Free Music Friday

Our favourite FMF thing in perpetuity is the new – and very possibly – last song from the total legend that is Glen Campbell. Accompanied by a real tearjerker of a vid, ‘I’m Not Gonna Miss You’ is one hell of a way to say “goodbye.”

Also getting a resounding ‘thumbs up’ is this free download set from The Bots, AKA the two extremely funky Lei brothers.

FMF has discovered a rich vein of covers courtesy of Australia’s Triple J rock radio station whose weekly ‘Like A Version’ slot has found the likes of Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys, James Vincent McMorrow and First Aid Kit re-working a seriously eclectic range of tunes. Here are a mere four of the delights they have to offer…




Johanna and Klara Söderberg also popped up recently on Front Row Boston, a series of full show vids recorded in the city’s finest live music emporia.

To the streams now and Caribou, Future Old People Are Wizards, Ex Hex, Gallowstreet Blues Band, Foxygen, Pharmakon, The 2 Bears, The Homesick, Peter Broderick and Lamb all have newbies awaiting your [link]3voor12.vpro.nl/luisterpaal/albums.html[/link] delectation; the usual geographical niceties apply, but if you and your gadget are in the right place, [link]albumstreams.com[/link] can sort you out with T.I., Zola Blood, Cooly G, Primus, Noel Gallagher, We Two Thieves, Philip Selway, Kele Okereke, Obliterations, … And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Pompeii and Communions; [link]www.npr.org/series/98679384/first-listen[/link] adds Jessie Ware, Neil Diamond, Thurston Moore, Horse Feathers and Bing & Ruth to the mix; Cooly G and Billy Idol await at [link]www.theguardian.com/music/series/album-streams[/link], and the [link]www.nytimes.com/interactive/arts/music/pressplay.html?_r=3&[/link] Album of the Week comes from the Mumnford-esque (but in a good way) Bear’s Den.
The aforementioned Ms. Ware is also giving away a demo version of Tough Love’s ’12’, which is a wonderful showcase of her deliciously sultry voice.

We’re loving the techno makeover Future Islands’ ‘Seasons’ has been given by DJ Dodger Stadium, the collective name of LA dance producers Jerome LOL and Samo Sound Boy.

We’re liking the look of 808, a new documentary about how Roland’s famous synth revolutionised music in the early ‘80s. Diplo, Afrika Bambaataa, New Order, Goldie, Fatboy Slim, David Guetta, Lady Tigra, Richie Hawtin, Rick Rubin, ?uestlove, Pharrell Williams, Damon Albarn, A Guy Called Gerald and, natch, 808 State all feature.

While, Bambaataa & Co. were doing their B-Boy thing in the Bronx, Edwyn Collins was making equally fabulous, but very different music with Orange Juice. He’s now the subject of a doc, The Possibilities Are Endless, that charts his recovery from a massive stroke he suffered in 2005. A big hit this year at SXSW, here’s the trailer, a Q+A and an interview with the director. We don’t have the specifics yet, but it’s definitely receiving a Dublin premiere.



Mixtape of the Week is Underground Cassette Tape Music, the new collection from Memphis horror-crunker Gangsta Boo and her Houston partner in rhyme Beatking.

The influences are all fairly obvious – but choice! – on the five-track album sampler from Atlanta’s very own Queen Of The Foo Keys, Death On Two Wheels.


Coming in a close second is this mix from Dallas’ Team* who readily confess to their Vampire Weekend obsession.

Thomas Luke from Free Music Friday faves Tenonsaw is asking you to name your price for two electro-chuggers he’s recorded under the Fraid Wires banner. Both are mightily impressive.


WU LYF may have disappeared with indecent haste, but lead singer Ellery James Robert has returned to the fray as one-half of LUH. Their first love-ish song is a belter!

LUH UNITES from LUH. on Vimeo.

Guinness Amplify hit Dublin last weekend and among the bounteous treats were Dah Jevu, a Dublin hip hop crew whose tunes pack some real menace.

His new album’s not out until early 2015, but you can get a sneak preview of Richie Egan, AKA Jape’s The Chemical Sea courtesy of the shimmering ‘The Heart’s Desire’. The Malmo-based electropopper suggests you listen on headphones for maximum sonic satisfaction.
Wonderment awaits at [link]soundcloud.com/richiejape/jape-the-hearts-desire[/link]
And that’s where we sprint to the pub…, er, embark on a weekend of quiet spiritual reflection. Feel free to bombard us with tunes and vids @stuartclark66