Firstly i'd like to apologise for my disappearing act over the last month or so. With finishing Uni, graduating, catching up with friends and being lazy i've neglected funfunfun and all its readers but as you can see its had my wholehearted attention over the past few days and things have changed. What does everyone think about it? There's still a few things to tweek here and there but i think it looks quite sexy.
Anyway lets get back to the music and opening the all new funfunfun are Blamma! Blamma! These London based guys caught my attention when i saw that they had remixed Blood Red Shoes' last single Its Getting Boring By The Sea, turning it from rocking indie anthem into a dancefloor-filling beast. But it was their remix of Headland's Dogging Sisters which really got me excited. Its disturbingly hectic, sporadic and electronically ominous intro leads to a doof-doofing dangerous track which eclipses the subtle and slightly boring original with some massive bass and the sounds of a cranky R2-D2. Its definately some of the most exciting dance music i've heard for a while so here's everything i could get my hands on and there's more to be had on their myspace.
Final Fantasy + Lightspeed Champion @ Manchester Academy 3
Part of Manchester's International festival, this gig was probably one of my most eager anticipated ever...which made it all the more infuriating that i only got to see 25 minutes of the Final Fantasy's set.
But before that Lightspeed Champion calmed by annoyance with a jolly and lively performance. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect and whether i was going to like LSC before the gig, as i was never a big fan of Dev's previous outfit, Test Icicles, but was immediately won over by the first line of the first song, which was an Incredible Hulk reference, and then wholeheartedly enjoy the rest of their folksy riot of a set. Dev turned out to extremely entertaining and a great frontman, never faltering even when his keyboard fucked up and no one, not even the band, could hear the twinkling on the ivories. The finale was an epic 8 minute marathon of a tune called Midnight Surprise and ended on with an awesome fiddle lead rock out, which the all red instruments being played to an inch of breaking.
Then the moment i'd been waiting for for months, as Owen Pallett walked on stage and started tuning up his violin. Being the first night of his mini tour, he seemed a little nervous - or maybe thats just how he always is - but as soon as he started layering those violin parts all his shyness fell away and a guy withalot of musical talent and some great tunes. It was a shame that the venue didn't suit his sound too well, leaving the mix to heavy on the violin so that Owen's vocals - which aren't amazingly strong anyway - were a little lost. It also didn't help that a few annoying people wouldn't shut up so songs like What Do You Think Will Happen Next? which should be utterly compelling ended up losing their edge. Fifteen minutes into the set, Owen invited Stephanie to accompany on stage. Stephanie produced "movies" using pieces of OHT, which she moved, while Owen produced the soundtrack. There were pianos being played, letters being written and crowns sparkling and it all helped to exaggerate the melancholic and fantastical effect that FF's music already possesses. It was at this point that i had to grudgingly depart to catch the last train home, on which i had to contemplate missing Many Lives 49 MP, This Is A Dream Of Win And Regime, some amazing covers (apparently James' Hymn From A Village) and from what i heard later 3 encores. It was not a happy journey home.
The Mp3s on this blog are only available for a limited period.
If you like the tunes, go and buy the CD. Those shiny discs are well
worth it. Or go and see the band play live. If, for some reason (like
you own the rights to the mp3), you would like any of the tunes taken
off the site just email me
