Missing them Monday

Last day of the year, time to take a little pauze and to remember those great people we lost this year. Music by Pete Namlook 1960-2012 Levon Helm - 1940

Adam Yauch - 1964

Dave Brubeck - 1920

Donna Summer - 1948

Whitney Houston - 1963

Etta James - 1938

Pete Namlook - 1960

Best 2012s Fiddles on Friday

The most looked at fiddler on this blog last year was Kishi Bashi, folowed by Kevin Burke. Here's the Kishi Bashi item, for me also a nice discovery.

And again a loopminded fiddleplayer like my hero Andrew Bird, and this time its artist Kishi Bashi

photo by Monica McGivern

Kishi Bashi is the pseudonym of singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter K (Kaoru) Ishibashi (born November 4, 1975). Born in Seattle, Washington, but growing up predominantly on the east coast in Norfolk, Virginia. Ishibashi has recorded with and toured internationally as a violinist with diverse artists such as Regina Spektor, Sondre Lerche, and most recently, the Athens, Georgia based indie rock group of Montreal. Ishibashi is also the singer and founding member of the New York synth rock outfit, Jupiter One. In 2011, he started to record and perform as a solo artist. In that year he also released his debut EP "Room For dream" and in april this year he released his 9 track album "151A" with 2 old songs from his EP (Manchester + Bright Whites) But first let's take a look at his live performance for the Tiny Desk Sessions on NPR radio where he demonstrates his loopstation & fiddle skills. Here's the soundcloud link to 3 tracks from 151a, enjoy your weekend and see you back on Misty monday.

Best of 2012 Thunder on Thursday

And this year mostclicked thunderband is HONKY, here's the post of 4 oktober.

Today's thunder is for Honky

This Austin Superboogie trio was founded in 1996 by Butthole Surfer bassist JD Pinkus, Lance Farley (Thighmaster and Nipple 5) on the drums, and rounded out by Bobby Ed Landgraf (Gahdzilla Motor Company, Blowfly) on guitar. They recently released a new 11 track album called 421. 421 was recorded at Willie Nelson's famed Pedernales Studio in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Willie Nelson that country guy? Yeah that Willie. But this album sounds okay! You automatically screw up the volume after the first notes and you'll go on tapping, banging, shaking till the last note and then you're knackered. It's dangerous to play this in your car because you will surely drive over the speedlimit. On the other side there's no better place to play this cd than in a car (and not on those cramped Dutch roads but in the vast wide open landscape of Texas). Not only the guitar sounds dirty in a positive way the vocals are also worth listening and the album is going crescendo to the last song "Black Joe's Bitch". Unfortunately there are no soundcloud links or streams so I'm gonna link you to some old songs.

Best of 2012 Warm Wednesdays

And 2012's warmest wednesday was for Daughn Gibson.

Were back in business and today Daughn Gibson is giving us the warmth we need.

 (photo via www.tellallyourfriendspr.com)

I told you earlier that I like to compare voices with materials, Placebo for example has got an aluminium voice and Jonathan Jeremiah an oak one. Daughn Gibsons voice is a Red Cedar for me (like Ian Curtis) but a real big old Red Cedar :).  He released the LP "All Hell" april this year at the White Denim label and its a beauty. Nice build up songs with electronic beats, spheric soundscapyish synths all dressed up with his warm voice. Reminds me also of James Blake. Anyway, it's all well Daughn! Listen for example to the song  "Reach into the Fire"
Daugh Gibson grew up in Nazareth, Pennsylvania which was an hour and a half from New York, and an hour and a half from Philly. So bands that were touring came through one way or another. He got to see stuff people in other small towns didn't, like Wesley Willis. Daughn couldn't have asked for a better place to grow up and be into music. Here's a soundcloud link to the song "In the Beginning" And one of my favourites "Tiffany Lou".

Best of 2012 Tuesdays got Talent

And the Tuesdays got talent winner is ...NOSOYO from the Netherlands. Their item was most looked at from all talents coming by last year. Here's the item from oktober last year.

Todays talent is the Amsterdam 6 update: 5 piece group called NOSOYO

Nosoyo are: Donata Kramarz ,Jasja Offermans, Joost Le Feber, David Stapel and Wessel van der Kroef. They are going to release their debut album "Just before the faint" on 31 october in Bitterzoet in Amsterdam. It's a beautiful album with some nice compositions. Especially the opening track "Close To Me" is a beauty. Nice arranged voices and the changes with different guitar sounds work great. It reminds me of "Goodbye" from TOE (misty monday) because of the use of fender rhodes, vibraphones etc.in combination with the guitarpicking and drums, but this has more variety and changes. Another great song in my opinion is The closest to Death. You can listen to the entire album on soundcloud but first I want you to take a look at this little jewel recorded somewhere in Limburg during a writing session. Here's the full album on soundcloud, enjoy.

Best of 2012 Misty Mondays

This week we are looking back to the last year and all great artists here on Møpkemuziek. The most watched and clicked on Misty Monday of this year was for MODDI. On the second place was TOE from Japan and on the third Polica. Here's the Best Misty Monday item and a Moddi bonusvideo of the Dutch tv-,radio program "Vrije Geluiden". It's the the song "Rubbles" from his samenamed album. It was recorded april this year. But first our bonustrack, a nice Norwegian christmas song by Moddi...enjoy and for those who celebrate, have a merry christmas. .

Today we're going North with scandinavian singer/songwriter Moddi

Pål Moddi Knutsen aka Moddi is a Norwegian musician, and you can certainly hear the long winternights back in his music. It's very spheric and dark but not too heavy. The songs have very nice dynamics and variation between very intimate whispers to crying out loud. Violins and other folk influences are integrated in his great songs. My favourite song is called "Magpie Eggs" from his album "Floriography". His voice sounds a bit gritty (think Rod Stewart / Kelly Jones) but perfect for the misty monday blog. Here's the song MAGPIE EGGS And here you can see some DIY livingroom videoclip, I love this low-budget creativity This song is called "SILHOUETTE" An we end this misty monday with some SMOKE also from his album FLORIOGRAPHY.

Fiddles of Friday XIII

No ordinary Fiddles on Friday today but a preview of a heartwarming film. This film shows how trash and recycled materials can be transformed into beautiful sounding musical instruments, but more importantly, it brings witness to the transformation of precious human beings Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable musical orchestra in Paraguay, where the musicians play instruments made from trash Cateura, Paraguay is a town essentially built on top of a landfill. Garbage collectors browse the trash for sellable goods, and children are often at risk of getting involved with drugs and gangs. When orchestra director Szaran and music teacher Fabio set up a music program for the kids of Cateura, they soon have more students than they have instruments. That changed when Szaran and Fabio were brought something they had never seen before: a violin made out of garbage. Today, there's an entire orchestra of assembled instruments, now called The Recycled Orchestra. Check and follow this great initiative on http://landfillharmonicmovie.wordpress.com/

Landfill Harmonic movie teaser from Landfill Harmonic on Vimeo.

Thunder on Thursday XII

Today its a duo with scuzzy guitars, crashing drums, unabashed energy and depth of soul...it's

the Black Box Revelation

The Black Box Revelation is a garage rock duo which formed in Dilbeek, Belgium in 2005. The band consists of Jan Paternoster (vocals, guitar) and Dries Van Dijck (drums). They are like the Stones found new energy and rejuveniled in an original way. Take a look at this song "Never alone always together", it's from their album Set Your Head On Fire The Black Box Revelation started recording their album “Set Your Head On Fire” mid 2007. The album was produced by Triggerfinger drummer Mario Goossens, mixed in Los Angeles by Greg Gordon (who had previously worked with Wolfmother, Jet and Soulwax), and mastered in New York by Fred Kevorkian (Iggy Pop, U2, The White Stripes). Over 30,000 copies were downloaded in Belgium. The next song is from the limited edition heart-shaped Valentine's Day 7", "Lust Or Love". And here's a soundcloud stream with a selection of their best songs, enjoy!

Warm Wednesday XI

Let Ane Brun give us the warmth we need for this wednesday

Ane Brun is a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist from Norway. Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, six of which are studio albums (including a collection of duets) and one live DVD. She lives in Stockholm since 2001, where she writes, records and runs her own label (Balloon Ranger Recordings) when not on tour. That record label is called after the song Balloon Ranger which is my favourite. First let's take a look and have a listen tot this song from her 2005 album "A Temporary Dive" I love her voice, a little hoarse and fragile but in combination with the tranquil and spaciously set up music a golden combination. Sometimes she sounds a little like Dolly Parton or Emmylou Harris. Before I lead you to some grooveshark streams first I want you to take a look at "Virvelvind" which means something like Hurricane I suppose. It's made for the Norway television station NRK and it was a national action for Amnesty International, some considerations before x-mas. Here are some grooveshark streams And one of the best coversongs I've ever heard Big In Japan live in Stockholm.

Tuesdays got Talent XI

Today it's time for a bit jazzy / funky / go with the flow-ish kind of talented group named Snarky Puppy.

Snarky Puppy is a 7 piece improvising Jazz / Funk / R&B group led by bassist, composer and producer Michael League. Formed in Denton, Texas in 2004, the band features a collective of nearly 30 musicians, referred to as "The Fam" on their recordings and tours. The musicians perform on a variety of instruments including guitars, keyboards, saxophones, brass, percussion and strings. First take a look at their recording of "Things of Gold" from their fifth album "Ground Up" it's recorded live in the studio in front of a 40 person audience without any overdubs. Snarky Puppy's leader, Michael League, was interviewed and written about in the 2010 book release "The New Face of Jazz: An intimate look at today's living legends and the artists of tomorrow" by Cicily Janus. The author cites League's self-termed music as "jafunkadansion" :) for its genre-bending qualities of instrumental and dance music. Cicily Janus also comments the "group Snarky Puppy is one of the most inventive in sound and funk since Maynard Ferguson's fusion years." Here's the song "Young Stuff" Here you can listen to the entire 8 track album or download it, enjoy!

Misty Monday XI

First I wanted to post an item of Father John Misty, (Joshua Tillman) because of it's name, but it's not the name that counts it's the music and that wasn't misty enough so I was looking at other artists of Sub Pop records when I bumped into Sweden based, Soweto born singer Spoek Mathambo

Spoek Mathambo is a South African term for ghost of bones, it's a term like the boogieman, an amorphous imaginary being used by adults to frighten children into compliant behaviour. But nowadays there's a positive buzz about that name because it's the artist moniker of Nthato Mokgata. His electronic hip-hop based music sounds dark, futuristic and grim. First take a look at a video from the song "Stuck Together" He released his debut album, titled Mshini Wam on Stockholm label BBE Records. “Mshini Wam” is named after an Apartheid-era Zulu folk song meaning: ‘bring me my machine gun’, and tells the story of a child soldier growing into a bloodthirsty adult. At the same time, the song is a club banger that enlists a gang of the youth to sing its “pa-rum-pa-pum-pum” chorus. Mathambo is also known for DJing, graphic design and illustration artwork. He also made the song Control which is a remake of Joy Divisions She's Lost Control. For the music video, Spoek has collaborated with one of South Africa's most celebrated photographers, Pieter Hugo & cinematographer Michael Cleary. It explores the world of township cults, street preaches and teen gangs and was shot on location in a squatted train boarding house in Langa, Cape Town. The cast is mainly made up of the neighborhood kids who run their own dance troop, "Happy Feet".

Fiddles on Friday XII

Is there a cajun fiddler in the house? Yes there is, today it's up to Michael Doucet

Michael Doucet is a Cajun fiddler, singer and songwriter who founded the Cajun band BeauSoleil from Lafayette, Louisiana. He learned the banjo by age six, the guitar by his eighth year, and was researching Cajun music as a college student. In his youth he performed as part of a duo at a music festival in France. At the festival he was exposed to centuries-old French music, which he identified with the Cajun music of French Louisiana. Doucet's individual style incorporated elements of Western swing, 1930’s string band and Creole music, into traditional Cajun music. Doucet learned late 19th century and 20th century tunes passed on by McGee. He revived many the old Cajun songs that had not been recorded and whose musicians of that era were gone. Let's take a look at a gig with David Doucet and Mitchell Reed, at the 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival In 1977, Doucet started educating public school children about Cajun music. Later as an adjunct professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, he designed and taught the first university course on Cajun music. Doucet was originally a member of the mid-1970s Cajun/rock band called Coteau. During that same time some of his friends and he formed his current band, BeauSoleil, which was purer to Cajun musical tradition. He also performs with the bands Fiddlers 4 and The Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band (with Marc Savoy). But it's not only Cajun. I have found this beautiful song "Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky" from his album "From now on" And to end with, here are some tracks "Chanson pour Ezra" and as Christmas is approaching some tracks from "a Cajun Christmas" have a merry Michael :)

Thunder on Thursday XI

Today we have some Japanese Thunder brought to you by
MUCC

MUCC or MUKKU is a japanese rock band formed in 1997. The band's name, was originally the name of a character from a Japanese children's program Ponkickies. The band is also known as "six-nine" from a play on words, since six-nine can be pronounced "muku" in Japanese. Members: Iwakami Tatsurou - vocals, Yaguchi Masaaki - guitar (and main songwriter) Fukuno Yusuke - bass, Takayasu Satoshi - drums and since then they released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, twenty eight singles and thirteen DVDs, some of which were also released in Europe. The last cd "Shangri La" was released november the 28th.
I love it, the combination of powerchords with synths/samples is overwhelming, listen for example to track no2 named "G.G." Their music is a nice variation of powersongs and brittle ballads. But now it is Thundersday so no sensitivity today here's the song "Ware, arubeki basho"

And here's the song "Gerbera" from the 2006 album "Gokusai" enjoy!

Extra Extra

Sorry but i love this new Eels song "Peach Blossom"

Warm Wednesday X

Today it's up to Gregory Alan Isakov to give us the warmth we need in these chilly and cold winterdays.

Gregory Alan Isakov was born in Johannesburg South Africa and moved to America as a child. There he grew up in Philadelphia. His voice is gold and his music also, quiet melancholic singer-songwriter songs, perfect for these cold winterdays. Last month I saw him in The Netherlands and it was almost a private concert, 20 maybe 30 people enjoying his wonderful voice and music. It was the most intimate concert I have ever witnessed. He was playing together with Bonnie Paine (playing singing saw, washboard and hypnotizing me with her beautiful voice and looks :)) and Ramaya Roskin (lap guitar & stomp-box). First have a listen to "That Moon Song" Convinced? I was... after hearing this song I immediately ordered the CD's "This Empty Northern Hemisphere" and "That Sea, the gambler" and they are packed with jewels like this "Virginia May" After the concert Gregory gave an encore in the hallway because of its beautiful acoustic sound there. In total he made 4 cd's here are some tracks from That Sea, the Gambler (third album 2007) And here's the title track "That Sea, the gambler". And sorry folks, that's "All there is", next time Gregory Alan is in the neighbourhood just go there and enjoy...

Tuesdays got Talent X

Today it's up to the Antwerp band Dóttir Slonza.

Dóttir Slonza is the brainchild of Izja Rutten. She made a demo and asked some strange characters to join her. Nele Paelinck, Hanne De Backer, Sara De Wilde and Bootsie Butsenzeller are those characters. They made a very nice EP called "Nurse You" and it was released june 2012. First take a look at those strange characters showing their live skills. Here they perform the title track "Nurse You". They sound a little Poppy-ish, with nice change of rhythm and spheres...and I hear some School is Cool influences (duh..Nele Paelinck is a S=C member), sometimes it sounds a little like The Carpenters and sometimes I hear some Mingus in it... It's all in the opening track "Imperative". I also like the way they use the Bass Tuba, especially in the song Far/Near. Here's the full 4-track EP, enjoy!

Misty Monday X

Today it's up to Jon Redfern to give us the misty monday feeling we need after this weekend.

Jon Redfern, half British half Chinese, was born in Brighton England and lived in North Wales from the age of 12. Jon's songwriting style stems from the personal and the acoustic tradition of John Martyn and Nick Drake and his broad musical influences ranging from progressive rock to jazz and world music.

First take a look and a listen to his the song "Harmonics" there's no official video but this picture of a house in the snow will do :) It's nice to see that Jon himself reacted on this video and he commented that this was originally part of a four piece song, this was ment to be the theme part, shame they didn't record the total song.

From his album "May Be Sometimes" this misty monday masterpiece "I love the sun". It's a pity that there is no stream or link to one of his albums so again a youtube link of the song "Down the Line" also from the album "May Be Sometimes"

Fiddles on Friday XI

Todays fiddler is awardwinning Jeremy Kittel

Kittel was born in Michigan, where he grew up alternating between classical training and various fiddle camps and music festivals, experiences he sees as more than just inspirational. “There’s such an honesty in those places,” he says, “an honesty in everyone’s love for music. And there’s a real lack of ego, more than I’ve experienced in any environment I’ve been in. It’s an amazing scene to be a part of.” Those fiddle festivals influenced his music style of course and the proof is in the pudding so let's listen to "Remember Blake" from his latest album "Chasing Sparks"

As you can hear, Jeremy is one of the foremost among a new breed of fiddlers and violinists who easily navigate a multitude of musical styles and traditions. Some of his recent exploits include: performing as a world-class jazz improviser in the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet; leading his namesake group, the Jeremy Kittel Band, co-arranging and recording strings for rock band My Morning Jacket‘s latest record, performing at Bonnaroo & Telluride Bluegrass Festival with singer-songwriter Abigail Washburn; and teaching internationally as one of the world’s leading Scots-Irish fiddlers. Here we can see him at work with his own band

And here's the song "Disconnect" also from his album "Chasing sparks", enjoy and have a nice weekend!

Thunder on Thursday X

This items getting more and more followers, nice to get some feedback. Today it's up to John Coffey to give us the raw and deafening noise we need on a thundersday.

John Coffey is a character from the Green Mile (you know, the big black guy) but it's also a Dutch punkrock/post-hardcoreband. John Coffey is influenced by bands such as Refused, Every Time I Die and The Ghost of a Thousand. In september this year their second album called "Bright Companions" was released by the German music label Redfield Records. And it's a killer! But first take a look at the beautiful video from the second single of this album "Featherless Redheads" On their album "Bright Companions" they start with "Announce" and it's a hard but nice way to get attention with such an announce :). By the way, they partly could make this album with the help of their fans, In 2011 they completed a fundraising campaign. Another nice way to get attention is the fact that the first 1000 editions of their debut album Vanity (2009) were pierced with a bullit...now thats what i like.

Here's the soundcloud link to the full "Bright Companions", enjoy this thundersday!

Warm Wednesday IX

It could be a lot worser because the 3 sisters of HAIM are giving us a warm wednesday today :)

Haim is Danielle Haim (vocals, lead guitar), Alana Haim (vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, percussion), Este Haim (vocals, bass)and don't forget the drummer Dash Hutton. They are from Los Angeles and that sunny LA sound is a strong influence in their music It's a bit of R&B, a bit of folk and a lot of 80's pop... think Cyndi Lauper meets Destiny's Child or Gloria Estefan meets En Vogue. They were the talk of SXSW and since then it's going hard with them. Not bad for a band with just one EP on their shelve. Their debut EP is called "Forever" and it's also the title of their single, here's your warm wednesday video Here is the soundcloud link to 4 tracks of the forever EP and a bonus track a remix of Forever by Dan Lissvik, enjoy!

Tuesdays got Talent IX

Were back! and todays talent is Square Attic
 

Square Attic is a Dutch band consisting of: Alwi Kruize, Randy Schilder, Tommie Janssen and Roy Laane. Formed in 2008 on a dusty attic, between lots of old boxes, all with a story. Those stories are transformed and translated into nice uplifting popsongs. Nice guitar riffs going well together with the driving drum and on top of it all Alwi's beautiful voice, sometimes they remind me a bit of "The Doves" Here's the soundcloud link to their second EP "Daily Stories". Here's the video of "Bring Me Home"

Misty Monday IX

Today its really misty over here. So a perfect day for Lau Nau

Lau Nau or Laura Naukkarinen, (born 1980) is a singer-songwriter and musician from Helsinki, Finland. She is also a member of free improv and psych folk bands Kiila, Päivänsäde, the Anaksimandros, Avarus, Maailma, and the trio Hertta Lussu Ässä formed by fellow acid folk singer-songwriters Islaja and Kuupuu. She's credited as playing anything from "colorful juice glasses" and "witch laugh megaphone" to "beer cans". Lau Nau lives in the Finnish countryside of Kimito island with her husband and two sons. Overall you can say it's mesmerizing and tantalizing folk/ethnic music. First lets take a look to an older song she made, called "Painovoimaa valoa" from her 2008 album "Nukkuu" (Finnish for Sleep). Nice monday song isn't it? Her new album "VALOHIUKKANEN" is released a week ago via Fonal, here you can hear 3 songs from the 9 track album, I love the strings in the song "Valolle" Here's the video of the more uptempo song "Kuoleman tappajan kuolema"
 

Fiddles on Friday X

Our fiddler of today is Bertrand Déraspe

Bertrand is a fiddler from the Magdalan Islands (part of the Canadian province of Quebec), he was born in Point-aux-Loups and works as a lobster fisherman when not busy fiddling. He inherited a large répertoire of Acadian and "madelinots" tunes from his father, Arnold Deraspe and other Acadian fiddlers. First lets take a look at a video found on youtube. Here you see Bertrand playing some old tunes with his father on the kitchen table, I love it. He demonstrates how Madelinots fiddlers have a different bow stroke than Cape Breton fiddlers. The Madelinot fiddlers, who were mostly fishermen with calloused hands and sometimes missing fingers, would tend to play with less notes and more rhythm :) Bertrand started playing fiddle when he was 4 years old and was already playing for weddings when he was 6. He has been a member of various music groups, including Suroit, Les Clapotis, and Vent'arrière. He recorded a solo album called "Mes Racines" (my roots). From that Album the title track "Mes Racines" Here you can see him at work with a young fiddler Whilst searching for Bertrand videos and music files I also found the brothers Deraspe, or Les Frères Dèraspe, I have got a hunch that they are relatives or even the sons of Bertrand, but my French is "miserable" so it's a wild guess and please correct me if I'm wrong or if you got more info. And finally here's a compilation of songs by Bertrand and relatives, enjoy and have a nice weekend!

Thunder on Thursday IX

Today its "For Today" day :)

Metalcore band For Today is Mattie Montgomery (lead vocals) – Ryan Leitru (lead guitar, vocals) – Brandon Leitru (bass) - Michael Reynolds (rhythm guitar) – David Puckett (drums, percussion), they were formed in 2005 and origin from Sioux City, Iowa oh ...and they are a Christian group. Although I'm not religious, I am not a lyrics man but more a music man so it's okay by me. And their music is great and "Thundersday" worthy. They have a very dedicated and loyal fanbase, screaming or grunting every word from a to z. In may they released their fourth album called "Immortal" under the Razor and Tie label. Lets listen to the opening track(s) "The King" a very nice spooky violin combined with samples and nice soft guitarpicking, slowly building up to a crescendo and to the next song "Fearless" where they blow your socks off. okay so we are wake now? Then it's time for "Foundation" Here you can listen to the entire album, sorry it's a youtube link but soundcloud nor bandcamp has a stream to offer, still.. enjoy.

Warm Wednesday IX

It will be such a warm wednesday that it's safe to have
 "The First Aid Kit" within reach.

The First Aid Kit is a Swedish Folk duo composed of sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg. They started writing songs in 2007, songs with close vocal harmonies and woodsy, folk/country-influenced sounds. They also remind me of the "Secret Sisters". Last Januari they released their album "The Lion's Roar" with some beautiful heartwarming songs packed with beautiful harmonies and wheeping lapguitar hooks like "Emmylou" And here you can hear the song "Wolf" with a native American feeling And to end this warm wednesday here's the title track
"The Lion's Roar" and a selection of other new & old First Aid Kit songs

Tuesdays got Talent VIII

Today its Maths Time Joy in the talent issue. Maths Time Joy is an anagram of Timothy James

Maths Time Joy is a 22 year old producer/singer-songwriter from the UK. Yesterday he released the EP "Hideaway" and it's a beauty. Soft electronic beats, nice relaxed flow, pitched vocal samples.. layer on layer but still with enough room in the mix so it's not cramped....it could be a nice misty monday artist :) Here's the opening track "Let Go" And here's the Title track "Hideaway" And for the visualy orientated people this is the song "Walk With Me" released in september...yes he likes to produce :) and to end with the last track from Hideaway "Always"

Misty Monday VIII

Today its up to the Danish group Efterklang to give us the misty mondayfeeling we need after this weekend.

Efterklang is a Danish group formed in 2000 by Casper Clausen, Mads Christian Brauer and Rasmus Stolberg. They are known for their beautiful orchestrated songs often starting with a little minimal pattern and build up to a a crescendo with trumpets, horns, strings, choirs and drums. Listen for example to "Modern Drift" from the album Magic Chairs (2010). Last september they released their 10 track album "Piramida" . Here's the openingtrack "Hollow Mountain". And here's "Apples". And to end with, one of my favourite songs, also from their album Magic Chairs, "I was playing drums"

Fiddles on Friday IX

And again a loopminded fiddleplayer like my hero Andrew Bird, and this time its artist Kishi Bashi

photo by Monica McGivern

Kishi Bashi is the pseudonym of singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter K (Kaoru) Ishibashi (born November 4, 1975). Born in Seattle, Washington, but growing up predominantly on the east coast in Norfolk, Virginia. Ishibashi has recorded with and toured internationally as a violinist with diverse artists such as Regina Spektor, Sondre Lerche, and most recently, the Athens, Georgia based indie rock group of Montreal. Ishibashi is also the singer and founding member of the New York synth rock outfit, Jupiter One. In 2011, he started to record and perform as a solo artist. In that year he also released his debut EP "Room For dream" and in april this year he released his 9 track album "151A" with 2 old songs from his EP (Manchester + Bright Whites) But first let's take a look at his live performance for the Tiny Desk Sessions on NPR radio where he demonstrates his loopstation & fiddle skills. Here's the soundcloud link to 3 tracks from 151a, enjoy your weekend and see you back on Misty monday.

Thunder on Thursday VIII

Okay we're back and fasten your safety belts for METZ

Photo by Colin Medley

Metz is a French city with irritating one-way tracks so you can't reach the cathedral or center, luckily METZ is also a Toronto rock trio with Alex Edkins, Hayden Menzies and Chris Slorach. "They play like one brutally heavy instrument with three heads" is a phrase about them and its true. They have developed a reputation for head-splitting live performances and released the album "Metz" october this year. So..are you ready??? Here's their song "Wet Blanket" Warmed up enough? Then let's get on to the full album..here's Metz with Metz

Warm Wednesday VIII

Were back in business and today Daughn Gibson is giving us the warmth we need.

 (photo via www.tellallyourfriendspr.com)

I told you earlier that I like to compare voices with materials, Placebo for example has got an aluminium voice and Jonathan Jeremiah an oak one. Daughn Gibsons voice is a Red Cedar for me (like Ian Curtis) but a real big old Red Cedar :).  He released the LP "All Hell" april this year at the White Denim label and its a beauty. Nice build up songs with electronic beats, spheric soundscapyish synths all dressed up with his warm voice. Reminds me also of James Blake. Anyway, it's all well Daughn! Listen for example to the song  "Reach into the Fire"
Daugh Gibson grew up in Nazareth, Pennsylvania which was an hour and a half from New York, and an hour and a half from Philly. So bands that were touring came through one way or another. He got to see stuff people in other small towns didn't, like Wesley Willis. Daughn couldn't have asked for a better place to grow up and be into music. Here's a soundcloud link to the song "In the Beginning" And one of my favourites "Tiffany Lou".

Fiddles on Friday VIII

Today it's up to Wim Baeck to give us some shivers.

Wim Baeck from Belgium started playing the violin at the age of 7. Later on he went to study the art of painting at St-Lukas in Brussels, Belgium. And he became familiar with sculpting and goldsmith's art. Eventually he found a way to bring together his several passions: becoming a violin maker. He followed classes and internships in Belgium and Norway. Besides building violins he is still very active in the music scene. He teaches violin at the Muziekpublique Academy and is a part of the music group Balacordes together with Tristan Driessens. In this video where he plays the song "Joot" on a self made hardanger fiddle (Norwegian violin) with gut strings which at the end of the tune suffered from the heat of the spots :) Here he is playing with his band Sourdine. which unfortunately ceases to exist. Its a compilation of songs. Enjoy and have a nice weekend.

Thunder on Thursday VII

"Do you wanna fight? Fight me!" Famous words Bruce Lee spoke and `Bruce Lee´ is the opening track of the new album
 "Civil Disobedience for Losers" from Indian Handcrafts

photo credit: Brad Conrad 
Indian Handcrafts is a Canadian (Toronto) Rockduo with drummer/vocalist Brandyn James Aikins and guitarist/vocalist Daniel Brandon Allen. The fresh released album (oct.30th) was recorded in Los Angeles last March with Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Big Business, Red Sparowes). Impressively, the press release explains that guitarist/vocalist Daniel Brandon Allen delivered the album's heavy riffery with a broken hand!!
"The doctor said if you go and record then it´s your problem if it gets worse," Allen said in a statement. "It was a little painful some days, but because of being there in the surroundings it was easy to get around that. It healed fine." If you ask me I don´t hear any modest or demure riff.. so be glad that his hand was injured otherwise our ears probably were :) Enjoy the complete album here and here´s some live footage from the duo that sounds like a hundred bands :) here´s the song (track 2) `Red Action´

Wednesday "Weminder"

Our Tuesdays got talent band NOSOYO is presenting their debut album "Just Before The Faint" today in Bitterzoet in Amsterdam. Nice way to spend your warm wednesday evening.

Warm Wednesday VII

Well out here it's getting cold so today it's simply the Beth....Beth Orton who's giving us a warm wednesday.

Beth Orton, is a BRIT Award–winning English singer-songwriter. Known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica, she was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s — but these were not Orton's first recordings. She released a solo album, Superpinkymandy, in 1993. Since the album was only released in Japan, it went largely unnoticed by international audiences. Her second solo album, Trailer Park, garnered much critical acclaim in 1996. With the release of the albums Central Reservation (1999) and the 2002 album Daybreaker, with up tempo pop songs and acoustic ballads. It featured guest appearances from musicians such as The Chemical Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Ryan Adams and Four Tet. It was a great commercial success, reaching the top 8 of the UK album chart, and received largely positive from the press, ranging from "Her best work yet" from Mojo magazine. Beth developed a devoted fan base. On her 2006 release, Comfort of Strangers, she has moved towards a more folk-based sound and away from the electronic sound of past albums. This year she released the Album "Sugaring Season" (another carbon neutral album by the way). Here's the full album stream on Youtube starting with the beautiful song "Magpie" She once said "My voice sounds like a piano with a quirky key". Thats what I like! Here's a soundcloud link to Magpie.

Tuesdays Got Talent VII

Todays talent is Maïa Vidal

Maïa Vidal (born February 20, 1988) is an American-born composer, songwriter, musician, and visual artist. Currently based in Europe (primarily Barcelona and Paris). one year and a day ago she released her cd "God Is My Bike" It was recorded in Barcelona and was released in Europe and Japan by the Belgian label Crammed Discs on October 31, 2011. It's a fresh and surprisingly mature debut album The record includes 12 tracks, all original compositions except for ‘It's Quite Alright,’ (Rancid) and features a collaboration with guitarist Marc Ribot. Giuliano Gius Cobelli engineered, coproduced and played the trumpet and the drums while MAÏA sang and played all the other instruments. Sometimes her songs and voice reminds me of Silje Nergaard. Here's a live performance of "God is my bike" And here's the official video of "Follow Me" And here's the link to soundcloud

Misty Monday VII

Today its up to Lost in the Trees to give us a nice start up of this week.

Lost in the Trees is an American orchestral folk pop band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Their current line up consists of: Ari Picker (writer/vocals), Emma Nadeau (french horn/vocals), Drew Anagnost (cello), Jenavieve Varga (violin), and Mark Duamen (tuba). Lead singer Ari Picker cites diverse influence such as Beethoven, Radiohead, Vivaldi, Neutral Milk Hotel, Saint-Saëns, and OutKast, among others. In march this year they released a new album called: "A Church That Fit Our Needs" In the summer of 2009 Ari Picker – writer, composer, and architect of the band – lost his mother, an artist in her own right, when she took her own life. Picker was in the midst of releasing his band’s debut album, All Alone in an Empty House, a collection of folk-inflected songs that surprised with its orchestral arrangements. Picker took the loss of his mother and set about transforming the events into a tribute, composing, writing lyrics, his mother’s picture above his writing desk: the same picture that now graces the album’s cover.

“I wanted to give her a space, in the music, to be, and to become all the things she didn’t get a chance to be when she was alive.” Here's the video of the song "Red" While this might sound on paper like a somber affair, A Church That Fits Our Needs is anything but. Picker, a classically trained composer, has Shostakovich and Stravinsky at his fingertips, but the music on this album speaks just as much to his love of Phil Spector and old film scores. The swooping strings on “Golden Eyelids” could come straight out of an old Drifters hit, while the orchestral breakdowns in the midst of “Red” recall the haunting soundtracks Bernard Herrmann composed for Alfred Hitchcock. It's a beautiful album, nice arranged songs and choirs. It has a real misty monday feeling and it wil allso be a nice christmas record due to the nice choirs. Here's a soundcloud link.

Fiddles on Friday VII

Timewarp! We go back to the 70's and we're going to Ireland, land of the master fiddlers. And Kevin Burke is a master.

Kevin Burke is an Irish fiddler considered one of the top living Irish fiddlers. Born in London in 1950, moved to Ireland in 1974 where, two years later, he became a member of the The Bothy Band. In 1979 Burke moved to the United States and there he formed a duo with guitarist and former Bothy Band member Mícheál Ó Domhnaill. First lets start with a song he played in 1980 together with Mícheál Ó Domhnaill This is the song "Glen of Aherlow".... by the way, doesn't he look a little bit like that other Kevin..Kevin Costner in this video? When he started in the Bothy Band he was a follow up for the allso legendary Tommy Peoples, that was a hard task but he did it with great admirability. First take a look and a listen to Kevin with The Bothy Band back in 1976 with the song Green Groves of Erin And here another couple of great songs with the Bothy Band...nice way to start the weekend...don't try to sit still because you can't. And discover what a timeless structure some songs have. If you put a hard beat under it and play the lines with synthesizers you could call it Dance / Trance / House whatever, it still rocks. Just enjoy your weekend and I hope to see you back on misty monday :)

Thunder on Thursday VI

Wake up because it's Thundersday with Resistor

Photo by: Kees van Mansom

Resistor (resistor [rɪˈzɪstə] < an electrical component designed to introduce a known value of resistance into a circuit >) is a Dutch band from Almere. Almere is the youngest city in the Netherlands, it is build in a former lake. This well planned, maybe too well, city with its repetitive city-blocks and mirrored office buildings inspires the band to go against all the planned paths and well thought efficiency based rules. “It was a necessity to create a loud voice that would stand up against all the planned paths that lay before us" They say on their website. Resistor are: Dick Roseboom (beatcreator), Wietze Vink (guitar) and Dennis Jansen (vocals). Their music is an explosive combination of rock, rap, electro, techno and punk, they like to call it Rave & Rock. Live they blow your socks off. They could be the offspring of The Prodigy and Rage against the machine. Here's a live gig video of the song "Trigger" to prove their skills they released a debut EP called "The Bastards Have Landed" in october 2011. The 6 track EP is released in a very nice Limited Edition 5'2 Floppy Disk Sleeve. And they are so nice to share the album with us via bandcamp, enjoy!