golden opportunities

One of my fave raves at the moment is Penguin Prison, aka New York based singer/songwriter Chris Glover.

At seemingly random moments throughout last year, Penguin Prison dropped a couple of amazing singles on hot spot label, Neon Gold. Remember them? They breathed life into the careers of Ellie Goulding and Marina And The Diamonds before they were signed to major label deals.

Over the last twelve months or so, the gentle folk at Neon Gold have been nurturing Penguin Prison. They've been giving Mr. Glover and co. some time to ferment their musical wine. "Animal Animal" and "The Worse It Gets" slipped out on 7" single as tasty previews for Penguin Prison's debut longplayer.

Third single, "Golden Train", is their debut on Wall Of Sound, the UK tastemaker label that is home to Grace Jones and The Human League. Not exactly an unamazing place to be!

Although "Golden Train" has been knocking around a while, PP decided to lense an intimate, acoustic rendition of it in what appears to be an empty dining room in a local bed and breakfast.



The stripped back performance lets the song breath without all the production bells and whistles.

Here's the original version with all the accoutrements.



Lots of 80s influences going on. I detect bits of Hall And Oates, Thompson Twins, Scritti Politti, Blancmange and Talk Talk without ever sounding like any of them. The arrangements are interesting and substantial without overpowering the song at the heart of the recording.

And if you're a fan of mash ups, PP has fashioned a lovely little mashy of his top tune with Michael Jackson's funky "Workin' Day And Night" from his "Off The Wall" opus. Prepare to take a ride on your disco stick!



Wicked! I have dubbed it "Workin' On The Golden Train".

No word on the forthcoming album, though. But if it's even half as good as any of the expertly crafted singles release thus far, it's sure to be amazeballs. Penguin Prison even turn out mindblowing b-sides with consummate ease! Check out "Something I'm Not" which appeared as the flip side to "The Worse It Gets".



And they even have a deft hand a producing remixes! Two of my fave PP post productions include their reswizzling of Faithless' latest, Blancmange sampling single, "Feel Me", and "Get Outta My Way" by Kylie.



Very New Order meets the Thompson Twins! N'est-ce pas?



More plz! Clearly, I'm spreading the Penguin Prison love. Do yourself a favor and do the same.

hanging on a string

Faithless return to the singles scene with "Feelin' Good", the third track to be plucked from their current longplayer, "The Dance". Rollo's sister, Dido, checks in for vocal duties.

As with their previous two vids from the album, the clips for "Feelin' Good" does not feature appearance from Sister Bliss or Maxi Jazz. However, they are represented by figurines dangling from the rearview mirrors of a couple of Fiats. Surprise! It's a music video AND a product placement advert. It's a floor wax AND a dessert topping.

tweaking out

Faithless unleash another epic single in the shape of the provocatively and erotically titled, "Tweak Your Nipple". It's from their latest longplayer, "The Dance".

Granted Maxi Jazz, Rollo and Sister Bliss are an acquired taste, but their big beat, adrenaline fueled excursions nicely tread the line between the underground and mass consumption. Sure, it has been more than fifteen years since they burst on the scene with club chestnut, "Insomnia", but they continue to put out wildly interesting dance albums in a genre that often doesn't allow for much experimentation.

They've just unveiled the suitably trippy video for "Tweak Your Nipple". It's visual ecstasy, ladies and gents.



This acts as part two of a trilogy based in the sultry, psychedelic, animated world that began with the first single from the album, "Not Going Home".

Here's Maxi Jazz dropping some seriously powerful, Buddhist, zen master knowledge about the track.



Third single, IMHO, should be the Blancmange sampling "Feel Me". This hypnotic jam has been going down a storm when they play it on tour. They've reworked it a bit in a live setting. Harry Collier sings Neil Arthur's parts and Maxi Jazz has added a verse.

A few performances have turned up online. There are two that tweak me most, if you'll pardon the expression. One was recorded on a soundstage with a mix which was recorded too hot and, therefore, is distorted. The other is from this year's Glastonbury festival, and the crowd goes absolutely batshit crazy for it. Both are equally expressive.

Not sure which performance I prefer. You decide. One thing is for sure. They are a mighty, live machine.





Zut alors! Now that's a spicy meatball!

Here are some more new age, crystal musings from the band about it.

faith in this color

I can almost smell the amyl nitrate. Must be time for a new single from Faithless!

"Not Going Home" will be the first single from their sixth longplayer, "The Dance". The single will be released on May 3 while the album is scheduled to be made available from all fine shops on May 17.

The trippy video for "Not Going Home" premiered today on the band's official website. Apparently, they wanted to reconnect with the dancefloor. After watching the video, it certainly looks like someone took a few too many hits of ecstasy. It has a sort of Aeon Flux look about it.



"Sun To Me", another track from the album, has been floating around for the last few months in preparation for Faithless' return to clubland. It's suitably dark and seedy sounding.



Hard to believe they've been banging about for nearly 15 years. Sister Bliss, Maxi Jazz and the enigmatic Rollo have released a total of eleven albums if you count their greatest hits and remix collections.

Faithless, along with Underworld, continue to deliver bass shaking dance epics while maintaining some pop elements without ever succumbing to the allure of the disco ball.