Free Music Friday

From yo-ing, ho-ing and bitchin’ gangsta rap and raw choral pop to stripped down Americana and the category all of her own that’s Miley, we’ve assembled the perfect Election Day soundtrack that’ll bring cheer to even the Labour MEPs currently packing up their Brussels pied-à-terres and preparing for a gravy train-less life back in Ireland. It was fun while it lasted guys…

Our favourite FMF thing this week is MTSYD: The Revenge Of The African Booty Scratcher, the seriously impressive first full-length mix from 19-year-old North Carolina spitter Well$.

To the streams and [link]3voor12.vpro.nl/luisterpaal/albums.html[/link] has upfront listens to Hundred Waters, Sturgill Simpson, Guided By Voices, Ziggi Recado, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Echo & The Bunnymen, Seirom, Orange Maplewood, Nick Mulvey, Jolie Holland and the most excellent St. Paul & The Broken Bones who have a bit of an Alabama Shakes thing going on; [link]npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen[/link] wants you to revel in the joys of Royksopp & Robyn, Lee Fields, Bob Bok, Owen Pallett, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires and Sean Kuti & Egypt ’80; depending on where you and your electronic device are residing [link]albumstreams.com[/link] can sort you out with Mirel Wagner, David Douglas, Pharrell Williams, Chris Schlarb, Clear Plastic Masks, Wolf Alice, The Acorns, Wunderstrands and Chad Smith and Will Ferrell who partook of an epic lookalike drum battle this week on the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon; [link]nytimes.com/interactive/arts/music/pressplay.html?_r=3&[/link] is the go-to place for the new John Fullbright record and http://pitchfork.com/advance has new waxwings from Ben Frost, YAITW, Haunted Hearts, Crowbar, Eyehategod, Napolian, Watter and unholy triumvirate Black Anvil, Dead Conggration and Future Death.

We’re loving this free download set from Portland purveyors of “raw choral pop” Ages And Ages. Come see us soon ladies & gents!

Those of a gangsta persuasion will love CMG Presents: Chapter One, a seriously hard hittin’ affair starring Yo Gotti, Wave Chapelle, Zed Zilla, Snootie Wild, Fabolous, Jadakiss and French Montana.

We were expecting a bit of a car crash, but instead are dead impressed with the cover of ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ that Miley Cyrus and Wayne Coyne performed last week when the Bangerz tour hit Manchester. Most Beatles purists seem to hate it but, hey, they’ve never had to twerk for a living!
You’ll find prose and pictorial coverage of Miley’s Belfast and Dublin shows this week elsewhere on hotpress.com

East Nashville’s legendary Dualtone label celebrates the arrival of summer with a generously endowed sampler featuring tunes from the likes of The Lumineers, The Felice Brothers, Little Comets, Guy Clark and WAGES. A veritable feast of Americana and alt. country, it’s free but you’re welcome to tip!

Also new from Noise Trade is Eagle Rock Fire,
Joe Purdy’s gorgeously chilled paen to some of his favourite American cities.

Galwegian jazz funkers – it’s not often we get to say that! – Earthship have come up with a stunner of a video for their new single, ‘The Great Wheel’, which they’re gifting to the nation.

It’s quality and quantity from Auxiliary Phoenix who this week remixes two tunes by Lisa Papineau, a sultry New England songstress currently residing in Paris. Does the man ever sleep?

They may have stopped hunting, but Fox Jaw continue to produce big beefy anthems like new single ‘Hijack’, which finds them in ever-so-slightly deranged blues mode.

We’re liking melodious Dublin rockers Houdini whose ‘Hold Our Own’ sounds like it’s searching for a stadium.

Bag yourself a free Sufjan Stevens tune from yesteryear at [link]last.fm/music/Sufjan+Stevens/_/I+Walked[/link] and an equally ace Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros one from [link]amazon.com/gp/product/B0099YIS9I/ref=dm_ws_tlw_trk4?ie=UTF8&qid=1400518109&sr=1-60%3C%2Fa%3E[/link]

Maverick Sabre returns on June 27 with ‘Emotion (Ain’t Nobody)’, the first single to be lifted from the as-yet-untitled follow-up to his Lonely Are The Brave breakthrough album.

In case you’re wondering, yep, the bracketed part of the title is borrowed from the Chaka Khan smash of the same name. Recorded in Jamaica with hotshot producer Stephen McGregor, it has a suitably heavy reggae feel and bodes well for Round 2 of Mav’s attempt to conquer the world!

Kodaline have put together a tour video for their new single, ‘Way Back When’, which sounds like another top 10 monster just waiting to happen.

The prestigious US TV appearances keep on coming for Hozier who having played a Letterman blinder last week got to exercise his tonsils on Ellen. The whooping and hollering at the end from both Ms Degeneres and her studio audience say it all!

Hot Press is delighted to make the acquaintance of Loah, an Irish/Sierra Leonan singer better known to the taxman as Sallay Matu Garnett. Exuding a very exotic cool, she’s just premiered the Super 8 video for ‘The Bailey’, her new single which gets a live airing on June 5 when she plays St. Michan’s Church, Dublin with the Téada Orchestra. After she’ll be hitting the festival circuit – stay tuned to hotpress.com for details. We have a bit of a star on our hands!

There have been some good combative moments during the Irish Euro election debates, but no one has been eviscerated quite like that nice Nigel Farage was the other day when he appeared on London commercial radio station LBC.
The interview started badly for the UKIP leader, got worse in the middle and collapsed totally towards the end. He was certainly no match for host James O’Brien whose systematic taking apart of Mr. Farage is a joy to watch. Not music, but most certainly gonzo rock ’n’ roll in its attitude!

And on that UKIP-bashing note – we wish they were running here so we could not vote for them – Free Music Friday bids you “adieu” for the week. Keep those links coming to @stuartclark66