Category Archives: SOUND

THIRD MONDAYS-JANUARY 2011

Posted on January 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

THE ECLECTIC EIGHT

1. White Denim

Rock band hailing from Texas with psychedelic and dub elements. They actually even remind me a bit of The Strokes but minus the English accents. Check out their music here.

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2.Dom

A trio of twenty-something musicians from Worcester, MA released their first album, Sun Bronzed Greek Gods, a little under a year ago and have garnered quite the buzz from various critics and music heads. Here is an interview they did during the release of their album with Pitchfork. Check out some of the band’s music here.

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3. James Blake

I think it’s safe to say I am a bit late to get on this bus but definitely better late than never. I heard and saw the video for his song, “Limit to Your Love” and fell in love with his voice and words. He has a new album coming out on Feb. 7th which you should definitely go out and get. In the meantime, check out the video for “Limit to Your Love” here:

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4. Mount Kimbie

This is an jazz, dub, electronic duo from England. They met while attending university and began a new movement they called “post-dubstep”. They have garnered a steady following the release of 2 EPs and especially with their first album, Crooks and Lovers (2010). Check out their music here.

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5.Kutmah

I came across him while looking for new Flying Lotus music, as it happens they are friends. They have clearly a similar sound but Kutmah has a more dub-heavy sound. Also side-note, as it turns out after some unfortunate turn of events he now permanently resides in the UK, there’s even a site dedicated to getting him back state-side setup by his fans & friends, check it out here. Check out his music here.

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6. Jamie T

An English singer-songwriter who just won last year’s NME Best Solo Artist Award. His last album, Kings & Queens, received solid reviews and praise. Check out a few songs from that album here.

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7. Y△CHT

This dub, pop duo is from Portland. They have two other musicians who occasionally work with them increasing group to about four members. They not only focus on the sonic value of their group but the visual and aesthetic elements of their music and especially their performances. Check out their video for Summer Song here:

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8. The Chapin Sisters

This folk-pop duo is comprised of sisters, Abigail and Lily Chapin and their half-sister, Jessica Craven (daughter of director Wes Craven). Abigail and Lily’s father is legendary folk singer, Tom Chapin. They gained attention by doing an acoustic version of Britney Spears, Toxic and from there begun their music careers with the release of their first LP, Lake Bottom LP. Take a listen to their music here.

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Hope you enjoyed this month’s THE ECLECTIC EIGHT!

Selamawit


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THIRD MONDAYS–NOVEMBER 2010

Posted on November 15, 2010 | 1 Comment

THE ECLECTIC EIGHT

1.Austra

I heard of Katie Stelmanis via The Fader and her song The Beat and the Pulse. She is a classically-trained Toronto-based musician. Check out her music here.

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2. Vanessa Da Mata

Lately I  have been developing routine of listening to jazz and/or classical music so I was fortunate enough to listen to her via lastfm because of that. Although she sings in Portuguese, her voice is captivating enough to make you sit through any song of hers, even you have no idea what she may be saying. Check out her music here.

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3. David E Beats

I came across David’s video with White House Band called Bond Song and knew instantly he had to make this month’s list. Also as it turns out he just was in the DMV this past weekend for Rap Rocks DC event.

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4.V.A.S.

This young UK alternative hip/hop artist and producer has been working quite hard to develop a solid fanbase and reach across Europe and now setting his eyes on the States. He has a new EP called, Eye Paint Words, that just came out, that you can download here. Check out more of his music here.

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5.Hisham Bharoocha

He is a visual artist, photographer and a musician. He initially started his music career with the group Black Dice but then went on to doing his own project called Soft Circles than released his first official album last year under Post Present Medium (PPM) label. Check out his music here.

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6.Stac

She is a UK experimental soul singer. She has solid production and vocals on her recent album, Turn that light out. Take a listen for yourself here.

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7.Jack Cheshire

Cheshire is an English folk singer of songs with intricate lyrics and psychedelic production. He just released an album called, Allow it to Come On. Take a listen to a few of the tracks for yourself here then do yourself a favor and go and buy the album!

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8.James Yuill

Yuill is a UK electro folk singer. He is a one-man band signed to the Moshi Moshi record label. His first album, Turning Down Water for Air was released in late 2008 and has since released several singles and working on a follow-up album. Check out his music here.

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Hope you enjoyed this month’s edition of THE ECLECTIC EIGHT.

Selamawit

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THIRD MONDAYS-OCTOBER EDITION

Posted on October 18, 2010 | 3 Comments

The Eclectic Eight

1) VV Brown

I came across this singer/songwriter instantly loved her voice and her catchy pop-ish songs. Listen to two of her songs off her latest album, Traveling Like the Light, called, Game Over and Everybody.


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2) Khadafi Dub

HW is a Philly based musician who initially started out in Hip/Hop and slowed transitioned himself into the world of dub-step. Read more about his evolution as an artist here and check out the video below for one of his latest tracks called, Water, with Mt Eden Dubstep :

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3) Noah and The Whale

I came across this group thanks to a friend of mine and it definitely is a fitting band to listen to with all this weather change. I really liked their song, Give a Little Love, and after checking out their site, I found this short film they made called The First Days of Spring:

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4)Stereotori

I heard of this artist after she came across Shade and sent me some of her music. She really has some great music and a really great story too! A few years back she moved to LA from Russia and worked hard on creating a name and fan base for herself. Check out her newest single, G.F.Y. and more of her music can be found here.

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5) The Scribblenauts

Another group who reached out and I found their story, hunger, and love for hip/hop really interesting. Check out more of their music here. Here is one track off their recently released EP, “Low Light Turbulence”:

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6) Eprom

I came across him via The Fader . I heard one specific track called Dirty Diamonds feat. Sleepyhead and ended up listening to it on repeat several times. It’s that additively good.  This Bay Area music has elements of electronica, dubstep and a little hip/hop even…simply put, it’s just a sexy track. Check out his last EP called RobotSexTape:

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7)Neil Landstrumm

He is a Scottish dj/producer who does mainly grime, dub-step and techno music. Few of his tracks are on the psychedilic side too. Check out the track called, Sniff and Destroy below:

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8 ) Paloma Faith

This soulful UK singer has the delicate looks of a 40′s glamor girl but the vocals and draw of a seasoned soul singer. She is currently finishing up a lengthy tour in support of her first album, meanwhile working on her second album slated to be released the first quarter of 2011. Check out her song called New York feat Ghostface Killah:

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I hope you enjoyed this month’s edition of THE ECLECTIC EIGHT . Here are previous month’s editions and stay tuned for other posts in the future.

Selamawit

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VIDEO RECAP: Blitz the Ambassador Show

Posted on October 14, 2010 | 1 Comment

Remember the Blitz the Ambassador Event I told you guys about late last month? In between getting face-painted, scooping a drink up (a nice cola, no alcohol needed for me that night…who says you gotta drink to have a great time?!!?) , and saying hello to some familiar faces, I was tweeting away about the event…Now if you were following my tweets, you could read that I was having a truly great time, just as I predicted I would. Despite the rain, the crowd was growing bigger and bigger as the hour went on. And the performance?? Well it was surprisingly great. Honestly, I hadn’t heard of Blitz till the collective efforts of  Lunchboxtheory, Bernos, OkayAfrica,and Fusicology brought him and the entire band to DC to perform for the event.  It was honestly lots of fun, and I think it is safe to say that anyone who made it there despite the rain would agree. It made me think…all hip/hop acts should have a band and/or work with as much live instrumentation as possible. It was a refreshing showcase of hip/hop artistry and definitely nice to see the gap closing up between Africa and hip/hop that has been arguably in existence for quite some time. And well,  if you made the poor decision to miss out because of a few too many raindrops here is a video recap of what you missed out on:

Hope you enjoyed the video!

Selamawit

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PRODUCER SERIES: Rico Love

Posted on September 17, 2010 | Leave a comment

Meet Rico Love. Grammy-Award winning Songwriter, Producer and Artist. He has penned and produced songs for artists such as Beyonce, Usher, Mario, P.Diddy, Dirty Money, Donnell Jones, and Keri Hilson…just to name a few. At a ripe age of 28 he has already amassed over 70 songwriting and production credits. He has been behind some of your favorite songs over the last several years and his success has yet to reach its peak. Keep an eye out for him and in meantime check out some videos below of the songs he has worked on.

Hope you enjoyed this month’s edition of The Producer Series . Stay tuned for more!

Selamawit

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Video Contest

Posted on September 13, 2010 | Leave a comment

DISASTER MARCH is a  powerpop band currently working hard on promoting their new album and have been pushing it with this great idea of having fans create their own videos of them singing their new single, Save Me, Jaime. The winner will have his/her video featured in the official music video and get a gift card. For more information go here.

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José González

Posted on August 30, 2010 | Leave a comment

Meet José González. A Swedish folk singer of Argentine descent. He has this psychedelic soothing sound to his music that would be great for getting through the work week or even while on a car trip to the nearest beach.  I came across him over at NPR where they were streaming his entire new album, Fields, due to be released Sept. 14th.

Check out one of his earlier tracks called Teardrop below:

If you want to hear his new album go here.

Hope you enjoyed his music! If you want to follow his work more go here.

-Selamawit

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Easy Star All-Stars

Posted on August 24, 2010 | 2 Comments

This reggae band formed in 1996 has been doing covers of various popular albums over the years, such as Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, Radiohead’s Ok Computer and as of recent The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.  They don’t just cover the albums, they flip the sound entirely and do it in a reggae dub-style so the albums take on a whole different eclectic sound.  Check out this video below and for more of their music go here.

-Selamawit

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THIRD MONDAYS-August Edition

Posted on August 23, 2010 | 2 Comments

The Eclectic Eight

1)Captain

I came across this UK band’s video “Keep an Open Mind” and loved it so much I knew that I wanted to definitely include it in this month’s The Eclectic Eight. Check out the video below and make sure you go and listen to more of their music here.

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2)Jessica Six

I came across this group while looking up Nomi, who happens to be the lead and singer of this dance trio. Check out their video for the their song, Fun Girl, below and if you want to hear more of their music go here.

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3) Anthony Hegarty

I came across Anthony while perusing The Fader and heard this track below called, Thank you for your love, off of his new album, Swanlights. I love the way he sings on the song and the dramatic nature of the record. Imagine a dark moodier version of Boy George. Make sure you check out more of his and his band’s, Anthony and the Johnsons, work here.

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4)Hiro Kone

I came across this duo and took a listen specifically to their song, (((((•))))) original natives version by Hiro Kone. This specific song has a psychedelic ethnic dance sound to it that will really have you in a trance.  Check out the track above as well as her other music here.

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5)BEGGARS

First thing that comes to mind is The Beatles. Definitely a more grungier looking version but the sound and songs remind me of The Beatles, and that accent doesn’t help either. Check out their video for You & Me below and for more of their music go here.

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6)GLASS CANDY

This group was formed in Vancouver in 1996 and since then, has developed their own sound and fan base with about 11 albums under their belt. Their music has been showcased in some of the top fashion houses. They had a sound that made me think of Donna Summers meets David Bowie. Check out one of their more famous songs, Digtial Versiculor, below and more of their music here.

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7)CHROMATICS

This trio hails from Portland formed in 2002 and signed to Italians Do It Better label five years later. Since formation and up until now they have released about three albums and reportedly working on releasing their fourth.  Check out more of their music here.

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8 ) GAELLE

She is a New Jersey-born but Atlanta-based experimental soul artist. She has been releasing music for over a decade now and is slowing gaining  a strong following over those years. Check out more of her work here.

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I hope you enjoyed this month’s edition of The Eclectic Eight. Make sure you support all of these artists !

Selamawit

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Red Directors

Posted on August 11, 2010 | Leave a comment

Meet the Red Directors.Since 2004, this indie band, formed in New York and still currently based in Brooklyn, has been creating quite the strong following all along the east coast. Over the years, the band has released four albums and now currently pushing their fifth album, Wave It In.  Off of their new album, Wave It In, the current new single is Naked in the Kitchen. When I heard this specific song it reminded me of the type of music I’d expect to hear on a film soundtrack, an indie or even coming-of-age comedy of sorts.  Also their  vocals sound very Beach Boys-esque in the way they are harmonizing and floating on top of the instrumentals. The band’s sound is a mixture of rock, pop, and punk; similar bands that come to mind would be The Kooks and Vampire Weekend.

Here are a few tracks off of the new album, specifically their new single, Naked in the Kitchen and one of my album favs, After Sunday, for you to take a listen to for yourself:

Naked in the Kitchen

After Sunday

Also, make sure to go check out the Red Directors site, read more about the band and take a listen to a few of their other albums. Drop me a note below and let me know what you think!

-Selamawit

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