Dirty

Royal Trux were a duo, Neil Hagarty and Jennifer Herrema, who sprung/staggered forth from Washington DC garage band Pussy Galore. They formed Royal Trux while a couple, recorded several albums of sleazy, druggy US alt-rock (isn't the alt prefix horrible?) and were briefly quite rated and fashionable (before drugs and then splitting up did for them). They had a song called Waterpark which I think I've got on 7" which sounded a bit like Exile On Main Street era Stones but hot-wired on speed with a girl screeching on vox. Or Exile played at 45rpm. Which might be worth trying. Somehow they got remixed by Jagz Kooner, one of the other two in Sabres Of Paradise. I haven't heard this for some time and it's good- when Jagz brings the guitars in it's a like being hit by a weather front.

Dirty Headlines Jagz Kooner Remix.wma#1#1

Exploding Plastic

While we're playing long dance records here's David Holmes' debut single Johnny Favourite from 1994. Recorded with Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns (two thirds of The Sabres Of Paradise) and released on Warp it's fair to say that this one goes on a bit. Just under sixteen minutes in fact. In that time Holmes manages pounding beats (that do sound very like Sabres), ambient breakdowns and all kinds of progressive house bits and bobs, before building to a pretty explosive ending.

Johnny Favourite [Exploding Plastic].mp3

Easy Dub

One more drop from Weatherall's cup to see the new year in? This is Ysaebud, from the S.O.P. vaults, a one sided 7" single with an etched B-side from some time in the 1990s. Top quality dub, with a echo-laden vocal sample- 'Ever since I was a youth, I've always been searching for the truth'. Easy does it.

Ysaebud.mp3

Red Wilmot

The first time I heard Sabres Of Paradise 1994 single Wilmot it sounded so otherwordly, so strange but danceable, I thought it was close to the best thing I'd heard. Ever. If memory serves it was in the back room at Cream (so my memory could be a little hazy due to, y'know, stuff) and Weatherall hadn't shown up. We got the train over from Manchester whenever Lord Sabre was on (monthly at least) and the guy that did the lights and projections got us in for a quid. Bargain, and no queueing. Anyway Weatherall wasn't there but a promo of Wilmot was, and the whole room started... skanking, for want of a better word.

Then the single came out, and it was as good as I'd heard it that night. At some point late at night in the flat I shared at the time with a man who is now big in local government in London, watching a really crappy black and white tv, a video for Wilmot was shown featuring Weatherall leading a marching band and majourettes through the streets of London at dawn. It's probably on youtube. Go and have a look for it, it's great.

So remixing Wilmot didn't seem like a great idea to me, but Mr Scruff turned in a decent low-key one on the Haunted dancehall album, and then this remix by jazz techno bods Red Snapper turned up on the Warp 10+3 remix compilation. It's pretty good- keeps the horns but speeds them up, clattery drum machine, more techno-ey, less skanking.

Wilmot (Red Snapper remix).mp3

Keeping It Peel

Today is Keeping It Peel Day, a celebration of the life, work and musical loves of John Peel. Organised by Webbie who runs the wonderful Football And Music blog (link down to the right), I thought I'd join in. I've been running through the enormous number of bands and artists I love, like and admire who had Peel Sessions, and have made various mental commitments over the last few weeks before going for this one. You so nearly got The House Of Love. I've also got a folder containing all of Half Man Half Biscuit's Peel Sessions with various ruminations by Peel before or after the song, including one (can't remember which at the moment) after which he says 'Half Man Half Biscuit- when I die I want them buried with me', which is pretty poignant. If I can find it I'll post it this week. I eventually decided on reverting to Bagging Area type and giving you a track from the only Sabres Of Paradise Peel Session. Sabres were Andrew Weatherall's early 90s band, as you all surely know. Their Peel Session had three tracks -this one, a tribute to top nutter Vivian Stanshall called Stanshall's Lament, and two others Duke On Berwick and Blackfriars Sunday. All three are lovely, laid back electronic music.

Credit where it's due- all three Sabres tracks came from a reader of the outstanding but now sadly retired Ripped In Glasgow blog. So three cheers for Mr Weatherall, three more for Moggieboy and his reader, and at least three for John Peel.

Stanshall's Lament.mp3

I Hate Pink Floyd

Oh go on then.

Leftfield.
John Lydon.
Sabres Of Paradise.
Open Up I Hate Pink Floyd Remix remix.

Strangely, for a Weatherall remix I don't think it's as good as the original.

I do hate Pink Floyd though. Except the Syd Barrett stuff, obviously.

Open Up (I Hate Pink Floyd mix).mp3

More Audrey (Thrice)

While I'm on a roll, from 1995, Fun-Da-Mental remixed by Weatherall's Sabres Of Paradise. According to wiki Fun-Da-Mental are a 'multi-ethnic, hip hop, ethno-techno, world fusion music group...with an outspoken political stance'. Strange to think that this kind of thing was all the rage in the mid-90s.

04 Mother India [Sabres Of Paradise Sabres At Dawn Remix].wma