This latest from Lairds of Scunthorpe started when I was trying out my new LPD8 drum pads and wanted to see whether I could come up with anything useful using just the 8 pads and a sampler. That’s how I got all the rhythms and the bassline, but I was forced to add the melody using a keyboard. Then played around with the arrangement in Logic.

2009 was about getting back into music in a pretty big way. Not only in listening to a whole lot more, but actually buying and even making some. I’ve pretty much dumped the idea of buying CDs from old skool shop type places and moved to buying it online or simply downloading it. I suspect this is because my music playing system(s) are all now digital. I haven’t had a CD player that works (aside from the laptop) for well over a year and my 30 year-old amp is fast becoming an anacronistic desktop weight rather than a well-used piece of music equipment. So I’ve started downloading stuff, which goes straight to the iTunes library and there to the numerous iPods/Phones that I have. And while purists might diss the quality of the mp3s and even the lossless compression versions, I really can’t tell the difference.

I even went back and saw some live events! And not just bullshit cello/turntable catastrophies. Seasick Steve in Manchester was great, the most superbly refrained standup audience I’ve ever been in with the exception of the devastatingly drunk lurching Chav Family, who found the experience so horrifying they had to stumble to freedom halfway through. But Daedelus at the ICA in July was awesome. Superb ninja shape cutting dancing and excellent music.

My own music is still in a very basic shape, but it’s slowly coming along.

Downpipe single cover

So what was I listening to and what did I like in 2009. One useful side effect of digitising my entire music listening experience is that it can all be measured. Unfortunately, none of the various measuring elements link to all my devices, which is a pain. Anyway, of all of them, the iTunes list is probably the most comprehensive. According to this, my top tracks for 2009 are:

• Blue Skies (Rabbit In The Moon) – BT feat Tori Amos
• Downpipe – Mark Knight & D Ramirez vs Underworld
• Theme From Long Good Friday – Francis Monkman
• Surf Solar – Fuck Buttons
• Gaia (Kaiser Souzai Remix) – Kaiser Souzai
• Come Into My World (Fischerspooner Mix) – Kylie
• Behind The Wheel – Susperia
• Hazy/Crazy – Da Hool
• Heaven Up Here – Echo & The Bunnymen
• Shattered In Aspect – Faith & The Muse

All of which gives a somewhat skewed view of 2009. However, if you look at just the music that was released in 2009 (or was new to me in 2009), a slightly different picture emerges.

• Downpipe – Mark Knight and D Ramirez vs Underworld
• Tarot Sport (album) – Fuck Buttons
• Temporary Pleasure (album) – Simian Mobile Disco
• The Resistance (album) – Muse
• Moon Soundtrack (album) – Clint Mansell
• My Way (album) – Ian Brown
• Tonight (album) – Franz Ferdinand
• It’s Not Me, It’s Doctor Rosen Rosen (album) – Lily Allen
• Runaway – Ladytron
• Hands (album) – Little Boots

While I managed to successfully resist the lure of the Maschine, I did fall victim to a few other musical bits and pieces – enough to warrent serious practice and a bit too much late night fiddling around. The main output being the first Lairds of Scunthorpe material.

It’s a mixture of experimental keyboard/sampling/beats and guitar. Here, hopefully, are a couple of examples.

Beats v1.0

Human League (Not)