Summer

Summer is almost here and my strawberries are coming along nicely. It feels like a good time to post a mix of the stuff I have been listening to at the moment to get me in the mood for summer.

Obviously I can’t claim this is a Saloon-mix (it’s an Adam from Saloon mix) but I have tried to avoid the handbag-house pop-cheese stuff that I like, because I am quite sure no-one else would appreciate it.

Most of this is fairly new stuff with some big tracks from great new albums by artists you would expect to see on a Saloon-related list (e.g..

Fujiya and Miyaji, The Horrors, Ulrich etc). I am looking forward to picking up The Soundcarriers new album from the post office-tomorrow.

I also had also to include Carice Van Houten (Melisandre from Game of Thrones –sigh) and Stromae (who says that Saloon don’t like French Rap, OK he’s from Belgium and only raps occasionally but still...) as I have played their albums to death over the last few months and I’m still spinning them.

With new albums / ep’s from collaborators Mahogany and Cosines out later this year I am sure this mix will change a bit – and I’m sure I will be talking about them here later. Maybe some Saloon news on here soon too.

Enjoy the sun and I hope you didn’t vote UKIP.

Another mixed bag

I have been pretty busy the last few weeks so not had much of a chance to do any updates on here. But seeing as the Saloon website was down for almost 10 years, I don’t feel too guilty.

Nice to hear an interview on Radio Berkshire with Reading band The Jettes. Two of the members are Richard and Sarah who were also in Desdemona, a band that Saloon played with several times, and I am sure we had them at the Happy Robots night on a number of occasions. Richard also came and helped out when we did our final tour in Scandinavia. We did try and drag him on stage for the finale of ‘Girls are the new boys’ in Stockholm, but he declined the offer. Great to hear them doing so well.

Also in the news, but far less uplifting, is the story of Naomi Button who has had her baby girl Elsa snatched. Naomi is currently campaigning going through legal proceedings to try and get Elsa back from Egypt where she is being held by the family of Elsa’s father. Naomi was a close friend of Mike back when we lived in Reading. Naomi needs financial support for her campaign; if anyone reading this can help I know it would be incredibly appreciated.

So this morning I read that the cassette tape is making a comeback. Not in our house though, in fact if it wasn’t for me clearing out all the C90’s this site probably wouldn’t exist.

Another reminder that Alison has another gig coming up with Left Outsides and Alice (my partner in Arthur and Martha) has a new single and new video out now with her band Cosines. 

And finally, while working on the new Arthur and Martha record (which is a rare enough thing in itself) I found a bundle of Saloon set lists in the Moog Opus 3 case. Four lists all from the same gig, no idea which one it was though. Undoubtedly a headline set in 2003 but certainly not Scandinavia as we definitely closed with Good Life / GATNB there. If anyone knows the right answer please write in to the usual address to win something we have overstocked in the shop. Can’t say fairer than that.