Brighton Music Blog End of Year Top Twenty, 5 – GAPS / In Dark, In Day EP

Posted on 20/12/2014 by brightonmusicblog

Sometimes a chance encounter can lead to magical things – Rachel from GAPS met Maya Jane Coles at a house party long before GAPS were formed or Maya had found the success she now enjoys, but that meeting long ago is what led to them collaborating on this year’s In Dark, In Day EP. Where Rachel’s warm vocals and acoustic guitar are normally paired with Ed’s electronica, things were taken to another level on the three tracks (plus one instrumental) on this collaboration with the addition of Maya Jane Cole’s deep house beats.

Brighton Music Blog End of Year Top Twenty, 7 – Cate Ferris / Disappear EP

Posted on 18/12/2014 by brightonmusicblog

Cate Ferris’ live performances have always been a joy to behold – her voice always surprises and her effortless use of her looping kit belies the true skill involved. There’s always been a question mark over how that transfers to record though. She recorded an EP at Tim Bidwell’s Clockwork Owl studio a couple of years ago, but by his own admission he just let her do her own thing. Since then she’s built a studio in her home and the Disappear EP is the first fruits of that endeavour, transforming four live favourites into tracks which stand on their own without having to be impressed by her one-(wo)man-band live show.

Brighton Music Blog End of Year Top Twenty, 8 – Fujiya & Miyagi / Artificial Sweeteners

Posted on 17/12/2014 by brightonmusicblog

News of a new Fujiya & Miyagi album is always welcome, and May’s release of the band’s fifth long player Artificial Sweeteners didn’t disappoint. The first taster we got was the acid house number Tetrahydrofolic Acid which hinted at a new dancefloor led direction for the band, with analogue synths over pulsating beats. While the rest of the album was certainly more electronic, long term fans would have been pleased to hear that they hadn’t lost their krautrock groove.

Brighton Music Blog End of Year Top Twenty, 9 – IYES / Breathe

Posted on 16/12/2014 by brightonmusicblog

If your main exposure to the local music scene is through the live route, then you might assume that IYES have had a pretty quiet year – By our calculations they’ve only played in Brighton once, supporting Raleigh Ritchie a few weeks ago at the Haunt. Actually though, they’ve been pretty busy. In the spring ‘Til Infinity, which featured in out 2013 list, got a 7” release backed with their cover of Crazy in Love, and there have been numerous remixes which have appeared (including a turn for Jack Garratt, who’s hotly tipped for big things next year). More recently they’ve signed to Sony and had their track Glow feature in mobile phone ads and get scheduled for release early next year. They have had one proper single this year, the sultry, effervescent, MNEK produced Breathe:

Brighton Music Blog End of Year Top Twenty, 10 – Fickle Friends / Swim

Posted on 15/12/2014 by brightonmusicblog

Right now we’re in deepest midwinter, less than a week away from the shortest day of the year. Thankfully though, it won’t always be so – Give it a few months and it’ll be spring. The days will be getting longer and the weather will be getting better, and then out of nowhere we’ll have a day that almost feels summery, where you leave your coat at home and bask in the warmth of the sun for the first time in months. Swim by Fickle Friends sounds like that day feels.