So, I’ve been a fan following White Panda for years now. He does some amazing mashups, check out some of it below:
Now, after years of working on his own writing skills, he’s released a debut track titled, “Hands On Me” and features fantastic vocals from Island Records’ emerging pop duo Loote. It’s fun, upbeat, feel-good, party-ready…everything one looks for in summer jams.
Filed under Awesome, Check 'em Out!, dance
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“Kyle’s style lands somewhere between the whimsy of fun., the plucky pitter-patter of Good Old War, and the vocal expressiveness of Conor Oberst.”
– MTV Buzzworthy“…a starburst of drums and synths…” – NYLON
Listen: Kyle Andrews – “The Way To Wonder”
Kyle Andrews LP Brighter Than The Sun out now! Check it out on iTunes here.
Filed under new albums, video
RAC put out a new album. It includes some of their best remixes over the past two years! Check it out! My faves are their remixes of Phantogram’s “When I’m Small”, The Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition” and Theophilus London’s “Why Even Try”.
Listen/download: RAC – Chapter One
Filed under Awesome, downloads, listen, new albums
In anticipation of their upcoming performances at SXSW, Austin based indie rock trio The Rocketboys have debuted a brand new song, “Bloodless,” from their long-awaited new full-length album, Build Anyway, which is scheduled for release on June 5.
Filed under Check 'em Out!, listen
“Cake” is overly bright, intensely catchy and it sounds like everything.
Check out this video for Keepaway’s “Cake”, off their debut album Black Flute. In this case, there IS cake for the curious!!!
Filed under Check 'em Out!, listen, new albums, Newest Love, video
SuperHeavy, consisting of Damien Marley, Dave Stewart, Mick Jagger, A.R. Rahman and Joss Stone, has released the highly anticipated self-titeld album for pre-order via iTunes.
Mick Jagger has teamed up with Eurythmics founder Dave Stewart, soul singer Joss Stone, Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack composer A.R.Rahman and reggae star Damian Marley to form a band cooperative project called SuperHeavy. This diverse and eclectic line up who share eleven Grammy Awards between them, have been recording together in various studios around the world, with the majority of the tracks on the project laid down over three weeks in Los Angeles earlier this year.
It’s little wonder that Stewart refers to SuperHeavy as, “A mad alchemist type experiment”. Fusing the talents of one of the greatest front-men of all time, a two time Academy award winning Indian composer, a soul vocal prodigy, a three time Grammy winning reggae star, and one of the most sought after producers in the world, you would expect the explosive results to defy categorisation.
SuperHeavy came together after Jagger and Stewart considered what a band comprising of musicians from different genres would sound like. Jagger explains, “Dave really wanted to make a record with a different group of musicians, in other words, with different backgrounds of music. Instead of everyone being a rock musician, or a blues musician, or some other genre, he wanted to get as many genres together that would fit. I said it sounds like a good idea, I never thought it would actually happen.”
Despite their disparate backgrounds, they instantly connected and hit the ground running, writing twenty-two songs in the first six days. Stone was thrilled with the results, “That’s what you need, all these opinionated people who have been brilliant in their own field, shove them together and see what comes out. It’s really unexpected, it’s mind blowing,” she enthuses.
However, despite the free flow of creative juices and the easy rapport they established, getting the band together in one place became very difficult, as Stewart explains, “It’s the most complicated record ever made. Imagine, some of it’s recorded in LA, some of it’s recorded in the South of France, some of it’s recorded off the coast of Cyprus, some of it’s recorded in Turkey, some of it’s recorded in Miami, some of it’s recorded in the Caribbean, and some of it’s recorded in Chennai, in India.”
The project needed a name. Marley had been riffing the term “SuperHeavy”, inspired by Muhammad Ali being the super heavy weight champion of the world and the phrase became the band’s catchphrase, “It was Mick who said, ‘Why don’t we call it SuperHeavy?”, recalls Stewart, “We all thought about it for ages and then it sort of stuck.”
Back to that alchemical experiment, Jagger, Stewart, Marley, Rahman and Stone appear to have created a new genre. It’s a new kind of music, it’s a new genre, one that cannot be placed” says Stone. Yet, Jagger is keen to point out the music is accessible, “It’s very approachable. If you’re a Rolling Stones fan there’s definitely stuff you can relate to.”
As far as the future of SuperHeavy goes, “We haven’t planned to do a tour or anything, but if people really like it maybe we will. We’d love to get out and play some of it live,” says Jagger humbly. “As soon as we started playing together in the studio it gelled, and all these different styles didn’t seem to be a problem to make them fit together… I hope people will like it….”
I know I like what I’ve heard so far…and can’t wait to hear the rest! The band’s self-titled album will be in stores September 20, 2011.
Superheavy Tracklist:
Bonus Tracks:
Filed under Check 'em Out!, Highly Anticipated, listen, new albums, Newest Love, video, Whoa!
“So why don’t you erase my name, cuz I will never feel the same.”
Check out this happy little ditty from Tahiti 80.
Tahiti 80 specialize in a danceable mix of carefree melodies and intoxicating grooves. The band’s debut album, Puzzle, was released by Minty Fresh in the U.S. in 1999, and was critically acclaimed as a refreshingly upbeat nod to late 60s West Coast pop (particularly the Beach Boys). The album also placed Tahiti 80 squarely in the center of the “French Pop Invasion” that was hitting the U.S., along with fellow French bands Phoenix and Air (most notably). The band has been relentlessly productive ever since, having released an astounding ten EP’s and The Past, The Present & The Possible marking their sixth full-length album (which is available now).
Comments Off on New Video: Tahiti 80 “Easy”
Filed under Check 'em Out!, new albums, video
Generally I have a hard time coming up with a list of top albums from the year. Probably because there are few albums where I genuinely like over half of the songs. Entire albums tend to disappoint me, especially when you check out a band because of one particular song only to find out the rest of them suck. With that said, this list is serious. The following albums from this year demand your attention if you haven’t given it up already. Oh, and I tried to put them in order of relevancy, but I can’t. Some are easily in the top half, some are easily in the bottom half; but I just can’t differentiate and after 3 tries and the third not being a charm, I quit. (Hahaaaa!)
10. Menomena – Mines
Favorite song: “Oh Pretty Boy, You’re Such a Big Boy”
9. The Limousines – Get Sharp
Favorite song: “Internet Killed the Video Star“
8. School of Seven Bells – Disconnect from Desire
Favorite song: (It’s a tie!) “Windstorm” and “Heart Is Strange”
7. Two Door Cinema Club – Tourist History
Favorite song: “I Can Talk”
6. Broken Bells – Broken Bells
Favorite song: (another tie!) “October” and “Trap Doors”
5. Javelin – No Mas
Favorite Song: “The Merkin Jerk”
4. Suckers – Wild Smile
Favorite Song: “Roman Candles”
3. Wolf Parade – Expo 86
Favorite song: “What Did My Lover Say?”
2. Matt & Kim – Sidewalks
Favorite song: “Block After Block”
1. Girl Talk – All Day
Favorite song: “That’s Right”
(The back cover is even cooler!)
Filed under Lists
August 24th marks the release date of Ra Ra Riot’s sophomore album, The Orchard. They will soon be embarking on a pretty extensive tour, including playing in Toronto at the Molson Amphitheatre with City and Colour and Tegan and Sara on August 28th. The band will also support Wintersleep during a Western Canadian tour in November. Full tour dates are on their MySpace page here.
The Orchard follows the band’s debut full-length, The Rhumb Line, which was released two years ago and hailed by such publications as Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly which called it, “worthy of a living room dance party.”
The album is now available for pre-order at Gallery AC in digital and physical formats, including a deluxe limited edition CD+DVD package with a “making of” documentary. All pre-orders of The Orchard include with a free MP3 of the albums first single, “Boy.” Pssssst…you can also get “Boy” here by entering your email address! (It’s fantastic, so I suggest you just do it!)
Filed under downloads, Highly Anticipated, new albums
Musically Amusing 