Deb behind bars
With music by Cristina, Joviale, and Sunareht
Listen to this week’s playlist here, or check out the complete Life of Surprises mega-playlist here.
01. Joviale, “Blow!”
02. The Associates, “Logan Time”
03. Cristina, “Deb Behind Bars” (Alternate Version)
04. Zoee, “Microwave”
05. Arcadion, “Ghost Feeder”
06. Tomaga, “The Snake”
07. Peyote Dreams, “State of Mind” (Slack Mix) (Roza Terenzi’s Slow Buck)
08. Becker & Mukai, “Tout Azimuth”
09. Kero Kero Bonito, “Well Rested”
10. Sunareht, “Globally Induced Nostalgia”
01. Joviale, “Blow!”
This is a new song from a UK artist who I like a lot. Their music is in a similar-ish vein to Westerman, Nilüfer Yanya, or Bullion – the latter being the key link here, as Bullion has worked with all of those people before and co-produces Joviale’s stuff too. It’s great pop songwriting with lush production that’s delivered in a very low-key and unshowy way. Here’s a colourful music video by Joviale that I really like too. (buy here)
02. The Associates, “Logan Time”
(buy here)
03. Cristina, “Deb Behind Bars” (Alternate Version)
Cristina was involved in NYC’s downtown/art/new wave scene in the 80s. She released two albums as part of the classic ZE Records line-up, both full of deadpan vocals and sarcastic lyrics. “Deb Behind Bars” was recorded during the sessions for 1984’s Sleep It Off but never made it onto the album, with two quite different takes of the song eventually appearing on a 20th anniversary reissue. My favourite of the two is this ‘alternate’ version, which has a slower skank groove that suits Cristina’s vocal really well. She basically retired from music after Sleep It Off, save for a guest feature on an Ursula 1000 track during the 00s disco-punk revival. Sadly, Cristina died last year during the first wave of COVID-19 in New York. I wanted to include one of her songs here as her work is still relatively unknown – perhaps because she was “too weird for the pop world and too pop for the weird world,” as Zola Jesus put it shortly after her death. (buy here)
04. Zoee, “Microwave”
I’ve been a fan of Zoee for a few years now and I’m glad she’s going to be releasing her debut album soon. Like a lot of stuff in this week’s newsletter, her music finds that sweet spot between experimentation and pop, with a distinctive voice, smart songwriting/production/musicianship, and lyrics that are refreshingly free of clichés and platitudes – this song, for example, uses quite an unusual kitchen microwave metaphor. (buy here)
05. Arcadion, “Ghost Feeder”
(buy here)
06. Tomaga, “The Snake”
(buy here)
07. Peyote Dreams, “State of Mind” (Slack Mix) (Roza Terenzi’s Slow Buck)
The original Slack mix of “State of Mind” dates back to 1994, but was recently reissued on Love on the Rocks with this new ‘remix of a remix’ by Roza Terenzi. Slack were a duo who released only a handful of 12”s in their time (one was on Andrew Weatherall’s Sabres of Paradise label), but whose individual members have been active in plenty of other projects over the decades – notably Quinn Whalley, who’s currently doing amazing stuff with Paranoid London and Sworn Virgins. Roza Terenzi’s mix slows the original tune down a fair bit, which makes it feel a lot more spaced-out and gurny. (buy here)
08. Becker & Mukai, “Tout Azimuth”
(buy here)
09. Kero Kero Bonito, “Well Rested”
Kero Kero Bonito are probably my favourite band to have come out of the UK over the past decade. They’ve changed up their sound a lot since they first started out, but the personality underpinning it has always remained the same – totally full of life and totally unique. “Well Rested” is from their new EP, Civilisation II, and shows that they’re just as good at making chugging house music as they are MIDI pop, indie rock, and video game soundtracks. (buy here)
10. Sunareht, “Globally Induced Nostalgia”
Like if R Plus 7 had been produced by Surkin in 2008. I love it! (buy here)