DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Scott Wright's coverage of music from across the pond.
Dollars to Pounds: Dignan Porch
- story Scott Wright
Dignan Porch’s debut album Tendrils has an insidious way of grabbing hold of you. If it took you to the cinema it would pull one of those fake-yawn-to-arm-around-your-shoulder moves, but in a dorky, sweet way. You would be into it. It’s a gently psychedelic and charmingly nostalgic record. Funny too, it includes “a song for all the lonely hedges in the world.” We’re premiering the London quartet’s first ever video and have an exclusive track from their album, the dreamy, delicate “I’m Certain I’ll Die.” I spoke to them about Tooting and their amazing album cover.
Download: Dignan Porch, “I’m Certain I’ll Die”
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posted on Mar 10, 2010 in DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Dollars to Pounds: Veronica Falls
- story Scott Wright
Veronica Falls‘Found Love In A Graveyard was one of the best conceived songs of last year. A sinister story told with the sweetest harmonies, and nothing to do with necrophilia or cruising for trade. It’s out to buy now and is backed by “Stephen,” which somehow manages to makes adulterous lust sound absolutely adorable. I caught up with the London quartet for a quick chat about this and that.
Download: Veronica Falls, “Stephen”
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posted on Mar 3, 2010 in DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Dollars to Pounds: Django Django
- story Scott Wright
One of the walls at the BBC’s Maida Vale studios used to be covered in graffiti and messages from the hundreds of bands who have recorded there during its 75 year history. Then one band left a message of such intense obscenity that it had to be wiped clean. Claire from BBC Introducing told me this story while we listened to Django Django play. BBC Introducing is an ongoing project to promote new music and they invited a load of young upstarts to their hallowed west London studios to record sessions. One engineer told me it had been “like a sausage factory, but sausages are always good.” Django Django played in the studio next to the now-clean wall. They sound like Giorgio Moroder jamming with Link Wray and Orange Juice covering Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve. You can listen to the tracks they recorded below. Later I had a chat with them about the BBC Radiophonic workshop and other cool stuff.
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posted on Feb 26, 2010 in DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Dollars to Pounds: Visions of Trees
- story Scott Wright
Recently, I’ve been watching so much Life in HD that I’ve begun dreaming about neon seaworlds and vivid green jungles full of baby orangutans making umbrellas. Sadly, these awesome images are tainted by my brain’s decision to accompany them with this Infernal song on a loop. If I could soundtrack my nocturnal nature trail then Visions Of Trees would be first on the playlist. The London duo’s swirling, ethereal seductojams make me think, Woah, nature is cool and that is as close as I will get to zahelu. Here we have an exclusive track from their debut EP. I chatted with Joni from the band about David Attenborough and flying rhinos.
Download: Visions of Trees “Solid Rainbows”
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posted on Feb 11, 2010 in DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Dollars to Pounds: Actress
- story Scott Wright
Usually Dollars To Pounds focuses its bleary gaze on brand new, up-and-coming acts from our grey little island, but this week is a little different. Darren Cunningham runs the enlightened and enterprising Werk Discs and as Actress made one of last year’s best albums, a record of gauzy techno and sparse beauty called Hazyville. In the coming months he’ll reprise that role, returning with the remarkable Splazsh. I caught up with the reclusive producer for a rare chat, and yes, I asked him who his favourite actress is, (because I’m lame). Here’s an exclusive stream of the first track from Splazsh, the stargazing, hypnotic “Hubble.”
Stream: Actress, “Hubble”
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posted on Feb 3, 2010 in DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Dollars to Pounds: Egyptian Hip Hop
- story Scott Wright
There are four members of Egyptian Hip Hop. If you were to add up all their ages, they’d still be younger than Keith Richards. Mathematically, he could be their great-granddad. They are very young. Keith is very old. They have a name so awesome that its awesomeness has to be noted in everything written about them. They don’t sound like much else around, but if you were to put them on a mixtape, they’d sit snugly between Late Of The Pier and Ariel Pink.
Their debut double A-side single, “Wild Human Child” / “Heavenly” is out soon through Hit Club/Zarcorp. Here is “Hazel Groove” as remixed by their fellow Mancunians, Modernaire. I asked Nick from the band the questions that matter, like “What’s your favourite Brad Pitt film?”
Download: Egyptian Hip Hop, “Hazel Groove” (Modernaire Remix)
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posted on Jan 27, 2010 in DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Dollars to Pounds: The Sticks
- story Scott Wright
A band trying to kill their instruments on stage doesn’t necessarily sound like murder. Take The Sticks. This Brighton trio will happily smack the crap out of a guitar or two, but they also spent the best part of a year recording their eponymous debut album. Evidently, making jams sound this effortless takes a lot of effort. This exclusive track, “Airwaves,” is both a tribute to radio and a swaggering, raucous racket. I spoke to them about arm-wrestling, ping-pong and “life’s juicy goodness.”
Download: The Sticks, “Airwaves”
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posted on Jan 13, 2010 in DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Dollars to Pounds: Mazes
- story Scott Wright
I love the holidays because I can sleep for 16 hours a day and no one notices. Getting up is a gargantuan task, but luckily Mazes are here to motivate me. Not only is “Painting of Tupac Shakur” the best-named song of the week-old decade, it’s the shabby, beer-stained spark that propelled me out of bed before midday for the first time in forever. Mazes are three guys based in Manchester and London with admirable destructive streaks, a distaste for the mainstream music business (they once said “major label A&Rs should all kill themselves”) and a love of Jonathan Richman and Mark E Smith. I caught up with main man Jack Cooper to talk about TVs, pound shop posters and Little Boots.
Download: Mazes, “Painting of Tupac Shakur”
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posted on Jan 7, 2010 in DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Dollars to Pounds: Deep Sht
- story Scott Wright
When people ask what you do, it must be nice to say, “I’m in Deep Sht.” Tom Watson has that pleasure. He makes gauzy, noisy songs that roll through town like a thick, eerie fog. Tom lives around the corner from me in north London. His debut 7-inch Weird You is out now on No Pain In Pop. I spoke to him about legal wrangles, the genius of Mark E Smith, and Ipswich Town FC AKA Roy Keane’s blue and white army AKA the finest football team the world has ever seen.
Download: Deep Sht, “Sidetripping”
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posted on Dec 10, 2009 in DOLLARS TO POUNDS
Dollars to Pounds: Fantastic Mr Fox
- story Scott Wright
Winter recently arrived in the UK, which is excellent news for fans of fog, big coats and moaning (ie, me). A collective melancholia has descended and it seems to be affecting our electronic music. It’s all sober and sad. Maybe it’s natural that producers in a post-bangaz world are turning inwards. One such guy is Fantastic Mr Fox, whose new Sketches EP on Black Acre is full of music for seasonally affected dancefloors. He made us an exclusive mix and I bombarded him with rubbish genre names.
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posted on Dec 3, 2009 in DOLLARS TO POUNDS
