Life Of A Starchild

The Problems With Being Called "Cute": Deconstructing A Diminutive Stereotype

starchildluke — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:12:02 +0000

by: Mimi Nguyen

“You’re so cute! You’re like a baby seal covered in oil.”

My roommate said this to me as I washed a zip lock bag in our sink and explained how we should reuse plastic products. His words shocked me. The image of an oil slick seal cub with my crying face came to mind. I liked being called cute but I did not like being compared to an infant animal made helpless.

My List Of “Complete” Albums: Part Two

starchildluke — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:46:09 +0000

Part two of my list of “complete” albums will exhibit albums of a more varied selection, genre wise.

Seal – Seal II

Let’s journey back to 1994. I’m at my first school and my mum buys me this on cassette. I don’t remember why or if I had asked for it but I remember loving it. A strange selection for a four year old, it has to be said. It was also the soundtrack to my first ever “teacher crush”, Miss Halliday. She went off to Vancouver before I left for Luton and only came back once to visit by which the crush had gone but I will always remember the songs and what they meant to me. A decade later and I found the cassette again and the love was rekindled. It wasn’t until then that I began to appreciate what he was singing about and the music itself. For me, this is my all-time favourite album ever. Yes, even above the likes of Michael Jackson and Jamiroquai. It holds sentimental value and it really represents me as a person and a producer. Trevor Horn really made an underrated British soul gem in Seal II and besides the fact that Kiss From A Rose became a smash hit off the back of Batman Forever (it was an amazing track in spite of that), it will always remain his best for me.

Anita Baker – Rapture

I’ll level with you guys: I didn’t know she was the original singer of Sweet Love. This wasn’t my fault; I had only heard the cover and quite frequently. So when I heard Anita Baker sing it, I was hooked and rightfully so. As usual, when I love a song, I download the whole album and playing through it, they were all on the same level of playability. A unique 80s soul album, moving away from the style of electro-funk and letting Anita’s voice take centre stage. The deep richness of her vocals were also quite different to anything I had heard previously and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Luther Vandross – Never Too Much

My mum absolutely adores Luther Vandross. It’s the velvet voice she loves the most and I can totally understand that. For someone to be that good and never fully live up to their potential is quite sad but that hasn’t stopped his music becoming legendary after death. For years, he had provided vocals for the likes of David Bowie and on the hit song Glow of Love by Change but Never Too Much was his first solo outing and the title track really kicked things off. It had the perfect combination of funk, soul and R&B off the closing era of disco, creating a collection of uptempo grooves and soft sumptuous ballads for those lonely at-home-on-a-rainy-evening-listening-to-quiet-storm nights and really helped to move things into the new decade. It might seem quite astounding to have a debut album of just seven tracks, including an epic (and I don’t mean that in the modern form) seven minute cover of Dionne Warwick’s A House Is Not A Home, but by having such a short album, he could make each track “complete” and not really have any fillers and that’s exactly what he did. Every song has a purpose and it means that it’ll only take you about half an hour to become a Luther Vandross fan.

The Jacksons – Triumph

As far as I’m concerned, this was the last proper Jackson 5/The Jacksons album. I always felt Victory was there just to cash in on Michael’s success with Thriller (despite it being a fairly decent release). True, this came a year after Off The Wall, but it seemed like a natural “final album” for the group. I can’t really think of any major faults with it; it’s grand when it needs to be grand and soft when it needs to be soft. Michael shines as always and the highlights (pretty much the first five tracks) really keep you listening.

Jamiroquai – The Return Of The Space Cowboy

I couldn’t have a list like this and not include my favourite band. Say what you like about them (or just Jay Kay, as many people erroneously call him Jamiroquai) but you can’t really call their music dull. I could have picked three other albums from the band but this one is definitely my favourite just for the rawness of its sound. In the current climate of “loud” albums, the mastering of this may come as a surprise to some but the keen eared audiophiles amongst us will know that this is how an album should sound for perfect dynamic range. In terms of the music and artistry, albums like this just aren’t made anymore for a mainstream audience. To be released now, it would be deemed a “risky” album, full of more instrumentation than soppy plastic lyricism (masked as “lyrics that really speak to you personally”) but back in 1994, this came something of a cult classic both in the UK and the US, in part due to Jay Kay’s personality and the title track Space Cowboy, the nickname that adorns him to this day. The album marks the beginning of Derrick Mackenzie’s career with Jamiroquai and other than Zender’s superb bass play, the drumming is certainly a highlight and has been ever since. All I can say is listen to the opening track Just Another Story and immerse yourself in the best funk concerto you’ll ever hear. Yeah, I said that.

Michael Jackson – Off The Wall

Although this isn’t my favourite MJ album (that accolade goes to Dangerous), this is the one that really kicks things off in terms of his proper solo career. Of course this wasn’t his first solo album but it’s the one that most people remember as the beginning of his icon status and glory (and unfortunate demise). As far as post-disco albums go (can I even call this a post-disco album?), this one uses up the genres dying embers and raises one almighty fire and if you don’t move a single muscle in your body to any song on this LP, you’re either in a coma or you’ve lost your sense of hearing. Michael had great help in the construction of this, from the likes of Rod Temperton of Heatwave, Louis Johnson of The Brothers Johnson and Quincy Jones, the greatest producer at the time and one of the best ever.

Prince – Purple Rain

Yes, I’ve placed a Prince record right after a Michael Jackson one, but in fairness, what better place to put it. Two men who dominated the music of a decade and a generation and continued to do so (albeit on a smaller scale due to their respective controversies). Like Michael, he was a highly talented musician but also quite shy. Music served as their voice and in Prince’s case, she was shouting and screaming with it on Purple Rain, the soundtrack to his first feature film of the same name. I won’t go into too much detail about the movie (you should definitely watch it though) but the album itself is the best combination of electro-funk/R&B/rock/pop/whatever you want to call it of the decade. A lot more expansive than his previous albums, this is due to the full introduction of The Revolution. It’s a masterpiece of synthesised proportions and coupled with Prince’s attire, a 80s Mozart-esque collection of musicianship.

Twitter Exile Update #6 + My List Of “Complete” Albums: Part One

starchildluke — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:00:38 +0000

Hello, all! Another quick update. Nothing new to really mention. Been thinking about my “online” presence in terms of my music and Addicted (which is five weeks old today) and other outlets to get the word out, excluding Twitter and Facebook. I’m running out. Pretty sure I’ve turned Tumblr and Google+ into my new “vices” but not the point where I’ve felt like I’ve been wasting time on them when I should be doing other things; to the contrary, I’ve been quite productive these past couple of days with work on a new album. Whether “normal service” will resume is anyone’s guess. With any luck, it won’t. Perhaps a minimalistic approach will be more effective but I’ll see how I feel.

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While I’ve been working on this “new material”, I’ve been listening to a few albums on repeat for inspiration and it made me think of all the albums I’ve heard over the years that aren’t necessarily “the greatest of all time” but work as whole entities as opposed to “a CD of 10-20 hit singles”, much like the kind of releases you find in mainstream music today. So here are some of those special complete albums. If you enjoy them enough, please feel free to click the links provided and support the artists by purchasing their music. In no particular order…

Flying Lotus – Los Angeles

The good thing about writing about your favourite albums is you don’t have to worry about what to say. I’ve listened to this at least ten times in the past few weeks. The gritty soundscapes from start to finish are some of the most unique sounds you’ll hear in an album in an era of loudness and clean metered music. It’s one of those albums where you could listen to it from start to finish and not really know when one track starts and another begins. Many times, I thought a track was really good and realised it hadn’t even changed over and with every full listen, you learn to appreciate a different song a bit more. It’s the LP that keeps on giving. If you’re into off kilter beats and rough sounding music of a vaguely hip hop/electronic/jazz inclination (I say “vaguely” as it’s impossible to define FlyLo’s music anymore, which makes it stand out even more), I strongly suggest you get a copy of this.

J Dilla – Donuts

Imagine you’re on your deathbed as it were. What would you do? Contemplate on all the things you wish you had done? Prepare yourself for death? Feel depressed? Or perhaps you’d complete a whole album? Well, Dilla decided to do the latter and created Donuts. While the production is a lot different to Los Angeles, you get the same kind of rough fragmented control from both and you can hear the inspiration. With nothing more than a Boss SP-303 sampler and a stack of records, this album came to being. Not many of the tracks go past a minute but that never serves as a disadvantage. This is very much a collection of his inspirations, muse-ic if you will (see what I did there?). Some of the tracks were later redone and added to future releases but as they are on this album, they have a certain classic charm to them. If you can appreciate where this came from and what it represents, you’ll love it. If not, you can always try.

Madvillain – Madvillainy

If you’ve spotted a bias anywhere, you caught me red handed. I love hip hop, especially the “unorthodox” stuff you won’t hear on the radio – the stuff they WON’T play you. Like the other two in this list, it’s rough, quirky and not mainstream in the slightest and that’s probably why I love it so much. DOOM’s lyricism is on point on this album and coupled with Madlib‘s unconventional production, it’s one of the few hip hop albums to be unique and good at the same time amongst the menagerie of sameness. If I had to pick a favourite off the LP, it’d have to be Raid. I found an everlasting love for the track when I heard the original sample and realised just how well Madlib flipped it. It doesn’t even sound flipped and it’s that kind of seamless production you don’t hear so much of at the moment. Easily one of the best hip hop albums of the 2000s and one you won’t be hearing much about in the mainstream so if you see a copy, COP IT.

Zero 7 – Simple Things

A break from the hip hop trend but if you know Zero 7, you’ll know their inspirations aren’t too far from mine. There’s a certain “snobbery” when it comes music of this genre; “chillout” music can often be associated with what people call “elevator music”, a term I hate with a passion. To call any track off this album an elevator song is to deem pretty much any soft orchestral/instrumental composition worthy of a few seconds listening while you wait to reach your floor. No, this album is worth a lot more than that. It starts with a cover of I Have Seen, something I had only discovered myself a few months back and it’s done beautifully. The introduction of Sia and Sophie Barker on Destiny and in tracks throughout are perfect for the soundscapes Binns and Hardaker create. They took the kind of vibe Portishead created with Dummy and took it in a different direction and certainly captured my soul with it.

4hero – Play With The Changes

From being the unsung heroes and pioneers of drum and bass (they actually came with it before everyone else) to transposing their style into “nu jazz”, 4hero have always set a high benchmark for electronic music in Britain, but if you’re not that into music, you may only know them for their cover of Les Fleur as featured on that Bailey’s advert where everyone is floating. Considering what they did for drum and bass in the early 90s, the Mercury Prize nomination they received for Two Pages in 1998 and collaborations with the likes of Jill Scott, Ursula Rucker, Phonte and Darien Brockington, it’s a shame that if you asked many people, it’d be the Bailey’s advert song they’d most likely remember, but I digress. Play With The Changes is one of those magnum opus types of albums, a culmination of a lot of work and effort put in over the years, moving between different styles as time and trends have passed. It has a healthy mix of soul, R&B and jazz tinged with the old Dollis Hill-flavoured D&B and breakbeat. As I mentioned earlier, there are some superb artists who feature on this LP so it’s definitely worth a listen if you can get it.

A Tribe Called Quest – Midnight Marauders

Unfortunately, when you catch onto hip hop late, you miss all the classics coming out. I didn’t hear this until about 2009/2010, over a decade and a half after it was released. Regardless, it has aged perfectly (like Stacey Dash but without the black man hating) and my favourite hip hop album of all time. There has always been a debate about which Tribe album is better, this or Low End Theory. Each has its own merits but for me personally, Midnight Marauders takes everything from Low End Theory and takes it one step further. From the tour guide intro straight into Steve Biko, you know you’re onto a classic. Not only is Q-Tip on point with the production on this (it says that Tribe were responsible for all the production but even Tip himself said he did it all, the ego man he is), but Phife really comes hard with the rhymes and totally dominates on God Lives Through, Eight Million Stories and does a great job on Electric Relaxation, my favourite track on the album. I can’t really talk about Midnight Marauders without expressing my deep love for Electric Relaxation. Whether it’s the sample, the fact that it’s a three bar beat, the brilliant lyricism or the mood it conveys, it’s one of the ultimate hip hop tracks of all time and certainly one of the best from the golden age.

Twitter Exile Update #5 and Shipwrecked: What A Load Of Plebs

starchildluke — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:51:35 +0000

Only a quick update today. I’ve not blogged much over the past few days as I’ve been spending less time on the internet in the evenings (I really must be changing). I’ve decided to stop sending blog posts to Twitter (after a chat with an anonymous friend). As for missing Twitter, I’m becoming more used to not having it. I’m still going to do the whole month and then see how I feel after that. In all honesty, I don’t think I’ll be the same user I used to be and I don’t plan on putting the apps back on my phone.

Now, for the main event…

Shipwrecked

Today, something strange happened. Something I hadn’t felt for a very long time: I felt physical hate towards a group of people. It used to be a common occurrence when I was in my late teens; not so much in a “teenage angst ridden why doesn’t anyone understand me?” kind of way, but just a general distaste for society (which still remains). The reason for this vitriol-fuelled anger is because of (half) of the people in the picture above.

Meet (most of) the cast of Shipwrecked 2011. In terms of my faith in humanity, it disintegrates every week watching these people. They give twentysomethings a bad name and Tories ammunition to dump on younger people. Why do I watch it? Cos I like half of them and it’s interesting to watch how people work. I made a point of saying I dislike only half of the cast. This is because a section of them took it upon themselves to split themselves up into two groups: The Hills and The Slums. In The Hills, you have:

Anna, the stereotypical blonde bimbo model with the fake breasts (how ironic it would be if they were PIP implants, which sounds cruel but you may see why I said that later)
Bear, possibly the biggest cretin this side of the Milky Way, who is secretly in the closet (if the closet was the sky and the sky was pink)
Tristan, the kick boxing trainer-cum-wanker from Bedfordshire who sees himself as a master tactician but instead comes off more like The Hooded Claw
Brimes, the stereotypical grime MC/entertainer/comedian/look at me I’m black and from London token black guy who is or isn’t homophobic, something he hasn’t really formulated in his own mind
Dominique, his “island girlfriend” who claimed she “preferred light skinned guys like Chris Brown“. Yeah, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!
Salema, the black model who is Anna’s arch nemesis but can’t decide whether she’s also a moron or pretending

For The Slums, we have:

Danni, the buxom law student from Essex who defies 90% of the stereotypes that Essex girls hold close to their large chests. Seriously though, she’s really nice (and hot)
Ashley, the Mancunian lesbian who’s more down to earth than an earthworm and she’s a vegetarian, so that’s two reasons (out of a million) why we could never be together
Carl, the model Scouser who’s really just a bit of fun and doesn’t take things too seriously unless you rub his friends up the wrong way (best kind of friend to have)
Kate, the “larger than life” Londoner, self proclaimed wheeler dealer who had to abandon her game plan after being outed and now just wants to make friends

Now, I’ve been quite biased in my descriptions which may give you a reason why I hate “The Hills” so much. They are, in short, nasty pieces of work. Watching their lies and deceit unfold reminds me of a horrific mix of Lord Of The Flies and Britain as it is under this Tory government (cos let’s face it, the Lib Dems are marginalised enough for their names to barely get a mention on TV unless they fuck up royally). The Hills are the “rich, prosperous folk who rule the roost” and The Slums “live barely teetering on the bread line, not wanting to better themselves, bless their polyester socks from Sport Soccer on sale for £2″. Anna seems to think she runs the show, giving the air of the most arrogant of twunts you could ever meet, even going so far as to look disgusted by the presence of herself during her one-to-one interviews, the smug cow. (Of course, this is pre-recorded and the show has already happened, but let’s pretend they’re currently horrible parasites as opposed to TV imbeciles.) Her choice of “alpha male” comes in form of Bear, a man who is one manly slip of the hand away from a gay orgy. To call him an airhead is like claiming The Pope is only slightly religious. But that’s how it really happens on TV and in real life; the island is like a nightclub to them. While they’re there, people hook up with anyone, no matter what they look like or how they speak. In the real world, they wouldn’t even piss on them if they were on fire. Same sort of situation with Brimes and Dominique. As stated before, Dom likes Chris Brown-types *snigger* while Brimes thought there was something there. Or maybe there was, who knows (or cares). Either way, superficial is the name of the game with The Hills.

Every week, they vote for who they think should be island leader, with people standing for election with their themed weeks. Currently, The Hills have it rigged so one of the group get voted in every week as they have majority (where’s the alternative vote when you need it, eh?). Each elected leader gets a bead and the last leader can take a bead off someone else and give it to someone who they think deserves it. Sound a lot like the Tories taking money from the taxpayers and giving it to… the bank, perhaps? Or just keeping it for themselves as the working class exist to facilitate the upper class through a life of servitude. Or something. The worst thing is, everyone in The Hills think they’re alright because one of them will win and that’ll make them feel good. Little do they know Tristan is backstabbing them all (David Cameron?). Bearing in mind only ONE person can win, what benefit is it to the “losers” if they help someone else win? That’s the part I don’t get. I suppose it’s like when Arsenal fans support any team that plays Man United. At least I understand that in a way but wouldn’t waste my time with that level of nonsense.

I guess what I’m really trying to say about the whole charade is pretty much how people behave in Britain. We have the rich and the poor, the poor hate the rich and vice versa. Communities are more like self-segregating ghettos in towns and cities, nobody wants to talk to anyone and when shit hits the fan, it’s either the fault of Labour, students, black peoples, Asian people, immigrants or terrorists (and of course, they’re all Asian so they’re even more screwed). On the island, there was even an incident where people who decided they didn’t want to watch a pig get slaughtered were “cowards” and “hypocrites” if they didn’t watch but ate the meat. Sounds a lot like the way people are treated when they are looked down at when they turn their nose up at unpaid voluntary work and prefer to not work but actually get money. Perhaps if we stopped and looked at ourselves before we started looking at others and how everyone else is doing it wrong and worked together, we wouldn’t have such a shit nation and society to live in. Until then, we’re stuck with The Hills ruling forevermore. Sorry Gil, but the revolution WILL be televised.

Twitter Exile Update #3 + Thanks

starchildluke — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:20:50 +0000

Just an update today, not got much else to say (hey, that rhymes). Today’s been a lot easier than yesterday despite me not doing very much. I’ve decided to let my blog posts go to Twitter from now on. It’s a bit like when you decide to leave where you live cos you hate it and start a new life somewhere else but you want to let everyone you know back home how you are. In other words, these blog posts are like postcards or those fake cigarettes people use when they quit smoking. Also, in my time out, I’m already getting to work on a new album. It’s gonna be darker and different to Addicted and won’t be released under my Starchild moniker. That’s all I’m saying for now. Thanks to everyone who has downloaded the album so far; up to 17 at the moment. If you haven’t already, be sure to check the link below.

http://starchildluke.bandcamp.com/album/addicted

Twitter Exile Update #2 + A Day Of Album Listening

starchildluke — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:16:28 +0000

Another quick update for you all. Day 4 is drawing to an end and it’s been the easiest day so far, purely because I’ve managed to keep myself fairly occupied. The nights are hardest though as that was when I usually tweet a lot and it made me realise just how lonely I am without it. I think I’ve texted four people tonight just to get some form of social engagement. Unfortunately, some of my best friends live quite far away and I don’t drive, so I can’t just randomly go to them so technology really is the only way to keep in touch. On the plus side, I bought some more memory for my laptop and once that comes and it’s installed, I can finish off this new track I’m doing. Trying out a new style for a subsequent release, more towards Flying Lotus, Wax Tailor and the like as opposed to J Dilla, Pete Rock and ATCQ. Once I’ve done enough, I might post a snippet on my Soundcloud.

Onto our feature presentation. Today, I made my way through four albums, two from artists I’d slept on and two from guys who released new material in 2011 but I hadn’t got round to listening to. They were:

Sam Baker’s Album – Samiyam
Butter – Hudson Mohawke
NoYork! – Blu
The Golden Age of Apocalypse – Thundercat

First up this morning was Samiyam’s latest album Sam Baker’s Album. I’ve been a fan of his music since I heard Moon Shoes on YouTube a few years back (after hearing a FlyLo track no less). Eventually, I gave Rap Beats Vol. 1 a listen and thoroughly enjoyed the 8-bit hip hop vibe so I was expecting more of the same for his next album, and he didn’t disappoint. It starts slowly with the opening track Escape but begins to pick up with the classic 80s funk-infused Bedtime. Without a doubt though, my favourite track early on had to be Already, just for the four-chord progression and percussive beat. It would have been amazing if it had been extended to more than the loop but with these kinds of tracks, less is more. The good thing about this album is it never lulls you into a false sense of security, sound wise. It doesn’t tail off into mediocrity but instead sparks your interest just when you think you’re getting comfortable with what you’re hearing, which means you should be taking notice. If you like off kilter beats to the sound of the Atari/NES generation, you might like this one. 4/5

Up next was Hudson Mohawke’s debut LP Butter. Now, I admit I haven’t been a massive fan of his work from the tracks I have heard. Not to say he wasn’t a good producer, I just couldn’t get into his music. Despite this, I decided to give him a full listen via this album so I had something substantial to judge him on. I think it’s fair to say I was pleasantly surprised. The opening track was somewhat weak for me as I felt myself wondering when the beat was going to drop and it never really came. Eventually, things really began to kick off with 3.30 and continued from there as I began to bop my head to the beats. Again, much like Samiyam and everyone of that ilk, his beats are unconventional and “out of time” but some how move something within you that seems just right. I might have made that sound like love making which it isn’t but it’s definitely unique without being different for the sake of it. 4/5

Third album of the day came in the form of Blu’s NoYork!, an album I had wanted to hear for a while, but with the number of albums I had sifted through for my albums of 2011 list, it got left behind. Needless to say, I was hooked from the first two tracks (produced by Flying Lotus, unsurprisingly) and felt that this would be a good new direction for Blu to go in. However something strange happened on the third track. I heard a beat I had grown used to purely as an instrumental. It was none other than Samiyam’s Moon Shoes (entitled Never Be The Same) and it unnerved me a little as I had grown so accustomed to hearing it without vocals over it. I let it go but as the album went on, it felt a bit disjointed with the mix of abstract beats from the FlyLo school of production mixed with the more “conventional” kind of sound from Madlib’s production (not to say he is conventional in ANY way, nor that I prefer conventional). There were a lot of guest stars on this LP but it didn’t seem to spoil the broth as it were. Seemed like an album of two halves but two good halves on their own merit. 3.5/5

Final album of the day was The Golden Age of Apocalypse by Thundercat. For anyone who isn’t aware of Thundercat (or Stephen Brunner as he is known by the government) he’s played bass for US band Suicidal Tendencies, Sa-Ra Creative Partners and Flying Lotus (on Cosmogramma). So you’ll never guess who helped him produce the album? Unlike the other three, this wasn’t isn’t as glitchy as the others, relying on smooth instrumentation with a dash of that FlyLo sound you all love so much. I really enjoyed this album as it sounded like what would happen if some of the jazz greats were cryogenically frozen back in their heydays and thawed out in the 80s, frozen again and thawed out once more in 2011 to show us what they had learnt. Great jazz, soul, funk, 70s everything feel and great production. 4.5/5

Twitter Exile Update #1 + Artist Of The Minute #8

starchildluke — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:11:52 +0000

Click me to access my new album!

Happy new year everyone! Just thought I’d give you all a quick update on how my self-exile from the land of Twitter is going: it’s tough. I’ve been on “breaks” before and they’ve been pretty easy compared to this one. I even opened one of my Twitter apps out of habit. Fortunately, I had deleted my account settings therefore not breaking my own rules. I also accidentally “tweeted” last night due to automated tweet settings on Soundcloud when I favourited a song. As I didn’t actually log on and tweet that directly, I won’t count that as a rule break. As you can see, I’m finding this harder than it should be but that’s the price I’ve paid for going cold turkey. I reckon if I can do a week, the others should be easier. The main thing I’ve missed about it at the moment is the chance to publicise the album. I’ve not had many hits since I left as I was the only one sending the link out, but in spite of that, I’ve accrued 14 downloads in the 3 days so thanks to everyone who has supported. For anyone who hasn’t checked it out yet, click the album cover at the top of this post.

Onto the main feature. My artist of the minute today is Flying Lotus. Born Steven Ellison, he is the great-nephew of the late Alice Coltrane, which serves as no surprise when you hear his music. He’s been a huge inspiration for me, ever since I was first sent his debut album 1983 back in 2008. I remember the first time I heard Tea Leaf Dancers, it was like I was tripping. Since then, I’ve always been fascinated by his sound and how he creates it. He’s been somewhat pigeonholed into genres like “experimental hip hop” and “trip hop” but I think his music is beyond those sorts of labels (without sounding “hipster” or pretentious). You can hear how he tries to create soundscapes, filling every silence with some form of noise without it being unnecessary or overbearing. His second album Los Angeles is the one that really hit me. The cohesion of each track is superb and even though all but two of the tracks are instrumental, you don’t feel like there’s anything missing.

From here, he moved onto Cosmogramma. While I have a fondness in my musical heart for Los Angeles, Cosmogramma is *that* album. Everyone has an album from one of their favourite artist where it really cements their place in your own little hall of fame and this is it for FlyLo. It’s good enough not to warrant a genre as it traverses a myriad of sonic concepts (I’m beginning to sound REALLY pretentious now, but bare with me). Without doubt, my favourite track has to be Do The Astral Plane and something that I look to when I’m running out of ideas for my own tracks. It’s a stream of musical elements and you don’t even notice when one goes and until it reappears again. Anyway, judge for yourself:

With talks of Ellison working with Erykah Badu on a new release, it seems the only way is up for the Los Angeles producer and I couldn’t wish it for a better musician.

2011: My year

starchildluke — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:34:47 +0000

At the time of writing this, I have just over forty five minutes before I leave Twitter and Facebook indefinitely. Which means I have to sum up my year in a short space of time. To be fair, it’s not been what I expected and not very “eventful”, per se. The first half saw me break up with my long term girlfriend (can you call eight months long term?) and find someone really special, which unfortunately didn’t work out. I spent the second half getting over that and while it was very hard on me, emotionally, I managed to get through it and keep a friend I thought I’d lost forever. In a way, it was quite a sad year in that it was defined by those two relationships or that I let them define the year but some great things came out of 2011. I managed to complete my first solo album Addicted, meet some fantastic people and attempt at getting my foot in the door. I also managed to get through my first full year of university without dropping out, which is always good. So yeah, definitely a mixed twelve months.

Some things I’ve learnt/am learning to take with me into 2012:

I’m worth more than I know
I need to think less and do more; act more on impulse or “gut feeling”
Express my opinions more
I need to save up for a musical instrument of some sort
I don’t need to let a relationship define who I am
I should read more
I should engage with others more

I will try and make a conscious effort to make all these things happen and turn these “resolutions”, if you will, into actions. My first main action is removing the connection I have from social networking altogether. This might sound counter-productive being a musician but I’ve made sure to leave things in place where I won’t NEED to be ingrained into something I don’t need to invest so much time into. I’ll still be blogging and using the internet but I won’t let it become a “second life” or the main life I lead. I want to be able to experience 2012 in the real world, with real people and not have to share it electronically in the ways I have.

I suppose I’m covering old ground from my previous post(s) so I’ll leave it there. It’s currently 11:28pm on 31st January 2011 and I am wishing everyone who is into 2012 already a very happy and prosperous new year and to everyone who hasn’t reached it yet the same. A massive thank you to everyone who has made Twitter and Facebook a great experience for me and I hope to hear from you very soon. Feel free to leave your email address in a comment if you want to stay in touch, else just subscribe to the blog and keep a look out for my life updates (if I can be bothered; I can be lazy like that sometimes).

And don’t forget: Be inspired!

My Albums of the Year: 2011

starchildluke — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:08:28 +0000

Yes, it’s that time of year – the “album list” blog post. But this one is slightly different. This is purely based on the albums I’ve listened to this year from 2011, ordered by my favourite right down to my “least” favourite. In that respect, these are MY albums of the year. I won’t like the same albums you will and vice versa so saying “why is X not ahead of Y” is futile. This is a common disclaimer in these kinds of posts and it’s a shame but it needs to be said. So, enough of all that. Here’s the list!

53. Tha Carter IV – Lil Wayne
Album in six words: Hash tag crap, but Busta killed

52. Revolver – T-Pain
Album in six words: Can’t teach old dog better tricks

51. Take Care – Drake
Album in six words: Struggle bars and lots of moisture

50. Radioactive – Yelawolf
Album in six words: Toxic waste, maybe. New Eminem? HAHA!

49. Section.80 – Kendrick Lamar
Album in six words: Sorry, I just couldn’t feel it

48. Scars & Stripes – The Away Team
Album in six words: Okay hip hop, nothing more really

47. XXX – Danny Brown
Album in six words: Album of two halves, second better

46. Thursday – The Weeknd
Album in six words: Not my kinda vibe, but good

45. Echoes of Silence – The Weeknd
Album in six words: Same as above, a little better

44. Audio, Video, Disco – Justice
Album in six words: Was expecting better, same ol’ electropop

43. The Presentation – LA
Album in six words: Great effort from a female MC

42. Mondo Amore – Nicole Atkins
Album in six words: Just how I like my rock

41. Watch The Throne – Kanye West/Jay-Z
Album in six words: Overhyped, but otherwise return to form

40. The Martyr – Immortal Technique
Album in six words: Goes in hard, comes out well

39. Dirty Pretty Things – Rapper Big Pooh
Album in six words: Great effort, half of Big Brother

38. Cole World: The Sideline Story – J Cole
Album in six words: Jack of all trades, mastery imminent?

37. THE PRESTIGE: Jam Boy Magic – Money Making Jam Boys
Album in six words: Top quality, obviously it’s Black Thought

36. COPYCAT (a Dilla Tribute) – vlooper
Album in six words: Dilla tribute? This was done well

35. The Wonder Years – 9th Wonder
Album in six words: Wanted a little more, solid nevertheless

34. Population Control – Statik Selektah
Album in six words: Great work featuring some brilliant MCs

33. My Life II The Journey Continues (Act I) – Mary J Blige
Album in six words: Mary did her thing, nice soul

32. Immortal – Michael Jackson
Album in six words: Less of an album, more extravaganza

31. Darkest Before The Dawn – Daikatamy
Album in six words: Great sample selection, not quite dead

30. Winston’s Appeal LP – Curly Castro
Album in six words: Catchy hip hop groove, underground shit!

29. The Most Awkward – Knowsum
Album in six words: Same as above, top German shit!

28. High Life – Vanilla
Album in six words: Great sampling flipping, a UK treat

27. El Camino – The Black Keys
Album in six words: Fuzzy goodness courtesy of Danger Mouse

26. Camp – Childish Gambino
Album in six words: “Don’t take it seriously” hip hop

25. The Renaissance - Verandah-Maureen Shepard
Album in six words: Sweet voice caressing sweeter prose

24. Mylo Xyloto – Coldplay
Album in six words: Usual Coldplay, playable pop (controversial opinion)

23. Random Axe – Random Axe
Album in six words: Rough around the edges, just right

22. Deerhoof vs. Evil – Deerhoof
Album in six words: German rock laced with Japanese charm

21. Beat Beast – Audiodope
Album in six words: Clues in the name, Swiss dopeness

20. Soundcheck – Suhnraw
Album in six words: Generous offering, Raw Soul indeed

19. Ceremonials – Florence + The Machine
Album in six words: Red head, pale skin, pop album

18. Perfectionist – Natalia Kills
Album in six words: Bradford plus Uruguay equals hell yes

17. Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam – Ghostpoet
Album in six words: Great production, nice experimental flow here

16. Ambition – Wale
Album in six words: Better than his debut, top quality

15. Master of Ceremonies – Styles P
Album in six words: Don’t sleep on this one, okay?

14. Wasting Light – Foo Fighters
Album in six words: First foray into hard rock. Brilliant.

13. New Blood – Peter Gabriel
Album in six words: Lovely orchestral covers of Gabriel’s best

13. Barton Hollow – The Civil Wars
Album in six words: Phenomenal chemistry from two good friends

12. Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang – Raekwon
Album in six words: That’s some tight production. Wu-tang!

11. Monumental - Pete Rock & Smif-N-Wessun
Album in six words: Pete Rock at his very best

10. The Light of the Sun – Jill Scott
Album in six words: She’s still got it, hot soul

9. Pala – Friendly Fires
Album in six words: Had this on repeat late Summer

8. Habits of the Heart – Idle Warship
Album in six words: Almost my favourite hip hop collab

7. The Greatest Story Never Told – Saigon
Album in six words: This shit goes IN. Cop it!

6. 21 – Adele
Album in six words: British soul for a new age

5. Metals – Feist
Album in six words: My favourite folk album currently. Tremendous!

4. Charity Starts At Home – Phonte
Album in six words: So close to #1, fantastic album

3. Elmatic – Elzhi
Album in six words: Superb reinterpretation of a classic album

2. The Dreamer/The Believer – Common
Album in six words: Hip hop doesn’t get much better

And at #1…

1. Undun – The Roots
Album in six words: This album: starting a new era?

Album Release: Addicted

starchildluke — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 01:48:55 +0000

At midnight tonight, I will be releasing Addicted, my first solo album. This post is to really explain what the album is about, my musical background and my influences.

I’ll start with explaining the title. I had initially wanted to call it Nebula (Starchild, Nebula being the birth of a star, space, you get the idea) but changed my mind and ended up with Addicted, which was a “rumoured” title for Jamiroquai’s eighth album, which was eventually called Rock Dust Light Star. It was also the reason why my first EP was called Obsessed; I like to link my titles or give them some kind of meaning. Once that was decided, I had to figure out whether to make it another concept piece or just a culmination of my best tracks. I had an idea to have all the titles begin with “The” but as time went on and my newer beats became more improved, I had named them different things and scrapped the idea. However, a few of the original beats, including a few from the EP, will feature. Another reason for picking “Addicted” as a title was because it reflects just how addicted I am to music. I’ve spent nearly a year working on it, for hours a day and I’m really happy with how it’s turned out.

My musical background is somewhat patchy to begin with. I played recorder like most junior school kids in Year 3 and soon stopped. At high school, I played the clarinet for five years but never went past Grade 3. I had wanted to play saxophone but there weren’t any left, so I was left with its smaller black wooden cousin. By college, I had dreams of being a graphic designer, which turned into dreams of working in computer science and I went to university still holding onto that “dream”. Within months, the dream became a nightmare and what I was expecting wasn’t what I got. Days would go by where I would just stay in my room and not talk to anyone. Depressed and having no friends, all I really had was my iPod, my radio and a new secret passion for music. I transferred to study Mathematics in the new academic year, however due to financial difficulties, I had to drop out altogether and I was now at home, desperately looking for work. My passion for design had also been renewed and decided that was what I wanted to do, until a rejection from a university interview put me off entirely. As you can see, I’ve flitted from pillar to post quite a lot over the past three years but music always seemed to stick and that’s where I am now. Okay, I’m waffling.

My influences are quite diverse: Pete Rock, Madlib, J Dilla, ATCQ, Bonobo, Quantic, 4hero, Jamiroquai, Michael Jackson to name but a few. My sound is generally more “old school” than the kind of hip hop you hear in the charts. I like to keep an element of groove and funk in the samples I pick so you can chill and relax or just bob your head. If I’ve ever been stuck in a rut, listening to a few songs from these artists has rejuvenated my drive and I’d like to thank them for all their music. In terms of dedications, I’m dedicating the album to all the fallen greats of music and anyone who has died suddenly or tragically this year, may they all rest in peace and power. Thanks to Nyt Arcanum aka Blaise for all the help and support as well as everyone at RGS. Thanks to everyone on Facebook and Twitter for all your support, kind words and motivation. I’m sorry to be leaving but it’s just something I have to do.

All that’s left for me to say is thank you and I hope you enjoy the album!

EDIT: The link to download is here: http://starchildluke.bandcamp.com/album/addicted