I know, I know. Half a month of silence. Eh, what can I say? Finals week came around, then the first week of summer was here and all I've wanted to do was relax, see friends, and enjoy a moment of freedom. I know it's no excuse for laziness, but why do I need an excuse? It's my blog, I do what I want :P
Anyways, I have three artists for you today, and many many more in queue. (Seriously, I have two unfinished posts with 3-4 artists each, I just need to get around to writing them!)
Changing seasons change my mood for music. It always happens, regardless of what I'm listening to. This means your in for a sporadic, constantly changing selection of unrelated music, hope you're buckled in!
First is Megafaun, a decidedly unfolky folk band from the Appalachians consisting of the brothers Brad and Phil Cook and Joe Westerlund. Wandering twists and turns dominate the sound of Gather, Form & Fly, as Megafaun meanders from organic, lo-fi folk instrumentals to traditional country love-song melodies. In a style neither entirely practiced nor improvised, you will find yourself listening to heart-stretching harmonies produced by the trio before being lofted in to noisy droning of violins and broken drums.
Gather, Form & Fly, the self-titled song from the album is what caught my attention my first listen-through. Long pauses broken by sweet and sour harmonies sung by softly conversing banjo and guitar, cymbals and drums quietly interjecting, yet supporting the mysterious melody, and a grand finale composed of peacefully powerful vocal harmonies create such an effect in my mind I can nothing but close my eyes and listen.
Juju Sound + Nü Latin @ Mini-mal 110506 (Audio taken from Makala's Boom Shaka Laka Radio Show) by DJ Andres Leguizamon
Second on the list for today, in a completely different hemisphere of musical talent, is the ceaselessly amazing DJ Andres Leguizamon. Playing at his regular venue at the Mini-Mal, Andres has thrown together a mix of latin groove, nu-latin, and jazzy beats that irresistibly command you to dance.
Look no further if you are seeking out high-quality beats from south of the border, there is none better than Andres. Check out his soundcloud for more.
Spring Mix 2011 (Electronic Latin) by g-funkster
Lastly, recommended to me by Andres, is a cool tropical mix just in time for summer. Though the title suggests spring is the recommended season to listen to this latin-fueled throwdown of hip beats and humid sounds, just about anywhere on Earth with a temperature of 80 F will do this mix justice.
Based in south west England, G-Funk is an afro-driven enthusiast and expert on the dancier side of the southern hemisphere. Though his blog and history of public tracks is short in time, it does not lack quality. Make sure you check out g-funkster's soundcloud and blog for more tropical beats.
Showing posts with label folk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label folk. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
In The Nick of Time
Less than 3 weeks less of school, the pressure is on! Despite the tremendous amount of work I have to do I was able to find these gems at the last second(read: this weekend) and put together a semi-decent post. Check back in the week for a special weekday post of some of my favorite hip-hop performances as well!
Pazes - Evaporar (Aether Remix) by Aether
Based out of San Antonio, Texas, Diego Chavez is a multi-talented artist, painter, producer, and professional daydreamer with a knack for innovation. Whether on the canvas or through speakers Chavez has been creating works of art aurally and visually for several years and shows no signs of stopping. I was excited this weekend to finally discover Aether after several months of inactivity from his other moniker, A.M. Architect, and, honestly, have been having a hard time trying to find just a few songs to show off his talent.
In a style all his own Chavez wields his songs like fine-crafted weapons of aural bliss. Complex, rolling beats that thrum and waver in a perfectly choreographed dance with the floating, wild melodies of synths, vocal samples, and subtle chord progressions only begin to characterize the musical landscape Chavez paints. With a good pair of headphones and several minutes of closed-eye listening it's nearly impossible not to fall in to the mysterious, broiling ocean of sound Chavez manages to churn together in each new track.
The first track brought to you today is a remix of Evaporar by Pazes, an incredible acoustic performer that meshes post-rock, folk, and latin influences in to his sound. A listen to Aether's remix will have you wondering if it's even the same song at all, with fast-paced maraca rhythms, deep bass beats, and a out-of-tune music box sound that transform the track in to a creation of jerking melodies and sampled vocals far from the original.
Leavin' On Your Mind by Aether
This second track embodies a sound more akin to A.M. Architect, complete with a deftly sampled piano loop and the unique, rolling beats signature to Aether's sound. To me, the sound Aether so perfectly emulates in his rhythms and tracks is a feeling of "falling" over the beats continuously, almost as if he is urging his listener to press forward in to the story the song is unfolding. With perfectly tuned, aching chords and a dreamscape of sound unraveling as the song progresses Leavin' On Your Mind is one you won't want to be have missing from your collection.
Following suite is ETHEREA, a relatively new and unknown electronica producer from New York. Despite having released an absolutely brilliant free album aptly named FREE ETHEREA, not much is known about the artist behind the name.
With a style that draws from influences like Animal Collective and other noise-pop bands, Etherea exhibits a strong use of repetition, sampling, and electronica elements. However, his sound is not generic: with melodies that hang in the air sounding like they are ready to explode and 8-bit components accompanied by hip-hop influenced beat progressions his style is a commendable mix of modern genres with a new twist.
Etherea - WAVVES vs. DOOM by vanilla_face
In this second song Etherea creates a mashup of lo-fi band Wavves and MF DOOM, a rapper and producer, to create a pleasing, chilled out throw down of clashing genres that fit together like puzzle pieces. This track reveals the true talent of Etherea and leaves me wondering who this mystery artist is and when I can hear more of him...
Na Na Ni by Fredrik (the band)
Switching gears to a more organic theme, Fredrik is on the top of my list for this week. An ensemble band from Sweden, Fredrik combines rich acoustic guitar, natural percussion, and smoky vocals in to a medley of haunting, folk-influenced sounds that emanate across their first album, Na-Na-Ni. Building on layers of sound, this experimental band from up north has been conjuring achingly beautiful compositions across the folk and indie genre since 2008.
Na Na Ni, the track, is a ghostly, trance-inducing instrumental creation that speaks only of musical feeling, as if the repetition throughout the song is more a mantra that the musicians use to bring out the true meaning of the song than just a compositional device. This song will have you hooked by the first regression back to the simple, hypnotic voice of the guitar.
On a final note, I bring you an even more hypnotic piece. Composed by model, songwriter, and composer superstar, Eric Whitacre, Sleep is an original(and somewhat older) choral piece for SATB choirs. With its melancholy, slowly moving, powerful chords and poetic lyrics Sleep is a massive favorite among traditional choirs. As a former chorus student myself having sung Whitacre pieces and seen Sleep live, I have to say it is a deeply moving and powerful piece of music. This rendition, however, is unlike any other as it contains over 1700 performers from 58 countries performing "virtually" through youtube. Though the dynamics of the piece are not as strong as you might find in a "real" choir, the end result is still magnificent.
NOTE: You may have to visit the youtube channel in order to listen.
Pazes - Evaporar (Aether Remix) by Aether
Based out of San Antonio, Texas, Diego Chavez is a multi-talented artist, painter, producer, and professional daydreamer with a knack for innovation. Whether on the canvas or through speakers Chavez has been creating works of art aurally and visually for several years and shows no signs of stopping. I was excited this weekend to finally discover Aether after several months of inactivity from his other moniker, A.M. Architect, and, honestly, have been having a hard time trying to find just a few songs to show off his talent.
In a style all his own Chavez wields his songs like fine-crafted weapons of aural bliss. Complex, rolling beats that thrum and waver in a perfectly choreographed dance with the floating, wild melodies of synths, vocal samples, and subtle chord progressions only begin to characterize the musical landscape Chavez paints. With a good pair of headphones and several minutes of closed-eye listening it's nearly impossible not to fall in to the mysterious, broiling ocean of sound Chavez manages to churn together in each new track.
The first track brought to you today is a remix of Evaporar by Pazes, an incredible acoustic performer that meshes post-rock, folk, and latin influences in to his sound. A listen to Aether's remix will have you wondering if it's even the same song at all, with fast-paced maraca rhythms, deep bass beats, and a out-of-tune music box sound that transform the track in to a creation of jerking melodies and sampled vocals far from the original.
Leavin' On Your Mind by Aether
This second track embodies a sound more akin to A.M. Architect, complete with a deftly sampled piano loop and the unique, rolling beats signature to Aether's sound. To me, the sound Aether so perfectly emulates in his rhythms and tracks is a feeling of "falling" over the beats continuously, almost as if he is urging his listener to press forward in to the story the song is unfolding. With perfectly tuned, aching chords and a dreamscape of sound unraveling as the song progresses Leavin' On Your Mind is one you won't want to be have missing from your collection.
Following suite is ETHEREA, a relatively new and unknown electronica producer from New York. Despite having released an absolutely brilliant free album aptly named FREE ETHEREA, not much is known about the artist behind the name.
With a style that draws from influences like Animal Collective and other noise-pop bands, Etherea exhibits a strong use of repetition, sampling, and electronica elements. However, his sound is not generic: with melodies that hang in the air sounding like they are ready to explode and 8-bit components accompanied by hip-hop influenced beat progressions his style is a commendable mix of modern genres with a new twist.
Etherea - WAVVES vs. DOOM by vanilla_face
In this second song Etherea creates a mashup of lo-fi band Wavves and MF DOOM, a rapper and producer, to create a pleasing, chilled out throw down of clashing genres that fit together like puzzle pieces. This track reveals the true talent of Etherea and leaves me wondering who this mystery artist is and when I can hear more of him...
Na Na Ni by Fredrik (the band)
Switching gears to a more organic theme, Fredrik is on the top of my list for this week. An ensemble band from Sweden, Fredrik combines rich acoustic guitar, natural percussion, and smoky vocals in to a medley of haunting, folk-influenced sounds that emanate across their first album, Na-Na-Ni. Building on layers of sound, this experimental band from up north has been conjuring achingly beautiful compositions across the folk and indie genre since 2008.
Na Na Ni, the track, is a ghostly, trance-inducing instrumental creation that speaks only of musical feeling, as if the repetition throughout the song is more a mantra that the musicians use to bring out the true meaning of the song than just a compositional device. This song will have you hooked by the first regression back to the simple, hypnotic voice of the guitar.
On a final note, I bring you an even more hypnotic piece. Composed by model, songwriter, and composer superstar, Eric Whitacre, Sleep is an original(and somewhat older) choral piece for SATB choirs. With its melancholy, slowly moving, powerful chords and poetic lyrics Sleep is a massive favorite among traditional choirs. As a former chorus student myself having sung Whitacre pieces and seen Sleep live, I have to say it is a deeply moving and powerful piece of music. This rendition, however, is unlike any other as it contains over 1700 performers from 58 countries performing "virtually" through youtube. Though the dynamics of the piece are not as strong as you might find in a "real" choir, the end result is still magnificent.
NOTE: You may have to visit the youtube channel in order to listen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)