- Music
- 24 Jan 13
Prince gets frisky whilst we introduce psych rockers Foxygen and Dublin producer Detboi, along with a lot more freebies in this week's edition....
Freezing weather calls for some hot tunes, and Free Music Friday has them for you in abundance this week.
The bumper crop of Dutch streams includes Foxygen, The Irrepressibles, The Holydrug Couple, Biffy Clyro, Toro Y Moi, FaltyDL, Mister & Mississippi, Brokeback, Indians and I Am Kloot whose Let It All In is one of the best things we’ve heard so far this year. Head over to [link]3voor12.vpro.nl/luisterpaal/albums.html[/link] to hear it all.
The latest offerings from Ra Ra Riot, Bad Religion, Drgn King, Norah Jones, This Town Needs Guns, Jenn Grant, The Parson Read Heads and Linus Pauling Quartet are residing at [link]music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/spinner#/1[/link] while [link]music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/1[/link] is the go-to place for Jose James, Love And Death, Trapt and For All I Am.
[link]www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen[/link] weighs in with Buke & Gase, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Darkstar and Blaudzun and [link]www.radio6.nl/luisterpaal[/link] invites you to wrap your ears round Ancestors Of Rap: A Collection Of Highly Underrated Prototype Rap Songs, Hot Coins, B-Movie Orchestra, Jula Amee and The Breadwinners.
Hotshot Dublin producer Detboi – A-Trak and Fatboy Slim are both fans – drops ‘I Can’t Take It’ into our iTunes this week for nada. It’s the curtain-raiser for his Sliding Floors album, which Cheap Thrills are releasing on February 22 and underlines his love of ‘90s garage.
We’ll have more on the 14-tracker very shortly!
Prince has debuted a new song, ‘Screwdriver’, on the equally new [link]20pr1nc3.com[/link] website.
The video shows His Royal Purpleness flanked by an all-female band including pre-Christmas recruit Donna Grantis.
Soundwise, it’s classic Prince mixed with a chugging AC/DC-esque rock boogie beat and – we kid you not – a few Def Leppard-isms.
Lyrically, he’s being a right old saucepot with couplets like, “I can make you swear that you did something/What you don’t know, won’t hurt you/So we got a long, long way to go/Might as well enjoy the view (enjoy the view)/I’m your driver, you’re my screw/You said you were my screw.”
Unless Prince has developed a newfound interest in DIY, we assume he’s being sexually euphemistic.
His plans are, as ever, shrouded in mystery but industry sources suggest a new album and world tour are very much on the cards. Given how wondrous those Malahide Castle shows were in 2011, let us prey Ireland is on the itinerary.
Another of our favourite Free Music Friday things this week is the Paste Festival Sessions album, which catches the likes of Robert Ellis, Rodriguez, Jonathan Wilson, First-Aid Kit and Of Monsters And Men in the act.
Also new from the Noise Trade stable this week is At War With Walls & Mazes, an 11-tracker from Son Lux, AKA Ryan Lott, who’s equal parts Perfume Genius and Antony & The Johnsons. It's free but, as ever, a few yo-yos in the tip jar is much appreciated.
Dropout Dan, AKA Cambridgeshire troubadour-type Daniel O’Dell, offers up this taster from his new Forever, Instead EP which drops in time for Valentine’s Day.
Intrigued by the “Bob Seeger goes indie” tag that’s been attached them, Free Music Friday made straight for the free download of Static Revival’s new ‘Whole’ single and were dead impressed with what we heard.
Not only do New Country Rehab have a fine name, but they’re also giving away the twangtastic ‘Luxury Motel’ at [link]soundcloud.com/kelprecords/new-country-rehab-luxury-motel[/link]; Milwaukee spitter Kid Millions gifts us the super-funky ‘Lift Off’ at [link]soundcloud.com/kidmillions/kid-millions-lift-off[/link]; eels reveal another tune from his/their Wonderful, Glorious album at [link]soundcloud.com/vagrantrecords/eels-new-alphabet-radio/s-dCY5r[/link]; make the acquaintance of new wavey New Zealanders Popstrangers at [link]soundcloud.com/carparkrecords/heaven[/link]; also say “howaya” at [link]http://soundcloud.com/aselephantsare/as-elephants-are-lucifer[/link] to hip UK guitarslingers As Elephants Are and Still Corners whose [link]soundcloud.com/stillcorners/hearts-of-fools[/link] freebie comes on like an electro Cocteau Twins.
This issue’s mixtape charge is headed by Rocky Fresh who’s assisted on Electric Highway by Rick Ross, Nipsey Hussle, The Gift and Curren$y, to name but four. Get it while it’s hot from [link]www.datpiff.com/Rockie-Fresh-Electric-Highway-mixtape.438389.html[/link]
Making it onto the Free Music Friday radar for the first time is intriguingly monikered California rapper Casey Veggies – Morrissey will love him! – who drops Life Changes at [link]www.datpiff.com/Casey-Veggies-Life-Changes-mixtape.443452.html[/link]
Have to say we reckon he’s a star in the making!
Those of a gangsta disposition will find much to admire about Master P’s Al Capone, which resides at [link]www.livemixtapes.com/mixtapes/20351/master-p-al-capone.html[/link] and features a huge cast of his fellow New Orleans rhymers.
With Scissor Sisters taking a yearlong break, Del Marquis has had time to come up with Tickle, an Xavier-assisted mixtape that’s available from [link]www.delmarquis.com/tickle[/link]
Dance fans can bag themselves new Pearl Necklace, Lorenz System, Grizzly Bear, Shape Worship, Souleance and Compuphonic tunes from [link]www.xlr8r.com/mp3[/link]
It’s been knocking around for a while, but we’ve only just discovered this Retro Stefson remix of Frank Ocean’s ‘Thinking About You’. Also getting the Free Music Friday ‘thumbs up’ is the video for the Icelanders’ own ‘Glow’ single.
The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club rev up for their Irish dates with a free [link]blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com[/link] download of new single ‘Let The Day Begin’.
The Pigeon Detectives have unveiled the flagship tune, ‘Animal’, from their as-yet-untitled third album. Download it for free at [link]www.thepigeondetectives.com[/link] and then watch the vid.
Having been a bit light on brutal Canadian death metal recently, Free Music Friday is delighted to bring you this free download of XUL’s debut Malignance album. Partial to the likes of Behemoth, Dissection and Immortal, the British Columbians are worthy of our respect for calling one of the tracks ‘Mastication Of Putrescent Empyrean Remains’.
There hasn't been much to excite classical Arab music fans either, so we're delighted to bring you a complete [link]www.npr.org/event/music/168490717/kayhan-kalhor-erdal-erzincan-globalfest-2013[/link] download concert featuring Iran's Kayhan Kalhor and Turkey's Erdal Erzincan.
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Bon Iver may be on ‘hold’ for the time being, but Justin Vernon has contributed to a new tune, ‘Judges’, by Arcade Fire saxophonist Colin Stetson.
We’re even more convinced Kodaline are going to be massive having seen the promo for their soon-to-be-released ‘High Hopes’ single.
Also pleasing Free Music Friday retinas this week are footage of Biffy Clyro performing an acoustic ‘Many Of Horror’ in the Dublin O2, and the brilliant video diary Ed Sheeran compiled while in Ireland a couple of weeks back.
Which is where Free Music Friday mounts its trusty steed and rides off into the sunset for another week. Make sure to send comments and links to @stuartclark66