Hanky Panky

Hanky Panky hail from Nantes in the west of France. 

"A Precious Bitch", their first EP, is now available on BandCamp.

And that's about all I can find out about them.
Have you tried searching for "Hanky Panky"?
Some strange stuff turns up, that's for sure.

The title track is one of my favorite songs right now sounds just like it was written to be a summer blockbuster.
It has all of the feel of a sixties type summer sensation, but still firmly planted in the 21st century.

I am really digging this, and it's not just the video. Which is cute, that's for sure.

A Precious Bitch


You can get the EP right here for free, and the lyrics are below.

Written by Hanky Panky.
Lyrics :
A Precious Bitch :
Have you ever seen someone like me ? I'm so classy
I've been to Rome and Miami
Been shopping in London City, do you think i'm a poor lassie ?
Summertimes in PortoFino, next time i'll see Monte Carlo
One star hotel i dont think so, i only drink champagne you know

I would like to see Los Angeles, i'm a princess
I think i could be an actress
I'm a self made, i'm no heiress, are you suffering from blindness ?
I just wear the best designers, i do my best for looking better
I spend thousands in hairdressers, now i look like a New Yorker
_
Hey you ! Please believe me it's true
All the things That i do
I do them to please you
You just need to be rich
I'm a precious bitch
_
Are you gonna try satisfy me ? Hypnotize me ?
Do you think i'm someone easy ?
I'm nô redneck i'm a fairy, i was born to be successy
Always perfect on the photo, painted nails and red stilleto
I live in a loft in Soho, i'm a platinum girl you know
_
Hey you ! Please believe me it's true
All the things that i do
I do them to please you
You just need to be rich
I'm a precious bitch

5 Bears

Mara Carlyle

Mara Carlyle is an English singer-songwriter and arranger who also plays the musical saw and the ukulele. She was raised in Shropshire, England and now lives in London.

That does not begin to describe the lovely Mara with the magnificent voice.

I think Mara has to have one of the most beautiful voices ever featured here. And she tackles just about anything you could think of, who can forget that Ikea cat thing?

So let's check in on Mara in a recent performance, and then check into some more from the past.
We'll end up with a recent collaboration with Joe Goddard.

Here we find Mara in magnificant voice live at St John's Church in Hackney Central, for the Soundcheck channel.
This is a one-shot steadicam videos filmed during the live sound checks. Amazing.

Ex-Factor

Directed by Marie-Claire Denyer (SOUND:CHECK) and STITCHTHAT
Sound by Eduardo Puhl
Mara Carlyle performs her arrangement of Lauryn Hill's 'Ex-Factor' at St John's at Hackney, with the OneTaste choir and organist Annie Lydford.
All profits from SOUND:CHECK events go to the charity ChildHope.

Taken from Mara's critically acclaimed album 'Floreat', this single 'The Devil and Me' samples Vaughan Williams' Silent Noon.
The video was shot halfway up a mountain in central Mexico.
No animals or cacti were harmed in the making of this video.
This is a thing of beauty.

The Devil and Me

Directed by Sam Mason, for the single released last year on Ancient & Modern records.

When asked about this next song Mara says "I wrote this really happy-sounding song about domestic violence and emotional abuse and the music is very loosely based on a traditional Cajun tune called Two Step de la Prairie Soileau"

Weird Girl

Directed by Gaelle Denis and produced by Passion Pictures

Early last year we find Mara Carlyle (vocals) and Max De Wardener (bass) plus Dan Teper (Accordion) and Al Cherry (guitar) perform their arrangement of Schubert's 'Du bist die Ruh' live on BBC Radio 3 as part of The Spirit Of Schubert season.

Du bist die Ruh

Finally today Mara Carlyle's 'Ancient and Modern' theme finds inspiration from Schubert in 'I Blame You Not' from her highly acclaimed 'Floreat' album.
As always great musical support - in this case on piano and double bass. It was a very chilly or we might have been treated to her formidable musical saw talent!

I Blame You Not (Schumann arr Carlyle)

Well actually one more today, this is a little different.
A collaboration with Joe Goddard.
She Burns is taken from Joe's forthcoming coming Taking Over EP, which is out later this year.
This is totally awesome, amazing even. The contrast of her pure voice and Joe's electronica expertise. WoW!

Joe Goddard Feat. Mara Carlyle - She Burns
 

5 Bears

Logout

If you've been here before you may remember Logout from a couple of previous posts.

Alex Logout is the very talented singer / songwriter from Greece.

Well now he's coming out with a new album, see below for more info on that I "borrowed" from his Soundcloud page.

But from what little that has been released so far I enjoyed the evolution of one of the songs from the new album.

This song "Global Love" I first saw/heard back in 2011 live στο An Club in March 2011.

Listen to this and them listen to the same thing as it has evolved to be released on the new album.

Global Love live στο An Club

Now check out the new version for the album.
As much as I liked the previous version this one is a mind blower.
Truly loving it, this will be on repeat play for quite a while.

Global Love from the album “Little Things Buried In Concrete”

His homemade debut, “Paper Plane Flight Recorder”, made its maiden flight in 2011. This year LogOut returns with his second album, “Little Things Buried In Concrete”, produced by Hristos Lainas.

This time LogOut attempts with his songs a gradual descending under the strict concrete surfaces of our cities and our faces. The excavation trip of “Little Things Buried In Concrete” begins at the exterior surface, where "everybody lives in malls" and "everybody loves each other" (“Newspapers”) and passes through layers of consumerism (“Global Love”) and city isolation (“For You”) slowly descending towards the innermost hidden layers (“Censored Title”) all the way to the final cathartic plea towards Concrete (“Hymn To Concrete”- …Come on concrete, rain all over me…), which leaves behind only a tape of repeated declarations of love. ("…love you, I love you, I love you, I…”)

The sound of “Little Things Buried In Concrete” will be a pleasant surprise to those who know LogOut from the bare ballads of “Paper Plane Flight Recorder”. The 10 new tracks were taken to the studio of Hristos Lainas where they were rebuilt with various ad hoc instrumentations and the contribution of guest musicians. The guitar and voice still have the leading roles but the acoustic atmosphere has given way to an electric sound. So the melodies and lyrics of LogOut have been charged with the intensity that was necessary for this album, while retaining the characteristic style of the artist. The mastering of the album took place in New York by Alan Douches.

“Little Things Buried In Concrete” is released in vinyl (including bonus cd) and digital album from Inner Ear.

5 Bears