Needle Time

  The Diamond Family Archive - Ye Poor & Maimed [MAPV002 UK 2016 24-Bit FLAC] Okay, hands up who overlooked my last Diamond Family Archive rip? Breaking in the week gently, here is my second DFA rip - this time it's their third vinyl album Ye Poor & Maimed (there have also been many compact disc or download only albums between them) and it is something rather special. Lawrence Collyer and Peter Collis produce low-fi, ethereal & psychedelic folk layered with distortion and gorgeous vocal melodies at their home studio and then turn their music into self-distributed records in hand-made sleeves, complete with trinkets, maps and other random ephemera. They then tour extensively (when they can) all over Europe - often sleeping on promoter's sofas or in the back of their van.  I find their music to be enthralling, they encapsulate you in layers of sound, often made with unidentifiable instruments as these layers blend with effects and delay. I challenge you to immerse y...

  The Diamond Family Archive - Would I Were A Swift (Or A Skylark Be) [MAPV001 UK 2015 FLAC] I could post popular or well known albums all day long, but I actually think a more worthwhile use of my time would be to have a look at a couple of records from artists who are not so well known. Here's the first of a couple of my recent personal favourites.... The Diamond Family Archive are multi-instrumentalist Lawrence Collyer and percussionist Peter Collis, they perform, record & transform analogue instrumentation into textured low-fi psychedelic folk with space rock edges. Their work is quite unique, based in the deepest darkest West Country, they have self-released four albums and perform live all over Europe (when they could) to make a living. These albums are mostly produced open mike in their own studio with hand-made sleeves and sold through their own website and at live shows. Collyer hides his obvious talent behind a hermit like appearance, and the duo create gorgeous textu...