You'll find a cornucopia of tasty tunes to bounce off your eardrums. I update with new tunes, art and photography every week, depending on what I'm doing and listening to at the time, old and new. I'm based in London UK but I love to travel and discover new music along the way and share my musical journey on neoloop.
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Happy listening!
Neo
Email: neo@neoloop.com
One of the first great albums of the year has to be Matthew E. White's Big Inner. Well, certainly in the UK anyway as it was released in the US back in the summer last year. An LP of string-laden country-soul-gospel that's a pure delight from start to finish. Matthew E. White's ear for a melodic tune renders an album that transcends Big Inner into classic status.
Big Love will undoubtably be the track that will lead a legion of fans to Matthew E. White's live shows, but Big Inner ("beginner") will throw up more favourite tracks than the average debut. White built a studio, Spacebomb, in his attic, he has affiliations with Bon Iver (whose first album about loss Big Inner faintly recalls), Megafaun and the Mountain Goats. He reminds me of the great Kevin Ayers in many ways, specially his voice which is no bad thing at all. Get your copy now, Highly Recommended.
I've been listening to Willy Mason's latest LP Carry On loads, it's a real grower with a variety of styles from the singer songwriter. Pickup Truck was my first favourite track, rocking a bluesy riff with a hip-hop beat. It's Mason's third album, produced by Dan Carey, The New Yorker released Carry On in UK last month (Yet to be released in the US.). His gravelly tones are what sets him apart from the average singer songwriter, set to bluesy sensibilities the album is an easy listen that tells a story and brings in glitchy sonics and drum machines. The dub beats of Restless Fugitive are hypnotic and the bongo beats on the lament of Shadows in the Dark are sublime. It appears that the work of Dan Carey (MIA, Hot Chip, Kyle) has added to Mason's folky sound to broaden the textures and beef out the beats. Willy's not completely new to this of course after his guest vocal on The Chemical Brothers Battle Scars in 2007, a great track (Also worth checking out the Beyond the Wizards Sleeve Remix). I strongly advise giving Carry On a spin and find the perfect album to keep you warm during winter. Highly Recommended
More info on Willy Mason Click Here
The amazing Bertrand Burgalat's latest LP Toutes directions is another foray into kitsch chic french pop. Following on from the brilliant Chéri B.B. (2007) LP, with a couple of soundtracks in-between (My Little Princess and Belleville-Tokyo (2011). Bar Hemingway was the first single and a classic Bertrand track with his signature sound of lounge, sexy guitars and Bertrand's quirky vocal. The album's other tracks of note are Bardot's Dance with swooning orchestration, Sentinelle mathématique is pure disco-pop and Sous les colombes de granit is a soulful ballad. As always BB proves he's the master of this genre today. Highy Recommended.
Taken from Lusine's forthcoming album - The Waiting Room. AKA Seattle-based producer Jeff McIlwain releases his third LP under the Lusine moniker on Feb 18th following-up 2009's A Certain Distance.
Another Tomorrow is a cool shimmery groove that's just beautiful.
The cool vibes of TEED are spinkled over this new Foals track. Excellent work that brightens up the oringinal by keeping the best bits with minimal fuss. A class rework.
Follow their excellent output of recent tunes Benoit & Sergio have produced a very sexy and sultry remix of Matthew Dears Fighting is Futile track from last year's fine Beams. A slow head-nodder that transforms the original into subtle piano led funky groove. Nice work!
Big Boi and Frank Ocean has been working on a remix of Pink Matter a song from Frank's killer LP Channel Orange that featured André 3000, and now featuring a new verse from Big Boi in other words, an OutKast reunion at last. Pretty good version, I think I may even like it better than the original album track.
Storming nu-disco tune from Brusco using Mtume's Juicy fruit's killer hook. Brusco are London duo Scott Martin and Bruno Lawton. My ol' mate Scott has a passion for all genres of music, but disco has always been a staple in his DJ sets. I love the build-up - as the subtle vocal snippets dance under the groove while the unmistakable pumped up Juicy Fruit baseline teases to the front of the mix, fully exposing itself and the killer line 'I'll be your lollypop, you can lick me everywhere'. This is how you rebrand a classic.
Juicy Fruit is another soul classic from back in the day, 1983. It's a staple hip hop sample, Common, Warren G, Notorious B.I.G, Keyshia Cole, Faith Evans, J-Lo, Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys have all borrowed the beat from it. The rolling beat is a classic written by James Mtume and released as the lead-off single from Mtume's sixth album, also titled Juicy Fruit. Perfect late night groovin. Listen to the original click here.
One of my favourite albums from last year is the debut from Melody's Echo Chamber. Melody Prochet meets Tame Impala's Kevin Parker to make sweet music together. Parker brings the psychedelia and Prochet swoons with a delicate soulful voice. Melody is a classically trained musician from the French countryside who moved to Paris and fell in love with rock. Enter Kevin Parker and the resulting LP is a rock-pop masterpiece. The influences are bold and executed with authenticity, psychedelic Beatles, Tame Impala (naturally), Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Cocteau Twins, Sterolab, the list goes on but this is a great record that conjures it all together to make an enthralling sound. Melody has taken to covering the odd Serge Gainsbourg tune in her live sets too. A perfect pop album, truly Magnifique! Highly Recommended.
Best Tracks: Endless Shore, I follow You, Crystallized, Some Time Alone, Alone
I didn't know I loved it until I heard it. Superb tune to warm you up on a cold winter evening from the excellent Plastic Plates.
Quality remix of Hot Chip's Look At Where We Are by Four Tet
My first post of 2013 and I'm playing catch-up after a busy December. So there's lots of posts to get up, including my albums of 2012. Watch this space...
Toro Y Moi (AKA Chaz Bundick) releases his new album this month called Anything In Return.
First single So Many Details takes Bundick into a mature direction without losing any of the quirky electro-pop hooks and delivers a lot more soul in the process. The rest of the album follows suit and should keep us going till summer. Good work Chaz!