Be-At

We couldn’t wait for tonight to see more of Indie’s Brightest Young Hopes™. So we persuaded the nice people at their record label to let us show you the video of their forthcoming single. It’s called Always Like This and its out on April 13th on Island. Enjoy!

Always Like This Video

Being named after one of London’s premier curry houses can’t have been easy. Many bands would have buckled under the pressure of having their songs compared to a tarka dal, a lamb boona, or some skewers of tandoori chicken (pictured). Both hit the spot after a few beers on a friday night, but whereas one leaves you feeling heavy and lethargic, and possibly in need of a punch up before the night bus home, the other gets you tapping your toes and has the potential to turn your front room into a proper indie disco.

Not everything always goes exactly to plan. That’s why when the phone rang one morning last week at The Be-Foundation HQ, we were prepared as usual for any eventuality. The old CIA training kicks in, doesn’t it. Nonetheless, we were shaken if not stirred to hear that our main support for Bombay Bicycle Club this Saturday was pulling out. “No!”, we cried, and wept uncontrollably like a little schoolgirl who just had her favourite dolly mauled by a pitbull. But yes, it seems that the iridescent Marina and The Diamonds have had to pull out due to personnel issues - apparently the keyboard player exploded during a recent rehearsal. Bizarre gardening accidents notwithstanding, they will be back to grace the hallowed boards at BE later in the spring or summer. In the meantime, here’s a little something they made earlier:

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Marina and The Diamonds - I Am Not a Robot

However, this did allow us to book another band whose star is in the ascendant, another precious stone to be found amongst the rubble of London pop culture, the ridiculously good Heartbreak. We’re quite happy with this turn of events. But don’t listen to us, dear reader, you can make your own mind up right now about who’s better, Marina or Heartbreak… here’s how:

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Heartbreak - Don’t Lose My Time

Of course, it doesn’t really matter what you lot think, because in the end it will be Heartbreak unleashing their Italo-Disco beats on an unsuspecting BE audience this Saturday night at Proud, come what may. But if you’d like to leave your answers on a postcard there will be a secret mystery prize. This might involve a weekend away at a 3-Star hotel in the company of either Marina or the Heartbreak boys. Don’t say we never give you nothing.

Here’s a new mix for you to download, keep and share…

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Last Days of Disco Mixtape - March

This is the B-side of the mixtape which will be given away at Last Days of Disco tomorrow night (Friday 7th). It’s on a kind of late night electro-disco tip this month, with a few other bits and bobs thrown in as usual:

Chromatics - Hands in The Dark
Hercules and Love Affair - You Belong
Woolfy - Oh Missy (Whatever/Whatever Mix)
Babytalk - Keep On Move
Runaway - Brooklyn Club Jam (LSB Mix)
Pilooski - Untitled
Cerrone - Supernature (Last Days Edit)
Moodymann - Freeki Muthafucker
Raw Silk - Do It to The Music (Dub)

If you are in the Dalston area tomorrow night and want to find out what a real underground disco party looks like, you could do much worse than heading over to Barden’s Boudoir. Padded Cell of the excellent DC Recordings are playing live, and there’s a guest set from Nightmoves Matt as well as regular LDOD deck hands Slutty Fringe and me. The REALLY good news is that Barden’s has just been granted a 4am licence which we will be active as of tomorrow night. So even more disco bang for your Dalston buck!

Here’s a re-edit I’ve just made from the 12″ of Cerrone’s 1977 transatlantic smash hit

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Cerrone - Supernature (Last Days Edit)

As you may be able to gather from the artwork, the original was from a sci-fi concept album by the Parisian disco don. He had previously been experimenting with various combinations of erotic and cosmic disco material, but this was his only true masterpiece. It’s about the rebellion of mutant creatures — created by scientists to end starvation among mankind — against the humans. Yep.

There’s a couple of snap crackle and pops from the original, but this version has been re-touched with extra bass and edit bits which stay in time, for all your metronomic dancing needs!