Say hello to The Dirty Disco. Say hello to their brand of Glamorous. Sleazy. Pop. It’s “Electro-Pop fuelled madness and a dash of psychedelic panache thrown in for good measure.”
The band recently released their video for ‘White Room’. The Dirty Disco’s frontman Adam says of writing the song “I wrote the lyrics just as I was getting over a really shitty phase of black, blue and turd brown and after the ever-so-efficient NHS insisted I needed to spend a few hours in a “White Room” many moons ago. I didn’t want to write a self-pitying song. Sometimes you need to laugh at yourself to get out of the state of mind that has engulfed you.”
He describes the video as “tongue in cheek galore and I believe that music and an exaggeration of a stereotype are both fantastic ways of creating awareness.”
They are currently hard at work on their debut album, which will include mixes by the uber talented Grammy nominee Dylan Dresdow (who worked with the Black Eyed Peas on their latest album). Look out for it!
Lights, camera, action! The top 10 MK Music Video Project (MVP) artists for 2010 have been selected. Aiming to invest in and uplift the South African music and production industry, MK recently commissioned 10 local music videos by putting a tender out to pitch. 196 pitches were submitted in the space of a month.
To enter, bands had to partner with a reputable and registered South African production company and conceptualise a superior quality, creative music video concept for one of their as yet un-filmed tracks.
With a balance of both established artists and newcomers, the music videos are set to be world class. The top 10 are:
Jack Parow, Tussen Stasies submitted by Ten10 Films
Foto na Dans, Die Vloed submitted by Admit One Productions
The Cavalier, Kiss and Tell submitted by Tough Sunday Productions
Will Mono ft. Jax Panik, Ken My Nie submitted byFoml Films
Thieve ft. Die Heuwels Fantasties, Way To Go submitted by The African Attachment
MC, Earl & Algemi, Dakskroef submitted by Blixem Productions
Heroes Wear Red, Bring Me Love submitted by Mannequin Productions
Winterstasie, Los My submitted by The Magic Factory
4am, Steering Ships submitted by Unleashed
CrashCarBurn, Long Live Tonight submitted by 7Films
The top 10 were chosen by a MK selection panel who considered elements such as the production company’s experience; the choice of artist and song; the creative concept and treatment of the music video; the budget and production value; how well the concept complemented the MK brand and the appeal for its viewers.
Says Victor Edward Eckard, Head of Content at MK: “MVP was created to recognise and expose the wealth of talent that the South African music industry has to offer. It aims to encourage collaboration, uplift the industry and offer both bands and production companies a platform through which to showcase their work. Year on year we hope to grow this project and if the quality of the pitches we received is anything to go by, we can look forward to some interesting and powerful collaborations and of course, exceptional content.”
I’m struggling to contain my excitement. Why you ask? It’s simple, take a good, long look at the lineup for this Saturday at The Assembly. It includes Popskarr, The Pinkertons, Machineri and Holiday Murray. Look amazing? I couldn’t agree more! If it couldn’t get any cooler throw in Haasbroek and Tommy Gun and you’ve got a party that is set to rock.
I have 2 x double tickets to give away, just tell me who you are most looking forward to see and the tickets yours! It’s that simple.
‘Spaceship‘ is off Benny Benassi’s upcoming album on Ultra Records. The video is all about look-alikes, that, and spaceships but mostly look-alikes. It’s all set on well, a spaceship. Benny Benassi, producer extraordinaire, bears a striking resemblance to Robert Downey jr. Kelis’s style is reminiscent of Leia from Star Wars or rather her earpieces are. Oh, the one rapper is none other than Apl.de.ap from The Black Eyed Peas (and yes, that is how you spell his name).
Weird characters aside, I love this song in all it’s commercial, intergalactic goodness. It’s going to be a hit. You can count on that.
Every month, MAP (Music Alliance Pact) involves more than 30 music bloggers across the world sharing track from their home country that they think you should hear. Take a listen and enjoy!
Move over Eminem. Jack Parow has arrived. He’s white. He raps. Oh and yes, he’s Afrikaans. Jack Parow truly is original; he is in fact the “original donker dodgy Afrikaans rapper”. His lyrics are brash, brazen and funny and his song Onder Draai Die Duiwel Joints showcases his unique style. He has caused quite a stir in the music scene, locally and internationally alike. He’s set to take over the world. Watch out!
The eighties are back! At least, that’s what we felt after listening to No Headphones Required, the cc-licensed brand new album by The Kyoto Connection. This amazing band delivers sweet electronic music mixed with Japanese juice and Flashdance-like synth sounds. If you like it, you can download the whole record from their website.
I’ve been following Kiwi-now-Melbournite Kimbra’s work for a year now, most of it in the form of either guest performing with other bands or solo with a guitar work. Only recently I’ve heard her new stuff, produced by Franc Teta. The song Settle Down opens with cut up beat boxing vocals – a bit too close to Bertie’s style of production for my liking – but is rescued and lifted by the chorus and soared into lush harmonies, that are all part of Kimbra’s own signature sound.
Where I Am is part of the first full length album of the Brazilian band Dead Lover’s Twisted Heart, released a few weeks ago. Far away from the indie-folk influences that are highlighted in the band’s history, it’s a great pop song which could easily be in any album from She & Him or The Ting Tings.
Over the last few years, Forest City Lovers has morphed from simply being a vehicle for Kat Burns’ acoustic folk into a full band with a knack for writing catchy folk-pop. On their new album, Carriage, Burns is joined by members of The D’Urbervilles, Ohbijou and Born Ruffians, among others. As this track (on which Burns is joined by Ruffians front man Luke Lalonde) demonstrates, the results are simply magical.
Maifersoni is the musical adventure of young Enrique Elgueta, in which he decides to blend psychedelia and noise in a lo-fi-ish perspective, with a strong pop accent. Taller Deslizante (Gliding Loom) is his first work, released this month on Chilean net label Michita Rex. It captures Panda Bear’s contemplative spirit, Sonic Youth’s fondness for experimentation and Vashti Bunyan’s warmth, creating a resounding weave that – with the likes of El Sueno De La Casa Propia and De Janeiros (both highlighted on earlier editions of MAP) – is giving Chilean pop a new perspective.
The band Lilisay is a Beijing-based trip-hop band, founded by Lilisay and Shang Shao in March, 2010. At first the band started as a shoegaze duo, but as time went on they have evolved into a trip-hop band. After the first gig at D22, Lilisay met Li Wei. Sharing the same taste in music, they decided to collaborate. After several rehearsals and performances, they settled on Trip Hop/Electronica. Last Party is one of their early songs, which reminds a lot of the 80s shoegaze stuff.
With The Flaming Lips and The Shins among their influences, Copenhagen based six-piece Waking Life work in uplifting, danceable ways. Here’s first single, Chirango – from their forthcoming debut album Fiction – an upbeat indierock song with ukulele, bells, trombone and whatnot that would make you all smiles if it hadn’t been for the rather serious lyrics.
Here’s a wee MAP exclusive. Ace east London scuzzy rock types Wet Paint are back with another album of great tunes and noisy guitars. No word yet of when the album’s going to be released, but here is a track from it. A sneak preview of what’s going to be a fantastic record.
Opium Flirt have been playing live, writing and recording music since 2004. Projects have included music for multimedia installations, films and choreographic performances.
Parade In Chimes is taken from the new album DejaVoodoo.
Just a little bit over a year ago, MAP featured a song by a Helsinki indie band that shocked the scene with a superb self-released EP. Now signed with an important label, Delay Trees offer the first single off their debut full length, out in September. The dreamy intensity of Cassette 2012 anticipates a new round of tender pop songs that will melt your ears.
Everyone has neighbors. You can hate them or love them… but one thing is for sure: it’s impossible not to love these crazy Neighbours. Presented as a big step between Block Party and Nirvana, I Love My Neighbours is a very good acidulated pop/rock band. Instigated by an omnipresent battery and swaying bass riffs, the three boys swing between pop songs and true aggressiveness. A schizophrenia materialized by the guitar riffs and the melodic and tortured voice of the singer. A noted French magazine called Les Inrocks wrote about them : ” These Parisians enter by the large door of the new english scene, dance and pop, with a full bag with catapults provided by Nirvana “. Prepare yourself to apply the theory of the “Bang Bang”, because there’s gonna be rock n’roll…
Herpes may be the most ‘German’ band ever, posted on the MAP. Their straight-forward electropunk with pseudo-political lyrics draw the line from infamous Superpunk to the stepsons of Kraftwerk, like Trio or DAF. Hence, their label has to be Tapete Records, and yeah, of course they live in Berlin. Keine Experimente is the single from their recently released album Das Kommt Vom Kussen.
Mikael Delta began his career as a member of the band Stereo Nova. He is one of the most prolific and influential musicians in Greece in the past decade. His latest album, Tech Me Away is made of thrillingly danceable sounds and references to techno music scene, disco and electronica.This is music that hits the head, heart and hips all at once. You can dance to almost anything here. She’s A Boy demonstrates Delta’s talent for building simple, clattering dance beats and riffs into audio addictions. But what takes you by surprise is Etten’s marvellous voice, which pops up like a primary color and paints absolutely stellar pictures.
Cosmic Call is a five-piece indie rock band from Akranes, a small town on the West Coast of Iceland. Band members are singer/guitarist Sigurmon, Fjolnir on guitar, synthesizer & backing vocals, Begga on bass and backing vocals, drummer Petur & Asa on violin & synthesizer. They are inspired by Arcade Fire, The Cure, The Pixies, Joy Division & Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They recorded one EP so far, which was released on July 24, 2009. The song Owls is a track of this limited, hand sewed edition of 1000 copies made by the band & family members.
Sir Dandy or Dandy Ramdhani or Acong, is the vocalist of one of the most obscure garage band in Indonesia Teenage Death Star, known for their quirky style on stage. This is his latest project, recording ballads using only his guitar and sunglasses on his garage-band software. This song tells us the story about the motorcycle flood in Jakarta.
Bingo is a 21 year-old producer from Dublin who makes luscious tracks with nods to dubstep, garage and UK funky. His music recalls the likes of Mount Kimbie, James Blake and Burial. If you find yourself in Dublin on a Saturday night, be sure to check the listings to see if Float, Bingo’s new club night is taking place in either Twisted Pepper or Tripod. You’ll find the likes of the vocal-twisting Cold Without You coming out of the speakers.
Jerusalem, Israel’s Ghost Bike will take you on an ambient trip-hop via the vehicle of dub-influenced electronica, spinning your mind in sonic circles with aural tales of dark, intense emotion. Diverse musical elements like Middle Eastern chants and beats mix with spooky haunted house effects and everything in between to create this sonic tapestry. Some Hollywood producer in need of a soundtrack should pick this stuff up.
It’s summer, a damned hot summer. I wanted to sail away on an ocean wave but it’s all covered in spilt oil. I don’t care. My beloved surfboard won’t let me down. I put the new Movie Star Junkies record on (wild guys, you should see them live) and drink last drop of rum. A toast to the Birthday Party and the Gun Club. Everything is perfect now. C’mon, let’s put out to sea. Goodbye.
Sputniko! (Hiromi Ozaki) is an experimental electro pop female musician based in London. Since 2007 Sputniko! has shown music, performances and films exploring intersections between technology and popular culture. In 2009 she published the DVD Parakonpe 3000, a collection of eccentric music videos talking about the quirky ways in which we engage with technology, such as google searching your crush’s name or desiring to become a cyborg to eliminate periods.
Orlando is a singer from Tijuana, Mexico with an organic approach to his compositions. He creates memorable pop choruses that rely on acoustic progressions and just released his first formal LP titled Capullo. This is the first single from the record, under production and arrangements from his collaborator El Poeta and additional mixing by the much respected composer Murcof (also from Tijuana). Solo Dios Sabe is a song that ideally represents Orlando’s soft acoustic sound and its blend with slight electronic details.
Although formed in the harsh winter of 2010, when their first burst of song material emerged, Amsterdam trio Bird on the Wire write laid-back indie pop that’s perfect for a sweltering summer. Simple, sweet and ever so slightly melancholic, the soft, lulling vocal harmonies of Rosa, Thijs and Nina remind of Camera Obscura, balancing the folk sounds of the ’60s with contemporary lo-fi pop.
The Body Lyre is a multi-instrumental duo putting together an album, Escape Songs, song by song over the 12 months of 2010. Each month a new track is completed and put on-line for download at http://thebodylyre.bandcamp.com/ At the end of the year the album will be released on vinyl. The music is guitar based and reverb heavy, with a touch of surf, a pinch of country and a sprinkling of Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra.
KooKooo Kitchen is one of Oslo’s more interesting new bands. In front are Eva and Marianne, constantly fighting for attention with their vocals and guitars, sometimes nice and harmonic, the next second as rough and edgy as it can get. The girls are backed by Henning and Brox on bass and drums. The combination of their sharp, ringing guitar sound, the heavy use of toms and the in-your-face attitude of the vocals reminds me of the early days of Siouxsie and The Banshees. KooKooo Kitchen has a lot of the energy of The Banshees, but the music is filled with lovely pop-harmonies. As they say themselves “Dirt under their nails, and nail polish to cover the mess.” A video is currently in the making for their song Bedsheet. Keep an eye on their myspace page for details.
Kinder is based on experimentation to create its sound, it has only an EP titled Mini-EP, on which each song is the result of the combination of different rhythms, electronic sequences and some playful samples. These features give Kinder, in several of its songs, a curious relationship to a childlike theme; this line achieves its balance when its sound gets into the instrumental environments. It’s probably this style that predominates in its first LP, ready for release sometime this year.
The quintet Madame Godard have (on MySpace) one of the best covers of Clash’s Spanish Bombs that you will ever hear. They produce a sound that is a mix of world music, folk and pop but always humorous. After almost ten years of hiatus, they have released their first LP, Galapagos, this year, which has been acclaimed by the Portuguese critics and audience.
Alone. Sleepless nights and lonely early mornings when the lights go down and the dawn breaks. The music is rising in loops, choruses that add up to this beautiful and minimal psychedelia. Identitate is a Romanian artist currently splitting his life between London and Timisoara. His third album called Who I Am and What I Want features songs originally meant to be soundtracks for short films and it can be downloaded from here
It’s the middle of festival season and nothing goes down better than a meaty power-rock anthem, which makes LightGuides the perfect alfresco band for the summer. The Lion And The Pocketwatch has a monster chorus that Biffy Clyro would raise devil horns to, while singer Mark Cowan’s vocals aren’t too dissimilar to Nate Ruess of Fun/The Format fame.
Look at some Singaporean cliches and you’ll be faced with an urban cityscape with sterile modern amenities. But scratch the surface and you’ll remember that we were once a humble fishing village that actually remembered how to relax. Cheating Sons sounds like a band that is in the process of retracing those roots, turning over every leaf and scribbling notes in the margins of journals. To say they’re updating a nostalgic country-rock sound would be downplaying the creativity behind the band’s songwriting. While they’re still recording their debut album, they were nice enough to share this demo with us because everyone back home is so excited about the music these boys are making.
After playing together for a few years, post-rock act Glittering Blackness, Fall took it in their own hands to release an untitled EP – their first – at the beginning of this year. The septet counts a media graphics responsible to its members, ensuring interesting imagery to go with their captivating music. The song simply going by 3 builds up beautifully during the first half before a strong finale where the listener will wish for it never to come to an end. The whole EP is available for download from last.fm.
This little nugget of Italian/Swedish electro disco from The Telepathics is a certain cure for the end of summer blues. This duo is comprised of Cristiano and Isabella. The song is not quite as sunny as their sun drenched faces shown above, yet still it brightened my day considerably.
If it comes to name a current common denominator in the Swiss rock music scene there is no getting around Alvin Zealot – four young guys from Lucerne who made a highly addictive and unpretentious rock’n’roll-record. Tears Of St. Lawrence sounds bold and experienced at the same time. Quite an effort for a debut by four teens.
Tomates Fritos was born in Puerto La Cruz, east of Venezuela and since the beginning, in 1997, the group has edited 4 LPs and have been part of important music festivals like Festival Nuevas Bandas (1998) and Cool Summer Music Festival (2002). Their music comes from mixing Spanish pop-rock with classic rock from the 60s and 70s, developing a unique sound, flooded with energy that has captivated tons of fans. This song, Perdoname, has been played very often in radio stations all over the country and belongs to their latest CD, Hombre Bala.
“It’s an album that breathes and undulates like a ship on the open sea. It deals with fantasies, real life experiences, mountaineering and social commentary. It is much more rhythmic than the first two albums….” – Eksteen Jacobsz
Twice SAMA nominated artist The Sick-Leaves independently release highly anticipated third album Last Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy on 8th March 2010.
Renowned Grammy Award winning producer, Darryl Torr produced this album from The Sick-Leaves that was recorded in November 2009 at SABC’s M5 studio. The album follows from the critically acclaimed SAMA nominated first & second albums Tunnel Vision & Stone the Crow (2007 & 2009 respectively), with Stone the Crow also having been released independently.
The Sick-Leaves is singer/songwriter/guitarist Eksteen Jacobsz. He wrote the songs for Last Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy “soon after Stone the Crow was released in 2008.” He adds “most of the songs were written in that 6 month period after the release, but a few sneaked in just before we started to record Last Dance…
As for the direction he wanted to take with the Sick-Leaves with the new album, he explains “I did the epic thing on Stone the Crow so in a way I wanted to go more in the opposite direction– shorter songs, more to the point, minimalist. I also wanted to pull the sound a bit more together by shedding a few layers of guitar and bringing the vocals to the fore.”
The song writing process “was a bit different from the first two albums. For the first time I started to write all the music and arrangements before I even contemplated writing lyrics. That’s how a song like Tell It Like It Is came to be an instrumental. I listened to it and it already had everything it needed, which meant that vocals were unnecessary it anyway didn’t fit with the song.”
He says is inspiration for the album “is hard to put my finger on it but a source of inspiration might have come from REM’s “Accelerate” album. The sound and concept of a short rock/punk album appealed to me at that stage.
He feels “in a sense” the sound has matured since the last album, he explains “we had put a lot of thought into this one with regards to it being more accessible. So where there was before feedback and millions of guitar noises we pulled back on that. This meant of course that a lot of space was created, which was quite a scary thing for me at first. The biggest thing I probably learned on this album was that “space to breathe” is an integral part of music and that if you don’t create it it’s easy for the listener to be overwhelmed.”
He chose “Last Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy” as the name of the album as he had “read the title in a book by Stephen Venables, “Higher than the Eagle Soars”, which described his adventures in the Himalayas and in particular scaling Everest from the most difficult east side without supplemental oxygen. It stuck with me and I really liked the ring to it. To me it means that we all have something or someone that can be taken away at any moment and that we must cherish and appreciate them while they’re here.”
Working with acclaimed producer, Darryl Torr “was a fantastic experience. I learned a lot of new things from him. The fact that he has overseas experience was a big consideration. He’s a perfectionist and in the studio that is the perfect person to have behind the desk. “
Eksteen tracked all the instruments on the album bar the drums and found it “time consuming.” He elaborates “every album is the same story so by now I’m quite used to it. It’s a case of assuming the specific instrument’s mentality when you record it. When you do the bass, you have to think like a bassist and play like a bassist. A bit of role and personality reversal. The toughest part of recording was undoubtedly the vocals”
Photographer Sean Brand designed all the album artwork using infrared photographs taken in Namibia to fit with the concept of the album and working with him “was a privilege and a pleasure. He adds “I didn’t really have an idea until I saw some of Sean’s infra red photographs. It made an immediate visual impact on me and I asked him if he’d be interested in doing the cover artwork. The brief basically was a “sense of vastness’’. When he said that he was off to Namibia for a holiday I knew that he would come back with something amazing….He knew what I was looking for, without me giving him a very detailed brief. He is very dedicated to his craft and it’s an inspiration to see someone have so much passion for photography and music.”
There weren’t any off the wall antics whilst in studio he says “apart from studio skateboarding, not really. If you have time to fool around in the studio you either have too much money or too few ideas.”
His favourite track off the album would be Run Away “for the reason that it was the easiest song to write and that everything was basically in place when I wrote it. Lyrically, it sums life up for me.”
He works as “one man band” in studio and then translates that to a band when performing live, he thinks “the positive thing about it is that the music comes alive when you play it live and there is definitely much more energy. Live is a different beast from the studio so it brings its own challenges to the party.”
He admits he thinks it’s rather clichéd but it’s “all about getting the music out there, to whoever is interested.”
Following on the heels of his recent ‘Ouch!’ and ‘You’ve Been Magnetized’ EPs on Lektroluv, Belgium’s Mr. Magnetik has taken the leap across the Atlantik to deliver a new stormer to Coco Machete Records. The Animatronik EP comes with three grinding synth driven tracks for anytime of the night or into the morning.
First up is the EPs namesake with a builder primed to jump start any party into gear. ‘Born To Rave’, with it’s jumpy rhythms and snare rolls will keep you marching into the wee hours just in time to drop ‘My Friend’ on the crowd to jolt the whole scene back to earth it’s blistering meltdown and builds. Hypnotik, Electrik, Magnetik!
Animatronik – DOWNLOAD HERE
Born To Rave – DOWNLOAD HERE
My Friend – DOWNLOAD HERE
So I might be a bit out of the loop with this one but I only recently stumbled upon a delightful cover of Midlake’s ‘Roscoe‘ done by Ellie Goulding. Subsequently I then also found Peter Broderick’s cover of the said song. I’m torn as to which I like better as each is different but equally amazing.
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