Beyond The Wizards Of Grid

Remember The Grid? The '90s UK dance act who featured David Ball formerly of '80s electro pioneers Soft Cell? And they had the country/house hit (yes, really) 'Swamp Thing'? There was another guy in the band - Richard Norris? And in recent years he reappeared as one-half of Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve with Errol Alkan? And then as Alkan pulled more and more club anthems out of his pointy hat Norris re-imagined himself as The Time & Space Machine? Nuh! Well, then you won't care that The Grid are actually still recording and that Norris as Machine performs a great line in post-psydisco. He's also remixed like-minded types Woolfy and A Mountain Of One. And he has released the single 'Children Of The Sun' on Tirk.

The Time & Space Machine - 'Children Of The Sun'

Records I Stole From My Father - Pt.3

The Turtles - 'A Walk In The Sun' 1965

I re-borrowed this from my parent's house just the other week. The actual vinyl has "signs of play, but would make a good DJ copy" (ie. it's scratched to hell, but doesn't skip). Lead singer Howard Kaylan looks extra grumpy and just slightly out-of-place standing next to the other mop-topped group members on the album cover. The LP is bandwagonesque Californian folk-rock (there's three Bob Dylan covers), but stands up really well. Before transforming into The Turtles, the group was a surf-rock combo called The Crossfires.

The Depths Of An Obsession

Records I Stole From My Father - Pt.2

Francis Lai - 'Samba Saravah (vocal)' 1966

From the soundtrack to 'Un Homme Et Une Femme' ('A Man And A Woman'). I especially like the call-and-response vocal bits. I can picture myself listening to this while wearing a skivvy and enjoying a sip of cask wine, probably in the fantasy company of a girl who looks like Jane Birkin (circa 1969).

Sophisticated? Mais oui.

But, are you allowed to drink your father's Mosel? Mais non.

Neighbourhood Watch - Erasers

Supposedly Perth band Erasers have yet to play a gig. The lowkey two-piece include Shock! Horror!'s Rupert Thomas and the woman known-only as Rebecca. There's something primal about the outfit that makes them stand out above the crowd of post-punk wannabes... possibly the finest example of that, dare-we-say, UKesque early '80s scene that gave us Marine Girls and Au Pairs influence here since Jemima Jemima passed away (or split to Berlin...). Dreamy yet somehow disconcerting... maybe even scary. So before they gig they have issued an EP via the Owls label (what is with Perth and their current crop of lil bands and labels?) and it's worth more than just being fancy decoration on the end of your pencil.

Erasers - 'Outside Environment'

Records I Stole From My Father - Pt.1

While I might be a shining light of musical taste and refinement now, it wasn't always so. Growing up I would dive into my Dad's record collection and search for musical adventure. My Mum had a few 7"s, but Dad had a stack of 7"s and about 100 long players (and control over our Kriesler record player). More often than not I would walk away thinking - "why the hell did he buy THESE records?". 'Adult-contemporary', or maybe 'middle of the road' would be a good description for most of the collection.

There were no records by any black artists. The edgiest record - or at least the record with the most dangerous hair - was Rod Stewart's 1977 album 'Foot Loose & Fancy Free'. Still, my Dad had a few Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash records, and some interesting French albums, so it wasn't all bad. In retrospect maybe I was a little harsh at the time, because over the years quite a few of his records have found their way into my collection.

Chet Atkins - 'Boo Boo Stick Beat' 1960

I always liked the wah-wah guitar and rockabilly drum break.