A "rum ole" mix of music to delight your ears again this week with
tracks from LA, London, New York, Canada, Boston New Zealand,
Germany and Sweden.
The 'tash has made some progress during Movember. Many thanks to
this who made donation to help research into men's health issues.
The dilemma I face now is whether to shave it off now or keep it
going a bit longer.
You can never know - Pixie
Carnation ((Malmo, Sweden)
The product of two years of musical experimentation has culminated
in what is now Pixie Carnation, a Swedish based, and yet very
American sounding band. From the time that childhood friends
Ola Pålsson and Tobias Hellkvist reconnected a few years ago there
was an instant artistic connection, and it was only a matter of
time before their sound and the band's lineup became what it is
today.
Despite it taking about a year and a half for Pålsson
and Hellkvist to find like-minded musicians, Pixie Carnation has
now evolved into a seven-member band and made their first
recording, Fresh Poems EP, self reeled in 2009.
A classic rock
influenced, Americana infused, musical tapestry with orchestral
elements, Fresh Poems is already making waves on the west side of
the Atlantic.
www.myspace.com/pixiecarnation
Tell her - Daisy McCrackin (LA,
CA, USA)
Daisy grew up in San Francisco and survived the earthquake of 1989.
A classically trained actress, she moved to Los Angeles and worked
in film and television until, in 2005, she had a spiritual epiphany
and began writing music. Daisy lived in the fabled Rodeo Grounds
arts collective in Topanga Canyon, where she wrote funny campfire
songs and fought the State to keep her land.
Too shy to share her "serious" songs, Daisy stuck to acting gigs by
day, and singing by night. Finally, after an intense song-writing
jag Daisy sang a somber, personal song to a close friend who
strongly advised her to quit her day job and dedicate herself
full-time to music. She played her first live show in 2006,
and was dubbed an 'instant rock star" in an L.A. Weekly review,
which reported that Daisy "stole the show."
Upon hearing the record's first single "Tell Her," legendary
Grateful Dead lyricist, songwriter and poet John Perry Barlow
called it "a very tight little novel," noting her "phrasing and
delivery are perfect," and acknowledging Daisy as "the real
deal."
http://daisymccrackinmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/daisymccrackin
Weebles (Featuring Dabbla) -
Formula (London, UK)
The latest member of the blocSonic net label family is Formula, a
producer extraordinaire hailing from London.
This here is his premiere solo release and our second original. You
may have heard "Is It Too Late For Us All?" from the collaborative
project that he was part of (along with Boston's own Tha Silent
Partner), MUTE. It was featured on "netBloc Vol. 15: this album
won't eat your gas money".
Hip-Hop on another plain... from another perspective... but real
boom bap hip-hop none-the-less. From the introduction "Ebony
Shards"... to "X Man", there's not a boring or weak moment to be
found.
To me "The Overcast Project" feels like the perfect follow-up to
Just Plain Ant's "Dig Deep". Formula seems to share a similar
desire to expand the definition of "hip-hop". With Formula at it's
core and a talented group of musicians and emcees, Overcast gels
into a superbly cohesive unit (much like Ant"s release before it).
There IS a "Formula sound" and each of the guest musicians and
emcees lend their distinctive touches in such a way as to make the
unit stronger.
Sit back and get ready for the journey... the sky may be overcast,
but no rain is in the forecast... so enjoy the journey!
Free download from:
http://blocSonic.com
Me, I get high on a reefer - Two Man
Gentleman Band (NY, NY, USA)
That The Two Man Gentlemen Band is amongst the United States' most
learned, sophisticated, and musically able two-man bands is
commonly understood. That they throw one heck of a party has been a
rather well-kept secret until now.
The Two Man Gentlemen Band: Live in New York! is an unparalleled
achievement. Using only four hands, two mouths, a bit of erudition,
and a strong helping of the drink, the gents whip themselves and
their New York City audience into an unmitigated frenzy of joy.
Listeners to this recording will likely find themselves in a
similarly frenzied, sweat-riddled state.
Digital release date: Jan 12, 2010 on Serious Business but if you
want a CD, you can get it right now from
www.seriousbusinessrecords.com/
www.two-man-gentlemen-band.com
www.myspace.com/twomangentlemenband
My mate Malcolm Wixley put me onto "
Flash music games", an internet audio
experiment site.
You'll see four links on this very basic site one or two of them
are really pretty interesting, especially I think, the first on the
list which is a Flash Player Piano devised by Rob Wright at
Aleotronic Music. Click on the engine box to see it at work.
Ok, the graphics is very 1990s but there is a certain naive charm
to it.
www.flashmusicgames.com/generator
Malcolm is a good chum and is living in western France these days
where he has a group of four of the the most idyllic and peaceful
holiday cottages. Just sayin'
www.chezmaurit.co.uk
Blame it on the moon - Kat
Danser (Edmonton, Canada)
From Kat's 2007 album
Somethin'
Familiar.
Her 'Swamp Blues' style is steeped in early roots and blues
traditions and delivered by her deep, resonant vocals and the
soulful sound of her Weissenborn lap slide guitar. Much like
a long stretching railroad track, Danser draws a direct line from
the Canadian prairie to the Mississippi Delta. She is one
part backwoods juke joint, one part plow puller and two parts dusty
ol' canvas tent revival. Kat Danser delivers a refreshing
approach to roots, blues, and gospel music for the 21st
Century.
Currently in production on her third full-length album Rails and
Rivers, Danser wrote the material for it while on a research and
study trip where she immersed herself in the music of the
Mississippi. Much like a long stretching railroad track, her music
draws a direct line from the Canadian prairie to the Mississippi
Delta. She is also filming a documentary entitled Women in Blues:
Turn the Page.
www.katdanser.com
www.myspace.com/katdanser
Take your chances - The Black
Seeds (Wellington, New Zealand)
The Black Seeds started turning heads around New Zealand following
the release of their debut album, 2001's Keep On Pushing. The album
received widespread critical acclaim, including being named one of
the top 50 albums of the year by Rip It Up Magazine, and eventually
reached gold sales status.
The
Black Seeds
"Take Your
Chances" (mp3)
from "Solid Ground"
(Easy Star Records)
Stream from
Rhapsody
Buy at
Amazon MP3
More On This Album
www.theblackseeds.co.nz
There was a time - Rubblebucket
(Boston, MA, USA)
Rubblebucket is a Boston-and-Brooklyn-based nine-piece polyrhythmic
dance/rock band led by trumpeter Alex Toth and fronted by the
alluring vocals of Kalmia Traver. Comparisons have been drawn to
Talking Heads, Fela Kuti, Bjork and James Brown, but Rubblebucket's
afro-beat inspired, trip-rock soul experience is beyond
classification.
Alex Toth- trumpet, vocals bandleader. He loves Kalmia.
Kalmia Traver- lead vocals, tenor sax. She loves reverie,
berry-picking and skinny-dipping, pennywhistles and making
artwork.
Adam Dotson- trombone, vocals. He won an international euphonium
competition at age fourteen and never wears shoes when he
plays.
Craig Myers- percussion. He began playing percussion at age
thirteen, and he has studied West African percussion extensively
for ten years and traveled to Senegal, Mali, Cote Ivoire and
Guinea. He's also taught and directed percussion groups in Hawaii
and throughout Europe.
Dave Cole- drums. Has also plays guitar and keyboards and has an
amazing beard and smile. He also has a cyclops mask.
Darby Wolf- keyboards. Darbstar has a plan. And he uses Goff organs
and leslie speakers and is a vintage keyboard enthusiast.
Ian Hersey- guitar. He lives in Brooklyn and recently bought a box
of at least 15 Casio keyboards, and he takes them apart and fucks
with them.
http://rubblebucket.com/
www.myspace.com/rubblebucket
Hey Ocean! whose track
Write a song about
California I played a few weeks ago have a video of their
live performance on Fearless Music. It's at
Fearless (couldn't ge the YouTube code to play
:(
I like it - Sapiens fx (Karlsruhe, Germany)
You can download the whole album free and legal at:
www.jamendo.com/en/album/55492
www.myspace.com/sapiensfx