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"