I / you/ we are in luck. I’ve not only purchased a random record today and found it to be incredible free jazz + drumming / japanese banjo wonderness (japazjo i call it) - but I come home to find an mp3 of Caz Mechanic that I’ve been after for a while. She’s on Tome records, as with Sleeping States who I posted about a few weeks ago. She has a release out soon as a split EP on tome records on April 2nd.

MP3: Caz Mechanic - In Case of Emergency

As I first listened to Caz Mechanic the information I received through the internet is disrupted. It stutters, and the music stutters. It’s not quite the comforting scratch of a well played record. But suddenly the information is stuttering no more and out of bits and bytes the chrysalis comes apart and reveals something. Understated, purposed. Not forceful, nor pretensious. Not flawless. Gradual acoustic guitar lament to sooth heads as those following the Gregorian system more further and further away from the magical and life changing 2000 and into the abyss. Maybe sole band member Caroline Banks will make the fall a little more tolerable. Or maybe she’s gonna lift us up, for a moment at least.

*************

If what seems to be becoming a regular feature, non British music of note:
A re-release of a 1975 record has a stranglehold on my speakers of late. It’s a track from Blue Gene Tyranny’s first album released in 1977 called Out of the Blue. Electro Pop - but not cheesy. OK so the sax is a little sweet - but in the good way. 1:38 is the killer moment. Listen at myspace. I heard about it on the very agreeable, Gorilla Vs Bear blog.

**************

And finally: A Marxist reading of mp3 blogs (that which you are reading considers itself to be) at the “Torture Garden” blog….

“Oscar Wilde once said that “Everything popular is wrong”. Obviously, that is meant to be argued, but nobody could argue that a book like [the Da Vinci Code] is anywhere near as good as anything by Wilde, or Nabokov, or Kurt Vonnegut, yet it is known where they are not. Anti-conformity is a vital part of ‘indie culture’ but it shouldn’t affect something as basic as music taste.”

Go read the post and have a think about why you like the bands you like. And i’m not standing for anyone saying “because they sound good”. That is the lazy consumer within you talking. that’s what they want to you think. It more complicated than that.

Tags: Folk, UK Music by Mike Smith
1 Comment »

Music like this works not because of it’s simplicity, one of the many appealing features, but because through the entire song you are lifted higher, subtlety and slowly enough that the simplicity turns to appreciation. Appreciation that someone is being adventurous with solo acoustic lament turning to anthemaic pop song. You don’t realise how high you are until you start bursting the clouds. G.W.B is a counterpart on the latest Field Music album.

MP3: George Washington Brown - It still rains

http://www.myspace.com/georgewashingtonbrown

****************

The latest Take Your Medicine Podcast is out now. I have podcast. It is called Take Your Medicine. It is about 45 minutes long and there is some exceptional new music from around the world on it. Much less anglocentric and a little more eclectic than this blog. Go and download it here, or subscribe directly in your Itunes media player using this link.

****************

And also: On the non-British music front come - “Iran”… no not literally - do not be alarmed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is safely tucked up in his presidential palace. This is quiet indie-rock that expands and contracts with every breath - a new work of art every second. Sure it’s a lot of noise but one of the best things I’ve heard in a long while. If you can stand indie-rock descending into noise-pop filtered through god knows what, slightly hissy and neccessarily lo-fi recordings, that becomes pretty damn over-driven and treble-y have a listen. It comes from an albdum released a few years ago, but they have new material out this year. Which excites me immediatly even though I own neither of the albums they’ve put out previously. Whatever. It doesn’t matter: Mp3 available - make your mind up for yourselves. Go to Dead Oceans records and download on the left, or listen at their myspace page. Let’s give Iran the airtime they deserve. I somewhat doubt they will be a hit on mainstream U.S radio…

********

Fans of Tv On The Radio and Hot Chip may be turned on by Muscles - go and listen to “Ice Cream” for music from Australia.

Tags: UK Music by Mike Smith
No Comments »

What does it spell backwards? Yes! Cute eh? Cute Indie-pop sounds are indeed the name, and the name of the game for this Brighton based band who make the genre work for me in a way I don’t find in so many indie-pop bands (the best twee and indie-pop bands can be found at indie-mp3 and skatterbrain blogs) but here the interrupted musical elements seem to bring to mind American complicators (working hard to mix things up and quickly extending the number of instruments used (see Sufjan Stevens, The Shins)) more than straight up jangly 80’s guitar bands. And this works for me. This is 2007, things don’t add up, we aren’t all that sure of our position of complete dominance on this earth, we are fearful of horrors on the other side of the world and on our doorstep - lo-fi music doesn’t have such a resonance for me. Today at least (I say looking at the clock the moment it changes to 00:00). The solution seems to be embracing and creating of music to reflect this tone. Although this song seems to be about a girl, I prefer the complicated interpretation, and I love that these guys are British.

MP3: Esiotrot - Marianne

********

Credit goes to Shane at Torture Garden and Los Campesinos’ myspace page for the tip.

*******
Also:

Panda Bear of Animal Collective fame has a fantastic album called Person Pitch coming out soon. If you are into your over layered electro and over the top vocals like the 2000’s have never before seen, go and listen to his music. I recommend the title track “Comfy in Nautica” as an excellent starting point.

*******

In other non-UK electro music news go and track down Uzi + Ari’s superb track mountain/molehill if you dig Postal Service and other such evolving and every so slightly glitchy spaced out electro. It’ll certainly be one of the main tracks to feature on my podcast Take Your Medicine when it hits the internet later this week…
*******

I Was A Cub Scout have signed to XL band in the middle of their massive U.K tour. Mp3 and Blog post still available…

***********
And finally:

A tiny village in Serbia says it will construct a statue of the film character Rocky to ward off decades of bad luck. An official from Zitiste, about 55k (33 miles) north of Belgrade, said the statue of Rocky was needed to give the village a more positive image. [bbc]

Why don’t people write songs about these sort of wonderful decisions?

Tags: UK Music by Mike Smith
4 Comments »

MP3: Essie Jain - Glory

It’s described as being “open” because it doesn’t get closed in underneath surplus instrumentation fighting for a voice where it clearly can’t match that already offered. This works because the voice carries it, in a way the production draws the voice upwards and the rest follows, swirling a close course behind.

Essie Jain is British, but fits her music into New York where she makes music and tours. ‘Glory’ hardly has hit written all over it, just like it doesn’t have British written all over it, but by stepping back I think people will respond very kindly to 0:51: the second where Essie Jain chooses a perfect time to interrupt herself. Listen for yourself and take a step back. It’s music sticking out but seeming like it’s been there for a long while - we just haven’t taken the time. Passionate acoustic indie flowing and ebbing so much power in so little, something I find myself following to the end every time. She has music available to buy at Ba Da Bing, and another fantastic song available to download on her website.

**********

Also:

Normal service will now resume here after a brief study break and few technical glitches forcing the green lights enterprise to fade every so slightly over the last couple of weeks - but they are still green and the new British music will continue to appear here several times a week for the foreseeable future…

**********

And hello to Q magazine readers perhaps reading a blog for the first time. - Nothing But Green Lights was recently mentioned as being “the best British MP3 blog” in a 100 ways to get free music feature, quite a brave move which they must be saluted for in light of the supposed decline of print media - and the degree to which to they support us what are made of Ones and Zeros. Needless to say it’s an accolade I’m honoured to have bestowed on me by a magazine responsible for much of my music upbringing. But £3.90 an issue? Why when I was boy…

***********

Tags: Folk, UK Music by Mike Smith
5 Comments »