Thunder on Thursday XVI

Today it's Tremonti time!

Tremonti is the solo project of Mark Tremonti, grammy award winning talented guitar player from Creed and Alter Bridge. For his project he called in Eric Freedman (Creed) for guitar, Garret Whitlock (Submersed)drums and Wolfgang Vanhalen (yes the son of..) for the bass. In juli 2012 they released the album "All I Was".

Fasten seatbelts and let's take a look and have a listen to "You Waste Your Time". Mark is a master on guitar, I was really impressed by his playing skills in the song "Leave it Alone" for example. I also liked the solo in the song "Proof". Here's a version which I liked most (it differs from the album version). By the way 10 out of 12 tracks on the album contains solos :) We all need "Brains" so here it is for those who lack them ( I do sometimes ;)

And we end with "The things I've seen...my favourite

Warm Wednesday XV

Let's have a warm wednesday with Benjamin Gibbard

Benjamin Gibbard is the lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service and is also known for his project ¡All-Time Quarterback! and his first band, Pinwheel. In 2012 he released his second solo album Former Lives and I was catched by the Calexico'ish sound of the song Something's Rattling (Cowpoke). Let's have a listen so you know what i mean, put on your sombrero and go! Nice song isn't it? It also sounds a bit like El Camino with a Hawaiian touch. I thought his album would be more of this stuff but it isn't. It's a kaleidoscope of styles and moods. Lily is a beautiful short ballad like song, "Duncan where have you gone" sounds great (Beach Boys vs Oasis) and there's a song called "Bigger Than Love" featuring Aimee Mann. Sounds like a hit to me. Here are some grooveshark links first one to The song "Lily"

And here's "Lady Adelaide"

And we end with a Tiny desk session were Ben is playing "St. Peter's Cathedral", "Teardrop Windows" and "When The Sun Goes Down On Your Street" enjoy!

Tuesdays got talent XII

It's been a while but were back with some fresh talent. Today it is Sam Ford from London.

Sam Ford is a folk singer songwriter from London. I've seen him playing on the "Ont'Sofa" sessions with his song "The Storm" and I've had this song in my head for the rest of the day :) Let's take a look at this session. Good voice! Nice thing about "unknown" talent is that there is a lot to discover. I found his soundcloud link and a Demo called "Too Long Wasting". A totally different feeling and use of voice (lot higher and more crescendo). I think we are witnessing a singer who's stil discovering his own style and voice. We end with another live session, here Sam is playing the song "He won't go" on the Clockwork Owl Sessions, enjoy! And meanwhile wait for an upcoming album.

Misty Monday XVI

I need a quiet day today...perfect for some William Fitzsimmons

William Fitzsimmons is an American singer-songwriter, based in Illinois, Fitzsimmons was born the youngest child of two blind parents, and was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.He is said to have developed his multiple instrument abilities from his mother and father, both of whom were recreational musicians. His childhood home even housed a fully functional pipe organ, built by hand by his father. He was taught the piano and trombone during elementary school, and began teaching himself guitar, banjo, ukelele, melodica. First let's take a look and have a listen to "Beautiful Girl" from his latest album "Gold in the Shadow" William's career in music came only after completing a Master's Degree in counseling at Geneva College, and working as a mental health therapist. Prior to his graduate studies, Fitzsimmons worked with the mentally ill for several years. It was during a summer break in the midst of graduate school that Fitzsimmons recorded a collection of songs on home recording equipment which would subsequently become his debut album. Fitzsimmons' writing often includes reference to personal and family subject matter. His 2006 effort, Goodnight, is said to have been based largely on his parents' divorce during his adolescence, I really love the song "Please don't go" from this album. His 2008 work, The Sparrow And The Crow, was written entirely about and following his own divorce. The song "You still hurt me" could be a Sufjan Stevens song Here a soundcloud link with some songs of "Gold in the Shadow"

The Tide Pulls From The Moon

Beautiful Girl

Let You Break

Fiddles on Friday XVII

Today we have Norwegian Fiddler Ragnhild Furebotten

Ragnhild Furebotten is a familiar fiddling figure on the Norwegian traditional music scene, coming to the fore as part of the internationally renowned band Majorstuen and going on to further acclaim with various collaborations and solo projects. Her elegant tone, lightness of touch and palpable pleasure in performing has won her appreciative audiences and a number of awards. Her current project "Never on a sunday" is an innovative meeting with six horn players, exploring the music of her native north Norway region, with traditional tunes and her original compositions arranged by two of Norway's most celebrated jazz composers. The project was premiered at the Kalottspel Festival in August 2010 and taken on a successful tour before being recorded. The album has just been released and no doubt she can expect some more awards soon Here's footage of the first concert on Kalottspel with the brass ensemble: Helge Sunde, Geir Lysne, Frode Nymo, Anders Eriksson, Marius Haltli, Lars Andreas Haug. Action (music) start at 2.00 Sorry that there is no grooveshark, soundcloud or bandcamp stream so it's all youtube today. Here's the song Drevja

Thunder on Thursday XV

Time for some thunder, today it's up to Of Mice & Men to scream us awake.

Of Mice & Men is an American metalcore band from Costa Mesa, California. The group was founded by Austin Carlile and Jaxin Hall during mid-2009 after Carlile's departure from Attack Attack!. The name of the band is derived from John Steinbeck's novel of the same title. But a title or a name is just a title or a name so let's listen to the music, are you ready? ...fasten seatbelts...GO!

Did I mention they sound heavy and angry? The Depths is a song of the 2012 deluxe reissue of the album "The Flood" On that same album is the song "Still YDG'n" with a very nice chorus ..Sinking apologies, knowing you're leaving me on my own... And we end with an older song Carlile's tribute to his late mother, "Second and Sebring" (from the first album), the video has amassed over 3.2 million views on YouTube. Enjoy and if you want to experience them live you should go to SXSW in March.

Warm Wednesday XIV

Today we have Little Comets giving us the warm wednesday we need. (Sorry for the people downunder, i hear they don't need warmth with temps up to 45 degrees celsius. For them...consider it as a wednesday with some cool music :)

First take a look to their live skills with the song Jennifer Little Comets are an indie rock trio from Jarrow and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. They are described to play 'kitchen sink indie' music. In early 2009 the band were signed to Columbia Records and released their debut album In Search of Elusive Little Comets on 31 January 2011. The band released their second album Life is Elsewhere on 15 October 2012. They often have African sounding guitars in their music like The Two Door Cinemaclub and The Foals. What about the intro of the song "A Little Opus", you expect Paul Simon any minute to enjoy. This is from the latest album "Life is Elsewhere" You can enjoy the full album via soundcloud, enjoy

Misty Monday XV

Today it's blue monday, and a misty monday and i think i found the perfect music for it. Nosaj Thing

Nosaj Thing is Jason Chung, a producer from California, He makes beautiful electronic soundscape'ish music. With a lot of synths and delayed sounds. Here's Nosaj Thing's "Eclipse/Blue," featuring vocals by Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino, it is the first single of Nosaj Thing's upcoming album Home due to release tomorrow! The fantastic video is made by Daito Manabe, takcom, Satoru Hoga and help from the creators project. I knew him from a video of a free diver specialised in constant weight diving (Guillame Nery)and the music fitted perfectly with the video, so it's not the official video but still a pleasure to look at. This is Nosaj Thing's song Nightcrawler. another song perfect for misty monday ...FOG from his album Drift

Fiddles on Friday XVI

Today we have a Swedish folk band with a nykelharpe (keyfiddle) it is Nordic

I found them on youtube and think they are amazing. The nykelharpe is played by Erik Rydvall, Mandolin by Magnus Zetterlund and cello by Anders Löfberg: This is the song Skatan played at Huset in Aalborg Denmark. Nordic is one of Sweden's best and most booked folk music band. With roots in as well as a great knowledge of folk music, the trio experiment freely in a quest for new expression. The result includes film-like compositions filled with soundscapes, rhythms, groove, reggae and improvisation. The unusual setting of cello, nyckelharpa and mandolin gives the group its own unique sound and contributes to Nordic's experimental expression. Sorry i don't have any streaming links for you but a nice youtube link will do, this is the song 3 or it is the third song :) let me know if you have more info or music streams of Nordic And we end with Bruce, nice weekend hope to see you back on monday

Warm Wednesday XIII

I need some warm music because the temperature in my region is dropped below zero. Some warm african guitars will do, maybe some nomads too and that's exactly what Tinariwen can offer us.

Tinariwen (meaning desert) is a band of Tuareg-Berber musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. The band was formed around 1979 in refugee camps in Libya but returned to Mali after a cease-fire in the 1990s. The group first started to gain a following outside the Sahara region in 2001, with the release of The Radio Tisdas Sessions, the performances at Festival au Désert in Mali and at the Roskilde festival in Denmark. Their popularity rose internationally with the release of the critically acclaimed Aman Iman in 2007. First let's take a look at them playing at the NPR tiny desk session When making this item Mali and the band are having hard times, French and Malian troops are fighting Islamist Rebels. After large parts of Northern Mali were captured by Ansar Dine. Last week Bandmember Abdallah Ag Lamida was arrested by the Islamist authority (January 2013). In August 2012, an Ansar Dine spokesman announced: “We do not want Satan’s music. In its place will be Quranic verses. Sharia demands this. What God commands must be done.” .....Pffff this is so tiring, why can't people respect eachother. Do you think that a God would bother what music we make? So respect for Tinariwen, hope they keep on making good music and that they won't let themselves being silenced by bashfull people. Here's a warm and beautiful video of the song "Ishweg Attay"of the most recent album Tassili (2011). Here is a soundcloud link to some older work

Misty Monday XIV

Okay we've had a wonderful Eurosonic this year and

Anna von Hausswolff was one of the many artists there to discover !

Anna Michaela Ebba Electra von Hausswolff is a Swedish singer, pianist and songwriter. She released her debut single "Track of Time" in February 2010, followed by the debut album "Singing from the Grave". The album was very well received by the Swedish press. She's often compared with Kate Bush (listen to the song Pills) but her music has also a Lana Del Rey feeling in my opinion. In july 2012 she released her second album "Ceremony". But first let's take a look at the video of her debut song "Track of Time" before we go to the newer stuff Nice misty monday song isn't it? Her new album "Ceremony" is great, let's listen to the song "Mountains Crave". This album is poured over with a church organ juice... nice! And here's a grooveshark link to the song Sova, starting again with that church organ and this has a more Kate Bush feeling to understand the comparison. Another great song is "Red Sun And ofcourse we end with "Goodbye"

Fiddles on Friday XV

Yesterday I saw a stunning documentary by Werner Herzog, called "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" about the Chauvet Cave in southern France. I was impressed by the beautiful soundtrack by the Dutch Cellist Ernst Reijseger.

photo by Krijn van Noordwijk

I hear you think...thats not a fiddler that's a cellist! Right but sometimes I like to think BIG and with a little imagination the cello could be a giant fiddle :) Reijseger creates enchanting music for choir, organ, piano, flute and cello. All adaptions and arrangements of the music by Ernst Reijseger were especially made for the film. All titles of the compositions are named in close connection with the movie. For these special compositions the warmth and depth of low cello sounds are most important. Ernst Reijseger's new five string cello (a dream he had for a long time) was finished just in time for the sound configuration and sound design of this music. The extra low string of the cello offers him the possibility to create deep sounds and to express a mysterious flair. It's amazing what sounds he can produce with his cello. Just take a look at this video where he is playing the song "Shadows" with Harmen Fraanje on the church organ.. it's a masterpiece!

Here are some grooveshark links

"Childs Footprint" Deep Cave And here's the song "Forgotten Dreams #4"

Thunder on Thursday XIV

Today another Eurosonic Band, It's up to Kadavar to give us that nostalgic 70's feeling for this delayed Thunder on Thursday.

One thing is clear, it is impossible to overhear the Black Sabbath influence. Of course the impact of other great and important bands, such as Led Zeppelin, Hawkwind and Witchfinder General can also be heard in the music of this band. This can make you forget that you are actually listening to a contemporary trio from Berlin. Reading this you could get the impression, that listening to KADAVAR’s music could get boring quite fast, due to the fact that we’ve heard this kind of music before. The good thing about their music is that the sound is converted in such way that the audience notices that blood, sweat and tears have been shed during the process. It's al in the song "Black Sun" Music like this can only be played on such high level if one has been through the rough shit that live brings with it sometimes. As an audience we are automatically faced with long straight hair, minimum one mustache, a lot of rings on both hands, fur collars and flared trousers. The Ludwig- Drum set sounds amazingly dry, well it is a Ludwig. Bass and Guitar stand on either side of the stage, building a panorama view, which is great fun over headphones. On the left you get Grease, on the right Fuzz, everything pounds and booms, there’s the double space vocals. It’s easy to be blown away. By the way...the guys names are Lindemann, Mammut, and Tiger :) Here's the soundcloud link to another 3 songs from their self-named 6-track album released last year.. enjoy!

Warm Wednesday XII

Today Trixie Whitley is giving us the warmth we need here because it's getting cold in these regions.

Trixie Whitley was born in Ghent, Belgium, into a family deeply immersed in the worlds of art and music. A nomad at heart, her early years were split between Ghent and New York City. In late 2008, legendary producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Neil Young) contacted Trixie and invited her to the Berklee School of Music, where he was in residence. Their stunning collaboration of Trixie’s song “I’d Rather Go Blind” – with drummer Brian Blade (Joni Mitchell, Wayne Shorter, Joshua Redman) – was filmed and started to create an immediate buzz in music circles. Soon, with the addition of bassist Daryl Johnson (The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Neville Brothers), a super group – Daniel Lanois’ Black Dub – was born. Here's that beautiful song of that fruitful collaboration. Trixie Whitley’s magnetic presence and stunning voice captivated audiences worldwide in 2010 and 2011 as she toured the world performing with Black Dub. During the Black Dub recording sessions, she also recorded her second EP, The Engine, featuring her own music, and began preparing to record her debut as a leader. In late 2011, she released Live at the Rockwood Music Hall, a 5 song EP of her solo performance recorded at Rockwood in New York City. In early 2012, Trixie began work on her first full-length record, Fourth Corner, with producer/keyboardist Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman, who’s also worked with Glen Hansard, Antony and the Johnsons, Grizzly Bear and the National) engineer Pat Dillett (David Byrne, St. Vincent, Mary J. Blige), and string arrangements by Rob Moose (Antony, Bon Iver). I think it is going to be a killer! Listen for example to the song "I need your love". I love the guitar feedback sound echoing at the background. Here she's playing the same song live...enjoy ...By the way she's also playing at Eurosonic Festival in Groningen (Netherlands) this weekend.

Misty Monday XIII

Happy New Year to you all! Fresh Year, Fresh Music. Today it is up to the Belgian band Roscoe to kick off 2013.

Roscoe is a five headed band from Liege. Their song "Lowlands" is a perfect misty monday song. They are influenced by The National and Virgin Suicides and they are playing on Eurosonic this year as one of the 17 Belgian bands. More about this fantastic festival starting the 10th of januari in Groningen (Netherlands), later this week. Via Bandcamp you can listen to the entire album Cracks published by Pias Belgium, enjoy!