Out to Lunch

Cherry Blossoms are still far away in November

Akira Ifukube - Nocturne from The Japanese Rhapsody - Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra & Ryusuke Numajiri

A bunch of friends of mine are making plans to go to Japan together next year and I feel tempted to go along but I already made plans to go to Syria around my birthday. The reason they go is Hanami. Each year in March and April they have a festival in Japan called Hanami (花見) which literally translated means ‘looking at flowers’.
The Sakura or Cherry Blossom flowers only for a short while which over time became a symbol for the fragility and the passing of life itself. The peak of this flowering happens every year at a different moment. In this time of year The TV networks devote a large part of the weather forecast predicting the moment of flowering which is a signal for most Japanese people to go outside for a picnic and enjoy the cherry blossoms and oh yes, a large amount of booze as well.
It's suppose to be the best moment to see Japan. I will skip this time and wait for another more appropriate opportunity. I’m really looking forward to go back to Syria.

This piece of music comes from a CD called Japanese Orchestral Favourites which offers a wide variety of western oriented orchestral music from a number of Japanese composers. I especially liked this nocturne which it’s sad folk-song like theme and extensive viola solos.

Aeroplane October Mix
Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions (Maurice Fulton Remix)

I’m still waiting for their debut album but meanwhile Aeroplane has an ongoing series of mixes at http://soundcloud.com/. They started in July. So this is number 4.
The tracklist: 1. Simian Mobile Disco : Cruel Intentions (Maurice Fulton Remix) / 2. Ali Love : Diminishing Returns / 3. Ladyhawke : Magic (Donnie Sloan Dub) / 4. Neurotic Drum Band : Robotic Hypnotic Adventure / 5. Cloned In Vatican : Nina (Road To Cagliari) / 6. Unknown / 7. Golden Filter : Thunderbird (Villa Remix) / 8. Royksopp : This Must Be In (The Bloody Sisters Remix) / 9. Toecutter : Best Party Ever (Jordan Lightyear & Jimmy 2 Sox Remix) / 10. Groove Armada : I Wont Kneel. The Maurice Fulton mix is truly sublime so I’ve put it as a separate track in the map.

Lucio Battisti - Dove Arriva Quel Cespuglio 1976
I heard them plugging this track on local radio. Very clearly a big influence on their style.

Natalie Imbruglia – Want
I’m not really a fan of Imbruglia but I can’t get this song out of my head. It’s the first single of a new album and it’s co-written by Cold Martin. It’s not really a great song, a beat and a dance chorus but it’s catchy as hell. So if you want to know what's buggin’ me lately, don’t ask.

Automat - Droid 1978
Retro Grade - Zoid (12 inch mix)
Early instrumental electronic music from Italy, totally built on synthesized sounds and rhythms, it's in the same rank as contemporary works by Kraftwerk, Morodor and Jean Michel Jarre, whose Oxygene was recorded in the same period and released just a few months before this. Automat was a music collective consisting of Romano Musumarra and Claudio Gizzi with Sound Engineer Luciano Torani. The main track Automat on the A side was made by Claudio Gizzi. The B side with three shorter tracks by Musumarra with sounds programmed by Mario Maggi using the "MCS 70" (Memory Controlled Sythesizer). One of these, Droid, was a leading theme on the brazilian Globo TV.
There are a lot of remakes of this song, mainly old Italian versions like Hypnosis. Zoid is a recent remake by Retro Grade. An album project by Serge Santiago and Tom Neville from the UK aiming to create a modern day take on Italo Disco. Just as on their first single MODA they take inspiration from that period between disco and house - the grey zone where synths were first used with disco and when drum machines were used to keep a track in time.

Alvin Queen - Let Us Go Into The House / Eddie Hinton - Concept World / Jimmy Hall - Here I Am / The Noisettes - Never forget you / The Marvelettes - The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game

A Brand - Mad Love Sweet Love 2009
Arthur Russel - In The Light (re edit)
Dam Funk – Toeachizown
Demarkus Lewis - Do Not Attempt To Dance
Fela Kuti - Je Nwi Temi
Florence and the Machine - You Got the Love (XX remix)
Four Tet - Love Cry
Gabor Szabo - Keep Smiling (re-edit)
Jack Penate - Tonight's Today
Jacob Korn - I Like The Sun (Prins Thomas Diskomiks)
Jaga Jazzist - One Armed Bandit (radio edit)
Led Zeppelin - Ramble On
Loleatta Holloway - Hit and Run (re-edit)
Marcus Miller - Lovin' You
Studio - Lifes A Beach (Todd Terje Beach House mix)
The Phenomenal Handclap Band - 15 To 20 (The Glimmers remix)
Vampire Weekend – Horchata
Wanda - I Must Be Dreamin'

Claude Debussy - Danses sacrées et profanes - Annie Lavoisier, harp & Oxalys / Schubert - Adagio from The String Quintet in C, D956 op.163 - Orpheus Strijkkwartet & Pieter Wispelwey - Channel Classics

>>> http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=cc05797523f3cb92ab1eab3e9fa335ca182287f3ae638b6d