The Melodic Tree’s Weekly Playlist

1. Gold Dust – Duster

2. Helicopter – Deerhunter

3. Sun Was High (So Was I) – Small Black

4. Summer of Our Discontent – Sugar Candy Mountain

5. Eliot St. – Quilt

6. Camberwell – #1 Dads

7. Burbank – Harriet

8. Hometown -Haley Bonar

9. Love Forever – The Babe Rainbow

10. Is This Sound Okay? – Coconut Records

11. Sleeves – Tough Boy

12. 2soft2chew – Ian Sweet

13. Glued to You – Tomorrows Tulips

14. Free From All Sense of Purpose – Blithe Field

15. Old Enough to Know – Tony Molina

16. Phone Sex – Cutouts

17. Ett Stilla Regn – Ashley Erikkson

18. Playing With Fire – Nick Leng

19. First Field – The Antlers

20. Now You See Everything – Stephen Steinbrink

M.I.A. receives MBE from Prince William at Buckingham Palace

On January 14th, M.I.A. was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire, according to The Associated Press. She received the honor from Prince William at Buckingham Palace as part of the annual Queen’s Birthday Honours.

M.I.A. said in a statement on Instagram that she accepted the medal in tribute to her mother. “Today I’m accepting this in honour for my mother who worked for minimum wage to give us a better life,” she wrote. “As a working class first generation immigrant it’s great to be recognised for my contribution. Having freedom to speak my truth and to do it through music has helped me speak for those who do not have those privileges. I will continue [to] fight for those who are silenced or persecuted by others.” Find the post below.

Don’t Mind the Absence

Hi, it’s Isabella, the editor, here. The postings on here have been sporadic and I feel like I should clarify why now, I have been meaning to give an update for a long time but I can never bring myself to it.

I started this website when I was 16 years old, I had just gotten my driver’s license and I wanted an excuse to write abut the music I was listening to at the time, and hopefully one day, meet the musicians I loved. Over the next few years I started taking pictures, collaborated with other writers and photofraphers, and even went to a few festivals through this. Little did I expect it to grow the way it did, on a local scale.

However, this past year changed the way I approach this website and I regret it deeply. I started to prioritze school (by the way, I graduated college and made my first short film, I will upload it on here soon, hopefully), and got a new job slinging coffee in order to survive as I have yet to make much money on this website and got progressively more exhausted and less motivated because of it. I think about what I hoped for this past year, so much could have happened if this or that had not happened, however, The Melodic Tree is not going anywhere, think of this sort of absence as a hibernation. Now that I am (mostly) done with the schooling aspect of my life, I can prioritize this website like I did when I was 16, five years ago, with only a few album reviews (heavily influenced by the Needle Drop, for some reason) and an interview with my favorite mambo musician at the time under my belt.

Take these sporadic postings as a form of hibernation, not truly gone but rather in a much needed rest and break in order to accomplish other priorities in my life. As there is only one of me. Expect more posts, expect more stuff to come out of this website.

Thanks,

Isabella King

Slowdive begin charity auction, release new version of “Golden Hair”

Slowdive have released a new nine-minute version of “Golden Hair” for the Sonic Cathedral Singles Club. The band recorded the version in 2014 and was mixed by Neil Halstead and mastered by Heba Kadry this year. The song will be be released as a gold 7″ vinyl single, listen to it below.

As of November 14th, Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell has also organized an auction in support of the Deaf Academy. The auction features signed memorabilia from bands like Slowdive, the Cure, American Football, Mogwai, CHVRCHES. The auction will remain open on  eBay until Sunday, November 24th, Check out some items via the Instagram posts below and learn more about th auction at the Deaf Academy’s website.

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The 10th and penultimate release on the Sonic Cathedral Singles Club is out today. ––––––––––––––––––– @slowdiveofficial ‘Golden Hair’ (live) Part I / ‘Golden Hair‘ (live) Part II –––––––––––––––––––– It’s quite simply one of the most moving and powerful pieces of music we‘ve ever heard. It’s so long – over nine minutes – we had to split it into two parts to fit on the 7”, but it comes with a download of the full, unedited version. It was recorded back in 2014, but was mixed and mastered this year by @neilhalstead and @heba_kadry respectively. –––––––––––––––––––– This 7” single is pressed on gold vinyl and comes in a gold mirror-board sleeve. Subscriber copies come with an exclusive outer sleeve housed in a PVC wallet, plus a beautiful print of photos from Slowdive’s comeback show at our 10th birthday party in 2014. Due to a slight delay in printing the extra bits and pieces they will be mailed out at the end of next week. –––––––––––––––––––– We are celebrating the release and all things Slowdive tonight at @thesociallondon with a one-off tribute, featuring DJs Christian Savill and Nick Chaplin from the band, a supergroup who we have christened Fauxdive (featuring members of @smellybdrmm @lumer_uk and a very special guest) playing Slowdive covers and a screening of the @pitchfork documentary about ‘Souvlaki’. Doors are at 7pm and tickets are available from @dicefm – but Singles Club subscribers get in free with their Social Service card. –––––––––––––––––––– @rachelgoswell from Slowdive has spent the last few months gathering together some incredible music-related items to auction for the @deafacademy – including a subscription to the Sonic Cathedral Singles Club. Every penny raised will go towards helping deaf children and young people. The auction goes live from 4pm today and the full details are here: https://newdeafacademy.org.uk/how-you-can-help/ways-to-fundraise/new-deaf-academy-charity-music-auction/ –––––––––––––––––––– Subscribe here to receive the Slowdive single and 10 other incredible releases, as well as three copies of our Crypt fanzine and free entry to our monthly Social Service nights in London. THERE ARE ONLY 15 LEFT >> LINK IN BIO

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We're excited to announce that our #DeafAcademyAuction launches in *ONE* week! We have some amazing & unique music lots from incredible bands like @slowdiveofficial @thecure @officialcult @thespecialsofficial @mogwaiband @foals @keaneofficial @americfootball @alcestofficial @theofficialmbv and loads more. ⁠ ⁠ Link in our bio to see what's up for grabs – or head to newdeafacademy.org.uk/auction ⁠ All item auctions go live on Thursday 14 November.⁠ ⁠ All money raised will go towards making our new Academy the very best it can be for our young Deaf people.⁠ ⁠ 🎵 Happy bidding! 🎵⁠ ⁠ #musicauction #charityauction #slowdive #thecure #thecult #thespecials #mogwai #foals #keane #americanfootball #alcest #mybloodyvalentine #mbv #NewDeafAcademyAppeal

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🌟🌟Calling all music fans!🌟🌟 The #DeafAcademyAuction goes live tomorrow from 4pm on #eBay!⁠ ⁠ We'll be adding listings from 4-11pm, and you can follow the link in our bio to preview the amazing selection of items…⁠ ⁠ From Rachel Goswell of Slowdive's signed guitar, to The Cure boxsets signed by Robert Smith, there's a huge range of one-of-a-kind memorabilia, instruments and music from incredible acts and artists around the world.⁠ ⁠ We're extremely grateful to everyone who has donated lots, to @RachelGoswell for her unending energy and drive to make this auction happen, and to everyone who is excited to place their bids! All the money raised will go towards creating the most amazing educational space for our Deaf children and young people.⁠ ⁠ #NewDeafAcademy #CharityAuction #Slowdive #ThurstonMoore #SonicYouth #MyBloodyValentine #TheCure #TheCult #Foals #ManicStreetPreachers #Keane #Ash #Sylvaine #Mogwai #Editors #Chvrches #Alcest #AmericFootball #Low #AngelOlsen #CocteauTwins #AlabamaShakes #Chapterhouse #ShedSeven #Loveless #PetShopBoys #NewDeafAcademyAppeal #ExeterDeafAcademy ⁠ ⁠

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The Lijadu Sisters’ Kehinde Lijadu dead at 71

According to the Music in Africa and The Guardian, Kehinde Lijadu, one half of the iconic Nigerian duo the Lijadu Sisters, has died following a cancer battle. There is a GoFundMe the family has organized for her memorial service. Taiwo Lijadu, her twin sister and band mate, writes, “Kehinde was my light, my love, my soul mate… my everything. I am bereft and will miss her dearly.” She was 71.

She was born on September 18th, 1948 in Ibadan, Nigeria, where Kehinde and Taiwo began performing together as children. The pair demanded a session of their own after working as session singers in 1969. The Lijadu Sisters released several albums on the Decca subsidiary Afrodisia. They performed at the Munich Summer Olympics with the band Salt. The Lijadus often addressed the political unrest in Nigeria in their music and they also talked about the lack of women in the West African music scene.

Daniel Johnston dead at 58

Iconic lo-fi singer and visual artist, Daniel Johnston has passed away at the age of 58 after having suffered from a heart attack, his former manager manager Jeff Tartakov confirmed to The Austin Chronicle. Johnston’s sincere and simple music, which was primarily recorded on homemade cassettes, was beloved and influential.

Jeff Feuerzieg directed a documentary about Johnston’s life in 2005 called The Devil and Daniel Johnston. Around the same time, he created his own record label, Eternal Yip Eye Music where he released his last album through Space Ducks: Soundtrack, in 2012. In 2018, the city of Austin honored Johnston by naming January 22 “Hi, How Are You?” Day.

Beirut cancel tour after Zach Condon is diagnosed with acute laryngitis

The band Beirut have cancelled the rest of their tour for 2019 after announcing in a message on Facebook that singer Zach Condon had been diagnosed with “acute laryngitis” and was told not to sing or tour, requiring them to cancel shows through the end of the year. Read the full post below.

The band was set to play on September 30th in Stockholm, Sweden.

Beirut

09-30 Stockholm, Sweden – Munchenbryggeriet
10-02 Oslo, Norway – Sentrum Scene
10-04 Copenhagen, Denmark – Vega
10-05 Aarhus, Denmark – Train
10-06 Utrecht, Netherlands – TivoliVredenburg – Grote Zaal
10-08 Paris, France – Salle Pleyel
10-13 Zagreb, Hungary – Culture Factory
10-15 Linz, Austria – Brucknerhaus
10-16 Vienna, Austria – Arena Wien (Open Air)
10-17 Warsaw, Poland – Progresja Music Zone
11-11 Mexico City, Mexico – Plaza Condesa
11-12 Mexico City, Mexico – Plaza Condesa
11-18 Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
11-19 Nashville, TN – Marathon Music Works
11-21 Austin, TX – ACL Live
11-22 Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
11-23 Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
11-25 Denver, CO – Ogden Theater
11-26 Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
11-27 Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
11-29 Cincinnati, OH – Bogarts
11-30 Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
12-01 New York, NY – Terminal 5