The Worship St Irregulars

OK, it’s not quite “Sex & Drugs and Rock N Roll” but in my head I can just about make this work with the Ian Dury & The Blockheads track.

Those that have trawled the vast expanses of Brick Lane market will know that in some flyer-strewn corners lie stalls that hawk the lampoons, lullabies and larks of literary greats, all for the princely sum of less-than-a-bagel (an accepted East End measure of relative-price).

In addition to this wordy ware-fest, something else of a bookish bent is awry according to our sources (the rather spiffingly re-designed 93 Feet East myspace page, here).

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For those who got the title reference and are humming along, here’s Strawberry Fields which is suitably spacey for this lazy Sunday:

Well, I played in a pretty epic cricket game in the idyllic surroundings of London Fields yesterday which some spectators (perhaps somewhat distorted by the sun and beneficial herbs) called the sporting event of the summer. The spectators spanned from surly scenesters to reminiscent Rastafarians to frankly, some out-and-out nutters! That’s what the East is all about though, the full spectrum, kaleidoscope if you will, of life and it’s players.

I was afforded some thinking time whilst out in the field (as the opposition showed us the dictionary definition of an ass-whooping!). As a result of this, I have come to the conclusion that London Fields is the best green space in London, now let me explain why…

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Hot things are busting out of Paris more frequently than the Eurostar at the moment. Having been around a number of European cities in the last 18 months, it feels like there is a real convergence of fashion, vibes and influences kicking around at the moment.

Kitsune are releasing a new record mixed and compiled by Digitalism which has essentially been put together to get us suitably riled up for the Summer. The symbolism of the “Tabloid” moniker of the record is that (and I paraphrase) “the music symbolises the newspaper whilst the DJ takes up the role of editor in chief “- yep, so it’s like a mixtape yeah? Thought so.

On the upside, the rather flimsy Gallic symbolism does remind me of a blinding track from yesteryear by The Departure - All Mapped Out, check it out below:

The Kitsune compilation is released on 30th June and available from their store here

You can try the micro mix right here

Check out their Maison Series also, which is worth it for the funky sleeves alone (the tracks are pretty epic also).

Having just got back from Barcelona and Morocco, Shoreditch is leaving a distinctly average taste in my mouth at the moment. From the Italo Disco to the Minimal Electro via the same ol’ bands playing the same ol’ lyrics in the same ol’ places…it all seems a little so-so and leaves me feeling somewhat penurious towards their offerings.

However as if by magic, something that tickles my musical, literary and typography tastebuds has arrived to fill the aperture. Those of you in the know, will, er know, that The Sect is a monthly soirée put on at the best free club on Kingsland Road near Dream Bags, Catch.

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One of things that seems like it can’t get better, and then blows your mind. Sit back.

The game of Team Fortress 2, generally your standard network shoot ‘em up game, takes a really nice, spirit affirming turn. Or something. Be amazed.

TF2 Karaoke: My Heart Will Go On from FLOOR_MASTER on Vimeo.

We can officially announce that a night is a-brewing that delivers exactly what it says on the label. Many a flyer has been adorned with claims of playing indie/britpop only to bombard our sensitive ears with the Killers and Razorlight. Gentle folk of London, you no longer need to cry yourself to sleep longing to mosh out to Skunk Anansie, the time has come, the time is Friday 4th July…

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Actually, we don’t, because we’re not quite that competent at life most sundays. If we did, though, we’d follow this kind woman’s advice;

Undoubtedly, Myspace is to unsigned musicians what Viagra is to old men; it can arouse interest in regions which formerly didn’t exist. This has been discussed and dolloped around the media from zines to off-the-pace broadsheets so I don’t intend to delineate this more than my initial comparison.

However, having watched many a budding artist make the transition from Myspace to, er, everything else (and then be tossed aside in almost one fluid motion) I feel something is lost in the transition. Music keenos everywhere will remember artists that they knew about long before they “broke” and will have hoarded away electronic versions of crudely and hurriedly put together myspace demos that have since been replaced by “slick” professional studio versions as the stock of said artist has risen. Having just seen the new Johnny Flynn video for “Tickle Me Pink” I couldn’t help but long for the original version that I heard back in the day. It was raw and it was emotional whilst this new ’sexed-up’ leaves me feeling a little less excited. The production people will probably say, “it has a richer musical texture” or something equally wanky.

Decide for yourselves, here’s the two versions, answers on a postcard. PS. We’re clearly back from Morocco, it was awesome - we’ll do some kind of Gloria Hunniford review once we’ve chilled out for a bit.

As a graphical representation through LastFM recently showed, one of the Irregulars listened to Laura Marling approximately 1,285,234 times in the month of April. As such, has listened to approximately 1.2 of her tracks since.

Having gorged slightly more reservedly on her music, I’m still able to find a nice slot in my regular listening for her frankly breathtaking debut album. We saw her live around September time (I think) and she was mesmerising. Lyrically, I think she shows the insight, pain and maturity of someone more akin to Saga holidays than being rejected from clubs due to still being underage. I find her voice pretty haunting, in a good way…here’s my favourite track live at some little place in Brighton…