Damon Albarn - Apple Carts
Damon Albarn (of The Gorillaz & Blur) wrote a soundtrack to the opera Dr Dee which was ran its course in England last year. The highlight from the album would have to be Apple Carts.
Dr Dee is based on the life of John Dee (1527-1608/9) who was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and advisor to Queen Elizabeth I. He believed that divinity could be ascertained through mathematics. During his nomadic travels to Bohemia (modern day Poland/Germany/Austria/Czech) and Europe he obtained many magical instruments. Using these instruments and a highly technical forms of mathematics, he supposedly communicated with angels.
Dr Dee accomplished much in his lifetime including establishing one of the largest private libraries outside of Britain’s universities, as well as obtaining an array of artifacts and being responsible for advising seafaring navigation for the British fleet. He continued to delve into magic despite being a devout Christian and an avid supporter of expansionistic imperialism. His rationale for imperialism was the ultimate unification of religion.
Taking inspiration from Platonism and Renaissance thought, John Dee really was a Renaissance man albeit the fact he never visited Italy as far as I know.
Damon Albarn captures the mysticism of Dee beautifully in Apple Carts. The track and the rest of the album is a far cry from his work in the Gorillaz. I think this release continues to show his skill as an artist and sheer musical range.
You can read more about John Dee here or watch Damon Albarn perform this live here.
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Dayglo Reflection (feat. Lana Del Rey)
Bobby Womack |
Bobby Womack feat. Lana Del Rey- Dayglo Reflection
Yesterday Bobby Womack released the third leak, Dayglo Reflection, from his upcoming album.
Produced by Damon Albarn (of the Gorillaz) and Richard Russell, this jazzy duet features the ever divisive Lana Del Rey and it is the third track to surface from The Bravest Man In The Universe, Bobby’s first album in the last 18 years.
It’s a bold collaboration between musical camps but it features a classy and likable arrangement that comes complete with touches of orchestration.
Enjoy.
(Source: stereogum.com, via musicmeds)
Gorillaz feat. Andre 3000 & James Murphy - DoYaThing
Fresh from a BBC radio rip recorded last night (22/2/12), the highly anticipated collaboration for Converse shoes has emerged and it does not disappoint.
This song is guaranteed to raise heartrates and inspire dancing. It’s high octane inspired production definitely raises the bar in the recent hip hop / electro revival. It even inspires Damon Albarn from The Gorillaz to rap the first two verses of the song before Andre 3000 of OutKast dominates the song with a fast paced, gunblazing verse. Dre’s verse continues to shatter misconceptions that he is done with rapping after some critics poo pooed his experimentation with jazz, r&b and singing efforts on the last 2 OutKast albums.
Brand new collaborations featuring names as big as these are going to be hard to avoid. And while this song definitely carries a more energetic mood to the kind we try to feature, it is almost the end of the week and sometimes the best way to relax is through busting a move to an upbeat, funky track as fresh and original as this one. Expect to hear a lot more of this song as the radio catches on. Enjoy!
Download - DoYaThing
