Best of 2015 - Music to Heal Bones To

So, happy new year to you all.  I hope 2016 brings you good times aplenty.

For much of the last 6 months of 2015 I was fairly immobile due to the whole broken leg fiasco which finally seems to be properly on the mend and I'm able to get around a lot easier although as you can see my tibia now looks like a meccano set.

What this whole palaver did give me though was time to sit and read some of the books that have been piling up and to explore some new music.  I've written about the books on the blog already but have neglected to mention some of the music so it's time to put things right.

So, with the usual disclaimer of them being in no particular order, here are some of the records that I enjoyed over the last 12 (but particularly 6) months.

John Baker - The Vendetta Tapes
Magnificent radiophonic jazz and ruler twanging archive digging from Alan Gubby at Buried Treasure
https://buriedtreasure.bandcamp.com/album/the-vendetta-tapes

Keith Seatman - A Rest Before the Walk
Keith mixes folk and electronics to sublime effect to create a natural and human hauntological narrative.
https://keithseatman.bandcamp.com/album/a-rest-before-the-walk

Howlround - Tales from the Black Tangle
Loops as darkly immersive as a dip in the Mariana Trench.
http://thefogsignals.com/album/tales-from-the-black-tangle

Martin Gore - MG
Depeche Mode's Martin Gore guides his enviable collection of modular synths to create a stunning set of vintage sci-fi ambience.
http://mute.com/martin-l-gore/releases-stunning-instrumental-album-mg-out-2728-april-15-on-mute-listen-to-europa-hymn

The Assembled Minds - Creaking Haze and Other Rave-Ghosts
A late addition to 2015 or an early one for 2016 as it's not actually out yet.  Matt Saunders' haunted rave is filled with half remembered techno dreams.
http://patternedair.com/assembled-minds/

The Twelve Hour Foundation - Macaroni Cheese (7")
A hugely enjoyable 2 song set of 1970s style radiophonic pop.
https://thetwelvehourfoundation.bandcamp.com/album/macaroni-cheese

Various - The Delaware Road
A comprehensive and diverse compilation based around a fictional radiophonic narrative.
https://buriedtreasure.bandcamp.com/album/the-delaware-road

Peter Zinovieff - Electronic Calendar / The EMS Tapes
Beautifully presented two disc retrospective of the low-key career of a core figure in British electronic music.
http://www.adasamshop.com/index.php/record-labels/space-age/peter-zinovieff.html

Cat's Eyes - The Duke of Burgundy OST
A sumptuous soundtrack to the Peter Strickland film that owes a debt to Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks recordings and that's no bad thing.
http://catseyes.store-08.com/the-duke-of-burgundy-presale/

Revbjelde - The Weeping Tree
Yet another appearance on this list from the Buried Treasure label this time from head honcho Alan Gubby's own band.  The EP is a bloody lovely collection of electronic folk featuring some fabulous guest vocals from Emma Churchley.
https://buriedtreasure.bandcamp.com/album/the-weeping-tree

The Twelve Hour Foundation - Macaroni Cheese

7" single / download

There's something particularly fun about waking up on a Sunday morning, stumbling blearily onto your social media of choice and finding a friends post that immediately makes the day more fun.  It could be a status post, a vid, a comment or (my particular favourite) some music.

Today, thanks to tape loopers extraordinaire Howlround's Robin the Fog I was introduced to a fab slice of radiophonic whimsy by Bristol's The Twelve Hour Foundation called 'Macaroni Cheese'.

This duo of synthesists Polly Hulse (analogue synth / rhythms) and Jez Butler (analogue synth / concrète sequences) have produced 3 tracks crying out to be the theme tunes of 1970s science 'programmes for schools and colleges'.   The 3 tunes are joyful excursions into late 70s synthesizer era BBC Radiophonic Workshop which, due to my particular love of Paddy Kingsland's music, means this is all right up my particular street.  

Available as download or (and this is the one I oped for) 7" single with download.

Enjoy