Tayalarz vol.4: Moneke Sorrow

and so, December brings the year to a close

and with it comes the last Tayalarz mixtape of 2013

I must admit that the musical journey we shall be taking together in this last month of the year is possibly a journey that will take you deep into the depths of the human soul, yet is a treacherous and unrelenting path to take 

It starts as many of my December compiled mixtapes do, with a rather folky toe-warmer of a track, best enjoyed by a fireside in a comfy chair with a large whisky, but don't forget, that it is a cold world out there

a cold world reflected in a series of uncompromising beat driven tracks that carry the harsh nature of a bitter northerly wind as it cuts through you to your bone, chilling your insides, so hunker down, tune in and chill out to the latest monthly mixtape

as with all previous mixtapes, these tracks have all been sourced for free, either via bandcamps, blogs or facebook, and the track listing below tells you exactly where I handpicked these gems from, and joining the Tayalarz family for the next three months is cover designer, Ted Joyce, gracing our mixes with his talents

1.  Vikesh Kapoor - Bottom of the Ladder (available via Mad Mackerel)
2.  Ghost and Gale - Wicked Heart (available via Turntable Kitchen)
3.  The Casket Girls - Same Side (available via Turntable Kitchen)
4.  SZA - ICE.MOON (available via Consequence of Sound)
5.  Justin Bieber - Hold Tight (Adam Snow Late Night Edit) (available via Ear Buddy)
6.  Tabloid - Voyeur (available via Little Indie Blogs)
7.  Moon Bounce - Marvellous Beast (available via The Key)
8.  Wiley - Born in the Cold (Mr Mitch remix) (available at Surviving The Golden Age)
9.  Keenya - Behind Doors (Winter Son's Helpless Room Remix) (available via Acid Ted)
10. Tasseomancy - Heavy Sleep (Maya Postepski Remix) (available via I Vacation In Your Hell)
11. King Krule -Cementality (8pm remix) (available via Winnie Cooper)
12. Federico Aubele - Somewhere Else feat. Melody Gardot (available via KEXP)

In the tracklisting above are links to the artist's bandcamp/soundcloud/website if you click on their name, and clicking on the track name or blog link will direct you to where I originally encountered their music, good luck hunting it all down...

Tayalarz vol.2 - The Rime of Tabala (october 2013)

you join us for the second instalment of our brand-new mixtape scavenger hunt series just as the clocks have turned back and journeys home from work have descended into darkness

once again, i have scoured hype machine for the finest crop of songs available to download for free and compiled them into a cohesive musical journey made to reflect the darker days of October as 2013 now draws to a close

fill your ears with the sound of autumnal sunshine that still casts a magnificent glow across fallen leaves, the sound of evenings winding down and daylight hours shortening

october's mixtape eases us in with a more folky approach, readying us for the cosy winter days with a down tempo selection before giving way to some lazy beats featuring a number of more familiar names that take the journey full circle as electronic bleeps fall away and the folk element creeps in again like a cold draught creeping in through the crack under the door.

You may recognise an Aaliyah sample within the selection, and Rihanna goes back to back with herself alongside Theophilus London, a new guise for Flying Lotus is accompanied by MF Doom and Earl Sweatshirt and singer/songwriter Ciaran Lavery makes an early appearance in the mix as well as closing proceedings with a couple of cover versions from his recent 'Other People Wrote These'

once again, links to the wonderful blogs that have provided me with this great new music have been provided in the tracklisting below, along with links to the respective artists websites, and Ian Byford has designed the second of three accompanying pieces of cover art

1. Kill Emil - Autumn Sun (available via Serial GK)
2. Ciaran Lavery - Psycho Killer (available via Metaphorical Boat)
3. Cold Country - Missing The Muse (available via Indie Rock Cafe)
4. Abrigo  De Pelos - Julio (available via acid ted)
5. Skeng - Cold Sweat (available via Jack Plug)
6. Bamf - Hold Me Close (available via unholy rhythms)
7. Rihanna + Evil Needle - Pour It Up (Duncan Gerow mash-up) (available via The Music Ninja)
8. Rihanna - Jump (Club Cheval rap Remix feat. Theophilus London) (available via Frenchy Symphony)
9. Captain Murphy feat Viktor Vaughn, Earl Sweatshirt and Thundercat -
     Between Villains (available via Faronheit)
10. Chronic City ft Florian Horwath - The Man Who (available via The Sound Of Confusion)
11. Autumn Owls - All The Lights In New York (available via The Sound Of Confusion)
12. Ciaran Lavery - I Drove All Night (available via Metaphorical Boat)

In the tracklisting above are links to the artist's bandcamp/soundcloud/website if you click on their name, and clicking on the track name or blog link will direct you to where I originally encountered their music, good luck hunting it all down...

The Freewheelin' Troubadour

a man with interests very close to my own heart has been following his dreams and desires to creatively produce works for anyone willing to pay attention to them.

The Freewheelin' Troubadour's latest venture has been publishing a collection of poetry accompanied by visuals contributed by a select number of artists.

made available for free, "Freewheelin’ in Monument Valley & the American Offerings" can be downloaded as a pdf, with a limited number of books also circulating, thanks to the generosity of those that donated towards the costs of publication.

the project was helped to fruition with a fundraising gig in August, and the finished article was celebrated with another night of music and poetry in October, both gigs curated by and featuring readings from the Troubadour himself, held at The Victoria in Mile End.

Originally hailing from Enfield himself, by his 20s, Dion Power had been displaced in Cheshunt where he began conversing in the musical circles that were enriching the current Hertford scene, eventually finding himself managing bands and DJing.

When The Freewheelin' Troubadour persona originally surfaced it was of a poetic soul, and his prose was featured on his own myspace blogs.

but owing his adopted namesake to Bob Dylan and surrounded by local musicians, such as The Knaves and The Black Tricks, it would not be long before these ideas were realised musically and a sole CD  entitled '10 minutes of darkness' was composed alongside a number of borrowed band members and was distributed in 2007, before a similar vision found form in late 2008 when the Freewheelin Troubadour began fronting his own band that sadly proved to be shortlived.

What followed was a soul searching road trip across America that found creativity reaching new heights via an amassed sense of freedom and an abundance of new found inspirations, and it is the poems from these few months that make up the short collection, "Freewheelin’ in Monument Valley & the American Offerings".

His return to London began with a search for somewhere to live, continued with looking for willing collaborators, and with the book now launched, The Freewheelin Troubadour is still searching for means and ventures to make his voice heard, whether it is through spoken word readings, organising gigs or an upcoming documentary that will be a testament to everything achieved so far.


to download your own copy of the book, head to to the funpowder plot

and as an extra treat, here is also a rarity for you, my own remix of The Night That I Die, the original of which was on the 2007 CD '10 minutes of darkness'

The Freewheelin' Troubadour - The Night That I Die (Hunchbakk Remix)