Giving homage to those who deserve it
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I’m psyched to have worked on this new campaign with one of best Topspin ecosystem partners in the UK, Fanfare Media. It’s beautifully implemented by Owain Kelly.
Check it out below. Enter you email and be taken to a page where you can hear Feist’s new album in full length streams. The album releases on October 3rd.
Hung out with Jua Kali last night in from the US for some gigs in London. Jua was playing in Brick Lane and stopped by for some good catch up and a meal at one of our favorites, Busaba Eathai, on Old Street.
Jua introduced me to Chasing Shadows and some of the cooler, hard driving dub step that’s picking up steam all around the UK and Europe. I can never find out about these good tunes early enough. Now that’s a problem I’d like to see solved in the Internet era — deliver me the cutting edge sounds as soon as humanely and technically possible.
Check out Chasing Shadow’s video Dr. Sin. This is not a light weight experience and could be construed as highly political and a bit explosive in more ways than one. I dug it and will probably look to this video again on Monday morning to get my blood flowing for the work week.
Thanks to Jua Kali for turning me onto them. Check out Jua Kali’s new video, the Chillski, below:
And get the latest track off Jua Kali’s latest album, DreadBass Soundsystem:
Just back from a wonderful mini-holiday-end-of-summer-celebration in the Isle of Wight at Bestival. Thanks so much to Ben Turner, Sarah Bolshi, and the Sunday Best crew for putting on such an amazing production in a magical place. Bjork, Beardyman, John Grant, The Cure, Crystal Castles, Noah and the Whale were some of my highlights. The vibe and costume action were the peak of my summer fun. The Gods were shining as we were blessed with good weather. Bestival also gave me the opportunity to see Scroobius Pip throw down in the Ambient Forest. One of his older tunes with Dan Le Sac, Get Better, is a favorite. See below for a feel good song and video. It’s very inspiring.
Now compare that to Scroobius Pip’s new video, Let em Come, I just saw a few minutes ago:
Thanks to Jamie Richardson and Gareth Davis for the early heads up on that video. It will make me smile all day.
I love Bank Holidays in the UK. It motivates me to stop and smell the roses and savor the beats. There’s a slew of good tunes peaking me out so might as well post them up. First off, I’m psyched to be sharing Groove Armada’s new track RJ’s Theme from their new EP Redlight Trax:
You can preorder the new EP on their site or right below on my blog. It releases September 5th.
Working with Groove Armada is an honor for me as they’re one of my favorites. There’s one Groove Armada song in particular that is a gem on my all time list of musical classics. The song is Mary, and it’s a bonus track on the Japanese import of Vertigo. I searched far and wide for it, as it was not on iTunes or Amazon. I finally found it on eBay and had it shipped over for over $40. Truth is I would have paid a lot more. It shows what a fan will go through in pursuit of music: the power of a song combined with scarce supply. Upon writing this I was still unable to find a place to buy that Japanese import online, but I did find it on YouTube! Thank God for YouTube.
Another band I’ve been waiting to see take on the world is the Scams. I’ve been working with Graham Filmer for over a year and think this band will be one to watch very soon as in right now. Check out the song Young Blood, one of my favorite. I wish I had that song when I was much younger to lose my shit to.
I’m also psyched to see Sub Swara’s live set with their new visual set-up. Killer!
More awesome tunes from Sub Swara here — some of my favorites tracks of theirs too. Lucky us!
And to leave you with a smile or rather a big hearty laugh, I give you a legendary get down session in the fields of England. Big Chill Raver, I salute you.
It’s happened again. I’ve fallen for another band. This time the sound of Tigers that Talked have moved me to write another post. I discovered them circuitously through Topspin. Then I found out Richard Jones is managing them and got even more excited about their future.
Their tunes have taken me for some nice rides in all kind of settings. There’s a soft intensity about their grooves and a dramatic feel in their rises. They have a crisp and soothing blend of rock and folk with songs suited for an arena of 50,000 or a neighborhood coffeeshop.
I guess my vague descriptions of their sound aren’t really convincing you. No matter, check out their Artificial Clouds video for a small idea on what they’re about.
Here are the rest of the tracks from their debut album, The Merchant, in full length streams.
They have a great deal on Merchant for £3 or $4.50 until November 29th. I’m looking forward to seeing them live soon. Check them out and let me know what you think. Here’s another video of 23 Fears. Fresh indeed.
Every now then a song takes me hard and fast. Here’s the video of One Way Road by the John Butler Trio. I really dig the intention and spirit of this song, not to mention it’s got a great rhythm and guitar. I love the lyrics too, so I’ve put another video of the song with the lyrics below.
With Lyrics…
I went to Paris with Michael Schneider a few weeks ago and met with Delphine and Emmanuel from Because Music. Delphine gave us heaps of music that I’ve been listening to a lot. One artist, John Butler Trio, and his song One Way Road have really captivated me as of late. There will be more posts to come as I get compelled to share more nuggets of goodness from this pile of newly acquired tunes.
Very much enjoying Pete Lawrie’s song, Paperthin. Makes me feel grounded and sublime.
I was sharing a cab with a Topspin band in London on Friday evening heading from the PIAS office back to my new home in Shoreditch and heard the lead singer mention the band Beast. Wikipedia entry here. He gave it his strong recommendation so I had to check it out. Mr. Hurricane was the first song I heard from Beast, and it captured me quick with it’s indie-rock and hip-hop stylings; some are calling them trip-hip-hop-rock. I live for moments like these when the art form is practically indescribable. I then checked out the video, and it was amazing. I’m not the only one who thinks that as it was nominated for a 2010 GRAMMY for Best Short Form Music Video in the company of Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, and Oren Lavie. I really like what I hear and see, so I’m looking forward to checking them out at SXSW and catching them live when I can. Enjoy:
Check out Brad Barrish’s December 2009 Mix in full-length stream glory. He’s got impeccable music taste and has introduced me to more good music than anyone. That’s quite an accolade considering I’m fortunate enough to swim through great music at Topspin.
Thank you Brad and mad respect for your consistent gifts of music and vibe.
Sub Swara’s Coup D’Yah is a classic from 2008. David Starfire just remixed Koli Stance available for free. Just enter your email in the widget below and the free track will be mailed to you:
If you want a refresher on Coup D’Yah, one of my favorites of all time, check out the full-length streams here:
Some of my best peak out tracks: