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Showing posts from June, 2011

MORCHEEBA

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    Morcheeba are a British band that mixes influences from rock, trip hop, rhythm and blues and pop. The word “morcheeba” means “the way of marijuana” (“MOR” - the middle of the road & “Cheeba” - informal name for cannabis).     Formed in 1995, they consisted of Paul Godfrey (dj), Ross Godfrey on guitar and keyboards with Skye Edwards as the primary vocalist fronting the band. While churning up interest through an underground presence mostly in London, the band finally broke through when featured on the Ultra-Chilled series.     Their first two releases seemed to portend a trip-hop based modern psychedelia that they seemed to completely eschew for a meatier, beatier, mom pop-centric sound on 2000’s Fragments of Freedom. This completely confounded some fans and critics who immediately wrote them off — many of whom would later return and eat their words. The band took another big turn in 2005 with The Antidote.     Daisy Martey (formerly of the band Noonday Underground) joi

TELEKINESIS

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Seattle, Washington, United States (2009 – present) Telekinesis is Michael Benjamin Lerner, an  indie rock er based out of Seattle, Washington, United States who is currently signed to  Merge Records . Lerner signed to Merge Records in early 2009, and shortly afterward released the eponymously named debut album  Telekinesis!  on April 7, 2009. Recorded in September of 2008, the album was produced, mixed, and engineered with the help of Chris Walla (guitarist for  Death Cab for Cutie ), recording one song per day on analog tape. While on tour, Lerner is joined by Chris Staples (electric gtr), David Broecker (electric / acoustic / bass gtr), and Jonie Broecker (bass gtr / keyboards) to make up the touring band. Official website:  http://www.telekinesismusic.com

CRYSTAL CASTLES

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada (2003 – present) Crystal Castles is an experimental electronic band which formed in 2003 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and consists of producer Ethan Kath and vocalist Alice Glass. They are named after the lyrics “The fate of the world is safe in Crystal Castles” and “Crystal Castles, the source of all power” both from the theme song for She-Ra’s fortress. They are known for their melancholic lo-fi sound and their explosive live shows. Their debut album was included in NME’s “Top 50 Albums of the Decade”. Initally the band was a solo project started by Ethan Kath in December 2003. Ethan later discovered Alice Glass singing in a noise-punk band, and thought he had found the “missing ingredient” to his music. In 2004 Ethan gave Alice 60 instrumental tracks and in April 2005 she recorded vocals over five instrumentals. The band’s first single Alice Practice was actually a microphone test by Glass. She was not aware that the recording existed until London UK

LLOYD COLE

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    Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a popular British pop music act of the mid 1980s, based in Glasgow, Scotland.     Formed in 1982 and signed to Polydor in 1984, the band was known for combining Clark’s twangy guitar style with Cole’s low-key singing style. Particularly notable were Cole’s literary lyrics (he was studying Philosophy at the University of Glasgow when the band started) and namedropping the likes of Norman Mailer, Arthur Lee, Grace Kelly, Truman Capote, Eva Marie Saint, Simone de Beauvoir, and Nancy Sinatra.     For a period in the mid 1980s The Commotions were one of the most successful indie acts in Britain, vying with The Smiths. The band broke up in 1989 amid reports of personality clashes between members, and Cole moved to New York City to pursue a successful solo career. The band reformed in 2004 to perform a 20th anniversary tour of the UK and Ireland.

JOHN FRUSCIANTE

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New York ,  United States  (1988 – present)     John Anthony Frusciante (born in New York on March 5th 1970) though probably best known for his time as guitarist of the  Red Hot Chili Peppers , is a respected, acclaimed and prolific solo artist in his own right. Joining the Chili Peppers in 1988 after the death of Hillel Slovak , the band’s original guitarist, Frusciante was featured on both Mother’s Milk and Blood Sugar Sex Magik. However, John’s rise was short lived.  On May 7th, 1992, John quit the band just before the Chili Peppers were due on stage. (He did however play the show). His departure was considered a result of mental illness caused by his indulgence in  drugs , as well as heavy fatigue from touring.     In 1994, John released Niandra Lades & Usually Just A T-Shirt, his first solo album. Some of the material had already been recorded whilst he was on tour. Many fans consider this album to be his best solo album which included many bizarre and aptly named songs su

LAST CHANCE POCKET SHOW

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BEANFIELD

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Beanfield is a duo of German musician/producers allied with the excellent groove label  Compost Recordings .     The two members are Jan Krause and Michael Mettke. The group resides among a generation of dance acts like  Faze Action ,  Fila Brazillia , and  A Forest Mighty Black  (the latter are close compadres) who balance their status in the electronic community by producing extraordinarily organic sounds, inspired by earthy ’70s sounds from  funk  to  latin  and Brazilian jazz to  disco .  Beanfield formed around keyboard player Tobias Meggle, who left the group after the second album, and bassist Jan Krause (formerly with the acid jazz unit  Poets of Rhythm ), along with Compost label boss Michael Reinboth.     All three played heavy parts in the recording and production of the first few Compost records (circa  1995 ) by  A Forest Mighty Black ,  Knowtoryus , and  Fauna Flash . Beanfield’s first single,  1995 ’s “ Charles ”, earned heavy rotation on Gilles Peterson’s BBC radio

THE NAKED AND FAMOUS ;=/

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The Naked and Famous are a five piece  indie  band hailing from Auckland, New Zealand. The band comprises of  Thom Powers ,  Alisa Xayalith ,  Aaron Short ,  David Beadle  and  Jesse Wood . According to the  Young Blood Songfacts , they took the name from a line in UK trip hop singer-songwriter  Tricky ’s track,  Tricky Kid . After their initial formation in 2008, their debut album “Passive Me, Aggressive You” was released on the “Somewhat Damaged” label during September 2010. The single “Young Blood” debuted at number one on the New Zealand chart - the first New Zealand artist to do so in three years. Their debut album along with various singles can be downloaded from www.thenakedandfamous.com On 6 December 2010, the BBC announced that  The Naked and Famous  had been nominated for the BBC’s Sound of 2011 poll.
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