Jefferson Starship - Santa Cruz, 1992 (Internet Archive).

From the Internet Archive this is Jefferson Starship live at The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, USA, back on October 9th, 1992.  Prior to inclusion on the Internet Archive the recording circulated as a bootleg and was originally titled, "Hal's Death by Jefferson Starship #1," it included a phone message and an interview with Papa John and Gretchen Creech, which were removed to ensure there would be no conflict with anyone's permission policies.

In 1992, Kantner reestablished the group as "Jefferson Starship – The Next Generation," a nod to the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. This version of the band would, at times, include various former Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship and Starship members, to tour and perform.

After the first couple of years, the band dropped the use of "The Next Generation", and began to perform as Jefferson Starship. The revived band grew out of Paul Kantner’s decision, following the "Unplugged" trend, to hit the road in 1991 with an acoustic ensemble called Paul Kantner’s Wooden Ships, a trio that included Slick Aguilar and Tim Gorman from the KBC Band, a previous group centred on former Jefferson Airplane/Starship members.

The success of this project prompted Kantner to reinvent his electric band, and Jefferson Starship took off once again. In addition to Aguilar and Gorman, Kantner recruited former collaborators Jack Casady and blues violinist Papa John Creach; former Tubes drummer Prairie Prince; and former World Entertainment War vocalist Darby Gould.

Recording Details: Dsbd master > first-gen cassette > 24-bit Wav (WaveLab) > FLAC.

Sound Quality: Soundboard - very good.

Set List:

First set:

01. Other Side of this Life
02. Crown of Creation
03. I'm on Fire
04. Lawman
05. Shadowlands
06. First Pull Up, Then Pull Down
07. There Ain't No More Country Girls
08. Women Who Fly
09. Ride the Tiger
10. We Should Be Together

Second set:

01. Blows Against the Empire
02. Wooden Ships
03. PJ's Down Home Blues
04. Somewhere Over the Rainbow
05. Genesis Hall
06. Have You Seen the Saucers
07. Dark Ages
08. America > "Get Ready" poem
09. Volunteers
10. crowd
11. encore: Girl With the Hungry Eyes

Line Up: Paul Kantner, Darby Gould, Jack Casady, Papa John Creach, Mark "Slick" Aguilar, Tim Gorman, Charles "Prairie" Prince.

Comments: This recording is also available for streaming or download on the Internet Archive in the following formats - FLAC, MP3 and OGG VORBIS - HERE.

Band Official Website: HERE.

Stream Full Concert Below:

Sundays Expansive Alternative Take

DVN - About them - Nileskog & Anton Stjärnqvist are DVN. At just 22 & 23 years-old, DVN have been have been hard at work in their studio for three years now, and with a big with a side-dish of DJing which in the past have had them open for a few big domestic names in the form of, Sebjak, Mikael Wermeets and Alex Moreno. They now have honed their skills to a point where they are ready to release their soulful deep-house influenced first single Oblivion feat. Duncan. DVN hail from Landskrona, in the southernmost part of Sweden. A place that has shaped them musically and where they work daily in their production-lab.

Passionately sung vocals over a refreshing soundtrack take it in turns to dominate this piece, all to good effect.

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Afternoons in Stereo - Tells us - It's been ten years since my first Afternoons in Stereo release and I'm celebrating by sharing my new album 'Retrospective'. 'Retrospective' compiles 10 years of the funkier, club-driven side of the my work, featuring two new tracks. This new collection is the perfect bookend to last year's 'A Jazz Odyssey', which assembled the more jazz-oriented side of my output.

This is an outstanding selection of music, the jazz influences are there along with so much more. A couple of videos (Here) and (here) and the impressive 'Galaxina' below, if you like any of these the album is definitely worth your time.


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Royal Disco - Background - After taking almost a year long break, Tel Aviv trio Royal Disco is back and better than ever with their new EP titled Dark Energy. Beginning with their EP titled "Dark Energy", you're welcomed into a spatial, atmospheric void filled with melodic keys as you're  bombarded with sawing laser-esque synths and deep sub bass and thrown down the worm hole that is Dark Energy. As you begin to come up from said ride, you're greeted with soft horns and canorous keys as "Sensei" begins. 

Just as quick, you're smacked in the face with an aggressive hook as you nose dive into a bass laden drop filled with unsympathetic synths leaving you hyped and wanting more. Luckily, there's one last hill to climb as the final track "Welcome to the Universe" beings with an epic drum intro leading into electro keys, reminiscent of an old John Hughes flick. The harmonious vocals uplift the track, then gets torn back as you fall into merciless drop after drop.

As you can tell by their words above the enthusiasm is most definitely there and rightly so with this power house of sounds, prepare to be bombarded and treated to energy driven layers, you will not stay still!

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Ooah & M!NT - Going back one week - Over last weekend, The Glitch Mob’s Ooah and Brooklyn-based producer M!nt released an unexpected collaboration called 'If The Smoke Clears'. This atmospheric single combines house and hip hop influences, and Ooah says of its creation “We didn't over think it or over cook it, randomly we started messing around in the studio and next thing we knew we had put together this song. This moody yet dancey break beat type of song we thought would be a good addition to your late night summer feels.”

With its hypnotic house atmosphere and grooving hip hop break beats, “If The Smoke Clears” is a great example of the higher creativity that results from artists working together spontaneously.

Trying hard to avoid the 'well if this is what you can do spontaneously' route is difficult, as it does beg the question of what else this pair might achieve. Anyway all power to spontaneity and long may it continue as this piece proves the case.

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Moonlapse - The story so far - Moonlapse is the electronic, progressive rock project by 21-year-old composer/producer/multi-instrumentalist Ben Strick, who is releasing his intoxicating and transcendent nine-song debut release in May 2015.

Strick came by his love of progressive rock at age 14 via classic bands such as Genesis and King Crimson. Soon he moved on to more contemporary prog metal like Dream Theater, Opeth and Porcupine Tree. “I studied them and learned to play their music,” Strick says. “In doing so, I was introduced to a lot of strange and beautiful chord progressions, which I didn’t hear in other music. Gradually, I began to compose my own songs using a lot of those chords and scales.” Strick, who studies computer science at North western University, recorded all of his guitar tracks on a computer using MIDI and a plug in called Omnisphere.

“Omniphere is really useful because it has tons of electronic instruments that are designed to sound like the real thing, and you can manipulate the tones and frequencies in some really cool ways.” Strick says. “I could never get guitar tracks to sound the way I wanted using a real instrument, but by orchestrating them digitally, they sounded new and original.  For drums, I used Battery 4. Everything, including mixing, was done on my computer.”

This was a pleasing listen and one that I hope gets a larger audience. Ben Strick has a talent both in constructing music, but more importantly in composing highly listenable pieces, play and enjoy. Website Here.

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Loksop - Background - Loskop’s new single entitled “These Sparks (Featuring Maiya Sykes)” showcases their acutely refined deep house, techno and pop sensibilities, sharpened by spending years DJ’ing in the unique and gritty underground club scene of post-Apartheid Johannesburg. The result is a deeply satisfying, genre-bending track that is made that much more striking with the addition of the massive vocals of Maiya Sykes, who was a 2014 finalist on “The Voice.” The song was released last month on their home turf, and it’s already in Top 40 rotation on 5FM, South Africa’s biggest national radio station.

You can watch the video (here), however it was Loksop's remixes on Soundcloud that gained my interest the most and the one below is just one example and if you like that, or the latest release go have a listen to the other remixes, you are in for a nice surprise.

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BECOME X XYLO - Keeping it very short (and sweet) we are told - Please enjoy our sophomore release -- BECOME x XYLO 'Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea' -- currently making people dance everywhere!

So we will keep it short and sweet, listen up! it's a good one!

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Danny Darko ft Lulu Falemara - The words - Silent Cries is a new chilly trap revamp of Danny Darko's song "Silent Cries". Silent Cries is a meaningful song against animal cruelty conceived by Danny and performed by british singer Lulu' Falemara.

I featured Danny Darko back on May 8th, his work continues to astound. This only came my way today and is to good to miss out. Website here.

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Two Very Different Tunes For Saturday

Ember Isles - Background - Brooklyn's finest trio of delicate harmonies, Ember Isles, released their newest 'Love Song' from their seven track, debut EP, Embers earlier this week.

 'Love Song' was written during a muggy summer in a half furnished room at their first apartment in Brooklyn and speaks to a younger view of love and wanting. The kind of song you might need after a solid weekend of drinking and falling in and out of love with strangers and exes or after reading a Hemingway book, lying in your hammock in the heat of summer.

Ember Isles is a trinity of modern folk writers, lyricists, and instrumentalists. Their yearning vocals and raw lullabies scratch at the ribs and burn the throat like scotch whisky. With personal origins stretching from Scotland to California, and back over the grey Atlantic waters to England, The Isles evoke the foggy dawn seashore and the warm cup of tea you would crave after a forlorn walk down the coast.

Whether on a ukulele, fiddle, or electric guitar, this trio yields a soundscape of resilience and fragility that illustrates the smouldering hearts of these three women. Hannah Read, Tamsin Wilson, and Megan Lui are currently based in Brooklyn, New York.

This is a soothing gentle song that gradually unfolds with a mixture of exquisite vocals over a haunting soundtrack. Just right for a hot summer evening (or a cold winters morning if you prefer).

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Yuck - Background - are back with a new track and a handful of US shows this August.  The band is currently wrapping up work on their third album, which will be out in early 2016 - "Hold Me Closer" is our first taste of it.      

Yuck's new album has been recorded and produced entirely by the band in their London studio. Their new songs are wild and compact, centred and expansive, forward-thinking and referential. They are the output of a band that loves being a band, loves playing music, and loves touring the world over and over and over again. They're songs that, in short, are exactly the songs that a great band like Yuck should be making.

8/05 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny's Brenda
8/06 - New York, NY - River Rocks / Pier 84
8/07 - Baltimore, MD - Metro Gallery
8/08 - Raleigh, NC - Kings
8/09 - Atlanta, GA - The Wrecking Ball.

Now if you prefer your music with a little more kick, Yuck are well placed to deliver. Fuzzy wall of noise vocals, with a tight, no nonsense band, that plays with power and attitude and style.

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2015 - Out Of Our Inbox - July - Two

Background - Teen Daze will release his first album for Paper Bag Records on August 7th 2015.  'Morning World' was recorded with John Vanderslice at Tiny Telephone, his all-analog studio in San Francisco with co-producer Simon Bridgefoot. Teen Daze has also announced a massive tour of North America.

In 2010, Jamison, the person behind Teen Daze, had no idea what Four More Years would bring. That debut EP, a collection of blissful home recordings, was the work of a carefree 24 year-old. By 2012, things had changed, as they tend to do: relationships dissolved, illness affected his family, windows for outward communication were closing. The gravity of it all made for constant output; he reached for futuristic utopia with All Of Us, Together, found a devotional sanctuary inside The Inner Mansions, and embraced hibernation on Glacier. In hindsight, this was an artist coping through various forms of introverted escapism.

While proud of the material, Jamison sought to break this cycle when approaching the next record. He knew it would take a few leaps of faith, most directly: out of his bedroom... out of his comfort zone. For the first time, he gave up some control, inviting the input of others. Bearing over 30 demos, Jamison joined one of his musical heroes John Vanderslice at Tiny Telephone, his all-analog studio in San Francisco. Beyond the immediate sonic advantages of recording to tape, the sessions with Vanderslice and co-producer Simon Bridgefoot encouraged a new positivity and confidence to his craft.

Teen Daze has a distinctive sound and Jamison clearly has a talent for writing and developing music and lyrics. The album both surprised and pleased me, the featured song is just one of many fine tracks on this release.

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Background - Up and coming musician Sky Jones has released her debut self-titled EP, and her latest track ‘Linger’.

‘Linger’ is described by Sky as “an anthem of heartbreak”; it’s real, raw, passionate and heavy, and has a melody that is hard to let go of. Written and produced right in her own home with the help of a close friend, the creation of this track is a “really deep personal song” for Sky. It’s a track where the lyrics flew freely and Sky has been amazed how the track “just came together”. 

Said of the production of the song, “I had a definite plan of how I wanted it to sound, but I let my friend have a go with it and when I heard what she did with it I was like, oh my goodness, so we continued working on it, and here we are.” This single is due to be added to her next album which she is currently writing and recording.

The fresh Auckland, NZ based songstress crafts powerful and emotional tones, described as “that dark kind, like Florence and the Machine.”  Her brilliantly strong voice and heartfelt stories she tells in her songs leave your skin tingling; Sky’s music has been said to be “brooding and deep lyrically and emotionally but engulfing musically and big." Website Here.

Sky Jones has one powerful voice and yet somehow it does not dominate over the music but rather compliments the soundtrack. In my opinion this is a really mature and well produced song, it is emotionally charged and given enough exposure could be really successful.

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Background - Color Collage announces debut album, 'Pieced Together', via Paper Garden Records on August 7th. Color Collage started as a side project for Shane Conerty while living in Asheville, North Carolina playing in a touring band called Now You See Them in late 2010. After NYST was put on hiatus, Conerty relocated back to Brooklyn where he currently resides. The project was initially based on sampling mp3's of brand new indie music that Conerty found on blogs and making unique, original remixes of them. 

After two well received mixtapes, the music of Color Collage (Formerly Leann Grimes) is once again shifting gears. The current focus of the project is taking the indie pop songwriting aspects of Now You See Them and applying them to the mid-fi, dusty electronic sound of Color Collage. The result is something that Conerty is currently describing as "Electronic Doo Wop", and is a fresh sound that is unlike anything floating around at the moment. Facebook page Here.

Having heard just three songs from this album, I am totally hooked on Color Collage's music and cannot wait to hear more. 'Electronic Doo Wop' is a fantastic description for some really creative and 'must here more' music. '2048' was on the EP and is on the album, this is one gem of a song, there will be more! Keep an eye on their Facebook page for tour details.

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Background - Stolen Jars is the indie music project of Cody Fitzgerald and Molly Grund. Inspired by acts as diverse as Sufjan Stevens, Elvis Costello, and Dirty Projectors, the music is a vibrant mixture of looping intricate guitar lines and floating melodies all brought to life by a live band featuring Elena Juliano, Connor McGuigan, Matt Marsico and Tristan Rodman.
  
Fitzgerald and Grund are building off the success of Stolen Jars' self-titled album released in 2011. The single off that album, "Driving," was featured in an international Apple iPad commercial and was awarded Song of the Week by Alt Mag. Their sophomore album Kept is decidedly more ambitious. Fitzgerald composed and layered tracks in his bedroom, tinkering to ensure precision. He and Grund then worked together to build vocal melodies around the tracks.  
  
Over the course of the last year, Stolen Jars has been performing regularly in the Northeast, including shows with Sofar Sounds, at Baby's All Right in Brooklyn, and at Brandeis College's Springfest where they opened for St. Lucia, ILOVEMAKONNEN and Jessie J. In addition, Fitzgerald has been working as a film composer on features such as The Rewrite (2015) and Hard Sell (2015).

Tour Dates:
7/23 - Pianos - New York, NY
8/5 - AS220 - Providence, RI
8/7 - Elvis Guesthouse - New York, NY (Album Release show) 
8/15 - The Space - New Haven, CT
8/28 - Arlene's Grocery - New York, NY
8/29 - All Sounds - Bloomfield, NJ

There is a saying in Britain "you wait ages for a bus and then three come along together". Well I may not have been waiting ages for some really appealing music, but going through those chosen for this feature, I can't help but feel spoilt by the sheer quality and Stolen Jars really are part of that. They are a musical delight.

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Background - Walking Through The Fire is the debut single from Indierock five piece Timber Bones. The Bone's Boys write music with a saying in mind "Feel what you play, play what you feel." Focusing on an emotion or memory they write with the intention to capture that moment. Working in studio with producer Caleb James imbued the track with a little something more. “Recording with Timber Bones was an absolute blast and it definitely came through on the single."

"The song came out sounding like a young Michael Jackson threw a block party on Sesame Street with Elton John and Elmo jamming out on the keys. It's such a blast to play live, I love seeing people from different walks of life jumping around together, this track really gets the crowd moving." Says Kendall, Lead Guitarist. Kurt's catchy piano lines paired with Kendall's cheerful skanks imbue the air with an infectiously playful vibe. Sam and Anson make the wheels on the big groove bus go round with a rock-solid funky rhythm while Luke conducts the whole occasion with a powerful golden tone and some mean, lean tambourine.

Timber Bones have spread the love from Brisbane to Byron Bay and now all the way down to Melbourne. Inspired by classic music icons such as Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and almost all of the others the Bones Boys are avid lovers of all music. More recently their talents have been cultivated by bands such as Half Moon Run, Band of Skulls, Delicate Steve and Tame Impala. An "electrifying" live show will have you on your feet moving and grooving, rubbing shoulders with future friends. Timber Bones are currently planning a tour from Melbourne all the way up to the Sunshine Coast this summer. Keep your ears up and the beers cold, it's not to be missed. “Walking Through The Fire” by Timber Bones will be released 24th July 2015.

Just in case I have been to gentle on your ears in this round up we can go up tempo with Timber Bones. There is an 'upbeat freshness' to this song and an undeniable party feel, all in all a great way to finish any new music feature.

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Genre Hopping Wednesday

Steady Legend - Background - Steady Legend is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Michael Mancuso. Originally from North Carolina, Mancuso spent his high school years a trombone player touring around the Southeast with various acts. After high school, he attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, NC studying music, where he picked up bass, guitar, drums, and keys while attending frequent jam sessions in the musical hotbed tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains. After graduation, he moved to Austin to create a band that could handle a menagerie of different styles and blend it together into a fun, dance-friendly show. In Spring 2011, he met singer Debora Otero through a chance Craigslist ad and the band was formed.

Releasing their heavy hitting self-titled debut album in March 2015, the record takes listeners on a journey though melodic horn features, chant choruses, epic guitar solos, catchy vocal riffs, and everything in between. From the upbeat soul sound of “No Troubles” to the mysterious reggae vibes of “Mirrors” to the the catchy swing/ska finale of “The Best For Last”, one thing is certain - the future is bright for this young group.

Although their debut album came out in March, I didn't wan't to miss out on featuring this fine band. Sometimes upbeat Ska just hits the spot as does the song below, from a quality album, that I feel is worth another plug along the way. Website Here.

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BLiNDNESS - Background - Formed in 2008, Blindness features Beth Rettig (vocals, programming, noise), Emma Quick (bass, noise), and Debbie Smith (guitar, feedback,noise), the latter being guitarist for 90’s bands Curve and Echobelly and, later, Snowpony.
Taking sonic tips from The Jesus and Mary Chain as well as My Bloody Valentine and with the hook sensibility of PJ Harvey. 

Blindness are a band with a machine gun etiquette, showing "exquisite warmth" in their "seductive dark wave electro pop." The songs on their forthcoming debut album ‘Wrapped In Plastic" on Saint Marie Records will take you on an adrenaline fuelled, rollercoaster ride of beautiful chaos.

The album is due out on July 24th and the above is a fair reflection from a band who drift around the shoegaze genre, dipping into other places and confronting the listener with a power house of sounds. Fans of the name dropped artists above, really should give this band a careful listen.

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Malka (NYC-Peru) - Background - New York City-based psychedelic dreampop band Malka presented their debut EP, The Constant State, back in March 2015. Recorded at both APT Studio (NYC) and Elohino studio (NJ), mixed by Darko Saric, and mastered at 825 Studios by Grammy Award-winning engineer Butch Jones (Madonna, Talking Heads, Iggy Pop, The Gun Club, B-52s), The Constant State takes listeners on a genre-melding journey, ebbing and flowing through the realms of dreampop, post-rock, nugaze, and psychedelic rock.

The songs are evocative both musically and lyrically, touching on metaphysical, existential and interpersonal subject matter with an honesty that resonates to an emotional core. Their music is a reflection of the triumph and tragedy of the world, compelling us to look deeper into the realms of our consciousness. Malka is trying to stretch the concept of songs to make them sound more like emotional lapses of time. The vocal melodies assume an instrumental form and transcend language, adding transparency to bilingual Spanish-English lyrics shared between three lead vocalists.

OK if you have read the above and are still trying to work out just how this band might sound, take a listen to the featured track and then anticipate that they do a lot more besides and you will be pretty near to the genre spanning sounds Malka produce. Website Here.

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Oh Geronimo - Background - Not too long ago, my basement bedroom flooded as a result of heavy rainfall and snow melt. This happened twice during the transitional turmoil between Ontario's sombre winter and damp spring. It had a much more tragic and lasting effect than I anticipated, since many sentimental items were slowly destroyed by mould. We wrote these songs about it. 

As a child, it can be easy to immerse yourself in a moment. As an adult, regret and anxiety and stress get in the way. My friends and I have a project that provides an escape from the daily rigours of modern life. Together we craft songs about the experiences that have defined our lives. In order to fully express ourselves, we ignore all of the distractions, and free fall into the moment. Oh Geronimo.
We all need an escape.

A song that tells a story about an event that caused distress and yet somehow bounces along in a cheerful way. It should not work, but does, and the second song demonstrates greater depth (oops) from a band to keep an ear or eye out for.

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