MosDub

A big thanks to Bad Boy Benny for the heads up on Max Tannone's latest release 'MosDub'.

Mr Tannone is better known to some from his Beastie Boys remix album 'Doublecheck Your Head' and the Radiohead/Jay-Z mashup 'Jaydiohead'. His latest release is a thing of beauty-turns out that Mos Def and reggae+dub music is a match made in heaven and has arrived just in time for the sunnier season. 'Scuse me whilst i go crank the stereo and make myself a cocktail!

Available for your download and listening pleasure :

http://mosdub.com/

Moxie

Have you ever wanted something so badly that it became a physical ache? When the faintest glimmer of longing grows into a throbbing orb in your chest and at times you imagine that people can sense it radiating from your skin.

This week i have been mostly wishing upon a self-luminous celestial body consisting of a mass of gas held together by its own gravity in which the energy generated by nuclear reactions in the interior is balanced by the outflow of energy to the surface, and the inward-directed gravitational forces are balanced by the outward-directed gas and radiation pressures. Will the heavens concede?

Image: Kepler's Supernova

Lure

"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.

Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself. "

Oscar Wilde

Commove: Interview with Emil Amos (of Holy Sons, Grails & Om)

To say i was delighted when Emil Amos agreed to speak with me would be an understatement. Amos is known to most as a member of both Grails and Om, some of the most influential underground bands in existence today and some of my favorite music. He is also the mastermind behind Holy Sons, a one man amalgamation of multi instrumentation, samples and hypnotic vocals.

Amos grew up in Chapel Hill, NC and went to college in Asheville, NC. Despite being an east coast kid, for the past decade he has been based in Portland, Oregon. If the truth be told, even thinking about Emil's work ethic makes me tired: Making music and touring in 3 different bands, music production, art and video art. In 2009 alone he released 6 records if you include a Grails DVD and a Jandek live show. He kindly agreed to take the time to answer some questions before he heads on another round of practicing, mixing and playing shows in the US, Canada and Europe.

Sam

Thank you :)

Cymatics

What happens when you combine sound with salt? Some really pretty patterns! Cymatics is the study of visible sound and vibration, usually on the surface of a plate, diaphragm or membrane. Cymatics was pioneered by Swiss medical doctor and natural scientist, Hans Jenny. For over a decade he conducted experiments animating inert powders, pastes and liquids into life-like, flowing forms, which mirrored patterns found throughout nature, art and architecture.

Word of warning: you may want to turn down your sound from 0.40 onwards.

The Ace with the Bass

This week has been spent revisiting music from my early teens: some good and some that should never see the light of day again. One track that i had on constant rotation was 'Ray Gun' (above) much to the annoyance of the parental unit ("Turn it DOWN!").

'Ray Gun' came from Thin Lizzy's debut eponymous album which was released in 1971. Lynott's raspy vocals and funky bass lines sounded unlike any Irish music I'd heard previously. It was the music coupled with Lynott's bad boy image that set my hormones alight and made me an instant convert.

http://www.thinlizzy.org/
http://www.philip-lynott.com/

Architectural Anomaly Part 2: Woodlawn House

Woodlawn House, Co Galway. Present Day

One of my most visited sites is Abandoned Ireland. It started as a personal project in June 2008 by Tarquin Blake. Blake, a software engineer and photographer based in Cork, wanted to document and record buildings that have been left to rot and fall into disrepair. They are an important part of our Irish heritage, have some historical, architectural or social importance and yet have been forgotten and neglected.

The site features circa 100 properties: homes, religious institutes, country manors and historical buildings. Blake even managed to gain access to Boland's Mill, an old flour mill building in the inner-city Grand Canal Dock area of Dublin. Boland's was one of the key locations in the 1916 Easter Rising (a defining moment in the struggle for Irish independence) and access is prohibited. Out of all the places featured, my favourite is Woodlawn House in Co Galway.