Turn Of The Screw

One of the summer's best singles has been Unloved's Turn Of The Screw, an urgent, driving piece of 60s psyche that flips its middle fingers to all and sundry while simultaneously recommending the use of psychedelics for better mental health. David Holmes wrote the song in lockdown, an ode to 'making changes in your life for the better- cutting toxicity out of your life and focussing on the important things, family, friends and music'. Amen to that brother Holmes. Where Unloved often simmer and burn slowly Turn Of The Screw is fast and punchy, Raven Violet's vocals slicing through. The album, titled The Pink Album, is out in early September, twenty two songs with Etienne Daho, Jon Spencer and Jarvis Cocker involved on guest vocals. 

There are some remixes too. Darren Price, formerly of Underworld, reworks the song into a tribal dub with glowering menace and krauty keyboards. Erol Alkan and Juan Ramos are also on the case. Buy them here. 

Meanwhile, at NTS radio, David Holmes is proving himself the heir to Andrew Weatherall's much missed Music's Not For Everyone. Holmes' God's waiting Room is a monthly affair, two hours of cinematic, psychedelic, ambient, freakery. The latest one from mid- August is here. 

Roooksack Boogie, Belching Smoke

Back in the early 90s this was how Andrew Weatherall appeared in an article in The Face, his long Screamadelica- era hair cut short and a sort of punk /rockabilly/techno look that seemed to be more where things were going. A bit tougher and with an edge. The Sabres Of Paradise released their Sabresonic album in 1993, a record taking in lengthy ambient tracks that took up an entire side of vinyl (Clock Factory) and Still Fighting, an extension of Primal Scream's Don't Fight It, Feel It that the Scream passed on as being too techno but which opened Sabresonic with intent, the thud of the kick drum setting out their stall. There was sublime dub techno (RSD, Red Stripe Dub) and two takes on fairly abstract club music (Ano Electro Andante and Ano Electro Allegro). There was also Smokebelch I, a pacey leftfield tune with a synth intro and reverb laden sounds bouncing around. The rattling hi- hat and then later on the strings set the heart racing and take me straight back to then.

Smokebelch I

Darren Price, DJ and friend of Weatherall put this tribute on the internet yesterday, a re-working of Smokebelch II, The Belching Smoke Salute, a version that finds new beauty in old grooves and lasts for a perfect eight minutes and eight seconds.



From 1993 to 2019 and a pair of new- to- the- internet Andrew Weatherall mixes, a pair in two halves, an hour each and sent to Mr John Minney by Lord Sabre himself in June 2019. Perfectly paced, throbbing, chuggy delights, Arabic influences and ALFOS style disco- house, percussion breakdowns, robotic voices and sections of swooshing, uplifting dance music. The DJ sets and Sabres sounds of 1993 are present here and there, echoing drum sounds, rattling snares, acidic squiggles and pumping basslines, the forward momentum although the tempos are definitely pitched down. Plenty to enjoy in both of these, especially the space age, cosmische stuff that's going on.

Part One...



And part two...