SWAP SNOW FOR LEAVES

SPRING IS HERE!!!! Well nearly, it's trying its hardest to push winter back into its dark secluded corner. It may still be a little while before we all can sit out on fresh cut grass, in shorts and sunnies but signs are there.

The beautiful Michael Kiwanuka is a sure soundtrack to the future sunny afternoons and late evening barbecues. This track, Lasan, sees him teaming up with the impeccable Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys. A stunning soulful voice with the bluesy production is a match made in summer heaven.

BRING ON THE SUNNY DAYS.




Pe curând!

3 ARTISTS, 1 SONG

Every now and then a unexpected collaboration comes about. Out of nowhere random, distinctive artists come together. And it's awesome!

Thanks to Converse's musical blender project, 3 Artists, 1 Song, we have a stunning trio of Gorillaz, Andre 3000 (OutKast) and James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem). The result is DoYaThing and it works, beautifully! If ever to be a fly on the wall in that studio.

Probably a bit too much to demand a joint album to follow this or even a world tour. There's always hope though. But probably best just to appreciate this one off collaboration in all its glory.



This is also a free download! Either from the Converse website or by clicking here!

Enjoy!!!!!

MY CROOKED SAINT

Not so long ago you couldn't turn a radio on in the UK without hearing a brand new ukulele/banjo led band, storming mainstream radio shows with their old fashioned styled folk style mixed with new age stories. Although fads come and go from the pop charts, good music never does.

To Kill A King, hailing from Leeds, are a band who would probably fit quite comfortably into that nu-folk category mainly due to the low-pitched, story-telling style of the singer Ralph Pelleymounter. But really though, they are just a good, mellow, rock band with elements of folk, sounding a mixture of Noah and The Whale, Wild Beasts and The National.

Their only EP to date, My Crooked Saint, is a beaut and has built quite a lot of expectation for the full length album due for release later this year. For each of the songs on My Crooked Saint there is a short film that when played consecutively make a longer short film. Below is the whole EP in longer short film form:

I: Bloody Shirt
II: We Used to Protest / Gamble
III: Family
IV: Wrecking Crew

 

Hej då!

POLIÇA'S STAR FANS

"I hope we don't let him down."

This was the reply of POLIÇA's leading lady after hearing that Justin Vernon had recently dubbed her experimental band as the best he had EVER heard. Bon Iver's front man is not the only illustrious fan they have gained, before that Jay-Z posted about them on his own Life+Times blog.

Times must be very exciting for the Minnesota band even when you consider that POLIÇA only started as an experiment to see if two people's individual talents could converge and become successful.

I'm not going to try and pinpoint their sound in fear of sounding a bit wishy-washy but the stand out thing about their song "Lay Your Cards Out" is the haziness of it all. The live drums with the melancholic backing is perfect, and the whole thing complements the heavy use of auto-tune wonderfully (it's a really good, creative auto-tune. Not a crappy, T-Pain-y auto-tune). The song also features Mike Noyce from Bon Iver as a little treat.

Tschüss!!!

SUFFOLK & ALABAMA

Ed Sheeran is a machine. I swear he can't be real. For the last year or so he has been on the move, in different cities, different countries giving breathtaking performances, attending global award ceremonies. The man's work rate is just insane. And yet amongst this he has found time to link up with an emerging US rapper, Yelawolf, a brand new EP while his current LP is arguably in the peak of its success (His album "+" has just sold 1 million copies in the UK).

I don't know too much about Yelawolf himself apart from a track called Pop The Trunk. I know he is from Alabama, he's tatted up and he is signed to Eminem's Shady Records.

As a little Valentines gift the duo have given their Slumdon Bridge EP away for free. The first song, London Bridge, has been on constant repeat today, and will for a while.

Download it HERE!!! Or click the picture below.

Here is a little taster:

Peace Y'all,

A VALENTINE FOR VANESSA

I know that today is St. Val's day but I thought I would go against tradition and the consumerisms and give you a song with a video probably more suited to Halloween than any other western holiday.

Grimes is a creepy one. A Canadian with a dark pop sound, but to call it just that is probably not giving her enough credit. Her song Vanessa sounds like it could be used as promo for a horror film but her latest single Genesis could quite easily sit with the other quirky female acts out there (Lykke Li, Oh Land, Fever Ray). Below is the video for Vanessa, which doesn't quite match the song, it looks more like a video for a heavy metal/gothic song, but that definitely adds to the appeal.

And here is Genesis! (Available for a free download which is lovely)

 

  Grimes - Genesis by FACT magazine

Toodaloo!!

DEFINITION: A FACT OR A SECRET, THAT IS MADE KNOWN

Disclosure.

Here are two South London brothers that make bouncy, fun, electronic music. The key word is FUN. You can't help but dance and smile to either track on Disclosure's latest release. It's something about the looping harmonic vocals and infectious keys which brings a late 90s feel to it but the underlying heavy bass line definitely lets you know that these guys are very much part of the current scene. Both Tenderly and Flow can be added to the list of incredible electronic/dance tracks 2012 has already spat out.

Disclosure are touring the UK with SBTRKT (probably the leader in the re-emergence of the fun garage vibe) this year. That will be a party.

 

  Tenderly/Flow by Disclosure.

Hwyl Fawr!