Ode To The Big Sea

 
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Ode to the big what?!?

This blog is a means for me to post about the music I discover. My music taste is varied and really enjoy introducing people to new sounds.

What follows is a history, if you like, of the music I have been influenced by in my life... I'ts really long and I don't actually expect anyone will read it.

I grew up listening to my dad's favourites - Prince, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeplin, The Beatles, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Madonna amongst many others.

I first developed my own taste in the late 80's / early 90's - getting into the commercial side of the rave/acid house scene that was going on.

Bands like The Shamen, The KLF, The Prodigy (at one point I owned every single they had released on CD single), 2 Unlimited, Leftfield, Snap, Urban Cookie Collective.

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A CD called "In the Mix '96" was the first mixed 'clubbing' CD I bought and I absolutely played it to death. By the end of the '90s I was listening to funky house, trance, progressive house and garage.

In 2001 Zero 7 released "Simple things" - it opened my eyes to the whole chill out scene. I managed to discover Aphex Twin's "Ambient Works 85-92" and Bebel Gilberto's "Tanto Tempo" - two absolute master pieces.

In 2003 I heard a drum and bass CD called "Hospital Mix Vol.1". This was the beginning of my love of soulful, musical, drum and bass. Also known as "Fast soul music", coined by Tony Colman of London Electricity and Hospital records. A musical genius.

Over the next few years drum and bass became my sole passion. Artists like Logistics, Nu:Tone, LTJ Bukem, Calibre, Artificial Intelligence became my new favourites.

In the meantime my brother discovered Gilles Peterson and introduced me to The Cinematic Orchestra, Jazzanova, Quantic, 4 Hero, Ninja Tune, Bonobo and the whole broken beat/jazz/down-tempo sound.

In 2004 I started listening to Jazz FM and artists like George Benson, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse, Al Green, Bill Withers, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Angie Stone. I love this sound.

In 2005 I started a new job in an office with an open jukebox. Everyone's music networked across all our computers to form easily the largest music collection I've ever had access to. Literally terabytes of music. My music horizons have been broadened no end.

The biggest addition to my taste was the exposure to all the indie rock bands around that I had never given any time to. The White Stripes, The Strokes, The Killers, The Editors, The Kooks, The Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, The Arctic Monkeys, Magic Numbers, Bloc Party.

Which brings us to now. Currently I'm into all the down-tempo jazz stuff, anything soulful and I'm really starting to get into the 'sampled' hip-hop sound. People like Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Timbaland (anything Neptunes) - I've always liked De La Soul, Souls of Mischief, Tribe Called Quest and I'm finding new hip-hop artists all the time. Anyway I'll save what I'm into now for future posts.

So why Ode To The Big Sea? ... it's a Cinematic Orchestra track (who are probably my favourite band) and I thought it was a suitably vague name to use. That's it really.

If just one person discovers a new band they enjoy from this blog then I will be happy.

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