The Specials and Rock Against Racism
Over time the entire body of work of any given musical artist becomes boiled down to a specific purpose; sometimes a specific song. History allows us to look back and classify, often also to simplify in order to better understand. The Specials are a band that time has been kind to; a band whose formation,...
Voguing and The House Ballroom Scene of New York 1976-96 (Soul Jazz Records)
A highly stylized dance initially developed in New York’s ballrooms during the 1960s, Voguing enjoyed a renaissance with the city’s gay black and Hispanic crowd at the beginning of the 1990s. Until now, treatment of Voguing has largely been confined to the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning or more widely through Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ released in...
Spinvis: The Dutch Astronaut
His name is Erik de Jong. His name is Spinvis, Dutch for ‘Spiderfish’. This is his alias, his nationally famous one-man band. iCrates takes a look at the life and musical career of Spinvis, the “Dutch Bob Dylan”. At first glance Erik de Jong seems to be quite the ordinary man, aged 50 and living...
Crystal Stilts: Don’t Forget to Dream
The days after Christmas can be a funny time. Having hung your brandy-soaked body out to dry, it is not uncommon to be hit with a little dose of winter depression. Sometimes we just need to be reminded of these darker times in order to overcome them. New York’s Crystal Stilts have unleashed a clutch...
Arthur Russell – The World Of Arthur Russell
This essential collection of Russell’s most potent productions is as comprehensive an introduction to his work as you’re likely to find. Intelligent and immaculately produced, this is demanding dance music which, like Russell himself, blurred the boundaries between the avant-garde and the Downtown New York club scene of the eighties. On the one hand, Russell...
Mina May – Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt
If the Beach Boys come back to musical earth as a robot super roadster, the name for that car tearing up the coast will likely be called a Mina May. Sure, there are 60′s surf rock elements to this record, that is, until the guitars come up against a wall of electric organs and complex...
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Festive Floorshakers: On the Search for the Finest Christmas Cuts
As far as music is concerned, christmas knows no boundaries. But, scratch beneath the surface and you begin find a festive sub-culture that may just get you through December in one piece. So, cast your skepticism aside, grab yourself an eggnog, and enjoy a tasty serving of the finest, funniest and most obscure christmas cuts...
The Kinks – Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire)
Ray Davies and The Kinks’s 1969 concept album Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire) illuminates chronologically one man’s disillusionment with the fading ideals of the British Empire. From rousing opener “Victoria” in which Arthur Morgan longs for the days of “croquet lawns, village greens” to the remembrance of war-time spirit in...
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
These are the sounds to listen to whilst wading through high grass on an unexpectedly sunny day. These are the warm lagoons we long for after a harsh winter. The auditory beauty of Merriweather Post Pavilion arrived on the scene in January of 2009, when Animal Collective released its eighth (and most recent) studio album....
Björk’s Biophilia
One of the most innovative and anticipated releases of the year, Björk’s seventh studio album is an epic multimedia adventure and the Icelandic artist’s most ambitious project to date. Binding music, nature and technology together with her own unique brand of eccentric and joyous electronica, Biophilia is the work of an artist at the height...
Mayer Hawthorne – How Do You Do
Mayer Hawthorne returns with his neo-Motown sound to tackle “that difficult second album”. iCrates takes a look at how he got on… Mayer Hawthorne’s first album A Strange Arrangement was just that; a collection buckled together with Hawthorne lending his hand – through necessity more than virtuosity – to each and every instrument, carefully mimicking...
Drake – Find your Love
Having previously featured on several tracks with the likes of Lil Wayne and Eminem, as well as having a fairly successful mixtape, it's now time for Drake to step into the spotlight and set-out to become hip hop's new star.
