1. THAO and MIRAH

This pop-folk duo has been generating pretty good buzz for the past few years. Each musician bringing her own aesthetic and sound to create an interesting balance between folk, pop and rock. They have a new album coming out on the 26th of this month and luckily NPR is live streaming it so definitely take a second and check out their music here.

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2. SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME

I came across this experimental pop group from Michigan and instantly loved their songs Make a Plan and Mighty Cloud. Check out their music here.

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3. CLYTEM SCANNING

She is a Parisian one-woman band creating house and experimental pop music  Take a listen to some of her music here.

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4. kIM NOVAk

An indie French band of boys  with a woman’s name as their group name, making pop music. Got it? Okay good, now go check out their music here.

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5. MOZEZ

He is a Jamaican UK-bred lounge, electronica and R&B musician. He intially started out in a music group during late 90s but as of late embarked on a solo mission. Take a listen to his music here.

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6. SOPHIE BAKER

Baker is a breathy folk acoustic-guitar playing singer. She has released a few albums since 2004, most recently being this year’s Seagull. Take a listen for yourself here.

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7. BEBEL GILBERTO

She is a Grammy nominated Brazilian singer who comes from a well-known musically inclined family. She has been working on her music for quite some time and although she isn’t Indie in the traditional sense, I think too often in the states we overlook too many great international musicians. So take a second a listen to her music here.

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8. PIERS FACCINI

I came across this indie folk singer and songwriter and instantly loved his song, Your Name No More. He has this bluesy quality to his famous that reminds me of a Amos Lee or Ben Harper. Take a listen to his music for yourself here.

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I hope you enjoyed this month’s edition of THE ECLECTIC EIGHT. Make sure to check out each respective musician’s sites and support their music.

Selamawit

Now, I am a huge James Brown fan and a lover of all things related to soul music, so when I first heard about the upcoming Chocolate City Soul Revue event on June 4th at DAR Constitution Hall, I knew I had to go.  So imagine how much more certain and excited I was about going when I got this really amazing soul mix via Lunchboxtheory Productions in support of this upcoming Chocolate City Soul Revue event. Let’s take a look at what they wrote:

In anticipation for the massive soul show, Chocolate City Soul Revue, coming to DC on June 4th, DJ Pari  and Mr. Fenty decided to give us a tease by creating an hour long funky fresh mixtape full of rare soul grooves. DJ Pari, founder of SoulPower has an extensive history delving into the depths of funk and soul when starting out as a DJ in Germany in his teens, Now a master producer and DJ, Pari plays almost exclusively rare Soul and Funk 45s and he has performed in clubs and at festivals across the world. Mr. Fenty has a love for records and started collecting rare soul records from a young age.  Together with DJ Pari they created one of the most popular radio shows of its kind in the global Soul scene.   There is nothing like a little funk and soul to put a hop, skip, and a jump into your day.

http://soundcloud.com/lunchboxtheory/chocolate-city-soul-revue

Check out The Impressions, the reunion of James Brown’s Orginial Funky Diva, Eli “Paperboy” Reed, DJ Pari and Mr. Fenty at DAR Constitution Hall on June 4^th. (More information about the event here)

Take a good listen to this soulful funky mix and mark your calendars, this is surely an event you don’t want to miss!

Selamawit

Femi Kuti and The Positive Force are blessing the DMV with a show at the 9:30 club on Saturday April 23rd. Having the father of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, as your father only makes sense for Femi to take the reigns and continue to spread the power and heat of Afrobeat music. The group weaves in telling tales of political corruption, love for life, people, and one’s country, with African drums and horns. Take a listen for yourself here and here are the event details:

Femi and The Positive Force are not to be missed, so mark your calendars now!

-Selamawit

Meet Orchestre Poly-Rythmo. This band hails from West African country of Benin and is signed to the legendary Strut Records. They have been around for decades and after taking a 20-year hiatus, the band switched up their lineup, and  just this week released their album, Cotonou Club .  See, this week has been a long hectic week for me…and it’s not even over yet! So this specific track I’m listening to called Pardon, is giving me just the right amount of horns and drums I needed to stir my spirit and get me amped and excited about the impending weekend. To listen to more of the album go here.

Happy Thursday!

Selamawit

Deadline – April 9, 2011

Washington, DC [March 28, 2011] – FotoDC, the premier photography non-profit, which has evolved from FotoWeek DC, is celebrating the power of photography and its unlimited possibilities with the onset of spring. FotoDC has partnered with the National Cherry Blossom Festival to produce the National Cherry Blossom Photo Contest. The submission deadline has been set for April 9, 2011.

“This is a special contest for us as the festival is a widely-anticipated and important tradition in our Nation’s Capital,” said Theo Adamstein, FotoDC Founder, “With everything that the festival entails – the people, the cherry blossoms, the city – photography is the perfect medium to make these classic moments timeless.”

The contest, which began on February 11, is accepting entries in three categories: Landscape, People, and Festivities, taken during this year’s festival (March 26 – April 10), or taken within the previous two years.

The judges for this inaugural contest will be comprised of some of the biggest names in the industry including David Hicks, Washingtonian Photo Editor; Kim Hubbard, Senior Photo Editor at National Geographic; and Jayme McLellan, Curator, Founder, and Director of Civilian Art Projects.

For each category, first place winners will receive a $500 cash prize, second place winners will receive a weekend stay at the Renaissance Washington, DC Dupont Circle Hotel, and third place winners will receive a Nikon Coolpix S3000, sponsored by Penn Camera.

All finalist and winning images will be projected at FLASH in Crystal City on April 16, 2011; gain media and online exposure at FotoDC.org andNationalCherryBlossomFestival.org; and will be shown in projection and/or exhibition form during the 2011 FotoWeek DC Festival, November 5-12, 2011.

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About FotoDC

Founded in 2008, FotoWeek DC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has evolved from a city-centric photography festival to FotoDC, a multi-season tribute to photography in all its forms. FotoDC celebrates the transformative power of photography through the exhibition of inspiring and provocative images, diverse programming, and collaboration with the local and international community.  FotoWeek DC continues to play a central role in FotoDC programming, with its annual festival in November.  For further information visit www.FotoWeekDC.org.

In celebration of their 2 year anniversary party tomorrow, the Lunchboxtheory crew have released a new mix called, Africa Undone, and did a revamp of their site.  I have to say it is definitely my favorite mix thus far. I couldn’t help but dance in my chair as I sat listening late into the night. Take a listen for yourself here:

So make sure you listen to the mix and prep real good for the party tomorrow night at Bossa Lounge in Adams Morgan. Also, be prepared to listen to the delicatable sounds of Heturu and the hypnotizing mixes of Dj Underdog and Dj Camjus. Also word is, there will be delicious homemade treats for everyone!

See you there!

Selamawit

Exhibition and Art Auction Event to Benefit the Japanese Red Cross Society

As the waters recede on the coasts of Japan the DC art community joins together to provide relief for all those who have lost everything in one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of man.

On Thursday, March 31st, 2011, ReadysetDC and Curating for a Cause team up to host RESTORE: Japan at Lamont Bishop Gallery.

RESTORE: Japan will feature artwork by 32 of the area’s top visual artists. The exhibition is curated by ReadysetDC’s Peter Chang and Curating for a Cause’s Jackie Cantwell and Allison Byers and will feature an art auction.

Thursday, March 31st | 7-11PM
Lamont Bishop Gallery
1314 9th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

Proceeds benefit The Japanese Red Cross Society. http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/index.html

SXSW Edition

Here we are again in March and this time I have to yet again miss SXSW in Austin. On the upside, I’ll be enjoying myself in Paris and Turkey so I’m not losing entirely and I’ll also have few new goodies to talk about on here from my trip. And trip or not, The Eclectic Eight list will always be up and just like last year in March, it’ll be more geared towards featuring just artists who are set to perform at SXSW. So take a look and listen…and if you are in Austin during this epic week, make sure to stop through and support these various artists!

1. ZORCH

Psychedelic experimental pop duo. Set to perform Saturday March 19th, 8pm at Malaia Upstairs.  Take a listen to their music here.

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2. SECRET CITIES

Trio hailing from North Dakota making psychedelic electro-acoustic music. Set to perform Friday, March 18th afternoon at the REDEFINE Mag first-ever epic house party. Even if you miss that you can still catch them at one of the SXSW official shows at Lamberts on Saturday, March 19th at 9pm. Take a listen to them here.

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3. COUSIN COLE

DJ and half of group Flagrant Fowl. Set to perform Thursday, March 17th at 12:30am at Malaia Upstairs. Downloan and listen to his most recent mixtape, Major Rager, here.

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4. FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS

Soulful multi-member group of musicians and singers. Set to perform Friday, March 19th at 11:15pm at Mellow Johnny’s. Take a listen to their music here.

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5. BUTCHER BEAR AND CHARLIE

Soulful electronica group. Set to perform Thursday, March 17th at 9pm at Mellow Johnny’s. Take a listen to the group’s music here.

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6.SAADI

Pop, reggae, and electro singer. She is set to perform on Friday, March 18th at the Clive Bar. Take a listen to her music here.

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7. NICOLE ATKINS

Experimental folksy singer-songwriter. She is set to perform on Friday, March 18th at the Clive Bar. Take a listen to her music here.

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8. THE ECHOCENTRICS

Electro-Soul band with deep Latin-American roots. They are one of the many great musicians set to perform at Wax Poetics SXSW Music Showcase on Wednesday, March 16th. Take a listen to the group’s music here.

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

Selamawit

Meet Noze.

Both electro indie groups, the former hailing from the UK and the latter from France. They collaborated back in late 2010 for the song, I was drunk and made a great video featuring one mustached baby. Check out more of their music here and here and check out the video for I was drunk:

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1. WARPAINT

This psychedelic all-girl quartet came together in 2004, then went on to release their first LP, Exquisite Corpse, in 2007. Their initial LP garnered much praise and attention, eventually landing them a record deal. They followed that up in 2010 with the release of The Fool. Take a listen to one of their songs, Undertow here.
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2. !!! (also called chk chk chk)

This is a dance-punk band from Sacramento, CA. They are comprised of former members of various other local bands from Sacramento who were part of the dance punk scene there during the late 90s. Since their formation, they have released several albums and at numerous festivals, even securing a slot in this year’s Coachella. Take a listen to the band’s music here.

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3. THAO WITH THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN

Thao Nguyen, a Falls Church, VA native, started dabbling in music while she was a young kid learning the guitar. During her college years while working on her solo EP she met drummer Willis Thompson, and soon enough they added two other musicians creating the group as we see it now. The band’s music is classified as alternative folk but they do draw inspiration and sounds from country, early soul and jazz. Take a listen to their music here.

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4. KELE (of Bloc Party)

Kelechukwu “Kele” Rowland Okereke is a Nigerian-English singer-songwriter. He is the lead singer of the band Bloc Party but also performs as a solo artist.  After the band took a hiatus in 2008, Kele released his first solo effort called The Boxer in June 2010. I listened to two of his tracks called Tenderoni and Everything You Wanted and instantly loved them. Watch the video for both here:

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5. NOUVELLE VAGUE

This french music group came to be in 2003, creating music that mixes new wave and bossa nova. They often have various singers collaborate with them on their albums to create unique songs and introduce new styles to their albums. Take a listen to their music here.

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6. AFROBETA

This Miami duo came together in 2006 creating avant-garde dance music. By 2009, they had managed to create quite a strong buzz and this coming year in 2011 they are slated to perform at the legendary Glastonbury Festival. Take a listen to their music here.

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7. Mumford & Sons

This is an English folk rock band that formed in 2007 and since then has gained much critical praise and grown a pretty strong fan base. Take a listen to them here.

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8. LAURA MARLING

She is a folk singer-songwriter. She use to be part of the original line-up in Noah and the Whale but embarked on her own musical journey in 2008. Take a listen to some of her music here.

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

Selamawit