Local Natives, Missy Elliott, Joey Bada$$, Link Wray & Auxiliary Phoenix star in Free Music Friday

With Free Music Friday on special ops this week – no, we’re not heading to DC with a sniper’s rifle – it’s a leaner, meaner but still glorious collection of downloads, streams, vids and trailers that we’re treating you to this (hopefully) payday.

We're loving ‘No Plan’, a song travelling Norwegian street strummer, The Musical Slave, penned after accidently crashing her van into a Liberties horse yard. As you do.

While it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to languish on the beach at Gulf Shores, Alabama in May – boo! – we can still get in the Hangout Music Festival mood with a free sampler that includes offerings from Local Natives, Joseph, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, MuteMath and the particularly fine, funk-blasting The Suffers.

The tasty Noise Trade treats don’t end there with a full-length offering from Ellie Holcomb, a Nashville resident who sounds a bit like a countrified Lisa Hannigan. Which is a very good thing!

Alt-folk fans will adore Jess Ray, a North Carolina songstress who strays into Ani DiFranco territory. Which is also a very good thing!

Making a very welcome return this week is Missy Elliott who demonstrates on the Lamb-assisted ‘I’m Better’ that she’s lost none of her bolshiness, or ability to out-groove the competition.

From Phibsboro with much love come Bad Sea, AKA Ciara Thompson and Alan Farrell, whose ‘Solid Air’ could be the start of a torrid FMF love affair.

Death metal gods Mortiis let you name your price for the awesome The Die Krupps and Leæther Strip remix of ‘Doppelganger/The Shining Lamp Of God’.

“Donald Trump is not equipped to take this country over,” raps Joey Bada$$ on ‘Land Of The Free’, which we’ve been playing bigly this week. FACT!

Also treating us to a sweet anti-Trump groove thing is Carlow’s Auxiliary Phoenix who’s conjured up the ace ‘He Will Not Divide Us’.

And much respect to the Seattle pirate radio station that’s been playing YG & Nipsey Hussle’s ‘Fuck Donald Trump’ on repeat this month.

Helping to keep our blood pressure down this week is ‘Flaws’, a gorgeous blast of ambient elctropop from Limerick producer and singer Proper Micro NV.

It’s a Free Music Friday to Montauk Hotel, a Dublin quartet who make a gorgeous jangly pop noise.

Going down a proverbial storm at the recent Sundance Film Festival was RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked The World, a documentary about music-making Native Americans, which includes contributions from Robbie Robertson, Dan Auberbach, Martin Scorsese, Taj Mahal, Steven Tyler, Tony Bennett, Steve Van Zandt, Buffy Sainte Marie, Wayne Kramer and Iggy Pop.
‘Rumble’ is the classic 1958 instrumental hit by Link Wray, a Shawnee Native American.

And that’s yer’ Free Music Friday lot. We’ll be back to our bulging biggest next week, so make sure to hit @stuartclark66 up with your links.