Cougar Microbes

The other day we featured our LA interview with Little People and he referenced a Joey Fehrenbach remix he has been working. We are happy to announce we have an exclusive for the download version of the track ‘Underwander‘ available now on Cougar Microbes.

Click HERE for the download and don’t forget to check out the interview.

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Quite some time has passed since I first mentioned Santigold as part of the Cougar Microbes 2008 end of year breakdown. Those were the early days of this blog (judging by my writing) and while the songstress has drifted in and out of the public eye, wetting our appetite with a hundred amazing collaboration, I think it’s about time to hear a new album.

Having recently dropped the track ‘Go‘, featuring none other than Karen O, my interest has peaked and while she keeps hinting through her twitter account I’m curious to hear what she has come up with.

In the meantime here are some recent and not so recent tracks with N.A.S.A and Cougar idols Beastie Boys as well as her the aforementioned Karen O collaboration.

Come on Santi, give us some more!

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I woke up this morning to messages from friends back in London and a busy twitter stream referencing the passing of Amy Winehouse from a suspected drug overdose. Whilst I can not say I’m entirely surprised by the news it is saddening to lose such a talented vocalist at such a young age.

Love her or hate her Amy came to symbolize a fresh new British sound that exploded all over the world a few years back and was adored by both music aficionados and fairweather fans alike. Paradoxically it was also this meteoric rise to fame that brought a bunch of hangers on and guaranteed she was constantly in the limelight (courtesy of the nice people at News International amongst others).

Winehouse joins “The 27 Club“, or in the words of Cobain‘s mother ‘The Stupid Club“, with the likes of Joplin, Hendrix, Cobain and Morrison. Her musical legacy will be the often played tracks from ‘Back To Black‘ as well as a bunch of stellar guest performances for the likes of Mark Ronson.

The sad thing being that if you cancelled out external influences we had every right to expect her to be ever present in our lives offering fresh cuts and collaborations over the years with that gorgeous voice.

We chose to remember her looking young and fresh eyed like in the video above, fresh and somewhat naive, before the fame tornado hit her life.

Rest in Peace Miss Amy Winehouse, hope the after party is great.

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As part of my continued exploration of California we set out at 8pm last night towards Echo Mountain, just outside Los Angeles, for a hike up the incredible Sam Merrill Trail.

Between the nine of us we had 30 litres of water, 8 flashlights, a canon camera, a seemingly endless supply of cookies, beef jerky, trail nuts and pretzels… making the journey up very entertaining, and filling.

Once we reached the summit we caught the incredible ruins of the White City as well as coming across the fabled Echo phone where everyone took turns at shouting (something I’m clearly not able to do properly).

I have to confess that I brought my headphones with me listening to Neil Young on the way down and getting lost in the moment; total bliss.  If you are ever in the area I could not recommend this trip any more than these guys.

In the words of the great HB: “We avoided falling off ledges, learned the real history of smokey the bear, saw ethereal glowing Christmas trees, discovered we all had night vision, wished on shooting stars, took very complex and time consuming photographs that were well worth it, frolicked through ruins!, and arrived safely home…seven hours later, exhausted, and extremely fulfilled“.

Thank you to the other 8 warriors and especially Kyle for organizing this epic journey.

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 You could argue that catching CAKE live has been the most overdue live show of my life. Ever since a friend bought me ‘Fashion Nugget’ for my birthday many many years ago I have followed the Sacramento band’s every move and enjoyed their musical endeavours.

Somehow events have conspired against me so that I have always missed out when the band were touring near me. I thought this would surely change given my recent re-location to Los Angeles but with no dates in my vicinity for their this could well have been the review that never was. Instead I spotted a scheduled date in Las Vegas and made sure nothing in the world would stop me from being there.

For those who don’t know the Cosmpolitan Hotel is situated in the middle of the Vegas Strip and boasts a glamorous pool that overlooks several of the key sites the gambling Mecca has on offer. Not knowing what to expect I was relieved to see a sizeable crowd lining up at the entrance; despite the 15 dollar beer and overpriced hotdog/burger combo this was starting to look like a real rock n roll show.

To see CAKE in such extravagant surroundings has got to be one of the most surreal musical experiences you can imagine. Here is a band that has made it’s name as the sarcastic outsider to the traditional music business trappings performing within sight of a replica Eiffel Tower. Indeed,  the irony is not missed by singer John McCrea who, before the band has even played a single note, warms up dishing out a trademark jab at the luxurious surroundings and the distance the stage is from the VIP section.

The band kick off proceedings with their cover of Willie Nelson‘s ‘Sad Songs And Waltzes‘ before shifting up a gear with ‘Opera Singer‘, ‘Wheels‘ and a glorious rendition of ‘Rock N Roll Lifestyle‘, which McCrea delivers with added venom. It is also around this time that he begins what is an on going, and largely amusing, tirade about the barbecue smoke being purposefully situated to blow towards the stage to specifically make him hungry.

Next up is ‘Sheep Go To Heaven‘  which somehow sounds even catchier than it does on record. What is most impressive about this initial salvo is how tight the band sound live. What follows is a pick and mix of old and new favorites blended together with the audience greeting each trumpet/guitar solo with enthusiastic cheer and shouting back every memorable lyric. In particular the classic track ‘Mexico‘ and  ’Sick Of You‘, from their latest album, seem to blow the metaphorical roof off of the pool.

After over 20 years in existence these guys (perhaps unsurprisingly) all prove extremely skilled at their individual craft. The rhythm section consisting of Gabe Nelson and Paulo Baldi is ridiculously talented whilst Vince DiFiore provides some flair with his trumpet, one of the unique aspects that differentiates CAKE from other bands. Whilst the focus may often fall on frontman McCrae guitarist Xan McCurdy gives him a run for his money delivering impressive licks and posing like a rock god.

After a slightly over-extended tree giveaway which sees the band hand out a tree to one fan who then promises to plant it and take care of it (incidentally, CAKE have said they will not be returning to London until the winner of the tree there sends proof that it is fine) the band launch into their first encore.  I would be hard pressed to name a track in the band’s repertoire as demonstrated by this encore with ‘Satan Is My Motor‘ and ‘Never There‘, plus new song ‘Federal Funding‘ played as good, if not better than, on record.

Whilst their cover of ‘I Will Survive‘ is left out the band seem to cover all their bases with this excellent setlist pretty much hitting all the right spots. However, no CAKE show would be complete without arguably their biggest two tracks and the band are savy enough to leave these to last. After yet another tirade about the, now admittingly irritating, barbeque smoke the 5 piece show how it’s done with ‘Short Skirt/Long Jacket‘ before upping the stakes with a wicked rendition of ‘The Distance‘.

Longtime and new fans would have been delighted with the as CAKE dropped more memorable hooks and lines than old ladies dropping quarters at the slot machines. As for me, I will hopefully catch the band again in a “normal” venue but as a first time experience I couldn’t have asked for much more.

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It sometimes happens that you come to be affectionate a band for no evident reason; they may not have the guitar skills of Jimmy Page, the vocal capacity of Otis Redding or the charisma of James Brown… and they probably won’t be remembered twenty years from now, but you will always appreciate those moments spent in the company of their music.

For me, The Dø is one of those bands. This franco-finnish couple/ duo Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy has never stopped amazing me since I first discovered them in 2008 with their track ‘On My Shoulders‘.

Seeing them live a few years back at King’s College Student Union was probably one of the biggest musical surprises of my life. Some skeptics may find that they too similar to other folk act in their record collection but I have rarely seen such a magistral performance from a band and was literally blown away by Merilahti‘s charisma.

Their first album ‘A Mouthful‘ has proven to be quite a success in their home countries, France and Finland, but never really managed to conquer the English speaking world. Shame.

New album ‘Both Ways Open Jaws‘ carries on from the same spot, and once again shows the couple’s kaleidoscope of sounds, atmospheres and vocals. From catchy pop ballads such as  ’Too Insistent‘ and ‘ Was It A Dream‘ that would make any Lily Allens of this world jealous, to a M.I.A like haunting vibe on ‘Slippery Slope‘, or more electronic sounds on intro ‘B.W.O.J‘, the Dø have this incredible knack for eclecticism, partly made possible through Olivia‘s astonishing vocal capabilities.

Tune after tune this album is a little beauty full of sincerity, lyricism and a sample of what is best in current scandinavian music.

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Post by Olivia

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I do feel that a festival wouldn’t be a festival without these three things; A truly great live act, some nominal nudity and someone gravely (and most of the time deservedly) injuring themselves due to a moment of awe inspiring stupidity . We shall return to this nugget of festival wisdom in a bit.

Beach Break Live festival is nestled in a mass expanse of Welsh sand dune and pinewood forest, where thousands of students and idiotically fashionable, sexually charged young things pitch tents on the rolling hills, sleep the day through and get up underneath the stars to go crazy to reasonably priced booze and all night tuneage.

For those bothered enough to get up during the day, the beach was heaving with water sports and the fields busy with games, early chilled live acts and burlesque / pole dancing lessons. I was there for the music, however as a journalist I deemed it my duty to casually but insistently peek in the burlesque tent.

I’d been looking forward to seeing We Are Scientists for a couple of years and wasn’t disappointed to watch them blow away a strong afternoon crowd with hit after hit, with young Andy Burrows mullering the skins behind two of the stongest song writing teams around.

I hadn’t heard of Beardyman before, and naturally pictured an old man slithering to the stage in a cardie and massive beard, shitting us tales of woe. He was actually awesome. A sort of live producer and sampler, he beat boxes to synths, drum machines and other electronic paraphanalia, but not only this, he can sing; and well, morphing us in and out of his own tightly packed anthems and reworked covers such as MGMT‘s ‘Kids‘ and ATB‘s ‘Til I Come‘ (Even cooler than the XX‘s live version.)

The two musical highlights for me were from very different corners of the festival. The first was an eight piece folk band named Robbie Boyd Band, a truly charming and enthralling live act playing three times over the course of the five days in different forms. Front man Robbie Boyd is as talented as he is self-deprecating, hollering timeless The Birds and Everly Brothers-like tunes and pulling even the early hung over audience to their feet to participate his irresistible chorus’s.

Of course, the truly great live act I was banging on about at the start was a band I hadn’t even sniffed before this weekend. White Lies blew me and the already riled up crowd of mentals away. The punishing bass lines were as harsh as the beautifully haunting melodies. I’ll admit, I was probably slightly dazed at the time as some berk elbowed me in the back of the head and probably sent me into a slight state of euphoria but never the less this is one of the strongest headliners one could ask for even a slight concussion.

So I guess the injury sustained was my own, but the truly great live act was of course White Lies and I won’t bore you with the details, but the burlesque tent really was fantastic.

Cougar Microbes attended Beach Break Live 2011 as part of Lucozade‘s Play Festivals campaign. Make sure to check back as we join Lucozade in bringing you more events through the summer.

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Post by T.R. Wicks

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I was extremely saddened to discover that legendary E Street Band founder Clarence Clemons passed away over this weekend following a stroke 2 weeks ago.

I have been fortunate enough to catch Springsteen and the full E-Street Band on a few occasions in recent years, and whilst my adulation was largely focussed on The Boss, there was a feeling that, together with Steve Van Zandt, Clemons represented part of the dream ticket; a unique blend of musicianship, showmanship and cool.

Back in 2008 I took Cougar collaborator Mario to see a second consecutive sell out night at Emirates Stadium. As the Big Man soared into action delivering the last of his huge solo moments we remarked that over just three or four songs Clemons left more of an impression than most musicians do in a lifetime.

That sentiment remains and I have been fishing out all my favourite “huge solo moments” and savouring them this week.

RIP Big Man!

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