Ornate, hand-painted wallpapers like these were the height of luxury during the 18th century and it’s amazing that some are still extant in their original homes.

What really caught my eye were the pictures of the newly painted fascimile wallpapers at Avebury Manor.

The design was applied to the walls by stencil and then details were painstakingly painted in by hand.

The design may not strictly be historically accurate but I think the decision to feature flashes of local British flora and fauna (such as wild pansies, red admiral and peacock butterflies, great crested newts and foxes) on the wallpaper adds another neat layer of history onto this restoration project. After all, true Chinoiserie, like the original Chinese wallpapers, was always made for Western consumption and Western tastes.

You can read more about Chinoiserie and wallpaper on the Treasure Hunt blog.

The Advisory Circle – As The Crow Flies (Ghost Box)
The High Llamas – Talahomi Way (Drag City)
J Mascis – Several Shades of Why (Sub Pop)
Battles – Gloss Drop (Warp)
Giorgio Tuma – In The Morning We’ll Meet (Elefant)
James Ferraro – Far Side Virtual (Hippos In Tanks)
Testbild! – Barrikad (Kalligrammofon)
Mountains – Air Museum (Thrill Jockey)
North Sea Radio Orchestra – I A Moon (The Household Mark)
Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica (Software)
Moon Wiring Club – Clutch It Like A Gonk (Gecophonic)
Jon Brooks – Music For Thomas Carnacki (Cafe Kaput)
Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972 (Kranky)
Pye Corner Audio – Black Mill Tapes Vol.2 (PCA Transcription Service)
Euros Childs – Ends (National Elf)
The Leaf Library – Different Activities, Similar Diversions (Proper Songs)

What were your picks of the year?

Here’s a Christmas treat: both sides of a 1974 novelty single I picked up in a charity shop, from the aptly-named Ebenezer Moog. Released on Atlantic, the A-side is a jolly modular synth sound overload that gives Belbury Poly a run for his money, while Silent Night on the B is impressively sinister…

Ebenezer Moog – A – God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Ebenezer Moog – B – Silent Night

The film’s excellent score was created by Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson, so if you haven’t seen it you could play a Radiophonic Workshop drone track of your choice while you look at the following images. Much to my disappointment, the soundtrack is commercially unavailable.

Here are four of my favourites:

They don’t design ‘em like they used to.

Stereolab & Sonic Boom – Splitting The Atom Part Two (Duophonic)
Holger Czukay – Ode To Perfume (EMI)
Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers – Egyptian Reggae (Berserkley)
Duane Eddy – Gidget Goes Hawaiian (London)
Ennio Morricone – My Name Is Nobody (General Music France)
Los Diablos – Un Rayo De Sol (EMI/Odeon)
Helmut Zacharias – Teatime In Tokyo (Polydor)
Les Souls Men – Allons La Caze (Soredisc)
Digno Garcia Y Sus Carius – Brigitte Bardot (Palette)
France Gall – Baby Pop (Philips)
Alice Babs – After You’ve Gone (Fontana)
Can – I Want More (Virgin)
Yamasuki – AIEAOA (UK Records)
Denton and Cook – Tomorrow’s World (BBC Records & Tapes)

I had so much fun choosing how to follow each record. If you put on gigs or clubnights, why not book me to play more weird pop nonsense?

Our favourite band of Argentinean retro-futurists Modular have recently released their long-awaited new album on the ever-reliable Elefant Records. The album was partly recorded with the assistance of Andy Ramsay and Joe Watson from Stereolab (if any act is the rightful heir to Stereolab’s vacated future-pop crown then it’s Modular), and is just as amazing as we had hoped. To enjoy Modular’s music is to enter another world, one of utopian optimism, surrealist dreamscapes and jet-setting international intrigue. Simply put, pop dreamers everywhere need this album (and this band) in their lives!

Addendum: awesome new video below!