The ABC Club hails from Leeds. The 5-piece band is with indie record label based in London called Things To Make And Do. The band was recently featured on BBC and Hilcock’s NME radio show and are gaining buzz mostly in the UK but I don’t think this limitation will stick, once the kids in the U.S. get wind of them properly…
For now, the band’s busy touring Northern England with a free show April 30th in London. I hope they come to the U.S. in the summer, because their music reminds me of parties on the beach and summer sun. One of my favorite tracks is called “The Thieving Magpie” that reminds me of earlier Phoenix tracks. You can purchase it on itunesas well as off of the Rough Trade website (forthebeat wishes we could stroll in to the Brick Lane store on our lunch break…)
I rarely play classical music – it’s just never a conscious selection. Fast songs tend to dominate my playlist. I even take naps to techno music (not kidding). But there is something to be said about slowing down and listening to lighter, softer music. Recently, this is what caught my attention: Donald Yule.
Donald Yule is a pianist from East London who also just happens to dabble in electro/techno – perhaps why I love it? Yule has been playing for 7 years – which when you think about it, it’s kind of rare for someone to start at age 19, as Yule is now 25. Nevertheless, he seems to have mastered something special.
Yule’s pieces (you can only find two on his MySpace page currently) make me think of Air’s work on The Virgin Suicides and In Rainbows’ B-Sides. The few songs I have heard from him are breathtaking. He is currently working on an EP so stay tuned for more to come, which will be released by his brother’s label, Domestic.
Domestic has an artist collaboration EP out now called The Planets. “Venus” is the only piece that’s purely acoustic, and like all the others on the album, is a musical interpretation of what the chosen planet means to the artist (really?! – awesome).
The solo piano track is available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon.
With the exception of shiny things on the sidewalk, small animals or $5 foot longs, nothing grabs my attention like a killer boy-girl duo. It’s no surprise then that I’m completely captivated by Minneapolis’ Red Pens, a band that rocks so hard I’d never believe it was just two humans if I hadn’t stood slack-jawed watching them live a few months ago and texting everyone in my phone “GO d0wnload ReD pensss noww.”
Red Pens is Howard W. Hamilton III (that’s some government name, son) on guitar and Laura Bennett on drums (ladydrummer=10 million points) and is everything that rock should be: big drums, big sound and big ideas delivered with passion, class and style.
Their lo-fi sound is built for making out in the back of your 1986 Chevy Celebrity, or a night of cheap beers in a bar your mother would never step foot in. See for yourself at Pianos on February 26. If you don’t love them, or at least come away with a serious and confusing girlcrush on Laura, I’ll personally pay you back for your admission.** Start with the catchy and thoughtful “Weekdays”:
“Opal” by sayCet is just beautiful. The original is wonderful, but dare I say, I like the remix by Error Love – Opalovsky – even more. The original is dreamy electronic pop at its best, but the remix really gets me with the looping of the gorgeous vocals of Phoene Somsavath.
sayCet is the project of Pierre Lefeuvre, a french music composer. It should also be noted that alongside his original work are some amazing remixes which include: Radiohead’s “Nude,” Air’s “Sing Sang Sung,” Bloc Party’s “Signs,” and Phoenix’s “1901.” The remixes are intricate and beautiful extensions of the originals, and his background speaks to this immensely.
Beyond the electronic beats and compositions Pierre creates for sayCet hails vocalist Phoene Somsavath. Her voice is beautifully haunting and a perfect compliment to the experimental “ambient Chinese pop” – as deemed by the band.
Although sayCet is pretty new (just over 1 year collaboration), they are already set to release their second album next month. Titled Through the Window, look out for this on March 22nd…should be amazing.
Are you a young, attractive professional of average intelligence who likes to have fun?
If you answered yes to the above, then I’m 94% confident that you’ll like Body Language.
If you answered no to the above, then you probably kill kittens for fun and this blog is no place for you.
Brooklyn-based Body Language, who served as production collaborators with Passion Pit on Manners, have just released a five-track EP called Speaks.
With roots in dance parties and remixes, the group’s beat driven dance tracks are hot and fresh like a $5 Subway foot-long right out of the toaster oven (if you opt for that–it’s free so you might as well) with banging beats, graceful vocals and lyrics that ooze with charm and humor.
Case in point: “Huffy Ten Speed,” a cheerful, upbeat track that promises to be a favorite for summer parties at forthebeat HQs (SL’s apartment), and reminds me of the dude who stole my bike in grade school, and then maybe grew up to be kind of cute (I’m still gonna punch you in the face, Aaron).
Exhibit B: slow it down with “Sandwiches,” where Angelica Bess somehow makes everyone’s favorite lunch item sexy, hilarious and amazing.
Now, when most people hear the word “Minneapolis,” they immediately think, “where the fuck is that?”
But smart people and geography enthusiasts know that Minneapolis is located in the Midwest of the United States, and is the home to many great musical acts including, but not limited to, Prince and some other people.
Add Lookbook to your list of favorite Minnesota artists. Immediately. I’ll wait while you update it.
Lookbook is gorgeous, luscious synth-pop created by Grant Cutler and Maggie Morrison. Their live performances are magnetic, with Maggie’s stunning vocals outshining the fact that she has somehow managed to harness the energy and sexiness of Karen O. in a package that could have been a 4th grade teacher in another life.
She and Grant have amazing chemistry, in part because while she plays the demure, reluctant rock star, he plays the greasy 70s too-cool beatmaster that maybe smells like cigarettes and BO and would roll his eyes when he found out I have Mandy Moore on my iPod, but who, okay yeah, I’d make out with because maaaaannnn does he look cool on stage, and maybe if I got him drunk enough he’d think I was funny?
This is going in a weird direction, so I’ll cut to the chase: this is beautiful indie music with heart and imagination and no pretention, just like the Midwest itself.
Mat Cothran is Coma Cinema. A 21 year old bright young thing from South Carolina and definitely one to look out for.
I have a short attention span, and you would think Mat Cothran’s album would complement this well, as his 14 song compilation Baby Prayers (songs he has been working on – on and off – since 2005) are mostly under 2 minutes each. But they leave me wanting more, particularly “Flower Pills” – the introduction to his website, which once inside, allows you to download the entire CD for free; this was one of the tracks I wished to be longer. “Daffodils” is another favorite and must-listen, although a bit longer clocking in at a whole 2 minutes 50 seconds (!) I love dreamy dance tracks, and I think Mat Cothran achieves this well in both sound and lyrics with “Flower Pills” and “Daffodils,” but the complete album really provides a collective and unique listening experience. You can listen to “Flower Pills” and read its lyrics below. Be sure to visit Coma Cinema online and spread the word to your friends and their friends. Tour dates? Right now Mat is performing locally, but we’re hoping we can convince him to come to New York City for forthebeat’s spring show…
Flower Pills Lyrics (because they should be shared):
feeling fever chills/ taking flower pills/ dream within a dream/ talking to myself/ awake for days/ got to catch the wave/ walking to your house/ pavement turns to dirt/ burned your mountain down/ get my feelings hurt/ awake for days/ got to catch the wave
You might ask, “KC, where did you find this song?” I don’t know. But these breezy beats with a southern twist are pretty addictive, and I’ve listened to this song over and over since first discovering it yesterday.
Sunglasses is the brainchild of 8000 bam bam (Samuel Cooper) & Baby Seal (Brady Keehn), who met at the Savannah College of Art and Design, working on Cooper’s senior thesis film. In fact, I think these kids are still in school.
According to his MySpace page, 8000 bam bam has a bunch of other projects in the works: Hula Hoop, Grandma Q, Food Coloring and Baby Jazz, in addition to Sunglasses, and he plans on directing the music videos for each, which brings me to this – a psychedelic, belly-dancing journey through the universe, complete with awful spandex, awkward hipster chicks dancing, and primitive green screen production, making for a completely awesome music video that you’ll want to share with your friends, and you, yourself, will keep watching because the pairing of the song and the visuals is just so good.
You might ask, “KC, is this a joke?” I’m not entirely sure. I can’t find much written on Sunglasses, other than two blog posts by Dipped in Dollars and Transparent Blog. But listening to 8000 bam bam’s many projects, this all seems legit, and very promising. I think as all these musical ventures and ideas are streamlined, we’ll be hearing a lot more about Sunglasses and 8000, as well seeing more colorful bursts of video goodness to keep our ears, eyes and minds stimulated.
