[playlist] Hump Day Power Play (3-7-2012)

Steve Mason Editition

One of the most talented (yet underappreciated) songwriters of our time is the focus of this week's Hump Day Power Play. Most notably known as the ex-frontman of The Beta Band (now defunct), Steve Mason is the brainchild behind an expansive catalog of genre-bending classics, which somehow managed to mix experimental folk with psychedelia and electronic pop. Mason released a solid breadth of solo work under numerous monikers, including King Biscuit Time, Black Affair, and simply Steve Mason. There's really not another band out that's produced a sound that quite resembles any of Mason's work, and for that I think he's truly worthy of all praise. For this week's playlist, I tried to compile some of my favorite tracks from all of his projects.

By the way, if you like The Beta Band songs, be sure to check out The Aliens (i.e., The Beta Band sans Mason).

Hear it by simply clicking here. Playlist is below.

:: Hump Day Power Play (3-7-2012) ::
01 :: "I Walk The Earth" - King Biscuit Time
02 :: "Broken Up A Ding Dong" - The Beta Band
03 :: "Dry The Rain" - The Beta Band
04 :: "Easy" - The Beta Band
05 :: "Broke" - The Beta Band
06 :: "Space" - The Beta Band
07 :: "Japanese Happening" - Black Affair
08 :: "Squares" - The Beta Band
09 :: "Stress Position" - Steve Mason
10 :: "Lion Thief" - The Beta Band
11 :: "The Way You Walk" - King Biscuit Time
12 :: "Inner Meet Me" - The Beta Band
13 :: "Troubles" - The Beta Band
14 :: "I Know" - The Beta Band

Get Spotify (if you don't already have it).

[new music] Steve Mason - Boys Outside

New music from Steve Mason

Great news for Beta Band and King Biscuit Time fans - Steve Mason's solo album Boys Outside can now be streamed in its entirety over at his website (here). The album was officially released in the UK last month, but the colonies will have to wait patiently until June 22 for physical copies. Luckily, Domino Records is offering the sales of digital copies today, though.

Below are two tracks I've especially found enjoyable. The first song, "I Let Her In," was originally released under the King Biscuit Time moniker for the first Ten Tracks compilation. It's a great melodic tune that sounds like it could have been strait out of The Three EPs, or Black Gold. The other song below is the slow groover, "All Come Down." The rest of the album is fantastic - check it out.

Steve Mason - "I Let Her In"


Steve Mason - "All Come Down"


Buy :: Steve Mason - Boys Outside (digital)
Pre-order :: Steve Mason - Boys Outside (CD/LP)

[new music] Steve Mason - Boys Outside

New Music from Steve Mason

For fans of Beta Band, King Biscuit Time, or even the slight departure of Black Affair, the news that Steve Mason was making a new album brought nothing but joy and anticipation. It now appears that we now have a concrete date for all the waiting to end. Announced this week via Twitter, Mason has reportedly finished his newest LP entitled Boys Outside, which will be released under his own name on March 10, 2010. Mason enlisted the help and production skills of Richard X, as well as his label Black Melody.

To tide fans over until next year, Mason will be dropping the first single "All Come Down" this November 23 (pre-order here). You can listen to a snippet here, and from the sounds of the new track, it's going to be one amazingly chill album (which we all can appreciate). A video is posted below showing the progression of Mason & Richard X songcrafting a new cut for the record.

Pre-order :: Steve Mason - "All Come Down"

[news] Steve Mason - Two New Songs

New Music from Steve Mason

Posted a while ago, we reported that Steve Mason was working on a new King Biscuit Time album. However, now over at Steve Mason's new MySpace page, this album will apparently be released under the name "Steve Mason." Two songs to be released are streaming at his MySpace page, and according to producer Richard X, the first single will be "All Come Down." Expect a short EP in the next few months, and a full LP early next year (if all goes well). For the full details, Steve posted this:

Yes it's me - BETA BAND / KING BISCUIT TIME / BLACK AFFAIR. It's time to step out of the shadows and confront society. So what the hell is going on? Well, I'm about 3/4 of the way through recording a new album which i will put out under my own name, Steve Mason. The songs are fully realized in demo form but i really wanted someone to lift a little of the pressure of production of my shoulders and Richard X offered himself up. So we are working through my demo's and re-doing all the vocals and any other parts which need it. The results are amazing. Best songs i've ever written and they SOUND big. I reckon i will put a 4 track EP out in about 2 or 3 months then maybe one more and do the album very early next year. There will be fresh music up here very soon. But it's not quite ready yet. See you on the ice.......

Check out the new tunes (here).

[news] King Biscuit Time Back In The Studio

Finally some more KBT

While this is an extremely late post (I'm not sure how this one slipped by me), it still is fantastic news. Posted back in January at Steve Mason's MySpace page, King Biscuit Time has entered the studio with a some "amazing songs." According to the post, Mason is working with producer Richard X in London and will hope to get a tour together after the record formulates. This is great news for those who had tickets to the Black Gold tour (which Mason abruptly canceled merely days before the first show). A new album would be incredible... more news to come (hopefully).

UP TO THE MINUTE
So, my manager told me to write something here and let everyone know whats going on. This is whats going on--

I'm still in the studio. Working on about 12-15 new tracks. Though i am still writing new songs. I have been down to London and spent a few days with Richard X at his studio. We worked on a couple of my demo's and the results are promising. A little hard to describe here, but he is trying to drag me from obscureness into the light. It might work, i have some amazing songs, its just a matter of staying the right side of the dark side. I;m going back in the studio with Richard in Febuary.
I WILL be playing this year, as KBT. No more cancel's. Its on. Trying to put the KBT touring band back together, Pete Rankin ( OJR ) is back on board but C-Swing is on about giving up music. I will do my best to persuade him not too. What a waste that would be. I have a new bass player who i am sure most of you will have heard of, so the bottom end is locked down tight.

I will be posting more studio bits on YouTube as and when i feel like it. A new one soon though.
I think thats all she wrote.
la la later

steve

Ten Tracks - the Future of Music???

Ten Tracks offers great music at an even greater price.

Record labels these days are trying just about anything in order to stay afloat in the digitally pirated waters. The old ways are out (R.I.P. Tower Records), and some new ways have proven successful (ie Radiohead, NIN, etc.); however, it seems that having an established fan base and mainstream notoriety definitely allows for these aforementioned ventures the positive outcomes. What about the up-and-coming bands that no one has ever heard of? Where do they fit into this new label system? Sure, MySpace and the blogging community (see also RCRD LBL) do their part in getting the lesser known bands their due exposure, but what else is out there?

A label I recently discovered seems to be ditching a lot of rules that once were a part of the music industry's golden standard. Rather than raise the price of an album to recoup the loss in overall sales, online label Ten Tracks has come up with an idea that practically gives music away. For all the fine print, go here, but to just give you the short of it, here goes: each month Ten Tracks releases a digital album of ten songs (makes sense) from various artists (both known and unknown). Each song can be purchased individually for £0.30 each, or the whole album can be purchased for merely £1.00 (a £2.00 saving!). Currently, there three different types of albums each month (called "channels"). Every month each channel will release a new bundle of ten tracks. A description of each channel is posted below:

The Police Box - modern folk, electronica and songwriting
Optimo - world-renowned future-music variations
Open Ear - selection of italo-disco rarities and cutting-edge production flair

I've listened to the October and November Police Box discs - really good stuff on there. So far, many of the bands showcased have come from the Scotland area. Included in that bunch are King Biscuit Time, The Aliens, and Black Affair (all ex-Beta Banders). That's probably why I've enjoyed them so much. For a listen, help yourself:

MP3: King Biscuit Time - "I Let Her In"
MP3: The Aliens - "Pernickitty Jack"

Return of King Biscuit Time!!!

Steve Mason announces new King Biscuit Material

Posted in mid-September at King Biscuit Time's MySpace page, Steve Mason had this to say about a new KBT song:

So, i will be releasing a new track, called " I LET HER IN " on a new label called TENTRACKS in October/November. TENTRACKS is a music subscription site run by the people who bring you the brilliant free music and arts paper, [The Skinny]. I think my track will be on the first batch of 10 tracks that are going out. It's a great song that has been up here before in unfinished form.

The TENTRACKS website is coming soon, its going to be an amazing project with a lot of very high quality music of all genres.

I'm not sure if this means a new album will soon follow, or if he's just releasing this one track along with a group of nine others from various artists. Nevertheless, I'm always up for a new KBT song. And if you remember how the demo for "I Let Her In" sounded when it was originally posted nearly 2 years ago, the wait for October will be well worth it.

For a little taste of KBT, have a listen:

MP3: King Biscuit Time - "Izzum"
MP3: King Biscuit Time - "Kwangchow"
MP3: King Biscuit Time - "Paperhead"

Purchase a copy of Black Gold here if you like what you hear.

The Aliens - Luna (I really miss the Beta Band)

ex-Beta Band trio, The Aliens, release Luna today!

After much disappointment with The Aliens' debut LP, Astronomy for Dogs, my expectations for their sophomore effort Luna were admittedly very low. I guess I should have seen this coming, too, since history does tend to repeat itself. Just look at post-Waters Pink Floyd: while it contained 75% of the original band, the abbreviated line-up inevitably ventured into an entirely new sound. Similarly with The Aliens, without their lead man Steve Mason, these ex-Beta Banders embraced the lighter/sillier side of pop rather than the psychedelia that originally turned me onto the guys in the first place.

Luckily for me, however, Mason was busy with King Biscuit Time and Black Affair, and my Beta Band withdrawal was treated with large doses of Black Gold and Pleasure Pressure Point (it's crystal clear what influence he had on the sound of Beta Band).

So as stated before, Astronomy of Dogs was quite forgettable (in my opinion), but for the sake of the band, I gave these dudes a second try. Released today on the band's own label, Pet Rock, I'll have to say, well played sirs! This is what I was hoping for all along. Opening with the trippy 10 minute-plus "Bobby's Song", it's clear that these guys aren't writing another radio friendly album. I need a few more listens before I can definitively give my assessment of these new tunes, but after my first listen, this is hands down a quality record. In the mean time, check out this sweet video for "Magic Man" (why do things in reverse look so cool?):

Check three of the tracks, "Everyone", "Magic Man", and "Bobby's Song" at their MySpace page.

Also, go pick up a copy of Luna for yourself, here.