Mapei

Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud 

-29-year-old born in Rhode Island and raised in Stockholm
-Loves Kendrick Lamar
-'Mapei brings palpable soul and sonic versatility to a world where genre matters less and less.' - From her Facebook
-'Mapei brings palpable soul and sonic versatility to a world where genre matters less and less. The Stockholm native soaks up influences – from hip-hop to dance-pop and Swedish club to gospel – and the results feel organic, timeless and positively exuberant. It’s music of experience – well-traveled and alive.' - From her SoundCloud
-“Don’t Wait” is a song about friendship, and love, and letting the ones you care about know what they mean to you, before it’s too late." - Interview with Buzzfeed
-'Born to a Liberian mother and an American father, Mapei moved to Sweden with her mother when she was 10, and later spent time in Brazil, Tunisia, and Portugal. These influences all come through in her music, as do the club sounds of Sweden, where she got her start in the underground hip-hop scene.' - BuzzFeed interview

Songs to listen to: Don't Wait (below)



Conclusion: Because she hasn't been out very long, there isn't much to comment on except that I'm very  excited to hear more from her! She has a wicked sound and her music is a lot of fun to sing. They're totally 'anthem' songs if you can understand what I mean by that. But anyways, I need more from her! Till then I'll just wait. Here's what we can expect from her album once it's released, taken from an interview she did featured on BuzzFeed.

What is the vibe of your upcoming album like, then?

 The vibe’s really eclectic, and I just want it to be accepting [of it] because it’s a mixture of everything. I hope every style hits home with different people. There’s a lot of rock riffs, guitar riffs, 808s — a mixture, how like “Don’t Wait” is a mixture between everything. All the songs have that mix.

Superhumanoids

Twitter | Facebook | Website | SoundCloud 

[Max, Cameron, Sarah]
-Officially began May 2011
-Toured with Local Natives, Cold War Kids,
-Mustard field - Sarah's favourite breakfast place in California
-Their album Exhibitionists is self produced
-balance shimmering ‘80s new wave with sharp-elbowed observations about doubt, love and longing." - Billboard
-"I hope our music is something that people can put on at a party, but also when they're alone and feeling introspective," says Parkins. "I think it's really important for us to hit that broad emotional pallet."

Songs to listen to: So Strange (below)

 
Superhumanoids - "So Strange" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Conclusion: Ok, I had to write this part before anything because honestly couldn't. I love the music, her voice, his voice, the simplicity of the lyrics and just about everything about them at this very moment. His voice is totally like Dan Whitford from Cut Copy. The music is similar too actually... just with a girl. The 'Yours Truly' session is what brought me in and I'm very very happy I came across it. It's so 80's. Yeee!

Thomas Jack

Twitter | Facebook | SoundCloud | Website 

-20 year old
-From Bemboka, Australia
-Taken from his website, "Like the oceans surrounding Thomas’ backyard his music ebbs and flows, sometimes unpredictably but always beautifully."
-Thomas brings in the jazz orchestra for a unique style suitable for the masses.
-Download his mix tape, it's what's missing in your life. Click here.


Songs/Remixes to listen to: The Final Speech (Original Mix) - Thomas Jack ft. Adrian Symes, Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks (Thomas Jack Remix), Benjamin Francis Leftwich - Atlas Hands (Thomas Jack Remix), Thomas Jack - Symphony (Original Mix) (below)

 

Conclusion: Just, wow. Be right back, I need to pour myself a drink this is so good. I honestly cannot deal. This is perfect day music for when you're just happy with the world and you're not satisfied with day to day music. This music makes me so happy. Pretty sure I'm officially obsessed.

Hozier

Twitter | Facebook | Bandcamp

-aka Andrew
-From Dublin, Ireland
-Described as 'alternative, acoustic, blues, folk and soul'
-Has a 4 track E.P. called 'Take Me To Church' which is available on Bandcamp
-Joined 'Other Voices'  festival this year to perform alongside artists such as Florence and the Machine, Owen Pallett, Cold Specks, Mogwai and more
-His music video for 'Take Me To Church' was directed by Brendan Canty and deals with the repression of gay people in Russia.
-Hozier says, “Listen to any song, from any era; and you're looking through a keyhole into the artist's world as seen through their eyes. Art is, in its simplest form, the reproduction of the world around us. All artists reproduce their vision of the world and, in doing so, create a document that reflects the times they live in.”

Songs to listen to: Take Me To Church (Below) and Like Real People Do



Conclusion: His single 'Take Me To Church' is definitely a song you can sing in the shower. It's so powerful its meaning and yet so damn catchy. His voice is so soothing I can hear him sing all day.  Keep the hits comin sir, I like what I hear!

Kygo

SoundCloud | Twitter | Facebook 

-aka Kyrre Gorvell-Dahll
-22 year old
-Music producer
-From Norway
-Constantly #1 on Hype Machine
-Remixed Snow Patrol, Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding, Passenger and more.
-Currently studying in Edinburgh


Songs to listen: Lana Del Rey - Born To Die (Kygo Remix), Passenger - Let Her Go (Kygo Remix) and Ellie Goulding - High For This (Kygo Remix) || The Weeknd Cover


 Conclusion: There's not a lot on him yet but I swear he's going to be big. His Facebook page alone already has 48,000 likes. His remix are pretty wicked. They're chill but at the same time still a dance party. I'm thinking they will be great for my next long car ride. I also really like the songs he chooses to remix. Looking forward to seeing what else this guy has in store for us.

In The Valley Below

Twitter | Facebook | Website 

[Photo: Angela Gail and Jeffrey Jacob  / Not in photo: Jeremy Grant - Keyboards and Joshua Clair - Drums]

-Founded 2011
-Arts & Crafts - Canada, Oskar Recordings- Paris, France
-On tour with White Lies and went on tour with the Cold War Kids
-Went on tour with David Letterman
- Taken from their Facebook: "In The Valley Below is hushed swirls of male and female vocals forged with dark stories of brooding riddles and romance. Currently based in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles, Angela Gail and Jeffrey Jacob have crafted a sultry collection of melodic duets in a bed of rumbling drums, synth machines, gritty, wailing guitars, and layers of strange and dreamy keys."

Songs to listen to: Peaches (below) and Neverminders 




Conclusion: I want to see them play with White Lies. This song above is so chill. I need it. They're going to be big if they play their cards right.

Small Black

[Ryan Heyner (guitar, keys, vocals), Josh Kolenik (keys, vocals), Juan Pieczanski (bass, guitar), Jeff Curtin (drums/percussion]
 -Small Black is an indie band from Brooklyn, New York.
-Chillwave music
-They have released an album under Jagjaguwar, but they are signed on both the Jagjaguwar and Lovepump United Records labels.
-Participated in the Primavera Sound Festival, Foburg Music Festival, and the SXSW Music Festival.
-Played a show with STRFKR
 -The cover of Brooklyn-based Small Black's second LP, Limits of Desire, features a photo of a man and a woman embracing on either side of a ladder, completely naked, divided by its triangular arc. They're close, but they can't get any closer. It's a moving depiction of connectivity and interaction in the 21st century and it serves as a sort of source code for the record.
-Album art by Scarlett Hooft Graafland, who had a feature photo spread in the The New York Times Sunday Magazine Oct 20 this year.

Songs to listen to: No Stranger, Outskirts and Breathless

Conclusion: 

This band seems pretty wicked. Really low-key chillwave music that you can listen to when you're wide awake at 2 a.m.. It's great stuff. Another thing I really like about this group is the artist they used for their album cover.  It's very clean, earthy and colourful. I'm a big design kind of person and it's these sort of things that really catch my eye. But as for the music, it's catchy stuff!

London Grammar

[ Left to right: Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dot Major]

-London Grammar is a British indie pop trio formed 2009 at Nottingham University
-Their music is commonly described as "a blend of ambient, ethereal and classical sounds"
-Their début EP Metal and Dust was released in February 2013 by Metal and Dust Recordings Ltd.
-Their début album 'If You Wait' was released on 9 September 2013.
-Hannah Reid and guitarist Dan Rothman met in the residence hall at the University of Nottingham
-They have played Glastonbury Festival
-They have a cover of Chris Isaak's Wicked Games

Songs to listen to: Shyer (below), their cover of Nightcall (Kavinsky) and Strong

 

Conclusion:

London Grammar's music is so calming. I love the balance of melodies and the sound of her voice. A lot of people have compared them to The xx and I can totally understand why. The sounds are repetitive (and not in an annoying way) and her voice echoes on top... it's so good. I've had the song above on repeat for the past 2 hours, no lie. They're such great fall music too. They stopped by Toronto already but I'll be sure to catch them next time!

Basia Bulat - Tall Tall Shadow

Toronto singer-songwriter Basia Bulat's third album 'Tall Tall Shadow' was released Tuesday, October 1, 2013 by Secret City Records. It was co-produced by Tim Kingsbury (a member of Arcade Fire) and Mark Lawson (a grammy awarded studio alchemist recognized for his work with Arcade Fire), and it promises her bravest work yet. Without losing the Basia Bulat that I love, she has found a way to revitalize her music and please both existing and new fans. As a super fan, I must say that I love this CD. It did take some time for it to grow on me, but now that it has, I can't stop playing it. Wires is probably my favourite song, but I also love 'Five, Four' too. It's definitely worth a listen and if you haven't heard me say it before, Basia Bulat is my favourite singer song writer! So she is a must must MUST listen. That and if you haven't heard her previous work, get on that right away. 

Songs to listen to: Wires, Five, Four, From Now On 

Sóley

-Alternatively known as Sóley Stefánsdóttir
-From Reykjavík , Iceland
-Previous member of the Icelandic group Seabear
-Trained composer and passionate pianist
-Favourite writers: Davíð Stefánsson (Poet), Steinn Steinarr (Poet), Edgar Allan Poe, Leonard Cohen and Joanna Newsom
-Fan of Keith Jarrett and his trio, Bill Evans, Chad Vangaalen, Tune-Yards,  Joanna Newsome, Beach House and Blonde Redhead
-Played SXSW and CMW
-Toured with Of Monsters and Men
-Three words she uses to describe her album 'We Sink' are Dreams, Autumn and Surreal.
- Taken from Icelandmusic.is:
Sóley's a really pretty name: what does it mean?
A. In Iceland we have a beautiful wild yellow flower that grows all around Iceland. The name is Sóley. I think that´s where it comes from. They grow many together so when you travel around the country you can these big “islands” of Sóley. Sól means the sun and ey means island.
-Taken from TheRumpus.net

Rumpus:  What can you tell me about “Smashed Birds?”
A. It’s a song that I wrote first on the piano but I’m glad I changed it in the recording process to guitar. It’s a song about a girl’s last day on earth… kind of. I’m really bad talking about my songs because they are often more about feelings and something you can’t describe. When I play my songs I always see the same “short movie” inside my head and I hope people see their own “short movie”. I’m not telling people what to see or think while listening to these songs, it’s more they can experience it on their own.

Songs to listen to: The Sun Is Going Down II (below) and Kill That Clown



Conclusion: Soley's music sounds exactly how she describes it: dreamy, autumn and surreal. It makes you feel like you're asleep and dreaming of music playing in some sort of historic church hall. Her songs are very eerie and exiting at the same time. Her piano work in combination with her shy voice is perfect. When I saw her play with Of Monsters and Men I was entirely captivated by her stage presence. She made me feel relaxed and alone in a crowd. It's kind of uncommon for me to feel so taken aback by an artist I've never heard before and as soon as her performance ended, I grabbed her album. It was worth every penny! Take a listen and enjoy!

Dillon Francis

- Born and raised in Los Angeles
- Electronic-dance musician known for being one of the pioneers of moombahton (DEF: a fusion genre of house music and reggaeton that was created by American DJ and producer Dave Nada)
- Into Brown and Gammon 
- His "Something, Something, Awesome" album was released on Skrillex's label.
 - Remixed Cher Lloyd, CSS, Calvin Harris, Gym Class Heroes, Chris Brown and more - DJed at HARD Haunted Mansion Pre-Party at Terminal 5 in New York w/ Joker, Skream, Benga and Gesaffelstein
- “I would love to collaborate with Calvin Harris. I love all his music and he’s just been a motivating inspiration for a lot of my music. His music is “poppy” and still grabs everyone’s attention.”
-“Growing up, I couldn't watch TV unless I watched two hours of Sesame Street a day to learn stuff. And then I had to go to study. I had Hooked on Phonics just so I could be ahead of the game. It’s weird. I’m happy with what my parents did for me and the type of work ethic I have."

Taken from The Fat Club's interview with him in 2011:

 How did you get into the genre “moombahton”?
I got into Moombahton because of Munchi. Munchi sent me a message on Soundcloud saying that we remixed the same song. I then went onto his soundcloud and started listening to all his music. Once I heard what he had done, I was blown away. I remember thinking, ‘Holy shit this is the next big thing!’ I didn’t know what it was at the time, but it was Moombahton.

Songs to listen to: I.D.G.A.F.O.S. (Below), Dill the Noise, &  Steve Aoki - Earthquakey People (Dillon Francis Remix) 

Conclusion: I never knew what moombahton was until now... I'm a fan. Must download everything out there with this guy's name on it. It's so much fun. Good music to keep yourself awake. I also want to use his album for my next pre-drink. Awww yeeee. Also for you Toronto folk, he's playing a show at the Hoxton March 28! Might have to show up, we'll see!