Friday 21 November 2008

Friday Tunes 21/11/2008

Far from the regular rage and indignation that generally besets me on a Friday afternoon, this week as we look at a little more than 4 weeks till the great xmas break there's a wide range of smiles around me and even hushed talk of mutiny in the ranks...nothing quite spurs dissension like thinking of tropical islands, lazy days off, beer Lao or a refusal to deliver caffeinated goods with sufficient haste to a co-worker on a friday arvo. Well that or a 40 million dollar ransom for 100 million dollars worth of Saudi Arabian oil, but that's a whole other matter isn't it.

So i've been tossing up a few tunes in my mind all afternoon but as this hot hot afternoon stretches on into Friday evening i thought i'd start with something a little mellow from The Ray Mann Three. When you hear a review like the following one tends to be automatically suspicious:

"A sublime album full of lazy, summery sex tunes that make Prince look like a virgin...it's like a huge serotonin shot to the ass with a mango daiquiri on the side. The instrumentation is sparse but well thought out, the songs are absolutely top notch, and Ray's voice is beyond orgasmic...If you ever needed proof that soul wasn't dead, you just found it...Guaranteed baby-making music”. Jonno Seidler, BRAG Magazine.

Needless to say; i was suspicious. I mean that's a serious claim to make, you just can't cast doubts on the strength of Prince's sexuality lightly. Even if you're talkingabout someone who used to play in Kid Confucious (as Ray Mann indeed did and as drummer Bart Denaro still does). I must admit though in my opinion the Ray Mann Three's self titled debut album is awesome and perfect for love making at any time. It was written over 3 years of playing in low-key lounges and night clubs all over Sydney, some of which you may know - The Basement, The Annandale Hotel, Tonic Lounge, and the Vanguard. The bands Been getting some great airplay recently so keep your eyes tuned on their website and myspace page for tour dates etc and to listen to my personal favorite track "Hook Me Up." For some immediate gratification though check out "Smile"



Now moving along i wanted to introduce a little Australian techno. Not trying to confuse anyone with the "techno" label i actually mean techno here and not electronica or any of the other millions of labels we give "that" sort of music these days. This DJ was actually introduced to me by Anton Banks, and i want to side track here for just a second to give Anton the thanks he deserves.

Anton is the brains behind a radio program called "The Vault" which airs every other Wednesday night from 9:30pm until 11:00 eastern US time (GMT -5:00) on 88.1FM in Middletown, CT (in the US). You can check it out on his website here and also download/listen to past shows. It's a great program with a good range of electronica, including some GREAT minimal and tech-house sets. My personal favorite is the Dario Zenker edition but they're all riddled with gems. It's a great show and i def. encourage you to check it out.

Ironically enough it was Anton that introduced me to Melbourne artist Komplex. With a deep, well-produced sound harking back to the early Detroit days Komplex is well worth a listen, especially for other Australians out there trying to boost up the scene! If you like what you hear or you are an Australian producer/DJ trying to get some recognition yourself i'd love to hear your stuff so send it on in!

So wrapping up here for another week at the Flash, what week would be complete though without a dose of fail?

This week from the U.K:

fail owned pwned pictures
see more pwn and owned pictures


Another Friday out, and word to the wise - stay away from poisonous catepillars!

Those who know...know.

Will out.