Tag: John Cooper Clarke

Restless Spirits AKA’s Ambient Hip-Hop “Blues Omen” is a Short Form Telling of the History of the Blues

With a dub-like industrial beat and a background drone akin to cLOUDDEAD’s “Apt A (1)” Restless Spirits AKA imbues its own dreamlike spoken word song “Blues Omen” with an otherworldly energy. The song weaves in fiery, noisy guitar flare and sparkly percussive motes adding a layer of psychedelia that evolves into brightly ethereal tones streaming down over accented yet sustained bass drum beats. Through the vehicle of Matt McAteer’s John Cooper Clarke-esque vocal delivery the song tells a tale of the development of blues music and how it has permeated popular musical forms out of historical forces that made it a working class, creative idiom that has resonated well beyond its original context. The song itself isn’t in any obvious form of blues but its deep and murky mood taps into the mythological foundations of the musical form. Listen to “Blues Omen” on Spotify and follow Restless Spirits AKA at the links below. The new album Looking Back From a Distance is available now on CD, digital download and streaming.

Peter Martin’s Dream Pop Song “Musical Chairs” is a Wry and Subtle Dig at Incompetent and Corrupt Political Leaders

Peter Martin, photo courtesy the artists

A warm drone leads us into Peter Martin’s “Musical Chairs.” Vocals that float like an incandescent presence in the musical fog drift in and the song unfolds more brightly at the halfway point. Hovering tones haunt the background and a spare guitar figure contributes to an increasing luminosity of tone along with a gorgeous, slow synth burst toward the end before strings ease us out of the song. Overall it has an effect like someone waking up in the early morning, before sunrise with vague memories of a dream. Which is perfect considering the backdrop of the song written by the band in a single day was the resignation of Tory politician Liz Truss who was Prime Minister of the UK from September 6, 2022 until October 25 of the same year, her term in office an exercise in ineffective incompetence and a passing dream of a nation still mired in the supply side economic foolishness that plagues much of the Western world. Truss was just a blip on the Conservative Party continuum and this song and its tranquil vibes is like an amused noting of business as usual but perhaps more absurd than usual. The title of the song is both subtle and on the nose which is an achievement in itself. Given that part of the inspiration for the song was a reading of the writing of the great Mancunian poet John Cooker Clarke and his inspired witticisms the song seems like a fully realized work of dream pop and social commentary. Listen to “Musical Chairs” Spotify where you can find other songs by the band.