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Showing posts from March 13, 2016

Saturday Double: Joana Serrat - Jon Meadows

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Joana Serrat - Tug Of War. Background promo - Talking about Tug Of War Serrat says; "Tug of War is a song that talks about the people of my generation that once followed all the paths we were told to walk. We did obey, believing in what we've been told. At the end of this road we were supposed to find the good life and all that we end up seeing is a death land. We are going to be the first generation that won't surpass our parents." Cross The Verge, just as its name promises, shows us another side of Joana Serrat, who so enchanted audiences on her 2014 album Dear Great Canyon. On Cross The Verge, her third album, Joana lays bare all the cracks, inconsistencies and fears that come with life, with the album revealing itself to be an especially beautiful tribute to the acknowledgement of loss and the acceptance of the uncertain. To record this album, Joana Serrat travelled from her home in Vic, near Barcelona, to Montreal, Canada to team up with producer Howard

Another Genre Wander: Step Rockets - Gris-de-Lin - CeaseTone

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Step Rockets - West Coast. Background bio - It didn't take long for Step Rockets to take off. Their self-released single “Kisser”found its way to #1 on the Hype Machine charts just two weeks after its release despite virtually no publicity. The track has since garnered over 5.5 million plays on Spotify and catapulted the band onto the international music scene. With appearances at Firefly Festival, Summerfest, SXSW, CMJ, Canadian Music Week and a slew of other festivals and major venues across North America, Step Rockets have developed a reputation as one of the most exciting new live bands on the scene, seamlessly blending wailing guitar solos and anthemic melodies with infectious dance grooves. Step Rockets continue to push the boundaries of indie pop with unique instrumentation and progressive song writing. The band's music has been featured in TV shows and commercials, including placements in Showtime's Shameless and ABC's Cougartown. Their music exemplifies a

Genre Wander: Robert Nix - James Edge And The Mindstep - Missing Sibling - Jake Meadows

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Robert Nix - Won't Go With The Flow'. Background promo - Robert Nix is largely recognized as an innovative alternative artist, incorporating alternative, postpunksynth, new wave, pop, classical and progressive rock into his songs and appealing to the 'intelligent alternative music fan'. With his unique songwriting style, musical approach and distinctive haunting voice Nix stands out from the rest of the crowd. "Once in a Blue Moon", Robert's latest release, is his 5th. The album reveals an artist dedicated to recording his own brand of song. Nix handles all aspects of the album's writing, performance and production. OK the album was released back in January, so late to the party again! However it's such a good LP that a quick mention seems only fair. The featured song gives a hint of what's in store, expect a lot more.   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

L Is For An Australian Double Play: Little Coyote - Lama

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Little Coyote - Neverending. Background promo - Emerging from the sands of Sydney’s Northern Beaches, alternative-pop-rockers Little Coyote have been playing venues since their first live show at Upstairs Beresford mid-2014. Combining thumping beats (Anto Dinh, drums) and funky resonance (Gareth Bussey, bass), with a vintage-feel 6-string twanging fluidity (Matt Coates, guitar) and powerful, rich poetics by (Judd English, vocals), Little Coyote has ripened into an ability to create quality alt- rock music with an honest lyrical content. Their debut EP Howl was quoted as having “a healthy dose of rock that has just about the perfect amount of attitude" [Ted Rogan, The Equal Ground]. Neverending will be the lead track on Little Coyote’s second EP scheduled for release in early 2016. Written by Judd English and Anto Dinh. Neverending was recorded and mixed by Wade Keighran at Linear Studios in Leichhardt, Sydney and mastered by Steve Fallon at Sterling Studios in NYC. Their r

Quality Not Quantity: Andy Shauf - Joon Moon - Jenny Gillespie

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Andy Shauf - The Magician. Background promo - On May 20th, Anti- is excited to release an immensely imaginative work from acclaimed young singer-songwriter Andy Shauf called The Party. The Saskatchewan-based Shauf recorded his first album at home and toured Western Canada playing DIY punk venues with an acoustic guitar. In 2015 he gained attention with a an album called The Bearer of Bad News that NPR called one of “2015's most breathtaking albums” and “an appropriately titled collection of mostly grim tales about small town drug addicts, murderous lovers and other weary underachievers.” With The Party, Shauf masterfully creates a cast of memorable and unique characters. They show up “Early to the Party,” reveal secrets (“To You”) or try to reveal nothing (“The Magician.”) In “a city the size of a dinner plate,” everyone knew the guy who keeled over after smoking what he promised would be his last pack of cigarettes (“Alexander All Alone.”) There’s the girl dancing by hersel

Martin Tillman - Superhuman (New Album)

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Martin Tillman - Notes Towards The Universe. Background words - More than any other form of art, music transports us from the physical plane to a realm of reflection, dreams and excitement. Yet at the same time, we find ourselves swaying to the melody, if not dancing wildly to its rhythms. Such is the power of listening to Martin Tillman’s “Superhuman” a soundtrack for the composer’s upbeat imagination that rocks with his sense of stylistic and technological exploration, while jetting down to the EDM Earth his tunes encourage us to leap from. Mind and body are one as Tillman elevates body and soul in “Superhuman,” lighting a stylistic path with his distinctive fusion of music and movement.    As a world-renowned cellist whose distinctive playing can be heard on such scores as “Black Hawk Down,” “The Ring” and “Batman Trilogy,” Tillman’s equally distinguished career on the concert stage has drawn a number of renowned players to this ambitious project, among them guitarists Michael