Flashlights : Glowing Eyes

Creeping 80s slo-motion, 'Glowing Eyes' is taken from the forthcoming 'Hidden Behind Trees' EP by Denver's Flashlights.

Flashlights 'Glowing Eyes'

More at wearebinary.com.

James Blake : Limit To Your Love

'Limit To Your Love' is one of the tracks that's behind the hype justifiably surrounding James Blake. In a rare clubbing excursion I caught him deejaying at XOYO a few weeks back, which was quite a sonic experience. Released 8th November, this is the first track to be taken from his forthcoming 2011 debut album.

Off The Grid Mix

What with Proper Songs HQ still not having the 'net since moving (though we're not homeless now) and to make up for the absence of a podcast this month, here is a 1 hour 'Off The Grid' mix straight off the old vinyl - snaps, crackles and pops at no extra cost.

01. Dion - Daddy Rollin' (Decca)
02. Bonnie Koloc - Don't Leave Me (Ovation)
03. Francoise Hardy - Le Temps De L'Amour (PYE)
04. Fleetwood Mac - Hypnotized (Reprise)
05. Lalo Shifron - Quite Village (CTI)
06. Madlib - Elements For Mr Crabfeather (Stones Throw)
07. Lark - Hatbox [The Bees Version] (Care In The Community)
08. Donovan - Teen Angel (PYE)
09. Neotropic - Sunflower Girl (Ntone)
10. Roxy Music - Avalon (Warner Brothers)
11. Family Man Barrett - Soul Constitution (Dubstore Records)
12. Sam Ragga Band - Ibis Dub (Eimsbush Entertainment)
13. Found - Mullokian Dub (Surface Pressure)
14. Money Mark - Sometimes You Gotta Make It Alone (Mowax)
15. Scanner - 1978 Formant Modular (Static Caravan)
16. Elmore Judd - Eigenfunktion (Above The Clouds)
17. Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater [u-ZIQ Remix] (Matador)
18. The Beach Boys - All I Wanna Do (CBS)

Off The Grid by Proper Songs on Mixcloud

Phoenix : Kitsuné Tabloid

Its been out for a few weeks but this CD has become a Saturday morning regular in the Proper Songs household. Lovingly selected by Phoenix, the majority of the tracks are pulled from the 60's and 70's - Roxy Music, Dennis Wilson, The 13th Floor Elevators, The Impressions - with the only truly contemporary choice coming from Dirty Projectors' album of 2007. It is obvious that Phoenix gave this unmixed compilation a great deal of attention, with the result in giving it the air of a mixtape thoughtfully created by a close friend.

Buy at Amazon.

GHOSTS : Q&A

PS: Tell us a bit about yourself and where you are.
I'm Ben, GHOSTS is pretty much just me. I'm sitting in a library in Sheffield. I have a habit of moving from one place to another without telling anybody. If you write to me then I will send you a cassette tape and some photocopied paper, I like this immediate/archaic way of doing things.

PS: When did you start making music as GHOSTS and what prompted you?
I have always been making tapes and CDRs in different bedrooms under weird names, but last January I decided to make songs with words which could be recited before a crowd of people. GHOSTS was born around then, somewhere in France. I needed a way to tell stories and to overcome silence.

PS: Talk us through the process of creating a song. What inspires you?
Songs exist in my head for a long, long time before they're recorded. I'm always trying to record things whenever I have the space, but this can be a slow process. I use a combination of cassette recorders, a four-track machine, and a laptop to make things happen. I'm inspired by adventures, spooky forests, my BMX, and whatever or whoever may be around me. I also tend to steal sound ideas from the 'Welcome Nowhere' record by Thanksgiving.

PS: Which other artists would you recommend checking out?
Lucky Dragons are coming over here really soon, which I'm excited about. You should also check out Urgent Talk, they're making Sheffield sound interesting again.

PS: Give us a top 5 of something.
Top five Nirvanas.
5. About a Girl
4. Dumb
3. Blew
2. Sliver
1. Drain You

Upcoming gigs:
11th Mar @ The Stockroom, Sheffield
29th Jun @ The Winchester, Bournemouth

Various Artists : Dark Was The Night

'Dark Was The Night' is a double compilation in support of the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. If you take away the obvious reason for buying this album and concentrate on the actual music, you come away with a decent round up of the current of cream of the US indie/alt scence. A 31 track album is always going to vary in quality but contributions from Dirty Projectors with David Byrne, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Kronos Quartet, Blonde Redhead + Devastations and Bon Iver easily outweigh any lesser moments.

Buy from 4AD.

Brightblack Morning Light : Motion To Rejoin

I'm not sure quite why I like this album so much considering every track on it basically follows the blueprint of all the slow Spiritualized songs (minus the noise bits)...actually that's probably the reason why I do like it so much. Brightblack Morning Light somehow manage to capture that feeling, translate it over nine tracks and, amazingly to their credit, keep it interesting. Refreshingly, its the slowing down that captures your attention more than you might expect. Band members Naybob Shineywater and Rachel Hughes, along with a set of fine guest musicians, recorded the album powered by solar panels at their hut on a mesa in New Mexico, which goes someway to explaining the sun-beaten, lo-fi sound and languid tempo.


Brightblack Morning Light - Hologram Buffalo @ Matador
Buy @ Amazon