Move your eyes up - check the flyer - it's real!

Yep after eight months of questionable success at Grant and Green in San Francisco's North Beach, The Oslo Report is moving to the much more suitable 222 Club on Hyde. We haven't called the G+G crew yet to tell them, so it's just as well they don't read this blog really - I'll get round to it. In the meantime here's a duo of tracks I probably won't play at 222, but maybe should. From the forgotten band Soviet, their difficult to get album 'We Are Eyes, We Are Builders' is a benchmark for modern bands who want to sound all eighties, but still sort of modern, but actually quite eighties. In amongst the electroclash of the early 2000s they really stood out from the Miss Kittens, the Green Velvets and the Mount Sims' etc... Although to be fair Kitten's first album was good and Mount Sims' album was rather underrated. Green Velvet were shit though.

I just remembered I emailed Soviet once. They replied back too. Which made me feel cool for about five mins. I've just googled them and that bloke in the pic is still in them according to their myspace.

Soviet - Marbleyezed

Soviet - Circuit Love

Absolute stormer

Bit late with this, I think the EP has been out since Aug, but it's by far the best thing I've heard from Basement Jaxx in ages. This kills.

Nifty - Basement Jaxx

The Oslo Report has a new venue!

On Dec 13th The Oslo Report monthly night moves to 222 Hyde in San Francisco. We'll have more news, flyer and new music posts real soon.

It's that time ...

Coming up ...

The next Oslo is this Wednesday October 3rd.

Hard to find ...

There is no shortage of Bonde Do Role's Gasolina remixes slushing through the inter-tubes but the Crookers Crunk one seems to hard to find. So here it is for your for your listening pleasure:

Bonde Do Role - Gasolina (Crookers Crunk)

You may even hear it real durn loud at tomorrow's Oslo.

The next Report is on September 5th

It's been a solid month. Here's a couple of tracks that are doing the business right now. If you're in the San Francisco area on Wednesday September 5th, come and check us out at Grant and Green.

Justice: D.N.V.O (LA Riots Bootleg)

Everybody Rocking - Key of Bald Eagle Edit

The Man in Eight Straightjackets - Live at Oslo 5

I'm mildly happy with most of this. It's the first half of my set on the 4th of July, but you can actually hear where I kind of abandon it in the final transition before the old fave Plastic Bags. Basically the entire bar had emptied to go and watch fireworks and the last remaining couple of guys had just asked if I had any Springsteen. I was miserable.

Listen to the mix and let me know what you think.

The Man in Eight Straightjackets - Live at Oslo 5


Tracklist:
Jackrock (Christopher Robin Render) - Cassius
Oslo Report Interlude
Chivers as a Female - Sebastien Tellier (Mr Oizo, SebastiAn)
A Cause des Garcons - Yelle
Cherry-Cola Funk (Sta rmx) - Hail Social
Candy (the Aston Shuffle Mix) - Rocket Men
Dangerous (DJ Dainjah Remix) - Busta Rhymes
Going Nowhere (Digitalism Remix) - Cut Copy
Plastic Bags and Magazines (Tiefschwarz Remix) - Micatone

Frankenhoused Fourth

Thanks to all that came out to absorb the last Oslo Report! The night started off quite slow - ahem - at one point there was no one in the bar as even the bartender and the DJ (The Man in Eight Straight Jackets) stepped out during the 4th of July fireworks. But after the fireworks - the musics started bangin'. Here are some pics from the night.

So good - it's free.

The drippins ...

The meat sauce was mighty tasty at the last Oslo. Here are some of the drippins ....

The Oslo Report 2007.06.06 - Revelator
The Oslo Report 2007.06.06 - The Man in Eight Straight Jackets

Meat Sauce

As always ...

Some pre-Oslo treats for your aural chewing.

From the Kitsune Maison Vol. 4 compilation - a straightforward builder, starts out slow, but it can't go wrong with the crystal clear distortions and synths:

The Whip - Divebomb

... and from Freude Am Tanzen

Wighnomy Brothers - Epinikkion

This track is very subtle as it builds a low chugging tension. Kinda sneaky.

Musics

Bang! Bang! Some musics recorded live at last week's Oslo for ya:

The Oslo Report 2007.05.10 - Revelator Part 1
The Oslo Report 2007.05.10 - Revelator Part 2

We had a good turn out. Broke the dance barrier. Not only that - broke the break-dance barrier. Now that's sumpin.

Definitely the best Oslo so far. Some really rumbly and rowdy tracks made it hard to leave at the end of the night. Live mix snip coming soon ...

Robot Nippples

A tiny preview of this music I'll be playing at this week's Oslo Report:

Trippple Nippples - PPP (Remix)
Robag Wruhme - Flamingo (Original Mix)

Smoke 'em if you got 'em

As threatened, some persistent sounds of yesterthen.

Rock To The Beat was an anthem to those who spent hours stepping from one foot to the next, while nodding, in a freezing Blackburn warehouse, or Manchester’s Hacienda, during the late 80’s and the earliest years of 90’s. It sounded terribly exotic to me when I first heard it, like the coolest, most deliberately underground and bleak track ever… Still love it.

Reese & Santonio: Rock To The Beat

This next track was released during the bleeps and bass house movement of 1989 – 91, which sprung from northern UK cities Sheffield, Leeds and Bradford.

Rhythmatic: Take Me Back

Couldn’t find the original Push Push, but this M.A.N.D.Y reworking pretty much does the job.

Rockers Hi-Fi: Push Push (M.A.N.D.Y remix)

The next Oslo Report!

A report full of bleeding-edge electro-indie bangers, blog-rocking madness and leftfield noodling! It's on Wednesday May 2nd at Grant and Green, 1371 Grant Avenue, San francisco, CA 94133. Eight till late. Free to get in. The report must be filed. Will you be there to hear it?

Tuck your knob between your legs

I'd previously promised some older-school dusty warehouse classics, however what I have to hand right now is this scattershot assortment of interesting stuff that either had a play out at the last Oslo Report, or will get an airing on May 2nd down at Grant and Green.

This oddity is a recent re-working of Goodbye Horses by Q Lazzarus. To my mind it's not as compelling as the original, lacking as it does the whole, "goodbye horses" chorus bit. But on the plus side it's much more dance friendly. Most people feel they've heard it before, but can't place it. It is of course the track appendage tucking, lotion fancier Buffalo Bill prances about to in Silence of The Lambs.

Goodbye Horses Krikor Edit

If memory serves Bill was an aspirant transsexual which serves as a lazer-targeted segue into a track conveniently called Transsexual, by the French-shaped, Ed Banger Mr Oizo. This is the Lorn Remix and it grumbles along rather finely, although I can't quite work out all the variations of 'sexual' the female vocalist is listing. I need to get out more.

Transsexual Lorn Remix

Finally Evidently Chicken Town by Manchester poet John Cooper Clarke. It was played over the end credits of the Sopranos the other night and it did an astonishing job of reinforcing the (inevitable) concrete-shoesyboots, teeth-stamping and knee-cap brutalizing on the horizon, as the series finally curls it's toes up. Check it out, very interesting and experimental…

Evidently Chicken Town

I got nothing

It wouldn't be right to bellow on like a harpooned whale about being a bit bored with phoned-in Ed Banger rip-offs (see previous post), without suggesting an antidote. But I don't have one.

What I do have are some old warehouse tracks which went down a storm at numerous early 90's Plod-bothering knees-ups in the UK. I think they sound pretty strong even now and I will be dropping a few such classics into my set at the next Oslo Report night in San Francisco (Grant and Green - Wednesday, May 2nd.)

Now if you will, stand aghast as I choose to contravene the accepted rules of blogging by simply naming the tracks and not offering functioning links to download them. This is not due to the belief that making relatively little heard house tracks available will deprive the artists responsible of vital funds, it’s because I don’t know how to do it.

Rockers Hi-Fi: Push Push

Reese & Santonio: Rock To The Beat

Rhythmatic: Take Me Back

I will ask someone for some advanced guidance on making the internet. I will post these tracks in working MP3 order soon. Ish.

Durr durr, dull?

After re-reading the 'blog house' article linked on a previous post here, the ubiquity of grimey, over-looped, distorti-noise house, of the kind that perpetually pays homage to, or (cough) evolves, the early Justice sound, has really hit home for me.

Over the last year or so I’ve actively obtained as much of this music as possible. Initially anything Kitsune, Simian Mobile Disco or Ed Banger, more recently Kissy Sell Out, Van She, Guns and Bombs etc… But is it starting to sound a bit tired?

The freshest track I’ve heard for a while is the Kissy Sell Out mix of Gwen Stefani’s Wind it Up. Perhaps because it’s not reliant on distorted samples, (too) dirty synths and the almost obligatory minute long drop out filled with loops, irregular banging and difficult to love drilling sounds. Actually I think it’s that ‘difficult to love-ness’ that’s starting to bore me. Is there an informal competition between producers trying to out do each other with the most sustained period of virtually unlistenable, unmusical noise shoehorned into a derivative indie-remix? Punkish DIY attitude is great, but is it still daring and rebellious if everyone’s producing records that sound the same?

Gah! Ignore me, I’ve been on a solid diet of Blamma Blamma, ZZZ, Surkin, Stutter, Boy-8-Bit and South Central remixes for too long. Maybe I’ve OD’d?

Either way, I wanna hear something new? I’m waiting for a post-Justice sound. DFA are done. Daft Punk evidently stole all their best ideas from old records. And, I’m reliably informed that in the UK ‘electro house’ is now only bought by guys in square-toed loafers. D.A.N.C.E is ok. But what’s next?

Techno 2.0

Check out these two entries which do a great job describing the sounds of now: Blog House, Nu-Rave

glitchy

Speaking of Trentmoller, hopefully a very special package will arrive from Blighty in time for our next installment of Oslo!

Weird uncle ...

It's time to file the second report on the current state of kinky electro, deviant disco and blogrock. It's free, and everyone's welcome. Even your weird uncle.

Choppy, glitchy, electro-ness

Some sounds that have been making my hair stand on end lately:
Robyn - Konichiwa Bitches - Trentemoller Remix
Sebastian - Ross Ross Ross
Phil Kieran - Skyhook 1

First Oslo Report

The Oslo Report is a new night dispensing a musical hybrid of indie, electro mash-ups, glitch-funk and demented-disco.

It's a corner of London's East End in the heart of San Francisco.

The first one is happening Wednesday Feb 28th, 8-late at Grant and Green (1371 grant avenue, san francisco)

If you like new, underground music, we'll see you there.