Monday, 20 December 2010

2010FM - December Edition Two

We have been swamped again by new music these last couple of weeks, and there are just so many good songs to cover, so we are doing this edition of 2010FM a little differently. Quite a few singer songwriters in this edition however once again we are covering alot of different styles and genres, all in our opinion worthy of a feature to say the least.

First up is Tristen from Nashville, who has been compared to Jenny Lewis and has a really nice mix of folk, pop and rock in a distinctive and "wanna hear more" style.

Featured Track: Baby Drugs
Website: Official.
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Billy Schafer's promo states that he soars into the chorus of "The Dream is Alive" filled with infectious passion and conviction. This song and the others from his debut CD, First to Believe, introduce Billy as a singer-songwriter with an intuitive and confident grasp of song-craft. Fueled by accessible melodies and emotive lyrics of romantic depth, wit, and uplifting inspiration, these recordings showcase a versatile vocal delivery of powerful but pure tones.

Billy’s album was helmed by producer Michael Winger, president of the Northern California Grammy Chapter and known for his live recordings for KFOG San Francisco. The album captivates listeners with story songs that unabashedly and poetically reveal Billy’s private moments. These chronicles unfurl in his clear, earnest vocals while Billy's acoustic guitar sometimes drives, sometimes caresses his tunes. Luring the listener to join him in reflecting on paths of self-discovery, these messages of empowerment and relationship dynamics are effectively voiced with understated and unpretentious band arrangements.

The featured track demonstrates his melodic voice and songs extremely well and fans of artists from Neil Finn to Elliott Smith are I am sure going to enjoy this guy.

Featured Track: Wondering.
Website: Official.
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Pam Shaffer wrote to us recently stating and we quote I'm an LA based artist who just released my debut album! It is entitled "As We Are" and is based on the diaries of Anais Nin. I've been compared to Regina Spektor and Joanna Newsom. My favorite quote called my songs "lullabies from a sunken pirate ship" and I think that's about spot on. I thought it best to send out my album for reviews to better entice more listeners!

Well the comparisons ticked all the right boxes for us and the music did a lot more! We are delighted to have received this album because it is quite simply wonderful! Lets hope a lot more folk get to discover Pam in 2011 and please do give her a listen the comparisons above are only part of the story, recommended!

Featured Track: Henry.
Website: Official.
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Songs Out Here is the new album from Santa Rosa, CA songwriter That Ghost aka 20-year-old Ryan Thomas Schmale. It is an album full of melancholic and atmospheric songs inspired by nostalgia, forgotten places and the hills and trails of Sonoma County’s "Valley Of The Moon." Written partially on the grounds of Jack London's estate, Schmale hearkens the spirit of the deceased author. Also a lonesome adventurer, a young Schmale turns to one of our all-time great authors for solace.

This record, That Ghost's 5th release -- and 4th on twosyllable records -- is more introspective than most. It's more somber, more heartfelt. The sentiments of Schmale's previous garage sound are there, but mutated into something more subdued, yet familiar. His lyrics, almost painfully obvious, illuminate the 20-year-old social situations akin to this scenario. With each song, a mention of stolen alcohol bottles, "An Only Son," a lost friend, "The Older," or just utter solitude, "To Like You." And yet it's neither frivolous nor prudent. Songs Out Here has a strong sense of honesty and a feeling of empathy that can't be denied and shows Schmale in new light -- prolific troubadour, stirrer of emotion, folk alchemist. Songs Out Here is available March 1, 2011 on twosyllable records. The above was the promo words and seems pretty much spot on, intriguing music which draws you back for another listen.


Featured Track: To Like You.
Website: MySpace.
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The first entry in Gold Robot's ongoing split series which pairs artists from different geographic regions together. This limited edition 7" on colored vinyl features:

The Good Fear (Fayetteville, Arkansas)
Colossal Yes (Oakland, California) - side project of Comets on Fire drummer Utrillo Kushner

Each band submitted barn-burner 5 minute tracks which capture both their unique sounds and a general reconstruction of their respective towns. Artwork is provided by photographers from each region (Elise Irving from California, and Rett Peek from Arkansas).

Featured Tracks: The Good Fear - Be Like Us.
Website: MySpace.
Collosal Yes: Backbiter Blues.
Website: MySpace.
Buy It: Gold Robot.
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The promo tells us "For Cal Payne, it truly is all about the music. Far beyond the cliche and deeper than a casual flirtation with melody and sound, Cal Payne is a player to his core. With a jazz/instrumental style that combines elements of R&B, Latin, fusion jazz, and rock, his performance and presence invokes a combination of Grover Washington Jr. and Santana. Driven by an unceasing desire to compose and perform, he is most alive when engaged in the emotional and spiritual experience of making music. Music: this is the essence of the Cal Payne Project".

Beehive Candy reckon The Cal Payne Project are everything Jazz that rocks should be and the sax playing is just sublime. Superb! If you don't quite get Jazz then start here, you will not look back.

Featured Track: Again and Again.
Website: Official.
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With Know Touching, Sore Eros have crafted a record that is simultaneously dense and soothingly melodic, fulfilling the considerable promise of their debut, 2009’s Second Chants.

For this record, the band (Robert Robinson and Adam Langellotti) made a conscious departure from its debut, recording the album direct to a ½ inch 8 track reel-to-reel without the aid of computers. From this the band emerged with a record that blooms with melody and innocent joy that bring to mind such similarly spaced out artists as Atlas Sound and Kurt Vile. When patched together, this detailed attention to arrangement and dreamy melodic sensibilities combine to make Know Touching an effortlessly beautiful record.

Whatever the method we love the result!

Featured Track: Giraffes Kiss.
Website: MySpace.
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Moroccan-born, Paris-based Hindi Zahra can speak to mountains or whisper in your ear. She can turn rustling plastic bags into Berber beats and Parisian kitchens into soul incubators. Playfully savoring East and West, she writes infectious and hip songs, plays any instrument she can get her hands on, and records her own voice in the middle of the night to capture that perfect spark of intimacy.

Hindi’s spontaneous yet long-honed debut, Handmade (Blue Note; February 22, 2011), bursts with maturity and vigor, rich in jazz, soul, and Arabic sounds but with a gritty, bluesy Berber pulse. “I wanted a space where I could break all the barriers, where I could put all the music I knew and loved together. Where I could mix it all,” Hindi explains.

For Beehive Candy Hindi's music really does mix incredibly diverse musical styles and cultures in a simple refreshing manner that in part disguises the complexities that make up some of her songs, and as the introduction to her puts it "The Constantin Prize winning album is a mix of global urban beats and sultry jazz that reflects the cultural melting pots of her both her current home of Paris and her birthplace of Morocco".
Featured Track: Beautiful Tango.
Website: Official.
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Wagga Records are really excited to announce that they will be releasing Pandit’s debut full-length Eternity Spin February 22nd! Pandit combines elements of shoegaze and chillwave making for a perfect dream pop listening experience. The record features the music of Star Slinger as well as Foxes in Fiction.

Pandit is the musical outlet for Texas singer/songwriter/producer Lance Smith.

Beehive Candy is kinda excited to as the preview track has a really cool groove to it and reminds of the Cocteau Twins in part!


Featured Track: Artichoke.
Website: Wagga Records.
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And now some songs that came our way recently and that we do not want to miss out because we think they are more than worthy of a feature. So with unashamed cut and pasting of bits of the bios we give you our one and only 2010FM mega-fast roundup! And to keep it interesting I reckon a couple of the best songs (certainly my favorites) are in amongst this bunch so check em all out!

David Gergen

David Gergen's music development has always been about striving towards that euphoric moment where everything can join together in unity. His latest effort, The Nearer It Was... The Farther It Became offers up suggestive streams of consciousness with thoughtful titles like "Seven Miles To Sunset" and "Thru A Fairy's White Cloud". For Gergen, who’s been performing since the late '90s, music has always been a passion that he’s never compromised.

Where there is always a reference in remaining somewhat topical, Gergen is at a stage where everything seems to be converging at the right point. In a musical sense, his strengths sound equally balanced between a stunning amount of skillful storytelling and expansive musicality. Whether it’s about growing into your clothes, or simply maturing through it all, Gergen offers his view of the world in hopes that we can see it as rich and vibrantly as he does.
Featured Track: The Streets I'm Walking. Website: MySpace.

Brian Huber.

For Brian Huber, hard work has always been at the fore front of his agenda. Throughout past failures and countless moments where everything seemed to pulse in a negative direction, Huber made sure his positive outlook continued to beam. Growing as a songwriter and being able to instantly write songs at will, Huber has now hit a stride that seems poised to impress. There's been plenty to look forward to and in preparing his newest album, a DIY project that was created and seen to fruition in Huber's apartment with the help of a laptop, Huber presents a varied portrayal of pop sensibilities.

Featured Track: Snuggies. Website: Official.

The Handsome Family.

The Handsome Family record all their songs in a converted garage studio at the back of their Albuquerque house. Their seventh CD, Last Days of Wonder (June 2006) earned the title of Mojo’s top ten American Albums for 2006 and was called “an unqualified triumph” by Uncut. Singing Bones, their sixth CD, left the UK’s Independent stating, “Rarely, even in the fatalistic world of country music, has the precarious mystery of mortality been captured with such poetic grace as on Singing Bones.”

Featured Track: Drinking Beer On The Roof. Website: Official.

John Shipe.

As he sings on “Some Hidden Things,” John Shipe knows that life isn’t always easy. In a career spanning various bands, living in different parts of the western United States, with a singer-songwriter devotion that vividly displays his open-book world, Shipe introduces Villain to awaiting ears. “I’m not interested in changing the world, but I’m interested in adding quality pieces to the better part of America’s body of work,” remarks Shipe, and with a streaming wave of consciousness that showcases a worthy musician willing to share his insight, these quality pieces come in strength.

Featured Track: Love Belongs To Everyone. Website: Official.

Enjoy Your Pumas.

Enjoy Your Pumas is a female-fronted indie pop/rock quintet that blends powerful soaring vocals with atmospheric guitars and a punchy, energetic rhythm section. Their infectious, genre-defying music has fans of all styles jumping out of their seats. Their sound is akin to Emily Haines fronting Bloc Party covering Radiohead.

Lead vocalist Rosie Blais’ voice has been compared to the likes of Karen O, Lizzie Powell, and Bjork. Her vibrant, energetic stage presence and powerful range leaves listeners mesmerized. When matched with the intricate, yet engaging melodies of guitarists Josh Benoit and Zach Allard; the impeccably pop-sensible bass grooves of Marc Gomez; and the dance-ready, beat-explosion machine that is Luke Janzen, the Pumas create a soundscape that is really beyond comparison and must be heard to be understood.

Featured Track: Weight Of The Circles. Website: Official.

The Morning After Girls.

The upcoming Morning After Girls album alone dropping 1/11/11 on Xemu Records (Dead Meadow, Spindrift).  Recorded in a revamped Church turned recording studio in Australia the affair takes melodic and shimmering music and captures it in cavernous reverb.  The Morning After Girls have toured with such artists as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Black Keys, The Church and more. 
“in the world today there are so many distractions that there are no chances to be alone, truly alone. Not in a lonely place but to experience things purely without a filter. This is the head space we were in when we wrote the record” says vocalist/guitarist Sacha Lucashenko of the morning after girls. alone is the band’s new full-length for xemu records (Dead Meadow, Spindrift) and their first official output since 2005’s self titled album. recorded in a church in the outback of Australia and mixed by Alan moulder (my bloody valentine, Interpol, Jesus and Mary Chain) in London and in part inspired by their time living in new york, alone seems like an album out of time and space.

Featured Track: Alone. Website: Official.

Jef Barbara.

Montreal-born Jef Barbara likes to make statements. His debut LP Contamination stakes his claim as an heir of pop music's golden age. With a wide array of influences, Contamination falls within the tradition of 80s landmarks such as George Michael's Faith, and alternates nods to French New Wave, soft rock, Kosmische Musik, and synth disco. Contamination also sees the glam pop poet bridging his native Canada's two solitudes by crooning in both official languages equally, something that has been done, although not as thoroughly, on his two previous EPs. Contamination is also an ode to pop music's contagious powers, a force to reckon with especially when armed with catchy hooks, which make up the Barbara's core songwriting asset. Lurking somewhere between Scott Walker and Sébastien Tellier by way of Little Richard, Jef Barbara aims to annihilate his genre's conventions, with guerrilla-style music videos and live karaoke performances.

Featured Track: Larmes de Crocodile. Website: MySpace.

Savoir Adore

To celebrate the holiday season, Brooklyn's adventure-pop duo Savoir Adore is giving away a free download of their new single "Loveliest Creature". Recorded in upstate New York at the band's home studio, "Loveliest Creature" is a bumpin' tale of a monster love. In other news, Savoir Adore was recently featured on MTV's The Seven, as well as NYC electro-pop blog Neon Gold.

Featured Track: Loveliest Creature. Website: MySpace.

Lawrence and Leigh

Lawrence and Leigh are two artists on a mission: to create work that’s beautiful and bold, with refreshing originality and an infectious sense of style. Music is their medium of choice, but their unique and specific point of view expands to everything they touch. Like some kind of wondrous blend of Dirty Projectors and the haunting richness of Fleet Foxes, the female/male band of Andrew Kalleen and Kristin Stokes fill their music with dazzling styles of pop, colored with a dream-like nostalgia, and realized to their fullest potential in the studio.

Featured Track: Chelsea Nights. Website: Official.
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This Editions Featured Tracks:

Thursday, 16 December 2010

Gordon Lightfoot - Demos 1964 - 1966



This is the fourth edition of Beehive Candy's 'rarities and collectors items' where we feature very listenable but hardly audiophile standard recordings. On this occasion we have Gordon Lightfoot and a collection of demo recordings that have circulated under the title 'Warner 7 Art Demos, and feature material from 1964 - 1966.

Despite the fact that most of Gordon Lightfoot's major and international success came in the 1970's He was gaining attention in Canada from the early part of the 1960's.

In 1962, he released two singles that were local hits in Toronto and received some airplay elsewhere in Canada as well. "(Remember Me) I'm the One" reached number 3 on CHUM radio in Toronto in July 1962 and was also a top 20 hit on Montreal's CKGM, then a very influential Canadian Top 40 radio station. The follow-up single was "Negotiations"/"It's Too Late, He Wins"; it reached number 27 on CHUM in December. He also sang with Terry Whelan in a duo called the Two-Tones. They recorded a live album that was released in 1962 called Two-Tones at the Village Corner.
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In 1963, Lightfoot travelled to Europe. In the United Kingdom he hosted, for one year, BBC TV's Country and Western Show. In 1964 Lightfoot returned to Canada; he appeared at the Mariposa Folk Festival. During this time he began to develop a reputation as a songwriter. Ian and Sylvia Tyson recorded "Early Mornin' Rain" and "For Lovin' Me"; a year later both songs were recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary.

In 1965, Lightfoot signed a management contract with Albert Grossman, who also represented Bob Dylan. That same year, he signed a recording contract with United Artists and released his own version of "I'm Not Saying" as a single. Appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, the Tonight Show, and New York's Town Hall increased his following and his reputation. In 1966, he released his debut album Lightfoot!, which brought him increased recognition as both a singer and a songwriter. It featured many now-famous songs, including "For Lovin' Me," "Early Mornin' Rain," "Steel Rail Blues," and "Ribbon of Darkness." On the strength of the Lightfoot! album, which mixed Canadian and universal themes, Lightfoot became one of the first Canadian singers to achieve real stardom in his own country without having to move to the United States.

These demos sit somewhere amongst all of this and add to the history of this incredible artist. 

Source: Demo Tapes.

Sound Quality: For the year and source very good and totally listenable (mp3).

Genre: Folk, folk rock, country.

Demo List:

01. River Gal
02. The Martyred Children
03. Anything My Woman Does
04. Too Much Too Lose
05. The Lost Children
06. When Spring Is O'er The Land
07. Echoes Of Heroes
08. A Love That's True
09. Things They Say
10. A Ring And A Secret
11. Try To Count The Tears
12. That Innocent Look
13. Two Kids From Cabbage Town
14. Somebody Told A Lie
15. Yes I Will
16. Red Roses And You
17. Betty Mae's A Good Time Gal
18. A Few Moments Ago
19. Rosey And Me
20. The General Store
21. Sands Of Time
22. Prettiest Time Of Her Life
23. Sweet Temptation
24. New Day
25. The Last Hand
26. Don't Be Sorry
27. Roll On
28. An Old Friend
29. Fox Fire
30. It's Better That Way
31. Weep Not For Me
32. Crossroads 

Website: Two fan sites HERE and HERE.

Reloaded - 20/May/2015 - download link in comments.

Sunday, 12 December 2010

Be-Bop Deluxe - London 1975.

This is Be-Bop Deluxe performing a live set for the BBC back on the 14th June 1975 at the Hippodrome London, England.

Be-Bop Deluxe were founded in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England, by Bill Nelson in 1972. They never played bebop music, but instead came out of the blues-based British rock scene of the late 1960s.

At first they were compared to the more successful David Bowie, but Nelson never tried to copy Bowie, and appears to have disliked comparisons or being pigeon-holed. This artistic restlessness eventually led him to disband Be-Bop Deluxe altogether and pursue less commercial paths of expression.

Influences upon the band's music included David Bowie, Roxy Music, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Van der Graaf Generator and Frank Zappa. The band's sound emerged as a mixture of glam rock, prog rock and straightforward rock and roll. Science fiction imagery (e.g. robots) was common in Nelson's lyrics, along with the more traditional themes of love and the human condition (albeit often hidden beneath Nelson's quirky lyrical and musical metaphors).

Nelson was acclaimed as one of the finest guitarists in British rock at the time, and the music showed that, with his distinctive tones adorning most tracks. Stylistically, the songs took elements from progressive rock, glam rock (the band had flirted with make-up in the early days) and hard guitar rock. Ships in the Night was their most successful single in the UK and USA. 

Source: FM Broadcast.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.

Genre: Glam rock, Protopunk, New Wave

Set:  Radio Set.

Set List:

1 Stage Whispers
2 Third Floor Heaven
3 Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape
4 Sister Seagull
5 Piece Of Mine
6 Maid In Heaven
7 Axe Victim

New file link in comments below - Re-uploaded 2012 (Stealth project).
Website: Bill Nelson HERE.

Sunday, 5 December 2010

Cabaret Voltaire - Paradiso, Amsterdam 1983

This is Cabaret Voltaire live in concert at the excellent Paradiso concert venue in Amsterdam, Holland back on the 9th December 1983.

The band initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zurich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.

Their earliest performances were dada-influenced performance art, but Cabaret Voltaire later developed into one of the most prolific and important groups to blend pop with dance music, techno, dub, house and experimental electronic music.

The band formed in Sheffield in 1973 and experimented widely with sound creation and processing. These early experiments are documented on the triple album CD set Methodology (Mute 2002). They eventually turned to live performance, often sharing the bill with Joy Division. In one incident, Mallinder was hospitalised with a chipped backbone after the band had objects thrown at them. However the arrival of punk rock brought a more accepting audience for their industrial, electronic sound and they were championed by Sheffield punk fanzine Gunrubber edited by Paul Bower of local band 2.3.

In 1978, Cabaret Voltaire signed to Rough Trade Records. With Rough Trade they released several acclaimed musically experimental singles and EPs, including Extended Play, "Nag Nag Nag" and "Three Mantras", and albums such as The Voice of America in 1980, and Red Mecca in 1981.

During this time they toured Europe, Japan and America without major record label support, releasing Hai!, a live album recorded in Japan, in 1982.

In 1983, coinciding with the departure of Watson (who went on to found The Hafler Trio with Andrew M. McKenzie before becoming a BBC sound engineer and then a soloist), Cabaret Voltaire decided consciously to turn in a more commercial direction, with the album The Crackdown on Some Bizarre / Virgin Records. This decision was rewarded with the album reaching number 31 in the UK Albums Chart - over 60 places higher than their previous (and then only) chart placing. In 1984, the singles "Sensoria" and "James Brown" from the album Micro Phonies (also on Virgin) charted on the UK Indie Chart, as well as getting play in the underground dance scene.

Source: Soundboard.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@256kbps.

Genre: Industrial/Post-punk, New Wave/Synthpop, Acid House/Techno

Set:  Full Set.

Set List:

01.Crackdown
02.The Dreamticket
03.Animation
04.In The Shadows
05.Untitled
06.Over And Over
07.Mercy Man
08.Safety Zone
09.Just Fascination
10.Product Patrol - Outro


Website: Unofficial HERE.

Download link in comments below.

Thursday, 2 December 2010

2010FM - December Edition One

December is upon us and the backlog of new music has built up once again, so apologies but this is going to be a rush through the music that has grabbed our attention. There is a reasonable amount of copying from the promo material we have received to provide background so apologies for some of the 'loved up' words but the one thing I will say is everything featured is here because we reckon it's well worth a share!

The first entry in the Designed Entropy series features exclusive tracks by 4 different artists inspired from a common starting point - a book titled "Atlas of Novel Tectonics" by Jesse Reiser. As a cohesive unit, this EP explores the relationship between design, structure, and humanity. Released as a limited edition (run of 500) 7" EP on colored vinyl, one could loosely categorize the genre as electronic. However, each artists incorporates sounds and samples to independently build the landscape. Participating artist include:

Bomarr (of Restiform Bodies) [San Francisco, CA]
Meanest Man Contest [San Francisco / Los Angeles, CA]
Copy [Portland, OR]
Roman Ruins (drummer for Beach House & Papercuts) [Oakland, CA]

We have already covered Meanest Man Contest recently so we have a track from Bomarr which is powerful electro and Kraftwerk fans through to modern electo should check this out.

Featured Track: Exchanges Among Systems
Website: MySpace. Gold Robot Store.
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Put five musicians together in a room and let them improvise. Hit the record button. What will you end up with? It could be a litany of shopworn clichés. Blind, bland stabs by hacks more interested in showing off their chops than in listening to each other, or challenging themselves. But what if the quintet in question is Mojo Mancini, five of the most diverse and in-demand players in the business, total pros who eat and breathe music even when they’re away from the studio or stage? Artists who between the five of them have worked with—and this is just a partial list—Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Al Green, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, David Byrne, Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, Sheryl Crow, Buddy Guy, Charlie Haden, Levon Helm, Shawn Colvin, Bruce Hornsby, Joan Osborne, Madeline Peyroux, and Regina Spektor?

This is superb music don't just take our word for it...

Like Sasquatch, the five crack musicians who call themselves Mojo Mancini have seldom been captured on film…NY Magazine
New York noir doesn’t get any better than this..
Lucid Culture

Something this deep, evocative, complex and beautiful will NEVER get played on Top 40 radio.
Rosanne Cash

"Really cool vibe y stuff from some of the best players in the business.."
Rita Houston, WFUV
"What a great band! World class musicians who just got together and improvised a great record!"

Eric Cocks, WPKN

Featured Track: Carbulator.
Website: Official.
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I know very little about Keith Canisius except that he is from Denmark and has a psychedelic dream pop vibe and he also has a new album 'This Time It's Our High' out now on Darla Records. Only thing to add is the song we received is really cool and well worth a listen as are the songs on his MySpace site!

Featured Track: The Beach House.
Website: MySpace. Darla Records.
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And we quote - globalFEST (www.globalfest-ny.org), the preeminent springboard for global music in North America, has been exploring and presenting a deeply rooted, sonically diverse world to influential  North American arts professionals and avid music fans for eight years. Keen to find global performers—both veterans and newcomers—perfectly poised for wider notoriety, globalFEST throws one of the year’s best international music parties while expanding the horizons of musicians and audiences alike.

This year’s globalFEST comes to New York City’s Webster Hall (125 E. 11th St.) on January 9th, 2011 at 7pm. The one-night festival features;

-Chamber Music: Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal (U.S. debut)
-Creole Choir of Cuba
-Diblo Dibala
-Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole (NY solo debut)
-La-33
-Mustafa Özarslan (U.S. debut)
-Novalima
-Orquestra Contemporânea de Olinda
-Pedrito Martinez Group
-RAM
-Red Baraat
-Rhythm of Rajasthan
-Yoro Ndiaye (U.S. debut).

 Having checked out some of the acts I think those who manage to attend are in for a real treat. Novalima’s Afro-Peruvian electronica, is just one dimension of the musical experience in store.

Featured Track: Ruperta Zeb Remix.
Website: Official.
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OK some background - Verity, Equity, Acuity.

These are the meanings of the symbols in the Kressin family crest, and also the foundation of Neon Legion, the rock band based around German-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Philip Kurt Kressin. In a music landscape where many artists are concerned with shiny veneers over artistic content, Kressin demands that his work stand for something. With Empire, the debut Neon Legion album, he seeks to honor the values of his forefathers while crafting a sound that brings together elements of rock, electronic, and classical music, honoring his own personal tradition.

The Neon Legion philosophy is shaped in large part by Kressin's roots, as a descendant of German knights. He sees it as part of his mission to reemphasize values derived from the knights' code of chivalry.

Down to the music and this is really electronica meets indie rock and performed with a mixture of passion and precision. The vocals add a new wave element and the hole thing cries for being played loud!

Featured Track: The Sun.
Website: Official.
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Bleu McAuley (better known simply as Bleu) is a well-documented early adopter of direct to fan initiatives, raising a massive $40,000 via Kickstarter to fund his recently released album, entitled Four. To reward his legion of dedicated fans, followers and friends, Bleu has partnered with American Songwriter to bring you the ‘Bleu Writes A Song for You” Contest.

Starting on Monday, November 15th American Songwriter (www.americansongwriter.com) will be hosting the contest, where fans are invited to enter by simply submitting their contact information. This acknowledges that the entrant wants to be considered for the grand prize of having Bleu pen and record a song solely for him or her. Three runner-ups will also be chosen for an autographed copy of the new album, Four.

Featured Track: Singin In Tongues.
Website: MySpace.
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Phaseone is a producer from St Louis who is putting out a release on Lefse's 'Way Slow' series that finds him covering Soul For Real & Keith Sweat. The EP is released on December 14th and is yet another electronica piece that has gained our attention in the last few days.

Featured Track: Being With You
Website: Lefse Records.
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Mixpak Records brings together influences from the worlds of club music, rap and indie rock under the shared roof of a common home.

Keeping with the label’s mosaic-like roster of genre-dipping artists, December 7th will mark the release of the all-girl Japanese post-punk quartet Hard Nips’ self-titled EP. This exciting addition to the Mixpak roster is just another example of the label’s inimitable reputation and diverse repertoire.

Hard Nips have arrived from the Far East, brandishing a riff-heavy, post-punk sound laced with the angelic straining from vocalist Yoko Sawai.

Whether playing parties for Vice Magazine or CMJ gigs alongside the likes of Sean Lennon and TVOTR’s Tunde Adebimpe, this Brooklyn-based four piece commands the attention of any room they play. Known for their magnetic stage presence and rowdy antics (on stage and off), these women are living breathing personifications of rock n’ roll. Along with the release of their four-song EP, Hard Nips will be holding a record release show at Cake Shop in NYC on December 7th.

These girls can rock, expect to hear them some more!

Featured Track: Release It.
Website: Mixpack Hardnips.
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LA-based Holly Conlan just finishing up a national tour with Sara Bareilles. Here's what Sara had to say about working with Holly this year - "I met Holly a few years ago and fell in love with her as a person, immediately. Then I got to hear her music.  I was blown away by her songwriting as well as her smooth-like-honey voice. I knew she'd be a great fit for this tour because her songs are the perfect balance of whimsy and intellect... delivered by one of the coolest voices I've ever heard...and she's one of the hardest-working and sweetest people I've had the chance to meet. She's the real-deal."


We are also informed that 'Conlan, whose emotionally resonant album 'Fascinator' (Cloverbird) is out now, creates syncopated piano-driven songs with simple, yet deeply meaningful lyrics. With an affecting alto voice, Conlan uses her training in classical composition to write unusual string voicing and surprising rhythms. "Take the Blame" and "One Two Three" from 'Fascinator' are just a few of Conlan's latest songs that have appeared in hit shows such as 90210, Drop Dead Diva One Tree Hill, and Ghost Whisperer'.

I love the track we have to share this time around and I for one will be checking Holly's music out some more.

Featured Track: Stay.
Website: Official.
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We have already featured Gwyneth and Monko this year with regards to their July release 'Good Old Horse' EP however their new record, Gwyneth & Monko, which was recorded at Old School Studio in Caspar, CA, will more accurately reflect what the duo sounds like live, which is somewhere between folky acoustic and indie rock. And it’s no wonder their new work sounds this way, as they’ve been on the road for most of 2010, taking weekends here and there to record. Guest artists Scott Southard on bass, Jimmy Gallagher on drums and Matt Cooper Borkenhagen on pedal steel and dobro, join Gwyneth and Monko on their self-titled album which will be released on February 15th, 2011.

Having had the chance to listen to the new album I can whole heartily agree with the promo that came my way, fans of Lucinda Williams, Jenny Lewis, Patty Griffin should love the new album. I have a feeling I will be reminding you again about them nearer the release date.

Featured Track: Get In The Sun.
Website: Official.
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We are reminded that - Tummy Touch Records has been defying convention, resisting categorization and generally causing a scene, since their first record release 15 years ago in 1996. From the pioneering Balearic dance music of Groove Armada to the ultra hip indie pop of Tom Vek and cosmic disco rock of The Phenomenal Handclap Band the label’s unique sound is hard to pin down. The attitude, however, is obvious - a commitment to eclecticism, excitement and a having a bloody good time.

Tummy Touch welcome back Los Chicharrons, one of their very first artists back in the warehouse party days in London’s East End, for a brand new Afro Funk album to help celebrate the label’s 15 year birthday!
Roots Of Life (out 25th January 2011) is the fourth Los Chicharrons album from dance music’s own odd couple, Ramon Santana and Morten Hansen. They are both musicians, DJs and producers but their backgrounds couldn’t be more different.

Ramon was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up within earshot of the voodoo drums of Haiti (the birthplace of real trance). Relocating to Williamsburg, Brooklyn in the mid ‘60s, he gradually steered a course towards Corona, Queens, where a period of a rich musical development began.

In the early ‘80s Ramon’s DJing progressed apace, with regular shows in Dancetaria (where Mantronix were resident) leading to the inception of a club called Boomba Makao, operating out of three NYC venues: Giant Steps, The Soul Kitchen and Great Jones.

Morten Varano’s rich background is something of a contrast to his musical spar. Born in Copenhagen, he started playing piano at age 6, and at 14 began playing ‘indie-rock-techno-pop’ in his first band. Morten’s interest in dance music and sounds of a left field persuasion led him to the start up of a club called Lust in Copenhagen which formed the missing link in the evolution of Los Chicharrons when Ramon’s international DJ'ing excursions took him there.

The idea of Roots Of Life came to them when Morten traveled to Bamako in Mali. Mali might be one of the poorest countries in the world but it is rich with music and a great philosophy of life. They hooked up with local musicians and recorded some songs in Mali and in Paris with finishing touches applied in Copenhagen and London. The truly international culture clash that is Roots Of Life, with its irresistible blend of Bass Music, Afro Funk and House, will be filling dance floors around the globe in 2011.

OK loads of words - I defy you not to want to dance or at least jig about in your chair to the featured song!

Featured Track: Ma Do Nar.
Website: Tummy Touch.
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Paul Dempsey has been the front man of one of Australia’s most successful bands, Something For Kate, with multiple Aria awards and nominations, who have released 5 gold and platinum selling albums.   Last year, Paul released Everything Is True in Australia, and received tremendous response.  The album was given 4 stars by Rollingstone, voted iTunes’ Album of the Year in Australia, and certified Gold.  Paul then packed up his guitar and traded the sold out shows and his Melbourne address for Brooklyn, and the intimate stages of New York and the US.

His award-winning debut solo album, Everything Is True, is out now digitally in the US and Canada. I am to late to mention his recent USA tour dates but give this guy a listen, this is evocative and classy folk rock music.

Featured Track: Fast Friends.
Website: Official.
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Not long ago, Sonny Smith (Sonny & The Sunsets) survived a near-drowning off the coast of Northern California. The experience affected him profoundly and led to a wealth of output including a play, a novel, and a stack of songs. Sonny's critically acclaimed "100 Records" project is itself a direct product of Sonny's fight with the sea. A novel he began, Adelard the Drowned, broke into 100 pieces. Four of those pieces come as songs on this 7" e.p., each bound to the next by a twisted braid of water and death.

Through the fog and the haze, however, there lies in these songs a shared sense of redemption, transformation, or reawakening. Featuring appearances by Heidi and Grace of the The Sandwitches and a long-lost band called The Transients, this record features Sonny's songwriting at its strongest, staring death in the face. Perhaps, this is in part why the ocean gave him back. Recorded in San Francisco and mastered by Paul Oldham, each record includes a comic book, four full-color album covers, and a high-quality digital download.

The record will be available December 11th via Endless Nest, and the track we have to share may just draw you in to finding out more.

Featured Track: Throw My ashes from this pier when I die.
Website: Endless Nest.
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Lets do the promo background first as it say's it better than I can - For Patty, Melissa, Scotty, and Travis, it really is a family affair. This foursome stretches their biological connections through to their creative tissue as the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band (DFJB), an incomparable collective with a Jazz/Americana/Soul/Folk sound that, by all reasonable accounts, functions quite nicely, thank you. As the history of their marvelous and complex family relationships comes out in their music, it is clear that this is a community, a truly relational organism. The way they work, the way they live, and the way they make music is an expression of family, through and through.

The high-functioning dysfunction began when Patty Carpenter and Scotty Shetler were high school sweethearts a billion years ago, and, in 1972, had a daughter, Melissa Shetler. Then they split, and Scotty married Jill Gross, a lead singer in the band he was playing with. Now, Jill sometimes sings with them both live and in the studio. Patty married Charles Light, who manages the band, and, in 1990, they had a son, Travis Light, who at 17 moved to New York City to live with his sister Melissa and her husband Alan McCarthy. True to his family roots he is now living in California attending Jazz School.

What really matters as always is the music itself and with DFJB I am simply blown away. I just love the vibe these people create, the harmonies, the musicianship the whole thing is wonderful. If this is dysfunctional then I need never fear being regarded as dysfunctional ever again. Wonderful music.

Featured Track: Waterfalls.
Website: Official.
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Again first of all the promo words - Alt-world songstress Manisha Shahane unwittingly launched her career as a performing songwriter when she hung posters around Central Square and invited friends to hear some of her original songs at the Cezanne Café & Bakery in Cambridge, MA on November 21, 1999. The coffee shop ran out of bread for sandwiches during what turned out to be a standing-room-only show. Afterwards, she sat on the piano bench and sheepishly passed around a mailing list “just in case I perform my songs again sometime.”

With dedication and consistency, Manisha has since made over 175 appearances as a performing songwriter and countless more as a guest or band member of other groups. Following the 2004 release of her debut album, "Peace in Progress," her shows garnered audiences in numerous cities in the US, as well as in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and London. Combining a coming-of-age in southern Virginia with her Maharashtrian heritage, Manisha’s performances are a musical collage of folk, jazz, and Indian traditions, featuring her original songs & compositions, as well as covers and special arrangements. She is especially drawn to the sound of the tabla, an Indian percussion instrument, which her father plays.

After shoveling more than 40 inches of snow following a Boston blizzard, Manisha (wisely) relocated to sunny Los Angeles at the end of 2005. Established clubs at which she has appeared in the Los Angeles area include The Coffee Gallery Back Stage, Genghis Cohen, The Mint, and Temple Bar, among others. She is equally comfortable performing in family-friendly environments such as schools, nursing homes, religious halls, & community centers, including LA’s Grammy Museum at which she performed twice in 2009. Manisha has also performed on college campuses, such as that of Wellesley College, Brandeis University, and Brown University.

For me the music is quite captivating, taking the featured track for example where the mixture of rhythms and the soothing and soulful vocals should clash but somehow work beautifully together. Her music is a little bit of Folk, Jazz, World, Pop, Rock however Manisha has her own distinctive and dreamy vocals that give her music it's overall identity.

Featured Track: Girls Gone World.
Website: Official.
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Featured Tracks:

Tuesday, 30 November 2010

Siouxsie & the Banshees - Tinderbox Demos 1986

This is a small selection of demo's and studio out takes by Siouxsie & the Banshees circulated simply as the Tinderbox Demos.

Included with this boot were a few tracks that were off air recordings from BBC radio sessions and these eventually made there way on to the official BBC four disc box set in much better quality. The Tinderbox demo's featured here are a bit of a mystery and there is not a lot else I can add information wise except that they are interesting examples of work in progress.

Tinderbox was the seventh studio album released by the band and it was the first effort with new guitarist John Valentine Carruthers. The sessions took place at Hansa Studios, by the Berlin wall. Tinderbox was re-issued remastered and expanded in 2009, featuring in the bonus tracks an unreleased version of the 1987's "Song from the Edge of the World" and an unreleased song with lyrics of Steven Severin called "Starcrossed", recorded in May 1985. The b-sides of "Cities in Dust" and "Candyman", initially included as bonus tracks on the 1986 CD are now part of the Downside Up b-sides box set.

Source: Studio sessions.

Sound Quality: Good mp3@128kbps.

Genre: Punk, new wave.

Set:  Studio Sessions.

Set List:

01. Instrumental #1
02. Candyman Instrumental
03. Lands End Instrumental
04. Instrumental #2
05. Instrumental #3
06. Umbrella Instrumental
07. Party's Fall Instrumental
08. The Sweetest Chill - Live Take
09. 92 Degrees - Live Take
10. Candyman (Alt. Take) 

Comments:

Siouxsie Sioux: vocals, piano, whistle, Steven Severin: electric bass, keyboards, piano, drumbox, emulator, Budgie: drums and percussion, John Valentine Carruthers: guitars, keyboards, waterphone, (Siouxsie and the Banshees: producers).

Download link in comments below.

Saturday, 27 November 2010

The Tourists - London 1980

This is The Tourists who came in to being from 1977 through to 1980. The band, are now better known for two of their members Annie Lennox and David Stewart who went on to achieve great success as Eurythmics. The band formed around a nucleus of two musicians from Sunderland in north-east England, Peet Coombes and Dave Stewart.

Peet Coombes was a guitarist singer-songwriter, while Dave Stewart, also a guitarist, had been a member of the folk rock band, Longdancer, who were signed to Elton John's Rocket Records label. The two moved to London and encountered Scottish singer Annie Lennox who had dropped out of her course at the Royal Academy of Music, where she had been studying flute and keyboards, to pursue her ambitions in pop music. The three of them initially called themselves The Catch, and released a single "Borderline" in 1977 on Logo Records, which failed to chart.

By 1977, they had recruited bass guitarist Eddie Chin and drummer Jim Toomey, and rechristened themselves The Tourists. This saw the beginning of a productive two years for the band and they recorded three albums: The Tourists, Reality Effect, and Luminous Basement, as well as half a dozen singles, including "Blind Among the Flower" (1979), "The Loneliest Man in the World" (1979), "Don't Say I Told You So" (1980), and two major hits, the Dusty Springfield cover "I Only Want to Be with You" (1979) and "So Good to Be Back Home Again" (1980), both of which reached the top 10 in the UK. "I Only Want to Be With You" was also a top 10 hit in Australia, and made the US Billboard Hot 100 at no.83. Coombes was the band's main songwriter, although later releases saw the first compositions by Lennox and Stewart. The band's music expanded using their folk roots, demonstrating some punk energy, reggae and 1960s pop influences. A key development was their decision to record later material with German avant-garde producer Conny Plank, and a transfer to RCA Records in 1980. The band toured extensively in the UK and abroad, including a support role on the Roxy Music Manifesto Tour.

They disbanded not long after this concert performance recorded for the BBC at the Paris Theatre, London in 1980.  

Source: BBC radio Broadcast

Sound Quality: Very good mp3@320kbps.

Genre: Power pop, new wave.

Set:  Full radio set.

Set List:

1.The Golden Lamp.
2.Don't Get Left Behind.
3.Loneliest Man In The World.
4.Useless Duration Of Time.
5.Fools Paradise.
6.Another English Day.
7.Deadly Kiss.
8.Blind Among The Flowers.

Comments:

Peet Coombes - guitar, David A. Stewart - guitar, Annie Lennox - vocal, keyboards, Eddie Chin - bass guitar, Jim Toomey - drum kit

New file link in comments below - Re-uploaded 2012 (Stealth project).


Tuesday, 23 November 2010

Cream - The Blues Years Live 1966 - 67

This is Cream live at Klooks Kleek, London on the 15th November 1966 and at Konserthuset, Stockholm on the 7th March 1967.

This material has been circulated as individual bootlegs and as part of Cream bootleg compilations, most notably as the first of two CD's titled 'Renovating The Blues'.

The concerts drew on material from Creams debut album 'Fresh Cream' and demonstrate clearly the powerful influence blues music had over both Cream and their early audience.

Klooks Kleek for example was a club based in the Railway Hotel, Hampstead, London with a capacity of around 100. The venue had a strong blues association, and other rock bands with a strong early blues pedigree played there including Ten Years After whose second album 'Undead' was recorded at the venue.

There has been talk that the Cream concert may have been recorded with a live album release in mind, however a number of issues around the mix and the equipment would have ruled this out and it seems inconceivable that Cream would have accepted a sub standard release despite their excellent performance on the night.

The Stockholm gig was recorded for radio broadcast and and as a result is also of good audio quality. Early bootlegs of this show had problems around speed, some were sped up by 10 to 15%, however this version is corrected, which suggests it came from the 'Renovating The Blues' source which is the best version after alot  of care and attention went into correcting the speed and audio quality.

Source: Soundboard London - FM Broadcast Stockholm

Sound Quality: Very good mp3's London @192kbps Stockholm @320kbps 

Genre: Blues Rock 

Set: Likely that London was the end of the first set and start of the second and Stockholm radio edit only (cannot confirm full details).

Set List:

Klooks Kleek - London 1966.

1. Steppin' Out
2. Sweet Wine
3. Meet Me In The Bottom
4. NSU
5. Hey Lawdy Mama
6. Sleepy Time Time
7. Crossroads.

Konserthuset - Stockholm 1967.

01. N.S.U.
02. Stepping Out
03. Train time
04. Toad

05. I'm So Glad 

Website: Official Reunion Site HERE. 

Comments:

Cream's debut album, Fresh Cream, was recorded and released in 1966. The album reached number 6 in the UK charts and number 39 in the United States. It mainly consisted of blues covers, including "Four Until Late", "Rollin' and Tumblin'" (written by Muddy Waters), "Spoonful" (written by Willie Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf), "I'm So Glad" (written by Skip James) and "Cat's Squirrel". The rest of the album featured songs written (or co-written) by Jack Bruce, most notably "I Feel Free" (which was a UK hit single, but only included on the American edition of the LP), and two by Ginger Baker (one of which, "Toad", contained one of the earliest examples of a drum solo in rock music). Ginger Baker also collaborated with Jack Bruce's then-wife Janet Godfrey to write "Sweet Wine."

The early Cream bootlegs display a much tighter band showcasing more songs. All of the songs are reasonably short five-minute versions of "N.S.U.", "Sweet Wine" and "Toad". But a mere two months later, the set list shortened, with the songs then much longer.

Download links (two) in comments below.

Sunday, 21 November 2010

Doves - Boston USA 2001

This is Doves live at the Axis Nightclub; Boston, MA, USA, back on the 28th June 2001. The concert was recorded for radio broadcast by Bostons WBCN.

Doves are an English alternative rock band, originating from Wilmslow (near Manchester). The band comprises brothers Jez Williams (guitar, vocals) and Andy Williams (drums, vocals), and Jimi Goodwin (bass, vocals, guitar). The members started working seriously together after meeting at The Haçienda in Manchester. Doves' unofficial fourth member is Martin Rebelski, who plays keyboards. To date, the band has released four critically acclaimed and commercially successful studio albums, and their first career-spanning compilation album The Places Between: The Best of Doves was released in April 2010.

After meeting again at The Haçienda in 1989, the Williams brothers and Jimi Goodwin formed Sub Sub, releasing their first single "Space Face" in 1991, and then in 1993 they released "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)," which reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. On the Williams twins' birthday in February 1996, the band's Ancoats studio caught fire and burned down, leading the band members to abandon their previous dance-oriented style and start afresh as alternative rock band Doves in 1998.

Of the threesome's change of direction, Jez Williams has said: "We were faced with a really black and white decision: throw the towel in or carry on. And if you're going to carry on, you've got to put everything into it to justify it, because before that you've lost everything. That was quite a liberating feeling, actually.

Source: FM Broadcast

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps 

Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie.

Set: Full Set.

Set List:

01 - Intro
02 - Firesuite
03 - Rise
04 - Sea Song
05 - Catch The Sun
06 - The Man Who Told Everything
07 - Lost Souls
08 - A House
09 - The Cedar Room
10 - Spaceface
11 - Encore Break
12 - Here It Comes
13 - N.Y.

Website: Official Site HERE.

Download link in comments below.

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

2010FM - November Edition Two

Papercutz are new to me and I have been really charmed by their music. Atmospheric, moving and gently reminding me of Goldfrapp and the Cocteau Twins at times, the most recent release: "Do Outro Lado Do Es­pelho (Lylac Am­bient Reworks)" is ambient at it's best. Some other reviews have stated - ":Papercutz has commissioned a remix album of his work which reads like a who’s who of contemporary drone. Remix records are often, by their very nature, frustratingly inconsistent, but thankfully Do Outro Lado Do Espello represents a notably coherent and engaging exception." Drowned in Sound

"delightful ambient" Record Collector

"Lovely set of shoegazy ambient remixes" Boomkat

"Here are twelve amazing tracks by masters of ambient and modern classical composition!" Headphone commute

"Soundscapes developed into lush new ambient forms or retract into spacious drones, while the voice is in turn wrapped in textures and treated as just another sound source, or isolated as primary organic element to increase its impact." The Milk Factory

"It's wonderful to see Bruno Miguel's :papercutz project receive newfound exposure through the Audiobulb imprint and to see his electro-acoustic pop re-interpreted by an impressive cast of kindred spirits." Textura.

Featured Track: Lylac (Helios remix).
Website: Official. Buy.
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White Mountains is the project of producer and composer Peter James. Exploring texture, space, and melody, James creates electronic music with an organic feel that often reaches blissful heights.

He is currently based in New Hampshire. His White Mountains LP, Wilderness will be released November 9th.

The featured track is all I have had a chance to listen to from the new album and I am really impressed. The electronic music genre has become a crowded place and stand out music such as this is always welcomed.

Featured Track: Bells.
Website: MySpace.

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The Radio Dept, have achieved some notable success through this decade. They become Labrador Records best selling band; the first to reach the sales charts in Sweden, end up on NME's albums-of-the-decade-list, enter the Billboard Heatseeker chart and serve as soundtrack to an odd costume drama by Sophia Coppola. Quoting Johan from Labrador records "The Radio Dept. are adamantly uncompromising, ridiculously self-critical, vastly independent and, not least importantly, constantly moving forwards". The album Passive aggressive: Singles 2002-2010 is a voyage through the first eight years on Labrador. 
The album is due out on January 25th (2011) on Labrador/Caroline Records and tour dates have been announced for February 2011 (NYC exclusive shows November 30 & December). The EP "Never Follow Suit" is now available and the featured track is an incredible dub version by Pistol Disco from the new EP.

Nov 30 NYC Knitting Factory
Dec 01 NYC Bowery Ballroom
Feb 01 Washington D.C.  Rock N Roll Hotel
Feb 02 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
Feb 03 New York, NY Webster Hall
Feb 04 Boston, MA Middle East Downstairs
Feb 05 Montreal, QC Petit Campus
Feb 07 Toronto, ONT Lee's Palace
Feb 08 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
Feb 09 Minneapolis, MN 7th Street Entry
Feb 12 Seattle, WA Crocodile Café
Feb 13 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
Feb 15 San Francisco, CA The Independent
Feb 16 Los Angeles, CA  El Rey Theatre
Feb 19 Mexico City, MX Teatro de la Ciudad

Featured Track: Never Swallow Fruit Dub
Website: Official.
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OK some PR words by way of an introduction. Danika Holmes is a rising star in the heartland!” says Bill Sullivan of The Rock and Roll Report. Mike Wolfe of The History Channel’s American Pickers says “She’s a true American talent… I couldn’t stop listening!” Music critics agree that Danika is charming and energetic with a welcoming tone in her voice, which is as gentle as a breeze.

As Holmes plays shows, fans tell her how they can relate to her lyrics, which is exactly what she is hoping for. “At first that was really scary for me. I felt like I was standing on stage and unzipping my soul!” Currently, Danika’s music is being broadcast on independent radio stations, blogs, and podcasts around the world. She performs regularly with her band, has opened for The Nadas, and her show was aired on Iowa Public Television and Radio.

“Second Chances,” Danika’s debut album, was released in March of 2010. The title track is a reflection of Danika’s dogmatic belief that everyone benefits from a second chance, or even a third, along life’s way
.
Danika's music is a mixture of Americana, pop and country rock, her songs are strong and the vocals works across a range of styles. Splendid music that can both lift you up and move you, without being overly melancholy or indulgent. Recommended.

Featured Track: Lock Me In Tonight.
Website: Official.
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The introduction Beehive Candy has for Leslie Cours Mather reads better than we can write them so here it is - It can be hard to remain hopeful when times are dark. But out of even the darkest, most testing times can come great art- profoundly moving works that give us faith and let us know we aren’t alone in our hardships.

Singer-songwriter Leslie Cours Mather has certainly endured some dark times recently. At the age of four her daughter Stefani was diagnosed with leukemia. Thankfully, Stefani, now eight, has been treated and is doing just fine. But it was a tough patch there for a bit. Out of it all, however, came an added bonus. As she and her family passed through this emotionally wrenching period, Leslie found solace and release in writing songs. Several of these songs are found on For My Children, her astonishing new album.

Given all that Leslie endured, For My Children somehow doesn’t sound sad. Vulnerable at times, yes. And soul-searching. But sad? Not at all. Instead, it’s an album that’s uplifting. Affecting. And, most of all, comforting—all qualities you don’t seem to find enough of in today’s world of overly shallow, short-attention-span music
.

Having listen to the songs I was impressed that this is indeed a wonderful album that would stand the test of music critics regardless of the background story. Recently, Leslie joined with a team of doctors from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles where Stefani was treated, to establish the Parents’ Advisory Council of the international consortium TACL (Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia and Lymphoma). Together, they are working diligently to develop new treatments, support families and raise money to eradicate these diseases. Fifty percent of the purchase price of each For My Children CD will go to TACL.

Featured Track: I'll Run.
Website: Official.
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Beady Eye are Liam Gallagher, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock. Beady Eye have made available ‘Bring The Light’, the first track to be heard from their debut album, as a free download worldwide to their fans as from now. The album was recorded over the past summer in London and will be released next year. So there is life after Oasis for Liam and if the song and accompanying video featured on their website are anything to go by things are looking up. The video shows the band as they will appear on tour with Liam on vocals, Gem and Andy on guitar, Chris on drums accompanied by Jeff Wootton on bass and Matt Jones on piano. 
Musically the addition of female backing vocals and the use of piano make this song sound clearly different from Oasis and although Liam's distinctive vocals will always link him to his former band I would say at this stage that Beady Eye look set to make their own mark on the world of music.

Featured Track: Bring The Light.
Website: Official.
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OK the background first - Brian Franke is an award-winning folk-rock singer/songwriter residing in the Washington, DC area. An up-and-coming artist with dynamic vocals, his music provides subtle commentary on life events, social issues, and politics, spanning such genres as rock, indie pop, and folk rock. With a sound that’s raw, contemplative and often edgy, his music appeals to fans of Elliott Smith, Pete Yorn, Vertical Horizon, and Toad the Wet Sprocket.

Brian’s debut album ‘Six Blocks Down’ was released in the fall of 2010. ‘Six Blocks Down’ navigates through swells of hard rock, over meandering streams of rootsy folk, with an undercurrent of mellow indie pop. Lyrically he meditates on life, love, politics and social issues, blending lively folk-rock arrangements with colorful chord progressions and rich, raw vocals. The album’s award-winning title track is a breezy pop-rock number whose sound belies the serious nature of the song’s lyrics, about a couple struggling to find purpose in their relationship. Currently he is touring in support of the album making stops in such cities as New York City, Nashville, Johnson City, and Philadelphia.

Brian was born and raised in Fair Haven, New Jersey, where he joined his first band, Visitors Only (a fusion of acoustic rock and pop). After earning degrees in economics and public policy, Brian worked in the non-profit sector before starting his full-time music career in late 2009. Always seeking to engage others in his music, he collaborates often with local artists and involves his fans in his music career.

Today he is a permanent fixture on the music circuit in Washington, DC, with numerous residencies, and invitations to play top venues in the area such as Jammin’ Java, Iota Club and Café, and the Washington Nationals Ballpark.

The music is a mixture of indie rock and pop and stands out as both crisp and sharp musically, however what really makes it for the Beehive are Brian's vocals which suit perfectly the punch and delivery of his songs.

Featured Track: Never Let Your Guard Down.
Website: Official.
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This is one band that have really grabbed my attention this month and their album has been played more than any other since I received it! Official words state - With only an aim to create emotive music, Exit Calm channel a wall of immense and anthemic sound that evokes the mood and spirit of 90’s shoegaze heroes like the millennium never happened.  However not a nostalgia act, hipster music site Drowned In Sound said that “Exit Calm are so far out in front of the rest of the competition at present it's frightening. In fact, you can almost imagine bands forming in their wake as we speak.” This band of Northern Englishmen have also been embraced by UK alternative heroes like Liam Gallagher of Oasis and Alan McGee of Creation Records who tapped the band to play events they hosted in October.  Clint Boon of Inspiral Carpets and David Francolini of Levitation and Dark star are regular attendees of their shows as well. 

“Exit Calm are the best British Indie band we’ve heard in years” - UNCUT

“Pure Genius-The assembly of iron and wood because temples must be made. And the avoidance of all that whiny, sexless bullshit passing for rebellion at the moment” - Todd Eckhart, producer of the JOY
DIVISION film "CONTROL"

“Proper f##kin’ music” –Mani of Primal Scream/Stone Roses

We can only add that this band are awesome and that's not a word we use often. Exit Calms S/T debut full-length on Sonic Unyon has now been released for the U.S. and Canada. Tour wise the band have supported such artists as Echo & The Bunnymen, The Charlatans and Modest Mouse. They have played through Europe and Japan and plan to hit up the U.S. in the coming year.

Featured Track: Youve Got It All Wrong.
Website: MySpace.
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I love the way the intro for this band has been written so being ever so lazy right now as we finish this edition here it is - Yes, Acid House Kings are back. Finally! Almost six years since the release of the highly acclaimed album, Sing Along with Acid House Kings, Sweden’s #1 pop perfectionists are ready to release new material.

The first single “Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?” is a drive in the Swedish countryside with nothing planned and a feeling that anything can happen. The radio is playing lush and heavily orchestrated 70s soul with huge arrangements and a distinct sentimentality. It's a blistering pop explosion inspired by the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest, Tommy Körberg and flamenco percussionists with a chorus that will stay with you.

Stemming from huge elitist’s pop record collections and a slightly embarrassed admiration of ABBA, Stock Aitken Waterman and Swedish “dansband”, Acid House Kings have continued their slow, but steady fine-tuning towards perfect pop music. And with half a decade of song writing the fans are in for something extraordinarily fabulous.  “We’ve allowed ourselves to be extremely self-critical. Songs good enough for any of our other albums have been singled out repeatedly”, says Niklas Angergård.

Acid House Kings are brothers Johan and Niklas Angergård and Niklas’ sister-in-law Julia Lannerheim. “Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends?” is taken from Acid House Kings’ forthcoming fifth album Music Sounds Better with You, out on Johan's birthday, March  22nd, 2011. An album that during a short period was tentatively and logically named A Family Affair. According to the band, the new album is “sharper, catchier and livelier”, a “goodbye to genre obligations” and “it’s got castanets on every single song”.

This is just a wonderful pop song and I love it!

Featured Track: Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?
Grab It: HERE.
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Featured Tracks:



For reasons beyond me the White Mountains track needs a separate player to work properly, these mp3's can be as fussy as A list celebs at times, anything to get noticed....

Natalie Holmes - Kramon feat. Meredith Adelaide - Kerala Dust - Rachael Sage and The Sequins

Natalie Holmes - Bird Song. Alt-pop artist Natalie Holmes is set to release her highly anticipated second album, Opposite Day, on 17/10/25....