We've got a live one... Eugene Francis Jnr...

It's been a while since we've posted something from someone who isn't on a major (or a major indie) so I was figuring it was about time for us to get some fresh talent on the board... after all I've got like a 90% success rate on people I've gotten to before they've gone big and I wanna keep that up lol... and I had one cross my inbox today that made my jaw hit the floor...

Meet Eugene Francis Jnr... now usually if you used the word 'hippy' anywhere in your press released I might seek you out just to slap you... but Eugene's music is this amazing blend of acoustic strumming and tide-like synth washes rushing over the melodies. In this frigid bitch of a winter it took me right back to summer... actually the summer of 2005 driving listening to Bright Eyes and songs from The O.C.... I would have to say that this sits RIGHT in between those two things (and I say that in a good way because I fucking LOVE BOTH... hey The O.C. was a good show asshole!)...

Here's the background...

The history:

On March 8th 1977 at 8.13am Eugene Francis Jnr emerged into our world, for 2 reasons

a. to make music
b. so that 'International Women's Day' would be officially recognised

9 months earlier it is believed that a chivalrous, Apache Indian made love to an exquisite, Inuit Eskimo under the timid Welsh sun. The couple were very much in love but also very much in hiding.

They travelled with Eugene from continent to continent, in search of work and enlightenment. They were stubborn nomads, who in turn raised an unshakable hippy…but their taste in music was impeccable

Eugene Francis was raised on Country, Blues and Folk Music, although when he misbehaved his parents made him listen to 80'Synth-Pop or Ambient.

After returning to London to study the stars and the planets at University, Eugene Francis decided to capitalise on being in the nation's capital and got busy playing in as many different bands as possible:

Eugene Francis played and wrote songs in 'the fantastic super foofs' (releasing 3 singles 'bilo boss', 'devan endo' & 'timmy zuckermann' on Floating Toast / Fuzzbox) which were championed by Lamacq and Sir John Peel for there loungey melodies. Their lack of musical depth however, meant that they also lacked record sales.

Eugene Francis played and wrote songs in 'kaptainblack' (releasing one album 'in fertility' on Mighty Atom) which was saluted in Europe as gravel-throated 'Blunktry' music. However, it didn't take long to find its way quickly and surely to the discount bin of most UK independent stores.

Eugene Francis got paid to play and write songs with 'dirty perfect' (releasing one EP and one single 'quarterback hairdo' on Sound Foundation Recordings) which was giving the thumbs up by teenage girls and boys. However, in his own words 'the publishing salary and the novelty of having a GPS in the van outshone the experience itself.'

Bored and fed up. Eugene Francis packed his little, junior guitar, and some threads and headed off to America on a Kerouac. During a late lock-in @ The White Horse Tavern (NYC) under the watchful eye of Dylan Thomas. Eugene Francis was enlightened by a friend who told him to move away from the pop-rock music he had been making and look for something to call his own.

Up to the challenge Eugene Francis headed back home to the Welsh Hills to start work.

Just like the construction of chitty-chitty-bang-bang, he disappeared to work on his project behind locked doors. He emerged 4 months later holding in his hand the proposed album 'The Golden Beatle' and the word 'Folktronica' would never be the same.

Now he needed a band, to reproduce the layers of instruments and percussion…

Not just any old band, an elite band, a concept band: 'The Juniors'

Drawing from some of the best bands / musical individuals of the current Welsh Music Scene (Vito, Broken Leaf) Eugene Francis Jnr has assembled a democracy, which he calls 'a harmonious, beatnik-supergroup'

And now they plan to take over the world, this one and the next

With Poor Me / Kites being the double A-side Ltd Edition Vinyl, due for release in June and with The Juniors currently re-recording the album, this could be the year where even the heavens will hear about 'Eugene Francis Jnr and the juniors' x

I have to say outside the previous two references I made the other thing that sticks out to me... is that he would be right at home on the roster over at Ghostly International... he's vocals are maybe more straight forward than Christopher Willits or something like that but tell me "Poor Me" couldn't be one of Ghostly's 'avant pop' releases?

Here's the goods...
Eugene Francis Jnr- "Poor Me" YSI

I'm not going to upload it again... when it's out it's out... the man just gave us his single! I would ask that if you guys like it you go buy it!


Go pick up all things Eugene Francis Jnr @ www/legionpresents.com/shop

and

The Golden Beatle over here at Amazon

Hope you all enjoyed... I have an inbox so full I can't attempt to handle it...

Cazals, EVEN More Koch, and the greatest post of all time... plus my doppelganger!

Some days are better than others... today has been a mixed bag.

I don't have to explain it but... you can't get it like a bitch unless you let people give it to you that way... that's what I've learned this week...

...but then over here on the Internets life was perfect! My Internetville life was amazzzzzzzzzzing. I got new tracks from Cazals (via Kitsune) and that started the chain of events... read on...

Cazals are the shit... I mean the fucking shit for real... and they are on Kitsune... and they opened for Daft Punk! In fact I know someone in the room while I type this that was there at the show... hmmmmmmmmm... anyway...



Mmmmmmm Kitsune... how we love you! Or at least how I love you... surrrrrrrrreeeeeusssssssly. I've downloaded everything eMusic has to offer because I wanted to scoop it all up in case they pulled an Ed Banger (try to search for Uffie, or Justice, or anything of the sort now on eMusic... it's a shame I tell ya) which I really hope they don't! Don't do that please Kitsune! We love being able to get your stuff over there when it comes out...

Anyway... we all know that Kitsune is like so white hot that they don't REALLY need an introduction but here it is anyway for those who aren't blog addicts or uber hipsters here's your "get-you-up-to-speed" bio...

Kitsune Music (taking its name from the Japanese for 'Fox') is a French electronic music record label created in 2001. Based in Paris and partly in London, the label is also a division of the Kitsune Fashion Label created by Gildas Loa'c (Roul') and Masaya Kuroki.

The label has featured the following artists: Klaxons, Wolfmother, Digitalism, Captain Comatose, Black Strobe, Manhead, Freeform five, Zongamin, Cosmo Vitelli ,Gonzales, Man with Guitar, Tom Vek, VHS or Beta, Volga Select, Simian Mobile Disco, Chikinki, Joakim, Hot Chip and others.

Fucking amazing right? Here's the Cazals info...

Cazals: a short history

OK, so let's begin with some things you may already know about Cazals: 1. They've known Pete Doherty since they were boys, and have toured with Babyshambles. 2. On account of living in London and - y'know - knowing how to dress well, some people think they're fashonistas; 3. All five of 'em used to live together. In Whitechapel; 4. A couple of them made cameo appearances in Nathan Barley. 5. They used to put on all night warehouse parties – most notably Cazalaid, organised to raise money after ALL their equipment got stolen – in London's east end. Bloc Party played. It was a great night.

Got all that? Good. Now please forget it. Cazals are as bored of it as you should be. For Cazals, as you will see, are a band who, in every respect, are all about the future.

"There's so much more to this band than that," Says lead guitarist (& manager!) Daniel. This is true. For example: rythm guitarist Luca makes a healthy living DJ'ing electronic music (he recently played at various electro festivals and events around Europe alongside people like Sebastian and kissy Sellout), Phil, the singer, has been cast in a number of up-coming British Independent films, while bassist Martin is a re-mixer and producer of some repute. He's the man mainly responsible for making 'What Of Our Future?' - his band's debut album due out in the new year - sound like one of the most forward-thinking guitar based albums in ages. His recording implements include drainpipes (as in actual pipes, not the trousers), bits of paper being ripped and effects pedals he has made himself out of Gameboys. But anyway, we're getting ahead of ourselves here…

Cazals are signed to French record label Kitsune. It is an electronic music label, home to Digitalism, Simian Mobile Disco, Crystal Castles and other such forward thinkers. You may know them from their excellent Maison compilations or for releasing vinyl only singles by Klaxons, Foals and Late of The Pier. They are not normally interested in guitar bands (especially those with retrogressive tendencies), but they made an exception for Cazals. This is significant.

"Basically they heard our track 'Poor Innocent Boys', and put it on their Maison 2 compilation," says Daniel (It's worth pointing out here that the bouncing, razor-sharp, handclap-assisted rhythms of said former single resided on this record between a Boyz Noise remix and a track by Azzido Da Bass). "They were ringing us up to ask what label we were on, and we were like, 'Erm, none!" "They've been amazing for us," enthuses Phil. "It's not a huge label, so they haven't got a huge amount of money, but they had no problems with us taking our time to make sue the album was perfect. Perfect as far as we were concerned, and them."

The investment of time by both band and label has paid off massively. One only has to listen to the first minute of 'What Of Our Future?'s opener 'New Boy In Town' to realise it is a record of tremendous depth. There are spiky guitars, a rasping vocal and an unforgettable melody, for certain, but there are subtle textures here, too – at points you'd be forgiven for thinking Daft Punk were recording in the next room. 'To Cut A Long Story Short' continues in this vein, and by the time the breakdown in the middle of the synthline led 'Somebody Somewhere' arrives, it's anybody's as to which instrument is making which noise.

"We spent a long time on the arrangements," Daniel continues. "We're not one of those bands who just bash out a song." It shows. 'A Big Mistake' is driven by lo-fi electronic drum loops; 'We're Just The Same' a gorgeous, half-paced pop song that exhibits the French influence that has seeped into Cazals' music; 'Comfortable Silence', meanwhile, is – frankly – bonkers experimentalism, the likes of which few British guitar bands would dare even attempt. Even in the more conventional moments here – the frenetic 'Life Is Boring', the aforementioned 'Poor Innocent Boys' – are awash with layer upon layer of unconventional noise. And then there's closer 'Time Of Our Lives' – a song that begins its life as a genuine, piano-led weepy, then builds and builds into a waltzing mini-epic. For all the musical adventure that precedes it, it's, y'know, moving. "That's another thing which is important," points out Phil, "Every song on the record is a true fucking story."

So no, not Shoreditch trendies. Not fashonistas. Just one of the most forward thinking British guitar band in Britain today.

by Hamish MacBain (from NME)

So there you have it... and now that I have my pick of tracks which shall I give you?

How about the autoKratz one? That shit is pretty hype because those guys are wayyyyyy awesome...

Cazals- "To Cut A Long Story Short (autoKratz 80's Heartthrob Mix)" YSI

Cazals- "To Cut A Long Story Short (autoKratz 80's Heartthrob Mix)"


Speaking of awesome.... this is just as awesome as the remix... check out what Luca did!

http://download.yousendit.com/15453E321D7B8D81


1 - looking for love - The Cars
2 - Scoundrel days - A-Ha
3 - Told you so - Depeche Mode
4 - here is the news - E.L.O
5 - Duel - Propaganda
6 - it's my life - Talk Talk
7 - The Riddle - Nik Kershaw
8 - The things that dreams are made of - The Human League
9 - Party all the time - Eddie murphy and Rick James
10 - Rydeen - Yellow magic orchestra

http://www.zshare.net/download/6784533762da4f/

Now you're ODing on awesomeness yeah? Well I have more...

The Koch just keeps bringing the pain... check out these jem...

Robot Koch vs Cerebral Vortex- "Cookies"

Robot Koch vs Cerebral Vortex- "Cookies"

EDIT: GO BUY COOKIES ON VINYL! IT'S OUT AS OF April/May 2008!

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST! DID YOU KNOW THERE WAS ANOTHER PATCH IN TOWN?!?!? YEAH OVER AT WAVESATNIGHT! HOW CRAZY RIGHT? You should go over there... his blog looks way better... but we are sister blogs now I think... kind of like how Kalamazoo and like Noomazoo or some shit are sister cities

More Koch for you... Jahcoozi treat from the Robot himself...

We all know Robot Koch is the shit. Well, at least all of you who caught the FIRE ass motherfucking remixes he gave me a month or so ago know he is... and the rest of you should know that shit as well seeing as you read blogs right? How could you not all be huge Jahcoozi fans? See, I knew that was a question I didn't need to even ask...

Robot Koch was nice enough to send over Jahcoozi's BLN E.P. (which you can purchase over at eMusic and make both and I some money) and let me pick which ever track I wanted to post. I think you would have gotten a MUCH higher bitrate if I posted the ones he sent (and maybe I'll post a high bitrate version later) but the internet at school sucks and since I already own BLN I'm just going to upload the same mp3 from my collection :)

I've decided to go with the CLP (Chris de Luca vs Phono remix) seeing as that's our mutual favourite track that you too, I'm sure, will love if you don't already have it...

Jahcoozi- "BLN (Chris de Luca vs Phono Baby Like N____z Remix)"

Jahcoozi- "BLN (Chris de Luca vs Phono Baby Like N____z Remix)" YSI

Here's a wicked video of "Black Barbie"... I like how the note on the video says "europe's best band in ages"...


Seriously though... both BLN and Blitz'n'Ass are over at eMusic (that's where I got em)... keep your eyes and ears tuned to this blog because I'm a Jahcoozi "lifer" (meaning they make a song full of fart sounds and I would think it was fucking brilliant... although didn't Venitian Snare's do that a couple years ago?) which means you can bet your ass you'll see more from them here...

Lowline & Nick McCabe of The Verve

You guys know I like to be ahead of the curve... and sometimes I can't pass up good news... even if it doesn't have an MP3 that comes with it! I know you all shit your pants when you heard The Verve were getting back together, so this little nugget of info will surely ignite your interest as well...


14th January 2008


THE VERVE'S NICK MCCABE JOINS RISING MANCHESTER BAND LOWLINE IN GUERRILLA GIG

Verve guitarist Nick McCabe joined rising Manchester band Lowline in a secret guerrilla gig in a disused mill on the outskirts of Manchester on Saturday.

The band were at Brunswick Mill, Ancoats to record the video for their debut single ‘Monitors’. Once filming had finished, the 300-plus crowd were treated to a full warehouse gig with McCabe taking to guitar alongside the band. It’s one of those gigs which will go down in Manchester folklore in years to come, in the same ilk as the Stone Roses starting out all those years ago.

Already tipped by The Enemy’s Tom Clarke as “The Best New Band In The Country” and only 30 gigs into their career, Lowline are about to drag Manchester back to the top where it belongs.

‘Monitors’ recorded by Owen Morris (Oasis / The Verve/ New Order) and paid for out of his own pocket after being blown away by the band, will be released March 3rd on 1-2-3-4! Records.
www.myspace.com/thisislowlife
link.

I mean... come on... it's coming out on 1-2-3-4!... Owen Morris? Nick McCabe? The Enemy? If you don't go to their Myspace you've got crack rocks for brains. Check back in the future and I promise you will hear more about these guys and I will certainly get an MP3 next time... until then...

If you just have to listen to something new and British check the new Ringo Starr?
Ringo Starr, 'Liverpool 8'

Late Of The Pier (Portasound Remix) is awesome...

I have very little to say about this... except it's really fucking good. Portasound sent this to me after my open invitation for new music (and there's other stuff from other people I need to get up here too) but you REALLY have to hear this. Late Of the Pier are obviously getting remixed to fuck so you've gotta separate the good from the bad, and this actually falls into the great pile.

And this is a little morsel of interestingness from their Myspace just in case you questioned their awesomeness...
THEY HAVE RECENTLY 'SHARED THE BILL' WITH THESE LOVELY FOLK:
Metronomy
Friendly Fires
Primary 1
Get Cape Wear Cape Fly
The Lost Boys

Which means that they are obviously on the rise... ON THE RISE YA HEARD!!! We've got lots of those type around here. Hopefully at the end of the year we can look back and say "Man, Arcadia knew what was going down!??!" right? I certainly hope so...


Late Of the Pier- "Broken (Portasound Remix)"

There is a WHOLE FUCKING E.P. OVER AT THEIR MYSPACE that you need to check out.... get over there now... the link is in their name above...

"Like a phoenix from the ashes..."
I'll try to be back soon... I've got loads to post... Thanks for tolerating my absence...


Oh yeah... and join eMusic... they got that new Cool Kids which ain't British but it is fire... you know you heard it on that Rhapsody (barf) commercial that's on TV... hotness...

Hiatus?

Just in case you hadn't guessed... the blog is sort of floating in space... I have no internet access really so I can't really write. Work is insane. I'm having massive family turmoil that is threatening to ruin everything on both sides. There's always a silver lining but... in the meantime I sort of out of the loop and don't have the hookup on much. Hot Chip leak? You've already got it... anything else? I dunno. Somebody send me something and get me back in the saddle! Parlophone or Southern Frieds or somebody hook me up! Until then... I guess chew on this... wish me luck... and thanks to you loyal readers who keep coming back...

Babyshambles- "Unbilo titled"