Karmacoda: Martina Topley-Bird at Bush Hall

Happy New Year! (I don't feel any different...)

I've just a tad more introspection. 2006 was, particularly in the latter half, a year of (well documented) shoegazing, but also one immersed in the eternal albums of trip-hop: Massive Attack's Mezzanine, Portishead's Dummy and Tricky's Maxinquaye. It's the latter that's the focus of today's post, as the lead track "Overcome" begins not with Tricky's sinister raps, but with Martina Topley-Bird's soulful delivery. While trip-hop is a genre built on mood and atmosphere, Martina's vocals give Maxinquaye an earthy, human element.

Martina would go on to release a solo album, Quixotic, in 2003, later released as Anything in the United States in 2004. She really branches out into a variety of genres, but her distinctive voice anchors the eclecticism. Here's a set featuring cuts from the album, recorded on July 23rd, 2003 at Bush Hall in London, and broadcast by XFM.

Enjoy:

1. Need One
2. I Still Feel
3. Soul Food
4. Too Tough To Die
5. Music Box
6. Stevie's (Day's Of A Gun)
7. 4 On the Floor
8. Lying
9. I Wanna Be There
10. Intro
11. Anything
12. Lullaby

Feed Me: Here

In other news...

Dan has an excellent album list (and double mp3 goodness) over at Pretentious Prattle.

It's your duty as an audiophile to hear Trentemøller's "Take Me Into Your Skin," whether at Good Weather For Airstrikes or Milk Milk Lemonade. Aurgasm, which provided an introduction back in September, has another track.

I'm going to be in Florence for the next week on a school trip, but expect things to settle back into their daily pace on the 10th. Until then...