - intense, well played and not much fuss on stage
Rating: N/A (I work with the artist’s label)
Artist: Charli XCX
Date: 24 January 2012
Venue: Koko, London
Description: Good energetic electro-pop performance with attitude, white platform trainers, lots of unwound cassette tape and a boombox - at the best of times, like on Nuclear Seasons, almost like a poppy mix of Marina (without The Diamonds) and Salem
Rating: 6/10
The official The Maccabees website
The official Charli XCX website (features free download of Nuclear Seasons)
NB: Lana Del Rey was also scheduled to perform at this MTV Brand New For 2012 event - which was the main reason that I went - but she unfortunately cancelled at the last minute due to illness.
Following on from the last post featuring my favourite tracks of last year, this one highlights the albums I enjoyed the most in 2011.
I have missed compiling these lists since I retired from professional music journalism some years ago, and though I know every music related media institution and blog and their individual contributors all have posted their best of 2011 lists already (and you are probably sick to death of reading them by now), at least - if nothing else - the below will give me an indication of what I liked in 2011 for future reference.
The order of the albums on the list below is random.
Pete Swanson - Man With Potential: One of the albums that excited me the most in 2011 and also the best experimental/noise release I heard all year
The Rapture - In The Grace Of Your Love: A very pleasant surprise from the New York trio and still on rotation
The Haxan Cloak - The Haxan Cloak: A dark, deeply atmospheric and experimental release with influences from classical music. Naturally also very good
Egyptrixx - Bible Eyes: I came across this somewhat twisted and mostly instrumental electronica album by chance and ended up listening to it a lot in late autumn
iceage - New Brigade: New young rebellious rock at its best and a refreshingly short album
Bill Callahan - Apocalypse: One of my favourite singer/songwriters of all time. Not his best album, but still very good
The Men - Leave Home: I love dirty rock’n’roll, The Men are awesome and I’m still gutted I missed their London concert in December
Chelsea Wolfe - Apokalypsis: Not just a good album with occult tendencies, but also one of the most unsettling records I listened to in 2011. When I played it out loud a late night at the office a colleague commented it was scary as shit
Liturgy - Aesthethica: Saw them live, didn’t really care - partly because it was way too loud - but this super intense beast of a record is definitely one of my favourite guitar albums of 2011
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes: A great alternative pop album. It even passed the important test that it wasn’t ruined for me when I was force-fed it at work
MX - Ni Runder Modsols: Danish album where world music, lo-fi folk and electronica b(l)end with irresistible melodic results. A great record I discovered thanks to the Nordic Music Prize
Burzum - Fallen: I have a big issue with Varg Vikernes’ political views, but I am still drawn to his music and very much enjoyed this album while walking in the Norwegian countryside this summer
Zola Jesus - Conatus: An amazing collection of melancholic electro pop and also one of the albums from 2011 I have listened to the most
The Raveonettes - Raven In The Grave: One of my favourite rock bands of the last decade and a very good album that might have taken some listens to get into, but has stayed on rotation since its release
Lady Gaga - Born This Way: The best pure pop record I heard in 2011. I enjoyed the album as a whole more than the singles
Earth - Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light (Part 1): One of my favourite bands and a new dose of their doom-laden instrumental rock is always welcome. Thankfully Part 2 is scheduled for later this year
Andreas Führer - Obligatorisk Undervisning: A diverse singer/songwriter based album with an impressive disregard for genre conventions and a delicate psychedelic, idea-rich twist. Also discovered thanks to the Nordic Music Prize
Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica: One of 2011’s electronic highlights for me. I adore its psychedelic ambient moments
Destroyer - Kaputt: Daniel Bejar has a rare skill for writing soft theatrical pop music and I always have ears for his albums. This is perhaps one of his finest releases
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo: I have listened to this album again and again and again - even though I’m generally bored by male singer/songwriters with guitars
You can listen to the albums that are on Spotify here - and the following are links to webpages with official audio by the remaining artists: The Haxan Cloak, Bill Callahan, MX, Earth and Andreas Führer.
Happy New Year - may 2012 bring as many exciting and diverse musical highlights as 2011 did!
As a year runs out it is tradition to look back at the good and the bad - also in music.
I have no time to waste on bad music, but I was asked to compile a Spotify playlist of my favourite tracks from 2011. The result is an eclectic mix of different genres, styles and moods, but that is how I like it.
I hope you will enjoy listening to it as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.
You can listen to my playlist here.
