6 Music picks: The Van Allen Belt & Silvermoths

Every week we get to play two tracks for Tom Robinson on his excellent BBC 6 Music Introducing show... you can listen again here.  

*The Van Allen Belt - Out To Lunch

 
Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this band have been described as making music that's: “soaringly epiphanic and euphoric post-everything meditations on 21st century America" by none other than Julian Cope! We kinda can't compete with that can we? But we LOVE this track... the soaring chorus of backing vocals, big cymbal crashes and strong vocals from frontwoman Tamar Kamin. It's a power ballad for the indie generation. The album Superpowerfragilis: Or How I Learned To Stop Caring And Love The Drug is out now and you can buy it at the Bandcamp above.


*Silvermoths - Superhero

   

 
Then we come to this beautiful wee ditty. Silvermoths are a west London band. That's Emma Churchly on the soft whispery vocals and various instruments partnered with guitarist and songwriter Kaziu Gill... both make up the flame around which the Silvermoths fly. Sorry that's super cheesey but we couldn't help ourselves! If you can't be cheesey on your own blog then when can you be?! Either way there's something seriously magical about this band, we look forward to more.

Marissa Nadler interview: making music and performing strictly on her own terms

  

TOW met Boston guitarist and singer songwriter Marissa Nadler ahead of a show at London's Bush Hall. Armed with guitars and a weighty transistor, she plays solo and after years of struggling with stage fright, she says: 'It's worth getting over it'.

We talk about breaking out on her own with this eponymous album on her Box of Cedar Records, the joy of 'getting' finger-picking right for the first time, her unique sound and, like everyone, having ups and downs along the way.

Unsure about continuing with touring after years of traipsing the globe, Marissa Nadler said she may consider this her last. But then in a tweet after the show at Bush Hall, she says, scrap that - the audience were so lovely, she'll definitely be back. Gotta love London audiences - you guys did good!

Oh, and check out this gorgeous version and free download of Leonard Cohen's Winter Lady which popped up on her soundcloud recently:

  

6 Music: Genius Collective & The Liminanas our picks for Introducing

Every week we get to play two tracks for Tom Robinson on his excellent BBC 6 Music Introducing show... you can listen again here.  

Genius Collective - Future (Breaks)



We really like this lot, a bunch of uber talented musicians fronted by one fine singer Kezia Johnson equals something funky, fresh and entirely NOT derivative which is always refreshing. They're a seven piece from Birmingham with an EP due out later in the year, this track Future is a free download - here.

The Liminanas - I'm Dead



This band seemed to have dropped off the face of the planet since releasing this in May last year. We've just stumbled across it and really love what they - were? - doing. This French trio are everything you'd expect from a band like this: dark haired, black polo-neck bedecked skinny kids who you know will survive on nothing but nicotine and Vin Rouge... 

6 Music: Silver Fox & Trogons our picks for Introducing

Every week we get to play two tracks for Tom Robinson on his excellent BBC 6 Music Introducing show... you can listen again here. 


Silver Fox - Waves On In

 Daniel Robson

We are utterly smitten with this four piece from Newcastle. From the woozey, lazy psychedelia of Waves On In to the short, sharp punk of Capital Kiss. We found them via Upset The Rhythm's excellent line up for the Yes Way festival last month, where we also spotted this lovely lot:

Trogons - Awakenings

    

Trogons release Awakenings very soon on X Ray Recordings, we love the urgency in the track and Gemma Fleet on vocals is ticking all our boxes.

Thanks to UTR for some ace tips!

Gaggle choir leader Deborah Coughlin spills the beans

 

As anarchic all-woman choir Gaggle prepare for their performance of The Brilliant and The Dark at London's Royal Albert Hall on 27 September, TOW catches up with leader Deborah Coughlin about the who, what, when, where and why's and it's really not what you might think!

The opera, which is about the history of women from Middle Ages to World War II, was first performed in 1969 with a cast of 1,000 women volunteering at the same venue.

Deborah and Gaggle have brought the subject matter right up to the present day in their reworking of the piece. Amazed that such a historic event could have been lost from the history books Gaggle are looking to give it it's rightful place in cultural her-story.  


The Brilliant and The Dark from Open Music Archive on Vimeo.

Brigid Power-Ryce & Micropixie - BBC 6 Music Introducing

Brigid Power-Ryce - The Waves Were Wild
 
   


Brigid Power-Ryce is a TOW success story... back in May 2009 we played Wild Grin for Tom on the show and he loved it, we loved it and then it all went silent. Until we got an email a few months back from Brigid with new songs, a six month old son and a support slot with Tune-Yards and Beirut at Brixton Academy on September 16th - yeeeeha! The  new stuff is as captivating as what we heard before - eerie, haunting and beautiful. See you on the 16th!

*Micropixie - Testosteronica

    
  
Micropixie sent us this little disco-funk gem a few weeks ago, from her album 'The Good, The Beige & The Ugly' (An Intergalactic Feminist Spy Thriller) on One Little Alien. Micropixie has made the track with UK-based, Grammy nominee Paul Horton and it's massively groovy. Micropixie says of herself: 'Made in Bombay, born & raised in the UK, and based in SF-Oh!, Micropixie aka MPX is the extra-terrestrial alter ego of writer, fillum-maker and fulltime human being, Single Beige Female.'

The song is about Micropixie's experiences in the music industry - 'Testosteronica', ah hem, a sentiment that's right up our street! Also, 10% of the sales from Testosteronica will go to Women's Audio Mission, a San Francisco based, non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of women in music production and the recording arts. Here here!

Cambodian Space Project & Mary Ocher - BBC 6Music Introducing

Every week we get to play two tracks for Tom Robinson on his excellent BBC 6 Music Introducing show... you can listen again here.

The Cambodian Space Project - Broken Flowers

Kak Channthy is the lead singer of Phnom Penh Band The Cambodian Space Project. She's been called the Rock MIA in Asia, with which we wholeheartedly take umbrage. MIA wishes she had an iota of Kak's edge. Not only is she now a rock diva in her homeland, but she's also a women's rights activist, enlisted by the UN to speak in her country. As a young woman Kak was kidnapped from her village and sold into sex slavery in Phnom Penh - but her escape and meeting with now co-pilot Australian guitarist Julien Poulsen, has turned her life around. Julien found his muse and his route into fulfilling his dream of revitalising Cambodia's psychedelic rock days, with echoes of 1960's Cambodian singing legend Ros Seretysothea. Broken Flowers is an original track, but do also check out their covers of Venus and House of the Rising Sun too, as Kak admits she sings rock music better than love songs... we say, rock on...

Mary Ocher - On The Streets Of Hard Labour

We've just spent half an hour watching Mary Ocher videos on youtube, mainly the ones from her War Songs album which is from 2008, but luckily for us who were late to catch on, she re-released in March of this year on Germany's fine Haute Areal Records. Describing her is tough. Born in Moscow and raised in Tel Aviv, now based in Berlin. Mary describes herself as a singer-songwriter, poet, and DJ, with a background in film. Excellent. You might remember her from Mary and The Baby Cheeses who were a 'highly noted band in the Israeli underground circles'. All we know is that On The Streets of Hard Labour is one of tracks of the year, we love her heavily accented singing in English, the sparseness of the music: electronic, contemporary and yet definite shades of a spooky Soviet past.

Alice & the Enemies and Rachael Dadd - BBC 6Music Introducing

After a summer break, TOW is back with Tom Robinson on his brilliant BBC 6 Music Introducing show as his Girl Music Guru, bringing him two artists every week for his (and your) listening pleasure. You can tune in and listen again here. Last week it was Tiny Ruins and Emma Heartbeat, this week:

Alice & the Enemies - Touching Boys in Supermarkets

You know Alice Gun? The singer songwriter from north London who made her fantastic debut this year with Blood & Bone on Ambiguous Records? Well, guess what, she was in a rock band and Ambiguous have decided to re-release some old stuff - yeahhh! The frankly brilliant Touching Boys In Supermarkets... listen below. This is Alice pre-poised, almost regal, as she is now - it's all a bit raucous and sweaty, we love it. You can hear Alice talking about Blood & Bone on The Other Woman Podcast here.




Rachael Dadd  - Tower Tower

Bristol's Rachael Dadd has travelled far and wide in her time, so far in fact that she made this record in Japan. Dedicees will know that she's married to Ichi - as in Ichi and the Hand, see them live on the same bill and you get a doubly awesome earful. Rachael's new album Bite The Mountain is the follow up to 2009's Moth in the Motor and, as described by Broken Sound Music on their website, she sounds 100% the wide eyed traveller and armed with banjo, uke and a multitude of other instruments she's the master of, she's created another quiet masterpiece. 

  

Albums from Olivia Louvel and Botched Fairytale

Olivia Louvel sent us a new track back in March 2009 - the spiky, moody, bass heavy Army Of Dolls... little did we know that it was just the beginning of a whole album, Doll Divider, from the French born composer and producer. We played the track for Tom Robinson on his 6 Music Introducing show, he loved it, we loved it and that was that. Or so we thought... we received a beautiful vinyl copy of Olivia's album in the post a month or so ago. Composed using synth loops and percussive rhythms on her laptop, the album is glitchy, mysterious, DIY, minimal... all those good things, if not simultaneously unnerving. You can listen and BUY at her Bandcamp here:



Botched Fairytale




Deejaying at the excellent John Peel Day at Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes last year, we were approached only once during our set and it was when we played The '06 Census by Botched Fairytale. The young chap was saucer-eyed and almost frothing at the mouth about the track, which is exactly how we felt on first listen to this, their debut album. Marie O Hara and Mariel McCormack are from County Longford in Ireland and were inspired to make music back in 2008 when, they say:

"sick of sitting around complaining about the lack of lyrical content in the Irish music they heard on the radio, the duo formed because they wanted to do their bit for the situation. 

They had a vision of an album that provoked, it would be blunt and unsafe and uncomfortable, full of ideas and energy that reflected the ugliness and beauty of everyday life, an album that was universally relevant but distinctly Irish."


The album is available FOR FREE at the Bandcamp player above, thanks for giving this away free girls - it's a real gift to the music world.

What's tickling our earbuds in July - part 2:

Kate Daisy Grant



Don't let the 'Daisy' in her name fool you - there's a dark underbelly to Kate Daisy Grant's writing which is compelling, intriguing and makes for a great listen.


Anna Madeleine - Milk and Water





Name your price for this little beauty from Hackney one woman electronic music making machine (and more) Anna Madeleine.

Citizen Helene - Citizen Helene EP



Thanks to the also-brilliant Mary Epworth for putting us in touch... what a glorious voice, fine turn of phrase and above all catchy tunes.

Annette Berlin - Remedy (Don't Pick Me Up)

Find more Annette Berlin songs at Myspace Music

Bristol's Annette Berlin popped us over this single recently... she's also the big voiced vocalist for Big Joan. Post the birth of her twins last year she's just started gigging again - happy days for us!

Tanya Auclair interview - Origami EP

Tanya Auclair is a one woman music making machine. Using body percussion techniques, looping and her own lovely voice she has now self-released two EP's; Thrum and now Origami.

Thrum she gave away for free on Bandcamp: http://tanyaauclair.bandcamp.com/ - nice lady.

Tanya grew up in west London and has worked with jazz drummer Leon Parker and producer Yult to name drop a few others who've recognised her enormous talent. Listen in to hear us try not to sound too merry whilst quaffing cider at our local...

  

Bachelorette interview on quitting and new album

  

Ha! That got your attention didn't it? Well, the New Zealander is not exactly quitting but this may be the end of the Bachelorette project... the world is Annabel Alpers' oyster!

Bachelorette is Annabel Alpers, a quiet New Zealander who has made a dreamy, other-worldy, electronic record filled with clever lyrics and melodies worthy of the pop greats. Bachelorette, her third album, is out now on Souterrain Transmissions and could be the end of the solo Bachelorette project, as she says, she may just find a band and start rocking out - who knows! We chatted backstage ahead of her show at Camp Basement in east London and - you lazy journo's who name check Bjork as her main influence - the Icelandic songstress had nothing to do with this!

Inbox: Newcastle's Pale Man Made & Brighton's Bella Spinks

Pale Man Made - Cabales

  

Christanne is one of two girls who make up half of Newcastle fuzzed up popsters Pale Man Made. 

Christanne's email that popped into TOW's inbox says: 'we play music driven by discordant jangles, bittersweet lyrics, and, female and male vocals - inspired by the The Shop Assistants, Comet Gain, The Pastels, The Smiths and Sleater Kinney.'

Yup, the influences are worn on their collective sleeve, but there's nothing wrong with that when this is the result!

They've just just finished recording an album with Steve Whitfield  (Cure, Pylons, Trash Can Sinatras, Buen Chico, Shed 7) and are looking to find a label to put it out... 

Bella Spinks - Words



Yes, Brighton artist Bella Spinks is 18. And yes, she's already writing songs that some seasoned old muso's could be proud of. Her Dad Patrick runs Sublime Music, and emailed TOW about Bella and on listening to this track we reckon Poppa Spinks has every right to be puffed up and proud about his young offspring. Bella has already supported some impressive artists including Ellie Goulding - watch this space!

The Other Woman on BBC 6 Music Introducing with Tom Robinson: new music from Sound of Rum & Barbara Panther

Sound of Rum - Icarus

Every week TOW plays two songs for the brilliant Tom Robinson on his BBC 6 Music Introducing show... here are our picks from this week's show:  

Flipping heck. First of all it's not often you hear someone 'spittin' rhymes' about Icarus... but Kate Tempest does and it's bloody brilliant. Kate's the fast rapping frontwoman of this band, signed to Sunday Best (Rob da Bank knows a good thing when he sees one) their debut album Balance is a wholly excellent listen. There's a white vinyl edition too - how cool is that? Oh and we've not even begun to namecheck all the DUDES who think Kate rocks: Roots Manuva: 'her works are truly of upliftment and betterment' and Scroobius Pip: 'It astounds me. Her writing is epic, her delivery piercing, and with the addition of her band her potential is realised. Inspirational'...

Barbara Panther - Moonlight People

We here at TOW towers are absolutely mind-blown by Barbara Panther's self-titled debut album, which is out on May 16th on City Slang. Barbara was born in Rwanda and grew up in Brussels, Belgium, before making her home in Berlin five years ago - did we hear a German inflection in her voice? Thought so! Oh, and she's worked with Matthew Herbert on this record too. Turn your headphones up and feast on this, the new single Moonlight People...

The Other Woman on BBC 6 Music Introducing with Tom Robinson: new music from Kool Thing and Jude Cowan

Every week TOW plays two songs for the brilliant Tom Robinson on his BBC 6 Music Introducing show... here are our picks from this week's show:  

Kool Thing - The Sign

Kool Thing were formed in Paris last year - they are Berlin based and consist of an Irish lass and an Australian gal, truly global, non?! Jon Dark is a classically trained musician and provides the at once soothing and harmonious, then pounding synthesised loveliness underpinning Julie Chance's gorgeous vocals. There's a darkness and moodiness which runs throughout their sound reminiscent of some of the great Skando-dance we've heard these passed years from the likes of The Knife and Fever Ray.

Jude Cowan - Post-Tsunami mix

Jude Cowan works in a dungeon. Well, sort of. She's based in the basement of the ITN building on Gray's Inn Road in London and her job is to archive all the reems of Reuters news footage sent in daily from around the world. As you can imagine, that's a mighty undertaking and not just a bit depressing to boot. Conflict, disaster, starvation - you name it. Jude has turned this into poetry and music. She's somehow managed to find some beauty in all the carnage, and her music pays homage to those who suffer. Impressive. (And Jon Snow thinks she's cool)

The Other Woman meets London trio Rayographs ahead of the launch of their debut album at Camp Basement

Rayographs are serving up their debut album, Rayographs (Desire), to the public this week, there's a God Don't Like It launch event at Camp Basement on Thursday too (28 April). We've had a sneak preview and love where these three have taken their sound... lots of fantastic melodies, thought-provoking lyrics and an originality which almost made us weep. Hurrah for the Rayographs! TOW met up with Astrud, Amy and Jess in The Horatia pub in north London to have a chat over a pint or two...
   

TOW on 6 Music: The Just Joans and Anguish Sandwich

Every week TOW plays two songs for the brilliant Tom Robinson on his BBC 6 Music Introducing show... here are our picks from this week's show:  

The Just Joans - Your Pain Is A Joke Next To Mines

Major props to the brilliant Leg Guitar blog, the source of this pick for Tom's show. TOW has signed up to the mailing list and are thoroughly enjoying their mail outs. Check out the latest one about band's covering Madonna's True Blue... fabulous. Anywho, The Just Joans are based in Glasgow, originally from North Lanarkshire and have been around for ages! Plenty of back catalogue loveliness to get busy with then. They're signed to WeePop! Records and released their mini-album Your Pain Is A Joke Next To Mines recently. The name is in tribute to Scottish Daily Record's agony aunt of the same name... and their songs sort of have that bent to them - tortured love, wry but not too clever-and-smug songwriting and to top it all off a sensitive and beautiful approach to songwriting. Sit back... and enjoy.

Anguish Sandwich - Leave My Brain Alone Catherine, John and Chris make up this 3 pieces from Northampton. It's so lo-fi it's practically off the meter... so lo-fi can sometimes be off-putting, you need catchy melodies too and Anguish Sandwich have them in spades. The EP No More Cows is available for free a their bandcamp page and you MUST download it immediately. With songs like Leave My Brain Alone which we played for Tom and the one accompanying this video (one of our best of 2011) it's such fun and has such 'tude! We love it. Also check out Chris East's blog, he's the brains behind the band and it's quite read.

TOW on 6 Music - Emily and the Woods and The Werewanda's

Every week TOW plays two songs for the brilliant Tom Robinson on his BBC 6 Music Introducing show... here are our picks from this week's show:  

 
Emily and the Woods - I Can't

First off TOW just has to say how excited we are that Emily and the Woods has agreed to support Madam at The Horatia on 30 April, we CANNOT wait to see her live! Emily plays guitar and sings, supported by 'The Woods' - ie her Dad, who has been a musician full time for 30 years, and her brother. Emily started playing and writing in her late teens, inspired by a solid roster of folk talent: Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Simon & Garfunkel. A recent Philosophy and Theology graduate from Exeter University, you can hear the influence of her studies in her lyrics... this tune she wrote for a friend who passed away and it gives us goosebumps everytime we hear it.

The Werewanda's - My Little Sister

The Werewandas have a fantastic sense of fun and it comes across in the tight little 60's-infused rock numbers they knock out. Also, TOW is biased as one of our favourite people is in the band - Delia Sparrow from The Lexington, well, you could argue she IS The Lexington and often our Girl About Town on the podcast... she's on guitar and you can hear her doing a fine job backing up 'Heavy Metal Lucy' on vocals...

You can download the debut release from this utterly rocking quintet for free at Where It's At Is Where You Are.

The Other Woman interviews east London hipster duo Visions of Trees aka Joni and Sarah - talking synths, remixes and R&B

Joni and Sara are London duo Visions of Trees, labeled the 'new kings of UK miserablism' by RCRDLBL.com. They are doing an excellent job of making some distorted, synth-heavy, dreamy electro-pop which they assure TOW is heading is far more upbeat, R&B direction...

The power of the blogging fraternity is highlighted once again, as the duo only met a year ago but the buzz has been steadily increasing to what is now a frenetic roar - regarding their debut EP Sometimes It Kills, which is out on Moshi Moshi.

We met over a drink in east London, and one false start outta the way, we chuntered on about how they met, remixing Ashanti and how it would be nice if someone actually PAID them to do what they do!

You can catch them live at Camden Crawl, Great Escape and Glastonbury this year... as well as a show at Koko on April 24th.

The Other Woman's Ruth Barnes presents 6 Mix on BBC 6 Music: 10 & 16 April

As part of 6 Music's 'Sunday Girl' day, 6 Music Introducing's Girl Music Guru Ruth Barnes looks at the best in new music from leftfield female electro artists in a special 6 Mix. From Miss Kitten's role in the electroclash scene to current dubstep pioneer Ikonika, female producers are often at the heart of the most innovative and progressive electronic movements of recent years. Ruth talks blogosphere favourite Glasser about her influences and there are also mini mixes from Berlin based producers and label bosses Anja Schneider and Ellen Allien, who have been at the forefront of the Berlin techno and electro scene for the last two decades. 

Broadcast:

10 April 2000-2200

16 April 2200-0000

Click here for playlist and to listen again!