Big Baby Gandhi - Big Fucking Baby

Ok I’m a little bit late on this but Big Baby Gandhi’s mixtape Big Fucking Baby is so good I can’t let it pass by. The 21 year old Queens native has released my favourite album of 2011. I first heard about Big Baby Gandhi through my obsession with Das Racist and their musical coterie. It’s seems like all of Das Racist’s friends are either rappers or in bands.  I have discovered through DR’s collabs and tweets: Danny Brown, Chairlift, Lakutis, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire and the now defunct and gloriously named Boy Crisis. I imagine they all met at Disney’s Camp Rock but set in New York and featuring haggard twentysomethings. 

The mixtape is lo-fi, trippy and hilarious. It sounds a bit rough around the edges but that just adds to its charm. The fuzziness makes it seems intimate, it is music that you listen to late at night and let yourself be brought into the world of Big Baby Gandhi. The beats are a smooth mix of 90’s R&B and soul singers like Anita Baker. He raps about sex, social injustice and the internet with a half serious drawl. On tracks like ‘Been Around Ya Girl’ he alternates between an ultra cocky persona and insecurity. He brags that he has “finally located were the labia is at”. It makes him endearing which I guess is a weird thing to say about a rapper. Even his name is oddly self-deprecating. In the opener ‘Gandhi Mandhi Mandhi’ we learn that children used to mock him by calling him Gandhi Mandhi Mandhi. It’s hardly an insult to be compared to Gandhi so he subverts their ignorance and incorporates it into his rap name. The mixtape is full of clever and funny lines like “men are dogs ma that’s her dogma” in ‘Woof Woof’. In ‘Other Jackets’ he incredulously describes talking to a girl with cum stains on her jacket. He repeats over and over again “ What! You ain’t got no other jackets?” It makes me feel like I’m sitting in a weed stinking basement listening to a college student tell mental stories. But in a good way. And without having to enter a basement. Huzzah! He is one of the few rappers to make me laugh out loud on public transportation. If that’s not a resounding affirmation of quality I don’t know what is.

It was released by Diplo’s Mad Decent and Himanshu Suri’s Greedhead Music.You can download it at no personal cost here. http://www.maddecent.com/blog/big-baby-gandhi

The Makings of Squarehead and Patrick Kelleher split 7" - "Just a Tragedy/Attention to Detail".

The vaults of the future have gifted us a tale of the present. Here's a behind-the-scenes mockumentary about the recording of Squarehead and Patrick Kelleher's 2011 split 7"- 'Just a tragedy/Attention to Detail'.

It's set in a dystopian future where they spend more time on Egyptology and prostitues than making music. It's very funny and charming with lines like 'Roy asked me for money for the pay and display and I know he doesn't drive.' 'There's a lot of t-shirt money that I haven't seen any of..'

There's an emotionally intense jam session at the end of the video as well as details of the release date of 'Just a Tragedy/Attention to Detail'. It's being launched on friday October 28th in the Grand Social in Dublin. According to their label Popical Island the record features one song “Just A Tragedy” written and sung by Patrick Kelleher and another song, “Attention To Detail”, written and sung by Roy Duffy from Squarehead, both tracks were performed, collaboratively, by Squarehead and Mr. Kelleher. I'm eager to listen to this!

Strange Brew's 450th Night in the Rosin Dubh

Last Thursday I was in the Rosin Dubh in Galway for the 450th night of Strange Brew. Strange Brew has presented amazing bands at low-low prices over the years and this night was no different.

For ten pound there was a cracking list of exciting Irish bands including Kool Thing, The Debutantes, Elaine Mai, Tieranniesaur, Kid Karate, Daithi, Squarehead, We Are Losers, Moths and The Depravations. I saw Tieranniesaur and We Are Losers in Whelans in Dublin a few weeks ago but it was good to see them on my home turf.

Kool Thing stood out for me. They are actually a Berlin based duo made up of members Jon Dark and Julie Chance. Unfortunately the gig was fairly empty when they performed but it was still early. Y'all missed out. Beautiful haunting harmonies rose above the electronic beats and driving electric guitar. They sounded like art rock sirens. The set was raw and unrelenting and if I was a less shy woman I would have got up and danced. They've got mesmerising stage presence, all black clothes, undercuts and  power dance moves. You can buy their EP on Bandcamp.



Tieranniesaur were the other highlight of the night. They have quickly become my new favourite Irish band. I get all hepped up over the talent in the indie scene in this country. Tieranniesaur have a tough name to spell but they are worth the effort. They play infectiously groovy pop that's also a little psychedelic and crazy around the edges. The tunes are funky and filled with witty putdowns like 'You're always making wallpaper, you're wallpaper is gross.' I can picture girls dancing to them off their faces on glow paint and coconut creams.

You could see they were having a lot of fun playing together and the crowd immediately got into the groove. Their disco infused melodies are seriously catchy. Highlights were Sketch!, In the Sargasso and Here Be Monsters. I've read about them being compared to ESG and the Tom Tom Club, I agree and I'll throw in a bit of Vampire Weekend for good measure. They are led by Annie Tierney who has a sweet voice with an edge, a little like Cathy Davey's. Also another member Saileog O'Halloran went to my secondary school, so that's cool. They deserve lots of attention and presents. Their album, complete with dreamy dinosaur cover art, is available on their Bandcamp page.

First past the post.

Does the world need another music blog? I don't care for the tone of that question but yes it does. As long as great music is made people will want to talk about it.

From the laboured title of this blog you can infer that I'm riveted by music. Pop riveted. Hopefully I can keep up the tremendous quality of this first post!