Golden Teacher, Endless Flight, Berlin Atonal, Where To Now? and Apron Records feature among the August selections.
Sitting down to review a new compilation on Soul Jazz conjures up feelings of nostalgia for me. It’s a label that contributed to my own musical education over the years in a time when compilations were the best conduit to uncovering new avenues to explore. Many open-minded collectors and DJs born in the 1980s will probably have indulged in at least one of Soul Jazz’s releases, with the 100% Dynamite series leading to more personal examinations of Tenor Saw, Prince Buster, or Sister Nancy. That late-‘90s period of musical discovery was fuelled, in part, by hopeful punts on compilations, with one, maybe two recognisable names. Soul Jazz also played their own unwitting part in one of my most bittersweet memories; whilst I was in Milan DJing during an ill-fated visit to stay with an Italian girlfriend who dumped me midway through the week, I gifted some local dub obsessives my freshly bought copy of Studio One Dub.
Here’s a poser for you. Who would you get to remix Golden Teacher? The Glasgow six-piece are notoriously difficult to pin down musically; their wild, often spaced-out singles incorporate post-punk disco, strobe-lit techno, weird ambient, off-kilter electronica, dub and tribal African rhythms. You get the impression that they’re not the sort of act that would not respond well to the idea of straight-up club revisions, or even quirky versions from producers whose reputation stems from servicing the needs of lazy, uninspired DJs.
The tireless compilers will release Sounds Of The Universe: Art + Sound 2012-15 next month.
The “Dubmaster” has reworked two tracks by the Glasgow collective for a forthcoming Optimo Music release – preview here.
Musically speaking, Huntleys & Palmers has always been very good at keeping its options open; the label may have been founded to release the humid rhythms and sweaty melodies of Auntie Flo, but their outlook has always been a little more forthright. It’s true that they tend to look further afield for artists than most – think Argentina, Chile, South Wales and Frankfurt, as well as their well-known links to London and Glasgow – but the music they release often has more in common with robust house and techno than the rave-friendly music hybrids coming out of certain parts of Africa, South and Central America.
A fourth edition of the lysergically-inclined series features contributions from Varg, Khotin and members of General Ludd and Golden Teacher as Terminator.
Golden Teacher, Wolf Müller and Cómeme artist Sano contribute exclusive tracks to the next release from the Glasgow/London label.
We dispatched Matt Anniss to interview sprawling Optimo Music act Golden Teacher – the results proved as unpredictable as their riotous brand of music.
Members of Golden Teacher, Whilst and other Glaswegian bands will participate in a year long recording project with youth music groups in Ghana and Belize.
The hive of activity centred around Glasgow creative space The Green Door Studio comes up trumps once more, as one half of Organs Of Love joins forces with a Golden Teacher to form LAPS for the latest slab of excellence from the Clan Destine label. As LAPS, Alicia Matthews of Organs Of Love is Sue Zuki and Golden Teacher’s Cassie Ojay becomes Lady Two Collars; any worry of this sounding like the makings of a discarded Mighty Boosh episode is however put aside, as the pair rip through seven tracks that throw elements from all corners of their musical influences into the mix with the odd bit of assistance from their friends and contemporaries.
We have two pairs of passes to the Sunday event in Glasgow featuring Golden Teacher, James Murphy, Jeff Mills and Jackmaster.
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Recently I found myself in a scenario that will be grudgingly familiar to many, midway through a BuzzFeed questionnaire aimed at judging how much of a music snob I was. Like any half sane person, the tab was closed pretty quickly (not least because I don’t really need BuzzFeed to measure my music snobbery levels), but the question ‘Have you ever had your brain shut down upon being asked what kind of music do you like?’ stayed with me. Instead of the usual response of exasperating gasps and furrowed brow that accompanies such questions, Golden Teacher is the band I happily recommend anyone who asks to invest to their time in.
The Glaswegian troupe are in riotous form with their latest Optimo Music release – preview it here.
Get a taste for the next Clan Destine Traxx release, featuring the hardware loving Glasgow outfit.
The ‘fourth world freakouts’ of Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night are due in mid July.