Fleur-de-Lys Club's Blog

Best of 2010

fleurdelysclub — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:02:00 +0000

2010 has been a good year for music without being outstanding. The number of standout albums this year is down from 2009 although there has been several great EP’s, such as James Blake, Washed Out and Cults that bodes for an exciting 2011. You can listen to a selection of songs on Spotify from the ‘Fleur-de-Lys 25 best albums of 2010′ (Click Here) However, we must remember that some great 2010 highlights are not available on Spotify, notably Arcade Fire and Mount Kimbie.

In no particular order here is the Fleur-de-Lys Club FAVOURITE FIVE albums of 2010.

Vampire Weekend – Contra

Caribou – Swim

Perfume Genius – Learning

Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid

Connan Mocaksin – Please Turn Me Into Snat

Anika – Cause Bristol is Anywhere

fleurdelysclub — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:39:30 +0000

A curious artist popped up on the radar this week, going simply by the name ‘Anika’. It seems that Anika is somewhat of a creative butterfly working as political journalist, photographer, blogger and musician fluttering between London, her current home Berlin, and most significantly Bristol. If any one city has developed it’s ‘own sound’ over the past 25 years Bristol would surely be top of many people’s list. No doubt Anika will be touted as the next product of the ‘Bristol Sound’ with her raw scuzzy blend of dub and punk, sounding like ESG on West Country crack. Her debut album, set for release 25th October, is after all produced by ‘Beak’ and released on Bristol label ‘Invada’. Anyway, who cares about the pointless journalistic tack when the music is this intriguing. Whether it be in Bristol, Berlin or Bamako, I sense that this is one girl who will not go unnoticed.

Download: Yang Yang by Anika
MySpace Page: myspace.com/anikainvada

Anika

September 15th 2010 Fleur-de-Lys Club Playlist

fleurdelysclub — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:02:37 +0000

Here’s the playlist from last night’s Fleur-de-Lys Club at The Lexington. It was the 20th consecutive Fleur-de-Lys Club and to mark the special occasion we’re giving away mp3′s of ‘Goodtown’ by Wagons and Zeus’s cover of ‘That’s All’ by Genesis.

1. ‘Too Much’ by Sufjan Stevens
2. ‘Love is All’ by The Tallest Man on Earth
3. ‘Atheist Funeral’ by Dan Sartain
4. ‘Goodtown’ by Wagons
5. ‘Sea Talk’ by Zola Jesus
6. ‘Stranded’ by The Walkmen
7. ‘That Day’ by Villagers
8. ‘Your Four Limbs’ by Kurran And the Wolfnotes
9. ‘Everywhere’ by Fleetwood Mac (Vampire Weekend remix)
10. ‘Animal’ by Real Fur
11. ‘That’s All’ by Genesis (Zeus remix)
12. ‘Open Eyes’ by Sleepy Sun
13. ‘Uprising’ by Muse
14. ‘Barricade’ by Interpol
15. ‘Lines Are in the Sand’ by MONA
16. ‘We Used to Wait’ by Arcade Fire
17. ‘When I Come Home’ by The Drums
18. ‘Hate to Say I Told You So’ by The Hives
19. ‘Bandages’ by Hot Hot Heat
20. ‘Groove Me’ by Maximum Balloon

Downloads:
Goodtown by Henry Wagons
That’s All by Zeus (Genesis cover)

Quality Control: Admiral Fallow

fleurdelysclub — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:54:08 +0000

There is nothing more pleasing than when quality music gains the widespread exposure it deserves. There is too much mediocre music that gets churned through the well oiled PR machine and pushed into the public‘s unwilling consciousness. However, occasionally talented artists will gain gradual recognition in a very organic way as more and more listeners are drawn to their music through recommendation. It is very pleasing therefore to see momentum building for Glaswegian folksters ‘Admiral Fallow’ as more and more people discover their beautifully crafted debut release on Lo Five Records ‘Boots Met My Face’. There was no massive budget or major label backing, the album was recorded using funding by The Scottish Arts Council, just honest well written songs played from the soul. Following a spellbinding live performance on The BBC Introducing Stage at this years T in the Park Festival attention was drawn to Admiral Fallow, leading to support slots for The Felice Brothers and a live appearance on BBC’s TV show ‘The Cut’. Boots Met My Face comes highly recommended so do yourself a favour and go buy the album, this is bandwagon you won’t want to miss.

MySpace Page: myspace.com/admiralfallow
Download Mp3:Four Bulbs by Admiral Fallow

'Boots Met My Face' album cover

Aug 18th 2010 Fleur-de-Lys Club Playlist

fleurdelysclub — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:25:48 +0000

Here’s the playlist for the Fleur-de-Lys Club last night at The Lexington.

1. ‘Weakend’ by Yu(c)k
2. ‘Mr Ptereson’ by Perfume Genius
3. ‘Lemonade’ by Coco Rosie
4. ‘USA Boys’ by HEALTH
5. ‘Chinatown’ by Wild Nothing
6. ‘Stay Close’ by Delorean
7. ‘Alone’ by Dark Horses
8. ‘Love on a Real Train’ by Tangerine Dream
9. ‘Oxygene Part IV’ by Jean Michel Jarre
10. ‘ Autobahn’ by Kraftwerk
11. ‘Night Time’ by The xx
12. ‘Skies over Cairo’ by Django Django
13. ‘If You Return’ by Maximum Balloon
14. ‘Moon Crooner’ by Egyptian Hip Hop
15. ‘White Sky’ by Vampire Weekend
16. ’99 Luftballoons’ by Nena
17. ‘Leave House’ by Caribou
18. ‘Party Killer’ by David E Sugar
19. ‘Atomic Dog’ by George Clinton
20. ‘Baby I’m Yours’ by Breakbot
21. ‘Pulstar’ by Vangelis
22. ‘Ecstacy’ by JJ
23. ‘Bang A Gong’ by T. Rex
24. ‘We Own the Sky’ by M83
25. ‘Temptation’ by New Order (Jukebox the Ghost remix)
26. ‘Hooting and Howling’ by Wild Beasts
27. ‘Zooooom’ by Hudson Mohawke
28. ‘If you Want Me’ by Deadboy

William Rahr Fortna

fleurdelysclub — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:24:46 +0000

‘Don’t be jealous that I’ve been chatting online with babes all day’ (Napoleon Dynamite).
Love or hate them online social networking sites consume a lot of our time. The Fleur-de-Lys Club’s very existence is in part due to sites such as MySpace and Facebook. The expanding intricate digital networks do however provide great opportunities to discover wonderful new music. However, very rarely does the Fleur-de-Lys get excited about a new artist as we did when discovering the brilliant ‘William Rahr Fortna’. There is a refreshing maturity to his classic song writing and low hushed voice, making it all the more impressive William is still a teenager writing, performing and recording in his North London home. So impressed, The Fleur-de-Lys has decided to help, so go check him out on those damned social networking sites now.

MySpace page – www.myspace.com/williamrahrfortna

William Rahr Fortna

Mr Mangan: Back in Blighty

fleurdelysclub — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:22:02 +0000

Back in November 2009, Canadian Dan Mangan played to a packed crowd at The Lexington. Dan that night was only playing solo acoustic but was easily able to captivate the audience with his well crafted folk tinged songs. Those who were present will remember the sawing chorus to ‘Robots’ which the audience happily sung in unison. Well, good news Mr Mangan is back, returning to the UK to play The Lexington for the Canadian Blast festival (see flyer below). It was also a great pleasure to see Dan Mangan on the bill for the John Peel Stage at this year’s Glastonbury Festival. To play the John Peel State at Glastonbury is a great honour for any artist and testament that Dan is making a deserved impression on the British public. Dan Mangan’s 2009 album ‘Nice Nice Very Nice’ is a 13 track strong album of mature sing –a-long contemporary folk anthems that is well worth a listen. The prospect of seeing Dan backed by his full band, who are chart toppers in their native Canada, on the Glastonbury stage is extremely exciting for any music lover.

May 19th 2010 Fleur-de-Lys Club Playlist

fleurdelysclub — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:11:02 +0000

Here are the songs played at last night’s Fleur-de-Lys Club at The Lexington.

1. ‘Belly of June’ by Horse Feathers
2. ‘My House’ by Ganglians
3. ‘Morning Rain’ by I Am Kloot
4. ‘Second Chance’ by Liam Finn
5. ‘Stay Close’ by Delorean
6. ‘Whatever Goes Around’ by The Morning Orchestra
7. ‘Gee Up’ by Kindness
8. ‘Zebra’ by Beach House
9. ‘I Don’t Know Nothing’ by SixNationState
10. ‘I will Return, I Promise’ by Beth Jeans Houghton
11. ’03-Summer 68’ by Pink Floyd
12. ‘Demon Host’ by Timber Timbre
13. ‘Truth Sets In’ by Avi Buffalo
14. ‘Hurt’ by Nine Inch Nails (Johnny Cash cover)
15. ‘Gold Canary’ by Cloud Control
16. ‘Lovesong for High Kids’ by Kid Bombardos
17. ‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’ by The National
18. ‘Iam Not a Robot’ by Marina & The Diamonds (Clock Opera remix)
19. ‘Lemonde’ by CocoRosie
20. ‘Dressed in Dresden’ by Hundred in the Hands
21. ‘She’s Lost Control’ by Joy Division
22. ‘Be Brave’ by The Strange Boys
23. ‘Tighten Up’ by The Black Keys
24. ‘B-B-Bicyles’ by The Bicycles
25. ‘Giving up on Love’ by Slow Club
26. ‘NYC Cops’ by The Strokes

It’s Time to Shine: Clock Opera

fleurdelysclub — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:43:30 +0000

London band Clock Opera have slowly been building a reputation as one of the most interesting and exciting new alternative pop acts around, with their original and distinct ‘Chop Pop’ sound. This week sees the release of the hotly anticipated Clock Opera remix of ‘I am not a Robot’ by Marina & The Diamonds. There is no doubt, and I know Marina agrees, that the Clock Opera remix is far superior than the original by taking an average (to good) song and propelling it to an exciting new pop direction. With the release of the Marina remix Clock Opera will suddenly be thrusted to a huge unexpecting new audience. It is unlikely to make the same impact as the Skream remix of La Roux’s ‘In for the Kill’, although largely because ‘I am not a Robot’ has had far lesser impact on the charts (currently #61 on singles chart). However, with the imminent success of this remix, described by Neon Gold as the ‘best remix they’ve ever heard’, Clock Opera’s stock is undoubtedly and deservedly on the rise. The band have also announced the release of their second single, the brilliant ‘A Piece of String’, on June 7th, which will further cement Clock Opera as one of the hottest new bands around.

Clock Opera MySpace – www.myspace.com/clockopera
Download mp3:‘I am not a robot’ by Marina & The Diamonds (Clock Opera remix)

April 21st 2010 Fleur-de-Lys Club Playlist

fleurdelysclub — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 09:56:00 +0000

Slightly shorter than normal due to the power cut at The Lexington causing venue to open late!

1. ‘Four Bulbs’ by Admiral Fallow
2. ‘Lay Down in the Tall Grass’ by Timber Timbre
3. ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ by The Lettermen (North Atlantic Oscillation remix)
4. ‘Oh Really’ by Goldheart Assembly
5. ‘The Doop Song’ by SixNationState
6. ‘What’s In it For?’ by Avi Buffalo
7. ‘Hang the Noose’ by Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers
8. ‘It’ by Rich Aucoin
9. ‘Crazy’ by The Pack A.D.
10. ‘Mr Bad Luck’ by Jimi Hendrix
11. ‘Factory’ by Band of Horses
12. ‘The Fool’ by Cheka
13. ‘Transmission’ by Joy Division
14. ‘Race for the Prize’ by The Flaming Lips
15. ‘The National Anthem’ by Radiohead
16. ‘Heavenly’ by Egyptian Hip Hop