First the ongoing explanation Regular ;-) readers can skip this ... This site is for fun. I recommend bands/artists you MAY care to listen to. The purpose is just to share and to give an extra push to some musicians who may not be known to you YET. They are all bands/artists that I like or I think are interesting. Some of them I have played for my students before my lectures as a sort of pilot test, some are just too outre for that. They are bands selected by me without fear or favour. You can suggest bands I might like to listen to, to see if they make a subsequent edition. I am happy to enter into correspondence with interested people but remember I do have a day job, so I may take some time to reply. The past masterpiece section has been discontinued. If you are new here you might like to take a look at the back editions because you have missed some awesome music. Subscribe as a reader in order never to miss out! OK enough waffle. On with the show....
Top Choice
Yusuke Nasu www.myspace.com/yusukenasu A one man band from Tokyo, Japan, Yusuke gives us eight tracks of his ambient piano centred tunes some with soft and sensual vocals. A mix between experimental jazz, for example on ‘Wind and Cloud Velocity’ and more gentle modern semi classical tunes such as ‘Lull’ he creates a lovely sweeping, soothing sound. I also liked the song which my Kanjii converter assures me is called ‘Small Night’ (It is the fifth of the tracks on here). I loved the majesty of ‘World of Air’ but that was eclipsed by the breathtaking mini opus of ‘The Carnival of The Forest’ which simply blew me away with its intensity.
Best of the Rest
My Raining Stars www.myspace.com/myrainingstars Are you yearning for a return to the sounds of the late sixties/early seventies but reinvented to bring it up todate? Then let Thierry and E- Grand refresh your ears with music a la Lyonaise. Listen to the opening chords of ‘Most of Her Days’ and try not to be transported back to the days of The Shadows or The Beatles. Perhaps the most obvious influence on this French duo is the tuneful guitar driven but essentially pop song vignettes of The Smiths. The music is more veering towards true pop than The Smiths perhaps did. Other reference points would be Biggi, Styrofoam or early Housemartins. They offer six tracks. I liked ‘Gone For Ever More’ which had elements of The Teardrop Explodes and great opening riffs. My top choice track was ‘Express & Share’ which had both pazazz and pathos..
Fernwood www.myspace.com/montgomerytsingh This Californian domiciled duo give us a musical offering that is most untypically Californian. Slow, reflective, instrumentals, which are crafted from a variety of instruments, without a synthesizer in sight. This is chill out music with an eastern (and by that I don’t mean New York!) influence. Sitars, bouzoukis, mandolins and almost uncountable strings are plucked, strummed and caressed to produce a soothing and pensive sound to wash away your worries. Imagine a multi cultural orchestra playing semi-psychedelic folk rock tunes and you have some idea of their sound. It is easier (and easy) to listen to tracks such as ‘Sandpiper’, ‘Kalyan’ and ‘Makena’ or my favourite, the live recording of ‘Dor’ and make up your own mind.
Draumhvörf www.myspace.com/draumnvorf The name, I think, means Dream Impulse and these guys have dreams of their music reaching a wider audience. They are an unsigned quartet from the greater capital area of Reykjavik, Iceland. There are only two tracks here and I certainly wanted to hear more. From the first of drummer Emil’s cymbal notes on my favourite ‘Peaceful’ I was instantly reminded of The Coral. There is a musical intensity and verve that runs through their songs that also brings to mind fellow Icelanders Mammut (my top choice in edition 19). Don’t be fooled by the name of the track it is anything but peaceful. This is new wave, pseudo-psychedelic-grunge, for want of a better epithet and its good stuff. Moody, mean and melodic ‘Sleepless Dream’ is a nice promising piece of shoegaze that builds to a crescendo of controlled cacophony. You will like them!
Georgina Levey www.myspace.com/georginalevey Here is a relative newcomer to the music scene. Similar in promise but different in musical style to Blue Pinnafores (see edition 10) 16 year old Georgina comes from that bubbling cultural city of Brighton in south eastern England. She has just two songs for us at the moment but I think you will be hearing more of her. Regular readers, or those who know me, may be astounded to find me recommending country and western tinged music but as the saying goes ‘talent will out’. There is little doubt that in the two tracks here she demonstrates the ability to write strong, meaningful lyrics and deliver them with emotion and a gusto that belies her years. If you like the songs then encourage her to do more. I liked ‘Stars in the Sky’but my favourite track was ‘Keep Holding On’ which she apparently wrote on her bare arm in a Chinese restaurant. How is that for spontaneity?! Her ambition is to move to Nashville. Well, dreams sometimes come true.
Life Without Dreams www.myspace.com/mylifewithoutdreams Our next band are from Singapore and give us Asian tinged ambient music by the bucket load. Well ok, it is eight tracks of music that soothes and cajoles its way into your brain. Relaxing, some I am sure will find it too relaxing, it gurgles along like a woodland stream on a pleasant summer evening. I liked most of the instrumental tracks particularly ‘Shadows of Buildings’ where you can almost feel the heat of the city forcing you towards the shade. The more upbeat ‘Night Flight’ could almost be classified as shoegaze as it seemed much more mainstream indie than the other offerings here. ‘Sunset’ and the shorter ‘Solitude’ are also arresting tracks but my favourite from this trio was ‘A Calm Day with Linda Bjalla’