closer to summer

Speaking of Sam Pilling, I wonder why I still haven't shared his work of Wu Lyf.
I guess because it's more of those matters that are closer to summer.



these ships set sail
sail on you and me
these ships set sail
I just wanted to be free

this place so lonely but nah don't settle down
just hear the beat drown over all this lonesome sound

however bad, hold on hold on hold on

SBTRKT puts your feelings so exposed within a scale of his sounds. I've been out of the loop during the last few days with way too many things on my mind. But, however bad, I do hold on... and rearrange my summer plans: SBTRKT, Warpaint and Metronomy on Opimus Alive in mid July in Lisbon.



Meet the director of the video Sam Pilling.

you're giving me the coldest stare, like you don't even know I'm here
why don't we turn the leaf? why don't we turn the leaf?
(...) whatever you've done, however bad, hold on hold on hold on

homecoming...

Bernardo Sassetti has passed away. Truly sad news.

milk & honey

I actually substitute milk with oat drink. I slightly warm it up, then add a bit of honey, a pinch of cinnamon and cardamom. A perfect drink for a sore throat. And for a general uneasy way of being I suggest Hollie Cook's album that Rough Trade listed as one of the top albums of the year 2011. Well judged and diagnosed. I feel fully cured with it.



it's time to laugh all alone in your room
if only you could shine through the darkness, yes 
hey in the day in the night you dine
and so far the reason you feel lonely
hey
you should try (...)

take me back there tonight

waveforms, reach through my mind and take me back there tonight 
the reverb I feel, it signals to me, it’s never been far from sight
a long time ago, my heart was in two
it's written in black and white
the rhythm machine through the smoke and the screen
their heads in the hills tonight

oh you wanna know why all these rivers run dry
and when I see you again, I see it there in your eyes

radar, scanning my mind, lost in the clouds above
the rattle of drums, the click of my thumb, their eyes in the hills below

touch it, break it, shake it yeah
take it apart and break it yeah
try to rearrange it yeah
couldn't recreate it yeah



Meet the director of the video Kim Coleman and the director of photography Jake Scott.

time tick tock

Oh, time goes by but the trees here are still not as green as I wish them to be. I need some good vibes to cheer me up and they come from this fantastic trumpeter virtuoso Maurice Brown I had an inevitable pleasure to see during Marcus Miller's concert last Friday in Southbank Centre in London. It was simply stunning. The whole band simply rocked jazz!

see the colours of another sky

I actually went to London to see another sky even though it does not differ much from the one I am used to. I went to detach myself and to make a new place mine. On my first day in London last Tuesday I embraced the city wholeheartedly. Or so the city embraced me in that way at once. It was this strangely familiar feeling of being home in a place that I haven't been to before. I strolled lazily through many places heading in the evening to Nothing Hill to see The Staves, a band I discovered in January this year. There was a bit of drama at the beginning as the show was sold out and I didn't know weather or not I will get a ticket. I was luckily advised by a lovely staff of Tabernacle (a fantastic place where the concert was held) to wait as there would surely be someone who would not pick up their ticket. There was. One ticket left. And I got it! :) And so the London gig of The Staves started. It was superb. Warm, full of harmony and witty, supported by a charming set delivered by Christof (he deserves a separate post later on :)). I couldn't have imagined better start of my first trip to England. It was a bit chilly on my way back from Nothing Hill. Well, "it is never really very cold in England (...), but still a decent jumper and a waxen jacket lined with wool is sufficient for every weather England's got to give." as Zadie Smith writes in her book On Beauty that accompanied me during this trip. A decent jumper I left in Finland. But it really didn't matter that evening.



Meet the director of the video Myles O'Reilly.

counting the winters | numb to the cold

...for there is in London all that life can afford

Came back from London last night. Fully recharged. Fully relaxed. With loads of brilliant British sounds in my ears. It should come as no surprise that Django Django was accompanying me on the way from the airport.





Meet directors of this session Will Hanke and Jamie Roberts and read more about Blackbox Sessions here.

I've got those feelings

Just before the take off: a new artist discovered thanks to Sam Sure & Giacomo's post on their facebook: Ian M Hale, a south London singer-songwriter. Quite suitable. This is where I'm heading to. Off we go!



Meet the director of the video Domenico Favata.

going somewhere

It started roughly a year ago with a flower empty tree. It was winter so the title fit the picture quite well and appropriately. But the EP from Kris Berry was far from being empty. It was thriving and it still is. Now, a year later and with trees starting to blossom (yes, it takes a bit longer for spring to arrive in Finland :)), Kris Berry with her band offers their debut album Marbles. Good and fantastic new energy. It's definitely going somewhere. Plus I wouldn't mind if the band tried to squeeze in my kitchen for a private show :)



you don't know where you're going
you don't know where you're from
but if you're going somewhere
think about what you've become
(Going somewhere) 

because Moshi Moshi said so

I got a news letter from Moshi Moshi and I was happy to see that Clock Opera has a free gig in Rough Trade Store in London next week. I will gladly drop by. I also got a map, a few clues and an Oyster Card (so that it gives me a tiny tiny feeling of being a local ;)) from a friend I haven't seen in quite a while and now I can place those venues for the concerts I have listed. Slow Club also appears in town as the Moshi Moshi news letter informs. They are fun, cheerful and light-hearted but will I trade them for Marcus Miller concert that's on the same day just because Moshi Moshi said so? Tough calls during this upcoming holiday trip:)



Two Cousins video credits goes to the director Lucy Needs, choreographer Ryan Francois and two brilliant dancers Ryan Francois and Remy Kouakou Kouame. Trophy Room video was directed by Pete Ohs (a guy from Iceland who stands behind Arcade Fire's Wake Up video :)).

Hold on, to where you're from.
It's where your heart goes, when you're done.

brother/sister

It's great to have siblings. Brother/Sister gets the idea of that and additionally brings an intriguing blend of the Beach House sound and the LA sun. Sunny Saturday to all of you.

Artwork by Michael Gittes. See more of his fantastic works.

"Brother/Sister is a band that consists of one brother and one sister who met during a play date set up by their parents. One's black and one's white. They remain brother and sister." (via Brother/Sister)




hello my friend (...)