Rough Trade Shops Counter Culture 12

The annual selection of music, albums and artists that proved favourite with the staff and customers at Rough Trade Shops in 2012.

Rough Trade Shops Top 10 of 2012 is represented by Grimes’ (4AD) peachy synthetic pop, Django Django’s (Because) psychedelic art rock and John Talabot’s (Permanent Vacation) superior pop-house alongside a confessional from Alabama Shakes (Rough Trade) and some idiosyncratic rain-folk from Damien Jurado (Secretly Canadian). Allo Darlin’s (Fortuna POP!) giddy indiepop, Toy’s (Heavenly) contemporary motorik, Goat’s (Rocket) kaleidoscopic rhythms and alt-J’s (Infectious) innovative alt-rockism further enhance that list.

The beginning of this double-disc collection follows the Counter Culture tradition of starting slow and low with the beautiful, intense ‘10am Gare Du Nord’ by Keaton Henson (Oak Ten) which precedes the afore-mentioned Alabama Shakes and Damien Jurado tracks. Not for the first time, Phil Spector casts a shadow over pop this year, and this notion is demonstrated by the inclusion of a trio of artists new to Rough Trade this year – Crybaby (Helium), Jagwar Ma (The Blue Rider) and Opossom (FIRE).

Before CD1 flames out with the incendiary riff-age of METZ (Sub Pop), supported ably by Goat and storming debut singles from the post-punk-influenced Savages (Pop Noire) and Palma Violets (Rough Trade), the track list takes a detour through new formulas for the dancefloor created by Stubborn Heart (One Little Indian), Kindness (Female Energy) and Daphni aka Dan Snaith from Caribou (Jiaolong), then segues into an alt-rock sequence beginning with alt-J and Liars (Mute) before further mutation into a duo of crackin’, Kraut-rockin’ work-outs from Public Service Broadcasting (Test Card) and BEAK>(Invada).

CD2 is where extreme creativity is exhibited by adventurous musicians. Sun Araw and M. Geddes Gengras collaborate with the legendary Congos and their ‘ICON GIVE THANK’ album (FRKWYS) is a ground-breaking fusion of improvised composition and Jamaican dub. Daughn Gibson (White Denim) layers loops from old rockabilly records and combines them with his original vocals while Chromatics (Italians Do It Better) cover a Neil Young classic in their dry and minimal style. Post-industrial legends NON /Boyd Rice (Mute) and Throbbing Gristle / X-TG (Industrial) have important records released this year, the former returning to noise terrorism like he’s never been away, while Carter / Tutti / Christopherson (R.I.P) have produced a stunning re-imagination of Nico’s ‘Desert Shore’ with vocals from Antony, Marc Almond and Blixa Bargeld amongst others.

Zebra Katz’s (Mad Decent) ‘Ima Read’ is a slice of capricious high-school horror-core, blending rap, minimal techno and the world of Vogue-ing in equal measure and is truly unique. Debut EPs from Diamond Version (Mute/ Raster-Noton), TNGHT (Warp) and Acidliner (Gangsigns) have been massively popular on the shopfloor. All three of whom subtly mess with electronics in brand new ways and they, along with the Kindness, Daphni and Talabot remind us that 2012 was also a good year on the dancefloor

The big hitters from Grimes and Talabot follow, before we introduce the closing section of this year’s comp, a quintet of truly innovative electronic and avant-pop compositions from Julia Holter (RVNG), Halls and Vinyl Williams (both on No Pain In Pop), Group Rhoda (Night School) and the maverick Dan Deacon (Domino). These artists provide a fitting conclusion to the compilation as they, alongside us, attempt to shine a light on where we go next. 

All this for only £9.99. Order your copy HERE...

Brautigan Book Club End of Year...

Those of a literary bent could do a hell of a lot worse this week than head down to Bethnal Green Working Men's Club for the year end shindig with the excellent Brautigan Book Club.

Richard Brautigan is a genuine counter cultural icon, and this brilliant monthly gathering has been spreading the word with verve and imagination all year. This special year end event will feature Martin Carr, Salena Godden and Nathan Penlington amongst others.

Full details of the line up here, ticket booking here.

EXTINCT BOIDS

Rough Trade East are pleased to announce an exhibition of Ralph Steadman's Extinct Boids Suite, 12 images specially created from his and Ceri Levy's book, "Extinct Boids". Exhibited for the first time together, the images are Ralph and Ceri's recent favourites from the collection of boids that have been created over the last year and a half. These boids have been delighting audiences since their arrival into our world and bring their homeland of Toadstool Island closer to us. They all have that distinctive trademark Steadman humour about them and will be accompanied by text and information on their creation by Ceri. So come and marvel at the Needless Smut, the Dodo and the Blue Slut and meet some of their extraordinary friends.The show will run from Monday 3rd December until Sunday 6th January.

Read Robert Rubbish's (one of our past exhibitors in the shop) review of 'Extinct Boids' here...

Rough Trade's Top 10 Albums of 2012

It's that time of year again to announce to the world what our Top 10 albums are for 2012. In reverse order...

10 - Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

Frank Ocean's free-flow barritone is as strong as any key soul vocalist from the past few decades. Throw in the production to match, from true 70's jazz-funk legends, to modern day neo R&B starlets, to the hip hop structure of beats and skits, this album expertly transcends musical eras, with conviction and without ever sounding contrived. Lyrically it pulls no punches around a variety of adult subjects, making the songwriting as broad as it is sonically. As respectfully retro as much as it is the sound of the future. Timeless.

9 Alabama Shakes - Boys and Girls

The hype for Alabama Shakes was like no other in 2012 and this album more than lived up to it on it's release in April. A stunningly beautiful and intoxicating collection of throwback soul, southern rock and r&b grooves. However it's 22 year old singer and guitarist Brittany Howard's voice that makes this really special. part soft and sweet and part full of passion and soul - it recalls Janis, Aretha, and even Otis. She really is a true star and this is from someone who only quit her post office job last November.

8 Django Django - Django Django

Rough Trade exclusive with a bonus 12 track remix cd. Django Django are mining a seam of experimental art rock that hasn't been struck so well since the heady days of The Beta Band, their unique blend of guitar pop, electronica and melodic excellence has taken them to places that most bands wouldn't reach in twice the time. Glam rock oompa loompas at a rave.

7 Alt J - An Awesome Wave

Award winning debut album from this quartet, who have successfully managed to incorporate countless music genres, production techniques and sensibilities, whilst still sounding effortlessly at ease and fully in control of their self-made musical identities. From the epic indie-pop hooks, to the folktronic sentimentality, to the bottom end of the beats and the art rock synths, the albums references are immeasurable, both sonically and literary, without sounding too busy. These combined elements make this an album you'll instantly remember and one you'll want to revisit often.

6 - Damien Jurado - Maraqopa

Rough Trade version with an exclusive 6 track cd of vinyl only cuts and b-sides. Damien Jurado's recent work with Richard Swift has invigorated an already impressive body of work, fleshing out the song-writer's nuanced sketches with rich and original textures. This year's album is a real high water mark, a remarkable monument to the power of good, honest craft and artistic pursuit; an all too rare occurrence in this age of pop idols, reality stars and hype machine hipsters.

5 - Goat - World Music

Rough Trade exclusive with bonus cd featuring 5 tracks recorded at Goat's first ever live show at The Lexington. Truly psychedelic - the debut album from Goat is a wonderous affair, it mixes psych rock freak out, funk and voodoo inspired rhythms but all the while managing absolutely huge killer pop hooks. Play it loud for maximum effect. Goat - the first sonic ritual
.

4 Allo Darlin' - Europe

Rough Trade exclusive with bonus cd featuring six cover versions of AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Ramones, Darren Hayman, Eux Autres and The Go Betweens. A heady mix of wide-eyed indie energy married to a superlative lyrical eye for detail, a bittersweet emotional spectrum featuring Elizabeth Morris' crystal clear, aching vocal performance transcend any notions of twee-pop stereotypes, to create a firmly grounded, acutely observed and very human work of art.

3 Toy - Toy

Rough Trade exclusive with a bonus 6 track cd 'Toy – Live at the BBC. A monumental slab of sonic experimentation anchored with some effortlessly huge hooks and swirling maelstroms of guitars, vintage synths and reverb drenched vocals Toy combine influences with an ease and maturity that belie their tender years. The rock band for the age may well have emerged.

 

2 John Talabot - Fin

Rough Trade exclusive with a bonus 9 track cd featuring new tracks, b-sides and mixes from Bullion, Kenton Slash, Bostro Pesopeo and Pachanga Boys plus updated artwork. John Talabot has triumphantly intertwined sunburnt balearic boogie with touches of filtered French funk, alongside the rain-sheltering bleakness of British bass after-dark, the shady warehouse depths of early German deep house, and cinematic synth-heavy soundcapes worthy of the Italians - landing itself as a finished piece on the very aptly-named permanent vacation label. The result is an album which is a relatively chirpy multi-Euro dance-in-the-dark at first glance, but undoubtedly harbours a much more heads-down sense of darkness under it's surface. Exceptional.

And finally… 

1 Grimes - Visions

Rough Trade exclusive with bonus cd. A unique and thrilling sound world in which to lose yourself, hazy, reverb-drenched layers of synth, married to theatrical art-rock hooks and driving post-punk rhythms all buzzing with a direct, spontaneous energy, incredibly and expertly manufactured by one pair of hands and ears, with a brilliant, original and effervescent imagination. The five tracks that make up the bonus disc include three hard-to-find gems recorded in the same period as the album itself alongside two brand new remixes. 'Ambrosia' originally appeared on the Canadian LP pressing of the album, 'Christmas Song' was a digital-only bonus track and 'Song For Ric', a collaboration with Majical Cloudz, appeared on a compilation put together to help launch the music website Ad Hoc. The remixes include Skip's take on 'Genesis' and Baardsen's reworking of 'Be A Body. 

EAT YOUR OWN EARS

London has no shortage of shows or promoters, and every night of the week you can go out and see great music in interesting, esoteric venues that fire the imagination. Eat Your Own Ears has consistently delivered great acts in great spaces to music lovers across this great city, and that's without mentioning the now much beloved Field Day every summer.

We've listed a whole raft of upcoming gigs below, so you can see what's happening... we're expecting great nights out with Mark Kozelek, whose new album is a firm shop favourite and a beautiful slice of wry melancholia; the usual live brilliance of Adam Green, a must-see-live artist; some high brow pagan folk-pop from the soon to be huge Stealing Sheep; a great US songwriting double bill from Andrew Bird and Micah P Hinson; literate, delicate, artful music courtesy of Shearwater; and three HUGE shows from bands that need no hype-men in Django Django, SAVAGES and Gotye. Get info, tickets and good times HERE.

Andrew Bird + Micah P Hinson

Roundhouse, 8th November

Tickets available here

Clock Opera + Bright Light Bright Light

Heaven, 8th November

Tickets available here

Mark Kozelek St Giles

St Giles, 10th November

Tickets available here

Lotus Plaza + His Clancyness

Electrowerkz, 10th November

Tickets available here

Gotye + Special Guests

Hammersmith Apollo, 12th and 13th November

Tickets available here

Adam Green + Binki Shapiro

Bush Hall, 14th November

Tickets available here

Shearwater + Will Samson

Garage, 24th November

Tickets available here

Stealing Sheep + special guests

Bush Hall, 10th December

Tickets available here

Django Django - late show

Shepherds Bush Empire, 21st December

Tickets available here

SAVAGES

Electric Ballroom, 21st February

Tickets available here

Rough Trade On Tour - Back In Paris!

Rough Trade On Tour's sojourning in Paris is set to continue this Autumn with a stall at the second Pitchfork Festival, due to be held on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of November 2012 at the Grande Halle De La Villette. In keeping with the daring pioneer spirit that has established Pitchfork at the vanguard of the modern music world, this is a revolutionary music festival, with over 40 artists playing over two stages in one room. Acts confirmed for this year include Animal Collective, M83, Grizzly Bear, Robyn and Sebastien Tellier and we will be in attendance with our usual festival edit of classics, compilations and all those albums from the artists bursting your eardrums and pulling your heartstrings over the weekend. We'll also be selling all official Pitchfork merchandise as well as bands on the bill's merch. 

If you're in Paris and can't make it to the Festival itself, we'll also have a small edit of Rough Trade merchandise plus a selection of vinyl by some of the artists playing over the festival weekend at When Nothing Happen: A Nothing Major Pop-Up Store.

This very special event is a preview of Nothing Major - a celebration of visual culture being brought to you by the folks at Pitchfork. With the 2nd Pitchfork Music Festival in Paris happening from 1^st – 3^rd November, Nothing Major has partnered with Sergeant Paper Artstore to mark  the occasion.

With a new focus and launch later in the year, this pop-up shop is a small representation of what Nothing Major aims to offer; collaborations with creative and responsible brands, a carefully curated batch of products and opinions, and a vessel of interesting ideas and progressive art.

Featuring:

- A selection of merchandise and vinyl records celebrating festival artists from Rough Trade Shops

- A limited edition t-shirt celebrating the festival designed by Kitsuné Paris.

- A limited run of pull-over flannel shirts made in collaboration with San Francisco’s Taylor Stitch.

- A limited run of the wonderful and previously out-of-stock knit hats by the Jante Law.

- A very small edition of very large prints of never-before-seen still life

photos from festival photographer David C. Sampson.

- A limited run of Festival Posters designed by Appelle moi Papa.

- A series of t-shirts, caps and tote bags commissioned by Nothing Major. 

When Nothing Happens: A Nothing Major Pop-Up Shop opens on 30th October until 4th October at Sergeant Paper Artstore, 38 Rue Quincampoix, 75004 Paris.

See you there... or à bientôt!

Let Fury Have The Hour

My goodness it has been awhile since we posted anything on here. What can I say apart from... sorry. We have been really busy at various festivals up and down the country as well as loads of instores pretty much everyday in the shops, more of which you can out about here.

Anyway, just wanted to let you all know of a screening taking place on 25th October at Riverside Studios...

Your first chance to see new documentary LET FURY HAVE THE HOUR will be the film’s UK Premiere at Riverside Studios on 25^th October. 

“A thrillingly articulate wallop… How refreshing it is to hear musicians and artists eschewing indie softheadedness

and getting to the point.”—Time Out New York

LET FURY HAVE THE HOUR + Q&A, 25^th Oct, Riverside Studios, 7.30pm (£7 / £5 conc)

Acclaimed filmmaker Antonino D'Ambrosio's dynamic social history chronicles a generation of artists & thinkers’ creative-response to the reactionary politics that now defines our culture. An exuberant mixed media collage incorporating art, music, animation, and performance, the film brings together 50 writers, playwrights, painters, poets, skateboarders, dancers, musicians, and rights advocates, each revealing that we can re-imagine the world we live in and take an active role in making that vision a reality.

John Sayles, Chuck D, Shepard Fairey, Lewis Black, Ian MacKaye, Billy Bragg and Tom Morello are among the featured participants in the film and the soundtrack boasts an impressive list of artists, including Public Enemy, Thievery Corporation, MC5, Minor Threat, Fugazi, The Slackers, Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, The Clash, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Billy Bragg, Manu Chao, Gogol Bordello, DJ Spooky and more.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Antonino D’Ambrosio via Skype.

More information can be found here and you can watch the trailer below...

Let Fury Have the Hour (Official Trailer) from James Reid on Vimeo.here

Wonderful London

Smoke - a London Peculiar and the BFI present... WONDERFUL LONDON FILM SCREENING LAUNCH at Rough Trade East this Wednesday 18th July at 7pm.


Henry B Parkinson and Frank Miller's breathtaking 1920s travelogues about our capital city. Travelling from Chelsea to Hackney and taking in the familiar landmarks of London town - Buckingham Palace, the River Thames, Big Ben, Tower Bridge and St Paul's Cathedral, Wonderful London also reveals the unknown nooks and crannies and parts of London rarely filmed; the poorer, over-populated districts of Clerkenwell and Whitechapel and the original Chinatown of Pennyfields in Limehouse. There are glimpses of buildings we can no longer see on the ground; the long-gone Crystal Palace and the recently vanished gates of White City, where London's first Olympic stadium now lies under the Westfield Shopping Centre; on a boat trip up the Thames we can see Fred Karno's legendary 'Karsino'. We can also take a trip through working-class London on a barge from Limehouse to Paddington Basin, via Camden and King's Cross. By bus or tram or foot, we can observe the thronging Sunday street markets and wander down the little alleyways, past the pubs and law courts - buildings that Dickens knew. And most poignantly, we can see a past generation of Londoners going about their business, complaining about the roadworks or looking with curiosity at us through the camera lens - all gone now - but strangely like the Londoners of today.

A Live soundtrack by Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley and Smoke: A London Peculiar editors Jude Rogers and Matt Haynes, plus BFI speaker Bryony Dixon.


Buy the dvd here. More info here.

Port Eliot 2012

Set in the beautiful grounds of the ancient Port Eliot estate (the oldest continually inhabited dwelling in the UK) in southeast Cornwall with a capacity of only 5000, this festival is a magical combination of books, food, music, art, comedy, fashion, films, flowers, photography, wildlife and water. Always inspiring and always surprising, Port Eliot has established itself as a matchless event on the arts calendar; things happen at Port Eliot you just don't find at other festivals. Last year, Kate Winslet gave an impromptu reading and Hollywood maestro Martin Scorsese curated the outdoor cinema.

Rough Trade Shops will be taking their legendary store to Port Eliot again this year and you'll find us in Caught By The River's area opposite The Boathouse with merchandise, vinyl and cds for sale. Check in with us at the beginning of the weekend to find out what time the signing sessions begin.

A huge hit over the last few years at the festival, Caught By The River returns with another stellar line-up lovingly compiled to evoke this much lauded and greatly loved online 'fishing and culture' magazine's playful spirit and celebrate the best things in life – from idling away an afternoon with nothing but fishing line and thought to great books, music and beer. Expect readings from Chris Yates and Tim Burgess (check out the video link below of his instore here at Rough Trade East), haircuts from Mr Natty, an installation from Andrews Of Arcadia, DJs such as Andrew Weatherall and Jonny Trunk and live music from the likes of Jeb Loy Nichols,Diagrams, The Bees, Robert Ellis,Crybaby, new Heavenly signings Toy and Stealing Sheep plus an exclusive UK festival appearance from Beth Orton.

To see the full line up and to be kept up to date on all things Port Eliot, sign up to their mailing list here…www.porteliotfestival.com

In Conversation... Tim Burgess from theQuietus on Vimeo.