Alias &Themselves (Dax, Dose One and Jel) gig

Posted by: Mekon on 17 November 2002

I went to see Alias and Themselves play Sabbath at Pressure Point in Brighton last night. I know a few people here are into anticon stuff, especially Jel.

First thing I noticed when I got there was that Dose One, Jel, Alias and Dax were manning the t-shirt and CD sales, and seemed to be very happy to chat. I went up and grabbed a ltd ed Dax CD, and had a quick chat with Dose One. That 'funny voice' he uses for rapping is actually his real voice. He seemed pretty overwhelmed how into anticon people in Brighton were.

First up was Alias, with Dax and Jel supplying the beats. I've only heard a handful of mp3's by him before, but his delivery shares alot with Sole, and to a lesser extent Sage Francis. He gave a great performance. The beats were awesome, with Jel and Dax dropping huge dubby baselines. I'm going to put an order in today.

During the break Alias came straight back to the CD/t-shirt stall, and started chatting again. Dead nice bloke, who seemed suprised we could even get his albums over here.

Themselves were awesome. Mouthfull, Good People Check, and Only Child Explosion were the standout tracks for me. Dose got the crowd going, especially after an unfortunate incident were a bunch of free CDs hit an unsuspecting punter in the head.

A great night out, and brilliant to see Dose doing his stuff. If any of you guys who like anticon stuff are in London, they are playing '93 Feet East tonight.

Nick Lees, I recall you saying you like the beats but struggle with rapping. You are in luck:

Alias/ The Other Side of the Looking Glass Instrumentals $12.00
HHI EXCLUSIVE! Limited edition black-back CDR with on disc printing, self manufactured by Alias himself. Packaged in a cardboard sleeve(like Sole's Mansbestfriend), this disc all of the instrumentals from Alias's critically acclaimed full-length debut.


[This message was edited by Mekon on SUNDAY 17 November 2002 at 11:47.]
Posted on: 17 November 2002 by Michael Dale
Hi Mekon,

I missed Dose One and Themselves in Leeds the other night. I really need to pay more attention! If you're a fan of Dose One you might want to check out the Hood album "Cold House", as it features some great Dose and Why moments. It's one of my fave albums of last year.

Regards,

Mickey.
Posted on: 20 November 2002 by Mekon
I haven't paid much attention to 'indie' music since about 1990. I had heard from the anticon board that Cold House was worth a listen, but I didn't bother. I've picked it up, and I love it. Cheers for the tip. It really reminds me of the first Pale Saints album, which I love.

Thanks to the wonders of Kazaa I've since had a quick whirl through some related stuff, and I like some, but was non-plussed by others. It seems like Constellation, Tugboat, and Fat Cat are the labels to watch. I really like the stuff that plays up the glitches and dub effects. The stuff I like less (some Godspeed You Black Emperor) sounds like My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3 on a bad day. I wonder if you could point me in the right direction as to what's worth getting. So far I've ordered

Radiohead - Kid A/Amnesiac (note just how little attention I had been paying)
Tortoise - Stardards
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun

And will buy

Do Make Say Think - & Yet & Yet
Low - Things We Lost in the Fire
Silver Mt. Zion - He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms
Labradford - El Luxo So
Fog -Fog

[This message was edited by Mekon on WEDNESDAY 20 November 2002 at 12:43.]
Posted on: 06 May 2003 by Mekon
Did you get the original or instrumental version of the Alias album? If you got the original, you should get 'Selling live water' by Sole. Alias did the beats, and it a solid release.

I picked up 10 seconds a while back. Crazy sort of concept, basing an album around the functions of a sampler. Did you look at the specs of the sampler? I am guessing there isn't much info to get off the disc.

I haven't picked up any anticon for a while, but then there's not been too much going on, other than a bunch of tour only discs released through Mush. I will pick up the 'Them' rerelease, the Themselves remix album, and Odd Nosdam's full length when it shows.
Posted on: 06 May 2003 by Mekon
Good news, if anyone else is after 10 Seconds, Mush still have it in stock on vinyl and on CD. You can purchase it here, and there are a bunch of reviews here.