Unsung Podcast

por Unsung Podcast

Covermount Mixtape: Mojo Presents: Ok_Computer - 330

A quick note of correct: we haven't done a Mojo covermount before. It was Uncut, but the audience for both magazines was/is broadly the same... Or so Mojo would have you believe. We'll be honest: the bag of covermounts is full of questionable CDs, so it was actually something of a surprise to land on something interesting. This Mojo covermount is, ostensibly, a history of electronic music. It goes all the way back to the 60s and includes in the mid 00s, when this CD was released. A strangely fascinating find, given that it was only released on the front of a magazine. From disco to house, ambient to jazz, this thing has a real selection of music that incorporates keyboards and synthesizers. It was fun to spend time with it, and we hope it brings something interesting into your life too.

Baader Meinhof by Baader Meinhof w/ Luminous - 329

Can you believe it was back in February 2020 when we did our Britpop mixtape? How wild is that? This week we're joined by Glaswegian musician Andy Isacsson, otherwise known as Luminous, who has picked this week’s record. We chat at length about his latest record, Precarious Karma, which took him about a decade to complete. We dive into the influences behind it, the reasons it took so long to finish, and much more. Then, we get into the business of talking about Baader Meinhof and Luke Haines. Unlike a lot of musicians, Andy opted not to release his music on Spotify. So you can check out his album here on Bandcamp. For Record Club subscribers, we’ve also added it to our catalogue. It’s pretty great, and we thoroughly recommend giving it a whirl. To wit. We always knew we’d come back to Britpop one day and we always suspected we’d do so via unorthodox means. Baader Meinhof by Baader Meinhof, Luke Haines’ sorta kinda first solo album, gave us a wee chance to do that. Not because it’s a Britpop record – it’s far from it – but Haines himself has proven to be quite a large figure in the history of that genre. He’s also got a massive discography. In this episode, we touch a little bit on The Auteurs, then very briefly look at Black Box Recorder and a minimal selection of his solo discography. Maybe next week we’ll escape from the 90s hole we seem to have found ourselves in, but I wouldn’t bet on it...

Manic Compression by Quicksand - 328

Is this a controversial choice? Quicksand's debut album Slip is widely regarded a classic, and in my quarters the band are seen as being hugely influential. So in many ways, picking their second album, Manic Compression, as an unsung classic seems like a no-brainer. On this episode, Chris talk about why this album is not just an unsung classic, but why it's also their best album. Healthy disagreements abound. What do you think is the better record, Slip or Manic Compression? If you're a spotify user, vote on our poll now!

Hour of the Ox by Katie Kim - 327

Hailing from Ireland, Katie Kim is an artist who has demonstrated remarkable musical growth over the course of her career so far. Evolving from lo-fi folk to dark, experimental, haunting, almost ambient alternative rock. This week, we talk about her entire discography, before diving into her riveting fourth album, Hour of the Ox.

Unsung x Sh*t You May Not Have Seen - God Bless America

We have no new episode this week due to Chris' ransomware calamity. However, we do have something to share. A wee while ago Chris was on the excellent Sh*t You May Not Have Seen podcast talking all about the Bobcat Goldthwait film God Bless America. Enjoy! We'll be back in a few weeks.

Eight Arms to Hold You by Veruca Salt - 326

One thing that we find particularly fun about this podcast (most of the time) is re-appraising records from our youth. Taking a closer, critical look at something you were once super familiar with is often eye opening. Particularly if it's a record you remember liking a lot at one time but have since stopped listening to. Most of the time, it's a fun experience. And this episode on Eight Arms to Hold You by Veruca Salt is one of those times! Mostly. Chris was not super into this band when he was younger, but he did like this album a lot. In this episode we talk all about the band's career, before ending on the album in question. Dig in!

In Session 10 - Jan Alkema from The Drum/China Drum

Good news, folks! Chris has managed to recover the audio files needed to get our interview with Jan Alkema, drummer from The Drum, out the door! The quality might not be up to the usual standard, but we're so happy to share this with you. Just over a year ago, we did an episode on The Drum's only album/China Drum's third album, "Diskin." As a result, a few members of the band reached out to us on various platforms to talk about the episode. You may remember that we actually had a wee cameo from China Drum's singer/drummer Adam Lee on last year's Xmas episode. Jan also reached out to us and, after a brief back and forth, relayed his story of the creation of "Diskin." He also did a track-by-track rundown of the album, including all the details of the songs' recording process. So naturally, we just had to get him on the show to chat with us in person. After about a good 9 or 10 months of procrastination on our part, we finally sat down together on a Zoom call. Over the course of a couple of hours, we chatted about "Diskin," his experience with China Drum, when and why they changed their name to The Drum, the recording and release of the album, its subsequent tour, and the band's eventual dissolution. He also spoke a little about his own musical background too. In this episode, he talks about his experience as part of The Drum and the recording of "Diskin." The actual track-by-track rundown of the album by him will be released as a bonus episode to our subscribers on Patreon in November. If you want to hear it (and help Chris get a new laptop after last week's ransomware attack), sign up here. Big thanks to Jan for chatting with us. He's a genuinely lovely chap. We hope you enjoy this special interview! Now, due to the recent aforementioned loss of Chris' laptop, we're not sure if we'll have an episode for you next week, but stay tuned for info on when we'll be back in action!

Vanishing Vision by X Japan - 325

X Japan have released a proper studio album since 1996. They did release a soundtrack in 2016, and released the occasional single too, but as for a longer release? Nada. Zilch. Of course, some of this is down to the fact they essentially broke up and only reunited in 2007. In this episode, we'll be talking about their 5 studio albums. Chris' album choice is actually their 1988 debut, Vanishing Vision. So as usual, we'll leave the chosen album to last. Before that, though, we go on a wild ride through their discography. From what is perhaps their best album Blue Blood, to their most recent output, which is 1996's Mania. Buckle up - we're going deep on this one!

Total Catastrophe - An Unsung Unepisode

Let's get down to brass tacks here, folks, there is no episode this week. Last week, Chris was subject to a randsomware attack which has unfortunately resulted in a complete loss of data from his laptop. In fact, it has rendered his entire laptop unusable. Not only that, but they gained access to all his accounts, and even our shared Dropbox folder, where the hackers also ruined all the files on it. Chris uses his laptop not just for this podcast, but also for music and, crucially, for work. We do have the files for what was supposed to be this week's episode backed up, but without a laptop and editing software, it's unclear when we'll be back up and running. We know times are tough right now, but if you've got a little cash and fancy putting your hand in your pocket to help donate towards a new laptop for Chris, hit up our PayPal donate page at www.unsungpod.net/donate. Hopefully be back next week, but if not, see you soon!

The History and Tragedy of X Japan - 324

There's been a fair amount of ink spilled on X Japan over the years in certain media outlets. You can even find recent interviews with drummer/pianist/primary songwriter and Japanese megastar Yoshiki in prestigious publications like Time magazine. X Japan, however, remain something of an enigma on British shores. Sure, Yoshiki – a classically trained pianist with a background in drumming for the power metal band X Japan – can sell out the Royal Albert Hall solo, but X Japan themselves have never played a single show in the UK, despite being around for over 40 years. If you're a fan of power metal, speed metal, or Iron Maiden, there's a good chance you'll dig a lot of X Japan's music. But their relative obscurity here in the UK isn't the only reason we're dedicating two episodes to them. It's because the story of the band is absolutely wild, and in episode one, we'll delve into that story in detail. Next week, we'll take a deep dive into their discography. Grab a cuppa and let's dive in!

7 de 46