Fiddles on Friday XVIII

Finally a new Fiddles on Friday and today it's up to Mack Jonsson

photo by owlblake

Mack Jonsson is born and raised in Quesnel Canada, he started busking there to buy a new skatboard :). But let's first take a look at Mack and his fiddle skills while he's busking in Victoria back in 2011 this is the song "Reubens Train". Yeehaa, and a nice voice too, Mack is also fiddler in the alternative country band "The Wicks" and in "Ain't Dead yet" "Cats in Distress" and on the moment he's also touring with "The Tequila Mockingbird Orchestra" because their fiddler Patrick M’Gonigle has left the band. Busy guy! Let's take a look at busking band "Cats in Distress" Here's the latest album "Clouds" from his band The Wicks they are releasing a new album in April. And to end with, here is the latest album of "The Mockingbird Orchestra" Follow My Lead, Lead me to Follow. This is not played by Mack himself on the album but he's touring with this band right now, enjoy

Tinseling Thursday II

The second Tinseling Thursday is for the Belgian band Balthazar

Balthazar is Maarten Devoldere, Jinte Deprez, Patricia Vanneste, Simon Casier and Christophe Claeys from the neighbourhood of Ghent....i don't know if there's something in the tapwater over there but there's a lot going on in Ghent! Balthazar just released their second album Rats, but first i take you back to their first album Applause (2010), and the opening song from that album "Fifteen Floors" ...sorry there's no official video from this song. Strange song isn't it? I like that trumpet plunger sample and the strange lazy vocals. The album Rats was released oktober last year and it is also a little masterpiece. Here's the song "The Oldest Of Sisters" On soundcloud you can listen to the full album Applause, enjoy.

Warm Wednesday XVIII

Today again a warm wednesday with the Foals

 
Foals are an English rock band from Oxford and Foals are Yannis Philippakis, Jack Bevan, Jimmy Smith, Walter Gervers, Edwin Congreave. "Why is this a warm wednesday band?" you may think, just listen to those African sounding guitar rifs. Sounds a little like Two Door Cinema Club or Paul Simon in his Graceland era. I discovered Foals 2-3 years ago because of the beautiful video they had made for the song Blue Blood. Watch this kid! The band's third album Holy Fire was released a week ago, and it's a great warm sounding album. Or like NME says "The Oxford art-rockers cast off their spiky, mathletic shackles and head for the big league with their third album!" Listen for example to "My Number" which will get the most airplay on radio etc i guess.

Here are some grooveshark links to the latest album "Holy Fire" ..enjoy! And here's "Late Night" And we end with the warm wednesdaysong "Stepson"

Tinseling Thursday I

No Thunder but Tinsels today:) This is Vacationer Formed in 2011 as a side project for Philly-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Kenny Vasoli
Vacationer blends the escapist dream pop of Beach House with the quasi-mystical electro-pop of Animal Collective. Rhythmic, heady, and hypnotic yet peppered with heartfelt lyrics and genuine emotion, Vacationer released its debut EP in 2011, followed by the full-length Gone in 2012; both were put out by Downtown Records. I think it sounds a bit like Avalanches or Jens Lekman, lot of nice old crispy samples blended together into new music. Live it's also worth listening, here's a kind of unplugged version of "Be With You". Via soundcloud you can enjoy the album "Gone"

Warm Wednesday XVII

Warm voice, quiet fingerpicking guitars Neil Halstead is giving us the perfect ingredients for this warm wednesday.

Neil Halstead is a British guitarist and singer. In 2002, 4AD (a British independent record label) released his debut solo album, Sleeping on Roads. Following his departure from 4AD, a second solo album, Oh! Mighty Engine was released by Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records on July 29, 2008. The album was partly recorded in Johnson's solar powered studio in Los Angeles before being completed at a Second World War airfield in Britain. The Guardian has compared Oh! Mighty Engine to the work of Nick Drake and Bert Jansch. Halstead has said of his solo work that it's "really good doing something on my own" instead playing with the bands Slowdive and Mojave 3. Let's listen to the song "Tied To You", to understand the comparison with Nick Drake Neil's third solo album, 'Palindrome Hunches', was released on September 11, 2012, from that album here's the song "Full Moon Rising" On soundcloud we can hear his full album, thank you! Check that opening song...instant warmth, enjoy!

Tuesdays got Talent XV

Today it's the indie psychedelic rock band Stadt from Ghent to show us their skills.

How can a new young band sound so familiar and trusted? It's the sound i suppose, bringing back memories.. going back to the times of 12 minute songs, liquid slides and experiments...

here's "Bits of Time". Stadt are Fulco Ottervanger, Frederik Segers, Joris Cool and Simon Segers. Their upcoming debutalbum 'Some Kind of Diversion' mixes indie-rock with a small cloud of psychedelia. Hope they have this song on it it's "Little Craver" played on their first appearance ...nice debute!