Those of you familiar with the fairly popular music blog “Eardrums” may or may not be aware of the net label associated with it “Eardrums pop“.
If you’re not, it might be worth pointing your peepers squarely at this website. The blog has for some time dedicated itself to promoting little known indie artists. The label is an online, music distributing extension of this.
Anyway, if you’re some kind of songwriter looking to have your music released and given attention then you can submit your music to the label’s SoundCloud drop box. If you’re not a self obsessed musician and are just looking for some new listening material you may want to take a look too. The label will be releasing digital singles each month. Here is the most recent. For more, visit their website by clicking here.
Good morning member of “the public”. As it’s already gone past the middle of the week and I’m late on delivering this I’ve made my selections extra special, I do hope you enjoy them.
If you would like your music to be featured in a future blog post then please get in touch; luke@routenote.com or on twitter @monkeyhotel
Esto is a singer/songwriter from Michigan with more personality and character than literally any other American I’ve ever encountered (sweeping statement). On his MySpace page he tells us “I wrote and recorded the majority of this music in a week. I wanted the songs to be as pure and alive and possible – not genetically altered fruit for everyone to love and indulge themselves in”. OK, so he might be a tad pretentious, but come on – he’s an American. The songs do feel very intimate and as an artist, he clearly knows his sound and what he wants to artistically come across. Very much worth listening to and visiting both his Myspace and SoundCloud pages.
The next artist I would like you all to wrap your ears around is a producer going by the name of Little Weird Orchestra. The reason I like this chap is that everything he does seems to be the result of some kind of experiment in his studio rather than the result of someone sitting down and thinking “right, time to make some bloody music, now let’s see; I’ll probably need some drums”. Each track has a clear theme and idea, which considering the experimental nature of the music makes listening a hell of a lot easier. Check out his SoundCloud and Last FM pages.
Hello there Routenote readers, I hope your week is treating you well. I feel a bit of a cheat this week as I’ve been on holiday for the past few days. As a result this weeks music suggestions have been thrown together in a matter of minutes. That’s not to suggest for a moment that the artists beneath are worth anything other than your undivided attention, only that you may already be aware of them, and it is for this reason you find me apologising.
If you would like to have your music featured in future blog posts then please get in touch; luke@routenote.com or on twitter @monkeyhotel
The first artist to catch my eye this week is the rather excellent female producer and songwriter Dena From The Block. Her music is extremely clever produced and stays firmly on the credible side of pop whilst being fun, catchy and addictive. The two songs below are perfect examples of her songwriting, both building from a minimal musical base that is texturally interesting enough to never become boring.
And keeping with the theme of European Electro-Pop may I introduce you to the first known demos of the Berlin based outfit Mousefolk? Recently picked out by SoundCloud as their artists of the day, the song below and a few other bits on their SoundCloud page have given me enough reason to believe that this is a band to keep a close eye on.
Good morning dear readers, I trust this week is treating you well?
As it’s Wednesday I suppose I should give you some new music to listen to. A bit of a mixed bag today so please give them both a chance and try to enjoy yourself in the process.
If you would like your music to be featured in a future post then please get in touch; luke@routenote.com or on twitter @monkeyhotel
The first artist I’d like to show you is a duo currently working on their debut album Leaving Atlantis.
A really nice mixture traditional songwriting seasoned with electronics, these few tracks should be just about enough to get you interested in learning more about the band, and you can do exactly that by visiting their website.
How do you follow up delightful songwriting? With some extremely creative Canadian progressive house. Although Snork doesn’t describe himself as progressive I can’t think of a better word to describe his inventive creations. Dance music at its best should be an amalgamation of ideas that allow a track to drive itself, and Snork does this perfectly. Why not take a little listen to these three numbers and see what you think?
The fact that I’m posting at this hour on a Friday should say enough to you about how my weekend is going thus far… If you’re at a bit of a loose end this weekend then why not take a listen to these free playlists? You never know, you might actually enjoy yourself, you might actually have a far better time than all those ‘people’ off gallivanting with their ‘friends’.
If you would like to have your music featured on this blog in the future then please get in touch; luke@routenote.com or on twitter @monkeyhotel
Full Time Hobby have kindly uploaded some bonus tracks to their soundcloud page following the release of Erland and the Carnival’s self titled debut album, which you can buy here.
If it’s something more American-Folky you’re looking for then why not take a listen to Peter Lehndorff’s latest playlist. If you’re not familiar with his work he writes very charming and funny little songs packed with character. You have to really listen carefully to keep up with all the jokes, but if you’re reading this then I guess it’s not like you have anything better to do with your Friday night…This set was recorded live which means you get people laughing along with you, making you feel a bit less of a lonely, chuckling freak. If you like these songs then take a look at the rest of his SoundCloud page.
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.
A few months ago I wrote a blog post about a very exciting new artist by the name of Ollie Wride. Since writing this post Ollie has been subject to some very positive attention, not least of all from The Guardian’s Paul Lester. Subsequently Ollie’s fan base has grown, earning him some much deserved acclaim from both the music consuming public and the altogether less forgiving demographic of music critics. I’m not suggesting for a second that I’m in anyway responsible for Ollie’s success by the way, before you start thinking “what a self obsessed moron, trying to usurp an artist’s success.”
Anyway, whether you’ve heard of Ollie before or all of the above read like the words of an alien might, I absolutely demand that you listen to his latest effort, found at the bottom of this post. Sillhouets is an altogether more reflective and arguably mature number than fans will be used to from Ollie. It’s as perfectly produced and meticulously written as any of his other work – not a vocal harmony or instrumental layer out of place and everything present in the mix completely justified in it’s inclusion.
I’ve linked his entire SoundCloud set so you can get a real taste of his versatile brilliance. If the music inspires you to want to see Ollie in flesh, you can see him performing alongside The Kooks, Tony Hadley, Mr Hudson, MPHO, Daisy Dares You, Man Like Me & Tribes at London’s Koko on Oct 4th.
If you’re an experimental, electronic musician who is struggling to get any serious attention, no matter how many hours you spend hunched at your computer tweeting, facebooking and blogging – may I suggest you pay attention to the article below?
First Stage Underground is the UK’s first and only charity based record label. It works on a very basic and transparent model; you submit your music which they then decide whether or not to promote and release on the label. Any proceeds go to their nominated charity – Cancer Research UK.
Ok, so it won’t make you rich, but if that concerns you then you’ve rather missed the point of this label. The company can already boast a number of success stories and with no commercial interests, they really are free to give a chance to some experimental stuff.
This really is an excellent idea, the label takes music very seriously and is an excellent way to both get your music some exposure with the support of a real record label. All you have to do if you would like your music considered is drop them an email – firststagerecordings@gmail.com or visit their SoundCloud dropbox by clicking here.
Take a listen to some of their artists by visiting their SoundCloud or MySpace page. I’ve included some examples below for you to get an idea, and if you think your music would share common ground, please take the time to learn more about this excellent record label.
One of our users has uploaded this video to his youtube page, demonstrating how easy it is to have your music digitally distributed. Why not give it a watch and have a little think about it?
With the international break leaving us with no Premier League football this weekend and nothing but an inevitably drab set of international performances to endure, why not fill that excitement void with some new music?
Here are a couple of playlists that might help you get through what will probably be the last remotely warm weekend of the year.
If you know of something that you would like to be featured in a future post then please get in touch; luke@routenote.com or on twitter @monkeyhotel
Music Week have very kindly put together a SoundCloud set focusing around new Irish talent. There is some very good stuff on here, my highlights being the opening song from Cathy Davey and the seventh song from the wonderfully named Electric Penguins, a band well worth investing some time in, should you have the spare time.
David Kirk is a singer/songwriter from London who has already received a decent amount of attention from various authorities in ‘new music’, not least of all from 6 Music who have given tracks from his most recent E.P Fortune Green several plays. If you’re a fan of strummy little dittys and a nice voice then there’s a good chance you’ll like this. I must confess that the E.P isn’t exactly my thing, but David Kirk seems like a nice enough man who just wants to share his music with the world, you could give him at least that, couldn’t you? Listen to the entire E.P below and if you like it you can buy if from his BandCamp page for £2.
