L'effondras

L’Effondras it’s a French instrumental trio. Two guitars, a drum and a dialog between noise and silence. L'Effondras explores and stretches sounds, play with time and emptiness, excitement and frustration. Hypnotic like the few seconds of the deafening peace before the first thunderbolt crack the sky...

www.leffondras.com

www.facebook.com/leffondras

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1. Steve Reich - Music for Mallet Instruments Voices & Organ

We chose this one for the fantastic ability Reich had to compose pieces that appear repetitive at first but are actually in perpetual motion, like molecular processes. His use of tones is incredible and creates a special space, almost palpable, out of time, constantly modern. I love the Music for 18 Instruments piece aswell.

2. The Gun Club - Mother of Earth

For me it's simply the most beautiful song in the world. The evocations are universally shared, well-identified, classic in a way (endless westward roads, heat, dust, etc) in the collective imagination of the faded american dream. But there is something particularly broken and desperate in this one. It's like a leak, a suffered renunciation, a sacrifice. The pedal steel guitar is fabulous and the lyrics incredibly good.

3. Skip James - Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues (late version)

Regarding to his skills, Skip James could be seen as a prince in the pantheon of the 20s'-30s' bluesmen. He had everything : an astonishing, nimble fingering technique and a clear, beautiful and appealing voice. He could also play the piano. Most people know the story : he was paid a few bucks for his early recordings, lived quite poorly until he was rediscovered in the mid-60s', earning enough money then to pay for his funeral. On this recording he is at the end of his life, but his voice still delivers something luminous and hopeful eventhough the lyrics are sad.

4. Cheval de Frise - Phosphorescence de l'Arbre Mort

The most remarkable thing with this duo is that they succeed in making us forget all the extreme complexity of their compositions, all their technical tricks evaporating to materialize a free-associations poetic field. They compose the way wheatgrass grows. I chose this track because I can't put a whole album here but La Lame du Mat is their summit.

5. Nirvana - Milk It

We could have chosen any song from this band we still love and listen to regularly since our early teen years. This one pushes the limits of its songwriting, including a twisted violent riff, dark tattered lyrics and the creepiest solo ever. One of the best of their last period. Most generally I feel the music of Nirvana as the most upright thing ever made in rock and its purity refocuses myself each time I listen to it.

6. Erik Satie - Danses de Travers (played by Leeuw)

It's pretty hard to explain why I find this piece sublime... What moves through this (the feeling of absence, the breath of time, immemorial stuff, etc) are indescribable things. His work is unlike anything else, isolated from all the artistic movements of his time, but nobody represents this period (Paris end of the XIXth century) as great as he did. Technically, behind the apparent simplicity, each note is essential and his pieces are very difficult to play, all is about interpretation, feelings.

7. Neil Young - Harvest Moon

Because it's the classiest ballad ever.

Allysen Callery

Allysen Callery is self taught folk artist from Rhode Island, USA, with an intricate & unique finger style, & a voice that has been called mesmerizing & angelic. Her first two albums Hopey (2007) & Hobgoblin’s Hat (2010) were self released, but reached an international audience, thanks to radio stations. Her first EPs were released by Woodland Recordings. September 2013 marked Allysen’s 5th release, the full length Mumblin’ Sue on JellyFant Schallplatten. 2014 saw the release of an EP Allysen Callery Folk Radio UK Session.

http://allysencallerymusic.com

http://allysencallery.bandcamp.com/

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1. The Incredible String Band - Witches Hat
 I was a kid laying on an oriental rug in room filled of incense & furniture from Taiwan, the images in the song reflected where I was , & who I would become. ISB taught me that there need not be chorus verse/chorus verse in every song, but you could just do whatever you wanted.

2. Steeleye Span - Edwin
When I was just picking up guitar as a teenager I was drawn to murder ballads especially, and also wanted to play finger-style as my father had done. I loved how the songs were written on a loop, and that style influenced my songwriting a lot. I also loved how you could tell a compelling story within a song. Later on I recorded a version of this song for my record Winter Island.

3. The Rolling Stones - Lady Jane
The first few bars of this song break my heart, before even the singing starts. I love that music can take us away and make us feel strong emotions, it doesn't matter what language we speak, we can just understand.

4. The Yardbirds - For Your Love
I was 13 and there was a boy I liked, we were hanging out at night in a park and I decided I would sing to him. I sang For Your Love, and a few others...it worked and we ended up making out.

5. Cat Power - Devils Daughter/Troubled Waters
When I was still playing in my bedroom I read an article about Cat Power and looked her up. When she sings she is almost acting, there is so much emotion in her beautiful voice. She played slow, sad songs, and I no longer felt alone. In the beginning most of my set list was Cat Power covers, of covers she had been doing. Cat Power/Chan Marshall made me feel like it could be done . She gave me so much courage.

6. Neil Young - Like a Hurricane
Neil Young was another big influence on my early days of learning guitar, he played easy chords and had simple lyrics , yet went so incredibly deep. It's the way he sings it, with that weird reedy voice, so honest and true.

7. Joni Mitchell - You Turn Me on I'm a Radio
It's always a beautiful sunny day when this song comes on, we're in the car and driving to the beach. We're in love or something close. To me, music is being able to tune into what someone else is all about, sometimes it's static and sometimes it's clear as a bell and you can sing along.

Lorna

Lorna is a 7-piece band from Nottingham. They have been together over 10 years, have released many albums and have played in the UK, Europe and the US. Musically they mix dreampop guitars, brushed drums, loops and samples with clarinet, flute and strings. Lorna have toured with and shared the bill with acts such as The Lemonhead, The Psychedelic Furs, Six By Seven, Mark Gardener (Ride), American Analog Set and Midlake. This playlist has been compiled by their vocalist and guitarist Mark Rolfe.

lornatheband.com/

www.facebook.com/pages/LornaUK/11233842989

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1. Teenage Fanclub - Alcoholiday

I was a little too young to appreciate Bandwagonesque but when Thirteen came out I started to show an interest in TFC. I went to see them on the thirteen tour and I was blown away with the honesty, frankness and power of their music. I really think of this song as my first love who never left me.

2. Neil Young - Out on the weekend

This is the first Neil song I heard, it was around 4 in the morning and I was 18. It was in the back of a friends car. It sounded so desolate, lonely and sad. I fell for Neil straight away. His attitude to production, performance, art and artistry influenced me heavily, he still does.

3. Sebadoh - Soul and Fire

Lou Barlow is a genius of our time and it worries me he will never be appreciated as one. This song is perfect. Lou is a monster of a songwriter, he can terrifying, exciting and profoundly beautiful in the same song.

4. Aphex Twin - Flim

I got to electronica a little later than others in my early 20s. I remember this song being the first electronic piece of music that had a huge emotional impact on me, in the same way Neil Young could have. It opened up a lot more ideas and ways of thinking about electronic music for me. There is a sophistication to this song which kind of reminds me of Eric Satie, there is also something very twisted and unsettling about it. It's emotive and honest.

5. The American Analog Set - The kindness of strangers

Our good friends Coastal put us in touch with them and we opened for them a few times. Their music was one of the most important discoveries for me as introduced me to groove based music. The production on the Known by heart album is a masterpiece. Everytime we would play with I would quiz them about their recording techniques, mic placement, sonics, acoustics etc., in terms of sound design and production Andrew Kenny is a master. I think the AAS is one of the influences I wear on my sleeve, it's hard to shake.

6. The Beach Boys - 'Til I die

I think there comes a time in everyone's 20s when we start to look to the past for new music, not the future. In the late 90s I went through a huge Brian Wilson phase, reading the books, scouring record fairs for smile demos.. At the time Brian was still a recluse, every little bit of information I could get was valued, who was this strange man and why did he go to bed for so long? Nowadays Brian is healthy and touring again, I always feel so fortunate to see him play. We should never take Brian for granted.

7. Should - Turned Tables

I wanted to end on a piece of modern music. This reminds of what I fell in love with when I first fell in love with pop music. The song is sonically perfect, it's so simple and understated. I could listen to this all day.