Friday Mixtape #38 - The (Inaugural) Irish Edition!

Welcome to this week's mixtape. I am pleased and very excited to present my inaugural Irish-only mix. Well after 38 weeks it's about time eh?!

As much as us residents of Ireland complain about the incestuous nature of living on this small island, I've always felt there is a great community of support (and yes, healthy competition) within our small yet dynamic music scene. For a country with a population about half that of the city of LA, we have a stunning amount of amazing musicians. Seriously, think about it.
Download the mix here or listen in the player below:



If you wanted to download the mp3 version of this mix, you can do so on the sister site, LoveActionMixtape.blogspot.com

I am very very lucky to have actually worked with almost every act featured in today's mix, and some of them I get to consider good friends. As a member of Talulah Does The Hula, we have shared the stage with Candy in my Heels, Dark Room Notes, Lost Chord, Sleep Thieves and Sweet Jane. Andrew from Twin Kranes engineered our single, and over the years of being involved in music in Ireland we've also shared the stage with Conor from Villagers (back when he was an Immediate, I was a Neosupervital and my other Talulah's were Chalets) and in our past lives we've also worked with the amazingly talented Valerie Francis... lucky lucky us!

A lot of these bands have awesome stuff going on at the moment: John Shelly & The Creatures are on tour to support their new album, Lost Chord just released a new EP last night, TwinKrane's amazing album is doing really well across Europe, Both Dark Room Notes and Valerie Francis are up for the Choice Music Prize, Valerie is also up for a Meteor for best Irish female, Sweet Jane are long-listed for the Meteors most promising new act (vote for them here!) oh there's lots more news between all of them I'm sure.

Featured on this week's mix:
1. Candy in my Heels - Enough
2. Dark Room Notes - Let's Light Fires
3. Sleep Thieves - City Lights
4. TwinKranes - Amino Acids
5. Sweet Jane - Black Eyes
6. Lost Chord - Cheats
7. John Shelly & The Creatures - Angeline
8. Talulah Does The Hula - Lovesick Losers
9. The Ambience Affair - Devil In The Detail
10. Valerie Francis - Slow Dynamo
11. Villagers - The Meaning of the Ritual

There will definitely be more Irish mixtapes, which I am already looking forward to, and please feel free to send me any tracks you'd like me to feature. I cannot promise they'll all make it in as I'm pretty picky about my music, but I will give everything a listen.

Friday Mixtape #37 - Hit

This week's mixtape is the usual old-n-new mushed together to give you a lil upbeat Friday feeling. It's pretty happy even if the lyrics aren't (strange but true in most of these tracks). A lil new music trendy, with a bit 80s nostalgia thrown in for good measure, a small dose of early 90s, and finally rounding off with some 60s soul to make your boogie cup runneth over.

Personally most of these songs take me straight back to where I first heard them, whether that be watching "Real Genius", a 1984 gem starring Val Kilmer, or sneaking to watch 120 minutes at 12am on a Sunday night in 1992 (oooh cheeky!) Now who wouldn't like a big kick of nostalgia on a Friday? Who I ask ya?!

You can download the m4a by clicking here
Or listen straight away by streaming in the player below:



If you wanted to download the mp3 version of this mix, you can do so on the sister site, LoveActionMixtape.blogspot.com

Included in the mix this week:
1. Miike Snow - Animal
2. Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
3. Squeeze - Pulling Mussels From The Shell
4. St. Vincent - Actor Out Of Work
5. Dum Dum Girls - Jail La La
6. Los Campesinos! - You! Me! Dancing!
7. The Sugarcubes - Hit
8. Bernadette Grimm - C'est Fou (I'm Blue)
9. Linda Griner - Good Bye Cruel Love
10. Carolyn Crawford - My Heart

Friday Mixtape #36 - Blue Skies

This week's mix is a bit confused, a bit jangly pop, some dark and retro electro infused with vintage orchestras playing behind mini pop-ette crooners. It hints at every decade between now and your parent's hey day. It's pleasant, uplifting, and hopefully will get you excited about warmer days to come in the months ahead.

Bring on the blue skies.

Download the m4a version...
Or just simply listen in the player below


If you wanted to download the mp3 version of this mix, you can do so on the sister site, LoveActionMixtape.blogspot.com

Included in this weeks mix:
1. Lulu - I'll Come Running
2. Miniature Tigers - Cannibal Queen
3. Harlem - Friendly Ghost
4. Ann Reilly & The Echomen - Lonely Sixteen
5. Monaco - What Do You Want From Me
6. Noah & The Whale - Blue Skies (The Twelves Remix)
7. New Young Pony Club - Lost A Girl
8. Kleerup - Until We Bleed (Ft. Lykke Li)
9. Sandie Shaw - There Is Always Something There To Remind Me
10. Joe Dolan - Make Me An Island

Friday Mixtape #35 - Love Action's Best of 2009

First post of the new year and it's a bit belated as far as the rest of the "New Year" lists go, but I allowed myself a nice holiday break from the mixtape for a week, so apologies if you're listed out.

This is a first for the mixtape - as every song included has already been featured before - but you see, that's my theme.

Download the enhanced m4a version to keep for your very own, or listen straight away in the player below


When I started putting together these mixtapes back in April, I didn't realize how much of an undertaking it would be. It is hugely time consuming, and sometimes I'm just not feeling any of my music enough to get inspired, forcing me to actively seek out new music at a rate which I've never done before.

I've listened to some amazing bands this year, and for that, I thank my lil mixtape. My only worry sometimes was that the rate in which I was consuming music was becoming overwhelming, whereas in years past I would listen to some key tracks over and over and over, I found some of the music I was listening to was becoming disposable - a depressing thought as a musician. I would listen, love, and then simply forget.

So what I decided to do was put together a mixtape of songs I might have NEVER come across if it weren't for the fact I was putting together a mixtape! Pretty much every single one is from the past year, so it seemed quite appropriate to call it my Love Action Best-Of 2009. There were loads of others I loved that didn't quite make it in, but considering over the last 34 mixtapes I used something around 360 tracks, and probably 355 bands... well, it was easy to miss a few.

I also feel like I need to give a big thank you to some of the main sources I use to discover new music - and most of them also offer free tracks to download - so thank you to Nialler9, WinnieCooper, State.ie, NME DailyDownload & of course HypeMachine.

Enjoy! And please let me know if you had any favorite mix tracks over the last year.
x Jessie

Without further A do, Love Action's Best of 2009 is:
1. The Virgins - Rich Girls (Twelves Mix)
2. Mystery Jets - Young Love (The Shoes Remix)
3. Kleerup - On My Own Again
4. Koko Von Napoo - Polly (Chateau Marmont Remix)
5. Wolf Gang - Pieces Of You (Baby Monster remix)
6. Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension
7. Jinder - Youth Blood
8. Passion Pit - Better Things
9. Midnight Juggernauts - This New Technology
10. Mirrors - Hide & Seek
11. Cate Le Bon - Hollow Trees House Hounds
12. Kimouts - Sometimes (The Diogenes Club Remix)
13. Phoenix - Lisztomania (Classixx Remix)
14. Marina & The Diamonds - I Am Not A Robot (the Aspirins for My Children Remix)
15. Air France - Beach Party