Lanu – Roosevelt Blues & Acoustic EP
Lance Ferguson, aka Lanu, will be releasing his third single, ‘Roosevelt Blues’ from his wonderful ‘Her 12 Faces‘ LP just before Christmas. The interesting thing about this release though are the four purely acoustic tracks which accompany the main song, all re-worked from the album and all featuring the vocals of Megan Washington. So, we [...]
Anchorsong – Chapters (Tru Thoughts)
The blurb says ‘an addictive listen, Chapters reveals more with each play’ and we couldn’t agree more. The danger is that people dismiss this elegant and alluring album too early, without really getting under its skin. And there are plenty of skins – Masaaki Yoshida builds layer upon layer of rhythms, melodies and harmonies in each of the exquisitely crafted tracks, and these take a good few listens to really appreciate.
Nostalgia 77 – Sleepwalker
Ben Lamdin’s live band, Nostalgia 77, released their ‘The Sleeping Walking Society’ LP earlier this year. We loved the album, and particularly the (kind of) title track ‘Sleepwalker’ (that features Josa Peit on vocals), which we’re pleased to report is being released as a single, along with a couple of remixes (by Lanu and Ambassadeurs) [...]
Tru Thoughts 12th Birthday Party at Koko
We’ve been writing about Tru Thoughts Records since the very beginning of Meme Magazine (in fact it was Tru Thoughts and Ubiquity Records in the US that were the main inspirations for starting this whole damned thing). We made a big noise about TT’s tenth anniversary and, at the time, wished the label continued longevity and [...]
Hidden Orchestra – Antiphon (Video and Free Download)
With a new EP, ‘Flight‘, out soon on Tru Thoughts Records, here is a chance to watch a new video of one of the tracks, ‘Antiphon’, from their masterful debut LP, ‘Night Walks‘. And, thanks to their unbounded generosity, you can download your very own free copy of the song from the Tru Thoughts website [...]
Anchorsong – Ghost Touch / Plum Rain (Tru Thoughts)
We first heard Anchorsong on the recent Shapes 11:01 compilation from Tru Thoughts with ‘Plum Rain’, one of the tracks from his debut single for the label (with Soundcloud stream below). The other track on the double-A side release from the Japanese multi-instrumentalist is Ghost Touch, of which you can watch a live performance video [...]
Hidden Orchestra – Flight EP (Tru Thoughts)
Any new material from Hidden Orchestra should be ‘highly anticipated’ (especially if you are familiar with their debut album on Tru Thoughts ‘Night Walks‘) so we definitely wanted to share a couple of tracks from their forthcoming EP, ‘Flight’. The atmospheric, complex themes of ‘Night Walks’ continue, especially on the full 7’48″ minutes of the [...]
New ‘Shapes’ Compilation from Tru Thoughts
We should all celebrate the arrival of a new ‘Shapes’ compilation. This is the series that has Tru Thought’s A&R main man, Rob Luis, selecting the best and most interesting tracks that have come out of the label in the last 6 months or so, plus usually some exclusive tracks thrown in as well. So, [...]
Quantic – The Best Of Quantic (Tru Thoughts)
It’s difficult to know where to start, when faced with two (full-to-bursting) CDs of the very best of a prolific, brilliant, genre-transcending artist on one of the most innovative record labels around. But it’s a very nice problem to have. After 10 years and 12 albums on Tru Thoughts Records, this retrospective of Quantic’s full range of work will provide much aural satisfaction to anyone who appreciates quality music
Quantic – Transatlantics (Free Download)
Quantic has always delivered for us. Whether it’s from his solo tracks and remixes, with The Quantic Soul Orchestra or his Flowering Inferno guise, or from what we consider his pinnacle; The Combo Barbaro, Will Holland is both a prolific and a genius musician. So, no wonder that Tru Thoughts will be releasing a ‘Best [...]
Nostalgia 77 – Beautiful Lie (Natural Magnetic Remix)
We loved Nostalgia 77′s recent LP, ‘The Sleepwalking Society‘. The latest release off of the album is the ‘Beautiful Lie’ EP and we’re pleased to report that the remixes included here are top notch. As well as the original ‘Beautiful Lie’ there is a live version and a downtempo, bassed-up version, (“folk music for the [...]
Benji Boko – Beats, Treats & All Things Unique (Tru Thoughts)
With its Tru Thoughts credentials, this was never going to be a disappointing album, but even we were surprised at how much we actually enjoyed the whole listening experience. Mr Boko has made a well-balanced, soulful, danceable and even humorous record, and he has managed to do it using a wide variety styles, ideas and singers
Benji Boko – ‘Where My Heart Is feat. Maxi Jazz’ (Tru Thoughts)
Benji Boko’s first single on Tru Thoughts Records is called ‘Where My Heart Is’ and features Maxi Jazz, late of Faithless, on vocals. It’s out on 23rd May as a free (yep, free) download, ahead of the album ‘Beats, Treats And All Things Unique’. There is also a competition for artists to enhance the video [...]
Nostalgia 77 – The Sleepwalking Society (Tru Thoughts)
Ben Lamdin has been a busy boy between his last album, and this, his fourth, working as producer, engineer, musician and on projects with, amongst many others, Jeb Loy Nichols, Lizzy Parks, Larry Stabbins, Alice Russell and his own Nostalgia 77 Octet. Probably due to these many influences, ‘The Sleepwalking Society’ changes the vibe a little from ‘Everything [...]
Belleruche – 3 Amp Fuse (Tru Thoughts)
The next single to be taken from Belleruche’s album, ‘270 Stories‘, is ’3 Amp Fuse’, a 3 minute wonder of kettle drums, deep bass, staccato strings and, of course, Karen deBoer’s shady vocals. Also on the EP is a Pollyn remix of their last single, ‘Fuzz Face‘, a Loki remix of ‘Scratch My Soul’, and [...]
Nostalgia 77 – Simmerdown (Tru Thoughts)
‘Simmerdown’ is the first taste of Ben Lamdin’s forthcoming Nostalgia 77 LP ‘The Sleepwalking Society’. Featuring the luscious vocals of Rosa Peit throughout, the album will apparently be more bluesy and folksy than the usual jazz vibe we have come to expect from Ben. We’ll have a full review of the album soon. The ‘Simmerdown’ [...]
Quantic and his Combo Bárbaro – Caliventura EP (Tru Thoughts)
This EP is, essentially, a collection of remixes from what we considered the best LP of 2009, ‘Tradition In Transition’. Will ‘Quantic’ Holland’s band of international musicians managed to fuse many styles of music into a coherent whole on that record, and, here, the additional influences of Cut Chemist, J-Boogie, Jeremy Sole, Daedelus and DJ [...]
Lanu – Her 12 Faces (Tru Thoughts)
By now we don’t need to tell you that Lanu is the solo recording nomme-de-guerre of Lance Ferguson, band leader of the mighty Bamboos, whose long player, ’4′, we included as one of our top 5 albums of 2010. So, is ‘Her 12 Faces’ just a distracting side project or a solo tour-de-force? (Note to [...]
Wildcookie – Cookie Dough (Tru Thoughts)
This is the debut LP from this pair – producer and DJ Freddie Cruger (also known as Red Astaire) and vocalist Anthony Mills – and follows on from the first single, ‘Heroine’, of which you can see the video here and which will very soon be available as a free download on Bandcamp. The music [...]
Lanu – Beautiful Trash
This track by Lanu (aka Lance Ferguson, the front-man for top-drawer funk band The Bamboos) is currently available only on a very limited edition white vinyl 7″. It features Megan Washington on vocals, who has previously sung with The Bamboos (on Kings Of Leon cover, ‘King Of The Rodeo‘) and her debut LP on Universal [...]
Meme Review of the Year 2010
For us, this was the year of broken beats, disco re-edits and, of course, the cloud. We also managed a major design revamp which seems to have gone down well as our visitor numbers nearly quadrupled over the year. But we would be nothing without the music and the artists that made it… A whole [...]
Wildcookie – Heroine (Video)
Wildcookie are Freddie Cruger (aka Red Astaire) and Anthony Mills, and are one of the recent set of signings to Tru Thoughts (although Freddie previously released music on the label back in 2006). They will have a new LP out 21st February (called Cookie Dough), and the first single, Heroine, will be released as a [...]
Belleruche – Backyard (Kidkanevil Remix)
Hark back to the preview of Belleruche‘s ‘Fuzz Face’ video which we showed you last month. Well, the single is available on 6th December (on Tru Thoughts) but we’d like to share the B-side with you: a Kidkanevil remix of the classic Belleruche track ‘Backyard’, which has been cooked just the way we like it. [...]
VA – Shapes 10:02 (Tru Thoughts)
This is not any label sampler, this is a Tru Thoughts label sampler. By which we mean the two CDs, which have been compiled by Rob Louis, are packed with treats and surprises that take this way beyond a collection of ‘previously released tracks’. Probably the biggest, and loveliest, surprise is the dub version of [...]
