Lucius, Matador, Garbage, Gruff Rhys, Weenz & The Script star in Free Music Friday

Free Music Friday is still waking up at night screaming following the horror show that was Liverpool v Everton. In an attempt to brighten what is a cruel, dark world we’ve assembled another Premier League collection of downloads, streams, trailers, vids and, for the first time, marijuana-themed computer games.

Hotshot Dublin producer Matador whets appetites for his Ructions album – out on April 25, club kids! – with banging free techno tune ‘Not Enough’. The accompanying tour takes the Artist Also Known As Gavin Lynch to such far-flung destinations as Dubai, Mumbai, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Catania and Detroit, which is a lot of air miles.

Much-vaunted Brixton grime man GAIKA has dropped a new mixtape, SECURITY, which also joyously strays into Jamaican dancehall territory.

That serial wearer of strange headgear, SBTRKT, is giving away new tune ‘Good Morning’ in return for signing up to his [link]saveyourself.tv[/link] site, which is a more than fair trade.

Montreal producer Kaytranada has come up with a Flappy Bird-style game to plug his imminent 99.9% album. Rather than flying through pipes, you dodge colourful obstacles and collect coins, crowns and marijuana leaves to gain points. “Nobody beats the Kay!” he says, which is obviously fighting talk. [link]kaytranada.com[/link] quest completed, there’s also a free tune to be had.

To the streams now and NPR has the upfront dibs on the latest from instrumental Afro-American funk ensemble Snarky Puppy; Lera Lynn who previously did her siren singer thing in True Detective; Aussie psych merchants King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard; evergreen Americana outfit The Jayhawks and the soundtrack to the Steve Martin and Edie Brickell co-authored Broadway show, Bright Star.

Comeback of the Week goes to Garbage whose ‘Empty’ single is a serrated, electropop delight. It’s lifted from Strange Little Birds, Shirley Manson & Co's sixth studio album, which drops on June 10.

Waterford’s In The Willows have produced a powerful video for new tune, ‘Tempting Me’. It comes with the tweeted approval of Script man Glen Power who describes them as “a great folk band.” And he’s not wrong!

The quality vids keep on coming with this clip for Fox Jaw’s ‘Do You Want it All?’ which gets a live airing tonight Upstairs @ Whelan’s.

Whilst perhaps not quite as much fun as heading to Manchester, Tennessee for the June 9-12 bash, the bumper 43-track Bonnaroo preview mixtape includes quality tunes from the likes of Lucius, Third Eye Blind, Chicago Batman, Allen Stone, Amanda Shires, Dylan LeBlanc, Boy & Bear, The Oh Hellos, Judah & The Lion and Tyler, The Creator.

To celebrate going out on the road together in the States, Americana merchants Brandi Carlile and Old Crow Medicine Show have come up with a nifty four-track EP.

Sirkus Sirkuz officially kickstarts the summer with this ace cover of Rory Lyons and Doorly’s ‘Sun Rising’. It’s another belter of a track from the Derry beatmeister who also trades as Decky Hedrock.

Super Furry Animal Gruff Rhys is guaranteed to raise UKIP hackles with his latest tune, ‘I Love EU’. “I heard a snippet of news about this badly timed referendum on staying/leaving the EU and suddenly it hit me hard how much I’d miss it if the UK, true to it’s tradition of recreational vandalism managed inexplicably to kick itself out of this sophisticated European nightclub," he reflects. "This song isn’t about definitive political policy detail but about the genuine friendship I’ve felt as a touring musician living in the EU – which, as a child of the 1970s, is all I’ve ever known. Please consider voting to stay in the EU on June 23 and please vote out as many right-wing climate change-denying nutters wherever you are in the forthcoming local and national elections on May 5.”

The first trailer has appeared for It’s So Easy And Other Lives, a telling of Duff McKagan’s life story, which includes contributions from Slash, Nikki Sixx, Mick McCready and lots more of his contemporaries. Cop an eyeful at [link]rollingstone.com/music/news/see-duff-mckagan-slash-talk-guns-n-roses-origins-in-doc-trailer-20160419[/link]
His exploding pancreas, drinking 25 bottles of wine a day and his subsequent sobriety were all discussed in 2004 when Duff McKagan met our man Stuart Clark.
[link]hotpress.com/archive/2724035.html[/link]

In addition to its clandestine heavy metal scene, Tehran has also succumbed to the delights of EDM with Anoosh and Arash two of the local DJs indulging in decidedly un-Islamic practices, which could earn them the death penalty. “Tired of hiding from the police and their stagnating career, they organize one last manic techno rave under dangerous circumstances in the desert,” is the sales pitch for the Raving Iran documentary they feature in. “Back in Tehran they try their luck selling their illegally pressed album without permission. When Anoosh is arrested, there seems to be no hope left. But then they receive a phone call from the biggest techno festival in the world. Once landed in Switzerland, the haze of the instant euphoria evaporates quickly when the seriousness of the situation starts to dawn on them.”

Completing our power trio of music docs is the Steve Van Zandt-narrated BANG! The Bert Berns Story. The writer and/or producer of such gems as ‘Twist & Shout’, ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, ‘Tell Him’, ‘Hang On Sloopy’, ‘Under The Boardwalk’ and ‘Piece Of My Heart’, the Bronx songwriter became embroiled with the Mafia and died of a heart attack aged just 37.

Pete Doherty celebrated Record Store Day with the 12” vinyl release of new single, ‘The Whole World Is Our Playground’. "A little, little fire off your chimney spark / And I knew that I would never / See you naked again,” Mr. D croons over a folky, banjo-driven tune. It bodes extremely well for his Flags Of The Old Regime album, which is expected during the summer.

We’re dead impressed with this fantastic State of the Nation rap by Limerick hip hopper Keith ‘Weenz’ Ryan. The video has gone viral – 128,286 views and rising – with Phil Jupitus and Scroobius Pip among those tweeting its praises.
If he looks familiar that's because Weenz featured on the Rubberbandits' 'Horse Outside' video. He’s just released his debut album, Selling You My Sins, which was officially launched last week in – where else? – Dolan’s. Read all about it in the next issue of Hot Press.

Our NPR friends also have cracking Tiny Desk Concerts this week starring soul poet Benjamin Clementine and Seratone, a seriously funky outfit from Shreveport, Louisiana.

The Script conjured up this gorgeous cover of SIA’s ‘Chandelier’ when they graced the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge this week.

And that’s your Free Music Friday lot for another week. Here’s hoping for a miracle tomorrow at Wembley, and an avalanche of links for our next run out, which should be sent to @stuartclark