Nov’s Tik Tac Toe presents: Steve Smyth

1. Could you introduce yourself for the hi-brow readership of the Almost Gold Recordings Blog?

My name is Steve Smyth , fresh off the boat (Australia), guitar swigging, vocal gargler and joiner of song.

2. Favourite release of 2010, and why?

The fat lady hasn’t sung yet but gorillas plastic beach. It reaks of major production in an amalgamation of a collective yet solo bubble bath doom. Pop can be multi cultured, i enjoy how clever it is.

3. Favourite show of 2010, and why?

Chilly Gonzalez – honest, straight up, no bullshit talent … in a bathroom gown and slippers. ive been listening to him for years, his piano solos album should be archived in a swiss bank

4. If you could turn anything into gold, what would it be?

A typewriter.

5. If you could make any record gold (selling!)other than your own, what would it be?

God, too many friends. The next Xfactor contestant?

6. Almost Famous, or Goldfinger?

Goldfinger- you expect me to talk?

 

Ooh, hot of the digital press

Milk Maid, also doing a super sweet stripped down set for Tik Tac Toe on Sunday, are our latest addition to our MPFree’s. So if you wanna check the band out, head on over and grab yourself a copy of their latest single.

Introducing Nov’s Tik Tac Toe DJ: Spooky Lady’s Sideshow

Can you tell us a bit about where you’re from, birth-wise, heart-wise?

Born in Denmark of Norwegian descent, lived in London for 13 years, it’s my base but my heart is somewhere between NYC and Texas and some other place I’ve never been but will discover one day and fall in love with.

What’s your favourite thing to do in London?

Pub crawls, discovering old hidden pubs with friends, learning about the history of the pubs of London.

If you could be an in house dj for anyone on earth for an evening, who would it be? Why?And what are 5 essential tracks you’d play?

Kris Kristofferson, I would play 5 songs by him, better still, I would ask him to play me the 5 songs live.

Do you have a fav song this month?

Ben Weaver – Drag The Hills

Where is your fav hidden spot in London?

Counter Cafe, East London.

Best place for a good meal?

Anything Mexican, so probably Wahaca.  Peter Luger if I could just fly to New York to have a steak.

Drink of choice?

Whiskey.

What influences your style?

Whiskey.

Nov’s Tik Tac Toe presents: BIG DEAL

1. Could you introduce yourselves for the hi-brow readership of the Almost Gold Recordings Blog?

We are Big Deal, Alice and Kc

2. Favourite release of 2010, and why?
Arcade Fire, the suburbs

3. Favourite show of 2010, and why?
Pavement at Brixton Academy

4. If you could turn anything into gold, what would it be?
Records

5. If you could make any record gold (selling!)other than your own, what would it be?
Wet paint
Screaming tea party

6. Almost Famous, or Goldfinger?
‘ I am a golden god’

Tik Tac Toe is bacckkkk….

New Band: The Chain Gang of 1974

Certain pedestrians on the mean streets of West London are in denial. You know who you are. The absolute bastards who defy the seemingly endless barrage of rain, rows of grey skies, and the every-growing lethargy that sets in this month just before the clocks go forwards/backwards/upwards/downwards, by going around in their shorts, shades, tshirts and flippy-flops like none of this is happening. If we were so inclined, we would film these DENIERS and place the resulting clip in our Good Effort section. Lucky for them, we can’t be buggered because we’re rinsing the line up for CMJ 2010. Not to mention the rain.

Enter Denver’s The Chain Gang of 1974, who similarly present us with summery pop-rock goodness that similarly seems amiss in the gloomy Autumn months. Beck, of course, instantly springs to mind, but after scratching the surface a little further we find ourselves insidiously entralled by the americana vocal melodies mixed with prog-tastic synths and electro-keys that brings the best of DFA, Chromeo and Daft Punk together in one big weird party wig wam. We absolutely love it, and pretty sure you will too.

New Band: Young Buffalo

First off, apologies to anyone who tried to get in contact this week and got a bounce back. Emails went down. Infrastructure’s fucked. We officially now have beef with BT. We attempted to sabotage their Digital Awards last night but they didn’t let us in and we went to the pub instead.

Second off, Young Buffalo require your immediate attention. You may have heard the Oxford (Mississippi) trio making some internet sonic waves way back in August last year when they released their superb debut demo effort Catapilah, followed by some volcanic shows at SXSW 2009. Since then the lads have been buried away doing what bands are supposed to do: writing and recording songs so consistently brilliant that we imagine they’ve got Local Natives are sitting around in panic mode. Said recordings are due for release on the mega-hip Fat Possum.

In lieu of a UK show (Tik Tac Toe, anyone…?), you can get your YB desires fulfilled by visiting their website and/or their Bandcamp page, each with a respective free track for you to drool over. We guarantee you will be bouncing around to Three Deep for days, possibly weeks. Sonically taking root in the best kind of americana-tinged blues, this really is one of our favourite bands of the last 12 months, and if these tunes are anything to go by they are likely to be for the next 12 months.

Track of the Day: Sensual Harassment “Daddy Long Legs”

In anticipation of hearing more great tunes from the NYC kings of heavy disco beats Sensual Harassment, we came across this incredible vid of dancefloor-filler Daddy Long Legs. Check it.

Book: Hilarious Consequences by Babak Ganjei

We love Babak. He plays in Absentee and Wet Paint, both of which make toe-tappingly good music to chill out to. Being such a band veteren in these modern times, Babak wrote a book/graphic novel called Hilarious Consequences.

What’s it all about? Babak says “a story about juggling creative pursuits whilst attempting to grow up, be a father and not a rubbish boyfriend“. Here’s a brief snippet of a preview…

The book itself comes with its own CD soundtrack, featuring the likes of Dignan Porch, Singing Adams, The Bronsteins, Macks Faulkron, Wonderswan, Round Ron Virgin, Dan Michaelson and the Coastguards, Cheatahs, Big Deal, Wet Paint, and Matthew C H Tong of Bloc Party.

Besides being an awesome idea, we believe its a cracking read. You can purchase copies from the Records Records Records Records online store.

New Band: 1995

1995 was a substantial year. Yahoo was incoporated; the Tokyo subway attacks happened; Richey Edwards goes AWOL from the Manic Street Preachers; Christopher Reeve knackers his back; South Africa win the Rugby Union World Cup; and Microsoft give us Windows ’95. It is fitting that a band named 1995 should also be deemed “substantial”, in a few respects. They substantially make us think that New Zealanders are way cooler than us Brits, and they make substantially good tunes, that would make a substantial amount of Ian Curtis fans substantially happy.