This is Neil Young live in concert at Le Theatre de Plein Air, Colmar, France, back on Friday. August 15th, 2008.
This recording was circulated on a two silver disc CD bootleg entitled 'Big Moon Over Colmar' and released by bootleggers Crystal Cat Records (915-16).
The sound quality is superb and would pass for soundboard however, the audience noise between songs does suggest that the recording includes audience based microphones. Whatever the case this captures a really incredible gig with the inclusion of some remarkable songs from Neil Young's musical career.
In recent years Neil Young's work rate has not diminished as the following from All Music reminds us - In early 2005, Young was diagnosed with a potentially deadly brain aneurysm. Undergoing treatment didn't slow him down, however, as he continued to write and record his next project. The acoustically based Prairie Wind appeared in the fall, with the concert film Heart of Gold, based around the album and directed by Jonathan Demme, released in 2006. That year also saw the release of the controversial CD/DVD Living with War, a collection of protest songs against the war in Iraq that featured titles such as "Let's Impeach the President," "Shock and Awe," and "Lookin' for a Leader." Restless, prolific, and increasingly self-referential, Young issued Chrome Dreams II late in 2007 and the car-themed Fork in the Road in 2009. Later in 2009, Young finally released the first installment in his long-rumored Archives series, Archives, Vol. 1, a massive first volume that combined over ten CD and DVD discs in a single box. As he was prepping Archives, Vol. 2, Young entered the studio with producer Daniel Lanois and recorded Le Noise, which appeared in the fall of 2010. Young continued going through his archives with the release of A Treasure in 2011, a single-disc set of live tracks recorded during his 1984-1985 tour with the International Harvesters that featured five previously unreleased Young songs mixed in with older songs like "Flying on the Ground Is Wrong" and "Are You Ready for the Country?," all done in the classic Harvest style.
Source: Soundboard and/or audience matrix.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.
Genre: Rock, folk rock, country rock, experimental rock, hard rock
Set: Full set.
Set List:
CD One:
01 Intro
02 Love And Only Love
03 Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)
04 Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
05 Powderfinger
06 Spirit Road
07 Cortez The Killer
08 Cinnamon Girl
09 Oh Lonesome Me
10 Mother Earth
11 The Needle And The Damage Done
CD Two:
01 Unknown Legend
02 Wrecking Ball
03 Heart Of Gold
04 Old Man
05 Just Singing A Song
06 Sea Change
07 Sea Change
08 Cowgirl In The Sand
09 Rockin' In The Free World
10 A Day In The Life
11 Words
This is Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings live on Morning Becomes Eclectic, at the KCRW Studios, Santa Monica, CA back on the 28th June 2010. We feature the video version just below (just click on the video play button, that seems to be only partially visible in some browsers).
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are a funk/soul band. They are signed to Daptone Records, where the Dap-Kings are the house band. They are spearheads of a revivalist movement that aims to capture the essence of funk/soul music as it was at its height in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. Part of the way this is achieved is to shun modern digital recording methods in favour of using traditional analogue recording equipment. The type of instruments used by the band may also be considered limited to those that would have been available up until the mid-'70s.
Beyond working with Sharon Jones (who remains their key focus - just check out this recording and you will see why!), The Dap-Kings have been hired as session musicians on a number of projects associated with New York based DJ/producer/recording artist Mark Ronson. Most notable of these is their extensive inclusion and somewhat unheralded contribution to Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black (2006). Six of the album's eleven tracks feature various members of the Dap-Kings with two notable hits from the album, "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good", extensively featuring the Dap-Kings. A further engineering credit goes to Gabriel Roth and several tracks recorded at Daptone Studios are mis-credited as "Dapking Studios". Again various members of the band feature on Ronson's second album, Version (2007), providing contributions on all but one of the album's fourteen tracks. The Dap-Kings then became the backing band used on Amy Winehouse's first U.S. tour.
Source (audio): FM broadcast.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.
Genre: Funk, Soul, R&B.
Set: Full set.
Set List:
01 - Intro
02 - If You Call
03 - She Ain't A Child No More
04 - Give It Back
05 - Interview
06 - Window Shopping
07 - I Learned The Hard Way
08 - Mama Don't Like My Man
09 - Dead Air
10 - Better Things
11 - Banter
12 - Money
Website: Official Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings HERE. KCRW HERE.
This is The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, live at The Roxy, Los Angeles, California, back on December 11th, 1975. This was the final gig from a three night residency at the venue and was broadcast on FM radio.
The Ozark Mountain Daredevils formed in 1972 in Springfield, Missouri, USA. They are most widely known for their singles "If You Wanna Get To Heaven" in 1974 and "Jackie Blue" in 1975.
The group's demo tape eventually caught the attention of A&M Records staff producer David Anderle, who was looking for an Eagles country rock type of band to place on the label. Anderle and the Eagles' first producer, Glyn Johns, flew to Missouri to catch one of the band's performances. But the band, nervous about Johns and Anderle being in the audience, did not play their best. Later on, Peterson invited the two men back to his place to hear the band give an unplugged performance by candlelight. This time Anderle and Johns were blown away and they were signed to A&M and sent to England to record their first record with Johns at the helm.
The first record, Ozark Mountain Daredevils (also referred to as "The Quilt Album"), was released in December 1973 and spawned the Top 30 hit "If You Wanna Get to Heaven" in the summer of 1974. The album introduced the band's unique mixture of rock, country, bluegrass and pop to the world and is still the favorite of many of the group's fans.
For the second album, It'll Shine When It Shines (October 1974), Johns and Anderle came to Missouri to record, utilizing a mobile recording truck set up outside of the band's rehearsal home. During the sessions, Johns overheard Larry Lee sitting at a piano playing and singing a song about a mysterious friend of his who sometimes dealt drugs on the side. Johns loved the melody and thought it could be a smash hit if the lyrics were altered to be about a girl and the drug references downplayed. Lee and Cash did as Johns asked and the song, "Jackie Blue," became the Daredevils' signature song and a huge hit (No. 3) in early 1975.
The Ozark's third release, The Car Over the Lake Album (Fall 1975), produced by Anderle alone, featured their old compatriot, Bill Jones, joining them to play and arrange their songs. He also toured with them in 1975-1976. A brand new live album by the Daredevils, a two-disc set featuring 21 tracks, including old favorites, rare songs and a couple of new ones, titled Alive & Wild, was made available in October 2011. This was taken from shows performed at Wildwood Springs Lodge in Steelville, Missouri in the fall of 2010.
Source: FM broadcast..
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@224kbps.
Genre: Southern rock, country rock.
Set: Full set.
Set List:
1. Absolute Zero
2. Walkin’ Down The Road
3. Black Sky
4. Chicken Train
5. Noah
6. Road To Glory
7. Out On The Sea
8. Jackie Blue
9. E.E. Lawson
10. Better Days
11. If You Wanna Get To Heaven
12. 15 Chihuahuas
13. Time Warp
14. Look Away
This is the Indigo Girls recorded live at Redrocks Amphitheater Morrison, CO in the USA, and broadcast on FM radio back on the 21st June 1994. The actual concert would appear to be from 1990 or 1991 in support of the Nomads Indians Saints which was their third studio album.
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. They started performing with the name “Indigo Girls” as students at Emory University, performing weekly at The Dugout, a bar in the Emory Village.
They released a self-produced, full-length record album in 1987 and contracted with a major record company in 1988. After releasing nine albums with major record labels from 1988 through 2007, they have now resumed self-producing albums with their own IG Recordings company.
The Indigo Girls have toured as a duo and with a band. In 1990, they toured with the Atlanta band, the Ellen James Society, backing them; they have also toured with side players, with one distinct group from 1991 to 1998 and a second from 1999 onwards.
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers do not ordinarily collaborate in writing songs. They tend to write separately and work out the arrangements together.
Source: FM radio broadcast.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.
Genre: Folk Rock.
Set: Broadcast set.
Set List:
1. Secure Yourself
2. World Falls
3. Hammer And A Nail
4. Loves Recovery
5. Pushing The Needle Too Far
6. Crazy Game
7. No Way To Treat A Friend
8. Southland In The Spring Time
9. Watershed
10. The Ballad Of Squeeky Fromme
11. History Of Us
12. Land Of Cannan
Background:Marilyn Carino is a straight up Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Sicilian-American woman, born on the mean streets of The French Connection with a corner fish shop known as a killing floor for mafia hits. Her cousin was in the CIA, her grandmother split the scene to jet-set with the queen of Spain, and her father was a real life Mad Men-esque ad exec.
Marilyn Carino’s undeniable talent and full-throttle attitude have moved her through headline performances at the iconic Blue Note jazz club in NYC, playing and recording with Mike Mills of R.E.M. and Billy Talbot of Crazy Horse, recording her first album at Neil Young’s studio, and being hand-picked as a lyricist by legendary producers Sly and Robbie (Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Grace Jones, Madonna). She has also gone beyond her records and live performances into the big bad world of television and film, with her songs “Hero of the World” and “Blown” prominently featured in the SyFy Channel series “Regenesis,” and other tracks used in the feature films "Slutty Summer," "Vampires in Venice," and "Going Down in LaLa Land."
Marilyn Carino is that rare artist who shocks but also grounds her listeners. Uncompromising, humanistic, and insightful, her music is about your life, just in a way you’ve yet to consider. “I keep trying to be brave, be totally myself. It’s sexy to care about art and excellence and the happiness of other people, and it’s important that my life and music encourage people to find those things in themselves.” She sincerely loves you all, but don’t get it twisted.
Featured Track: King Of The World. Web: Official.
2011Candy Says: The vocals are powerful, the music is sharp, the passion sets the song apart. This song is a little like a movie soundtrack but don't be fooled there is a lot more to Marilyn, consider this just one dimension.
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Background: In anticipation of the Nov 8th release of their new album Welcome To Condale, Summer Camp have created a beautiful scrapbook/zine to go along with the album.
It's available on their own website right now and they've also set up a version of the zine on issuu.com.
Check more out at their own website HERE, or you take a look at the scrap book HERE.
Featured Track: Better Off Without You.
2011Candy Says: Great song, pure and simple, this is a great pop song.
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Background: The ghost stories, murder ballads, and grimoires on the new full length album “If Then Not When” by Louisville, KY’s King’s Daughters and Sons are haunting, spare and at times explosively unsettling; part William Faulkner, part Led Zeppelin. Informed by, but not beholden to the history of its members (Shipping News, Rachel’s, The For Carnation, Shannon Wright), their songs are singular, thoughtful and best heard on very large speakers.
The recording was made direct to 2 inch tape in 2008 and 2009 at The Funeral Home by Kevin Ratterman, engineer for California Guitar Trio, My Morning Jacket and Wax Fang. Mastering by Bob Weston, Chicago Mastering Service.
The band are Kyle Crabtree - drums; Todd Cook - bass; Rachel Grimes - piano, voice; Joe Manning - guitar, voice; Michael Heineman - guitar, voice.
The music of King’s Daughters & Sons is dense, thickly layered and emotional. It can be calculated and stark, overt and loud. The band is by no means redefining music made by guitars; rather, it is offering a new talking point to the discussion. These songs live somewhere between post-rock tinkling and road music. Manning’s twangy growl blends with Heineman’s smooth tenor and Grimes’ alto to construct sublime, creative harmonies, while the oft-fingerpicked guitars tangle atop a march of drums and bass. It is a grand and dramatic soundtrack with well-placed pauses and explosions that demand patience and grace among its players, and attentiveness of its listeners.
Featured Track: Volunteer. Web: Official.
2011Candy Says: Reminds us of at least a dozen great bands of the last 10 or 20 years. Distinct music for those who like their art done in style and with a hint of uniqueness thrown in for good measure.
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Background: Building on a mutual affection for all things dissonant and atonal, Mutiny Mutiny crafts noisy art rock that mines sonic territory previously explored by bands like Unwound, Sonic Youth, Jawbox, Slint and Mission of Burma. Constellation, the debut album from the Seattle-based trio brings together angular chaos and gorgeous noise in 11 songs that meld the band’s diverse musical backgrounds with a good dose of homage to the bands that they love. Since forming in late 2009, they have shared bills around Seattle with bands like Screaming Females, forgetters, Title Tracks and others.
Mutiny Mutiny’s songs are crafted from an assortment of textures, combining delicate, brooding melodies with pleasantly punishing explosions of musical clatter. Guitarist Jason Dean’s jagged riffs and bright, feathery passages dance around bassist Jenn Schmidt’s driving melodic rhythms, inspired by her background as a classically-trained cellist. Drummer Marc Mazique completes the mix by shifting between rock-steady beats, jittery rhythmic pulses, and light percussion punctuated with accentual flourishes. Vocal duties ranging from gritty snarls to delicate harmonies are shared by all three members.
Featured Track: The Damage Is Done. Web: Official.
2011Candy Says: Ensuring that visitors to Beehive Candy don't nod off when checking out the new music selection we have Mutiny Mutiny. No nonsense music for lovers of no nonsense music. Superb chorus as well.
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Background: Ed Hale and the Transcendence - All Your Heroes Become Villains is certainly titled appropriately for the times we live in. Like a shadow of today's chaotic world, "The Villains album," due out November 15th on the Dying Van Gogh Record label, is dark, moody and heavy, and yet every now and then it glimmers with hope and those catchy ear-candy melodies that fans of the band have come to love and expect.The collective, which reached up to 12 members during the recording process of their latest, weaves together their trademark post-modern rock meets Brit pop -- creating an unforgettable aural soundscape that is larger than life and will leave you humming.
It has been a fruitful time for members of the tight-knit collective: during this period the band self-released the digitally exclusive rarities collection The City of Lost Children while each member released a solo album. Hale recorded Ballad On Third Avenue, lead guitarist Fernando Perdomo formed the prog-pop group Dreaming In Stereo, and bassist Roger Houdaille released an album by the side group he formed called Ex Norwegian (also releasing their follow-up album, Sketch, on November 15th). Hale and the band worked for over a year, bringing in other musicians when needed as varied as a gospel singer, a second drummer, a Los Angeles DJ, and various horn players. The result is a mashup of sounds but highly cohesive as an album still recognizable as having "that Transcendence sound." Haunting melodies, bold sonic experimentation and Hale's richly layered and impassioned vocals all come together to create a highly memorable and moving listening experience. Sounding more like a rock musical or a concept album, the songs both musically and lyrically tie into one another seamlessly in one cohesively bold brash and powerful listen more akin to Pink Floyd or David Bowie's Diamond Dogs.
Featured Track: Blind Eye. Web: Official.
2011Candy Says: Read the above promo stuff to get Ed Hale and band in context, then engulf yourself in the fact that their is an incredible amount of new ideas on hand, that makes the band 'a tad special'.
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Background:Eight Bit Tiger is an electronic dance duo from Chicago composed of the Widman brothers, Erik and Kent, and is the new side project to the brothers’ indie rock outfit Love in October. The experiment began 15 years ago when the brothers started playing music together in a bedroom in northern Sweden and has mutated into a radioactive sonic isotope.
The music is influenced by 70s funk and 80s synth-pop, taking notes from artists like Michael Jackson, while borrowing the pop sensibility of Peter, Bjorn, and John, and mixing in the dance element of bands like Daft Punk. There is also the distinct vintage pop vibe of acts like Prince, New Order, and Blondie that harkens to a different sonic era.
“There’s so much music out there that is depressing, so we wanted to make something that makes you feel good when you listen to it. That’s what the world needs right now,” says vocalist Erik Widman.
Their debut album Parallel Synchronized Randomness was primarily recorded in Eight Bit Tiger’s tiny Chicago apartment, with some additional tracking done in Toronto, ON at Chemical Sound Studio. The brothers took the approach of treating themselves as an old record, sampling themselves, creating bass and guitar loops, and overall trying to recreate the sound of decades past. The loops are glued together with rich layers of synthesizer and pumping drums, creating a unique sound that spans decades of styles.
In their live act, the Widman brothers are joined by Chris Pagnani on the drums. Eight Bit Tiger will be performing shows throughout the Midwest and East Coast in support of their new album this fall.
Featured Track: Numbers. Web: Official.
2011Candy Says: Takes us back to the eighties, whilst reminded us that good dance/electronic/pop music can be as timeless as any other genre if done to this standard.
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Background: Vancouver’s Said the Whale recently announced the release of the first new music since 2009’s acclaimed full-length, Islands Disappear. On November 8, Hidden Pony Records will release the New Brighton EP, a 4-track digital EP, across North America.
The band recorded the EP this summer in addition to the album recording sessions at Blue Wave and Vertical Studios in Vancouver with longtime producer, Tom Dobrzanski. The new album, yet untitled, is being mixed by Jack Joseph Puig, a multiple Grammy Award winner who has worked with U2, Weezer and No Doubt and the official album release date has been set for release on March 6, 2012. On October 18, the first New Brighton EP track, "Lines," was released exclusively through Said the Whale’s website. The rest of the New Brighton EP tracks will follow, available digitally as of November 8th.
Featured Track: Little Bird. Web: Official.
2011Candy Says: Simple advice, if you are new to the Said The Whale, dig a little deeper, if you are a fan then buy the EP as the featured track needs all three other songs. Seriously, if this song gets your attention, we reckon you will love this band.
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Background: Starting November 29th the energetic and spunky duo Loves It! will begin their tour to around 50 different cities. The group who will be touring to promote their up and coming album YAY! which will be released on December 6th, combines the genres of folk, country, Americana, and Indie Pop to create their unique sound.
With Vaughn Walters on banjo, guitar, and vocals, and Jenny Parrott on guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and vocals, their tour is sure to gain lots of attention. Although neither members are strangers to the life of touring, both having played hundreds of shows a year with their other bands, this is their first major tour as Loves It!. "We show up, meet everyone who works there, and set up and talk a bit with whoever is there. We stand up, and sing our hearts out. It's the most wonderful thing, and I always have moments where I feel blessed and privileged to have music as my job." As talented multi-instrumentalists, both Walters and Parrott were in-demand players in Austin's wide-open music scene, but their personal and musical bond slowly drew them closer. They started writing together about a year ago, and the songs they composed became the foundation of their self-produced album YAY!
"We made the album at home," Parrott says. "Vaughn was set to record with another band, but the sessions kept getting canceled. So we rented some fancy mics and started on our own record. Vaughn has always been interested in recording and engineering and he took to it like an Austin musician takes to breakfast tacos. We made the album in a week, while I busy playing shows with another band and doing pre-production for an album for yet another band. It was a busy and wonderful time."
Walters and Parrott met in their adopted hometown of Austin, Texas five years ago. Walters is originally from West Virginia and grew up listening to folk, punk and honky tonk country music. Parrott comes from New Haven, Connecticut where she fell in love with soul, swing and gospel music. "We were best friends and then we fell into the big hole of love," Parrott explains. "We're both touring musicians and we were doing 150 or 200 shows a year on opposite schedules, and we decided to see where we could go doing our own thing. Vaughn's a great singer and songwriter and easy to work with, so I thought our own band would be the ticket to fun and musical fulfillment.
Although they've only been playing as Loves It! for a year, the duo is already winning fans with their exuberant presence, sparkling harmonies and ingenious song craft. "We're looking forward to jumping on the Loves It! train full time," Parrott says. "Living in Austin has made it possible to be touring musicians, a dream that may never have gotten off the ground had we lived in a less positive, less musical town. And the breakfast tacos are the blood of life."
Featured Track: My So Called Life. Web: Official.
2011Candy Says: Keep it simple if you have the charm and talent these folk's have. Damn fine music, so catch up with them if you get the chance, either live or recorded.
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Background: Recorded on vintage equipment in the heart of Sydney, Fallon Cush shares some words of wisdom, as they release their second single, "Sleeping Giant", off their self-titled album.
In "Sleeping Giant", singer and chief songwriter Steve Smith borrows from the fables we heard growing up in this modern day cautionary tale. Hindsight is always 20/20, and it seems to be the case for Smith. As the song progresses, he warns listeners to be careful what they wish for, as things are not always what they appear to be. It's clear that Smith had to learn from his own mistakes of a failed relationship himself, but he also asserts that he's not dwelling on those mistakes or living on regrets, another piece of advice he has for his listeners. The song itself, led by his warm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by Scott Alpin's soft touch on the piano, gives it all the makings of a classic pop tune. A few more words of wisdom? Don't miss Fallon Cush's second single off their upcoming self-titled album, due out November 1.
There is so much to love about Fallon Cush. And the results, nifty and polished though they may be, only hint at where this amalgam could go.
-Something Else! Reviews - Nick DeRiso
For fans of good old fashioned pop-rock, Fallon Cush will warm the cockles of your heart and give all music lovers genuine hope for the future.
-Power of Pop
Smith has a cadence similar to Tom Petty and/or Mike Viola and the album displays an easy-going pop jangle on most songs... A very rewarding and mesmerizing listen.
-Powerpopaholic
Featured Track: Sleeping Giant. Web: MySpace.
2011Candy Says: Fallon Cush do music as if they have been around for ever. We are hearing some Bob Dylan influences on this song, take that as an endorsement, we don't give out Bob awards that often!
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Background: Residing in Porto, Portugal A Beta Movement recently evolved into a trio with the addition of vocalist Marcela Freitas. Her voice mirrors the salty, shore-town vibes from which it resonates. In a similar vein as Marissa Nadler but with a sweeter finish, to which guitarist Pedro Cordeiro and his rustier cadence provide a gentle complement. A Beta Movement creates atmospheric pop with a steady pulse, as though these sounds floated across the Atlantic upon a lackadaisical breeze.
A Beta Movement began with the shared goal of fusing sound and the visual experience, an annotation on human perception. Citing Max Wertheimer's famous 1912 Experimental Studies on the Seeing of Motion as a formative influence of their sound, and band name, A Beta Movement seeks to create a sense of space through perceived physically sensual encounters. "Colour Mixing System" is a flourishing, tumbling track that blossoms and withers like a leaky metamorphosis. Hypnotic with just a touch of melancholy, the track is splashed with handclaps and vibrant instrumentals, reminding us that A Beta Movement will stay true to the visual element that was their primary inspiration.
Featured Track: Colour Mixing System. Web: MySpace.
2011Candy Says: Our initial reaction was 'love the vocals and harmonies'. Played it a couple of more times and discovered some seriously good rhythms as well.
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Background: The Sound: Comasoft is a pop rock band with a fuzzy keyboard fascination. Catchy hook choruses, anchored with melodic instrumentation and vocal harmonies, combine with dancey rhythms to create a bouncing sing-along party. Popular rock structure, combined with pulsing retro keyboard riffs, create a dance rock feel that still has the changes and builds of a pop rock song. The songs deal with themes like the nervous anticipation of a new love, paranoia and the recklessness of youth.
The Band: Comasoft started as Jay Ramirez, a Michigan native who moved to Chicago to form a band. Dan Evans and Jay began writing songs together soon after meeting in 2007. Chris Polinski joined after the band he was in played a show with Comasoft. Jay has played the drums since childhood and tracks most of the drums himself. Dan and Chris both play bass, guitar and keyboards, so the writing process is a culmination of ideas and parts played by whomever happens to be holding whatever instrument at any given time. Comasoft isn't just a band of talented musicians, they are best friends hoping to win over the world one listener at a time.
The Record: Burn to Shine is a 6 song EP featuring the single 10Volt. The video for the single was released in September of 2011. Each song is crafted with catchy vocal hooks and driving riffs. Powerful bridges lead to grand outtro choruses and endings.
The Mission: Comasoft hopes to reach as many people as possible with their music. they are looking to team up with the right label to push forward to new heights.
Featured Track: 10 Volt. Web: Official.
2011Candy Says: Powerful music, contrasting vocals and a energetic pulse throughout. Seems a little retro however for some reason it has clicked with the Beehive, probably because it is so cleanly mixed and to the point.
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Background: October 11th marked the debut of super-hip-chill band, Sola Rosa’s debut of “Get It Together,” in North America. Eager fans have been waiting for release at the edge of their seats.
Since the start of the 2000s, Andrew Spraggon’s first formative releases as Sola Rosa has built him a growing reputation for his deft synthesis of styles and quiet disregard for the niceties of genre boundaries. Blending a sensational mix of hip hop, reggae, jazz, latin, soul and funk, Sola Rosa will take you on a musical journey like no other.
Already big names like Baeble and Popmatters have jumped on the Sola Rosa bandwagon and premiered the group’s U.S. debut single and video for “Turn Around,” featuring singer Iva Lamkum, that will stop you dead in your tracks. Filled with funky drumbeats, sultry and smooth vocals, and brilliant bass and horns, this track is sure to get you out of your seat and dancing around the club. The song blends a mixture of musical elements and genres, creating the perfect cocktail of melodic ecstasy. Something that is not easy to accomplish, but Sola Rosa does it perfectly. The rest of the album is just as amazing. Each track fills the room and takes you on a musical journey.
Andrew Spraggon brings his most ambitious project to date to the table, just in time for you to make your Year End Lists. With long time collaborators Matt Short (bass), Ben White (guitar), and Will Scott (drums), the group is joined by Spikey Tee (Jah Wobble, Mr. Scruff, Bomb the Bass), MC Serocee , Bajka and Iva Lamkum.
Featured Track: Turn Around. Web: Official.
2011Candy Says: Musically this is just superb, the vocals extend the wonderful vibe and someone has sprinkled the required amount of 'fairy dust' to make the whole thing marvelous music...
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Background:Mirador is the music project of twenty-something Philadelphia resident Kyle Robinson. Kyle spent the majority of his youth planning for a career in the visual arts, and though he has since shifted his focus to music, this background is still very much apparent. Listening to Mirador is as much about what you see with your mind's eye as what you hear with your ears.
Combining the limitless instrumental palate of electronic music (soft synths and samplers) with live guitar, synth, effects pedals and percussion, Mirador build intricate worlds of sound for the listener to explore. Escapist in the best way, the music uses ambient textures and samples to conjure dense and surreal soundscapes, while using melodic themes and varied instrumentation to tell a story or take you on a journey. Another reference point could be a key line spoken by Bill Pullman in David Lynch's Lost Highway: “I like to remember things my own way. How I remembered them, not necessarily the way they happened.” The music of Mirador works in much the same way, seeking to capture in sound the sprawling, intangible essence or feeling of a time or place, in all its ineffable power and potency.
Featured Track: Dance Of The Lantern People. Web: Bandcamp.
2011Candy Says: We finish this latest new music round up with Mirador. And why not as we like to end things on a high.
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This is The Decemberists live in concert at the Tower Theater, Upper Darby, PA, USA, back on March 27th, 2007 plus broadcast on WXPN FM and for lovers of detail recorded via a Kenwood 104AR Receiver . If it was not for the eruption of independent music blogs around a decade ago, I often wonder if I would have found out about bands such as The Decemberists. Their name kept on 'coming up', I checked them out and as the saying goes "the rest was history". Great band and this is a fine concert recording.
From Wikipedia - The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (hammond organ, accordion, melodica, piano, keyboards, harmonica), Nate Query (bass guitar, string bass), and John Moen (drums, backing vocals, melodica, guitar).
The band's debut EP, 5 Songs, was self-released in 2001. Their sixth full-length album, The King Is Dead, was released on 14 January 2011, by Capitol Records. It was the band's third record with the label.
In addition to their lyrics, which often focus on historical incidents and/or folklore, The Decemberists are also well known for their eclectic live shows. Audience participation is often a part of each performance, typically during encores. The band stages whimsical reenactments of sea battles and other centuries-old events, typically of regional interest, or acts out songs with members of the crowd. During their European tour in the winter of 2010, the band performed "The Mariner's Revenge Song" at the conclusion of each date. The audience was encouraged to scream as if they were being consumed by a whale mentioned in the track's narrative while the band pretended to die on stage, (more here). Source: FM radio broadcast.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.
Genre: Indie rock, folk rock, art rock, baroque pop, progressive rock, alt-country.
Set: Full set.
Set List:
01 introduction
02 The Crane Wife 3
03 July, July!
04 The Soldiering Life
05 The Infanta
06 The Bachelor and the Bride
07 Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then) (with Shara Worden)
08 Culling of the Fold
09 The Legionnaire's Lament
10 O Valencia!
11 16 Military Wives
12 The Island, Come And See, The Landlord's Daughter, You'll Not Feel The Drowning
13 When the War Came
-- encore
14 Mariner's Revenge Song
15 Southern Girls
This is Jane's Addiction performing live at Elysée Montmartre, Paris, France back on the 25th October 2003. The concert was broadcast by the French radio "OUI FM", the concert was in support of their "Strays" album release.
Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell (vocals), Dave Navarro (guitar), Eric Avery (bass) and Stephen Perkins (drums). After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times with Avery declining to participate. In 2008, the band's "classic" line-up, featuring Avery, reunited and embarked on a world tour. Avery subsequently left the band in early 2010 as the group began work on new material. To date, they have released four studio albums.
Strays was the third studio album by Jane's Addiction, released on July 22, 2003 on Capitol Records, and the first album to be recorded by a reunited Jane's Addiction. Released 13 years after Ritual de lo Habitual (1990), the album marks the band's longest gap between studio albums, and is the first to feature bassist Chris Chaney. Regarding the decision to record a new studio album after 13 years, drummer Stephen Perkins stated that the band had already completed two reunion tours performing old material, and that Jane's was ready for "a new challenge." Vocalist Perry Farrell states that the band "went into the studio thinking fast, hard, modern and to the point."
Upon its first week of release, the album sold 110,500 copies in the United States and is currently certified Gold. In the UK, the album is certified Silver, having sold over 60,000 copies. The single, "Just Because", was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004.
The album received generally positive reviews, with a Metacritic score of 75, based on 19 reviews. Playlouder noted that "their glee and enthusiasm can be heard coursing through every bar.", while NME claimed that Strays was "one of the best rock albums of 2003." and Alternative Press stated that the album was "better than anyone could have predicted.
Five tracks from the album are included in this concert. Source: FM radio broadcast.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.
Genre: Alternative rock, alternative metal, hard rock
Set: Broadcast set.
Set List:
1- Up The Beach
2- Stop
3- Ain't No Right
4- True Nature
5- Been Caught Stealing
6- Three Days
7- Everybody's Friend
8- Just Because (acoustic)
9- Strays
10- The Riches (FM recording lost part of this song).
11- Ocean Size
12- Mountain Song
13- Jane Says
This is Los Lobos performing live at The Pavilion, Portland, ME, USA back on the 27th July 1997.
Los Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.
From Wikipedia - Originally, they called themselve Los Lobos del Este (de Los Angeles) ["The Wolves of the East of Los Angeles"], which was a play on the name of a norteno band called Los Lobos del Norte and the fact that they (Los Lobos del Este) were from east L.A. The name was quickly shortened to Los Lobos. The band's first noteworthy public appearance occurred in 1980 at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles when they were hired by David Ferguson and CD Presents to open for Public Image Ltd. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the band toured extensively throughout the world, opening for such acts as Bob Dylan, U2 and the Grateful Dead.
Los Lobos returned with The Neighborhood in 1990, and the creative and wildly experimental Kiko (produced by Mitchell Froom) in 1992. In 1991, the band contributed a lively cover of Bertha, a song which they often performed live, to the Grateful Dead tribute/rain forest benefit album Deadicated. In 1994 they also contributed a track, Down Where the Drunkards Roll, to the Richard Thompson tribute album Beat the Retreat. In 1993, they performeed "Feliz Navidad" on the film Sesame Street Stays Up Late!. On the band's twenty-year anniversary they released a two-CD collection of singles, out-takes, live recordings and hits entitled Just Another Band from East L.A.
In 1995, Los Lobos released the prestigious and bestselling record Papa's Dream on Music for Little People Records along with veteran guitarist and singer Lalo Guerrero. The band also scored the film Desperado. The album track "Mariachi Suite" won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, and stands as their last Grammy Award to date (the other two Grammy Awards were in the category of Best Mexican-American Performance in 1983 and 1989 for the song Anselma and the album La Pistola y El Corazon).
In 1996 they released Colossal Head. In spite of the fact that the album was critically acclaimed, Warner Brothers decided to drop the band from their roster. Los Lobos spent the next few years on side projects. The band contributed along with Money Markto the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin produced by the Red Hot Organization performing "Pepe and Irene." Los Lobos signed to Hollywood Records in 1999, and released This Time. Hollywood also reissued 1977's Del Este de Los Angeles. In 2000, Rhino/Warner Archives released the Cancionero: Mas y Mas boxed set.
The band continue to perform with the same line up (see their website for the most recent info on the band).
Source: Soundboard.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.
Genre: Chicano rock, roots rock, Latin rock, Tex-Mex, Americana.
Set: Full set.
Set List:
Angels With Dirty Faces
Don't Worry Baby
Down on the Riverbed
I Walk Alone
Revolution
Everybody Loves a Train
One Time, One Night
Colossal Head
Maricela
That Train Don't Stop Here Anymore
Kiko and the Lavender Moon
Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio
Los Ojos de Pancha
Volver, Volver
Marie Marie
This Bird's Gonna Fly
Mas y Mas Encores:
Estoy Sentado Aqui
Cinnamon Girl
I Got to Let You Know
Let's Say Goodnight
Jam - Bertha
This is Rubblebucket live at the North Star Bar, Philadelphia, PA, USA recorded live on the 17th April, 2010.
Beehive Candy featured Rubblebucket in October 2009 as a reasonably new band to checkout, this is what we had to say in part back then - It's not only my opinion that Rubblebucket are one outstanding band, Seven Days Vermont named them best band of 2008, and others have equally applauded their excellent music and live performances.
Their second album (following up on last years debut 'Rose Dream') is simply titled Rubblebucket, and cutting straight to the point I absolutely love it.
If all of this is sounding like an over the top plug for Rubblebucket then I apologise, it's just that they are really, really one hot outfit. As things stand the new album may become my favorite of the year OK so it's still only October however as a contender, Rubblebucket have raised the bar considerably.
In March 2010 Rubblebucket relocated to Brooklyn, NY and continued to tour nationally through the summer with appearances at festivals such as High Sierra, All Good Music Festival, and the Liberate Music and Dance Festival. On October 19, 2010 they released their Triangular Daisies EP which included a cover of the Beatle's "Michelle" which Paste Magazine named on their list of 50 Greatest Beatles Covers of All Time.
In Spring 2011 Rubblebucket released their third full length album Omega La La. It was recorded at DFA studios and produced by Eric Broucek (LCD Soundsystem, !!!, Holy Ghost) & mastered by Joe Lambert (Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Herbie Hancock). On April 4, 2011 the band released it as a free download via their website preceding an official physical release on June 21 through MRI Distribution.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps (variable).
Genre: Indie dance.
Set: Full set.
Set List:
01. L'Homme
02. Landing
03. Bad Mr. Kurtz
04. Don't Exaggerate
05. 540 Groove
06. Our Silly Fathers
07. Bikes
08. Down In The Yards
09. Red Line Beat
10. Phillip's Van
11. Ba Donso
12. Violent Rays
13. November
14. Came Out Of A Lady
15. (encore and break)
16. Cat Potatoes
This is a selection of studio outtakes from Quicksilver Messenger Service during the recording of their first album in 1968 and probably came from founder member John Cipollina's personal archive. The first album was noted for its instrumental passages (most notably in "Gold and Silver" and "The Fool"), the album displayed the group's jam sound amidst lighter pop-oriented songs. Unlike contemporaries such as the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver's jams were highly planned as can be heard by comparing the studio versions of songs with those from bootleg live performances.
Quicksilver Messenger Service are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in 1965 in San Francisco and is considered one of the leading acts on the city's psychedelic scene in the mid-to-late 1960s.
Quicksilver Messenger Service gained wide popularity in the Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe and several of their albums ranked in the Top 30 of the Billboard Pop charts. Although not as commercially successful as contemporaries Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead, QMS was integral to the beginnings of their genre. With their jazz and classical influences, as well as a strong folk background, the band attempted to create a sound that was individual and innovative. Member Dino Valenti drew heavily on musical influences he picked up during the folk revival of his formative musical years. The style he developed from these sources is evident in Quicksilver Messenger Service's swung rhythms and twanging guitar sounds.
After many years, the band has attempted to reform despite the deaths of several members. Recently, original members Gary Duncan and David Freiberg have been touring as the Quicksilver Messenger Service, using different musicians to back them up.
Source: Studio Soundboard - Demo Recordings.
Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.
Genre: Acid rock, psychedelic rock, jam.
Set List:
01 Camaro Advert
02 The Fool
03 Dino's Song
04 Gold and Silver
05 Light Your Windows
06 Pride of Man
07 I Hear You Knockin'
08 Dino's Song(2)
09 Gold and Silver(2)
10 Codine
11 Dandelion
Background: On their third album (released a few days ago) 'Letters From The Coast' The Caseworker exude the feel of a shoegazing Velvet Underground reared by the Flying Nun label - the perfect balance of drone and chime. The band creates an enigmatic intimacy and atmosphere, which they wrap around immaculately crafted pop songs like smoke. Perfectly intoxicating.
With opening track and lead single ‘National Runner’, The Caseworker have an instant pop classic on their hands. The song's consummate mix of hypnotic guitars and driving rhythm section are perfectly balanced with Conor Devlin's starry-eyed vocal. Elsewhere, bassist Eimer Devlin assumes lead vocal duties for ‘The Slow Track’ and ‘Sea Years’, both reminiscent of prime Yo La Tengo, while standout ‘Boats’ carries the listener away on its buoyant yet melancholic waves of arpeggios and feedback. The album exudes a wonderful sense of timelessness and romanticism - these are songs to attach to memories.
“The Caseworker extract darkness from inside whispery, ambient pop… completely enraptured and awesomely dazed” – Rolling Stone
2011Candy Says: Imagine The Stone Roses doing guitar lead riffing music, well for some reason that's what I thought, cant quite put my finger on it but this really does get my attention.
Featured Track: National Runner. Web: Official.
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Background:Lenny Marcus hails from Wash, DC, but he worked for many years in New Orleans, studying and performing with legends such as Ray Bryant, Ellis Marsalis, Alvin Batiste, and recording with David " Fathead" Newman, Charlie Byrd, Frank Foster, Sonny Fortune, Brian Lynch, Jane Powell and others. His band is a well schooled jazz group. " Their jazz is infectious!" Jazz Times magazine.
Lenny has recorded 18 CD's to date, performed in two international jazz festivals, and has had his music featured on the National Weather Channel (many songs over the last several years), NPR's ALL that Jazz and ALL Songs Considered. Two of his songs were finalists in the ISC international song writer's competition.
Lenny's music goes from modern high energy to a more contemplative, meditative approach.
Lenny is a highly trained jazz pianist who also plays flute and adds vocals. His compositions are refreshing and uplifting, and he has been compared to Vince Guaraldi, Oscar Peterson, Keith Jarrett, McCoy Tyner, Mose Allison-type vocal style, Ray Bryant, and many others. His original melodies and harmonic counterpoints also provide a high potential for film/TV soundtrack.
2011Candy Says: This is wonderful, simply wonderful. I love genres getting mixed up and boundaries crossed, I reckon this takes us to a new level. More please!
Featured Track: Ode To Joy. Web: Official.
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Background: Aaron Harris and Yosef Munro met as teenagers in Pittsburgh, PA and have been playing music together ever since. After high school they both moved to Montreal to be music majors at McGill University, but Harris dropped out when he got a chance to play drums in the pop band Islands. When that ended the two relocated to Brooklyn, got their bearings, and after a few false starts met up with with guitarist Jesse Newkirk and Steel Phantoms was born. The boys developed a plan to compose deft, deceptively simple pop hits with one foot firmly rooted in garage rock and 80s new wave and the other stepping blindly into oblivion.
Yos and Aaron see the pop canon as a funnel of ideas moving through spacetime, little portions eddying off at times, strong tendrils forcing themselves in at others, large swaths glowing with ingenuity and pulling the surrounding dust with them ever closer to the end of existence. They note the holes in the great stream and see with immeasurable clarity where and how those empty patches can be filled, and they see themselves, quite humbly, as having been vouchsafed the infinite power and vision to do just that.
Their second EP, Forer, is more congruent and introspective than their first and eponymous EP, and its subdued intensity gives it a power and energy all its own. The EP's single, Bedouin, is a tight, synthy, new-wave inspired gem that takes several subtle twists and turns, its stunningly smooth and bright guitar textures complementing the dark vocals and driving percussion.
2011Candy Says; Excellent mood vocals over well thought out music, add a touch of doing your own thing and you get Steel Phantoms.
Featured Track: Bedouin. Web: Bandcamp.
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Background: Michael Paolino spent the last three years feeling like he didn’t have a story to tell. Then he got hitched young and everything changed. Michael’s story – grit, sweetness and all, is captured in his epic indie-rock songs.
Expect intense, broody tracks jam-packed full of melody.
Written in his home studio in Perth, Australia and recorded, mixed and mastered by Rob Agostini at Soundbaker Studios, it’s the first collection of tracks released under Michael’s moniker, Husband.
You may recognise him as the lead guitarist in indie-pop-tronic outfit, Carl Fox; or as the crooning front man and chief songwriter of indie-rock trio, Luna Parade.
Over the years, Luna Parade released two EPs, garnered Triple J airplay and played the Big Day Out. They were offered notable support slots with the likes of Cut Off Your Hands, Birds of Tokyo, Shihad and British India.
Husband plays live as a five-piece, which includes Carl Fox (Carl Fox, Good Little Fox) on guitar, Darrel Sundai (Carl Fox, Luna Parade) on drums, Seb Kane (Luna Parade) on bass and Connor Gamble (Lacey) on keys.
2011Candy Says: This guy has a really powerful voice that dominates without suffocating the music mix. it's also a great song with a timeless feel.
Featured Track: Ordinary. Web: Official.
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Background: Delivering on the promise of their self titled CD/EP, Charlottesville, VA’s Borrowed Beams of Light drop the needle on summer with their first full length album, Stellar Hoax.
While the Voynich Manuscript, a centuries old handwritten book with unknown origins provides a thematic foundation for the album, frontmen Adam Brock and Nate Walsh give us ten tracks that burn with their own strange heat.
Careening with imagination and delirious, sun-drunk joy, the album opens with the infectious “Plants.” It gallops towards the rambunctiously poppy “Holy Cow,” and ends on “Stellar Hoax” a bracing ballad with a riptide of melancholy. Album highlight, “Half Light,” is a stop-you-in-your-tracks anthem that strums the chords of brotherhood, love, and loss.
Brock, who cites the Kinks and Fleetwood Mac as influences, does justice to these songs with his infectious vocals. The album is shot through with high pitched harmonies sure to lift your heart while you crank down the car window.
It may be called Stellar Hoax, but these tracks speak the universal truth of rock and roll. The album is out now via speakertree/World Recs (LP/CD/digital).
2011Candy Says: The featured track is a slow starting song that suddenly goes off in a different direction and a very pleasing one at that. The vocals give it an edge and the influences are there but in a positive way.
Featured Track: Half Light. Web: Official.
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Background: Why stop now? The best adventure could be just beyond that hill...Americana artist, Sharaya Mikael captures that road-weary but hopeful feeling in her first single from her forthcoming "Rush" EP, "3 Ft. From Gold". Beginning with gentle acoustic guitar and Mikael's evocative alto, the song gradually moves to a more driving tone, taking the listener along on the road trip. There's a reason for this imagery, as Mikael reveals the inspiration behind the song. She and her friend Ally Spotts had embarked on a 50 state road trip which was filled with self-booked shows for Mikael and priceless opportunities for Spotts to gain writing experience. "When I was on the 50 state tour, Ally and I stopped in Colorado in a gold mining town and I considered how the gold miners never knew when they would strike gold, but they kept digging," she says. "The thought occurred to me that in life we so often give up too soon just when we could have been so close to 'striking gold'. It's for anyone who is thinking about giving up, on a dream, on a relationship, or on life in general."
Sharaya Mikael quit her day job less than a year ago, but the talented singer/songwriter and guitarist has already created a buzz with her freewheeling approach to her career. Her first five song EP, Far Field, was independently released in 2010. It sold over 2,000 copies, most of them at gigs on a marathon 50-state promotional tour. Jessy Ribordy, leader of Portland's eclectic folk/bluegrass powerhouse The River Empires, produced the EP, giving it a warm folk pop feel to compliment Mikael's burnished alto. The title track was featured on Portland's KINK.FM Spotlight series and earned a "Best of 2010" mention in the popular Welcome Hohmes music blog.
Ribordy was also behind the boards and played most of the instruments, on Rush, Mikael's new EP. "This time, I recorded songs that I'd been performing for a few months," Mikael explains. "I had time to get comfortable with them and knew exactly how I wanted them to sound. Jessy helped me be more expressive and capture the emotion of each song. I'd say most of them are a result of spending too many nights staring out the window at the rain and having too much time to contemplate relationships and life."
2011Candy Says: As Beehive Candy are mad about good quality Americana songs the entry level is high and getting higher by the year. Sharaya cruised through with this charming song.
Featured Track: 3Ft From Gold. Web: Official.
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Background: Rivers and homes., is the new album from J.Viewz, a multi-genre electronic project brought together under the direction of Brooklyn based producer and songwriter Jonathan Dagan.
Up until this point, J.Viewz has released new songs, music videos, and remixes piecemeal to fans without actively promoting them to the music press. Yet through word of mouth the songs and videos surrounding rivers and homes. have been listened to and viewed hundreds of thousands of times, with the J.Viewz Youtube channel registering over 700,000 views on its own. A drop in the bucket for Lady Gaga, but a grand accomplishment for a project that has had no outside promotion.
J.Viewz sound alternately combines elements of soft breakbeat, hazy nostalgia, glitchy chillout, and strong vocal performances. The album vacillates between the high energy pop of “far too close” to calming expansive dreamscapes like “building a home”, but is pulled together cohesively by Dagan’s deft aesthetic vision.
rivers and homes. originated as an idea Dagan dubbed “Work In Progress” that he began developing in the Spring of 2010. The plan was to make an album available for pre-order, and then record and release tracks gradually over the course of a year to fans that subscribed to the process. In many ways this approach ran contrary to today’s current model, which usually sees artists offering their music up for free in the hopes people will deem it worthy of purchase. But from early on the quality of J.Viewz output drew subscribers in, and allowed the project to flourish. For Dagan this approach was positive on a few different levels. One of them was the immediacy of the process. Each song was recorded and released in the same weather, mindset, and period-in-life in which it had been conceived, giving fans an intimate real time look at the artistic evolution of the album. Another was the motivation that came with people paying for his album in advance. That fans were subscribing to his output gave Dagan reason as well as an obligation to fully realize material he might have otherwise left unfinished.
Through the subscription process Dagan was also able to fund the recording of new songs and remixes each month, as well as produce videos for select tracks. For their pre-order of the album/subscription fee, fans gained access to any recordings Dagan made as they were released, special remixes, access to song stems in order to make their own remixes, discounted tickets to shows, first looks at music videos, and now that it is complete, they have all been sent their own copy of the beautiful 26 page Booklet/CD rivers and homes.
Because of their involvement in funding the record, and the motivation and feedback they provided, Dagan describes his subscribers as “Associate Producers”. Some of the subscribers who uploaded their photos to the Work in Progress project have their pictures included within the rivers and homes. booklet.
rivers and homes. also bears the imprint of the talented musicians, vocalists, and artists Dagan invited to take part in his “Work In Progress” project. Each song features a different arrangement of players, and each is augmented by a piece of artwork or photography that can be found within the pages of the booklet. Pulled together they form a diverse aural and visual experience, presented in an engaging format that is as unique as the process by which the divergent parts were assembled.
2011Candy Says: I guess the featured track could be described as driving music to start with, then it gets real funky and you might need to pull over and dance!
Featured Track: Far To Close. Web: Official.
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Background:From Paper Garden Records Lovely Hearts Club - Envision if you can, one of those eerie man made lakes, you know the kind made out of some small valley town? Usually for the sake of water supply or electricity, all the locals would have to relocate up the mountain when the valley filled up, their homes becoming a reservoir of murky remains.
Every now and again when the lake gets low, people swear you can see the tops of these old buildings peeking just above the surface, struggling for the chance of resuscitation. Gun Lake‘s “June”, off their debut album Balfour, is the soundtrack to those moments; witnessing from the green shoreline, with just a pang of wistfulness, the reflection of their life recycled and restored for better or worse. Ann Arbor’s Mark Fain is an immense talent. His voice coos and hollers throughout said valley, echoing our own impulses to forgive and somehow forget.
We first heard about Gun Lake as they opened for our pals Little Tybee in Detroit this summer. We kept in touch via Turntable.fm and whatnot, and we’re so psyched to finally be teaming up! Be sure to watch the video below, as Gun Lake performs their crooning “Backwards” tucked away in a lofty, quilted attic. Fall is on it’s way!
2011Candy Says: Loads of comparisons spring to mind for me with Gun Lake (I'll keep them to myself) however the vocals are really spot on, the band totally together and this song is superb.
Featured Track: June. Web: Official.
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Background:Matt Andersen began to build his name on the Canadian circuit, his imposing voice and slashing slide guitar making a monolithic impression on audiences. He debuted with 2002’s One Size Never Fits, and followed with the likewise-warmly received Solo at Session (2004) and Live at Liberty House (2005).
After playing the prestigious 2004 East Coast Music Awards, Matt continued cultivating crowds, appearing with Randy Bachman, Bo Diddley, Little Feat, America, Loverboy, April Wine, and others. He signed with Busted Flat Records for a string of exalted albums: 2007’s Second Time Around, 2008’s Something in Between, and 2009’s Piggyback (a duo set with harmonica king Mike Stevens) and Live at the Phoenix Theatre.
By 2009 Matt had become a frequent guest on Stuart McLean’s CBC radio show “The Vinyl Café” and had completed his fourth tour of the UK, where The Times called him “Canada’s greatest guitarist.” In 2010 he became the first Canadian to win Memphis’s famed International Blues Challenge, which led to festival dates in France, Italy, and the US, where he toured with Old Crow Medicine Show.
Matt’s newest album, Coal Mining Blues, was produced by Colin Linden (who co-wrote and plays on several tunes) and recorded at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, New York. Featuring the Band keyboardist Garth Hudson and Olabelle singer Amy Helm, it’s a rich vein of new songs, many addressing the trying lives of working people: There’s the self-explanatory “Work Hard for the Luxury,” and the moving title track, which rings true in mining communities from Cape Breton to Sheffield and West Virginia. But not all of Coal Mining Blues is about hard work, as rollicking up-tempo cuts like “Lay it on the Line” and “Fired Up” bear out.
What is it Matt hopes audiences experience when they hear him? “I’m not trying to change anyone’s lives in a big way, but I love it when [listeners] really get involved in the music,” says Matt, performs over 200 shows a year and in 2011 won the Maple Blues Awards for Entertainer of the Year and Acoustic Act of the Year and was nominated for four East Coast Music Association awards. “That’s what really makes it a great night, for everyone.”
As Matt Andersen continues to do what he was born to do—play his exhilarating music—fans can look forward to many great nights, indeed.
2011Candy Says: If you are going to do stripped down blues rock, do it with passion. If you love this type of music and a good band and great backing vocals Matt Andersen is for you.
Featured Track: Fired Up. Web: Official.
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Background: “Even if they hadn’t drafted Robert Forster as producer, The John Steel Singers’ debut album would still be a charmer.” 4 Stars
- Doug Wallen, Rolling Stone Magazine
“The melodic, chaotic explosion of pop still gives you a thrill, and you can’t help but grin and dance.”
- Rave Magazine
“[The John Steel Singers] specialise in summery pop melodies, dashing harmonies and quirky, colourful indie gems like ‘Overpass.’”
- Jim Carroll, irishtimes.com
The John Steel Singers’ adventurous song writing has been making heads bop and feet tap since they scored triple j’s Unearthed J Award in 2008. With six members traversing across instruments like explorers, the Brisbane natives bring another dimension to the experimental pop aesthetic with an accomplished brass section on trombone and trumpet amongst the staple guitars, bass and drums.
Their debut album Tangalooma maintains their signature sense of indie rock meets dance-a-long pop, whilst juxtaposing their feel for unassumingly darker storylines. This has been their trademark on hits such as “Overpass,” “Rainbow Kraut” and “The Masochist.” Produced by Robert Forster (The Go-Betweens) and mixed by New York record engineer Nicholas Vernhes (Animal collective, Deerhunter), Tangalooma shows a depth of songwriting and is as lasting and infectious as ever. It’s the sort of album that would be best appreciated/enjoyed when listened to in full as a vinyl on a record player. This is what the band has always wanted to create, and looking back it’s been a busy journey to get there.
Tangalooma was released a couple of weeks ago, September 13, 2011 through digital in North America via Universal Music.
2011Candy Says: I love the name (The John Steel Singers) because you kinda get something else that is punchy, energetic and fun. And then it gets even better...
Featured Track: Rainbow Kraut. Web: Official.
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Background: LA's Pizza! presents a taste of the next-level weirdo pop eclecticism that runs rampant on the group’s upcoming album available this fall from Vanity Projects. “Riding Through the Jungle” is a linear epic that combines group sing-along vocals with an abstract, dubby groove, while “Buttersaw” is a straight-ahead new wave rager built behind lyrics addressing the uncomfortable truths of post-Bush America. As a bonus, the single includes a hard-hitting, club-ready remix of “Riding Through the Jungle” from rising electro heroes Kid Infinity.
Pizza! is comprised of these five fun-lovin' bros, from left to right: Geoff Geis (lead vocals, guitars), Rand Voorhies (drums, guitars), Tyler Sabbag (drums), Duncan Thum (bass, keyboards, vocals), Alex Myrvold (keyboards, bass, vocals). Photo by Andy Quinn.
In 2010, the band released a collection called Bogus Rimshots from the Fourth (download here) via Kill/Hurt Cassettes. In August of this year, the group released a video for the song "Be a Man" (view on Youtube).
The members of Pizza! have participated in these other notable musical projects: Big Whup, Dnonkong, Evan Voytas, Fol Chen, Geoff Geis, Liars, Walter Meego.
2011Candy Says: Attention grabbed, song approved, vocals and harmonies spot on and suddenly Frank Zappa leaps out! Well I guess at some point in time another band will remind me of Zappa, then they go off and do something else and stamp their own mark on the song and all is well with the world...
Featured Track: Riding Through The Jungle. Web: Official.
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Background: SONOIO, born Alessandro Cortini, has embarked on a month-long tour opening for Ladytron, including stops in Mexico City, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. As the former keyboard player of Nine Inch Nails who has recorded tracks with with Ladytron, toured with Muse and recently remixed tracks by HEALTH, Big Black Delta and Nine Inch Nails, Cortini is no stranger to the industry. His work as SONOIO, however, has taken its own path. “This particular project is a materialization of me working on my own for the first time and trying to get as much out of a limited amount of tools, as opposed to using everything that is available to produce music these days.” All of the songs on the records are based on the meaning of the word/name SONOIO, which comes from the Italian phrase “sono io,” meaning, “it is I.”
For his two premiere albums Blue and Red, Cortini has carved out a new creative direction by using solely a Buchla analog synthesizer, an obsolete instrument from the 70’s, to produce all of the sounds in the recording process. “The whole compositional process felt like a chess game, where I would make a move, trying to compose in a certain way, only to be antagonized by either the limitations of the instrument, or its quirkiness, ” explains Cortini. “This ‘back and forth’ process led me to composing the bulk of the Blue and Red SONOIO records, allowing me to create something unique sounding, yet familiar and memorable.”
SONOIO's limited amount of tools had an effect on both the composition and sound design of his music, and sparked another great idea for promotional merchandise. In conjunction with the release of his albums, Cortini had a custom-made synthesizer, SuONOIO, manufactured for fans to create their own SONOIO-inspired music. As a collaboration with The Harvestman, the fully-functional SuONOIO synthesizer utilizes sounds found on the Red and Blue albums, allowing users to reshape them into new sounds, rhythms, textures, and drones.
At once gritty and melodious, Red and Blue draw from Cortini’s past collaborations while exploring a fresh territory more akin to the likes of Crystal Castles and Salem. The result is a series of multi-layered pop records that reveal new emotional terrain with each listen. Cortini spurned heavy-handed studio production with the help of Jonathan Bates (Big Black Delta), while also recording and mixing both the albums himself. Likewise, his live show is an intricate one-man production. Be sure to check out the tour dates listed below... if you are in the area, we'd love for you to come out and experience the live performance for yourself!
9.29 Seattle, WA @ Decibel Festival
10.1 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
10.3 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Lie Music Cafe
10.4 Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
10.5 Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
10.6 Montreal, QC @ Telus Theater
10.7 Boston, MA @ Paradise
10.8 New York, NY @ Terminal 5
10.9 Philadelphia, PA @ Theater of Living Arts
10.11 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
10.13 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Heaven Stage)
10.14 Pensacola, FL @ DeLuna Fest
10.15 Miami, FL @ Grand Central
2011Candy Says: This is heavy metal done without the guitars and hairy people. So turn it up to eleven and enjoy!
Featured Track: Can You Hear Me. Web: Official.
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Background: Little Wind is the sophomore release from Minneapolis’ Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps. The album expands upon the band’s debut LP Backyard Tent Set’s storytelling whimsy, but shifts its foundation from the simplicities of gentle folk instrumentation to greater nuances of musical arrangement and soundscape rooted in modern indie rock. Loyal to the heart of the band’s sound, however, their songs continue to be characterized by unforgettable and endearing pop melodies. Most recognizable throughout their music, and the defining quality to their success, is Caroline Smith’s alto timbre, quivering through vibrato, classic, and controlled with the presence of Billie Holiday, Leslie Feist, and Joanna Newsom.
Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps began with just Caroline Smith as an 18-year-old songwriter in 2006, who earned her place in the Midwest music community. She began her career with a residency at Minneapolis' 400 Bar, a venue pivotal in shaping the careers of Elliott Smith, Conor Oberst, and local hero, Mason Jennings, who less than a decade before began his own career with the same residency. A year later, Caroline befriended drummer Arlen Peiffer (Cloud Cult), bassist Jesse Schuster, and multi-instrumentalist David Earl and the boys joined forces to support Caroline's folk tunes as “the Good Night Sleeps.” The release of their debut LP Backyard Tent Set, seven national tours, and constant circuit through the Midwest has garnered a committed following of audiences around the US.
The newest LP, set to be released on September 20th via United Interests, tested the Good Night Sleeps’ boundaries and the developed intricacies of each song and the album as a whole shine in each of the ten tracks.
"This record took a lot out of us as a band. We were in a huge transitional period when we were writing these songs and still not completely comfortable with any of them when we finally went into the studio. But because we were so unsettled with everything, the songs and the band, the record means so much more to us now because we got to see it all come together in front of our eyes and turn in to something we are all so proud of," says Caroline Smith.
Little Wind was recorded at the Terrarium in Minneapolis with Jason Orris (Polara, Happy Apple, Haley Bonar) and was mixed by Tom Herbers (Low, Dark Dark Dark, Andrew Bird.
2011Candy Says: I love the vocals (Joanna Newsom comparisons accepted but this is natural so whats the problem?), I love the band, I love the song, hence I finish this round up on a high! Simple as that.
Featured Track: Calliope. Web: Official.
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This is Neil Young live in concert at Le Theatre de Plein Air, Colmar, France, back on Friday. August 15th, 2008.
