Velvet Season

I won't begin to explain my absence of nearly 3 years but from now I promise to try and keep this blog updated as regularly as time allows. Just a quick message to all the funky people with an open mind (and ear), that Gerry Rooney and myself alias 'Velvet Season & the Hearts of Gold' have just sent our 3 new releases off to be manufactured. they should return in a month or so. Watch this space. We are also close to completing a remix for the mighty 'Gold Channel' record label. No idea when this will surface but knowing head honcho Phil South, it wont be long before it's included in a giant bumper pack of many fine promos that he regularly sends out into the universe. That's all for now Peace and Love to the World Joel xx

Brazilian Blowout!

Currently sifting through the entire 'Far Out Records' catalogue in preparation for a new Quiet Village mix compilation of Brazilian bullets! A tad daunting to say the least...

Morning Thunder

I don't have many vices thesedays but one thing I can't be without on a daily basis is a decent cup of coffee. I'm pretty lucky that within 5 minutes walk of my home there is one of the best bean emporiums in London, 'Tina We Salute You' which over the last year has become my oasis away from the stress of the streets of Hackney. The staff are welcoming and friendly, the coffee is second to none AND if you have a sweet tooth like me, their homemade cake selection will send you into ecstatic gastric shock. My personal favourite is the plum and marzipan slice...

http://tinawesaluteyou.com/



Searching around the net for coffee related images I stumbled across this excellent snap of Mr. A Pacino at NYC's legendary 'Cafe Reggio's' whose name was immortalized by composer Isaac Hayes on the original 'Shaft' soundtrack. Here is some jaw-droppingly boss footage in the studio during that album's recording session

I'm so lazy

Has it really been so long since I updated this blog? Does anyone care? Well there are 8 of you now as compared to the 6 last time I looked so i may as well continue...

Altogether it's been a stellar weekend. Having not slept for 24 hours I ventured out early on Saturday morning to Dalston Waste on the hunt for gear, only to find a hipster already riffling thru a box of records and checking the titles on his i-phone for prices no doubt. This was 5am. This is how bad things have become. Nothing like the portable bible of everything at one's disposal. It can turn the novice into an expert with the flick of a finger. Walking away empty handed and exhausted I felt my inner-self calling me to leave town and try my luck elsewhere and away from the smoke. For once, it paid off and not only did I scoop a stack of musical corkers, I finally snagged one of these beauties. All good things come to those who wait ;-)



Now I've just returned from the NFT where they were screening a special 3D print of Hitchcock's masterful 'Dial M For Murder'. It was absolutely stunning to see this film on the big screen in all it's glory and especially with the action bursting right out at you. I've always loved Ray Milland (check out the Man with the X Ray Eyes), and the part of the scheming ex-tennis star could have been written for him. Who would have thought Grace Kelly could pull off such an impeccable English accent too? They certainly don't make em like that any more. Very experimental cinematography too. Quite reminiscent of 'Rope'...

NYE

Johnny Chingas (Lasermagnetic) & DJ Alex (Voices Collective), two of London's longest standing disco and deep house promoters, join forces with Pearl Flash and Deepfrequency to bring you a New Year's Eve extravaganza. The event will be taking place at 'The East Room' members bar and Sosho over three floors in Shoreditch (East London). We will bring together iconic and cutting edge artists, careful programming, good sound, a diverse dance floor and crowd on each level, so there's something in there for everyone. Musically speaking, there will be Cosmic, Afro Funky, Italo, Euro and NYC Disco, Club Classics, Reggae, Rock & Eastern influenced sounds with a good measure of electronic music thrown in.

Line-up /
Daniele Baldelli (Baia del Angeli / Cosmic Club)
Casco (‘Cybernetic Love'/Italo Disco Pioneer)
Gerry Rooney (Black Cock Records)
Joel Martin (Quiet Village)
DJ Alex (Voices)
Johnny Chingas (Lasermagnetic/Spacemachine)
Pearlflash DJs (Fred Gazebo, Dj Casey, Bergas)
Deepfrequency DJs (Simon Halpin & Guillaume Chottin)

Tkts can be purchased here...

http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?132298

Morning Music

A great way to start the day...

one man & his bike

Big props to Marc for taking this photo today on the Southbank...

Meal deal? :-)

Bite Harder

The sequel to 1998's legendary library music breaks and beats excursion, BITE HARDER, is finally with us and is available at all good record stores and also straight from the source:

http://www.dewolfeshop.com/

It was compiled by myself and Warren de Wolfe and features 19 killer tracks from psych to steel band funk...

loads more nuggets from the De Wolfe archive to come! Watch this space for info

Swiss Special

http://www.gillespetersonworldwide.com/podcasts.php

Here is Joel's joints volume 2 for your listening enjoyment. All 5 of you...

Joel's Joints

http://deepgoa.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/gilles-peterson-worldwide-podcasts-»-joels-joints-vol-1/

New feature I'm doing with Gilles P for his 'Worldwide Podcasts'. This should be a weekly spot so keep checking the website!

Tappan Zee

And here is a great vintage snap of film music composer Joe Delia, who spent most of the late 70s thru to the 90s working alongside auteur Abel Ferrara scoring genre defining classics like Driller Killer, King Of New York, and Ms. 45 which i've just had remastered from original 1/4 inch tape (also pictured) and sounds heavy. This really is the ultimate New York grindhouse sleazer...coming soon on Moscovitch

It's Been A Long time...

so much for this being a regularly updated blog. but then there are only 5 subscribers!

Anyway, Just back from an extremely productive trip to NYC, researching more album projects. Here is a photo of me with one of the unsung genius's of the synthesizer (and porno movies), Walter Sear. So much incredible material to go thru now. Electronica, disco, classical fugues...watch this space :-)

Chuushoku

Met my friend Oscar Wilson (designed the Moscovitch artwork and is now working on the De Wolfe commercial series as well as being a mid-century British lamp master) today for lunch at a secret Japanese spot. Crispy Chicken set...

http://www.studiooscar.com/docs/work.php

I'm playing records with Cherrystones aka Godsy on Saturday night at this event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=103689534718&ref=ts

This might actually be our first time as a dj 'duo' so it should be interesting to say the least...

Back in Blighty

pretty excited to find that 'Terror/Prey' is the record of the week at Manchester's finest - Piccadilly Records

http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/index.php?url=http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/ver2/search1.php&new=1&search=Ivor+Slaney

The Eagle Has Landed

Matt & I finished 2 remixes today that are musically poles apart. The first is a version of Jonathan Jeremiah's 'Happiness' which is a very uplifting orchestral folk-pop track with vocals in the style of James Taylor. The second is our take on the as yet still unreleased Milky mouth Orchestra's 'Deutschland Cha Cha Cha' aka Gerry Rooney/Foolish Felix's 'Fist Club' which sounds like a satanic nightmare with Frank Booth on the mic.

You have been warned...

Movie Marathon

Back home from the all-day film festival. Wired & wet, but it was a pretty good day of celluloid.

The session included the following pieces of dirt in order:

Take An Easy Ride (complete with De Wolfe soundtrack that I should be including on a forthcoming comp of sexploitation scores)

The Brute - Julian 'Scaroth' Glover and Sarah 'Ursa' Douglas (the ultimate 70s posh bird) in forgotten 'wife-beater' melodrama

Death Weekend - the only movie that I hadn't seen before today and what a corker. Pure anarchy. Yet another De Wolfe ost I didn't know existed and using some cues from both 'Dawn of the Dead' & 'The Bastard Swordsman'...

Satan's Slave - Always a pleasure to see Norman J. Warren again and this beautiful 35mm print was uncut and included the harrowing sexually perverse naughty scenes produced purely for the 'Asian' market. Rough ost that will be forthcoming on Moscovitch...

Equinox - U.S. psychotronica par excellence. it's all about the 'Mountain' VHS though

Time for bed. Off to Berlin tomorrow (today) for a long awaited studio appointment with Rekid

Day of the Dead

On Saturday I'll be attending this all-day event of back to back movie madness with a bunch of other weirdos like my man lovely Jon (Jigoku), one half of Churchill's Leopard's Jon Burnip and Colin of Movie Grooves fame. There will be many other freaks in the house and I'm sure most will be especially excited to meet the master of British 70s horror, director Norman J. Warren, who will be signing copies of the latest Moscovitch release 'Terror/Prey' (see previous post) on cd AND ltd. edition LP. There will also be a screening on celluloid NOT a dvd projection, of his infamous gothic work 'Satan's Slave', the soundtrack of which is also forthcoming on Moscovitch next year alongside other John Scott compositions...

Right, I thought it was about time to get this baby on the road...

Please bear with me as the content will fluctuate in volume depending on how much time I have etc etc

First up is the brand new (and really the first official 'Moscovitch' album project - Norman J. Warren's 'Terror' & 'Prey' soundtracks (both unissued until now) and both composed and performed by the sadly deceased Ivor Slaney.

You can pick up your copy here:

http://www.soundsoftheuniverse.com/releases/?id=15761