Iniciamos un nuevo año con excelente selección, para el incio de este 2010 decidí recomendar una banda que a muchos identifica por su música,dedicación y pasión, El Pacto con su canción “Hiperdance en la curva de san Pablo”. Disfruten de 34 recomendaciones correspondientes a 34 países diferentes.

VENEZUELA: Barquisimento
El Pacto – Hyperdance En La Curva De San Pablo
El Pacto are music legends in the city of Barquisimeto. Since 1992, they have been devoted to merging rock, pop, jazz, ska and folk music in a sound so original and vanguardist, they have even influenced famous national bands like Amigos Invisibles. Their shows ususally include circus-like performances with actors and acrobats. Hyperdance En La Curva De San Pablo is taken from the album of the same name.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Catalina Vin – Caleidoscope
Catalina Vin is an Argentine-American singer and songwriter who started learning music at the age of seven. Genuine is her first album, in which her roots are reflected through eight indie-pop songs sung in both English and Spanish, with soft string and piano arrangements. Caleidoscope is one of our favourite tracks.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Seekae – Void
Ever since FBi Radio started broadcasting regularly some five years ago, Sydney’s independent music scene has flourished from the much-needed lifeblood and community support that the station provides. A lot of young musicians now have an alternative to Triple J to supplement their listening habits and this has encouraged the more experimental writers to pursue their own distinct sounds, knowing they will be played and heard. Seekae is the clear breakout band out of Sydney’s resurging experimental electronic music. With their abstract vocals and dreamy atmosphere they have earned their place as leaders of the city’s 2010 sound.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Curumin – Vem Menina
Curumin is one of the biggest names of the contemporary independent music scene in Brazil. A drummer and singer, besides his solo work, he plays with artists such as Otto, Céu and Guizado. Vem Menina is a samba from his debut album, Achados e Perdidos, released in 2003. His latest album, Japan Pop Show, was released last year and shows his talent to compose funk, samba, rock and electronic songs.

CANADA: I(Heart)Music
Leif Vollebekk – Quebec
Some people hear Patrick Watson in Leif Vollebekk’s vocals. Others have compared his music to that of Owen Pallett/Final Fantasy. I’m not sure about the comparisons, but I know this: Vollebekk is an incredibly gifted performer and artist, and when his debut album, Inland, gets re-released in a few weeks on hot new Toronto label Nevado Records, all of Canada is going to find out just how talented he is.

CHILE: Super 45
De Janeiros – Montreal
Milton Mahan and Pablo Munoz are De Janeiros, one of the most interesting projects in the Chilean experimental scene. In the trend of bands such as Health or Fuck Buttons – that kind of plastic and colorful noise – their sound goes beyond by adding a more playful and “tropical” feeling to it. Chilean net-label Michita Rex have made their sophomore album Plateado available to downloaded for free here.

CHINA: Wooozy
PK14 – Cuo Guo Le
PK14 is the best post-punk band in China. Formed in 1997, they have released five albums. Currently, they are preparing a new album to be release this year and they will attend SXSW in March.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Cours Lapin – Cache Cache
Cours Lapin is what happens when four movie score composers (Louise Alenius, Asger Baden, Peder and Jonas Struck) get together to do pop. Their name is French (translated as “bunny run”), their lyrics are in French (of course) and the French chanson is at the root of their mellow, melancholic pop that makes me think of black and white movies (and yes, they’re French).

ENGLAND: The Daily Growl
Thomas Western – Your Front Door
Last month I picked an Italian musician based in England for MAP – this time it’s the turn of an Englishman currently living in Scotland. Thomas Western’s bluesy/folky approach to songwriting is reminiscent of Elliott Smith or Bob Dylan, while his exquisite vocal range is pitched halfway between Tim and Jeff Buckley. Western moved from Derbyshire to Edinburgh last year to complete his university studies and Your Front Door is his masterpiece.

ESTONIA: Popop
UNCANDY – Lovecool
UNCANDY (and yes, it’s important to write it in capital letters) is multi-talented Maria Juur from Tallinn. Her home recordings have already created quite a buzz in the Estonian indie scene and rumour has it we won’t have to wait long for a debut album. She also records under the name Maria Minerva. Lovecool is featured on new Estonian indie compilation album, Kohalik Ja Kohatu 3.

FINLAND: Glue
Vishnudata – Silver Falls feat. Suho Superstar (radio edit)
Established in 2003, Vishnudata is a project by electronic dance music guru Ville Lankinen which explores the artist’s techno and house influences. Silver Falls is the closing track of his self-titled sophomore album and progressively it introduces the listener into a shiny ethereal atmosphere and psychedelic soundscape. This radio edit version, which features Suho Superstar on vocals, is included in a recently released EP along with three more remixes.

FRANCE: ZikNation
Ibrahim Maalouf – Souma Hia
Born in Lebanon, Ibrahim Maalouf grew up in Paris and began studying the trumped at the age of seven. Ten years later he met Maurice André, who advised him to give up his mathematics studies to dedicate himself to music. Maalouf also had the opportunity to record a song with French singer Matthieu Chedid and this collaboration can be found in the very good Diachronism album. The track Souma Hia carries a great deal of energy.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
Get Well Soon – 5 Steps / 7 Swords
Get Well Soon is the solo project of Konstantin Gropper, a classically trained singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Berlin. His soulful and sophisticated songs take the same path as the likes of Sufjan Stevens or Zach Condon. 5 Steps / 7 Swords is the first single release from second album Vexations.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Exposed By Observers – In My Skin
Exposed By Observers aim to rape the listeners’ ears, yet are less faithfully wed to punk and more interested in dance-derived rhythms, deploying more tightly coiled riffs and distinctive beats than most screamo bands. Secondhand Youth EP, which was given away for free on their website, sounds like everything they’d ever heard, spewed out and rewired for a different type of moshpit etiquette, a brand new teenage riot. They frantically blend cheap samples, beatbox rhythms, clicks, bleeps, fringes, beeps and guitars with manic electro buzz and raw, squawking vocals. Unsurprisingly, there’s also a noticeable undercurrent of emo here too, but actually feels charged and compelling in the momentary tantrums of In My Skin. Listen loud!

ICELAND: I Love Icelandic Music
Bloodgroup – My Arms
Bloodgroup was formed in 2006 by Halez, Lilja, Raggi and Janus during some boring winter days on the east coast of Iceland and they make catchy electronic dance-pop. Debut album Sticky Situation was released on the band’s own label, Sild Ehf, and got excellent reviews. Its follow-up, Dry Land, was released on the Record Records label last month. My Arms is their latest single.

INDIA: Indiecision
Seven Degrees – Shadows In The Dark
Seven Degrees is a boy-girl punk duo from New Delhi. This irreverent twosome produce angular, infectious punk that’s largely bare-boned yet crashy enough to cause a decent racket. Shadows In The Dark is part of a free compilation album called Stupid Stupid Stupid available on Indiecision. The song is a spiralling, old-school punk tribute that leaves you with the distinct feeling of wanting to get up and not be lazy anymore.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Seringai – Mengadili Persepsi (Bermain Tuhan)
Seringai are one of the finest Indonesian metal bands, often described as a blend of Motorhead and Black Sabbath. Their brilliant lyrics are a social critique of religious extremism, policies, domestic violence and sometimes just about stupid people.

IRELAND: Nialler9
I Am The Cosmos – Remembering You
Remembering You is a beautiful slice of broody 80s-inspired electronica buttressed on creaking synth stabs and high-pitched melodies. Its creator, Ross Turner, is known for his work behind the drum kit with various Irish bands but stepping out on his own here as I Am The Cosmos, he shows us what he can do in sole producer mode.

ITALY: Polaroid
Port-Royal – The Photoshopped Prince
There was a blizzard here last week and I found myself listening again to this third album by Port-Royal. It was the perfect soundtrack. Shoegaze, IDM, electro and ambient influences blend together to build an epic soundscape. The Genoa-based quartet used to be on the renowned Resonant label and have worked with Ulrich Schnauss and made remixes for Ladytron and Felix Da Housecat. Now they’re back with a throbbing, intense, unpredictable, brimful of life new record.

JAPAN: JPOP Lover
Green Blossoms – Hana Akari
Green Blossoms are folky duo Aiko Koga and Anthony Guerra. Aiko sings and plays ukulele, Anthony plays the other instruments. They released their second album, Whiskey Leaves, on US-based Digitalis Recordings last summer. Hana Akari is beautiful, softly-intoned songwriting and its ghostly incantations will stick in the back of your mind.

MEXICO: Red Bull PanameriKa
The Hong Kong Blood Opera – Cansei De Ser Gangsta
The Mexican alternative scene recently witnessed the rise of a synthetic yet raw punk generation raiding the underground. A frenetic quintet from desertic Hermosillo stood out – The Hong Kong Blood Opera. A bloody opera? More like straight hardcore screaming evil and rough beats. The HKBO got sweaty teenagers shaking their guts and also blew the critics away when they won a nationwide competition sponsored by a monopolic corporation a few years ago. Instead of vanishing like every band from those schemes usually does, they reappeared with a remarkable album titled Not For The Faint Of Heart. The record breaks the rock-band-contest cliché and at the same time mocks the whole mediatic circus and abusive music industry models with killer singles like Cansei De Ser Gangsta.

NETHERLANDS: Amsterdam Event Guide
The Wooden Constructions – No No (Hip Hop)
Happy New Year from the Netherlands crew. We’ll kickstart 2010 with one of the most talked-about Amsterdam acts, The Wooden Constructions. Their tribal disco with punk-infused lyrics (which harness the confidence of Mark E. Smith) sit alongside their own blend of twangy guitars and driving rhythms. Their unique musical stylings and great live shows have got the city rather excited about what 2010 might offer for this band and the Amsterdam scene itself. Watch this space.

NEW ZEALAND: Counting The Beat
The Mint Chicks – Crush
For three decades, Chris Knox has made some of New Zealand’s most exciting music – from the punk of The Enemy, Toy Love, virtually inventing the country’s indie music scene with four-track recordings of his band Tall Dwarfs and writing one of the nation’s most popular songs. Knox suffered a debilitating stroke last year and to aid his recovery many who have been influenced by him have contributed to an album of covers called Stroke. The roll call includes Jay Reatard, Stephen Merrit, Will Oldham, Lou Barlow and more. Crush, from The Tall Dwarfs’ 1984 EP Slug Bucket Hairy Breath Monster, is performed by The Mint Chicks, one of New Zealand’s most exciting bands.

NORWAY: Eardrums
Sacred Harp – Next Time Too
Sacred Harp are a trio from Oslo who recently released their beautiful self-titled debut EP on the small Norwegian label The Perfect Hoax. Their music is quite difficult to describe because it’s so in the middle of everything. It’s dark, but there’s also a lot of light and colour in there. It’s experimental, but it’s also full of pop structures and lovely melodies. It’s sacral and calm, other times almost brutal. It’s music you just have to listen to. The members are from Norway, Finland and Holland, so they really fit the spirit of the Music Alliance Pact.

PERU: SoTB
La Mente – La Problema
In its wonderful fusion of tropical rhythms, reggae and psychedelic electronic models, La Mente has uncovered an inexhaustible source of energy and dynamism which beckons you onto the dancefloor. La Problema is a feast of total madness and one of the strongest songs from La Mente’s new album, Para Los Muertos Y Los Vivientes.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Malcontent – Aggressive
Malcontent are a quartet from Oporto led by Sérgio Costa. When you listen to them you know their influences (The Jesus And Mary Chain, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Sonic Youth, Joy Division, Nine Inch Nails) and they don’t deny them. They started playing in 2007 and released several promo singles. Finally, they have their first full LP out, called Love The Gun, which the band self-released.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Aievea – Joy Of Life
Vlaicu Golcea and Electric Brother are two incredibly talented multi-instrument players. They combine conventional music with electronic beats and the creative rhythms of Tavi Scurtu, the drummer who juggles with sound. To an already great recipe, we add Marta Hristea’s incredible voice for the perfect nu-jazz experience. After a six-year pause, they’ve just released their second album, Cinema, which can be fully downloaded here.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Galleries – Underground Overground
Galleries have only been in existence for a matter of months, yet the quality of the songs on their MySpace page can’t help but mark them out as a band whose reach is sure to extend much wider than the blogosphere. The Glasgow group is made up of three students and, interestingly, BBC political reporter Andrew Black on drums. The lush sounds of Underground Overground beautifully hints at their The National and Jimmy Eat World influences and is taken from Galleries’ forthcoming debut EP. It’s a MAP exclusive download so feel privileged that you’re getting to own it first.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
Sherene’s Closet – Stereo Loud
Have we got a classic for you this month! Though now defunct, Sherene’s Closet is still very much celebrated in the Singaporean music scene. You might say it all started with this demo recorded during the now legendary Green Room Sessions, and I hear it’s a bit rarer than the LP version. This should be considered one of the best local songs ever recorded, owing to Gerald Stahlman’s stellar vocal delivery and the raw energy of the rest of the band.

SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
Ashtray Electric – Lia
“A quaint mixture consisting of three parts suburb and two parts platteland” make up the phenomenon that is Ashtray Electric. They combine delicate beats, heartfelt lyrics and catchy melodies that lead to a rather fresh, unconventional sound, albeit one that gets your feet tapping. Lia has been compared to Editors and Interpol but Ashtray Electric bring a fresh new sound that has them at the forefront of the indie scene, and rightly so.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Apollo 18 – Warm
Last year Apollo 18 established themselves as one of the very best rock acts of Korea. Starting with a marvellous post-rock-oriented EP, an amazing album followed in which they experimented with hardcore, shoegaze and psychedelic elements. An international version of the first EP has just been released and before the end of the month it’ll be followed by instrumental rock pieces of a more playful kind. Re-recorded to magically sound even better than before, Warm is a stunningly beautiful post-rock piece of epic proportions best played as loud as possible.

SPAIN: Oscuro Magazine
2 Minuts d’Odi – Cuidad De Dios
2 Minuts d’Odi (”2 Minutes Of Hate”) are part of the “Brave Coast Punk-Rockers” movement which extends throughout the Costa Brava. Cuidad De Dios (”City Of God”) is a song against religion which speaks of the Palestinian problem and the bad influences that hatred and violence can have on a kid growing thirst for revenge.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
Jenny Björkqvist – To Heal Your Wounds
To Heal Your Wounds by Jenny Björkqvist is a song that successfully straddles the worlds of indie and folk – it would be as comfortable hanging out with Nick Drake or Jose Gonzalez as it would be spending time with Dylan or Guthrie. Friend and fellow neo-folkie Tim Schmidt contributes vocals on this track.

UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
Vikesh Kapoor – Mack The Knife
Vikesh Kapoor is an up-and-coming acoustic artist, currently based near Boston, who writes ballads which draw their strength from storytelling-type lyricism. After making appearances in Billboard and The Boston Globe, Kapoor is releasing his Newspress Scare 7″ featuring this great rendition of the Kurt Weill-composed Mack The Knife.

To download all 34 songs in one file click here

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Even the impending joy-burst that is Christmas can’t stop the inter-blogging juggernaut that is the Music Alliance Pact, which zooms along like a monthly version of Santa, bearing gifts of song via one chimney-sized post.

For our final MAP offering of 2009, we’ve chosen a track by ambitious Edinburgh-based group THE KAYS LAVELLE but there are plenty of other golden nuggets to discover, including a Portuguese artist who released a song on a little-known Scottish label, plus MAP’s first ever submission from the Netherlands, who are represented by the excellent Amsterdam Event Guide website. Shweet.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
The Kays Lavelle – Aftermath
If any film directors are reading, do yourself a favour and download this song. With its eerily mesmeric piano refrain and increasingly intense, impassioned vocals, Aftermath is just begging to be played during an emotionally-wrought scene or at the end of the movie as the credits run. A studio version of Aftermath featuring the full band will appear on The Kays Lavelle’s debut album due out early next year.
January 8, 13th Note, Glasgow (Euan McMeeken solo show)

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Coiffeur – Humedad
Coiffeur is not the name of a band, but the alias of a young folk singer and songwriter from Morón, a city in the greater Buenos Aires area). Humedad is one of the finest songs from his third album, El Tonel De Las Danaides, which was released this year by Estamos Felices (Argentina’s coolest independent label, you should check them out).

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Toecutter – Best Party Ever (Jordan Lightyear & Jimmy2sox remix)
Best Party Ever pretty much sums up Toecutter, a man called David Harris from Milano, New South Wales who creates dancefloor-friendly progressive house music. Apparently, Toecutter has been sitting on this song since 1984 when he recorded the hook onto a cassette and then spent 25 years deliberating on its merits.

CANADA: I(Heart)Music
The Property Line – The Start
The Property Line have only been around a few months but they’ve been building quite a local following with their brand of psychedelia-tinged country-rock. Their EP (which is available for free download on their site) is pretty strong, and nowhere is it stronger than on The Start, in which the band infuses a little Sufjan into their sound, with absolutely stunning results.

CHILE: Super 45
Gen – ¿Qué Le Pasó A Mi Rap
Es is the latest album by Gen (Freddy Olguin). Putting together amazing beats, social critique rhymes and sounds from another dimension, the Chilean rapper has taken the experience of listening to hip hop to a whole new level. An army of producers has helped him develop a very distinctive personality for his record, which can be compared to the sound of Flying Lotus, Subtle or even The RZA, with the result something nothing short of future-like music. It’s refreshing, experimental and highly exciting.

CHINA: Wooozy
Today – Before Ending
Before Ending is taken from Today’s debut album which was released last year. They are searching for hope and happiness by watching everyone’s love life as a third person. You won’t feel lonely after listening to their songs. The band’s new album, Live The Life, will be out soon.

COLOMBIA: Colombia Urbana
Miss Muffin – Bways ‘n’ Gyals
What happens if you put together Juan Valdez and Bob Marley? Well, the answer to this experiment can be given by Isabella Escobar aka Miss Muffin, the known name for this promising talent of Colombian reggae. Originating from Antioquia, with Caribbean blood, Miss Muffin has released Hear This, an album that explores in a curious manner the various possibilities of reggae.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Eumig & Chinon – This Fang
The last Danish track of 2009 is also a MAP exclusive. Eumig & Chinon aka Christian Kastbjerg has kindly provided this kickass piece of funky housetronica titled This Fang, which will be on his debut EP coming out sometime next year. You’ve got to groove.

ENGLAND: The Daily Growl
Banjo Or Freakout – Upside Down
I’m bending the rules a little this month because Alessio Natalizia, who trades under the name Banjo Or Freakout, is Italian – but he’s based in London so we can claim him as our own. Just as well because his awesome soundtracks, all wrapped up in a dreamy melodious electronic haze, are worth breaking down national boundaries for.

ESTONIA: Popop
Malcolm Lincoln – Me Iz Loaded With Zoul
Malcolm Lincoln has been active only for about a month so there’s not much of a biography yet. The band is the brainchild of Robin Juhkental, who is joined by Madis Kubu aka Fretless Rämbu for live shows. Five more songs are downloadable here.

FINLAND: Glue
Rex Willer – My Girl
Rex Willer is a five-piece indie band who recorded the excellent Inner Moray Scenes EP at their home studio earlier this year. Influenced by My Morning Jacket, Steely Dan and Death Cab For Cutie, they are driven by groovy bass lines and old-school keyboard sounds, without forgetting good guitar licks. Let yourself be caught by the irresistible melody of My Girl while Rex Willer finishes some new material due out early next year.

FRANCE: ZikNation
Michael Wookey – Songs About Snow
At the age of 15, Michael Wookey was given a portable pump organ which belonged to his grandfather, who was an organist during World War II. This instrument inspired Michael to write some songs and start collecting obscure instruments. Now 26, he has released three albums and by using a portable studio, he has recorded in various sheds, basements and meat lockers. He now lives in the red light district of Paris. The French describe his music as folk baroque.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
Dobré – The Melody Is A Stranger
Sometimes you realise within minutes what creative potential a musician has, and Dobré comes into that category. Usually found playing eclectic indie-folk with his mates Sepp Kennedy, he just released a ‘best of’ solo record called Tools ‘n’ Toys which you can download here. The Melody Is A Stranger is a downtempo piece of indie which strongly reminds me of early Peter Gabriel.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
2-L8 – Excuse Me, But I Just Have To Explode (Part II)
2-L8’s second release – He & She, Angry Enough To Keep Loving In The Dark Ages (download it for free here) – is a masterpiece of avant-garde music that truly haunts the mind. It’s a passionate experience, leading the listener into excruciating catharsis – you look into the eyes of two lovers and see nothing but painful regret. It’s exhilarating and rare to hear such florid arrangements based on sharp stringed instruments and theremin, trembling, frantically passionate vocals, desperate and bleak lyrics coupled with a sense of hope and all of them laced with uncompromising experimentation, true emotional resonance and weight. A total seductive triumph.

ICELAND: I Love Icelandic Music
Morðingjarnir – Manvisa
Punk-rock trio Morðingjarnir (”The Murderers”) play fast and sharp three-to-four chord songs, often with some dark humour. Atli, Haukur and Helgi are influenced by Dead Kennedys and local punk heroes Fræbbblarnir. Manvisa is a song featured on their third album, Flóttinn Mikli, with guest vocals from Kata of the band Mammút.

INDIA: Indiecision
The Mavyns – Greener Than The Sea
The Mavyns (pronounced “May-wins”) are a rock act from Mumbai. Their music is a particularly refreshing take on the new British post-punk revival. Powered by piano-driven melodies and a charming disposition, the recently-formed quartet already look set for greater things. Greener Than The Sea makes no bones about its Beatles affectations culminating in a dizzying guitar romp. This live recording from an excellent recent set in the city is a definite sign of a career path that looks to be going only one way – up!

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Tika & The Dissidents – Waltz Muram
Known as the diva from the indie scene in Indonesia, Tika has a beautiful voice and smart lyrics with influences ranging from swing and lounge music mashed with eclectic orchestration. I chose her and her band this month because I also want to promote Bahasa Indonesia, the official language of the country.

IRELAND: Nialler9
O Emperor – Po
After an impressive appearance on Irish TV and some blog love from The Torture Garden, Cork band O Emperor are definitely on the ‘ones to watch’ list. Especially, though, after repeated plays of their debut single, Po, an unassuming number that reveals itself on multiple listens thanks to its snaking ephemeral guitar lick and a vocal that lodges in your brain for 24 hours at a time.

ITALY: Polaroid
The Calorifer Is Very Hot! – Evolution On Stand-By
Italy is well known for its Prime Minister’s various conflicts of interest. For this month’s MAP I decided to act in a diplomatic way and promote a band and record that I helped to release. I could tell you that I believe these guys play some of the best indie-pop in this country. I could tell you that their lo-fi punk attitude to songwriting deserves worldwide attention. I could beg you to go to see them live and promise that you will have fun. But these would be all lies. They’re here just because I put my money in their new album – buy it!

JAPAN: JPOP Lover
Sonic Attack Blaster – 20000Volt
Sonic Attack Blaster, an alternative band from Tokyo’s underground scene, call their music ’samurai rock’. Their songs actually have Japanese retro melody lines that give them an early-90s feel. Interesting and really rather weird. Their new album will be released in January.

MEXICO: Red Bull PanameriKa
Rana Santacruz – Cajita De Barro
Rana Santacruz’s richness lies deep in Mexican soil: a buried treasure of plundered Celtic tunes, ranchera-song lamentations and magical-realistic folktales that could have been part of a lost chapter from a rural cuento written by Juan Rulfo. Chicavasco is his debut album – a delicate collection of bohemian vignettes permeated by a true sensorial feel of rain, leather and mezcal. Watch him come up the hills and down the slopes as he slowly claims his place among one of our favourite singer-songwriters.

NETHERLANDS: Amsterdam Event Guide
The Very Sexuals – Bowie Eyes
Hallo from Holland! This is our first submission and we’re happy to introduce The Very Sexuals. Starting out as a project between three or four other bands, this act have come together to produce an impressive, emotive and totally free album which has left listeners in dreamy shoegaze heaven since its release earlier this year. Be sure to download Bowie Eyes and look out for album number two in 2010.

NEW ZEALAND: Counting The Beat
Signer – +Kicks And Kicks
Bevan Smith is the musician who records as Signer. Smith started out as an indie-guitar fan but gave that up for psychedelic electronica and synths. His latest album, Next We Bring You The Fire, has a more ambient sound than earlier records, toning down some of the more leftfield noise elements. +Kicks And Kicks isn’t that typical of the album – it’s poppier and more rhythmic – but gives a good introduction to Signer’s ability to create music which is accessible but slightly unsettling.

NORWAY: Eardrums
Moddi – A Sense Of Grey
Moddi is a unique artist from the northern parts of Norway who will release his debut album Floriography on February 8. His music is poetic and dreamy, but at the same time there is a roughness in his sound. I often think of the rugged northern nature when I listen to his music, which is full of beauty but also darkness and sudden changes.

PERU: SoTB
El Hombre Misterioso – 80 Veces 80
The four members of El Hombre Misterioso are so versatile they would sound completely different if separated. They are always willing to experiment with rock and their second album, Inside The Corporation, narrates national historical stories. 80 Veces 80 remembers the worst days of Peruvian history, when the 1980s crisis was worsened by car bombs in a civil war that nearly destroyed the country.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Noiserv – Melody Pops
Noiserv is one-man band David Santos, a very talented multi-instrumentalist from Lisbon. His self-released 2008 debut LP, One Hundred Miles From Thoughtlessness, was highly acclaimed by the mainstream Portuguese press. In May, Noiserv released a single through the Scottish label Autumn Ferment Records.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Byron – King Of Clowns
Releasing their third album this year (A Kind Of Alchemy), alternative rock act Byron has already developed a unique sound, an alchemy of Jeff Buckley’s lyricism and Porcupine Tree’s neo-prog escapism. Dan’s voice goes from soft and warm to almost tormented, all the way spiced with wild-on-the-verge-of-insanity harmonies. The keyboard work shines with brilliant prog-inspired interventions, the guitar-playing is rock-solid (pun intended) and the use of flute on several tracks also works miracles, bringing a certain distinctness to the whole. Did I say Jethro Tull? Well, you get the picture.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
For This Cycle – For What It’s Worth
Sixteen-year-old Weiwen Seah has a lot to be proud of. Performing under the persona For This Cycle, he has released a five-track EP this year and is currently recording his full-length album due next year. Weiwen brings a welcome breath of pop goodness in a music scene better known for its underground subculture with shades of Jason Mraz and Dashboard Confessional. In fact, it’s easy to forget that someone so young sings with as much conviction on this month’s selection, For What It’s Worth.

SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
Van Coke Kartel – Voor Ons Stof Word
Van Coke Kartel is an Afrikaans rock band. Francois Van Coke and Wynand Myburgh were previously in Fokofpolisiekar, who revolutionised Afrikaans rock music by challenging and shifting rigid mindsets. Van Coke Kartel proceeded to explode onto the SA music scene with sold-out shows and rave reviews. The group has been busy working on their new album, Skop, Skiet En Donner, which will be out in early 2010. Look out for it, it’s sure to blow your mind.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Oh My Melodies – I Like It All
Oh My Melodies is the US-based solo project of Jiyoung Lee, vocalist of I Love JH. She now offers home-recorded electronic pop with sweet lyrics on the recently released EP So Lazy, which can be downloaded here. I Like It All is a catchy tune with a bit of synth that makes doing the chores seem like the most delightful task.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
Symfoniorkestern – Tänd Eld På Dig Själv (För Det Du Tror På)
Wow, it was a no-brainer this month. Symfoniorkestern are a uniquely Swedish group. They are like an indie-rock band but with a grab-bag of unusual orchestration, lyrics in Swedish and lovely harmonies. The new EP, Tänd Eld På Dig Själv (För Det Du Tror På), is available here for free in its awesome, spellbinding entirety. The band spent a year and a half recording it – I only wish I could somehow give this review the same amount of care.

UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
Chll Pll – Dick Moves
Sacramento, CA’s Zach Hill has a new project, Chll Pll – a slice of the rather raucous, noisy, blunt force corner of the electro-pop world. Dick Moves is from the upcoming debut Aggressively Humble, out now on Porter Records.

VENEZUELA: Barquisimento
Fordelucs – No Queda Mas
Alternative rock band Fordelucs have been winning over fans and critics alike and building up a name for themselves in Venezuela’s music scene. Now the boys are about to start a tour that will take them beyond the borders of their country. No Queda Mas is taken from their first release, Mundo.

To download all 33 songs in one file click here

World | Deja un comentario »

Llegamos a la edición nro40, con producciones recién colocadas en las discotiendas, temas de géneros como el bolero, samba, tambor y folklor. En esta edición tuve el placer de contar con pequeños saludos de músicos venezolanos como Aexis Cárdenas, Leo Blanco y como invitado especial Fabio Torres de Brasil.

Canciones e Intérpretes Presentados
Aquel Zuliano
Renato Aguirre (compositor)
Aquiles Machado, Aquiles Báez y Alexis Cárdenas
CD: La Canción de Venezuela vol2.
—————-
Escríbeme
Guillermo Castillo (compositor)
Aquiles Machado, Aquiles Báez y Alexis Cárdenas
CD: La Canción de Venezuela vol2.
—————-
Saltarín – Eddy Marcano
Antonio Carrillo (compositor)
CD: Venezuela en Violín vol.1
—————-
No me Critique – Mixtura
Voces Hana Kobayashi, Mariel Mariño y Rafael Pino
CD: Animal de Viento
—————-
Vaya pue’ – C4Trío
Edward Ramírez (compositor)
CD: Entremanos
—————-
Receita de Samba – C4Trío
Jacob do Bandolim (compositor)
Invitado : Rodner Padilla Bajo Eléctrico
CD: Entremanos

Enlaces de interés
El Duende de la improvisación, sale por estas tierras – Artículo de Raúl Abzueta
C4Trío – Sitio Oficial
C4Trío – Cuenta de Twitter
Aquiles Machado – En la Wikipedia
Aquiles Báez – En Myspace
Alexis Cárdenas- Sitio Oficial
Caracas Sincrónica – Bio

 

 Standard Podcast [44:59m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (628)

Folklor, Gaitas, Instrumental, Jazz, Latin, Samba, Tambor, Vals, Violín | 2 comentarios »

En el mes de Noviembre, me decidí por los Amigos Invisibles, una Banda Venezolana que por muchos años han estado trabajando y generando buena música, su constancia y esfuerzo les hizo merecedores del Grammy Latino 2009. Disfruten este mes de Los Amigos Invisibles y por supuesto del resto de recomendaciones de los países participantes en este proyecto, todas excelentes.

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Entre RÌos – Frontera
Finally we get the chance to showcase this great indie-pop band from Buenos Aires on MAP. Entre RÌos is a musical project led by Sebastian Carreras (vocals, keyboards, guitar) that has been around since 1998. Their first albums were recorded with Isol as the main singer, but since her departure in 2005 they’ve featured different guest vocalists live and in the studio. Frontera is a MAP-exclusive premiere from their brand new EP that will be released in a couple of weeks, with Josefina Mac Loughlin on vocals.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Boy & Bear – Mexican Mavis
Sydney singer-songwriter Dave Hosking has taken a slight change of direction with his new outfit Boy & Bear. Releasing his first EP Marmalade Hill late last year, Hosking has decided to abandon the songs from the album (which I was still rather fond of) and start fresh, writing towards a more mature and original sound. Producer of the first EP, Andrew Macken, has proven to be a great collaborator with his intricate and almost narrative-based approach to the arrangement and production.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
The Name – Come Out Tonite
If I had to bet which Brazilian band could repeat the success of CSS on foreign lands it would be The Name. Assonance, their new well-produced EP, presents songs that could put them side by side with some of the greatest names of the post-punk revival of the 00s or the major bands of nu-rave scene. Come Out Tonite is here to prove it.

CANADA: I(Heart)Music
Magneta Lane – Love And Greed
Magneta Lane were on the verge of world (well, Canadian) domination a few years ago, and then they suddenly vanished. They’re back now with a new album, Gambling With God, but you wouldn’t know it from the total lack of support the album is getting from both the band and their label. Nonetheless, it’s a pretty outstanding release, and as songs like Love And Greed show, Magneta Lane could still conquer the world… assuming, that is, they want to.

CHILE: Super 45
Astro – Raifilter
Alongside electro-poppers Moustache, Astro (AndrÈs Nusser and Octavio Cavieres) is one of those noble bands cultivating the sound of acts such as MGMT or The Knife – just on the verge of the night spectrum of pop – acquiring a good combination of simplicity and a good dose of highly contagious fun for their debut album Le Disc Du Astrou. Following this trail, Raifilter is a song with a very special melody, the result of very intense arrangements as well excellent vocals courtesy of Nusser, who shapes a beach-like tune to give us a perfect excuse to have a neverending sound party.

CHINA: Wooozy
Loudspeaker – I Will Be Back
Established in 1999, Loudspeaker is the hardcore pioneer in Shanghai. This song is from the I Will Be Back EP released in September. You can download the whole EP here. Loudspeaker’s new album will be ready at the beginning of 2010.

COLOMBIA: Colombia Urbana
Hety And Zambo – Proud
Hety And Zambo are a duo with the capacity to get you on your feet and dance. The Kings of Creole, as everyone knows them in the dancehall underground scene, came together six years ago in the island of San Andres with one objective – to create good music with their own rhythms, writings and language.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
The Kites – Play
I stumbled across these guys on a MySpace cruise recently and was immediately charmed by their quite British-sounding pop-rock. The Kites may not be revolutionizing music, but less has been known to do it. Not least when it’s this infectious. Get Play exclusively via MAP and then head to their MySpace page and check out the equally excellent Balloons.

ENGLAND: The Daily Growl
Jeremy Warmsley – Dancing With The Enemy
Rather than something new this month, here’s an old favourite from one of my favourite British singer-songwriters, Jeremy Warmsley. It’s from his How We Became album of last year. If you like this, he’s got a free acoustic EP available via his MySpace and he’s also fronting a new band Acres, Acres. Watch out for them.

ESTONIA: Popop
Antonina – Itsuyorimo
When Helene Vetik started to write music, she played on the streets to get some pocket money, started a high school punk-band that didn’t last long and sang at cheesy corporate parties. However, it was when she began to record her old songs into lo-fi electro-pop that she teamed up with Zanduro (keyboard) and Mihkel Masso (guitar) to form Antonina.

FINLAND: Glue
Cleaning Women – Across The Void
From planet Clinus 1 robots CW01, CW03 and CW04 (subbing for CW02 who was lost in action) create industrial avant garde music using a wide array of instruments, some rock lines, a few jazzy beats and a lot of funky grooves. The trio has just released its third album, U, including six futuristic tracks that could form the soundtrack of a Philip K Dick novel. One of them is the instrumental Across The Void, a good example of the spooky atmospheric music these hygienic robots make.

FRANCE: ZikNation
Kitsch Device – Is This Home Now?
Kitsch Device is a group straight out of the Parisian scene who take us on a high. They first started playing as a hobby but they now scour concert rooms in Paris and are always a blast to watch for their style and professionalism. Is This Home Now? carries a folk-rock melody which will make you shake your head and tap the floor with your foot to the beat.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
Candelilla – #13
Candelilla is a female four-piece based in Munich. Their impulsive sound fits into no existing scheme – it varies from Dresden Dolls to Sonic Youth, from punky grunge to vanguard indie. Straight drums accompany the piano, a whetted guitar accents murky basslines, all highlighted by the staccato voices. #13 is the first single from their debut reasonreasonreasonreason.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Giannis Aggelakas – Volta Sto Dasos
Psyhi Vathia is the soundtrack for a movie directed by Pantelis Voulgaris. It takes place in 1949 and tells the story of two brothers who fight in two different camps during the Greek civil war. Giannis Aggelakas, who was singer and songwriter of the legendary rock band Trypes, composes an emotionally compelling score drawing on traditional musical heritage. Sad, evocative instrumental melodies rich with contemporary elements coalesce with ethnic nuance that depict the era and echo the film’s mood. Volta Sto Dasos (”Walk In The Woods”) is a marvelous track that reflects the two elements of the movie – pain and hope – through the lament of violin and the serenity of the guitar.

ICELAND: I Love Icelandic Music
Kimono – Black
Kimono is an experimental rock trio hailing from Reykjavik and Halifax, Canada. They have released three full-length albums, the last one in collaboration with Icelandic producer Curver (of Ghostigital). Black will be on their upcoming fourth album, Easy Music For Difficult People.

INDIA: Indiecision
Pinknoise – Dream Dream
Pinknoise is an experimental rock act from Kolkata that takes nu-jazz sensibilities and combines them with angular, guitar-driven rock. Dream Dream comes from a soon-to-be-released live DVD. It’s the quintessential spacious, open jam that frontlady Jayashree Singh orchestrates with this band. With mid-song tempo changes and lazy atmospherics, it’s a fun five minutes through slacker town.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Santamonica – Bobsessed
Santamonica’s album Curiouser And Curiouser was praised by the media as an eclectic mixture of pop, bossa nova, electronic and classic waltz drawing influences from Astrud Gilberto, Antonio Carlos Jobim and My Bloody Valentine to classic Disney soundtracks.

IRELAND: Nialler9
Band On An Island – Back Disco
The debut release from Kildare’s Band On An Island, The Sound Sweep, revels in the details of hometown life, taking in nights by the campfire, love, drinking, getting into trouble, picking yourself up again and this cute nightclub-themed song featuring the vocals of Claire Prendergast. Combine these myriad of issues with the music – a mix of country, folk, raucous guitar music and heartfelt ballads – and you’ve got the essence of Band On An Island.

ITALY: Polaroid
Annie Hall – Morning News
It would be too easy to describe the sound of the Annie Hall as a Beatles influence revised through a folk sensibility. But this way you would overlook the simple fact that these songs are truly touching in such an immediate way. Annie Hall just released their second album and are now ready to spend the next months touring the country non-stop, as they usually do.

JAPAN: JPOP Lover
Sebastian X – Tour Star People
Sebastian X are an impressive Tokyo-based outfit with indie-pop and punkish leanings. Their brilliant debut album Wonderful World was finally released last week. The band, who don’t use guitars, have catchy melodies driven by the cute pop vocal of Manatsu Nagahara.

MEXICO: Red Bull PanameriKa
Pepepe (feat. Cyane) – Sleep With You
Here is a track from Pepepe’s latest album, Roba OrgÛn de Plantas y Animales, released on the Poni Republic label. Pepepe is one of the monikers of Pesina Siller, a 21-year-old electronic musician and visual artist who was ranked among the top 50 in Radiohead’s Reckoner remix contest. He’s the kid behind various projects that show the multiple faces to his mystic persona, with sounds that go from dubstep to psychedelic folk. This song is full of clicks, cuts, lots of aleatory processing and a beautiful collaboration with Guadalajara’s vocalist Cyane.

NEW ZEALAND: Counting The Beat
Psychic Powers – Wellington
Psychic Powers are an international duo – Nik Brinkman is a New Zealander and Alejandro Cohen is from Los Angeles. The two collaborate on songwriting from opposite sides of the world via the internet. This piece of very 80s sounding synth-pop is about Nik’s home town, New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington – bringing together the local and the global in a way that seems purpose made for the Music Alliance Pact. The song has been released on 7″ vinyl by US label Geographic North.

NORWAY: Eardrums
KrÂkes¯lv – Privat Regn
KrÂkes¯lv is a quartet from Bod¯, a town in the north of Norway. They sing in their dialect and their music can be put somewhere between pop, indie and post-rock. The band have received much acclaim for their lyrics and the reviews of their recently released debut, TrÂdn¯sting, have been very positive.

PERU: SoTB
Los Protones – Swinging Lima
Los Protones are an instrumental band formed in Lima in 2007 who play in a style that combines psychedelia, surf and garage-rock. Their self-titled debut CD was released in February 2009 by the Peruvian label Discos Gordos. It is an album where there are no words, although they’re not necessary – the guitar solos are the universal language and the titles of songs such as El DesvÌo paint pictures that could easily relate to the soundtrack of our experiences.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Casino Royal – Casino Royal Deluxe
Led by Pedro Janela, Casino Royal are a quintet from Figueira da Foz, a town known for its sandy beaches and its casino built in the 19th century. Casino Royal create music that takes us back to a certain living by the post-war European jetset. Would you like your cocktail shaken or stirred?

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Silent Strike – 27
Silent Strike (Ioan Titu) is a 27-year-old electronic music composer and sound designer from Bacau. He is influenced by Aphex Twin, Future Sound Of London, Orbital and opened for Faithless and Bonobo. 27 is a little gem of electronic sounds arranged in an acoustic manner and it was released for his birthday.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
The Unwinding Hours – Knut
The Unwinding Hours have quietly risen from the ashes of the much-loved Aerogramme and the early evidence suggests they’re going to be every bit as wondrous as their former guise. All the ingredients are there – the gorgeously gentle pacing, the elegant orchestration, Craig B’s yearning vocals. Knut, taken from their self-titled debut album due out early next year on Chemikal Underground, is a MAP exclusive sanctioned by the band and their record label.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
Lunarin – Ariel (File Under Easy Listening remix)
Singapore is a small country, so we’ve formed a rather close-knit bunch of musicians and friends. One such collaboration between friends happens to be The Lard Brothers’ remix of Lunarin’s Ariel. While a relatively new group, The Lard Brothers have been busy making waves spinning as a DJ group and religiously reworking many classic songs by Singaporean bands. Their efforts don’t go unrecognised with this trip-hop laced remix of Ariel by the melodic rock band, Lunarin, perfect for the monsoon season that’s hitting our shores just about now.

SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
Die Heuwels Fantasties – Our Heritage
Die Heuwels Fantasties are an Afrikaans group, incorporating elements of many genres, from hip-hop beats, flat out dance beats, to rap and rock sounds. Die Heuwels Fantasties teamed up with The Soweto Gospel Choir, HHP and JR to produce a song for Heritage Day. The song is called Our Heritage and features Pierre Greeff of Die Heuwels Fantasties singing in English. All in all, it’s a song with the message to celebrate our heritage and our unity as South Africans – artfully combining the many different cultural spheres into a feelgood track.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Playgirl – Happy Mania
Female trio Playgirl emerged in September with a retro pop sound from a time when James Bond was still played by Sean Connery. Inspired by The Pipettes, equipped with identical outfits and cute dance moves, Playgirl is currently the most adorable act to come out of Korea.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
Madamm – ÷rnen
There’s very little info online about this mostly all-girl group from Gothenburg. I was struck by the band’s wanton energy and the loose nature of their songs. ÷rnen is a demo so who knows what its final shape may be, but I hope they retain the song’s raw energy.

TURKEY: Reset!
Bon Mod – Chocolate Cheesecake
Chemistry is all there is to a band. After meeting about a year ago, the duo started working together instantly as Bon Mod. They take their love of partying and a reckless attitude to make indie, electro and disco-flavored songs. They are possibly the most exciting new band for the season ahead.

UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
People Eating People – All The Hospitals
People Eating People is the solo work of Nouela Johnston, previously known for her work with Pacific Northwestern act Mon Frere. Her self-titled debut LP is a blending of Fiona Apple’s emotion with Regina Spektor’s penchant for melody. All The Hospitals is a catchy tune – we’ll see if Johnston can separate herself from the crowded female pack.

VENEZUELA: Barquisimeto Musical
Amigos Invisibles – Mentiras
Amigos Invisibles (”Invisible Friends”) has been around the alternative/funk/pop local scene for many years. Their groovy rhythms and funny lyrics, filled with Venezuelan pop culture, made them legends in their country and finally got the attention of music lovers worlwide, touring Latin America, USA and Australia. They signed with David Byrne’s Luaka Pop label in 1996. To celebrate their Latin Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album, I have selected a song from that record, Comercial, called Mentiras.

Funk, Pop, Rock | 1 comentario »

Hola amigos esta es una edición especial en el que celebro los tres años de este trabajo que me llena de pasión y hago con todo el cariño del mundo, tengo el honor de comentarles que son los propios músicos los que hacen esta edición, presentando su trabajo y enviándoles un saludo especial a todos ustedes. También tenemos un contacto con René Mendizabal, quien desde Toronto nos envía una interesante información relacionada con el premio Glenn Gould recientemente entregado al Maestro José Antonio Abreu. Espero que disfruten de esta edición, tanto como yo disfruté haciéndola para todos ustedes y mil gracias por estar siempre presente, sin ustedes no estaría celebrando este tercer año.

Canciones e Intérpretes Presentados
Mambo (from West Side Story)
Leonard Bernstein (composer)
Interpretado por la Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil Simón Bolívar, dirigida por Gustavo Dudamel
—————-
Carretera – Barquisimeto IV
Aldemaro Romero (compositor)
CD: Dejando Huellas
—————-
Tema de Amor – Gonzalo Teppa
Aldemaro Romero (compositor)
CD: Contrabajos de Aldemaro
—————-
El Correo Corre – Juan Carlos Sanz
Juan Carlos Sanz (compositor)
CD: Sanzoneando
—————-
Retribución – Manuel Rojas
En exclusiva para el podcast Barquisimeto Musical, aún no está incluído en un album
Mauel Rojas (Autor)
—————-
Improvisación de Pajarillo – Eddy Marcano
Eddy Marcano (Autor)
CD: Venezuela en Violín vol.1

Enlaces de interés
Gustavo Dudamel – Página oficial
Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra – Concierto en Toronto
René Mendizabal – Tenemos Derecho
Manuel Rojas – Página Oficial
Eddy Marcano – Biografía

 

 Barquisimeto Musical - podcastnro39 [37:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (525)

Folklor, General, Golpe, Instrumental, Jazz, Violín | 2 comentarios »

En el mes de Septiembre he dicidido recomendar un trabajo que particularmente me encanta y definitivamente es digno de compartir con el resto del mundo, qué mejor que MAP para presentarlo y difundirlo. El trabajo al que me refiero es Exposé de Nana Cadavieco, cuyos detalles de la canción de nombre, NO HAY, pueden leer y escuchar, al final de este post, en el espacio dedicado a Venezuela

Nuevos países participantes a partir del mes de Septiembre:
Colombia – Colombia Urbana
México – Red Bull PanameriKa
Turquía – Reset!

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Matilda – Vanidad
Matilda is an electro-pop duo based in Rosario (one of Argentina’s largest cities), consisting of Juan Manuel Godoy and Ignacio Espumado. Vanidad is the opening track from Para Ser Movimiento, their second album, which was recently praised by Mexican pop star Julieta Venegas on her Twitter page. It was released by the Planeta X label in a physical format and as a free Creative Commons licensed download (http://bit.ly/kNiJK).

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Deep Sea Arcade – Don’t Be Sorry
One of the more exciting new bands to come out of Sydney in the past couple of years, Deep Sea Arcade is blessed with a very captivating frontman in Nic McKenzie, who genuinely loses himself in every song they play. Don’t Be Sorry is the single they’re currently touring but the live shows indicate there’s a lot more to come from this Sydney five piece. One to put on your watchlist.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Cidad„o Instigado – Doido
Acclaimed by critics, Cidad„o Instigado’s third album UHUUU! is probably one of the three best Brazilian records of 2009. Their sound is a mixture of vintage ‘brega’, 70s rock and avant garde. The band is one of the most creative of the contemporary music made in the country and (besides its experimental and complex songs) has a growing fanbase. Doido, which means “crazy”, is a bit reminiscent of John Frusciante’s solo work with lyrics about paranoid hallucinations.

CANADA: I(Heart)Music
Dan Mangan – Robots
Robots isn’t a complex song, but it more than makes up for that by being insanely, incredibly catchy. I’d challenge people to hear it and not walk around with the closing chorus (”Robots need love too / They want to be loved by you”) in their head for days afterward… except I’m pretty sure it can’t be done.

CHILE: Super 45
Picnic Kibun – Drop Your Panties
If we could define Picnic Kibun in just one word, it would be “party”. A party in which a crazy Japanese sings about women getting rid of their underwear, where a couple of electronic musicians start rapping out of the blue and where a bass player with a surfer look makes rock songs. Fiebre Tagad· is the name of their first album and, just like the band, it’s a wild party in which you can dance and get drunk.

CHINA: Wooozy
Tang Qie Nong – I Want To Go Through Your Body
In the summer of 2008, the experimental duo Tang Qie Nong was founded by Fangqi and Tangguo in Guangzhou. The single I Want To Go Through Your Body from their self-titled EP is about the long-cherished ambition of a person who faces death. He wants to go back to the origins and purity, but you must be careful what you wish for.

COLOMBIA: Colombia Urbana
Jhonblack – Sola Solita
Hailing from Pereira, Jhonblack is seducing women with his sexy music. His offer is based in electric sounds mixed with hip hop, R’n'B and pop music without forgetting his Pacific roots, to which he is adding a little bit of jazz and soul to create fresh and innovative sounds. Sola Solita is one of his most melodic songs and shows why he is known as one of the greatest urban music artists in Colombia.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Slaraffenland – That Great Love Sound (The Raveonettes cover)
This year, legendary Danish label Crunchy Frog – the first home of The Raveonettes among others – celebrate their 15th anniversary. To commemorate the landmark they asked 25 Danish non-Crunchy artists to interpret 25 songs by Crunchy artists and released the results on the double album Saluting The Crunchy Frog-a-logue. Here’s Slaraffenland’s excellent cover of The Raveonettes’ That Great Love Sound.

ENGLAND: The Daily Growl
Beth Jeans Houghton – Golden
Beth Jeans Houghton is a glam folk pixie who injects her sweet acoustic songs with a high-grade dose of pure pop. She has killer tunes, energy, a curious taste in wigs and a certain boldness that’s only natural given her Newcastle roots. She rules. She has a new EP coming out this month where “all of of the songs are about a guy who looks like Roger Daltrey circa the deaf, dumb and blind kid days. Apart from I Will Return, which is about Wilson the football floating away from Tom Hanks in Castaway”. Golden isn’t from that EP but it’s still great.

FINLAND: Glue
Keramick & Lobo – Brown-Eyed Susan
Producers Jussi Mikkonen and Visa M‰kinen, aka Keramick & Lobo, combine their downbeat electronic layers with a wide array of musicians for a perfect blend of machines and real instruments on their new album The Braille. Nineteen artists, including singers Eeppi Ursin and Teemu Tanner, participate on the duo’s compositions and provide a smooth jazz beat with violins, trumpet, saxophone, percussion and a few other instruments. Brown-Eyed Susan is a dark and intriguing track, a real film noir piece of music.

FRANCE: ZikNation
Caravan Palace – La Caravane
Three sequence programmers – Charles Delaporte, Arnaud Via and Hugues Payen – with a love of electronic music and swing jazz, together with Toustou, ZoÈ and Chapi make one hell of a band. They will soon be heard at the famous Paris Olympia – proof that Caravan Palace are becoming rather popular.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
Me Succeeds – My Main Discipline
This Hamburg-based trio is quite Janus-esque since they combine gentle melodies and preppy non-parallel vocals with a highly energetic synth-bass. That might sounds like normal indie-electro but both pillars stand on their own to create a quite unique sound.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Diafana Krina – Agnos
Diafana Krina is possibly the most brilliant and idiosyncratic band to emerge from Greece in the early 90s. Agnos is taken from Ki Agapi Pali Tha Kalei, an incandescent guitar-oriented album with superb, dark, poetic and heart-bruising lyrics. Long, swelling arrangements are organized cosily around Thanos Anestopoulos’ weathered baritone with blankets of keyboard and jarring bursts of exploding drums. Each song blends pure emotion and is expertly crafted, with an amazingly punchy set of melodies delivered by an extremely tight band. Unfortunately, after six records, Diafana Krina disbanded in June 2009.

ICELAND: I Love Icelandic Music
ReykjavÌk! – ?ji, PlÌs
ReykjavÌk! is a raw rock band in which most members originate not from ReykjavÌk but Õsafjˆr?ur, the capital of the Westfjords. This is one of the loudest Icelandic bands, a collective of philosophy majors, shopmongers and social workers, with an exclamation mark partly as a reference to the vast amount of hyperbole Iceland’s capital receives. ?ji, PlÌs is taken from their second album, The Blood. The song features a surf-rock guitar riff, rhythmic bass, kick-drum percussion and BÛas’ vocals fluctuating between grunting, chanting and falsetto.

INDIA: Indiecision
Swarathma – Jamba
Swarathma plays honest, unpretentious folk-rock. This hardworking act from Bangalore was recently given the chance to record with renowned British producer John Leckie (The Stone Roses, Radiohead) and play a mini-tour of the UK. Jamba (meaning “pride”) comes from a compilation album produced by Leckie featuring Swarathma and a few other top new Indian acts. Sung entirely in Kannada, the song, like the band, finds its roots in Carnatic music and combines these sensibilities with orchestral pop trappings to create something that’s more a new direction than a middle path.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Koil – Aku Lupa Aku Luka
Koil are one of the greatest rock bands in Indonesia, their songs and style influenced by the industrial/darkwave/gothic/metal scene, with lyrics that tell stories about spiritual journeys, nationalism or just personal things which are easy to relate to yet have a deeper meaning.

IRELAND: Nialler9
Nakatomi Towers – Cut Me Out
This is the first real tune from Belfast-based boy/girl duo Nakatomi Towers and what a cool beast of electro-pop it turns out to be. From the “duh-duh-duh” nonsensical yet catchy chorus to the insistent disco bassline, this is promising stuff for all 2 minutes 47 seconds of its duration.

ITALY: Polaroid
Giardini di MirÚ – La Vampa 02
Giardini di MirÚ is the one of the most important bands in the Italian indie scene. Formed in 1998, notable acts they have toured with include Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Karate, and they have been remixed by Styrofoam and Dntel among others. Their new album is an amazing soundtrack for Il Fuoco, a silent movie from 1915 directed by Giovanni Pastrone. La Vampa 02 (”The Fire”) is the second part of the central chapter, when the two lovers surrender to passion and their love burns away.

JAPAN: JPOP Lover
nhhmbase – 9/8
The latest offering from the Tokyo underground scene is nhhmbase (pronounced “ne-han base”). Formed in 2004, they have complex music frameworks with irregular beats and dramatic code which makes their sound innovative and pop. They have already opened for many foreign acts such as Deerhoof, Tyondai Braxton (Battles) and The Eternals in Japan.

MEXICO: Red Bull PanameriKa
Menuda Coincidencia – Sin Enganche
Hailing from Monterrey, Menuda Coincidencia is a ‘rap en EspaÒol’ trio that made feature appearances on records from some of the genre’s top figures – such as Bocafloja and Akil Ammar – before a long overdue but excellent debut EP, Ai Con Permisito. Lead single Sin Enganche is full of crazy and juicy, jumpy jazz hooks with playful swing samples that sustain an existentialist manifesto, ambiguous yet intelligently expressed by its two MCs.

NEW ZEALAND: Counting The Beat
Jordan Reyne – The Proximity Of Death (Blue Eyed Boy)
The Proximity Of Death is taken from Jordan Reyne’s fifth album How The Dead Live. A musician who has combined folk, electronica, soundscapes and industrial, Reyne has gained a strong following in the darkwave scene. How The Dead Live is her most contemplative work. The album was commissioned by the New Zealand Department of Conservation and was written in an artist in residence programme. The album fictionalises the life of an actual pioneer woman Susannah Hawes adding history as a character. Reyne has announced this will be her last album.

NORWAY: Eardrums
Sirkus Bj¯ver – Heavy Metal
The song is called Heavy Metal, but it’s as far away from heavy and metal as you can get. This is nice, happy and friendly pop music with a big heart. The members of the duo, Vegard Markhus and Bj¯rnar Sangolt, grew up as neighbours in a forest in western Norway. They held regular circus shows for their families as kids and called their performances “Sirkus Bj¯ver”. Now, 15 years later, the two have become neighbours in Bergen, and the old circus is revitalized as a band.

PERU: SoTB
Plug-Plug – Tambores
The sound of Plug-Plug falls outside any conventional tag. Some people call them garage, others hardcore – the truth is that when you hear any description it is never enough. Plug-Plug makes acid songs which sometimes sound melancholic, but this band from Lima is more than a style, they’re a mixture of sensations.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Iconoclasts – Anything Will Do
Iconoclasts are a six-piece from Lisbon with Diogo and Pipa singing and screaming (not at the same time), Pedro doing freaky dances while playing bass, Ricardo hammering away on the drums like his life depends on it, Vitor playing guitar while pounding on every effects pedal imaginable, and SÈrgio doing the same with every annoying thing he lays his hands on. They have a debut EP freely downloadable from here.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Sunday People – Win Your Face Back
The story of this particular band is not what you might call ordinary. It all started in the bedroom of very young Abu Dhabi-born brothers Sultan and Hasan. As they grew older, the bedroom became a recording studio where their dreams, influences and ideas were born. Two actors/musicians joined them later – Cristi Rigman (drums) and Ana Ularu (vocals) – and they found their sound: a mixture of riot, love and intensity.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
The Xcerts – Crisis In The Slow Lane
The Xcerts are the real deal – a rock band who come fully formed with an album of songs to believe in and a pop sensibility that will, at the very least, have you air-drumming to their choruses. Crisis In The Slow Lane perfectly sums up what they and their debut album In The Cold Wind We Smile are all about – every dial is set to ‘epic’ as it gradually builds to a soaring conclusion. If you’re a fan of Biffy Clyro, or good music in general, you’ll love The Xcerts.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
MUON – Cylons Dream Of Electric Sheep
Can cold, heartless, surgical machines ever have souls? Well, experimental dark electronica group MUON thinks they can. If the computer is dreaming inside, it dreams in ones and zeros, harsh squelches and inane beeps, each a little exegesis looking for proof of life. MUON have put together a creepy Frankenstein of deeply resonating drum loops, bleating sheep and what could pass as the theme from the Zelda videogame.

SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
Jax Panik – Talking To Myself
A crazy, outrageous mix of electro-pop and a dash of rock ‘n’ roll is what Jax Panik’s music is all about. He started out as an ‘online only’ artist but the success generated from his activity soon led to a full-length album release. The album was named Cigarettes And Cinnamon from which Talking To Myself is taken. The song artfully showcases Jax’s winning formula which consists of catchy beats, meticulous production and lyrics that reveal a slightly dark edge upon closer listen. With a new album out in March, Jax Panik is set to become an even bigger hit, both locally and abroad.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Plastic People – B/W Picture
Folk-rock duo Plastic People has been around for many years, all the while successfully trying out various musical directions. On their most recent album Snap, released in July, the selection of songs is more diverse than ever with modern folk, some rock tracks, a bit of psyche-pop and C86-inspired twee. Choosing just one song when they’re all amazing in their own way proved a difficult task, but it had to be done so here’s the captivating slow-paced rock piece B/W Picture that inspired the snap-shot theme of the album.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
Vikta FÂglar – Walk Along
Vikta FÂglar literally means “folded bird” in English. Loosely, I think it translates into the term origami. Musically, the band combines elements of the Swedish folk tradition with some classical and even experimental noise – such as when the cymbals come crashing in towards the end of Walk Along.

TURKEY: Reset!
Solardip – Paralyze Me
Solardip is an electro-indie three-piece formed in Istanbul. After a couple of years successfully performing on the local scene, the band has just released their first EP, Dip Inside, and are about to make a big comeback with their new sound and concept. Solardip, often compared to The Presets, offers laser-like synths, danceable tunes and arousing vocals.

UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
Holiday Shores – Phones Don’t Feud
Holiday Shores, Twosyllable Records’ latest discovery, continue to diversify the label’s output by creating equally messy and melodic indie rock that’s about as addictive as anything else of the same vein coming out this year. Their new album Columbus’d The Whim is available for consumption – sink your teeth in before the hipsters do.

VENEZUELA: Barquisimeto Musical
Nana Cadavieco – No Hay
Nana Cadavieco es una vocalista Venezolana cargada de vitalidad y mucha fuerza musical, lo cual refleja en cada una de sus interpretaciones. Exposé, es su más reciente producción discográfica y está marcadamente influenciado por el Rock, Pop, Indie, Disco Punk, elementos del World Music y electrónica. Al respecto de la canción seleccionada, la propia Nana comenta: “Podría decir que NO HAY retrata una realidad cotidiana y muy de Latinoamérica; mi mensaje con este tema es el resúmen, a modo ligero, de lo que es mi proceso personal con Exposé …con todo y lo malo aún sonrío … con cierto sarcasmo, pero sonrío ”

To download all 33 songs in one file click here

Pop, Rock, World | Deja un comentario »

Canciones e Intérpretes Presentados
La Canción del Boulevard – Nancy Machado
—————-
Caramba – Madera 4
—————-
Son con Pajarillo – César Orozco
CD: Son con Pajarillo
—————-
El Negro y El Blanco – Leo Blanco
—————-
La Tonada del Cabrestero – Leo Blanco
—————-

Enlaces de interés
Madera 4 – Sitio en My Space
César Orozco – Sitio en My Space
Leo Blanco – Sitio Oficial

 

 Barquisimeto Musical - Podcastnro38 [39:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6970)

Folklor, Funk, Jazz, Latin | 3 comentarios »

A continuación les dejo el listado propuesto este mes por los integrantes de este interesante pacto musical. Muy felices porque cada mes se integra un nuevo país que le proporciona una nueva propuesta musical al listado.

Para este mes mi recomendación la realicé de la fantástica Banda de Ska*Jazz Venezolano Mr Swing & The Bongo Clan con la canción Mi Camino, la cual pueden escuchar desde el renglón que dice Venezuela (al final de este listado).

A partir de este mes de Agosto se unen al MAP
China – Wooozy
Greece – Mouxlaloulouda
India - Indiecision
Indonesia – Deathrockstar
South Africa – Musical Mover & Shaker!

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Baby Scream – Ups And Downs
Baby Scream is a musical project led by Juan Mazzola, with the ocassional collaboration of friends such as Cristian Basualdo, Sebasti·n Rubin and even Gilby Clarke’s bassist Muddy Stardust. Mazzola writes pop songs with a strong influence from classics like The Byrds, The Beatles and The Replacements. This beautiful acoustic ballad was taken from the album with the same name, released last year in the US by Recording Records.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
The Frowning Clouds – Time Wastin’ Woman
Geelong boys The Frowning Clouds are so 60s and very fun. Lead vocalist Nick (a dead ringer for George Harrison) and his poncho-wielding counterpart Zack rotate between singing and rhythm guitar duties. The coarse vocals of Zack lend backbone to Time Wastin’ Woman, oozing with the sounds of the Stones’ early catalogue.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Copacabana Club – Just Do It
They’re pretty, uber-cool and hyped. Justin Timberlake likes them. Channel Fox uses their song in a commercial. Do you want more or is that enough to make you see that Copacabana Club are a band to pay attention to? Last year the five-piece band (two women and three men) released their first EP, King Of The Night, from which Just Do It is taken. It’s dance and kinda new-rave style make people think about CSS, but it’s better to listen and judge for yourself.

CANADA: I(Heart)Music
Centretown Cripplers – Eat The Bee
Centretown Cripplers are a seven-piece. I only mention this because they’re a garage rock band, and bands in that genre typically have a much more minimalistic approach to line-ups. As Eat The Bee shows, however, in this case size doesn’t matter. Centretown Cripplers are loud, raucous, primal… and awesome.

CHILE: Super 45
Mostro – Moha Moha
Mostro, one of the cornerstones of the Chilean indie music scene, are Carlos and Jaime Reinoso, two mutant brothers who deliver an intense and creative musical experience. Playing, in their own words, “evil pop” with a guitar, drum and small keyboard, they attack you (yes, literally attack you) with a mix of minimal electronica and raw, intense rock that simply knocks you down, just like American duo High Places were when both bands recently shared a stage. Moha Moha, taken from their second LP Consumido Por P·jaros (”Eaten By Birds”) is a small appetizer of their genius insanity while we await their third album.

CHINA: Wooozy
Sonnet – A Nice Song
Sonnet are a disco/indie rock band from Shanghai. As one of the few third rock generation in Shanghai, they’ve just independently released their second demo S-File. One of the band members is now helping the SOMA indie label host live shows at the Dream Factory venue in their native city.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Jong Pang – Liar Liar
Jong Pang aka Anders Rhedin released his lauded debut solo album Bright White Light just last year and already he’s got the follow-up ready and out. It’s titled Love and it is a magnificent alternative pop-rock effort from which I’m happy to present irresistible first single Liar Liar.

ENGLAND: The Daily Growl
The xx – Crystalised
Although they went to the same school as Four Tet and Burial, don’t go making too many assumptions about The xx, a group of four teenagers from South London currently making waves in the UK ahead of the release of their debut album later this month. They may share similar influences (dub, R’n'B) but they take their songs in another direction with magnificently minimal production, all of which is done by themselves.

FINLAND: Glue
Astrid Swan – Unrelated
Earlier this year singer Astrid Swan dumped the piano (and along with it, the dramatically adorned songs) and took the guitar to compose simple, but sincere and personal pop songs that she recorded with a new band, The Drunk Lovers, for her soon-to-be released third album Better Than Wages. There we can find this synth-pop gem about erroneous encounters.

FRANCE: ZikNation
Mama’s Mule – Globe Trotter
The Mule and Venom met during a studio session in 2007 and they immediatly clicked. For about a year, they kept seeing each other every now and then between concerts, studio sessions, taking the dog out, vacations and soccer games. Meanwhile, Jessy Rakotomanga and Sylvain Moreau pledged allegiance to the secret society. January 2009: tadaaaam. First demo. Three tracks. Viagra for your ears. Just listen.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
Timid Tiger – Are You Gonna Go My Way (feat. Ludacris & The Notorious B.I.G.)
Perhaps Timid Tiger are globally more famous for their remixes than for their regular songs. And hell yeah, this Lenny Kravitz cover does indeed kick ass. So enjoy it – but don’t forget that this band from Cologne is creative and inspired in their own work, both on record and live.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Film – Filter
After a two-year period of experimentation in the studio, Film are releasing their third album. Persona is a dizzyingly beautiful set of delicate atmospheric songs with cinematic aesthetics and a detailed production. It signifies a different, more inviting musical direction that is influenced by the compositions of Vangelis Papathanasiou and summons lush combined voices, pop melodies, electronics, sparse strings and brasses. An album that is best taken from start to finish, where the songs will uncover its manifold delights, endear and impress.

ICELAND: I Love Icelandic Music
Agent Fresco – Above These City Lights
Agent Fresco formed in early 2008 with the goal of competing in the M?sÌktilraunir contest, a sort of Battle of the Bands, which they subsequently won. The quartet write complex songs with lots of rhythm changes and received the Brightest Hope (Best Newcomer) Award at the 2008 Icelandic Music Awards. The band, who released a five-song EP called Lightbulb Universe last December, are currently working on their debut album.

INDIA: Indiecision
Sridhar/Thayil – Bring Me Rain
The project of theatre actor and singer Suman Sridhar and poet Jeet Thayil, Sridhar/Thayil’s lyrical pop takes thematic Indian music sensibilities and combines them with an urban swagger in the vein of early Bjˆrk and, occasionally, Tom Waits. Bring Me Rain is a perfect example of their dirty-sexy feel, taking traditional Indian sounds and cooking up something that could work equally well at a nu-jazz club or a grimy bar. Sridhar/Thayil have been around since 2007 and they’re currently working on releasing their debut album.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
The Wispy Hummers – My Love
The Wispy Hummers is a singer-songwriter who is much influenced by The Zombies, Bright Eyes, Destroyer, Death Cab For Cutie and, above all, Bob Dylan. She has released two EPs, both recorded at home, creating a signature lo-fi quality that makes the songs more honest, heartfelt and nostalgic.

IRELAND: Nialler9
The Dying Seconds – The Ladder Drops
“To some people electronic music is impersonal. It’s just an orgy of numbers, dancing together and doing as they’re told. But have you ever wondered what would happen if you took apart the machine and tried to replace the motherboard with a human heart?” The Dying Seconds’ own description says it better than I could. This is taken from their 2009 EP Some Grand Romantic Gesture. Lovely stuff. Download their album here.

ITALY: Polaroid
Fitness Forever – Vacanze a Settembre
It’s August, everyone down here is on holiday and Fitness Forever are the perfect soundtrack, with their glamorous sound inspired by Burt Bacharach, Armando Trovajoli and classic 60s lounge-pop. They recently released their first album on the Spanish label Elefant Records and played a joyful set at the Indietracks Festival in the UK, making Derbyshire feel warm like a Mediterranean spot.

JAPAN: JPOP Lover
Nuito – NeKoMaJiN vs
Nuito are a post-rock experimental trio who formed in Kyoto in 2004. With tapping guitar, slap bass and hard drum, Nuito rapidly change beat and rhythm while they play, and make an immediate impression. Their experimental attitude is not about musical destruction or collaboration, but reconstruction.

MEXICO: Club Fonograma
Selma Oxor – Abrazame Demonio
Selma Oxor are the vindication of a youth spent having fun exploring rock, techno and pop, an all-in-one distorted vision that according to their MySpace sounds like “a cow giving birth”. From their self-titled debut album comes Abrazame Demonio, a moment of useless exertion perhaps, but it’s one of the few perfect songs we’ll get to hear this year. It effectively transforms noisy punk into some kind of urban uprising.

NEW ZEALAND: Counting The Beat
Sora Shima – Hello Big Sky (Radio 909 remix)
Sora Shima are a four-piece instrumental group from Hamilton who specialise in the kind of start quiet, end apocalyptic epics that you hear from the likes of Explosions In The Sky or fellow countrymen Jakob. Hello Big Sky is from their third EP, Destroy Electronica. You’ll find links to free downloads of the previous two releases on their MySpace. The five tracks on Destroy Electronica see the band experiment more with the form, adding variety but losing none of the power.

NORWAY: Eardrums
Casa Murilo – 19th Floor
Casa Murilo are the perfect band to present on a global project like MAP. They are based in Norway, originally from England and started making music together in Brazil. Two Englishmen, Chris Winfield and Dan Hesketh, met, lived and worked in Brazil for two years. They fell in love with two Norwegian girls. They moved to Oslo and started a band, Casa Murilo, with two Norwegian friends. They are currently in the studio recording their debut EP, The Waldemar Thranes Debacle.

PERU: SoTB
Serpentina Satelite – Nothing To Say
Serpentina Satelite formed at the end of 2003 in Lima. Their sound oscillates among calm, violence and ecstasy, in the spirit of space-rock and Krautrock. Their second record Nothing To Say, released on the Trip In Time label, is an extended five-track epic in which Serpentina Satelite bring us a turbulent and more powerful, rough sound. For the title track Nothing To Say, you better fasten your seatbelts – this is a high energy rock ‘n’ roll freak-out!

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
÷lga – It’s Alright
÷lga formed in 2001, as a quartet, from the ashes of another band. In 2003, they won an alternative rock contest and were invited by an indie label to release their first EP, ÷, in 2004. Their cello player left the band and their sound, as a trio, became more rock oriented. Their first LP, What Is, was released in early 2005. In 2007, they started recording their new record, La Resistance, which will be released in September. It’s Alright is the first single and it is, at this time, only free and legally downloadable through the Music Alliance Pact.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
The :Egocentrics – Mystic Initiation
Loose jams, goosebumps, trance and therapy. These are the reasons why the three-piece instrumental band formed in Timisoara in early 2007. Combining stoner-rock vibes, 60s psychedelic, 70s rock ‘n’ roll with hints of old prog rock and post-metal – along with colourful, hypnotising visuals in a live setting – the band take an almost shamanic approach to music, acting like an intermediary between the listener and that mysterious and far away realm behind your eyelids.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
My Cousin I Bid You Farewell – What We Are Eating Tonight
If this song is anything to go by, My Cousin I Bid You Farewell are cooking up something rather tasty. As a statement of intent for a band who have been around for less than a year, it reveals the scale of the ambition from within. It is big and it is clever. The Kate Bush-style piano melody, the brooding guitars and Jonathan Sellarís haunting vocals – which resemble Win Butlerís – propel What We Are Eating Tonight into an anthem for the restless. Cracking song, cracking band.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
Jonathan Chan – Water Line
Taking a step back from the catchy power-punk of his band Plainsunset, Jonathan Chan comes forward with a more intimate and soulful musical offering with his EP, Pencil Tracings. An illustrator in his own right, Jonathan perhaps did not find it uncomfortable to show a more earnest, intricate side to his music. With Water Line, he seems right at home sketching out a brief outline of the world going by, with a guitar in hand and a somber voice, singing of life’s constant love.

SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
LAN – In The City
Head-bopping, dance-inducing beats are what LAN are about. LAN (Local Area Network) are the live representation of two DJs (CodecVSTheSound). The band formed in late 2008 and are made up of Gerald and Raffael (who are Codec and TheSound) on synths, percussion, vocals and samplers with Chris Slabber on drums. They call their music a mix of anything from 70s funk to booty bass all dropped over the latest electro tunes. With their song In The City showcasing their many influences and what they have to offer, their new material is sure to set the dancefloors alight.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Sunkyeol – I’ll Write When I’m There
Kyoungmo Kim of Especially When has a new band and their name is Sunkyeol. Equipped with great melodies and a bit of experimentation that leaves a warm, fuzzy feeling, Sunkyeol are currently looking for a label to release their first single. I’ll Write When I’m There was co-written and recorded with Joe Hollick of Wolf People in a joint project that never took off.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
Erik de Vahl – Running
Erik de Vahl describes his new record as “the straightest pop songs I’ve ever done but also some more experimental pieces”. You can hear both influences on the single song Running. It has a Memphis slow jam feel with instrumentation that reminds me of a classic Ann Peebles track, but it’s layered in such a way with so many found sounds and samples that it does sound truly experimental.

UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
Happy Family – Cups
Baltimore’s Happy Family, sandwiched somewhere between Panda Bear and Atlas Sound, are the latest in a group of like-minded lo-fi psych-pop outfits (Memory Cassette, Neon Indian, Washed Out) to be picking up buzz around the blogosphere. Cups is one of my favorite jams of the summer, taken from the recently-released Sound Farm EP which you can grab as a free download here.

VENEZUELA: Barquisimeto Musical
Mr. Swing & The Bongo Clan – Mi Camino
Mr Swing & The Bongo Clan es una Banda integrada por 9 talentosos jóvenes músicos egresados del prestigioso Conservatorio de Música de la ciudad de Barquisimeto en Venezuela, la misma casa que brindó los estudios al reconocido director de Orquestas Gustavo Dudamel. Recientemente esta banda colocó en el mercado su primera producción discográfica conocida como Ska*Jazz Venezolano, producto de 10 años de arduo trabajo. Mi Camino, la canción que he seleccionado para compartir en el MAP de este mes, es una pequeña muestra de la impecable calidad musical de estos chicos, disfrútenla.

Si deseas descargar las 31 canciones haz clic aquí

Pop, Rock | 1 comentario »

Canciones e Intérpretes Presentados
Caminos de Fé – Santoral
CD: De Lara vengo pa’ Guayana voy
—————-
Conticinio – Serenata Guayanesa
CD: De Lara vengo pa’ Guayana voy
—————-
Pajarillo con Moto y Acelerado – Recoveco
CD: Bicho y Hecho
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Patas de Hilo – Recoveco
CD: Bicho y Hecho
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Caramba – Maruja Muci
CD: Dreaming in Caracas
—————-
Caballo Viejo – Quinteto Barquisimetal
CD: Joropo

Enlaces de interés
Grupo Santoral – Sitio Oficial
Serenata Guayanesa – En la Wikipedia
Recoveco – En Venezuela Demo
Maruja Muci – Sitio Oficial
Quinteto Barquisimetal – En Venezuela Demo

Videos Recomendados
Alexis Cárdenas y Recoveco – Videos de Pajarillo en Youtube
Maruja Muci – Entrevista en Buenas Noches

 

 Standard Podcast [35:27m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6708)

Folklor, Instrumental, Violín | 3 comentarios »

Music Alliance Pact es un proyecto que consiste en recomendar un músico o banda de un país, acompañado de una breve biografía y una canción en formato mp3. La lista de recomendados es publicado los 15 de cada mes en los blogs de cada uno de los integrantes. Este proyecto es una iniciativa de Jason del blog escocés The Pop Cop y actualmente cuenta con 26 países participantes.

A partir del mes de Julio Venezuela forma parte de esta interesante iniciativa, y la responsabilidad de hacer la respectiva recomendación está en mis manos, hecho que debo agradecer de corazón al gran melómano y buen amigo Eduardo Torres (@yiyo)

Nuevos integrantes a partir del mes de Julio: Japón con su blog JPOP Lover y Venezuela con Barquisimeto Musical

MAP – Julio 2009

ARGENTINA – Zonaindie
[MP3] Mi Pequeña Muerte – La Musica Nueva

Por su nombre: Mi Pequeña Muerte quizás estes pensando que esta banda no es particularmente optimista. Eso era cierto para Hospital, su álbum debut para el 2004, que estaba cargado de tonadas indie-rock cargadas de melancolía y vocales con muchos gemidos.. Pero ya es 2009 y creánlo o no, el tercer álbum de la banda se llama Un Futuro Brillante . Quizás sea pura ironía, pero en este nuevo esfuerzo se definen con sonidos e instrumentos brillantes, incluyendo trompetas y sintetizadores Moog.

AUSTRALIA – Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
[MP3] Boat Beam – The Rainy Pauly

Parece ser que Josephine of Sparkadia esta ahora en este espectacularmente amable trio de folk en Madrid llamado Boat Beam, y parecen ser bastante populares (revisen su MySpace). ¿Qué tal? Pudiera oir “The Rain Pauly” por días.

BRASIL – Meio Desligado
[MP3] Nancy – Keep Cooler

El quinteto Nancy ha tocado unos cuantos shows en Brasil y puede que sean más conocidos fuera del país. Fueron la primera banda brasileña en el sello discográfico virtual RCRD LBL y han sido presentados en el programa de la BBC Radio: Introducing, mostrando sus suaves tonadas indie. Los miembros de Nancy viven en ciudades y países diferentes, así que su álbum debut, Chora Matisse!, fue compuesto en la red gracias a correos y chats.

CANADA – I(Heart)Music
[MP3] Rah Rah – I’ve Got Faith

Cuando tuve que enviar mi voto para el premio Polaris Music (una versión canadiense del premio Mercury), el único álbum que fue duro dejar por fuera fue el de Rah Rah: Going Steady. Como muestra “I’ve Got Faith”, la banda combina los mejores elementos del Broken Social Scene (con la sensación constante de que apenas están manteniendo todo junto) y Arcade Fire (en su mejor tiempo), con el resultado siendo un sonido que no puede ser más propio.

CHILE – Super 45
[MP3] Pedropiedra – Sol Mayor

Pedro Subercaseaux ha estado involucrado con la música por casi una década. Habiendo explorado ritmos como la cumbia, el hip-hop, electrónica, pop y rock, ha formado parte de diversos proyectos como Hermanos Brothers, Tropiflaite, Yaia y CHC, reuniendo bastantes éxitos en el camino. Este año Subercaseaux ha decidido lanzar su álbum en solitario bajo el alias Pedropiedra, en el que demuestra su gran habilidad para crear melodías pegajosas orientadas al pop.

DINAMARCA – All Scandinavian
[MP3] The Works – Live And Direct (featuring Jams F. Kennedy)

Es tiempo de traerles algunas tonadas urbanas a los lectores del MAP. Conozcan a The Works de los productores Twelve Beats y Terry Tester, con los que tropecé hace muy poco y cuya intrigante fusión de hip-hop y electronica no he podido despegarme aun. Minimalista, pero rica en detalles. Con poco movimiento, pero siempre llevandote a lugares. Su lanzamiento debut, Yokohama EP, esta disponible ahora y se puede oir completo en su MySpace.

ESTADOS UNIDOS – I Guess I’m Floating
[MP3] Spanish Prisoners – Kiss The Lawn Goodbye

Los Spanish Prisoners de Brooklyn, encabezados por Leo Maymind, crean fractured power-pop al estilo de Dan Bejar de The New Porno (Destroyer). Están trabajando actualmente en un nuevo álbum; mientras, han lanzado un EP de tres canciones que puedes descargar aquí – al cual pertenece Kiss The Lawn Goodbye.

INGLATERRA – The Daily Growl
[MP3] Friendship – The Graveyard Shift

Cansado de las bandas indie que muestran sus “influencias africanas”? Bueno, prepárate para una más, aunque esta es realizada de manera más aguda, con más distorsión y en general, con más sentido de diversión que la mayoría.. Conozcan a Friendship.

FINLANDIA – Glue
[MP3] Neufvoin – Robot

Neufvoin es una nueva pero exitosaa banda indie que crea melodias pegajosas de pop con maravillosos arreglos usando guitarras, texturas sintetizadas y algunos otros instrumentos. Aparentemente, también les gusta jugar con robots y droides. “Robot” esta tomado de su debut Robokop EP, seis canciones producidas por el lider de Rubik, Artturi Taira que viaja por diferentes paisajes de la música.

FRANCIA – SoundNation
[MP3] Jessica Fichot – Un, Deux, Trois (1,2,3)

Nacido en USA de padre frances y madre china, la cantante y compositora Jessica Fichot creció en France rodeada de un ambiente multicultural. Se parece muchisimo a su Paris natal: francesa de corazón, pero con un alma que es verdaderamente internacional. Su ascendencia multi-étnica colrea las canciones de su álbum debut.

ALEMANIA – Blogpartei
[MP3] Bonaparte – Gigolo Vagabundo

Bonaparte es un colectivo de Berlín con artistas de toda Europa. Su chispeante y raro folk esta potenciado por ritmos balcánicos y electrónicos.  Vestidos con locos disfraces, son uno de los actos más emocionantes de Alemania.

ISLANDIA – I Love Icelandic Music
[MP3] Sudden Weather Change – Prey Mode

Sudden Weather Change son un quinteto de rock de Reykjavik, quienes han sido comparados con Sonic Youth y Pavement. “Prey Mode” esta tomado de su álbum debut, Stop! Handgrenade In The Name Of Crib-Death ‘nderstand, que salió en Abril en el sello Icelandic Kimi Records y será lanzado en Europa y América en Septiembre.

IRLANDA – Nialler9
[MP3] The Holy Roman Army – Elegy

Irlanda ya ha producido su parte de discos asombrosos este año, y ahora agregamos el de The Holy Roman Army a la lista. How The Light Gets In es el debut de este duo de hermano-hermana y florece con ambiente y electronica, todo con un corazón orgánico. Quizás no sea sorpresa que sus miembros sean un doctor y una psicólogo, respectivamente. “Elegy”es un ejemplo perfecto del apetito de la banda por algo emocional en las calles de la ciudad.

ITALIA – Polaroid
[MP3] Iori’s Eyes – Anchor

Iori’s Eyes son un chico y una chica de Milán quienes tocan un pop suave con un toque ensoñador. Su música une el ánimo del folk con un fondo post-rock. Sus canciones suenan frágiles y delicadas como juguetes pequeños, pero definitivamente saben como sorprender y conmover. Iori’s Eyes acaba de lanzar su EP debut, And Everything Fits In The Yellow Whale, y no puedo esperar para escuchar un album completo de la banda.

JAPÓN – JPOP Lover
[MP3] LITE – Ghost Dance

LITE es una banda instrumental radicada en Tokyo que tocan rock experimental con un groove de bajos fuerte. Formada en 2003, su espiritu es similar a Mogwai, 65daysofstatic, Battles, Toe y Envy.En mayo, LITE visitó USA por primera vez, en un tour con el legendario bajista Mike Watt.

MÉXICO – Club Fonograma
[MP3] Hello Seahorse! – Universo 2

Hello Seahorse! es la banda indie más aclamada de México. Con su tercer álbum, Bestia, el trio ha logrado la transición hacia un grupo multi-dimensional con una obra maestra bajo su cinturón. Bestia brilla entre fantasmas y una brumosa belleza sónica, en un universo propio, probando que Hello Seahorse! tiene un control total sobre sus creaciones llenas de romanticismo y pasión.

NUEVA ZELANDA – Counting The Beat
[MP3] Urbantramper – Southern Hemisphere Blues

Urbantramper son un quinteto de Wellington que forman parte de un colectivo bastante libre llamado Treeninja. La banda produce piezas de pop introspectivas que reflejan una atractiva e ingenua angustia por sabr su lugar en el mundo. Este es un grupo con un manifiesto! Estan actualmente considerando problemas de distribuci´øn musical, copyright y el impacto de estos en la naturaleza de la relación musico-audiencia. Urbantramper tienen un fuerte catálogo de respaldo y un nuevop disco para septiembre.

NORUEGA – Eardrums
[MP3] Silverdrop – Real Life

Es Julio, es verano y tiempo para algo de indie-pop fresco y brillante del sexteto Noruego Silverdrop. estos son definitivamente sonidos para los días soleados y las nuevas grabaciones de la banda son mas energéticas aun que lo que habíamos oído de ella. Silverdrop esta trabajando actualmente en su álbum debut.

PERU – Side of the Blog
[MP3] Francois Peglau – Spring Lovers Song (Si Tú Quieres)

Las canciones de Francois Peglau no necesitan mucha explicación, solo ocurren. Son simples y hermosas – pueden nacer de un silbido en el autobús o en un día soleado con los amigos. Francois se mudó a Londres hace dos años y “Spring Lovers Song (Si Tú Quieres)” es su creación más reciente.

PORTUGAL – Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
[MP3] Andrew Thorn – ME Jane (MAP Exclusive)

Andrew Thorn es João Pedro Coimbra, un compositor/músico/productor portugués y fundador del extremadamente exitoso duo Mesa. Andrew Thorn es la manera que tiene João de epxlorar su creatividad más allá del sonido de Mesa. Su EP debut, Brutes On The Quiet, fue lanzado de manera independiente (Mesa firmó con Sony/BMG) el 13 de Julio y “ME Jane” es el primer download autorizado por el artista.

RUMANIA – Babylon Noise
[MP3] Melting Carousel – Several Other Universes

Melting Carousel es una banda indie-pop de Timisoara con un enfoque ecléctico, variando del pop alternativo al jazz.

ESCOCIA – The Pop Cop
[MP3] Maple Leaves – Easy Speak

Aunque el pedigree de Glasgow por producir bandas de folky pop (Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura) es fuerte, pocas han sido tan incansablemente felices como Maple Leaves. Con sus vocales chico/chica de ensueño e inclinación por colorear sus canciones con flauta, piano y guitarra acústica, Maple Leaves garantiza llevar primavera al otoño de cualquiera.

SINGAPUR – I’m Waking Up To…
[MP3] Force Vomit – Liberator

El surf y el punk-rock no van precisamente de la mano en la ciudad-estado de Singapur gracias a la ausencia de olas decentes  (tanto literales como figuradas). Conozcan a Force Vomit, la antítesis de las carencias de Singapur en cuanto a surf-punk que se desahoga de las idiosincracias y semblanzas de una vida “normal”. Sonando como un número de Dick Dale cortado con navajas, “Liberator” debería conseguir con facilidad un lugar en una película de Tarantino.

COREA DEL SUR – Indieful ROK
[MP3] Dringe Augh – Tutelar

El cantante-compositor Dringe Augh ofrece canciones adorables llenas de una guitarra muy vivaz. A lo largo de los años ha grabado varios demos y su primer EP oficial,  Individually Wrapped, que fue lanzado en Junio. En su nueva versión de “Tutelar” Dringe se acompaña de unos vocales femeninos deliciosos de Eunjie Song (del duo de folk moderno Sogyumo Acacia Band).

SUECIA – Swedesplease
[MP3] MAKTHAVERSKAN – German Boy

Jurungando por la red (MySpace en particular) me tropecé con esta banda llamada MAKTHAVERSKAN. Me enteré que firmaron con Luxury. Consideren esa mi introducción a ‘LA’ nueva banda de Gothenburg. Son algo de agit-pop combinado con post-punk y un poco de melodia de Joan Jett.

VENEZUELA – Barquisimeto Musical
[MP3] Gonzalo Teppa – De Conde A Principal

Gonzalo Teppa es un músico/compositor que puede quitarte el aliento al tocar su contrabajo. Nacido en Barquisimeto, ha conmovido audiencias en México, Brazil, España, EEUU, Colombia y Bolivia. La revista Downbeat lo ha escogido como solista del año en dos oportunidades. “De Conde A Principal” es una versión del trabajo original de Aldemaro Romero y pertenece a su más reciente trabajo “ConTrabajos de Aldemaro”.

Para quienes quieran contar con la experiencia internacional completa, puedes descargar las 26 canciones en un solo archivo también.

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