Empire Of The Sun: Standing On The Shore (HD)

And it’s gorgeous video no. 3 from the deranged Empire Of The Sun. As We Are The People (shot in Mexico) gets into the UK Top 20 finally, Australia get the third single. This time the video is shot in Oz and has a lot of Luke doing the usual shape-throwing and being ridiculous. (And as frequent readers will know, this is precisely how Daddy or Chips likes his pop stars).

Question: Nick Littlemore doesn’t seem to be in the vid much (at all?). He’s also not going to be part of the Empire of the Sun tour in autumn. Has Luke got rid of him (as he did with pretty much everyone in The Sleepy Jackson)?

Question 2: How can they afford these amazing videos?

It’s Mix Time: Pure Imagination

Um, it’s been a while…

I had only two criteria:

1. Can this be danced to?
2. Can it just be listened to?

Over to you…

Tracklist

Pure Imagination Gene Wilder

Lullaby We Plants Are Happy Plants

M.A.G.I.C. The Sound Of Arrows

Method of Modern Love (Richard X “Join Our Clique” Remix) Saint Etienne

The Way It Used To Be (Left Of Love Dub) Pet Shop Boys

Easy (feat. Valeska) Trick & Kubic

Love Kills (Buffetlibre vs Sidechains remix) Little Boots

The Girl And The Robot Röyksopp

No. 1 Song in Heaven Sparks

Miracle Sally Shapiro

Erase/Rewind (Kleerup Remix) The Cardigans

If I Can’t Hold You Desire

Lisztomania (Classixx Remix) Phoenix

Two Weeks (Fred Falke Extended Mix) Grizzly Bear

Bonny (Leo Zero Edit) Prefab Sprout

Walking On A Dream (Treasure Fingers Remix) Empire Of The Sun

There’s a Better Place! Crazy Penis

1. Intro: Pure Imagination * Gene Wilder
2. Lullaby * We Plants Are Happy Plants
3. M.A.G.I.C. * The Sound Of Arrows
4. Method of Modern Love (Richard X “Join Our Clique” Remix) * Saint Etienne
5. The Way It Used To Be (Daddy or Chips Extended Version) * Pet Shop Boys
6. Easy * Trick & Kubic feat. Valeska
7. Love Kills (Buffetlibre vs Sidechains remix) * Little Boots
8. The Girl And The Robot * Röyksopp with Robyn
9. The No. 1 Song in Heaven * Sparks
10. Miracle * Sally Shapiro
11. Erase/Rewind (Kleerup Remix) * The Cardigans
12. If I Can’t Hold You * Desire
13. Lisztomania (Classixx Remix) * Phoenix
14. Two Weeks (Fred Falke Extended Mix) * Grizzly Bear
15. Bonny (Leo Zero Edit) * Prefab Sprout
16. Walking On A Dream (Treasure Fingers Remix) * Empire Of The Sun
17. There’s a Better Place! (edit) * Crazy Penis

Download Pure Imagination 80mins continuous mix (180MB VBR Mp3) (Mediafire direct link)

PS: I took the constructive criticism (ahem!) below and twiddled with the intro so it’s not as cacophonous. Re-download if you will, please.

It’s Mix Time! NSFW

 

 

Leo Giamani a little more overdressed than usual.

Of course it’s not really NSFW (except for Lily Allen’s naughty swearing).

 

Yes, it’s mix time again, and we move from my latest (EOTS) and my oldest darlings (PSB) through some moody stuff. And then it’s funky house all the way home. Or ‘nosebleed house’ as Other Half inexplicably calls it (sheesh, it’s hardly bloody gabba). This might be a good mix to put on to get the cool kids to dance and then while they are up, they may as well stay up. 

It also features some ropey transitions as I couldn’t get my paws on proper extended versions of a couple of tracks, but I’m sure you’ll overlook that as you frug wildly in a drunken haze around the living room. 

Tracklist: NSFW

1. We Are The People (Burns Remix) Empire of the Sun
2. Love Etc. (Gui Boratto Mix) Pet Shop Boys
3. Blue Monday (Vandalism Remix) Kurd Maverick
4. Need To Feel Loved (Adam K & Soha Vocal Mix)  Reflekt feat. Delline Bass
5. The Fear (Stonebridge Explicit Club Mix) Lily Allen
6. Call Me (Original Short Version) Shark & Sylvain feat. Lara Love
7. The Night (Bailey & Rossko Mix) Nick Fiorucci feat. Kelly Malbasa
8. Starstrings (Tocadisco Remix) Jody Wisternoff
9. Sister Walk Away (James Le Freak & Marco Monaco Mix) Pat Farrell
10. Open Up Your Heart Andrea Carnell
11. Come Back To Me (Seamus Haji & Paul Emanuel Radio Edit) Utada
12. Keep This Fire Burning (Freemasons Remix) Outsiders

Download NSFW (62 mins continuous mix, 320kbps, 143MB) [Mediafire direct link]

 

PS: Who the heck is downloading Cool Intentions? It’s been grabbed almost 2,000 times in 6 weeks! Am I missing something?

It’s here!! Empire of the Sun We Are The People Video

And it’s delightful. Continuing this week’s accidental Mexican theme,here is the proper video for my No 1 track of 2008. Shot on location in the towns of Garcia, Xilitla, and the Icamole Desert in Mexico. Here are the EOTS boys throwing shapes and looking silly as all sorts of Día de los Muertos malarkey happens around them.

And this is what proper popstars should do. Huzzah!

Happy weekend.

Best of 2008: The Top 5

Ok, let’s finish this – I know I’ve been milking it this last week.

5. Hercules & Love Affair: Blind

Of my entire 40 (41 – I really meant to include Ting Tings), this track will probably be the least controversial. It’s one of those tracks that pretty much everyone agrees is magnificent. The indie heads will dig it because it’s way cred. The disco bunnies love it because you can shuffle to it. It’s got Antony in it. Frankie Knuckles did an ace remix of it. The album was also pretty decent.

Flawless then, so why isn’t it no 1? Well, it’s that perennial discussion that comes up in musicological/critical circles when we talk about music we love: sometimes the obscurity of the track or artist adds to the appeal. Is some of this appeal lost when the track/artist becomes popular? Now, is this a serious question that examines the complexities of aesthetics or just a case of people like me wanting to be a bit wanky and not choose what everyone else likes?

I think we all know the answer.

4. Kleerup feat. Titiyo: Longing For Lullabies

Andreas Kleerup had a pretty good couple of years lately. His ‘With Every Heartbeat’ with Robyn finally and deservedly got to No 1, he produced one of the better tracks on Cyndi Lauper’s album, and generally his melancholy bleepery became familiar to more ears with his own debut album.

‘Longing For Lullabies’ is another futuristic piece of pop with lots of echoey bits and pulses chiming along in a most pleasing fashion. What takes it past, say, Cyndi’s offering, is the plaintive vocal of Titiyo, a woman who must be well fed up of never being spoken of without the words ‘Neneh’, ‘Cherry’ and ‘half-sister’ attached. She has a slightly odd nasal voice: it’s almost if she could let loose but is constrained by the song, the resignation in the lyrics refusing to let her emote too much. And of course this leads to even more subtle, adult emotion coming through.

Somewhere
All that we leave behind
Lingers on
Longing for lullabies
You live, you learn
You love, you burn
You win, you lose
Becoming you

3. Bon Iver: For Emma

Boy breaks up with girlfriend, goes into a hut or something for six months to get over it and write, comes back with quiet masterpiece on which he wrote, played, produced everything. Top lists all over the place. Result.

Along with Fleet Foxes et al, Bon Iver is one of those acts that sensitive straight boys tend to like. What makes him work for me though is the production. Almost all of my truly favourite albums are examples of the all-too-rare fusion of technology and art. The Avalanches ‘Since I Met You’ is the best example, Paddy McAloon’s ‘I Trawl The MEGAHERTZ’ is another. These albums tell us something about human ambition and creativity, how we can stretch software and computers into new and unreproducible shapes that capture something of ourselves that ‘traditional’ musical arrangements can’t reach.

For Emma is a loping, sad little ditty, made all the sadder knowing that this full sound is just one man and his technology. I don’t know if he can cut it live and I don’t much care. The track and the others on the album are the end products of a tussle with technology to express something that didn’t before have expression. The odd background noises and wispy doubletracked voices every bit as essential in this orchestra as if someone had sat down and scored them.

2. Joe Chester: Maybe This Is Not Love

Google Joe Chester and you’ll probably find something I’ve written praising the man’s music to high heaven. I find that a wee bit sad; shouldn’t far more people know and love this stuff at this stage? Joe’s second album, The Tiny Pieces Left Behind, came out this year and promptly vanished into the meleé of  musical nonsense inclusing OTT Leonard Cohen covers and boring old four-piece guitar bands.

The album itself is a worthy successor to the excellent A Murder of Crows. But it’s not quite as amazing. In the first place, we (well, Robin and I) knew how excellent things could be so we had great expectations. Two, the songs overall are not as fabtastic. Or so I thought until I encoded the album at 320kbps and played it through my housemates new Harman Kardon speakers. And then it just sizzled. What at first seemed to be a little flay, suddenly burst out of the air. A tiny guitar lick over here, a synth over there, just below it a snare. It was music in 3D.

And when music in 3D envelops a track with hooks like this one, I simply cannot resist.

(And Robbie Williams still hasn’t covered Anyway (the fool). Maybe we should get it on X Factor?)

1. Empire Of The Sun: We Are The People

Oh, why keep rabbiting on?

I can’t go on when I think you’re gonna leave me, but you know I try.

Are you gonna leave me now?

Why can’t you be believin’ now?

[repeat to fade]

Happy New Year and thanks for reading the blog in 2008!

It’s Mix Time: Recessionista

I may be poor but I’m not cheap etc etc…

So everyone has or will be made redundant as a result of securitisation and other made-up things, but we can still dance, right?

We’ve got lots of this year’s critical darlings such as Lykke Li, Santogold and Ladyhawke. All of whom will be forgotten this time next year when we are talking about Empire Of The Sun and Little Boots. We’ve got a groovy proper dancey mid-section. We’ve got some class with the Grammy award nominated Deadmau5 mix of Morgan Page. We’ve got some Kings of Leon (Kings of Leon!!!) for Dr Pat Jones who insisted I play it last time I DJed (and I didn’t ha ha. But it is totally amazing.). Then it all goes to hell in a handbag and Soulwax heavy metal up Kylie, Diplo fucks around with Marlena Shaw and Enda dispenses with time signatures entirely.

And nowhere else will you hear The Undertones being mixed into Ashlee Simpson.

 

Recessionista

1. Lights Out (David Rubato Remix) Santogold
2. Paris Is Burning Ladyhawke
3. I’m Good, I’m Gone Lykke Li
4. We Are The People (Ted & Francis Remix) Empire Of The Sun
5. Fuck the Kids (Peaches vs. MGMT vs. Soulwax vs. Yeah Yeah Yeahs) Eve Massacre
6. Paper Planes (Cold Blank Remix) M.I.A.
7. That’s Not My Name (Tom Neville Remix) The Ting Tings
8. Falling Rockets (Original Mix) Cicada
9. Dream On (Warren Clarke Club Mix) Christian Falk feat. Robyn
10. Two Of Hearts Annie
11. Meddle (Designer Drugs 80’s Coke Jam Remix) Little Boots
12. Sex on Fire Kings Of Leon
13. Human The Killers
14. Teenage Kicks The Undertones
15. Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya) Ashlee Simpson
16. California Soul (Diplo/Mad Decent Remix) Marlena Shaw
17. Cant Get You Out Of My Head (Soulwax Kyluss Remix) Kylie Minogue
18. The Longest Road (Deadmau5 Remix)  Morgan Page feat. Lissie

Download Recessionista (320kbpm, 160MB 70mins continuous mix mp3). Just feckin’ do it already.

If that’s all a bit heavy weather, why not get yourself some mince pies, mulled wine and download my gentle seasonal Scarves & Gloves mixes instead?

Empire Of The Sun BBC Sound Of 2009 Tip

Sam La More Remix of Walking on a Dream.

 

The Beeb do this every year and the acts they tip do tend to go on to success. Last year Adele topped the poll followed by Duffy, The Ting Tings and Glasvegas. See?

So, I’m practically vomiting with excitement to learn that Empire Of The Sun have made the longlist for 2009. The band are very popular round these parts and have been for some time since Walking On A Dream appeared in August. Follow up single We Are The People may be my top track of the year (working on the list at the mo, have patience as Gary Barlow might say).

Of course if they win, and become super famous, I’ll totally go off them and say “I knew them when they were nothing” and cry a little into my pillow every night until the next Prefab Sprout album comes out. 

Anyway, here is a suitably deranged interview they did with Auntie Beeb. And best of luck!

New Empire Of The Sun Remix: We Are The People

‘We Are The People’ is making a strong bid to be my track of 2008, and now the remixes are starting to appear. This one, by Ted & Francis, is not as dancefloor-friendly as some of the remixes of ‘Walking On A Dream’, but it ain’t bad. It underuses the heartbreaking refrain from the original, which, given the weird structure of the original, is understandable.

 

Download ‘We Are the People (Ted & Francis Remix)’ by Empire of the Sun [mediafire link]

I ordered the CD from CDWow (couldn’t resist buying it again even after getting via iTunes – I’m such a sucker.)

UPDATE: CDWow seem to be selling the album for €1.99 at the moment – that has to be a mistake! Grab it quick! Looks like that ship has sailed!

And in other news…

 

1. If any of our students are reading – and we love you very much and all that – please don’t come near me for the next week and a half unless it’s mind-crushingly urgent (e.g. Sarah Palin has mistaken you for a moose and has started shooting at you from her helicopter). ktnxbai
2. Speaking of work, our experimental little groovy website is up for Best Third Level Site Award this weekend in the Irish Web Awards. One is rather chuffed as we are up against the entire sites of TCD, UCD, QUB, Limerick IT and IT Blanchardstown. We are the first ones in the Uni to go down the youtube, twitter, flickr, delicious, blog route (and we kinda did it under the radar cos we’ve mavricks. “Oh hai, Communications Officer! Didn’t see you there! Oh, that interactive thing? I’ve no idea where that came from…”) 
3. The Empire Of The Sun album is in iTunes. And it’s iTunes Plus. I had to have it, even though I will stump up for the CD at some stage. It also appears to be magnificent. (Apart from a track called ‘Breakdown’, which is a bit crap)
4. Abba’s The Visitors is also magnificent. Conor, even you would enjoy the melodic misery.
5. I’m being utterly useless at packing for my move to London. So far, I’ve managed to rip some old CDs and then put them into a box. This is not very helpful.
6. Speaking of London, I’ve been wasting time working on my playlist for the Nov 1st DJ engagement. Is it overly ambitious to try remixing Ebony & Ivory? In a bhangra style?
7. I can’t do well when I think you’re gonna leave, but you know I try. Are you gonna leave me now? Can’t you be believin’ now?

More New Empire of the Sun!

They are totally spoiling us with the release of another track from the forthcoming album. This delicious track  - yes, it’s really good – is called We Are The People and it’s in the iTunes Store for the princely sum of 99 of your European cents. It’s wistful, hooky and very Sleepy Jackson. Buy!

I am now officially Quite Excited Indeed about this album.