Category Archives: Eclectic Mainline

Matters relating to Albert Freeman’s Eclectic Mainline show.

Eclectic Mainline 12th September 2012

After last week’s excitement, I have only the routine task of telling you how amazing the tunes in tonight’s show were. Why? are back, and this pleases me no end. I played the lead track from their new ‘Sod In The Seed’ EP tonight. Hear the whole EP though, as it’s mighty good:
WHY? – ‘Sod in the Seed’ EP by City Slang

I strongly advise you to seek out “Nothin But Time” from the new Cat Power album too. If you’ve been a Cat Power fan for as long as I have, you will remember when she played pretty much everything herself, and in those early days, that was often just her and a guitar, or her and a piano.  Well, although her sound as evolved greatly since those early albums, a similar principle applies; she plays the majority of the instruments herself.  She’s a modern day Stevie Wonder.

Here’s the full playlist from tonight’s show, which you can hear again over on this page.

Alt-J – “Something Good” (single and LP – “An Awesome Wave”) (Infectious)
Husky – “Tidal Wave” (single and LP – “Forever So”) (Sub Pop)
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Live It Up” (LP – “Mature Themes”) (4AD)
The Touré-Raichel Collective – “Alkataou” (LP – “The Tel Aviv Sessions”) (Cumbancha)
Dinosaur Jr. – “Pierce The Morning Rain” (LP – “I Bet On Sky”) (PIAS)
Rollo Jean – “St Tropez” (double A-side single with “Cellar Of Love”) (Memphis Industries)
Cat Power – “NothingBut Time” (LP – “Sun”) (Matador)
Rustie – “After Light feat. AlunaGeorge” (single) (Warp)
Call The Doctor – “Here To Haunt” (b-side to “Wrecking Ball” single) (Glasstone)
Why? – “Sod in the Seed” (EP – “Sod In The Seed”) (City Slang)
Sonic Boom Six – “Virus” (single) (Xtra Mile)
Frank Zappa – “Bobby Brown Goes Down” (LP re-issue – “Sheik Yerbouti”)
Babe, Terror – “Lifantastic I” (“Knights EP”) (Phantasy Sound)

Minor correction from last week’s show – I played the following but forgot to include it in my playlist:

Dinosaur Jr. – “Rude” (LP – “I Bet On Sky”) (PIAS)

Eclectic Mainline 5th September 2012 – Africa Express come to town

On Monday Bradford was treated to a visit by Africa Express, and it was truly amazing.    What they are doing, touring the country, and stopping off for pop-up performances along the way, is terrific.  Some of the musicians (I say ‘some’, for there are approximately 80 musicians involved in Africa Express) stopped in Bradford on Monday morning between their London and Middlesbrough dates.

Jupiter & Okwess International

Jupiter & Okwess International in City Park. Click for more photos.

I was lucky enough to be allowed a few hours off work to experience Jupiter & Okwess International in City Park, and to be able to cover it live for BCB. Elsewhere in the city, there were performances at Culture Fusion, the University of Bradford and BRI.  More about what happened is in this Wild West Yorkshire video:

I am so pleased that Africa Express have done this.  To be able to give so many people up and down the country chance to see and hear these talented musicians for free, and to give the musicians themselves the chance to visit places they otherwise might not have done, is utterly brilliant.  Oh, and although he wasn’t performing in Bradford, Amadou Bagayoko was among the party, and what an honour it was to be introduced to him as he reboarded the coach.

In any other week, seeing Midlake and Perfume Genius in Leeds would have been the highlight.  But, such was the nature of the Africa Express experience, that double gig at the Brudenell Social Club is merely a passing comment before I tell you what I played in tonight’s show.  As ever, if you wish to listen back to the show, you will find it on here.  Just look for the 8pm slot.  This is what I played: Continue reading →

Eclectic Mainline 29th August 2012

Thanks to those of you who got in touch during tonight’s show.  I hope you all enjoyed the music as much as I did.  Here is the show’s opener, the new single by Call The Doctor:

And here’s the Rollo Jean single I played:

Cellar of Love by Rollo Jean

If you wish to listen back to the show, you’ll find it right here.  This is what you would hear if you were to do so:

Call The Doctor – “Wrecking Ball” (single) (Glasstone)
Kid Koala – “7 Bit Blues” (LP – “12 Bit Blues”) (Ninja Tune)
King Creosote – “Ankle Shackles” (EP – “To Deal With Things”) (Domino)
Jeff Carey – “Step” (LP – “Interupt-Decay”) (Cwnil)
Rollo Jean – “Cellar Of Love” (single) (Memphis Industries)
Dinosaur Jr. – “Watch The Corners” (single and LP – “I Bet On Sky”) (PIAS)
Yeasayer – “Henrietta” (LP – “Fragrant World”) (Mute)
Micah P Hinson – “Beneath The Rose” (BCB Session)
Babe, Terror – “War” (“Knights EP”) (Phantasy Sound)
A.R. Kane – “Sado-masochism Is A Must” (2CD – “Complete Singles Collection”) (One Little Indian)
Animal Collective – “Wide Eyed” (LP – “Centipede Hz”) (Domino)
Sone Institute – “Tradition and Dream” (LP – “A Model Life”) (Front & Follow)
Bob Mould – “The Descent” (single and LP – “Silver Age”) (Demon)

Eclectic Mainline 22nd August 2012

The Jesse Boykins III & MeLo-X album, ‘Zulu Guru’, is released in the autumn. The single that precedes the album, “The Perfect Blues” is coupled with this gem, “Black Orpheus”:

Jesse Boykins III & MeLo-X – ‘Black Orpheus’ (produced by Afta-1) by Ninja Tune

You can download “Black Orpheus” for free from ninjatune.net/zuluguru.  “Black Orpheus” is one of the tunes I played in Eclectic Mainline on BCB tonight. Another, the opening tune in the show, was this gorgeous acapella piece by The Cornshed Sisters, taken from their ‘Tell Tales‘ album:

The Cornshed Sisters – Tommy by memphisindustries

If you missed the show, you can catch the whole thing again here. This is what I played:

Continue reading →

Eclectic Mainline – 15th August 2012

A break with convention now, in that rather than just showing you tunes here that I played in tonight’s show, here’s a tune I didn’t play:

Dusk & Blackdown Feat. Burial – High Road by PinBoardBlog

I bought that 12″ at Jumbo Records in Leeds this afternoon. Rumour has it (although the rumour, and the evidence, are both so strong that I feel it’s a little unfair to use the word “rumour”) that Burial is involved, despite not being credited on the record.

And to get back to the normal way of things, here’s a tune I did play tonight:

Willits + Sakamoto – Completion by ghostly

If you want to listen back to the full show, you’ll find it here.  This is what you will hear:

Continue reading →

Eclectic Mainline 8th August 2012

I’ve been surprised recently by how sophisticated computer game music has become. I used to love the Sonic The Hedgehog music, but it seems rather crude by current standards. The HEALTH soundtrack to Max Payne 3 for instance, is extremely cinematic. But then, I suppose the games themselves have become rather cinematic. I started tonight’s show with another new tune from a game soundtrack. This was is by DVA, and is from the game Botanicula.

08 DVA  – Level 3 by DVA

The rest of the show, which you can hear again, went like this:

DVA – “Level 3” (LP – “Botanicular Soundtrack”) (Amanita Design / Bumbumsatori)
Spiritualized – “Little Girl” (single and LP – “Sweet Heart Sweet Light”) (Double Six)
Jim Coleman – “Another Place” (LP – “Trees”) (Wax & Wane)
Correatown – “Valparaiso” (LP – “Pleiades”) (Highline)
Animal Collective – “Today’s Supernatural” (single and LP – “Centipede Hz”) (Domino)
Kiko C. Esseiva – “Epigraphe Et Ouverture” (LP – “Drôles D’Oiseaux”) (Hinterzimmer)
Frank Turner – “If I Ever Stray” (single and LP – “England Keep My Bones”) (Xtra Mile)
How To Dress Well – “Cold Nites” (single and LP – “Total Loss”) (Weird World)
Cate Le Bon – “January” (EP – “CYRK II”) (OVNI/Turnstile)
White Rabbits – “I’m Not Me” (single and LP – “Milk Famous”) (Mute)
Falty DL – “Our House Stab” (b-side to “Hardcourage” single) (Nina Tune)
Dinosaur Jr. – “Watch The Corners” (single and LP – “I Bet On Sky”) (PIAS)
Gary War – “Thousand Yard Stare” (LP – “Jared’s Lot”) (Spectrum Spools)

Eclectic Mainline 1st August 2012

The new EP by Lightships is out this week.  Here’s the lead track, ‘Fear & Doubt’:

Lightships – Fear & Doubt by Domino Record Co

You may have heard a few tunes from the new Cinematic Orchestra curated album in my show recently. I hadn’t played Austin Peralta’s ‘Lapis’ yet, but I made up for that tonight.  What utter beauty.
Austin Peralta – ‘Lapis’ (Edit) by Ninja Tune

If you have a desire to listen back to the full show, you’ll find it over here.  Here’s the full list of tunes I played:

Lightships – “Fear and Doubt” (EP – “Fear and Doubt”) (Geographic)
Laetitia Sadier – “There Is A Price To Pay For Freedom (And It Isn’t Security)” (LP – “Silencio”) (Drag City)
The Helio Sequence – “October” (single and LP – “Negotiations”) (Sub Pop)
Lower Dens – “Candy” (single and LP – “Nootropics”) (Ribbon)
Slugabed – “Mountains Come Out Of The Sky (Two People Remix)” (single) (Ninja Tune)
Jonjo Feather – “Comma In The Words” (LP – “Held”) (Numb Tongue)
James Yorkston – “Border Song” (single) (Domino)
Cate Le Bon – “What Is Worse” (EP – “CYRK II”) (OVNI/Turnstile)
Christian Fennesz – “Kae” (CD – “OST: AUN – The Beginning and the End of all Things”) (Ash International)
Patrick Watson – “Step Out For A While” (single and LP – “Adventures In Your Own Back Yard”) (Domino/Secret City)
The Herbaliser – “The Lost Boy feat. Hannah Clive” (single and LP – “There Were Seven”) (Dept.H)
John Cale – “I Wanna Talk 2 U” (single and LP – “Shifty Adventures In Nookie Wood”) (Double Six)
Euros Childs – “Around And Around” (LP – “Summer Special”) (National Elf)
Austin Peralta – “Lapis” (LP – “In Motion #1”, curated by The Cinematic Orchestra) (Ninja Tune)
Frankie Rose – “The Fall” (LP – “Interstella”) (Memphis Industries)

Eclectic Mainline 25th July 2012

If you haven’t seen the new Dan Deacon video yet, then you clearly haven’t been paying enough attention to me on Twitter. Here it is:

Now, as the Olympics are upon us (how can it be that GB women play New Zealand in Cardiff 2 days before the opening ceremony?) tonight seemed a timely occasion to play this song from the new album by Future Of The Left, for which a fan has made a video:

If you want to listen back to tonight’s show, you’ll find it on here.  These are the tunes played tonight: Continue reading →

Eclectic Mainline – 18th July 2012

As I prepared a couple of tunes to play you here on the blog, I thought to myself, “Haven’t I included this new Frankie Rose single on the BCB Music Blog before?” And the answer, it turns out, is yes I have, back in February. It’s a cracking tune though, so I don’t begrudge it being re-released.

Frankie Rose – Know Me by Slumberland Records

Frankie isn’t the only great artist on the Memphis Industries roster to have been played in tonight’s show. I also played this, the new single by Hooray For Earth:

HOORAY FOR EARTH – True Loves by Pias France

If you wish to listen back to the entire show, you’ll find it somewhere on this page of the BCB Listen Again service.  This is what I played:

Continue reading →

Eclectic Mainline 11th July 2012

This morning I thought today’s might be my last ever show on BCB.  After Chris Moyles announced he was leaving the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, I felt sure Ben Cooper would be on the phone offering me the role… but no, someone called Nick Grimshaw got the call.   So, much to everybody’s surprise, I’m still here!

Ahem, so, on with the business in hand…

New James Yorkston album

Today I saw this new James Yorkston video, which precedes his new album, I Was A Cat From A Book.  The special edition of the album looks utterly amazing. The video is precisely what musicians should be doing in the digital age, in my view.  Good work James, and good work Domino Records.

Frankie Rose competition

This week we’re giving away tickets to see Frankie Rose at the Brudenel Social Club on Tuesday 24th July, plus a copy of her new album, Interstellar. To be in with a chance of winning, simply answer this question:

Frankie Rose is from Brooklyn.  Brooklyn is a district of which city:

  1. York
  2. New York
  3. Bradford

Post your answer as a comment on this blog, or tweet @bcbradio by Tuesday 17th July 2012.  The winner will be announced on my show on Wednesday 18th July.

New Christian Fennesz soundtrack album

Also in tonight’s show was a new tune by Christian Fennesz, taken from his marvellous new soundtrack to the film AUN – The Beginning and the End of All Things:
Continue reading →