May 6, 2009
A great mix of music this week from Wales, Italy, France, Israel,
England, Philadelphia, Zimbabwe, Toronto and Bergen in Norway.
Quite a mix of styles and a feature on an amazing collaboration project.
Despite cold winds over the past week or so, one of the wild ducks was spotted on the top pond with her brood of nine chicks (right) ... and I thought musicians were difficult to manage!
Drop it doe eyes - Los Campesinos! (Cardiff, UK)
From their album Hold on now youngster.
It has indeed, been a while since we had Los Camps on Suffolk'n'Cool, they have been in Venezuela recently.
www.loscampesinos.com
www.myspace.com/loscampesinos
Gravity - Jambassa (Irpino, Italy)
From the EP The roots and the flowers (released Feb 29)
The deepest roots of black music inspire and hold the electronic essence of Papa Lele and Gamino.
This release explores the musical background of the irpinia crew confirming once again their unmistakable style. Recorded at Q-zone studio in Monteforte Irpino.
6 tracks from the same element: the earth!
Available on the A Quiet Bump net label - waiting for you to download.
www.aquietbump.com/jambassa.html
www.myspace.com/jambassa
Playing for Change
Playing for change is a multi-media movement established by Mark Johnson, as he says, "it was born out of the idea that we have to inspire each other to come together as a human race and that music is the best way to do this."
The result of four years of travelling and recording is a remarkable series of films which bring the separate performances together into beautiful virtual collaborations. The video completes the illusion that the artists were all playing together. The effect is captivating and inspiring. I'd have every one of them on the show!
Marley's "One love" features, amongst others:
www.playingforchange.com/episodes/3/One_Love
CD/DVD available now. Two formats are available:
$13.98 + shipping for CD/DVD
$8.98 + shipping for MP3 CD
mp3 downloads are currently only for sale to customers in North America (USA and Canada) at this time.
www.playingforchange.com
Icons among us (last week's feature)
Comment from director Michael Rivoria and the Icons among us production team:
That feeling - Triplexity (Israel and France)
From their 2008 album Live in Triplex City available on Jamendo and as a great quality FLAC version in return for a donation on their site.
Three musicians from three different countries making music together without ever having met: such a story could only happen on Jamendo. And it's the story of Triplexity.
SaReGaMa and Nikila were two Jamendo users exchanging good reviews about their music. Not just out of politeness, but because each one really appreciated the other's work. And then one day of 2007, after SaReGaMa asked Nikila to send him the separate tracks of a composition of hers he really liked so he could remix it, their first collaboration was born, "Morning", followed by a full album, …Not Too Far. This would lay the foundation of what would become the sound of Triplexity: smooth, introspective and mostly instrumental electronica.
And when SaReGaMa wanted to do something "more world music-influenced, more organic", he turned to another Jamendo musician, Hamel1, who plays sax, clarinet and guitar. From this new three-way collaboration came out the track Three 4 Ten. "This was a milestone for Triplexity", says SaReGaMa.
The fact that SaReGaMa lives in the woods of Mount Carmel (Israel), that Nikila is a Belgian citizen currently based in France, that Hamelin lives near Narbonne (South of France), and that the three of them have so far never had an occasion to meet physically was no obstacle. "The way Triplexity works is radically different from the 'rehearsal/concert" model, and that's a really interesting experience, explains Hamelin. I often compare it to studio work, only deferred."
So, will the members of Triplexity meet one day? Maybe even play a gig? There are no such plans so far, but who knows. "I hope to meet my fellow musicians one day, perhaps for a beer, says Hamelin. The idea of making Triplexity a live band is still far-fetched, but nothing is impossible!"
http://triplexity.blogspot.com/
www.jamendo.com/en/artist/Triplexity
She sells sea shells - Joey Nightmare (Chichester, UK)
The first of two tracks by artists playing next week at the Get Wanted show at 333 Mother Bar in London"s fashionable Shoreditch.
"Hailing from Chichester, the band combine Minus The Bear-style technicality with catchy-as-hell saccharine dance-pop. We've got high hopes forthe live show these guys (and girl) can pull off, they're amazing!" - New Slang, Banquet Records
For my money it is beautifully constructed, intelligent pop with enough light and shade and rhythm changes to keep me interested and wanting more.
Let the band know what you think - they really do want to hear.
www.myspace.com/joeynightmare
Spiders - Officer Roseland (Philadelphia, USA)
With the music industry undergoing a drastic facelift, Officer Roseland continues to look for new and innovative ways to reach listeners tired of stale formula and slick mass-production. Aside from employing an arsenal of guerrilla promotional techniques in support of Stimulus Package, their concept album with a distinctly satirical edge, skewering the crass commercialism of the recording industry—and of American society at large—with the warped sense of humour that has become the band's signature.
On top of that, the energy, close harmonies and some great rich voices combine to create a sound which is at once classic and yet really refreshing. Clever how they do that!
The band also offers a regular podcast, "Roll Call", available through iTunes, and live concert feeds on their website,
www.officerroseland.com
Mudzimu Ndiringe - Hallalujah Chicken Run Band (Zimbabwe)
Analog Africa is a new series from Alula Records featuring rare legendary recordings from seminal bands that formed the explosive Zimbabwean music scene in the 1970s.
"The Lion of Zimbabwe", Thomas Mapfumo, is Zimbabwe's biggest star, one of the most legendary and best-selling African artists of all time.
In 1973, Mapfumo helped form the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band and, for the first time, began to shift his music away from Western-influenced rock and explore the traditional music of his Shona people, transcribing the scale of the traditional instrument mbira (or thumb piano) to guitar with his guitarist Joshua Dube
The HCR Band was one of the first to develop the staccato style of guitar for which Zimbabwe is known today, and was also one of the first modern groups to sing in the traditional Shona language - a major act of liberation and an act of protest against the Rhodesian government.
This compilation presents 18 of the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band"s biggest and most influential hits, recorded from 1974-1979 and all painstakingly remastered.
Hallelujah
Chicken Run Band
"Mudzimu
Ndiringe" (mp3)
from "Take One"
(Alula Records)
Buy at
Rhapsody
Stream from
Rhapsody
More On This Album
Brand New - Emilie Mover (Toronto/New York)
Emilie Mover was conceived in Miami Beach, Florida at the Paradise Beach Hotel. She was born in Montreal on a snowy November evening. She grew up in Toronto and spent some time in New York City where she began singing jazz with her father, saxophonist Bob Mover. She later moved back to Toronto, where she began to play guitar and write songs soon after. She began playing them for an audience at age 20 at the Tranzac Club in Toronto and has been doing so ever since.
Apparently the writers of Grey's Anatomy have a bit of a thing for Emilie, as this is her second song to get featured within an episode of the show this season. For those who can't get enough of Emilie, be on the lookout for yet another song of hers to be in an upcoming episode of CBS's Ghost Whisperer which airs Friday nights at 8.
16 May 2009 rockwood music hall New York, New York
19 May 2009 The Living Room new york, New York
Available on CD Baby and iTunes linked from her site and MySpace.
www.emiliemover.com
www.myspace.com/emiliemover
Dark side of the blues - Alexandria Quartet (Bergen, Norway)
Topping the bill at Get Wanted next Wednesday (they also played the very first Get Wanted night back in November last year.
Based in Bergen, Norway's main student city and the country's unofficial pop epicentre, the Quartet have been holed up in studios and rehearsal rooms for the last 18 months polishing their album.
Martin Skålnes - vox, git, keys
Øystein Braut - guitars
Kim Åge Furuhaug - drums
Chris Holm - bass
www.thealexandriaquartet.com
Quite a mix of styles and a feature on an amazing collaboration project.
Despite cold winds over the past week or so, one of the wild ducks was spotted on the top pond with her brood of nine chicks (right) ... and I thought musicians were difficult to manage!
Drop it doe eyes - Los Campesinos! (Cardiff, UK)
From their album Hold on now youngster.
It has indeed, been a while since we had Los Camps on Suffolk'n'Cool, they have been in Venezuela recently.
www.loscampesinos.com
www.myspace.com/loscampesinos
Gravity - Jambassa (Irpino, Italy)
From the EP The roots and the flowers (released Feb 29)
The deepest roots of black music inspire and hold the electronic essence of Papa Lele and Gamino.
This release explores the musical background of the irpinia crew confirming once again their unmistakable style. Recorded at Q-zone studio in Monteforte Irpino.
6 tracks from the same element: the earth!
Available on the A Quiet Bump net label - waiting for you to download.
"Two platinums vinyls, a mixer, a
microphone, the EPS and Atari, the whole coupled with effects a
such digital delay generated the bases of the exploration of
Dub-Roots made in Irpinia. The first Dub tests under the name of
Jambassa take life in the year 2000. Since then research of the
ideal "flow” never stopped, as well through the scenic experiments
into live, year studio with a work of production where still while
passing by collaborations with musical groups, crew and artists of
various musical horizons . Jambassa proposes a dj-set dub roots
between the analogical one and digital, while dubbant into live the
selections of their clean production accompanied by a skilful dj to
the microphone, which makes it possible their live to be a true
performance shared with a conquered public."
Got all that?www.aquietbump.com/jambassa.html
www.myspace.com/jambassa
Playing for Change
Playing for change is a multi-media movement established by Mark Johnson, as he says, "it was born out of the idea that we have to inspire each other to come together as a human race and that music is the best way to do this."
The result of four years of travelling and recording is a remarkable series of films which bring the separate performances together into beautiful virtual collaborations. The video completes the illusion that the artists were all playing together. The effect is captivating and inspiring. I'd have every one of them on the show!
Marley's "One love" features, amongst others:
Roberto Luti (Livorno, Italy)
vintage National steel guitar
Menyatso Nathole and Vusi Mahlasela (Mamelodi, South Africa)
Surendra Shrestha and
Tal Ben Ari "Tula", (Tel Aviv, Israel and Barcelona)
Menyatso Nathole and Vusi Mahlasela (Mamelodi, South Africa)
Surendra Shrestha and
Tal Ben Ari "Tula", (Tel Aviv, Israel and Barcelona)
Manu Chao (Barcelona, Spain)
Junior Kissangwa Mbouta (Kinshasa, Congo)
Rajhesh Vaidhja (Chennai, India)
Washboard Chaz (New Orleans, USA) among many others.
It has to be seen - here's the link:Junior Kissangwa Mbouta (Kinshasa, Congo)
Rajhesh Vaidhja (Chennai, India)
Washboard Chaz (New Orleans, USA) among many others.
www.playingforchange.com/episodes/3/One_Love
CD/DVD available now. Two formats are available:
$13.98 + shipping for CD/DVD
$8.98 + shipping for MP3 CD
mp3 downloads are currently only for sale to customers in North America (USA and Canada) at this time.
www.playingforchange.com
Icons among us (last week's feature)
Comment from director Michael Rivoria and the Icons among us production team:
Peter, thank you for featuring
"Icons Among Us" in your show!! I just listened to it and it was
really great. I thought the commentary was right on the mark. This
doc really was created to show just how much the music has
progressed as well as evolved. You really picked up on that. The
word "jazz" no longer has to equate to being complex , boring or
even historical. This generation of players listen to all sorts of
different genres, from rock to hip-hop, etc.. which is influencing
the sound and rhythm of the music. Thanks again. Love listening to
your show ! ~ M. Rivoira and the Icons team
www.iconsamongus.comThat feeling - Triplexity (Israel and France)
From their 2008 album Live in Triplex City available on Jamendo and as a great quality FLAC version in return for a donation on their site.
Three musicians from three different countries making music together without ever having met: such a story could only happen on Jamendo. And it's the story of Triplexity.
SaReGaMa and Nikila were two Jamendo users exchanging good reviews about their music. Not just out of politeness, but because each one really appreciated the other's work. And then one day of 2007, after SaReGaMa asked Nikila to send him the separate tracks of a composition of hers he really liked so he could remix it, their first collaboration was born, "Morning", followed by a full album, …Not Too Far. This would lay the foundation of what would become the sound of Triplexity: smooth, introspective and mostly instrumental electronica.
And when SaReGaMa wanted to do something "more world music-influenced, more organic", he turned to another Jamendo musician, Hamel1, who plays sax, clarinet and guitar. From this new three-way collaboration came out the track Three 4 Ten. "This was a milestone for Triplexity", says SaReGaMa.
The fact that SaReGaMa lives in the woods of Mount Carmel (Israel), that Nikila is a Belgian citizen currently based in France, that Hamelin lives near Narbonne (South of France), and that the three of them have so far never had an occasion to meet physically was no obstacle. "The way Triplexity works is radically different from the 'rehearsal/concert" model, and that's a really interesting experience, explains Hamelin. I often compare it to studio work, only deferred."
So, will the members of Triplexity meet one day? Maybe even play a gig? There are no such plans so far, but who knows. "I hope to meet my fellow musicians one day, perhaps for a beer, says Hamelin. The idea of making Triplexity a live band is still far-fetched, but nothing is impossible!"
http://triplexity.blogspot.com/
www.jamendo.com/en/artist/Triplexity
She sells sea shells - Joey Nightmare (Chichester, UK)
The first of two tracks by artists playing next week at the Get Wanted show at 333 Mother Bar in London"s fashionable Shoreditch.
"Hailing from Chichester, the band combine Minus The Bear-style technicality with catchy-as-hell saccharine dance-pop. We've got high hopes forthe live show these guys (and girl) can pull off, they're amazing!" - New Slang, Banquet Records
For my money it is beautifully constructed, intelligent pop with enough light and shade and rhythm changes to keep me interested and wanting more.
Let the band know what you think - they really do want to hear.
www.myspace.com/joeynightmare
Spiders - Officer Roseland (Philadelphia, USA)
With the music industry undergoing a drastic facelift, Officer Roseland continues to look for new and innovative ways to reach listeners tired of stale formula and slick mass-production. Aside from employing an arsenal of guerrilla promotional techniques in support of Stimulus Package, their concept album with a distinctly satirical edge, skewering the crass commercialism of the recording industry—and of American society at large—with the warped sense of humour that has become the band's signature.
On top of that, the energy, close harmonies and some great rich voices combine to create a sound which is at once classic and yet really refreshing. Clever how they do that!
The band also offers a regular podcast, "Roll Call", available through iTunes, and live concert feeds on their website,
www.officerroseland.com
Mudzimu Ndiringe - Hallalujah Chicken Run Band (Zimbabwe)
Analog Africa is a new series from Alula Records featuring rare legendary recordings from seminal bands that formed the explosive Zimbabwean music scene in the 1970s.
"The Lion of Zimbabwe", Thomas Mapfumo, is Zimbabwe's biggest star, one of the most legendary and best-selling African artists of all time.
In 1973, Mapfumo helped form the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band and, for the first time, began to shift his music away from Western-influenced rock and explore the traditional music of his Shona people, transcribing the scale of the traditional instrument mbira (or thumb piano) to guitar with his guitarist Joshua Dube
The HCR Band was one of the first to develop the staccato style of guitar for which Zimbabwe is known today, and was also one of the first modern groups to sing in the traditional Shona language - a major act of liberation and an act of protest against the Rhodesian government.
This compilation presents 18 of the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band"s biggest and most influential hits, recorded from 1974-1979 and all painstakingly remastered.
Hallelujah
Chicken Run Band "Mudzimu
Ndiringe" (mp3)from "Take One"
(Alula Records)
Buy at
Rhapsody
Stream from
Rhapsody
More On This AlbumBrand New - Emilie Mover (Toronto/New York)
Emilie Mover was conceived in Miami Beach, Florida at the Paradise Beach Hotel. She was born in Montreal on a snowy November evening. She grew up in Toronto and spent some time in New York City where she began singing jazz with her father, saxophonist Bob Mover. She later moved back to Toronto, where she began to play guitar and write songs soon after. She began playing them for an audience at age 20 at the Tranzac Club in Toronto and has been doing so ever since.
Apparently the writers of Grey's Anatomy have a bit of a thing for Emilie, as this is her second song to get featured within an episode of the show this season. For those who can't get enough of Emilie, be on the lookout for yet another song of hers to be in an upcoming episode of CBS's Ghost Whisperer which airs Friday nights at 8.
16 May 2009 rockwood music hall New York, New York
19 May 2009 The Living Room new york, New York
Available on CD Baby and iTunes linked from her site and MySpace.
www.emiliemover.com
www.myspace.com/emiliemover
Dark side of the blues - Alexandria Quartet (Bergen, Norway)
Topping the bill at Get Wanted next Wednesday (they also played the very first Get Wanted night back in November last year.
Based in Bergen, Norway's main student city and the country's unofficial pop epicentre, the Quartet have been holed up in studios and rehearsal rooms for the last 18 months polishing their album.
Martin Skålnes - vox, git, keys
Øystein Braut - guitars
Kim Åge Furuhaug - drums
Chris Holm - bass
www.thealexandriaquartet.com