Audio Absinthe

I first heard the song “Blood” by Australian band The Middle East on KCRW a couple of months ago.  The harmonies and soft, melodic progressions build to create moving, stirring music and the same is true for all of their songs, most of which are between 5 to 7 minutes long.  ”Blood” immediately reminded me of “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire although I’m not sure if most people would feel the same way.  When I first heard “Pig Food” I thought it had to be a cover of a Radiohead track.  The debut album, The Recordings of The Middle East, was self-released in Australia in 2008.  An EP was made available in the US on iTunes just a couple of weeks ago.  Check out the tracks below including “Pig Food” which isn’t included on the EP.

MP3: The Middle East – “Blood” (Download)

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MP3: The Middle East – “The Darkest Side” (Download)

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The Recordings of The Middle East EP (October 2009)

MP3: The Middle East – “Pig Food” (Download)

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The Recordings of The Middle East (2008)

I’ve wanted to share these songs for a while now but I didn’t have too much to say about them all.  I think they’re all awesome remixes and covers of great tracks but check them out and decide for yourself…

The xx – “You’ve Got The Love” (Florence and the Machine) (Download)

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Washed Out – “Feel It All Around (Toro y Moi Remix)” (Download)

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Taken By Trees – “My Boys” (Animal Collective) (Download)

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Florence and the Machine – “Drumming Song (Boy 8-bit Remix)” (Download)

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Phoenix – “Lisztomania (Alex Metric Remix)” (Download)

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Dr. Fox’s Old Timey String Band – “Kids” (MGMT) (Download)

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Mayer Hawthorne – “Green Eyed Love (Waajeed Remix)” (Download)

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A couple of weeks ago, I saw AM at the Hotel Cafe and it was an awesome show.  His music reaches across a number of genres from psychedelic rock and folk to soul and classic rock, even jazz.  AM’s new album, Future Sons & Daughters, draws on an eclectic variety of musical influences to create a blend of 60’s rock with well arranged, folk-rock pop music.  It’s easy to hear the influence of past artists such as David Axelrod and Jorge Ben which produces a result somewhere between more modern influences such as Beck and Shawn Lee.  Some of the songs have parts that really remind me of Clutchy Hopkins and Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra.  The wide ranging influences and the seamless blending of so many genres makes it hard to categorize as any one kind, but is entirely AM’s own, unique brand of music.  Future Sons & Daughters is something special for serious music enthusiasts and casual listeners alike.  And definitely make sure you check out the live show if you get a chance too.

MP3: AM – “Grand Opinion”
Future Sons & Daughters (August 2009)

Sample more songs from FS&D:
The Other Side
Jorge Ben
Darker Days

It took me a while but I finally got around to posting them all.  In no particular order, here are my favorites from 2009, so far…

Phoenix
MP3: “1901”
MP3: “Lisztomania”

Dan Auerbach
MP3: “When The Night Comes”

Grizzly Bear
MP3: “Two Weeks”

Wilco
MP3: “Solitaire”
MP3: “One Wing”
MP3: “I’ll Fight”

Quantic and His Combo Barbaro
Amazon: “The Dreaming Mind”

Andrew Bird
MP3: “Oh No”

Franz Ferdinand
MP3: “No You Girls”

Doves
MP3: “Jetstream”
MP3: “Kingdom of Rust”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
MP3: “Hysteric”

Black Crowes
MP3: “I Ain’t Hiding”

White Rabbits
MP3: “Percussion Gun”

K’naan
MP3: “Take A Minute”

Manchester Orchestra
MP3: “I’ve Got Friends”

Mocky
MP3: “Birds Of A Feather”

Kutiman
http://thru-you.com/

Black Moth Super Rainbow
MP3: “Born On A Day The Sun Didn’t Rise”
MP3: “Twin Of Myself”
MP3: “Fields Are Breathing”

Animal Collective
MP3: “My Girls”

Matt and Kim
MP3: “Daylight”

Silversun Pickups
MP3: “Panic Switch”

Curumin
MP3: “Compacto”
MP3: “Salto No Vacuo Con Joelhada”

Emiliani Torrini
MP3: “Me and Armini”

Zion I
MP3: “Coastin”

Junior Boys
MP3: “Parallel Lines”

General Elektriks

MP3: “You Don’t Listen”

St Vincent
MP3: “Strangers”

Coconut Records
MP3: “Any Fun”

Matisyahu
“One Day”

Method Man and Redman
MP3: “A Yo”

Tosca
MP3 Link: “Joe Si Ha”
MP3: “Fondue”

The BPA
MP3: “Toe Jam”
MP3: “He’s Frank”

Bishop Allen
MP3: “The Ancient Commonsense of Things”

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Newer acts:

Band of Skulls
MP3 Link: “Death By Diamonds and Pearls”
MP3: “I Know What I Am”

Empire of the Sun
MP3: “Walking On A Dream”

One eskimO
Link to listen: “Given Up”
MP3: “Givin Up (Don Diablo remix)”

Nickel Eye
MP3: “Brandy of the Damned featuring Wale (Mark Ronson remix)”
MySpace link to listen: “Bonnie and Clyde”

Mayer Hawthorne
MP3: “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out”

Zee Avi
MP3: “Bitter Heart”
MP3: “The Story”

Passion Pit
MP3: “Moth’s Wings”
MP3 link: “The Reeling”
MP3: “Little Secrets”

Fight From Above
MP3: “Between The Curves”

Vosotros Presents: The Years
MP3 link: “Lose My Number”
MP3 link: “Heartbreaker”

Daniel Merriweather
MP3: “Change” featuring Wale

The Big Pink
MP3: “Velvet”

The Temper Trap
MP3: Sweet Disposition

Thenewno2
MP3 link: “Yomp”
MP3 link: “Give You Love”
MP3: “Crazy Tuesday”

Asa
MP3: “Jailer”
MP3: “Subway”

The Very Best
MP3: “Warm Heart of Africa”

St Motel
MP3: “Dear Dictator”

Danny Chaimson
MySpace link to listen: “This Is Life”

Hey Champ
MP3: “Cold Dust Girl”

Jaydiohead by Minty Fresh Productions
MP3: “Wrong Prayer”

Asher Roth feat. Busta Rhymes and New Kingdom
MP3: “Lion’s Roar” produced by Oren Yoel

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Mixtapes:

Wale & 9th Wonder - Back To The Feature

TiRon – Ketchup
Miguel featuring TiRon – “Go”

I went out to Coachella this weekend and, for the most part, I wasn’t really that impressed.  A lot of acts just don’t know how to get the crowd going.  One band that is the complete opposite of this is Dr. Dog.  They were very impressive.  It was my third time seeing them and I was blown away, again.  They might be my favorite act out there right now.  Even when they were having some sound problems with one of the guitars on stage, it was still an awesome set.  I think their most recent album Fate is great, one of the best albums of 2008, but the songs sound so much better when they’re performed live (at least for me).  The band’s touring experience is starting to show and it makes for a great live performance.  ”Army of Ancients” is a perfect example of a song that is much better when it’s live (again, for me).  I still can’t get it out of my head.  ”The Ark” was another personal favorite of mine and also of a friend who hadn’t ever seen or heard of Dr Dog before.  They opened with a slightly sped up version which made the crowd go completely nuts and set the pace for the rest of the show.  Needless to say, my friend’s a fan now.

MP3: Dr Dog – Army of Ancients
MP3: Dr Dog – The Ark

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Asleep In The Bread Aisle hit stores today.  ”Lion’s Roar” is definitely a stand out track for me. Asher Roth comes pretty hard on it but I don’t think Busta Rhymes has sounded this good since Leaders of the New School and his early solo career.  With all the leaked tracks out there, by now you should know- if it’s a Oren Yoel production it’s gonna be dope.  And the smooth hook from New Kingdom’s Noah King ties it all together and makes it a song you want to rap and sing along to.  Oren Yoel’s also worked with another great up and coming hip hop artist in TiRon whose mixtape Ketchup is featured in the LA Times for the top ten best hip hop albums of the year.

Asher Roth ft Busta Rhymes and New Kingdom – Lion’s Roar (produced by Oren Yoel)

TiRon – Shine On (produced by Oren Yoel)

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An interesting Nas remix album was released last month called the Far East Project.  From the name, it sounds like it’s a bunch of Nas tracks remixed by Asian DJ’s and producers.  Because “Far East” could mean Asian, right?  I’m not racist, I swear.  Anyway, I haven’t heard of any of the guys who remixed the tracks but some of them are really well done.

Mp3: Nas featuring AZ – Life’s A Bitch (Jugg remix)
MP3 SAMPLE: Nas featuring Amerie - Rule (Ajap S remix)

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Recently, I’ve had a couple of tracks sent to me via email and SoundCloud.com.  Some of the songs were actually really good.  I don’t know why I expected anything different but I was kind of surprised at how much I enjoyed these:

• The first is “Folkie Song #2″ by Rosie and Me out of Curitiba, Brazil.  It’s indie, acoustic, folk music but it’s got a rock kind of edge to it.  And like all things Brazilian, I pretty much love everything about it.  It’s a very cool track they got here.  As if they didn’t even care when recording the song, you can even hear the microphone get bumped a couple of times, but it just makes the song sound cooler.  I’m really digging this one.
  MP3: Rosie and Me – Folkie Song #2
• The second is by The Unravelling from their album 13 Arcane Hymns.  They’re a rock/progessive act out of Calgary and if you check out their myspace, you’ll hear some serious metal.  ”In The Safe House” isn’t exactly metal though.  It’s catchy and dark at the same time and it’s a really well arranged song.  Their other songs on myspace are well written tracks too.  These guys probably have awesome live shows with lots of energy and songs that build and really get crowds going.
  MP3: The Unravelling – In The Safe House
• The last one is by a group called Pree.  These guys are from D.C. and their music combines a lot of elements from different genres that I like a lot.  Give the whole song a listen, it’s really impressive stuff.  The quality isn’t amazing, but the track is a great one nonetheless.  These guys have something very interesting going on and now I’m definitely paying attention.
  MP3: Pree – In The Parlor

Rosie and Me

The Unravelling

Pree

General Elektriks (Herve Salters) released his debut album Cliquety Kliqk through Quannum Records back in 2005. Now GE’s got a new album Good City For Dreamers (Feb 2009).  I loved Cliquety Kliqk and I have a feeling I’m going to love the new album as well.  I’ve heard most of the tracks on it and, so far, my favorites are “Coming Up For Air” (which features Lateef) and “You Don’t Listen”.  I don’t know why I haven’t bought the new album yet but I’m about to fix that today…
Here’s what AllMusic.com has to say about General Elektriks:
“By the time he was 14 year old, the Parisian Hervé Salters, also known as RV, and the man behind the electro-jazzy General Elektriks, was playing keyboards and synthesizers with local bands around London and Paris. Six years later, he had discovered the Clavinet, Wurlizter, Hammond B-3, and Fender Rhodes, the latter of which is highlighted on General Elektriks’ debut album, Cliquety Kliqk. Salters’ expertise with “vintage sound” led him to recording gigs on Femi Kuti’s 1999 album Shoki Shoki…” -Allmusic.com
MP3: General Elektriks – You Don’t Listen (Hype Machine) / Raid The Radio / Take Back The Instant

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Oren showed me a track (that I think the J.O.E. showed him) by electronic dance crew, The Whip, out of Manchester, UK.  Their new album, X Marks Destination, was released in March 2009 and is available on iTunes.  The songs are pretty awesome.  Check out “Trash” and “Blackout”,  the two most popular tracks from the album…
Mp3: The Whip - Trash / Blackout

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Easy Star All-Stars have released some awesome cover songs in the past.  Actually, they’ve released full length cover albums- Dub Side of the Moon, an album of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon cover songs, and Radiodread, an album of Radiohead cover songs.  In two days, they will be releasing their newest cover album, Easy Star’s Lonely Hearts Dub Band, an album of Beatles cover songs.  You can sample some of these and their other songs below and on their myspace…

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I’ll be honest…  I don’t know much at all about Vetiver, but I heard the tracks below on KCRW recently and I thought the songs were really good.  Their sound is kind of light and playful indie rock, with a hint of folk music perhaps…?
Mp3: Vetiver – Everyday / More Of This

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A Camp is the new project from Cardigan’s singer Nina Persson.  ”Here Are Many Wild Animals” is another track that I heard on KCRW and I kind of liked it.  Her voice is really strong and the music is a little weird but reminds me of some late 80s rock.  Maybe I’m way off but I think there’s definitely something interesting going on here…
A Camp – Here Are Many Wild Animals

(When the site crashed in March and I thought I lost everything, this ended up being the only post I really lost…  Unfortunately, because of that, I will leave you with the songs only…)

Andrew Bird - Oh No / Anonanimal

James Pants – We’re Through
Beck – Gamma Ray (James Pants Remix) 

The BPA (Brighton Port Authority) – Toe Jam featuring Dizzee Rascal and David Byrne / He’s Frank (Slight Return) featuring Iggy Pop

Brett Dennen – Make You Crazy featuring Femi Kuti

Curumin – Compacto

Curumin – Salto No Vácuo Com Joelhada