The Social #66: The Eclectic Cross-Generational Playlist: Funkadelic, Clap! Clap!, Klaus Schulze, Farhot…
May 16, 2022
PLAYLIST/Dominic Valvona
The Monolith Cocktail Social playlist flips back and forth across time and over borders to bring together music and sounds untethered by themes, trends or clique mindsets. Well, to a point. We do however celebrate the albums reaching particular milestones each month. The Social #66, which could be considered the blog’s radio show, includes 50th anniversary nods to The Beach Boys, moonlighting under the Carl And The Passions, much-undervalued ’72 classic So Tough, plus choice tracks, songs from jazz deity Ornette Coleman’s symphonic opus Skies Of America and the switched-on, riled and political-funk orgasmic Funkadelic’s America Eats Its Young. Fast forward a decade or two and Gang Starr’s era-defining Hip-Hop totem Daily Operations is thirty years old this month. Unbelievably so is Stereolab’s Peng, which also features in this month’s playlist.
We had to mark the loss of the kosmische progenitor, cosmic courier Klaus Schulze, this month, and so have a smattering of peregrinations, drifts and score’s from across the German innovator’s back catalogue to enjoy.
Bang up to date, there’s a multitude of tracks that we either missed or didn’t get room to feature on the monthly playlists, including Sinead O Brien, Clap! Clap!, PENDANT, Modern Studies, Nathan Francis, Farhot and Rancho Relaxo.
Expect to hear anything and everything curated in one aural journey of possibilities, open-mindedness and discovery.
THOSE TRACKS IN FULL ARE:::
Clap! Clap!, Domenico Candellori, TOROZEBU ‘Ox’
Dakh Daughters ‘I Want’
Jackson Heights ‘Mr. Screw’
Smokey Haangala ‘Amafuna Kanyama’
Front Page Review ‘PRISM FAWN’
Close Lobsters ‘Just Too Bloody Stupid’
Sliver Car Crash ‘Curse In The Pines’
Sinead O Brien ‘GIRLKIND’
PENDENT ‘Thom’
Camu Toe ‘Death’
Funkadelic ‘If You Don’t Like The Effects, Don’t Produce The Cause’
Ill Considered ‘First Light’
Klaus Schulze ‘Weird Caravan’
Stereolab ‘Mellotron’
Tess Parks ‘Happy Birthday Forever’
Sven Wunder ‘Mosaic’
Klaus Schulze ‘2. Satz: Gewitter (Energy Rise – Energy Collaps)’
Grindolog ‘Ship’
Nathan Francis ‘Premonition’
Larry Ridley ‘Go Down Moses’
Ornette Coleman & The London Symphonic Orchestra ‘The Artist In America’
Robbie Basho ‘Eagle Sails The Blue Diamond Waters’
Black Light White Light ‘Epilepsy’
The Beach Boys ‘Hold On, Dear Brother’
Guilherme Coutinho ‘Me Ver Em Vocé’
Alice Clark ‘Don’t Wonder Why’
Eugene Viscone ‘Love’s Hidden Island’
Baeshi Bang & Ip Koa Son ‘Kang Kang Sullae’
Gang Starr ‘Soliloquy Of Chaos’
Nine ‘Whutcha Want’
Farhot ‘Rap e Dari’
Laundromat ‘Combo’ Klaus Schulze ‘Rhythm Fugue’
Idrissa Soumaoro ‘M’ba Deri Ou’
caroline ‘Dark Blue’
Modern Studies ‘Wild Ocean’
Klaus Schulze ‘The Treasury Of Thy Lusty Days’
Sāo Paulo Underground ‘Perenquén’
Rancho Relaxo ‘Colour The Stars’
Crystal Syphon ‘Try Something Different’
The Monthly Playlist: April 2022: SAULT, Nduduzon Makhathini, Lyrics Born, Ed Scissor…
April 28, 2022
PLAYLIST SPECIAL
The sounds that have piqued the team’s interest, filled their hearts, fucked with their heads, or just sent sauntering towards escapism, the Monthly playlist gathers together all the music we’ve featured over the last month. We’ve also picked some of those tracks that managed to evade us and some we just didn’t get the time or room to exalt.
Our eclectic as usual mix starts in Tel Aviv with the Şatellites and moves across continents to take in Rwanda’s The Good Ones, Sao Tomé and Principe’s vintage África Negra, the Georgian choir Iberi, and one of Scandinavia’s principle jazz ensembles, OK:KO.
There’s plenty of more, with a freshly produced diaphanous, slow knocking beat gauzy treatment of the burgeoning pop enchantress and dystopian muse Circe’s ‘Mess With Your Head’ – now transformed into ‘It’s All Over’ under the Secret World Orchestra guise -, and a rafter of choice hip-hop cuts from Billy Woods, Dabbla, Lyrics Born and Lunar C with Jehst. Pop, jazz, electronic, dreamwave, psychedelic and post-punk are all represented. And there’s even a track from our very own Brian Shea and his cult dysfunctional family band The Bordellos.
The Monolith Cocktail team, corralled into action by me, Dominic Valvona, currently includes Matt Oliver, Brain ‘Bordello’ Shea, Graham Domain and Mikey MacDonald.
Those Tracks In Full Are:{
Şatellites ‘Zuhtu (Live)’
Melody’s Echo Chamber ‘Personal Message’
IKE (Ft. Sera Kalo) ‘What Then’
Dana Gavanski ‘Indigo Highway’ Crystal Eyes ‘Wishes’
Pete Rock ‘Brother On The Run’
Steve Monite ‘Only You’
África Negra ‘Vence Vitoria’
Samora Pinderhughes ‘Holding Cell’
Izzi Sleep & Rat Motel ‘Good Going Down’
Mercvrial ‘Look Inside’
The Bordellos ‘I Hate Pink Floyd Without Syd Barrett’
Peace De Résistance ‘Boston Dynamics’
The Legless Crabs ‘Boo Hoo Hoo’
Otoboke Beaver ‘YAKITORI’
Papercuts ‘Palm Sunday’
Kloot Per W ‘Le Pays’
Nicole Faux Naiv ‘Moon Really’
Liz Davinci ‘Daisy’
Julia Holter, Harper Simon & Meditations On Crime ‘Heloise’
Amine Mesnaoui & Labelle ‘Bleu Noir’ Billy Woods ‘Wharves’
Professor Elemental ‘Inn At The End Of Time (Remix)’
Dabbla ‘Alec Baldwin’
Nelson Dialect & Mr. Slipz ‘Association’
SAULT ‘June 55’
Nduduzo Makhathini ‘Amathongo’
Rob Cave & Small Professor ‘Respect Wildlife’
Lyrics Born (Ft. Rakaa Iriscience, Shing02, Bohan Phoenix, Cutso) ‘Anti (Remix)’
Kino & Sadistik ‘The Earth Was Empty’
Aethiopes (Ft. El-P, Breeze Brewin) ‘Heavy Winter’
Laddio Bolocko ‘Nurser’
Novelistme ‘Never’
Astrel K ‘Maybe It All Comes At Once’
David J ‘(I Don’t Want To Destroy) Our Beautiful Thing’
Jörg Thomasius ‘Okoschadel’
Ed Scissor ‘Dad’
Violet Nox ‘Eris’
Moscoman ‘Dalmar Is Back And It’s Final’
Grandamme, Claudia Kane & Bastien Keb ‘Nirvana’
FloFilz (Ft. Dal) ‘Levada’
Chairman Maf ‘Gammon Island’
Moon Mullins ‘Welcome To Tilden’
IBERI ‘Arkhalalo’
Papé Nziengui ‘Gho Boka Nzambé’
The Good Ones ‘Happiness Is When We Are Together’
OK:KO ‘Vanhatie’
Ubunye ‘Our Time’
Shrimpnose & BLOOD $MOKE BODY ‘Beyond The Villian’
Justo The MC & Remulak ‘Knockturnal’
Lunar C (Ft. Jehst) ‘Any Given Wednesday’
Qrauer ‘The Mess’ Circe/Secret World Orchestra ‘It’s All Over’
Brianwaltzera ‘tracing Rays [reality glo]’
Kota Motomura (Ft. Akichi) ‘Flower’
Monolith Cocktail Social Playlist #65: Karen Dalton, Dr. John, Taylor Hawkins, Mira Calix…
April 10, 2022
PLAYLIST/Dominic Valvona
The blog’s imaginary radio show, the Social is a rummage through Dominic Valvona’s record collection, and an accumulation of music he’s picked up other the decades, plus some newish tracks that didn’t make the Monolith Cocktail’s monthly playlist of brand new releases. With no themes, no lines drawn, choice music comes from across the generations, from across the world, and from any genre you can think of.
As with previous editions Dominic marks certain picky album anniversaries (Dr. John’s Gumbo, and Big Star’s #1 Record albums from ’72, and Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds’ Henry’s Dream from ’92) and deaths (really in this case, the all too soon loss of experimental electronic innovator Mira Calix, and Bonham incarnated, and here on this track, an incarnation of Dennis Wilson, Taylor Hawkins).
Smattered amongst that lot are 30 other eclectic tracks from Karen Dalton (a Beat Club of ‘One Night Of Love’, recently unearthed and released by Light In The Attic), Jamie Branch, Bruiser Wolf, Gil Trythall, July, Bill Nelson, Yukihiro Takahashi, Donny Hathaway and Clinic. See the full 38-track list after the link below:
IN FULL, THOSE TRACKS ARE::::
Joyce Street ‘That Man Of Mine’
Karen Dalton ‘One Night Of Love (Live at the Beat Club, 1971)’
Dr. John ‘Little Liza Jane’
Jaimie Branch ‘theme 001’
Caetano Veloso ‘Alfömega’
Eris Drew ‘Quivering In Time’
Bruiser Wolf & Danny Brown ‘I’m An Instrument’
Dead End & Secondson ‘Let The Music Talk’
Rodney P, DJ Die and Indigo Kid ‘Holes In The Building’
Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood Of Breath ‘MRA’
Saãda Bonaire ‘Woman’
Léa Sen ‘Hyasynth’
Mira Calix ‘I’m In Love With The End’
Gil Trythall ‘Last Date’
Marcello Gigante, Aristide Bascerano, Nora Orlandi ‘Gardenia’
Franco Battiato ‘Bandiera Bianca’
Krisma ‘C.Rock’
Stark Reality ‘Pretty Music’
July ‘Jolly Mary’
The Stroppies ‘No Joke’
Ed Dowie ‘Number Eight wire’
Body/Head ‘Actress’
Coágul ‘L’edat de bronze’
Paul Leary ‘What Are You Gonna Do’
Nick And The Bad Seeds ‘Brother, My Cup Is Empty’
Bill Nelson ‘Banal’
Big Star ‘The Ballad Of El Goodo’
Loose Fur ‘Laminated Cat’
Willie Dunn ‘I Pity The Country’
Taylor Hawkins ‘Holy Man’
Ghost Funk Orchestra & Golden Rules ‘Asphalt Homeland’
Dashiell Hedayet ‘Long Song For Zelda’
Yukihiro Takahashi ‘2021 – Youshinori Sunahara Remaster’
Von Südenfed ‘The Rhinohead’
Pacho Dávila, Daniel Correa, Hector Marín ‘Sombras de Siboney’
Donny Hathaway ‘I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry (Pts. I & II)’
Clinic ‘I Can’t Stand The Rain’
The Brothers And Sisters ‘Just Like A Woman’
The Monolith Cocktail Social Playlist #64: The Fall, Your Old Droog, DakhaBrakha, The Jam…
March 4, 2022
PLAYLIST/Curated by Dominic Valvona
The Monolith Cocktail Social is one of two long-running playlist series on the blog. Running in tandem with the Monthly Revue, which represents all the new music both I and the MC team have been listening to and writing about during the month, the Social is a cross-generational, eclectic imaginary radio show, where anything goes: featuring tracks from the last 50 or more years.
Volume #64 features tracks from a number of anniversary celebrating albums. Kicking off proceedings, ‘Jawbone And the Air-Rifle’ is plucked from The Fall‘s 1982 Hex Education Hour, and from the same year, I’ve picked ‘Just Who Is The 5 O’Clock Hero’ from on The Jam‘s swansong The Gift, and the title track from Sparks‘ Angst In My Pants. There’s also the title cut from The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy‘s 92 special, Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury, a gospel inspired southern roller from The Rolling Stones 72 opus Exile On Main Street and the title track from Faust‘s incredible So Far album.
In solidarity with our Ukraine friends, going through hell-on-earth at the hands of a raving despot, intent on reconquering the collapsed Soviet Union empire and a bit of Peter The Great’s grandiose plan, plus building a corridor to the Balkans, I’ve chosen some venerable, traditional and more contemporary tracks from the country’s artists (and choirs). Step forward the National Choir Of The Ukraine, Your Old Droog, Oleska Suyhodolyak and DakhaBrakha. I could resist including the Bee Gees beautified ‘Odessa‘ too.
Mingling amongst that lot are eclectic tracks from Pugh Rogefeldt, Dennis The Fox, Wau Wau Collectif, OKI, Solid Space, Life Pass Filter, Jim Ford and many others…
THOSE TRACKS IN FULL ARE:::
The Fall ‘Jawbone And the Air-Rifle’
The Jam ‘Just Who Is The 5 O’Clock Hero’
Pugh Rogefeldt ‘Love, Love, Love’
Dennis The Fox ‘Piledriver’
Yesterday’s Children ‘Sad Born Loser’
Rarelyalways & Hanni El Khatib ‘Manic’
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy ‘Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury‘
National Choir Of The Ukraine ‘Sviatyj Boje’
Cold Specks ‘Winter Solstice’
The Rolling Stones ‘I Just Want To See Your Face’
Wau Wau Collectif ‘Yaral Sa Doom’
Sven Wunder ‘Magnolia’
Georgia Anne Muldrow ‘Ayun Vegas (Ft. Ayun Bassa)’
Your Old Droog ‘Odessa (Ft. Billy Woods)’
La La Lars ‘Haxa’
Heshoo Beshoo Group ‘Emakhaya’
Fabrizio De Andre ‘Primo Intermezzo’
Sparks ‘Angst In My Pants’
Oleska Suyhodolyak ‘Gutsul Kolomyika (Dance-Song)’
OKI ‘Yaykatekar Dub (Love Dub)’
John Lurie ‘AI AI AI AI’
Sourakata Koite ‘Kano’
Solid Space ‘Radio France’
The Primitives ‘The Ostrich’
DakhaBrakha ‘Vynnaya Ya’
Mike Cooper ‘Boogie Boards And Beach Rubbish’
Robert Wyatt ‘Heaps Of Sheep’
Lua ‘Pozzanghere e Sigarette’
Life Pass Filter ‘Queen Ghat’
Faust ‘So Far’
Lonnie Holley ‘Crystal Doorknob’
The Blue Angel Lounge ‘Bewitch My Senses’
palliatives for dirty consciences ‘breakthrough’
Brigid Dawson And The Mothers Network ‘Ballet Of Apes’
Jim Ford ‘Point Of No Return’
Bee Gees ‘Odessa (City On The Black Sea)’
The Monthly Playlist: February 2022: Animal Collective, Future Kult, Che Noir, Your Old Droog, Orlando Weeks…
February 28, 2022
PLAYLIST SPECIAL
An encapsulation of the last month, the Monolith Cocktail team (Dominic Valvona, Matt Oliver, Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea and Graham Domain) chose some of the choicest and favourite tracks from February. It may have been the shortest of months, yet we’ve probably put together our largest playlist in ages: all good signs that despite everything, from Covid to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, artists, bands everywhere are continuing to create.
65 tracks, over 4 hours of music, February’s edition can be found below:
That exhaustive track list in full:::
Animal Collective ‘Walker’
Modern Nature ‘Performance’
Gabrielle Ornate ‘Spirit Of The Times’
The Conspiracy ‘Red Bird’
Cubbiebear/Seez Mics ‘All Friended Up’
Dubbledge/Chemo ‘Itchy Itchy’
Dirty Dike ‘Bucket Kicker’
Future Kult ‘Beasts With No Name’
Lunch Money Life ‘Jimmy J Sunset’
Ben Corrigan/Hannah Peel ‘Unbox’
Uncommon Nasa ‘Epiphany’
War Women Of Kosovo ‘War Is Very Hard’
Ben Corrigan/Douglas Dare ‘Ministry 101’
Sven Helbig ‘Repetition (Ft. Surachai)’
Ayver ‘Reconciliacion Con La Vida’
Lucidvox ‘Swarm’
Provincials ‘Planetary Stand-Off’
Wovenhand ‘Acacia’
Aesop Rock ‘Kodokushi (Blockhead Remix)’
Junglepussy ‘Critiqua’
Tanya Morgan/Brickbeats ‘No Tricks (Chris Crack) Remix’
Buckwild ‘Savage Mons (Ft. Daniel Son, Lord Jah-Monte Ogbon & Eto) Remix’
Che Noir ‘Praises’
Koma Saxo w/Sofia Jernberg ‘Croydon Koma’
Medicine Singers/Yontan Gat/Jamie Branch ‘Sanctuary’
Black Josh/Milkavelli/Lee Scott ‘Die To This’
Funky DL ‘I Can Never Tell (Ft. Stee Moglie)’
Mopes ‘Home Is Like A Tough Leather Jacket’
ANY Given TWOSDAY ‘Hot Sauce (Ft. Sum)’
Split Prophets/Res One/Bil Next/Upfront Mc/0079 ‘Bet Fred’
Nelson Dialect/Mr. Slipz/Vitamin G/Verbz ‘Oxford Scholars’
Immi Larusso/Morriarchi ‘Inland’
Homeboy Sandman ‘Keep That Same Energy’
Wax Tailor/Mick Jenkins ‘No More Magical’
Ilmiliekki Quartet ‘Sgr A*’
Your Old Droog/The God Fahim ‘War Of Millionz’
Ramson Badbonez/Jehst ‘Alpha’
Ghosts Of Torrez ‘The Wailing’
Pom Poko ‘Time’
Daisy Glaze ‘Statues Of Villians’
Orange Crate Art ‘Wendy Underway’
Seigo Aoyama ‘Overture/Loop’
Duncan Park ‘Rivers Are A Place Of Power’
Drug Couple ‘Linda’s Tripp’
Ebi Soda/Yazz Ahmed ‘Chandler’
Brian Bordello ‘Yes, I Am The New Nick Drake’
Psychedelic Porn Crumpets ‘Bubblegum Infinity’
Steve Gunn ‘Protection (Ft. Mdou Moctar)’
Jane Inc. ‘Contortionists’
Black Flower ‘Morning in The Jungle (Ft. Meskerem Mees)’
Jo Schornikow ‘Visions’
The Goa Express ‘Everybody In The UK’
Pintandwefall ‘Aihai’
Thomas Dollbaum ‘God’s Country’
Crystal Eyes ‘Don’t Turn Around’
Glue ‘Red Pants’
Super Hit ‘New Day’
Legless Trials ‘Junior Sales Club Of America’
Monoscopes ‘The Edge Of The Day’
Alabaster DePlume ‘Don’t Forget You’re Precious’
Orlando Weeks ‘High Kicking’
Carl Schilde ‘The Master Tape’
Bank Myna ‘Los Ojos de un Cielo sin Luz’
Park Jiha ‘Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans’
Simon McCorry ‘Interstices’
The Monolith Cocktail Social Playlist #63: BDP, Lata Mangeshkar, Bad Brains, Debruit, Sinead O Brien…
February 9, 2022
PLAYLIST/IMAGINARY RADIOSHOW
Compiled By Dominic Valvona
The Monolith Cocktail Social is one of two long-running playlist series on the blog. Running in tandem with the Monthly Revue, which represents all the new music both I and the MC team have been listening to and writing about during the month, the Social is a cross-generational, eclectic imaginary radio show, where anything goes: featuring tracks from the last 50 or more years.
It’s also my chance to show off my own tastes, records from my collection, and to both celebrate those albums reaching anniversary milestones and pay tribute to recent artists and figures we’ve lost during that month. Speaking of which, in the weeks between playlists we’ve lost voice of the beehive Ronnie Spector, the Indian nightingale Lata Mangeshkar, and Rachel Nagy of the mighty motor city garage and Nuggets slaying Detroit Cobras: all three of which are paid homage to in this, volume 63 of the Social.
As always, I also mark certain album anniversaries, including the 30th anniversary of the last album in a bright run from KRS-One‘s most important and fertile creatively vehicle, the boogie down Bronx collective BDP, Sex And Violence. Incredibly, and still rinsed today – though certain so-called new jazz stars think they invented it – the demigod of the spiritual and freeform, Ornette Coleman‘s Science Fiction marker is 50 this month. And what about this, D.C. Afro-Dub-Punk trailblazers Bad Brains‘ self-titled debut is 40 this month. But leading the anniversary pack this month is Amon Düül II‘s 1972 classic acid-folk masterpiece Carnival In Babylon.
Expect the rest of the playlist to mirror my whims, loves and curiosity with tracks from the Bow Street Runners, Vytas Brenner, Adele Sebastian, Ace Spectrum, Crossbones, Bas Jan, Spencer Cullum and loads more.
That Track List In Full::
Amon Düül II ‘All The Years Round’
Bow Street Runners ‘Electric Star’
Lata Mangeshkar ‘Papiha Re Tum Piya Se’
Steaua De Mare ‘Prolog (Original mix)’
JVC Force ‘It’s A Force Thing’
Boogie Down Productions ‘Drug Dealer’
Vytas Brenner ‘Gavilan’
Shay Hazan ‘Pink Collar’
Ornette Coleman ‘Rock The Clock’
Mombasa ‘Soletho Pt. III’
Adele Sebastian ‘Belize’
Afro Soul System ‘Tink Tank’
Bad Brains ‘I’
Chrizzy Zebby Tembo ‘I’ve Been Losing’
Ace Spectrum ‘You Ain’t No Match For Me’
Ronnie Spector ‘Girl From The Ghetto’
Kellee Patterson ‘Look At The Child’
Dream Team ‘There He Is’
Billy Butler ‘Come Over To My Side’
Chayns ‘You’
Crossbones ‘Highway’
The Detroit Cobras ‘I’ll Keep Holding On’
The Halo Benders ‘Virginia Reel Around The Fountain’
The Brilliant Corners ‘Rambling Rose’
Cola ‘Blank Curtain’
Spencer Cullum ‘Imminent Shadow’
Bas Jan ‘Progressive Causes’
Deafheaven ‘Villain’
Debruit ‘Above The Bosphorus’
Trance Farmers & Odd Nosedam ‘Like Dreamers Do’
Sinead O Brien ‘Kid Stuff’
String Machine ‘Eight Legged Dog’
Madelaine ‘Au Clair De La Lune’
Monolith Cocktail Monthly Revue: January 2022: Trupa Trupa, Jam Baxter, Binker & Moses, Silverbacks…
January 28, 2022
PLAYLIST REVUE/Picked By Dominic Valvona, Matt Oliver, Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea’ and Graham Domain
The inaugural “revue” playlist of 2022 from the Monolith Cocktail team picks up on a few stragglers from the end of last year plus a load of eclectic treasures from the last month. The Monthly is a sort of summary; an encapsulation of the music we’ve loved, reviewed and picked up on during January.
That track list in full::
Rokia Koné & Jacknife Lee ‘Kurunba’
Avalanche Kaito ‘Dabalomuni’
Melt Yourself Down ‘Balance’
Detective Larsson ‘Magic Show’
Trupa Trupa ‘Uniforms’
Thyla ‘Amber Waits’
Claptrap ‘Out Of’
Spaceface ‘Long Time’
Kristine Leschper ‘Picture Window’
RULES ‘Ghost’
Labelle ‘élude’
Nyokabi Kariuki ‘Equator Song’
Pleasure Craft ‘Dead Weight’
Lion’s Drum ‘Kami Shintai’
Selci ‘Ghost’
The Jazz Butcher ‘Running On Fumes’
Tom Shotton ‘Here, Always’
Wesley Gonzalez ‘Greater Expectations’
FNKPMPN ‘The Typical Boob’
Sylph ‘Ancient Hole’
Rob Burger ‘Hotel For Saints’
Letters From Mouse ‘Elizabeth’
Sarah Vaughan ‘Inner City Blues’
Kojey Radical Ft. Knucks ‘Payback’
Jam Baxter ‘Go On’
Cephas Teom ‘Primordial Forms’
Buck & Gase And Rahrah Gabor ‘Pass Impasse’
Andrew Heath, Phonsonic & Simon McCorry ‘The Passage Of Time (Live)’
King Kashmere, Cupp Cave, Herrmutt Lobby & Booda French ‘Donuts’
The Doppelgangaz ‘Concord Grapes’
Nelson Dialect & Mr Slipz ‘Only Just Begun’
Binker And Moses ‘Accelerometer Overdose (Edit)’
Ashinoa ‘Disguised In Orbit’
Bollards ‘Plate Up’
Salem Trials ‘Funkytown’
Chris Church ‘We’re Going Downtown’
Michael Rother & vittoria Maccabruni ‘Exp 1’
Laurie Anderson – The Arca Remix ‘Big Science’
Kate Havnevik ‘Dream Her To Life’
Bagaski ‘Campan’
Roedelius & Tim Story ‘Crisscrossing’
EXEK ‘Unseasonable Warmth’
Deserta ‘Where Did You Go’
Silverbacks ‘Archive Material’
PLAYLIST/Dominic Valvona
Let me first wish everyone, new and old readers/followers alike, a happy new year. And thanks for all your continued support in what are the most tumultuous and anxious of times. For my part, with what little comfort I can give, I’ll still bring you all the best, experimental, and diverse sounds during 2022: through reviews, columns, playlists and the like.
The Monolith Cocktail Social is one of two long-running playlist series on the blog. Running in tandem with the Monthly Revue, which represents all the new music both I and the MC team have been listening to and writing about during the month, the Social is a cross-generational, eclectic imaginary radio show, where anything goes: featuring tracks from the last 50 or more years.
It’s also my chance to show off my own tastes, records from my collection, and to both celebrate those albums reaching anniversary milestones and pay tribute to recent artists and figures we’ve lost during that month.
The first playlist, volume #62, of the year features 50th anniversary treats from Archie Shepp (the title-track from his 1972 album Attica Blues), Cymande (the much sampled ‘The Message’ from their self-titled ‘72 special), Paul Simon (‘Armistice Day’ from the self-titled ‘72 album), Aretha Franklin (a beautified cover of ‘The Long And Winding Road’ from the soul deity’s Young, Gifted And Black album), Cluster (‘Für Die Katz’ from the Kosmische travellers ’72 album Cluster II), Neu! (‘Hero’ from the self-titled ’72 album), Popol Vuh (the venerable ‘Kyrie’ taken from the divine stylers ’72 album Hosianna Mantra), and Annette Peacock (a idiosyncratic version of ‘Love Me Tender’ from her ’72 I’m The One album).
There’s also recent(ish) tracks from Fake Fruit, Large Plants, Jeff Parker, Family Portrait dotted amongst goodies from Kaleidoscope, The Gods, Caetano Veloso, Eddie Hodges and Biff Rose: 35 tracks in all.
Listen how you like, but when compiling these playlists I do work out a particular order: a journey for the listener.
Those tracks are full are:
Archie Shepp ‘Attica Blues’
Kaleidoscope ‘Chocolate Whale’
Quella Vecchia Locanda ‘Dialogo’
Muito Kaballa Power Ensemble ‘Don’t Go Too Far’
100 Proof Aged In Soul ‘Backtrack’
Fake Fruit ‘No Mutuals’
Large Plants ‘La Isla Bonita’
Cymande ‘The Message’
Innovations ‘Put A Little Away’
Los Dangers ‘No Te Quiero Más’
Sophie Knapp & Dungen ‘Desert Moon’
The Gods ‘Eight O’clock In The Morning’
Jeff Parker & The New Breed Ft. Ruby Parker ‘Soul Love’
Paul Simon ‘Armistice Day’
Hamilton Leithauser & Kevin Morby ‘Virginia Beach’
Family Portrait Ft. Julian Lynch ‘What Does It Take’
Aretha Franklin ‘The Long And Winding Road’
Annette Peacock ‘Love Me Tender’
Caetano Veloso ‘Lost In The Paradise’
Parasites Of The Western World ‘You Must Be Joe King’
Between ‘Tape’
Steauna De Mare ‘Ork Style’
Cluster ‘Für Die Katz’
The Holydrug Couple ‘Arcatina’
Tibetan Miracle Seeds ‘Nectarine Dreams’
Gianfranco Plenizio ‘Afyon’
Slag Boom Van Loon ‘Poppy Seed’
Neu! ‘Hero’
Phantom Payn Days ‘Screen Idol From France’
Branko Mataja ‘Tamo Daleko’
Popol Vuh ‘Kyrie’ Eddie Hodges ‘Shadows And Reflections’
Biff Rose ‘Take Care of My Brother’
Marina Allen ‘Sleeper Train’
Female Species ‘Tale Of My Lost Love’
Hi, my name is Dominic Valvona and I’m the Founder of the music/culture blog monolithcocktail.com For the last ten years I’ve featured and supported music, musicians and labels we love across genres from around the world that we think you’ll want to know about. No content on the site is paid for or sponsored and we only feature artists we have genuine respect for /love. If you enjoy our reviews (and we often write long, thoughtful ones), found a new artist you admire or if we have featured you or artists you represent and would like to buy us a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/monolithcocktail to say cheers for spreading the word, then that would be much appreciated.
Monolith Cocktail Monthly Playlist: November 2021
November 30, 2021
PLAYLIST SUMMARY OF THE LAST MONTH
Dominic Valvona/Matt Oliver/Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea
A showcase, summary, encapsulation of the music the Monolith Cocktail team has either reviewed or listened to during the last month, November’s edition includes the usual unusual selection of eclectic tastes from around the world. No demarcation, labels, as hip-hop sits with ambient flights of fantasy, pop slides up against edgy explorations, and bombastic dream wave shares a platform with more ominous augurs.
This month kicks off with the tastemaker’s favourite (and ours) Circe, whose coquettish plaintive pop emerges from the shadows, and another rising talent Gabrielle Ornate. After that it’s a rambunctious ride through tracks by Dear Liaka, The Soundcarriers, Madlib, Nukuluk, Ash The Author, Etran de L’Aïr, Batila, Park Jiha, FUTURE KULT, Pave The Jungle and around 50 other sublime, stunning, enriching tracks. We finish off though with a Christmas card treat from The Mining Co. : ‘Last Stop For Tired Reindeer’.
FULL TRACKLIST:-
Circe ‘Mess With Your Head’
JAGUWAR ‘Battles’
Gabrielle Ornate ‘Rewrite The Rules’
Gaïsha ‘Ghalat’
Apollo Brown w/Stalley Ft. Skyzoo ‘Love Me, Love Me Not’
Dr. Syntax w/Tom Caruana ‘Basic Biscuits’
Die Zimmermänner ‘Paderborn’
Tallies ‘No Dreams Of Fayres’
Dear Laika ‘Black Moon, Lilith’
Color Dolor ‘Underwater’
Beach House ‘Through Me’
Oliver Earnest ‘Cancel Threapy’
Charlotte Greve w/ Wood River & Cantus Domus ‘Sediments We Move Pt. 2’
Spring ’68 ‘High On Happiness’
HighSchool ‘Forever At Last’
Swansea Sound ‘CORPORATE INDIE BAND’
The Soundcarriers ‘Waves’
Nick Frater ‘What’s With Your Heavy Heart?’
Foam Giant w/Flavour Crystals ‘Quality Of Life’
Blush Club ‘A Hill To Die On’
Legless Trials ‘Toll’
MED w/Blu, Madlib Ft. MF Doom ‘Knock Knock’
Nukuluk ‘Disaster Pop Song’
Joell Oritz ‘Uncle Chris Car’
Faust ‘Morning Land’
Koma Saxo ‘Self Koma’
Black Josh ‘THE BIRDS’
Lee Scott w/Sly Moon ‘Exobase’
Elcamino Ft. Meyhem Lauren ‘Championship Match’
Tristate ‘Sauvignon Blanc’
Cephas Teom ‘Tomorrow’s World’
DJ Abilities ‘The Badman’
Ash The Author w/DJ Drinks Ft. Mr Brown ‘Phantoms’
Sam Krats w/Da Beatminerz Ft. Craig Gee, Gee Bag, MysDiggi, Phoenix Da Icefire, Jazz T and Ramson Badbonez ‘Culture’
Eric The Red w/Tenth Dan ‘Put The Money In The Bag’
The Kahil El’Zabar Quartet ‘Eddie Harris’
Al Doum & The Faryds ‘Universe, Pt. 2’
ElectroBluesSociety w/Boo Boo Davis ‘Bye Baby Bye Bye (Rosé Sunset Remix)’
Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O ‘Senzon seNkosi’
Etran de L’Aïr ‘Adounia’
Toumastine ‘Adja Tarha (No Matter The Struggle In Love)’
Boom.Diwan w/Nduduzo Makhathini ‘Blood In The Wind’
Batila ‘Kindoki’
Alan Strani ‘Vaguement (Haddadi)’
Electric Supply Station ‘The Lander’
Xqui w/Equinox ‘Too Pieces’
Hackedepicciotto ‘Evermore’
Simon McCorry ‘Slow & Measured’
Park Jiha ‘Light Way’
Nicolas Gaunin ‘Upa-Upa’
Smote ‘Hauberk’
Hellenica ‘A Quiet Delirium’
Itchy-O ‘Blood Moon (Live)’
FUTURE CULT ‘Hidalgo’
Pave The Jungle ‘Moirai’
Kosmovoid ‘Lower Levels’
Masai Bey ‘Quiet Riot’
Aesop Rock w/Blockhead ‘Difficult’
Not A Citizen ‘Broke Again’
Dub Chieftain ‘Sonic Duvet’
Jack Ellister ‘Fragestellung’
Meskerem Mees ‘Parking Lot’
The Mining Co. ‘Last Stop For Tired Reindeer’
Hi, my name is Dominic Valvona and I’m the Founder of the music/culture blog monolithcocktail.com For the last ten years I’ve featured and supported music, musicians and labels we love across genres from around the world that we think you’ll want to know about. No content on the site is paid for or sponsored and we only feature artists we have genuine respect for /love. If you enjoy our reviews (and we often write long, thoughtful ones), found a new artist you admire or if we have featured you or artists you represent and would like to buy us a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/monolithcocktail to say cheers for spreading the word, then that would be much appreciated.
The Social Playlist #61: Atlas Sound, Bush Tetras, Rob Sonic, The Kinks, Tamar Aphek…
November 11, 2021
PLAYLIST/Dominic Valvona
If you’re reading this than thank you for actually clicking the link through to the latest edition of Dominic Valvona’s eclectic and inter-generational imaginary radio show playlist. With no inane chat, smug aficionado endorsements or petty factiods, it’s the best kind of playlist: Just 2 hours of incredible music to discover, embrace, dance to (if the mood takes you) and wrap your head around. With no themes, other than the inclusion of tracks by those who’ve passed away during the month and a number of anniversary celebrating albums, the Monolith Cocktail Social is one long musical odyssey.
On Volume #61 Sum Pear idolise the sun, Creepy John Thomas skin up, whilst Juicy Lucy turn out a vision of Spirit’s ‘Mr. Skin’; Frank LoCrasto sends us out on a sublime float across the plains, and a fiftieth-anniversary album celebrating Sly & The Family Stone play us out with the epic ‘Africa Talks To You (“The Asphalt Jungle”)’ from their triumphant tumult of an album, There’s A Riot Goin’ On. Talking of anniversaries, this month’s playlist also includes the lead track from The Kinks country-yearned Muswell Hillbillies album (released this month back in ’72), plus tracks from Teenage Fanclub’s breakout album Bandwagonesque (30 years old this month), something from Japan’s Tin Drum (incredibly 40 years old), and a beauty from Bradford Cox’s Deerhunter side hustle Atlas Sound’s Parallax (only a mere ten years old this month). We also pay a special tribute to former New York art-rock, post-punk, avant-garde stalwart drummer Dee Pop of Bush Tetras infamy, and so many other experimental projects, including with friend of the blog Andy Haas.
Track List::
The Kinks ‘Muswell Hillbilly’
Return To Forever ‘Do You Ever’
Juicy Lucy ‘Mr. Skin’
Creepy John Thomas ‘This Is My Baby’
Skinned Teen ‘Pillow Case Kisser’
Times New Viking ‘Pagan Eyes’ Urbano de Castro ‘Giloso’
Balla Te Ses Balladins ‘Yo Te Contres Maria’
Ted Taylor ‘Days Are Dark’
Teenage Fanclub ‘What You Do To Me’
Bush Tetras ‘Too Many Creeps’
T La Rock ‘Ya Pushin It’
Muchos Plus ‘Nassau’s Discos (Short Version)’
Tamar Aphek ‘Russian Winter’
The Beets ‘What Did I Do’
Atlas Sound ‘Angel Is Broken’
Long Fin Killie ‘Homo Erectus’
Los Supersonicos ‘Introduccion’
The Ban ‘Bye Bye’
Sum Pear ‘Hey Sun’
The Pretty Things ‘Love Is Good (Radio 1 Session 1972)’
Manduka ‘Entra y Sale’
Frank LoCrasto ‘Simple Times’
Stone The Crows ‘The Fool On The Hill’
Japan ‘Visions Of China’
Gjennomslag ‘Siste Dans’
Biting Tongues ‘Probate’
Kaira Ben ‘Singa’Jackson Conti ‘Upa Neguinho’
Dundundun ‘Dun In Outer Space’
Hasan Minawi ‘Ana Ma Feieh’
Khmer Jazz Fusion ‘Juno Katah’Rob Sonic ‘Hammer Of Chaos’
Ramson Badbonez/Kashmere/TrueMendous/Micall Parknsun/Joker Starr, Gee Bag/Confucius/Jehst/Phoenix Da Icefire ‘Black Hole Cypher’
Sly & The Family Stone ‘Africa Talks To You (“The Asphalt Jungle”)’
Monolith Cocktail Blog 