Friday, June 29, 2012

Star Slinger

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-Also known as  Darren Williams
-Hip hop producer based in Manchester, UK
-Was named in the NME's Top 50 Bands of 2011
-Has provided licensed remixes for The Avalanches (forthcoming on their reissue of Since I Left You), Gold Panda amongst many others! (taken from Last FM)
-Curates his own clubnight: http://jetjam.net
-Playing Lollapalooza 2012
-Has been approached for official remix work from some of his longtime favourite bands, including Air France, Toro Y Moi, Gold Panda, Broken Social Scene, The Morning Benders, The Go! Team, Ed Sheeran, Rizzle Kicks, Foster The People, Alex Winston and Childish Gambino.

Songs to listen to: Mornin, and Dutchie Courage (Both below)


(Nicely done with this video. So sick.)



Conclusion: His remixes are cool because they're different. I'm not much of a DJ critic, but I know what I like and this guy has it going on. I also like that he's worked with Gold Panda because he's another DJ I really admire. Either way, this guy is definitely up and coming and I'm excited to see what else he has in store for us.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Alabama Shakes

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[Left to right: Heath Fogg (guitarist) Brittany Howard (vocalist), Zac Cockrell (bassist), Steve Johnson (drummer).] / Ben Tanner on Keys (not in the photo)

-American rock band formed in 2009 in Athens, Alabama
-The band began with Brittany and Zac meeting after school (high school) to write music. Heath (a fellow schoolmate) joined in soon after hearing how great they sounded. Shortly after the trio asked Steve (who at the time worked at their local music store) to join. The rest is history, The Alabama Shakes were born! (Fun fact: They used to be 'The Shakes', but changed it to distinguish themselves from other bands called The Shakes.)
-"The things you haven't worked through... or things you can't really talk about...just put them in a song ...you might know someone and you want to tell them something but you can't cause it'll just make everything really awkward.. so you just write a song about it." - Brittany / I really liked how honest and real what was said was.
-Justin from Aquarium Drunkard blog found The Alabama Shakes and posted on the band and it was only then did the band begin to blow up.
-Covers Led Zepplin's 'How Many More Time', listen here.
-Played Bonnaroo 2012, Coachella 2012, and are expected at Lollapalooza!
-Appeared on Conan O'Brien, and David Letterman.
-Toured with Jack White
-Brittany's dream collaboration as mention on NME's Youtube interview is Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Jack White (for his 'awesome' guitar work)

Songs to Listen to: Hold on, I Found You, Rise to the Sun



Conclusion: FML, this band is my summer band. FML because I only started to love them now. I feel like I've been missing out hardcore because of this, but none the less I am sooo in love with them. Brittany is just incredible. Her voice is just... I'm awe-stricken. I find myself completely losing my voice trying to keep up with her at home. The lyrics, the simplicity, the Roots feel as a package has me completely on team Alabama Shakes. Band of the summer friends, get into it.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Other Lives

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[Left to right: Colby Owens (clarinet and percussion), Josh Onstott (bass and percussion), Jenny Hsu (cello and backing vocals), Jon Mooney (violin, horns, piano and percussion), Jesse Tabish (vocals, piano, guitar and percussion)]

-American indie rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma.
-Formally known as Kunek
- Their latest album 'Tamer Animals' was released last February in 2011
-Band toured with Bon Iver
-Played  Iceland Airwaves festival
-Has music featured on Greys Anatomy and Ugly Betty
-Covered Lenoard Cohen's The Partisan, watch here.
-Opening for Radiohead (Jesse's favourite band) for the first half of their 2012 tour
-Played Coachella 2012

Songs to listen to: For 12, Tamer Animals, and It was the Night





Conclusion: Again with the cello and violin... always gets me! Jenny is just wonderful. The music is eerie and very much like a soundtrack to something deceiving and grey. Jesse's voice is good, but what takes it out the park for me is the array of instrument and the end product of every song. They're definitely one of those bands you can watch jam for hours. Also not sure what it is about them but they remind me a lot of The National... which is weird because their leading vocals don't resemble those of Matt at all... I think it's just the general feel of their music. Dark, tricky, eerie, and full of bass.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Houndmouth

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[Top: Left to Right: Matt Myers (guitar), and Shane Cody(drums) Bottom: Katie Toupin(keys and vocals), and Zak Appleby (bass)]

-Four piece rock/folk band from Indiana & Kentucky formed last year.
-Originally a duo between Katie Toupin and Matt Myers (The Saint James Hotel) they soon collaborated with Shane Cody and Zak Appleby to form Houndmouth.
-Played SXSW and are going to play Forecastle 2012!
-Played shows with The Lumineers and Those Darlins
-Here's the story on how they decided on their name Houndmouth taken from This is Our Jam Blog :

Where did you come up with your name, Houndmouth?
Matt: One night we were doing guitar tracks at Shane’s house -- we record at nighttime to get rid of all the noise during the day like sirens and car honks -- but there are always these two dogs that the neighbors have that bark all night. So, we recorded a bunch of tracks and finally get one that we liked. Then, we played it back and Shane said, “It’s not gonna work -- there’s too much houndmouth on this!” He was clearly drunk because no one would say “houndmouth." Ever. Still, the rest of the group (sobriety aside) decided that they liked the unique charm of the name Houndmouth

Songs to listen to: Krampus (down below), and Houston Train
Conclusion: Their song Krampus is bomb. I literally wake up every other day with it in my head. Katie's voice on top of the boy's harmonies is just perfect. They have a really great folky sound and I'm excited to hear more from them. Considering they've only been around for about a year, I would say they're doing pretty great. Definitely got to keep my eye on this group.