I wish someone had filmed it.

What happened was, I walked up the stairs at the back of the ICA to the dressing rooms, and there, at the top of them, towering like Goliath, was an already-moist Chilly Gonzles, tying a bright orange tie around his neck. I peered up at him, like Jack at the bottom of the beanstalk.

“Wow,” I said. “You’ve grown.”

The big red head up in the clouds appraised from above.

“You haven’t,” he replied.

So. Yeah. Last night. Gonzales and Le Together Ensemble, plus special guest Akira The Don live at the ICA. Last time I was there it was 2004, and I was compering a week long PlayLouder festival starring people like The 80s Matchbox and Black Twang and Pittman and a then unknown The Killers. I would run onstage a bit drunk and shout at people. How times change!

And last time I saw Chilly it was probably 2002. He invited me to come onstage and rap with him at The Eden Project. I don’t think I was even that good at rapping then. It was awesome. We did some terrible gag involving dental floss, which we yanked between each other’s teeth, chanting “y’all can’t floss with us”. My Crack Village bandmates P$ and Kool Kid Fresh were with me, and afterwards we took the remainder of Chilly’s rider and went off adventuring in these huge biospheres they have there, weird big domes in which Tropical and Mediterranean climates are simulated. I got bitten by a weird Mediterranean spider, which gave me super powers and turned me into The Don. And Kool Kid sprayed “Crack Village” on Pulp’s tourbus, which caused some upset between them and Gonzales. Jarvis and Gonzo, however, are now best friends and hang out together in Gay Par-ee.

“I like to think I played a small part in that beautiful friendship,” I said.

“Perhaps you did,” smiled Gonz.

Anyway. Last night was awesome because:

a: Chilly was everything he used to be and more. The most entertaining thing you will ever see. The most sweat ever seen on one stage. The cartoon ego. The amazing ballads. The showmanship. The piano skills. The implausibly memorable and hooky raps. A brilliant backing band - SoCalled, Katie Moore, Matthew Flowers and Handsome Mocky doing Animal drums.

b: ME! I came on at the end of the show and rapped the first verse from my Working Together Remix and I didn’t fuck up in the slightest! I was awesome! I did awesome pratfalls and everything! If I’d seen me, I’d have been like, wow, that guy with the mane is the SHIT! Sign me up for his fanclub!

So, all in all a great night. Gonzales and Le Together Ensemble are going back to Europe for more dates now. Go see them, your life will be enriched.

AND! Check out this sweet set of photos from last night, taken by Pizza Girl Productions and Neil from MusicLikeDirt.com. POW!

If you’re going to the ICA to see Gonzales tonight, pay attention, cos your favourite Blonde Bombshell might well be showing up onstage doing a bit of his Working Together remix.

Hello. I have reviewed Gonzales‘ new album, Soft Power, for The Quietus.

Read the rest! Then look around. They got Swells! Brett Anderson was just in their office too. Luke saus he was looking “fucking cool actually.” He’s alright that Anderson. One time I gave him a bad review at a festival and he said it was funny and didn’t cry like certain big girls’ blouses.

Neon Neon and The Magic Numbers team up in London
Gruff Rhys and Boom Bip invite indie stars on stage
Mar 21, 2008

Neon Neon were joined by Romeo Stoddart and Angela Gannon of The Magic Numbers last night (March 20) for their live performance in Room Two of the Fabric nightclub in London.

The band played songs from their new album ’Stainless Style’, including ’I Lust U’ and ’Belfast’, with the aforementioned members of The Magic Numbers providing vocals for set closer ’Stainless Style’.

Cheers for having me Neon Neon! It was very random, and I had a lovely time. The Magic Numbers people were very nice too.

So! I have the Gonzales album now. A very nice man who I shall not name just in case sent it me. I asked him where he got it.

“Strange one that,” he wrote. “at work today I found a small cuddly toy (a sheep called Thomas) with a blue cdr taped to him. The disc had Gonzales - SP written on it. I asked about the office but nobody new anything about it so I checked the contents of the disk and thought “I know a man who will want this”. I burned a copy and stuck the cdr back on the mysterious Thomas and left him as I found him.”

Pretty awesome non? Anyway. I am fucking loving this record! If he wasn’t going to make another rap album, this was the album I wanted him to make. Its got sax solos! It is lush!

So, I heard that Gonz tune last night, and I got all excited, and spent all day making a remix of it. I had so much fun! It was almost perverse how much fun I had. It’s a vocal and musical remix. I spent ages on it, the drums are very intricate and the raps are ace. You can listen to it NOW!

Download it in 190kbps here, and at 320 here.

In other news, I got a really nice stereo for the kitchen, a fishbowl, and a proper architect’s drawing board, all off of Freecycle! I’ve wanted a drawing board all my life! I can make comics properly now! It is so sweet! Weird thing is it was, like, 100 meters away from me, in a warehouse by my local corner shop. Thank you people, for the stuff. Our kitchen is a nice place to be in now, and I can’t wait to get my fishes!

By the way, that’s me and Gonz in 2004. You can’t tell from our awesome composure, but we’d just smoked two spliffs and spent a good two hours or so talking about The Wu. Good times!

“Gonzales is forced by Mercury Records to take singing lessons before they release his piano-rock anthem “Slow Down””

OK, didn’t have time to do the podcast today, sorry, check tomorrow.

Don’t matter though, this is much better:

Gonzales’ new video!

A thing of greatness!

Hello. A new podcast by me is up now. Featuring interviews with NOONE, and records from Ill Bill, Van Morrison, A Ha, Arab Strap, Gonzales, Atmosphere and lots more. PLUS! A song from Thieving, and a brand new joint by me and Envy. DONCAST 5 iTunes people should go here. It takes a whee while to refresh itself so it might not be visible there yet. Other people, if you wish to subscribe to the podcast, the feed is here. Ho ho ho!

Chilly Gonzales is BACK!

Whoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Look out for some Gonz samples on my new mixtape/LP, Thieving, figga.