Minimix 01: Synth Eastwood

Welcome to the first of Synth Eastwood’s 30 minute minimixes. The idea is simple. Every couple of weeks or so we will invite someone to make a mix or pick a playlist of songs they would like to share. Songs to work to, songs to cry to, songs to get hubba hubba to. In addition to this we will be asking each guest DJ to write a little about the songs they’ve chosen and any golden nuggets on the artists they find interesting.

First up to pleasure your ears is Synth Eastwood’s Simon Cullen.

Track 1
Hello Earth – Kate Bush
This song came back to me recently through the magic of randomisation. Straight onto the shortlist for the opening track of this first blog mix… as a sort of gentle heraldry. It’s from the seminal album Hounds of Love. If you can make the time the Classic Albums episode is well worth a goosey gander at the making of this masterpiece.

Track 2
Gullfjellet – Bjorn Torske
I came across this guy only recently but he’s been releasing spacey experimental music from his home in Norway for a while. This one is a nice soft bouncy number that fully activates the relax nodes. There’s also something a bit Christmassy about it which is a nice little echo of the recent festivities. Listen to his MySpace here or you can sample one of his great mixes here.

Track 3
Providence – Somadrone
Neil O’Connor released his 3rd album under the moniker of Somadrone late last year in the middle of a blizzard. Unfortunately this spoiled his plans to tour in Ireland while he was home. This album features Neil singing for the first time and Providence is a fine example of this evolution in his sound. There’s an excellent video shot by Eoghan Kidney too you can take a look at here.

The LP Depth of Field was released by experimental indie art rock label Skinny Wolves. More from Neil here too.

Track 4
Into the Cosmos – Architeq (Beatnick dub)
This track was taken from the Into the Cosmos E.P. released on the Tirk Label late last year. Architeqs slowed down funk disco space freakouts have a quirky sense of humour about them and everything on the E.P. has something to offer your ears.

You can sample the rest of the tracks here.

Track 5
Soak it Up – Houses
Hailing from Chicago this bands album is due out on Future Classics pretty soon. I found this little blurb on Soundcloud from one of the band members explaining how the album came about. “I got laid off from my job at the end of last year and decided I needed a change. My girlfriend put in her two weeks notice and we moved out to a little cabin in Papaikou, Hawaii. It’s a pretty remote place outside of Hilo (i.e no plumbing/electricity/gas). We worked for meals during the day cultivating microorganisms and learning the basics of sustainable living. We drank, showered and cooked with rain water. In our downtime, she would paint and I would record. We’d have to light candles in an effort to save solar power to keep my computer running. The music comes from a place of love and ease.”

They have a Soundcloud page but there’s nothing on it at the mo. But if you start following them you’ll get a heads up on new releases.

Track 6
Son of A Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield (Houltog Bootleg)
Anyone who was there for the final hours at the Peace Pagoda on the stormy Sunday at Electric Picnic 2010 will remember the edit of the Lou Reed song we played at the very end of our set. We love this guys edits for their subtle injection of friendly dance floor bounce.
Check out his Soundcloud page for more of this.

Track 7
Genius of Love – Tom Tom Club (Senor Coconut Remix)
This track is from a forth coming Tom Tom Club release called Genius of Live. The album features remixes from a handful of artists including Money Mark, The Pinker Tones, and Senor Coconut of the classic Genius of Love. Senor Coconuts electro sensual version stands out for me. Rigid and Round. The album is due out on February 7th in the UK.
More info here.

Track 8
Gibson in E – Ulysses
I first heard this track on a Prins Thomas mix in the summer of last year, you can always rely on the Prins to provide. It was subsequently released on his Internasjonal label later in the year. Every time I put it on it instantly inspires a warm happy feeling and gets me doing the airplane. More from Ulysses here.

If you would like to listen to other mixes in the series. Click here.
If you hate streaming you can download here.