Degrees of Abstraction

Though undoubtedly filled with good music (and no other blog's carried that Unitz track yet, score), the last Pony post smacked of easy pickings. Where were the underground exposés, the truffles of delight only the Pony can deliver? Time then for a follow-up post, this time based on artists linked to those mentioned last time, but who you hopefully haven't heard of. Starting with an affiliate of Flying Lotus then:

Samiyam

Long-time associate of the oft-touted glitchmobbers, and tight as camden trousers when it comes to beat production. A bit more of a hiphop swagger than Lotus, and more cheek too- check this out on Imeem, floppy rhythms that somehow stay completely in check. (While you're there check this version excursion. Not for all, but those that know, you KNOW, right?) If he can turn that monstrosity into something approaching beauty then his own material must be fit, yes? Shocker, it really really is. Try this for size, then pop over to the Myspazz for some more, and a link to the very reasonably $10 mixtape. Interestingly, he's signed to Hyperdub over here, more commonly associated with them dubstep folk- let's hope some prime UK talent like Lukid will get caught up in the progress.

MP3: Samiyam - Moon Shoes
[edit: new link now posted, apologies for the dead one]

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This next one came about by linking Fleet Foxes to Beach House (lovely, shimmering popscapes), them to Lazarus (solo folk experimenter), then Red Leaf Black Bird (more folk, less twiddle, lots nice), and finally to:

Tigersaw

Their line-up has changed more often than the weather since their 1999 inception but the strength and simplicity has remained. I saw them support Kimya Dawson at the Cowley Club one privileged morning a couple of years ago, and they've grown no more popular since, leaving their fragility and languid resolution intact. Theirs is a life lived in a lower gear, the uphill grind just an excuse to free-wheel all the way home, legs and caution spread to the wind as trees and fields flash by.. It's summer, it's winter, it's your life as a cup of tea and you're the digestive. Their site will keep you informed of future dates, as will we- try and pick up most recent recording Tigers On Fire, released on Tract.

MP3 - Tigersaw - Postcards and Letters
(via tigersaw.com - right click to download)

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Now to something not altogether different. Wildbirds and Peacedrums are a hard act to follow, but someone whose voice can play the UK corner is:

Rozi Plain

Maybe it's a shameless plug for someone I vaguely know (did foundation together, wave if I see her floating past on the ferry round Bristol docks), maybe it's just great music. Wildbirds are a hard one to draw comparisons with anyway, so I figured it's better to try and find a compatriot rather than competitor- Rozi certainly is that. Recently things have gone up a gear, with coverage on 6Music and even Radio 1 (good ole Huw Stephens), so jump on board before the media grabbing for the next Lykke Li decide that maybe it's her turn in the spotlight.. The Myspace has all the expected goods, and there's an album out on Fence records shortly. Wonderful songs, brilliant voice redolent of lablemate Rachel Dadd (but far more listenable in my world), and unshakable charisma to boot. None of that Joanna Newsomy wimping around like a malnourished butterfly- good old fashioned musicianship without the image crisis.

MP3: Rozi Plain - Cherry Tree

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There's not much point trying to get you to look at other dubstep comps because they are without exception incredibly behind the true face of what's being dropped- just subscribe to Plastician and Skream podcasts on RinseFM here, and watch the subgenres unfold before your very ears. The sound of someone far more used to hours locked up in a basement with only a bag of weed and some well-tuned monitors for company trying to hold together a three hour radio show is always entertaining too.

Still to come: Pony Two's deadline is 30th July now, so whatever excuse you had for not submitting last time, just crumbled before your lazy sun-scorched eyes. Y'all missed White Denim play Audio- there'll be words+pics of that on the way, and plenty more new music. Hurrah.

PS: Apologies to Verity who put on what was by all accounts a magnificent gig at the Hope on Thursday, I failed to mention it on here as promised: if anyone has pics or comments please do send them in.

_*_ Huge Summer Update_•_

Pony will keep going through the summer, in the form of longer, monthly posts, rather like this one in fact. There seems to have been a splurge of incredible new music in the last 3 months or so, a lot of which has got the coverage it rightly deserves- just to make sure you don't miss out, here's an impeccable rundown of things that'll make you bite your bottom lip to stop it trembling..

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Flying Lotus - Los Angeles

Truly a modern masterpiece. His last release, 1983, set him apart from the glitch-mobbers, Dabrye and Prefuse by being simultaneously deeper, more melodic, simpler and intricate; ultimately, an extremely creative, exciting record. So what's new? Well, everything's the same, just better. Tighter beats, ingratiating basslines, melodies that leave nothing to the imagination.. it's truly cinematic, built more of atmospheres than beats. Prefuse came close- Detchibe is evocative, but still rather simple; Lotus has completely changed the way we can think about hiphop and beat culture, injecting the whole scene with an optimistic urgency after this finely wrought throwdown. If Burial was the soundtrack to your winter gatherings, this is truly the colour of your summer. Check the taster below, but get straight on the album here after.


MP3: Flying Lotus - Parisian Goldfish

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Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Already the toast of the leftie press and bloggers everywhere, Fleet Foxes should need to introduction. But if you've been living in a cave, take note, and if you didn't believe the hype, start believing. It's a bit of a grower, but nurture it and you'll never look back. There's a lot of moments where you think "hmm, that sounds exactly like this bit in this record, and the vocals are bit like this, and that guitar sort of sounds like..." but then you loved all those records, so stands to reason this one is, well, better, mathematically? True bearded delight from start to finish.

MP3: Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood

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Wildbirds and Peacedrums - Heartcore

Another ridiculous recording. A Swedish duo signed to Leaf, they battered the emotions the first time I heard them, leaving me unable to form proper words and cooing gently like a climaxing pigeon. It's basically just percussion and vocals, but with vocals that happily join Kate Bush, Antony Hegarty and Bjork in the league-of-their-own, um, league [tautologies are entirely appropriate here], the lack of complication makes a lot of sense. It's pointless to try and pen them in with contemporaries- better to let them run free, frolicking in the sunset round some burning maypole atop a mountain. With a faun. Absolutely choice. Catch them live at the End of the Road festival if you get the chance.

MP3: Wildbirds and Peacedrums - I Can't Tell In His Eyes

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Deerhunter at the Barfly this Friday 20th

Feeling mesmerised and sublime, if a little confused? No? Well come along on Friday and top up your wonder-count. The earnest trippyness is the right side of drone irritation; really they're just a jangly indie band with extra fun fuzz, perfect for a summer's evening, especially when there's so few other gigs going on.

MP3: Deerhunter - Lake Somerset

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Mary Anne Hobbs - Evangeline

The first compilation put out by the husky-voiced Radio 1er brought a carefully chosen range of tracks together under the same umbrella, to devastating effect. JME's Pence rubbed shoulders with techno from Andy Stott, and worked well. Here, an almost identical formula has been applied- substitute Claro Intellecto for Andy Stott (on the same label aren't they? Not a hard decision then!) and Wiley for JME, and churn it out. Well, not quite. Throw in the Unitz record The Drop (exclusive, not available on vinyl), Ligma VIP, and a glut of other stand-alone brilliant tracks, and you have an album that simply can't be passed over. The Souljazz Box Of Dub comps always seem a bit barren, and contain tracks that've been around for ages; MAH has obviously flexed her not inconsiderable influence to get the freshest of produce, so don't miss out.

MP3: Unitz - The Drop *web exclusive* (96k version, buy the album for real quality)

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There's also the White Denim album, Dirty Projectors, Mae Shi, James Yuill new single, all that stuff we already told you about, remember? Coming soon though, Bestival best-of, to get us all in the mood, and Show Pony II- deadline 30th June, get your submissions in soooon.

Toddla T? Kindergarden K***!

So I got introduced to Toddla T's soundtape killin' mix a few months ago, and rinsed it on the iPod ever since. To absolute death. Now it sounds rather juvenile and unispired, making me wonder where all that excitement came from. Anyway, if you have a similar hollow patch of brain reserved for hiphop bashmenteering, you could do worse than fill it back up with this: men o' the moment Rustie and Hudson Mohawke (Hud Mo occasionally, also Heralds of Change) have put together a mix for Dazed Digital, and damn does it bang. Where Sheffield's favourite infant pushed the boundaries of taste as far back as possible, this Glaswegian pairing whip it right back into the future, glitching it to pieces to stunning effect. I was literally slack-jawed with excitement after each transition.. that drop at 4.59? And don't even talk to me about 11.01! Ridiculous, and leaves a sweet taste, unlike the sour tang of self-loathing the T inflicted. Now where can I get a tracklist...

MP3: Rustie and Hudson Mohawke - Drunk Mix (via Dazed Digital)

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PS- Don't forget the Showpony deadline for the month is 30th June, send all material at 300 dpi to showponymagazine@gmail.com. Whythankyou.

Golden Silvers

Only a very short post because I don't yet own any music to go sharing around- just click here to visit their Myspace, listen through the generous amount of songs on there, and patiently join the back of the queue to part with your hard earned.

In other news, White Denim's album is almost out, as is the new Flying Lotus. Essential.

Yuill be surprised

James Yuill has been around a little while but is starting to gather a bit of momentum. He's had two albums already, easiest found on iTunes- The Vanilla Disc, his 2005 acoustic debut, and Turning Down Water For Air, out in 2007 from which this single came. The second record jumps into lo-fi electronics, fleshing out his acoustic and sounding like a diligent user of the Postal Service Home Music Kit (Lite). Cruel comparison but inevitable; they're still joyful little melodies. Check out the last single below, and look for the Moshi Moshi signed July release "No Pins Allowed". He's playing at Latitude too.

MP3: James Yuill - No Surprises

Just Yes.

The pony bog has had a rather haughty, literarily suspicious tone of late, for which apologies are in order. No let-up lexically this time, but musically something far more concise: an oldie from Proxy, employing filthy DnB tactics in a familiar Ed Banger framework. We thought is was all over but apparently there's still some legs on it: push synths to their utmost grubbiness and voila, a genre is given a worthy swansong. Enjoy, hate, whatever yeah. Arrogant bastardation at its pinnacle. Disgusting bliss, as Chris Morris once said.

MP3: The Proxy - Dancing In The Dark

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Ps: Watch Dancer In The Dark, the immense Bjork film by Lars Von Trier from which this song culls it's title. It will make you sob uncontrollably with tears of ecstatic pity.

Something In The Ice...

Most Pony readers are probably familiar with Sigur Ros, many with Múm, and some with Mugison. New to all but the most ardent of pleasure seekers will be Borko, another Reykjavik dwelling tunesmith deserving a share of the geographical limelight. He's released a 12 on Resonant, and has an album imminently available over here. It's been put together with help from Múm members, but has an atmosphere beyond their distilled beauty. There's a much more limited (read 'traditional') range of sounds but they're worked with a broader deftness- try out the tune below and make your way sharpish over to his Myspace to hear more. Its the way in which he's re-imagined the sound that defines his peers, and added new levels of energy without breaking the concise, tremblingly ornate mould that makes him irresistible. When there's an album that can be bought and kept for ever we'll shout it from the rooftops.

MP3: Borko - Shoo Ba Ba

PS: To keep up to date with other Icelandic flights of fancy, pop B-town Hit Parade in your bookmarks. OK, you can't understand the words, but trying to is fun, and the music is often excellent. There's something pure about not being able to understand why you're being told a song is good, but then liking it anyway. Isn't there? Surely there is.

Wayfarers Run Their Course

There's something inherently wrong about fads that carry over from one year to another. The initial peak of unity in irony, accompanied by a wry smile as you pass a fellow follower in the street, is replaced by the grim fact neither of you have moved on in 12 months, causing feelings of hollow failure. Perhaps. A little. Fact is, the return of Ray Ban wayfarers to our attention was a funny if lazy distraction last summer- now they just look like they should have a fake nose and tache attached. No wait, Topman, don't actually go make them... On girls they still look pretty fresh, especially the more subtle, oval curves like Giles Deacon's pair for New Look. Cheap and cute, making them fairly indispensable. For the discerning man however, cast your eyes above to Pony's pick. The top and bottom pair are by AM Eyewear, an Aussie brand that takes slick , mature styles and gives them a macho chunking up; in the middle are Tom Ford's genius Miami yachtsman staple. A natural progression from 80s city-boy Ray Bans to ex-pat Canary Island tax exile, right? The lanes are sure to be stacked with knock-off versions, as are H&M et. al; for the real deal, go to Bromptons opposite the Dorset.

Restlesslist Vs Cloud Cover

Woh, major buzz kill man.. this grey shroud can go straight back to Croydon where it belongs. Until the beach gets viable, why not enjoy some indoor sunshine, courtesy of Restlesslist. They're local dontchaknow, and make ridiculous, sublime, seasidey bursts of 3minute joy. Metronomy opened a small place in everyone's heart for some organ-led twiddle, and Restlesslist are here to build an extension- lots more rock oomph, more character, and more overall appeal, for me anyway. There's the single, below, and their myspace has some other tasters (ignore the shit video though). They're signed to LIE records (that's Life Is Easy, also local), and the album Rise and Fall of The Curtain Club came out in February. Maybe you saw them at their secret outdoor gig yesterday, or at their Great Escape show- I didn't, and can't wait for them to play the Hope, June 13th.

MP3: Restlesslist - Butlin Breaks

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Art: Often Quite Good

There's a double bill of unmissable shows in Brighton, not often you can say that. Phoenix gallery has an excellent print show called Press & Release, with a huge volume of work and something inspiring for everyone. Quantity over quality but still extremely, um, rich, without meaning to sound like a smirking douche. Check.

Also just put up is the Modern Toss show at Ink_d, that mini gallery next to the tattoo place that you always wish you had the time/cajoles to actually look round. This time it's worth the detour, with a show dedicated to the local mischief makers running as part of Brighton Festival. There's a lifesize Alan, amongst other cocky delights.