the Tru Thoughts label had themselves a big old part at KOKO in Camden, London last Saturday. to help promote the night they got a few of the artists involved to make short mixes. this one is from Beta Hector, a Brighton based chap who earlier this year released Sunbeam Insulin, one of my favourite albums of 2011. so here’s, “a roller coaster ride of breaks, beats, bass, funk and soul“. there’s a few other mixes in this short series which you’ll find by going here
here’s a great opportunity to hear the new Hidden Orchestra single, titled the Flight EP, a week ahead of its release. it’s over a year since their debut album, Night Walks, and this is something i’ve been eagerly awaiting since. new recordings. and they don’t disappoint. for the curious, here’s what their press release has to say about how lead track, Flight, came about and the instruments used in its construction:
The first official release of brand new material since the album came out, “Flight” was developed in part for a BBC Radio 4 documentary about flying carpets (!) called “The Magic Carpet Flight Manual”; it was for this that Acheson – also a Sony-nominated radio producer – created the magic carpet flying sound effects you hear in the track. It has evolved into this intense and transporting piece which, at almost eight minutes long, explores a dubby avenue with a strong half-time feel running against a faster double-time context. Dotted rhythms in the kicks and snares and an occasional bass wobble interplay with acoustic basses and percussion including castanets, metal pipes, snare drums and ride cymbals. The jazz influence that often characterises Hidden Orchestra’s work is barely there, giving way to a very strong folk feel. Acheson expands: “This track is the strongest testimony yet to the eleven years I have been living in Scotland – you can hear the folk influence creeping into the melodies, harmonies, and instrumentation.”
out on 7th November 2011 – available for pre-order now
for several other entries about Hidden Orchestra, with much to listen too, click 3nipples and then enter Hidden Orchestra in the search box
right, so what we have here is a superb, two hour mix of lazy, hazy, beats from the world of hip hop, psychedelia and elsewhere, spun together with ease and style by the shows host, Mick Mesa (fist half) and Beta Hector (second half). Beta Hector (aka Simon Hill) is currently signed to Brighton’s Tru Thoughts label, and recently released his quite excellent album, Sunbeam Insulin
if you are after track lists or any further info on shows join the Reframe Facebook page for irregular mailouts minus the spam. you can join here
and here’s a link to Beta Hector’s site
“Label Love is an eclectic yet unified bundle of unique sounds compiled simply for the love of sharing them with the universe – each track plucked and presented by label heads from Decon Records, Fat Beats, One-Handed Music, Stones Throw, Tru Thoughts, Wah Wah 45s, and Wax Poetics. each label evokes its own signature giving this collection a diversified and interesting flow of genres. Label Love consists of nostalgic classics, unreleased gems, and exclusive selections with the goal of expanding minds to new musical styles”
i love copy & paste. i ripped the above from the Label Love Vol.3 Bandcamp page. time’s short this week, i’m tired and it’s almost bed time, so fuck it. sharing wonderful music is the priority here. simple
to hear and/or download Label Love Vols 1 & 2 go here
Nostalgia 77′s Beautiful Lie EP is a little different from his recent jazz soaked album, The Sleepwalking Society, but Benedic Lamdin has produced something that still feels like Nostalia 77 through and through
the continuity of Josa Peit on vocals, as well as blues and folk flavours, creates a through line that works beautifully
download Beautiful Lie (Natural Magnetic Remix) here or listen below
Nostalgia 77′s Beautiful Lie EP is out this week on Tru Thoughts
since arriving on the scene in 2002, Nostalgia 77 (known to some as Benedic Lamdin) has produced several albums that range from heavy funk, to hip-hop based beats mixed with dusty old jazz, obscuro funk and psych bits and pieces. his hard work and obvious talent earned him respect quickly and by 2006 he’d won the Jazz Album of the Year award at the Gilles Peterson BBC Worldwide Awards. that, and his cover version of The White Stripes mighty Seven Nation Army with Alice Russell has also helped bring his name and sound to a wider audience.
his latest album The Sleepwalking Society was released just earlier this month, and coinciding with that is the following film in which Nostalgia 77 and singer Josa Peit answer questions posed by fans
Seven Nation Army with Alice Russell
and from the new album The Sleepwalking Society, here’s Simmerdown featuring Josa Peit
Why Jupiter is a short film by Berlin based VFX artist Johannes M. Bogenhauser and features an instrumental track of the same name by The Broken Keys (Nostalgia 77 and Natural Self) taken from their 2006 album Gravity. it is to be entered into the 57th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen for the 13th MuVi Award
for more information go to www.kurzfilmtage.de
in celebration of the release of the Night Walks album on vinyl, Joe Acheson of Hidden Orchestra has put together this ‘mixtape’. like his earlier Footsteps Mix, this is a thoughtfully compiled selection that combines both exclusive and familiar tracks as well as plenty of engaging spoken word odds and sods
the band are playing live on their European tour during March and April and throughout the festival season. details here
you can download this mix for free in 320kbps mp3 from here
below is Hidden Orchestras most recent upload to Soundcloud, The Burning Circle. it is currently available to dowload for free
here’s a new track from Hidden Orchestra that was posted on Souncloud just few days ago and is available to d/l for free
actually it’s not entirely new as they have been performing The Burning Circle live since their early days, though it’s not been released before. and if this whets your appetite then i recommend you get a copy of their rather good Night Walks album
also, to see a couple of videos of them playing live and to listen to a mix that was done for the Solid Steel radio show, then go here to an earlier post on 3nipples
see them on tour throughout Europe during March and April performing variously with Nostalgia 77, Jaga Jazzist and Bonobo
click here to buy the Night Walks album
despite thinking of myself as a fan of the record label Tru Thoughts, Hidden Orchestra managed to evade me completely, at least until yesterday when i was reading about the Mixcloud Top Cloudcasts of 2010
Hidden Orchestra’s Footsteps Mix came in at No.11, and realising that they were a Tru Thoughts artist i automatically hit play
it’s fantastic
my curiosity piqued through the excellent choice of recordings that made up the Footsteps Mix, including some of their own work, so i was compelled to get myself a copy of their debut album Night Walks
it did not disappoint
they have delivered a great first album that should please fans of Red Snapper, The Cinematic Orchestra and others of the kind that perform complex yet accessible, predominantly instrumental tunes
here is Wandering from their debut album Night Walks being performed live at the Departure Lounge during the Edinburgh Jazz Festival last year
and from a 2009 performance at the same festival, though then called The Joe Acheson Quartet, here is Blues In The Night
Night Walks by Hidden Orchestra is out now
for more info and purchases http://www.hiddenorchestra.com/
