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Saturday Selection: Dead Leaf Echo - Jess Fairlie - For Esmé

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Dead Leaf Echo - Lemonheart. Some background words - Brooklyn's Dead Leaf Echo is an music/art collective that released their debut LP "Thought and Language" in 2013. The album had clear 4AD influences as it was mixed by John Fryer (Lush, NIN, Depeche Mode) with artwork by the label's legendary designer V23's Vaughan Oliver (Pixies, Bauhaus). Their latest EP "true.deep.sleeper" released in 2014 saw them working with Monte Vallier (Weekend, Wax Idols). They are in the middle of recording their 2nd LP again w/ Vallier and also contributions from Jorge Elbreht (Ariel Pink, No Joy) at Mexican Summer's studio in Greenpoint. A 7" single will be released in September followed by a North American tour and appearance at Desert Stars Festival in Joshua Tree w/ Swervedriver and The Lemonheads. They've constantly topped the CMJ Top 20 indie charts. They've played twice live on KEXP's John in the Morning and were recently featured as song...

Weekend Wonders: The Traveling Zoo - Delamere - Blaenavon

The Traveling Zoo - Believe Me. The Traveling Zoo, are a  Spanish classic pop band, who tell us they are releasing "Science & Fictions", their third album in three years. Featured song 'Believe Me' is also their first single planned, from the new album. That's all I know at present, I have heard just three songs from the album and each one was encouragingly good, so perhaps we are going to be on the receiving end of something quite special in the near future. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Delamere - Heart. In Brief - This is the bands forthcoming single 'Heart', due out on October 9th, apparently it's a re-recording of an earlier version. Their debut album is due for release in early 2016. The band are described as an 'indie electronica' band and are from around Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent, here in the UK. From what I have been ab...

A Couple Of Good Ones: Joseph Giant - East Love

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Joseph Giant - On The Run. The story so far and we quote - Joseph Giant is a Rock & Roll band from Seattle Wa. Formed in 2010 by Joe Syverson, the band quickly shared stages with some of the best bands in town and from around the country. Joseph Giant has played shows with War On Drugs, AA Bondy, Fruit Bats, The Moondoggies , Quiet Life, The Maldives, Jessica Hernandez and The Deltas & many more... Jangly backwoods indie rock with an introspective yet upbeat feeling straight out of Seattle, and layered with lots of warm tones and wandering electric guitars and slides.  Break It Together is the 2nd album from the Seattle band Joseph Giant. Recorded by Kevin Suggs (Cat Power, Eddie Vedder) in his South Seattle Studio the Imperial Room & Mixed by Chris Woodhouse (Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Meatbodies, Wild Flag) at The Dock in Sacramento, Ca and Mastered by Ed Brooks at RFI in Seattle, Wa in July of 2015.  The album is a personal scrapbook of events that Joe Syv...

Quality Not Quantity: TIO - Babes are Wolves - The Sunday Reeds

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TIO - Through The Heavy Clouds. There website tells us - TIO toil together and co-create in a honeycombed metal silo, hovering over an upturned and chard treasure chest of chords, lights and memories. Flittering stills of futures to come, love's decay and rebirth. The club becomes a mirror for everyone, and it shakes, sometimes slowly. They met outside of the city somewhere. A few years ago, wind whips the sand, glass, wires and light. TIO are from Toronto, Canada. TIO make music from a self feeding wellspring of churning, purple and black waves which says; "you could sit there, or stand, but we are invoking THE invitation, and it is open, swaying and dropping. Movement and memory are the goal, together, lips like wine " They also add - The noise of time is not sad. Time lingers and repeats through the camera. Captured and re-captured, played and re-played, we see each other through the lens of time.  Two worlds, two cameras: Through the Heavy Clouds captures two l...

Cowboy Junkies - Vancouver, Canada, 1996 (IA).

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From the Internet Archive (IA), this is Cowboy Junkies  live at the Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada, back on May 6th, 1996.  As many of you no doubt know Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative country/blues/folk rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Margo Timmins (vocalist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Alan Anton (bassist). From Wikipedia - The Cowboy Junkies first performed publicly at the Beverley Tavern and other clubs in Toronto's Queen Street West, including The Rivoli. Their 1986 debut album, produced by Canadian producer Peter Moore, was the blues-inspired Whites Off Earth Now!!, recorded using an ambisonic microphone in the family garage. The group's fame spread with their second album, The Trinity Session, recorded in 1987 at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity. Their sound, again using the ambisonic microphone, and their mix of blues, country, folk, rock and jazz earned them both crit...

Sundays Alternative Take - Less Is More & More Is More

Starr Blazerz - Found That Soul. Background - Starr Blazerz began in 2013 as a songwriting collaboration between Virginia producer Justin Marlowe and Dallas songwriting veteran Glen Reynolds. By late 2014, both artists were intrigued by the potential of a full release of their work together. At that point Starr Blazerz was born. Inspired by the early 80's anime TV series, the band's name credits their blend of hip hop ("Starr" a salute to rap pioneers Gang Starr), R&B, House, and Synth Pop with the trippy nature of said mixture ("Blazerz"). 'Found That Soul' is the first of three singles from Starr Blazerz' forthcoming album "Reconstruction", out in early 2016 . The first single (due out on the 9th October) is a really nice surprise. For me there are shades of OMD in the lead vocals (that's a plus point) and a striking soundtrack. The album is quite stunning and has even stronger tracks, so if you like the single make a no...

On Our Horizon: Shakedown At The Majestic - Across Silent Hearts

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Shakedown At The Majestic - In Control (from the forthcoming EP). Background - Shakedown At The Majestic was formed in New York City by guitarist Chris Vermillion and drummer Taylor Nimtz. They have become well known in the power pop underground and for bringing fun, energetic, superbly played performances to the music scene. Jonathan Vermillion (Chris’s brother) also plays guitar in the band, and after they moved out to Seattle, they added Rob Moura on bass.  Their debut, self-titled EP was produced by legendary recording innovator and Stranger genius Steve Fisk (Nirvana,The Posies, Screaming Trees) for release Friday, November 6, 2015. Shakedown At The Majestic’s name evokes the bamalama and bomp of British Invasion bands, as well as fuelled-up garage groups from a few years out and beyond. The signature style of singles like “Run For Your Life” and “In Control” feature tightly woven harmonies and interweaving vocal melodies, drawing from rock and pop's early years but deli...

Musical Influences: Saint Cole - Electric Parlor - Moana

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Saint Cole - Within This Skin. About Saint Cole - Nic (vocals/producer/DJ) and Curt (guitar/keys) are from a small town called Dewsbury in West Yorkshire just two miles from Morley, home of the legendary nineties techno night The Orbit. Heavily influenced by this scene and the now legendary stories surrounding the club, Nic started producing and mixing hard dance/techno.  Saint Cole represents Nic's passion for dance music fused with his love of indie/rock. He cites influences as diverse as The Beatles, The Stone Roses, The La's, Chemical Brothers, Massive Attack and Leftfield. Saint Cole was born when he started working with his life long friend Curt. The duo were soon joined by third band member Martin Kolcak who is based in Slovakia and contributes artwork, visuals and animation. Neither Nic nor Curt have met Martin yet, though this is set to change when Saint Cole embark on a tour in summer 2016, complete with live visuals . Their debut E.P to be released Friday the ...

'Young Hearts Run Free' - Kirsten Izer - Jennifer Budd

Kirsten Izer - Wave. Background, promo and plaudits from others - 19 year old indie alternative-pop singer, Kirsten Izer, announces the release of her debut EP, What If This Is It?, which is set to drop on September 25, 2015. Every track on the EP is written, performed and produced by the singer/songwriter, whose “style is wild and free while adding a distinctive note of extravaganza to a familiar pop formula” (Nothing But Hope and Passion). After graduating high school, the NJ-based singer/songwriter decided to hold off on college so she could continue writing songs and begin a career in music. However, giving into to the pressure of society, she held off on making her own music and began working for other musicians full-time at the young age of 18 years old. After a stressful year of pretending to be an adult, Izer decided to finally quit her job, start being a teenager, and more importantly, start making music for herself. The EP features Izer’s single, “Wave,” with “fuzzed-out...

Chris and Carla - Paradiso, Holland 2007 (Internet Archive).

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From the Internet Archive this is  Chris and Carla  recorded live back on March 12th 2007, at The Paradiso, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I am sure that most reading this will know that Chris and Carla is a side project by the pair who are part of the band The Walkabouts. Carla Torgerson and Chris Eckman met and began playing music together in 1983 while attending Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. In 1984 they moved to Seattle, and the band (The Walkabouts) was born when they joined forces with Chris' two younger brothers, drummer Grant and bassist Curt. The Eckman brothers had been playing in various punk rock and pop groups during their college years, and Carla came from a folk and street singing background. The band took their name from Nicolas Roeg's cult film, Walkabout. As can be seen form the following piece from Wikipedia Chris and Carla have been extremely active musicians down the years -  Eckman and Torgerson have also released albums as side pro...

Australian Double Play: Zac Slater - Michael Fuhrman

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Zac Slater - Moon Mission. Background - Hailing from Launceston Tasmania, recently located to Melbourne in 2014 to pursue his music career. Having already had the successful supporting tours under his belt with Sticky Fingers, Thundamentals, Kingswood, Jackie Onassis, Phil Jamieson, Bootleg Rascal, Boo Seeka, just to name a small portion. Zac looks set and as if he is waltzing around with his boot raised high, ready to imprint his foot in the Australian Music industry. Zac released a Self-titled debut Solo EP via Rockfellaz in 2010 which saw him securing his name down as a Australian APRA 2011 song writing finalist. Five years later, hundreds of live shows and also building a band, Zac has crafted his style into something hugely unique, not only his sound but stage presence as well, promising one of the most energetic and passionate sets this day and age has seen. Definitely put this on your list of gigs to see!  The track ‘Moon Mission’ was recorded and produced by Zac hims...

Sundays Alternative Take - From Soul To Synths

Phantoms - All In feat. Little Know. Background - Los Angeles dark pop duo Phantoms have announced their signing to Casablanca / Republic Records and have revealed their debut EP on the label, Broken Halo, out September 25th. The EP features 4 original songs including "Broken Halo" and "Voyeur" with vocals from Nicholas Braun, and new singles "All In" featuring Little Know and "Colors." The project also includes an unreleased remix of the title track from electronic synthwave producer Com Truise. Broken Halo is Phantoms' first body of work since their debut EP on Skrillex's Nest free release imprint two years ago, and the two have even more content on the way. Vinnie Pergola & Kyle Kaplan, AKA Phantoms, have honed their sound to scale from their underground foundations to the heights of electronic pop production, setting the tone for their forthcoming full-length album in 2016. Phantoms will be performing live in New York at Baby...

Saturday Double With: Lilly Wolf - Babaganouj

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Lilly Wolf - Violence. Bio -  The duo is the collaborative project of Stanford brainiacs Lilly Wolf and producer Alex Neuhausen, better known as Dr. Nu (who derives his pseudonym from his doctorate in electrical engineering). While the duo consists of these two equal partners, Wolfson’s name and face represent them. While studying at Stanford University, Wolfson and Neuhausen met on line in a musician-based Facebook group. At the time, Wolfson had a singer/songwriter focus and recruited Neuhausen to play the guitar. Having won several singing competitions and performed on “A Prairie Home Companion,” Wolfson was pursuing a more acoustic sound.  However, after a few years of performing music in the Bay Area, the two transitioned their style and entered the EDM arena, employing synths, elements of house and dubstep, and their own electro flavourings to craft an entirely different sound. Lilly Wolf has made a name for themselves with their high-energy sets that have ear...

Past References & Modern Slants: Big White - Mutiny Mutiny - Younghusband

Big White - You Know I Love You. Alway's good to hear straight from the artist or band, this is what Big White have to say - We're a band called Big White and I thought you might like to check out our debut single called 'You Know I Love You'. The band first met when we moved in to a share house together. It is an old 9 bedroom art deco house with a weird past having previously been a brothel, and a surgery, but now we all live there! Our first recording session was in a Berlin bomb shelter whilst we were travelling, and we toured south west USA (inc shows at SXSW and Burgerama w/ Ty Segall and Ariel Pink) before we toured our homeland of Australia. This is our first single which has had some early love from NME and we will have an album out later this year . Facebook Here . A feisty beat and thoroughly beguiling vocals. Shades of new wave and post punk from years gone by, with a modern slant, totally enjoyable. -----------------------------------------------...

Wonderful Wednesday: The Legends - Oh Be Clever - Rory Max Kaplan

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The Legends - Winter Is The Warmest Season - from the album 'It's Love'. An expanded version of The Legends "It's love" (originally released on Cascine this summer) is out on Labrador October 16th. One of the new tracks features lead vocals by Sara Carlsson who also happens to be the main subject of the album. Bio - The Legends from Stockholm have enjoyed a somewhat accidental career. Beginning with Up Against The Legends, their debut album in 2003, the project was comically assumed to be a 9-piece band due to early shows consisting of friends on stage, drunk and generally winging it. In actuality, The Legends has only ever been a personal outlet for one man, Johan Angergård, apart from his other, more focused projects, Club 8 and Acid House Kings. Following the first LP were two back-to-back full-lengths – Public Radio in 2005, and Facts and Figures in 2006. Both records were well received, providing The Legends a platform to play festivals and tour ...