Unearthing MySpace Gems
It's that time again. Five more pages for you to peruse and abuse. Quick recap for those not in the know… all of the artists and groups I feature have one thing (at least) in common; all have had less than 10,000 page-views. If you know of any artists on MySpace, with less than that many page-views, that you think I should feature, please let me know. Also, as a side note, I've now set up a MySpace page specifically for this blog, you can find it here… http://www.myspace.com/jlmblog
DJ Coz/Sky Cycle - http://www.myspace.com/canedrive
This DJ/Producer is from the Midlands in the UK, he lists his genres as electronica/hip-hop/trip-hop, and… his music is beautiful. Coz's music would not be out of place on a label like Ninja Tune, Grand Central, or Warp. For a guy that grew up with Brit-rock he's certainly come a very long way! Listening to Coz's tracks I could sense a lot of influences from other artists, but I wasn't able to categorically put my finger on them - and to be honest I'm pleased about that - shows how unique he is. Every track on the page is fantastic in its own way really, so make sure you check out each; Horns At The Ready, Poise, Gospel, No Regret.
Sound Of Seventy Three - http://www.myspace.com/soundofseventythree
What can I say? I'm a real sucker for the Explosions In The Sky type sound. Even if I'm not overly in awe of some of the artists listed in So73's influences box, or even the fact they've listed their genres as indie/alternative/shoegaze - that all goes out the window, cos it's about their sound. So73 are Doug, Mike, Jeremy, and Matt, an acoustic band playing out of Atlanta, Georgia. Just two tracks on their page at the moment; Autobots, and The Great Rest - both are fantastic. If you like your instrumental rock, you have to check these guys out.
Lama - http://www.myspace.com/lamamusic
Those Norwegians eh?! Lama is Nils Martin Larsen from Oslo - an electronica producer with a tasty blend of Jaga Jazzist, Xploding Plastix, and Sigur Ros, to his sound. Just two tracks to check out on his page at the moment; Innocent Bystander, and Disruptive. Something I can really appreciate from Lama's music is the almost cinematic feel to his electronica creations - I'm very eager to hear more material, but if the two tracks on his page are anything to go by, then they will be fantastic for sure.
Morning Theft - http://www.myspace.com/amthief
And now for some IDM. Sy Ashdown is Morning Theft, an alternative/electronica/IDM producer from Bristol in the UK. Sy uses guitar, bass, synth, melodica, harmonica, and percussion, to create his fantastic electronica tracks. Four great tracks on his page currently, and my particular fav at the moment is the beautiful Panda Girl In Tokyo - also be sure to check out Morning Theft's remix of the Massive Attack track Teardrop.
Lightspeed Future Lullaby - http://www.myspace.com/lightspeedfuturelullaby
Two Bristolians in one blog entry?! Although this one came via London originally. I'm talking about David Griffiths, aka Lightspeed Future Lullaby, a down-tempo electronica producer. There's a certain Animal Collective (the less rocky tracks)/Boards of Canada feel to David's sound, yet it all keeps with the subtle down-tempo flavour that David has in his tracks. I guess the clue is in the name… Lullaby. I was particularly taken with the track Jackie, but essentially what Lightspeed Future Lullaby offers is a fantastic down-tempo listening experience. Don't miss out.
So, there's your five for this week. A distinct tilt on electronic artists for this one, So73 aside. Don't despair hip-hop fans, there's always next week! Anyway, please take the time to explore each of this weeks pages and leave them some feedback - don't forget to let me know what you think, too!
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Filed under MySpace, New Discovery | Comments (6)Chill The Folk Out!
It's Saturday, so let's kick back, relax, and get some folking action in the form of The Chapin Sisters. Sick of the daily stress and rigours of nine-to-five life? Tough shit, but the music from the trio that are The Chapin Sisters, might take your mind off such trauma for a while.
This trio, originally from New York but now living in Los Angeles, are; Abigail, Lily, and Jessica - three real-life sisters, that have been together as a band for about 18 months. Here's the trivia though… they all have the same mother, Bonnie Chapin, but Abigail and Lily are daughters of folk singer Tom Chapin, whereas Jessica's father is film director Wes Craven.
They are undoubtedly a folk group, and have drawn comparisons to Cat Power, as well as other famous folky acts. If you visit their MySpace page there are four tracks to listen too, all in a similar folky vein, but one track that really caught my attention was their fantastic cover of the Britney Spears track Toxic. Give it a try here…
The Chapin Sisters - Toxic
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 1st July.
They are currently working on their first full LP, but you can buy their first EP at CD Baby - seven tracks containing the beautiful voices of The Chapin Sisters, over the ever-pleasant folk melodies they produce. This EP includes the previously mentioned cover of Toxic. Give it a listen.
I'm open to most kinds of music, I mean I know what I don't like, but I don't categorically know for sure everything I do like. I know I like to be surprised by certain genres or artists, more so than disappointed, but that's only natural. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I was impressed by The Chapin Sisters. It wasn't that I was expecting them to in anyway be bad, but I could have quite easily accepted that I may have been indifferent towards them and their music, but alas, that wasn't to be. They're great and I cant wait till they complete and release their album. As a side note, I hear they are meant to be fantastic live. So if they're ever playing anywhere near you, don't miss it!
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Filed under Info, Links, MySpace, New Discovery | Comments (3)Track of the Week
This week has been a strange one, mainly due to my World Cup induced sleep deprevation, but yet here we are, Friday again! This week the track is from someone I've already recently talked about, but this is a different track to the two I previously put up for download…
Jamie T - So Lonely Was The Ballad
>> download <<
This download is a sample of the music only and must be deleted from your computer within 24 hours of downloading. This download link will expire on 30th June.
This track is really catchy - I'd put money on you learning the lyrics pretty quickly and singing along every time you hear it! Anyway, enjoy this pop/punk/indie catchy tune from London's very own musical geezer; Jamie T. I wont ramble on about Jamie T any further, partly cos I'm still ill and tired, and partly cos I already did that the other week… http://jeej.wordpress.com/2006/06/13/jamie-t/
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Filed under Track of the Week | Comments (2)Tired and Ill :-(
I'm feeling tired and ill today. So no 'proper' blog entry for today, I'm afraid. You can blame the World Cup, if you like. Being here in Australia has meant that the games have been live around midnight, 2am, and 5am. And now I have a bloody cold too. I'm never ill, but it must be cos of the sleep loss. How privileged must you feel? You finish checking 300 other more important sites, then think "ah, I'll see what that div-kid is talking bout today", only to find that instead it is me moaning bout being ill and tired! So I'll ramble a bit before falling into bed…
I probably already know a fair share of the people reading this blog (some how or some way), but I doubt I know you all, so feel free to add me to your MySpace (if you have it)… http://www.myspace.com/ghilla - same goes for last.fm really, feel free to add me to your friends list… http://www.last.fm/user/jeej/.
Oh, just a quick note to say 'thanks'… after this blogs' first month of existence it had received over 2000 unique visitors, which I was pretty pleased about - and to think I was thinking no-one would read it - so, thank you very much for that. 
On a similar note, I do try to mix it up a bit on the blog, seeing as it is updated daily. I try to feature new artists, share news, feature my favourite artists, and also feature some MySpace pages - but if you have any ideas or suggestions for what I should write about, or you have a specific request, just give me a shout.
Anyone at this point still twiddling their thumbs, ummm, I sometimes take photos, check out my gallery here… http://jeej83.deviantart.com/ - here's one of my latest…
And here is one of my most popular shots…
Anyway, enough of my rambling now, time for some kip! Don't worry, I'll get the train back on track tomorrow.
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The Phantom Bits & Pieces
News, news, news, just for you, you ,you. Oh, and probably some cynical commentary from yours truly, as well. As ever, if you have any music related news to share, don't be shy. I don't bite that hard.
Top Of The Pops axed! After 42 years, the BBC's weekly popular music show; Top Of The Pops, has been axed. I probably watched this show quite regularly till I was about 12 years old, but then it was aimed at the youngsters really. I'm not gonna get all sentimental with reasons like "I grew up with TOTP!", cos really, I don't care. Obviously care enough to share the news, but it really is no skin off my nose. The final episode of TOTP will be aired some time this summer. At its most popular point (in the '70s) it was getting around 19 million viewers, which for the UK is phenomenal - but recently viewing figures have been as low as 1 million. Oh well.
Portishead are to release new material for the first time in 9 years. The songs are completed, but no details on an actual release date are available yet. Founding member, Geoff Barrow, described the new material as "weird", but also said "it's nice to think us old gits have a few tunes in us without sounding like coffee table Zero 7/Moby/chill out shit!" - perhaps someone else also wasn't too impressed with the latest Zero 7 album!
I'm not really bothered by this news, but some of you might be - the Arctic Monkeys bassist has left the band. Andy Nicholson had previously blamed his absence on their tour on fatigue. But who knows why he left? He just did. The world goes on.
Madlib has released his own instrumental version of the recent Dudley Perkins album Expressions. It is titled Madlib - The Dudley Perkins "Expressions" Instrumentals. Currently it is only available via iTunes, but with any luck it will come out on all your favourite formats very soon. I'm quite interested in hearing this, as frankly, anything Madlib touches turns to gold - oh, plus the Dudley Perkins album is very good.
Evidence, of Dilated Peoples, has announced he will be releasing a solo album due out March 2007. Nothing quite like giving plenty of notice! Apparently Dilated Peoples have now fulfilled their contract agreements with Capitol Records, and as such Evidence fancied a solo project. The album will be called The Weatherman and the production will mainly be by The Alchemist and Evidence.
Internet sites better watch their backs if they have an mp3 search facility on them. A precedent has been set. The Dutch website zoekmp3.nl has been shut down by a Dutch court, not because it hosts illegal material, but because it hosts links to illegal material. Apparently the court ruled that having a warning on their site, stating that people shouldn't breach copyright laws, wasn't enough as the very reason people would be on their site in the first place was to find illegal material. It would seem the court made this harsh ruling to let the rest of Europe know that they weren't going to let themselves become the European hotbed of internet piracy.
Bloody hell… apparently Namibia are inviting Britney Spears to have her baby in their country, since Angelina Jolie already did the same thing. But it goes a step further than that - the deputy tourism leader of Namibia claims Spears is considering the invitation, although her publicist claims it is false and probably a hoax. The icing on the cake for me is this quote from the deputy tourism fella… "We have a little niche tourism market that we are developing." Absolutely classic!
That'll do you for news. I had a couple of people get back to me bout the festivals they are going to this year, but if anyone else is going to one, let me know - I want to try and get a few reports from different people up on the blog. Should make for interesting reading.
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Filed under Info, Links | Comments (4)
