Listen up: TuneSmith’s musical recommendations for July
Posted by Anthony on July 2nd, 2009Looking for the perfect music to take on your trips? Here, our very own TuneSmith, DJ Rob Wood, compiler of the Mr & Mrs Smith: Something for the Weekend CDs, makes his essential monthly recommendations…
————————————————————————————–
ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Nouvelle Vague 3 by Nouvelle Vague
When On the road to your weekend away
Why It’s in-car karaoke with a twist
When the first Nouvelle Vague project was initiated in 2004 it seemed, on paper, to be ambitious if not sheer folly. Taking on classic punk and new wave songs and covering them in a bossa nova style shouldn’t have worked, but it did to become an all-conquering soundtrack to a thousand cocktails. With the help of a carefully-chosen team of chanteuses, producers Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux reinvented the songs they loved with real humour and panache. Nouvelle Vague 3 invites some of the original authors and singers to join them in dusty country reinterpretations of songs by Psychedelic Furs, Gary Numan and even The Sex Pistols. Despite the vocal presence of Funboy Three’s Terry Hall, Echo & The Bunnymen’s Ian McCulloch and Barry Adamson, such an exercise could have easily gone limp. Instead the standout tracks give the album enough zip and sparkle to elevate 3 above any bog-standard covers collection. Depeche Mode’s ‘Master And Servant’, Violent Femmes’ ‘Blister In the Sun’ and Simple Minds’ ‘The American’ are celebrated to glorious effect in particular. You simply can’t help but sing along.
————————————————————————————–
THE SMITH CLASSIC
Gurrumul by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
When Sunday with the papers
Why Peel away any hangover or stress with these gentle and heart-winning songs
An Aboriginal superstar in the making, Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is a blind musician from the remote northern territory of northeast Arnhemland. Having played with Australian rock outfit Yothu Yindi and his current band Saltwater, he has turned his attention to a solo collection of incredibly personal, gospel-tinged acoustic folk songs. Singing in the Yolngu language is no barrier to enjoying his uniquely warm voice, the intimacy of which has already made Gurrumul a word-of-mouth success that has won plenty of awards down under. His upside-down guitar playing and shy demeanour are surprisingly powerful when matched to his extraordinary voice during live shows. He’s performing in the UK this summer. Seek and discover.
Leave a comment