Hello there, how is your week going? Boring you say? How typically self centered of you to be so bored. I suppose some new music might go someway to resolving this boredom? Well, here are three bits of free music for you to sink your disgusting, selfish talons into. I hope you’re satisfied.
If you would like your music to be featured in this blog then please get in touch; luke@routenote.com or on twitter @monkeyhotel
That Darwin Deez has kicked up a bit of a stink in 2010, wouldn’t you say? If you’ve not yet heard this year’s magnificent album Constellations then slap yourself in the face for being such a blinkered fool and buy it from iTunes. If you are already a fan, then please enjoy these remixes of the album’s title track – ‘Constellations‘
The Barefoot Smile are exactly the sort of band that might be right up your street. A modern take on Roots music but in a way that isn’t completely awful, the track below had a sparse and tasteful arrangement that was enough to get me interested.
And finally, how about some Electro-pop to lift that dejected little spirit of yours? Alicia Wolfe isn’t exactly the sort of thing I would usually be found listening to, but somehow I managed to waste 2 hours on their MySpace page last week. The music is shamelessly fun, which is something becoming increasingly rare in a world full of Electro-artists that feel the need to make misguided and juvenile ‘statements’ through their clothes and music.Well worth a try.
We have recently been featuring a lot of free music by artists from all over the world in different genres, and today we have another free track for you from a UK band called Circus Envy.
Circus Envy are an alt.folk band formed in Hull in 2005. Featuring a line-up of primarily acoustic instruments, they add a traditional sensibility to modern songs with use of bouzoukis, mandolins and cajon alongside guitars and bass. A flurry of local gigs brought them a loyal local following and interest from BBC and independent Radio. Debut album, ‘Take Me Home’ was released in 2008 to critical acclaim, leading to the band being selected to play on the Beverley Folk Festival’s Acoustic Treasures Tour in 2009 and then at the festival itself. High profile support gigs for Martin Simpson and Jackie Leven and a main stage appearance at the Hull Pride and Freedom Festivals followed.
2010 holds exciting prospects for the band. An early gig at the 100 Club in London was followed by the band heading to the studio to record an EP – “A New Dawn” – with Stu Hanna (Show of Hands/Megson) and Andy Bell (Kerfuffle) at the helm. Featuring guest appearances by Sam Sweeney and Hannah James (Bellowhead/Kerfuffle). The band is now on the road promoting the EP release and will return to the studio later in the year to commence work on album number two.
I really think this band has a lot of potential. Expect to see a lot more of them in the coming years!
Landerim is a band named after a word made up by Robert Wyatt on his album
“Rock Bottom,” featuring Larry Demellier (drums, keyboards, vocals), Derek
Knott (guitar, bass, keyboards) and John McGuire (keyboards, guitar,
atmospherics). Jessica Bailiff sings duet and backing vocals, and
Producer/Shimmy-Disc Founder Kramer played bass, flute and sang backing
vocals on a couple of songs.
The band was formed by Larry Demellier who asked a couple friends to help
out with some ideas and song sketches. Influences include Robert Wyatt,
Brian Eno, Jon Hassell, Harold Budd, John Cale, Gene Clark and the Byrds,
Love, Nick Drake, Talk Talk, Scott Walker, Big Star and Pink Floyd.
Most of the pieces were worked up very quickly and recorded immediately to
capture the ideas that geled the most before they became stale and
rehearsed. The emphasis is mostly on the spaces in a piece of music: very
minimal, sparing and quiet arrangements with long flowing chords and few
notes. There are some pieces with vocals and some instrumental sections;
all created to be fleeting vignettes.
A 3 piece consisting of guitar, vocals, bass and alsorts of percussion including tablas. Musically, we aim for a different type of sound based on merging styles together, so as to have a European edge to our new folk pop genre. Each member of the band has their own influences which instead of clashing, complement the music. From Suzanne Vega to Peter Gabriel to Steely Dan.
Our ambition is to go as far as we are able. We do not have a record label, and yet do not let this hold us back. After much searching for the best distributor we found ‘Routenote’ [ Edit: Thanks Rachel ] and are now awaiting the release of our first album ‘TeaTime Assorted sessions’ in many of the major online stores. (this will be sometime in November).
So far we have travelled up and down the country gigging, and have played many main cities including Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, and Leeds. We have performed on local radio, and were recently included in Manchester’s ‘Chimp’ magazine in the ‘Up for Grabs’ unsigned section, described as ‘a Class act’.
We have included a link to our you tube video of ‘Tick Tock’. While we feel that the song has a catchy hook with a continental feel, it was filmed in our Northwest countryside featuring Rivington of Horwich, Boltons spooky but marvelous ‘Pigeon Tower’.
Just a quick line to promote someone else’s good work here; San Francisco based blog, Stranger Dance have put together a collection of covers by Bon Iver, a really scruffy-soulful independent artist who I’ve seen live and loved. Do yourself a favour and check him out… You could even show the love and buy some of his music on iTunes.
Live sounding, grungy garage rock: vocal overtones that sound a bit like Kurt Cobain in his more vulnerable moments, with a wobbly Elliot Smith guitar doing the bulk of the work. Picture yourself in a rock nightclub in Seattle in the Pearl Jam/Nirvana era, and you’ll have a pretty good picture of what to expect. Put on your check shirt and ripped jeans, drink some beer and feel bad about everything before going to YouTube and watching some Beavis and Butthead. Yeah… Huhuh… Cool…
Hello there, how is your week going? Boring you say? How typically self centered of you to be so bored. I suppose some new music might go someway to resolving this boredom? Well, here are three bits of free music for you to sink your disgusting, selfish talons into. I hope you’re satisfied.
Genre: New Folk Pop
<–Buy it on iTunes