What's on Your iPod Today? / Today's Recommended Listening

David sitting in for Jenny today as she is off on a sun day. As others busy themselves covering the Royal Wedding, I am enjoying listening to an amazing album by Canadian shoegaze/dream pop group SIANspheric entitled Somnium, their debut released in 1995. Formed in the mid-90s, and whilst not overly well known, SIANspheric have been favourably compared to the likes of Slowdive, Boards of Canada, but for me their debut especially sounds a bit like early Verve - ONLY BETTER! Well worth picking up a copy online if looking for some really well crafted dreamy songs for a fuzzy - hazy day.

Which brings me to some recommends for you to have a listen to on this summery day. I have plumbed for some songs from bands you may not know an awful lot about, but that's the joy of recommending music to those with an open ear. So put on the headphones and enjoy some 60s (United States of America), 70s (Ramases), 80s (The Shamen) and 90s (SIANspheric).

Let us know what you think, and indeed throw in some recommends for this bright and sunshiny day yourselves.

The United States Of America: Garden of Earthly Delights
The brainchild of Joseph Byrd, The United States Of America released their one and only eponymous album in 1967. From California, the group fused the psychedelic rock sounds of the time with early synths, strings, electronics and various audio processors to create a beautiful album of avant-garde, performance art, ethno-music and rock with a left wing slant. An amazing album for it's time that still stands up to repeated listening.

Ramases: Life Child
Martin Raphael was an ex-army PT teacher who was in the central heating business. One day (he claims) he was visited by the spirit of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses. This transformed his life, renaming himself Ramases and his wife Selket (after the Egyptian divinity), started dressing in odd garbs and releasing singles & albums. The early singles (including the magnificent Mind's Eye) were of the psychedelic vein, with the release of the debut album Space Hymns in 1971 moving more down the prog route. The follow up album, Glass Top Coffin (1975) was the last with the last of the Pharaoh spirit flowing from his veins.

The Shamen: Long Gone
yes, that Shamen. In the early days, Colin Angus and co were very much influenced by the likes of Love, 13th Floor Elevators and Pink Floyd. Their debut album Drop (1987) was a hark back to the psychedelic sounds of the 60s. Will Sinnott joined the group with Drop followed by In Gorbachev We Trust (1989) with Angus very much getting into the sequenced beats of MARRS, S-Express and the like - and in turn influencing the likes of EMF and Jesus Jones. The rest of the band left due to musical differences, Angus and Sinnott went on to record En-Tact, which lead to the ill fated video shoot for Move Any Mountain, with Sinnott tragically dying. Joined by Mr C and others, The Shamen went on to Boss Drum and other such hot dance classics. Long Gone is a cover of the Syd Barrett classic and can be found on the early singles collection Strange Day Dreams.