#ThrowbackThursday: GIHE w/ Temples Of Youth 08.11.18

Due to the current lockdown/coronavirus situation, we’re unable to make it in to the Hoxton Radio studio to broadcast our weekly live new music show from 7-9pm. Instead, we’re sharing previous show recordings as #ThrowbackThursday sessions, so you can still enjoy 2 hours of new music & chats with some of our favourite artists each week.

Today, we’ve picked our November 2018 show with electronic duo Temples Of Youth. Jo and Paul spoke to Kate and Tash about their second EP, Darker Places, and how they originally met on joinmyband.com. The duo also have a new single out called ‘Suburbia’ which you can listen to here.

Listen back to the show here:

Featured Artists
Stevie Wonder
Gold Baby
Zilla With Her Eyes Shut
Bitch Falcon
Sweat Threats
Mitski
Zola Jesus
Run Rummer
Temples Of Youth
Soccer Mommy
Ah! Kosmos
Planningtorock
Lazybones
Montauk Hotel
Sit Down
Bryde
Elsa Hewitt
BARQ
Veda Black
Ducks
Voodoo Radio
Emily Breeze
The Killers

Kate CrudgingtonLeave a comment

Track Of The Day: Song Sung – ‘Telling Tales’

An airy tune that tries to find “the melody within a melody”; Song Sung‘s latest single ‘Telling Tales’ is an uplifting electronic offering. Taken from their debut album, This Ascension Is Ours, which is set for release on 31st July via Night Time Stories, the band blend soft vocals and dreamy synths to create their beguiling sounds.

Formed of twin sisters Georgina and Una McGeough, Song Sung grew up in Monaghan, close to the Northern Ireland border, before moving stateside to New York a decade ago. Since then, the pair have been dabbling in music software and creating their own sounds, working with David Holmes (Unloved) to produce their debut EP, I Surrender, which they released earlier this year.

Now, the pair are going back to their formative music roots on their upcoming album, and ‘Telling Tales’ is a captivating example of what’s to come. Speaking about the track, the band explain: “‘Telling Tales’ is the result of a melodic collision – it’s a dream, a memory, a voyage that exists inside a reverberating loop.” This dreamlike quality is reflected in the hazy electronics, tentative beats and gentle vocals.

The track is accompanied by a swirling set of visuals directed by Padraig Timoney. “The material is a single take of a wild bog landscape in Ireland, seen from the passenger side of a car, with the camera attached to a rotating apparatus” explains Timoney. “The set-up, rotation, and transportation accompanies ‘Telling Tales’ organisation melodies and key lyrics concerning the act of seeing, the forming of sequenced, dream and real images. This video emphasises that the eyes are both recording and active devices, specifically located.”

Watch the video for ‘Telling Tales’ below and follow Song Sung on Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LISTEN: Mima Good – ‘Cool’

Buoyant guitar loops, creative percussion and smooth vocals combine on Mima Good‘s latest single, ‘Cool’. The track is a lo-fi exploration of what it means to be yourself in a world that often tries to tell you you’re either not enough, or not spending enough to be considered “cool”.

Based in Brooklyn, Mima Good creates her “anti-pop” tunes from her home studio, recording vocals in a closet covered in red velvet. She uses the surfaces and utensils in her kitchen as substitutes for a full drum kit too, making the polished yet simple sounds on new single ‘Cool’ feel even more anti-establishment.

“I’ve always had trouble fitting into one genre, one crowd, one look” admits Mima. “When I wrote ‘Cool’, I was sarcastically attempting to simplify myself into a neat little indie bubble. It started out as a joke, but as I layered on new instruments, I peeled back the onion to more sincere feelings about accessibility to community and image. When I wrote the second verse and the line: ‘their sneakers look just like yours / but from a different place’, I was thinking about how much capitalism controls coolness. At the time, everyone was wearing the same white sneakers. Some were hundreds of dollars and some were $40 rip offs, but everyone was attempting to belong to the same clean box.”

One thing’s for sure, we think Mima’s DIY approach to making music is pretty cool. Listen to ‘Cool’ below and follow Mima Good on Spotify & Facebook for more updates.

Photo credit: Michelle LoBianco

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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FIVE FAVOURITES: Sandunes

Mumbai-based producer Sandunes (aka Sanaya Aredeshir) has focused less on musical technicality, and more on emotional catharsis on her latest EP, Spare Some Time. While for some this decision might compromise high production standards, that’s not the case here. Spare Some Time is a polished, calming, electronic mediation on the necessity of expressing emotion. The four track creation is an aural salve for overwhelmed ears, flowing with shimmering synth textures and soothing beats that remind listeners to take stock of the love in their lives.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to write in the first place. We caught up with Sandunes to ask about her “Five Favourites” – five albums that influenced her writing techniques. Check out her choices below, and scroll down to listen to Sandunes’ track ‘Love It Less’ & her new EP at the end of this post.

 

1. Bonobo – Dial M for Monkey
There was a phase when I was a college student in Bombay, where these tunes soundtracked life as we graduated from conformity into rebellion. My very first experiences of freedom or independence are so intertwined with this album, and it does that thing of physically transporting me to a blurry and beautiful time from a previous life, where with a group of friends in a beach town by the ocean, we woke up and fell asleep to this record for days on end. There is something so mystical, innocent and whimsical about it, and it is also what inspired me to start producing my own music. (I’d highly recommend this for nighttime winding down routines.)

2. The Books – The Lemon of Pink
This is another one I keep returning to. I think the idea of composing music from a formulaic place is usually looked at negatively, but the concept with this body of work was extremely gripping, and so well executed. I fell in love with the way this sound collage unfolded, and the combination of textures, tones and samples really inspired my awareness towards found sound in my environment. (I’d highly recommend this for long drives out of the city.)

3. Air – Moon Safari
Another piece of nostalgia in this album. I think the meaning of the term “classic” varies for each of us, and to me Moon Safari is just that. Also another sound track from a previous life, this one laid the foundation for all things trip-hop and definitely inspired some songwriting, attention to detailed production, and synthesis! I remember having an “Aha!” moment with ‘Remember’ at some point when I realised what I loved about the tune was all the synths. (I’d highly recommend this for the backdrop of your next potluck…in a post pandemic world when you can dine with all your friends again!)

3. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
I have had many walks, many drives, and shed many tears to this album. There is something so pure, honest and organic about how these songs have been written and recorded. It cuts through the clutter and hits the emotional nail straight on the head. I remember finding it especially gentle on the ears after listening to a lot of over-produced electronic music, going back to vocal harmonies and guitars feels like balm to the soul. (I’d highly recommend this for your next hike/solo trail up a mountain.)

4. 30/70 – Fluid Motion
A more recent addition to this list and what I’m currently listening to. I love everything about this album. I find it bold, I love the choices, the musicianship, and I love how the artistry with regard to musical skill meets production and delivery so well. Each time I listened, I felt like there was so much scope to absorb something new that was happening.
(I’d highly recommend this for your next dance party.)

5. Coco Rosie – Grey Oceans
I love this album and had it on repeat at a time when my ideas about songs and song structures were beginning to expand beyond traditional songwriting. There’s so much whimsical movement and magic woven into this record that it really captivated my imagination and always seemed to paint a very visual picture. Despite encompassing a range of emotions like sadness and melancholy, this record shines a light on the end of the tunnel for me. (I’d highly recommend this to deal with grief or loss.)

Thanks to Sandunes for sharing her favourites with us!
Listen to Sandunes new EP Spare Some Time on Spotify.
Follow her on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Abhilash Bhaishya

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