Originally founded by author AW Wilde in 2001 and initially branded as Another Late Night, London-based Late Night Tales is a unique artist-curated compilation series now releasing under Paul Glancy’s Night Time Stories label. Unconfined by genre and diving deep into record collections by iconic artists, the series is delicately designed to soundtrack the post-sunset hours. Each compilation also includes an exclusive cover version track, a continuous DJ mix and a spoken word story to tuck the late night tale up in bed. Featured artists include: Bonobo, Jamiroquai, Groove Armada, Floating Points, Nils Frahm, Khruangbin, Jon Hopkins, Hot Chip, Lindstrøm, BadBadNotGood, Franz Ferdinand, Snow Patrol and many more.
Review: For the uninitiated Khruangbin is a three-piece band outta Texas formed of Laura Lee on bass, Mark Speer on guitar, and Donald Johnson on drums. Taking influence from 1960s Thai funk - think surf rock, psychedelica and Tarantino soundtracks - their name literally translates to "Engine Fly" in Thai. With a storied history so far with a bevy of albums on Late Night Tales sister label Night Time Stories, including this year's Mordechai LP, the trio have earned their right to contribute to the much loved LateNightTales mix series. With their cover of Kool & The Gang's "Summer Madness" an exclusive feature of the mix, you'll also find their number "A Calf Born in Winter' included in Bonobo's LateNightTales contribution from a years ago now. Across Khruangbin's selections most interestingly though is their global bent of taste that takes in Asian pop and Nigerian reggae to Latina inspirations, Hindi-disco and South Korean rock to an atmospheric banjo rendering of Erik Satie's 'Gnossienne'. Highly recommended.
Review: Much like the Fabric mix series, Late Night Tales has been a staple of the British compilation dynasty, and the label has somehow managed to consistently call upon some of the world's biggest and most interesting talents to demonstrate their skills behind the DJ decks, and to give us a tiny view into their tastes and influences. Iceland's Olafur Arnalds, a lo-fi artist who has steadily released nothing but quality on the Erased Tapes label, is asked to do the honours for the catalogu's 44th instelment, and we are seriously digging what this dude is into. Electronica is a bit of a cop-out term to describe this gear, but there is just so much diversity in here that it's simply impossible to categorise it under one roof. Maybe sci-fi electro soul would be a good term, as it manages to capture the mood and feel of these beautiful songs by the likes of Koreless, Jamie XX via Four Tet, Samaris, Arnois, and Arnalds' own music. Spot on once again, Late Night Tales!
Review: On Scene Delete, Sasha has decided to flip the script, jettisoning his usual progressive-leaning club fare in favour of original productions that wallow in their largely beatless, ambient nature. In some ways, it's a surprise move, but in others, it makes perfect sense; his DJ and production style has always emphasized atmosphere and texture, making it perfectly suited for the ambient genre. Musically, Scene Delete has some genuinely superb moments, with the obvious Eno, Yokota, Namlook and Reich influences joined by nods to obscure new age records, early synthesizer pioneers and, on a couple of occasions, the glitchy IDM of Autechre.
Review: Veteran Ninja Tune artist Bonobo has been putting out seriously decent tunes pretty much since the birth of the highly regarded Late Night Tales compilation. It's amazing that they haven't crossed paths before, but with the release of this 33rd entry into the series, the time has finally come for Green to take us on his own nocturnal mission. This 21-track odyssey is seamlessly mixed but the unmixed tracks are also presented so we can enjoy highlights like the velvety soul of 'Didn't I", the hippy funk of "Flowers" and the distorted, fuzzy trap of "Gutter Glitter".
Review: Joe Mount of lovable scuzz pop outfit Metronomy mans the latest volume in the long running Late Night Tales, a series who always seem to get the best results out of an unexpected cast of participants (Belle & Sebastien, MGMT, Trentemoeller and Midlake being recent inductees) It's hard not to get sucked in from the sugar sweet opening of Outkast's "Prototype", which is the first of several tracks that demonstrates Mount has a penchant for slow bumping R n B and outsider hiphop with Tweet, Sa Ra and a Dr Octagon classic also appearing. A typically far reaching approach to genres applies here with the cosmic jazz of Chic Corea happily mingling with Autechre and Two Lone Swordsmen and American synth oddities Geneva Jacuzzi and Appaloosa mingling for attention with The Alan Parsons Project and Herman Dune. The de-rigueur cover version arrives with a Metronomy rendition of Jean-Michel Jarre's"Hypnose" whilst Paul Morley ends the selection with a spoken word piece.
Review: Six years after the release of their first inspirational Late Night Tales mix, fey Scottish post-indie miserablists Belle & Sebastian unveil a second volume. Given the unusual and exciting nature of their first collection, hopes are naturally high for Volume 2. Thankfully, it's every bit as odd, enjoyable and enlightening as the first edition. Psychedelic folk-pop, Indian soul, Balkan beats, Spanish crooners, Chanson ballads, film soundtrack compositions, Gold Panda, The Lovin' Spoonful, dancehall, The Pop Group and Pete Shelley all feature, alongside a range of thrillingly strange records that defy easy categorization. As a collection of music, it's breathtakingly brilliant, while the accompanying DJ mix is wonderful.
Review: Following hot on the heels of the Lindstrom reissue, the Late Night Tales digital remasters series continues with a typically eclectic and atmospheric selection from Four Tet man Kieran Hebden. Like many other Late Night Tales selectors before and since, Hebden used the opportunity to cram in many weird and wonderful choices as possible, digging deep into his impressively left-of-centre record collection. So, we get American classical minimalism from Terry Riley, a smattering of spooky jazz numbers, the psychedelic folk-rock of Manfred Mann and Fairpoint Convention, off-kilter experimental hip-hop from Gravediggaz and Madvillain, and some clicky electronica from Manitoba. Predictably, the included DJ mix joins the dots in fine style.
Review: Second time around for Hans-Peter Lindstrom's decidedly Balearic, prog rock-tinged Late Night Tales selection, which first saw the light of day back in 2007. This time round, it's been given a gloss of new paint in the form of a sparkling digital remaster. While this is all well and good, the selling point remains the Norwegian producer's excellent, left-of-centre selections. There's another chance to check his own cover of Vangelis' "Let It Happen", classic Balearica from Fearn Kinney and Carly Simon, acapella action from Todd Lundgren, freestyle ambient jazz-funk from George Duke, a slew of forgotten prog rock faves and a brilliant dub track from Oslo mates Prins Thomas and Todd Terje ("Reinbagan").
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