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Alternative Take: Kauf - Juke Jaxon

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Kauf - Through The Yard. Background promo - If you've ever needed a soundtrack to your existential crisis, Kauf has made exactly that.  Who hasn't pondered the existence of God or the meaning of life while going full throttle on the dance floor at Berghain? Kauf has achieved the nearly impossible feat of making music rooted in a dance aesthetic but that is also lyrically deep.  There just aren't that many records out there that could work in a club and also touch on emotional conflicts with your family and society at large. The project of Ronald Kaufman, Kauf took shape after moving back to his birthplace of Los Angeles.  He self-released his first single in 2011 - "Relocate" b/w "When You're Out," which quickly found its way into the hands of Dan Whitford of Cut Copy who released the "As Much Again" EP on his own Cutters Records. After the dissolution of his early experimental rock bands spurned the dive into electronic production an

Gentle Friday: Sorority Noise - Those Pretty Wrongs

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Sorority Noise - Either Way. Background promo - Ahead of the band’s first ever UK dates, headlining and in support of Modern Baseball, Sorority Noise announce a new EP for Topshelf Records, “It Kindly Stopped For Me”, the follow-up to their critically acclaimed 2015 album “Joy, Departed”. The EP was recorded and produced by the band with exclusive artwork from Mitch Wojcik. The intimate first song from the EP, “Either Way”, is available to stream now. Frontman Cam Boucher said the following of the track: “I wrote this song in our van outside of chain reaction in Anaheim, ca. I had found out I lost another friend a few days previous and was having a difficult time thinking about how I had made positive strides in dealing with my mental health but hadn't been able to help friends around me that I didn't know we're suffering from the same thing.” 'Either Way' is a soft acoustic number with calm vocals and harmonies. Keyboards add to the lilting melody, in what i

Wednesday Double: Jaye Bartell - Mike Hill

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Jaye Bartell - Tuesdays. Background promo - Jaye Bartell's move to Brooklyn, NY in 2013, as well as the work of Spalding Gray and Eileen Myles, heavily influence the content presented on his latest record, Light Enough. In his own words, "Resettlement is an implicit theme in much of the writing, and the process of making the album itself was an act of resettlement, finding out where I lived as a means of coming to live there."  Bartell spent about a year secluded in his Greenpoint bedroom, piecing together the intricate tunes and gentle melodies that furnish his new record. Originally from from Massachusetts, Jaye Bartell laid the groundwork for his music career after relocating to Asheville, NC in the early 2000's. During this time, he began to play music among friends, parallel to his poetry and other writing endeavours, which included a reading/performance series and a small magazine. After relocating, again, to Buffalo, NY in 2006, Jaye joined up with the p

Quality Not Quantity: Lecia Louise - Stratus - Migrant Kids

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Lecia Louise - Shock Me. Background promo - “Shock Me” is the brand new single from Brisbane’s Lecia Louise,  just released ahead of her east-coast launch shows later this month. Since her musical beginnings in 2005 with the release of her debut EP ‘Heaven or Hell’, Lecia Louise has been a force to be reckoned with. Lecia has an impressive touring history that has seen the award-winning guitarist/singer/songwriter travel the four corners of the globe since 2006 performing to audiences throughout The UK, Europe, Abi Dhabi, Dubai, Rome, Singapore, New Zealand and Hong Kong. On February 19th, Lecia released her first new single in two years titled “Shock Me” which continues to showcase her upbeat guitar laden, rock/pop offering. “The song is about a man who ‘trades in’ his long term girlfriend for an 'updated model, a more edgier version',” says Lecia. “But in the end she doesn't actually make him any happier”. The track, produced and mixed by Jeff Lovejoy in Blackb

Death Cab for Cutie - Live at Arvikafestivalen 5th July 2008 (IA)

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From the Internet Archive (IA) this is Death Cab for Cutie live at the Arvikafestivalen back on the 5th July 2008. Arvika Festival was a music festival that took place in Arvika, Sweden every year from 1992-2010 around mid- July. The event ceased when the organisers went bust. From the ever 'reasonably' reliable Wikipedia we are told - Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band, formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band comprises Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass) and Jason McGerr (drums). In 2014, founding guitarist and producer Chris Walla announced that he would be departing from the band after recording their eighth studio album, Kintsugi. The band was originally a solo project by Ben Gibbard, when he released the demo album, You Can Play These Songs with Chords, to positive reception. This led to a record deal with Barsuk Records. Gibbard decided to expand the project into a complete band, releasing their debut album Somethi

Sundays Variety Pack: ManaLion - Partisan - Bart - Lower Spectrum

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ManaLion - Dirty Roots. Background promo - Three Kiwi (New Zealanders) brothers (most likely from different mothers) maybe they met in Australia in 2012 on Sydney's Northern Beaches, maybe they met on Mars, maybe they met by a bin fire floating wayward on a raft between the North and South Islands of Aotearoa as the full moon kept us moving... Either way three brothers met, and they met to make music to make you sway and dance and swing and sweat. Music to make love to the mind, soul and ears of your sister, your wife, your mistress, your Nanna, to your sweet baby mama. They met to sing of love and trouble, of leisure and life. Since their inception ManaLion have shared the stage with the likes of UB40, Sticky Fingers, Fat Freddy’s Drop, The Black Seeds, and Meta & The Cornerstones just to name a few. They’ve played a number of homegrown, hometown gigs around Sydney, building up steam like Peter Gabriel on herbal tea and winning the hearts of Australians everywhere in venu

Genre Wander: Ben Mauro - Vorsen - Sofia Härdig

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Ben Mauro - She's Beautiful. Background promo - Last year singer, guitarist and songwriter Ben Mauro was part of a major European tour with pop/funk icon Lionel Richie.  It was a two month tour of sold out arenas across Europe. Ben’s extraordinary musical skills and dynamic stage presence has been the reason that he has remained a core member of Lionel Richie’s band for over fifteen years.  Ben has also worked with many other artists including Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Don Felder from The Eagles, John Fogerty, Christina Aguilera, Toni Braxton and also worked on projects produced by Peter Frampton and Prince. But with Ben it’s not just about the music, it’s also about giving back.  On every trip to Syracuse he goes to his old high school (West Genesee HS) and college (Onondaga Community College where he studied classical guitar) to talk with students.  Ben gives them advice on how to have longevity in the music business and gives clinics to teach them the basics of music

Quality Not Quantity: Linda Em - Overcoats

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Linda Em - Blue Girl (Single edit). Background promo - With both BBC and Irish radio support for her debut album “Shadow Lands” , new single “Blue Girl” is available on download on 29th February. The single takes you back to the 1960s Phil Spector “Wall of Sound” girl group soul era, with Linda’s pure and raw vocal beautifully intertwining with the soulful backing singers. Linda’s lyrical narrative has a nostalgic feel to it bringing back the early days of Woodstock, with some saying that she has an old soul for such a young woman. No surprise when she quotes Joan Baez, Carole King and the husky laments of Melanie Safka as her song writing influences. Performing at the credible 100 Club (London) and Ifracombe Folk festival her set up can be acoustic or with her full seven-piece band, which includes soul backing singers and a mandolin/ bodran player bringing the Celtic vibe to the music. Linda’s clear, warm, sultry vocal draws the listener into her musical story telling throughout

Thursdays Three: Matthew Logan Vasquez - Evol Walks - Von Spar

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Matthew Logan Vasquez - Personal. Background promo - If you happen to like indie rock performed by real bands, and you catch yourself listening to a mixture of The Vaccines, Kasabian, Dead Weather and Arctic Monkeys more often than not, you should keep an ear out for Matthew Logan Vasquez, the front man of Delta Spirit and one-third of the super-group Middle Brother’s upcoming new LP Solicitor Returns. Inspired by the sonic nonconformity of The Black Keys and The Raconteurs his tracks like Everything I Do Is Out, Personal or Muerte Tranquila showcase the lo-fi rock raver-cum-primal stomp-like energy from start to finish. Compromise- what’s that? Take it easy- what for? No no no, this track is certainly not about keeping anything in, but letting yourself go to the sound of the still much alive rock’n’roll. The speaker-blowing vocal abilities of Vasquez, hinting slightly at the style of Dan Auerbach and Cold War Kids, are complimented well against his guitar-driven idiosyncratic f