We've Moved

The blog has now moved to http://feetupeyesclosed.wordpress.com

It's been there since mid Jan 2014 - please check us out, follow and share if you love new music :) x

Fire Breather

Ill today. Shivering, head aches. And back to the grind didn't help. I fell asleep in my car on my lunch break. I shuddered at the thought of sitting in meetings. You brought me to nowhere.  Fire breather, breathing fire trying to survive inside your heart.  Fear. Time.

Laurel is already making accomplished music and by the sound of this song has a big year ahead. Strong vocals on the behest of a monotonous simple beat just goes to highlight the talent. Simple songs. Strongest chords. Beautiful listen.

My Old Mantra

Too much going on lately. So many different aspects of life changing, colliding, collapsing, creating. Contemplating a rejig of everything I've tried last couple of years and going back to my old mantra - time supercedes anything you and I plan for. In the end, it doesn't matter what we want, things will transpire as the world had always planned for it.

Microcosm - on the first day of this two week break I downloaded an app which would allow me to become a DJ when I wallow in my personal space for an hour or so a day. Two weeks later, still havent used it.  Macrocosm - a decade ago, I dreamed of being a millionaire by the time I got to the age I'm at now. 10 years later, still skint.  As such, any such unions, rejoices, experiments and resolutions ultimately will play out as they want not as you want. Nihilistic much? Perhaps. A little. But the good news is that there are plenty more amazing highs, surprise poignancies, unexpected thrills awaiting to balance every planned let down, every measured disappointment and every calculated collapse.

I'm clearly going to carry on predicting my 'next superstar' of music so I will continue to defy my aforementioned mantra and still ply away at hope.

Anyhow, to move on from post-sartorial-life-commentating to fresh-out-the-pan music. This is a little playlist for all you beauties out there who have a mixed bag of emotion of starting the new year ahead of tomorrow. Some of you are back at work, uni, life etc, but for me its all go again from tomorrow. If you're anything like me, you'll be feeling one of the following five moods (maybe even all at the same time) See below your mood and then hit the appropriate play button on the playlist. Enjoy mother-lovers.

HOPE (Swim by Fickle Friends)- ...that the new year will bring a bit of joy. Maybe you have something planned big this year. Continue to hope that brown stuff doesn't hit the speedy motor blades all over your lovely clean manila walls. Fickle Friends of Brighton will give you a little bit of spring time bounce and have you popping all the way until at least Wednesday.

APATHY (Hole Why'd Wurld by FTSE feat Femme) - ...or not too bothered by the new year and all that new years resolution stuff? yeah, I feel ya. FTSE is back with this slick collab with Femme. An amazing voice with a chorus a bit similar to a Sting song but one that oozes the whole 'it doesn't matter what you all say, do or think, I'm gonna get what I want' - by this Femme means "I'll go the hole why'd wurld just to find ya'. Apart from the distracting mindless spellings, this song is a real keeper, a proper chill ting.

BRING IT ON (Michael Jackson by Mzwetwo) - ...lets do this thing. Gonna lose weight. Gonna grow better friendships. Gonna hit some real life goals. Gonna make shit happen. This is your song. Mzwetwo pronounced Mz-way-two has produced a tune that'll have you bouncing back and forth doing some weird ass things with your fingers near your nose, shaking a finger at the world and then bouncing away appreciatively. Thank you for the swag. Jokes aside, this is such a fresh sound, a bit different to what I normally post. But I mainly posted it because this guy is genius. His EP is beyond awesome - 'I'd Go Back On My Heart' is particularly brilliant. Phatness.

DREAM (Distant Horizons by Sizzle Bird feat Bea) - ... this is the year, this is the week, this is the day, this is the moment. I'm gonna rise up from my own duldrums and peak to glorious heights. I wanna reflect on this moment and to feel emancipated from the shackles life has placed on me. Close my eyes and envision where I wanna be. Sleep. Wake and then 'be' my vision.  Euphoric. Sizzle Bird, doing his thing, amazing. In fact, no, not amazing. Breathtaking.

DREAD (Alice by Mononoke) -... expecting more disarray, more disappointment, more bitterness, more futility, more failure, more loneliness, more let downs, more rows, more frustration, more problems. Less time, less money, less hope, less sun, less love, less hope. Alice. Just a pack of cards without the hearts. Can you call that love? Escape without being seen. Mononoke, exemplifies all the above and makes you wanna crawl to a loved one and hug them. Tight. Till you forget how you feel. Its a brilliant song. But we dont want you feeling this way for too long. So appreciate Mononoke and Alice, then remember my mantra - time supercedes everything that you and I plan for. Smile.

Nudes So Real

Its auto-playing. Just let it play a second. Stay with me.

Every now and then I feel we need to strip back. Layers off. Peeled skin. Exposed. Only then can we truly appreciate what is before us. So many twists and turns can make your stomach feel a bit funny. And thats pretty much been me for a little while. Rib tickling laughter, shallow cramps and lots of wooziness.
Ok press pause on the video below, you can restart it in a second. It added a little atmosphere I felt.

More interestingly, we have a brilliant event to look forward to in a months time at Shoreditch's Rich Mix being hosted by our friends at Restless Beings. Dec 20th, ReFused pits a line up of some pretty hot bands around at the moment.  And one of those bands, who's sound I have just fallen deep for is the delectable Baby Queens of Cardiff. Having already featured their brilliant song Red Light, a totally different vibe comes around for So Real.

Its like five songs genres and atmospheres all rolled up in one. The slow strums and that tinny beat that start the song off along with sultry vocals introduce us to stuff that just feels so real. At nine minutes, its an epic monster which picks up pace all the time. The morphing into a full hiphop song in the second verse just prepares you for more twists that the song brings. The chorus strips back all the sounds to a beautiful vocal which tells us an enchanting story of shit that just feels so real. 3.40 and the song wakes up to something magical - I can't even describe the sound apart from saying its such a mix of genres so much so that you are left singing along and then that bass at 5 minutes. Well its just something else. And then psycho crazy guitar riffs that take you to another plane, like a crazy 1970's themed party in the heady snow tops of winter 2013 which leaves you pining for those fresh vocals all over again. I wasn't sure about the last four minutes the first time I listened. But having listened a few times over, its actually my favourite part of the song now. These girls are gonna be huge. They are the sound of now.

And from the sounds of now, lets talk about the audio-visuals of now. Like a calming hypnotic culmination of everything that makes me wanna keep looking to that moment in a song when all you wanna do is to see where the song is going, Nudes get it bang on. If you ever read this Nudes, I desperately want you to play for us live. Please, I beg you. Like literally, I will beg you.  It messes with my eyes, it makes me wanna see beneath the blur. It messes with my ears, it makes me wanna hear what is being said. It messes with my head, making me wish to be able to produce music like this rather than write about it. The sound and the look of now. At least in my own trend-setting mind. I have a feeling you may agree though.

Manou

Its been a while. Sorry. Life has been a little hectic. Anyway, the good news is there is so much new talent to share. The bad news, its gonna take me a little while to get it all out.

I'm gonna keep this one quite short. I remember sitting many moons ago in my sixth form 'study room' studying many artforms of music and in those haphazard days, lovely floaty lyrics with awesome production was all the hype. I miss those days. Manou takes me back there. And I find myself 'studying' again.

Droplets of notes played on a backdrop of r'n'b esque synths and what not and a combo of lyrics which are about some dude or dudette called Sadie make for a hugely impressive debut. I don't know why I came across this on SoundCloud and not on the radio. That good. And she's only 16. 2014 here she comes...

Don't Go To Sleep

Ok so I woke up late for work. Like an hour late. So by the time I rolled in I was nearly two hours late. I slept in. But not because I followed my own advice about last night's blog, I didn't get to sleep till about 2am :/

Pretty shit really considering at some point in the next week or so I gotta ask for an extra two weeks holiday having just taken a three week holiday which ended last Monday. Need to win some favours with the boss-people.

Determined not to make the same mistake again, tonight's song conveniently called 'Don't Go To Sleep' is so good, you'll be humming to it long after you've finished listening to it. I actually found this song minutes after posting last night's blog.  Before I give you a proper run-down, I just wanna let you all know that I already know what I'm posting tomorrow, and it is lusciously sleepy with a mix of genres - exciting stuff. Anyhow, back to tonight's track.

I don't know much about Zach Nahome, but both his songs on his SoundCloud are pretty awesome. Don't go to sleep starts off with some pretty funky synths and the crazy vocals start.  Firstly a high pitched then a low pitched version of some addictive na-na-na-na-na's. Not in the annoying N-Dubz style, but those that run over again and again. 1.09 the beat drops, and an injection of energy which can best be described as midnight funk. This song is wickedly addictive. You'll be repeating again and again.  At 2.05 when the na-na-na-na-na's combine with the beat, you'll be hard pressed to not move some part of your body. Nobody's watching. Go ahead. Move. And then hit repeat. Liberating.

Sleep

I need sleep. I need it pretty soon. But when I close my eyes, I can't sleep. When I open my eyes, I want to sleep. I want to sleep as I type this.

If you need cheering up, sprucing up, energy enthralled music, tonight, you need to leave this page alone. If however, like me, you want sleep, I have a treat for you.

Come closer, yeah, come closer to the screen, lower your volume to the midway mark, click on either of the two tracks below, then slowly sit back, lean against something soft. And drift. But not for too long, because you have to hear the other song too. Actually, fuck it, just sleep. Listen to the other one tomorrow.

Because I want to sleep, I won't go into detail intro-ing the two tracks. Basically, follow the act, share the love. And yeah, go to sleep.

SizzleBird - makes loads of music, regularly, stunning producer. The song, Stepping Stones, what it lacks in vocals it makes up and then some with the beautiful violin. Listen and Sleep.

n u a g e s - know nothing about this artist, except to say everything on the SoundCloud is exceptional. The song, Faded features the immense Bijou of Iceland. No idea what the vocals are about, but this song feels like it has so many little stories within it. Waffle. Too much. Sleep. Goodnight. Love. xx

Stop, Don't Go

This weekend confirmed it. Summer is gone for sure. But, Autumn, my favourite season is here. The orange hues, the sunday's that force you to do nothing but take a second and take stock of life, the blustery windy weather, the occasional orange hues, the shedding of skin.

I've been back at work this week and its been a bit of a mixed bag. It's nice to be back in familiar surroundings and its horrible having to wake up at stupid o clock. I'm craving a routine and I'm pining of the care free summer all at the same time. Thursday night bought back a regular staple, late night drives from one end of the universe to the other. And then there was Friday, a kinda recovery, a kinda awakening. Late to work, zombie-ing around, pretty incomplete.

And now here I am on Sunday evening looking to get the week ahead under my belt, next weekend promises much. And the weekends after too, life generally promises many things. So bearing in mind all of the above let me introduce you to the magnificent Baby Queens of Cardiff. If I was singing this I would sing this to many things - the summer, the anticipation, the laughter, the love, Thursday - don't go, don't go, stop don't go.

Soothing r'n'b-esque vocals, a lovely lazy guitar and that soft brute bridge, this song and Baby Queens in general will surely be making splashes in the ocean of the music scene. Having said that, 12 SoundCloud likes and 600 odd FaceBook likes is emphatically underwhelming. I'm hoping that this is representative of how fresh these guys are, because judging by their EP, talent certainly justifies a few 0's to be added after the above stats. Lo-fi, meets r'n'b - not something I would normally go for, but these guys make it work and they make it work effortlessly well. Star Light is more rugged, more edgy, more grunt. But Red Light, well Red Light reflects just how I'm feeling now.

Look, there's a metaphorical red light. I cannot wait to see these guys live. Show them some love, this song is beautifully relaxed and poignant.

Lessons

This time I'll do things differently. Lessons learned. Bridges burned. This time I'll do things differently.

See normally, I somehow try to relate a part of my day or my life to match with the song I'm hoping to introduce to you through the post.  Mostly, its a ridiculously loose connection. 

And then sometimes, when the track is THAT good, you feel silly even beginning to try and connect the song with some sort of real-life analogy. The first three lines of this track are basically the complete antithesis of how I feel when I play this song.

I wouldn't do any of it differently. I would make all the mistakes all again.  I would re-live the glory moments all again. In fact the intro to this song and the perfection of the crescendo at 2 mins onwards, I would re-live hundreds of times.  Earlier in this week I watched this film about personal time and how we choose to spend it.  The most poignant moment for me was when the lead character, can't remember  his name at all, so for convenience will call him Jackathon, acts on his father's advice to live a day and then re-live it so that all the negatives can become blessings and all the positives can be seen as gifts. That struck a note with me.  

Anyway forgive me because I tried to make a connection with my life, which is simply unfair. This song is magnificent, and I can't remember feeling this strongly and enthusiastic about music for a long time. Sohn, is simply outstanding. And this song is more so. Listen to it. Share it. Love it.

Incidentally, the last line, 'This time, I'll keep away from you' - couldn't be further from the truth. 9 days need to hurry the f up.

We Are Together

The last time I posted was more than 2 months ago. Its kinda weird, I last posted in summer, on the cusp of one of the most defining periods of my life. And now, I post on the other side. A lot has happened. Tears, laughter, closing of chapters, opening of new ones, exhilaration, euphoria, relief, contentedness.

Yeah, not my usual summer. But it wasn't a usual summer. I know I kinda sound like a narrator of some dodgy american teenage high school drama thing, on the opening day of term. But it was my first day back at work. And it really was a wonderful summer.

To fully encapsulate the feeling I punted for Planet of Sound for my return. And boy does it hit the right note. From the gentle whistling intro to the introduction of a mesmerising guitar riffy acousticy sounding melody.  And that moment when all of it makes sense. Life makes sense at 1.05. The whistling and the acoustics all in one go. The frenzy leading up to the sabbatical-like bridge just prepares you for the whirlwind euphoria of bringing all the elements of the summer colliding back together again at 5.29.  And at last. We Are Together.

Another Tale From Another English Town

Yesterday was a real mixture of emotions.  A wedding, a funeral and some interesting conversations in between.  I've been neglecting a few things recently and I really need to, well, not.

If, like me you've traveled around the moors and fields of Britain a fair bit, you'll relate to the scene I'm about to set. Its a shame sometimes that we don't appreciate whats on our doorstep and look further afield for some sort of hedonism or escapism. I'm not just talking about the natural scenery and stuff, I'm on about stuff a bit deeper. I guess it's a case of what and how we appreciate things.  Anyway, I'm fairly sure I was supposed to be setting a scene.  I think I already have.  Well, not a scene, more of a tone. A tone of being able to appreciate what's at hand and not dreaming wistfully of a neverland or another life. Just being happy with what you have. Whether thats a beautiful scene, a nomadic approach to life, a content in the mundaneness of life or just being able to wonder at life and it's creation. I haven't posted some indie style indie stuff recently, have a listen to this beauty from Newcastle band Lanterns On The Lake - it's a real keeper, a real brilliant piece of bittersweet, and you will be babbling the same sort of stuff that I just did. Incoherent. But it makes sense. We don't want a fight, we want a quiet life.

Screenplay

I have been a bit distant I know, a little preoccupied but in a good place. Some good news, I cut my hair for the first time in 2013 after being hounded by so many people to do so. Some bad news, my old car packed in, so I bought a new one. The best news, whilst I've been away, some pretty hectic new music has been floating about, which I can hopefully start to share with you again regularly for the next week or so.

Right, now imagine you're a movie or TV exec and your job is pretty awesome in that you have to find the right music to fit certain parts of the film. Now, I reckon I would earn shit-loads doing this. Picture this: some sort of anti hero is finding out that somewhere along the line he has been misused, mistreated, manipulated. He visions flashbacks, when stuff suddenly seems to just add up, and on doing so, he feels a calling to get up and right some of those wrongs. But what or who does he turn to?..... I dunno, but this piece of music from the ever-so-awesome Bruised Skies would play to this screenplay beautifully.

Right, now not wanting to overkill on the screenplay thing, I'm gonna do the same for the second track for tonight. Cos it was fun doing the last one. This track is the first on FTSE's EP. Yes he has dropped an EP, so go scramble because it is pure brilliance and one that I was waiting for for ages. Here goes..

The camera pans to a guy lying on his bed with the sun peeking through in mid morning glory. He lies bare-chested and emotionless looking straight at the ceiling; he starts mouthing the lyrics. He turns to his left and sees an apparition of the beauty from the night before and suddenly at 55 seconds we are transported to a similar scene but in last night's said beauty's room. A few seconds of panning and she too mouths words emotionlessly. Again staring at the ceiling. And then she pulls out her battered Nokia 8210 and texts our macho bare chested dude to meet her for a coffee. At 2.15 we follow the pair individually to the coffee shop. Almost euphoric that they will embrace in some sort of romantic embrace.  But we're let down. At 2.33 the pair arrive at the coffee joint. They look through each other plainly, emotionlessly. And as the lyrics start to be heard again, they mouth at each other. No blinking. No smiling. No expression. Waiting.

Mi Amor

Things have taken a positive turn in the past 48 hours or so. Stuttering a bit. But getting there in the end. This weekend promises much and hopefully on the back of it, things will be much brighter.

If the sun comes out this weekend, you need to listen to this beautiful song Mi Amor by T.H.I.E.F.S. Ok I gotta admit, not a huge fan of the artist name, way too many full stops for my liking.  But if they are to act as some sort of hyperbole to the stuttering nature of the beat on this, then I would have to admit, I would be a smidgen impressed. Either way, this is definitely a weekend tune. A bit more housey than what I've had up recently, with some lazy vocals and heavily produced, almost masterful at  2.50 when everything just flows. It just works. And its glorious. Mi Amor.

Stay Forever

Take a fork. Smash it to your head. That's what this module in Political systems is doing to me. Liberalism, capitalism, marxism, neo classicism, post modernism - no idea where I fit within that spectrum. What's been making it the whole process a little easier has been this little gem from Catching Flies.

Following on from the 22 year old Londoner's highly impressive EP The Stars from late last year, a highly anticipated follow up EP is expected to drop within a week. Stay Forever kinda follows on from  the magical saxy jazzy sound of yesterday's post when at 2.55 a new sound is introduced. But Stay Forever is more than just that. Like an expression of space, sound, vocals and repetition, this song just lets you ease into a world of wonder...

Yeah. No complaints.

It's been a shit one. One to forget. One that needs to end. Quick-time. Complaints, moany shit, rejections. Lacklustre.

Being particular about who and what I post about, today's choice was easy. Someone familiar. Something familiar. Alt J and Ellie Goulding at the same time. Yeah. No complaints about that then. No moaning about this. No chance of rejection.

Anyway ranting aside, this is like a dubbier, jazzier, more sombre but more surprising version of Tessellate. And if you've had anything like the day I've had, you'll turn this up loud and probably sleep happy.

Let It Go

Sun. Sand. Laughter. Friends. Love. High. And then energy. Enthusiasm. Fresh. Start.

Lots going on at the moment, most importantly, being able to hand over something very precious to the custody of others for a while, and being ok about it. Thankful that this is all possible. I got this track literally minutes after posting on Friday night. But this is just luscious and perfect for a Monday evening.

Fema Knights aka Fe is definitely one to look out for.  A tempest of emotion. Think Mazzy Star. Think hazy summer evening. Think of letting go...

Polyethers

I'm going to the beach tomorrow. Hopefully this weekend will be a bit of a transition period for me, coming out of a little period of stress to hopefully some exciting pastures. In spirit of that and because I have been posting some weird stuff recently, I thought lets change it up completely.

Py is a brilliant London based singer with a huge future ahead of her. The effortless move from a zany opening two minutes which gets you into a frenzy, Py lends her deep range to a middle 15 seconds or so which sets the tempo for the rest of the song. Soft hearts and hazy fields with fresh coloured flowers. Yup, I'll take that! Click the pic below to be diverted to her soundtrack. (Gotta admit I prefer the Jimmy Edgar remix, but that may be a bit too dance for you lot)

Ambience

Strip it all back and there is just space and sound and how you feel. Nothing else really matters. The other details are like the finishing touches. I'm gonna be truthful, since starting up this blog, I think I must have shared about 12 different genres of music all loosely fitting under the umbrella of this blog's name, a sort of feet up eyes closed moment.

In the 30 odd posts I've shared though nothing is truer to that requirement of listening experience then what is to follow. I have one other requirement for the following tracks though. Don't listen on your laptop speakers or your dodgy phone speakers. Get some earphones, turn it up loud and give it a go.

Dark, moody, ambient, minimalist, ethereal. It all fits the bill.

Let me do a track by track intro of the brilliant Bruised Skies from these shores. Note, though, I have saved the best till last, Signs is by far and a way the standout.

Distant
Barely there. Can't feel the notes or melodies. A whirling swirling experience. It encapsulates you. It encompasses you. And until you've come to the end of the track, you don't fully realise how brilliant this is. This isn't ambient music. It is ambience.

Falling
You know that moment in Terminator 2 when the amazing soundtrack starts playing. Imagine that, but not to an action film about some demi robot. More a tale of complicated decisions which you may have misjudged. Until 2.08 when this transforms into a rally call for missed opportunities. A cry for perseverance. The trinkets lose pace then come into motion again towards the end.

Signs
You're sitting on a beach. Its been a warm day but starts to feel like a chillier evening as sunset approaches. You're reminiscing about the wonders of life, the colour of love, the optimism of childhood. Nothing matters apart from the fact that the sea in front of you is gently swaying in and out. The sand you sit on isn't warm like it was when you sat down a half hour ago. A gentle twinkle catches the corner of your eye as the first stars come out of hiding. A cool breeze runs over your shoulder sending a tinge of a shiver down your spine. You start to drift away with your thoughts. You feel like you're barely there. But being here has never felt so poignant. And as the sun descends and a shade of night falls, you treasure the last moments deeply. You don't miss the sun and the hope it brings until it fades. You'll feel the same when this song finishes. I wish it stayed forever.

Passion

Sometimes the stresses of life and the nuances of our society can get a bit much. Not like to wrist-slitting levels. But more so of when you think to yourself, 'whats the point, you gotta have other things that drive you, right? right?!'

So when I came across Little Robyn like minutes after posting the two awesome tracks from yesterday, that exact sentiment resonated. I'm gonna warn you now, I am now a humongusive fan of Little Robyn, so here goes...

In a Kate Nash telling a story-sort-of-way but with greater vocal range and a sweet ukelele, Little Robyn takes you on a little spiritual journey with each of her tracks. A little feature of some stand-outs now follows.

Passion
Basically read the introduction to this post. Add some folksy ukelele. Then a big dollop of cutesy, soothing vocals and a dash of lyrical irony and this is what you get. A question of passion.

The Word Love Is Over-rated
The desperate hippy in me believes love is the answer to everything. And so the lyrics don't necessarily hit the heart to me. But I like the story told. And I think I am a little addicted with how pain is expressed is so sweetly. Like a nervous feeling of feeling happy at Little Robyn's pain. The German's have a word for this - schadenfreude I believe.

Jealousy
Its the ahem and then the mouth organ that gets me. And I feel like I repeat myself when I then fall for the ukelele and those whispy/honeysuckle/floaty vocals. Not fully sure if I even understand all the lyrics, but at 1.10 'to me' resonating a few times with that combo of folksy instrumentals just knocks me dead.

Crazy
If I was allowed to have a wildcard choice it would be this cover of Crazy. Recorded live and probably on a phone or something, this is all about the vocals. The imperfections of recording just add to the atmosphere. I am seriously looking forward to seeing Little Robyn live!

Wait, I Wish I Could Tell You

The sun makes me lazy. And even though I have Ofsted in the building and I'm four weeks behind my course and have 740 unopened emails I feel lazy. And kinda happy. And I'm still grinding and getting on with it. Despite my laziness, I'm eager to atone for my inactivity in May and hope to laud you with loads of music in the coming days...

Misty Miller - Wait
Misty tells us about waiting and hating and makes it sound lazy and loving. Hazy and warm. Back in 1974.

Magic moment at 2.03 and those lazy vocals for a short time reach out and melt our hearts. Beautiful summer pop track

Wait. Misty Miller.

Chloe Howl - I Wish I Could Tell You
Normally Chloe does a bit more uptempo beaty pop. This is kinda like a soul pop some-sort-of-gaze song. Sweet. Painful. Lazy. Beautiful.